New-York tribune., 1875-11-13

PAST AND FUTURE or THE GREENB4Ch.
The Hon. L. c. Spaulding of Buffalo is about
to publish second edition of his " Financial
"Histoly of the War; the first edition having
become scarce and really difficult to procure.
This second edition is accompanied by an
elaborate introduction, of which We give else
where the most important parts. 1t is particu-
larly deserving of attention at this time, when
the greenback is regarded by many as real
money, that Mr.. SpaudinS, the author OF the
law which brought grcenbacks into existence,
avows that he never looked upon them as
ANYTHING else than evidences of debt. This Is
the view Mr.. McCullOch took of them i'll
recently published letter to The TRIBUNE.
When grccubackS are regarded simply as debts
no question can be raised as to the payment of
the Five-twenty bonds in paper money. The
gTeenbacks being nothing but floating debt,
were originally intended to be funded into
Five-twenty bonds, and it was a serious error
to deprive the holders of grecnbacks of this
funding privilege.
Mr.. Spaulding, appearing throughout as the
friend of currency based on specie. finds
little to commend in the course pursued by
Congress and successive Secretaries of the
Treasury since 1867. Mr.. McCulloch, he thinks,
had Congress continued to give him proper
support, would have brought us back to specie
payments years ago. He condemns Secretary
Boutwell, for paying off between three and
four hundred millions of the bonded debt and
making no effort to raise the value of the
ercenbacks. This censme, however, properly
falls OH Congress- since Secretary Boutwell, had
and could obtain no authority TO contract the
currency.
On the whole, Mr.. Spauding thinks favOrably
of the Act for the resumption of specie pay
ments i'll 1879. Though that Act did not con-
template any contraction whatever OF the
aggregate volume of legal tenders and bank
notes, all that has vet been accomplished under
it has come from the voluntary surrender Ivy
the banks of from twenty five TO thirty millions
of their circulation. The plan of the Act is
evidently to accumulate gold coin in the Treas
ury with which to make the greeubacks con-
vcrtible from January ], 1879. The Treasury
has not yet added dollar to its stock of gold,
and il remains to be seen whether the gradual
transfer Of fifty or hundred millions OF gold
coin to the Treasury vaults can be accom-
plished easier than the withdrawal of like
amount of paper In the nine months which
have passed since the signing of the Act Of
Jan. II, 1875, there has been reduction of
about 500, 600, 900 the volume of legal-tender
notes and bank bills in circulation, hut all the
difficulty which the money market has exp r.
cnced has come from the scarcity of gold,
OF which the Treasury has not taken penny.
Certainly it is to be hoped that next year the
state of our foreign trade and credit, of the
public revenue and of the Secretary's mind,
may be such as to lead TO an increase of the
coin in the Treas but Oh the whole We are
not inclined to be as sanguine as Mr.. Spauld-
inc in regard to the resumption Of specie pay
mcnts under the provisions Of the caucus
Christmas gift OF last Winter. ii the lst OF
January, 1879, should find the Treasury en-
loving a large surplus revenue the difficulty of
resuming would be lcssened, but we are Of
opinion that surplus revenue for the next
tmcc or four years must be derived from di-
minished expenditures. 1t is not likely that
any political party would dare now 20 increase
taxes nor is there any necessity for il while
there is such field for cutting down expenses.