Georgetown weekly news., 1855-05-10
Reflections OH ReyulSfons

The New York Herald of April 9Th di-
ates at length on the late California finan-
cial revulsion, on the commercial blunders
of CaliforuianS and the extravagance of
New orkers:
"The revulsion in California is spreading.
Merchants as well as bankers are falling:
it is quite certain by this time that the Pa
ciiic coast is to have its 1887 at once
With what amount of disaster it may be
accompanied, it is hardly possible to coniec-
ture. We have seen enough of California
life from those who have returned to these
States to know that as a general thing the
social habits of the Californians wee not
we'll adapted to encounter a period Of hard
ship or monetary stringency. At San
Francisco almost every man lived beyond
his means. Dealing in gold, constantly en-
gagged in receiving it, weighing it, shipping
it, recording it by the million, they had
come naturally enough to think lightly of
eagles and their aliquot parts. and hay wing
earned them easily, parted with them freely.
Their houses were magnificent, their style
of living wholly incommensurate with the
legitimate profits of business, and unsuited
to the age of the State. When they travel
ed hitherward, they challenged notice by
their lavish expense, until the vulgar belief
arose that a Californian was necessarily a
rough bearded man, with an ineXhaustible
purse Of dollars and a never-failing knife
The events Of the past few weeks are dis
pelling the delusion in only too lamentable
a way. There is something very mournful
in the account of the miners at Sonora as
sembling, breaking open the vaults of
Adams u Co., and distributing the funds
discovered therein, through the hands of a
committee to the holders of certificates.
"Too certain it is that the resources which
ought to be available to meet the present
emergency have been wasted: that the mon
ey which ought to be used to pay off debts
and stave off bankruptcy has long ago found
its way to the Atlantic States in payment
for silks and satins, rich furniture, and mag
nilcent plate, for all the thousand expensive
luXuries that civilized industry is ever ready
to supply to uncivilized extravaganza.
"Yet let us not play the Pharisee over the
misfortune of the youngest daughter OF
America The history of California is our
OWL. IeT ldullS are lllOSe Ol no Cldlc more
cOnSpicuously than New York. If she has
emasculated her young energy by wasting
money, so has New York. For every tenn
pie to extravaganza in San Francisco there
are a dozen here. For every spendthrift
from the Sacramento to the Pacific beach.
we can count a score. Not many months
ago, the bell sounded for New York, and
men loaded with wisdom and experience.
saw in the signs Of the times clear symptoms
Of a second 1881 1t has not come. But
who shall say that the danger is past? At
the hour we write, a fresh failure affords
lamentable ground for suspecting that the
patched up settlement effected by the bank
rupts of last year were unsound and cannot
be carried out. A few more such, and the
panic would revive with greater fury than
before. On so slender basis is private
credit resting that few failures, would be
quite certain to precipitate crisis far worse
in its consequences than that Of September.