The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-03-14
From The Phil. Public Ledger.
THE FISCAL. AGENCY.

Alter the country has been kept in violent agitation
FOR nearly ten years by the bank question, majority
of those no contendcd for National Bank as a cure
for all evils have concluded that the country will not
tolerate another, and that if 1t woul such nsti
ton would not be useful, and might be mschievous
and majority OF It's opponents have learned that while
banks Of promise are nischlev0us eugine paper
ney actual y representing com, may be useful The
moderate portions OF both parties If not disposed 10
unite common ground are certainly nearer t. each
other on the currency question, than they have
been. Iwohills have been repoitedto Congress one
IN the House and the other the Senate, each re-
commenting an agency to receive deposltes OF coin,
and to certificates upon it, Whether ell her bill
will pass, with any notifications Is more than we can
predict and certainly consider the passage of any
as doubtful MIR. Clay would naturally oppose any
project for regulating the currency excepting an
old fashioned National Bank, like the one which has
explode in this city with sucl disastrous results !;
and Mr.. Clay followers in the Senate will probably
follow his lead, soldiers folloa corporal or ser
leant in the regular army MIR Benton viii probably
oppose the establishment Of any fiscal agency but tie
"SulTretsury,o and any scheme which con'ea-
plates the is Of paper. he moderate &" w ipsp
and the "Tyer Wings" will support one of the bills
now Offered, something of the same character SO
NAV the moderate q Dem crats." But while enough
of such derados may possibly unite upon some
scheme for tie issue OF paper we do not see enough
in present appearances, TO justify belle in the pas
sage Of any bill Ii the Sub Treasury had MT been
paper upon coin might have been accepted At Pre-,
sent think that the Presidential election too
much involved in the subject to allow the adoption of
any judclous scheme We admit that tim. is ia
vorabe, in one respect, for the adoption Of something
reasonable. The excitement OF the Presidential cleo.
ton of lSi0 has subsidized and that of 1874 has not
begun Hence the public mind, both in and out of
Congress, is more calm, and therefore in better con-
dton for candid consideration of this Important sub
Jec than it has been for many years past or than it
probably will he for years to come. II tlen no SAFE
fiscal agency can be established now we m ~ despair
of obtaining hereafter. BY safe fiscal agency, we
mean any project excepting the Sub Treasury That
Is safe, and may be the best project and as National
and State banks out of the question as agents the
county may return to the Sub Treasury, from ina
bllity to establish any other agent
Though decidedly and thoroughly opposed to the
whole system of paper promises, based upon credit,
for currency as our readers probably know for we
have opposed the system necessarily, we are not dis
posed to reject the whole project before Congress
for though some of the details may require amend
ment, we regard the main principle involved as
sound 1t repudates the whole system of false credit
mag nary credit, promises to pay with nothing to pay
hen, and conemplates the issue of paper as the rem
and not the substitute of coin II conten-
plates not the manufacture of money out of paper in
stead of gold and silver but the deposit or locking uu
IF so much gold and silver as may be issued in its
representative paper, to be used more convenient
han coin.
This plan is like the Bank Of Hamburg and like
he old Bank of Amsterdam which fell during the
French Revolution; and paper is better than coin
or transmission between different and distant places
and more portable for travelling, and therefore in
ome cases more convenient, we see less to oppose in
IN institution which contemplaes an issue Of paper
lpon the amount of coin actually existing living
,ut of use, and at all times ready for its redemption
Thus if merchant in New Orleans wishes to nav a
e5t Of $4,000 in Philadelphia and has the coin for the
,urpose he has the alternative of offering the coin
II buying bill of exchange. The bill may be bad,
md he must take the risk and if it proves to be bad
he must pay his debt in other funds and all the ex-
lenses OF protest and return and look 10 the drawer
II endorser OF whom he purchased for remuneration
Such difficulties sometimes occur, though they are
lot common among prudent and intelligent mer-
hants. But though bills of exchange, which are
mercantile invention, are generally safe, yet mer-
hants would prefer safer medium, if they could