Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-09-26

,oss;hlo eontrac ton. The reason IL,
20, ,ba, there is to much currency, but
,ba, there is a growing want o. conf
dence as 10 ultimate payment Let the
nublIc debt be reduced if possible, let
,horo be economy aud integrity ia the
management OF public affairs and let
confidence that the debt will be paid
axe possession Of the public mind, md
~ q believe the currency would be letter
than il is now, even il, the OLE. obliga.
tions being all cancelled, an amount of
Treasury notes Of equal AMOUNT was at
once thrown on the market That is
what we want, and we never can have
currency nearly at par by any other
means than confidence, begotten in the
public mind by paying and being able to
nav. Shaving OF Indebtedness, with in
terest accommodating and driving us TO
insolvency, cannot give confidence any
more than it will pay debts, or than the
prescription of q certain Vieksburg
physician to take his pills on one, two
and three years time, would cure the
patient. We shall never return to specie
again, or see our money at par, until we
exhibit the will and the means to pay,
and make the effort. And the nation is
about as likely to do that as an indi-.
yidual would be with five thousand
millions on his back, if we are to depend
on the policy of spectators and bankers
who have no uneasiness about debts
that are far off aud accumulRting, so
they can presently meet their maturing
obligations. The policy of the Govern
ment should not look wholly to assuring
present comfort, in brief respite, but
to the interests Of posterity as well; and
that cannot be done without reform, for
which the great west is now calling in
the might of its giant vigor and eventu-
ally controlling will.
What can be best and most pro6tably
done, is problem OF grave significance,
about which our correspondent, like
ourselves, may err. We can only say
that the best thing which can De done,
in our view, is to settle up, if necessary,
by assigning all our effects over to the
bond holders, that we may take fresh
start in the race of life, and deliver our
children from burden which will crush
out all their energies as it is destroying
our own.
This might be done in the form
in which the bank of England
originated without any extremely
serious results. That was war measure
adopted when great war with France
was going on, and succeeded in fully sus.
tanning the credit of the Government
Wipe out your national banking system,
and establish instead national bank
with the government debt as its capital
stock, giving individuals who will redeem
it the right to buy itup, enter it as stock,
and go to banking on it for term of
years, and capitalists may take hold of
it, and we may have national debt like
that of Great Britain, which will be SO
little oppressive as to put us in good hu-
NOR at least; and perhaps induce the i'm
preston here, which exists there, that
"a national debt isl national blessing"
Certain, we think it is, that the present
plan, with all its waste and sap of the |
very foundations of wealth, will bring |
bankruptcy to us or our children. And we,
therefore, shall welcome change even
if it brings present crash with it, which
we believe cannot hurt any man who has
not q carpet bag full of greenbacks and |
him not much. For the rest, we refer to
an extract from Mr. Pendleton's speech,
contained in the communication of
Northern Democrat