The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-12-05
MORE BANKING CAPITAL--THE
GREAT W1NT OF CHARLESTON.
TO TIE EDITOR OF THE NEWS.

| TO THE EDITOR Ot IdE NEWS.
In your editorial of 10Th ultimo, you truly re-
mark that the greatest want OF our city is an
increase in our available commercial capital,
which can be best supplied by an increase Of
our banking capital Whilst this fact must be
apparent to every one, no proper effort has
been made to remedy the evil. 1t is there
fore, fair to assume that few realize it's para
mount Importance and the extent to which our
future prosperity depends upon the supplying
of this want.
The writer proposes to offer some remarks
upon the causes which have led to this dearth
OF capital, upon the importance of making an
effort to supply the deficiency, and to point
out the manner in which this can be accom-
plished.
The primary cause of our present financial
distress was, undoubtedly, the result of the
war. which swept away the whole banking
capital OF this city, which, previous to the war,
amounted to some thirteen millions of dollars.
Not only was our banking capital entirely de-
stroyed, but property and securities of all
kinds we're greatly deprecated, thus in mea-
sure depriving US OF the means Of establishing
new banks to supply the places of the old
ones.
Our ruin, though great, was not total. Some
capital remained, and our crops, though def
clent, still brought some accession to our capt.
tai, as we have all learned lesson Of economy,
and the present rate of expenditure for articles
not OF prime necessity has fallen off in much
greater ratio than our incomes We must look
to some other cause to account for falling of
in our banking capital to the one twenty-sixth
mart of what it was before the war. This cause
is undoubtedly to be found IN want of conf
dence which has pervaded all classes OF soci-
ETY., caused by the uncertainties arising from
the unsettled state Of our political affairs, fears
of coniscation, and an underlined dread of
evils, the natural result of the entire revolu-
ton wrought in our domestic institutions and
system OF labor. Capital is timid; and 1t ls no
torious that men hazard even their lives with
less consideration than they hazard their for
tunes. So long as these causes OF anxiety *
listed, it was useless to hope for the establish
ment Of banks of large capital, from OF OWN
limited resources, and still less from capital to
be drawn from abroad.
To show that this cause Of our present want
of capital has been removed, and that proper
effort to establish bank of large capital
would now likely prove successful, will be
made the subject Of subsequent article. The
writer proposes now to consider the necessity
of making such an effort:
For the year ending 1stSeptember, 1850, the
receipts of cotton at the port Of Charleston
were 512, 1870 bales, at the port of Savannah
629, ,s22 bales, and at Norfolk so, 7S0 bales. For
tie year ending LIST September, 1868, the re-
ceipts of cotton at this port were 240, 900 bales,
at Savannah 491. .185 bales, and at Norfolk 1861
1856 bales. The falling off in the entire receipts
of the three ports is, of course, in part ac-
counted for by the diminished production, but
the great comparative falling off at this port,
is, undoubtedly, in great measure attribu-
table to the want Of capital. The writer is
aware that some allowance is to be made
for new railroad communications, but If he
did not fear to weary his readers, he could
show conclusively that this is not so serious q
cause as is generally supposed; and if it we're
not for the want Of capital, would have been fully
counterbalanced by receipts from new points
opened to us by other railroad connections.
He will refer to one fact only, to wit, The great
ly diminished quantity of cotton received ut
this port from Georgia. Prior to the war,
large portion Of our receipts were made up or
cotton not only from Augusta, but from inte-
rior towns on the Georgia Railroad, the West
ern and Atlantic Railroad, Atlanta and West
Point Railroad, and also from Macon, Column
bus, and other towns in Southwestern Geor-
gia. Cotton from those points did not merely
pass through Charleston in transit, but was
either sent here for sale for account OF the
planters and merchants of those sections, or
was bought for account OF our own merchants
and resold here, or sent forward to fill orders
received from abroad. At present our receipts
from all of these sections are greatly reduced,
and from some of them we receive absolutely
nothing.
1t is proper here to remark that the FILLING
off in our receipts, large as it is, does not al
ford the full measure of our loss OF business ID
this staple. 1t is notorious that before the
war the great bulk of tho cotton passing
through to this city was sold iu this market.
This not only gave freight to our raillo
and attracted vessels to our wharyes-whica
result is attained by cotton merely passing
through in transit-but, in addition, yielded
large amount of commissions to our factors
and shipping merchants, to the one for selling
and to the other for buying, and also gave ad-
ditional emplosme to our draymen, enabled
our wharf owners and wareLo1semen to earn
largo amount for storage, weighing, &C., in
creased the premiums earned by insurance
companies, and gave employment to very
large number OF laboring men, whose earnings
add go much to the general wealth OF every
community. At present it is equally notori-
GUS that very large portion of our receipts is
made up of cotton which merelypasses through
in transit, yielding scarcely any benefit to our
city.
Upon the other hand it couid be shown that
the proportion Of the receipts of the neigh
| boring City Of Savannah, Which is now sent
there for sale, in contradistinction to that
merely passing through in transit, is far
greater than it was prior to the war.
The effect Of this change upon our sister
CITY can be seen in the increased prosperity
which is ther. manifest on every hand. Real
estate is more valuable there than here.
In our city the great fire Of 1861, and other
fires which occurred during the war, destroyed
not less than two thousand houses, including
| residences stores and warehouses, and eX-