Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1838-03-29

bc felt In tho cOmiuHliity. Very different
would be the case wilslhe officers, and
Stockholders Of the banks. They, Of all
persons, by far the most influential in
the community. A greater number depend
OH them (Or accommodation and favor, aud
the success of their business and prospects
in life, than any other class in society; and
this would be especially true of e-bunks
connected with the Government.
1t only remains now to compare the ex-
tent OF the control that may be exercised by
The. Government over The two. in order to
complete ille comparison; and here again
the preponderance will he found to he slril-
ingly on the satne side. The whole amount
otcxpend;,urc under thcFbill would not cx-
cecd $:300tN Or $4,000 annually at tho
very farihest; oud this constitutes the whole
a,nn,nt of control which the Government
can exercise. There would he no pcrquis-
ties, no contracts, jobs or incidental gains.
The offices aud salaries Would be all. TO
that extent, those who may lold them,
would be dependent OH tho Government,
and thus Ear they may be controlled. How
stands tho account on the other side What
value shall be put on the public depositcs
in the banks! What on the rcceivability
OF their notes. as cash, by the Government!
What on their connection with the Govern
mcnt, as their fiscal agent, which would
give 81 great control over the cxchan !es
and business of the country! How many
millions shall these be estimated at, ai,l
How insignificant must the pal,ry sum of
2s30,UO0 or $4O,OOO appear to those coun
less millions held under the provisions of
the substitute ut the pleasure Of the Gov
mcnt!
Having now finished the comparison as to
the relative patronage of the two measures,
| shall next compare them rs fiscal agents OF
the Government; aud here let mc say, at the
outset, that The discussnn has corrected an
error, which | once entertained. l had
supposed, that the hazard of keeping the
public money uu,lcr tho custody Of officers
OF tic Government, would bc greater, than
i'll bank. The Senators from N. lamp
sEirc and Connecticut, (Mcssrs. Hubbard
and Nilcs) have proved from the record
that the hazard is OIL the other side; ant,
that wc have lost more by the banks, than
by the collecting and disbursing officers
combined. What can DC done to increase
the security by judicious selection Of officers,
and proper organization, is strongly illus
tracd by the fact stated by the chairman
(Nlr. Wright.) in his opening speech; that
in the Var Department, there has been no
loss for Is years, from '2l to '36,-on an
expenditure certainly uot less than $780,
100000. ! take some Pride i'll this result of
i'll Organization, which originated and es-
tablishcd when Sc -rcrary DIVA, asinst the
most formidable opposition.
As to the relative expense Of the two a.
gcncics, that Of the bill, as small as il is, If
we are to judy the appearances, is the
greatest; but ifby facts, the substitute would
be much the most so, provided we charge
it with all the advantages, which the banks
would derive from the connection with The
Government, as ought in fairness to be done,
III HE single .lftiiiaafaffi tic Banks have tho
advantage as fiscal agents. They would be
the more convenient. To this they are en-
titled, and wish 10 withhold from them no
credit which they may Justly claim.
The Scnator from Virginia (Mr. Rivcs)
appeared to have great apprehension, that
the collection Of tho public dues in specie
might lead to boarding. lie may dismiss
his fears ou that head. II is not the ccnius
Of modern and civilized Governments to
hoard; and il it were, tho banks. wifi take
care, that there shall be no extraordinary
accumulation Of cash III tho Treasury. Puss
the bill. aud l. under r-wri,c. that we shall
never have again to complain of a surplus.
1t would rarely, il ever in peace und sct,lcd
times, exceed three or four millions at the
outside. Nor is his apprehension that that
boarding ofspccie would come to war, less
Srolmdless. The danger is in another quar-
ter. War is the harvest of banks, when
they are connected with Government
The vast increase ofrcvculic and cxpcnli
lures, aud the enormous public loans, which
necessarily enure mainly to othciraLvantacc,
swell their profits in war to the utmost linn
its. But separate them from Government.
and war would then he to them, 4 state of
famine, for reasons viii III must be apparent
after what has been said which would throw
their weight on tho side Of peace against
war; just as certainly, rs have shown.
that the separation would throw it on the
sIdc of tax payers, and against the tax con-
sumers.
come now to the comparison of the cf-
'ccts oi TIC two measures on the currency
tt The country In this respect, the Senator
from Virginia (hlr. Rives) seemed to think,
that his substitute would hive 4 great srpc-
riority over the bill; but his reasons were to
me wholly unsatisfactory. If we are 10
judge from experience. it oueh, to he pro,
nounccd rs tho worst possible measure.
1t has hrcn in operation but twice leach for
but Il few ycars) since the commencement
w Wv Wv. '"n'c''' "i" u has SD happened
that the only two explosions of the currcn-
cy occurred during those periods. But.
without relying on these disastrous occur
rcnccs, we have seen enough To satisfy the
most incrcdulous lEat there arc crcai and
radical detects Iii burbank circulation, which
no remedy heretofore applied. has been
able to remove. 1t originates in the excess
of paper, compared TO specie, and the onlv
effective cure is to iAcrease the latter anil
reduce the former; and this the substitute