Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-12-11
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
FeiiO,C-citizenS Of The Senate and


the state of the Union and recommend to their consdera
ton such measures as judge to be necessary and ex
pedent.
But first, and above ALL thanks due to Almighty
God for the benefits which He has bestowed
s people ana our united prayers ought to ascend to Him
that He would continue to bless great republic in time
to He has blessed in time past Since the ad
ournent of the last Congress constituents have enjoy
ed an unusual degree of health The earth has yielded her
fruits abundany and has bountifuy rewarded the toll OF
the husbandman Our great staples have commanded high
prices and, up till within brief PERIOD manufacturing
mineral and mechanical occupations have largely partaken
of the general prosperity We have possessed all the ele
ments OF material wealth rich abundance and yet not
wthsanding all these advantages country in its
ary interests is at the present moment in depOrabe
ditiOn In the midst of unsurpassed plenty all the pro-
ductOns of agriculture and in all the elements of national
wealth, We find our manufactures suspended, public
works retarded private enterprises of different kinds
bandoned and thousands of useful aborers thrown out of
employment and reduced to want The the gov
ernnent which is chiefly derived from duties on imports
from abroad has been greatly reduced whilst the apprOpr
atons made by Congress at its last for the
fiscal year very large in amount.
Under these circumstances loan may be required be
fore the close of your present session. but this, although
deeply to be regretted, would prove to be ouy slight
prevailing among the people. With this the government
cannot fail deeply to smpathse though may be without
the power to extend relief
duty enquire what has produced such
tunate results and whether their be preven
ted? In all former revusiOns the blame might have been
iary attributed to variety OF cooperating causes but
not so upon the present occasion 1t is apparent that
existing misfortunes have proceeded solely from eXav
agan and vicious system of paper currency and bank cred
its exciting the people to wild specuatiOns and gambling
III STOCKS These reVuSOnS must continue to at
cesve intervals so long the amount of the paper
cy and bank loans aud the discounts of the country shall
be left to the discretion of fourteen hundred irresponsible
banking institutions, which from the very law of their
ture will consult the interest of their stockholders rather
than the public welfare.
The trainers of the constitution, when they to Con-
gress the to coin money and to regulate the value
thereof and prohibited the States from coming money
emitting bills of credit making anything but gold and
silver coin tender in payment of debts supposed they had
the people against the evils of an excessive and
existing anomaly that government endowed with the
eregn attribute of coming money and regulating the value
thereof should have power to prevent others from driving
this coin out of the country and filing up the channels of
circulation with paper which does not represent gold and
silver.
OF the highest and most responsible duties of
government to insure to the people sound circulating
dium amount ought adapted the
most possible wisdom and skill to the wants of internal trade
and foreign exchanges If this be either greatly above or
greatly below the proper standard the marketable value
every mans property is increased diminished in the
proportion and injustice to individuals we'll ncacua-
BILE evils to the community are the consequence.
Unfortunately, under the construction of the federal
sutOn which has prevailed too long to be changed
the coming and virtually transferred to than
fourteen hundred State banks acting independently of each
other and regulating their paper issues almost exclusively
by regard to the interest of their stockholders
Exercising the sovereign power of providing paper
rency instead of con for the country the first duty which
these banks to the public is to keep i'll their vaults
sufficient amount of gold and silver to insure the cOnvert
bty of their amount of notes into coin at all times and
der all circumstances No bank ought to be chartered
without such restriction its business to this
suit. All other restrictions comparatively vain This
paper currency-the only which guard the public
against issues and bank suspensions As collateral
and eventual security doubtless and all
ought to be required that banks shall hold amount of u
States State securities equal to their notes circulation
es no adeaaate s security agast ses ON the
contrary it may be perverted to initiate the currency
Indeed possible by this means to convert all the debts of
the United States and State into bank notes,
without reference to the specie required to redeem them
However valuable these securities may be themselves they
cannot be converted into gold and silver at the moment OF
pressure experience teaches in sufficient time to pre-
vent bank suspensions and the depreciation of bank notes.
In England which to considerable extent paper money
country though vastly behind in this respect it
deemed advisable anterior to the act of Parliament of
1884, which wisely separated the issue OF notes from the
banking department. for the Bank of England always to
keep hand gold and silver equal one-trd com
bned circulation and depOses IT this proportion
than sufficient to the convertbity of its
with the whole of Great Britain and to
continent of Europe, field for it's circulation rendering
almost impossible that sudden and immediate to dan
amount should be made upon it, the proportion
would certainly be Insufficient under banking system
Each of fourteen hundred banks has but limited
cumference for its circulation, and i'll the of very
few days the deposors and note holders might demand from
such bank sufficient amount in specie to compel it to
suspend, even although it had coin in its vaults equal
and vet am pd v IT. the mmeGits Of th %sn
louisiana that State bank throughout the Union has
required by It's charter to keep this or any other pro
portion of gold and silver compared with the amount of its
combined circulation and deposites What has been the
consequence In recent report made by the Treasury De
parment on the condition of the banks throughout the diff
States according to returns dated nearest to January
the aggregate amount of actual specie in their vaults
depOses $3.50 352 Thus it appears that these banks
in the aggregate have considerably less than dollar
OF gold and silver compared with their circulation
depOses. 1t palpable, therefore, that the very frs
pressure must drive them to suspenon and deprive the
quences truly wonderful that they should have SO Ions
continued to preserve their credit, when demand The
payment of seventh of their immediate liabilities wou(
have driven them into insolvency. And this the con
ditOn of the banks, notwithstanding that four hun
dred millions of gold from California have flowed
In upon us within the last eight years. and the tide still
continues to ow Indeed such has been the extravaganza
of bank credits that the banks hold considerably
less amount OF specie, either in proportion to their capita
or to their circulation and depOsites combined than the
did before the discovery of gold in California Whilst in tn
year 1S4S their specie in proportion to- their capital
more than equal to dollar for four and half 1857
does not amount to dollar for every six dollars
thirtythree their capital In the year 1913 tn
specie equal within very small fraction to dola
in five of their circulation and depostes in 1857 is no
equal to one dollar in seven and half of their circulation
and depostes.
From this statement it is easy to for nancia
rr e S y hc mas s a
lowed by runous cOntractons At successive intervals til
best and most enteprsng have been tempted to he
ruin by excessive bank loans of mere paper credit eXcn
them to extravagan mportatons of foreign goods viii
speculatons and uinous and demorazng stock gambling
When the crisis arrived arrive it must the banks
tend relief to the people. In vain struggle to redee
their liabilities in specie they compelled to conra(
their loans and their issues and at last in the hour of d
tress, when their assistance most needed they and the
debtors together sink into insolvency.
this paper system of eXtrayagant expansion rasn
the nominal price of every article beyond its real
when compared with the similar articles
whose crcuatOn Is wisely regulated which has preVente
US from competing in markets with foreign mani
acturers, has produced exravagant mpoations and a
cOuneracted the effect of the large incidental protection
orded to manufactures by the present tariff
But for this the branches of composed
materials the production of cOuntrysuch
cotton iron, and wooen fabrcs-would not only have a.
qured almost exclusive possession of the home market
would have created for themselves foreign market throug
out the world.
Deporable, however, may be present financial CO
dtion, yet indulge in bright hopes for the future
No other nation has existed which could have endure
such violent expansions and cOntracons of paper cred
without lasting injury yet the energies of pOpulao
and the spirit which quais before difficulties, will
able to from present financial embarras