The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-01-10

current it represented gold and moth
ing else Gold has but little intrinsic
value and only becomes the represent
alive of property by the common con
sent of all nations, and becomes q le-
| gal tender by the viii Of the people
through Legislative enactment, without
which 10 mine woald be worked and
gold would soon become as liEtle
= known as Rhodium, Iridium and many
other metals.
When Lycurgus wished to make
the Spartans an agricultural people he
took all imaginary value from the
metals, and used iron for money at its
real value; this answered his purpose,
for iron being legal tender, and moth
ing being used to represent it the
people were compelled to live with
very little trade as about thirty pounds
sterling amounted TO more pounds
ayoirdupois than yoke of oxen could
move. But as valuable as gold is with
US atthe present time, it would be very
announcement if we were confined to 1t
for business purposes; hence, paper
money is made 70 represent it. True.
at present We have paper money that
does not, by legal enactment, repre-
sent gold, which was never the case
before, aud this only became 50 by 4
waT necessity; still, 10y common con
sent, all paper money while current
+ represents gold at some price. and
common consent Is the highest law Of
the land, without which ali other law
is a dead letter
Mr. Barlow being at the head of
large banking establishment, and
knowing that his bills were represent
atiyes Of legal tenders, supposed they
were not Of gold; but by common con
sent one dollar to-day represents sew
enty five cents in gold as do all other
bills in this country; the remaining
twenty-five cents is nol reckoneIat all,
not even in legal tenders. Seventy
five cents today in gold buys as much
or pays rs large a debt rs one dollar in
groeubacks. But the time has been,
and we think soon viii be, when one
dollar in paper VIII represent one in
gold
To represent is 10 take the
place Of, and as nothing can take the
place Of credit it cannot be represent
ed by paper money, but paper money
is the evidence Of credit for upon that
IS the written promise to pay
We DO not suppose Mr.. Barlow at
fault in not seeing this in the same
light that we dc, for though kicking
in q horse is fault in horse, blind
moss isnot; il IS only misfortune.
Again We perceive that Mr.. Barlow
thinks that the rational Debt ought
not to be paid in gold, or anything
that represents it, but in paper mon
ey having no gold value. for he says
that kind fmoney never represents
gold but represents credit; of course
j, mus, be paid in legal tenders, which
are to be paid in bonds and bonds in
legal tenders. and ifneither represent
ed gold they would lee ezchangeable
for each other, and would be taken
for nothing else This state Of
things would seem something like
representative Of credit and never
pay The men who furnished the
necessary means for raising the army,
feeding aud clothing the same, would
find their property coniscated TO pay
the expenses Of the war, while that
party, like Mr.. Barlow, as We belie7e)
who never loaned the Government
one cert, bnt employed their money
in profitable speculation; together with
all the yanquished rebels, would have
their property not only respected, but
protected by law.
We do not doubt Mr. Bar'ow's hon
esty in his proposed method Of paying
the national debt, and we believe he
sincerely hopes that it will be paid at
last in his representative of credit, for
he has never so far as we know seen
fit to fraternate with the favored
few by investing in the bonds of the
Government
But we do not believe that JEFF Da-
Wis, in his right mind, would warrant
so fragrant an act as to pay those in
worthless paper who furnished the
means that caused his overthrow
JOHN BRANCH, JR.
/ January 9th, 1868.