The Silver Issues After Resumption

The vitally intereBting questions Vhich 7Vhj World yesterday put in beh&lf of the people and rspi:ciaily of tho wages-recoiviujj }oople of New York ih to the attitude i' the banks after roi sumption, aro auswored to-day by tho I banks in a comtnuiiicatiou ubly wiitten und u inany pointa sntisfactory. But this comuiunication shedg no comfortablo ligbt on ÍSocretary Shennan's polioy and tlin silvur issues. In modern days at least every govornment has beguu by declariug what shaü be ita ideal unit of inoney. England Iimh made it a pouud sterling; Franoe h frano; the Germán empire a mark. The Amorican colonies inherited tho Englinh unit, but the Con fedoration OongresH in 1785 and tho Coiistitutiunal Congron8 in 1792 changed tbis to " a dollar." The State of New York, epeaking in a State rights way fot itsolf, dedarod thftt its legisiai tor, its judgüs and its tax-gatherers ; must UH'p public accounts in dollars ! and palts ot' dollars called cents. Havj ing thuH set up a monoy account, or ■ ideal unit, a modern govornmont uext I prepares tbe thing whioh hall roproseut Lliat unit. Our Coustitution, under oertain limitations, imposed that duty on Oongross, which at tirst gaid that the unit tuust bo roproseuted by oue specitied ooin of silver and another of gold. Jüfferson inruntwl our unit and ilamilton arranged what ooins should ropreseut that unit, He intended that the silver coin should be precisely the saine as tho Bpanish dollar of tho day, but by a liluudcr it was uudcrwoighted. He iimdn the silver coins whioh ropresented tho Bubdivigiona of the unit to be exact portions of tho ooin which was the unit. TIib triok of uiuierweightoil or debasod subsidiaiy silver coius nover ooourred to his mind. That was roserved for 1853. A RÜver ditne piuco had just one-tenth as luiiny grains of puro and standard silver as had the silver unit. He also intended nnd endeavored to ruako a silver coin to represent the unit which should be preoisely equul, not only in coiuing valufi but iu ooinniercial bulliou value, with the gold coin which also representad the ideal unit. In ! ,W2 ho and Congress failed to secure that equality, and in 1831 and in 1881 Congross twice agaiu tried, but unt'ortunately twioe again failed. The silver coins were overweighted in 1837 relatively to the gold coins, and, as a necessary oonsequenoe, the former in large numbers loft the country or went into ; melting pots. Thus the matter stood til 1 18.r3, when Congress found it neces! sttry to do something to get a circula■ ting silver coiniige, iiud an elabórate report ou the subject was made by Senator Hunter, of Virginia, iu which he set forth the dilhculty, which was that our tben silver ooms were at a premium j over our gold coins. llis rwnedy was to coin underweighted minor silver coins in order to keep tham in the country and out of melting-pots, and to reduce their legal-tendor power to $-5 iu order not to injurs oreditors. These silver coins wore then about cqual with gold coins. Tui was the tirst attompt to iuipart a liuiited logal-tender power to our silver coins, but uot till April 22, 1804, did Congress venture to give any legaHender power whatever to copper or nickel coins, so strong was the conviotion that nothiug but silver and gold could have that faculty. Tho underweight project of Mr. Huntor was a temporary makeshift which endured ! eight years, from 1853 to 1861, whon the civil war began. Soon afterwards tho fractional currency took tho place I of the underweighted silvor, alj though the fraotioual paper was not a legal tender for any sura. The fractional currency was, however, to be redeeuied in greenbacks, which our underweighted silver oannot now be, although the fractional curreucy was in 1876 made redeemable in tho underweighted miaor silver. It is a significaut tact that the circulatiou cf copper-nickel token coins soon bocame so great that in 1871 Congress required the Treasury to redeem them iu lawful iuonuy on presentation. So that while the Poet can now got greenbacks for the nicko pieces received over its counter, the la boring man cannot get even greenback for his silvar ooius, nor can he use them for taxes, and in a few weeks he wi. notbe abla to deposit thom in a bank Tho issue of the undorweighted mino silvor is not restraiued by anything, auc the Treasury anuouuces 6,323,132 of i as now in its vaults. Every other na tiou but Russia, which issues under weighted minor silver as wo do, oom pels its roception for taxos and Govern ment dues at its nominal valué, but w discrodit our owu coins by refusing them for taxes, while we compel the la borer to take them for bis toil and to pay them to bis groeer or butcher, wh is now iuformed by the banken of New York that after January 1 he will onl; be able to inako his deposita in gold o its equivalent, oven if be is forced t submit to a shave by a bullion broker Money is a standard of all valuea Why should thore be one standard fo tho wagoti of the day laborer and an other standard for the salary of th bank president ? Why should the mouey of the wage-receiving class be lowered in value '{ Why an inferior ourrenoy for suin.ll and frequent transaotiooB and a superior currency for great and rare trausactions 'i Is it not scandalous for tho nation to maintain for tho profit which accrues to itself a minor silvur coinage the equality in market value of which with other coins the nation will not adequately secure 'i - New York World. - The Supreme Oourt adjourued last Friday night at 10 o'clock. The next term will be held in the new capitol. Ashloy Pond, of Detroit, made the last argument iu the old court room. During the term 100 decisions were given, which is 50 more than pver made before at a single term. Twenty-two cases were carried over to the next term. - Lanting Bepublican.