New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-04-08
ON GARONDELET STREET.

Picayo,e, who is usually well Informed II
financial matters, declares that the funding
bill is dead. A persuasion of this fac
has, doubtless, checked the decline il
gold. and dispelled the illusion of a speedy
return to specie basis. The defeat o
the funding bill lie, doubtless, owing to The
pressure brought against it by the Western
banks, supported by an influential portion
of the Western press. These influences
are arrayed against the measure because
! it compcls the banks to do business, ID
future, on the new a per cents, instead OF
6 per cents. as at present; and this com
pulsory legislation is stigmatized as not
only unjust, but as "class legislation,
tending to reputation. For instance, the
Chicago Tribune says:
| The chief mistake of the Funding bill il
that it is an attempt to coerce one class OF
| the national creditors into exchanging a
per cent bond for d per cent bond at the
| same price. This is the short of the whole
those who favor the Funding bill from q
feeling Of opposition to the National Banks,
| ackno Wedge that this would be its practical
| effect, but excuse the robbery on the ground
| that the banking interest CT the country
ought to do something to help refund the
debt at lower rate of interest. Now, even
| if there would be no other loss than the Il
| per cent per annum interest on the bonds, a
| large proportion of the National Banks
would 20 cut of the business because they
| would feel that their capital was insecure il
| it WAS to be liable to such "class legislation.
| # the government may now require this
class Of the public creditors to exchange
their per cent bonds for A per cents,
why may it not at some future time require
them to exchange the a per cents for per
cents' The wrong arises from masking any
distinction between the creditors of the
government who hold its bonds, and is 10
more eycusable than if the government
should announce specie payments on all
the greenbacks except those held by the
National Banks.
It seems to Us that the TrtbIne has en-
trely mistaken the merits of the case, by
substituting the question of justice, which
has really nothing to do with the matter,
for The question of ezpediency. which
should be the sole governing influence
The National Banks exist under the limi-
tations of law which grants them GER
tin privileges amounting to monopoly,
and imposes on them certain obligations.
Il is not commended that the government
has not the right to remodel the system,
and even to abolish it entirely. AS long
as it is retained, the government has a
right to impose such obligations as it
chooses, as o consideration for the mon
opoly. To say that the banks, as creditors
of the government, are compelled to
remit portion of the interest OIL
the deb. due to them is not accurate.
They may accept the governments
terms, or reject them at their option. If
they reject them, they are simply pro-
hibited from using their six per cents for
banking purposes. If they accept them,
they must be content to tax the industry
of the country four and half per cent on
their bonds, which ia certainly a sufficient
gratuity. If the government choose to re-
place the banking bonds with two per
cents, as the Tribune suggests, it would
have a perfect right to do SO, only it
would not have right to compel bankers
to remain in the business on such terms.
We do not suppose that the Tribune will
deny that the government has right to
abolish the present system entirely, and
yet this would be equivalent to making the
banks remit the interest entirely, besides
forcing them to wind up their business
and sell their bonds for what they might
bring just as they would now have to do
under the funding bill, if they refuse to
accept its terms.
The same reasoning that denies the
right of the government to make the con-
templated change as to bonds, would deny
the right of the government to make any
other change interfering with tie moropo-
ly now enjoyed by the National Banks
such, for instance, as making banking free,
or allowing an increase of banking capital
Yesterday was not marked by any con-
spicuous features in Carondelet street.
Slaughter House was little stronger, and
Ship Island little weaker. Pneumatic,
in spite of the recent brilliant experiments
is dull, and spectators do not rush franti-
cally TO avail themselves of it, even at the
present price.
The following were the transactions at
the board, last night: