Piney Woods planter and Amite union literary reflector. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1838-1838, 1838-09-08
ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF
THE UNITED STATES.
fContinued.l

much additional force to the arguments
originally urged against such an instr
tuition. A leading argument in favor
of it is, that the State banks, OF them
selves, are incompetent to manage
their affairs prudently, or to maintain
specie payments and preserve sound
currency; and that Bank of the Uni
ted States is necessary to check and
control them DO those who use this
argument reflect that it is an argument
against popular government itself? The
people constitute the governing pow
er in the United States, and it is by
their authority that the State banks
are created. This argument assumes
that the people are incompetent to
check and control class of institutions
which they create, and that new a
gent. unknown to the States and ire
sponsible to them Or to the people,
must be introduced, to save them from
the disastrous consequences OF Their
own acts.
Is this a Republican doctrine? On
the contrary, is it not the Leading ar
gumenti in favor Of monopoly and abso-
lutte power throughout the world? Why
do kings reign, and princes exercise
absolute dominion, but because the
people are assumed to be incompetent
to act wisely, and protect themselves
against the evil consequences OF their
own ignorance and error9
Assume that the State banks are in
competent to the ends for which they
are created, and will necessarily run
into periodical excuses, entailing great
evils upon the country, to what source
would a republican look Cor remedy7
Wonld he say that the people cannot
be trusted to amend their own institu-
tons, and that we must have an irres-
ponsible corporation to prevent these
evils? Would he not rather justly
conclude that the banking system it
self was defective, and undertake to
reform it. so as to bring it under the
control of the people, through their
constitutional organs, rather than to
assume that it cannot be regulated
otherwise than by the introduction
Of power competent to contend foi
mastery with the Government itself!
We reject both the premises and
the conclusions. We believe our re-
preventative and popular Governments
| in the States, who created these insti
tutions, fully competent to modify and
reform them, and to impose all those
checks and restraints upon them which
the banking system is capable of re.
ceiving.
! To awaken the people to due
sense of the magnitude of that power
which the advocates Of a Bank of the
United States would create, let US look
at the amount in ''men and money
which they propose to make dependant
upon one institution.
The numbered States banks and
branches now, is 800. The number
Of presidents, directors, and other Off
GERS, is not over estimated at eight
thousand two hundred. The numbel
ofstockholders may be safely estima
| ted at three hundred and twenty thous
and; and the number Of debtors exclu
sive of stockholders, at sac hundred G'sc
fRy thousand. The aggregate Of these
is near million of persons, whose Blu
siness relations and pecuniary interest
are directly involved. The capital o
Of all the banks is about $3l7, 636,77O
and the amount Of their loans abou
S4S5, 63l ,S67. Here, then, we have
mass Of about one million Of persons
and money and credit 10 an amour
exceeding GUe hundred millions Of doll
ars, which are in great degree, de
pendant upon the operations Of thi
bank credit system.
Left to be governed by the genera
laws oftrade and credit, these element
of power may continue to be compare
/, lively harmless in their effects upol
our political institutions; but what doe
the Opposition party propcsea
1t proposes, BY the establishment 3
a National Bank, to increase, con
centrate. and combine those element
in one corporation. The project !
not merely to establish new Bank
with an immense capital, but it is ais
TO give head and manager to the mi
49,, af vossopa and FIVE hundred mil