Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1856-02-20
Speech Of John c Rutherford.
OF 6ooCHLANp. IN
THE BANKING POLICY OF VIRGINIA.


- h.nL;,,, .r.,.,, vb;oh I have ,dvoea.
"a From the hec;nn;np of thi. session the po-
.,rt ;nA.soca of ali the great hank Of the State
,r,b their Rr;arenn branches. has been arraved
.o.;nst II in active and increasing hostility At
every ,urn II has been Violently, needlessiv. I'M
fairly attacked. In = ,,nmit,ee and on, of com
m;,,es ON the floor and in the Hobbies of this
House. in private and IN public. il has been the
,hsme Of cnns,snt and pnmeasured yituperaton,
Rank President. have. in this Capitol. assailed
Il baf ire the assembled Legislature bank pam
pblets denoupcinc il. have covered our desks !;
nnr hotels and our harding houses have been
filed with lupubr;ous predictions Of the unnum-
bered woes that free banking would bring upon
our heads. Wby all this setive warfare upon
the one aide. and none upon the other Sir il is
easy IN understand IL The ,nId distractions of
a general law has been opposed 10 n banded host
of moned corporations, SELFISH, struggling for
nernetuatiop Of their mower. The great princi-
nles of general and equal legislation employ no
arenis and nav no salaries; and tho exaciing
cries of monopoly are always louder and more
frequent. but IL, US Lope, not always more inau-
eplial and pursuasiye. than the calm voice of O.
ousl rights and abstract truth. For one. sir,
am ready to meet the issue which has been made
and IL need he. To carry the war into Africa
/ confess, sir, that am tired of hearing the
strreotyped and oft repeated cry that the old
banking system of Virginia should remain I'M
changed because il has worked well for fifty
wears II Involves presumption of enormous
Ignorance upop the part of those to whom il is
addressed. So hack a. far a. forty years, open
the Journal OF this house and what do YOU ser:-
The Legislature If Virginia convened by Gov
Nicholas in extraordinary session, on account
of the failure of the banks To redeem the notes
which they had issued az money 10 the people of
the Commonwealth. Read his message. Read
the letter dated Goth of August, 1916, from the
Presidents of the Bank of Virginia and the Farm
ers' Bank of Virginia in which the represent
tlet, if required TO redeem specie payment by
the 18th OF November Of the same year. every
dollar would be drawn from their Golfers before
they could possibly have the means of rcpresen-
ting them See the discreditable laws which io-
low upon this missive, actually releasing and
leasing again under the most distressful compul-
sion these all powerful corporations from the OBJ
lieaiions of their contracts Bear in mind that
all this occurred under a system which is said 10
have worked so well: and occurred u, the very
time that coin was inconveniently accommodating
in the specie paving banks Of Boston.
Open again the Journal of this body, for the
wear 1897, Again Won see the representatives of
the people assembled in extraordinary session,
summoned away in June from their harvest fields
10 the Capitol Listen 10 the gloomy words which
the Governor of Virginia addresses to them upon
their assembage. "There can he bat opin-
ion" says Governor Campbell in his message,
..rospeoting the reality and extent Of the public
distress. Failures for unexamped amounts have
occurred; confidence. and with it, the immense
credit which il uphelds gone: the price IF every
agricultural product has declined and in time
o, pence, and in the absence of physical oalami-
ty. the whole cou;ltry is uneasy aud ANXIOUS about
the future" What could be the grea, mischief
Mr.. Speaker. which again convened GU, If SEA-
SON. the General Assembly of our State aud which
ELECTED such sad language from our Governor,
:. in time of peace and In the absence of physi-
cal calamity" 1t was this same banking system
whic!, j. said to have worked we'll All the
banks of Virginia. except the \ Northwestern Bank
at Wheeling. had again stopped payment. Tn
der fhr law The charters e the Farmers Bank
and the Bank Il the Valley were forfeited and
their eorpora'a power determined, by tho other
sasp~n5ng bfHks heavy penalties had been in
Cured: and nss ,st,iv vas there wide spread dis
tre.s Ia the community but serious inbarrass-
neat to the government in the collection and
custody OF the public revenue.
S4xt turu 10 some of the laws upnn your stat
Ute books and see what information we can CLEAN
from them nbou, these mueh commended hanks.
On the 2ond Of March 1872 nm net was nassed
establishing general raonla,ions Car ,he hank of
virginia. 1be ,e,resen,at;ves az thu n.o,1 in.
s,rne,ed bv hitter exnor;snce seemed nj last 70
have SO, their hearts and hand 10 ,ba tasl az
hank ref,r,n Tbay odo,,od ,o,,lo,;,ns md
r. .,y,.,;a.. Coz hanL. h,i I'D ;no,r,,rn
,sa - .;Iias -, -. e 80
n, v;,4;, 80" %, 80
e-l s,v ,,,ls 80 a.. ,aa
WIS, rr. ~ con.aaponoa' ,rha Tani.l l"
again ,sxe,.sa - - a,,a o,,a;n I'D sni,.
ne; ssivalv % ~, ;non,inoa ~" "s ~ h.nIs
crease onr g,d nd s;lxa, n;,o'',o,;an I'D La",
nroy;ded hv Tho aanorai Law ng Isa1 .ha, ,l'a
,n;n;n,n,, a Ls,I 49, Ill ."aI Nv
am. and SSb f.. 49, -, i',i.' isio ~, 49,;
80 w 20 ~ '"'S
80 :. 80 'as s''ssi;',y ~, ,',i'
~ " 80 =. - Wv 81 -
"o,,G "'f iohe 'hu no, ulfas' '""s ct" ""'n