Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1839-03-07


ale depose syslem and Gen. Jackson and hs friends
wise statesmen boand to believe that lhey wodd
probably suspend again and that it must always be one
OF The evils attending The system Some assign as area
son for this change that the State Bank system has been
tried and failed Is this true? Hasil had fair trial. And
ought their suspension of specie payments, nnuet'ne CIR
cuuis,anccs, be considered failure? He believed mat
the negative Of each Of these propositions could be easily
established. No system worked better under similar
circumstances That it worked well up to the tame OF
suspension We have the concurrent testimony OF ueh
} in his last three annual messages, ana OF 9sc'e"y
Woodbury. c all his reports en- the SUBJECT, VIM Ia us
last report adn,i;s tia, the Government will lose no
thing by the 6epose banks. Were then Inc ean"s, Un
der the circumstances, iuslfable il making snP0
suspension Did The best interests o! the county .'
70. it Sir, let us examine the circumstances ,ha.e
which it took place. year before took place. 1aeie
was surplus Of upwards of forty millions 10 '"e 10
sury. Congress had by law required ihe oahhs -"
whom this money deposited 10 pa interest upon ~
which necessarily compelled them 10 loan II out LUIS
noari,I Increased The ma mia speculation and over
trade which was already too great Hence the coun-
try became in debt to England upwards OF my MI,
lions The Bank of England, which had been d'a!ned
Of much Of It's specie became alarmed and commenced
q snddep curaiiment. This produced an unexpected
demand BY the British merchants upon the American
merchants for the balance due them, which they mao
expected 10 pay in The products OF the country lhis
they were unable to do, in consequence OF the great
depression in the price Of Americana pod"cts-and the
only left them, was 10 pay oil these ohie"ces
in specie. This could only be procured from The panks
and they could only supply its place by system
Of rapid cur,ament upon their customers, the CITY me!
chants who would necessarily re driven 10 press their
customers the country merchants, and they teli Gus
TONER'S the people; that there would have been &c
neral pressure throughout the whole country, resting
entirely upon the people. 1t then became question
with the Banks, whether they should attempt TO STEM
the torrent and apply the numerically 10 tier
customers, for the purpose OF keeping up supply
of specie, suspend for short me 50 as 10 be en-.
abled 10 give their customers little indulgence, and
hero u onahI IN In no p ~
the time, obtain the aid OF the crop OF cotton
and tobacco which was then ready for market and Tue
next crop to pay off The British debt. They wisely
adopted the latter course and thereby saved the country
for he presumed that all inelgen, would now agree
that had they not suspended specie payments, Infinitely
worse would have been enacted, than those o
1919 and 60 that the whole country would have been
swept with the bosom Of destruction, from one e1tTs
nifty to the other. Sir, recocct also, that within h'
year Immediately preceding the suspension the Depos"
Banks required 10 pay over TO The States under IN
Depose Act upwards o! ~ millions, and dlsourse 10!
the Government near 40 millions more, ana that INT
great fire in the city of New York produced demand
upon The banks for upwards OF ~ millions Is It at q!
remarkable that the banks suspended under such c!rcnm
stances Would they not have been recrean 10 the bes
interests Of the country had they not suspended: ~
this wise act they saved the small patrmony and pre-.
served from want many poor wdo" and orphan, arr
secured to the poor the o! support Sir does M"
the Secretary Of The Treasury pronounce the highes
eulogy upon the late Depose Banks when he says thai
under all these embarrassing circumstances the Govern
ment is not likely 10 lose by them cne dollar, out OF lh'
hundreds of millions which at different times place.
in their safe keeping' Could any system have wotkec
better? How does the SuhTreasury compare with ii.
rs far the experiment has been MADE We have h"are
OF the defacatons of only two individuals in the city n:
New York, amounting TO "Sou, one and hall million
upwards; and it is more Than probable, from the re
cent disclosures that the Government has lost at eas
three millions of dollars since the suspension Of the
banks in May 1897, by the dedica,Ions q: collectors
and receivers and that, too, during time when wa
said by the friends of The Sub Treasury, that their sys
ten wos in full and successful operation. MIR said
that system could bs devised free from Fcons aut
as statesmen and PATRIOTS they bound 10 choose ht
best whether This be the Su5Trcusury or State Banh
Deposite system, he vas wiling 10 leave TO an eniIgh
ened public.
Mr. a. continued that having trumphantly defended
Mr. Riyes and his friends against the charge OF inc'n
gstency, he would now proceed to notice the next "b
lection made by the gentleman from Culpeper. II was
the letter written by Mr. R!Vss last Summer 10 riend
in Philadelphia This letter written in answer 10
written to MIR. Riyes by his friend asking his ad
vice the proper for the Conservatives 10 take
in the Gubernaloal Election then pending in the State
Of Pennsy lvania. There were but two candidates,
friend of The Sub-reaaury and Whig-and some OF
the Conservatives have had difficulty how
to act; therefore Mr. Rves written TO for his advice
and what his reply, which is now so much objected
to: He advised his friend that the Conservatives Ough!
70 have public understanding with The Snb.1reasury
party that tina, question should not be considered test
in the election OF Governor; That his election should
not be claimed triumph for the SubTreasury party,
and that if the Sub Treasury party should refuse TO
ter into this arrangement, il would then become Ques
ton for them to determine what would be their proper
course and he declines advising them wha, should be-
MIR. A. said that he would submit il 10 every generous
and high minded man, If there was any thing cen
surabe in this letter. Will you deprive Mr. Rves OF
the privilege awarded to the most obscure man. oanswe
ing with fraukness the letter 0! iIend Could he have
answered it differently and preserved his character-
Had the Sub-1easury party Of PENNSYLVANIA any right
to expect the Conservatives TO vote for their Subiea
sury candidate for Governor any other terms than
those proposed by Mr.. Rives: Could Mr. Rives have,
consistently with his opinions the Subrreasury,
given any other advice; and il not peculiarly pro
per in him TO decline advising his friends what they
should do il his proposition should be rejected by the
Sub-Treasury party? 1t seemed 10 him. that no impair
tal man could hesitate moment in answering all OF
these questions in the affirmative.
Mr.. A. said, that the next objection made by The gen
teman from Culpeperto Mr. r. is his attack IN hss late
speeches upon the Secretary OF the Treasury The gentle
man has read extracts from those speeches. for The
purpose OF shelving MIR T. hostility TO the Admnisa.
lion Sir it appears TO that the gentleman has taken
altogether one.sded view OF this subject lie has for
gotten the position occupied by MIR r. The violent
saults of the Globe and other Administration papers up
on him. and the efforts which have been made through
the columns of those papers and in Congress- TO produce
the impression the public mind that he by his
currency bill to make the Pennsylvania U > Bank The
principal fiscal agent for the Government tie has Tor
gotten the efforts which have been made through the
channels TO produce the impression on the public
mind that the Sub Treasury now, and has been since
the suspe of the Banks, full and successful ope
ration. And he has forgotten that the Secretary in his
last annual report attempts to mystiiy and obscure this
subject 10 keep up these erroneous impressions;
and that he actually takes back all that he had said in
his previous reports against the Sub Treasury, and be
lis advocate. The Secretary Of the Treasury eyi
IDENTIFY attempts produce the impression By his last
annual report, that the public money had been safely
kept, chiefly by Simultaneously uncomfortable
part of it had been deposited in four banks under the
provisions of the deposiie net Of 1885, they being the
~ banks which could be selected under that act;
another par, had been temporarily placed special de
posite in sixteen other banks, including The U. Bank
Of Pennsy vana in which the balance Of OF its bonds
(Which had been sold 10 it had been placed spru'a!
teposite temporarily. Now, Sir what are the facts: Our
of nine or ten millions of public money, considerably less