The emigrant aid journal of Minnesota. [volume] (Nininger City, Minn. Terr. [i.e. Minn.]) 1856-1858, 1858-03-03

glad to corresp, nd with those ~ho desire to avail them
selves of our columns.
Town Orders.
The world is constantly finding some kind Of sub
stituts for money. Gold and silver are duplicated
in all imaginable styles. Now it is the bank note, r.
deemsble in specie on presentation q: the point Of dis
.ribation now the State Bond payable at some future
period, and supported by the faith Of the State in the
meantime: again in . lesser sphere, the City, OF Town,
Or County Orders, drawn cstentimes on an empty Treas
ury and negotiable on the public faith in a future income
TO tha: Treasury. Il is said the systena Of paper money!
under which coguomea all these different issues may be
classed, originated in the necessities OF 4 certain Spanish
king, who, being besieged in a walled town, and run
ming shor, Of gold and silver With which TO purchase
provisions for his troops from the townspeople, prepared
suEdry pieces Of paper, marked on each a certain de-
nomination., and accompanying them with a public
promise of future redemption, they were readily accept
ed b.. the citizens in payment for whatever they had
fer sale. Theoretically, and in the abstract, we do not
see why any sort Of currency, whether the sron plates
Of the iacedamonians, the courirs Of the Africans, or
che cosored bea's Of the Americans, once universally
recognized as indicative Of value, should not become 70
all practical purposes, within the range Of their circu.
lation. valuable. During the crisis the banks o. New
York City suspended specie payments, their securities
deposited with the State Comptroller could no. De made
available in money, their notes would not yield drNtox,
yet they circulated readily at per,-nay more, we're in
demand-nos sLa: they could be made che means fi the
obtaining Of specie--for they could not, but because
.hey were the recognized representatives Of undoubted
value. The same thing occurred with the banks of ILL.,
aois and Wisconsin, the people seeing in their notes,
not the mere paper and priuh@g of which they were
made, but the reference they contained to y mass of col
lateral securities deposited with the State officer, did not
seek to turn those securities into gold and silver, but
passed the notes from hand to hand as readily as they
would specie.
These reflections are called up by the anticipated issue
Of Town Orders in this place. They will be put forth
temporarily and be used ia those improvements Of the
:oun which it is considered wise to make as early in the
spring as possible. 1t is expected that by the lst Of
June next, the whole of the taxation fund Of the town,
will, under a rigid system of collection, be in the Town
Treasury. Hence the Town Orders will be in circula.
sion between this time and the first of June, a period Of
three months. Let US LOOK upon them in one or two
lights First, as to their security. Of this there eau
De no question, the whole of the property Of Niuinger
City and its Additions, With all the improvements made
thereon, amounting in all 20 nearly q million dollars
will be holden for them. The yearly issue Of Orders
probably will not exceed FIVE thousand dollars-of this
it is highly probable not more than half will be in cir.
culatien at any one time hence the holder Of a Town
Order Cor One Dollar will have for it Five Hundred
Dollars worth Of undoubted real estate security, consist.
ing Of lots, residences, stores, mills, &c. It, then, az
re have shown, the bank notes Of Illinois, Wisconsin,
OF New York, were deem d secure, where the amour: of
collateral! was no more than the. amount of issue, how
much more safe must our Town Orders be thought
where the security is Eve hundred times that Of the
issue.
Let US look next a: the question Of negotiability. The
Srst point, security, having been dete, mined, would,
one might suppose, determine the question Of negotia.
sility. Not so, however. We are not q self Independent
communicative depend on an external world for our
aupp!Ies OF groceries, dry goods, hardware, provisions,
DC, and we must offer to that external world a currency
they can understand. Outside Of Nininger our Town
Orders would be comparatively worthless az We produce
nothing bat labor, We must resort to the stores for all
those supplies which constitute the ascessaries or the
Injuries Of life, and the stores must, in return, draw
those supplies from abroad, and must pay for them in
some currency universally recognized. 1t Is not too
much TO say that four 6fths of all the money set aaoat
in Nin'nger finds it's way in a few days into the stores.
To preserve, therefore, the par negosiabiity Of our Ord
eTs, We must preserve their credit with the stores, and
TO do this, re mus: afford the storekeepers some n,eans
OF farming them into cash within a reasonable time.
How is this to bs effected :? We understand that it il
the intention Of the Town Council to put up for imme.
date sale all such properties for which the taxes are not
paid by the lst Of juno next. No delay will be given
after that time. This course will either procure the tax
before the LIST Of June. from the owners Of the property.
or soon after that period from the sale Of the property.
Under a rigid enforcement Of such an ordinance The
money must b. forthcoming. Here then are the means
by which the Town Orders are to be made convertible
into gold and silver or bank notes. Suppose all the
property holders defer the payment Of their taxes to the
last moment-to the LIST of June--even in that case the
orders will have less than an average Of two months to
ran and what storekeeper is there that would not sell
70 a safe custorne! on so short q credit when he is sure
OF obtaining his money at the end Of the time, and is,
IN the meantime, getting one per cent per mo'th o." the
dot! b2s this Is an extreme Gaze. There will no doubt
Be some who will defer The payment Of their taxes to
tie last moment, bEt again there will be others who vii!
Pay up as soon az their notices are served on them, and
s''l others Who will pay from time to time, between the
dafe ot aoi'ee aad the LIST OF June. Hence money will
constantly De coming into the treasury, and as constantly
the Town Orders will be liquidated-for they will he 40
drawn as to be payable out Of the FIRST moueys in tho
treasury.
But this is not all. Besides their safe character and
sae'r nrgos'sbilisy at the stores, there is a striking Pc.
cu''srity about an issue Of this sort. While the town
MI eve y: As!dsss ss these Psaess shs 'vsees ~ t9slb