Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-05-15

made 1t up: Not they themselves, ! answer for il. Nor
has II been made with their consent. They want neither
alternative, in lis full extent. Their wish is srcuriy to
themselves and thei! property. and this object is gained,
mol by extremes Oh either side. but BY 4 reasonable and
moderate conjunction of The precious metals and credit,
whci, neither you nor your opponents seem prepared 10
furnish tacm.
If The printer vii! consent. ! propose 10 add something
10 this vie" OF The case. Very respectfully.
4 CITIZEN.
mo q
To NICHOLAS BlDnLE, E.q.
P1es'h,at IF the Boa& Of tie L s, FkVaddphia.
HosroN, April IL. Ic}5.
Sir-"The credit system Of the United States. aud the
exclusively metallic system, are now fairly in the field,
face 10 face with each other; one or The other must fall.
There can be no other issue. 1t is not a question Of
correcting errors or reforming abuses, but OF absolute
dcstructIon-no not which shall conquer, but which shall
survive. The present struggle, too. must be final"
| quote the most rxtranrtinary sentence that ever fell
from the pen of 4 fnamcicr Is il indeed true. that the
people, nine ten;hs of whom are not concerned in mak.
ing up the singular issue you would present. are to be
kept depending upon The irrcdecmabIe paper Of ~irespon.
slb'e banking institutions throughout this country. be.
cause you affirm that n Senator of the United States. ard
sundry other extravaganza politicians, choose to agitare
the question Of n purely metallic currency; Are you,
Mr. Biddle. and your Eine hundred banking associates,
TO feel yourselves justified in stepping forward into our
politics. poisoning orr sense of moral obligation as well
as the sources Of our industry, because our rulers choose
TO be n little wrong headed: God forbid! The peop!e
will settle their own affairs in their own way. They
will select representatives. who will he better fitted 10
take care of their interests. than in YOUR present xi,ua-
ton you can possibly be. They have not entrusted those
int rests to your care. Your province is, and This IS al
they ask OF you, to take care and make good your pro.
misss-to take measures 10 pay them as you say yon ray
your foreign creditors, in The cqniva'cn; for specie -
Farther than this they ounlt not TO allow you 10 pass
And Of all things. not TO stretch your power over their
political rights To starrc them into submission 10 tltct
as their Chief magistrate, whom yon point out, is not so
safe as to leave them 10 exercise their own Discretion
For. depend upon it, Mr.. BjddIe, 10 an independent man,
the domination Of banks will be quite as bad as the DO
mination Of radicals.
Let me put this matter ir another light; and connect
it with the very question upon which you write your
letter-the expediencv Of resumption. Surprising for
a moment, that Nr. Van Brien should take up the issue
you have deliberately rendered tn him. Surprising tie
battle between your allied banks and the exclusively
metallic system should be fought, and Mr. Van Buren,
should be regularly re elected a. chief magisrarc-ihere.
By confirming The superiority o! the radical party: VIII
you be justified, in that event, n continuing To use your
present arguments for excnsing yourself from redeem.
ing vcur obligations Ia the people, " ho decide against
you: Or rather, do you not percei?e that you are set
ting a trap. in which YOU yourself may be ultimately
caught; What greater argument; can be used against
you. than that drawn from your disposition TO Jumper
with The politics Of the country with so little %scrrpIr,
as TO be willing 10 persevere IN a deliberate violation
of your engagements, for th" sake Of embarrassing
The Government, As one 0? The people, confess,
'''N 10y NIE~
course Of the Administration, plead gnilty 10 not r
li'llc jealousy of the intueUc" Of banks upon our IN.
s'ituiions-and that could not see. with c"mp0sure,
the president of a great bank like y0aIs, t. IIEg US,
with n tone of authority. what you Will and What
you vii! not do, and rpIn bat conditions GrnrTol
Jackson was too diciatoria! in ais lrririinaiely acquired
situation, to make me relish The sty ir any where, Ear
least in go very improper q quarter as that from which
you write. In telling us that you will do as our army
did at New Orleans. stand behind the cotton bales, un.
tl the enemy has left til" con"iry, whom Go VOC refer
to in pour parallel as 1.-THE enemy j. you mean the
administration Of the general government: And that
ynu intend 10 overturn Il: But sUppos!ng, for Il moment,
that you should not suCCeed-where will you stand
then: And what Justification wHl you have for Imp!!.
eating your commrrcIa! honor in questions with which
that honor neither has nor can have any but a forced
connection;
Having frankly stated my ol jec,ions 10 the main po-
siinn Of your Il tler, nnw propose to examine, with The
rtquisilc calmnsss and drlberation, some Of the reasons
assigned by you against an immediate resumption. AT.
ter making 4 contrast between The present condition uf
the country and that in which it was in 1870. your
strongest objection is to the difference in the course "i
The Government row and al that lime. Then. you say,
il aided the banks; nnw. it's hostile And y"u CERTAIN
Is DO Your best 10 magnify the extent Of that hostility.
agree with you so far az ihIs. tina, the Government
has committed 4 most enormous error Of Judgment. ~
suffering you aud ynur coaGJnl"rs 10 rnpuie tn ihr".
"ilh the least appearance OF plnusIbilily. the motives
which you do impuie. A very large number oi no.
nest men are now so convinced Of The truth OF what
YOU say, that, whether truc Or not, The effect IS equal
" bad upon them and The public Interest. Conf.
dence is The great want of The time, and confidence will
never spring up, without some positive manifestation "n
the part OF the Government: that what YOU say Is not
true. For some reason or other. best known I" II, hat
manifestation IS not yet made. Yet that you are correct
in your surnises, d. not believe; ."r the simple reason,
That they appear to me SO extIayagant as t" make out Mr..
Van Buren,. what he certainly is not. mad. forlt would
be madness in any man 10 issue Treasury notes, not
wanted for The expenses Of the Government. merely Tor
The sake Of collecting bank mites, with which l." make
demands upon the banks. Depend upon it, Mr.. BItGIc,
no President of tins nation. would venture 10 do such 4
thing; and if he did. it would be perfectly safe in you,
to leave the correction in the hands OF the people,
may be wrong, but ii appears TO ne the Administra'
ton has as yet shown no wish TO aitack the bnnhs-any
farther than BIZ an indirect mode OF ceasIng lts"ll 10 cni-
p!oy them. You and | might probably agree IN the
ovinion that this was not judicIous; and That a National
Bank was indisp- nsable 10 the perfect regulation oi Our
financial Experimentation this rs a very different ihlng
from the issue which you draw up. That issue rs hard
money or paper money. You maintain That The Admin
isIIs,iun is entirely for hard money, and. hcrqOrc, you
will give nothing but paper money. Butt do not you per-
ceiye that in forcing this issue, you pnt yourself upon The
feeble leg: If you make the people take the alternative,
as you present it, if you make the Administration tcke the
best side flhe question, as you state 1t, whose tauit VIII
i, be, if il goes against You? The Administration has
as vet said nothing TO justify the extreme TO which you
would drive it, far less to Justify you IN catching up
the opposite extreme. That opposite extreme Is, by
your own admission, irrtdetnaHc paper money. III can
be nothing else, because the credit system, when abused,
as il has been, inevitably produces II, and yet you tel US
that we must not now think OF the abuse or OF reform.
We must take gold and silver exclusively, or paper: WIN
all It's abuses. ..Thcre can be no other Issue. Now l
will insist upon it, that the people make no such issue
that they approve the credit. system, w''h'n fras"haoe
limits and under sufficient restraints; but II you INSIST
upon denying those limits and 'siu .heh 'noss t aew 1,n'n
YOU must take the consequences "nich may no" NUN
yyour violsn, and extreme course. The people never
will sanction, for a length Of time, lrredeemabIe paper
money. . a,,L,
,ba ,-r,b of the motives of action which you lmpute 10
,ho administration for the sake Of raising an argument
to release you from resumIng your obligations. But, sup
! nosinr that now giant you all your premises, | never
,bsless DENY. that il has the power to hurt you. or any
, other SOUND bank in the country. And a strong a'gu'
u.nt in favor of my denial IS 10 be drawn from The very