Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-08-24

ct. ,,b bten heretofore, little understood, WIN
egn1d to the losses which have been sustained ny inc
nrb,c Of moneys deposited in the Sate oahHS' Inc W.
available FUNDS nccasioned by these losses mas ofe con
sn,Iv held out as bug bear to brighten Inc PuOIc OUT
r al, confidence in the State Institutions an Inc neonn
for the transactions of The Treasury bull does tofn OUT
that these Losses occasIcned ny Inc want o. va
tional Bank? Precisely the contrary tne Pop,re 10
moi aopear 10 have lost dollar by The faiiure OIL any
9,,,e Rank until after the incorporation {" Inc present
! Rank of the u States. To show how iaores are pro-
duced by that institutions aside from The ample sXpana
lions given in this report, we nave oy u Ga ~ 'n"u
OF the last %lhtef III 'h' o''''''' N"' " w.
| of Congress ~ 800. u,
AI,o in the same paper of The % Of June, 1884, the
! following: Co.. ~
"TnE STATE BasKs OF MOST or THE STATES E'Isc'
p, rur,R patriotism BY LEsDISG BEYOND THEIR MEANS
80 e.xrrur SINKING CREDIT OF THE TREAsuRY; ASH
SOW THE MisroHrrHEs WHICH THEY ESc"rSrERIN CON
MOS WITH THE GovERSMkhT ~ ITS FlNANclAL CREDIT
Is MADE AS ARGUMENT AGAINST THAN
also refer TO the following testimony contained IN
sneech delivered by the honorable gentleman from y
York, alr. Cambreeng in which he sad;
awe tried the experiment ol carrying on war WITHOUT
money and of supporting public credit without taxes
0nr I,venue from imports ceascdna tax was Imposed
throughout 1872 and lol3we ISSUED 10 Treasury notes,
and negotiated our loans at lower rnics-WE BOX
ROWED THE CREDIT OF our LOCAL bANNS
AND COMPELLED THEM TO SUSPEND THEIR
PAYMENTS onfdcnes rGS destroyed, and pane
seemsd to affect all in ar out cfthe GoesrHmtHt
| uso rcrr to a speech delivered by The honorable
Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Folk on
the 10Th day of February, 1850, Ia WHICH, III reference
to these identical losses he SAID
"Ihey have stood up against the power q" that nshu
ton and the effects OF the panic also, anu have hccn s"
far, successful The gentleman Cr. h'nney san tnal
The parallel case Of those banks, formerly existing 10
VIII between 1859 and lSG during which they were
constantly mployed fiscal agents did not hold gnnd
because said he, there then IA much specie IN the
country now, and moreover that lhs calamity OF tiei
inability came at last But III, gcntlemans argument
did not hold good for The counIy caS then only Just L.
Geraitd from crrr"sirC The cause OF ls failure
ought to be ascri5sd their having made Their issues
loo large (nany Of them he believed from patriotic mo-
tyes) and moi uhle to meet III" r""d"" call upon
them - have not under stood that this gentleman has
in the slighlest degree, changed his oPinnn.
also refer TO speech delivered by hlr benton, IN
the Senate OF tho United STATES the ID OF jane 1884
in !ch in reference to these identical Losses, were com
pued 10 the banks objectionable sin. Mi Benton
said:
ut was true, ,ha, the Federal Government had since
lost about a million and half Of dollars by Stale banks
but thai loss took place Gt unirtrSai emb0rr6sS
gTo'eing out c state u tcar, and general Stagna
Of tradc and cGmmcrce s"asun when cannot be
made the rule for Judging State banks, without extend
ing il to the Federal Bank also aud then II would be
fatal TO that bank for the United States lost about eleven
millions Of dollars in sustaining the present Federal Bank
in The same of embarrassment, and saving That
bank from sharing the p"rrral fate OF the State IN
s;llulioEs This statement, MIR. said, was one OF
those facts which good To prove, and The prno
was in the the Senate. !s would use II, and
ex.ingush at once this drluSve and deceptive conPai
son between Stale Banks md the Federal Bank.
also refer Il speech Of the honorable Speaker de-
liveTed in the House the lOlh day oi February 1888
speaking Of The safety Of the State banks, he says
.ln relation their snsty, prevailing error OF facts
has run through all the discussions IN aud cut Of Con
gfess 1t has been errOneorsiy assumed, that whilst 10
National Bank existed, in the interval which elapsed
the expiration Of the old and the creation ct The
| net Bank charter the Government had sustained hea
w lnssrs by the failure Of State Banks holding The pub
n tlp
the wears lci ISIS and lSlO, and the enbarrassmrn!s
which the Treasury end the country suffered during
that period have been often referred 10. The unaYaiia
bic fund in the Treasury created chiefly by the failure
Of banks has been constantly pointed 10, Standing
me mortal Of their unsaley In the di.cussions upon
this floor late the last session Of Congress, this
leading prevailed. and upon IL was based mech al
the Argument then urged. which intended I" pTnre
the necessity Of u National Bank We then askrd
"Haye forgotten the lessons Of 10, III, IL: Aie
! there not million or two OF unavailable funds lrit
from our last experiment upon the equal value n State
Bank notes: Dn not the favored banks already refuse
each others paper Is not tn" inPgraty of exchange
,,r.,dv ,e.,nrrariru:" :. The los. sustain
ed BY broken banks alone between lclI and 1919, e!
ceeds mrllion') affirm that no such loss was sus
tanned and call upon the advocates ni The Bank OF the
u s who constantly rrrrltc general statements like
these produce the evidence OF the FACT! During the
period which elapsed between the Sd o March Isl and
the beginning Of lSl1-during which 10 bank OF the u
S existed, md when State banks were exclusively EN-
ployed as fiscal agents aud public depos"r'es-nOt
dollar lost TO the treasury by the failure OF banks
The whole unavailable fund now in the treasury accrued
after and before, the charter IF the present Bank OF
the United States granted and after that bank was
in full operation. From Official documents before me"
he supplemental report Of the Secretary OF the Urea
suGy appears that the whole loss by tr i"iure oil
drposiIc banks between c4 and l-l9 dePosilnrles
amounts TO only SIS 40 &C. and, including their bills III
pnssessinn 10 less than hundred thousand, the whole
| Of which occurred in lSl7, after The Bank %! the U b
had commenced operations And though The iaci 'a'e
we constantly tod in round numbers (donbtless Tor
the want of proper examnation) that the Loss sustained
by thu Treasury, during this period by the failure OF
State banks exceeds million" 1t may be useful, IN
order TO tisabuse The public mind on this subject, to IN
qnire how, and where the unavailable fund now IN The
Treasury accrued 1t amounted, on the 10Th of Novem
be last to 81 l57 so 50. small portion Of Tins has
since been collected and additional sum IS IN progress
| Of collection; portion will be wholly lost.
! am not appi'zed that the honorable Speaker HIS
changed his 10 The correctness this statement
| | concur with the Speaker that the power which Con.
rress rave the late IT, s. Bank The State Banks and
whlc exercised with uInch severity, produced the
ruin Of many of them emerging, as They were, from
the difficulties Of war. and the suspension Of commerce
Charge upon the State Banks all The losses which re
Justly charGealle upon them, as repositories, and yet
those sustained by individuals greatly beyond them
Weigh the for the losses by The banks. with the
entire Of BY individuals, and there no
comparison. Inbred the greater safety OF banks results
from The very Of things. Their officers checks
upon each other their daily, weekly, quarterly, Rnd
yearly settlements and The constant watcluihess Ut
Their directory oil tend 10 SECURE against malversatIon-
checks which cannot be placed over individual collectors
MIR Chairman, Of u. be ignorant of the fail
ties of human nature, and lis liability to be seduced from
paths Of proprety and rcc,tude by the strong atlrac
ton Of irresistible temptations Ofall the passions which
nipst The human heart stronger than that oil
avarcc The spirit Of speculation too often mseadsih The
Judgment aud betrayS the most honest heart into error
The possession Of large Of money and the prospect
Of It's profitable employment presents iePiaon often
as much too strong for resistance, The golden
fruit in the garden for our first mother Sir be was not
unwse an unjust Judge, Of whom il is recorded
| that