The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-01-07
Treasury Notes.

The treasury note bill has, it is known,
passed both Houses of Congress. The poll
cy of issuing the notes has been questioned
by some Democrats, who look upon it as
putting paper money In circulation, under u
disguised name. In order that men NAV
see what statesmen thought of treasury
notes in former times, we publish below,
from the Congressional Globe, the opinions
OF Webster, Cay and Benton, when Mr..
Van Buren recommended the issue of treas
ury notes at the time of the suspension in
1887. Mr.. Woodbury., then Secretary OF
the Treasury, proposed notes of rs low q
denomination Us twenty dollars, without in
terest, and redeemable at no fixed period:
"Mr. Webster opposed the Secretorv,s
recommendation. He declared the propos
ed notes, without interest, and unlimited in
time, to be statutabIe paper money, and "a
new emission of old continental He
thought that, like all government currency,
they would deprecote.
"The Senate dsapproved the Secretarv's
plan, end bill was reported to that body
for notes for not less than one hundred dol.
lars, and bearing interest, 80 as to be used
for investment, not circulation.
"Mr Benton, though opposed to the poll.
ey OF issuing treasury notes, defended this
bill against the charge of beng q paper
money bill, and bill to gcrminate new
national debt. The proposed notes he pro.
nounced loan notes notes on which to
raise loans, by selling them for hard money,
either Immediately, by the Secretary OF
the Treasury, or secondarily by the creditor
OF the government, who might receive them
and possessing all the qualities which in.
vlts investment and impede circulation.
notwithstanding this defence, made from
motives of temporary necessity, Mr.. Benton
protested against the general policy of such
issues. He thought them inexpedient, eli.
ther in peace or war, until the trial and ex
hnustion of the ordinary resources of loans
and taxes; because, as loans, they are dis.
guised mode of borrowing, and easy to slide
into a currency, and, ns a currency, the most
liable to abuse of all kinds of paper money.
In confirmation of this view, he quoted the
opinion Of Hamilton, shat the stamping OF
paper (by govefnmenD is an operation so
much easier than the laying of taxes, or
borrowing money, that government in the
habit of paper emissions would rarely fail,
in any emergency, to indulge itself too far
in the employment of that resource, to
avoid as much as possible one less ,auspi
cious to present popularity; and he thought
with Jefferson, Madison, Macon, Randolph,
and other early statesmen, that it is we'll to
be shy of resource $50 liable to abuse, and
so certain of being abused Authority to
borrow he found clearly expressed in the
constitution; authority to issue notes could
be obtained only by construction. He pre.
ferred direct loans, as less liable to undue
extension, as always voluntary on the part
of the lender, and as hmited by the capaci.
ty Of one side to borrow and of the other to
lend; while treasury.note loans are forced.
and liable to extend beyond due bounds, like
| the continental money of the revolution and
the assignate of France.
"Mr. Clay thought the whole plan nov.
ernrnent bank in disguise. Reduction, econ.
omy and retrenchnent in government ex.
penditures, he deemed better than such an
issue. He considered it an issue Of paper
money in opposition to the banks, at the
very time when paper was most deseried.-
He declared it resort to government pa
per currency, after denuneiation by it's
advocates Of every currency but gold and
silver"