The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-03-31
TwRNTY-NINTH CONGRESS,
First session.
MoSpAY, MARcH 80, 1886,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
nn N /
THE IsDEPEEDEST TREASURY.

On motion of Mr. OR0MGOOLE the House re.
solved itself into Committee Of the Whole on the
state Of the Union, Mr. JoHssos of Virginia ia the
chair and proceeded 10 the consideration of the bill
20 provide for the better organization of the treasury
and for the collection, safe-keeping, transfer and
disbursement of the public revenue.
The bill having been read through
And the first section being under consideration IN
the words following, To wit: 49,,
"Bs Il snaeisd, &c, That the rooms prepared and
provided in the treasury building al hs sea- "
government for the Of the treasurer o. inc
United States his assistants, and clerks, anu oeeu
pied by them; and also the hre'Proof vaults ana
safes erected in said rooms for the Keeping OF the
public moneys in the possession ana ahoer tue IT'D E
mediate control of said treasurer are hereby consul
tuted and declared be, the treasury OF the United
States and the said treasurer Of the United States
.ball keen ali the public moneys which shall come
20 nj, hands in the treasury OF the United STATES as
hereby constituted, until the same shall be drawn
therefrom according to law"
MIR CALEB B. SMITH moved to amend it by
adding the following Proviso;
"That nothing herein contained shall be con.
strucd to prevent the Secretary Of the Treasury
from depesiting the revenue Of ths government In
any bank or banks which he may deem eNpedient,
and also 10 receive the dues IN the paper
ofIPseie-psying hanks" TO. .. ..-..s. 4.
M. C. b. SMITH occupied his hour passing
over large range Of debate, Involving the financial
years and its multifarious eonnexion with the poll
Tics ana the diversified interests Of tho country. or
his remarks as we'll as OF other gentlemen, we give
but general sketch. He said he snstehed the pres
ent TO speak he could predict from the
indications given that the majority Of this House
by whose unanimous vote he supposed this bll
would pass, would feel themselves justified in
iorcisg the House to vote under the preyi.
Gus question upon this bill in less than "a hours
He knew the potent force OF the gag; he knew
that at the last Congress-, when this very same bI
was under consideration, II was forced through
without any debate being allowed, under the pre-
ience that The people had decided the question at
the previous presidential election. He did not be-
lieye the people decided this matter in the presiden-
tial canvass OF 1874. In his own State they were
left entirely in the dark in regard to this matter and
no individual pretended 10 say that the sub-treasu.
nv WINS one of the measures which would be carried
ont. He referred TO the Baltimore convention,
of which we had heard much, and said
while they had pronounced upon the Texas
and Oregon questions, they had said nothing
of this In scanning the proceedings OF that conven-
ZION you looked vain for any reference TO the sub
treasury schemes they had not forgotten the scenes
of ls46 the overwhelming defeat of the party then;
and they did not wish to bring before the people a
subject upon which they had already pronounced
their denunciaton, and driven them from power.
After Mr. Polk was elected, this bill brought
forward and passed under the previous question, and
now il was to be driven through again.
Mr.. GEO. S. HOUSTON inquired how long a
time was allowed for the repeal OF the subtreasury
by the 9th Congress-
Mr.. SMITH replied, some three weeks, he be-
leyed, considered in conne1ion with the national
bank bill.
Mr.. HOUSTON The bill was passed with but
one speech being allowed
Mr. S. resuming, wished to bring up some remin-
scences connected with the financial history OF the
country for the last few years. From 1890 (he said
down to that period in the administration OF Gene
raj Jackson, when his grand and magnificent sys
TEN OF experiments commenced, we enjoyed a cur
rency equal to any ever enjoyed by any civil
lied naton--a currency at all times convertible into
gold and silver. He referred to the financial meas
ures Of General Jackson's admInistration-the re-
moya ofthe deposites, the trial of the petbank sys
tenn &c; and 20 them ascribed the revulsions and
disasters which succeeded. Such of suffering,
bankruptcy and ruin The said) had never been wit
messed by any civilized nation, as was experienced
series Of experiments on the currency. RI .s.."S
TO the bill introduced by Mr.. GoRDoN, in 1884 or
1885, (ihe reporter thinks,) which presented, for
the first time, the principles Of the sub-treasury
scheme, and to its rejection in the House by l6l to
49, Among the nays, the names Of James j. Nc
KAY, James X. Polk, Richard M. johnson, and
Others of the democratic party, were found; and he
read expressed in speeches and writings the opin-
ions of Mr.. Polk and of Mr.. Richie, then editor
of the Richmond Enquirer commenting at some
length upon what he considered the inconsis-
tsncy Of the then and the present positions
of the gentlemen named, and Of the democratic
party generally. He came down to the recommend
alton by Mr. Van Buren, of this scheme at the extra
session Of 1897 noticing its rejection then, and sta
ting, after its final adoption and approval on the 4th
Of July (Which styled by its friends the second
declaration Of independence that during the
months that the law was in force 1t never carried,
nor could it be carried into effect, Of so mpractcabe
nature it, il lived for this short period mser-
Ian Joni inc "A m L Wa
consigned TO the grave; and it was now to be
ctated and clothed with the mantle of democracy
and its passage, he supposed would be hailed the
third declaration of independence. But pass it they
might, and Notwithstanding the hallelui ahs which
might be raised this third declaration Of independ-
ence it would he found that the common sense Of
the country would revolt against it, and that the
difficulties in carrying it out would be insuperable.
A great improvement had taken place in the con-
dton Of the country within the last five years; and
with the exception Of little lowering cloud in refer.
to Oregon difficulties, far regards our
domestic affairs, our people and our government
were never IN more prosperous condition than at
present. Why was it For six years this miser-
able tinkering with the currency had been aban-
doned. But now it was to be revived, and by
this bill the banks were to be struck at and by the
bill 10 reduce the taiif the manufacturers were to
be reached; and this all with the cry that it is the
benefit Of the farmer and the laborer that these meas.
nres are to be taken. He ridculed the idea that
portions Of the community would flourish The
effect ofths war upon the banks, and of the passage
Of this BILL he said would be to lock upin the vaults
of the treasury, and withdraw absolutely from any
participation in the business of the country $40 000
000--one-eighth Of the entire coin Of the country
This would necessarily be followed by the banks
contracting their discounts, as they would absolute
" be obliged to do under the operation of this law
and then the cry would be raiaed that the banks
were putting on the screws for political effect
Connecting This, however, with the more udious
measure Of the reduction Of duties to between
twenty and thirty per cent, which would food the
country with amount Of foreign importations
which would greatly exceed expectation, and
which balance Of trade would go to exhaust us Of
our little remaining specie, ano's.r "'-rv"y,v" =
pavnents another revulsion would sweep over this
conn,rv which uo.,1 equal or exceed all the disas-
49,. ..,ia ruin which resulted from the previous tinl-
erng and experiments upon the currency.
1t was possible to justify this measure only on one
ground, and that that Of hard-money cur
rency exclusively. If the democrats on this floor
oc Ill,