The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-11-07

|. are the questions.
And those gentlemen who choose to say tina
}. these questions are sunk, overwhelmed ant
forgotten in the presence of the 'One Idea,
and not a very practical one such gentlemen
: mistake the sentiments of the people of Mass
B; achusetts. Why let me again hear the FRIEND
+ of Mr.. Polk in his recent speech at Washing
D ton, a gentlemen, certainly, who has as mucf
right to speak for his party as any other mar
in the country. He puts the questions to be
, Just as they were in 40, or rather in IA. He
says that the issue is between the party thai
uphold this noble Sub Treasury and this glo
| rious tariff of '46, and those who would sacri-
egiously destroy either one or the other.
|, Then what are we to believe Here arc
Il our brethren who take leave of us, and say
thai ererybody agrees that IRE must hare a tariff
but what sort of a tariff! They might as well
say every body agrees that we must have a
form of Government-but what sort of Gov
ernment? Every body believes it Will be
some sort of weather tomorrow, but what sort
of weather? Fair or foul No, gentlemen.
these questions are inherent in our different
Fl views of policy: one of them belongs TO the
Wings, because they are Wings, and the 9TH
or side 10 our opponents, because they are OPP
ponents to Wings; and so long as there shall
be Wings, and opponents to Wings upon ques-
tions which have lastedfrom the days of Wash
ington, let me say, so long will this tariff ques-
ton be important / say again, Mr.. Buchan-
an is manly and fair. He does not 20 about
now, as he did in "A, to tell the people of
Pennsylvania that they shall have good tar
if and specific duties he does not saw that
their candidate is more of tariff man than
the Wing candidate. If he did not say this
in IA. his friends said it. He SAYS now the
tariff is noble institution; and he speaks of
the present existing tariff as a system that has
answered all the purposes and sustained the
business OF the country. | am glad to say that
there is no more stunning and cheating-that
the question is put fairly to us in Massachu-
sets, fairly to Pennsylvania, fairly to the L.
Mon, respecting the Sub Treasury and the
monies of the Government, and between the
tariff of '46 and something like the tariff of '42
that is, a protective tariff.
Now gentlemen, may be permitted TO saw,
before going on TO other things, that this Sub
treasury, the invention of Mr.. Van Buren,, is
still his favorite. As far as remember it has
received no rebuke at the Buffalo Convention;
and believe, with all respect, that that Buff
alo platform was constructed of such slight
materials, that while it would not bear very
heavy tread, it would sustain the fox-like foot
steps of Mr.. Van Buren,. And now, gentle
men, what is, in point Of fact, the operation of
this Sub-tIeasury system. i am quite aware
that / speak here in presence of merchants,
manufacturers, men of business, who under
stand it great deal better than ! do; but ]
shall state it rs far as can inform myself of it.
Gentlemen, | am not about TO argue, either
against the Sub-treasury, or against the tariff
of 46. Let these measures pass they have
been the law of the land now for two years,
and all men of business have had taste of
their effects. All l propose tonight, is to
bring them to the trial, to inquire into their
actual operations, and see if they have per-
formed the great good they promised, Of
whether they hare avoided the evil that was
predicted.
And instead of going into general principles
and statements, have thought it would be
more satisfactory TO you, and more indulgent
towards myself, to present to you the opera
ton of this Sub-treaSury system in the great
State of New York; because we know that
New York is the great centre of the money
market as well as the great emporium of for
eign commerce. And now / have been at
some pains TO ascertain this, and will state
the results as have learned them. l state
that the truth is this when money is plenty,
inc ouD-lTtdSuTl IS Oull IL luulClOuS,
and annoying thing, forging men of business
to move about bags and kegs Of specie, when
the business would be Just as well done by the
ty, it is only expensive, bungling, useless, an
noying and ridiculous; but the moment that
by the expectation of specie, or from whatev-
er cause, money becomes scarce, and the ext
gencies of the business community begin TO
press then it is not merely harmless and lu-
dicrous engine it becomes means of torture
and distress, because its inevitable effect, when
money is scarce, is to make it scarccr, and
and when it is difficult to be had, to increase
that difficulty.
Now, find that on the 18th day of August
last, the commercial banks in the city of New
York had in their vaults $500 900 in coin.
That was the basis upon which they made
their issues for the accommodation of the mer-
camille world. The Sub-treasury had at that
time in its vaults, in the same city, fourteen
hundred thousand dollars but in the course of
commercial events, within one month that re-
ation was greatly changed, for on the 29th of
September the banks had but forty-six hun
dred thousand dollars, while the Sub Treas
ury had increased Its amount to tweIty-four
hundred thousand. Thus, in few days more
than a month, the banks parted with twelve
hundred thousand dollars Of specie, and the
Sub Treasury obtained the additional sum OF
one million. This change in the relation be-
tween the amounts of money in these respec-
tive deposites, at once created great scarcity
of money, for every body knows that the spe-
cic or coin IN the banks is the only safe basis
for their circulation and as in this case the
banks in one month lost twelve hundred thou
sand dollars of coin, they must, of course, draw
in their circulation, not merely to replace the
twelve hundred thousand dollars, but to re-
place all that portion of their circulation rep
resented by that amount. All mercantile prac-
tical men Understand that. If bank looses
certain quantity of specie, it must curtaiI its
discount, not to the same extent, but to three
or four times that extent. i know that the
proportion may be stated as three to one, but
it is more likely to exceed that proportion than
to fall short of it. Then this withdrawal of so
large sum as twelve hundred thousand doll !
ars would naturally lead to a curtailment by
the banks, and would necessarily and absolute
ly stop payment of three and a half or four
million dollars wi Thin month That one L