Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-04-23

,aode OF avo;das these dangers was 10 purchase ne
hl. nj ell, e.cep, founded on direct s:Fnen.s u
n-nduce under the control Of The Bah.; : ~. .
molly urged tie mercantile part oi 'is @ ~ ,h
enraue in that operaton-but hnuihs mn ~, ~ !,
dsposta 10 large operations saIf ACCORDINGLY re-
u,,,s, no done won;G ~ !. ";ssI uc.o'u'"sn -.
,d Messrs Beyan and Humphreys % carr. o.
,ho nlan which was simply TO let thcir agents at ''e
st N d.. on them domestic bills, Tor when they
,L ce;ve the notes of the Bank, purchase The pro-
a aud SEND it to France and England then as the'r
lncstic bills came maturity in Philndelrha, TO pay
,,e Bank, BY sterling bills on the houses IN hnsahu
and France, 10 whom the produce was sent, a"u y
whom it was sold This was the whole operation,
which lasted from the summer OF 1871 10 inc is'i VI
1895 1t was undertaken without the least idea oil any
,ecuniary advantage and the only understanding on
that subject was mere verbal assurance from ne-hut
if after repaying these advances TO the DAM, neie
should be any excess, as the Bank cohu 10. " 10
charter buy this produce, or OF course take any pro-
fits arising from il, such excess shonia oe
who encountered the trouble and the responsibility
Nor was there the sg test desire to cohceai II. on
the contrary all the correspondence ana entrees De-
eye passed through the Bank-t was announced
over and over again, in publications known 10 come
from the Bank and il was particularly ~
nubshed letter of mine to Mr. Adams, on the iulli OF
Dacember 1885 of which the following is an extract
an Ike manner the arrangement oil the Currency
placed the staples Of the South enlreiy at the mercy
of the foreign purchaser, who could have dictated the
terms of sale the Frustrated planter IL was thought
to avert that evil by employing large portion of
The capi,al of the Bank in making advances South
ern produce THIS had two effects. The first was to
proyide remtances to pay It's own bonds IN England,
ssued TO New York merchants in their extreme dis
ress for as the Bank could not purchase these staples
il made advances upon them in the South receiving, IN
exchange, bills on Europe-the second was 10 INTRO
duce into the market competition and thus pre-
vent the unconditional subsection OF the planter to the
ore;nn purchaser. These advances were made not as
past years, the mere personal security OF The mer
chants which the confusion OF all private credt wouu
ha rendered too hazarous-but, the actual ship
ment of the produce 10 an American House in Eng
land willing and able to protect American properly,
from the reckless waste with which it has been often
thrown into the market, with an entire disregard oil all
American interests The combination OF these causes
the application Of capital tins side. and The pfu
dent reserve on the other-has saved to the planting
interest an amount which it is dficut 10 estimate oe
low ten or fifteen millions OF dollars believe TOO
that nearly one half of the commercial deot OF TINS
country 10 Europe has been paid By the mere difference
between the actual sales of the securities and staples
and the prices they would have realised had they ueen
thrown unprotected into the hands Of Europeans -
These measures were essentially of temporary ma
tnre-thev were measures Of emergency, adopted III
the midst of public calamity and to be discontinued
with The necessity which caused them As soon there
fore ne the capital and industry Of the country had time
10 subsde into their accustomed channels these opera.
tons were relinqused, and now they have totally and
finally ceased. -
In the meantime the benefit was very great alike TO
the Bank and 10 the country 10 The Bank, because
il uot the advantage of large circulation Of lis notes
il rot the premium Of its drafts from The South-it
uot the funds in Europe without the least risk and
large collection of its Southern debts What is more
important STILL the possession OF these funds ABROAD
was the means of protecting and saving inc agent oil
the Rank; and of course The Bank itself from pros
traon OF this the most decisive evidence IS de-
claraon made by the President of the Bank himself,
in letter to Mes srs. Bevan and Humphreys, o! the
9Th of February $50, in which he says-"Ihe state
of the debt due by the Bank 10 Messrs. Humphreys
and Biddle of Liverpool, has been for some time the
subject of great anxiety. These gentlemen have, with
zeal in favor of the Bank, for which thanks are
particularly due, sustained hr. Jaudon in many pc
riods of has late Struggles with the aid not merely Of
their funds but with all they could raise on their Gre
dit and have enabled him 10 meet his payments,
rheu Int for their assistance, he roud not lure been
able to crtricatc himself.
Finally, the operation was OF great use not merely
70 the Bank but 10 the whole country. The total pros
raon Of all and all credit IN the South at Tue
time placed the whole crops ut the mercy Of the
foreign purchaser The purchases made TO provide
hills for the Bank obliged these foreign purchasers
to give something more like the real value 10 Southern
produce-it made an actual difference in favor Of the
Southern States of at least twenty Twenty-Five NIL
ons-which gave them facilities in the discharge oil
their debts to the Northern States well as TO the
Bank itself
While these operations were in progress, | LEFT the
Bank-about two years ago-and the whole matter was
of course TO await the Of these sa!esto he treat
ed as mere ordinary mercantile transacton winch II
in fact was After | had left the Bank, statement
was presented TO by Mr.. Cabot, of the house OF
Messrs Bevan and Humphreys, who was then Direc-
tor of the Bank and did this whole business as the m
termediary between the Bank and his house His
| statement follows
| Sales advised in Liverpool,