Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-10-14
The Times.

The suspension of Fowle, Snowden " Co.
Bankers, Alexandria, was reported last week.
Bower, McNamee & Co., Geo. Bliss u Co., ane
Harper & Brothers, of New York, have also
suspended or failed. The last number of the
New York Independent, an abolition semi-relg
ious organ, publishes long list of recent fail
ures, among them Bowen and McNamee, the
principal owners of that paper! There wa:
tremendous run on the Park Bank, New York
last week, but it seemed to be well fortified
The Bowery Bank and the Brooklyn Contra
Bank have succumbed. New York is in rather
a tight place owing to the calls upon her fol
specie Philadelphia, for example, demands
payment of all her New York debts in gold ant
silver, and pays what she ows to New York il
deprecated paper, or not at all. Specie will be
gin to flow towards New York again before long
but it is question whether she can hold out til
then.
Additional failures in Boston and other place:
are reported.
On Wednesday evening, the7th, a large 10 Get
ing of business men was held in Philadelphia
relative to the financial difficulties. The speak
| ers believed that New York was the cause o.
the present difficulties. The New York Banks
had expanded 100000 in thirty-one days
while an expansion of SIT 000, 900 in five months
broke the United States Bank. Becoming scared
they curtailed in two months $12, 100000, sutf
cient to produce q panic in the strongest COM
munity. The condition of laboring men was de-
plorably represented. Thousands would starve il
there was not immediate relief.
| Extracts from letters from the largest manu-.
facterers in the country were read. Men i'm
plored aid for the payment of wages or else they
would have to discharge thousands. Notwith
standing it was their own interest to stop alto
gether, they were determined to keep on if pos
sible The remedy was in the renewal of con-
idence in the banks. Thus renew confidence
and all would be brought about by discontinue
ance of the run on these institutions and not de-
priving them of the ability to move.
The Legislature of Pennsylvania met last
week, in special session, to devise some measure
of relief. Tho Senate passed bill legalizing the
suspension until the 1st of April next. Besides
! legalizng the suspension until the date named
| it extends the stay of execution sixmoths longer
than is now allowed by law; compels all banks
| to receive the rotes of other banks, save upon {
statement sworn to by the President and Cash
| ier and forwarded to the Governor, and filed in
the Secretary's office: bank notes to be reeeiya-
| bic in payment for revenue by tax collectors
and banks to redeem in specie their noses when
paid for tolls or taxes.
The Pennsylvania House of Delegates, on Sat-
urday, passed bill extending relief to the Banks
of that State The effort to change the time
fixed for resumption of specie payments-1st
of April-was defeated. The Baltimore A
merican of Monday says
The extended extracts given under the COM
mercial head in to-day's American will inform
the reader how severe was the commercial pres
sure and how important the resulting disasters in
New York during the closing days of last week,
The banks of New York, looking apparently on
ly to their own safety, have been unable or un-
willing to eetthe positive necessities ofthe COM
mercial community, and two days ofsuch financial
alarm, confusion and disaster as that city had
never before witnessed have been the conse-
ouence. A run, we'll sustained however, upon
| one city bank, the absolute failure of another,
the closing of two less important institutions in
Brooklyn, the assignment of the New York and
Erie and the Illinois Central Railroad Compa-
MES, and the failure or suspension of several
large houses, present an aggregate OF disaster
that cannot be contemplated without apprehen-
sion. The condition of affairs in New York
of course affects other cities, Boston more Sc
yerely than Others but all to some extent"
The Governor Of Virginia has issued pro-
clamation prohibiting the notes of the Bank of
Kanawha from being received in payment for
money due the State--that Bank having refus-