, 1866-03-16
..a- TREASURY DErARTMExT.
OFFICE OF TIE COMPTROLLER OF CuHRsScY.
WA4tfINSTrN Mnrr}, m

Nast1SaToSt Mafrh ".
DEAR S1R: Your letter Of yesterday is re-
ceircd. Ny letter of the 24.h ult., in answer
TO yours OF the same day, was so altered BE-
fore It was published as not 10 Indicate to
whom 1t vas addressed, and had no other oh
ject, md think had 10 other effect. than to
timply express my objections to your loan
bill. ! go not see any ilnpropricty In my Civ
ing publicity to my dissent from your views
Of the public financial policy. 1u accepting
the office hold, I did not surrender nv ,s IN,
dependence Of Judgment nor my freedom Of
action. have made no conccalmept from
You or any one else, OF my views In rerord to
the bill from the time i. was first proposed br
you. After q lapse Of twelve years you
notice my letter to you Of the 9th Of
n that I suppose there must at TINT
time. including the deposits In National
Banks, be at least one hundred and tifty mil
lions Of dollars in the treasury of the Emitted
States. To this you now reply that the &c
tual amount Of money, on the 24th, in the
treasury md national deposi;aries to the
gold deposits, was Sill. 149, 6ss;ae %. i cannot
sec any reason for yonr maintaining Iistinc-
tion between gold deposits and deposits made
In currency. Both alike are stated In your
monthly reports as liabilities and assets, and
you have the right by Law to use portion OF
the gold, as you can safely use but n portion
prepared BY having reserve on hand to re-
spond to the calls Of deposliors. In this view
OF the case there is no reason why you should
not add your gold deposits to the s11t ,14O,-
6,,,...29. The special gold deposit, rs appcars
by your statement Of the first day OF the
month, is $l2,627, 800. This added to the
amount that you state was tn the treasury,
&c, on the Ath Of February, will make Sl23,
~, IS; 20 giving you the benefit, as have,
OF gold deposits, swelling the aggregate oi
money On hand.
now unlesitatingly state that your state
ment tnst made to me, as we'll Us your pub
1ishcd statements showing the condition of
the Treasury and the public deb. on the irst
Of this month, Is inexcusably erroneous,
You state the auount of coin in the Treasury
to be 355,7SG.1ao; currency, SH6, ,a3i, ,7GT1, II:
total, Sl1i OILS, ,959.e4- Yo1r monthly state.
mcnt, made on the first Of the month, shows
that you have retired sc. 4GG. $50 Of compound
interest and u. s. legal tenders; this amount |
must have been paid before the date Of nv
to retire any Of the compound Interest notes, |
otherwise than By converting them into SEQ |
bonds, and no law authorizing the retirement |
OF any U. s. legal tender notes In any other |
way than by converting them into COM
pound interest notes, and no appropriation |
Or provision made By Congress Other
than that now mentioned, cannot understand |
why these compound Interest and United
States notes should not be counted and in-
cludcd as currency ou hand. You hare just
es much right to reissue them as TO pay any
other Government notes, aud nc right or
TO cancel them. It also appears 6y
your last monthly statement that Jou have
sold during the month, without authority or
law. e1o,6te, 100 Of so bonds, md purchased
I'll ,956, coo Of $50 notes, making yonr pur-
chase s:ssS coo more than Yonr sale. This sum
should also be Included as money on hand. |
viii rtmark in passing, that while you have
the right TO convert 7,S0 notes into $50 bonds
as the former mature, you hare no right what
ever 10 bny or sell them.
You hare omitted entirely from your state
ment 0t the 1st Of March, and you have uni
[orm1y omitted from your monthly state
money on deposit In the National Banks. The
amount so held On the a4sA Of February, the