Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-12-30

w lut OUllCu VII NbC iS'
Of January, 1887, shall be deposited with
such Of The several states as shall by law
authorize their Treasurer or other compe
tent authorities on receiving certificates
Of deposit therefor" This is the whole
law. Now whe, does it contemplated
The money mus, be in the Treasury on
the LIST of January 1887, because up to that
time it is not known whether the States
will take it. Technically and legally, the
Treasury is at Washington practically
the Treasury is wherever the public mon.
eys are. But the Secretary of the Treasu.
ry is an official person whose only official
residence is at Washington. Accordingly
Treasurer Of State goes TO the Secre-
tary at Washington-and presents to him
the certificates of deposit. The Secreta-
~ therefore delivers" to the Treasurer
his States quota. But how does he delv-
er it, BY an actual manual counting out
Of these doIlars' No. BY check on the
Deposit Bank at Washington? No. But
he delivers to the State Treasurer, as he
does to any other person receiving money,
q draft for the amount on some one or more
of the repositories which compose the
Treasury. Is not such draft the usual
and proper mode of making public pay
ments' Undoubtedly. And then we come
TO the real question was it necessary to
make in advance any transfer Of funds
whatsoever in The several states, merely
because they had the option, on certain
conditions of receiving them? If there
was no such necessity, then the 18th sec,
ton of the law makes these transfers lle-
gal. Now there is clearly no such neces
sity. The money was TO be deposited
WITH the States, not IN them. 1t wos
necessarily paid in Washington by drafts
on other places. Ifyou say that the Sec.
rotary must pay it into the state treasury,
it is not enough to bring it into the stale
he must take it to the seats Of govern
ment. Pennsylvania must have her share;
not in Philadelphia, but in Harrsburgh. -
New York must be paid. not in the city of
New York, but in Albany. If the place
be not fixed by law, the mutual convenience
ofthe parties will designate it. Now there
is no individual and no state in the Union
that would not prefer payments to be made
in N. York or the north Atlantic cities, to
payments any where else; and for this
obvious reason, that money is worth more
there than any where else. IF the State
Of Ohio, for instance, had draft on New
York, i could sell it TO its citizens, usefuly
TO them and prof,ably to the treasury. 1t
does not want the money brought 20 Ohio
Every mile it comes on the road lessons it's
value We may safely conclude then that
there was no necessity for sending dollar
Of public money from New York or other
commercial cities. for the purpose either of
equalizng funds among the banks, or dis
trlbuling them through the States.
The true theory of the case, therefore,
was simply to let TIE excuses Of revenue
in the several states be transferred. in the
course Of trade, TO the great commercial
points and then TO pay the states by drafts
on those points. The deposit banks at
those points, knowing what they had to
pay--and up to the hour Of payment, would
have employed the funds usetuly; so that
in every stage Of tina, progress, business
would be insisted. commercial activity
stimulated, and all parties be gamers.
Even supposing these transfers at all
necessary--,he funds should have been re.
milted by bills to the points of accmmula'
ton blending these operations so insehs.
bly, with the business of the country, as to
be unfelt except in their benefits.
But what has the Secretary done? In
stead of gradual preparations to provide
| funds at The distant points, the whole SCI
ence of the Treasury seems to have con-
sisted in drawing warrants--in taking up
the columns of the returns and directing
| 4 g., h. Donl,a th.onrhauf tho
States without necessity without refer
ence TO the wants or the business of the
different sections ofthe Union. the season
Of the year. or the course of trade--ant
thus Masking the whole revenue of the coun-
try work against the whole industry oflhe
country.
His secret is thus revealed in the lettel
to Messrs Grswold and Swami
81 have, therefore, in cases where thu
the public money had accumulated in an!
Bank in any one State, and new Bank
could be seasonably obtained in othe
States ,otere only a lille public money al
ready eristed made but one transfer 10 &C
complsh both objects, and, by a single OPP
Grafton. have reduced the excess in certain
Banks in certain States, and placed it il
the States phere IL ,ooud be needed ner
year, and where they before had not Al
equal portion of The public money"
We thus perceive,- -what on less author
| ity would be incredible, 1.-The extraordinary
manner in which the public revenue ha
been scattered. The Secretary sees al
accumulation of public revenue in any on
State,--he sees another place in anothe
State, "where only little public none,
already existed" whereupon he resolves
without the least authority from Congress
to bestow upon thai place ian equal por
ton of the public money; and as he vii
have, twelve months hence, to pay som
money in that State, he makes 81 singl
} operation" of it; and. accordingly, he con
fesses that he has actually transferred pub
lie moneys into States which cannot re
! ceive them for a year afterwards --depri
wing the very community, which mise
the money, of the use of it during tha
/, whole period.