Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1830-05-04


value with gold and silver; WHILE for all the opera
tons Of commerce, beyond that sphere, the bills or
the checks of the Bank of the United States are
more valuable than specie And even in the very
few instances in which the paper OF the State banks
is deprecated, those banks winding up their
Germs and may be safely said that no citizen of the
Union is Under the necessity OF taking deprecated
paper, because sound currency caunot be obtained
North Carolina is believed to be the only State where
paper of the local banks is irredeemabie in specie
and consequently deprecated. Even there the de-
probation is only one or two per cent, und what is
more important the paper Of the Bank of the United
States be obtained by all those vino desire it, and
have equivalent to give for it.
The committee are aware, that the opinion is GU
tertaiued by come, that the local banks would, at
some time or other, either voluntarily or by the CO.
ercion of the State Legislatures have resumed spe.
Gle payments. In the very nature of things this
would seem to be- an impossibility. It must be re-
memoered that no banks ever nude such large divi-
bends as We're realized the local institutions during
tue suspension fspecie payments. rich and album
oAot harvest OF profit was opened To them, which the
resumption of specie payments must inevitably blast
" m!e permitted to give their own notes, bearing no
interest," and not redeemable in specie, in exchange
Tor better notes bearing interest, it is Obvious that
the more paper they issued, the higher would be
their profits. The most powerful motive that cau
operate upon uloneyrd corporations, would have
istcd to prevent the State banks from putting end
to the very state of things, from which their
sive profits proceeded. Their very nature must have
heen changed. therefore before they could have been
induced to cooperate, voluntarily i'll the restoration
Of the currency. It's quite improbable that the
State Legislature would have compelled the banks to
do their duty. It has already been stated, that the
tendency of depreciated currency to attract inpor
tatons to the points of greatest depreci alton, and to
tighten the relative burthens of federal taxation,
would naturally produce, among the States, rival
ry in the business Of excessive bank ISSUES But
there remains to be stated, cause OF more general
operation, which would have prevented the interpo-
sition of the State Legislatures TO correct those
issues
rbe banks were, directly and indirectly the eredi-
tors {. the whole community, and the resumption Of
specie payments necessarily involved general cur
tanent OF discounts, and withdrawal of credit which
would produce general and distressing pressure upon
che entire class of debtors These constituted tie
largest portion of the population of all the States
where specie payments were suspended, and bank is
sues excessive. Those, therefore, who controlled
pubcopnion in the States. where the depreciation of
the local paper was greatest were interested in the
pepetuatIon of the evil Deep and deleerious, there
fore, the disease evidently was, in many of the
states their legislatures could not have been ex-
pectea to apply remedy, so painful as the
compusion of specie payments would have been,
without the aid of the Bank of the United
States And here it is worthy special remark that
while that bank has compelled the local banks to re-
sune specie payments, it has most materially coutri
tuted by its direct aid and liberal arrangements, to
enable them to do So and that with the least possible
embarrassment to themselves and distress to the
munty. II the state legislatures had been ever so
anxious to compel the banks to resume specie pay
ments. and the banks ever willing 10 make the eff
fort the committee decidedly of the opinion that
they could not have done it, unaided by the Bank of
the United States without producing degree of dis
ncenparably greater tan has been actually cx-
Pericnced They will conclude their remarks on this
branch Of the subject by the obvious reflection that
Congress, "a the close of ihs war, had left it to the
states to restore the dsordered currency this mpor-
taDt function of sovereignty would have been left with
those from whsm tbs Constitution has expressly to
kHu it, and by whom il could not be beueicalIy or et
fectuay exercised. But another idea, of consdeya-
BILE FEASIBILITY, is not without ito advocates It is
said that this Government, by making the resumption
and continuance OF specie payments the condition
upon which the Stare banks should re'e;ve the Gov
eminent depostss, might have restored the currency
to state Of uniformity. Without stopping to give
their reasons for believing that specie payments could
not have been restored in this way, and that, if
they could, Uniform currency Of general credit
throughout the Union, would not have been provided
the committee viii proceed to give their reasons for
thinking thet such connexion hetween the Federal
Government and the State Banks would be exceed
msy dangerous to the purity ofhoth. While there
Is National Bank bound by its charter to perform
certain stipulated duties, and entitled to receive the
Government deposites as compensation, fixed by
the law creating the charter and only to be forfeited
ny INC luEe 10 pStiO1Il tOSe dutleS, tere Us Qotn-
ing in the connection at all Inconsistent with the
independence of the bank and the purity Of the Go
vernment. The country has deep interest that the
bank ahould maintain specie payments, and the Go
vsrneat additional interest that it should keep
the public funds safely and transfer them free Of ex
pensa, wherever they may be wanted. The Govern
mens, therefore, has no power over the bank, but
the salutary power of enforcing a compliance with
the terms of ts charter. Every thing is fixed by
the law, and nothing left to arbitrary dscreton.-
Il is true that the Secretary of the 1reasury, with
the sanction Of Congress- would have the power to
prevent the hank from using its power uniusty and
oppressivey and punish any attempt, on the part
of the Directors to bring the pecnniary influence OF
the institution to bear upon the politics Of the coun
try, by Withdrawing the Government deposites from
the otfnnding BRANCHES. But this power would not
be lightly exercised by the Treasury, its exercise
would necessarily be subject to be reviewed by Con
gress 1t is, in its nature, salntary corrective
creating no undue dependence on the part of the
hank.
Bat the state of things would te widely different,
If there was no National Bank and it was left to the
discretion Of the Secretary of the Treasury to select
the local banks in which the government deposites
should be made All the State banks would, in that
case be competitors for the favor of the Treasury;