The Portland daily press., 1875-08-19
NEW YORK.
Ben Butler ON the Currency Question.
NEW YORK, Aug. 1S.-The following letter
is printed here:

Ben Butler ON the Currency Question.
NEW YORK, Aug. 1S.-The following letter
is printed here:
BOSTON, Aug. 49,
My Dear Sir-Engagements long since made
would make it impossible for me 10 be present
on September LIST, at the meeting at Cooper
Institute. need not tell you or my friend
Mr.. Schell how much sympathize with your
movement. All my utterances, public and
private, have been in that direction. l am I'm
able to comprehend appreciate, and much less
admire, that system of the government finances
which has SO wrought upon the business and
production of the country that over two mil
lion working men and women, who desire pro-
ductive employment, have not had it for the
last two years, and by which the production
which they would have added to the wealth of
the country during that time is lost. How the
country is to grow rich enough to pay its debts
by the non-production of its able bodied work
ers, is something that 1 cannot comprehend.
Assuming that each one of that humber.
skilled and unskilled, could have averaged two
dollars per day for the working days of the
past year,-an that l suppose you will agree
with me is little enough-then we have lost
$1,000, 000, 900, about equal 10 half of the ma
tonal debt by this enforced idleress, to say
nothing of the loss of the morals of the work.
ingmen ard women. How long men in active
business, and holders of that kind of property
which is open to the taX-gatherers, will permit
system of financial administration to go on
by which that property shall deprecate 80 per
cent. in its value, while the owners of property
such as notes, mortgages, and bonds, which are
not open to the tax gatherer have their prop
erty appreciated and escape taxation, is a
problem which the good sense of the people If
this country will solve the coming Presidential
election.
Regretting that cannot be with you and
elaborate these views, as l should be glad to
do in New York city, whose docks are deserted
by shipping, whose stores are unrented and
whose dwelling houses have been SO deprecated
as hardly to meet the mortgages upon them,
and where think sound financial doctrines are
as much needed as anywhere, my necessities
compel me to forego that which would be a
pleasure to me, and, 1 trust, a profit to others.
l am Informed that Mr.. Duncan, of Duncan,
Sherman & Co., went to Washington when the
currency bill was before the Pre- sident, and
advised him to veto it because it was necessary
to depreciate values. The President did veto
the bill. Values have been deprecated, I trust
to an amount entirely satisfactory to Messrs.
Duncan, Sherman q Co., however little their
creditors may relish the process
1 have the honor to be very truly yours,
j BENZ. +. BUTLER
To Eugene Beebe, Secretary of the Legal
Tender Club of New York
Proposition OF Duncan, Sherman g. Ce
w. Butler Duncan makes the following
SIN consideration of our being discharged
from our present obligations, propose to pay
therefor SO 13 per cent, as follows: 1-3 per
cent. in my note, dated July 9th, payable on
or before November 9th. 1875, per cent. in
my note dated July 9th, payable on or before
May u. 1876. per cent. in my note dated
July q, payable on or before November a.
1876; per cent. in my note dated July 81,
payable on or before May q, 1877; 10 per cent.
in my note dated July q, payable on or before
November II, 1877, with interest at per cent.
per annum until paid, or as much sooner as
the assets shall be realized and divided. As
security for the prompt fulflmeDt of this agree
ment, the assets now or hereafter in the hands
of the assignee are to be held and administered
by him under the advice of the committee
named by the firm.
Judge Robinson has decided to fix the bond
of Duncan, Sherman s. Co.'s assignee, Ship
man, at 100000.
Bishop for Africn.
A committee of the House of Bishops of the
Methodist Episcopal church, consisting of
Bishops James, Simpson and Ames, met yes
terday and decided that bishop should 90 to
Liberia to visit the diocese of the late Bishop
Roberts. Accordingly one of the committee
will start for the west coast of Africa the first
of October.