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CHROM 3L|l AND SENTINEL.
A »■ GISTA.
TUESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 15.
FOR CONGRESS,
HINES HOLT, Jr.
MCSCOGEE.
Election on . 'irst Monday in January.
Correspondence f the Chronicle and Sentinel.
Milledgeville, Dec. 11.
In the Senate to day, the bill introduced by Mr.
Echols, of Coweta to amend the Constitution so as
to require the Juds :s of the Superior Court to meet
at Milledgeville tv|ice a year, for the purpose of
deciding questions?>f law arising in their respec
tive Circuits, or,irpther words, to constitute the n,
when in Convents a, a Supreme Court, was taken
up and lost—then not being two thirds in its fa
vor. Yeas 45—Na *s 30. It was supported briefly
by Messrs. Echols of Coweta, Miller and Chasta;.n,
and in a speech of considerable length by Mr.
Floyd. The latte: gentleman always speaks to the
pur, ose and reasc is closely. Illr. Cone was the
only gentleman w io spoke against it.
Both branches a the Legislature then went into
the elections set apart for the day. On lhe€th
ballot, Wm. Tayi >r. Esq. of Early county was
elected Judge of t e S. VV. Cirauit.
Ist. 2d. 3d. 4th. sth. 6:h.
William Taylor, ,18 122 124 123 127 123
T. C. Sullivan, 31 29 16 10 108 dr.
Howell Cobb, 36 34 28 25 16 dr.
Jas. Thomas, 63 72 84 88 4 96
Barna Hill, 14 8 10 11 7 dr.
Gainer, 3 1 dr. 09 00 00
Blank, 1 3 4 3 2 3
271 269 266 260 261 222
After the resu; was declared, a hat, near the
President of the Senate, was discovered to have
bnllots in it, pet .here by mistake. They were
counted and sou; d to be 10 for Taylor and 8 for
Thomas.
On the fifth ba! ot, Adam Robertson, Esq was
elected Solicitor General for the same Circuit. 1
have not been ab eto get the ballottings. His op
ponents were Me srs. Campbell, Patterson, Smith,
and a Mr. Blank,; who, it seems, is as notorious for
being a Candida ; as Mr. Scatieiing, James R.
t\vi.y was eiec ?d Brigadier General of the Ist
Brigade, 7th Div don, on the first ballot: Wyly,
126— Wilson 82, The Senate was engaged all the
afternoon in rea ing bills from the House a first
ano second time. Q.
Milledgeville, Ga.
Satu day evening, Dec. 12, 1840.
The House wi engaged nearly all the morning,
or until the hour arrived whi *h was set apart for
the elections of ie day, in discussing a motior to
r*-consider a voi of yesterday on the second sec
tion of the Centi 1 Bank bill, which was to strike
out the word “h ndied,” in its connection in ihe j
sentence, no as t| leave the minimum amount of j
the State bond to e five do lais,instead of“five bun- I
dred dollars,” as eported by the committee. The j
motion to strike ut prevailed yesterday, and, as- i
ter a protracted iscussioa this morning, the mo- j
lion to re-consid( was lost. So that oy the oil as !
amended, the bods may be issued in any amount,
varying from ti e dollars upwards, to suit pur
chasers, &c.
At the hour o 11 o’clock, both bouses proceed
ed to the electic s of the day, to wit: a Judge and
Solicitor Gener: lor the South-western Circuit, 1
and a Brigadier eneralfor the Ist Brigade and 7ih ,
Division Georgi Militia; which resulted in the 1
election of Wu iam Tayi or Judge, Adam Ro
binson Solicitor, ind J. U. Wiley, of Habersham,
General.
After the ele<| ions the Senate retired, and the i
House adjournei until 3 o’clock, P. M.
The whole ev, ning was consumed in discussing |
additional amen] meim to the Central Bank bi.l —
the most import it of which, was one offered by '
Mr. Bethea, of Washington, to borrow three mil
lions of dollars y the sale of the Mate bonds in
stead of one, as reposed by the committee, to be j
used as far as r ctssary in the redemption of the ;
Central Bank bi ;, and the balance to be loaned to J
the people by th Bank at S pet cent. His amend- !
ment also prov ,ed that the interest on the bonds
should not exce 17 per cent, per annum. It was, I
however, lost if a large majority. And the ui.l
then, with somt*;light modifications, came upon il*
passage, and, as I expected would be the result,
was carried by considerable majority. The vote
was lU4 to 68. Whether it will pass the Senate ’
in its present iape is somewhat doubtful. But
the probability ;, that no very important or mate
rial amendment such as striking out th: first tec- I
Hon, or any ti ing of that kind,) will be made j ,
there. No doul t the friends, in that body, of the i
project of last session and the reckless pol.cy of j 1
the present Di oction, would willingly do so but I '
lor fear, on :he part, that such course would ci - 1
danger tne succ ss of the entire measure, by a re
fusal of the Ho se to concur, AnJ so dear to them I 1
and necessary s this act of the State to relieve |
the mai-aamini tration of the Bank from its pre
sent embarrass! ients, that they will not permit so j j
important a coi iideration to be lost by too grea: a
tenacity for a ystem of pol.cy which is a,ready ,
ripe for public condemnation. For nothing but
this aid of the fate, afforded by involving herself, «
can save the au hors and projectors of that scheme I
Horn the just , Runa of au indignant people, who, 1
otherwise, woi Id inevitably be compelled to incur '
heavy losses bj the depreciation of their irredeem
able paper.
1 send you ; copy of the bill a» it passed the
House, that yt i may present it to your readers if
you think prop r.
The Senate id nothing of importance to-day.—-
Most of tht i ic was taken up in reading bills the
first and secon time. Yours, ate. H.
A Hill,
To be entr lan act to repeal an act entitled
“An act to a • and amend an act to establish
a bank at Mi. edgeviile, to be called and known
by the name < the Central bank of Georgia,”
passed on the 12d day of December, 1828, pass
ed on the 21s day of December, 1839, und to
provide for tl 3 protection of the cnfiliation of
said bank an otner purposes.
Section 1 Be it tnueltd by the Senate and
Htuse of Hes 'esentaiives •f the Siaie of Geor
gia in Gener, L Assembly nut: and it la hereby
enacted by I e authority of the same r Thai (
fiom and afr r the passage ol- this act, tha t an
act entitled *• An act to ailer and amend an act <
•o establish a; ianK at Milledgeville, 10 be called
and known b the name and style oi the Central
Ba .k ol Gem ;ia,"’ &c., passed on the 22d day
of December, 1828, passed on me 21st day ui
December, Ife 19, be and the same is hereby re
peated.
Section 2 Be it further enacted by ihe au - ,
thonty afore,aid: That ihe Governor of this 1
State bo and eis hereby authorized to execute ]
the bonds of this State, not exceeding one million
of dollars, in sums not less than five dollars each,
redeemable at the end of five years or sooner, at
the option of the State, bearing an interest of S
per cent per annum, payable annually in the
cities of Savannah, Augusta and Milledgeville,
which bonds shall be used exclusively for the
redemption of the bills of the Central bank now
in cilculation, and those which this Legislature
direct the issue of, to uefray the expenses of and
the appropriations made by ibis General Assem
bly, and for no other purpose whatsoever, and
only for that purpose to the extent necessary,
after the application of the funds of the Central
Bank available for that purpose: provided, nev
ertheless, that if it le practicable to obtain specie
for the purpose aforesaid, by making any of the
aforesaid bonds payable elsewhere than in the
State, the same may be maue payable at any place
in tne United Stales.
Section 3. And be it further enacted by
the aulhor.ty aforesaid: That the faith and
credit of the State of Georgia be and the same are
nereby pledged for the payment of f-aid bonds at
the niaiu»ity thereof, and also that they be con
sidered a debt due by the Central bank, the as
sets of which are hereoy required to be appropii*
ated to the purpose of the payment of the inter
est of the alnresaid bonds, and their,redempiion
as soon as they become due.
Section 4. And be it further enacted by
the authority ofjiesaid: That the Governor
sTiall cause saia bonds or a sufficiency thereof for
the purposes specified in the act. to be sold at
such times and places as he may deem most be
neficial to the State, for specie or its equivalent,
at not less than par, or the bills ot the Cen
ti al bank, und any person or persons holumg
Cen.ral bank bills to the amount of five dollars
or more, shall be entitled to receive said bonds in
payment thereof, unless the Central bank shall
on demand provide oilier sat.sfuclory means of
payment, and unless said person or persons shall
be indebted to the State or said Central bank
upon debts due at the time of the demand: p<o
vided, that no bond shall issue for less than the
whole amount presented in any one week by any
one person or company in his her or their own
right, unless the amount so presented exceeds
five hundred dollars, in which latter event a bond
or bonds shall issue in sums ot five hundred dol
lars and suen fractious thereof us will meet the
amount presented.
Section 5. And be it farther enacted by
the autnority aforesaid: That the Directors of the
Central BaiiK be and they are hereby authorized
to sell the stocks owned by the Stale in the bank
of the State of Georgia, and m the Bunk of Au
gusta for specie or its equivalent, at not less than
ten per cent below par, to a sufficient amount to
pay the balance which may be necessary to dis
charge the debt due the Pnoe.iix bank after the
application of the funds provided by the Bank
first to that purpose, and the interest of the pub
lic debt due in the year 1840.
Section 6. And be it further enacted by
the authority aforesaid: Tnat all laws and pans
ot laws militating against this act, be and the
same are hereby repealed.
Correspondence of the t hronicle and Sentinel.
Washington, December 10, I;>40.
We hive the President’s Message at last. Yes
terday there was a quorum of Senators present;
and that body was organized by the President pio
tem , who look the Chair. After the interchange
of the u-ual messages between the two houses, a
Joint Committee was aj p anted to visit the Pie i
dent, aim inform him ihat a quoiuraof each bouse
had been formed, and that they wcie ready to re
ceive any cum nunication he might have to raa*e.
The Committee having discharged this duly, tne
Private Secretary ol the President soon afterwards
appeared at the oar and delivered the la>t annual
Message ofMartiu Van Buren. It excited no com
ments ; and I send it to you without any for the
present. Twenty thousand copies of it were or
dered to Le printed by the House, and seven thou
sand five bundled by the Senate. The House u
ferred it to the Committee of the whole on (he state
of the Union. Resolutions were then adopted, di
recting the proper officers to furnish the Senators
and Representatives with the usual number of
newspapers. A resolution was aim passed for the
appointment of tw© Chaplains, to interchange be
tween the two houses during the session.
Mr. Merrick announced the death of bis col
league, Mr. Spence, late Senator Lorn Maryland,
who Aed during the recess. After paying a mer
ited and feeling tribute to his purity of life and
conduct, and his pub.ic services, he offered the cus
tomary resolutions for going into mourning, which
were agreed to ; and then, as an additional m irk of
respect to the memory of Mie deceased, the Senate
adjourned. ,
I regret to be compelled to notice the course
which ex-President Adams has thought fit to pur
sue, at the ’’cry opening of the session. He ollei
ed a resolution for rescinding the following stand
ing rule of the House, which, you will remember,
was ad iptcd at the last session, on motion of Mr.
Wm. Cost Johnson.
“ No petition, memorial, resolution or other pa
per, praying the abolition of slavery in the District
of Columbia, or any .Slate or Territory, or the slave
trade between the States or Territories of the Uni
ted 'tales, in which it now exists, shall b - received
by this House, or entertained in any way what
ever.”
Mr. Adams denounced this rule as in direct vio
lation of the Constitution of the United Slates,
Mr. Williams, of N. C., suggested that the gen
tleman who intioduced the rue was not in his sea .
Mr. Adams said he would be glal to hear the
gentlem in who had tne honor of being the author
of it; provided tne House would also let him speak.
Mr. Banks, of Va., moved to Jay ihe resolution
for rescinding on the table.
Mr. Adams said he hoped the,House would de
cide the question at ome, and not lay iron the ta
ble, as, in that case, it could be called up at ar y
time. He dio not wish to discuss it. All lie want
ed was the sense of the House.
The question was then put on Mr. Banks’ mo
tion, and carried in the affirmative. Ayes S2,naj s
58. So toe motion to rescind the rule abovtraen
tioned was laid on the table.
The House then adjourned.
Mr. Secretary Woodbury has provided for him
self another berth, after the 4lh of M rch next.
He will go straight up from the Treasury to the
Senate chamber. He ha- been elected a Senator
for six years from the 4th of March next, from the
state of New Hampshire. Mr. Hubbard, the pre
sent Senator, tried ha>d to obtain a re-elec don
But the Secretary beat him by four votes in the
Locofoco caucus which nominated IhecandidaUd
of “the party” d,
lliimplou Cotiise.
TUESDA Y —F IKST DAY.
Purse $lO6 —Two mile heat;.
entries.
Col. John Crowell’s h. i. Nancy Clark,by P.ejtn; d
out of Moiocco Slipper—3 years old.
G. Edmonson, James Lamkiirs ch. f. Maiy Elizr
betn, by Andrew, dam by Gallatin—4 years old.
F. Tompkins, Charles Lewis’ s. f. Nancy lici.se,
by imp. Leviathan, dam by Stockholder—3 y’rs
old.
The Geneva Democrat tells a good one : “It
declares that there is a bachelor in that city who
fancies himself a siiuipiasie. ; and will not oilier
himself to any lady tor tear ol being reluved.”
MESSAGE |
From the President of the United Slates , to the
two houses of Congress, at the commencement j
of the second session of the twenty-sixth ,
Congress.
FiH.OW-CITIZESS OF THE SeKATE
and House of Repueskstatives; I
Our devout gratitude is due to the Supreme
Being lor bating graciously c« ntinued to our be
loved conn ry, through the vicissitudes of anoth
er year, the invaluable blessings of heahh. pien
ly, and peace. Seldom has this favored land
been so generally exempt* d from the ravages of
disease, or the labor of the husbandman more am
ply rewarded; and never bekne have our rela
tions with other countries been placed on a more
favorable basis than that which they so happily
occupy at this critical conjuncture in the affairs
of the woild. A rigid and persevering abstinence
Irem all intei ference with the domestic and poli
tical relations of other States, alike due to the
genius and distinctive character of our Govern
ment and to the principles by which it is direc
ted ; a faithful observance, in the management ol
oui foreign relations, of the practice ot speaking
plainly, dealing justly, and requiring truth and
jus ice in return, as Uie best conservatives ot the
peace of nations; a strict impartiality in our
manifestations of friendship, in the commercial
privileges we concede, and those we require from
others: these, accompanied by a oisposition as
prompt to maintain, in every emergency,our own
rights, as we are from principle averse to the in
vasion of those of others,have givenjo our coun
try and Government a standing in the great fam
ily of nations, o! which we have just cause to be
proud, and the advantages of which are experi
enced by our citizens throughout every portion of
the earth to which their enterprising and adven
turous spirit may cany them- Few, if any, re
main insensible to the value of our friendship, or
ignorant of the terms on which it can be acqui
red, and by which it can alone be preserved.
A series ot questions of longstanding, difficult
in their adjustment, and important in their con
sequences, in whicn the rigtus of our citizens and
the honor es the country were deeply involved,
have, in the course of a few years, (the most 01
them during the successful administration of my
immediate predecessor,) been brought to a sa is
factory conclusion ; and the most important ol
those remaining are, I am nappy to believe, in a
fairway of be.ng speedily and 4 satislactorily adjus
led.
With all the powers of the world our rela
tions are those ol honorable peace. sfince your
adjournment, nothing serious has occurred to in
terrupt or threaten I his desirable harmony. Il
clouds have low red above the other hemisphere,
they have not cast their portentous shadows upon
our happy shores. Bound hy no entangling alli
ances, yet linked by a common nature and inte
rest wiih the other nations of mankind, our aspi
rations are for the preservation of peace, in whose
solid a,nl civilizing triumphs all may participate
with a generous emulation. Vet it behooves us
t> be prepared for any event, and to be always
ready to maintain ihose just and enlightened prin
ciples of national intercourse, lor which tins
Government has ever contended. In tne shock
of contending empties, it is only by assuming a
resolute bearing, and clothing themselves with de- 1
ensive aunor. that neutral nations can maintain
their independent rights.
Tie excitement wmch grew out of the terri
torial coiitrovetsy between the Grilled Shales and
Great Britain havinp in a great measure subsided
it is hoped that a lavorable period is approaching
tor us linal settlement. |Uoth Governments mu>t
now be convinced of the dangers witti which the
question is fraught ; and it must be their dcsiie,
as it is their interest, that this perpetual cause ot
irritation should be removed as speedily as
possible. In my last annual message you
were informed that the proposition for a com
mission of exploration and survey promised by
Grr.il B.iluin had been leceived, and that a conn-
I- rproject, including also a provision tor the cer
tain ami final adjustment ot ihe limits in dispute,
was then before ihe Bnlisn Government tor its
consideration. Tne answer of dial Government,
accompanied by additional propositions of its own
was received, through its minister here, since
your separation. These were promptly consider
ed ; such as were deemed cm reel in principle,
ami consistent with a due regard to the just right
of the United S ales and of me estate ol Maine,
concurred in; and the reasons for dissenting trom
the residue, with an additional suggestion on our
part, communicated hy the Secretary of 6,ale to
Mr. Fox. Tnal minister, not feeling himself suffi
ciently instructed upon some of ihe points ra sed
in the discussion, fell it to be hisduiy to refer tbe
matter to his own Government for its further
decision. Having now been for some tune under
its advisement, a spe* ily answer may be confident
ly expected. From the character of tne points
still in ditl'eience, and the undoubted disj *.sition
of both parlies to bring the matter to an early
conclusion, I took with entire confidence to a
nrompt and taljstactory termination ot tne nego
tiation. Three commissioners were appointed
shor'ly after the adjournment of Congress, un er
the act of the last session providing for the explo
ration and suivey of the I ne which separates the
Slates of Mime an I New Hampshire from the
Brins i P'ovinces; they hive been actively employ
rd uni.l their pr igress was interrupted by the in
clemency of the season, and will resume im ir la
bors as soon as praclicao e in tne ensuing year.
It is understood thaitueir re.pective examina
tions will throw new tight upon the subject in
controversy, and serve to remove any erroneous
impressions which may have been made else
where prejudicial to the rights ot the Uni
ted States, it was among oilier reasons, with
a view ot preventing the embarrisnients which, 1
in our peculiar system of government impede
and complicate negotiations involving the terri
torial rights ot a State, that I thought it n y duty, 1
as you nave been informed on a previous occa
sion, to propose to the British Gove*nrnent, thro’
its minister at Washington, that early steps
should be taken to adjust the puin's ot difference I
on the line of boundaiy from the entrance ol
Lake Superior to the most northwestern point ol
the Lake of the Woods, by the arbitration of a
friendly power, in conformity with the 7th arti- i
cle of tne treaty of Ghent. No answer has yet I
been returned hy the British Government to this
proposition.
With Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and ,
the remaining powers ot Europe, I am happy to
inform you our relations continue to be ut the
most friendly character. With Belgium, a trea
ty of commerce and navigation, based upon lib
eral principles of reciprocity and equality, was
concluded in March last, and, having been lati
fied bv the Belgian Government, will be duly
laid before the Senate. It is a subject of con
gratulation that it provides for the satisfactory
adjustment of a long-standing question of con
troversy ; thus removing the only ouslaele which
could obstruct the friendly and mutually advan
tageous tnteicourse between the two nations. A
messenger has been despatched with the Hano
verian treaty of Berlin, where, according to stip
ulation, .the ratifications are to be exchanged. I
am happy to announce to you that, alter many
delays and difficulties, a treaty pf commerce and
navigation, between the United Stat s and Pot
cuga*. was concluded and signed at Lisbon, on
the J 6th of August last, by the plenipotentiaries
of the two Governments Its stipulations arc
founded upon those principles of imitua liberality
and advantage which the United Stales have al
ways sought to make the basis of the.r inter
course with Foreign Powers, and it is hoped they
will tend to foster and strengthen the commercial i
intercourse of the two countries. 1
Under the appropriation of ihe last setsipn of <
Congress, an agent dias been sent to Germany,
I for the purpose of promoting the interests of our
tobacco trade.
The commissioners appointed under the con
vention For the adjustment ot claims of the cit
izens of the United States upon Mexico having
met and organized at Washington, in August
last, the papers in the possession of the Govern-
I rnent, to those claims, were communi
cated to the board. Ihe claims not embraced by
that convention are-now the sulject of negotia
tion between the two Governments, through the
medium of oar minister at Mexico.
Nothing has occurred to disturb the harmony
of our relations with the diffeient Governments
of South America. I regret, however, to be ob
liged to inform you that the claims of our citi
zens upon the late Republic *>f Columbia have
n«*t yet been sath-fied by the separate Govern
ments into which it has been resolved.
The Charge d’Alfiairs of Brazil having ex
pressed the intention of hi- G .ve mnent not to
prolong the treaty of 1828. it will cease to be
obligatory upon either party on the 12th day of
December 1841, when the extensive commercial
intercourse between the United States and that
vast empire will no longer be regulated by express
stipulations.
It affirds me pleasure to communicate to you
that the Government of Chili has entered into
an agreement, to indemnify the claimants in the
case of the Macedonian, for American property
seized in 1819, and to add, that information lias
also been received which justifies the hope of an
early adjustment of the remaining claims upon
that Government.
The commissioners appointed in pursuance of
the convention between the United States and
Texas, for /nuking the boundary between them,
have according to the last report received from
our commissioner, surveyed and established the
whole extent of the boundary north along the
western bank of the Sabine River, from its en
trance into the Gul. of Mexico to the thirty-se
cond degree of north latitude. 'The commission
adjourned on the 16ih o June last, to re-assern
bleou the Ist of November, for the purpose of
establishing accurately the intersection of the
th;rly-second degree of latitude with the western
bank of the Sabine, and the meridian line thence
to Red River. It is presumed tnal the woik will
be concluded in the present season.
The present sound condition of their finances,
and the success with which embarrassments in
regard to them, at times apparently insurmoun
table, have been overcome, aie matters upon
which the people and Government ofthe United
Stales may w* II congratulate themselves. An
ovciflowing treasury, however, it may be regard
ed as an evidence of public prosperity, is seldom
conducive to the permanent weltaieofany peo
ple; ana experience has demonstiated its in
compatibility with the salutary action of political
institutions like those* f the Unled States. 1 ur
safest reliance for financial etlic.cncv anu indepen
dence has, on the contraiy. been found to consist
in ample res* urces uneucumoercd with debt; and
in this re-pect, the Federal Government occupies
a singularly fortunate and truly enviatue position.
When I entered upon the discharge ot my
official duties in March, 1837. tne act for the i
distribution ofthe surplus revenue was in a course
of rapid execution. Nearly twenty eight mill- !
i ions of dollars of the public moneys were in
pursuance of its provisions, deposited with the
.Slates in the month of January. April, ami July, I
of that year. In May there occurred a general j
ruspension of specie payments bv the banks, in- !
eluding wiih very lew * xceptions those in which
the public moneys were deposited,and upon whose
fidelity the Government had unfortunately made
itsell dependent for the revenues wmch had been
collected from the people, and were indispensable
to the public servue. This suspension, and the
excess in [tankingand coinmeiceuut ol which il
arose, and which weie greatly aggravated by its
occurrence, made, to a great extent unavailable
tite principal part ol the public money then on
hand ; suspended the collection of many millions
accruing on merchants’ bonds; and greatly re
duced the revenue arising from customs and the
public lands. These effects have continued to
operate in various deg ecs to the present period ;
anil in addition to the decrease in the revenue
thus produced, two and a half millions ot duties
have been relmq fished hy two biennial reductions
under the aetoi 1833, and probably as much more
upon the importations of iron lor rail roads, by
special legislation.
Whilst such has been our condition for the last
four years in relation to revenue, we have, dur- 1
mg the same period, been subjected to an
unavoidable continuance of large extraordi
nary expenses nece.sanly growing out of past
transactions, and which could not be iinme
mediately arrested without great prejudice to the
public interest. Ot these, the charge upon the
Treasury, the consequence of the Gherokee trea
ty alone, without adverting to others arising out
of Indian treaties, has already exceeded five mil
lions of dollars; that tor the prosecution of mea
sures for the removal of the Seminole Indians,
which were found in progress, lias been neatly
fourteen millions; and the public building- have ‘
required the usual sum of nearly three millions;
it affords me, howtver, gieat pleasure to bu j
able to say. that, from the cum.i.encement of i
ilns period to tne present day, every demand up- j
on the Government, at home or abroad, has been I
promptly met. This has been done, not only j
without creating a permanent debt, or a resort to ■
additional taxation in any lurm, but in the midst j
of a steadily progressive reduction of existing >
burdens upon the people, leaving still a consid
erable balance of available funds which will re
main in tne Treasuiy ot the end of tho year.—
Tne small amount of Treasury notes, not ex
ceeding four and a half millions of dollars, still
outstanding, and less hy twenty-three millions
than the United Slates have in depostte with the
States, is composed of such only as ore not yel
due, or have not been presented fur payment. —
They may be redeemed out of the accruing reve
nue, if the expenditures do not exceed the a
mount within vvuich they may, il is t ou hi, he
kept without prejudice to the public interest, and
the revenue shall prove to be as large as may
justly be anticipated.
Among the reflections arising from the con
templation of these circumstances, one, nut the
least gratifying, is the consciousness that the Go
vernment had the resolution and the ability to ad
here, in every emergency, to the sacrea obligations
of law ; to execute all Us contracts according to
the requirements of the Co slilution ; and thus
to present, when most needed, a rallying po.m
by which the business of the whole country
might be brought back to a tafe and unvarying
s-andarci —a result vitally important as well to
the interests as to the morals of the peopie.—
There can surely now' be no difference of opin
ion in regard to the incalculable evils that would
have arisen if the Government, at that critical
moment, had suffered itself to be deter.ed from
upholding the only true standard of value, either
by tne pressure cf adverse circumstances or the
violence of unmerited denunciation. The man
ner in which ihe uecpie sustained the perform
ance of this duty was highly Imnorable to their
fortitude and patriotism. It cannot tail to stimu
late ihtir agents to adhere, under ah circum
stances, to me line of duty ; and to satisfy them
of the safely with which a course really right,
and demanded hy a financial crisis, may, in a
community like ours, be pursued, however, ap
parently severe its immediate operation.
The policy of the Federal Government in ex
tinguishing as readily as possible the national
debt, and, subsequent.}', in resisting every temp
tation to create a new one deserves to be regard
ed in the same favorable light. Among the many
objections to a national debt, the certain tendency
of public securities to concentrate ultimately in
the (offers of foreign stockholders, is one which
r is every day gathering strength. Already have
the resources ot many of the States, and the ft
• ture industry of their citizens, been indefinite!}
- mortgaged to the subjects of European Guvern
t ' merits, to the amount of twelve millions annual
t j ly, to pay the constantly accruing interest 01
• | burrowed money—a sum exceeding half the or
- dinary revenue of the whole United States. Th«
' ■ pretext which this relation affords to foreigners to
• : scrutinize me management of our d. mestic at
‘ i fairs, if not actually t • intermeddle with them.
I presents a suiject for earn* si attention, not to
' I say o serious al rm. Fortunately, the Federal
i Government, with the exception ot an obligation
• 'entered in'o in behalf of the District of Golurn
■ I bia, which must soon be discharged, is wholh
‘ ’ exempt from any such emoarrassment. It is
■ also, as is belie* cd. the only government which
having fully and faithfully paid all its creditors
■ ha> also relieved itself entirely from debt. To
• maintain a distinction so desiiable. and so hon
‘ orable to our national character, should be an
I object of earnest solicitude. ever should a free
I people, if it be possible to avoid it, expose them
- | selves to the necessity of having to treat of (be
’> i peace, the honor, or the sateiy of the Republic.
i with the Governments of foreign ciedilors, who,
1 ! however well disposed they may be to cultivate
’ with us in general friendly relations, are never
! tireless, by the law of their own condition, made
hostile to the success and permanency of poiiti
-1 c;d institutions like ours. Most humiliating may
bo, tiie embarrassments consequent upon such a
condition. Another objection, scarcely less for
midable, to the commencement of a new debt,
is its inevitable tendency to increase in magni
tude, and to foster national extravagance. He
has been an unprofitable observer of events, who
needs at this day to be admonished of the diffi
culties which a Government, Habitually depend
ent on loans to sustain its ordinary expenditures,
has to encounter in resisting the influences con
stantly exerted in ravor of additional loans, by
capitalists, who enrich themselves by government
securities for amounts much exceeding the mo
ney they actually advance—a prolific source of
individual aggrandizement in ail borrowing coun
tries ; by stockholders, who seek their gams, in
I the rise and fall of public stocks; and Lv the
selfish importunities <•} applicants for appropria
j tiona for works avowedly lot the accommodation
of the publ’c, but the real objects of which are,
; too frequently, the advancement of private in
i tercsts. The known necessity which so manv
j of the States will be under to impose taxes for
the payment of the interest on their debts, fur
nishes an additional and very cogent reason whv
the Federal Government should retrain from cre
ating a national debt, by which the people would
be exposed to double taxat on for a similar olject.
We possess within ourselves ample resources for
every emergency; and we may be quite sure
that our citizens, in no future exigency, will be \
unwilling to supply the Government with all the
means asked for the defencemf the country. In
time of peace there can, at all events, be no jus
tification for the creation of a permanent debt bv
the Federal Government. Its I miled range of
constitutional duties may certainly, under such
circumstances, be perfoiined without such a re
; sort. It has, it is seen, been avoided during four
; years of greater fiscal difficulties than have ex
! isted in a similar period since the adoption of the
, Constitution, and one also remaikable fur the oc
currence at extraordinary causes of expenditures.
Rut to accomplish so desirable an object, two
, things are indispensable : first, that the action ot |
the Federal Government be kept within the
boundaries prescribed by its founders; and.se- 1
cormlv, that all appropriations for objects adrnit
ti d to be constitutional, anu the expenditures of
them also, be sul jeclcd to a standard ol rigid hut
well considered and practical economy. 'I he first
depends chiefly on the people themselves, the
opinions they tonn of the true construction of
the Constitution, and the confidence they repose
in the political sentiments ol those they select as
their representatives in the Federal Legislature;
the second rests upon the fidelity with which their
more immediate representatives, and other public
i functionaries, discharge the trusts committed to
them. The duly of economizing the expenses I
of tne public service is a, milted on all bands;'
yet there are few subjects on which there exists a
wider diffetcnce ol opinion than is constantly
manifested in regard to the fidelity with which
that duty is d scharged. Neither diversity ol
! sentiment,nor even mutual recriminations, upon a
point in respect to which the public m:nd is so
jiiftly sensitive, can well l»e entirely avoided; and j
least so at periods of great political excitement. !
An intelligent people however, seldom fail to
arrive, in the end. at correct conclusions in such
a matter Practical economy in the manage
ment of public affairs can nave no adverse in
fluence to contend with mure poweiful than u
large surplus revenue; and ihe unusually large
appropi iatiuns for 1837 may, without doubt, in
clepend. ntly of the extraordinary requisitions for
the rublic service growing out of the stare ot
our Indian relation be, in no inconsiderable de
gree, hared o this source The sudden and ra
i pid distribution ot the l»*rge surplus then in the I
i Treasury, and the equally sudden and unprece- I
i dentedly severe revulsion in the comme-ce and
| business of the country, pointing wi h unerring j
i certainty to a great and protracted reduction ol I
the revenue, strengthened the propriety of the |
j earliest practicable reduction of the public expert
i dilures.
) But, to change a sj'stem operating upon so
| large a surface, and app icable to such numerous
and diversified interests and objects, was more
than the work of a day. The attention of every
department of the Government was immediately,
and in good faith, directed to that end ; and has
i been so continued to the present moment. The
estimates and appropriations for the year 1838
(the over which I bad any control) were
somewhat diminished. Theexpenditures of 1839 !
were reduced six millions of dollars. Those ol !
1840, exclusive of disbursements for public debt
and bust claims, will probably not exceed twen- |
ty-two and a half millions; being between two j
and three millions, less than those of the preced- |
year, and nine or ten millions less than (hose ol
1837. IVor has it been found necessary, in or
der to produce ibis result, to resort to the power
conferred by Congress, of postponing certain
classes ot the public works, except by deferring
expenditures for a short period upon a limited
portion of them ; and which postponement ter
minated some time since, at the moment the
Treasury Department, by further receipts from
the indebted banks, became fully assured of its
ability to meet them without pnjudice to the
public service in other respects. Causes are in ;
operatation which will, il is believed, justify a !
still further reduction, without iniury to any im
portant national interest. The expenses of sus
taining the troops employed in Florida have been
gradually and greatly reduced, through tne per
severing effort of the War Department; and a
rcasonab e hope may he entertained that the ne
cessity for military operations in that quarter wil
soon cease. The removal of the Indians from
within our settled borders is nearly complc ed.
The pension list, one ol the heaviest charges up
; the Treasury, is rapidly diminishing by deatn.
The most costly ot our putilic buildings arc either
finished, or nearly so; and we may, I think ■
safely promise ourselves a continued exemption
from border difficulties.
The availaole balance in the Treasury on the
Ist of January next is estimated at one million
ano a halt of dollars. This sum, with the ex
pected receipts from ail sources during the next
year, will, it is believed, be sufficient to enable I
the Government to meet every engagement, and
leave a suitable balance in ths Treasury at the
end of the year.ifthe remedial measures connected ■
with the customs and the public lands, heretofore i
recommended, shall be adopted, and the new ap- j
r P ro P riafl °ns by Congress shall rot carry
‘ P e ?°' ture: the official estimated ***
‘ *he now system estaolished by (J oni?rp ,
'be safekeeping of the public money D -f ? for
jhe kind ot currency to be received’for tS** 0 *
he revenue, and providing additional a ? Ub *
gainst losses, has now been several oLT* 8 ‘
1 'Tilton. Although it might be !l S ‘“
■ ( up ° n an , * x P erien <* such limited Cr ,e ’
- form a definite opinion in regard to t he e Tt
- “f its influences i„ correcting many evil. ? 1
which the Federal Government and lb e
i Have Hitherto suffered-especially thoseth al
r grown out of banking expan-ions, a dep e
■ currency, ana official defalcations; V etj ■ * ed
right to say that nothing has occurred £ *
* P ract, cal operation of the system to Wea t“ ■
the slightest degree, but much to strengthen
confident anticipations of its friends Vi
’ S" ,un ds of these have been heretofore*, f.,,
■ explained as to require no recapitulation 7
i respect to the facility and convenience it a fT i
in conducting the public service, and the |U f *
-j ut the Government to discharge through i ls „ a y
• | cy every duty attendant on the collection,
. j ler, and disbursement of the public money will
, | promptitude and success, I can say, with c
5 ! dencc that the apprehensions of those wholly'
■ it to be their duty to oppose its auoptiun h a V
’ I P rove< * bo unfounded. On the contrary T
■ branch of the fiscal affairs ot the Govern mem
has been, and n is believed may always be. th, .
L j carried on with every desirable facility and'g^J*
■ j nty. A few changes an i improvements i n ,k'
, details of the system, vvithout affecting any pri
ciples involved in it. will be submitted to y C u I,
■ | the Secretary of the Treasury, and will lan
i sure, receive at your hands, that attention ut
which they may, on examination, be found to
■ j entitled. ue
I have deemed this brief summary of our si s .
cal aflairs necessary to the due performance of a
duty gpeciaily enjoined on me by the consiit u .
tion. It will serve also to illustrate more fully
J the principles by which I have been guided in
‘ reference to two contested points in onr public
policy, which were earliest in L.eir development
and have been more important in their consei
quences, than any that have arisen under our
complicated and difficult, yet admirable, system
of government; I allude to a national debt, and a
national bank. It was in these that the political
contests by which the country has been agitated
i ever since tne adoption of the constitution, in a
great measure, oitginaled ; and there is 100 much
reason to apprehend that the conflicting interests
and opposing principles thus marshalled, will
continue, as heretofore, to produce similar, if not
aggravated consequences.
fuming into ofiie tne declared enemy of both,
I have earnestly endeavored to j revent a resort
to either.
The consideration that a large public debt af
fords an apology, and produces in some degree,
a necessity also, for resorting to a system and
extent ot taxation which is not only opposite
throughout, but likewise so apt to lead, in [he
end, to the commission of that most odious of
al! oliences against the principles of republican
government—the prostitution of political power
conferred for tire general benefit, to tne aggran
dizement ot particular classes, and the gratifica
tion ot individual cupidity—is alone sufficient,
independently of the weighty ol jectiuns which
have already been urged, to render its creation
and existence the sources of bitter and unappeas
able discord. If we add to inis, ils inevitable
tendency to produce and foster extravagant ex
penditures ot the public money, by which a ne
cessity is created lor new loans and new burdens
on the people; and, finally, if we refer to the
examples ot every Government which has exist
ed. for proof how seldom it is that the system,
when once adopted and implanted in the policy
ot a country, has failed to expand itself, until
public credit was exhausted, and the people were
no longer able to endure its increasing weignt, it
seems impossible to resist the conclusion, that no
benefits resulting from its career, no extent of
conquest, no accession of wealth to particular
classes, nor a> y, nor all i s combined advantages,
can counterbalance its ultimate but certain re
st! t>—a splendid Government, and an impover
ished people.
It a national bank was, as is undeniable, re
pudiated by the framers ot the cons.itution as
incompatible with the rights of the Stales and
liberties oflhe people; if, from the beg. lining, it
l as been regauied by large portions ol our citi
zens as com ng in direct cull sion with that grea
! and vital amendment of the constitution, which
declares that all powers not conferred by that
instrument on the General Government are re
served to the States and to ihe people; if si ban
I been viewed by them as the first great step in
the march of latiludinous construction, which,
unchecked, would render that sacred instrument
of as little value as an unwritten constitution,
dependent as it would alone be, for ils meaning,
on the interesied interpreiation of a dominant par
ty, and affording no se, unly to the rights of the
minority ; —if such is undeniably the case, what
rational grounds could have been conceived lor
anticipating aught but determined opposition to
such an institution at the present day I
Gould a different re&ult have been expected,
when the consequences which have flowid from
its creation, and particularly from its struggles to
perpetuate its existence, had conthmcd, in »o
striking a manner, the apprehensions of its ear
liest opponents ; when it had been so clearly de
monstrated that a concentrated money-power,
wielding so vast a capital, and conioining such
incalculable means of influence, may, in those
peculiar conjunctures to whifeh this Government
is unavoidably exposed, prove an overmatch for
tire po.ideal power of the people themselves;
when the true character of its capacity to regu
late, according to us will and its interests, and
the interests sff its favorites, the value and p'o
-of the labor and pr iperty of every mar*
in this extended country, had been so fully and
feat fully developed; when it was notations that
all classes of this great community had, by means
of the power and influence it thus possesses, been
infected to madness with a spirit of heedltS' 1
specula'ion ; when it had been seen that, secure
in the support of the combi nation of influences
by which it was surrounded, it could violate its
charter, and set the laws at defiance with impu
nity; and when, too, it had become roost appa* |
rent that to believe that such an accumulation ol
powers can ever be granted w ithout the certainty
of being abused, wus to indulge in a fatal dclu‘
sion 1
To avoid the necessity of a permanent df™
and its inevitable consequences, I have advoO*
led and endeavored to carry into effect, the po ;I *
cy of confining the appropriations tor the pubh c
service to such objects only as are clearly with’
in the constitutional authority of the Federal
Government ; of excluding from its expend
those improvident and unauthorized grants cl
public money for works of in.ernal improvement
which were so wisely arrested by the consiitu
tional interposition of rny predecessor, and whiet 1 )
if they had not been so checked, would lung hf
fore tiiis lime have involved the finances ot
General Government in embairassments ,3 ‘
greater than those wnich are now experienced'’,
any of the States; ot limning all our exjeiH 11
tures to that simple, unostentatious, and econo*
mical administration of public affairs, which
alone consistent with the character of our m- s 1
tutions; of colliding annually from the custon’ 5
atvd the sales of pubhc lands, a revenue luily 3lL i
quate to defray nil the expenses thus
nut, under no pretence whatsoever, to in P o '
taxes upon the people to a greater amount tn a
was actually necessary to the public service, cun
ducted upon the principles I have stated.
In lieu of a national bank, or a dependence up
on banks of any description, for lha managed