The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-05-22
National Bank Notes,

The following letter contains an
important decision:
TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES.
WASHINGTON, May 16, 1866.
DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 10th
instant has just now been received.
You ask to what extent is the Go
vernment liable for the redemption of
the notes OF the national banks.
answer to the full nominal face
value of every note issued by the
Comptroller Of the Currency to q
bank, and by the bank put into cir
culation
You ask, "Should the bank depo-
sits with the United States Treasurer
to secure the circulating notes with
the banks depositing them to be in
adequate to the redemption of the
notes OF the bank by reason of the
decline of the securities deposited, is
the Government bound to redeem
the notes ut par?' The forty-seventh
section Of the national currency Act
not only gives the right to forfeit all
the securities held for any deficiency.
but the Government has a first and
paramount lien upon all the assets of
dcfaulting bank. /, therefore, an
swcr this question affirmatively.
You ask again, Could the abso-
lutte failing of national bank impair
|, the value Of the circulating notes of
the bank making such failure?" I
answer, no. On the contrary. tie
notes Of 6 national bank that has
failed are rather better than those of
Il bank III good standing, if away
from the business marts or CONNER
cal centres of the country, for the
reason that the Treasurer Of the
United States becomes the cashier of
such dcfaultins bank, and will,
through his assistants and all other
Government officers. redeem such
circulation.
You ask, fourth, care the notes Of
the United States Treasury, beyond
the fact OF their being legal tenders,
a greater security to the holders
than the currency OF the national
bankS?"
The United States legal-tender
notes afford no greater security to the
holder than the notes of national
banks. The only real difference be-
tween the two is, that while the latter
are only a legal tender from and to
the Government, the former are
such legal tender from and to all par
ties, whether municipalities, corpora
tons, or individuals Very respect
( fully yours,
+. +. SPINNER, Treasurer.
Il. +. DANIEL, Esq. Cashier Mer-
chants National Bank, Memphis,
Tenn
ABOUT THE BUREAU The Roches-
ter New York T.i,Iret1iSe,. an able and
influential journal, says that the evil
dence which is coming out shows
''the infamous character of the agents
employed i'll managing the Freed
mems Bureau 1T the South" The
revelations made, it declares, dis
closes the fact that ''the poor negroes
are physically abused and pecuniarily
robbed and made the instrument of
gain by those professed philanthro-
pists who are placed over them os-
tcnsihly for their protection. Re
terring to the late riot ut Memphis,
which it says originated in an attack
of drunken negro soldiers upon the
police, the .4,ire11iSer concludes that
the responsibility lis to be traced
directly to the course of those North
crn fanatics and fools who have
tauGht the negro of the South, lust
emerged from slavery, that he is the
equal in AL things of the white
citizen. and by their teachings have
infused into him spirit of independ-
rnce which leads him to conclude
that he is responsible to no law. a
spirit of liberty that tells him he has
no longer to labor. and that he en-
Joys perfect right to prey upoA the
property of his late master, and 4
spirit OF insuhordinatiou which rem
,lcrS hm a dangerous clement in So
clctN. The ltbors of these Northern
rmi>~arics, most of whom are place
mcn III the Frecd.ncn'S Bureau, have
been openly carried on There has
been no disguise i'll the matter On
the contrary. the incendiarv spec ches
( and sermons delivered to the negroes
I by these men have been published in
detail. and exalted over bv the radi-
/ cal press of the North The whirl-
wind they have sown is now begin
ning to be rcaped The negroes
true interests are identified with
those of the whites especially the
whites with whom their lot is cast.
Their real enemies to-day are pro
ttSScu frltuds from the North From