The news and herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1876-1881, 1879-12-31
THE AGE OF GOLD.
PROFESSOR SILLIMIN'S LECTUR r
BEFORE TIE BULLION CLUB.

BEFORE TIE BULLION CLUB.
The Production and Relative Values OF Goid
and SIlver--Iimcrica's Great Mines.
From the New York IIorald.I
There was Il select gathering Of gen
tlcmcn in the rooms Of the Bullion
Club, No. 10 West Twenty Fourth
street, last evening, to listen to Il
lecture by Professor Benjamin Sill
man, Of New Haven, Conn.,, on tho
Subject Of "The Age Of Gold." The
speaker began with Il declaration that
the original sources Of national wealth
are found in the waters, the soils, the
forests and tho mines. IL requires
only II glance at the elements Of physi-
cal and human existence, said he, to
remind us how without value arc the
richest gifts Of nature until developed
by human labor. We sec by what
almost creature power wealth springs
out Of barren rocks and waste waters,
when mans hand, guided by an in
tclli9cnt purpose and strong will
quarrics the granite and ships The ice
"fblcak New lEnglang hills and lakes
or ,urns tho wasted force of gravity
in her waterfalls iiI.o golden streams
OF industry in mills and factories.
Prices were very much higher in the
days Of Cesar Augustus than they
were in tie sixteenth century of our
era. The reason for this is found in
the vas: accumulation Of gold and
silver which the Roman conqucSls
had gathered from ail parts Of the an
cicnL world about The commencement
Of the Christian era, and especially
from tiall, and the consequent activity
in all b!anchcs OF industry and COM
mcrcc attending its distribution as
money. Every signal addition 60 the
stock OF the precious metals brought
into the channels Of commerce has
bccn followed by an advance in the
prices paid for labor, land and COM
moditics, and, OF course, by great in
dustrial activity. We often hear The
statement that gold and silver are
selected for coinage bt c,usc of their
intrini, value. This is mistaken
view, since, regarded us material sub
stances, these metals can supply but
valuable material under such Il drlini-
tion than either silver or gold. But
the cost OF obtaining Il pound OF silver
or gold from the mines OF ;hus" metals
IS about three hundred times rs muri,
Tor silver as is the labor required for
extracting and refining pound OF
iron, and about eight thousand or nine
thousand times as much for gold.
WHAT IS MONEY?
Bank notes, cheques, bills Of cX-
change, notes Of hand and other things
often form most convenient Subs.i-
tuic Tor money, hut they arc not
money, any more than thc bills Of cx-
change representing the valut in coin
of Il cargo of wheat or cotton arc the
substantial things represented by the
paper. Coin ceases TO be money and
sinks into the rank Of bullion, IL con-
mcrcial commodity, if its standard
be tamprrcu with or its weight j.
diminished. This the Prctcnlrr found
to his diSinay when he attempted to
force Il dcbascd coinage upon the pco-
pic Of England in 1850. Every gcnu-
inc sovereign and shilling then tlisap-
pcarcd from view rs quickly as we
saw our own coins vanish during the
late war, under the food of an ire
dccmablc paper currency. At this
very moment we arc in the full tide
or the unsuccessful experiment Of at
tempting to float deprecated silver
coina@c. We have bol,lly-not to use
Il hdrShcr tcrm-investcu over $40
oOo,00o Of our own money in the pur-
chase of silver bullion, the coins struck
from which now more than three
quarters Of them slumbcr quietly in
tho national treasury, the people re-
iusing to take them out, evidently en-
failing a loss whenever we seek again
to realize upon them. Legislation is
lmp"tcut to create values, or to make
two and two equal five. (Applausc.) }
Alexander is great no longer; Egyl t
is turned to dust; great Caesars clay
may stop a bulgholc, hut the coins
they struck arc none! still. (Ap-
plauSc) Should we pay the same
homage to the parcels OF money placed
in the mouth Of the sucks Of Josrph's
brethren, could il be shown by some
curious antiquary that these parcels
were not gold and silver but bundles
OF Egyptian Grccnbacks, bearing no
interest and not rc,lccmablc in coin,
issued for tic purchase of corn during
'''N 'Nr va He' - VI pICIltN bitlt
mcntcd with the engraved image OF
pharoah's Secretary Of the Treasury:
Uaughter.) ~.,-~
PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER.
At the time Of the discovery OF
America the total value Of silver and
gold known TO exist in the Old World
whether as coin, bullion or plate, has
been estimated at $i70,00O, 900. III
the 800 years following the discovery
OF America the influx Of silver and
gold poured into commerce from
America alone increased The volume
OF the precious metals previously cx.
istng nearly forty fold in nominal
value. No wonder, therefore, that
the rate Of wages advanced from q
penny sterling in England in 1850 to q
shilling in 1850, or that the cost Of all
the essentials OF life should have ad
vanccd in even higher ratio. But
the ruin of tho few was the enrich.
mcnt of tho many. If the lord of the
manor was imN0vcrishp1 bv thc r,;u