Western Carolinian

              lm lli §*! z v 1 ib k im co i 11(1 j 1 l/fc i i tvf i i jtcil — j -_.______. -^^- jm_^i_l m jg>wfcik >»{&> t-._m sr iatvi__a wssk w • pgbu8hed by iuhbeh £_ i:.c.._am s.ya.i&wytia tttt a v»1-.c1.^ii\ya bs laaos o a xo ac i'tf v vstatii ci-tnusivv is published every titer •,,-., ■' i1v1v.v doixa.-s per annim payable at the u nd of six month ■ xovftx-^.avoyma liegialatroee . time a conflict of sentiment generated by that inveterate hostility which bus ever been found to exist between creditor anel debtor tin one strivi.ig not only to maintain and extend the influence to which they consider them selves fairly entitled but through the agency ot bunks sec making vigorous efforts to bir.d tlieir victims hand antl foot tiiat thev may be tlie more ready and obedient sacrifice the other equally inordinate and regardless of the obligations of justice seizing with avidi ty and impassioned zeal the most trivial pre texts to avert from tlieir shoulders tlieir que portion of the distresses of the country in duced as much by tbeir own imprudences anti extravagances as from any cither cause to yon have been intrusted for a season the scales of justice ; ancl let me intreat vou to hold them vvith a firm and steady banc yielding neither to the wanton encroachments of the one or the licentious clamors of the olher that much yes very much of those em barrassments may be fairly attributed to the unreasonable multiplication of banks and the excessive issue of their paper far beyond their capi-.city to redeem vvill not be denied it therefore becomes your imperious duty so to regulate those monied institutions as to give stability to their issues ancl prevent as far as practicable the ruinous consequences result ing to the community from the versatility of its character and the fluctuation in its value this obligation is surely as strong as though the po.vir to make money a id to regulate the value thereof had been expressly delegated ; for unless something is done what vvill pre vent the recurrence of similar embarrass a profit thereon and enhance their dividends and that upon a full view of all the circum stances it will be to the interest of the bank in decline payment altogether suppose an individual was to be guilty of the same con duct would he not be universally stigmati zed and would he not deservedly incur tbe epithet of swindler by what species of soph istry then or in what system of ethics can it be found that an individual shall be thus de graded and stripped even to the last cow that j^'ives sustenance to his family to meet thc demands of bis creditors that does not apply to an association of individuals under the character of bank stockholders bank direc tors or what not , » the principle i apprehend is alike appli cable to all ; but the practice in this our day is very different for as i observed above clo you nd tl\e stockholder giving up his divi dend to sustain the character of his bank or making the ordinary sacrifices to procure the specie or what may be deemed an equivalent for specie to redeem their paper f no : on the contrary you find him securely entrenched behind his impregnable ramparts drawing his eight ten or twelve per cent interest aqci defying the storm which his own cupidity has contributed to excite house ok commons n pap vvill be discontinued until all a'-rearag'rs -.;■_ pale uh-tfft a the discretion of the editor whoever will become responsibly for the payment of nine on shall receive a tenth gratis anvr.i'.iiskmr.nts i il be inserted on thc customary lerm i advcrtl-strient inserted until it has been paid for or iti pnyo ent i-i.tted by some person in tius town or i vicinity mokdayj xov 20 — a quorum of members in both houses being preset t thev were accordingly organized bartlett yancey esq being elected speaker ofthe senate and robert williams and benjamin ii covington clerks : and knmiilus m sanders esq speaker of the commons and pleasant henderson and william li lockhart clerks the doorkeepers in the house of commons are the same who have served ifl lhat capacity for many years in thc place ofthe late mr haris fieid herman biitncr was elected rj-all lifter to the editors must be post-paid or they •; ill not be attended to ptfeaiafent's tuesdat nov 21 — mr willis alston pre sented the following resolution : io both ilouscn p.t the opening of thc second session of the sixteenth cong-re transmitted by mr jaxbs . mosnflf hip jilltm-citizens of the senate end r f the house of reprenen'aiivr.t .- resolve that a joint select committee consisting of three tin thc part of-the house be appointed lo join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the senate to investigate the accounts and inquire into the official conduct of john haywood public treasurer of the state bf nrth-ciirolina d ami that their inquiry also extend to tin time he acted without taking au oath of ohice or buying entered into bonds and security as the law directs and that the said committee have power to send for persons and papers and to take all necessary and proper measures to insure a full and complete investigu . tion i tn ccnimunic.tiing to you a just view of iblic affairs at the commencement of your present labors i do it with great satisfaction because taking nil circumstances into consid eration which claim attention i see much cause to rejoice in the felicity of our situation in making this remark i do not wish to be understood to imply that at unvaried pros perity is to be seen in every interest of this great community in the progress of a na tion inhabiting a territory of such vast ex tent and great variety of climate every por tion of which is engaged in foreign commerce and liable to be affected in some degree by the changes which occur in the condition and regulations of foreign countries it would be strange if the produce of our soil and the in dustry and enterprize of our fellow citizens received at all times and in every quarter a uniform antl equal encouragement this would he more than we would have a right to expect under circumstances the most favor able pressures on certain interests it is ad mitted have been felt ; but allowing to these their greatest extent they detract but little from the force of the remark already made in forming a just estimate of our present sit uation it is proper to look at the whole ; in the outline as well as in the detail a free virtuous and enlightened people know well the great principles and causes on which their happiness depends ; and even those who suf fer most occasionally in their transitory con cerns find great relief under their sufferings from the blessings which they otherwise en joy and in the consoling and animating hope which they administer — from whence clo these pressures come not from a govern ment which is founded by administered for and supported by the people we trace them to the peculiar character of the epoch in vvhich we live ancl to the extraordinary occurrences which have signalized it the convulsions v.ih which several of the powers of eurooaj have been shaken and the long'ancf destrucar tive wars in which all were engaged with their sudden transition to a state of peace presenting in tht first instance unusual en roll rag-.-ment to our commerce and withdraw ing it in thc second even within its wonted limit could not fail to be sensibly felt here ' the station too which we had to support through this ion conflict compelled as we finally to become a party to it wilh a principal power antl to make great exertions suii'-t heavy losses and to contract consider able debts disturbing the ordinary course of affair bv augmenting to a vast amount the circulating medium and thereby elevating at one time the price of every article above a just standard and depressing it at another below it had likewise its due effect it is manifest that the pressures of which w e complain hive proceeded in a great meas ure from these causes when then we take into view the prosperous and happy condition of our country in all the great circumstances hich cemstitut the felicity of a nation ; eve ry individual in the full enjoyment of all his lights ; the union blessed with plenty and rapidly rising to greatness under a national g'ivei ti'-.-unt which operates with complete ef iv.'t in every part without being it-it in any xeept by the ample protection which it af ' fds ; anil under state government which riorni their equal share according tt a wise oistrrbiijjon of power between them 1 , in pro moting the public happiness it is impossible to be ho rl so gratifying so glorious a specta - ie without being penetrated with the most and grateful acknowledgm-nti to ,! e snprethe author of nil jrood for such r ir.ifold and inestimable blessings deeply continued on fourlh pugcz ordered that the resolution lie on the tabic a joint committee was appointed to wait on his excellency the governor lo inform him both houses were organized and to know when he would please to make his communication to them received from the senate a proposition for the appointment of a joint committee to report joint rules for thc two houses and to inquire into the expediency of each house perfecting every bill c which shall come before it before it be sent to the other house but it may be impatiently asked what shall bc done to relieve the people from tbeir pres ent unparalleled burthens ? i must candidly acknowledge that i have no quack nostrums to offer you neither have i been able to de vice any system myself to afford a radical ren j ovation save that of putting our shoulders to the wheel and practising the greatest frugal : ity and industry for we have on a former occasion tried a suspension law and what good did it do ? in addition to an accumu lation of debt ancl a relaxation of morals it left the corroding idea that we had in mak ing an ineffectual effort to do what vve had no right to clo inflicted a wound on our consti tution that sacred inheritance which is so i correctly ancl emphatically called the palladi um of our rights i the emission of more money under some j form or other may perhaps be a favorite ex pedient with some but i pray you to pause and reflect well before you resort to such des perate remedies for how can the intelligent mind doubt for a moment as to the proper construction to be put on our constitution in regard to this subject it appears to me to have been evidently thc intention of the con stitution to place the currency of the country under the exclusive control of the congress of the united states and to preclude the in dividual states from legislating on the sub ject ; and what language can i use to enforce my idea better adapted to the occasion than the language of the constitution itself ? in the 1st art and sec 16 the power to coin money regulate the value thereof and of for eign coin is exclusively given to congress and in the lotb section the states are expressly forbidden to coin money emit bills of credit or to make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts some years past the legislature without due reflection 1 am persuaded and merely to ifripply our citizens with change directed the issuing of a small quantity of treasury not •• , or cent bills as jet from the limi ted quantity emitted no very serious mis chiefs have resulted but if it shoultl be un fortunately drawn into a a prccdent and thc legislating should at any future period di rect the issuing of a larger quantity to supply the defect of our circulating medium we mav then bid adieu to the restoration of a wholc : some currency and take a long long fart well of the salutary provisions of the consti tution unless peradventure a redeeming spi rit should be found in the judiciary of our i country the other expedients that have been spoken of arc in my opinion equally vain and nugatory and if redueed to practice will be found to be worse than lhe disease wepkf.sn.y nov 22 — mr turner from the joint commiltee appointed to wait nn the gover nor reported that he would make his communi cation this day at half past i 1 o'clock on motion of mr scott u message was sent to the senate proposing lo ballot for a to-lge to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of judge murphey on saturday next nomina ting wm norwood esq for the appointment jjhe balloting committee for engrossing clerks reported that thomas t armstrong and john l forrest were appointed und that another ballot ing was necessary tor a third another balloting took place but no election was made at the appointed hour his excellency the governor presented the following message by mr wm plummer his private secretary ments even after we are temporarily relieved from the present pressure ? i anticipate that it will be said that it is hazardous to press the banks at this time or to attempt by the adoption of energetic measures the correction ot the abuses of those institutions ; or in other words that we had belter wait until the patient is restor ed to heaith before we call in the physician to obviate this objection which is certainly more specious than solid i should be dispo sed to give the banks their own lime to re sume specie payments provided that time was a reasonable one j but to tell them in plain terms that il after this you will not profit by th knowledge vou have gained from experience j on shall bj enfranchised and razed to your very foundations ; to which should be annexed the heaviest legal penalties known to onr law their charters it may bs thought already provide for the payment ol their notes in spe cie ; but it is manifest that from some cause or other tne eg.l obligation if any is treat ed with derision and the omnipotence of banks has become almost proverbial if in this particular i am wrong i should be grati fied to bc convinced of my error by practical demonstration ; if right the sooner it is known the better in order that the people may no longer be deluded by lhef ! vagarics of a wild fancy but may in clue season render to c;c sar ihe things that are ciesar's i am not tl sposed to assert neither do i believe that the banks have been the sole cause of our dif ficulties ; for the people themselves by an in dulgence in prodigal and extravagant habils are justly chargeable for a full portion and grievously are they sustaining the demands of retributive justice ; for they may be said under the distressing pressure to bave shed and to he stiil shedding drops ol blood hut is it equitable i would ask that they should not only buffer for their own misconduct but for the misconduct of others i apprehend not the farmer must not only give up the profits of his farm but thc farm itself to meet the demands of his creditors the same may be said of the merchant ; and indeed of every branch of industry save that of the stock holder ancl the stockholder alone ; but by some species of legerdemain incomprehensi ble lo a puiin man some of the banks when hard pressed instead of making the ordinary sacrifices to meet the demands of justice in dignantly close their vaults ami tell the hold ers of tbeir notes with ineffable contempt that it is true they have some half a million or million of specie on hand and in addition thereto have funds as might probably answer as well as the specie and that although these funds have cost them little or nothing the premium having been advanced by their needy customers for the purpose of obtaining additional accommodation at bank that the e.xecutije office ? i kvikiiiii nov 14 1-b04 to thc honorable the general aisemlily j of the state ofnorth-cai-jlina glnti.emek having on former and some 1 what recent occasions entered extensively j into the most prominent subjects ot state pol icy but little remains for me at this time to superadd save that of a reiteration of the same doctrines together with a few reflec tions on the times and the occurrences grow ing out of them in discharging this duty 1 khall as i have been wont to clo deal lrankly with you ; for i can see no reason why in this our parting interview a different course should be pursued indeed the impulses ol a heart glowing with a grateful recollection of the renewed instances of confidence repo sed jn me by my fellow-citizens would lorbid a different course i cannot however expect that all should unite with me in sentiment in the reflections i am about to introduce presenting so many different aspects and viewed through so ma nv different medium nevertheless ic is in disputable that when in the progress of time and tha unerring developement of events measures originally designed to promote the general interest are found to be subversive of those interests antl fraught with conse quences not anticipated ; that it becomes an imperious duty with those entrusted with the sovereign power to pause and ponder well before they make further advances and calmly antl dispassionately take a retrospect of the past in order that they may be the better able to discern between adverse fortune flowing from human frailty and human indiscretion and those national reverses and calamities which no human foresight or prudence could avert but on a retrospect i am fully per suaded the patriotic bosom wiil find abundant cause to dilate with gratitude and will be pleasurably impelled to offer up to the throne of omniscience the warmest acknowledg ments allow ne then primarily to solicit your attention to the causes antl character o our pecuniary embarrassments which have for the last eighteen months elicited more feel ing and i might say more ir.t-jir.perate ais cussior than every other subject combined f'.r it is but too manifest that we have at this thc conclusion then of the whole matter ii this that it is your duty to legislate efficiently on the subject above referred to unci to place those rijonied institutions on such a basis as willprom ise stability and the greatest uniformity to their issues and thereby prevent rapid appreciations and depreciations which maybe correctly called the i'ai'.dova's box from whence have flowed so manv deleterious circumstances for by the establishment of banki money is not only made i but by their failure to pay specie the value there of is indirectly regulated and thus the salutary provisions of our constitution arc virtually defeat ed he ve tireless have it in thi ir power o make it is far froijfr being my with to injure the char