The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1849-08-01
THE lEPUBLIC.

Europe ota Ridmond! That house made
its consignmeas to French house, and
the French hode was ruined by the revo-
luton, and thatuined the Richmond ehte
who had made assignments 10 them. The
drafts of the Rhmond house were pro-
tested, and MrlDENBY's drafts were pro-
tested. The AMOUNT of this is, that
$l55,0O0 of thu Government money were
put into the hads of Richmond house
to speculate upn. They invested them
in merchandise and sent them to their
correspondence in France, making drafts
on their correspondents in Mr.. DENBY's
favor. The Hench house received the
goods, and protested the drafts and the
American Cow rnment were minus both
the goods and he funds. The Richmond
house was so entirely ruined that they
could neither protect their drafts for the
Government m pney they had invested in
their commercial speculation, nor pay over
to MI. DENNY the balance of the money
which they had not SO invested; which was
the Subject, wepresume, of Mr.. DENBY's
protested drafts.
Iflthis is all true, as the sole organ ex-
plaiIs it, then much blacker case is
mad out against the Government than we
could have imagined. Here we have
$155,O00 of the Government funds put at
hazard in a commercial speculation, and
lost t. the Government. This statement
of tn. sole organ involves heads of De-
partnents, as well as Mr.. DENNY. If this
statement is correct, what becomes of the
act pissed with such flourish of Locofoco
trumlets, and approved on the 9Th August,
1916, entitled ".An act to provide for the
better organization Of the treasury, and for
the collection, safe keeping, transfer and DIS
6ursement of the public reuenue?" Was
there any thing in this act but "springes
to calch woodcocks %
We would respectfully ask if this is
the entertainment to which we were in
vited under the Sub-treasury' Is this
what the Democratic Convention of 1848
contemplated, when they informed us that
it was one of the &c fruits of the great po-
litical triumph of 1914" to have "guard-
ed the money Of the people for the use Of the
people, By the establishment Of the constitu-
tional treasuyp' Is this the result of the
operation of that Sub-treasury which called
from Mr.. JESSE SpEIGHT, of Mississippi,
the following burst of eloquence on the
floor of the Senate, in the debate on Mr..
REvERDY JoHNsoN's resolution of inquiry'
Mr.. HUNTINGTON, Of Connecticut, had
ventured to intimate a distrust in the
working of the new machine, and had said
that he would do SO again. To this Mr..
SrEIGHT rejoined in the following words:
:" The Senator would doubtless do so again. He
expected nothing else, for it neither nor
90 less than contest between the people and the
:" moneyed institutions of the country; and the
" hape responsible agents for the safe keeping Of its
" funds, or whether they should sbs entrusted to
" those rotten banking institutions. He would not
(" say that the gentleman stood there the mouth
F." piece of those moneyed institutions which were
f" throwing every possible obstacle in the way of
&" the Government. Let them hare the Government
money TO speculate ,ci and he had no doubt they
/" would be quite willing to advance loans. Let
" the information be obtained, and then let the
" Senator if he could do SO, stand up here and de-
" nounce the independent treasury as a vulnerable
90 institution.''
Now let us look at what the late admin
istration promised to do at the legislation
they advised, and urged, and adopted,
when they had large majority in both
branches of Congress at what they un-
dertook to accomplish by the Sub-treasury;
what they claimed that they had accom-
plished. In this review, we shall confne
to Presidential messages. We
shall not condescend to any less official
materials of history. We shall not con-
suit Mr.. Walkers reports. We shall not
consult the speeches of Locofoco legisla-
tors. We shall not consult the columns
of the official journal. We shall confne
ourselves to the messages of Mr.. Polk.
After the Sub-tr treasury had been some
three times repudiated by the people, it
was, in his first message, recommended
by Mr.. Polk to the consideration of Con-
gress. We extract from that message the
following passages, which present his
views in regard to the safekeeping and
the disbursement of the public money:
"In the collection and disbursement Of the pub
" lie money, no agencies have ever been employed
"by law except such were appointed by the
government, directly responsible to it, and un-
:" der its control. The safekeeping of the public
" money should be confided TO public treasury
" created by law, and under like responsibility
" and control II is not to be imagined that the
= frame-s OF the Constitution could have intended
" that treasury should be created as place of
"deposite and safekeeping of the public money,
which was irresponsible to the government"
"The public money should not be mingled
with tha a. If han ku md al