The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-01-30

fortunes OF our capitalists have been swept away
How are we to raise means of establishing ma
tional banks?
By proper amendment of the charters Of
our Banks and Railroad Companies, I hope ii
may be done. Several of our Railroads, in
which the State holds large stock, are in sound
condition. Some of them owe little or nothing.
The reports of the Banks, which were pro-
cured under the orders Of the Provisional Gov
ernor and have been printed and laid before
you, show, in round numbers, that these banks
have little above $500 900 of specie, and that
they owe to the holders of their notes and to
depositors about So, o,500,000, and that there is
due to them, for discounts before the war, about
So, 900, ,0O0--and for discounts since the war,
about 100000.
If the banks are forced to make an assign
ment and 20 into general liquidation in order
to make an equitable pro rata distribution of
their assets among all their creditors, (Which
must be the case if nothing be done by you,) }
the note holders and oepositors would receive
about 1O cents in the dollar in specie, and such
further dividend as collections from their debt
ors might enable them to make. Unless money
become more abundant in the State, it is mani
fest, that little can be expected from these col
ectlons. This specie is now locked up, yield
ing no benefit to any body.
charters, these Banks and Railroad companies
be allowed to subscribe for stock in National
Bank. With the specie in possession of the
Banks, and resources at the command of the
other corporations, with such subscriptions on
the part of. individuals as nj ight be expected,
bonds of. the United States might be bought
to an amount sufficient to form the basis of
National Bank The dividends declared in
favor of the Banks should be paid over to them,
and by them should be paid out, together with.
the collections they may make, to their credi-
tors.
The benefits proposed by this scheme are:
lst. The making Of the specie in the Banks,
now lying dormant, produce the interest which
would accrue on the United States bonds in
which it would be invested
2nd. The enabling Of the solvent debtors to
our banks to borrow money from the new bank,
and pay off their notes to the present Banks,
whereby many Of them would he saved from
ruin, and at the same time afford larger divi-
dend to the present creditors Of the Banks.
I'D. The extension OF aid, to our people by
supplying circulating medium so essential to
the restoring of their shattered fortunes.
4th The furnishing safe depository for the
funds of the State and individuals.
5h. The securing to the creditors of the
1'dhhH "uCh 1ai St1 OlblOchd thdu tllty VIII
get, if the Banks be forced into immediate H.
quotation.
9th. a hope that by good management in
some Of the Banks, some Of the stock might be
saved te.the stockholders, including the Uni
versitysand the Literary Fund.
If there be not some insuperabl, obstacle in
the way, which | do not p.rceive then this
plan offers Il reasonable prospect to he'll suf-
teriug people, to aid in the revival Of prosperity,
bring in taxes to the State, help the debtors to
the old banks to pay their debts, increase the
assets of the same, and thereby save money to
their creditors, furnish a safe fiscal agent to the
State and save portion Of the stock, and res
cue from ruin the University and Common
Schools
In the short time siuce | entered upon the
discharge Of my duties surrounded with the in
Vulnerable difficulties attending the newly or
ganlZed government it has been impossible for
me to call for the aid from bankers and skiful
fhanciers, which their experience would have
afforded 10 projecting the plans best suited to
our extraordinary condition; but [ have felt it
my duty to make such crude suggestions as |
hope may be Of some service in arriving at just
conclusions.
State Debt
My report as late Public Treasurer submitted
to the Convention in October last shows that
the bonded debt of the State, created under acts
passed prior to the war, is S1l, 1880
The estimated amount Of unpaid H.
coupons on these bonds was then $500 900
Interest which will accrue on this
debt up to Oct. l, 1866, $4,000
s14,436,50
To pay the interest On our State debt, and
the other indispe nsable expenses of the State,
she will require at least one million Of dollars
each year. This would require tax nearly
twice as great as We ever paid before the war,
when taxable property worth about
three times as much as it is now. The war has
annihilated, probably, twothiEds OF our wealth
In addition to our State taxes, tie land tax we
are required to pay this year to the Government
of the United States, is upwards of S5OO,0Oo,
besides other direct taxes to the United States,
the amount of which have no means of estl
mating.
Before the war we had solvent banks with a
capital exceeding So, ,0O0, 600, and a circulation
of about the same amount. This capital Is lost,
aud the currency probably worth less than ST.
100000.
We have now almost no banking facilities,
and owing to the presence of devastating armies
and the arrangement Of labor by the emancipa
ton of our slaves in the midst Of the planting
season, we made last year almost nothing for
market Owing to these causes, it is manifest
that tax this year to meet the accruing interest
on our State debt, would be ruinous to our peo-
pie, and consequently Injurious to our creditors.
In view of the large amount we must con-
tribute to the national government, the derange-
ment of labor, and the want of Banks afording
facilities to men of enterprise to employ and pay
liberal wages to laborers, even if Providence