Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1844-12-07

successful FOR nineteen years, and the stockhol
ders divide immense profits during that period OF
time, and grow rich as lords in doing so, and ia
the twentieth and last year Of its existence, from
accident, or bad management, or design, the ex
pertinent falls with large debts outstanding, the
loss falls upon the creditors; and the stockholders
with nineteen years Of accumulated profits on
hand, go free again. go
large portion OF the people have long con.
tended, that this practice Of granting acts Of in
corporation, harmonizes badly with Justice and
equity, and equal rights and equal privileges and
good policy. In our State, the public attention
has been awakening to the importance OF this
subject and public prejudice has been operating
strongly against its injustice inequality and mex
pediency. Like all those practices, which m>
perceptibly extract revenues from the people, its
general tendency is TO enrich the few, and inpov.
erish the many; and this practice is, therefore,
repugnant 10 the character and spirit OF our nsti.
| tutious.
To refuse, however to grant any act OF incor.
poration, might be going too far. Cases may ex
ist where the people Of the country may be ben
Gifted by granting them. But acts Of ncorpo.
ration should no longer be granted with the IN.
limited powers, privileges and mmuntes which
have generally been extended to them. Power
sued, and TO hold the property necessary to carry
on the legitimate business Of the corporation, is
about as much as should be granted them.
The laws by which members OF corporations
are exempted from individual responsibility,
should be repealed, and the members Of corpora
tons should be placed upon the footing Of all
other individuals, and held responsible for their
just debts, whether contracted individually or in
their corporate capacity. 1t is shamefully mi.
quitous 10 permit the members Of corporation
10 reap the profits Of the e1perment-say for
nineteen years-almost the entire span OF its ex
istence-and then to let it fail in the twentieth,
either by accident, bad management or design,
and drop the loss upon the unwary and unsuspec-
ting people, and not upon those who have been
reaping the profits during almost its entire exis
tence. Those who reap the profits OF such an
experiment whilst it hourshes, should suffer the
losses OF the same experiment when it languishes.
Besides all this, the privileges heretofore
granted 10 incorporated companies, have had q
tendency to increase the inequality among men,
and the government should do nothing 10 in.
crease that inequality. 1t would be wrong 10
pass laws to force an equality, and to make an
equal distribution OF property between the idle
and waste(ul on the one hand and the industrious
and frugal on the other; and it is equally wrong
and even more So 10 pass laws to create an inc.
quality by extracting means from the hands Of
the many, and concentrating them in the hands
OF the few. And yet in numerous ways besides
that Of granting acts Of incorporation with exclu
sive privileges, this thing has been frequently
done. In free government, where rights are
equal, and where laws ought to be equal, such
legislation should not be tolerated.
The question OF regulating the currency has
| h. r. aIa IF IL
agitation Of this question, much warm and bitter
strife has sprung up among the people Of the
State. Some deny the constitutional power OF
the State to regulate the currency; some admit
the evil Of spurious currency and the consttu.
tional power to regulate it, bu, deny the exped
ency or applying remedy; and others again, as
sert the existence OF the evil claim the consttu.
lional power and insist upon applying the most
vigorous remedies. There cannot be much diff.
Guilty about the constitutional power. The regu.
ation Of the currency is clearly a subject Of leg
islation. If so, it must be in one OF the three
bodies in which all such powers are to be found
under our system OF government; that is, in the
people, the States the United States, unles the
exercise OF it has been prohibited to the States
In our State, the powers reserved to the people
are expressed in our bill OF rights. In that, the
power 10 regulate the currency is not reserved.
The power then is not in the people, The pow.
ers granted to the United States are expressed in
the constitution Of that government: But in the
constitution OF that government no power is
granted 10 regulate the currency. The power,
then, is not in the United States. 1t is no
where prohibited to the States. IT, then, the
power is not reserved by the people, nor granted
by the States to the u S.. nor prohibited to the
States, then the power 70 regulate the currency
here, must be in the State itself, and can be ex
ercised by our legislature.
So much for the consutonality OF this
power. The expediency of its exercise is another
matter, and depends upon the people. As the
power exists, if clearly ascerained ma orty OF
the people are in favor OF laws to regulate the
currency, then the legislature should not hesitate
10 pass laws for that purpose. believe it is con.
coded by all that the clearly ascerained will oil
the people, when not unconstitutional, should
always be enacted into law But If ma.
iority Of the people are against the passage oil
laws to regulate the currency, then, although the
country may suffer much for the want Of them,
the legislature should pass no laws upon the sub
ject | believe further, and it is generally con.
ceded, that no law should be passed upon any
) subject against the will OF a ma ority OF the
people.
| was in favor or limiting the issues of our
bank, when that institution was chartered, Il
notes OF denomination not less than ten dol.
lars. On this subject, my opinion has under
gone no change, except TO be Strengthened in
the proprety Of the limitation; yet have Away,
considered that we did ourselves great injustice
in denying to our bank privilege which we per