Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-03-06


had fair right to 10. A .veTt"g to Mr..
C's. statement Of the number OF the banks
Tie wished there was not So many.] and
Ct their capital, he differed from the view
which esum>te1 the amount ~ y h;ch ti4ty
draw Interest, az an hundred and seventy
millions. Hut detucting trom tilis amount
tne loans, &c. estim.t1d at tCtty miit,cl,5.
al hundred and thirty millions would re-
main,>s the estimated amount on which tic
banks draw interest, with a capital OF
eighty two millions. Was this too much:
With much less, could the banks pay bank
, eXp noes, and make a reasonable dividend:
but, might not the gentlemen have
Sern mist ken, even ia this estimate
Mr.. 5. thought he was. and supported this
impress on ny 4 reference to such dvcu>
mints OF the subject as were within lis
reach. lie referred to the document on the
table. shelving The state of the chartered
bauk5 with Il the ID strict of Colun,bia. lie
VS. rather mcliIed to bell, he said,
ta't these banks hal gone little further
than most OF the b.nks OF the United STATES
III their issues, the cause of which might
be TRACED to the large loans to the govern
inent- The amount of the capital paid i'll
by all these banks was S,52 LOGO dollars
tSe bills and II ties discou ted 3 ISL, 03i.
Was this too large busine SIS Ga their cap
tlHl .itSt ID HAS, III al WHICH HO OduNS
in the union had dane larger business, had
not discounted u,nre than 50lpsr cent. be
You'd the amount of their capital paid in.
AS to the amount Of paper which the gen
t'efaan estimated toby in circulatior, Mr..
;. o,hrred widely from him. Instead
OF 200 millions ut dollars ofpaDer being in
circulation on a capital of 81 millions, he
doubted whether ihc amount was half that
Of the capita! Of the banks, saw III millions
of dola's. II. lid some acquaintance
with the operations Of banks, from his
practice in them. Some banks could put
out more paper than others, from their
particul l. SITUATION but, in general,
banks dd not issue paper tn more than
half the amoGnt of their Capita!. The
notes OF the banks of this district were more
deprecated than others and if the de-
probation was in fact owing 10 excessive
issues, 1t might be- presumed they had is
sued more larg, ~ than banks generally
/ hesc banks had II is in circulation 70 the
amount OF 2,OSf,CO0 do lars--a greater
proportion Of notes TO their caNitai, than
banks generally have in circulation but
only three fi!thS Of the amount paid ill.,
There were not now IN crC citation, Mr.. g.
sad, he very believed, as many bank
notes, properly SO called, as there were
prior to the stopptge If the specie pay
voring to draw III their notes. Mr. S. con
cluded on this point, that, rs the hanks
had de,nonstrabIy not been prodgal ia the
issue Of Their paper, its depr5 citation was
not owing 20 the exec SIS Of issue. This
brought Mr. =. 10 another point Of Nir.
Calhoun's speech, ia which thcy Concurrcd
in opinion. To the long loans, he agreed
in a grtat measure IA ght be attributed the
depre Citation of the paper Of this city. Of
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and OF y. York
But he " not disposed to Censurc the
banks for having made those loans. On
the contrary, said he, they aided you in
time Of need ! give them credit for It
would nurse them and bring then buck to
Use same health, state, as b, fore they re-
duccd themselves to serve you. ut the
same time, Mr.. 5. SAID. he agreed, that il
WIS the dnty OF the banks to resume spe-
lie paYncnts. so sooA as it was possible 10
90 it without oss. II they did not do it =,
r!.ey oughtto be co:opell d to do it; & thro
the instrGnen,a i'y of bank cf the Unite
States, tie governniAnt might he able to
coerce them. The loa"s made by the CO.
vernmeDt, he said, had been priac pally
confined TO rae country bstw en- the HUGS n
aud de Potomac; a small amount only
had been ob;a'ned North and South Of
these limits. The notes obtained by the
iFSaSurys by way or iOan, were discussed
IN other ou.rters OF the country than th lat
~ which they we're obtained they had
been thrown back upon the banks, aud
specie demanded fer them, with " lI;ch de-
Inand, made III very large quantities, the
banks found Themselves unable to comply.
The gentleman had given his opinion how
the evil might DC remedied. This remedy
Mr.. S. went or - observe, lie was one Of
those who had pressed On the Directors Of
the Banks OF the city he had the honor to
represent. All the banks had TO do, he
said, waste send their millions of stock TO
the Eastward and Southwark, sell their
stock, and thus change tho balance Of c;1-
change and trade in their favor When
they should do that, the cause of the de
probation of their paper being removed,
l1r. ). said we should hear no more Of it :
in less than three months, those states
which now had the advantage of the ex-
change, would be the debtor states. The
Ference in exchange, was little more than
nominal, very little specie being paid in
ny part OF the country-where bank
notes were at par, the banks did very lit
tie or no business ard had comparatively no
notes out /; # merchants negotiated with
those banks, they did rot receive OF pay
Them specie, but paper.
Mr.. s. conceded ~ Mr.. C's view, that
IS all the banks agree d TO resume sDccc
payments, they might do il bat he would
use no coercion now to hasten the period,
bat suti them 90 do it peaceably aud qui-
tttv ard fhcrefore cafriV