Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-01-24
Mr.. RIvES' SPEECH,
On the RemopaL Of the DePosltes.
TcoNcLunED.

[coNcLunED.J
Sir. this is the first instance In the history OF
+his co,,ntrv where the funds were placed at the
,9;sposaI of one. establishment with liberty TO
make any use Of it which they might md con-
venient; and ! hope it will be the last | am
Glad that the attention OF the American peo ,I
has been called to the subject; they VIII Oelter
understand the nature of that moneyed power
In which they have been so long subjected; ana
fsball no sorry if Congress allow the deposlteS
E, he retnrned TO the Bank. think, sir, 1 have
now said enough to show that both with regard
10 the government and the public, It has done
enough to forfeit its charter and that tne oecie-
tarv ef the Treasury has acted justly in with
drawing the depostes: and think, sir, nave
shown that he had legal authority Tor that acl.
Sir r might here leave off, but other SUBJECTS
have been brought forward, which ought not 10
be passed by unnoticed. understood Ine oe-
nator from S0nth Carolina to dispute the I dgs
of the President to supervise the conduct OF the
Secretary. and to remove him. Such was not
the view taken by the honorable Senator from
Kentucky The first charge brought by that
gentleman was that the Secretary, by remov-
inc the deposites, had invaded the pubic purse
This denunciation seems TO have, been fesofted
TO for the purpose of exciting terror. MAJ alle
mower of the purse was usurped with the power
of the sword What, sir, constitutes the power
of the purse? The people are taxed only by
their own consent through their own represen-
tatiyes The power OF the purse is the power OF
raising money from the pockets OF the people,
and of disbursing it without their consent or ap-
proyal. in such manner as may suit the purpos-
es of him who takes it. In England the power
of the purse is held by the Parliament, as it IS
hv Congress- here The King there may make
treaties or levy war bat he must go to Parlia-
ment for the money, and If Parliament choose
to withhold the supplies, he may levy war and
make treaties in vain.
l<af% hoy Ntvro,- Of q
purse is not a part of the Executive power2 But
the Executive has right to see It done, and to
determine on his own responsibility how ana
where the money shall be kept. There was Tor
merly no obligation on the Secretary TO depo-
site money any where. 1t might be deposited
in the State Banks, or In the Bank OF the united
States. and was he ever accused of deposltlng
it wrong? The public money, since the establish
ment Of the u. S. Bank, was placed there by the
act which constituted that Bank until the Sc
cretary should otherwise order and direct
Well, sir, does he, in removing the deposltes,
trausgress the law and usurp the power! NO,
sir. But then we are told that the Bank of the
at IA tlA
il is so sub nodo only. A correct notion OF the
treasury ofthe United States is not to be deriv-
ed from the place where the money is kept but
from the state or condition of the public money
in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury.
The place of the public deposites is where the
proper officer may order them to be deposited.
This position was obviously illustrated by re-
ference TO the documentS:-ln 1910 a resolution
was passed in the House of Representatives
calling upon the Secretary of the Treasury to
report as TO the amount OF money in the differ
ent places of deposite. The Secretary replies,
ssThe probable amount of money an the I'rea-
su,y, is near two millions and half" He did
not state anyparticular place, butmerely the pro-
babe amount in the different places of deposite
and those he called the Treasury. The receipt
of money by persons appointed by the govern
menti is synonymous with its receipt into the pub
lie treasury. Whenever the public money is
under the controlof the Government in the name
of the Secretary and TO his credit, and where it
is available to the uses of the Government, there
it is in the Treasury of the United States. Sir,
it is the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury,
on the third day of Congress, to furnish true
and perfect account Does he furnish an ac-
count of the bank2 No, Sir, but he furnishes an
account of the public moneys, wherever they
NAV be- Sir, the charge of breaking into the
Treasury is one Of grave character, and de-
serves some elucidauon. will endeayor TO
show that no such crime has been committed
Sir, do not the funds ofthe country still stand to
the credit of the Treasured Are they still not
under his control, as the money of the Govern
ment7 Are they any more exempt from the
control of the Government In their present Situr
alton than they would be, if they were still in
the Bank of the United States7 Yet we should
made, that they were drawn out of the Treasu-
nv. The honorable Senator, trust, when his
mind is drawn more closely TO the subject, will
ace. upon reflection, that all that has been said,
has not been said with justice on this subject.
Sir, I must be permitted to express great sur
prise. that the Senator from Kentucky, when
quoting passage from the speech of Patrick
Henry, should denounce the union of the purse
and sword, from that authority, as applicable to
the removal of the deposites. could not but
be surprised that mind so patriotic as that of
the Hon. Senator undoubtedly is, and so ready
at all times to raise his voice against any sup
nosed violations of the laws of this country,
could 90 SO far as to believe that Patrick Henry
uttered this depreciation, as applicable to the
removal of the public deposites Henry could
not have seen in this, the usurpation of that
great power ofthe purse in union with the sword,
which was to give the death blow to liberty. If
the Senator had read only afew brief senten-
ces preceding his quotation, he would have
seen, that Patrick Henry could not have meant
such union as this, of the purse and the sword,
without doing the greatest violence to his Ian
guage. In his view, Congress had both the
nurse and the sword; Congress had an unlmi-