The daily gazette., 1876-07-13

SILVER AS A LEGLAL TENDER. The
substitution Of silver for the fractiop-
al paper currency as preliminary to a
full and complete return to specie pay.
ments has frequently been advocated
in these columns. The law authoriz,
ing the issue of silver coin to the extent
of twenty millions of dollars, and the
Withdrawal of like amount of fracsi
Iional currency, was step In the right
direction. But the heavy decline of
late in the value of silver .change so
greatly the worth of that metal as
compared with gold that the proposal
to make silver legal tender either in
unlimited amounts of even in payment
of debts to the extent of twenty five
dollars would work great injury to all
classes of creditors, Yet one or the
other of these things is what Congress,
| it would seem, proposes to do. 1t is
conceded by the best authorities that
where gold and silver enter into stimuli
taneous circulation gold should be
made the standard money and legal
tender, and silver only legal-tender in
sums not exceeding five dollars. Such,
too, is the law, as it exists now in the
United States, but this law it is pro-
posed by the bill in qustion to change.
A few weeks ago both houses of Con :
gress voted to make silver dollars legal
tender in payment of all debts due the
government or to private individuals,
the worth of the silver dollars, taking
the gold dollar as the standard, being
eighty four cents. Since then the
value of silver has still further declin-
ed, and to-day the silver dollar is
worth::no more than seventy five cents.
Our silver coinage, in SO far as it may
be made legal l'tender. is therefore vir'
tually debased currency to that ex-
tent, and for the whole twenty million
Of dollars, which it is proposed to put
in circulation, is in gross violation OF
the pledge of the government to
! redeem its issues of paper currency ia
gold or its equivalent at par. Nor is
this all. 1t is believed abroad that
the value of silver will continue to de
cline, not only from the fact thai
throughout the German empire has
been substituted for silver as the only
, standard money, but also because thu
product of the Nevada mines is 81
great that there is glut of silver in tn,
market of Europe. ..-
! There are members of Congress il
, both houses and of both political par
ties who are not content with enactins
, that the tender to creditor of twenty
five silver dollars worth eighteel
j dollars and seventy five cents-shal
! be equivalent to the payment of TWEEN
ty five gold dollars, worth one hundred
J. cents on the dollar. In the Senate al
Q amendment to substitute the silve
g dollar for the gold dollar. and to max,
# it the standard of our money withou
o limit received eighteen votes in tn
y affirmative to fourteen in the negativ
whilst in the House motion to max
= silver legal tender for any amount re
~ ceived hundred and ten votes i
e votes in favor of it to fifty five agains
a 1t. This was when the silver none
d was worth eighty four cents an,
ft greenbacks eighty eight cents. To da
% the silver dollar is worth but sevent,
1t five cents, with the prospects of q stil
l. further decline, whilst the greenbacl
remains steady at eighty eight cents
g The conference committee on tn
4 silver bill on Tuesday agreed upon
e report on the general features Of tn
i bill, the conference ON the part of tn
IS Senate agreeing to strike out tn
g word "now," 80 as to provide for th
n issue of subsidiary silver coin whicl
2 may at any time be in the treasury
u but limiting the whole amount to b.
issued (including the ten millions is
:, sued under the bill which has alread,
a become law to fifty millions. Tb'
q silver coin SO issued is made lega
0 tender for five dollars ,-Baltsm0r
3 Sun.