Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-02-22
METALLIC CURRENCY.

| forded much satisfaction, yet after finishing the
perusal of the article the natural exclamation was
/ I" Oh, most lame and impotent conclusion" II ii
certainly surprising that writer who seems SC
well posted up {" on the subject, should have ar
rived the conclusion that under the present circumstance
and prospects regards the precious METALS silver should be
made the legal TENDER and that gold should only be
ceved and paid its present future deprecated
| value.
t. does to be that bis proposition involves
adoption Of reputation, the part Of the United States
the full Of all the gold coinage issued from the Mint
this me This coin has been issued under the author
y Of laws Of Congress- and at certain fixed value stamped
officially by the United States and the value Of each piece
expressed the face Of it On what principle, them of
equity justice honesty the United States refuse
receive such coins made and issued by the less
than their full nominal value Can there be more
gross violation Of national faith than would be exhibited by
such refusal Is there any thing less Objectionable in such
than in the odious doctrine of reputation Or rather
Is it not actual reputation in its form, extending to
and affecting every individual in the United States who the
possessor Of gold coin received in full confidence Of the
plighted faith of the nation 1t is unnecessary to waste
argument on this point, il is to be hoped the day is
far distant when the people of the United States will require
any one to convince them Of the immortality of such course
and doubtless your correspondent did not look at the
bearing of his proposition when he suggested it.
Assuming, then, fact which il is to be hoped no
one Is prepared to deny, that the United States
fuse to receive their coin at its full nominal value insur
mounabe difficulties at once present themselves the adop
on Of the suggestion of T. for making silver the only legal
currency. ~
Suppose law that effect were passed. and that the DIFF
ference in the present standard value between the two me-
tails was five cent? in other words that a, the coins
haroo -
the latter no longer being legal tender between man and
man, but still continuing to be such the United States Gold
eagles then would be paid in the Treasury in discharge of
duties at the value of dollars EACH but when once there
no one would receive them in payment from the United States
at that rate but would insist upon having the slver and
how could such demand be met except by the Government
going into the market and buying the above premium
and repeating the operation and again. onhe whole
continued receipt and expenditure Of its revenue No per-
son. il to be presumed supposes that any would pay
single dollar Of silver into the Treasury when currency five
per cent could be accepted The only other
native would be to melt the gold and it with the need
full additional weight to bring equality with silver
and out every thousand thus received them
into nine hundred and fifty This then, would involve loss
to the Government of five per upon the oustand
ing gold conage for of the new and heavier coins
would be paid back the 1reaury until all the odand
light had first been exhausted But the evil would in
all probability not stop there if the opinion Of many
well informed persons who have studied the question: the
present difference in the standard value Of the two metals is
occasoned not by rise of silver, but by fall in gold and
that is the beginning of permanent depreciation the
relative value Of the latter in consequence Of very heavy
supplies from California and Russia and that this de-
probation will annually increase those supplies continue
Under the operation Of this increased depreciation the new
81 boh
feel the effect, and that in time would become five per cent
less valuable than silver, and after the old and lighter coin
age had all been exhausted by payments into the National
Treasury and been re-coned expense Of five per cent
the naton the process would have to gone
again, and the nine hundred and fifty heavy eagles must
made still heavier and be e-coned into only nine hundred at
further loss of another five per cent the entire outsand
ing coinage. This time the loss would be infinitely greater
than the previous OCCASION all the subsequent annual
supply of gold from California would have been added the
previous outstanding coinage at the rate Of forty fifty,
y millions per annum the whole Of which the Treasury
suffer the above loss Though will take very
side rable time accomplish it, the probability is that if the
heavy supply of gold continues from the Californian and Rus
mines, the depreciation Of that metal may extend to
twenty, thirty, fifty per cent its present relative
value and in the mode, explained above the whole
this depreciation would be sadded upon the public Treasury
the full extent of its gold coinage, which will count by
hundreds Of millions of dollars very few years pre-
sent of annual increase.
If it I've then asked what is the remedy which should be
applied the present Of the metallic currency, the
should be, that the proper at this moment is "
mastery inactivity II with certainty be said at
present whether the premium which silver bears is
appreciation of that metal arising from temporary and acct
dental causes is connected with certain Of
Of the nations Of Europe regards their silver
cy whether it is depreciation Of gold in consequence of
the heavy supplies from the Pacific and therefore to be pei
manent, and increase if those supplies continue.
1t at all times delicate and dangerous experiment to
tampe with the standard value Of the national coin, and il
therefore of congraulaton that Congress exhibits
disposition to NEEDLE with the question at the present session
II the heavy yield of gold continues in California, will
be contrary all previous experience the subject for his
tory records various discoveries Of the metal which
equally rich and exuberant but which invariably became
haus,ed in few years Besides this, however, the silver
mines Of Mexico yielding in greatly increased guam
y and they continue to do will tend and will probably
succeed in maintaining the proper equilibrium between the
two metals, under undiminshed supply from the
Pacific. II is therefore the part Of wisdom await furthe
developments the subject and to be fully convinced Of the
fore action attempted Should such action however, b
found necessary there doubt and can be no doubt that
should be to make gold the only legal tender and silver only
tender for sums below five dollars depeciating by alloy
the value Of the silver coin sufficiently in