Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-11-26
The Banks and Financial Affairs.

The New York city banks yesterday virtually
resumed specie payments. Though they do not
vet pay specie demand for checks, very few in
situations refuse it to their customers, and all we
presume, will redeem their own paper in specie if
required to DO so. The New Orleans banks have
already resumed. In this State, suppose that
the solvent country hanks will soon be placed on
their old footing. There only remain the New
England and PENNSYLVANIA banks, with few isola.
ted cases in the South and West, on which the eff
facts of the late rcvusion still felt As to the
Pennsylvania banks, the period of their resumption
has been fixed by the statute, and will not probably
be anticipated. Of the prospects of the New Eng
land banks, the public not appraised but the
feeling at Boston, as here, is very buoyant, and
every encouragement will be given to the banks TO
resume.
The FIRST stage of our troubles may therefore be
considered as passed. The banks, having broken
the merchants, and consequently gone to pieces
themselves, have now resumed their standing in
the community; with the stain, it Is true of hav-
ing forfeited their charters and broken faith with
the world; but still without any suspicion of insol
vency. The next step Is To pick up the merchants
This, we i'm igine, will he found no such simple
matter. Very MANY houses which have broken
and obtained extensions will never be able to nav
up at the maturity of their renewed paper. In ma
nv instances, the assets of suspended houses will
depreciste so largely to ave not enough to CO.
their indebtedness. This will be especially the
case with dry goods dealers and dealers in fancy
articles and objects OF luxury. There is reason
to fear that the revulsion has only just touched
this class of merchants, and that the worst for
them will come when their renewed paper natures
From the same cause, no doubt, houses of higher
standing in the financial world, bet whose assets
consist chiefly of suspended paper or dry GODS pa
per, may find il very difficult to meet their DR.. s.
ent engagements, or to fulfil any extension they
may have obtained from their creditors. There is
rs vet very little sunshine 10 the financial horizon
for these classes of houses.
But when this is said and this allowance made
il must be admitted that there remains outside of
al suspended or en- barrsssed firms, vast CONNER
cial community which will commence business. so
to speak, after the present liquidation, in perfect
Is solid and Wholesome condition. For every
house that has suspended, there are a score which
have weathered the storm saiely; we have heard
the disaster of the one trumpeted at every corner
blazoned In every D wspsper, while the solvency
and ease Of the OF sound firms have never once
been whispered In the great rita pie trades OF the
country there have been remarkably few failures
Among the dealers in grain, ard cotton To
great firm ov, rthrown during the crisis; the
grocsrs suffered very little indeed; the vast
bulk Of the hardware dealers stand firm; so do tn
bulkof the leather dealers. and many other branch
of productive trade. Ind ed, With the exception
Of parties interested in rail ways, the dry goods
deal re-, and the bankers concerned with these it
may be said that there Is no aiding trade IN the
country ia which the insOlvrnt firms 10 not bear an
enthusiastically small proportion to the solvent
ones
Il is necessary to bear these facts in mind in
studying the mary condition of financial al
fairs in New York at the present time. No such
spectacle as that presented by Wall street during
the past week has ever been witnessed here before
The banks with twenty millions of specie in
vault, with more on the way, aud with th power,
la their suspended condition. Of Feiusing pay
any of IL il they choosr; exchange so iow that
specie cannot be shipped for the present, money
Worth from three 70 Jour per cent. on call aud thu
best paper done at i've aud SIX; trace yearly at
standstil, no new engagements making, every
body trying bring his affairs iato the narroWest
compass possible; the Board OF Brokers alone ex-
hibiilng unparalleled sevBe OF activity, excite
meat, and inaatOn-sueh = sight, we reprat, has-
never been Witnessed in this, perhaps III any
other community befOre.
The nett neus from England must be bad. What
ever artihce the London Tunes aud the American
railway dealers may 10 conceal she facts iron
the public, NC kbos enough already to be satisfied
that the panic through which we have gone here IS
las1 beginning there. The bank has resolved 10
meet It-aoE our banks insaney aid. by contract-
ing ss The Fate OF three TO lee millions 3 wesk--
bot BY rsisIng che Of discount which, while Is
breaks 40 undoubtedly solvent house, makes al
lose money, ana inlallibly tbeOWs over weak con-
errns. fhst general panic mast folioW-with no
oae AnoHa Nhat consequence % tbe bank an1 sue
paohe--ss perfectly obylous; and that such panic
aust Dc ifaagbt With eAtreaesl daagtr % al con-
aerns largely Interested h Amesican securities 0F
American trade, Is quite e. certain. Boz aisrr ue
lave taken Tor grsut. pane "a Lsadon, uish To-
lssszt a. 10 o. az per csnS and ball auz 8 r.. a
wrecks 10 ths banking woFld, shat lAslg We are