Republican Herald

United States Bank. -- The renewal of the charter of this bank is beginning to be talked about in different parts of the country. -- The following is from the 'Old Dominion,' a very respectable paper, published in Virginia.

U. S. Bank. -- We copy the following paragraph from the Richmond Compiler of Thursday: -- 'As the notes of the Bank of the United States, payable at the offices South of this place, are not received at their office in Richmond, they are not current here but at a discount. This notice is given for the benefit of the Southern dealers, who usually bring such paper into Virginia.'

This determination of the U. S. Bank. in Richmond, which doubtless has its cue from the mother bank, has made its appearance at a very opportune period. The question of renewing its charter, is already agitated; and, if we are to judge from what appears in the newspapers, a powerful opposition will be made to its renewal. A few such evidences of its shaving disposition, as is noticed above, will complete the downfall of an institution which has never been wielded for any beneficial purpose, but has operated to the detriment of the whole community. Unconstitutional in its enactment, it has been felt only as a scourge, and, its dissolution will be hailed with gladness by the American people.

We cannot let the above remarks pass without adding one or two of our own in relation to this scourge, justly styled the Mother of Aristocracy; and it cannot be uninteresting to our Citizens to know, at this time, when our Manufactures and Commerce are fast declining, that in our State the latter is in a great measure owing to the manner of conducting business at the Branch of that institution in this town. By the laws of the U. States all Custom House and other bonds are to be deposited in and collected by the Branches of the U. S. Bank; and deposites of this kind are not allowed to be made in any other Banks. Formerly it was customary when a bond expired to receive a portion in cash, and for the Bank to Discount for the remainder; as it was presumed that the security which would be accepted on a bond would be good for a discount. But now the whole amount must be paid in cash, or the Merchant is refused further indulgence, and thus is often compelled to sell at a sacrifice, or stop payment.

would be accepted on a note by the Bank.

In this way, by placing payments of Bonds on the same footing with other discounts, the Importer was enabled to meet his payments from the sale of his goods, and the Bank derived all the benefit which they were entitled to—a lawful rate of interest. But since it has become fashionable to convert Banks into Brokers' stalls every convenience of this kind has been abolished, and the moment the Importer's Bond becomes due he is compelled to pay the cash or suffer his goods to be sold by the District Marshal—and why—because the stockholders can realize 1 or 2 per cent more by shaving Notes every 30 or 60 days than by accommodating the Importer, as the law presumes would be done by the Bank. This difficulty has driven our vessels to other ports, where the owner or importer is so accommodated as not to be compelled to sacrifice his goods to meet the payment of duties. In New-York, Boston and Philadelphia these facilities are offered, and nine tenths of our commerce now goes to those places; and mostly on this reason alone. It is time that an institution which is of no use to the country was done with, and people rid of a burden upon their property and interests, sustained by government and benefitting only a few money lenders and note shavers. There is no other Bank in this town which would not willingly give all these facilities upon its own risk for the privilege of U. S. deposits, and this Bank is kept up with all those advantages without offering the least accommodation. It is plain that the intentions of its institution have been perverted, and it is high time it were suffered to sink into chaos.