Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1856-01-11
For tbs Enquirer.
TO HON. HENRY 4. WISE, GOVERNOR OF


~
SIR PROMINENT among ihe Questions to be SUD
United 10 tho present General Assembly. IS the sub.
ect Of the continuance Of the Bsnks ot the Com
moowe lth NJ less Important arc the reconnloEGa-
lions to be made and the acts 10 BE passed 10 ios'or
aud encourage Southern commerce, AND 10 develop
tho resources, the manufactures nad wealth OK Tie
South. These Questions assume, also, even greater
i'm porta.ce in viL% Vi the Southern Comtmoscial
Convention 10 assemble III this city. hno"-
ing the deep interest That you feel i'll oil That pertains
+, RI. orusurity OF Virginia: aud tie whole South,
venture 10 address 10 your consideration vic" VI
the Injurious and fatal effects OF the old banking sye
trE upon those great interests ct southern Commerce.
Southern manufactures uud Southern Internal I'm
pruvemcnts. , -,
S,nu utter the establishment Of the Bank OF the
United States, controlled and inanascd rs was that
mammoth institution, by saga"ious, sirewd men OF ice
North, policy w;s ADOPTED whiSii hau 'he euett OF
nmniuay increasing the profits o! the Dunk ana o.
turning the current OF ruic ~ the Northern cities,
and OF making those cities the great centres OF the
trade oithe whole country. Not only dd The ocy n,
TO accomplish this hui, also, men oi sn'a caFH"'
w.r, tnurh, that by means OF this policy and by To-
caring themselves in New York, Philadelphia or Bal
ti,nore they could command Il large and profitable
business aud thut this could be done without the ad'
vance OF any capital OH their part except IN hhne
Inn Inv the aid OF the OF the country thus
mnde tributary tn the Northern Atlantic cities. How
this wns done will be made clear As to the fact II
sef ,hu the South has been paying tribute largely I"
Mn. North and that the North has grown fat upon the
sUuils ~ tht ErtW "u'S" 'A' "''
bcru IMPOVERISHED, theirs is no doubt.
| Thu great step to the accomplishment of this OBJ
,cct was the policy adopted 10y the Bank or requiring
! The branches located in the South and West 10 loan
money Oh bills Of exchange to the psrai excursion
| If accommodation on business bone paper. a iHer-
| chant residing in Richmond, Charleston, Savannah
| nr New Orleans, soon saw that the bcst home paper
offered by him for discount at the Branch Banks was
thrown ont lie further saw limit by hnving trei'u
| in New York, Philadelphia Or Baltimore, and by
drawing bill ut exchange upon that FRIEND he could
obtain all the money he desired. These bills OF ex-
change were generally drawn at sixty days after sight
and purported TO be an order drawn anu endorsed ny
citizens of the South and Southwest, upon firm IN
Non thern city, requiring them to pay certain sum
| of money sixty days after date, III the city upon
which the draft was drawn. Sometimes the draft was
from, The interior upon some Of the large Southern
| towns but these we're met by other drafts ut
| tLs description above mentioned. Upon tho
home negotiable paper the discount was limited by
| the laws regulating usury. But upon the bills ol
exchange the Bank charge, by way ot discount and
exchange, sum largely in excess G" tue legal rate Of
interest. Thus, upon sixty day home negotiable
MINER the dis count for sixty days would be about
one pcr cent Whereas the bill of exchange they
consider the charge of two per cent not unreason"'
bile. great deal OF this kind Of paper Was nego'iG-
ted by the Banks to the exclusion of home paper
In soine cases persons, who had obtained accomno-
datons at the Banks, were required to pay up nj the
maturity Of their notes. or TO give draft upon
Snrthern house and submit TO The shave practced
| Oh them by the Bank. Dut INC usuFy mus eAtoIIeu
from them by the Bank, was not the whole oss sus-
tanned by the borrower. IN addition TO this, he ire-
oueutIy had to pay commission TO m entorSer at
home and commission to the acceptor. Mr.. Clay
Ton of Georgia. thus graphically expresses his views on
| ,bi. sui,irct i'll Il speech delivered BY him in the
Hons. Of Representatives, in the year 1892. He said
| ~ will now make Il fuller statement; and, think
Am authorized to say that there gentlemen, II
this House from the West! ard under my eye at pre-
! sent who will coui!r;n every word | say. n perror
has note in one of the Western branch banks, and
if the bank determines to extend further credit
ira custom IT, when it SENDS out the usua notice o.
the time the note falls due, to write across the notice
in red ink Theses three fatal worIs-Hycll understood
in that counry-"Payment is expected" This no
tce thus rubricard, becomes death warrant 10 the
credit ii that customer, unless Ire raise The wind
Ms il il called 10 pay it oi, discount domes
tic bill Of exchange. This last IL done in Of TIVE
WAYS. IL lu has factor in New Orleans, who is il
the habit Of receiving and selling his produce, h,
draws upon him 10 pay il oil ut maturity. The bank
charges two per centuIu for two months, the facto
two aud half, and thus If the draft is sixty days
he pays at the rate Of twenty seven per centun II
however he has factor, he is obliged to ge: som.
friend, who has one to make the arrangement to &c
his draft accepted. For this accommodation he pay
his friend one and half per cent besides the two Pc
cent To the bank, and the two and half per cent Il
the acccptor; making, in this mode of arrangement
thirty.siX per Cent which he pays before he ca;
get out of the clutches Of the bauk for tina
time, twelve per OF which, III either case
.ocs TO tho bank and SO little con=ceHc
have they, in order TO make this, they will subject
poor aud unfortunate debtor 10 the other euOrni"u
burdens, aud consequently to absolute beSsu1y. 70
i must be obvious to every that sucu aper cent
for money, under the melancholy depreciation Of Fro