Weekly flag of the Union. (Jackson, Miss.) 185?-18??, 1857-12-23
PRESIDENTS nj. SSAGE.
Fesiow- Citisens of the Sen4ke
o.,5 IIna.e,s >,F Ioa7ss.c..#9E

/
In obedience to tue ceiilmand Of aE Cor
Estitution, it has NOW become lSS duty ito civ
Congress informationof the state of the Unioi
and recommend to their consideration sue
measures as Judge to be Necessary an
expedient. "
But first. and above all, our thanks are du
to Almighty God for the nans4ous benefit
which He has bestowed npon tlss people, an
our united prayers ought q aseend to Hit
that He would continue to bless eur great Ri
public in time to come MS he has blessed it il
liIne past. Since the adjournmeat Of the las
! Congress, cur constituents hese enjoyed Al
unusual degree of health. The earth ha
Yielded her fruits abundant2y. and has bounti
/ fully rewarded the toll ef the hasbandman
Our great staples have commanded. high pri
| ces, aud, up to within a briefperial, eur man
iufacturing, mineral. and mechanical eccupa
tins have largely partaken Of the genera
rsusEgTfss,s % INC CT
raents Of InateriaI wealth in &c rich ahun
dance, aud yet, notwithstanding all these ad
yantages our country, in its monetary inter
Hests, is at the present msment in deplora
Die condition.
In the midssof unsurpassed plenty in al
the productions of agriculture ana in all the
elements of national wealth, We find our man
ufactures suspended, our public works retard,
ed, our private enterprises of different kinds
abandoned, and thousands of useful laborers
thrown out Of employment and reduced to
want. The revenue of the government which
is chiefly derived from duties on imports from
abroad, has been greatly reduced, whilst tho
appropriations made By Congress at its last
session for the current fiscal year are very
large in amount.
Under these circumstances loaf may be
required before the close of your present ses-
sion /; but this although to be deeply regretted
would prove to be only a slight misfortune
when compared with the suffering and distress
prevailing among the people. With this the
government cannot tail deeply to sympathize,
though il may be without the power to ex-
tend relief.
It is our duty to inquire what has produe-
ed such unfortunate results, and whether their
recurrence can be prevented In all former
revulsions the blame might have been fairly
attributed to variety of cooperating causes !;
apparent that our existing mstortuneS have
proceeded solely from our extrasagant ana VI
oious system Of paper currency and bank
credits, exciting the people to wild speeula-
ions and gambling in stocks. These revul-
.lons must continue to recur at successive
intervals so long as the amount of paper
and bank loans and discounts of the
country shall be left to the discretion of four
zen hundred irresponsible banking institu-
ions which from the very law Of their nature
yill consult the interest of their stockholders
ather than the public welfare,
The friends of the constitution, wheEs they
ave to Congress the pow5e to coin money
nd to regulate the value tlss .eof, and pro-
ibited ed the States from eoisIE q, money, emit.
5,a and sflgs soin !. f,ynlsat =. l.as,,1. Of
gainss tho evils of an exe ~ af'd irredeem-
be paper currency. gl arc not RESPONSE
lie for the existing anomaly that govern
1ent endowed with the se~o~eisa attribute of
dining money and regulating tie value there
shonld have no power to prevent others I
.om driving this out of the eountry and FILL
,g up the channels Of circulation with paper
hich does not represent gold and silver.
1t is one of the highest and most response
lie duties of the government to insure to the
eople souns. e:seuating medium, the amount
which ought TO be adaptedwith the utmost
1ssible wisdom and skill to9he wants Of in
rnal trade and foreign exchanges. If this
either greatly above or greatly below the
oper standard, the marketable vaiae Of eve
mans property is increased or diminished
the same proportion, and injustice to indi
duaIs as well as incalculable evils to the
immunity are tho consequence Il
Unfortunately, under the construction OF
e federal constitution which has now prevail
too long to be changed this important and
licate duty has been discovered from the
ining power and virtually transferred to
ore than fourteen hundred State banks act ,
9 Independently of each other, and regula-
lg their paper issues, almost exclusively by
regard to the present interest q the stock
lders. Exercising the sovereign power of
oyiding paper currency, instead OF coln'
: the country, the first duty which these
nks owe 10 the public, is to keep in their {
ults sufficient amount of gold and silver {
insure the convertibility Of Their notes into |
in at all times and under all circumstances.
o bank oughtsever to be chartered without
ch restrictions on its business as to secure ]
is result. All other restrictions are COM s
ratively vain. K
This is the only true touchsstone, The only {
icient regulator of a paper curreney-the |
ly one which can guard the public against
er issues and bank suspensions. As col
seral ara eventual security, it IS doubtless
Sc, and in ali cases ought to be required,
at banks shall hold an amount Of United /
ates or State securities equal to kheir notes {
circulation and pledged for their redemp-
N. This, however. furnishes no adequate i
curity against oyer-issues. On the contra
!. it may be perverted to initiate the curren- I
Indeed, it is possible by this means to {
nyert all the debts of the United States into e
nix notes, without reference to the specie i
quifed to redeem them. II
However valuable these securities may be IS
themselves, they cannot be converted to
ID and silver at the moment of pressure, as /
r experience teaches. IN sufficient time to /
event bank suspensisss and the deprecia- Il
ID of bank notes. In England, which is to {
considerable extes> paper money country,
ough vastly bs<tnd our own in this respect, q
was deemed advisable, anterior to the act of i
lrliament of 1874. which wisely separated i
e issue of notes from the banking depart {
ent, for the Bank of England alwaysto keep It
hand gold and silver equal to one-third off t
combined circulation and deposits. |
If this proportion was no more than suffl-
mt to secure the convertihility Of its notes. 3
th the whole of Great Britain, and to some Q
tent the continent of Europe as field for lz
circulation, rendering it almost impossible 7
1t sudden and immediate run to danger {
$ amount should be made upon i, the same 1
oportion would certainly be insufficient I'M
+ our banking system. Each Of our four. i
u hundred banks has but limited eircun- o
onna@e,r ife circf1latiof and in Che cour<4a / Il