New-York tribune., 1878-02-19

silver than the law may require, ana VIII pay
ont no silver instead of gold for interest un'il
the condition of the Treasury cOmpels him'
II is possible for him to pay out newly
coined silver in place of legal-tenders, 1or
other expenses. But by doing 80 he would DE
unnecessarily deprecating the silver, which,
rs long as it does not flow into circulation LII
place of anything but coin. VIII command
high value, because recelvapie Ior uu,'o'.
Moreover, if he pays out silver ihste''u Vi
lega!-tenders he must increase the iegai-'en
der store in the Treasury. virtually, tili' Is
contraction, and will cause alarm with "est-
ern members. If he buys silver puiiioh ny
having out legal-tenders, and then pays out
silver coin instead of legal-tenders for ordl-
nary expepses but not for interest, he VIII
only suhiect the Treasury to loss because the
S;Ivor coins will be returned for duties as fast
as received. Hence, it Is NOS reasohaoio W
cypect that. under the bill as it stands, he
will nav out silver at all until he is compeiieu
TO do so. Public honor will prevent. 1t VIII
also be his duty to save the Treasury Us ions
rs possible, from needless loss.
Thus we reach the inference that, under the
Senate Bill as it stands, the Secretary ought
NOT to nav out a single dollar of the new sill
yer coin, and probably will not, until his
store of gold has been exhausted. But II
none is pad out, little can be paid in as
duties. Customs receipts viii be wholly Ill
gold, as they are nOw They exceed the sum
required for interest on the public debt, ana
the surplus the Secretary is still empowered 10
employ as he may deem best IN preparation
for resumption. 1t is not certain that any
change diminishing coin receipts Tor customs
will be made and i, is reasonable to conclude
that the surplus each year may be applied to
the purchase of silver, to be stored in the
Treasury when coined.
Under these circumstances not dollar OF
the new silver coin can get into circulation
for years. What then will happen Theoreti-
caly, it is true the grecnback Will be redeema-
bic in silver, and the principal and interest oil
the bonds payable in silver but how soon,
and to what extent, will the effects be felt II
the Treasury puts no silver into circulationf
Ii is very difficult to say. Bonds amounting
TO an hundred millions or more may be sent
back from Europe for sale here, thus draining
out gold, changing the balance OF trade, and
causing an advance in the gold premium. Or,
on the other hand, foreign holders may con-
Cllub iudt ~ iS Sdlc w h"i" ""Ai'" iva :" 'N''
or two yet and may hope that sober second
thought NAV lead Americans to avert National
dishonor by new legislation.
Meanwhile. what is to become of men like
Ewing and Bland, who have made their con-
stituents believe that great relief" was at
hand They will say, of course. that the bill
proves abortivc only because the Treasury does
not pay out silver, but their constituents will
begin to consider that not q dollar can be paid
out by the Treasury without either destroying
the public credit or sharply contracting green
backs, with instant loss to the Treasury in
value of duties received IN either case. Next
Fall, the voters will have something to say.
If Messrs Ewing, Bland g. Co. are ready to
face their constituents with a measure which
stains the public honor. and yet does not help
them to the amount of single cent, their con-
stituents must he less sensible than they are
which is quite sufficient
As passed by the Senate, the bill disgraces
the country, but involves no necessary change
in its currency for years. The hope OF MIR.
Buckner that supplemental bill may be
passed is one which should be encouraged.
He will find il hard to get twO-ihirds vote
in either House for another Silver Bill, after
one has been passed to satisfy a supposed
poprllar clanor, and still harder to get two
thirds vote in both Houses for a bill which
involves papable and Odlous JOB.