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a-iva*ce TI !,r Jailors per annum, payable in
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in >at(is, or t>,r il >!i ns, (in .tit cases) where nav
n u ■)! ..i i F jetore rue expiration of the \ear.
t , cce,v< -' d r HeM tliailtivelve inon hs
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’ X ‘ i ” ,u ll| , ti °J ,UuO o! lt *e Editor, until all
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D> EHTlstMEWTsconspicuously iioerlid .1! lie rlcf
tar per ona ‘Mains J or ,r Js, ~r less, for the first in
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uince. rii.se Sent w.tuout a specilieaiion ofihe
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oji an 1 charged accordingly.
’ c viiLV VDVKHTisrmitxTs.—For over 24 and
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over 1 _ and u u exeeedinj 24 Ir.ies, t nrty-five dol
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lars per annum.
2. At. ru eantii >u e work >1 uh!e the above prices. !
LiEoxL Anyer rijEMESrs published al the usual j
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tli g lavv.
Ai.l .3 tens rsju'atei by law, tnust be made before j
11; c > irt Id iiu J it, between the h.\i, sos 10 in the \
onruin’ ail • >.ir iu the evening—hA-e of imd m I
tin county wnere it is situate; those of i.ersorial |
property, where Hi a letters testamentary, of a Inunl I
istra'i in >r if i ir.lia nqtp were, ob allied—and are
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SiiSitit'Fs* 3 \les nn ter regul tr executions fir rhir- ‘
tv 4 iys ; un ler uurtgags ii fa. sixty days, before j
the dav of sale.
S u.-:s of ia i I tn I negroes, by Kxecutnrs, Admitiis- !
trators or GSoarJiaus. for sixty days before the day
<! sale. ‘ j.
Sai.es of personal p-operty (except Negroes) forty
days.
r\ rt i\s bv Clerks of be O'rirts ol Ordinary, upon
ao.die i'ioi lor letters of a Iniinislralion, must be pub
lished fit thirty days.
dirt n iv iiii i.i die i*i) i so” dismission, by Fx c
u ors. Vla nimators or Li.lndians u iutlily for six
months.
Orders of Uo tr'sof drdinarv. with a
copy >f tbs bond or agreement) to make titles to
I ml. ulil it !i • p ib'ished three uinuths.
N irtcas bv Fxecotors, ULni'iiu i-.i-or;* or‘iiiari'inns,
of a rdi • l'iori to the Court of l *r linaty for leave to
sell the lan I or negroes of an esfite. f .nr months.
N’ tices bv 15xecutors or Admi listraiors to the
debt irs ant creditors of an estate, fir .ix weeks.
Sit r-Rim’. Clerks of Court file, will be allowed the
usual ‘eduction.
ET I .offers on business, must be post paid, to ;
*h(?tn to attention.
M.i.. olidri I NO’s. /U limi’ SS.
TO Ills COM iTITUENTS.
I beir leavi, —as weii in xecutfon of ihtise
deferred oflirts ol’ private Irnndslup, which,
amid ‘lie cares of the busiest Cong-ess of otir
time, it has been uhjhds tile (or me In discir-rge
by individual letter, ns in order to rentier to
all an account of my stewardship thus far as
yunr representative,—to address you in this
form, on the oreat public qu stains which now
occupy the thoughts of die people of ti.e U
Sta les.
A lew words only, beforehand, in a personal
relation.
It has been my anxious endeavor, at the late
important session, so to act in all things as to
guard your honor and interests, and those ol
our great common country.
My votes in the Home of Representatives,
on the several measures hi so e Congress,
speak lor themselves.
in respect (o ail b it one of these measures,
there was, yo i know, p-rlect concord & con
nection on Hie pot of the two Houses of Con
*> ress ano die President.—Com ei mug one of!
tinm beam! they difif-ied.
On the great political question, as to what
course ol conduct should b- pursued hy Con
gress in view of this dilFerence, what jmlg-y
nu*nt ought to be passed on ..is action, at and
‘ip die consequences of that diflen-mv, ii i
-Vfi I have been easy for me to stum appar- j
.it responsibility ; leaving events to their own j
course.
Dm con ingem is troe, thereupon, in \vlic! j
to he passive was to yield way, as and seemed j
■ ‘•* roc, to bad and foolish eounsi Is, and inac- ;
I ton beeame in its elf ct tit worst of action,;
? a .ul to aeq tiesce tamely in wrong doing was!
*.i nnk - on. ’s self ns trul , rcsponsttiie ior it as ]
v to p rtake in ns perpeirf on.
Result s vv ■ ’ to my estimation of tie;
duties of one to pubhe station, and In tiave clear |
convict on of right, he is hound, time and place ;
lilting, to strike in behalf of the good cause.
On account of my conduct i:i these qu> s
t tioos, involving as tie y do great personal and j
polit ei! interests, and stirring the passions ol
m n, much obloquy lias been cast upon me by
p esses out of my district, and lor the most |
part out ol the c >mm m wealth of M tssacbti
setts, winch have volunteered to t: ll teiice or
to anticipate your judgment on your repre
sent a live.
Be it so. 1 Itave nothing h> say in that te
ganl. I contentedly subtiiit myse U therein,
t<> the sober sense of the people, and the all
reciifying infiuences ot time.
It is the public question, atirl that alone,
vhich demands immedia.e attention. I pro
ceed at once to that.
A caucus dictatorship has been set tip in
Congress, which, not satisfied with ruling that
bodv, to the extingiiishiHcut ol ituiivuh allree
doiu of opinion, seeks to control the President
in his proper sphere ot duty, denounces, him
ibdore yon fnr refusing m surrender Ins iude
-1 pendence and hts cot-science toils thcree, ;md
proposes, ttirough subversion ol the luntla
f mental provisions and principles of the consii
-1 union, to usurp the command of the govern
,V ment. . .. ,
I liis :i question, therefore, in far*, not o! le- |
gislative measures, bill ot revolution.
b Wliat is the visible an<l oi.ly professed on- ,
gin of these extraordinary movements? j
B Tin* Whii! party in{ Congress have been
exiremelv desirous i cause a law to he enact- ,
cd at a late session, mcuiporaimg a National
Dank. „ ,
Encountering, in the V eto ot the I resin n ,
n constitutional obstacle to the enaction” “I
I s „ ct , a law at the late session, a Cenaiti |x><- (
! non of the Whig party, represented by the j
Caucus Dictatorship, proceeds ‘hen, in the t
beginning, to lieiiounce me President j
VV.II vou concur in this denunciation ot the j
President? . . . J
I'he answer to this inquiry resolves u>nl
hU), first, a question ot expediency; and,se
ll condlv, one ol principle. v
U First.asa question o! expediency, it involves
S ihr toJlowmg [among othei] points ot ti.e cut
1 “po do so, dissolves the Whig Admimstra
Itioii, composed of two necessary pans, name
■ iv, a united Wing Pi evident and W lug Con
■ g iTnot a Wl.it* Administration of more un
fcortai.ee Ilian to have a Bank at a give.. tu-
Hmeiil of limn ■
I is It not worth more, f*r “ti er p"rposes ol
fco.id it may accomplish, man any. mere cor-
I The W ig Administration dissolved, wu j
lanv od.er Adm.mstrat.on give you a bank. j
|„1 vital does it advantage the V\ ...*_ pa .
Lo smk its-If into a minority in all or any ot j
She Slates of 11-e Union?
■ Sparatnn from the Whig Ad min ish at ion,
ftvh'ii is to be the condition ot he W h*il l )Jir - j
? I $ it to be hr Administration or oj piwt
■ *'"p !!tv organization is a secondary or im-i
■ Bental factT but constitutional order, m the;
■jegular action of government and laws, is a
■■This regular action of government and laws
lieceded V\ l.igs—be they ever so many—can-
It -,1 |„ss— “Why, Slid Sheri lan. did
IrT ‘'nm put it off, as Fox did ? I have l.ea-d
■L’ men running tbetr heads agmist a wait,
II is the first time I ever heard of men
Kmldiliff a wall and squaring it, and clamping
VOLUME I.]
it, for the express puipo&c of knocking out
their brains against ii.” Tins bon mot of
>tienda..’s wilt apply to (lie V\ nig party in
Congo ss, il. on acC'itin. ol the lailute ot Hie
bank bill al liie late session, they secede from
the Adi: uiisti alion, and’ set up as a ‘l'ertium
Quid in I tie Govei iimetil, neither Administra
tion, nor op|M)sitiun.
As sue 1 1 lei tiuiu Quid, neither administra
tion mu opposition, having no substantial is
sue with me President l> .t the bank question,
m how many of the States can the si reding
wings expect to maun.on a majority hy means j
>1 the merits exclusively of the batik ques-j
lion r
The bank question apart, is it possible to
build up or maintain a jstiitical parly oil the
t) sis ol resentments nr ol surmi t, suspicions
jor oss.p'injmi >us h> the admitiistialion? Is
! not tlie country at pteeenl desirous of political
repos;—anxious to attend to business? Is it
possible l > work up the people lido a political
fever, and keep them m it lor three or four
ytars to coins, in aid of the resentments and
personal tuck, rings ol a lew politicians here?:
The fi’si access of passion over, Will the
Wings continue to think that the occupation
of attempting to bite uri one’s nose is pit a>aut
o profit.. hie ?
Will it aid the hank qites i m to heap on ii
! sundiv great pp ji cis ot it voht:ionai v clu. )je
; hi the constitution ofihe Federal Government?
N the fiat tv stiong enough to cany such an
accumulated burthen ?
Is it wise lor the Whig party to throw
away the actuality of powe- for the cur ent
iiitir veai? Ii so tor what ohj: cl ? For
some contingent puasibihty lour years hence?
If so, what one ?
Is the contingent pov.ihilitv of advancing
Ito power four vea>s henc anv one particular
i man m its ranks, whoever he may he, or how
ever eminently deserving, a sufficient object m
induce the Whig party to abdicate the power
which itsdi. as a body, possesses now?
If so. will thi* abdication of power now tend
to piomiie that object? Is it not, on die
contra'v, ‘be very means to make sine the
success of some candidate ol the deiiioc;at c i
party ?
Secondly, as a question of principle, the
inqiiirv, whether the President shall he de
nounced by the Whig party, becomes this—
ought he to be? If so. lor what causes?
He vetoed the bank bill in each of the two
forms in winch it was presented to him ; and i
ihi--, it is chaiged, is peiftdy to the Whig par- 1
Vet, confessedly on all hands, the President
was not nominated or elected on a pledge to
this pnrucuiai loitu oi tiank, or to any bank.
Nor tinl the Wing party come into power
m vn toe ol such a pledge.
In refusing to sign those bills, then, be vio
lated no engagement, and committed no ac
ol peifi-ly in tie loiliiteil pledge.
Il those hank bilU were, by a distinct under
standing Itelitre the election, or in any other
wav. the sole and exclusive essence ol Wl tig
ism, then thete would he somelhittgol plausi
bility m this charge of peitidy to the party.
But in any, the strm gest point ol view, they
ne:e hut one Witig measure among many.
Oi thiny-one VN log measures, a mem tier
ol the pm iy eonctns in lint tv, hut disapproves
one. Is lie fir that cause to be uncliuiclied ?
Surely not; lor if so, there are lew who could
stand the leM. And yet tins is the precise
f .ci in this matter, so far as regards the Presi
dent.
But, in this piiiliculat, the President, a-; an
upright iiitin, could do nootheiWise than he
did. He conscientiously ilisapproved those
hdls. And the Constitution, which lie was
sivtu n to obey, commands him expressly and
percmplnt i!y commands I uni. ‘I he do not ap
prove- ot’ any hill presented to h m lorsigiia-
Ht e, to return it to the house ol Congress in
which it originated. ‘lt he approve he shall
s>gn it ; if not he shall return it,” are the
words of ihe Constitution. W ould you, a
e mscieniious men yourselves, forbid the Presi
dent ol the United States to have a con
science ?
In fact, if he bad approver! the Fiscal Agent
bill, lie would have been quite singular in that,
for nob dv else did.
But, it i< slid the constitutionality of a Na
tional Bank is a closed question, decided by
ilie Supreme Court ol the United States, and
by successive Presidents of the United States.
I bis assertion is a great error. \\ hat lias
been thus decided ts simply ibis:
Tiie re is, in the Constitution, no express
power to it,corporate a Rank.
But if the National L'gidutare be of o
piniitn that a particular description ol f* iscai
Agent, called a Bank, is necessary and proper
to the execution of anv of the powers grant
ed to Cdigtcss m the Constitution, the n Con
gress possesses tiie power to create such a
Fiscal Agent. . i j
The Supreme Court have decided mat the j
F,egistatuie is ilie constitutional Judge of the j
tic I of the necessity and propriety of such a ;
Fi cal Agent. .
It the Legislature, bv tbetr acton, in then
ittcorpor.tson ol such a f isc.al Agent, dedaie t
the* opinion that such Agent is necessary and
primer for the execution of some express pow-j
• r, then the Supreme Cotin deduce, as a co- 1
i i.ary from Hie tact so declared, the leg* ,
c >ns. quet.ee of the Const tulionality of such.
Agent !
in the g veil case, the Leg-slat tire is to took j
into the Id proposed and see whether the (
Agent cream* by it is a necessary aid proper
.me. ’I ne Senate is to do tins on its respoit-|
sibuiiy. The House is to do tins. ‘lhePusi-j
! dent ts todo “ns. And it they concur in lie
1 opiuion. ben. bv'be decis on of tiie Supreme j
i Court, the co stituiioiialr vof t lie Agent sic
jcirated loilow> as a consequence.
It has not been ih cided, either by the Su-.
j „eme Court or by the action ol any past .
! Pies.dent of the United States, that any bill j
whatever, no mallei what i's contents, to
! winch tiie tide “Bunk” is given, does by vir-
I t ,, e „f that title become ot necessity constiMi-
I On the contrary, the name o’ he A
ient determines notlnng. Ihe quantity and
1 iiualitv of “s | rowers—me naimeof iheluin
ms‘bestowed- upon it—their necessuy and
i propriety, as veil, (in the detail,);” the precise
t me, as (>v princii It',) in genera', a.I u.cm
a e qucsti -ns ol fact and ugh', to be examm
i'e l in each cae of a |iro|toid Bans, and to
!be ex .mined by the President as well us by
me two fi usisol Cong-ess*
And iliese ire qu< s tons wlcch, when they j
~ ,‘ <e the given ease, are to be considered !
~s we! i by the Pirs-driit as by >he members of j
Co..ir.ess, m obedience m tiieir conscientious
e,>nvie'tons ot the force of the Coi.Mitotu.ii I
Their judgment of those questions is in now se
inechided or excluded by the fact dial die j
Snoreme Court leas passed on the g. ..era!
an,’-stion of ‘be const.i..'.- fulity of a hank. I
O i the conirarv, such judgine.il is dehrredj
HIM , inipo*i’ and upon ihem by die very de j
o.'sion of the court itself. Such judgment ot;
i oe questions bv them, upon their Xtmiscieii- j
\. e - j, .he const,UilM.nal means, and die only
means, of ascertaining H-e premises, out ol
which, when so ascertained, die Supreme
Com l is lo draw tfie consequence ol the con
’ Kiimti'u-alhy of 51 b nk. _
I'ne not perceiving,or, perceiving, the neg
! techno to art upon, these plain tru-hs, was the
j cause of many errors at the late session ol
Congress.
THE COLUMBUS TIMES.
Ii induced tuemheis, instead of lookmg into
atid exiimiiiiog me particular powers m i..e
P'oposetl li'C.il agent, ami snowing liieir ne
cessity and pr ptieiy as ti.e tssi nitai elements
oi lie coiiCiUs.ini til coostiiutionaliiy lit the
given case—it induced them, taking lot gianl
ed this the very thing to be proved—.l induced
them to -xpuid ail their efforts in aigtiing the
lalse idea that the question could not and must
not he looked into or examined at all.
i heir minds dominated by this sophism, and
having adopted as the mle ol their own ac
tion tie theory ol deregation of reason and
st li-siultificaiion which it implies, it is not
strange mat they assumed the same rule as
applcanie to the Piesident.
in refusing ttius to shut his eyes, and in
scrutinizing ‘.he true question, that, namely,
! of the necessity and piopnety of each and all
1 of the proposed powers of the bank m the
given case, liie Piesident, instead ol acting in
I canflict with the decisions of tlie Supreme
■ Goutt, did in fact tread in the very path, and
: aim at ihe very mark, which those decisions
! prescribe.
But, it is said, the bank question, at (lie
present moment, has been decided by the whig
patty, and the President ought to have con
litimed h inst il to that decision. To which,
f it)j.vi re so, it is obvious to reply, that no de
termiiiaiion of party can settle a constitution,
a I question, or preclude a question of con
science.
It is farther said that the President ought
to approve whatever the party in Congress
do.
That would he to abolish at once all the
constitutional Cm chons and duties ol trie Presi
dent of the United States—to rentier him
eventually the mere puppet of faction- to
transform him into a simple countersigning
clei k—and to transfer all the substantive novv
ir of the Government into the hands ol Con
gress.
I Long;, Presiiieht through the votes of a
piriv, repiesenteil by a majority in Congress,
yet, as Piesident, he, not Congress, is to exe
cute that office, and, to liie best ..| ms abili
ty, preset vc, protect atid defend the constitu
tion.
To sav that whatever hdl a majority of
Congress passes, iha! the Pr. snh-nt is, regard
less of bis own convictions, bound to sign, is
to destroy ihe constitution. To say that the
voice of a bare rnaj nitv of Congress is, as
against ti.e Piesident, the final and conclusive
pronuttciatinii of the pnpulai will, is to d’ Stiov
the constitution. For the coustitut on ex
pressly provides that not a bare majority of
the houses, hut a two thirds vote against the
President’s objections, and that alone, is | he
considered as the autliori'ive declaration of
the will of the people.
The exeicise of the veto, it is said, is an
odious act. If so, the more certain is it that
it vvi.l he rarely exercised hv any President,
and that when he dots exercise it, fit does so
from profound convictions of conscience and
overpowering sense of public duty.
The President, it is said, lias defeated the
wishes of the Wing pat ty in Congress and
the country, and, by his mere will, deprived
the nation of what it so much needs, to wit,
a National Bank.
Is it true that the President is responsible
solely, or in any reprehensible sense, lor the
failure of Congress, at the late session, to estat"-
lidt a Bu, k ? To answer the q lest.on let ns
look at facts and dales.
On the il I of June the Senate called on the
Secretary ofihe Treasury n> present to them
a plan ol a Bank anil Fiscal Agent, winch he
communicated on the 12. h of June.
To a similar cali made hy the H niseon the
iilsi of June, liie Secieiaiv icplitd in the
same way on the 23d of June.
In each House tins plan was committed to
a Seiect Committee on the Currency.
It was known generally, and ii was known
particularly to those members of Congress',
who by their tX; erience and political position,
had the best opportunity and the greatest in
ducements to obtain a clear understanding of
the lacis in this respect, that the Piesident of
the Untied States had stioug and fixed con
victions concerning a National Bank; that il
was tits anxious wish, so far as his conscien
tious opinions would permit, to conform Ins
action m tins mailer to the wish of Congress ;
that, accordingly, he had reflected much, and
counselled with hts constitutional advisers oil
the subject; and that, among other conclu
sions to which he had arrived, was this :
Either uo discounts, or, if discuun s, then
assent al the Slates.
The Piesident, in considering this great
question, looked beyond words, at ideas and
\\ hat is a Bank ? It seems to be assumed,
in most of the newspaper discussions of the
subject, that a Bank is of necessity an insti
tution combining, ileposites, discounts, and
circulation, or the issue ol fulls me iculale as
money. Not so. Nettfier ol three thing.- are,
in itself, of the essence of a bank. A bank
may be a bankot deposites without diM'oenis
or issues, or ol deposites and issues w-ib-mt
disco, ill is, or of dtp. is it is and ih-comns w. ui -
out issues, or ol tli piMte, discount, and men
ial on. Examples of each of these forms “t
Bank exist in many countries, and may be
loiiuti in our own.
The President bad considered these tilings.
him me I’mi.tameinal ids a in Ins mind touch
ing the proposed fiscal bunk, etth'M no dis
counts, or, if discounts, then assent ol the
states, rats incorporated in the 171 li article of
the 11 tli section of the plan of a fiscal agent
communicated to me berate and the House
bv the Secretary of the Treasury.
’ tin the -21st ilf June, Mr. Clay of Kentuc
ky, irout the select committee ol me Senate,
to winch the bill of the Secretary of lire
Treasury had been referred, submitted a re
port, accompanied by a hill, framed in [tut
accoidmg to tiie plan <>t the Secretary, but in
the vital matter of the constniiuot.a!question,
involved in the 17th article ol the lltli sec
tion, differing from tl eStcrciarv of the Trea
sury, and pii-imsiug to establish discount oiti
ces’ in tiie several States without thru con
sent. j
In the House of Representatives, Mr. Ser- j
g, am, tiom the select committee ol the liou< . i
rep -iied a i-ill on die -21 si day of July, sub
slantialh. (Ire same as tliat reported bv the
committee ol the Senate.
This difference between tiie plan of the
Secretary and the pan ol the Senate com
mittee, became at once, tire gteat question ot
the dav.
Mr. ltn.es, on the Ist day of July, moved,
as an amendment to the Senate bill, to restore,
| m this respect, tiie piecase language of the
1 hi! proposed by tiieSecrt.arv ot the l’rea-u
----! rv. Hisam nihiieni was not, ass ems gen
erally to Lave been supposed, anew thing,but
was tiie provision ol the Secietary, and coil
j sisied of his very words, cut fiom the printed
j Setaie document, anil watered on a sneet ol
(taper, with nothing but the formal words ot
i a motion to aiu nd prefixed hi manuscript.
The two Senators from Massaclmseiis, Mr.
Bates aim Mr. Choate, advodated tt.is ameiul
’ ment, that is, the adoption of the plan of the
Secretary in tins respect, in preference to the
plan of tiie Seiiaie CominiM.ee.
There is every reason to be i vethat if the
■ opiiiiun of Mr Bates arid M Choate Lad
|'j been followed, and the ar i ment of Mr.
’ Rives adopted, there woo and now he in exist*
“THE UNION OF THE STATES, AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATES.”
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 28, 1841.
juice anew United States Bank—no dtssohi-
I non ol itie Cabinet would have occurred, no
: ii.ileietice of opinion between Cotigiess and
Hit- Piesident, and no scuisnt in the Whig
party.
F'>r tlie* opinions expressed by Mr. Bates
and Mr. Choate al that time, in the advocacy
ot tins amendment, they incurred censure in
some quarters. 1 appeal to you, and to the
whole people of Massachusetts, the constitu
ents of those two Senators, to consider well
these facts and to do justice to the wisdom,
patriotism, and loresignt of the Senators ol
our commonwealth.
Was there, in ibis J7 l h article ..f the plan
of the Secretary, any thing so objectionable
as to preclude its adoption on the part of Con
gress ?
That t lie re was not, is conclusively proved
bv the fact that, when it was ascertained in
‘be Senate lltal the bill could not pass that
body without inserting the principle of S ate
assent, it was’ inserted. Whatever there was
objectionable, in this respect, in the plan ol
ti:e be ere t ary, is to be font and in the comprom
ise provision, so called, of the Fiscal Bank, as
it finally passed the Senate, anil, without any
change, in the House. D.d the former plan in
volve the difficulty of referring the agitation
of ihe Bank question to the pubic forum ol
each of the Stales? So also did the latter.
Did the former involve an implied surrendet
of Federal power? So also did the latter.
This was most ably demonstrated in the
speeches in the House ma le by Mr Marshal!
of Kentucky and Mr Adams of Massaclm
se is. In fact, the Compromise provision, so
called, was drawn up with such peculiar le
licity, as to contain all the evil of both schemes
without the bemfiis of either, and to be equal
ly obnoxious to the condemnation of both
classes of opinion, that of the Federal school
as well ai the Stale Rights sehool.
When the hank question came into Con
gress there were two courses to he pursued,
in either of which there tva- a moral certainty
that a hank would be obtained, al any rate,
ail occasion or pretext for any qnarrt 1 in the
Whig party, ot between Congress and the
President, preemded.
One course would have been for Congress
upon its own lights and opinions, to pass just
Mich a lull as its members should themselves
conceive to he lhe best possible, without de
ni.Hiding any plan I tom the Treasury Dc
pmtment, as indication of the views of ihe
President. Had Hus been done, the return of
it by the President with his objections could
have been n. cause oi dissention.
The other course would have been, if Con
giess chose to seek to shape ns action hi
advance, in pursuance of the views of the
President, then, having ascertained those
views, to proceed in accordance with them.
Congress saw fit to adopt neither of these
courses; that .s, neither passing a hill of its
own, nsr accepting one from the President;
and hence its taiuie to incorporate a Fiscal
Bank. Doubtless, it was perfectly the right
of Congtess to putsue the course il did ; but
having elected to pursue this course, it should
beer its due share of responsibility tor the
failure of the Fscal Batik. And that respon
sibility ought not to be thrown on the Presi
dent wholly.
It is distinctly conceded by the late Secreta
ry of the Treasury, in bis letter of resignation,
that the action ol the President on the late
fiscal agitit bill w as conscientious and honest;
and this avowal sufficiently connaiiiels Hie
idea suggested at the nine in the House ol
Representatives, lira l he was to be condi tuned
as tor the absence ol -conscientious reasons lur
that veto.
Tiie President returned that bill to the
Senate on Monday, the 16th (fay of August.
In anticipation o! dial veto, and cotempo
raneously with it, as appears by the letters of
trie retiring Secieiaries, members of the
VViiig party in Congress contemplated the
introduction of the second or Fiscal Corpora
tion Bill; and prior to the* meeting ol tiie Ca
binet to which they refer, tiie President was
called on bv Mr. Berrien of tiie Senate, and
Mr. Sergeant and Mr. W. C. Dawson ol the
House, they being in fact, a Committee from’
dial portion ol tiie Whig party in Congress
which contemplated the initiation of a iiew
hank bill, to ascertain the President’s views
on this subject.
The President being of opinion, as Mr.
Madison bad been in a similar case, that it
was improper to lake part, in this form, in the
initiation o’ a hill, declined lo do so.
But in tins wa v, as well as in various others,
it be< ante known to tiie President, that the
purpose to pass anew bank bill was enter
tained by Congress.
Hence, it would seem, the consultation of
the President with (he members of iiis Cabinet
on tnis subject.
At this time there was pending in the
House, m committee ol the whole, the bill to
establish a Fiscal Agent, reported by Mr.
Sergeant, on ttie 21st day of July. For the
i-H \vhi-.;h the House had passed was the
benati hill; the House bill remaining in com
mittee of the whole mu acted upon.
l)n Thursday, the I9iti of Aug ist. the ob
j ctnuts til ihe Piesiilenl to the f’ iscal Agent
uni weie considered in die Senate, and Dial
bdi was n jt-cied on that day for the want of
the icq-mite couslituitonal majority of two
t. .11 ds.
On Fiiday, the 20 h of August, Mr. Ser
geant in the House -f Representatives,moved
t.,e House to resolve itself into committee of
ilie wtiole on Use state of Die Union; and
having at Ins motion, taken up the old pend
ing House Bill amended the same by st iking
out all alter the enacting words, and inserting
in ‘ien thereof, the Fiscal Corporation bill.
On Saturday, the 21st of August, the
House having again resolved into com
mittee of Ilie whoie, and taken up the fiscal
bank hill, Mr. Sergeant’s amendment was
adopted alter some bouts debate; and thus,
without even bavin.; be~n committed to any
standing or select commitite of the House,
and will) a d.sregard of tiie means and forms
I of d-liberate examination most uttex impled,
j t;.e Fiscal Corporation bill was forced through
the committee of the whole.
On Monday, the 23.1 of August, the fi-cal
corporation bill, as reported from it e commit
tee of the whole, was taken up in the House,
and, undi r tne previousqueslion, and without
debate passed.
In the Senate the bill was referred to a
select committee, briefly debated ami on the
3 i day of September, passed that body.
It appears by a published letter ol the Se
cretary of Stale, addressed by him to the
Senators from Massachusetts, on tiie 25th o!
A igust, that the President regretted the intro
duction of the fi-cal corporation bill in the
House; that tie wished the subject might
tiavd been postponed lo the regular session ol
Congress, to afford time for information and
reflection before calling on him to form an
opinion on another plan for a Bunk, and to
enable him to act without the restraint or
embarrassment to which be was, at the pre
sent lime, bv collateral tacts subjected ; and
for these reasons exr.re-.dng it as his [ihe Se
cretarv of S-ate’s] opinion, that it was the
<1 i>lv of the Whigs to forbear from press ng
it-e Bank bill farther at ti.e present session of
Congress.
For t'-e same or similar reasons it was felt
from the beginning, by many, that the action
ot Cm,orev> in the matter ol the Feca Cor
poration oil was ill-advised, hasty, Hazardous
ol mucnevil, and promising no good”
But other counc Is prevailed; the bill was
passed tinougli both Houses, submitted to the
fresident; and by him returned to llie House,
wdii i.is in jections on the 9th day ol Septem
ber, and in the House, by a vote according to
ihe constitutional lorm ol reconsideration, it
was lost.
Tliis act of the President has subjected
Ui'ii to new allegations of censure iu addition
to, and other than, those which followed the
first, veto.
The President, it fs charged, trifled with
one or more of the retiring secretaries. Oi
what occurred at Cabinet meetings, the pub
lic knows and can know nothing. But, as to
the main point, whether he initialed the fiscal
corp..ration bill, —
This idea is incompatible with the dates
and facts above stated, which show that the
consiueration of anew bill was forced on the
President by members of Congress.
Ii is, also, incompatible with the facl, that
on Tuesday, the 17ih of August, as it is said
by the Secretary of War, the President ex
pressed to him doubt as to any bill.
Tl ct, 11 the very Cabinet meeting itself, as
the S cr tary ol the Treasury declares, the
Presiiicni declared “a wish ihat the whole
subject should be postponed till the next ses
sion of Congress.”
That ilj at any moment before the fiscal
corporation bill was moved in the House, it
was seen by the President, yet, as admitted
by the’ Secretary of the Treasury-, it was
never seen by the President in his presence,
and of course ;t was not before them at the
meeting of the Cabinet.
It is farther alleged that the fiscal corpora
tion bill is, in fact, such an exchange bank as
the President, in the first veio, and in con
versation W'tb individuals, encouraged Con
gress to suppose lie would sanction.
In regatd to this the President, it is believed,
never lost sight of the fundamental idea on
ginallv iu his mind: Either no discounts, or,
if discounts, assent of the States-.
This appears from the whole tenor of the
second veto.
Il also appears from the statement of the
late Secretary of the Treasury, who himself
ascribes to the President the emphatic expres
sions: “Don’t name discounts.”
Nor could there be any misapprehension
on this point, arising from a supposed omis
sion to advert to the fact that the exclusion of
the discount of promissory notes, inserted in
the fiscal corporation hill, was not an abso
lute exclusion of discounts. You know very
well that there may be discount of a bill of
exchange as well as of a promissory note.—
Though your banks do sometimes act as the
mete coif ctors of bills of exchange, and the
medium of obtaining payment of them from
the acceptors, without making any discount
upon them, yet, on the other h>nd, very much
ol the business of your banks consists of the
discount of bills of exchange, payable on time,
and discounted to the drawer or payer for bis
accommodation. And that this fact was
present to the minds of gentlemen, and spoken
of at the Cab net meeting of the 19 1 li ol Au
gust, is expressly stated in the published let
ter of the late Secretary of the Navy.
Finally, it is said, that whatever may be
ihe Ibrce of the reasons assigned hy the Pre
sident fur refusing to sanction the Bank bill,
yet that, in so doing, lie acted trom motives
ofpersi nd ambition, and to injure the Wing
party. Bui this is mere gratuious imputa
tion, supported by no evidence, contradicted
by all the lacis in the case, and more especial
ly by this, tuat. in what the President has
done, lie has but acted in accordance with
the long avowed, well known, and persever
ing opinions of his whole life. It would be
just as competent, and no more uncharitable,
to retort the same imputation upon those who,
patrons of the bank question, have yet with
headlong haste driven it butt against two
vetoes.
t believe that his conduct has been con
scienti us th:oughout, and, believing tins,
deprecate the attempt to array against him
the resentments of the Whig party, as being
uujust, itiixpedienij and unwise.
In aid of this attempt, it has been imputed
to the Piesident that, disregarding the course
ofihe Whigs, he takes advice from the oppo
sition. In support of this imputation, it is
beheved that no evidence can be, as none lias
been adduced, aud that it is wholly without
foundation.
All ihe misapprehensions in regard to the
motives ol the President in this matter, arise
from the denial to the President of the rights
of conscientious convictions in regard to a
measure, lie should sign it, right or wrong,
if party considerations i t commend it. I sub
niit to you whether a party valuing itself on
religion will adopt the idea that considerations
of shifting paitv lactics, regardless of con
sciei ce, shall control the actions of the Pre
sident. And yet this humiliating idea is the
ground work of the injustice done him, so
far as lie is concerned.
And aii the unintended errors of conduct,
on the | art of those Whigs who, by reproach
ot the President are hurrying on a quarrel
between him and the Whig party, would
have been prevented* if in addition to the
recognition ol’ his rights of conscience and
constitutional judgment in this matter, it had
been remembered, by right thinking men,
that opinions, though they be a moral fact
only, yet constitute a fact, to be dealt with,
and considered, and conformed to where
they cannot he changed, just as much as
unchangeable physical facts. How does it
promote the bank interest, for instance, to
build up one executive veto after another in
its path? Is not that the condition to pre
existing diflictifies and of new difficulties cre
ated hy ourselves?
If the Whig party allow itself to fall off into
tins warfare against the President, under the
influence of the causes alledged f r the war
fare. it will be to commit si) cide, in order to
avoid danger of, at some future tune, dying a
nat uni death*
When the ship of State encounters adverse
winds, and cannot on the instant make her i
destined port, is it the part of men of sense
to jump overboard ami drown themselves?
Wnl the Whig party, in s > doing, be in the
discharge of its duty to the country or U> it
self ?
Is resentment again?* the President P>r not
having signed the hank h i, or resentment
in behall of his retiring secretaries because of
any difference between them and him, a good
and sufficient motive lor political action?
It’ there be any sense or degree whatever
in which such resentment is a good motive
tor a patriotic man to act upon, does not the
gratification of it by the Whig party to its
own self-destruction seem to be pushing it
rather too far ?
Supposing it to be just all that the Whigs
have reproached the Democrats with, ought
the wliigs, as a question of ethics and patriot
ism, so to conduct, uuder the influence of
transitory causes and personal passion, as in
des , roying their own power, to destroy the
ascendancy and the means of usefulness ot
their principles)
I say nothing in this discussion of the ques
tion whether the yvh : g party shall quarrel
with the President or not, of the particular
fact that several of his late Secretaries have,
[NUMBER 33.
lor various and not concurring reasons, re
signed their places, except ti is :
1 hat the retirement ot Secretaries is a
common fact which has happened under other
Ac ministrations, and, however important as a
personal question io ihe parties concerned, is
ot no permanent consequence to the peonle,
provided they have wise, good, and tit suc
cessors in office;
J hat the President has, in this instance,
selected such successors ;
And that, while those gentlemen have re
tired, yet the Secretary ot State, in whose pa
triotism and ability you have more immediate
cause to confide, has dec ared that i.e knows j
no sufficient cause for such separation, and ;
continues to cooperate cordially with the I
t lesident in the discharge of the duties of that!
station which he tiils with so much honor to
.iimself and advantage to tiie country.
It would be an act of latuity for ihe Whig
paity to think ol breaking Imm the President,
thus to break itsell up, because of any
ot these changes in the personal organization
oi the Cabinet.
I sincerely trust, therefore, that conceding
foihe Pres dent the same rights of conscience
that you claim for yourselves, and applying
v\ ell-balanced minus to the calm consideration
ot ah the iacts, listening to no suggestions of
factious violence, you will continue to yield
m the Administration a frank and'eandid sup
port.
However that may-be, it remains only for
me to say tnat, in none of the events which
have transpired, is it possible for rue io see
good reason lor a radical revolutionary change
of the Constitution of the United Slates. No
evil exists, it seems to me, which calls for
revolutionaiy remedies.
et an address has gone forth from a por
tion of the members ot Congress purporting
to be the unanimous act ol a meeting of the
Whigs ol Congress, which, besides arraigning
the President on various allegations of fact
and surmises not fact, recommends such radi
cal changes of the Constitution.
I he expression “the Wings,” would be
generally understood to mean all the Whigs.
What members constituted the caucus which
issued this document dues not appear. So far
as the journals of the House afford any
meat sos knowledge, it would seem that, at
ihe time when that address purports to have
been adopted, it being the last duy of the ses
sion, after all its legislative business was
completed, less than half of the Whig mem
bers of Congress were in Washington; and
it is known of many members present in the
city, that they had no part in its adoption. J,
at any rate, had none.
1 protest against the act itself, the meas
ures it proposes, and the opinions it promul
gates.
The act itsolf seems to me to have been
wholly unwise as a party movement. Our
wounds needed to be soothed by emollients,
not inflamed by irritants.
In a constitutional sense it seems to me
still more unwise, when coupled with its
matter.
It proposes the organization of anew party,
having for its main object sundry vast chang
es in the constitution of the federal govern
ment. To attempt to organize a party in
pursuit of various and great changes of the
constitution, at this time, is to waste one’s
liie in the chase of hubbies; for there is no
existing fact to impel the people to make such
cl ages, and t lie re fore they will not be made.
1 hose changes, if effected, would concen
trate the chief powers of government in the
hands of that, ot which this document itself i>
an emanation* namely, a caucus dictatorship
ot Congress.
1 he veto power has been stigmatized ns a
one man power. By the fat Iters of the repub
lic it was established, and by the best ex
pounders of the constitution it lias been con
stantly defended, as a needful che< k on not
only unconstitutional or usurping acts of the
two houses ot Congress, but in general on aii
irupro; er legislation, whether improper by iti
tnne c defects of whatever sort, or by attend
ant haste or faction.
And tl there be any descriptions of bil !
which, more than any other, requires mature
consideration,and when apparently unconsti
tutional, justifies the interposition of the sus
pension power of die President, surely it is
one which proposes to trust to a private corpo
ration jurisdiction over the currency by an act
irrepealable.
If to clear the way for a bank, or for any
other object, this suspensive power of tin
President over b 11s, th s one-man power, is to
be struck from the constitution, why not go
to the root of the matter at once, and strike
from the constitution other parts of the one
man power, which are at present among the
the functions of the Executive J
In tact, it is proposed in that document to do
this; for example, to give to Congress juris
diction over removals from office and adminis
tration of the Treasury.
Do tins, —take away the veto, s as to leave
the power of congress unchecked, that is ab
solute, lor al 1 iilerty exists by means ot
checks on despotism,—abandon to it not only
the law-making power, but the appointing
power and the money power,—and where
sand then the liberties ot the People of the
United States I Nominally in the handsel
Congress, really in those ot an unchecked at and
untempered f arty majority of Congress;—
nominally in tiie hands prescribed hy the con
stitution, really ra those of a heated and des
potic pany caucus; nominally in the’rcspon
silde hands of the Senate and House, really in
the irresponsib'e ones of someone man behind
the scenes, wielding the Government ilir uch
Congress and Congress through the caucus
I want no such Government, The and irk
shadow of its threatened coming is enough for
me. Save the country front the despo.ism >1
Congress on the one hand, as wel as from
that of the Executive on the other, hy contin
uing to each the partition of powers as the
constitution provides.
\\ lien and how did the scheme of an Exec
utive Congress come to be the platform of the
Whigs ?
‘I hese new articles of the party seem to
me to resemble the codicils to the will of Cae
sar which Mark Anthony was continual v
finding, or the additional chapters of pretend
ed revelation which Mahomet was accustomed
to produce, expedients to rneetthe emergency
of the hour.
The English Commonwealth tried the ex
periment of government hv legislative assem
blies, bal-need by no Executive check, and
was glad enough to escape from it into the
arms of the Didder despotism ot Oliver Crom
well.
The French Republic tried it, and after
finding that its operation was to enable one
party chief after another, backed by clubs and
caucuses, to exercise, irresponsible to law.
such a bloody tyranny as the world never saw
before, was content to welcome instead the
enthronement of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Mr. Friends, let us devoutly thank God for
the happier Government he has given to us,
and discarding all these perilous novelties, the
hot-bed growth of temporary party passions,
springing up gourd-like in a night to wilt and
i perish in the first sun—repudiating these
new fangled whimsies, let us cling with fond
affection to the constitution whose foundations
’ were cemented bv the blood of ottp fathers,
and ’■ ■“ * r "llhy of fortune,
nas proved to bo the ark of salvation to our
blessed Union.
„„ , C. CUSHING.
W dslungton, 27th Sept. 1841.
UASai OF McL.fc.OD.
Correspondence between Mr. Roc-Luck and Colonel
Napier.
rhe following correspondence took place in
consequence oi Col. Napier having asked Mr.
ivoebui k it the newspapers had not misrepre
setned the iatters observations in the House,
u[a>n t.ie conduct of the American Govern
ment in relation to McLeod :
Lon don . Angus’, 27.1841.
My dear Napier—No! the reporters are
quite accurate this time, but you do t ot, I
think atieod to the words used : “ The Amer
ican Government.” The acts of the Ameri
can Executive have been perfecily in rule,
and though the Cabinet of Mr. Tyler has
chosen to adopt a course totally opposed to
that ot Mr. V an Buren, there can no fault be
found by our Government of either. Let me
state the lads— y*u always bearing in mind
that ihe American constitution has separated
. the judiciary entirely from, and made it inde
pendent ot, even the Congress itself.
i he (. arolme was burnt in the American
i territory . lam not now going into the ques
tion whether this was a gross outrage on the
law ol nations or not. I think it was ; but
that point is not needed for my argument.
1 lie American Government complains of this
i. • us, and gets no answer either avowing or
disavowing the responsibility of that act. In
the meantime McLeod is arrested, and when
Mr. Fox apphe- for his release, and Mr. For
s\ tli says that be has no power to release him,
u lnc h was true, and that he had no official
notice that the government of England had
avowed i.itd taken upon itself the responsibili
ty of the act.
This neglect to answer such a demand on
the part ot the United States Government
justifies this answer —non constat, that Alc
i Leod did act under Ins superior officer, by bis
commands, and w.th the sanction old lie crown.
The British government at length f* nua'ly
took upon itselt the responsibility of the at
tack on the Caroline, and then the American
Government (changed in the interval, howev
er,) has formally acknowledged the principle
of international Jaw laid down by the British
Government respecting the commands of the
superior officer and the sanction of the Gov
ernment being a complete proection for all
the individuals employed in the destruction of
the Caroline. And the Umted States govern
ment is now proceeding by the mode which
their laws prescr.be to the release of McLeod.
But there begins the difficult part of the
case, and all my questions te.atjng to it have
been shirked by Lord Palmerston, and the
affair will by and by come upon the English
people with the effect of a cl ;p of thunder, for
in mv heart I believe the American Executive
are wholly unable, either pby.- icaily or legally,
io release McLeod, and my reason tor so be
l.eving is tins—McLeod is at present in the
custody of the Courts of tire Sate of New
Vork. lie will be tried by them, and bis
pardon and release wili depend, not on the
Executive of the United States but ot New
York.
►Suppose McLeod convicted. The next
step will be to move one of the Federal courts
for a mandamus to the S;ate Court, to send
the whole proceedings by way of appeal to
the Appellate Court of the United States.
Now then begins the fight. The two great
parties in America have on this very ground
fought all their great party fights. The de
mocratic party, with Jefferson, Madison, and
Monroe, and others at their head, have strenu
ously contended for the exclusive power of
the separate States, and, especially in criminal
cases, lor the exclusive jurisdiction of the
State Courts. In a great cause in Virginia, a
case occurred wherein the Federal Courts
claimed jurisdiction; the Virginia Courts re
fused obedience to the commands of the Fede
ral Corn's, and toe matter was very near
coming to the arbitrament of blows, but Mr.
Justice Marshall got rid of the case by a side
wind, and the ma ter dropped, the decision of
t.ie State Court, however, being affirmed.
•Suppose, then, the Stal- Court reluses to obey
the mandamus to remove the cause. What is
to be done in that case ? Ihe Executive
must ask ilie Congress to take that matter in
hind, and Congress, I fear, is not very likely
t. adop r the principle la e'y avowed by Mr.
Webster, ihe authority oi the great demo
cratic leaders is still immense and on this
question of the exclusive jurisdiction of the
fcj.ate Courts, the teelings of the democratic
party are exceedingly excitable. Still the Ex
ecutive, you ses, in this case would be power
, less, and Lord Palmerston was very careful
not to answer my question, “ whether tlie Uni
ted States Government had declared itself
willing and able to guarantee the safety and
liberation ot McLe< and ] ”
But suppose that the State Court obeys the
Federal Court, and that the case is remov and ;
what if the Appellate Court affirms the judg
ment of tiie fS ate Court—can the American
Executive, in this case, guarantee the safety
ol Mr. .Mcl*eud ? No; certainly not.
Our law authorities pay, that the mere trial
ot McLeod afier the acknowledgment on the
part of the American Executive, is an offence
against the law of nations ; and they complain
“I she peculiarity o: the Amer can consti utioii
wh.ch does not give the executive pi wer im
mediately io re.en-e him; aid they say that
a r the t'i n.ity of na ons, for h ■ peace ot the
c.viltzed world, it is necessary that such a pow
er should be in the hands of the American
Government. On the other hand, the great
law authorities of the United States deny the
doctrine admitted by the President. They
say, that there are cases of outrage against
law and morality, wh ch the sanction of no
Government can justi.y, and this is one of
them. You do not, tor example, hang prison
ers of war, but you hang a spy; and rn, protec
tion or sanction on the part of a Government
is ab:e to s ■e a spy. fSo when two nations
are at peace a murder cannot he justified.
Suppose England to send a secret agent to
New York, giving him directions secretly to
tire the town, lie is caught and produces his
authority. In this case ought any avowal or
sanction on the part of our Government to
save him ? They say not; and I confess I
am much of their opinion. The reason ol my
mentioning this, is to show you why I think
here is great reason to be apprehensive of
the result. I see no way for the American
executive to get out ot the difficulty if the
judiciary go against ‘hem, and l see great rea
son to believe hat the judiciary will deem the
ac o. i.i li.ig Durfee one tha cannot be justi
fied, arui that the party killing cannot be pro
tected bv any commands or sanction, of our
j Government. But to return to my first posi
> tiOll.
file American Executive is in no way to
uiaine. If any censure is to fall on any thmor
ur person, it ought to be on the omission, now
>r the first time discovered, in the American
Const! utioi;. ‘I lie complication of the great
question of international law, respecting ilie
protection that may be afforded to a suffieet
u.v the commands ot his sovereign, through
ne perplexing difficulties arising out of the
peculiarities ot the American Constitution, is
a serious ev.l; one which our countrymen do
not apprecia e, and about which they are too
apt to speak wnh all the arrogance which g
nmance always produces. The settlement
ot tiie relative powers of the State Govern
m n sand tuatot the United States has been,
uni ever will be, the most difficult task for the
tr.tesmen ot America. The difficulty met
hem at the outset of their existence as a na
tion, a.id the wonder Ins ever been how it
was possible for Washington and the men
who acted With him, so far to conciliate the
jarring interests and feelings of separate
States, in 1783-84, as to produce so extraor
dinary, so wonder ul a coinproi; i;Se , 8 *l *
present Constjtt<t !on 0 f Made at
1 n~e—made to suit many prejudeeeand mav