New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-08-14

and he added that most unqneshoRdop "'e Wv
I.,al tender and there can be no lN0a' te"n@' " "''
country under the authority Of this Gorc~me"' or a"y
.th,r but oold and slre.r ! quote from speech
delivered by him III the Senate Oh @iS' D0'0""'''
1896. on the Specie Circular
pes,dcs the perncious consequences OF ala IRE
sooh,a curency to which have referred, thero
- ,h.rs even of a more serious character Sucn
.,rencv not only leads to reckless and extTavagah'
.,cculation. but is generally demoraiizng. "noro
Covernment is blind TO its obligations, as IL Is "ho
II issnes currency which 1t refuses 10 pay atous"
rnon its face il contains promise U" pay 4" 'n"'
disregard of the cearest moralty anu tue result 10
certain 70 follow that the same disregard VIII DO eA
h;h;ted nv the people And what national condition
can he worse than that in which the virtues Oh l'n
and honesty no longer sway public or Individual
opnionf - o.
.uh;o;n a few other suggestions which seem to
me to bear upon the subject
ADAM SMITH AND THE WANTS OF TRADE
l. 1t has recently been said by q eoi'i'"'"" ~, ".
national reputation that currency cons's'"s w.
of cold and silver could not meet the wants Va ~
c;etv This is true If 1t he meant thal All pc.
transactions are TO be liquidated by the ueo,oi
ING To the creditor gold and silver ouch 'fah'ac-
,;ons in the United States alone. are daily to such
AN amount that arithmetic can hardly es''nia'0
tbam They are in tiillions mi lions, and OF course
a,d silver Nor do those who mantsin that the
urra,cv sboud consist of gold and silver ana OF pa
,.r money payable into gold and silver. entertain
any such idle opinion. Their doctrine H.
and such ia the doctrine OF all eminent
political economists of the century AZ the
head of whom stands prominent. Adam smith, that
an irredeemable currency is pregnant with mst'riii
loss and ia most demoralizlng
The HIGH authority of Adam Smith has never been
tfAF an
ability now lost to the world of letters. the late r
Buckle referring to Smiths Wealth OF Nations
says that smith contributed more by the pubhca-
tion nj this single work toward the happiness Oh
man than has been effected by the united abilities ol
all the statesmen and legislators of whom history
has preserved an authentic account
MOLE SPECIE NOT NEEDED.
g Nor do the wants of trade heeh' nor nave
thew ever needed mers specie money. Ihey are
adjusted for the most part by redeemable pahk
notes checks transfers of credits bills OF exchange
and in modern times. far as banks are concerned
bv what are called clearinghouse. BY these means
little or no coin actually passes from hand to hand
but the creditor is protected from losses occurring
either from fraud or other in the assurance
that when he requires il he can receive com. Ouf
Government itself shows that it properly estimates
the difference between specie currency anu al
inconvertible paper currency, and 1t shows IL III
a way that in my view. does 10 credit.
Desiring to borrow money they have issued BONDS
PAYABLE principal and interest. in coin. As these
allegations could only be fulfilled III that mode, they
have provided that all mpost duties shall be paid IN
coin The importers are therefore, unable to avail
thernselve, of our legal tender notes. Tho Govern
ment says TO them-"you owe us 80 much Ior tho
priyilepe we grant you to import articles from
abroad but we will not receive IN payment our own
money. What Others may owe us on Other ac-
counts we agree may be 80 paid. and We compel
all creditors whether they be municipal or lndlvid-
ual to receive the same money, no matter what may
be the loss to them" This places Us III An unenvla-
bic situation before the world As to all classes OF
debts due 20 the Government except one our paper
currency is money, and the creditors are forced to
receive il at its nominal whatever may he its actual
value while "a TO that one We compel payment III
coin.
CONSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS.
g Besides the constitutional provisions TO which
have before adverted to prove that the Gov
eminent has power TO make anything but gold
and silver a legal tender think 1t is clearly to be
inferred from the first clause in the eighth section OF
Article l. of the Constitution, which gives to Con-
gress the power to lay and collect taxes duties,
fmposts and excuses TO pay the debts etc. Can 1T bo
questioned that these debts were designed by tho
Constitution to be paid only in that which the world
had recognized as money TO obtain such money.
therefore was the object of the power. The taxes,
consequently, We're to be paid in coin. But Con-
sress has made them payable i'll their own irredeem-
able notes and made these notes legal tender Ii
this is constitutional, they might have made them
payable in rsccOon skins aud made such skins
legal tender.
INITIATION CLEARLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN TINE or
PEACE.
l. Admitting. for arguments sake, that there
may be an exigency which requires for the prcserva
ton of the nations existence all Issue of paper money
and the making IL a legal tender does any such ex-
agency exist The amount of such currency
now outstanding issued under the authority OF
laws previously passed. They passed during
the perils of the late civil war-perls which threat
ened the destruction of the Government. IL il
mainly because of such perils that the majority of
the court IN the in II Wallace, held that such
laws constitutional In that part of the opinion
of Mr.. Justice Strong which appears page $40, II
Wallace. he says that the inquiry is whether such
laws "were whm enacted. appropriate instru-
mentalities for carrying INTO effect executing any
of the known powers of Congress of any depart
ment of the Government" He then states III glow
ing but not in exaggerated terms. what the
circumstances in which the Government then stood.
and adds that il is not to be denied that acts may
b. adapted 70 the exercise Of lawful power and ap-
propriae TO It, in seasons Of ex.cncy which would
be inappropriate at other times Ii is clearly in
ferable from these quotations that It was because
the laws were considered by the Court as being APP
propriae when passed to the exercise Of powers be-
longing to the Government that they adjudged them
10 be constitutional. 1t il | think also per
fectly plain that in their Judgment no such
laws could DE passed because of a change
In the circumstances of the country and Of the
absence by reason of such change of any danger to
the existence of Government If | am right in