The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-04-12

u may DC loItiicu ana enabled 10 expand lis
business for the relief Of the community to that
extent. To acquire the means, il must sell
the stock, the proceeds Of which, If loans out
to the community. The momentit does that,
demands of like amount are created against
il, which il is liable to be called on to-pay in
specie. Therefore, it will be apparent to all,
that unless the stock was sold for and paid in
specie, the operation would tend to weaken
rather than to strengthen the banks. That the
stock would be sold for specie, no one, we
apprehend will for moment believe.
But let US extend the examination some
what further. The banks in New York, we
will suppose, Go resume, and those in the
other States do not. All the business which
is done there, must be done on specie basis.
While little or no specie, will flow into the
city of New York, excepting from abroad,
there will be n constant drain from that place to
every other section Of the Union. The banks
in the city Of New York could not sustain
themselves three months under such an ope-
ration.
The operations of the Government alone,
would drain the whole of them in threem
Of all their specie. Every one knows, who
has paid the least attention to the subject, that
the Government must raise during this year at
least twenty millions Of dollars, by creating
and disposing of debt of some kind Where
will they go to sell it.? To New York, where
the banks pay specie. As nearly the whole
of the proceeds would be disbursed out OF
New York, where the banks do not pay spe-
Gle, large portion would be Withdrawn from
them in specie or ifthe notes OF these banks
should be taken and paid out, the banks would
stand in fear, the whole Of the time, that they
would be returned, and specie demanded for
them.
These operations of the Government would
stop the banks of New York, either from do
ing any business at all, or from paying specie
in three months after they resumed.
Here will be presented the singular specta-
Gle Of the General Government through the
policy to which it adheres, defeating the poll
cy of the greatest and leading commercial
State in the Union, which it resorts to by spe-
cial legislation, for the purpose of relieving its
citizens and its commerce from their present
state of pros,raton and embarrassment.
Nothing whatever is wanting but the action
Of Congress, to cause an extensive resump-
ton Of specie payments. Probably, all but
four States would resume Immediately there
after. Until that action does take place, such
resumption cannot, with the least degree of
safety, be undertaken. 1t ought not to be
attempted.
All that the banks want now, is to be pro-
tected from the power of the administration to
inhict punishment upon them as soon as
they do resume, for resuming.
There is no impeachment now in the way of
the banks rcsuming, but the hostility of the
general government. Remove that, and the
banks must resume. In place of languor, idle
ness, and fear, which now exists, activity, oc-
cupation, confidence, and prosperity will i'm
mediately succeed the action Of the banks
i III
diately to expand, so as to cqualize the do,
nestle exchanges between it and many other
cities, between which the difference now is
considerable. For example, the difference
between New York and Philadelphia, at this
time, is three to four per cent. against the
latter. If both cities resume at the same time,
Philadelphia need not reduce its discounts, so
as to come up to the value Of the New York
currency because, in Philadelphia, foreign
exchange is at price much below that, at
which specie can be shipped abroad consc-
quenty it is clear, .that the banks of New York
must expand their discounts, so as to reduce
the value Of their currency to that of Philadcl-
phia.
Such an operation in the great commercial
emporium of the country would reach and ami
mate every interest and every section of this
republic.
We entreat the Administration to abandon
scheme which it can never carry; to waste no
more time in useless discussions, which can
only end in inilicting deeper modification by
defeat We tell the Administration that the
country will hold it responsible for all the mi
sery and suffering that are experienced by a
useless procrastnation Of the present state Of
things.
And now, in the most frank and friendly
manncr,we assure the administration the face
of the world, that it cannot itself get along in
the management Of the finances of the coun-
try, upon proper and constitutional principles,
for three months longer, without a change in