Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1838-05-09
LETTER FROM THE HON N. r. TALL.
MADGE, TO RICHARD RlkER ESQ.
WASHINGTON, March %. 1898


DEAR SIR You ask my opinion Of
the Sub Treasury Bill, as it passed the
Senate win give it as briefly as pos.
sIble.
Before the bill was engrossed, the
Odd section, originally introduced by
Mr.. Calhoun, and commonly called the
Specie Clause, was stricken out. Air.
Upton then moved to insert a clause
in its place, requiring the notes Of spe.
Gle paying banks to be received in pay
ment Of The public revenues, under such
restrictions and regulations as Con.
gress should provide, which was re-
Jected. A section was then adopted,
on motion of MIR. Webster, taking from
the Secretary ofthe Treasury the pow
er of discriminating as to the kind oil
funds to be received in the different
branches Of the public revenue. In
this shape the bill passed the Senate.
Now, as to its practical operation
By its provisions the Government is
thrown back upon the joint resolution
of 1916, under which the Executive
claims the right to prescribe the kind
/ OF funds 10 be received, whether specie
or the notes Of specie paying banks.
/ Under this construction Of this joint re-.
solution the late President issued the
Specie Circular, by which he required
specie in payment ofpublic lands, while
the notes of specie paying banks, under
4 certain restrictions, were received for
customs. Mr.. Webster's amendment
takes away this right of discrimination.
The President must, therefore, either
require specie or the notes Of specie
/ paying banks, ia all the different bran.
ches of the public revenue, and cannot
receive one kind of tundsi in one branch
and different kind in another. He
must rescind the Treasury Circular
which relates to the public lands, or he
must extend it TO the customs.
| Which = ill he do? Some have sup
posed he would authorize the receipt oil
the notes Of specie paying banks and
disburse them in the public service
this, under certain restrictions might be
done, and might perhaps be made to
operate beneficialIy upon different in.
terests to be affected by it. Probably
this was the expectation of some Of
1those who voted to strike out Mr.. Cal.
houn's specie clause /; for although Mr.
Upton 5 amendment was rejected, still
liz was avowed IN debate that it was
opposed on the ground that it implied
a distrust in the President, as TO the
proper performance Of his duty.
The question then recurs, which OF
the two descriptions Of funds will be re-
ceived? should think he would hard.
Iy direct the public dues to be paid in
specie, after the expression Of the Sem
ate against it by striking out the spe-
Gle clause; he must, then, direct the
receipt os notes Of specie paying banks
under such regulations and restrictions
as may be prescribed. As to what
those will be, we are left to infer from
the facts before us. The President in
his message at the extra session said |;
elf al short and fixed periods, they
| (bank notes) were concerted into specie
to be kept by the officers Of the Treas
ury, some OF the most serious obstacles
to their reception would, perhaps be
removed. To retain the notes in the
Treasury, would be to renew, under
another form, the loans Of public mon-
ely to the banks, and the evils conse-
quent thereon"
took the ground, at the extra sess.
ion that if the bank notes were to be
converted into specie, as above sugges-
ted by the President it was immaterial
to me whether specie paying banks
were to be received-the practical effect
would be the same in both cases.
Mr.. Wright, in his speech at the ex-
ira session, said, {" For himself, he a
greed with the view Of this matter
which he understood his honorable COL
league to take that in case the deposites
were confined TO the safe keeping Of
the officers of the government it was a
question of much less interest TO the
banks than seemed to be general
ly supposed. If the banks were not
made the repositories, it could not be
supposed their notes, if made recelva-
Bile, would be retained for any length
of time in safe keeping. 1t would be a
necessary result of this mode of keep
ing the public funds, that all bank notes
received must be presented al short in
tercdls for payment; and he could not
see that it would be any very valua.
Bile favor to the banks, as a permanent
system, to receive their notes merely
for the purpose of immediate present.
ment and payment" At the present
session Mr.. Wright said, eff the notes
Of the banks continue to be received in
payment Of the public dues, and the de-