Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-05-15
POLITICS..
TIE "lRREDEEMABLE" Mr.. BIDDLE.
(Fr0m The Boston COurier.)
IN,
NO. ]
To NICHOLAS BIDDLE, Esq Philadelphia:
, dali ne -

"'tO't' 'I'f 'f $1,000
Sir-lt is Of little consequence to the public, or 10
you, who am. Enough he il. that never was your
enemy, personal or political. On the contrary, so long
as you presided over 4 .Aati0nai Bank, wns one Of
those who, ns far as lay in my power, defended yoGT
institution and Yourself rom all attacks. would glad.
~ have continued TO do $" until THIS hour, y hen you
stand 10 the country in Il very different position. but |
cannot Circumstances appear In me TO make II The pa
ramounl duty Of every free citizen, who regards the
national welfare, 10 resis, the issue which yon and
others appear determined TO make up II there is one
evil above oil others by which we now suffer, in my
humble opinion 1t springs from an undue and improper
connection between pnrlizan politics and our nrcuniary
concerns. No matter where this originated or how it has
been carried on. yon should never have sanctioned it
For, SO long as neither you, nor your friends, manifest
any disposition Of your own free will to form any per
manenl ties with The party passions of The day. a pros.
pect remained open for the people 10 Judge calmly, and
TO ascTIbe The fault. If fault there was, to the true cause.
That prospect Is now forever closed by your own act -
You have deliberately descended into the arena Of par
~ politics. You L"ve assumed the position OF a gla-
dlatUr. liz doing 50. you have removed all preteice for
sympathy. in case Of your defeat. You declare. almost
in as many words, that y"r fight for 4 prize and that prize
is political power: a prize, let me add, which in your
present position, you should never have hintcd a desire
for, and the very aspiration after which, is reasonable
cause for the most profound apprehension of your chance
of success. Your last l9iirr To Mr.. Adams is the first
undisguised anauncint;on Of your intentions, and as such,
is somewhat startling But inaSnuch as il is attended
with reasoning which is certainly ingenious, and by a
style very well ada pied ~ lis purpose of convincing and
persuadIng, ] think it deserving OF some eXertlOn IN re-
ply. ! propose. as one of those who do not admit tic
truth OF your propositions, TO express my objections IN a
free, hut yet respectful manner. Personalities are not
10 my laste-thry injure The effect of true argument,
instead Of aiding it, while they degrade the standard Of
political criticism. II, therefore, ynu cannot he refuted
by fair means, !, for one. am willing that you should en-
joy The credit Of establishing truth.
And, first Of all, permit me 10 object to your mode OF IN
Producing the question you proposed to discuss. You
assume, with some deXterIly, that The Banks in the y.
States are the representatives. oil the people, OF their pro-
perry and industry-and having assumed this, the next
Step is easy Of making up an issue between yourself
with other similarly constituted representatives. Of the
people. and tic President oithe u. 5, together with his
leading friends in The general administrators upon the
latter YOU are disposed 10 charge all the ianlls OF ma
nagement which are thought to have brought on our ca.
tastrophe, while Tor yourself you claim The merit OF cX-
clusively protecting popular interests
With great Difference, must venture 10 show how
very deeply THIS !aIiacy runs into your whole argument.
Mr.. Bldi!e, you do not represent the people al all. nor
can any ingenuity of man make you properly a repre-
sentative of more than a portion o: the commercial ne.
quotations Of Il few Of them. AT most you are The re.
preventative Of certain debtors III and out oil fennsyl-
yania. whose interest, rs your debtors, is against n re-
sumption Of specie payment, and therefore directly al
variance with thai OF the people, who II is 10 b" hoped
are no, all debtors. and 10 whu;na resumption is The only
measure OF permanent security for their daily bread -
You represent he interests OF European siockhG!dcfs,
who, us YOU Yourself admit, consider The stale ol our
currency Us n concern very subordinate IL the trading
with them. Perhaps YOU represent the moneycd Inie.
rest OF Pennsylvania, because you furnish 10 II a capital
no, naturally il. own. THIS is all that by any possIbI'
lily can l." claimed io- you. And What IS this to au
thCrizc yon TO speak as ii ynu had "a duty 10 The whole
union:' Or rs ifyom h"d any duty even To the people
Of Pennsylvania, other than that Ut pre- Yrnung that
ninc.ienIhs d rheIn, who are not your debtors, but your
creditors. should receive from Yourself only niHety.hVe
cents in the dollar Of your just amc lawful debts.
II There is a quarrel between tn Administrator aud
the Banks, must insist upon expressing my beiict, that
the people, by which word mean tie great mass OF The
community, are 10 parties TO it. ard have notas yet been
at all consulted. They have bat one oujrci TO SrcnI"-
that object ic an equal and uniform currency. Further
than this ~ p"cnnIary matters, they need not. anG ought
not, to l,"k either - The Government or the Banks.-
This currency which rIiey ought To have. should NEVER,
under any circumstances. cheat them with false hopes,
nor be equivalent To any smaller sum III the precious me-
tails, that it purpoils 10 promise. Now, Mr. Biddie, per-
nit ire 10 ask you. how il happens That the people have
AT this moment no such currency: Have they lost 1t by
ony act of their own; Or OF the Government: Or oil
yours; Certainly not Ivy their own act, because they
have issued no paper TO pass as money. You may an
swer, as you have done. that il was the act Vi the 20
vernmenl: But pray explain To a dull comprehension
how. The Government has issued no currency Ia dePre-
ciatc in the peoples bands. Tie Government has Ut
tered no deceptive promises. Dir. BIddie can yGu say
as much
am perfectly aware of the fact, that you ascribe tie
suspension o~fspccir payments to the Treasury Circular,
the distribution Of the dcpUsites on the frontiers, and lie
Executive cIamor about bank notes. Ton amazement,
"lhe overstrained and d~stempcrcd energy, which ap.
pears in another part o! your letter a. 1.-The disease Oi
the country is not even remotely alluded to IN con
nexiUn with the causes oi suspension. Nhai! was Inc
creation Of myriads OF rotten banks, nothing: he EMS
sion OF realms of new paper promises, nothing: The mad
ness of gambling spectators. nothing: Surely The fac',
that The paper money or the community swel!ed once
and a half Of Us amount, that IS TO say, from SbUU"o,'
900 10 Sl50 COO, geo, in seven years, is deserving OF some
little notice MS a phenomenon in political economy. It's
connpxiun with property, through certain appearances oi
excessive prosperity. WIS loo remarkable TO have escaped
vour vigilant eye. What caused The unexamp!ed sale
Of the public lands. at the rate of thirty millions n year:
Was il the Government. through the Specie circular;
That measure was adopted 10 check speculation. ard
was only faulty because it was not effective. But II
never could have been regarded as promoting IL. Inc
fault, if any. was Of omission in not preventing the act
of others Il WIS not a fault of commission. This lies
somewhere else. Perhaps with you, and the nine hun.
dred banks whom you are now rndeavorIng 10 persuade
to keep you in countrnance IN prrsiSling IN your error
Who flooded the currency with paper, which bought
every thing with promises; Promises. ]perfidlous as some
lovers vows: Promises, the wOrth'essness OF which as
a standard of value. yon and your coadjutors are daily
contributing 10 establish:
The Specie Circular tie cause Of the suspension -
The proposition appears 10 me too absurd tor argument
A mouse could as readily move n mountain. II TINT ce'
Irbrared measure had any effect at all, il was TO check the
formation Of debts. which were multiplying lar loo ra'
pibly for the public good. Let any man, not eaten up
with The canker of party, reflect for Il mGmcnt upon The
probability of what might have been in the West, had
there never existed a Specie Circular. Let him ask MN
self what the tendency wos to speculate IN public lands,
two or three years ago. and then consider, that II IL went
so far, in spite Of The Specie Circular, where would 1t
have stopped. had there been none.
lf the banks. which were receiving the Government
deposiies. could have converted them into paper engage
ments. for future exemption, as last as they pieaseo,
where would they have stopped: Andif they had gone
on nd ibitum, how could The suspension OF specie pay
ments have been better avoided: The measures OF the
Government, so far a. they had any effect were oos,a'
clps to The gambling mnnla. But me ,fiends OF te
Gov,rnmcn, had become as much infected with 1t as rs
enemies. and this mania i, was which brought on the
SUSPENSION. The Specie Circular had little TO do with it.
To start in your letter with so very unphiiosophical
and made pate an explanation OF Inc causes oil The sns'
non ION. - calculated 10 shake the confidence which