Year: 1874

This sum may perhaps be thirty million dol
lars A sum nearly as large as this Is indls-
pensable, for otherwise the importers at
certain periods Of the year would find them
selves unable to make their payments with
regularity. Indeed. this has happened more
than once. The thirty or forty million dollars
in excess of this sum which is usually held by
tho Government is reserve to meet con-
tingencies. 1t lies unused in the Treasury
and has existed in that state for eight or
nine years. 1t is not accessible for business
purposes, and can only be made available by
being sold by the Government. 1t will thus
be seen that we divide the gold in the Allan
tic States into two parts: CD the Treasury re-
serve in the strict and proper sense OF the
word (2) the gold which moves in circle
from the Treasury to the holders of the Coy
ernments Understanding obligations; from
these to the dealers in gold; from tho deal
ers in gold to the importers, and from the i'm
pOrcrs back to the Treasury. Aside from the
regular production of tho gold mines there is
no third stock of sufficient magnitude
to be taken into account. Nobody can point
to any reserve of specie hold in this country
for export purposes. The gold which is now
on its way to Europe has been taken from
stock none too large for the ordinary pay
ments of the importers and the Treasury
Unless gold be drawn to New-YOrk from
Canada or California in more than the
usual quantities it will be O scarce article
i'm this market before next October. 1t is
scarce article now, as the weekly bank state
ments will show, and also the lending and
borrowing operations of the dealers in gold.


Such being the situation of things in this
country we confess that it strikes us as not
little ridiculous, as we'll as serious. to SEQ the
great British, French, and German nations,
each possessed of hundreds of millions OF dol
lars in coin, each having banks which count
their bullion reserves by tho hundred million,
contesting with each other for the possession
of q half dozen millions of gold coin shipped
from New-York for the "relief' of their
money markets The Bank Of France, with
$500, 900 of specie. the Bank of England
with S1OO, 5000, and the Bank Of Prussia
with $l55.OOO,OOO, sucking up the $1400O,OOo
from the Associated Banks of Now-York,
like an elephant quenching his thirst
from tea saucer, with the accom-
paniment of caucus of United States
Senators proposing to get back to specie pay
ments through the establishment of few hum
dred more banks to issue paper money on the
pledge of Government stock! 1t really is not
worth while, under these circumstances, to
discuss the blunders of the German Govern


ment with its new gold coinage, which appear
to be at the bottom of the difficulties in the
European money markets. The subject is i'm
mensely intricate, and the facts which arc
indispensable to comprehension of it
are among the secrets of the German
Cabinet. The serious side of the ques-
ton is that these Irregularities in the
workings Of the European money markets
threaten to interrupt the funding of our six
per cent debt into the five per cent bonds of
the new loan. The new tives are now quoted
below par in London, and there is q hand
some profit on importing them to New-York.
The importation of Government bonds is, in
fact, the direct cause of the present gold ship


ments, and the strength of the New-York
market, in spite of the large amounts OF bonds
sold here on foreign account, is new and
remarkable phase of the present state OF our
finances. The determination of the German
Government to get gold wherewith to supply
the place of their silver coin, is likely to be
fatal to our Sonstes sentimental plan for the
restoration of specie payments in 1879.