The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1837-11-17
TO MARTIN VAN buren,,
iEsipEsr or THE usrrED STATES.

TO MARTIN VAN buren,,
PRESIDENT OF THE usrrED STATES
| now proceed upon the subject TO which my last
communication was devoted.
have il not in my power 10 state the rapidly with
which new banks were selected and the pubic
money put In motion in various directions through-
out the whole country. But one thing | have the
proof or thai the transfers were ordered IN such ex-
traordinary amounts, and with such short notices,
that in few weeks after the passage OF the ACT some
of the banks and their friends were loudly complain
| ing.
| Under date of the 9Th July, received letter
| from bank, in Cincinnati, from which make Inc
! following extracts
| There is one pon, 10 which wish particularly
to call your attention. Our understanding mas been.
| that we were to receive notice OF three months Of
all transfer drafts: yet have been instructed 10
/ make large transfers al a much shorter notice Tn
the 3lst May, the Treasurer advised our agency OF
drafts amounting to 81 10000 In all, payable be-
! tween LIST June and 10th September.
"On the 18th July he advised of drafts payable 2is
i August at Philadelphia; and 1st and llth August,
and Isl September al Louisville; and 10Th OF Sep
| tember and 10Th Of October at Philadelphia, each
| for 100000. That letter was received lSlh July,
which allowed for the first 100000, twelve days
notice; for the second, twenty-three days. Tor the
third month, and for the fourth and fifth, two
months and these heavy calls are made while we
4
| 81 10000 in New York and Philadelphia. We
have in consequence been obliged 10 curtal our ba-
sness greatlyt 10 the Inconvenience OF our customers
We do not ask for longer time but only that longer
notice be given of an intention To draw"
To that letter was added postscript, which
said, "Since writing the above, / have receiy-
ed letter from Mr.. Woodbury. dated July 10Th
in which am advised OF transfer drafts amounting
to million the first of which falls due 10Th Sept.
40 days hence, and three others in October. This
will make our transfers, TO be met in August
10000
In September, October, November, and ,.o
December l,5Q0,OOO
100000
"These are heavy payments. Relying on the ar
engagements which we made with the Secretary by
which we were allowed months notice OF transfer
drafts and upon subsequent consent on the part OF
the Secretary, which agrees that shall have 40
days notice OF payments from St Louis, we have not
hesitated TO invest our funds in safe investments,
chiefly bills of exchange, payable in and 4monrhs
We must now not merely curlail, but stop discount
ing, ut the hazard of causing a sudden pressure
both here and at St Louis beg you to understand
that | do not make the slightest objection to the
amount of these calls. The Government has right
to ask for her money whenever she wants il; but
the shorneSs OF the notice dsarranges our plans and
obges to resort to contracions, not only preudi
cial TO the public interests, but especially odous
when resorted TO by deposite bank"
From other persons in the west received letters
20th August, a gentleman says, The recent claims
made by the Treasury Department upon the depo-
site banks in the west, particularly in Ohio, will
have most pernicious effect upon the business Of
this region Some of our friends will shortly visit
the city in relation to these maers-and trust you
will the necessity Of Joining your influence with
theirs TO effect mod fcatioa of the drafts to
meet them without endangering the banks and dis
tressing the community"
II was not in the west alone that these inconveni-
ences were felt by the banks through the operations
OF the Treasury upon them AT nearly the same
moment received these accounts and complaints
from the west, was receiving similar ones from
the south AT the request of the deposte banks in
New Orleans made application to the department
in July and Obtained an extension of payment OF a
considerable amount of transfer drafts issued upon
them payable in northern cities. The letters of the
middle OF August which acknowledged the receipt
OF mine communicating to them that information
announced that further amount of transfer drafts
had been issued upon them One of the letters
say, The transfer drafts procrasiinaed were made
payable the 18th October say $3.50 600 A few days
since we received information that ner transfer
drafts, have been issued to the amount Of 100000
payable also on the 18th October and 100000 the
18th October, making $65o,00o payable within ten
days" These drafts were all payable in the north
ern cities and by one bank only.
All these complaints coming upon me from differ
ent quarters al the same time filled me with alarm
saw the banks were unnecessarily and imprudently
las believed) pressed and failing TO obtain by a
formal application to the Secretary ofthe Treasury
that relief which thought they were Justly entitled
to, addressed letter to him under date of 18th
August 1885, from which take the following ex-
tracts: !" consider that should be negligent of the
duty which owe my employers, did not do all in
my power 10 impress upon your mind the business
of the request of the deposite banks at New Or
leans, which is made through me, and the neccs-
sity that exists to prevent embarrassment to the
munily at that place. that the request shall be granted
by the Treasury Department.
"A state of things has existed for some months
past in relation to the accumulation of the public
moneys and their transfers from one portion of the
country 10 another, without precedent in this
any other country. The records of the Treasury
Department will show, that when Mr. Crawford
gave the Bank Of the United States four months to
make transfers from New Orleans to places north of
the Potomac, that the sums required TO be transfer
red were, but as drop IN the bucket compared with
what they now are, and seldom exceeded the amount
of surplus revenue collected at that point
Since the first of March last there haSbeen ans
fcrred from other pointSto New Orleans and paid
there 3,9S6,000
The amount of outstanding drafts pay IT,.
able there at this time is l,i50,000
Total transferred to New Orleans, paid
and payable SIS, 49,, 600
There has been transferred from N
Orleans since the first of March
last and paid in other places $a,s7o,ooo
The amount of transfer drafts on New
Orleans now outstanding and
running to maturity is 100000
TOTAL transferred from New Orleans
paid and payable $i,12O,O00
"The most of those transfers have been made by
the banks at an actual Sacrifice and every hundred
thousand dollars which is required to be transferred
to the North, between this period and the time the
next crop can be availed of to make them will be
done at an actual loss to the banks of fifteen hun
bred dollars
"The large transfers already made, has had the
effect to derange the ordinary business relations
between New Orleans and the Northern cities, by
absorbing much of the proceeds Of the produce Of
ment more particularly, as so great portion OF the
transfers have been called for since the season of