Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-06-15

h, N,us, the Secretary OF the Treasury scatter TIT
nublic money among eighty banks and revive agar
,hs scenes Of 1896, 1t could not be done. The coun
49,, ,hsn ,houph nominay thrown back the law o
1G ,yopld in fact and in truth be cast the unllmt
cd discretion Of the Treasury Departments for the Law
having been rendered lmpracticahe by the change o
times HE Department must necessarily be thrown oaet
On The laws in force before this was enacted. Mr. w
wouh undertake TO say that there could not now bt
FIVE hanks found in the whole U , SUCH as mat act re
ouired de poste banks be; and the act ITSELF declared
TINT in that case the Treasury must revert 10 Inc pre-
yous laws and those previous laws allowed the aepo
sites 10 be placed i'm banks which did not pay specie
and to place il there mere SPECIAL out on gene
raj deposle. Nor was this any thing new-ths very
thing had been done by Secretaries CamPoe and Ddi
las for years together and II must be done again.
There other consequences winch must also ,oi
low. The Secretary would not merely he comPeliet
10 use Banks of this description but he would ne strip
ped of every facility in the business OF his Department
until he did make his selection among the Banks, aht
place the money there. lie invited gentlemen 10 pu
inquiries to the Secretary of the Treasury and SEE
what answers they would get The moment tins bil
became 4 law, the receivers general, as such, were
dead-ihe Secretary could no longer draw on them
Where must he put his money What must he do win
his drafts In n. immense sums were coming into
depose at the rate of one hundred and hundred anc
fifty thousand dollars day The Secretary could not ar
range with Bank receive this money under less than
a week and in The mean time, the collector or the
cever general might have halt million OF dollars I'M
der his lock and key and be, at the same time, out OF
office. Who would be liable then: Not ms surettes Tor
their liability expired with his office In the more dis
ant parts ofhe country such state of things might
exist for whole month That time must elapse before
the receiver knew that his Office abolished; but
the Secretary here would know il, and could not draw
upon him. What, then, must he the result; In one
portion of the country he would draw collectors;
another portion he must act under the law OF l-3O: and
IN still another lie must be left at his discretion under
a construction Of the old law. Here would be three
four fiscal systems i'll operation al one and the same
time and all this state OF confusion must ensue because
gentlemen would insist upon repeating one plan before
| they had provided another.
Another question to what money the Irea
surer should receive IL c0ntended that he would
be under the net of 1896 IL so, then all public dues
must be paid in gold and silver. There was not bank
in New England which did not issue bills under five
dollars lie prohibited from receiving their notes,
though redeenabe in specie, and therefore, instead Of
receiving his dues one half IN convertible paper and
half in Specie he must have the whole amount in
hard money, violate his oath. Some gentlemen, IN
deed, might like the measure on this account, but
would the friends ofths bill vote for it in this view Of
its effects
Again as the effect public sentiment, he could
tell gentlemen, if Congress adjourned without provld
ng substitute for the Sub. Treasury, il would be-
found that the act Of lolG was not imperative It's
language not that paper Of certain description
should be taken, but that II ongh 10 be taken Yes;
il ought But, surprising the Secretary could not get
il, how them What had been the argument II 81
on that point; Shin lasicrs were then current, and
what had been called the ten cent rebellion IN Boston
had been gotten up, because specie demanded by
the collector The Secretary SAID he could not get
vertte notes, and the verdict of the People vas that
in that he must take deprecated paper. By this
things all specie and specie yng banks must
90 by the board. Discretion said 10 be the law Of
tyrants; yet the Treasury to be let loose again.
to use, at pleasure, the paper Of non-specie-pay
banks; and this the Secretary could not AVOID if he
respected public opinion
But it was said that We should soon have substitute,
Some great fsca agent 10 be provided, else an
old fashioned bank of the L. ). Mr.. w would not ar
que that question: with him the time gone oy but
he would ask the members Of that Senate whether they
ready to repeal the existing law, TO re-establsh
such an institution as the old Bank of the L. s. If they
were, very we'll but he could not yet tell whether such
plan had been maured and was to be presented Why
wait til them
1t was sald however, that were TO have Bank
that would not be unconstitutional 1t was To be free
from all objections of that kind. lie glad TO heor
it; but what the plan Had not gentlemen better
wait till they whether il did avoid all constitutional
difficulty not Surely, they would act thus III Their
own affairs, why not in Tie affairs OF The public
What this Bank to be If II was mere fiscal
agent not incorporated, then it Government
Bank and he said to gentlemen that they abolish
ing just such Bank, though without the name All
they had 10 do call The Suh.lreasury fiscal
agent, and the thing would be effected Was this
any lnlnn new. ilau not gentlemen CoHtnueu tHht
The bill Of lsi0 went 10 create Treasury Bank
Yet they for destroying that, only 10 make
another Here Mr. w quoted the title of speech he
held in his hand, in which the Sub Treasury was de-
nominated Government Bank, of which the Presi
dent Of the u. S to be president, cashier and
teller All they had to do was 10 give the Secretary
powe TO Issue small drafts and the Snb1'Ieasury
would be Government Bank.
Mr. CLAY here interposed to inquire of MIR. w whe-
Their he rightly understood him now admitting that
the Sub-Trcasnry was bank
Mr. WOODBURY. replied in the negative. lie had
represented Il as a bank only under the supposItion
that the Secretary could cut up his drafts into small
sums; and use them as bank notes.
Mr. CLAY. Well, and could he not do IT.
Mr.. WOODBURY.. He did not do it, admit that
the argument itself fair one but he did not do it,
could it have been done without sanction OF law.
Mr.. w. concluded by observing that though much
might be said, he should add further remarks
Mr.. CLAY here demanded the question on the pass
age of the bill; but
The debate was continued until near : o'clock by
Messrs CALHOUN, BENTON, TALLMADGE,
WRIGHT, YOUNG, and McROBERTS-all of them
speaking in opposition 10 the BILL except Mr. Tall.
nadgc. THE late hour Of the adjournment rendered
impossible 10 prepare this debate for this paper, bu,
il will he given in next, together with the various
propositions submitted and the votes thereon.
The question having been taken on the passage of
the bill, II decided in the affirmative us follows
Teas-Messr> Archer Barrow, Bates, Bayard l'errien Choa'e
Clay =" Kentucky, Clayton, Dixon Evans Graham iic"de
Southland, Talnladgr, White, Woodmldge-e9.
.iayyMc-s Allen, Benton Calhoun, Clay Of Alapama Full
ton King, Mcobril> NcuISon Pierce. Sewer, Smith IT Con
nerticut, Sturgeon, Tappan, Walker Williams, Woodbury.
Wight, Yuung-iS
And the Senate djourned
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE
Some explanations took place between the Speaker
and several members in relation 10 certain proposed
corrections Of the Journal which, however, resulted IN
action, so far as the Reporter could understand what
was going on
Mr. {. BROWN Of Pennsylvania 10 make an
inquiry of the Speaker. He (Mr. b. saw, on looking
at the, newspapers, that the committees there an
nounced not the the committees which
had yesterday been read al the Clerks table. He de-
sired to know where the real committees would be
found.
The SPEAKER (though very imperfecty heard on
the left Of the chair understood TO say that il had
been his intention TO state fact to the House in
gard TO the committees and that he about TO do SO
when n gentleman had risen TO move correction of
the Journal. The Speaker would now state that, in
looking the list Of committees, few mistakes