, 1861-03-27


Tie United states. Eonon7tst, the organ /
Of; The New York Dry Goods merchants,
quotes the general summary Of the business
Of tie city for 1850, recently published with
our railway article, aid. after remar}dpg at
-eomez4ength upon the growing wealth of
the West complains that payments are not
made with that promptness which ought /
70 characterize: legitimate =. trade. The
Economist his the good sense to state. the
reason. why the remittances. are delayed,
and h d ost cases it Is done With the full.
consent :!of 'eastern ;5o5bers. Money is /
abundant there and collections are not sPe-
>cially. needed, and the high rates ofex-.
change here make it much cheaper forour:
d alers to. pay interest on deferred bills
.andwait till drafts can be bought at 1eas-::-
onab1e rates. The Economist very properly
! remarks: -. ~. -. ..-s :
Il celt inly is not at ali isurprisipg that trad
ocrs at Chicago, Milwaukee md st. Lonls,
|. shon]d prefer defe1ring their payments II pos
sible to suffering Q discount Of 411f@7 per cent
on their funds. The great want OF The West
ern States Is complete revision Of their bank
ing system. Their banks must have more
substantial 4hsxis than the, fluctuatjng values
Of Sta.a securities, if the cumnercia! com
munlty Is to be relieved from constant danger,
and the credit Of the West to be savca from
beng Bapped at Its foundation.
+, The people of Illinois have become
thoroughly convinced, that better bank
ing system is needed before our business
| can rest upon q substantial basis. In nc,
F,cordanco with this view, alaw was passed
ut the Last session of our; Legislature,
establishing the Union Bank Of Illinois,
provided The people. vote in its favor at the
next fall election: Such is their disgust at
the fluctuations and the enormous rates of
exchange under our present system tint
the 1aw-almost precise copy OF that:of
1ndiana-maya as well be considered adopt
ed .. The Legislature also amended our
present law So that at the expiration of
lew months more, the banks will be forced
to redeem or they will be summariy
wound up, and We, shall be rid Of the
nuisance, More prompt action WAS de.
sired By many, but as bonds are likely 10
rise md exchange is coming down, it may
}rturn out that it was wise in the Legislature
| to amend the law as they did. Tic sudden
| winding up in the winter, when business
was nearly at dead lock, of half our
| banks, would haze been fearful calamity
TO the people oi. the West
>. In regard to the other hint Of: the Eson-
odaist,; that as our people are so prosperous
they should buy more, we beg leave re-
spectfally to differ, if by mora is meant q
free exchange. Of -:our surplus wheat, corn,
beef, pork and: provisions for gew-gaws.
As the West has been put on a short al
1owance for the last three years, better
trade in,substantial goods is desirable, and
| may reasonably be expected. But our
peoplewi1l :be slow to rush into large in
| :Festaents IN useless fnery. That has not
yet become essential to the social standing
ofout people among each other, aud it's well
that it has not. "A few representatives Of
snobdom there arc, it Is true, in all our cit
les, but the entire amount Of their orders
mikes scarcely ripple upon the surface
Of trade? The West has too much serious
and Important; work On hand to waste her
means upon senseleEs extra sagance. Job
bers in fancy goods, as well as those who
make: them, may as well seek some, more
inviting market The West has indeed ap
abundance. Her garners are lu1l to over
flowing; but her people hive found how
t use their earnings to promotetheir own
intellectual and. social welfare, and to Sc
tcure, as far as may be, these priceless
blessings to their children We prefer to
1,;henr. New York. dealers whine oversthe
}:mesger purchases Of the West, rather than
to. howl over their deferred payments. Our
Judgment is, that.the West will pursue this
policy for several years to come The ex.
| perieuce Of the past is not likely soon to
be forgotten, T..