Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1822-10-26

l
ton of your constituents, and particular
~ those Of your petitioners an former
occasion, they are embroidered again tc
solicit your attention TO a subject, which
although once literally considered by
Congress, affords room for further ma.
nlsestation of your benignity, towar d.
them, without doing the least injustice
10 the Union at large.
Your memorialists presume il is wei
known to your honorable body, that sfteI
the close of the late war every section oI
the United States was abun5lanily sup
piled with Bank paper, which for several
years passed as circulating medium
and the representative at Par OF specie.
Ii is now well known also, that those
banking Institutions were sustained by
the credit given to their paper by the 60
vernment, in making il receivable in pay
nent OF debts due 10 it by individuals,
and by again paying it om 10 those who
bad rendered military services during
the war--and in no section was this sup
port more sensibly felt, than in the new
states, where SO much of the public land
was brought into market.
BY the arrangements entered into be-
tween them and the government, it is
known they continued to have credit
with the community long after their ac-
tual insolvency had happened, which
they managed to conceal from the 60
yernment as we'll as the public. From
The facilities afforded by this state Of
things to the people to command money,
and finding such large quantities 81 tic
fairest portion Of our continent exposed
to sale, your honorable body viii not fail
to imagine the inducements they had to
become the purchasers of the public
land. Bat,he iacl that they did purchase
large quantities is vol left to be :masia-
ed--it has became one of the striking
events OF ,ha, period Of our history
Elevated as the hopes and expeoialons
of tie people were, by the illusions Of
the day, 70 a point 50 far ahoye the or
binary ana safe calculations Of prudence,
II will not BE- difficult. to imagine their
cmbarrassments III RETURNING to state
of sober reflection. Experience has at
least shown that they had mol SO return
ed when they were required TO accept
the terms proposed by the act Of he Sd
of March, 1921, by which the right to
relinquish par, of.he land so purchas-
ed was secured to them.
The almost entire, and apparently per-
manent, disappearance of the precious
metals from the country was yet to be
realizea. The waking dreams Of ina
ginary prosperity were yet to be dispe1l-
ed by the unwelcomc operations OF ex-
perience. Such however, is now the
'case--a sound metallic currency, or lis
heretofore supposed, faithful Representa-
1--WE good bank raper) has given place
in most of those very states TO paper
currency created by the. local govern
ments, which, although it partially an
swers ths purposes Of individual COM
imerce, promises no reief to the debtor
Of the govcrnmen,--b on the contrary,
promises to keep from circulation
amongst them such money as The GO
vernment will receive. With SUCH pros
pccss before them, your mcmorialists are
constrained, unweicoa,e as the fact is, to
believe that they have retained more
land under the provisions Of the acl be-
fore referred to, uh0a further credit,
than they can reasonably hope or expect
to be able to pay for. The ins.al,nenls
indeed, are already falling due, and they
are unable to meet them. l
Tie relief proposed by the remission
of s7t per cent. Of the outstanding ba-
lances due upon those purchases where
prompt payment should be made, al
though liberia in iisnai,ire, was in fac,,,
unayailing to,the great body Of debtors
The same spirit OF enterprise which in
ducsd such unreasonable purchases of
the public land, also induced the creation
OF large and numerous debts between
individuals. The sudden withdrawal OF
the prop which the United States go
vermnenl afforded to the banks, with
drew also from individuals, the resources
upon which they had been accusiomedto
rely, and at once frustrated all their cal
cula,ions, and instead of their being able
TO raise funds TO pay both the govern
ment and their individual creditors, they
were unable to raise them TO pay either;
but where money could be raised, it was
generally applied to the satisfaction OF.
the claims Of private creditors, and more
particularly SO because the law in such
cases could be put in force against them
and their properly sacrificed to raise the
money to meet such demands.
i Your memorialists therefore beg an
indulgent hearing Of their petition. and
a benign consideration of their situation,
and pray: LIST. That law may be pass