Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-03-13

IN the commercial world These banksFs n,.r,
instances, msds great sacrifices to sustain tb,;,
excessive calculations If there has been snv f,snd
in any case, it has occurred ssr they we're born,
down by excessive Issues, snd we're making a.
Temps to save a remnant Of their lost estates Il
may suit some to hunt dowa some unfortunate vie.
tim Who happens to have got cut BY iavisstOA Of Il.
Gsseral AsIsn6y, ten thousand little nstes in the
hanIs Of ten Thousand persons which he cannot re-
deem, but the chef fault aud the ultimate respon-
sibty rests on thu law makers, aad not altogether
on those who have iuprudsntly exercised the Ii
csnse which the Legislature have given them.
Let the sgisa urs therefore az the limits beyond
which bankers s not on given amount fspscis,
aud let this be applicable OsFsry baaE in the State
What is safe and proper for one ba1k is safe and
proper for aG-nO exception should Be made in f.,
vor Of Oue bank and against another, on the sup
posed ground that one has behaved better or will
act with more prudence thsA snother, as the eoua-
try is safe under nothing but the stern rule OF law
applicable alike 10 State Banks, Stock Banks and
Free Banks. None Of them can be safe against the
operations Of the laws Of trad, demanding for the
use Of tbs world the money OF the world, without
heavy meialIi, reserve to meet the demands All
will be comparatively safe who shall hold that me-
tsllio reserve. This basis is most emphatically
matter which the community should tx and estab-
lsh, for otherwise they permit individuals to change
the standard Of value and price Of property, aud
b,iog ruin on themselvss sod on the Community.
This basis should be sufficiently high, to say the
least to guarl against sll ordinary pressures for
| gold and sll ordinary psnics.
! How is this to be enforeedt First, BY weekly
ststemsnts to BY one or more Of the chief Of
hOers or prOprietors Of The bank published in the
papers and transmitted to the Comptroller or su-
Perintendsnt Of the Bank Department. This weekly
statement need not contain than the statement
4 of the amount OF the liability due By note and de-
posite OF otherwise, and tAs amount Of money on
hand 10 face sueh demands; the penalties Of
perjury to attach on falsity Of statement These
weekly strtsments would prevent transferring specie
from one bank to make exhibits for another in good
degree as has been done aal will eeniiuse 10 be
dens under the quarterly returns There ought to
be monthly returns making fuller statements also.
BOrro sing money 10 make q return, with the speei-
ho INTENT ought to be iadieiabe IS fraud. But the
Law ought TO 60 further. Il ought to make the
tracing of debts by issuance Of notes otherwise
without the required stGtutOTy tas afelOniOus fraud
This is not proposed the assumption thai bankers
net in al respects as trustWOr by and honorable
any other class Of men, whether be they physi-
clans, las srs, planters clergyman, but simply
and solely By reason Of The great ,eBp,aion they
exposed oby the conf force the desire to make
profits by large Issues aud by the cry for more
money which Perpetually ssslils them and from the
highly Injurious consequences which necessarily re-
suit 10 the banker hHsself and to ths country from
issues which cannot be redeemed The banker
il permitted to issue notes sud loan deposits upon
tbs condition that he keeps given m9unt Of specie
TO meet them. Say be is permitted TO issue $780,
900 and he is required to hOd on hand 500 900 in
specie ara Oue-thiId also meet dspos's He know
ely and wilfully issues three hundred thousand in
notes By this he subTerts the sandaId Of value and
produces fuetuati,E in prices and possibly fails (
70 redeem his notes. and thereby rhcts direct lose
on thousands Of men who supposed he had CONF lied
with the law and that his based specie
when they we're not. This is false pretenss and
ought to be punished other false pretenses and
forgsries are now punished The injurious conss-
quensss TO the eOmmunity uliing from The fall
ures Of banks, almost entirely from over issues,
are thousand fold greater than the common ofenss
OF forgery and other felonious frauds f must not
be regarded, therefore, thai this proposal il
made upon the superstition Of the extrsme prOfigs-
ey Of bankers for such an idea is repeIlsd and re
pLdated as uufOundsd in truth and unjust 10
large class Of the trust worthy and respectable
men in the State, but is insisted as Necessary to
save she community from violations of the s,stute
which will occasionally occur II it be not enforced
By such penalty.
Third. Il should be enforced BY the appointment
Of . bank superintendent in eonaection with some
one mora Of the State ofiesrs- This superin-
tendent should make his examinations Gf the banks
thoroughly, and so oftsn IS to satisfy himself Of
the condition Of eA,h, an make his regular re-
pOr to the other officers, and to the public. This
is the established practice new in those States Vhere
the currency is = secured currency, and il on the
surest and best footing If the Legislature choose
to confer on individuals such important power Is
TO create substitute for money, they should take
the necessary steps to that ii Wellsseured By
responsibility, BY stocks deposited, BY
gold basis aad BY the appointment Of special
officer to that the Law il complied With in all
cases When bankers are sud Ienly aud uns1peet
eily reduced below the amount Of gold required by
the statute, BY the demands Of trade, they should
then be required under similar penalties to
suspend further Issues or contraction Of debts,
until they repsnished their stock of geld 80 to
bring themselves within the lius prescribed by the
statute. They should be required in their weekly
reports to stalS when they fell below the amount
required by statute, and how long theY continued
below il. If the paper currency be thus bound
down to gold basis, its fluctuations would be much
limited and general Indebtedness created BY sX>
cessiVe issues much restricted.
II DO bank in Tennessee be permitted to COM
mence business vi h less than hundred thousand
dollars in money, and should never fall bslOW 1t
without suspension Of business, except TO collect
and come up 10 it IS the isis Of future traESae
dons if they we're required to issus no notes but
those founded personal security ana stocks, and
not to exceed the limit Of two dollars in deb. for
one Of money on hand II they we're not permitted
to issue notes for less than $50 those notes,
if NOT resting on an imprsgnsbls basis would never
theles5, constitute q far sOunder currency, and
safer system than has ever existed in this any
other country, and the system might with esmParsS
tive safety under the operation Of general and re-
pssabls laws be left free for the lnhuz and stux Of
substantial capital, according TO the demands OF
srb n ork h.