Wheeling times and advertiser. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1839-1849, 1840-10-06

lauou. .
But ] shall be asked. perhaps. what is to restrain a
national institution from creating eHcess'-who shall
guard tho guardlanSl-who keep watch over the sent.
nels' The last twenty years have been fruitful In
rich results s expcueDco bo,h here and in England
Tbs world bss leaned much frou them. There are
modes. an my opinion. Of Restraining = nstional chr.
rency. however Issued. fotn running to excess. The
hrs, Of them - eniisc publicly ~ 10 The amount. This
is moro important than may al first seem. There
should bo daily or weekly statements of the issues. 81
thn' when price, rise or fall. the merchant may NJ once,
by referring 10 tho statements, perceive whether Il 10
the natuml result OF supply and demand. or the conse-
quence ot contraction or expansion of Tho circulaiIon
Such publicity Is beneficial in n thousand ways. rs IL
SUBJECTS The institution TO the supervision AMI control
of pubic oIrnion. wiiich thus acts upon lhe power that
IN turn Is iu act upon all the rest. II this Government
shall ever he brought TO consider the adoption ofsuCh
an institution again IL should be rather "a a bank OF
issues tSan ofdiscount md ~mnuey Lmlking. and To- tho
end that its managers should have no temptation Of
interest to issue to excess. all the earnings over a
stipulated amount should be paid into the public
Treasury.
IL has seemed TO me that the Bank Of Enellnd a.
dopts m dhiicalt circumstances. an erroneous rule of
judging OF it's posiuoa. II looks mainly TO its discount
line. which. as a mere lender of money. il well en-
ouIh; but an issuing a currency; it Is a false mode OF
Judging. The true object of inquiry uhd solicitude.
should be what proportion the out stlnding paper bears
TO the In-lyinG specie. The bank may be perfectly
soiveni-nny, rich-from its large amount of bills re-
ceivable, of which payment ~ anticipated: but this
does not prove that the bullion in the vaults is in a Just
proportion with the issues ahoat. There are undoubi-
edly difficulties IN the way OF absolutely limiting these
issues. yet something may be done, for u Is one Of he
advantages OF a large institution IN credit. and whose
payer ~ mo. likely to be suddenly returned upon 1t
from momcntary causes, that IN times Of cmbarass-
neni. 1t can. by liberal isSses. mater ally aid the com
n~uniiy-yet some limit. some general range within
which the institution should be confined. seems indl--
pcnsable. | have not said. and Do not mean TO ray.
that one or other OF these modes OF accomplishing the
object m view Is misrepresentation nevertheless. I
-ecau TO YOU that President jackson. m hts Message M
1882. did say, ifhe had been applied To. he cosld have
furnished the plan of n bank that would be free from
all the constitutional objections urged against the Bank
Of the United States; and. therefore, I cay IL is practi-
cable, II we Of this generation are Competent 10 ac-
complish what Gen. Jackson sand he could do. ro
devise a bank that shall be free fOn Constitutional Oh
jcctons.
Having thus stated what { understand 10 DO the
principles established by the Constitution, and snnc.
toned by experience, all We can say now is. that il
this Administration Will not adopt some one Of these
measures-Nil do nothing 10 establish a currencr. or
give the impress of the United States to a paper CIR
culatiun-no uniformly valuable currency can be OBJ
tanned. Mr.. Van Buren, declares Congress has no DOW.
er IN the premises. and he refuses to commend any
measures having such tendency. because the Con.ti-
tuI,yT gives hun no power. II is difficult not TO CT
res ~ NNAA rttNlH NlG nINrlDlnAOn nt
such 4 dSclaraIion From the very foundation and
cradle Of the Republic. those who framed the Consii.
tuition. those who recommended II TO the people. aud
those who we're early c'lled to administer its functions.
for forty years adopted a stem, which has been since
steadily followed up-saIic:oDed by the Supreme
Couri-approyed by The ~Peopls-Snd now. at This time
Of day, a gentleman stands up. and Jlsregarding all
The national. legislative. Judicial and popular sane
lions. says, ] am wiser than all these. and I say there
Is no such power in Congress. lie says tle People
ha e decided against it. Whom did they decide! lie
says Gen. Jackson decided against u. and went into
reelection on that croun1. and being re.elected. that
the re )ple sanctioned his decision.
Bat General jackson himself. said. that although a
gainsi he Bank OF the United States. he oould devise q
Bank ofthe United States that would DOT be objection.
able; and II would be quite rs sound argument to say
the people reelected Gen. Jackson. because he was in
fivor OF a Bonk of the United States, as because lac
was against The Bank Of the United Siatcs. But. m
truth. Gen. Jackson was reelected. not because of
ms opposition 10 the Bank, bur, Notwithstanding that
oppositIon' he had built up a party which his strong
arm caused to bow down, and he might have destroy
ed many more things as useful as The Rink. and stIl
have been reelected.
But Mr.. Van Buren, thinks Re was elected because
OF his opposition TO the Bank. / enter not into the
causes OF his election. though am inclined to the be-
IIel That II any o @ ever came ia under power ofa Will
and Testament, this gentleman did so. But Is IL pre.
tended that 1t would be a fair inference. from the re.
~ w tAf vi VII ' III 2
Buren,. thai the nation decided against the practice Of
Washington and Madison. and the experience nf half
a century. IL authority can determine. We have thai
Of both these great names-bui you can get none of
those who sustnIn the new dochine 10 answer 10 The
furnished from the message Of President
.Msd:son-though you should quote them from sup
rise To sunset IN the longest day of he year I have.
IA my place IN the Senate. referred Io, and quoted
from these messages,-but answer there was
none.
III - - ]
When The Bank was killed. or permitted to expire
without hope Of resuscIialion, the Administration viz
inally subjected the Whole business Of the country 10
Ihe rack Its commerce, shipping. fisheries, manufic.
funng and mechanic arts, were all put 90 the stretch
md torture Of experiment; they pnctiscd on iI-tried
curious and ingenious deviscs on ii.-as If snch inter.
instead of / Q ng faithfully CHERISHED and qua ded.
we're only TO be used as objects Of speculative invest.
niJn. But Gen. Juckson said he coulJ make a .
er currency by aid Of the Sac Blnks. Some of us
hero were who maintained that This was not 10 ,sibl..
hat these institutions were not adapted 10 national
'urPoses. and tina, however we'll managed and huv.
multiplied. they would he, after all. only small
inns. and not artillery. In 1888 The system exploded
he Administrator did not c1pcci il, and did not thep
ook toa ~SubTreasury any more Than they now look
o an ecIpse-tbangh OF a political eclipse, they have
some m%isgiving. They had confidence i'm
he DeposIte Bank sclIepe-but The explosion came
What iheBl Within n few days. near this srot. the n
olest defender and champion of the party, Mr. Wright. !
what could you expect Mr. Van Buren TO do
lie could not go back To the Unted States Bank Which |
be had rejected. nor To the Dcposito Banks he oad re.
commended, and which had failed. What then could
he do, but ecommen the Sub-Treasuryl The diem.
ma could only be escaped by departing from tho SET.
and successful policy Of 80 years. lie took back
quick enough the opinions he had expressed about tho
i~epOsie bank system as good. but he took not bach
his opinions respecting the Bank Of the United States;
lid therefore the Sub-Treasury was rcsoricd io-a
,:casufe that avOwcd withdraws the protection VI
Government ,.om the currency ofiho country. More.
in the first Sub ,.-casury hdl Iherc was no specie
inserted, but finding that !; vas ''tely 10 fail for
want ol votes and il appearing that several -Hnue-
men who had been vehemently opposed 10 Gonerli !
Jackson. with Mr.. Calhoun at their head. would NOT /
'dPPor u unless The specie clause was ntrpduced-
{ was introduced. and Ia this form the bill was car
end then was raIscd the shout Of hard money.
money; and tiu, again was he Administration
iuycn M 70 a measure u never contemplated. Thus
wentcn p~lunrIng from one disgmrcul aud dis.
Is!rous experiment into unOther-,he county, aiyayg 1