The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-02-04
Effect of the Decentralization of Silver.

metal as coin Silver is no where totally
demonitized Even in Great Britain and
Germany and other gold monometafic
countries, hat IS countries where gold Is
the standard OF value and the only full
legal tender, silver is used for the subsl
diary coins and is legal tender TO lin
ited extent But gold is demonitized in
British India, China Mexico and elsewhere.
In fact the countr IS where silver is the
standard Of value, to-wit: Russia, Austria,
Mexico, Egypt. British India and China
contain a population Of 80 600, 600 Great
Britain and Germany, and their dependen-
cies, to-wit: Canada. Australia, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark and Belgium are the
only important gold monometalllc nations,
with a population of about 93, 900, 900.
While the Bi-metallic nations, that is, those
countries where both gold and silver are
standards Of value consist Of the United
States, France, Holland, Switzerland,
Italy, Spain, Japan, Greece and most of
the South Americans Republics, with
population of 1877 900, 900.
Statistcians all agree that silver is over
one half GA per cent? of the monetary
metals of mankind Secretary Manning
says, E'Men of both schools, monometal-
lists and bi-metallists, regard the monetary
mass of both gold and silver as consisting
of gold coinage 81, 300, 600, 900, silver coin
age 50 300, O0G, 600, plus potentially all
extant stores Of both metals. This plus
enlarges the great sum to nearly the bulk
of the product Of all mines of both metals
in all past time, computed at SIC, $40, GOO,
900. To demonitze one of these metals,
to declare that half of this coinage of the
world shall no longer be a measure of
value, would seem to be defying Proyl-
dencc As the only metals yet discovered
that are suited for the important functions
of money, it is a weghty, a solemn
thought, that from the earliest records,
these two metals, gold and silver, have
been discovered, mined and melted into
coin in about their present monetary ratio
of to Is, that is, one pound Of gold has
been discovered, mined and coined into
money for every fifteen pounds of silver.
They have proceeded pari passu in their
august functions as money through the
countless ages that have passed. They
were first formed in those relative pro
portions in the Laboratory Of Mother
Earth. DynaSties have risen and fallen,
nations have come and gone, civilizations,
arts, sciences, religions have appeared and
passed away, and still these two sacred
metals, as set apart they seem to be by
Divine Wisdom and Goodness for the con
venience and civilization Of mankind, have
kept company 1t would seem as if God
had ioined them together and let not man
put them aSsunder If as Alison says, in
his History of Europe, as quoted by Judge
Hughes in his late pamphlet of THE
American Dollar" f'Ihe fall of the Roman
Empire 50 long ascribed in ignorance to
slavery. heathensm and moral corrup-
ton. was in reality brought about by a
decline in the silver and gold mines Of
Spain and Greece should we not take
warning? The amount Of our circulating
medium is yearly diminishing. As the
public debt is paid, the bonds deposited to
secure the National Bank circulation are
called III and cancelled, and to-day that
circulation is only s276, 600, 600; whereas
in 1882 it was So goo, 900. The Comp
troller Of the currency says, "Unless leg
islation should be secured to enable the
Banks to issue currency Of a fair profit,
circulation will be reduced at the rate of
ut least $40, 600, 200 per year But even
this National Bank circulation is not legal
tender DemOntIze silver, and you leave
gold and the S346 900, 900 of greenbacks
as the only legal tenders. These $346, ,G00.-
geo Of oreenbacks and the public debt,
81 400, GOO, uOU, can then only De pald III
gold: and as we have but $50 millions Of
gold in the United States how inadequate
appears our resources III this respect.
EA
tender of a debt in legal money, as is OBJ
ligatory upln the debtor if the creditor so
demands. and if the amount is considera-
Bile, the inconvenience, not to say the
difficulty Of getting hold of the legal ten
der money Viii be manifest. Said Mr..
Barring before parliamentary committee
in England: .In London, where gold is
the sole legal tender, in the crisis of 1S41
one sovereign (about five dollars Of gold)
was not to be procured for $500, 600 III
silver; and in Calcutta, during the crisis
Of 1861, a merchant possessing Sloo,o0O
in gold became bankrupt because he could
not exchange it for silver rupees the only
legal tender" ''We, in this country,
says Judge Hughes, ''have passed through
II similar experience on the Black Friday
| Sept 24, 1869, when few desperate and
INSCRIPTIONS spectators in New York
succeeded in establishing "a corner on
gold and spread dismay and ruin far and
| near, wrecking the credit of many OF the
| most reputable men and firms in the cOun-
| try" And it is altogether likely that this
country has been saved from the frequent
| money crises that have occurred IN Great
| Britain and Germany since 1878 by the
fact thai the double standard prevails with
US, and a creditor is obliged to receive
silver equally with gold in discharge of his
| debt.
| The Attitude of the Government To.
wards Silver.
Section 1864 revised statutes United
States provides: The coin paid for dutie;
on imported goods shall be set apart as {
special fund, and shall be applied as fol
lows: First to the payment in coin OF the
interest on the bonds and notes of the
United States. Second to the purchase Ol
payment of one per cent of the entire
debt of the United States to be made with
in the fiscal year, which Is to he set apar
| as Il sinking fund, etc, etc. In view o
this act and of the express provisions 0
the act 1870 that ''all bonds of the UniteC
States are payable in coin OF the STANDARD
value of that year" and that the silve
dollar is such a coin. 1t is suggestive a
least, that up to the present time, not
silver dollar has been used to pay eithe
the principal or the interest on the publi
debt, but all such payments have been il
gold.
For the fiscal year 1885 the receipts a
the New York Custom House, were pait
as follows, in round numbers: In green
backs, 36 millions; in gold ] millions; il
gold certificates, IL millions; in silver Ger
tifcat6s IL millions; in silver coin S15S,
600. During that fiscal year 10S million
were paid out by the treasurer in redeml
ton of United States bonds and interes
on the public debt; and not dollar i
silver coin or q silver certificate was uses,
hut gold, or It's equivalent, only employed
In addition to all its other burdens, tn
silver dollar is wounded in the house OF II