THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



617 



TARTY POLITICS AM) IMllVATIC MATTERS. 



We giv« a place to the followinij leiU'.r eniire, 

 (omiiiinir only the niuue nrul resilience of the 

 writer,) lor the /bHovviiii» eeveral reasoiie:: it sets 

 ioTih in ihe strooizesi lanuunije eome ohjectione lo 

 our eilitorial course, which have been slaipcl also 

 by oilteis in diHerent aiodes ; ami while it ofl'ers a 

 fair occat'ion lo answer ami rernaik on such olijee- 

 tions, it also iierniita us to show ihai we (clifleren' 

 ill ihat re^jpeci li-om our opponents) are noi nlriud 

 to let the public see opinions staled ihai are (he] 

 most strongly in conflict wiili our own. And, j 

 while designing to con/esa such course as we 

 deem right, and are proud ol' pursuing, we will 

 use this occasion to deserve, for the first time, (and 

 it will be aU-o the last time, unless again forced lo 

 il by the like operation ol' groundless charges of 

 such offence,) the charge ol' treating of party 

 politics in ihe Farnieis' Register. 



But let our friend and correspondent speak first 

 for him-elf We will not imitate the almost uni- 

 versal unfair editorial practice of answering an 

 opponent in advance of presenting his argument, 

 (and often taking care not to present it either firsi or 

 last ;) but, as it will conduce to clearness, and pre- 

 vent the necessity of repetition, and in no way 

 weaken the force of his attack, we shall annex our 

 particular replies as notes to his particular charges. 



-, Oct. 12, 1841. 



Dear sir — I think some of liie promises of the 

 earlier numbers of the Farmers' Register seem to 

 have been foruotien by the September number, if 

 not by several oihers. I allude to the ahstaininfr 

 from poliiics. Il political economy do not include 

 al this lime all the subjects ol most violent discus- 

 sion of this (lay, i have been nmch mieiaken; 

 banking generally, especially the le^jrulation of 

 the currency through the medium of the banks, 

 being (as I take it) the most fruitful source of po- 

 litical vijuperaiion of all which curse this distract- 

 ed country. (o) 



Now I am one of those who believe banks have 

 done, are doing, and are destined to do more good, 

 morally, politically, commercially, and asxricultur- 

 ally, than all ihe 7narl banks between the ocean 

 and the mountain3.(6) I believe the suspension 

 of specie payments by our banks to have been a 

 wise and salutary measure in every aspect. (c) I 

 believe that our banks are not corrupt institutions 

 in any point of view ; because the men at the 

 head of them are known by you and by me 

 to be incapable of lendinj; their aid to the 

 coi\duc\it\g of corrupt institutions, and because no 

 corruption has been proved upon them, or attempt- 

 ed to be proved. ((i) You will perceive that, 

 holding these sentiments, I cannot agree to assist 

 in disseminating the errors contained in the 

 Farmers' Register, particulnrly in the summary 

 of news, many articles of which are taken !rom 

 papsrs that I consider vehielee of falsei nod.(e) 

 You will therefore oblifje me by placing my nc- 

 count in the October number of the Register, ami 

 Vol. IX. -61 



withdrawing my n nno from your eubecripiion liaf, 

 unless you sliall see proper to keep every political 

 article- out of (he paper; in wliicii case, from 

 considerations persqnal lo myself, and to you, I 

 shall desire to continue to take it.(/ ) You will not 

 take this objection lo ibe paper as exieniding lo you 

 personally, because some of my nearest friends are 

 to the lull »(> abstract, I was going to say as distract- 

 ed, about ihe banks, as you are; and because [ 

 always knew your propensity lo lake your own 

 views on every suhjeci, and therelore am not at 

 ii'\ surprised at your present position in resard to 

 this one. But I am, with the sincerest reuard, 

 very truly yours, (g). 



EDITOR AL KEMAJBIKS IN REPLY. 



(o) Our correspondent here explains what he 

 means by our duty and pledge of " abstaining 

 from politics," in a manner as favorable to us as 

 we could desire. It requires, in his view, that we 

 should abstain from questions of "political econo- 

 my," and especially that portion relating to bank- 

 ing and tlie reL'ulation of ihe currency, and of 

 course the effect ol' these questions on agricidiural 

 ihteres's. Now, however much we might enlarge 

 on our very difleren' view of the duty or the pledge 

 of abstinence, its meaninq:, and its fulfilment, we 

 will here merely refer to the Iburih class of subjects 

 designed to be treated of in (be Farmers' Regis- 

 ter, as staled in the original prospectus, and re- 

 peated in the work, and which class has been 

 treated of in every volume of the work. The sub- 

 ject is thus slated : — " 4. The discussion of such 

 subjects of political economy as are connected 

 with the preservation and support of the interests 

 of agriculture.''^ Thus, so far from being pledged 

 to abstain Irom discussing such questions, the 

 pledge given (and our correspondent, as one of 

 ihe earliest subscribers, was one of the fitsi to 

 hear and receive it with at leai?t tacit ;ipproval) 

 wa?' directly the reverse. The only doubt on this 

 point that can remain, is, whether Ihe present 

 banking policy of this country 6e a question "con- 

 nected with ihe preservation and support of the 

 interests olagriculiure." Ami that it is such, and 

 in a degree as hiiih as even we would place it, (in- 

 deed it is our only point of per'ect agreement in 

 the whole quesiion,) our correspondent fully ad- 

 mils, and very strongly asserts in a subsequent 

 passage. 



But, when driven from the above stated ground 

 ofobjeciinp, our correspondent and every other 

 thorough bankiie will still object that we argue 

 in support of the wrong side. Well! if so, it 

 happens luckily lor the other side of ihe quesiion 

 that we stand among publishers almost alone in 

 this error; and that when nearly all the powerful 

 influence of the newspaper press is exerted in the 

 support of what we oppose, our correspondent 

 and others might tolerate the attempt to enable 

 the public to hear something nn the other side, by 

 means of our feeble and unsupported voice. If 

 we are so much in error as to the operation of 

 what we deem and will still call Ihe fraudulent 

 banking system of "Virginia, why has not our cor- 

 respondent, or others like him, opposed our nume- 

 rous arguments and alleged lacts, by countervail- 

 ing arguments and lacs'? Yet. in all the four 

 years of bank suspension, and, still more remark- 

 ably, in the last nine months of our strong de- 



