Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-11-20

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nation formed to make this onslaught the assay
office and the currency which emanated from it, is to
most clear. 1t manifesty the intention of the
abettors of the restricting resolution to break down
the assay Office at all hazards and to simultaneously
prevent any Of its issue from being recognised by the
Government accepted in payment Of public dues with
reference to whether there suciency Of United
States coin in the State to the demands of
merce and without rejecting for moment the diff
culties and embarrassmens which the fulfilling Of the
law under the circumstances of the country would entail
on the merchants Of San Francisco. Every thing was
lost sight OF in crusade against the assay oce that
sttution, it would appear, must be- broken down at all
hazards and without considering whether the merchants
would suffer by its fall not Mr. McCorkle to use his
words cheerfuly takes the responsibility of the
sage OF the measure and exutngy points TO the clause
directing the Secretary of the Treasury to contract with
establishments in California for the assayng
OF gold at cost OF one per cent ii Mr. McCorkle had
satisfied himself that contract at that price could be
made, would have been well enough, but inquiry has
shown that person will enter into at any such
price Mr. McCorkle, therefore, by his own showing,
acted bndly in the matter, well as rashy.
Mr. OWNS efforts to relieve himself of responsibility
any successful than those of Mr. McCorke
His speech exhibits throughout bitter and deepseated
hostility towards the assay Office in this city Werepeat
personal feeling is manifest in Mr. OWNS speech well
as IN Mr. McCorkles remarks, and we hardly think the
reasons given by either for advocating the will
be satisfactory to the merchants of this city provision
had been made for the nonreceipt of these coin after
certain specified date if notice had been given of the
movement, or If time had been allowed to enable
chants to obtain supply Of coin, all would have been
well No such consideration, however appears to have
been thought ofthe assay office must be broken down,
no matter what inconvenience it might subject the
chants TO- 1t is idle to shift the blame from those
whom it rghuly rests the Secretary of the Treasury
There nothing left to that functonary than to do
acty as he has DONE His duty plain He could not
turn to the right to the left He enjoned by
solemn enactment to longer receive these ngots in
payment of public Dues and directed contract for
new issues at one per cent There was no foreign
ntfad Sta%ao
perempto order received is there much here
now as would answer the purpose of week
Neither Will any party enter into contract to assay
one per cent Such is the state of things resulting from
this measure II there had been suficiency of coin
here or If contract at per cent could be made the
evil would not be great In fact nothing but the
ment OF the Collector to continue receiving the ngots
violation of the law saved the merchants from being placed
IN dilemma of the most unpleasant kind which perhaps
might have led to collision between the people and the
Federal officers If he had pursued the he did,
there would been money enough pay tenth part
OF the duties payable the large cargoes daily expected
and which must reach the interior before the rainy
SON sets in Would the miners in the mountains die for
want OF the necessares of life because the Collector
directed to receive but particular description of
coin In payment OF duties or would they in conjunction
with the citizens of San Francisco insist upon these
goes being landed, duty duty? Which is the
likely ?"
1t will have been perceived that the great point
made by Mr.. McCorkle against the Secretary is,
that, whilst he executed the clause prohibiting the
receipt OF the ingots he did not take any steps
carry into effect what Mr.. McCorkle says was the
antdote, viz to contract for assaying gold at one
per cent. This, however, has been fully answered
by the writer g. c. b., quoted above, both as to the
action OF the Secretary and the impracticability of
carrying it into effect. But there is still more
definite conclusion against the position urged by
Mr. McCorke, which is, that this provision, in point
of fact, made change on the subject except as to
the rate of compensation for the assay and the qua
lty and ineness of the ingots would be the as
they now are, and would, therefore, be equally
prohibited under this new law the present issue.
But, even admitting such new contract could
have been made and that the means and parties
were in California for carrying it into effect (which
is not the act it would have required at least three
months before such contract could have been made
and been sanctioned by the Secretary, and then
commenced to be carried into effect SO that on any
showing of the case, all the present difficulty would,
in any event, have occurred as the California dele
cation must have known when urging through this
enactment.
Mr.. Senator Gwin, in speech he made at PA
cerville, it appears, takes the same ground as Mr..
McCorkle; but he forgot to mention that he it was
who urged this measure upon the Senate; and when
some of his colleagues in that body demonstrated
against it as being injudicous and likely to create
the very trouble which has actually occurred, he
still persisted and voluntarily offered to take all the
responsibility of the measure which he and his col
league in the House now wish to throw upon the
Secretary because the latter, as he was in duty
bound to do, merely carried into effect the impera-
tive provision of law of Congress, prepared brought
forward, and urged by these very gentlemen
We close this extended article by giving the let
ter from the Secretary, which we find in the San
Francisco papers, addressed to the Collector in pur-
suance of the above law and which is necessary to
full understanding of the subject as exhibiting the
views of the Treasury respecting it:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, SEPT. 4, 1852.
SIR The authority previously given you by the Depart
men TO receive the gold Issues Of the u s. Assay at
by revoked Congress in the second Of the civil
diplomatic BILL approved the 3ls Of August 1852 has pro-
United States.
As the issues Of that Office made under the authority
OF Congress- the Department had considered they
virtually coin Of the United States which opinion
sustained by high legal authority and therefore had
thorzed 70 be received in payment the
houses on the Pacific knowing the would
great obstacle commercial operations Cafor-
mia by afording circulating medium in coin Of full standard
value with that Of the regular coinage in absence
cent supply Of the latter only commercial opera
tons but even for the ordinary daily of private
life.
quesed and instructed in future receive in payment for
dues TO the United States only the United States
Mint and its branches and the following foreign their
respective values noted below agreeaby existing laws
authorizing the receiving Of such foreign coins for public dues
Wis The silver dollar Of Mexico, Peru, Chilli and Central
America, hundred cents accordance with the condi
tons prescribed in the act Of 25h june 1884, and the gold
coins OF Great Britain, France Spain, Portugal Brazil Mexi