Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1837-07-06
WHOLE NO. 369.

DOHius WRCn wave t""uRhous ~
whole public life prescribed 10 myself in
the acceptance ef presents.
" III, regard To the present situation al
our country, my sentiments correspond
entirely with yours. ln rhe midst Of the
bounties Of Providence, showered upon
us with II proiusi"n scarcely ever lavish
cd upon any other nation. we are sufler-
ing severely from causes whiSh B Rear
we must attribute eniiieIy I" ourselves.
In our relations at this time ~ih fmcign
Nations, and most especially with the
Indian tribes, We have far more TO ar-
swcr for than {" complain "i. Our re-
cent Indian War was OF our own proNoh-
ing, and has been waged IN mo rr-dita-
bic manner. And While We have wrong
ed our nrip hbor ut .h- South hy utterly
uuju>titiaile vi"latnm,s al her territory,
unauthorized even by Congress, We afv
permitting anoih.r nei ghbor at the North,
To- "ncroach umh inr~aiav wp"n our owu
territory aud to cnstall rhe boundaries
"i II State, once part Of our own Com
monweulil.
We present at the present moment -
still more astonishing and p",irlh"u-
spectacle to the World. Wnhont II d"l-
lar of National debt, We are in rh- midst
of National Bankruptcy. From Trea-
sury overhowing with fifty millions al
dollars, our Government pays in paper
trash the wages Of the Clerks in the pub
offices. The Nation is ins"lvsnt-ih-
whole people is insolveat. You enquire
If this is owing To the conduct of the late
4 administration. | believe IT is attribu-
table to various causes, among which th"s
grant OF the use of the mopTs,. in the
Treasury, to numerous State Corpora
tions, by order OF the late President Of
the United States, without authority ei
Law, was the mos, perpiei"m Having
said so when the deed was done, ! can
have no hesitation IN repeating now,
that It's fatal consequences are seen hont-
ing from the wreck Of the public credit.
! The use Of the Public unnics while IN
the Treasury, ~ the interval between
the receipt Of them IA revenue, aad the
I payment Of them as pHblic expenditures,
To fulfil the engagements of the Nation,
had been grnnted by Law, I" the Bank
of the United States, for an equivalent
II never had been Of much profit to that
Bank, because the deposits there had
ncver been considerable at any one time
I They never were suffered To accumulate, ,
| for the moment a surplus appeared, IL
was applied towards the discharge ofths
National debt. II was precisely at the
moment when the whole debt was paid
off, and when the revenue was doubled
10y the sudden and enormous incpr use "
the proceeds Of the Public Lands, that
the use Of the monies in the Treasury
was taken from the Bank Of the United
States, chartered by and under the con-
tr"l OF Congress, and dribbled out IN par-
GELS to suit favorte purchasers, to a null
,nude Of State Banks, without RESPONSE
ble capitals, and wholly beyond the cou-
troll of Congress or "f the Executive Go
vernment Of the United States. OF the
means Of information possessed by the
Government, as To their condition and
credit, you may Judge from the recent
circular addressed to them by the See
retary of the Treasury, stating that he
had learnt their stoppage Of payment,
j'om Me ncmspapers.
! But the ruin OF the pee uniary concerns
Of the nation, the melamclpoly revsrses Of
fortune, and loss Of character among the
wealthy, and the loss Of daily breac to
the laboring poor md their children, the
distress we are witne ssing among ell
classes of the people, are not owing o.
lone TO the errors Of the late Administra-
iion. There have been errors Of the
people themselves, for which they are now
atonlng, aud from which they can recOv-
~ only by their own energies. The tide
of their prosperity has rushed upon them
in a tempest, till it ovevfows cd their banks,
and broke down their mounds. All his
tory iestifes, as the father oG onr rac~
prOnounccs his lame ntation in the Para
disc lost
"Now I perceive
"Peace 10 corrupt, no lsss than War 70 wasse.'
The anrestrained pursuit of inordinuto
wealth, and the abuse Of credit, espsci-
ally by the agency ec Banks, are the
proxnnate causes OF the catastrophe nm
der which we are now laboring ] be-
lievc National Bank, chartered by
Congress, with capital suffie eiersly largo
W control all other existing Banks, sRd
to regulate the currency, TO be the emily
practicable expedient ioi restoring and
maintaining specie payments but en-
terrain doubts whether Il should be .
bank of discount. With regard to this,
my mind is not definitely made up.
rechne more stroagly to the opinion, that
the suspension Of specie payments by
such Bank, should not only operate NJ
an immediate forfeiture Of its chsvter, ,bat
be made a pennl offence in the Pssss-