Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-12-28

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decrease IN 42S 1894
Increase in 635774
The New York Worid,states that the sud
den and sharp decline in the price of gold
in New York has arisen from the pressure
of enormous short sales, and adds that il
the whole community takes to selling gold
short, and filling in and closing up as they
go along when profit offers, as they did on
the advent of peace, the necessary result is
a continuance of the decline until some
thing arrests the popular current of sellers,
and turns them into buyers. The gold mar
ket at the present time is on the verge of
the same lunacy to sell that which people
have not got, and could not get if they
all happened to want it suddenly on one
day, which was started by Mr.. McCulloch's
specie-basis speech in March, 1865. The
popular Juror for selling gold in the spring
of 1865 would probably'have brought the
price down TO I05 or ITO if it had not been
arrested and the tide turned by Mr. McCul-
loch's paper money and initiation California
letter, recanting his speeie-basis speech of
about month previous. As one of the
results of the present state of affairs, the
World says: 'The low price of gold is
putting an extra profit into the pockets Of
foreign nations by enabling importers to
buy the gold at $50 for which they have
made the American consumers pay $50 for
the goods they sent to them during the fall.
If the popular current to sell gold runs in
to the same Juror that it did in March and
April, 1866, the decline in the greenback
price ofthe stocks of merchandise of which
gold forms portion of the cost, will bring
losses on our merchants which may produce
failures, and panic which will bankrupt
one-half of the national banks in the coun.
try. These phases of the present govern
ment financial policy, which work perpetu-
ally to the profit of foreign nations at the
expense of the United States, demand the
immediate and serious attention of the Sec.
rotary Of the Treasury and Congress"
The financial situation calls forth good
deal of speculation from the money writer's
for the New York papers. An inquiry into
the circulation of the banks of the country
at different periods in its history will show
that it hes grown with the growth of the
country, and if We were to calculate upon
the same rate of increase for the next thirty
years that we have experienced during the
last forty, We should find that the aggregate
at the end of that time would be equal to
the whole amount of the national debt as it
stands at present. The writer of commu-
nicaton in the New York Herald, argues
from this that if Congress adopted a sys-
tenn Of paying the debt with legal tenders,
that in thirty years the whole debt would
be paid off in form which would cost the
treasury no interest, and at the same time
furnish a circulation superior to any in the
world. He therefore proposes that Con-
gress should authorize the treasury to pay
the debt as it falls due with legal tender
notes, and allow rate of interest, say three
per cent, upon any surplus of such notes
not required by the public for business pur-
poses. This process, it is contended, would
not only prevent any undue imitation, but
prevent panic or monetary revulsion, as the
depositors could withdraw their deposits on
demand. With a sufficient amount of legal
tender notes on deposit with the treasury
the writer referredto maintains that panic
would be impossible, and that the national
debt would be paid without impoverishing
the people. As a panacea for the present
financial troubles, the writer for the money
column of the New York World suggests
the following: "The initial step towards
sound principles is the immediate passage
ofan act of Congress which shall authorize
the Secretary of the Treasury to negotiate
the exchange of the per cent. five-twenty
bonds held by Europe for 8 per cent bonds,
principal and interest payable in Europe
and in the lawful currency of the country
where the bonds are made payable. In
their present form the fiye-twenty bonds |
held by Europe to the amount of about |
S5OO,0OO,000 are practically certified |
checks in the United States, payable on pre-
sentation in gold thus making New York |
City till belonging 10 Europe, and into |
which the Bank Of England can place its !
hands and take therefrom the specieit needs |
in amounts and dates to suit its own con-
venience. The next step is to get rid Of !
the national bank notes, andlsubstitte there |
for greenbacks. Pass bill to print $780, !
100000 of greenbaeks, to buy from the ma
tional banks their bonds on deposit at Wash |
ington to an amount equal to their notes
Withdrawn and cancelled the prices paid
for these bonds by the government to be the
market price on, say January l, 1867, and
all interest on the bonds deposited by the
banks at Washington against outstanding
circulation to cease on and after July /, |
1867. Then, as a corollary to the preced- |
ing law, let Congress authorize the issue of
bonds bearing nOtoyer 5 per cent. eranuum
in greenbacks, eIchangeable at the pleasure
OF the holder, on demand, for greenbacEs
at 100, interest to be retained by government
for the time the bondholder keeps the green
backs. This plan would absorb naturally
any surplus Of greenbaeks that might be
in the country, because no one would keep
on hand greenbacks when be could obtain
for them a government bond bearing 5 Der
cent interest. The paper money Of the
country would expand and contract pre-