Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1857-12-14
CLlRESIlLLK
CHR0N NICLE.
EXTRA.
Monday, Dec. 18th.
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
Gsntiezea of the Senate,
and of the Hosse of Representatives:

Ia obedience 20 the command Of the Constitution,
II has now become my duty "to give TO Congress
information of the state of the Union and recon-
mend to their consideration such measures" as l
Judge 10 be necessary and expedient"
Rut first. and above all, our thanks are due to
Almighty God for the numerous benefits which he
has bestowed upon this people, and our united
prayers ought TO ascend to Him that He would con-
time to bless great republic in time to come as
He has blessed it in time past.
Since the adjournment of the last Congress our
constituents have enjoyed an unusual degree OF
Of health. The earth has yielded her fruits abun-
dautly. and has boundnlly rewarded the toll of the
husbandman. Our great staples have commanded
high prices, and, up TO within brief period, our
manufacturing, mineral and mechanical occupa'
tions have largely psrtaken of the general pros
perity. We have possessed all the elements of ma
teris wealth in rich abundance, and yet, notwith-
standing all these advantages, our country, in IT'S
monetary interests, is at the present moment In
deplOrable condition.
In the midst of unsurpassed plenty in all the pro.
ductions of agriculture and in all the elements or
national wealth, we find our manufactures suspend
ed our public works retarded, our private enter
prise of different kinds abandoned, and thousands
Of useful laborers thrown out of employment and
reduced TO want The revenue of the government,
which Is chiefly derived from duties on imports from
abroad, has been greatly reduced whilst appropra-
tons made by Congress at its last session Tor the
current fiscal year are very large in amount.
Under these circumstances loan may be requlr-
ed before the close of your present session; but
this although to be deeply regretted, would prove
TO be only a slight misfortune when compared with
the suffering and distress prevailing among the peO-
pie With this the government cannot fail to deep
" sympbatize, though it may be without the power
10 extend rehet.
1t is our duty to enquire what has produced such
and x-ho fhoirr
can be preventeds In all former revuIsions the
blame might have been fairly attributed to varle-
ty of cooperating causes but not upon the pres
ent occasion. Ii is apparent that our existing mis-
fortunes have proceeded solely from our extrava-
CANT and vicious system of paper currency and bank
credits, exciting the people to wild specnlations
and gambling in stocks. These revulslons must
continue to recur at successive intervals long
the amount Of paper curreRey and bank loans and
discounts of the country shall be left 10 the discre-
ton of fourteen hundred irresponsible banking sti-
tutions which from the very law of their nature will
consult the interest Of their stockholders rather than
the public welfare.
The trainers of the Constitution when they gave
TO Congress the power 'to coin money and TO regu'
late the value thereof" and prohibited the States
from coming money, emitting bills of credit, or ma
king ANYTHING but gold and silver coin artender in
payment of debts, supposed they had protected the
people against the evils of an excessive and irre-
deemable paper currency. They are not RESPONSE
bic for an existing anomaly that government en-
dowed with the sovereign attribute OF coming mon
ey and regulating the value thereof should have no
power TO prevent others from driving this coin out
of the country and filling up the channels OF circu-
lation with paper which does not represent gold and
silver.
It is one of the highest and most responsible du-
ties of the government to insure to the people
sound circulating medium, the amount of which
J. n nj Will he m
dom and skill to the wants of the internal trade and
foreign exchanges If this be either greatly above
or greatly below the proper standard the marketa-
Bile value of every mans property is increased or
diminished in the proportion, and injustice to
individuals as well as incaculable evils to the COM
munty are the consequences.
Unfortunately under the construction OF the
Federal Constitution, which has now prevailed too
Iopp to be changed, this important and delicate du-
tyIhas been discovered from the coming power and
virtually transferred TO more than fourteen hundred
State banks acting independently OF each other,
and regulating their paper issues almost exclusive
by regard to the present interest of their stock
no ders. Exercising the sovereign power OF pro-
yiding paper currency, instead OF coin, for the
country. the first duty which these banks owe to
the public is to keep in their vaults sufficient
amount of gold and silver TO insure the convertible
~ of their notes into coin at all times and under all
circumstances No bank ought ever to be charter
ed without such restrictions on its business as to Sc
cure this result All other restrictions are eompar-
atively vain.
This is the only true touchstone, the only eff
cient regulator of paper currency-the only one
which can guard the public against over issues and
hank suspensions. As a collateral and eventual Sc
curitv it's doubtless wise and in all cases onght TO
he required, that banks shall hold an amount of
United States or State securities equal to their notes
in circulation and pledged for their redemption.-
This however, furnishes no adequate security
AGAINST over-issues. On the contrary, it may be
peryerted to initiate the currency Indeed, Is pos.
sibe by this means to convert all the debts OF the
United States and State Governments into bank
notes, without reference to the specie required to
redeem them.
Howavpr valuable these securities may be in
themselves they cannot be converted into gold and
silver at the moment of pressure, as our experience
teaches in sufficient time to prevent bank suspen'
sions and the depreciation of bank notes. In Eng
land which is to a considerable extent paper mon-
ey country, though vastly behind our owu IN TINS
respect. il was deemed advisable, anterior to the
act of Parliament Of 1874, which wisely separated
the issue of notes from the banking department for
the Bank of England always to keep on hand gold
and silver equal to onethird of its combined crcu
lation and deposits.
If the proposition was no more than sufficient to
secure the convertbIity of its notes. with the whole
of Great Britain and to some extent the continent
almost impossible that a sudden and immediate run
to a dangerous amount should be made upon 1t, the
same proportion would certainly be insufcie mt un-
der our banking system. Each OF our fourteen
hundred banks has but a limited circumference for
its circulation and in the course OF very lew days
the depositors and note no ders might demand from
such bank sufficient amount in specie to compel
il to suspend even although it had coin in its vaults
equal to one-thrd of its immediate liabilities.
And vet am not aware, with the exception OF
the banks of Louisiana, that any State bank through
out the Union has been required by its charter to
keep this any other proportion OF gold and silver
compared with the amount of its combined clrcula-
ton and deposits. What has been the consequence!
In a recent report made by the Treasury Depart
ment on the condition of the Banks throughout the
different States according to returns dated January,
1857, the aggregate amount of actual specie in
their vaults is S5S, $40 S3S of their circulation
$2l4 477SS22 and of their deposits $3.50, 35l ,352.
Thus it appears that these banks in the aggregate
have considerably less than one dollar in seven OF
gold and silver compared with their circulation and
deposits
Il was probable, therefore, that the very first
pressure must drive them TO suspension, and de-
nriye the people of a convertible currency with all
its disastrous consequences 1t is truly wonderful
that they should have continued to preserve their
credit when demand for the payment of one
seventh of their immediate liabilities womb nave
driven them into insolvency. And that is the con-
drion of the banks notwithstanding that four hun
dred millions of gold faom California have flowed in
upon us within the last eight years, and the tde sun
continues TO flow. Indeed such has been the ex-
travagance Of the bank credits that the banks now
hold a considerably less amount OF specie, either IN
proportion TO their capital or to their circuatoh ana
deposits combined, than they did before the uiscoT
ery of gold in California
Whilst in the year lS48 their specie in proper
ton 10 their capital than equal to ore dol