Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 2).djvu/129

Rh Clay's land bill, introduced, passed, and disapproved by Jackson in 1832, provided for the distribution of the proceeds of land sales. When, with the extinguishment of the public debt, the excess of revenue over regular expenditures lost its employment and simply accumulated, the question became more pressing, especially as not only the proceeds from land sales, but also, under the stimulus of general inflation, the customs revenue, increased amazingly, — between 1834 and 1836, from $16,200,000 to $23,400,000.

The public deposits amounted on January 1, 1835, to $10,223,000; on December 1, 1835, to $24,724,000; on March 1, 1836, to $33,700,000; and by June 1, 1836, they had risen to $41,500,000, distributed among thirty-five banks. This state of things created alarm, political as well as financial. The Whigs feared, not without reason, the enormous political power gathered in the hands of the administration by the control of banks in all parts of the country, which were to afford “accommodation to individuals” with so many millions of government money. As to the financial aspect of the case, it was seriously questioned whether the public funds were safe in the deposit banks, some of which were known to be weak; and that feeling of insecurity could not but be increased by the mad speculation which the public deposits, filtering through the banks, were so powerfully helping to keep up. Moreover, the existence of the surplus had its natural effect of stim-