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the times.
The union of ihe states and the sovereignty of the states
COLUMBUS, JULY 29, 16
FOR GOVERNOR,
Charles j. McDonald.
GEORGIA —A NATIONAL BANK.
In a hasty article last week in reference to
& remark of the lion. Mr. Alford that the
people of Georgia sent him to Congress to
make a Bank, we submitted some facts con
nected with the events of the last election in
this State, authorizing the belief that a major
ity of the people were opposed to the estab
lishment of a Bank of the United States—or,
at any rate, that the contest was not so con
ducted in Georgia as to settle that question.
The Columbus Enquirer of yesterday, “in a
prosy and digressive article of nearly three
columns in length, ostensibly devoted” to a
consideration and refutation of the position as
sumed by us lastw’eek, and just recapitulated,
lias emitted a copious shower of w ords, ac
companied with some thunder and lightning.
Having neither time nor space to-day to ex
amine the article of the Enquirer in detail —
nor to enumerate the various inconsistencies
and contradictions into which the writer has
been indiscreetly betrayed by his hot haste
and temper , we shall reserve all that portion
of it, having reference to our declaration of
the “two points on which the Whig party of
Georgia was unanimous,” as also that portion
relating to the action of the last Legislature
on the subject of a National Bank —for con
sideration and examination in our next num
ber.
We cannot, however, omit to exhibit to-day
(limited and preoccupied as our time is,) one
of the most glaring and extraordinary of the
inco'nsistencies and contradictions which char
acterize the leading editorial in the Enquirer
o/ yesterday. It is there stated that the or
gana of Mr. Van thiren attempted to “narrow
tha controversy to the single and distinct
question of Blink *r No Bank “but that it
vwts resiotsd by the State Rights presses on
the ground that this was only a single ques
tion among the .many that came ilp before the
people lor their decision.” “There were oth
er and more important matters to be accom
plished than even the establishment of a com
petent fiscal agent for the government A sys
tem of policy of which the Sub-Treasury was
only an atom, was to be overturned.” This
extract alone is sufficient, we think, to estab
lish the correctness of our position that the
contest w r as uot so conducted in Georgia as to
settle the"question of Bank or no Bank. Does
not the Enquirer so say in distinct terms, else
we do not understand the meaning of lan
guage 1 The State Rights presses resisted
the question of Bank or no Bank. “ There
were more important matters to be accom
plished. 4 ’ The abandonment of the Sub-
Treasury, and of course the establishment of
a Bank, were only “an atom” in the general
conflagration which was to consume the last
Administration. What interpretation will
this bear—what other can it bear, than that
this question of Bank occupied so subordinate
a position in the contest as really to be lost
sight of, and of course to have exercised no
distinct and perceptible influence in the general
result ? This is precisely what we asserted,
nothing mtire, and that Mr. Alford stated the
case too strongly, when he said his constitu
ents sent him to Congress to make a Bank.—
We are obliged to the Enquirer for its con
current testimony on this point.
As to the contradiction of the Enquirer.
In a subsequent part of the same article the
preamble of Mr. Sinead is quoted, and a por
tion of it reads thus—-
In the great political contest through which
we have just passed, the important question at
issue before the people, was Bank, or Sub-
Treasury. This issue was forced upon them
by the advocates of the Sub- 7 reasury law , and
being compelled to choose between the two, they
have , by their voice at the ballot-box, decided in
favor of the first, and against the latter.
To this preamble what says the Enquirer!
“This alone (the preamble)is sufficient to settle
all cavil as to to tha issue made before the peo
ple inthelast campaign.” Why the Enquir
er has just said that the Bank question was
altogether a subordinate one in the contest—
a mere atom —a perfect shadow in comparison
with the other incidents of the campaign—
that the State Rights presses resisted the is
sue of Bank or no Bank—and scarcely are
the words uttered before we find it adopting
unreservedly the directly opposite statements
ofthe lion. Senator from Talbot. Are not these
plain and clumsy contradictions sufficient to
fortify our position—and in fact does not this
disagreement among the Whigs themselves
as to the important matters in issue, show
clearly that our statement as to the point
or points which were settled by the result is
not far wrong ?
We asked last week of the Whigs them
selves if the question presented was Bank or
no Bar k. The Enquirer says that that issue
was resisted as an immaterial matter—a mere
atom in the general order of operations! We
asked if it were among the principal questions
agitated in that controversy by the advocates
of Gen. Harrison. The Enquirer answers
more important matters engrossed the atten
tion of the Whigs! In reply to our enquiry
whether the Enquirer itself said one word
in favor of a Bank—evinced the slightest par
tii-1 ty tor such an institution (even as an imma
terial item in the account) what says it— not
one word. What answer does it give to our
enquiry whether the prominent Wliig Jour
nals ot the State said any thing respecting a
Bank previous to the election— none. What
is said by the Enquirer in reference to our
interrogatory whether the Whigs in inveigh
ing against the financial policy of Mr. Van
Buren proposed a Bank as the only, or even
as the proper substitute for the Sub-Treasury?
Absolutely not one word! We asked if Messrs
Foster, Nesbit, Merriwether and King were
not anti bank men as proved by their declara
tions and votes, and whether they or either of
them had retracted their former opinions—
What says the Enquirer in reply — not one
syllable! What is the response of the En
quirer to the question whether any one was
authorised to declare for Messrs. Alford, Daw
son, Gamble and Warren, or whether any did
so declare previous to the first Monday in last
October that they, or either of them, were
friendly to the establishment of a National
Bank? the silence of the grave! What says
the Enquirer of the strange medley in Mus
cogee county —of the peculiar and directly
opposite views of the various persons here
presented for the suffrages of the people! for
aught that appears in the Enquirer it never ob
served that portion of our article! What ex
planation does it give of the usual silence
of the only uncompromising and avowed bank
man, so far as we recollect, in this section of
the Si ate, cn the subject of Bank or no Bank?
Not the slightest —although we doubt not that
the writer of the article in the Enquirer un
derstands most intimately the course and views
of the Bank man in question during the pen
dency of the contest. In fine, what facts
stated by us are controverted by the Enquirer
excepting the action of the Legislature, and
our statement in the outset of the issue be
tween the parties ? Not one material proof—
such as would be satisfactory in the settle
ment of a question of the character under
consideration, is even alluded to —much less
set aside ? Aud yet the article in the Enqui
rer talks of “false” premises and “false” con
clusions^—and that “there is not one word of
tru-h” in the whole of our article- Whether
true or false we have at least shown that the
Enquirer has not answered one—not even one
—of the substantial and appropriate reasons
given by us which induced the conclusion on
our part that the Bank question was not de
termined in Georgia by the result of the late
election.
As to the spirit evinced by the writer of the
article in the Enquirer we shall have more
to say in our next paper. We have not yet
become so convinced of the weakness of our
side, and our inability to reply to arguments
in a fair and manly style, as to resort to per
sonal obloquy, the last and shameful refuge o’
defeated argument, to fight the battles We are
unable to sustain ; nor shad we employ lan
guage which may offend the ddicacy of the
Enquirer, and rouse ths tender sympathies of
its friends.
If the welfare of the country required
a revolutioti in the Administration, the pro
cedure should have been vndieated upon
honorable principles. Justice and integrity
should maikthe triumphant steps ofthe Gov
ernment, Mildness and impartiality should
proclaim the restoration of public freedom.—
But inflated writh vanity, and moved by the
levity of youth, the Enquirer long since threw
oft’ all restraint, and, with a zeal allied to
madness, manifested a total disregard of the
principles it professed, and of the means by
which its objects were attained. With as
tonishment it was observed that no man op
posed to its doctrines, however virtuous, how
ever unspotted his life or his fame, could es
cape its general, undiscriminating invectives,
or a\oid the most undistinguished obloquy.—
That unfavorable impressions have not been
produced by this systematized abuse, it would
be useless to deny. Accusations, attended
with bitter and rancorous invectives, have
been circulated through the country until
many of them by constant repetition have
passed for truths. As in the natural world
the hardest bodies wear away by constant col
lision, so in the moral the purest character
maybe ruined by bold and unceasing calum
nies. Upon what principles the Enquirer
means to justify its departures from rectitude
of thought and conduct remains to be ex
plained, unless indeed, it intends to profit
by the confusion it creates, and will lead
into error when it Can no longer control.—
Surely the Enquirer cannot be so far blinded
by party madness as to believe that every man
who differs from it in opinion is either its per
sonal foe, or an enemy to the government
under which we live* If it does it should at
least have the c.mdor to avow it. If not, it
should expel the poisonous ideas inlused into
its bosom—view with sorrow the evils it. lias
produced—and cease to arraign the integrity
of those who may differ from it in opinion.
From the Columbus Enquirer, September 16, 1840.
“Vermont steadfast and consistent.”
“Fir?/ Blast of the Hurricane.”
“The N. Y. American| says the first blast
of the hurricane from the mountains of New
Englaud, has come. Vermont, from her green
hills and smiling valleys, has sent it forth, and
it will go on gathering strength, till it shall
purify our whole political atmosphere . Ver
mont has made a clean sweep. We do. not
think it important to give returns in detail; the
mighty result is sufficient —all sufficient.”
So much for the Columbus Enquirer and
the Whig party of Vermont on the 16th of
September, 1810. On the 12th of July, 1841,
the “Watchman and State Journal,” the lead
ing Whig press in Vermont and published at
the Capitol of the State, in an article headed,
•‘on with your armor whigs,” uses the fol
lowing language :
44 A revolution in the policy of the Gov
ernment was our aim last year; it must be our
steady aim to persevere until the work is per
fected. With the single exception that the
man of our hearts is removed by the fiat of
God, all else presents now the same motives
for action that existed at the last contest.—
The same principles, the same great interests
the same measures are at stake; and by all
these let us be nerved to do our duty manful
ly.
This is emphaticatly true as it respects Ver
mont Look at the policy ofthe two parties, as
declared in respective State conventions. On
the one hand the Whigs have reaffirmed the
great doctrine for which they so jealously con
tended in 1810; for Retrenchment and Reform
m the National Government; against the Sub
treasury : fora sound and safe National Cur
rency ;for the Tariff', and for protection to Ag
riculture, Manufactures, and all branches of
Domestic Industry, by the means of discrimi
rutting duties; for a distribution of the pro
ceeds of the public lands among the states—
and, in fine, for the present National Adminis
tration, so far as it is faithful to the people and
aims to accomplish the great ends which the
people of Vermont had in view in elevating it
to power. On the other hand, we find the lo
cos, as if bent upon defying and insulting the
People and own condemnation,
boldly resolving in favor of the condemned
sub-treasury; against all other m>des of col
lecting the revenue and regulating the curren
cy of the country ; against Protection; against
giving to the states their own patrimony, the
public lands ; even against the execution of
the act of their own Congress, giving to the
states the surplus revenue!”
And are tha “great doctrines” which the
W higs ot Vermont “ have re-affirmed,” and
o. which they sj zealously contended in
1840,” as here avowed by their leading organ,
such an, in the opinion of the Enquirer, will
‘‘ purify our whole political atmosphere ?”
Strange as it may seem, the Enquirer so said
on the 10th September, 1840.
The Watchman and Journal of the same
date, speaking of Mr. Charles Paine, the Whig
candidate for Governor in that State, and of
the efforts made by some of the Abolitionists
to run an independent candidate, thus quiets
their {apprehensions respecting the orthodoxy
of Mr. Paine on the subject of slavery :
44 The only definite objection is, that the
candtdate of the Whig Convention canuot
consistently be sustained by the abolitionists
—meaning by tlie term, anti-slavery men,
exclusive of the third party men* Whynotf
Not a solitary reason is given, and we were
about to aver that none can be given, unless
it is that Charles Paine's fat her is acoloniza
tionist. It it be that, we must admit it in all
the Ibrce to which it is entitled. But as to the
son, roe do know, not by rumor or indefinable
hear say evidence , but from our own personal
knowledge, that his opinions as to the enormity
of slavery, the powers of Congress over slavery
in the District and Territories, and the duty of
immediate emancipation, are not. only now, but
have been,fully in accordance with the opinions
ofthe mass of the abolitionists of the state; and
injustice to him, we add\ that the opinions were
not formed with any reference to the position in
which he now stands : they were form’d and ex
pressed long ago. This we know; and how,
then, it is inconsistent for anti-slavery men to
support him; or how, indeed,it is possible for
them to oppose him, without absolute injury
to their own cause,or without at once raising
the standard of a third party and abandoning
the political principles which they have here
tofore professed,—is entirely beyond our ken.
It is a mailer lor the deliberaie judgment ol
Whig abolitionists; and with them we leave
it.
If this be the political purification which
the Enquirer covets, it will be purification
with a vengeance—a “mighty result,” 44 the
first blast of the hurricane,” which 44 will go
on gathering strength,” until it becomes a
fountain of evil from which flow a thousand
streams to pervade and poison the whole coun
try.
MINISTER TO ENGLAND.
It has been announced that Gov. Edward
Everett, of Massachusetts, who is now in
Europe, has been nominated to the Senate by
the President, to succeed Mr. Stevenson, as
Minister to England. This selection, as the
subjoined article from the Richmond Enquirer
of the 20lh inst. intimates, is a pretty clear in
dication of the influence of Mr. Webster in
the councils of the Executive. Mr. Everett
commenced his career as an Unitarian Cler
gyman—was subsequently one of the Profes
sors in Harvard University, tlien member of
Congress, from which he was translated to the
Gubernatorial Chair of Massachusetts —and
in all these positions he has maintained the
reputation of -a consistent and unwavering
Federalist. When a candidate for Governor
of Massachusetts, a few years since, his opin
ions on tlte subject of slavery were asked,
and, in his published answer, Mr. Everett
maintained the right and the duty of Congress
to receive Abolition memorials; the right, and
we think the duty of Congress to abolish sla
very in the District of Columbia ; besides
several other propositions on this subject
equally revolting and objectionable. Although
we have not ths letter to refer to, we recollect
well, that its views relative to the delicate and
important question ofj slavery were as strong
and decided, as those at any time urged by
any public man in this country who did not
believe in the propriety of absolute, uncondi
tional and unlimited emancipation. Cannot
the Columbus Enquirer find this letter among
its numerous files, and show to its friends the
peculiar views ofthe gentleman selected by a
Whig Executive to represent tl e interests of
this country at the most important court in
Europe ? And what interests will, officially
and unofficially, require the attention, at the
present moment, of the American Minister in
England ? And is it good policy, or rather is
it not suicidal policy, to employ an agent to
execute a particular duty whose preposses
sions are adverse to the correctness of the
objects you wish to attain ? Will he be as
likely to urge those objects with the same
warmth—the same zeal—the same ability—
or perhaps we should say, with the same tact,
as in the case of his own thorough conviction
of their correctness ? We asked what inter
ests, officially and unofficially , would at. this
moment engross the attention and enlist the
talents of an American Minister in England l
Officially, independent of the North Eastern
Boundary and the McLeod case, and perhaps
in a public point of view more important than
either of them—are the cases of vessels
containing slaves, bound from one port to an
other in the United States, wrecked oil the
British West India Islands, and these slaves
forcibly taken from their owners and set free
by order of the British Government—and also
the numerous and recent cases of search and
detention, of American vessels engaged in
lawful commerce on the coast of Africa, by
British armed cruizers. According to some
remarks made recently in Congress by Mr.
Cushing, a friend ofthe present Administra
tion, the conduct of England in this latti r mat
ter has been most unwarrantable and unjusti
liable, besides inflicting severe injuries on our
commerce in that quarter of the world. How
will Mr. Everett vindicate the dignity of his
country and the rights of his countrymen,
where slaves are concerned, with his strong
anti-6lavery predilections ? Is he, indeed, a
fit representative for those who are principally
affected by the outrages of England—a suita
ble exponent ol'their feelings and wishes ?
There are, besides, unofficial interests, if
we may so express them, which may be affec
ted by the American Minister in England.—
Abolition is rife in Great Britain, and no incon
siderable portion ofthe excitement engendered
m this country on the subject has been in
duced from that source ; and would not an in
telligent citizen of this republic, holding high
official station, with correct views on this sub
ject, be able to moderate this excitement, al
lay much of the angry feeling, and produce a
decidedly better temper and feeling in refer
ence to our domestic institutions, at least
among honorable and intelligent men, by can
did representations of the actual condition of
slavery in the United States, and the manner
in which it is interwoven in our Institutions,
and the impossibility of its extinction? Or
if he could not accomplish all this, how will
stand the matter with a minister who has no
particular wish to correct public opinion in
England on the subject, who, in fact, is known
to entertain opinions almost as strong, and tins
individual too, the Accredited representative
of his country at an important court ?
Since the Columbus Enquirer has offered
the “Olive Branch,” and expresses so much
surprise at its non-acceptance,’ we ask it in
all candor if it desire our acquiescence in
appointments of this stamp ? And farther,
how long will it keep its own party m the
traces-, if the Executive continue his promotion
of Federalists and Abolitionists —we mean in
the sense in which the latter term has been
used by the whole South ?
Important Diplomatic Appointments.—
We learn, from Washington, on undoubted
authority, that the following nominations have
been made to the Senate by the President of
the United Slates :
Hon Edward Everett* of Massachusetts,
Minister to England.
Col G. S. Todd, of Kentucky, Minister to
Russia.
Hon. Daniel Jenifep., of Maryland, Min
ister to Austria.—Baltimore Patriot of Satur
day.
Mr. Webster’s hand is seen in Mr. Ever
ett’s appointment. We have some doubts,
whether, in some important question affect
ting the South he will be found the best ap
pointment for the South.
(We rejoice* on Mr. Rives’s account) that
be has been 'spared the disgrace of taking
office to England. If he will now throw away
his flimsy casuists’ scheme of establishing
i great National Bank through the paltry
District of Columbia—cease concocting mis
erable compromises) which are only frauds
upon the Constitution, and stand up for tile
simple, unadultered, unsophisticated principles
of Virginia, we w’ould even thank him. But
we confess we have no such hopes.
Sell revocare{'ra i -tim,si!perasquecvaderc ad auras.
Hoc opus, hie labor est !
It is almost inp'ossiblefora man, so devour
ed by passion as Mr. Rives is, to exert this
species of moral courage. We must look to
another man who has been aeting with the
Whigs, to present such a splended example
to the Monticello District.]
THE LAS 1’ LEGISLATURE —ITS ACTS.
We adverted briefly last week to two of
the prominent, perhaps the most prominent
acts of the last Legislature —the Tax lasv and
the bill repealing the Charter of the Central
Bank—and promised to examine them more
minutely in our paper of to-day; as also the
particular action of the Legislature in the va
rious stages of their consideration and final
adoption. Independently of the harsh and
oppressive provisions of these laws, & their in
jurious influence upon public and individual in
terests, there are other motives altogether
proper which at least authorise, if they do not
demand a rigid and impartial scrutiny into the
effect and tendency of these measures, and the
patriotic professions and declarations of those
by whom they were projected and finally en
acted. Professing to be “in iavor ot a more
careful economy of the financial resources
and credit of our own State, to repair dec in
ing confidence at home aud abroad, and to
save her from the curse of public debt, and
HER PEOPLE FROM BURDENSOME TAXATION”—
and advocating also “a suspension lor the
present of her works of Internal Improvement
rather than urge them forward at such a cost”
“-(see the circular of the members elect from
Muscogee county, dated Sept. 16, 1840, and
published in the Columbus Enquirer of the
26d of the same month.) it is our privilege, if
notour duty, to place the matter fairly before
the Public that its merits may be examined,
and the purposes of ..justice be accomplished.
If the majority in the last legislature have
sustained these pernicious and unpopular mea
sures against all the efforts of their opponents
—if, without the discernment necessary to
detect the mischievous tendency of these mea
sures, &the evils that will infallibly result from
them—if, with criminal irresolution, they have
suffered the general welfare to be Undermined
and jeoparded by local prejudices or political
partialities—or if, heedless of the public good,
and yielding to improper dispositions and sub
ordinate interests* they have embarked the
country in schemes which will generate the
most, inveterate evils, they ought not to be
shielded from the disapprobation of the peo
ple, and deserve not the forbearance of those
who undertake to animadvert upon the present
alarming posture of our public, affairs. We
all recollect the excitement and the bitterness
of the last political contest; the zeal and
even ferocity with which it was conducted ;
the numerous and solemn pledges which were
made; the implacable hostility exhibited to
wards the Democracy, and the unmeasured
denunciations with which they were assailed,
branding them with every odious epithet that
ingenuity could devise ; the repeated promises
not to dispose of the honors ami offices of the
countryfor their ownprofit atul aggrandizement;
and the unscrupulous and vindictive persecu.
tionof every individual opposed to their suc
cess, no matter how low or elevated Ins sta
tion, from the youthful politician just stript ol
his swaddling clothes, to the revolutionary
veteran, oppressed by the withering hand ol
time, who had encountered the hardships of
war, and assisted in establishing the freedom
of the country—All recollect the severity of
these invectives, and the boldness with which
they were proclaimed—and surely, surely, we
have a right, it is our imperative duty, to see
how far we were obnoxious to these aniinad*
versions, which were pressed in a spirit of
persecution that dishonored the country and
its cause—prostrated every rule of right—
bid defiance to the operations of re ison and
reflection—and marched with hardihood over
the barriers which private honor and political
rectitude oppose to the accomplishment of
given purposes. In the exercise of this right
we shall be governed by fair and manly prin
ciples, not prostituting the welfare of the
State to the vile purposes of personal envy,
nor blending the great interests of the Nation
with the meaner objects of private resent
ment-
Willi these preliminary observations, it is
time to proceed to the examination of the im
portant measures of the last Legislature ; the
salutary principles they contain, and the pre
tended Lenefits they confer; and by compar -
son test the odiousness of our measures, and
see how far these will realize the extravagant
expectations presented to the people. The
people in general, and especially those who
have been held up to the World in false and
odious colors, have a right to demand a deci
sion on this subject from unfettered and im
partial public opinion.
No delegated power is more delicate, or
ought to be exercised with more scrupulous
forbearance than that conferring authority to
impose taxes—to take a portion of a man’s
daily earnings for purposes of public and rigid
necessity. This power of taxation is one of
the highest attributes of sovereignty, and is
particularly special and limited in its charac
ter. It has been yielded by the people to
agents selected by them, and immediately re
sponsible to them, with the positive agree
ment and limitation that not one cent is to be
extracted beyond what is absolutely required
to defray the unavoidable expenses of a simple
and frugal government, it was this question
of taxation wiiich, more than any ether
single measure of the British Ofbwir, led to
the separation of these Colonies from the mo
ther country—not for any exhorbitant taxes
which had actually been levied and were at
tempted to be collected, but for the assertion
by England of the principle of the power of
Part .ment tb levy and collect taxes in these
colonies, whose inhabitants had no voice in the
selection of that Parliament, and could in no
wise make it accountable for the abuse of
that power This sacred principle is fully
recognized and properly guarded in that in
strument which is the bond and cement of this
Union—as all bills providing means or expen
ding them, must originate in that branch of
Congress composed of Representatives chosen
directly by the people, for a short period, and
immediately responsible to them. As the !
people en-maese could not ascertain with any 1
approach to accuracy the amount adequate to
meet the public wants, nor judiciously select ,
the objects of appropriation, and the sum ap*
plicable to each, it was necessary to delegate
this power of taxation—but at the same time
to confer it upon agents -as little removed from
the people themselves as was consistent with
the objects of their appointuient. This brief
recapitulation is designed to show the sacred
ness of this branch of delegated power; the
numerous guards adopted to prevent its abuse;
and tht; vast caution and circumspection pro
per to be observed in its administration. All
are sensible of the truth of these observations,
as not a year rolls round——not an election is
held, when premises are not made to exercise
■ retrench mentj and to relieve the people from
burdensome taxation. That they were put
forth throughout this Country and State at the
1 last election, with more than usual flourish*
1 is familiar to all conversant with the incidents
‘ of that election ; and that, in this county, the
j professed reformers made it one of the princi
'; ted by the printed circular to which we have
referred in the commencement of this article.
Who would have supposed —who could have
- believed after the voluntary and repeated
! pledges made of retrenchment and economy,
! j that they would have been so totally disregard
ed ; and that, in a season of great pecuniary
’ldifficulty; (greater perhaps Ilian has ever
; been experienced in Georgia,) of unexampled
5 scarcity of money ; and with the currency in
the most disordered condition —the majority
5 in the legislature, that majority entrusted
} with power in consequence of its numerous
and apparently sincere pledges, and with the
’ hope that such burning and overwhelming zeal
L for the happiness of the people might perhaps
discover and adopt some new and magic ex
-1 pedient to relieve the existing embarrassments
and lessen taxation, would have imposed bur
-3 dens to which the State his not been subject
* ed since the year 1*304, when Georgia ein •
3 braced only a narrow strip of territory west
’ and south of the Savannah river l What
‘ possible reason can be assigned for tins strange,
’ this unexampled procedure? Did the proper,
the legitimate, the indispensable expenditures
of the State require this ext raordinary increase
3 of taxation? Did the State own no stock in
private Banks which could be appropriated to
1 public uses? Had the Central Bank noassets
’ to meet current expenditures ?
‘ But as it is proper to reserve our numerous
comments on this important subject f>r f :tu e
’ numbers of our paper, and when we are in
’ possession of the reasons which influenced
5 the majority in the Legislature to adopt so
3 pernicious a system of taxation, let us in con
-3 elusion see how the vote stood on this mon
strous proposition to increase the taxes 100.
3 per ecu’. —-whose pledges were redeemed—
-1 who, in fact, were the sincere friends of the
3 people ?
On the lGth of December, 1840, the House
of Representatives took up the report ot the
Committee of tiie Whole on the substitute
reported by the committee on Finance tor the
bill to impose a tax for the political year 1841,
which substitute we understand to be the
present odious tax act. Mr. Roberts (a Dem
ocrat,) introduced a substitute for the substi
tute of the Committee on Finance, which we
understand to be the revival ot the tax law
of 1838. Upon the motion to receive the sub
stitute of Mr. Roberts, the yeas were 81,
nays 94.
Among the yeas we find the names of 15
Whigs, including Mr. Chipley of Muscogee.
Among tiie nays are the names of nine Dem
ocrats. With these exceptions the Democrats
voted for the substitute ot Mr. Roberts, and
the Whigs for the present tax law.
The report of the Committee being amen
ded and agreed to, the Bill (the present tax
act,) was read the third time and lost —yeas
81—-nays 103. Among the yeas are the names
of seven Democrats. Among the nays are j
twenty-eight Whigs, including Mr. Chipley,;
of Muscogee. With these exceptions, the
Whigs voted for the present law, and the i
Democrats against ii.
On the 17th December, Mr. Chappell
(Whig,) moved to reconsider so much of the j
Journal as relates to the rejection of the Bill
imposing a tax for 1841. The House agreed 1
to reconsider, although the yeas and nays it
called, are not recorded iu the Journal.
On the same day, according to the Journal,
•‘on motion, the order was suspended, when
the House took up and passed the reconsid
ered Bill, to raise a tax for the support of Gov
ernment for the year 1841, and from thence }
afterwards .” Here again, the yeas and nays
if called, do not appear in the Journal.
According to the Senate Journal, on tiie
22dof December, the Senate took up the Bill
from the House to raise a tax for 1841. On
the passage of the Bill, the yeas and nays
were recorded, and stand yeas 30, nays 30, the
President voting in the affirmative, the Bill
was passed. Among the yeas are the names
of four Democrats ; among the nays the
names of eight Whigs. With these excep
tions, the Whigs voted for the Bill, and the
Democrats against it.
Having shown how the vote stood in the
Legislature on the passage of the present tax
law, which party supported, and which op
posed its passage, we wait ‘thedevelonements’
of the Enquirer, and “ the curious facts con
nected with this matter” some of which, if we
are not misinformed, are indeed curious en
ough.
By the way, will not Dr. Clnpley who, it
appears from the Journal of the House, voted
against the tax law, and whose finger is to be
seen, we think, in the Enquirer of yeslcrday,
inform us how his name is found in opposition
to the present tax law, if it be indeed just, and
the large sum to be raised under it, is abso
lutely requited for public purposed ? The
public would be glad to hear also why upon
the reconsideration and final passage of so
important a Bill the yeas and nays were not
called, or if called, not taken ; and these we
opine will be “ the curious facts connected
with this matter”—some of which as we
have just observed will*, perhaps , turn out to
be curious indeed.
UNITED STATES Ba&K.
Tiie Augusta Constitutionalist of the 20th
inst. thus exposes the evasion by which it is
contemplated to reconcile the plans of Mr.
Clay and Mr. Rives, and secure for a tlie com
promise the approval of the Executive. Well
may Mr Clay assent to the arrangement, when
Congress Can overrule the dissent of the
States. It is at last but the bill of Mr. Clay,
“with an immaterial amendment-” Although
we believe the plan of Mr. Clay to be equally
constitutional With the “Fiscal Agent” pro
posed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and
advocated by Mr. Rives, yet we prefer the
latter for the reason that it pays seeming
deference to therigh’s of the States, and will
soon perish from its absolute inefficiency.
In one of the Washington letters; we be
lieve from the correspondent of the Baltimore
Patriot, itisstat"d, that “a plan of cqmpromise
is talked of, which, it is believed, will recon
cile all difference, and bring all the friends of
the administration in both houses to union.
It is in brief; to authorise the Central Bank
here to establish branches In the different states,
with their assent; but to reserve expressly to
Congress the.power to establish branches when
ever and wherever they rtiay becoihe necessary And
proper .” In our opinion this would be a curi
ous compromise. Brioches cannot be estab
lished in the state but with their consent; and
Congress can establish branches wherever it
pleases, whenever they become necessary and
properl! So that if Georgia refuses its as-
I sent to the establishment of a branch within
its borders, Congress will have the power, if
found necessary and proper, notwithstanding
the refusal of its assent, to establish a branch.
Would this hot be a mockery of a compromise!
But the principle Os the assumption of a power;
when deemed necessary and proper; it is so
monstrous, so destructive of the plain letter
and spirit of the constitution, that every Amer
ican should condemn it as the most dangerous
that has ever been started. And this princi
ple is nbw maintained by Mr. Clay and his
friends ; was proclaimed by Mr. Preston ; and
is to govern the pa:t.y in power in carrying
through all measures for which there is no
express authority in the constitution.
From the Ch nlesion Mercury.
IMPORTANT AND CHEERING FROM
WASHINGTON.
July 19
The interest of the Session here is done.—
It is ascertained that Mr. Clay’s Bank Bill
cannot pass the Senate—nor can the Distri
bution bill pass that body. To-day, the Loan
Bill passed by a strict party vote. The Bank
bill was laid on the table, and this bill taken
up in the Senate, to give the Whigs an oppor
tunity of having the screws put to Mr. Mer
rick, by letters and remonstrances from the
party in Maryland ; but it is understood that
Mr. Merrick says lie dees not intend to sub
mit to this species of driving ; and if he did,
it is supposed that others would be found who
w-ould aid to kill Clay’s Bank. Webster is
with the President, and it is not intended that
he shall veto any thing. The currency com
mittee in the House, have not reported their
scheme of a Bank, but there is no doubt it
will be substantially Mr.’Clay’s bill. The re
peal of the Independent Treasury hill, will
probably be reported in the House at the same
time the Bank bill will be reported, and there
will be a strong effort made by the Whigs to
couple the two together, in order that Tyler
in vetoing the Bank, may be embarrassed by
the responsibility of keeping the Independent
Treasury scheme in operation.
It is said to-day, that on last Saturday, Mr.
Ewing made a huge sweep of the Officers in
the Land Office ; but on remonstrance, the
President has restored them, and ‘here are
symptoms of a general dissolution of the Cab
inet Such a result would surprise nobody
here.
Wauhingtok, July 20.
In tilt? Senate, this morning', the Resolution
offered some weeks since by Mr. Buchanan,
calling for names of the persons removed
| from office since the 4th of March last, was
taken up, and Mr. Benton spoke for about an
| hour in favor of its adoption, lie traced the
system so broadiy acted on by the present
Administration for opinions sake, to the days
of Sir Robert Walpole, who had issued a Cir
cular) which had served as a model lor that of
Mr* Webster. The course now pursued, of
i removing men upon secret charges, would till
I the land with spies and informers, and make
j the public offi -es mere warehouses of calumny,
j in winch a fut ure Tory historian will find am
| pie materials for painting the characters of
I the prominent Democrats of the present day
jin the darkest colors. At the conclusion of
| the remarks, the question was taken on the
| adoption of the Resolution, and it was agreed
j to without opposition.
The Bank Bill was taken up, and Mr. Nich
olson moved to amend the bill by giving the
! power to the States to tax the branches. This
| u as supported by Messrs. Nicholson, Benton,
Clay of Alabama, and Sevier, and opposed by
Messrs Clay, of Kentucky, and Huntington,
and negatived. Ayes 21, Noes 27.
Mr. Walker then moved an amendment,
which would confine the operations of the
bank to buying and selling B.ils of Exchange
having not more than 180 days to run. This,
after considerable debate, waa negatived ; ayes
9, noes 28. The Senate then adjourned.
In the House, the bill making appropriations
for fortifications, was passed by a vote of 148
to GG—not a strict party vote. All the Ken-’
tucky Whigs voting against if, and many of
the Opposition in favor of it. The bill appro
priates upwards of two millions five hundred
thousand dollars, and with the unapplied bal
ances in the YY ar Department there are now
$4,250,000 applicable for the erection and
repair of fortifications during the present year,
an amount five times greater than the aver
age annual expenditure for the last twelve
years, thus exemplifying in a striking manner,
what has been so often maintained by Mr.
Calhoun and others, that appropriations will
always be made to the full extent of the means
of the Ire usury, and that the means form the
limit to the expenditures. The bill would
have had no chance of passing, but for the
passage of the Loan Bill, and they form the
first chapter of debt arid extravagance, or as
the moderns have it, of the economy and re
trenchment of the new Administration. The
bill contains appropriations for Charleston
Harbor, for Fort Sumter, $15,000, and for
commencing a dike to Drunken Dick shoal
for preservation of SnlMvan’s Island and site
of Fort Moultrie, SOO,OOO.
Air. YY r ise gave notice that to-morrow he
would move to take up the bill to provide a
home squadron, and the House adjourned.
A man named William Ribun was recent
ly shot by Judge Henderson, of Butler coun
ty, Georgia in self defence.
Communicali 3.
Prophecy fulfilled. —We were told i ti
ring the last year’s political canvass, by the
President and Directo-s of our Tippecanoe
Club, that if the people would elect General
Harrison, President, it would forthwith make
money plenty. Behold the fulfillment! !
Yon can now buy as much Chattahoochee Kail
Road moneyas you leant , for thirty-five cents
in the dollar.
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE CHARLES
TON COURIER.
Washington, July 21.
There is now a prospect that the debate on
the fiscal bank bill; in the Senate will soon be
brought to a close. The amendments of the
opposition Will be disposed of to-day, and the
bill, as amended, will be printed. The final
question on the passage of the bill will be ta
ken on Saturday.
Mr. Smith, of Conn., occupied the floor thd
greater part of yesterday, in opposition to a
bank, as unconstitutional and inexpedient.
Mr. Nicholson, of Tenn., offered an amend
ment asserting the fight of any States to tax
the property of the bank in the sa:i e manner,
and to the same extent that they tax their
own hanks,but was rejected—yeas 21, nays 27.
Mr. Walker offered an amendment confi.-
ning the business of the bank to buying and
selling bills df Exchange, not more than >ix
months to run. This was rejected. Ml.
Walker remarked tliat his purpose was, in of
fering Ambndments, to render the bill as
harmless as possible ; for he believed we were
to have a Bank. There was a clear majority
of five in this body that would vote for a bank,
and in the other house a much larger majority’.
Mr. Clay w&s glad to hear that there was a
majority of five here for a bank. He had not
calculated ,tjn So many
In the House, a message was received
from the President, recommending that the
act of 10th March, 1838, (commonly called
the neutrality act) which expired by limita
tion on the 10th March last, be revived or its
provisions re-enacted ; referred to the Com
mittee on Foreign Affairs.
The Fortification Bill was taken up, and,
after a short discussion, it was reported, and
finally passed, 148 to 66, in the form in which
it came from the Standing Conimi'tee. This
bill appropriates alone two millions for repairs
and armpment of foHJ.
Mr. Wise gave notice that lie would call
Up the Home Squadron Bill to-morrow.
Fortifications wore opposed in the debate
as unnecessary, and some of them useless—re
quiring a large arrny toman them—and their
being easily avoided by any enemy, or per
haps taken arid held by one. .On the other
hand, it was contended that a. Navy could not.
be maintained without fortifications; for tho
docks, arsenals; navy yards, &c , must be pro
tected by forts. The cities on the coast, and
the statibnd of oiir mercantile marine must! o
protected; because, if they were destroyed
the materials and means of maintaining a Na
vy would be destroyed.
It is not yet decided whether a bankrupt
law shall be’ agitated at this session.
The House will next take up the bill ma
king appropriations for the support of a Horne
Squadron. , . .
Among the appropriations for fortifications
are the following:
For Fcrt Sumter, Charlesion harbor, South
Carolina, fifteen thousand dollars.
For commencing dike to Drunken Dick
shoal, for preservation of Sullivan’s island,
and site of Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor;
South Carolina, thirty thousand dollars.’
T!*e Cincinnati Chronicle of the 8 ; h, eve
ning, lias the following notice of the final
ceremonies connected with the intermerjt of
President Harrison; and of the spot where
they are deposited :
“The Tomb. —The steamboat Rnrifa’V
which conveyed the hearse and committees
yesterday, arrived at North Bend about 3 P M.’
It was intended to have the services a't, the
grave strictly private. The zeal and excttS
meet of the public could nu% however, he
repressed. Three other steamboats left the
wharf at the same time, and on the ground
thousands of people from the neighboring
country had collected. All were anxous to
see the spot where the body’of their late chief
was to be laid.
The spot was most, peculiarly well seV’tod
Tt is a sort of mound, separated from the hill
liv ravines, about a hundred yards kick front
the river, and elevated above it. some fifty or
sixty feet, The river here makes a curve *
and from a great distance above and below,,
the stranger who shall pass on the stream of
the Ohio, may view in the distance the Tomb
of Hahrlsox.
The services at the grave were performed
jointly by the Rev. Dr. Wilson and the Rev.
Mr. Brooke. The body was deposited in a
vault* there to await the last trumpet call.
By Ohio’s descending vvpve.
His country’s vows shall Mess the grave,
— —And there,
Imperial Honor’s awful hand,
Shall point his lonely hed!
The Pubjjc Lanijs.—The estimatedrjuaur
tity of public land unsold and now subject to
| private entry is 138,173,441 acres.
The estimated quantity, surveyed and un
surveyed, not offered phblic safes, is 103,-
410,863 acres.
The quantity which has been uedd from the
earliest period of tle a!ck is 86,708,7215*
acres.
The amount paid therefor by thfe’puPhaser 9
has been $121,113,43* ,
The quantity granted each Slate n<s
Territory, exclusive of the If*.ls section, ha^ :
been 3,826,836 acres.
The quantity reserved from sale, exclusive
of ti,e 16th section, has been 807*989 acres.
The estimated quantity of public land to
which the Indian title has not been extinguish
ed in the States and Territories, is 735>91fv
699.
We learn, says the Washington Globe, the’
nominations of Col. Chambers as Governor of
lowa, Mr. Montgomery as Postmaster at Phil
adelphia, and Mr. Riddie Postmaster at Pitts
burg, were confirmed during tho Executive
session of the Senate to-day.
Revenue of Texas. —The amount of du
ties on merchandize, collected at the Custom
House at this port, says the Galveston Civil
lian of the 3d mst., foa the quarter ending 39th
June, 1840, was $26,712 8 7
For the quarter ending June 30,
1841, 72,834 74
$16,17187
Being on increase of almost 200 per cent.
‘Phis amount is simply for duties on goods, and
does not include any other species ot revenue
collected through the Custom House. I bis
is one of tho summer quarters, when the im
ports are small, aud a halt million of dollars
is a moderate estimate of the amount which
will be collected here the past and three suc
ceeding quarters. The amount for the whole
country must exceed a million, wdide the ap
propriations are below that sum. Ihe direct
taxes and land dues will yield, it is supposed,
an equal sum, which, being unappropriated,
will on so far towards the payment of the pub
lic debt.—N. V. Times.
Important Diplomatic Appointments.—
We lea rn (says the Baltimore Patriot of last
Saturday) from Washington, on undoubted
authority, that the billowing nominations have
been made to the Senate by the President ol
the United Statts.
Hon. Edward Everett, of Massachusetts,
Minister to England.
Col. C. S. Todd, of Kentucky, Minister to
Russia.
Hon. Daniel Jenifer, of Maryland, Minister
to Austria,