JAMES GUTHRIE - MANUSCRIPT LETTER SIGNED 09/24/1856 - HFSID 17248

JAMES GUTHRIE
As Secretary of the Treasury, he signs a manuscript letter to the Governor of Vermont, requesting statistics regarding state indebtedness and financial involvement with railroads.
Manuscript Letter signed" "James Guthrie" as Secretary of the Treasury, 2 pages, 7¾x9¾ (front and verso). Treasury Department, 1856 September 24. To "His Excellency the Governor of Vermont, Montpelier, Vt". (Ryland Fletcher succeeded Stephen Royce as Vermont's Governor on October 10, 1856.) In full: "The House of Representatives, at the last session of Congress, requested the Department to ascertain and report the indebtedness of the several states in Bonds or Stocks, and in making up a table, exhibiting the Rail Roads in each State, and information as to the cost, etc., it is desirable to ascertain what aid has been given by the several states, in the subscription of stock, or by the loan of state securities to Rail Roads. To enable the Department to furnish Congress with the desired information, a statement of the indebtedness of your State in Bonds and Stocks, and the state securities loaned to Rail Roads in your State, is respectfully requested. I am very respectfully". James Guthrie (1792-1869), a Kentucky financier, served many years in the State's legislature and on the City Council of Louisville, seeking to have Kentucky's capital moved to that city. As Secretary of the Treasury under President Pierce (1853-1857), his vigorous administration and money-saving measures were widely praised. He drastically reduced the national debt. A strong supporter of slavery, he nevertheless opposed secession, and was offered a Cabinet post by President Lincoln. He was elected as a Democrat to the US Senate in 1865, supporting President Johnson and opposing Reconstruction measures. Ill health forced his resignation in 1868. Horizontal folds. Lightly creased and stained. Pencil note (unknown hand) on verso. Otherwise, fine condition.