H. OF R.] Deposite Banks. [FEB. 10, 1855. Treasury may require as heavy collateral security, in ad- | That amendment is, that the deposite banks shall be se dition to their capital paid in, from such a corporation, as he could from an individual collector or receiver, which makes the Government deposites safer in the hands of a bank than it could be with an individual. It may be well questioned whether the heaviest security which the most wealthy individual could give, could make the public deposite safe at the point of large collection. In the city of New York half the revenue is | collected. Several millions of public money may be in the hands of a receiver at one time; and if he be corrupt, or shall engage in speculation or trade, and meet with a reverse of fortune, the loss sustained by Government would be inevitable. With ample security, as it was supposed, the Government lost a million or more in the tea cases, a few years ago. The losses in three cases alone, as already stated, in 1827 and 1828, when it was supposed ample care had been taken to secure the debt, amounted to near two millions. As, then, between the responsibility of a public receiver and bank corporations, as banks do exist, and are likely to exist, under State au lected by the Legislatures of the respective States. In regard to this, it is enough to say that, if it be adopted, any State Legislature politically opposed to any administration, or in favor of the creation of a national bank, would have it in its power greatly to embarrass the Treasury, and render the fiscal operations of Government inconvenient, expensive, and unsafe. The Legislature of any State opposed to an administration, or desirous to bring the present system of State bank agency into disrepute, and to see it fail, so that the country might be forced back upon a national institution, might select their worst banks, or those the most inconve niently situated, and which would not or could not faithfully discharge the fiscal agency intrusted to them. If the States are to select the federal agents to be employed to receive, safe keep, and disburse, the public money, upon the same principle the States should be employed to appoint the public agents who collect the public money within their limits. The officer who collects and the person who keeps and disburses the pub thority, the latter, upon the ground of safety to the public money in any State, are equally federal agents. If lic, are to be preferred. Banks, when they are safe, recommend themselves to the service of the Treasury for other reasons. 1. The increased facility they possess over individual collectors or receivers, in making transfers of public money to distant points for disbursement, without charge to the public. Indeed, this is a service which individuals, to the extent of our large revenues, could not per form. 2. It may happen, in the fluctuation of the amount of revenue and expenditures, that there will be at some times a considerable surplus in the treasury; which, though it may be temporary, if it be withdrawn from circulation, and placed in the strong box of a receiver, the amount of circulation will be injuriously disturbed, by hoarding the deposite, by which the value of every article of merchandise and property would be affected. So that, inasmuch as we cannot anticipate or estimate what the exact amount of revenue or expenditure may be from year to year, there may occur an excess of revenue in the treasury, not immediately called for to be the object of the gentleman from Georgia, who has given notice of his intention to move this amendment, leaving to the States the right to select for the Treasury the banks of deposite, be to guard against the exercise or abuse of the patronage which is supposed to attach to the power of selection, he will find, by looking to the provisions of this bill, that it effectually guards these deposite banks, when once selected, from any such influence. When they shall be once selected, they may hold the public deposite, not only independently of the Treasury, but, if you please, against the will of the executive department of the Government, so long as they continue to perform the duties and services prescribed in the bill, and stipulated by them to be performed in their contracts, and so long as the public money may be considered safe in their custody. So long as they shall continue to discharge the duties and obligations imposed on them by their undertaking, and shall keep in a safe condition, the deposites cannot be removed by the executive authority. The power to discontinue them as public depositories is reserved to Congress, and no pow disbursed, which it would be very inconvenient to aber, whilst Congress is in session, is reserved to the Ex stract from trade and circulation. Whilst the deposite is in a bank, the bank may use it, keeping itself at the same time ready to pay when demanded, and it is not withdrawn from the general circulation, as so much money hoarded and withdrawn from the use of the community. If in the hands of receivers, they must either hoard it, by keeping it locked up in a strong box, or use it at their own risk in private speculation or trade, or they must, for their own security, and on their own responsibility, place it at last on deposite in banks for safe keeping, until they are called on by the Government for it. This temporary use of the money on deposite in a bank constitutes the only compensation which the bank receives for the risk of keeping it, and for the services it performs. If receivers be employed, they can perform no other service than to keep the money, and must be paid a compensation from the Treasury. The other provision of the amendment proposed to be offered by the gentleman from Virginia, which requires that the public revenue shall be paid "in the current coin of the United States," is unnecessary. No public creditor can now be paid in any thing but current coin by any of the deposite banks, if he demand coin. Nothing but coin, or the paper of specie-paying banks, readily convertible into specie, is now received in the payment of the public revenue. The House has had notice of another amendment to be offered to the bill, and it is the last I shall notice. ecutive, except to report to Congress for their action, if any of those banks have, in any respect, failed to conform to the provisions of the law, or have become, or are likely to become, in his judgment, unsafe. The executive power to discontinue exists only during the recess of Congress, and can then only be exercised for palpable violations of some one of the conditious upon which it receives the deposites, or because of alleged unsafety of the public funds; and, in that case, the facts and reasons upon which such discontinuance has taken place are to be reported to Congress at its next session. The power to make the selection in the first instance was given to the Secretary of the Treasury, because, from the nature of his duties, he was supposed to be more competent to make them than any other officer. The selection once made, and these banks are no longer the recipients of favors which depend on the executive will, and are under no obligations other than faithfully to perform the duties required of them by law, and which they have stipulated to perform. Should this bill pass, there can be no danger that the power of selection, which it vests in the Secretary of the Treasury, could be used as a branch of executive patronage; for the banks, when selected, would not be dependent on the Executive for the continuance of their agency. The present deposite banks would probably be continued; and, if so, it would be necessary to make but few, if any, new selections. If Congress fail to pass this, or some other bill regulating the selection and employment INDEX TO THE DEBATES IN THE SENATE. Adams, Mr., 10,000 copies of his oration on the life and Alabama; a bill authorizing that State to apply the two Alabama resolutions in favor of expunging a part of the Amendment of the constitution; a resolution proposing to providing that a majority of the members of both American consul at London, his claims allowed, 219. navy, 392; passed. the bill making appropriations for fortifications for civil and diplomatic expenditures of the Gov- The bill being amended by the House of Repre- for Indian department, a bill for 1835, 239; passed. Baird, David, a bill for the relief of, 242; passed, 576. table. Bank of the United States; a resolution calling for any Bank charters, District of Columbia, amendments propo- passed. Bond, Lucy; a bill for allowing interest on certain claims Post Office Committee, &c., 690. Carey & Lea's History of Congress, a resolution autho- Catlett, Charles J., a bill for the relief of, 536; rejected. chief, 237; referred. Columbia, District of, a bill for the relief of the cities of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, Cowpens, a resolution authorizing a gold medal to be sideration of several subjects, 721. Cumberland road, a bill for continuing and repairing ries of, 393; passed, 417. Warren R., a representative from South Car- Delaware breakwater, a bill making appropriations for a bill authorizing a remission of, on railroad cars, lie on the table. a bill to suspend the operation of certain por- a bill to repeal the first and second sections of Expunging resolution offered, 510; taken up, 631; laid in a new form submitted, to be taken up in the Foreign Powers, a resolution authorizing the sale of the Fortifications, resolution respecting fortifying the Pa- Fortifications, bill making appropriations for, (See ap- | France; resolution calling on the President for the in- report from the Committee on Foreign Relations three memorials from Massachusetts in reference Frauds in the sale of public lands, a report on the sub- French spoliations, a bill reported to provide satisfaction French relations, copies of the correspondence which Lighthouse at Mobile point, a bill making appropriation for it, 361; passed. Loomis, Walter; a bill for the relief of Walter Loomis McCord, David, a bill for the relief of, 241; passed. Mississippi, a bill for the removal of a bar in, 237; passed. a bill to regulate the pay of, considered, 716. public lands, (See lands.) Offences against the United States; a bill to amend the Gales & Seaton's Register of Debates complained of by Ohio boundary line; a bill to establish the northern Mr. Benton, 33. resolution directing the new Senators to be sup- 701. 241. History of Congress, (See Carey & Lea.) tives, 440; passed. abolition memorials, 398. boundary line, 109; passed, 117. resolutions in reference to the Bank of the Uni- Order, points of, 427, 428, 432. Indian department appropriations, (See appropriations.) such of the Cherokees as may choose to emi- Judicial circuits, a resolution to arrange the circuit a bill to carry the same into effect, 584; com- Lafayette, General; report of the committee appointed Lands, Public, the present Committee on, continued, 4. 4, 5. a bill proposed to appropriate, for a limited time, a bill reported to authorize receivers and registers claims, a bill providing for settlement of, 79; maps of, a resolution directing the Secretary of life of the President, 714. Leavensworth & Bloomington and other railroad compa- king them a grant of land, 439; laid on the Post Office and Post Roads, present Committee on, con- tinued, 2. report made on the subject, 244. Potomac bridge, a bill to amend the act authorizing the message accompanying a copy of the declaration message in answer to a call for instructions given 660. Printer, election of, 693; Gales & Seaton elected, 698. resolution respecting the election of a printer, 492. Railroad cars, remission of duties on, (See duties.) Road from Lyme creek to Chattahoochie, a bill making Secretary of the Treasury's annual report, 4. Senate printing; a resolution directing the Secretary of Shepherd, Moses, a bill for the relief of the representa- the table. Tyler, Mr., (Virginia,) elected President pro tempore his address to the Senate, 728. United States and Indian tribes, (See Indian tribes.) on printing 10,000 copies of a report on execu- tive patronage, 392. on the Cumberland road bill, 413. on the bill supplementary to the act for the relief of Colonel John Laurens, 417. on the bill for the relief of the representatives of on engrossing the bill for repealing the first and on an amendment to ditto, 571. on the passage of the bill, 576. on engrossing the bill for the relief of Polish on the bill for establishing branches of the mint, on the bill supplementary to the act to amend the a resolution calling on the Secretary of War for on the bill to regulate the public deposites, 629, on the bill granting additional land for Virginia warrants, 690. White, Joseph, a bill for the relief of, 234; passed. on the general appropriation bill, 713, 714. on the report on the case of R. Lawrence, from duties, 83. 714. on the bill for improving the Wabash river, 89. on printing 20,000 copies of the report on our on an amendment to the Delaware breakwater relations with France, 108. bill, 716. on the resolution declaring it inexpedient to adopt on the expunging resolution, 723, 726, 727. INDEX TO THE NAMES OF THE SPEAKERS IN THE DEBATES IN THE SENATE. Benton, Mr., Missouri, on United States Bank branch Benton, Mr., Missouri, on the Senate printing, 276, 279, Benton, Mr., Missouri, on furnishing Senators with the Clay, Mr., Kentucky, on call on the President for the Register of Debates, 699, 700. Bibb, Mr., Kentucky, on exempting merchandise from duty, 96. our relations with France, 108. Ohio boundary line, 115, 117. French spoliations, 118, 179. gold medal to Colonel Croghan, 236. Post Office bill, 310, 319, 344, 353, 358, 359. bill respecting custom-house officers, 398. executive patronage, 428, 447, 537. the judicial system, 589. bill for the relief of the cities of Washington, general appropriation bill, 706. Black, Mr., Mississippi, on a mail route in Mississippi, Lyme Creek road, 220, 221. 80, 81. bill for the relief of Wyatt Singleton, 241. establishing branches of the mint, 599, 606, 611. general appropriation bill, 713. Brown, Mr., North Carolina, on the expunging resolu- tion, 511. establishing branches of the mint, 576, 577, 604. Buchanan, Mr., Pennsylvania, on the exemption of mer- our relations with France, 206, 213. bill respecting custom-house officers, 398. and Alexandria, 618. bill to regulate the public deposites, 621, 629. general appropriation bill, 703. Calhoun, Mr., South Carolina, on our relations with France, 106, 212. executive patronage, 109, 361, 389, 417, 418, Ohio boundary line, 115. Post Office reports, 245, 248, 249, 250, 269. newspaper, 275. establishing branches of the mint, 551, 552, 605, disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the Clay, Mr., Kentucky, on the bill to appropriate the pro- ceeds of the public lands, 15. presents from foreign Powers, 35, 218. report in relation to an oration to be delivered 44. instructions given to our ministers in France, 45. report on our French relations, 104, 105, 106, Post Office report, 245. establishing branches of the mint, 552, 576, 580, 1 an anonymous letter to the Honorable George the judicial system, 592, 594. bill granting additional land for Virginia land election of printer, 693. general appropriation bill, 701, 705, 711, 713. 722. Ohio boundary line, 109, 115, 116. executive patronage, 503, 537, 538, 571. O. B. Brown and Post Office Committee, 692. Cuthbert, Mr., Georgia, on our relations with France, 208, 212. |