The Portland daily press., 1879-02-06
New York World.] -
Bad Money and What Came of 1t,

Our Maine contemporary, the Eastern Argus,
which we are sorry to say still has to learn the
hygienic value of patience and politeness under
the stress of an annoying argument, appears to
think that the Treasury notes of the United
States-Democratic greenbacks, as the Argus
drolly calls them-were never deprecated be-
fore the sectional war Of 1865. A Democratic
foreign war. carried on against Mexico under
the hard money theories Of Marcy in the War
Office and Walker in the Treasury, was indeed
brilliantly carried through without any depre-
citation Of the Governments debt, but unfor-
count in 1812-15, as Colonel Benton, an unsx-
ceptionable Democratic authority. thus tells
us:
SIT he war; struggled and labored under the state
ofthe finances and the currency, aud terminated
which it BEGAN. There was no national currency.
no money or its equivalent which represented the
United States had ceased to exist in is11 God
from being undervalued had ceased to be currency-
had become an article Of mercha adise and OF export
been baDished by the general of bank notes; had
been reduced to small quantity, insufficient for a
public demand, and, besides, would have been too
cumbrous for national currency Local banks over
spread the land and upon these the federal govern
ment having lost the currency Of the Constitution,
quail to the task and having removed their own foun
cations by banishing specie with profase paper is-
sues sank under the double load OF national and To-
cal wants and stopped specie payments all except
those Of New Eogland, which section Of the union
was urfavorabe TO the wa. Treasury notes were
then the resort OF The Federal Government They
were issued in great quantities. and being conyer-
tble into coin at the will Of the holder began to
depreciate. 10 the second year of the war tue de-
preeiaLion had area ty become enormous especially
towards the Canada frontier, where the war RACED
ting out from Washington with a % snnnIv
OF these notes found them sunk one-third
by the time he arrived at the northern frontier his
every So counting but ST. After all, the Treasury
notes could not be used as currency naher LEGALLY
nor in fact; they could only be used to obtain local
bank paper, itself greatly depreciated All govern
bank notes. Loans were obtained with, great dIfa-
euIty-at large discount-al almost on the lenders own
bank notes In less than three years the govern
ment, paralyzed by the state Of the faances was
forced to seek peace and to make it without securing
had been declared return to the cnr-
rency of the constitution, to the hard money Of gov
ernment which our fathers gave us, no connection
with banks, no bank paper for Federal uses the es-
Enlistment Of an Independent Treasury for the
Federal government-this was the financial lesson
which the war taught. The new generation into
whose hands the working OF the government fell dur
ing the Thirty Years eventually availed themselves
OF that lesson-with what effect the state of the
country since, unprecedentedly prosperous; the
state u the currency never deranged OF the FEEDER
and constantly crammed to repIeton with soi1d ID
the issue Of the Mexican rried on trumpsant,
~ wl.nout national BANK and with the public Sc
curities constantly above par-sufAcently proclaim
No other tongue but these results is necessary n
snow the value OF that financial lesson taught us by
the war Of 1872" aeF
Since Colonel Benton wrote this certain sa-
crets of the State Department respecting ths
diplomacy which closed the war OF 1872 have
escaped from their prison house. The late Mr..
Coshipg gave them to the world but fsw
years before his death, and they have at this
moment pertinent interest for Maine. The
tr1afV ia
refer N satisfactory terms to impressmeut. or
to our commerce or to the fisheries the last of
which has recently cost the United States va
millions OF dollars, and protest against the
pay ment OF that sum after the payment had
been made by us. By reason of that
half-silence of the treaty the British Gov
ernment wrongfully insisted that what
ever fishery rights we had uuder the treaty
OF Independence in 17S4-which was a
partition of the British Empire in America-
were abrogated by the declaration of the war of
lSl2 and not restored by the treaty of peace.
Ii our Eastern contemDorary would learn why
the treaty OF Ghent was thus equivOcal, our
must measure the effect upon
nat on AZ war Of bad money like that which
the idea Of Ohio" now advocates aud which
France. the greatest and most successful ma
ton in finance of modern times, hates and
breads as an emanation of the EgilOae. Mr..
Gushing was, we think, the first to MAGE pub-
lic the fact that the Administrator of 'Mr
:. sIauisou autnorlzed the American Oomms-
'ioners at efhent "to conclude such q treaty as
..s .nelr own Judgment Should approve. under ex-
NE rights Of the United States as an tndependent
ldtaon. Bad fnsncIertng, the absence of
hard money, lots of wildcat banks and the at.
Tempt TO make money out of the Government
debt, added to British sympsthies actively dis
played in New England, contributed to drive
the Administration to these humiliating in
'tructions which is gave to the American Com
missioners how different might the results of
'he negotiation have been, nevertheless, could
oor negotiators have procrsstinated for fort.
lignt on one plea or another till the news
New New Orleansl If delay could have baen had
III tne next March the escape of Napoleon
rom Eloa, his landing at Frrjus and the re-
ieWai OF the war in Europe might nave enabled
'ur commissioners to save as iron that pay-
nent, more than sixty years afterwards, of the
i've millions which we have just made in cir
u u qmstances far from crsditsble to our agent at
aaiia1 or to our own diplomacy anywherei