The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-09-29

no obstacle. The fact that Mr. Walker has determned
to loan eight hundred thousand dollars In treasury
notes at par SUFFICIENT to satisfy the specu-
lators in Wall street that it will be made One Of the
parties interested in this loan has gone to Washington
and upon bis return the amount will probably be
drawn from the Independent treasury day or
two will decide all doubts
Spectators in government stocks, treasury notes
and other securities in Wall street have for sometime
past been growing and grumbng about the operation
OF the independent treasury act and its restrictions
upon the money market For sometime past the dis
bursements Of the government have been limited oon-
pared with Its receipts and the Of speoe
in the vaults Of the subtreasury has been large On
the LIST Of July last the amount to the credit Of
the government In the different repositories was but
$1,6aS1l2 of which but sl5e037 was in the hands OF
the assistant treasurer in this city Since that time by
the payments on account of the new loan, and the
receipts from duties imports the deposits in THE
city have increased to nearly three millions OF dollars,
and In the country to between four and five millions of
COLLARS the whole OF which Of gold and silver
This accumulation particularly at this point has pro-
duced great scarcity of money 1t is not merely the
withdrawal of three four millions of dollars in spe
ole from the banks from circulation that causes this
In the market but it is the effect OF this
withdrawal upon the the banks and COM
sequenty individual credit 1t contracts the cur
rency four times the extent the drain
and produces distrust in commercial circles and eau
ton among the moneyed institutions of all ous large
cities Such has undoubtedly, been the effect Of the
operation Of the Independent Treasury act during
the past sixty days. and will continue until something
is done TO arrest the accumulation and reduce the
deposits 1t cannot be denied that the operation Of
this system for sometime past has been any
thing but that intended by its projectors and the
same ignorance has been exhibited by those intrused
with it's management as attended former financial
systems of the government, and which led TO those
explosions which heretofore proved disastrous to
every interest of the country.
1t intended by the trainers of this financial
measure that there should be surplus ON hand,
that there should be accumulation Of specie in
the hands of the assistant to prevent
the possibility of any such thing occurring tariff
what was called revenue tariff, was smulta neously
adopted. twas that the reduced ara would
enable the government to carry into operation more
successfully and with less injury to the financial and
commercial classes the Independent Treasury act and
that when that system of finance established
the tariff would equalize the receipts and expsn
dtures of the Treasury Department, that it would
not by any possibility produce those expansions and
contractions in the money Market which had hither
to been so frequent and ruinous. The tarin was,
therefore, called revenue tariff" and supposed
to be graduated in itc provisions, to give in
come Just sufficient to meet the ordinary expenditures
Of the government It has been in operation nearly
two Year, and the result has certainly been different
from that anticipated by the public generally. For
tuitous circumstances have increased foreign
trade, and the importations have been larger than
usual the revenue from customs was therefore, the
first year. exceedingly large exceeding by several mil
lions of dollars the Of the
ordinary purposes. 1 hus far, this year. the
venue from customs has been large, with g.
moderate importation, showing that the average
per cent duty, required by the present is above
a revenue point. This is cause Of the accu.
mutation Of a surplus; and the Independent
Treasury act and the tariff are more nor less
than part of the system, they fhoud be regu
lated as to work more uniformly together. II any
alteration modification is required it is in the
commercial system of the rather than in
its financial system; and there is doubt from the
experience Of the past twenty months that important
changes might be made in the tariff by which the pub
lie finances would be more equally regulated. The
surplus produced within the past two years
by tariff cannot be much less than ten mil
lions of dollars; and although the extraordinary
penditures Of the government during that time made
such desirable, that they have been
duced nearly to any ordinary standard any surplus is
calculated to nure the operations Of trade and pro-
duce coHtractions from time to time in the currency
by withdrawing from the channels of commerce the
precious metals and locking them up in the vaults Of
the public treasury.
This is the only government in the world which sc--
cumuiates surplus. The expenditures Of almost al,
others exceed the receipts and their debts annual
ly increasing 1t is inconsistent with the duties md
object of any and every government to interfere
with the financial affairs of its subjects, by
annually draining them Of portion of Gheirc
means and resources Whatever Is drswn from
them to carry on the government, should be re-.
turn ed again at the earliest moment and every pub
lie measure should be framed to me accomplishment
of that end. For this purpose, me financial and
mercial systems Of this cGontry should harmonic
and all should be made subsidiary to that policy
Since the adoption Of the ndepe Treasury Act,
several large loans have been made; and while tho.
Mexican war continued the disbursements largely
ceeded the receipts The enforcement Of the specie
provisions of that act had injurious influence upon
financial or commercial affairs and the opponents OF
the system believed that they had magniaed its sun
posed evils 1t is true that those entrusted with it's
establishment had taken the responsibility from time
to time Of deviang from its true and legal construc-
tion and have been governed more by circumstances
than by the law but up to the closing the last loan
no one connected with commerce experienced any in
convenience from the existence of such system and
had 1t been properly managed since, we should have
had no complaints relative to ts injurious effect all
would have progressed smoothly and satisfactorily
thatwe should hardyhave known that any change had
been made in the financial system of the government
Inc government owes enough to enable the Secretary
OF the Treasury to keep down the deposits without
resortng to Illegal measures and 1t is only by proper
Of the business of that that
the measures Of the government can be made
applicable to the best interests of the country The
elect OF the recent operation of the Urea
sury act upon the money concerns of the country,
particularly Of this city has revived all the opposition
OF its enemies Some of the organs Of this class of
REGULATORS, opposed to specie currency have recent
y been loud in their nvectives against the system
and have attempted to show its fallacy by comparing