Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-12-29
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TO TIE rDlros or TIE ENQUIRER

THE FISCAL AGENT.-[No. II.
There is no subject 50 hard to understand as money
Even those whose sole business II IS to deal IN Il, have
for the most part distinct conceptions of lis chaac
ter although they have practical knowledge OF lis
binary operations. To arrange financial system
for great and commercial country, requires not only
perfect understanding OF the true nature and iunc
lions of money but also intimate acquaintance with
the course of trade, and with the connexions and de-
Tendencies of the various departments Of home indus,
Try. Hence the difficulty Of the subject. The wise
and practised statesman the difficulty and there
fore he never feels p:esumPuous confidence IN ms
own plans. But the world at large not equally
dest Every tyro in politics imayines that he great
tnanc;er, and every village shopkeePer suppoSes that
his dealings in tape, ribbon, and moasses have unfold
ed 10 hrm all the secrets OF the subject What wonder
then that the newspaper press has groaned unccT the
load Of financial schemes. during the French Revo.
luton the bureaux Of ministers were filled with Con-
stitutions for the French people, each OF WHICH was
supposed by It's author at least to present the best pos
sib!e form Of government. Il was considered much
easier task to frame constitution of government than
10 make 4 shoe; men, who could not rule their own
households did not doubt their ability to rule great
nation And 50 with the iinaucers-tieir schemes
flow in from all quarters, crude, untigesed, exhibiting
the marks of superficial thought and still more super
fetal information. You remember, sir, the witty satire
Of Swift, who gives "a Plan to pay oil the National
debt, tu p. pa prisoner in the Fleet" There are
many +. P.'s in country; men who, having
inanciered themselves out Of all their property,
consider themselves admirably qualified to manage that
Of the Government | leave them 10 the comfort OF
their own self-compaisance.
will not say, SIR, that the Presidents plan is the
very best Of all possible plans but it is, at least, as
good as any other which has been submitted 10 the
public. In my first letter, | spoke OF It merely as a
financial agent for the Government, in which charac-
ter, do not anticipate tina, you will consider serious
IL Objectionable Let Us now view II IN another aspect
Public opinion in this country has heretofore been
divided between the Sub-Ireasury and an dashioned
nntI ,.,,n al LA.L la,a
| been abandoned. The between their respective
partizans has been unnecessarily bitter; for neither
plan bad as lis opponents supposed, good
as ,s supporters supposed have always been friend
IL To the prin6tpic Of the Sub Treasury, although was
a decided opponent Of the SubTreasury iac-It was a
very bad mode OF carrying out very good prnc pie
currency, exclusively metallic, IS unattaInab.e, even
if it were desirabe and therefore, much Of tue Sub
Treasury plan looked TO that object, must be aban
doned as n,practcabIe. Besides, the system has been
decidedly condemned, and would not be adopted even
if the President should propose it. As TO National
Bank it is cut Of the questionable advocates Of that
measure u long way behind the age. Even if we
could waive all objection TO it the OF the Con-
stitution, il would be impossible, in the present con-
dltion of the country, TO find half the capital which
would be necessary 10 put II in operation Even the
merchants themselves have ceased TO think Of it, OF
course must look out for something else and
can take neither Of these in whole, wiscst plan is
to take what is best in each This is done in the Pre-.
sidents plan. We have the Sab Treasury in the col
ccng, keeping, and discussing of the public revenue,
and have the best function Of Bank in facilitating
exchanges; and this, too without the corporate cha
racter and corporate Immunities of q Bank.
There two great disturbing which must
affect any system of Finance which be devised.
These are the insolvency of the State Banks and the
drain of ten twelve millions of specie every year to
pay the interest of the State debts. The latter is in
fact The Of the former But for this drain il is
probable that most of our State Banks would have
sumed specie payments long ago and it is equally pro-
bablc may, it is certan-hat large majority OF them
will not resume, long this drain continues =
While they remain in their present condition. it is
quite evident that they afford but little
our monetary systems. There is not Bank in the
United States whose notes will circulate freely in all
the other States, and scarcely whose notes will cir
culae out of It's State Hence, they DO very
little towards regulating erchangcs That business is
almost exclusively in the hands Of brokers and nonied
men and they make the best Of their advantage,
in exorbitant exactons from all who seek their aid
Now this is the great evil Of which the mercantile in
teres complains The merchants 10 wish 10 borrnir
money Of Banks, because they have lived 10 discover
that they cannot pay their debts in that way and the
Banks themselves are beginning to discover that it is
not their interest to lend The merchant wants safe
and convenient means of reniing money, and this al
no greater cost than is justified BIZ the established las
OF trade. This is precisely what the present plan af.
fords, in all reasonable extent II gives every facility
to exchanges which sound and healthy trade re
quire, whilst il holds out temptation to that
action 10 winch The recent disasters OF trade be It.
trlbued. And 1t docs not interfere with the State
Banks in this respect. These Banks safely deal
except to small extent, in exchanges between differ.
ent States and within their States this plan does
not compete with them, because it does not authorize
the purchase of any bills, except such drawn
one State and made payable in another.
The great abuse against which il is most necessary
to guard, the discounting Of mere accommodation
paper under The form Of bills of exchange This nd
rect mode OF borrowing money! is known by the fami-
aE I,tnn ,, al
form of dscounng accommodation paper. II termed
one of the principal grounds of the second yen and Of
course, we may reasonably suppose that The PrcsdeE,
has been careful to guard against such abuse his
present plan II will be found that he has done it eiec
tually. will not say, that there p0SSibu that
this abuse should be practsed because his agents mus
be men-and men always liable to be corrupted
But as far as human prudence avail, in throwing
guards and securities around public t:ust, they are
provided in this financial system, UPON this point
You seem to think, Mr. Editor, that the provision in
this plan, that no agency shall continue TO deal in any
thing except the financial operations of the Govern
ment, whenever The laws of the State in which it may
be, shall forbid 10 deal in any thing else, an absur
dy; because the of the Stale can gige no new
constitutional power TO Congress- THIS is undoublrd
~ true but is there any thing III the Constitution which
| forbds the Treasury agents Of the United States te
buy and sell bills Of exchange The power has been
exercised from the foundation Of the Government and
has been seriously questioned This is all that /:
contended for. The question is NOT OF what the Fcde
raj Government has right 10 do but Of what the State.
have right to prohibit. There are many cases in
which the Federal Government has power in the
States, and 'eiM their consent, but in which it can
not act zeithout their consent. The abuse Of Z
granted power is very different thing from the as
sumption OF an ungfanted power. The use which i:
intended 10 be made o. The public money in The pre-
sent case, may strike you abuse of the power
Congress the public treasurer bu. it certainly doe
not invoi.e the exercise Of any power supposed
10 be conferred by The OF the States gwen
form different from, that pointed in the Cons,itu
ton.
L. it in truth. abuse Of -ny power or sny t.ut,