Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-11-16

Col. Benton thanked the Committee for the aenlio
paid him, and briefly stated the which induced
bin 10 decline accepting their friendly invitation, an1
said that he would reply more at length in writing
After time spent in free and friendly conversation
the Committee retired, and directed the Chairman t'
publish the proceedings. The following COL Benton
reply: 400
ST.. LOUIS. Oct %, 1888.
Gentlemcn-Wher YOU did ME The honor 10 call upon
me two days ago, and deliver 10 me in person lhe
invitation 10 public dinner on the part o Inc Den''
crauc citizens OF the city and county Oh 81; ios,
briefly explained 10 you the which "ouu prevent
me from accepting iLa. honor. In the eighteen years
| which have been in the Senate of the U: D nave
seldom accepted honors Of this kind, never In iact out
SIDE OF my own State, and but once or twIe WIN, ~
To reasons of another kind is superaaded the o.
slacle Of brief soppage in ST. Louis, which leaves no
time spare for this object. | am greatly grained al
tie invitation which has been given me, ana the manner
Of presenting il, and the opportunity which II aHorccu
| of exchanging saulatoDs with SO many Of my oiu
friends AMI neighbors. am on my way TO some oil Inc
nsghborng counties where have not been for years,
and thence 10 the seat Of Government 10 De present al
the meeting Of the General Assembly, not 10 mpoune
members for their votes or thatis point which have
always left to themselves and their Immediate cohSu'u
cns) but 10 shew respect to the Legislative BODY o.
the Stale which eighteen years service III The Sehae OF
the u 8 has prevented from doing heretofore. My
present visit will be brief and limited to 4 few points,
but in the ensuing spring and summer shall make the
tour OF the whole Stale TO make me acqIa'..anJs r
my fellow citizens generally. and to thank the people oil
Missouri for three elections 10 the American SENATE
whether honcred with fourth or not.
Ia The letter Of invitation which you delivered me,
You remark upon the parriCdal conduct OF the old re.
dera party, now called Wings, (and which will soon
another name), in harasslng the country with pam
cs alarms and distress for political effect and you con-
graduate upon the recovery Of the country from tile
trying of this kind through which II has Just pass
ed. ! reciprooate the sentiments you express, and can
bear witness TO The truth of the picture which you have
drawn. The position which occupy has given me
view Of The working of that machinery OF tabrica
Ted ma n domestic
distress which the tact!cans Of the Federal party
rely to gain possession Of the political power OF lhs
country Since the veto session of 1882 the political
part OF the banks and their conederacs have CONFUSED
the country with alternate expansions and contractlons
of the paper currency TO make the people cry out for
National Bank and they now preparing for another
CONFUSION Of the kind New banks are created,
paper money is forced into cculaon small notes are
multiplied vast quantity Of bills of exchange
cumulang upon n Orleans and n York; and while this
preparation for another catastrophe going on, hear
it ominousy repeated by all the initiated of the party,
that the resumption Of specie payments was premature
and unsae-that it cannot last-lha there must be
lhcr suspenson-Gnd that there lie no lasting and
permanent resumption until National Bank is eSa.
bShed This is what is going on and this is what is
said by those who have had the power heretofore, to
make good their predictions, and have charged all the
mischief which they create upon some act, no matter
what. of the Administration. But the next suspension
may not be easy job the last The process of re-
sumption has developed & division among the banks
We have seen Z resumption, and nonresumpon flag;
in tie next attempt to close the vaults, shall
suspension, and non-suspenson flag The business
banks will resist The suspensions the political will
force il if they can; and in this division, The community
and the laws will find auxiliary in The ndng
banks, which may enable them 10 Illustrate the maclua
items Of The architects Of mischief
The late and present Administrations have kept their
attention steadily fixed ,his political bank warfare
the currency ard The business Of the country and they
have labnrrd 10 councract it by supplying the comnu.
nily with an ample amount of that kind OF currency
witch the Constitution guarantees and The experience
OF the world approyes-w.ch is liable TO deprecia
ton Of value and ubecl 10 balloon expansion and
spasmodic contraction, at the vii! OF Irresponsible COZ.
poratons. The JacEs0nian and Van Buren, Admnisra'
tons have abored 10 obtain adequate supply OF spc
Gle for all the and ordinary dealings Of the
try; and that amount is now nearly obtained OGc
hundred millions of gold and silver (twenty millions OF
mpor!ed since The supens:on) now Teplen'sh the land
and every State have its proportion of by the easy
and wise process Of banishng from lis borders all paper
money under twenty dollars.
The country has recovered from the shock OF the last
years suspension, and has recovered By means Of the
hundred millions Of specie which policy has accu.
nulu,ed, and by the expectation Of an hundred millions
Of domestic productions Which the cultivation OF the
earth has supplied Hard money, and hard labor, have
repaired The evils Of The bank suspension In year,
the wounds inflicted upon the country by the stoPpage
OF nine hundred banks arc cured over. The RePubi'
can policy, and the cultivation Of The earth has done the
all prices and enabled all solvent banks 10 resume. line
expectation Of The supeInuitirs Of crop has regu'
lated foreign exchanges and liQuidated The foreign
commercial debt. Our farmers and planters, and the
labormg classes, the real fountains Of national
wealth; and ain grievcd aud mortified that they TO
not stand forward aud assert the prominence TO
which they entitled. In late speech in the Senate
OF the L. s. endcavoIcd 10 do Justice to these mer!to
rous classes, and TO shew that the annual proceeds Of
agriculture alone were worth thousand millions OF dol
lars, while all the bank notes in the u States were only
computed hundred millions Of dollars; and,
ssQucnly, only worth about thirty five days labor
Of the agricultural class. Democracy and agriculture
have repaired the evils Of the late suspension aud must
repair the evils Of the next one, unless they do better
and PrercH ii! The means Of prevention arc pointed
out in the Presidential message to the extra session OF
1857 the application OF those means depends upon The
people, and, happily, the results OF the elections since
the country has recovered from The panic are suspicious
to the party which opposes suspension, and announce
10 The great Democratic policy Of The day d.
Yo.ce Of Bark aud State King Bank; hard money
payments and Tie Federal Treasury; Suppressed OF
small paper currency; and the general reformation Of
The banking system.
You congratulate me- gentlemen on Tn, bright pros
pect ahead; and you have reason to do The pros
pec s indeed bright Never did the country, ard De
mOcracy, stand more victorious cmlnencc than on
this day! The currency purified and restored, not W
the establishment of King bank, but by the natura
process Of! filing the country with specethe exchanges
regulated, not by the mandate OF King broker but by
the restoration Of specie payments, and The Republican
process Of conpcon-ihe community relieved from
embarrassment no. by perpetuatng the reign Of ire
dcemab!e paper, bat by the importation Of specie and
the expectation of domestic produce-a National BANK
zroued 10 be unnecessary is unconstitutional
narchca and dangerousthe gold currency revived and
ths silver currency pronoted-lhe science Of political
economy better understood by farmers now than it was
BY politicians years ago-the old political landmarks
Of 1898 recovered and re.esabshed-the Democratic
States which staggered under the suspension, all aiyng
and returning to their places in The line-good prices
hard money, and ready pay for produce, property and
labor such is the around and the prospect be-
fore and for all these suspicious results let no! be
forgotten that mainly indebted to that wise and
geous message at the extra session, which is
ndin IFS response in The elections Of every Democratic
State.