which he had deposited there, proceeded next day to place $200.000 more in the bank, two other dishonest officers of the Government adding $43,000 more. Not. withstanding this evidence of fraudulent and concerted purpose we do not hear that any of the parties to the crime have as yet been arrested, with the excep tion of Col. Paulding himself, who will probably be tried by court martial, and the President of the bank. The preliminary inquiries are, indeed, still going on, and some of the features of this disgraceful affair may assume a different color as more light is shed upon them. In view of this investigation we have only to ask on the part of the publie that the fullest publicity be given to the facts, and the severest punishment to the men who shall be found guilty of contriving and conniving at so heinous a crime. Among the subordinate points on which the public desire information is the almost unlimited command which Paulding seems to have had of Government money. We have every reason to believe that our paymasters and other disbursing officers have, with very few exceptions, proved themselves worthy of the highest trust; but we must object in the most positive and emphatic ma ner to the allowing of Government funds to lie in the hands of any pay officer longer than is absolutely necessary. His office is to disburse and not to hold the public money. His bonds are fixed at a rate which indicates that he is never to hold more than a very iimited amount and for a very limited time. Our disbursing officers must be made to understand that the money entrusted to them must be placed, with the least possible delay, in the hands of the creditors of the Government. So far, however, have we diverged from the right and safe rule, that Paymaster Paulding accommodate his friends with a loan of half a million of dollars, and certain banks, it is reported, are accustomed to offer inducements of a pecuniary character to disdursing officers to place Government funds on deposit with them. Any paymaster who receives any such gratuities, whether as interest or any other form, should be instantly disgraced and dismissed the service. It is worthy of note that no less than sixteen officials in various bureaus had money deposited in the Merchants' National Bank. As its capital was $306,000, the stockholders will, of course, be responsible for the debts of the bank under the stockholders' liability clause of the National Banking law. The currency now outstanding amounts to $179.810. It is supposed by some persons that as the Government will redeem broken bank notes from the proceeds of the bonds deposited at Washington for that purpose, these notes will pass as freely now as before the bank stopped payment. This is a mistake. The notes of a broken National Bank are no longer legal tender from or to the Government. They will be eventually paid by the Treasury, and destroyed. But the law does not provide that they shall be paid except after such a day as may be fixed for that purpose. The subject of the redemption of National Bank notes is again prominently brought forward by the introduction into the Senate of a bill, providing that "each bank must select, subject to the approval of the Comptroller, a bank in New York, Boston, or Philadelphia at which to redeen its circulating notes at par." It is to be regretted that a bill making this necessary reform should not have been introduced till so late a period in the session. The time has now come when efficient redemption of the bank note circulation can no longer be dispensed with. In the interests of economy it is urged by many persons that all the National Bank notes should be called in, because the profit of the issue accrues to private persons; while the greenbacks should remain out, because the profit is all gained by the Government. We are not prepared to concur in this view. One of the reasons for preferring bank currency to irredeemable government notes, has been usually said to be that irredeemable notes can be kept afloat to an amount beyond the wants of business. These wants are not fixed, but vary with the season of the year, and with numerous other circumstances. In proportion as there is an excess of paper money afloat, depreciation takes place, and inflation of prices naturally results. Bank notes, on the other hand, if redeemable, can scarcely be long kept out in excess of the monetary wants of the country. Hence, they are not so liable to become redundant, and to produce perturbation of values; for they flow back in a constant stream to the issuer for payment, and the current of the circulation is thus kept at its proper height. Since, without redemption in New York, it is impossible to keep bank notes at par, efforts have been making ever since the National Banking law was passed to have it made more perfect. That enactment, it will be remembered, does not appoint the monetary centre of the country as the place of redemption, but allows the banks to select any one of a dozen other places in preference to and instead of New York. Experience has abundantly shown the truth of the position we have always taken on this question, that our bank notes cannot be permanently kept as a sound uniform currency, except they be compulsorily redeemable in New York, or what is the same thing, in one of the three great cities. As might be expected the obligation of redemption entails a loss of profit, and is objected to by some of the interior banks. These institutions, however, must learn to rise above the sordid views of private advantage. It is for their interest that the National banking system should be permanent; and without redemption of the bank note this will be impossible. Had an unredeemed paper currency been tolerable to the people of the United States, the National Bank currency would never have been allowed to be issued at all. When these institutions were authorized by Congress, greenbacks were already out, and would have answered the purpose of a currency well if their quantity could have been kept adequate. The profits of issuing such an irredeemable currency are immense. Put those profits, for reasons that appeared sufficient, Congress refused to the National Treasury. Irredeemable notes being out to the extent of 400 millions, and further issues being inadmissible, we created the new banks for the special purpose of issuing 300 millions of notes that should be redeemed, and so redeemed as to be kept steadily at par throughout every State in the Union. The franchise bestowed on the banks was more valuable than any ever given to private persons in this country before. The people have a clear right, therefore, to exact that each National bank, wherever situated, shall take care of its own notes; and that its stockholders while they enjoy their privileges shall perform their duties The second section of Mr. Clarke's bill is of interest as providing that no bank "shall make loans or discounts or pay dividends" except it has on hand the full amount of its reserve of 25 per cent on its notes and its deposits. This is a conservative provision and will, we suppose, be adopted as will also per haps the clause which repeals the exemption from State taxes. We trust, however, that Congress will strike out the opening section which authorizes the issue of $100,000,000 of bank notes in addition to the $300,000.000 already authorized. The country has suffered too much from the evils of an inflated paper currency to submit to any increase in its amount. The following is the section of the New York Clearing House Constitution which has just been amended by the addition of the words in italics: The checks, drafts, notes, or other items in the exchanges, returned as "not good," or mis sent, shall be returned the same day directly to the Bank from whom they were received. And the said Bank shall immediately refund to the Bank returning the same, the amount which it had received through the Clearing House for the said checks, drafts, notes, or other items, so returned to it, in specie or legal tender notes. But checks, drafts, notes, or other items to be returned for indorsement, or informality, may, after being certified by the Bank returning it, be returned through the exchanges the following morning, not exceeding $5,000 in amount to any one Bank. As far as this applies to the questions in dispute between the Commonwealth and Continental, it will simply require the former to refund the money it collected from the latter upon the disputed check, without at all affectieg its legal claim to make such collection. If the Commonwealth can legally establish the truth of its assumptions. the Continental will probably be compelled to pay the check. The Bank returns of the three cities we give below. It will be seen that the specie in New York banks has largely increased during the month and especially the last week, having reached $19,736 9-9. This is probably due to the payment of gold interest on the five-twenties. The legal tender reserve is also drawn down quite close, but it is still $9,845,000 in excess of the legal require 64,802,980 471,886,751 239.776.200 14,213,351 22.959,918 183,241,404 61,602,726 497,150,087 181.444.378 58,760,145 526,539,959 72,158,099 180,515,881 64,341,802 594,204,912 579,216,509 593,448,864 529,240,640 189,094,961 71,445,065 602,315,748 73,910,370 578,537,653 535,834,778 545,339,668 579,342,488 713,575,444 The returns of the Philadelphia Banks have been as follows: We give below the statement of the public debt, prepared from of the Secretary of the Treasury, for April 1, May 1, and June 1, 1 DEBT BEARING INTEREST IN COIN. 6 per cent, due December 31, 1867... orts 6 566666666 April 1. $9,415,250 May 1. $9,41,250 do July 1, 1868.. 8,908,312 8,908,542 do January 1, 1874. do January 1. 1871 7,022,000 do December 31, 1880 7,022.004 June 1. $9,415,250 .908,342 40.000,000 0222,000 45,000 ..0 0,000 153.4,500 do May 1, 1867-82 (5.20 years).. 514,780,500 514,780,40 0,500 Nov. 1, 1870-85 (5.20 years). Aggregate of debt bearing lawful money interest...... $1,186,207 011 $1,188,313,545 $1,147,229,228 MICHIGAN.-ITS MINERAL WEALTH.* Michigan consists of two peninsulas, between which enters Lake Michigan, widely separating the two. Their geological formation is dissimilar--the northern is primitive, composed of gneiss rock and metamorphic slates, with over lying slates and sandstones, the latter containing the great copper veins, and the former immense bodies of magnetic and specular iron ore. The southern peninsula is of the secondary formation its rocks are horizontal strata of limestone, saudstone and slate, the sandstone appearing at the surface in the central and elevated parts of the interior, the limestone underlying it can be traced from the rapids of the Maumee, in Ohio to Saginaw Bay. This southern peninsula is composed almost wholly of groups of the Appalachian series of rocks, the highest of which, the coal formation, occupies the central part of the country, while the shales of the Portage and Chemung group stretch along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. This southern peninsula abounds in gypsum coal and salt. The copper mines of Michigan are situated on the north part of the northera This article is a condensation of a very interesting letter written by J. A. Blake, Esq Editor of the Pittsburg Oil News, and recently published in that paper. The letter is dated from Marquette, the centre of the iron interest of the northern peninsula. |