_The Act of May 21, 1838 (Statutes 5, p. 228)._—This act authorized the reissue of the $10,000,000 treasury notes issued under the act of 1837, which had been canceled. They should have been used till worn out, and then replaced _ad infinitum_. It has taken time and a great war to open the eyes of the people and Congress to see what Jefferson saw in 1813. And now, again, many are forgetting the facts. _The Act of May 31, 1840 (Statutes 5, p. 370)._—This law renews the act of 1837, relating to the issue of treasury notes, and makes the following modifications: 1. That they were to be issued in place of those redeemed; not to exceed in this issue $5,000,000. 2. They were to be redeemed in less than a year, if the treasury was in a condition to redeem them. 3. When ready to redeem them, the Secretary of the Treasury was to give notice. 4. After due notice, these notes should cease to bear interest, if they remained out. This act was to continue only one year. It is evident that Congress supposed the necessity for issuing treasury notes would soon cease. But it was mistaken. Treasury notes continued to be issued up to 1848. _The Act of July 4, 1840 (Statutes 5, p. 385)._—This was the first independent treasury act of the days of Van Buren. It had good features, but was badly bungled. The money of the government was to be kept by the government (instead of the banks), in the mints, custom-houses, post-offices and treasury building. The fool part of it was that after January 3, 1843, no payment should be made to the government in anything but gold and silver coin. The banks were suspended. The government was being sustained by treasury notes. But still this law provided that after January 3, 1843, treasury notes should be excluded from the treasury as well as bank notes. An appeal was made to the people, in that year’s election, upon this law, and Van Buren and his coin payments were knocked out by Harrison with wiser plans. _The Act of July 21, 1841 (Statutes 5, p. 438)._—This was among the first Whig acts, and they in turn made fools of themselves. They favored a national bank, but opposed treasury notes. The law provided for the issue of $12,000,000 six per cent. bonds. The principal purpose was to redeem the good treasury notes of the Democrats. A Pittsburg man was sent to England to sell the bonds. Though the United States had paid its national debt in 1835, the bonds were no go. The Whigs, having failed to found a bank and sell these bonds, were compelled to rely upon the much-despised treasury notes of the Democrats.