Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-09-15
Whole Irnch
s-I. 9 q
A loss Of more than SEVEN MILLlOS o

A loss of more than SEVEN MILLlOS OF DOL
LARS, in forty-cight years and neariy ethird ~ II
occmrring an tic to"r pattern yenrs # 0hn Qnnry
.7dams,H But it is not merely the magnitude OF the
loss, which is worthy of notice. The perhs at which
il occurred indicate the Of it to be eravagance
OF speculation derived from the expansins and con-
fractions of the Banks. This crcumstane is explain
ed by the Secretary of the Treasury, at pae l6 of DO.
cument No g. Goth Congress, first session: peakng on
the general subject of Detalcatrons, he says
"On careful review of these data it ml,t be obvi
" GUS that in the absence ofany penal Prohibition 10
" use the public money for private purpos's, and OF
" other adequate securities against misconduct, the
" increased losses during of the terms mentioned
" must have happened more from the strong tenpta
50 ons TO misuse the money, combined with me caam-
" ties incident to war, extraordinary exparHons nnd
contractions the currency, and great sptcuations
/" and commissions in trade, than from any SPECIAL
neglect on the part of those who were then either
g accounting officers, possessed of the power to a!
{" point and remove uniathu agents.
s. Thus in 1884, prosperous but not spccuiatrng
"yea in the interior scarcey single lossIs supposed
were s" chh ARRssd ap 2R J TscsyysF so%s sGI
the same NAV be said Of collectors in lsSJ prosper
Gus but specializing year on the sea-hoard But,
in more calamitous periods OF trade, like l1J' and
l79S Ie0c to LIB, ISIS 10 lc2l, and ISL, some
times succeeding others of rash speculation the de-
faults multiplied among collectors well as dsburs-
ing agents. So in similar periods IN the interior,
like 1918 TO l-2l and 1890 and lc37, they increased
" among the receivers and the banks much in ratio
with the nordinate thirst for hazardous investments,
{" and the overwhelming disasters which ensued from
/" them and over-issucs of paper money
Another very strong illustration OF this is TO be
found in the periods of the greatest losses on mer.
chants bonds compared with the whole amount OF
duties collected These losses were the highest, from
S25 TO 1899, n any term since the commencement OF
the Government, doubtless in great measure grow.
ing out of the excessive mercantile specnatIons and
lanrcs Of that period and the next largest were from
(" le2l 10 lc25, resulting probably from like causes;
pulariy in trade the loss smaller than IN any
other term since 1909, and less than even from 1913
&c 10 1891. and l7g7 10 lc0l
We have thus exposed, from official documents lad
henrc Congress- and well known 10 the Federal lead.
rrs the misrepresentation that have been widely pro-
nu ratpd bv them the subject OF dea!catnns Each
bra nch of IT, on which we have touched might have
been still more fully dated upon; and each inquiry,
further pursued, would have presented in more
pInrnn rht the baseless foundation of this oitrepPat
ed humhug If there is point, than another,
for which Martin Van Buren, deserves the appreciation
of the American people, IL is for the untrng rersevrr-
ancc with which he has sought out and punished pub
lie deulters and the efforts that he has made 10 protect
the public That this truth be long kept
from the great body Of the American people, by The de-
ception and injustice Of his political opponents, we do
not believe; but the rccklessnrss with which the attempt
is pursued has been exhibited in the remarks we have
made and this has been the which has induced
in succession, BY comparison with public
documents such of the Misrepresentation as could be
reduced To a tangible form.