Mobile daily commercial register and patriot., 1841-10-29

Alptll we hnd itI w here shall we plant III whose Hhty is to rear up and maintain the specie stand ard of value-to hy the specie flag? Is it not the peculiar duty of this government to re- cognise nothing as currency but gold and silsers- Gold and silver made by the constitution the cur rency of fhe people, it is te only legal tender m the payment of debts. Who, then, can deny the duty of this government to protect, preserve and defend il, by all the means within the constitutional limits of it's powerl And how else, permit me to ask, can this duty be better discharged than by an eXclu- siye use all its fiscal operations, of the thing it. sef1 Sir, is idle dispute upon this point; it ia time that we should lay aside the mawkish sensIb- Ity, the feminine fears and hesitatons with which politicians have approached, and the public mind heretofore been alarmed in relation to this subject Let the truth be told, and firmly told, without con- esalment or disguise
 1t is impossible that the government can discharge itself from the responsibility imposed by the const iuton, by transferring to bank directors the high sovereign authority of making currency for the peo pie, of expelling gold and silver coins of the stituton from crcnlation and substituting in their stead frail and uncertain paper standard. d- rect and positive adoption of those coins as the elusive medium of all it's fiscal dealings-as the pre- erred and better currency, is required by the june tons of the constitution and the interests of the country. The effect of such policy will be in- the stock of the precious metals retained in the country for permanent use, to enlarge the basis of sound credit and increase the solidity of solvent banks.
 The requisition of specie from the wealthy import ing merchant in payment of duties, will him to reject all paper from the wholesale merchant in pay ment for goods sold to him, but such as may be equ- valent to, and convertible into specie. This will cause the wholesale merchant to refuse the receipt of all but the paper of sonnd specie paying banks from the iobber, or retail merchant, and in turn him to refuse all but the kind of paper from the country merchant Finally, the country merchant will receive n.thing but the paper of sound specie
  CTS, composed of the mass of the people, will soon find their interest to discriminate between good money and bad mOney-between solvent banks and insovept banks, Such, sir, is the tendency of things at this momfnE, The difference In value be tween the paper of specie paying banks Rnd non spe- cie paying banks, is already established in the mar ket places of the country. The producing classes win soon ascertain that it is of advantage to them to repeiye high nominal prices m the depreciated pa per of non specie paying banks for the Pradnpts of their labor when they under the necessity a pay ing in the sane sort of paper he same sort of prices tor avery Ihing lhey buy,
 It is true that the depreciation of the currency has operated heretofore, and perhaps at this tiWe operates az very conFldsrahle rellet to lhe debtor parses in many parts pf the union, and especially in the state which have the honor n part to represent here. The cotton planter in Alabama who has ten thousand dollars worth of cotton for sale in Mobile is enabled to sell it for eleven thousand dollars, In consequence of the ten twelve per cent depreca- tipn pf the paper whsh he receives iR payment, and this paper will pay hls debts in baHh, and for the most part, amongst his neiglborr, at par, His means af paying hls debts are thus increased ten per cent of the extent of the depreciation of tue paper received by him for hs cotton. The same may be said In regard to tobacco planters, sugar growers, grain growers, and all others similarly sit uated, But these old debts will soon be liqudated and then there will cease to be motive for tle fur thor continuation or oounenance of this condition o Inlaed ma he said that there but few sections of tue union in which the depre- ciatcd condition of the currency at this time oper- ates as relief or benefit in any wise to any portion of the community except the banks; and therefore before the eonfracts 9r Eads of the community are entered into or predipaed upon the basis of depre aiaed currency or debased standard of value, be hnoses all parties to unite in grand universal eff
 fort to restore and maintain the soLndness of the rency.
 But it is said that the practical operations of the independent treasury system will oreale demand for the precious metals to supply government prpo- ses, and administer to individual wants and uses produced and encouraged by such policy on the parl of government which the existing stock of pre- cious metals throughout the .pord would not be suf cient to supply. And, sir, the adroness and perse verance with which this yew of the subject has been pressed, has not failed to make a deep impression upon the public mind. The truth has not been told proper efforts have not been made by the press, o any class of ,hs politicians of the country enlisted il
 var of the system, to disahuse the public mind and counteraet tho effects of such an err0f With view t l the commencement merely of the discussion of thi branch of the subject, and with the hope that thos | with whom it has been my pride to act upon thi l great question, may discover swhat has hereto fore been an error of omission their part, and,
 verify believe, the most potent cause of their fail ure enlist the support of overwhelming majori ty of the people in favor of he iadePensen. treasur system, propose to submit to the consideration Q the country an expose" of facts, drawn from sour ces of undoubted authenticity, which dare believ fail to interest deeply, and convince the mind of thosssnds who have heretofore been the victims the most astonishing ipposture and delusion. Thes I facts are drawn from McCulloch's Dictionary | Commerce and Commercial Navigation, the grea standard authority of the day for correct nformatio upon al subjects connected with the commerce, ex | changes navigation, trade, and productive industr of the world. In relation to the supply of the pre- cous metals, he remarks tat pages 94l and 942, opd London edition, A, D, ls35,l as followsi
 "l. Supply of the precious mssais-Since the di. covery of America, the far greater part of the suppe of gold and silver have been derived from that cont nent. Previously to the publication of Humboldt | great work |" Essai Politique la Nouvelle Ei | pagne," several estimates, some of them framed I individuals of great intelligence, in circulation of the quantities of gold and silver imported fro America. They, however, differed widely from eac | other, and were all framed from comparatively limi ed sources of information. But these have bee wholly superseded by the more extensive and labor ous iivestigat,ons of M, Humboldt, This illustr trious traveller, besides being acquainted with 8 | that had been wrttenon the subject and having res dy access official sources of information unknow to the writers already alluded to, well versed the theory and practice of mining, and critically mined several of the most celebrated mines. H was, therefore, incomparably better qualified for fo, ming correct poncluions as to the pas, and preser nroductiyetess of the mines than any of those WI, had hitherto specuated on the subient,"
 | 1os | aAccordng to N. Humboldt (EssG Ia Noupeil Espsgne tome m 42s, 2d edD the supplies of the pr' cous metals derived from America, have been fpow Average amount of Total amt dollars Peg anaqm, :, Yrs, gold X .ilv' i5oo to is45' sooSeo'' "''a' :" 4s, issSoo' 'SS l /, l545 to 1900, II ,000,00o, 55, 605, ,000,O ,Ot I 1900 tp l7o0, ls,O00,00o, :" 100, I,600, ,0U0,O | l7nQ to l75Q, 22, 2,5Q0,Qo0, 50. ll25, ,Qe0, ,o( | 1850 to lsoa, s5,aoo0o0, "i 6a, l,s7O9Oo,O ,O( | AZ a.x. or