The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-02-10


main lever for forcing a sale of the new
bonds is a requirement that they alone shall
be receivable as deposits for securing the
circulation of the national banks With
out Mr.. CaTlisie's amendment this purpose
could easily be defeated by the banks by a
Withdrawal of their circulation. The act of
/ 1874, which Mr.. Carlisle's substitute repeats,
affords them facilities for the prompt and
speedy retirement Of their circulation in a
way which might cause a disastrous con-
traction of the currency. They have only
to deposit with the Treasurer an amount of
legal tender notes equal to their circulation
to be entitled to withdraw the bonds pledged
tor it. which they would be under a strong
temptation 10 do III order to realize the
premium on the present bonds. The new
funding bill aims to forestall such action by
repeating the fourth section Of the act of
1874 and compelling the banks actually to
redeem their circulation before they can
recover the bonds deposited to secure it.
Redemption of the bank notes by this
method would necessarily be a slow process,
which would prevent both a violent con-
traction Of the currency and a sudden with
drawal OF the deposited bonds
Mr.. Carlisle's substitute makes another
great change. 1t re-enacts certain sections
OF the Revised Statutes which require all
national banks to keep on deposit with the
equal to one-third of their capital, whether
they issue any circulating notes or not.
BY the law rs 1t now stands they can with
draw nearly all their bonds by simply re-
firing their circulation Under the new
bill they cannot do business at all without
large amount at bonds kept on deposit
with the Government. The bill also requires
that only the new bonds shall be received as
security of the public money deposited with
ne national hanks In Vlrfna of these
provisions it may be possible to create an
artificial market Tor three per cent. bonds.
From this it will be seen that this is an
amendment which must commend itself to
all who do not desire to see the Government
controlled by the banks. What Mr.. Calhoun
said of the war OF General jackson against
the United States Bank is true to>day:
That extraordinary man, who had the
power of imprinting his own feelings on the
community, then commenced his hostile
attacks, which have left such effects behind
that the war then commenced against the
banks, | clearly see, will not terminate un>
less there be a separation between them and
the Government, until one or the other
triumphs, till the Government becomes the
bank or the banks the Government.
To produce this separation / introduced
my amendment. As | had not opportunity
fully to explain the amendment offered by
me in the brief time allowed under the fve~
minute rule, l take advantage of the leave
grantedby the House to explain it at
greater length, and | propose especially
to show that this amendment con tains the
old doctrine of the Democratic party.
Thomas Jefferson advocated the issuance
of Treasury notes by the United States
Government.
Mr. Calhoun, who was the greatest leader
ofSouthern Democratic thought, said:
1t is, then my impression that in the pres
ent condition of the world paper currency, |
in some form, if not necessary, is almost |
Indispensable in financial and commercial |
operations of civilized and extensive CONS |
munities-Calhoun's Works. 3D. volume
page So
Mr.. Hunter, when the Democratic Chair |
man of the Finance Committee, in the Sens
ate, said
Perhaps no discovery in the whole |
machinery of commerce has been more i'm |
portant to the world than that of the bills
OF exchange.-Senate Report, first session
Thirty second Congress, page lO4.
General Jackson overthrow the United
States Bank, but recognizing the necessity
for some kind of paper currency formed a
league with State banks that was called the
pet bank system"
When the system failed, the Democratic
party under Mr.. Polk passed the law of
1876 declaring that nothing should be res
ceived into the Treasury of the United
States as money except gold, silver, and
Treasury notes. and that was the law when
the last Democratic administration closed
1t1tr M De- De" hhr- Buchanaa
1t is scarcely necessary to cite auJE;orIty-
to show that the Democratic party has
always opposed a uno- OF the Government
with banks, but it may be necessary to show
hat ma nv not 10 lnrs f1ph fhaf
the national banks of to-day are the fiscal
agents of the United States, and that the
notes of the national banks are by law made
a legal tender for every debtexcept between
individuals.
The United States is compelled by law to
receive them for everything except custom
dues, and every man 10 whom the Govern
ment is indebted is bound also to take these
notes, which are but the debts of corpora
tions, as legal tender money. The Govern
ment may tomorrow buy thousand horses
from its citizens to mount its cavalry, and
they would be compelled to receive national
bank notes as payment whether they wish
to not
After providing for the issuance of these
notes, the law says;
And the same shall be received at par in
all parts of the United States in payment
of taxes, excuses, public lands, and all other
dues to the United States except duties on
imports; and also for ali salaries and other
debts and demands owing by the United
States to individuals, corporations, and as
sociations within the United States, except
interest on the public debt and in redemp-
ton of the national currency.-Revised
Statutes United States. section 5lS2.
And yet the Republican party, which
denies to the Government the constitutional
power to give a legal tender quality to
greenbacks in time of peace, maintains the
constitutional power of the Government to
give this legal tender quality to these notes
which are but the debts of private bank cor
porations. And Republican administra-
ton, Endorsed, / regret to say, by some few
Democrats, have proposed to take from
greeubacks their legal tender quality and
leave the national bank notes with their full
legal tender quality as to everything except
debt between individuals. As strick-con-
struction Democrat, | believed the original
issuance of legal tender paper money uncon-
unconstitutional to coerce a State. But
those who believe war of coercion against
a State constitutional cannot logically deny
the constitutionality of legal tender green
backs. And those who acquisesce in the
results of the war should not seek to dis
turb the greenbacks, which have proved the
most beneficial of all those results.
But the advocates of national banks claim
that the issuance of legal tender greenbacks
was the exercise of a war power, and that
while constitutional in time of war il is I'M
constitutional in time of peace, and that the
Supreme Court of the United States so held
in the case of Knox VS.. Lee, u Wallace.
This is not true. The logic of that de-
cision, stripped of its verbiage, is this: The
Government has power to preserve its own
life, and this gave the power to make war
against States claimed to be In rebellion.
The Government has power to borrow
money, and if its existence depends on OBJ
tanning the money necessary to its existence,
and no one is willing or able to lend this
money thus to preserve its life it has power
Il, fnrcs loan from It's citizens hv the isarl. |