Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-04-06


have fixed it too low the fault is with them,
and surely not with the banlSs-It must be
confessed. that some evils may and 90
spring from this arrangement as for in
stance, where man is to receive money
IN ore county. where the foreign notes are
fixed at par or a low rata of depreciation,
end has to pay il in another, where the de
probation is put very high---Dut though
this be an evil, would no evil have sprurg
from the silc nee of the law Would it
have been right to have permitted a debtor
to pay up his execution in foreign notes at
par, when IN fact those notes were 6e{ozv
har in the market' In this way, almost
every debtor. for whose benefit the law
is made, would have been the gamer, and
the creditor would have been the los
or.
If, then. the Virginia axis are not to
be blamed for the passage or the intcrpreta-
ton of the law if the Courts have not
caused the depreciation of the notes, but
have merely expressed what that depre
citation was in the market, III zyhQt consists
the g unrighteous con iuct of Virginia"-
or, zvhy ought the Banks in the District to
resent it There is no cause for the one
or the other. Or, IS this writer really vex~
ed, that the notes of the District are actn-
ally below par in Virginia. Surely he
ought to be equally so, that they are
below par in Philadelphia (; or, that in the
District itself, the Virginia notes are above
par The fscts are so ; nor does it arise
from any "nrighteous conduct" either
here or elsewhere-IPhyt they are below
the Virginia notes, shall presently be
shewn.
This writer is vexed too, that the Vir-
ginia Banks do not loan money to the far
mers, but reserve it all for the people of
the towns. What is the fact, l know not
but the reason which he assigns. for requir-
ing Az endorser in town, is quite conclusive
for me, viz.-that. when the note comes
round, there must always be some person
in town, to remind of the necessity Of meet-
ing or renewing it.
But, it is in the attempt to shew that the
District notes ought to be worth more than
our own, that this writer principally
shines. He his the fact against hin-the
state of the market not only here, but in
the District itself, that the notes are not
worth as much as our own-and yet the
writer goes on reasoning against facts.-
He may truly exclaim with the disappuin-
ted Sir Joseph Banks. Fleas are nor lob
Sters, C d---n their souls"
His reason for saying that the District
notes are fnfrinsfcGAy worth more" are
curious enough.-He says, 1st, that zve
| have issued more than the amount of our
capital-whereas. those of the District
| have not issued to ,aore than two-thirds of
! the amount of theirs" But the notes in
| circulation are not the only debt which a
bank owes-where is the DEPOSIT money,
| where the balances due to other Banks,
| &c. : Taking these into the account, the
| District Banks owe more than their CAPT
| tai, So do the Vlrg. Banks.-It is useless
81 aff A.,.v. &C ~.
| paid in, in proportion to what they owe !;
because. when they come to settle with
! their stockholders, they will have to an
| swer for this surplus--it is only debt a
| gainst them. When they settle with the
| public, who holds their notes, it is of no use
| because, where is it {?
Does the specie capital, which it has re-
! ceived, remain in its Golfers No. Most of it
| has been drawn out and, what now is the
condition of the ID. Banks To meet their
| notes in circulation, and the drafts which
may be made for defioSit money. they have
a small amount of cash, (not quite (S3O0-
oO0,) the notes of Individuals, and tlu6lic
stock. Now, if tn ir debtors are RESPONSE
| bic men, (S we have no reasons to doubt it !;
| indeed, Committee of Congress has Just
approved their sovency.) then the notes of
| these banks must be perfectly good. In
< =
| precisely IN the same situation.
might say, indeed, that in one respect
we have the advantage bat so very
! slightly, that ouv notes on this account
could scarcely have bcen better than
| theirs that urbanks retain more of
the specie capital, which has been paid in !;
of course, they have more specie in pro-
! portion TO the debts Of every sort which
| they have contracted. Taking into view
the stock paid in, the balances due to 9TH
er banks, their notes and deposits, they
have at least Ks13th in gold and silver
Agreeably to the K port laid before Con-
| gress, the D strict Banks had less than
1-26th. Both sets of Banks, however,
are perfectly solvent, because they are
! guaranteed upon nduDitable funds, viz.
the property of those whose notes they
hold, as well as the public securities.
But the 2nd reason given by the writer.
why they ought to be better, is no wiser
than this, viz that more capital gvW be
requisite in the District than in Rich noDd ;
that 1" an hundred millions, perhaps, will
| be required to make the Metropolis of the
Union what it ought to be ;" that" not enc
tenth part Of the necessary capital has yet
| been brought into action, that will be de
manded by progressive improvements ~
whereas ia Richnond, " the town proper
ty has been dubbed up" &c. Without
meaning to cast a slnr upon the resources
Of the District, l will venture to say, that,
as far as Richmond is concerned, there is