Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-11-06
ThA Nav National Bank.

Tho Now National Bank.
The movement made by many OF the
presses which formerly reflected the
sentiments of the old Wing party in
favor of the establishment Of Ma
tional bank leads us to believe that the
Bourbons are not the only men the
world who "lcarn nothing and forget |
nothing" If VIC accept the views re-
Gently promulgated by the National
Mtelligencer, we have been travelling
in circle, and after leaving the career
of the United States Banks behind MS,
the pcrigrinations of twenty years have
brought us by weary circuit, mourn
era to its grave. With many economists,
a United States Bank has always been
= panacea for the evils Of our financial
system; the complicated affairs Of the
Government, and the simple transac
tions Of the shop keeper were only in
\ sound condition when Nicholas Bid
die swayed the financial sccptre. Al
though the proposition to incorporate
q mammoth National Bank meets with
considerable favour among few fossil
politicians VIC do not believe that any
party would venture before the people
on mere bank platform. There is
stronger feeling Of hostility against
banking institutions to day than when
Andrew Jackson throttlsd the United
States Bank, and should the issue of
Bank or no Bank be fairly presented,
the party bearing "no Bank" on its
banners would succeed throughout the
country by an old fashioned old hick-
ory majority. The Banking systems
Of all our States are failures, for they
are neither steady nor secure, and some
vast Improvements must be made upon
them or banks will be swept out Of ex-
istcncc. The people have begun to
doubt If they are, after all, a necessary
evil" and no tcmporising expcdient for
present relief, no plaster to cover the
sore, will dispense with the necessity
of q radical purgativc. The old and
favorite argument in support of a Ma
tional bank, that such an institution is
the best regulator Of our exchanges, Is
now treated with very little considera-
ton; for until the recent panic the ex-
celent system of exchanges which pre-
vailed proved that exchanges were not
dependant, in the least, on mammoth
central regulator. There are few, a
very few, who believe notwithstanding
the melancholy history of ls37-tha'
did a National bank exist, the rcvul
sion under which we arc now laborne
would not have occurred. 1t is
susceptible of an easy demonstration
that such an institution would have
aggravated our difficulties hundred
fold. If a national bank existed, it
would, of course, be arranged that the
funds of Government should be depos-
tied in its vaults; imagine sudden
withdrawal of the funds from the Bank
vaults, such as recently occurred from
the sub Treasury, what would have
been the result In April, the Gov
eminent Golfers contained nearly thirty
millions Of coin; now they contain less
than seven millions. If the circulation
of material bank three dollars in
notes for one Of spccie) had been cur
tailed in proportion to this rapid dim
mutton of specie, there would have
been contradiction for this cause
alone Of sixty millions of dollars. The
pressure now affecting the country is
the result Of falling off Of specie held
by local banks within the last ten
months Of thirty three millions Of dol
lars; if we had national bank besides
local banks, a curtailment Of its circu
lation would have been necessary in al
amount corresponding with the loss o
$2s,OOO,oOO ofGovernmcnts specie from
its vaults +; and the country would have
been nearly doubly worse off than it il
now under the mere contraction Of thu
= local banks. The question is one o
arithmetic; if the present hard time.
are caused by the loss by the banks O
$33,OOO,OOO IN specie, what would have
been the condition of the times if the
banks had lost $23,OOO,OOO in specie
morel"
SHORT CREDIT.-Some of the whole.
sale houses in Boston having already