The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-01-19

4 "
tween the Government and the Bank even so Ear as
nave yet exposed IT, is, by any means, confined to the
sas o. this bond and its proceeds Have not
that purely voluntary and graluous
required by law nor justified by the wants Of the
treasury had been made with the Bank for anticipating
~ part and postponing in part the payment OF another
OF It's bonds, 10 wit, that which fell due the 30th Of
September 1885, and for deposlting its proceeds as
wen as those Of the bond sold, in the Bank There
no pe1ence either OF The requirement Of law, or OF
necessity, to Justify It, IL purely voluntary, and
carried the connection at beyond the limit which
me honorable Senator has laid down marking the
tent OF his appreciation, doubling by single operation,
me amount OF public moneys to be deposited with the
bank under the agreement respecting the bond which
was soldl VIII the honorable Senator, then, justify III
trust not
Bot sir, now prepared TO show that the connec-
ton with the Bank has gone even further than this,
aud that II embraces public moneys which have been
derived neither from the sale payment OF the bonds
OF the Bank. And here, ! would invoke the candid
hearing Of the Senate and especially Of those members
who are, at the me friends OF the Administration
and opponents Of the Bank, some Of whom have de-
cared TO me that il could show that the connection
with the Bank had gone SINGLE hairs breadth beyond
the sale it Of its bond, they would at once Join me
IN denouncing IT, now claim the redemption OF their
pledge One Of the resolutions Of inquiry submitted
and which was adopted by the Senate was designed
pressy ascertain If the connection with the Bank had
gone farther than the Transactions between the Co
vernment and 1t in regard to its bonds as unwaranta
BILE, in several respects, considered those transact
tons II called upon the Secretary Of the Treasury in
explicit terms, to state whether any sums Of
the public money have been deposited in the Bank Of
the United States other than those derived from the
sale or payment of IT'S bonds |; if So the amount and
date Of each deposte, and by whom, and by whose
authority and direction they were made" Now sir it
is very remarkable circumstance that OF the six heads
of inquiry propounded to the Secretary by the resou
tons OF the Senate, this was wholly passed over
in the body OF his report, and the only one Of
the six which was SO pretermitted All the rest
taken up successfully their order extually cited and
set forth in the report and explanations and statements
given in answer to each. This only, being the third
head Of inquiry presented by the resolutions, wholly
passed by the Secretary and the progression Of
his report he eaped from the secood to the fourth
without taking any notice whatever Of the third 1t
evident, therefore, that here ne shoe fell
prlch (f may be pardoned the Of very signif-
cant, though uncoury phrase) and that II deemed
expedien 10 avoid direct and unequiyoca answer to
this 'nterogatory
l. therefore, turned with curiosity to the documents
accompanying the Report Of the Secretary, to extract
4 from them the answer, which the report had withheld,
to specific and critical inquiry, and found it in
the following transaction On the 10th Of September,
1888, w. IL Pope, the President Of the Bank of Ken
lucky, writes to the honorable Levi Woodbury., Secre-
tary Of the Treasury" Sir hand you enclosed
check on the Bank Of the United States, Philadelphia,
your favor for three hundred thousand dollars intend
ed as payment the amount due the Treasurer of
the United States by this Bank" On the 18th OF Sep
TENDER, MClinic Young, Esq acting Secretary Of the
Treasury, writes to tho Cashier Of the Bank of the
United States, follows" Sir the enclosed check has
BEEN this day, received from the Bank Of Kentucky
| and will thank you TO place the amount 100000 TO
the special credit of the Treasurer, and acknowledge
the receipt Of the sum to him" Now, sir, here
large sum OF the public money embraced by the very
terms Of the resolution Of inquiry, phoy nnconneefed
tcth the sale or payment of the bonds of the Bank
Of Tho United Safes, which deposited in that ns
tuition, and remained on depose there late the 18th
of the last month, as we learn from incidental alu-
sion to it on the 9th page Of the Secretary's Report
Plain and unequsoca as this transaction is in its
nature, clumsy attempt yet made to disguise by
statement" shuffled in among the documents &C.
companying the Secretarys Report purporting TO be
furnished I'm compliance with the third head Of en-
quiry Of the resolutions Of the Senate" The state
ment is as follows" September, 22d 49, Deposited
by the Bank of Kentucky, &c, being much on ac-
count Of debt due by the Bank Of Kentucky, assumed
by the Bank of the United States, &c, $500 900 -
Is not this statement directly contradcted by the letters
have just read of the President Of the Bank OF Ken
lucky and Of the acting Secretary Of the Treasury
The Bank OF Kentucky RENTED the check for $780,
900 to the Secretary of the Treasurysnd by the Sc
erefary (aetng) and NOT By the Bank Of Kentucky the
amount was deposited in the Bank Of the United States
As 10 the allegation, that this debt assumed by the
Bank Of the United States immaeria as it is in re-
gard to the question before u.s. there particle Of
evidence afforded by any of the Documents of any
such assumption unless the payment of the check
makes the assumption will remark in passing, that,
though this statement followed by the signature of the
Treasurer, his signature, from the very nature Of the
transaction, can be considered vouchng nothing but
the mere fact of so much money heing his credit in
the Bank Of the United States How ana under what
circumstances got there he can know only from the
statement Of those who agents in the transaction
ask, gentlemen, said Mr.. RIvEs if this transaction
which much anxiety has been discovered first to with
hold and then to mysty does not carry the connection
with the Bank hairs BREADTH least beyond the sale
or payment Of its bonds He then called upon the no.
norable Senator from Pennsylvania, (Mr Buchanan,)
to stand up with him and denounce this connection,
while yet it is time to prevent it from growing into
permanent and intimate union. He appealed to the
Senators from South Carolina and Missouri, (Messrs
Calhoun and Benton to say if for the last five months
the Bank Of the United States had not been virtually
renstated in its ancient relation Of fiscal agent of the
Government-not for Philadelphia or the State OF Penn
syvania but for the whole Union. In its financial ope-
ratons for the Government had stretched Brarean
every where, from Boston to New Orleans, from
Norfolk to ST. Louis. Millions of the public money
had been deposited in it, and administered by it, on
behalf Of the Government, at time when the whole of
the residue OF the money IN the Treasury with the
cepton of what in the mint, stated by the Sc
cretary to have been sometimes less than $500 600"
The correspondence between Mr. Secretary Woodbury.
and Mr. Biddle reminds one, in its mutual consul
taons about the rants Of the public service and the
rays and means OF supplying them, OF that which was
habtuay carried on between MI crawford ana Mr..
Cheves when those distinguished men respectively
the heads Of the Treasury Department and Of the Ma
tiona Bank The tone of this correspondence,
too, is well worthy Of remark No more do we en-
counter the clumsy attempts at irony and sarcasm
formerly perpetrated by Mr.. Woodbury. in his contro-
versa correspondence with the President Of the Bank
on the protested bills No more do we discover the
polished, high parcian dlsdain with which Mr. Bddle
approached his " unhoused and unanneaed" democra-
TIC adversary. They are now trusty aud well beoved
cousins" both
In drawing to close Mr.. RlvEs rebuked, in terms
Of just severity, the Secretarys attempt to deude the
people by his cant Of special depostes" He demon