, 1861-06-11

compass and pointer dog to find the
place Of issue, are owned by the persons
whose names are responsible for them On
| tho books Of the Auditor. ofcourae only
such persons are Tilling to become
the sponsors Of these institutions, a
have no property of their own, OF
which an execution Woald, stick. On tht
other hand, the banks Of Indiana, (excep
the free banks, which do not and viii no
circulate herc), those Of New England ani
/ the Canadas though having capital and largt
specie assets, are wholly destitute Of secu
rity, except such as belongs to the charac
ter and resources Of the bankers them
selves The requisite knowledge Of tbt
banking hws-of foreign countries and dis
tant States, the requisite knowledge Of tht
character and capital Of the banks tbt
Indispensable: how1edgeof their name,
OF doing business, are impossible Of attain
ment here. We hare great respect for ths
bankspt New--England as a Class Thei1
usually rigid legal system Of bank invest
CATION, their careful and almost misery
management OF. their funds, their solid ba
sis Of paid up capital and so forth, com
mend them greatly to the confidence Of The
whole country. The solid basis Of capital
and tpeeie upon which the Bank Of the State
of Indians rests, commends it favorably tc
the people Of Illinois, although ne should
prefer that its condition were inquired into
regularly, and regularly reported to the
public. by Commissioners acting under au.
thority Of the Legislature The Banks ol
Upper and Lower Canada, though sup.
posed to be fortified with heaYy capital,
are less desirable currency for. circu1a:
ton in the United States, for obvious rea-
sons. :. - !. =" -.
Notwithstanding these excellent features
it must be said Of all the above institutions,
that there is no adequate restriction upon
their issuesL Not only are they not secured
BY the deposit Of public stocks, but they
are not limited 10 one million, or two mill
lions, Of: any ..other amount Of money
printing. If New England, or Canadian,
OF. Indiana bank fails, its notes are dead
loss to Western holders, Or 80 nearly q
dead loss that there ia no appreciable sa-
wing. Eastern creditors, who are near
enough to condscate. the hide and tallow,
mly realize something, but We in Illinois,
Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota have no
such chance Hundreds Of our readers
viii remember the :: fate: of Hallowell
Rhode Island Central and West Killing1y
without minute rehearsal Of the circum-
stances attending their demise. These we.
believe we're middling honest failures.
The Granite Bank Of Vo1untown was an
instance Of what can be done, under Con
necticut laws, by predetermined rasca1s in
the currency: trade The Zimmerman
Bank and dozen others which might be
named, Of Canadian birth, are also fresh in
the public mind and should admonish
Western farmers, to look well to their
money when they unlock their corn cribs.
There is another evil, and great one,
which comes from accepting the; issues of
other States as our circulating medium,
So long as we are using mixed currency
part gold, and part New England or
Canada or Indiana'or Ohio bank notes
he gold is sure to be boarded It goes
into old stockings, damaged coffee pots,
feather beds, holes in the wall and holes
in the cellar: It disappears from circula-
lion and never comes out till the time
comes around for paying taxes. L the
is q hoaa currency which will
bring dollar for dollar in specie by thesim-
pie process Of walking up, to the counter
and laying down the notes, nobody wants
to hoard. So also if there is no paper cur
rency at al, the gold keeps moving from
hand to hand. The people must: spend
some kind Of money, and II (poor sonls)
theyhaye nothing hut gold and silver, they
must spend that The systematic hoard
ing Of gold is peculiar to war times. Eve:
body knows that the precious metals are
good. whatever happena. Everybody e1-
pecls that war will produce monetary dis
tress and unusual bankruptcy There
fore everybody. desires to hide away
rs much specie as possible. But a
time of war is the time of all others when
gold and SILVER should be kept in circula-
tion. The msre the ration has Off the
better can: it carry On war. The govern
ment must have coin to pay its soldiers,
its shipbuilders, its gun makers, its con
tractors. Every pound Of flour and beef
bought for the army must be paid for in coin,
and every bond, every treasury note, issued
by Government must be paid for in coin.
So soon as nation begins 10 carry on war
with ahinplasters its vital energy is gone.
We cannot afford to allow the specie Of
the country to be boarded. We must have
B home currency redeemable in specie on
call, and without cost to the bill, holder,
or We must have an exclusive metallic cur |
rency, five would avoid a repetition Of
he disasters which: have, Of late 30 griev-
ously- distressed everyperson in the North
west. - = J. 80 Il