The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-05-14

.rrTrR OF JAMES GARLAND.
TO HIS CONSTITUENTS,
(Comnnwe6)
Another, and to my min4 iresiseDae sl..:H.s
aoains. this notable sckeme i, shae 1s.sncn
~ rsca;nts az the p,blic revenue to "goaa ana
s;lyern onlv. | regard this IS not only lInRssc-
ricable, but not desirable and that wou'I! ~
~ .ty;sc,s eurtail our expanded and expanding
commerce. reduce the demand for. and conse-
a,en,lv the value Of, oar domestic pFooocuonsi
reduce the demand for. and consequently 'ns
nrce of, labor; and reduce. TO an enormous sno
rr,,;nous extent, the value Of property. The pri-
cas If produce are always regulated BY The for
e;gn market and foreign demand and the value
Of property very much by the quantity OF crcu-
latine medium The present estimated amount n
az snecie in the country, is about 500 ,OOO,oOo;
an amount totally inadequate TO all the purposes
If our foreign and immense domestic trade
How IS this amount to be increased 70 the de-
mands of trade and business Can i DC done
from the minis These costly establishments
add but about trO and a halt millions year ~
the specie circulation, and most Of that IS con-
sumed in plate and other articles TheI IN
crease will not keep pace with the annual IN,
crease of our regular trade. VIII II be suppiied
from foreign countries II it Is, we must re-
verse our whole SYSTEM by exporting more anu
importine less; which, to an extent necessary,
az The advantage Of trade between nations, like
individuals, must be reciprocal, may hazard
nearly our whole foreign trade. wili test the
probabilities of this foreign supply, by that stan
dard which is most favorable TO my opponents
take the imports and exports OF gold and SILVER
for the wears 1882 49, '35 '36-'37 and '3S.
In these seven years, the imports OF gold ana
silver were $S5 6S5, 1863, and the exports but
$50 63l ,2O5, leaving an excess OF imports over
exports of 1855, 1854, $50. How has this benefit
ted the country? During the same screen years,
the imports Of merchandise exceeded the ex-
ports $1l7, $3.50, 2l2 and thus this excess OF iui,
portation Of specie over the exportation added
TO the excess of importation, has saddiea tne
country with a foreign debt OF STA, 434 ,369,
which is to be paid From 1921 TO 1881, inclu-
sive when the currency and trade OF the coun-
try was much more regular and steady, the ex-
ports of specie exceeded the imports %, 497, OOl
Yet the condition Of all classes Of the country
was generally more prosperous IL TINS De me
result Of increasing the specie circulation OF the
country by foreign importation, no man IN ms
senses would desire 10 see it continued; for ultl-
mately il would overwhelm us. The only alter
native, then, for the exclusive gold and silver
system, is to reduce trade, labor, and commerce,
10 the present specie standard, and the slow OPP
Grafton of the minis. Such system may work
well to the Shylocks of the day, by building up
American Rothschilds and Earrings, but will
work ruin to the property holding and debtor
class
1t has been urged by the authors of the sub
Treasury scheme, that its operation Is to be con-
fined solely to the keeping safely of the public
money, and that the federal Government, as it
has no power over the business and commerce
Of the country, should pay regard to its infiu-
ence, good or bad, upon these but when the
scheme is presented to the peoples acceptance,
we find it uniformly accompanied with recon-
mendations Of its salutary influence upon the
trade Of the country and thus we have the ad-
mission, indirectly, that the management OF the
public revenue, is to be made subservent to the
uses of trade, and the preservation OF good
currency. 1t is commended by those high in pow
err, that this scheme, by reducing the amount OF
banking, will have tendency to bring us near
metallic currency which last, it is said, if in
use, would prevent speculation and restrain Gre
dit. If this hypothesis were true, then it would
follow that failures in business, and fluctuations
in prices, never occurred in countries, where the
currency was purely metallic. Is this made
good by history? So far from it, that the most
ruinous fluctuations in prices have occurred In
times and places, where paper currency was un-
known. Take, for an example, the following.
from Jacobs Inquiry into the production and
consumption of the precious metals. !" In Eng
land, in the 18th century, the price Of wheat va
ried from Is. a quarter (mOney Of that tme) to
1885, and 3d. In the l3thscentury it varied from
ls and 3d. in 1918, to II. As; in 1857, in 1858,
it rose to 81; in 1870 it rose to A. l6s., and
sometimes sold at 81. S.; in 1888 it fell to Is.
and 3D.; in 1917 it sold at 81 as. before harvest,
and Immediately after harvest 14s In those
DAYS there were neither banks nor bankers
in England, except the prosecuted Jews, who
were merely lenders ofcon. And now let us see
whether failures in trade arising from stimulated
credit are prevented by metallic currency
There is a well known example in the city OF
Hamburger, which, for three years about the
close of the last century, owing to the conquests
Of Napoleon, enjoyed great monopoly IN the
importation of British and American commodi-
ties for the consumption of the German States
and other countries in that quarter of the world.
The stimulus given to business in that city dur
ing the period stated above in the space of three
years, raised prices to such height, and so ia
cilated credit that in the space Of three months.
in the year l7a9, eighty houses in that city failed
for an aggregate sum of $12,000,0OO. This in
stance, frequently quoted, that it has obtained
the character of universally accredited history
occurred in country where no other than me-
tallic currency was known, and is an eminent
example of the TRUTH that credit and indiscreet
speculation are not exclusively the offspring Of
banks and paper money. Instances parallel with
those | have quoted, and tending to the same
point in this question, abound in the history OF
former times, and even In recent days. IN coun-
tries where neither banks nor bank paper exist
but the limits of this address do not admit of
further comment on the subject.
Ii has been often asserted that this SUBJ rea-
sury scheme contains the germ Of a great ma
tional bank, which will, in time be the sole de
pository Of coin, and the maker Of all the bank
paper, which is to constitute the currency Of the
country and this, it is not difficult to see will
| IN certain contingency, spring up under the
all-conirolling law Of stern necessity. The de-
mand for CON- it is said TO supply this scheme,
will, in good times, not exceed, any given