Lexington union. (Lexington, Miss.) 1838-18??, 1841-07-03
An item Of less Importance, but still

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is the direct expense Of the present sys-
tenn, including the cost Of buildings TOR
the deposit Of the public money, and the
salaries Of the officers and their clerks who
receive and disburse it, No portion oil
this risk, inconv enience, or expense need
to be incurred where o weIrregulated
bank is made the fiscal agent
But the present system Is also, in the
opinion Of the updersgue ,hnj urious to the
business and currency OF the country.
Instead OF permitting the credit and tinan>
ces of The Government to lend their lndl-
rect but efficient aid 10 suslaing the credit
and regulating the currency the country,
il brings into direct hostility those lmpor-
tant interests. Ia The progress of the
system sufficient amount Of gold and
silver to supply the wants Of the Treasury
must be Withdrawn from circulation and
locked upln vaults, leaving no represen-
utive to supply its place IN the general
"A large amount, also, in the hands Of
those who pay To or receive from the
Treasury, is equally withdrawn from gen.
eral circulation, and made 10 flow through
those channels alone which lead into and
out Of the public Golfers. The other ayen.
ues of commerce and intercourse are
thus deprived Of this propotion ofprecious
metals. at W. E tH4la ,Fat.. aa.s
Within the ffty.two years during which
our constitutional Government has existed
we have had for two periods of twenty
years each, bank chartered by Congress
asa depository of the public moneys and
as fiscal agent. We have had also, at
two intervals, amounting 10 about 9 years
State banks employed for like purposes;
and during the remainder OF the lime, the
funds of.the Government have been kept
and the finances administered partly by
banks and partly by individual officers
and agents. The losses sustained by State
Banks, as repositories, during the first Pc
Rod OF their employment, extending from
alirto 1916, agreeable to a statement
prepared by the Secretary of the Treasu.
nv In 1888, and revised and rspublished
in 1887, were Sl,00O,676. In The later
period, from 1888 to 1887. though no ac-
tual loss is believed to have occurred, vel
the Treasury and the country suffered in.
convenience and embarrassment from the
fiscal arrangements with those numerous
and disconnected institutions. But, dur
ing the forty years that the two banks OF
the United States were the repositories
of the public money and The fiscal agents q
OF the Government, no loss whatever was
sustained, nor any delay OF any expeose4
incurred IN Transmitting, or disbursing a
The public moneys, so far as the agency
Of those institutions EXTENDED. Then, as 4
regards the. wants of the Treasury mere.
y, the safety Of the public funds, and
sconomy'to their administration, expert.
'ncs has demonstrated the superior utility
Of a bank constituted and adopted by Con
gress asa fiscal agent l,has also Prov
ID 10 us that the active business Of the
country,its currency, its credit, its indus
iry,and it's commerce, are intimately con-
nected with and dependent upon the finan.
cial arrangements Of the General Govern.
ment. lf they be wise and benefcien,,
they directly, but efficiently promote those
great interest Of the People; if constant
md uniform in their action, they give TO
those interests confidence and stability.
Since the removal Of the public depos-
ties from The Bank of the United States
in 1883, the Government has had no per-
name nj fiscal agent and no definite fnan-
ciai SYSTEM. All has been experiment,
transfer and change. The business Of the
country has yielded to the unsteady i'm
pulse, and moved forward with wildirreg-
ulsrily; at one time stimulated 10 access
sive action, at another sunk into le,hargy
And, in providing for the wants of the
Treasury, it is surely Important ID look
also to the wants and the welfare Of the
community, from the products Of whose in.
dustry the Treasury is supplied. '}o 2.
In whatever point Of iigh the under
signed is able to view this subject, he is
irresistibly led to the CONCLUSION that such
fiscal agent, 80 framed as to possess those
important functions is alike essential, to
the wants OF the Treasury and OF the com
munity. Such an institution should be
framed with delberation, for Il must have
high duties TO perform, and extensive in
terest 70 protect and promote, and it
should be granted with care, for il will be
liable to great and dangerous abuses As
the fiscal agent Of the Government. and
an effective regulator OF the currency in
widespread community j, should be steady
and uniforms in its action, and fixed aud
stable ID it's character. wv y. '"' .'a'" e"l
undersign has no doubt ofthe powerof