The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1842-01-27

congress hud stricken DOWN that institution
which, until $40, had exer,ed so efficient d
power IN regulating the currency when, a,
once, the bauk MANN had swept over the
land, and they came Up, from the destruction
Of :he old institution, like frogs from the
waters OF the Nile until the country was
covered with them. The policy Of the
State Governments, mesnwhie, had created
an immense debt, and tie means Of pay.
meni did not exist, and thus the People
were reduced from HE condition of the
brightest aud palmesi prosperity TO the
deepest distress and dependence. The OK
pedeui which had been resotted 10 Of Dor
rowing foreign capital had produced for q
time fictitious prosperity. bot while the
nation vas fevcliing IN all that abundance
produced BY the influx Of borrowed wealth
while all was going on sloriously, and a
stranger would have supposed that the eoun
try had attained 10 the highest pitch Of Ia.
lionnl strength and public prosperity, sud
den reverse vas experienced. The foreign
debt vas demanded the means Of meeting
tho demand were no; to be lourd. lgdiVId-
ual add public distress soon spread IN every
direction. Tie extremity Of tho pressure
gave birth 70 lAe revolving idea Of repudIa
lion. II, then, 10 the reiluen, current, which
was fas, sweeping away the means Of weolIh,
added this hateful dociflue Of repudla
lion, and the still more ant, American doc.
trine-and, may add, IN my judgment the
alroclous dUclnue--of the repeal Of char
iers, and the destruction of vested rights,
and add yet 10 these the iereiyersaiions and
,reachery, in public, and the falsehoods, for
geries, frauds and al the other forms of DIS
honesty 10 the walks Of private life, was It
any wopder tia, men vito possessed capital
should lock up aud hoard their resources,
aud not expose them 10 mass Of population
already deeply tainted, aud more and more
lmbbi0g the poison Of agrauan principles :
Ia q state Of things like this, or rather
upon the approximation Of this state Of
things, the American People had risen as
Que man, and throan oG, BY a burst &c IN
digualion, tie individual whose nal admin
is,rai,on hsd, as they believed, brought
about this unparalleled slste Of corruption
and distress. They thought that they were
abou, to substitute for hs reckless misrule
their osn system of remedial measures
Every one knew hos they had becu banked
in that expectation. The history Of this
rational crisis would be read by our patfio,
&c children with wondet, as page exhibit
ing the sirangod and most uuaceountable.
and NEST useless isrgivctsaiion which tho
whole volume recorded, or II would be clio.
sed aud passed with loalhlng and repug.
nance. The measures proposed By their
friends in Congress as the only panacea Tor
the publ llla bad been offered, adopted,
and vetoed a, the Extra Session. And here
MIR. NJ. must be suffered 10 say, thnt, al.
though voting for that measure, be had Rl.
ways iei, great doubt ~ regard to lis immo
dave efficiency. lie had hIs own mlsgiy
lngs as 10 It's etieetng ut once all that good
which its friends, in their sanguinc mo
menis. promised themselves, and perhaps.
,houghllessly promised 10 others. lie had
never been friend 10 Banks he had never
touched bank by uny vote OF bis until las,
summer. The cuiirc system was bouomcd
On such principles that il appeared 10 him
10 carry IT'S own death within itself The
measure which tho Whias bad proposed, ho
believed, might indeed mitigate, and for q
time reprcss the evil connected with II. 1t
might Withstand something Of that surceli!le
force with which the mad excuses Of tho
system were sweeping over the country.
But there stl appeared to him 10 remain
ono great deslderatum, Which nothing had
as yet been able TO supply. and that WIS, a
priocipe within the system itself which
should operate TO check excessive issues,
aud proven, those fearful alterations of ex
pansion and contraction which so shook
the system of public credit, aud spread such
frequent ruin throughout tho mercantile
community. II any such remedy had yet
been discovered, Mr. NJ. wSs uuacquanted
with II, and II certainly had never been ap.
Piled. Whatever might be said Of tho reg.
ulating power exctted over the State insti
;uiIons By Bank Of the United States land
such an institution pIp exert that power to
certain extent yot still, in proportion TO
tho degree Of confidence which tho public
might reposo in any Of these State Banks,
they were invariably disposed to push their
issues TO extremes. MIR. ". was no bank
agcn, OF bank machinlst, and no admitted
TINT the tendency ola United States Bank, in
exertlnc regulating power, would be 10
break such Of The State banks, as were es
sentlally unsound--an operation which,
however saluiary N the end, could no, but
be attended with vast amount Of private
distress IN their respective viciuiiles. The
mere displacement Of capital which was
necessarily inyo'yed in subscribing TO so
great number Of banks, was in itself a
great OWL, aud must necessarily produce
great structure in the money market -
Then the explosion of rotten banks which
mus, necessarily accompany a reform IN the
currency, would be productive Of great ca
lamiiy. Ga the whole, he believed that
the community had gone so far IN the mui
tipicatlon OF banks, and IN nil those habits
to which this gave rise, tina, il would require
t,u,, ca,,ran ,r xnata IN hFtnu the TnifnIrV