Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-09-15

Price Had the latter been required 10 give the bonds
which the President recommended in December, lr311
il NAV be safely asserted that not cent of the money
taken bv him would have been lost and had the pro-
nnsed checks upon the accounts of Collectors been III
existence during the year SIS Swartwont could not by
possibility have concealed the steps BY which he plum
d.red the public Treasury, and which he enabled
euccessfuy to accomplish for the want Of those safe
rn,rds WHICH the visilamt eye OF Mr. Van Buren, de-
t,ced nj the comme of his Presidential term
m il shown from the above extracts from his very first
annual Message but which were thwaried in Congress
nv The votes Of the Federal members, no charge
these loses 10 num-
Arain Mr. Van Buren,, in his Message 10 Congress
an the 9Th of December icS, his efforts 10 in
duce them pass these necessary laws. At page ~,
IF Document No. ], session of 1889, he says at
seems proper that, Jy an early enactment, similar To
that Of other countries, the application of public
uer hy an officer of government, to private uses,
should be made felony and visited with severe and
iqnnm nous punishment THIS IS, already III effect,
the law respect to the Mint, and has been pr"duc
tive Of the most salutary results Whatever system
il adoueh such enactment would be wise, as an
independent measure, since much OF The public mo
news must in their collection and ultimate disburse
men pass twice through the hands of public officers,
Gin whatever manner they are intermedIateiy kept
Asain The Secretary Of the Treasury, in his report
70 Congress the of the finances 1885, will be
found a, page 81 of Document No. 4, TO urge the same
enactments:
To increase says he "the public security, under
q all duties, old, well as those of any new
ag.nts ample bonds TO be required; occasional
examinations of their funds and accounts OF new
and rigorous character introduced the OF the for
mer strictly prohibited and and severe penalties
should be- imposed fraud, alsehnod returns, and
:. enhrzzlcments BIZ rendering them Penentiary Of
9 fences
,enp. a leading member Of the Administration party in
Cnngress introduced bill on the Dist Of December,
i~3S smore eiectuay Ia prevent frauds in the coffee
tion keeping, transfer and disbursement o the public
revenue, and PUNISH PUBLIC pEfAuLTERs In
the 2s,h section Of that bill sre bills Of House of Re-
pIesrntatives 9th Congress, Sd session, No o9o page
l-) was the following clause
If any one of the SAID officers shall fraudncntlv
make false Of his accounts relating to the re-
" cept or expenditure of the public money, or shall
convert to his in any way Whatever or shall
use by way Of investment in any kind 9" property or
" merchandise or shall loan with without interest
any portion Of the public money ntrusted to him fur
SAFE. keeping disbursement transfer tor any other
purpose every such act shall be deemed and adlndged
to be fraud upon the revenue, or an einbrzzlrtnent
OF so much of the said money as shall be thus aaen,
converted. invested, used or loaned the may
" be: either Of winch frauds is hereby declared TO be a
felony: and any officer person convicted thereof!
before any court of the l.. 5. OF competent lurisdic
ton shall he sentenced 10 Imprisonment Tor term
Of not less than two nor more than five years and L"
fine equal to the amount "i the fraudulent return or
& Of the money embrzzed.
Up N thus important bill 1t seems from the Journal,
Mr. Caubrrlrng could MT get the liml acton OF tn"
House, notwithstanding motion alter mot "n anG
speech after speech, made hy The Wing members,
throughout the SESSION. on The subject OF publications.
The Capitol runr with abuse of The Pres dent, and the
Secretary of the Treasury delinquency LAID
at their doors and sS Of LEO F"c" deiaultrrs who
had ''stnpn the public money, were published by
eams al a Time while The repeated suggestions OF both
those officers aud the bills before the House 10 carry
into effect not acted upon, and scarcely no.
norcd with Il mumrntasy glance
To whom. them are these dealcatons Justly charge
able: Whenever the facts aud the truth are known,
there can b. but answer from honest and intelligent
men, and that answer Will not Incn pate either Martin
Van Buren,, or Levi Woodbury., the Democratic
members, who were struggling for years against the
opposition Of The Wings, 10 carry the measures proposed
BY them int" effect.
". The consequence Of these rcfnsas 10 pass the
proper laws 10 prevent and punish drf'icaonS when
taken in connection with the course pursued after the
dpalcatnns were rreird ont By the present Secretary
of the Treasury Nr Woodbury. shows concus'vels,
that the whole proceeding tie part Of the Wings
was settled scheme to make this matter of deinlca.
tions araiiaLic for political purposes The years 1856
and 1897 no,nrousy periods Of excessive specu-
larlon. The perverted "crctit system was pushed
the extremity Of gambling dishonesty and fraud The
times imperavcly demanded prompt and decisive lr
gisa,ron 10 guard against the temptations into which
pc rsons untrusrl win ptIUiiE iit'gt ~ ''
Instead nj THIS inStelu bl passing ~
urued by Mr. Van Buren, and MIR. Woodbury., the eu-
hmm of 1887 was s;gnalzed by changing The modes
OF proceeding in collecting duty bonds which had ex-
sed from the foundation of the Government and while
Mr.. Van Buren, and Mr. Woodbury. were asking Tor
measures against aulters, pursued that
enabled Samuel Swartwout the collector al y York,
10 abstract nearly seven hundred thousand dollars; for
ownr 10 the mode that Congress adopted III giving an
extension of time TO the merchants Of New York, he
hat increased opportunities to falsely his accounts and
postpone for months the detection OF the irand
nder ans circumstances ii the duty OF Congress
Ia mass the laws which were recommended 10 protect
the public money; but how mperIons was this duty at
time when, in INDUCING the mercantile community,
thav were relaxing the securities that were actually IN
existence
When the first suspicion reached the Secretary Of
the Treasury that Swarwout deiauitcr, ne APP
pears by the official documents laid before Congress-
Document No. H. page 49, TO have immediately d..
rected thorough examination INTO the whole iac,s ana
circumstances The promptness and tnlln'ss WIN
which this made shown by the fact, that all Inc
inquiries Of the famous investigating COMMITTEE have
disclosed single material fact, that was not DIS
covered and reported in that examination. In ADDITION
to tins before Congress met in the following month, a
cons .drrabe of money had been secured sccuri-
ties large amounts OF valuable real estate were OBJ
tancd and rigorous legal proceedings had been nstl-
tuied When Congress assembled complete exposI-
on of the whole was presented, tue MODE IN
which the fraud was pcrpelratcd and concealed, was
pointed out and it was conclusvely shown, that the
deiacann, and its long concealment, was OWING 10 the
defects in the existing systematic most material ct
which, were to BE- traced the OF Banks Gepo.
STORES and would have been obvated if the remedies
proposed by the President and Secretary OF the ITea
sury. had been suffered 10 become laws
But Swartwout was n Whg-the system OF Bank
repositories was held to be nfalbe; and The proposed
means Of prevention had cmanated from Martin Van
Buren, and Levi Woodbury..
The first step, therefore, was to uphold Swartwout-
to vndicatc the dcfauer whose pockets were hiltd
with the public treasure. This man had been paraded
before the country as of the most popular and
Trustworthy of the CONSERVATIVE WIGS
He had been cnmplimented by the leading politicians
Of New Y"rk, in opposition 10 the Administration, by
being placed in the chair Of their public meetings.
had been PROPOSED FOR CONGRESS, and had
been BROUGHT OUT ON THE SANE TICKET
WITH MIR. WEBSTER FOR PRESIDENT AS \
SUITABLE WING CANDIDATE For TIL
VICE PRESIDENCY. In short, Mr.. Swartw"ul hrid
The position IN The Wing party Of general mediator be
tween tae Wing and Conscrvatv" factions nt the Up
position. 1t therefore brcame common cause with