National currency. Memorial of Littleton Dennis Teackle, presenting a plan of national currency and depositories of the public moneys, and praying that its principles and details may be considered and acted upon by Congress. June 12, 1841

27th Congress, Doc. No. 17. Ho. of Reps.
1st Session.

NATIONAL CURRENCY.

MEMORIAL

OF

LITTLETON DENNIS TEACKLE,

PRESENTING

June 12, 1841.
Referred to the Select Committee appointed on the subject of the Currency.

The subscriber, with profound respect for the superior wisdom of the supreme legislature of the American people, submits the accompanying plan, which proposes to create a National Currency for the common convenience and benefit, and to provide for the collection, custody, and disbursement of the public moneys ; and he respectfully prays that its principles and details may be examined and considered by the select appointments of your honorable bodies, to which those important topics have been referred, and that the results of their deliberations thereon may be acted upon as in your wisdom may seem meet.

LITTLETON DENNIS TEACKLE.
Washington, D. C. 9, 1841.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled:

The undersigned, a native citizen of the United States, residing in the State of Maryland, in the exercise of a constitutional privilege, with deference approaches your honorable bodies, to present a proposition designed to remove the embarrassing and vexatious circumstances which have arisen from derangements in monetary affairs, and to avoid the recurrence of similar

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evils, by the interposition of an adequate and ample circulating medium, in connexion with the collection, custody, and distribution of the revenue.

In the construction of a code for these essential purposes, the undersigned has acted in obedience to the following considerations, viz :

1. That the system of this republic embraces not only the constitution and laws of the confederation, but the institutions of its component States; and that the people are paramount to all.
2. That the mere keeping of the public treasures imparts a beneficial privilege.
3. That the credit of its circulation is a virtual capital of great value.
4. That the benefits of each and every other prerogative, whether positive or incidental, properly belong to all the people; and that they cannot be ceded to a part, without derogating from the rights of the whole.

Economists admit that money is the blood of a nation, the spring of its industry, the generator of its enterprise ; and its regulation in this empire of free States having been exclusively vested in your honorable bodies, the exercise of that power, to the end that its functions may be equally exerted for the general good, is especially devolved in the pending crisis.

The plan proposed is believed to be founded upon principles substantial in their nature, and entirely consistent with the genius of our Government, as it proposes to diffuse the benefits of a high and valuable prerogative to the whole people, and not for the profit of a favored few or privileged order. It is, in fact, substantially, a national bank of deposite and exchange, without the faculty of discounting or circulation, in connexion with a system of State institutions for the keeping and distribution of the federal revenue, under guards and guaranties commensurate with the wealth and credit of the several States respectively; to each of which States it would impart extensive aids, and afford facilities for general accommodation and amelioration. And while such a system would essentially enlarge the specie basis, and adapt the operations of the public institutions to the minor concerns of the country, the national currency would supply the interchanges of commerce, in large transactions, on terms convenient and economical; and although the making of paper a legal tender in private contracts may be interdicted by the constitution, the allowance of such a currency, in all payments to the national Treasury, has been sanctioned by law and usage, in the adoption of a species of currency mainly analogous to the emission proposed, viz : the Treasury notes.

The details and illustrations of the proposition are extended in the annexed paper, (marked A,) which the undersigned submits as a part of this memoir, and prays that it may be so considered.

Apprehensions have been entertained, as the undersigned is aware, that the States could not surmount the opposition of private corporations engaged in banking; and that an attempt to carry into effect a general system, as proposed, would, consequently, be found impracticable. But is not such an apprehension of itself enough to invite the encounter, in order that it may be ascertained whether the sovereignty dwells in the creator, or in the creature corporators?

It will be seen, by the plan, that the assent of any five of the States will suffice to commence the system, and it scarcely can be doubted that a larger number, already provided with well-adapted institutions, would promptly accede; and that the action of less favorable regulations, necessarily preexisting, would conduce to the successive accession of others, until the

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entire Union should be embraced by the equitable measures in contemplation.

The predominating principles of policy and interest are enough to warrant this conclusion; as the presented in the liberal distribution of the national currency, and the of the collection and disbursement of the public moneys, operating as inducements on the one hand, whilst the justifiable withholding of that and those , as well as the drains of abstractions by drafts to the public creditors, on those continuing under the control of private corporations, acting adversely on the other hand, would conduce to the establishment of a fiscal confederation, in harmonious accord with the spirit of our political system, and the just rights of all interests and classes of community.

Actuated by the inducements presented, and the incidental advantages anticipated to flow from the plan proposed, it is humbly conceived that the States would severally provide the needful “coin,” and conform, in good faith, to the organic law of your honorable bodies, in all its provisions and requisitions.

The undersigned, therefore, in all humility, submits respectfully his proposition, and prays that its principles and details may be duly considered, and acted upon as in your wisdom may seem meet.

LITTLETON DENNIS TEACKLE, of Maryland.

A.

The proposition is intended to establish the monetary system, and to regulate the currency of the United States according to the following bases and principles, to wit:
1. Five commissioners, to be appointed by the President and Senate, to act, in conjunction with other commissioners to be appointed by the States, in a board, to sit at the seat of the General Government.
2. The board to devise and prepare a national currency, in convenient denominations, from twenty to one thousand dollars, to be apportioned among the States in the ratio of their electoral votes, not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars for every Senator and Representative in Congress.
3. Each of the States assenting to the system to receive its contingent of the currency upon the payment of one per centum on the amount required, and contracting to pay in like manner annually thereafter, and providing not less than one- fourth of that amount in the legal coin of the United States as a basis of its operations.
4. Each of the assenting States to appoint one commissioner to the board, and one in addition for every ten of its electoral votes; deducting the number which may have been appointed from such State by the President and Senate.
5. The principal institution of each of the States to have the custody, and provide for the transmission and disbursement of the public moneys, and for exchanges between the States, under such conditions and regulations as the Congress may prescribe.
6. The national currency to be made receivable in all payments to the United States, at each and every of the institutions, and at all their branches or departments, without regard to its place of emission or redemption.

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7. The board to have and exercise a visitorial and supervisory control over the institutions of the States in all their ramifications; each to be visited and inspected, by deputation, once in every six months at the least.8. The assenting States to be severally and distinctly responsible for their contingents of the currency, and for their respective institutions.9. The commissioners to receive an adequate compensation for their services, and fair allowances for itinerant charges; to appoint and pay their secretary, and other necessary officers and servants; to take security for their good conduct and the due discharge of their proper duties.10. The secretary to receive the per centage to be paid by the States; to make all needful disbursements, under the direction of the board; and to account to Congress for any balance which may remain.11. The proceedings of the board to be open to the inspection of Congress, or to any committee thereof; and the right to modify or repeal the act to be reserved, subject to the fulfilment of existing engagements.12. The board to consider all subjects connected with the currency; in relation to the interests of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, charged upon it, and report thereon to Congress from time to time.

ILLUSTRATION.

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To further elucidate the matter, the undersigned, with deference, will submit some brief remarks, in numerical order, with reference to the several points of the proposition:

1. The commissioners, as contemplated, would constitute a financial congress of infinite value ; emanating chiefly from the States, they could not be wielded by any department of the Government to advance the views of any party. From such an influence they would, indeed, be free, by the tenure of their office, the nature of their operations, their guarded powers, and prescribed duties, as provided in the organic law to be presented hereafter.
2. It is to be understood that the national currency is not intended for the common purposes of money, but as an auxiliary to the specie basis, and mainly to supply the facilities of commerce, and interchanges in large transactions, in aid of the issues of the public institutions of the several States. And, although the limit for the entire Union is apparently too much contracted, the amount authorized to be issued is greater than the greatest circulation of the late Bank of the United States;¹ and if it should be found insufficient, the demand might be supplied by a further emission of the currency for general circulation.
3. The required payment of one by the States is intended only to cover charges; as the currency, being merely a measure of value, could not justly be made a subject of federal revenue. With equal justice might the States be taxed for scales and weights, or quarts and gallons, or other measures of length or capacity. And even that per centage might be reduced, by one-half, after the first year. The requisition of one-fourth in coin is esteemed sufficient; but, being the , if found insufficient, the States would, necessarily, increase it to sustain their respective institutions.
4. The smallest State would be entitled to a representative, and the largest to five, subject to the restrictions of the law. And, although the board might appear too numerous, that objection would disappear when it should be considered that a large portion of its members would be employed in visiting and inspecting the institutions, whilst others would be engaged in considering the subjects referred to them by either branch of Congress, besides their regular or ordinary duties.
5. The custody of the federal treasures could not certainly be more safely placed than under the guaranties of the States in their appropriate institutions. And the benefits to arise from the deposites could not be more justly disposed of than by such distribution to the whole people. The transmissions and disbursements could be surely effected, under the direction of the board of currency, by the public institutions of the States, as well as by private corporations or individual officers. The practicability of the operation is proved, in advance, by the ease and safety of our revenue system, in contrast with the frequent embarrassments of such Corporations.
6. The national currency would be receivable in all the States, as were the notes of the late Bank of the United States.
7. The mode of exercising a visitorial and supervisory control over the institutions of the States, and their respective branches or departments—so eminently calculated to inspire confidence, and insure a compliance with the required conditions, uniformity of proceeding, and the most beneficial action—is fully and distinctly detailed in the bill.
8. Besides their responsibility for the custody, transmission, and disbursement

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of the public moneys, the States are required to respond, in their sovereign characters, for the currency, and for its redemption, on demand, in gold or silver, under conventional arrangements and sufficient guaranties.
9. The expenses of the board would be, in truth, but a small advance for a great benefit, and might justly be regarded in the light of seed sown for a rich harvest. The commissioners would properly appoint their necessary officers, and take sufficient security for their good conduct.
10. The secretary would receive the contributions, and, after defraying the expenses, under the direction of the board, would account to Congress for any surplus, which would be considered in the subsequent graduations of the necessary per centage.
11. The board, being entirely a public department, would be open to the inspection of any committee or officer of Congress, and subject 10 any alteration or modification which experience might suggest.
12. Over and above the regular duties of the board, in the character of a financial congress, it would be peculiarly adapted to investigate the great interests of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, in their various relations, as connected with the main object of its constitution ; and to report thereon, from time to time, as might be required by either branch of the National Legislature.

The project of a law is presented, as the organic code of currency, collection, and distribution, in the words following, to wit:

A BILL to create a national currency, and to provide for the custody, transmission, and disbursement of the moneys of the United States.

That whenever any five of the several States, by legislative enactments, shall have assented to the provisions hereinafter contained, and certified their assumption of the obligations therein enjoined upon them to the President of the United States, it shall be the duty of the President to nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate to appoint, five persons to act as commissioners, in conjunction with other commissioners to be appointed by the States, as herein after provided, to constitute a board of currency, to sit at the seat of the General Government, and to serve for five years: the seat of the first named of the said persons to be vacated at the end of the first year; of the second, at the end of the second year; of the third, at the end of the third year; of the fourth, at the end of the fourth year ; and of the fifth, at the end of the fifth year; so that one of the said commissioners shall be appointed in every year: , That any of the said persons may be re-nominated and re-appointed for five years as aforesaid; and, if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, or if the assent of any five of the Stakes shall be received during the recess of the Senate, the President shall have power to fill the same, or to appoint the commissioners, (as the case may be,) by granting commissions to expire at the end of the next session ; and the said persons shall be severally subject to suspension by the board, and to removal by the President, for misconduct in office, or neglect of duty, upon the concurrent vote of both Houses of Congress, and not otherwise.

Sec. 2. That each of the States, having assented and certified as aforesaid, shall be entitled to appoint one person as a commissioner to the board of currency, and one in addition for every ten of its electoral votes, deducting the number which may have been appointed from such State on behalf

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of the United States, to serve for five years as aforesaid ; the seat of the first named of the said persons, as they shall have been received from the States, to be vacated at the end of the first year; of the second, at the end of the second year; and so in succession, that the board may be divided into classes so that one-fifth, as near as may be, shall be appointed every year; and the said persons shall be subject to suspension, as aforesaid, and removal by the States, respectively, for misconduct or neglect of duty as aforesaid.

Sec. 3. That the said commissioners shall have power to elect a president for one year, and annually thereafter to appoint, pay, and remove their secretary, and other necessary officers or servants, and to take security for their good conduct, and the due discharge of their proper duties.

Sec. 4. That each of the commissioners, and the president, secretary, and other officers and servants, before entering upon the exercise of their respective functions, shall severally take and subscribe an oath, before some person competent to administer the same, for the honest and punctual performance of their several and respective duties under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the said commissioners to devise and prepare a national currency, to be printed on both sides, in convenient denominations for interchanges or remittances, not being less than twenty dollars, nor exceed in the whole twenty-nine millions and four hundred thousand dollars; and to register and distribute the same, upon application as hereinafter provided, to the several States, in the ratio of one hundred thousand dollars for each and every vote to which the State so applying, respectively, may be entitled to in the election of a President and Vice President of the United States, to be disposed of by the said States under such regulations as they may exact, not inconsistent with this act, nor the rules and ordinances of the board of currency to be constituted in virtue thereof.

Sec. 6. That the said currency shall be redeemed, upon demand, at such places, respectively, as may be expressed on the face thereof.

Sec. 7. That the said currency shall be signed, in behalf of the United States, by the president and secretary of the board of commissioners to be
appointed in virtue of this act, and countersigned by two of the principal officers of the financial institutions of the several States, respectively, in which the same shall be distributed and made redeemable.

Sec. 8. That the currency shall be transferable by delivery and endorsement of the Treasurer, or principal Treasury officer of the State to which the same shall be apportioned, and made receivable from any person who may be entitled to pay the same; and the said currency, wherever made redeemable, shall be everywhere received in payments to the United States.

Sec. 9. That if any person shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aid or assist in falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting, any note, writing, or engraving, in imitation, or purporting to be a part of the currency to be created in virtue of this act, or shall falsely alter, or cause or procure to be falsely altered, or willingly aid or assist in falsely altering any part of the said currency, or shall pass, alter, or publish, as true, any false, forged, or counterfeit note, purporting to be a part thereof, knowing the same to be falsely forged or counterfeited, or shall pass, alter, or publish, or attempt to pass, alter, or publish, as true, any falsely altered note or currency as aforesaid, knowing the same to be falsely altered, every such person shall be

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deemed and adjudged guilty of felony ; and, being convicted by due course of law, shall be sentenced to imprisonment, and kept at hard labor for a period of not less than three nor more than ten years, and be fined not exceeding five thousand dollars.

Sec. 10. That twenty thousand dollars, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for defraying the expenses of preparing, engraving, printing, signing, and otherwise incident to the currency authorized by this act.

Sec. 11. That each of the States, having assented and certified as aforesaid, shall be entitled to receive a portion of the currency hereby authorized to be created, not exceeding the limitation prescribed herein, upon the requisition of its Executive, and the payment of one per centum on the amount required, with a contract duly executed by the Treasurer, or principal Treasury officer of the said State, to pay in like manner, annually thereafter, unless the same shall be reduced by Congress, and then to pay the per centage as so reduced ; and to provide a specie capital of not less than a fourth of the said portion of currency in the coin of the United States, or such foreign coins as may be authorized by law, as a basis of its operations, and a security for the public moneys which may be committed to the institutions of the said States, respectively, under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 12. That the currency, to be created in virtue of this act, shall be receivable in all payments at each and every of the institutions of the several States in contemplation of this act, and at all their branches or departments, without regard to the place of its creation or redemption ; for which purpose, it shall be the duty of the said States to make provisions accordingly.

Sec. 13. That the fiscal institutions of the said States, to be established with a view to the purposes of this act, shall have the custody and provide for the transmission and disbursement of the moneys of the United States, and for exchanges between the States, under such conditions and regulations as the Congress may prescribe ; and the said States shall be severally, distinctly, and irrevocably responsible to the United States for their respective portions of the currency, which shall be made payable by their enactments in the proper revenues of, and in all payments to, the said States, and convertible on demand, at their respective institutions, into coin as aforesaid. And in case the payment or conversion into coin, as aforesaid, shall be refused at any of the said institutions, the bearer shall be entitled to recover the amount demanded from such institution in any court having jurisdiction thereof, with interest thereon at the rate of ten per centum per annum from the date of such demand, until paid and satisfied ; and in case the person having the right to such demand shall fail to recover, in due course of law, the amount thereof from such institution, or any part thereof, it shall be lawful for such person to receive therefor, or for any deficiency or unsatisfied part of such demand, a certificate or certificates of funded stock bearing interest at five per centum from the first of the calendar month next ensuing that on which the said claim shall have been presented. And the stock thus to be issued shall be transferable in the same manner as the late or former funded debt of the United States ; the interest on the same, and its reimbursement, shall be effected out of such fund as shall be established by law for that purpose. And the faith of the United States is hereby pledged to establish sufficient revenues, and to appropriate them, for effecting the purposes aforesaid: , That it shall be lawful for the United

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States to reimburse the stock thus created at any time after two years from the issuing thereof.

Sec. 14. That each of the institutions of the assenting States as aforesaid, before they shall be employed as depositories of the public moneys, shall agree to receive them upon the following conditions, viz : , To pass, as specie, all sums deposited therein to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States, and to pay all checks, warrants, or drafts, drawn on such depository, in specie, if required by the holder thereof. , To give, whenever required by the Treasury, the necessary facilities for transferring the public funds from place to place within the United States and territories thereof, and for distributing the same in payments to the public creditors, without charging any commission or claiming any allowance on account of difference of exchange or otherwise. , To furnish to the Secretary of the Treasury, from time to time, as often as he may require, not exceeding once a week, statements of its condition and business, setting forth the amount of capital paid in and the debts due to the same, of the moneys deposited therein, of the notes in circulation, and of the specie on hand, with such other information or details as may be required by the said Secretary; and shall also furnish to the Treasurer of the United States a weekly statement of his account upon the books of the institution.

Sec. 15. That in case the said institutions, or any one of them employed as a depository of the public moneys under the provisions of this act, shall fail to comply with any of the duties enjoined upon them, or assumed by the State to which the same shall appertain; or, if it shall appear from the periodical statements of any of the said institutions, or from personal inspection of its affairs, that such institution is an unsafe depository of the public moneys, the board shall proceed to state the facts to the Secretary of the Treasury, whose duty it shall be, with the approbation of Congress previously obtained, if in session, and, if Congress be not in session, to discontinue such institution. And in case of the discontinuance of any of the said institutions in the recess of Congress, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to report to Congress the facts and reasons which induced such discontinuance.

Sec. 16. That the board of currency, by any one or more of its commissioners, shall have and exercise a visitorial and supervisory control overthe institutions of the several States in the contemplation of this act, and all their branches and ramifications. And it shall be the duty of the said board, by deputation as aforesaid, to visit each and every of the said institutions once in every six months at the least, and thoroughly to inspect the affairs of said institutions; to examine all the books, papers, notes, bonds,
and other evidences of debt of the said institutions; to compare their funds and property with the statements to be made by them, according to the provisions of this act; and, generally, to make such inquiries and examinations as may be necessary to ascertain the actual condition of said institutions, and their ability to fulfil all engagements made by them.

Sec. 17. That the said commissioners, or either of them, shall have power to examine, upon oath, all the officers, agents, or servants of the said institutions, or any of them, or any other person, in relation to the affairs and condition of said institutions ; which oath the said commissioners, or either of them, are personally authorized to administer.

Sec. 18. That in case the said commissioners shall ascertain, from such

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inspection and examination, or in any other manner, that any of the said institutions have violated the provisions of this act, the said commissioners shall immediately report the facts ascertained from such inspection and examination, or otherwise, to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall proceed forthwith, as he shall deem expedient, to protect the public from loss or damage, according to the provisions of this act, or the existing laws of the United States.

Sec. 19. That it shall be the duty of the said commissioners, in the month of December, in every year, to report to Congress the manner in which they shall have discharged the duties imposed upon them by this act, and to accompany their report, so to be made by them, with such other statements and abstracts as they may deem useful to the public interest.

Sec. 20. That the said commissioners shall not disclose the names of the debtors of any of the said institutions which may be examined by them, nor any information obtained in the course of such examinations, unless required in a court of justice, or in some proceeding authorized by this act.

Sec. 21. That every officer, agent, or clerk of the said institutions, who shall make false statements, or false entries, in the books of such institutions, or shall exhibit false papers, with intent to deceive the said commissioners as to the condition of such institution, shall be deemed and adjudged to be guilty of felony, and, upon conviction thereof in due course of law, shall be sentenced to imprisonment, and kept at hard labor for a term not less than three nor more than ten years.

Sec. 22. That it shall be the duty of the board of currency to devise and ordain all necessary rules and ordinances for the convenient transaction and good government of their operations, and to secure the observance of this act and all its provisions by the several States thereunto assenting, and for the faithful performance of their several duties and obligations ; and to require such statements, from time to time, as may be deemed essential to the due protection of the public interest; for which purpose the said commissioners shall have power and full authority, by and in virtue of this act.

Sec. 23. That the Secretary shall receive the per centage to be paid by the States, make all needful disbursements thereof, under the direction of the board, and account to Congress for any balance which may remain.

Sec. 24. That each of the members of the board of currency shall be entitled to receive ______ dollars for the time necessarily employed therein, and ______ dollars for every twenty miles of necessary travelling on the business of the board.

Sec. 25. That the District of Columbia, and each of the Territories of the United States, shall be entitled to a contingent of the currency to be created by this act, under such conditions and limitations as may be enacted for such purposes; and whenever any of the said Territories shall be admitted into the Union, the same shall be entitled, as a State, to all the benefits and immunities of this act; and the amount of the currency shall be commensurately increased for that purpose.

Sec. 26. That it shall be the duty of the board of currency to keep fair records of all their proceedings, and the same shall be open to the inspection of either House of Congress, or any committee thereof; and the right to modify or repeal this act, or any of its provisions, shall be reserved subject to the just fulfilment of all existing unsatisfied engagements.

Sec. 27. That it shall be the duty of the board to consider all subjects connected with the currency in relation to the interests of agriculture,

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manufactures, or commerce, which may be charged upon it by either branch of Congress, and report thereon from time to time.

Sec. 28. That a majority of the commissioners shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for transacting the general business of the board ; but any six of the members, with their president, may transact the ordinary business, in conformity to the rules and ordinances.

Sec. 29. That in case of sickness, or necessary absence of the President, he shall designate a member of the board to act as president for ordinary business; and, in default of such designation, the board (any seven members being present) may elect a president .

From the aforegoing it will be seen that a , is contemplated ; and it is not to be supposed that such responsibility would be assumed without an entire or principal interest in the capital, and .

It appears that the highly beneficial principle of assuming the sovereign right of banking, has been adopted and improved in several of the States, and, with the progressive developments of its benefits, the more has it gained upon the public favor; its most potent enemy is that which has grown out of to private corporations for such purposes. But if the regulation of the currency is to be regarded AS A PUBLIC RIGHT; if the good of is to be preferred to the ; and if there be enough of intelligence among the people to understand the proposition, and to appreciate its merits, (which cannot be doubted,) we may well anticipate the eventual establishment of a national currency, under the agency of a .

The doctrine of the great father of democracy is peculiarly apposite and interesting at the present crisis, as it presents a practicable , through the medium of a measure of value, which, by its , would make its way, and supplant the paper of private banks or corporations of individuals.” These are the views of JEFFERSON; and although the Congress may not be authorized to establish a paper currency as an absolute tender in private contracts, yet the influence they may exercise in securing its soundness, through the collections of the revenue, has been admitted by the purest patriots and most enlightened statesmen of this republic in various departments of the Government.

In the early annals of the constitution, the power was affirmed by Gen. Hamilton, in his public character, “to designate or appoint the money or thing in which the taxes are to be paid,” as being “not only a proper, but a necessary exercise of the power of collecting them; accordingly, Congress, in the law concerning the collection of the duties on imposts and tonnage, have provided that they shall be payable in silver or gold. But while
it was an indispensable part of the work to say in what they should be paid, the choice of the specific thing was a mere matter of discretion. The payment might have been required in the commodities themselves; taxes in kind are not without precedent, even in the United States; or they might have been in the paper money of the several States, or of the bills of the Banks of North America, New York, or Massachusetts, all or each of them; or it might have been AUTHORITY OF THE

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UNITED STATES. No part of this, it is presumed, can be disputed. The appointment of the money or thing in which the taxes are to be paid, is an incident to the power of collection; and, among the expedients which may be adopted, is that of bills issued under the authority of the United States.” These are the views of HAMILTON; and this contemporaneous commentary has received the sanction of succeeding sages, in the practical employment of the TREASURY NOTES as a medium of EXCHANGE AND CIRCULATION.

It therefore appears that a paper currency is not inhibited by the constitution; and that such a currency may be created by the General Government, and distributed among the States, under proper guards and regulations to insure its credit and convertibility into gold or silver, and to promote, incalculably, the common welfare, is equally evident; as the productive principles of a high and valuable prerogative would thereby be diffused, by its operations, to the whole people, and not confined to the benefit or profit of a special few or privileged order. The plan, indeed, is esteemed sufficient
for all the beneficial purposes in contemplation, without the evils of a ; it is, in effect, a NATIONAL BANK OF EXCHANGE AND DEPOSITE, without the privileges of issuing notes or loaning money as regards the General Government, in connexion with an equitable and secure system for the receipt and distribution of the federal revenue—commensurate, in fact, with the wealth and credit of the several States, embracing . To each and every of the States it would impart a rich resource in public income, and diffuse the means of propelling industry and enterprise, and, by accelerating improvements throughout the country, promote the amelioration of
every interest and class of society; and while such a system would essentially enlarge the specie basis, and adapt the local circulation to the common uses and demands of ordinary business, the national currency would supply the facilities of interchanges in large transactions, on terms convenient and
economical.

In reference to the pending question, the great object of desire is a MEDIUM OF UNIFORM AND EQUAL VALUE THROUGHOUT THE UNION ; to accomplish which, it is proposed that A CURRENCY SHALL BE CREATED BY THE UNITED STATES upon the FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE WHOLE NATION, GUARANTEED BY THE STATES, RECEIVABLE EVERYWHERE IN ALL PUBLIC PAYMENTS, AND CONVERTIBLE INTO SILVER OR GOLD, on presentation at each and every of the institutions of the States. If a better can be devised, it remains to be demonstrated.

For the more ample illustration and better understanding of the matter, some additional views in relation to the expediency and justice of the proposition, and in support of the practical effects anticipated to flow from the operations of the interesting measures in contemplation, will be submitted.

By the federal compact, the entire revenue from duties on imports is ceded to the General Government ; and the States are consequently reduced to the necessity of resorting to direct taxation, or to incidental sources, for defraying the expenses of their administrations. The receipt of income to the national Treasury from the mere circulating medium, does not appear to have entered into the consideration of the framers of that compact; and the benefits derivable from the resource in question may be justly regarded as , .

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From documentary information, and estimates entitled to credit, it may be fairly inferred that the amount of contributions .

In a critical examination of this topic, it would seem that, if such a course of contribution is to be tolerated, ; and the more especially, as the resources of the States, with the aid of the national currency and the capital imparted by
the public deposites, would abundantly sustain the proposed system, under judicious regulations properly administered.

It is not to be presumed, nor even supposed, that the plan presented could be carried immediately into full effect throughout the Union, as the existence of charters conferring vested rights might operate to impede, or virtually preclude, its useful action in some of the States for years to come. But many members of the confederation are unincumbered by such grants, and all, in time, might be relieved by the[i]r expiration, or otherwise.

The full enjoyment of this prerogative being susceptible of producing avails of vast extent, would not only enable the several States to perfect their lines of intercommunication already in progress or in prospect, as well as to promote improvements in literature, and other desirable meliorations, but tend incalculably to increase productions in every interest, and, by augmenting exportable commodities, to supply and nourish exterior commerce, and essentially enhance the means of comfort among the people.

With reference to the private corporations in which the public moneys have been deposited, they are not calculated, by the nature of their organization, nor the course of their administration, to inspire confidence as depositories of the national treasures. Neither are they to be viewed as the most eligible vehicles of distribution, nor as the most competent regulators of monetary interchanges in remote regions, having, as they have, different interests and variant points of policy. Among the many objections to which those corporations are obnoxious in the public estimation, some are similar to such as existed in the late Bank of the United States. And, although less eminently calculated to attract rival investments, and to generate foreign influences, or to combine a concentration of power in the possession of a few, or a single individual, dangerous to the peace and prosperity of the country, or to the vital principles of the Government, yet, composing, as they do, a distinct community, with inordinate power to act in private, and having privileges superior to the common mass of our population—constituting, in fact, an order which consumes the fruits of the common labor without contributing to its production in due degree—they may well be viewed as hostile to the spirit of a free republic; and the paper of such, emitted by irresponsible corporations, acting in conclave, with a sole regard to private benefits,) from apprehensions of its solidity arising from the frequency of their failures, or depreciation, could not maintain that uniform and equal value which would SUSTAIN THE ISSUES OF A BOARD BASED UPON THE WEALTH AND CREDIT OF THE WHOLE NATION, GUARANTIED BY THE STATES, RECEIVABLE IN ALL PUBLIC PAYMENTS, and immediately CONVERTIBLE INTO GOLD OR SILVER.
Respectfully submitted:

LITTLETON DENNIS TEACKLE, .

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