Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-12-03

| spirit of vengeance, which had been so
| improperly Invoked that lie agreed witt,
! the gentleman from Wythe, that if they
| had been badly conducted, if there was
proof OF 1t as clear as noon-eay, ii was
not the ground for this house to legislaie
when such great interests have become
connected with them: that it was neces-
sary to preserve them until YOU can dis
entansle those interests, and save both
private and public credit from the shock.
L on must nurse them, whether they are
legitimate or monsters, lest i'm their des-
tfuction you lose more opulence than
you would regain in ten years. If these
truths be questioned, let us enquire what
will be the effect of your successful ven
geance; what the effect of their annihiIa-
fion: II your object be to punish them
Tor Their delinquency, the more certain IL
direct the punishment, the better. But
pause for one moment, and see what will
bet the effect of the destruction OF public
confidence iii these institutions-Loo at
your revenue. The first loss is the depre-
cation OF their paper-that paper is your
revenue. Look next to their connec-
ton lthyour private interests. VIII not
these suffer in an equal degree. After all
this loss, who gains? The very men a
Sainst whom your resentments are direc-
ted. They gain to Il vast extent. Every
man who owes to the bank, will pay his
debt With sponge. On one side, YOU
place their debtors ready to extinguish
their debts with trifle; on the other,
the Commonwealth, and those who owe
her.
Hitherto, we have taken for granted,
that they have been guilty of delinquency
but, II IN spite OF these invectives, they
have been honestly administered, and no
inputation can rest upon their integrity,
all you can charge them with, is mistake
OF Judgment. Would it then become the
clemency or the justice of this House, to
runlsl, their errors with ruin! But even
suppose you do not injure the innocent
Stockholders, suppose none TO be injured
save those who have given these insiitu-
tons an erroneous direction, will youpun-
slthese honest differences ofopinion with
ruin? You, many ofwhom confess thatyou
have no acquaintance with banking, be-
yond The mere theory, have staked your
speculations against the judgments of
men who possess long experience on
the subject SO much by the way ofpre-
liminary observations.
The tirstenquiry which it behoves eve
ry member to make, without prejudice or
passion, is, what are the dangers risked by
premature ogening oftheir vaults p
Having aScertained these risks and haz-
ards, let us turn to the advantages which
are to counterpoise them in the other
seale.-But though this last enquiry be
OF immense Importance, not one gentle
man has ventured to bring those advan-
tages within your ken. We have heard
much defamation on this point. Every
thing is general /; nothing specific.
very common delusion has been INDUCED
on this subject. The public mind has
been UNFORTUNATELY brought to invest ii
with Fictitious importance. Letus mar
row down this comparison to a short
period for one twelvemonth only. What
particular importance is attached to the
resumption OF specie payments within the
next months Some underlined idea has
gone thro' the country, that gold and sill
yer are TO be showered overthe face ofthe
earth-atleast, THAT every mans pocket
is 10 be filed. Extravasant delusion!
10 ascertain what great evils may arise
from the premature resumption of specie
payments (by premature is meant com
mencement TO pay and a necessity for az
forwards suspending,l let us look at the
extent ofthe interests involved. We have
only one example in this country the
Gloucester Bank of Rhode IsIand-true,
they had not the same means as ours, but
what were the consequences of failure
A depreciation of their paper, ruinous to
those who held 1.-THE gentleman from
Fauquier (Mr. Marshall, who has yeild-
ed his Imagination to hopes that are not
to be realized, has estimated the greatest
probable depreciation of orr notes at 10
per cent. peradventure, when all our
specie is exhausted, our notes NAV not
tall to the lowest point of depreciation :
but even at 10 per cent. what is the a.
mount ofthat injury? 10 percent or the
whole amount of their debt An actua!
transfer on 5000, 600 of debt Every
debtor acquires in that proportion of the
whole amOunt-every creditor loses it.
But does it terminate here ? But how
is the bank to recover from this blow for
1t is only this hope, which is TO save
them from further depreciation. The
gentleman from Loudoun (Mr. Mercer,)
has howeverdevisedth the expcdient. They
must throw out new paper, and thus OBJ
tain specie. But every means which in
creases their debt must perpetuate this
state of lhings.-And this is the minimum
loss from the premature resumption of
specie payments.
Let us now see the benefits to be deriv-
ed. According to the gentleman from
Loudoun, the present market price of our
notes is only per cent. below the specie
standard. What then would be the effect
of violently straining it up to this stand
ard 2 What is the whole amount of the
benefit! We may measure it, not by a
visionary imagination, but by accurate