Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1838-04-05
"Let the gall'd jade wince.''

"Let the gall'd jade wince.''
i Mr.. ATKlNsoN-In your paper of last
week, you charge the Collector Of this
port with having sold specie to some OF
the Banks, SC. SC. by notice in the
last Mercury on the subject, it is evi-
dent that that charge has placed him in
a dilemma, and the writer Of that article
in endeavoring to free him from that di-
lemma, has in my view Of the case, got
him into even worse hobble. "The
Collector, he says, had no specie, con-
sc quen,ly none was sod-but he had a
DRAFT which it was necessary to break
into small sums for the payment Of public
creditors, and as the only means in his
power, ho availed himself Of ono Of the
Banks to effect that object.-A differ
ence Of exchange or premium of ono and
half per cent was realized for the draft,
which was Immediately paid out to those
to whom il was due-neither the ColIcc-
tor nor the Government derived any BEN
eft from the transaction" Now would
ask, what kind Of draft the Collector
had to dispose of that was worth | l-2
knows, that if it was a simple draft paya
BILE in Bank notes, no person would have
given a iarthing premium for it. The
fact is, it must have been draft on some
Bank payable in specie, and conse Quent-
y to all intents and purposes the same as
specie. And who were the rightlul
owners of this draft and entitled to that
premium ? Was il not tho property Of
the Government or in other words, that
of the people, to whom the Government
is responsible for all its doings ? The
Collector says, that he had draft which
It was necessary 10 break into small
SUMS for the payment ofpublic creditors.
Who were the public creditors, whose
demands were OF such nature as to en-
litlo them to a premium Of l-2 per
cent. over and above what was justly
their due ? 1t appears to me that if the
/ Government were indebted TO certain
persons in Newport, to the amount OF
$4,000, and furnished their agent, the
II Collector, with funds to the amount Of
/ $3O45, for the purpose Of discharging
those debts, there was balance of $40
to be carried to tho credit ofhis employ
ers-at least this would be considered
the only correct method of doing busi-
ness among individuals. But | suppose
that under the new tangled doctrines Of
one currency for tho people and another
for the olfice-holders, there must also be
one method of doing business for the
Governmen and another for the people.
The Collector, however, assures US that
ho did not get any of that $40 of course
it was because he was not at that time n
"public CREDITOR" and feeling, no doubt.
that certain acts of the late and present
administration, which have brought upon
\ the people this disgraceful speculation
upon their necessities for the sole bene-
fit of Office holders, were not very popu-
lar, he is little too hasty in throwing
himself into the breach to screen the
Government from the charge OF having
derived any benefit from this transaction, (,
and in his zeal 10 serve his party, has
entirely abandoned the only tenable
ground upon which the affair could have
been sustained with any kind Of dccen-
cy namely, that if the Government has
q right to come into the money market,
like Shylock, and sell their specie or
specie drafts for premium, they and
they alone arc entitled to the benefit -
But what says our Collector Why in
fact that the public creditors, that is
oilic @ holders, such for instance as in
spectors of customs, who when they work
for Uncle Sam for the modest sum of 50
a day, simply dischargng duty which
any mechanic or nborcr would gladly
perform for half that sum, particularly in
such times as these, must not OILY re-
ceive his SO pc, day, but PREMIUM OF
/ of I - per cent upon that amount, in
| tended, no doubt, to stimulate him to
| fresh exertions in tho approaching cleo
ton, and this premium wrung from the
unfortunate wig ght who happens to be in
debted to the Government by bond or
otherwise. Let the people look to these
facts, and then say whether they can
/ longer support an administration that thus
openly grinds them to the earth, or
whether they can longer support men for
State officers who are pledged to aid
| that administration in such acts oftyran-
nv and abuse. SPEcTAToR.