Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-05-01
ROBERT CRAIG
HARD TIMES.

orons act Of defeating the British in their bank for
iress in this country, he whipped them at New or
lcans-eyer since the old hero vetoed the OIL Tor lhr
re char,ernr the Bank of the United States, IN le3
m institution owned in part BY the British nobility
and centralized in the main by British bankers-lhe
| British party, in this country the Wings, nave con,
stantly proclaimed the country ruined or on ' Drink o
ruin-and so far they have had the power ey nave
used 10 crente alarm and embarrassment and TO cause
the ruin they would have rejoced and would no" re-
o;ce to see But their clamor, after all, has produced
little effect further than TO alarm the tld ana heiv
GUS So far from ruin pervading the lahd, during l's
period we give it our serious ana oeiIDeiate opo
bat there never has been any other period OF eight
veors since the landing of the Pilgrims at plymouth,
in 1920 in which the country has advanced so rapidly
has accumulated much wealth, as during Tie las.
EIGHT vears We will not dwell on the payment
IF Tho National debt-thc loan OF twenty -scven mi
lions AZ dollars from the National Treasury 10 the
Sto,os,he erection of forticatons-thc increase OF
tho Novythc removal of the Indians beyond the hlis
sissnpi-the cxtingushing the Indian title to from
fv IN an hundred millions OF acres OF land-nor TO
viii call the attention of the candid and thinking part
of tho nublic from this Wing camor and these Wing
misre pre- sensations 10 sober facts
Durinr the last eight years there have been built IN
the limited States about three thousand five hundred
miles of railroads, a COST including engines, cars
and denos of about one hundred and forty millions OF
dollars In the same period there have been made from
seven hundred to thousand miles OF canals, al
cost little fany, short of twenty-five millions OF dol
lars The boats horses, and stations for the navigation
Of these canal improvements cannot have cos; much
short of ten millions of dollars
The steamboats, OF the great western waters and the
northern lakes have increased nearly or quite one
third in that time. New turnpkcs and roads and
bridges have kept pace with the other internal mn
nrovements New lands have been opened and sud-
dued-old ones reclaimed and brought into cultivation
manufactures, mauGrc all the camor and noise to
the contrary, have advanced with this universal pro-
press--and in proof of this ask the reader TO count
the new factories and the improvement III the old
ones and the increase of factory villages that have
been made within his knowledge, since lc32, and
then reflect that the circle of h's acquaintance IS but
a type of the whole country. In the period spoken
of the population has Increased nearly or guile tour
and half millions and two new States have been adj
ded TO the Union--s,lch the facts and general ica
lures of our national progress during the last eight
years which! the Bank Wings have dcnomlnatcdasa Pc
rod of Democratic msrulc and rum. Ih:s prosperity
is not confined any locality but is universal, IT
pervadcs the whole counry--yon may travel from the
St Croix 10 the Sabinc--tron Cape Henry TO Lake
Superior and you will find the smiling face of improve
mcn and prosperity pcrvading all parts. The Wings
mistake the interests o.! few Tor the welfare al The
whole--they suppose prosperity depends upon the aid
of the government and banks and paper moncy--thc
Democrats know it arises from industry aud trugaty.
Let us look to State We have spent on
railroads Massachusetts, since Gen Jackson vetoed
the u. ;. Bank charter in ie32, about ten millions OF
dollars. l4OUk At DOStOH lIscll uuucu HOout
one quarter to her population, about twenty thou
sand-see the great improvements II Barton Point, the
termination Of the Lowell Railroadat tn" termination
Of the Mill Dam, near the Comnon-looi at The Neck
at South Bost0u--thc South CUvc--East Boston
I.ouisburr SGuare-Trcmont Row--Aii,k Street-Sa,c
Strcet-Commcrcial Strcct-Lewss Wharf, &C. &c,
all built, rebuilt or improved during these last eight
years; and they all give the he in The most emphatic
language to the Wing clamor about ruin.
Perhaps there place where the Wings have prat.
ed more about ruin than in the town Of Worcester.
Levi Lincoln during the panic session OF Congress in
81 assumed assurance sufficient to represent his
stituents as on the threshold of the almshouse when
they had IN thirty years been IN as good condi
ton as they were at that time Worcester, where the
Wings camor so loud, has added nearly third TO
the population of her beautiful village within these
disastrous eight years Look ut the cnv!rons OF Bos.
ton: look at Lynn: at Springfield; a, Fall Rlrcr; Low
elk New Bedford; in fact til" whole State, aud the
same smile of prosperity stares You III the face
During this period admit that there has been the
usual and only the usual, amount CT individual calami-
IT, TIE speculaior-thr dic--the improvidcnt-hosc
who without business abilities or prcunjary means have
involved themselves deeply in debt, have in many
cases become remained bankrupt: but this has not
sensiby retarded the general prosperity that we have
described. The Wings talk of universal dIstTess-it
does not cxist--t never has existed during the last
eight ycars-we go even further and assert solemn
convictions founded close observation of facts, that
general distress, general pccunary pressure
has existed at any time during the last eight years.
We know tiiat the large towns and cities oi this mon,
OF ten Thousand people and upwards about thirty IN
number, containing about one sixteenth Of our whole
population make abou; fttecn.sxtecnths OF the
on public political subjects, or rather, should say,
that the Wing merchants and manufacturers who are
generally also the bankerste rag Barons, the credit
nobility Of these towns and cities who constitute per-
haps not than one-slXtrcnth of tins sixteenth
certainly than two-hundredth part of our
whole population those who make if:cen-s
| tcenths OF the noise and who call themselves the
! country When these have their credit to its ut
most extent, and then pressed to meet their
tracts, they cry aloud that the 'ch0e country in dis
tress, universal pressure in the money Market and
all owing, not to themselves, oh no NOT 10 over.
trading, bv mcans!--bGt TO 'ithe misrue Of tins
infamous Administration Now, to these pres.
surcs in the money market, have all the stir
witnessed all the turmois, heard all the camor the
panic of 81 the pressure OF 30 81, and 80 and wa
assert, tina; there never has been GcRcral pres.
sure in the worst Of those times When say pc
neral pressure, that there never has been
time when majority of the rioters have been unu.
suay pressed in their finances business. We took
pains during the different panics to take the voting lists
here and also in other places and with the assistance
of friends to ascertain what proportion of the voters
were unusually troubled about their money affairs blu
siness during these times, and in the worst of them
there not ten, and generally not one in TWEEN
~ Of the roerS-thc real public-who UNUSUAL y
embarrassed in his business money matters-and yet
the one-teuth the one-twenticth who involved
noiscd loudly the cry Of universal distress that
they almost wrought conviction upon the nine tenths
against The evidence of their
So again 10 the high rate ointcrcst. During these
i pancs and pessures, il is trumpcted forth that money
commands two 10 three per cent. per month interest
but in the very worst of these times nnctenths OF all
the money loaned loaned at legal interest and al
no higher rates.
Let the reader test statements by his own OBJ
sprv lpt him ike hundred his
nci:rb"rhood, farmers, mechanics, a5orcrs, profess
sona iuen, Nc, note their condition. and he Will find
what we found, that al no period during the camorous
times which commenting, have ono in ten
felt unusual pccunary pressure, or found unusually
hard times ~ Their business, unless from nnpropi
,ious producing failure Of crops, for which
| Provid.Dcy aIor" is responsible
He Will lind the condition OF his town fair
specimen Ct the condition of The whole country The
rapid advance o! Tie country in wealth and comfort for
the last cis.,, years, is ample rclutaon 10 the Wing
cry 1T run- affords ample proof that the interests
of the WHOLE have been cherished by the Democracy