Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1839-04-26
General Assembly IF Virginia.
HANKS,


Substance of the remarks IF Mr. SMITH, Of Cn!peper'
made in The Senate Of Tireinia on Tie PAN .hareh'
1889, on the toiioci"g amendment submitted 'y man,"
the Bank Bill:
"Ind be it further enacted, Tha. the Banks accepting
the provisions Of this act that increasing the Blnkug
Capi,al Of tie Common wealth., passed March 10Th,
1887 shall class all applications tor discounts into hive
classes the first class shall conss. OF applications Tor
sums from SG0 $780, the second class for sums from
$500 10 So 600; the hrd class for sums from S20OO TO
SIS 900; he fourth class tor sums from 50 OOO I" SlOOOO
and the fifth class Tor from $40 UOU TO S2DU0O -
IT shall be the duty OF the Board OF Directors when con
vened Tor the purpose Of making discounts to take up
the first class first, and dispose of all applications IN
that class by dscounrg to the extent of the dsposabie
means of the Bank all good and undoubied paper and
If any surplus of such be left, then the Board
shall take up the second class and dispose of all apple
tons therein upon like principles, and through all
the classes And if these applications for discounts
shall not exhaust the dsposab!e means Of the Bank,
then the Board every member present. agreeing thereto
may make loan but not exceeding fifty thousand dol
lars 1t shall be the duty of the Banks to keep list of
all applications for discounts, the names of the parties
thereto endorsers and amounts and the decisions there
on No person or company shall, at any tne owe any
one Bank of this Common wealth. as drawer or acceptor,
sum exceeding Soo,OOo nor as END ser greater sum
than $50 ,000."
Mr. SaIru commenced by remarking, that as often
as il had been his lot 10 submit amendments to The
sderaiion Of The Senate he had never submitted one,
that more fully commanded his hearty and cordial OPP
provs than the just announced from the Chair IL
was an amendment, viewed IN NJ its relations 10 the
country and the immediate and important subjec! be.
fore u.s. -hch, according to his hGrae!e judgment, did
not allow solid objection.
1t il well known, Sir. said Mr.. s. ,ha, one of the
great evils of the American system Of banking the
tendency 10 discount largely for few, in other words
TO permit few comparatively TO eng'oss all the ava'la
bic means of Bank. While this evil is of CRYING mag
nilude and calls loudly for corfec,ion-w defeats
The public objects for which institutions
blished-whi!e it deeply endangers their safety and SOL
vency legislative remedy hGs ever been applied, Of
which a;u aware, 10 correct H. II is in this view of
the subject, that ask the attention Of the Sen TO
the anne ndment which have had the honor 10 submit
will not, said Mr. s., crowd evidence ample, multi
piled and complete as have II, upon the consideration
Of this body; but vii! request patient to the fol-
lowing extracts from The Weekly Register for the year
1919:
bankruptcies for large amounts were of frequent DC
currence. Mention is made, among Others OF the bank.
ruptcy Of Merchant Tailor the little Of York,
Pennsylvania, who failed for the OF eighty -four
thousand dollars.
"This was, indeed, an important affair in town con.
tanning Tut three four thousand nhabi,ants; but it
sunk into nsgnihcancr, when compared with some OF
the failures in the large cities so extensive these
among the merchandise tn cities Of Baltimore, that
it seemed Ia be dsIeputab stop payment for less than
100000 dollars; the fashionable amount from To
300 900 dollars and the piop quality the support of
whose families had cost them from to 900 dollars
year, were honored with amount of debt exceeding
500 900 dollars, and nearly much million Of dol
lars The prod'gatty and waste Of some Of these were
almost beyond belief have heard that the furniture
of single pator possessed 1--WE cannot say 6et0ngtng
to one OF them cost 40 coo dollars So il in all the
great ctes-dash dash dash-venders Of tape and bob
bins transformed persons of gh b0od and the
of respectable citizens converted into of rank
through speculation, and The facilities of the abomnabe
paper system.
~" am told that merchant, who lately failed to the
eastward yet lives in house for which, and its urni-
ture, be offered 2J0 900 dollars in real money and
refused it.
"Sccnes revealed and revealing tina,
sober people had idea of. Their effect penetraes
through all classes Of society The ayaborer feels it
and suffers, because Mr. Hghfyer could sign his
pretty and thereby cause his paper 10 pass through
some of the Banks The farmer, who improved his
plantation by building costly dwelling credit, is
compelled TO sell both farm and dwelling 10 pay the
debts incurred in erecting the house "a pipe OF wine
q Cashmere shawl, conpes some merchants TO stop
payment! have heard Of one who failed for more
thar $780, 000 whose private wine vault, it stood
the time of his bankruptcy estimated tave
him 1000 This is SAID TO have happened in the sober
city of Philadelphia
"Twenty thirty years ago. if failed for $780,
600, the people talked feartuy about about that
time the old did Of the ulflment Of Loves Pro
pheces, who had determined that the world should
come 10 end before the close Of the last century,
But now, through the blessings of The paper system
the facilities which il afforded and the speculaons il
nourshed il is not decent for 10 break for less
than 100000 and it person would be thought re-
Specialize bankrupt, lie ought to two three hun
dred thousand more. II with this extent of credit
il should appear that he had not been worth one cen, for
twenty years. and WINS not entitled 10 he trusted for
pair of Shoes much the beter-it evidence of his
qualities fnaReier And it, out of other pennies
money, he has given his wife $4,000 or SEQ COO il
shows his prudence in providing for his family
"The Federal Gazette Of the 18th inst, contains sir
solid formidable columns of advertisements BY order of
the commissioners for comforting the benefit of the I'm
solvent laws Of Maryland-in all about sixty-which
gives the names perhaps Of nearly third Of the per.
who going through mill just at this time;
several of whom those that lately counted their az
fairs by hundreds of thousands or by millions of dollars
who erected palaces, and furnished them with degree
OF magni6cence superior TO that which many German
princes aspired io-,oho still lice in splendid ouence
ana 'nduge themselves an tie most luxurious Ui1nds-the
wives and children kind relative having been
made rich through their swindlngs of the people,
This IS fearful picture, but nevertheless true. II
happened too, Sir, under the dominion and in conse
quence OF Inc iate Bank. But let us look at the
consequences TO the aboring classes duriae the same
year will read an extract from the same 'worL
1T is estimated that there are 90 O0O nesan. H.,
seeking work in Philadelphia; in New York 40 00O sbis
bodied men are said TO be wandering about tho ,a,
looking for it, and if we add them the wono 80
desire something to do, the cannot be es 80
10000: in Baltimore here may be about H. 900 pesn
In unsteady employment, or actually SUFFERING bec.u
they cannot get into business. We know several deem
men, lately good llvers who subsst on such viz
tuas as two years ago they would have given ,be;
servants in the kitchen" ~'
Sir, what produced this appalling stale of tb;nos
Why, Sir, chiefly and mainly. heavy loans 10 the fs,,
to the consequent exclusion of the many Had the pr,n
cple of my amendment been part of the charter of
United States Bank, and the rule presc.ibes obs.Yva5
had the funds Of that institution been distributed b
loans and discounts to the great body of the peonle
stead Of to few great spseulator it 10 obvious 10 tn.