The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-12-22

coming more popular in that section. IL ls
not improbable, therefore, that Congress- az
no distant day, as it is urged to do by some
leading journals, viii pass some law for the
express purpose of giving effect to this poncy'
But, meanwhile, the Supreme Court Is pom
derine the question of the constitutionaiity OF
the legal tender act, and it is strongly sus-
pected that majority of the justices are pre-
pared to decide in the negative. sucn oe-
cision would render superfuous the proposed
legislation so far as the commercial puohc IL
concerned. For. as any one must inialnoiy
perceive, who considers thoroughly the IMAM
cial situation of the government, the only pos
sible method at this time for opening the way
at once for resuming payment in specie OF us
equivalent is to delegalize greenoacks as
money compulsorily receivable. Inc enece
would be the same, whether this delegaliza-
ton was expressed in law of Congress or in
a decision of the Supreme Court Nor does
it follow that, in either case, the treasury
notes and the national bank notes now in cir
culation would cease abruptly to be used as
medium of exchange. 1t does not even fol-
low that the current value of either
class of notes would, in reality, be dimin-
ished. For whatever real value has belonged
to greenbacks is derived from the public
knowledge that they were issued by the gov
eminent are receivable for its internal
taxes, and bear on their face its promise to
paw them. And, similarly, whatever real
value has belonged to the national bank notes
is derived from the public knowledge that
they represent an equal amount of govern
ment bonds deposited as security In the
United States treasury, and that, moreover,
they are redeemable at the option of holders
in ereenbacks. In short, there has been no
other foundation than the national faith for
either class OF notes, and the current value OF
each has, accordingly, never signitied any
thing else than the current value of the
national credit The effect of the legal tender
clause was simply to compel people to accept
the nominal value of that credit as their none
tary unit Consequently, discount on the face
of the paper dollar was transformed into
premium on the specie dollar, and into pro-
portionately enhanced prices of all sorts of
commodities. The effect, therefore, of the
repeal or notification of the legal tender clause
would be to put discount, where it prop
erly and logically belongs, on the face of the
paper dollar, and to substitute specie, or its
equivalent in place of deprecated paper-a
adishonored and disreputable currency"
as Secretary McCulloch calls it - as
the monetary unit of the country.
After that, there would be no more reason to
stjgmatize this currency as " dishonored
and disreputable" than to apply the same
epithets to the whole national debt. 1t would
continue to be, as it has all along been,
essentially on par with the national credit;
nothing better, nothing worse. And, as only
this credit rendered it available at any valua-
ton as a basis for. commercial transactions,
there can be no doubt that it would be capable
of serving the same purpose hereafter, al
though Invested of its legal tender feature
No necessary stringency in money would re-
suit. The pangs of anticipated contraction
are purely imaginary, If we suppose the out
standing notes to be unwithdrawn, and the
national credit to be maintained Indeed,
there would. perhaps, be less danger OF none
tary tightness than there now is, inasmuch
as specie, being available once more as money,
would enter more and more into circulation;
and bank notes, representing specie-no
longer subject to prohibitory tax in favor
of national currency-would gradually sup
plement monetary deficiencies, SO that,
ultimately, the national credit floating in the
form of deprecated paper would be in nc
degree and no way longer needed to exc out
/ &c
basis for the commercial operations of the
country.
There is hardly cause to apprehend that
the notification of the legal tender clause by
the Supreme Court would seriously disturb
existing relations between creditors and debt
ors. 1t seems to be expected at Washington
that, if the court decide thus, it will concedt
the "supreme expediency" which OVERRIDE
the Constitution in the passage and enforce
ment of the legal tender clause and will, by
way of equitable reservation, declare that al
debts contracted in the present currency are
payable in that currency, or in specie at The
premium which it bore at the date of suct
transactions. A like provision must be incor
porated in any act of Congress designed t.
effect resumption of specie payment, either
by making greenbscks equivalent to gold Of
by depriving them of their legal tender
faculty; otherwise, along with vast sluice o
litigious difficulties and perplexities. gross ant
ruinous injustice would be done to the debto
class. The fact is that, without saving
clause of some kind to protect the equities o
transactions occurring during the lega
tender epoch, any method of resumption
must prove disastrous. But resumption i
bound to come sooner or later; a "dishon
ored and disreputable" paper. only none,
by legal compulsion, and on its face a circu
lating sham and imposture, cannot always b
the currency of country which retains com
mercial vitality and the elements of GROWN
prosperity.
L1rERARY.-Mr. G. c. Haley, the well-know
and popular bookseller. newsdealer and ststione