The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-12-14

OF all its Obligations except those expressly 9TH
erwlse provided Tor. This Legislative action was
In harmony with that of the executive admins
traton
What, then, was intended, and understood to be
intended by this pledge of the Government? Was
1t that the public securities to be paid in gold
coiu. or in silver, or might be in Ell herr
1t will not be questioned by any one conversant
with the question at that time that the popular
impression, not to say general conviction, was
that the pledge was for payment in gold This be-
lief may have obtained from the fact that the in
terest on this class of obligations payable in CON-
had uniformly been paid in gold, thai the customs
receipts had been set apart to this end, and that
these were paid in gold, and that the silver dollar
had, as money of payment heretofore gone INTO
general disuse, especially in all large trans &C.
tons, and could scarcely be considered
a. contemplated in any measure having
for its object to provide for payment OF sums so
ample as the interest on the public debt, at that
time amounting to the sum OF $751; ooOoO.
This view of The subject receives no incon.
siderable support, also in the leg station OF
Congress in 1875. by which the legal-tender quail
i,y of the silver coin limited TO IS. BY force
OF the laws of trade, quite independent OF those OF
Congress, the lcgal-tender silver dollar had actu-
ally disappeared from circulation as money. and,
although not abolished by act of Congress, II dld
not, matter OF fact, exist for commercial pur-
poses. and did not enter into money payments.
The object and intent of the act of 1873 was CON
fessedly to give to gold the precedence III the
statutes of the country it held in the commercial
world practically, and to declare the gold dollar in
law to be what il iii fact the representative OF
the money unit Gold had for many years been
treated as the principal money of coin payments
in legislation and in the transactions OF the Treas
ury Department.
By the act of 1863. the Treasury was authorized
to receive deposits of gold coin and bullion, and
10 issue certificates therefor redcemable in gold
coin, thus indicating that its obligations called for
payment in gold and not in silver. lhls proNls-
ion, it will be seen. is in consCnance with the
fact that oar foreign exchanges for many years
have been made upon the gold basis, and thus it
is apparent that the general understanding has
beeu of late years. for the consideration stated,
that the money Of coin payments was gold and
an obligation to pay in coin required payment in
gold coin.
As was contemplated by Congress in the policy
declared in 1859 the public securities then de-
pressed Immediately arose to par in gold, and
have since maintained an enyiable position in the
money centers of the world The five-twenty six
per cent bonds, then selling ut lightweight cents
on the dollar, soon arose to par in gold CON, and
have since borne the n erage premium of five
per cent at home and abroad. At the present
time the borrowing power of the Government is
something less than four and one half per cent
Its four and one half per cent bonds, on short
time are readily taken at par in gold. and sold at
a premium in this country and in Europe. Ii no
disturbing element enters into our monetary sys-
TEN, affecting the present policy of the Govern
mcnt it is believed that il will he found practical
| bic. at no remote period, 10 fund the National
debt into four per cent. bond having from thirty
to fifty years to run and this at an annual saving
which. if invested in u sinking fund at four per
cent. annually, would pay on the present National
|
1t is IL matter of deep public concern that poll
| cy benefcent in results and advantageous to
| the future should receive no dctrment from con
| fctng interests policies. or theories. Whatever
may be thought of the right to pay these public
curtics in cheaper money. it will remain true that
it is lawful to pay them in gold coin that the beilef
that they were to be so paid has practical value in
theJlrobable reduction of the public debt equal to
| onC-fuurth of the amount Of the annual interest
| thereon.
1t is respectfully submitted that the coin pay
| III. Ntlfr.
in 1869 was gold and not silver, and that any other
view of it, whatever technical construction the
language may be susceptible Of, would be regarded
as of doubtful good faith, and its probable effect
| preiudicial to the public credit.
ISSUE OF SILVER COIN.
Immediately upon the passage of the act OF Apr!
H. 1876 the Department, through its sew raj indie
pendent Treasury offices. began to issue. in re-
| dempton of the 0ut~ sanding fractional currency,
the subsidiary silver which had been coined under
| the authority Of the Resumption act Of Jan IA,
| 1870. To further relieTe the pressing demand
! throughout the country for money of small denom-
! nations the silver coin in the Treasury previous
| to the passage of the act above mentioned. was
also issued in payment of currency oblig lions OF
| the Cove nme t.
Under the authority for the issue of silver coin
! granted BY the act OF July -. $50. the depart
| mcnt in addition to rciecming fractional cur
renee. whenever presented for that purpose, has
also issued silver COIN in exchange fog lcgal-ender
notes rapidly as the coinage at the minis would
| permit.
| From the date first mentioned, to and including
| Oct g. 1876 there has been issued of silver coin
as above stated. $22.t967 PIG, of which amount
| there has been issued for fractional currency
| deemed and destroyed. S1!953 259i3
The demand fot silver coin for circulation,
| though growing less urgent, still continues fully
| equal to the capacity of the minis to supply it.
Until this demand shall have ceased the coinage
will be continued as rapidly practicable, to the
| limit authorized by law.
| CURRENCY REDEMPTION.
| Owing to the exhaustion of the appropriation
| frans att of mi tod taft So
curites. the express charges on legal-tender and
| fractional notes. sent to his Department for re
demption, and the returns therefor, have not beer
| paid by the Government since the LIST of March
| last In consequence. the redemption of such
| notes has greatly decreased, and the paper cur
rercy of the Government is rapidly becoming unfit
| for circulation. An appropriation sufficient tC
meet the paymenr of such express charges is ear
| nestly recommended.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
| The report of the Comptroller of the Currency
contains full statistics of the reserves, taxation
dividends, earnings, and losses Of the National
Banks, together with a summary of their resources
and liabilities for each year since the system wen
| into operation. From this report it appsars thai
up to Oct of the present year 23i2 banks in al
! had been organized, of which 20S7 were in opera.
| ton ut that date The returns of these banks show
that they had aggregate capital of Si99 S02 23
surplus of 322t2 2S2; circulation outstanding
s29l $4,000; individual deposits, S65i 1856 2i0;
loans. SG27 s 97g; specie (including coin certii
cates). 81 $685.; legalender notes Including
! United States certificates Of deposit s1l3 POST
redemption fund WITH TIE Tn tied States treas uIer
| sl6,743,695
COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION.
! There is little change in the proportion of the
foreign carrying trade transacted in foreign ves-
sells about MY PEI cent OF i hEm and
carried in foreign vessels, against seventy-four
per cent for the preceding year. and seventy -tw o
per cent. for the fiscal year 1874
| The Register of the Treasury reports the total
tonnage of vessels of The United States to be
2T9 45S tons. de"rease OF 5T42 ga tons from that
. of the iisca) year ended June 30. 1875. This de-
crease is principally caused bt the droppi, Of
| canal-boat ton are exempt under the act Of Con-
gress approved Aprl Is, 1874.
| The actual decrease is believed to be about 5S3
Gil tons, this amount being the excess of the
losses the gains during the last fiscal year but
this decrease is reduced I.27l tons by correc-
tions OF the balances outstanding
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
| The coin valGe Of the exports and imports of the
United States for the lat fiscal year, as appears
from official returns made TO and complied by the
| Bureau of Statistics are as 70 lows:
Exports of domestic merchandise. S525 So 2iT
Exports of lore On merchandise 1850 ,43i
lotal. $3.50. ............... .-....S 4u'3o4-h !
Imports OF goods. 400, Al .19O
Excess of exports over imports &C.. S79,6i3, 4sl
| For the fiscal year 1873 there was an excess OF
imports over exports amounting tO...S 1852, T25
Showing a difference of S99,20j.2Ji.
Exports of specie and bullion. ........S $50 3Gs
Imports of specie and bullion. 15,.86, 6Sl
! Excess of exports over imports D.. 5 40 500 621
| Total excess of exports of merchandise
and the precious metals imports. S120 2l3 10l