Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-07-30

K ii lie i:si intended 10 !ora5 this unemployed oasa
tito ,ii@ Bank, ought not 20 have created Govern
men Loan to come IN competition with his Eang Htnck
This FIVE per cent loan OF sixteen millions and hal:
vii! be preferred by capitalists He himself has thu
furnished much better and infinitely more secure IN
| ves.mcnt than the stock Of his Fiscal Bank II, II
addition 10 this loan, and for The purpose of carry
ing out the farce that the late Administration hal
LEFT the country debt sixteen millions Of dollars
, we should borrow twelve millions in order Il
paw this imaginary debt, thr whole would then amonh
to nearly twenty nne millions of dollars. TINS sun
viii be more Than sufficient 10 absorb all the dor
+ tnant capital the country; and it will BE- the very
best and saiest investment which any man can make
declare most soemnly that | would rather be tho
owner Of one hundred Thousand dollars of this u )
five per cent loan than To hold Two hundred thousand
dollars Of stock IN tins Bank if were obliged to keep
it for fifteen wears. should not hesitate single mo-
ment in mixing the choice. ] know the stock wal
become sublrc! o. gambling speculation, and That !
may BE- raised above par the market; but in the end
ii will probably sink as low the stock of the late
Bank has already done, 10 the destruction OF The ere
duous and unsnsprcung. Whilst spectators may en-
rich themselves by purchase and SALE al the last the
Bank Will fall the late Bank has already alien, ana
rs every Bank must fall which abandons its own pro
PER business FOR the purpose of engaging IN the pnii'
les Of the country This Bank from The necessity M
posed upon it by the law of It's existence, must oe
cal Bank from the very beginning!
&c Senator has presented US with list oi restrc-
h, in the charter nf this Bank which he thinks Will
Ywqrk wonders in restraining II within proper lins-
:, Restrictions you might as well attempt 40 te'',e'
.Hane with naxen brand rs to bind Bank OF Tue ".
s by pnper restrictions To what restrictions did the
late Rank ever subni, origin until lis end when
anv strong interest mpelled IT To violate them, sahll
,oi now trouble the Senate with list of such viola
tons of its charter The truth is, that the directors oi
such Bank well know, that, alter has got larry h'o
oocraton its sudden destruction would lnict so many
wills mon the country, that they will always calculate
mon IMMUNITY for their misconduct should there
FIRE esteem The restrictions imposed upon thus Bank
s of but little Importance, even if they were wise and
solu,ary i'm themselves. There is but one OF them,
however of the least value, if they should be
regarded by the Bank and that has been derived from
what the Senator would call the odous Sub-Ireasury
Law Under that law, for the first time history,
nuhli, dsfuuers were subjected 10 criminal punish
nent Their offence declar red 10 be felony, and
they were punishable by fine and Imprisonment. de-
clare that can see other restriction in the bill cal
culaed To have the slightest practlca! or beneficial
effect in favor either of the Government the public,
except the application of this principle borrowed from
The Independent, Treasury law, 10 the officers of the
Bank admit that is very good SO far as II goes and
therefore, TINS far, ] recall the declaration which |
have made that this bill does not contain single prac
teal restriction.
a. 10 the limitation Of the dividends To seven per
cent per annum, | think have couclusirely shown
from the experience OF the two Banks which have al
ready existed that they will never reach this amount
The last Bank divided but little than five per cent
and quarter and the first Bank, with all lis peculiar
advantages which Bank al the present day can en-
ioy divided in fact but small fraction seven and
Il quarter per cent
| Mr. Clay. Eight per cent
| Mr. Buchanan. have already admitted that the d.
vidends declared, during the twenty years which the
old Bank existed Amounted average to eight per
cent bu, have shown that it occupied than
thirteen wears winding up, and after Geducng the
interest which the stockholders lost upon their capital
during this period, their average profits were reduced
to very small fraction more than seven and quarter
per cent. repeat that the document from which! ex.
,rac, this information is before for the d the
Senator.
Now whilst il is my belief that the Bank never
and never will divide any thing like seven per cenium
on an average, and that, therefore this wall BE- N"
restriction, yet if should even prove 10 be ms'a'
ken would not consider this restriction any
real limitation upon its business. If the Senator, by
his BILL had confined the business OF the Bank III such
4 manner that ii could not possibly make greater or
much greater profits than seven per cent, tins might
have operated as restriction TO that extent. But
merely to res,rc; It's dividends, without any cores
bonding of its business, will produce lttlc
m practical effect 1t Will expand its loans and is IS
sues as far as can within the limits OF lis charter
upon the prptence of creating surplus to be pad into
the Treasury of The U. 5. But when have banks ever
/ paid such surplus 10 any Government: This sur
plus should any such exist, instead ni reaching
the Treasury will be most desirable contingent iunG
for politicians. IL viii be inscribed upon what IS tech
ncay called the line Of suspended debt, III similar
manner with the mlll,ons of suspended debt due
the present Bank OF the L 5 OF Pennsylvania That
list Of favored borrowers has yet the light
neither sill any simar list OF borrowers from ihs
new Bank if you shall adopt no other provisions IN re-
gard TO publicity, except those now contained IN Inc
bin
The Senator from Kentucky authorises the Bank to
contract debts to the amount Of twenty five millions OF
dollars over and above its dpposiits and calls h's re-
s,ric,ion Nav, more; deeniing this too severe, he
moved to strike twenty five, and insert thirty NIL
lions but, wonderful! as II may seen nc laieo IN inc
motion.
Now il there ami in the country al al scGuant-
cd with the business Of banking who believes Tins 10
be- any practical restriction The late Bank oil The u.
s whose capital hryve millions oil dollars, even
{ with all its rxtravagance, never had circulation al
any one time of more than twenty millions: and rose
10 that amount but for single year lis average CIR
culation during the whole period OF its existence,
amounted to about eleven, or between eleven and
twelve millions. And yet Senator. talk OF conhnng
their new Bank with capital Of thirty In'llions 10
twenty five millions of circulation, as II tins would
nroye 10 be most efficient restriction on IT'S business
That is by way Of rcstrction the new BANK, with
capital five millions less, permitted 10 issue paper 10
more than double The average amount VI TUG
Oft lie old Bank.
In this statement, I take il for granted that The
annnnl Of debts contracted by the Bank over ana aocrr
ts deposes will lie almost exclusively Tor bank notes
in circulation. Bank ought always !" oc 'ee
never borrower of money. Il was borrowing abroad
as mncb as any other cause which frs, crippled and al
towards destroyed The Bank Of.he L. $. Had the Sc
nnor from Kentucky examined carefully the history OF
TIN, Bank, and investigated the Of It's rum he
never would have conferred upon his new BANK inc
very same power borrow money which existed under
the old charter hope this power may yet be stricken
out Of the present bull. 49, = ,
But again: there is another restriction on nus Bank
which the Senator deems important IL IS prom"'''
To. ,,a- pttH pp
the amount of its capitals Or in other words, the deats
due 10 it at any one tine shall never exceed that
amount. Thus with capital OF thirty millions, 1t i
permitted to loan fiity-two millions and nan oil dol
lars And this deemed wise and salutay restrictions
oae of more than nine hundred banks scat
tered over the country, has scarcely ever even IN the
days of its greatest extravaganza, MADE oahs 10 'he
amount of seventy-ve per cenum more tnan us cap
!, tai. In the two extavagant years OF 1850 ana 1917
,io pa al l,,po n