Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-04-03
NATION AND STATE BANKS.

OF the pnst principles. who arayed the side of The
hte-, while We dissent ifoni their conclusions.
NATION AL AND STATE BANKS.
inns oifhcu.ty meets us at the thresh
hold. Where is your right to establish
National Bank What clause in the Con-
stitution gives it to ycu' If tie United
States have not an unqualified right to
establish schools, roads, canals, and
nks-whers is the authority =
II they are not found among tue enunerat-
ed hofvcrs are they means recessary to
these cn1ss IS it can absolute, paramount,
and irresistible niece ssity F'-But pass over
these constitutional ScrMhieS what is the
great public benefit TO flow from this
National Bank
We are told that it is to relieve the
want OF capital, eqnalize exchange, res
tore Shecie, make the circulating medium
healthy and whole.--IIcw is it to do these
wonders +?
l." RetieJ,e the 7vant ofcahnar- is
bank with 400, 900 dollars in specie, to
loan out much capital? Encir.led by banks
which will seize on its notes and strip it ut
its specie, how is this bank, with or
branches, TO lend the use of many of its
notesa The Statc-Banks are, several
OF them, as powerful as its branches, and
most of them jealous OF it. 1t cannot play
the same game as they do. While it pays
gold and silver, they will absorb its specie
without being compelled to tlisgorge it.
True, the Bank is to ca in nominally
as much as millions in specie, but it will
never get it after the LIST or I'd ins,alment
is paid lin the others will strive to make
themselves out OF loans from the bank itself.
Rui why not sell its tu6Hc stock fer
specie ?" Is there no lossin doing it? In
New York, the per cents are nogv rs
per cent below par-Specie from Z to 10
per cent. average at 81. Then to commute
the stock into specie, the bank does it at
loss of 10 IA per cent.-The more per
cents in the market. the lower they fall
What loss t EN- upon the banks, when,
as they are now advised to do, they Try to
convert all their public stocks into specie !
3. :" TO eqmaHze exchange
notes will not be numerous enough to dis
charge the large M SIS of debts that will be
due from place TO place.-ln lieu of these,
can the bank give drafts from branch to
branch This would involve them in an
eXpence too great to be borne in the pre-
sent state of the circulation. So many
checks would be drawn upon the branches
where the balance of trade would lie. thar
there would be an incessant Transmission of
specie TO those branches.
s. TO restore sfecie 10 circulation
| nihiLO nilH it, From 3 or 3 millions of Spe-
| Gle, you cannot create specie enough to
supply the circulate p.-fhere is much
too little to supply the demand it will
then be drawn cut of the National Bank,
into the vaults of the State Banks, or the
| chests ofindividuals.
f.. To restore the circulation to heQlthy
state-But there will neither be notes nor
urh LIZ
| the circulation.-NVi!l the state notes be
made better The bank viii not for
some time to come, put one dollar more
| into their vaults.-On the contrary, it will
| be moro difficult for them to get and pay
| specie. The demand fer specie for this
bank, will make it scarcer and dearer-
| Such VIII be their situation, until the
| Bank begins to issue itsS otes, if IT ever
| dares to do so in the midst of its numerous
| rivals.
But. it is said, that it will comhel them to
| return to specie payments. 1t is yet to be
| shown, that this shecic no-sfecie Bank will
have energy enough for this purpose-And
! ifi could, has Congress no other means to
compel them9 If it has. would it not be
better to exercise these means, leaving to
the State Banks all the specie that is ahoat,
without absorbing it in a great menled in
! stitution? If it has not means commeBsu
rate TO this object, yet can it not make an
advance towardsit by its jurisdiction over
the stamp law and bankrupt system
| Had the power to establish banks been
| cedcd by the Stats, and altogether con-
ceded to Congress, it might or ginally have
| been the wisest scheme But we have
! gone on enormously and how are We to
extricate ourselves
The evil is, that we have too little spe-
Gle and too much paper ahoat. And what
is worse, the last is easily, and daily issued
while the former is very difficult to
procure.
1st The States are continually char
tering new Banks, or suffering them to
spring up. Every new bank adds to
the pressure, by an absorption of the
specie, or even of the paper of other
banks, which are more afraid to come back
to specie in consequence of these threa-
tened drafts upon it.
2nd. There is too little 8hecie among
us and the present state of the trade
makes it difficult to get more. The balance
If frzde is this year against us. Mr.. GOLD
says, we have imported 10000, 600 dolls.
in goods from G.. Britain-and exported
only 80 millions OF producc--But say, they
sell for 90 abroad--There will, Of
course, be a great demand for bills
Of exchange; they will rise, say from
! seven to ten per cent advance though
we have the aid of tue fubLic stocks,
which we may send abroad to help to re-
duce the balance. Under such c.rcum-
stances, how are we to import specie from