The spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1840-1844, 1842-04-01
Making a total Of
&llO,9S1,412 So


This will give an average expenditure for the
FIVE years Of S27,.l6, SGs, 10, average per year
! less than presented by the honorable Senator, of
just about eight millions of dollars, This is no in
considerable error, and how has it Grisen IN
GucsOnubIy ,from including in the Senator's cal
cuIUtion payments from the Treasury which were
no part Of The expenses oithG Government. What
payments hid been so included it was impossible
Tor him to say, Us he had not seen the data upon
which this average Of 3J,OU0,0O0 had been made
NJ.
lie would, however, mention one item, which
he did not doubt had entered into that computation.
lie referred 10 the issue ind redemption Of Treas
ury notes, This process; had been going on during
almost the entire period Of lir Van iuren's admin
isiralion, and upon no Inject had there been more
palpabe misunderstanding here and elsewhere,
and more erroneous statements disseminated over
the country. Almost every Senator who heard him
would remember how frequently and how elo-
qucntly il had been coutondcd on this floor, as well
ns at all the huSlngs in the country, that the pub
lie debt from the emission Of Treasury notes alone
Ind risen 10 the l'igh,l.l sum Of twenty millions Ct
dollars; und yet every member Of Congress who
chose TO examine The sulje knew that there was
no power given in the laws passed upon that sub
jet 10 issue more than ten millions Of those notes
to be outstanding at any enc time, and consequent
ly there was no power tn create debt in that way
to exceed Ten millions Of dollars, under any cir
Cum,Hnces, or in any contingency.
How, ,hen, it will very naturally be inquired,
could misunderstanding, so broad aud so uni
yersa be produced under Il limitation so simple
In this very plain manners The TIcGsurey notes
were 10 be issued rcdccmabIe at the expiration of
one year, but every note was made recoverable ut
any time in payment Of all dues 10 the United
States; and no note, when once paid in for public
Dues whether III the TREASURY or elsewhere, could
BE- re-issned bu; was by the law required to be can
celied and annued;and authority was given 10 tho
Secretary Of the Treasury, whenever note should
be so paid in before it became rcdecmahlc'o cause
a new note to I've issued in lis place. In this way
the original amount Of emissions could never be
exceeded us outstanding debt, and vet the gro.s
amount of emissions in i'ct would depend entirely
upon the payments nndo in the notes, within the
year. The same identical sum might, being rep
resented by any single and given note, be paid r,
aud again emitted in the form Of new note, dur
ing ;cry month of the year. and the amount Of
the public debt not be effectively changed BY the
process. This was the mode adopted under the
laws 10 keep on, the debt, and while twas dmin-
ished hy the payment in ola note to day,i was in
creased 10 exactly the same extent by the emission
Of new note to.moroT, in the place Of the one
so paid in.
still the books Of the Treasury would show. by
this process the accumulation Of an enormous debt
upon the one side and the payment of debt Just
equally enormous unon the other; because every
note paid in must pass on 10 those books as so much
money received, and every note issued in place Of
the one So paid in and cancelled, must pass on TO
the other side Of The same book, ms so much new
debt contracted; while. in sober fact, not 4 cent
had been either received or paid, but an operation
cr the credit system had been going on under n law
Of Congress through which the payment of one
note was accomplished in the emission of another.
This is Il simple solution Of The whole mystery aud
had those who seemed 10 he so alarmed at the ac-
cumuation Of our public d,h,. turned their a'cn-
ton /, the opposite page Of he ledger, and exam
inrd the correspondent increase ofOur revenue and
means, the true working Of Ibis paper system would
have been better undcrsocdNnd mole truly rep
resented to the country TWAS paper upon the
one side and paper upon the other, credit upon the
one side ard credit upon tie other; and while the
apparent debt was thus .wc'cd under the operation
Of these laws corresponding credits were cNtln-
gnshcd hv the same operation, 30 that the balance
Of the booss would, Mt all times, show that the
original ten millions authorized TO be borrowed had
not been exceeded, und most usually not even
reached
The document il Ii. hand, and to which he had
last referred. sustained BIN in tbs eNpanlon.-
pon page 20 would be found the payments made
from the Treasury during the four years OF the las;
Administration. and net understood by Nr. Ewing
to be part Of the expenses administering the Co.
yenmenl, hut payments Giom the Treasury indie
pendant ofihcse expenses. The amounts for each
year, thus paid, are given by Mr.. Ewing as fol-
lows:
Trusts funds. Treasury notes, interest,"
T. III