Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1823-01-18
Which motion was agreed to.


The engrossed bill fixing the COM
pensation OF Receivers OF Public Moneys
for their services in Transmitting Public
Moneys TO safe places Of deposit" was
read a third time ans the question being
I" Shall this bill, pass 20
A debate arose On the bill, which we
have ONLY room TO notice briefly.
Mr.. Tracy objected TO the passage Of
the bill, because he was not convinced
Of its necessity. The House had been
told, indeed, that the present compensa-
lion Tor this service was Inadequate
That, Mr. 7, said, was a mater OF api-
Mon, depending on each ones nolen OF
what was or was not adequate. Baiero
he voted on the question, he should ike
10 know whit were the actual emolu-
mems Of these Land Officers. e.pst
every day, be said, he received letters
from old acquain'ances oil his why lad
| migrated 10 the West, earnestly r. quest
ling HIN to procure them situations IN
these Land Offices, from which he pre-
sumed these empoyments were lnfra-
1--WE. Whenever he found these or any
ibiiSI punt bAl4NCi93 ANoi iiihso '''~'s -
ices in consequence OF the inadeqnacy
OF their compensation, lie should be
alarmed for the consequences, and WI T
| ling to increase their compensation but,
under present circumstances, he did nos
feel any disposition 10 do SO, IN lhis case,
Scc.
Mr.. Ross was in favor Of the bill 1t
| 4. Ill kfN
qnain;ed with the business OF the Lend
| Office, and with tae maaner IN whNa 1t
is transacted, that lne compensation Tor
the transmission al Pahhc Money is
wholly Inadequate 10 the risk aud labor
of that duty, which MIR. r. sully exp am
ed. Some of The Land Officers nave
now to travel TWO or lhree hundred alies
to carry the Public Money to the place
Of deposite, at their own risk, and with
out compensation, the present compen-
sation looking only 10 the receiving and
safe keeping of the money, &c,
Mr.. n'ood rose for further information
before he gave MS vote On thus bill. lie
said The result OF the examination he had
made into the einolnmens OF the Land
Officers, as far as he had the means OF
examining them, was, that be tound them
to be, in some cases, very large. In the
Gaze of the Cahawba Land Office, for
example, he found the eHolaments must
have been something like i've thousand
dollars in one year, 10 which this bill
would add four thousand more, making
something like nine thousand collars,
whilst al other Land Offices, The officers
received omparatsely very little com
pensalion. He suggested these things
Tor consideration only, that gentlemen
might be prepared % give the necessary
information on the subject at another Gay.
Mr.. Barber, OF ONO, called for the
reading OF The provision OF law which
limits the compensation .. Receivers and
Registers Of Land Offices to 5000 dol
lars per annpm.
MI. Uo9d SAID he had not before been
aware Of this provision; but did not
materially aifec, the objection which he
mad stated to the present bill, as adding
TOO much to thai compensation.
Mr.. Cook examined, somewhat in de
tail the subject Of this bill, which he said
appeared to him TO be entirely misnn-
derstood. The compensation propose.t
to be allowed for the Transmission OF mo
ney was to be fixed by the Secretary OF
the Treasury, and was not TO erceea one
per cent. If the necessary expense Oh
| Transporting it should be but quarter
per ce8,. more than that could not be
allowed. One per cent. was the maxi
mum Of the allowance to be made tor
this service. The bill would net, he
said, put a solitary cen, into the pockets
Of the Land Officers more than they now
receive, and only proposed to dofray the
| additional expense arising from the In
solvenzy OF most of the Western Banks,
and their ceasing TO become places OF
deposi, for the Public Money. The Sc
cre,ary of the Treasury, who saw the
evil Of the present system, had come ior~
ward and recommended this measures
which Mr.. C.. hoped would be adopted.
Mr.. Sloane confirmed The statements
which had been made OF the law and tbs
facts in favor OF this bill.
Mr.. Rankin added further explana-
tons on the subject. Notwithstanding
whatever partial views might be aiken "a
the emolumep,s OF the Land Officers,
yet, taking one year with another, ne De-
lieved the compensation now allowed 10
them to be wholly inadequate to Tho
services rendered, the gentleman from
New York had adverted to the nun,br
of persons who seek for those Offices, as.
l ! 4 L