Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1821-01-01

My Me;es resumed the floor. The great
Bank of ihe United States, he commended,
had moi fulfilled the duties which II was ex-
pe.ted to have performed. There were a
i hundred banks in the States, he said, about
! the legality of whose institution there were
/ no doubts, whose paper was as current ana
! in AZ birh credit as that of the Bank OF the
| limited States. and who issuel notes OF less
amount than five dollars. And why should
tbey not! Was the circulating medium OF
The country intended only for meG who deal
| in tens and huadreds Of dollars? The object
! of this resolution he said, was plainly DeI-
5 ,ber more nor less than to restrain The circu-
iation OF the notes of banks issuing notes OF
| les. than FIVE dollars, and of course TO bene-
| fl the Bank of the United States, by max
ing its notes the only current paper. he
| was, therefore, yet decidedly opposed to
this proposition.
Mr.. Trimble said he should vote for the
proposed enquiry. and regretted the oppo-
sjtion to il. The people of the United States,
he said, expected that the national govern
! ment would make the enquiry, and do what
appeared, on enquiry, to be within the scope
! Of its power, 10 restore to this country
sound circula ting medium. At a former ses-
sion, report had been made to this house,
| in which Il had been suggested that cireu.
lating medium might be established, to con-
| sist OF small coins Of convenient denomlna-
| lions. He presumed it was intended to take
! up the subject at the present session, and,
! if possible, to adopt some measure to carry
| that idea into effect. He observed, by the
way, that with regard to the Bank OF the
! United States he was not much disposed to
| offer to il any advantages in addition to those
| which it already enjoyed, Adverling to
/ what had fallen from other gentlemen res
pecting small banks and small bank notes,
Mr.. T. said that congress set the example
| to the states in establishing them: in this
district, with population of some thirty
! thousand. Congress bad established twelve
banks, and il had branch of the bank of
the United States besides. Mr.. T. here al
! luded to the miserable small notes in circu-
| lation in the District. respecting which he
! made ludlcrous comparison which the re-
porter did not hear with sufficient distinct
ness to commit 10 paper. He hoped some
measure would be adopted by Congress to
effect circulation of coins for all traEsac-
tions under FIVE dollars. Ii was expected
| from Congress. 1t was in the power of Con-
gress alone to effect this object, and Con-
gress had already tso long delayed the exer-
else Of the power.
Mr.. Smith, OF Maryland, mad. few re.
marks on the proposition before the House,
| the object of which he understood TO be to
| exclude from circulation all bank notes un-
der FIVE dollars, with view to introduce, in
| place of them, a specie currency. Such
measure, Mr.. S. believed, would have tue
effect to prevent the general expectation OF
J specie whenever there was demand for it
abroad, by dispensing it over the country,
| in such manner that it could not readily be
gathered together in large sums. Mr.. S.
| Showed by reference to what bad taken place
| in different parts Of The country. and more
recently by voluntary arrangement of the
Banks in Baltimore. that such would be the
effect of the exclusion OF small notes from
circulation. Whether il was polite to do,
/ in this respect, what would have the appear.
ance of striking at the State Banks, was a.
mother question: there could be no doubt
however of the authority Of Congress in this
regard within the District of Columbia, nor
Of the expediency Of exercising it, &c.
Mr.. Silsbee made few observations
to the same effect as those of Mr.. Smith.
He was in favor of the resolution, and
believed that the sooner the circulation
of these small notes was stopped the
better it would be for the country.
Mr.. Mercer in expressing his appro-
baton Of the resolution, said he was
surprized that the gentleman from Ken.
lucky should have reflected so pointed.
ly on the District Of CoIumbia; for as
the old saying is, those who live in
glass houses should not throw stones.
OF the Banks of this District, he would
only say. that he believed they were in
a better state than any beyond the AL
leghany mountains; and, with respect
to The circulation of small notes with.
in the District. tie people of the Dis
trict had been the first to direct the at.
tention OF Congress to the subject; and
he intimated the hope that the session
would not pass without making some
provision to restrain these issues of
notes, particularly by the corporations
of the city and towns of the District
With respect to the Bank of the United
States, Mr.. NJ. said it had nothing to
do with this question. Whenever that
subject should properly present itself
to the house, he should take tho oppor-
tunity to offer some few remarks on the
impolicy of affording further advanta.
ges to that already powerful institu.
ton.
Mr.. Baldwin said, he was unwilling
at any time to oppose proposition