New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-02-25

experlence of the Bank of England to show
that resumption, when it comes, will be attended,
for some years at least, by an increase OF
boarding rather than the dispersion OF existing
boards 1t will not be safe to count
on any aid from pocket pieces and bureau
drawers in maintaining specie payments
from and after 1879, if that indeed is
the time when they are to be inaugurated.
These S55, OOO,O 900 include between $25,0O0,-
600 and $50 100000 which are held against
gold certificates. These certificates are private
property, and constitute moro than 80 per
cent of the specie reported by tho banks.
They are in constant use for the payment of
customs and the settlement of such other
business as is now carried on upon a specie
basis, which in this city u of considerable i'm
portance. When gold is exported these GER
tifcates are presented at the Sub-Treasury,
and the coin ia then transferred from the
vaults Of the Government to the strOng-Ioom
Of some British steamer.
With orly Sj5, 000, 900 of gold in the United
States treasures it is obvious that there can
moi be any lasting resumption. About forty
years ago, whom the Bank of England was
paying It's notes or demand. William Cobbett
in time OF political excitement caused about
$40 1000, 900 to be- drawn out of the Bank by
means of an article in his Political Register
No notes of less than twenty-five dollars were
then in use. If five dollar notes had been i'll
use in place of soveregns, Cobbett's a peal
would unquestionably have produced very
serious consequences probably nothing less
than panic and the suspension of specie pay
ments. There ia no institution in the United
States with anything like the credit of the
Bank Of England, and there are few indl-
yduals 50 absolutely destitute az not to have
a dollar, OF two dollar, or five dollar bill i'll
their possession. These small bills ought to
DO abolished. Silver coin should take the
place of the ones and twos, and the five dol
lar gold piece should he substituted for the
n0ic of that denomination. The French are
now Withdrawing all notes below twenty dol
lars, the Germans have placed the Inc Still
higher up, and in England and Wales there Is
no paper under twenty-five dollars. The adj
vantascs of using com for small payments are
very great. The failure of CObbct's attempt
TO produce panic is case In point. The
hostility which many Weston people show
toward the National banks may be
traced back to the losses which men
of small means have sustained from
being holders of the small bills of broken
banks The Use Of small bills il about az
wise ut it would be to arm our fortiications
with wooden guns II docs very well foI
peace, but in time Of war the guns ale worth
less. Some of our Washington philosophers
arc of opinion that the grcenback was of great
use to Us in the war. The only real service
which the groeuback, did lis was to enable
tic Government To get hold Of the specie
which they displaced. If another war should
break out Tomorrow the issue of grccnbacks
could not be of the slightest advantage. be
cause there il no more coin to disiiace i--''-
ing gTtcnbacks would do us no mere good
than issuing assignats did the French rc'0lE-
tionists or printing Confederate nolcs did thc
South.
In France The Issue of Bank of France notes
was of service in conducting the war and pay
ing the indemnity for the simple reason that
there were hundreds Of millions Of specie to
displace The Bank of France, which il act
ing in this business "a a branch of the Frcnci
Government is now drawing back those hun
drcds Of millions of coin, aud in 81 doing IS
making the most effective preparation Tor var.
BY leaving our currency a solid mass OF paper
stock we ATE preparing for the utter dcstruc-
ton of our finances, should great war sud-
denly come upon us. Talk of the mismanage-
ment of Secretary Robson or Secretary Bel
knap-why, if thoy burned every ship and
fort and spiked every cannon and muakct,
they could not leave Us more deicn-elcss than
Congress Is doing by keeping our currency in
its present shape.
These, then aIe the elements OF weakness
which would disable us from fighting on even
terms with any great nation which used real
money: Filsi, We have only S55,0OO,OOO of
gold coin in The Treasury, which is less than
we had three. -four. five, six, seven, eight,
nine. or ten years ago. Secondly, We have
nothing OF value but . Hide bronze and nickel
in uso among the people ~ money. Every
paper dollar we issued would only add to the
depreciation already existing, and the fighting
qualities Of the creonback, Of which the poll
ticians talk 80 much. would be precisely equal
to the floating qualities Of an anchor Mr.
Kelley would equip our shin oil state with life
preserves of pig-ron; nay, more he would
strap pig to the back of every mariner, to
sink him in spite OF himself.
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