Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1839-01-17
FOR THE ENC UYRER.
THE NEW YORK BANKING MONOMASlA
"GIcss'd plper credit last and best surpIy,

"Brss'd piper credit. last and best supply,
That lends corruption lrshrrwngs TO ty."-PCrE.
SIR-lt should be told that the people IN The neigh
horhood Of Vesuyus had shortly after Of It's most
dreadful erupons, drawn all their goods and chaties
,oge rr and proceeded forthwith 10 lay the foundations
Of city the yet smoudens embers of the volcano,
what would BIZ surprise at the insane rashness n the
&c, what estimate OF the prudence and int, lii
gence evinced by the rash actors themselves If ouch
deed of phrenz!cd madness, such utter contempt of
the lessons of the past and reckessness Of future
sequences must and would astound when enact
ed al a distance Of 5000 miles from Us, shl false
tl0na pPiudces, and still faser national PRIDE blind
far and fatally, 10 prevent from perceiving the
consequences Of similar nets provided they enacted
q, home; What, then, must be establishment and
notifications TO see portion OF The people OF The u s.,
shortly after the of OF the severest
rca revulslons record, making vast prepare
tons for the extension OF another apd yet more
extrayHgant system Of credit than formerly and conse
queny paving the way for another REVULSlON and
another SUSPENSlON'
Nready has the State Of New York SET the fearful ball
in motion. already has she CONNIE need system of
banking, founded upon error, and in violation Of The
soundcst principles of Political Economy. Arcady has
she increased most suddenly. most njadciously aud
brilliantly the quantity of her circulating medium and
banking npal And yet the is Just its BIRTH
nay, almost in the embryo sate and all this wild excess
is but prelude IN what 10 follow. Under The uuspi.
of her banking law, banks springng up like
mushrooms, thi ghOut her wide domain. We see il
daily announced that "anoher, and another and yet
another, ad infRiium has commenced or is about
commence operations" Can intelligent fail see
the ultimate and inevitable consequences OF this fearful
conngon: And if they do them ,ehat stuff they
made e not 10 speak out boldly and al nnce against this
regning hcresy of the times; lf s be aye of i'm
prnvement does it necessarily follow that it mus. be like
wise aye Of dangerous excuses, in which The head
strong passions TO hold mastery, and absolute
The dictates Of and sober reflection Is the
past the instructive past indeed, perfect nonentity
ridiculous pngeantry, that 10 monitor
is to be held up mark Of idOcy idle curiosity? Have
men really become so wise nearly allied to the Deity
in prophetic WISDOM as 10 be able 10 disregard with i'm
puniy the warning voice OF experience itself,
What caused the late revulsion? Among The number
less that have been assigned, has any
thought or ddrtd 10 mention one, deficiency The
amount Of banking capital paper currency Of the
try On the contrary are not men now generally agreed
10 the fac that was an immense amount Of bank
ing capital and eXtravaganty redundant paper cur
rency, which first impaired maddenng impulse to spe
cuaions of all sorts? This is based upon
parmen learn the important, fact, that "lhe increase
OF banking capital in The u S between January, 1885
and July, 1886, amounted to the enormous sum Of %
millions = NlNETY.FlyE MILLIONS IN EIGH-
TEEN MONTHS! Surely, surely, this unerI-
ing presage, critical and ndubabe symptom Of the
srcnes which were 10 follow six months afterwards in
1887. But il seems that the history Of the Of this
and similar revulsons has either been wholly forgotten
only mbered to be despsed Modern times have
given birth the sublime discovery, that morbid rage
ton Of The selisame which have excited it into
action! 1t is like SOLDERING drunken man by admins
teriug alcohol restoring apopetic patient by hang
ing HIM with the head downwards Ovrrbanking ruined
lis thousands, and congused the whole country in 1897
More banks! more banks more banking captai!-is
the cry from all quarters in lS3S! Admirable econo-
msls Incompatible reasoners! The very anpodes Of The
sage Of DID, who
The past the present, and the future knew
whilst these modern SascS seem scarcely 10 know the
present, and know nothing Of the past ITSELF Modern
improvement has discovered also method for the
boundess increase OF national wealth. The 'sine VS.
and muscles the creative energies and industry Of man.
the productiveness Of the soil and Of nuaclures these
which formerly constituted many sources Of nation s
wealth. have now become obsolete and exploded theories
and have been succeeded by The better and gIor
and compendious process Of converting ampbluck
and rags, ad innitum into primary and all important
element of national wealth
Were Adam Smith himself now 10 rise from his grave,
what important lessons in political economy would he
not have TO learn from the almost superhuman foresight
and sagacy of our modern speculaors 1t is true that
that great man advocated paper system, in part-t is
true that he advocated the usefulness of banking when
conducted upon safe and udicous principles; but it is
equally true that he much dreamed Of udvo
ealing its abuses, SUCH for instance, practised in
our dsy he necer justified The issue cs or ten paper dol
lars FIR ererv sre7 hand; he advocated the
p'oprey IF de!ugny the country 1ih tanking capital