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tnswer yes. Yes, sir, true Democracy wiil bearan infusion of that
Federalism which, when our country is warring with a foreign or do
mestic foe, girds on its armor, and, sword in hand, trot s forth to the
battle fi 'ld to encounter its foes, instead of convening at Hartford,
er any where else, to sell the country to the invading enemy. Good |
Democracy will bearan infusion ot that Fedetalism which, in till
times, will advocate and sustain the unalienable rights ot man, the
.freedom of conscience, the freedom of the press, and of leligion.and j
/ ofspeech. My Democracy will bear an infusion of all that; and
if my coll tague’s will bear an infusion of the principles contained in
the bill under discussion, 1 can only say that his it a very different
■ Democracy from mine, or from any I had ever supposed him to
possess. 1 consider this bill much worse than the memorable sedi
tion law. That assailed the freedom of the press, and permitted the
truth to be given in evidence. But this, sir, is a ; it is a
direct violation of the Constitution, because it abridges the freedom
of speech, and is demoralising in its tendency, by ci eating a host of
miserable spies and informers. My colleague objects to the able, re
port of the committee, because, lie says, it intimates that such a law
might be resisted, and asks who would resist a law passed with all
the constitutional forms. I say to him, sir that f would. Isay to
Ibis Senate, and to the world, that I would not regard constitutional
Forms when the substance was wanting—the Constitution violated,
Hiid mv liberty usurped— forms! talk not to me of forms ! The ali
en and sedition laws had all the forms of the Constitution I and had I
been on the theatre then, 1 would have resisted them to every length
—av, sir, even to nullification, if reason and truth had not timely
prevailed over tyranny and injustice. And, sir, should the odious
bill on your table become a law, and 1 ever become a public officer,
there is no torture, no rack w hich the inventive genius of cruelty
•mild devise, which should compel mo to relinquish the lights which
it proposes to usurp.
Mv colleague compl lilts of some comparison which has been made
between the officers of the Government and bank officers; he con
trasts them, and gives the preference to the latter, as being State of- i
Jice.rs, inasmuch as banks are “State institutions:” and he asks if it
is Democratic to decry them? He further tells us that Mr. Jefferson I
revered ‘•State institutions,” therefore, of course, Mr. Jeflerson re
vered State Banks! Sir, I have no hostility to banks; I would do
them no violence or injustice, let them go on and trade, and specu
late, and shock and convulse the country from lime to time, 1 have
nothing to say ; but in the sense which my colit ague means, 1 totally
«l<>ny that they are State institutions. On the contrary, unless they '
■re checked by legislative power, or unless, ns has ever been my ’
hope, the evil shall cure itself, they will overshadow, and ultimately i
overawe, your legitimate, constitutional, Slate institutions—the de- I
partnwnts of the Government.
MV colleague has informed the nation that he was the protege of
Mr. j-flerson. I stand here to rescue that great Apostle of Liberty
from the imputation that he revered these Stale institutions—these
State banks. I undertake to say that not a word that ever escaped
his lips, or his pmi, warrants the imputation; on the contrary, he
thought them inimical to liberty and to virtue. In the many vol
nines which John Taylor of Caroline wrote, there is setreely a page
•n which lie does not denounce them ; ami Mr. Jefferson has solemn
ly said, tint tbit great man Ind nev-t written a word J,o which he did
not give his assent. He said he had lead his writings annually, and
recommended to the rising youth of the country i<> do the same. But
my colleague says lint “State rights” “implies jealousy of Executive
power”! It is strange to me how any person professing, as he does,
to understand and toadmire this little volume, (Madison’s report) can
have fallen into so gross an error. I have only time to refer him to '
that report, to prove how utterly eiroaeous is the positii n. It in
culcates on the States a jealousy of their reserved rights against all I
H'id every department of the General Government, ami utterly repti- !
divt- s the idea of special and exclusive danger from the Executive ;
mid who does not know Mr. Jefferson’s opinions on this subject 1 He
speaks of danger to Slate rights from all the departments of the Vc<l- '
era) Government, but says: “The judiciary is the subtle corps of j
sapp rs and miners, working under ground to undermine the founda
lions of our confeder ued fabric.” N<>, sir; this exclusive jealousy
of Executive power is not sustained by the Constitution, or any of
its contemporaneous expoim lets. It is aput o f modern machinery,
worked on the prejudices of the people by those who w ant the very
power they thus repudiate,
Mv colleague s.iys, "officers of the Government ate not officers of
th- people.” This, to me. is a new and strange doctrine. Whose
officer*, I a»k, are they? Whose officer is he at this moment? Whose
officer wis he when he was Minister to France? Whv, stirelv, the t
officer of the people oft lie United States. According to hisdoctrine, ;
that no man not immediately selected bv the people is their officer,
they luve no Other officeis if the Federal Government except the
members of the Ilmtse of Representatives; for even the President and
Vice President are chosen indirectly by them. We are all officers
of the people, chosen indirectly by them to act for them, and are di
rectly responsible to them at the great and controlling bar of public
opinion.
My colleague speaks of that “altrociomly corrupt doctrine,” that
“to the victor belong the spoils.” Now, Mr. President, I have never
paid the least regard to many of these phrases, seized upon bv party
newspapers and electioneerers, and often perverted from their true
sense. Th« one q-,o<e>l. and that about “glory enough fur one day,”
and hundreds of others, arc’ unworthy of nttimiiuo.—l Kuow r»
whom is attributed the above expression; the first time I ever saw it
in print over a responsible signiture, was in a letter signed by the
Senator from New York [Mr. Tallmadge].
[Il-re Mr. T. said it wis marked with inverted commas.]
Be it so, said Mr. Roane; I know not whence came the quotation,
or whether the gentleman used it at the time in irony, or derision, or
approval. Let it all pass.
My colleague says, “if Mr. Jefferson did not dismiss from office, it
was because no instance of interference in elections occurred.” Now,
yr, I can never forget the hue and cry raised against that great man,
for turning out The Federalists whom his predecessor had foisted into
every department of the Government. When complaints were loud
est against him for so doing, he asked what he was to do? for that
“none resigned, and but few died.” Gen. Washington had declared
that “it would be a sort political suicide to put into office men whose
political tenets were adverse ”o the measures of the General Govern
ment.” What would that immortal patriot have thought of the odi
ous provisions of the bill before us? But Mr. Jefferson's circular to
public officers has been read and appealed to in justification of this
bill. I hat circular only speaks of the public officers so interfering
■s to control thu free exercise of the elective franchise. It speaks
not of advice or persuasion. No, sir; that great man, who thought
there was no danger to our institutions, as long as “reason and truth
are left free to combat error,” could never have sanctioned this bill.
His remedy was to turn out faithless or incompetent officers, whether
that infidelity or incompetency arose from intermeddling in elections,
or from any other cause. When did he ever recommend to Con
gress to pass such a law? He knew they had no such power, and
that he had ample power to make all bis subordinates behave them
selves. M colleague asks, when did a Minister of England or France
ever interfere in an election, as did the Secretary of the War Depart
ment, last fall, by writing a letter to South Carolina? Now, sir, I
have no very intimate acquaintance with ministerial doings in Eng
land or France, but I am yet to learn of that scrupulous nicety, that
fastidious delicacy on the subject of elections claimed for them by my
colleague. Sir, I have read, with inexptessible disgust, of the foul
corniptsoH, openly practised, to secure a seat in the (louse of Com
mons of Great Britain. Seats in that body are purchased. Great
as seems the salary of your President, instances exist of a much larg
er amount being paid by a candidate for a seat in the House of Com
mons. I hat country, sir, where not one man in many thousands is
entitled to suffrage, can, in no manner, form the illustrations for us
which gentlemen are so urgently pressing. 1 respect not the Biitish
examples about elections, or office holding.
But, Mr. President, to the other point. I know nothing of the letter
io * hi< h has been soharshlv spoken of by my colleague.
I know not when, to whom, or about what, it was written; or whe
ther it was an original or a responsive letter, and, therefore, cannot
defend or condemn its contents. But this much I will say, no man
eare. or thinks less than I do about what is called dignity of office.—
The office of Senator of tl.e United States has. by many, been con
sidered m that aspect as second onlv to that of the President; and I
am yet to learn that a Secretary of a Department, having a tempera- I
ry resid.-mm m thurify. rendered odious forwritinga politi- 1
ral l-tfof to his native Srate, where he has left, for a lime only bis l
frumds, Ins property and all Ids dearest rights, whilst a Senator mav, I
with perfect propriety, write letters to a distant Slate, in which he
has no such slake or interest. It will be readily perceived that I al
lude to a letter written to Pennsylvania, pending an important State
eke lion ! 1
Mr. President, I most omit many things I might sav in reply about
tins hill; am) sav tint I utteilv disagree with mv colleague as to all
his might v complim< nts on the British system, as affording examples
for ns. No min is more disposed ih ,n Ito pay the jiisttribuie to
those immortal patriots, who have occasionally risen in that union,
nnd fallen martyr* to the riae spirit of freedom. Locke,
Russell. Hamp leu, and others, will be ever dear to the friends of lib
erty. Bit I deny that it is to them we owe our freedom. In support
of this doctrine so warmly pressed, allusion has been made to the
early settlers of our country. I deny that any support for such prin
ciples can bo drawn from those men who first landed on the
barren rock of Plymouth, the burning sands of Caroli
na, or the island of Jamestown. I’heir history affords
no countenance to this doctrine. They 11 d from the persermion
au'l oppression of that G ivernment, now so lauded by American
Senators ; they preferred to eii<-ounter hmiger, ami all the terrors of
savage man and wild beast*, than to submit longer to the oppression
of tb.it Government, •vhirh is, in tins < h imber, exhibited as a model
for our imitati in. These people wen persecuted and oppressed for
two bundled years bv that Government; they, with filial obediem-e,
during that whole p-riod, were unresisting; but al length were obli
ged to raise t licit band against a crn-l parent, and fight, vex fight, for
the liberty and freedom we now enjoy. And am I, sir, by subscri
bing to all the fulsome compliments to the British Government, to
charge up m mv glorious ancestors the crime of parricide. No, sir;
no, sir. I totally deby the truth of the contrast which has been
drawn between the two Governments in favor of England. In the
conflicts of the Revolution, in the appeals then marie to the justice
of the mother country, and in drafting our public papers, reference
might well be hid to British magno, charta, and to the writings of
Locke ind atber Bi itish patriots. But that lime is passed away—we
fsave a magna charta of our own, a glorious one written. Yes, sir,
written with a pencil of light. Here k is, sir, (holding aloft the Consti-
tution,) By that sacred iitsttument do I choose to be guided, without
any reference whatever to llritish 'magna charta’ or liritish usages ;
and whenever any measure is proposed, I am willing to adopt the
gojjen rule laid down in Madison’s report. Whenever a luetisute is
proposed, “ the first question is, whether the power is expressed in
the Constitution? It it be, the question is decided. If it be not ex
pressed, the next inquiry must be, whether it is properly tin incident
to an expressed power, and necessary to its execution,” &c. If by
this rule the bill before us is tested, it cannot gain favor with the Amer
ican people. Nor have we fuqlrer use for the writings of Locke to
define our liberty. We havS Brose of Jefferson, Madison, Taylor,
;nd hundreds ot others, whose paths we catr safely follow. Sir, those
who are perpetually quaffing from the pure fountains, ns they call
them, of Locke and other British writers, but 100 frequently, before
their thirst is slaked, are found diinking from the muddy pool of’Fil
mcr; yes, siy the exploded doctrines of Filmcr; that min is not ca
pable ol sell-government lies at the bottom, end is the necessary in
ference from all these line theories drawn from British writings and
British practises. My colleague should recollect, in till his learned,
and, in my opinion, mistaken applications front England to this coun
try, this great essential difference between the two Governme'uts,
" hich constitutes our great shield. There, they have septenial elec
trons and an hereditary monarch; here, we have frequent elections
and twenty-six separate, independent Governments, all watching with
ceaseless vigilance the movements of each other, and °f General
Government, common to them all; and, sir, if my colleague could
only look with the same Democratic eye of faith and admiration for
the precepts of the immortal Jefferson he has often professed, he
would admit that there is nothing in the character or history of his
life, or in any w'ord in his writings, that does not put upon the xvhole
British system the seal of his abhorrence ami detestation. Yet, sir,
is that system quoted in this Senate as a model for imitation, and as
an argument in favor of the present extraordinary and abominable
bill ! 1 could cite innumerable passages from the writings of Jeffer
son to sustain me, if time permitted; but I am admonished to draw
to a close on this subject, and pass on to others. I am, sir, a Dem
ocrat of the school of ’9B. 1 have never changed my name nor
my principles. My colleague well recollects Mr. Jefferson’s prophet
ic history of the change of names which the old Hamiltonian Fed
eralists would assume ; but 1 doubt whether his prophetic seirit could
keep pace with the extended nomenclature of the present day.
Mr. President, one word more about the jealousy of Executive
power. 1 have shown that it against Federal power, in all its de
partments, that the States ought to be jealous. What has been the
history of the Government as to this point! Every- two years shows
you great changes in tho popular branch of your Government; and
t.iey are very often occurring here by the power of a vigilant people.
Yet,sir, in a period of fifty years there have been only two instances
in which the President of the United States has not given satisfaction
to his constituents—only twice, in the thirteen elections we have had
of a President, have the people expressed their disapprobation of
his conduct. Your Congress lias passed unconstitutional laws, one or
more judges have been impeached, but there has not been an instance
yet in which the President of the United States has been impeached.
No, sir, with all the bitter opposition which each of the 1 ', | (as
countered, not one has yet been impeached! Thee w j !V a ]| tins rail
ing against the danger of Executive Who’does not see
that it is unfounded, and all for partv aggrandisement. Sir, when,
some tew years ago an honorable Senator from Kentucky, now in
my eye, [Mr. Clay] oflered t 0 tfo e Senate a resolution condemning,
and censuring,, in strong terms, the official conduct of the then Pres
r ent of the Unite a Sates, it was deemed to be a sort of quasi im-
I peachment o. that ingh officer, and my colleague promptly stepped
forward, and, by an able speech, and an efficient vote, aided to er- j
purge th-., resolution from your journals, on which it had been n-cor-
; ’^’’dand yet, sir, he is now alarmed at the mighty “ persuasive"
i powers of these poor gaugers, weighers, and tidewaiters!! He is
i frightened about Executive patronage. Sir, I must pass on. My
i colleague, on this subject, as on many others, admonishes us against
the “mad dominion” of party spirit. Yes, sir, very much has he
said about motives, about party and party tactics, and party dictation,
and about patriotism and elevated, statesman-like views, and all that.
Not less strange than new is it to bear him thus railing against party!
I have nothing, sir, to do with the patriotism or motives of any
gentleman. I only claim for myself all that any Senator can ask and
receive on thar«core; while I set up no special claim to those great
statesman-like views, rising above all party feeling, of which we are
-o often reminded by m v colleague ; and whilst 1 b >ast not of a pat
; riotism warmer, or motives purer, than those of others, vet, sir, I am
; bold to say that lam utterly unconscious of ever having been actuated
by any vote given in this chamber by any other consideration than a free
independent,and unbiassed desire to promote the public good. 1 came
mto this chamber, & am at this moment as free as any man in it to pursue,
onall questions which may arise, whatever course my own conscience
and judgment shall indicate as most conducive to the best interests
of the nation. 1 had no consistencies to establish, no inconsisten
cies to reconcile, no resentments to gratify, no heart burnings to ap
pease, no favors to a*k, no hopes to indulge, no fears to allay, and,
thank God, no ambition to gratify. I brought with me no bantling
scheme of my own; and have most patiently and attentively listen
ed to all that h ive been ptoposed by others, to give ease to the pub
lic mind, and promote the great interests of our beloved country.—
would not hesitate to permit all the world to look in upon the opera
tions of my' heart, in regard to the great national questions we have
agitated in this chamber. But, Mr. President, candor requires that
I should admit that, on such an inspection, it would not be found that
those operations were beyond the reach or influence of party. I ad
mit, sir, that they are much controlled by party feelings. I pretend
not to be beyond or above the influence of party. lam a party
man, and glory in being so; for my heart tells me that my party feel
ings are the result of an honest and an ardent, though, perhaps, mis
taken or misguided patriotism. I doubt not the word of any gentle
man who says he is not influenced by party feelings. But, sir, it is
almost inconceivable to me, how any man, who has taken an active
part in the late political turmoils of the day, can be free from its in
fluence. Whoever he may bp, his temperament is very different
from mine ; and, I believe from that of nine-tenths of the people of
this country, and of England too; and I go further, and say that nei
ther of these countries would long preserve their liberty, but for party
spirit; and that the great principle of self-preservation will always
afford a timely check to its mad or dangerous excesses. Os this truth
we have recently had an exemplification at Harrisburg, in Pennsylva
nia, which is consolatory to every lover of the Liberty and Union of
America. Mr. President, in connection with this subject of partv
spirit, which my colleague now so bitterly reprobates, and in order
fully to define my position in regard to some of the leading topics of
the day, I beg leave to be permitted to take a brief and rapid review
of the present Administration of the Federal Government, and its
supporters and opponents. .
I Throughout America we have recently passed through a convul-
I sive struggle to form a new Executive Administration. Violent, in
: deed, was that struggle. That party who, for eight long years, had
i so bitterly opposed all, ay, sir, indiscriminately all tho leading meas
. ures ot the late Administration, made a bold, grand, and well con
j certed effort to elect a Chief Magistrate entertaining their own feel
. ings and opinions. Their opponents were equally active and untir
ing in their exertions to elect one who would, in the main, pursue the
course of that reviled Administration ; ay, sir, if you choose so to
have it. who would "follow in the footsteps of his illustrious prede
cessor." They succeeded in those exertions, and elected the present
Chief Magistrate. I, sir, in Virginia, in my individual capacity, took
a zealous and an open part, within my limited sphere of action, in
aiding to bring Martin Van Buren of New York, to the station he
now so ably fills, and was one of the organs of Virginia, in her elec
toral college to bestow upon him the vote of that ancient Democrat
ic Commonwealth. In that memorable contest we encountered all
that excited, nay maddened, party spirit could address to the ignor
ance, to the fears, the prejudices, or interests of a virtuous people.
Th • vocabulary of epithet was exhausted and heaped upon us. The
foulest names ever given to a party were freely bestowed upon us
by our adversaries, and the fairest that ever adorned the friends of
liberty were assumed for themselves ; but all, all, sir, would not do.
I Thu people could not be intimidated or deluded ; they could not be
i ‘persuaded or dissuaded;’ they could not be led or driven, to aban
-1 don those evident principles of Republicanism they had so long and
! so dearly cherished. In vain, sir, had they been told that Andrew
' Jackson was a despot, a knave, and a fool — in vain had they been
' told, in one breath, that he was a self willed, obstinate, indomitable
; tyrant, and in the next, that he was a cypher, a supple tool, a mere
automaton, vilely used by others; and in vain, also, were they tol l
by these same men, that the promises of Martin Van Ilurcn could
not be relied on ; that he was falsehood and treachery personified ;
that, notwithstanding his oft declared opposition to a National Bank,
lie would, in his first message to Congress, recommend one in its most
odious form, Io be located in his favorite city of New York ; and
that, inaugre all his honeyed words and fair promises about Southern
rights, and the sacred compromises of the C institution, he would,
before lie was warm in the Pi residential chair, show himself to be in
, hc.art and deed a Northern Abolitionist! and much more such pro
•e u iu stuff, which I will not waste your precious time to recapitulate.
i as le verifier! the forebodings of these men in any one of tin se par
tn u ars . ask bis fiiends, and I ask his foes ; and for their com-
P ' i entire f dsification, I appeal to the three calm, biminoiis,
, 3 at' small- ike, Republican messages he lias already sent to the Colt
( gress ol the Lotted Stales; and I furthermore appeal n, his whole
< imduct, both public and private, since he has filled the Presidential
( Mir. mvi ii is htiu, liprhl niti< h (lifiurciice of opinion about tin*
t correctness ami practicably of his views in regard to the finance
ami cmtenivof the country; but I have heard no man vet doubt
I then const.tutanad,ty, „ r complain of the temper or manner in which
hoy have been submitted to tho consideration of Congress And
here perm.t me, str for myself, to say, that I have heard no man vet
(and I have listened attentively to all that has been said here and
read much that has been written) who lias answered the lucid argu
ments by which he lias sustained them, or shaken the fi rnl( 11'.,,,!,,
lican, constitutional ground on which his recommendation of’an Inde
pendent Treasury, in which to keep the pe pie’s money secure, from
the clutches of bank or other speculators is based. Mr. President
believintr Marlin Van Buren to be a Republican, and a states of
the first order, I came into Congress with a predisposition, nav sir
I might almost say with a pledge, and predetermination, to support
his Administration, not right or wrong, sir; no sir: not to 'register
his edicts no sir: for I abhor and loath all dependence and vassal
age, as much, or more, than those who now boast most loudly of their
independence and patriotism and disinterestedness, I camo hero
elected by those who contributed to elect him; and I came, sir, I re
peat, determined to support his admiiiistiation, as far a» I possibly
could with a safe conscience, aiid tint to abandon it for light and tri*
vial causes ; and, above all things, for any cause personal to myself.
This course, I undertake trt say. Was expected from me by eVety titan
of cvety party in Virginia. I have thus far given to it an honest
support; and in so doing my conscience and Hiy judgement sustain
mv course. Nor, sir, has it been more necessary to my support of
his .Administration, that I should concur in all his views and recom
mendations, than 1 should have deemed it improper to become its
bitter opposer, because I differed with him on any one measure
of policy. That, sff, I have done, and am at all times free to do.—
It cannot be expected that tliero can, in the nttflirb of the hum in
mind, boa universal concurrence of opinion oti evefy subject, eVeil
among those who generally agree. The whole country knows my
course, from the first moment I took my seat in the Senate to the
present time, in regard to the great subject of the public. Jamis, on
which I have differed entirely from many of my political friends; and
sir, had I been associated with my colleague during the administra
tion of General Jackson, when he recommended tlie same policy in
regard to them, which is advocated by his successor, I should have
differed with him, then, with the same cordiality with which he now
concurs with me. But, sir, a difference with this Administration on
this great subject has not, for a moment, inuic.nted that it was my
duty to oppose it out and out, and affiliate myself with those who
avow ‘ uncompromising hostility to Martin Van Huven.' N o , s i r> j
have gone on steadily to give to his Administration an honest, and a
conscientious support; and let me s.dd, sir, that as long as I shall re
main here, and the President sha'.’, advocate the true principles of the
Constitution and Republican doctrines, as he has thus far done,
that support will be continuc-d with unabated zeal and pleasure. Does
this, sir, define my posiGon ? No sir, not as fnlly as I desire. My
colleague, who has from time to time, and little by little, ‘defined his
position’ towards this Administration, and recently in a manner which
none here present doubt or misunderstand, was with me, or rather I
should say, I was with him, as far as I had an opportunity to know,
(and I had many,) in every thought and feeling, during the late warm
ly contested Presidential election; and, for the life of me, 1 cannot
see why it is that we arc now so wide apait in those thoughts and
feelings about the Administration, and administrators of the Govern
ment. I know of no public reasons for this difference, and much
less of any private ones. But, sir, either lor my colleague have
entirely changed our positions, since we were sent hither; and I am
reluctantly driven to put myself 'upon my country, to say whether it
is I who have changed, as is roundly charged by my colleagae upon
all the friends of the Administration.
[ To be Concluded in our next.']
MIRA MA’DISON ALEXANDER.
Substance of the remarks of the Vice President on giving his cast
ing vote for the bill granting relief to Mira Madison Alexander.
The Vice President, on asesrtaining that the vote was equal for
and against the bill, rose to perform the duty imposed on him by the
Constitution. lie said he was duly sensible of tlie great responsibil
ity devolved in deciding, for an equally divided Senate, a question
supposed to involve an important and new principle. It was his du
ty, under such circumstances, to submit to the country, and tho body
over which be presided, the views which governed his vote.
He considered the policy which extended the bounty of the Gov
ernment to those who had made sacrifices in the military service of
the country, their widows and orphans, now amounting to 40,000,
peculiarly applicable to the case provided for in the bill now before
the Senate. All who served in the Revolutionary war, all who were
wounded in that war, the Indian war, or the late war, have been
made the objects of the nation’s gratitude and munificence. I have
served my country in this and the other House of Congress thirty
years, and two years in the Chair I occupy ; and it is notorious that
I have always used my humble abilities in favor of those laws which
have extended compensation to the officers and soldiers who have
bravely fought, and freely bled, in their country’s cause, and to the
widows and orphans of those who perished. This course, universal
ly known, has been universally approved by my constituents; for,
through all ti is time, they have still honored me with their confidence.
Tl.e principle has its home in the human heart. Gratitude always
waits on the man who offers up his life to defend the country’s hon
or and interests: and the generous feeling which takes care of the
maimed and worn down veteran, and extends a helping hand to his
i widow and unprovided orphans, brings, when new exigencies arise,
another race of heroic and patriot soldiers into the field, to pour out
' their blood in defence of the just and generous community which
never forgets or neglects the valiant men who confront its enemies.
George Madison, in whose name the orphan petitioner appeals by
this bill to the justice and munificence of Congress, was a distinguish
ed patriot soldier, who, in his extraordinary military career embraced
every variety of service, and every circumstance, on which all the
successive laws granting the rewards of the Government, in pensions
or otherwise, have been founded, and yet he never sought the com
pensation to which he was entitled. Our first pension law was in fa
vor of the soldiers of the Revolution. Although a stripling, he turn
ed out on the invasi n of the Southern States and Virginia, and de
clared he would never shave but with Cornwallis’ razors. He served
long enough to be entitled to a pension under the law in favor of
Revohitionaiy soldiers. He then served during the consequent In
diun wins in it.e \Vcs.,am] became entitled to a double pension for
servicesand for dangerous wounds received in the battles fought by
Gen. St. Clair and Gen. Adair in Ohio. I (the Vice President said)
have often obtained these two full pensions for the same person upon
the principles of those laws.
The Vice President said there was a third ground, stated by the
Senator from Tennessee, [Mr. White] on which he would feel dispo
sed to grant the prayer of the petitioner. Services throughout the
Indian wars, in which that of the Revolution left the West involved,
were as indispensable, ai d as valuable as those rendered before 1783,
which had been*provided for; and when he found this unrecognised,
but most meritorious right associated in the same person with rights
sanctioned by law, he could not divest it of its weight in his consid
eration. And lastly, (said the Vice President,) there is an equitable,
indeed almost legal ground on which the passage of this bill in favor
of the only surviving orphan of Major Madison may be justified.—
The laws of the U. States extend to the widows and orphans of of
ficers and soldiers of the militia of the late war five years half pay,
where the husband or father perished in the military service. It is
a well known fact to all the intimate friends and acquaintances of
Major Madison, who died about the close of the late war, that the
moi tai disease which fastened upon his lungs, and brought him pre
maturely to the grave, was contracted under the exposure and hard
ships of a winter’s campaign, and confirmed by confinement in the
jail at Quebec.
When I find, then, in this individual case, all the grounds combin
ed, upon which all the acts granting compensations or rewards for
military service were passed, can it be said that I violate theytrtnet
ple of the laws in extending relief to the widowed orphan of Georee
Madison—herself the mother of four orphans, and blind and help
less ? W hen the principle of all the pension laws is to give succor
to those whom the country’s service has deprived of their natural
protector and support, how can it be denied to the only surviving child
of a patriot, who not only served, but fought in the front of battle in
every wai of the Republic, shed his blood profusely, and at last laid
down his life under the weight of the hardships, and sufferings lie en
dured ? He would never take a penny of the bounty of the Gov
ernment, although his comrades, wounded in the same field with him
self, enjoyed pensions throughout their lives, which I obtained for
them. He left his children motherless at home when he headed his
volunteers to lead them into Canada. Os course no widow survived
him to claim the benefit of the acts to raise his helpless orphans.—
His estate, never great, neglected while devoting himself to the coun
try’s service, is now exhausted. A solitary child remains, deprived
of her husband by a dreadful accident, of her sight by the consequent
anguish preying upon her then feeble condition ; and with her four
little nurslings, she asks from the Government the reward her father
might have claimed, for service in the first war, or for his wounds in
the Indian wars, or for imprisonment, sufferings, and sacrifices during
the last war; and which his wife, if she had survived, might have
claimed for the benefit of her children, and which the very terms of
the statute would have given to his child, if the malady which struck
t im'down in the prison of Quebec, had terminated his existence
there.
Upon the whole, this claim, which does not come within the ex
press terms of any statute, because presented by the child, comes
within the equity ofall the statutes granting Government bounty, from
its peculiar circumstances. This striking peculiarity makes this an
insulated case, and will prevent it from be ng drawn into precedent
to extend the pension laws to heirs generally—a policy which, how
ever just, is impossible, as it would leave no limitation to the system,
and bankrupt the Treasury. Asa special case, and one which, with
its remarkable concomitants, can have no parallel, and therefore be
come no precedent to extend the pension policy to heirs generally, I
give my casting vote with pleasure and alacrity for the bill.
Although I would give the same vote in the case of a stranger, yet
I cannot deny that the discharge of my duty on the present occasion
is doubly gratifying, from my intimate knowledge of the man whose
fame this bill will perpetuate —a man of rare patriotism—the most
beloved of all the public men of his State—the best among the best
—“the bravest of the brave—who died with never fading laurels on
his brow.
There is a little Democratic paper called the " Whip and Spur”
in New Hampshire, from which we clip the following:
“ I’he Democrats flogged their opponents in the lime of the elder
Adams as F< deralists—in the time of Jeflerson as Federal Republic
ans—in the time of J. Q. Adams as National Republicans —in the
lime of Ja> kson as Whigs—and now we will flog them under any
name they may choose to assume, even that of lloco I’oco.
“S'Tpenls cast their cxuvicc, or crawl out of their skins once n
year, but they arc serpents still. Federalists change their name
nearly as often, and they are Federalists still. You might as
well attempt to stay the ocean wave, or stop the cataract in its fall,
as to attempt to cliange the nature of either. They are both deadly
enemies to innocence and honesty.”
Important Decision for the Publishers of Newspapers. — Judge
Thompson, of Indiana, at a late sitting of the Circuit Court, at
which he presided, gave tho following decision, in a case where a
subscriber to a newspaper refused to take the paper out of the post
complying wit!* (he terms of the publisher.
I hat if a subscriber to a periodical failed to notify the editor or
to discontinue the paper at tho term subscribed for, or pay up the
arrearages, he was bound another year,”
[BY ’
UN,TED STATES PASSED AT THE THIRD
SESSION OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS.
AN apt [Public —No. B.]
1 jto repeal the proviso to the second section of an act ap
proved the third of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven,
w itch authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to compromise the
c anus of the United States against certain banks.
f r t ffW&edby the Senate and House of Representatives of the
ed States of America in Congress assembled, That the proviso
to t io second section of “ An act to authorize the proper -officers of
\ le i rt [ !lßUr y Department to credit the account of the Treasurer of
the United Slates with the amount of unavailable funds standing to
ns e it on the books of the Treasury, to transfer the amount to the
•. e ''i ° '’ nl *ks and individuals indebted for the same, and to author
rze j ie,Secretary of the Treasury to compromise and settle said
c aims, approved third of March, eighteen hundred and thirty
seven, which prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from comprom
ising the claims of the United States against tho Alleghany Bank of
1 ennsylvama.be, and the same is hereby repealed; and that the
> ecretary ot the Treasury is hereby authorized to compromise and
settle the claim of the United States against said Bank.
JAMES K. POLK,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
RH. M. JOHNSON,
Vico President of the United States, and
. . T , , President of the Senate.
Approved, February 16th, 1839.
M. VAN BUREN.
AV AO-r [Public—-No. 9.]
i- . C , to am ®na "Ana-t to re-organize the district courts of the
United States in the State of Mississippi,” approved June eight
een, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight.
*1 e " nc(eii bySenate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Ccngress assembled, That the court of
the northern district of Mississippi, besides the ordinary jurisdiction
of a district court, shall have jurisdiction of all causes, except appeals
and wnts of error, cognizable by law in a circuit court, and shall pro
ceeci therein in the same manner as a circuit court.
Sec. 2. And Ire it further enacted. That defendants residing in
said northern district shall not be sued in tl.e circuit court held at Jack
son, excepting in the cases and in the modo prescribed by the fourth
section of the act to which this is an amendment.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all appeals and writs of
error from the decisions of the said district court, when exercising the
powers of a circuit court, shall he directly to the Supreme Court of
the United States, in the same manner and under the same limita
tions and restrictions that they are now allowed by law from the cir
cuit court.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the marshal of the sever
al districts in the State of Mississippi, in addition to the several sale
days now allowed by law, may be authorized to sell property at the
court-house of each county on Monday of each week, and on the
first and second days of each term of the district court, and that he
may, at the written request of the defendant change the sale of prop
erty to the place where the United States court for his district is
holden: Provided, in the opinion of the marshal, the interest of the
plaintiff would not be conipromitted thereby.
Approved, Feb. 16th, 1839.
[Public —No. 10.]
AN ACT to abolish imprisonment for debt in certain cases.
He it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That no person
shall be imprisoned for debt in any State, on process issuing out of a
court of the United States, where by the laws of such State impris
onment for debt has been abolished; and where by tha laws of a
State, imprisonment for debt shall be allowed, under certain condi
tions and restrictions, the same conditions and restrictions shall be
applicable to the process issuing out of the courts of the United States;
and the same proceedings shall be bad therein, as are adopted in the
courts of such State.
Approved, February 28th, 1839.
[Public —No. 11.]
AN ACT in amendment of the acts respecting the Judicial System
of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That where, in
any suit at law or in equity, commenced in any court of the United
States, there shall be several defendants, any one or moie of whom
shall riot be inhabitants of or found within the district where the suit
is brought or shall not volontarilv appear thereto, it shall be lawful
for the court to entertain jurisdiction, and proceed to the trial and
adjudication of such suit, between the parties who may be properly
before it; but the judgment or decree rendered therein shall not con
clude or prejudice other parties, not regularly served with process,
or not voluntarily appearing to answer; and the nonjoinder of parties
who are not so inhabitants, or found within the district shall constitute
no matter of abatement, or other objection to said suit.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all the circuit courts of the
United States shall have the appointment of their own clerks; and in
case ofa disagreement between the judges the appointment shall be
made by the presiding judge of the court.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That all pecuniary penalties
and forfeitures accruing under the laws of the United States may be
sued so and recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction in the
State or district where such penalties or forfeitures have accrued, or
in which the offender or offenders may be found.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That no suit or prosecution
shall be maintained, for any penalty or forfeiture, pecuniary orother
wise, accruing under the laws of the United States, unless the same
suit or prosecution shall be commenced within five years from the
time when the penalty or forfeiture accrued: Provided, The person
of the offender or the property liable for such penalty or forfeiture
shall, within the same period, be found within the United Slates; so
that the proper process may bo institulbd and served against such
person or property therefor.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the punishment of whip
ping and tbe punishment of standing in the pillory, so far as they
now are provided for by the laws of the United States, be, and. the
same are hereby abolished.
Sec. 6. And be further enacted, That in all cases of recognizances
in criminal cai ses taken for, or in, or returnable to, the courts of the
United States, which shall be forfeited by a breach of the condition
thereof, the said court for or in which the same shall be so taken, or
to which the same shall be returnable, shall have authority in their
discretion to remit the whole ora part of the penalty, wheneverit shall
appear to the court that there has been no wilful default of the par
ties, and that a trial can notwithslanding be had in the cause, and
that public justice does not otherwise require tbe same penalty to be
exacted or enforced.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the second section of the
act of Congress, passed the twenty-ninth day of April, one thousand
eight hundred and two, which makes it the duty of the associate jus
tice of the Supreme Court, resident in the 4th circuit, to attend in the
city of Washington, on the first Monday of August annually, to make
orders respecting the business of the Supreme Court, be, and the
same is hereby repealed.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in all suits and actions in
any circuit court of the United States in which it shall appear that
both thejudges thereofor the judge thereof, who is solely competent
by law to try the same, shall be any ways concerned in interest
therein, or shall have been of counsel for either party, or is, or are
so related to or connected with either party as to render it improper
for him or them, in his or their opinion, to sit in the trial ot such suit
or action, it shall be the duty of such judge or judges, on application
of either party, to cause the fact to be entered on the records of the
court; and also to make an order that an authenticated copy thereof,
withall the proceedings in such suitor action, shall be forthwith cer
tified to the most convenient circuit court in the next adjacent State
or in the next adjacent circuit; which circuit court shall, upon such
record and order being filed with the clerk thereof, take cognizance
thereof in the same manner as if such suit or action had been right
fully or originally commenced therein, and shall proceed to hear and
determine tlie same accordingly, and tbe proper process for the due
execution of the judgment or decree rendered therein, shall run into
and may be executed in the district where such judgment or decree
was rendered, and also, into the district from which such suit or ac
tion was removed.
Approved, February2Bth, 1839.
[Resolution. —Public —No. 2.]
A RESOLUTION authorizing certain certificates of deposite to be
cancelled and reissued.
Whereas sundry persons have deposited sums of money in the
Treasury of the United States, under tho provisions of the second
section of the act making further provision for the sale of tlie public
lands, approved twenty-fourth of A|>ril, eighteen hundred and twen
ty, and received certificates therefor, and, supposing the same to be
assignable, have assigned the same, fora valuable consideration, to
other persons; and whereas the said section is so construed by the
Treasury Department, that such receipts or certificates are not avail
able to the assignees; be it therefore,
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Uni
ted States of America in Congress assembled, That the Treasurer
of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized and required,
on the presentation of any such certificate by an assigneeor bona fide
holder thereof, to allow said assignee or bolder to surrender tbe same
to be cancelled, and to issue a new certificate in the name of said as»
signee or holder, in lieu of the one so surrendered; which new certifi
cate shall be received in payment for public lands, in the same man
ner as the original would have been had it not been transferred by
the person who made the deposite; but the certificates to. be issued
under this resolution shall not be assignable.
/Approved, February 28th, 1839,
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
The following characteristic letter of Dr. Franklin has never be*
fore been published, so far as we have been able to ascertain. The
original is in the possession of a venerable gentleman of this city,
who numbers four score and four years. It is conclusive against the
often asserted declaration that Franklin was inclined to infidelity.—
We should be glad to know if the town of Franklin ever received
the books, and if they were the foundation of a parochial library.
[Boston Trans.
“ Pussy, March 18, 1785.
"My Dear Friend : My nephew, Mr. Williams, will have the hon
or of delivering you this line. It is to request from you a list of ■
few good books, to the value of about £25, such as are most proper
to inculcate principles of sound religion, and just government. A
new town in the State of Massachusetts, having done me the honor of
naming itself after me, and proposing to build a steeple te their meet
ing house if I would give them a bell, I have advised the sparing
themselves the expense of a steeple at present, and that they would
accept books instead of a bell, sense being preferable to sound.—
These are, therefore, intended as the commencement of a little paro
chial library for the use of a society of intelligent, lespectable far
mers, such as our country people generally consist of. Besides your
own works, I would only mention, on recommendation of my sister,
‘Stennet’s Discourses on Personal Religion,’ which may be one book
of the number, if you know it, and approve of it.
With the highest esteem and respect, I am ever, my dear friend,
vours most affectionately,
B. FRANKLIN.”
“Rev. Dr. Price.”
STATE RIGHTS and UNITED STATES RIGHTS.
- - .•- . . '■ -7 ■, 1 --S- y-7- ■ I - —r
gt(tnt>ari> of gSgwtott.
THE TRUE ISSUE.
Shall ours be a GOVERNMENT OF THE BANKS, or a GOV
ERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE? Shall we have a CONSTI
TUTIONAL TREASURY, or an UNCONSTITUTIONAL NA
TIONAL BANK? Shall we have a CONSTITUTIONAL CUR
RENCY of gold and silver or one of IRREDEEMABLE PA
PER ? Shall we live under the despotism of a MONIED ARISTOC
RACY, orunderthe safeguards of a FREE CONSTITUTION ?
[Washington Chronicle.
TUESDAY MORNING. MARCH 19.
FEDERALISM.
“The leopard has not changed his spots nor the Ethiopian his skin”—
so has Federalism neither changed its principles, or abandoned. its ohjaet
of ultimately prostrating the pure principles of the Constitution, and'
erecting upon their ruins, a consolidated government.
More than forty years ago, this party was formed, with Alexander
Hamilton at its head, and was based upon the anti-republican assump
tion,that the people were incapable of self-government, with this memo
rable inscription upon their banner, "Save the people from themselves—
THEIR OWN WORST ENEMIES.”
Defeated in the Convention, io al! their schemes to invest the Federal.
Government with unlimited power over the States, no sooner was it
promulgated to the country, than the leaders of the Federal party formed
the design of making it, by construction and implication, what they had*
signally failed to do by express grant, and such was their success for au
time, in bewildering and misleading the public mind, that, in spite of all
the efforts of the Republicans to the contrary, the Government took a
Federal cast. One assumption followed another—usurpation succeeded
usurpation, up to the memorable struggle of '9B and '99, which over
turned the fabric of Federalism, and reinstated our institutions upea,
their original Republican foundations.
The first grand movement of this party was the establishment ofa Na
tional Bank, undertheir broad, and, as they termed it, liberal construc
tion of the Constitution, although the authority to grant charters of in
corporation had been distinctly rejected by the Convention ; and no soon
er was this point gained, than a claim was set up for other powers tend
ing to the destruction of State independence, and the accumulation of“
power in the Federal Government.
They maintained that the government established by the Constitution,,
according to the construction placed upon that instrument by the Repub
jMkrtyrrs, too weak—that the rights claimed under it for the States
would leave in their hands too large a portion of political power, mak
ing the Federal Government the mere agent or creature of the States »•
while, on the other hand, the Republicans contended that the only safe
guard so- the public liberty was to be found iu a strict construction of
the Constitution, and an unwavering adherance to.all. its provisions as
written and adopted. Upon this issue the two great parties of that day
were organized, and upon which they long contended, and are again
destined to contend, at least through the next Presidential campaign.
The last highhanded act of the old dynasty, was the sedition law, in
tended at the time to secure the re-election of the elder Adams, by put
ting to silence,the voice of the press, through which alone the enoimitiea
of his administration could be made known to the people—but happily
for the liberties of our country, the people took tha alarm—they rallied
to the rescue, and the Constitution was saved. Virginia and Kentucky
stood foremost in thecause of Democracy, and the energies of millionr
wcie aroused by the famous resolutions which they adopted in behalf
of State Rights.
Mi. Jefferson was elected—Federalism gave place to Democracy— the
rights of the States were acknowledged and respected, and the Consti
tution expounded according to the spirit and intention of its immortal
framers. The Sedition Act went by the board—the liberty of the press
was restored, and the State and Federal Governments moved on in thei r
appropriate orbits.
But the struggles of Federalism were firm and untiring throughout Mr.
Jefferson's administration. He was assailed, slandered and abused, from
every quarter, with all the maliee which spleen and disappointment
could utter, and in every form which hatred could invent, but the people
stood around him and sustained him.
Mr. Madison succeeded him, —nor was it his lotto escape the vindic
tive opposition of the Federal party —but the success of the war of 1812'
—the distinguished heroism of our gallant tars upon tbe ocean and the
lakes—the success of our arms at Chipewa and other points upoa the
Canada frontier—the gallant defence of Baltimore—and above all, thet
splendid victory of New-Orleans, followed by an honorable peace, pros
trated the Federal party, and tendered its name odious on account off
iheir opposition to the war, and their refusal te sustain the Government*
in its prosecution.
From that moment, their ranks seemed to be scattered—their name
was sunk—one portion pretending conversion to the principles of tho
dominant party, the other maintaining a sullen silefte, but all watching
with eagles' eyes, the first opportunity to rally and regain their [ost pow
er ; and hopeless as it might seem, an occasion soon presented itself, to
do that by stratagem, which they dare not hazard iu even contest.
Mr. John Q. Adams had given in his adhesion, at least so far as to
find favor with the Democratic party, and so adroitly did he play his
hand, that in a short time he was employed by the Government iu a
high diplomatic station, and so successful was he in aping Democracy*
that his name was put forward as the successor of Mr. Monroe, underr
whom he had acted as Secretary of State; and then.it was that Ftdtr*-
alism assembled her broken ranks, and made one more giant struggle
for victory or death. They brought their last man to his support, butx
the election went to the House, where he finally succeeded by Federal!
Votes, aided by the support and influence of Mr. Clay, their new ally—-
who, however much he may have been previously applauded for hft
Republican principles, has been a Federalist ever since.
Shall we go into the history of Mr. Adams’s administration, or an ar
gument to stamp it with the chaiacter of Federalism ? We should deem
it an act of supererogation. The strides which he attempted to make
over the sovereignty of Georgia, will brand him through all time to come,
as a Federalist of the deepest die; and if further evidence were wanting,
his course in Congress, since his ejection from the Presidency, subjects
him to a still blacker stigma.
The measures of Mr. Adams’s administration soon alarmed the R«-
publican party, as well that portion which had supported his election, a*
those who opposed it, and before half his term had expired, they were
unitedin opposition to his re-election. General Jackson was sustained
as the candidate of the Democracy, and elected by a vote sp.over.whelm
iug as todrive Federalism again from the field.
New names had been assumed—“ National Republicans” “ Anti-
masous,” &c. &c. until finally the sacred name of “ Whig” was pros
tituted to conceal the designs of a party which had been repeatedly
down by the voice of the people, for their deep rooted hostility to Static
Rights and the Constitution.
The opposition to General Jackson and. his administration arose from,
the same quarter. He had set his face agaiust u Natipnul Bank, as un
constitutional. He had denied to the General Government the right tQ,
construct works of internal improvement within the States, and had
recommended a i eduction of the tariff to the wants of the Government:
and bo found arrayed against him the strength of the whole Federal
party, with Daniel Webster, John ty. Adams, and Henry Clay at iti
head, tdl contending for the identical prineiplcs of the Federal party of