Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1855-11-07
The Panic In Wall.streot,


Panics in Wall. street nre among tho o,.,,
pnenomena Of tn moral world; the rise cul-
minal'on and subsistence of these financial
earthquakes which topple down stocks. pros.
trate credit, distract bills and bears, paraly,e
confidence, and ergulf fortunes, are as mys-
ferrous and unexr xrlainable as the or;riniof
INC ,nc cholera or the yellow fever. They come,
IKE Tue wind, no one can tell whittier, and
.nen disappear as tornadoes subsidc, into a
CAIN, leaving no evidence of their existence
ou' PROSTATE houses and uprooted trees. IL
"ouid De great blessing to Il commercial
~oriu some Maury of the Stock Exchange
"oo'o publish theory and chart on the
euoJ'et OF financial panics. In tine present
cfude condition OF financial science, these
Phenomena cause enormous mschiefs from
tne lack OF well-digested observations bv
"h!ch their recurrence might be predicted and
'ne'r consequences guarded against. Ever
since tne arrival of the Atiantic, the panic
"nich mas just spent its force upon the heads
OF the denizens Of Wall. street has been
brewing; but no one has ben able to assign
any satisfactory canse for it, or to predict
the extent OF the damage which it NAV inaict.
so far rs we have been able to Judge from
those most learned in commercial affairs. this
pane has been occasioned by the remarkable
condition OF prosperity which nil the great
interests o. tie countryside shipping, man.
ufacturing, agricultural and mercantile.-
now enjoy. This high state of prosperity.
the healthy condition of our Banks, tho r..
ouct'on OF our foreign indebtedness, the
aoundant harvests, the activity Of trade, the
superaoonnding precious metal, and the in.
creasing foreign demad for our brcads,uffs
appear to DO the chief causes of the panic.
Men have deliberately and tremblineIy mr..
gued thems Ives into the belief that va
should be brought to the verge Of bnnkrupt-
cy and ruin if the Bank nf England or tho
Bank OF France should suspend specie pay
ments, though the possibility of such an
event did not appear to have been entertain
ed, according to our last advices, either in
London or Paris. Bu:, if such an event were
10 occur, it would be because England and
rance had TO use their specie in paying for
nreadstuif>; o., and the only effect it would be
nkeiy 10 nave upon this country would be to
greatly enhance the value of everything, by
causing vast and unwiedly accumulation nf
specie, and enabling US to pay of our foreign
indebtedness and appreciated Exchanges. Xii
these considerations have worked together
since the arrival of the atlantic, when tho
intelligence was received of the Bank of Eng.
land having put up the rate Of discount to
% per cent. to cause the panic which has
been producing such DISASTROUS consequences
to Stock spectators during the past three or
four days. 1t is too serious subject totreat
with levity, but, to one standing outside of
the influences of "the Street, the panic
seems marvelously like the nursery story of
Chicken Little, in which that timid fowl ere
ated 4" CONSERVATION in the barn-yard by
proclaiming that the sky was falling, because
o ros" leaf had fallen on its tail. g,
Wall-street pancs are local in their effects.
happily, and, Notwithstanding the great tum,
BILE in stocks, the prices of ali our great s,n.
pie products, excepting cotton, have advouo-
ed on the strength of the foreign news. and
there does not seem to be any apprehension
OF disastrous turn Of affairs among the
mercantile classes. Though exchanges NAV
be deranged by the war ,nnd great comn,osions
effected in Europe in consequence of the pres.
ent condition of affairs, yet the effect pro
duced upon our own commerce must be yery
temporary, if at all unfavorable. On The
arrival of the Atricd's mails, the precise
character of the European difficulties will be
better understood, and q few days of cool re-
aect:on will be sufficient to restore confidence.
and allay the excitement whict, the specnIa.
tors Of the Stock Exchange have been
thrown into, by the apprehension of evil.
rather than by the actual existence of any
disturbing element in the commercial world.
IN. Y. Times.