M7ioc JYo. 900.
Tax-borough, (Edgecombe County, JV C.J Saturday, June 3, 1843.
Vol XIX N o. 28.
The Tttrborough Press,
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THE PRESIDENCY.
The Indiana State Sentinel contains let
tera from Messrs. Calhoun, Johnson, Cas.
Buchanan, and Van Buren, in reply t
certain questions propounded to them by
the Indiana Democratic Convention, touch
ing the prominent political topics of the
day, they areas follows.
REPLY OF MR VAN 15 U REN.
Kiu(ferhook Feb. 15. 1S43
Gentlemen: I have had the honor to
receive your letter, written in behalf ol
the Indiana Democratic State convention,
and asking my views and opinions in rela
tion: 1st, to the chartering of a national
bank, or any other national institution, by
whatever name it may be called, authori
zed to issue bills of credit for banking pur
poses, or to regulate exchanges, and ol
the constitutionality and expediency of such
an institution; 2 1. to the distribution of the
proceeds of the public lands among the se
veral States of this Union; 3d. to a protec
tive tariff; 4th, to an amendment of the
Constitution still further limi-;iug the veto
power; and inquiring, in conclusion, whe
ther I will abide the decision of a national
convention of the Democraiic p irty, iu tnc
selection of a candidate for the Presidency,
and whether 1 will give my support and
influence to the election of the nominee of
said convention, if not myelt nominated
by it.
It affords me much pleasure to comply
with the request ol the convention; ami I
have only to regret that the number and
. . ... i l !
impottance of the subjects embraced i
their interiogatories, and the necessity of
some explanations to elo justice to the
views I entertain in regarJ to them, vi!l
unavoidably extend my reply to a much
greaterjength than 1 could have desired.
1 am opposed to the es'ab!ihmeni of a na
tional bank in any form, or under any elis
guise, both on constitutional grounds and
of expediency. The power to create such
an institution h is not been given to Con
gress by the Constitution, neither is it ne
cess iry to the exercise of any uf the pow
ers which aie granted; ami if exercised,
would be, as il always has been, highly
injurious to the public welfare These
opinions, alike advetse to the cons'it ;tional
ity and expediency of a national bank, have
been fn q iently and extensively laid before
the people, and sometimes on occasions of
deep interest. They were expressed in
my letter to the ciiizens assembled at Shoe
CO Springs, in North Carolina, when my
name was before the public for the Vice
Presidency; repeated in 136, when stand
ing in a similar relation to the olhVe ef
President of the United States, in a letter
to the Hon. Sherrod Williams, whi h was
widely disseminated ; and rei crated in my
first message to Congress, at tin x ra ses
sion in 18.37, when the ait n'io i of the
whole country was again drawn to the sub
ject by the failure of the deposne banks to
fulfil their engagements with the Govern
ment. The opinions ami pi inciples avow
ed on these various occas ons have under
gone no other change than that of addition
al conviction of their truth, derived from
events that have since occurred
1 might res' he re, content with this ex
plicit avowal, and proceeel to reply to your
other interrogatories, were it not that this
"years to me a proper occasion to ailveit
to
the deplorable calamities n flicted on
l"e people by ihe coneiuci and linal catas
trophe of the late bank, through the pei
Version of its means and the abuse of its
power. It is true, that this institution is
ncw no more. It has sunk umler the
eighl of its own enormities, and has left
nothingbehind but the wrecks of its ca
reer. But the interests, pecuniary and po
litical, the parents who first gave it birth,
and the nurses by whom it was fostered;
still survive, with the same means of pro-
uuc.nSanoineroi,pri..K, ana me same (lis-
i..-:. ii . rr . i -i .
io,. u, c.p.uv mcu, wnenever a ta-j presenting aggravated pictures of publi
vorahle opportunity presents, itself. The' distress, inflammatory proceedings of nub
question ol a national bank is still
before
the )C ple, and win continue to be, so Ions;
as avarice and ambition see in it the means
- . n ui-uin'icin
oamer. r..r tins reason, I conceive it
proper that every occasion should betaken
to recall to the public recollection, bv way
tola v.irninr eximnle. wh.it ni Iwrwio it
might be better for the honor of our coun
t ry to bury in oblivion.
Th -mischiefs indicted on individuals
by the abuse of the, powers of this potent
institution, have been so general as to i n
press the public mind with a sufficient ly
rlear perception of their magnitude; Inn tht:
extent of its power can only he justly ap
preciated by thos who adminisieri el the
Government during the pe riod of its hos
liliiy. The agency which the unparalleled
abuse of this power, exclusively conferred
for the public good, had in producing
those e nbarras:nents iu the business con
corns of the country, as well as the pecuni
ry affairs of the State and Gcne-ral Gov
ernments, it is believed, is not so clcul
and generally understood. Mut even il
it were, it cannot be loo often or too deep
lv impressed on the mind and memory of
the people of the United Slates. Tin
promptings of political ambition; the pas
sion for money; the embittered feelings of
party strife; the apprehension of di-grace;
the fear of punishment; the artifices ot long
practised deception, and the strong bond
of a community in frauds, have all exerted
their influence in hiding from the public
view the seductive practices of the bank.
Hut the people will never rest satisfied, I
trust, until they know what has become
of the almost countless millions of which
the States and individuals have been de
frauded by a long-continued series of mis
management ami corruption. The truth
will yet be known, and the purposes of jus
tices at length accomplished.
The two great measures by which the
late Bank of the Uniied States operated
most fatally upon the prosperity and hap
pitios of the people, were, first, a wanton
contraction of its loans; and, next, a snd-!
den and icckless expansion; boih having ( terpi ist. It accordingly expanded itself
the s ime object in view namely, that of into every species of extravagance, eveiy
wie-liuga charier from a reluctant people. variety of visionary and desperate uneler
It cannot, be forgolien that President Jack-. taking, and every schemewhich men with
so , in the exercise of a power delegated out property, but who could borrow at will,
by the Constitution, refused his assent to a
bill renewing tbe charier ot tbe Hank ol the
IT . I . . I x I r. . I'
u niteu maies, aim rum neu n io congre ss,
where it failed of the constitutional mjoii-
ty. For this he was assailed with every
pecies of denunciation by the arlh rents ol
the bank, while triumphantly sustained by
the people, who re e'ected him by a great
majority. That ihe bank refused to sub
mit to this decisive expre ssion ol Ihe pub
lic will, indicates the consciousness e! ex
traordinary power, and a ele erminat on to
exeil it to the utmost. Accordingly it
renewed t e cone-t, on the recurrence of
thrt first preliminary ste p taken by Prei-
iieni .i.icKson lor carrying into e u ct me
decision so s demnly ratified by the peo
ple. This was the removal ef the public
money from the custody of an institution
i i r - . itt . i
in which, if it had In en stiff red to remain.
it is now morally certai i the Government
would have shared the fate of the destitute,
widows ami orphans, who are now lament
ing iheir confideiKc, in poverty anel dis
tress The bank determined to coerce the Gov
ernment into an abandonment of this neces-
r ii
sarv measure ot pre "auiion, oy a stnhlen
n.irf:iihnent of dis-ounts. which would he
severely felt, and the odium of which it
emplove'd all its arts and infl tence to throw
upon General J ickson. In the short space
of fourteen months, it withdrew from the
exigencies of trade eighteen millions of
dollars; and this contraction was followed
by that of the State banks, either from ne
cessity, or a common sympathy (on the
purl of some, at least,) in a common ca 'S''.
I he result ot mis commnea action was a
rapid eleereis of accommodation to the
trade and business of the country, amount
ing to at least sixty millions of dol
Ins.
It must be obvious that the sudden ab
str:ci ion of such an enormous sum from
the general fund f business, would be se
vet ely felt by those who traded in whoh
or in part on borrowed capital, and.
through them, in a less degree, by othei
da ses of the community. These paitial
inconveniences were magnified into uni
versa! distress and wide-spread ruin, b
newspapers ami public speakers, either un
derthe direct 4Jfiuence of the bank by tin
strong bond of dependence, or who were
united with that institution in a system of
action calculated to subserve ihe purposes
ot both parties. Speeches in Congress
lie meetings, memorials, relief committees,
and an infinite variety of other appliances,
which a great moneyed institution, gifted
wnn ample means ot corruption, and tin
scrupulous in employing them, could com
mand, were brought into requisition, in
order to create a panic among the people,
and overawe the inflexible and just man
who then administered the Government.
These measures of the bank proved,
however, unavailing in shaking the firm
ness of General Jackson, or in deceiving
the people, whose own experience taught
them that, though there might be some
partial inconvenience, and some reduction
of prices, there was nothing like general
public distress. Years of successful indus
irv and well-regulated enterprise had laid
the solid basis of a prosperity not to be sha
ken by the abstraction of a portion of that
capital, of which very few had shared the
uenefits. They saw, too, the motives for
all tln sc exaggerated pictures of public suf-
lering. these inflammatory appeals to the
most sordid passions; they knew there was
d'-ep-laid, widely extended plan of. de
ception, and became indignant at the at
!empt to cheat them into the abandonment
of their principles, by an appeal to tbosej
iiiieiesis, wnicn tney leit haet not oeen se
riously affected, or, if so, not by the meas
ures of the Government, but of the bank
alone
The bank, perceiving that, an appeal to
he appiehensions and sufferings of the peo
ple had failed in producing that revolution
m public opinion so confidently anticipa
ted, changed its course to a dire ction pre
cisely opposite, and, unhappily, far mjre
extensive and fatal in its consequences. It
resoriedto expansion instead of contrac
tion; and notwithstanding the necessity of
preparation to wind up its affairs, which
had been made a pretext for sudden curtail
ment, still existed, and had become every
ilay more pressing, it suddenly opened the
flood gates of accommoodation, with a
view of corrupting those whom it could
not coerce or deceive. In the course of
eight months, it extended its loans to the
amount of nineteen and a half imllions
of dollars and the State banks, as they
had followed its lead in contraction, now
followed it in expanding.
This sudden influx of paper money pro
duced its inevitable consequences. There
was no employment for it in the ordinary
channels of business, not in the usual pru
dent, restrained sphere of well-directed en-
could device for wasting money in the
sum tost pos.Mhle time, in the most unproh-
TVT I I c
lame manner. iew nanus sprung irom
the bowels of the old, and the same real
or imaginary capital tiansmigrated from
one corporate body to another, until in
hssthan two years, bank capital increased
from about two hundred to two hunelred
and fifty millions, their circulation from
riucty-live to one hunelred and forty mil
lions, and iheir loans and discounts frcm
three hundred and twenty-four to four
hundred and fifty-seven millions. To
ibis, if we add the vast amount of credit ac-
quired abroad by foreign loans, and by
luvish accommodations of foreign dealers
to our merchants, we may form an estim
a e of the extent to which this unparalleled
expansietn of credit and currency was car
ried, and the deplorable consequences
which would necessarily follow its sudden
downfall, which no legislation, no public
prosperity, nothing but miracles, could pre
vent. The final results of this extraordinary
delusion, which may be distinctly traced
to the operations of the Hank of the Uni
ted States, anel its successor in Pennsylva-
nia, are known to all. 1 here is not a citi
' z " of the United States, be he rich, or be
j he poor, who has not felt the blight of this
all pervading influence, in some way or
other, in his habits, his morals, or his pro
perty. In the brief period of three years,
it beggared hundreds of thousands of citi
zens, impoverished States, well-nigh bank
rupted the General Government, inflicted
deep, if not indelible stains, not only on
our national character, but on our Repub
lican institutions, and rendered all the ble
ings of unexampled abundance incapable
el administering either to private happi
ness or public prosperity. In short, il has
be come one of those wide-spread, univer
sal calamities, which have been hitherto on
ly looked for in the direct dispensation of
Prenielence.
The greater portion, if not the entire
mass, of evil resulting from the sudden
contraction and subsequent expansion ol
;Minency and credit, is distinctly chargea
ile to th desperate and unscrupulous ef
forts of the Bank of the Uniied Stales to
vrest a renewal of its charter from the peo
ple first, by inflicting upon them pecuni
ary distress; and, next, the still greater
cvila.of redundant means, which could not
he beneficially employed. Had it pro
ceeded to wind up its affairs, with that
steady purpose, united wiih tht salutary
delay, (of which the history of the first
bank furnished an instructive example.) its
final extinction would have led to no great
er distress, or inconvenience, than accom
panied an I followed the dissolution of tha'
body. Mm its managers, before anel b-
hind the curtain, chose to act otherwis1 .
They combined political and pecuniary ele
ments together; they kept, the whole coun
try in a state of feverish agitation, which
Ins not yet subsided; they administereel
additional fuel to the fire of party conten
lion; deranged the entire system of trade
and commerce: corrupted political parti
sms by loans anel douceurs, for services
which tln-y did not elare t specify; de
frauded widows and oiphans, and stock
holders, foreign as well as elomestic; bank
rupted individuals; destroyed the credit of
he Mates; and, after a series of injuries.
under which the whole Union is still smar
ting, finally sank beneath the weight of
their own transgressions, leaving a blot on
ihe history of the country which can never
be wiped away.
I hough all but omnipotent for evil, it
sufficiently ele noustrated that it wanted
either the will or the power to do good.
It neither regulated the currency, by re
training the issues of the State banks, nor
the exchanges, by accemmoda' ing them te
the course o: trade On the contrary, in
the various stages of its progress anel de
cline, it set tin: example of unbounded ex
pansion; it set the example in suspension ol
?pecie payments; an. I, to ihe last moment
of its existence, was the great enemy ef,
and obstacle to, resumption. The only
mode by which it ever sought to regulate
exchange, so lar as my inforuiatiinextends,
was by an arbitrary rule ef the bank, in
stead of leaving it to the natural law of
trade, which is the best of all regulatois,
because it regulates itself. Such is the case
at this moment. There is no United States
Bank in existence, and no legislation
on the subject; yet the rates of exchange
between the different portionsof the United
States, being thus left entirely to the opera
tion of natural & inevitable causes, are now
far more uniform and equitable than they
were during any period in which the bank
exercised its boasted power of regulation.
Whatever diversity exists, beyond the
mere cost and risk of transporting specie,
arises from a difference in the currency,
and cannot, therefore, be justly ascribed to
the want of a regulator of exebang- s.
My views on the subject of exchanges,
and of the propriety, necessity, or ex
pediency of any int rference of Govern
ment in their regulation, were communica
ted to Congre-s in 1S37. To rep at them
here, would lengthen this communication,
from whichadeMie to answer your qoes j
lions fully, frankly, and explicitly, will, 1
fear, be extended to the ve rge of tedious-
ness. I must, therefore, respectfully refer ,m,t redeem.'
y ou to lhat document. You will there see addition to this deception I
a clear, broad distinction between that spe- j might almost say f.aud on the people,
cies of exehangos aptly denominated 'ki there is a decisive object ion' to the issue of
ting," (which was little better than an in-! paper currency by (Jovrrnmenl, upon
strument of fraud.) and bills drawn for the!"'"tever principle it maybe founeleel.
transler of actual funds from one place to an- 'l'he experience of all nations, where this
other. 1 endeavored also to satil'v Con-j expedient has been adopted, demonstrates
gress of what is now so apparent that ihe hat his is a prerogative which will always
exchange s would here, as they do in other be abused. It gives almost unlimited fa
countries, regulate themselves, if Congressicilines for raising money, and has eve ry
would but leave V em as they are left else -
where to the managment of private enter
prise. It is doubtless within your recollec
tion, what a tempest of denunciation I le
ceived from those who thought proper to
overlook these consi'lerations. The opin
ions then advanced would, it is quite cer
tain, be receiveel with more favor now; and
I have only ?o add, thai they have under
gone no other change ihan thai of addition
al conviction arising from additional expe
rience of their truth.
The tremendous power of a bank for evil,
when impellled by avarice and ambition,
self-pies' rvation or vengeance, has been
seen. Il is a maxim in every government
constituted on free principles, to withhold
all power from rulers which is not inelis
pensable to the preservation and defence
of the rights of persons and properly.
And this maxim is foundeel on the experi
ence of mankind, which has taught them,
by a long series of suffering, that net only
is power much more liable to abuse than to
benefi'ial exercise, but that with the pu
rest intentions it can do far less good,'ihan
it can perpetrate mischief when perverted
to evil. The people of the United Slates
have repudiated despotic or disci etionary
power in all their political institutions, be
cause of its propensity to abuse Yet they
have been, and (mark my words) will be
again and again, called upon to crcte a de
spotic irresponsible moneyed power stron
ger than their Government, because it is
expecteil to do what that Government can
not of itself perforin. I hope and trust
that such appeals will never again be suc
cessful, and that the gooel people 01 the
United States will always bear in mind
lhat an institution which can do what its
advocates affirm this can, must, if subser-
yifciit 10 the Government, tve it a yasl
access Ion of power dangefotH to the rights)
of ihe State, and which, if from any cause)
it should become hostile, can either subject
that Government to its will, or, like the
defunct institution of which I have spoken,
involve the country in confusion and elifli
culty, its Government, in perpetual Strug
gels, and its people in an interminable sc-ri-s
of panic and dismay. Nothing but
an ever Watchful vigilance on the part of
the people will prevent a recurrence of
it ese evils. The enemy is not ed, nor
doth he sleep. The schism in the ranks
f the opponents of the democracy turns
almost exclusively on ihe quetion qf a
national bank, and ihe complete triumph
of Federalism will be the precursor of uch
an institution.
In expressing my opposition to all the?
schemes which have been submit teel to C0117
gress, at its last sesioo, for managing the
fiscal concerns of the country in vol ng,
i'.s they all do, a union of bank anef ftate
I do but speak the sentiments of a vast
majority of my fellow citizens, as evinced
in the votes of their re presentatives, and
in the almost universal condemnation they
have apparently received at the hands of
the people themselve s.
The manufacture of paper-money has
been attempted in every form; it ha been
tried by individuals, been transferred to cor
porations by Congress, engaged in by tue
Stales themselves, anel has signally failed
in all. It has, in general, proved noi the
handmaid ol honest industry and well-regu-I
iled enterprise, but ihe pampered menial
ed' speculation, idleness, anel fr-ud. It has
corrupted men of the highest standing; al
most elotroyed the confidence of mankind
in ech other; anel darkened our criminal
calendar with names lhat might otherwisei
have conferred honor and bet efit on ihe
country. There is strong ground for belie
ving that such a system must have some
innate incurable defect, 'of which no legis
lation can divest it, and against which no
human wisdom ran guard, or human integ-(
rity sustain itself.
The history of the past, however, leaves
little room for doubt that paper-money in
some form will, notwithstanding, continue
to constitute pari of the circulating medium
of the country. But my most sincere and,
ardent wish is, that its issue by the Fede"d
Government may, in all future time, be
prevented. The lights of experience have
in vain been diffused, the lessons of repea
ted and wide spread ruin have been una
vailing, if there be any who yet can bring
themselves to believe that the Government
of the Uniteel States, which possesses
nmhing but what it receives from the peo
ple, can b'-slow on them any thing other
than what it has thus received. If it con
tracts loans, the people must pay them; anei
and if it issues paper-money, it must be
redeemed by the people. How, then, can
relief to the people he derived from incur
ring obligations which they themselves
w,'eie leei 10 extravagant expeneiuures,
public debt, anel heavy burdens, alwas in
creasing and never diminished. V here
extravagant appropiiations can be met by a
me re vote of Congress, anel without an im
mediate resort to the pockets of ihe peo
ple, there? will be found no sufficient check
to boundless prodigality, except when the
Government finally los s its ct edit by push-'
ing it to excess. It is then that it reacts
upon ihe peeple; for, this great resource'
being exhausted, the whole superstructure'
of credit falls on the'ir hands, and they
must bear it as best they can.
The hi-tory of ihe old continental mo-'
ney, issued under exigencies that could
alone justify such a measure, is one case in
point; the present condition of many of
the Stales is another: and both together;
furnish ample illustration. In addition to
this facility in supplying immediate de-'
mands, pape-r money, being the cheapest
of all manufactures, can be made at will,
and may be increased to any extent that
human credulity will tolerate. Hncethe
right of Government 10 coin money out of
diver and gold, is thn only prerogative re
ferring to lhat subject which can be safely
exerciseel; because these metals cannot be
increased or eliminished, like papei issues,
by a mere act of legislation.
(to be continued.')
Superstition. The Md'on Chronicle
tells ol a man" in those cap" "ho in hisj
anx ety for rain, recently killed a bla- k
siiake'anet hung it upon a tree, declaring at
ihe same time tint it would bring showns
from above. H happened, says the Chron
icle that it did rain in the course of the
Jay and the consequence is, that all the 1
lawyers in Philadelphia cannot convince
him that the snake did ugt mokeU raiai
if
f
5 .1'
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