The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-08-21
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esreeBback Question.
I;ta.-so Az ne Richmond DisDatCh !:

Allow me In your paptl " co .lses' :. <
the yiews ot Mr.. Charles II. Winder, e :.
pressed before the congressional con MI MI
tee raised to take the testimony and bear
thn o,,tnion of businessmen az to the prac-
.t;cahiIjfv 81 resumption, published in the
IYeekIU N1hiq OF AUGUST 9th: LIST. lt Is
the sovereign power alone that creates mo-.
,er.n j deny that proposition altogefhelr,.
government can stamp on the face OF q Sill
yer or roid dollar the weight and uneness
ri the metal to be such as are essential 10
the received or recognized idea OF q dollar J
and that will give it currency as sucn y!
,anthenticatfng it's claim to be receiVeu as
dollar; but this presupposes tnat sueu ~, :,
dollar is known and recosnized as tue
standard to which coins OF that name OF oc-
nomination must conform. Ihus Coh-
gress. recognizing the old Mexican aoa5ie'
milIed dollar as the standard, may coin ucl-
lars OF the same kind or bearing ceitain
nronort;on to II in value, and by its stamp
certifying that equality or proportion,
tr.nager fo the new coin the value derived
Efrnrn Ire relation to the standard recognized.
| PINT TINT Congress could have taken 81
mI,ch brass. or iron, or copper. ana by
stamping it dollar could have transierrea !
| IN II fine same value as il it had been golu
mr. silver, I utterly deny; first, because
Congress cannot change the natnre Oh man
or the nature OF things, and u Doln VI snesJ
have specifically appropriated ana au asaaeu
cold and silver to the uses OF m oa,
(which think can be proved), tue ,a o on
rress cannot make baser neta!s a
swer the same purpose. 9oiu ano'
silver possesses properties anu I'LL. ~
bjnation of properties aoap.at to,,n .ho IN
m the uses of money, such as are iouna III
W Iii athar Known substances. and yet such as
orc orr essential and indispensable to the very
,,atu,a, of money. LIST. Property, intrinsic
,,oinn II is undeniable that the precious
n.tals, as we'll as precious stones, sucn as
diamonds, rubies, &c, have possessed tnis
in fine estimation of men in all ages anu
CONT ries Of the world. Ii it is vain to say
that gold jewelry or silyer-plate are cosby
and precious because the material OF Wnich
thew we're made is also used as money, Ior
the question recurs, why is the money ulaue
n, them precious? II the gold ring IS pre-
cious because the gold dollar is precious.
,I,en ask why is the latter precious! and
tho only answer is that by its peculiar pro-
nerties it is adapted TO the uses OF money
in preference to or in exclusion OF all other
substances, and from that circumstance has
derived an intrinsic and inseparable value
additional to that arising from its rarity
and the difficulty and labor OF finding the
ore and extracting from it the metals. lhe
great value OF these metals makes The
money formed OF them portable, containing
great value in little bulk. I'd. Property
the happy adjustment OF their value to the
range Of the uses for which they are wanted.
being not so precious that the quantity OF
them required for small purchases would
be too minute in weight OF bulk for conVe-
nient handling and carrying, OF that re-
uuired for large purchases too great. ana
here we may notice that these metals
seem intended by nature to be supple
mentarv in their uses TO each other.
Hence the folly of those who pretend that
the use of silver is inconsistent with that OF
gold, when, in fact, it is supplementary to
it, gold being intended for large purchases
and silver for small. Sd. Property dlFlsi-
bility-the capability OF being divided with
out loss into portions smaller or larger,
according to the value OF the purchases
made. How important are these two last
properties is shown by the TACT that 1or the
want OF them both diamonds and precious
stones are unfit to be employed for the pur-
poses OF money. 4th. Property-the capa-
biity of receiving and retaining with un-
diminished sharpness and dstinctneSs the
minutest impressions made upon them by
the stamp or die in coming. 9Th. The
beauty and lustre OF these. metals fitting
them for purposes OF ornament as well as
use in iewclry, plate, and household uten-
sls, furniture and equippage. 9th. Their
peculiar chemical and mechanical properties
rendering it difficult to counterfeit or de-
base the coin, such as their ring and lustre,
freedom from rust, OF canker, or decompo-
sition by most acids; their specific gravity,
&c. 7th Their natural indestructlblllty
by all the common agents OF destruction,
as time, weather, change Of climate, tenn
perature, or moisture, and the possibility OF
keeping them for an almost indefinite Pc
Rod unimpaired in value, il confined to the
uses to which they are generally applied.
9Th. Their uniformity in properties and
value wherever they are dug out OF the
earth, their independence OF time and place
rendering it possible to exchange, without
loss or trouble, given quantity or them IN
one place or time for the same quantity IN
another-say thousand dollars OF gold or
silver coin IN New York for the same in
London, Calcutta, Canton, OF San Francis
co. This property would render it posi-
bic, by adopting all over the world the same
standard, weights, and names OF the de-
nominations Of coin, to dispense with all the
difficulties now found in reducing the coin
OF one country to its value in the coin OF
another, and to have the quotations in the
price currents of all the commercial cities
in the world given in coins OF the same name
and value, so that merchant Of New York
could learn the prices Of articles in the
markets Of Japan and China as easily and
accurately as in those Of this country. We
might have applicable to money kind OF
univei sal arithmetic Ineligible in all coun-
tries, like that which it is now sought to in
troduce in application to all weights and
measures, by causing the adoption Of the
French metrical system. 1t is obvious that
paper money does not and cannot be made
to possess properties 7th and Sth-
viz, indestructibility aud uniformity,
or universally of value, indepen-
dence Of time and place; for first, it
must perish with the Administration, The
Government, the dynasty, OF the nation that
issues it, so it cannot be indeslructible,
neither can it be universal in value, being
confined to the nation where it is established
by law, and therefore being necessarily local
as well rs temporary i'll its value. From
tbe indestructbility of these metals and the
care with which they have been treasured
nm and preserved, it is likely that all Of
them that has ever been dug from the earth
fexcept what has been sunk in the ocean
or hidden on the land and Teycr afterwards
foupd) is still preserved for the use and
service OF man, either as coin in the treas
u1ies Of nations or the vaults OF banks, or
the safes OF individuals, or in the shape OF
iewelry, plate Or utensils, the appendices
OF private luxury or regal splendor, or the
shrines and affairs and costly offerings OF re-
ligious devotion. Accommodating as they do
from age to age, with every discovery OF