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BY JAMES IV. JOAES.
The Southern Whig,
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING.
TERMS*
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KJ-Notice of the sale of Land and Negroes, by
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must be published sixty days previous to the
day of sale.
The sale of personal Property, in like manner,
must be published forty daYS previous to
the day of sale.
Notice to debtors and creditors of an estate must
be published forty days.
Notice that Application will be made to the Court
of Ordinary for Leave to sell Land or Ne
groes, must be published four months.
Notice that Application will be made for Letters
of administration, must be published thirty
days and Letters of Dismission, six months.
For Advertising—Letters of Citation. 8 2 75
Notice to Debtors and Creditors, (40 days) 325
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J AV. JONES, is now receiving and open
. ing at his Store, his supplies of
FALL &, WINTDR GOODS,
which combind with his former Stock, render
3iis assortment very complete.
English Straw Bonnets.
A case ofhandsome English Straw and Florence
•Bonnets, iust received and for sale, bv
J. AV. JONES.
Oct. 14,-24—tf
EffSGHO SHOES,
200 pairs Superior Negro Shoes for sale bv
‘ J. W. JONES.
Oct. 14,-24-tf
LIVERY STABLE-j
TTMIE Undersigned has just opened a LIVE*
RY STABLE in the Town of Athens,
immediately in the rear of Mr. IL A. Fraser’s
Store, where he will keep on hand
VEHICLES OF
JE FU3 R I* DR S CRIP TIG.V:
ALSO
B If SD I
And well Ih’olaC
HA RNESS HORSES
To Hire.
Persons wishing to travel, can be accommo
dated with Carriages and Horses al all times
His Vehicles have not yet arrived, but are ex
pected by the first ofthe Spring. He will also
take on Livery the horses of any one wishing to
place their horses under his charge.
P. M. WELLS.
Jan. 27 39 ts.
months after date, application will be
made to the Inferior Court of Chirk county,
■when sitting for ordinary purposes, for leave
to sell the real Estate of John A. Strickland,
MILLINGTON SCOGGINS, Adm’r.
Feb. 10,—41—4m
•GEORGIA, MADISON CO UNTY.
WHEREAS, Elisha Ware, applies for Let
ters of Administration on the Estate of
Edward Ware, jun., of said County deceased.
This is therefore to cite and admonish all, and
singular the kindred and creditors of said dc
■ceased, to be and appear at my office, within the
time prescribed by law, to shew cause (if any
they have.)' why said letters should not be
granted.
Given under my hand, this Bth day of Janu
ary, 1838.
WILLIAM SANDERS, c. c. o.
Feb. 10.—41—Im
GEORGIA, HALL COUNTY?”
<M7’hereah, Ambrose Kennedy, Adminis
■ ■ trator ofthe Estate ofEd ward Harrison,
deceased, applies ti> me for Letters of dismission.
This is therefore to cite and admonish all. and
singular the kindred and creditors of said de
ceased, to be and appear at my oilice within the
time prescribed by law, to shew cause (if any
they have) why said letters should not be grant
ed.
Given under my hand, this 20ih day of Octo
ber, 1837.
E. M. JOHNSON, c. c. o.
Oct. 21,—25—6tn
Wt)®
' SPEECH OF MR. CLAY,
On the Sub-Treasury Bill, Delivered
February 19, 1833.
{Concluded.)
I proceed to another point of powerful evi
dence, in the conduct of Mr. Van Buren, in re
spect to the famous Treasury order. That or
der had been promulgated, originally, in defi.
ance ofthe opinion of Congress, had been con
tinned in operation in defiance of the wishes
and w ill of the people, and had been repealed
by a bill passed at tha last ordinary session o(
Congress, by overwhelming majorities. The
fate of that bill is well known. Instead of be
ing returned to the bouse in which it originated,
according to the requirement of the constitu
tion, it was sent to one of the pigeon-holes of
the Department of State, to be filedaway with
an opinion of a convenient Attorney General,
always ready to prepare one in support of ex
ecutive encroachment. On the sth of March
last, not a doubt was entertained, as far as my
knowledge or belief extends, that Mr Van Bu
ren would rescind the obnoxious order. I ap
peal to the Senator from Missouri, who sits
near me, [Mr. Linn,] to the Senator from Mis
sissippi who sits farthest from me, [Mr. Walk
er,] to the Senator from Alabama, [M. King,]
and to the whole ofthe administration Sena
tors, if such was not the expectation of all of
them. Was there ever an occasion in Which
a new administration had so fine an opportu
nity to signalize its commencement by an act'
of grace and wisdom, demanded by the best
interests and most anxious wishes ofthe pen
pie? But Mr. Van Buren did not think pro
per to embrace it. He had shared too largely
in the confidence of his predecessor, agreed
too full with him in his sentiments, had been
too much united with him in his councils, to
rescind an order which constituted so essen
tial a part of the system which had been de
liberately adopted to overthrow the State
banks.
Another course pursued by the administra
tion, after the catastrophe ofthe suspension of
specie payments by the banks, demonstrates
the hostile purposes towards them of the pre
sent administration. When a similar event
had occurred during the administrtion of Mr.
Madison, did lie discredit and discountenance
tlie issues ofthe banks, by refusing to receive
them in payment ofthe public dues? Did the
State Governments, upon the former or the late
occasion, refuse to receive them in payment, of
the du«s to them respectively ? And if irre-
Ueernable bank notes are good enough for the
state governments and the people, are they not
good enough for the Federel government of
the same people? By exacting specie, in all
payments to the General Government, that Go
vernment presented itself in the market as a
powerful and formidable competitor with the
banks, demanding specie at a moment when
the banks were making unexampled struggles
to strengthen themselves and prepare for the
resumption of specie payments. The extent
of tliis government demand for specie does not
admit ot exact ascertainment; but when we
reflect that the annual expenditures of the go.
vernment were at the rate, including the Post
Office department, of about thirty-three mil
lions of dollars, and that Us income, made up
either of taxes or loans, must be an equal sum,
making together an aggregate ofsixty-millions,
it will be seen that the amount of specie re
quired for the use of the government must be
immensely large. It cannot be precisely de
termined, but would not be less probable than
fifteen or twenty millions o* dollars pei annum.
Now how is it possible for the banks, coming
into the specie market in competition with all
the vast power and influence of the Govern
ment, to provide themselves with specie in a
reasonable time to resume specie payments?
That competition would have been avoided, if,
upon the stoppage of the banks, the notes of
those of whose solidity there was no doubt,
had been continued to be received in payment
ofthe public dues, as was done in Mr. Madi.
son’s administration. And why, Mr. Presi.
dent, should they not have been ? Why should
not this Government receive the same descrip
tion of medium winch is found to answer ail
the purposes of the several State Govern
ments? Why should they have resorted to
the expedient of issuing an inferior paper me
dium, in the form of Treasury notes, at.d re.
fusing to receive the better notes of safe and
solid banks? Do not misunderstand me, Mr.
President. No man is more averse than I
am to a permanent inconvertible paper medium.
It would have been as a temporary measure
only that 1 should have thought it expedient
to receive the notes of good local banks. If,
along with that measure, the Treasury order
had been repealed, and < ther measures adopt
ed to encourage and coerce the resumption of
specie payments, we should have been much
nigher that desirable event than, I fear, we
now are. Indeed, Ido not see when it is pos
sible for the banks to resume specie payments,
as long as the Government is in the field, mak
ing war upon them, and in the market demand
ing specie.
Another conclusive evidence of the hostility
to the State banks, on the part of Mr. Van Bu
ren, is to be found in that extraordinary re
commendation of a bankrupt law contained m
his message at the extra session. According
to all the principles of any bankrupt sy stem
with which I am acquainted, the banks by the
stoppage of specie payment, had rendered
themselves liable toils operation. If the re
commended law had been passed, commissions
of bankruptcy could have been immediately
sued out against all the suspended banks, their
assets seized, and the administration of them
transferred from the several corporations to
which it is now intrusted to commissioners
appointed by the President himself, Thus,
by one blow, would the whole of the State
banks have been completely prostrated, and
the way cleared for the introduction ofthe fa
vorite Treasury bank; and is not in the same
spirit of unfriendliness to those banks, and With
the same view of removing all obstacles to the
establishment of a Government bank, that the
bill was presented to the Semite a few days
am> by the Seßatoi from Tennessee [M. Grun
dy] against the circulation of the notes of the
old Bank ot the United Slates? At a time
when there is too much want of confidence,
and when every thing that can be done should
bo done to revive and strengthen it, we ure
called upon to pass a law denouncing the
heaviest penalties and ignominious punish
incut against all « ho shall re-issue the notes ot
the old Bank ofthe United Slates, of which we
arc told that about seven millions of dollars are
in circulation ; and tacy constitute lite best
portion ofthe paper meiiinm ot the country ;
the only portion of it which has a credit every
v here, and which serves liw purpost- of a gen.
WHERE POWERS ARE ASSUMED WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN DELEGATED, A N L'LLIFIC ATION J OF THE ACT IS THE RIGHTFUL REMEDY.”— JejjeVSOn.
oral circulation; the only portion with which
a tnau can travel from one end of the conti
nent to the other; and Ido not doubt that the
Senator who has fulminated these severe pains
and penalties against that best part of our pa
per medium provides himself with a sufficient
amount of it, whenever he leaves Nashville, to
take him to Washington. [Here Mr. Grundy
rose and remarked : No, sir: I always travel
on specie.] Ah! continued Mr. Clay, my
old friend is always specious. lam quite sure
that members from a distance in the enterior
generally find it indispensable to supply them
selves, on commencing their jour ev, with an
adequate amount of these identical notes to
defray its expenses. Why, sir, will any man
in his senses deny that those notes are far
better than those which have been issued by
that Government banker, Mr. Levi Woodbury,
aided though he he by the chancellor ofthe
exchequer, (I beg his pardon, I mean tha ex
chancellor,) the Senator from New York,
[Mr. Wright.] I am not going to stop here
to inquire into the strict legality of the re-is
sue of those notes ; that question, together with
the power of the Government to pass the pro
posed bill, will be taken up when it is consid
ered. lam looking into the motive of such a
measure. No body doubts the perfect safety
of the notes ; no one can believe that they will
not be fairly and fully paid. What, then, is
the design of the bill ? It is 'o assail the only
sure general medium which the people pos
sess. It is because it may corne in competi
tion with Treasury notes or other Govern
ment paper. Sir, ii the bill had not been pro
posed by my old friend from Tennessee, I
would say its author better deserved a peniten
tiary punishment than those against whom it
is directed. I remember to have heard of an
illustrious individual, now in retirement, hav.
ing, on some occasion, burst out into the
most patriotic indignation, because of a wag
gish trick played off upon him, by putting a
note of the Bank of the United States into his
silk purse with his gold.
But it is unnecessary to dwell longer on the
innumerable proofs of the hostility against the
State banks, and the deliberate purpose ofthosc
in power to overthrow them. We hear and
see daily, throughout the country, among their
partisans and presses, denunciations against
banks, corporations, rag barons, the spirit of
monopoly, &c.; and the howl for gold, hard
money, and the constitutional currency ; and
no one can listen to the speeches of the hon
ourable members, friends of the administra
tion, in th'S House and the other, without be
ing impressed with a perfect conviction that
the destruction es the State banks is meditated.
I have fulfilled my promise, Mr. President,
to sustain the first four propositions with which
I sat out. I now proceed to the fifth proposi
tion :
5. That the bill under consideration is in
tended to execute Mr. Van Buren’s pledge, to
complete and perfect the principles, plans, and
policy, ofthe past administration, by establish
ing, upon the ruins of the late Batik of the
United States and the State banks, a Govern
ment bank, to be managed and controlled by
the Treasury Department, acting under the
commands of the President of the U. States.
The first impression made by the perusal of
the bill is the prodigal arid boundless discre
tion which it grants to the Secretary of the
Treasury, irreconcileable with the genius of
our free institutions, and contrary *.o the for
mer cautious practice ofthe Government. As
originally reported, he was authorised by the
bill to allow any number of clerks he thought
proper to the various receivers general, ai.dto
fix their salaries. It will be borne in mind »hat
this is the mere commencement of n system ;
and it cannot be doubted that, if put into oper
ation, the nnrnber of receivers general ami
other depositaries of the public money would
be indefinitely multiplied. He is allowed to
appoint as many examiners of the public mo
ney, and to fix their salaries as he pleases;
he is allowed to erect al pleasure costly build
ings; there is no estimate for anything ; and’
all who are conversant with the operations of
the executive branch ofthe Government know
the value and importance ofprevious estimates.
There is no other check upon wasteful ex- ,
penditures but previous estimates ; and that
was a point always particularly insisted upon
by Mr. Jefferson. The Senate will recollect
that, a few days ago, when t’ie salary ofthe
receiver general at New York was fixed, the
chairman of the Committee of Finance rose in
his place and stated that it was suggested by ;
the Secretary of the Treasury that it should be ]
placed at $3,000 ; and the blank was accord
ingly so filled. There was no statement of
the nature and extent of the duties to be per
formed, or the time that he would be occupied,
ofthe extent of his responsibility, or the ex
pense of living at the several points where they
were to be located ; nothing but the suggestion
of the Secretary ofthe Treasury, and that was
deemed all-sufficeut by a majority. Th are is
no limit upon the appropriation which is made
to carry into effect the bill, contrary to all for
mer usage, which invariably prescribed a sum
not to be transcended.
A most remarkable feature in the bill is that
to which I have already called the attention of
the Senate, and of which no satisfactory ex
planation has been given. It is that which
proceeds upon the idea that the treasuiy is a
j thing distinct from ’be treasure ofthe United
States, and gives to the treasury a local habita
i tion and a name, in the new building which is
being erected for the Treasury Department in
the city of Washington. In the Treasury, so
constituted, is to be placed that pittance of the
public revenue which is gleaned from the Dis
trict of Columbia. All else, that is to say,
nine hundred and ninety-nine hundredths of
the public revenue of the United States, is to
b< placed in the hands of the receivers general,
and the other depositaries beyond the District
of Columbia. Now, the constitution of the
United States provides that no money shall be
drawn from the public treasury but in virtue of
a previous appropriation by law. Thattrifling
portion of it, therefore, v Inch is within the
1 District of Columlia. will be under the safe-
I guard of the constitution, and all else will be
[ at the arbitrary disposal ofthe Secretary ofthe
‘ Treasury.
I It was deemed necessary, no doubt, to vest
■ in the Secretary of the Treasuiy this vast and
i alarming discretionary power. A new and
I immense Government bank is üboutto beerect
i ed. How it would work in all its parts could
not be anticipate d with certainty; and it was
thought proper, theretore, io bestow a discre
tion cortimensurate with its novelty and com
plexity, and adapted to any exigencies which
might arise. The 10th section ofthe bill is
that in which the power to breeate a bank is
I more particularly conferred. It is short, and
I will rend it, to the Senate.
j "Sec. 10. Ant! be it further enacted, That
I it shall be lawful fur the Secretary ofthe Trea-
ATilEfiS, UEOKUIA, SATLOAI, 35, £&3B.
sury to transfer the moneys in the hands of any
depositary hereby constituted, to the treasuiy
ofthe United States; to the Mint at Philadel
phia ; to the Branch Mint at New Orleans; or
to the offices of eiinerof the receivers general
of public moneys, by this act directed to be ap
pointed ; to be there safely kept, according to
the provisions of this act; mdatsoto transfer
moneys in the hands of any one depositary con.
stituted by this act to any other depositary con.
stituted by the. same, at his discretion, and as
the safety <»t the public moneys, and the conve
nience ofthe public service, shall seem to him
to require. And for the purpose of payments
on the public account, it shall be lawful for
the said Secretary to draw upon any one of
the said depositaries, as he may think most
conducive to the public interests, or to the con
venience of the public creditors, or both.”
It will be seen that it grants if power, per
fectly undefined, to the Secretary ofthe Trea
sury, to shift and transfer the public money,
from depositary to depositary, as he pleases.
He is expressly authorised to transfer moneys
in the hands of any one depositary, constituted
by the act, to any ether depositary constituted
by it, at his disfcretionvandas the safety of the
public moneys, and the convenience of the
public service, shall seem to him to require.
There is no specification of any contingency
or contingencies on which he is to act. All
is left to his discretion. He is to judge when
the public service (and more indefinite terms
could not have been employed) shall seem t<i
him to require it. It has been said that this i.-,
nothing more than the customary power of
transfer, exercised by the Treasury Depart
ment from the origin of the Government. I
deny it ; utterly deny it. It is a totally dif
ferent power from that which was exercised
oy the cautious Gallatin, and other Secretaries
ot’the Treasury—a power, by the bye, which,
on more than one occasion, has been contro
verted, and which is infinitely more question- ■
able than the power to establish a Bank of the
United States. The tranfer was made by them '
rarely, in large sums, and were left to the
banks to remit.—When payments were made,
they were effected in the notes of banks with J
which the public money was deposited, or to I
which it was transferred. The rates of ex
change were regulated by the state ofthe mar
ket, and under the responsibility of the banks.
But here is a power given to transfer the pub
lic moneys without limit, as to sum, place, or
time, leaving every thing to the discretion of
the Secretary of the Taeasary, receivers gene
ral, and other depositaries. What a scope is
allowed in the fixation of the rates of exchange,
whether of premium or discount, to regulate
the whole domestic exchanges of the country,
to exercise favoritism ? These former trans
fers were not made for disbursement, but as
preparatory to disbursement, and when dis
bursed, it. was generally in bank notes. The
transfers of this bill are immediate payments,
and payments made not in bank notes, but
specie.
The last paragraph in the section provides
that, for the purpose of payments on the pub
lic account, it shall be lawful for the Secretary
to draw upon any of the said depositaries, as he
may think most conducive to the public interest,
or to the convenience ofthe public creditors,
or both. It will be »een that no limit whate
ver is imposed upon the amount or form of the
draft, or as to the depositary upon which it is
irawti. He is made the exclusive judge of
what is” most conducive to the public interest.”
Now, let us pause ti moment, and trace the
operation of the po'. ers thus vested. The
Government has a revenue of from twenty to
thirty millions. The Secretary may dtaw it
to any one or more points, as he pleases.—
More than a moiety of the revenue ansi g
from customs is receivable at the port of New
York, to which point the Secretary may draw
all portions of it, if he think it conducive to the
public interest. A man has to receive, under
an appropriation law, $10,090, and applies to
Mr. Secretary for payment. Where will you
receive it? he is asked. On New York.—
How ? Iti drafts from $5 to SSOO. Mr. Se
cretary will give hitn these drafts accotdingly,
upon batik note paper, impressed like at ci si
mulating bank notes, having all suitable em
blazonry, signed by my friend the Treasurer,
(whose excellent practical sense, and solid and
sound judgment, if he had been at the head of
the Treasury, instead of Mr. Levi Woodbury,
when the suspension of specie payments took
place, would have relieved or mitigated the pe
cuniary embarrassments ofthe Government
and the people,) ceuntersigaed by the Comp
troller, and filled up in the usual wav of bank
notes. Here is one of them, said Mr. Clay.
[He here helduptothe gaze of the Senate, a
Treasury note, having all the appearance of a
bank note, colored, engraved, and executed
like any other bank note, for sso.] This,
continued Mr. Clay, is a Government post note,
put into circulation, paid out as money, and
prepared and sent forth, gradually to accus
tom the people of this country to Govertime.it
paper.
1 have supposed 810,000 to bo received in
the mode stated by a person entitled to receive
it under an appropriation law. Now, let us
suppose what he will do with it. Anywhere
to the South or West it will command a pre
mium o. from two to five per cent. Nowhere
in the United States will it be under par. Do
you suppose that the holder of these drafts
would be fool enough to convert them i.-.to spe
cie, to be carried and transported at his risk ?
Do youthink that he would not prefer that this
money should be in the responsible custody of
the Government, rather than in his own inse
cure keeping? Do you think be will deny to
himself the opportunity of realizing the premi
um of which he may be perfectly sure ? Ti e
greatest want of the country is a medium of
general circulation, and of uniform value eve
rywhere. That, especially. is our want in the
Western and interior States. Now, here is
exactly such a medium ; and, supposing the
Government bank to Itonestiy and taiibfullv
administered, it will, during such an admiuis
tration. be the best convertible paper money in
the world, for two reasons : The first is, that
every dollar of paper out will be the represen
tative of a dollar of specie in the hands ofthe
receivers general, or other depositaries; and,
secondly, if the receivers etieral should em
bezzle the public money, the responsibility of
the Government io pay the drafts issued upon
the basis ot that money would remain utum
paired I’he paper, therefore, would be as far
superior to the paper of any private corpora
tion us the ability and resources ofthe Govern
ment ot’the United States are superior to those
of such corporations.
The banking capacity may be divided into
three faculties : deposites, discount of bills of
exchange; and promissory notes, or either, and
circulation. This Government bank would
combine them all. except that it will not dis
i cvimt private notes, tier receive private depo-
; sites. In payments for the public lands, iu
( deed, individuals are allowed to make depo
i sites, and to receive certificates of their amount,
i To guard against their negotiability, a clans.
I has been introduced to render them unussigna*
I ble. But how will it be p issible to maintain
I such an inconvenient restriction, in a country.
I where every description of paper imposing an
I obligation to pay money or deliver property is
j assignable, at law or i.i equity, from the com
j mercial nature and trading character of our
( people 7
Os all the faculties which I have stated of a
bank, that which creates a circulation is the
most important to the community at large. It
is that m which thousand- may ba interested,
j who never obtained a discount, or made a de-
I posite with a bank. Whatever a Government
i agrees to receive in payment ot the public dues
I is a medium of circulation, is money, current
■ money, no matter what its form may be, Treas.
' ury notes, drafts drawn at Washington, by the
i Treasurer, on the receiver general at New
( York, or, to use the language employed in va.
■ rious parts of this bill, “ such notes, bills, or
| paoer, issued under the authority of the Uni.
ted States.” These various provisions were
probably inserted not only to cover the case of
Treasury notes, but that of these drafts in due
season. But if there V, ere no express provi
sion of law, that these drafts should be receiva
ble in payment of public dues, they would, ne-
I cessarily, be so employed from their own in
! trinsic value.
; The want of the community ot a general cir-
I culation of uniform va’ue every where in the
! United States would occasion vast amounts of
i the species of drafts which I have described to
; remain in circulation. The appropriations
j this year will probably fall not much short of
I thirty millions. Thirty millions of Treasury
i drifts on receivers general, of every denomi
i nation, and to any imount, may be issued by
■ th;: Secretary of tile Treasury. What amount
j would remain in Circulation cannot be deter
mined a priori, 1 suppose not less than ten or
j fifteen millions ; at the end of another year, i
| sonic ten or fifteen millions more ; they would
J fill all the channels of circulation. The war I
| between the Government and State banks con
| ti;.ui :g, and this mammoth Government bank
j being in the market, constantly demanding
j specie for its varied and ramified operations,
i confidence would be lost in the notes oithe lo
i c.ii banks, their paper would grade ally cease to ;
I circulate, arid the batiks themselves would be
i crippled and broken. The paper of the Gov
i ernment bank would ultimately fill the vacuum, 1
| us it would instantly occupy the place of the
; notes of the late Bank of the United States.
I am aware, Mr. President, that by the 25th
section of the bill, in order to disguise the pur
pose of the vast machinery which we are a
bout constructing, it is provided that it shall be
the duty ofthe Secretary ofthe Treasury to
issue and punlisli regulations to enforce the
speedy presentation of «11 Government drafts
for payments at the place where payable, &c.
Now, what a tremendous power is hete vested
in the Secretary ! He is to prescribe rules and
regulations to enforce the speedy presentation
of all Government drafts for payment at the
place where pavable. The speedy presenta
tion ! In the case I have supposed, a man has
his 810,090 in drafts on the receiver general
at New York. The Secetary is empowered to
enact regulations requiring him speedily to
present them, and, if tie do nofi tho S cretary
may order them to be paid at St. Leifis. At
New York they may be worth a premium id
live per cent.; on St. Louis they may be liable
to a discount of five per cent. Now, in a tree
Government, who would ever think fsubjec
ting the property or money of a ci izeii to the
exercise of such a power by tiny Secretary of
the Treasury ? What opportunity does it not
afl’ord to reward a partisan, or punish an oppo
uent ? It will be impossible to maintain such
an odius and useless restriction for any length ,
of time. Why should the debtor (as the Gov- J
eminent would be in the case o! such drafts ns ;
I have supposed) require his creditor (as the !
holder of the draft would be) to t.pply within a
prescribed time lor his payment ? No, sir ; j
the svstem would control you ; you could not i
so control the svstem. Bui it such a ridicu- ■
ions restriction could he so con i med, the'
drafts would, nevertheless, whilst they were ,
out, be the time long <>r short, perform the ■
office of circulation and money. ■
Let us trace a tittle further the operation of;
this Government bank, and follow it out to its ■
final explosion. I have supposed the appro- !
priatioti of some thirty millions of dollars an- [
nualiv by the Government, to be disbursed in ;
the iorm’of drafts, issued at Washington by the i
Treasury Department, upon the depositaries, i
Ot'that amount, some ten or fifteen millions <
would remain, the first year, in circulation ; at [
the end of another year, a similar amount would ;
continue in circulation ; and so on, from year I
to year, until, at the end of a series ot some
five or six years, there would be in circulation,
to supply the indispensable wants ot commerce
and of a general medium <>f uniform value, not
less than some sixty or eighty millions of drafts I
issu.d by the Government. These drafts
would be generally upon the receiver general I
at New York, because, on that point, they j
would be preferred over all others, as they j
would command a premium, or be at par, .
throughout the wholo extent of the United I
States; and we have seen that the S.cretary ’
of the Treasury is invested with ample au
thority to concentrate at that point the whole
revenue ot the United States.
Ail experience has demonstrated that in
banking operations a much larger amount ot
paper can be kept out in circulation than the
specie which it is necessary to retain in the
vaults to meet it when presented for payments
The proportions which the same experience
has ascertained m be entirely safe are one of
specie to three of paper. It therefore, the Ex
ecutive Government had sixty mtlho is ot dol. !
lars accumulated at the port of New York, tn j
hands ofthe receiver general, represented I
bvs ; »t” tniiffims of Government drafs in cir-■
culation, it would be riuo"’ i that twenty oi that
sixty nnli'ons vould be sufficient to retain to
meet tiny amou.it oi drails which, iiiorthnaiy
rimes, would be presented for pu\iTwnt. T. he: u
would then remain forty millions in the vaults,
idle and unproductive,and of which no practi
cal use could be made. Wella great elec
tion is at hand in the State Aork, the
result of which will seal the fate of an e’iu
ting administration. If the application often
millions of that dormant capital could at have
some future day. a corrupt Executive from
overthrew, can it be doubted that the ten mill- j
ions would be applied topreserve it in power?
Again: let us suppose some great exigencies
to ar se, a season of war, creating severe fi
nancial presume and embarrassment. Would
not an issUe of paper, founded upon and ex
ceeding the specie in the Vaults, in sum■: such
prc'porftuus as expcri ' ice had deinoi'.slrateo
might be safely be authorized ! Ii-
ualiy, thv whole amount of specie migh be ex
hausted, and then, as it is easier to engrnvi
and issue bank notes than to perform the un
popular office of imposing tuxes and burdens,
the discovery would be made that ihe credi<
ofthe Government was a sufficient basi*
whereupon to make emissions of paper money,
lo be ledeerned when peace and prosperity re
turned. Then we should have the days of
continental money, and of assignats, restored ?
Then we should have that Government paper
medium, which the Senator from South Caro
lina [Mr. Calhoun] considers the most per
feet of all currency !
Meantime, tipd during the progress of this
vast Government machine, the State banks
would be all prostrated. Working well, as it
may, if honestly administered, in the first pe
riod of its existence, it will be utt< rly impos
sible for them to maintain the unequal compe
tition. They co.dd not maintain it, even if
the Government were actuated bv no unfriend
ly feelings towards them. Bet when we know
the spirit which animates the present Execu
tive towards them, who can doubt that they
must fall in the unequal contest? Their issue :
will be discredited and discou.itena iced ; and
that system of bankruptcy which the President
would even now put into operation against
them, will, in the sequel, be passed and enfor
ced without difficulty.
Assuming the downfall of the local banks,
the inevitable co l sequences ofthe operations
of this great Government bank ; assumi g, as
I hai-f shown would bet.be ease, that ttie Gov
ernment would monopolize the paper issues of
the country, and obtain the possession of a
great portion of the specie of the country, we
should then behold a combined and concentre
ted moneyed power equal to that of till the ex
isting banks of the United States, with that of
the late Bank ofthe United State’s superudded.
This tremendous power would be wielded by
the Secretary of the Treasury, acting under
the immediate commands of the President ot
the United States. Here would be a perfect
union ofthe sword and the purse ; here would
be no imaginary, but an act al, visible, tangi
ble, consolidation of the moneyed power. Who
or what could withstand it ? The States them
selves would become suppliants at the feet of
the Executive fora portion of those paperemis
sions, of the power to issue which they had I
been stripped, and which he tiow excluaiveh >
possessed.
Mr. President, my observations a d exp"-1
rience have satisfied me that the safety ol (
liberty and prosperity consists in the division I
of power, whether political or pecuniary. I J
our federative system our security is to b I
I found in that happy distribution of power which j
| exists between the federal governme .ts ami
’ the state governments. In our monetary sys
I tern, as it lately existed, its excellence resulted
I from that beautiful arrangement by which th.-
i states had their institutions for local purposes.
) and the general government its institutions
I for the more general purposes of the whab
) Union. There existed the greatest conge >i
t ality between all the parts of this admirable
! system. All was homogeniotis. There was
! no separation ofthe federal government from
j the stales of from the people. There was o
I attempt to execute practically that absut lity
of sustaining, among the same people, tw.
different cmreacies of □ equ.il value. And
how udmirab e did the whuie sys em, dur n
the forty yeursofits existence, mo\e and
Work ! Andon the two Unfortunate occasio s
of its Ceasing to exist, how quickly did the
business and transactions of the country ru
into wild disorder md utter confusion !
I Hitherto I have considered this new proit c
■ as it is, according ro its true nature and char
ncter, and what it must inevitably become, i
1 have not examined it as it is not, hut s in-.
friends would represent ii to be. They hold t
' out the idea that it is a simple contrivance to j
collect, to keep, and to disburse, the pubiit i
revenue. I u that view of it, every consider:!
tion of safety and s curity recommends the
agency of respo sible corporations, rather th..n J
the employment of particular individuals. It!
has been shown, during the course of this de
bate, that, the amount which has been lost by ;
tire defalcation of individuals has exceeded I
three or four times the amount of all that has {
been lost by tho local banks, although th- !
sums confided lo the care of individuals hav. I
not been probably one tenth part of the amou. t :
that has been in the custody of the local banks. [
And we all know that, during the forty years!
of existence of the two Banks of the united I
States, not one cent was lost to the public re- |
venue.
1 have been curious, Mr. President, to know,
whence this idea of receivers general was de- !
rived. It has been supposed to have been;
borrowed from France. It required all the I
power of that most extraordinary man that ev '
er lived Napoleo Bonaparte, when he w. sin j
his meridian greatness, to displace the fatm.-ts j
general, and t<> substitute in their place the f
receivers general. The new system r. quires, t
I think I have heard it stated, something like j
1U9.000 employers to have it executed. And, j
notwithstanding the modesty of the i fa 4 ;
promises of this new project, I have no doubt I
that ultimately we shall have to employ a num- I
b?r of perso s approximating to that which is I
retained in France. That will u.idoub edly I
be trie case whenever we shall revive the sys. i
tern of internal taxation. Li France, what re- !
conciled them to the system was, that Napo.}
Icon first, and the Bourbons after wards, were
pleased with the immense patronage which it •
gave them. They liked to have 100.090 de
pendants to add strength to the throne, which
had been recently constructed. I thought,
however, that the learned chairman of the
committee of Finance must have had some
other besides the French model for his receiv.
ers ge.net rd and, accordingly, upon looking in.
to Smith’s history of his own State, I found
tbai, when it was yet a colony, some century
and a half ago, and when its present noble capi
t?.! sltll retain, d ‘he name of New Amsterdam,
the histon.in says; ‘’Among the pri cipa! ;
laws enacted at this session, we mat me tion i
that for establish!.,g the revenue, which w s
drawn into precedent. The sums raised by
it were made payable into the hands of re
ceivers general, and issued by the Govei oi’s ■
warrant. By this means the Governor be-I
came, for a season, indepet.de .t ofthe people, -
and hence we fi d frequent instances of the !
Assemblies contending with him for the dis- I
chiitve of debts ro private persons, contracted ■
on th.-faith of the Government.” The then
Governor of the colony was a man of great '
violence of temper and arbitrary in his conduct. ‘
How the sub-Treasury system of that day I
operated, the same historian informs ns in a !
subsequent part of bis work.—“ The revenue,” I
he snvs, ” established the last year, was at. |
this session Co ti.aied five years longer than |
| was ongitimly mteitded. This was retidi'i ’tig i
Vol. V—No. -48.
. the Governor i. dependent of the p«op>. Fcr<
at that day, the Assembly had no tretisbre*
bui the n mount of all taxes went, of cour«e»
. into the hands of lhe receiver general, who
, was appointed by the Crown. Out of thij
fund moneys Were only issuable bv the Gov
ernor’s warrant, So that every of£cer in the
Government, from Mr. Braith Wait, who drew*
annually five per cent, out or the revenue, na
' auditor general, down to the nieauest servant
’ ofthe public, became independent, solely, of
the Governor. And hence, we find the House,
at the close of every session, humbly addres
sing I’ is Excelleucv.jffir the trifling wag< sos
thier own clerk,” And, Mr. President, if the
measure should unhappily pass, the day may
come when the Senate of the United Slate*
will have humbly to implore some future Presi
dent of the United States to grant it money to
pay the wages of its sergeaut-at-arrow
and door keeper.
Who Mr. President, ure rhe most 7 conspicu.
ous of lit sj who persevering! v pressed inis
bill upon Congress and the American people ?
the white house not fai off; its endorser is
thudisti guished Senator from South Carolina/
here present. What the drawer think? of tlie
e .dorscr, his cautious reserver r uud .-tifled en
mity,- pr.- vents us from knowing. But the
frankness of the endorser has not left us tn
the same ignorance with respect to his opin.
ion ofthe drawer. He has often expressed it
upon the floor of the Senate. On «u occasion
not very distai.t. denying to him any of thw
in.ble qualities of rhe royal beast of the forest,
he attributed t > him those which belong tothe
most ernttv, most skulking, and one of the
meatiest of tin quadruped tribe. Mr; Presi*
d nt, it is due to myself to say that I cio not
dtogether share with the Senator from South
Carolina in this opinion of the President of
the United States I have always found him, in
his manners and deportment, civil, courteous,
and gentlemanly; and he dispenses, in the no
ble mansion which he now occupies, one wor
thy the residence of the Chief Magistrate of
a great people, a generous and liberal hospital,
ity. An acquaintance with him of more than
twenty years duration has inspired me with a
respect for the man. although, I regret to be
compelled to say. I detest the Magistrate.
The eloquent Senator from South Carolina
has intimated that the course of my frientii
and my self, in opposing this bill, was unpatri
otic, and that w<- ettght to have followed in
his lead ; and in a late letterofllis he has spo
ken of his alliance with us, and of his motive*
ior quitting it. I cannot admit the justice of
his reproach. Vr.j united, if indeed, there
■ wer ■ any alliai.ee in the etrse. to restrain the
enormous expansion of executive power; te
ai r. st the progress of corruption; to rebuke
usurpation ; and to drive the Goths and Van*
dilstromtha C.ipitnl; to expel Brennus and
iis horde from Rome, who, when he throw
his sv.-ord into the scale, augment the ransoM
demanded from the mistress of the world,
showed his pfefhreuce for gold; that he was
I' a hard ruoa«y chieftain. It. was by the much
mom valuable metal of iron that he was driv.
en from her gates, And how often hate Ws
witnessed the S mater from south Carolina,
with woful countenance, and in doleful strains,
pouring forth touching and mournful eloquenco
>n the degeneracy of the times, and the down*
I ward tendency of the republic ? Day after day,
j 1.1 the Sena-e, have we seen the displays of his
i lofty and impassioned eloquence. Although I
share 1 largely wi'h the Senator in his appro,
n.uis on lor the purity of our institutions, and
th -permanency of civil liberty, disposed al.
ways to look at the brighter side of humart
Itnirs, I was sanp times inclined to hope that
l ie vivid imagination of the Senator had de
picted lie: da gers by which we were encom*
i p'ssed in somewhat stronger colours than they
j justified. ’I he arduous contest in which wa
I were s:i long engaged, was about to terminate
j i a glorious victory. The very object for
j which the alliance was formed Was about to
I ie accomplished. At this critical moment the
! Senator left us; he left us for the very purpose
■ of pre veoti gibe success of the common cause,
i He took up his musket, knapsack, and shot
I pouch, and joined the other parly. He went,
• horse, foot, and dragoon, and he himself com,
I posed the whole corps, fie went, as his pre.
I sent most distinguished ally commenced wi'h
I the expunging resolution, solitary and alone,
i The earliest instance recorded in history, or
an ally drawing ofl’itis forces from the combi,
tied array w is that of Achilles at the siege of
Troy. He withdrew, with all his troops, and
remained in the neighbourhood, in sullen and
dignified inactivity. But he did not join the
Trojan forces, and when, during the progress
of the siege, his faithful friend fell in battle, he
raised Ins avenging unn,drove i he Trojans back
into the gates oi Troy, and satiated his ven.
geauce by slaying Priam’s noblest and dearest
s >n, the fi iest hero in the immortal Iliad.
But Achr.ies had been wronged, or imagined
himself w.’o ged, in the person of the fair and
beautiful Briseis. We did no wrong to trio
distinguished Senator from South Carolina.
O tiie contrary, we respected him, confided
in his great and acknotvledgea ability, his
uncommon genius, his extensive experience,
his supposed patriotism; above all, we con
fided in his stern and inflexible fidelity. Nev.
ertheless he left us, and joined our common
opponents, distrusting aiu distrusted. He left
us, as he tells us in his Edgefield letter, be
cause the victory which our common arms
were about to achieve, was not to enure to him
and his party, but exclusively to the benefit
of his allies and their cause. I thought that,
actuated by patriotism, (that noblest of human
virtues-.) we bad been contending together for
our common country, for her violated rights,
her threatened liberties, her prostrate constitu.
tion. Never did I suppose that personal cr
party considerations entered into our views.
Whether, it'victory shall ever again be about
to perch upon the standard of the spoils party,
(the denominatiou which the Senator from
South Carolina has so often given to his pres,
ent allies) he wiil not feel himself constrained,
by the principles on which he has acted, to
leave them, because it may not enure ti» the
benefit of himself and his party. Heave to bo
adjusted b tween themselves.
Speech of the Senator from South Coroltna
whs plausible, ingenuous, abstract, metapby
<«ic.>l. and generalizing. It did not appesr t*
me to be adapted to the bosoms and business.
’of hr. man life. It was aerial, and notvelf
high up in the air, Mr. Preside't, neither, not.
■ quite ns high as Mr. ( 'litvton was i' l his last
l ascension i:i tm« balloon. The Senator an*
nounced that thorn was a single alternative
and n<> escape from one or th 0 oth'»r hrmcb of
I it. lie stated th tw e must take the bill under
I consideration. or the substitute proposed -by
i the the Senator from Virgii'i*** 1 rl ®t
cur in that s' Cement of th» case. There is
’ another course, embraced ’ n twitluw branch <»f