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

ment, sustained by using the Banks as ~deposito-
ries, from memory. II has since found the Re.
port, and chuckles over the fact that its recollec-
ton was correct to a cent" ct was only four
teen millions and a half wide of the markD But
il seems this large amount of fifteen millions and
a half is nothing to the magnificent sum which
Mr.. Woodbury., giving a wider scope 10 his fancy,
has figured up in another part of this famous Re-
port, made, when the miserable Administration, of
which he was the dullest member. was in the a
article Of death-viz on the 18th of February,
1871. 1t seems the Senate of the United States
had adopted a resolution TO the following effect
"Wl,at amount have the people of the United States
lost. from the commencement ot the government To this
time, by the future and suspension OF h Inks, and by The
depreciation If Bank paper. by the loss and destruction
of Bunk notes. and the existfrcc of Banks and by the
use al Bank paper generally ~
It must be evident to the most ordinary compre-
hension, that mere coniectural answers could be
gwen to such queries, aud that two men, equally
well informed on the subject OF finance and bank
ing, and equally DESTROYS of arriving at the truth,
might differ from each other in their estimates TO
The extent Of many millions of dollars. Such
men. free from party bias, and with no political
end TO serve, would speak with great doubt, and
use round sums in their estimates. Not so the
brilliant Secretary of Mr.. Van Buren,. He gives
YOU the amount, under each head, III dollars and
cents, and with an eXactness which, at once, de-
stroys al! confidence in the tfuthfuinesS Of his
statement. The enquiries, from their nature ,ad-
mitted not of definite answers. The precision OF
the Secretary, like the too great knowledge OF a
swift witness, destroys the credibility Of his evil
dence. What confidence can we place on the
first four items, when, to cover contingencies, he
adds $50, 00O, 900? We have the romance of
history-why should we no thave the romance ct
financial statistics? We insert the Secretary S re.
ply to the Senate's resolution. for the amusement
of our readers, and, in answerto the Republicans
query, inform it that our ''pulse" was disturbed in
its beating only by the hearty laugh which this
array of figures elected.
losses by Banks which have failed com
pu,ed on their capital, circulation, de-
pasits and balances owing, 9lOS, SS5,12l
Losses by the community through depre-
citation Of Bank paper, IN eases OF sus-
pension Of specie payments, so ,O1O 900
Loss or destIution of bank mites by aeri-
dent. g.. $7.i2l 1882
Losses by Counterfeit notes over and above
that by CON-, $i,4i1,lii
Losses by fluctuations in Bank currency,
affecting prices, eXtravagance in living,
sacrif as of property, and by only a part
of the other incidents To the Banking
system, not computed above, at least, $50. 600 900
Aggregate computed, 1865, AL ,197
1t is scarcely necessary to expose the absurdi-
ty of this statement. We contine ourselves to a
Single DOinl-tHS lIITu lttm III t1lS Dill Oh pdTllt-
ulars. The imposSibility of forming any thing
but a very rough estimate Of the amount of Bank
notes destroyed, or lost, must be apparent to eve
nv man of ordinary intelligence. The books OF
the first bank of the United States might possibly
show the amount OF paper still unredecmed and,
therefore, presumed to be lost. No Bank doing
business, or for many years after It's close, can give
any reasonable guess even of the amount of lis
notes destroyed or lost. Blu the Secretary aScer-
tains the precise amount down 10 a dollar. We
do not know his process-nor do we care to know
it. Admitting the item TO be strictly accurate,
and that Bank bills to the amount of 81, l21 1872
were, during the lapse of fifty years, lost or de-
stroyed, we ask, was the aggregate wealth O,
the community diminished one cent thereby p
Nav, were all the Bank notes,now in circulation in
the United States, simultaneously annihilated,
would the country at large be a whitthe poorer :
AS loss would be BIS gain. The individual hol-
der would suffer TO the amount of the notes lost,
or destroyed, but the stockholders of the Bank, re-
lieved from the necessity of their redemption,
would be proiited to a corresponding amount
And yet such an item is Soemnly set forth, in an
official document, and quoted to excite prejudice
against the Banking system
1t is not our purpose, nor IS there any necesSi-
ty, to 90 into a discussion OF the merits OF Bank
ing or, in other words, the credit system. II has
doubtless been abused in this country as well as
III England. Buf, suppoSing the magnificent sum
cyphered out by Mr.. Van Burcn's brilliant Secre-
tary, TO be correct to a fraction, and that losses to
the alleged amount have been sustained by the
people of the United States from Bank failures and
suspensions, and from the use of Bank paper, will
any man dare deny that CREDIT has been main
iy instrumental in making this Republic what it
now is? WHO believes that, with an exclusive
ly hard money currency, we should now number
81 or % millions Of people; that eight or nine
thousand miles of Canals and Rail Roads should
reticulate the country; that every n~avigable river
and inland sea should re-echo the putting of the
steam boat, half palace, half ware house; that our
should whiten every sea and that in
all the elements of national prosperity we should
rank second to no nation which ever existed
Reduce this prosperity to figures, if possible, and
Me Secretary's aggregate of loSses,i in comparison,
would be unworthy of a moments consideration.
FREE SCHOOLS AND RED REPUBLICAN,
ISM.
We had supposed that if there were any two
things antagonistic, they were Popular Education
and Red Republicanism. We have always re-
lied, with great confidence, upon the benign in
huences of general education as a safeguard
against those li%centious ideas of freedom and
government, which have rendered a large party
in France justly odious, and brought reproach
upon the nam of Republicanism. We believe
that the pprmanence of orr institutions denpndS