Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1834-01-15
,,.ss.-,-..,. .,...,.-.. No. g., u. NJ
The Secretary Of the Treasury to The
president of the United States.
Treasury Department,

Sir-As you had not, in any written
communlcation, given a direction as to
the 9eposites, but on the contrary, had
lett The action 10 the Secretary of the
ITs y, as matter of option, deemed
it m ity when had the bedor to re
ceiW m you your exposition The l3th
inst.t 'kyou whether was to consider
mysek rected to remove the y ties,
and splied that l-was VI
youns--ponsibility. N h
was preparing 10 lay before you an
exposition of our relative position ana
views, fiom the first moment of ny entry
into your administration, when your de
cislon was authoritatively announced inI
she Globe,-a proceeding unsanctioned
by me- that rendered all further discus
Sion needless, and any attempt of the kind
derogatory to myself.
communication, justi6catory of my
course under present circumstances.
which delivered to you yesterday, hav
nabeen returned, on account OF alleged
90 nable matter therein, the pres.
~T dich, if disrespectful. regret. it
now yrrfeoInes my duty, TO reply TO your
letter returning that communications. res
pectfully to announce my unwillingness
10 carry your direction as TO the deposies
into effect; and in making known that de-
cision, without meaning any sort OF dis
respect, to protect myself, by protesting
against llthat has been done, or is doing,
to dlvest the Secretary of the Treasury
of the power TO exercise, independently
Of the President, the discretion committed
to him by law over the deposilcs.
have already, sir, on more than one
occasion, and recently without contradic-
tloh, before the cabiuet. stated that did
not know, until after my induction into
office, that you had determined that the
deposites should be removed without any
further action by Congress. If | had
known that such was your decision, and
that should be required to act, would
not have accepted the office. But,as Soon
as understood, when in offie, what your
intention was, sought for all information
calculated to enable me to act uprightly
in the embarrassing position in which ]
was unexpectedly placed.
You were so good as to transmit 10 me.
TO that,end, from Boston, not only the
opinions Of the members of the cabinet,
but your own views in detail, upon the
deposite question; but instead of intima
ting TO me, that my disinclination to car
ry these views into effect, would be follow
ed by call for my retirement, You en-
phatcally assured me in your letter of
the goth June, that you ''did not intend
to interfere with the independent exercise
of the discretion committed to me by law
over the subject"
Fully confidlng in The encouragement
thus held out, entered into ALI exposition
of my objections to the proposed measure.
Discussion ended in an understanding.
that we should remain uncommitted, un
til after an inquiry, which your agent was
to make, should be completed, and until
the discussion of the subject in the cabi-
net. But pending the preparation for
this inquiry, received your erof July
22d, conveying what understood to be
an intimation, that must retire, unless
would then say that | would remove the
deposites, after the inquiry and discussion.
in case you should then decide TO have
them removed.
would have al once considered this
letter as an order to retire, and would
have obeyed it, if had not thought il my
duty to hold the post entrusted 10 me as
long as could do so with benefit to The
country, and without discredit to myself:
instead, therefore, of retiring voluntarily
or otherwise, subjected my feelings to
restraint, and stated, as you quote in your
letter of this day, that if could not, after
inquiry and discussion, as the responsible
agent of the law, carry into effect the de.
cision that might be made, would afford
you an opportunity to select successor,
&c.
Under these circumstances, the enqui-
ry was entered upon: it ended in showing,
as had predicted, that the plan submits
ted to me on the Goth June was imprac.
ticable, and in report without any de-
fined substitute, according to my compre-
hensiettef it.
After a consideration of the subject in
the cabinet, you gave directions as stated
at the commencement of this letter, and
wrote TO you that would make a COM
municaiion TO you On Saturday, 2lst inst.
and accordingly did SO, as herein before
stated.