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Glass
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BBM^MHM
3F
HENRY
July
Mifflin
& Parry,
V^
D.
till,
GILPIN,
1834„
Printers, 99 S.
Second Street.
/
A
SPEECH
DELIVERED AT THE
BB»ZOCRATZC CEIiEBRATXOH
BY THE CITIZENS OF THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL
TRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA,
OP THE
^-
i
or
The M^ecUiration
July
BY
ot Inilepenilence^
4tli
HENRY
1834,
D.
GILPIN.
[Published by the Committee of Arrangement.]
f^/4
^
DIS-
^
"
Holahan'a Hotel, 8th July, 1834.
To Henry D
Gilpin, Esq.
celeAt the request of the Committee of Arrangement for
the Democratic
brating the Anniversary of American Independence, by
from their micitizens of the City of Philadelphia, I annex an extract
Dear
Sir:
nutes of this date.
Your
friend and obedient servant,
HENRY SIMPSON, Sec'yOn motion Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be presented to
Henry D.Gilpin for his excellent Oration, delivered on the 4th instant, and
that he be requested to furnish a copy of
it
for publication.
Philadelfihia, 9th July, 1834.
To Henry
Simpson, Esq. Sec'y.
Committee of Arrangement a copy of the
remarks made by me at the celebration at M'Arann's Garden on the 4th
I beg you to express to the committee my sense of the compliinstant.
ment they have paid me, in the request communicated by you,
Dear
Sir:
I
inclose for the,
I aro,
very respectfully, yours,
H. D. GILPIN.
DEMOCRATIC FESTIVAL,
JULY FOURTH,
1834.
President.
GEORGE
M. DALLAS.
Vice Presidents.
Henry Horn,
Samuel B. Davis,
William J. Lciper,
Samuel Badger,
Joseph Worrelly
Thomas Roney,
George W. Try on,
Lewis Taylor,
William Ruff,
Alexander Diamond,
Levi EUmaker.
Charles K. Servoss,
Michael Nisbet,
Wilson Taylor,
Robert Adams,
Orator of the Day.
Henry D. Gilpin.
Reader of the^Declaration.
Henry Horn.
Committee of Invitation.
Wm.
Henry Simpson,
Benjamin Miffli-n,
Wm.
J.
Ruff,
Lewis Taylor,
Theodore Evans.
Leiper,
GUESTS.
Senators.
Thos. H. Benton, of Missouri, John Tipton, of Indiana,
Felix Grundy, of Tennessee,
Isaac Hill, of New Hampshire,
Representatives in Coivgress.
Robert T. Lytle, of Ohio,
William Allen, of Ohio,
Judge G.
i
W.
Co).
Wm. Findlay, of Pa.
Wm. Dnane, of Pa.
Dr.
Wilmer Worlhington,
Campbell, of Tenn. Gov.
Mr. Pope, of Va.
Mr. Sibley, of Mass.
Commodore
George R. Gilmer, of Georgia,
of Maine.
Edward Kavenaugh,
Chas. Stewart,
of Pa.
—
SPEECH.
than eight hundred years after the foundation of Rome,
a Grecian traveller, visiting the vast mistress of the world,
More
found her citizens assembled to celebrate the day on which a band
of shepherds had first traced the boundaries of the infant republic.
ing age.
empire,
The festival had been kept sacred through each succeedThe people who then embraced, within their extended
all the nations of the earth; who had spread the blessings
of commerce, civilization and the arts from seven little hills on the
shores of the Tiber, to the remotest oceans and the wildest deserts,
cherished,
with
sacred
the day
regard,
when
a
few bold and
oppressed husbandmen sought a refuge where they could establish
their own institutions, and protect their own privileges, by a
compact framed among themselves. The festival was not
established with the bloody rites which marked all the other days
consecrated by public celebrations; no slaughtered victims stained
the altars of the gods; no smoking entrails were examined by the
social
priesthood; nothing that had
vinities
who had watched over
ministers were crowned with
brought offerings of early
was
life
the birthday of
chaplets
fruits,
nity, the streets of the city,
offered to propitiate the di-
and
Rome;
of flowers,
but the
the people
as night closed the solem-
the surrounding villages, and the
were lighted up by bonfires and enlivened by dancing and song.
Year after year, the citizens of that proud republic
their breasts imbued with the spirit of independence, and
their rights as freemen guarded by the laws they had made
After the
sacredly cherished the remembrance of that day.
ancient energy was departed, even their descendants dwelt with
conscious satisfaction on the period when the Roman people
rural abodes
—
exerted their
own
majesty;
when they
successfully guarded the
republican institutions against the secret or the open ambition of
designing men, and from factions formed to elevate the wealthy or
the proud upon the ruin of popular rights.
The
corrupted loved to recur to the lessons of patriots
spirits
who had
ished the genuine principles of freedom; to deeds where
2
yet uncher-
life
was
held
iacrificc
a trifling
if
and institutions calculated
own
welfare.
at stake;
to
laws
preserve the direct and practical
to
interference of the people,
their
honor was
national
measures connected with
in all the
was not
remembrance of these
spirit of the republic was gone,
and the liberties of its citizens were overthrown.
It was not
until immense wealth was gradually accumulated in the hands
of comparatively few
till privileged associations of individuals took advantage of their powers and position to assume an inthings passed
It
the
until
away, that the
;
fluence never intended to be conferred;
the silent and stealthy
till
but sure and rapid march of intrigue, of selfishness and ambition
had penetrated into the very centre of popular rights that the
republic was found only to be a name, and the people in reality
—
nothing but instruments or slaves.
Then indeed
—
these festivities
became but an idle ceremony idle to the thoughtless, but to those
whose bosoms the love of country yet warmed, the painful emblem
of a freedom that existed no more
the sad proof, that if a people
would guard their own power in the government of themselves,
they must watch, daily and nightly, the inroads of corruption and
ambition, and tear from them, before it becomes familiar to their
—
mask they are always ready to assume. The annual
which marks the birth of their republic, must not be cele-
eyes, the
feast,
brated alone with the symbols of joy
— with assemblages
of those
who merely recall the memory of the past; but
it must bring together
the people to weigh well the principles on which their institutions
have been formed,
review the gradual progress of events, and
see whether, under any specious pretext, they have been perverted or abused; to dwell on the actual position of their affairs, and
to decide whether they preserve, not merely in name, but in positive and practical efficiency, all the benefits which their forefato
thers intended to secure
when they
laid the
corner stone of the re-
public.
We
are here assembled, fellow citizens, after fifty-eight years
have passed away,
the
Romans
emblems of
did,
we
festivity
hail
it
with joy
and peace
;
we
in
warm
;
we hang over
us
the
surround the names of
founders with chaplets of flowers; and
memories
As
to celebrate the birthday of our republic.
we
its
hold their deeds and
and grateful remembrance.
It
would be
fraught with pleasure— our hearts would, respond to
it
—
a task
to cele-
brate their actions, to repeat the sacred traditions of their personal
sacrifices
grove
and their public
we might
zeal.
Beneath the shades of
dwell upon the past, recall
to
ourselves
this
how our
7
how
fathers acted in their days,
onward way
in arts, in happiness
our beloved country has held
and
in
institutions and the lofty character of its sons
in this early time of
But such
history,
its
a celebration
pardonable, feeling.
among
would evince
It would be to
how
fame, and
its
have made
the fairest of
let slip, in
noble
even
human things.
weak,
a vain and
it,
its
even a
if
thoughtless cere-
monies, the period for performing an important and patriotic duty.
If we have not the same cause for bold and vigorous conduct which
animated the sages of 1776, we have other duties equally sacred to
perform.
It was theirs to preserve hallowed rights, republican institutions, the principles of a fierce
It is
ours to see that
all
moment our ancestors
to us, if we have lost
these are
democracy from
now
as safe as
saved them from that
a foreign foe.
they were
foe.
What
the virtuous impulses from
alone can spring, whether they have been yielded to
at the
matters
it
which freedom
the hand of vio-
lence from abroad, or sunk beneath the silent inroads of ambition,
home? What matavowedly lost, or whe-
of dissention, of weakness, or of corruption at
ters
it
to us,
whether our
liberties
ther they are subverted in effect
ance with them?
year after year,
are
by policy altogether
at vari-
As in the later days of the republic of Rome,
when we thus met together, might show us the
same outward forms of government, but the real, the animating
the true voice of the people would be
spirit would be gone
drowned by the increased and undue influence of power, meant to
be subordinate; by the combinations of a false ambition, or the in-
—
terested motives of powerful classes of individuals,
purposes of transient and
who would,
selfish interest, forget or
for
overlook the
real welfare of their country.
The
duty, then, of American citizens
Fourth of
Jul)^, is
pendence.
It is
who assemble on
the
not merely to celebrate the day of their inde-
not even mainly to do
this.
Their proper duty
is,
examine the present, and to look forward to the future. To see
that the just motives which actuated our forefathers then, actuate
To observe whether our present meatheir descendants now.
To watch
sures and policy are founded on, and sustain them.
to
who have been elevated to ofHces of trust,
To examine the career and explore the
confidence and honor.
designs of ambitious men, who aim at personal advancement or
To pledge ourselves, with a solemnity as sacred as
distinction.
the conduct of those
that of the signers of the great charter
to
do in these days,
as
which has just been read,
they did then, whatever
is
necessary
to
preserve what they established, honestly and usefully, not merely
in theory
And
and name.
my
countrymen, on any previous anniversary of
our independence, have American citizens assembled Avith this
duty imposed upon them more sacredly than now. At no monever,
ment of our
have they been required to weigh
with greater care the measures and conduct of their public men,
to
political existence
examine the
practical results of
and
their policy,
revert
to
government, and the means by which
to the great ends of social
No
they must be maintained.
enemy roams along our
foreign
no desolating scourge hovers over our homes. Peace extends her olive wand, and heaven seems more abundantly to heap
on us the prosperity and the bounteous blessings it has always
showered, with a gracious hand.
Yet the voice of domestic
shores,
strife is
not
silent.
The
halls that should
be sacred to patriotic
The
deliberation, ring with the echoes of faction.
bition,
and the designs of avarice, are
work
at
in
intrigues of
am-
every corner of the
land, and the purposes of the one and the other are to be subserved
amid the tumult they have conspired
contest 'with these
never
is
doubtful, the triumph
is
Yet in
overthrow
to excite.
difficult,
their
never uncertain,
when
truth, the
never
is
the determination
is
resolutely made.
Fellow
The
citizens, factions
leaders of factions have ever been the designing, the disap-
pointed, the malignant
by
a
low and
selfish
haps always should
on
have ever been the curse of republics.
principles,
it
— those who are actuated, not by
exist, in free
men
governments; but
together,
for the attainment of greater ends.
sometimes
aiming
to destroy an individual,
or his tool;
it
it
Faction has
it
carries its
and misrepresentation,
it
and then
is
founded
sacrifices smaller objects
no principle;
professes one, and at others the reverse;
it
it
becomes
ends by corruption,
it
his
it
is
deals in falsehood
forms unnatural alliances,
it
digs the grave
the early days of our republic, the citizens of America,
principles on
formed on
now
accomplice
of patriotism, and pollutes the fountains of national honor.
political institutions
but
Party must, and always does, per-
ambition.
rallies
a lofty,
new
In
to the
they had framed, differed essentially as to the
which they were
this difference;
were
these opposing principles became the
to be administered.
Parties
subject of anxious deliberation; and after a struggle, arduous but
determined
democracy of the country nobly
The republican party became avowedly
in its character, the
and signally prevailed.
9
9
triumphant; the ranks of
nority of the people.
its
A
opponents dwindled into a small mi-
course of policy, distinguished by the
reduction of the public debt, the abolition of the bank of the United
States, the security of the navigation of the Mississippi, and the
extension of our boundaries to the great western ocean, was rendered more illustrious by the glories cf a war in which our flag
triumph on every ocean, and the eagle of victory perched
on the standards of our armies. Throughout this long career,
the mutterings of faction were not always suppressed; and the de-
waved
in
signs of ambition could not always be disguised.
Many manly
and generous spirits opposed to the principles of our party, did indeed act nobly with us in the common cause of country, but
there were not wanting those, who alike in the hour of prosperity
and of trial, were deaf to the voice of patriotism, though they could
listen to the
whispers of selfishness and ambition.
In the natural consequences of
war
a
— the
derangement of the
finances, the accumulation of the public debt, the necessity of large
means of transporthe opponents of the republican party saw a favourable
supplies of manufactures, and the want of ready
tation,
occasion to introduce into the system of our general government,
those broader views of power which hitherto the people had refused
to approve.
Many
of them, honestly actuated by the belief that
they were those on which our
ministered, sustained
them now
as
government ought to be adthey had sustained them before;
while ambitious leaders, found in their ranks, as in those of all
political associations, saw in these, topics which might be serviceably used for their
own
ends.
Even some who maintained
inflexibly original democratic sentiments, believed that a change
of policy, required
variance with them.
by the exigencies of the
The
result
times,
was not
at
was the establishment of anew
national bank, intended to be a useful fiscal agent, subject to strict
examination and control; thd protection, by a moderate tariff, of
the domestic industry of the country; and the
commencement
of a
plan of internal improvement, limited in extent, and confined to
Well were it for us, if the
objects of evident national utility.
system so established had been maintained in the same spirit
with which it was founded. Well were it, if it had not been
The boundaperverted and misused to subserve political designs.
however, were quickly overleaped; the promotion of manufactures was converted into a scheme of partizan protection designed
to aid the aspirations! of certain politicians; the expenditure of pub
ries,
10
money
improvements, became a notorious means of
bargaining for the advancement of personal popularity in particular
districts; and the national bank began to assume a power indepen-
lie
for internal
dent of the government, of which
was the agent, and to establish
an influence over the community, which might be employed for
purposes oppressive,
it
These consequences,
or corrupt.
selfish,
gradually developed, were at length fully displayed during the ad-
Quincy Adams
ministration of John
—a
president
having
one third of the electoral votes, and elevated
than
by means of
against the will of the people,
ately without a parallel in
and avowed
power
to
a coalition,
less
fortun-
our history, a coalition with an old
political rival, himself a candidate for the presidential
by the people. Could the consequences be
The American people indignantly hurled from the
also rejected
chair,
doubtful? No.
—
offices of trust,
men who had
thus stolen unwarily into places of
honour; the principles of the republican party were again asserted
the chief place in the government was' confided to a man
;
grown venerable
whose blood had
been freely shed beneath her banners, whose integrity was unsullied by the breath of suspicion, whose courage and decision were
equal to every crisis, and whose cherished political maxims were
those that had been ever maintained by the great democratic family.
in the service of his country,
Representing as he has done the sentiments of the people, carrying
out their honest wishes^ yielding to no motives of partizan ambition, suffering himself to be the tool of
faction,
we have
seen the republican party rallying round him, and
extricating us from the toils into
Internal
led.
ticians.
commerce
The funds
local, partial,
are protected with
is
which we had been
no longer made the instrument of poli-
to lessen their
burthens, not squandered
Domestic manufactures
and interested designs.
aview
vindictive contests.
deceitfully
raised from the labours of the people, have
been faithfully applied
with
no struggling or aspiring
to the general benefit, not'so as to excite
The
quiet majesty of the laws
against the designs of defeated political aspirants,
who
is
upheld
publish under
own.
The honor and fame of the American people are protected and extended over distant countries, the wrongs of our citizens redressed,
claims unjustly withheld readily discharged, and new sources of
the
name
of democracy doctrines which
it
would blush
to
But above all this, throughand practical spirit of democracy asserts
wealth opened to fearless enterprise.
out our land, the positive
its
sway; the people rule now
as
they ruled thirty years 3go; they
11
redeemed from the control of interested leaders; they see the
government of their choice administered by men of their choice;
are
they are carrying on triumphantly that struggle, which, in every
must be periodically carried on, between the great mass
of the people, honest, conscientious, and straight forward, and
those who, actuated by false theories, or by a misguided ambition,
republic,
or by their peculiar position, or by considerations of personal interest, are
constantly at variance with them.
Such, fellow citizens, has hitherto been the progress of
affairs,
gradually restoring the government, in the language of Mr. Jefferson, to "its republican tack."
As
plished.
more
But the work
the contest hastens to
and
violent,
is
the fury of despair.
months have no
attended with
The
parallel in
its close,
not yet accom-
is
the struggle becomes
the recklessness of anger and
all
political events
of the last eighteen
They
our domestic history.
who
the last rally of a few politicians,
see close at
display
hand the
prostration of their ambitious designs; and the last struggle of a
band of moneyed monopolists, who dread the inevitable termination of privileges, heedlessly conferred on them,
own
have been served,
interests
by which thek
expense of their fellow
at the
citi-
may, the people of the United States know
too well that this is now a contest between the democracy and the
country on one hand, and, on the other, a coalition formed between
political leaders already rejected by the peo])le, and the Bank of the
United States, always distrusted by them, and only tolerated from a
confidence and a hope, which have now been proved to be vain.
Whatever disguise is assumed, whatever name is invoked, the evizens.
Disguise
dent truth
raised,
it
as they
is this.
what
is it
If the
clamour about executive usurpation
is
but an unflinching opposition on the part of the
chief executive magistrate towards the
Bank of
the United States?
If lamentations over popular errors are querulously uttered,
what
are they but a settled purpose on the part of the people to dis-
card from their favour Clay, Webster, or Calhoun?
citizens,
the history of the last eighteen months,
of a coalition between the bank for
its
selfish
is
Yes, fellow
the
purposes, and
few
factious politicians, for their own ambitious designs.
put
down
is
this coalition that all
our
efforts
the last battle the republican party has
history
It is to
should be directed;
now to
a
fight; it is a
it
cause
which, before every other, they should pledge themselves on the
anniversary of the Fourth of July.
to
Never bave
the annals of a republic presented a course of conduct
12
more presumpluouSj more intemperate, more
with the
at variance
purity of institutions, the solemnity of public assemblies, the rights
of citizens
— nayj the common
dictates of justice,
and of public and
private honour, than that displayed in the combined
Bank
of the
movements
of the United States, audits instruments and associates
in Congress.
Can
be doubted, that the framers of our Constitution never
it
contemplated the existence of a corporation possessing such fearful
powers, and so capable of placing
we
mean
itself;
so
we
power we have thoughtlessly given away
are at last startled at the
audacity a creature has ventured to assume,
the
whom
those to
er;
as a
allowed this institution to advance, step by step, that
we
at
it
how impudent
owes
its
its
abusive at
its
its
The
How
American people
to suit
fortunes of our
nod; the press
its
against
frightful is its
is
made
decree; the laws of the land are perverted
try, or boldly violated
its
existence.
audacity!
are elevated or depressed at
of the
Bank
have designed that any
permitted, year after year, this cancer to extend
have
—
control, as the
mere money-agent, should set itself
nay the very master, of the people. Yet so have
thing, so intrinsically
as the rival,
beyond
Little could they
of the United States?
up
itself
pow-
citizens
silent or
by
sophis-
purposes; the chosen officers
are assailed with gross scurrility to gratify
malignity; and their representatives are treated with an insolent
which would really be amusing, if the source whence it proceeds were alone considered, and not the precedent it may afford
These arc not matters of doubt, but they
to every public agent.
They are facts which should never be forare recorded facts.
gotten. They should serve as beacons to warn the people of the
They should be incendangers upon which they were running.
tives to renewed ardour in the present contest, for it is against these
very things we are now contending these very things are now to
be put down, or else they may be always afterwards triumphantly
perpetrated. Fellow citizens, you must forgive me if I repeat some
scorn,
—
of these
facts.
freedom
ter of our
to
keep
You have
its
is
heard them before, but as the great char-
read, over and again, every returning year,
very language
as well as its principles
deeply impressed
on every occasion while our present great strugthe struggle between the country on one side, and
gle goes on
the bank and its political allies on the other; between the too paon every occasion
tient master and the presumptuous servant
on our
hearts, so
—
—
when we
are thus assembled, these facts should be repeated, that
l3
we may
perpetually see what
we have
heen, and
submissively to bear.
still
are,
expected
>
Is the value of our property to be regulated
fortunes to be raised or depressed
cut off— as suits the notions of a
— are
our private
— are the public revenues
moneyed
to
be
when it chooses
Every freeman would
conclave,
to dabble in politics, or speculate in stocks?
—
Yet what has been the power and policy of this
answer No.
bank? In June, ISIS, it raised its discounts to the community to
in December following it had reduced them to
iS41,000,000
In 1S26, in the same manner, we find its dis§36, 000,000.
—
§35,000,000— in December reduced to §30,000,000.
In December 1S30, its discounts were §42,000,000— in May 1S32,
they were increased to §70,000,000— in the following December
they were reduced to §61,000,000— in August 1833, they were
and in December 1833, they were
increased to §64,000,000
counts in June
—
In January, 1831,
reduced to §54,000,000.
of
its
bank notes
in circulation, sustained
in January, 1832,
it
had increased
it
had §17,600,000
by §11,000,000 of specie;
circulation to §23,000,000,
its
was reduced to §7,500,000. What have been the
consequences of so wanton a course ? Repeated periods of fallacious
prosperity, and of unforeseen difficulty and suffering, among the
people, who have been made the victims of this cupidity, without
No matter to what motives this conduct is to
pity or remorse.
be ascribed whether to erring judgment, to selfish speculation,
paramount or
it is such as no power,
or to political intrigue
subordinate, can exercise, without endangering and destroj^Ing
But when we come to examevery thing we ought to hold dear.
while
its
specie
—
—
ine the times and circumstances,
with a view
while
of the representatives of the people.
does not exceed the faithlessness with which,
was throwing out its money from one end of the na-
as this
it
find Its actions are directed
operate on the political affairs of the country, and to
to
affect the elections
Bad
we
is, It
tion to the other.
payment of the
cient public
It
secretly
made arrangements
national debt, though
money
for the
it
purpose in
to
postpone the
had, at the very time,
suffi-
its vaults.
Growing bolder, however, It wa^ not long content thus, under the
weight into the scale of politics. It
was not enough to operate indirectly on the industry and resources
The press, the fountain of information, was to be
of the people.
forms of business, to cast
its
secretly pensioned, and the
money
3
of the government as well as
14
individualSj
aid the
unlinown
bank and
themselves, was to be freely expended to
political
its
has been carried, and
lavished, are yet
to
all
the
The
allies.
extent to which this
sums of money
that
have thus been
unknown; they
are veiled mysteriously by the
bank from the public eye; they are secrets it is afraid or ashamed
to disclose.
But may we not judge from what we do know? May
we not form some estimate,, from what has been already developed,
in the examinations of
at
Congress and
its
own
confessions?
Look
them!
The publishers of the New York Inquirer
The publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer
The publisher of the United States Telegraph
The publishers of the National Intelligencer
To these are to be added the sums distributed
parts of the United
States,
for publishing
i^52,000
32,000
20,000
80,000
to printers, in all
documents which are
said to be for the defence of the bank, but which,
in
many
in-
were electioneering articles or pamphlets. This sum
is admitted by Ihe directors to amount to ^58,000, and makes an
aggregate paid to subsidize the press, of nearly ^250,000
How small a proportion it may be of the whole sum thus illegally expended, time perhaps will show; how notoriously instances,
?
sufficient
is
known; but
the security given for a large part of
the very fact
is
it,
already
one that must alarm every virtuous
citizen.
Turn from
is
,
management of the bank itself.
Does the history of any institution, in any country, present evidences
of misconduct more glaring, of violations of the spirit, nay, letter of
a charter, more wanton and violent?
The functions of directors
these acts to the
transferred to secret committees; loans
made contrary
to the rules,
and on security the most worthless; the expenditure of money
in-
trusted to an officer without control as to
re-
amount; no vouchers
quired from him for the disbursements he thus makes; the cor-
respondence seldom or never submitted
to the
board; in a word,
all
the essential duties, for which the managers of such a corporation are chosen, virtually nullified.
Do
the officers appointed
by
the President and Senate oppose these illegal acts, or refuse to conceal
them from the people?
They
are
denounced and misrepre-
sented, though their statements cannot be refuted, in manifestos
from the bank. Does the Secretary of the Treasury exercise the powers given him by law, to remove the public revenue
from the custody of such agents? He is attacked in language the
issued
K
15
Does the
promulgated by the bank.
President of the United States express his opinions on the legality
or propriety of such acts? He is assimilated to the wretched crimi-
most
scurrilous,
who
nals
officially
counterfeit the notes of the bank.
Do
the immediate
American people, who have incorporated
delegates of the
it,
money in its vaults, and own seven millions of its cadoes the House of Representatives itself, appoint a com-
placed their
pital
—
authorises,
mittee, as the charter
amine
They
proceedings?
investigation
all
if
its
is
to inspect
its
books and ex-
are treated with absolute contempt;
denied^ and, with charges openly made, which,
untrue, can be refuted at once,
it
shrinks, with the conscious-
Fellow
ness of guilt, behind the shield of legal subterfuge.
zens,
we
why
is
that these disclosures
it
are told the
bank should not be
Innocence never
offers
such a plea
are refused?
called
—
it
on
citi-
Why
is it
to criminate
itself?
—
chal-
courts the light
it
What! is it
lenges the most searching scrutiny of the accuser.
come to this that an agent of the American people, intrusted
—
with their public moneys; can say that he will give no account
of his stewardship, because he cannot be compelled to criminate
himself
!
Dark must be
the catalogue of offences,
where
it is
ne-
cessary to resort to a pretext such as this!
Are
not these facts, thus briefly recalled to your notice, strik-
ing evidences of the importance of the political contest in which
we are engaged? It is this institution, thus abused, thus corrupt,
thus determined wantonly to exercise
regarding
its
own
its
power, thus
dis-
and setting at defiance the people, the
and the very laws of the land it is this
charter,
constituted authorities,
—
overgrown moneyed monopoly, the abuses of which we are now
called upon to crush, or submit ourselves for the future to its renovated arrogance and power.
That we should do
rate political leaders,
it,
as
it
uses them, to
so, is its
own
design, and that of the despe-
who, linked with it in an unholy alliance, use
promote the interested and selfish views of
one another, utterly disregarding the
To
real welfare of the nation.
this end, all original principles, all previous views, all past an-
former preferences have been sacrificed and on
the floor of congress, and from one end of the country to the
other, a common feeling brings together those who uphold the bank
tipathies,
and
all
;
of the United States, and those, hitherto frowned on and despised
by the people, who yet vainly hope, by its aid, to taste the cup of
success.
What
a spectacle is
presented!
All consistency
is
con-
'
16
lemptuously discarded; disunion
is
allowed quietly
to sleep in the
embraces of federalism; the praises of the bank arc chanted by
lips that declaimed against it in tonesof bitterness and hatred; the
force-bill has becomCj in the eyes of those lately its denouncers, a
harmless manifesto; and nullification, v/hose terrors were notlonij
ago depicted in hues of blood, has dwindled to an insignificant
A
phantom.
power;
legislative
colours,
faction,
motley and
deceitful, usurps the privileges of
hundred
king of shreds and
a political harlequin, tricked off in a
plays his antics on the stage; and a
patches wields his gilded truncheon, as
if
the
American people
But already has the heartless exhibition lasted too long; already has the mask fallen off and disclosed the distorted features it was meant to conceal; already are the
expected sounds of applause, converted into the murmurs of diswere submissive
to his
sway.
approbation and disgust.
Who
with patience, on the proceedings of the
can look back,
opposition party in congress, during the session that has closed?
Who
can
States,
fail
to trace in
having for
institution,
its
it
an alliance with the bank of the United
sole objects the perpetuation of
and the recovery of
political
influence for
Acting on these principles have we not seen
partizan warfare
—
our history, and
I
cannot say legislation
I trust
never
unheard in our national
halls,
sanction of legislative
States, a
hairs
allies?
—hitherto
and
unknown
to
Language, before
has been freely uttered under the
The President
privilege.
man whose gray
its
to that
a course of debate
be repeated?
to
power
of the United
might have protected him from
in-
whose long life devoted to his country might have saved him
from wanton abuse; nay, whose very position, as was_ known to
those who abused him, took from him the opportunity to reply;
sult;
this venerable
man
has been insulted in debate, has been the ob-
ject of public censure without the permission to defend himself,
and has been refused the small right of placing, on the public
records, his
own
The
vindication.
Secretary of the Treasury, a
statesman of unsullied purity of character, against whose moral
worth slander cannot raise a suspicion, and whose admirable
talents have been proved, on every single occasion, when hia
opponents ventured to meet him in argument on the measures he
has proposed or sustained; this officer, whose manly firmness and
sagacious judgment have
his
won
countrymen, has been
privilege
to
for
him
fiercely'
answer, and has
at
the ardent good wishes of
attacked where he had not the
length
been driven from
the
17
which he so well served and adorned, a
councils of his country,
who
victim to political rivals,
and
felt little
feared the superiority of his genius,
of the loftiness of his
Are
spirit.
the sacred institu-
tions of our country to be thus disgraced for the purposes of political
Are
success?
the characters of
men
to
be attacked under the
Are the executive sessions of the
be turned, by an accidental majoi'ity, into
pretext of legislative privilege?
American Senate
to
How
the clandestine inquisition of apolitical junto?
to
defend himself from false aspersions,
when
is
a citizen
his actions are per-
verted, his sentiments misrepresented, or slanders uttered against
him, unknown
How
is
he
to
to himself, or to
which he
is
not allowed to reply?
be protected against discussions not carried on before
Why are
the face of day?
not the men,
who
thus give their votes,
and pass their sentence of condemnation, called upon
to
make
where they may be fully known, and, if they can
be, fairly repelled?
It never was the meaning of the constitution,
it never was consistent with the feelings or spirit of the American
people, that a secret conclave should pass upon its citizens unheard; should listen to the whispers of enmity or slander; should
receive the letters of private informers, or be tutored by the inAs well might we witness in
structions of personal malignity.
our republic such days as those, the most odious that history retheir charges
cords,
when
three
Roman
candidates for power, selfishness just
suppressing their bitter rivalry and
a
they could not subdue.
gorgeous columns of our
closed,
met together on
mutually to denounce and proscribe the
island,
little
distrust,
even in the
spirits
As well might we see erected, amid the
own capitol, the lion's mouth that is now
Venetian senate, and surrender our
the secret malice of political opponents or
halls of a
characters and honor to
personal foes.
Nothing proves, fellow citizens, more clearly, that the contest we
are now waging, is one in which these political leaders know that
they are struggling desperately for power, than the intemperate
language of their debates, and the want of manly feeling displayed so repeatedly on the
to
the coarse
slanders
small politicians,
floor of congress.
I
do not allude
of the Ewings, or the Hardins,
who seem
to
or the
be the necessary vents of that scur-
which refinement of sentiment, or the impulses of genius,
could not condescend. But how great must be the stake how imperioys the requisitions of faction
when she has compelled one
rility, to
'
—
—
who
lately held
the second
station
in
the republic, to sacrifice
18
himself
on
What
her polluted shrine?
the proper designa^
is
man, who could, with no conceivable motive but malignity towards a more honoured rival, state, without a blush,
in the face of the American Senate, that his absence at the opening
of successive sessions, was not a matter of design; could desert the
political principles he had formerly avowed, and endeavor to overtion of a
turn the constitution he had by solemn oaths repeatedly pledged
himself
support; could seek refuge in the peaceful halls of legis-
to
lation at
from the scene of strife he had himself
the very moment, when, in all human probability, his
Washington,
raised, at
far
braver associates would be called on to sustain with their swords,
doctrines intended to subserve his individual ambition?
proper
to
to use,
even by following
halls
lege.
such as
designate a course
cannot condescend
this, I
own example,
his
The terms
set in the august
of legislation, and under the sanction of legislative privi-
How
great
must be the stake
United States knows herself
to
which the bank of the
be playing how strong must be
for
—
the influence she has brought to bear, in her contest with the people
— how potent must be the
ploy; when, as
we have
means
its
never before turned from a private
a voluntary sacrifice in a
to give their little aid, to
of
art.
in the
To me
it
seems
machine can em-
seen, fellow citizens, before our
mediate eyes, she can allure from
made
that great
own im-
haunts, that selfishness
end; never before
to a public
community, where few have
some one cause of
a circumstance,
which
failed
charity, of literature or
among
the most degrading,
conduct of the present leaders of the opposition, that those
who have
received large sums from the bank, either as loans or as
rewards for services performed, should yet
no hesitation to
feel
It is true
we can
scarce wonder, that
to an institution, should
impugn
the motives
it,
record their votes as legislators in
men so bound
of those who censure
its
behalf.
when unable
allegations, or should indulge in petty slander
mind must be dead, which
their
on the one hand, or
a natural but lamentable adulation on the other.
of a generous
to refute
The
sensibility
utters the language
and
adopts the arts of an advocate, while holding the position of a
statesman; and
which
who would envy
affects to despise
that coldness, real or assumed,
an imputation founded in truth, that can-
not consist with unbiassed judgment or disinterested conduct?
While the
floor of
congress has thus been misused, the current
business of the countr}^ has been neglected, and important measures have been suffered to sleep,
week
after
^Yeek.
Heavy
ex-
19
penses have been incurred during sessions occupied by this use-
Large sums have been
the contingent fund of congress and to the public appro-
declamation or vindictive attack.
less
added
to
priations, for the purpose of upholding the publishers of partizan
newspapers.
The
abused, in order to disseminate the misrepre-
leges of franking
sentations that
mails have been overburdened and the privi-
were profusely poured
out.
It
appears by
official
documents that the publisher of the United States Telegraph, a
newspaper devoted to nullification, and the organ of one portion of the opposition, received for
public
printing,
including
the cost of paper, Sl06,400, in a single year, that of 1832; ami
that ^105, 000 have been advanced for
lic
a
is
bank, and the organ of another portion of the opposition.
more, although
in the estimate furnished
Senate, before the
requires the large
will
it
pub-
done by the publishers of the National
newspaper in the immediate ownership of the
documents, which
Intelligericer,
reprinting certain
Nay
by the Secretary of the
commencement of the session
sum of ^18,000 for printing
just closed,
for that
he
body,
be believed that he was obliged to ask, before the ad-
journment, an additional appropriation of ^35,500 for "printing
for the current business of the Senate," making in the whole the
incredible
sum
of ^53,500 for the printing of the Senate alone,
during a single session?
I
have not by
me
the statement of the
similar expenditure, in the last long session of 1832, but I have
that of the preceding one of 1830, and
I find
the
amount paid
^1 1,408 57, or ^41,000 less than the estimate
Facts like these require no comment, but they must
for printing to be
of this year.
convince the people that there are other objects in printing such
voluminous masses of documents, besides the mere difiusion of
information among them. To the efforts thus made, by means
of official situation and power, and the extravagant or improper
money,
application of the public
to
are to be added
the attempts
spread distress throughout a prosperous community,
by ha-
rangues containing statements of the situation of various districts
of country, utterly at variance with the actual situation of things.
The
credit of institutions has been
wantonly attacked, the plana
have been thwarted, and month after
month has been suffered to pass away, in the hope of changing
of commercial enterprize
the steady purpose, and misguiding the sound sense of the people.
Such, fellow citizens,
>
is
a
sketch of the contest that has been
20
waged, and the means that have been resorted to. Innuinera'
hlc facts are within your recollections, illustrating them even more
olearly than those to which I have referred.
They prove, in a
manner not
to be disguised or misrepresented, the true
the struggle
—
a struggle that can only be terminated
They show
of the people, given at the polls.
nature of
by the voices
that the cries so
loudly raised about executive usurpation, the destruction of commercial prosperity, the violations of the constitution, the union of
the purse and sword, are but idle declamation, intended to conceal
What executive
the real object.
usurpation has there been, but the
change of the public nione3"s from the bank of the United States
banks?
to the state
Where
has
commerce been
injured, except
by
the direct oppression of the former, and the panic purposely excited
by
What
its political allies?
clause of the constitution has
In what single instance has the property of the
been violated?
people been unjustly taken from them, or the hand of military violence displayed?
No!
— we are not
to be thus deceived.
We know
meaning of all this. If the charter of the bank of
the United States was renewed, there would be no cry of danger to
the treasury. If Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, or Daniel Weband see the
real
ster could
obtain
— vain
hope!
— the
suffrages of the people,
in
their desperate struggle for the presidency, instead of a candidate
who
shall represent the principles
the republican party, there
and wishes of the vast body of
would be no more clamour about
It is to obtain these
olated constitution.
ends that
all this
a vi-
turmoil
has been raised; and that the country has been, for months past,
kept in
this state of
And what is
coming
unceasing agitation.
the result?
Is the
contest, either directly
indirectly
by
the people?
its fearful
Have
bank rechartcred,
by the
influence of
to aid in the
its
money, or
power over the industry and property of
the obstacles and delays of the opposition been
able to prevent the passage of salutary laws, called for
gencies of the country?
Have
the
commerce and
by the
exi-
internal prosperi-
ty of the land, sunk under their prophecies, their maledictions, and
their unceasing efforts to injure and destroy them?
spirit of the
put down.
No
!
— the
people has not been, and cannot be, either misled or
The
noble phalanx of the Representatives, coming di-
rectly from their ranks; the bold and unflinching minority of the
Senators
— a minority indeed
body, but representing a great
majority of the people; the Chief Magistrate, raised to his honorable post
v/i than
in their
enthusiasm equalled only by that
<lispliiyed
towards
21
Washington and Jefferson; the spontaneous voice of tlie people,
echoed from their hills and valleys, throughout the vast extent of
the
Union
—these
have so
moneyed corruption and
against
through
this strugo-je
political intrigue;
and they are
far carried us
the guaranties and harbingers of triumphs yet
more
After
signal.
a debate prolonged for four months, a
solemn resolution was adopted in the House of Representatives, by a majority of one hundred and thirty-three votes out of two hundred and twelve, that
the bank of the United States ought not to be rechartcred.
In
every obstacle and delay; in spite of repeated threats that
obnoxious clauses and amendments would be introduced; the bills
spite of
making appropriations
works of great public utility, and the
continuance of the government, were passed.
Laws to restore
for
the metallic currency of the country to a proper standard, and lo
medium for that
was made to guard the
substitute a sounder
of paper,
Ample
public treasure deposited
provision
in the state banks, and to secure to the
management
of
its
were enacted.
government
benefits in the
funds, at least equal to those ever obtained from
the bank of the United States, without the dangers incident to the
employment of that
unfaithful
and arrogant agent;
this
indeed the
combination of the Senate, had unfortunately the power
to thwart, but it cannot be long before, even there, the voice of
political
the people
is
heard, and their will
is
carried into effect.
While the true servants of the nation have thus held their
onward course, and secured a noble triumph over the bank and
the political factions, in the legislative halls, what have the people
themselves been doing, to disprove the calumnies and make vain
the efforts of their foes?
Over all our wide land, prosperity waves
her wing; and every broad lake and winding river, the
prairies
and the seats of commerce, prove that where
fertile
men have
perly resisted this system of alarm, the oppression of a
pro-
moneyed
oligarchy could be exerted only against those who, incautiously
trusting
it,
or brought beneath
its
influence
by accident or
design,
might be made directly to feel its heartless power. Yes, my
countrymen, more than this, they prove, in a manner infinitely better than mere assertion or argument, that the sad lamentations and
the mournful prophecies poured forth by selfish politicians, as if
they uttered the oracles of truth, have been as entirely erroneous
as they certainly were unpatriotic, unwise and unjust,
" I know an opinion is entertained,'" exclaims the senator from
4
—
22
when descanting on the sad change to be produced
by removing the public moneys from his favorite bank, " among
" those who have the best means of forming a correct judgment,
Massachusetts,
may
be a falling off in the receipts of the customs,
*'
that there
*'
from
*'
pectation," he afterwards adds, "that the receipts of the year
<'
will fall
a quarter to a third of the
amount
below the estimate, probably
anticipated.
It is
to the extent I
my
ex-
have men-
" tioned; and that this effect will be produced by no other cause^
" than the deranged state of things occasioned by the removal of
moneys." Such is the mournful prophecy; how has it
been fulfilled in the few months elapsed since it was made? The
''the public
receipts of the first quarter of the year are produced,
mand
on the de-
of these political alarmists, and they are found to establish
The income from
exactly the contrary of what had been foretold.
the customs positively exceeded the estimate produced at the com-
mencement of the session; that from the public lands had doubled,
yes, more than doubled what it was in the preceding year; and the
actual available funds in the treasury amounted to more than eleven
millions of dollars.
"We have before us,"
exclaims a representative from Georgia,
agony of distress, which brings the phantom of Caesar and
all his tyranny before his eyes
"We have before us the prospect
" of a suspension of specie payments." How has the prospect been
verified? Why, during the very climax of this imaginary sufiering,
in the
the
—
official
United
into the
ably
more than
" The
**
returns
show
that there has been a clear importation
States, certainly of
more than twelve, and prob-
fourteen, millions of dollars in silver and gold.
usual channels of business with the south and west are
broken up," cries an honorable member from Connecticut
" the
"the
risk of loss, the uncertainty and difficulty of remittance,
and
difference in the local currencies, exceed the profits of busi-
*'ness; acceptances on
think
commerce was
all
One would
consignments are stopped."
at
an end; that the ocean no longer
brought us the products of other lands, or bore away our own;
works of
that the noble
serted.
How
tally plain facts
lored for effect?
the
first
The
communication were utterly de-
and figures with
duties on imports into
quarter of 1833,^3,122,000
hung over our
land,
tliese pictures co-
New
York were
— of 1834, while
in
this sad ruin
S3, 249,000, or an increase of more than
at
Baltimore the increase has been more than §70,000;
Richmond
the duties have doubled; at Charleston they are near-
§120,000;
at
internal
23
The
ly twice as much.
New York
foreign arrivals at
—
in the first
months of 1833 were 751 during the same period of this unhappy year they increased to 795; at Boston they were, for the
same time last year, 379 this year they amount to 394. Sad evidences of the effect of removing the deposits on our foreign commerce! But the channels of internal intercourse are broken up.
Let us see! How is it with the noble canals of New York? There
are now navigating it 2,453 boats, being an increase upon the number registered last year of 593.
At Albany and Troy, over whose
desolate condition the senator from Kentucky especially mourned,
the clearances this year have been 834 more than they were to the
same period last year. The amount of toll received at Rochester
this year, in the month of May, has exceeded the amount received
during the same month last year ^2,371.
The increase of toll at
Brockport, whose distress memorial the senator from Massachusetts
presented with the usual melancholy picture, was on the 1 June
this year, ^1,300 more than on that day last year.
The property
cleared at Buffalo, coming from the lake which the senator from
Ohio described as " a desert waste of waters," exceeded on the
five
—
May
15
1834,
more than
that
cleared
on the
three millions of pounds.
The
Pennsylvania?
tolls
same day
How
on our canal up
is
to
last
with our
it
the
1
May
by
own
were
Five
amount received on the same day last year.
boats had been registered up to that time.
Cotton
three times the
hundred canal
year,
has been brought, with inconceivable rapidity and cheapness, from
the remotest parts of Tennessee to the warehouses of our merchants.
Yet
was about "the ruin and desolation" of this state so flourishing, her resources so abundant and her works so noble, that one
of her own representatives in Congress, uniting in the same scheme
it
of political panic, ventured to speak.
How
is it
with Virginia?
In the midst of these times of dreadful distress, the books of sub-
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Rail Road have been closed, and the Commissioners announce
the gratifying information that more than ^300,000 v/ere at once
subscribed; by November or December next it is believed it will
scription to the stock of the
be practicable
to
put thirty miles of
the contractors will be able to
and
in three years it will
How is
it
with our
it
under contract;
commence the execution
in
January
of the work;
probably be finished to Fredericksburg.
fair sister
of the
West?
The
tolls
on the Mia-
were g4,115 in May 1833; they are 1^5,560 in May 1834.
The tolls on the Ohio canal were ^15,735 in May 1833; they ara
mi
canal
24
S25,231 in May 1834; yet, in the prophetic visions of Congress,
these noble works are described as solitary and deserted.
"Produce," exclaims one honorable Senator, alluding to the interior of the state of New York
''produce has fallen in price
—
from twenty-five to thirty-three per cent since the interference
" of the executive with the public revenue; and land, land itself,
''
"
— the form
— has
which the vast pro*' portion of its property consists
fallen, within the same time,
I receive this information from the best
''to the same extent.
Here then is a re"sources, and to which I give entire credit.
" duction of the vvhole property of the people, twenty-five or thir'
'
"
the great capital of the country
ty-three per cent, a striking
ofl'
at a
blow, the quarter or one-third
of the whole value of what they possess!
I turn
rific
Sir, is this tolerable?"
gazette published in the neighborhood
to a
scene
in
— and
what do
" acres Was recently
"of Wayne,
sold,
I
"
see?
in the
A
of this ter-
farm of one hundred
town of Galen,
in the
county
^30 per acre, in cash; this farm was valued
"two years ago by two discreet farmers in the neighborhood
"to be worth ^20 per acre; increase in value in two years 50
"per cent. A farm of thirty acres, in the town of Marion, in
"Wayne county, was sold last fall at ^25 per acre; the pur" chaser has this spring sold the same farm for ^30 per acre;
" increase in value in six months 20 per cent.
A farm in the
"town of Marion was sold this spring for ^30 per acre; two
"years ago was it valued at ^20 dollars per acre; increase in value
" in two years 50 per cent, A farmer in Yates county purchased
"a farm at 553,000 during the last winter, and was offered imme" diately afterwards §1,000 for his bargain, being 333 per cent
" increase in value. A farm in Jerusalem, Yates county, which
"was valued last fall at §10 per acre, has been sold this month
"for §16 per acre."
Again, "Hov/ tender is the system what danger of explosion
for
—
" on any untoward event!"
is
the fearful foreboding of the repre-
sentative from Connecticut, in regard to the state banks.
to the list of
more than
them throughout the Union, and
six hundred.
We see
all
find they
We
turn
amount
to
the engines brought to bear
to effect their destruction; the halls of
Congress resounding with
expressions of distrust; the newspapers advising the presentation
of their notes; the bank of the United States assuming an attitude
unfriendly
derness,
if
not hostile to
where
many
the explosion:
of them.
A
Yet where
few banks of
I
is
the ten-
rifling capital
and
25
mismanaged long before this terrible removal of the deposits—^
are all that answer these lamen-^
their very names scarcely known
—
If laws are passed for the incorporation of new
table forebodings.
ones, an alacrity to subscribe
is
evinced, utterly inconsistent with
any notion of excessive tenderness, any danger of explosion. I
observe, during the very height of these dangerous times, evidThe subscripences of confidence in them not to be mistaken.
amounted to
tions to the stock of the Albany City Bank
^1,142,900, being ^642,900 more than the amount of its capital; the subscriptions to the stock of the Phoenix Bank, in New
York, exceeded three times the amount of its capital; the subscriptions to the stock of the Commeicial Bank of New York,
amounted to ^1,300,000, nearly three times the amount of its
capital; the subscriptions to the stock of the Orleans County
Bank amounted to ^680,200, exceeding its capital ^380,200;
the subscriptions to the stock of the Sackett's Harbour Bank
were about three times the amount of its capital. Indeed, fellow citizens, if there is one circumstance beyond all others, that
displays the solid credit, resources and integrity of the people,
it is the manner in which the state banks have resisted the panic,
raised mainly to crush them, and to found more effectually on
their ruins the overgrown institution, whose place they arc so well
able to supply.
"
*'ry
Men
could no longer
means; property
fulfil
fell
in
by the customa-
their engagements
value and thousands failed,"
another of the exclamations of an
honorable senator.
the records of our courts here, and I find that the
I
—
is
turn to
number
of In-
solvent applicants in June 1833 was three hundred and twenty-
June 1834 was only two hundred and eightysix.
I have no means to ascertain how it may have been elsewhere, but I cannot suppose that the immediate victims and witnesses of the panic, are those who would least suffer from its
seven, and
in
power.
It
were easy
to trace these political
and
selfish alarmists
through
other errors equally glaring; to show that at no period have the
solid resources of our country been less injured
whatever of
this,
partial
inconvenience or suffering has existed
— and
own
eyes,
which of us who has seen,
as
we
have, under our
instances of oppression and the effect of panic,
—
all this
coalition
has had
its
and impaired; that
origin solely in the ends
between the bank and
is
disposed to deny
aimed
its political ;dlies.
by the selfish
or in the means
at
26'
adopted
is
to
Why
tedious.
petty sinuosities,
But the task would be
them.
attain
as useless as
trace these misrepresentations through
when
it
all
it
fheir
needs but to turn our eyes on the broad
aspect of our land to see their falsity, and to smile at the credulity
or the cunning, which could thus hope to impose on the sagacity
of the American people?
have done. I have endeavored, as the
mostappropriate way of performing the part you have assigned me,
in this celebration of our national anniversary, to call your attenBut, fellow citizens,
I
tion to the present position of our country, and to see
to be
performed by those, who cherish and would maintain the
berties that
were won, and the
which, in empty ceremony,
solid rights
is
li-
were established,
vain and silly fes-
institutions that
fifty-eight years ago; for I hold that to be but a
tival,
what part
lets slip
by the preservation of
and the performance of sacred
duties.
I
have endeayears, have
show you, that never in those eight and fifty
the American people been more seriously called on to examine
how they stand and what they are to do. Never was there
a period when the democratic family should rally more warmly
together, and sustain the ancient landmarks of their faith. Never
was there a period when we ought to look more anxiously to
vored
to
that firm, decided,
and
resistless expression of
popular opinion,
may be reviled or underrated, will be found to
To that decision we shall all of us cheerfully
be invariably just.
If it shall tell us that the system of
submit, whatever it may be.
which, however
it
administration adopted by our opponents was wiser than our ovvnj
if it shall
give us back
system, or sustain the
all
the partizan protection of the
fatal
delusion of nullification, or permit the
lavish and selfish appropriation of the public
of a national character;
ence of
a great
— nay more,
if
it
money on works not
shall say that the exist-
moneyed corporation has become an
ture of our republic; that
American
we
essential fea-
must, of necessity, have
among
us,
created by ourselves, a creature, heretofore only fabled by romance,
possessing the powers of a giant, but endued not with the perception of right or
men
— ought
to
wrong;
that
our fortunes
be depressed or elevated
— the
at
fortunes of free-
the nod of a bank;
our political lessons learned from the pamphlets or newspapers
scatters abroad; our public servants, chosen
ed according to the thermometer of
halls of legislation filled
debtors;
— above
all,
its
by ourselves, estimat-
passions or interests; our
with the declamation of
if it shall
it
its
agents or
its
justify a coalition of political aspi-
—
27
rants, in
breaking down, for their
own
ends,
the obstacles placed
by the people in the way of their ambition; condemning public
officers; denying to the accused the common right, not only of
trial, but even of being heard; passing in secret upon private
characters; driving from the national councils men of unquestioned genius and unsullied honor; delaying the progress of public
business; scattering the language of dissention through the land;
indeed, such shall be the decision of the American people, to
if,
that decision
we must bow
— saving
lation that our struggle has
faltered, our
spirit of
But
it
to ourselves only the sad conso-
been manly, our resolution has never
hopes have never yielded, our trust in the republican
our country has never for an instant
cannot be,
— my countrymen,
animated our forefathers
is
failed.
cannot be.
it
not dead; the sons of
The spirit that
men who risked
their fortunes for their freedom, are not to be frightened at the panic
of a bank; nor are the descendants of those
who
braved armies from
abroad, to be scared by the noisy intrigues of ambition at home.
Our country
We
will go onward, as she has done, in her noble march.
shall smile ere
our days.
We
long
shall
and presumption of these
at the efforts
meet together,
as
we now
do, on
future anniversary of our independence, to rejoice in the
many
a
unmoved
grandeur of our political institutions, and to confess that corruption
and ambition, oppression and
faction,
view and judgment of the people, war
And God
grant! that,
when
when exposed
against
them
alike in vain.
centuries shall have rolled by, and
our people are dwelling on every mountain summit, and
every
fertile plain,
stranger
may
who
shall
to the
filling
from the waves of one ocean to another, the
chance to be among them, on this returning day,
behold them celebrating the festival of our nation's birth,
blessed
— not only with extended empire, and unbounded wealth
but blessed with that, without which
it
were better
to dwell with-
narrow limits and a rugged land, a government of equal laws, of
equal rights, founded, upheld, examined and controlled by the
in
watchful spirit of the people.
Je
'10
