Delaware gazette and peninsula advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1814-1820, 1818-10-14

To Cato.

Great mnst be the dihdence of p lain inlet
tered man, moving in the sphere of life do,
when he presumes to address the Sublime Cato;
but your letter of the 10Th of August, must plead
this excuse-for in thar address you display such
a fund of knowledge respecting the Banking
System of this country, that your object is eas-l
iy understood, and no doubt the public will be
neht by your observations. for it has been said,
when knaves quarrel honest men obtain their
rights; how enphaticaly you display Philadsl-
phian pride and Dela7variaa humility; and If
you do not make an appeal to the Judgment,
you at least make a .song one to the passions II
land, ii understand you right, it IS your wish
that the d, ialvarians may lose sight of every
other consideration, and resist the effects of this
pride, by continuing to encourage the circulation
of deprecated Bank paper, let the sacrifice tol
the public DE what it may; a discerning people
will duly appreciate your motives, and discover
the object you have in view, and Ito doubt thank
you for the high compliment you have paid toI
their understandin If from the falling of an
acorn the great Newton was led to study gravity,
and such trlAing means be productive of such
great ends, the simple ideas OF Rustic may add
Ia mite to the towering genius Of Cato, and by
prompting him to be more particular in his
next address, lead him clearly TO eiucdate the
cause of those effects, against whch the public
have so much reason to complain for I give
you credit tor being III the arcana Of the secret
but at the same time, you are SO tenacious in
coming TO particulars, that -ead most part Of
your address with the impression on my mind,
that you ,srre abiding to some aewly establish
cd Banks in the Western sfates. But when you
| wit appsYent rc.nctarce mentor Delaware &
cluster all the Banks together under the appea-
| ton Of " The Banks.'' l discovered that your
object was to support that Sco.wge TO mechanics
ar,liicers and laborers, which ] shall by way Of
.iietinction, d nominate I" Tie Bank - or, if
iyou nease, the g Humble Bani," from tie
| heavy hand hays upon those who are least able
TO bear its operations; and presume it is the
boanden duty of this class in society, to mark
out to the public. those persons who are active
| in giving circulation to this paper, particularly
those who pay it at par to workmen Tor their
wages, for there is every reason 10 conclude that
they are either directly or indirectly Interested in
the Frand--tle term may appear harsh, but it
merits no better, for take it which way you will,
.he person who pass his wor. men their hard
earnings in paper, knowing it has not the value
The pays it for, must be either knave or fool You
|appear to treat with contempt that portion of
the public who say il ogyh to be so, it should 6e
SSo--if on this subject might presume to address
the public, would say rouse from your lethargic
lstupor, and say and insist it shall be So Every
thing of this nature must submit to your sover-
eign Wilt is your own apathy that suffers the
evil to exist and whilst you will suffer yourselves
to be amused with unmeaning nonsense, and
lyour attention drawn from the proper object,
Ideprecated paper amongst us. But to come to
the polnt-I will endeavor in few words to
state what in my humble opinion would remedy
1.-The evil, leaving it to your superior genius to
Ienter more into detail upon the subject Let
Ithe BANK take such steps that vii make an i'm
tression on the public mimi, and let that impression
be the fact, that the Bank paper may at any mo-
ment be converted in.o SPECIE, or other paper
THAT viii answer the purposes OF commerce
|oually the same, and have no doubt the cause
Iof complaint will be removed. The public have
Ia right to expect this, as the Baak is indebted to
1.-The holders of its notes for the amount, and
lpromise on demand to discharge the obligation
but if to extend its profits the Baak should by
stealth contract more debts with the public than
lean be Immediately dscharged-;he consequence
|of which is, that the debtor will be gaining in
the same ratio as the creditor is losing and to
insult the silly dupc, Imagination leads me to
suppose the debtor may have the impotence in
this case, to make pompous display of the a
mount of his dividends--well may some people
Icry shame shame The creditor becomes dis.
Igusted with proceedings of this kind. and for
/, his own safety, struggles to hinder the debtor
: from contracting still further debts--con6dence
is lost-the paper aepreciated-and number
of evils ensue, over which, admit the Bank can
y |have no control +; and which may DC, and nc
doubt is, extended to length that the merits Of
!, 1.-THE case no way requires; but the door being
p thrown open, in rush scouuarels of every des
). crlp,ion, and practice inipositions of the mos'
Il. lhenious die, and that chiefly on the most de
Ifenceless part of society, with an eHrontsy tina