Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-01-31

mcnt IRON lndividnals-p funds from private ard
especially that there should be excrcae of the con-
sltuonal custody and control of Congress over the
public money, independent Of the Executive: not strp
ping The Executive Of any power given by the Cons..
iu,ion but defining, limiting, regulating, controlling.
snd directing H. This his idea OF the eschecrer.
au! the gentleman from Kentucky insisted that il was
d Government Back.
! lie (Mr. w would discuss this question In The
FIRST place. he Womb say, that The gentleman had taken
great pains to reply to article in tic Madsoni9n ia
which The word praise had occurred several times -
lie thought the gentleman lind taken care not 10 b..
very precise himself He wished to show that the cen.
tlemal definition Of Government Bank would no.
oehr the test OF examination. When The gentleman
sad that the nature, and not the name constituted IN
institution, he was very true
The gentleman said, first, that it was u:oneyed ng
tuition second, thu. /. dealt in money for profit, Marx
The second propos;iioa-ihat de N money for p,of
lie wished The gentleman his seat, lha, he might
ask him, VINO he presumed concurred in this .enc,t
OF The Committee Of Ways and Maars. VIVA. was ~.
very power of the Government VII CHI was now i: ares-
lion before the House and The country: He would take
the power as II was defined by the Committee Of Wsys
and Means. sihe country said the Committee Of
ways ana Means, has been Ggtated 70. many years on
The hll'absorbng questions oil finance ard currency.
The power Of Gnance involves the rqcry into the best
mode OF collecting, keeping and discussing tho public
revenue'-tat is, the public mcney-and that Of the
currency into the best mode of creating circulating
medium that is, the circulating money of the coun
try. That, said MIR. Wise, s definition in which I
concur.
The very power Of the Government which was now
in question VAS the power of finance which first in.
volved the subject ofcollecting keeping and discussing
the public money and the other power involved in thia
question, was the power of currency, which included
the power OF regulating and controlling money for Go
vefnment purposes. Then, if this power OF the Co.
vernment was exercised at all, it must he in the form
n: soma institution of law, which, first, wcs moneyed
insttution and secondly dealt in money for profit He
wished to be distinctly understood in this argument
from which he dci:e.i Tile gentleman TO escape-tha.
whether it be an institution Of law by act Of nco,poa
ton, or organlzation,, such the bank Of the o. s.
and the Treasury Department-ift exercised the above
powers It must be in institution of law, in Whatever
form created, which is oneyed institution dealing in
money for profit
TIE present Treasury system Bank under that
definition
The act of 1850, which organized the Treasury De.
parmen and made the Treasurer of the United States
The keeper Of the public moneyswhich created the
ceivers and discussing agents officers CT the Government
was an institution of Law, not by the act of incor-
poraiicn, but by organization. There was moneyed
institution; and secondly, it institution which.
dealt in money for the sake Of profit. Was il not no
torious that, under every administration Of the &C.
vernment, from General Washngtons to this day,
under every Secretary of the Treasury, ard in every
month and week, the Government had bought and
sold bills of exchange for The transfer Of the public
money, and as oeten getting premium paying p
Moreover, the Secretary of State, for paying foreign
ambassadors ard the Secretary Of the Navy, for pay
ing tie officers CT the navy abroad foreign service,
had 10 buy bills Of exchange. Mr.. Woodbury. himself
the great advocate Of the independent treasury, had
done it, But this was very minute view of the scope
OF prof, and loss in which the Treasury had been en-.
gagged. lie begged Leave 70 cell the .entlemans at.
tenlion to much broader system Of profit and loss in
which The Treasury dealt under the oct of 1850 Why,
the whole book Of profit and lcgs was before them ia
the before the House. i!aw should the public
money be best collected and kept; Why, there was
profit in the idea of preventing loss. How should The
Government collect lis dues in the most valuable funds
There positively the IDEA Of gain. How should
it be Kept in the safest manner How disburse il in
The most profitable way; why, IN discussing, the
Government would avail itself Of that system which
paid discount, bu. made profit. ;so; only The act
OF i1c, but the Treasury itself according 10 that de-.
inon, bank. moneyed institution, dealing in
money for profit. The collectors, receivers, and cope
caly body Of officers created ct the last session Of
Congress, constituted bank, if this idea correct.
To show how utterly iollacous was this definition Oft
bank, he would ask what the gentleman would make
of the commissioner of loans to obtain loan at
premium if be could get il, at the lowest discount?
Did not the gentleman that this definition Of bank
would not bear The test, lie deled the gent leman to
create define in fancy or in fact, an institution which
should have the power Of finance and the power Of the
cuuency-the power of dsbursing and the powe, Of
creating a currency-whout having the nature OF b
Bank. This was reducing the gentemans Argument at
once 10 The argumennm nd dJsurdum. What, then,
was the distinction
The gentleman had very truly said that bcak might
be Incorporated not; one OF depose OF Issue o.
not of loan and discount or not; tia! it might be
SOLE or JOINT, &c, &c. Now, he would ask the gen.
,leman if every private individual banker, WHO.
merely Ter ihe Ordinary Transactions Of life, borrowed
money, or lent money, or who took discount, or
sil we'd e.3c.cd premium when he sod bill o.
exchange Certainly not. and yet The ,Ddiv:dnsi
who did all these things, neither nor .ess, under
different aspect, without act Of interpretations with
it, was called banker; and wEy: Because Tie nnmr
Of banker depended not only upon the nature Of his
business hut upon his profession; and If he (Alr. W
had time he could produce abundance OF authorities
10 prove the truth Of tie position. may (said Mr..
w lend my friend from Indiana thousand dciiare,
and may sell hun bs!l Of exchange, and may not tn
banker. Though may issue to rim h Of credit;
though may discount bis cote; though may eyaeta
premium from him; and t!ioue!: . may perform
one of the modern functions Of bank defiaId him
yet all that w'il net constitute banker Eut in
land where unlicensed banking Is o.eraed-cs il
IN Virginia, TIL It was suppressed and pu...o;,rt by
law-if set MP my syn banker and broker,
profess TO deal IN the business Of banking, discount,
and deross-,o deal 10 money for profit; then not
only the nature OF my business, hut M profession
s,iiutes me banker. As long a. am private indi-
vidual, not held 10 the COMMON law usoges, which
ere binding bankers and no body eisc-as long =
do not profess myself 10 be banker, all The courts
Of justice in the world will not treat me as such viii!
not exact the common customs oil Bank, Uie three
days Of grace, for example and will not allow me the
privileges of one. So it (Mr. W. went on 10
s,y) with the Government. The Government had 10
deal with a!-the poorest, well as the richest 1t
was no banker ; but STILL Is private individual must
do IL had 10 collect money 10 pay its debts keep
ney, and disburse inoneg. So long as it was exercising
the powers vested in By lie Constitution over the
finances and the currency, il was no Bank but tina
moment it stepped beyond the power of the Consti,u.
,on-bpyond the power OF the currency, the power ~
lay and collect taxes, the power to create circulating
medium in such form that the collections and disburse.
ments of The Government might be safely made-,ho
moment il tianscended that power, ccalcrally d.
ecily incidentally or positively, and performed the
business of discount and exchange dealing in money
fur The rake Of prof, aione;!en, and till then, it
w1sa Bank The proposition, then, with which he met
.ae argument ct The gentlemen from Kentucky was,
Tia; the mere custody and control Of the public money
won''i not constitute Bank. If It did, then the gem
esnan could not escape. WoaId lie maintain the pro-
position that they obliged 10 create joint stock
company, or obliged TO create Bank One or the
o.her-le. the gentleman toke that position Yes IL,