The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1875-08-19

MAINTAINS credlt ana is good-no
otherwise. The 'greenbacks" them
selves obtained credit, and have made
a satisfactory circulating medium
because they were issued upon the
faith that they would be redeemed
eoith coin at the earliest practicable
time, and because the Government
solemnly pledged to the people and
the world, for other nations were in
terested in that pledge that at nc
time should the amount of ''green
backs ever exceed 100000, ,O0O
Take up all the outstanding bonds
with ''greenbacks;" yes, the third Of
them, and what will they be worth!
What will the honor and faith of the
Government be worth?
But the expansionist says, that the
whole property in the nation is bound
for them, and enumerates and esti-
mates the whole value of the proper
ty in the country. The Government
of the United States has but little
property of its own. It is at most
but an agent for the real property
holders, and can, strictly and legiti-
mately, only levy and collect taxes
for the purpose of carrying on and
managing the public business.
We have some public property, pub
lie buildings, navy yards, ships and
other things, necessary for the pub
lie use, and we have q considerable
amount of public lands, out of which
the Government obtains some money.
The public property is not compare
lively very large. I deny that the
Government owns the property of
the people, or has any claim on it,
except to collect the necessary and
proper revenues, to pay the expenses
of carrying on the public business.
The Government has no claim on nv
individual property, except for prop
er taxes, nor. has it any right to pledge
or cucumber my farm, if 1 had one.
The argument, therefore, founded up
on the wealth and property of the
people, is baseless and false.
The assertion that gold has no in
trinsic value, in itself, is directly in
contravention of all the ideas of man
kind, from the beginning. When it
was first used for money, 1 am not
prepared to say; but that it was
used, and priced as valuable and pre-
cious, from the earliest times, we do
know. We read of the gold used in
the Tabernacle, in the Temple, and
in making the sacred utensils, and
of the efforts made to obtainit. The
sacred writer's and the teachers of
the Church have, in all ages, when en-
deavoring to inculcate pure doctrine
and to describe moral attainments,
frequently used the words "gold' and
''fne gold," as indicating purity, ex-
cellence, brilliancy, beauty and al
most everything of aesthetic charac-
ter. Even the Celestial City is de-
scribed as paved with gold"
All writer's, sacred and profane,
poetical and prosaic, to express the
ideas of beauty, refinement, excel
lence, goodness, richness, purity, and
the like, have given theirrepresenta-
tions in the simile of gold, pure gold,
&c. As, for example, such an one
has "Ster1ing character" and lives
according to the ''gOlden rule" That
is, the rule given by our Savior for
the government of all his rational
creatures. All political economists
think there is real value in it. The
discovery, therefore, that the pre-
cious metals have no intrinsic value
in them wasleft for the 10Th century,
in the year of grace 1868, and was
then accidentally discovered by Wash.
Mclean, of the Cincinnati Enquirer,
and is now the property of Gen. Ca
ry and his confreres who claim an
interest in it. I think Mclean is
the discoverer, and has right to the
patent.
But the most astounding and mar
velous thing in the new discovery is,
that it is claimed to be Democratic
doctrine, as taught by Jefferson.
Calhoun and Jackson! Nowit is the
first time I ever heard of Democrat
of the old school being in favor of
National debt, for any purpose what
ever, if it could possibly be avoided
1t is true Jefferson, Calhoun and !
jackson had to contend with the Ma
tional debts of their time, but they
never thought the debt was a bles-
sing. In Jackson's day and after
wards, the Wings were charged by
the Democrats with holding to the
doctrine that National debt was a
national blessing" which the Wings
denied.
During Gen. Jackson's second
term the National debt was paid off,
and the United States had surplus
of money, which it distributed among
the States. It was called a deposit
with the States, but in truth was q
gift to them. There was nothing for
which Gen. jackson took so much |
credit to himself and his administra-