New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-11-28
THE PANIC AND ITS CAUSES.
To tie FS,s0y Of TAN y T,i1ssA

To tie EI,sO, Of 7A< y. y T'ievs&
Sis. There would be come censo'e.ion for the tenn
be reverses which the country 10 now snherns II We
did bui learn wisdom by experience Dr. JohnsoA
oree said "EypeneDoe is . dear school W earn M
but fools viii learn in DO other and he might have
added With ,qaal truth there are rome fools 20 noor
gioe they viii Iet Learn even in that Ibe "Hoe
country wal ts 20 know tie cause of this sudden resu
SION which has burst upon rs Like thunderoon Hom
serene sky, speeding universal deeoAhen AROUND
Our Free Trade tbeori.te and superficial observers -
usual. are YER, prompt and prolific in assigning req
sop. but unfortunately for them, they oil disagree
from each Other and agree in nothing save %fA
failure to asgr say sde ouse or the true e'ise ose
the Star contributor Of The IndepeHdest-saye ms
| "sr owitg 10 the want Of ectfdepce-the raat OF
fifth of m.n in man. patio Of fear and hlgot
Now tha, brilliant theorzer had been present when
the III faxed Central America went down, aud bad en-
d.svore6 TO console the affrighd passenger oy as
,ur them that all they neeoed 70 cave themselves
IVES to have fsith-,ny have faith, and they could az
once walk upon the water, Ard reach dry ard-he
would have uttered more absurd nonsense aud SOL
emn mockery. Suppose, for example, he hsd ,sken
note Of ten thoussId dollars ct SIX months, signed BY
WIN. B. Aston and oil the mlhonaires Of New York,
into Wall street before the suspension and asked the
rste Of discount. Tso per cent month would proba'
| by have been the lowest bid. whist! have ysu no
| confidence in such men, "Yes, have perfect
col i'd. nee in the men, but it i. the want of conf
del ce; it is the wsnt If cash that makes rates go
high Supply ard demand are reciprocal quantities
To suppose ruch widespread ruin, involving the
loss Of hundreds Of uons Of dolastbe crash Of the
st1orgest ueican,ile hou-es-the suspension Of all
branches of Industry, ard general wal throughout
| Ia-a hay NIL hsen csuaed ms n NJ
tom is too ridiculous to require further argument
| ant OF confidence is OF the legitimate effects
| of the Panic not a
| Oilers cay il has been caused by extrsvaysnce,
stock gam bling and various kinds Of speculation.
These may account for ii in a measure in some oc4l-
tiles but there are large sections Of the country where
there has been no eItravsgsnce speculation of any
account In New. England, for example, there never
vas a sounder condition OF business nor Of business
| men than when this panic commenced. Tiers mas
| been no msns for speculation or OVERRIDING and all
branches of industry were pursuing .heK legitunste
routine when struck by this hurricane.
The houses that have stopped show, in most os'es,
large surplus of assets, proving that they were not
unfound ard would not have failed but for ex.rinsic
| causes hey ord their control.
| Again it 10 alIedged that it caused by she sud-
| den contraction of the New-YOrk Banks, and great
complaint has bean made against the directors because
they did not reverse their policy and expand. Wnen
man, largely extended in business, forsees financial
c,;sis impending prudence dictates that he should
dimnish bic liabilities fast as possible. The same is
true of bsLk and ssy that the best for them
10 weather the storm was 20 increase their liabilities
il iust az absurd a. it would be for the TO
| mutply their rotes on demand with the view Of re-
| lieviLg each other. The backs pursued jast that
| course which DO h prudence ard necessity compelled
them TO- in order themselves, but for reasons
which will state hereafter their past remedy;
nothing could save them and they ought to have rus
pended weeks before they did, aud thus saved the
| ruin Of thousands.
Twill silude to one other reason assigned, and that
only 10 cell attic iton 10 the bosh which some
psmed of for superior wisdom. The Nee. York
Herald has published series Of articles TO prove thai
all this trouble has grown ont Of Sswsrdism and Black
| Republication Whist must be he stupidity Of read
| ers who can swallow such stuff this
! What thea, has been the osuse for OF course
such Tremendous and disastrous effects must
adequate csuse-sometbiDs uore than fright or an
apparition.
| By the last re urns OF tine New. Enslaod Banks ii
appears tha. he proper ion Of their notes in crculs
don to their specie, say, az ID TO l. Taking the
sgg1. gse of Le whole banks of the country it may
safely be unsd that disproporon at least ss
great To this add tire deposits which Away liable
TO be drawn out in specie, and tbs rso would be in
cres.ed say 10 per cent, ard be q. p % I. Here,
| them We have 9 paper currency Of huD'reds Of NIL
lions Of dollars al protesting to be redsensoe at any
moment in specie, while in fact the banks have but
one twesty ffn part Of the sum in specie 20 do it.
| War there ever knosn such gigantic fiction as this
| So long as there il crest OF simultaneous demand
specie no harm il felt from this state Of things but
when such dsmard does come as come It will, then,
woe be to the people and the country. Ii sends IN
electric shock Throughout the whole network Of banks,
| and produces spssm Ike touching sensitive nerve
Of the human system. I0sau,er, and with one accord,
they ihut down the gate 90 discount, and Commence
| drawing il their circulation as fesc ns possible.
Then the pressure begins and the screw turned by
| a lever of tremendous poser, for 10 every dollar
| Of specie drawn out they must draw IN at
least. ten of psper-ihtt Vs. the specie bash OF our
Banks be reduced teO Millions they must reduce their
| circulation one hundred millions in order 70 mdntafn
| their petition Here then we have an inverted YrA
| mid of colossal properiOrs-poped in the air, see
liable upon eight contingency TO topPls over oush-
| ing everything beneath it.
Such a contingency has lstely happened, sod hon
cause wbica viii fully scccunt for the present parc-
Phe In ports into NeE-York for eight months ending
Sep:eu Der l. were one hundred and seventy mi nopsj
While ire Exports taeiuding speese, were only srtS.
| FIVE millions, leavrg bslsace Of ole hundred a.d
| i've millions L. lie estmsted that this bslsnoe may
| nave been reduced Thirty Millions By trchsnye for
| other cities leaving seventy five millions. The whse
Gle in all The bar rs in the county az this tkne
OILY siaty millions, fhesn millions lsss than New fors
| 49, o..d on forsiyn Account We had in this tiIA