The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-09-19
The Commercial Panic.

f., man, months na~, the co.,.,;.,: Ill.,.
h.:. H.. Yrc;,,.4.. ii til hard ;i.... "
Of so long standing would cu',....q:r .h;> tal!
in d:.a .ror- f.;lure- ."1 ',r'o.- rrc',.:ar,
results. he a..".'en.:,r IN. az :" ls.
been ju Y found il rar:, .l'.'ou2.s IL,
a'iI.>, If re country . sustain ca. ard
to outridr storm. as c.il5",I, un,.,., c.,i.
mated There have been man. anl i.tt,y
failures in al the large cities. and particular
IL in New Yorn. Several iH>'i'r'ion> :l.. -
hccau~c ct their "Wn rottc"Ht>>. rather than
because ct IN. change in The none! or >:uch
ml~'c'. added rot 4 .t,- to H." prevailing
alarm and excitement. These institutions IN
Involved ether parties in their ruin. AND for a
fcs days the in.cnsc>t fear was felt in most
commercial centres.
CONFIDENT with these failures. although
from q,.!;r other ca uses. and exciting little or
no sympathy in the u mind many whole
sale dealers and spectators in sugar and
-four >utF red great loss in ccn>rGr,a e
ut thc rapid decline in Il { price Of those com
modi,ic>. n many Of these ca-,:. total ruin
was the result
Here were causes sufficient for The ground
woll Of Il panic. In New YORK the JUS "
and "hoars did their utmo>, to increase the
,cl- L L.,
ing railroads and banks in the country went
suddenly down; everybody distrustcd every
body else; rl.inor> interest was offered for
money on short time, and refused; and the
prospect for financial disaster appeared to
those who had money to lo:c. INN II ut in
the extreme Thc Mdcpcndw. Of that city.
-,l-cs thc following graphic picture 1t affairs
" on change: -" The excitement was a. the
height Of intensity on Tuesday of last week.
We never saw faces 50 long. produced from
mere money pressure. Wall street was
crowded to an unusia' density. Distress los
tied distress. Fear rubbed its, # rom ir,ita-
ton, hcSettinS an increase of fears. Borrow
crs were legion in number, and all asked
for zen times more than they wanted. All
creditors seemed to be insisting on the immo
diatc repayment d the loars they had made :;
and securities were for sale at an unusual dis
count eSen for these times of deprecated
values. Grasping capitalists TOOK vantage
Of this pressure and dolcd out sums at the
2lost Hsurious rates. One per cent per day
did not even satisfy the conscicnces of some.
Everybody who had money seemed afraid to
use it, and Rugged it or hid it, a. if there va;
going to be a universal suspension of pay
mcnts. On the Gay following all was
changed a calm succeeded, the pressure
abatcd, the banks relaxed little in their de-
mands for repayment of loans, money was OBJ
served to come in freely from the interior.
and since then confidence has been restored.
and arecosnition of the general prosperity has
come to be the settled creed of the time
f:cerfulness prevails" \ day or two pass
GO a"a;~ matters were no worse The pan
lc gradual, subsidized, and though great strin-
gency L; YET felt, and failures are vet report
cd, there is eh-sfounded hope that the re-
sources of the coan,ry arc equal to the emer-
sency. The loss resulting from the short
ness OF production in 1856, reached is inten
sity during the last few weeks. 1t required
all the unexampled productycness of the