The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-09-05
.nn.v MORNING .stPTKsB3R s, lse
Tn, FRENCH AssIeNArs.--"History

Tur FRENCH AssIeNATs. History, ;"
rs Lord Bolingbroke, "is philosophy
,~.ehing by example" Unfortunately,
,.x men are philosophers, and still fewer
s;ll be taught wisdom by example. orby
,Dything else short of actual experience
his the duty, nevertheless, of all indie
,snaent journalists, when the country is
= crisis TO refresh the memories of
s.s.esmen or at least the mass, whose
united thoughts constitute what is called
,,ul.l,c opinion, by presenting parallel ey
rsmules drawn from the pages Of history.
n other words, it is their duty to point
-, the beacon, and leave it to others to
I he'd the warning, or to carry the ship
among the breakers, as may best suit
,brir IDEAS Of expediency.
We shall .endeavor in this article Ia
yi,e short history of the rise, progress,
snd catastrophe Of the paper issued by
the several revolutionary Governments OF
France, between the years 1890 and 1897,
.s illustrating more completely than any
other event in history the dangers of an
inflated currency, and the absolute ne
r.ssi,y of finding some means to reduce
the volume when it has become thus in
asted under pain Of absolute and ire
uievable national bankruptcy. Three
most important papers, have been lately
published by officers high in the faver OF
ibe Government and the estimation Of
the country, upon the subject of our
financial condition We allude of course
to the letters of Mr.. Memminger to Mr.
Hunter, and the statement Of Mr.. Tyler,
Register of the Treasury. Mr.. Mem
minger tells Mr.. Hunter that $lb0, 900, :
100 currency is "a much as the whole
Confederacy on both sides Of the Missis-
sippi can bear, mot as much as it re-
quirss observe, but as much as it can
stand up under } that he has set that
sam afioat in the countries west of the
Mississippi, (that is, he has given them a
currency whose volume is equal to the
opacity of endurance possessed by the
whole Confederacy;) that on this side of
lhe Mississippi the currency is $500, ,0OO,- :
$50 and fraction, being double as much
as the whole Confederacy, including the
States west of the Mississippi is capable
Of enduring. The whole currency on
both sides Of the Mississippi he there
6re estimates at 1852, 900, 900. Mr..
TYLER makes a larger estimate than
Nj. Memminger, stating the amount
Of Treasury notes heretofore issued at
1924 900, 900, and the outstanding cir.
culation at $497, 900, 900, after deduct
iOg $l26, 900, 600, which have been
funded, and about million more which
have been cancelled. This discrepancy
has no bearing whatever upon our pur-
pose, which is to show, from the exam
pie of another country, what must he
the consequence if some means, more
stringent than any which have yet been
applied, be not adopted to retire the SUI
perllaous portion Of this enormous cir
calation.
The debt of France in 1857 was about
three milliards of francs, or about $780,
100000. The deplorable state of the
finances, and the inability of the Govern
ment to pay the interest of this debt oc-
casoned the assembling Of the Tiers Etat,
and the meeting of that body was the
commencement Of the revolution. In
April 1890, the Government so far from
having extinguished any of the debt, had
increased it by $50, 900, 900 francs; that
is, about $3.50, 100000. In casting about
for means, Talleyrand, himself rene
gAde priest, proposed to take into posses
sion the property Of the church, which
constituted nearly half the real estate OF
the kingdom In spite of violent opposi
ton this measure was carried, the inn
mediate sale of church property to the
amount Of 400, 900, 900 francs, or $780,,
$4,000, was ordered for the benefit of
the State and the further conduct of the
affair turned over to the municipalities,
who had become the purchasers in the
frst instance. Not doubling that they
shptNl be able to meet their engagements
BY means of secondary sale, the munich
pahty of Paris issued prOmissory notes
iOa large amount, and all the other mu-
inequalities followed their example, SO
that the whole amount Of the notes thus
issued soon reached the value of the whole
amount Of property eonfiscatcd. When
the secondary sales took place, they were
entirely disappointed in the results, and
the Government took the burden off their
shoulders by issuing its own promissory
notes, and with them taking up the notes
ol the municipalities. Such was the
origin of the Assignats. They at first
ooFe an interest Of four per cent, but in
subsequent issues lost that feature. For
ashort time, they passed at par with coin;
pu! the Convention, which by this time
had succeeded to the power Of its prede
cessors the Constituent and National AS
sssmblles, finding it impossible to raise
uie requisite sums by the sales Of church
Property, issued fresh patches, which
caused an immediate depreciation. Com
hiod!tea, of course, rose with the de-
preeiatlon of the paper Labor, which
could before the revolution be pro-
cured Tor single franc, now cost
"h The farmers, of course. charged
tsii times as much for their pro-
uucts, and the butchers and bakers rose
!" proportion. This caused furious
eolAihotion in Paris, the people attrihr
u'l''g to specplators and forestallers the
natural and inevitable consequences Of a
uepreclated currency. To remedy the
WI The Convention passed law that
ue butchers and bakers should sell at
o't old prices that is, should sell their
eo'hinoditles at the same rate that they
'" were Sold when they had to give only
vi'etenth Of the existing prices for them