The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-05-28
THE WEST.

When the hrst hardy pioneers crossed the
Ohio, they entered paradise that was perhaps
scarcely surpassed by the one prepared for our
first parent. Like the garden of Eden heavenly
spirits lowered there. Save the dark forms of
eys, all was brightness, harmony and bliss. The
lnterminable green plains ran beyond the reach
Of the wanderers eye IN gentle wavy undua
ions towards the far west. Flowery valleys,
sparkling lakes, and gliding rivers, greeted the
view in other directions The bright and genial
sun, the balmy air, and the incessant carols Of
every variety of feathered songsters, combined
u inspire the heart with emotions OF delight and
lhankfulness that could never be experienced in
a less contaminated scene
But the scene has changed somewhat The
seeds Of mighty empires then sown in the illim-
table wilderness have taken deep root in the
rich soil, and the primal aspect of Nature is rap
idly Welding TO the Westward advance Of civil
ization. American enterprise knows no limit
Vague untenanted territories have, within few
brief years, become the home of happy millions
Much of the enterprise, wealth and chivalry Of
the old states has been transplanted to the new
Their march is onward-their destiny more glo-
rious than man can conceive at the present
day.
But our purpose in these articles is To show
the relations existing between the different sec
lions of the Union and the Federal Government,
and TO demonstrate that a resusctation of the old
Republican doctrines and measures of Jefferson
and Madison, as has been resolved upon by the
present Chief Magistrate, will conduce to the
speedy aad permanent prosperity Of all
We need not depict the evils of National
Bank 10 the People Of the West. The banks
on which they prefer to depend for the prosperi-
~ Of trade and the accumulation of wealth, are
those of the Ohio, Mississippi, Wabash, Mis-
souri, Illinois and Usage Tirers. They are far
more familiar with rifle stocks than Bank
stocks. They prefer hemp breakers to money
brokers'. Their surplus funds are deposited in
The earth, instead of vaults under the care Of
slippery fnanciers" The only expansion they
desire is broad shoulders and ample chests to
enable them to fell The forest oak and turn the
prairie soil. The only depression they dread is
In times past the hardy and honest People of
the West received gold and silver for their pro.
duce. OF late years, since the U. States Bank
brought into existence universal spirit of
banking, they have been most shamefully i'm
posed on. After floating their heavy freighted
boats to New Orleans, and dsposing Of their
produce at enormously high prices, they have
too frequently found, on reaching home, that
their vast sums of money were only SO much
trash The officers of the Bank had e absquat-
ulated,n and the "consarn had busted" while
they were poughng the Mississippi river home
ward Others partook of the wild spirit Of spe
cuiation, and selling their farms at high prices,
for paper, embarked in mercantile or other pur-
suits, Of which they knew nothing, and finally
awoke from their dream to find themselves bank
rupt. Others bewang the partial Punishment
of specie in cons. quence Of the circulation OF
the irredeemable issues of corrupt institutions
and knavish imposters, invested their means in
United States Bank notes. These too have
turned to ashes in their hands, and now the,
demand something tangible, indeslruclible, in
return for their labor and products. They nJw
prefer fair and moderate price for their articles
of sale in coin, to an extravaganza sum in north
less rags.
The Western merchants have suffered most.
When the last United States Bank failed,
thousands had just converted their silver and gold
into Biddle notes, paying premium for them,
and when they reached Philadelphia they as
certained to their dismay that their dear-bought
funds were worthless, and themselves beggars !!
And when it was known in the West that the
Biddle institution had exploded, there, was no
alternative for the remainder to save their pa
per from protest, but TO remit the notes of the
Western State Banks received at par but dis
counted at from twenty to forty per mt in the
East!
The People of the West will sanction no
currency but gold and silver, or their equivalent.
They have been humbugged beyond endurance
The Western merchants desire no paper but
for the purpose of exchange They will all in
sst on the adoption of the Exshequer plan.
The Exchequer notes being receivable at the
land offices would abound in all the Western
States. The Government being pledged for
their redemption, and the in titulion being pro-
hbited from discountting in any shape or
form, no one could entertain, for a moment, the
least apprehension that 1t would ever become
insovent For this reason, the farmer would
convert bis bulky specie into Government funds
which he would keep by him, and when he de-
sired to enlarge hi, farm would carry with him
TO the land office. For this reason the merchant
would cheerluly pay slight advance in "the
hard" to obtain bill. at par ia the East. For
this reason the hundreds of thousands Of emf
grants embarking in the East for the fertile
West, would exchange their millions in cum
brous coin for Exche1uer notes receiyable for