Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-15


States in each of the six fiscal years ending
June 80, from 1868 to 1873,
Years. Exported imported.
1868. ...G5....!!Sl4,lSS ,:i6S S63,TS4, lO2
1869. ..!.i...GsG 1se0I,SIG 5I,13S,3SO
1870. ....:...... 20,4l9,lT9 5S,l5j,666
lSI1............ 2l,zIO,OZ4 Do,4il,9oJ
lSIZ............ I1, t40,OSJ Ji,oii,0J4
1873. 2, 4Si 1851 S4,6OS,574
For 1879, 81, GOS.574 were exported aid
So. 4SO, 1877 imported. These figures show
that the drain upon our gold has been equal
TO the productions OF our mines. Let us
look to few facts i'm verifcatiOn of this
statement. Since the creation of Our
foreign debt the most wonderful activity
and increase i'm the coinage Of the precious
metals has taken place in England, France,
and Germany.
Mr.. Freemantle, Deputy Master Of the
Royal Mint Of England, says;
The gold coinage Of 1872 has exceeded fl5,-
OJO,O $50 OOO,) against CO. 500, 900, (S5l,
jCO,OO0l coineJl in ISL. the average annual coin
age befure the latter year having beeH t5,HO,-
10, $4,000, COZ only.
In his report for 1872 he adds:
No less than G52 tons of metal have pasS-d
through the melting department during the
y l.
gagged the attention of officers and men a TO
leave no time for the prosecution Of expert
mcutS-
Again he says:
The coinage OF gold in Germany hn. beer car
ried on with euetgy during Tie year is12, and
the total ahiOunt Of coin already struck i un-
derStOod 10 exceed tJl, $4,000, ISIS. ,OOO.)
4 large part of the German coinage was
from bullion and coin lately transmitted by
France on account of the indemnity to
Germany. While our country did not fur
nish all the material to swell the coinage of
the European minis, yet it did contribute
a large portion. NV design has been to
show that our foreign debt has made Eu-
rope the reservoir of American gold.
England, after her last French and
American wArs, was sinking under the bur
den of Ter debts and had been so depleted
Of her gold by fOIeign expectation that ii
required the Omnipotence of Parliament to
lifl her out of the bog. Parliament pro
hibited the melting and expectation of the
coin until the country was Teplenished by
importation, and when the Bank of En-
gland was authorized to pay out coin for its
notes il was only in sums under five
pounds.
France, though recently Frustrated by
terrible military disaster AMI burdened with
the vast expenses of her own armies, was
forced 10 submit to a foreign debt Of i've
milliard francs, equal to one billion dollars.
Yet she was not forSaken Of political Wis
dom. Her FIST thought was 10 get out of
the financial clutches of her German con-
gueror. Her policy was to make it home
debt, and to pay the gold interest 20 her
own people and keep it at home. Her call
for the loan was like restricting trump.
All the private burial places of her gold
gave up their treasures and her people
fastened with it, in sums small
and great, in bags and stockings, toput it at
the feet Of the government. Thus she was
enabled TO anticipate part Of the German
indemnity and TO wipe out the balance at
maturity. Long will her stocking
loan be memorable in the annals of Finance.
Russia has tried the experiment of for
eign debt. In 1873 her foreign loans az
gregated S5JO,Oj9,OOO. Although her
mines yielded annually 100000 600, yet she
was go drained of her gold in the payment
of foreign interest that she was compelled
TO give her own people a forced paper cur
Tency of seven hundred and fifty millions,
which for many years has been at a dis
count varying from 10 TO 10 per cent. But
she has changed her policy and is now
cleaning out her foreign debt as fast asprac-
iicable.
But to recur 10 our own country. We
see our financial life blood ebbing away
through our foreign debt without any Elf
cieut plan to arrest it. Our Constitution
allows the free export Of all commodities;
therefore Congress, like the British Parlia-
ment, cannot prohibit the citizen from ex-
porting gold. But were il otherwise, Con
greSS has voluntarily pursued the opposite
policy, by creating the foreign debt, and
thereby giving free vent to the outflow of
our gold. ThegOld which goes out TO pay
the Government debt goes out not TO re-
turn. hut il is run through foreign minis
and is stamped with regal dies. Ii is not
like the commercial debt of the citizen con-
tracied abroad, for he brings in return val
liable commodities as The consideration 10
combine with the labor and natural re-
sources OF the country, and in this way
makes his debt a producing capital. The
gold interest paid on our foreign debt is
not only without compromising advantages,
but it is positive commercial and finan-
cial evil, as | have already shown.
Aud this is not all. This foreign debt,
as it is our curse in peace it will be our
weakness in war. Il may tie up the sword
arm of our nation when justice and honor
would require that it should strike. In
war, mnscle and money are in close ALI
ancc. II the nation has not the money, it
must have its substitute, credit; and the
larger its debt the weaker will be its credit.
Among tlegre nations our country stands
the richest in mines, but the poorest in
coins.
1t is not practicable fer our Government
to overcome the large export balance of
gold against her in the exchange of ger-
clIandISa with other nations. The trade
balance has been against us for a number
of yeas. For the year 1873 our imports
stood S642, O3O,5 against exports S62G,-
5Sj,G1I. But time will not permit me to
dwell further on the foreign aspect Of our
finances.
Then il will be seen that the obligation
Of our foreign debt will have a controlling
Influence oil our finances at home.
After our large annual export Of gold. as
[ have shown. whence will we derive the
gold to pay interest and sinking fund to
the American bondholders. 10 redeem the
legaltender notes. to provide fJT specie pay
meniS bv the banks, and to furnish sums
under ten dollars To circulate among the
people? When tested by the facts, the the
ury of the President and those of his mode
of thinking will turn out TO be "beauti-
ful imp0Ssibility.' Il is estimated by Mr..
Young, Chief Of the Bureau Of Statistics,
that $40. OOO,C0l will cover the aggregate
gold and silver coin in the United States,
tO-wit:
In the Treasury of the United
States a. per last report Of the
Treasurer .....................- : Ss,l4j,3sI -
Held by national banks, As per last
report of the Comptroller OF the
Currency. ............-. 1850, iG9 As
Estimated balance held by gold
brokers and private persons. 81 .9SI ,2JI 90
Total gold and silver coin. 600 O.
OF this sum the Government requires
SE.I,gIS, SiC, according To last estimates Of
lis. Secretary Of the Treasury 10 pay inter-
est and sinking fund.
The President confesses that we have