Newspapers / Highland Messenger (Asheville, N.C.) / June 10, 1842, edition 1 / Page 2
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., K 1 JUL! l ilW- JJILLH: t do not understand tlus thing. Here are " my accounts, from which you will see that my ordinary and permanent expenses are very moderate. My board Is quite cheap ; tny coat is out at the elbows ; my washer woman gets but two-dollars a " month."- u Indeed l" exclaims the father, this U .'over economical it U almost mean but '.what have yotf - done with tho money P' " bhl" replies the ingenious youth, with the exulting consciousness of a capital de vice, 4 Oh, sir, that lias been expended on temporary and extraordinary subjects; that vhaa gone for chntnpaigne and nattc-de-fois-t gras at BouIangerV for trinklats and love; tokens to mistresses, and fines paid for ., street brawls." " 4 ' H; - It Is obvious that many of these items are neither temporary nor extraordinary, but belong to the ordinary and permanent ad , ministration of the Government Such arc " donations to the Pislrict of Columbia ; sur vey of the coast ; duties refunded ; arming "militia ; and forts, pensions, &c. All these have run through many past yrars, and will , run through many yet to come and as to otho acoUUatal expenditures every year, and every Administration is subject to their occurrence, tho casualties of- politics de mand from time to time, tinforsoen appro priations; but it is the part of prudence and wisdom to avoid or obviate as far as pos. sible, such contingencies. . Even if it were lit all true, as supposed by the Senator from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Buchanan,) that no . one item or expenditure could be pointed out as useless, or uncalled for by the neces sities of Government, still that would bo a very insufficient mode of vindicating his friends, unless he could also vindicate thorn . from the charge which wemake, that their Improvidence, indiscretion, and impolicy produced or permitted tho occurrence of such emergency. A man may be com polled by law to pay the penalties of a drunken brawi, but the verdict of a jury would not prove his economy. Frugality and thrift consist in avoiding occasion of ' expense, not in paying debts already incur- ' red. ' v:. ",v: - ' ' But, Mr. President, there is not one of ' these temporary causes of expenditure, of . -1 .1. . .1 . I a k magmtuae worm noticing, mat tne late Administration hay-not transmitted to us undiminished. . I have adverted to those i which are permanent and belong to the in cidental expenditures of all Admimstra- tions . Of thoso objects in their nature temporary t such as public buildings; the war in Florida, bridge over the Potomac, ozcr, the late Administration finished no thing every thing was left incomplete. 1 lie lolomac bridge was left on our hands j the Floridawar was left on our hands ; tho Patent Office, tho Post Office, the Trcasu ry buildings.' which, weru burnt under their Administration, and tho rsconslruction of which was begun by tlicm on a scale of praiseworthy magnificence, are leu to be - completed by us. 1 hey accomplished no. thing but the ruin of tlie fiuanccs, and, thank God, their own. " It is curious and mournful to see what an amazing extent of wide-spread arid.muki farious embarrassments they transmitted to us a general pressure and bankrup'cy, a deplorable rclaxalwn-of-moral; navy, an Army exhausted by Ineffectual toils, and thinned by malignant diseases a Treasury empty and discredited a sys tem of finance exploded, a miserable, in glorious, and most expensive war with sa vages, and all around, tho horizon of our foreign relations angry and darkenning ele ments. ;Ycs, sir, in respect to our foreign relations every difficulty has been inherited . from our predecessors every ouc. Tho Senator (Mr. Buchanan) whispers tho Cre ole case; even that is not new.; Here arc tho .Northeast boundary and the Northwest boundary, questions of many years stand ing, and with difficulties which necessarily augment by time and neglect. Here is the Caroline ease, in regard to which the patri otic wrath and fury of tho gentlemen, after having been securely bottled up for three years, has lately burst out witlTso much foam and splutter. You saw your vessel in flames you saw the smoking blood of your murdered citizen you looked down upon . lus mutilated body, whirled about in the eddies of Niagara, and calmly referred for ' redress to distant and equivocal negptia- tion; and when years had passed by, 'and indignation cooled, and sorrow subsided, an-lyou were no longer responsible, your waitings broke forth, your indignation burst into spontancousconibustion, and you were ready " lo'weep , to fight , to tea r thyself, to drink up Eisel eat a crocodile. As to cisely the same questions and-principles ivcro involved in the Bermuda case-of the " - Comet and tho Enterprise, the negotiations upon which ,( ably conducted no doubt,) by ; & distinguished and lamented Secretary, terminated in a rejection by tho British minister, of a proposition to pcrmitour vcsselsJundeF co jVaThrcumsraiicestp Ha in Iho roadstead under tho guns of, British ""IbTtsTbecauso such service would bo dis honorablo to B-ilish officers, Thus, Mr. President , didjheJastAclopL. nistrauon possess uie uovcrnimcnt, line a wasteful and destructive tenant, breaking down the fences, uprooting the orchards, dilapidating the homestead, and tossing about tboTurhiture, so as to render tho place untenable for the successor, and re quiring costly repairs by the landlord : more than this, Mr President ; for when we have at length ejected him, and it was seen that the house was taking fire that combusl tiblo materials wore left in every part of It he iiot only opposes our efforts, to preserve it, but cries out. with a bitter taunt and half-suppressed satisfaction See what the W tugs have done ; see the rum they have wrought; they hare but just en tered, and lo ! the awful ruin ; but thirteen months in power, but one session of Con. gress, (says the Senator from Pennsylva nia,) and all this has happened; and then, " with a merry self-complacency he puts the ntion in the rulo of three : if all this bo in one year, bow much will be done in fourf :It seems to me, sir, that it would have been a question in a broaJcr spirit of statesman-like patriotism to have asked, how long will it require or Wise and prudent policy, of husbanding our resources and developing our energies, tonight this vast destruction 1 " - - "-' -; -- I have said that the la to Administration, under all the terrors of the august and avenging sceno of 1810, managed to re. duce their expenditures to twenty .eight mil lions, from on average of the preceding years of thirty-elght millions; f It was too late their doom was pronounced; they lay upon a dying bed ; the time for repent ance and reformation had 'passed; they, promised largely and loudly ; they said, " You see we have turned over a new leaf; indeed, indeed, we will bo economical, very economical ; we have begun the good work ; give us just another four year." ' But we know the efficacy of a death-bod repent, ance, Mr. - President; tho country knew and said to the honorable Secretary now the Senator from New Hampshire, When lbs devil was sick, the devil a monk would When Um devil was Veil, tho devil a monk was The handwriting was on the wall. But still the nowly imbibed spirit of economy was the ruKwg- passion, strong in death. Not only did the dying Administration, by every species of fetch, and postponement, and suspension of debt, succeed in reducing their lastyear's expenditure to twenty-eight miffions,Ieavlng an" acknowledged debt of five millions,) but with a posthumous ceo nomy, devised and 'recommended to their successors a plan of expenditure of still further reduction, down to twenty-two mil. lions. Kind J and generous, and patriotic! If they hid continued in power, the Sena tors assure us they would have been content with twecty-one millions. IJfH When they mado this calculation there was no longer an if in the case ; and the linancial plan enacted by them at their lust session was for us, not for themselves, or, more likely, for tho Argument and purpose of this debate But, id whatever policy these calamities may havt originated, or to whatever party attaches the heavy responsibilities oi them, one thing is certain, that they are pressing upon the country with a severity which du mands instant relief that it is the duty of all patriots to endeavor to afford that relief and, more especially, that the high re sponsibility of doing it successfully is im nosed tnon tho Whijt party. As I beforo remarked, the impolitic and fallacious mo thod of borrowing by tho issue of Treasury notes is condemuod by 'experience given up on all sides. No system of taxation is sufficiently prompt to meet the emergency. and thciclore tho necessity of a loan is in cvitabloand inexorable. In enacting such loan, Cbngress should tako caro that it be sufficicit in amount, and that tho terms be such as to secure its advance at once. In regard to tho amount, although the sum proposes by the bill has been cavilled at, it has not ben seriously opposed. The doc. trine, insisted on at tho last session by tho ultra oppositionists and extreme sticklers for economy, that tho Uovcrnmcnt should only be supplied from quarter to quarter, and not look forward, by a reasonable cal- CTilairoffOlvatiurse'fHeTiU' anOecbTplsTIifis now fallen into just contempt. If the sum borrowed should be too small, and fall short of tho actual necessities of the Govern ment, a demand for a further loan would produce another shock to its credit, and bo a just imputation upon the want of forecast in the Government ; whereas, if it should bo more than is wanted, to somo small ex. tent, tho surplus can be disposed of without difficulty or injury. I hat tho amount pro. posed is about what is reasonable tho course of tho discussion has admitted or establish, cd. A more important consideration is, whether the terms proposed are such as to induce capitalists to invest their money iu the loan. Is tho recompense sufficient ? is the guaranty suiucienti As -to the in. ducomcnts offered to capitalists, the bill pro. viJcs that the stock shall be put into tho market and sold at rtrcrmarket price; in other words, that the money shall be pur. chascd,ikcnhy value in tho open market. It is obviously impossible to prescribo beforehand what that value may bor and it is equally impos sible that wo can refrain, under our actual pressure, from raising money at whatever it may cost. W hen our credit was first an proaching that downfall, which all honest men and good citizens now so deeply do. plorc, I stated, in my place here, under tho impulsepf . the moment, what I nowdclibo ratcly repeat as lite sober conclusion of my best judgment, that any cost of money was better than tho loss of credit, that any ex jcnse was more tolerable than that of honor, and that, rather than our paper should be discredited, I would buy money at eight, ten, or fifteen per cent, if it were nccessa ry. The value of money, like every thing clscdcpcnus upondemand and supply, and I itself - t-l law-of -trade. Undotibtrdly Liovcrniiam ukd mdividuoJs, miwt subtiui tho Government can get money on terms somewhat better than individuals could pro -oiro itatilwamo-U4-ne moreihan individuals can it get it for less than its value, and that value can only be ascertain ed by a fair and open competition in the markets .oftho -World. Thou sagacity -of capitalists is proverbial, and has been made trite in the progress of this debate They will, of course, make tho best terms possi ble for themselves, and, each attending to his own interest, and taking care that the other docs not get an uridue advantage, will not lose a good bargain of "the Government by an overweening anxiety lo obtain a bet ter. To tho effects, therefore, of a free competition, we must from necessity, as we ought from policy, to submit ourselves. The loan at the last session failed by the neglect to give sufficient scope to this prin ciple. It failed by restricting it to the short term of three years. The only plausible objection to the negotiation of the loan, on such terms as csn bo obtained in open mar ket, is the latitude of discretion conferred upon the Secretary of the Treasury. If any restrictions whatever, under the present circumstances, were -imposed -rrwa him, they would of necessity bo of so enlarged a character as to secure the Joan at all hazards, so as scarcely to operate ns a re. straint at all, while the large maximum pre- scribed by Jaw would at once -excite the desire of competitors for the loan, to come up to it, and relax his cnorgies and dimin ish his responsibilities to keep below it. It is impossible to fix the exact terms by law. Confidence to somo extent must be reposed in the Executive officer. ' Iliarcsponsibili ties are obvious severe. " He must faiUo perform them, either from a scandalous jn. competency not to be supposed, or from direct corruption still less to be imagined. Such a discretion has been common in our legislation, and the wise and proper exer cise of it has never yet been questioned, except, '""perhaps, in the ainglo instance where the elder Adams allowed eight per cent, upon a loan. - 1 5 '' ;; '- ' i - Gentlemen have objected to what tliey are pleased to designate as the degralation of the Government itt going into the mar-keL.-'.It is a degradation, air, to whfch all the Governments of the earth have been subjected , and to which they are in the 4aily Eractice of submitting themselves.; It is ut a submission to tho universal laws of trado and society, atid - so far from being dishonor or degradation, is a gloriofis illus tration of the principle, that tho general laws of society have come at length to bind, by thojcqual rules of justice- and equity, Governments as well as individuals, power as well as Weakness. .. I do riot fully com prehend, however, that squeamish sensi bility of honorablo gentlemen which shrinks so much from what they call " hawking" the Government Credit in tko market, when we reflect for what purpose it is done. The objoct is to redeem the Government credit from a disgraceful and dishonorable hawk ing through the purlieus of Wall street, and all tho contamination of brokerage That is its presout condition.-,-Your .Treasury notes, with the faith ol the Government emblazonod on the face of them, arc "hawk, ed" about through all the dirty shifts to which a depreciated paper is driven huck stered from the hand of a day laborer, to whom you have paid it at par at the coun ter of a keen and chaffering broker, for as much as tho averice of tho one can wring from the necessities of tho other. Your credit, endorsed by a holder for valuable consideration to you', and passed to a third person you have failed to redeem ; so that your endorser has-Jicen compelled to save nis own honor by selling yours for what it would bring. The drafts of your foreign ministers and consuls have gone back pro tested ; so that tho whole world, and every market place, and evory corner of -Wall street, and every back room' of every bro ker, is at this moment a witness to the fact that your credit is " hawked" aboutr And yet gentlemen are unwilliig to go into tho great open market of the world for Govern ment purposes. They wij not descend from their high dignity they will not com promise their fastidious honor. They wi'4 not soil their pure, ambrosial weeds with tho rank vapors of this sin-worn Wall street. This, sir, is but affectation and mockery. Your Treasury notes, your drafts, your acceptances, all the sub-divisions -of yur xrc(nrtaTswryvarlcty- ()f form ,-are rttir-- nous street-walkers ; and our proposing is only this, that, with matronly dignity nd grace; the Government should go in puriuit of and recluim its erring progeny fromthe haunts of vice and dishonor. It is supposed by gentlemen in the 0po sition, that, for tho purpose of rendtring this loan acceptable to capitalists, a spicial pledge or guaranty , for its ultimate redmp. tion, is necessary; and for that punoso the Senator from Mississippi has projKScd, by his amendment, to set asido the jro ceeds of tho public land. This amendment has found favor in tho eyes of my frind , tho Senator from Virginia, and obtainedhis aid and advocacy. 1 have not, howeter, been satisfied by las arguments. I tlink ho over-estimates greatly tho value of a special pledge. I cannot but think it alto gether nugatory. The Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. Woodbury) says, fiat r atl discrcel men prefer security bymoi; gage, and that you can't obtain a loan with out it." Now, sir, in the first place, :hc honorablo Senutor, then Secretary of die Treasury, lived throughout the wholo of the last Administration by borrowing w.th out pledges. With n declining revenue, with a prodigal expenditure, with a waning power, he borrowed,' and borrowed, and borrowed, and gave no pledge But this idea of a mortgage, or of setting apart a particular fund or pledge, is delusive, and will be understood to bo so by every one who 1s disposed to invest his money in Go vernment securities; The" efficacy of a mortgage consists In this, that,in individual transactions, the special guaranty will bo enforced by the public tiibunals, to which both parties are amenable. " Here JaihcJn. terposition of a-third-power T to wjucluhe cMt? aettag particrc- subject! btttwhen thcttoveramcntTtsetrTstune- trading parties, it is amenable to no forum but its own honor, its own faith, its own justice; to be interpreted and-enfereed-by- itself. Its promises, its special pledges, its general pledges, have no. security but its own good faith. When that is plighted, it binda-every -thing m. general andjcvery thing in particular; it binds all and the parts; it is a universal mortgage on all property, all money, every thing that can produce money or property, and every thing; that is holy, or valuable, or venera ble, in our moral nature ; in short, sir, a promise lo pay by the Government is a mortgage upon tho hdnor of the nation, and the pledge for its redemption is your land and goods all your land-and all you goods and the sweat of your brow, and the toil of your bands rand the working of your intellect And can it either add to your obligation, or enhance tho faith of others, that you set apart some small portion as a pledge! If you be ready to violate all faith, will you be ready to-keep faith inthe particular instance V If you ' cannot be trusted upon a guaranty -of the vshole coun. try, can-you upon tho guaranty of a minute part of it ? ' Nor is this view of the case altered by an idea which seems to lurk at tho bottom of the argument on the pthcr side, but which has been rather shadowed forth than- avow, ed. It seems to bo supposed that tho as signmcnt of a special pledge is in the na. lure of a contract, and establishes a vested right in the property pledged; but the con. trad is not less obvious, without a special pledge; and as to the vested right, it can. not exist more in the proceeds of the pub lie land than in all the proceeds and pro perty of Government if they be pledged No one supposes thai the contractors for the loan can go into a court of equity to enforce ho sale of the" public lands, and have the proceeds paid over to them, i The credit of a country depends upon its honor and its wealth, its willingness and its ability to pay. ! Forms of legislation, ceremonies of enactments, mortgages, pledges all Iho technicalities of tho conveyancer add ' noi thing to it. The only question asked by him who has money to lend is, is the Go vernment, honest ? is it able T Neither its honesty nor its ability has been heretofore ever drawn in question, unless it be by the course and exigency of tho arguments urged by the gentleman in favor of a special pledge, or by thoir doctrine of the repeal of Charters. We were willing and were able to discharge the debt of the revolution, with a population of one-fourth of the pre sent. -We have paid off one hundred mil lions of public debt since the last war, con. tracted when our population was ono-half of what it now is. , We are now eighteen millions of people, and increasing at the rate of 700,000 a year. The Government is endowed-with the powei of unlimited di rect and indirect taxation ; and even as to tho proceeds of tho public lands themselves they are to bo brought to tho aid of the re venue, by the express provision of the law of the last session, whenever it becomes necessary to impose duties exceeding twenty per cent. It has been" fho course of argument on tho other side to depreciate these clomcnts of credit-, and if the Senator from New Hampshire could enforce bis views upon tho moneyed capitalists, ho might persuade them that the Government was unworthy of trust, and obtain a party triumph by tho do gradation of his country. - But he will find that the astuteness of money holders in tho accomplishment of their interests ii not clouded or deluded by partizan prejudices, iih'd that they will trust tho wealth and honor of the country more man tne nonor- able Senator. - j Tho course of argument, too, suggested by my honorable friend from Virginia, though Certainly prompted by nothing but his own anxieties to secure success in the negotiation of the loan, leads also -to the same disparagement of our resources, ut least of our resources from the customs. The power of direct taxation bo has not adverted to: not. I am sure, because he thinks that this highest and most efficient of all tho powers of revenuo may not, or ougnt not, to be rosortod to, if a cogout emor. gency were prcsohted. It has not always been a dead letter : a war necessarily brings it into activity ; and I am sure my honora bio friend thinks with me, that the prcscr- vafronrthoatioTiartonoi-rn time of peace would be as patriotic a call for its exercise. asjtho maintenance i of tho Ration al honor in time of war. But I by no means concur with the Senator from Vir ginia that the prospective condition of our commerce does not authorize us to expect from that sourco an ample revenue, and enough to answer all" the demands of the pubjic service Tho average which he has taken of our importations, from 1917 to 1830, I can by no means admit as furnish ing correct data for future calculations. Of this period of ninolecn years, tho year 182(5-,7 is tho medium term: that is, fif teen years ago. Our population increases at the rate of forty.pcr cent, every ten years and of course therefore is somewhat more than sixty jipr cent, groater now than it was at that period. Tho developemcut of the industrious capacities of our people is, to say the least, in the same proportion. It" may therefore be lakCft "forgramednhat we are at this timo sixty per cent, wealthier than at the period referred to. 1 Ins pro position, it is true, is subject to "the opera, tion of accidental and temporary disturb, ing causes, but in the main it is correct. I do not mean to assort that our commerce increases in the direct ratio of our wealth and population, but I do moan to say that it necessarily bears .some-proportion to- it ; that is, that it is progressive, and, being so, is of course copable of yielding a progress- ive revenue. Ana nere i may remarit mat if, by the creation of home markets, the necessity of foreign importations be dimin ished .- it is in fact but a diminution of one . ! . : - t . i . soUrcp of revenuo by the augmentation of another. The proceeds ot tho .custom house are curtailed by tho multiplication and increase of objeetssubjeet tolireeHax alroffr Ilemcn bavc uriderraTdd0ie probable proT ceeds of tho customs. The average of the last seven years may pclTTapslaTrryTfe seven; for although, within that past peri od, there have been somo years' of unnatu-" rally redundant commerce, there have been also some years of great depression. From the beginning of that series, too, to the end of the series proposed, our population' will have increased about sixjy. per cent.; and in tho progress of that time it may be fairly calculated, without the indulgence of any too sanguine hopes, that the embarrassment and difficulties of the present time will have passed away, and the commercial energies of the country be restored to a more heaj;by condition. It will be seen, sir, by the table presented, that twenty-five per cent upon the importations of the last seven years would have produced upwards of 823,000, 000 a year, independent of drawbacks on refined sugars, salt, Ace, but these would have reduced it by nearly $2,000,000 an nually; thus giving an average of about 821,500,000. ' Our system of drawbacks is most unwise and burdensome to the re venue, demanding an " energetic reforma tion at the bands of the Legislature, and I hop6 tho Senator frortT Missouri will per. sUt, with his accustomed perseverance, in applying a remedy lo this great evil. That the drawbacks may bo reduced ono-half, I have no doubt, v lo tins average, oi czi ,. 500,000, if we add, as wo assuredly must add, an equal auty upon tea, coi, opium, and other such articles, now free, they will increase the revenue about three and a half rr;ii'inn nnnnnllv thus making an aszre. gate of twenty-three and alialf millions of revenue, upon the condition oi merce a it has existed for the the com last seven vnnra. '. ' ." . " - Tho' nvfliiiiTA imnnrtntinn. it Mill be DOT celved by the table, of goods consumed in thn mtintrv. tar mo last seven vears. is about ninetv millions t-certainy a small average for the next seven years My hy. potheais ot duty per cent.; orings buck tha nraceeds of the nublio lani into the Treasury , by tho express proyisbn of the law distnuuting tiiem amongpi iie oue, and thus makes that fund also,to 4very prac tical effect guaranty of the piblio debt. The proceeds of the lands insst ttme back into tue public Treasury. ;It is not only nrovidod for bv the cxprets tcims of the law of the last session, wbkh sever could havo passed witliout that feature, making it a sacred compromise between the tariff and anti.tnriff narties J but.bv necessities high. er and more cogent than the obligations of law, those proceeds must - return into the public Treasury. The wants of the country demand it. ' It is a reprehensible spectaclo which we present to the country of borrow, ing and giving at the samo moment The whole Bum of the proceeds of the public lands in our possession is of consequence; frittered and divided amongst tho States, it is oLno consequence. The passageof ibo. act did not affect the State stocks in the slightest degree ; in fact it bears no assign able proportion to the State debts. Those debts are $200,000,000. 3,000,000, the estimated proceeds of the public lands, is one-fourth of the interest of this sum ; but not more than one-third of this 3,000,000 goes to those States who owe the 200,000, 000, and therefore their dividend amounts to hut one.third of one-fourth. or one-twelfth of their interest in other words, ono-half of one percent, interest upon their debt. Without relieving the indebted States; there foro we distribute money from tho Treasury while we create a national debt, and squan der amidst our bankruptcy. I do not be lieve, if this state bf-things had been known at the extra session, the distribution bill could have passed ; and the fear of our ap proaching difficulties, especially the great difficulty of raising from customs what we distributed from lands, prompted tho rcstric. tion in the land bill, which engrafts it upon the compromise of 1833. I, to be euro, was not a party to this arrangement, having voted against the land bill in every shape, because I believed it to bo impolitic and in expedient, not that I felt any constitutional objection to it. The constitutional power of Congress has been demonstrated here so often by argument, and has been so much more frequently waivod in practice, even by those who pretend to entertain doubts about it, that a decent cacdor compels me to say there is nothing in tko constitutional objection; The-opposition,-while they de. nouueo tho particular measure, have count, less projects of their own to squandcrand givo away tho public lands. Not a session has passed since the war in which millions of acres havo not beca given to various States, private corporations, or individuals; and no longer than the list session the whole opposition voted for a project of distribution amongst a few of the States a project mado worse by a colorable pretence of com pensation. In certain conditions of the Treasury, therefore, I would not hesitate to votn for tho distribution of the nrocccds. I havo already done so, with four.fiflhs of --. r- . 1 .1. .1 . the whole Senate, when wc passcu uia ue- posite law. But the question, coming up inthe actual condition of the country, is presented in an altogether different aspect, on which I propose to express myself fully hereafter. In the mean time, we arc called upon-4e consider the policy and propriety of con necting the repearof the distribution act with the measure now under consideration. Is it wise to amend tho loan bill by tho adoption of this proposition. Is it safe ? I think not, Mr. President. I fear, indeed I have little doubt, that you would defeat tho. loan bill by connecting this project with it. I have sufficiently stated, what all ad mitvthattho ivils to bo remedied by this tbill are of the most pressing exigency, by tho universal consent ot every man in oou gress, by the evidences which arc crowding upon us, by tho incontroleable indignation of the peoplo. This matter has already been postponed too long. 1 feel in my own bosom, what I have no doubt is shared by every man in tho country, that the neglect of its-honor and the forgctfulness of its in terests, amidst angry contejtjoji'3j;nd pal Tryjjnjnlings of. patriotism which in republics springs from a just pride of cilizenship, in the bo nor of tne commonwealth. It is in some sort as if we hatfWenlfisgraced in tho field of battle, and we feel ourselves called upon rather to retricvo than to rejoice in our country. This must bo done at once ; and if not in tho.vcrv best way that miglitAn the best way that can be effected. I do not trtlievo that this bill with the' amendment proposed could be passed through the other ilouso ; at all events jt would bo subjected to months ot delay, i nis we an xnow ; and, for one, I am not possessed of that ro-mantic-.notion-of insisting upon the imprac ticable to the sacrifice of tho public weal. If L can1rrotKtnho'"best,'l tni williflt6 take the good; all hurhan affairs are. mat ters of compromise and concession ; tho beau ideal does not belong to politics. We are statesmen and not polemics. You are aware, sir, that such a proposition "as that now submitted by the Senator from Missis, sinpi has been already rejected in the other Ilouso in various forms, and that, when it came there by a special and v most earnest message from the President, it was swept out by a whirlwind. . """ ' I cannot therefore, Bir, think it prudent or wise to send (his nilt bact Willi sucti ail encumbrance a weight which, we know, will swamp it in that tempestuous sea, I havo not the slightest doubt that this amend, ment would be fatal to tho bilj ; -to vote it in, would be equivalent to slopping the tup. pliet. Are gentlemen prepared for thist Are they prepared to postpone tho supplies a moment beyond what is absolutely ncces. sary ! This may be an agrceablo spectacle , to those who love their party more than their courttry; the idea is not pleasant td me, I am disposed to do what I can. I am sure that neither the mover of tho amendment norjhe Senator from YJrginia desires $uch a result, and yet it is inevitable if they succeed. Mr. Walker asked across tho chamber, 41 If the President, by his message, desired to sto the supplies?" No, sir, not at all. The President believed with the honorable gentleman and with me, that tho proceeds of the public lands should be resumed, and, in a just exercise of his constitutional power, sent a message to tho House recommending it I wish the Ilouso had concurred with him, and sent us tho bill with this provision on it I would have voted for it most heartily, It is precisely because the President's message failed of Its effect in tho other IIuuso ty nirh a signal majority , i ndicating .beyond all doubt , the fixed determination of tho House it is precisely or this reason, sir, that I vote agamst t now. The Senator puts a ques tion to me as to the wishes of thu Execu tive department ; kit me put one to. him. Does he suppose that tho Executive would prefer no loan bill sto a loan bill without this amendment? . If it do, its wisdom and patriotism arc behind that of my honorablo friend from Virginia, for ho has declared he will vote for tiii bill with or without the amendment; and so wilt I. The gentle, men on tho Opposition side will not voto for it with or tcillwnl the amendment ,, Tho question as to the distribution of the pro ceeds of tho public lands will present itself in various shapes in the progress of tho session, when we shall have an opportunity of try ing. our strength. When that occa sion presents itself, I ehall bo compelled most painfully to differ with my friends on this si'Ic of tho house. It will be in obedi. ence to tho deepest and most solemn con. victions of my deliberate judgment, and I shall perform my duty. -- ; .- Tho Senator from Pennsylvania - has urged against my friend from Virginia, (Mr. Archer, with whom l find myselfjo tho same" category,) the inconsistency of voting the other day for this amendment, when offerod to Mr. Clay's resolutions, and voting against it now, when offered as an amendmont to the loan bill. It was for the very reason, that Own it was an amend ment to Mr. ClayV'icsolutions, and now it is an amendment to the . loan bill. Tho stating of tho case shows tho difference ; the proposition is not now abstract, but in a difficult and dangerous concrete, and must be considered under all tho circumstances with which it is implicated. We are called upon to vote m statesmen, not as casuists. Would tho Senator himself (eel authorized to voto for this amendment, if appended to any bill, howsoever foreign to its nature; still less can we voto for it, when we regard it Tabsd1utcly"desTfucfi contemplated by the bill. But this is a small matter,-sirr it has only an individual application. If I ever shall have disgraced myself ;bysubniiltTngl6bc s dragged tbrougli all tho tortuosities and circumvolutions of oblique and selfish politics, I then may bo come alarmed at a charge of inconsistency, and bo put upon tho necessity of V defend ing my position." It is conscience alone that makes cowards of us alk" A serious objection has been taken to that feature of this bill which provides for tho sales of stock at what it will bring ; and it is urged that it would be better to leave tho discretion in regard to the rate of inter est' than in regard to tho price of stock. I can see no difference; it only varies tho terms of the calculation to bo made by thoso who will subscribe for it This objection implies an entire disparagement of tlw commonest sagacity on tho part of capita. . lists, although, for other purposcsf gentle ' man have vaunted it so much. He who desires to sell his money, cither for so much interest or for so much stock, can fix his price by a very simple equation. If this object be to obtain 7 per cent for his mo. ncy, ho takes your stock at a rate which will produce it ; if his objoct bo to get your stock at 05 in an hundred dollars, ho esti mates the interest that will fix it at that. There is no reasonable doubt entertained but that this stock will be taken from 90 to par. A proper discretion is given to the Secretary to dispose of it in such sums, re deemable at such times, as he may think best, according to the state -of the market. Tho danger of combinations amongst ca pitalists is the same in regard to either plan. It can only bc avoided by the discre-tion-and ability of. the auentrbutcan-bardly exist wberrthe sphere of his actlanirEDP" rope and America. : However that may oc, I repcantTthat. to all practical effect, there is no difforonoo between a-8ale-of-toek"a what it will bring in tho hundred, and the sale of tho same stock at tho interest for which it will bo taken. Upon tho whole, Mr. President, seeing no substantia objection to the bill as it has come from tho House, and knowing that the amendmont proposed would defeat its passage,-1 shall vote in such a way as to preserve it in its present shape. ' It is per fectly clear that the opposition will vote for it in no shnpo which the wit of man can devise. We must not. expect any assist ance from that quarter, in raising any sup plies, under any circumstances. Tho Go vernment must bo carried on spite of them, and upon tho Whigs is the responsibility. ' Mr. Webster, it seems, has gone to New England, whether to interfere in the Rhode Island quarrel, or to attend to the Northeast- ern boundary question, does not yet appear. It is thought that one or the other, or both these matters werelh view. Gov. Fairfiod has callci a meeting of the" legislature of Maine. .
Highland Messenger (Asheville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 10, 1842, edition 1
2
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