Additional Objections to Free Banking. lesser denomination than five dollars, as small notes have a tendency to drive the small coin out of the country. IV. That no check or guard against the abuses of banks is so potent as the individual responsibility of its stockholders and managers for all the losses its credits may incur. system, with which Louisiana was once 6th. That taking the New-York system as the most perfect development of Free Banking, it exhibits in a period of great prosperity all the elements of an unV. That some legislative control sound and insecure currency; that the should be exercised over the amount of Free Banks of that state really afford paper money issued, inasmuch as an fewer loans, have less specie in their And, furinflation and contraction of the currency vaults, and possess a larger circulation has a tendency to unsettle values and than the chartered banks. create rash speculation on the one thermore, that the paper circulation of hand, and unnecessary alarm on the the state is chiefly that of the weakest other, thereby subjecting the public to banks: the really staunch institutions most visionary and unfounded hopes, as evidently abandoning that function of And, well as to most grievous and calamitous banking to those institutions which are really the unfittest to perform it. losses. moreover, that the New-York system only feebly secures the note-holder, as in the failure of twenty-eight banks in 1850-51, they did not, in many cases, distribute over thirty to fifty per cent. Tried by these tests, Free Banking cannot command our approbation, and it is, furthermore, open to the following additional objections 1st. That it gives an overweening power to the officer who is charged with the conduct of the banking department of the government. 2d. That state or government stocks can never displace coin, as a basis of currency; that they are themselves but credits, and to erect banks upon them is to give a fearful impetus to an expansion of credit, which must result in the direst commercial evils. 7th. That the peculiar condition of Louisiana seems to us to condemn, in her case at least, a resort to banking on stocks. The state of her debt, her crippled resources, the heavy burdens hanging over New-Orleans, and the lack of surplus capital amongst her people, render it inexpedient for the wealth of her citizens to be invested in bank and state stocks, which can, with so much advantage to us, be held by foreign capital, leaving our own resources free. 8th. And lastly, that Free Banking not only gives no protection to the depositor, but by esteeming the note-holder as a preferred creditor, it actually makes Of course, this most the Free Bank the unsafest depository important function of banking is entirely stripped from this class of institutions. 3d. That the use of government stocks in this way, gives a charm to public debt, and engenders a dangerous and wanton improvidence in our legis lators, who are ever prone to put off the burdens of the present on the shoulders of the future. That this tendency is verified in the history of Free Banking he could select. in New-York, where a great political party was defeated by its opposition to this disposition to create a new debt, which would furnish new material for the increase of an already inflated cur rency. On these points we rest our case. They may often lack system and clearness in their statement and exposition; and we have laid ourselves open to the 4th. That as a public debt is a great charge of much repetition; but we hope evil, justified only by necessity, and as the arguments will be fairly weighed it should be paid at the earliest day, a in the consideration of this important system of banking, built on the evidences subject. The hurrying cares of a merof such debt, can only exist coeval and cantile life give few leisure moments commensurate with the debt, and can- for the treatment of subjects which not, of course, be looked to as a perma- really require days and weeks of reflecnent scheme, but rather as a temporary tion. If, however, these articles shall expedient for the adjustment of the cur- have aroused abler and better appointed intellects to an appreciation of the dangers of Free Banking, then our purpose will be accomplished. ren cy. 5th. That Free Banking is but a revival, in part, of the old property bank VOL. XIV. 5 ART. VIII. - AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO. PRESIDENT'S 'S MESSAGE-POST-OFFICE-NAVY-INTERIOR-WAR DEPARTMENT-LAND OFFICE PATENT OFFICE-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION-STATISTICS. THE public documents which emanate annually from Washington, give a pretty fair notion of the state of this country, and we are determined hereafter to analyze and preserve them, in order that they may be referred to from year to year in compact form. The message of the President refers to the Fishery Question, stating that it is still open, although the English government have disclaimed any intention to enforce their construction of the convention of 1818 by the presence of a naval armament. Our vessels for the last nine years have been excluded from waters to which they had free access for twenty-five years after the negotiation of this treaty. This exclusion was relaxed in 1845 as to the Bay of Fundy, but the liberal policy was again abandoned, from the opposition of the colonies, notwithstanding our liberal course towards colonial fishermen, who have been enabled to acquire the monopoly of our export trade in fish, and to supply a large part of our consumption. New conventions it is hoped will be entered into the present winter, which shall be satisfactory to all parties. "The cash receipts in the Treasury for the fiscal year ending the 30th of June last, exclusive of trust funds, were $49,728,386 89. The expenditures for the same period, likewise exclusive of trust funds, were $46,007,896 20, of which $9,455,815 83 was on account of the principal and interest of the public debt, including the last instalment of the indemnity to Mexico, under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, leaving a balance of $14,632,136 37 in the Treasury on the first day of July last. Since this latter period, further purchases of the principal of the public debt have been made to the extent of $2,456,547 49; and the surplus in the Treasury will continue to be applied to that object whenever the stock can be procured within the limits as to price authorized by law. "The value of foreign merchandise imported during the last fiscal year was $207,240,101, and the value of domestic productions exported was $149,861,911, besides $17,204,026 of foreign merchandise exported, making the aggregate of the entire exports $167,065,937. Exclusive of the above, there was exported $42,507,285 in specie, and imported from foreign ports $5,262,643." On the subject of our prospective commerce with South America, about which we have had so much to say, the President remarks: The President declined becoming a party with Great Britain and France to guarantee to Spain the possession of Čuba. He, however, regards "its incorporation into the Union as fraught at the present time with serious peril."The other topics are the Tehuante- "The recent revolution in Buenos pec question, which he says is now in Ayres and the confederated states, the hands of the Senate; the question having opened the prospect of an imrelating to the port of San Juan de proved state of things in that quarter, Nicaragua; the Guano question, in the governments of Great Britain and which an unintentional error is ac- France determined to negotiate with knowledged; the tariff, which is "not the chief of the new confederacy for sufficiently protective to our industry," the free access of their commerce to and in the particular of ad valorems the extensive countries watered by the greatly open to frauds; the Mexican tributaries of the La Plata, and they boundary commission, and the interrup- gave a friendly notice of this purpose tion of the surveys in consequence of to the United States, that we might, if the appropriations for it being made conditional on the position of the line with reference to El Paso; the policy of interference in the affairs of foreign powers, etc. etc. we thought proper, pursue the same course. In compliance with this invitation, our minister at Rio Janeiro, and our Chargé d'Affaires at Buenos Ayres, have been fully authorized to conclude Uruguay Treaty-Japan Expedition. treaties with the newly organized confederation, or the states composing it. The delays which have taken place in the formation of the new government, have, as yet, prevented the execution of those instructions, but there is every reason to hope that these vast countries will be eventually opened to our com merce. "A treaty of commerce has been concluded between the United States and the oriental Republic of Uruguay, which will be laid before the Senate. Should this convention go into operation, it will open to the commercial enterprise of our citizens a country of great extent and unsurpassed in natural resources, but from which foreign nations have hither to been almost wholly excluded.” 159 "We live in an age of progress, and ours is emphatically a country of progress. Within the last half century the number of states in this Union has nearly doubled, the population has almost quadrupled, and our boundaries have been extended from the Mississippi to the Pacific. "Our territory is checkered over with railroads, and furrowed with canals. The inventive talent of our country is excited to the highest pitch, and the numerous applications for patents for valuable improvements distinguish this age and this people from all others. The genius of one American has enabled our commerce to move against wind and tide, and that of another has annihilated distance in the transmission of intelligence. The whole country is full of enterprise. Our common schools are diffusing intelligence among the people, and our industry is fast accumulating the comforts and luxuries of life. This is in part owing to our peculiar position, to our fertile soil, and comparatively sparse population; but much of In regard to the purposes, etc., of the Japan expedition, the message continues: "I have accordingly been led to order an appropriate naval force to Japan, under the command of a discreet and intelligent officer of the highest rank known to our service. He is instructed to endeavor to obtain from the government of that country some relaxation it is also owing to the popular instiof the inhospitable and anti-social system which it has pursued for about two centuries. He has been directed particularly to remonstrate, in the strongest language, against the cruel treatment to which our shipwrecked mariners have often been subjected, and to insist that they shall be treated with humanity. He is instructed, however, at the same time, to give that government the amplest assurances that the objects of the United States are such only as I have indicated, and that the expedition is friendly and peaceful. Notwithstanding the jealousy with which the governments of Eastern Asia regard all overtures from foreigners, I am not without hopes of a beneficial result of the expedition. Should it be crowned with success, the advantages will not be confined to the United States, but as in the case of China, will be equally enjoyed by all the other maritime powers. I have much satisfaction in stating, that in all the steps preparatory to this expedition, the Government of the United States has been materially aided by the good offices of the King of the Netherlands, the only European power having any commercial relation with Japan." We extract a single passage more, on the progress and resources of the country: tutions under which we live, to the freedom which every man feels to engage in any useful pursuit, according to his taste or inclination, and to the entire confidence that his person and property will be protected by the laws. But whatever may be the cause of this unparalleled growth in population, intelligence and wealth, one thing is clear, that the government must keep pace with the progress of the people. It must participate in their spirit of enterprise; and while it exacts obedience to the laws, and restrains all unauthorized invasions of the rights of neighboring states, it should foster and protect home industry, and lend its powerful strength to the improvement of such means of intercommunication as are necessary to promote our internal commerce, and strengthen the ties which bind us together as a people." It appears by the report of the Postmaster-General that 526 offices were established, and 236 discontinued, during the past year. Whole number existing November 1, 1852, 21,191. [For statistics and history of U. S. Post-Office, from earliest period, see Industrial Resources, vol. 2.] In operation in the United States 6,711 mail routes, their aggregate length being 214,284 miles, and employ March, 1847, viz: from 3d March, eighth section of act of March, 1851 Total.. the amount payable to the British tor 1,065,555 55 663,888 89 12,000 00 $6,925,971 28 101,988 59. ing 5,206 contractors. The annual trans- The receipts, in consequence of the reduction of postage, have fallen off $1,388,334 from the preceding year; the experiment not having yet had sufficient time to be tested. Our ocean steamer service commenced in June, 1847. Its great and rapid increase is shown by the following tabular statement of its cost, for each fiscal year, as follows: The cost of this service for 1848 was.... $100,500 The expenditures of the Department Office furniture Mail bags Clerks for offices, (offices of post- Publishing post-office laws and 24,587 94 1,296,765 50 456,594 84 41,046 12 7,890 77 63,157 12 41,946 50 53,861 83 Mail locks and keys, and stamps 11,984 64 18,756 97 35,197 82 548,916 71 2,900 00 Repayment of money found in 82 61 For the next year the expenditures, it is estimated, will reach $8,745,777 20. The revenues for the same time, including $1,200,000 from government,$7,417,790, leaving a deficit of $1,327,986. Miles of steamboat Miles of rail-road service.... Annual cost steam boat service.... $262,019 $278,650 $313,943 584,192 635,740 818,227 Annu'l cost rail-road tractors 5,213 30 Postmaster-General's Report-Paid and Unpaid Letters. 161 The whole number of paid and un- The whole amount of postages, inland, paid letters which have passed through sea and foreign, on letters and other the post-offices of the United States, mailable matter, received and sent by during the last fiscal year, was 95,790,- the several lines of United States mail steamers, during the last fiscal year, was as follows, viz:— 524. Of those passing through and from places in the United States, exclusive of California and Oregon, there were: By Collins line, New-York and Liver pool By New-York and Bremen line, touch- 32,672,765 By New-York and Havre line, touching .18,448,510 ..31,897,750 By Charleston and Havana line.. 3,146,000 . $228,867 61 77,219 87 80,804 08 11,958 99 Havana steamers California steamers.. Number of dead letters unpaid. Number of dead letters paid.. Number of newspapers and other packages of printed matter chargeable with postage.. .87,710,498 Number of exchange newspapers 7,073,548 Cunard line of European steamers.. counties where published, estimated...20,000,000 Number of letters conveyed by 2,758,096 On letters received: Unpaid Collins line Bremen line do do. do. do. Amount of postages collected from Col- Of which was collected in the United Of which was collected in Great Britain Of which 21,589 were paid, and 12,959 Amount due to the United States there on...... Number of dead letters received from 963,692 354,470 345,287 $794,440 58 -$31,034 66 -$55,741 97 .$25,377 08 22,144 60 -$47,521 68 Of which 9,800 were paid, and 28,645 unpaid. Unpaid $1,784 07 $3,677 47 Amount due Great Britain thereon..... $1,815 65 The amount of postage collected on letters sent from the United States to New-Brunswick was: 124,518 Unpaid Number of dead letters received from The Havre line are complaining that 3,801 their receipts are but $12,500 per trip, whilst that of Collins receives $33,000 2,587 per trip. They show that, in addition to their having performed their mail service as efficiently as could be expected with the limited means allow$15,397 ed them, the exports from Germany to 16,498 this country have increased since they 101,320 commenced running from $3,000,000 8,612 to $10,000,000, that the number of emi262,830 grants is increasing, and the gross sum 49.122 which they at present bring to this coun71,165 try amounts to $15,000,000 annually. 100,674 A postal convention has been closed 73,393 with Prussia, providing for a closed mail, in each direction between the two coun-116,989 tries, twice a week, via London and 83,958 Ostend. New-York and Boston are the 9,164 offices of exchange on the part of the 8,840 United States, and Aix la Chapelle is 26,180 the corresponding office of exchange on 5,950 the part of Prussia. 312,700 53,571 52,010 22,511 5.742 150 By this convention a uniform postage $1,275,520 rate of 30 cents, prepayment of which is |