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POLITICAL.
(From tlw Extra Globe.)
A* EXPOSITION OFTHE COURSE AND PRINCIPLES ;
OF THE ADMINISTR ATION IN REL ATION TO THE
CUSTODY OF THE PUBLIC MONEYS.
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
The persevering ami unjust attack* which are inside upon the lati [
• std present Administrations, in rcfereii*e »o banks and tho public .
Aeyiitiue, induce one who has been intimately acquainted with those
who have controlled the Executive Departments of the General Go.
vermai-nt for the last nine years, to ask yonr patient attention, while
fee discloses, in sincerity and truth, the motives by which he believes
they havo been actuated, and the objects they have desired tour.
Co tn plish.
Retrasiwct.
General Jackson’s hostility to the Bank of the United States, not
from any private considerations, but from a deep conviction that it
was dangerous to the liberties nf the country, existed lone before be '
came to Washington to enter upon the functions nf Chief Magistrate. j
In a draft of his Inaugural Addiess. prepared in Tennessee, before I
he had ever seen those who, it has since been alleged, controlled t
him on this point, thorn was a passage in opposition to that bank, I
which, after his arrival in Washington, ho was induced io nniit. i
Whit?liis first annual message was in preparation.it is known that all
his counsellors dissuaded him from touching upon that topic, in is.
much as it seemed Io thorn unnecessary, if not protn I'lire ; hot lie
seas then inflexible. “ I cannot sleep upon my pillow'' said he, “if
f should nmit tn call the attention of my countrymen to thr dangers
off that institution." lie, therefore, contrary to the wishes of his
fVhsn ls.evon those who agreed with him in opinion, called the atten-
Mivn of the country to the approaching termination of its charter, and
(he crtr, * l * ,a * :on,, hty as well as expediency of its renewal. It
|*64*ced repot is in favor of the institution from committers of both
tfw Senate and House of Representatives, which were widely circu-
Idled through the country.
Although the bank appeared to be almost omnipoteut in the two
Itonses of Congress, and there were scarcely half a dozen Executive
officers who raised their voices against it ; the Hero of New Orleans
again introduced the subject more at length in his annual message of
December, 1830 and 1831.
In the mean time, the hank had taken the alarm, and put in re
qitisilwya all its means of influence. It hited writers, p«id for the
printing and circulation of documents, corrupted editors by fat jobs
and exorbitant and unusual loans upon nominal security, conciliated
members of Congress and public officers by extraordinary favors ;
and, through hundreds of presses and thousands of orat »rs, put in
motion by its means, filled the country with argument and declama,
tien in its favor.
Notwithstanding the partial disclosure of these abuses by the com
mittee of investigation at the session of 1831-2, the bank had suffi
cient power io Congress to procure the passage of an act t echarter
inj.it by a heavy majority. General Jackson hesitated as to his
course as little as he did at New O. leans in December, 1814, when
he heard that the British had landed below the city. Ho gave a
diteet veto to the bank, as both inexpedient and unconstitutional, and
submitted the question, whether there should he a Bank of the Uni
ted States ar not, directly to the people, to be tested upon his re
election. The people re-elected him almost by acclamation, and
thereby decided against a Bank of the United States.
StHI that institntion, though shown to be loaded with abuses, and
rejected by the people, did not relinquish the hope of a continued
existence. It had the public, moneys in its keeping, and on every side
it was renewing and strengthening its hold upon public men and in
stitutions, with the evident object of renewing the struggle on the
first favorable occasion. This consideration, together with the neccs
aity of providing a new system of deposite prior to the expiration of
the bank’s chartei, its interference to prevent the pavment of the
national debt, its corrupt " facilities’’ to editorsand others, the ap
pffvition of its funds to political purposes, the exclusion of the Gov
ernment directors from its business, the placing of its funds at the
disposition of the president, to he expended w ithout accountability,
and other enormities of a highly aggravated character, determined
General Jackson to take from it the means of influence it possessed
through the use of moneys of the U ited States. Having summed
up the minor considerations by which he was influenced in his cele
brated Cabinet paper, he added :
” In conclusion, the President must be perm'tted to remark, that
he looks upon the pending question as of higher consideration than
the mere transfer of a sum of money from one bank to another. Ils
decision may effect the character of our Government for ages to
come. Should the bank be suffered longer to use the public moneys
in .the accomplishment of its purposes, with the proofs of its faithless,
r.ess and corruption before our eyes, the patriotic among our citi
zens will despair of success in struggling against its power ; and
we shall be responsible fur entailing it upon our country for
ever.”
The decisive step was taken, and the panic and distress whi< h the
bank wantonly and wickedly brought on the conntrv for the avowed
purpose of controlling Congress, and ovetruling the Executive, are
new e matter of history, and afford a criterion for conceiving what
would have been the scene had the transfer of the deposites been
delayed until 1836, then to be made in the midst of an electioneer
ing campaign forth- Presidential success on.
The exhibition of th* power of the bank on that occasion, and its
disposition to use it without scruple to control the Government,
probably did mere to confirm the minds of discreet men against its
re-establishment, than all tbc argumei ts of its opponents. It had
caused leading political men to exclaim : “ We are in the midst of a
revolution." “ There arc no Sabbaths in revolutionary times;’’ it
hid elicited predictions that dirks woeld be brandished and pi-tolx
flash ; it had stimulated infuriated and misguided nu n to arm and
declare their intention to march to Washington and encamp onJCnp
itol Hill ; it had brought upon the head of the honest man and fear
less patriot who stood at the helm of State with a steady hand and
nnblenching eye, not only the denunciation of bank presses, ora
tors, and committees, but innumerable tlueats of assassination !
Let every honest man look back, and ask himself whether there
was any real necessity for ell this panic, distress, clamor, and up
rf*r» amounting almost to civil war. Was the bank under anv neces
sity to curtail near nineteen millions of dollars as it did? It began
the curtailment with ten millions of specie shut np in her vaults, and
ended it with fifteen millions ! As soon is its effort to control the
action of Congress had failed, and there was no longer any hope of
a restoration of the deposites, it immediately increased its loans a
bout twenty millions of dollars, raising them about a million higher
than they were be foie the deposites were removed ! Yet.linw of
ten did it proclaim, during the panic, that further and still further
curtailment was necessary to its safety, even to th extent of two
millions a month, until wound up, constantly pointing tn General
Jackson as the tyrant who was grinding the people to powder, and
turning a deaf ear to all their remonstrancesand sufferings. During
all this time it was itself the tyrant, inflicting misery and distress
upon tlsss country, wickedly and wantonly, to control the Govern
ment fur selfish ends. More atrocious injustice was never done to
an honest man than the bank and its advocates inflicted on General
Jackson. He has had his redress. The unjust and unconstitutional
•enienee passed on him by a bank-directed Senate, ha* been expun
ged and stigmatized as it deserved by a Senate representing a just
people. But the wanton mischief done to innocent cititizens, and to
site country at large, in that relentless and unnecessary war of the
hank and its myrmidons on the Administration, has never been re
dressed. For crimes less aggravated, and injuries less severe, upon
individuals and the public, many a man has been led to the scaffold.
Yet, the real authors of this panic and mischief hold up their heads
tn the midst of society, and confidently aspire to its highest hon
ors !
No intelligent and honezt man will inw say that the gradual trans
u *^ e d'posites from the Bank of the United States to
the State banks, would have produced any material sensation in
commercial affairs, much less a general panic, but for the needless
curtailments made by the bank and the clamor of ii* partisan*. It
was the bank, and not the Administration, which produced all of
calamity, real or imaginary, by which the country was set in an up
roar. But when the bank found herself defeated in her grand object,
er policy was instantly changed. She opened the flood-gates of
•■nk a-commodaticn, and in eight months inundated the country
wit i a out twentv millions of dollars, notwithstanding her loss of
the depositee ! The State banks, encouraged bv her example, and
strengthened by the public deposites, as well as hv the spec e which
the panic curtailments had forced into the country, sent out their over
flowing tributary streams. The facility with which bank accommoda
tions eould bs acquired, encouraged men to become speculators. Mer
chandise, produce, city and village lots, new towns and public lands,
•very thing that could be bought and sold, were brought into the gi
gantic whirlpool. Men enough were not left at the plough to raise
read for the country—all were accumulating fortune* hv buying ami
* 7°™ ® x,r "« rdi ' ! «LV importations and excessive 'sales of i
[lublic lands, the public revenue began to accumulate beyond the
wants of the Government. The surplus being depostted in bank*,
became immediately the basis of newbat.k issues, ad ing to the means |
of speculation, and aggravating the prevailing evils.
General Jackson saw the banks, led on bv tfw- Bank of the United
»»aie», cnreeimg onward to destruction, >nd considered whether it i
was tn h» power to arrest them. The onlv mode by which he could '
reach them, was to reject their notes in payment of the public due* ;
•nd thus dimmish tbeir power to extend their issm s .till further, to ;
the ruin of many honest men, with jeopardy to themselves ami I
mischief to the country. In this disinterested ami patriotic object '
•nginated the much abused Specie Circular. No measure could be '
more just or more appropriate to the slate of the country ; yet none !
Was ever more abused. It checked the issues of banks’ and con«e
quently lessened the means of speculation, and arrested the unnatu
ral advance of prices, or rather the depreciation of the ciinency.
lienee, st wee denounced by the*’arms of speculators which buzzed
in every body’s ears throughout the ci untry, and was adeged u> b- '
the cause of numberless evils which it only could not prevent. If
the bank", adnwnished by this measure, had given attention to their
own condition and that ot the country, and ferthwith adopted a sys
tem of moderate curtailment, the catastrophe of suspension might
have been avoided. But, though checked in their career, they did
hot recede. For months they appeared to stand still, waiting for
etenss. u-. the flraon time, the »t*c««ive Importations of mor than-
dise, and the influx of bread stuffs from abroad, produced a demand
for specie for exportation. This was immeasurably aggravated by
the violent and unjustifiable course et the Bank of England, which
suddenly destroyed \merican credit in that island, with the avowed
ob,ect ot forcing back the specie which had been forced out of En
gland by.the panic curtailments and reducing the price of cotton,
the reaction ot which is now again sending the specie of England
t<» every commercial nation of the globe. Altera *hort snuggle, the
Now York banks gave way nnd suspended the payments of specie.
As fast as tbc news spread, the other banks followed their exam
ple, and in ten days there was scarcely a specie paying bank in the
Union.
It ts now tho heme of every Federal orator and Federal press,
that this result has been brought about bv Gen. Jackson an I Mr. Van
Buren.
Did Gen. Jackson compel the Bank of the United States to make
the panic curtailments ? No : they weremade bv Mr. Biddle, with
out necessity, to control the action of Congress through the sufferings
of the country.
I Did Gen. Jacksnn compel the State banks to curtail at the sum
I time, and thereby increase the public distress ? No : those bank*
I were forced to curtail by the R oik of the United Stalest
Did (ten. Jackson compel the Bank of the United States to extend
| her loans about twenty millions of dollars as soon as the panic wa*
’ over, and thereby open the floodga'es of paper issues ? N< : this st< p
w<s taken by Mr. Biddle without pretence of compulsion or counsel
from the Administration 1
D d Gen. Jackson compel or advise the State banks to follow ties
pernicious and f. tai example ? No: he advised agains'it; aid vilen
counsel wastonnd to be of no avail, made an eflbrt to at rest the itn
p-nding ruin by the Specie Circular.
Did Gen. Jackson set on foot the ten thousand wild and reckb ss
speculations which pervaded the Union 1 No : they were generated
by the sudden and extravagant b nk issues after the close of the
panic in which the Bank of the United Slates led the wav. The
voice of that honest and fearless Chief Magistrate was always hearo
against them.
Did Gen. Jatkson produce the excess of importations, and the in
flux «»f breadstuff*, which generated the demand for the exportation
of specie to pay for them I No: thr excess of importations was a
portion of those speculations which originated in excessive bank is
sues, and the importation of bread stuffs was the consequent e of un
toward seasons, and the withdrawal from grain-growing of a large
portion of oni laboring peop'e, who thought they saw a shorter road
to wealth in speculation or other employments.
Did Gen. Jackson induce the Bank of England to make its violent
attack on American credit, and thereby augment the demand forspe
cie to pay debts in England ! No: that step, improper as it was,
grew out of a foolish desire to force back to England a portion of
the specie which Mr. Biddle's panic curtailments had forced away,
and put an end to the swelling bubble which was rising out of the
interchange of credit between the two countries.
Did Gen. Jackson recommend the sudden displacement of large
sums of public money whir h had entered into the banking operations
of partir ular places, for the purpose of depositing it with the States,
theieby increasing the embarrassments of the banks 1 No : it is well
known that he was opposed to that measure, and signed the bill with
reluctance.
And what art nf Mr. Van Buren produced or hastened the catas
trophe ? None whatsoever. He did indeed decline rescinding the
Specie Citcular. being satisfied that its operations were salutary both
upon the country and the banks.
The causes ot the suspension of specie payments are not then to
be looked for io the acts or designs of the Administration, but chiefly
in the mismanagement of the banks, in which the Bank of the Uni
ted Stales look the lead. That the design of Mr. Biddle and his
political associates was to produce this very result, is by no means
improbable. It is a part of history that they did, during the panic,
coolly and deliberately, “ calm as a summer’s morning,” pursue a
course which produced tliesnspension of several banks, and put ma
ny others in jeopatdy, with the single view of controlling the Gov
ernment through the dis'ressesof the people, producing a res'oratii-n
of the deposites, and a recharter of the bank. What would have
been the extent of this suspension, had not the policy of the bank
been counteracted by an immense i flux of specie, it is impossible
to know ; but men who were capable of consj irrng to accomplish
their objects in one made are not too good to conspire i s ac< onipli-l
ment in another. Ti e throwing out oftxvenl millions by Mt. Bid
dle. obtaining loans in Europe, and extending bis ciedit iii every di
rection, was the must insiduoiis and at the same time the most offer
live means to tempt the State banks upon dangerous ground, which
could have been devised. They had that effect, and led the whole
nrmy of banks into a position where they were unable to withstand
for a month the operations of an adverse trade. To the batiks them
selves, therefore, the whole mischief is to be asciibed, and chiefly to
the Bank of the United States. The steps taken by them which led
»o the recent catastrophe, were neither the necessary nor the natural
result of tho measures of the Administration. On tile contrary,
they were taken to defeat its policy, and in opposition to its wishes
and will.
I Let us now look at the position at present occupied bv the Admin
istration, the policy it has pursued, and the measures it proposes in
reference to its own duties, and tl e currency of tl.e country.
Suspension of Specie payments, and the. course of the Administra
tion thereupon.
The people had decided against having a Bank of the United
Sja'es in the re-election ot General Jackson, and Congress had tiro-
I vided by law for the safe-keeping of the public ntonev in certain
I State banks. By the Constitution and laws of the United States,
nothing but gold and silver, or their equivalent, could be received or
j paid out bv the General G niernment ; and the deposite law itself
I prohibited the em loyment of any bank as a depository, which did
I not pay its notes in gold and silver. All the funds of the Govern
! ment. both o* - th- Freasury and Post Office D p irtnients, were de
posited in State banks.
Sim Itanemisly, nearly every hank in the Union stopp »d payment.
Treating th* G ivermnent as they did the rest of their creditors, the
banks refused to pay the warrants of the Treasury and the Post
Office in anv thing but their own notes—notes which could nor be le
gally offered to a public creditor in payment. Threats of violence
were us*d in Boston, New York, and at othe* places, with the view;
.o f compelling the Executive to violate the plaint! laws, in receiv
j in? depreciated nnd irredeemable paper for all public dues. These
, threats weie disregarded, and the public dues collected in gold and '
j silver. Rut there was a difficulty in complying with the laws in pay- i
j ing the public creditors, all 'he funds of the Government being shut
; tip in the banks, from which nothing but ii redeemable paper could
Ibe obtained. Bv the I’.-st Office Department, the difficulty was soon
surmounted. The current income of that Department being equal
to its current expenditure, it was only necessary to have its income
paid in specie, to meet all its expenditures in the same currency.
Prompt and successful steps were taken to effect that object, and not
a warrant of the Posmaster Generol has been returned protest'd
since the suspension, which has not born promptly paid in specie;
and for several months past, all payments have been made in that
currency. This great establishment, having an income of about
fair millions of dollars a year, is now carried on, without the slight
est difficulty, in the midst of the suspended bai ks, receiving and dis
bursing gold and silvei only.
The difficulty would have been as readily surmounted by the
Treasury Department, bad not its necessary disbursements exceeded
i’s current income. Tim sales of public land*, and the importations !
of dutiable merchandise, were almost stopped by the couiineicial re- I
vdsion, and it was found necessary to grant indulgence on duly
bonds already given. Thus the resources of the Treasury were
dred up. while the army and naw, the civil list and diplomatic corps
necessarily gave rise to heavy demands upon it almost daily. It had
no alternative, hut was obliged to tender available, as far as possible,
, the funds in bank, and anticipate its future receipts. The Secreta- I
I rv of the Treasury, therefore, continued to draw upon the banks ; i
I and to enable the holders of hi* warrants or drafts to use them in
I payment, if they preferred it to taking bank notes, and to give them
I the bight st practicable value, made them receivable for duties attd
public lands. This very operation, though just to the public credi
tors, ent off the specie receipts by anticipating the revenue, and
gave no effectual relief to the department. At their extra session.
Congress granted the power to issue Treasury n >tes, as a means of I
keeping up the credit of the Treasury with a deficient revenue. It j
was believed bv many of our most sagacious men, that ti is paper I
would pass at specie par with a very moderate interest, or none at all; i
hut as present value cannot be had for them, except by paying them
in for pub'ic dues, and as the disbursements of the department are
still greater than its receipts, it has been in the power of a powerful
party press, and o’her hostile interests, to cry 'hem down below par
at certain points. Efficient measures have, hewever been adopted
to raise them to specie par. and at that rate it is confidently believed '
tbev will soon ho negotiated, lu the meantime, the Tteasurv D< - |
fiartinent has paid specie as far as it had the )>-wer, nod, since the I
stoppage of specie pat nients by the banks, has actually dishmsed
over six millions of d -liars in gold and silver. It is expected that al
its future disbursements will be in coin, or its equivalent. Receipts
a e beginning to flow in, and in a short time they will probably ex
ceed the current expenditure, wl.en all embarrassments will be at an
end.
The Independent Treasury.
To avoid the embarrassments encountered from the s'oppnge of
the bank* tor ever hereafter, and secure the faithful application of the
public money toil e purposes for which it is exacted from the people,
the Administration {imposes no longer to entrust it to the custody of
c >rporations, but to keep it in an indep ndent T easurv. The
following arc some wi the reasons upon which this proposition is
sustained :
1. It is obviously the plan orginallv intende-' by the Constitu ion.
It is a provision of that instrument, that •* no money shall be drawn
fiomjhe Treasury except in pursuance of appropriations made by
law. What does this mean, but that the public money shall, when
collected, be put into a Treasury, and there remain until drawn out
io pay appropriations made by Congress ? Is it not wholly incon
sistent with <he idea that it can be taken out, and lent to 'the mer
chants nr others 1 Suppose that John Campbell, the Treasurer of
the United States, had five millions of dollars in the Treasury—in a
vault, room, or chest under his own cart—could he lend $16,000 to
Daniel Webster, slo,<<oo to Henry Clay, and $l,0t)0,000 to Nicho
las Biddle, for their private purposes, pocketing theinterest himself,
without drawing it from the 7'reasury, in palpable violation of the
Constitution 1 Is iot this an application of the public money topri
vate. illegal, and unauthorized uses, thr. very thing which the restric
tion in the Constitution was intended to y event ( To lend out the
public money is the only |iurpose for which the banks want it. They
do not desire it to keep but to vs". Their peculiar friends will not
even hear of a specialdeposite which would restrict orpievent their
using ii. The libetty of using it as they please is what they demand ;
in other words, they claim the privilege of lending it out to their cus
tomers for their own profit. Ami is it not then out of the Treasury ?
lias it not been drawn mH, without appropriation, in palpable viola
tion of the spirit of the Constitution ?
It is not a satisfactory answer to say this practice is of long stand
ing. I t it be a palpable violation ol the Constitution, its instant re-
Immation is an imperative demand of principle and duty. The dis
asters which have followed an abandonment of 'be Constitution on
this point, require a return to it as a matter of expediency as well as
of principle.
2. An Independent Treasury is necessary to maintain the inde
pendonco and efficiency of the Governtnent. We have mm It in
English history as well as in the productions of our own statesmen,
about the “ union of the purse and the sword" in the same bands.
In Great Britain, the power to declare war and raise an army and
marine, is vest, din the King, and that is called “ thr sword." The
power to raise money Io pav the iirmv and maiine, is vested in the
Parliament, and that is called “ the purse.” The K tig holt’s “ tile
swore" and the Parliament bolds" the purse.” This arrangement
checks the King, and prott cts the liberties of the people from Execu
tive aggression.
In our Government, Congress only ran declare war and authorize
the ra sing of an army and mat itie, and, therefore. Congress boliis
“ the sword." Congress onk can raise money to miv the army and
marine, and, therefore, Congress holds “ the purse" also. In these
provisions is a donbl" check upon Executive aggression. He I.as
neither " the purse” tior " the sword” until Congress put them into
his lundsbv law ; and altlt High, after they have given him “ the
sword" by declaring war. they cannot withdraw it bv making a trea
ty of peace, they can withdraw or close up “ the purse” by refusing
to raise money. ’
But modern avarice and ingenuity have intr*<hi<ed a now pttrse
liolder—it is the banks. Congrrss or Parliament can no longer hr
trusted with “ the purse”- it is s- fe only in the hands of hanks!
Such is the modern theory. Let ns see what may I e the pra< tical
operation of this theory. Congress declares war and raises twen’v
millions of money to carry it on, which, instead of being deposited
in the Treasury, under cliatge of the appropriate officers, is put in'o
sundry banks, which now become the purse-holders of ti e Gov
ernment. These banks are opposed to the war, and thick “ the con
di ion and circumstances of the country” will not justify its prose
cution. The Executive applies to them for the money provid' dbv
Congress to pav the aimv and navy, and they withhold itfortbe
purpose of putting an end tn the «var. Is this the check which the
Constitution intended to impose on the Exec itive ? On the contra
ry, is it not a third power introduced into the Government, unknown
to the Constitution, and subversive as well of the just powers of Con
gress as of flic Presiden> I
Look at what actually has happened. Last May the deposite
banks bad on band about twenty-seven millions of the public money,
every dollar of which was appropiiated by Congress, or directed Io
be deposited with the States. These laws the Executive was pro
ceeding to execute, when the banks suddenly stopped payment. If
the money hail been in the. Treasury, as the Constitution requires,
the Executive could have draw n it out in pursuance of law, ami
carrier! into execution the will of Congress. But as the money of
the Government was gone to speculators and others, w ith the capi
tal of the banks, the stoppage of the banks was necessarily the stop
page of thr. Treasury. The Exec itive could not execute the acts
of Congress; he could not pay a soldier or sailor, a clerk orrontrac
tor, in the legal currency of the Uni'ed States, though nominally
there were twenty-seven millions of dollars in lite Treasury, alrea
dy appropr ated for that purpose. Ami the efforts made to fulfil the
obligation* and keep the faith ofthe Gover-ment, under circumstan
ces brought upon it bv these safe purse holders, hnw been the con
stant theme of abuse, taunt, and ridicule, by their organs and advo
cates ever stnci !
Now, a.re not the liberl'es of this people safe tinder the guardian
ship of the Legislative, Ejjecn ive. ami Judicial departments oftbeir
Government ? Most we b-ve a third power to step in between the
Legisla'ive and Executive departments, to nullify the law. p tssed bv
the form- rbv obstructing the constitutional action of thelat'er? Is
not the gitardian-hip of Congress over the public nurse sufficient?
When Congtesslrive rai.ed monev, and appropriated it, i- it not safe
to let the Executive have it to apply to the designated object* t
Must a third power, independent of both, be brought into cheek the
Execn'ive, and refuse him the the means to execute the laws of Con
gress, and discharge tbe obligations of the Government ?
It must not he overlooked that this foreign power is as much a
(heck upon Cong ess as upon the Executive. It is in vain that Con
gress raises money and appropriates it, if tbete be a third power
which can interpose and prevent its expen<<ilmc. It is in vain that
Congress declares war, and raises money to carry it on, if thev put
it in the custody of an independent and nresponsible power, which
has the will as well as the ability to withhold it from the Executive,
and thus pr-vent its tpplication to the support of an armv and na
vy. This principle puts not onlv the Executive, but Congress also,
directly under the control of the bank*, and without f/tetr consent, a
shin cannot sail, ami an arms cannot march.
This check upon popular government is of modern invention. It
t not ot eof those safeguards of liberty w hich was fmig t for in the
R.ivobition. There was not a bank in 1776 within the limits of the
thirteen States. Thev are n< t found to constitute a part ofthe State
Governments in their early constitutions; they formed no part of
ti e Ge’era! Government tinder the Articles of Confederation ; and
thev were directly repudiated by the Convention which ormed our
present Constitution. If the Continental Congress resorted to a
bank, it was not for the purpose of keeping their money, (for note
th -v ha'!,) but as a means of grttivp money to carry on the war.
The fitst Bank of the United States was n t created for a deposito
ry of the pvhlit moiteys, (for there is no such provi-ion in its cbar
tei,) but as ame ins of restoring and sns'aining the public credi*.
Tn the charter of th* second Bank of the United States, granted in
1816, 's found the first germ of this third powt-r, which it is n-'W in
sisted must interpose betwt t n the Legislative and Executive De
partments of the Government, 'ti order to prevent an "union ofthe
purse and the sit’' 1 rd.” Otten and loudly has it been asserted bv the
new.lights of the age, t!;;:* the United •''talcs Bank had an absolute
right to the public moneys, am* .'hat it was "surp’itmn in the Execu
tive to deposite t' em elsew here ; anti it has since been attempted to
vest such a right in State bank*. Constituting no part of the Gov
ernment, not elected to anv office bv the people, or appointed by the
President or anv public authority, independent of the jieople, and
substantially irresponsible to the Government, it is maintained that
thev might to be entrusted with one of the most delicate and respon
sible functions of the executive power.
Tin' Constitutions o the States and ofthe United States estaldi-h
Governments which, when carried out by law, are complete in all
their parts. The check which the safetv of liberty requires, are
fount] in the adjustment of the several Departments in relation to
each other, and various written prohibitions. The inter,msition of
banks as psirsehol lers is no part ofthe constitutional plan ; it is a
modern innovation ; it is the intrusion of a new and irresponsible
power, subversive of the purity of lite Government, fatal to its inde
pendence, and dangerous ttt its existence. If it be suffered to pro
gress and confirm its 11 in its usurpation, questions of peac,' and war.
of coin tierce, trad' 1 , and taxation, will be decided, not by the repre
sentatives . f the people and of the States in Congress, hut bv
the presidents attJ diteclois of banks in secret conclave assem
bled.
3. Another argument in favor of an Independent Treasury is
found in the cemr tlizi'ig influence, and consolidating icnde'icv of the
bank jtower. New York and Philadelphia are so i lose together that
they it av be called the centre of our commercial and monetary sys
tem. The interior banks, the orbs of our credit system, «re as de
pendent on that centre as the planets are on the centre of the solar
system. When the banks at <iiat point stop, they ail stop, nor can
they resume with anv convenience in their business, unless the banks
of the two great cities set the t xatii|de. When the New Y- rk
banks stopped payment tn M tv last, the shock ran with electric speed
thro tgh tin; whole '-telit system.and the banks of all the States were
prostrated at a blow. Ami now we are told, that the banks of Ohio,
Kentniky and the most distant Stales, t annot resume without a
movement from the centre. Tims the eight linn lied banks are one
in their essential operations; they are a consolidated, concentrated
power, though seemingly tin ier various jurisdictions, yet effectually
controlled by the few mtn who govern and direct the banks in l\ew
York and Philadelphia. Nor does it materially alter the case in
this respect, whether this controlling p >wer he organized and regttla
t< d untie: the name of a Bank of tiie United Slates chartered by
(.’ongress, or left in toe hands of bi tks, great or small, chartered bv
the States. Its organization under the name of a Bank of the Uni
ted States undnuhietlly increases its influence by com ('titrating its
power in out' head ; but the seat of the mischief is in the laws of
trade and the nature ol mu- credit system. Though most fearfully
illustrated ina Bank ol the United States, its consolidating tenden
cies are equ illy palpable in the operations ofthe Stale banks. Pas
sing scene* prove the dep 'iidencc of the extremes upon the centre
too clearly and e nt lusixt ty to require argument or ptoof Io satisfy
the mind of the reader.
Is it not apparent that as far as the General Government and
State (• 'vernm iits identity themselves with the banks, they become
cons' lidated ii to one great whole ? The General Government and
State Governments had heron e dependent on banks for their actual
currency and the keeping of t eir tr asmes. By a single blow their
currency is depreciated and their treastires arc rendered unavailable.
By whom and white was this blow strut k ? Not by tmy legitimate
authoritv in the (>enei il Government or in the several States-. The
blow came through the I n ks of New Ymk, and wax fe't in the
most distant States in the Union. All the States and the Union it
self w re found to he dependent on that centre ; there, was concen
trated the f-ower to cnntn.l ail oer Governments and people in this
res,ect; in relation to the ciinency ami credit system, the States
were found to be c-nsolidatid already, and the ruling power sits en
throned in New York and Philadelphia.
Let the Southern, Western, and even Middle and Northern States
loak to it. Every new bank they create upon the principles now
approved, is a niw ligament to bind them to the central power. Ev
ery new bank created in New York, and every increase of bank
capital, adds to the fatal attraction which binds the distant States to
the ceiitie. Every act of the General or State Governments which
gm s to strengthen banks, adds to th* intensity a.id danger of this
centralizing influence, and diminishes the power of the States and
the people over their own affairs. Alieady, a great corporation has
spiting np i.i P tilatielphia, which at this nioiiimit not only controls
the entire currency of the States, by preventing a resumption of spe
ck- payments, but isenteting drepiy inti their trade. If is another
East India company, and the South and Wist are. the rich provinces
which it aspires to conquer and to plunder. \ competitor may be
expt < '< <1 in New York, not to restrain the inroads ami usurpations of
the Philadelphia marauder, but to rival him in subjecting the golden
Smith ami tl.e tenting West Io the centra, banking power. Conse
quences the most lealfnl to the indepcmlei.ee of the Stairs, and re
sults the most fatal to all popular control over the General Govei n
met-t.may be justly apptehended from the growth, extension and <u
gaiitz-ition of this prevailing and subtle powei.
Nor does the mischief end in throwing the entire control ofthe
enrremy into the handsofa few men in Philadelphia and New
Yoik. I host* men an* hi List but the instruments and Hgent<*, per
haps unwillingly, of the London banker* and the Bank of En'land.
London is the centre of the credit system of the whole coinmi reial
world, and the Bank of England is the sun of that system. The
hanks of New Ymk and Phila 'elphia beat a lelati.mto’ the Bink of
England, very similar to that which the banks of Ohio and other
distant Mates beat Io them. Our inferior banks are their dependent
orb*, as the planets of our solar system hate their moons, ami they
themselves are Inn secondary bodies, 'evolving around the distant
situ of the <ri dit svsleiit. Ibe immediate cause of their recent stop
page was a measure ofthe Bank of Enoland, culling off American
credit, and tins with hawing fr< mtbem the light ami support in which
they lived and moved. It wastin' Bank .f England, therefore, which
sopped oni banks, deptecialtd our enrremy, and shut up our Trea
sury. Our central banking power is al last but the dependent of an
other power, seated in a foreign land; am' i-tir consolidated States
are. through their hanks, and in their currency, but the province* of
the tm.iiey king wlio sits enthroned in Lmidon. Those who control it*
me hm b s *-trap* and tributaties, acting in submission to his poweraud
in oliedicnce to his wi I.
And i* it safe to mist out public moneys to the keeping of the de
pctideiits of tfie Bank of Enghimt? Is it safe to {dace our country in a
p si ion « here a foreign ] ower can shut up our Treasury, almost at will,
■•tml et ipple our Gov. rmiieui iu »l its operations? |f so . | e t us rescind
th" l>e< lara in of fndcp tern e and aekimwled .e ourselves, as we re-
allv-liall he. again provinces of the British Empire.
4. 'I he litdepen 'em Tie sury. inste ol of fostering ever tradiu* and
wild sp cnlaiion. like the deposit,- of the public moneys in banks, wou'd
lie a most effective and salutary check upon tlmse operations. The re
venue of the I nited X’r ,tes accrues from sales of public lands and duties
<m imports. As soon ns speculation in piddie lands at d duties on ini
ports. As soon as s|iecu'atioii in public lands and excessive importations
comm, n< (-.the rex < mte begins to increase bevmtd the wants of toe Guv
ernineiit. I’epo-ited in banks, and ih ic made the basis of new loans it
tim sto swdi the tideof over-trading and speculation. But collected in
gold and silver, and put into the Treasury, the accumulation itself would
soon check the cause of it. If instead of being deposited in banks, the
late smp'us, as it rose from ten to twentv millions of dollars, from twen
ty to flinty, and from thirty to forty, had been locked up in the Treastny
tn gold and s.lver. who can d< libt that ;t would have prevented he irn
mense extension of credit w hich led to the general su-pensloii of specie
payments? I'he shutting up of the specie w< u'd have had the same
effect as its exportation. It cojld um have risen to twentv million* be
foie the diet k would have been felt through, tit all the rarhifieations of
the credit sys'em. and the banks would not so indiscreetly have extend
ed their issues. The means of over-trading and speculation old not
have'men obtained ; the rei-ept* of the Tieasury world not have ae
cutnitlaied ; ami thesnspen-iou would h ive been averted "An ounce
of prevention is worth a pmmd of cure. Tha Imlependeut Trea trv
tvmd Ibe a pregnant means of preventing speculation i i public property
and tluti ddeiiierchan lise—an evil which um'er’he hank depo-i e sxstein
fmdsjts cure <mly in general einltarrass'iient, ex ensive ha k-u, tev. ao<|
lately, an iin versal suspension of specie payments. Surely it would
he better for the coun'ry. the Government and the banks’ that these
operationsshmiul he checked in their earh stages, than that th y 'honl I
thus invi-lve ti e innocent as well as the go Itv in imlisciimiti He ruin
But, if these advaiit iges are considered insufficient to make it politic
to retain a growing sin-pin* in the Treasure, how easy i' is to put the
aeeiiniiilating funds into State stocks, and thus throw the specie into
eircid.'itimi
5. 'I he Independent Treasury would tend topreserve a curtencv of
specie or i'sequivalent. If no one would -eceive paper, we sh-m'd
h ive a specie cunem-y. In the precise extent to which paper is refit*, d.
specie will always circulate. The General Government is the greatest
creditorin th -ci try. If it receives n .thing but the constitutional cur
leticv in its tratisa. tions, it will keep many millions of gold and silver in
circulation which wmdd o henvise he md-s itmed by hank notes, ai d
shut up in the v: idtso banks, or exported from the country, hi this
wav. it would greatly increase the specie basis, restrict the issues of
batiks, and gite great r security to people. The Post Office Te
pm tiueiit now colie t* and disburses about of dollars a quar-
; ter. all in specie w ithout the least difficulty or einhai'ra sment
6. The Imlepemlettt Tre isurv will place the keeeprs of the pub
lic money under the direct authority and control of Congress, the
constitutional guaidian ofthe public moneys. A nation.il bank is too
strong to be controlled, having heretofore with impunitv -hut its doors
upon a comini.tee of Congress. Over tin- Stale banks tint body lias
no legal authority or control whatsover. When placed in those in
stitutions, the public moneys are beyond their constitutional super
vision. Neither the Legislative nor executive power can control'
tin m. I hey are out ot the possession ot the Government, without
being in the hands ofthe people. It is otherwise with the officers of
an Independent Treasury. Congress must first create them; must
pies'like their respective duties, and fix their salaries ; must d rect
the amount ofthe b-nds to be tai*en; may, at any time, inquire into
their conduct , may impose further restrit tions ; mav turn tin m out
by im|.ea< Lment, or abolish their offices. Through them, Congress
may ix'tiise asditict si {< t vision ovtr tie custody of the public
money as i. is possible for them to posst ss ; while their power of
control ovci hank depositories is nominal and impotent.
7. The Post Office Department is now, and long |r s been, a i
complete illustration ofthe In lependent Treasury svsti m. Fori
many years pa»t, nine tenths of the po (masters have been the keep- |
ers of the monexs wliii l.th -y collected, until they were paid over to |
the cieditor* of the Departinent. Upon the suspension of specie
payments l ist spring they were all put upon that fooling. No prin
ciple of a Iministraion was changed, but the one-tenth wbi h had de
posited in banks, were placed on the same footing that the nine-teuths
were Iclote. Now, every postmaster keeps the money lie collects
until it is p ii I out to e mtrieturs or others, unless safetv or -onvenien -e
require th tit shall be transf-rred to some -nber postmaster. For
years, there have been ten t. eleven thousand of these offii ers, and
now then- arc twelve thousand, each -rforniing the duties which :
would be required of an liidt-peti.lent Treasury, though g< ner illv
on a small scab-. D.i tiie public hi ar of any inconvenience arising
trom this plan? Is tmt every thing going on with harinonv, con
venience and safely ? Tle transfer of funds costs not a cent.
O.i the coutraiy, the Depaitment could make monev <> it of the
operstu.n if it chose to do so.
Here, t' eu i-> a practical illustration of the system in full nnd success
ful i-peiatiou brfei'e the eyes of the people contradicting every dax. in
the mo t emphatic maimer, the objections which sell-interot and
parly feeling so eagerly invent and so | ersevt-iingly propagate.
A mother prim ip'e is illustrated by the daily operations of that De
pm-tiiieut. \\ ith slight exceptions it ric. ives and disbwses gold and
silver only Twelxe thousand Post masters in twelve ti ousmiu neigh
borhoods receive i.liil pay cut about a million of do'lars a qu irter. in
the legal coin of the United States, though siiriounded with a paper
ci,cliiati-'ii. \\ hat does t’ is prove? It proves, tint specie wi 1 come
when there is a demand for it. It proves, that it appears ami is used as
a currency in propoi'tion to the dem ind. It prtves. that whenever any
ther iteparhiK-lit ol the General or State Governments, any corpora
tion, comp my m iipliviilual, refuse* to take paper inpayment, specie!
will m ik" its appearance. It {ii'ives, that the people can h ve a ijiccie
curreiiey at ary tiise when the - , have th firmness to refuse paper. j
If the people in ev, rv iowii, village and neighborhood in t’e country, j
can fiiH specie to pay their postages is it to b--believ'd that it can- |
not In found by iiiei-i-hant'- in the great citie* to pay their duty bond.-?
The idea i* idle. The purchase of public laud* in specie is going on
every day ; mid so far n.* it may be needed for other |>ui puses, it canal
ways be obtained,if n-qitiied ly the peoji'e.
Objections Considered.
Let vs now turn our attention to the objections urged against the
Independent Treasury and the .Administration which proposes i’,
1. It is dictated to be a measure cal -ulaied to promote levelling
prii.t iples and an equalization of property—principles which are
traced to the declaia ion of Robert Dile Owen, in 1829, advocating
"a civil revol.iti-in, which tv mid leave behind it no trace of: ny Gov
ernment that bad not provided for every human being an equal
amount <d prop-ny on nrr ving at the age of maturity, and during
nnnoritv equal food, clothing, and education, at tiie public ex
pense.” How the keeping of the iiumcy of the Government exclu
sivrlv fer its own use, instead of letting thos. use it to whom it does
not belong, tr ids to imp iir the right of property, it is not easy to
conceive However that may be, I venture to say there is not a man
connected w ith the Administration who entertains opinions in any
degree analogous to die wild an ■ impiactible scheme developed by
Mr. Owen. It would lie equally just to attribute to them, as their
settled opinions, the incoher* lit giv ings out of liny mid mull ill bed
lam. Ou tl.e coutraiy, there is bvlievd not to he a man connected
with tin: Administration who does i.ot maintain, as a fundamental
principle, that every man has u l ight to possess, etljnv and dispose
of, whatever he has a qnired hv the eflor.s of bis own mind, strength
and industry, wit limit it fringing upon therithtsof others; and that
i.ne id the first i lijects id all {list institutions is to prmect thnt right.
Equal Rights is u sounil doctrine; but it is wholly incompatible
with equality of property. " Eipiab’y <d rights” secures to every
man alike the privilegeol enj-yingtl-e -repi riy he honestly acquires;
hut it does not require him l<> divide bis acqiisitions with his neigh
bor.' w ho are less able to work, less fortunate, less in Insnious, or less
economical. Whatever he gives out ofthe procei d* of bis labor, is
not requi ed of him as a matter of light, but is exacted by holy
charity, or other persuasive considerations, oierating upon his lib
erality mid his will. The Supreuie Being lias mit made men equal
in physical strength, in mental power, in excitability of passion.*, in
solidity ot judgment, i r in any other things between which it is
possible to draw a puallel. Hiimmi institutions which should at
tempt to produce an equality of roperty, when Heaven itself lias
made men unequal in the faculty of acquisition, would he a violation
ot natural law, of individual rights, impracticable and absurd. Ina
con try where mind is free, till sorts of wild theories will spring tip,
like weeds in a itch soil ; but rooted out by reason and common
| sense, they only ten I to fertilise a land of liberty. It is as ridiculous
I as it is unpist, to pick up these teeming extravagances and attribute
; them to the Adininistratioiior any political party in the country. Sure
it is, that the idea of an equality of property, or of a general dis
tribution of property, is utterly repudiated by every man connected
w ith the Administration, and the charge might, with more plausibility,
be retorted upon those who so-strenuously maintain that the banks
should have tiie use of money vVbichdoes not belong to them.
| 2. It is cl.-argedh that the Itidejicndenl Treasury is a measure of
I hostility to die general credit system of the cou dry, an 1 is calcula
| ted, if not dcsigm-d, to re luce the operation* ol trade to t e mere
j exchange of one thing for another, wtteout the interposition of crc
; dtt paper iu any simp*.
j 'Fliis charge has as little foundation in fact as tie | receding. It is
| almost as absurd to talk <d batii-king credit from a civilized immu
nity as of producing an equality (d jiiopt'rty. Credit hi found use
ful in llie most simple, a* well a* id the most • omplica ed forum of
society, and to destroy it, wo II be totul one ofthe ligaments which
bind men together iu civil communities. Doubtless, like ail other
Imnest men, tin members of tl.e Administration are opposed to that
abuse of credit which n b* the good man for the liem-fit of f fte knave,
ruins multiiiide* by it.* excesses, and produces dem TairzationV dis
trust, and anarchy in the business of society. Todraw the proper
j line, and say I i credit “thus far shalt thou come and no fartkcT, is
j perhaps impraciii iiblt-; and the only diffeteiiri- on the subject which
; exist* in die country is believed to be, not whethei credit shall exisf,
but to what limit it is expedient to pe.mi its extension. On (hat
point scarcely any two intelligent men will be found toag'ec; and aw
die Administration have no control over it, they do not entertain the
question. While there is not one of its nu mbers who is hostile to
tlie credit sy stein, there may be the same diversity of opinion among'
them, as to some ol its features, which exists anieng their fellow
citiztiiis.
3. I lie Independent Tre 'snrv is charged with being part of *
scheme to overthrow-th * State banks or "State institutions.” There
is not even >, p| insildi: fonii latton lor this charge. The single ground
on which it is got up is the known d. site of the Administration to be
relieved trom tbeir aid in the management of the public revenue,
breau-e they have signally failed in the performance of their public
duties and obligations in >hat respect. iMuitnudes of individuals, aa
well as the Gov rnineiit, had deposites of s|iecie funds in the banka
at the time of their stoppage. Suppose one of these private citi
zens, who was bound by the law and an oath to pay all his debts ie
specie, and hid foun I himself thus iiiiexpecti-dly deprived of tie
powei to obey th- one, or comply with the other’ should determil e
lierealti i to keep his money in his own chest, ought he to be cl arged
with a design to destroy the bank-? Must everv nia** keep his mo
ney in b inks, or best t down as their enemy? Must he buy their
friendship, nr encounter their hostility!
The A I ininist ra■ ion has proposed no measure for the injury of
banks. On the contrary, it has applied tor and obtained from Con
gress an act of indulgence, giving them time to pay over the public
moneys on hand. Its aim, from the time of tbeir suspension hat
been to separate from them, nnd let them alone— to leave them to
the States by which they were created—to leave them in the free
and full exercise of all their {lowers and privileges—neither to help
nor hinder them—not to interfere with their business, nor ask their
i- letlerence with the Government—t" let them be what thev are,
"State institutions" for State p' rposes, and not practically constitu
ent parts of the General Government. Is there evidence of hostili
ty in this? Must the Administration renew its fatal connection with
ilu-m,to prove it is not their enemy? It is willing to leave them just
as it found them, before they we.e employed as depositories of the
{lublic money—to use their own capital in their own way, without
molestation on its part.
But it not giving publicdeposites to the State banks is a measure
of hostility calculated to destroy them, how is it that those banks
contrived to exis*. so long wiihout these d< posites? What sustained
them while the Bank of the United States had tiie public moneys?
\\ hat ha* sustaii ed those of th- State banks which kave ha-l none of
those moneys d-wti tu this day? Under the late system, only about
| righty banks out ot eight hundred had a <>oll.ir of tlios- deposites.
llotv did the others get alone? Cannot any portion or all of the
bank* sustain theniselve.* lien-after without de|>o*ites as well as thev
have done lu-ietofoti ? And Ims the Govi rnnient alwavs aimed to
overthrow those banks to which it has' entrusted none ofthe public
money? The idea is absurd, and the imputation groundless.
It is not intended tusay, however, that all or any of those con
; n-cti'd wide the Anniinistration, are tl eon ti< ally in favor of the
Suite banks as now organized, ora, prove tin- course thev have pur
sued wi bin the last two or three m ars. There is proba! Ivon those
points the same diversity of opii ion among them xvhiih exis's in the
community. It may, how v. t, he safely as*ert< dtbit io a man, they
think the banking system nee I.* extensive reforms, and additional
checks and lespotisihilities to protect the c tintry from an eternal
round- f exp itisions an I contractions, apparent prosperity and real
distress, smretimes leaning to the temporary subversion of the cur
lency established by the Cans ittition. It is not banks to which they
are hostile, but bank abuses.
li-is objected that the Independent Treasury would expose the
public monev to be m sused and applied to private pur [loses. It
would s'-eni impos-ible to devise a system tin lei which the publie
money cou'l b-ai*|ilied to mole iiii.-cliii volts purpose* than it haz
been under the bank deposite system. Where were the many mil
lions of public mi ney when the banks stopped | ayment in May
l-is'? 9 bey were lent out to the ,>r -si cuts and directors of the
It ink*, their lriends,and tlu-ir custom* rs. Instead o’ being employ
ed lot public | ui pose.*, ori ven in promoting the agiicuhurr, manu
factures and commerce ol thr country, they were instrumental in
[t itling on foot spt culation in city lots, new towns, ytiblic lands,
stocks, produce, and merci,and si—sp« culati. ns inp rmus to public
morality and fatal tothe best int rests of society. A more whole
sale misapplication and misuse of the public money it is impossible
to conceive. File Independent Treasury wimld put an end to this
enormous abuse. I’lu- keepers of the. public monev.", under such a
I system, would not only be under I eavy bonds, but would even be
sit! j -ct to fine and imprisonment lot t sing m lending tliem for any
purpose wha soever, except to pay the appropriations of Congress.
,If the same latitude were allow, dIo them as heretofore has been
to the bank*; if tl.e. were peiniiited to use the monev in their pii
vate bu-i es, or to 'end it out and pocket the interest; if thev were
permitted to extend their own credit, and enter into all sorts of spec
nla ion ii,>on tin* credit of the public, then, indeed, notliin- but the
most di-as rotis, hindering ofthe Treasury cold I fie expected. But
it, is to put an end to these very mischiefs tli.it the Indejiendent
I’reastirv ispiopos, d.
Bv whom is our revenue co lected? By the Collectors of the
Coston s. bx Receivers of Pub ie Moneys at the laud offices, and by
Postmasters. Into thi ir hands the entire revenue ofthe G.ivern
mrnt now comes in the first instance. Anti are not they all Execti
tive officer*? I* nor the m mey while in their possession in the
hands of the Eitcubvil Do they {diinder and misapply it, their
bonds notwithstanding, in a dangerous or destructive de rec?
Again: by whom aie our public moneys disbn sec? Bv Pay
master*, I ursers, Navy Agents, Posim asters, an other agents; all of
win.m are Execmive officers. Do they misuse and misapply it, ex
cept in occasion I instances of smalt importance?
Every dollar of our revenue under the present and all former
systems, i* twice found in the Ihii s of Executive officers, and sub
ject to their control. Even when deposited in bank*, it is, in the
contemplation of law, in the custody of the Treasurer, who is an
F xe< mive officer. It is one of the Executive functions in every
Government, to collect, keep, and disburse, the public moneys, ac
cord ng <i the plans prescribed by the leg slative power. In prin-.
ciple, banks migl.-t as well he employed to collect the taxes and dis-,
buise them, as to keep the money during any portion of the inteinie--
diate lime. If it camim be safe in other hands than those of banks;
why let it go into other hands al all? \\ hv not employ the banks in,
even operation involving the public monev?
11-iw would a bank figure a* paymaster of an army, or purser of
<i >h p, to prevent thr public moneys being kept bv lijTer.'utwe
cersl Would it be precisely safe, in tin midst of a campaign or a
voyage, to tint the cash into the hands of those over whom the com--
manders had no control? W'liat it they should lend out the money
to meichants and speculatois, and then suddenly stop payment, and:
thus cut off all supplies?
Ourshi)>ot State was recently under full sail, with banks for it*,
puisei. Unexpectedly, and without notice they stopped pay inent,.
and the commander has had great difficulty to feed and pay his crew
ever since. He now "sks for a purser who will keep the money ia.
good faith f-r Me so/c use the ship's crew, instead of lending it;
out to traders or ,iiraies. Is this wrong or unreasonable?
4. It is further obje* ted that the independent Treasury plan would,,
in a dangerous and alarming degree,extend the patronage and in--
fluence of the Exe< utive.
Under tin- late system, there were about eighty deposite banks,,
with 80 presidents and 80 cashiers, about 600'directors-, and about**
10,000 .stockholders, besides other officer.*. Here were about
\ EN FIIOUSAND MEN whose pecuniary inte ests were dicectfy
affected by the action of the E ecutice.. A deposite of
twenty millions, on loan at six per cent, put into their pockets up
wards of a million of dollars a year! This the Executive could give
or lake awuv bv increasing or diniiiiishiirg the amount deposited in
the several banks. The eagerness v it>> which ti e public deposites
were sought after by the banks, is sufficient evidence of the impor
tant e they attached to them. I hat they would incline to the sup*
port of those who threw business and nmney in their path, it re
quires no < v id, nee to | r<>v-. H< re was a direct pecuniary influence
over an army ot ri. h and powerful men, the t ffect of which, if
adroitly managed l .v an admit jstratiuii di*postd to make the most of
it, it is impossible to calculate.
Not is it possible to ralculuto the secondary influence over the
customersiintl debtois ot the hanks which might be exerted through
fri l l ily presi lent*, directors, nid offlci.rs. Speaking well of the
Executive wiii. li favored them, and maki ig t'm»i> with whom they
dealt believe tint to his policy they weie indebted for accommoda
tion and indulgence, they might greatly enlarge the sphere of his pop,
ulintv, and secure to his interests the whole corps of bank debtors,
as well as th ir presidents, directors, other officers, stockholders, and
i ustomers.
ll.iw is it wi h the proposed Independent Treasury? Most cf the
agents which would be employed are already public’ officers, and aa
inurh midi rthe control of the Executive as they ran be. Three or
tour Receivers of Public Moneys, and perhaps a dozen clerks, would
be the entire additional force added to the Executive Departmetit,
Fbts is tho whole accession to Executive patronage, so much dread.