VOL. VINO. 27O.
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thinkst proper to call your attention to the


power assumed by Territorial Legislatures to


authorize the issue of bonds by corporate com


panies on the guarantee Of the Territory Con-


gress passed a law in 1886, providing that no


act OF a Territorial Legislature incorporating


banks should have the force Of law until approv-


ed by Congress, but acts OF avery exceptionabie


character previously passed by the Legislature


of Florida, Were suffered to remain in force, by
| virtue of which bonds may be issued to a very
large amount by those Institutions upon the


faith of the Territory. A resolution intending


to be J'int one passed the Senate at the same
session, expressing the sense of Congress that
the laws IN qnestion ought not to be permitted
to remain in force unless amended in many ma


terlHl respects. but it failed in the House Of Rep.


resentatlves for want Of time, and the desired a.


mendments have not been made : The,inferests


involved afs 81 great impOF6ance, ,aud the subject
deserves your early and careful attention.


The continued agitation of the question rela-
tive to the best mode OF keeping and dssbursing
the public money, still iniuEiously affects the


business OF the country The suspension Of
specie payments in 1887, rendered The use of de-


posIte hanks, as prescribed by the act of 1885,
source rather of embarrassment than aid, and of
necessity placed the custody of most Of ths pub


iic money afterwards collected in charge Of the
public officers. The new securities for its safe
ty. which this required were principal cause
OF my conVenlng an extra session of Congress;
but In consequence of disagreement between
the two Houses, neither then, nor at anY subse-
quent period, has there been any Legislation on
The subject The effort made at The last session
to obtain the authority Of Congress to punish the
use OF public money for private purposes as
crime measure attended under other Govern
men,s with signal advantage, was also unsuccess.
ful, from diversies Of opinion In that body, not
wthstanding the anxiety doubtless te!t by it to af
ford every practicable security. The result Of
this is still to leave the custody OF the public
money without those safeguards which have
been for several years earnestly desired blythe
Executive; and as the remedy is only to be
found in the action Of the Legislature it itapos-
es on me the duty OF again submitting to you the
Propriety of passing law, providing for the safe
keeping of the public moneys, and especially to
ask that its use for private purposes by any Off
GERS entrusted with it, may be declared to be a
felony, punishable with penalties proportioned
to the magnitude Of the offence. .-f


These circumstances, added to known defects
in the existing laws, and unusual arrangement in
the general operations of trade have, during
the last three years. much increased the difficult
Ties attendant on the collection keeping; and dis
bursement of the revenue, and called forth cores
pondlng exertions from those having them in
charge. Happily these have been successful be-
yond expectation Vast sums have been collect.
ed and disbursed by the several Departments
with unexpected cheapness and ease transfers
have been readily made to every part Of the u.
MON, however distant and defalcations have been
far less than might have been anticipated, from
the absence OF adequate lega hres,rants. Since the
officers OF the Treasury aud Post Office Depart
ments were charged with the custody Of most of
the public moneys received by them, there have
been collected sixty-six millions of dollars, and
the ease Of the late collector at New
York, the aggregate amount OF losses sustained
in the collection cannot, it is believed. exceed
sixty thousand dollars. The delalcatioa of the
late collector at that city, of the extent aad cir
cumstances Of which Congress has been fully
ran through all the modes of keeping
the public money that have been hitherto in use
and distinguished by an aggravated disre-
gard of duty, that broke through the restraints
of every system, and cannot therefore. be useful
Iy referred 10 as test of the comparative safety
of either. Additional Information will also be
furnished by the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury, in reply to a call made upon that Off
Ger by the House Of Representative st tAe last
session, requiring detailed information on the
subject Of delaulters by public officers o: agents
under each Administration, from 1899 10 1897.
This document will be submitted to you Ia few
days. The general results, independent Of the
Post Office, which is kept separately, snd will
be stated by itself) so far as they bear upon this
subject, are, that the losses which iaEs 6een, and
are likely to be, sustained by any cags Of agents,
have been-the greatest by banks. including. as
required in the resolution, their depTec lated pa
per received for public dues; that the next larg-
est have been by disbursing officers. and the least
by collectors and receivers. If the !osses on
duty bonds are included, they alone will be three
fold those by both collectors and receivers
Our whole experience, therefore. furnishes the
strongest evidence that the desired leg:slatios of
Congress is alone wanting to insuTS in those
operations the highest degree of security and
facility. Such also appears to hare bcsn The ex-
perience Of other nations. EroFa the results Of
inquiries made by the SecEetry Of the Treasury
in regard to the practice among them. ana en-
abed to state that in twenty-five cut Oftweniy-
seven foreign Governments from which undoab.-
ed Information has been obtained, the public mo-
neys are kept in charge Of public officers. This
concurrence of opinion in favor Of that system is
perhaps great as exists on any question Of in
ternal administration a f-.,


In the modes oil business and official restraints


on disbursing officers, no legal change was pro-


duced by the suspension Of specie payments


'Phe report last referred to will be found to con-


tain also much useful information in relation to