Maumee express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1837-1838, 1837-12-16

tifying to be able to anticipate that the
Treasury notes, which have been issued
during the present year, will be redeem
ed, and that the resources of the Trea-
sury, without any resort to loans or in
creased taxes, will prove ample for de-
fraying all charges imposed on it during
1888.
The Report Of the Secretary of the
Treasury will afford you more minute
exposition of all matters connected with
the administration of the finances du-
ring the current year; period which,
for the amount of public moneys disbur-
sed and deposited with the States, as
we'll as the financial difficulties encoun-
tered aud overcome, has few parallels
in our history.
Your attention was, at the last ses-
sion, invited to the necessity of addition
al legislative provisions in respect TO the
collection, safe keeping, and transfer of
the public money. No law having been
then matured, and not understanding
the proceedings of Congress as intend
ed to be final, it becomes my duty again
to bring the subject to your notice.
On that occasion, three modes of per-
forming this branch of the public SER
vice were presented for consideration.
These were: the creation Of Nation
al Bank the revival, with notifications,
of the deposite system, established by
the act Of 23d of June, 1886, permitting
the use of the public moneys by the
banks; and the discontinuance Of the
use of such institutions for the purposes
referred to, with suitable provisions for
their accomplishment through the agen-
cy of public officers. Considering the
opinions of both houses of Congress on
the two first propositions as expressed
in the negative, in which entirely con-
cur, it is unnecessary for me again to
recur to them. In respect to the last
you have had an opportunity since your
adjournment, not only to test still fur
ther the expediency Of the measure, by
the continued practical operation of such
parts of it as are now in force, but also
to discover-what should ever be sought
for and regarded with the utmost defer
ence-the opinions and wishes of the
people. The national will is the su-
preme law of the Republic, and on all
subjects within the limits Of his consti-
tutional powers, should be faithfully
obeyed by the public servant. Since
the measure in question was submitted
to your consideration, most of you have
enjoyed the advantage of personal COM
munication with your constituents. For
one State only has an election been held
for the Federal Government; but the
early day at which 1t took place, de-
prives the measure under consideration
of much of the support it might other
wise have derived from the result. Lo-
cal elections for State officers have,
however been held in several of the
States, at which the expediency of the
plan proposed by the Executive has
been more or less discussed. You will,
am confident, yield to their results the
respect due to every expression Of the
public voice. Desiring, however, to ar
rive at truth, and just viCw of the sub
ject in all its bearings, you will at the
same time remember that questions of
far deeper and more immediate local in.
terest, than the fiscal plans Of the Ma
tional Treasury, were involved in those
elections. Above all, we cannot over
look the striking fact, that there were at
the time in those States more than one
hundred and sixty millions of bank cap
itai, of which large portions were sub
ject to actual forfeiture-other large
portions upheld only by special and Ii
mited legislative indulgences-and most
of it, if not all, to greater or less ex-
tent, dependent for continuance, or its
corporate existance upon the will OF the
State Legislatures to be then chosen.
Apprsed of the circumstance, you will
| Judge whether il is not NEST probable
that the peculiar condition of that vast
interest in those respects, the extent to
which it has spread through all the ram
i6cations Of society, its direct connex-
lion with the then pending elections, and
the feelings it was calculated to arouse
into the canvass, have exercised a far
greater influence over the result than
any which could possibly have been pro-
duced by conflict Of opinion in respect
to question in the administration OF
the General Government, more remote
and far less important in its bearings up
on that interest.
4 have found no reason to change my
own opinion as to the expediency Of
4 adopting the system proposed, being per-