Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1857-10-24
Evils of the Banking system.

tention of the State Legislatures and of
Congress will necessarily be directed, the
coming winter, to the evils of the banking
system--t system by which the, currency
is swcllcd to an extravagant extent at one
time, and ruinorsly contracted at anotherj
a system which cxpcls gold and silver from
the country, and substitutes for them spu-
rious and irredcemable paper; system
which so much disorders the exchanges as
to leave no means by which business can
be carried on even between one State or
city and another; and which subjects every
mans property and business tc tho omercyof
secret, and irresponsible corVlaves of the
bank parlor.
Against such tyranny as this free and
enlightened people will rebel.
1t is true that the General Government
has escaped from involvement in the gen
eral calamity by separating itself from the
banking institutions of the country. Be
sides, the Independent treasury is now re-
gardcd with as much favor as it previously
was with dread, by the tiends of banks
The. institution has saved tlle Governn mt
from bankruptcy, and served az the means,
under the wise lnanaSomcnto OF Secretary
Cobb, of alleyiating the financial distress of
the coGntry.
What can the General Government do
more? The States have usurped the pow
CT of regulating the currency, and of ie-
ranging and debasing it through their local
banks of issue. They will not willingly
abandon the power, and it may be qucs-
ton whether the Government could discreet
ly use it, A regulating institution like the
Bank of England is out of the question
here. The constitutionality as well as the
cxpcdiencv of such an institution is denied,
especially by the Democratic party. 4" A
national bank is an obsolete idea. ~
What can the Government do by consti-
tutional Legislation to regulate the currol.-
cy? They can impose stamp tax upon
every bank note that may he issued; and
taxing the note to its full amount, will
prevent its issue, They may by the cxci-
else of this power, cxtinguish all banks of
issue. But it is not necessary to do this
for the purpose in view. They may, by an
excise upon all bank notes of dcnomina-
ton less than twenty dollars enlarge the
metallic basis of the currency to such an
ando very limited mischief. Mr.. Guthrie
SuTSeSteu lnlS measure In MS tWo aSt nnun-
cal reports and it is to be hoped that it
will be brought under the consideration of
Congress at an early day next session.
Nicholas Biddle, the king Banker of the
country in 1882, gave his views ON this
subject to the committee of the House of
Representatives appointed to inquire into
the mismanagemcnt of the Bank of the
United States.
He was asked how the bank paper circu-
lation could be permanently regulated so as
to prevent it's injurious effect upon tho
trade and currency of the country.
The answer was, the means were vcrv
simple. They were, first, to widen the
basis of the metallic circulation by abolish
ing the use of small notes, so as to allow
coin to take the place of thom, as it certain
ly would; and, second, to annex the non
payment of specie by the banks 50 heapy a
pcndItYas would deprive them of all temp
tation to increase the risk of insolvency
Unfortunately for the system, Mr. Bid
dies proposition was never but to very
partial extcnt adopted by the Stlte I.cgis-
lures; and even in Pennsylvania, when
the banks choose to incur tho penalty of
insolvency, they expect the State l.cgisla-
turc to relieve them from it. States.