The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-03-20

beet, but forbidding him to enjoy it.
Resumption OF Specie Payments.
Secretary Sherman went before the Senate
Committee on Finance yesterday and ex-
pressed his views on several questions con-
nected with resumption. He is very de-
cided in the opinion that it would be
fatal blunder to repeal the Resumption act
He has no. doubt that he can use the new
silver coin to facilitate resumption. In
deed, it is self-evident that if he retains the
new silver dollars in the Treasury as an
addition to the reserve for resumption
purposes he will be stronger than II
he had only his stock Of gold. In
this respect the passage of the Silver
bill is IN aid to specie payments. But there
is another aspect, which is not so favorable.
The passage Of the Silver bill is causing
American bonds held in Europe to be sent
home for SALE If this should continue it
will operate as m obstruction. 1t is desir-
able that the balance of current payments be
in favor of the United States at the critical
period when we resume specie payments.
If our bonds are not sent back in large
quantities the balance of payments are
likely to be in our favor, relieving us from the
necessity of exporting coin. If we can retain
in the country all the specie we shall pos
sess on the LIST of January the experiment Of
resumption will be smooth and successful.
But if our market should be flooded with
bonds sent home for sale the balance might
.o1, IS t1,a
precious metals be drained away to Europe,
which would terminate the resumption ex-
pertinent before it could be fairly begun, re-
minding one of the quaint epitaph on the
tombstone Of an infant =
Since so quickly was done for.
l wonder what was begun Tor.
This will be the appropriate epitaph of
resumption in January, 1879, if our market
should be deluged with American bonds
sent home for sale by European holders.
1t is important to prevent so ridiculous
fiasco. The sagacious policy of Secretary
Sherman respecting the new silver dollars
is calculated to ward off so notifying
catastrophe If Congress is discreet enough
to refrain from interfering with the Secre-
tary the pouring back of our bonds into the
American market will be speedily arrested.
By paying out the new silver dollars only
in exchange for gold coin they will be main
tanned at par with gold, and there will be
no motive for paying silver instead Of gold
ut the custom houses. The consequence
will be that all duties will be paid in gold
as heretofore, and that the interest on the
bonds will continue to be paid in gold
coin. When the foreign bondholders
learn this their alarm will be quoted
and they will cease to send home our
government bonds for sale. The wisdom
Of the Secretary of the Treasury in SO
promptly adopting q legal measure for
heading off this great obstruction to specie
payments deserves recognition and praise.
Had he decided to pay out the silver dollars
as fast as they are coined, thereby enabling
importing merchants to pay duties in silver,
the alarm of the foreign bondholders at the
prospect of receiving their interest in silver
would continue the movement which has
been SO vigorously begun Of sending home
our bonds, and the first effect Of resumption
would be to drain away all our coin and
force suspension of specie payments be-
tween January and February 1, 1879.
If the Secretary of the Treasury is not in
terfered with our paper currency will be at
par long before the legal date of Presumption;
but that is no good reason why he should
anticipate the legal date. Voluntary re-
sumption in advance of the legal day would
only weaken the Treasury by Diminishing
its stock of coin. 1t is better that the Sec
rotary should hold it all until the Resump-
ton law compels him to pay it out for
greenbacks on demand. The paper cur
rency of the country is steadily diminishing
by other means than redemption in
coin, and the Treasury Department
should take full advantage of this
diminution. Since the passage of
the Resumption law, January IA, 1875.
up to the beginning of the present year the
bank note circulation of the country has
decreased $50, Gal, 851, and greenbacks have
been retired to the amount of $50, $50, 7l2
This steady contraction of the paper circu-
lation is still in progress, and the Treasury
should have the full advantage of it. The
smaller the amount Of paper money in cir.
culation on the LIST OF January next the less
will be the drain on the specie reserve in
the Treasury. That reserve should be made
as strong as possible for the decisive expert
ment of next January, and Mr.. Sherman is
acting with provident wisdom in trying to
recruit it with nearly the whole amount of
the new silver coin.
Bank RObberies of the Period.