The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1838-03-06

cal ideas, and brings this important Department
down to a thing of bricks and mortar. Ii enacts
that certain rooms, in the New Building, with their
safes and vaults, shall constitute the Treasury of
the Uulted States And this adoption of new and
strange notions, and this abandonment of all old
ideas, is all for the purpose of accomplishing the
great object, of separating the affairs of the Gov
eminent from the affairs of the country. The
ture of the means shows the nature of the object
both are novel, strange, untried, and unheard Of
The scheme, Sir, finds precedent, either in our
own history, the history of any other respectable
nation 1t is admitted to be new, original, expert
mental; and yet its adoption is urged upon us as
confidently if it had come down from our
tors and had been the cherished policy Of the coun-
try, in past times.
1 am against it, altogether l look not to see
whether the means be adapIed to the end. That
means leading to it. 1 oppose all attempts to make
a separate currency for the Government, because /
insist upon it, and shall insist upon it, until see
and feel tho pillars ofthe Constitution falling around
me, and upon my head, that it is the duty of ihis
Government to provide good currency Tor the
country, and for the people, well as for itself
lput it to the gentlemen TO say, whether currency
be not part OF commerce., or an Indispensable u
gent of commerce; and something, therefore, which
this Government is bound to regulate, and to take
care of? Gentlemen will not meet the argument
They shun the question. We demand that the just
power of the Constitution shall be administered
We assert, that Congress has power to regulate
commerce, and currency as Il part of commerce; we
insist that the public eXigency, at the present mo-
ment, calls loudly for the exercise OF this power
and what do they do?-hey labor to convince u.s.
that the Government itself can get Oh very well
without providing n currency for the people, and
they betake themselves, therefore the Sub Treas
ury System, its unassaiIabe walls, its iron chests
and doubly secured doass. And having satisfied
themsei Ives, that, in t'-'@way, Government may be
kept going, they are satisfied. sound currency
tor Government safe currency for Revenue; these
are the only things proposed. But these are not
the old promise. The country, the country itself,
and the whole people, were promised better cur
all In
This was the promise, solemnly given by the Gov
eminent in 1888, and so often afterwards renewed,
through all successive years, down to May last We
heard nothing all that time, of separation between
Government and People. No, Sir, not u word
Both were TO have an improved currency Sir,
did not believe word of all this thought II all
mere Pretence, or empty Boosting, had no ialih
in these promises, not particle. But the honorable
member from New York was confident; confident
then, as he is now; confident OF the success
success of the first scheme which was plausible, as
lie is confident of this which is strange, alien, and
repulsve in its whole aspect. He was then as sure
of being able 10 furnish currency for tie country,
as he is now Of furnishing currency for govern.
ment. He told us, at that time, that he believed
the system, adopted by the late Administration, was
fully competent to its object. lie felt no alarm, for
the result; he believed all the President had done,
from the removal Of the deposies downwards, was
constitutional and legal, and he determined to
place himself by the side ofthe President, and de-
sired only to stand or fall, in the estimation Of his
constituents, as they should determine in the result
AS have sad sir, had no faith at all in all the
promises of the Administration, made before and at
that time, aud constantly repeated, felt no conf
dence, whatever, i'll the whole project; deemed 1t
rash headstrong, and presumptuous 10 the last de-
gree And at the risk ofihe charge ofsome offence
against good taste, will read u paragraph from
some remarks of mine, in February 1881, which
sufficiently show, what my opinion and my sppre
tensions then were
81 have already endeavored to warn the country
against irredeemabIe paper against bank paper,
Ot nav for hplr ps.
against that miserable, abominabe and fraudulent
policy, which attempts to give value 10 any paper
of any bank, one single moment longer than such
paper Is redeemed on demand in gold and silver
And wish most solemnly and earnestly to repeat
that warning sec danger ofthat state IF things
ahead. SEE IMMINENT DANGER THAT MORE OR
FEWER OF THE STATE BANKS WILL STOP SPECIE
PAYMENT. The late measure Of the Secretary, and
the infatua,on with which it to be supported,
tend directly and strongly to that result Under
pretence, then OF design TO return to currency
which shall be all SPECIE are likely to have a
currency in which there shall be no specie at all
We are in danger Of being overwhelmed aoih IRE:
dee'nablc paper-msre paper, representing not gold
PROMISES, BAD FAITH, BANKRUPT CORPORA
TIONS, CHEATED CREDITORS, AND A RU-
INED PEOPLE,"
And now, sir, the upshot of the Expert
ment. We around us bankrupt corporations,
and broken promises; but no promises more
really and emphatically broken than all those pro-
misses of the Administration, which gave assur-
ance of better currency. These promises, now
VIGOROUSLY and openly broken, if they cannot be
performed, ought at least 10 be Acknowledged
The Government ought not, in common fairness
and common honesty, to deny its own responsible
y seek to escape from the demands of the People,
and to hide ITSELF out OF the way, and beyond the
reach of the process Of public opinion by rereatinS
into the Sub-Treasury System Let II, at least,
come forh let it bear part of honesty and candor;
let it confess its promises, if it cannot perform them;
and, above all, now, even now, at this late hour,
let it schemes and projects. the Inventions
of presumption, and the resorts OF desperation, and
let il address ITSELF in good faith, to the great work
tional means.
But sir, so far is any such course from all prob
ability of being adopted, little ground of hope is
there that this Sub Treasury System will be aaan-
doned, that tho honorable member from N. Y has
contonded, and argued, in his place, that the public
opinion is more favorable to this measure now pro-
posed, than any other which has been suggested.
He claims for it tho character of avorite with the
People. He makes out this Sub-Treasurys plan to
be quite high, in popular estimating: Certainly,
s;r IF the Hon member thinks he and | see