Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1837-10-13
MIR KINGS SPEECH IN THE SEN
ATE, ON THE SUB-TREASUkY
SYSTEM

great embarrassment uuIinS '"o 49, =
the session, in regard to the propositions OF
MIR Rives and Mr. Calhoun. tie was not
entirely 10 favor Of either. lie had been
always opposed TO the State Bank system
md predicted the disasters which had iol.
lowed its adoption He insisted that 1t had
not only failed, but was an entire failure from
the begiuning-a system OF fraud and de-
ception. 1t produced speculation in the ex-
changes, by the officers of the banks who
were expected to regulate them the alleg-
ed facilities for exchange were merely no
minal; and he ndduced instances TO show
that shaving, to great extent upon them,
had been carried on. The Specie Circular
had increased the amount of shaving; and
he adduced instances OF enormous profits,
divided by the banks in the city of his resi-
dence. He expressed the belief that the
currency and exchanges, bad as they OF
course were we're made still worse by the
in,erposition Of the President.
Mr. King had been rather inclined to Ia
vor the Sub-Treasury system, I'LL the argu-
ment of Mr. Benton convinced him oil It's
inexpediency. He ridicued Mr. Benton's
precedents drawn from the Roman empire,
from Napoleon, from Spain, and from Tur-
kew. and characterized their financial meas
nres as those Of plumber, oppression and
blood. Mr. Benton had entirely frightened
Mr. King from the support OF his Sub
Treasury system, as modified by MIR Cal
houn.
Mr. King expressed the hope that he
would find himself able to support the pre-
sent administration but he must speak the
truth. The message, he said, was greatly
erroneous IN various particulars, which he
proceeded 10 show, mostly from authentic
statements and other other documents BY
these he proved that the paper currency IN
England had not been expanded, as the mes
sage alleged; that there had been no in
crease OF speculation there that the value
of the currency there had been increased,
and not deprecated; that there had been
little or no augmentation OF loans IN Eng
land; that no universal commercial distress
had occurred there, except what was owing
to its commerce with this country; and that
in England there had been no overtrading.
Mr. King expressed great regret that these
errors Of the Message had gone forth to the
world, and been believed as truth, when
there was no truth in them He deprecated
the importations of specie which had been
forced into this country; and argued that
the forced mass instead Of going into the
circulation Of the country, went into the
banks, and served as this basis Of excessive
paper issues. The S30000,000 OF foreign
debt, in March last, as stated by the mes
sage, he thought an error, since more than
S32,000,O00 OF such debt had been paid
since that period
MIR King then entered into an elaborate
and interesting financial investigation, TO
show that the system adopted and acted up
on by the administration, had been vain
warfare against the natural order OF things
in commercial transactions. They had un-
naturally forced gold and silver into the
Country from England, and then endeavored
TO keep it here despite Of the natural causes
which led it to flow backwards and for
wards that, by this violent procedure. the
Bank Of England had been obliged. in its
own defence, lin order to prevent its own
vaults being drained of all their specie) TO
put stop to American credits and call in It's
debts. Ii it had not done so, it would have
been forced 10 suspend. Now, if the naiu-
raj laws of trade had been allowed to prevail
If the merchants Of this country could
have been allowed to obtain specie to pay
the debt, and could have RENTED it TO Eng
land no embarrassment would have follow
ed but the specie which they required was
drained away to the Yves, by the unnatural
and violent process of the specie-circular,
in consequence of which scarcity of spe-
Gle was created on the Atlantic board The
effects of the specie circular while thus ru-
inous to the commerce of the East, were no
less disastrous to the trade and business of
the West. The banks there were drained
of specie by its operation il was, in fact,
the commencement Of general run upon
them, begun by the Government itself; a
most impolhic and fatal procedure. Thus
embarrassments were created on all sides,
by attempting to force things TO flow unna-
turaly, in channels contrary to the course
and order of trade. Thus. a run against the
trade and trading institutions of the country.
land by consequence, against all the people
ofthe country was instituted and carried on
by the very Government of the country it.
SELF and against its own country; a suicidal
course. which, perhaps, had no parallel in
the history Of the world.
Among other positions, Mr. King brought
forward the following which he maintained
by various arguments, and illustrated with
clearness and force.
|. The banks are not broken and insol-
vent merely because they do not pay specie
Specie is made to be an article Of merchan-
dize-it is no longer an item OF currency
The premium which Government has put
upon it has driven it off from being cur
rency so long as Government, by its exclu.
81.