ss us at present, and to
affright us for the future. Sir, it is incredible; the world abroad will
not believe it; it is difficult even for us to credit, who see it with
our own eyes, that the country, at such a moment, should put itself upon
an experiment fraught with such immediate and overwhelming evils, and
threatening the property and the employments of the people, and all
their social and political blessings, with severe and long-enduring
future inflictions.

And this experiment, with all its cost, is to be tried, for what? Why,
simply, Sir, to enable us to try another "experiment"; and that other
experiment is, to see whether an exclusive specie currency may not be
better than a currency partly specie and partly bank paper! The object
which it is hoped we may effect, by patiently treading this path of
endurance, is to banish all bank paper, of all kinds, and to have coined
money, and coined money only, as the actual currency of the country!

Now, Sir, I altogether deny that such an object is at all desirable,
even if it could be attained. I know, indeed, that all paper ought to
circulate on a specie basis; that all bank-notes, to be safe, must be
convertible into gold and silver at the will of the holder; and I admit,
too, that the issuing of very small notes by many of the State banks has
too much reduced the amount of specie actually circulating. It may be
remembered that I called the attention of Congress to this subject in
1832, and that the bill which then passed both houses for renewing the
bank charter contained a provision designed to produce some restraint on
the circulation of very small notes. I admit there are conveniences in
making small payments in specie; and I have always, not only admitted,
but contended, that, if all issues of bank-notes under five dollars were
discontinued, much more specie would be retained in the country, and in
the circulation; and that great security would result from this. But we
are now debating about an _exclusive_ specie currency; and I deny that
an exclusive specie currency is the best currency for any highly
commercial country; and I deny, especially, that such a currency would
be best suited to the condition and circumstances of the United States.
With the enlightened writers and practical statesmen of all commercial
communities in modern times, I have supposed it to be admitted that a
well regulated, properly restrained, safely limited paper currency,
circulating on