Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1864-01-08
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nation? Is Anere not dearth ot :h""e cor"
m,Iit:rs Winch, arr HE ,,rulncts ii 'ndua:t!
prur.r ? 4u.h that it cnn compare Win '''e
3ea,,,, Il t,Tas., in !. long hsleag"ered city,
an, ...,.,,,, ,,i The rise IN prices ii to tha;
,,n.l.,;,,l ..c.rr;tv cf manufactured goods.
We add TIA. combined effect Of buying gold for
boarding. Cor prisoners, for the purchase ii
steamers. Or !or the purpose of leaving the
country a!:oscthec-if, above oil, We take
into account! the Slaw and baleful influence OF!
the cr,akers. as we'll ~ the sor,li1 hut ins'n-
nru. fears Of the Mcn who have grown s"r'ct'
the. thew are both surprised ut &nd afraid vi
thcir own wealth. we will find what uePrechi-
ton means: it means scarcity "t GOODS, self
| i3h spsculation, alarm and ,n'sarprehenelons
ell, evils for which there is remedy. Pro
Iuction can gradually chunge scarcity into q
suficiency; the selfish speculation Of buying
up gold to ran away with may lie checked by
| legislation slarm and, msapprchensions soon
vanish before clear statement Of facts Let
| us remember that hlockadcd. III 10 say better.
| belcnsuered, us We are, a gold currency would
NOT make our lot much better. HAD "e as
much gold M wa have paper aud as few
commodities as we find in Cur maTkstS, our
! prices would not materially differ.
|. may be objected that redundancy o. cur
rency, even 10 gold, is an evil, and that an
equal redundancy in paper is worse stills FROM
which we understand that whilst it '1pre-
tended by sGme that ,,ls ,facto our currency
not being convertible in gold is she cause Of
i,s depreciation, others pretend that redun"
1aoey il the cause Of it. 1t would he absurd
on our par. to deny that there is good deal
OF currency in the market. but We beg leave
| to say that it is rot actually so redundant as
naked figures make it appear. l. rs trne
that two or three times less currency in gold
or the equivalent of gold, would he amply
sufficient to carry on all the business Of the
country in ordinary times, md under tn"
normal law Of trade, which. is credit: it
ceases 10 he 20. however, when business IS
carried ou upon quito II different principle,
namely cash. and that he absence o! per-
sou,l notcs bills and rrlrrrn! accounts make
the whole trade OF thiI county fall uiricr the
laws of retail trade, which require SUM Of
money, Tor every days transactions, almost
equal to the amount Of thcce transactions
| themselves. Who can then deny that, under
| such circumstances, the redundancy of our
| currency is not what it appears. or is pre-
tended to be? Who will give us tho true
| amour. Of currency up to which VIC can safely
| 90. and where we should prudently stpp: -
We do not think that any person IL possessed
of the data required to answer that question;
| we can only speculate. But. in toe absence
| Of n solution. where is the necessity Of rreRa-
turely deciding the question agnins, ourselves
and pronouncing our currency deprecated,
redundant, and thereby crying it down. We 50
further, and blink that although We may know
To "a cent the millions that we're issued. there
is no man possessed Of the information &c.
..cssary for him tu toll Us, 10 lniliion, how
much Of those issues is outstanding. The
usual law % wear and tear, for bank notes,
will not work right here F.: the material Of the
u ties. the circumstances, and the men, are not
tue same rs IN ordinary timcs--and al! those
conditions, as they arc now, teEd towards an
unf recedentcd per centasc Of wear AID tear
However, let it not be understood that we
ask for more treasury notes. All tina: we pre-
tend to do, is TO take All impartial view cf the
present condition Of the currency question,
andcavorins to discover what is the trne evil
and where that evil is. Il may happen that
tho evil is neither what nnr where it was eI-
pectcl to be. Let u, have a. much confidence
in our currency as the circumstances will war
rant, ..nd, ut the same time tha; we look 70 u
better state of things, we ahould take the past
as a lrasu,i.--nOt ae q curse-iD order that we
DIould avoid undue expectations Of COCO, and
inordinate fears Of evil. TO uphold our cur.
rcncy BY all means, instead of crying it down,
might prove as good policy as any; provided,
cur zeal does not stop there, and we keep an
eye open towards production and taxation
We call for confidence" and deprecate the
unqualified use of the word depreciation"