The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1838-04-11


banks, with possibly the exception of two
or three, which were unusually involved,
to sustain ard carry out this just and
praiseworthy resolve, if they could receive
the coup,enance and cooperation Of their
neighbors in the other principal CONNER
,ial towns; nay, he would go farther and
say, if they were not warred upon by those
neighboring institutions.
Sill, M such n momeut, when the first
dawn of light begins to show itself in The
east, we see the distinguished senator from
Massachusetts MIR. WEBSTER rising N
his place and calling for further agitation
Of The public mind; inviting petitions from
the people against "a settlement here of a
question which must continue injuriously
to influence the public interests and to agl-
tiate the public feeling, until it is settled
by Congress by positive legislation. They
had seen panics here before. His honora-
BILE colleague and himself had seen rolls Of
petitions upon former occasions as large as
that now upon the table. They had seen
them from the same city, of which they
and their state were justly so proud. They
had heard invitations given here for agta-
ton, for getting up meetings, petitions, and
remonstrances, almost in the words which
the honorable senator had used i'm the
morning. Who had forgotten the scenes
of 1884 in this chamberl Who had for
gotten the excitement which, from those
scenes, was infused into the public mind i0
every part of the country during that men,
orablc winter? Who had forgotten the
deep and painful responsibility under
which we all then 'acted2 Still we were
not then frightened from our sense of pro-
pricty or duty.-Both himself and his COL
league then stood firmly on in what they
believed to be the path Of principle and of
duty, and neither could have forgotten
what was the influence Of the month of
May upon that panic. 1t melted it away
as it did the ice and SHOWS Of the winter,
and all was seen to have been false and
illusory; the phantom of excited minds,
which, when reason returned, gave place to
unexampled prosperity.
Did either the Senator from Massachu.
sets, or his colleague, wish to renew those
scenes upon the present occasion Did
they hope that confidence in affairs of cred
it and money was to be established by uni
vcrsal and continued agitation BY a
panicl 1t was proposed to postpone the
bill TO which the petition related until the
next session of Congress, thus preventing
any action in reference to the currency
either of the Treasury, or of the country,
during the present session, and both the
gentlemen had declared that the motion
should receive their support. Did they be-
lieve that pecuniary benefits to the country
would result from carrying these deeply
agtating questions to the polls of election :
If not, why invoke agitation nowl Why
attempt TO increase an exoitemen: already
rendered sufficiently deep and extensive by
the addressed condition of our monetary
affairs! And, above all, why attempt to
delay action for another year, and thus
force an uncertainty upon the country, for
that length of time, more injurious than
almost any proposed action could be.
The banks of New York deserved not
only the thanks, but the countenance and
support, to every possible extent to which
1t could be given consistently with para
mount national interests, of all men and
all interests. They deserved the co-opera-
ton Of ak the other banking institutions of
the country. and most especially of those
in the large commercial cities, in their earn
est attemp. to resume and sustain specie
payments. This countenance and support
no was sure his colleague and himself must
feel the disposition to extend to them as far
rs a conscientious discharge of their public
duties would permit, and as the first and
most important step they could take, in his
Judgment, they should use their effort TO
secure speedy positive, and final action bv
Congress upon the subject of the currency
and the safe-keeping Of the money of the
nation to secure the permanent settlement
OF this exciting question of finance, that
credit and confidence might have facts and
certainties TO rest upon; not postpone
ment of action, which would leave only
hopes and fears, dangerous to credit and
destructive to confidence.
|
A single word as to the remark Of the
honorable senator from Massachusetts. and
he had done. That senator had said that
in 1884, he had no confidence in the sys-
TEN of State bank depostes, but that had,
aud that time has shown that his opinions
upon that subject were then right and ,ha,
mine were wrong. | had then confidence
in that system, and expressed it freely,
fully, aud honestly. The trial Of the sys-
ten was made, and in less than four wears,
and ,ha, too during a period of the most
abundant plenty and prosperity, il faled.
This experience destroyed my confidence,
aud convinced me that the system was bad
both for the public and the banks. I can
not, by volition, restore that confidence. L