Year: 1874




A subject which has occupied large
share of attention, especially in the East
ern States, since the opening Of Congress,
has been in relation to the currency of
the country. Advocates of return to
specie payments had been sanguine in
the hope that the day of resumption was
not far distant, and, indeed, when curren-
cy rose to SO in the stock quotations,
while silver was in some instances paid
out at par in small sums, it seemed as
though it would be but a step further to
the desired end. The late action of Con-
gress, however, in increasing the vol
ume of the currency by authorizing a
new issue to the extent of forty-four mill
ions Of dollars. has dashed these hopes,
and so reduced the value of currency
that present quotations Of gold reach as
high as ia.


The necessities and conveniencies of
commercial intercourse, whether upon a
large or small scale, require the use of a
paper circulating medium which shall
have fixed and known value through
out the country. Such the green backn
currency of the country was fast becom-
ing before the law for the increase of its
volume was introduced into Congress-
This action, in the face of the growing
demand for return to specie payments,
was not calculated to inspire confidence
in our currency and resulted, as was to
be expected, in an immediate deprecia-
ton in its value. For as gold and silver
are, in themselves, only the representa-
tives of value, any substitute for them
must, of necessity, be redeemable in them
to acquire public confidence and a free
circulation. Ifit fails in this it depre-
ciates just in proportion as it lacks pub
lie confidence. The issue of large
amount of currency in addition to that
already in circulation is not an act calcu-
lated to betUken the speedy redemption of
that which had already been issued, and
we think will not prove the remedy for f.
nancial embarassments which its friends
claim for it. A paper currency which
has at all times par value, is valuable
assistant to trade, but one which is at 90
per cent. to-day, and perhaps as low as
so per cent in week hence, is one which
will naturally be looked upon with dis
trust. The exigencies growing out Of
the prosecution of the war necessitated
the issuance Of large amounts of curren-
cy and can be classed among the ex
treme measures which were justified by
the attendant circumstances /; but with
the return of peace and consequent re-
duction of expenditures, the necessity for
such measures no longer existed. The
policy of the government should be to
contract rather than expand the amount
of currency in circulation, and an imme-
diate appreciation in its value would be
the result.


The vote in Congress shows the ques
ton to have taken turn which enlisted
sectional feeling TO some extent. This is
10 De TegTelleu, rs Ill measures OF Nh
tional Importance should be considered
only from national point of view, with
out reference to the benefit or detriment
worked to any particular section. The
West and South seem to have united
in favor of initiation, and carried the
measure in opposition to the Eastern,
Middle and Pacific delegations. SO far
as the people of this State are concerned
the effect, we think, of the increased cur
rency circulation cannot help being injur-
ious. The purchasing power Of currency
being essened will cause an advance in
the prices of Eastern commodities which
California consumers will have to pay in
gold. AS we are compelled to suffer from
the bad effects of these fluctuations in
currency values, it becomes a question
whether it would not be to our interest to
put ourselves in way to receive any
prospective benefits, by the adoption of
currency as the medium Of our business
transactions.