Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1842-12-23

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now grown into virtual or systemarlzed
reputation, on the part of the States,
which has ruined so many other victims
institutions or individuals and cover
ed me American name with dlshonor
The ruin Of the State Bank Of the u.
nlled States was the act, not Of Mr.. Bid
de- (no single individual was. perhaps,
competent TO such a deed Of G%eslruction)
but Of The States, the free, sovereign
States, which borrowed its money. dis
honored the debt, and left it to sink un.
dera load Of worthless Stale Scrip, for
which 1t had given up its gold and silver
Lei US remember, when we charge this
loss, resulting from this investment of
The means OF the Bank in State Stocks
as the crime Of Mr. BiddIe, how many
other persons committed the same crime
-iel US remember a fact which has new.
er YET been properly brought before the
public, that the United States Govern
ment having the Smithsonian Fund and
several millions Of dollars 10 invest for
the Indians, Creeks, Cherokees, &c, in.
vested 1t, in pursuance Of an ACT OF Con-
gress, in State stocks and how the Uni
ted States have lost more in proportion
upon their investments upon State stocks
than the Bank ofthe United States on
the whole of It's wide spread concerns,
as appears from the report Of the Bank
Investigating committee in lS4l. THIS
is a fact which ought TO dlsarm censure.
There is another fact, said Mr.. Cay
ton which mention in justice to Mr..
BIddIe, and which, in justice to him
ought never to be forgotten. In Janua
ry, 1871, The banks Of Philadelphia,
which had been forced into suspension,
were cumpuIsorily directed to resume
specie payments just OF the moment
when the Legislature wanted 10 borrow
$SOO,O0O. Mr.. BiddIe, then only a pri
Vate citizen, exhorted the banks moi TO
resume; he assured and endeavored to
convince them that they were wholly
unPrePared for resumption; for, he ar
gued and solemnly declared (wha his
long financial experience enabled him to
foresee) that if the banks lent the money
and resumed, both they and the State
mast inevitably break. But the Banks
driven by popular clamor, both resumed
and lent the money, and now we see the
end Of it-many Of the banks gone and
The State Of Pennsylvania bank rupt.-
Had Pennsylvania done what Virginia,
Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee did-had
she allowed her banks to defer tho return
TO specie payments until july, l842.
the banks might then have resumed with
a prospect OF safety, and the Safe and
city of Philadelphia might, perhaps
have been spared the vast calamity, IN
der which they are now Iaboring.
There are other causes which con
trlbuted TO the ruin Of this unIuck State
Bank, The bonus, and the whole amount
paid for It's charter in annual contribu-
tons 10 the school fund, subscriptions 10
public improvements &c. amounted 10
The enormous sum Of twenty millions OF
dollars; IN eXacting which Pennsylvania
deprived The Bank Of its very life blood.
An additional feature of the bonus was
the obligation Of the bank TO lend The
o'ate an immense amount of money at
the pitlful and r~uinous rate Of four per
cent. interest. We'll! Pennsylvania was
not content with demanding and r~eceiv-
ing this loan. The money was scarce.
~ IN her Treasury before the Leeisla-
ture repealed the fax, laid for the pur :
pose Of meeting and paying The interest
on the loan. and thus the credit of The
loan was destroyed, and the bank made
the loser by the whole amount of de-
probation.
Add 10 these causes the return TO the
Slate Bank of the twenty-five millions of
circulation Of The National Bank, which
The Iormer was obliged to redeem. and
you have the tue elements ofthe destruc.
'Ion OF the Bank-beyond which it is I'm.
necessary 10 go to seek an additional
cause IN any supposed NAL. admlnislra
lion of Mr.. BiddIe.
Mr.. c. having shown the superiority
OF a National BOnk sy stem over The Slate
bank system, and traced the true cause
OF The explosion of the latter, predicted
with perfect confidence, that The curren.
cy and exchanges Of the country would
ema'n distracted, in consequence of sac
cesslVe contractions and expansions BY
the State banks acting without concert
and WITHOUT check. He predicted that,
so long as the State bank ~ sIem, now
existing should remain Without The con.
'rol OF a naIiomI institution, tho country
would be r%onvulsed by alternate suspen,
slonS and assumptions Of specie payments
by Irequent explosions of Stale Banks.
followed by all their disastrous conse /.
quences, and by continual fluctuations
and distractions Of The exchanges. He
considered The party which favored Iha