Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1838-05-15

encouraged, but admonlshed, to be free
and liberal in loans and discounts, made
on the strength of the public moneys, to
merchants and other individuals. The
circular letter from the Treasury Depart
ment, addressed to the new deposite banks,
under date of September %, 1888, has
this significant clause, which could not
have been misunderstood
:. The deposites of public money will
enable you to afford increased facilities to
commerce, and to extend your accomoda-
ton to individuals and as the duties
which are payable to the Government
arise from the business and enterprise of
the merchants engaged in foreign trade, i
is but reasonable that they should 81 PIE.
ferred in the additional accommodation
which the public deposites will enable your
institution to give, whenever it can be done
without injustice to the claims of other
classes of the community"
Having read this letter, sir, ask leave
to refer the Senate to the goth section of
the bill now before us. There we find that
eff any officer charged with the safe-keep-
ing of the public money, shall loan the
same, or any portion thereof, with or with
out interest, such act shall be deemed an
embezzlement and high misdcmeanor,
and the party convicted thereof shall be
sentenced toimpriSonment. Sir, what a
pretty piece of consistency is here! In
1888 the repositories of the public money
were not even left to their own desire for
gain, or their wishes to accommodate 9TH
ers, as being sufficient incentives to lend
/ it out they were admonished and direc-
ted to afford increased facilities to COM
merce, and to extend their Accommodations
to individuals, since the public moneys in
their vaults would enable them to give such
additional accommodation! Now, sir, I'M
der this bill, any officer who shall do any
one Of the same things, instead of being
praised, is to be punished; he is to be adj
! Judged guilty of embeZzlement, and Of a
high misdemeanof, and is to be confined,
for aught / know, in cells as dark and dis
NAL as the vaults and safes which are to
contain our metallic currency. But, al
though think sir, that the acts of Govern
ment created this expansion, yet l. am
certainly of opinion that there was a very
undue expansion created. A contraction,
however, had begun and am of opin-
ion, that had it not been for the specie Or
der of July, 1886, and for the manner in
which the deposite law was executed, the
banks would have gone through the crisis
without suspension. This is my full and
firm belief. | cannot, however, discuss
these points here. They were treated
with very great ability, last year, by a gen.
tleman who then occupied one of the seats
of Georgia on this W6omsoever
he did not satisfy, ! cannot convince. Still
stir, the question is, whether there was an
excess in the general amount Of our ciccu-
lation, in May last, or whether there be
now such excess.
By what standard is this to be Judged?
If the question be, whether there be too
much paper in circulation, it may be an
swered by reference to the amount of coin
in the banks from which the paper issues
| because am PROFESSIONALLY of opinion
an opinion which | believe nothing can
ever shake-that the true criterion by
which to decide the question of excess, in
a convertible paper currency, is the a.
mount of that paper, compared with the
gold and silver in the banks. Such excess
would not be proved, absolutely and GER
tainly, in every case, by the mere fact OF
the suspension of specie payments: be-
cause suchan event might be produced by
panic, or other sudden cause, having pow
or to disturb the best regulated system Of
paper circulation. But the immediate
question now is, whether taking the whole
circulation together, both metallic and pa
per, there was an excess in May, or is an
excess now existing? Is one hundred and
thirty millions an excessive or undue a.
mount of circulation for the United Statesl
Seeing that one part Of this circulation is
coin, and the other part paper, resting up
on coin, and intended to be convertible, Is
the whole mass more than may be fairly
Judged necessary to represent the property
the transactions, and the business of the
country! Or, in order to. sustain such al
amount of circulation, and to keep thai
part of it which is composed Of paper il
: safe state, should we be obliged to at
tempt to draw to ourselves more than ou
: Just proportion of that metallic money
3 which is in the use of all the Commercial
; nationsl These questions appear to M
to be but different modes of stating tn
fsame inquiry.
/ Upon this subject we may, perhaps
I form some general idea, by comparing
/ ourselves with others. Various things, n,
+ doubt exist in different places and coun
tries, to modify, either BY enlarging or di
{ minishing, the demand for money or cur
rency in the transactions Of business; ssti
I the amount of trade and commerce ma
] furnish a general element Of eompaTiso
! between different states or nations. Ph
aggregate Of American imports and "a
ports ID 1886, was three hundred and eigh
|, teen millions; that Of England, reckon
i ling the pound sterling at "a SO, agail
was four hundred and eighty millions, !
near as can ascertain; the currency {
i England being, as already stated, sixty mi
lions sterling, Of two hundred and eighty
i eight millions Of dollars. If we work q
g d result from these. proportions, the. Gu
i rency Of the United States, II viii be fonr
4 should be one hundred and ninety -Inilli0n
I Ii order to Be equal to that Of England
but, according to the estimates Of the tFsa
Il INV, It did not, even ID. that year, e4cee
|; one hundred and eighty Irailiions.l usaso
y Our population S about equal to that
Il Tgnnland and yVaIes TIE amount Oh oi