The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-03-30

u musfbe kept fixed and steady. When you place
u loose near The top, and II begins 10 and roll
TO and FRO With the rocking Of The vessel yon may
expect TO De capsizsd by the very first blast that blows
ms system VIII have a tendency towards q specie
pislAora ., The points Of expenditure, and depie
non al The points Of collection And this very lact
Will make The taxes the most oppressive possible,
because Of The difficulty OF paying them when spe-
cieis deficient; and il would push the expenses OF
The government always 10 a maximum, because Of
The redundancy al the places Of expenditure And
this ] consider an argument of no little weight
The Florida campaign has coa Sl00000O0 Sup
pose you had sent yoar strong boxes filled with gold
and silver and had poured this amount into the cir
culaiion there; could you wonder al sack Of I'm
selling for $40 or $50, and barrel of -four for S75
and steamboat being chartered for three or four
weeks al q cost which would pay for its cunSiruc-
ionl The nations of antiquity avoided Ibis evil in
great measure, by collecting large amour, Of the
revenue ia kiHd, and BY levying heavy Contributions
in provisions wherever their armies marched.
In conclusion, will make remark or Two on
what Is called The Pet Bank system and lis lc sup
posed failure. In the first place, sir am very far
from thinking the banks the sole cause, or even the
main cause, Of the mania for speculation which We
have recently had and the consequent disastrous
vuSioDs, terminating In the suspension Of specie
payments The impulse was undoubtedly first com
muncatrd by the rise in the price OF cotton thing
wholly extraneous 10 our banking system. That
lasted forseveral years, during which time western
lands negroes, and almost every species of agricul
tural product, fet The influence OF the steady de-
mand Tor cotton, Then come the independence of
Texas, which intoxicated thousands with dreams Of
wealth and ACKNOWLEDGMENT in that lancied FL Dora
do. Then our whole population got upon the move,
almost the whole of lower Virginia at one time was
In the market. The tide set in with an overwhelm-
ing impetus towardst the cotton country. Every man
who could have reasoned at all, might have seen
that most tremendous pressure must cvme upon
the engine, if ever the prizes of cotton, which
the great Atlas, unfolding the whole supersructure,
should fall In the mean time, sir, must say, thar,
in this critical condition Of things, man, who,
whatever might be his general merits poslerily will
be found TO confess a great financial quacg, was
placed at the head Of government II is the case
with such men generally, that their confidence in
themselves and recklessneSs of consequences are
exalted in proportion to their want of knowledge
and foresight. Can we then wonder at the conse-
quences, under these circumstances And after all,
do not consider the suspension of specie payments
as proof Of failure. This Is an occasional evil,
incidental to the credit system. We are all even
now well content with bank notes. and so would the
government creditors have BEEN but for this hue and
cry about hard money; and under all circumstances
doubt whether the government will loose above
few thousand dollars. Is it fair to say them that
the experiment proves the incompeency of the banks
to keep in safety the public depoSites2 find that
am entirely too late for the mail this evening, in
consequence OF the uncontemplated length to which
my letter has extended.
With high respect
am, dear sir,
Your obi servt.