The New York herald., 1870-07-08
The Currency Question settled for This
SSQssSnw

| Oh tne Alabama account.
The Currency Question settled for This
The Conference Committee Of the two houses
of Congress having agreed upon the new Cur
rency bill, and their report having been adopted
by the Senate, we may regard this question as
settled for the present. Fifly-four millions Of
national bank notes are authorized to be issued,
with view of giving the West and South more
cure ency and to equalize more than at present
the circulation and national bank privileges
among the different sections and States. The
proportion of national bank currency and
privileges will still be greatly in favor Of the
East and North, and especially of the East;
but this bill is a concession to the West and
Sonih, and is step toward the equalization OF
national banking privileges
Fifty four millions additional circulation
will have no perceptible influence upon the
price of gold or the markets, and will hardly
be felt in this great and active country. There
has been great deal of twaddle in Congress
as to whether the issuing Of fifty millions or SO
of national bank notes would be imitation or
contraction. Some pretend to have doubts
about the matter now, as the forty-fve millions
of three per oent certificates are to be with
drawn simultaneously with the new issue of
national bank notes Every child might know
that 1t is initiation. The three per cent certia-
Gates were not an active circulating medium
the bank notes are. Besides, there is to be
nine millions more of the notes issued than
certificates withdrawn But, as was said, this
little imitation of the currency will have no
perceptible influence upon gold or the markets.
The vast amount Of business and extent of the
country will absorb it all like bucket of water
thrown into mill race. sNsi
We might inquire here, however, what be-
comes of the theory of those contractionists
who have been urging all along the necessity
Of contracting the currency in order to reach
specie payments? Gold fell from premium
Of forty or higher to eleven, while the volume
of currency remained the same. In fact, we
have more currency now, when gold stands at
Ill, than we had when it was at 140. So we
shall see with the issue Of fifty-iour millions
more national bank notes, the decline of gold
will not be arrested by that cause The truth
is, the contraction theory is all blown to the
wind, and Congress begins to see that We do
issue of paper money would not send gold up
and be disastrous, but we maintain that the
demand for money is such in this popu-
lous and intensely Industrious coun-
try that fifty millions more or less
will have no pcrceptible effect upon
gold or the return to specie payments
The national bankers and Jay Cooke capital
lets, who have made so much money out Of
the government and people. raised the cry Of
contraction in order to get the greenback legal
tenders out of the way They made nothing
out of this circulation. All the profits Of this
truly national money went to the government
and people, They pretended that we could
not begin to reach specie payments while the
greenbacks remained largely in circulation. II
was simply a ruse to got tha legal tenders out
of the way In order that more national bank
currency might be issued and that these capt.
talists might get the profit. Nor have we seen
the end of legislation for the benefit of the
national banking associations. More than half
the members Of Congress, probably, are inte-
rested in these institutions. The legal tenders
will be withdrawn and the whole circulation of
the country, with the profits of forty or fifty
millions year, will be given to the national
banks That is the programme laid down, and
we see no power in the republic to prevent it
being carried out. la
We would have approximated to specie pay
ments more rapidly had there been but one
uniform legal tender currency. The national
banks have not facilitated that object and
never will. 1t would not be to their interest
70 keep reserve Of gold on hand for the re-
demption of their notes. There would be
loss on such dead capital. They want the full
profit Of national currency. We may reach
specie payments independent of the national
banks, through the wonderful productions of
the country and our large exportations which
may keep exchange in our favor or at par,
but we need not expect these institutions will
help us in that or to maintain specie basis
after we may have reached it. Their interests,
as was said, lie in a paper circulation only,
and in not being compelled to hold gold re-
serve. This act Of Congress in enlarging the
national bank currency shows that the legal
tenders are doomed and that we are to have
less valuable paper currency fastened upon us
at loss of forty or fifty millions a year to the
government and people.
Wall Street and tho News from Europe.
One of the curious phases of the effect pro-
duced by the prospect of general war in
Europe is the utter failure of q movement
among the spectators in Wall street to ad-
vance the price OF goiI. 7. Is significant Of
the strength Of our national credit that there
should be only trifling decline in fye-twenties
vpsterdav on the London Stock EXCHANGE