Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1860-01-24

honestly conGs@ thsmttvSs fehl auf
are not sclualea ~ self ln,ersstsbr %slnls.trI
motives 10 their aafocacy % papsl bauks. III
know that mauy wan Of thohe she bellafe u
The truth srd correctness u the hndsmsntti
principles | have advanced in these letters. Dc
ltsve also. that erpedisney sometimes dsmsuds
The saeri6es Of pripeiPls aud ore willing 70 do
this under present contingencies. Such do not
admit the souhdness Of the theory Of a specie
currency. but A., mAtleIa hass grown, az banks
Of issue have become 90 closely welded to trade
and and 40 interviewer with The ev,
cry day dealings Of life, they, though believing
them an evil, think Il srpedieni 10 s%oblinne
then, and TO allow them 10 connect themselves
still more closely with uufnancisl interests,
till their ex,irpation would become an utter inns
possibility. In my opiaiou, Whist IL right in
principle, is right In practice. and ought TO be
made the constant and iuvariable rule Of Ac
ton by the people. The fact, hat at some
time or other. principle vas sacrificed for ibs
sake Of temporary expediency, does DOT impair
rs force aud 10 reour to II, to shape our legislA-
ton in accordance with liz requirements, ought
10 be the first duty Of a State. A. have
shown We have nov arrived at a time, when,
by the very laws Of The State, IL is in the pow
or Of the Legislature, gradually 70 lessen the
evil Of paper money and they should avail
themselves of this privilege and do it At once,
by eou6aing the issoes Of banks to notes Of
five dollars and upwards.
Those who really believe banks Of issue bes
%neieent institutions. calculated to increase the
prosperity and general welfare Of the people
I have only TO refer to the history Of such
banks not only in tho United States, but In all
Of circulation the specie currency. and there
by depress the standard Of the value Of capital.
has been eyeryHherA alike. That colossus Of
banks, the Bank Of England, even, is no ex.
oeption to tho role. The people Of England
had to suffer on more than one occasion a de-
probation Of 25 per cent. on Bank Of England
notes, Notwithstanding the fact that the Bank
at that very time held government securities to
tho amount Of 10 millions sterling aud had
borrowed 2s million francs ia specie Of the
Bank Of France to keep up the market value Of
its circulation. In Ireland. whore banking
more nearly rcsembled that In our country, gold
and silver coin is rarely iOnnd in circulation
and in consequences exchange on London has
risen some times to the %Tninous rate Of Is per
cent, and 10 per eent. premium has almost
generally been paid for coin in exchange for
Irish bank uotes. In Denmark atone tim lsUO
dollars IN paper were paid for one in gold and
this immense depreciation Of bank notes was
not much reduced by q subsequen, despotic
decree Of Government, giving these notes a
priority lien upon 6 per cent. Of the entire
real estate in denmark aud The principSlities
of sc~hleswig, Holsteiu aud Lauenburg. In
Russia four paper rubels are equal TO one in
silver. And shall ! refer TO the National Bank
Of AustriSl TO the Bank OF Amsterdam or 10
that Franeef All Of which have, by the i'm,
mense dovalustion Of their paper, brought mis-
cry upon the people and checked commerce in
it's operationsi And yet, in times Of greatest
need these banks were supported largely by
their Governments, giving their paper a forced
circulation, taking 1t for Government dues,
taxes, debut they had nothing but a lost
credit aud Government dscTees to back them,
and this was not enough power against the
Just distrust Of tho people. Commerce stag
gered under the load Of a deprecated currency
and the people at large suffered severely
There was one bank 10 Europe, from which
no loss was experienced by any one. Thi'
/, was the old Bank Of Venice, started in iii
3 and going out Of existence in 1908, when Ven
/ ice, being occupied by the French and annexed
e by Napoleon / to the Italian Kingdom ther
formed. lost its already fading eminenco as
commercial emporium. This bank, however
e was not 4 bank Of issue, but merely Of deposit
discount and exchange. and when the com
A merce Of the world was conferred in the hand
c OF Venetian merchants. it was amply sui ic len
z to sustain it and them. An ample proof. tina
banks Of this character. but endowed witt
o privileges commensurate to the progress Il
commerce If the prescott GENTRY. would nov
: equally suffice for its legitimate demands.
I But what q sad picture IL presented by th
It history Of banking in our own country Thi
!. is, or ought to bs familiar to every one and
e need not partieularize. The latest commercia
and financial r~eyulston which afflicted w bu
& two years ago, is proof patent to all. An
; even now, at the day Of my writing. the iadi
g cations Of a storm brew ing in the west are gath
d ering thick and fast. Illinois, Wisconsin, low
i and Missouri paper money, though, as is sale
Secured by the pledge of public stock" is ia
ken at our commercial centre, Cincinnati, b
brokers safy at 3 and more per cent. discour
and ~ regular banks not at all, and e1chang
on the east has risen at the principal poit
ssrth-wes', Chicago. to an unoeaIsble poin
y NJ this state Of things continues but = weel
a the banks in those States will be peremptoril
o called upon to redeem their notes in larg,
g amounts than they are prepared for, and suI
II pension Of specie payments, protests on the
' notes, aud ruin and dismay 10 the people stal
II them all in the face. Happily by the stringer
o provisions Of the act of 1851. we in Ohio Al
!, not Immediately exposed to such dangers. B,
should the proposition Of the writer in Il
+, Journal find any plant ears in the Legislator
4 we would be similarly situated, and our pre-
IS ent position Of comparative security becou
q suddenly undermined. A,V II.
!, NorE.-since the above letter has been writtel
!, I-mst In the Journal Of TO- dsy--Monday. Januai
2%Sd.-with an article in response to mino publisl
cd in tho EmpiIs Of he 10Th inst. What "a
says IN regard TO tho Empires course h~eTetoior
does not at an enter into tho present disousSit
Of "Bapks and BAnkin2."-It does not psrtsin
Il and had better remain unsaid in this conusctio
II was unfair to ~Attsmpta "hit' at tho Bmpi