The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-06-14

sage Of the act oestsbsh tho present Bank OF The Unit
ed States Circumstance which strongly implies that
the Congress which granted the charter 10 the bank
but this resolution, true remedy Tor disordered
currency and tho proper regulator OF tho local banks
This Implication so clearly resulting from the premiscs,
becomes an established proposition, when u - seen, BY
looking deeper into the origin Of the resolution, that t
was not only passed after the bank charter granted
but that introduced into the House Of Reprosen-
atves after the passage Of that charter and that owes
us first conception speech delivered IN opposition
to Mat charter, In which wisely asserted and ella
boratey argued that tho Federal Government, and not
national bank, the true conector and regulator of
local bank currency and that the exclusion OF non-
speee-payng bank notes from payments 70 the Federal
Governments tho true, and the only true. remedy
for the disorders which then prevailed IN the
paper currency Of the States. Mr.. D. said, there was
at that time general suspension Of specie payments
among the banks. The people were using unconyerii-
bio paper, A mass of6lly millions Of such paper
supposed TO be anoat and 10 nfuse life and heat into
tins masso act directly upon it-and 10 draw the line
between that which dead, and that which only slept
the Joint resolution Of 1916, passed, and the power
of the Federal Government brought bear directly up
it, II argued and well argued, at the time, and
by those who entirely friendly 10 national banks
that the introduction off paper circulation was not
the remedy for disordered paper currency that the
present national bank then under discussion, was not
the remedy that the engine for Congress TO use
4
nue. payments, Of all local paper which was not pre-
eisey equivalent TO gold aud silver that gold and sill
yer was the legal currency Of the United States that
the trainers Of the constitution were hard money men;
and that the Legitimate office Of Congress 10 hold
the State banks TO the test OF specie payments that
the banks Of the United States, Independent Of its
connection with the Government would not be able TO
get its notes into circulation and that the whole
strength Of the Government ought TO be put forth to COM
pei the payment of the duties and tho Federal
Il tha .f
is to say, in gold and silver that in the end the
be paid in this legal currency, and the
that was brought about the better.
Mr. b. said it for the purpose Of raising
trasls that he had gone radically into the origin of
this joint resolution but TO show the opinions OF the
Congress which chartered this bank and to enable him
to prove the truth Of these opinions, verified by the
events Of succeeding years. His great position was
that this bank had not reformed the dsodered paper
currency Of 1916 but that this Joint resolution had done
il This was his position! To sustain it, he should
appeal TO facts, not confined to books and documents
inaccessible to the people, but dused throughout the
country, and existing in the knowledge OF every citizen
who had arrived years Of discretion in 1916 and had
remained Of sound mind and memory since The facts
were these That, within eighteen months after this
bank went into operation, ceased operation asa bank
of circulation that in April, 1872 1t virtually in
solvent owing the State banks than it could pay
and only living from day to day by their mercy that
committee OF Cor gress had reported its charter TO be
violated, in -four specified cases that resolutions were
successfully offered 10 Congress, TO order out scHc
facfds against the bank its charter q TO bring
in bill to repeal the charter without the fomay OF
scire taetds s. 10 direct the removal OF the deposes
A. TO forbid the of the bank from being received
in payment Of public dues. The consequence Of all
these events was that the bank in the second year Of
its existence, ceased to do business bank Of cir
culaion its branches nearly all shu, up in the
I South and West no, note put out no currency
of any kind issued from them and this state OF things
continued till 1927 when the spurious checks began to
be put into circulation and which since the decision OF
the Supreme Court in the case OF Brewster the conn-
ereiter given up illega But il Is not necessa
ry to 90 further into the misconduct Of the bank The
position which he Mr. b had taken his stand, was,
that The Bank Of the United States did not reform the
paper currency Of 1916 the proof that the bank for
all the purposes of supplying currency, was dead
institution from the second year OF It's existence to 1875
and the fact is that within this period the local curren
| cy reformed and has remained SO ever since The
conclusion is inevitable that tho joint resolution
oflSl6 that did it And who made that resolution
The peoples representatives! Their agents and SER
wants in Congress made it, that is to say, the people
themselves made it, for they make their representatives
and ihsoogh sheir representatives in Congress. II IS
the people themselves, then, who did reform the dsor-
dered currency Of 1885, it is they who can now pre-
vent il from becoming disordered and this is the an
which ought TO be given and will be given to eve
y demand, TO every inquiry, that suPposes the Bank OF
the United States be necessary TO control the future
currency of the State Banks. Yes. said Mr.. B., with
great emphasis il the Joint resolution Of lsl6--t
| the power OF the Government ITSELF acting upon
the local paper currencies through its revenue system
through courthouse, land Offices post Offices dis
trio, attorneys and marshals offices, and its Federal
courts that reformed these currencies after the great
disorders Of the that did while the Bank Of the
Unted States PROSTATE and poweress-while she
was pauper upon the parish OF the United States,
criminal at the bar of Congress and it not to DO
endured that the bank should now claim the merit OF
reformation which it effected and be held up TO
the people the only true and safe regulator OF local
| currences in all time TO come.
Standing upon the inaitackable position that it was
the joint resolution OF 1916, which had reformed the
disordered paper currency of that day-that it was
this resolution which had acted upon the mass OF de-
precia,cd paper itself--that il had communicated
heat and lie into that mortified mass of the body
poitic-that it had given health and soundness TO
fifty millions of unconvertble bank notes-atter
seeing these wonders performed by the resolution, he
must be permitted to believe that the same medicine
which had worked the miracle OF raising the dead,
would now be able to effect the comparatively easy
operation Of keeping the living alive of preserving
the sound whole The State banks were now all
paving specie for their notes there were about 500
specie paying banks in the Union and the credit
OF many Of these in the first money market OF Europe
and America,-upon the exchange Of New York
and London-waS far superior TO that of the Bank
OF the United States The joint resolution Of 1916,
which restored them TO specie payments, can hold
them on TO specie payments !
Mr.. Webster. a' ".@