Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1857-12-17
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
TIIIRTl-FIFTH CONGRESS.

VI
FeiIor Cii:ens Of The S aac and HOUSE Of Reprcscn
faf;rcS:
In obedience to the command of the Constitution,
it has now become my duty "to give to Congress
Information of the state of TIC Union, and rec ON
mend to their consideration such measure as |
judge to he Unnecessary and eXpedicnt."
Bat first. and above all. thanks are due to NJ
mighty God for the numerous benefits viii n Ec
has bestowed upon this people; and our united
prayers ought to ascend t. Han that he would con-
'inuc to bless great republic in time To come
/ He has blessed il in times past Since the adjourn
mcnt of the last Congress constituents have
cnjovcd IN unusual degree of health. The earth
has Welded her fruits abunamtly. and has bountiiul
" rewarded the toll OF the hushanInan. Our
great staples have commanded high prices, and, up
| till within brief period. manufacturing, min
cral, and mechanical occupations have largely par
taken of the general prosperity
4 National Loan.
We have possessed all the elements of material
| wealth in rich abundance. and yct notwihStandin.
| all these Il yantigcS. our country, in its monetary
interests Is at the present moment IN ,icllor,lbc
/ condition In the midst OF unsurpassed plenty in
all the productions tI agriculture and in all tie Gle
mcn!s ofnatiomal wealth, We find oar mlEufactur,
suspended, cur public wol Ks rttlrlc, our private
enterprises OF different kuls Jba.donc, ard totis-
ariS OF useful ialorcrs thrown ont of employment
and reduced in want. The revenue "f the govern
I meni, which i chiefly dcri' ed from duties on in,
port, from lhroad la, been ercatl, reduced. whilst
ghc appropriations made hv Congress at il, last s.
SION ior the CUTrcn. fiscal year are very large id
! amn!H..
Under these circumstances loan niav bc required
before the close nt your present session; but this,
although deeply 10 be regretted would prove to Ice
only a sight misG,'; tame when coml.a ell with the
suffering and distress prevailing anlon. tic people.
With this the government cannot iai deeply to
sympathlz-. thoush i may lee without the power to
extend relief
Jhe Financial Rc,ui>iou.
II Is our duty to inquire Nat has reduced such
unfortunate results, and whether their recurrence
can bc prevented, la all former rcvulsions the
, blame might have been fairly at r;buicd 10 a vari-
cty of 60 operating c.iuSc- but not 80 upon the
present occasion. L is apparent that existing
msiortncs have proceeded solely from Our ex-
tsaNarsint and vicious system of paper currency
and bank credits. exciting the people to Wild sp-cu-
lationS and gambling in stocks fhr.c rr,uls;ons
must continue To gccUr at successive intervals =,
long the amount of the paper currency and bank
loans and discounts of the country Snail he left 10
the discretion of fourteen hunired irresponsible
banking in>titu.oIS which, + ON the very Law oi
their nature. will consult tine interests OF Their stock
holder. rather than ,hc public welfare.
Currcncv ar.s the Eank~.
The trainers JI the constitution. when ihcv gave
to Congress the power ''to coin money and re,l-
from coming m'nct. emitting bills ofcrcdt. or ma
king anything hut gold and silver coin a tender in
mymcn; ot debts, supposed they hld protected the
people against The evils of am expansive and ir
redeem b paper currency They are not rc,pon.
siblc for the exist ng anllnply tn, government
endowed WITH the sovereign attribute OF coming
money ami regulating the value the. .eof should
have III power To prevent Others from driving
this com out ot the cOEn'ry and filliag up the
channels of circulation with paper which does not
represent gold and silver
1t is one of the highest and most responsible du-
ties of government To insure to the people sound
, circulating medium. the amount of which ought IA
he adapted with the utmost possible wisdom and
skill tn the wants of internal trade and foreign cx
changes. III this be either greatly above or greatly
below the proper standard, the marketable value o
every mans property is increased or diminished in
the proportion, and injustice to individuals a.
! well mcaculabe evils to the community are tn,
consequence
Unfortunately, unlcr the construction of the fed
cra constitution, which has now prevailed too Ions
to be changed, this Important; and delicate duty Ia,
been discovered from the coming pow er and virtual
lv transferred to than fourteen hundr,, Stat,
banks, acting independently of each other and reg
ulatin" their paper issues almost exclusively bv
regard to the present interests OF their stockholders
Exercising the sovereign power of providing a pa
per currency, instead of con for the country. tn,
first duty which these banks the public is to
keep in their vau!ls sufficient amount of gold and
silver 10 insure the conyertbilitN of thcr notes
into coin at ali times and under all circumstances.
oblnk ought ever 10 be chartered without. such
restrictions its business to secure this result.
All other restrictions comparatively vain. This
IS the only true toucilsonc, the only efficient rc,ua
l tor of paper cujrency--te only one which can
guard the public against over issues AMI bank
pensions As a collateral and eventual security il
is doubtless wise. and in all cases ought to bc re
an a..fl
States or State securities equal to their notes in cir
culation, and pledged for their redemption. This,
however, furnishes no adequate security against
over issues. On the contrary, it may be perverted
tn initiate the currency. Indeed, il is possible by
This means to convert all the debts OF the Unite!
States and State governments into bank notes with
out reference to the specie required to redeem them
However valuable these securities nav he IN
themselves, hey cannot be converted into gold and
silver at the moment of pressure. as our experience
teaches. in s'Itic!en, time 10 prevent bunk suspcn
, son and the depreciation uf bank notes. In Eng
land, wichIs to considerable extent part money
cpun'rg, though vastly behind our own in this re
spcct, il deemed advisable, anterior To the act
"a Parliament OF ls(i which wisely separated the
Issue oi notes from the hInkng dep lrtmeut. for the
Rank oi England aiwav to keep on hand gold and
silver equal To one third OF It's Ccm lnod o.gcua
ton and Il, posts.
/, this prnporiion was 10 m IRE than saaicient to
secure the ccnvcrtihty % IT, notes. with the
whole Oi Great Britain, AMI To some extent the
continent ot Europe, field for It's circulation.
rendering Il almost inn Ssihlc that a sudden and
T. immediate run Ia dangerous amount should be
made upon II, the same proporton would cettanly y
be- insufficient under our banking system. Zach ot
cur fourteen hundred banks has but a lin ted cir
cumicrcnce for its circulation, anal in the course OF
: very few days the dePo,itors and note holders
might demand from such bank a sufficient amount
in specie to compel it to suspend, even although it
had coin in its vaults equal TO one third o lis mme