The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-10-15

quest Of the Board of Trade. 1t is a
singular production. 1t is surprising
that a man 50 clever, adroit and ingenious as
General Butler should 50 expose himself.
We do not ask anybody to take our assertion
that Mr.. Butler has made On absurd speech,
for our assertion is of no more weight than
his, neither being of any value on such a
subject except SO far as it is supported by
proofs. We will keep clear Of reconcile
reasoning, for it is not necessary to 60 deeply
into the subject to demonstrate General But
lers incapacity to discuss it with profit to
those whom he undertakes to instruct.
Everybody is competent to judge of ques-
ton Of fact, and we will begin our exposure
by showing that on the mere facts belonging
to this controversy General Buffers inaccu-
racy, misapprehensions and confusion OF
thought are so gross as to be perfectly ludi-
crous
He goes at some length into the history OF
the Bank of England and the commercial
crises which have from time to time arisen
in that country, with view to prove that
reliance in specie is delusive. The pre-
cision of his knowledge may be judged OF
by his repeated assertions that the Bank OF
England has several times suspended specie
payments since the Bank act of 1874 The
truth is that the Bank of England has never
suspended specie payments since the act OF
1874 was passed 1t may be asked how Cen
eral Butler could have fallen into these
ecregious misstatements of fact and have
made them the basis of one of his most
prominent arguments. The explanation is
easy enough, but it exposes such blum
dering looseness of thought and dense
ignorance of the subject that General
Butler will blush when he sees the
correction. He has frequently read of
the Suspensions" of 1S47. 1857 and
1865 in connection with the Bank of Eng
land, and in the profundity of his mis-
information he supposed it meant suspen-
sions of specie payments, whereas, in fact,
the word referred only to the suspension
of particular provision of the Bank act.
Specie payments have never suspended for
day since the passage of that act. There
has not been q day since 1921 when the notes
of the Bank of England were not paid in
coin on presentation.
By the act of 1874 the Bank is permitted
to issue notes to the amount of fifteen
millions on securities, but beyond that sum
no note is issued without an equal amount
of coin or bullion deposited and kept for its
redemption. In a financial crisis when
everybody wants money and fears he cannot
get it, the Bank is restrained'by this pro-
vision from granting any relief to the
community, because the issue of more
notes would require the deposit of the
same amount of gold, and the avail
able money would not be increased by taking
precisely as much gold out of circulation as
was equal to the new notes put into circula-
ton. In order to relieve financial panics
this part of the Bank act has three times been
suspended is to say, the Bank has been
permitted to issue additional notes on securi-
ties instead of deposits of equal amounts of
gold. 1t was not suspension of specie pay
ments-which were not interrupted sus-
pension of the rule which forbids the issue
of notes except on an equal amount of gold.
And General Butler is so discreditably ignor-
ant as to confound this with suspension of
specie payments 1t is not mere inadver-
lance such as a man might fall into in the
haste of extemporaneous speaking, for the
speech was deliberately written out, put in
type and the proofs corrected before it was
delivered. General Butler says, ''as early as
October %, 1S47, three years after the re-
organization of the Bank, she suspended
specie payments !" and again he says, mo
vember 8, 1857, the Bank of England again
suspended specie payments )" and still again
he says, '1n November, 1866, the Bank of
England suspended specie payments. Now,
as it is a well known historical fact that the
Bank of England did not suspend specie
payments on any of these occasions, the
| public can draw its own differences as to the
accuracy of General Buffers knowledge and
| the soundness of the arguments which he
builds on his grotesque misconceptions. He
| is in muddle, like that of the Englishman
who displayed his knowledge Of our public
men by confounding Webster, the states
man, with the author of the Dictionary.
After this specimen of General Buffers
discrimination his other blunders will not
seem surprising. He thinks an intrinsic"
value can be given to the legal tender notes
by making them always interchangeable with
three-sixty-fve bonds. Mrs. Malaprop her
self never misused language more ridicu-
lousy General Butler does not seem to I'M
derstand the distinction between intrinsic
value and exchangeable value. lie thinks
that piece Of green paper worthless in
itself may have intrinsic value conferred
upon it by being made exchangeablc for gov
eminent paper Of another form And a man
who talks such stuff as this erects himself
into financial instructor.
We select for illustration only such
| bIunders as anv reader of ordinary intelli