The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1858-06-16
Senator Hayne and the Banks.

Our newly appointed Senator has made
n number of little speeches since his nd-
vent in Congress for which he has been
complimcntcd by the papers North and
South, and his remarks IN general charac.
terized rs having the ring of the truc nctal
Of "JGckSOnian patriotism" The people
Of our own State have generally been con.
tent with this appointment, until upon n
late occasion he was pleased to animadvcrt
in 4 strange and evidently unjust manner
upon that respected institution cf the peo-
ple's,-thc Bank of the State of South
Carolina.
The Senate had under consideration the
fifteen million loan bill and, incidentally,
the effects of the late money crisis upon
the different cities Of the country were be-
ing contras,cd. Senator Simmons of Rhode
Island had the floor and seemed disposed
10 compliment Charleston for the handsome
manner in which she had weathrrcd the
storm and stated that her failures amounted
Is very probably correct, the Senator sta
ting that his information was derived from
source not given to err. Our Senator,
Mr. llayne, here interrupted him with the
remark "liess my soul sir we had not
n single failure that know Of" So far. no
material harm was done, and The remark on
ly exhibited the Senators ignorance of the
financial concerns of his own city. But as
the debate proceeded, he undertook to en-
plain the cause of the bank suspensions in
this State and used this extraordinary Ian
guagc:
think the cause Of our stopping was
that we had Bank Of the State of South
Carolina that has not shadow of responsi.
b'Iity attached 10 it. /: is the Peoples
Bank; the capital is owned BY The State
government, and it is public property, to be
stolen and sp"culated upon, and that bank
had accommodated almost every person in
the community that was not well of; and
hen the crisis came, she went by the board
hrSt IL she could have stood, there would
not have been n bank in the State of South
Carolina that would have suspended
To contradict at home such palpable
misrepresentation Of facts, would be super.
tiuous, and 10 Reighboufing states is very
well known upon what rests the security
and responsibility of the Bank of the State.
No one has ever questioned il before. The
people of this State have good reason TO
understand, aud the fact is also well known
elsewhere, that the circulation Of the Bank
of the State during the late money trou.
bles. was the means of bringing large por-
ton OF the cotton crop to market and Of
sustaining the price of it. Had we been
left TO the mercy OF the COMPANY banks.
whose officers it appears dictated to cotton
buyers the price they should pay for cotton.
instead of realizing from ten TO twelve
cents for the last crop, we would in n!
probability have been forced to take abou,
eight or nine cents.
We find in the Charleston McrcUrya dig
niiied reply from President Furman TO Mr..
Haynes extraordinary allegations but as
the Senator'S term has been brief and is
now about to terminate, we may very well
afford to practice towards him the virtue of
forbearance, promising that another contin.
gency is not likely to occur wherein Il requi.
siton will be made rpon his services.