Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1857-10-23
Bank Of the Unilrd States


Bank OF the United States.
We do not expect to see another bank Of tn
United States in day. Even Mr. Clay gave
up as hopeless, because he found that the peopl
were against il, and Mr.. Webster was compelled I
pronounce il ian obsolete idea" Yet both thes
great statesmen continued TO the last believe tina
1t was the only great regulator Of the currency an
that until il was re-established in some form O
other, the currency would always be liable to thos
spssms Of which we have just had such fearful
oxamplc.
Ii is our opinion, that many years hence. perhaps
when the child that is now in the cradle shall hav
become an old man, the returning reason Of tn,
people viii direct thom once more 10 the
OF the old, and only reliable commercial system
Their nrst ooJecr VIII BE- tnen. 10 undo an me m's
chief that demagogues and currency tricksers have
been doing, and they win begin by establishing q
bank OF the United States They win read, by the
light OF history, everything connected with tho old
bank, and they will see tho knavery of half of
those who assisted in destroying it, and tho folly Of
the other. They wall look for prcoedsnts Of a con-
sti,uton for the new Bank. and they will find none
soperfcct as that OF tho old Bank. Certainly it
was more admirably adapted to the ends pro-
posed than any other constitution Of which VIC have
ever had the model in this country, at least
During the existence OF the Bank Of the United |
States we had the best currency that has probably
ever been known to the world. A Bank note of the
United States was at par and could pass current all
over the world. Ii commanded as much at Calcutta
n it did at New York. There was no discount up on
1t any where Ii was equal to gold all over the
face of the earth. The Bank was not only good in
ITSELF but it made the notes of all other banks equal
ly good with its own. Brokers' in those DAYS, in
stead of dScounting notes. were ut prodisious di,
count themselves There was no reason for a man
coming here with New Orleans money in his
pocket to get it shave before he could buy what he
wanted. The merchant took it, just a he would
take note Of the Bank Of Virgins. The Unite l
States Bank was the most vgiant sentinel that was
ever placed upon a watch-tower. 1t knew the con-
dition OF every Bank in the country Wherever IT
found bank in difficulty, provided it was acting
honestly 1t always assisted it. Wherever it found
bank acting dishonesty, trading upon no capital.
or extending its circulation in manner not warrant
ed by its means, it checked it instantly 1t ALWAYS
had at its head men OF large minds who understood
thecourse of trade, and who knew when to contract
and when to expand. When contraction was neces.
s1ry they pulled the strings gently that the gra
dual closing of the purse could hardly be felt When
expansion was deemed advisable, they expanded go
gradually that men felt the times growing easier
without scarcely knowing how it came about II
Nicholas Biddle or Lingdon Cheevos had been at
the head Of great National Bank two years aro
they would have felt alarmed at the exhibit of tho
Secretary Of the Treasury, and would have begun
IN Tuna, to contract. Then, should have had
none of those fightful commissions into which ,he
money market has Of late been thrown
The Bank never ought to have BEEN ..ade n mar.
ty measure. 1t had been established, and voted
against in turn by both parties The Felerslists
established the old Bank in 1901. Mr.. Madison and
the Republicans killed Il Isll The same Mr.. Mad.
ison and his Repr blcaps re-establisbed it in 1915
having become convinced that tn ey had been wrong
and not being ashamed to own that they had been
SO. Il was believed, until Jackson's time, that the
matter was settled jackson was a man Of very ne
culiar temperament. lie vastly combattiye
and an enemy was to him, necessity. He had so
completely demolished all his foes in the election of
1928 that he had nothing to fight His advisers
ought to have fitted up lay figure, with q red
coat such n British soldier wears named il Pick
ingham, and let him indulge his favorite taste on
that But to the misfortune the country thew sci
him upon the Bank, which he was the more willing
TO attack, because Biddle had refused TO remove an
officer who had given him umbrage. Then the fray
began in earnest, to the great delectation Of the
President, to the great profit Of some of his advi-
sers and to the infinite terror ofcvery man in the
country, who had anything to lose bya commercial
conyusion 1t was n great pity that his keepers had
not found out some less expensive method of graft
flying his ruling passion
That jackson ever had any just conception of the
extent Of the mischief he doing, we have new =,
believed. He was like bull in china shop. II,
went stumbling, laundering, kicking, and ,.msb
ing about, making havoc tevery step, and carin,
nothing for the value of the materials he was de.
stroying. His keepers worked him up to he pitch
aud kept him there, By playing upon his pugnaciou,
disposition. The Monster" was his per sonal enemy
as everybody and everything was, that crossed hi,
path in the slightest degree. The great truth is. h,
was the last min on earth that sht ever to hav,
been entrusted with the Government, and he inflicted
injuries moral, social, politicaland commercial from
which 1t Is scarcely possible that she will ever re-
cover.