Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1837-01-04

~"5v, H0t TIC fcNSt yx0A
Is that afforded By tbs receipts Of Ms
puohc lands, ichich urncunf in The greg
ent year to eiecen millions of doHars.
= circumstance astests the vapidsfy
'c'h srhich Agriculture, the first and
Rioss important occupation OF man. nd.
rances, and contributes 10 The ,,s,ylb
ana poacer Of y ertendcd territory"
In the Same message he declared ,br,
"the circulating medium has been
greatly improved. By the use or the
State Banks it IL asccrtainad that sIl
the wants of the community in relation
to exchange and currency, are suppli-
ed as well they have ever been before"
Scarcely sever months elapso, when
these Pastoral and financial visions dis.
solve IN air. Agriculture ceases to b
the T" first and most important occupn-
ton Of man !" the State banks cease
to be the models Of exchange and cur.
rency-but forth issues the Secretary
with a declaration, that to protect tho
Treasury "from frauds. speculation.
and m~onopolies in the purchase ofpub.
he lunds'-from excessive bank ere.
dits"--from {" ruinons extension OF
bank issues-nothing shall be recoivu.
BILE but gold and silver.
Now what an exhibition 10 this
The public LANDS are exposed at nub-
lie auction-the prices reduced in or.
der to encourage %sules, and the psesi-
dent stands by, exulting ut the amount
when suddenly he declares that ho
will permit no speculations, aud thar
he will raise the price of the lunds bv
raising the price Of what alone he win
receive for them. Now, supposinu il
true, that men bought too much land.
What right has the President to die.
tate to the people Of this country, who
Their they buy too much land or too
much broadcloth They might be
permitted TO know and TO manage their
own concerns quite us well ss he does.
leaving the evil, lift be one, to correct
itself, by its own excess. If he prohi>
bits the receipt of anything but specie,
to correct land speculation--he may
mako the same prohibition as to the
duties on hardware, or b~roadcloih, or
wines, whenever his paternal wisdom
shall sec us buying too mapy shovels.
or too many coats, or too much cham.
paigne-and thus bring the entire in.
dustry ofthe country under his control.
These troubles may not. however.
be wholly useless, if we extract from
them two great lessons. The first il.
that we can have nc permanent fnan.
cial prosperity, while the public revc-
is separated from tho business OF
tho country, and committed to rash
and ignorant politicians, with no guides
but their passions and interests. have
little doubt hat the specie order is lie
revenge of the President, upon Con-
gress, for passing the distribution law.
have less doubt that the dispersion Of
the revenue, among a multitude sf
Banks, was to advance the obscure AZ.
pirings Of some Treasury Cesar.
The other lesson is--one n thousand
times repeated and a thousand times
forgotten--to distrust all demagosues
Of all parties, who profess exclusive
love, for what they call, the people,
For the last six years, the country has
been nearly convulsed, by efforts to
break down the mutual dependence of
all classes of c~itizens--to make the la.
borer regard his employer as his ens-
my, and to array the poor against the
rich. These trashy declaimers have
ended by bringing the country into a
condition, where its whole industry is
subject, far more, than it ever was be-
fore, to the control of the large capital
ists-and where every step tends, in
evitably, to make the rich richer, and
the poor poorer.
1t remains to speak ofthe remedy Of
these evils. They follow, obviously,
the causes of them. The causes arc
the injudicious transfers Of the public
moneys, and the Treasury order about
specie.
The first measure of relief, therefore,
should be, the instant repeal of the
Treasury order requiring specie for
landslide second, the adoption of q
proper system & execute the dlstribu.
ton law.
These measures would restore con.
fdence, in twenty-four hours; and re-
pose, at least, in as many days. 1.-THE
Treasury will not adopt them volnnta-
rily---Congress should Immediately
command it.
la the mean time, all forbearancs
should be maintained. There is great
reason for anx~iety--none whatever Tor
alarm--and with mutual confidence
and courage, the country may yet be
able to defend itself against the Gov
eminent. In that struggle, my own
poor efforts shall moi be wanting. I
60 for The Country, best loved when
worst governed-and il will afford me
far more qualification TO assist in re-
pairing its wrongs, than 10 triumph O.
yer those who infict them.
With great rasnacf and reuavd.