Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-03-30
RICAu2ND, .if3Rcn 81.
on BANNS.-No. /.

cial prosperity. az rouSe general interest,
and direct the curiosity of the pubic to
that quarter of the great machine in which
the arrangement is Supposed to have Ia
ken place. May We not hope, therefore,
shat the theory OF banking Institutions viii
be better understood as the general in
ferest was never so much rOueed, or The
great m0chtae of paptr money 50 much de-
ranged
Much is yet to be said--because much
is yet to be learned. Theories have been
spun, aud facts have been stated but still
doubts and difficulties cover the subject.
Although (say the same wrters,) some
neral truths, respecting the operations
otpaper money, have been asc .rta;ued,
the analysis OF that very intricate subj CT
IS tar from beng complete. Even the fun
damentai principles are still involved in
some degree of obscurity, ami writer's Of
equal authority have thus been &c to vary
Iva many of their dc In, tons"
On both sides of the a lantc, we have
seen this comp ica.ed m2chine cs paper
credit unhinged. As far back as the year
l797, Bank Of England was permits To
suspend It's issues Of specie AMI in 1912,
the country nks, were authorized 20 sus-
penn the payment of their own notes in
those OF the Bank Of Eng ana piper. II
was not untii 1912 & Is, that most Of the
American banks took upon themselves to
SUSPEND IN eir payments in specie.
Bat though the derangemert occurred
sooner In England, YET IS machine is less
| complex than our own. l. consists Of one
! great bank, whose notes are redeemab.e
| IN gold and silver and OF m any small pri-
waite ones, which 90 their du,y when they
| pay their own notes in those Of the crca.
| bank. But. in the u. States we have va
Fious chartered institutions, whose duty it
| IS to pay up their respective notes in spe-
, Gle, l., England, the whole banking sys-
| ten IS under the jurisdiction Of one govern
menl only, VIII CHI can at least impose some
| check upon the evil by regulating the es-
! adjustment of new banks-but, in the y.
| States, each state can establish as many
banks as 1t pleases aud almost every State
has done it, even in the midst Of our present
embarrassments In Englan >, there is one.
species OF paper which circulates through
the whole Kingdom but. the paper of the
U. States, is composed of variety of parts,
which varies in value, not only in the dd-
terent States, but in different parts OF the
| same State.
Hence, we have seen some of the stran-
gest transactions passing daily before u.s.
we have seen. not only, as has been the
case IN England, two prices of the same
! thngin the sarae place, viz. a cash & ia
| per price, but we have seen the same thing
at two different paper prices, Though it
might have been at the same cash price J
IN diff rent places. We have seen the
rates OF exchange as carefully noted. as il
the country had been cut up into different
nations the most singular embarrassmcnts
introduced into the settlement of accounts
business curtailed e debts deprecated,
between Individuals and the government
| impeded in the collection ofits taxes, by
tAe variations in the value OF the circula-
ting medium.
because these events have happened,
! some persons have conceived preiu-
dice against the whole system. They eX-
ecrate the Banks, because they regard
them as the cause of every evil. With
out distinguishing between the use aud
abuse of a system, these persons are dis
posed to root out the whole institution at
one blow.
u. Is this wise' Is it in the spirit in
which we act in other matters! Who
would do away the use of gun powder,
because it may be abused' Who would
forbid the enjoyment Of wine, because it
may be carried too far?-lf Banks are
productive of some evils, may they not
be limited 1.-The only difficulty. in fact, Is
to trace those evils, see whence they spring,
and devise an adequate remedy Tor them.
Cannot this be done
THE USE OF BANKS, is
1st. To supply a cheaper circulating
medium, than gold or silver. Suppose. in
dividuals were TO put their gold or silver
into one heap, and to agree that, in lieu Of
taking it out to pay their debts, they were 70
transfer tue money, they have thus deposit
ed, to each others credit on the books Of
The Bank-such "A one would be a Bank Of
Depnsit-as the B inks of Amsterdam and
Hamburg--you thus save the waste of
the precious metals, preserve your eurren-
cy from continual variation, and give grea-
ter dispatch to bus ness. II, i'll lieu of
| transferring on the books of the bank,
you take out hank note, to represent the
cash you put in, here is a medium which
wastes much less than he money it repre-
hts S III furthet: Banks is.us more pa
pr than they have sh in their vaults
thus less cash becomes necessary, & some
of it may he dispensed with, for other pur-
poses
2uI. To facilitate business from place
to place. In lieu Of sending the metals,
which cost much trouble aud risk, you are
enabled to buy articles, or to discharge
debts by a BankNote, or 4 draft from one
bank TO another.
A 3rd, and very essential use is, that Il
puts it IN the power Of those VINO have to
lend, to serve those who have to Dor
row. IL opens a market, where these
vino in want of capital, may get it upon
sufficient securities. i is On apcr, be-