Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-03-23

ing this fact, we venture to predict that they
will take early occasions to demonstrate that
the Tribune interest in thus calculating on
their aid, in affairs affecting the South, are
rnaRifestly reckoning without the host y =.
Who gets the Premium p" Chinook, % who
appears in the Union of this date, does not
understand the whole case of which he treats.
In the FIRST place, what right has any dis
bursting officer to draw drafts for public money.
when the law and regulations require that re-
QUESTIONS should be made by discussing officers
upon the Departments, upon which drafts upon
the Government repositories alsne should be
drawn? But he says there was no depositary
in California. mistake. Collier King
Sanders. and now Snyder, have been depositors
from November, 1S4s. to the present moment,
End with never less than million of dollars in
hand for four years past, and no reqmisttton
teas ecer draacn upon either of them syithout
beng instantly paid or presentation But
this has not been the mode of transacting bust
ness on the Pacific coast. Disbursing officers
did not make acquisitions upon the Depart
mentslhere, but drew drafts directly upon their
chiefs, which were handed to bankers in San
Francisco, passed to the credit of the disbursing
officer, and the banker sold drafts, payable in
New York, upon this fund, and pocketed the
premium. Thus, while the Government has
from one to two millions always on hand in San
francisco, Government disbursiDg officers were
constantly drawing drafts upon the departments
here, the amounts placed to their credit
with bankers who drew drafts upon these de-
posites and pocketed the premium, at least
some one did, and we presume it was the
bankers. See the working of the system
A disbursing officer draws draft for $50, 900,
and hands it to his banker, and it is placed to
his credit. This money is not drawn out for
public uses. Oh no. There itlays, and bankers
in San Francisco said to discount upon
their deposites and when money is worth from
three to four per cent. per month, and banker
knors, from the nature of the disbursements
for public uses, that the Government moneys to
the credit of disbursing officers on his books,
would never be less than 500, 900, he would
realize from his discounts on that sum from
thirty to fifty thousand dollars per annum.
Hence we find that the disbursing officers were
bssieged by these bankers for their deposites,
and severe contests ensued to secure them, and
these contests came up to the Departments here
for decision, as the correspondence will show
great abuse, of drawing drafts directly upon
the Departments, without making out requisi-
tons and waiting for the drafts from the De-
partments upon the depository at San Francisco
Upon these drafts profits were made, and
large sums Of money for years lay idle in the
vaults Of bankers in San Francisco TO the credit
Of Government disburSing agents, the discount
upon which yielded vast profit to the banker.
Ii was to this we referred in our article, and
let it be understood we did not intend to refer
to the disbursing officer of the War or any one
Department, but of every Department. This
practise Mr.. Guthrie has broken up, by making
the Treasurer of the San Francisco mint the
sole depository Of Government discussing
agents in California. A most admirable ar
rangement, which will make the bankers groan
and perhaps some disbursing officers tremble
but the Secretary has done right, and broken
upon system liable to great abuse if not gross
fraud and corruption.
We may hereafter look into this system of
deposits by Government officers with bankers
in San Francisco, and give some interesting
items on the subject
Our Sufferings is Intolerable.-A friend of
ours from the West, one Of the Lobby, it should
be known-if the reader would scan his views
with key to them-is very indignant at the
shocking manner in which Congress are sup
posed to be disposed to treat that weak, back
ward. and self-denying section of the Union
He takes fire at our insinuaton, made not
long since, that disposition to secure an assay
Office in Cincinnati had more or less to do
with the defeat Of the proposition to purchase
the ground and buildings outright, now occu-
pied by the New York assaying establishment.
| He scouts the idea. Well, We bog his pardon
| 1t turns out to be not an assay Office which
| Cincinnati wants, but full grown mint
though, in his letter to US, he forgets to allude
| to that fact So much for his controversy with
the Star. However, he is evidently very anx-
| ious to convince the members from the Atlantic
slope that they had better not knock another
| chip off the hat of the West. For the fun of the
thing, and by way of showing our readers how
exceedingly indignant and " high-fallutinty'
eloquent, gentlemen can become when there is
a prospect that their little irons in the fire may
not be heated ere the termination of the ses-
sion, we insert as much of his communication
as we can find room for, as follows
| For long years, the people of the West have
been burthened with expressions, for the ex-
elusive benefit of the Atlantic border; fer long
years they bore them quietly-it might be said,
| willingly. AS their strength developed, and
| their ability to bleed increased, their burthens
were increased, until they composed such
| grievance that murmurs rose into complaints,
Ind complaints became clamOrs. These feel
ings of the Western people, the admonitions Of
their presses, and the warnings Of their Rep
rcsentatiyes and Senators here that day was
rapid ysapproaching when submission would
no longer be tolerated, certainly could not have
escaped the eyes and ears of their oppressors
| They did not; but they were unheeded, be-
cause the Atlantic border still bore the sceptre
os power, and seemed resolved, by studious-
ly carried out policy Of national legislation, to
make the West its patient ack- horse as long
| rs it had the willingness to bear the load, and
| had not the ability to kick.
| The West, of late years, has received few
favors, l admit; but how grudgingiy and grace.
/ less Every dollar that tha Atlantic border