Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1841-06-19
WHOLE NUMBER SAL

me risks OF fire, robbery and other casualties &C.
curing either in deposito transmission, from
"hicn IL IS entirely protected when a wei-reeu-
iateu canh IS the depository and the fiscal apent
/ me present system aiso Ia many respec,s
cumorous and inconvenent. Its tendency is to
centre the disbursements Of the puolic moneys al
some oil The Eastern cities, chiefly a, New York
Ihdt being the grea, commercial emporium Of
the United States, is the point al whch funds ara
the MOST valuable and, therefore, the mort sou ph;
! hence, those who entitled TO payments out
of the public Treasury claim them there. II 10
true there Is general discretion in the head Of
/ the Department 10 refuse grant the favor of
such payments according Ia its convenience but
"hen the currency IS deranged, and the premium
or exchanges Is high, this discretion invov dis-
chfiination 10 large amount among creditors
equally entitled. 1t then becomes a dangerous
discretion, and one that ought not 10 exist. But,
under the present system, it cannot be avoided.
save IN n few cases. without dlscharging every
pubic liability ct the most favoured point. This
would at once centre all the disbursements at n
few of the Eastern cities, and involv o the Treas
ury the risk aud expense of transporting The
public funds from the various points of collection
TO the places of disbursement.
An item of less Importance, but still worthy of
CONSIDERATION, in settling on n permanent and O.
economical arrangement, is the direct expense Of
the present system, including the Of tho
buildings for the deposiie of tho public money!
and the se!aries Of the officers and their clerks
who receive and bisburse il. No portion Of this
risk, inconvenience, or expense need to be incur
red where well-regulated bank is nude the fs-
Cal agent.
But the present system is also, in the opinion
of the undersigned, injurious to the business and
currency of the country. Instead of permitting
the credit and the finances OF the Government TO
lend their indirect but efficient lid in sustaining
the credit and regulating the currency of the
try, brings into direct hostility those important
interests. In the progress OF the system sutfi-
Gent amount OF gold and SILVER TO supply tho
wants IF the Treasury mus, BIO withdrawn from
and locked up in vaults, leaving
to supply It's place 10 the general
circulation
A largo amount, also, in the hands OF those
who pay receive from The Treasury, Is equal
y Withdrawn from general circulation md mace
10 flow through those channels alone which lead
into and out Of the public Golfers. The other
avenues OF commerce and intercourse are thus de-
prived Of their proportion Of the precious metals.
Within the fifty two years during which our
lad, for two periods Of twenty years each, a bark
chartered by Congress depository of the
public moneys and fiscal agent. We have
lad, also, at two intervals, amounting TO about
line years, State banks employed for like pur-
'oses; and, during the remainder Of the time, tho
unds of the Government have been kept s. The f.
lances administered partly by banks & partly by
Individual officers & agents. The losses sustain
ID by State banks, repositories, during the first
lei Iod Of their employment, extending from 1871
O lSl0, agreeably TO statement prepared by
he Secretary of the Treasury in 1888, and re-
issd and republished in 1887, 81 OOO,676.
n the latter period, from 1888 to 1887 though no
ctual loss is believed to have occurred, yet tho
Treasury & the country suffered Inconvenience
nd embarrassment from the fiscal arrangements.
With those numerous and disconnected institutions
But during the forty years that the two banks
{ the United States the repositories of the
ublic money and the fiscal agents Of the Gov
rnment, loss whatever was sustained, nor
deiaV or m trnn
ing discussing the public moneys, far
ne agency OF those institutions extended
hen, regards the of The Treasury
lerely, tho safety of the public funds, and econ
my to their administration, experience has de-
1ons,rateG the superior utility Of bank cons,iiu-
I'd * adopted by Congress fiscal agent. II
as also proved that The active business Of tho
ouniry, lis currency, It's credit, lis industry.
nd It's commerce, are 10 Ultimately connected with
nd dependent upon the financial arrangements Of
lie General Government. If they be wise and
eneficient, they indirectly, but efficiently, pro-
tote those great interests Of the People; # con-
ant and uniform in their action, they give 10
lose interests confidence and stability.
Since the removal Of the public deposIes from
lie bank Of the United States, in 1888, the Co
erment has had no permanent fiscal agent and
o definate financial system. All has been
sriment, transfer. and change. The business
the country has welded to the unsteady i'm
llse and moved forward with wild i,regularny;
one time stimulated 10 excessive action, at
aoiher sunk into le,hargy. And, in providing
II the wants of the Treasury, il is surely imPor-
mt TO look also, to the wants and The welfare OF
e community from the products ct whose inous
y The Treasury IS supplied
And az regards those great interests. we find
e testimony Of past years is no less distinct
nd strong in favor of a monyed institution char
red by the General Government. and possessed
its confidence and credit The period en-
acinp the last ten years of the existence of the
"a rank % the United States tie fiscal agent
fresh in the memory of Us all, & is looked back
as a period Of grea, public prosperity; and
ough other causes did, doubtless, cooperate
produce that favorable condition OF things, yet
,e of the govraning principles on which depend
the steady advance Of the country IN COM
cree in industry and substantial wealth, was