Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-11-13
THE BANKS-THE NEGRO TRADERS
THE CURRENCY.


For he Enquirer.
THE BANKS-THE NEGRO TRADERS
THE CURRENCY.
Ii is melancholy fact, that negroes nave De-
come The only reliable staple OF the tobacco-gro@-
inc sections of Virginia the only reliable means
of liquidaling debts, foreign and domestic. Ihey
are sold here BY hundreds, under The hammer oil
the auctioneer. The domestic cannot compete
with The Southwestern demand Tor them; for the
main reason that The tobacco-grower cannon
make one half of one per cent per annum upon
slave labor-whst The cotton and sugar planters
make, perhaps, from Is TO 20 per cent. .
There is in This undenabe statement oil iac's,
much mailer for serious, il moi melancholy, re-
Election. But il is not my purpose 10 enlarge
upon this subject. My principal ooJecI Is ~
call the attention Of the people oil Virginia 70 inc
toul came which some Of the Southern Banks are
rIsr;ng nnon ms Our negroes are going by hum
dreds Yea. thousands TO the Southwest--and what
are we getting in return Tor lhem2 Look around
van and see fellow citizens. We are trading
off our slaves, whom we have nurtured through
intancy-we are parting with lhem at time OF
life when they have become able to help us work
for a living" and receiving as compensation lor
them precafious papeI currency, issued oy me
North Carolina and South Carolina banks Ma
nv of the traders borrow the capital, upon when
they are trading, from those banks. The banks
thus put afoal their "promises 10 pay as money.
With those promises the traders pay tor our ne
sroes. They sell them in the Southwest Tor spe-
Gle or specie funds, and then pay off their bank
deb's with the specie or specie funds BY tins
process, the banks make heavy profits, by ex
changing their credit for cash; whilst we, alter
parting with our lator, are being Hooded with
their noles as a currency, ere long, IN all piooaol-
lity, 10 depreciale upon our hands.
This game would be a bad one for US, even II
we were exchanging our slaves Tor large bank
notes from abroad. For large notes, although OF
uncertain value would mostly be used IN large
commercial transactions and would, in some
reasonable time, in the regular course u trade,
return 10 The banks that issued them. But see
how differently, see how iniquitously, the game
works when the Banks issue their small notes 10
the traders to buy negroes with. We swap our
slaves for siiB-plaStsrs, which yitiale and depfe-
ciate our currency, by entering into dihuslve CIR
cuaion, and driving off the little specie that
vicious banking and vicious legislation had lcit
in use among us.
Instances are occurring, in which valuable
slaves are paid for by traders, rhotiv IN mreca'm
four dollar notes fresh from the North Carolina
Banks call upon you, MessIs Editors To
attention 10 it, The exchanges have become re-
sulated without any other "Great Regulator than
the laws of trade and The Specie standard. But
rely upon il, that our currency needs watching
We have suffered enough in times past, by ie-
posing blind and thoushlless confidence in
currency founded upon and consisting OF Bank
credits. The time was, (and that too when we
had "King Bank" 10 lord il over The currency
and commerce OF The country when North Caro-
ina Bank notes were from 10 10 ID per cent be-
!ow par, even upon the North Carolina borders
ot onr State We can recollect when il was
common TO hear the crier proclaim, when
sinia money!" when a large proportion OF
the money in The pockets ot our people con-
sisted Of deprecated North Carolina Bank
notes-a time when the tax saheler either refused
peremplory 10 receive them, or else shaved them
10 the lune OF l2i or 10 per cent. The North
Carolina banks sunk their credit then by foul
play The low cunning and cupidiIy evinced by
some of the present banks in that STATE, IN lend
inr on, their small ,soies almost ezclns1r ~ 10 the
negro traders, give us reason 10 suspect that
they are no better than their predecessors
VIVA, remedy shall we rely upon, TO break up
This game and avert the existing and threatened
evils The "shin-plast gentry" are ready with
ihcir remedy. They would tell US TO Eight the
Devil with fre"-lo authorize our banks 10 do.as
the North and South Carolina banks are DOING
10 issue shin-pas,ers OF our own, and drive Inc
foreign trash out Of circulation. And mus, I'M
der that pretence, would they drive all hard mo-
ney from amongst us-not even allowing US
enough for our small retail dealings. Away with
snch a remedy, and le, US revive and put in force
one which experience has tested, and Th,ch can
mol fail if fairly, and firmly, and faithfully tried
Our last Legislature wisely refused 10 allow our
Banks TO issue small notes. Let The coming Le-
o;slalure revive and enforce The old law, forbid
ding the circulation, as we'll as The issuing Of
small bills, and we shall soon have mixed CUT
rency Of "iargc notes for large transactions, and
sold and silver for retail trade repeat, mat
experience has tested and proven The efficacy OF
IN, remedy after The total and disastrous failure
al The remedy OF the "Shin-plasier gentry" We
had ,ried their remedy for series OF years pre-
ceding the year 1919. We found then, 10 our
sorrow, that "Gghlng Inc Devil with fiIe" was
destructive warfare against ourselves. We had
tolerated the issue oil "Shin- plaster>" by Banks
and individuals; ami were we protected then
against the losses and hazards oil Shln-plasiefs
from abroad2 No such thing! We were Hooded
with small bills from other States, even down 10
The denomination OF picayune, Whilst scarcely
a copper Of specie could be found.
think il was in The year lSlS that our Legis-
lature passed the law making il penal offence 10
issue or circulate as money any note under he de-
nomination Of five dollars The Shin-plaser
party erumbled and predicted mischief then, as
they are ready 10 grumbe, predict mischief and
do mischief now. Blu; be il recollecled, that The
Law was speedily and completely successful, with
out any serious shock 10 trade, and with much
smaller proportion OF specie in the country 10
back il than We have now. Why not prohl by
experience, and revive and enforce This Conser-
ya,iye law? II must be revived and enforced, or
else we must for our folly be cursed with Iepe-
lion Of the disasters which have heretofore re-
sulled-yea. have arrays resulted from an exclu-
sive paper currency. Surely the man must be
desperately wicked, or deporaby deluded who
would aid in bringing these disasters upon us, in
addition TO the odds already against US in The L.
sislation and commerce Of the county.
A FRIEND TO THE SPECIE STANDARD.
For The Enquirer.