Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1844-12-06

/ standing, SGT ,OOC
interest thereon to LIST Jan. I645, 10000
! Five per cent Treasury notes ont
| standing. $4,000
Interest from, say lst June, 1912, 10
Is, January, ie45, G6.26.
Borrowed Of Michigan City Bank, 10000
Vincennes Bank, 10000
Fort Wayne Bank, 5000
Quarter per cent Treasury Notes out
standing, $4,000
Sl.52I, 26s
To this NAV be added the loans by the
former operations Of the Treasury, from va
rious trust funds; which should be replaced
as speedily as possible, particularly the a.
mount borrowed from the per cent, Fund
- which is much needed. and loudly called for
by the various counties TO which it belongs.
Ia this state of our affairs and pre- pal atory
to action on the subject, it behooves US, TO
carefully survey the whole ground, and note
the obstacles which beset our path.
l, is far more difficult 10 pay the interes, on
foreign, than on a domestic debt. In the
former case, there is an annual drain of the
precious metals, which directly (and under
the present banking system, to far greater
extent, Indirectlyo dininIshes the circulation
Of the country. In the latter case the inter
est is paid to citizens residing in the same
county, in the local currency,-it still re-
mains in the same community, and no mate
rial dimlnUtIon in the circulation Is occasion
ed.
The government Of Great Britain would
be crushed under the wei gbt Of its immense
debt, were II not due to It's own sub ects.--
Their onerous taxes could not be borne, il
they were rot, simultaneously received from,
and paid out 10 persons inhabiting the same
country. constant drain of specie cannot,
be long sustained by any country, unless the
vacuum thereby occasioned, is from time to
time rePlenished by the expectation Of in
dustrial products.
The same is true of our foreign commerce.
Cash payments for balances III favor Of i'm
ports would, if continued, shortly drain the
whole country Of specie. Before that time
would arrive, however, the greater cheapness
Of the staples, arising from the accumulation
a, home, and the scarcely Of money caused
by its beiEg sent abroad, " ould occasion the
former to be exchanged for the latter, and
the equilibrium would be restored. The
comparatively small amount ofspecie brought
into the L. States. by immigration, or pro-
duced from our mines, can not be relied on
tor restoring those balances, in much as it
scarcely keeps pace with the rapid growth Of
our population, as compared with most other
countries. The balance Of the trade Of the
United States may at times be unfavorable
But in that case it will soon be restored BY
corresponding excess Of exports. For, if it
is at once restored by cash payments, still
there must be an excess Of exports after
wards, to supply the loss Of currency occa
stoned by such payments, which amounts to
the same thing. Thus, while our own com
mcrciaI history shows these vibrations in
trade, it also establishes the fact that the av-
erage exports and imports Of the United
States are equal. The apparent balances
against US, while many Of the States were
engaged in making loans from abroad, for OBJ
Jects Of Improvement. and other purposes,
arose from the fact that the far greater part
of these loans passed through our custom
houses i'll the shape Of goods, into which
they had been converted in Europe. These
loans Of the indebted States amount to above
5000 900 900 and it is NANTES, from what
has been said, that this large balance when
paid, with its accruing interest, must be met ),
directly or NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. or ater-by
the increased expectation of our agricultural
and other staple products.
If the foregoing views correct, the dis
charge ct our foreign Indebtedness will be
mole or less onerous. according as the tariff
policy adopted by the general government, is
more or less restricted. Indiana is now al
most destitute of a currency. because there
has been constant drain upon it, to pay our
large balances due 10 the eastern cities. To
supply this deficiency, we must have a ready
and profitable sale of our agricultural pro-
auctions. common argument IN favor of
the restrictive system, is. that it furnishes
home market for the farmer. But refer
ence TO the returns in the last census. demon
strated that :he agricultural productions of
the Uui,ed States far exceed any domestic
demands for consumption. And they would
be still greater, if the industv and enterprise
Of the farmer, were stimulated by remuner-
ating prices. The manufacturing States. are
largely agricultural. What
they lack in supplying the demand within
their own limits collectively, could be easily
furnished by single western State. Where
then are the other agricultural States to find