Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-04-07
Banking-Sensible Views from a ~Whig
Paner.

Paper
We copy the following remarks upon
Ihe subject Of Banking and the influence Of
paper money, from the Pittsburgh Commsr-
cial Journal, of the 22nd ult., one Of the
best and most ably conducted Wing pa
pers in Pennsylvania, and commend them
to the perusal of our whig friends in this
region. The views therein expressed are
not new to the Democracy in this State.
They are the same which the Democratic
press have advocated and endeavored to
impress upon the public mind for a num-
Der Of years, and for which the brood of
Bank hirelings have denounced them as
"locofoco destructives," @agrarians" and
many other opprobrious epithets. But it is
a little out of the usual order of things to
find the truth SO fifty, farlessly, and forcibly
spoken in a Whig journal, especially when
that truth comes in conflict with the in
terests of the prevaleged orders. That the
editor of the Journal has hit upon the true
cause for "our monetary inconvenience
there can be no doubt, and no sincere, hon
est searcher after truth can come to any
different conclusions than those set forth in
the following remarks. We hope the ed
itor ef the Journal will not incur the deep
displeasure of his Ohio brethren and be de-
nounced as an 'agrarian,' destructive &c :,
but that he will continue to impress these
sentiments upon bis party friends: ,sa
It's matter Of passing wonder that a
people who have the power oc regulating
all political measures, in relation TO their
peace, safety and prosperity, should so long
have suffered the Inconvenience of f1uc.
tuating, variable currency. The remedy
for the evils complained OF, is in their own
hands, and only requires wise and judicious
legislative enactments. That particular
class Of men should be allowed 10 make "a
per cent on their capital, with small labor
and less real business capacity, while 9th
ers with all their efforts and industry in
regular and fair pursuits, cannot realize
ten, is an anomaly in social arrangement
and order. 1t ought not so to be. This
monstrous discrepance arises out Of our
uncertain monetary relations. Our prin.
ciple circulating medium is paper, which
is issued by chartered institutions in every
section in the Union, as the representative
Of specie dollars. Every such piece Of
paper is "biH of credit" for it is notori.
our that it has not corresponding amount
of coin in the vault of the bank, which
puts its forth. This fact appears from the
"Bank Statistics lately published by the
Treasury Department. In 1850 the whole
amount Of specie, in all the banks in the
United States was only S45, ,379 ,S45-and
at the same time they had $l3l, 1866, ,526 of
paper in circulation.
The whole system,as now conducted, we
believe is in direct violation of the conslitu
ton of the United States, which declares
that no State shall "coin money; emf. bills
OF credit; make anything but gold and sill
yer tender in payment Of debts, &C."
In the construction of this clause we
are sustained by high authority. The
honorable William H. Crawford, former
ly Secretary Of the Treasury, when in the
Senate, used this language in reference TO
the very point: "What sir, said he, is a
bill of credit? Will it be eontehded that q
bank bill is not bill of credit? They ore
emphatically bills Of credit. But it may
be said that the States do not, by the crea.
alton Of banks, with authority to senait bills
OF credit" infringe upon the Constitution,
because they do not emit bills themselves.
If they have not the power to emit bills Of
credit, atortiori, they cannot delegate to
others power, which they themselves can
not exercise. But, sir according to the
maxims Of law and sound reason, what
they do BY another they do Memslves. -
We think this view entirely conclusive, and
it is to be regretted that the constitutional
restriction has been violated in SO many in
stances that il has become virtually obsolete.
Most Of our monetary inconveniences have
arisen from this cause. There are DER
haps 1000 banks, scattered over the Union
all issuing paper-and frequently to an
amount far beyond their present capacity
to redeem. The consequence is that their
credit is very prscarious, and is easily affec-
ted. A "Board of Brokers" in any of
our cities, can, by their concerted action,
create panic, which will destroy the cir
culation of any particular paper in an
hours time.
1t then becomes very pretty subject Of
speculation and can be bought for five,
ten, fifteen or twenty per cent discount from
par, when, perhaps, the issuing bank may
be entirely solvent at last, though without
adequate present specie means. Fortunes
are made by these Operations; ;" but should
the acorking class be made the victimsa-
This is a question we submit to the people
themselves; but we think it must be an
swered before long.
0President Napoleon receives frem