Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-09-03

those which awaited uS-and that in June, July
and August, general ruin would stalk over the
land.
And what was to avert the dire calamties said
to be impending over us, and which June, Juty
and august were thus surely to witness! Wnat
was to restore the confidence, and heal the
wounds of our suffering and afflicted countrys
What was to save us from the dreadful disas-
tiers of civil war2 "Restore the deposites; re-
charter the Bank" was the cry. This was the me
certain and universal panacea-the cure LOT al
evils, past, present, and to come. Nothlng else
II wac said couId save us from inevitable ruin.
June and July are now past, and August IS
come and where are the prophets OF wo, ana
their appalling prophecies? The armed associ-
atoms which were threatened, did not marcb
upon Washington, aud the rerotution which
was so rapidly advancing, has stopped IN its
mid career and vanished from our sight. Inc
country is smiling with plenty. Our rich and
productive soil, by the blessing of bountllul
Providence, is yielding in abundance its fruits.
All the products of the earth meet with ready
market at fair prices. Your local banks stand
firm, with renewed credit. Specie is flowing
into the country, and the currency about TO be
improved by plentiful circulation OF gold,
which has so long been stranger to your eyes.
Your foreign trade is flourishing and extensive
beyond all former example. Your revenue far
exceeds the most sanguine expectations oil the
Treasury Department, and is more than sufti-
cent for all the wants OF the Government.
And yet the depostes have not been restored,
and the Bank has not been rechartered. The
nfallible and sole remedy, so loudly recommend
ed, has not been resorted TO. A majority OF the
House of Representatives firmly sustained the
Executive branch Of the Government and
breasted the storm with spirit worthy OF their
fathers. The measure which was said to have
produced all these evils, and justified all their
violence, has been pursued withe unwaverlng
consistency. ",The experiment." as 1t was
sneeringly called, is now in the full tide OF sue.
cess And the enlightened and distinguished
statesman at the head of the Treasury Depart
ment is following out. with firm and steady
hand, the system of policy which it is my pride
TO have advised, and to have carried into full
execution.
How then has it happened that this great
change in the condition of the country has Ia
ken place in the space of few short months
without any change in the measures OF the 10
vernment2 The answer is obvious. The mea'
sures of the Government could not have pro-
duced this distress. For, if that had been the
case, il would still continue with increased force
1t was, in truth, caused by the panic, and thai
| panic was deliberately prepared for the purpose
| of producing that distress. The conclusive evil
dence of the real prosperity of the country
when laid before the people, dissipated the
alarm, which it required so much pains, and
panic has passed away, and with it the distress
! it had ocCaSioned.
The crisis is now past, and the country is Sd
we'd, but the war is not over. What the enc
nv failed to accomplish by terror and the open
display Of his power, he will now attempt in Sc
! cret and in the dark. Unseen, he is still In
the midst ofus, in our cities, in our villages and
in the country. We know not whom he is at
lacking until We Unexpectedly see some one
r. 4 ~, no ontc Of hr
| people, battling for their rights suddenly be
come captive in the hands OF the enemy, and
behold him borne off in triumph to their ranks
| The present, gentlemen, in my view OF the sub
ject is the first occasion in the history of this
country, in which the monied power has been
| bold enough to enter the lists and contend open
| ly for the possession of the Government. Here,
tofore, if any class of our citizens supposed they
were wronged, they appealed to the justice and
intelligence Of the American people. They rea
soned the matter fully before them, and then
awaited their decision. But the Bank, in this
| instance, did not deign to rely on the weapons
of reason, and submit itself to the judgment OF
the councils Of the nation, and the people, on a
full hearing ofthe case. II chose TO consider IL
self insuted by the act OF the constituted autho,
rites. 1t determined to rely on its power, and
| redress itself And like a foreign enemy wag
| ing open war, it sought to alarm us into SUBJ
| mission, by Ostentatiousy displaying Its power
first at one point, and then at another, and by
the unsparing vengeance with which it brought
ruin in every place where its power could reach
1t endeavored by spreading dismay throughout
the nation to break the spirit of the people, and
compel them to submit to its demands. 1t sought
to obtain from their sufferings, and their fears
what it did not hope would be yielded to their
| arguments and petitions. When the bank de-
termined to pursue this course, in what respect
did its conduct and principle of action differ
from that of an open and avowed enemy? II
is true, it did not gather an armed force, (al,
though at one time even that was threatened
and burn our houses, and desoate our fields
But what matters it whether the healthful tone
of the body polite is destroyed by open violence
or secret poison? What matters it whether our
ruin is produced by the ravages of an open enc
my, or by the wilful destruction of confidence
the bankruptcy of our local moned institutions
the prostration of the market for our agricultu-
raj products, and the reduction of the wages OF
labor? In word, what matters it whether the
distress Of the country is occasioned by the arms
of foreign enemy-or by powerful monied
corporation exciting causeless and needless
PANIC. intended to produce and inevitably pro-