Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1871-06-20
WHAT is MONEY!
IFrom The Cineinaa.. Commoner

! or sheIter, nut medium agreed upon by the
producer of the food, the raimeut aud tie
shelter, or other useful thing, by which they
may be interchanged for each other, so that
the wants of all may be supplied. The mode
of agreeing upon this medium has been
through the action of government, which in
all regular States has exerted the power to
coin money aud fix the value of it. II you
refer to the photographers for definition, old
| Bailey-the favOTite authority OF Addison
will tell you that money is "a piece of metal
stamped with the effigies of prince or arms
of q State, which makes it current and au-
theniic to pass at 4 common rate" Webster'S
definition is, "cUiO, stamped metal any piece
! of metal. usually gold, or silver or copper.
stamped by public authority, and used as the
medium of commerce. Bank notes or bills
of credit issued by authority, and exchanged
! BILE for coin, or redeemable, are also called
money" Again, if you look to the word
money and to its derivation. you will find
! ser ~ tcrminT'-that it acknow Iedges its self
As the agent and creature Of authority and
/ law. "WOHekJ," the Latin name Of money,
! was affixed TO this agent, or medium of cx-
| change, because in the temple of JUuO AIoueta
! at Rome, was the mint where bullion was
stamped and received its pass aud authority
/ of money. So too the Greek word for money
| tO-wit 'RomiSDiG," acknowledges its deriya
ton from .'moDtos" the Greek word for law,
giving to money all the authority it posses
! ses as money, and medium Of Exchanges.
l have been thus explicit in going into the
! origin, authority and use of money, to show
that if law can give by its sanction, stamp. or
fiat. the authority OF money to piece of metal
or bullion, SO too can law, the will of all con
cerued in exchanges. give tine authority of
money to piece of paper based on land and
made convertible" and .'redcemable" not
into land or fragments of land. which Bullion
ist seems 10 think he has with great deal of
wit chrstencd as, ''pOndO," but convertible
into the same money created by the governs
mcnt, issued and loaned by the government,
and "rcGcemab!e' not in land or .'poudu," or
even bullion, but "rcdeemable" in the same
identical money, by the sale Of tho land. if
the borrower neglects or refuses to pay the
Interest.
Aud when thus redeemed, and on hand,
ready To be loaned again, not as a promise to
pay money. but as very money itself! Ave,
aud better aud safer money than that Of ''Bul.
Zionist himself; for, with all his objections
to the existing bauEs, Gin which agree with
him) he Is willing his money shall be circu-
lated Ey ''ccrtiicates" of deposits, dollar for
dollar ON hand To meet them. Now, when
his "ccrtiGcatcs" arc presented to ihe banks
the dollar for dollar" may not be on hand 70
meet them. 1t has often turned out so in the
convertible bank notes, and immense losses
have been sustained by the public; for it can
not be said of temporal. as it has been of
spiritual things, "dHCis,b5iir non deciDit,pL"
The rule in temporal matters Is, very pTop-
eT!y. "e r"Lts mrn "ppurcathus aud NON err
'>tc"t'L"S c"dem est Ter" | apply this rule
To his certificate and to his bullion deposits
who can tell whether the bullion be there or
not, when he takes bullion certificate In
our paper money, based on land, the land is
visible and patent to the world aud may he
sold, too. and converted into veTtahia money.
which "BulllOnist" can see and handle. nut
into his pocket, loan out for an interest fixed
by law, pay his debts and taxes with it. or
buy anything he wants. What more can
reasonable man want ofan exchan aiDg medium
and legal tender than this ; especially in view
# the late decision Of the Supreme Court of
the U. s, that the paper money Of the Gov
ernment was u legal tender for all debts wheth-
er contracted before or after its issue,
Oh! says Bullionist, there is Il higher law,
Common law of the world, by which Bul.
lion is the only legal tender, aud we must he
governed by 1t, and not our own law. or ''aban.
don foreign commerce." And forthwith. he
betakes himself to figures, and the incest and
most minute cyphcrus to shUw the dill
ference, by troy weight, and grain, between
our money and English money, emitting that
he has the same calculation t. make between
our money. as it is now. and that of all other
nations with which We deal before he can ar.
rive at his haIT-SplttIng adjustment grain by
grain aud scrup!e By sorUple: for all foreign
nations now refuse to receive our money;
they receive it Only as bullion and wci.h il.
They do not agree with BuliOnist that
money exists before government and in srite
of it.' bUt they q NANCY nd - &,
as bullion, OF as they would weigh cotton and
tobacco or any thing else. Away then, with
all these nice, and hypercritical calculations
bg troy weight and grains. The law mean
the llw o! money-does not care-about rri>
fles-"de minimis nil curat leg" Let Bull
Zionist discard them too. lest he .sstick in tba
bark "quI lrret in littera, barer in corrice,"
Let him give Us cheap y-cheapexchange
based on land, when Interest on money
would not exceed two three per cent, and
might be furnished, by the people in partner.
ship, at oTe and OBe-tcUth of a cent, and not
only will the increased production Of wealth
stimulated By cheap money be com peu sated a
hundred times over for the picayune loss of
''grains and scrupes." and '.iroyweight," bu,
we could even abandon foreign commerce. :"
aud then be gainers by the new money. Bul.
Zionist is for free trade, and so is the south
and west. Put money at twO or three per
cent. as it would be under the proposed
change, and the north. now our tax masters
and pIunderers woul! have no pretence for a
tariff. They could manufacture everything
as cheap as any part Of the world The true
cause Of the tariff is the enormous and u.u-
rious cost of money. What are the losses
either way, on the mere balance of trade,
/ never exceeding fifteen or sixteen millions of
dollars, to the millions By thousands now
wrung out of the south and west to appeaso
the FemorseIess NAV and gCesd Of SHC.bsSS'