Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1841-10-14
for the omitted information. The call was in

"hesolced, That the President of tho Uni,ed
states be requested to inform the Senate what A.
mount OF public money has been placed IN the
hands OF discussing officers and agents since the
SIN oil March last; also what amount OF public
moneys now remain in the hands cf disbursinu
officers and agents unaccounted for, or not rcpor,
CD 10 nave been paid over according to iaw.''
Tins was submitted on tho 9th day oe June.
and adopted by the Senate, and the answer IN il
has just come in. 1t has been delivered this
morning, just in time for me 70 see it before rose
70 speak. TINS answer shows the sum of seven
millions OF dollars, and fraction over. Tn he in
the hands OF dlbursing agents or officers, unac-
counted Tor, or not reported to have been paid o.
yer. This let the secret out. 1t showed how
the Treasury had been empted, and what the
poor Secretary had been obliged TO do i'm order to
iurhish an &c post tdcfo reason for this pre-ordain-
ca extra session OF Congress! Sir, know how
q Treasury can be empted. 1t is only to deliver
out the money in masses to officers and agents be-
fore 1t is needed for the public service, aud let it
lie In their hands, i'm the hands of their friends
or In favori.e banks, until wanted for public paw
ment. In that manner the Treasury can be emp
tied on any day, no matter how full it NAV be. I'm
that manner it would have been empticd a dozen
times during MrVan Buren's administration. ifhis
Secretary ofihe Treasury had yielded to the impor
tunate demands made upon him. ] know whatI
say; Tor my daty as member of the Finance
Committee often led me to converse with the Sec
rotary, and to learn the condition of the Fisc.-
The present Secretary says he has now less than
million on hand: say that has often been the
case with the late Secretary. He has often been
drained down TO less than million, and would
have been drained dry if he had yielded to the de.
mands upon him for premature supplies but he
fought them of, and kept the money i'm the Treas
ury until the public service required it to be paid
over to those who had earned it. In this way he
has saved the Treasury heretofore, and would
have saved it again this summer call mon
n ~ crptar tn I
this
Mr.. WOODBURY. said yes.]
MIR. BENTON. You hear his answer. and
in that answer you feel the condemnation of the
present Secretary!
MIR. Is. here begged the Senate to observe that
he had not called for the amount of unaccounted
for public moneys for the purpose of imputing de-
faults to the officers. No such thing. He knew
that there not time yet for the greater part of
these new accounts to be settled: his only object
was to show what mass OF money was now in
the hands OF officers and agents, and thereby to
show the reason why so little was i'm the Treasu-
ry.
now proceed, said Mr.. Benton, TO the second
class OF entries which find in these new books
namely, the additional means which the new adj
ministrators have provided, or attempted to pro-
vide for themselves, and the want of which has
been made the putative cause of calling together
this most ominous and portentous session of Con-
gress. AT the head ofthese means, not for its a.
mount (for it is but trine in the totalitv of the
sums which shall have to presently but for its |
popularity and novelty, shall place the items
which brought to the notice of the Senate on |
Saturday last, namely, the loan of million at a |
tlme for six months together, and at six per CEN
tum interest, which the Fiscal Bank, by clause
In Its charter is authorized to lend to the Gov
eminent without any law of Congress to author
lze it. read the clause on Saturday. but will
read 1t again, for it deserves attention for more
reasons than one.
Mr.. ID. took up the charter of the Bank, and |
read from the 10th fundamental article of what |
he said. was whmsicaly called .sthe Cons,itu- |
ton of the Fiscal Bank" clause in these
words -
"No loan shall be made by the said corpora
ton, for the use, or account of the Government
OF the United States TO an amount exceeding one
million OF dollars, nor for any period erceeding
one hund'edand eighy dnys. or on account of any
hundred thousand dollars, or for any period er-
ceeding cne huncred and Eighty days, tnieaa pre-
rionsiy eutiorized by a ia,c Of the y. !Sates.''
Here is authority, resumed Mr.. II. for the ADJ
ministration 20 borrow ard for the bank to lend
million alta time, for six months together and
that without further leave or license from Con-
gTess and this little operation in finance is sub
Ject 10 be repeated exactly forty times i'm the 20
years which this bank is proposed to continue.
do not dIlate upon the unconstitutonaltv of this
P'oNioioh' tllie uOcS not permit. showed
Saturday that it was delegation of Legislative
power to the executive branch ofthe Government
authorizing the President 10 borrow money for
objects not defined by Congress, and unknown to
any appropriation law, and for any purpose that
he pleased. Congress has power to borrow mon
ey, not at its pleasure, and for what purposes it
pleases, but to pay the debts and to provide for
the support of the Government it has often CIV
en- the President authority to borrow. but always
named for what purpose, or that it must be for
satisfying appropriations made by law. These
are the limitations upon Congress, but here is
delegation of authority without Limitation upon
the President : he may borrow the million, and
repeat the loan forty times in twenty years, for
whatever object he pleases. This is what the
new bank charter authorizes. j know that this !
clause is substantially copied from the old bank
charter OF 1916 where it stood for half million |
oil dollars; and know that that clause was copied
from one in the charter of the Bank of England
where it stood for half million sterling 1.-TWO
and halfmillions Of dollars.) know these in
stances, but dispute their correctness, and oppose
their imitation here. But drop this argument
My present object is to enumcrate the means
which this new Administration has raised or is
attempting to raise for itself In this point of view
limit myself to the enumeration of this strange
item, and set it down for single loan of one
million of dollars, and its interest for six MONTHS
making 81 100000.
proceed to the next item which find in these
amous new books, namely the loan bill for
we've millions, which now have before us,
ind which was the subject Of such eXterminatino