i . ; -.
;,'CT:4if:t..w),. -
4
gIiT 'Waa SASC- & a?ePRb DEO, ET pro patria1 $&i&. &S&,4&&-- Sfe
NEW SERIES.
GREENSBOROUGII, N. FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 18, 1838.
VOL. II NO 12.
-i
; hBBa:i r1 h ... .... .rrfr:; ;.-...' -.-' .
Sl'ELClI OF S . RANGE OF fl. C.
I THE SE.NATE TUB P. STATES.
(Vfuinuul.)
, Our whole system of Government is
based ujtoii principles of cquaiuy, and
h? sc.prnopli -have always been more or
l-6s violated in its administration. But the
substitute proposes a violation even greater
than has ct been practised. Even the
United htatcs Bank niighl locate a brunch
in any State desiring it ; and under the ue
positc law of lffri, the Secretary of the
Treasury was not rebtricted to any State
for the choice of banks, nor to any given
number of banks in any ona Stale, But
we have, by ihe provisions of the substi
tuii L the sysW in of equality Completely
subverted, j.ki ihe power oi" the large
Slates magnified, and lhat of the small
ones diniiui-licd. In the first place, the
banks '"it re limited to twenty-hve, to lhat
one Slate of the Union must of necessity
be excluded from, any paiticipation in the
real or imaginary benefits of this arrange
mcnt, and only twenty-live banks out ol
the hundreds jn thoj Union arc allowed to
share it. 'fins will be a pet bank system
v.it h a vengeance. And w hat is worse, the
"election- of these banks is to be commit
tal in part to Congress, where the large
States, iii ow. . brauc. n at least, have a most
decided advantage. Tn'. i. the princi
ple of equality .eiiier overlooked in
this mi -.is ure. liut lucre is another clause
ol the Constitution standing in the way ol
ttie adoption of the substitute, (for it runs
counlei to a whole phalanx of constitution
al provisions,) and that is a portion of the
2d el. nf -d m etion of the d article ; "he,
ill JV. oideni, s-iaii nominate, and by
and i ;i . 1 1 j - - .nix ice and consent ol the
Nell It-
i r : 1 1 . .i ! i. i, I , ambassadors, other
: 4..d co. .is, p. Igcs of the
ptiblif :
Supn e
iUlf.li,
( '.. , nd ii thi . o.:.c i of th.
vV,:. , txmv, wuiu
question f istjd by my colleague, win inn
e .-.rporatiuns arc competent to' be chosen
officers of tin: Govt miiKiit, land I do nut
&ay that th.1 injection is not a valid one,)
it seems to mc evident, from this clause ol
u 'f.. !. . :;.i...th.. ii,. .ii;,.,
-T.i:--irr:':i"rr-.rn. i....I"ur ignorant lorelat icrs knew nolhiru oi
' i iir e-ui i i in uu! i, ni.ii n itiiuv.1 ii tjittv-v-i i
ik. nil iiimi.uuai oi .uuiiiuijiioii, tie .au i
o-ilv be aipoinlcd by file iVesiilent, by and
with i'ic rnnsent oi the Senate, or by the
l'rej;de ,l r.ionf , -or th heads of Depart--inrni-,
if they shall be vested by law with
th.it mmvi r. And yet the substitute pio-po.-s,s
that b.-inks shall be selected as fiscal
jigeiils" of ill'1 (lovcrnrnent by Congress,
eo iir.iry to the K tier of the Constitution,
and rt-1- niarTifrst.potii'y.
n. tiier receiving piper in payment ot
the pnb!te dues, be a -direct violation ol
the Co istitntion, as insisted by the Sena
tor lroni Soul ti Carolina, Al.r. Calhoun, J or
i.ui , it ongiit, at any rale-', to receive no
s-ni'-non Irom Congresx : because, in 'the
liisi lac.e, if not aciuily prohibited by the
Couffiilution, it is evident it would have
been done, had its Trainers foreseen that an
a(lcui! would be maJc to establish it as
the regular imdiuin of receipt lor the pub
lic Juts- We find wiiole masses of the
Co i-iitution directed by them against the
p.!H i ostein, and we well know that it
v. .i a i h jf td' wtneit- bitter e e rieoco had
ih,m!i- Ihtin heartily sick; that they were,
in t:ie memorable language of a gentleman
on the o;ln r side, haul money men. In the
M-coiid place, no prudent person ought to
r c. ne what he cannot with propriety pay
out; and n was well urged by the Senator
from Massachusetts, Mr. VNcbsicr, onair
otlitr occasion, that the Government ought
o. K jo i),,v. or even oJl r to pay, its crvd-
i'i.i in a.sotuiuV. unJLi'orui . uiediuui, so,UMt
tin: actual anioiint pTn J To each "creditor
should be equal to ihe noriiiual atpouiit
due him. Jn this 1 ht artily concur.: and
therefore think Ihe commanding the receipt i
by revenue officers in payment of public
dues of what cannot be considered as such
aniediuin, hig'tiy improper. Money is the;
only medium in which me Jaw should au-jby
thorize or compel ihe receipt of dents, and
espccialJv publicdebu : -aud d is au abuse i
of terms to call bank noles money. They
want the main characteristic of money,
find have, by looseness of conversation as
Sell as of ideas, assumed the name of that
r which thy only stood as a substitute.
From F.nghuul, from whom wo have bor
rowed the pnpei system, we have also bor
rowed this tice of expression, which con
founds things essentially different. Bank
notes ure no inore rnoney than the note of
an individual is mqney It is of the na
l')re of 'money, whin paid to discharge al
'togethrr the previously existing debt, and
to VLj-t without more the properly purchas
ed in one person, and ihe money paid for
H in another. But the payment of a bank
note merely changes the debtor, and sub
dilutes the bank as a debtor to the holder
"i in note, in lieu of him from whom he
r'-nvi'd it. Il is still but what the law-.vt-
call a chose in action. Jn ancient
'"ii 'money coiisistctl of cattle or other
ftrtirlts vvtitch had ah ""intrinsic value, and
ll" transactions were rather barters than
s, in ih0 modern meaning of that term,
in Wr --times, gold and silver, were found
' possess all the requisites of a common
--strfniiard of valjur in a higher degree than
an . jhn,.; c6c They combined intrinsic'
'Talue m ;i utmll coriipass with indestructi
bilily nml ntrtjost indefinlli di visbiTifj-, ahtf
thoyhave beeu aKjtedv by the commoft
--!vJ,;!:.i vor!'Jl. V"-:':tt tnvv are
1
transferred, the debt before existing is ex
tinguished, and no new one is created.
They ure the arbiterand finisher of all
transactions. But it is insisted by the
Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Clay,J lhat
the (ioveriiineiu make uiouey ol wlwtwver
it receives as iuch. 1 agree that the Gov
ernment dots, by affixing its stamp oi ap
probation, cause to pass as money what is
not so 111 truth. And does not this con
sideration of itself, so far from furnishing
a reason why Government., should hx its
stamp upon bank notes, operate directly
the other way I In declaring lhat to bo
money, which is not money, Government
gives currency to a falsehood, and unset-
tics the sound foundations of public opin
ion ; and no man cair-see the consequen
ces to which a falsehood may lead, winch
he has once labelled as truth. 1 ho noles
of a bauk are no more money than the
notes of individuals; and the Government
can, by its action, make one p.tss as money
as well as the other. And why should
they not? Why should favored
tions be taken under the fostering care ot
the Goverrimi.111, aud individual.-, wainc
worth .inU ability may be nn p distinctly
known, discarded from it Is this vt k.rrp.
ifg with, tho great principles l eqiianr
upon, whir i our institutions arebasid i If
aiisijiict; the- poor, in whose belulf the
Senator from Massachusetts who last ad
dressed yon Mi. Datisj SMke so palheii
cally were a Ivgilimate object of the ac
tion of this Government, it would ccrui i
ly bo much better accomplished, by its en
dorsing the notes of the poor and needy,
but. worthy and struggling, eilien, t;rm
Itinse oj Hi se vvvmIUiv corpor.dio.i3-
e,u ,n oposi J n t til sn - ! i -;nie
isa ruu-Ji clung'j in tnc wiiole action
of our Government from that proposed by
the Constitution. In the firt place, it
f 'ttcy unknown to the Constitution, and a
gainst which many of its own provisions
are directed. In th next, ft introduces
into the texture of the Government a
fourth estate, never designed by its fr.imera
lo -
to enter into it. It in llect declares tliai
.. , .,..v... ..A. -..........k..-.-. .
,r -. .... . , "
iuc tint i.un u jjiio.i. wuiui laues mv nn-
man heart, or had overlooked the only
means of providing against it. That they
did not see the beauties of that bank mi.
chinery bv which the public treasure might
be secured against tin; tinhorn of the pil
ferer, and neglected lo provide it. And ii
is now proposed by their more sagacious
m to snpfdy- by legiUtio th thtrrger."
ons ouiisxion. If ail ibis is true, shll ve
sutler that sacred instrument to be thus in
ttrrN)l urd wittiout a regular process of a-tiic!idui"iit-t
h it tiic leislatiire sliall thus
altar wiut was t rained, for the express pir
pose of circumscribing its own action .'
surely not. But it-not true dial the fri
mcrs of ihe Coustilution vere ignorant ol
ihifr bank agency, but it seeTrn had it dis
tinclly be lore them, and dehbi rately re
pudiated it-
But, notwithstanding all this, tho Oppo
sition calls the .Independent TV isury a
north ij an experiment. "1'hnt is lo say,
lhat the only plan known' for the first 5,0lh)
years of the existence of the tvorld is a
novelty, allliougli it has been, with my
fevv exceptions, continued ever siilce;
vvnile that wlticli was iicvcr heard of un
til about seven hundred years ago, and did
not receive any thing like tin: form in
which it is now urged until a litile mar
in in one hundred years sinrp, is a" prrf. ct
antiquity, and stands prott rli d by uo.i(
experience. Tin- firsi bank vvuir.li nt.
i hc.ir.Qf th- hrs.tor.yof J'le v sJ.M. was
tji Yt oF V"-ii'ice," ei'iloT7s1iertT"i ii "I n; , Ar T. ;
ithe' next wis llial of Genoa, iii near
: two hundred yeara after ; the next was that
of Auislerdain, in l(iu!; and then that of
Hamburg, in 1619. Ihe famous Bank of
England had no existence until IQ'.fi, and
j about twenty years afterwards w s follow, d
the Bank of France, lo vrit : in 1710.
Thc'sc places have all been conspicuous up-
on the theatre ol tlio-worldbut not ieat
for their wars and robberic. Commerce
has enriched tbem, but it ha1 been com
merce conducted in fraud arid enforced in
blood. 1 will not co back to Venice At Ge-
Baa, but lake England," and tho groans of
oppressed India speak ior her. Ihe riv
ers of blood which have deluged that un
happy land, cry out for vengeance upo i her
lust of gold. Plunder by force or strata
gein is the real sustenance of those na
tions, who subsist only on comim rce. The
first bank in. France was a part of Mr.
Law's- famous bubble, for the payment of
the national debt, and a very similar ori
gin is found for that of England. From
their unlucky explosion, tne arcnemists
learnt lessons by which they profited in fu
ture experiments. But no bank . became
the fiscal agent of the Government; until
the Bank of Fnglaud became so in tho.
reign of Queen Anne, avJicscjipengi ve
wars on the continent had involved the
Govern trichl fri pcciJ n iary "Ti Iliciil ty," and
comprlfed her to apply to the bank For as
sistance. In consideration of that nssTs
UncCj the bank.was secured in a monopo
ly with fdoubled capital. The cqmvolerit
he paid war an .advance to the Govern
inunt of 100,0 ) in cash, the iafleeiH:ig
of. c'c.hrrj'n.cr toiijs orrhe a-mur.t jl -75,l)i7,
and thrn'ig rntocirpulatiwSXT -
r;tf.4-i more of." the exchcqiier bills.
Ad- tluisutift .haiiLJjc.rcUctug tha neccs-
itieT of the Government had secured to
it a larger privilege of plundering the cit
izens of covertly taxing them lo reim
burse herself. I pon the same principlu it
was lhat our U. S. iianks of l?ul and 1810
came into existence. Government neces
sities were gr4at, wid bonus, loan, and
oilier aeeounuodalioiis lo the Government
obtained for ihe banks the authority lo
make these disguised exactions from the
people. Yet gentlemen say that banking
is not profitable, and refer to the small
dividends of the tinted States Bank.
They leave out of the calculation ihe a
mounts paid io the Government for their
monopoly, the losses by liauds and mis
management up lo lbl'J, and the contin
gent fund for promoting the spread of bank
principles. These are tiie institutions
which claim the mtnl of .antiquity, and
look down upon thai as a iiuveUy, which,
beginning with Ihe history of mankind,
lias existed in Us native simplicity lo this
day.
Again, it is argued that the collection
and disbursement of the revenue in gold
and, silver uro altogether iiuprpcticable,
without- creating great public distress
through the searcity of thone articles-
A idiitre I will frankly confess, that wrjen
i hist began to consider tins suoject, 1 was
apprehensive that the adoption oi the Ti
vii peiukiil Treasury system would materi
ally alLct ihe pi ice of property, reducing
it lo a disliesiHiigly low value ; and thai
nas been, in my view, tin only unfavorable
circumstance couuccfi t wiih it. riul long
er ohs rv il ion i:ui deiper reflection Ii is
dissipated lhat lear, and i now l. el eonii-
.it thai dipressioii in the rabje of
p: opt reproduced by iho present reaetidH,
is lar giealer than lhat which would be
more peimancntly produced by any proba
lile check given lo the paper system by this
or any oilier m asure Within the reach of
Congre-s, or, indeed, by the total suppres
sion of hank paper. I will eall yotir i
teutioii to a reiort furnished by the Secre
tary of the Treasury at tiio present session,
-!iowing the balanct in the Treasury at
fie end of each year, by which it is, in
y juaiJUjawii
dollars are tnougli for the Treasury circu
lation; .and wttn the reduction-m the ret-,
cntic, winch I hepp to see tike plac -,
tin-re millions will be amply sutlicient.-
Mr. tj.llaiin rompuli l ihf pncioin met
als in the world (in I think it Was) at
between four and live thousand millions ;
and alter all allowances ea:h way supposed
i lie annual increase: lo he equal lo about
o-ie per cent. ; which, by this ttme, would
brmg it up to belwecn five a id six thou
sand millions. Of this about two thou
sand five hundred millions, cx.sia in coin.
Hut our calciilalions are not to bo circum
sfrined within the two thousand five hun
dred mdlio is, ih whoh- ainou n of the five
or six thousand millions bi lonin lo the
emit family of the nations, for lhat pur-osi-
lor which the God of nature seeun
es periilly to have provided them ; an. I
w iiciieter ill" coin is found d - fieicnt, the
bullioi ex-sling in other for ns Well, by an
irresistible law, come as otrcnugj to the'
altar of public convenience, whether it is
found in the embellishments of tnodoru
I iff, or thrr curious vageB dug front Ihe ru,-
us of aniiquity. The circulating medium
of the world may be compared to a ast o
ccan, of which the ccu!iar portion of
each nation is connected with it, like a
Mv or arm of the sea. Each is affept.d
bv it tides; receives of its fullness ti ,!-.
io d, and must pour h ick nto it at its ebb.
I'roni this oc :m dli that we wouhl want
tor the polioses ofour. Treasury, would
ne but as a bucket-fulPfrom 4bo water of
i h, ' Pijfdmac": " ' ' " "" : - -.'
It is ! tic t urged against ihe Indfprrnd
efit Tieasuify vlhat it is in fact a Govern
mcnt bank. "'If this were so, if were a
grievous fault,"" and .many of its present
fnrrrds, could they be so persuaded, would
at once abandon it. But assertion is not
liroof, and after ail the ing'-nious pfforis of
the Opposition to make gotxl th's charge,
they hare,- as 1 think, signally failccTrThe
most plausible of all the untenable argu
ments to which they hate resorted to sup
port this ch.frge is, that; the bill am hoi -
i;s a transfer, by draft if necessary, of
the funds of the Government from one Dfiri
of the country to another; and this they
any constitates a bank, il this be so, then
almost every man in the country is not
only a .banker, bjsta bjanir. For who is
there who may not, by ill of exchange,
transfer money "which ho may hafe in one
nart of the cotinirv where he does not
want it, to another where be does. But
this objection of a Government bank comes
with peculiarly ill grace from the opposi
tion ; for however we may beat around the
subject, the sting of a government baqk
lies at last in its power to furnish a circu
lating medium to make loans and pay div
idends. These arc the levers bv which
public opinion is to be moved, and all these
the substitute in effect proposes to give to
a system of rnstFttiUons connected with the
Government, while,' whatever '..may be saiT
to the contrary, the, Independent treasury
want tjiem alj and no human ingenuity
can lay its finger on the1 clause of the bill
in. which either of th'm lies. If g 'njlc
' n'mhtise.4d -suspect covert purposes not
nppcgnrtg on je facojT tli bill, hcis
sjiect it resembles" co:j&dence aanan cor
fiduvkecause Ite will confide j and he susr
ptctsj because be will 5asTcct.
I It isTurthcr objected lo tho Independ
ent i reasury, inai ii increasun tee.uiie
patronage. We have heard a great deal of
humbugs upon this floor; but of- all the
humbugs which have ever come under my
observation, tin i tho merest. Already
the offices hoMen at the will of the execu
tive exceed ten thousand, and our fears
are suddenly appealed to upon the addition
of twenty. Public liberty is perfectly safe
with a corps of ten thousand office holders,
but ten thousand and twenty threaten its
immediate annihilation. Sir, I say again,
as I have said before, that under our
institutions, an open and acknowledged
patronage is a principle of weakness, rath
er than of power, to him who wields it.
I f.-el it in my own humble sphere. My
situation here entitles my opiuioas to some
little respect in the appointment of officers
in my own State, and 1 am, of course, oc
casionally applied to on lhat ground by
those who desire them. In the discharge
of my legislative duties, my constituents
and 1 understand each other perfectly ;
they know what course I am likely to take
upon any groat measure, and there is no
disappointment. But in tho exercise of
he little influence I possess in tiie distri
bution of offices it is different. For one
whom I have it in my power to gratify, 1
am forced to disappoint ten; and .1 am
more fortunate than I expect to be if those
whom I cannot oblige do not impute my
not dointr so, soino to ingratitude, some io
i want of i due sense of their merits, some
j v wn!i to accomplish objects of my own,
ind others to a want of that influence
which a more able man in' my place would
command. In eith r view I have made a '
had bargain, and have lost much more than
I have gained. Such, in a much larger
sob-re. I the situation Nof the President.
?ut that is not all ; his appointments, when
made, dp not always add strength to his
administralion. fco far as my epenenu
jjo -s, the mass of applicants for office an:
from the ranks of the Opposition ; and
their feelins;of opposition, though tempo
Mrily smothered, are seldom appeascdf but
;ire crfTaTu to'fhoir t hemsol re n hc firtt
ucrrasMtt of trial ; and the instances are far
more numerous, of -those wlui reccircd of-
while professing attachment to the Ad
ministration, afterwards becoming i Is op.
poicnt?, than of opposition being won over
bv appointment to attachment and advo
cacy. Hut what is true of open and un-disifuis-d
pitronspe, is not true of lhat se
cret and complicated influence which may
Ite rve-d through the btnks, winw r
I ne objects of the Administration and of
ihe banks become identified. Agents of
this influence start up, like Rhoderick
Dnu'fl mn, from behind every bush, and
their appeals can be addressed in the most
snhlle, awl yet. in qppeannce, most inno
'ent forms. Take a single instance. A
iinm'cr of this, or one of the Slate Legis
latures, 13 debtor to a bank, and a raeas
ikc of trreat importance is pending before
tltc legislative body those most conver
sant iiTtb.mk affiirs choose to suppose that
H will in some way materially affect bank
ing interests, and the general conversation
upon Ihe subject inculcates that belief. A
bjnk officer has occasion to write to his
mciub -r merely to inform hiio that on such
a day his note will be due ; but, as he has
his pen in his hand, he adds: " The
measure now under consideration in your
bodv, if it becomes a law, will, it is
ihou'if, create, a necessity for the banks,
to curt nl their issues, andLthc debtors will,
of course, bo required to pay up their notes
i o full." Now, thcrti-Ts nothing wrong in
nil thltf but what t the- effect-upon the
receipt of the' tetter ? A perfect natural
one. ; IT'S thoughts take- a new direction;
' It is lruc,'v he says to himself, " I had
intended to haro voted for this measure,
and supposed it a beneficial one; butMn.
lhat I may be mistaken ; and if it is to af
fect the banks as stated in this letter, the
consequences to myself' arc appalling. 1
am not able to pay up this note, without
the sacrifice of-all That I possess. "My
wife will be reduced to beggary, and the
prospects of my little one forever blighted.
The hazard is too great : I cannot en
counter it." So would reason, under these
circumstances, a man who had not the in
tcgrity of Arisftiilcs, with the firmness of
Socrates. Sir, we all feel this bank influ
ence pcrrading the very atmosphere we
breathe. The filaments of its attraction
insinuate themselves every where, into the
most secret and retired places; and every
man feels himself drawn on this side, and
upon that, by some subtle power of which
he is scarcely conscious.
I now proceed to the. consideration of
the subject as connected with commerce
and political economy. I am not induced
to take this view from any belief of my
own, that it is pertinent to the present in
vestigation ; butur friends on tho other
side have obtruded it upon us, and by
pressing it themselves , in debate, have
made it necessary for us to meet them up
on that ground. I insist, as I did at the
extra sessibu, that the President was right
iQ his opinion of the obligations of this
Government, m relation ' to the currcnSy".
I ueny t'nt She Gevcr;:rm nt ts bound) to
furnish or -regulate any btiicj ciirreuey-fbin
Ti t ol and silver, nay, I deny its right
:p do ,s.t. "Sir, the "w.ord curreiu'y is not
in the vvholc Ciistitutloni-aTtToui'h a late
f f J to w-t r a vMi&trtf Iftgh -respec tahi 1 rtr,-w ho
hud ueco .-roccntly rcadipg uc speech pf
the Senator from Massachusetts, (Mr. Web
sler,). delivered at the last session of Con
gress, insisted that it was. 1 ventured
modestly to put in my dissent to this opin
ion of my fellow-traveller, but to no effect ;
aod a the argument grew warmer, be fi
nally brought the weighty authority oi the
Senator from ' Massachusetts to bear upon
mc, and declared thai that gentleman was
unrivalled in his knowledge of constitu
tional law, and that any roan who would
read his speech must be satibfied that a
was there. 1 was forced to admit, as 1 do
now, that any man who was not himsefl
acquainted with the Constitution, & would
read the speech of the Senator, would come
to the conclusion lhat the word currency
was in the Constitution ; and yet 1 admit
lhat the honorable Seualor from Massacliu
setts did not say that the word curtxiicy
was there. He derives the authority ol
Congress over the currency, and the obli
gation to regulate it, from the third clause
of the eighth section of tho first article.
which declares that Congress shall have
power" to regulate commerce with foreign
nations and among the several iStates," Scc:
and this, he says, coupled with the seven
teenth clause of the same section and artt-
cle, gives to congress the power to create
and regulate the means of commerce. 1
did understand tho Senator, at tho last ses
sion, to insist lhat the words regulate and
create often meant ihe same thtii"; ; and. if
my memory serves me, he offered some ex
amples to prove it. But, sir, if the mean
ings of words are to be thus confounded,
it seems to mc lhat language loses all its
utility, and words cease to be as they were
designed the Tchiclca of ideas. " God
created the heavens and the earth," and
his right to regulate them, grows out of his
creative power. But yet the two rights or
powers are altogether distinct. One of
them he has transferred, U? eqine e$gnj,
to man, and given In nr dominion over tbtr
usn oi ino sea, auu over tne iowis oi me
air, and over every living thing that creep
eth upon the earth." But his creative
power is uncotnmunicated, and perhaps in
communicable. But relievinfrthc.&niatpr,.
frpm aiiy Tcrbal criticisms, and even grant
ing him his premises, namely, that Con
gress, under the Constitution, has power to
regulate comiiterce, and, under the seven
teenth clause of fhe eighth section of ihe
first article, to furnisk such medium of
commerce as may be necessary for its reg
ulation, his conclusion will not follow ;
for the necessity does not exist, up&n w hich
his superstructure rests ; and, of course,
that superstructure must fall to the gromid.
The best medium on earth for commerce
is already provided, and there is no neces
sity for another. But if this matter could
be reduced to a mere question of commer
cial expediency, I deny that Congress
ought to connect her fiscal affairs with
the local binks. Who applies the scourge
to the flying. courser ? And such would be
the effect of Government continuing the
stimulus of her deposites, and receipt of
bank paper, with the local institutions.
But I know it will be said she is invited
to apply the reiri, and not the scourge.
Sir, this is a ruinous fallacy. It is, in fact,
an invitation to place both the scourge
and the rein in irresponsible hands, and
with the power to use them with the wild
est discretion, or, rather, without any dis
cretion at all. And a scourge it would
prove to , the whole country. Tho Inde
pendent Treasury system proposes nothing
more than to withdraw the stimulus which ,
the Government has heretofore given tjo a
system she has neither the right nor the
power to control, and ; leave it to the ac-'
'lion of those Taws founded dii the eternaf
principles of truth and nature, aiid by
which it will certainly, in the. end, be
properly guided. But the soundest prin
ciples of Government are at war with any
connection with tire paper system. Fluc
tuation is one of the most prominent char
acters of that system ; in proof of which, if
any is required, 1 will read an extract from
the last April number of the Edinburg lie
view, pages 33 and, 34 :
" There might, indeed, and most proba
bly would be, commercial revulsions, and
a fall of tho exchange, even, though tho
currency were wholly metallic," or fluctua
ted exactly as.a mctaliecurrcncy would
do ; but there is not the slightest reason
for supposing that they would? be cither
hall so frequent or severe, as under the
existing system. A mixed currency,, or a
currency of coin and paper, supplied like
that of England, is exposed to fluctuations
in its amount, and capacity pf transacting
business, ten times greater than any thai
could attach to a purely metalie currency,
or lo a mixed currency fluctuating accor.
ding to the demand for bullion. If the
currency consisted wholly of gold, if no
additional- supplies of paper could be ob
tained except upon the deposite of an e
quivalcnt amount of gold, no general rise
of prices . could , take jlace, except when
there was an influx of the precious metals;
and these, as every one knows, cannot be
accumulated in any one country to a much
more considerable degree than in others.
But when individuals or associations a re
al lowed to issue notes, or paper fitted io
,-evo 1 The pnrposs-of.'-'rii'er-'l
a deposite of bullion, but merely upon their
receiving"! promise to pay it, with interest
at sdmefyture 'rx-riod, a new and most
powerful clement of ?ari$ttrrrr' brought
into the field,'' . . : , ;.."".... .;;"' -
Mr. Locke, one of the most profound!
writers in the English language, has said :
"It is the interest of every country that
the standard of US money, once settled,
should inviolably and immutably be kept
to perpetuity ; for whenever that is altered,
from what pretence soever, ihe public will
lo-ie by it. Men, in their bargains, con
tract not for denouiiiialioijs or bounds, hut
for intrinsic value." 1 know that Mr.
Locke is here speaking of au alteration by
the arbitrary acuou of ihe Government.
But tho consequences of alteration will
follow as certainly, by whatever power it
may be brought about. But if tho Gov
ernment adopts the paper system, the prin
ciple of fluctuation will be incorporated in
the money of the country by the Govern
incut itself, and the alteration ot ns stan
dard will be the act of ihe Government
One of the most serious evils of t hit fluc
tuation is the sudden change it produces
in the condition of men. The paper sys
tem, in addition to its tendency to fluctu
ation, increases this latter evil also by the
encouragement it gives to speculation, and
by ihe joint operation of these two causes
men are continually rising suddenly Ire in
poverty to wealth and sinking from wealui,
to poverty. ' Mutability is one of tho worot
features m human destiny, and is always
reckoned among the chief ills of life. Men
become accustomed to any state or Condi
(ion, and fitted to avail themselves of its
enjoy UH-n is, whatever they may be, and la
hear the ills attendant upon it. A gradu
al improvement of a man's condition is
healthful both to the soul and body , and a
gradual deterioration may be borne with
philosophical composure, and without any
very perceptible loss of comfort. But any
sudden revulsion either way is attended
always with many painful incidents. Even
where the change, humanly speaking, is
fot the belter, it is-seldom tU udud with -TeaT
happiness. Tfie Tiuf oF poverty, who
is suddenly advanced in fortune, has rare
ly any of those qualifications which fit him
for its enjoyment. He is removed from
the circles and associations which were
wont'lo engage bis afrerrtkmB;" and"lhrowrt
into others with which his heart knows no
sympathy. But who, can paint the mise
ry of him who, reared to better hopes, has
lived under sunny skies and amid bright
prospects, and suddenly finds himself over
whelmed with pecuniary ruin ? Time will
not allow us to follow out this fruitful and
affecting theme.
But another great evil of the paper sys
tem is, thai il causes the producers of the
eounjry. to sell at specie prices, and buy
at per prices, or in other words to buy
at pricr? v regutaW d hy ah inflated currcn.
cy, and sell at those which are regulated
by a stable currency. Gentlemen affect
not to see the forceSd' this argument, and
ask whether the planterdp sell their pro
duee in one country, and buj their arti
cles of consumption in another? J answer,
yes. The price of every article produced
in this country, and which usually gocsta
a foreign market, ts. here regulated by thc
price ir. the foreign market, The paper
currency of a country does not form a por
tion of that great ocean to which I had ref.
erence in a former part of my reitarks;
but is, as it were, an isolated lake which
has no outlet by which it may mingle it
self with those "vasf waters. Vou may
pour into it until it will overflow and inun
date the country in which it is situated,
and thus involve it in ruin; but it leaves
the great ocean without unaffected by its
swell. Ij raises prices at home but affects
them not in other markets. However a.
V.'AJij J bcrefore money so called may be
at home, the exporter can afford to irive
the farmer no more than the price in tho
loreign market wtH warrant, leaving him
his rcaspnablc expenses and profit besides.
But it is not so with the articles he imports ;
when he gets them there they at once feel
the influence of the swollen circulation,
and bring con espondent prices, and at
those priees -the consumer must purchase.
But it will be said that England, the prin
ci pal country with whom we trade, is
a paper country, and therefore we Ipso
nothing by our paper system in .our
intercourse with her. Sir, a man loses
all by any circumstance, that, but for
that circumstance, we would have made.
Although England is'a paper country, yet,
if we were exclusively a metallic country,
we should make more by our intcreourso
with her. And why should we, because
she chooses to maim herself by her paper
system, follow her cxatiiple ? The .wholo
business of life is a struggle between na
lions and individuals for iheir rcspectivo
portions of the goods of fortune; and why
should any wise man, who is embarking in
any strife, disable hiirMcif because his ad.
versary has had the lolly to do so. I am
certain, sir, that to do justice to this argu
ment it should be more elaborate, but I
must leave it with the few hints I have,
thrown out, which I trust wilt be under-"
stood by any intelligent mind. And yet
the paper system is applauded to the skigy,
as the wing upon which -England has soar
ed to her present prosperous height. Sir,
England has thriven in spito of her paper
W1?!1. an'l Rot M t eason .Aidut ; and ih
sa;no an nvcr applies to the. wneirvficE
which has been, poured forth apon th won-
ui.tntuieu iu uiu nanus in i tnig couo
try. They have;Tt isiatd, caused thtta
ttrwsstr blossom," bni lru jTevvnQ "z!
desert, opcyed our Jands, con--" - -
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