The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-12-03
tH ASIINGTON, d. c..
on BANKS AND CURRENCY.
wAsHlxerox. c STREET, Nor. Is, 1857.

~ f-Ottyfr ~ tfsf AsNttDftUt lfitcftRIcIcCT
GExTIEMES: Many papers. DESTROYS of the
establishment, y 3 National Bank, are quoting
whk, G,si.i ~ jackson said IL favor of such an
iustitutioss II the Beginning af his Presidency.
] lave 70 remind 81 such,rapors, that what
wa 50 SAID var paid before Gen. Jackson saw
pfospeet q rastorIng the currency Of the Con.
stltulon, ano ths-, after be saw that prospect,
he said nothing more in favor of banks, Nation
al or State, b. the contrary, and abored, du-
ring tie remainder Of his public lie, to restore
and preserve the har3-morey currency which
the Founders of or Government had secured
las they believed) for us. The plan of that res
toration aud preservation consisted Of five parts,
namely: /. To revive the gold currency, by cor
recting the erroneous standard Of 1871. 2. To
create demand for hsEd money, By making it
the exclusive cur, ency Of the Federal Treasury.
3. To make sure Of this hard money, By keep
ing il IN Its own treasures. 4. To suppress all
psPer currency under twenty dollars, by a
stamp duty. 8. To wind up 81 defaulting banks
BY q bankrupt Law against deiipguents.
TIE fir. three Of hese five paris we're &C
coShpiished, AID 10 these are indebted for
twenty years exemP,ion-fTo-n 1887 to 1851
frern bank suspensions sul deprecated cur
resicy; also, for carrying The country through
e foreign war-tho Mexcin-without paper
money. AID w,.h tie public securities above
par; also, for hagInc "a the country al this time
full fifteen times as much hard money as we
had in the time Of the lac Bank OF the United
StateE; ard we indebted 70 the want of the
tive latter parts of the plan for what we now
see-nea-iy two thousand banks in the country,
great part OF them frauds from the begin
ning, ano The bad governing the good a gene
ral Suspension IL season Of peace and pros
periiy; people forced to use deprecated paper
when there is more bard money in the country
than its business could employ; men and women
begging for work, aud unable to obtain II, when
the country needs al The work they can dc, and
has the means to pay for Ii; families crying
for bread when a bountful Providence has
given The most exuberant crops that were ever
seen; the business Of twenty FIVE millions Of
people deranged, dsorderod, and thrown out of
joint; and all this the work Of the base part of
the banks, falling down Of themselves for want
OF foundations, and dragging the solid ones
after them. For il is IN tins case Of bank gus
pensions as il Is with ? ship sinking at SEA-,
where those VINO cannot sgn drag down these
who can. staiap osty on their notes, and a
bankrupt process against themselves, would
have saved the country irom the calamities it
row enGaTcs: for many &C the base order Of
banks would have been unable 20 nuke cur
rcacg. for want Of money 10 pay for stamps
on their notes, and others would have been
proper subjects f5r The bankrupt process in the
fret few days of their existence.
The restoration Of the gold currency was ef
fected under Gen. Jaokson's Administration
the establishment Of the hard money currency
for the Federal Government, and the keeping
% It's own money IN It's own trcasu,ies, WAS &C
e vnplshed under mr. Van Barren, both of
which Presideuts took the iall responsibility of
recommendiug t.ese three E.eaSures, and also
the two otherz-the two fer the imposition of a
stamp duty ga ali paper money under twenty
dollars, and Scr 3 bankrupt act against default
ing banks. Bills were repeatedly brought into
Congress io- both purposes, but were always
defeated by the detection of the paper-money
wing OF the Demoera'lc pariy.
Tie most plausible Of the open objectiona
made against si-e stamp duty ia the ex-
pense, and me extensive machinery for its col
lection. That was answered by providing n
Cheap and simple process for both purposes
clerk IN the Treasury Department for super
inteuoeut OF the Business, and the clerks of the
FedeFal courts 70 deliver out the stamps which
they received FROM the Treasury. The amount
of he duty, aad Whether il should apply TO all
notes, or only TO those intended to be suppressed,
were questions on VI en- there was room for
some diversity Of opinion. The predominant
opiaIca vas, that there s1ould De duty upon ali
notes issued as q euro CT, for what more fit
20 be taxed than the uoneyed power?l the duty
beng The same C. 81 uoles, aud such as the
large ores could easily airy, and the small ones
not. The amount - the duty was held neces-
sary to be iarge-lar greater than In Great
Britain; for there no note IS reissued; no one
goes olt of tae hank second ii:ne, so that the
duty "a E4s 'a4d IS pad every time the Bank
pats out a Eotc Not so in The United States
H.ro I. noie IL reissued until it 10 worn out ;
nBli Is has b5come too ragged 10 hold together,
or too filthy to be handled, or too deiaced to be
deciphered. y small duty is therefore sutli-
cienl in Great Britain; It would require very
heavy Que . be It's equivalent IN the United
States. Among he penalties for violating the
ae:, either b issuing, receiving, or passing the
unstsmged paper should lie disqualification
TO retain or receive 3 Federal appointment;
for the pursuit OF Office is so general at this
time II our coantry. aud SO ardent, that, in ar
raging class SO large, 30 influential and act
I'VE, against the unstaoped notes, their crcua.
ton would he eiiectualy eheckmated.
TIE paper-noney wing OF the Democracy was
sta more agaiHs. the bankrupt act against
bankrupt banks than AGAINST tie stamp tax on
ncicf and, acting with the hab.ual opponents
Of the parry 10 winch they prciessed to belong,
eaeiiy defeated III the bills. The open obiec,
ton 1sne from the lawyers, with their PROBES
sional IL "a, drawn chiefly from British statutes,
that rlc-c,,snts and traders were the p-opsr
subjects Of the bankrupt law although every
laie British statute on the subject includes
banks, (;he EaGl Of England excepted j and
III tiRsle season OF suspension, THAT CT 1913.
1914, anc .SiJ,) nrefy-two OF these banks had
been sub ca 70 commissions Of bankruptcy.
But this rea>dy was Let Of English, but OF
Roman origin, as lis name would snow {" ban
Gus ! and gUptHs and bankers were the
original objects OF the law, "a the same name
also shows. Broken Bench is the English
of the Latin name, and was so called because
the bankers tm0ney-chaDgers of that time, as
now in the Eastl had their benches in public
places, on winch they sat az did business
and when any one became delinquent, or Grim
inal, he was driven away and his bench was
broken. AID thus, in its origin, bankruptcy
was d process against banks and bankers and
still Is In Grea. britain; and hence retains Its
original name Of Broken Bench--the bench
80 broken beifg TIE sign and warning to the
public that the banker himself was insclyent
aud Eeprged &. ms place Of doing business.
Bsakinc in ;is United States is the most I'm.
restrained ard unsafe that there is in the world
and unsafe even for cold and wellconducted
banls there being enough of the unsod and
Authenticated to fall down Of themselves
every few years, and 10 drag down The rest with
them. The laws put few restraints or penalties
upon them; and these restraints and penalties
are regularly repealed just as often IS the com
n,uni.v needs Tie benefit Of them. 1t is by
name IN some places, and by facts IN others, a
system Of free banking" which the hard
money Democracy was accustomed to cal
"free swindling." Anybody becomes banker
IL, ,Ia,sas ard issues small notes and send,