The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-03-08

bills except at prices which must compet'
/ with the quotations for the large supply b
, bills drawn against tho shipments OF cot
!, ton, produce and other exports.
As 10 this trade statement It should DC
remarked, however, In passing, that al-
!. though In any view It Is extremely favor.
able, yet there Is added o credit item on
account Of fteights in American bottoms
Of over twelve million dollars Is per cent,
whereas the highest average Is only 81 per
cent, while there Is no debit Of heights
: paid in foreign bottoms. Leaving this
item out then, the trade account shows an
adverse balance Of only $l4 500, 900 against
u $34, 900 for the same period Of 1868.
4 But 10 obtain correct idea Of the true
balance VIC must add one.half. years in.
tCrcSt, at an average Of @ per cent, on
about 81 200, ,00O, 900 Of our bonds and SC.
curities held abroad, or say $S5, ,OO0, 600 Of
interest, and the total balance against us
will be about forty millions OF dollars
\ Yet this is extremely favorable, and cspe.
cially when VIC remember that VIC began
tho new year with about 10000 bales
more Of cotton Gtthe ports than In Jantli
ary, 1860, willie the, receipts each week
since have been largely in excess Of Inst
year., furnishing us thc prospect Of In:
creased exports during the present SIX
months, a. ,|.'1.....,..,', ,.,,'.' ...,l..
There is also another point which the
more shrcwd speculatorS arc beginning to
rcalizc as increasing the temporary glut
of gold in the market, We refer 10 the
recent aCtion Of the Canadian Govern.
meit in regard u, American coin, Here.
tOforc our outlet, into Canada has carried
oirlargc amounts Of our sbpcrtluolis coin.
But this drain Inns received u sudden
clieck; and II dle proposed grcenbacks Of
Canada are not soon putin circulation, the
people Of tic Dominion will, begin to suf'
Ter from the scarcity Of currency. The
report is, that Canada banks have been
largely Interested, together with inauen.
tiat Canadian capitalists, in the gold aspecu.
latiOns going OH recently In Wall street.
Whether this be so or not, 1t Is Q singular
coincidence that, at this critical juncturc,
the action of the Government Of the DO.
Ininion Inns been So directed. rs To give
more troubled aspcc: 10 the financial ho-
rizon. AS regards ourselves, the only i'm.
pOrtAnt result Of this Canadian proclama.
tion is, that It stops an important outlet
through which our specie reservoir hos
relieved itself whenever there hQS been
any temporary rise to m undue or unsafe
level.
We must not omit. TO notice tho forces
projected on the gold market by tho per.
petual agitation Of the Funding Bill, and
by the changciiil opinions every day prog.
n0stlcated is 10 whether 1t will pass In |
this form or that; Or, whether, rs Mr..
Cameron very wisely suggested on Thurs,
day, It Is to be postponed altogether to
some future time. So long us the bill Is |
pending in It's present shape, tho Dugbcar
Of several hundred millions Of foreign cxi
change will continue 10 lang over the |
market, and under such u pressure It Is |
impossible that our commercial move
ments should go on unimpeded.
Such are some Of the leading points |
which are seriously discussed By tho con.
tending spectators on each side Of the
gold question Perhaps, however, the
most noteworthy fact Of all Is thc control.
ling dictatorship which Is universally
ascribed 10 Mr.. Boutwell, in regard to the
gold premium. This power Is vested in
tic hands Of the Secretary Of tic Treas.
ury by. virtue of lis being tho chief II not
the only seller Of gold In tho market.
Other persons sell the gold already. In
tho market, but liG llQs access TO new sup |
plies Of the boarded coin In the vaults Of
tho Treasury, and from these he can, pour
II forth under his recent arrangement in |
what quantities he pleases. II tho per.
sons who thus argue would reflect q mo;
mont they would see that their statements
arc not strictly accurate. For so FIR from
the Secretary Of the Treasury having an
unlimited aggregate of gold locked up In
his vaults, he has less than SEQ, 0,000 all
told. The remainder Of the $109, 900, 900
be reports in the Treasury is the property |
either of the holders Of gold certificates |
or Of the public creditors 10 whom 1t has
accrued as interest on the public debt.
We offer no opinion as 10 the vcxcd
question whether gold Is going lower or
higher. No htinan foresight can with
absolute accuracy solve a problem so COM
plicated. What Is certain Is, that slngu-
iar concentration Of temporary Circum-
stances arc just at present acting with de-
pressing force upon the gold market
What permanent effects may surviyethCm,
and how far the depreciation of gold itself,
10 which VIC referred Inst week, may come
into activity-all these arc questions for
tic solution Of which we have no trust
worthy prcccdents TO guido our decision,
However we may le inclined 10 argue as
to tho future, there qre few Of us who will
deny tllht now, rs heretofore, the Trcasll.
~ haS far too much power over tho gold
market, that that power has too often been
used neither wisely nor well, and that Il
should be sheltered from abuse by being