Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-12-29

As the demand for specie comes from
foreign bankers, the amount Withdrawn in
specie paying times is chiefly from a few
banks where the accounts of these foreign
houses are kept. If the country had been
on a specie basis last May, the banks would
have been compelled to suspend before May
Goth from sheer inability to pay the $l8,-
100000 of specie realized from the sale of
European fve-twenty bonds in New York,
and exported in the fortnight preceding
May 90. Before suspending, the banks,
however, as usual, would have called in
their loans to an extent which would have
knocked down the prices Of stocks at least
30 per cent, and government bonds, being
quoted in gold, would have been still lower
than they were last June, when gold was
selling at 169. The following table will
show the prices of government bonds in
greenbacks and gold in New York before
the Bank of England turned its "screw"
upon American credit by advancing it's
rates of discount to enforce fve-twenty
bonds being shipped to New York and sold
here for the gold which Europe wanted
On May 1s, 1866, the prices were:
Greenback Gold Price Of
price, price. gold.
len forty bOnds..,..--,.... 50 "a 100
Five-twenty bOnds......lOl5s 7SH
After the Bank of England had forced
us to ship $85,OOO,OOO of specie, the prices
of government bonds and gold on June Is,
1866, were:
Greenback Gold Price Of
Ten forty bOnds............ o. 554s l69
Five-twenty bonds.......lO2l4 5914
The preceding tables show that while
our lawful money is on an irredeemable
paper money basis, the Bank of England's
measures do not affect the greenbacll prices
at all, but only the prices in gold. The
greenback prices remain about the same.
but the geld prices of Ege-twenty bonds fell
from 7St on May 16 to 594 in June, being
a decline of about 80 per cent. in gold. If
we assume our Understanding government
debt in round numbers at $2,000000,000,
currency, the preceding comparisons show
that the Bank of England possessed and
exercised the power, last May and June, of
knocking down the market value of our
government bonds from about 81 ,600,0 00,-
900, in gold, to about 81, 200, 000, 000-a re-
duction of S400,0OO,O0O in gold, in the
space of six weeks Fortunately for the
government, banking and commercial in
terests of the United States, our lawful
money was not then redeemable in specie,
but gold was then a commodity, like cot
ton, which we produced and held for sale
to foreigners. The export and purchase of
$50, 100000 of gold from May 10 to June
% of this year acted on the New York
money market precisely the same as if we
had exported and sold for cash to foreign
ers S36000,000 of cotton, or any other
America produce. The sale and export
of the gold commodity, therefore, produced
increased ease IN our money market last May
and June, by making the greenbaek bal
ances of the foreign bankers and Others the
property of American citizens, who owned
the gold which foreigners had bought, paid
for in cash, and exported.
The remedy for this power for evil, which
we have placed in the hands of Europe to
drain us Of eur specie whenever its necessi-
ties may require, is the passage by Con-
gress of law providing for the exchange
of 4 similar amount of bonds, principal and
interest payable in Europe, and in the law
full currency of the countries where the
bonds are made payable
The receipts of hogs at Cincinnati up to
the 9th inst. foot up 244,OlO against 1884,
934 at the same time last year.
The following will probably interest par
ties in the provision trade
HEApQU1RFRRs DKPARTNFET OF TENsEssRE,
OFFICE CHIEF COENIssARY OF SUBsIsFESCE,
LOUISVILLE, Ky, Dec. q, ls33.-DemOcratO Office.
Louisville, hy.-sents' Inc following bids
sistenee stores, By Brevet Colonel W. P. Small,
Chief Commissary department Of the Tennessee
a. +. CLARK, Louisville, KY, 100 bbis. new corn
meal, ct Sc rs per bbl 100 bbls. old corn meal at
S. per Dbl.
GeigeF & Robinson, Louisville, Ky, 30 bbls Of
old corn meal at 81 s. per bbl.
c. g. Smith. Louisville. Ky, 20 bbls dried ap-
pies at csc per ID.
r. Van Seggern, Louisville, Ky, 90 bbls. old
corn meal az 81 Is per Dbl.
Clark & WillE. Louisville, KY, for amount Of
Irish potatoes required during the months Of De-
cember, 1855, aud January, 1867, az sc per h..
and for amount Of onions required. during the
sane months, at &c per h.
The above bids were all rejected on account Of
prices being too high
Very respectfully, W p SMALL
Brevet Col and G. s. C "A