Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1857-12-10

ing a class so large. SO influential AMI ac-
tive against the unstampc} notes, their
circulation would be c;iectually checkma-
ted.
The paper money wing Of the democ-
racy was still more against the bankrupt
act against bankrupt banks than against
the stamp tax on notes, and acting with
the habitual opponents Of the party to
which they proiesscl to belong, easily de
fcated all the bills The open objection
came from the lawyers, with their profcs-
sional idea, drawn chiefly from British
statutes, that merchants ami traders were
the proper subjects of the bankrupt law,
although every late British statute on the
subject includes bahAs (the Bank Of Eng
land expected and in single season of
suspension (that Of lSl3-'1i-'l5) ninety
two OF these banks had been subject to com
missions of bankruptcy. Bat this remciv
was not of English but of Roman origin,
as its name would show ("6aacus" and
"ruptuS;;") and bankers were the original
objects of the law, as the same name also
shows. "Broken Bench is the English of
the Latin name, and was SO called because
the bankers (money changers of that time,
as now in the East) had their benches in
public places, on which they sat and did
business; and when any one became deln-
quent, or criminal, he was driven away
and his bench was broken. And thus, in
its origin, bankruptcy was a process
against bank aud bankers, ami still in
Great Britain, and hence retains lis origin
al name of Broken Bench-thc bench so
broken being the sign and warning to the
public that the banker himself was iusol-
vent, AMI deprived of his place of doing
business.
Banking in the Uni ed States is the most
unrca trained anl unsafe that there is in the
world; and unsafe even for solid and well
conducted banks, there being enough of
the unsolil AMI bally con luctel to fall
down of themselves every few years, AMI to
drag down the rest with them. The law,
put few restraints or penalties upon them,
ami these restraints OF penalties are regu
ltr,y repealed ust as often as the conmu-
nitv nee Is the benefit fof them. 1t !, by
name in some places. by fast in others, Il
system of free banking" which the hard
money democracy was accustomed TO call
free swinlling" ANY boly becomes
banker that pleasc and sue, small note,
an sends tlem of to distance to be cir
culatel AMI lost and to sink upon the
hands OF the laboring people. \ favoritc
plan is to issue notes ut one place, raya-
BE a; another, far or PIT of the way, an
iiifi Gltto be got a, 50 :, 70 compel the hp!-
der to submit to a shave That mode of
doing business was invented by Scotch
man Of Aberdeen, in 1909: but he was in
Great Bilain, not in the Cnitel States
AMI the British ministry and the British
Parliament Immediately took cognizanrc of
the inventor and his imitator,, and place |
them all in the category of swinllerS, AMI
so put an cnl To their operations. No
stamp duty no bankrupt at, and no re
quisi;ion to keep any rroportionatc amount
OF hard money on hanl completes the Ii
cease and unbounlel freedom, AMI Ia" per
feet tile 10 perio lical explosions, which
belong to American banking.
This last r. iusitioa. TINT Of keeping on
han an amount of hard money proportions
ate to their liabilities, seems 10 be unknown
(cvcn in name) in the Unite States; yet
that requisite i, legal AMI fundamc9tal
condition of the Bank of Englan l.: and
the proportion Of one-thirl in gold of the
total amount Of It's liabilities in circulation
AMI deposits Is the rate enforced; anil be-
low that proportion the Bank of England
does not deem itself safe. Thus swore Mr..
lIorSlcy Palmer. governor of the Bank of
England, before Lord Althorpe's commit
tee. in 1892: The avcrase proportion, as
already observed, OF coin AMI bullion
the bank deems it prudent to keep Oh han
is at the rate of Il third Of the total amount
Of all her liabilities, including deposits as
we'll as issues" Anil thus Swore Mr.
George Wayd Norman, director of the
bank: For full state of the circulation
AMI deposits, say twenty-onc millions OF
notes AMI six millions deposits, making in
the whole twenty seven millions of liahili-
ties, the proper sum IN coin an bullion
for the bank to retain is nine millions
And TO the same effect sworc nth,r dire
tors. But IN Great Britain 1t Is not suii
Gent that this proportion OF one third Is le-
quirc to he on hand. but 1t must he
shown, anl that continually, that 1t is there.
This is accomplished by the publication
of the quarter weekly average of the liabi'
ties and assets of the bank. from which the
public can always see when tho bank has
crosse the line of safety. How different
this from banking in the tutel States,
where no proportionable rate of specie to
the liabilities is even prescribed, and where
five, ten, fifty AMI hundred paper dollars
for one hard one in the vault is frequently
iSsuel
Bat one thing was wantel to complete
the titles of our banking systemic utter
unwOrihinesS, and that one thing has been
discovered-it is the diapcn>ation OF the
,pcrc basis Throughout the world, SO far
as paper money is known, specie basis Is
deemed necessary TO an institution which
issues promises to pay specie. Not 50 IN
the United States. Paper upon paper has
become the vogue with u. Stocks, and the
notes of other banks, are the" san " foun
dation upon which large proportion oi
our banks arc built
10 not expatiatc upon the evils of
small paper money; they are palpable to
every observer. AMI only require enumer-
alton. l. 1t drives away all har,. money
of equal denominations; for, in compct-
tiou betXVpen two .urreu, .ias tlo ,npanpSt