H. OF R.] Treasury Notes. [Oct. 7, 1837. and purposes a Treasury bank. Now, sir, which of those two systems is to be supported by the party in power for the future, or, if neither finds favor by itself, how much of one is to be combined with the other, and carried out by this administration? Have we not a right to some explanations upon this subject? Have not the country a right to demand an explanation of these mysterious declarations? What are the real designs of the administration? Have the conservatives made terms with the President and those who sustained him in his message? Have they been promised that their banks and bank notes shall not be molested? that they shall be saved from the general wreck which has been threatened to the banking system in this country? From my personal knowledge of the character and principles of many of those gentlemen, I do not believe them capable of compromising the general interests of the country, and acting upon a compromise so narrow, selfish, or unworthy. But do they not owe it to this House and the country to avow the real principles of the compromise, if they have made one, and I must suppose they have? Have they agreed that they will give their support to any, and, if any, to what extent, to the issue of a paper circuernment, or, in other words, of a Government bank? and, if they have, what securities have they taken for the fulfilment of the engagement on the part of the administration, or of that portion of the party in power which has been understood to favor the doctrines of the message? Sir, I know I have no right to demand an answer to any of these questions; but I refer to the subject which gives rise to them because I am bewildered-I am amazed by what I see and hear of late connected with this subject, and I wish more light. At one time I am led to suppose that a fiat has gone forth for the utter annihilation and destruction of the whole banking system, as it has been practised for the last half a century; at another time, and looking to the course of the same party, I cannot resist, the conclusion that State banks are to be suffered to exist upon the terms of permitting the establishment of a Government bank to supply a portion, at least, of the circulating medium of the country; and again, sir, I am not at all satisfied that one of the parties to the arrangement are not to be the victims of their confidence in their political friends, and will find that they are duped when it is too late to repair their steps. spectable minority of the members in this House representing the party in power, which has been understood to be as widely separated as the polls of the earth from their political allies and the President himself in principle and doctrine upon the subject of the currency, and the new fiscal system recommended in the message; yet we find most of the gentlemen who compose this minority, the most thorough, prompt, and vigilant supporters not only of the administration generally, but of the measure under consideration in particular. How am I to reconcile this course of honorable gentlemen with the principles they profess? How can I come to any satisfactory conclusion as to what is the real intention of the Executive in asking this extraordinary supply of money, and in the extraordinary shape in which it is proposed to be granted, when I find those I would have supposed as most hostile in interest, the most decided and determined in its support? We all know, sir, the power and influence of the Executive upon every great measure of policy about which there is any difference in this House or in the country. It is not only the personal influence of station, but the great amount of patronage connected with it, which insures this influence. The constitution, no doubt, contemplated some de-lation founded upon the credit and revenues of the Govgree of influence of this nature. I was struck with the justness and force of a sentiment expressed by the distinguished gentleman who sits before me, [Mr. ADAMS,] shortly after he took his seat upon this floor, and after the close of his administration of the Government. It was that, by the constitution, it was not only ordained and intended that there should be three co-ordinate departments of the Government, but that they should also be co-operative. The due degree of Executive influence designed by the constitution, I do not object to. I subscribe to the propriety of it; but, acting upon this principle, how are we-how ought we, in common candor, to regard the measure under consideration, and those connected with it, | which found their way into this House under Executive sanction? How otherwise can we regard them, without disparagement to the Executive, but as the ways and means of carrying into execution, in the most active and effectual manner, the doctrines and policy laid down in the message and so we must regard them, unless we are disposed to make a direct attack upon the President, and charge him with insincerity and double dealing. But it is not only the course of those gentlemen in this House, who are Under all the circumstances of the case, the perplexity denominated conservatives, which perplexes me upon this and mystery in which the whole subject is involved, I am point. In the semi-official organ of the administration, or constrained to act upon my own best judgment, with such rather of what is considered the orthodox and largest por-lights only as chance and observation have thrown in my tion of the party in power, (the Globe,) published this morning, I find the extraordinary declaration and avowal which I will read to the House: "We have been requested by our political friends in different parts of the country to give a place to accounts of democratic meetings approving the message and the Secretary's report on the finances in the warmest terms, and pledging vigorous support to the administration and its friends in carrying out the doctrines set forth in those admirable state papers.' In the same organ I saw, but a few days ago, the sentiment avowed, that the recent votes in the two Houses of Congress give strong indications that the "dynasty of banks, both great and small, approached its end." What, sir, are we to conclude from these annunciations, but more particularly when we connect with them the course of the conservatives of this House? What are those doctrines of the message and the report of the Secretary of the Treasury which are to receive the vigorous support of the alleged democracy of the country? The doctrines of the message propose the sub-Treasury cheme, and reject the idea of giving credit to banks and bank paper at any time. The report of the Secretary, among other things, gives us a detailed plan of a fiscal system, which is to all important ends way. For myself, I regard this bill as one and by far the I care Oct. 7, 1837.] Treasury Notes. [H. OF R. record his vote in favor of this bill, that he thereby sanctions this arbitrary and unjust policy of the administration, and draws the line between the Government and the people! Pass this bill, and the Government is put above and made independent of the people; those in power will have the means of carrying out their policy in defiance of the popular will, at least until the people shall again have the privilege of interposing through the elective right. I have seen it stated, that this objection, that any distinction is made by the present course of things between the Govern the maxim obsta principiis applies with peculiar force. Here, then, I plant myself; here I take my stand, and I will maintain it until I am driven from it by the force of numbers. I earnestly invite and invoke all those who think it safest to meet danger on the threshold-all those who prefer old and established institutions to new and untried expedients-all who prefer a paper circulating medium to the evils of the proposed experiment of an exclusive gold and silver currency—all those who prefer a national incorporated bank to a bank connected with the Treasury, and founded upon the revenues of the Government-allment and the people, has been refuted, if not in this House, those who prefer bank paper to bills of credit or a Government paper money, to come and do battle with me against this bill. in another place; but, sir, I have not seen or heard the argument by which it was done, nor do I believe it to be in the power of argument to do any such thing. Again, sir, whoever gives his support to this bill endorses and becomes responsible for the present course and future policy of this administration, in relation to the currency and every other interest connected with it. And let no one delude himself with the idea that there is nothing to be apprehended from the men in power, however mischievous or wicked their designs. Let us not underrate the genius and ability of those who possess the guiding influence over our public affairs at the present juncture. They are profoundly versed in the knowledge of men and of the motives to human action. They are also distinguished for great caution, secrecy, and skill in effecting their purposes. They possess another great advantage over most men who have attained their influence and station in Government and society. They are for the most part entirely reckless of all consequences, except such as relate to themselves, and affect their interests. Such persons--such advantages, are not to be slightly re Mr. Speaker, has any one fully and duly considered, how many, how vast, and how overwhelming are the considerations connected with this question, and the consequences that may grow out of a measure of this nature at this particular juncture? I concur most heartily with the sentiments expressed by the gentleman from South Carolina, [Mr. PieKENS,] the other day, in speaking of the new Treasury schemes which have been recommended for our consideration. I do heartily and truly believe that the destiny of this country, for good or for evil, will depend greatly upon the decision of the questions which they present. The mind fails in an effort to grasp the whole of this important subject; no powers are adequate to do full justice to the great issues which are involved. The argument embraces in its range the fate of the federal constitution, of free Government itself! Of all the causes which in modern times have deeply excited, agitated, and convulsed a people, but few had a more certain, rapid, and fear-garded by those who desire to restore the country to quiet ful tendency to engender a spirit of opposition to the laws and to revolution, than a debased and disordered currency. I need not refer to the examples which past history affords of this nature. I will not even revert to the deep feeling, the intense excitement, which manifested themselves in our large cities, at a recent date, in connexion with this subject; but I will say, that such instances of popular excitement, upon such occasions, ought never to be lost sight of by the statesmen of this country, nor will they be either tauntingly referred to, or slightly regarded by any man who has any just claim to the rank and character of one. What I fear upon this subject is, that we have only arrived at the first stage of this disorder-that greater embarrassments, and yet wider spread mischiefs, await us in the progress of it; that the state of the currency is yet to become a subject of deeper and more permanent discontent; that the blindness of party prejudice, the obstinacy of party interest, and the infatuation of power, will defeat every prudent remedy, and bring on a crisis of open resistance to the laws, and leave the institutions of the country, both local and general, a prey to anarchy. This, sir, is my fear; and I regard this bill as one of the forerunners of a train of measures, on the part of the Government, which are well calculated to lead to this last and most fatal calamity which can befall a country. Mr. Speaker, I warn gentlemen that, if this administration shall be so infatuated as to persevere for any lengh of time in the policy of requiring the public revenue to be collected in gold and silver, and disbursed among the officeholders, contractors, and others, dependent upon the Government, while the only money in use among the people is bank paper, or any other paper of less value than gold and silver-if the distinction shall be attempted to be kept up much longer be tween the Government and the people-gold and silver for the Government and its trains of officials, and a depreciated paper for the people, resistance must and will come. It is not in the blood of the race of freemen which inhabit this free country to submit long and tamely to so unjust, exacting, and oppressive a course of policy. And let it be borne in mind by every member in this House, who shall VOL. XIV.-83 and prosperity. Can we who sit here any longer doubt the skill of the administration in carrying their measures? Have the opposition yet succeeded-is there any probability that they will succer, in effecting a single modification of any one measure of all those which were no doubt prepared before we sat out from our homes, which have been submitted to us merely, as it would seem, that we might confirm by our votes what long since had been resolved upon and fixed by the Executive Department of the Government? No facts, however stubborn or important--no reasoning, however conclusive and unanswerable-have the least effect; the measures must, and, it seems, will be carried. Although, sir, I am not in the habit of relying upon rumors which I hear out of doors, yet I have heard it stated from such respectable sources this morning, that the Secretary of the Treasury has had such entire confidence in the success of every measure proposed at the opening of the session, and, among others, the bill now under discussion, that the plates for printing the notes have already been engraved, and perhaps the notes actually struck off. If I do any injustice to the Secretary, I will openly acknowledge it the moment the statement shall be denied upon his authority. But, sir, if this be the fact, how idle, how absurd, are all our discussions here? Every thing is fixed and settled by an influence and power beyond our control. My honorable friend from Kentucky [Mr. UNDERWOOD] was not aware of the ground upon which he was treading last evening, in proposing his amendment, and in what a dilemma he would have placed the Secretary of the Treasury if he had carried it. But, whatever may be the destiny of this bill, I will not forbear to show that it is founded upon a pretext which is utterly unfounded. Sir, there is no deficit in the Treasury which it has not been the policy of the administration to produce-which they have not designedly created, and which they cannot amply supply without the aid of this bill. I say, sir, that there is no evidence before us, or before the public, that there is, or is likely to be, any deficiency of means in the Treasury to meet all the demands upon it during the remaining quarter of the year, except H. OF R.] Treasury Notes. this bill; by which it seems that ten millions of dollars are required by the administration for the public service. Every other circunstance in the conduct of the administration indicates an overflowing Treasury. At the very moment, and during the entire period, within which it might be supposed this alledged deficiency of means in the Treasury would be felt or apprehended, what has been the uniform course of the administration? One of uniform extravagance and profusion, as far as the expenditures of the public moneys are concerned. Need I refer to the evidence [Oct. 7, 1837. the terms of the treaty, they are still entitled to use in the furnished by the report of the Chief of the Engineer Department, which has been laid upon our table, that special instructions had been issued last spring that the moneys appropriated should be expended as speedily as possible? Need I recapitulate the facts, that four millions of dollars asked at the last session for the support of the Florida war, are stated to have been already exhausted, and one million and a half more are demanded, and yet the campaign has not opened; that, judging from the accounts which we see in the public papers, and from rumor, seven or eight thousand troops are about being collected to oppose some fifteen hundred hostile Indians and negroes? Does this look like an exhausted Treasury? But we need not go so far for proofs of the true condition of the Treasury.ministration of the exhausted condition of the Treasury. Look around you, sir, and reflect upon the scenes that are passing before our eyes almost every day. How many delegations from far distant tribes of Indians have we seen during this short session, decked out in all the extravagant and fantastic trappings of savage pomp and vanity, come, sir, for the purpose, and according to a now well-established system of policy, of supplying the deficits which have lately been felt in the coffers of some favorite officeholders, jobbers, or agents of some kind, which swarm upon your northwestern frontier ? We know, sir, that this has been regarded as a great abuse for the last ten years, yet we see it daily increasing. So imposing and pompous an exhibition of bands of savages from our Western frontier, I be- | lieve has never before been witnessed in this city, as during the present short session. We have regular and formal bulletins announcing their movements in all the daily papers of the city; and thousands of the resident and visiting population are frequently entertained by public councils held with them by the Secretary of War, in some of the public buildings in the Court end of the city. It is even left doubtful, whether the interest got up by these exhibitions has not surpassed, for the time, that inspired by the proceedings of Congress, weighty and important as the matters are which brought us together. Well, sir, what has been the result of all this parade and these inventions for popular entertainment? I can only answer, by referring to such sources of information as are within my reach. I observe a statement upon this subject in the Globe a few mornings ago. With permission I will read it for the ed-again indebted to my respected friend from Maryland for ification of all true reformists, and all those, especially, who are disturbed at the idea that the Government will not have money enough to keep it together unless we vote this bill. "The councils that have recently been held with the Sioux of the Mississippi, terminated in the conclusion of a treaty, by which it is at present only proper to say, their title to about five millions of acres of land was extinguished for a consideration of one million of dollars. The tract thus acquired lies east of the Mississippi river, and has been used as a hunting ground, the dwellings of the Indians being on the west side of the river. They still retain the privilege of hunting on the land they have ceded, so that there is but little reason for the sentimental lamentations that some writers on the subject have indulged in." So it appears that we have given a million of dollars to the Sioux, who reside west of the Mississippi, for their Occupant right to a tract of land lying east of that river, which they have heretofore hunted upon, and which, by his candor. He has only stated what I knew before; but no gentleman who supports this bill has been brought to admit so much before. The facts are too plain for denial or cavil. These protested drafts, the gentleman from New York informed us yesterday, were within one per cent. of being at par with specie in New York. They are selling at a premium of four or four and a half per cent. in currency, and specie at only five. Now, what is it that constitutes the value of these drafts? Not, surely, that they are drawn upon one bank in preference to another. No matter upon what bank they may be drawn, it is known they will not be paid by the bank on demand. It is their being receivable for customs and for public lands which constitutes their true value. If they were drawn upon the man in the moon they would be equally valuable. It is equally plain that the only difference between a draft upon a bank in Mississippi or Alabama, and one upon a bank in one of the Eastern cities, is founded upon the difference of time required to present and protest in the one case and the other. Let the officers of the Government, then, only say to its creditors, if the truth be so, that they can no longer draw upon any bank, but some one in the Southwest, and the whole difficulty is solved; the Government will have ample means to pay all demands upon it, and upwards of three millions of a surplus! Why shall the Government not avail itself of these means to pay its debts? Why will it not? Simply because it is its policy at present, to have the power of throwing ten millions in Treasury drafts into circulation. As to the wants of Government, I repeat, it is an unfounded pretext. ver. But, sir, there is a much better way yet of supplying any possible deficiency of means in the Treasury, and at the same time of relieving the people as well as the Government. I have said there is no deficit in the Treasury but such a one as the administration, in the exercise of their discretion, and to further their schemes of future policy, had created. I have already shown that, by continuing the practice of drawing upon the deposite banks, as heretofore, the deficit vanishes; but, say the friends of the administration, we want to supply a medium of exchange; we wish to put into circulation a species of paper, in the shape of Treasury notes, which will be a relief to the country just at this time. My remedy for any real or pretended deficit in the Treasury, and the one which is certainly called for by the suffering condition of the country, is to compel the Government to recognise and accredit the only circulating medium which has any existence in the country, by receiving and disbursing the public revenue in it. And the most surprising feature in the history of the times, is that a whole people would so long submit without tumult and open violation of the order of the Executive requiring all dues to the Government to be collected in gold and silGold and silver no longer circulates-they are only to be acquired by purchase and by paying a price regulated like any other article of property, by the proportion between the supply and the demand. They are articles bought and sold just like any other commodity of trade, and have, moreover, been rendered scarce and high by the great demand which has existed to pay foreign debts, and by being hoarded in banks and by individuals. An example of equal daring, on the part of the administration of a Government, does not exist on record. The most arbitrary and despotic monarch that ever sat upon a throne would not have dared to issue such an edict as went forth from the Executive of this Government after the deposite banks suspended specie payment; nor would the power of any such tyrant have been safe under such an experiment. It is only in a Government at least nominally free, and claiming to act in the name of the people, that such a measure could be sustained at all; and, but for the interests of party, which have for some years been paramount to every other in this country, even in this free Government the administration would have been compelled to have convoked Congress, or to have permitted the public taxes to be paid in the circulating medium of the country within one month from the commencement of a different experiment. The present bill proposes to sustain this gross outrage upon the people; the attempt to collect a revenue of twenty-five or thirty millions of dollars, not in the circulating medium of the country, which the Government rejects and spurns, but in an article of traffic, in a species of property which must be bought at any sacrifice, and when it is collected is to be poured into the laps of a favorite and preferred class. No other Government could stand under such an experiment sixty days. I call upon the House, by rejecting this bill, to compel the administration to abandon this unjust, and before unheard-of policy. I have seen it stated in a beautifully written and specious essay upon this subject, that principle is on the side of the administration on this point. I deny the position. The eternal principles of equality and justice are on the other side. (H. OF R. It does seem to me, Mr. Speaker, that there is a great and prevalent error abroad upon this question. I mean that the acquiescence is too general in the opinion, that Government may be permitted to reject the circulating medium of the country in the collection of its taxes, and coerce a payment in a species of money which is not current. The reason for this forbearance and acquiescence is obvious. A set of men, desperate and daring, and claiming to act in the name of a great and dominant party, have pushed their ultra doctrines so boldly and confidently that the moderate men of their own party, as well as the opposition, have felt too happy at the prospect of closing with them upon terms quite short of their own wishes or views as to what the country requires, merely because they appear well and good when contrasted with the antagonist scheme. Even so much gained, or rather saved, from the reckless and mischievous control of those who are now at the head of affairs is looked upon as a victory! But of what worth is such a victory? What do the conservatives secure to themselves or to the country if they shall succeed in getting their amendments adopted upon the sub-Treasury bill reported in this House? Sir, I would not give one copper for all their amedments put togother. What, if they shall get it enacted that the notes of specie-paying banks shall be received in payment of Government dueswhat, though it shall be provided that the public moneys shall still be kept on special deposite in the banks-all their apparent guards will only enable the Executive, if he is so disposed, to execute his policy under safer disguises. Through a thousand channels, impenetrable to this House and the public eye, the numerous collectors and receivers of public moneys can be compelled and constrained in such a manner as to stop any bank the moment it opens its vaults. The policy of the administration may be to make its attacks upon the United States Bank of Pennsylvania, with a view to stifle its operations or destroy it altogether. If success shall attend that operation, all the others will follow in detail, if such he the policy or purpose of those in power. It may be, however, that the vast power which the Executive will possess through the sub-Treasury scheme will only be employed in making war upon such of the local banks as shall be disobedient, or under unsuitable influences, and in this way make the entire State bank interest subservient to the political views of the party in power. In no way can you escape the power of the Executive in carrying out his plans, whatever they may be, if you arm him with sufficient means, and among others the power of supplying a circulation from the Treasury, as it is proposed to do. Mr. Van Buren was never in more danger than he was at the commencement of the session. The danger was that some of his followers would separate from him before he had time to explain. They might suppose that he meant to act upon the doctrines avowed in his message, and before he had time to give the proper assurances in a safe manner, his party might be dissolved. But the gentlemen from New York were soon satisfied, or at least pacified with the assurances that their favorite safety fund association would not be injured. What other assurances they may have received I know not, but I warn them not to be too easily quieted, or to take it for granted that all will be well. I have been a looker on here too long not to gather something from the signs of the times. It is quite evident to me that the party, whatever may be its strength, which is sincerely disposed to destroy all banks, and provide a gold and silver currency, or a currency constituted of Government paper, or one compounded of the two, seeing that they are foiled for the present, and that they cannot succeed here, have determined not to press the question for the present. They want another trial before the people, and our good conservatives, when they least expect an onset, may feel themselves overwhelmed by what is denominated the democracy of numbers. But to return to the question. What I contend for is, that the Government, at every point where its disbursements are to be made, shall pay in the currency or bank paper which is there current and receivable at par in the payment of debts, or for property and provisions at cash prices. If payments are to be made abroad, or to Indian tribes, which are placed upon the footing of foreign nations, let the gold and silver be bought for these disbursements, at the charge of the Treasury, as it is fit; it being much better that the people should pay this premium for specie in these instances than to be taxed and harassed tenfold by the policy now in operation. If the Government shall do this, there will be an end of all Treasury embarrassments. Well, why shall not the Government be compelled to this course! Is there any practical inconvenience in the plan proposed! We shall see. Our greatest disbursements, at present, are in a quarter where, it is said, we have the largest amount of unavailable funds in the vicinity of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi-growing out of the Florida war, and to subsist the Indians west of the Mississippi. In that whole region, or upon the borders of it, the notes of the Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi banks are current at par. The same state of things exists on the northwestern frontier. The notes of the banks of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri, are current throughout that region. If you want to disburse moneys upon the great rivers of the interior, or upon the great national road which is being con.. structed through the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, or upon the harbors of Lakes Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, the notes of the banks of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, or New York, are current in every part of those districts. If disbursements are to be made at any point upon the Atlantic, at your navy yards, upon your fortifications, or in this city, at all these various points the local bank notes are current at par, in payment not only of old debts, but for property at reduced prices; for, the principal amount of debt in every section is owing to the banks, and the great demand is for bank notes, and not for specie. Thus it is demonstrated there can be no practical difficulty in the extension of the policy called for by the best interests of the country. Will there be any injustice done the creditors of the Government by this course of policy? The very idea that there can be any injustice, under the circumstances, to the public creditors, is an absurdity. An officer or creditor, under existing circumstances, who receives specie from the Government, gets notoriously ten per cent. advance upon his just and equitable demand. Equal right and justice, in all such sudden changes in prices, produced by a curtailment of the circulating medium of the country, would require that all past contracts for the payment of moneys should be scaled and reduced according to the appreciation of money and the depreciation of property which has taken place since the date of the contract; and our laws do not require this, not because it would not be just, but because of the evils attending a fluctuating standard of money value. But the truth is, that bank notes are, at this day, worth more they will buy more provisions or property of any kind, at cash prices, than an equal amount of gold and silver would have commanded at any time within the last three or four years. It is no injustice, then, to compel the public creditors to receive bank notes in payment of their demands upon the Government. But it has been said that it would be unconstitutional and illegal for the Government to pay, or offer to pay, its officers and creditors in depreciated bank paper. Very well, sir; and suppose this to be true, does the Government of the United States stand upon any higher ground in this respect than the millions of freemen for whose benefit, and by whom the Government was established, and who are compelled by a moral necessity, both to receive and pay in [Oct. 7, 1837. this same depreciated currency? And this they are forced to do, not by any default of their own, but by the gross blunders and mal-administration of that arrogant Government which now assumes the power to discriminate, and affects the right to be discriminated, in this respect, from the people. But are the obligations legal or constitutional resting upon this Government-the confederated Government of any higher or more sacred character than the obligations of the same nature which bind the twenty-six States of the Union, and the people in their individual capacities? I call upon gentlemen from every quarter, who are disposed to uphold the character and influence of the States-I call upon the gentlemen of the South; I call upon the gentlemen who represent that ancient and renowned Commonwealth, Virginia, to step forward and maintain the equal honor and respectability of that State-of the old thirteen especially, and to vindicate all the States and the whole people from this attempted disparagement-this gross slight of their just pretensions. Before the administration of the Government of the United States attempts to set an example of constitutional conformity, and of strict honesty in the payment of its debts, let it first restore to the States and to the people that sound condition of the circulating medium, and those ample facilities for effecting their exchanges, which enable them to keep their faith and maintain their integrity and punctuality, and which they enjoyed before the mischievous and baneful project was conceived of reforming the currency, by putting down banks and bank paper, and substituting gold and silver, or a Government paper circulation. Let them do this, and the administration may urge with some propriety the obligations of honor and good faith, to pay their debts in gold and silver; and, until they shall do this, whatever they may profess, the world will conclude, and justly too, that the whole benefit to be derived from this strict regard to legal obligation will accrue to the officeholders, and others who happen to be creditors and dependants upon the General Government. That favored class will receive ten per cent. in addition to their just demands upon the Government. Under the present state of things, the disbursement of thirty millions of dollars annually in gold and silver among the officeholders, contractors, and other creditors of the Government, will put into their pockets thirty-three millions of dollars, in a currency which will pay their debts at par, and enable them to acquire more property than an equal amount of gold and silver could have done during several years past. This will be the mighty result of this new born, puritanie spirit, which appears now to actuate the administration in complying with the obligations of the Government. Their policy will confer upon the officeholders and others, who compose the trained bands of the party in every part of the Union, a bounty of three millions of dollars; and by this measure their allegiance will be secured, and their energies duly stimulated, to sustain an administration so generous and munificent to them. But does the Government pledge itself that, if this bill passes, no more bank or other paper of less value than gold and silver will be offered in payment of any of the creditors of the Government? I do not understand that the Government comes under any new obligations in this respect; and after we shall have passed this bill, we have no security that some of the public creditors, as heretofore, will not be compelled, at the discretion of the Treasury Department, to take depreciated paper, or get nothing, until it shall suit the convenience of the Treasury. Unless the administration shall come under some higher obligations of principle than they have heretofore recognised in practice, it does not appear but they may still pay one class of creditors in gold and silver, and another in bank paper, or other paper below par. This power of discrimination between different classes of creditors, I regard as one of the most dangerous extensions of Executive patronage in our power to sanction, |