New-York daily tribune., 1857-10-05


Boston. public spiri! blszed out there, OF which,
we sre sorry to cay, We seldom see any exhibition
in New.YOrk. We hardly believe, from the sensl-
bility TO the mercantile honor of Boston then and
there exhibited, that tie merchants Of that city
would have stood quietly by aid allowed, as our
Eew-York merchants have for the year past,
daily torrent Of wholesale SANDER andindscriminate
abuse to be poured out, not only against their
sovercy but against their common honesty without
taking some pretty decisive steps to vlndlcate the
reputation Of the city. In Boston, the nercarfle
body seems to stand together as having common
character and common interest whereas we here
in New-Yolk ere terribly infested BY shoals Of
commercial sk arks who live BY devourng everybody
else.
The advice given to the banks from that quarter
is perhaps Of somewhat questionable sincerity.
There is too much reason to fear hstunde the guise
Of pretended friendship, and an appearance Of
zeal for sustaining their solvency, is concealed the
same ferocious hostility not long since openly avow.
ed and even paraded against both the banks and
the mercantile community. 1t appears TO us that
the ground taken by Mr.. William Sturgls a. the
Boston meeting is well worthy Of consideration.
He ,tated that be had been engaged for several
days in trying to show the managers Of the Boston
banks that they would be as safe against runs with
a very considerable increase of their Line OF dis
cOutts as they were now; while such an In
crease would 60 very far TO alleviate the
present troubles and to carry the solvent
merchants ,sfe through the crisis. Since the
curtailnent Of the banks commenced the currency,
the medium of traffic, has undergone vast curtal
ment, ard it is this disproportion Of the medium
to pay with to the amount to be paid that is the
main immediate cause Of the present trouble. 1t
is not the want Of assets that ha, caused the greater
part of the failures which have contributed much
to spread the panic. Among the largest houses
which have stopped payment the greater part have
q superabundance of means, and in any ordinary
state Of the currency would have found no
serious difficulty in meeting their engage
pents; but at present, such is the general state
Of alarm and discredit that the mercan-
tile paper which acts commonly so large
part in the liquidation OF debts, will no longer
answer that purpose. AT the present moment
there seems to be little or no confidence left in
anybody or anything except the banks. The at
tempt to discredit them has been tried and has
failed, and there would seem to be no good reason
why they may not avail themselves of this credit
which they possess to make much needed change
in the present spasmOdic contraction of the cur
rency In the existing state of things, with foreign
exchange so much depressed and the domestic ex-
changes, if they can be said any longer to have an
existence, so much in favor of the specie. paying
cites, it would seem most likely that the only
effect of an increase Of bank loans would be
to increase the amount Of deposits standing
to the credit of the merchants on the books
Of the banks, and Of course the amount
of the currency available for daily transactions.
This view of the case is plausible that it seems
worthy of fair trial. 1t would not be remarkable,
if with an extension of the currency to facili
tate and revive to q certain degree the almost para
lyzed operations Of commerce, the flow of specie to
this city, instead of being checked, would rather be
increased. The show of little courage and conf
dence on the part OF the banks might also have the
effect, and no doubt would, to revive the courage
and confidence of private money lenders, and to
call il&o active operation many aosrds winch are
low lying idle.
1t is certainly the business of the bsnks, as Mr..
Sturgis suggests to furnish. medium Of traffic.
That they never can do at any time, except By
virtue of the confidence reposed in them BY the
public. That confidence hiss in the present crisis,
been pretty we'll tested and it would seem as
though the banks might at least venture to try the
experiment whether that public confidence Will not
sustain them in an effort to establish somewhat
more reasonable ratio between the existing amount
of the currency ard the business it is called upon
to perform.