Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1843-03-23

/ Tie currency pttWttu looV pbu 1907 ~
amount OF property in the country iemain
/ ing the while without material variation
or at least keeping no pace with the 10
crease Of The circulating medium, furnish
proportion 10 every other commodity, pro
duced by the inevitable law of cause ans
effect, contpual aud spending fls,
in prices. Surprising no other cause tc
operate beyond the mere increase Of mo-
new, and that the relative demand fol
every sort ofpropehy continued unchang-
cd through the period, the doubling OF the
circulating medium between THE dates
mentioned, would have been found exact.
y 10 double the price OF every commodl.
ty. But this relative demand IS never the
same from year 10 year, and hence some
commodities exceeded. and others fell
short of an exact ratio To the increased a
mount Of currency while the spirit oil
speculation, engendered naturally, and,
as men are constituted necessarily by the
rise OF prices, SEEING, as it always does,
on some favorite object Of investment, not
only tended further 10 disturb the equal
prnportIonaie rise Of price OF each parllc.
uar commodity but, iniamng the irn-
aginatioD, gave en impulse to the prices
Of these iavorite objects, holding in regard
to them, no proportion whatever, to the
mere increase OF the circulating medium.
Western land specuatons was the South
knhhia IF th.. banr and hos adHad-
none can conjecture TO how vast an ex
tent to the evils and distress necessarily
incident TO the contraction Of their issues,
and the calling in Of their loans by the
banks Of the country, in the proc' SIS OF a
return to a sound convertible currency.
The voice Of prophetic warning had, in
van, been raised TO arrest these MISCHIEF
vous opin,ons-t these fatal projects
Even Of those who, at first, had hearken-
ed to these warnings, many yielded up
their convictions, to the decisions Of the
"betser currency" era, and were swept
into the common vortex. But the great
mass and body Of the people, judging, as
they ever do and must, from appearances
only, fatally mistook the false glitter OF
those days for the sunshine of prosperity
enjoyed brief day-dream of happiness,
and awoke to ruin.
In the space of screen years The Bank
ing capital Of The Union ,cas increased by
more than $50 millions of dollars, and The
circulation rose from 81 TO lac millions,
an addition TO The circulating medium, in
that briet space, of SO millions of dollars
--whiie Bank loans from 300 millions IN
1890 reached 525 millions in 1887, an IN
crease of loans in The same time Of 325
millions of doifdrSi*
The memorable words-"I leave you as
anstion, prosperous and happy" drowned,
even as they were uttered, in the crash Of
falling houses IN the two greet emporlurns
of our trade in the south and in the
north, usherrd in the last sad speech. -
They have found continuing response,
almost from that moment to the present,
IN vast and still widening wall of des-
nar and distress, as city after city, town
af:er town, and hamlet after hamlet, and
finally, the country as well as the towns,
uHNt uFttt i'hN'td III SuNCfSSlpu ny INV
pervading and all desolating tempest. -
The States of the uninn, all, without ex-
ception, sirateDrd in The means or impair.
ed IN credit some on the verge of bank
ruptcy-- some sunk IN the abyss of re-
pud 'aton-and to crown oil, the FEEDER
al Government itself, the main contrIver
of all .1ese woes. expos a 10 the unspeak
able shame Of being driven, as not trust
worthy, from the money markets Of the
world. and often only able to get along by
creditors - completes the drporsble pic.
tire of the consequences Of !gnorart and
wicked misrule.
FROM the Government in the hands OF
MIR. Van Barren, pledged lin his avn
words) TO "lollow IN the footsteps Of his
luStrious predeccsso, ~ pledge which,
whuthsr We regard the moial, political, or
economical errors e that administration,
II must be admitted he but too faithfully
fulfilled - NJ relief OF course was to be-
messutrs tia, brought about the public
colamiiIes-- after nggravat,ng those ca
amtics by the clumsy aud awkward
maCner IN which the measures were car
ried out-ond ad ing for himself other
aud serious causes Of complaint, he h"z
-rded the bold la!acy, rather than re-
trace his steps or admit his errors, that
Government, however potent To destroy,
was lmpo,eni 10 reheve-and coldly babe
suffering people, crying out for relief,
10 look for It To themselves. They did
so-deposed from power men who had
shown themselves incompetent to the task
Of Government, OF lai,hess TO It's high re.
spons,bIues, and called 10 The helm one,
-
-NorE.--The Annual Rsport Of the Secretary
OF the Treasury Of l330-40. illustrates the state
nent, showing that durng the existence of The
United States Bank undeT a National charter, the
Banks OF the States remained nearly stationary IN
number - well IN the amount OF their capital and
busiuess-aud that u was not until after that regu-
lsting power violently broken down by the
act ION of the Federal Government. that the whole
system ran into that dangerous excess. the butter
con sequences Of which We now reslzlng. That
Report slates the number Of State Banks ct the
several pefiuds indicsted-the amount OF their cir
eulatiop. capitals and loans. (excludng fractions
az ioliows:
yssy,. Basks Circulation. Capital
1880 900 Z 44,sD0 900 l37.l00.O00
1850 $50 81 800 400 las, 100000
teay gQA lao 100 600 $50 700 900