The Ottawa Free Trader

The Currency-Interesting.

Mr. Kendall, in a late number of the "Expositor." remarks as follows in laying before his readers a letter recently written by Col. Benton to some of his constituents, in which the Col. urges as the only means of giving the country a sound currency the suppression of all bank paper under the denomination of at least $20. Mr. K.'s suggestions are important and worthy of attention particularly in Illinois. which is, we believe, the only bankless state in the Union.

The annexed letter of Col. Benton was written in reply to one from the gentlemen to whom it is addressed, and contains important facts and sound doctrine.

But to insure to this country a sound currency, another measure, scarcely ever touched upon in the discussions on the subject, is, in our humble judgement, absolutely necessary. By the constitution, the States are forbidden to make any thing but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of debts. They have all made both gold and silver a legal tender without restriction or limitation. The consequence is, that gold is seldom or never paid out by the Banks, except as a matter of favor.

If a citizen have a hundred dollar bank note and wants a hundred dollars in gold. he has no legal right to demand gold--he may demand gold and silver; but the bank complies with the law by paying him in silver only, That is cumbersome and he does not want it-rather than take it, he keeps his hundred dollar note or exchanges it for notes of a smaller denomination.

This case illustrates every case of the kind, and shows how completely, under the present tender laws. it is in the power of the Banks to prevent the general introduction of gold as a currency. And as it is their interest to do so, inasmuch as for every eagle or half eagle kept out of circulation they put a ten or five dollar note in, it cannot be doubted that they will pursue this policy as long as they have the power.

The only remedy is to alter the tender laws, so as to make gold the exclusive legal tender, except for small sums. We should say, begin with sums of a hundred dollars and over, and bring the limit down by degrees to five dollars and over, always allowing fractions of half eagles to be paid in silver. Every man who prefers gold to paper, could then obtain it as a matter of right, and our currency would become really a mixed currency instead of nearly an exclusive paper currency as it has been under our present system, and will continue to be under existing laws.

Nor will the citizen be subjected to any more inconvenience when the legal currency is demanded of him than he is now, nor so much. Now, if he have paper and specie be demanded, he has to go to the Banks and lug home the silver ; then, he would have gold to carry.

Gold is now the only legal tender in Great Britain, and in most if not all the nations of Europe. If our banks continue to exist it must be made so here, or all attempts to introduce a gold currency, or even a mixture of paper and gold to any useful extent, will be ineffective and useless. It is by such a measure, and that only, that the policy of the gold bill can be made effective: and if the Legislature of Missouri will set the example, they will do more to protect their constituents against the dangers and mischiefs of an unmixied paper currency than by any other measure. This added to the exclusion of small notes, would limit the bank note circulation so as to make it tolerable. though nothing can make it entirely safe, until fiction becomes truth.