The Madisonian., 1840-02-15

thus employed, instead of being locked zap
striking commentary upon the present plan
vaults, and safes, Mr. President.
The Senator admits that this was the policy
OF the administration, and that the disastrou:
consequences predicted by the opposition
have been verified. lie might have gone fur
ther for il is truth equally undeniable, thai
this policy sowed the seed of nearly or quite
one-half Of the whole number Of banks---be
tween eight and nine hundred. land of more
than one-hali of the capital; that il was the
.PareptA the paper "expansion, contraction
and explosion Of which he has spoken in
terms OF just severity; that il IS alike the pa
rent OF the bloated credit system which he
aiiirms has made US all gamblers; and that
the mad speculation which ragged over the
country. and has furnished the theme for de-
clamation and denunciation in these halls for
three years past, was begotten by il. Such
are the facts, and on the projectors Of this po-
licy let the responsibility rest. We had had
no ''expc- sions, contractions, or explosions
for long period that did not fairly belong TO
the vibrations Of trade; none that excited
alarm or seriously disturbed public confidence,
till we came to this reforming policy: but
since then the public mind has scarcely been
tranqnilized. In 1884 came the first fell
swoop, which overturned and bankrupted
thousands; and il originated here. In '35-6,
came the great era Of bank-maling and trad
ing upon the public money, then accumulated
to sixty or seventy millions, as nearly as re-
member, which threw the country into fever
ish excitement, and even firm, well-balanced
minds out of their adjustment. There was a
rage for forlune-making and une-hunting,
such as had never been witnessed, and which
nothing but this policy was capable Of gene
rating. The Senator might and ought to
have limited the bloacd credit system that
made US all, as he ailirms, gamblers, to this
period, and left the offspring to stand beside
its parent as proof Of the disasters Of this
policy, and of the iulfment Of the predictions
Of the opposition for go together they must,
and live together they will in history and no
sophlstry, no ingenuity can ever separate
them. While the Senator admits this policy
to belong exclusively to the administration,
and to have been strenuously opposed by US,
and its melancholy consequences predicted, he
now repudiates il as erroneous, and we must
allow TO him and his friends whatever credit
belongs to an abandonment of it after it had
literally exploded, and the mischief was ac-
cemplishod.
But, sir, he and they must be reminded that
could, if would, read from the messages OF
the President, and from the successive re-
ports of the Secretary OF the Treasury, lam
guage Of exultaiion, riumphing in the entire
success of the policy, boas,ing that the cur
rency was on better footing than ever, that
the exchanges were greatly improved, and
that, too. at the very moment when the bloat-
ed credit was most expanded and specula-
ton was the most rife and rank. Such was
the delusion that the madness which had
seized multiudes was trumpeied forth as evil
dence Of success and general prosperity. The
Senator clearly reasons from false premises
when he makes the banks the origin Of our
embarrassmenis, for they were only instru-
ments in the hands of those who. projected
the measures that have made them what they
are.
But the Senator goes further, and traces
the evils of banks and bank paper into Eng
land and alleges, without qualification, that
from this cause business there is as badly pa
ralvzed as it is here; and am not about to
make an issue upon that point f,r | must
hurry on to other matters. He makes an in
ference, however, which must notice. He
saws that to this circumstance alone we owe
our ability to manufacture goods. If England
was a hard-money country, otfr mills and
hammers would all be SILENT but the paper
system so raises the price Of wages, and con-
sequently the price OF production, that she
cannot send forth her goods so cheap as she
otherwise could, or so cheap as they are made
in hard-money countries, where wages are
\ AL IL, no
folly Do we stand upon such slippery
basis. having no foothold but upon an error of
policy, stupidity persisted inl ! desire 10 be
informed how the hard-money countries, as
they are called--ltaly, Spain, Holland, France
and Germany-for they have all been put into
that class though not with strict historical
accuracy-stand the competition of England,
with her bloa,cd credits Yes, how, sir, do
they figure in the competition Who has
supplied our markets and the markets of tn ,
world If metallic currency makes produc-
ton cheaper-if it gives vantage ground to a
country in the general round of trade--how is
it that these nations have not long since run
England out Of our market with their cheaper
goods How is it that we draw annually
from England two-lod more Of imports than
from all the residue Of Europe Why is it
that they, especially France, shut their ports
against most kinds Of English goods, to pro
tect their own manufactures Why is the
same policy pursued elsewhere In these
countries the hardmoney scheme has had a
long, full and faithful trial, and we know the
result England, without any advantages over
them in our ports, has overwhelmed them with
her competition and so it is wherever trade
is open to her upon a footing Of equality with
them.
Is it not, Mr.. President surprising fact
that the Senators who have spoken upon this
subject have selected the two most free, most