The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-02-27

Senter, speaker of the Tennessee House of
Representatives, has been inaugurated Gov
ernor of that State uice Brownlow resigned
His inaugural foreshadows no policy.
RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS.
TO The EDITOR OF THE NEWS.
In some remarks made by us we have taken
for granted that the paper currency of the
United States is redundant. The extent of the
excess can only be reached by approximation,
Those who have made this subject one Of close
examination have taken the increase Of the
population as the basis Of calculation. Mr..
Wees, the Special Com mmissioner of the Rev
enue. IN his recent able report, has assumed
SO per eapsto Of the whole population as sur
including both paper and specie. The next au-
meratlon in 1870 will show az. 600 600. This null
tpled by 10 would give $42O, 900 600 as the prop
er limit OF the currency Of the United States.
States Senate, has made the cxtravagant as
sumption that our currency is not redundaYt,
being between 5000 100000 and 500, 600,
which at $40 per head. including paper and
specie. would make the excess between $780,
100000 and $500 Coz, ,0U0-$15 per head for the
whole population.
We have stated that this subject cannot be
| intelligently discussed, unless in connection
with the public expenditure and the state Of
our foreign trade.
1. The pubic expenditure. Mr.. McCulloch,
in his late report, states that the expenditures
OF the government ought to be reduced to
$3.50 600 600. He estimates the revenue from
the two principal sources the customs and the
internal revenue-at 100000 OOO-a saving OF
an equal amount OF the funded debt. MIR. Nor
toms proposition is to apply any saving made
by diminished expenditure or addition to rev.
enue, to the extinguishment Of the floating
debt, in which, we have said, we agree with
hiua.
| g. The stale of our f,reign trade. This is an
element OF great Importance, of which little
notice is taken in the remarks made on this
subject. Mr. Morton speaks of accumuiatiug
| gold by selling our bonds in Europe and bring
| ing the proceeds to this side of the Atlantic;
but appears to omit the consideration that we
| must reduce The volume OF our currency to. the
specie standard before we can sell our bonds
| IN Europe at tt cir par value. He overlooks
entirely the influence of favorable balance OF
trade. Our export of cotton for 1869 10
2,500, 600 bales-at the moderate average OF 20
cents, in gold, Q0l. in Eneland), 45O pounds
to the bale, will yield in money value the sum
The crop Of 1s7o7l Che high price ;'110 0O0Ooo
in Europe stimulating the cult
walton in the United States), will
| produce 600 600 bales, suppos-
ing the season favorable and, as
suming the price reduced to 16
cents per pound, in god, (8l. in
England), will yield o money
Value o.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ZIG, 600, 900
II, therefore, we have favorable Sc son we
will have, when we add tho other articles of
| export tobacco, naval stores, petroleum, &c.
az least $500 600 600 in value Of exports on the
cfedtt SIDE OF the account as tho aggregate
money value Of our productions for the years
1870 and 1871.
no less important element however, is the
aggregate amount Of our. imports. The bal
ance Of commercial debt has been against us.
because in 1865 and 1866 we imported in value
more than we exported. The cheapness Of
money stimulated the consumption, Of foreign
daorics an21;s our imports were greatly above our
ability to pay, and we were compelled to send
our gold and our bonds to redress the balance
OF trade against us. The contraction OF the
cnrrency-ln othor words reducing the vol
ton of the floating debt-wll have the effect
or lessening the consumption, and conse-
quentiy the importation Of foreign fabrics.
This, CO, operating with the increased value Of
our EXPORTS will soon bring about an equilib-
rum between our imports and exports, and,
perhaps. produce @ balance Of trade in our
favor. II Congress would have the moral
courage to reduce the expenses, and simuIta-
neously reduce the public floating debt, we
would be able to resume specie payments on
or before the first OF January, 1872.
Iti on these expectations we rely; lor it
body Would authorize the Secretary W Of the ss,
Treasury to cancel legal tender notes to the
amount Of $4,000 GOO annually: as they are
paid in for taxes, which would be at tho rate
OIiAJ VI %oo"V ~E oVu.oov POI iAoAou. - tu1
revenue from customs. which is receivable in
gold, and which, according to all reasonable
ca culation. will amount, on an average, to
.$15O, ,O00000 is applied only in the proportion
cf one-thlrd, say $1,000 900, to the extin-
guis shment OF another $50 600 900 Of tho float
ing debt, wo would have $10O. 0OO, 600 applica-
BILE 10 that purpose. ibis sum, in three Years,
Will reduce the floating debt from it's present
amount to $3.50, GOO 00O. or, in other words, SO
improve our pap,r currency as to bring 1t co
ON equal valuc W tn gold. That it would not
emDatrass the Treasury by leaving surplus
OF gold OF about $50,000 600 to pay the interest
on tho national debt instead OF 500, 600, 900 or
| s10O, 900 900, we feol assured.
| We sum up our reasoning on this subject as
concsely as possible as follows /. That our
| paper currehoy is redundant to an extent that
brings it TO about SIS per head for the whole
| OF our population, instead OF SO per head--its
normal proportion before the war-say in 1869.
q. That until we reduce this plethora OF pa
peg money, we can never return permanently
to specie payments; for IL we should have o
| balance OF trade In our favor and an influx Of
gold, 1t Will pc exported aa merchandise to find
| better market, according to that law OF cur
| rency by which o better currency cannot orr
cuMte in company with an inferior circulating
medium se,,,
| 8 Tnat an Indispensable preparatory step
| to this end Is to reduce the floating debt; in
other words, cancel or redeem $100 900 900 per
annun OF this deDi; and that for this purpose
there should be o reduction OF public expendi-
ture to at least 900 600 annually, with the
| surplus In tho Treasury TO the payment OF the
floating debt, leaving the funded debt, as the
Lesser evil, to moro propitious circumstances.
]. N. O.