Newspaper Page Text
yal and State Goventmont, need bej
nttempted; for there can be no local
intercut that may not With equal!
propriety be denominated national.
It has no cocnection with any estab
lished systc::* of improvements; is
exclusively within the limits of a
State, starting at a point on the Ohio
river, &. running out sixty miles to an
interior town; and even as far as the
State is interested, conferring parti
al instead of general advantages.
Considering tire magnitude and
Importance of the power, and the
embarrassments to which, from the
very nature'of the thing, its exercise
must, necesarily, ho subjected; the
real friends of internal improve
ment ought not to he willing to con
fnlo it to accident and chance.—
W hat is properly national in its
character, or otherwise, is an inqui
ry which is often extremely difficult
*of solution. The appropriations of
one year, for an object which is con
sidered national, may ho rendered
nugatory, by the refusal of a succeed-
Congress to continue the work, on
the ground that it is local. No aid
can lie derived from the interventi
on of Corporations. The question
regards the character of the work,
not that of those by whom il is to be
accomplished. Notwithstanding the
union of the Government with the
corporation, by whose immediate a
gency, any work of internal improve
ment is cairied on, the inquiry will
etill remain, is it national and con
ducive to the benefit of the whole,
or local, and operating only to the
advantage of a portion of the Union.
But, although, I might not feel it
to he iny official duty to interpose
the executive veto, to the passage
of a bill appropriating money for the
construction of such works, us are
authorized by the States, and are
national in their character, I do not
wish to be understood as expressing
an opinion, that it is expedient at
this time, for the General Govern
ment to embark in a system of this
hind, and anxious that my constitu
ents should be possessed of my views,
on this, as well as on ail other sub
jects, which they have committed to
my discretion, I shall state them
frankly und briefly. Besides many
minor considerations, there are two
prominent views of the subject, which
have made a deep impression upon
my mind, which, I think, are well en
titled to your serious attention, and
Will, I hope, be maturely weighed by
From the official communication j,
submitted to you, it appears, that it .
no adverse am) unforeseen contin
gency happens in our foreign relati
ons, and no unusual diversion he i
made of the funds set apart for the
payment of the national debt, we
may look with confidence to its en
tire extinguishment in the short pe
riod of four years. The extent to
which this pleasing anticipation is
dependent upon the policy, which
may be pursued in relation to meas
ures, of the character of the one, now
under consideration, must be obvious
Xro all, and equally so, that the events
of the present session are well calcu
lated to awaken public solicitude up
on the subject. By the statement
from the Treasury Department, and
those from the Clerks of the Senate
and House of Representatives, here
with submitted, it appears that the
trills which have passed into laws,
and those which, in .nil probability,
will pass before the adjournment of
Congress, anticipate appropriations
pvhich, with the ordinary expendi
tures for the support of Government,
will exceed considerably the amount
in the Treasury for the year 1830.
Thus, whilst we are diminishing the
revenue by a reduction of the duties
on tea, coffee, and cocoa, the appro
priations for internal improvement
are increasing beyond the available
means of the Treasury; and if to
this calculation be added the amount
contained in bills which arc pending
before the two Houses, it may be
safely affirmed, that ten millions of
dollars would not make up the ex
cess over the Treasury receipts, un
less the payment of the national debt
be postponed, and the means now
pledged t<r that object applied to
those enumerated in these bills.
’Without a well regulated system of
internal improvement, this exhaust
ing mode of appropriation is not like
ly to he avoided, and the plain con
sequence must be, cither a continu
ance of the national debt, or a resort
to additional taxes.
Although many of the States, with
a laudable zeak and under the influ r
mice of an enlightened policy, are
| successfully applying their separate
efforts to works of this character,
! the desire to enlist the aid of the
General Government in the construc
tion of such as from- their nature
ought to devolve upon it, and to
which the means of the individual
States are inadequate, is both ration
al and patriotic; and, if that desire
is not gratified now, it does not fol
low that it never will be. The gen
eral intelligence und public Spirit of
the American people, furnish a sure
guarantee, that, at the proper time,
this policy will he made to prevail
under circumstances’ more auspici
ous to its successful prosecution,
than those which now exist. But
great as this object undoubtedly is,
it is not the only one which demands
the fostering care of the Govern
ment. The preservation and suc
cess of the Republican principle rest
with us. To elevata its Character,
and extend its influence, rank among
our most important duties; and the
best means to accomplish this desi
rable end, arc those which will rivit
the attachment of our citizens to the
Government of their choice, by the
comparative lightness of their public
burdens, and by the attraction which
the superior success of its operations
will present to the admiration and
respect of the world. Through the
favor of an overruling and indulgent
Providence, our country is blessed
with general prosperity, and our ci
tizens exempt from the pressure of
taxation which other, less favored
portions of the human family, are o
bliged to bear; yet, it is true, that
many of the taxes collected fioin our
citizens, through the medium of im
posts, have, lor a considerable peri
od, been onerous. In many particu
lars, these taxes have borne severely
upon tho laboring and less prosper
ous classes of the community, being
imposed on the necessaries of life,
and this, too, in cases where the bur
den was not relieved by the consci
ousness, that it would ultimately
contribute to make us independent
of foreign nations for articles of
prime necessity, by the encourage
ment of their growth and manufac
ture at home. They have been
cheerfully borne, because they were
thought to be necessary to the sup
port of Government, and the pay
ment of the debts unavoidably incur
red in the acquisition und mainten
ance of our national rights and lib
erties. lint have we a right to cal-
eence, when it is known
ocssity for their continuance
cease, were it not for irregulaiJPm
provident, and unequal appropriati
ons of the public funds ? Will not
the people demand, as they have a
right to do, such a prudent system of
expenditure, as will pay the debts of
the Union, aud authorize the reduc
tion of evqry tax, to as low a point
as the wise observance’ of the neces
sity to protect that portion of our
manufactures and labor, whose pros
perity is essential to our national
safety and independence, will allow?
When the national debt is paidj the
duties upon those articles which we
do not raise, may be repealed with
safety, and still leave, I trust, with
out oppression t 6 any section of the
country, an accumulating surplus
fund, which may be beneficially ap
plied to some well digested system
of improvement.
Under this view, the question, as
to the inanifct in which the Federal
Government can, or ought to em
bark in the construction of roads and
canals, and the extent to which it
may impose burthens on the people
for those purposes, may be presented |
on its own merits, free of all disguise,!
and of every embarrassment, except |
such as may arise from the Consti- j
tutiou itself. Assuming these sug- !
gestions to be correct, will not our \
constituents require the observance I
ol a course by which they can be ef
fected? Ought they not require it ?
With the best disposition to aid, as
far as L can conscientiously, in fur
therance of works of internal iniprov
ment, my opinion is, that the sound
est views of national policy at this
time, point to such a course. Be
sides, the avoidance of an evil influ
ence upon the local concerns of the
country, bow solid is the advantage
which theGovcrnment will reap from
it in the elevation of its character ?
How gratifying the effect, of present
ing to the world the sublime specta
cle of a republic of more than twelve
millions of happy people, in the fifty
fourth year of her existence, after
having passed through two protract
ed wurs; the ooe lgr the acquisition,
and the other for the maintenance of j
liberty—free from debt, artd with all
her immense resources unfettered!
What a salutary influence would not
such an exhibition exercise upon the
cause of liberal principles and free
Government throughout the world?
Would we not ourselves find, in its
effect, an additional guarantee, that
our political institutions will be trns
rnittcif to the most remote posterity,
without decay ? A course of policy
destined to witness events like these,
cannot be benefitted by a legislation
which tolerates a scramble for ap
propriations that have no relation to
any general system of improvement,
and whose good effects must, of ne
cessity, he very limited. In the best
view of these appropriations, the a
liuse to which they lead, far exceed
the good which they are capable of
promoting. They may be resorted
to as artful expedients, to shift upon
the Government the losses of unsuc
cessful private speculation, and thus
by ministering to personal ambition
and self aggrandizement, tend to
saji the foundations of public virtue,
and taint the administration of the
Government with a demoralizing in
fluence.
In the other view of the subject,
and the only remaining one, which it
is my intention ro present at this
time, it is involved tho expediency
of embarking in a system of internal
inprovements, without a previous a
mendment of the Constitution, ex
plaining and defining the precise pow
ers ot the Federal Government over
it: assuming the right to appropri
ate money, to aid in the construction
of national works, to he warranted by
the cotemporaneous &. continued cx
position'ofthe Constitution,its insuffi
ciency for the successful prosecution
of them, must he admitted by ail can
did minds. If we look to define the
extent of the right, that will be found
so valiant, and embracing so much
that has been overruled, as to involve
tho whole subject in great uncertain
ty’, and to render the execution of
our respective duties in relation to it,
replete with difficulty and embarras
ment. It is in regard to such works, •
and the acquisition of additional ter
ritory, that the practice obtained its ,
firs t footing. In most, if not all o
thor disputed, questions of appropria- j
tion, the construction of the Consti- j
tution may be regarded as unsettled, i
if the Iglit to apply money, in the e- ,
“"HHh!/ cases > placed on the i
has been one of much,
and I may add, itainful reflection to
me. It has bearings that are iveH
calculated to exert a powerful influ
ence upon our hitherto prosperous
system of Government, and which,
on some accounts, nicy even excite
despondency in the breast of an A
mericun citizen. I will not detain
you with professions of zeal in the
cause of internal improvements. If
to be their friend is a virtue which
deserves commendation, our country
is blessed with an abundance of it;
for I do not suppose there is an intel
ligent citizen who does not wish to
see them flourish. But though all
are their friend, hut few, I trust, are
unmindful of the means by which
they should be promoted: none cer
tainly are so degenerate as to desire
their success at the cost of that sac
red instrument, with the preserva
tion of which is indissolubly bound
our country’s hopes. If different
impressions are entertained in any
quarter; if it is expected that the
People of this country, reckless of
their constitutional obligations, will
prefer their local interest of the prin
ciples of the Union, such expecta
tions will in the end be disappointed;
or, if it be not so, then, indeed, has
the world but little to hope from the
example of free government. When
an honest observance of constitu
tional compacts cannot be obtained
; from communities like ours, it need
not be anticipated elsewhere; and
the cause in which there has been so
much martyrdom, and from which so
much was expected by the friends of
liberty, may be abandoned; and the
degrading truth, that man is unfitfor
selt-government admitted. And this
will be the case if expediency be
made a rnlo of construction in inter
preting the Constitution. Power, in
no government, could desire a better
shield for the insidious advances,
which it is ever ready to make, upon
the checks that are Jesigned to res
train its action.
But 1 do not entertain such gloo
my apprehensions. If it be the wish
of the people that the construction
of roads and ctuinl? should be con
[ ducted by the Federal Government,
it is not only highly expedient, but
indispensably necessary, that a pre
vious amendment of the Constitution,
delegating the necessary power, and
defining and restricting itjs exercise
with reference to the sovereignty of
the States, should be made. ‘With
out it, nothing extensively useful can
be effected. The right to exercise
ns much jurisdiction as is necessary
to preserve the works, and to raise
funds by tho collection of tolls to
keep them in repair, cannot be dis
pensed with. The Cumberland
road should be an instructive admo
nition of the consequences of acting
without this right year after year,
contests are witnessed, growing out
of efforts to obtain the necessary ap
propriations for completing and re
paring this useful work, Whilst one
Congress may claim and exercise
the power, a succeeding one may de
ny it, and this fluctuation of opinion
must be unavoidably fatal to any
scheme, which, from its extent,
would promote the interests and ele
vate tho character of the country,
l’hcexperience ofthe past has shoivn
that the opinion of Congress is sub
ject to such fluctuations.
If it be the desire of the people
that the agency ofthe Federal Gov
ernment stmuld be confined to the
appropriation of money, in aid of
such undertakings, in virtue of State
authorities,” them the occasion! the
manner, and the extent of the ap
propriations, should be made the
subject ol'constitutional regulation.
This is the more necessary, in order
that they may be equitable among the
several states; promote harmony be
tween different sections of the Union
<fc their Representatives; preserve o
ther parts of the Constitution from be
ing underminded by the exercise of
doubtful powers, or the too great ex
tension of those which are not so;
and protect the whole subject against 1
tho deleterious influence of combina
tions to cany, by concert, measures
which, considered by themselves,
might meet but little countenance.
That constitutional adjustment of
this power, upon equitable principles,
is, in the highest degree, desirable,
can scarcely be doubted; nor can it
fail to be promoted by every sincere
friend to the success of our political
institutions. In no Government are
appeals to the source of power, in
cases ot real doubt, more suitable
than in hours. No good motive can
iMT-iIS-Mjpiod for fhc.rvoreistt nf nnivo..
by the constituted authorities, while
those, for whose benefit it is to be
exercised, have not confeyed it, and
may not be willing to confer it. It
would seem to inctliat an honest ap
plication of the conceded powers of
the General Government to tho ad
vancement ofthe common weal, pie
sent a sufficient scope to satisfy a
reasonable ambition. The difficulty
and supposed impracticability of ob
taining an amendment of the Con
stitution in this respect, is, I firmly
believe, in a great degree, unfound
ed. The time has never yet been,
when the patriotism and intelligence
of the American people were not ful
ly equal to the greatest exigency,
and it never will, when the subject
calling forth their interposition is
plainly presented to them. To do
so with questions involved in this bill,
and to urge them to an early, zeal
ous, and lull consideration of their
deep importance, is, in my estimati
on, among the highest of our duties.
A supposed connexion between ap
propriations for internal improve
ment and the system of protecting
duties, growing out of the anxieties
of those more immediately interest
ed in their success, has given rise to
suggestions which it is proper I
should notice on this occasion. My
opinion onthese subjects have never
been concealed from those who had
a right to know them. Those which
I have entertained on the latter,
have frequently placed me in opposi
tion to individuals as well as com
munities, whose claims upon my
friendship and gratitude are ofthe
strongest character; but I trust there
has been nothing in my public life
which has exposed me to the suspi
cion of being thought capable of sa
crificing my views of duty to private
considerations,- however strong they
may have been, or deep the regrets
which they are capable of exciting.
As long as the encouragement of
domestic manufactures is direct to
national ends, it shall receive from
me a temperate but steady support.
There is no necessary connexion be
tween it and the system of appropri
ations, On the contrary, it appears
to mb that the supposition of their
dependence upon each other, is cal-”
euluted to excite the prejudices of the
public against both. The former iB
sustained on the grounds of its con
sistency with the letter and spirit *’
’ the Constitution, or its origin being
traced to the assent of all the parties
to the original compact, and of its
: having the support and approbation
of a majority ofthe people; on which
i account, it is at least entitled to a
i fair experiment. The suggestion*
to which I have alluded refer to a
forced continuance of the national
debt, by means of large appropria
tions, as a substitute for the security
which the system derives froth the
principles on which it has hitherto
been sustained. Such a course
would certainly indicate either an
unreasonable distrust of the people,
or a consciousness that the system
does not possess sufficient soundness
for its support, if left to their volun
tary choice, and its own merits.
Those who suppose that any policy
thus founded can be long upheld in
this country, have looked upon its
history with eves very different from
mine. This policy, like f-.vPryvTtflVp
must abide by the will of the people*
who will not be likely to allow any
device, however specious, to conceal
its character and tendency.
In presenting these opinions I
have spoken with the freedom and
candor which I thought the occasion
for their expression called for, anil
now respectfully return the bill which
has been under consideration for
further deliberation and judgement-
ANDREW JACKSON.
May 27, 1830.
Washington City, May 31,
Saturday was the last business day
ofthe present Session of Congress ;
that is, the last d.y on which
bill could pass either House.. And
on no day, probably, in the History
of Congress, have so many questions
of interest (whoso fate was doubtful
up to the moment of their passage)
been decided. The Previous Ques
tion was freely used; and both lions*
es sat, with little interruption, from
10 o’clock in the morning ot Satur
day to four or five o’clock in the morn
ing of Sunday.
We shall, for the more direct in
formation of our readers, condense
the most important decisions in a
few paragraphs.— Mat. Intel.
1. The Colonial Trade.— The hilC
iinnn tiiini in'l)ia£i_whj.- h * i *
House of Representatives on Thurs
day passed the Senate by a large
majority, and has been approved
and signed by the President of the
United States, and become a law.
2. Duty on Molasses. —The bill to
reduce the Duty on Molasses, and
to allow a drawback on spirits, w hich
passed the House ofßepresentatives
some days ago, passed the Senate
by a vote of 30 to 8, has received
the signature of the President, and
become a law.
3. Duty on Salt —The bill to re
duce the duty on Salt in like manner
has become a law’, having passed the
Senate by a vote of 24 to 15.
4. Solicitor of the Treasury The’
bill which originated in the Senate to
establish the office of Solicitor oftho
Treasury, passed the H. of Repre
sentatives, and has become a law,
5. The Cumberland Road., —The
bill which provides for the contiua
tion ofthe Cumberland Road, and
of Surveys for objects of Internal
Improvement, passed the House of
Representatives. An amendment
was made there, striking out the
appropriation for continuing the
Road trom St. Louis to Jefferson
City, on the ground that that was a
road ofthe description upon” which
the President of the United States
recently put his veto.
6. Rivers and Harbors—' The bill’
embracing a number of provisions
tor hgnt-houseß, buoys, piers, and
improvement of harbors, and cm
bracing also an appropriation of-40,.
GUO dollars for deepening Rack creek
(at the head of Chesapeake Bay, &
forming the mouth of the Chesapeake
and Delaware Canal) which was’
contested in vain, and some smaller
items of like character, passed both
Houses. * ,
7- Louisville and Portland Canal.
—The bill authorizing ao additional
Subscription to the Stock', of the
Louisville &, Portland Canal, which
passed the Senate some time ago,
passed the House of Representative*
by a vote of 79 to 35. ‘
8. Frederick and Rockville Road,
—jTho bill authorizing a subscrie
lign to the &tock of the Washington