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DEBATE ONiTHfi .' 2 .; THLTT FOR ESTABLISHING, A BANJO ORTHE-STATB.. -yT ' to tbe observations of the gentlemenho have .addressed the V ? : 7 duse in support of the hill now1 under cjbnsidcRitiofrf and enter intnn oVinion decidedly npposeutq tliathicb'tljej have en; v .deavoud jsnpppr I -eg pprmissi6o'wTiiet.I declarethisopi if V fftionVto state.also Jthe reason uponbichit isfitmded. ?Allagree 'd . - .that if the Institution, which Itis the object of the bin tft establish, m ? ' , ::f s!iQuiC:int6nl ifc'rojiwt . bejoi0wedb gmetp can-, , V wqueTic'Bti m : i; (rahith 4wraehcMusfmis -. -ir : A : V 'it 4., fii it ia'fafttffnpd imnn We should not vield our assent to 4t . wiih tYasoimbie'certairitv nronou nee upon its cliaracter. in po- liiiral action Jisiirt individual conduct, ; first step is of iiigh im po tance. Ii.MiatbB;jpiaMp0a and the pro- giMttelevaton artf naCuatand easy... But begirt wron, and all Subseiquent labor may unavailing to connect the vOriltval blunderfll1 ' ;! ' .v-. ..'t'-- ; : 0n this ccasimij weliavVespecial need of circumspfctioti. I tinJnt that I shall eive: no .offnre, and most certainly intehdrnonet liswi ccwunity.bina.ila ixcpbers, to cacft. ctheii tJiaUMajcaWen llS) r of that su(Teripg a ILIn thelllctociat mjmmm really about or aggravated b foedalelttcnerlistrust(i uifiuenced bypitblic necessity, The imspicibiTof Ihu g lo" 5 i'V preVailswheti n6nkiioW8 -wlio is to byiaX nextiifjaboVe alU Jirably be a packer that Would continually corrodl t?,l,(l M ( Yd tfierfatal nd, everlb be deplored-)rrtstration of moists that citif.theankand MrpUhl be most iikel to1 e VA cnmpahies.thisolution tpD $hos? situ a turns in wlijchjhe; Public gwd would vefat4 W share Jh;the calamity of nthe tim. :BbnW be:the most sounded-vigqnjuso, It would When I state that tbt rearc fewiin uns oouy wno possess uie. autu rate information on ;the siibieet whicli is necessary to protect ti from error and i item imposition The-, business or banking in a state little : rommnttfal as biirs, cannot be exiected to be well under- opdiln itf prijile, miich51essb details. Several gentle ;.:"ineiii; &dee4 aJ5.'te&8eJlv'es to be unacquainted with the subject., ntteyre of coiiwevojiliged to rely on Ihel Judgment and fidel t those? who advance higher' pretensions. If unfortunately i; ffef sliouldpro ve blind or treacherous guides, how can their fol V" Itewiiojtoi escape 'ftmvinjiirryp. -li Itut the'rei is lar ' jnprejiianger to be" apprehended from pjhe'r xaieitfi . Honest ignorance ts'often varsso-- xiatedwilir a pnidehcewhich like those wondeiftil instiii(;ts,'i.bo ; stowed by a hpuntffnl Creator, on inferior beings, performs its sa--ltarpprp the reach of enliglitened reaso. Wh where it feels tl.:erbuiifl viplfovit Tefuses to plant-its foot where action may '.- bisrliievoHsiii e:htitelyT forbears. This js in fact a wisdom vhich learning .should not blush to emulate, and which often puts to scot ti i lie specuiaTtons 01 me visionary anu me prtecis 01 hip ? v ilniru chiefly from other quarters. .They arise from the times from selfishness, and above all from love of fir ;pppuliityfAn)oitg the consequences which have resulted from Vexressive banking in this State, few are more prominent than Jlie breaking down of those Vkho have too freely availed themselves of ' c the accommodations it affi Some of ; these individuals are ; drvng of avrr'pt' sympathies Whatever else they may have Tosf, they ihaivepreserved their honoi, and enduring with honest fifmnethel: reverse in their condition, they are enti- .. 3 tied A evn higher resjiect jhan they could have claimed in the most palmy-state of their prosperity. But such are not all. Un- . quest ionably there are many who bankrupt in reputation as in for V tune tucii to Patriotism as a brade, and strive to uin place and akercoi'ey bypandering to the prejudices of "the ignorant, the hojes of the necessitous, and the wishes of lithe icious. Is it strgngethat hse should project schemes by which new money v fartoifareUo be erected offices with fine Salaries created -and ihe mVansof tinkering broken characters and supply ing squan- - dered estate,made abundant and easy r Is it singular that they f should finti aready nfjai4w -with the yet larger number of those hofe broken, alarmed hut not despairing, atiye;"pager!y upon f.evi'iy suestion ttiat promises a change of ;? rrdiforV.or.a postponement of tle demand, awaiting some lucky f chance, till a gdo mine or 11 lottery ticket, shall rescue them from ! threatened ruiii;i Or is -"It extriyu diuary that those, who are tliem Vv seh es free from selfish or iroppre motives, should catch by conta gHti tle seniiments disseminated around them, and rashly pledge then'selves to plans which they do not understandhut which they arc assured are to produce incalculable benefits to their ncighhui s - vaiid.'lne'n. " ' v. 1 r b a ps-ip ven t h ese h re not the principal sources of the unwise vieshich seerft to prevail. Tlieie is a fashion in political " vfiinisies, as uylhe fancies of dress, which is adopted without exa- iijinatmri, run i lls couie ancyhen passeth. aay. Banks of the I State .haheetrlateJy the fashion around us. Ml ihc.m have 'Xpfyy 1hutffiade manifest the wretched mateiials of tiichrlth ;w5iciMritj-iicted. And why should not we have Baiiksxof the State too ? f.TMii I am convinced, sir, operates most l0:;.l!'!, P.H5IB4 .IwMon which I lament, and which it iKmyahxiojis wish told ispel. And as the novelties of dress most v;S lig to catch woraany smile, and please woman s ee so the novelties of legislation are most readily :a lt,ri "J; :lur i"u aus who are eager in me race lor popular iJTvor.i w4?r no, strength of-pnderstandirig secures the young gallant i " (. from;theralRurdiie8 of the mode, so neither sene nor principle pr-otec'ts, from ernicius hut fashionable political errors, him who is oyer joiic-jmus 10 please me people, V hijcv all: thihgs thii concur to make us liable to error, the hill tself was cunhingiy Revised to render us indifferent jo mistake. ':hemeasur?;rApo1even if sanctioned by the Leeislatiire, is iiiice, anil a coiiv arcUy sKuIki ng from responsibility If the House are satlsfiedbaCl called for by theptiblic interest, why should its 6jejtionbVpot of any other Iaxy which may be adopted at this S ssion. And if the House do not deliberately: approve the plan, can they incur the deefvgujlt of enactitig angjriitta-Ja to the firmnessl and wis'- dotri of 1he tierXiCgisIature t(i correct the mischief? the bill also we rpcape from the difficulty of fixing the salaries or the offi cers whom it is to;cal into existence, and this responsibility is to tIirow"bollyjippn puruccessois. This trick to draw the House ande muniiatajtfte adoption of a scheme of unde fined expence without rxaminatioii, is srt-reprehensible that I can scarcely. tt iwt myself crsiieakf iUalt deserves, I will only say that ttjjears pn is fiire barks of deceit ivexunntng, and is wholly at Variance with evry,rineiple of jcorrectil&islatioiu In considering the mischiefi which have been, brought upon our -Ct)ttttrjf;br MniicToua s8jtttf banting, ;tsliave ' o'n another occasion called the attention of the House to the general state of indebtedness: wlndi ;t hipccasipned, opportunities tA bor. row mouey . havebeen so improvidently used as to enable men who ere uiiabjtii meet thejr debttp war every appeaVance citopu ex- re l J ,iV" anu meir families unconscious did imthesitate endpay aiund luidlieen reado trust theni conimu basjlaw b "telnllaskcpfe piVavdlmosthiim , tipdtostmetpyer aredly unfittedabitaVe Itot dnly?gm theVr familhf t Trrfi-but Jl-e dr8ed lnfr c Su!Pfl f Vtheir credit . . . vu, piu juiversiueu are the ties vbi comnsihpfltvvithhftt- chancre ments of ourpeople whicbhan recently obtained ? Fraudulept4disf positions of nroperty-quirka. and cavils, and dirty deyicesto cheat creditors, are naw resorted taby raenXwho would have once rejected with unutterable-scorn the supposition ..that it waposi ble for then tlius to jfct?f, The tone of Httoral seiitimwinas-beert depressed, and the standard of moral actionals-beentwedtp our land. Where is the intelligentman jthat does ;peend where is the moral man that does not mourn over tins rowncjJy spectacle? And now when our highest exerticm shojfld be mato cure this moral pestilence, we are invited most earnestly to adopt a measure the inevitable tendency of which is to give it a wider spread, a more fatal activity, and a longer duration, vl4 What caused this general indebtedness but aWacility to borrow, accompanied by a readiness to lend ? It is proposed to establish a new Bank, avowedly for the-purpose of afford ing tolhe people an opportunity to borrow more money, and n the very organiza tion of the Bank, it will be seen that it is constructed with the ex press view to make it lend to the full extent of all its means. As-j the bill was orisrinally framed, it was not in the power of the ; Bank to require the re-payment of more than one tenth ol any loan,i every six months and in its present form it can rfquire but a tenth every ninety days. Thus real business discounts the only otes that can be regarded as useful to the community are to bz-tcholly prohibited. The direct object, the whole scope of the project, is the making of long'accommodation loans. It has been remarked by the gentleman from Rowan (Mr. Pearson) for whom I take this occasion to express my high respect as well as sincere affection, that this may be hereafter altered by amendments, and that 'purposes, if the bill be not rejected, thus, to amend it. My young friend must excuse me for not allowing much force to this suggestion.' He is no doubt, perfectly sincere in his purpose, but it is a purpose peculiar to him. Such is not the object of the bill nor of its friends, and if it were possible to frame the bill so as to prevent all accommodation loans, my friend would probably find himself alone in its support. But it would be idle to expect, frame the bill as we may, that the main employment of the insti tution could be other than long accommodation loans. Remember that the expenses are certain, the capital is to be borrowed. Every President, Director, Cashier, Teller, Clerk, Book-keeper, &c. &c. is to be paid. How can these expenses be defrayed other wise than by making large loans ? And if large loans be made, whatever may be their form, they must become long loans, and thus in effect accommodation loans. Thus facility to borrow, and a disposition to lend, and the necessities of the embarrassed, uill all combine to increase and perpetuate the general indebtedness, the horrible consequences, of which none can be so blind as not to see. The notion of a Bank of Discount and Circulation, owned by a State and managed by the officers of the State, is as absurd in the ory as it is condemned by all experience. With the idea of sove reignty should always be associated awe, reverence and patience, The temple should never be degraded into a place of money-changers. The People have formed themselves into a political body into a State for purposes utterly at Variance with those of trading in bills of exchange and discounting promissory notes;- This is a business quite as foreign from the legitimate objects of their as sociation; as would be the retailing of dry goods, the keeping of taverns, thecstablishment of whiskey distilleries, or any other pur suit of private industry. Not only is the political body degraded by such an occojiation, hut it must conduct the business unskilfully. It can carry on such operations onlv through the medium of hired agents who have.no personal interest in their success. These agents must be chosen from the .representations of friends who are not always competent to judge, and are always interested to misrep resent. To secure a re-appointment, the agents must take care to gain the favor of men of influence or pursue the course what ever it may be, indicated from time to time by the popular voice. Lend money freely extend the terms of payment indulge for bear is the obvious plari'jby which favour is to be conciliated, and a continuance in power effected. They would be thus irre sistibly compelled to convert the Institution into a public nuisance, or would have to yield their places to others of a more accommoda ting temper. While the Banks of this State were making loans to all who asked, and permitting their debtors to renew when and as they pleased, it is notorious that tliey possessed a popularity which put them above law, and which in fact exempted them from the payment of debts. And he knows little of their history, who is ignorant that it was principally the influence, the almost con trolling inflhence which the State had over their direction, that made them lose siffht of the true interests of the Institutions, ami court the public favour at the expense of the public good. Es tablish your Bank of the State, and in a few years there will be a large body of debtors who will control public opinion and whose influence direct or indirect, will be felt at the polls, and in every appointment which the Legislature may be called on to make.- This b6dy of debtors will infact choose the,. Directors and it needs no skill in prophecy to predict the character of those whom they will prefer. I protest therefore against the misrepresenta tion which has been made of the arguments used by my friends on this subject. It is not alleged nor insinuated, that North-Carolina has not snfticieiit intelligence or integrity among her citizens lo furnish men fit preside over monied institutions, but it is in sisted that a stern integrity and strict prudence in the manage ment of such institutions will not recommend them to public or legislative favour. Nor is this any especial imputation onforth Caroliria, or those to whom may be confided the power of this State. All History shews, that whenever a Bank of Discount and circulation has been placed under governmental management, it has invariably been mismanaged. The famous Bank of France is one oi ine most remarKauie msxances 01 it. up ro rvoveinuer 171$ (I take the statement from Stewart's Political Economy) this Bank commanded unbounded confidence, was lending money at two per cent, and operated powerfully to invigorate commerce and rescue the countrylfrpm its embarrassments. The GovernT ment then purchased oil t; the Stockholders, and by the 20th of October in the next year, a pocket full of the notes would not buy a loaf of bread ! It is now an established maxim in Political E conomy, that the Sovereign cannot have a control over such Banks without fatal consequences, and there is a hardihood in this attempt '-fo set at defiance the lessons of experience, far better calculated to excite surprise than resjiect. rhen Hamilton pre pared his plan for the Bank of the United States, he was solici tous, could it be done ith safety, to" give the. new government thej i profits of theIntifution ; but lie was obliged , to, forego the wish phori the conviction -that; the thing was not feasible. His observaf mns ai ia just, that I make uopology fpVcalHn House, to jthem. of public ad van tage sugges t a wish thatthe Bank could be estab ld;iihdj pies which wpuld cause flie nifits of it tnT dpund tp tlie iinmediate benefit of the Statei This is contemplate!) by many who speak of a National' Bank, but the Mtuxec:4iabU tp insuperable objections. To attach full confidence to"4 tin Institu tion of this nature, it appears ta be5 art essential ingredient in its the true interest or the irovernment not to abuse it, it . Wd( to husband and cherish it with the most guarded ci'rcunisnU,nC,K,i inestf&able treasure Bufwhat goveruinent ever unlf0?1'0'1 suited its true fnierestsi w flppJ'Siti t thefemptationT,y tary exigencies WiiC nation was ever blessed with Lln"n i - tary exigencies i What nation av as ever blessed v t!i L 1 succession of upfiht ,-aiit wise administrations ? T,,Si4j M 1 he keen, steaily. and as it were magnetic sense f m interest as nrtinnetto-s in the liirectors of a Bai.L- ,rps riably to its true pole,; the prasjierity of the Insiitutim,, is t? and anen,?lll security that can always be relml upon for a rarf.,! .i Cfln ad inin is t ration. It i ' Thereforft the onlv haoia ,i.:..k ed, unqualified atid permanent confidence can bevxneetPfl irticu ur iiiitiiiiitiurti. j t Tinie will not permit roe, Sir, to indicate all the evils Banks of the State" are calculated r nrrutupo Co ------ r r.-...v.. UdllU m. I - . a. . r . il i p ' . C eveivui susf, inai oi an ine iactious divisions that did '41 reti, can exist in a free country, the most pernicious is thafni 1 .,,1: O . r ... i . - ' ... .. 1 "C aou tiTwiturs, oii.cn oi us as nave tioi loronetr all our v( studies, can notbut remember the factions f this kind w,jp VUllAfl ut FkfllilA 111 tUCHil I I oi V hKul'illlla m. tltn ft...l .1 public debtors. , The influence of the fist will be exerted t0r anu the energies ot the other directed toiostjne,aiiil fiiiHlV give the payment of debts. "To pay, or not to pay," will n lioct i ft tfr rt 1 1. fnnucnlD i7ill 1 1 n i',e-if..iii.A llin m..; I rtf 1111 l"k 1 1 ' 1 1I ati ff rfi.Vti' oi t iritotiual liaPiiiiinr'ilri.4i.n. .i foulest corruption introduced among our public men, by inpall8 these factions.-It is difficult for my imagination to suggest a srhP more fatal to tranquillity, justice, or purity of morals, than the J ject of an annual election of men to distribute the public mmipl their discretion among those who may need it. My iiuderati! ing revoiis ai it, as jne re pius luira oi. political ausunhtii. will call into action , all tbe artifices of cunning, all. the com!,; tions of interest, and all the profligacy of corruption, aii;l wl once oroughi into activity lor tins purpose, tney will be at u nti vii u iiLxasiuiiM aon iyr an purptM. - jvery apprmituif t)f honorable trust, arid even the ordinary business of leislatin uo 1 tit in in. m. i iiihmi., men uiraniiiij, iiivii rti ur sell 1 1 IU UeHC'C And what are the inducements to tempt us thus; to sorm lllrtAlllin ifi IUUIli rtllU llir. UCdllllHIim M l AJK. ICIII.i iMZ'df the public wealth and the public credit t!ie resources anil the rals of our People! upon this dangerous experiment? That most erally nrged and which most renuires to be refuted is the nrhfu'a1 character of the undertaking. Sir, projectoiNne.ver harkwail in making plausible schemes of profit to tempt the credulous sanguine to risque their money, and credit u pop .wild seculation Let us examine that by which our avarice is beset. Banks, itii said, are certainly profitable, and-if so, is it -iiotjbettrr that i, State should reap these profits instead of idividuabf It mi$ oe remarked, t( these compendious veasoners commerce sku ly conducted is profitable so are manufactures so the mrchai arts so the various: pursuits of private industrv. Is it not bet ter that these profits too should redound to the benefit of the wyj community, than be monopolised by a few ? Oucht not the. Stab' then to buy ships-set up Cotton and Woollen and Iron Factoi ies-I have its steam-mills and its water-mills its slipe-shops, its tavcw and its distilleries?" The answer to these suirsrestions would wo nauiy be, made at once, such pursuits are profitable jnueeu, m under individual management, but cannot be aUvantacemwlv cn ducted by hired officers ; nor need the State envy the profits its citizens in any enterprise, for . if they be benefited, the State ultimately enriched. How happens it that this answer ajmlies ii also to the present project?- What is there in the;purely mere tile business of negotiating bills, discounting notes, and dealin; bullion, that tits it for a public, instead of a private direction f may be profitable, pursued as a private occiipation, and inostr nous if undertaken by the State. But gentlemen are in an em throughout the wliole of this argument. Banks in North-Caor tt na are now any thing hot profitable. There' is not a Bank i this State that, if it could now close its operations without en dangering its capital, would not close to-morrow.' There s not a Bank in this State that will not immediately! sell nut it whole concern at S80 in the hundred. And it Js at least qu i tionable whether there is a Bank in this State, that will ever in able, upon correct banking principles, to .make aitqther dividen'. lo speak ol the profits heretofore mades any. thing but apphra ble. Profits were indeed made when the irlmiecoiintrv xvascrazf . w - ' t m . - ' when issues were sliowered without anyV purpose to redecu them loans, made without any defined periid for iT-paytnent-when the public voice sanctioned the suspension of specie iMvineiiU and when the Legislature aDnroved tliat suspension. The Unitci ates Bank has put an end to this state of things, and bv its sp vere, but most salutary nressure. lias corrected an evil uic wonloXptherwise have probablv remained too powerful to he cor rected. 3ut the age of profits has gone by, and that of privation and suffering succeeded. All that the Banks can now hope fur, i to be permitted, without too heavy a loss to collect enough to pay their debts artdirturii to the Stockholders the larger portion their capital. And it is at this moment the State is invited to cn bark in this bnsjness-with a view, to profit! v C JUr. Gasteqfs Speedi to.be concluded It is not a little remarkable, ttiat no Statesman, of our cotwitry lm s emphatically set the seal oHiis reprobatian on the nullifying doctrine ut wiiiuii wi uiiiierKL;tTiii. iiih ritrnr nr. a minnritv m a tpnuu u i v if - - - y - O - -F , tJ ' t. j sist the maioritv, as Mr-Jefferson. When the committee were sc lectins sentiments from his Inaugural Address, for Toasts atlhe late Political Dinner in this city, how came theopasS over the follow ing? Among the essential principles of our government, and con sequently those which ought to shape its administration," he place the following : V ; i. " Absolute acomescence. in the dpAsinns nf the Mmoritv. the'vitd "principle of Republics, from which there is no appeal but to force, w vital principle and immediate parent of, Despotism. " iVah it f m il v hi. 'igfA Dr. Anderson relates the subjoined anecdotewhich shews how pr severirtgly these animals vi'iW follow 7AJcahdrents ah am"5 ing lace in illustration oi natural history : ' A butcher's boy was driving about 20 fat wethers through the tow of Liverpool, but they ran down a street along whicVhe did not kthem to P-o. Hf ohftp.rvpfl a sravfrrorr at wnrlc 'Wtlih TiiA hrnotn a Utt'F C".IUV1CIVI" i structure tint it shall be under aipnafrnot aicuUrectidh, under wav before them, and called Inudlrtohim tnl-stinvilKft ftheeD. n man accoroingiy;aio wnat ne coma to tttrn.nem .pa;KranDtiui. "j"? ide to side, rfwajtpposing. himself to their passage and branhj' 'ing--his broomfsreat ' dexteritv but ttiVsheen much agitated - pressed forward and at last one of them canie right up.to the ::ing: graspedithe broomstick an Iboth IhU handle anof held it over h head. He stood a Ifew sjdn sheJ made a spring and. jumped fairly over him, without touching the br( ierfirettiadnsooner f"0 ed, .andvanother,, ih'so aiftksaiesslSntlitr themaoparfectly c0' founded seemed to lose aU tewilleViohtand same tudetiU Ue whole had jumped oyer hi in 5 hot one of them attempt to pass on .either sid 0 w f
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 3, 1830, edition 1
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