Southern telegraph., 1838-08-29

unshinc upon the credit of Mississippi. |
rhe money OF the State has been lower in !
value than that of any other in
he Union; and at one time it was almost
to exchange il at anv rate of dis
count for the paper Of Northern institutions.
Forty and fifty per cent were demanded for
some time on many ofourbest bills. Socks
fell 10 an alarming depth. The stock Of the
Agricultural Bank, for instance, which, pri-
or 10 the suspension, brought in the New
York market from ITO to ll5 and 20, fell
to G5 and 70. Confidence in the bare pos
sibility Of the so!voncy of'he Stale, seemed
= be utterly suhvered, and the dockets of
the courts were crowded With suits Of inn
Fortunate foreign creditors. II was an era
Of gloom, and seemed to many but the har-
binger of utter ruin. That such an utter
prostraiion Of ccedit was undeserved and un-
called for, might have been proved by the
promptilude with which heretofore the cill-
zens Of The State had met their heavy re-
Fpunslbilities. He who has faithfully liqai-
dated his engagements in the time Of his
prosperity, without stay or hnlranee, should
not forfeit all his credit because he is a sha-
rer in general calamity, The punciuali-
ty of the past should have been, to some ex-
tent, a guaranty for the future. And when
the solid basis oflhis prior promptitude, and
Of future relief from present embarrass-
ments, WAS considered, still more reason
would have heen found for less haste and
virulence in the prosecution Of claims, the
justice Of which was undisputed, and IFS pay
ment DELAYED only because of The intense
pressure that oyershawduwed the whole
country.
The inexhaustible riches orlhe soil Of this
State may well be considered as an abun-
dant security for all her obligations. The
teeming earth yearly Yields its tribute ofmil
lions towards the eXoneration from debt Of
those who live unon IFS bounty. Nothing
but The hand of Providence can here defeat
the labors of industry. While, during gen
eral adversilv, the commercial States must
langnsh, so long as adventiiious aids are de-
MED them, the agriculuralist may conf
dently look forth upon his white fields as the
sure source of wealth--as the undonbted
means which shall revive a credit tempora-
riy obscured. The manufacturer and the
merchant, when currency is defective, and
the commerce palsiod by iniudicious policy,
can only look toinfluences and energies be
yond their control for succGr,-the planter
trusts in his industry for tire improvement
of his circumstances. He knows that in
periods of distress, when foreign debt IS to
be paid, and the regularmedium ofexchange
ho 1hfa fhn9r 10 ha mi
currency, the only money which can be ten
dered from the American debtor in removal
of his liabilities. And this was exempliied
during the past year, when the destruction
of the bank, and the complete paralysis of
all the appliances of trade, left the north,
without any other means Of paying its foreign
creditors, than the purchase and remittance
of Southern Gotten
We think that too small an estimate was
placed upon the immense powers Of this cot
ton-growing region. There is no people
on earth more able TO contract heavy Ie-
sponsiblities, or more ready to meet them,
when assumed. The old Bank Of Misss-
sippi, although established while Mississippi
was yet in her territorial infancy, and con
tinued during many years of difficulty, (as
we are told by very intelligent merchanD
scarcely lost five hundred dollars. The
Branch Bank of lhe United States in Nat
chez lost not dollar And the losses of
the commission merchants, in this epoch OF
unprecedented distress, will be very small
indeed. In the old counties they will meet
with no defalcation; in the newer conn-
ties, it is naturalto suppose that their collec-
tions will be procras'inated, although even
there they will sustain hnt small losses. n"
commercial community can display such an
account of profit and loss.
The money Of the river banks is at l34
10 Is per cent. discount in the Northern CT
ties; our merchants find no difficulty in pur.
chasing goods, for the eyes OF the pcopeare
opened to the fact, that when they are IN
voIved by commercial arrangement, they
must apply to the Southern staple for re-
lief
While our money is l3i in New York, il
remains at II and lS in New Orleans. i
is indeed matter Of surprise that such DIFF
q ference should exist, when we consider the
relative distances of the TWO places, and The
constant trade that is kept up between thls
State and New Orleans. That city wal
gain norhing fromihis increased discount,
but will only add still more to the jeaousieS
and want of confidence already existing,
and which have impeled Mississippi to de-
termine upon Commercial independence.
Late experiments will convince any one
that this independence may be very easily
attained. and The resources and de'ermna-
tion of our State assures us she TiR shake
of the domination of n. Orleans. She will
fetch and carry her own imports and ex-
ports; and this will invite capitalists to sell
tie in the State Tor the purpose ofPariaking
in the enterprise. Industry and persever