The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-04-08
EDITORS CoRREspoNDEscE.


bringing On a eriss--D efficiency Ia the COTTON crop
/ sgaal 20 So 600 900 Ia uaiss-vS 600 900 required
Ia speee o. other means 10 seitls tsisaes Of i,ads
Ovsr-hGding caused BY bank sxpa1sioas The arg,E
Hlsni that high tariff could keep The specie IN the
country, s1yiOdsd--Ths tghinss In the money mar
ksi oiA be falsely asebsd 20 the Constitutional Ifsa-
su,y BiH-RsvaisOn IN the manufacturing States q
.NsW England, olloi0ing from s cause, iciA be
! put dO,on 10 The reduction Of the tniG.-Braneh
minis The best auriiiariss 10 The saeIreasury.
One Of the leading arguments urged by the friends
OF the high tariff Of lo42, was that it would keep
the specie IN the country and strengthen the banks
DC. This plea they uttered on the passage Of the
law, and repeated il with incessant camor during
the last presidential campaign. The fallacy Of the
argument was then pointed out TO them. They
were tsld, SPECIE like any other commodity OF trade,
would hnd It's level; that whenever demand grew
up for in Europe il would leave the country, tariff
or no tariff The law still exists in all lis unequal
deformlty, and yet We find specie has recently COM
meneed sliding from the country with extraordinary
| rapidity. Within the brief period Of two weeks
past, about half million has aoated of TO Eng
| land .......
| Cotton, the great staple against which foreign
bills Of exchange are drawn TO an enormous
extent, promises 10 prove deficient in amount
All accounts concur in fixing the deficiency Of the
crop of l645, now going forward, at not less than
800, 600 bales: Estimating each bale at no,
would give deficiency in value equal TO IS, 900 600
Supposing this amount to be neutralized by an adj
vance equal TO 1000 900 the current prices com
pared with last year, still hiatus Of Of IS 900 900
would exist This amount, or element in the oper-
atoms Of exchange, or in supplying the means Of
paying for purchases Of goods abroad predicsted
upon the belief that there would be no falling of in
the yield Of cotton, compared with the preceding
year, must be supplied by other means, and that Is
specie. 49,.
The importation of goods has been augmented by
the expansion Of the banks scattered through the
| IL il sal hot h.
Of total prohibition, the expansion Of the paper sys-
| tenn never fails TO encourage oyertradlng. Many
| persons who were swept down by the paper revul-
sion Of 1886 and 1897, having passed through the
the bankrupt law, are again among the active bus-
ness men OF the country, endeayoring TO retrieve
| their fortunes.
| All this is just and laudable. But when bank OK
pansions encourage free importauons, the importers
are anxious to sell To country customers, I'LL the
whole country becomes involved in overtrading.
| II Is highly probable that, in from two TO three
months, from two TO three millions Of dollars OF spe-
Gle will be exported from this country 10 Europe.
This will necessarily embarrass banks, TO some
extent, who will dislike To call upon their custom
for collections, ifthey avoid IT, as many who
have extended their business account OF increased
banking facilities will not be able TO meet sudden
demands for payment without a risk Of suspension.
| The result will be-and wish your readers to
| bear Il in mnd-that the banks, with the leading
wing journals, will charge all this arrangement and
tghness in the money market TO the passage Of the
constitutional treasury bill, and use it as an argu-
ment in coming elections. Their high tariff was TO
keep the specie in the country. Yet we have high
tariff, and the specie leaves the country, which is
caused, they now say, by the constitutional treas
ury, &c.
The banks in the New England States, the .prin-
cipa region Of manufacturing establishments, have
greatly expanded, more 80, probably, than at any
| former period. great many persons have been
tempted engage in manufacturing from reading Of
the large dividends being declared by parties es-
| tablished in the same business. A large portion
Of the operators have gone into the business to
some extent by paper loans and credits The banks,
hattered by the prospects Of the manufacturing phr
suits in which their customers about engaging,
have encouraged their enterprises quite freely. In
addition to this channel for loans, the banks of Bos-
| ton have encouraged the importers and wholesale
merchants Of that city to extend their business, for
the purpose Of attracting country merchants from
| New York to that point. Vast railroad schemes
have also been encouraged; and hence the New Eng
land banks and particularly those Of Boston, in
a poor condition to withstand the pressing demand
| for specie that is springing up. The consequence
will be, that revulsion will be- felt to considerable
extent among the Boston merchants, and especially
among the manufacturers Themselves.
| predict, that this crisis will be attributed to the
reduction Of the tariff! To believe the friends of pa
per expansions and wing journals, banks, like kings,
| can do no wrong. Banks may expand-encourase
overtrading in every form, over importation, and
| over manufacturing, over railroad building, and
| when they find run or demand for specie springs
up to adjust the balances of trade, it forces them to
contract their loans or burst, thus deranging the
| whole business of the country. They have never
been known to lay any blame upon themselves. II
is anything but their conduct. 1t is the const.
tutiona treasury, and the reduction Of the tariff,
which has done the mischief. The results Of their
expansions have commenced before the constitu-
tona treasury has been passed, or the tariff acted
| nj has nced from eir
vaults, and money has become suddenly tight, which
the high tariff was to have prevented yet they be-
gin in advance to accuse the proposed measures as
the exclusive causes of the whole difficulty.
The tariff should have been reduced, and the con-
stitutonal treasury bill passed at the first session of
the last Congress, which would have saved the
country from the approaching crisis. Things would
then have moved on in healthy state. But the re-
vulsion which bank expansion and overtrading were
so well calculated to produce, would have occurred
had no constitutional treasury reduction Of the
tariff ever been thougho Of The only difficulty is that
the evil has gone far that it is feared it is too
late for these important measures to arrest the
| progress of the evil. ... .....sr.#
In connexion with the constitutional treasury,
| Congress should by all means establish branch
mint in New York. Experience has shown that
the minis are very safe and convenient places Of de-
| post for government funds As larger amount of
revenue is collected at New York than at any other
point in the United States, mint would form the
| sdest pldCc, az well as the MOST convenient place,
| for its safe-keeping. 1t would remove the objec-
ton, and lessen the DANGER of putting too much mo-
ney under the control Of one individual. 1t would
| also prove more convenient to merchants Many
| of these often receive large remittances of specie
| from abroad which they could deposit in the
branch mint, and receive certificate or warrant.
These warrants might be made negotiable, and re-
ceived in payment of government dues. ..........H
| With the branch minis here in Philadelphia,
New Orleans, and another at st. Louis, where one
is much needed on account of the bullion flowing in
to that place from Santa Fe, they would render the
constitutional treasury the Safest wises and best
measure ever adopted by the government. We
already have minis in Philadelphia and New Or.
leans. All that is necessary to perfect the system
is to extend branch minis to New York and St.
Louis. Not dollar, believe, has ever been lost
by the government, entrusted to the keeping of the
United States minis, although millions pass through
them every year. I.1tE 5" #a~Es#1l |
| The Great Western is to sail from Liverpool on
the 1lth instant, and will reach New York by the
last of the month. ..... ~
| 49, ~ I'll M 4