The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1838-02-21

o"pt u as reported by the conimitiee. Tie
expenditures for erccions might be adds d,
II gentlemcn chose, aud The average made,
upon any given number Of years, which.
ln The Judgment uf any member If tho
Senate, would af1ord a fair trial 10 any f.
nnnei"l system, adapted tn the operations
"i The National Treasury, and confirming
as strictly to the great mass of private and
corroraic Interests in the country, MS the
constitutional powers of Congress wruld
permit thai coi formation Ia he made. lie
could not see, therefore, that nny syslesr,
formed upon the basis Of special dcposi,es
IN banks, could, in point of expense, pos.
sess advantages over the Till under discus
sion. He had not forgotten lint that bill
adnpied a partial system of special depos-
ties, aud thai i, contemplated a payment of
commission To the banks, which should
Keep The public money pursuant :" rs pro-
visions; bat he assumed that the difference
al nnonn, in the Above estimate for the
respective systems. wns mere than sutlic.
'en' To cover any commissions which far
cu''on of ,he provisions Of the bill would
call "u, Of the public Treasury, to be p,id
10 the banks The mos, important. points
N the country. bolh as Io>,he collection and
dishurscm"m Of the public money. wero
provided for. independently of the ptoyis-
'ons for n special deposi,c. che comnis-
si"ns, Therefore, could be made applicable
ITO but mere fraction Of The whole reycn-
ne; aud, NJ any contemplated rate, the
hole unount could never exceed few
thousand dollars.
| lie had made reference to. The indirect
expenses of an opeu aud general State bank
drposiie system, where the services aud
risks of The banks were compensated BY the
use of 'he public money. Need he, at this
time, aud in the present condition Of the
State banks, aud cfIhe public funds, defre
his meaning in TINT reference? Why Was
The special couvocaion Of Congress rem
dcred necessary IN September last Was
II not the suspension of the hanks TO pay
specie for their paper, and the consequent
inability of the pu,lic Treasury io obtain
from them IN any currency conformuble la
Inv, the milIions Of the public money eu-
trusted to their snfc-keeping, aud required
ior the current expenditures of the Govern
mentl No one would deny this position.
What the expense to the people of tie Uni
ted States was. for TINT single extra session
Of Congress, he had not taken the trouble
To inform himself, but this he would ven
tnrc to nsseri with perfect confidencr, that
those expenses more ihau cqunIled the
noucy required Ia carry on the system of
finance, proposed by the bill, for my period
Of ten years. lie wodid not now bring in
to notice the LOSSES which might yet be sus-
tanned befre the experiment Of the late
State bank deposite system should be fnnl-
" closed. lie did not wish to say any
thing nnf,vornble to the eventual solvemcy
aud safety, and security Of those insii.
iutions. lie did not wish to bring my
dis,rust upon them. Much less would b-
repeat, here, the daily runors Of that po,-
ion Of the public press which most siren-
uously opposed Ills measure, the .n,irs'
failure of Ibis and that and the oiher" =" pet
bank" of the sixty thousand dollars here
aud forty thousand doilnrs there, and an
told thousands. somew here else, host to lie
people by this eypefImen-trying Admins
tra,iou, ~ consequence of the snyluymcnt
uf these State banks ny fiscni agrn,- of tie
public Treasury. lie loi ed and behaved
these pictures were uvrfdrawn; he ~ns
content To suppose, for The purpose of Tins
argument, Tint noi one dollar was {" lie
ihns lost, and yet he trusted he had shown
that the system proposed by the bill, !os
the management Of the national Gnnnres,
was niore econo,nical aud less expensive
to The ax-paying public. than either n sys-
,elr of general or special State bank DE-
poslirs.
Third. His asxt point of comparison
should be the patronage conferred upon the
Executive branch of the Government by
the antagonist systems.
! IL had been already seen that the system
prupnsed by the biz required the appoints
mrnt Of f,,nr additional officers, with saIar-
ies Of from two to three thousand dnIlars.
] This was ~ direct iDcrense Of the Executive
power aud patronage; bu, when it should
lie recoliecied how many officers, with e.
qunl salaries, already existed, and with
how much facility officers we're added to
that number, NJ almost every session of
Congress, md iG almost every une of the
Executive departments, he must hope thnt
~, unreasonable alarm would be felt 10 any
q, nrisr of the house by this very IimiIed
addition to the existing number. II they
were not To be- constiiuiionally appointed,
or II, being so appointed, duties were io be
nssicned 10 them not of n character CAM
paiible with our civil aud political ins,iiu-
tions, then the officers ought moi to be crea.
ted, or the duties assigned regardless of aII
consequences which the rejsction of the
proposition might bring upon the country.
IT, howsvrr, the appointments nrs io he
consi,u,ionaIIy made. and the duties Of tho
officers seem To be necessary to the public
service, he must be permitted to say that he
reposed too confidently upon tie in,eIli-
gence Of the American people, to suppose
they woah condemn the measure, because
its details sailed .fw ssch On necrssion Of
Executive strength to carry ont the wish.