The daily Argus., 1874-10-08
Bonomy Prices Views Of our Paper Money

|
c asses aggrandized, and individual freedom un-
and oppressively restrained.
Bonomy Prices Views Of our Paper Money.
The n Y. Tribune of the lst inst, con-
tains full report Of very interesting
and instructive conversation on the social
ed paper money of this county with Prof.
Bonomy Price, the we'll known lecturer
and writer, and professor of Political
Economy at the University of Oxford,
England and author of the best treatise
on "The Principles of Currency" that has
appeared in the English language. Prof. |
Price has made currency and kindred sub
iects lifelong study, and has taken an
active part in the great controversies on
those questions which have agltated the
British public in his day, His opinions
on our money will be found to be of a pret-
ty decided cast. He sees no good in it
whatever His only remedy is amputa-
ton. Cut off and throw away, he says.
enough of the paper to make the rest
equal in value to coin. Government hay
ing taken the nation property under the
stress of war, let payment now be made.
Ex-Secretary McCuloch's policy is the
only one to restore the currency to health,
and his example must be followed unless
we choose to prolong the evils of a fuctu-
ating standard of value indefinitely.
The issue of bank notes, on pledge of a
deposit of United States bonds, as at pre-
sent, is favorably regarded by Prof Price
as a means of protecting note holders at-
ter specie payments have been resumed,
Congress, being composed of body of
politicians. cannot safely be trusted to is
sue paper currency. 1t would not be
responsible. Payment could not be en-
forced. There would be no penalties for
insolvency and no resort to the courts,
The ideas of the Oxford Professor are of
kind to attract special attention at the
West, where the financial question is more
hotly discussed than in the East.
They are given with freedom and
yigor which are certain to interest the
reader. Our space does not permit us to
give this conversational lecture in full, but
the following extracts will give our readers
an idea of his yigor and style:
@. Who should issue the currency, the
Government or banks?
A. Who the issuer is is Of no conse-
quence to the action Of currency. If it is
inconvertible and legal tender, then the
depreciation is great The only object Of
currency is to exchange goods precisely as
the only object Of the Batavia steamboa
was to bring me and fellow passengers
from England and the goods on board also |
They are both toofs-one to carry us
across the water, the other to enable one
man to get his goods into another mans |
hands, and that, say, is the only object
Of currency.
Y. You consider, as an essential part
of that object, that there should be some
constancy in the value of the currency?
A, The constancy of the value comes
in in this way. There is a transaction be
tween A. and B. A. has got ten bales of
cotton to sell, and b. has nothing to give
you for it but pieces of metal. A. knows
what his cotton costs him, and between
them both they know the value of those
pieces of metal in the world because they
know what they can get for them in the
sh0ps-so many pounds of tea in one shop,
so many hats from the halter, so many
boats from the boat builder. A. says, |
"Give me your cotton and will take your
metal for it. That is the action of cur
rency. 1t is tool-and why is it wanted |
Here is the secret of all currency | am
grower of sugar in Louisiana and you are
grower of cotton. | want to buy your
cotton; say to you, Take my sugar and
get rid OF your cotton" You say, Il have
no use for your sugar. Have you not got |
some yellow metal? Give me that metal
and | will give you my cotton. Then |
can go with that metal and buy what l
want This is the function of currency
Money was devised entirely for that and
nothing else. The halter might starve be-
fore he would find butcher OF a baker
that wanted hat. If it was not for cur
rency he might starVe before he got his
bread. The fact is, nation could not ex-
ist without CURRENCY. The vice of incon-
vertible currency is, that it has other ends
and objects.
g. How as to the debts, mortgages, etc.
A. The nature of these things is not
altered by debts and mortgages. Every
operation of credit is only this: That |
have not got dollar to-day and will give
it tomorrow. Whether the debt is for
million or ten millions or a national debt,
even, or basket of peaches. it is all the
same in principle but it does not alter
the fact that the metallic dollar has got
to be given as pledge The doctrine is
the same.
Q. The steadiness in the value of the
gold secures justice?
A. Certainly; because you have an
article of real value; but in the case of
inconvertible currency, when you bring me
legal-tender note and tell me it is as good
as a dollar, that the government is bound
to pay it, / say directly, IF you had
brought me metallic dollar | could take
it to jeweler and sell it Icould not lose
At the worst could melt it and sell it as
metal and therefore / am paid" But if
find you bringing me piece of paper
which the United States government says
shall be paid, and does not say when, |
say that it Is not payment and if take it
] must charge you something for the risk
i run. The first quality of a currency is
that it must have permanent value We
cannot say positively that geld never
changes in value, but the change is so little
that the difference practically is nothing,