Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1835-03-14
FOR TIE EMO UIREE


have long believed that great National Bank upon
the principles of the Bank of England or the Bank of
e y. states, Is Incompatible with the happiness aud
prosperity of free people; dangerous to liberty and in
furious to the currency and exchanges of the conntrv
where ii may exist. >
1t would be useless to recapitulate the numerouA r.
gressions committed by the Bank of England upon the
government people, currency and the exchanoe o tbot
country Suffice 1t tosay that in its time it has extort
ca from the Government such charters and increase of
ITS capital and such interests on loans az il chose 10 de-
mand 1t has controlled the entire currency and ex
change OF England at discretion unlcss when render
ed unable from its bad mana9cnent0 forced the Co
vernmen to authorize it stop specie payments and 10
make ITS notes legal tender discharge of an execu
ton Whenever the Kingdom was prosoerous and Lon
py u was ostensbly liberal and patriotic but when dis
tcss lowered over the Government or people IL was al
ways found impotcnt in doing good unless its own selfish
wishes were first INDUCED and satisfied.
From bad management and improper expa nsons of ito
business at the close of the last century the Bank
compelled to call on the Government for leave suspend
specie payments or to fall and thereby ruin the KING
dom Accordingly by order of the King in Council of
sunday the 10Th day of February, I797 specie paw
ments suspended and not fully resumed ain mn,
III lo2O Great distress and embarrassment were pro.
duccd by curtaimens before the order was granted In
'93 the circulation of notes amounted TO eli 025 no.
III |Jo, to ElO LOG 65 and when the order was made
only 10 f0,2O4 800. Besides this the accommodations
TO merchants were diminished in much greater pro-
PortIon; and many heavy failures occurred IL was
Proved before committee ofthc Lords by Messrs Giles
ana akcs, ofhccrs of the nstitution) that the run
made on the Bank ''occasoncd by the demand at
home, and not from abroad The e,reot exnons;on &c
70 notes had expelled from circulation too much of the
specie Tie country Banks licensed to issue notes had
received Bank of England notes. and issued their own
notes upon theml as if they. specie Thus the
Bank of England looked to as the great of
specie in the Kingdom "
Thus, specie payments being stopped by law as to the
Bank OF England, the grant was made to t,e Ma
tonal Bank of Ireland, and soon extended 10 ali The
country Banks of England, Scotland and Ireland. and
IN ioOy, 1910, 1911 1912, 1873, 1874 1875 and 1916
the Bank of England issued such quantity of paner AZ
to depress It's value from 10 % per cent below the
Tue OF bullion Indeed, when Parliament sanctioned
the order for suspending specie payments tev autbo
cu inc banks 10 issue notes of and two pounds to
substitute the specie currency which had disapueared
and as Bank Of England notes might be rendered in dis
charge oil an execution and could now be issued for one
ana two pounds, the gold currency was nccessarv al
most entirely expelled from the country to pay foreign
debts By 1916, the notes Of the Bank Of England un
ucr d IN circulation, amounted TO 4g135 COO while
the whole circulation of this Bank amounted 10 Cog 5O4
800 The country Banks grew up like mushrooms and
increased with a raPldy unexamPled in the history of
,iat country In wv there 353 of these Banks i'm
England-in 1869 they had increased to 375--and bv
1910, there were about 1000. They were almost con-
numbers. =
The love of large profits seems to have marked the
geneTal course OF this new system Of Bankine he d
ydends OF the Bank Of England Just before the
OF specie payments, amounted to ~ per cent and tc
market price OF the stock was 100 per cent or par But
Gier me business had been greatly expanded could
uFde ~ or IL per cent and the market price of the
stock ran up to 262 per cent The orioinaI capal Of
the Bank says very learned author "has thus acquired
since inc year l7yI when the act passed releasing il
rom It's obligation of paying in specie an additional
value equal TO nearly el6OOO,OOO which added to line
estimated increase IN the Of its dividend profit
amounting, according to Mr. Ricardo's calculation 10
tD,50g359, makes Of Eos 500 $50 the actual inn,
proved value Of the Bank during the last nete en- years
up 10 1916 ''
The issuing Of notes under g. being authorized in
lf IN consequence too of the stoppage Of soccie
mcnis, and TO form currency in place of speec notes
necessarily became almost the entire currency Of the
whole kingdom. They were in the hands of every ind.
vdual, and runs upon the country Banks were in
creased TO mn Unprecedented extent; payments were
hereorel seldom made except in the notes Of banks il
Rood credit Tor notes banks going credit Hence
" was impossible - make any calculation between the
aemand and The supply In day the supply might
be redundant and by tho failure of few banks The ne
day The source might be totally cut off, and demand
created for this paper currency, that no ability or pru
dence could supply. II ascertancd bv 4 Commit.
tee OF the House Of Lords, that from mi 10 ISIS in
England and Wales only, commissions Of bankruptcy
were issued 70 too hupdred yig country banks and
iha, IN the short space Of three years from sl4 to 1876
inclusive ntHettco three occnrfcd II is said that
curing tins time IN some parts Of England the country
banks were almost entirely swept away and the inha
Dltans involved IN degree Of misery and suffering Of
which no adequate idea could have been previously
formed 49, The Board Of Agriculture estimated that in
tic county Of Lincoln alone above three Of pounds
sterling OF country bank paper had in Che course Of
eighteen months. been Withdrawn csronlot;o,