Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Wayne County, Ind.) 1831-1837, 1836-06-04

uIeO ana SlXty-nve Gays OF the year,
it was in the power Of the Secretary
of the Treasury to destroy any one
of these banks, and thus lead to the
explosion of the paper system in
which the property and credit Of such
vast numbers were involved. Now,
if they looked to the means of these
banks, and compared them with their
immediate liabilities, they would find
that there was very little to encour-
age the idea Of the Senator from New
York that oil was safe and prosper
oss. They had collected from the
people Of the United States about
forty millions Of dollars, and placed
it in these thirty-four deposite banks,
which gave them no interest and no
security for the return of the capital.
They could give in fact no security,
for If the Secretary Of the Treasury
were to take bonds from them, he
would do so without the authority Of
law, and the bonds would be therefore
void. This money thus deposited in
these banks, was loaned out, a con-
siderable portion Of it to the people
Of the United States, and the means
Of returning this sum collected from
the whole people, consisted of the
notes Of those to whom it had been
loaned, and who these were was not
even known to the Secretary of the
Treasury himself. Thus this vast
sum was loaned out by banks, acting
without authority, to persons I'M
known to the Secretary, and in the
case of an explosion, the loss to the
Treasury would be in proportion to
the extent of that explosion. This
had actually occurred, or somethingI
like it, after the close Of the last war,
and caused the unavailable funds
which were now in the Treasury
But if such pressure were to occur|
a. took place about the year 1919
want of confidence or a large export
Of specie for the wants Of commerce,
or a failure Of the crops, or a great re-
duetion of prices of the great southern
staple-if the banks become affected
by any one Of these causes, the loss
to the Treasury would be far greater
than was to the public in 1919. Look
now to the state of the currency; con-
fidence in Il was already diminishing,
and exchanges wee greatly derang-
ed, while bank issues had enormously
increased. All this had arisen from
the unfortunate controversy with the
Bank of the United States. The
number Of State banks in 1880 was
something like 800 and up to January,
1888, they amounted to nearly $780,
while the circulation was nearly dou-
bic what it was in 1880. He had no
doubt if they could get accurate ac-
counts, that the present circulation
would be found to be upwards Of a
hundred millions, and the number Of
banks eight hundred, all Of them with
out law and without responsibility to
the United States. Was this state
Of things in which the Senator from
New York could place himself on the
watch-tower and cry that all was safe ?
When the currency was arrested
from the power Of Congress, where
was it transferred! 1t was not even
IN the possession Of the States; it was
in the possession of these thirty-fourl
banks, and the Secretary of the
Treasury whose interest it was that
it should be secure, did not know to
whom they had loaned it. The at
tention Of the Senate had been called
by the Senator from Ohio to a single
bank, viii IN had attempted to regulate
the currency 10 a certain extent. BY
prohibiting the land office from taking
the notes of other banks designated
by it. And let us see what the Secre-
tary of the Treasury has done while
Congress is legislating on the subject
of the currency. In his letter of the
22d Feb, he requests these banks
he puts his commands in the form of
a request-that after the LIST Of July
next, they will not issue notes Of a
less denomination than FIVE dollars;
and at a certain period thereafter.
that they will discontinue the issue Of
notes of a less denomination than ten
dollars. Now, he was not about to
inquire into the expediency Of discon-
tinuing the circulation Of bank notes
under ten dollars, or into the expedi-
ency Of making the currency consist
Of gold and silver onIy-this might
be right. 1t was to the right to ex-
.~l a.