Year: 1867

which has been going the rounds of por
+ ton of the press, for redeeming Cor rath
T er exchanging) tho present funded nation.
al debt with greenbacks, issued for thai
purpose ut their nominal par value In
commenting upon this scheme, VIC endeav.
ored to show that, in practice, II was equiv.
alent to national reputation; since the
pretended payment of bona .ti1e debt
with mere promises to pay, that are rot
redeemahle in money or something intrin.
sic value, is really no payment at all.


To be sure, the public creditor, in thus
exchanging one form of security for an-
other, would still hold the promise OF the
government to pay the debt due him in
specie. But as the latter would not be
forthcoming on demand, he would be OBJ.
liged either to hold to his grceubacks till
the government saw fit to redeem them,
thus losing interest on his money, or put
them to the best possible use by pass
ing them off as currency at their market
value.


This market value would, ofcourse, de-
pend very much upon the volume of cur.
rency ahoat; aud If the goycrnment
should undertake to print and issue two
billions Of treasury notes, in addition to
the five hundred millions now extant, il
is very certain that the paper dollar
would soon depreciatc to very small
fraction of its nominal value. In tha:
case, grcenbacks would probably bear
about the same ratio to gold that Confcd-
crate currency did just before the close OF
the war.


But the worst feature ofthe care would
he that, grcenbacks being legal tenders,
thoir enormous multiplicati-n n and depre-
clation would enable every private debtor
to virtually repudiate his previously con-
trac,cd pccuniary obligations by payin z
them off in worthless currency. Thus
We should have repudiation all around the
board, beginning With the Government
and ending with the citizen all scores
would be wiped ont, aud with them the
greenback debt itself Such an over is-
sue Of deprecated currency would, of
course, never be redeemed in gold, but
would ultimately share the fall of the
French Assignats aud tho notes of the
Continental Congress. This result might
or might not, be hastcncd By organic
changes in our political system. But the
present being To some extent Il revolution.
airy epoch, tending TO radical changes, il
is hardly safe to open the door to any
plausible pretext for national repudia-
ton.


Bat in taking up this subject again, VIC
do so not merely to point out the dangers
ofthe situation, but TO show that the Gov
crnment is in some degree responsible for
the popular clamor to get rid Of burthcn-
some taxation by summary and cheap
method of discharging the public debt
In fact, the mischieYous tendency to rcpu-
dintion originated wholly in the legal ten
der system, which IL based upon the dis
honest principle of compelling the private
creditor to receive less than just equiva-
lent in satisfaction of his dues.


The proposition now being agitatel, TO
compel the public credii or to receive
deprecated greenbacks. instead Of gold,
in payment of has dues, is merely an cx-
tension of the same vicious principle, and
is, in fact no more Of swindIc than was
legalizcd by the Congress which passed
the legal tender act. Indeed, We are un-
able to see Why it is not just as fair and
legitimate for the government to pay off
its gold debts With legal tenders, regard
less of their purchase power or market
value, as to authorize tho private citizen
to do the sa2e thing What ia prescribed
as just and honest between man and man,
certainly ought to be just and honest be-
tween the government and the people.


Every treasury note issued since the
suspension Of specie payments, constitutes
forced loan of the people to the govern
lnent, which the latter an theory promis.
es, but m practice refuses, TO pay. In its
relations to the currency, it stands to-day
in the attitude Of national reputation,
and the measure of this reputation is
represented by the Reputation of the cur
rency. Il has not only set an example of
Reputation by telling the people to take
its deprecated paper, but has authorized
private debtors to repudiate in the same
way and to the same extent.


A further issue OF demand notes, wheth-
er to cancel its bonds or for any other pur-
pose, would only increase the amount OF
depreciation and Reputation, but the
principle would be the same as that which
now lies at the bottom ofour money system.
This principle, instead of being extended,
should be wholly uprooted unless this is
done, it will lead to mischief, and through
it the national credit, if not wholly over
thrown, will receive shock from which
it will take years of wise and honest fnan-
ciering to recover,