The Portland daily press., 1878-11-01
The Greenbackers or I75O.

A recent article in the New York Nation gave
history OF the resumDtion of specie payment
10 MASSACHUSETTS IN 100. The forced contrsc-
ton vas feared by the iguoraut and denounced
6y the stupid. February 8, 1850 The Evening
Post printed rhgmed appeal from one who
dreaded the evil of forced contraction, from
which we extract two stsnzss:
From the Good Of a few must the Ruin ensue,
OfNumbers industrious, poor;
Amongst whom now stand, with my Cap ia my
Most humbly imploriDg cure.
From Events foresee, many Others with me
III the Act (as decreed) should take Place;
MUST uesett sns great Town, or, what's worse. ba
With Poverty, Want and Disgrace
!o the same number the publisher warns the
public that the time for taking and passing the
bills in is ex piring, aud ADVISES them rather 10
pay their d-Uts 10 HIM ';NO " while they NAV
do it in Bunaoree" (Which appears 30 have been
the current slang for the paper trash) s'than TO
@ waiI ,h a1.,t .ae DoMars come out when will bs
ma IL as hard to come at the Dollar as the
Publisher"
Well, on the 3lst of March the right TO pass
provincial bills expIr5d, aud on the following
Monday, the 2l of April, the new money be-
Came current. Oa that day the Evening Post
appeared with this SO n humorous and semi
serious advertisement, the advertiser being Mr.
Fleet, the publisher of the Post:
"This day is Published
he~ oOtu W L. IeeI, az the Hedrt ana CTOgn
CornhiIE
A Mournful Lamentation for the sad and deplora.
1l6le Death OF Mr.. OLD TENOR, Native Of Nsv
England. who after long confinement by a deep and
mortal Wound, which he received above twelve
Months before expired on the 3st Day Of March.
1850. He tioed beloved and died lameated. Price
three halt pence"
Two weeks before, this paper was advertis.
ing cheese at five shillings pound!
Inc opposition to the exchange became vio-
lent when the time came for making it. Tue
disaffecton gave itself expression even in vio-
lence and riot, to such degree that the Legis-
lature was forced to pass a riot act Bat the
government was firmly resolved to carry the
measure through, and it did 50, Daring the
process money was scarce, bat The inconven-
lence was only temporary. As for the result
let as listen to Hutchnsoo, the leading spirit in
the business, whose history was published ouly
fourteen years later:
"The apprehensions OF a shock TO trade nrovad
gtoundess the bills being dispersed through every
part OF the Province, the silver took place instead OF
them good currency insenslbly substituted in
room OF bad one and every branch OF business was
carried on 10 greater advantage than before The
other vernments, especially Connecticut and
Rhode Island. who refused upon being invited 10
shock 10 their trade from which they nave moi vet
recovered. The la ter had been the importers fOr
massachusetts, OF West India goods for many years,
which ceased at once"
Minot reports that from a strong liking for
the paper money there was a powerful reaction,
and detestaton of paper money took its place
How strong it was 10 Boston may be Judged
from an incident that took place there in April,
1751. A large crowd from Abingdon and the
neighooring towns went to Boston with rotous
Inteutlons, expecting TO be joined at the capital
by large party. They were disappointed.
They were met by the boots and ieers Of boys
and servants, and driven out Of town.
SO ended the Greeoback party, If We may use
tue term, OF the eighteenth century. The or
ganization bad sprung out of fear that vast
evlis would follow upon the reduction of the
volume OF money By ninety Der cent Their
currency, which had bsen paper money for so
long time that only the aged could remember
any other, was wholly taken in and DESTROYED
1t amounted nominally to 81, ,792, ,236, So ID,
aud in exchange for this, which would have
been an enormous amount to the colony IL 10
had oesp worth its face, the msagrs sum Of
about $3.50 900 in good hard money" was put
into circulation. 1t served the parposes of the
trade better than that which it displaced. The
change was in no pect attended with evil re-
suits, but did accomolish much good. II the
Greenbackers of 1873 would reed and heed the
lesson they might learn that ruin is not likely
to attend the exchange of gold dollars for paper
dollars at par.