Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press., 1922-08-10
ISIDOR GELDERS
THE MONEY QUESTION"
(Ry Senator Watsonl

In the early days of the reign of
Queen Victoria, theer came. on to be
heard, before her Lord Chancellor. a
very unusual case
The Emperor of Austria had brought
process against Louis Kossuth, the
Hungarian partiet, to restrain him from
issuing certain bits of paper, which he
caused to be printed in England, for
the purpose of circulation ir Hungary
Translated into our language, the
wording OF these strips of paper was
as follows.
"One Florin."
This monetary note will be received
in every Hungarian State and public
pay office as
"One Florin in Silver
Its nominal value is guaranteed by
the State. In the name of the nation
'Kossuth, Louis"
1t was shown that more than one
hundred millions of these florin notes
had been prepared, and were intended
to be used in Hungary as money.
The Emperor contended that "the
introduction of said notes into Hung.
ary will create spurious circulation
ad thereby cause great detriment tc
the state, and to the subjects of the
plaintiff"
1t further appeared in evidence thai
the Emperor had surrendered to the
National Bank OF Austria the privi-
lege OF supplying the Empire with pa
per money, and doubtless this bank
was the instigator of the Bill in Equi-
;v brought against Kossuth The
National Bank of Austria had the same
feeling against Kosuth that our Whis-
key Trust has against the Moonshin-
er. In each case, the name and pow
and money of the Goxzfnment is used
y a Monopoly to stamp out competi-
ton.
In delivering his opinion, the Lord
Chancellor uttered this truism: The
right of issuing notes for the payment
OF money, as part of the circulating me-
dunn in Hungary, seems to follow
from the right to create money be-
longing to the supreme power in ev-
cry state. This right is not confined
to the issue of portions of the prec-
ious metals of intrinsic value accord
ing to their weight and fineness, but
under its portions of the coarser met
ais, or of other substances, may be
made to represent varying amounts i'll
gold and silver, for which they may
pass current
KosSuth was enjoined from issuing
the notes, upon the sole ground that
he was an exile in England, with no
de facto authority in Hungary. He,
himself. had admitted that the Emper-
or Francis Joseph reigncd over Hun
gary, and was, in fact, its emperor.
For this reason. the Chancellor held,
properly, that the Emperor alone, had
the right to supply Hungary with
notes to be used as money.
In the history of the world, there
never was a period when strong, or
DERBY government allowed a subject to
coin money. The state, invariably,
held on to this mighty lever, as one
of the indispensable prerogatives OF
sovereign power. To make laws, to
appoint public functionaries, to levy
taxes, to control navigate streams. TO
police the public highways, to control
the army and navy, to hold the ma
tional purse and sword, to negotiate
treaties with other nations. to regu-
late foreig commerce, to establish
courts, and to create money, were
among the universal, inseparable at
tributes of royalty.
When the state was weak. powerful
vasals waged private war, robbers in
tested the highways, pirates roaned
the seas, and private citizens created
money. When the state recovered its
strength, it invariably swept the pirate
off the sea, the robber off the highway,
put down the strife of lord against
lord, and took back,-with stern admo-
nitions,-the exclusive right to create
money.
Historians, writing of the dark ages
never fail to tell us how the anarchy
OF the times revealed itself in the dis
integration of sovereign power. Pri-