Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1839-10-22

treasury bill, ercepi that the bill, n0sc pro-
posed By The democratic parry, is stripped of
eveTy feature ofa bank" 1t can receive
no individual deposites, sell no exchange,
make no loans or discounts, and issue no
currency. 1t is not then as now proposed,
"a government bank, /" as designated by
i Mr.. Prentiss, nor a bank Of any descrip.
ton, but simply fiscal agency, to receive,
disburse and remit the public moneys
iSuch is the sub-treasury bin as now advo-
;cated by me, but even ia the form in which
/ was proposed originally by Gen. Jack.
son, would with some modification prefer
it now, as did in 1884, as an alternative
to the state bank deposlte system. There
night be some objections TO both systems:
but the independent treasury bill, as even
advocated by me in 1884, is much less
Objectionable than the state bank system.
Where then is this alleged change of opin.
ion"
i will tell the Hon. Senator where is
this alleged change of opinion. In March
1884 he was in favor of "the creating a
bunk to supply general currency" Now
he is opposed TO ''creating bank to supply
a general currency" His party deny the
!, right of the federal government to create
/ bank for that purpose. The great argu-
ment in favor Of the sub-treasury is that it
does not supply general currency that
| it has nothing to do with the currency, but
is purely measure of custody and safe
keeping of the public revenues.
The Hon. Senator's own in;mitable
argument to prove his consistency shall
serve me 10 prove his radical change
Mark it well. for it is delicious morsel of
political logic. Speaking Of the shank"
recommended in his letter to Judge Black,
ne says,
"This fiscal agency denominated By Mr..
Jefferson, Gen. JAG son AMI myself, "a
bank is nothing more than the Independent
treasury bill, ercePt that the bill as noac
proposed by the democratic party is stripped
Of every feature ola bank"
We'll done consistency ! and well don1
argument The bank | advocated in 1884
is precisely like the sub. treasury except
that the snb-treasury has not feature of
bank about ii ! John looks precisely
like James except that James has not a
single feature of John about him But the
Hon. Senator is right-a bank to supply a
general currency and the sub-treasury
scheme, as he has explained it, are precise
ly alike, except that they have nothing in
common.
But am not done with the Hon. Sena.
tors consistency. He was a good wing
when he wrote the letter to Judge Black.
That letter contains the whole doctrine
for which the wings now con'end in rela.
ton to the banking system am willing
to take it as my political text on that SUBJ
ject. The wings do not believe the State
banks by themselves can '':upply and ,goU.
ern the general currency" They there
fore think Congress ought to "create a
bank to supp q general currancy." Are
not these two great and cardinal points
of the wing faith in relation TO this matter
yet both these positions extract from the
Hon. Senator's letter.
But the Hon. Senator now says tha; he
did differ from Gen. Jackson on the SUBJ
ject of the removal of the deposites," and
glorifies himself upon its being the ''onlg
measure (ih,t is the state bank deposiie
sysem) of Gen. Jackson's administration
10 which he ever declared his opposition
and that it is the only measure of that great
patriot and statesman now abandoned by
him and the whole party" am sorry TO
disturb this pleasant hallucination by (which
the Hon. Senator has placed himself abOUe
Gen. Jackson and the whole democratic
| party in the scale of consistency and poll
4 teal perfection. | still contend that on
the whole question of currency, he was on
the lst of March 1884, good wing, advo-
eating tie very positions which the wings
then occupied and still contend for. His
letter of that dale does not merely relate
to he custody of the revenue, but covers
the whole banking question. He says,
'the public voice loudly demands the re-
storation of the deposites,' now this is an
expression Of opinion as to the proper
custody of the public money, and is the
only part of the letter which can be con-
nected with the question of the sub-treas-
ury. But he goes on and says the publ
voice loudly demands something more
than the restoration of the deposites, some
thing more than the safe custody of the
public money! demands the restorston
oft the deposites, and the creating shank
to supply general currency;" not merely
bank to hold the public deposites. but a
bank to supply general currency for the
people.
The Hon. Senator appealed to Congress
through the medium of one of his own re-
representatives. 10 create shank 10 supply a
general currency" That is all the wings
ask or have ever asked of Congress. 1t
is the general currency they want, and they
leave it to the wisdom of Congress to adopt
the means, to wit : ga bank" to the attain
ment of the object.
The Hon. Senator gives in his letter the
following excellent reasons for national
bank. After urging its creation, he mere
ly says: " State banks can no more supply
and gorern the general currency than a
, state government can direct and control the
affairs of the nation" Now what idea
did the Hon. Senator intend to convey BY
this happy illustration Can any one
doubt that he intended to assert that ,aa-
tiolaI bank was as necessary IN she bank
ing system as a national government in
the federal svstem-that national bank
was essential for the purpose Of supplying
and governing the general currency. -
Now what more did the wings ever con.