Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1840-09-03
For the Herald OF the Times.
LETTER No. 3.
TO MEs. VAN buren,,
President OF THE UNITED STATES.

the Banks, aud thereby has left the
IGovernment TO take care of itself, and
Nihe people to take care OF themselves.
H Ii is your idea then, that this people
and their Government are not identical
but different bodies, each possessing ii
separate existence, and separate con
Germs. Pray what is the meaning of n
popular government Is it not that the
people govern themselves How then
can the Government be separated from
The people, or exist even in idea as a
different body!
| This separation of the Government
from the people perverts the very ma
turc of our Government; II is no longer
IL popular Government, it is no longer
a government ofthe people by the reo-
pic. And it is a peryersion hat makes
the Government itself n curse TO the
people. For it separates itself iromihc
people to take care Of itself, by means
which have and must paraizo all their
efforts to take care ofthemselvcs. Your
Independent Treasury has at one blow
given the corp d'graee. to all those ei-
lnrts. Though it was the practical sys-
TEN before, and for three years has
Tbeen producing its banetul effects in
distress, in bankruptcy, in ruin, yet
the people struggled against it, in the
hope it would be given up. and would
not become the legal system, would
not - rivettcd upon the country; now
their struggles are vain, they struggle
against hope, their death warrant is
scaled, and death is inevitable.
How can the people take care OF
themselves, deprived, as they have
been, deprived as they arc to be, of all
the means oftaking care Of themselves
1 They had a natonafcurrcncy-hai you
have destroyed, and you forbid them 10
hope for another I; their endcavors to
1 obtain another, should they make any,
you have vetoed in anticipation. They
have local currcncies, these YOU are
attempting to destroy, and are bent on
their destruction; directly where you
have the power, indirectly where you
have not, by means ofyour Independent
Il Treasury: the local currency of Co
/ lumbla District is s.dcstroycd, the local
Il currcncics Of the States are to be -
They then arc TO be deprived ofall cur
rcncy but the specie in the country
said to be 80 millions, Git is probably
lcss.) OF this Government is to take
to itself from thirty to forty millions an
nually,-lcaving some forty millions Of
currency for some twenty millions Of
\ People, and for country rs largo as
all Europe.
/ | know you say that what specie the
government is to take from circulation
to its disbursements, will return TO cir
culation, and so rapidly, that The alb
syaction will scarcely be felt. But
will it rctswn the specie taken abroad
by our Navy, to the Mediterranean, to
the Brazils, to the Pacific, and to eve
ry part of tho world? Will it return
the specie sent abronl as funds to be
drawn upon Tor the support Of our vast
Diplomatic corpse Will the specie be
returned tha. is sent to our distant
frontiers to be expended on our militia
ry and military stations there' indeed
tho disbursements to individuals, in the
heart Of the country, will be boarded, as
long as their necessities will let them
hoard it, for every one must be his
own banker; besides there is dispo-
sition in all to hoard specie; All who
have to pay specie to the Government
must hoard to be ready to pay as their
bonds fall due. The Government must
hoard, and hoard largely, or expose it.
sefto bankruptcy.
II is idle then TO suppose as you do
that N,is abstraction would rather be
nominal than real. But suppose there
is no abstraction; will you say that
the whole eishty-ivo millions is an ad-
cquatc national currency for this great
and growing people for this vast coun-
try: lf so | would ask you, why is
our internal trade suspended, and be-
GONE either impracticable, or ruinous ?
Why has it boon so for these three
years past' Is il not for want Of ma
iional currency, our eighty-fve millions
Of specie notwithstanding, fwith all
the collateral aid specie has had from
paper currencics il has been found thus
| = H.