iSTiniT of the riwss.
editorial omroira or tub i.RAnmo journals
CPO! CURBBHT TOPIC8 COKPILRD BVKHT
DAT FOB TBI BTRNINO TELEGRAPH.
Tha Love Ufa of Quean Victoria,
From the N. Y. Herald.
The Herald called immediate attention to
the unique work in which Queen Victoria
lately made her first appearance as a royal
author, and surprised the world by an extra
ordinary revelation or her "lore life." six
thousand copies of the first volume of this
work have already leu gold, and a second
edition is in press. No more remarkable pro
duction has appeared since Solomon's Songs,
the Iliad and the Odyssey, and the Metamor
phoses of Ovid. The sovereign of a mighty
empire, on which the sun never sets and is
always rising, and the mother of as many
children as John Itogera' wife (without count
ing the mythical "one at the breast"), ha3
prepared, during her comparative retirement
from her public duties, an autobiographical
narrative which surpasses in curious interest
all the memorials of burning Sappho, who
loved and sang in the isles of Ureece, and
finally leaped from the Leucadian rock; of
Zenobia, the haughty but not heartless Queen
of Talmyra; of Caesar's and Antony's Cleo
patra; of Aspasia and her court of Athenian
philosophers, orators, and statesmen; of Hy
patia, Cyril's victim, and Charles Kingsley'a
heroine; of Leicester's Elizabeth; of Mary,
Queen of Scots and of all men's hearts; of
Abelard's Heloise; in short, of all other illus
trious Rousseaus of the feminine gender that
have ever lived and loved.
Of all biographies and autobiographies,
Queen Victoria's book will be most widely
read and admired, sneered at and ridiouled.
Even a loyal English reviewer pauses in the
midst of his eulogies upon it to admit that "we
want the mellowing air of time and space in
which to read such a story as that of Queen
Victoria and her cousin." "When," he says,
"Queen Victoria shall have beoome to her
people what Elizabeth is, the chief light of her
age, the central point of human interest in
her reign when all the trifles of our gene
ration are dispersed into air, and only the
great realities are left in recollection the
tale of her love, her happiness, her loss, her
Borrow, will be the favorite theme of all poets
and story tellers." And, he adds, "the mil
lions who will fondly dwell upon this story of
A human heart will treat with scorn those
cynics and seekers who, in our day, lail to see
the beauty of a life which exalts humau
nature above fashionable Bociety, and raises
the woman high above the Queen." Mean
while, as this enthusiastic reviewer admits,
"the mellowing air of time and space" is
wanting, and the cynics of aristocratic and
fashionable society in Great Britain will not
refrain from laughing, at least in their sleeve,
at this extraordinary story of a royal love life.
But millions of women, from fifteen to thirty
five years of age, in the middle and lower
classes, will pore and ponder and weep over it,
and adopt it as their text-book. As such, it
bids fair to have a larger circulation than any
other book, exoept King James' version of the
Holy Bible. To most readers in this transat
lantic republic, however, it seems like nothing
that has a hold on the present time, with Its
practical realities, but rather like a resurrec
tion of some old romance that has been lying
buried amid the forgotten rubbish of the Mid
dle Ages.
The Help the South Need.
From the If. Y. Tribune.
As a nation progresses, its Government has
new duties to perform. In particular is this
true of our own Government. Statesmanship
which thirty years ago might have been pro
found, may be worthless to-day. One who is
not impressed, or who is incapable of being
impressed, with this idea, is unfit for a states
man. The rapid increase of our population
and the great demand for fabrics, for varied
and abundant food, for good furniture and for
comfortable dwellings, give new energy to the
fanner, the mechanic, and artisan. The sup
plies of food and clothing which we require
are so large as not to be realized by a state
ment in figures, and they are increasing,
to-day, with a rapidity in exoess of any other
period. In addition 'to our own people, we are
receiving each day through the ports of San
Franoisco and New York, a thousand foreigners
from the two widely distant shores of the Old
World. Manufactures are flourishing at
least they are getting strength in a mortal
oonfliot with foreigners and we are fabri
cating and consuming more goods of all kinds
than were produced in the whole of Europe at
the time of the Revolution.
It is important to know that less than one
fourth of the territory east of the Mississippi
furnishes our meat and bread. The Southern
States never have made their bread till this
year, and they may do bo a few years longer;
but if they do, it will be at the expense of the
cotton crop; nor will an accession to their
population be of advantage to them or to the
nation. The capacity of the South to feed
their' people poorly has been reached; if better
food is to be provided, they certainly do not
want more people. We know all that can be
said regarding the vast extent of uncultivated
land, and of the benefits they will receive
from capital and the establishment of manu
factures. It is true there is some land
left, and it a blessed thing that there
is; but the amount not subject , to over
flow, or to malarious disease, really is very
little. Long ago, wherever there was a chance
for the opening of even a second or third class
plantation, there the planter made an entry;
and now, only some forests attached to large
plantations, and some upland valleys, which
can be made valuable by drainage, remain.
To be sure, there are millions of acres among
hills, but nobody thinks they can be turned to
the least account. When some plan shall be
adopted for restraining the waters within the
Western levees, and making it worth while
to cultivate the plantations already made, we
can go into the jungles of cane-brake and
Spanish moBS, and have many new farms of
marvellous fertility; but this is in the future,
and for those who take their lives in their
hands, and muoh money in their pockets.
It is those vast portions of the South where
health can attend civilization, and which have
been brought into cultivation, that require
attention, and this, not of individuals, but of
the Government itself. Their condition briefly
is this: On first being cleared, good crops were
raised for several years, but the soil, being no
where natural for grass, has been removed by
successive croppings, or has been washed into
valleys, or floated out with the streams into
the ocean. At this time all Southern fields are
in the different stages ranging from compara
tive freshness to marked decay and absolute
barrenness. There are tens of thousands of
farms, onoe yielding abundantly, which now
cannot produce eight bushels of oorn or fifty
pounds of lint cotton to the acre. Of course
Buch land, as well as the owner, bear the marks
of debasing poverty. So far from this condition
becoming in any respect better, every year
adds largely to the number of farms ou the
THE DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY,
doleful list. Now, for the South to attsmpt to
raise her bread and to supply the worl I with
cotton to bring in agricultural machinery
and to make the wheels of industry revolve
with greater rapidity is only to hasten her
day of doom. Home of her most intelligent
men are aware of these facts ; formerly no one
80 keonly felt tliem. Hut life for them is
Bhort, and they will take to the grave criwhed
hopes, and crushed because they carried on
that terrible war for the express purpose of
having fresh plantations on a fresh and more
distant soil. JSut the majority do not consider
these things; if they did, sufficient for them,
too, is the evil of the day.
To meet the wants of the South, and equally
ba nf f)ia Nnrlli. A. rHOr1rfl.ni7.At.lnn at
mw - -" 1 -' y ("i . u u v mu j'n-
parlrnent of Agriculture is imperatively de
manded. Congress should make speoial ap-;
propriations for the establishment of experi-i
mental farms in various Southern States.'
These should show how the land which is yet
productive can be continued so, and, when
this is done, increase will follow. Tinn,
attempts can be made for restoring fields :
which are impoverished. For Instance, let I
there be a Government farm near Atlanta, and1
grass be made to grow, not only in summer, !
but in December and March. The hilly regions
should not be neglected. By reason of the !
steepness, ploughing would be impracticable; if
it could be done, the first heavy rain, alter the
roots of the trees rot, would carry away the
soil. These hills cau bi put in blue grass,
and they will furnish abundant fool for
sheep. We should be opposed to an expe
riment in any county that would not
enforce an effectual dog law. The at
tempt, at first, should be ponfined to making
simple farms, where dairy products would be
reasonably abundant through the year, and
from this basis all other crops can be grown
With Tjrofit and fiftsn. Skill ntvl nnnA
ment alone can carry out this plan; but these
qualities are by no means rare, thanks to the
labors and trials of the present and past; and
with the smiles of Providence suooess will
crown the endeavor. The need now is for a
Commissioner, who, with the sanction of Con
gress, will organize and carry out the proposed
idea. If the South can be taught how to retain
the fertility of the soil, saying nothing about
the increasing production, fifty or a hundred
millions of dollars will be a small sum to
secure so desirable an end. It remains now
to be seen whether our legislators can rise to
the importance of the occasion, or whether
they will permit to be repeated on this conti
nent the prooess which changed a fruitful
region in Western Asia into a wilderness,
leaving for our instruction the ruins of Baalbec
and Palmyra among the desert sands.
The Attack on General Grant.
From the If. Y. Times.
The Tribune renews its attack on General
Grant. Under the pretense of inquiry, it in
dulges in misrepresentation; feigning friend
ship, it assails him with falsehood. The ex
cuse for the proceeding is as dishonest as the
argument with which it is supported. Our
contemporary assumes that General Grant is
Wore the country as a candidate lor the
Presidency, and thereupon undertakes to show
that he is not entitled to the confidence of the
Republican party. It assumes his occupancy
of a position, and then goes on to insiuuate
that he ought not to be trusted. The manner
in which the assault is conducted is as dis
honest as the motive which dictates it. The
vocabulary of Wendell Phillips has been ran
sacked for phrases suited to the oooasion.
General Grant is by implication sneered at as
"a deaf-and-dumb candidate;" "one of the
uniformed Sphynxes sashed and cirdad
Btatues." "Silence and uncertainty," we are
told, "rest like a pall over the name of Grant;"
his "recent reoord" is pointed at as damna
tory; and he is called upon to make a speech
that shall please the Tribune, or surrender all
hope of becoming a Republican President.
In this course there is indecency as well as
impertinence. General Grant has not an
nounced himself a candidate for the Presi
dency. A very large proportion of the people
look upon him as the man to whom the coun
try may most advantageously intrust the
completion of the work of reconstruction; but
personally he has done nothing to encourage
his own nomination, or even to render certain
his acceptance it nominated. All this talk
about his "position," and the neoessity of
declaring his opinions explicitly, is sheer folly
and impudence. The time to discuss his Pre
sidential aspirations will not come until he is
formally known to entertain them. His accept
ability as a candidate on the Republican plat
form will be a fair subject of discussion when
he seeks Republican votes, and not till then.
Meanwhile the Tribune forgets that General
Grant is a soldier, not a politician. As com
mander of the army of the United States his
business is to superintend the military affairs
f the Republio, to maintain the emoiency of
its soldiers, and, if need be, to lead them on to
victory; not to travel over the land, hobnobbing
with politicians, organizing cliques to operate
in the nominating Convention, and making
speeches to applauding orowds. The Tribune
might see no special impropriety in a career
of that sort, and indeed a precedent for it
might be found in the political journeylngs of
a distinguished judicial officer, whose preten
sions our contemporary is known to favor.
But the country looks at these matters from
a different point of view. The spectacle af
forded by the Chief Justice was humiliating
enough, though intelligible considering the
aotive political life which preceded his eleva
tion to the Bench. For General Grant no such
excuse would be avilable. As a soldier, he
disdains the arts of the demagogue. As the
first soldier in the country, his honor and
duty alike remove him from the foul atmo
sphere of partisan intrigue, and disincline him
from that passion for speechmaklng which
Wendell Phillips and the Tribune exalt into
the first condition of a nomination for the
Presidency. , . ...
' Bat though General Grant is a soldier, not a
politician and though with characteristic
good sense he neither writes letters nor makes
speeches on politioal subjects his "position"
in relation to the Congressional polioy of re
construction does not admit of doubt. There
are some, unquestionably, whom nothing
would satisfy when Grant is under considera
tion. General Butler is one of these; our
neighbor of the Tribune is another. But the
representatives of the Republican party in
Congress have no misgivings on the subject.
Our Washington correspondent refers to
General Grant's late examination before the
Judiciary Committee, and the impression
which his testimony produoed upon promi
nent members of the party. That this im
pression was not confined to Mr. Speaker
Colfax, or Mr. Covode, or Mr. Williams, is
proved by the singular unanimity with which
the majority in Congress invested him with
the absolute power of administration in re
gard to the Reconstruction acts which had
previously been intrusted to the President.
If the Butler faction were persuaded of his
untrustworthioess, why were they silent when
Republican Senators and Representatives thus
declared their confidence la General Grant's
sympathies and integrity f Why did the
Tribune Withhold its hoatile oritiuism at the
time when the faithful execution of thejparty ,
policy was a matter of anxious thought and
discussion f It is plain that the Republican
party had nono of the fears to which the
'Jnbune gives ntteranoe. Us reoognized ex
ponents accepted General Grant as the man
above all others to be intrusted with super
visory anthority In carrying out its will not
as a ''UDiformed Sphynx" or a "sashed and
girded statue."
In a case of this kind inferential testimony
should be sufficient. It should be enough
that they whose official opportunities enable
them to know were of the views held by the
commander of the armies than the publio can
possibly acquire, are fully convinced that he
is on their side. But other evidenoe exists of
which the public are possessed evidence all
the stronger because existing in a form un
tainted with partisanship. General Grant
writes despatches, though not political letters;
he indites instructions to his Generals, thaugli
never making political speeches. To these
despatches and instructions we refer the
Tribune for the proofs of which it pretends to
be in search. Extracts from them were
published weeks ago. And oertainly no
thing could be more satisfactory. For
in his official character General Grant re
veals himself as in harmony with the spirit
of the reconstruction legislation, even before
Congress had pronounced its Anti-Htanbery
interpretation. To Schofield, Pope, Ord, and
Sheridan, the General communicated opinions
which should shame the Tribune into silence,
not to say apology. He affirms the power of
removal as existing in the District Command
ers, and repudiates the statement that he dis
approved of its exercise in the case of Gover
nor Wells. He suggests conditions touching
I registration wnicu are at variance with the lax
notions of the Attorney-General. And, gene
rally, he has exerted his whole influence in
support of the District Commanders, on occa
sions which have furnished points of contro
versy. So far, then, as speech beoometh a
soldier, General Grant has spoken unequivo
cally on the side of Congress and its policy.
Financial Trouble and Mysteries.
From the AT. Y. Herald.
A radical contemporary begins to be
alarmed at the gathering cloud of financial
troubles. He is appalled at the accumulation
of the public debt. He stands aghast at the
enormous aggregate of taxes paid by the
people of the United States, and whioh, he says,
although considerably reduced from the maxi
mum they attained in 1865-6, must probably
exceed $500,000,000 per annum. In passing,
we must say that our impression is that they
never reached a higher annual figure than
.r00;000,000. Startled out of the proprieties
of consistency, our radical neighbor even
echoes the popular outcry for such a readjust
ment and simplifying of our taxation "as
may render it considerably less irksome." He
is bewildered, moreover, by "the seeming
i,"'u vi uu iiumeuse una steaaiiy increas
ing uiigiauuu irom countries mat owe little
and tax lightly, in comparison to this overbur
dened republio. He declares it is a mizzle to
political economists "that the volume of im
migration should . be not merely maintained
1... 1 1 . . . i . .
uui largely augmented unaer tne pressure of
gigantic debt, a high tariff, heavy internal
taxes.and an inflated, irredeemable currency."
Partially recovering his senses, he next blun
ders upon a solution of the puzzle. "Immi
grants are still pouring in at the rate of a
thousand per day, and all of them who know
how to do anything, and will do it, find em
ployment and remuneration. Labor is as well
paid in the average, and as comfortably sub
sisted, as it was when we had next to no debt,
light taxes, and a currency convertible into
specie at par. The real estate of the country
could be sold to-day for more money (reduced
to specie) than it was worth ten years ago.
Most of our people are prospering; many are
amassing wealth. Houses are being built on
every hand, lands are being improved; new
farms are being hewn out of the forest
and carved from the wild prairie; our railroads
are being extended at the rate of a thousand
miles per annum; and the produot of our na
tional industry in 1867 will be larger than that
of any former year." We need not multiply
words to prove that this a solution of the mys
terious puzzle. The American people are rich,
notwithstanding their burdensome taxatioa,
because their country is inexhaustibly rich.
Ours is a new country, with daily developing
resources of incalculable wealth. Our cheap
and fertile and boundless lands have three
times the productive capacity of the old Euro
pean countries. Our agricultural inventions
surpass any in the world, and unite with
steamboats, railways, and the telegraph in
marvellously quickening and facilitating the
progress of American industry and trade. The
national wealth is so rapidly accumulating
that the public debt, even if it were to remain
undiminished, would become less and less
burdensome iii proportion to the development
s'6uuu DHcugui io sustain it.
At present, indeed, many of the taxes (as,
for instance, the cotton tax) to whioh the
people submitted as war measures are almost
intolerable, because no longer necessary, and
in some cases palpably unjust. Our contem
porary asks, "Do we not need a new political
economy, recognizing and adapted to this state
of facts ?" We most certainly do need a politi
cal economy adapted to the actual state of
things; but not a new one, and by no means
sueh a high tariff economy as our neighbor
advocates in his fundamental idea that a tariff
is something good in itself a measure whioh
it would be wise for a community to adopt,
even if they had no need of revenue. We are
Inclined to agree with political economists of
quite a diflerent school, who teach that "tariff"
is another name for "tax," and that a tax of
any kind can only be more or less of a burden
upon the people who pay it, and cannot in
the nature of things be a benefit to them. At
the same time we recognize the practical
advantages, and, in a certain sense, the practi
cal necessity, of moderate taxes on articles of
utility, and of high taxes on articles of lax
U17 including commodities the consumption
of which does not impede production. And,
especially, we insist upon it that our Govern
ment should have and should use full powers
to collect its dues, without being exposed in
the collection of customs and of internal reve
nue to such frightful losses as have been dis
closed by the imperfect investigation of recent
irauds upon the Treasury of the United States,
buch frauds ahave been lately perpetrated on
a colossal scale in the articles of whisky, petro
leum.and tobaccoshould henceforth be rendered
impossible.
As to the influx of immigrants in spite of
our own grievous taxation.it should be re
membered that they are glad to esoape from
the tyranny of taxation without representa
tion. '
I As to the evil of inflated currency, that
matters less than might seem to be the case;
and our contemporary might not be so much
alarmed if he would reflect that it is frequent
nd sudden fluctuations of the money market
that play the mischief, rather than the nomi
nally high figures which the price of gold may
happen to reach. Let almost any figure but
remain steadily the same for a long period,
and all transactions are surely and safely ac
commodated to it. , ,
FLEA FOR SPECIE PAYMENTS.
The Wortt,l...n. f an Irredeemable
F.,er Cfcrrencr, and th, W.c...ltr of
tlon-Sp.c,. th. nljr u.cogu.x.d .tan.
dard of Value.
Fiom the Hankers' Magazineor August.
rtlAui lllCllllllliAont 1 1 "
TA vina
ordinary revenue. y0 .nucn 7or honeT - la
ucldu.ou to this, tue Vtrj uoteR ot tu Goyer...
iLint have ban made a leaal-tendTr lor all
debts, th.w drlTli.ff out of c&ation ,o?ou.v
all ep. cie, but all forms ot credit convertible
into epecie. Tde amount or tnl legal tender
currency Is? tied hns eo lar exceeded ih wants
and the ability ot the people to keep In circula
tion on a par with specie, that the whole cale
of prices Has bceu deranged, and no reliable
staidardol values exists among u. ho rauoli
Icr dinregarding the second hoiuoly aclnge we
have quoted.
In private mercantile affairs this problem
would be easily solved. A merchant whosn
checks and due-bills were ctrculailugat a heavy
discount, Biruply because bU uctahhors could
not Let the nioticv lor them, and could not iuior.1
to hold them Jor tuture payment, htle their
conuoence in Dis ultimate bolvmcv wa un
ootibieo, and their ability to bian on interest
was ample, would at once bring bis checks up
to pur either by pajlng them oil, or (whica
comes to the same tiling by receiving them as
rash loans to be repaid hereafter wtiti interest,
but when a nation Instead of an iudividunl HnrU
itself in this predicament, it would appear that
the wholo aspect is changed 1 Add tor the lat
to ears everv effort and device ot sophistry
nun luisuuoiiu nave Deen put in ptay to make
nonesty, wnicn is ine Dcst policy lor the indi
viouat, appear tne worst policy tor the Htate.
During the war. iodeed. it was ircnerallv ad
mitted that the depreciation of the currency
was a great evil, aud that u return to specie pay
ments would be indispensable after the return
of peuce. The people generally doubtless tlilnk
so sun. uui ine wnoie race ot gamoters, specu
laiors, and currency-mongers has now an IntC'
rest to deleat tbe just demands ot the people,
and this thev cau do only bv inle aseertions and
tulse reasonings. Let us sec what ihcy have to
bay.
The boldest of these men go so far as to as
sen mat their is in tact no redundancy ol legal
iciiocr currency, xo oe sure, toev are com
pelted to admit that it is not and cannot be re'
deemed in specie, and that it is at a luiee aiu
count as compared with specie. But this fact
itii y ascribe to the war. or the exDort: and as
they make no attempt at proof, one assertion is
us gooa as anotner.
It la true that we have had wars and debts
and fhort cotton and pram crops belore, and
these causes and others combined have evn
produced a temporary and pamal suspeuslon of
bii cie pHMucnib; uui tney nave never perma
nently aiiec ea tuc specie standard ot value, aud
w uen me tempoiary crisis was over, specie pay.
ments have been resumed easily and nrumutlv.
or is there anything in the nature of these
nnegra causes calculated necessarily to produce
the etlect ascribed to the
and with it the derangement of iudustry and do
strnction ol wealth have ceased. The debt is, or
may oe, nausicrreu to inoe wno can atlord to
wait tor payment of the principal, aud the inte-
rcn is punctually paid. There is enoucrn e-nun
and cotton to leed aud clothe our people, and
wc ueeu nut cjuii lucae or import otner mer
chandise, mote tnan we choose, or more than
wecanaiiora. wny is it, then, that all prices
are doubled, and that gold is no longer the
aiuuuaraoi valuer
Another set of men tell us that it is true we
have too much paper currency to be at par with
specie, but that If wo will only be patient till
iucy uiic umuu meir loriuues, tne population
auu YTCBiLu ui iuo country win grow up to it,
and specie will again be at par. This is like
auvlslug a navigator, who has incautiously
veered out his cable, and let his ship drilt high
nuu uijr uu uuucu, 10 Keep ine cable slack,
and wait till the rising tide shall float him off.
no win nave 10 wan a long time.
a epecie currency Is accommodated to the
amount of wealth and population, by the pro
duction, importation, or exportation ot gold, in
ouuiugj io any oiner mcrcnanaHc. But
mere i no such elasticity in irredeemable
paper. The first severe crisis will lead to a
clamor for increased issues, which will not long
be reshted. And the next step will be to com
plete or partial repudiation 1 10 leave an irre-
uet uiaoie currency to take care of Itself is like
h avmg a broken bone or a dislocated joiut to
fester or swell till some happy accident shall
Another enterprising genius has proposed to
let tiie government hoard sonio two hundred
minions oi eoiu bqu itieu botn announce ana re.
stme i-picie payments without attempting any
previous contraction ot the currency, l'here
are but two serious objections to this course,
but tbey are important. The gold would be ex-
naustea long Delore the demand lor specie was
met, uuu me contraction ot currency, caused by
the immediate withdrawal of $200,000,000 irom
circuiaiiou, would produce a most destructive
uuttcc'iui crisis,
borne tii auciers do not see this. Thew
that as there is plenty of specie in Furope, uooe
would go there, wbile lor domestic purposes tbe
notes oi the United States are as good or better.
But they do not consider that a dollar in specie
win purcDase aoaoie as much of food, clothing,
aud other necessaries, as well as luxuries abroad,
as a paper dollar will at home. JSven with
specie at a premium ot nearly lorty per cent.,
importers are successfully competing with do
mestic producers, though protected by exoibl
tant duties. But with specie at par, domestic pro
duce would be driven Irom the market until the
8upplvof specie was exhausted; and this fact,
combined with the great i eduction of currency,
would cause such a great and sudden fail of
prices as to ruin every one at all In debt, and to
paialyiethe industry ot the country. Such a
sudden lutlux ol specie might prove a great
curse to Europe, but it would go, and would be
taken as money when it got there. The opera
tion would resemble the sudden union ot two
canals constiucted on ditlerent levels. One
would be drained, the other swamped: and
specie, like water, will Bnd its level.
But wbut then is to be done, aud how cau it
be done? Tbe-e are plain questions, aud can
easily have a plain answer.
In the flrot place, we must return to a specie
basis as soou a possible. Specie i the only
recognized standard ot value; and paper, when
permanently irredeemable, is worthless. Mouey
payments are mere transfers of value or credit,
measured in gold coin. Take away that measure,
aud neither value nor credit will remain,
i But what does this mean f It means that
everything nrolcsing to be a dollar should be
exchangeable at will for a dollar in coin. This
tan only be done bv greatly diminishing the
number of paper dollars, and by greatly increas
ing the stock ol coin available to redeem them.
The latter course would be difficult, if not tm.
iracticable, tor we could not be sure that wo
tad enough coin, unless we had as much as
would redeem the whole surplus of paper issued
since the war, some $500,000,000; and then (as
we have shown) the effect of withdrawing such
a mass of paper at once from circulation would
be ruinous to trade and industry. And yet
there would obviously be the greatest injustice
la paying off any part of the currency at par,
without payiue the whole.
There remains the perlectly simple, honest,
mercantile, and common sense method ot
diminishing the liabilities of the Government,
due on demand, by witudrawing Its legal-teuder
notes from circulation as rapidly as the com
mercial necessities of the people will allow, and
tht means a great deal more rapidly thau even
practised financiers are willing to admit.
: Ve may here remark that the want of cur
rency has rarely been the cause ot financial
difficulty or panic. It is tbe want of the value
which that currency represents. It is not olten
Inability to raise money on good security
which tails a merchant, but an amount of debt
exceeding his means to pay. In 1817 and IMg
whole financial question "iCu if
policy." ,u,d "tuotieh is f ,5
Hv,i.. . p"uule ou demand in t0iu
whlcu it has mo nieaus of promptly navl
ingby the sale ot Its bonds but win l
grcbi la prohibited It, ,,.,, "iL1'?":
AUGUST 20, 18Gf.
HIE LAEGKST AND BEST STOCK OF
FINE OLD R Y E V H I G K I E G
IN THE LAND I& NOW TOSSESSED BY
II i: N 1 Y S. HANN I S & CO..
Ncs. 218 and 220 SOUTH THOU! STREET,
KiioerrtRTiiE hajik to the tradr in lots on ilbi advantageous
TEHJIK.
',,,r toek f Hye H hUklM,I(t DON U, romprliee all the farorlte brand
"rt ' through tlie various months of lbOaVOO. and of tbls year, in ta
l"'mt date. if
Liberal rontrarts mad for lots to arrive at PenairlTanla Railroad Deoot.
Hue Mharf.or at Hooded -Warehouse. e parties mar elect.
h ?n,?7w,lVVSCftrce a" t0 command twelve,
nJ, eighteen per cent. Irom solveot
bi .tn, '' 9 ln, lbe Prosecution of their regular
douhti, BI'd, amouut r business was
but a i thW,,cd bytuis clty ol money,
some YonilevT, And lbe t,,Iort ttS no'o
and monevP,o,mWiert k1 8Deut lesW' 8aed orc,
Kn , n b,'camo abundant,
and evoT, hnLhrc.Uanta' bkern, aud traders,
Ucs Sh th .I,hJlJ,C.om"clt,i exce-sive liabili
had not ntr, hJ,C. Uld "ol Tue country
nad not nien hitudise cuoutth turlmtmir cui.i ...
pay its debt abroad, and the 11!
ral br, akdowu ol credit, gteutU and uwjK
aggravated by the icuorauVe ami folly ot baniu
managers In frew York. The deVcicucv wa not
a, r rn t0 th question, What is to bo
cloi:e? We answer, the Government must with
draw its notes irom circulation until those
which remain will exchange at par with specie.
This is the simple test which cannot deceive.
When once the equilibrium ot nominal values
with specie is established, specie payments can
be as easily resumed as the gates ot a canal lock
can be thrown open when the water on both
sides Is at the same level. Of rnnruA ih. ..h
drawal ol legal tender notes will compel the
uauas u I'luiiuo lor me reucmpuon ot their
own surplus notes, and to cut tail the very libe
ral book credits, or "deposits," which they have
sufleied to attain such a dangerous expausion.
This eminently heallbf and much nee led pro
cess will co-nripratn with .hat c 4 ha Tn..,,..
in reoucing the volume of currency, aud with it
the flpfll.t rt nrirnu oltniluH bin l. m...
peed not be sudden, but, if honestly set about,
it may be far more rapid than is generally sup
posed, and this without causing any painful
pressure on any interest worth protecting.
But bow is this to be done? We reply, in any
one or more of a multitude of ways, all amount
ing to the same thing. The one Indispensable
condition is, that the prest-ure upon prices be
steady and coDstaut, tnough it need not be
severe. Idle money leads to speculation; specu
lation advances prices, stimulates credit, and
leads to the incurring of liabilities which can
not readily be met. The result is a demand for
money, and a stringency, whioh gives currency
mongers a pretext lor demanding more issues of
paper, and so the evil goes on perpetuating and
aggiavating itself, as we have all experienced.
ow the remedy for this is, not to allow any
idle money to accumulate. As last as it begins
to do so, the Government should absorb It by
the sale of bonds, and withdraw it from clrcu
lation. This being aone openly and systemati
cally, would utterly break down the specula
tive and gambling spirit which has so long
rioted on tbe fluctuations of our currency; and
all prudent merchants, banks, and bankers
would hasten to get out of excessive debt, and
keep so. The mere curtailment of unnecessary
business would set iree currency so rapidly that
the process would involve no hardship to sol
vent people, and once commenced, it would be
a plain and easy couree to pursue until the object
be accomplished.
But those ' practical men' whose practical
n " v v v v i vuij luiouuirvuus Uy
want of comprehension, insist that all this Is
mere theorv. and tlmr. ihn tnota 07111 turn
just the opposite. In support of this assertion
they allege, with the mostipersUtent hardihood,
that every withdrawal ol currency by the Trea-
dimcreroiiH. almnHt
' - w-.. UVIICUO VJ hUQ
nierr'ilTiLllA fnmmnnitv on, 4 thf an ..ii i
11. 7 . --.vj , MUv bua tuc evil UdS
only been stayed m every case by the proaiot
H-vuuuvuiiiiut ut tut; a t-iuui pw.
Now, what are the iaets? Before any curtail-
ot the country had gathered up some $80,01)0, 0U0
v i;i'iu jjuuiivi lULtrrcBi iiuies, wuicQ toey delibe
lately laid aside as an tavist
had a right to do. if their sun.lus funds nnrmid
had a right to do, if their surplus tunda permit-
luiil Kn. nnnilln.. U 1 .. 1 . I
blunder by which these notes were made a legal
tender, they proceeded (with some praiseworthy
exceptions) to include these notes as a part of
their legal reserve, thereby utterly violating tne i
Mlll'it nt flip Ihw Haviuo Vn thio ...... .,.. I
r- t " iuid BUIflllbUHUU
icleased a large amount ol currency, they
proceeded to lend tho latter in allnosoihie mmr.
ters, giving a most mischievous Impulse to
speculation; and when the liabilities thus con-
IrnptPii hnri tn Ya rtutt i 1
gone, and the banks, with large nominal re-
luiupuuuu mieresbuoics, couia neituer
help iheir victims nor pay their own debts.
W hprA t hr. Trpuanrv huit wiihilramn n
lions, the bauks had withdrawn eighty, and yet
m-jr liunigo mni uiBueos upon me ireasury 1
hilt, cvpn t.hpn linn mnnli di.J....t.nBH - j
Was there a single day when United btates 6 per
cent, bonds even approached par, or when mo
ney could not be borrowed on good security at
7 ner renL? Anri I j It. in lallooi.ita j .
. r i,v , llm, m(U uiCWUUUU
suneting that we are asked to plunder the rich
oppress the poor, and dishonor the good name
ol our coutitny r
It will, nrrhnno ha nrriiai! Vaf on oil n
f r J- . wv ufusi. .uuv no ail uiuci
vunruuj in uttseu uu legui-ienaer notes, every
withorawal of the latter Involves a still larger
withdrawal of the lormer. This is partly true,
and is a reason for moderation in this as in all
other treat chunpeo. lint it' m 4u e..i.,t .k..
present expansion of banks is excessive, and
checked only by the actual pressure of law and
the inability to Und any kind of paper
monev with with In nnv tho iUnt.
v " ' " f J tUbklll
drawn on them, and if (as seems evi
dent) nothing but actual compulsion will
induce them to contract their credit
within reasonable bounds, what else can we do
but luk IIWAV frrurltiiill v ttia h.jlj ii..a
1 ' J H.uuuua. .UW UU.HO v. IUID UUI!
geiouB and unwarrantable superstructure? And
br It rrniPTYirtnrnH f hie id in. ha sivia k
arbitrary or doubtful action, such as created the
difficulty at first, but by the simple process of
the Treasury pay inn its own notes and cancel in v
Us own indebtedness, which th i! (Wfrn man r.
has the same right to do that all its citizens
nave. Aa tnr rpul mnnan tho. . t At i , i j
to create it, and the credit to replace it, are and
ni. i iumiuuo aa uituiuttoie ana available as
ever.
It is argued, hownvpr 'htr nv,.nni -n .v..
the volume ot currency must vary greatly at
uiuwuut uujco, us, ior instance, wticu large
amouuts are required to "move thn n .v.i
that a curtailment which could be bnr'an
other times would be absolutely ruinous then.
Home allowance must doubtless be made for
this, and we do not propose that all the cur
rency withdrawn from circulation should be at
once destroyed, but a pait might be held in re
serve lor possible contingencies, and reissued if
necessary. But we are confident this neces
sity will never arise. The decline of prices
Wnilllt Intict kuan nunu with tlin niii-tnllnini
of currency, and the volume of the latter would
hiulnAOD ...
to as pticufa ui tot emu is' duuvsit bunt- iii c tum
niercial country anytbiug ot real necessity or
iuijuimut ever remuixiN uuuiuc jur luct oi
currency, though it may for lac of capital. Iu
1847 Creat Lriialu was threatened with a famine !
and the liank ol Eneland, with the beuevoleut
-vwvv VI BV . CpiUK UU JiI V IJ IIVUJ O iai ail 'U, f
expauded its credit very imprudently to promote I
4 I . Am. - . - .. '1 ' V. .
u iiujiuiiauuii oi "ittin. iuo vuusociuenco
Was a vast and excessive Importation, a ruinous
decline ln prices, and a fearful financial panlcl
TT
If tbe bank had simply taken care of Its cur
rency and Daiikimr, private capital and credit
would havo done all thht was needful, and not
overdone It.
But there Is a very simple, obvloiu, and un
erring indicator by which we can at once test
the amount of pressure which contraction may
cause, and regulate It accordingly. That is the
rato of interest. We need not go back tj the
stringency of 1848, when money oomuiandod
twelve and eighteen per cent, and yet business
was generally proutable. But surely when
Government Sixes and Seven-thirties are
at a premium, aud money can be readily
obtained on call at seven per cent., we
need not talk of exepssive stringency nor
fear a financial punic. It was a great
mistake in Coi gress to show such distrust la
our honest, experienced, and most cautious
Secretary ot the Treasurv, as to limit his wuh-
5BiJ!SSnaf "fncyto lie Pltry sum of
f 4,000 000 a month. lie ought to be able to
absorb all the idle funds, which would other
wise provoke speculation.whether their amount
bo four mil ions or forty. Lees than this will
l ot suffice to do the work as it ought to be
done, and more Is not needed. There would
probably be some months when not a dollar
ought to be withdrawn, and If the Secretary ij
not competent to Judge ot this, he is not lit
for his place. The process must be left to his
discretion, or it cannot be accomplished at all
Many merchants and business men think ot
the reduction of currency with a vague terror.
wtouid utterlJ ruin them by the stoppage
of their business and depreciation of their pro
perty. This is easily shown to be a great ml,
take. True, it will brin down prices, and
lustice to consumers demands that it should
But this will barm only speculators, not the
legitimate dealer, who cautiously limits and
measures his purchases by his sales. We re.
member the ce of a corn iactor iu England
who pafsed uninjured through the unexam
pled panio and decline of fifty per cent in
prices in 1847, because, from conscientious
unwillingness to take advantage of tho
poor, be would buy no faster than be sold.
I)uring a steady process ot curtailment, specu
lation will languish, as it ought to do, but all
the regular and legitimate wants of the com
munity will be supplied as usual, and the mer.
chant who avoids debt, confines himself to cash
transactions, and buyt no taster than he sells,
will continue to do a pro fl table business. A
moderate diminution or the usual amount of
production and importation, and a correspond
ing economy ol consumption, will leave every
body as well off as it found tbam, and will lay
a firm foundation for future prosperity. The
alternative Is one too disastrous to be willlnclv
contemplated.
The immediate pressure of this necessary pro
cess will naturally fall upon tbe banks, which
nave hitherto reaped the principal fruits of In
4 I By 'he sale of specie not always right
fully theirs, by the enormous expansion of their
credit, and the virtual monopoly ot the currency,
these corporations have made, and are maklusr.
profits al together disproportioned to the earnings
either of capital or labor. These profits will
now he most justly reduced to a point consistent
wltb the conuitlons of a souDd and convertible
currency. As tbe basis of legal-tenders gradually
disappears, they will be compelled to curtail
their deposits, to redeem, perhaps, a portion of
their bank notes, to sell many ot the national
tecurities they now hold, and, In short, to pre
pare to pay the debts they have so long been
permitted to hold in abeyance. When thsy
have thus far made their credit, and the legal
tenders they hold in reserve, so valuable as to
exchange for coin at par, the work will be done.
Ihey will still enjoy the full benefit they have
always had ol the earnings of their capital and
o
nI Lef AhePt 06 cn
ii epos us, as wen as tbelr credit in the form of
tent. Any persistent attempt on their part to
f i i , """""f'j iuo itugn ot speculation,
high prices, and Inconvertible paper, will only
end in disaster to the nation and destruction to
themselves. . J. 8. B.
AMUSEMENTS.
WALNUT
N.K.corue
STREET T it it Ti -r o
Beiclns at 8 o'cii ir t" " """" u U f atreela.
oi l. 1H1H AND EVERT EVKiNINO '
.in .,- TRANSFORMATION SCENIC, ' '
etc., the whole constituting a , .
UNIFORMITY OF EXCELLENCE
never equalled In tlie production or ibis JPlar. "
Chairs secured tbree days lu advance. ,8 13
JVEW ELEVENTH STREET OPERA HOUSE,
ELEVENTH foTREET, ABOVE CHE&NTJT. .
TIIE riHUT BEIOBI
OPEN FOR THE SEASON,
MONDAY KTSNINO, At OCST 8, .' .,
CARNCROSS . & DIXEY'S . MINSTRELS,
THE GREAT STAB TROTJPJS OF THE WOBLD,, J
IH TRXIB 1 ; '
CBAN1 ETHIOPIAN SOIREES.
For particular! tee future advertisements.
J. L. CARNCROSa, Van agar, '
It. F. SIMPSON. Treasurer. . 8 mf
HOl FOB 611 ITH'B ISLAND J FRESH AIR ,
v- T?iAl.'l 'l'VL HC'ENKRY HKALTHi'UI.
THE -lTAJLNAUTO
mus. MART IiAKEftfEYEB 1
respectfully luiorme bar irleude aud the public ten,
rally, tbat sbe will open tbe beauuAJ Ialaud fleaaure
Oround known m me
. SMITH'S ISLAND.
on BTJNDAY next, Mays. Sbe Invlu all toooma
aud enjoy with ber tbe dellgbw ot tbls favorite euul.
mer rworl. SOU
STOVES, RANGES. ETC.
QULVER'S NEW PATENT
, v DEEP SANIVJOIXT
HOT-AIR FURNAOE.
IAIOEI OF ALI, ailES.
Abio, Phllegar't New Low Pressure Steam HeaUna
Apparatus. For aaie by xiuaunf
ClIABaVES WIUUIAIHL
Biof
Mo. 118S MARggf Blreetj
oh iriMOPi.' w IjUMJON KITCHENER
RollMni (vniri...u, "viiiws, oiewuoie riaKw.
UiJ B,ft2r, '"vee, etc., wholesale and retell. b
Ule.,?J? 'acmxexa. KHAKFK THOMSON. 7
...tuiuoin Na N.bFXIOND Street.
"DKIVY Wci.ifi-nwNii'pa
rfiu.' . W " -Jo 7 A s JLbiJX XXkJL
ibrmedaTvewKtlTy W UM
A. PETHOW,
' IW GOLDHM ITU'S UAU, UUiiXH i tttrrt
.a i.