New-York, April 4, 1784.
Pardon me, my dear sir, for not sooner having obeyed your orders with
respect to the inclosed. I part with it reluctantly; for wit is so
rare an article, that when we get so much of it in so small a compass,
we cannot easily consent to be dispossessed of it. I am very happy to
hear of the union of your two Banks; for you will believe me when I
tell you, that, on more deliberate consideration, I was led to view
the competition in a different light from that in which it at first
struck me. I had no doubt that it was against the interests of the
proprietors; but, on a superficial view, I perceived benefits to the
community, which, on a more close inspection, I found were not real.
You will call our proceedings here _strange doings_. If some folks were
paid to counteract the prosperity of the State, they could not take
more effectual measures than they do. But it is in vain to attempt to
kick against the pricks.
Discrimination bills; partial taxes; schemes to engross public property
in the hands of those who have present power; to banish the real
wealth of the State, and to substitute paper bubbles; are the only
dishes that suit the public palate at this time.
Permit me to ask your opinion on a point of importance to the New-York
Bank--the best mode of receiving and paying out gold. I am aware of the
evils of that which has been practised upon in Philadelphia--_weighing
in quantities_; but I cannot satisfy myself about a substitute, unless
there could be a coinage.
Favor me with your sentiments on this subject as soon as you can.
Believe me, with equal warmth and sincerity,
Yours,
A. Hamilton.
To Gouverneur Morris, Esq.