The New York herald., 1868-08-17
The Gold Question.

The course of gold is being very attentively
watched just now by the public at largo, and
vague fears prevail that the premium nlst 60
attending the Presidential campaign, and unfor-
tunately these are not without good reasons.
There are financial and commercial causes at
work which will of themselves advance the
price of gold but political influences entirely
outweigh these. 1t is bad enough to find that
we have exported from this port to foreign
ports since the beginning Of the year more
than sixty-two millions of specie and bullion,
and that the government has reserve of only
about fifty millions Of coin at the present time,
while it's coin interest payments in September
will amount to five millions, in November
to twenty-five millions and in January
to thirty-three millions; but it is far
worse when we find prominent politi-
clans of both parties making speeches
and writing letters which are directly calcu-
lated to impair confidence in everything but
gold. Popular distrust of the future financial
policy Of the government Is the main cause of
the upward tendency of the premium, and so
long as this lasts it will rise higher from month
to month. The spectators have much less to
do with tho advance of the last sixty days in
gold than is generally supposed. They may
exaggerate effects and run the price up sud
denly, as they did the other day when il
touched l5O but their influence is only
transient, for a reaction soon succeeds, follow
ing which, however, gold obeys its natural
tendency upward, despite the efforts of many
of them to keep it down.
Added to the widespread but vague distrust
referred to we have to face tho fact that our
foreign imports are and have been since the
beginning of the late war far in excess Of our
exports, and our national extravaganza of itself
exposes us to serious danger. Political con-
siderations, however, entirely outweigh those
of more material character, and the majority
of gold spectators, in operating for rise, are
merely anticipating natural movement which
would be felt with or without speculation, and
to be successful it must be based upon some
thing more substantial than Gold Room opinion.
The abundant harvest with which we are
promised is the only good sign of the times
tnat VIC can see, Dut lCS lnuuenCe lS lO5t In
the presence Of the disturbing causes
to which we have alluded, and as the
campaign progresses we shall doubtless wit
ness much more calculated to crafty the bulls
in gold than we have yet done. But for the
wretched mismanagement of the finances by
Congress and the Treasury Department during
and since the war the gold premium would
have been much lower than It is and we should
have been In position to resume specie pay
mcnts whereas the prospect Of the latter
seems more remote now than it did when Lee
surrendered. It is well, however, that the
people should not attach too much importance
to the rise in gold with which we are threat
ened, and that confidence in our national secu-
rites should not be impaired. These last are
the safest and cheapest securities in the
country at present prices, and It must be
remembered that the higher gold goes
the greater becomes the rate of interest they
yield in currency. 1t is greatly to be regret
ted that about seven hundred millions of these
bonds are held abroad, for we are constantly
exposed to the danger Of large amounts Of
them being returned to us for sale; but we
must accept the situation as we find It and not
ignore the facts, however unpleasant they may
bo to contemplate.