, 1840-04-18

and continued year after year to puff and
praise the operation Of these banks. You
had the boldness, in the face of this abused
nation, 10 aver that the country, had been
supplied 10y them with q better currency and
better exchanges than it Rad been by the bank
ofthe Unified Safes! Well, by your own mea.
%sures, by our Treasury Circular, distribution
of The surplus, &c, you accelerated the catas-
trophe of the suspension of the banks. You
began with promises TO the people of better
currency, better times, more secu'ity to civil
liberty; and you end with no currency at
I'll. the worse possible times, an increase Of
, Executive power, anG a con sequsnt increase
Of danger TO civil lihOrty. You began with
promises TO fill the pockets of the people.
and you end with emptying theirs and filing
your own.
now proceed, sir, to the object which
constituted tie main purpose of my rising
at this time. | have hitherto considered
the bill, as its friends in the Senate represent
1t, as a measure simply for e~xacting specie,
keeping it in the custody of officers of the
Government, and discussing it in a course of
administration. nran now to show. that.
whltever its friends here may profess or
believe. the bill lays the foundations deep
and broad of n government 5ank-a Treas
ury bank, under the sole mlnagemet of the
President. Let us first define Il bank. 1t
may have three faculties, separately or com
bIned. The faculty of issues, entering into
and forming 4 part of the circulating medium
Of the country; that of receiving deposites.
AID tia, ofmaking discounts. Any one Of
these three faculties makes it a bank; and by
by FAR the most important OF the three is
that of the power Of issues. That this bill
creates 4 bank oil issues, Tost sincerely
believe and ShIi! now attempt 10 prove; and
the proof will be first e~xiraneous, and Sec
ondly intrinsic.
As 10 the e%xtraneous proof, | rely upon the
repeated declarations of the late President of
the United states in his annual messages
Ga more than one occasion he stated that
prIcticability of establishing a bunk on the
revenue of the Government. and To be under
the superintendent of the Secretary of the
Treasury. And when he vetoed the charter
OF the late Bank OF the United Stl'eS, he
expressly declared that, II Congress had ap-
piled Ia him. he could leave furnished the
Of bank fee from constitutional
doubtless meInIaL Il Treasury
bank. The present Chief Magistrate and
the present Secretary Of the Treasury have,
also, repeatedly, in language, in their mes
sages and reports, enthusiastically ambi-
guous, IL is true, but sufficiently ineligible,
intlmated the facilities which the
and business of the country would derive
from the drafts issued by the Treasury in
virtue of this bill. The party, its press, and
its leaders, have constantly put this Sub
Treasury scheme in competition with a
Bank Of the United States. But how can
they be compared or come in competition
with each other, If the most important func-
ton OLA Bunk of the United States, that of
a medium Of general circulation
ana uniform value, is not TO be performed
under this bill?
| pass to the moro important and | think,
conclusive proof supplied by the provisions
themselves of the bill. Alter providing that
all money paid to government for duties,
public lands. and other dues, shall be deposit
ed with the Treasurer of the United States,
the receivers-general and the inints, the tenth
enacts:
sThat il shall be lawful for the secretary
Of the treasury To transfer the moneys in
the hands Of any depositary hereby constitu-
ted To the Treasury Of the United States !;
10 the mint at Philadelphia /; to the branch
mint at New Orleans; or 10 the offices OF
of the receivers general of public
moneys, by their act directed to be appoint
ed: to be there safely kept. according to the
provisions of tins act; and also to transfermo-
neys in the hands Of any one depository con.
by the same, at his discretion, and
rs the safety of the public moneys and the
conveniences of the public service shall
seem to him TO require ; which authority 10
the moneys belonging TO the Post
Office Department it also hereby conferred
upon the Postmaster General, so far as its
exercises by him may be consistent with
The provision of existing laws and every
1epositary constituted by this act shall keep
MS account of the money paid to or deposit
ed with him, belonging TO the Post Office
separate and distinct from the
account kept by him Of other public moneys
paid or deposited. And for the purpose of
payments on the public account, it shall be
awful for the treasurer Of the United States
10 draw upon any Of the said depositaries,
\. ba rp.Y, ,b,aL- 1901 onnI,,,a 20 tho pph-I