The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1840-04-21

p'SltcS niilIoiI OF uOlIaFS 10 The credit oil In
Treasury and receives therefor million ftol
lars in Treasury notes, bearing an interest OF 81,
| per cent. Interest Immediately accrues TO the
| bank, OF conrse, on the whole OF this sum; hu
! 1t may be many months before it is all drawn
out. The Treasury may give out lis drafts slow
~, aad these drafts, when made, may he sent tC
distant parts Of the country, and lie some con
siderable time in reaching the bank. When
they arrive, the hank viii generally pay in it,
own notes; but beside this advantage, it VIII
| make a clear gain, because il has been receiving
interest on more money thHn it has parted with,
Under the deposile law Of 1886, the depos,e
banks were required to pay interest on Govern.
Inent deposes. The present system looks very
much like making Government pay the banks
interest on its own deposites.
These are objections, | repeat, to the use oil
| Treasury notes means of borrowing money
In the first place, the interest must he higher
Than on Il loan contracted in the common man.
ncr. The greater part of all the Treasury notes
issued since 1887 have horne an interest of six
per cent; whereas my information is, and have
lillle doubt of the correctness Of il, that the u.
States stock, bearing 4 2 per cent interest,
could be readily sold par abroad not having
any great number oil years 10 run; or it could
readily be sold nj home, with view Of sending
il abroad.
In the next place, Treasury notes, hearing a
high interest, and rcdeemable ut any time upon
TWO i1OnlUS DOtCf, ISSuct ullUcF INC present
circumstances Of the country, are very likely to
absorb considerable portion OF the money now
so much needed for the relief Of trade aud com
merce and the revival of business. 1t strikes
me Tint the whole operation is likely 10 make
money scarcer than it is already; since the
Treasury is coming into the market as II ZORRO w
er, offering high interest.
Agnn. | am aware that use may he
made of Treasury Notes which is quite opposite
the spirit of The Constitution; that is, to iss,e
them without interest, with mere nominal in.
terest and TO attempt to force the n into crcu'
lution ms money. Any such attempt ought 10 he
s;renuously resisted; being neither more nor
less than an attempt to establish Il system of
Government paper money.
Bat Congress has sanctioned long ago and
under better nuspiccs, the occasional ISSUE OF
Treasury notes, and | do not feel at liberty,
therefore. 10 withhold my asSen, on the present
emergency from that mode Of raising the sums
which the state of the country requires, no
other mode is proposed. Both the President
and Secretary would seem excessively anxious
TO distinguish the issue of Treasury notes from
the creation Of debt; but think this distinction
is without difference. A note issued, bearing
interest, and payable hereafter has created u
debt as much rs amy form of stock could create
it. A national debt was actually commenced at
the very first session of Congress under the
present Administrations and it never has been
pau, CNCcHt obc UetH us
charged by borrowing money on another. Like
other debtors, we have renewed our notes, and
renewed them otlen-souemes paying inter.
est, hut we never have extinguished the debt.
The first Treasury notes were issued in the au-
tumn of 1887 The amount outstanding Janua.
ry, 1888, was, think, four or Eve millions; in
January, 1889, it also large; and in Janua'
ry, 1910, as have already said, the Secretary
states il NJ two millions and three quarters.
One object of the Ilr,,St1ut hill is tn enable The
Treasury to pay off the unpaid part of these two
millions and three quarters, Ivy borrowing again
SO that ii is true that, from the first session OF
Congress under this Administration to the pres.
ent day. the Government has been in debt for
borrowed money, and has been every hour,
paying interest for such borrowed money. This
is public debt. What this debt may amount to
by March, lSiI, | cannot say 1t depends on
measures to he adopted by Congress, and ON
those changes and fluctuations in trade which
cannot be ioreseen. But if no new means Of
revenue are supplied, and Congress should
make such appropriations as ii usually has done,
and no great Improvement in the state OF at
fairs should take place, cannot see how il is
likely TO fall short of eight or ten millions. But
this is mere estimate. Whatever the amount
may be, in March lS4l, it will be debt, created
by the present Administration. ! do not say
unnecessarily created, am not now speaking to
that point. But say it will be deb,-a public
deht-a national debt-heSun under tins Adiilln-
straton--a debt existing in the least economical
and the most convenient forn--a debt bearing
an interest, aud high interest-and n debt
which, if cast on the Administration of lS4l
whoever may AT the heal Of that inistration,
must he provided for. l say tn is, sir, merely to
preclude, ab ante, the idea thar, if Il national
debt shah be found existing after March, le4l, it
will be the debt Of the administration of that
time, and not of the present.
MY real ground of complaint against the press
ent Administration, and | think it II very just
ground, is, that it has not come out in manly
manner long ago, and told Congress that there
was necessity to make further provision for
the revenue. ........ ...-...
The President in his message of the "a
of December obso, we'd that all the Treasury
notes Then outstanding would have been redeem
ell before that time, "if the Treasury could have
realized the payments due TO it from the banks.
What banks? The outstanding Treasury notes
amounted, at that time, TO two millions and
three quarters. The deposit banks owed the
Government only a million, or u million one
hundred thousand dollars The President must
have included the bond Of Two millions and II
b,,lc ,f ,hn RANT of the limited States. But that