Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1837-05-29
POLITICAL.
SPEECH OF Mn. WEBSTER.
AT wnrfLISG, NNO


expressing my thanks Ion youI Kindness.
travel, gentlemen for the purpose ot seeing the
country. and seeing what constitutes the important
pant oi ever, counuy-the People. find every
where much TO excite, much To CRAFTY admiration
and the pleasure | experience - oul> diminished BY
remembering the unparalleled state ol liSttcss winch
| have left behind me aud the apptchensions, rather
than the feeling, OF severe evil. winch find To east
wherever 20.
cannot enable those who have not witnessed it.
10 comprehend the inll extent Of the suffering IN
the Eastern cities. 1t painful indeed 10 behold
II. SO many bankruptcies among great and SIN III
dealers, 50 much property sacrificed, nny indus
ti"us men altogether broken up IN thri business.
80 many families reduced from competence Ia want.
So many hopes crushed. many happ, prospects
forever clouded, and such omiuI louklne Ion still
Efeaier ealiIn'ts all iotm such mas at evil as
had ncyet expected IL sec except i, HE result utWar
/ peatllcnrc at some other external calamity,
have no wish, III the present Slate ol thlne4. uoi
should have, indeed II The s'aic of tlllng, " 4, m
ie'cnt TO obtfde the expression ol my political sen
tlncnts on such OF my fellow citizen, rs | may han
pen 10 nleel non, on the Other baud. have an, mo
tive iot eonerilme them. or snpp,r,sing thc,t ~
preston, whenever Others desue that should make
them known Indeed, on the afeat topics that now
engage public attention, hope nn, natttf ui,srlf
thai my opinions aIc alrraly known.
Recent evils have not At al surprised me rNtcpt
that th'N have come sooner aud i,strr than hld
iatlc lpnted But, though MT surprised an If.
iheted; lle"l any thing but pleasure ii,rs eal,
iulhlinrnt of my own predictions. Much injury Is
done which the "Iscst future connsc- en- never le
pan, and much nlnrc that never b. teucdicd hut
hs such counscls aud the lapse 81 time. From ls32
To the present moment | have torcscrn tlis result.
may safely say have iorcsccn 1t. because have
presented aud proclaimed It's approach every IN
poftant discussion ana debate the public bod, OF
winch am member. In ls32 happened to meet
with citizen OF Wheeling, present who has
tins day reminded me OF what thcn anticipated, Is
Tie result ot the measures which the Administration
appcasrI 10 be FORMING ia regard to the currency In
the summer oi the next yea (I=33) was here. and
Su9Gestcdt" my friends what knew To bclcsolrrdup-
nby the ENccnli,c Viz: the removal of the de
posltcs. Which was announced two months after
wards. That was the giowel and declared cont
mencemcG oi the " EXPERIMENT. ou know.
gentlemen. the oblo1uy then and >ncc cast upon
those III IL who opposod TIN, "eNpeinnrnt' on
kno" HAT We have been called blak aeruis, hunk
advocate, bank hrrlmes. Non know thlt II hls
beea a thousand times sand That the experiment
worked admirably, that nothne could do better,
that II was the highest posslh, evidence of HE po-
ical wisdom and sagacity II lis eoutli,efs; aud
none opposed 1t ~ doubted #, cilircucN bat ,he
wicked OF the stupid. We'll, gentlemen, her l.
the end. II this rs the cnd. ol Tins notable "e>pril
ment.a It's singular wisdom, has To 'h5--rff
fine workings have wrought out an almost eruerd
bankruptcy.
Its lofty promises, is gri,delr, it, i.rhr,, tlat
threw other mems sense aud understanding back into
the shade, where are they now Hero Is The u" hne
OF fines aud the recovery Of recover lls panlcs,
Ms s'olls, It's leer its Irsts, II, ehc, : all iolrl
c>Prr'encr--lis CT, Of "a new poe,,' WHICH w'>
much To delight aud astoaish nlnhlnd TO TIN,
conclusion has 1t come at last:
Bnt NeirrdaN, 1t stood against the world.
VI" LIE, ittherr, and nooe - poor Ia do II resc
renee
II IS with no feelings Of buastiug Triumph, ii Is,
with no disposition 10 afrnear superior wisdom OF
dserrmnent butt IL with modification, with hu-
mhy, with unaffected grief md alclion thai | con
template the condition OF difficulty aud di.trc,, to
winch tins country, 81 vigorous, ST great, cueI
prisms, aud 50 reh IN internal wealth, has been
brought by the policy Of her Government.
We lrarn 10 day that most of the Eastern banks
had stopped specie payment dcposte banks rs wei
as others. The experiment has exploded. That
bubble which so many OF H. have all aung regarded
as the oll>pfng OF eonert, presumption, and polltl-
cal quacNery has burst. \ general Suspension OF
payments mus be the result result which his
come, even sooner than was predicted. Whcfe Is
now that better currency tht WIS promised =
Where l. that specie circulation Whrrr arc those
rupees al gold and silver which 10 III the lra-
surS OF the Gosclnmcnt well rs the pockets ol The
People? Has the Government single hard dol
lar Has the Treasury any thn9 IN the world but
credit aud dcposc4 in banks thai have already sns-
pended payment How arc public creditors now To
be pald ia specie How are the deposncs, which
the Law requires To be made with the States on the
LIST of July, nov be made We mus 20 back
10 the beginning, and take nrw sj1n Every step
IN ON financial and bankin4 system sincp I932
has been false step. 1t has brcna step winch has
conducted us further aud further from the path Of
safety.
The dScontrnuancr Of the national bank, hc He
cal removal Of the dcposItrs, the accumulation OF
the public revenue in banks selected by the ENcen-
tive, and for long time subject To no cgh rcgula-
restraint, and finally the unauthorized and IL
legal Treasury ORDER have brought us where We
are. The destruction Of The national bank WIS the
signal for the creation Of AN Unprecedented number
of new State banks, some of thcm with more DIS
pro 0rtionale and even more nominal capital than
the national bank had possessed. These banks, ~
lng under restraint from the General Government,
or any Of its institutions, issued paper spending
to tlIcr own sense of their immediate interests and
hopes of gam: the dcposIte with The State banks.
the whole public revenue. then accumulated To a
amount and making tins dCpoSIte without any
legal restraint or control whatever increased both
the power and disposition OF these banks for
extensive issues. In fact, the Government to
have administered every possible pro, ocatou 10 the
banks, to induce them TO extend then circulation.
It uniformly zeaously and successfully opposed the
land bill. most useful measure, by which aeeumH-
ation in the Treasury would have been prevented
and, as fit desired and sought Tins accumulation, it
finally resisted, with all its power the depoSnc a
mong the States. 1t Is advanced, reason iuI the
present overthrow, that an extraordinary spirit OF
speculation has gone abroad, and has been manifest
ed. particularly aud strongly, IN the eudrayer to pur-
chase the public lands bur has nor every act Of the
Government directly encouraged tins spirit II accn-
muated revenue winch 1t did need. all OF winch it
lett in the deposite hanks. The banks had money
to lend, and there were enough who welc ready to
horrow for the purDose of PURCHASING Inc public