Year: 1865

have been slI instsad Of whion repoFseo
have bcen only sss ls5, ,syl-sAowisg deneieney Of
SllI2s 7o1 These balances arc taken second hand,
but the Sub Treasurer has not mpugned tneT scca
racy we assume them to bs derived from Official source
and therefore correct


The recent speech Of Mr. Mccuoch b Indiana was
the subject OF considerable conversation IN the street ON
Saturday and n WAS criticised rather unyorably for
his reputation as Anancer He says -sThis currency
should be brought up 10 specie standard, and see
no way OF doing IL but by Withdrawing portion
Of from circulation" This would certainly
be very easy way Of resuming spccie pay
ments, but unfortnnately Il is an impossible one
The redundancy Of the currency he should have known


is only one cause Of its depreciation Tho Legal Tender
act must be repealed before we 80 back TO specie
payments and must pass through . long period Of
preparation antecedens TO that result Tho industry or
the country must be fully resumed and our stock Of
specie greatly enlarged before venture upon the
change II Mr.. McCulloch's idea In putting the nifty
million funding loan on tho market was that the CO.
traction OF the currency alone would appreciate tho
currency TO par he labored under grave mistake
The currency only one part Of debt Of
about three thousand millions, and there can bs


little no distinction made betwcon the payment and
redemption OF the different classes Of government secu
rites The price Of gold, too b influenced - much BY
the commercial demand for II and limited supply o.
by doubts regarding the future or the national debt
But before do resume specie payments-whenever In
the years that may bethe event will be preceded
by and attended with contraction and commercial dis
William Cobbett In letter TO member Of the
English Parliament relating 10 the effect Of tho Bank Of
England resumng specie payments dated from Long
Island, July l, 1918, foreshadowed.the consequences
which afterwards transpired In Great Brita,n:-


t. ~ tIa trfh ma
tory Of England" shown with all that force and
clearness for which It's writer remarkable that
was impossible for the bank to begin and continue TO
pay its notes in gold and silver without great accom-
panyng dminuton Of the quantity in circuation that
this dminuton on the part Of the bank must cause
united fall in prices which must be ruinous universally


II the then amount Of taxes was attempted to be col


ectcd and VIII ch any would be ruinous to all
who held stocks Of goods who owed large sums, or
who had heavy mortgages on house and land The few
who understood this question knew nat the iai IN te
weight only brought about by state Of distress till
then hardly known in England. But they knew this
the worst that had 1t not been the case that god
owing to the state balance Of trade and the secret
melting of the con had been sort OF drug In England
for years this would not have happened and that II
further diminuon of the floating paper ventured
upon a further reduction in the price Of commodities,
not of three but probably Of thirty per cent would in
evtably follow


The process of contraction is besct with great danger,
and the more naturally it is allowed TO work the better
To force it by legislative measures would be to reard the
recovery of the and the development of the
of the country and leave the Treasury Golfers
empty in consequence Of diminished taxes Gradually
the tide Of prosperity rises We shall find ourselves
in smoother water and better able cope with the DIM
cutes Of the situation Just il is better for Mr..
McCulloch to correct his little mistake about contraction
being the only thing necessary. It is certainly very
good in its way hut there other matters to be con-
sdcred at the same time.


The following table shows the quotations OF the leading
shares the session OF the Stock Exchange at the