Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-01-05
80 -II'-'- 2 80 90
The STANDARD.
REMARKS OF MR.. HILL,
OF HALIFAX,


Delirered in the House Of Commons Of North Car
olina, against the policy Of Issuing small notes. .
1t will be remembered by the members of the last
Assembly that the discussion of the question of
small notes occupied considerable time and attention
Two years ago the discussion arose upon pro-
position to repeal the laws of The Code upon this
subject and at first so entirely did public sentiment
seem to have changed, that it recalled to my mind
the remark of distinguished writer, "that ideas
which they move like comets appearing and disap-
pearing at certain stated periods"
Up to the year 1880, the Banks in North Carolina,
were not restricted in the denomination of the notes
they issued By that time the people had fully test
ed the experiment of sual bills and feeling its evils
and suffering its losses, they determined to check
their ISSUE and for period of twentysix years, our
policy and legislation were as fixed as flint against
the issue of one and two dollar bills. From 1880
to 1885, no bank was chartered, except the Bank of
Fayetteville (Which was clearly an oversight that
was not expressly prohibited by its charter from
issuing bills of less denomination than three dollars;
but in the last Legislature it seemed for while as if
public sentiment had undergone complete change,
and that the day of small notes had again come
round, for propositions were made to permit their
issue by all the banks, and some portions Of the
restrictive statutes were repealed. 1t would seem
as if we were like the boy, who, when his mother
in answer to his request to visit the Theatre, told
him that nothing but folly and wickedness was to be
seen there replied Z" want to some OF the fol-
" and wckcdncss myself'-for We, though taught
by the experience of the State that small notes arc
an evil, and wrong want to see some OF the evil
and wrong ourselves.
Now sir let us consider some of the arguments
advanced to induce us to abandon the old and settled
policy upon this subject In the first place We were
told, especially by gentlemen from the West, that
they could not get SPECIE and must have these small
notes to carry on the small business TRANSACTIONS OF
their counties Sir, asked then, as ask now, how
did they know that they could not get specie? They
refused to enforce the law which was designed to
substitute coin for paper of small denomination.
They told us that no Solicitor would send BILL no
Grand Jury find a true bill, or Petit Jury convict
man for violation of the Statutes upon the subject.
If they refuse to enforce the law how can they ex-
pect the benefits Judge of the effects ofhe law? So
long as men continue to take shin pasters and bank
rags of course they will get nothing better. you
permit me to pay my debts with brown wrappingpa-
per instead of engraved notes, you will get nothing
but brown wrapping paper So ifinsteadof requiring
banks to furnish money for the convenience and use
of the people, small change, you permit them to
send out engraved notes or promises to pay You Will
get nothing else but promises to pay, and soon be
chin deep in another Noah's food of bank paper.
The reason is the same in both cases. Brown paper
is cheaper than engraved paper, and engraved paper
cheaper than coin money. Let their constituents
refuse to take the substitute, and surely their
products are worth money, money will seek them;
for this is the end and AIM the life and soul of mo-
ncy, to do good service and profitable exchange for
its MASTER and not lie idle in dark vaults and send
out weak and sickly substitutes to do its work
The restrictive laws have acted we'll in my section
of the country. Before their passage you could
scarcely get piece of gold and silver to swear by
and men wondered what had become of all 1.-THE
fl,osr I,ovo
once more been blessed with the sight of the con-
sttutional currency, and the Fayetteville one and
twos have taken TRUST their everlasting flight. Now
sir If the law from noncompliance, worked no good
or harm in the est and confers benefits upon other
sections, why should the last Legislature have dis
turbed it, or why should not this Legislature re-
store it?
There can he no opinion more erroneous than that
of an alleged scarcity Of specie. Nearly every pa
per we open announces the arrival from California
of over million of gold dust while metallic cur
rent flows with equal strength from Australia into
England. When specie is scarce overissue of pa
per makes it So 1t cheapens money, of which it
passes representative, and initiates other products
of labor so that gold and silver is exported in the
place of farm and manufactured products-when
then you attempt to remedy supposed scarcity of
the precious metals by fresh issue of paper, you
increase the evil and aggravate the disease. The
same cry of an insuicicncy of gold and silver and
consequent inconvenience to the people was raised
in Virginia. but coin flowed in to meet all demands,
and the law prohibiting the issue of bills of less de-
nomination than five dollars operated so we'll that
the last Legislature extended the prohibition to sums
less than ten dollars. Says, the Mssissippian, The
experiment of excluding all paper money of a less
denomination than five dollars has succeeded per-
fectly in Mississippi. The measure was wise, and
has been found to be easily enforced 1t was at first
habitually disregardcd, and produced considerable
clamor but its benefits now universally admitted.
The shinplastcrs of other States-that loathsome
vcrmin of currency-wcre scattered broadcast over
the States and when the financial reyulson came the
people were made aware of their deluSion and be-
walled it bitterly.
1.-The experiment at last succeeded. The nuisance
was extirpated Shinplasters took their flight, and
gold and silver-the only currency of the Constitu
tion-have flown in to the extent that small bills
have been banished from circulation"
Mr. Benton, who had given this subject the most
dilgent and laborous attention. computed the amount
of gold and silver in Europe Asia and America in
1882, at about seven thousand millions of dollars,
and declared that he had doubt that this quantity
was sufficient to carry the business of the whole
world Since that time one will dispute the fact,
that the discoveries and production of the precious
metals have kept pace with the growing wants of
trade and commerce. Empires, greater far in wealth
and population than any now existing, have carried
on all the business of private life, and all the affairs
of national government upon gold and silver alone,
and that before the mines of Mexico and Peru were
known or dreamed Of France, great imperial France,
for many years had seen nothing but a miserable
currency of deprecated mandats and assignats
Within year after the consular government refused
to recognize paper for money she recovered specie
circulation. England recovered gold circulation
of hundred Million within four years after the
and two pound five and ten dollar) notes were
suppressed Our own country filled with Spanish
milled dollars, French crowns, doubloons half lois
and guneas as by magic at the conclusion of the
revolutionary war and the suppression of continent
al bills. Said<Mr. Benton three days legislation
on these subjects would turn copious supplies of
gold and silver into the country duse them through
they 60 home at midsummer at finding hard money
| where they left paper" The opinions and reasons