Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1847-12-10


By the act to sprovlde for the better Or
ganization of the treasury, and for the col
lection, safe keeping. and disbursement of
the public revenue" all banks were discon-
tinued as fiscal agents of the government,
and the paper currency issued by them
was no longer permitted to be received in
payment of public dues.
The constitutional treasury created by
this act went into operation OH the first OF
January last. Under the system establish
ed by it, the public moneys have been col
lected. safely kept and disbursed by the d.
rect agency of officers of the government
in gold and silver; and trainers of large
amounts have been made from points OF COL
lection to points of disbursement. without
loss TO the treasury. or INJURY or inconve-
nience to the trade of the country.
While the fiscal operations OF the gov
eminent have been conducted with regu-
larlty and ease, under this system, 1t has
had a salu,ary effect in checking and pre-
venting an undue imitation of the paper
currency issued by the banks which exist
under State charters. Requiring, as il
does, all dues to the government to be paid
in gold and silver. its effect is to restrain ex-
| cessive issues Of bank paper by the banks
disproportOned to the specie in their vaults
for the reason that they are at all times IL
able to be called on by the holders of their
notes for their redemption, in order to OBJ.
tain specie for the payment of duties and
other public dues. The banks, therefore
must keep their business within prudent
limits. and be always in a condition to meet
such calls. or run the hazard of being com
PEELED to suspend specie payments, and be
thereby discredited. The amount Of spe,
Gle imported into the United States during
the last fiscal year was twenty-four million
one hundred and twenty-one thousand two
hundred and eighty-nine dollars; of which
there was retained in the country twenty,
two millions two hundred and seventy-siN
thousand one hundred and seventy dollars
Had the former financial system prevailed
and the public moneys been placed on de-
posite in banks, nearly the whole of this
amount would have gone into their vaults
not to be thrown into circulation by them
but to be withheld from the hands Of the
people rs a currency, and made the basis
of new and enormous issues Ofbank paper
A large proportion of the specie imported
has been paid into the treasury for public
dues and after having BEEN to great eX-
tent, !ecoined at the mint, has been paid
out to the public creditors, and gone into
circulation as currency among the people
The amount of gold and silver coin now in
circulation in the country is larger than al
any former period.
The financial system established by the
constitutional treasury has been, thus far
eminently successful in its operations; and
! recommend an adherence to all it's essen
tial provisions and especially to that vita
provision which wholly separates the gov
eminent from all connexion with banks
and excludes bank paper from all revenue
receipts.
In some of its details, not involving its
general principles, the system is defective
and will require modification. These dc.
tects, and such amendments as arc deemed
important. were set forth in the last annua.
report of the Secretary of the Treasury
These amendments arc again recommend
ed to the early and favorable consideration
of Congress-
During the past year, the coinage at the
mint and its branches has exceeded twenty
millions of dollars This has consisted
chiefly in converting the coins of foreign
countries into American coin.
The largest amount of foreign coin i'm
ported has been received at New York
and if branch mint were established a
that city, all the foreign coin received a
that port could at once be converted into
our own coin, without the expense, risk. anC
delay of transporting it to the mint for that
purpose, and the amount recoined would be
much larger.
Experience has proved that foreign coin
and especially foreign gold coin, will no
circulate extensively as a currency among
. | tho r,ooTl1o Tho + <>fo
tending our specie circulation, both of golC
and silver, and of diffusing it among tn,
people, can only be effected by converting
such foreign coin into American coin. Ire
peat the recommendation contained in m,
last annual message for the establishment
of branch of the mint OF the United
States at the city of New York.
All the public lands which had been sur
vcyed and were ready for market have been
proclaimed for sale during the past year.
The quantity offered and to be offered fol
sale, under proclamations issued since ths
first of January last, amounts to nine mil
lion one hundred and thirty-eight thousand
five hundred and thirty-one acres. The
prosperity of the western States and Ter
ritores in which these lands lie will be ad
vanced by their speedy sale. BY withheld
ding them from market, their growth anC
increase of population would be retarded
while thousands of our cnterprising anC
meritorious frontier population would be de
prived of the opportunity of securing free
holds for themselves and their families
But in addition to the general considera
tons which rendered the early sale of these
lands proper, it is leading object at this
time to derive as large sum a., possible
from this source and thus diminish, by thai
amount the public loan rendered necessary
by the existence Of Il foreign war.
1t is estimated that not less than ten Mil
lions of acres of the public lands will be
claimed for sale during the year 1913.
In my last annual message | presented
the reasons which, in my Judgment, rend
cred it proper, to graduate and reduce the
price of such of the public lands as have
remained unsold for long periods after they
had been offered for sale at public auction
Many millions of acres of public land.
lying within the limits of several Of the
western States have been offered in the
market. and been subject to sale at private
entry for more than twenty years. anC
large quantities for more than thirty years
at the lowest price prescribed by the exist
ing laws, and 1t has been found that they
will not command that price. They mus
remain unsold and uncultivated for an in
definite period unless the price demanded
for them by the government shall be reduc
ed. No satisfactory reason is perceived
why they should be longer held at rate:
above their real value. At the presen