M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1857-06-25
The Late Treasury Dedication
who is RespOnsibIei-----The
Remedy,

M luulShdliOh LlSSblhS, ASANNA'N
to the late outrageous robbery of the
State Treasury, was held in Colum-
bus on Thursday night. Speeches
were made by several gentlemen, a.
mong whom was S. S. Cox, M. O.,
whose remarks we find very fully re-
ported in the Statesman Of Friday
AS everything relative to this mon
strous defalcation is read with utter
est, we publish below some extracts
from the intelligent and able speech
of Mr.. Cox. He remarked:
at is we'll known hat ever since
the time of Whitehill, and during the
time of Bliss, there were deialcations
in our Treasury. 1t is well known
here that the Bliss defalcation was Oc.
cassioned by traficking in the moneys
of the State-loaning out moneys to
insurance companies and the like in.
famable oncerns-institutions which
come up in q night and pass away
with a CELEBRITY Of rottenness unexam-
pied in chemistry, Here is to be
found the source of these financial
troubles. The system Of accounta-
bility was loose, meager and made,
quate,' to begin with; but the radical
wrong was the practice Of dickering
with banks and brokers, and farming
out the State funds for private aggran-
dizement.
"And here let me say, that, while
the Legislature OF winter before last
passed some excellent restrictive laws
to remedy the first defect, they sane
toned, by g resolution Of April s,
1856, the proceedings by which the
last defect was cured for the benefit Of
Bliss and to the loss of the State. |
refer to the resolution relative to con.
frming the contract ofthe Canal Fund
Commissioners with the Columbus
Insurance Company the effect Of
which was to sanction this very dick
ering with outsiders, out of which
these troubles have flowed. The rep
rehensible policy thus indOrsed by this
resolution shuts the mouth Of all who
voted t0rit from ever complaining of
either Breslin or Gibson for illegal
use Of State funds, by deposits in pri-
vate or corporate banking concerns"
Mr.. Cox then passed on to the loose
accountability otour financial officers,
and cited the late efficient and able
Auditor, Mr. Morgan, who in his re.
ports called public attention to it. In
his Report Of 1853 Mr.. Morgan used
this language, which, had it been
needed by the Legislature, would have
probably saved the immense losses
which have since occurred. lie said:
"a sense of duty requires a repeti.
tion OF the effort made in the Audit.
or's last annual report, to impress up.
on the Legislature the necessity o.
, placing the revenues of the State un
der additional checks and safeguards
), Tie impression is a natura
as well as a general one, that all mon.
eys paid into the State Treasury be.
come an immediate charge against
the Treasurer, on the books of the
State Auditors office, and that the
daily receipts at the one are a matter o.
dialy record in the other. The extent
to which the impression is erroneous
may be judged by the single fact tina
during the months of November and
December, 1852, payments Of money
were made to the Treasury amounting
to the sum exceeding three quarter,
of million Of dollars, Of which the
Auditor had no official information
until the following month of Februa
ry. This occurrence, although extra
ordinary, is neither new nor the only
one Of its kind. 1t will serve, how
ever, to illustrate the utter absence Of
Accountability which exists between
the Treasury and the coordinate de.
partment charged with the duty Of ad.
justing accounts pertaining to the re
ceipt and disbursement Of the public
revenue"
In 1855 he renewed the recommen.
dation, and the Legislature passed &
law requiring the Governor and Au.
ditor to make inspection, rigid and
strict, into the Treasury. They were
to seethat the money was actually in
the Treasury vault. If not there
where it was. If in another d,posita
ry, to examine the securities. lfthey
were bad or insufficient, they had
powers given by which to bring the
money into the Treasury, if it were
possible. A most stringent law! |
it had been executed, there is every
reason to believe this crash would no
have come.
Before this law was passed, sale
Mr.. Cox, it was suspected that certain
bankers could get money Of the Treas
uer when they pleased, and the Dem.
/ ocratic Legislature Of 1854 put certain
queries to Breslin, when he admitted
> having money placed around the Stat,
for public service. Beckel, Of Day
: