The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-02-18
KENTUCKY,

This state has egIsted itsefin into most
singular condition. Ii FIST Uttered itsell
with banks-and now, feeling the effects oil
lis bad policy, II knows not how to get rid II
them. The legislative qnacks are daily
InVentIng new nostrums, and administering
them To the body polite, but all in vain.--
They have raised such an immense super
structure without foundation, that il is nu
wonder it should tumble about their heads
and carry widespread ruin in its fall
They thong t that banks were the Un1Vfr-
sal PGndcea of every evil--for poverty and
every Ill OF winch Il " the irnlttal par+ht
The hoytl and the hut were tn be consr' ted
to palaces--rOads were To be cut, canels
we're 10 be- dug, muunt ms Ievriied, marsh
es drained-m fact, Kentucky was to be a
Paradise on earth--aud all WAS To be- elfec-
ted by the magic influence Of hanks j; and
go the legislature vent repIngly Ia work,
aud at Que session, lif We mistake not
chartered as many as thirty SIX Two or
three banks for the immense state of Ken
lucky The idea was absurd and so they
deluged thu Country-nut with m0ney--but
with bank bills, until they became as com
mon as dirt, aud worth about their weight
in-dust There VAS the SiiUer LIKE bank,
tbut from ali accounts there Was precious
httie Stiuer ever in it1 nei1hborhood,) with
Whole host of others, With equally musi
cal aud happy appeIatives, and equally
sub4tantlal--aS dir-and az worthy of ere
dit as any institution which has not dollar
IN the world, nor any means Of procuring
one This was, not the golden, but the
paper dge-and, from all We can ascertain,
II lasted much longer than the yeil0to period
which we read OF III the day dreams of the
poets, bat of which we could never fipd an
account any where else . To get rid of
one evil, the Keniuckians tproftiag of
course by experience y dete nlnrd thai
they "euld not create thlrly six more banks,
but would only charter one--to be- sure they
made its capittlriatne " hugeouS," (a4 the
yankees say,l considering they had no
money 10 begin with. Bot what of that
The genius ofthese Kentuckians is equal 10
thelr enterprise aud SO they made the
notes of this new Commonwealth Nam
moth, To represent the state lands--thue
pledSlng DIRT for the redemption OF paper i!
This shows what ii is to be a genus =
To be sure they kept up the old phraaeolo
gy. They did not say 90 the face ot the
nate, that its holder should be ettied To so
many acres of prairie, swamp Or mountain
NJ. He was To be entitled To 80 many
dollars AYE dollars although II IS la
mentable fact that not one of the sinners
ever cnerred by its presence, It's dep,
damp uauits "-Bnt all this would not do,
They must go one step further. They had
not, with all their ingenuity, made quite
money enough To enable the good people to
pay off all their debts 81 what do they but
enact an er post G1cto law, virtually annnl
ling contracts, with winch their constitution
(which they seem to regard about OF the
same value as ineir BLANK or bank paper,)
had expressly forbidden them 10 Interfere
and thus balancing the ledger of the mer
chant, lawyer, doctor, printer sc. w'th"u,
putting them to the trouble of posting aud
writing off accounts, receipts, Sc. Some "l
those FESTIVE and dissatisfied persons, bow
ever, who infest every country. aud Will got