, 1860-12-10
TIE CURRENCY QUESTION,

in times Of great financial difficulty al
most every !" IN has some infnllible remedy
to propose which, if fadoptcd, will either re-
licve at oncc all existing arrangements OF, at
thc very least, forever prevent their recur-
renee. To day tSaturday,) exchange on New
York is worth from 8 to 10pcr cent, undtLe
large and Intelligent audience which as-
aemb.cd ut Bryan Hall On Friday evening
very unanimously resolved that this unfor-
tuaate state Of affairs was entirely attribu-
table to the defect in our present Banking
system, and that an amendment 10 the law
which should require every Bankto redeem
its circulation in gold at Springfield or Chi
cago at one per cent discount, would edeo-
1nally prevent :: recurrence Of any such
state Of things in tho future. a. no man
will for moment claim that such an
amendment, 1fin force now, would hare
any other effect than to compel every Bank
TO 70 into liquidation, and that therefore
VIC can derive no immediate relief ftom the
adoption Of this measurc-would it not be
we'll to consider very careful II the effect Of
this one per cent. law upon our currency, in
ordinary timcs Of financial prosperity be-
fore nc 200 hastily commit ourselves to such
policy: At present one per cent discount
may work very well; but as a permanent
rule, any rate beyond the actual cost to re-
mote Banks Of redcer,ing their Bills ut any
place other than their counter, must prove
lcrnic:ons The N. T., law provides only
for this under the present system They
first tricl the experiment Of u higher rate,
and after experiencing its evils abandoned
it, and now allow Banks not located at the
points Of rcdemptio- only rate sufficient
to pay them for the expenses incurred un-
der tue system Of central redemption.
Let US ask, then, the business men Of our
State why il is that Illinois shall be con-
PEELED to use deprcciatcd currency for nil
time to come instead Of havi3g what every
prosperous country must hare either gold
slnds;lyer ori actual equivalent There arc
Just two conditions TINT arc absolutely es-
scnt;al to sound and reliable paper cur
rcncy, and without which no system can
long continue and not produce financial
difficulty. {1st) The Bank Note which is
Issued rs subsiit lie for specie must be
payable on desRand, without unnecessary cos,
or delay, In gold or silver. {ed.) Thc
amount Of Bank Notes in circulation must
no. exceed the amount Of gold and silver
that would be used in u country if no pa
per money was in circulation. Whenever
the paper mo7ey Of q country exceeds the
amount wc have just indicated, then the ex-
c.ss must be redeemed in gold aud export.
ed to pay OUT debtor balances, TO simply
buy with his currency gold or bills Of ex
change at one per cent. and still lcave th.
cxcess in circulation. will not relieve us
and unless tic surplus amount is actual,
redeemed and retired, the whole Of our cur
rency will be deprecated in value In pro
portion TO its excess over and above tht
Legitimate requirements of the country.
There arc two systems Of banking: ON
where specie Is the basis; and the othc
where government securities form th'
basis. Th- first Is better calculated to ii
ford facilities and accommodation to busi
ness snen; tae second to secure the bill
holder from loss. Either, in times Of grea
commercial and financial difficulty, is ottc1
wholly inefficient and insecure. The banl
wita specie for Lis basis Issues two or thre
: dollars for every dollar Of its spcc:ecap
and loans out the money to the busincs
men and Spectators to operate upon tn
!; excess Of itsfssues, then, beyond it's ereci'
can only be redeemed BY the collection {
its bills receivable; md when q finnnci.
- crlais or panic occurs and the borr,owe
cannot .pay, the banks must either fail c
suspend specie payment; and suspension
are now the common resort Of the spec
banks as tie only means Of saving then
selves and tbs community from bankrup
g. ~'..
The bank that is organized upon stoc
basis, when legittuately carried on ca
only discount exclusive Of its dc:,osi:
..A'xal: 90 pc: cent Of its actual capitnl, .
50 ," .1"inr cc.:,. is absorbed i, t!'r lnargi
uiol J. 3.'-:i:s, r :lc suck l,anis'r, hur
:: eysn etAsa viii " asgsaal eapltas say {