The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1856-09-17

was the most pfomlnenI) were eo 0o nn
dent that the a~nti-slavery agitation
would soon restore their political ascen-
dency, that one of Mr.. Kings sons had
gone to Ohio, and one of Alexander
Hamilton's had gone to Illinois, hoping
to avail themselves of the anti-slavery
movement to obtain political positions
It should be borne in mind that MT,
Monroe's administration was the era OF
{" rood feelings" that Mr.. Adams, Mr..
Crawford, General Jackson aud Mr..
CIav we're all candidates for the Presl-
dencv. and that there were peculiar cir
cumstauces which, for a time, mace II
the interest of Mr.. Adams and his party
to suspend the agitation. L proceed 10
explain what they were:
Tbe war of 1912 was supported by
the Republican.party, and bitterly oPPos-
ed by the federal party Of the North
One mean of opposing the war, was TO
depreciate the public credit, and hence
the government were compelled to Dor
row the notes of the non epecie-payIng
banks of the Southern and Western
States, large sums of which were dlsours-
ed in the South and West.
Tie war carried many thousands OF
the most enterprisipg citizens of the
southern and middle States into the In
dian territory-the Indian title to large
tracts of which was extir guished by the
peace. The lands thus obtained we're
soon surveyed and brought into The mar
ket under the system which gave n
credit of two, three and four years for
the balance upon the payment OF TWEEN
tv.Gye per cent of the purchase money.
As the government had disbursed the
notes of non specie paying banks, the
same notes were received in payment OF
the first installnant on the sale of pub
lie lands: aud as the large dlsburse-
ments had inflated the currency, such
an impulse was given to speculation,
that wild lands in Missouri and Alaoa-
ma sold, In some cases, as high as TWEEN
ty, thirty, and fifty dollars per acre
As one fourth only of the purchase was
paid, the sales left an enormous debt to
be paid in installments due in two, three
and four years. 1t is now we'll under
stood that the commercial value of the
~p-operty of q commercial country Is
thirty times the sum of tho currency,
and that any cause which diminishes the
volume of currency, diminishes in that
ratio the commercial value of the pro
perty.
The necessity for large Disbursements
by the government of Great Britain, du-
ring her war with France and the United
States, had caused the Bank of England
to suspend specie payments. The iLfu-
ence Of the elder Peel and the public
creditors coerced the resumption. Mas
sachuset.s and the federal party, who
had been clamorous against the war, and
active in depreciating the credit OF the
government, demanded specie payments
By the Southern and Western banks,
which had made such large advances in
aid of the war, and Congress chartered
the Bank of theUnited States for the
avowed purpose of aiding in the process
of resumption. With a view to strength
en- the bank, the public monies, received
in payment for public lands and for du-
ties, were deposited in that bank. Thi,
enabled it to demand specie from the
Southern and Western banks, and the
consequence was, q sudden d~iminution OF
the currency in all the Southern aud
Western States, causing an unexampled
depreciation of the value of property.
and rendering it impossible for the pur.
chasers to pay the installments due for
public lands. The Bank of the United
States had established branches in Ohio.
Kentucky and Tennessee. These hal
been the agencies through which the
pressure had been made, and in each Of
those States efforts were made to expel
the branches. In Ohio, Charles Ham.
mond, who during the war edited the
Ohio FederahSt, and was bitter in his
denunciations of Mr.. Clay, was the
agent of the State. The Legislature
had taxed the branch at Chillicothe, aud
authorized the seizure of the assets in
bank.
The act authorizing Missouri to form
a constitution, had passed Congress,
MIR. Clay being Speaker, aud taking 10
personal agency in the proceedings. He
was induced, by the bank, to resign his
Speakership Of the House, and take
charge of the negotiation with Ham
mond, who, as the Agent of the State,
had charge OF the proceedings against
the branch at Chillicothe. 1t is said
that the bank paid Mr.. Clay one hun
dred thousand dollars for his services in
GDIS CdSe, huAIH ptOFeS tuab d SdtiSitc-
tory adjustment was ofvital importance.
Inc questions ! n issue were the right of
| the State to tax the bauk, and the right
of the bank to establish branches in the
State without the consent of the State.
The restriction proposed by Mr.. Cook
brought up the slavery question in the
Missouri convention, and n clause was
inserted in the constitution, making it
the duty of the Legislature to pass laws
preventing the migration of free negroes
and mulattoes to the State. The advo-
Gates and the partisans of the Bank of
the United States knew that the adjust
ment Of this controversy with the State
of Ohio, on terms admitting their right
to establish branches against the consent
of the State, and denying the right of
the State to tax such branches, would
produce a great excitement unless it
could b~eprevented by some other ques
ton which, for the time, would absorb
the public attention, and hence the Ma
tionaL Gazette, then the organ of the
Bank, opposed the admission Of Missou-
ri, upon the ground hat free negroes
u mulattoes were citizens of the other
States, and that the clause in the con-
stitution of Missouri making it the duty
of the Legislature to prevent their mi
grafton to that State, was inconsistent
with that clause of the Constitution of
the United States, which provides that
"the citizens Ieach State shall be enti.
tied to all the privileges and inanauni-
ties ct citizens an the several States"