The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1867-10-03
Governor Cox on the Finan-
2 q. z Z. ,..n1 cial Question:.

NJ. n .., clal SBtieStlOlis
The Commercial Of 25th Sept
gives o condensed report Of Gov
Cox's great speech at Cleveland
which was mainly devoted to ar
exposition Of his views onthe finan
cial question. We copy as fol
lows:
Governor Cox said the payment
: otthe bonds in greenbacks had
2 been advocated by Democratic
q speakers with such unanimity as
togiye satisfactory evidence that
it was the party doctrine This
he said, was the financial perpetual
motion 'sWe might be reasonably
sure there was a fallacy some.
whore, when we were told that we
could use up, wear out, shoot away
and destroy several. Thousand mil;
liou.of dollars worth Of property,
and yet not be the poorer forit,
sGreenbacks aud bonds were both
promises ot tho Government to pay
dollars, ThedolIar is the unit o.
our FEDERAL curroney, and IS defn-
ed by law to consist sof 4121
grains ofsilver, or 25Sy10 of gold,
of which ne-tenths should be
pure silver and one-tenth alloy. II
was not the purpose of the Gov,
ernment, In issuing greenbacks, to
issue an irredeemabie currency.
liz July, 1861, Mr. Chase, in re,
commencing the first emission Of
Treasury notes, said 81 aThe great,
est care will. however, be requis.
ite to preveat.th degradation Of
sneh issues into an irredeemable
paper currency, than which no
more certainly fatal expedient for
impoverishlng the masses and dis.
,lcreditingt the Government Of any
country. can we'll be devised
"When Congress reassembled in
December, 1862, theye had been
issued nearly as much currency in
treasury. notes as is now in circu
niation, andthe estimated expendi,
Etures for 1868, the year ofGcttys.
burg and Vicksburg, called for
three hundred millions more of
money than the receipts from;ex-
isting sources could bo expected to
furnish. Here, then, was the test
applied to the Government. Would
it abandon its promises of a return
tplspecie payments and of making
the suspension only temporary?
The administration, speaking
through the Secretary, said (: Such
an issue, especially in the absence
of proper restrictions on corporate
(bank) circulation, would, in the
Judgment of tho Secretary, be as
injurious as itwould be easy. The
addition of SO vast a volume to the
existing circulation would convert
n currency. Of which the benefits
have, thus far outweighed tho in.
conveniences, into positive ca
lamity. Its consequences would
boa vast diminution of exports,
imitation ofprices, increase of ex.
penditures, augmentation of debt,
and ultimately disastrous defeat OF
the very purposes sought TO be at:
tained by it, Words ofgold, eve,
ry one of Them And the patriot.
'ic majority acted upon them.
AS 10 the question what was the
bargain which the country made
with its creditors, he said that we
have agreed to pay hard dollars,
in coin, for every note and bond
we have issued and in the depth
of our trouble obtained tempora,
ry suspension of paying specie up.
ON the notes used as currency,
pledging ourselves to terminate
such suspension in very brief pc.
riod after tho close of the war.
ThUse pledges we must honestly y re-
deem, or the nation and every cit
izen in it is dishonored and dis
graced.
After discussion of general
principles, the Governor said :
"There is no possible way to avoid
the conclusion thatif we make our
paper currency five times as great
as II now is, it cannot, at the very
best, be worth more than one-fifth
as much asit is now. That is to
say, each five dollar'bilf can not be
worth more than aone dollar BILLS
now. AS q matter Of fact. the ex.
perience Of the world shows, that it
would be very much worse chan
that. Wren once il has become
evident that a government has
tSgned its back on sound principles
of currency, and committed itself
to excessive issues of irredecmable
paper, the depreciation of that cur
rency is out Of all proportion 10 its
amount, and it soon gets to be al
most entirely worthless.
? t.Tho present currency, Treas
nryand Bank notes, was reported
6y the Secretary in the last official
reportI have at hand, at q, trfle
under seven hundred millions. In