The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-12-25

..s- - $4,000
Private ana claims in Csliforpis. 5000, 600
Bount's to Spectators In CLAIMS Of revclu
t0nary officers and soldiers ............. 600, 00C
frenoo sponafon CHAINS .,..'.-.......... @
Jnterest On the game Io,0Oo 0OO
MISCELLANEOUS plumber o,ooo
Total Observation-Disclosures. s2lo 00o, 900
The Pacific Railroad plot, it viii be observed,
among all the other schemes of sp0iiation lies
upon the surface Of the water like 6 whale in a
shoal of sprats and behring's Oar corresp0n-
dent estimates the lands which this project will
absorb at $4,000, 900 in value, which is pro-
baby full fifty millions short OF tie mark. 1t
is the monster swindle of the age, end stands at
the head of the chapter as coRspicuously as
stood among the small fry the United States
Bank in i,s tremendous efforts to escape from
the iron gripe Of Gen. Jackson. In fact, these
spoils and plumber schemes at Washington,
headed by this Pacific Railroad conspiracy
and its confederate landjobbers, gives us
the dawning Of an epoch Of stcckjobbing
corruption upon much grander scale OF
public spOliation than all the bank frauds
and explosions which signalized the disastrous
administration OF Martin Van Buren,. Let US
strike balance between the bank cOTuptions of
Van Buren's time and the spoils and railroad
stockjobbing cocrlptions for which this Pierce
administration will hereafter be distinguished,
that we may see where the advantage lies, and
the drift of this gigantic spoils system Of the
present day.
In the war of Old Hickory against the
the United States Bank, the monster initiated
that policy Of imitation and bank rag over-issues,
the results OF which have stood as warning to all
banking fnaDciers from that day 10 this. With
the removal OF the government deposits from the
vaults of Biddle's monster, they were distributed
over the country among lot of pet banks, and
to show that national bank was great national
humbug these pet banks upon the basis OF tue
public deposits, were encouraged by Old Hickory
10 enlarge their paper issues dd hbaum. Theydid
so-the rest OF the banks of the country, great
and small, followed suit; new banks sprang up
here and there like mushrooms, and they also
went into the general imitation. A short season
OF hollow property followed, without parallel
in the financial history Of any country upon the
earth. In 1886 such was the morbid state oil this
rotten bank rag imitation, hat with natural ca
the -four Of the interior arrested at our seaports
al fifteen dollars Il barrel. but at this price we
became the importers OF four from England, of
wheat from the Black Sea, aud OF potatoes from
Ireland
The United States B.-ak Dad gone down. The
pet banks, and other State and local shinplaster
institutions, were gong On sximningly, when
a call for the public deposits, IN order TO dis
tribute them a. gauities among The several
States, brought the pets down With a run, AM
with them came topping into The dust the who.e
of that vas; fabric OF bank expansion shinplaster.
wildcat and red dog banks. specuiations, stock
jcbbing, kite flying and al the swindlng devices,
Of that day Jf Wholesale corruption and pub
lie infatuation. Finally bankrupt Congress
came 10 the rescue Of a bankrupt country and
bankrupt people, ia = general bankrupt la,
which, after sponging cut bankrupt debts TO tic
extent Of two hundred millions Of dollars, it,
diciously repealed. Il was repealed upon the
broad ground thai al the bankrupt rogues had
taken the benefit Of the act and that If IL were
longer continued IN force Il might Tempt AMI
eontaminate honest men
such il The brief history Of the bank rag and
shinplaster imitation ~ VBn Burcn's day,
down 10 the commencement of = new financial
epoch with tire repeal q The bankrupt Law, under
the blessed administration Of John Tyler. BIT
we undertake to say hat the schedule CT
land robbing and railroad stockiobbng
schemes now awaiting the action Of Coz
grcss, afiotds broader foundation for q
general financial imitation. expansion collapse
and bankruptcy than All the currency tinkering
measures of Jacksol and an Buren, combined.
In Van Burens time il was the bsnks--noy il il
stock joboi0g railroad companies. With all their
various affiliations and notifications. Banks are
useful institutions. a. the world goes, and rail-
roads have become an indispensable public ne
cessity; but although banks and railroad compa-
mes like fire and water. may b. good servants.
they are bad masters, and there is no end 10 the
ruin they viii ea,ct give them full play. The
banks have had their carnival, and they have
been put under q somewhat closer discipline Ia
heretofore: bat our railroad corporations are j.
beginning 70 ~ power n The land and their con-
bined strength Tor miscbiegis lenfod greater tbao
that Of Biddle'. Bark For example: the Cam
den and Amboy Company absolutely govern t1c
State Of New Jersey- he Illinois Central road s
rapidly advancing to the same distinction in that
State: and il win only require little bill from
our Legislature al Albany 80 put us Of New York
under q Censral Railroad monopoly dcspotism as
despotic and femorsees. a. that Of jersey or H.
linois
A large proportion Of The financial or political
managers Of these and numerous other powerful
railroad stockjobbing concerns throughout the
country are actively concerned in this Pacific
Railroad and other land robbing and stockjob-
hing plots on the carpet at Washington.
Among others, they arc plotting no, only sus-
pension Of the duty on railroad iron, but the
refunding Of millions Of duties that would other
-.;sc 81 into tbe trraSury wore tho existing law