Staunton vindicator. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1858, 1858-01-16


squandered the means which would have
deprived him Of the necessity at the present
time Of Recommending the issue Of treasury
notes,
Now. let us see how that is: under the
act passed in l853-for which | voted, and
doubt not, most of the gentlemen here,
who were then upon this floor, voted-the
Secretaryy.ctfEe Treasury was authorized
to purchase, at the current market prices,
I any Of the outstanding stocks Of the United
States, as he might think most advisable,
from any surplus funds in the treasury,
provided that the balance in the treasury
should not be at any time reduced below
$4,000. 900. There was the instruction q
Congress to the Secretary IF the Treasury,
given in the month Of March, 1858, direc-
ting him, if there should be any surplus
money in the treasury, to apply that sur
plus money to the purchase Of stocks.
! And, sir, does it not come with bad
grace from any gentleman on the other side
Of the House now to arraign the Secretary
eff the Treasury upon this floor when he vo-
ted for House bill of the last session of Con-
gross (No. S16) to deposit the entire sur
plus in the treasury on the 1st day Of July
last, with the exception Of 100000
with the States? When that bill was up
here, it received the strength almost the
entire stronghold the then opposition to
the democratic party, it was passed through
the House, but failed to be successful in the
Senate; and that bill proposed, as have
said to take all the funds in the treasury on
the 1st day Of July, with the exception Of
| $4,000, 600, and to distribute them Cor de-
post them, # you please with the States
upon the conditions therein specified
Now, Suppose your proposition had been
successful, that your bill had become law,
and that all the money in the treasury Oh
the LIST Of July last had been taken and de-
posted with the States in how much worse
position would the government have been
than it is at present? But that bill failed,
and now the Secretary is arraigned, for do
!, ing what? For taking the SIG, O00,0 goo
and applying it to the purchase of stocks,
which would have been taken from the trea-
sury under that law? No, sir, he has APP
Piled in the purchase of stock, including
! principal and interest, from the 18th of Ju-
~, 1857, to the 18th Of October, 1857
1920, 105 AZ. | complain of no gentle
man for voting for that bill, but [ do COM
| plain that gentlemen who voted for it should
arraign the Secretary now for applying to
the purchase Of stock only one-fourth Of the
amount which would have been taken from
the treasury under that bill, in the way of
deposites to the States.
Well, sic, tic hanks suspended, believe,
somewhere between the 18th and Goth OF
/ October, and the amount Of stocks redeem
ed after the 18th day Of October, was only
! S2l2,513 81; an amount that was then on
its way to the Office Of the Secretary Of the
Treasury for redemption. What was the
condition of the Treasury after this redemp-
ton? The Secretary had left in the Trea-
sury $l2. 046, OFT 10, after all the stocks
had been redeemed that had been present
ed, and that he chose to redeem You will
/ observe that the ninth section Of the act o.
1853 provided, that the Secretary should re-
serve $4,000, 600 in the Treasury but, in
stead Of reserving $4,000, coo, he reserved
/ upwards Of ST., 900, 600; and he reserved
it upon the principle that $4,000, 600 was
necessary to carry Oh the current operations
4 Of the Government, and that q like sum O
SIS geo. 600 was necessary for carrying or
\ the coming operations at the Mint, to meet
the charges upon tho Mint in Che way Of re-
turns for the bullion deposited there for coin
age The Secretary, not content with stick
ing to the letter Of the lay requiring him t.
hold So 0OO out Of sbundant caution
had in the Treasury Of the Unitel States
sum beyond $12, 900, 900 to meet the con
: tingencies that might arise.
4 Now. sir, with this statement Of the case
can it be pretended that the Secretary of the
Treasury has gone beyond the line of hi.
duty Here is the law laying down tha
I line Of duty for him. He followed that Law
4 except in regard to the amount to be retain
ed in tie Treasury, and in that regard ht
protected the Treasury to the extent of $751;.
o0O,00 beyond what Congress, in 1858
regarded as a sum sufficient for its protec
ton. It seems to me, then, that he 'ough
not to be complained Of; but, on the con
) trary, that he ought to be rcgared as having
performed lis d4ty, and peflosaed it faith
) fully, under the law given. to him for hi
, guidance. If you take the receipts and ex
) penditures for the period Of time commcnc
I ing in July last, and running doWn to tht
present time, you will find hoy TIC revenue
has fallen off. and you will find that i con
5 firms the tables which have heretofore pre-
sented in regard to the amount of goods OF
? bond in the warehouses, as one Of the eau
t ses that have cut off this revenue. For til,
: week ending July ID, the receipts in tn,
Treasury were $3,7Gl 1853 Il, while the ex
t penditures were $2,700,9 42 48. It run
: on through the month Of July never gettin!
heloW $1,000, goo. In the month Of Au
) gust the average receipts pe1 week were 81,
: 500. 900 In the month Of September til
revenue for the first week was 81, OIL, TO-
r., ard on the 28th it had run down t
, &6e0,257 L. In that descending scale yo1
will hnd the revenue reduced in proportion
? as the market became more stringent frou
the suspension Of specie payment, and a
: one time it ran down as low as Sill 1872 rs
, There is another fact that appears from
, this table, that for the last week ts1e receipt
: Of the Treasury, from revenues, have in
. creased upwards Of 100000 z5hc recent
e for the week ending eth December, wcr
/, 1862, 4713 81, and for the week ending 14t
] December, $676,903 81. I account e
! that increase in this-way Here were art
Giles that were imported to be consumed i
= the approaching holidays. These article
ware renuirad tn ha t.lan ont of hand f.