The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-09-09
!. Few pam for making ) GOOD
Currency.
[For the Dispatch.I
n. M'cuLLocH's LITTER on THE CURRENCY,

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It's long and scattering letter, but this
comment proposes to deal only with the cur
.repcy part. Virgins, along with the whole
South, desires nothing more to do with tax
alton except to indulge the hope that more
enlightened sense of justice and OF public
good on the part Of the General Government
will rectify the uErighteous discrimination
under which they suffer. Dir. ex.Secretary
McCulloch regards speedy return to spe.
Gle standard of vital importance to the Dest
interests of the country. Whilst he regards
an exclusive metallic currency impracticable
amonga commercial people, has holy nor
ror of an irredeemable paper currency. DE
SAYS further, real money leaves or aVolos
country that has an inferior substitute LOT IL.
The difficulties which surround in this eoun'
try the questions of finance are very great.
Beneficent measures of legislation, and those
which the world can regard as permanent
are DELAYED or defeated by the personal am
bition, the sectional greed or pride, and the
partisan rancor that disgrace the consloera-
ton OF q question into which they are lug
ged unnecessary. What real money is, de-
pends-it is the term applied to that sub
stance, of whatever nature IL may be,
which is by common consent and
for the convenience Of community
employed by that community to represent
goods in effecting their barter or sale; and
currency" is that particular kind of money
which is accepted in any district or country.
To make it "run" or give it currency, 1t
must be stamped with a certain value by au-
thorlty of the government issuing 1t, whether
it be Of gold, silver, copper, electrum, or
paper, and is received for its exact face value
only within the territory Of the government
that has stamped its symbol of authority
upon it. All KNOW that no gold or silver
coins are received in foreign countries at the
same value as at home. a Bank OF England
note is good for its face wherever man can
read the language ON it. The word "mo-
ney" is said to be derived from n,onere, to
instruct. to advise, and the first coins to have
been struck in the temple Of Juno Moncta.
the adviser. When men, then, vino deal
with become advised of or Instructed in the
value OF the commodity called money, it IS
quickened with the power OF passing un-
questioned. It is familiar to every reader
that mankind vas not long in deciding that
out of the precious metals could be made the
most enduring and convenient form of mo.
ney, and for most obvious reasons. But as
commercial dealings became more CON-
picated, and penetrated into other
lands, something else was required.
The costly, laboriouS, and unsafe mode
of transporting the heavy metals, the new
crime of boring and clipping coins. the dis.
graceful depreciation by amaIglmation Of
base metals, necessitating the use OF the
tombstone and the scales; the ininite diVi-
81, ra al; ND he
ton of printing quickenlng man Into LIE
more and more eXactin2, paper was used to
pay debts of one country TO another. Inc
bill of exchange became the instrument by
which international commerce was conduct
ed quick and free trade among different
peoples established +; private honesty begat
general faith hence mercantile credit. And
a bill is not good simply because it may be
signed Rothschild e Co. or Barring Bro
theirs, but because the world is advised, in
structed and knows the Sovency and trusts
the honesty OF these houses, and these bills
are really money. To apply this mode Of
paying debts among people OF the same
country and for all purposes Of trade
and barter, banks have oaen established with
power to issue their notes or promises to
pay. TO become "current" the i5suer or
the prOmiSOr on the note must not
only be solvent and honest, but the world
must be advised of this and Geti@rc. The
promises to pay are readily accepted if
they are convertible into coin Of the
precious metals at their fill value, or
at discount or Topping off if the
trader values them at less. In England,
after many angry discussions and bitter DIS
sensions, Parliament established as fuuda-
mental principle that the bank note, 80 essen
sentlal to commerce and trade, must be con-
vertible into coin at the option of the holder.
Parliament to this end so enacts as that the
notes of the Bank Of England are to-day con-
vertible into coin, and generally preferred to
coin, and invested with the royal pceroga-
tive of being legal-tenders. Experience has
established beyond cavl the good sense and
economical wisdom of this step. Gold, nor
silver, nor eectrum, nor copper, nor any.
thing else that Mr.. eX-Secretary may cali
&" real money" is regarded with more conf
deuce or accepted more willingly in England
or in the world than note OF the Bank of
England. But let us to Mr.. McCulloch's
specifics. No. l calls for period TO be fixed
by law at which greenbacks shall cease to be
legal.tepders. No. 2 would authorize the
Secretary of the Treasury to retire s50,000,-
600 per annum of these doomed greenbacks
until exhausted. No. simply lays down
the modus of eXhausting or destroying the
greenback. Does it not seem more wise to
uphold than to destroy so serviceable an ar
ticle as our "currrency?" More especially
as we have no wand of Prospero, or lamp of
Aladdin, or the pck-axe OF any "heathen
Chinee," by which we can get. for
the usual purposes of trade, the needed "cir-
culating medium" There seems to be SIM
pie solution of this yeXed question in the
power Of the Federal Government to adopt
First. Repeal the law establishing the present
National Banks, and call in all the notes of
said banks. Secondly. Endow the existing
greenbacks with the same sanctity Of law and
plighted faith of the Government as the
United States bonds possess; make them re-
deemable in gold or eXchangeable at par for
bonds, at fixed period from date. Thirdly.
Extend to companies, under some name, say
District Treasury Banks, with the privileges
of banking now enjoyed by the National
banks, with this limitation, to use the green
backs made redeemable in gold, &C., and
upon depositing an amount of United States
bonds, equal in value to not less than one
hundred thousand dollars to receive ten
years of interest in the aggregate on said
bonds, in the shape Of treasury notes of the
denomination of five up to one hundred dol
lars, and an amount of greenbacks equal in
value to one.third of the bonds, less
interest, the interest being represented
by the coupon or treasury notes., said
greenbacks TO be redeemable as the bonds
now are-in gold-at the same periods.
The notes, which are for convenience here
called coupon or Treasury notes, represent
ing the interest on the national debt, and
which the Government is pledged to pay in
gold, should be made redeemaole in gold at
any Treasury bank when due-say quarterly
for each year as they fall due. The banks
can always meet, by proper arrangement
with the Treasury Department, their notes.
A.. mid off fha firnIll q ton di