The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-08-09

| from the Bank of the United States in 1888. Du-
ring all the long period from the foundation OF the
Government until the year 1888, the people had
never been robbed of their money by the agents
| in whose care they had placed it. But Gen.
Jackson to crafty his spite and maligDity against
the officers of the late United States Bank, be-
cause they would not submit to his diciation in
the appointment and removal of their own Off
GERS, took the public money out of that institu-
ton and placed it in the State banks. He at the
same time advised the "pet banks" as they were
called, 10 extend their circulation and credits
freely upon the faith of the public money, advice
which they were but too ready to follow. The
country became flooded with paper money, caus-
ing great and unnatural rise in prices, which
produced excessive importations of foreign goods,
that is to say, the importations vastly exceeded
the expectations and as foreigners will not carry
home our bank money, the balance between the
value of the goods which they sold us and that
which we sold them had to be paid in gold and
silver. The banks, therefore, after having issued
paper to froR three to ten times the amount Of
specie in their vaults, were called upon to give
w " tnCoC tHC SCly Udolo VI luGI pd-
per circulation-the specie with which they ex-
pected to redeem their notes. The consequence
was, that all had to suspend specie payments, and
many became bankrupt, bringing distress and
ruin upon the country.
Gen. Jackson was to blame for all this, but the
catastrophe came in Mr.. Van Buren's admins
tration.
The Government likewise, from system of
extravaganza and prodigality, not to say iraud
had become bankrupt, which Mr. Van Buren, pro
posed to remedy by the Sub-treasury plan, part
of which is to collect all the revenues in gold and
| silver, and leave paper money to the people. He
declared that the people expected too much
from Government'-that "the Government would
take care of itself, and the people should take
| care of themselves"
But the plan. The Sub.treasury plan is to
place the public money in the hands of individuals
called receivers, as trustees. These receivers
give bond and security to the Government for
the faithful execution of their trust. But the OBJ
lection to the plan is, that individuals are never
able to give, in the large commercial cities, any
thing like adequate security. The plan might do
in the small ports, where the revenue, for year,
never exceeds 20 or three hundred thousand
dollars, but in New York the revenue for the pre-
sent year will exceed t,ceniy million! And who
could give security in that amount! Nobody.
| Not even Aston himself. But a bank with cap
ifal of thrty-fve or forty millions would be per-
fectly secure. And in many other places as Bos.
ton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, Mobile,
and New Orleans, the amount of revenue is vast
| ly greater than could be rendered safe in indiv-
dual hands. In pronf of this we subjpin table
showing the actual losses which took place dur
| ing the temporary operation of the Sub-treasury
under Mr. Van Buren,. The highest security re.
CURED in any case, by the Subtreasury law, was
only two or three hundred thousand dollars, and
yet the receiver was expected to hold millions in
his hands. Who can wonder at the roguery that
was practised!
But another, and the most odious and tyrannical
feature of the Sub-treasury was to require specie
| IN all cases for public tares. The people must
sell their produce and manufactures for bank rags,
if they could get them, but the President and his
| officers would receive nothing but gold and silver
|
meal law which Mr.. Polk will impose upon the
people if he is elected. We will recur to this
subject again.
We append list of the defaulting Sub.trea-
surers who floursbed during the era of Jackson
and Van Buren's experiments in search of the
better currency Nothing of the kind ever hap
pened while the plan of Washington and Madison
was adhered to:
Samuel Swartwout $l,255,705 60
Lttlebury Hawkins 100000 90
Wiley P. Harris lOOl78 O8
Gordon d. Boyd 5O936 %
J. T. Candy 39OI3 III
). w stevenson 1924 Oh
w. w. Green 93I2 10
H. II. Gall 1886 30
B. s. Chambers I91a6 81
Samuel w. Bell 10 con 10
B. F. Edwards 33I5 76