The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-10-01

TAO aescnsT - lFtf sas ], q.
1 ], ,noairiur citizen writes from Gilman,

Tha NevcnsI hAEt I. s.
B An inqairtug citizen writes nom S''na s,,|
hl !. ,iro,n what saet or circumstance did
aha In, notes or bonds derive tne.s namss
81 . 5: Were siey issacd IN oninations
,s law III SO lf not, how low Sc
~ Il eie they le9al tender, ana wal l'is
,,...,,o,ii,t VAS issued q . IS s.
Il. The Z. 40 notice were 80 called necsuss9
shay bore Interest Ut the rate OF ssyeR ana
fhsrtv.hnnaf eaths per cent? DER. an Y uIll.
The $40 were 20 called because they were.
reieemabie Sid five years, and payaDie lhl
twenty wears and the i0.A0's Were soi
called because they were redeefnable Y s tea
years. and payable lin iorty yea 81. 4. in e
we're, by the terms Of their issue, eltns1
nayabie Ia greenbacks or funueaD' .iu ",
I.a0s In three years from the daie o. . ~.
issue. The most OF them were, ~ d aac',
funded into see 8 before the emu OF 1870.
2. The Secretary OF the IreasufS Was az.
ahorized by the act OF June ~. Ast5As " issue
ssfdl f,D0. 600 OF ;.S0 notes fs0f any denomt-
ration mt less than Sf0.'' How many OF
I she notes 81, this Issue were at the demo rnia
nafion OF $40 the Times Is unable TO say.
The act az March 3, 1885, authorized the
isa,1e 81 900 900 OF T7.30 notes :. OF such
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS less than $50 - as IN
iha opinion OF the Secretary might pc
/ deemed expedient. Hence It appears tnat
only 4 norton al the issue Of goo, 900, GOO
was In determinations as low as $40, and no
notes OF the issue OF S600, 600, 600 we're Of
less denomination than go. ,
8. None OF the 7.30 notes were ever iegai
tender. The act Of June 30, 1854, author.
Sing the issue OF S200, 000, 600. contained
this provision: tsAnd such OF them rs shall
I lie made payable. principal and interest, al
maturity !" THAT il, three years from thelI
ilate) s.shalI be legal tender to the same
extent as United States notes for their race s'e
value, excluding interest" As matter OF
fact, none OF them were made payable
principal and interest, ut maturity. Ihe
Secretary Of. the Treasury preferred, In
1he exercise OF the discretionary power
conferred upon him by the law, to make
the interest payable semi-annualiy, and
not TO make them legal tender ut all. Sec
refary Fessenden, In his report for 1854
fpage 30, finance report for that year,, says
that he placed the 1905 on the market MS q
80 national loan" for the very purpose OF
avoiding the alternative OF issuing legal
tender notes." The act OF March 3. 1860,
authorizing the issue Of 5000, 100000, ex-
pressly provides that smoothing herein con-
famed shall be construed as authorizing
leeal-tender notes in any form" Hence ii
appears that not more than $500, 0OO.OO0 OF
1905 could have been made legal tender
without violating an express provision OF
law, and that, as a matter OF TACT. not one
OF them was ever made legal tender.
The largest amount Of these notes. out
stancing at any one time was $4,000, GOO on
the 31st OF August, 1865. On the 30th oil
June, 1868, only S37,397, 1914 OF them re.
mained outstanding, and within the twelve
months following the last one OF them had
been either paid in greenbacks or funded
into $40 bonds, according to the terms OF
the authorizing acts. II, therefore, us the
greenback spouters assert, these notes were
part Of the currency In 1865, the " mercitess
contraction - Of which they complain oc-
CURED before the end OF 1868, aud the
iGreenbackers all agree in saying that the
country esjoyed i've years OF prosperity
after that time, and before the great collapse
of 1878. AS matter of fact These notes did
not serve as euweasy, to any considerable
extent-probabiy to no greater extent than
the four per cent. bonds do now. They
were. in fact, bonds, and not circulating
notes. They were objects OF exchange
rather thauta medium OF exchange. Instead
I Of constituting part of the. currency, they
were tax upon the c1rrency, as, like other
objects Of exchange, they we're bolSRt aud
sold, through the agency OF the eurreney--
c,Lyaicago Times. .r
u 80. r 4 . fs4.l 4#1 .