Full text of Speech of Mr. Rayner, of N. Carolina, on the Sub-Treasury Bill : Made in Committee of the Whole, in the House of Representatives, June 22, 1840

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SPEECH OF MR. RAYNER, OF N. CAROLINA,
MADE IN COMMITTEE OF T H E WIIOLi:,

IN T H E HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JUNE 22, 1840.
M r , C H A I R M A N : I cannot consent that this bill shall pa^s, without entering m y most
t j l e m n protest against it. T h i s is a subject, the discussion of w h i c h , for four s u c c e s s i v e
c s s i o u s , in both brunches of C o n g r e s s , has elevated the standard of American e l o q u e n c e ,
v. hile it has exhibited one of the moM titter contests* that w a s .ever waged between the
advocates of unlimited p o w e r on the one hand, and the friends of constitutional law and
popular rights on the oilier. Thun far, the jrallant :MH! unterrified supporters of liberty
a"»d law have boon ah!? to rrr°?t the ; > r o f i v ^ of i l r s I'd 5 destroyer of the prosperity and
- industry of the eoani« y; tlru. : r ! v they b^en able t-> fj.iv** our institutions from the deadl y gripe of this boa-co.jM^/.pr. w>.i»:!i has been for years «rradually coiling itself around
. t l , e m , and w h i c h n o w , ! fear, is about to thrust its deadly fangs into tin? very vitals of the
Constitution.
Y e s . sir, the lime has nearly c o m e — t h e decree is p r o n o u n c e d — t h e fiat i*
6A o k e n — t h e deed m u s t be done. Sir, we k n o w i t — w e have e x p e c t e d i t — w e ate preF o r , anxious as m a y be the advocates of this measure to postpone its final
t p .red for it.
^-adtion till a more propitious s e a s o n ; desirous as t h e y m a y be to defer it till the political
tempest, n o w s w e e p i n g over the land, m a y have subsided : ardently as they may desire
tr put off this question till after the great political battle in N o v e m b e r , that is to seal thp
iclfjstiny of this o u u t r y , for weal or for w o , as I believe, for a g e s to c o m e — y e t , having
r?o l o n g held up this measure before the outraged p e o p l e of this country, as the panacea
that is to restore the body politic to its pristine health and vigor, they have no other alt e r n a t i v e , but to pr >ss h to w s p e e d y and final c o n s u m m a t i o n , or to abandon it in despair.
{
T o hesitate is fraught with danger, to retrace t!vur steps is absolute destruction.
•> Sir, this measure c o m e s t * us w i l h the ne-rk of C\un upon its b r o w — w i t h the very taint
\of corruption in its breath. It conies from a servile S e n a t e — a hotly w h i c h , for y e a r s , h a s
b e e n the b y e - w o r d and reproach, instead, as formerly, the pride and glory of the r e p u b l i c ;
a body w h i c h , but a few y e i r s s:ince, in po::;t of character, m i g h t have stood against the
w :>rld—now, degraded in ihe i i o s t a-;;;*er submission, " a n d none s o poor as to do it reverence.*' And the bill upon your tabic is juet sueh a measure as w e m i g h t have e x p e c t e d
"from j u s t such a b o d y . It came not here, matured by the hands of wirulwm and e x p e r i e n c e ,
a f c r free and full discussion, a<= e v e r y great question of finance s h o u l d : but it c o m e s here,
ht rried, y e s , forced through the Senate, with an i-idtse:.* ha; u?, aud a tyrannical i n s o l e ice, o n l y to be accounted for b y e x a m i n i n g the? rnr:onnV-vaf wlveh~a^niajority in that
b o d y is c o m p o s e d . N o time was allov. ed \r perfect its details, or to a i w a s s iv*. provision*.
It c o m e s here, imperfect, unfinished, Wirmnture. li. is not what has been *d*b;iig promised to the country. Instead of b.oiifg: a.real, bona /V.? .sneeze Sub-treasury* e£ .which w e
h s v c heard s o m u c h , it is a nvo^rsel m e a s u r e ehhn?icK*d to«?r.:t t:*2 e m e r g e n c i e s of the
l i i a e s . It is indeed a sort of -ni\!f:tt* fillus% thh production of m> one mind, but*'-*, c o m pound of the conflicting opinions of many.
A n d , sir, this bastard offspring «f *r\ foul
connection b e t w e e n p o w e r a i d m o n e y , has not,evt:x vi«^or o f Lodj;^ud c s m d i p e s s of form,
to r e c o m m e n d it, but, like the hideous usurper, is • * '. .
/ * , V : ,
l

* Deforiiied. unfinished, sent before its tinu?
Into tins breathing world, u-»M" mw\c np.%m

T h i s , I presume, sir, wdl be the last opportunity w e Khali have of resisting tb»s e n croachment of executive p o w e r ; our arms, th:it have boon eo often raised against this iniquitous measure, have b e c o m e wearied in the conflict; a nw.jority bar? hern obtained
against u s , by a:i outrageous violation of all precedent and all law : w e are n o w p o w e r l e s s ,
Hitd must submit,
lint although our remonstrances may be In v a i n ; a l t h o u g h . w c cannot
carry conviction to t h o s e , w h o s e hearts arc steeled by party mud.iess against the v o i c e of
truth, and w h o s e e y e s are shnt against the light of r e a s o n ; — s t i l l , sir, I c o n c e i v e it to be
oitr duty to raise our wa-.-n nc voices in this l l a l l , and, in the name of our bleeding country, to protest against this outrage upon her dearest rights. Although that warxUPZ voice




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may be unheeded here, still it may reach our suffering countrvmeu, and cheer them oik •
in that glorious contest they are maintaining with the mimons'of power, in defence o f
liberty itself.
Mr. Speaker, I Khali not attempt to discuss this subject, merelv as a question of finance*
That is a subject to which I make no pretensions ; it is one, which, of all others of a p o litical nature, is least understood, mid a knowledge «>f which can onlv be acquired by patient research, and long practical experience i»nd observation. B u f t h e n this question i s
not entirely financial in its nature. There are political influences connected with it, and
political consequences growing out of it, which must ofleet that balance of power contemplated by the Constitution ; which must uproot all the long usages, and time-honored
habits of our people ; and which must, in fact, constitute its "operation the era of a n e w
system, in the political and social history of this country. T h e collection, custody, and
disbursement of the public revenue of a couuirv. is the "most important power that is e x orcised by any government in Christendom, in* this enlightened acre of the world, and in
which the citizen is most deeply and vitally interested : because if is intimately connected
with taxation, that great lever of oppressio'n in modern times. Y e s , sir, the machinery
of taxation is the principal weapon with which tyranny now inilic:s its blows. T h e stake,
the gibbet, and the dungeon, are no longer resorted to! to friirhten the timid, and to punish
the refractory ; for the moral sense of this; Christian age will no longer tolerate them*
But, still, power continues to steal its way with cautions step, gathering in its insatiate
grasp the plundered privileges ol man. In the frame-work of modern governments, t h e
power of taxation has succeeded to that of direct physical oppression, and, though secret
and deceptive in its operations, it is not less despotic in its nature, and paralyzing in its
effects. And thus it is that many a man, whose person the forms of law 'may protect
from torture and stripes, may yet be doomed to see his energies crippled, his industry u n rewarded, and the very bread snatched from the mouths of his famishing children, by the
fiscal action of a government, which, under the forms of freedom, may be scattering ruin
and devastation throughout the land. I fear, sir, that w e are fast diverging to that, in this
country, and that the passage of this bill will so far consummate the system, as to put
peaceable resistance beyond our reach. T h i s refinement upon oppression, this regulating
the means, not only of comfort, but of actual subsistence, by controlling the currency o f
a country, is an improvement peculiar to the present age. It is a species of tyranny t h e
most odious of all others, because it comes clothed in the garb of peace. It approaches*
us with the smile of pretended paternal regard, and w e never discover its sinister designs,
until it has completely encircled us iu the arms of its power*
M o n e y has been power in all ages of the world ; and in this calculating age of ours, its
acquisition seems to be almost the only object of human pursuit. And in proportion to
the influence of this desire for wealth ever the minds of our people, must be the influence
of that government w h v h controls, net only the means of acquiring wealth, but of affixing to it its value .iftnr it is c.cqaiitd. fn England, that great emporium of the commercial
world—that country that Napoleon called *• a nulif.i. of shopkeepers"—the first I„ord o f
the Treasuty
i- the l'rcsidont of the Council ; so intimately is the wealth, the currency,
the treasure of the ua*hv? co-isiik-red lo bo coniici f e ! v:th* its prosperity and greatness'
In our country, wheiv eo.iin.fvci;d rit:c/pri>jc and ambuio.i for wraith have t o n e a longw a y further, the control of that which is the medium of tr-aic and exchange, the standard
of value, and the means of adventure and prosperity, must h*; a matter of still irreater m o ment, and frntj£h<. u itii tliM most important "orirc^ueuees to every man in the land, in
proportion to hit* nuaris, and tho jMci/t of bin *iiuru. Look at the'situation of the country at the present time, l i s intrinsic wealth is the s a m e ; it* enterprise is unrepressed ;
its energies uro unsubdued; and still, commercial ruin and disaster pervades the land, and
suffering- and distress g o wafted on every breeze. And w h y is this I Because your currency is deranged ; because your credit is embarrassed ; because vour finances are unregulated ; because there is no" established system that can enable Tabor to count with certainty upon the reward of its toil, or enterprise upon a return of its venture. And, sir,
w h y , I rcpeat.it, w h y is this ? H a s it always been thus ? Certainly n o t ; for our o w n
recollection can carry us back, but a very few years, when peace and quiet, prosperity
and comfort, shed their benign inliuences over the laud. T h e n , what is the disease, and
what the remedy ?
Fortunately for us, and for the country, this is a subject on w h i c h w e have the experience of die past, and the example of the good and the great w h o have gone before u s , to
guide and direct our steps. W e are not left to grope our way along the darksome patU




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of conjecture and uncertainty, unless we resolve to shut our eyes against the light* of ex*
perience, and to close our ears against the warning voice of a glorious and departed ancest r y . If our country had sprung into existence but yesterday—if this was the first Congress that had assembled under the Constitution, and we were j u s t about devising a system of finance for the first time, without having the results of a past history to aid us,
w h y then the Sub-treasury s c h e m e — t h i s improvement of modern theory upon past practice—might be entitled to the merit of consideration, at least. In that case, prudence
m i g h t require that the question should be entertained. But we have had a national existe n c e , under the Constitution, for more than fifty years, during the whole of which time
the finances of the country have been under the operation of different s y s t e m s ; but, for
forty years of the time, under one to which 1 shall presently allude ; and as to that one,
w h e t h e r for good or for evil, an impartial history must j u d g e .
T h e gentleman from Georgia, [ M r . C O L Q C I T T , ] in the zeal of his new conversion, has
j u s t discovered the criminal inconsistency of his quondam friends, the W h i g s . H e complains of us for making war upon the Sub-treasury, whilst we fail to bring forward any
measure of our own ; and insists that, ns we oppose this favorite measure of the Administration, we are bound to propose a better. Well, now, sir, we are not in p o w e r — w e
are not responsible to the country for a faithful administration of the G o v e r n m e n t ; we are
in an oppressed minority, and powerless, so far as all positive action is concerned. W h o
ever before heard of a majority calling upon a minority for the aid of their counsel ? In
Governments far less republican than ours, when ministers find themselves unable to carr y on the affairs of the nation, they surrender the seals of office to those who can. liut f
so far as / a m concerned. T accept the issue tendered by the gentleman from Georgia, In
the view which I shall take of this bill, I will try to discuss it with reference to m y plan
for the relief of the country, which I frankly avow is a IJnnk of the United States.
Mr. Chairman, it is well known that one of the first and indispensable duties devolving on the Government, immediately after the adoption of the Conslitution, was the providing a means of paying off the heavy debt we had incurred during the war of the Revolution. Another duty, no less important, was to provide a fiscal system for the support
of the Government—not only as to a medium of taxation in the payment of the revenue,
but also as to the safe-keeping and disbursement of that revenue, when collected. And a
third great object which suggested itself to the attention of the patriots and statesmen of
t h a t time, as indispensable to the happiness and prosperity of the country—if not a duty
arising under the provisions of the Constitution—was the furnishing a currency of uniform value, for the general purposes of commerce and exchange. W e must all be acquainted with the incidents of those early times in our history. W e all k n o w that our
liberties were purchased, not only by the expendiniic of much blood and. treasure, but also with the incumbrance of a debt of many millions of dollars ; that during the state of almost anarchy that prevailed between 1783 and 1789, the credit of the States was prostrate, their commerce suspended, and their monetary a flairs in a state of entire derangement, without any system or uniformity whatever. And the issue remained still doubtful,
wlTether, after having achieved our liberties, we should be able to pieserve them.
T h e meeting at Annapolis, in 1780, from which came a proposition for a General Convention, and which way, in fact, the nucleus of the convention that formed the Constitution, had its origin in an attempt to remedy the commercial embarrassment, and the deranged currency of the several States. So the Constitution, which the wiseacres of modern times declare so roundly to confer no power over the subjects of currency and exchange, grew itself out of the very want of such power in the old ^Confederation, and the
consequent disasters to trade and commerce throughout every portion of the c o u n t r v .
As I have before said, this derangement of the finances was one of the first and most
important subjects that engaged the attention of Congress, after the adoption of the C o n stitution. And who were the men that composed that and the succeeding Congress ? L e t
those w h o are, disposed to throw discredit on their memories, but cast their eyes over a
list of their names. T h e y were purer and better men than live in this degenerate a c e .
M a n y of them were the same men that had presided over the councils of the nation, during the dark period through which we had jusi passed : m a n y of them were the same
m e n w h o had pledged their " lives, their fortunes, and their sacred h o n o r , " for the sup*
port of those great principles on which our free institutions rest. T h e F a t h e r of his
C o u n t r y , in his first message in 1780, suggested the " i m p o r t a n c e of a uniform currency;** and although there was no definite action .upon t h e subject at that session, yet in
1791 the subject of the finances, owing ^6 "thfc"increasing embarrassments of the Umc wag



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the great and leading* measure. T h e Secretary of the T r e a s u r y , Air. Hamilton, than w h o m
an-abler financier or purer patriot has never l i v e d in t h i s or "aftuy other country, iri pursuance of an order of the H o u s e of Representatives, " requiring'him to prepare and report
s u c h further provisions as might, in his opinion, he necessary for establishing the public
c r e d i t / ' made a report, and as the result of h i s w i s d o m and deliberation, offered the p r o j e c t of a National B a n k .
H e r e w e s e e that the first bank had its origin in the great effort
o f that time, to establish the public credit.
S o far, therefore, from being a scion o f m o n archical g r o w t h , as has been frequently urged in this debate, the iirst Bank of the U n i t e d
States w a s the very child of the R e v o l u t i o n — i t g r e w out of the very necessities and difficulties consequent u p o n that great strundle. And as incidental to the primary object o f
** establishing the public credit," M r . Hamilton mentioned arpon*r the principal advantag e s of the hank, ** first, the augmentation of the active or productive capital o f the c o u n t r y ; s e c o n d l y , greater facility to the (Government, in obtaining pecuniary aids, e s p e c i a l l y
in sudden e m e r g e n c i e s ; and, thirdly, the facilitating of the p a y m e n t of t a x e s / * B u t l e t
us look at the preamble to the bank charter itself. It s a y s , *4 that the establishing a b a n k
will be very conducive to the successful conducting o f the national finances, and will t e n d
to give facility to the obtaining of loans for the u-?e of Government in sudden e m e r g e n c i e s ,
and will be productive of considerable advantage to trade and industry in g e n e r a l / ' H e r e
then, are certain great purposes, contemplated by the establishment of a National B a n k ,
v i z : the conducting of the national finances, s o far -as regard* the safe k e e p i n g and d i s bursement o f the public m o n e y ; the furnishing a sound and uniform currency, for t h e
purposes of trade and c o m m e r c e ; the regulation of the e x c h a n g e s b e t w e e n distant s e c tions of the U n i o n ; the furnishing a uniform medium for the payment of taxes ; and t h e
afford in"- pecuniary aid to the G o v e r n m e n t in cases of r n i e r g c n c y .
\ V e l i 7 s i r . did the first B a n k o f the United States a n s w e r those great purposes, as d e ^
signed b y its authors? N o matter what party malignity m a y s a y , no matter h o w f u r i l
o u s l y raving d e m a g o g u e s m a y s w e a r to the contrary, y e t history answers in the affirmative.
Although there w a s no e x p r e s s provision in the charter of the first bank for depoZ
siting the revenue, w h e n collected, iu that institution, y e t s o palpable were its a d v a n t a g e s
in this respect, that from the very c o m n i e n c e m e n : of its operations, it continued to be t h e
depository of public m o n e y s , and the agt.-nr of transferring them to the points of d i s ^
burscment.
In 1 8 0 0 , the collectors of the revenue were required by l a w to m a k e t h e i r
depositee in the bank* l i v e n previous to the establishment of the United States B a n k
the s a m e s y s t e m of bank a g e n c y was used by the Government ; it w a s forced upon it b y
the very necessity of the case* T h e three hanks then in existence had been e m p l o v e d a s
fiscal agents, on account of their superior safety and convenience. F o r the Secretary o f
the Treasury having ordered their notes to hi} received in payment of the public d u e s , a n d
the opening of an account by the Treasury Department with each of those banks being,
the necessary c o n s e q u e n c e , t h e y thereby became depositories of the public m o n e v s froix*
the very nature and necessity of the case. And c \ e n that great man, A l e x a n d e r ' H a m i l ton, s a w no reason for d e p a u i n g from a s y s t e m which had answered a good purpose, e s pecially w h e n , after the incorporation of a national institution, there w a s an o p p o r t u n i t y
of improving u p o n that s y s t e m , and rendering it more perfect. T h e bank continued to b e
the fiscal agent of the Government, from its incorporation in 1701 to the expiration o f i t s
charter, iu 1 8 1 1 , and no one can d e n y that, in this respect, it answered the purposes d e signed by its creation in an eminent degree.
It kept safely, aud accounted for to a cent,,
all the m a n y millions of revenue entrusted to its custody ; and it transferred the s a m e ,
without loss or inconvenience to the G o v e r n m e n t , to any point required for d i s b u r s e m e n t ,
either at h o m e or abroad. It was equally successful iu establishing a sound and uniforrr*
currency.
Unfavorable as were the auspices under w h i c h it w e n t into operation, still i t
immediately acquired the confidence of the country, b y the prompt redemption of its n o t e s
w h e n required, aud b y the accommodations it afforded, and the facilities it extended t o
commercial enterprise. F o r all the purposes of e x c h a n g e and c o m m e r c e , its notes w e r e
preferred to specie ; trade revived ; c o m m e r c e again raised its drooping head ; and e x *
changes s o o n became regulated, according to a uniform and proper standard. T h e n o t e s
of the hank b e i n g made receivable, by its charter, in all p a y m e n t s to the United States, i t ,'
furnished a medium for the payment of taxes, uniform in all parts of the U n i o n , and e a s w
1y to be obtained b y the public debtor. It cannot he denied that the bank afforded g r e a t
iu**i to the G o v e r n m e n t , in p a y i n g off the national d e b t ; for it not o n l y placed the p u b l i c
moi^fa'V »t t « c points where it w a s due, but to it w e r e transferred all the duties and func*




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tions performed by the Commissioners of Loans, under the old Confederation, which duties it qtrictly andfaithfully performed.
Such was the operation of the first Bank of the United States, and sueh it continued up
to the expiration of its charter, in 1 8 1 1 .
In 1810, the question of the renewal of the charter was brought up in Congress, and
the measure was defeated by the casting vote of the Vice President, in the Senate. B y
examining the debates upon that question, however, it will be seen, that those who opposed the renewal, rested their objections mainly on the ground of unconstitutionality.
T h e beneficial operation of the bank was not denied. At that time the doctrines of the
Virginia school were in the height of fashion. Political scepticism was the spirit of that
system ; a system of unmeaning abstractions ; of Pharisaical political self-righteousness ;
of eternal prating about *• principles," and " the Constitution." S o far as tiic Constitution was concerned, it was orthodox to doubt every thing, and to believe nothing. And
although the course of tliose who profess to be the especial guardians of this system of
«* Virginia principles'' has, of late years, brought the whole matter into contempt and ridicule, yet the effects of the disease aie still lingering amongst us ; for even yet it is very
common to see members here ri^e and descant, most eloquently, about " Southern princip l e s , " ** strict construction," ** J^iate rights," kA Jeflersonian school," Arc, & c , whose
votes and acts show that all those cant phrases are used by them morel}- for the purpose
of concealing their high-toned Federal principles.
From 1S11 to 1815 there was no National Bank in existence: and .what was the situation of the country at that peiiod ? In the reply of the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr*
"Dallas, to the Committee of W a y s and Means, who had called upon him for his 4t v i e w s "
in rr gard to " such provisions us might be necessary to re\ ive and maintain, unimpaired,
the public credit," dated 17th October, 1814, he thus describes the then situation of the
country :
" T h e condition of the circulating medium of the country presents imrther copious source of mischief and
embarrassment. T h e recent exportations of specie have considerably diminished the fund of £o!il and silver c o i n ; and another considerable portion of that fund luisbcttii drawn, by the timid and the wary, from
the use of the community, into the private coffers of individuals. U n the other hand, the multiplication o f
banks i a the several States, has so increased the quantity of paper currency, that it would ho difficult to
calculate its amount, and still more difficult to ascertain its v-Iue, with reference to the capital on w h i c h
it has been issued. B u t the bcnrllt of even this paper currency, is, in a great measure lost, as the suspension
of payments in specie at most of the banks, has suddenly broken the chain of accommodation that previously extended the credit and the circulation of the notes which were emitted in one State, into every State
o f the U n i o n . It ma}-, i n general, he affirmed, therefore, that there e.vhfs, id this time, no adequate
circulating m cdiu m co m mon to the citizens of the Un itcd State*.
'17i c m o n eyed tra 11 snc.t in n s of }* r irate, life
arc at a stand, and the fiscal operations of the Covtru?nc?tt labor with cut rente
-tneotircmtnce."

After having thus described the painful suffering of the country, he proceeds to suggest
a remedy, ;ts follows:
" T h e establishment of a national institution, operating upon credit, combined with qnpital, and regulated
b y prudence and good fuirh, if> after all, the only efficient remedy for the disordered condition of our circulating medium.
W h i l e accomplishing that object, too, there will be found, under the auspices of such
a n institution, a safe depository for the public treasure, and a constant auxiliary to the public credit."

T h u s spoke Mr. Dallas, in 181-1, and if he had hooii drawing a picture of our own
times, he could not have described more accurately the difficulties under which \vc are
now laboring.
At the following session of Congress, in 1815, a bill was passed, to establish n National Bank, which was vetoed by Mr. Madison, then President of the United States. But
b y examining the reasons given by him in that veto message, it will be found that he did
not object to it on constitutional grounds, but on account of its details ; because he thought
the charter in its then shape imperfect, and that it would not answer those purposes contemplated by the incorporation of such an institution. In his veto message, he says :
" W a i v i n g the question of the constitutional authority of the legislature to establish an incorporated
bank, as being precluded, in m y judgment, by repeated recognition a, under varied circumstances, of the
validity of uucli an institution, in arts of the legislative, executive, and judicial hrnn<:hcs of the Government, accompanied by indications in different modes of a concurrence of tho gei.eral will of tho nation ; the
proposed bank does not appear to be calculated to answer the purpose* of reviving the public credit, of providing a national medium of circulation, and of aiding the* treasury by Wiiiu-.lia^ the indispensable anticipations of the revenue, and by alT^rdzng to the public m.ire durable l o a n s . "

T h e situation of the country continued to grow worse and worse, and in December,
1 8 1 5 , Mr. Madison in hU mespa^e to Cor.jiv^s, •sag^-tcd ci Nad.mai i«*.\nk ?w a re;n2:iy
for the evils of the tin:?-. Irt t\ 4. nv?w;^r, h? *a«. s :




tt
**The arrangements of finances, with a \iew to (he receipts aiui expenditure* of a permanent peace
tahlishment, will necessarily enter into the deliberations of Congress during the present session. ^ & U '
sential to every modification of the finances, that the benefits of a uniform national currency shooSrbe ^
stored to the community. The absence of the precious metals will, it is believed, be a temporary evil ;
but until they can again be rendered the general medium of exchange, it devolves on the wisdom of C o n gress to provide a substitute, which shall equally engage the confidence and accommodate the wants of the _
citizens throughout the Union. If the operation of the State Banks cannot produce tins result, the probable operation of a National Dank will merit consideration/'
T h e Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Dallas, in his annual report on the state of the financ e s , at the same session, said as follows:
"The establishment of a National Bank is regarded as the best, and perhaps the only adequate resource,
to relieve the country and the Government from the present embarrassment. Authorized to is*ue notes*
which will be received in all payments to the United States, the circulation of its issues will be co-extensive with the Union; and there will exist a constant demand, bearing a just proportion to the annual
amount of the duties and taxes to be collected, independent of the general circulation for commercial a n d
social purposes. A National Bank will, therefore, possess the means and the opportunity of supplying a.
circulating medium, of equal use and value in every State, and in every district of every State. Establish- ed by the authority of the Govern in en t of the United States; accredited by the Government, to the w h o l o
amount of its notes in circulation; and entrusted, as the depository of the Government, with all the accumulations of the public treasure; the National Bank, independent of its immediate capital, will enjoy everyrecommendation which can merit and secure the confidence of the public. Organized upon principles o f
responsibility, but of independence, the National Bank will be retained within its legitimate sphere of a c tion, without just apprehension from the misconduct of its directors, 01 from the encroachments of the 6 o «
•ernment. Eminent in its resources, and in its example, the National Bank will conciliate, aid, and l e n d
the State banks, in all that is necessary for the restoration of credit, public and private/'
In January, 1 8 3 6 , Mr. Calhoun, from a committee appointed on the state of the c u r r e n c y , introduced the bill to charter the late b a n k ; and, in the remarks which he m a d e
upon that subject, he used the following; language :
**As to the question whether a National Bank would be favorable to the administration of the finances
of the Government, it was one on which there was so little doubt that gentlemen would excuse him if h o
did not enter into it."
Again he says: *»Wc have in lieu of gold and silver, a paper medium, unequally, but generally depr©,
elated, which affects the trade and industry of the nation; which paralyzes the national arm; which s u l l i e s
the faith, both public and private, of the United States."
And further he says: "A National Bank, paying specie itself, would have a tendency to make s p e c i e
payments general, as well by its influence as by its example. 7 *
Further: "A National Bank would enable the Government to resort to measures which would make i t
unprofitable to banks to continue the violation of their contracts, and advantageous to return to the obser
vation of them. T h e leading measure of this character would be to strip the banks refusing to pay s p e c i f
of all the profits arising from the business of the Government; to prohibit deposites with them, and to re
fuse to receive their notes in payment of dues to the Government.
And after thus urging a National Bank, as a means of restoring; specie p a y m e n t s , h ^
g o e s on to say:
"The restoration o f specie payments would remove the embarrassments on the industry of the countrv
*nd the stains from its public and private faith."
™»
H e r e , then, w e see the evils under which the country labored at that time, from t h e
concurrent testimony of the prominent men of the d a y ; and the mode of relief w h i c h
w a s proposed.
And I have been thus tedious in citing these authorities, because t h e y
s h o w the evils w h i c h were intended to be removed b y the establishment of a bank, a n d
further, because they describe a state of thing* almost exactly similar to that w h i c h e x i s t s
at the present time.
T h e s e evils were a depreciated and irredeemable paper c u r r e n c y
the want of a fiscal agent to k e e p and transfer the funds of the Government without l o s s *
the want of a uniform rate of e x c h a n g e s ; the want of a faithful agent in aiding; u s t o
p a y oft" the national debt—for it will be recollected that w e had just come out of another
war with Great Britain, encumbered with another heavy debt, and an entire prostration o f
the credit and commerce of the country.
In April, 1 8 1 6 , the bill chartering the late
B a n k of the United States was passed.
Did the bank, after going into operation, r e m e d y
those evils ? Or did it fail of its design ? As to the restoration of specne p a y m e n t s , I
will cite an authority w h i c h will not be questioned by the advocates of the S u ^-treasury,
at all events, not by that portion of them w h o call themselves State Rights m e n .
Mr,
Calhoun, in his .speech in 1 8 3 1 , on his proposition for the extension of the bank charter
for twelve years, s a i d :
"It in said that the bank hod no asenry, or at least no efficient agency, in the restoration of specie payments in 1817, and that it ha* failed to furnish th*» country with a uniform and sound currenrv, as had
been promised at its creation. 2K*th of these allegations 1 pronounce to h«? without just foundation. T o




4

enter into a minute examination of them, would carry me too far from the subject; aiui 1 ni»ut content
myself with saying that,'having bocn on the political sta^e without interruption, from that day to t h i s —
having been an attentive observer of the question of the currency throughout the w h o l e period—the bank
has been an indispensable
agent in the reztnratirm of Specie payments*
that, without itf the
restoration
could not have been effected short of the utter prost rat ion of all the moneyed in*tit atoms of the coifn tryf
and an entire depreciation of bank paper; and that it has not only restored specie payment** bat ha* given a currency far marre uniform, between the extremes oftht country\than
was anticipated^ or even dreamed
vft at the time of its
ereaticn*9

As to the financial agency of the bank, it 13 well k n o w n that the charter contained a
provision, requiring that the public m o n e y s should be deposited with i t ; and it cannot
be denied, that of the m a n y hundreds of millions of dollars kept and disbursed by the bank,
not one dollar was lost to the G o v e r n m e n t ; and that the public funds were always transferred with punctuality, to the different points of disbursement, without loss, inconvenience, or cost to the country. It must also be admitted, lhat it performed the part of a
faithful agent in paying off the national debt, not only at h o m e , but in negotiat n g for tha
p a y m e n t of that abroad. U n d e r its operation, trade and commerce revived, the exchanges
were brought down to a cheap and uniform standard, and the business, the wealth, and
the energies of the country, were thrown into active and prosperous exercise.
T h e s e are important historical facts, which ought not to be disregarded. T w i c e in
our history, before the present time, has the country groaned under the same disease
from which it is now suffering; twice has the same remedy of a National Bank been
resorted to, and twice has it succeeded in restoring the countiy to prosperiiy. Of course
1 speak of the general opera.ion of the bank during a series of y e a r s . It is not pretended that there were not any temporary revulsions or reactions in the business and currenc y of the country; it is beyond the wisdom of man to devise any system that is perfect f
these occasional interruptions in the regular course of trade, depend on contingencies,
which cannot be provided for: but with these exceptions, which must necessarily attach
to the imperfect nature of all government, the Bank of the United States performed all the
objects before mentioned, and that in a most eminent degree*
In 1829, when the late President of the United States was elevated to p o w e r , the late
bank had for years been running the career of successful experiment. K v e r y branch of
business was p r o s p e r i n g ; industry and enterprise were meeting with their due encour*
agement and r e w a r d ; men in all the pursuits of life, the merchant, the mechanic, the farmer, and the professional man, were all reaping the benefits of a sound currency; and the
accommodations always extended w h e r e credit was due. B y a combination of causes*
which it is unnecessary to mention, General Jackson had been invested with the robes
of oflice, amid the shouts of his c o u n t r y m e n . B u t events soon proved h o w vain are all
human calculations, ami how fruitless are h u m a n designs. T h o s e w h o had been m a i n l y
instrumental in electing General J a c k s o n — w h o had marched in the van of the conflict—
w h o had borne the burden and heat of the d a y — s o o n discovered, that instead of shielding the country from danger, by the elevation of General J a c k s o n , they had planted a
dagger in the very heart of the llepnblie. Y e s , sir, they discovered, w h e n it was t r o
late, that, like the unfortunate artisan that invented tiie engine of torture for the Agrigentine tyrant, they were to become the very first victims of their o w n indiscretion. M a n y
of them no doubt suffered deservedly. T h e y k n e w , or ought to have k n o w n , the
character of him whom they were foisting upon the confiding people of thin country.
B u t thousands—and I among them, though then but a y o u t h — w e r e deceived, misled, betrayed.
And it has so turned out at last, that the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts
[ M R . A D A M S ] has lived to see the hopes of \vs enemies disappointed—their slanders r e futed—and the agents of his politicnl overthrow, either repenting of the ruin aud misrule
they have brought upon their country, or paying the penalty of their misdeeds, by the
ruin t h e y have brought upon themselves*
During the canvass w h i c h resulted in General J a c k s o n ' s election in 1 8 2 8 , s o general
w a s the confidence of the community in the Bank of the United States, and so little w a s
it supposed that he entertained feelings of hostility towards it, that the matter w a s not *t
ail agitated in the contest. T h e journals of that time furnish a clew to the first impulse
of his opposition. B y examining them, a correspondence will be found, which took plaits
in 1829 between Mr. Ingham, the then Secretary of the T r e a s u r y , and M r , Biddle, the
President of the bank, wherein the former expresses the wishes of the ruling p o w e r s , for
the removal of the President of the Branch Bank at P o r t s m o u t h , N e w H a m p s h i r e , m e r e l y




8

'*

because h s claimed the privilege of every freeman, to think and speak freely of the political
affairs of the day. T h i s is a fact which should never be lost sight of.
Notwithstanding
all the denunciations which have for years been uttered against that institution, for interfering in the politics of the country, the truth is, that the very first ground of hostility to*
it was because it would not interfere in party politic*, but, as declared by the President
of that institution at the time, coniincd itself "to the commercial and business relations o f
the country.
As soon as the President of the bank refused to bow to the dictates of the tyrant, he w a s
put under the ban of proscription. But still the institution, over which he presided, w a s
to be approac!:ed J cautiously and insidiously. At that time, so firmly seated was the bank
in the confidence of the country, so strong the conviction of its indispensable agency ill
managing the finances, that General Jackson, in all his ^ower, dared not recommend t h e
dispensing with such an institution. In the *ame message in which he showed the first
s y m p t o m s of opposition to the bank, he s n ^ e s t e d , ••whether one founded upon the credit
and revenue of the Government mi^ht not be devised. 9 * Here is the first germ of that
Treasury, Government Bank, shadowed forth in iho bill on your table. T h e able a n d
unanswerable argument of Mr. McDuiiie, put this matter to rest for the time; but its r e vival, at this late day, s h o w s that ** the snake w;;s scotched, not killed.'* In J u l y , 1 8 3 2 ,
the bank was re-chartered by a vote of tweniy-eijiht to twenty, in the Senate, and one h u n dred and seven to eighty-five, in the H o u s e of iieprf r-cmativos. And if any thing could
prove the strong conviction which tlie country entertained of the utility and absolute n e cessity of the Hank of the United States, it was this strong vote in its favor, by a C o n gress in which the Administration had a larire majority in both H o u s e s ; for the absolute
control which General Jackson exercised over his followers is we'd k n o w n . With t h e m ,
h i s word was law. A stamp of his foot, or a shake of hi: hc.ui, was to them the signal
of instant obedience. W h e n the lion prowled, the ;:;<••]*alls qu::kc:l with fiar and trembling. Hut stil!, on re-chartering the bank, ho c-vil.i not cont/ol his refractory subjects,
s o strong was public sentiment against him. In July, lSiiiJ, he vetoed the bill, but still
ha dared not defy public opinion so far as to s u g ^ s t the propriety of abandoning such an
institution altogether; for in that veto meSi-arre be say:- : ••Tiiat :i Bank of the United
States, competent to all the duties w h i c h may be required by the Government, might b e
SO organized as not to infringe upon our o w n delegated powers, or the reserved rights o f
the States, I do not entertain a doubt. Had the Executive been called upon to furnish the
project of such an institution, the duty would have been cheerfully performed." H e h e r e
yields the constitutional question altogether, and bears testimony to the «* competency" 0 f
such an institution to perform " ail the duties required by the Government.** T h i s v e t o
of the bank charter, contrary to the public opinion of the nation, and the recorded v i e w s
of Congress, was the first actual blow struck at public credit, the first great obstacle
thrown in the w a y of trade and commerce, the commencement of that series of disasters
which has brought the country to its present .state of sutVerinff.
T h e removal*of the depotutes in October, I^'IM. from the cu ^ lv of the United States
Bank, where the law hr.d placed ts.cin, w;:- ;hc *j»riK.i ; ;• - --:l!f bVL-ematic, and uncompromising warfare ag.iiiisf the h;-.:\-, :?s an iii.- = ; .: n.
i
.•••me v.v.s now u p ; the
.dogs were unleashed ; they had tu.s::.. ohyrd, an..1. * .:' t-.N v wrnt, i.-. t wi!! r c:\v, with their
infuriate huntsman at their heels. T h e violence and inipctuofchy of General Jackson's
temper were well k n o w n ; and he Y.VIS also known to be as steady in purpose, as he was
bitter and unrelenting in hi* horjvdhy. It was now foreseen that, armed as he was w i t h
the power and popularity he. pos^e^spd, and urged on by the demon that controlled h i s
feelings, the bank must fail in a contest with him.
T h e certain destruction o f this institution presented a vacuum which the business and
wants of the country required to he iilled. Capitalists looked around for new chances o f
investment; speculation, taking advantage of the derangement of credit, began to usurp the
place of regular business, aud, in a spirit of rivalry, different States, cities, and communities, rushed forward, each endeavoring to he foremost in the race of speculation and banking, and in endeavoring to grasp tlie business and influence soon to be lost by the Dank o f
the United States. And what aggravated the evil, wa**t the public depositee were k n o w n
to be in market as tlie reward of partisan service. That removal of tlie deposites was an
o p e n declaration of war upon the currency of the country. It was, in every sense of the
term, a breach o f national faith. It was in direct violation of the law of the laud, which
held the Secretary of the Treasury responsible tr> Con rre>s for even fating
to make deposites in the bank, and which by no means allowed tli- r+*ti*,c%tl ci tho*e iliready made.




9
It was in violation of an express contract by which the Government became bound to
m a k e deposiics in the bank, with the privilege, on the part of the bank, to use them when
not required for the public service, in consideration of the many heavy duties which the
b a n k agreed to perform for the G o v e r n m e n t / T h i s breach of public faith t this shock
given to public credit, applied the match to the train which had for some time been laying,
and the explosions of which have been heard, at regular intervals, from that time to this.
T h e public moneys were taken from the custody of the law, and placed in Slate banks,
that were willing to degrade themselves so far as to accept of a. tyrant's terms. T h i s was
the beginning of the experiment, as it was termed. Bulletin after bulletin was issued from
the storehouse of slander in tins city, complaining of the failure of the United States
B a n k to perform the objects of its creation, and heralding forth the praises of the Stale
bank system. W e were told, aaain and again, that the deposite banks would furnish a
better currency ; that they wonld regulate the exchanges better ; that they would keep the
public money safer, and transfer it more expeditiously to the points of disbursement, than
the Bank of the United States had ever done. T h i s was the cry that was chaunicd in full
chorus by every venal press, and every upstart demagogue in the land. It was the language that came from high places and low- Mr. T a n e y , in his message of December, 1833,
said : *' T h e State banks can, I have no doubt, furnish a general circulating medium quite
as uniform, in value, as that which has been allbrded by the Bank of the United States ;
probably more s o , " T h e President, in his message of the same session, said, i4>I entirely
concur in the view lie ["the Secretary of the T r e a s u r y ! has taken of this subject."
Mr.
P o l k , chairman of the Committee of W a y s and .Means, in a report made during the
session of 1833—*3i, on the removal of the depositcs, says ;
•*The C o m m i t t e e arc satisfied that the Slate b a n k s are fully competent to perform all the services? w h i r h
the General G o v e r n m e n t on^ht to require, in the roileetion mul flighttiv-ement of the revenue, and to iifFord
all the facilities to the internal commerce ami exchange-:* of the c o u n t r y , which have been derived from
the B a n k of the United States.
" T h e opinion has already been cxpre.-scd, that the1 Stute h a n k s are competent to prrCorm all the duties
which the G o v e r n m e n t , or the public convenience nviy require; and there are m a n y c i r c u m s t a n c e s w h i c h
Strongly recommend them to a p}\ftre7ice
over a Bank of the United States**

W e l l , sir, what was the consequence ? W e r e these predictions fulfilled ? N o , sirT h e State hanks, relieved from the restraining influence of the United States Bank, wliich
•was fast expiring, and, eager to fill up those, channels from which that institution was
•withdrawing its circulation, let out their issues without stint, and fed, with a liberal hand,
the greedy appetite of speculation. T h e privilege of usinrr the public depositcs, free of
interest, excited the mania for banking, as it afforded additional means of .issue and accommodation* W h a t was the consequence ? Hanks began to spring up like mushrooms
after a shower—nil eager to get a portion of the public money, all striving to accommodate
the country with their loans, and to realize the most profitable investment to their stockholders.
W h a t was then the conduct of those in power ? Instead of using their influence to
check this fro ward spirit, they urged on the banks in their headlong- career. T h e Secretary of the T r e a s u r y , Mr. T a n e y , in a circular issued to the pet banks, shortly after the* removal of the depo*ites, thus addresses them : 4b T h e depositcs of the public monev will
enable you to afford increased facilities to the commercial and other classes of the community,
and the department anticipates from yon the adoption of such a course, respecting your accommodations,
as will prove acceptable to the people, and snfe to the Governm e n t / ' And the banks took him at his word. T h e y did' "afford increased facilities/*
not only ** to the commercial," but to " other classes of the c o m m u n i t y . " T h e r o n n t r y
soon became literally flooded with bank paper, speculation ran to excess through the land,
and every marketable commodity rose rapidly in price. T h e increase in t h e ' n u m b e r of
b a n k s kept pace with the excesses of speculation and the extravagance of the times. It
w a s soon discovered that the scenes of 1 8 l l - ' 1 5 were to be enacted over a^ain for, during that period, the same result* followed the expiration of the Dank of the United States.
* I t appears from an official report of the Secretary of die T r e a s u r y , of F r h n i n r y 2 7 , 1839, that at the
expiration of the United States B a n k , in 181 1T there wore hut eighty-nine h a n k s in CAiVa-nee in the U n i o n ,
while in 1815, there were two hundred and e i g h t — a n increase of out* hundred and ninrleou hanks in four
years. Well, the last United States bank w e n t into operation in IS Hi, and although the period b*_*t\vt?PTt
1816 a n d 1830 w a s one of great prosperity, yet d u r i n g that time t h e n u m h o r cfloeai oToiks hi-1 h i r r r n s c J
to only three h u n d r e d and t w e n t y — b e i n g a n increase of but *»ne. hundred and *\vriv in fi.Vn:: ye::r?i.
•when there was a B a n k of t h e United States \n existence; while, nz w : h m o s^eri, j:i <*
' v-'.u? r : c Ceding, w h e n there w a s no s u c h institution, the n u m b e r h a d hic-rea^cd civ; h;ir_:• •; d , , : i^;:*:U--^;?• *



10

T h e bloated and unnatural state of the currency which followed was then looked uport
w i t h dread and misgiving b y the p r u d e n t and e x p e r i e n c e d , as the precursor of evil.
Thfi.
v e r y e m b a r r a s s m e n t s w h i c h have since occurred, and which n o w exist, w e r e then foretold
b y those w h o s e w a r n i n g voice was u n h e e d e d ; while the slaves of p o w e r proclaimed it
t h r o u g h o u t the land as the fruits of a successful e x p e r i m e n t , and as the evidence of un*
paralleled prosperity.
T h e facility in obtaining 1 m o n e y of the b a n k s caused excessive overtrading, speculation* *
and extravagance, in every brant*}) of business. F o r e i g n * goods and commodities of every"
kind \ver« poured into the c o u n t r y , in proportion to the ability of the people to obtain ther
m e a n s of purchasing t h e m . T h e great increase in the sales of the public landst afforded
another sure index of the reckless spirit of speculation engendered by b a n k facilities.
I shall not, M r . C h a i r m a n , h e r e attempt a detail of the history of our commercial em**
b a r r a s s m e n t s in 1SH7, w h i c h , first a p p e a r i n g in our large cities, s w e p t like a tornado over
the land. Suffice it to s a y , that from the great excess of the imports over the exports*
w h i c h reached its m a x i m u m in 18-ttf, we had incurred a heavy foreign debt. In addition
to this, the great d e m a n d for specie, as a basis *for b a n k i n g operations, had forced that
article into the c o u n t r y , at a high p r e m i u m , contrary to the natural course of trade and
c o m m e r c e . In order to obtain it, our stocks w e r e forced into the E n g l i s h m a r k e t , until
it b e c a m e drugged with t h e m ; and the credit of the c o u n t r y w a s converted into specie,
the importation of w h i c h w a s heralded by the Administration presses as the golden fruit
of a successful e x p e r i m e n t .
"Hut instead of rilling the pockets of the poor, or '* flowing
tip the Mississippi, to replenish and refresh the whole face of the l a n d / * as had been
p r o m i s e d , it w e n t into the vaults of b a n k s , to constitute a basis for the issue of p a p e r , in
the proportion of about ten to o n e . T h e Hank of E n g l a n d b e c o m i n g ahtrmed b y thiff
drain upon its specie, and discovering the vast a m o u n t of American credit in E n g l a n d , and
the i m m e n s e e n g a g e m e n t s of the American houses-there, and having reason to d o u b t the
solvency and the ability of o u r m e r c h a n t s to meet their liabilities, resolved to d i s c r e d i t
the p a p e r of the American h o u s e s , and accordingly passed an order to reject it for t h e
future. T h i s n e w s produced consternation and alarm a m o n g all those connected w i t h the
A m e r i c a n trade in E n g l a n d , and more especially with our m e r c h a n t s h e r e . T h e y s a w
that they must immediately prepare to p a y m a n y millions of outstanding d e b t s , as w e l l
as to meet m a n y m o r e of returned bills. T h e crisis hail n o w c o m e — o u r credit w a s g o n e —
the time had arrived for a balancing of accounts, and nothing but specie would a n s w e r t h e
p u r p o s e . T h e only resource w a s a run u p o n the b a n k s , and never was there a t i m e
w h e n the b a n k s w e r e less able to m e e t it. F o r , just about this time, the famous s p e c i e
circular of G e n e r a l J a c k s o n , requiring that n o t h i n g but gold and silver should be r e c e i v e d
in p a y m e n t for the public lands, had gone into operation, and thus the banks had to m e e t
the douhle demand for specie, to buy public lauds, and to pay foreign debts. T h e y w e r e
unable to meet such a p r e s s u r e — s u s p e n s i o n followed, with twelve millions of the p u b l i c
m o n e y in their vaults—and 1 need not a t t e m p t to describe the embarrassment, ruin, d i s tress, and devastation, which followed, and which h a s , in fact, continued ever since.
And this was the result of y o u r boasted e x p e r i m e n t .
T h i s was the realization of y o u r
golden d r e a m s .
Hy the stimulus and e n c o u r a g e m e n t which you gave to speculation, y o u
plunged the country in a foreign debt, which destroyed the credit of the nation abroad*'l i y placing the public money in the pet b a n k s , and then compelling t h e m , b y a s y s t e m
of oppression, to lock up their vaults against y o u , you destroyed the credit of the Govern***
merit at h o m e .
By d e c o y i n g our citizens to go in debt, in oiloring them hank facilities,
and then depriving them of the means of p a y m e n t , y o u destroyed the credit of the people'
look at the state of the CUPO nfter t h e veto in 1 S 3 2 . It a p p e a r s from the Fame report, t h a t t h e n u m b e r of
tmnkri, w h i c h , jfj I8.'*0 r w i s t h r e e h u n d r e d and t w e n t y , w i t h a e ire u I at ion of si-xty-one mil lions of d o l l a r ,
;ind with loans and d i s c o u n t s of t w o b u n d l e d million* of dollars, hath in tho six y e a r s e n d i n g J u l y , 1S36^rnerrast'd to t h e KtarLLiuir, n u m b e r of fivo h u n d r e d a n d Ktxty-HO.ven, w i t h a circulation of o n e h u n d r e d a n d
forty millions; of dollars, ami w i t h l o a n s a n d d i s c o u n t s of four h u n d r e d a n d fiftv-seven m i l l i o n s of dollars-* T h o i m p o r t s i m o t h e f hiit«:d Status, for t h e y e a r e n d i n g S e p t e m b e r U(), 1 8 3 0 , a m o u n t e d to o n l y s e v e n t y millions of dollars, and for t h e y e a r e n d i n g fit the s a m e t i m e , in 1836, t h e v a m o u n t e d to o n e h u n d r e d
find n i n e t y millions of dollars, s h o w i n g nn a n n u a l i n c r e a s e of one h u n d r e d and t w e n t y m i l l i o n s of dollars* .
o r of two h u n d r e d and seventy per rout.» w i t h i n tho short space, of six y e a r s ; w h i l s t the e x p o r t s for t h e ;
y e a r e n d i n g S e p t e m b e r 1H), 18:30, a m o u n t e d to oiyhty-throe millions of dollars, and for t h e y e a r e n d i n g a t "t h e <v,mt*» l i m e , in l £ ; i b \ they a m o u n t e d to o n e h u n d r e d and twrntv-ri;>bt millions of d o l l a r s — t h u s s h o w . '.',
il\Z ail e.Kerss of imjjorU over C.xnnrN, for t h a t year, of trixty-oiu' mil Huns of dollars, or n i n e t y - s i x p e r cent*
•j f o r the y m r 1H:*;I, tin 1 proceeds arising from the sal.-K of the public bind** a m o u n t e d to t h r e e m i l l i o n * •
of dollars; in IMi.'i, ih^y ros;* to f.JUi'te^N million* of dollar*; and in 1^0*0, to t w e n t y t h r e e m i l l i o n s of dollar*.




1!
'With each other. You fostered the State banks into existence, and then, like Saturn, yoir
devoured y o u r o w n offspring. Y o u promised us a golden currency, and you inundatedthe country with irredeemable paper. Y o u promised the people prosperity, and youplunged them into ruin. Yrou promised us a glorious and h a p p y administration, and you
b a n k r u p t e d the Government*
M r . Van Buren came into power, pledged " t o follow in the footsteps of his illustrious
p r e d e c e s s o r ; " and he has attempted strictly to k e e p his word. In September, 1837, h e
convened C o n g r e s s ; but, as he gave them to understand in his message, not to relieve tho
e m b a r r a s s m e n t of the country, not to relieve the sufferings of the people, but to assist the
G o v e r n m e n t ; in other words, to provide means for paying the office-holder his salary.
H e and his party were evidently in a difficulty. S o m e t h i n g was necessary to be d o n e ,
and that speedily* All eyes were turned to C o n g r e s s . T h e experiment had failed, signally failed. S o m e other system had to be tried. W h a t could he do ? l i e could not
return to the old system given us by our fathers, (a United States Bank,) because that had
for years been the watch-word of his party. It was by the denunciation of that*institut i o n , as an aristocratic monopoly, that lie had mainly ridden into p o w e r u p o n the prejudices of a deluded people. It was by a lavish abuse of it that his venal presses '* lived,m o v e d , and had their beine - ." It was this that furnished argument to every political vag r a n t that infested the land. It was the a n n o r which they wore, and the weapons with
w h i c h they fought. T o return, then, to a United States Bank, would have been to disa r m his own legions, and to expose him and his party to the charge of the grossest in*c o n s i s t e n c y . Neither could he recommend a continuation of the State bank s y s t e m , because that had exploded in his hands. N o other resource was left, then, but to resort to
a s y s t e m which the great Moloch of the party had once declared to be *' against the genius
of our free institutions ;"* and his chosen organ (the Globe) had described as w disorgani z i n g and revolutionary, subversive of the fundamental principles of our G o v e r n m e n t and
of its practice, from 1780 down to this d a y . " But still it was the last and only chance*
T h e Sub-treasury, then, is a system that has been forced upon the "party*' by the pressure
o f circumstances ; and the question now i^=, shall w e , in disregard of the experience of
t h e past, agree to have fastened upon us, forever, this new and untried system! the operation of which, to say the least of it, must be doubtful.
I am opposed to this system, Mr. Chairman, in the first place, because the circumstanc e s u n d e r which it is brought forward, and urged upon the country at .his time, are in
violation of the great principle of representative Government, upon which our free institutions are founded. Again and again have the people pronounced sentence of condemnation u p o n this odious measure, and still it is attempted to bo forced upon them contrary
to their expressed w i s h e s ; and this, too, by a party that is eternally prating about its regard to popular rights, and its obedience to the popular will. It comes to this H o u s e ,
passed by a Senate, many of the members of which have acted in wanton defiance of
t h e instructions of the .Legislatures of their respective States. As one instance, I cite
t h e votes of the two Senators of that State I in part represent. At the last session of the
l e g i s l a t u r e of N o r t h Carolina, they were instructed to oppose this m e a s u r e ; still t h e y
. refuse to obey, and yet cling to their seats, like drowning men to a sinking wreck. It is
r from such men as these reckless violators of the popular will, that AVC are to be tauffht our
r
- d u t y , and with whose edicts we are called upon to comply. H o w stands the c a s e i n this
H o u s e ? H e r e , too, the people had sent a majority opposed to this ruinous and tyrannim cal s c h e m e ; and yet, by an act of party madness, violative of all justice and all precedent, you have dared to reverse the verdict of the people—to drive with insult from y o u r
doors, the chosen Representatives of freemen, and to till their places with those w h o
stand ready to carry out the high behests of power. Is this republicanism ? Is this
y o u r boasted democracy ? Will you now disregard the recorded voice of the people,
w h i l e , at the same time, you boast of being their especial champion and friend ? S u p pose an English Ministry had dared to press a measure of such importance, after it had
been, for three times in succession, rejected by the representatives of the people ? W h y
in England, monarchy as it is, all the police, and soldiery of London could not have protected them from the violence of popular indignation. And yet, in this country, w h i c h
boasts of its freedom—in this country, which is under the administration of a party that
talks of its love for the people, and its guardianship of their rights—this measure is obstinately persisted in, contrary to their will, as expressed by themselves ami their representatives ; and we art? ffiven to understand that no other system can be or shall he entertained. Such a determination, under such circumstances, is coutrarv to the "-emus of our




13
r e p u b l i c a n s y s t e m . It subjects the will of the p c o p l a to that of the E x e c u t i v e * and i*
subversive of that principle of responsibility of public agents, w h i c h is one of the m a i n
piliars of a free G o v e r n m e n t .
S i r , I am not one of those Avho would s u r r e n d e r the calm and dispassionate conclusions of w i s d o m and e x p e r i e n c e , to the s u d d e n outbreaks of p o p u l a r feeling** It is as
m u c h the duty of the statesman and the patriot, to resist, and a t t e m p t to restrain the viol e n c e an J prejudices of the m u l t i t u d e , as it is his d u t y to b o w in obedience to the sober
judgment, of the p e o p l e , after reason and reflection have regained their d o m i n i o n .
In
this case, time has been allowed for reason and r c f i c e t o n , and still the p e o p l e , after t h e i r
u
s o b e r second t h o u g h t s , " continue to exclaim against it. Not only h a s it failed to grain
c o n v e r t s , but b y y o u r obstinate p e r s e v e r a n c e , together with the foretaste y o u have given
u s of it, you are s w e l l i n g the r a n k s of the o p p o s i t i o n , d a y after d a y . If this bill is
p a s s e d , our G o v e r n m e n t will be revolutionized in practice, if not in t h e o r y . It will n o
l o n g e r he a G o v e r n m e n t resting upon tin? basis of public o p i n i o n , but one subject to t h e
p e r v e r s e will of a c o r r u p t o l i g a r c h y . T h e p r o b l e m of the C o n s t i t u t i o n will have b e e n
solved. T h e K x c e u t i v e will have proven all-powerful and irresistible ; and that instead
of following, he is to lead and control the public opinion of the nation. A p r e c e d e n t will
h a v e been set, b y w h i c h s o m e daring u s u r p e r , in after t i m e s , will be enabled to p a v e h i s
w a y to the throne of despotic p o w e r .
T h i s S u b - t r e a s u r y comes In fore us with the m a r k of discredit on its face—a m a r k
b r a n d e d there b y its o w n friends. At the time the State b a n k s w e r e the pets and favorites of the Administration, w e were told that the S u b - t r e a s u r y s y s t e m was " d i s o r g a n i z ing and revolutionary;*' that it w a s " a g a i n s t the g e n i u s of our' free i n s t i t u t i o n s ; " and
e v e r y vile epithet in the vocabulary of abuse w a s heaped u p o n it. J \ o w we are told hv
the same m e n , that it is '* a great question of deliverance and l i b e r t y . "
T h e y first att e m p t to teach the people that it is fraught with ail m a n n e r of mischief, and then t h e y
tell them it in to s h o w e r blessings on their h e a d s .
But if they had never discredited it t h e m s e l v e s , it would not he the less objectionable.
I t is enough for us to k n o w that it c o m e s from the crucible of the same tinkers w h o h a v e
s o often deceived us by their fair and delusive p r o m i s e s — w h o have not only injured, b u t
destroyed die c u r r e n c y of the c o u n t r y — a n d w h o , w h i l e they have p r o m i s e d us a g o l d e n
harvest, have left us n o t h i n g to r e a p but w r e c k and ruin.
W h e n the deposites w e r e r e moved from the B a n k of the United S t a t e s , w e w e r e told it would p r e v e n t that d a n g e r ous p o w e r of expansion and contraction, w h i c h those deposites a Horded to that institution ; and that the State b a n k s , with the aid of the public m o n e y , w o u l d furnish a better
c u r r e n c y , and a better rate of e x c h a n g e s , than the B a n k of the United S t a t e s .
The
great Tlumbngcrer proclaimed, in all the p o m p of his m a n n e r , that gold w a s to b e c o m e
the c o m m o n c u r r e n c y of the c o u n t r y ; that it w a s to flow up the M i s s i s s i p p i , to the v e r y
fiourees of its tributary s t r e a m s ; that the precious metal w a s to shine in the p o c k e t s oF
e v e r y poor man ; in short, that the golden age w a s to be restored. T h e " greatest and
b e s t , " in that partisan p a p e r w h i c h he issued on retiring from office, in insolent imitation
of the F a r e w e l l address ol tlie leather of his c o u n t r y , declared that he " l e f t this great p e o p l e
p r o s p e r o u s and h a p p y , " and took occasion to felicitate himself that he had been s u c c e s s ful in his efforts to restore the constitutional c u r r e n c y . "What h a s b e e n the r e s u l t ?
In*
stead of a golden c u r r e n c y , t h e y have banished all the specie from circulation, and filled
the country with their worthless r a g s . Instead of idling the p o c k e t s of the p o o r m a n ,
t h e y have reduced him to p e n u r y and w a n t ; and now o p e n l y proclaim, that one of t h e
objects of this bill is to reduce the wuges of labor. Instead of i m p r o v i n g the e x c h a n g e s ,
t h e y have laised them from one-quarter of one pet cent., to from ten to fifteen per c e n t . ,
and' this great p e o p l e , instead of being p r o s p e r o u s and h a p p y , are agonised w i t h t h e
t h r o e s of commercial and p e c u n i a r y distress. A11 their predictions heretofore have failed;
and still t h e y call u p o n us to believe t h e m again. T h e y h a v e p r o v e n t h e m s e l v e s to b e
either wilfully corrupt, or s t u p i d l y ignorant. In either case, they are unfit to c o n d u c t t h e
finances of the c o u n t r y . Is it p r u d e n t , in private life, to trust the m a n w h o has once d e ceived y o u ? Is it good policy to c o m m i t y o u r interests to the charge of one wjio h a s
p r o v e n himself i n c o m p e t e n t to the m a n a g e m e n t of business ? If not in private life, t h e n
m u c h less in political matters of great m o m e n t , w h e r e the interests of millions are involved, and w h e n ; the c o n s e q u e n c e s are so m u c h m o r e fatal and e x t e n s i v e . If t h e s e
jr\en have wilfully deceived us heretofore, w h a t evidence have t h e y afforded of a
m o r e honest p u r p o s e n o w ' '
!f they Ave re deceived t h e m s e l v e s , w h a t proof have t h e y
rivo.'i ol a n y impr^vtrntJiM i;i ("m^';;:I '.:.r ".-.vle.'ii/e s i n c e ?
T a k e either horn*of the d i -




13
l e m m a , and still I distrust them. T h e y have proven false prophets, again and again, and
I have no faith in their predictions n o w . And while this measure is urged by the.same
m e n , whose schemes have so often proved abortive, and whose predictions have so repeatedly proven fallacious, it is opposed, and its evil consequences foretold, by the same
m e n who foresaw and predicted all the evil results that have followed tfie rash experim e n t s of the last ten years. Y e s , sir, the warning; voice of these same sentinels, w h s
h a v e so long stood upon the watehtower, is again heard admonishing their countrymen
of the danger of this system. T h e y foretold, as with the spirit of p r o p h e c y , the very
disasters from which the country is now suffering- Shall we believe them whose wisd o m and foresight experience has proven* or shall we trust those w h o have so often
m o c k e d us with promises, while they have beggared us by their deeds 1
T h i s Sub-treasury is a new and untried experiment, calculated to uproot all the long
established usages of our people. It asks us to throw aside a system which w e received
from the hands of our fathers—which has relieved us of the difficulties consequent upon
t w o wars, and carried us successfully through forty years of peace. As I have attempted
to s h o w , the Bank of the United States answered all the purposes contemplated by its
founders. It answered the double ptirposes of a financial acent, and a regulator of the curr e n c y and exchanges* It fostered that system of credit which lias been the main agent
of our prosperity, whilst it also afforded a reasonable check upon the extravagant spirit of
speculation. N o w , sir, I would ask, is it wise, is it prudent, is it consistent with good
e c o n o m y , to throw aside a system which has answered a good purpose, under which w e
h a v e prospered, which has received the sanction of all parties in the country, and all departments of the Government, and take up one which, to say the least of it, is presented
to us under very unfavorable auspices ? Would it be wise to pursue such a course in the
ordinary avocations of domestic life ? Ought any farmer, upon the advice of some wild
theorist, to abandon the u^c of hoes and ploughs, when for a long; series of years he had
reaped a plentiful harvest by the use of those valuable implements of husbandry ? O u g h t
the physician to resort to the nostrums of so Sirnretending quack, to. cure a disease for
which he has an infallible remedy in his o w n i v e yi as proven by repeated trial ? Certainly
not. T h e n , ou^iu we, as a nation, to disregtf *tf 'tGfc -experience of the past—ought we to
abandon that system which was handed doyr't to us b y the same men from wham we received the heritage of our freedom, and under which we have grown up to our present
greatness, for the purpose of trying experiments which maif involve trie sufferings and
distress of an innocent people ? " T h e tyrant who tortured flies on the point of a pin, for
h i s o w n amusement, was not more cruel tlum would be the Government that would thus
t r y experiments with the vital interests of a great people.
T h e most renowned nations of antiquity were remarkable for the veneration which they
felt, and the honors which they paid, to the memory of those men who had been the defenders of their rights, and the founders of their institutions. A place among the stars,
sifter death, was the reward of him w h o had founded a city, released a people from bondage* or compiled a code of laws for the government of his countrymen. And they evidenced
their regard for the memory of departed heroes and sarres, by guarding against encroachm e n t the institutions they had founded. T h e laws of Nmiia were the main groundwork
of R o m a n jurisprudence, and were appealed to with pride and devotion, even in the declining days of Koinan greatness. So sensible were the Spartans of the value of the laws
o f L y c u r g u s , that, in conformity with the oath they had taken, they strictly observed t h e m ,
without repeal, for seven hundred y e a r s : and they were at last abolished by the hands of
a conquering e n e m y . Ought we to be less mindful of the deeds of our ancestors—ought
w e to place less value on those institutions which were purchased with their blood, and of
t h o s e laws which they enacted, and those systems they adopted, when fresh from the
battle-field? T h e r e is a daring spirit of innovation, in this proposed Sub-treasury, which
is alarming to those who love order, and venerate the established institutions of the country.
I n all ages and countries, innovation has been the precursor of faction, violence, and revolution. It is this spirit of change, change, which is shaking the civilized world to its centre, and which threatens, at no very distant day, to turn loose upon the time-honored institutions of the age, all the turbulent and angry passions of man* It is the spirit of anarchy,
of passion, of commotion, of blood. It is the spirit that is personified in O'Conncll, that
r a n riot at Harrisburg, that stalks in agrarian insolence over the land. 1 am not to be understood as opposing every thing like change and improvement in government.
Governm e n t , like every other science, is susceptible of i m p r o v e m e n t ; but that improvement, to be
productive of happy results, must not be the offspring of passion or party feeling; it must




14

p r o c e e d from a conviction of its n e c e s s i t y : it m u s t be gradual in its operation ; it m u s t b€^
in a c c o r d a n c e with the p r o g r e s s of the public m i n d .
I n s t i t u t i o n s , w h i c h are the g r o w t h r
of g e n e r a t i o n s , or a g e s , cannot b e remodelled in a clay. T h e public feeling, the c u s t o m s *
t h e habits, and the s y m p a t h i e s of the p e o p l e , m u s t be p r e p a r e d for, and, in fact, t h e y musfc
effect the c h a n g e , in o r d e r to m a k e it p e r m a n e n t and useful.
W h o believes that it wouldbe practicable to engraft, in a thxy^ a y e a r , or a g e n e r a t i o n , o u r R e p u b l i c a n institutions u p o n
the M o n a r c h i c a l s y s t e m s of Austria or R u s s i a ? N o one but a mad theorist.
Equally
absurd is it to a t t e m p t to introduce t h e financial s y s t e m s of those countries h e r e , until o u r
p e o p l e shall have b e c o m e , like t h e i r s , r e a d y and willing to receive a master* I r e p e a t , I
a m not o p p o s e d to the ?}iave?nent p r i n c i p l e , w h e n long e x p e r i e n c e has convinced t h e p u b *
lie mind of the absolute n e c e s s i t y of c h a n g e . But I have the a u t h o r i t y of the great c h a r *
ter of our liberties, that ** G o v e r n m e n t s lonrr established should not be changed for l i g h t
and transient c a u s e s ; " m u c h less o u g h t institutions to be a b a n d o n e d , w h e n t h e y are i n t e r w o v e n with the: habits and p u r s u i t s , the h a p p i n e s s and p r o s p e r i t y of a p e o p l e .
O n e of m y principal objections to this m e a s u r e is, that it c o n t e m p l a t e s n o t h i n g for t h e
relief of the p e o p l e from their p r e s e n t difficulties, or for their future interest and c o n v e n i e n c e , in their c o m m e r c i a l and business t r a n s a c t i o n s ,
it is intended m e r e l y /or the benefit
of t h e G o v e r n m e n t ; w h i c h , a c c o r d i n g to the vocabulary of the p a r t y in p o w e r , m e a n s t h e
office-holders.
I t provides for those w h o r e c e i v e , and neglects those w h o p a y t h e r e v e n u e s of the c o u n t r y .
'.This c a n n o t he denied ; for M r . V a n I Hi re n, in his m e s s a g e at t h e
K x t r a S e s s i o n , u s e s the following l a n g u a g e :
" T h o s e w h o look to thi; a c t i o n of t h i s G o v e r n m e n t Tor specific aid to t h e citizen, to relieve e m b a r r a s s m e n t s a r i s i n g from IO^HCS by r e v u l s i o n s in c o m m e r c e a n d credit, lose sitrht of t h e e n d s for w h i c h i t Was
c r e a t e d , a n d t h e p o w e r s w i t h w h i c h it is c l o t h e d .
* * *
All c o m m u n i t i e s a r e a p t to look to G o v e r n m e n t for too m u c h .
K v e n in o u r o w n c o u n t r y , w h e r e its p o w e r s a n d d u t i e s arp HO strictlv l i m i t e d , w e a r e
p r o n e to d o fio, e s p e c i a l l y a t p e r i o d s of s u d d e n e m b a r r a s s m e n t a n d d i s t r e s s . B u t t h i s o u g h t n o t t o be*
T h e f r a m e r s of o u r e x c e l l e n t C o n s t i t u t i o n , a n d t h e p e o p l e w h o Approved it, w i t h c a l m and s a g a c i o u s d e l i b e r a t i o n , acted a t t h e t i m e on a s o u n d e r prmcip 1 **. T h e y w i s e l y j u d g e d , t h a t t h e less G o v e r n m e n t i n terferes w i t h p r i v a t e p u r s u i t s , t h e hotter for tb* fro**™! prosperity"
* * * If, therefore, I r e f r a i n f r o m
KiiggcBting to C o n g r e s s a n y specific p l a n f o r j l u s i v c i n « r t h e exchange** of t h e c o u n t r y , relieving m e r c a n t i l e
e m b a i r a s s m e n t s , or i n t e r f e r i n g w i t h t h e o r d i ^ ^ . y op"- ^ltions of foreign or d o m e s t i c c o m m e r c e , it is f r o m a C o n viction t h a t s u c h m e a s u r e s a r e n o t w i t h i n t b « c m & t U u t i o n a l p r o v i n c e of t h e G e n e r a l G o v e r n m e n t , a n d t h a t
I h e i r a d o p t i o n w o u l d n o t p r o m o t e t h e real a n d p e r m a n e n t welfare of t h o s e they m i g h t b e d e s i g n e d to a i d , T

H e r e the hold g r o u n d is a s s u m e d , that the G o v e r n m e n t h a s n o t h i n g to do w i t h t h e c o m mercial relations of the p e o p l e , and that its functions are restricted to the providing- f
t h o s e in a u t h o r i t y . T h e startling p r o p o s i t i o n is e n o u g h to alarm e v w y one w h o is n o t tcn\
stupid to u n d e r s t a n d it, or too c o r r u p t to r e g a r d its t e n d e n c y ,
I had a l w a y s t h o u g h t t h
this w a s a G o v e r n m e n t of t h e p e o p l e , m a d e b y the p e o p l e , administered b y the e h o s *
a g e n t s of the p e o p l e , and intended for the good of the p e o p l e . T h e n if the " G o v e r n m e n t
w a s m a d e b y the p e o p l e , and for the benefit of the p e o p l e , is it right, is it r e p u b l i c a n
frame a s y s t e m of finance to suit the c o n v e n i e n c e of those w h o a d m i n i s t e r that Gove*
m e n t , regardless of its o p e r a t i o n s u p o n the business and pursuits of the p e o p l e ? ' ^ j , T t t "
all, does it c o m e with a good grace from a party w h o are continually w h i n i n g a b o u t tl?Jir
love for the d e a r people I
*
W i t h o u t g o i n g into the q u e s t i o n , w h e t h e r the G e n e r a l G o v e r n m e n t is hound to furni h
a c u r r e n c y for the c o u n t r y , 1 insist that it has no r i g h t to destroy that c u r r e n c y w h i c h xri^v
be furnished the people by their Slate i n s t i t u t i o n s ; or to establis i a c u r r e n c y for t h e u &
of its a g e n t s , w h i c h m a y he better than that used by the great mass of the p e o p l e , w h e n
the t e n d e n c y of such discrimination m u s t disturb the course of their business a n d p r o s p e r i t y . iStich a c o u r s e would be destructive of the very end lor w h i c h t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n
w a s formed.
G e n t l e m e n m a y s a y , if p a p e r is less valuable t h a n gold and silver, w h v
will you compel the G o v e r n m e n t to use an inferior c u r r e n c y ? But, sir, it is the d i s c r i m i nation w h i c h will m a k e it less valuable. Tt is the discredit that will be s t a m p e d on it b y
the G o v e r n m e n t , in refusing to receive it, that will r e n d e r it w o r t h l e s s , c o m p a r e d to s p e c i e .
If a paper c u r r e n c y , founded on a specie basis, is good e n o u g h for the p e o p l e , it m u s t b e
good e n o u g h ibr those w h o m t h e y m a y choose to administer the G o v e r n m e n t .
If the
p e o p l e are content with it, and h a v e p r o s p e r e d u n d e r it, w h y a t t e m p t to discredit it, a n d
t h e r e b y u n h i n g e the whole o r d e r of b u s i n e s s t h r o u g h o u t the c o u n t r y 1 B e c a u s e , if p r o p e r t y is held a c c o r d i n g to t h i s s t a n d a r d of value, if d e b t s are contracted w i t h a v i e w t o
t h e i r p a y m e n t in this m e d i u m , ii all the details of b u s i n e s s h a v e been a r r a n g e d w i t h a
v i e w to their transaction in the e x i s t i n g kind of c u r r e n c y , it m u s t be e v i d e n t to the s i m p l e s t
m i n d , that y o u cannot d e s t r o y , or even i m p a i r the credit of tiiat c u r r e n c y , w i t h o u t p r o -




15
ducing a crash, that must be felt i u every d e p a r t m e n t of business, and every interest of
society. I lay it down as a political axiom, w h i c h needs 110 attempt at proof, that in the
c*xercise of those p o w e r s w h i c h are strictly constitutional, the G o v e r n m e n t is bound to
h a v e a due regard to their influence upon the w a n t s , the interests, and the pursuits of the
p e o p l e ; otherwise the intent, the spirit, the object of the Constitution might be perverted
b y the sophistry of construction. If this be so, y o u are bound* in framing a fiscal system
for the G o v e r n m e n t , to look at its operation upon the great business concerns of the count r y . If C o n g r e s s has no p o w e r to provide a currency tor the country* I insist that it is
b o u n d , in providing a currency for itself, to see thai the interests of the people are not
c o m p r o m i s e d , hut rather, that they are subserved.
AVhen C o n g r e s s was convened at the Kxtra Session, the countrv was suffering under
the most intense distress ; and a beam of hope alighted on the public mind w h e n it w a s
announced that the legislative p o w e r of the Union was to be assembled. B u t lo, and hehold ! the representatives of the people were told, that it was not for the purpose of affording relief to tlieir suffering constituents that they were convened, but for the p u r p o s e of
providing means to relieve the wants of the G o v e r n m e n t . T h e y were told :
" I f t h e debts of o a r m e r c h a n t s have? aermrmlatoik or tlieir credit is impaired, thcejc are fluctuations? alw a y s i n c i d e n t to e x t e n s i v e or e x t r a v a g a n t mercantile transactions.*'

A s to the real purpose for which Congress teas convened, the President explains it in a
very few words, 'J'he whole secret is told in one short sentence, as follows :
" T h e s u m necessary for t h e service of t h e year, b e y o n d t h r probable receipts, a n d t h e a m o u n t w h i c h it
w a s intended should be reserved in t h e T r e a s u r y a t t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t of t h e y e a r , wiil be a b o u t six m i l lions."

As to the sufferings of the people, they are given to understand, that they must wait for
time and e c o n o m y to effect a cure. And do we come here merely for the purpose of ministering to the wants of Executive agents ? Really, it seems that such is the theorv of the
party in power, not onlj r from the language of the message above cited, hut from the course
of legislation here during the present session. tSir, you are in a m a j o r i t y — y o u have been
in session for near seven m o n t h s , and what have you done ? Y o u have disfranchised a
S t a t e , it is true ; but that was only a prelude to what has since followed.
Y o u have p a s sed an appropriation bill, to pay the office-holder his salary. Y o u have passed a T r e a s u r y note bill, to raise the means of p a y i n g him ; and n o w you are about to pass a Sub*
treasury bill, to enhance the profits of Lis salary, at least ten per cent. If this theory be
irue, then is this G o v e r n m e n t the merest farce 011 earth, and it presents the ridiculous
spectacle of one net of the people's agents meeting together annually, at great inconvenie n c e and e x p e n s e , simply for the purpose of providing for the support and maintenance of
a n o t h e r set.
T h i s discrimination between the people and the officers o*f their G o v e r n m e n t is antirepublican, and dangerous to the p e r m a n e n c y of our free institutions. T h a t the Governm e n t has a separate and distinct interest from that of the people, savors too m u c h of the
divine right of K i n g s , to suit m y fancy. It strikes at that responsibility of public agents,
w h i c h is the basis of our s y s t e m . F o r if the G o v e r n m e n t is entitled to a different curr e n c y from that of the people—and that a better currency t o o — t h e n it is not responsible
for the consequences g r o w i n g out of the exercise of this privilege, or for the m a n n e r in
w h i c h t h e y m a y choose to enjoy it. One of the beauties of our system is, that it recognises n o privileges to the governors, different from those of the governed, except those
w h i c h the law has prescribed as incident to the nature of their offices, and as necessary
to a. faithful discharge of the s a m e . T h e surest guaranty against oppression is in having
the interests of the people and their officers inseparably identiiied. Restrict them to the
s a m e m e d i u m of circulation, and they will feel the same fluctuations in trade, and the s a m e
desire to r e m e d y the evils of a disordered currency- Y o u must make those w h o administer the G o v e r n m e n t sensibly alive to the sufferings of the people, because it is their interest to be s o . But by making a discrimination between t h e m , whilst y o u render the p u b lic agents callous and indifferent to the grievances of the people, you weaken the affections
of the people for the G o v e r n m e n t itself—those affections w h i c h are the surest basis of the
G o v e r n m e n t , and on which it m u s t rely for support.
Y o u have already, by t h e privileges and favors showered u p o n the office-holders,
-weakened the bonds of union between the G o v e r n m e n t and the people.
W h o can s a y
i h a t h e now feels that same regard and veneration for the G o v e r n m e n t and its institutions,
w h i c h he did a few years since 1 B y a system of servility and obedience, the E x e c u t i v e
has become p a m p e r e d into a lawless tyrant ; and is now the master, instead of the servant



16
as lie should b e / o f the people* T h o legislature, instead o f being- " the high inquest o f
the nation," has become humbled into a mere registry of imperial rescripts. T h e judiciary, instead of being the guardians of the Constitution and the l a w s , has become corrupted and defiled, from being filled with the mere* tools and pimps of power. T h e Government in all it* departments, instead of possessing the aflcction and confidence of the p e o ple, n o w excites no other feelings but those of contempt and disgust- I do not speak of
the institutions of the country as they^exist in theory, but as they arc administered in practice. And n o w you propose to sever the last remaining tie, by giving a gold and silver
currency to the officers of the Government, and leaving the people nothing but r a g s —
y e s , n>gs, to use your o w n modern description of your o w n favorite m o n e y , with w h i c h
y o u have flooded the land.
"
*•
And, sir, w h y is this ? W h y is it* I ask, that these office-holders, these mere fawning 1
sycophants, arc to be entitled to these special privileges? T h e s e men have no sympathies
in common with the great mass of the hardy yeomanry of the country.
What matters it
to them, if tlje honest laborer is turned out of e m p l o y m e n t ? IPUio suffering w i d o w is
reduced t* poverty, or the friendless orphan deprived of bread ? * What is it to them, if
the country is writhing in distress, if commercial embarrassment does prevail, if e v e r y
branch of business is depressed ? T h e y still may look on *< calm as a summer's Kiorn, ,f
and e j o y the golden rewards of their venal labors. Is there any proposition to reduce
their salaries—to reduce the wages of their baseness? N o n e whatever. W h i l e , on the
other hand, the ground is boldly taken, by a prominent advocate of this measure in the
other Ilnu^e, [ M r . B I C I I A N A N , ] that one of its happy effects will be,* to bring d o w n the
wages of labor. Y o u thus lessen the profits of the laboring man, while you increase the
wages oi the public officer; lor, as labor is lessened in value, the medium of that value
must be enhanced. Sir, who are these office-holders, that they should be thus favored ?
Do they come from the ranks of the "plain honest people*" with whom the advocates of
this measure always fall so much in love, just on the eve of an election ? W h e r e d o e s
xl.i* Adi*.l:/..otr:iti.>n go, to sc.-k those who are elevated to the offices and high places o f
powi.-r ? J>o they take the honest farmer from his plough, the industrious mechanic from
his .-hop, ihc oi:i:;t merchant, from his desk, or the studious professional man from hie
office ? N o , sir. T h e y select the noisy politician, w h o is notorious for his stentorian
voice i.i denouncing the. hanky or some miserable pretender, w h o has been discarded b y
an injured ami indignant people ? T h e s e are the men who are to be paid in specie, w h i l e
the sz"iv;'it mass of the people, w h o pay the taxes for the support of ihe Government, are
to \y loM, thai with their grievances the Government has nothing to d o ; and w h o , w h e n '
in d:stro-.-*, are to be insulted by being told, that it is o w i n g to their o w n extravagance*
au 1 if '\u:v w.-cit relief, they must learn'economy. And this is your boasted divorce of
Government a.'d bank, Gs*rry it out, and you will have effected a divorce; but it will
be a divorce of the Government and the p e o p l e ; for the people will never consent to
•- love, honor, and o b e y " a Government which, instead of treating them with a conjugal
aflcction, .shall attempt to rule them with such a cruel hand.
Another objection to this new-fangled scheme is, the cost of it—the e x p e n s e w h i c h it
will emad upon the Government. After all the caution with which the ft aimers of this
hill have guarded it, they admit that it will cost the Government about thirty thousand
dollars to pat it in operation* and nearly that amount per annum to carry it on after-'
wards. N o w , sir, every one k n o w s that, in matters of this kind, the previous estimates
a l w a y s fa!! far.short of tin: ultimate cost. In carrying into effect a n e w systcgi oi finance,
which is intended to be permanent, it is impossible to foretell or provide for the addition*
al expense that will be daily accruing. And once the system is adopted, once it is put in
operation, Congress will not stop at any expense necessary,to complete it. Like all the
works of public improvement in the country, after it has been commenced, y o u will call
it folly, you will call it faction, to refuse' to carry it on to completion, I,ook at the splendid edifices now going tip in this city, for your Treasury and Post-office Departments.
T h e former, according to the estimates, was to cost two "hundred thousand dollars ; it.is
n o w evident that it will exceed a million of dollars.* T h e latter, from the estimates, was
to cost under two hundred thousand dollars; it is now admitted that it will e x c e e d six
hundred thousand dollars. T h e n e w custom-house, in N e w York, is a still more glaring instance. W c were told that its cost would not exceed two hundred thousand d o t
Inrs ; it has already cost more than a million—thousands having been spent in finishing
ii in the most costly style of Grecian architecture, contrary to all good tatfte as w e l l s i
ecouomv.
Kstimato* \ W h y , what are your estimates n o r t h ? Y o u r estimates wer?




iy
s e n t in for a Post-office D e p a r t m e n t of granite, and you arc putting u p one of marble*
A n d w h a t do w e w a n t with a marble Post-office D e p a r t m e n t ' /
O n e of mud and straw
w o u l d be too good for such as in latter times have ministered over its concerns.
Marble
Post-offices and marble C u s t o m - h o u s e s ! Does the party in p o w e r w i s h to be able, on
their retirement from office on the 4th of March next, to m a k e a boast similar to that of
A u g u s t u s ? T h a t crafty prince, w h e n about to die, boasted that he had found R o m e built
of brick, but that h e left it built of marble. H e might have added, that he found it enj o y i n g liberty, but left it in slavery. And that is w h a t the historian m a y and will say of
this Administration, w h e n recording the events of the present time.
M a k e y o u r Sub-treasury the law of the land, put it in operation, and session after session we shall-be called on to vote additional appropriations, which were not and could
n o t be foreseen at its passage. Y o u will be told, again and again, that the public interest requires the e m p l o y m e n t of additional clerks.* N o one can doubt this, w h o sees that
in most of-the D e p a r t m e n t s the n u m b e r of clerks has been nearly doubled in the last ten
y e a r s , as was brought to light b y m y friend from O h i o , QMr. ISOND ; ] and that by a part y , too, that came into p o w e r pledged to reform abuses, and to administer the G o v e r n m e n t
economically. W e shall be called upon to erect splendid edifices for the offices of these
modern Quaestors, t o enable them to keep safely and disburse conveniently the public rev e n u e . W e shall be told that patriotism requires that these national establishments should
be in k e e p i n g with the pride and wealth of the c o u n t r y . And then they must be fitted
out in all the style and l u x u r y of eastern magnificence. If any one doubts this, let h i m
look at the accounts of the superintendentof the Branch Mint in N o r t h Carolina, b y w h i c h
it will be seen that he has expended thousands of the public m o n e y in the purchase of
shrubs and flowe s, and splendid furniture—such as inkstands, at $ 8 7 5 ; scroll sofas, at
8 8 1 50 ; office chairs, covered with morocco, at $ 3 4 , & c , & c , — f o r fitting out his private residence there ; and w h e n complaint is m a d e , he replies, *< if h e has erred, it is the
error of p a t r i o t i s m . " And the offices of y o u r Receivers-General, under this bill, instead
of being in the custom-houses, will soon become so m a n y marble palaces, o v e r s h a d o w i n g
t h e land ; and the offices of the inferior receivers be scattered throughout the States, like
the palaces of the Persian Satraps through the provinces of that vast e m p i r e . And w h e n
w e complain of this extravagance, w e shall be told, " i f it is an error, it is the error of pat r i o t i s m . " W h e n the poor man passes b y , and looks u p at these towering edifices, and
c o m p l a i n s of his suffering wife and children, he is to be told, in the language of the superintendent of the Branch Mint, that the odor of the flowers, w h i c h is exhaled from the surrounding gardens, w h e n wafted on the b r e e z e , " is free to the poor man as well as the
rich ;'* and this is to b£ sufficient compensation to h i m , for being despoiled of the hard
earnings of his labor, in order to support this extravagant s y s t e m . U n d e r this corrupt
d y n a s t y , this system will prove a mint, for the coinage of innumerable offices. T h e thousands of h u n g r y expectants that crowd these streets will then be easily provided for; and
if we complain, we shall be told that it bespeaks a factious spirit. It will furnish a sure
m e a n s b y which a n y cunning intriguer or bold usurper may hereafter reward the ministers of his ambition. Sylla, the Dictator, w h e n he clutched s u p r e m e p o w e r , added t w e n t y additional Quaestors, w h e n the n u m b e r had never before exceeded e i g h t ; and C*,esar
added forty more- And the R o m a n Quaestors, let it be r e m e m b e r e d , were very m u c h
like the Receivers-General contemplated b y this b i l l — t h e y were the collectors of the trib u t e . W e m a y expect the same thing here, w h e n e v e r it becomes necessary to maintain
p o w e r or reward partisan services.
N o w , contrast this s y s t e m , even at the small cost to the G o v e r n m e n t contemplated in
the bill, with that of a United States B a n k . T h e last bank, in addition to the other vast
benefits it conferred on the c o u n t r y , paid to the G o v e r n m e n t $ 1 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 , as a b o n u s for
, its charter. I t is reasonable to suppose that the s a m e , or larger amount, m i g h t be obtained b y the G o v e r n m e n t for a n e w charter. T h e n here is the difference between the t w o
s y s t e m s , in regard to the e x p e n s e : the Sub-trcasur}", according to the admission of i;s
friends, m u s t cost the G o v e r n m e n t near thirty thousand dollars p e r a n n u m , to k e e p it in
operation ; whilst its annually increasing e x p e n s e , in order to complete it, no one can
foresee—whilst the Bmik of the United States, so far from costing the G o v e r n m e n t a sin•Since this measure has become a law, Mr. K has understood that it is s;ud, upon the authority of^onic
of the leading friends of the Administration, tluit it will require sixty additional clerks to put the system
in operation.
There is no doubt but it will require nt least fire hundred clerk* b» managefcJu*ny^ic-in
within a few years; and the tendency will be, to increase" the nuinK'i ynnuully.
•2




is
jrle cent, will actually bring* into the T r e a s u r y CM,500,000, or more* T h e friends of this
m e a s u r e m a y p e r h a p s s n e e r nt this, and s a y , what is a mijlion and a halt" of dollars ? I t
m a y he a very triflina* s u m . in the estimation of men w h o think it not at all e x t r a v a g a n t
t h a t the P r e s i d e n t should spend one hundred dollars of the public m o n e y in p u r c h a s i n g
artificial flowers to deck his royal table ; yet it is no small a m o u n t , especially w h e n we
c o n s i d e r that it is to g<> info the T r e a s u r y , instead of c o m i n g out : or w h e n w e think of
t h e blessings it m i g h t diffuse, if p r o p e r l y applied. H o w m a n y an h o n e s t claimant w o u l d
it satisfy, w h o is k n o c k i n g at y o u r door for relief? especially at this t i m e , w h e n b y y o u r t
e x t r a v a g a n c e yon have, emptied the T r e a s u r y . H o w m a n y a sufforing w i d o w and o r p h a n ,
w h o s e all m a y be involved in their neglected c h u m s , n o w l y i n g on y o u r table, would it
Rave from the pangs of h u n g e r ? H o w m a n y a t i m e - w o r n revolutionary soldier w o u l d it
p a y his long-deferred claims on y o u r justice ? Hut w h y do I s p e a k of such objects as
t h e s e ? T h e y are of little m o m e n t with the d o m i n a n t party h e r e , c o m p a r e d w i t h the
great e n d s of party w h i c h it is the object of this hill to attain,
M r . C h a i r m a n , o n e o t h e r great object, in fact the greatest, in the e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a p e r m a n e n t fiscal s y s t e m , is the sr/f'r keeping of the public m o n e y . I insist that the Sub-trcaHury will prove utterly inefficient in this respect. I believe that, in the former language,
of the G l o b e , it will ** subject the public m o n e y to be plundered b y a h u n d r e d h a n d s , w h e r e
o n e cannot n o w reach it*" And h e r e , again. I c t u s c o m p a r e the relative merits of the t w o
s y s t e m s — t h e S u b - t r e a s u r y and a N a t i o n a l B a n k . F o r t u n a t e l y , I have the history of forty
years'* e x p e r i e n c e to sustain m y position. Of all the vast a m o u n t of public m o n e y k e p t
and transferred by a National B a n k , since the origin of the G o v e r n m e n t , a m o u n t i n g to at
least five hundred millions of dollars, not the first cent has been lost, or u n a c c o u n t e d for
to the G o v e r n m e n t .
T h a t institution a l w a y s accounted faithfully, cent for cent, and dollar for dollar, for all s u m s intrusted to its c u s t o d y . T h e n , if a N a t i o n a l B a n k has k e p t t h e
public funds safely l u r e to fore, it is re an on able to s u p p o s e that it w o u l d do so again. I
do not pretend that the possession of corporate p o w e r s confers a n y additional h o n e s t y u p o n
m e n , or that the officers of a b;mk must ?iecr.ssartf>/ be m o r e honest than E x e c u t i v e a g e n t s .
N o one is so absurd as to insist on such an a r g u m e n t .
But h e r e is the difference.
Tn t h e
first place. thc*bauk would enjoy its corporate privileges, upon the condition of a c o m p l i ance with the terms of us d i n g e r .
It has the terror of accountability to restrain it. If it be
a monster, still it is confined with the strong chains of the l a w . T h e r e is, then, the s t r o n g e s t
motive of h u m a n action, self-interest, to c o m p e l the m a n a g e r s of a national institution to
c o m p l y with the condition of its creation. T h e object of those w h o invest their fortunes iu
such an institution is gain. T h a t object can o n l y he reached by p o s s e s s i n g the confidence
of the c o u n t r y , and that confidence can o n l y be retained b y a faithful compliance with t h e
obligations of its c h a r t e r .
W h e n a bank fails to c o m p l y with its special contracts, it loses
its c r e d i t ; and its credit once lost, it becomes i m p o t e n t for profit to its o w n e r s . A national
institution, responsible to national l a w s , would be further liable for a forfeiture of its c h a r tered privileges. Again, a National Bank could not take to itself legs, and run a w a y ; and
if. p e r c h a n c e , some one of its dishonest officers should do s o , with a portion of the c o r p o r a t e
funds, still the whole capital of the institution would he hound to m a k e u p the loss to t h e
Government.
And here is a strong i n d u c e m e n t to the e m p l o y m e n t , by such a b a n k , of
faithful T\}M\ honest officers.
S o we see that, on the score of safety, it is as n*mch the interest of the hank to keep the public m o n e y safely, as it is the interest of the G o v e r n m e n t to
plane it t fie re.
H o w s t a n d s the ease with the E x e c u t i v e agents, w h o m this bill p r o p o s e s to m a k e t h e
depositaries of the public funds I T h e y are not restrained b y the s a m e terrors of a loss
of public confid'Mv*'.1. because t h e y are not d e p e n d e n t on public confidence for their s u p p o r t . T h o s e w h o arc usually appointed to office, in these t i m e s , h a v e very little c h a r a c ter to lose, and w h a t would ruin the fortunes of a corporation, would m-nkr. the fortunes
of a defaulting s u b - t r e a s u r e r .
H a d the United States Bank stolen $ 1 , 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 it would
n tt only have lost the confidence of the c o u n t r y , and t h e r e b y the spell of its p o w e r , b u t
it would have been arraigned before the tribunals of the c o u n t r y , and deprived of its corporate ritrfiis.
But the r o b b e r y of that a m o u n t b y Swartwout", m a d e his fortune forever*
smd atlordc 1 him the very m e a n s of e s c a p i n g from the process of the l a w .
Whilst not o n e cent has been lost b y the United States B a n k in forty y e a r s , h o w m u c h
h a s been lost b y individual a g e n t s ? A l t h o u g h u n d e r the administration of the U n i t e d
S u u c s B a n k , the collectors of the revenue w e n ; required by l a w , to m a k e their depositee
in b a n k , i m m e d i a t e l y after it r e a c h e d their h a n d s , y e t so g r e a t w a s t h e t e m p t a t i o n , so
w e alt poor h u m a n naturn, that millions nave been stolen, especiaUv within the last ten




19

y e a r s . Y e s , sir, although the m o n e y m e r e l y passed through
their h a n d s , from the p u b lic debtor to the bank, y e t so great was t h e o p p o r t u n i t y for p l u n d e r , that t h e y could not
resist* C a s t y o u r e y e over the long list of defaulters, w h o have s q u a n d e r e d the p u b l i c
m o n e y , guarded and restrained as t h e y w e r e by legal e n a c t m e n t s . F r o m a r e p o r t of t h e
S e c r e t a r y of the T r e a s u r y , before m e , [ D o c , N o . 10. H o . R e p s , of the present s e s s i o n , ]
it appears that u p to the yenr 1 8 3 7 , the following s u m s h a v e been lost b y defaultinga g e n t s in the collection and d i s b u r s e m e n t of the public m o n e y :
Considered lost by Post Office agents
.
Due by Post O/Tice agents, but conszdered collectable
Amount of defalcations by Post Office agenta
A m o u n t lost by collectors and receivers
.
A m o u n t lost by disbursing agents
_
.
Add Swart\vout*s defalcation, not included above

-

L.o#t byindiviuual agents

-

-

-

.

.
.

_
-

.
.

.
.

.

.

.
-

.

-

$270,942, 63
106,55087
377,493 66
2,038,54981
4,95C,573 56
£7,372,CIC 9 3
1,250,000 OO

-

-

-

S8,572,G16 9 3

Besides several others of a later date*

L o o k at the reports w h i c h have been laid on our desks d u r i n g the p r e s e n t session,
from the C o m p t r o l l e r of the T r e a s u r y , by w h i c h it will be seen that there are at this time
m i l l i o n s unaccounted for b y these collectors and r e c e i v e r s . T h e s e d o c u m e n t s , sir, are
curiosities. In the c o l u m n s headed 4* R e m a r k s by the Solicitor of the Treasury,** s o m e
of the defaulters are marked—** no suit o r d e r e d . " O t h e r s — " r e s i d e n c e u n k n o w n . " —
«* C a n n o t be f o u n d . " — " D e a d ; left no p r o p e r t y . " — " N o administration; debt l o s t . " — " P r i n cipal i n s o l v e n t " — e t c . etc. B u t I believe the greater portion are m a r k e d ?wn est inventus.
P e r h a p s it m a y be said, that these defalcations have not taken place u n d e r the
o p e r a t i o n of the S u b - t r e a s u r y , but that m a n y of them Iinppeneti d u r i n g the e x i s t e n c e of
t h e United States B a n k . T r u e , but it was because the m o n e y never r e a d i e d the vaults
of the b a n k — : h a t it was stolen. H a d it been deposited according to biw, it would h a v e
b e e n safe. It s h o w s the pracfteal operation of the s y s t e m of individual a g e n c y , in the
c u s t o d y of the public m o n e y . And if so m u c h m o n e y has been p l u n d e r e d , w h e n it
m e r e l y passed t h r o u g h the h a n d s of these ncrcnls—when they were required to p a y it
over i m m e d i a t e l y after c o l l e c t i o n — w h a t will be the result w h e n t h e y are allowed to k e e p
it ail the time ! W h y , you m u s t not only cease a p p o i n t i n g r o g u e s to office, but you m u s t
i m p r o v e h u m a n n a t u r e . Y o u must alter m a n , so as to m a k e him less liable io temptat i o n , before you can succeed with such a s y s t e m . T h e hill p r o p o s e s pains and penalties
u p o n those w h o m a k e an i m p r o p e r use of the public funds.
T h a t has a l w a y s been the
c a s e , and still the terrors of the law have not prevented defalcations. T h e r e is a vulgar
a d a g e , " T h e r e is catching before h a n g i n g , " — w h i c h is no m o r e trite than t r u e . I believe about the first account we had of the defalcation of S w a r t w o u t , w a s , that he w a s
r e g a l i n g himself upon the luxuries of E n g l i s h cities, u p o n the m o n e y w h i c h had b e j n
w r u n g from the hard earnings of our people.
W h y , sir, u n d e r the operation of the proposed s y s t e m , h o w m a n y various t e m p t a t i o n s
will there be, to cause an honest man even to s w e r v e from the line of d u t y , m u c h m o r e
the venal pack that will o c c u p y these places of trur*t. S u p p o s e a t e m p o r a r y derangernent in his o w n private a i l a i r s ; s u p p o s e a friend in distress a p p l y i n g to him for t e m p o r a r y a i d ; s u p p o s e he scerf an o p p o r t u n i t y for a profitable s p e c u l a t i o n ; with thousands of
the public m o n e y l y i n g idle in his h a n d ? , and there likely to r e m a i n for m o n t h s or y e a r s
e v e n , do you think that his virtue will prove stern enough to resist the temptation ? I
have gimv on the supposition trial the depositary is h o n e s t : but s u p p o s e he be a c o r r u p t
p a r t i s a n ; and h o w then ? S u p p o s e he sees that the tenure of his office d e p e n d s upon his
devotion to the interests of " the p u u e r s that b e ; " s u p p o s e he discovers that by the use
of a portion of the public m o n e y in his h a n d s , ho may restore the w a n i n g forLunes of his
p a r t y , and that still higher promotion will he the reward of success — :lo y o u think the
public m o n e y will be iu no d a n g e r t h e n ? T h e restraints of the law will have no terrors
for such a m a n , w h e n h f k n o w s that his violation of the l a w is intended for the h e r e i n of
t h o s e w h o are to execute it. -And, sir, this is no fancy s k e t c h . In the conflicts of party
strife m e n will m a k e desperate efforts to obtain p o w e r , n^A still greater to p r e s e r v e it.
B u t it m a y be said that these agents arc required in the bill before u s , to give bond and
security for the faithful k e e p i n g , and accounting for nil m o n e y s w h i c h c o m e to their h a n d s .




20
Ai*d so the law h a s a l w a y s required. All y a u r defaulters w e r e required to give bond a n d
W c n r i t y . T h e law r e q u i r e d it of SwarUvout, and y e t it w a s n o protection against peculation. B e s i d e s , if the t e n d e n c y of this s y s t e m will be to cause the specie to accumulate
ad injiniium^
in the h a n d s o f the collecting officers, as I believe it will, it will he i m p o s sible to k n o w the a m o u n t for w h i c h any one of these officers should be required to give
b o n d . H o w large a bond will y o u require of the collector of N e w Y o r k ? H e m a y ,
u n d e r the operation of this m e a s u r e , h a v e ten millions in his h a n d s at one t i m e .
Who
can give security for s u c h an a m o u n t ? S u p p o s e the S e c r e t a r y of the T r e a s u r y fail to
take a n y bond at all, as h e did in the case of S w a r t w o u t , for three y e a r s . S u p p o s e t h e
Secretary be disposed to connive at, or participate in a defalcation. H e m a y , at his discretion, transfer a n y a m o u n t to the h a n d s of some collector on the confines of C a n a d a o r
T e x a s ; and the first w e hear of t h e m , both Secretary and collector, m a y be, like S w a r t w o u t and P r i c e , giving splendid entertainments in a foreign land.
W h a t will be the operation of this system in a political point of view, with reference
to the p o w e r and patronage of the E x e c u t i v e ? N o matter h o w much the a r g u m e n t m a y
be derided b y those w h o cannot a n s w e r it, still I insist upon it that it will unite the p u r s e
and the s w o r d in the h a n d s of the E x e c u t i v e . It will m a k e him in fact, the absolute
master of the treasure of the nation. It is no a n s w e r to this objection to s a y , that the intervention of inferior officers will operate as a check u p o n the P r e s i d e n t . E v e r since that
pliant tooK R . B . T a n e y , received office as the condition of thrusting his unhallowed h a n d s
iiUo the treasury of the nation, the doctrine has been o p e n l y avowed and acted o n , t h a t ,
the officers of the G o v e r n m e n t are the P r e s i d e n t ' s officers. T h e devotion with w h i c h ,
from highest to l o w e s t , t h e y obey their m a s t e r ' s will, s h o w s that they consider t h e m s e l v e s
his m e r e i n s t r u m e n t s , appointed to do his bidding. T h e y dare not do o t h e r w i s e . I t is
the price they p a y for p l a c e — t h e condition on which they eat their bread. C a n a n y o n e
doubt this, w h o sees the esprit tin corps with which this trainband of g r e e d y vultures are
leagued together, for the purpo.se of .sustaining that p o w e r to which alone they hold them*
selves? responsible ? I^ook at the organized elibrt they arc n o w m a k i n g , to sustain t h e
tottering U*rone of their Idol. W h o get up the s h a m meetings that are paraded in t h e
** collar p r e s s e s , " as ** large and respectable assemblages of the people ?** T h e officeh o l d e r s . W h o compose the C o n v e n t i o n s that herald forth such fair professions of d e m o c r a c y , j u s t on the eve of an election, for the purpose of concealing their high-toned F e d e r a l
practices ? T h e office-holders.
And can a n y one believe that these m e n arc to c o n s t i tute a check u p o n E x e c u t i v e p o w e r ? N o , sir, n o . T h e inferior animals, that have n o
o t h e r feelings and w i s h e s to gratify than the simple cravings of nature, would k n o w t h e i r
interest** better. ** T h e ox k n o w s his o w n e r , and the ass his m a s t e r ' s c r i b / ' A s Well
might y o u e x p e r t the d o g to tear the hand that feeds h i m , as for these men to gainsay t h e
behests of the E x e c u t i v e . ISy w h o m are t h e y appointed i B y the E x e c u t i v e . T o w h o m
are they r e s p o n s i b l e ? T h e E x e c u t i v e , B y w h o m are they removable? T h e E x e c u t i v e ,
T h e y are the mere breath of his nostrils. l i e can at a nod speak them into p o w e r , and at
n frown consign them to obscurity. T h e gentleman from Massachusetts, [ M r , W I I ^ I A M S / I
in his speech the other d a y , s p o k e of i h o e iiiretw* as the people's ngenis— ** appointed b y ,
and responsible to the p e o p l e . " H a s the gentleman never read the bill ? If lie lias n o t ,
I e^n assure h i m that it provides lor their a p p o i n t m e n t b y the E x e c u t i v e , T h e p e o p l e
have nothing to do with if. T h e y jire not to be appointed b y , responsible to, or removable
b y , the people. H o w then can y o u expect them to p a y a n y regard to the people's r i g h t s ,
or gainrd securely the p e o p l e ' s m o n e y ? A request from the President will be to them the
c o m m a n d i n g language of l a w . And w h e n e v e r lie shall attempt 1o loosen the strings of
the national, p u r s e , for the purpose of rifling its contents, it is not reasonable to s u p p o s e
that they will stretch ibrth their h a n d s in order to prevent h i m .
T h e P r e s i d e n t is commander-in-chief of the a r m y and navy of tlie United S t a t e s ; in o n e
h a n d he holds the s w o r d , And in the other you propose to place the purse. And when y o u
have org;uuzcd your proposed (standing a r m y of t w o hundred thousand m e n — a l l accustomed to look u p to the P r e s i d e n t as their great head and c o m m a n d e r , and have pi need
the public m o n e y in the hands of m e n , w h o are hi* mere m e n i a l s — w h a t s e c u r i t y - s h a l l
»ve b a s e Jeff for our liberties ? W h a t check upon the ambition^, designs of s o m e daring
u s u r p e r hereafter? N o n e , none, whatever. Yon will hold y o u r rights and v o u r privileges
At iho mere will of one m a n , w h o may be called President, but w h o will be a monarch in
i<\\*A, l'<>r i* 1S not the crown w h i c h he w e a n s or the sceptre which he wields, that con*
slitufr^ a k i n g ; it itf the royal prerogative he a s s u m e s , and the royal p o w e r which h e excrt'ise^*
T h e proud and haughty Koman* submitted to an Impcrator^
or K m p e r o r , with




Hi
Unlimited p o w e r , at a time w h e n the recollection of T a r q u i n r e n d e r e d to t h e m odious the
ijame of kino-. A u g u s t u s well k n e w that the d i a d e m w a s o n l y the b a d g e , and not the
s o u r c e of p o w e r . C r o m w e l l w a s not less a m o n a r c h , b e c a u s e h e bore the n a m e of P r o tector, or N a p o l e o n , because he w a s called C o n s u l . T h e Substance of liberty once p a r t e d
w i t h , its forms b e c o m e an " u n r e a l m o c k e r y . "
I have a l w a y s been a c c u s t o m e d to look J
Upon the c u s t o d y of the public m o n e y b y t h e representatives of the p e o p l e , as the m a i n
c h e c k u p o n p o w e r , and as one of the great conservative principles of free g o v e r n m e n t .
T h e downfall of the liberties of e v e r y people m a y be g e n e r a l l y traced to this u n h a l l o w e d
u n i o n of the executive and m o n e y p o w e r .
F o r , w i t h o u t gold, no u s u r p e r can c o m m a n d
the services of those w h o , with it, m a y be made the agents of his a m b i t i o n . T h e h i s t o r y
of all G o v e r n m e n t s , p r e t e n d i n g lo a n y degree of freedom, p r e s e n t s a continued struggle
on the p a r t of the representatives of the p e o p l e against the control of the public t r e a s u r e
b y the m o n a r c h .
W h e n force h a s failed, b r i b e r y and c u n n i n g have frequently s u c c e e d e d .
T h e gold of P h i l i p effected what, his p r o w e s s could n o t ; and all the e l o q u e n c e of D e m o s t h e n e s could not save the liberties of G r e e c e , w h e n the c o n q u e r o r c a m e with the s w o r d in
o n e h a n d and golden bribes in the other. I believe the great secret of K n g l i s h liberty i s ,
the controlling p o w e r exercised by P a r l i a m e n t over the public treasure of the nation. T h e
p o w e r of the m o n a r c h to declare war is a m e r e hruficm futmen9 w h i l e the C o m m o n s hold
t h e p u r s e . W h a t protection would have b e e n a Horded to the rights of J i n g l i s h m e n , a g a i n s t
t h e daring spirit of the H e n r y s and tlie E d w a r d s , had the m o n e y of the c o u n t r y been at
t h e i r c o m m a n d , or in the c u s t o d y of those w h o w e r e u n d e r their control ? W h a t o t h e r
protection h a s that p e o p l e n o w against the e x t r a v a g a n t follies of a youthful Q u e e n , e x c e p t
t h e w h o l e s o m e restraint that is exercised by P a r l i a m e n t in regard to the m o n e y of t h e
c o u n t r y ? If s h e had had control of the public t r e a s u r e , s h e would have been spared the
tears w h i c h s h e s h e d , a few m o n t h s s i n c e , because fifty t h o u s a n d p o u n d s p e r a n n u m w a s
not voted to h e r petted h u s b a n d .
Although W e l l i n g t o n 'might have been saved the n a m e
of rebel, w h i c h s h e applied to h i m , on that occasion, still he w o u l d p r o b a b l y have paid
t h e forfeit of his r a s h n e s s , by a l o d g m e n t in the t o w e r .
W h a t n o o t h e r people ever s u r r e n d e r e d , e x c e p t at the p o i n t of the s w o r d , y o u h e r e p r o p o s e to yield g r a t u i t o u s l y — w i t h o u t a struggle. If the p e o p l e sustain this m e a s u r e , then
t h e r e is but one e x a m p l e in h i s t o r y , that I k n o w of, that can s h o w a parallel to s u c h h u miliating self-sacrifice.
T h a t is, w h e r e the p e o p l e of D e n m a r k , in 1 6 6 0 , w i t h o u t force
o r m e n a c e , abolished the Constitution of the S t a t e s , w h i c h secured to t h e m their privileges
— o f their o w n free will, and granted absolute p o w e r to their l y i n g , F r e d e r i c k I I I .
M o n e y is p o w e r , and the c u s t o d y of it is p o w e r , place it w h e r e y o u p l e a s e , and surr o u n d it b y w h a t c h e c k s y o u m a y . It is c o n t r a r y to h u m a n n a t u r e to s u p p o s e that the
public m o n e y can r e m a i n secure in the " i t c h i n g p a l m s " of m e n w h o , so far from b e i n g
selected for their h o n e s t y and virtue, are, in these t i m e s , c h o s e n m a i n l y on a c c o u n t of their
s u b s e r v i e n c y to p o w e r . W h a t g u a r a n t y will t h e p e o p l e have for the safety of thcrr o w n
m o n e y , w h r n s o m e c u n n i n g t y r a n t m a y hereafter w i s h to use it for the destruction of their
l i b e r t i e s ? It is a matter of h i s t o r y , that the States of O r e e c c once intrusted A t h e n s with
t h e c u s t o d y of the general treasures, on account of her high c h a r a c t e r and great services
in the c o m m o n c a u s e . T h i s t r e a s u r e , for a time, w a s k e p t In good faith, and applied to
t h e p u r p o s e s in w h i c h all the States had a c o m m o n interest. B u t , as A t h e n s g r e w in a m bition, s h e declined in h o n o r and good faith.
T h i s v e r y treasure, w h i c h had been intrusted to iier k e e p i n g through a g e n e r o u s confidence, w a s at length a p p r o p r i a t e d to h e r o w n
private u s e . S h e s p e n t it in building navies for the subjugation of h e r allies, and in erecti n g fortresses against their a t t e m p t s at r e d r e s s . And it finally t u r n e d out, that w h a t t h e
o t h e r States had contributed for the p u r p o s e of their safety, w a s converted into t h e very
m e a n s of thcrir subjugation.
S o , I fear, it will prove with y o u r boasted S u b - T r e a s u r y ;
w e m a y , in the g e n e r o s i t y of o u r confidence, entrust the gold of the p e o p l e to t h e k e e p i n g
of the l i x e e u t i v e , and w h e n he has matured his plans, he m a y forge it into c h a i n s for enslaving us ; the links of w h i c h will be s t r o n g e r than those of iron. A n d w h e n w e appeal
to him in the n a m e of the Constitution and the l a w s , he will point us to the g l e a m i n g
b a y o n e t s of his t w o hundred thousand armed men, w h o will be paid with o u r o w n gold,
for fastening on our n e c k s the y o k e of b o n d a g e .
T h e increase of p a t r o n a g e , g r o w i n g out of this s y s t e m , will be a n o t h e r a u x i l i a r y to t h e
exercise of p o w e r .
T h e creation of CVCY\T additional oflieer will add a n o t h e r i n s t r u m e n t
to the s c h e m e s of a m b i t i o n .
As o u r c o u n t r y increases in w e a l t h , p r o s p e r i t y , and p o p u *
lation, this n u m e r o u s host, w h o s e ** n a m e is legion' 7 a l r e a d y , will receive daily a n d constant a c c e s s i o n s . {Suppose we s h o u l d be visited w i t h the calamities of war, as w e m a y




22
I in t i m e e x p e c t to b e , and a direct tax s h o u l d b e c o m e n e c e s s a r y , w h a t then will be o u r
condition?
H o r d e s of e x c i s e m e n will be q u a r t e r e d u p o n u s , m e r e hateful to o u r p e o p l e
t h a n w e r e t h e p u b l i c a n s t h a t collected the R o m a n tribute, to the 3neient J e w s . T h e y w « l g r a s p e v e r y dollar of gold nnt\ silver in circulation, r e g a r d l e s s of the w a n t s and distress of
t h e p e o p l e . T h e i r annual d e m a n d s will he hailed w i t h fear and t r e m b l i n g , as w a s t h e
r e t u r n of the C r e t a n vessel by the fair d a u g h t e r s of A t h e n s , w h e n it regularly c a m e e v e r y
n i n t h y e a r for the u s u a l tribute of seven v i r g i n s . H a v i n g placed the m e a n s of r e d r e s s b e y o n d o u r p o w e r , w e shall he compelled to s u b m i t w i t h p a t i e n t e n d u r a n c e , till s o m e m o d e r n
T h e s e u s shall a p p e a r to free u s from this de.eradins; b o n d a g e .
A s to t h e visiting a g e n t s , p r o v i d e d for in tins bill, for the p u r p o s e of e x a m i n i n g into *h«
affairs of the d e p o s i t a r i e s , w h o s e n u m b e r and c o m p e n s a t i o n are to d e p e n d upon the d i s cretion of the S e c r e t a r y of the T r e a s u r y , t h e y will only s w e l l the list of this a r m y of officeh o l d e r s . If t h e y are disposed to participate in p e c u l a t i o n , w h a t a glorious o p p o r t u n i t y
will be afforded t h e m . I n s t e a d of o p e r a t i n g as a c h e c k on a b u s e s , thev will o n l y s e r v e to
c o v e r t h o s e a b u s e s from t h e public e y e . W h y did not the s u p e r v i s o r y p o w e r of the N a v a l
A g e n t at N e w Y o r k e x p o s e t h e peculation of S w a r t w o u t ?
And w h a t i n d u c e m e n t w i l l
y o u r visiting agents have for rigid s c r u t i n y , w h e n they see that s a m e Naval Agent e n j o y i n g d i p l o m a t i c h o n o r s at a foreign court. T h e s e travelling agents, instead of b e i n g g u a r d i a n s of the public interest, will be so m a n y political m i s s i o n a r i e s , traversing the c o u n t r y
from end to e n d — m e r e partisan l e c t u r e r s , for the p u r p o s e s of s e d u c i n g the p e o p l e from
t h e i r allegiance to their institutions, and t e a c h i n g them their d u t y to a master.
I have thus far s p o k e n of this s y s t e m with reference to its political
bearing u p o n t h e
i n s t i t u t i o n s of the c o u n t r y . Its t e n d e n c y in that respect is so plain that it requires no g r e a t
effort to e x p o s e it. In s p e a k i n g of it as a Jinancial
m e a s u r e , I feel m u c h greater diffid e n c e . T h a t is a subject to w h i c h I m a k e no p r e t e n s i o n s . B u t t h e r e is n s y s t e m of d e ception practised, in regard to the ends p r o p o s e d to be reached b y this s y s t e m , that d e s e r v e s
to be e x p o s e d .
Now-, sir, I ask y o n , I ask the C h a i r m a n of the-Committce of W a y s a n d
M e a n s , I ask the w h o l e Administration party on this f l o o r — W h a t object do y o u p r o p o s e
t o effect, w h a t reform to i n t r o d u c e , with reference to the c u r r e n c y of the c o u n t r y ? I s it
y o u r aim to bring about an exclusive metallic c u r r e n c y ; and do y o u believe that this bill
will p r o d u c e such a r e s u l t ? O r , is it y o u r wish that the State b a n k s should be left free
and uninjured, to furnish a local c u r r e n c y ; and d o y o u believe that this s y s t e m will n o t
interfere with their o p e r a t i o n s and p r o s p e r i t y ? I t is time that the c o u n t r y w a s definitely
informed on this subject.
B y a s y s t e m of h u m b u g g i n g , unequalled in political w a r f a r e ,
t h e p a r t y in p o w e r h a v e t h u s far succeeded in k e e p i n g u p a delusion on this question*
Different doctrines are p r e a c h e d in different sections* and to suit different v i e w s . T w o o f
t h e priests that m i n i s t e r at t h e altar of p o w e r in the o t h e r end of this building, QMessrs
D E M O N and W A L K E R , ] h a v e taken the bold g r o u n d , in favor of an exclusive metallic c u r r e n c y , and the e x t e r m i n a t i o n of the w h o l e b a n k i n g s y s t e m , and s u p p o r t this m e a s u r e for
the a v o w e d reason that it will p r o d u c e t h e s e results. O t h e r s f M r . B U C H A N A N , & C ] insist
— a n d m y colleague TAIr. S i i t i ' A n i / ] took the s a m e g r o u n d — t h a t they are not for t h e d e s truction of all b a n k s , &\u\ that s u c h will not be the c o n s e q u e n c e of p a s s i n g this bill.
The
g e n f e m a n from M a s s a c h u s e t t s , [[Mr* W I L L I A M S , ] in the c o m m e n c e m e n t of his s p e e c h , r e pelled the idea that this m e a s u r e w a s antngonistieal to the b a n k i n g s y s t e m , and y e t h e c o n cluded his s p e e c h , by a bitter denunciation of ifc the b a n k s , " and a high e u l o g y on a s p e c i e
currency.
M r . V a n B u r e n , in his m e s s a g e of D e c e m b e r , 1 8 3 8 , uses the following l a n g u a g e :
"I have yet ever wished to see them [the banks] protected in the exercise of rights conferred by law,
and have never doubted their utility, when properly managed, in promoting the interests of trade, and,
through that channel, the other interests of the community. T o the General Government they present
themselves merely as State institutions, having no necessary connection with its legislation or i u administration. Like other State establishments, they may be used, or not, in conducting the affairs of the Government* as public policy and the eruncral in tercets of the Union may seem to require. T h e only safe or
proper principle upon which their intercourse with the Government can be regulated is that which regulates
their intercourse with the private citizen—the conferring of mutual benefits.
W h e n the Government can
arcompli.sh a financial operation better with the aid of the banks than without, it should be at liberty to
ftCrrk that aid, as it would tho, service* of a private banker, or other capitalists or agents, giving the prefer*
encc to those who will serve it on the hest terms."

A n d y e t the presses w i n c h s u p p o r t h i m , and his partisans w h e n c a n v a s s i n g for p o p u l a r
favor, d e n o u n c e the hnnks as the source of all o u r evil*, and clamor loudly for their d e s t r u c tion. O n e of the S e n a t o r s from my o w n S'nie* w h o wns not Ion<r since on a political crusade at h o m e , addressed two p u b l i c meetings of ins friends, one in W i l m i n g t o n , a n o t h e r




23
in Fayetteville.
At the W i l m i n g t o n meeting he used the following language : ** C a n d o r
compels m e to say that I am against the whole banking s y s t e m — i t is altogether a httmbutr
— a base deception—a
splendid cheat J**
At the m e e t i n g in Fayetteville, the proceedings of w h i c h state that the ** H o n . R- Strange
w a s requested to address the m e e t i n g , w h i c h he did in an able and forcible m a n n e r , " the
following was a m o n g the resolutions passed ;
"Resolved, That the charge made by the Whig party, that the Administration is in favor of the destruction of all banks, is untitle.'*
I read from the Raleigh Register of J u n e U, 1 8 1 0 . And this is the way that t h e - p a r t y
blow hot and blow cold* j u s t to suit their interest and convenience. j \ o w , sir, h o w is
this ? W h a t is the settled policy of the Administration / Are you in favor of b a n k s , or opposed to banks ? If opposed to them, are y o u opposed to them in whole, or in p a r t ? T h a t
t h e party in p o w e r created the far greater portion of the b a n k s , we k n o w ; that t h e y stimulated t h e m to their excessive issues, w e k n o w ; that they have for y e a r s been the b a n k
p a r t y , Ave k n o w ; but w e wi.di to k n o w w h a t is their settled policy now.
W h i c h of their
o r g a n s are we to believe '? H o w is the business portion of the c o m m u n i t y to a c c o m m o date their business arrangements to the state of things that is to follow ' I insist u p o n it,
that this disguise should he thrown off, and that the people of this country should be in*
formed u p o n a subject o( such great m o m e n t . In the name of m y constituents and m y
injured c o u n t r y m e n , I protest against tins miserable juggling and duplicity.
Hut to the bill.
W h a t will be the effect of collecting and disbursing the revenue in gold
and silver alone 7 I wish to look at its operation, provided it be carried out in good faith—
in the spirit in w h i c h it is promulgated before the c o u n t r y , viz : a bona fide collecting and
p a y i n g out in s p e c i e : for the provision for T r e a s u r y drafts in this bill is not a part of the
s y s t e m , ^s it is preached before the people. It is not reasonable to s u p p o s e that the expenses of the G o v e r n m e n t will be reduced below 8 3 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 per a n n u m , as long as this
extravagant Administration remains in p o w e r . T h e effect, then, will h e , to abstract at
least t w e n t y millions of specie from the capiud of the c o u n t r y , and render it as useless
for all business or banking purposes as though it were buried in the ocean- I have t h u s
made allowance for the ten millions that -would be required as a basis for the thirty millions
e m p l o y e d in the revenue, provided it were collected and paid out in convertible paper.
W h a t will be the effect of this ? It is admitted that there are eighty millions of specie in
the country* And if the price of property is mainly regulated b y the quantity of that
w h i c h is the standard of its value—the result must be that every species of property m u s t
fall in the proportion of t w e n t y to e i g h t y — o r twenty-live per cent. And every debtor in
the c o u n t r y be in like proportion rendered less able to pay his debts.
But m y colleague [ M r . J S U U P A R D ] insists, that the specie will be in a constant state of
influx and efflux to and from the T r e a s u r y ; that in the mean time it will serve as a circulating medium for the c o u n t r y , and that not more than live millions will be necessary to
be kept permanent!}- in the T r e a s u r y . T h a t a r g u m e n t might be entitled to s o m e weight
if the disbursements in every part of the c o u n t r y were the s a m e as the collections* It
m u s t , h o w e v e r , be borne in m i n d , that two-thirds of the revenue is collected in N e w Y o r k
alone. T h e specie, t h e n , must be continually on the road from that city, and tho other
great points of collection, to the various and distant points of d i s b u r s e m e n t , in e v e r y part
p f t h o c o u n t r y . And as the balance of trade is in favor of N e w Y o r k , against every other
section of the Union, especially the S o u t h and W e s t , as soon as the specie is paid out b y
the disbursing agents, it will, in the natural course of trade, immediately take its w a y back
to the same place ; thus the specie will be in a constant state of transition, from one end
of the country to the other, frequently meeting on the road, instead of being e m p l o y e d as
a basis for p e r m a n e n t business transactions. I was forcibly struck with the extracts read
the other day by m y friend from K e n t u c k y , TAlr. W I I I T B , ] from the r e m a r k s of Baron
O a u t i e r , E x - G o v e r n o r of the B a n k of F r a n c e , on the effects of the p r e s e n t fiscal s y s t e m ,
of using specie in the collection and disbursement of the r e v e n u e s ln^that country* from
w h i c h the following is an extract ;
"The branches of rhc bank of France anj supplied with 6pe-ci3 by the surplus of the Receivers General*
and by private depoyiu*3 of individuals, to be reimaurbcd ut sight at Paris; aud when these resources fall*
by remittances of coin from the mother bunk at Furis, The Receivers General,, who are near the br**«che»»
find it a convenience and safety to place their specie due tad treasury with them, the amount being pai<l
the treasury at Paris by tbe banker. Tho bank3 thus lessen tho expenses of generaj busineaai «u*cJ the
amount of those transportations of aposie, which, crossuzg each oilier in eozry direction*<mttoJ&&& moating
«*cA other on the tvery, occasion to trade, to tho coliootioa of tha public ravoauo, a&d to ttra c^uatry lutttt*




21
v«ry considerable cost of coinage and interest—transportations tvhich excite astonishment in men of btisiriessy from countries where a more advanced credit* system provides more economical methods of circulation."

T h e operation of the s y s t e m m u s t be the s a m e in this c o u n t r y , and as m u c h m o r e i n c o n v e n i e n t , as o u r c o u n t r y is m o r e e x t e n s i v e . I n t h e absence of a uniform p a p e r c u r r e n c y ,
s p e c i e will be the o n l y m e d i u m of r e m i t t a n c e b y the debtor sections to N e w Y o r k , a n d
t h a t city b e i n g the great point w h e r e specie will he needed to p a y d u t i e s , it will be i m p o s sible to prevent it from s e e k i n g this point of collection, as soon as it is paid o u t .
A g a i n , the collection of t h e r e v e n u e in specie alone m u s t ultimatelv d e s t r o y e v e r y b a n k
in the c o u n t r y , w h e t h e r the framers of this bill design it or not. T h e y m a y s t r u g g l e for
a w h i l e , but t h e y m u s t eventually fall. And w h y ? B e c a u s e it imist k e e p gold and silver
at a p r e m i u m . T h e s e m e t a l s are not valuable on account of a n y intrinsic w o r t h t h e y p o s s e s s , but because of their ability to p u r c h a s e other articles of necessity or l u x u r y .
Their
value is in proportion to the p u r p o s e s t h e y will a c c o m p l i s h . T h e n , if gold and silver w i l l
a n s w e r e v e r y other p u r p o s e of convertible p a p e r , and p a v d u e s to the G o v e r n m e n t b e s i d e s , it will be worth m o r e than such p a p e r , because it w'ill a n s w e r m o r e p u r p o s e s , a n d
m u s t , therefore, c o m m a n d a p r e m i u m . It ceases to be a c u r r e n c y , and b e c o m e s an article
of m e r c h a n d i s e . I t is utterly impossible for a b a n k to k e e p its notes in circulation w h e n
t h e y are w o r t h l e s s — i n o t h e r w o r d s , w h e n t h e y will a n s w e r less p u r p o s e s than the*specie
in its vaults. A constant drain will t h u s be k e p t u p on the State b a n k s , in o r d e r to m e e t
t h e d e m a n d s for s p e c i e , to p a y G o v e r n m e n t d u e s , w h i c h specie w h e n paid out, will e i t h e r
c o m m e n c e its round of travel, or, as I shall a t t e m p t to s h o w , will all c o n c e n t r a t e in t h e
h a n d s of the collecting officers.
*
M o r e o v e r , t h e G o v e r n m e n t , b y refusing to take t h e notes of the b a n k s , actually t h r o w s
discredit on t h e m . T h e timid and the ignorant will b e c o m e alarmed, and d r a w o u t t h e
s p e c i e for their notes ; and the miserly and a varicious will d e m a n d it, for h o a r d i n g or for
t h e profit of sale. N o w m y colleague [ M r . S H E P A R D ] s a y s the refusal of the G o v e r n m e n t to receive the notes of the State b a n k s , will not discredit t h e m , or lessen their v a l u e a n d cites an instance of the legislation of o u r o w n State [ N o r t h C a r o l i n a ] to p r o v e it^
H e tells us that the refusal of the State to receive taxes in the notes of the h a n k s of otherS t a t e s , docs not p r e v e n t the circulation of these b a n k notes from the adjoining S t a t e s n»
a c u r r e n c y , at p a r . N o w , I h a p p e n to k n o w a little m o r e about this m a t t e r than m y coll e a g u e , h a v i n g b e e n in o u r S t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e since he w a s . T h e true state of the c a s e *"
t h i s . T h e r e are m a n y sections of our State w h i c h trade almost e x c l u s i v e l y w i t h VLr»- * S
and S o u t h C a r o l i n a . I n t h e s e s e c t i o n s , the n o t e s of the b a n k s of those States c o n s t f ^ * ^
a l m o s t t h e only c u r r e n c y . T h e p e o p l e are compelled to use it, b e c a u s e in the c o u r s e f
t r a d e t h e y can get no o t h e r . Hut h o w is it, w h e n t h e y w i s h to get m o n e y to p a y tl t a x e s , for the e n t r y of vacant l a n d s , for the p u r c h a s e of lands acquired b y the State
flr
t h e last C h e r o k e e treaty, <fcc. T h e y have to b u y it. T h e notes of the b a n k s o / o i r
S t a t e s circulate as a local c u r r e n c y in those sections w h e r e the course of trade c
*"
them-., hut still t h e y are at a discount in those s a m e sections, compared with N o r t h £ f n e s
lina State h«Hk notes. A n d w h y ? Because w i t h i n the limits of the State the}- will " o t
a n s w e r as m a n y p u r p o s e s . T h i s lias for y e a r s been a m a t t e r of complaint with the w e s t e r n part of the S t a t e ; and at the last session of our legislature an a t t e m p t w a s m a d e t o
alter the l a w , so as to allow the p u r c h a s e r s of the C h e r o k e e lands to m a k e p a v m e n t s in
the notes of the adjoining State B a n k s . T h e western m e m b e r s complained that forcing
t h e m to m a k e p a y m e n t in o u r State b a n k notes was equivalent to an imposition of a b o u t
t w o per cent, on the original p u r c h a s e . S o m v colleague could not have cited a s t r o n g e r
case to prove m y p o s i t i o n — t h a t the exaction of the G o v e r n m e n t d u e s in specie alone
m u s t depreciate the notes of the S t a t e b a n k s all over the U n i o n .
S o m u c h for the operation of this s y s t e m , as it is held u p before the c o u n t r y , to b e a
g e n u i n e specie S u b - t r e a s u r y .
But s u c h is not the real nature of the m e a s u r e , as e m b o d i e d in the bill before u s . I t is
a c h e a t u p o n the c o m m u n i t y . It profonses to discard the use of all p a p e r , and v e t it m a k e s
provision for a p a p e r issue. T h e tenth section, w h i c h provides for t h i s , is as f o l l o w s :
"And &e it further enacted That it shall he lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer tho
moneys in t i e hands of a..y depositary hereby constituted, to the Treasury of the United States; to die
Mint at 1 hiladelplna; to the Branch Mint at New Orleans; or to the oflicesTof cither of the receivers-general of public moneys, by tins act directed to be appointed; to be there safelv kept, according to the pro*
virion* of this act; and also to transfer moneys in the hands of anv one depositary constituted by this act to
any other depositary constituted by the same at his discretion, and as the safetv of public moneys, and the
convenience of the public service shall scan to him to require. And for the purpose of payment* ontke>




25
public account, it shall he lawful for tho Treasurer of tho IT* States to draw upon any of the said depositaries!,
as he may think most conducive to the public interest, or to the convenience of the public creditor, or both."

H e r e the S e c r e t a r y is authorized ** at his discretion^*
to transfer m o n e y s from o n e d e p o s i t a r y to a n o t h e r , as *' the c o n v e n i e n c e of the public service shall seem to him to r e q u i r e . " I n the practical operation of this s y s t e m , h o w will the transfer be m a d e ? S u p p o s e the S e c r e t a r y w i s h e s to transfer five millions of dollars from N e w Y o r k to S t . L o u i s ,
d o e s a n y o n e s u p p o s e that he will have the s p e c i e p u t in b o x e s and b a g s , and h a v e it actually transported for more than a t h o u s a n d m i l e s , over m o u n t a i n s and r i v e r s — h e r e in a:
s t e a m b o a t , and t h e r e in a w a g o n , until it shall have reached t h e latter place, and t h e rec e i v e r there shall have secured it by the bolts and bars of his safes and vaults 1 T h e i n c o n v e n i e n c e , d e l a y , risk, <fec, of such an operation would render it entirely impracticable.
A n d , sir, the cost of transferring specie in this w a y w o u l d be no trilling matter. W e m a y
form s o m e estimate of w h a t would be the cost of s u c h a s y s t e m , b y e x a m i n i n g D o c . No..
1 1 6 , H o . R e p s , p r e s e n t session, relating to the *4 e x p e n s e s of the territory of W i s c o n s i n , " '
w h e r e w e see an account c h a r g e d b y J . D . S e l h o r s t , against the G o v e r n m e n t , of $ 1 , 2 0 9 ' 7 5 5 , ** for t r a n s p o r t i n g specie.** T h e r e is one item of $ 2 0 0 '* for t r a n s p o r t i n g $ 7 , 0 0 0 in
s p e c i e . " T h i s m u s t prove that the actual transfer of the public funds, in s p e c i e , w o u l d
b e out of t h e question. H o w , t h e n , would the transfer be m a d e ? W h y , it would take
i h e s a m e course of a n y other mercantile transaction. T h e S e c r e t a r y w o u l d a u t h o r i z e theR e c e i v e r at Str Louis to d r a w on the R e c e i v e r at N e w Y o r k for the a m o u n t . W h a t would
p r e v e n t t h e R e c e i v e r at St. L o u i s from t h r o w i n g these drafts into m a r k e t , and t h u s converti n g t h e m into a m e d i u m of circulation ? B e i n g on N e w Y o r k , " t h e y would a l w a y s c o m m a n d a p r e m i u m , even over specie ; at all e v e n t s , to the a m o u n t of the extra cost of t r a n s ferring specie over p a p e r . W i l l it be* denied that the R e c e i v e r at S t . L o u i s would be aut h o r i z e d to sell these drafts ? T h e twenty-first section, \yhieh c o n v e y s the p o w e r , enactsr
" A n d every such disbursing officer, when the means for his disbursements are furnished to him in currency legally receivable under the provisions of this act, shall make his payments in the currency so furnished, or when those means are furnished to him in drafts, shall cause those drafts to be presented at their
place of payment, and properly paid according to law, and shull make his payments in currency so received for the drafts furnished, un/ess in cither case, he can exchange the means in his ha'nds far gold and'
silver at par y and so as to facilitate his payments, or otherwise accommodate the public service and promote*
the circulation of a metallic currency.*'

H e r e the p o w e r is e x p r e s s l y given to the disbursing 1 officer, to e x c h a n g e the means im"-*
h i s b a n d s for gold and silver ; w h i c h h e may d o at p a r to a political partisan, or at a highi
p r e m i u m t o a political o p p o n e n t — o r , w h a t is m o r e probable, pocket the profits himself..
A n d t h u s the public offices of the nation will be converted into so m a n y b r o k e r s ' s h o p s , ,
and y o u r boasted s p e c i e S u b t r e a s u r y into a manufactory o f p a p e r m o n e y .
B u t this bill actually provides for the issue of p a p e r in the first i n s t a n c e . T h e last
clause of the tenth section a u t h o r i z e s t h e T r e a s u r e r of t h e United States *•* to draw uporr
a n y of the depositaries, as he may think m o s t conducive to t h e public interest, o r to t h e
c o n v e n i e n c e of the public creditors, or b o t h . "
H e r e is a direct a u t h o r i t y to issue paper*
m o n e y , after all w e have heard about hard m o n e y . T h e convenience of the public c r e d i tor is to be consulted. I n nine cases in ten he will prefer T r e a s u r y drafts to specie ; n o t
o n l y b e c a u s e t h e y would be worth more than s p e c i e , but because the h a z a r d and incou*v e n i e n c e attending t h e m would b e m u c h less. T h e drafts h e can carry about h i s p e r s o n y
t h e specie would have to be c o n v e y e d in bags and b o x e s . T h e public c r e d i t o r - m a y d e m a n d the s u m d u e to h i m , in any number of drafts, and the drafts of a n y d e n o m i n a t i o n ; as^
to a m o u n t . H e will t h r o w t h e m into circulation, and in t h e a l i e n e e of a n y other p a p e r
of uniform value, t h e y will continue to circulate, till t h e y are w o r n out b y h a n d l i n g . Like*
the notes of the United States B a n k , t h e y will b e s o u g h t for b y the m e r c h a n t s of t h e Southi
and W e s t , in m a k i n g their remittances to the N o r t h , and again for all the p u r p o s e s ofl"travel
and emigration.
W h o would think of d r a w i n g out t h e spc-tne- for these drafts, w h e n t h e
faith of the G o v e r n m e n t is pledged for their r e d e m p t i o n ?
S o great will be t h e d e m a n d
for this kind of paper, on account of its safety and c o n v e n i e n c e , that as long as ther» is
a n y specie, either in circulation or in the vaults of the b a n k s r the public debtor will p a y
his dues in m e t a l , r a t h e r than in T r e a s u r y n o t e s - T h e effect of this will b e , that in a few
y e a r s all the gold and silver in the c o u n t r y will have accumulated in the h a n d s of t h e S u b *
t r e a s u r e r s , and it r e p r e s e n t e d , dollar for dollar, by these drafts in circulation. T h e s p e cie will be-all the time g o i n g into t h e T r e a s u r y , and n o n e corning^ out.
L i k e the footprints of the beasts to the sick lion's den, it will aM tend in one direction. Y e s , sir, it will
p r o v e to be a lion i n d e e d — a N c m r c a n lion, ravaging, d e s t r o y i n g , and l a y i n g waste o u r




50
country, and, when fully matured, it will require the strength of a Hercules to strangle
the monster.
I k n o w it will be said that the twenty-third section of the bill is intended to guard
against this accumulation of specie in the hands of the depositaries. H o w does that section read? It is as follows :
"And he it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue and publish regulations to enforce the speedy presentation of all Government drafts for payment at the place where
payable, and to prescribe the time, according to the different distances of the depositaries from the seat of
Government, within which all drafts upon them, respectively, shnll be presented for payment; and in default of such presentation, to direct any other mode ami place of payment which he may dtern projier"

Which he may deetn proper ! T h e n it depends upon what the Secretary of the T r e a s ury may deem proper* whether these drafts are to enter into circulation or not.. And is'
the great question of the currency to be submitted to the discretion of the .Secretary of the
T r e a s u r y ? W h a t a despotic power do you propose to confer on him. If one of the political partisans of the Secretary held one of these drafts, and failed to present it at the
time and place of payment prescribed, the Secretary might deem it proper that it should
be allowed to run, and that his friend should sustain no loss or inconvenience ; but if the
holder happened to be his political opponent, he might deem it proper to change the place
of payment from N e w Y o r k to Chicago—from Boston to St, Augustine. But suppose
these drafts are not presented at the time and place of payment specified on their faces——
as in fact they will not b e — w h a t then ? T h e Government is still bound for them, and
it cannot absolve itself from the obligation to pay them. T h e holders of these drafts will
feel perfectly secure, because they will k n o w that the Government is bound to redeem
them in specie ; and they will not fall below par, no matter how distant the point of circulation from tliat of payment. In the same way that the checks of the branches of the
United States Bank were preferable to the local currency, or even to specie, a thousand
miles from the place of payment, as specified on their faces.
While this gradual collection of all the specie of the country, in the hands of the Subtreasurers, is taking place, what will be the condition of the currency of the country ? T h e
banks cannot-possibly stand up against this shock. T h e constant demand for their specie*
which will be all the time going out, and none coming in, will prostrate every bank in
the land ; and, in the course of a few years, the circulation will be reduced from twoluut*
dred millions, the amount of paper and specie now in circulation, to eighty millions, the
amount of specie in the vaults of banks, and in circulation united. W h a t would become of the debtor class during this violent revulsion ? M e n , worth thousands*
would be unable to pay hundreds. E v e r y species of property would depreciate in like
proportion. Credit would be destroyed, capital would be hoarded, and labor would starve.
Y e s , sir, then we should enjoy the Utopian advantages of hard-money France and G e r m a n y , where laborers receive only eight pence per day, without board.
If the party in power are really desirous of introducing *M\ exclusive nrr tallic currency,
if they believe it possible, if they believe it would be better for posterity—still, can t h e y
possibly believe that the present, or any succeeding generation, will submit to the torturing ordeal of this sudden change? If banks be an evil, they are one of those evils which
necessarily belong to all systems of human invention. T h e small evils growing out of
them, is the price which we must pay for the greater good resulting from them. If the
banks have acted improperly, if they have issued to excess, let us apply the pruning-knife
to the too luxuriant branches, and not lay the axe to the root of the tree- I am not here
as the advocate of banks ; least of all will I attempt to defend that wild and extravagant
system of hanking which the present Administration party forced upon the country ; for
they are, in fact, the real bank party ; but like the thief, who tried to avoid detection b y
joining the crowd and crying out thief! thief, louder than bis pursuers, they now attempt
to conceal their former bank propensities, by abusing their own banks louder than their
opponents can possibly do.
N o w this bill will destroy the State bank*, or it will not destroy them. If it will destroy litem, and if that is the object of its friends, I ask thorn, what right have they to
make war upon the State institutions ? Have not the States the constitutional power to
charter local banks ? C a n the General Government prohibit them from doing so ? And
if it cannot prevent them in the first iastance, what right lias it to destroy the State banks
afterwards, ehber directly or indirectly ? I should be glad to hear some State Rights man
explain this- If it is the object of this bill to destroy the State institutions, then they
claim for this General Government more power than ever was contended for by the most.
high-toned Uederall^t-s of former times. And il" this doctriuy be carried out, there is oo^



5"
subject cf State legislation which cannot be rendered entirely useless and inoperative by
. the action of Congress. T h e State Governments will become mere corporations, exercising their powers at the will and pleasure of the Federal Government, that may claim
the privilege of revising all their acts. Will any one, claiming to be a friend of State
R i g h t s , advocate such a doctrine as this? M y colleague, [ M r . S H E P A R D , ] in alluding to
this objection, ridiculed it. Well, now, sir, that is a very convenient way of meeting an
issue. Ridicule costs nothing:, whilst argument costs the libor of study and research.
M y colleague seems restive when the subject of State Rights is mentioned. I don't wonder at it. H e once belonged to that scliool. H e has since assisted in the sacrifice of
State Rights ; and the mention of the term now, seems to disturb his composure : from
- the same cause, no doubt, that, in the language of the Spanish proverb, " H e who has
injured you, can never forgive y o u . " T h e truth of this adage must be apparent to every
one w h o has had much experience with the ways of men. W h e n one man has injured
another, without cause, the sight of the injured person—the bare mention of his name*
. seems to throw the injurer into an agony. 1 suppose it is a wise provision of nature, that
"even in this life, no one sh\ll escape the pangs of conscious guilt. It is no doubt, for the
* same reason, that the mention of State Rights " frightens from his p r o p r i e t y " my col4eague, It brings to his memory some of the dark deeds of political depravity* in which
he has lately figured. And I c m assure him he has cause to be alarmed. H e has assisted
in murdering State Rights. Its ghost is yet unappeased. It will, until November next,
stalk with gloomy visage through the land, shaking its 4I gory l o c k s " at him and his .compeers, as that of the murdered Banquo did at Macbeth, and the " h o r r i b l e s h a d o w " will
never 4 t h e n c e ! " at their bidding.
O n the other hand, if the effect of this bill will not be to destroy the State banks, and
if that is not its object, w h y , I ask, do vou use such an argument before the people ? W h y
r i s it that you appeal to the feelings of the multitude, excite their prejudices, and arouse
their passions, by a general denunciation of the whole banking system ? W h y are you
so loud in your praises of an exclusive metallic currency, if it is not your object to intro[ duce it ? W h y do vou thus keep the country in doubt and uncertainty as to your opinions ? W h y palter'with us in a double sense? It is unbecoming patriots; it is unbeI coming statesmen ; it is unworthy a party even pretending; to any thing like principle, to
'practise such a Janus-faced system as this. In the zeal of their denunciation against the
whole banking system, gentlemen have indulged in high eulogies upon the financial sys' terns of the despotic Governments of E u r o p e . And really, sir, I have been diverted at
the self-complacent and learned manner with which some of the youngest men in thia
H o u s e have discoursed of the ways and doings of other countries. Y e s , sir, members
have risen here, and talked as though they understood perfectly the whole frame-work of
E u r o p e a n government. And that, too, in the presence of men, who have devoted their
I w h o l e livec to these subjects, and yet advance their opinions with diffidence.
They
talk most knowingly of all the causes that are operating upon society in the old world—•
their currency* and all their other matters of domestic policy.
T h e gentleman from
Massachusetts, (Mr- W I L L I A M S , ) instituted a comparison of the relative blessings of
the different governments of Kastern E u r o p e . And what was the result of his com, parison ? H e was particularly eulogistic when speaking of the glorious effects of a
; specie currency in Holland. E v e n admitting his description to be true, still he has given us hut one side of the picture- H e quoted a couplet from Goldsmith's " Traveller/*
?to illustrate one of his positions. I will give him the language of the same author, in the
same poem, when describing this (to him) Fairy land ; and the condition of this country
is worse now, than when the poet so graphically described it. Speaking of this hard
m o n e y country, he save :
" T h e i r much-loved w r a h h imparts,
Convenience, plenty, elegance, and u r t s ;
B u t view them closer, cr ift and fraud appear,
E ' e n liberty itself is bartered here.
A t gold's superior charms, all freedom fliefl,
T h e needy BCII it, and the rich m a n b u y s —
A land of tyrants, and a den of slavey,
H e r o wretches seek dishonorable g r a v e s ;
A n d calmly bent, to servitude conform,
Dull as their lakca, t h a t tdumbcr in the storm*'*

£' Y e s , sir, the hon. gentleman places the hard money countries of France, Holland, and
JQermany, in the front—holds them up to the admiration of the country. H e places E n g 


28
land in the rear, and points us to h e r i m m e n s e debt, and her starving p a u p e r s . Y e s , Eng*
land, with all h e r glory, her achievements in the arts, science, and arni3 ; her commerceicovering the ocean ; her manufactures furnishing the w o r l d ; h e r institutions and h e r laws
p r o m u l g a t i n g the principles of freedom wherever they are studied or read ; her religion
planting the banner of the cross in every clime, from B e h r i n g ' s Straits to N e w South
W a l e s — t h i s country is held up to reprobation because she is not altogether free from the
c o m m o n evils incident to h u m a n institutions; whi^e Holland, and G e r m a n y , and T u r k e y ,
and C u b a , are held up as patterns of imitation. H e might as well point us to the Indian
tribes that skirt our western frontier, for a c u r r e n c y . T h e y are hard m o n e y people, and
reject bank paper altogether. T h e y believe, as Senator Strange does sometimes* that " i t
is a base deception—a splendid c h e a t . " T h e gentleman from Massachusetts told u s , that
the large pauper list of England was attributable to the Bank of England ; but h o w , or
wherefore, he did not deign to inform us. l i e might just as well havcTsaid, that the B a n k
w a s o w i n g to the pauper list—and the argument would have been b e t t e r ; for E n g l a n d
had paupers before she had a b a n k . But will the gentleman tell me what is the cause of
the wretched poverty of N a p l e s , w h e r e every tenth person is said to be a beggar by profession, and where there are forty thousand" h u m a n beings w h o have no other shelter at
night but the open s k y ? T h a t j# a hard m o n e y c o u n t r y , w h e r e there is ten times t h e
poverty of E n g l a n d , without one-twentieth of the commerce or comfort.
T h e gentleman from Massachusetts spoke of the banks as being for the " benefit of a
privileged few.'* S u c h language as this does not deserve a serious r e p l y . I t should be
allowed to " pass b y , as the idle w i n d . " N o matter how much gentlemen may d e n o u n c e
all banks n o w , after they have filled the country with t h e m , y e t there are some facts connected with the subject, which they cannot e x p u n g e from the history of the world, altho*
t h e y m a y pervert them to suit party purposes for the time. T h e history of b a n k s h a s
been identified with that of liberty in modern times. B a n k s first s p r u n g up in the R e p u b lics of Italy, about the time w h e n the light of freedom first began to d a w n upon the gloom
of the dark a g e ^ T h e y were first the offspring, and then the h a n d m a i d s of c o m m e r c e .
T h e y next made their appearance in Holland, at that time the most commercial and p r o s perous country in E u r o p e ; and the proudest period in the history of the N e t h e r l a n d s w a s
during the successful operation of the b a n k s of Amsterdam and H a m b u r g h . T h e first B a n k
of E n g l a n d was chartered only six years after the great Revolution of 1G88, and the s y s t e m
in that country has continued to increase with the progress of E n g l a n d ' s glory and p r o s p e r i t y . I n our own country, the system has gone as far beyond thai of the old world, as w e
h a v e outstripped them in the energy of our character and the freedom of our institutions.
A n d it will not be denied, it cannot, that our prosperity and i m p r o v e m e n t arc m a i n l y attributable to the extensive system of credit g r o w i n g out of the banking s y s t e m .
But, like: every other blessing with which Providence has gifted m a n , this s y s t e m h a s
been abused, wofully a b u s e d ; and that, too, by the party in p o w e r , which pretends to be
n o w so much opposed to it. Jf'c propose to reform the system, not to destroy it.
Because, in the hands of wicked men, it has been converted into an engine of mischief, is no
re:wua w h y we should deprive ourselves of the benefits g r o w i n g out of it, w h e n p r o p e r l y
regulated and controlled.
I have attempted to s h o w that the General G o v e r n m e n t has no p o w e r to d e s t r o y the
State banks ; and therefore they must continue to exist in the country as long as the p r e sent form of G o v e r n m e n t exists.
I have further attempted to s h o w , that as long as the people use bank paper, the G o v e r n m e n t has no right to make a discrimination, and provide a better eurrwncy for itself.
T h e s e two propositions being established, the next question which arises is, h o w is
this bank paper to be rendered of uniform value, in the collection of the revenue? F o r it
m u s t be borne in mind that the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution requires that " a l l duties, imposts, and excises, shall be uniform throughout the United
S t a t e s . " And in the absence of an institution to regulate the issues of the State b a n k s ,
so a* to bring them as near to an equality of value ns the nature of the case will admit,
or of s o m e agent whose uniformity of power and of action, in every State, m a y render
the c u r r e n c y of the local banks available as a medium for the collection of the revenue,
it will be impossible to m a k e the ** duties, imposts and e x c i s e s , " if collected in the paper
of the State b a n k s , " u n i f o r m throughout the United S t a t e s . " Or if a United States Bank
should fail thus to regulate the State b a n k s , as insisted by s o m e , still it will of itself furnish a p a p e r of uniform value for the collection of taxes, whilst it will aiford a sound currency for tin) people. M r . C a l h o u n , the great champion of the Sub-treasury, t a k e s the
g r o u n d , that if the G o v e r n m e n t receives bank paper at all, in the collection of its dues,,



29

*

ii is bound to establish a United States B a n k , for the purpose of making that paper uniform.
In the speech which he made at the E x t r a Session, in 1837, on this stmie subject, h e used the following language:

r

. **If w e must continue our connection with the hanks, if we must receive and pay away their notes as
money, wc not only have the right to regulate and give uniformity and stability to them, but w c are bound
to do so, and to use the most efficient means for that purpose. T h e Constitution makes it our duty to lay
and collect taxes and duties uniformly throughout the Union ; to fulfill which, we are bound to give the highest possible equalhy of value, throughout every part of the country, to whatever medium it may be collected
in, and if that be bank notes, to adopt the most effective means of accomplishing it, which experience has
shown to be a bank of the United
States"

I agree with M r . Calhoun in this view. T h a t the States will continue to charter b a n k s ,
a s long as our Government retains its present form, is certain. T h a t the people of this
country never will consent for the Government to use specie exclusively, whilst they are
compelled to use paper, is also certain. H e r e the Constitution interposes, and requires
that the paper received in Government dues ** shall be uniform throughout the United
States ; " and, as M r . Calhoun says, *' experience has shown a Bank of the United States'*
to be u the most effective means of accomplishing i t . "
I did intend, when I commenced, to have discussed, at length, both the constitutionality
and expediency of a National B a n k ; but having detained the committee so long, I can only glance at the subject.
A s to the utility of such an institution, it is written in indelible characters, on every page of forty years*
history of our Government. And, in fact, so palpable arc its benefits to the country, that most of thoso
w h o denounce it so bitterly are compelled to admit its convenience, as they are pleased to term it.
A s to its constitutionality—and my colleague [Mr. SIIEPABII] objects to it in this respect—the provision before citeu\ requiring that all taxes shall be uniform throughout the United States, conveys sufTU
cient power to establish a bank, when, as I have attempted to show, it is contrary to the genius
of our system to demand specie in public dues, whilst the people use a convertible paper currency.
And
this the more especially, when (in the language of Mr. Calhoun) " experience has shown a Bank of the
United States to be the most effective means of accomplishing it"—viz : uniformity in the collection of
taxes. T h e same clause of the Constitution before cited (sec. 8, art. 1) gives to Congress the " power
t o lay and collect taxes,'* & c . f "to pay the debts," &v., of the United States, N o w , the power to "collect
taxes 1 ' would avail nothing, without the power to provide the means to keep those taxes safely, after they
;are collected. T h e power to *< pav the debts" of the United States would avail nothing, without the
power to provide the means of transferring the public funds to the places of payment, cither at home or
abroad. Experience has also proven a National Bank to be the most fit agent tor both the above purposes.
T h i s same eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, after enumerating the powers conferred
pn Congress, concludes with a clause authorizing Congress " t o make all laws which shall be necessary
And proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers," & c
N o w , this clause is as much a part
o f the Constitution as any other clause in it. It must mean something ; it must convey power of some
port; and it is a reflection on the wisdom of our fathers to say, that they put it there without intending it
for some definite purpose. T h e gentleman from Georgia [Mr. C O L I U ' I T ] scouts the idea that any positive power is conferred by this clause of the Constitution, and insists that if any power is to be exercised
junder it, then there is no subject which it may not. bring within the constitutional power of Congress, as
0. <* necessary and proper means"—that it would render the General Government absolute and unlimited.
JVot at all, sir. T h e power conferred by it relates to, and is limited by, " the foregoing powers/' enumerated in the said eighth section, and no others. Sir, I profess to be a strict constructionist—a State Rights
man.
B u t I find this clause in the Constitution. It means nothing, or it means something. If we pay
St means nothing, w e set up ourselves to be wiser than our fathers, and may, with equal propriety, say the
came of any other part of the Constitution. If, then, it means something, in ascertaining what it is, I
*tpP*y t o ** die rule of strict construction, and confine its application to the powers previously enumerated,
exclusively. I will not discard this portion of the Constitution altogether, as the gentleman from Georgia
does—neither will I apply to it that latitudinarian construction which he says it must receive, if it is to
' be regarded at all.
B u t , »ays the gentleman from Georgia, the power of Congress, to establish corporations, was proposed
in the Convention that framed the Constitution, and refused. This may be so. and still it docs not at all
alter the case. T h e Convention may have refused to grant to Congress the authority to establish corporations
^as a substantive
power, and yet have granted it as an incidental "means necessary and proper for carrying
luto execution" powers cxprrswly given. It may, perhaps, be said, that I thus claim the same power, by
implication, that was refused in the first instance. B y no means. T h e power to grant incorporations i**
n o w limited to those cases where it is necessary and proper to carry into effect granted powers; whereas
the general power, to establish corporations, might not only have been abusively exercised, but would its e l f h a v e admitted of further " means necessary and proper for carrying" if into execution ; so there is a
vast difference between a power to grant charters of incorporation, generally* and a power to do it mci,
dentally, as a " means necessary and proper for carrying into execution" powers specifically conferred.
I have attempted to show that a Bank of the United States is not only " nrcn&xary and proper" for carrying into execution the power to keep safely the " taxes," vfior they aro " laid and collected," and the
power, to " pay the debt" of the United Shites, so far as regards the transfer of the public funds to the place* of payment, without loss and inconvenienee—but that so far as past experience has gone ; it is indispentable for tiie^o purpo**cs.




30
H o w h a s t h i s q u e s t i o n — a B a n k of t h e Unit**} S t a t e s , b e e n m e t in t h i s d e b a t e 1 I n s t e a d of b e i n g
h a t t e d wi^jj. a r g u m e n t , it h a s b e e n m e t w i t h t e r m s of g e n e r a l a n d s w e e p i n g d e n u n c i a t i o n — m u c h morttl
fitting t h e e x c i t e m e n t of t h e h u s t i n g s , t h a n t h e c o u n c i l s of a free p e o p l e . Y e s , Mr. C h a i r m a n , the do*"
w h i c h legislation is fast a s s u m i n g h e r e , is f r a u g h t w i t h reflections a n y t h i n g else t h a n c h e e r i n g t o *
h e a r t of t h e p a t r i o t . I t d e n o t e s a r a p i d d e c l i n e in t h e t o n e of m o r a l feeling h e r e , as w e l l a s i n t h a t o f f
litical v i r t u e . T h i s H a l l , i n s t e a d of b e i n g a n a r e n a for t h e conflict of intellect, h a s b e c o m e a theatrfrf
t h e e x h i b i t i o n of prejudice a n d p a s s i o n . T h e " s t i l l s m a l l v o i c e " of r e a s o n is d r o w n e d a m i d t h e roar H ^
t u m u l t of violence.
I h a v e b e e n s h o c k e d at t h e t e r m s in w h i c h t h e n a m e s of t h e i l l u s t r i o u s d e a d h * ^ P
b e e n m e n t i o n e d in t h i s d e b a t e . C e r t a i n g e n t l e m e n h a v e t h o u g h t it a sufficient objection to a B a n k rft
U n i t e d S t a t e s , t h a t it hail its o r i g i n w i t h A l e x a n d e r H a m i l t o n .
A n d , sir, h a s it c o m e to t h i s ?
W
w a s A l e x a n d e r H a m i l t o n ? H e w a s t h e b o s o m friend a n d c o m p a n i o n of W a s h i n g t o n ; h e w a s a galli
soldier in t h e w a r o r i n d e p e n d e n c e ; lie w a s a w i s e s t a t e s m a n in t h e t i m e of p e a c e . T h e m o n u m e n t * * #
h i s w i s d o m will r e m a i n till t h e records of t h e c o u n t r y shall p e r i s h . W h e i e h a s g r a t i t u d e — w r h e r e hastfcgj
Bpirit of liberty ficd, if t h i s g r e a t m a n ' s n a m e is to be m e n t i o n e d h e r e w i t h t e r m s of o b l o q u y a n d reproatft^
L e t political d e m a g o g u e s h o w l o n . till they r a v e t h e m s e l v e s to m a d n e s s , still t h e y c a n n o t s u l l y t h e purity
of h i s c h a r a c t e r , or t h e l u s t r e of h i s w i s d o m .
A l t h o u g h , h y e n a like, t h e v m a y d i g u p h i s r e m a i n s fro** ^
t h e q u i e t of t h e g r a v e , a n d s c a t t e r t h e m to t h e w i n d s of h e a v e n , as did t h e J a c o b i n s of t h e F r e n c h Re**6**
l u t i o n t h e b o n e s of t h e i r i l l u s t r i o u s d e a d , y e t d e s p i t e t h e i r efforts, h i s n a m e will s t a n d forth to f u t u r e tirae-**^
A s h i n i n g l a n d m a r k on t h e cliffs of fame.
*
T h e g e n t l e m a n from O h i o , [ M r . W K L L E I I , ] in a s p e e e h w h i c h h e m a d e s o m e t i m e s i n c e , remarked*
t h a t every c h i l d w h e n l e a r n i n g to talk s h o u l d be t a u g h t to c u r s e t h e B a n k of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ; that thejf^
Rhould s u c k in h a t r e d of t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n w i t h t h e i r m o t h e r ' s m i l k . C o u l d t h e g e n t l e m a n h a v e b e e n awajnjf
of t h e e x t e n t of h i s r e m a r k s 1 If t h e b a n k d e s e r v e s o u r h a t r e d , t h e n d o its a u t h o r s m u c h m o r e s o . W o q i o ^
t h e g e n t l e m a n t e a c h l i s p i n g i n f a n c y to h e a p c u r s e s a n d i m p r e c a t i o n s u p o n t h e m e m o r y of yondrf*
g r e a t a n d good m a n , [ p o i n t i n g to t h e p i c t u r e of W a s h i n g t o n . ] w h o s e n a m e s h o u l d b e c a n o n i z e d i n th*a
h e a r t of every lover of h i s c o u n t r y 1 He w a s t h e a d v o c a t e of a N a t i o n a l B a n k . H e g a v e it t h e s a n c t i o n
of h i s n a m e . A c c o r d i n g to t h e t h e o r y of t h e g e n t l e m a n from O h i o , e v e r y child, i n s t e a d of b e i n g t a u g h t I
to lisp t h e n a m e of W A S H I S R T O X , n e x t after t h a t of father a n d m o t h e r , s h o u l d be t a u g h t to c u r s e i t , a o 4 ;
to s u c k in h a t r e d of h i s m e m o r y w i t h its m o t h e r ' s m i l k . T h e g e n t l e m a n did n o t say a s m u c h , b u t it woulJfe
follow a s a n e c e s s a r y c o n s e q u e n c e of h i s a r g u m e n t
M r . C h a i r m a n , o n this q u e s t i o n , e l o q u e n c e a n d a r g u m e n t h a v e for w e e k s he en p l e a d i n g ; h u t t h e y h a « | |
pleaded in v a i n . I n s t e a d of e x c i t i n g r e s p e c t , a n d i n d u c i n g to reflection, t h e y h a v e b e e n m e t w i t h t h o u g h t s
less derision, a n d u n f e e l i n g s c o r n .
A n d , sir. I a m n o w well a w a r e , t h a t so far a s t h i s H o u s e is c o n c e r n e d ,
all o u r r e m o n s t r a n c e s will be u n h e e d e d — a l l o u r a p p e a l s will be in v a i n .
T h e fell spirit of f a c t i o n ett*
b r o o d i n g over o u r c o u n c i l s , a l t h o u g h it is " c l o t h e d w i t h t h e a t t r i b u t e s of r u l e / '
W e do not e x p e c t ju»*
tice a t y o u r h a n d s . B u t t h e r e is a h i g h e r t r i b u n a l , to w h i c h w c t a k e o u r a p p e a l . T h a t t r i b u n a l is T H E
P E O P L E — w h e n in t h e m a j e s t y of t h e i r p o w e r , t h e y shall s p e a k t h r o u g h t h e ballot b o x , in a l a n g u a g e
w h i c h c a n n o t be m i s u n d e r s t o o d .
A n d if w c a r e n o t very m u c h deceived in IC t h e s i g n s of t h e t i m e s , " thft
d a y of o u r d e l i v e r a n c e is d r a w i n g n i g h .
T h e d a r k e s t period of t h e n i g h t is t h a t w h i c h just p r e c e d e s t h e b r e a k of d a y . A n d t h e d a r k d e e d s of c o r r u p t i o n ftnd p a r t y m a d n e s s , w h i c h w e h a v e for m o n t h s b e « l
w i t n e s s i n g , arc o n l y t h e p r e l u d e to t h e d a w n i n g of a b r i g h t a n d g l o r i o u s d a y / Y e s , sir, t h a t d a y \H afreadv
b r e a k i n g ; t h e b e a m s of l i g h t arc b u r s t i n g on o u r vision. T h e surface of t h i s v a s t R e p u b l i c is in motionl
a g i t a t e d like t h e w a v e s of a t r o u b l e d sea.
S o c i e t y is h e a v i n g from t h e d e p t h s of its foundations*
The
s t o u t h e a r t e d y e o m a n r y are flocking to t h e i r c o u n t r y ' s s t a n d a r d , like t h e c l a n s m e n of t h e H i g h l a n d chief*
t a i n a t t h e s i g n of t h e iicry c r o s s .
K v e r y moil t h a t reaches t h i s city, c o m e s freighted w i t h t h e g r a t i f y i n g
a c c o u n t s of daily accession to o u r s t r e n g t h . F r o m city a n d h a m l e t , from t o w n and c o u n t r y , from n i o u a t a i n a n d valley, t h e y c o m a , t h e y conic !
M y colleague, [Mr- tSiiKivvnt).] took occasion to r e m a r k , t h a t w e h a d been so often nllured by t h e h o p *
of s u c c e s s , a n d so often d i s a p p o i n t e d , t h a t OUT j u d g m e n t s n < ^ b e c o m e distorted, and t h a t w e w e r e u n a b l «
to view t h i s q u e s t i o n in its p r o p e r light.
l i e i n t i m a t e d t h a t the acquisition of p o w e r w a s o u r o n l y object*.
T h e r e m a r k w a s uncalled for, a n d I t h i n k u n k i n d , c o n s i d e r i n g the, p e c u l i a r r e l a t i o n s w h i c h t h a t g e n t l e m a n
h a s occupied t o w a r d s the t w o parties in t h i s H o u s e . ?vly c o l l e a g u e d o e s u s t h e grossest i n j u s t i c e . If p o w e r
w e r e our only object, t h e road to success w o u l d lie o p e n brrbreTuF.
W e h a v e b u t to Ho w h a t o t h e r s h a v e
rlonc : desert the friends w i t h w h o m w e h a v e so l o n g fought a - a i n s t t h e c o r r u p t i o n s of t h e t i m e s , a n d c n - i
list u n d e r the b a n n e r of t h e e n e m y , and h o n o r s , profits, a n d e m o l u m e n t s a w a i t u s . I c a n asstirc m y col**
l e a g u e , w c have a h i g h e r a n d a nobler object in view : w e are e m b a r k e d on a p i l g r i m a g e of freedom^ a n d
i n search of the •* promised l a n d " of p u r i t y ;ind reform.
A n d , t h a n k H e a v e n , o u r toil a n d GiuTcrings aid
n e a r l y over, W c have passed die Rod sea of proscription ; w e h a v e traversed the w i d e d e s e r t of c o r r u p tion ; w e h a v e e n c o u n t e r e d t h e fiery s e r p e n t s of persecution ; w e h a v e at last r e a c h e d t h e top of P i s g a V * *
m o u n t , and t h e fair l a n d of p r o m i s e <A\U\ of liberty lies e x t e n d e d in full p m s p e c t before u s . W e i n t e n d UH
p e r s e v e r e , till w e h a v e expelled t h e U a r b n r i a u h o r d e s from this d e s e c r a t e d soil, a n d s h a l l h a v e s e c u r e l y
l o d g e d t h e ark of o u r political c o v e n a n t b e y o n d t h e reach of t h e h a n d s oi pollution.
F o r ten l o n g y e a r s w e h a v e b e e n w a r r i n g a g a i n s t the i n v a d e r s of our r i g h t s , and t h e s p o i l s m e n t h a t h a v »
b e e n b u t t o n i n g u p o n t h e t r e a s u r e of t h e n a t i o n . Y e s , w e h a v e been e n g a g e d i n a w a r f a r e e q u a l in dura**,
t i o n to t h a t in w h i c h t h e ancient, G r e e k s besieged t h e citadel of T r o y .
O u r s , h o w e v e r , is a m u c h holier;"
c a u s e t h a n t h e i r s . T h e i r s w a s to recover stulen b e a u t y — o u r s to r e g a i n o u r p l u n d e r e d freedom. A n d n o w *
in t h e t e n t h y e a r of t h e w a r , w c go forth to battle u n d e r m u c h m o r e favorable a u s p i c e s t h a n did t h e G r e ^
c i a n force:*. T h e A c h i l l e s of o u r h o s t is not sitting m o o d y a n d solitary in h i s t e n t , b r o o d i n g over h i s w r o n g s ^
h e ban n o t w i t h d r a w n h i m s e l f from t h e c o m m o n c a u s e , b e c a u s e h e m a y s u p p o s e a n o t h e r is r e a p i n g thftg
rovr'irds oi his Inborn or in t h e pnRflrftsinu of h i s rights ; but he i^ still seen m a r c h i n g w i t h uplifted swordrj




31
ill the van of the conflict; and his voice, which has so often sounded the bugle note to the charge, is still
heard above the shout and din of the conflict, calling upon his countrymen to come to the rescue. And
come they will—they are already coming by thousands and tens of thousands, having' sworn on the altar
«f their country, that they will never sheath their swords till the enemy is expelled from the citadel of power*
Mr. Chairman, the contest now pending ami which is to ho decided in November next, will prove most
important in its consequences, either for weal or for wo. If it terminates as I hope and believe it will, it
will be to this country what the battle of YVatevloo was to Europe—if I may allude to a piece of history
of. more modern date. And the parallel will hold good, both as to incidents and results. At Waterloo,
the nations of Europe, though speaking different languages, living under different Governments, and having different interests (gentlemen pay ice have no political opinions in common) were all united in a comm o n cause, for the purpose of defending their respective rights, liberties, and institutions, against the daring usurpations of one man, whose only object was conquest and spoil. God forbid that I should dishonor
the shade of the mighty Napoleon so far as to institute any comparison between him and the political popinjay that leads the spoilsmen in this content- I am speaking with reference to Incidents and results,
[Here th J Chairman [Mr. D A ^ K * ] remarked it was not in order to discuss the battle of Waterloo,]
Mr. R A T X E R : Sir, I am only alluding to it by way of illustration. [Mr. RAYNKII was about to proceed, when he was again arrested by the Chair, and informed that he must confine himself to the subject
under debate.]
Mr, R A T N E U ; Sir. must I be held down to the strict line of debate, when other gentlemen have taken
BUch a wide and latitudinous range ? I am only alluding to the battle of Waterloo, as a figure, for the
purpose of illustrating my position. T h e i?suc now pending before the people must turn upon the Sub*
treasury, and in speaking of the contest. I am only drawing a parallel from history. According to tho
decision of the Chair, it is out of order for any member, in debate, to refer to or quote from any passage in
^history, for the purpose of illustration or explanation.
Mr. M O R R A X , of New York : Is it not as much in order for the gentleman from TVorth Carolina to illuRtrate a point, by reference to an incident in the battle of Waterloo, as it is for gentlemen on the other
side to give an account of the battle of New Orleans, with no reference to the subject—as has been done
in this debate ?
Mr. R A T N K R : As I was about to say—in the battle of Waterloo—[here the Chairman again called Mr.
RATNUTI to order.]

Mr. R A T N K R : But, sir, I must be heard—and I will be heard* I -stand here as the Representative of freemen, and in defending the rights of my constituents, t am not to he silenced by such petty tyranny as this.
* Mr. W I S E : I rise to a question of oider. Do I understand t h * Chairman to decide that—[loud cries
of order from the Administration members. ]
Mr. W I S E : Ah, you may cry out order—you know but httle of me, if you think to put mo down by
your cries of order. I am in order, T wish to ask the Chairman a question of order. I will oak it. Do
I understand the Chairman to decide that a member cannot icfcr to a fact in history, in illustration of his
subject 1
.
•„
i n
T h e CHAITI : T h e gentleman from North Carolina will proceed m order.
Those who have read attentively the account of the great battle to which I have referred, will recollect
that, during the whole of that bloody day, it was on^ continued series of successive charges by the French
columns against the English squares. The French columns, whose impetuous charges had turned the tide
of victory on many an eventful day, again and again came rushing on like the mountain avalanche, and as
often were they checked by the impenetrable squares of the English infantry, who received them on their
bended knees, with fixed bayonets, without pulling a trigger. Napoleon, in the hope of worrying hip enemies into defeat, sent column after column, a< *ain and again* to the charge, and as often were they foiled and
driven bark by the unflinching valor and patient endurance of the English- T h e lOnglish regiments were
hewn down in masses, till their bodies formed a parapet, behind which their comrades still maintained tho
struggle; and as fast as they fell, their places* were supplied with those who saw that death was their
doom. And when they appealed to the ConnnaiuW-in-rhief for aid, they were told that none couM he
given, and that " t h e y must stand or fall where they were.** Whilst this "slaughter of their countrymen
was going on, the British guards, whom Wellington }\cld in reserve for the critical moment, besoughtjheir
commander again and again, with their eyes streaming with tears, to suffer them to come to the rescue of
their comrades. " When shall wc get at them." was their passionate cry, when goaded almost to madness. Wellington, though surrounded with h!o.->d and carnage, kept cool and calm, and forbid them to
move. Napoleon had also hips reserved guards, whom he alt-o held in check—those Imperial Guards,
whose final charge had so often deci led many a doubtful contest. Towards the evening, when both armies were actually reeling with the fatigue of the conflict, IVnpolcnn ordered IVey to charge at the head of
the Imperial Guards, as the Prussians began to dchouehe from the woods of St- Uambert. And on they
came, rushing like blood-hounds just slipped from the Icnrb, Then it was that Wellington gave orders
for his reserved Guards to move. Quietly closing his telescope, he gave the word—*' UP GUA UDST A N D
A T T H E M . " And at them they* went, with all the fury of pent up rage, which had been for hours seething and boiling in their bosoms, at the sight of their slaughtered friends. The conthet was like the rush
of elements, and never, perhaps, in the history of the world, was there such a deadly and momentous struggle. The fate not only of nations, but of the world, depended on the result. The issue was for some
time doubtful, but at length the stubborn valor and patient endurance of the Anglo-Saxons, when lighting
for liberty, proved too much for the impetuous c o u r s e of the Gaul?, when fighting; for conquest.
Napoleon looked on with the moet intense anxiety, till he Haw his Imperial Guards, that had never wavered before, begin to stagger and to reel. Then it was that his proud spirit was broken ; and giving " signs
of wo, that all was lost," he fled in despair from that field which proved the grave of all his conqurafs.
T h a t battle, though it rent the heart of many a widow and orphan with a^ony, yet saved the liberties of
Europe, after th*i fair portion of the crlobo had been drrnehed in blood far live and twenty yenrs.



32
Our situation is exactly similar to that of the allied army, w h e n W e l l i n g t o n gave orders for him *»9HN
guards to move.
Wc, too, have for m a n y l o n g years been struggling for all that is near and d*a&t?^$HS
m e n . "We have seen our ranks hewn*down by the repeated charges of the spoilsmen. W e h a r e ^ t , 3 ^ H
virtue, the patriotism, and the intellect of the country, prostrated by the ruthless arm of proscription*SPI
addition to this, desertion to the enemy h a s also thinned our ranks. Still their places have been ^ a j S i W
by the bold and gallant youths, w h o s e first effort on the stage of manhood h a s been to run to the *^'Vj3B
their sufiering countrymen. T h e critical hour has nearly arrived. A n d n o w , w h e n our reserved g *(fP*
ore literally panting for the contest, the spoilsmen, led on in solid c o l u m n , are about to make a des£j&#y
charge, in order to turn the fortune of the day. A n d n o w w e intend t o — U P G U A R D S , A N D A T ¥*Qmh
«* UP G U A R D S , A N D A T T H E M "—that shall be our battle cry—that shall be the shout a l o n g aqfiitJ
tire line; and as the note of triumph swells on our lips, it shall nerve our hearts and strengthen cr-r enfUM
T h e strife will be great, but its result must be foreseen.
T h e hosts of corruption, w h e n fighting or p^j^
must give w a y before the calm valor of freemen, fighting for their rights. 7^hc struggle will b e a d e d
one, but it will save the liberties of this people. Y e s , sir, a few more months of suffering, and £*u le*fl*>
of the spoilers will be flying from the field of his defeat, and the hosts of corruption be driven to \itzir i f d
i n g holes and lurking places, in confusion and disgrace. A new era will then d a w n upon this pe<f, le, \l%
ter twelve ions years of bondage, this country will once more breath clear and free—and will agj*i* ci V;
me rice its onward march to that high destiny for w h i c h Providence designed it. T h e n will comnic ice ; -.'•
work of reform—the cleansing of those A u g e a n stables, w h i c h have become choakcd up by the accur rig
lated filth of years. T h e n will the American citizen be once more enabled to wallt with countenau* ^ex* "^
and to exclaim in the pride of bis soul—** T h i s is my o w n , my native land." T h e n will the citizen jolt* *»;
c o m e , like another Cincinnatus, from the quiet retirement of his humble home, to preside over a aetSpte li|
peace, w h o m his valor protected in war, A n d then this nation,




" n o w by tyrants trod,
W i l l o w n no other power—but G o d / '