Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-12-03
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
TUESDAY. Dec 4, 1857.
EVENING SESSION.

The SPEAKER resumed at 2 o'clock, and there
upon, according TO order, the House resolved it
self into Committee Of the Whole-Mr POLK in the
Ckair-sad took up the consideration of the Pener-
al subject of the regulation Of the banks of this
Stste
MIR BRADFORD said:
Mr. Speaker, cannot support the bill which has
been introduced by the joint Committee on Banks
With all due respect TO honorable gentlemen who
compose that Co nmittee, must beg leave to offer
my objections. They are plain and simple In the
rst place the Legislature of this State violated both
the spnit and letter OF the Federal Constitution,
When ~ N@'@h'ished these banks believe them to
have been established IN tIVI--4-- . r. So. @
stution also. To give my vote to the In - -
10 sanction the power to establish these instituios
FOR bill seeks TO perpetuate them. In the next
place II would be an abuse of an assumed power to
the injury Of the people. The trainers of onr Fed
oral Constitution justly accredited to have been
the wisest and purest OF the human race. They
evidently intended that currency should be ex-
clusively metallic. They voted down a proposition
to grant bank charters in convention. While they
were plain to their views this subject, they
carefully avoided saying anything, from which an
inference might be drawn that they intended giving
countenance TO any system OF paper currency. MIR.
Webster. the great leader admitted power to es-
tablish United States bank, TO be implied power
Arguing such an institution 10 be necessary as a
fiscal agent for the collection and Disbursement OF the
ploded by successful operation of the Sub-Treasu-
~. Indeed sir the trainers of the Federal Consti-
tuition, seem TO have gone down to the very bottom
Of the science Of government, and grappled with
great first principles. These principles they embod
ed In q Constitution, which is the sacred Magma
Charta" of our liberties. Its provisions are few
plain, and simple. Yet they are broad enough 10
meet every want or necessity Of the government
An exigency never has arisen and perhaps never
will, 70 which IL has not been found equal. Exper
fence attess this. Whenever we, by implied or lat-
tudinOus construction have left its plain land marks
disaster and misfortune have come upon the people
I1ustriOus evidence Of this, are within the memory
Of many now living l refer you, Mr. Speaker to
the high tariffs of 1928 and 1872, which were levied
for the - sake Of protection" They proved bur
Jhemsome and ntOlerable TO a Z" free people" and
were thrown off. refer you, sir, 10 the Missouri
Compromise, in which the great doctrine of non
Intervention was yielded. 1t inadequate to
the object contemplated, and we mad TO return to
first principles to save the Union" / now refer
you, sir, the old United States Bank which after
practical test Of twenty years, absorbing the labor
of the masses, and almost paralyZng The arm OF
Government was abolished, and an effort made to
restore the ''hard money " Of the Constitution -
The industry, the labor and peace of the nation, are
at this very moment suffering another revulsiou,
consequent upon violation OF the Constitution -
We have abandoned the currency OF the Constitution
the true and uniform basis OF all value, and have
adopted paper currency, founded il error. 1t is
false, and will bring disappointment and suffer
ing TO the people We should wipe out all banks OF
circulation. We should adopt pure natalie cur
rency. Then, and not till then viii we be relieved
of these periodical expansions and C attractions"
and the consequent "panics and pressures" Ii the
House will pardon me, l will read from the Federal
Constitution Article lst., Sec. viii reads That
Congress shall have power to coin money, regulate
the value Of foreign CON- and Tx the stand
ard Of weights and measures, and Sec. K Art. ID;
declares, - that no State shall coin money emit bills
of credit, make anything but gold and silver coin
tender IN payment Of debts, or pass any law i'm
pairing the obligation Of contracts" No one will
deny what is here declared, viz: that the Consttu
tiOn recognises nothing money, but gold and sill
For TO coin, means to forge stamp metal for
money, therefore cannot mean paper pictures or
promises TO pay. Then the Constitution not only
declars metal alone as money but reserves TO itself
the sole power, TO ''cOin and regulate its value"
But important, did the trainers Of the Constitu-
lion consider a uniform currency to be, they went
further, and declared q that State should coin
money And fearing still, that the States might
substitute something for gold and silver, they de-
clsred that "no State shall make anything but gold
AID silver coin ten Ter In payment OF debts" But
10 put the custom Of substitute beyond all doubt,
they went another step in advance, and soiemly de
clared that &" no State should bills of credit,
which Is TO say bank notes The State Of Tennessee
has violated this solemn injunction she is violating
IL to-day. Tae Bank Of Tennessee Is her own sgdirn
snd by reference the last report 1t will be seen
that she has Sl,5lS 10000 Of bills of credit, for
which her faith is pledged and which she has neth-
the gold silver to redeem. Thus, has she given
10 her people currency defiance of the COnsttu-
ton oil the United States, which neither money or
its representative. Added this she has gone still
further and chartered other institutions. Confer
ing upon them "Uestsi rights powers cO-euual
with her own, for the Ostenslble purpose of emit
ing bills OF credit" in violation Of the same plain
provision Of the Federal Constitution Ii is true she
has passed no law making these bills Of credit"
tender for debis but at the time, she has put
machinery in motion which has driven the specie
from circulation, thereby maSing them a tender by
q higher and stronger laW,-the law of necessity.
With the indulgence Of the House, | will read what
Gen. Jackson said with reference to this subject
Previous to the passage of the act, General Jack
son wrote and headed pungent memorial TO the
Legislature, denouncing It's provisions and its pas
sage law; declaring II 10 be a violation of the
lOth Section of the LIST Article Of the Federal Con-
stiuuuon, which declares ''that State shall coin
6mu bills Of credit, make any thing bat gold and
silver legal tender in payment of debts" He
adds: 40 any intelligent man, who has directed
his attention TO the operation of banking InstIU-
tiOns, hi own experience and reflection will
convince him that bills issued upon any other basis
save that OF specie, must prove Inefficient and abOr
tive, owing to its having other basis but that of
never can be estimated an equivalent-it will not
engrOss public confidence, but deprsciIe and if
II passes as medium Of exchange al all, its value
must in a degree be nominal
For the benefit of those opposed to Gen. Jackson's
school Of politics, l read from Daniel Webster, in
the Congress OF the United States.
Twelve years afterwasd Daniel Webster. in the
Senate Of the United States, uttered precisely the
sentiments. and with the text book of the
Constitution IN his hand, quoted the same words,
NO State efHu bills Of credit not added he,
''that thay cannot make them legal tender, but
that they cannot issue them all Banks have been
granted by States" tennessee, Indiana, etc.,
with no capital whatever, their notes being put in
20 circulation simply the credit OF the State, or
the State law. What are the issues of such banks
but bills Of credit issued by the Stateg The crea-
non OF State banks, for the purpose, and with the
power Of circulating paper, Is not consistent with
the grants ana prohibitions Of the Constitution"
Having examined the powers Of a State under
the Federal Constitution to establish banks, grant
charters Of incorporation 10 individuals with priv
lege 10 ''emi bills Of credit" propose to examine
into the power Of the Legislature to grant charters
under the State Constitution, for the same purpose
Our bli Of Rights Is part Of our Constitution. Ii
is therefore as binding the Constitution In it
may be found the declaration, THAT perpetuities
and monopohes are contrary 10 the genius of a free
State, and shall not be allowed" Now, sir what is
TIE genius Of free State as contradistinguisbed
+
sir, 1t was equal rights and privileges. Then the
Legislature not having extended equal privileges to
each Of her citizens, but grant ng few the spe-
cial privilege Of bank charters, has allowed" a
monopoly. Let us see what advantage is derived
from a monopoly Of this character. Here are two
individuals, each with a capital Of 5 goo: one of
them obtains bank charter thereby gets the priv
jlege of issuing S3,OOO-by discounling notes or
bills running ninety days, he makes nine per cent
This he can do four times year, which returns him
tbirty-six per cent on each $1,000 thereby reap
ing profit Of seyenty-tWo per cent on each s., O00
more than his real capital; in other words, on
what he owes In the time, the other indi-
vidual who represents the masses Of the people goes
to filling the soil not permitted however to double
or increase his capital, was the person who Oh
tanned the bank charter He thinks himself fortu-
nate if he can clear nine per cent on his Thousand
dollars once q year. The difference is manifest.
The advantage is plain. One labors and tolls with
the warning elements of nature, to make an honest
Swing. The other, shielded with panoPly Of char
.sred monopoly swims in the Injuries OF life, and
grows rich by magic. This inequality was never
intended and the trainers Of our State Constitution
intended TO prevent it, when they declared ''that
perpetuities and monopolies were contrary TO the
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