Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-12-08
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

In CbedencG TO the command OF the conSttuon III mas
become my duty to give to Congress information
of the state of the Unon and recommend to their con-
sidetion such measures judge to be necessary and
cxpedient"
. But first and above all, our thanks due to AL
mighty God for the benefits which He has be-
slowed upon this people, and our united prayers ought
to ascend to Him that He would continue to bless our
great republic in time to He has blessed 1t in
time past Since the adjournment of the last Congress
our constituents have enjoyed an unusual degree OF
health The earth has yielded her fruits abundantly,
and has bountifuy rewarded the toll OF the hsbandnan
Our great staples have commanded high prices and up
till within brief period, manufacturing mineral,
and mechanical occupations have largely parken OF the
general prosperity We have possessed all the elements of
material wealth in rich abundance and ye notwithstand
ing all these advantages country in its monetary III
terests at the present moment in deplorable cond
tion In the midst of unsurpassed plenty in all the pro-
uctions of agriculture and In all the elements Of national
wealth, find manufactures suspended, our public
works retarded private enterprises of different kinds
abandoned and thousands of useful laborer thrown out
of employment and reduced to want The revenue of the
government which is chiefly derived from duties on I'M
ports from abroad has been greatly reduced whilst the
appropriations made by Congress at its last session for the
current fiscal year are very large In amount
Under these circumstances loan may be required be-
fore the close of your present session bnt this although
deeply to be regretted would prove to be only slight
misfortune when compared with the suffering and dis
tress prevailing among the people. With this the gov
eminent cannot fail deeply to symathze, though it may
be,without the power to extend relief
1t is duty to inquire what has produced such un-
fortunate results and whether their be
prevented? In all former revulsions the blame might
have been fairly attributed to variety of cooperating
causes but not upon the present occasion. 1t is ap-
parent that existing misfortunes have proceeded
solely from extrayaan and vicious system OF paper
currency and bank credits, exciting the people to wild
speculatons and gambling in stocks These rcvusons
must continue to rec at successive intervals SO long as
the amount of the paper currency and bank loans and
discounts the country shall be left the discretion
fourteen hundred irresponsible banking institutions
which from the very law of their nature viii consult the
interest of their stockholders rather than the public well
fare
The trainers of the constitution, when they gave to
Congress the power to coin money and to regulate the
value thereof and prohibited the States from coming
money emitting bills of credit making anything but
gold and silver coin tender i'll payment OF debts sup
posed they had protected the people against the evils OF
excessive and rredeemable paper currency They
not responsible for the existing anomaly that govern
ment endowed with the sovereign attribute of coming
money and regulating the value thereof should have no
power to prevent others from driving this coin out of the
country and filling up the channels of circulation with
paper which does not represent gold and silver.
It is of the highest and most responsible duties of
government to insure to the people sound circulating
medium the amount of which ought to be adapted with
the utmost possible wisdom and skill to the wants of in
terna trade and foreign exchanges. If this be either
marketable value of every mans property increased or
diminished in the proportion and injustice to ind
Yd,is well ncalcuable evils to the community are
the Consequence.
constitution which has now prevailed too long to be
changed, this important and delicate duty has been
discovered from the coming power and virtually
transferred to more than fourteen hundred State
banks acting Independently of each other and resula
ting their paper almost exclusively by regard to
the present interest of their stockholders. Exercising
the sovereign power of providing paper currency instead
of con for the country the first duty which these banks
TO the public is to Keep in their vaults sufficient
amount gold silver to insure OF their
notes into coin at all times and under all circumstances
No bank ought to be chartered without such restc
tions its business to secure this result All other re-
strictons comparatively van This the only true
touchstone the only efficient regulator of paper curren
cy-the only which guard the public against over
issues and bank suspensions As collateral and event
ual security is doubtless wise and in all cases ought to
be required that banks shall hold amount OF United
States State securities equal to their notes in crcul
tion and pledged for their redemption This however,
furnishes no adequate security against oycrssues. On
the contrary it may be perverted to initiate the currency
Indeed it is possible by this to convert all the
debts of the United States and State governments into
bank notes. without reference to the specie required to
redeem them However valuable these securities may be
in themselves they cannot be converted into gold and
silver at the moment OF pressure rs our experience
teaches in sufficient time to prevent bank suspensions
and the depreciation OF Dank nOteS. III EtiSanu,
which is to considerable extent paper money
country, though vastly behind our own in this re-
spect, it deemed advisable anterior to the act
of Parliament of 1884, which wisely separated the issue
of notes from the banking department for the Bank of
England always to keep hand gold and silver equal to
one third of its combined circulation and deposites Ii
this proportion than sufficient to secure the
converbty of its notes. with the whole OF Great Brit
ain and TO some extent the continent OF Europe,
as o field for its circulation, rendering 1t almost
hat
dangerous amount should be made upon it, the same pro-
portion would certainly be insufficient under our banking
system Each of fourteen hundred banks has but
limited circumference for its circulation and in the course
of very few days the depostors and might
demand from such bank sufficient amount in specie
to compel it suspend even although had coin in its
vaults equal to onethd of its immediate Liabilities
And vet not aware, with the exception OF the banks
of louisiana that any State bank throughout the Union
has been required by its charter keep this any other
proportion of gold and silver compared with the amount
of its combined circulation and depostes What has been
the consequence? In recent report made by the Treas
ury Department the condition OF the banks through
out the different States according to returns dated near
est TO January 1851 the aggregate amount of actual
spece in their vaults S5S 1885, of their circulation
S2l4 S22 and of their deposites $3.50 S52 Thus
il appeas that these banks the aggregate have cons
eaby less than one dollar in OF gold and silver
compared with their circulation and deposites 1t was
ualpabe therefore, that the very first pressure must
drive them to SUSPENSION, and deprive the people OF
convertible currency with all its disastrous consequences
1t is truly wonderful that they should have so long con-
tinued to preserve their credit when demand ior te
navment of one-seyenth of their immediate liabilities
would have driven them into insolvency And tins IS
the condition of the banks Notwithstanding that iour
hundred millions of gold from California have flowed IN
upon us within the last eight years, and the tide sui
continues to flow Indeed such has been the extrsva-
.nnce of bank credits that the banks hold consld
eraby less amount of SPECIE either in proportion to their
capital or to their circulation and depostes combined
than they did before the discovery of gold in California
Whilst in the year lS4S their specie IN proportion tol
tal ,ra. more than eila To- one dollar for four