Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

I calls of the banks, therefore, in such emergencies, of ttocessity, exceed that demand find produce a corresponding curtalmen of their accommodations and of the currcn cy, at the Tery moment when the state o trade renders it most inconvenient to b( borne. The intensity of :h:s pressure or the community is in proportion to he previ ous liberality of credit and consequent ex pansion of the ccrrency ; fire d sah's o property are made at the time wlu-n th? means of purchasing are most r< ducod, an< the worst calamities to individuals are onl\ at last arrested, by an open violation ol th'-n obligations by the banks, a rofasal to p t; specie for their notes, and an imposition upon the community of a fluctuating and depreciated currency. These consequences ore inherent in tht present system. They are not nfluencei Kit tha knnl'o V\oV*n !o rro np omtill W fjr lliv VUU(\9 U^.iig iui vi uiiiuii) ? i u w by National or State Governments. The) are the results of the irresistible laws ol trade end credit. In t'-o recent fvnt> which have so strikingly illustrated th" cer tain effects of these laws, we have s"? n the bank of the larg'/st capi al in the Union, established under a National charter, and lately s'rengthencd, as'wc were authoritatively informed, by exchanging that for a State charter, with new and u.usual privileges?in a condition too, ns it was said, ol entire soundness and great prosperity? not ?erely unable to. resist these effects, but tie first to yield to them. N#r is it to be overlooked that there k exists a chain ef necessary d<jpend?'nc? among these ins.itutions wlich obliges a them, to a great extent, to follow the course I of olhers, notwithstanding its injustice tr their own immediate creditors, or injur) Jfc to the particular community in which the) ere placed. This dependence of a bank, k which is in proportion to the extent of it*. debit for circulation and deposit- s, is nol s merely on others in its vtcini y, but on al & those which connect it with the centre o trade. Distant banks may fail, withou seriously affecting Arose in our principa commercial cities; but the failure of the latter is felt at the extr?nrii:i"s of the Union, The suspension at New York, in 18M7, waj every where, with veiy few exceptions, followed, .as soon as it was known ; thai recently at Philadelphia immediaiely affect, ed tlie banks of the .South nnd West in a similar manner. This d-'pendmce of out whole ban king system on the institutions in a few large ci;h-s, is not found in the laws ol their Organization, but in those of tra Je and exchange. The banks at that centre to which currency flows, nnd wheie it is required in payments for merchandise, hoi I the power of controlling those in regions whence it comes, while the latter possess no means of res: raining them; so that the ??liut /?f inrlii'Mii'il nmni?riv. nnd t i if * nros I?I?J? I periiy of trade, through the whole irrertor of the country, are made to d?p'-nd on the good or bad management ofjlie ba: king institutions in tin* great scats of trade on the seabord. Dut this chain of dependence does not stop here. It dops not terminate at Philadelphia or New York. It reaches across the ocean, and ends jn London, the centre of the credit system. The same law s ol trade, which givo to the banks in our principal cities power over the whole banking systern of the United S.atcs, subject the former, in their turn, to the money power in Great Bri aim It is not denied that the suspension of the New York banks in 1837, which was followed in quick succession through^ out the Union, was produced by nn a plication of that power ; and it is now alleged, in extenuation of the present condition o: so large a portion of our banks, that th< ii embarrassments have arisen from die same cause. From this influence they cannot now|enlirely escape-, for it lias its origin in the credit currencies of the two countries, i! .is RJr*ngthrnod by ilie current of trade and pxclmngc, which centres in London, and is rendered almost irresistible by the larg' dob:s contracted there by our merchants, cur hanks, and our State?. It is thus thai on introduction of a new bank into the mos distant o.' otir vi.'l iges, places the business of that village within the influence of the money powe r in England. It is thus 'hai every new debt which we contract in tha country, seriously affects our own curr-m ey, and extends over the pursu's ofoui citizens its powr rfu! influence. We rannoi escape from this by mak ng new banks great or small. Sate or National. The same chains which bind those now exis inj] to the centre of this system of p iper credit, must equally fetter every similar institu iot we create. It is only by the e.x cnt to whicl this system has boon pushed of late, that w< ' " r 11 / _ _ have oeen matte tuny aware 01 rsiriesis i ble tendency lo subject our own banks am currency to a vast controlling power in i foreign kind ; and it adds a new nrgumen to those which illustrate their precarious sit ualion. Endangered in the firs* place bi their own mismanagement, and again bj the conduct of every institution which con nects them with the centre of trade in oui own country, they arc ye; subjected, beyoin all this, to the effect of whatever nie?sur? i policy, necessity, or caprice, may induci those who comrol the credits of Englant to resort to. I mean not to comment upoi these measures present or past, und rruct less to discourage the prosecution of f?u commercial dealing belwten the two coun tries, based on reciprocal benefits: but i having now b-en made manifest that tin power of inflicting these and simd?r inju fies, is, by the resistless law of a credi currency and a credit trade, equally c?pn ble of extending their consequence's througl all the ramifications of our banking system and by that means indirectly obtaining particularly when our banks are used ui depositories of the public moneys, a dan gerous political influence in the Unitei States, I have deemed i: my duty to brin^ the subject to your notice, and ask for i your serious consideration. Is an argument required beyond the cx position of these facts to show the impropriety of using our banking institutions ai depositories of the public money? Gun w< - venture noi owy to encounter tlio rskof I, their individual and mutual m sm magement < t but at the same time, to place our foreign < . and domestic policy entirely under lite con- < f :rol of a foreign moneyed interest ? To I 2 do so is to impair the independence df o'dr I i Government as the present credit system | - has already impaired the independence ol I . our banks. It is to submit all its important j 1 operations, whether of peace or war, to be ' t eon!rolled or thwarted at first by oar own I 1 banks, and then by a power abroad greater I ; 'hao themselves. I c mnot br ng myself to i r d> pict the humiliation to which this G >v rn . I ! meut and people might be sooner or later i - r-dueed, if the mear.s for defending their t ? rights are to be made dependent upon thsse < who may have the most powerful ol motives t ; to impair them* i I Nor is it only in reference to the effect I 1 of h s state of things on the independence t r ol our Governineni or of our banks ;lnt t r | ibe subject presents itself lor consideration ; t : it is to be viewed .also m i's relations to the i general trade of our country. The time is 1 i not long past when a deficiency of' foreign r , crops was thought to :iff?rd ?profi able r market for the surplus of our industry ; but I now we an ait with feverish anxiety tbe newsofthe English harvest, no* so much t from motives of cnmiti'mdahle s\mpnt?y, * ' but fearful le>t its anticipated failure should < narrow the field credit there. Does not < , this speak volumes to the patriot? (.'ana i system b" beneficient, wise or jus', which t creates greater anx ety for interests d< p- n- t t | dent on foreign credit, than for the geiierul < , j prosperity of our country, and the profitable i < ? i exportation of the surplus produce of cur 1 > labor ? I r Tuc circumstances to which I have thus i r adverted ?pp ur to me to afford weighty < , reasons, developed by late events, to be < i added to those which I have on former oc- 1 t 1 eastons offered, when submitting to your r I 1 better knowledge and discernment tin? pro- i / i it I pri?-ty ol separating the custody ot ill" pumic i r iMoney from banking institutions. Nor has | I any thing occurred to lessen in my opinion* j the force of what has b en heretofore urged, j The only ground on whieli that custo ly i can bo d-sired by the hanks, is t?.e protita- i , bio use which they may make of die money. ( I Such use would be regarded in individuals ; . as a breach ol trust, or a crimo of great < t magnitude, and yet it may reasonably i ho doubted, whether first an i las', it is not ; i attended with more mischievous consequent . F ci s, when prmided to the former than to i I the latter. Tne pracice of permitting th" , > public motley to lie used by its keepers as t here, is believed to bepeculiar 10 this conn- ( I try, and to exist scarcely any where els \? ; To procure it here, in.proper influences } ; are appealed to; unwise connections are es ; labhsh'd between the Government and | vast numbers of powerful Slate uisti utions; , oilier motiV' ? than the public . ood ar" ( brought to bear both o.l the E\e"Ut'Ve and | I L uislat.ve denartmcn sr. and s-Ifis i coin n binu'lons, leading to special 1 gislaton nrr r formed. It is made the interest of banking t ins'i u'ions and their stockholders through. ^ out lite Union, to use their exertions for the [ i ere se of taxation and the accumulation ; of a su plus revenue; and while an excus" t is ufford- d, the in *ans are furnished for those excessive issues which lead to cx'ra j vag.iiit trad ng an I speculation, and sire th , ) forerunners of vast debt abroad, and a susfc ; pension of the banks at horn". , Impressed, therefore, ns 1 ana with tlie , propriety of the funds of tin? Government ( being withdrawn Iroin tiie private use of | either banks or individuals, and the public , , money kept by duly appoirred ng n s; and , f b lieving, as I do, that sueli also is the ( r judgment which discussion, reflection and t i experience h ive pro luced on tne public j mind, | leave the subject with you It is, , at all even's, essential in the interests of tin* j i communi y, and the business of the Gov- . i ernment, that a decision should he made. ( Mos" of the arguments that dissuade us , t from employing banks, in the custody an I | i disbursement of ;he public money, apply -t , with equal force to the receipt of tneir notes , t for public dues. The difference is only in , t form. In one instance, the Government * 5 is a c/e Ji.'or for its deposites; nnd in the ( ? oth'T for the notes it holds, They atiord , f the same opportunity for using the public , t moneys, and equally lead to all the evils , * attendari' upon it, since a bank can as safer j 1)' extend its discouns oil a deposit" of its , t 1 notes in dm hands of a public oflicer, as on , i one made in i s own vaults. On the oiher , ? hand, :t would give to the Government no r greater security, for, in case of fuilur. , the , '"kiini of H noteholder would ho no belter 1 i th"n that of a depositor, i 1 atn hware that the danger of inconve nietice to the public, and unreasonable 1 - pressure upon sound banks, have been urged | as objections to requiring the payment of , i t e revenue in gold and silver. Tnese obt jec ions have been greatly exaggerated.? ? r i_. J From the best estimates we may sai?iy r I fix the amount of sperm in tho country at 1 eighty* five millions of dollars, on] the ? portion ol that which would be etnplovedat r any one time in the receipts and dtsburs"i meats of the Government, even it the , i proposed change were made at once, would > not, it is now, alter fuller investigation, 1 believed, exceed four or five millions. If 1 he change wi re gradual several years 1 woul l elap e before that sum would be r requin d, with annual opportunities -n th^ . mean timo to alter the law, shou'J exp-rit ence prove it to bo oppressive or inconvc i nie< t. Tiie portions of the community on whose business ti.e change would imrnedi. I alely op -rate, are comparatively small, nor . is it beli? ved hat its effect would be in die i least unjust or injurious to tla-m. , In the payment of duties, vv iich consti. :ute by far the greater portion of die revnue s a very large proportion is derived from . foreign commission houses, and agents o! ] foreign manufacturers, who sell the goo-Is r consigned to them, generally, at auction, i and after paying t e du ies out of the avails. remit tho rest abroad in specie or itsequir?. len1. That the amount of dunes should, in . such cases, be also retained in specie, can ? hardly be made a mat'er of complaint.? ? Our own importing merchants, by whom * the r'sidu" of ?li" du'i '3 is pai I, are not c< only peculiar ly interested in maintaining ul u sound currency* which the measure in question will especially promote, but are, w from the nature of 'h?*ir dealing, best ub e a) to know when specie will b" needed and to m procure it with ihe least d'fR uilty or sacri- fu lice. Rsiding, too, almost universally in 18 phes wii re tho revenue is received, and ci where the drafts Us-d by the (jov-ruuvnt or its disbursements must concentrate, 0j hy have every opp -r unity to obtain am 1 je jse I tem in piace ofspecie* shoul 1 it be vv or .noir interest or convenience. 0,r the <?r lumber ofthose drafts, and tee facilities t'i hey may''fTird, as well ns of the rapidity m with whtrh tli p.ihltc funds are drawn and te lishursed, an idea may be formed from the act tha\ of nearly twenty millions of dol- KC ars paid to enllectors and receivers during cc he present vear, the average amount in st heir hands at any one time lias not exceed th *d a million n-.d a half; and of th" fifteen |n ndiions received hy the collector ot New m fork alone during the present year, the . iverago amount h-dd by him, suhj.-ct to gj Ir.ift du'uig each week, li <s been leas tha w talf a million. dt Ttie ease and safety of ill" operations of tli he Treasury in keeping the public nion?y, w ire promoted bv the application of its own ^ Irafis to the public dues. The objection irising from having them too long outstund- gs ng, might be obviated, Hnd they yet made tc o afford to m' rchnn's and banks holding tti hem an equivalent for sp-cie, and in that 01 vay greatly lessen the amount actually re- e< piired. cstill less inconvenience will attend 81 he requirement of specie in purchases of ^ juhlic lands. Such purchases, except when jc liadc on sp'culation, are in general, but w. angle transactions, rarely repeated by the tv lame person ; and it is a fact, that for the hi a si year and a half, during which the notes tc T i >fsound hanks have been received, more 11 han a moiety of these pay men's has been rolun'arily made in specie, being a larger . proportion than would have been required fr n three years under the graduation pro- jt, josed tl It is moreover a princj .|"thnn which none ci is hot rr settle J by exp erience, that the supply I tr if tne prec ous metals w II always be found ; {* idequ ito to the uses fo.- which they arc re- ; ^ paired. They abound in countries where ! ^ io other currency is allowed, la our own j tc States, where small notes are excluded, gold | w inrt silver supply their placp. \V lien driven i a 0 their hid.ng places by bank suspensions j A little firmness in the community soon r?'- c' jtores them in a sufficient quantity for of- j ^ iinarv purposes. Pusmge and other public j lues have been coll ated in coin, wi'houl jerious inconvenience, even in S ates where 11? 1 depreciated paper currency has existed j ol or years, and this, with the aid ol Treasury ' t?| io cs for part of tnetim", w is done with- ' P1 jut interruption during tit" s ispension of, r 11^37. At die present mormtn', the receipts [ ^ old d sbursem-'tits of be Government are _ n h.'o in l-gd cutmcv in the largest por- | ^ ion ot the Union?no one suggests a de- ; ai inrlure from his rule; and if it can now tl ) successfully carried out it will he suHy p< ittend"d *ith ^even less d ffiruhy when ' V tank note* are again redeemed in specie, j j!| Indeed I cannot think that a serious oh- I pction would anv where ho raised to the ^ oceipt ari l payment of gold and silver in vv ill public transactions, were it not from an fl ippr-'hension thai a surplus in the Treasury cl niirlit withdraw u large portion of it from C9 m ;.rculat:on, and lock it up unprofitably in ^ he public vaults. It would not in my opinon, be difficult to prevent such an incon/eniencc from occurring ; but the aufhen in ic statements which I Inve already submit- ai d to you in regard to the aciuil amount vc n the public Treasury at any one time ^lJ luring the period embraced in them, and j he lit Ic probability of a different state of! he Treasury for at I- ast some years ' c< . nine, seem to render i' unnecessary to I f0 Kvell upon it. Congress moreover, as I ol >c!ore observed, will in every year have m opportuni y to guar I against it. should ! c< he occurrence of any circumstances lead i ol is to apprehend injury from this source.? j JJ Viewing the subj ct in all its aspects, I | u - innnr b?>liVvr> fh:it nnv ni'riod will h? more ! auspicious than the pr?-sent for ihe adoption r< Tall measures necessary 10 matn'ain the tl sanctity of our own engagement, nna to f" lid in securing to the community the 0 ihiindmi supply of the precious metals 1 j? which add* mi much prosperity, and gives ! j, such increased *tah 1* y i?? all their d?? dines. j f j In a country so commercial as ours, hanks ' ci in some form will proiubly always exist; but ?| this serves oniy to render it the more incutn- w Denton us, notwithstanding the discourage. p\ merits of the pas', to strive in our respective cl Btations to initigatf the evils they produce ; c to take from them as rapid'/ as the ohiigi 1 ir tions of puuhc faith and a careful consideration n of the immediate interests of the community h will permit, the unjust character of monopolies; p to check so far as may be practicable by n prudent legislation, those temptations of inter- e est and those opportunities for their dangerous jt indulgence, which bese; them on every side, d and 'o confine them strictly to the perform. ' tl ance of their paramount duty, that of aiding , I the operations of commerce, rather th in con- I V suiting their own e*clu-ive advantage. These j a and other salutary reforms may, it is believed, i e be accomplished without the violation of any tl of the great principles of the social compact, i ti the observance of who h is indispensable to its n existence, or interfering in any way vvith the ' u use ul and profitable employment ot real capi- j ir tal. . j b Institutions so framed have existed and still j ti exist elsewhere, giving to commercial inter-j course all necessary facilities, without inflating ; " or depreciating the currency, or stimulaiing j a speculation. Thus accomplishing their leglti- j c mate ends, they have gained the surest guar- u antee for their protection and encouragement ? in the good wil' of the community. Among , tl a people so just as ours the saino results could ti not fail to attend a similar course. The direct ri supervision of the ban s belongs, from the na- 1< ture of our Government, to the States who au- tl thoriz them. It is to their Legislatures that ti the people must mainly look for action on that tl s ihject. But as the conduct of the Federal e Government in the management of its revenue d has also a powerful, though less immediate in- e fluence upon them, it becomes our duty to a see that a proper direction is given to it. t While the keeping of the public revenue in a t separate and Independent Treasury, and of t J dlectin* it in gold and silver, will have a saltary influence on the system of paper Credit ith which all banks are connected, and thu* id these that are sound and well managed, it ill at the saine Mine sensibly check such as re otherwise, by at once withholding the leans of jxtravagance afforded by the pubiic inds, and rostraning them from excessive sues of notes which they would bo constantly ailed upon to redeem. I am aware it has beer, urged that this cono! inry be best attained and exerted by means : a National Sinn. The constitutional ob ctions, which 1 am well known to entertain, ould prevent mo in any even? from proposing assenting to that remedy; hut in addition i lhis4 I cannot afier p.isr experience, bring yself to think that it can any longer be exnsireiy regarded as effective f.-rsuch a pur>se. The history of the late National Bank irough all its mutations shows that it was not i. On the con;rary, i' may, after a careful ms.deration ot the subject he, ( think, s-ifely ated, that ai every of banking excess it took io !e*d;thaf in 1817,and 181S,in 1823,in 1821, 1834,its vast expansions,followed bydis ress g contractions* led to those ofthefitat instiI'ions. It swelled and maddened the tides the bankingsyst-in, out seldom allayed or ifely directed th<m. At a few periods only as a salutary control exercised, but an eager ?sire on the contrary, exhibited for profit in ig first place ; and if, alterwards, its measures ere Revere towards other institu'ions, it was ?cause its own safety compelled it to adopt tem. It did nut differ from :hetn in principle ' tn furm ; its measures emanated from the tmo spirit of gain ; it felt the same temptation over issues; it suffer d from, and was tally unable to avert, those inevitable lawi trade by which it wag itself affected jually with them ; and at least on one oceaon, at an early day, it was saved only by ctraordinary exertions from the same fate tat attended the weakest institution it prosscd to supervise. In 1837 it failed, equally ith others in redeeming its notes, though the voyears allowed by itgebarter for that purpose id not expired, a large amount of which mains to tho 'present time outstanding . is true that havng so vast a capital, and reng'hpned by the use of all th^ revenues of le Government, it possessed more power; it while it was itself* by that circumstance, J eed from the control which all banks require, 3 paramount object and inducement were left ic same to make the most for its stockhoid-s, not to regulate the currency of the couny. Nor has it, as tar as we are advised, ?en found to be greatly otherwise elsewhere, 'lie national character given to the Bank of ng and, lias not prevented excessive fluctuaons in their currency, and it proved umble < keep off a suspension ol specie payments, bich lasted for nearly a quilerof a c> nturv, nd why should we expect it to he otherwise . national institution, though deriving i s riarter frorrt a different source than tho Srate anks, is, yet constituted uuon t e ? line rinciplea / is conducted by men equally XDosed to temptation ; and is liable to the imo disasters ; with the additional msauvanige that its magnitude occasions an extent f confusion and distress which the mism.ingoment of smaller institutions could no' roduce. If can scarcely he doubted thaf the cut euspens'on of the United States Bulk f Pennsylvania?of which the effects are felt r?? in hat S'ate alone, but over half the U.,ion -had its origin in a course of business com lencod while it Was a national institn'i >n; rid th< re is no g.vjd reason for supposing that le same consequences would not have fol ow1, had it gtiil derived its poaer from the reneral Governm nt. It is in vain, when the ffj^occs and impulses are the same, to look ir a difference in conduct or results. * By such earions, we do therefore but increase the iass of paper credit and paper currency, iihout checking their attendant evils and actuations. The extent of power and the ficjenc.y of organization which we give* far orfi being beneficial, arc in practice positively ijurious. They strengthen the chain of spcndence throughout the Union, subject all arts more cer ainly to common disaster, anA ind every bank m >re effac ual!y in the first istince, to those of our common .1 cities, ud, in the end, to a foreign power. In a ord. I cannot but believe that, with tfp* ill understanding of the operation of our inking system winch experience has produ?d, public sentime t is not loss opposed to the reation of a National B ink for purposes >nnected with cdrremy and commerce, than >r those connected with the fiscal operations 1 the Government. \et the commerce and currency of 'he untry are suffering evils from the op> rations f the Sta'e banks which can not and ought ot to be overlooked By their iii- ans we ave been flo >d?d with a deureriated paper, hich :t was evidently the design of the framrs of the Constitution to prevent, when tliey quired Congress to ' coin money and regulate le value of foreign coins," and when they irbade the States 4 to coin money, emit bills f credit make any thing but gold and silver tender in p yinent ot debts," or "pass any iw impairing th' obligation of c< ntracts."? f they did not guard more explicitly agun^t >e present state of things, it was hrc-use they uuld no' have anticioated that it,e few banks l n existing were to swell to an e\t? nf which ould expel to so great a degree the gold unu Ivor, for whi? h they had provided, fro.ii the hannels of circulation, and fiil them with a urrency that defeats the objects they had i view. The remedy for this must chiefly ts' with the ?Stat?s from whose legislation it as sprung. No good that m-ght accrue m a articular case from the exercise of powers, ot oh'iously conferred on the G -neral G vrninenr, would au'horise its interference, or istify a course that might, in the s iglit^s' rgrcc, increase at the expense orthe .States. ie power of the Federal authorities?nor do doub that the States will apply the remedy. Viihm the last few years, events hive ppeal^d to 'hem too strong y to be disregard d. They have seen that Constitution, though l^oretically adhered to, is subverted in prac ce: that while on the statute books there is 0 legal tender qui gold and silver, no law npalring the obligations of contract* yet that, 1 point of fact, the privileges conferred o.i anking corporations have made their notes ic currency of the country ; th it the obiga oris imposed by these notes are violated nderthe impulses of interest or convenience; nd that he number and power of the persons onnected with inese corporations, or placed nder their influence, give tlierh a fearfu eight when their interest is in opposition to he sp rit of the constitution and laws. To ie people it is immaterial whether thos ssults are produced by open viola iong of twitter, or by the workings of a system of which fie result h the same. An inflexible execu on even of the existing statutes of most of he States, would redress many evils n w ndured; would effectually show the oanks the angpre of misman igeipent wlrch impunity ncourages them to repeat; and would teach 11 corporations the useful lesson that they 3re he subjects of the law, and the servants of he people. What is still wanting to effect hese objects, must be sought in additional leg. J % , islation, or, ii that be inadequate,in such further 1 constitutional grants or restriction as may i briny us back into the path from which we | have so widely wandered. i In th'T in< antime, it is the duty of the Gen- I oral Government to co-operate with I lie States, < hy an exercise of itsjconstitutiodal powers, and i the enforcement of its existing laws. The I exteir io which it may do so by further en- I actmrnts, 1 h ive already adverted 10, and the 1 wisdom ol Congress may yet enlarge them.? I But, above all* it is incumbent upon us to i I hold erect the principles of morality and law, < constantly executing our own contracts in ac- t cordance with the provisions of the Constitu- t tion, and thus serving as a rallying point by | wiiich our whole country may be brought I back to that safe au-l honored standard. Our i people will not long be insensible to the extent < of the burdens entailed upon thein by the false ; system that has been operating on their san- ; gitine, energetic, and industrious character;' nor to the means necessary to extricate themselves rrom these embarrassments. The weight which pr -sses i pon a large portion of the people and the States, t8 an enormous debt, foreign and domestic. The toreign debt of our States, corporations, and men of business, can scarcely be less than two hundred , millions of dollars requiring more than ten millions of dollars a year to pay the interest, i This sum has to he paid out of the exports of ( the country, and must of necessity cut off imports o that extent, or plunge the country 1 more deeply in debt from year to year.? ft is easy to see that the increase of this foreign debt must augment the annual demand of the exports to pay the interest, 1 and to the sa ne extent diminish the im- i ports; and in proportion to the enlargement of the foreign debt and the consequent in- j' crease of interest, must be the decrease of the j1 import tra ie. In lieu of the comforts which ( it now brings u*t we might have our gigantic, banking institutions, and anplendid, but in i many instances profitless railroads and canals ' absorbing to a great extern, in interest upon the capital borrowed to Construct them, the surplus fruits of national industry for years to come, and securing 10 posterity no adequate return for the comforts which th* labors of their hands might otherwise have secured. It i* not by the increase of this debt thai renei i.s to be sought, but in its diminution. Upon rhis point, there is I ana happy to say, hope . before us ; not as much in the return of confidence abroad, which wil! enable the States to borrow more money, as in a change of public feeling at home, which prompts our people to pause in 'heir career, and think of the means by which debts are to be pa;d before they are contracted. If we would escape embarrastnent, public and private, wo must cease to run in debf, except for objects of necessity, or such as will yield a certa'n return. Let the fan h of the States, coroperalions, and individuals, already pledged, be kept with the most pnnr.tillious regard. It is due to our national character as well as to justice, that this should ou the part of each be a fixed principlc of conduct. But it behoves us all to bo inore charry in pledging it hereafter. By ceasing to run in debt, and applying the surplus of our crops and incomes to the discharge of existing obligations, buying less and selling more, and nanagmg all affairs, public and private, with strict economy and frugality, we slia 1 sec our couniry soon recovor from a temporary depression, arising not from natural ' and permanent causes, but from those I have j enumerated, and advance vvun renewed vigor in lier career of prosperity. . Fortunately for us at this moment, when the balance of trade is greatly against us. and the difficulty of meeting it enhanced by the disturbed state of our mclney affairs, tno bounties of Providence have eorne to relieve us from the consequences of past errors. A faithful application of the immense results of the labors >f the last season will afford partial relief for the present and perseverance in the same course Will in due season, accomplish the rest. We have had full experience, in times past, of the extraordinary results which can, in this respect, b?* brought about in a short period, by the united dnd well effected efforts of a community like ours. Onrsurplus profits* the energy and industry of our population and the wonderful advantages which Providence has be?iowd upon our country, in its climate, its various productions, indispensable to other nations, will, in duo time afford abundant moans to perfect the most uselulof tli?*c objects, for which the States have been plunging Ihcmse.ves of late in embarrasment and debt, without imposing on ourselves or our children such fearful burdens. But let it be indelibly engraved on our minds that relief is not to be found in expedients.? Indentedues-i cannot be lessened by borrowing more money, or by changing the form ol the debt The balance of trade is not to be turned in our favor by creating new demands upnri Us ! abroad. ?>ur currency cannot be improved by the creation ct n -w banks or more issues from those which now ex:st. Although th se devices sometimes appear to give temporary relief, they almost invariably aggravate the evil in the end. It is only by retrenchment and refo m. by curtailing public and private expenditup<'0, by paying our debts, and by re- ! forming our banking system, that wo are to expert effectual relief, security f.ir tlie future, ; and an enduring prosperity. In shaping the institutions and policy of the General Government so as to promote, as far as it can with its limited powers, these important ends, you may rely on my most cordial cooperation. That there should h ive been, in the progf ess of recent events, doubts in many quar'rrs, and in some a heated oppose ion to every change, cannot supprise, and it is peculiarly lit the nature ot uch abuses as we are now encountering, to seek to perpetuate their power bv means of the infl lence they have been permitted to acquire. I: is their result, flint their object to gain for the few an ascendency over the many, by securing to them a monopoly of the currency, Mie medium through which most of the wants of mankind are supplied?to produce throughout society a chain of depend- nce which leads all classes to look t ? privileged s nciations for the means of speculation and extravagance,?:o nourish, in preference to the manly virtues that give d^g. nry to human nature, a craving desire for luxurious enjoyment and sudden wealth which render tho^e who s< ck them dependent on those wiiosupply them?to substitute for Republican simplicity and economical habits a sickly app tite for effeminate indulgence, ar.d an imitation of that reckless extravagance wiucii impoverished and en-iaveu me lnauairiou? people of foreign lands ; and at last* to fix upon us, instead of these equal political rights, the a* quisitton of which was alike the object the and supposes reward our Revolutionary Strug, glp, a system of exclusive privileges conferred by partial legislation. '1*0 remove the influences which had thus gradually grown up among us?r.? deprive them of their deceptive advantages?to test them by the light of wisdom and truth?to oppose the force which they concentrate in the r support?all this was necessarily the work of time, even among a peo pie so enlightened and pure as that of the United States. In most other countries, perhaps, it Could only be accomplished through ?* #?'/ , ,. fi that aeries of revolutionary movements, whic ire too often found necessary to effect any jreat and radieai reform, but it ia the crowning morit of our institution?, and they create and flourish in the vast majority of our people, a Jiaposition and a power peaceably to remedy ibusea which have elsewhere cansed the elusion of rivers of blood, and the sacrifice of thousands of the human race. The result tbus rar is most honorable to the self denial, the in-* diligence, and the patriotism of our citizens; t lusiifies the confident hope that they will :arry through the reform which has been ao well bogun, and that t^oy will go still farther :han they have yet gone in illustrating the im- ? )ortant truth, that a people as free and enightened as ourp, will whenever it becomes lecessary, show themselves to be indeed capable of se.fgovernment by voluntarily adopting appropriate remedies for every abuse, and submit'ing to temporary sacrifices, bowever great, to insure their permanent welfare. FARMERS' G A Z E T T E . FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 3, 1839 Congress.?We last week stated that the House of Representatives were engaged in a debate jipon Mr. YVisae's resi.lotion to exclude the New Jersey members. This - S resolution Mr. Wise withdrew and another was off re J requ esting the speaker to ad- ? ministej the oath to the persons commissioned by tiic Governor of N. Jersey. This resolution was lost, 112 to 116. Toe dec(ion for cd rk then took place, when Mr. Garland was re-elected, by n majoriry of 13 over M. St. Clair Clarke (Whig) 8 voteir being thrown nwny on some one else.the presidents message. Thi-s inn nr. nnd Inner, looked-for document * ""'8' fl tins at length come to hand, and we insert it entire, to the exclusion of othfT matter ^ prepared for the paper, except a brief concluding paragraph which is excluded * ^ for war.r of room. We have no room for our weekly price current. Cotton the same as last week. ? * " Advert sements omitted shall appear next . week. Election Notices AS Election for Clerk for Chesterfield m District will be held at Monmj'g Hotel on the second Monday (the lJfch) instant. A. Blue, a "> ** M. McCaskill, > Mjn.ig* m. A.J Moses, ) January 3rd, 1840. . 8 2ft Cash System. THE Subscriber intends in future fn piirsue the Cash System, and will sell goods at prices to accord w.th the present value of money. He has in store a good supply of Salt, Sugar, Coffee, Molasses, Old Madiera, Teneriffe, and Aitllaga Wines; Makerel, D igging, Rope, Nails, Iron, Paints, Linseed, and Tanners Oil, Putty and Wit dow Glass, with a general stock of Dry Goods, Hardware, dtc. Accounts will be kept -as usual with persoua residing in Town with the understanding that tlicy be considered due when called for. All niTsons indebted to the late firm of B. Mcfntosh & Co. or myself either by note or Book account are requested to make immediate payment as indulgence will not be granted. -H. B. MoINTOSIL dftcraw Jauuary 1st, 1840, 9 4t Merchants Bank, S. C. Chcraio, Dec. 26 I83fl>. THE Director* of this Bank have declared a dividend of six dollars per share on its capital, for the last half year: the same will be payable on and after the 2nd January. VV. GODFREY, Cmhier. * Januarv 3rd, 1840. 8 2t L or Cash only. THE Subscriber takes this method of saying to his Customers, that after fhis day he will sell no article in the Grocery Line on a credit; w* and Drv crouds and Hardware only to such persons as are prompt and punctual in Ihcir payments. _ XT' D.MALLOy. Jar. nary 1, 1319. 8 *f* Dilnlap & Marshall EARNESTLY ?-eque6t oil persons indebted to them to nuke an early settlement of thet; accounts. They will invariably add tha irn terest however trifling the amount oo all. accounts not paid within ten days. January 1st 1&10. 8 tf Dunlap fy Marshall HEREBY give notice thatthey will eon tinne to sell their Dry Goa l* bnl\, on the usual credit to punctual eusloncrii. I hey will sell their Groceries r.t tho lowest prices for cash only. The very short credit at which groceries can now be bought* amounting with tho exchange almost to Cash, with their limited capital coinp 1# them to tho adoption of thi9 course. Junbury 1,1840. 8 tf Dunlap ff Marshall. OFFER for salo at eery low prices a fir.e stork of negro cloth and blankets?tbigr also offer by Hhd. Tierce or Bbl, very fine N. O. and W. J. Molasses. January 3, 1840. 8 tf Notice. PF.RSONS indebted to the Estate of David G. Coit Esq. lata of Marlborough District, and State of South Carolina deceased, are - ?- .i? r>? t ,k. r? requostca 10max5 paymeiu 10 me **c*. ^mu v. Coit, whoso receipts given duriyg my absence from t!>e State will be received by tne. JOHN CAMPBELL. Admr. of the Estate ?f D. G. Coit Washington Citv, Dec. 27, 1839. r ' 8 ; .t . 6t i . . ? ? i- ? [ IN e\v Music. RECENTLY received at the Book Store a supply embracing 4 considerable variety of Songs Sacred, Sentimental and Humoroos; also Marches, Waltzes, &c. and Music paper. December 4tb, I b39. 4 - if