Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-12-15
MR.. MccULLoCH's REPORT.

GULLOcH, the Comptr0iler Oh the currency. ~
will be seen from his RESUME that during the past
year two hundred and eighty-two new National
Banks hsve been organized, and one hundred and
sixty eight State Banks changed into National ones
The whole number Of National Banks now in ex-
istence Is FIVE hundred and eighty-four.
We have before had occasion to refer with COM
.Inendstion to some Of the financial opinions and
recommendations Of Mr. McCulloch. He writes
like man of candor and good sense rarely suffer-
ing his judgment to be misled by the fctions and
decisions with which many persons seem to think
it patriotic to entertain the public mind in the pre-
sent crisis, by closing their eyes to the existence Of
facts and their understanding to the admission OF
truths which are not pleasant to contemplate
It will be seen that Mr. McCulooh does not lend
the weight of his name and authority to the opin-
ION Of the President in his message that we are
I" not in a process of exhaustion but are gain
ing strength, and may, if need be, maintain the
contest indefinitely" The Comptroller's language
under this head is as follows:
i" When money plenty and fortunes are being rapidly
acquired the country always afeversh and unhealthy
state This 10 especially true at the present time Inc
enormous expenditures of the Government aud the great
advance in prices aimee the commencement OF the war,
have made many suddenly rich and upon fortunes
suddenly acquired have followed reckless expenditures
extravaganza waste Speculation has taken tho place OF
sober and perHeverng industry and thousands are dsdsa
soh the notion that The psd OF tbs nation ls bslng an
creased bv the increase Of its Indebtedness"
The President seems to be one Of the thousands
laboring under this delusion," for he strives to
impress on the minds of the people Eve quote from
his message the great advantage Of citizens be.
ing creditors as well as debtors with relation to
the public debt" He adds, "men readily per-
eeive that they cannot be much oppressed by
debt which they owe to themselves"
Mr. MeCulloch, while not Disgusting from him
den which the nation is assuming in the struggle
with an armed sedition, expresses the hope and
belief that "a national bank note currency will be
one Of the compensations for the heavy debt which
has been incurred in the terrible contest in which
the nation has been involved" Ii it can be every
where introduced, as now seems probable, without
creating dangerous bank note initiation, he thinks
it will prove to be compensation which more than
any thing else will reconcile the people to the bur-
dens the war must necessarily impose upon them.
Entertaining the opinion that the currency of
the country is already too much expanded, Mr..
McCulloch has not sought to swell the volume of
our paper money through the agency Of the Ma
tionsl Banks, and he thinks that all just apprehen-
sions on this score have been much lessened by the
recent action of many State Banks in svailng them
selves of the benefits Of the national currency act
In the present expanded state Of our currency it is
obvious to all that the beneficial operation of this
act will be much more surely promoted by the con-
version Of existing banks into national banks than
BY the organization Of new ones as in this way the
national circulation will be introduced with as lit
tie increase Of banking capital as possible.
We are sure that Mr.. McCulloch greatly over
states the proposition he intends to advance when
he AYERS that "hostilsty 10 The Government has
been as decidedly manifested in the effort that has
been made in the commercial metropolis of the ma
ton to depreciate the currency as it has been by
the enemy In the field" For he Immediately sub
Joins that "it is unquestionably true that the
abundance of money has facilitated the operations
against the credit Of the Government, and that
more stringent market would have tended to check
and restrain them" The depreciation Of the cur
Sency is the compound result OF imitation in its
volume and of insecurity in its basis, If there
we're NO imitation the sense Of insecurity might not
be seriously felt If there were no insecurity
that is, if every paper dollar could at any moment
be exchanged for gold dollar the initiation might
lead to an enhancement of prices, but the depre
citation of the currency would be at an end.
We entirely concur with Mr. McCulloch in the
opinion that the high price of coin in "green-
backs is not to be altogether or even chiefly attri
buted to the plethora of the latter The fuc-
tuations in the premium commanded by gold,
while the volume of the currency has remained
much the same, serve to demonstrate the truth Of
the proposition But when Mr.. McCulloch seeks
to find the explanation of these fluctuations rather
in casual and artificial than in natural and ,neyi
table causes, he seems to reason with less than his
usual perspicacity. The idea that "hostility to
the Government has any thing more to do with
the high premium on gold to-day than the lower
premium it may command tomorrow is purely
fgment Of the imagination Mr. McCuloch seems
to be perfectly aware Of this fact though he writes
in the popular vein on the subject, for he else
where says in his report that off it were generally
believed that the war would be ended by the first
Of January gold would fall before that time to