The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-02-18
TREASURY NOTES.

4
winch the Administration based the call for this
additional Issue and willing TO allow the party in
power 10 resort 10 their chosen method OF sup
plying the wants Of the Goyernment-a method
which has been from 1897, an essential element
oil Their financial policy--many gentlemen ac-
guessed IN the passage OF the bill who decidedly
prefer the old, customary, and more honest plan
Of borrowing money on the credit of the Go
vernment. The debate was highly interesting
and animated; and in anticipation of the regu-
arreport, notices ofsome OF the principal points
may be acceptable to our readers.
MI. Clay, OF Kentucky, declared uncompro-
missing opposition TO the measure whether as a
form OF loan, or as means of supplying a
currency-in both of which aspects il might be
regarded Asa loan, the money is procured
on much more unfavorabe terms than by the
usual and direct method Of borrowing. These
notes are now issued bearing interest Of 6 per
cent-when temporary loan might be taken at
amuch less rate of interest, and in nstalments
sufficient 10 meet the demands Of the Govern
meDt.
These notes constitute a Government paper,
"A' tAif ohA1 Sdiu he Hdu sctnt with
regret the progress which this Government paper has
made during the of this ruinous Adnlnistra-
ton Some who, when the measure of introducing
Treasury notes was first presented regarded il in
expedient unconstitutional, have yielded and the
number Of its opponents is reduced to nine. This
the fatal progress of the Government paper system
II was first objected TON its progress is yielded TO-
until gentlemen finding il convenient to make
paper money, than resort taxation avoid taxation
and take to paper, and at last we have notes of 800
and $50 freely issued and circulated He would not
now 80 into the history of Government paper in France
and during our own Revolution when it presented
some of its worst aspects which would show that
the whole system was costly, and dangerous to the
prosperity and liberty of the country He had been
asked, however, what should be DONE in the present
condition Of the country2 With Treasury ex-
| hausted, and aGoyernment calling for supply He re-
lpled that ought to be done now which should have
been done months ago, The old mode of supply by
taxation ought to be resorted Taxes ought to be
imposed on uxures and loan should be forthwith
taken up for the immediate wants of the Government.
| Mr. CLAY commented satirically on the apollo
gy put forth by the Secretary and repeated by
| Mr.. Wright. They only asked TO anticipate the
avails ofthe coming year That was very con
vcnient indeed They had taken care to provd
| themselves with money while they should re-
main in power-but they left the burden to be
borne by the coming Administration which, for
augh they care, may stumble along as best it
can, with the weight of the disastrous measures
adopted and persisted in during the last four
years
| There are two things to which the Admins
tration and its friends most industriously and
Systematically direct their exertons-one is to
make out the charges on the Treasury TO be less
than they actually are-the other is to exaggerate
the estimates Of the income for the current year.
Mr.. Wright resorted to the old exposed and ex-
ploded trick of attempting to take the response
bility for appropriations from the Administration
to whom il rightfully belongs and throw it on
the sholders of Congressman on the opposition
party in Congress too He talked about Con
gfess transcending the annual estimates, while
he and his friends know that the estimates sent
in at the beginning of the session, have been ex-
ceeded by other estimates, more recently commu-
nicated from the same quarter. Look, for in
stance, TO the call made few days ago, for one
hundred thousand dollars for the Florida Ind-
ans Look at the differences among the differ
ent Heads of Departments themselves with re-
gard to estimates And yet, it is pretended,
that the Executive is in no way answerable for
the appropriations
| Mr. Clay had intelligence which led him to
believe that there was information in possession
of the Government, but which had been sup
pressed, showing that the receipts from customs
| would be much lower than had been estimated
| by the Secretary He learned that the Collector
Of New York had communicated the fact that
there would be falling off of one million of dol
lars, il consequence of the suspension. Yet,
the estimate made at the beginning Of the year
| is persisted in, in spite OF the well known fact,
that the importation must be diminished, and the
revenue reduced These estimates are altoge-
Their vain and usory-founded on mere conjec-
ture-and il an estimate of twenty-five millions
had been necessary TO bring about a certain bal-
ance. that sum would have been set down in
stead of nineteen millions
MIR. CLAY commented in severe terms on the deca-
nation Of MIR Wright about permanent public debt
! Who had spoken of such thing : OF all the
hypocrisy he had witnessed this habit Of denouncng
public debt from men in high places was the most
ceptionable. No man had presented such thing
| His proposition was loan which, he believed, could
be taken up a, 5 per cent and furnished to every
quarter where the money would be wanted. Let us
then (sad he) hear of this clamor against
permanent public debt from who themselves
covered all over with debt
4 a feyvr be Mr. WRIGHT MIR CLAW
again rose and said that the Secretary of the Treasury
had given 70 raising up the estimated re-
cepts Of the current year to nineteen millions That