Iowa news. [volume] (Dubuque, Upper Mississippi Lead Mines, Wisconsin Territory) 1837-1841, 1837-09-23

On no QueSuOU OF uUiucStC pUIiCy 10 mere
/ stronger evidence that thesentiments Of a large
; majority are deliberately fixed, and cannot
f concur with those who think they see, in re-
cent events, proof that these sentiments are,
| or reason that they should be, changed.
/. Events, similar in their origin and charac.
ter, have heretofore frequently occurred, with
out producing any such change; and the les.
sons of experience must be forgotten if we sup
!, pose shat the present overthrow of credit would
, have been prevented by the existence Of a ma
j tioaal bank.--Proneness to excessive issues
+ has ever the vice OF the banking system;
vice as prominent in national as well as state
4 institutions. This propensity is as subservi
ent to the advancement of private interests in
the one as in the other, and those who direct
them both, being principally guided by the
same views and influenced by the same mo-
tives. will be equally ready to stimulate extra
4 yaganee ofenterprise by improvidence offered.
| it. How strikingly is This conclusion sustain
. ed Ivy experience. The Bank of the u. States.
with the vast powers conferred on it by Con.
gress, did not or could not prevent former and
similar embarrassments; norhas the still t,re.,.
er strength 1t has been said to posse 50 nnder
its present charter, enabled it, IL the er;stino
emergency, to check other in t;tn.ions a. ove1
to save itself. In Great britain. where il has
been seen the same ce.uses have been attended
with the same effects, national bank. nos.
sessng powers Ear greater than are asked for
| ny me "srmest advocates of such an institu-
/ noh p.ere, has also proved unable TO preventa
DE expansion ofcredit, and the evils that flow
from it. Nor can find any tenable ground for
the re-establishment Of a national bank il the
arrangement alleged to exist in the domestic
m ooCe 10 IL "a
may be capable Of affording them. Although
advantages Of this sort were anticipated when
the first Bank of the United States was created,
they were regarded as an incidental acconmo-
dation; not one which the federal government
was bound or could be called upon to furnish.
This accommodation is now, indeed, after
lapse of not many years, demanded from it, as
among its first duties; and an omission % aid
ana regulate commercial exchange is treated
as ground of loud and serious complaint
Such results only serve to exemplify the con.
slant desire among some of our citizens to en-.
large the powers of the government. and ex.
tend its control to subjects with which il should
not interfere. They can never Justify the Gre
alton of an institution to promote such objects,
On the contrary, they Justly excite among the
community more diligent inquiry into the
character Of those operations of trade, towards
which it is desired to extend such peculiar ia
vors.
1 The various transactions which bear the
name of domestic exchanges, differ essentially
in their nature, operation and utility. One
class Of them consists of bills of exchange,
drawn for the purpose of transferring actual
capital from one part ofthe country to another,
or to anticipate the proceeds of property actu-
ally transmitted. Bills of this description are
highly useful in the movements of trade, and
well deserve all the encouragement which
can rightfully be given to them. Another class
is made up Of bills Of exchange, not drawn to
transfer actual capital, nor on the credit Of pro-
perty transmitted, but to create fictitious can't
tai, partaking at once of the character of notes
discounted in bank, and of bank notes in cir
culation, and swelling the mass of paper cred
its to vast extent in the most Objectionable
manner. These bills have formed, for the last
few years, a large proportion Of what are term
ed the domestic exchanges of the country, ser
wing as the means of usurious profit, and con-
shutting the most unsafe and precarous paper
in circulation. This species of traffic, instead
Of being upheld, ought to be discountenanced
by the government and the people.
Intransferring its funds from place to place,
the government is on the same footing with the
private citizen, and may resort to the same le-
gal means. Itmay do SO through the medium
Of bills drawn by itself, or purchased from 9TH
ers; and in these operations it may, in man.
ner undoubtedly constitutional and legitimate,
facilitate and assist exchanges of individuals
founded on real transactions oftrade. The ex-
tent to which this may be done, and the best
means Of effecting it, are entitled to the fullest
consideration. This has been bestowed by the
secretary Of the treasury, and his views will
be submitted to you in his report.
But it was not designed by the constitution
that the government should assume the man
agement Of domestic or foreign exchange. It
is, indeed, authorized to regulate by law, the
commerce between the states, and to provide
general standard Of value, or medium of ex.
change, in gold and silver: but it is not its
province to aid individuals in the transfer of
their funds, otherwise than through the facili-
ties afforded by the post-office department. As
Justly might it be called on to provide for the
transportation of their merchandise. These
are operations of trade. They ought to be con-
Quoted, by those who are interested in them,
in the same manner that the incidental difficult
ties of other pursuits are encountered by other
classes of citizens. Such aid has not been
deemed necessary in other countries. Through
out Europe, the domestic as well as the for.
eign exchanges are carried on by private hous.
es, often, il not generally, without the assist
ance Of banks. Yet they extend throughout
distinct sovereignties, and far exceed in amount
the real exchanges fthe United States. There
is no reason why our own may not be conduct
/ ed in the same manner, with equal cheapness
and safety. Certainly this might be accom-.
plished, if it were favored by those most deep
ly interested; and few can doubt that their own
interest, as well as the general welfare of the
[ country, would be prompted bY leayinr such