The Yazoo City Whig and political register. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 183?-1840, 1839-11-29


comply with these acquisitions, and as a
greater quantity Of one metal lhansof the
othormlght find its way, from time TO time,
out Of the country. aud thus destroy this
metallic equilibrium Of Tie honorable sena-
tor.
Thus far the Senator from Missouri seem
edto have confined his views 10 the exclu-
sion Of notes unler twenty dollars in reye-
me payments. 0ut on the tenth of June
last, be changed his position, and introduced
into the Senate the following bill.
A BILL to re-establish the currency of the
Constitution for the Federal Government
Be It enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives. Of the United States Of
america in Congress assembled, That bank
notes and paper currency Of every descrip-
ton shall cease to be received or offered in
payment, on account of the United States,
or OF the Post Office, or in fees in the courts
of the United States, as follows: OF less. de-
nomination than twenty dollars, none after
the Sd day of March 1887; of less denomi-
nation than fifty dollars, none after the
third day of March 1898; Of less denomina-
ton than one hundred dollars, none after the
Sd day Of March 1899; Of less denomina-
ton than five hundred dollars, none after
the Sd day of March 1910; of less denomi
nation than one thousand dollars, none af'
ter the Sd day of March 1871; and none Of
any denomination from and after the Sd day
of March 1912.
SECTION 2. AID be in further enacted
That any person holding an appointment
under the laws Of the United States, and
any bank employed to keep public moneys
which person or bank shall neglect, evade
violate, contraVane, or in any way elude, Oh
attempt to elude, the provisions Of this act
shall be guilty of an offence against the
laws; aud the person 50 offending shall be
liable to be dismissed from the service, ant
the bank so offending shall, on satisfactory
information, be discontinued as depOsitO
ry of public moneys
And here Mr.. w. Would remark, that By
this bill, bank notes were permitted to be
received in revenue payments, until the
third of March, 1912. If then the argu
ment Of the Senator from Missouri be cor
rect that to authorize, by act of Congress
the receipt of bank notes in revenue pay
ments, be a repeal of the Constitution, thi:
bill of the honorable Senator should have
been entitled a repeal of the Constitution
until the Sd Of March, 1916. The provi
siOns of this bill were somewhat remarkable
All bank notes under twenty dollars were
Immediately excluded-the twenty dollar
notes being the next greatest Viola,ors of the
Constitution, were executed in March, 1887
those of fifty dollars in March, 1898; those
of one thousand dollars were reprieVed till
March, 1871; and in March, 1912, execu-
ton was done on all "bank notes and paper
currency of every description" and ''the
currency of the Constitution" was Ee-eStab-
iSked. Now how was this prOdigious re-
volution to be effected? Why, by dismissing
from any officer of the Government
who should receive or offer in payment any
thing but gold and silver, by which all were
to be excluded but converts to the metallic
currency of the honorable Senator, and by
discontinuing as depository of the public
moneys, any bank which should commit a
similar offence. Now does anv Senator be-
lieVe, that any bank would accept the depo.
sites on such terms? ThGt it must pay out
the public moneys in nothing but gold and
silver, and transfer the precious metals from
place to place, thousands of miles,, at the
will of the Government. RecoIlect, thai
not only "bank notes." but also ''paper cur
rency of every description is excluded by
this bill, and consequently bank drafts would
be as affectually refused by this bill as bank
notes. Indeed the authority to receive
''funds" eastern or western, from any bank
constitutes one of the Senator's objections
to the bill of the committee. Let US sup
pose then that the Government has two mil
lions in silver at Natchez, which it desires
at four different points, each one thousand
miles distant. Will it transport these wa
gon loads ofsilver from point TO point, where
the money is wanted by the government
for recollect the Government must have the
hard money, for it is to pay out, as we'll as
receive nothing but this? Is this practica.
BILE, or is there bank in the Union that
would accept the deposites on such terms as
these? The banks are to be continued by
this bill as repositories of the public moneys,
as the fiscal agents of the Government, and
vet we are to reject the paper of our own
agents. The amount of the public revenue
of last year was forty-seven millions of dol
lars. Now all this we are to entrust to the
custody ofthe banks: we are to trust them
to the amount offorty-seven million ef dol.
lars, and yet refuse to receive any portion
of their paper, or. in other words trust them
for forty-seven million Of dollars, and refuse
them credit even for twenty dollars, and
refuse them credit even for twenty dollar
note. We are first asked TO employ the
banks as fiscal agents, and then set about
the work of their destruction. Sir, the pas
sage of this bill would ensure the abando
ment of the deposite bank system, and al
fiscal agents zoe must hare, itwould ensure
the re-establishment of a Bank of the United
States, with all its oppressive powers. Ant
here let me ask, can any thing be more in
consistent, as well as impracticable, than Il
employ the State banks as fiscal agents, al
repositories of the public moneys, and ye
reject their paper? fit be unconstitutona
to receive ono dollar ofthe public dues il