Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1842-01-15

| tlon, that II creates union OF the Purse
and the sword, by giving the Executive the
custody or control Of the public money. -
Far otherwise. The President cannot
touch dollar Of the public money, bv his
own authority, nor change its custody
The Secretary vi tie Treasury cannot
'.uch Il dollar. nor q" ang" It's cus'uiv. ex
cept t" meet the occ,s,uts ". the public
service, and by - pubic rtl,ciI act. Who
ever stall come tn thu Exrneqn"r l". mon
eV, ,nus' show The law ui Congress under
which he Comes; and n payment can be
| naie tu' in compliance with such law
| Un'l appropriations are made ht law. the
President Will have no more authority than
any other individual in the country TO take
II iarthng from the ExChequer.
The purse, then, is etiectuay severed
,rom the sword; the executive power is
confined to It's proper function Of executing
Tie laws OF Congress, and discharging its
other high constitutional duties; and the
nublic funds will be in their proper place,
entirely beyond his reach or control. unit!
Congress shall appropriate them to their
destined purposes. From that time they
will 60 into the hands of disbursng agents.
as tie public service may require. protected
still by official responsibility and adequate
bonds, and still beyond any interference by
the Executive power. In the Exchequer.
therefore, the public treasures will be safe
sale against the usual causes OF loss and
danger, and safe from Executive control.
But the Exchequer is expected to do
more than merely to keep safe the public
money.
lis second object is to furnish a sound
paper circulation, IN which debts to the gov
eminent may be paid and which may also
Oe useful to the commerce and general bu.
SlnesS Of the countrl. The first of these
functions is purely fiscal, and the instrumen.
taIty OF such paper medium, in certain
ex'Sences OF the country, may become in.
dispensibIe to the exercise OF the highest
duties Of Government.
In so reasoning upon this subject as TO
come to any practical conclusions, it is ne
ceSSary to consider some things as settled
and certain. Among these, one of primary
importance is, that paper circulation ex-
lists in the country, and that there is not
the least probability Of its ceaslng to exist.
The States possess the power OF creating
banks of circulation; they exercise this
power; many of them derive not unmpor-
tant revenues from its exercise, and some
OF them even have established banks, OF
which they are themselves propretors.--
No man can reasonably expect to see the
day when they will relinqush this power,
Or refrain from its exercise.
In the next place, experience has con-
tirmed the truth, beyond the possibility of
doubt or question, that paper OF State
banks cannot be of universal circulation
and credit; there never has been, and there
is not now. any one State bank whose
notes pass readily from hand to hand. as
equivalent to specie, over all parts of the
country. Many of these local institutions
are perfectly sound, are well administered,
and their credit in their own neIghborhood
entirely good and unquestirned. But from
the very nature OF things, their ere lit is &
must be local only. 1t can never be uni
versal. The People are acquainted with
the institutions of their own respective
States, and generally understand the grounds
of the claims of such institutions to conf
dence and respect. They pay attention
also TO whatever is established by the Cen
eral Government, because they have an in
terest in the laws which it passes. But the
People, that is to say, the great mass OF pro-
ductive Gamers 81 one Stale. cannot, gen |
orally speaking, be acquainted with the |
muneNed INSTITUTIONS OF u!uer ana distant |
States. In most Gases. they do not even |
know such institutions by name. How. |
then, can they give them their confidence |
We see they d. not give 1t, even where it |
might be most safely bestowed. They pre-
Ter The paper at their own banks, though
hey know 1t to be deprecated, to the pa.
per ct other banks. because they have con.
lidrnce in the institutions of their own
State. and because they know the amount
,t depreciation in the paper of such banks,
whereas OF the value of note Of distant
nank they are wholly ignorant. But tins
whl'h the great mass Of the
does not possess, brokers and
money dealers do, and they use 1t skltully
10 their own advantage. A farmer Of Nr-
Linia will hesitate to receive in payment
a New York note. He will prefer Virgin
ia paper, although he knows it is not equiv
alent to specie, hecaus: he can form some
opinion OF its value, while OF tine New York
note he knows nothing. But the holder
of the New York note, at the same time,
is able To dispose OF it at the first brokers
office at large premium.
Every man in the habit Of observing
what pas es around him must see every day
The existence of this state OF things; and
ITS inevitable consequence is, TO throw he
loss OF depreciation on the labOrinus and
productive classes. Wherever pad paper
clrculates,i it is the industrious and the hard
working who suffer first, and suffer longest,