The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-01-17

SATURDAY .JANTAKYs17, 1874.
Mr.. Calhoun The National Currency. :
A correspondent writing from Lexington
undertakes TO defend Mr. CALHOUN nom the
credit fthc . bad enainence," our correspond
ans STYLES IT'D Of .foreshadowiDg the pre-
sent national currency, which we awarded
to him. The defence Is supererogatory. We
did not misstate Mr. CALuoUS's position. We
understood his ohjectto be to separate the
Government from the banks. Clearly con-
Tossing the impossibility Of either the GOV
eminent or the people getting along VIII
their vast transactions without paper money,
Mr.. CALHOUN proposed that the Government
should issue its promises TO pay with which
1t should pay its debts. with the understand
;nr that these promises Of its own should be
taken in payment of all claims it had against
others.
Our correspondent o." cannot say that
we claimed that it was meant to 20 further
than this by Mr.. CALHOUN. He suggested
no mode Of putting ufloat the promises to
pay Of the Government save through its ex
penditures. There was no public debt Of
consequence, and the whole object Of Mr.
CALHOUN was to enable the Government to
separate itself from the banks and their
paper, and yet itself employ paper bearing
its own pledge for payment-to adapt its
own transactions TO the customs Of civil
lied and active national commerce. This
was indispensable, as Mr.. CALHOUN SAVIOR
to come down to hard money exclusively
would be to return to barbarism.
We well remember the war between the
Government and the banks. MIR. CALHOUN
was against the banks, and desired to perfect
a system by which the Government could
cut loose from those institutions. BENTON
and his followers were :. hard-money" men.
Mr.. CALHOUN was wiser than they. He knew
that there must be paper money, and he
proposed the scheme upon which he made
the speech from which we quoted.
Now, all that was in our article was the
awarding him the credit for the suggestion
of Government currency. He, indeed,
his suggestion might be carried for the good
of the country. He was like an inventor
having but very limited idea Of the vast
purposes for which his invention would in
time be employed. .....
The war, the necessities it brought upon
the country, together with the great national
debt, opened the way to give operation and
expar siveness to the idea boldly declared by
MIR. CALHOUN in 1887. He proposed scheme
for the good of the Government, but it is
proved to be no less beneficial to the coun-
try. His error was in supposing that the
Government might separate itself from the
people as well as the banks. That was in
deed delusion. There can be no such
separation from the people and their COM
merce. The currency which is best for the
Government is best for the people. Behold
the grand proof in the universal circulation
and acceptabilty of the national currency-
the very best that this country ever saw.
All honor to Mr.. CALHOUN rs the suggestor
of what has proved benefit he never
dreamed Of
Our correspondent suggests several points
not pertinent to the discussion. We refer
briefly to some of them:
The national debt" Mr.. CALHOUN de-
serves neither credit nor blame for not in
venting one, nor for not being prophet
enough to foretell it. Nor did he keep down
the debt of his day more than other states
men did.
Mr.. CALHOUN, in proposing the option OF
gold or Government currency, proposed
nothing new and nothing different from the
views Of the present time. Everybody ex-
poets resumption Of specie payments. In
Mr.. CALHoUN's day suspensions were fire.
quent. The question might we'll be put,
" Could the Government have paid gold
easier than the banks during suspension?"
If yea, that is a conclusive answer in favor
of the entire currency Of the country being
issued and received By the Government,
What says "J"9
No rnan presumes that paper is to be forced
Upon the people save in exigences such as
81" has undoubtedly witnessed, and under
the necessities of war, which we all have
seen anu iclls I'LL. ShASE was CSClctShiJ VI
the Treasury when the paper Of the Govern
ment was made legal.tender. The neces.
sity and not his opinion of its constitution
atty so made that paper. In peace he de-
clared il unconstitutional. Would Mr.. CAL.
HOUR, similarly situated, have done more or
lesss Our correspondent touches the Anne
rican system, incidentally pronouncing it
Mr.. CLAY's. Was it not Mr.. CALHoUN's?
But it has no bearing on the subject.
He alludes to what many people have CON-
planned of-vis., that the banks draw inter
est upon the United States bonds that are
deposited to secure the ultimate payment OF
the notes that ale issaed to them, and then
that they charge an enormous interest upon
their loans.
The two points are diviSible:
First. The bonds of the United States are
a debt which bears interest and The owners
of the bonds are entitled to that. That in
terest would have to be paid, banks or no
banks. And II those bonds are the means of
giving the country an undonbted currency
should the people out Of envy or malice to-
wards the znenwho perform this operation
~ G,rn;eh hive tl,;s ocoo pfohlo currency make