Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-02-15

\
commercial cities, than in any portion OF tne woru
which have ever seen except among the wealthy no
bility Of England Thank Heaven, TINS extra'aSanc
has but partially reached the mountains ana valleys
the interior. The people there so tar rs 'her Po''ha
voice be heard determined to put an end TO 'h'
bloated credit system, which threatens 10 hv"S" no
only Ecit private fortunes, but their political Oer'c
in ruin.
| Alter the revulson in lS37-aler the banks ha'
blown up, and left the Government without a"iar
the President found it necessary to convene congress
1t then became Indispensable to take new departure
The course which ought 10 be pursued was the question
The banks had betrayed our trust; they hah converge
money into rags, BY species OF aichymy me very
reverse Of that which was attempted III former tes
nf nuar;ipr baser things into gold The fres'dcn
! then recommended an absolute divorce between Banl
and State and his political friends in Congress cord
ally responded to this recommendation. We then gave
our banner the breeze, with the motto of an lndc
pendent Treasury inscribed upon it. Have We not f:m
] " and Inmovcaby maintained orr position, Had W
been the cormorants a"r Office which enemies hav,
described rs to he, should have yielded our conrc
tons when found one State after another abandon
inc our standard. Neither the love OF power nor o
place made Us iallcr. We did not yield to the panic
the moment. We have since kept this issue dis
tinctly before the people, honestly believing that
paraton Of the Government from banks necessary
10 promote the best and dearest interests OF the coun
try In the opinion of our political opponents, we
stood sclf-immolated. But the people have at length
gloriousy come to the The Senator is entire
ly mistaken in snuposug this bill to be unpopular In
every instance, during the elections Of the last year
when the question of an Independent Treasury was
distinctly made before The people, the result has been
either the election Of the Administration candidates
or greatly increased number Of votes in their favor
IT is not certain that if the Congressional elections IN
those States which elected their members in 1888. had
been osponcd until lc39, should now be in tr-
umphant majority in the other House The Wing
party know this; and greatly mistaken in til"
signs ni the times, if they have not determined that
this bill shall pass They will no longer give rs the
Jatc-cry of an Independent Treasury The bill IS
destined TO become law during The present session
prophecy this result, and prophcsy il solely upon my
opinion Of the sagacty Of the Wing party 1t is pos
! s5ic may be mistaken, but if | should | shall have
one consolation in my disappointment If my polIt'-
cal existence depended upon the result, shond ra-
lhcr have the OF the Independent Treasury
identified with the reelection of Mr. Van Buren, than
any other argument which be used in his favor.
It alone would be sufficient to defeat the hero OF Tip
prcanoc.
Now, sir, great changes have taken place in public
opinion sncc September 1887 The prominent argu-
ments then urged upon this floor agaIns, the lndepend
ent Treasury bill have nearly all vanished away. We
now hear no Of a system of well regulated spe-
Gle paving State Banks act Government depositc-
RES The halfway house has been abandoned. The
accommodations there are no longer good. II is III a
rrn0as condition. and longer shelter those who
formerly took refuge in it. The banks have blown up
twice within little than two years. and thus blown
this argument of their friends sky high. No states
man. after our recent experience, would now think of
pi1c:nr thr people 5 treasure with the banks gene
RI! drpos;,c for safe keeping.
Far different is the Independent Treasury. IL pre-
SCENTS every guarantee which be afforded i"r the
safety and security Of the public money. 1t will BE-
in the custody of officers appointed By the Government
responsible 10 the Governments and punishable 10 tcl-
ons for every violation of their trust. In tue day Of
t~. nlyn1 in Tho
viii always b. ready and al such crisis, the banks
world almost certainly suspend specie payments Be-
sides, they State institutions over which NC
have control and they may, when ;hey please, con-
vert money into rags, and then place US at defiance
They are beyond the reach of punishment under
authority The Federal Government cannot justly be
considered independent, if we mus: resort 10 State
Banks, 10 any other power except our own for the
purpose of keeping the money raised from the people
by taxation until be applied to execute the great
powers conferred upon us By the Constitution
Arain: public opinion has annihilaed another argrl-
mcnt against The Independent Treasury. The Senator
iror, South Carolina, in March, lSj6, (alr Prrs.on,)
in his tenderness towards the State banks, and for the
purpose of enabling them To specie payments,
proposed that We should, for limited period receive
their rrcdecmabe paper IN the payment of dues 10 the
Government. Much coqrcnce also formerly
wasted upon the extreme cruelty of havn. currency
for the Government and another for the people Thank
God, we hear no more of all this. No person
contends
mcnt ought to receive deprecated bank paper. SGch
fantasies have proved loo light for earth They have
risen 10 ihc moon where it Is said the crude notions OF
speculative politicians still :oating about and have
local habItaiion and = name.
The Senator charges with having employed the
State banks rs Repositories, and having commended
their conduct in the highest terms This was grrv-
Gus sin. md grcvousiy have We answered it, The diE-
Grcncc between him and is this: that after they had
shown themselves to be utterly unworthy of our conf
dence, we abandoned them; but at that moment he
casped them to his bosom. Admitting that there has
been Inconsistency both sides, the state of the fact
this adopted the State banks; they betrayed us,
and we cast them off forever. The Opposition de-
nounced this syscm in the beginning, and pTophes'cd
that it would prove failure; but at the moment
when their prediction verified, they embraced these
cas,aways themselves with all the a7dor OF lovers. The
banks rs repositories of the public money,
pudiacd b. all parties Their day has passed, and
shall hear little Of them n connection with this
subject.
Al men arc wise after the fact; hut to look back,
has often occurred to me wonderful how could
ever have confdcd in The State banks safe general
dcpostoes of the public treasure. Oursystem of bank
ing is the very worst and the most irresponsible that
has ever existed the face of the earth! The charters
OF these banks nowhere impose any efficient restraints
upon the first instinct ofthrr nuure, which 10 make
as much money for their stockholders possible. They
WILL therefore, always expand their credits and their
ISSUES in the day Of deiusivc prosperity without re-
Garding the approaching storm. The immense Cepo-
sites of the Government increased this fatal tendency;
whilst the public money freely loaned, and IFS Sc
curv placed at hazard for the benefit Of their stock
holders but for the ruin Of the country The wander,
perhaps ought rather to be that they held out long,
than that they should have finally exploded
In 1896 the immense amount of these dcpos,cs had
stimulated them almost TO MADNESS the expansion was
then great beyond all former example. Speculation
ragged throughout the land The suspicious of the coun
try were aroused against the Government, and the
banks were charged with granting peculiar tavors TO
men high in office, and to influential partsans OF the
Administration. They dcnonlinated ''the pet
banks" Such the general sense OF the insecurity
of the public money, in their possession, and such the
jealousy which existed among the people, IN conse-
ouence of their connection with the Government that
verify believe the present Chief Magstrat would
never have been elected had not been fer the passage
Of the deposite bill The adoption Of this measure was
n choice of evils; but it much less eVi tnan TO
have left nearly forty millions Of the public money in
possession of the banks Under the Independent Trea
sury system, we shall never again be placed IN such
fearful dilemma
was very much astonished that we had no homily