Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1842-12-10

General Government, or Under its authority
The Sub Treasury system rejected the las
under any form; and as IT was believed tha
no reliance could be placed on the issues o
local institutions, for the purposes of genera
circulation, 1t necessarily and naavod bl
adopted specie the exclusive currency 70
its own use. And this must ever be the cas-,
unless one Of the other kinds be used. Tn,
choice in the present state of public seEti
ment, lies between an exclusive specie cur
rency on the one hand, and Government
issues of some kind on the other. That thes
| issues cannot be made by chartered instI,u
| ton, IS supposed 10 be coEclusvelv settled
/ They must be made, then, directly by Gov
eminent agents. For several years past they
have been thus made IN the form ct Treasury
notes, and have answered valuable purpose
! Their usefulness has been transient and tenn
poIarv; their ceasing to bear interest at Civ
en- periods. necessarily causes their speedy
return, and thus restricts their range OF
circulation, and being used only IN dlsburse
ments OF Government, they cannot reach
those points where they are most required
BY rendering their use permanent, to the
moderate extent already mentioned, by
offering no lnducement for their return, and
by exchanging them for coin and other val
ues, they will constitute, to certain extent
the general currency SO much needed &c
maintain the internal uade of the country
And this Is the Exchequer p Ian, SO far as il
may operate III furnishing a currency.
( cannot torego the occasion to urge It's
Importance to the credit of the Government
in financial point of view. The great ne
cesslty Of resorting TO every proper and
becoming expedient in order 20 place the
Treasury on a footing of the highest respecta
billiy, Is entirely obvious. The credit of the
Government may be regarded as the very soul
Of the Government Itself-a principle OF
vitality without which all its movements are
languid and all its operations embarrassed.
In this spirit the Executive felt itself bound
by the most imperative sense OF duty TO sub
NIT to Congress at its last session, the proprI-
ely of making specific pledge of the land
fund, as the basis for the negotiation OF the
loans authorized TO be contracted. l then
thought that such an application of the public
domain would, without doubt, have placed
at the command of the Government ample
funds to relieve the Treasury from the tenn
porarv cmbarrassments under which it la
bored. American credit has thus suffered a
considerable shock in Europe, from the large
Indebtedness of the States and the temporary
inability Of some of them TO meet the interest
on their debts. The utter and disastrous
prostra,ion of the United States Bank of
Pennsylvania. had contributed largely TO
of the loss and ruin sustained by the holders
of its stock, large portion Of whom wete
foreigners, and many of whom were alike
ignorant of our political organization and OF
our actual responsibilities.
1t was the anxious desire Of the Executive
that, in the effort to negotiate the loan abroad,
the American negouator might be able to
point the money lender to the fund morgaged
for the redemption of the principal and inter
e ,,,,ht md
thereby vindicate the government from all
suspicion of bad faith inability to meet its
engagements. Congress differed from the
Executive IN this view of the subject. 1t
became, Dever theless. the duty OF the Execu
tive to resort to every expeoient IN It's power
to negotiate the authorized loan. After
failure to do so in the American market, a
citizen Of high character and talent was sent
to Europe with no better success; and thus
the Notifying spectacle has been presented
of the inability of this Government to
obtain loan small as not in the whole to
amount to more than one fourth its ordIna-
nv annual income; 4: time when the Gov
OF Europe. although involved in
debt, and with their subjects heavily burden
ed with taxation, readily obtain loans of any
amount at a greatly reduced rate of interest.
1t would be Improbable to look further into
this anomalous state of things, but cannot
conclude without adding thai, for Govern
ment which has paid off lis debts of two wars
with the largest maritime power of Europe,
and now owing debt which is almost next
to nothing when compared with its boundless
resources, government the SIT ongest in the
world, because emanating from the popular
will, and firmly rooted in the affections of
grea, and free people, and whose fidelity to
It's engagements has never been questioned;
Tor such government to have rendered to
The capitalists of other countries an opportu-
nty for n small investment of its stock, and
yet to have failed, implies either the most
lnfounded distrust IN its good faith, or a pur-
pose, to obtain which, the course pursued is
The most fatal which could have been adopted.
It has now become obvious 10 all men that
the Government must look to its own means for
nr,r,lr-