The New York Herald Newspaper, December 31, 1868, Page 8

THE FINANCIAL QUESTION. Senator Morton’s Reply to Horace Greeley A Detence of the Senator’s Financial Plan, Wasuinaton, D. C., Dec., 1868. Hon. fonace Greevsy, New York: Dar Six—In your letter addressed to me in the ribune of the ist inst. you undertake to answer eral positions taken by me in my late speech in ‘the Senate on the currency, but devote yourself chiefly to the establishment of the proposition that the government can and should at once resume specie payments with only $70,000,000 of gold in the Treasury and thaf the declaration of resumption would have the eifect to bring the greenback cur- rency to par, and to rebut the idea that more than $70,000,000 would be required with which to begin resumption you say:— . Bave repedtodly resumed a{ver mouths and even years of sus- sion and have never been required thereupon to redeem Weir outstanding issues, On the contrary, the fact of their mption has Ualformly precluded all desire or disposition Tresatt auch redemption. Yet thetr notes were not a lezal tender, bad not the federal government bebind them, but were {he mere promises—the long falaltied promises—of prl- Yate corporations. | Yet we all went on receiving and paying them out without asking for specie to the extent of one dol Jar in twenty of the uotes thus suddenly made redeesn coin. If you think the people, who have so. often faith in and forbearance toward private moneyed corpora- tions, would not now evince at least equal faith in the govern- ment-that is, in themselves—you bave given me Lo reasons for shariug your distrust, You then enter into an argument of some length to show the superior convenience of the greenback currency over coin. You show very clearly how ‘business would be impeded by a mere metailie cur- rency; that the business of the country can be better developed aud extended by a redeemable or convertible paper currency, and that the people could not do without the greenback currency long enough to have it ran ing the Treasury for redemp- tion in goid. Your argument is excellent to prove that after the greenback currency: has beeu brought to par it Would be preferable to gold, and but littie of it would be brought to the government for redemption ; but as Jong us tle greenback currency is three cents under par that margin would make ii profitable to brokers to run it into the Treasury irom every part of the United States. ‘Again you say Let us suppose the government resume to-morrow—or, if oucioose, Ou tue lat of January at baut-who will hasven drain the Treasury of its seventy millions of coin? Not ou and 1, certainly—not the great, busy, active workers and raders; for, te money in our hands’ being now equal to coin, we have no inducement, no motive to d We should goon working and trading, receiving und paying out pre- Eirely as we do now, only sending to the mint or ‘Treasury for a little coin as change or to satisiy some other need, ‘The fact that our money was at par with aud woud bring coin at will would divest 1s of all desire to exchange it. But there would be a class, I aim sure not a large nor a strong oe, who would rush cor cofn, either fearing that the Treasury would, or desirous that it should, be run dry. How oun, think you, could these gamblers in ational, tnsolvenc False’ money enough to drain the Treasury of 70,000,000 er, every pensioner, every solvent r, every man in an honest, useful * AEW YORK HERALD, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1868—TRIPLE SHEET. sould be sopasied ia cna to Witch all the i of Congress is liable, ‘The contraction of $4,000,000 of grecubacks per month 18 not a case in point, but does go to prove that you cannot bring about re- sumption by contraction, for while contraction was going on the currency grew worse. It seems difficult to make many people understand the simple trath that the way to bring the greenbacks up to is by preparing to redeem or pay them according to the promise on their face. They insist on climbing OURAN RARE IT TT Ye INET SERCO NER ERS Sener: RE PRENSA GT RLY. NS EES Cy aR rl MEE LateREp te scoaase~emeememmmanenere 2X city toward which its notes flow for redem tendered and must be received in of a sub- THE HOLIDAYS AND THE FLORISTS. t RI some other way. ow, sir, in contrast to your pisv. which would be so merciless, if 1t were possible, I will present you with another:— Furst—That Congress shall by law fix a time, say first of July, 1871, to begin the redemption of the gporoback notes. By Sain. a time so far in the ture people would be advised of the change, adjust their business and make their contracts accordingly, Betore that time nearly all the oxisting inceniete ness among the people will have n paid. By an estimate which has been approved by some who were well versed 1n the business of the country three-fourths of the existing indebtedness among the people will be discharged within twelve months from the 1st of January, 1869; three-fourths of the re- maining one-fourth will be disc! within the next twelve months, and that by the Ist of July, 1871, there will not be in existence and unpaid to ex- ceed four per cent of the exisung indebtedness, and thus the debtor class will almost entirely escape from the oppresmcn and disasters with which your plan would overwhelin them, arising from the sudden decline in the prices of all kinds of property. Second—By Oxing a definite period when the greenback note wii be redeemed a fixed value will be given to it, which will constantly appreciate as the period fixed for redemption approaches, and it will ai par at or before that ume, provided the government is making the necessary preparations for its redemption, It will be muca better for the business of the country for it to reach par by gradual appreciation than to come up to it by asudden jerk, 4s you propose, The whole process should be gradual, so that the transition which the country must make from one condition to the other shail be made with as little disturbance as possible. Third—By fixing a time for redemption so far in the future government can, without sudden strain and without great sacrifice, get ready for it. ‘To bring about the gradual appreciation of the green- back notes the gold myst visibly accumulate in tie Treasury as the time goes on. The Hon. Jonn J. Cisco said in a letter some two years ago that the presence in the Treasury of a gold surplus of seventy or eighty millions gave strength to the currency, al- though not set apart by law for its redeimption, from the probability that it might be so appropriated in the future. Should Congress reiuse to reserve the present surplus gold in the ‘Treasury and that which is to accrue for the redemption of the currency, but empower the Secretary of the 'trea- sury, before the time arrives for redemption, to ob- tain the necessary gold by the sale of our bonds, it would probably bring Bp the notes to par at that time, if he was known to have made the preparation; but their appreciation would not be so gradual or so certain as if the gold was visibly accumulating while. the intermediate time was passing. ‘That it would be necessary to tiave in the Treasury an amount equal to the greenback currency, to begin redemption, I do not believe. Redemption could safely begin with $200,000,000 of gold in the Treasury under the provisions of my bill, but certainly not with $70,000,000. In this work confidence is every- thing, and 1s a plant of slow growth and can only be produced by the obvious employment of the neces- sary measures of preparation. If the people are sat- ua road, every creditor, every one having a salar er fixed ineome, would have a strong, personal fnterest in the sueceas of the effort to maintain specte pay- meiits, Can you imagine that the lame ducks of Wall street, the speculators in national disbovor, are sirong enough to ‘overcome them £ Here you assume the great fact to be established that by the declaration of resumption the greenback notes Wil be brougnt to par. According to your plan the banks must resume at the same time with the governinent, and the $70,000,000 of gold in the Treasury would fail short of tueir greenback reserves $20,000,000 or $30,000,000, To make themselves strong they would bave to convert their reserves tuto coin, Wlich Would require more than the gov- ernmenui couid furnish at the time, which would re- sult not only in a panic among the banks, but among the people, aid leave the currency in & much worse condiuon Gian it is now and most likely bring on a crisis and crasii. But then you go on to say that you would not rely oniy ou the $70,000,000 of com in the Treasury, but would forthwith issue a new bond to run 100 =. to untaxable, and to draw interest at he rate of four per cent; and this bond you believe floated at par in gold. roceeds upon the funda- declaration of resumption the er packs would be suddenly brought to par, for it woud be preposterous to talk about selling a four percent bond at parin goid while the currency is atl depreciated and bonds drawing six per cent interest in gold are Worth jess than eighty cents on the doliar. You rely apon a legislative declaration of resump- tion to bring the greenback currency suddeniy to par—a resu.t which can only be effected by Ume ana Buiple preparation for redemption. You rely upon sudden aud spasmodic action where there shoulg be om or violence, and where the great réult d te reached by gradual approaches frou the ures Laat would command the con- fence of vuutry without disturbing its buai- ness, Ifthe work of redemption begins before the currency is brought to par the gold paid out would Bol pass into circulation, but sink back into an arti- tle of merchand'se, (o be sold in the market, ‘Again you say:— ing needful for resumption is to provide some ual obligasion which the holders of greenbacks words, some government security We rate above apecte par. When- u resume with but ten millions of coi in the Treasury. Without ft we may fail to maintain specie payment, hough we begin with a coin reserve of two bunured sali ton. ‘This changes the whole character of your propo- sition and makes resumption look rather to contrac- tion by funding than to redemption, Your iirst argument was that greenbacks were so much more convenient and desirable than gold that they would not be presented for redemption. But here you state that we cannot safely resume even with $200,000,000 of gold in the Treasury, and that the one thing needful for resumption ts to provide anew bond, which the holders of greenbacks would prefer to coin, which will sell ata premium above specie par, and that when we have got such a bond we can safely resume with $10,000,000 of gold in the Treasury. Here you would seem to make resumption itupossi- die by requiring in advance a national security which will larg ne Fate above specie par, which the inl seubacks will prefer to coin, and whicit clore Said should bear interest at the ra live per cent. Such a bond could not be suid even at par until after resumption 1s firm: ablished, Inuch less In advance, as @ means of bringing it about. With such a bond, which the holders of greenbacks would prefer to coin, the greenvacks would be funded, and it would resuit in large and sudden con- traction, which would be in hostility t proposition that the people need the greenbac Your poliey, like that of the Secre- Ives itself finally into con- traction, and if, to the eviis of immediate resnmap- tion you add the calamities of large contraction you Will make short work of the business of the country: Again yon a all of twenty-five 40 nt appreciation of Wii, it involves Jona to all. We shail wane our dallare will Wages must are than now, be ption than tley now do. fail; pro) well caeaper or be unsalable; whe sheri? and the coustabie will be after a good many of ua. We must suf- fer, wi but I preter tu take the plunge at once aud be done with it, If sudden resumption wtil involve the great decline in prices which you say it will it would be a vast calamity to tee majority of the people of the United istled that the Treasury has gold enough to redeem all the notes that will probably be presented, but few will be presented; but If not, then there will be a rush for the gold to sell it inthe market agatn at a profit, and this is the precise principle upon which specie paying banks have been sustained. Fixing resumption at a reasonable time In the future Which the government and the people may work to, aud the making of needful preparauons, to be Known and understood by ali, are indispensable toany plan of resumption which would avoid the hardships ding ae adinit would attend the adop- tion of yours. By the metiiod I have suggested there will be an actual inflation of the currency at the ume of resumption to the extent that the whole amount of goid and silver tn the country that would enter into the ¢irculation would exceed the amount of greenbacks that would be presented for redemp- Uion, and thia would do much to prevent the hard- ships that might otherwise occur. Jam sorry that in the conclusion of your letter you thought it necessary to introduce a matter which is foreign to the subject in controversy and seems to be lutended to be personal and seve: ‘That i may not appear to misrepreseut you I quo what you say:— ptton does not need specie at home. The bank in the city which can supply that whicn will purchase ¢x- hor coin paid * a she tall ts pepesniol when ni abroad. ‘The five millions of gold brought home from France by Andrew Jackson was all due them for goods purchased there on credit, and much of this gold went back in the original packages to pay these same debts, javolving double transportation, risk and loss of interest. It seems to us, Who look at this question practically, that too much stress is laid upon the necessity for a certain proportion be- tween the amount of specie on hand and notes in circulation, and that we fail to see how much of ali our business is transacted without reference to gold except a8 a standard, having @ well known and con- siderably uniform relation to labor, by which its owa cost is determined. Let us suppose that my propo- sition to call the legal tenders seventy-five cents on the dollar in gold is adopted and all these notes placed on compound interest, at that price, In he hands of the present holders. No one will pretend that they are worth more than that, or that this change would increase or diminish their purchasing power beyond the accrued interest. It is estimated that besides the currency obligations of the government, there are private cur- rency debts to the extent of at least $3,000,000,000, and all these would be increased in amount practi- cally at least one-third by any mode of resuuiption other than the one [ have Cia ieee and which, the creditors siigmuatise as repudiation. | understand by repudiation that we give creditors less than has been promised, and this ts what I have neyer pu:- osed to do. | objected to the passage of the Leal ‘ender act, because I Knew it would chgnge ile monetary standard us absolutely as if we siipuld ce- base our coms or reduce their weight, and fhus de- fraud creditors, as we had no right to do. (I object how, on the same principie, to id change in the standard without provision for all the cpntracis existing at the tune payable in curréncy or i the debase! coinage called legal tenders, beca' it will deiraud the debtor by compelling hifa to more than he has agreed. He does not pay m: dollars in number, but he is called upon topay ‘ue same number wortha much higher price, ‘his is both unjust and unconstitutional, and I canfess iny surprise that #0 many intelligent writers on this su- ject have failed to sce that it is just as much repurll- ation for a creditor to exact more than is dne (o hiv 4s 15 Is for the debtor to pay less than he owes, Let us find the true specie vaiue of all our currency La- bilities and then say that these shall be brought to the specie standard, and that all contracts in future shall be made by that standard, as they were iorm- erly here gnd are now abroad, without reyuicing any considerable, amount of specie in their payment, this being made by all the various forms of currency which represent and act us titles to the commodities wuich we exchenge, as deeds and shares of stock do for real estate or xed property. ‘Ihe instant etfect of resumption would be to reduce the prices of all property to the gold standard, and thus diminish the paying power of all debtors, unless, ag I have suggested, the pric:s (uot the value) of their liabilities are simultaneotsly re- duced in the same proportion. Make this redaction and resumption may be secured at once, safdy und equitably for all parties; fail to do this and resump- tion is not possible at present, for the debtors who owe in currency control too inany votes; und they will never pay in gold, however tnuch the sreditors may desire it. Before leaving this subject J wish to suggest to your readers who are interested in it that one great neceessity of our country, and in fact of the whole worid, is a truly national free banking system, founded upon the single condition that the banker who recetves notes from the government for circulation shall give the most amplesecurity in addition to and not as part of his working cap!- tal, that there shal! never be any failure to make the notes as good as gold at the commercial centre (o- ward which they naturally flow, and there should also be a reasonable annual tax paid into the public treasury on the circulation, and then the bénkers should be left in entire freedom. Legislation cun- not determine where banks shall be located, nor how many we shall have, neither can we sly how much capital, how many notes or how muci specie there ig required by our growing commeme. But we can say that if notes are issued they siatl be as good as gold, and that a portion of the profit on their circulation shall return tous. And this we may safely estimate would soon amount to $40,000,000 per annum on the notes required for ou use, as, after the withdrawal of legal tenders by funding, we should want nearly or quite $1,000,000,000, which we could collect four per cent, But onr first business is to resume, and that, with due respect to the views of Mr. Spinner, I believe can be done safely, honestly and at once. DAVID WILDER. But for the infamously dishonest proposition that the five-twenties might justly be paid off in greenbacks, and the Powerful names whereby ‘that villany was upheld, we might have resumed aud commenced funding our’ five- twenties at a lower interest jong ago. It does not become even a quasi and repentant supporter of that criminal bunder to insinuate distrust of my sincerity in Urging speedy resumption, nor to talk of iny suggesting “bow not to do it." This country 18 to-day maby tillions poorer and much farther from perfect solveacy by reason of that wretched sevice of copperhead rascality, the gecenback theory, and of the countenance lent to lt by men whose patriotism and sense of obiigation to the nation’s creditors Siould have keptthem out of this slough, if, their Incegriiy did not sufice. When this countenance shall have been wholly withdrawn and apologized for we shall be very acar Torestmpuion. “I au, respectfully, yours," HORACE GREELEY. New York, December 21, 1868. ina speech in the Senate last summer I argued that under the statutes creating the legal tender notes and five-twenty bonds the government had the right to use the old or existing notes in payment of those bonds. This argument I prefaced with the declaration that the first duty of the government was to return to 8) ments, which would render this question unimportant, and denying the right of the government to issue new notes with which to pay those bonds. What was called the Pendleton theory, that the government has the right to print new notes with which to pay the five- twenily bonds, I have always condemned. If tus position is what you call the “greenback theory,”’ the “infamously dishonest proposition,” the “crimi- naj bluuder,” you need not put me down as a repent- ant supporter. You have no evidence of my re- n Your statement that but for the talk of paying the five-twenties in greenbacks the government would have resumed specie payments and commenced funding our five-twenties at a lower rate of interest long ago is absurd. itis absolutely refuted by the quotat.ons of our stocks, both at home and abroad. Tie six per cents of 1851, as they are called, that were issued and sold before the passage of the statutes creating the legal vender notes, aud which nobody pretended should be paid ip anything but coin, and about which there has never been a have never been rated more than four e er than the five-twenties; and Uns was because the law creating them reserved no right on the part of the government to pay tuem before they fail due in 1881 and cannot be funded as the others may. The fact is, our boudholaers understand per- iy Well that, whatever may be the iaw of the question, the bonds or any considerable part of them cannot be paki in coin while the currency remains depreciated; that it is folly to talk about paying the bonds in gold if the government cannot procure gold enough wherewith to redeem’ the green- backs; Luat the redemption ef the notes and a re- turn to specie en enis is a necessary conditir precedent to th ayinent of the bonds in golr and they look ruck mot payments and the establishment of our finances upon @ solid basis than to the mere form of the contract as to how they shall be paid. payments should begin with the debt that is due, which is the cur- rency, and not by shaving bonds that will not be due for fourteen years. The currency hes at the founrta tion of the whole financial structare, and ifit be un sound the structure above must be insecure aud langerous. When it becomes good by being mace ynvertible into gold the national debi may be funded, by which one-third of the present voluine of interest can be saved, and the nation will carry the burden with an ever-inereas ease until its final discharge shali come. | am very respeciully yours, States. It would certainly bankrupt or suspend ‘three-fourths of the business men of We country at once. It would produce a suffering and desolation of Which we have no record in this or any other coun- try. Hundreds of thousands now living in comfort would be reduced to poverty. Business would be destroyed, the poor left without ployment, the people unable to pay their taxes and tue government itself threatened with bankruptcy and dishonor, and yet you say you want to make the plur at once. If the private in- debtedness of (he people to each other on the 1st Of February, 1869, amount to $8,000,000,000, the capacity ot the debtors te pay, by your lowest estl- mate, would be diminished to the extent of $2,000,000,000. You may be ready to make the Junge, but the great body of the people are not jan would suit adiuirably that class of peopl € notin debt and have plenty of capital or who have fixed incomes, which would be greatly improved in value by the large decline in prices of every other kind of property. Your plan would en rich the creditors by the destruction of the debtors; for, as you say, the sheri? aud constable would be after “many of us;' our property would be sold for a song and @ large balance of debt be left agatost our future earnings. And all this saffering and des- titution, I put prding to your,own statement, 1s What would be the etfect of immediate resamption. Again you say T would resume to-morrow on our seventy milifons of coin us of maintaining apecie payments » rewutne forthwith, then I the coin in the Treasury 1d thus appro: re our ultimate ources for iiaintaining aymenia, You do not doubt that the ta our bonds left unpaid would be decidedly enbanced by thus buying up and destroying Sixty millions of them, end 1 think you must see thea thie Would render it possible to uegoudie new loans on better terms than we could now do. ‘This is equivalent to a declaration that ff you can- Not have immediate resumption you will postpone it indefinitely. If resumption is the desirable thing you describe would It not be better to have it at the end of two years and a balf than to pat it off for twelve or fifieen years? Your pro} to approact: It by investing the surplus gold in the purchase of bonds, with the view of appreciating the value of ‘the rest of them, would be like a proposition to go rom New York to Boston by way of the Saudwich janis, It would be along way round, ‘Again you say:— Tybjec to your prospective resumption that it dooms ail A to thirty he pth ‘° paint il uncertainty, hg tried your pian mance) once, by dit ing the tar; cave! and destroy £4,000 of greenbacks prr focnth Mer @ certain day. That would bave brought ue siowly buv@areély to resumption bad it been persevered In. began to pinch Congress ordered it " way that it will not do so again if think that we can a that we shall hardly feet it. for byNixin * for resumption and necessi¥y PrEVarasion ali } © endeSand Wu i vawelal Deiloy, Fhe canget uncer ' 0. BP. MORTON. Resumption of Specie Payment—Letters from » David Wilder and Treasurer Spinner. fhe jollowing letier to the edivor of the Boston Transcript explains itself:— 1868, tothe return to specie | sisting debt.” Hence a uaieere to pen 000 im cur- rent bank notes in the city of Cine’ is a contract to pay money if the bank notes are not tendered at the time. (Vide Smith vs. Goddard, 1 Ohio tep., 175.) A note payable in current funds of the ‘tate of Ohio is a note payable in money. (Sweet- land vs. Creigts, 15 Ohio Rep., 118. White v8. Rich- mond, 11 Ohio Rep., 5.) Our laws, says the Court, re- coguize nothing a8 current funds of the State of Ohio but pid and silver coin and bank notes issued by banks Incorporated by the State and which are by law required to be of equal value with gold and silver coin of the game denomination, Hence a note for a dollar or a dollar in bank notes is for certain, (11 Ohio Rep., 7.) These cases settle the Ja' for Ohio, The two eases just cited originated in a state of things like the present, when Cincinnati bank notes were below par or not worth as much as gold and silver coin. The effort was made to limit the recovery to the gold value of the bank paper at date of note, The Court held that the word doilars called for such dollars as were legal tender for debts, and there could be no deduction, But the contracts now made are promlans to pay 80 many dollars without referring to Treasury notes. But these cases show, and they only follow the law as everywhere recognized, that a note promising to pay 80 many dollars in greenbacks would be paya- ple only in coin if the Legal ‘Tender act 1s unconstitu- tio! reason of this rule is plain. The word dollar means such a Coin as is by the law of the United States declared to be a dollar, Treasury aud bank notes are promises to pay dollars, and not bank notes or ‘Treasury notes, The States can make nothing but the legal coin of the United states @ legal tender for debis; hence if the Legal Tender act is void as to Trea- sury notes, then there 48 nothing else but coin which is a leyal ‘ender, and no creditor can be compelled to receive in payinent of his debt any thing but what is a legal tender, and that is coin aud oniy coin. If the Leval Pender act is void he cannot be compelled to rece.ve Treasury notes in payment, and tiere is then nothing but gold and sliver coin which he can be compelled to receive. it will thus be seen that a decision holding the Legal Tender act void makes every outstanding debt payable tn coin, aad L need not say what wide- spread ruin would follow the rigid enforcement of such a decision, A contract protiising to deliver at a certain day ‘freasury notes calling for the payment of so inany dollars could alone avoid the effect of such adecision. In that case a failure to deliver would be # breach of covenant, for which damages oniy could be recovered, aud the damages would be lunited to the vaiue of the sury notes as com- pared re colin on tie day they should have been de- livered. l cannot have any doubt.as to the power of Con- gress to pass the Legal Tender act. ‘The State courts have all decided in favor of its validity, save the r court of Kentucky, 1 believe. If the United States Supreme Court now decide the act unconsti- tutional it will be a political decision, like that in the Dred Scott case, aad entitled to no respect, nor should it be followed by the State courts until the reorganized Supreme Court should have an oppor- tunity to reconsider the question. 1 cannot believe that the present court will make any such decision, though we have, tosome extent, politicians instead of lawyers on the bench. One word on the resuinption of specie payment. The less Congress does this session the better. The first step, however, must come from Congress; it nrust make greenbacks equivalent to comm. At pre- sent they are not. Greenbacks will not pay Custoin House duties. The importer must take paper for his goods imported, and he must pay the duties in coin; hence he is forced into the market to buy coin, and he must pay for it whatever the holder of coin demands. As long as this state of the law continues there can be no resuinption, because the law makes coin worth morg than paper; hence paper would be used not for the purposes of business, but to obtain com and thereby make a profit. if Congress would simply enact that duties might be paid in Treasury notes at their value im coin, and that interests siould be paid in the same at its value in coi, 1 .do not believe com would be worth any premium, because no one would want to buy it, the same not being used for any purpose for which ‘Treasury notes could not be used. Paper and coin would both be equal, since both could perform the same functions. The foreigu demand for coin could then alone give it a value above Treasury notes. If that demand passes certain limits, then, do what you might, specie payment would be impossible. In my opinion, this is the first step to be taken. If Con- gress Would pasa such a law at once, it would be then politic to walt and see what its effect would be. ‘The hoiders of bonds could not object, because they would be paid im what was the equivalent of oil, and that is all any one can ask. Our domestic Another Letter from Mr. Spinzer. TREASURY OF THE UNITED Staves, WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 1563. Dear Sin—There are so many good things and true in your letier of the 24th instani, just now received, that I should perhaps let pass what I do not approve, and thus end our iriendiy controversy, as i, for the waut of time to continue ii, had intended to have done, when last 1 wrote you, but J cannot refrain from saying just one word more. You say that you “have never been able to see how we could ask that contracts made with dollars worth only seventy-five cents or less shouid be paid with those worth one hundred, any more than all should that those made with the dollar at one hundred should be paid with those worth only fitty.”” And you add:—*“In either case there is a gross Wrong, the diference being that when you take half from the creditor you still leave half, and do not ruin him; while if you add one-third to the obligations of the debtor you break him down, because upon an average this fs more in addition to his labilities,’”” To this wy answer is, though trite, ’tis true, “two wrongs can never make a rgit.”? Because a class of creditors had an injustice done them some years since by a class of debtors is not a good reason Why a class of debtors should now do another act of injustice to @ class of creditors. ‘Chis proposition, a8 a general rule, would seem so plain as scarce to requii nother word. But when it is seen that the very persons that saffered by the first wrong nay be the same persons on whom it is now proposed to put a uew injustice, the wrong becomes fore clearly apparent to all. The creditor of that day may have, py the very wrong actioa that you complain of, become tie debtor of to-day, and vice versa, Any two given men, having business relations then and now, may have reversed their several coi and creditor since. The injured ar" ay, if Your theory be carried out, be- come the injured party again now; and the other party, benefited equally by the first wrong, would be in benefited, anse a Wror? Was Gone from the direst neces- aliy some years since is mighty reason why another wrong should tow be perpetrated from mere wantouness, ‘There is a single other -onsideration to which 1 desir to iuvite your attenton. he mere financial ve in your ciose scru- yof the question you ked the morality ¥ lost sight of of settling this ee pearing that the man have upon the ufure of the country. fhe money that is now Tepesented by the national debt was loaned lo tue govemment a: a time when eri. But for the timely aid thus re- At was in great p cet ument would have gone out of € Isionee. the loans Wei raade to the govern- | ment from patriotic motives; uany put their all into tein to save the life of the hatyn, Others, perhaps hot 8 pacriotic, saw the strat tae government was in, They saw the nation’s dager and their own. } They took the risk Uad tre government failed | their whole tnvestment would have been a total loss. Now, that thelr money thus saved it, is it right in that government thus saved (o turn on tts saviours and say, “our gains are to great; we will com- pound the debt!” Do this, and let the government's needs or dangers beever so great inthe fature no one will be found who will then lead it a single collar, either from pa- triotic motives, @r at any rateof tuterest whatever. Everybody would say the goverment failed to keep its faith in the past, What assu-ance i4 there for the present or the future? And not ¢ few would probably sav a government that does no: keep faith with its | own citizens is not worth saving, if tre government 1s faithless what hope is there or the people? The morality of & goverument may be assumed to be about the average morality of tie people that are 1 find in your paper this evening a letter upon the subject of Fesumption of specie payments, addressed tome by Hon. Ff. BE. Sptuner, United States Treas- urer, in which lam credited with having been for many years Treasurer of this commonwealth, My father, whose name | bear, Was Treasurer from 18:7 to 1842, and tt was during that period tn my connection with the department commenced, ‘This continued until 1549, when the office of state Auditor was created. 1 took charge of this and re- | mained watt! 1854; having meantime become hi | torteally conversant with the transactions in t | Treasury back to the commencement of the present century, in making @ statistical article published by I, Smith Homan, in one of the eariy numbers of the Bankers’ Magazine. 1 also prepared an aualysis and made a new arrangement of the accounts in the Treasury from 1831 to 1849, which was published in my report as Auditor at the close of the latter year, and have now in preparation a similar analysis for ten years, from 1868 bo 1867, for the use of our pre- sent Treasurer, Mr. Jacob H. Loud. It has been my purpose to understand as well aa | could the princi- ples which have been recognized by those who have Managed our State finances, because I have felt that it was here, if anywhere, that these would be sound. | And it ts something im our favor that we are able to say that for sixty years, since tie defaication of ‘Treasurer Skinner, there has never been @ dollar lost to the Commonwealth, nour any delay tn the paytent of its ovligations, nor any trouble with the bauks where our funas bave beeu kept on deposit. During more than forty of these #ixty years we have had in New England what has been known as the Suffolk Bank system of redemption, founded upon the idea that al #pecte fan the commercial centre toward which they naturally flow, and where they are worth most. Tremember, as m: of your readers cannot, the our balances, When the clearing house was estab lishéd, not only was there still less call for coin, but bank notes were superceded by checks, showing that but little, comparatively, of what called money, is needed to carry on our immense and constantly increasing business. All thia long experience has shown concius! it is not specte, or any p y, that we need to enable us | ag that ail paper should be measured by specie, or, It 18 Utis exy prt object, | by specte which we do not poss: sa. | aa | believe, properly, in my treatment of this ques- act | Won, that Ue country bank wiugh has funds in the bank notes should be made equal to | iy establishment of this system, and how it has made | leas and less specie necessary in the settlement of 18 | notes # legal tender, resume, so much in_ other Words, represent commodities at specie | sion to which Mr. Spinner he clatming that paper cannot be measured I have assumed, | governed by it. Lower the stanlard of the one and the other sinks with it, Althouge I agree with you | in many of yonr views it is due tocandor and frank- | ness that [should say to you the I dissent in toto | from all you say in regard to classor sectional inter- | esis, These shouid be thrown entirelyout of the dis- ; cussion of the fnance question, It was hoped that the signal faihre that attended the efforts of one of the candidates in te late poltcal | campaign to array the West against Ue East on this | very question, aud the dict then rindered by the West on the issue then made and age had set- tled it, at least to the satisfaction ¢ the East, for- ) ever. Right is right and w is Wong, whether creditors at once convert their gold coupons into Treasury notes, wich is now the only domestic standard of value we have. All values in business transactions are measured by Treasury note dollars and not by com. Tine must briug about the change which ali desire; but Congress must repeal its un- wise legislation—unwise in its inception and equally unwise now—before a step can be takep leading to reguiaption, Yout SIMEON NASH. RAMAPO PARK. A Suburban Park of 7,600 Acres in tho Vicinity of New York. ‘The development of rural tastes and rural habits, fostered by the increase of railway facilities to and from our large cities, is no where so marked as in the vicinity of New York. Along the several lines of railway which diverge from the city into the adjoining counties, and into Connecticut and New Jersey, con- tinuous villages extend for many miles. Beyond these are successions of villas and country seats with highly ornamented grounds, exhibiting much taste and refinement. In many localities large tracts of land are included in one general system of im- provement, adding greatly to the beauty of the land- scape and to the comfort of the residents by exclud? ing every possibility of nuisances of any kind, An- dubon Park, laid out under the auspices of the distin guished naturalist whose name it bears, was one of the pioneers in this character of improvements; and the air of neatness and social comfort which still pervades that locality, although itis fast being en- croached upon by the rapid strides of the cit}, bears vestimony to the wisdom and good taste of the designer. Lewellyn Park, Ridgefield Park, Rutherfurd Park, Gien Park and @ host of others are designs of the same nacure, All of them, however, are com- paratively limited in their extent; at least they are so when compared with the design just completed ofthe “Ramapo Keserve and Huating Park,” em- bracing an area of 7,000 acres, the locality of which 1s that portion of the Highlands of the Hudson, which, passing into Rockland county, is cloven by the Kamapo river, forming & most beautiful and pic- turesque scene of valley and mountain clits, table lands and mountain lakes. The Erie Railway pasaes through the gorge of the Highlands at this point, where it enters the State of New York, and a drive of five minutes from Sufern Station brings you to the entrance of the park. The principal avenue winds along the bank of the Ramapo, and to the right a succession of terraces extends to the base of the mountain, affording many fine sites for resi- dences. At the point where the valley of the Ramapo is met by the valley of the Torte the avenue crosses the Ramapo, and after following the right bank for some distance it gradually ascends the easterly slope of the mountain, where a scene of an almost Alpine character is presented. As (ar as the eye can reach the rugged tops of the Ramapo Mountains rise one above the other, with the forne in the fore- ground, around whose summit the clouds are gath- ering, while Potake Lake, three miles in extent, glistens in the sunlight at its fcet, Few would believe that within one hour's ride of New York so wild and picturesque a could be found, The generat ‘design of this park is somewhat peculiar. it is intended that, the price of the entire property being determmed, there shall be a fund for improvement and maintenance; the whole will then be divided among @ limited number of subscribers, who shall become actual residents, each selecting his site for a country seat, and with the fee sim- ple of that also receiving, in perpouutty, the right to use the entire reserve for hunting, fishing, driving, &c. Numerous lakes, ponds and streams furnish an inexhaustibie amount of fishing, while the forests which cover the mountains are filled with every kind of game. The entire scenery ts as diver- sifled as it ia picturesque, The mountain streams and rills have their cascades and waterfalls; the val- leys and giens are as secluded as the hills and moun- tains are promment, and, besides all this, there is & deep historic interest attached to it which will always give it # peculiar charm to the patriotic. The gol | done by the creditor or the debtor,vnd it matters | not whether the one or the other n&pens to have his home either at the Bast or in the peat West. | The whole country has one destify, All should be jealous of its good name at hom and abroad. | Therefore, let us be just and keep fait with ail with. out regard to localities, In haste, resectfully yours, PF. 2. SPINNER. Boston, Mass THE LEGAL TEND! Davin WILDER, Ei | QUETION. | An Ohio Jurist ject. {From the Cincinnati Gazette, sec. 28.) We publish below a letter from Judy Nash, of Gal- lipolis, maintaining thatif the Supréne Court shall | decide the paper tender act illegal alllepts will have to be paid at their face in coin; also,that Congress had power to make notes a legal tener, and that if the court decides otherwise it will be political and not @ legal decision, and entitled to m respect, but | will be acause for reorganizing th rt. This would be an earnest and radical tratment of the case. GALLIPOLIS, dee, 21, 1868, ‘TO THE EDITOR OF THR CINCINNATI [AZBTTE:— \ see in an editorial in the Gazette an allusion to | the constitutionality of the act muking Treasury You seem to-uppose that if the court decides said act to be uncon@itutional such decision can do little or no mischief, ance it will not Tracts made since the passag: of that law, to the opinion of counsel who argued Was an authority. If the sounsel made against vn aby such admission hie is clearly mista: All agreements are to pay 80 mai | Rothing but what is @ legal tender san discharge ne dollars, and such @ contract. “By the term money” says Judue | Hiteheock (in Morris va. Baywards, | 204), “we generally understand that which ia tue lawtat currency of & country, that Which may be Obio Rep. rge of the Ramapo was the only passage throngh which ‘@ hostile force could have northward during the occupation of New York by the British troops, ‘The great chain across the Hudson at-West Point secured the passage of the river against the fleet, but a land movement on the westerly side’ of the river could only be _ effectively opposed at this precise spot. Accordingly General Washington caused heavy intrenchments to be thrown up at the gorge, the remains of which are ull religiously preserved. On the Torne Mountain he established an observatory from which all the movements of the enemy could be distinctly watched; so that the spot revives the incidents which at- tended the most critical period of our country’s his- tory. And it 1s fitting that a park of sach grand pro- portions should preserve within its limits, sur- rounded with those embellishments which @ tru regard for nature suggesis, the mementos of a stru: gle so fraught with heroism and so full of mome tous consequences to the futare. ‘This splendid design has been conceived and exe- cuted by General Egbert L. Viele, who has shown in it the same taste and skill wich are exhibited in his plans of Central Park and Prospect Park, which add #0 much to the two great cities of which they are the gems. CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS GUE. New York, Dec, 29, 186%, To The Eprror or THe HeRaLD J wish todo asimple act of justice toa friend. In your paper of the 27th itis stated that George W. Childs expended $10,000 in charities, &c., on Christ- mids Day, and “at his request’ @ dinuer was given to the newsboys, &c. Now, the Messrs. Drexel are owners of the Philadelphia Ledger aud the Ledger Buliding, and Mr. Autnony Drexel and hia brothers are the benevolent gentiemen whose hearts are Bile t with loving Kindness, and Wo hestow so quietly the charities we delight so much to hear of, Mr. ¢ ‘Wien at howe, is merely te insirumeat. TRUTH. | with the holidays, in our own til To THE EDITOx OF THR HERALD:— ‘The amount of flowers used in New York for the Christmas and New Year holidays you may safely put dowa at a valuation of $150,000, Christmas of late years is much more generally observed, and large quantities of live plants for rooms as well as flowers for dinner tables are presented. ‘The plant Presents I attribute more to the German element of our population. The amount of flowers for the whole year will hardly fall short of $1,000,000, and, should you include the flowering plants, will exceed that considerably. ‘There are from 200 to 300 families depending on the growth of plants and flowers to supply New York, The larger number in a small way are princi- pally Germans and French. The larger growers and longest established are Scotch, English and Irish, some of whom have very extensive establishments, with thousands of feet of glass houses for forcing flowers for winter. A few of the most extensive establishments are John Henderson, Broadway, near Nineteenth street, and Flushing, Long Island; W. C. Wilson, No. 45 West Fourteenth street, and Astoria, Long Island; Andrew Bridgeman, Broadway and Eighteenth street, and Astoria, Long Island; Peter Henderson, Jersey City; James Wier, Bay Ridge, Long Island, with many others. The most fashionable flowers for bouquets this Season are tea rosebuds, lilles of the valley, violets, carnations, heliotrope, daphne odora, &c., tied in a loose bunch, with rose geranium and rose leaves for green. The stiff and formal bouquet ts now sel- dom asked for. When you want anything extra choice, or what may be called XX, you must go in for orcheades, Those are the most rare, gorgeous and fragrant flowers of India, China, Japan, Mexico and wogice America, and are only in iew collec- tions. Those are the flowers with which the queens and princesses of the Old World adorn their hair on bridal and festive occasions. Orange blossoms are also indispensable, ‘fhe Indians of Mexico and Central America hold thein in the highest esteem. ‘The peristeria elata (dove flower), pure white, of a wane texture, has the perfect form of a dove with half expanded wings, inside the flower very fragrant, and held im great reverence by the people of Central America, under the name of santua spiruta. The oncedium papiilio or butterfly flower is also @ choice gem in Spanish mariposa ; the cattlegas of Brazii and Venezuela are among the showtest of the family. The Loclia majales or flor de majo, of Mexico, 18 w! Phaton 18 satd to get his fine perfume extracted from. The next grand and msot useful Hower is the camelia japonica, ‘t™ all its various colors, White ones are used on all occa- Sions and forma groundwork of all iarge flower pieces for decorations ; tuberose is a very desirable flower for purity and fragrance, and much used at funerals in forming wreaths, crosses, and other de- signs, In connection with the camelia this ustng white flowers for tunerais has become so extensively in use within, I may ten years, that It forms a large item in the flower trade of New York As much as five hundred dollars, and sometimes more, are bait fl funeral where the family has large con- ions, Church decorations at Easter and other saints’ days make considerable trade. The Catholics were first in decorating their churches, but now many de- nominations follow the custom. Many gentlemen use thelr own flowers from their country green houses, and often order flowers from the florist, not having enough from their own places to supply their desires ; others sell ali their fowers to meet the ex- penses of their country places while living in town, At New Year we aregiad to purchase flowers from anywhere to supply our orders, Many come from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Albany. South of New York Christmas is the great holiday ; by New Year's they have generally some flowers to spare. The flower trade has made wonderful pro- gress the past five years all over the Eastern and Middle States. The great American people have the innate love for the beautiful and have the means to enjoy 1t. ‘The Southern states before the war were the great garden of flowers. Every new and rare flowering plaut was purchased by the Southern ladies and gardened with the greatest care and attention. ‘They still have the love but not the means to gratify so laudable and beautiful an undertaking. ISAAC BUCHANAN, No. 9 West Seventeenth street. A DAY AMONG TEE FLORISTS. Floral Customs Among the Ancients and Me- diwval Ages—Modern Culture of Flowers— Progress and Growth of the Trade in This City. Flowers have been fittingly designated the smiles of the earth. And so they are, and smiles of beauty, and a tnt, Ina Joy fororon ny Yes, nowers are a joy, and they always have been and always will be. They are a joy as the outer expression of all that is most beautiful on earth, and as infinitely surpassing in delicacy of formation and exquisite shades of coloring the finest fabrications of highest genius and art; they are @ joy as diffusing sweet-scented odors, to which the aroma of the most entrancing perfumes Is but a clumsy aspiration of the finite after the far away and unattainable perfections of the infinite; they are a Joy as expressive of any variety of human sentiment, from the comraonest interchanges of everyday friendship to the tenderest emotions of the most passionate love, or from the faintest shadow of incipient dislike to asoul frenzied with flerce and undying hate. They are a joy as giving mute but touching revelation of holy and un- tading remembrances of deceased loved ones. Flowers and the uses to which they have been de- voted in the successive ages of the world’s history present a subject as interesting as it is attractive and lustructive. Anacreon in his odes speaks of the custom of encircling the head, neck and breast with crowns and garlands of flowers. This custom passed from the Greeks to the Romans, and it also existed among the Hebrews, who probably borrowed tt from the Egyptians or Babylonians. For the adornment of tombs and burial places the Greeks em- ployed generally the myrtle and the amaranth, but the Romans gave the preference to the lily, the saffron plant, and, above ail, the rose, The ancients were careful to renew the plants which were placed around their sepuichral urns, to give them as nearly as possible the appearance of a perpetual spring- time of flowers. The Romans considered this pious care 80 agreeable to the spirits of the departed that wealthy citizens often bequeathed entire gardens to be reserved for furnishing their tombs with flowers. In Turkey females that died anmarried had a rose sculptured at the top of their monument. Some of the ancient heroes as well as heroines of whom we read spent upon floral decorations lavish sums. Cleopatra, not satisfied with having prepared for her first meeting with Antony a hall whose walls were covered with purple tapestry interwoven with gold, and all the roses of solid gold, enriched with precious stones, had the floor covered with roses to the depth of eighteen inches. Whether association with the erratic and luxurious Queen of Egypt begot in her noble suitor and slave a passion for flowers he did not possess before history does not inform us; but it ts @ matter of historical record that when after the bat- tie of Actium he thrast himself through with his sword for fear he might fall into the bands of Augustus, he, with his dying breath, requested Cleo- patra not to forget his tomb, but while she lived scatter over it roses. When Nero—he who played the violin at the burning of Rome—gave his celebrated fete in the Gulf of Barta he expended upon flowers alone four million sesterces, or about $100,000, as expressed tn modern greenback cur- ret Some of the successors of Nero were quite as Juxuriantly extravagant a the subject of howers. Lucius Aurelius Vores had a couch made on which were four raised cushtons, closed on all sides by a very thin net and filed with jeaves of roses, Hello- iabus was not satisfied with the natural scent of lowers, but inventec a process of crushing them so as to intensify theig perfumes. It was a universal habit among the wealthy at’ thas time to scatter roses, violets, the hyacinth, she narcissus and other flowers, not ronty on their couches, but through the hails and even on the porticos of their palaces. Gallius would never sleep except ‘0 @ rose arbor. Among the an- clents, and even through the mediwval ages, flowers were cotspicuous on ail grand oc casions and at public and private ses, ‘The Greeks and Romans surrounded the statues of Venus, and Flora with gariands of roses. They had their sperial foral festivals, at which the statue of the Olympian Queen was covered with every variety of floral products, In the festival of Hymien at Athens the youth of both sexes, adorned with the richest snd rarest flowers, mingled in dances intended to represent the innocence of pri- meval times. At Rome, in times of public rejoicing, they strewed the streets with flowers The flower held in highest repute among the ancients was tho rose, lythological fable attributes the product of this’ flower to Flora, the Goddeas of Fowers. It is stated that having found the dead boiy of one of her favorite nymphs she implored the vid of all the Olympian deities to aid her in changing it into a flower, which all others should acknowledge to be the queen. Apollo lent the vivifying power of bis brains, Bacchus bathed it in nectar, Vertumius gave it perfume, Pomona its fruit, and Flora herself gave ite diadem of flowers. Persia and all the countries of the Orient are full of inveresting legends in connection with fowers. We might trace out (hese legends and follow out the more assured history of more modern times, but we must hurry on to the present era, and more eapecially the present Moral epoch, always coming & an iy Discniasing ole? countries, France, Italy, Eng | in South and Central America, and, in fact, creasing we mean it Sums econ nt mes in OW that were unthought one tow ene son tion is complete pzishous the delicate private parties are distinguished hed lavish dige plays of these floral tokens of wealtit and luxurious- ness, They have become a conspicu prominent feature of moadings, and there is not a fune ticularly among whe that the choicest and most expensive flowers are flowers has for years been stead: and by steadily fade ily increasing, nightly spent upon bouquets to throw to favorites upon the operatic and theatrical stage. Ladies wear flowers profusely as head ornaments. In fact, flowers have become an article, and pre-eminen: 80 at this time, of almost universal consumption, A visit vo the different stores where flowers are sold. is @ magnificent treat. Here one sees the glorious beauty of our most beautiful flowers in perfection, The following are some of the varieties of flowers used in making up bouquets, baskets, wreaths and nosegays :—Japonicas, of which there are between five and six hundred varieties ; tuberose, tea rose, of which saffrons, lamarque, tapictoli aad red and white carnations, orquet, catalpa, hyacinths, in all varieies of colors; jasmines, daphnes, heliotrope, [odanererd mignonette, polyanthus, narcissusy eapolitan violets, jonquils, tulips, cornelias, crocus, pansies, meter Deane ean, chry~ Lecpererrel acaeia, and “a list which migi be extended to almost unending lengih; with shells and cunning birds that are wrought into the most pleas! Hf combinations, baskets of flowers fit for a palace, bouquets fit for a queen. The most value able bouquet at present to be seen on Broad- way is valued at $300, though frequen’ they put up those costing twice and treble ti amount ana baskets worth much more. The prin- cipal dealers in Nowers are Willlam C, Wilson, J. Buchanan and A. Briagman. Ali these have large uurseries at Morrisania, eack covering not less than twenty acres and having not less than 75,000 square feet of glass. ‘hese ure the only fower dealers the city baving nurseries. There are a multitude others having hotho! as James Buist & Son, Walter Reid, Kenyon, Hansa, Fitzpatrick, Riddoc! Clark and Fisher. Ali the other dealers, includin, August Brown (who, by the way, has rit process by which he ¥ never fade), Haust Bi buy their flowers, which are grown principally Long isiand and in New Jersey. ‘they make up as fine bouquets, however, as the rest. At one on Christinas Eve were sold baskets and bouquets of the aggregate value of $2,500. As stated, also, the holi- days are their harvest time; but the trade continues good ail winter, till into July, im fact, when the chief patrons of our city florists betake themselves to the country and its native wild woods and flowerss The trade for the past year has been greatly im advaace of what it was the previous year, and, a8 als ready stated, has been augmenting from year to year, tll now the annual sales count i fon hundr thousands of dollars. The dealers themselves know their own business, but seem to know very littl about that of others. As to prices there is gi @ very agreeabie unanimity. A beautiful buttonhola flower such as old bachelors of ambitious vigws and widowers oppressed with loneliness are apt to ce, may be had from ten to twenty-ilve cents, according to the height to which the ambition of the bachelor may aspire or the depressing depths of the widower’s loneliness. Nosegayg vary in price from a quarter to tenfold tis sum, the ascending valuation rising in the scale of ascending series as rise in rarity and cost the fowers of which they are composed, Bouquets may be had for two dollars and very beautiful ones for ten dollars, but six dole jars is about the average price of aver bouquets. But our people of wealth and fashion o: indulge in the extravagance, or rather luxury, of $300 and $500 bouquets. On bridal occasions these more ex- pensive bouquets are apt to show themselves, All the wealth of flowers and wealth of ingenuity im the arrangement of the* flowers are expended upon them, Flower wreaths have all sorts of prices, according to the size and expensive- ness of the flowers employed. The acme of expenditure upon flowers—a single portion of them— is on flower baskets. These are of two kinds, stand- ing and hanging baskets. Immense ingenuity as well as taste is expended upon the baskets, some being plain and simpie and others of curiously com- plex and quaint devices. Several baskets are fre- quently found on one stand—that is to say, a central basket the largest of all and other smailer ones, lesser but not less beautiful in their make up, ré a round this centre, The expense of course 18 ju ated by the chotce selection of the flowers, the rarest and richest entering into their composition. As high as $2,500 nas been $ { paid. for one of these baskets, but very fine ones cam bought for twenty-tive dollars, and from that up to fifty dollars. Some beautiful and expensive are also made, There 18 one on exhibition in Braun’ window, valued at $150. On special occasions, or a public reception, a large private party, at some of the palatial residences on Fifth avenue, or a wedd: in fashionable life, are expended th for flowers, it can readily séen that in propor- tion a8 are multiplied bouquets and baskew and floral wreaths is multiplied expense. It 1s not ‘unusual that thousands of dollars are spent on such floral decorations. Large sums are expended for floral tributes to favorites on the operatic and theatrical 8 ‘The fine faces set off with paint and powder, and figures finely moulded and going through be- witchingly undulatory movements in front of the foot- lights, have the most magical effect, and young men just coming into maturity and estates and ing more money than brains are those spending the most money m these floral indulgences. How- ever, the profits go to the florist, and such patronage helps to swell their gross receipts. As a general thing these “bouquet fingers” are a claptrap ring got up for sensational effect. The sure and steady patrons of our forists are our ple of wealth. For dinner and bale parties, for parlor decorations, for ornaments of a bride and for the tegen 3 accom. paniments of the solenin funeral service ladies, hows ever, for the most part, are the buyera. Their ex~ quisite taste, so artistically shown in shopping, one of the natural instincts of women, 18 as mstinctively shown as it is needed here. An noon or evening: cail at this season of the year at any of our leading up town flourists will show bevies of the most beauti- ful ladies of our city engaged in purchasing howers— flowers among flowers. A great deal has been written anda great deal more might be written upon the poetry and the lan- age ascribed to flowers and their refining in- fluences, ‘They are the good angels of this life. Born of sunny skies, they befit all piaces—the church, altar and tomb, the ball, opera and theatre, the public party and private parlor, shop and store, office and counting room, basement and attic—anywhere and everywhere, all times and all occasions. They give ditional joy to the joyful, they soften the rough asperities of life, unto some they give solace. They fill the air with pleasant perfumes and the hearts of all with delight. Mrs. August Dickens=Statement of Editor of the Chicago Tribane. Mrs. Augustus Dickens, who com mitted suicide in Chicago on Christmas eve, was not the widow of the deceased brother of Charles Dickens; but the real Mrs. Augustus Dickens 1s living in London, support ed by her brother-in-law, the eminent novelist, There are three little children of the late Augustus Dickens living in Chicago, who now, in addition to their other misfortune, are deprived of the loving care of their mother. Mr. Augustus Dickens was a brilliant scapegrace, who abandoned his wile in England and ran away to America with Miss Bertha Phillips, daughter of an Insurance agent, a young lady of many attractions and accomplishments, I have heard that after arriving at an interior town in Niinois, and having resided there a sufficient length of time, he procured a divorce from his wife and maoried Miss Phillips, but of this I have no knowl- edge. It is certain that she was thenceforward treated by her own parents as Mra. Dickens, and that sne received a small bequest in her father’s will as “Mra, Bertha Phillips Dickens.” Nevertheless, the former Mrs, Dickens lived, and still lives, in Lon- don, is now afflicted with blimdness, and 18 sup- rted by Charles Dickens. ‘When Mr. Dickens visited this country iast year the Baatern press attributed remarks in regard ‘to him to spite, use Mr. Dickens had not included Chicago in the list of cities in which he was to give his readings, It is. easy now to see why Mr. Dickens could not visit Chicago. If he had done so he nust either recognize Mrs. Bertha Phillips Dickens to the injury of the other Mrs. Dickens, or by his retusa! to do so ex herto contumely. It iseasy to see, alao, why he contributed nothing to her support. ‘These facts came to my knowiedge through the kindness of a literary friend in London, a few days before Mr. Dickens’ departure from tals couniry. Much as I desired to repair the injury that had been done him, it was clearly impossible to do so without inflicting the greatest harm upon Mrs. Dickens. 1 understood that Charles Dickens has always been solicitous that the lady in question should receive no other Angurs from his famliy than she had already received; that he wished her well, vd that he was willing todo orto forbear doing anything not tn- consistent with his duties to the more aitlicted woman whom his brother Augustus had ieft im England. Itonly remains to add that Mra. Bertha Phillips Dickens (whom | never saw) bore an unbiemished reputation at Chicago. Upon the deccase of Nev husband she was left destitute, with three mfanr children to support and educate, She was fatthfal to those whom God committed to her care. tler nobie struggle with poverty was alleviate’ in areat degree by the kind hearted gentiemen of 1 Jand department of the Miinols Central Railway, which Mr. Augustus Dickens had been 40 employes and it is safe to assume that her dear chililren will not come to want. It appears to me that Mrs. Dickens died of a broken heart, and that no cont Untions of money from Charles Dickens - the people | her wo 5 of Chicago coukl Lave healed per NC Wire, Bator of the Chicago frivune. the s