THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



283 



a demand for specie. For, whenever a suspen- 

 sion of bani< payments occurs in any of the more 

 northern folates, it necessarily cauties a diti'erence 

 of price tliere between specie and banii paper, 

 and, consequently, a demand lor specie upon our 

 banks, as long as they have notes in circulation, 

 and continue to pay them. Well ! Suppose the 

 existence ol' any one of these many atid often oc- 



and which will yet continue to a far rerrtote time, 

 before specie payments will again be truly and 

 liilly resumed by our banks. 



Whenever such a high-handed act of fraud and 

 robbery of all creditors, and of the public in "■ene- 

 ral, occurs, at first every voice that is heard '^joina 

 in commendation of the banks lor their " noble 

 stand in delence of the interests of the commu- 



curring external circumstances, (and omitting all ) nity" — and the bank auihorities, stock-holders 

 supposition of injudicious banking, unusual lisks, [ mercaniile class, and all the borrowing class 

 or fraud, at home,) and let us trace the necessary j (whether in esse or in posse,) and the newspapers, 

 ertecis. We had supposed the banks to liave , all unite in this expression ol opinion, and swell the 



5 millions of specie in their vaults, and 10 millions 

 of paper circulation and liabiliiies. If they should 

 continue to pay them, their notes will be pre- 



debts, or- make purcltases, or sell specie abroad, 

 until the banks' supply of 5 millions will be ex 



cry, uniii it seems, in the absence of all expressed 

 liissent, to be the voice of the whole community. 

 All other persons remain silent, intimidated, and 



sented lor payment by those who need to pay , passive. If any rare exception should be found, in 



ao individual daring to denounce the bank suspen- 

 sion in the deserved terms, and to exert his iewal 



hausied ; siill leaving in circulation, and coming i rights as a creditor of the banks, and enforcing the 

 in fair payment, 5 rnillioiii! more of their paper, I payments of their notes — he, who thus takes the 

 which the banks will not be able to redeem on j part of his couniry and the laws, and of common 

 demand ; and, as specic'-payin^ banks, the instiiu- tionesty, against falsehood and fi-aud, will be stig- 

 tions would be deservedly deemed 6anA:ri/^';L j uiatized by the bank powers and all their slave's, 

 though ihey would not be insolvent, and, indeed, j as if dishonesty and opposition to dishonesty had 

 might have all their capital in safe nebis and ' '"hanged places — and as i! Ae were advocaiini' and 

 securities. But to reach this s'aie of thini:s, | aiding Iraud and pillage ot' the country, and the 

 (even if permitted to be reached at all,) would I bank jjariy opposing the procedure, 

 be a work ol time. It would be long before even ' And it any portion of the peonle should indeed 

 half the notes, spread over a wide circulation, i venture to oppose this enormous li-aud of the 

 could be brou<rht back and presented to the biinks j banks, by enforcing their (as yet) legal claims, 



for specie. The banks would, in the mean lime 

 exert all the means they passess, (and they are 

 many and powerful,) lo discourage and prevent 

 demands on them. Not one of their- numerous 

 borrowers and dependants would dare to de- 

 mand his just due of specie for a note, even when 

 its value in circulaiion should l)e less by 5 per 

 cent, than the specie it promised, and which it 

 could then conimaid li-om the issuer. And 

 every other less dependent and submissive noie- 

 holder, who would make and enforce such a de- 

 mand, would be denounced, by all under bank 

 intiuence, as if an enemy to the public weal. 

 To prepare for such demands, also, the banks 

 would commence to "cuiiail" their "accommo- 

 dation" debtors, and draw in their debts — which 

 mosily (t>y the abuse of the original and proper 

 discounting system,) had been of such long stand- 

 ing, that the demand lor their payment, or even 

 partial reduction, would be entirely unexpected, 

 and unprepared' for in most cases. All these 

 curtailed debtors, and all those who were thus 

 debarred from becoming debtors lo Ihe banks, 

 would unite in raising a loud clamor that "lite 

 country would be ruined if the banks coniinued to 

 pay specie ;" and so general would be the oui- 

 cry,ihat the banks, claiming (as always in such 

 cases) to be moved, not lor their own interest and 

 profit, but "tor the benefit of the community," and 

 professing to be actuated sotely by beneficent 

 and patriotic motives, would stop paying specie ; 

 and refuse boldly, and in defiance of all leijal 

 and moral obligation, and even of common ho- 

 nesty, to pay any more of their notes, (their thfn 

 lying and cheating " promises to pay,"') with 

 which they had filled the circulation, while the 

 public confidence in the responsibility and good 

 faith of the banks was yet unimpaired. And 

 then will follow the disastrous stale of things 

 which existed during the general bank suspension 

 of 1811 to 1819, and of 1837 to the present time ; 



ucli coniesis must soon cease. For, as speedily 

 as possible, the government sieps in, and par- 

 dons ihe past fi-aud of the banks, and fegalizes 

 the course lor such time to come (by renewed 

 subsequent extensions of the limit,) as the banks 

 may lequire. This has been the coiirse again 

 and agait) of the legislature of Virgiilro, and of 

 nearly all the other states of the union ; and such 

 is the legal condition ol things at the present 

 lime. 



XIL The proper course for, and the actual course 

 pursued by, suspended banks. 



Alter such a fraudulent stoppage of payments 

 has been efiected, and legalized by the govern- 

 ment, the banks may then choose which one of 

 two courses to pursue. If, in truth, designing to 

 come as early as practicable (under cover and by 

 aid of their legal protection) to a condition to 

 comply with iheir engagements to creditors, they 

 will not make any new loans of their then irre- 

 deemable paper, (of which every note issued after 

 sus|)endiiig payments is an additional act of fraud 

 on the public,) and will gradually collect the debts 

 previously due to them. Jiivery debt so paid to a 

 bank in its own notes by a former borrower, would 

 su much lessen its previous paper circulation, and 

 the amount of existing obligations. And when 

 the amount of deb's was reduced to the amount of 

 the actual (and existing) bank capital stock, and 

 the deposites regularly in the bank — and when the 

 notes stili in circulation promised no more than there 

 was specie in the bank, then the bank might safely 

 resume specie payments, because able to redeem 

 every note that could be presented for payment. 

 It is very true (and herein lies the great and only 

 important obstacle to this course,) tliat this reme- 

 dy would cut oir the source of the profits made 

 by the banks upon their excess of circulation ; and 

 so it ought. Their solid and fair business, of dia- 



