THE MONEY PANIC.

BY REV. E. W. HUTTER.

"A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: BUT MONEY IS MADE FOR ALL THINGS."-Ecclesiastes 10: 19.

10 a correct understanding of this decla

ration of the inspired Wise Man, it is necessary to bear in mind, that the word ALL, as here employed in its application to money, is not to be construed in its unlimited or universal import. To indulge in laughter, a feast is the place; and to become merry and glad, wine is the proper agency. Neither the dance, nor the viol, nor the harp, nor the exhilarating wine, however, will procure for us a house, nor bed, nor clothing, nor provisions, nor portions for our children. MONEY WILL-provided we have enough of it. The meaning of the passage unquestionably is, that money subserves all the purposes for which it is designed-that there is a value attached to it, which renders it, not only eminently useful, but in certain senses indispensable. It subserves all the various purposes of trade and commerce, and, as an instrumentality, most of the occasions of the present life.

Some there are, alas! who, in their dark apostasy from God, IDOLIZE money, as the followers of Aaron did the Golden Calf. Others there are, persons of a melancholy temperament, who, from perverted views and illogical reasonings, affect to despise money, and reject it as an unmitigated evil, whereas the truth lies between the two extremes. The true theory, undoubtedly is, to use the

world, yet as not abusing it—to receive and enjoy all God's temporal blessings with moderation, and yet with gratitude and thanksgiving, contrasting temporal gifts with eternal, and assigning to each their relative preponderance.

In the further investigation of this topic, we propose to examine:

I. THE LEGITIMATE PURPOSES WHICH MONEY IS DESIGned to subservE—and,

II. THE IMPROVEMENT WE SHOULD FEEL CALLED UPON TO MAKE OF THE EXISTING FINANCIAL DISTRESS.

Under the first branch of the subject, we remark:

I. Money is useful and desirable as a means of procuring the necessaries of life. -In our present state, such is God's beneficent economy, that we cannot feed nor live on ethereal inhalations. We have animal frames, which depend for subsistence on food and raiment. It is true we are enjoined to "seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness," but this injunction is far from superseding the necessity of making every needful provision for our temporal condition. Our bodies must be fed and clothed. The bread that comes down from heaven, and the meat which perishes not, it is true, are infinitely the most valu able, but these do not relieve us of the necessity of providing also the bread that is baked in the oven, and the meats that are purchased at the stalls. If we did not pursue the dictates of nature, in these respects, we should offend both against ourselves and against the God that made us. To procure

II. Money enables us to procure the comforts of life.-As long as we tabernacle in the flesh, God kindly allows us many privileges and enjoyments, which, although not strictly essential to existence, are nevertheless eminently advantageous and desirable. We are not only allowed to have food, but I hold it to be every way admissible that we consult a becoming preference as to the kinds of food introduced upon our tables. It betrays no undue fastidiousness to prefer that which is wholesome and palatable. God has not imparted to these summer and autumn fruits such a delicious flavor in vain. And so with our raiment. I hold it to be no sin, in the selection of our clothing, to prefer that which is decent, pleasant, genteel, and even handsome, avoiding foppish and ostentatious display, of course. And so with our habitations. If we have the ability, why not erect buildings for taste and refinement, as well as for convenience and utility? In the attainment of all these, money is indispensable. Do we desire to travel, whether on business or for recreation, we must have money. It is money that enables us to visit cities and countries, museums and monuments, and other interesting works, both of nature and of art. It is money that enables us to construct railways, and canals, and bridges, and turnpikes, and open up navigable rivers, and build towns and cities. It was money which enabled Solomon to make great works, to build houses, plant vineyards, gardens, and orchards, and collect around him so many of the delights of life. This catalogue of temporal comforts, indeed, might be largely extended to procure any one of which, we require money. And this is what King Solomon meant, when he affirmed: "Money answereth ALL things."

III. Money possesses an inappreciable commercial utility.-It enables its possessors to buy and sell. It develops our mineral and agricultural resources. It brings out

and conveys to market, the coal and iron which God hath placed there for our behoof. It builds our wharves and our long rows of stores and warehouses. It levels our forests. It erects our factories, and gives employment to thousands, who would otherwise be idle. It brings to market our cotton, our rice, our grain, our sugar, our flour, and other staple products. It piles the counters of our merchants with cloths, cottons, silks, satins, and other rare and costly articles of merchandise, made both for ornament and utility. Without money, or some other equally valu able and convenient commodity, none of these operations could be prosecuted. The general pulse of the world's activity would stand still. The grass would grow in the streets. Ships, if any were constructed, would rot at the wharves. Thousands, now actively and usefully employed, would be reduced to poverty and starvation. The Wise Man uttered a practical truism, then, when he affirmed: "Money answereth ALL things."

IV. Money imparts the ability to prosecute Learning and Science, and the various branches of a liberal education.—In this respect it possesses an almost tutelary power. It is the great fulcrum of Archimedes, with a place to rest on. It gathers libraries, erects and sustains colleges and academies, maintains our excellent and well-conducted public schools, procures mechanical and scientific apparatuses, globes, and telescopes, fosters the useful and polite arts and sciences, enlarges the minds of youth, stores them with educational accomplishments, and prepares them for extensive fields of usefulness. It is by the power of money that both the stupendous treasures of the earth, and the wonderful mechanism of the starry heavens, are developed. It is this that enables us to print and circulate such an innumerable amount of books, and tracts, and magazines, and pamphlets. It is this that sustains the NEWSPAPER, that gigantic agency of good, disseminating the seeds of intelligence over the minds of the teeming and toiling millions. Highly advantageous in furnishing all these diversified aids and opportunities of mental improve

ment, is money; and how parental hearts glow with a laudable desire to see the rising generation well instructed in every branch of academic and collegiate study. As an educational lever, then, “Money answereth ALL things."

V. Money enables us to assist the poor and suffering, to relieve the needy and distressed. The poor we have always with us. To minister to their relief is alike a privilege and a duty. To have the will to do so, and lack the ability, is a misfortune; and often do we hear the merciful and benevolent, when they witness scenes of suffering and distress, lament that they have it not in their power to minister relief. But, with money, the poor can be, and are, relieved. This builds hospitals for the idiotic and insane, asylums for the widows and orphans, for the deaf, and dumb, and blind; homes for friendless children, for disabled seamen, and for the poor, and sick, and suffering of all classes. Without money, none of these excellent institutions could be founded. Without money none of them could be maintained. Without money, the poor in winter would receive no fuel, the naked no garments, the shelterless no homes. No Dorcas, nor Soup, nor Samaritan societies would exist, and hence we need not wonder that the cry of those connected with these charitable agencies so unceasingly is: "Money! money! send us money! If you do not send us money, our operations will have to cease." As an agency of benevolence, too, the Wise King was right in affirming: "Money answereth ALL things."

VI. Money is the great lever of government.-Whether in peace or in war, it is the sinews of a nation. The Rothschilds of the world are "the power behind the throne, greater than the throne itself." All our important civil and political institutions demand heavy expenditures. Our legislators, national and state executives, municipal magistrates, detective and preventive police, all demand the reward of their labor. See what immense sums it costs to carry on the government of England! See what gigan tic inroads her lords and statesmen make upon the Queen's Exchequer! Our government, thanks to a wise and patriotic ances

try, is not near so expensive. Being republican in its character, simple and unostentatious in its organization, the cost of administering it is much less than is the case with the " pomp, pride, and circumstance," attending the administration of the governments of the Old World. And yet, even in this country, with the wisest and most prudential economy, and with all the patriotism in the land (of which there certainly seems a great deal), the expenses of government are enormous, and annually on the increase. And, although it is ever a curse to elevate to office men of selfish and mercenary characters-men, whose judg ments in their high and sacred trusts can be perverted by BRIBES-men, who sell themselves in their public chairs, as alas, it is to be feared, too many do, to the highest bidder-still, for purposes of government, money is indispensable. And so well does the public understand this, that, to raise this money our citizens consent to be taxed, and have heavy imposts levied on their possessions; so that no good citizen declines to pay his taxes, and if he should, it would matter not, as they would be collected by compulsory process. In view of its relations to government, also, the Wise King uttered an axiom of the highest practical truthfulness: Money answereth ALL things."

Lastly, under this branch of the subject, VII. Money is essential to the Church.I am not insensible to the importance of this utterance. The Church, I am aware, is founded on the Prophets and Apostles, "Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone." Its foundations have been laid, broadly, deeply, and securely, in the blood of the Crucified One, and its walls are cemented by the blood of many martyrs. Against it "the gates of hell shall never prevail." "It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." I neither overlook, nor ignore, Divine Omnipotence. And yet, I am not insensible to the fact, that God, in the general affairs of his Church, as in every other department of his limitless empire, works out results instrumentally. The apostles themselves laid by, every week, on the Lord's Day, of the current coin of their country, to serve as an