Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-01-06

,.r,v regulated Of a few Banks well organized, ano
80; Iii, ,ss,ric,ed. We go for a more general clrcaia'
~, Il .necie, for the minor transactions OF the people,
oS r., he use of large notes for the larger business OF
aamne,ce. But we differ with The Governor IN ms
tLeory IF our present entertainments. we a'ae" Muen
- . sequence than he seems to do, Ia the measures
~ IN, Federal Government-to The specie ciIcu'
I,,-oc the manner Of distributing the surplus ne.
venue. "lf to these, (says The Message DC Soueu lux
;,tucss nen,, held out TO such OF Inc RANKS as were Sc
1850 , : deoosi,orips, 10 exercise the power OF discount
w. Gs rally, we shall scarcely, in view OF these extIinsic
, Nd no lent causes, feel ourselves justified in mputlns
the evil in question, to the ordinary and natural opera,
lion Of thu. banking system. -Irue-Banks may 1e' ana
o.. think ought TO be, so organized and restricted, as TO
n,evset the embarrassments into which we have fallen;
~, We entertain no sort OF doubt, that 1t IL their abuse
.rhict hts principally contributed to bring on the present
state Of things. 1t is orer-deattns and peer San@ths'
u,b;ch ae the great important cause.-the accumulation
If The Surplus Revenue has been merely a subordinate
caose.-The Pensacola Floridian of the 10th ult, which
reached US yesterday morning, gives US much better
kew to the solution, than the Governors Message:
The currency Of the country had been, for ten years,
gradually and steadily approaching a crisis. Every de-
nar,ment Of business and industry had become exceed
ingly p,osperous.-Prosperity begat confidence, ana con
fjence, speculation and adventure. Credit had become
universal and unbounded. Banks had sprung up Ike
cashrooms, and banks must have borrowers, and they
,und them. The facility of bank credits added Tue! 10
e FIRE of speculation, and a spirit Of wild and reckless
.,culation called aloud for more bank credits. Thus
e evils produced ana Reproduced DIE duolheI'
Thus much for the ause-and then the Editor plunges
at once into a National Bank for its regulator and re.
medy
This theory of oyer.banking and over. dealing, Us the
great causes of our present distresses, is by no means
new to US. We have expressed it over and over again;
ss will appear from The following extracts of the Enquir.
er at different periods.-And FIRST of all, when the fatal
fire began to burst forth /:
From the Enquirer Of .AprI H.
GLOW could we expect to escape a pressure, when our
sales of public lands increased from about 81, 600, 900 in
1884, to Sl3, 000, 600 in lS35-and TO "a 100000 in 1886:
elbow could we expect to escape this scourge Of exces'
s:ve speculation, when the banks expanded their DIS
counts from about 3G5 millions in January, 1885, to 467
millions on the LIST of January, 1886: When the number
Of banks had increased on the LIST of January, 1885, to
$50, and in January, 1856, to 5G1:-and when their cir:
cula,ion had increased from SOB ,G92, 495 on the first Of
January, 1885, 10 Sl40,30l ,03S in January, 1886?
with such excuses before our eyes-with this extra.
VACANT everlasting and over.bauking-who can be as.
tonished that the screws are at last drawn upon US, and
that SO much distress exists in our commercial cities p
Our great staple too, cotton and tobacco, Deprecated
the wheat crop also, 80 heavily cut of. at the last har-
vest-und thus the amount OF our exchanges seriously
reduced, and the means Of paying for our large lmporta.
tons deplorably curtailed.-Beside the disturbance
which has been produced in the equilibrium Of our cir.
culation, first, BY a surplus rercRuc, and then the arrange
ments necessary for its distributions cause which is at
this moment operating with more effect, than any inllu-
ence which has been ever ascsibed 10 the Treasury Cir
cular.
From the Enquirer Of .4pri 81
GA wild rage for speculation seems to have affected al
most every portion of the country, almost every species
of property. There has been general Overlooking and
over.banking. The States would not take warning by
events which had succeeded the dissolution of the old
Bank Of the United Slates-but, they have gone on es-
tablishing various Bank Institutions, and among them
the Bank OF the United States itself, with its enormous
capital of IS millions. The whole banking capital, its
circulation, discounts and debts, have sweHed to an
alarming amount. The imporiations of foreign goods
have been immense, and our own merchants have fallen
considerably in debt to Foreign Merchants, while the
very productions with which these debts were TO be dis.
charged, have as,onishing!y deprecated In their value.
'lt is in vain 10 attempt to shift the burthen OF blame
from others to the Administration of the United States.
Was it Gen. Jackson who established all these hanks
in the S,atese DID he not warn us against their multi.
plication? Did he not enforce in prophetic terms the
necessity Of gradually reducing the operations Of the
State Banks; Of nbolishing the small notes; and OF mix.
ing in the general circulation Of The country, a large and
larger portion Of gold and silver, "the constitutional
currency of the country" Was it he who established
at one coup de main the So million Bank of Pennsylva-
uia?-Besises, the Distressss Of the Times are not con.
fined 10 tho U. States. They prevail in as alarming a
degree almost in England, as they do in the U; States
They have extended also to France. Is Gen. Jackson,
or Mr.. Van Buren,, 10 be held responsible for this gene.
raj pressure?
"Asaiu, the Wings are c!amoring heavily against the
Treasury Circular, as the cause of our present distresses.
We appeal to every candid man now to say, whether he
does not believe, no,o that he has seen the enormous spe.
culalions that have been made in the public lands-no,o
that he sees in what species Of circulating medium the
puonc ldnQS were pllQ IN April onu July laSt-tilat tHe
spirit of speculation would have taken q wider sweep,
and the people plunged into heavier debts, but for the
Treasury Circular, which was issued on the ll,h OF July
last. Let US be as anxious as we may for substituting the
Treasury Circular by MIR. Rives's Currency Bill, 1t
seems impossible, with the lights before us; with the pie
sent distresses glazing in our view; TO resist the convIc-
ton, that the Treasury circular has contributed to cir
cumscribe the evil. 1t is idle to conjure up this Circular
as the cause Of our distresses. For much good or much
i'll, it seems row to be comparatively Indifferent
We admit and have always admitted, that the acca-
mutation Of The 10 millions revenue, (but the manner Of
its distribution in u much slighter degreeD has eontribut'
ed 10 our distresses-the great causes still being The
excessive Overlooking and over-banking in the comimu-
nifty at large. The following extracts from our structures
on the Presidents first Message, show in what light we
considered this Surplus Revenue, both under The late
regime, and under the proposed Sub-Treasury System:
.(From the Enquirer, Of September s.
'But when was the country ever in such a situation in
g state of peace, as it has lately been: and when is 1t
likely again to occur? So unprecedented a spirit Of spe-
culation and over. dealing, in foreign goods, in public
lands, in all the departments of business, both at home
and abroad. The Message ascribes this mischief indeed
TO the Banks themselves. What then: How was the
Sub. Treasury System 10 have corrected the evil ?
Would it have exlinguished the spirit that seems TO have
ragged over both continents? We do not understand
that the President means 10 arrest the whole Banking
S~ystem-Would it then not have gone on 10 rage in
spite of the Sub.Treasury System. But the Message
contends, that the large public ~deposites thrown into
the State Institutions, have stimulated and enlarged this
spirit Of speculation. Admit the fact-Are the State
Banks 10 blame for raising The ten millions Of surplus
or is an unwise Government to blame tor IL: The
Republicans of the South insisted upon cutting down
the tariff, and reducing the revenue. But Congress
would not take in sail IN season; and when this i'm.
mense surplus was accumulated, it was to be disposed
OF, in some way or other. Thrown into the State Banks,
and the Secretary of the Treasury himself stimulating
the State Banks to discount freely upon it, it has done
much mischief. IF it had been thrown into the Sub
Treasures, it would have done mischief likewise in q
different way. But this large surplus is a phenomenon
in our Finances. 1t is not likely ever again to occur.
1t has contributed, as the Message admits, to force the
State Banks to a suspension Of payments. But the
whole history Of the last three years is an anomaly. 1t
furnishes no conclusive argument against the State
Banks, properly organized BY the States, and employed