Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-06-16

for a sound currency for the country. And
by this mean convertible currency so far as
IL consists Of paper Mere Government paper,
not payable otherwise than by being received for
taxes. has pretense re called a currency
After all that can be said about il, such paper Is
mere paper money. IL is nothing but bills of
credit. IL always has been, and always will be,
deprecated. Sir. We want specie. and we want
paper Of Hnioersaf credit, and which is convert
bic into specie at the viii Of the holder That
system Of currency. the experience OF the world.
and our own experience. have both fully ap-
proved"
Says Mr.. CRAWFORD, in his report, in 1870: by
the term Currency the issue Of paper BY Gov
eminent, a financial resource, is excluded"
Funding Systems. p. 743.
But while bills of credit will furnish
sound currency Themselves they tend to exclude
such a currency, viz. coin. from circulation, and
TO drive il from the country As such paper will
not circulate in foreign countries. the importer,
when he has received bis balances here in that
medium. is compelled to 60 the banks and ex
change il for coin, which he takes abroad with
him; and. at present as our main produce exports
are cut of, their place must be supplied by spe
i ce: and as the banks are not required to retain
specie for the redemption of their own paper, if
I the bills OF credit are legal tender, they can
and will dispose of their entire stock as it will
command a premium over paper. and. ere long.
this country will be left with nothing but pore
paper medium, without the basis of dollar of
specie. To illustrate: The great bulk of our
produce-exports, in years past, have consisted OF
cotton, tobacco and rice. The report Of the Sec
rotary of the Treasury for 1861, shows that the
value of cotton. tobacco and rice exported IN that
year exceeded two hundred and ter millions of
dollars We are now deprived of these articles
of export, and the vacuum must be filled by
COIN or commerce be in proportion diminished
The cotton crop of last year, it would seem, is
to be burned, and il is scarcely possible that a
crop should be raised this year-(the loss of two
cotton crops in time of peace would revolutionize
I the commercial aud financial word)-a thus,
it would seem to be inevitable that foreign de
mand will exist that must drain the entire specie
from the country. as the counter home demand
for it is removed by the bills of credit if they are
legal tender; and when it is all exhausted, what
will be done thenf
These considerations were wildly in the minds
of the convention that formed, and OF the States
that adopted our present Constitution. They had
before them the then recent history of the issue OF
continental and State bills of credit, and the dsas
trous results thereof to the country, and they de
termined to prevent repetition of the evils. See
the subject most thoroughly discussed in 81 Story
on the Constitution, % edition. commencing at
sec 1858
Hence. the convention not satisfied with
; simply Withholding the power to emit bills from
the Federal Government; because that might not
prevent the evil as the several States would still
possess the power To issue the obnoxious paper
but, in the very next section but one of the Con
sttution, after that refusing powers. that to emit
bills among them, to Congress. it proceeded to
ordan that no State should "emit bills of credit
And this action constituted a part of the entire
effort made by the convention 10 secure "a sound
currency for the of universal commerce. In
the letter of ROGER SHERMAN and OLIVER Ellis
WORTH. delegates in the convention from COnnec-
ticut, to the Legislature of that State they say
"The restraint on the Legislatures of the several
States respecting emitting bills of credit, making
anything but money a tender in payment OF
debts, &c, thought necessary II security to
commerce. in which the Interest of foreigners. as
we'll of the citizens of different States may be
= EIl.,,,s, MI
The above considerations lead TO the conclu-
sion that the act of Congress, making Treasury
notes legal tender is not within the Constitu-
ton of the United States
The UntOn state Convention.