Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-06-22
Cotton Currencv.

From all parts of the Confederacy come
| such accounts of the crops as indicate that
the land will be blessed with almost IN pre-
cedented Righteousness at harvest time. Not
one section seems an exception, bat from all
| quarters come the notes OF the husbandman e
| JOY over the promise of bis fields. From
Texas to the contested fields of Virginia like
reports OF glad prospects come. The whole
country will undoubtedly yield vast sur
plus of cereals. and the abundance of grain
will enable vast increase OF the produc-
tim of meats. We had depended so much
upon the North for supplies OF breadstufs
and meatstuffs that it was thought by our
enemies we could be starved. But by the
blessing of heaven GROWING our exertions,
We have already assurance chat in a single
season we shall have secured material in
dependence almost as important as the poll
teal Independence for which we all struggle.
While our freemen are working on the fields
of battle, our laborers are working for the
cause in the fields of grain and cotton and
doubtless the success of the former will be
as entire as there is every reason to believe
that of the latter will be.
There will be abundance of the necessa-
ries of life in the land, despite blockade
which may enclose US on all sides. But IN
less sale can be made of our cotton crop
there will be great endorsements. We can
get along very well without supplies of the
various foreign commodities which we have
heretofore used merely because we could get
them-and not because they were essentials
because they were for sale and We had money
to buy them-and not because we were obli-
ged to have them. We want our cotton crop
in money now-we want the sinews of war
in these war times. II we cannot ship 1t
next fall, as we have little doubt that we
will, we must convert it into money in some
other way. In California the fields yield
gold in the South they yield cotton. The
gold is coined and becomes currency at once.
So at once we may coin cotton and make it
currency. The producer of cotton may at
once have in hand its value-haVe it as readi-
ly and as really as if British dealer were
to pay hin down the price in gold.
With this cotton currency he may purchase
all that he could with gold, for it would be
money. The government of the Confederacy
asks for cotton loans, proposing to give In
exchange for amounts OF planters receipts
from sales of cotton its eight per cent. bonds.
Many planters are subscribing large proper
tions of their crops, the proceeds of which
are to so 60 to government in exchange for
its paper. We would willingly see the most
of the crop go into possession of the govern
ment on this plan. But supposing such i'm
probability as the blockade being continued,
in which case the planter would find no
sale for his cotton, or only at ruinous rates,
and the government could not realize these
loan returns. In that emergency the resort
for the coming, the conversion of the crop
into money, would be to put a cotton cur
rency into circulation, and We might still
laugh at the blockade. To effect this the
government would only have to become the
direct purchaser of the staple, and begin do
ing q mammoth banking business on the
sound basis of value represented by cotton
Issuing notes in payment for each bale which
might be offered to it for purchase, and
holding it as the equivalent of specie basis
of, and security for, the par value of its cur
rency. No banking Institution was ever yet
established on SO sound and reliable basis
of impregnable solvency.
'Cotton is money" indeed but not curren-
cy, and this eXpedient would temporarily
change it into currency-a currency of which
it would be the convertible basis, aud which
the government would redeem dollar for dol
lar when it made sale. The effect of putting
this new currency, this legal tender, in move
ment would be at once the addition of so much
actual money to circulation in the country
creating so much money thus relieving the
money market" and stimulating all branch
es of Industry aud enterprise =, making the
nation rich, and enabling il to contribute all
the funds that the government would require
for wsgiBg the WARRIOR in waging it the
money Is spent in the country, and govern
ment receipts and government disbursements
could be in its own money, the cotton cur
rency. The planters who are now subscrib-
ing cotton loans. to be realized by the gov
ernmsnt IN the manner arranged, would still
make over the amount pledged by them but
instead of proceeds of sales made by then
being handed over to the government, It would
buy their cotton, pay for it in its cotton cur
rency, less the amount of their subscription
for which sum they would receive, as in the
other case, interest bonds, the amount of
which bonds the government would further
issue in cotton currency, retained as the
planters loan subscription, and to be used
for its own purposes.--Moblls AdUsrtissr.