The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-08-07

shall be the duty OF the Secretary of the Treasury to
guard may be- against those drafts being used OF
thrown into circulation as paper currency or medium OIL
| exchange" ..... .....r. ....I
This section is decisive of the whole question.
First requires the draft TO be presented for pay
ment al the place where payable, and that IN
brief limited time. BY the six words proposed TO
be inserted, these drafts instead OF being thus pre-
scented and collected, would be discussed as bank
notes-pad out 10 credtors-and all control over
them lost by the disbursng officer, and all treasury
regulations made unsyailng. Besides, a fraudulent
evasion would have TO be operated in filling the
drafts for disbursement, by splitting them into small
sums and making them negotiable by delivery. In
the next place. the section positively requires inc
Secretary Of the Treasury TO make regulations TO
prevent government drafts from being thrown into
circulation for a currency; these ak words are ex-
actly for contrary purpose-precsely for the Pur-
pose Of authorizing these drafts 10 DO thrown INTO
circulation for a currency! Thus, with these six
words, If we insert them, we not only destroy the
intention Of the whole bill, bat reverse IT, We make
Il exactly contrary to what Il Is Intended TO be-to
what We have declared IL To be-and TO what the
people expect IL to be. We make the treasury
paper-money machine-and, by implication, legalize
the present treasury currency OF ORDERS and drafts
for circulation, on the deposite banks. We lesalze
the existing illegality, and authorize II as Perma-
| sent practice.
| In reply TO Mr.. LEwIs's remark that Mr.. BEs-
ron had peculiar notions about hard money, Mr..
b. said, that not the first time that he had
been told ofthat popularity in this chamber. The
present Secretary Of the Treasury, when mem
Der of the Senate and laboring rescind President
Jaeksons specie circular, had gone pretty fully into
the same idea; and what he said then may ena-
bic US the better TO understand the use which he
will make of these six words which he gave to the
chairman of Finance Mr. LEwIsl TO be inserted IN
this bill, l will read some passages from a speech
which he then made. The passages:
said Mr. 1ths senator from Missouri has
thrice repeated the prayer God the country from the
Committee on Public Lands hu. Mr. walker fully be
syed that the prayer ofthe country could be heard with
these walls Il would he, God save from the wild
visionary runoas and impsctesble schemes Of the sens
Of Missouri for exclusive gold and silver currency and
only the pray Of the country but Of the Sen
ate with scarcely dissenting voice Sir II the senator
from Missouri could by his mandate In direct opposition
the views the President heretofore expressed sweep
from exence all the banks Of the States and establish his
exclusive constitutional currency OF gold and silver he
would bring upon this country scenes Of ruin and distress
without Paralle-sn immediate bankruptcy Of nearly
every debtor and Of almost every creditor 10 whom large
amounts due Prodigous depreciation IN the price
Of all property and all products and immediate cessation
by States and individuals Of nearly every work Of private
enterprise public improvement The country would be
Involved in one universal bankruptcy and near the grave
the nations prosperity would perhaps repose the scat
tered fragments Of those great glorious institutions
which give happiness millions here and hopes to mil
resistance power Bank Of the United states in
opposition to the reestabhshment Of any similar nstitn
ton the senator from Missouri would find MIR. Walker
with him. but he could not enlist recruit in this new
against the banks Of his and every other State
'' ----L, Nv
Anu again. I" inc same sPeeeu. ,...
distinction q The senator an tins respect was a. IN
~ @ n.,n "a , S @ diseernibIs oniy by tbe
magnfying powers ola solar mcfo,cope II was point
point, which like the qgarithmic spiral ssymPote Of
the hyPereoe curve might be forever approaches without
s;tbons jentb srraa,h bIsk5ess shane weight or a.
rnens.ns but without posions mere imaginary nothing.
which fitted before vision OF the honorable
senator when iravsrsing N his h'ni % h h ha
..nso, Srjys,eS 10 oscunr 81. the senator from Mis-
souri might mountain high his piles of metal;
he might in his auixotc flight over the banks
o. the states putting 70 the SWORD iheir omeett S sas
sste 'bs might In his reveTSs have demolished
their charters paper by the FIRE Of his
elo9uenee he might have Transacted In fancy with me
.sc eutrenSy oIwehy s e n,1ns IN si,i Nj
Walker would not disturbed his beatao visions nor
you'd any other sens.oror they visions only, that
nfser ee re- non The commit,ss on Public
SUMMON ainal, arrsigned them as vioatos Of the
Mt. W. p''ssa Heaven osT doiiyerance from them.
This is what the present Secretary of the Treas
ury thinks of my notions OF hard money, and also
what he himself thinks OF paper money. The Two
cases are analogous In 1856 81, when TINS speech
was delivered, the question was between bard money
and paper, as u now is. Two senators-Messrs'
Rives and Ia1madge-separated from the demo-
cratic party on that question: the present secreta-
| ry was with them, and went Tar oeyona them II,
MS rioicule OF specie ana It's tneh advocate, ana
IN defence OF paper. lie went lar beyond thefn,