The New York herald., 1862-01-23


and second every effort to provide for the future
defence of the country. 1t is sincerely to be
hoped, however, that foreign governments will
draw back from the ruinous policy upon which
they have lately entered, and consider the supe-
rior advantages that may be derived from peace.
Financial Prospects OF the Republic
Fraternization OF the Secession and
Abolition Press.
The old proverb, that extremes meet, Is sim
gularly illustrated in the case of the rebellious
journals of the South and the abolition journals
of the North, particularly of this city, which
agree in depreciating the credit of the federal
government and in drawing alarming pictures
OF future bankruptcy and ruin. On Monday
last we published two articles from the Rich
mond ESaminer-one giving glowing account
of the aourishing monetary and financial con-
dition of the South, and the other exhibiting
dismal view Of the dilapidation of the
financial and commercial status of the North
According to this we'll informed and veracious
journal, while the Southern banks are under
the control of the people and the rebel govern
ment, who would squelch them if they did not
receive their Confederate currency at par, the
Northern banks are too powerful for the govern
ment and they will deprecate its currency, and
moreover so curtail the amount of their loans to
the merchants as to produce general bank
ruptcy. About this we shall see.
Yesterday we published two articles from
two other rebel journals-one of them the
Richmond Whig and the other the Mont
gomery Advertiser-substantiall expressing
the same opinions. The Virginia journal ar
rives at the conclusion that tho new national
currency about being issued, which it calls ''an
irredeemable circulation in paper PROMISES
will be deprecated from twenty-five to forty per
cent; and when another and another batch of
the Continental paper money in the Revolution,
until they become worthless" The Alabama
paper holds that "the time is not far distant
when the North, stripped of her commerce and
ruined credit, will sink to the rank of fourth
or fifth rate Power"
This is exactly the picture presented by the
abolition journals of New York, which from the
beginning have played into the hands of the
secessionists and against the cause Of the Union.
They have compared the securities about to be
issued by the government to the paper money
of the Continental Congress and the French
assignats the origin of which one of these jour-
nails ignorantly ascribes to John Law, who was
dead long before the French Revolution, at
which time the assignats were first issued by
the Constituent Assembly, who based them on
the forfeited lands of the clergy, the crown, and
the emigrants or royalists who had left the
country on account of their adhesion to the
King.
Now, there ia no resemblance between the
money which it is proposed to issue in the pre-
sent crisis and that issued either by the Ameri-
can Congress in the Revolutionary war or by
the heads of the French Revolution. At first the
French assignats bore interest by the day; but
afterwards they were issued without interest,
and in such vast numbers as to become ruin
ously deprecated, selling at one-seventh, then
at one-tenth of their nominal value, and finally
losing all value, and being no better than waste
paper. There was no taxation to pay the in
terest and redeem the principal. To show how
that would have prevented the depreciation, we
may refer to the fact that even after this money
had already been greatly deprecated it was re-
stored to its par value, for time, by taxation
In August, 1898, there were in circulation three
thousand seven hundred and seventy-six mil
lions Of assignats, and by forced loan of one
thousand millions, and by the collection of a
years taxes, this amount was subsequently re-
duced to less than two-thirds The confidence,
moreover, inspired by the recent successes of
the republic against its foreign and domestic
enemies tended to increase the value of the Sc
curities on which the paper money ultimately
reposed; so that towards the end Of 1898 the
assignats were at par The taxation system,
however, was not persevered in, and hence the
terrible results. The same is true of the paper
money issued by the Continental Congress in
the time of our own Revolution. It was not sup
ported by taxation. Hence it became as worth
less as the French assignats.
The financial scheme now proposed l.
essentially different. 1t is based on taxa
ton. The money is to be convertible
into bonds, the principal of which, at
given time, is to be paid by taxa
ton, and also the interest every half year. We
oiS q" WY uhSAShs PVoisioh ioh citucI tuc
revolutionary colonies or France. Both were
poor. The population and resources Of the
colonies were too small to bear much taxation.
The French people had been beggared by their
kings, mobiles and clergy, and they had not the
means of paying heavy taxes. On the contrary,
we are wealthy nation, whose resources are
fresh, vast and unimpaired Taxation to the
amount required will scarcely be felt, if it is
only judiciously regulated. The plan proposed
is after the model of the British Exchequer bills,
which have been found to work 30 well.
Let Congress, therefore, authorize the issue
of two hundred and fifty millions of paper
money, instead Of one hundred and fifty mil
lions, to be convertible at the pleasure Of the
holder into United States redeemable bonds,
bearing six per cent interest At the same time