Year: 1869




will produce, therefore, there is no fear
Of counterfeiting from pure metal, and
if from base, it is easily detected. Not
so with paper money; it las, and per
haps always will be counterfeited. The
only safety the public have, is to keep
changing the devices on the bills, and
frequent re issuing. Gold and silver
bullion is the standard Of value with all
nations with whom we buy and sell; if
we abandon it as a standard Of value, it
will greatly embarrass, if not destroy
our commercial relations with other ma
tions our gold and silver mines, if
worked at all, will only be to produce
an article for export the same as other
products of the soil. Gen. Butler is
not the first one who has introduced q
new currency for buying and selling;
Virginia at one time used Tobacco as a
currency for paying debts, and at later
period in this country you may remem
Der that "Hoop poles and Coon skins"
were a legal tender, but as the country
advanced in civilization, they have been
abandoned, and l have no doubt General
Buffers paper currency would soon fol
low them, and the three will rest in the
same grave where it is to be hoped they
will have no resurrection.


Several members of Congress, and
other writer's on finarce, are in favor of
reducing the greenbacks to their pres
ent value in gold, say 60 or 65 cents on
the dollar, and for paying all debts, in
divdual, national, land 1 suppose) ma
tional bonds and national bank notes at
q like discount. This would be an easy
way Of paying debts, but not very hons
orable. A considerable amount of the
present Indebtedness of the country is
for money loaned Or property sold ten
or twelve years ago, when currency and
gold were equal; many of these ooliga-
tions have been renewed from year to
year, and others the original note or OBJ
legation is still held. BY thus scaling
off these debts the man who loaned 81
900 ten years ago in gold, or its equiva-
lent would have to take $500 to $3.50
in payment This would be unjust to
the creditor. Since the suspension of
specie payments and the introduction of
greenbacks, their value has been from
40 to Is cents on the dollar in gold.
From this it will be seen that the man
yh~ l., L., Sc
cents on the dollar, gets go to 25 cents
more on the dollar in gold than he loan
ed and the man who Invested when it
was Is cents, gets 10 or Is cents less
than he invested. Waen the greenhacks
and the national bank notes were issu-
ed, and the national bonds sold. aud
other liabilities created, it was agreed
that they should be paid at 100 cents to
the dollar. If the present Congress can
say the one third of this debt shall be
abated, the next Congress may say
another one-Mird shall be abated, and
the next succeeding Congress may say
the balance of the debt shall be abated.
II this is done, we would stand as a
Nation guilty of repudiating our debts,
and placed side by side with Spain as
the most 6isgraced nations on earth.
The people of this country never will
consent to discount of 35 per cent or
any otI er discount Oh their currency or
debts due them; but they will receive
the currency, dollar for dollar, if it is
only worth ten cents on the dollar in
gold, and not complain.


Among other plans tor the speedy re-
sumption of specie payment, it is pro-
posed to resume Immediately, and if
there is not coin enough in the country
to supply the demand, We shall issue
our bonds and send them TO Europe, and
sell them for gold for whatever they will
bring in the market, and bring the gold
back to aid in sustaining specie payment.
With the large amount Of currency in
circulation,it it would require the sale of
an enormous amount of bonds to supply
coin enough and the price of our bond $
would depreciate until they would not
be worth the paper they were issued on;
and the loss in discount on the sale of
our bonds, and accruing interest and
principal, would double our national
debt in short time, and be bankrupt
as a nation, and unable to pay principal
or interest l think the gentlemen who
are advocating this plan must have tax
en- lessons from a celebrated Swiss finan
cier who. at an early age, commenced
borrowing money throughout the king
dom; he was careful to pay principal and
interest when due; that gave him credit
thro'out the country ,and capitalists were
anxious to loan him money. His plan
of operation was to borrow enough mon
ey at the end Of the year to pay what he
had borrowed the year before, and to
pay his personal expenses; this process
was repeated year after year until
it amounted to an enormous sum. In
time his health failed him and he waa