Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1879-06-24
MoNEy-wHAT IS IT;


Ina lecture delivered in Boston, Tues
day evening, BY Hon. Hugh MeCnnoch'
Ex-Seeretary of the Treasury. ne sad;
have attempted merely to show, nrSt'
that nothing but gold and silver can De
properly called money; second that tne
value of coins does not depend upon the
government which stamps them, but upon
the quantity of pure metal which they
contain; third, that gold and SnVef,
whether coined or not, are measure Oh
value, because they possess value theih,
selves There can be no absolute and
unchansing measure, but gold and silver
come nearer TO it than anything else, be-
cause the supply is limited, and has never
been found. and probably never VIII DE
found. 10 exceed what Is needed for money
and the arts. Their purchasing power
NAV be diminished, but as their value as
metals is substantially the same through
ont the world, the changes do not afieet
them as a measure of value. Uniformity
and universally are wanted, and they
have it. Fourth, they are Of great m
portance as indicating the course OF IN
ternational trade, and are an absolute ne
cessity in the settlement Of national bal
snces. When these things are under
stood. the popular delusiOn that govern
ment can make money Of promises to pay
or can issue fiat money, Will have no ad-
vocates There is higher law In finance
IS in morals, opposition to which Is pow
erless. The power of moral law was mani
tested IN connection with slavery. Flnan-
cial morality was touched IN the legal
tender acts. Il Is contended that money
i mans device and that what man makes
he can change. But the metals are not
Of mans creation; they are limited IN
production, not subject TO decay, can De
changed from household article TO money,
and back again. They are valuable &C
cording 10 their weight, no matter what
form they may be in. not depending Ike
precious stones upon their size for value.
MANY attempts have been made TO make
money out Of something else than gold or
silver. but all such attempts have been
failures. and generally disastrous. Gold
and silver alone are money. If the Inn
tied definition had been adhered 10, am
quite sure that most of the vagaueS and
decisions which have troubled, and still
trouble many Of our cOuntrymen, and
which II is now so difficult 70 overthrow,
would not have existed. BY the more
general definition, the masses have been
led 70 believe that money could be made
bv the printing press, that whatever the
government declares 70 be and receives as
such. Is money. Therefore, greenbackS
have been so dangerous, and there Is no
doubt that the law which made them legal
tender viii be miSchievous as long as It
remains in force. Il Is a violation OF
commercial law which Is as immutab!e as
the law Of gravitation. If notes are Is
sued BY a government their value depends
not only upon the solvency of the gov
eminent but It's honesty, and If they are
issued BY bank. the same Is true IN re-
gard 70 il and It's officers. While i Is
well for US to forget our misfortuneS, We
ought 10 remember their cause IN order TO
avoid it. There Is an interesting fact
which illustrates the relations which COM
mercial nations bear 10 each other, and
shows how legislation which appears to
be local becomes general. The advance
of prices in the United States caused by
the issue Of legal tenders, was followed
by advance Of prices in other places
This was not only on account Of what
they sent us, but because Of our export Of
gold TO them. The amount Of precious
metal increased in Europe as we did not
use il, and as II increased so did prices,
so that the United States notes were a
distributing element abroad as well as at
home