The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, SATURDY, MAY 30, 1891.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2945, 30 May 1891, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE,

SATURDY, MAY 30, 1891.

I''.«jiKil ..:ul c:<i- I J us', ir a.l num. Oi wli.iH'Ji'viT -'talc or persuasion, rcliffious or political.

I'.v'll>i;N<:l-:s aro not wanting to show tint, the statr-s:tir.'n of tlin Aniciican [.'cpulilic tiro becoming fully alive to the necessity of subsidising ami otherwise assisting tli'-ir mercantile marine—that is, it' tliey wish them to hold their own against the shipping lines of more progressive nations. A strong feeding is also manifest in Congress in this matter of helping those engaged m t he transportation of goods, whether by sea or land. Perhaps the sentiments of the ruling party were never better expounded than by the latis Secretary of the Treasury, the Hon. W. Windom, in his Inst remarkable speech, delivered at the annual dinner of the Board of Trade and Transportation at New York in January last. This speech is invested with a melancholy interest, owing to the secretary's sudden death at the banquetingtable.

Mr Window's took for his subject " Our Country's Prosperity dependent upon its Instruments of Commerce," and he confined himself to two points as being the chief instrumentalities of commerce— Transportation and Money. By the former, commodities change hands, and by the latter they exchange owners. Mr Windom said :— " The tendency of late has been to surrender to foreigners even our domestic commerce, rather than to assert ourselves upon the ocean. Discriminations of the most astonishing character have been made, both by Congress and by Treasury regulations, in favour of Canadian railroad lines and steamships againstour own. One instance of this kind may serve to illustrate the nature and extent of many other discriminations of like character. Asiatic merchandises destined for New York, if brought iu American vessels to San Francisco, must undergo all the forms and delays of entry, under the, strict scrutiny of customs officers, and be then placed in cars heavily bonded, for transportation through our own country to New York, while the same meichandise, if brought in Canadian or British . teamships to Vancouver, is transferred at one, and •vithout any substantial surveillance, to Canadian railways, which aie not required to givebond, but an; permitted to pass our frontier and proceed to New York or other Eastern ports unvcxed by any of the disagreeable attentions of customs officers. The same discrimination has existed for vears in favour of Europeangoods lauded at. Montreal and tranferred to Canadian railroads for Western American ports, against goods lauded at New York, Huston, and other Eastern ports, to be transported wholly through our own country to their Western destiny. The result of these unfair and unjust discriminations against our own people and our own transportation lines basjbeen, not i.uly seriously to jeopard the revenues, but also to build up toreign transportation interests at the expense of our own. ' Reciproc.! liberty of cotnnieice ' is a highsounding, seductive phrase, but the kind of liberty our foreign shipping interest has enjoyed for the last fifty years, is the liberty to die under unjust discriminations 'of the London Lloyd's Register Association, the crushing power of European treasuries, and the utter neglect and indifference of our own Government. Reciprocity itself is a most valuable thing, if kept with the lines of protection, but reciprocity by which we surrender our merchant marine to our rivals, or give away a home market worth ton times more to us than all the other markets of the world in the vain attempt to grasp an uncertain market abroad, is a policy freighted with immeasurable disaster. Presidents of the United States have repaatedlyexprassed the national humiliation and appealed to Congress for actbn -jn behalf of our rapidly vanishing merchant marine, but thus far their words have fallen upon Jeaf ears. Let us hope thatthe urgent appeals from President Harrison on this subject may bear fruit in some well-devised measure of protection and encouragement." Air Windonvs remarks upon money are deeply interesting- both as regards the silver coinage question and the nature of the currency. In the latter particularly, we believe the words of the Secretary are those of wisdom, and contain a fitting reply to many who advocate the issuing of a paper currency by the State, in this colony, as a means of safe and speedy return to prosperity. These are Mr Windom's words :—

" The ideal financial system would be one that should furnish ju3t euongh of absolutely sound currency to meet the legitimate wants of trade, and no more ; and that should have enough elasticity of volume to adjust itself to the varying necessities of the people. I know this seems difficult of attainment, but I believe it is substantially possible. The opportunity for securing such a currency may be found in our bonded debt, which should in my judgment be in part exchanged for interconvertible bonds, bearing a low rate of interest, and always interchangeable for money at tho will of the holder. "The quality of the circulation is even more impoitant than the quantity. Numerous devices for enlarging credit may. and often do, avert the evils of a deficient circulation -, and a redundancy may sometimes modify its own evils before their results become universal, but for thebaleful effects of a debased and fluctuating currency thore is no remedy, except by the costly and difficult, return to sound money. As poison in the blood permeates avteiies, veins, nerves, brain and heat t, and speedily brings paralysis or death, so does a debased or fluctuating currency permeate all the arteries of trade, paralyse all kinds of business, and bring disaster to all classes of people. " Believing that there is not enough of either gold or siherin the world to inset the necessities of business, I am an earnest birnetallist.and concede to no one a stronger desire than I feel for the free and unlimited coinage ot silver, as soon as conditions can be reached th-ough international agreement or otherwise, by which such coinage shall be safe. But it is my firm conviction that for this country to outer upon that experiment now, and under existing conditions, would be extremely disastrous, and that it would result not in bimetallism, but in silver monometallism. Such an experiment wimld,in my judgment, prove a greater disappointment to its advocates than to anyoue else. They insist that it would expand the circulation and permanently enhance the value of silver. [ believe it would produce a swift and severe contraction, and eventually reduee the market value of silver. Let in" briefly suggest some of my reasons for this belief :— '• Kreo and unlimited coinage of .-diver by the United States, while the other great nations pursue an opposite policy, would invite all the owners of that metal throughout the world to exchange 371:t grains of pure silver, worth about fc'3 cents, for grains of pure gold, worth everywhere 100 cents, Nearly all the nations of Europe are anxious to exchange their silver for gold, and they would at once accept so tempting an olfer. The mint statistics of the Treasury Department, show that the stock of full legal tender silver in Europe amounts to -51,101,100,001), and that of this amount the banks of France, Germany Au.itro-Hungary, the, Netherlands and Belgium hold sl2S,,Slil!,(ilio. A large pait of these vast stocks of silver would be ready for transfer to us at onc\ and the swiftest steamers would be employed to deliver it to the Treasury, in order that with the proceeds the. owners might buy gold exchange on Kurope, before our stock of gold should be exhaus'.ed. "Would our own people await the arrival of these silver argosies from Kurope before acting? Not unless the Yankee has loot his quick scent of danger and forgotten i bis cunning. Bank depositors, trust companies, tho holders of United Stales notes 1

and gold would iint.intly luck ■i|i all the, gold nr. command, and then join tlu! panic-inspired proe-ssion to the Treasury, imcli am! all anxious to he in time to srr;np th■? |»"ld"ii pri/.e before it ii too late. Probably before tin; .swiftest, ocean greyhound could land its silver cargo at Xew York, tin) la<t. gold dollar wi'l in reach would bo safely hidden away in private boxes Mild in till) vaults of safe-dt no.-it chii,parties, In be bruiiglit nut only by a high premium fur exportation. Tim sudden retiieinent nt S!'>00.000,000 of gold, wit.lit.lie accompanying panic, would cause contraction and commercial disaster imp iralleled ill lminan exporieuce, and our country would at once step down tn tin- silver basis, when there would be no longer any inducement for coinage, and silver dollars would ■sink to their bullion value. " When the silver dollar ceases to have more value than the bullion it contains, there will be little inducement to coin our own silver, and the cost of transportation will prevent its coming from abroad. How then will unlimited coinage either expand the circulation or enhance the value of silver? A* if determined to omit nothing which might accelerate these results, the advocates of present free coinage insist that it shall not await tlio slow process of mint operations, hut that, the print ins; press shall he set Co work providing certificates to be issued for silver bullion at SI for 371.1 grains. When this consummation shall be reached, as surely it will bo if unlimited coinage ho adopted under existing conditions, the too ardent and impetuous lovers of silver will.sadly realise the truth uttered by the wise King of Israel: 'Ho that Uveth silver shall not bo satisfied with silver.'