Litchfield enquirer., 1840-05-14

present treasury system, nor what u may pc tO-nor-
revenue is falling off, and Congress is supplying the
exhausted treasury with paper money.
What then, l ask, are the causes of our
difficulties? They are the want of sound,
uniform, and convenient currency; the loss
of confidence and credit unemployed CAPT.
tai and labor; an unsettled policy respect
ing manufactures; opposition to associated
wealth; a restless spirit of innovation, and
an extreme enterprise urging the inconside-
rate into speculation and hazardous traffic.
These, if mistake not, are the prominent
causes of our difficulties. Let us examine
them. .
/ say then, in the first place, we need
sound, uniform and Convenient currency. The
nature of currency is that it acts as the rep
resentative OF property: it is substitute, in
pecuniary transactions, for unwieldy prop
erty, such as land and merchandise. Some
agreed representative Of property exists in
all civilized countries; and is so essential to
the multiplied affairs of commercial and en-
lightened States, that they cannot prosper
without it, but would relapse into state of
barbarism. Intrinsic rdlue does not neces-
sarily enter into its nature; it must be sound,
uniform, and convenient. If wholly metal
lie, it has only some OF these properties, and
is exceedingly expensive. In the early sta
ges of society, f1ocks, and herds, and among
savage tribes, furs and shells are the meas
ure OF property, and the simple currency of
their transactions. But as civilization ad-
vances, this measure of value becomes mad
eGlate; some more liberal and expansive
currency is demanded one that is conven-
lent, always at hand, and friendly to credit.
Nothing more certainly indicates progress
in commerce and advance in mental and
moral science than that system which dis,
tingulshes countries possessing mixed cur
| rency. For evidence of the truth of this as
sertion, let a comparison be instituted be-
tween England or the United States, and
Spain, Italy. France or Cuba. Knight appeal
to all nations, in all times.
What currency then does the United
States demand? There are some who ser-
ously urge, that all paper should be suppress
sed, and the metals substituted. In the first
place, an exclusive specie currency is inn
practicable. Allowing that we have 20 or
SO,OOO,OO0 of coin in the country, (Which is
! full our share of that in the world, as the
course of trade has indicated,) this sum is in
no way sufficient for a universal circulation
nor does its accumulation here, make it
more plenty in the hands of the people.
They prefer to leave the coin in the vaults
of banks, and take for use the representative
ofcoin.
In the next place, bank bills cannot be
suppressed, without first putting an end to
all banks in all the States, measure
revolutionary and ruinous. A metallic cur
rency would be so inconvenient that it could
not for any length of time be endured
Suppose we had in fact collected the neces-
[ sary amount; where is this mass of gold and
silver to be kept! How is it to be carried
about? What is to secure it against robbery
and other losses Its annual depreciation,
| by wear alone, has been estimated by Mr..
McCulloch at one quarter of one per cent
| And if, as has been declared by one of the
most distinguished men of the age, that in
times of prosperous business and commerce,
| the daily amounts Of payments in the banks
of New York alone, has been equal to
( $9,OOO.000, how expensive and oppressive
would be its use in all the transactions of this
great country: Such currency too, in its
first cost, would be expensive. Not dollar
can be brought into the United States with
out an equivalent paid abroad. What a
debt would thus lie contracted in Europe or
South America to be paid out Of our labor
Suppose, however, that all paper ,cos sup
pressed, and all the specie we wanted was
actually here, how long would it be, before ii
would be collected in places of deposite for
safe keeping. with agents to guard, count and
handle it. Soon certificates Of deposite and
orders drawn by depositors on those agents
would be found equally safe and more con.
venient than the passing of the specie itself
from hand to hand, and would become the
circulating medium. Thus we should have
a paper currency differing in nothing mate
rial from bank bills. When the credit of
these specie agents was established, they
would become bankers, and if regulated by
law, would be banks doing business under
charters
If then we were to start anew in currency,
as seems to be the desire of some, we should
come around 10 the point where we now are,
while, in the revolution, we should tear into
| fragments every interest and institution in
| the land.
| The question returns, what currency can
we have! The States cannot issue paper
shall Congress do it? No discreet man would
wish to see power so vast, and in bad
hands, capable of SO much mischief, exercis-
ed by the federal government. Besides, if
government paper was not issued on specie
basis, it would inevitably depreciate and
cease to be currency and if it was, it
would be another name for bank bills
What remains then; if Congress will not in
corporate bank of the general character of
those heretofore chartered, but that the
states be left unmolested to charter individu-
al associations as they always have DONE
Let them be carefully watched let the le-
gislatures place independent and intelligent
centinels to observe them, and no danger
need be unprecedented from incautious or
corrupt management. Is it not our true pol
icy to preserve, and with wholesome laws
guard these institutions; restraining where
restraint is necessary. reforming where re-
form is needed, and suppressing where vio-
lations of charter are established upon judi
cial inquiry! An indiscriminatc proscrip-
ton of banks is injurious to all; showing in
correct information or narrow views on this