Year: 1865

An act or Congress coners power upon the Secretary
OF the Tr asury receive gold deposit from tho pub


lie That act passed at time after the suspension,
when there large amount of coin boarded through
out the country and being lent abroad and when 1t
considered that II might be advisable government
to ocra safe place fdcpo, FOR con and from which tie
Treasury might possibly under certain circumstances,
borrow Of It's specie receipts bcing for time
adequate the interest the public debt But The
authority conferred without necessity and
the Secretary of the Treasury has never yet avaed
himself OF il. The time has passed when such prac
tce could have served any useful purpose and there
will certainly be excuse for the Secretary Of the
Treasury treating 10 otherwise than dead letter in
the future But IL that few Of the Wall street
brokers' who employed from time to time TO sell
government gold extremely anxious that this
authority TO receive gold deposit should be carried
into eject the Sub Treasury converting the latter
into sort Of Bank OF New York-at which they now
keep their gold acounts-where they could get their
business done free of charge. Some Of these
gold brokers are sansunc that the Treasury
Department will assent to this course, and that they win
soon have the run or tho subTreasury We trust how


ever, that the Secretary will perceive the advsabiy of
keeping his department out OF this kind OF banking
business which could result In profit but great


pense TO the government and would increase the rsks
Of pecuation and loss In the Sub Treasury and with IL
the responsibilities, already very heavy OF the Sub.
Treasurer II would doubtless be very satisfactory 20 the
brokers pass the certificates o, depot
from hand to hand; but no reason why The
government should voluntarily become the cu.lo.
dian III their gold. The practice of selling
gold secretly, which has become common with
the Treasury OF late, Is open 70 sharp crih.
cism the more especially act OF Congress pro-
vides that the OF coin receipts pay
ments shall be appropriated 10 establish sinking fund
In any case IL portions or the surplus coin In the Sub
Treasury are be sold irregular intervals the sales
ought 10 be made openly and n the name Of the govern
ment As IL Ia, the brokers employed have carly and
exclusive information OF these subTrcasury sales and
this sometimes proves very valuable TO Them but not
to tho government as for instance, on last Friday week.
when the price 10 lac and fell within an hour 10
lac under subTreasury sales II known by ccr-
tain parties In the street q considerable time
previously that the government would sell GER.
tain amount Of gold that day, and f IN ey
did not act upon the information In tmo to make money
BY the operation very unlike their usual character
How much Of the Sub Treasury gold was sold at l4e
above 14I, on that Friday, the people had right 10
know. Tho policy of including tho coin with tho cur
reDcy In the daily return OF the 'balance In the Cub.
Treasury also wrong and Inconsistent with that of the
Department at Washington, which, In It's monthly state
ments OF the national debt states the two amounts sep
araely The amount Of gold sold out Of the Sub Treas
ury in September II is hard say but as on tho Isl Of
September IL reported the amount on hand 10 be
s3s, aei $685. and as II received during that month
sis,0s7, 262 and reported paid out s4,117 ifo,


follows that the balance on the LIST Of October should