670 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



other course seems lo be left to them. Their funds 

 are completely locked up in unavailat)le and constant- 

 ly depreciated assets. The banks of Baltimore seem 

 to be bound hand aod foot between the wants of the 

 state, city, and that stupendous shinplaster concern, 

 the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road, and the financiers 

 of that city have been contriving? a plan ibr some 

 time, by which the Rail-road orders, payable only 

 in city stock, which is f.t 15 per cent, discount, may 

 be made worth par. The order Ibr a ]iroperty to be 

 worth more than the property itself. So ridiculous a 

 proposition would be a subject of amuseme:it, v\'ere 

 it not lor the intense suffering that the jieople endure 

 under such mar)aj,'ement. 



The shipments ol specie continue from this port, 

 although there can be little gained by it as the opera- 

 tions are conducted. The cause of the shipment is 

 however owing, in a great measure, to the continued 

 suspension south, which has a great influence upon 

 the bills drawn for the coming year. 



The cotton market at the south is about becoming 

 brisk, and j'et there are no signs of resumption on the 

 part of the New Orleans banks. There has been some 

 talk of resumption in different sections, as usual, at this 

 season of the year, in order to iniluce the dealers and 

 manufacturers of the north to extend their usual cre- 

 dit, in the hope that the currency of the south will be- 

 come better. We doubt, however, if any of the suspen- 

 sion banks have really entertaiiud the idea of resump- 

 tion. In Philadelphia, the ba!)ks that accepted of the 

 revenue law of last winter, have an immunity for four 

 years to come, and nothing but strong expressions of 

 public opinion can induce them to be honest. Their 

 suspension is made the cloak for the continued disho- 

 nesty of the southern banks. The trade of the south, 

 as conducted by the intervention of the banks, is tlie 

 main cause of the violent fluctuation of financial af- 

 fairs. — Money Article, Neiv York Herald. 



The suspended debt of the New Orleans banks is 

 now $8, 00;), 000. It has been accumulated mostly by 

 the course of business above described, and represents 

 the actual and irretrievable losses on cotloii. The 

 bankrupt law will extinguish the most of it, and the 

 only way that the institutions can save tlie remainder 

 of their capitals is by a prompt resumption. — lb. 



The state of the southern currency' is becoming 

 every day a matter of more serious moment to tlie 

 people of Ihe United States. The institutions char- 

 tered by state legislatures, with the privilege of issu- 

 ing a paper currency, that has usurped and driven out 

 the cotjstitutional currency, have been, by most of the 

 slates, absolved from paying their debts, and, embold- 

 ened by success, they seem each day to increase in 

 audacity. The Banks of Virginia are an instance of 

 this absurd and blind disregard of the lights of indi- 

 viduals and the sanctity of contracts. It is well known 

 that the bills of all the banks of the union come to 

 this market, to a greater or less extent, in the dis- 

 charge of debts due here. These bills are for the 

 most part purchased by those who make that a busi- 

 ness, and are sent back for reaemplion. The price 

 at which they are bought and sold depends, like that 

 of every thing else, upon supply and demand. The 

 supply depends entirely upon the movements of the 

 banks themselves, and the demand during suspensions 

 upon those who have indebtedness falling due to the 

 banks, or those who wish to invest in southern pro- 

 duce. When the banks are paying specie, the mat- 

 ter regulates itself, because the bills, on being sent 

 back to the hank, may be drawn in s]iecie. These 

 bills constitute a debt against the banks of the dilFer- 

 ent sections, being transferred from the merchants to 

 the banks. The banks, then, having assumed the 

 debts of the dealers, refuse to pay. Their bills con- 

 sequently fall to a discount, in this market, according 

 to the credit of the bank. The Virginia bills were 

 for a long time stationary at four per cent, discount ; 



within a short time, they have fallen to (}^, a loss of 

 2i per cent, on all the funds held by the purchasers 

 fiere. This is a ruinous loss in a business where ^ 

 to ^ is called a good profit. Holders, in many cases, 

 being unwilling to submit to this loss, have directed 

 their correspondents to sue out the claims for payment 

 in specie. To counteract this, the banks of Virginia 

 have boldly thr<'atened with proscription any person 

 there who should assist this movement. High-handed 

 as this measure is, it will not avail them, as we are 

 aware that steps have been taken to compel payment 

 in specie of large sums held. This is the only way 

 in which the dishonest banks can be brought to terms. 

 When they are threatened, or the public mind becomes 

 excited on the subject, they state that they are " pre- 

 paring to resume," and will soon do so. In this way 

 they manage to stave oft' suits. — lb. 



,$100,000 more in specie has been recently sent by 

 the bank of Chilicothe to New York. That is, thi's 

 bank which refuses to pay specie for its notes, con- 

 tinues to sell its stock of specie for the profit of 10 or 

 15 per cent, which its notes are depreciated. 



On November lO/A. — The Argo, for Havre, carried 

 out, from New York, |;129,000 in specie. The Swit- 

 zerland, for England, took .$.80,000 in specie, on the 

 12lh. 



JVovrmber JSth. — The d-prcciation at New York of 

 Virginia bank notes, (by tlie pi ices current,) was 6 

 to 7 per cent, while those ol Noith Carolina, also non- 

 specie-paying, were at 4 to 4J oijly. 



The National Gazette saj-s — " We learn that suits 

 have been instituted by one of our citizens against 

 a number of the individuals who were members of 

 the Board of Directors of the Bank of the United 

 States in 1839. The last dividend declared by the 

 bank was in that year. The suits are understood to 

 be instituted for the purpose of recovering a claim 

 against the bank under a provision of its charter, 

 which is as follows : 



" If the directors of the bank shall make any divi- 

 dends which shall impair the capital stock of said 

 bank, the directors consenting thereto shall be liable 

 in their individual capacities to such corporation for 

 the amount of the stock so divided ; and each director 

 present when such dividend shall be made, shall be 

 adjudged to be consenting thrreto, unless he forth- 

 with enter his protest on the minutes of the board, 

 and give public notice to the stockholders of the de- 

 daring of such dividend." 



[If there be not the like provision in all bank char- 

 ters, there ought to be, as it is the only rule for honest 

 procedure. If the directors of the Bank of Virginia 

 were subjected to it, would they not have to pay (if 

 they could) the amount of the last declared dividend? 

 We earnestly hope that the directors of the United 

 States Bank may be made to feel the full force of this 

 provision of the charter. — Ed. F. R.] 



Bank directors, look out! — "An indictment for a 

 high misdeme:iiior has been brought by the grand jury 

 of the superior court against the president ol the 

 Western I3ank of Georgia, for the refusal of the bank 

 to pay specie. There is a provision of the charter 

 of that bank, which declares that the bank shall not 

 at any time refuse to pay specie, and that upon sucti 

 refusal the charter shall be forfeited. There is also a 

 section of the penal code, which provides, that if any 

 bank officer shall violate any provision of the charter 

 he shall be indicted for a high misdemeanor." — Pub. 

 Ledger. 



Friday, November 2(5, 1841. 

 The steam ship Caledonia arrived at Boston on the 

 18th from Liverpool in 14 days, bringing accounts 12 

 days later. 



A great fire occurred on the night of the 30th ult. 

 in the Tower of London — from historical associations, 



