Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1857-12-16

! thorlty, ''whaterer reduction of the paper cir
cuiatlon was effected by the Bank of England
! GIN 1920 was more than made up by the is
| sues of the country banks.''
| But Bank of the United States would not,
| If it could restrain the issues and loans of the
! State banks, because its duty as a regulator of
! the currency must often be in direct conflict
with the immediate interest of its stockhold-
/ ers If we expect one agent to restrain or
control another, their interest must, at least in
! some degree, be ant gonistic. But the direc-
tors of bank of the United States would feel
! the same interest and the same inclination with
/ the directors of the State banks to expand the
! currency, to accommodate their fayorites and
4 friends with loans, and to declare large divi-
dends. Such has been our experience in re-
gard to the last bank. -
After all, we must mainly rely upon the pa
triotism and wisdom of the States Tor the pre-
ventiOn and redress of the evil. If they will
afford us a real specie basis for our paper cir
culation by increasing the denomination of
bank notes, first to twenty and afterwards to
fifty dollars; if they will require that the banks
shall at all times keep on hand at least one dol
lar of gold and silver for every three dollars
of their circulation and deposits and if they
will provide by sef-executng enactment,
which nothing can arrest, that the moment
they suspend they shall go into liquidation,
believe that such provisions, with a weekly
publication by each bank of a statement of its
J shoCiu 30 idt ~ SSCuIe iu-
ture suspension of specie payments.
Congress, in my opinion, possesses the pow
cr TO pass uniform bankrupt law, applicable
| to all banking institutions throughout the u
nited States, and | strongly recommend its eX-
erciSe. This would make it the irreverSable
| organic law of each banks existence, that
! suspension Of specie payments shall produce
| its civil death. The instinct of self prescrva-
tion would then compel it TO perform its duties
in such 4 manner as to escape the penalty and
| preserve its life.
The existence of banks and the circulation
| Of bank paper are so identified with the habits
| of our people, that they cannot at this day be
suddenly abolished without much immediate
| injury TO the country. If we would conine
| them to their appropriate sphere, and prevent
I-them from administering to the spirit of wild
and reckless speculation by extravagant loans
and issues, they might be continued with ad-
vantage to the public.
But this say, after much reflection, if ex-
perience shall prove it to be impossible to en-
joy the facilities which we'll regulated banks
might afford, without at the same time suffer-
ing the calamities which the excess of the
banks have hitherto inflicted upon the country,
it would then be far the lesser evil to deprive
them altogether of the power to issue paper
currency and confiue them to the functions of
banks of deposite and discount.
Our relations with foreign governments are,
upon the whole, in satisfactory condition.
The diplomatic difficulties which existed be-
tween the government of the United States
and that OF Great Britain at the adj djOurnment
of the last Congress have been happily termi-
| mated by the appointment of British minis
ter to this country, who has been cordially re-
ceived.
Whilst it is greatly to the interest, as 1 am
convinced it is the sincere desire, of the gov
ernment and people of the two countries to be
on terms of intimate friendship with each
other, it has been our misfortune almost al
ways to have had some irritating, if not dan
gerous, outstanding question with Great Bril-
tain.
Since the origin of the government we have
been employed in negotiating treaties with
that power, and afterwards in discussing their
true intent and meaning. In this respect, the
convention of April 10, 1850, commonly called
the CLAYTON and Bulwer treaty, has been the
most unfortunate of all; because the two gov
crnments place directly opposite and contra
dictory constructions upon its first and most
! important article. While in the United States,
we believed that this treaty would place both
powers upon an exact equality by the Stipula
tion that neither will ever ssocupy, or fortify,
or coonize, or assume or exercise any domin-
ion'' over, any part of Central America, 1t is
contended by the British government that the
true construction of this language has left
them in the rightful possession of all that
portion of Central America which was in
their occupancy at the date of the treaty in
| fact, that the treaty is virtual recognition
on the part of the United States of the right
| of Great Britain, either as owner or protector,
! to the whole extensive coast Of Central Amer
| lea, sweeping round from the Rio Hondo to
! the port and harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua,
| together with the adjacent Bay Islands, except
| the comparatively small portion of this be-
( tween the Sarstoon and Cape Honduras Ac-
| cOrding to their construction, the treaty does
no more than simply prohibit them from ex-
! tending their possessions in Central America
beyond the present limits.
! 1t is rot too much to assert, that if in the
! United States the treaty had been considered
! susceptible of such construction, 1t never
/ would have been negotiated under the author
/ ity of the President. nor would it have receiv-
ed the appreciation of the Senate. The uni
versal conviction in the United States was,
! that when our government consented to vio-
/ late its traditional and time -honored policy,
and to stipulate with foreign government
| never to occupy or acquire territory In the
! Central American portion of our own contl-
/ nent, the consideration for this sacrifice was
! that Great Britain should, in this respect at
least, be placed in the same position with our
| selves. Whilst we have no right to doubt the
! sincerity of the British government In their
construction of the treaty, it is at the same
time my deliberate conviction that this con-
structiou is in opposition both to its letter ana
its spirit.
/ Under the late administration negotiations
were instituted between the two governments
for the purpose, if possible, of removing .heSe
/ difficulties; and a treaty having TINS iaudaoie
object in view was signed at London on the
| l7tb October, 1856, and was snbmltted oy the
pras;dent 70 the Senate on the following 10th
of December Whether this treaty, either in
its original or amended form, would have ac-
complished the object intended without Civ
inc birth to new and embarrassing complica-
/ tions between the two governments, may per-
Ill ,,osfioood Certain IL is how