Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-02-23

fully for every legitimate right of the States,
maintain that it is paradox to suppose that the
power is anywhere given to one government to
create, and TO another to destroy.
If the State of New York has the constitution
al and legal power to incorporate her banks,
she has the power to authorize, or legalize 3
suspension ofspecie payments, whenever she
thinks the interests of her people require 1t; and
there is no power on earth that can legally in.
terfere with it. The government of the United
States has no more authority to counteract the
legislation Of New York, than the Russian or
British government would have. Yet, there is
the proposition, q second time made, alter an
interval of year, by State-rights PRESIDENT;
and il the State-rights party do not adopt It, 1t
is because they have lost all confidence in the
President of their choice, OF because they regard
him as setting star, whilst some star OF greater
magnitude is rising in different quarter but
certainly, they have raised no cutlery against it,
as an attack on the rights of the States; and
coming from the head of the party, they must
be held responsible for it as democratic pro-
position until they have nnequivocally repudia-
ted and condemned it.
Where then rests the claim of that party to
the credit OF being either the States rights or
Democratic party of this country
Within the last eighteen months, we have
passed through commercial Revision that has
destroyed confidence, blasted credit, locked up
capital, crippled the revenues of the country,
left the public treasury bankrupt, brought us
all into a condition that requires a prompt and
speedy remedy, and the Democratic party, that
is responsible for the whole fit, continues to
present to the country, through the public
press in their political speeches and public doc
uments, every variety of cause but the true one.
Certainly there was some leading cause for
such catastrophe, which is worthy OF investi-
CATION, and which if not removed, OF if permit
ted to continue mnst lead TO similar results, At
Gttn marianne nj distant div The
men OF means and capitalize men of business
and energy-who are most interested in looking
into and correcting this great evil-are so en-
crossed in their daily pursuit alter the almighty
dollar, each one struggling with his neighboT, to
see who can be the first to grasp it, and who
seem not to care either for the cause or for the
remedy-and upon whom, at last, the necessity
will devolye, of demanding in voice not TO be
disregarded, such change in the political
economy Of the State as will secure them against
similar disasters in future-are those who inter
est themselves the least aboutit, and, without
stopping to examine for themselves, suffer the
most idle and absurd theories to pass current as
authority no more to be disputed than divine
revelations. i,i'1a
We can engage in no more important task,
on this day ofjubilee, than to institute inquiries
and set the public mind to work upon this ALL
absorbing question.
Some, and among them the President, ascribe
IL 10 IIe 0NpuuSlUU VI uuuh hh0
declares that these "periOdical revulsionS,
which have existed in our past history, must
continue to return at intervals as long as our
present unlimited system of bank credits shall
prevail" and the only remedy he suggests is
the passage ola law, by the general government
to force the banking institutions of the States
into liquidation and bankruptcy, whenever
another reVulsion shall occur that will drive
them into suspension, although suspension may
be legalized BY the authorities from WON they
derive their existence; and occur again IT must,
if the present system is not speedily changed.
Let US grant for moment that the President
Is right, in ascribing this wide spread ruin TO
its true cause. In what manner does his prop
osi ZION to lock the stable door after the horse
has been stolen remedy the evil? 1t must be
perceived that il the banks could foresee or
apprehend the trouble they might have to
encounter, they would contract their issues in
time to avoid the danger. But they cannot and
did not, and thereforea bankrupt law which
would have a final and not n remedial effect,
would have answered no beneficial purpose.
Now, put it to the intelligent business men
of New York to say If such bankrupt law had
been in existence in 1s57-and instead of the
suspension of your banks being legaliZed by
the State legislature, they had been forced into
bankrnptcy-whether it would have proved q
remedy for, or an aggrayation of the evil.
Would the country at this day have been
better or worse off than it isnow il all the banks
in the United States that suspended specie pay
ments had been forced into liquidation and
closed?
! venture 10 say that such state of desolatiOn
and universal ruin never fell TO the lot of any
nation of people, rs would have fallen upon u.s.
1t was bad enough rs it was; but we have rea-
son to be thankful that this democratic expedi
ent had not been resorted TO in order to have
made it hundred.fOld worse.
But, is it true that there was such an expan-
sion; or if there was, that it was the cause not
only of the unexampled national distress
in this country, but that our banking system
had dcranged the monetary affairs of the whole
commercial gloLe: or is this mere expedient
of Democracy to divert attention from the real
cause? In the first place-if it were true, it
would only prove the necessity for putting
down all such ill-regulated institutions, or Of
establishing National Bank that would, as in
all other countries is done, furnish currency
that would constitute CIRCULATING medium for
its own citizens, with which you could travel
and trade in any part of the Union, without
discount at every turn, and that wonld as the
old bank did, keep the State banks in check,
and correct The tendency on the their part to
oveT-iSSues.
do not propose a bank of the United States.
only mean to express, as my individual opin-
ion, that no financial agent of the government
has yet heen adopted or proposed, that, in all re-
spects, was more free from constitutional objec-
tons, or answered so good a purpose, as would