Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1840-03-09

all men in the nation, ought to feel as parent
should ieel, most sensibly, the disresses and suf
ferings of his family. But looking 10 his public
course and his official acts, | am constrained TO
say that he surveys unconcprncd the wide spread
ruin and bankruptcy aud wretcheGness before
him, without emotion and without sympathy
Whilst all the elements OF destruction are at work.
and The storm is raging, the Chiei Magistrate
standing in the midst of his unprotected fellow
citizens, on the distinguished position Of honor
and confidence to which their suflrages have de
vo'ed him, deliberately wraps around himself the
folds of his India rubber cloak, and lifting his
umbrella over his head, tells them, drenchcd and
shivering as they are under the beating rain and
hail and snow falling upon them, that he means to
take cure of himself and the official corps, and
that they are in the habit of expecting too much
from Government, and must look out for their
own shelter, and security, and salvai0ht
And now allow me TO examine, and carefully
and canddy, the remedy which this bill offers to
suffering People for the unparalleled listresses
under which they are writing will first anal
we and investigate it as as its friends and advo-
Gates represent it. What is il? What is this
measure, which has so long and so deeply agta
ted this country. uudGr the various denominations
OF sub.Treasury, Independent Treasury, and Di
vorce of the State from Banks What is il Let
us define it truly and clearly. lis whole princi-
pie consists in exaction from The People ofSpe.
Gle. in payment of all their duties and dues to Gov.
ernnent, and the disbursement of specie by the
Government, in the payment of all salaries and of
all The creditors of the Government. This is its
simple md entire principle. Divest the bill un.
der consideration of all its drapery and paraphre-
MALTA, this is its naked, unvarnished, and uneXag.
gerated principle, according TO its own friends
This exclusive use of specie, in all receipts and
payments of the Government, it is true, is not to
be instanlaneously enforced but that is the d.
rect and avowed aim and object Of the measure,
to he accomplished gradually, but in the short
space of lite more than three years. ! he
twenty eight sections of the bill, with all its safes,
and vaults, and bars, and bolts, and receivers gen
eral, aud examiners have nothing more nor less in
view than the exaction OF specie from the People
and the subsequent distribution of that specie a.
mong The officers of the Government and the
creditors of the Government. 1t does not touch
nor profess 10 touch, the actual currency If the
country. ii leaves the local banks, where it found
them, unreiormed, uncontrolled unchecked in all
their operations. 1t is narrow, selfish, heartless
measure. Ii turns away from the People, and a
bandons them to their hard and memorable fnto !:
leaving them exposed to all the pernicous conse-
quences of an unsound currency, utterly irregular
and disordered exchanges, and the greatest de-
rangement in all business. II is worse; it agra
Yates and perpetuates the very evils which the
Government will not redress: for. by going into
the market and creating new and additional de-
mand for Specie it crppes and dsabes the Stnie
banks, and renders them incapable of furnishing
that relief to the People which parental Govern
ment is bound to exert all its energies and powers
10 afford. The divorce of the State from the
banks Of which its friends boast, is not the only
separation which it makes-it is separation of
the Government from the constituencies dsun-
ion of the interests of the servants of the People
from the interests of the People.
/ This bin, then, is wholly incOmmensurate with
the evils under which the country is suffering. 1t
> leaves them,not only altogether unprovided for.
lkutoU sfaat bpt 4 rrIpsI Inf rI,u
ing hope encouragement siol'ro-eod People.
II leaves their laneuishiug business in the same
state of hopeless encouragement.
But its supporters argue that such system Of
convertible paper as this country has so long had
is radically wrong that all our evils are 10 be
traced 10 the banks and the sooner they are put
down and a currency exclusively metallic is es-
tablished the better They further argue that
such metallic currency will reduce inflated pri-
ces, lower the wages of labor, enable us to manu-
faclure cheaper, and thereby admit our manufac-
turers TO maintain a successful competition with
foreigners Aud all these results at some future
time or other are 10 be brought about by the OPP
Grafton OF This measure.
Nc President, ia my opiaon, currency purely
metallic is neither desirable in the present state OF
;, the commercial world nor if it were is il pracil-
cable or possible 10 be attained in this county,
I And, il il were possible, it could not be brought
about without the most righttul and disastrous
consequences creating CONFUSION, il not revolu-
ton.
OF all conditions of society, that is most pros
! porous in which there is gIadua and regular in
u crease of the circulating medium, and Il grad
0 ua but not too rapid an Increase in the val
n ne OF property and the price of commodities. =
J. In such slate of things, business of all kinds is
: active and animated, every department of il flour
D isles and labor is literally rewarded. No sacri.
u fees made of property, and debtors find, with
out difficulty, the means oil discharging promptly
their debts. Men hold on to what they have, with
II out the apprehension OF loss, and we behold nc
glutled markets Ofal conditions OF society," tha
u is most adverse in which there is constant anC
q rapid dmnulion OF the amount OF circulating me
Z dunn. Debtors become unable 10 pay their debts
y properly falls, the narket is glutted, business de-
J. clines, and labor is thrown out OF employment
e In such state of things the Imagination goes
II ahead Of the reality. Sellers become numerou
y from the apprehension that their property, nov
e falling, will fall Still lower; and purchasers scarce
II from unwillingness 10 make Investments will
al the hazari OF almost certain loss
= Have gentlemen reflected upon the consequen
7 ces of their system of d, petion? have alread
stated that ilLe country is torne down by weigh
nc of debt AZ the currency I've greatly dininishe,
le MS beyond all exsaiI,Ie il has been how is hi
y debi 60 he extalgnis,ed? Property, The resourc
:, on which ie debtor relied for his payment, wi
"a decline in ~aIue; md ii aay happen that 4 maj
j. who honestly led debt, the faith Of prop
!" erty wfhch hod Sahie, M IRE time, fuIiy hdequat
rs TO warrant the debt, will f0d himself sirpt of
er his property, and his dett renain unexiingnishec
OF The gentleman from Peinsy vania (Nlr Buch u
re AM has put the oftwo nations IN of whie
- the amount of its currency shall be double whG
il is ia the other, aud le contends, The price
III ofaH properly will he double IN the icrmer na
re ton it must bc equally true of one whose circu
q atiug medium is Ut one period donble what ii
81, at another. Now, the friends of The bill nrgu,
M we have been and vet are in this inflated eatp on
DIS cnrrencv Inns heen donhla ~. H. son,a,l;na ,I
that proportion, Of what Vas necessary, and W
~ ~ must come down to the lowest standard. u
they not perceive that inevitable ruin to thousand
~ must he the necessary consequence man, is
NJ exoinpse, owning property 20 the value of $500