Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-12-17
From, the Nsv York Epeung Post.
THE DAWN OF THE GOLDEN AGE


One might suppose from the specie statement of
this morning that the river PacJolus ran through
Wall street, a d that or banks built upon the
sands of its golden bed. More than twenty five
million are now lying in their vaults. Six Of them
hold over million each the Manhattan, Sl.OO2,-
OOOi Merchants, 81, 36I, 900; America s., Oh 900;
American Exchange, Sl,Sly,OUU; Commerce, So
O59,OOO; Metropolitan, Sl,2S2, 900 With the
Metropolitan Bank certificates the banks held yes
terday thirty millions Of clearing house funds
an apparent condition. of strength without prece-
dent.
When shall we ever have better time than the
precent to abandon the sham and adopta genuine
and exclusive specie currency? Never for the
simple reason that better could not exist The
facility with which the transition to such curren-
cy may be made few words will illustrate.
The banks in the State hold now, we will say,
$25 100000 Of coin. The bank notes aAoat are
S25,OO0,000. Suppose all the banks were justly
responsible fer this circulation, the whole Of II
would now actually represent coin; in other words
the whole of 1t would be already specie currency,
for, by our law, the bank-notes not only secur
ed by stocks for ultimate payments, but they are
the nrst claim on the assets Of the banks
Il is true, our present paper currency does not
the whole Of 1t, strictly speaking-represents
coin. The banks that hold the gold are not the
banks that have issued the most Of the paper.
Aud yet the present Tor recent practice Of the
banks OF receiving and paying all State at
par, comes very near to joint responsibility for
the whole circulation. 1t is the same practice that
would prevail if they by law Jointly response
bic for the whole circulation.
Is it not apparent, then, that with only the
specie that kRoW Of as being now employed il
business, we should endure shock in the transit
ton TO specie currency?
1t Is an error to suppose, as many people evident
ly do that twenty five millions Of gold and twenty
i've millions Of paper make together millions
of currency, and that the paper moiety would ad-
r1,
the gold is shut up, and the gold will not come out
till the paper is shut up-in other words destroy
ed. mixed currency of gold and paper Is not
unlike two buckets in a Well-when one comes up |
full, the other goes down empty; both are never
full at the same time. The poorer currency always
displaces the better The effect therefore, upon |
prices Of destroying the twenty-five millions Of |
paper-that is the relative value Of labor TO specie
ana property TO specle-can be as well ascertained
now as if it had already burned
A man works now for dollar day. He is paid 1
paper dollar. lie prefers specie. He goes TO Mr. 1
Beebe in Wall street. who takes of fsavl oneper
cent, and gives him % cents IN coin The specie
value OF the mans labor is just 90 cents Soft Mr.
Cornsrlot sells house for $1,000, and get paper
for that amount, he sells his paper money at DER
cent discount, and there you have the specie vaue
oil has hcuse-lust ), 800 No such ruiugus differ
ence IN prices as the paper money men threaten
Ihe discount on our paper money indicates exactly
the worst that could happen 10 general prices In |
1907 paper money was (say) i per cen. below spe-
Gle. The specie value Of labor If quoted in paper
q dollar was then IS cents. Aud if the paper
money had al been burnt up la a night, tie specie
value OF labor next morning would still have been
IS cents. IL our paper money were now all burnt
up to night, the specie value oil labor If worth 10.
day one dollar IN paper. would be to morrow morn
ing Just half cent less than a dollar
Ii is clear enough that after the extinction of
bauk-notes, there would be just as much specie rs
before-no less and that there wouId bee iYsr os
much labor as before-no more. There would he
just the same quantity Of wheat, house farms
ships as before-no more. Their relative ouaDfi-
lies being unchanged, why should the restiye value
OF these things and specie measured each by the
other, be in any degree changed!
Then why not restore bankingto lls legitimate
duty-the looming Of money and give the people
specie currency! Why should not our bank cease
10 be the great borrowers aud disorders OF capital,
as they have been of late, and become What they
should and n theory profess to belts providera,
me benehcent agencies by which labor Is honestly
N 'rrled to capital and made prolific?
FUNNY CoETRETEMPs.--Al The Iate Agricultural
fair at Peoria, the Hon. Stephen A Douglas heard
his name vociferOusly called from the Judges stand.
SuDpOsl probably that he was cal al Y,pop l