The Arkansas banner., 1844-04-24

v were amused with the idea of full Ireasu- ", when in fact their money was all out in the hands of traders and speculators. Bank stockholders pocketed the interest, and the constitution became in this respect dead letter.
 To perfect the scheme, a Bank of the Uni ted States was created, being the most con yenient instrument through which the public money could be applied to private purposes.
 For many years, the nation ln fact bad no Treasury at all. All its moneys went into Banks and were loaned out by them; and the balances reported to be in the Treasury, were only the amounts which those corporations owed the United States.
 In 1887, the balance thus reported 10 beln the Treasury was many millions; yet the Banks adsuspended payment, and the ifeds- urer could not command a dollar It was aU out of he Treasury but not [" in conse- qUcacc of appropriations mdde 6y Id7r.9- When the appropriations came, the money aca$ already gone.
 This led those in the administration of the government to consider how 1t was, that so many millions had gone out of tue Treasury without appropriations or Treasury Warrants
 They soon perceived, not only the money was gone but the Treasury aseB. We had Treasurer but no Treasury. Our Treasu- Ter even, instead of keeping our Treasure when we had any, had been metamorphosed into a mere Book keeper. Instead ot being a Keeper of Treasure as the constitution ln- tended, he had become Keeper of Books.
 The remedy was obvious. It was to be found in return to the Constitution and the establishment of Treasury, in which the Treasure of the country should be placed, not to be drawn out '.but in consequence of appropriations made by laW.n It was, to make the Treasurer a keeper of Treasure, as was originally intended, and as his official name implies, with such assistant keepers as the extent of our country and the business of the government, rendered necessary and proper"
 Accordingly, to restore the constitution, prevent the public money from being loaned out for private uses and for the profit of Bank stockholders, or < drawn from the Treasury except in consequence of appropriations made by law,'7 Congress passed the Act of July 4th, l840, entitled '' An Act to provide for the collection, salekeeping, transfer and dis bursement of the public revenue" The first Section established Treasury, That is to say, t prorided C place aebere he public treasure should je Kept, m Hte folioming lcords. Uiz.
 <. Be t enacted, Sc That there shall be prepared and provided, within the new Treasury building now erecting at the seat f of government, suitable and convenient rooms for the use of the Treasurer, of the U. States, his assistants and clerks; and sufficient and secure fre-proof vaults and safes, for the i keeping of the public moneys in the pos session and under the immediate control of the said Treasurer; which said rooms, vaults and safes, are hereby constituted and declared to be, the Treasury of the United States And the Treasurer of the United States shall keep all the public moneys which shall come to his hand in the Treasury of the U. States as hereby constituted, until the same are drawn therelrom according to law"
 Inasmuch as most of the Public Moneys were received and disbursed at points distant 1 from Washington, places of deposite were provided in the Mints at Philadelphia and i New Orleans, in the Custom Houses at New l York and Boston and in rooms provided for the purpose at Charleston, s. c. and St. Lou l is. Mo. where the funds were to be received and kept under the charge of public Officers bonded and sworn, for the purpose of being remitted to the Treasury at Washington. transferred to other Depositalies, or disburs- i ed in payment of public dues, upon the or l der of the Treasurer and Treasury Warrants issued according to law.
 So far from allowing the Keepers of the l Public Money to use or'lead for their own profit or that of others, the seventeenth Sec ton of this Act provides as follows; viz.
 :. lf.anv one of said officers, or of those connected with the Post Office Department shall convert to his own use in any way whatever, or shall use by way of investment in any kind of property or merchandise, ol i shall loan, with or without interest, any DOT ton of the public moneys intrusted to him for safekeeping, disbursement, transfer, or iol any other purpose, every such act shall be deemed and adjudged to be an embezzlemen of so much of the said moneys as shall thus be taken. converted, invested, used or loaned which is hereby declared to be felony; and any officer or agent of the United States, and all persons advising or participating in such act, being convicted thereof before any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction shall be sentenced to Imprisonment for Q term of not less than six months nor moro than five years, and to a fine equal to the amount of money embezzled.n
 " Such was the measure of the Democratic Party which the Wings nicknamed, the Sub Treasury
 It was plan to Keep he Public .1foncg for public ases, in compliance with the d. rect, positive aad aneqaivocal COMMAND ] of he Constitution.
 It deprived no man of his rights, but pre- vented certain classes of men from using nso- ncy aohieh did not belong 10 ttem,
 One of the first acts of Whigism when it came into power in l84l, was to ABOLISH 1 THE TREASURY.
 They repealed the Act passed by the De ! mocrats to restore the Consultation and pre-