Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1849-09-17

03- The Republican, in support OF lis charge that tho
State Banks were Wing agencies. parades tho vote. in
The Senate OF the United States. in 1887. by which il
appears that upon an amendment. offered by Mr.. Preston.
to make he State Banks the special depository Of the
acciuing revenue, twenty twa Wings and conservatives
voted in the affirmative and twenly-six Democrats in the
negative. IL takes, however. special care II conceal the
fact, that the bill upon which this amendment wasattempl-
cd TO be engraf ed. for the purr ase of ~drfeaaiog it. was
a bill for the establishment Of The Sub Treasury ? As
the alternative Of the Sub Treasury, the Nl,igs Of the
Senate. and of the country. preferred the State Banks as
repositories. What inoon Sisiency was there in this
The Republican will scarcely deny that, from the mo
Ament Mr.. Van Buren, chose to mako lhs destruction of
The Bank of he United States the hobby on which 10
ride into the Presidency. as the successor Of Gen. Jack.
son, ua,il the general hank suspension of 1887. 1t was
the great object of The Democratic party 10 ldul AMI mag
Nifty the State Banks, and To show their capacity of ustiui-
ness to be greater than that of lhe u. 5. u INK. AMI thai
they would be far safer and more convenient repositories
uf the public money. Gen. j ckson, in several OF his
messages, annual and special, discussed the subject, and
his Secretaries of the Treasury, in their usual reports to
Congress. entered more largely into the merits Of the
question. We quoted some paragraphs from official doc.
uments in our last. NJ one, who was of aiult age dn-
ring the last term Of Jackson's Presidency. can have FOR
gotten that adherence 10 the State Banks constituted a
prominent article faith of the Democracy of that day.
Banks were multiplied in almost every State, aud bank.
ing capital most enlarged in thuse States which were
most exclusively under Democratic control. There was
nothing then heard of keeping the public money separate
from The funds of the b mk. o. the contrary, Gen.
Jackson's Secretary of the Treasury issued a circular .ex.
lorting the Pet b lnks 10 discount literally upon the pub
lie deposites, and we need not remind the reader that the
advice was followed 10 the letter. There was nothing
then heard of an exclusive metallic currency -nothing of
the payment ofduties in gold and silver otly-nothing
Of the Sub Treasury. Van Buren, came int power and
almost simultaneous the Banks suspended. The iufll-
ton, brought about through Dem ,eratic policy, hal its
natural terminatiln. The bursting of the bubble was the
signal for a sudden change OF policy. Bitter opposition
to all Banks now became the test of orthodoxy. There
Were some honest Democrats, who had been convinced
of the capacity of the State Blnks for usefulness t, the
Government and people. They could not be brought 10
denounce, at the word of command, a system which they
had corscieutiouly advocated. They were royilol with
a bitterness not often witnessed even in our party stfug-
giles, AMI, after a bref existence, under Il party organiza-
ton of their own the Conservatives merged into one or the
other ofthe two great p,rties Of The C untry. Under such
circumstances was it that the State l}Inks became the
repositories of the Government. The Republican persists
in calling them Wing agents." As a Joke, this will
do well enough. Regarded in any other light, the desig
Of The history Of the last fifteen years.