only. I had occasion to have some trans-
actions with a bank in Philadelphia; and the
president of the bank told me that but a
small portion of its paper was out, and that
it would give ten per cent. to any person
who would bring in any considerable portion
of their outstanding circulation. And a
another bank they declined to give me their
own paper, but gave me greenbacks.
Mr. CUSHING. That was out of the State
of Maryland, I understood the gentlemen to
refer to the banks in Maryland.
Mr. CHAMBERS. The gentleman represented
the banks as having in circulation, and
keeping in their vaults a large amount of
greenbacks.
Mr. CUSHING. And I stated the reason why
that was so; that their notes would other-
wise have been rejected at the counter of the
First .National Bank in Baltimore, It was
not till then that they made the difference
between $20,000 and $250,000 in greenbacks
in their vaults. They began to assist the
government when they found that they must
either submit to having their own notes
thrown out of the community, or else keep
government money.
The gentleman thought proper to indulge
in various remarks about the logical consist-
ency of my arguments. And he said that
we were affecting great interests involved in
banks. I do not know that we are affecting
those banks that are now in existence. We
propose to prevent future intereats existing,
and therefore cannot affect them now. A
thing which has no existence, and which we
propose to prevent having any existence, can-
not be injuriously affected by our action
here. It leaves the banks now in existence,
exactly as they are, but prohibits the creation
of any new ones.
The gentleman also pleased himself by rep-
resenting me as saying, that the circulation
of the notes of Maryland banks, affected the
New York market. That is so ludicrous,
that I will not notice it.
Mr. CHAMBERS. Did not the gentleman,
say so ?
Mr. CUSHING. I certainly did not. I said
the circulation of local banks throughout the
country.
Mr. CHAMBERS. Then I misunderstood the
gentleman, and am very happy to correct
myself,
Mr. CUSHING. And the gentleman says
that this is an attempt to get the govern-
ment out of its difficulties. Now, if it was
so, could there be any single object presented
to this convention more worthy of its con-
sideration ?
Mr. CHAMBERS. I said that the gentleman
argues that this is necessary to aid the gov-
ernment. And I attempted to show that it
could not give the assistance he deaired to
give.
Mr. CUSHING. I think this is one step in |
the right direction; it is a means by which
one State does the right thing in regard to
the local currency; that is all. The nature
of the rest of my remarks were general, as to
flooding the country with local currency;
not local Maryland currency, but the local
currency of all the States which issued it. I
want Maryland to take this step ill the right
direction. Let her do what is right, trusting
that others may follow her good example.
That there is not sufficient government
money in circulation is proved by the tight-
ness of the money market in New York when-
ever the government calls for any amount of
government money from it. A demand for
$10,000,000 in New York within three months
past produced a panic in the money market
in New York, and the operation of the gold
bill passed by Congress, by which the de-
livery of the purchase money in gold trans-
actions was to be made in government money,
produced such a panic as has not been known
in New York fur many years. So great a
panic did it produce that Congress thought
it advisable to repeal the law. The pressure
extended to our own money market and the
money market of Philadelphia. I think if
the gentleman from Kent (Mr. Chambers)
will simply count up all the paper money we
used to employ when gold and silver was the
legal tender, and compare it with the amount
government money now in use, he will find that
the amount of government money does not
approximate to the amount of all the paper
money employed before.
I wanted only to free myself from the idea
of having announced that our banks are in-
solvent, and also from several other cu-
rious assertions which the gentleman from
Kent has attributed to me.
Mr. PUGH. I indorse heartily a large por-
tion of the remarks of the gentleman from
Baltimore city (Mr. Cushing.) But I see
I some practical difficulties which may result
from the adoption of this amendment, which
be probably has thought of; if so, I would
like to hear his views. The gentleman does
not propose by his amendment to require the
banks of this State to go into liquidation.
That would be justice. If that were his
proposition I should indorse it. But the
whole character of this amendment is the
character of special legislation, and to that
I am opposed, although, as I said before, I
am in favor of pursuing any course here
which we can pursue, to curb the extensive
circulation of local banks in the State of
Maryland and in all the States, Yet, while I
am in favor of that, I am not in favor of
special legislation.
Now, what will be the resalt of this amend-
ment? Suppose I have stock in a certain
bank in the city of Baltimore. If the char-
ter of that bank has ten years to run, I should
consider myself in a very good position; if
it had but two years to run my stock would |
