THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



439 



lions, to entirely avoid omissions or errors in re- which has brouijlu forth from the Journal of 

 gard to credits of the authorship of eeiectione. Commerce the Ibilovving additional remarks : 

 In the long course of our editorship, ii is possi- " For the commis-sidt above named [one quar- 

 ble that many such charges might be as justly ter of one per cent.,] we will undertake to arrange 

 brought as the above; but if so, the grounds of the whole maiter with insiiiutions of the first re- 



all are as yet unsuspected by us. And we can 

 lay claim at least to this merit, that none are 

 more solicitous or careful to avoid such offences: 



sponsibilily, so that the money of the government 

 shall be perlecily spciire, and so ihar the Treasurer 

 at VVashinirton shall have no other trouble in the 

 business, than to make up a weekly staiement of 



offending on this score. — Ed. Far. Reg. 



and we believe that no publication is, in fact, less receipts and ol orders lor disbursements, and the 



money shall be accepted wherever it, may have 

 been paid in, and paid out wherever it is expended. 

 There is a system of exchanges now in operation 

 all over the United Slates, which proves that the 

 thing can be done, and that whoever does it would 

 make a Ibrtune by it. In lact, we have no doubt 

 ihat the arrangement could be made without the 

 allowance of any commission whatever. Persona 

 at a distance may not readily credit this, after all 

 that they have heard of the disordered state of 

 the exchanges, and the necessity of some con- 

 trivance to regulate them. But a closer exami- 

 nation will show, that if Congress would, by a 

 bankrupt law, bru.^h off the bankrupt or dishonest 



THE COST OF TRANSFERRING THE MONEY 

 OF THE GOVERNMENT — THE COST OF EX- 

 CHANGE — AND THE AGENCY OF A NATION- 

 AL BANK FOR LESSENING BOTH. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



Of the many fallacies and popular delusions 

 which sustain the paper-money system of this 

 country, there is none more false and absurd than 



the asserted great difficulty of transferring funds, r ■ ^ , , , 



and especially the revenue of the government, if currency lactones of the south and west, and so 

 without the aid and agency of a national bank. '^°'''''^^ }^^. ^^^'■<^'^<^y^ 'he exchanges would be 

 It IS claimed by the advocates of the paper sys- '''^" '° ^?, '" ^ '"*'f °^ S^ood regulation. At any 

 tern, and scarcely denied by most of its opposers, '"'^' ^^ ^°J'^ ourselves bound to arrange a fiscah 

 that, if considered apart from all constitutional or agent on the plan proposed above, on receiving: 



•■•■■• - thirty days notice. 



We have no reason to distrust the estimate of 

 cost made above, as being ample lor the profit 



political objections, the establishment of a nationa 

 bank would serve admirably as an economical ex- 

 pedient, or money-saving agent of the govern- 

 ment ; and that it dispensed with, because of ob- 

 jections on political or other grounds, that any 

 substituted agency (or translerring the revenue 

 would be very far more costly than that of a 

 United States bank. We assume opposite grounds; 



ol the agent. But suppose for the sake of argu- 

 ment, the cost tp be double as much — quadruple — 

 or even multiplied ten-lbid— the cost would still 

 be very far cheaper than the agency, or even at- 

 tempting to resort to the agency, ol a national 



and will here submit some of the reasons for that j bank. Even if the cost of transferring 24 mil- 

 assumption. We shall here have recrard merely i ''0"s of dollars were ten times as much as the quar- 

 to the economical question, or that which deeply | 'f^"" percent, which is deemed sufficient, that enor- 

 concerne the ai;ricultural and general pecuniary ' niously increased charge would be but ^600,000 

 interests of the country. The political question,^ i'^'^'^ i a"d that sum is less than the mere pe- 

 er the bearing of a national bank on political rights cuniary cost to government of only discussing the 

 and interests, however important, is not a proper bankquestion, and otherquestions proceeding from 

 subject for discussion in an agricultural journal, 'hat fertile source of debate, for the last 10 years, 

 and therefore will not be touched. HJ by paying even one million of dollars annually, 



The New York Journal of Commerce, a paper 'be government could defray ail the cost, direct 

 of deservedly high authority on all matters of an'' indirect, of the bank and bank questions, it 

 trade and mercantile affairs, lately asserted that vvould be a better bargain than will ever be made 

 the necessary transfers of all the revenue of the by the government in regard to banking. The 

 United States could be effected, promptly, and present extra session ofcongress is entirely charge- 

 securely, upon contract and as a mere business able to the bank question, and "ts expense will 

 arrangement, for a commission of one-quarter of not fall short of half a million. The same ques- 

 one per cent, on the amount to be transferred, lion has served to add perhaps twice as much 

 The ground of such a supposed arrangement was to every year's cost of recent legislation and go- 

 to be, that the revenue was to be received by the vernment. But that is scarcely a tithe of the 

 agent at the points where collected, in specie, and whole cost to the people. Let the amount be 

 to be placed by the agent, in specie, at such other counted of the destruction of value and transfer- 

 points as should be required for the disbursements ence of property by ffuciuating prices of currency 



or the dennands of the government. Thus, if the 

 portion of the annual revenue requiring to be 

 transferred amounted to 24 millions of dollars, the 

 whole cost of the transferrence would be only 

 S'60,000. 



This posiiive declaration by the editors of the 

 Journal of Commerce has not yet been questioned, 

 that we have heard of, by any one, on the ground 

 that the commercial facts implied were not true. 

 Another paper, which seems to yield that point, 

 has objected to euch agency, upon other grounds, 



— of swindling stockjobbing operations — of mad 

 speculation — and changes of habits and corruption 

 of moials — all caused by the great bank question, 

 and even 20 per cent, of the revenue of the go- 

 vernment would not be a compensation fbr the 

 enormous injury to the wealth, morals and hap- 

 piness of the people. We, therefore, would pre- 

 ler to pay any possible |»roper charge lor the 

 transferring the revenue of government, as an 

 ordinary business transaction, rather than suffier 

 all the^vils incurred by the agency, or vaineflbrts 



