The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-06-19
There is something which we cannot alto
gethcr comprehend in what the Enquirer says !;

There Is something which we cannot alto
gethcr comprehend in. what the Enquirer says;
The advocates Of the Special Depose do not desire,
that The moneys ef The Government should BE- Jorhlrh
locked up ia specie On the contrary We have express
stated that the Opposite banks should receive the
money Of the people" in the shape Of convertible bank
and that such notes they please (no as the
unbounded discretion Of the Secretary Of the Treasury
may direc) which they to credit eash,hat at
period say 90 days, they should settle with the
Government, and pay up the balance due
And mmediatly thereafter il says;
ave are in favor Of separating the revenues Of the
country from the ordinary discountng operation Of the
banks"
II would seem that the banks TO be en-
ploycd are to receive the notes Of such banks
as they please, and credit as cash; and to set
tie and pay over the balance due every 90 days.
But what is there to prevent the bank from
using this money in the mean time, between
that when it was received and the end Of the
80 days!
But again, says the Enquirer:
The advocates Of the Special Deposite scheme, like
those Of the ubTrcssury, seem to have the same OBJ
ject in view that they both 90 for separating the
ney OF the people from that Of the banks and far as
be used Jor any paiabe purpose, 10 aanihiafe
totay that the advocates Of system urge the col
lection Of the entire Of the country in gold and
silver and the other, 60 for collecting them IN paper,
which the banks employed as special depostares SHAH
torihpih place The credit of e Government as specie;
and there keep it locked up until il is called for and
then be prepared at all times to pay out IN specie
Here we find an admission that comes TO
the point. The advocates Of the Special De-
posite scheme wish to annihiiaie totally the
public moneys, SO far as they can be used for
any valuable purpose. The public money is
to be received in bank paper, and forthwith
placed to the credit Of the Government as spe-
Gle; and, the banks to stand prepared at all
times to pay il out in specie! This is exactly
what we have been contending about. There
is no more difference between this and the
Sub-treasury scheme, than between six and
half dozen, as we have before said
Does our friend, of the Enquirer, believe
that, the people Of this country will ever con-
sent TO have the public moneys annihilaied?
Why, even General jackson found himself
obliged to give assurances,and satisfy. the peo-
pie that should not take place, when employ
ing State banks in the place of the Bank Of
the United States, as fiscal agents Of the Co
vernment His deep sagacity and penetra-
ton, demonstrated to him very clearly that,
the people would never tolerate such course
of policy. The history of the past times fur
nish the evidence that, instructions were given
by Mr.. Galatin, Mr.. Dallas, Mr.. Crawford,
and Mr.. fancy, that the public moneys held
by the banks, as far as prudent, should be
loaned out; and, that in all cases, the payers
oflhc public repenue should hare preference
oper other borrowers. What bank is there,
under the system proposed, that would hold a
note of another twenty-four hours !! There is
not one. There is no reason why they should
Why should they incur the risk They
would not. The receipt Of bank notes would
be mere thing in name. II would be nothing
whatever in subsistence. X would, in effect,
amount to collecting the entire revenues in
specie, and locking up the same until wanted.
Can any one fail to perceive the disastrous
consequences to the banks and the CONNER.
cia community of New York which such a
system would inhict upon theml In ordinary
times there are surplusses in that city Of three,
four, five, and six millions. Not only that
amount would become annihilated, but being
the basis of banking, it would, in effect, ope-
rate to annihilate double the amount Of cur
rency.
We shall perseveringly continue to oppose
any such scheme as that Of the Special Depo-
site. And let us say to our contemporary,
which we do in all sincerity and candor, that
its adoption would do more towards promoting,
nay, towards securing National Bank at an
early day, than even the Sub-treasury, which
would be sure to do it eventually.
The Enquirer seems to be apprehensive of
the difficulty, under the special deposite sys-
tenn it recommends, which we have pointed
out from the accumulation Of large surpluses
of public money in the Treasury, which would
lock up heavy sums in specie. But it meets
that difficulty, with this very statesman like
answer, tina" sufficient for The day IS the era
Mereof!w In the system we advocate, we
are disposed to legislate somewhat more for
posterity than that and to make provision
for circumstances, that may and probably will
occur at no very distant period.
Like the Enquirer "we consider the State
Institutions as the best repositories of the
public funds" and in place of being 6 under
greater restriction than heretofore, as as
sumed by that paper, we say, let them be under
different regulations from those provided IN