The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-02-03

meet the whole of IT, In the last resort must come to
that the merchants failed throughout the country
Certainly not How could they pay their dcbtsg Why, the
banks where live took away our currency 70 such
extent that for months had money at all. Every
thing stick" We had purchase gro
ceries credit One of these banks had 300 900 In
bills and only 100000 specie with which TO meet it.
Other banks were similarly situated so there Is
der merchants stopped payment and that large houses
faehc larger the house the greater danger Of It's failure
Now can that system be right that fail with
million OF dollars in assets some did m Bos-
ton and did proportonaby all over the country?
Can that system be rghU Men told then that they
would have sacrificed thousands Of dollars 10 have
met their engagements, but they could not get the
money; for, said one, "tfM moro interest I offer
and make thcm believe nsovcnt" And yet the banks
not TO blame know that they have been severely
censured by many thoughtess individuals yet MAINTAIN
that they not TO biamet is the system Tho banks
were going on according TO law; some few of them
may have exceeded the commandments OF the law hut
the majority of them were entirely legal in their ope
ratons have yet TO learn that they violated the laws
under which they were instituted Thoue who the
banks only show their ignorance petulance, because
this Crisis was the result OF system-a result
inevitable and absolute from that system. Finally, after
the banks had gone long hey could they stopped
pay ment They had 70 stop because they could not go
and the only thing blame them for, that they did
know that they would have suspend when the banks of
Philadelphia closed their doors The New York and Eos
ton banks should have closed day for tho bubble
had been punctured and credit confidence upon which
system Ia based, must down. That eighty FIVE
per cent of credit be destroyed Ii susA be the
think that every one who has heard INC will readily
icpate what shall say should be the remedy, because
the difficulty Is perfectly obvious and perfectly simple;
the remedy is just as obvious and just Us simple.
We must have, in word currency with
ess proportion OF confidence and greater proportion
Of cash. There Ia no other remedy, a. understand u.
have no confidence in any other. No measure wall
which does not bring greater proportion Of cash.
and less proportion Of confidence can be Of no advantage
If attempt anything else will not succeed. The only
difficulty in the currency Is the want'o specie and the
remedy u have Of it. There is no mystery about
IT, Al circulation should be based by law on
tain proportion Of specie shall not attempt to say what
proportion that should be, the banks would not DO
Obliged 10 call In their currency when there crisis
Now We have money when want It least and when
want II most deprived Of IL altogether. We want
more specie In the banks 30 they need not contract
when n hard time comes Tho deposits also must be
based upon specie, just as much and as fully
az the circulation Here point upon which most pco
pie wholly ignorant. What deposits? That Ia n
question not in hundred in the United States
can answer Many imagine that deposits are Just
much money IN specie In the bank; thus a bank with
$500 600 in deposits ia thought 10 DO rich bank Nos
you know very we'll 1t IL such thing these deposits
merely the certificates Of Indebtedness thor books or
their promise pay demand much money; other
words, they are merely bank dcots--nothng less
Now, being merely bank debe, inoy ought 10 be