Columbia telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1828-1839, October 07, 1837, Image 1
VOL. ?3--NO; 40. COLUMBIA, S. C.OCTOBER 7, 183?. $8 PER ANNUM.
the
30L7S^SIA 7SL2S30P3
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Three dollars per annum, if paid in advance, or
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Advixtisixexts conspicuously inserted at 75
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duction.
Virginia State Lottery,
CLASS .Vo. 8.
To b; drawn at Alexandria, on the 21st October.
HIGHEST PRIZE,
$40,000.
SCHEME.
1 Prize of $40,000
1 " " 10,
1 "
1 ? " 3000
5^ of 1500
5 " 1200
150 '4 1000
&4 * 100
i u 4* >'940 *1 ?4 " 90
&c.
Whole Tickets, $10 ; Halves, $5 ; Quarters, $2 50.
To be had at the Managers Office, No. 26 Broad
street, Charleston, S. C.
Sept. 23 38
Notice.
ALL persons having any demands against the ?
estate of MICHASL HARK INS, deceased,
will rencer them to the subscriber, duly attested ; I
and all those indebted to the estate of the said Mi- j
chaei Harkins will please make immediate payment, ;
or their notes and accounts will be placed in the
hands of a proper officer for collection.
S. C. DEBRUHL, Adm'r. i
Sept, 3th, 1837. 36
Ranaway
FROM the Subscriber on the third of July, 1837,
a negro man of ordinary size, rather lwjht
colored, he is known by the name of JURDONT- ?
Has a burn on his thigh or near the knee, burnt when
quite young, the hair is quite thin on the top of his
head, nearly bald. The subscriber thinks he will
make his way to Va. The subscriber will pay to any
person or persons ten dollars, who may apprehend
an4 lodge the said negro in any jail in the States of
South Carolina. North Carolina, or Virginia
WM. STACK.
Sept. 15 37
Notice.
ALL persons indebted to J. Black late merchant
of Columbia, deceased, are requested to make
^payment without delay, and those to whom the es
tate is indebted, are requested to render in their ac
rtKrats forthwith legally attested.
* ALEX. BRODIE, Administrator.
TO RENT.
Tile Store at the corner of Richardson street where
the deceased formerly reaidetif and to be sold, the
Stock of G$ods now on hand, at private sale to ap
proved purchasers at a liberal credit, they giving bond
and security for the payment thereof. Also to rent,
the store adjoining Mr. John M'CuIly's, on Main
street, with two rooms and celler attached. Also the
large Store Room attached to the lot on which Dr.
Ogier now has his Apothecary's Store Possession of
the whole will be given by the first of October next.
For terms apply to
ALEXANDER BRODIE,
Administrator.
Sept. 15 37
Wanted.
A MILLER or Sawyer to attend a Steam Saw
Mill ; to an industrous, experienced and steady
persoala liberal salary will be given. Apply to
LOMAS <fe DAVIS.
Steam Saw Mill near Columbia, Sept. 1st 35 6t
Dentist's Instruments.
THE subscriber has a splendid set of scaling and
cleansing Instruments, with a complete set of
Extracting Instruments, of the most approved form
and highest finish, which he will disL ^e of at rea
sonable terms. S. ^LANDING,
Dec 13 53 tf
Sale of Lands*
Margaret Jordan, )
vs. r Bill for Partition.
R. H. Jordan, et al. ;
BY virtue of a decretal order of the Court of
Equity made in the above case, the Commis
sioner al the Court of Equity for Chester district will
-sell at the Court House of said district on the first
Monday in November next, the plantation belonging
rto the estate of Dr- Uriah Jordan, decd'd.
Said plantation contains seven hundred acres, five
hundred of which are well timbered woodland, most
of the remainder is under fence and fit for cultivation
The plantation is situated in Chester district about
three miles above the Cedar Shoals on Fishing Creek.
Terms of sale : so much of th e purchase money as
will satisfy the costs of sale, must oe paid on the day
?of sale, on the balance a credit of one, two and three
years, will be given, with interest.
The purchaser must give bond with approved per
sonal security, and a mortgage of the premises to se
cure the purchase money.
Persons wishing to examine the land, are referred
James Guthrie, Esq , residing near the premises.
SAMUEL 3TALILLY, C. E. C. D.
Commissioner's Office. )
Sept. 6. 1837. S 37 tds
ZEBULON RUDULPH, Sen. offers for sale his
Landed interest in South Carolina, of about
3700 acres, lying on the head of Little Saluda River
' and ifs tributaries, in Edgefield District. A seventh
par: ot" which is under good fence, nearly the whole
Land suited for cultivation, and susceptible of high
impro\ ement- Besides the usual improvements of
a Dwelling, Gin House, Cotton Screw, and all neces
,sary Out Buildings for a complete Establishment,
rehire is a very superior Corn and and Flour Mill on J
?fee premises, now in complete repair, the dam of i
?which consists, in great part, of a solid rock, extending
iiieariy across the nver, and the water in the pond is i
never above the natural banks. A mile and a half j
down, is another excellent mill seat, where a Saw Mill '
was -in successful operation a few years ago. The j
place has a fine summer ranee for all kinds of Stock, j
good Water, a high, healthy Residence near the road ;
Reading from Edgefield Court House, via Lorrick's
Ferry Cattle, Hogs, Sheep, Corn, Oats, Fodder
and Cotton Seed, can be supplied to the purchaser, I
if wished, and possession given about the 1st of Jan
nary. An extensive credit can by given on the grea- '
ter pail of the purchase money. Address >fount !
Willing Post Office, Edgefield District, (S. C.) In
formation can also be had of D- Ewart, Esq. Colum- j
bia.
Edgefield Distriet, Sept. \ 1837. 4t37
C>MMERCIAL BANK ? Checks for Sale, on
Mobile, Alabama.
March 4 9
Notice.
rl hereby given that a petition wHI be presented
to the Legislature at its next session, for a new
Rood to rqa from the neighborhood of Sim's Mill, on
Broad River, and intersect with the Union road at
Faulk's Tavern, three miles from Union ville.
A. WILSON,
ii* ? ? v
for~himself and neighbors
31
(By the Steam Packet Home.)
LATEST FROM EUROPE.
New York, Sept. 22.
The Packet Ship Pennsylvania, Captain
Smith, from Liverpool, whence she sailed on
the 24th of August, arrived at one o'clock this
morning, bringing us our tull files of Liver
pool papers to that date; London files to the
23d, and Lloyd's List to the 23d. We make
?uch extracts as the lateness of the hour per
mits, of course necessarily limited. The
Liverpool Cotton market remained firm at
previous quotations but with no advance in
price.
From the London Morning Post Aug. 23.
It appears certain that Don Carlos has left
the mountains above Cantaviega, and march
ed towards Madrid, most probably by Cuenca.
The Moniteur of Monday has the following
telegraph despatches: ?
" Nurboune . Aug. 29. 5 A.TVf.
t4On the 14 th it was known at Valencia that
the Pretender has passed through Alfambra,
moving upon Madrid. Oraa occupied Ru
bielosde Mora and Teruel, not having been
able to prevent the insurgents under Sanz and
Tallada from joining Don Carlos, with an
! immeans convoy.
'?On the 17th at Barcelona, nothing was
known of the movements of Baron de Meer.
who had sanctioned the creation of the Cen
tral Junta. The mobilisation of unmarried
men and widowers between eighteen and for
ty years of ege was suspended."
44 Bayonne , Aug. 20.
" Espartero's troops entered Mardrid on
the 13th. to the number of nine to ten thou
sand men. The Carlist have retired towards
Segovia. The General in Chief is shortly to
march against them.
k< Madrid is quiet.
44 Nothing new respecting the Pretender."
Advices from Sarragossa of the 15th also
confirm the Telegraph's statement of Charles
the Fifth having proceeded through Alfambra
and La Cella, where he was on the I2tfc to
wards Albarracia, where various Chiefs had
been sent for to Benevarre, Buerens was 9aid
to have been ordered to approach Madried. ?
With regard to the state of affairs in that cap
ital and in its neighborhood the Journal Gen
eral de Franre has accounts of the 14 th, which
are rather at variance with those conveyed by
the Bayonne telegraph. I affirms that at that
period the Carlist occupied not only Segovia
but also the heights of Guadarama, adding
that Espartero had declared to the Queen that
he would not march against them if the Cala
trava Ministry continued at the head of affairs.
The Generai, backed by the Moderate party,
is represented by the same print as aiming at
a dictatorship and a reaction, an allegation
which the strange manner in which he has
conducted his military operations is certain
ly not calculated to disprove.
There is no domestic news of interest in
the Paris papers. One of them mentions the
arrest of an individual from whose garments a
pistol fell on Friday evening, just as Louis
Philippe was leaving the Tuileries by the
Point Royal gate, if but a half of the mur
derous reports which have been circulated in
the French capital for months past, the
Citzen King's diadem is not an enviable one.
The Marseilles papers concur in stating
the cholera to have reappeared in that city,
though with little intensity. Of its havoc in
Sicily we perceive no recent tidings in the
journal before us. On the 5th it continued
to Subside at Naples, but we regret to find in
the Augsburg Gazette a confirmation of a
military conspiracy having been detected in
that capital. According to our German con
temporary, the plot which extended to the
Neapolitan regiments quartered in and about
Naples was discovered on the 3d. A number
of non-commissioned officers almost all Sicil
ans,who had received money from an unknown
quarter, were immediately called to arms. It
will be seen by our Paris correspondent's let
ter, published elsewhere, that this intelligence,
coupled with the rumoured advance of an
Austrian force into the Neapolitan dominions,
produced some effect upon the F rench Funds
on Monday afternoon.
Madrid , August 13th. ? Nothing of any
importance has occured here since I wrote yes
terday. The Queen's troops continue at Los
Rozas, covering the road from the Escurial
to Madrid.
On arriving in the city last night, Esparte
ro was introduced to the Queen by Senor Cal
atrava. He was warmly greeted by the peo
ple as he proceeded to the palace. This
evening at five o'clock the infantry who have
come with him are to enter Madrid, and ap
pear before the palace. He is, I understand,
to proceed immediately, with all the forces in
the neighborhood of Madrid, in pursuit of
the factious expedition. In three days the
voluntary enlistment mentioned in my former
letters has produced a body of 2,323 men,
who are in progress of being drilled and
equipped for service. The greatest spirit and
enthusiasm prevails among the people.
The only official account published in the
Gazette of to-day, is a short notice from Men
dez Vigo dated the 12th, from Las Rozas, in
which he states that the rebels have retired to
the Fonda do la Trinidad, having abandoned
Torre Lodones, after plundering the village
of all the property it contained. The Queen,
Inspector General, and corporation, have sev
erally addressed the National Guards on the
firmness and fidelity displayed by them on the
trying occasion.
Germany. ? Frankfort , Aug. 14. ? The
cholera is at Berlin, and a severe typhus at
Warsaw. It was apprehended that the latter
was the plague. Russia, it was said, was about
to draw a sanitary cordon round Warsaw, and
at Berlin every necessary step was taken to cut
off communications between the frontier and
Poland. At Dantzing the cholera is making
terrible ravages. At Munich, they were also
apprehensive of a fresh visitation of cholera.
Whilst some of the French journals have
accounts of partial actions with the Arabs on
the road to Constantinaple, the correspon- '
dence of the Journal dcs des Debates from
Bona, dated the 22d, says:
"The expedition wili not take place ; this
is now certain. The governor sets out to-day
for Guelma, to have a tete-a-tete with Achmet
Bay. The following draught of the proposed
treaty is written in the Cabyle languages
Achmet to be the supreme the
vince of ConsfctfUiaW-TfleTre'" ociU$
lowed to circulate merely between the river
Sey bouse and the mountains. The produc
of the provinces shall be brought to Bona for
sale. Achmet is to pay so many head of
cattle, so much corn, <fcc. Achmet shall ex
I ercise authority from Cape Hatifaux to
Tabaca. The French will furnish him with
power to chastise those who rebel against
him."
From the London Mercantile Journal of Aug. 22.
General Improvement in the Markets.
At length the time has arrived when the mar
kets generally shew symptoms of solid im
provement. In particular we may notice
Cotton, Sugar, Coffee, Timber, Metals, j
Oils, Silk and wool. True it is, that the
season has far advanced, and much business
for export cannot be expected to be done this
year, yet still an extensive business may be
calculated upon next ye$r. The foundation
for such -business seems to be laid. An in
clination generally exists amongst holders to
be firm, and there is the appearance among
speculators to invest. At present there is a
great difference in discounts, some are done
at three per cent, others at 8. This state of
things can only last during times of great dis
trust, such as we have recently gone through,
and now it may be expected gradually and
shortly to disappear. Without presumption,
we think we can see an end to our present
calamities. Time has at length brought us
to this desirable event. It has been a matter
anxiously wished and deligently sought after.
Many have been the palpitations of hope and
the pulsations of desire on this matter. The
time has now arrived to put aside our mourn
ing, still at the same time we wish to guard
against an impression that we wish to encour
age speculation. We are anxious that all
parties who have invested capital in mercan
dize should get remunerating prices. The
stock of dealers must now be low, and conse
quently we may expect that transactions
will be very large. What we are most afraid
of, is that our recent calamities will soon be
forgotten and that iir the joy of returning
prosperity no remedy against a recurrence of
our late calamity will be desired. We shall
not forget this, and if the mercantile world do,
we will remind them of it.
REMARKS OF MR. CALHOUN,
On the BUI authorizing the issue of Treasury Notes.
In Senate of the U. S. )
September 19, 1837. $
Mr. President ? An extraordinary course
of events, with which all are too familiar to
need recital, has separated in fact, the Gov
ernment and the Banks. What relation shall
they bear hereafter? Shall the Banks again
be used as the fiscal agents of the govern
ment ?? be the depositories of the public mo
ney?? and above all, shall their notes be
considered and treated as money, in the re
ceipts and expenditures of the government .
This is the great and leading question; oneot
the first magnitude and full of eonaequeiiee*.
I have given it my most anxious and delibe
rate attention; and have come to the conclu
sion that we have r cached the period when
the interest of both the Government and the
Banks forbids a re-union. I now purpose to
offer ray reasons for this conclusion. 1 shall
do it with that perfect frankness due to the
subject, to the country, and to the position 1
occupy. All that I ask is, that I may he
heard with a candor and fairness correspond
ing to the sincerity with which I shall deliver
my sentiments. . n ,
Those who support a re-umon of the Banks
and the Government, have to overcome a pre
liminary difficulty. They are now separated
bv operation of law, and cannot be re-united
while the present state of things continues,
without repealing the law which has disjoint
ed them. I ask, who is willing to propose its
repeal? Is there any one, who during the
suspension of specie payments, would advo
cate their employment as the fiscal agents of
the Government; who would make them the
depositories of the public revenue, or who
would receive and pay away their notes in
'the public dues? If there be none, then it
results that the separation must continue for
the present, and that the re-union must be
the work of time, dependmg on the contin
gency of the resumption of specie payments.
But suppose this difficulty to be removed,
and that the Banks were regularly redeeming
their notes, from what party in this body can
the proposition come, or by which can it be
supported, for a re-union between them and
the Government? Who, after what has hap
pened, can advocate the re-union of the Gov
ernment with the league of State Banks.
Can the opposition, who for years have been
denouncing it as the most dangerous instru
ment of power and efficient means of corrupt
ing and controlling the Government and coun
try ? Can they, after the exact fulfilment of
all their predictions of disastrous consequen
oes from the connexion, now turn round and
support that which they have so long and
loudly condemned? We have heard muc
from the opposite side, of untried experin*611
on "he currency. I concur in ^ -
the censure. Nothing can be in(*e delicat
than the currency. Nothing c*n
be more delicately handled. Il 0US^ ?e?
to be tampered with, nor touched, until it be
comes absolutely necessary. But if untried
experiments justly deserve censure, what con
demnation would .<? repetition of an expen
ment that has .ailed deserve? An "Pen
nient that has so signally failed, both in th
opinion of supporters and opponents ^^o
call down the bitter denunciation of tho* ho
tried it. If to make the experunent-sfojly
the repetition would be m'1<Jnes^ h
opposition cannot support the ir<;asure, no
"L it be expected to recei* support from
the friends of the adminis?-atl?n'
hands the experiment ha- *> 81gna?y fa'led
as to call down from t*m execrations deep
a" I f!?Mr-' Preside^ there be any one point
fully established experience and reason, I
L" ?? -t to be *ie utter incompetency of the
nanbs o furnish, of themselves, a sound
fnTstfbk Agency. They may succeed in
rosneroi* ^mes, ^ut ?rs.t a(*verse cur"
? ^issarily throws them into utter con
rent ne ^as aDy device been found to
Jjfivhem the necessary strength and stabili
tr out a great centtal controlling bank, m
??vter fhe authority of this Govern
ment. I go farther. If we must continue
our connexion with the Banks ? if we must
receive and pay away their notes as money,
we not only have the right to regulate and
give uniformity and stability to them, but we
are bound to do so, and to use the most effi
cient means for that purpose. The consti
tution makes it our duty to lay and collect the
taxes and duties uniformly throughout the
Union, to fulfil which we are bound to give
the highest possible equality of value through
out every part of the country, to whatever
medium it may be collected in; and if that be
bank notes, to adopt the most effective means
of accomplishing it, which experience has
shown to be a Bank of the IJnited States.
This has been long my opinion. I entertain
ed it in 1816, and repeated it in my place here
on (he deposite question in 1834. The only
alternative, then, is, disguise it as you may,
between a disconnexion, and a Bank, of the
U: ited Stat es. This is the real issweto which
aH must come, and ought now to be opetriy "
and fairly met.
But there are difficulties, in the way of a
National Bank, no less formidable than a re
connection with the State Banks. It is ut
terly impracticable at present to establish
one. There is reason to believe that a majo
rity of the people of the United States are
deliberately and unalterably opposed to it.
At all events, there is a numerous, respecta
ble, and powerful J)arty, who are, and ever
have been, from the beginning of the Gov
ernment, opposed to the Bank, and whose
opinions thus long and firmly entertained,
ought at least to be so much*respected as to
forbid the creation of one without an amend
ment to the constitution. To this must be
added the insuperable difficulty, that the Ex
ecutive branch of the Government is openly
opposed to it, and pledged to interpose his
veto, on constitutional grounds, shpuld a bill
pass to incorporate one. F or four years at
least, then, it will be impracticable to charter
a Bank. What must be done in the mean
time? Shall the Treasury be organized to
perforin the functions, which have been re
cently discharged by the Banks, or shall the
State institutions be again employed until a
Bank can be created? In the one case we
shall have tlie so much villified and denoun
ced sub-treasury, as it is called; and in the
other, difficulties insurmountable would
grow up against the establishment of a bank.
Let the State institutions be once reinstated
and re-united to the Government as their fis
cal agents, and they will be found the first and
most strenuous opponents of a National Bank,
by which they would be overshadowed and
curtailed in their profits. I hold it certain,
that in prosperous times, when the State
Banks are in full operation, it is impossible to
establish a National Bank. Its creation,
then, shoujd the reunion with the State
Banks tak/e place, will be postponed until
some disaster, similar to the present, shall
again befall the country. But it requires lit
tle of the spirit of prophecy to see, that such
another disaster .would be the death of the
whole system. Already it has had two pa
ralytic strokes ? the third would prove fatal.
But suppose these difficulties were over
come, I would still be opposed to the incor
poration of a Bank. So far from affording
the relief, which many anticipate, it would
ke the most disastrous measure that could
ke adopted. As great as is the calamity un
der which the country is suffering, it is noth
ing to what would follow the creation of such
an institution, under existing circumstances.
In order to compel the State institutions to
pay specie, the bank must have a capital as
great, or nearly as great, in proportion to the
existing institutions, as the late Bank had
when established, to those of that day. This
would give it an immense capital, not much
less than one hundred millions of dollars, of
which a large proportion, say twenty millions,
must be specie. F rom what source is it to
be derived? From the State Banks? It
would empty their vaults, and leave them in
the most helpless condition. From abroad,
and England in particular; it would produce
that revulsive current, which has lately cov
ered the country with desolation. The tide
is still running to Europe, and if forced back
ky any artificial cause, before the foreign debt
is paid, cannot but be followed by the most
disastrous consequences.
But suppose this difficulty overcome, and
the Bank re-established, I ask what would be
the effects under such circumstances? Where
would it find room for business, commensu
rate with its extended capital, without crush
ing the State institutions, enfeebled by the
withdrawal of their means in order to create
the instrument of their oppression? A few
of the more vigorous might survive; but the
fer greater portion, with their debtors, credi
tors and stockholders, would be involved in
common ruin. The Bank would, indeed,
give a specie currency, not by enabling the
existing institutions to resume, but by des
troying them and taking their place.
Those who take a different view, and so
fondly anticipate relief from a National Bank,
areifleceTved, by a supposed analogy between
the present situation of the country, and that
of 1816, when the late Bank was chartered,
afte*the war with Great Britain. I was an
actor in that scene, and may be permitted to
speak in relation to it with some little autho
rity. Between the two periods there is little
or no analogy. They stand almost in con
j trast. In 1816, the Government was a debtor
| to the banks, now it is a creditor; a difference
of the greatest importance, as far as the pre
sent question is concerned. The Banks had
over issued it is true, but their over issues
were to the Government; a solvent and able
debtor, whose credit held by the banks in the
shape of stock, was at par. It was their ex
cessive issues to the Government on its stock,
which mainly caused the suspension; in proof
of which, it is a remarkable fact, that the de
preciation of bank paper under gold and sil
ver was about equal to the proportion which
the Government stock held by the banks bore
to their issues. It was this excess that hung
on the market and depressed the value of
their notes. The solution is easy. The
banks took the Government stock payable in
twelve years, and issued their notes for the
same, payable on demand, in violation of the
plainest principles of banking. It followed of
course, that when their notes were presented
for payment, they had nothing but Govern
ment stock to meet them. But its stock was
at par, and all the Banks had to do was to go
into market with the stock they held, . and
j take up their notes, and thus the excess
j which hung upon the market and depressed
i their value, would have been withdrawn from
\ circulation, and the residue would have risen
i to par, or nearly par with gold and silver, when
! specie payments might he easily resumed,
i This they were unwilling to do. They were !
i profiting every way; by drawing interest on j
j the stock; by discounting on it as capital, and
j by its continued rise in the market. It be
i came necessary to compel them to surrender
| these advantages. Two methods presented
| themselves; one a bankrupt law, the ether a
j National Bank. I was opposed to the former,
then, as am now. ? I regarded it as a harsh,
unconstitutional measure? oppose^ to the
rights of the States. If they have not sur
rendered the rights to incorporate banks, as
is conceded, its exercise cannpfcl>ei&wifrolled
tyy the action of this Governmeat* wiiieh has
no power, hut what. expressly granted, and
no authority to control the States ia ifo -tx-'
ercise of theTr reserved powers. It remained
to resort to a National Bank, as the means of
compulsion. It proved effectual. Specie
payments were restored, but even with this
striking advantage, it was followed by great
pressure in 1818, 'I(J and '20, as all who are
old enough to remember that period must
recollect. Such in fact, must ever be the
consequence of resumption, when forced un
der the most favourable circumstances; and
such accordingly it proved even in England
with all her resources, and with all the cau
tion she used in restoring asj?ecie circulation,
after the long suspension of 1797. What
then would be its effects in the present condi
tion of the country, when the Government is
a creditor, instead of a debtor, where there
are so many newly created banks without es
tablished credit; when the over issues are so
great; and when so large a portion of the
debtors are not in a condition to be coerced?
As great is the tide of disaster which is pass
ing over the land, it would be as nothing to
wliat would follow were a National Bank to be
established as the means of coercing specie
payments.
I am bound to speak without reserve on
this important point. My opinion then is
that, if it should be determined to compel
the restoration of specie payments by the
agency of banks, there is but one way, but
to that I have insuperable objections : I
mean the adoption of the Pennsylvania bank
of the U. S. as the fiscal agent of the gov
ernment. It is already in operation, and sus
tained by great resources and powerful con
nections, both at home and abroad. Through
its agency specie payments might undoubt
edly be restored, and that with far less disas
ter than through a newly created bank : but
not without severe pressure. I cannot, how
ever, vote for such a measure: I cannot agree
to give a preference, and such advantages to
a bank of one of the members of the confed
eracy, over that of others ? a bank dependant
upon the will of a State, and subject to its
influence and control. I cannot consent to
confer such favors on the stockholder, many
of whom, if rumor is to be trusted, are foreign
capitalists, and without claim on the bounty
of the government. But if all these, and
many other objections were overcame, there
is still one which I cannot surmount.
There has been, as we all know, a conflict
between one of the departments of the gov
ernment and that instituaou, iu which, in my
opinion, the department was the assailant ;
but I cannot consent, after what has occurr
ed, to give to the bank a triumph over the
Government, for such its adoption as the fis
cal agent of the Government would necessa
rily be considered. It would degrade the
Government iu the eyes of our citizens and
of the world, and go far to make that bank
the government itself.
But if all these difficulties were overcomel
there are others, to me, wholly insurmounta
ble. I belong to the State Rights Party,
which at all times, from the beginning of the
government to this day, has been opposed to
such an institution, as unconstitutional, in
expedient, and dangerous. They have ever
dreaded the union of the political and mo
Died power; and the central action of the gov
ernment, to which it so strongly tends; and
at all times have strenuously resisted their
junction. Time and experience have con
firmed the truth of their principles; and this
above all other periods is the one at which it
would be most dangerous to depart from
them. Acting on them, I have never given
my countenance or support to a National
Bank, but under a compulsion which I felt ot
be imperious, and never without an open dec
laration of my opinion as unfavourable to a
bank.
In supporting the bank of 1816, I openly
declared that as a question de novo, I would
be decidedly against the bank, and would be
the last to give it my support. I also stated
that in supporting the bank then, I yielded to
the necessity of the case, growing but of the
then existing and long establised connection
between the Government and the banking,
system. I took the ground even at that ear
ly period, that sif long as the connection ex
isted; so long as the "Government received
and paid away bank notes, as money, they
were bound to regulate their value; and had
I no alternative but the establishment of a
National Bank. I found the connection in
existence and established before my time, and
over which I could have no control. I yielded
to the necessity in order to correct the disor
dered state of the currency, which had fallen
exclusively under the control of the States.
1 yielded to what I could not reverse, just as
any member of the Senate now would, who
might believe that Louisiana was unconsti
tutionally admitted into the Union, but who
would nevertheless, feel compelled to vote. to
extend the laws to that State, as one of its
members, on the ground that its admission
was an act, whether constitutional or uncon
stitutional, which he could not reverse.
In 1834 I acted in conformity to the same
principle, in proposing the renewal of the
bank charter for a short period. My objett,
as expressly avowed, was to use the bank to
break the connexion between the Government
and the banking system gradually , in order
to avert the catastrophe which has now be
fallen us, and which I then clearly perceived.
But the connection which I believed to be
irreversible in 1816, has now been broken by
operation of law. It is now an open question.
I feel myself free for the first time to choose
my course on this important subject, and, in
opposing a bauk, I act in conformity to prin
ciples which 1 have entertained ever since 1
have fully investigated the subject.
Hut my opposition to a reunion with the
banks is not confined to objections limited to
a National or State banks. It goes beyond,
and comprehends others of a more general
nature relating to the currency, which to me
are decisive. I am of the impression that
the connexion has a most pernicious influ
ence over bank currency; that it tends to
disturb that stability and uniformity of value
which is essential to a sound currency, and is
among the leading causes of that tendency to
expansion and contraction, which experience
has shown is incident to bank notes, as a cur
rency. They are in my opinion, at best
without the requisite qualities to constitute a
currency even when -unconnected with the
Government, and are doubly disqualified by
reason of. that connection, which subjects
them to-?udcten expansions aad-cqotraetions,
and exposes them to fatal catastrophes, adfch
as the present.
I will explain my views> A. bank note cir
culates not merely on accounts the credit
of the institution by which it is iss&ed, bnt
because GoveriAnent receives it like golct ujjd
silver in all its dues, aud thus adds its own
credit to that of the bank. It, in feet, virtu
ally endorses on the note of every specie pay
ing bank 44 receivable by Government iu its
dues." To understand how greatly this adds
to the circulation of bank notes, we must re
member that Government is the great money
dealer of the country, and the holder of
immense public domains, and that it has the
jMjwer of creating a demand against every
citizen as high as it pleases, in the shape of
a tax or duty, which can be discharged, as
the law now is, ouly by bank notes or gold
and silver. This, of course, cannot but add
greatly to the credit of bank notes, and con
tribute imjch to their circulation, though it
may be difficult to determine with any pre
cision to what extent. It certaiuly is veiy
great. For why is it that an individual of the
first credit, whose responsibility is so indispu
table, that his friend of equal credit endorses
his note for nothing, should put his name with
his friends, being their joint credit, into a bank,
and take out the notes of a bank, which is in
fact but the crediX of the bank itself, and
pays six per cent discount between the credit
of himself and friend ar.d that pf the bank?
The known and established credit of the
bank may be one reasou, but there is another
and powerful one. The Government treats
the credit of the bank as gold and silver in all
its transactions, and does not treat the credit
of individuals in the same manner. To test
the truth* let us reverse the case, and suppose
the Government to treat the joint credit of the
individuals as money, and not the credit of
the bank, and is it not obvious that instead of
borrowing from the bank and paying six per
cent, discount, the bank would be glad to
1 borrow from them on the same terms. F rom,
this we may perceive the powerful influence
which bank circulation derives from the ?*&"?
nection with the credit of the Government
It follows as a necessary consequence, that
to the extent of this influence, the issues of
the banks expand and contiact with the. ex
pansion aud contraction of the fiscal action
of the Government; -with the increase of its
duties, taxes, income and expenditure; with
the deposites in its vaults acting as additional
capital, and the amount of bank notes with
drawn, in consequence, from circulation; all
of which must directly affect the amount of
their business and issues, and bank currency
mnst of course partake of all those vibrations
to which the fiscal action of the Government
is necessarily exposed, and when great aud
sudden, must expose the system to catastro
phes, such as we now witness. In fact, a
more suitable instance cannot be selected, to
illustrate the truth of what I assert, than the
present; as I shall proceed to show.
To understand the causes which have led to
the present state of things, we must go back
to the year 1824, when the tariff system tri
umphed in Congress ? a system which impos
ed duties, not for the purpose of revenue, but
to encourage the industry of one portion of
the Union at the expense of the other. This
was followed tijp by the act of 1828, which
consummated the system. It raised the du
ties so extravagantly, that out of an annual
importation of sixty-four millions, thirty-two
passed into the treasury: that is, the Gov
ernment took one half for the liberty of intro
ducing the other. Countless millions were
thus poured into the treasury beyond the
wants of the .Government, which became iu
time the source of the most extravagant ex
penditures. This vast increase of receipts
and expenditures, was followed by a corres
ponding expansion of the business of the
banks. They had to discount and issue free
ly to enable the merchants to pay their duty
bonds, as well as to meet the vastly increased
expenditures of the Government. Another
effect followed the act of 1828, which gave a
still farther expansion to the action of the
banks, and which is worthy ol notice. It
turned the exchange with England in favor
of this country. That portion of the pro^
ceeds of our exports, which in consequence
of the high duties, could no longer return
with profit, in the usual articles, which we
had been in the habit of receiving principally
from that country in exchange for our ex
|>orts, returned in gold and silver, in order to
purchase similar articles at the north. This
was the first cause, which gave that western
direction to the precious metals, the revulsive
return of which has been followed by so ma
ny disasters. With the exchange in our fa
vor, and consequently no demaud for gold
aud silver abroad, and the vast demand for
money attendant on au increase of the reve
nue, almost every restrainst was removed on
the-discounts and issues of the banks, espe
cially in the northern section of the Union,
where these causes principally operated.
With their increase, wages and price of every
description rose in proportion, followed of
course by au increasing demand on the banks
for furthes issues. This is the true cause of
that expansion of the currency, which began
about the commencement of the late admin
istration; but which was. erroneously charged
by it to the Bank of the United States. It
rose out of the action of the Government.
The bank in incseasing its business, acted in
obedience to the condition of things at the
time, and in conformity with the banks gene
rally, in the same section. It was at this