Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1878-02-19
THE SILVER BILL AGAIN.

underwent two very important amendments.
One OF these provides that contracts to pay
gold shall not be satisfied in silver. The other
denies the owners Of silver bullion the same
privilege enjoyed by the owners of gold,-
That is to say, to have their metal coined free
Of charge. Insofar as the latter perpetuates
or continues fragrant injustice it is greatly
to be condemned and impossible of iustifca-
ton so long as the people are taxed to sup
port the Printing and EnTa ng Bureau Of
the Treasury Department or to pay the Ma
tional Bank Note Company for engraving the
grocn.ack and National Bank-note plates it
seems hardly fair that private individuals or
corporations should be compelled to bear the
expense of coming their silver. As to the
first mentioned amendment, it seemed to us
to lend most decided strength to the bill.
Anything which has a tendency 10 impair any
contract is Of doubtful legality: ard certainly
the people of those States that attempted a
notification of the Legal Tender Act should
be the last to complain Of provision If law
which aihrms the aroWe4 prime. = embodied
in the so-ca.lud Specific Contract Laws OF Cal
if9ruia and Nevada ! is to be hoped that
the House will insist upon that feature of the
Bland Bill which puts silver on par with
gold; for with the strong purpose and stout
majority there, it will look as if there were
disposition to retreat from a well-assured atti-
tude, if this vital feature Of the original bill
(the free coinage Of slver), is not retained.
Upon the general subject Of the expansion
and contraction Of moneys We find much use
full information in Backwoods Magazine for
December 1863 This information occurs in
an article entitled, "Our Invisible Capital"
and it teaches in a most startling manner not
only how history repeats itself, but let's us
know more decidedly than ever of the purpose
and steady policy of the rich to get richer and
Of aggregated capital to exact and extort, op-
press and deplete, i'll all possible directions.
Says this very able writer:
1t is startling statement and yet it is sim
ply the fact, that now more than ever in our
hstory-more than ever during the twenty
years which have elapsed since the passing of
the present Bank Acts-the Bank sets itself
in opposition to the wants and interests of
Trade. In its practice, the BanknoW regards
every expansion of Trade as an evil which
must be checked. How is this How has it
come to pass that our Banking-system Origi-
nally established for the very purpose of sup
porting trade, and allowing it to expand-and
which for so many generations accomplished
this object satisfactorily, and with immense
benefit to the country-now appears in new
aspect, and never feels at ease except when
trade is restricted and fetteredl How is it that
the Banks and Trade instead of being contid-
ing allies, are now all but open and declared
foes that every expansion of the latter is
met by a repressive course on the part Of
the Bank of England!
Following this is an intensely interest
ing and most instructive essay upon the his
tory and nature Of banking, thepaper conclud-
ing with very plain and emphatic showing of
the tyranny wrought by the Bank of England
upon the entire mercantile class OF Great Brit |
ain. We shall come to this part of the article |
i'll question in due time.
The proposition to bank ON silver has,been
treated by the opponents of the Silver Bill as
if it were not only something in the nature of
piracy but wholly unprecedented. This wri-
ter shows that one Of the very earliest banks
Of Europe, namely, the Bank of Venice (where
Shakespeare ''locates" Shylock), received silver
on deposit and issued paper money payable in
coins of that metal. SO with The Bank of Eng
land, whose original capital was g 200, 600,
and which was established about 1870 years
ago: The security being good" says this
writer. "the notes being receivable in pay