The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-31 00:00:00

THE TREASURY SYSTEM AND THE
CURRENCY.

By the Act to " provide for the better organize-
t :,en of the Treasury, and for the collection, safe
keeping, and disbursement of the public revenue,"
all banks were discontinued as fiscal agents of the
Government, and the paper currency issued by them
Was no longer permitted to be received in payment of
public dues.
The constitutional Treasury created by this Act
went into .operation on the Ist of January last.
Under the system established by it the public moneys
have been collected, safely kept, and disbursed by
the direct agency of officers of the Government in
gold and silver; and transfers of large amounts have
been made from points of collection to points of dis-
31airsement, without loss to the Treasury or injury or
Inconvenience to the trade of the country.
While the fiscal operations of the Government have
been conducted with regularity and ease under this
system, it has had a salutary effect in checking and
preventing an undue influence of the paper currency
Issued by the banks which exist under state charters.
Requiring, as it does, all dues to the Government to
be paid in gold and silver, its effect is to restrain ex-
cessive issues of bank paper by the banks dispropor-
timed to the specie in their vaults, for the reason that
'they are at all times liable to be called on by the
holders of their notes for their redemption, in order
to obtain specie for the payment of duties and other
Public dues. The banks, therefore, must keep their
business within prudent limits, and be always in a
condition to meet such calls, or run the hazard of
being compelled to suspend specie payments, and be
thereby discredited. The amount of specie imported
into the United States during the last fiscal year
was 24,121,289 dollars; of which there was
-retained in the country 22,276,170 dollars.
'lad the former financial system prevailed,
and the public moneys been placed on deposit
in banks, nearly the whole of this amount would
have gone into their vaults, not to be thrown into
circulation by them, but to be withheld from the
bands of the people as a currency, and made the basis
of new and enormous issues of bank paper. A large
Proportion of the specie imported has been paid into
the Treasury for public dues; and after having been,
'to a great extent, recoined at the Mint, has been paid
out to the public creditors, and gone into circulation
as a currency among the people. The amount of gold
and silver coin now in circulation in the country is
larger than at any former period.
The financial system established by the constitu-
tional Treasury has been, thus far, eminently successful
in its operations ; and I recommend an adherence to
all its essential provisions, and especially to that vital
Provision which wholly separates the Government
from all connexion with banks, and excludes bank
Paper from all revenue receipts.
In some of the details, not involving its general
Principles, the system is defective, and will require
Modification. These defects, and such amendments as
are deemed important, were set forth in the last
annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury. These
amendments are again recommended to the early and
favourable consideration of Congress.
During the past year the coinage at the Mint and
Its branches has exceeded 20,000,000 dollars. This
has consisted chiefly in converting the coins of foreign
countries into American coin.
The largest amount of foreign coin imported has
been received at New York; and if a branch mint
were established at that city, all the foreign coin
received at that port could at once be converted into
our own coin without the expense, risk, and delay of
transporting it to the Mint for that purpose, and the
amount recoined would be much larger.
Experience has proved that foreign coin, and espe-
cially foreign gold coin, will not circulate extensively
as a currency among the people. The important
pleasure of extending our specie circulation both of
gold and silver, and of diffusing it among the people,
can only be effected by converting such foreign coin
into American coin. I repeat the recommendation
contained in my last annual message for the esta-
blishment of a branch of the Mint of the United States
at the city of New York.
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
All the public lands which have been surveyed and
Were ready for market have been proclaimed for sale
during the past year. The quantity offered and to be
offered for sale, under proclamations issued since the
Ist of January last, amounts to 9,138,531 acres. The
prosperity of the western states and territories in
'Which these lands lie will be advanced by their speedy
sale. By withholding them from market their
growth and increase of population would be retarded,
While thousands of our enterprising and meritorious
frontier population would be deprived of the opportu-
nity of securing freeholds for themselves and their
families. But in addition to the general considera•
tions which render the early sale of these lands pro-
Per, it was a leading object at this time to derive as
large a sum as possible from this source, and thus
diminish by that amount the public loan rendered ne-
cessary by the existence of a foreign war.
It is estimated that not less than 10,000,000 of
acres of the public lands will be surveyed, and be
in a condition to be proclaimed for sale during the
Year 1848.
In my last annual message I presented the reasons
Which, in my judgment, rendered it proper to gra-
duate and reduce the price of such of the public lands
as have remained unsold for long periods after they
bad been offered for sale at public auction.
Many millions of acres of public lands lying within
the limits of several of the western states have been
offered in the market, and been subject to sale at
private entry for more than 20 years, and large quan-
tities for more than 30 years, at the lowest price pre-
scribed by the existing laws, and it has been found
that they will not command that price. They must
remain unsold and uncultivated for an indefinite
Period unless the price demanded for them by the
Government shall be reduced. No satisfactory reason
18 perceived why they should be longer held at rates
above their real value. At the present period an ad-
ditional reason exists for adopting the measure re-
commended. When the country is engaged in a
foreign war, and we must necessarily resort to loans,
it would seem to he the dictate of wisdom that we
,should avail ourselves of all our resources, arid thus
limit the amount of the public indebtedness to the
°West possible stun.