The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1837-10-20


u n every direction through
.hannels Of 10 commerce.
siaa ioak their direction hish-
and served sun further 70 increase
arreai which. from eansss already
nersled, wss faEiag 30 strongly in
dirscli0n, and which still further 10
Creased the force Of lhr returning current.
on The nrn Of The tide.
The administration did not eompre-
hend the difficulties and dangers which
surrounded il. lRslead Of percelEing The
true reason Of ne expansion Of the eur
reney. and adopting The measures mr.
cessary 20 arrest Il, they attributed II 10
the bank Of the United STATES. and made
1.-THE eause ar prelexl for wasing war on
that institution. Among The first aeIs al
hostility, The deposiles Rere removed. aud
transferred 20 selected state banks: the e.
feet Of which. instead Of resisting lhe ten
dency TO expansion. was 10 throw of The
only restraint thai held The banking insli-
gulions Of the country IN check: aud If
course gave 10 lhe swelling tide. which
was destined 10 desolale the country. a
powerful impulse. Banks sprung up in
every direction: discounts and issues In
creased almost without limitation; an I'M
mense surplus revenue accumulated in the
deposiie banks, which alter the payment
Of The public debt the mast exlrarsganl
appropriations could not exhaust. and
which acled as additional banking capital;
the value Of money daily deprecated;
pHees rose, and then commenced those
uDhaunded speculaliOns, particularly in
puhiic lands. which was transferred. by
niliians Of acres. from the public TO the
specnliaors for worthless bank notes, I'LL
al length The swelling food was checked,
and The reyulsiye current burst its barriers,
and oyesspread and desplsled the land.
The first check cane from the bank Of
England. which, alarmed al the loss oil lis
precious metals, refused In discount Ane-
Iiesn bills, in order to prevent a fur
Their decrease Of It's cash means. and cause
a return Of Ihnse which IL had lost. Then
followed the execution Of The deposile act,
which, instead Of remedial measure. as
il might have been made, II properly ex-
ecuted. was made The instrument OF weak
ening the banks al the poin, Of pressure,
especially in the great metropolis OF the
Union. where 50 large portion Of The
surplus rsvenne was accumulated. And.
finally, the Treasury order, which still
further weakened those banks, by with.
drawing their cash means TO be invested
IN public lands in the west.
Ii is often easy To prevent what cannot
be remedied. which The presen, instance
strongly illustrates. II the administrator
had formed true conception oI the dam
ger in time, what has since happened
might have then been easily averled.--
The near approach If the expiration nj
the charter Of the UnAed States Bank
could have afforded ample means OF stay
ing the desola,ion, il II had been timely
and properly used. saw il then. and
proposed In renew the charter, for H.
miied period. with such notifications as
would have efeclually resisted the in
creasiug expansion Of the currency; and
al the same time, gradually aud finally
wear oui The coanexIou between the bank
and the government. To USE the express
sion then used. " 10 unbsnk Inc banks"
tn LEI down the system easily, and sn to
effect the separation between the bank
and the government, as 10 avoid the pos
siblllty of that shock which ] then saw
was inevitable without some such remedy.
The moment was emlnenily~ propIiious.
The precinus metals were fn'sIng IN on
Us from every quarter; ant the vigorous
measures l purpnssd To adopt in the re-
newal of the char &c would ave effectual-
" arrested the increase # backs. and
checked the excess Of their discounts and
issues; so that the accumulatIng mass of
gold and silver, instead OF being convert
ed into bank capital and swelling the tide
OF paper circulation, would have been
substituted in the place of bank notes. as
permanent and wholesome addition to
the currency Of the country.
But neither the administration nor the
Opposition sustained me, and The pre-
c,ous opportunity remained unseized. |
! then clearly saw the coming calamity
was inevitable, aud it has neither arrived
sooner, nor is il greater than what ex-
pec;ed.
Such are the leading causes which
have produced the present dlsordered
state of the currency. There are Others
OF minor character, connected with the
general condition Of lhecommercial world
aud The operation Of The executive branch
Of The government, but which Of them.
selves would have produced but little eff.
fect. To repeat the causes in few
words. ihe vast increase which The tariff
of ls24 and '2s gave the fiscal action OF
the government. combined with the eau
ses I have enumerated. gave the first i'm