ILl.
:-;n \v,;s its broaJ
t 'L'.b. iJ>; luun’ the b;- il
. waiiiui: fjr him. He iiuiihuJ
r * 1
f.is:
til,
settlcii fsis account and co:nrn» nct J
ieoonJ tlav. One thing-, simply, at-
o-voiH'dinj^dv
At
asked a
iJjuiii t!ic- ta
in-'iijmeal
l.is ti*nvt‘is tile
traded his obj- rvatiou—the road was
iiiiiiji'iii*—blit tiiU i'lct t xciied no surprise.
)i i‘ii) he O i!!••.! a house. ai:d asl
i va !i,,. \v;;o OU: Ul‘ a WiuJ.^W—
'■ U I..- Lire. :rv s..; / '
- >1: . si.-.-‘
V i.'p:-u-;-J a UiOmau. rLfleotcd. and
‘■•.■cm:- ■ 10 bj ■-\hiiinijLif over j^onie iiauir) Ci circuiii-
■'va!. ill f),s ; uad at hi^i he Said—
’-Vr • ui re p .■ny _-y iru r.rini-’ a Samnson
l..:> ro ;d, inr i,ijn ;
- ^^(.;d'many; ^aU ihe boy.
•' lju;rti:^ht so. Can von yive me dinner here
- ^ Li-uinly, walk i:.;’
vlr. Hin
; ihore l.*uk to the roa
' i. o( course stopped at t.hc lirst house la
V-' -y. A youth sat upon whed-Larrow 'at
Ul)
perity among^ ourselves
edness to other nations
to Ihe most commcP principl
ennniir-TP-itiniciTt ^ r
on
lyt .'•.tpp(;d in. swailowed liis dinner, and
\Vhen night carne
fivct 1,. jjjg
the
I , 7 , „ 4.07S.000 • iiad lasted for onlv forty-eight hours longer, he be-
lan, \-i «nu oI\31G,00L) j lievtd that the liitct vould have been to put a stop
5'j052,000 I to all transaciions betveen man and man.”
oui piouuots wi*i chow that we have | Un Wednesday. L'eceniber l-lth, the Directors
le e enient.^ oi uidependtncfr* and national pros- ' of the Bank began tc increase its issues. Mr. Jop
lin says, “The only consideration appeared to be
how they could issue fast enough. Thesovereigns
they gave out bv weight to save counting, and the
notes as fast as they :ould be counted, until, in a
rt^SQdrces. with such an amount of the few days, they had neither a sovereign nor a note
left. On Saturday night they could not give any
kind of exchange for tifteen of their one thousand
pound notes, nor could change be had for them in
Lombard street. The amount of the increase of
their notes, according to a return furnished to Par
liament, was as follows:.
IVov. 19, 1S25, they had £17.59 i,301 in circulation.
-r
’•> 'ViiisLiino".
v\ iio lives here, niv loh . '
.\Ir. :;ir •'
-Mr. S irnpson r UyjLipitcr' I sliould thiuk
'y were all Sampson's on this road. 1. rrot, din
r ;it one .Mr. Sampson’s yesterday,^slert lU anotli-
-Mr. o inipson's last night, and hero I'am at Mr.
taie housf.'s I
uct"—it is very
the fact of our indeht-
^'’.ows adisgj-aceful disregard
, . Jes of economy, or the
encouracement r»'• 5 itr- • i
o .. I. 1 houic indusfrv. A\ ith such vast
agricultural re;
the'^c^'*'^^ means of increasing
prQuucts to any extent, is it not astonishing
Our imports so much exceed our exports! Is
Uot strange that instead of paying our foreign
ilebts in our own agricultural products, and purcha-
_sing jbreign goods in the same way, we allow our
selves to be draiD-cd of the precious metals, our cur
rency derangc'i ! These things would be strange,
were not tht* cause one which cannot be mistaken.
It is usele-:^ to deny that u'e are hewers of wood
and uro’.v’ers of water to the manufacturers of other
iwtiorjs. and made so by their protective and restric-
iiv^^ systems. Confiderit in our capabilities and our
*.esonrscs, we have pushed our free trade principles
^;jnipso;j's again to-night. Besides.,
i.uvc teen upon this road ail iouL' a
\\T'
queer,''’ repii. d
which seeiufd to say. •• v\;
3?
Ca
tl.e boy, with
I can’t i’oul me.
a leer,
old fel-
give uvj iuppcr anJ Iod:r!n:? ?•’ said
?aid
ex-
np-
you g
travLilfr.
^ -iiauilr-'-walk in ''
I m dar».\ d it this isu !; a qu^'er country.
• old man as he v/ent to bed: this 1(3(
’!iy i’.ice (he room i slept in last night—I’ut
il’o all right.''
ft ',vas full two o’clock n'-xt day. when, alter tra-
- ll.ag at least six hours, Mr. Sn»iih stopped at a
'infoi'table dwelling with the intention of securing
.s diunur. A boy stood in the door
Said the boy
wiiu liV'jS L '•(; .
i'\ j told you th-.
Dec. 'J, - - 17,477.295
I “17, - 23,942,827
“ 24, 25,709,425 ‘*
I Feb. 22, - “ 23,'899,'OSO -
j This does not give the issues of gold, which are
I still unknown; but which could not have been less
I than four millions. Neither docs it give the in
to the verge of absurdity, if not of ruin; we have ' crease of issues which took place during the week
found that the free trade of the old world is like the ! of the panic. But it is not probable that the total
handle ot a jug—all on one side; that preaching '-'irnount of issues u'as much greater, either on the
such doctrines is a very diflerent thing from practi- i IQ^li of December, (the Saturday before.) or on
cing them, and that system of reciprocity must be : Tuesday, the day before they altered their course of
adopted, or the pressure and suffering the country is | proceeding. If so, it makes the increased issues of
now experiencing must continue. All that Ameri- | notes in the week of the panic sU millions [equal
cans ask is equality of rights, a reciprocity of trade; I to twenty-nine million dollars.] the chief part of
that other, would do by us as we are doing by them. ! which took place in the last fou/' days and in the
lhatsuoh is not the fiict, the following table, show- j week following, the further increase was tw'o mil-
ing the rate of duties charged on our principal ar-! lions, being eight millions in nil. fmnrc than 38
tides of product in ( h'eat Britain, (and they are e-| million dollars.] To this adding four millions ol
iualiy exhorbitant in other European countries,) will ! gold, make a total incren.'jo twelve millions,”—
piovc ; wliilo at tiie same time their prodni't'*> I /lay-eigiit million dollars,
ing a duty merely nominal, are forceu upon us by i This certainly exhibits wonderful powers of ex-
ship loads. Sucii a state of things cannot continue. ■ pansion in a bank. ]t was a bold operation which
Nations are like individuals—they are indeed only i prevented a general bankruptcy in Europe and
an aggregate of individuals; and the same train of! America. Mr. lluskisson said that “of this panic
causes that produce the ruin of the one will effect! no man could, tell what might have been the conse
doz
y-a
ere bt
t avcllin
-no—what nut
the
Ul
“ ! tow d’ye do'?”
•• >iijely, my sou
-Mi'. S unj'son
tin, s ah,-ady. '
•• The d-.'vil yuu have, 1 havt n't
for-', have I
1 rcck'jii yuu have—but ain't
on a bet
■■ 'i’ravi lling on a be
your head
“•Why, you’ve been walking round the race
course here for ivvo days and a half, and 1 don’t
suppose you were doing it for fun ”
For the first time, now Mr. Smith took a survey
of things, and to his astonishment, discovrrL-d that
the 1-'y had buen telling him the truth. He drew
his hat over his forehead and started for home—de-
iion again.—Evening Juurnai.
From the: Culuvatjr.
STATISTICS—STATE OF TIIE COUNTRY.
A knowledgcof the products of the country, their
.separate v'alues, the relation they bu-ar to each oth
er, the number of persons employed in eacii depart-
nunuof industry, and the various results arising A’om
each, would seem requisite to all who would under
stand the true condition of the nations, or of each in
dividual interest. Above, we give a general report
of the productive wealth of the country, so far as the
earth is concerned ; and we now give some tables,
most of which we find prepared to our hand by the ac-
u'rmiaed iujver to venture upon a pedestrian excur-
v.’ill show more fully than the i'orm.' r the relative
valuer of these several products. Without such con-
densi d tables, It is diilicult^ to approximate to the
truth in such matters , and the interest that makes
the most noise, the product that is kept most con-
sfuilly bei'ore the public eye, is very apt to assume
an undue importance in the estimate of productive
industr}', or the aggregate of a nation’s wealth. La
bor ia some form, either in the production ol the raw'
material, i!s manufacture, or its exchange, is the
only source of wealth ; and it is time that this great
irutii was universally fell and av-knowledged. The
proc eds of labor in the United Slates, according to
the last census, may be staled us luHows;
\gnculturo, §604,453,000
I* I an u I'act u r t, 39 5.3 0 U, OU 0
IMines, 59,608,000
l''o rests, 17,015,000
Fisheries, 11,200,000
Iloriioullur- , 3,119,000
that of the other,
DiUy on wheat,
do.
do.
do.
1,282,041,000
This is truly a surprising product, but there is no
reason to believe it is overrated ; if erroneous, the er-
ros most likely lie the other way. An annual pro
duct from the departments of labor of thirteen kun-
dred miLlioiLS o f didlars, one halt'of which belongs
to agriculiure. Suppose we examine some of the
mrns of this aggregate. 01 million bushels of wheat,
3S7 million bushels of corn, No one can estimate
the value of these two items at less than 250 mil
lions of dollars. Cotton comes next, to the amount
ot 04 millions of dollars. And here we may remark,
that in the estimates made of the product ul Ameri
•an labor, cotton is always placed at the head ; and
why ? Not because of Its actual value, but because
other nations are graciously pleased to permit us at
the present time to expoit the artical; and hence
the word cotton is contmually before the eye. One
fact will show th:it the relative position of cotton in
the scale of valnu ii; wrong. I'he cotton crop “ is
less than one twclftk pari of the tigricultaral pro
duction of the United States; less tnan one-sixlh part
ot i\\c manufacturing products, and less than one-
iicenticth part of the annual production of the Uni
ted States.” In actual value to the country, both
wiieat and corn are before cotton; and this fact
should not Le forgotten by political economists.
804 J 42.000
Total of agricukurc, OV!4,000,000
Total of manufactures, 4o4.000!000
1 he diiference in the estimate of munufactures in
th:s and the first table given is owing to the fact,
ti.a: the product of iron is placed under the head ol
mines. ; when it should, with the exception of the
oxe, have been placed to the credit of manufactures.
»t may be well in this place to give a few of the
.uo.'.L nnporlant items of manusactures as shown by
;ic I L-nsus. as jt uill allord the means of compariri’>"
liii'in w;tii those already g;vc-n of uf^riculture.
do.
do,
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
100
Indian corn. ‘200
oats,. ' 300
barley, rye and buckwheat, 200
potatoerj
beef,
pork.
buttei
cheesr,
COttOilj
rice,
tobacco,
timber, a:
oraire.
quence, if the Bank had not .«!tepped in, and by its
! timely and liberal interference, saved the country
I from destruction.” Mr. Ilurne very correctly ob-
, served in reply, “ That he must enter his protest
j against the praises which had been heaped on the
I Bank of England. It appeared to him, just as if
an incendiary w^ere to be praised, because, after he
, had kindled the flame, he endeavored to put it out.”
t It is well w'orihy of remark, that the reduction
I in the circulation of the Bank of England, between
March and November, did not exceed three mil-
j lions and a half This was sufficient to produce
■ pressure for money, not only >»* Kngland and the
I United State.'*. lance and m Ilolland. and
I .j.o o.tpo of (iood Mope, and at Calcutta. Eng-
sugar, uo. : land being the reguiating country of the commer-
AV'iiiskey, 2500 do. | cial world, produces confusion every where, when
lish, prohibited. j her own affairs are in disorder. 'I'he circulation of
fruit, average 100 do. i the Bank of France was, between May and No-
One moment’s attention to the facts of the case ! vember, reduced from 237 lo ISO million francs, or
will disclose the real cause of the distress under j upwards of twenty per cent, and the reduction of
which this comitry is laboring. It is the want of; of the amount of loans was still more considerable,
reciprocity; the widely different footing on which j "i he Bank of Holland which has been established
we and other nations stand in regard to each other ^ iti the place of the old Bank of Amsterdam, is.sues
nations stand in regard to each other. The govern- : notes of a less denomination than eight dollars.—
ment may spend years longer in tinkering the ! But, being a credit Bank, it is within the influence
banks, or regulating the currency, but it will do no i of that galvanic by which paper money banks in
good. The evil lies deeper. The experience ofi^iH parts of the world are affected. A demand for
all commercial and agricultural nations prove that ! specie on any one of them, operates with the pow-
no sound currency can be maintained, no continued \ er of a lever ; and w'hen this demand is great on
prosperity enjoyed, wheie the principle of, the Bank of England, all the others arc forced to
reciprocity enjoyed, is departed from in their ! reduce their circulation.
150
150
150
50
50
115
5
150
1*00
250
2500
100
facts of
pr. ct.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do
do.
do.
do.
to be properly a member of this Union, until the
constitutional form of government w’as framed and
established, and brought into being or. the 3d of
May, 1842.
Sir, what is the state of this matter 7 The old
thirteen States of th's Confederacy consisted of wdiat
were, prior to 1770, the thirteen colonies of Great
Britain, of which Rhode Island and Providence.
Plantations was one. A revolt took place among
the colonies; that revolt assumed the formjind bore
the aspect of a war ; as such, it w'as prosecuted to
its final, its successful, its glorious termination.
This war was so begun, prosecuted, and ended, w'ith
the express view on the part of the colonist, of ab
solving themselves, in the language of the Declara
tion of Independence, from all allegiance to the
throne of Oreat Britain. The w'ar was successful:
American independence was purchased by Ameri-
cah blood. All political connexion with Great Bri
tain ceased to exist, and it was made an essential part
of that instrument by w'hich the States were declar
ed free, that they were to be considered also sover
eign and independent. To this declaration the State
of Rhode Island stands pledged, because that de
claration was necessarily submitted to, and confirm
ed by, the Legislature of that State.
Yes, sir, the Legislature of Rhode Island con
firmed that declaraiion by a solemn resolve, forever
absolving themselves from all connexion with, or
relation to, British authority. Well, sir, after the
Slate had thus annulled the charter of Charles 11.
of .Great Britain, by this revolution and this decla
ration, where did they obtain their right to have a
Government independent of the people in whom,
hy thp. new constitution of ihoso UnitcKi States, the
sovereignty was vested ? The charter did not pro
vide for Its own amendment or for its owui modifica
tion: it was an emanation from the throne of Great
Britain, and could only be modified, changed, or
in any w'ay affected, by the ihrone itself, or° by an
act of the British Parliament. And it is the most
extraordinary political anomaly that has character
ized this extraordinary age, that sixty years after
the annulling of the charter by the Revolution, the
President of the American Republic is called on
to give life and vitality to it again. That charter
was predicated upon the allegiance of that commu
nity to the British crown; audit existed with the
restriction that the laws, rules, and regulations of
the Governor and Company should not contravene
the laws and statutes of Great Britain; and that
one fifth of the precious rnetais to be found in the
soil was the property of the British Government,
and lo be paid into the British Ticasury AVell.
whut become of their allegiance to the Britisli Go
vernment w'hen they lifted the sw'ord of revolution ?
safety, "that all power la naturally vested
consequently derived from, the peonle
trales, iKerefore, are iheir trustees and
at all times amenable to them .” that the
government may be reassumed by lhe neonl7'?
soever il shall become necessary to their hann^^
Never was there a declaration stroncrer ^ ’
comprehensive than tht^ made by the so^ereL"'"'"
pie of the State of Rhode Island. Well si?
Why as »
pan 01 the Uni
the Governor and Company of the Province
have ihey subsequently done?
they got snugly established as a part'of tli'e U
the Governor and Company of the Province etf '
ted the resumption of the sovereignty, because th
)t popular power enough around them to
sist. They resumed the sovereignty, metin^
r ueeause
was not popular power enough around them
sist. They resumed the sovereignty, metin^ q
the people as much right and as much wror^
those sovereign legislators thought proper to
mtcrcourse. A glancc at the duties imposed
on our products by Great Biitain vvill de
monstrate ihat in all these eases she has ap
proached the verge of prohibition, with the .sinpJb;
of her forbearance in this respect is evident. Cot
ton she must have, and at present, she can only
obtain it in sufficient quantities from the the United
States. Would she receive it at the present duty
Idiode Island.
In the Senate, on the 17th instant, ccrt-iiii Rt'solutions of-
fittweriiiUe l’rt;siiient aiul tho Rhode I.sland arnstocracy
having been r.j,,cted. 3Ir. A. addr-s.i th-j tS-.iir.c us ful’
lows ;
J said he proposed, before he down.
could she produce it in her own dominions? This j submit two other lesolutions, and, in doitig so, he
IS II serious question, and one which the cource of I the Senate some reasons upon which
.! those resolutions were founded, He believed this
had been the habitual practice in the Senate; and
events is rapidly bringing to its ansvyer. The rap'
id incxease of Lidia cottons as shown by the im
ports into Great Britain from that country; the vi
gorous and determined effort.? of the Go\Wnment
he hoped that, in this case, he w’ould not be prev'ent-
ed from following the same practice. He would
to extend and perfect the cotton crop of that reo^ion • i hearing of the Senate, the resolutions
and the exultation of the British press at the evi- ! proposed to offer, in order that the Sen-
dent success of these efforts, demonstrate what that ^ might judge of their ])ropriety. He found upon
onswcr will be. when the time arrives for its utter-1 ^ Senate a document containing a se
ance.
ries of resolutions, pas-sed by the Legisiature°of the
State of Rhode Island, by which the C-rov'ernor of
j that Slate was requested lo inform the President of
j the United Stales, and the two Houses of Con grcss,
I Uiat a new syste-m of Government had been adopted
i in that state, and w’asnow in full operation. It had
From Gouge’s Journal of llaiiluiig,
THE PAMC OF 1823.
In the latter part of this number, pages 3GG-S . .
will be found some of the particulars of the panic | therefore, been brought officially to the notice of the
of 1825, The effects were very serious in this ‘^^nate that the people ot Rhode Island had adopt
ed a constitulional form of Government, and that
Government is now in full o])cration. This com
munication left the Senate no alternative; they
-*ry
country, but were trifling in comparison with what
was suffered in England.
In consequence of the measures taken for the re-,
sumption of specie payments, there was a great | ‘^o^^d not close their eyes to the fact that there were,
influx of gold into Great Britain between the years ! Governinerits in actual existence
it was destroyed; the relation was severed, the
charter was dissolved. How w^as this dissolution
effected?—by authority of ihe British Crown?
No, sir; by the people themselves. And can the
British charter be restored by American legislation?
No, sir; because it was founded upon ihe existence
of British supremacy. Can the State itself give
vitality to the charter? 1 answer, no; because it
would be inconsistent with American independence.
And here let me be permitted to say that, inasmuch
as it cannot be binding upon the State, it cannot
upon any part of the State. If the whole cannot
revive it, neither can a majority, and much less can
a minority. It would be impossible for the people
of Rhode Island, if they were unanimous, to a
man, to revive it. They are bound to treat it as a
dead letter; and this obligation binds the Legisla
ture as firmly as it binds the people. If the Lbar-
ter still lives, it is because il is indestructible, and
must live forev’er. and if it does not exist, as I con
tend. there results this appalling censequence—that
the w^hole Governnient of the State of Rhode Isl-
has been a sheer, adownright'braTphemouVusu'^M^
non. Yes, sir; a usurpation ; for after the Revo-
luUon was accomplished, the charter w^as dead.
I he declaration of American Independence took
place, and the Revolution followed; every thin^’
that was British—every vestige of British' powe^r
and authority perished. It was entirely cut off
from the face of this continent. How’, then, has
this form of Government continued to exist? It
could only be in this way: At the time when the
Revolution closed, it is probable that the number of
those having rights conlirmed to them by the char
ter amounted to a majority of the population, and
they were willing that the charter should stand
that they might enjoy the benefits of freeholders!
1820 and 1823.
Encouraged by ihe prosperous
appearance of things, the Bank of England in 18-
24, reduced its rate of discount from 4 to
cent. An increase of medium w'as made about tiie
same time by the country banks. The natural con-
nolhiniT
I , . „ . artificial plenty of money
showed Itself first in a rise of Government Stocks,
within that State—one of which must be right, and
the other wrong. la this state of affairs, the Pre
per i ihe United States had assumed to himself
' the power and acjthority of deciding this vital and
momentous question, by pledging himself to support
the old form of government established under the
charter granted by Charles the Second, and against
that Government determined upon and adopted by
the people. This being the state of the facts, it w'as
a question of propriety and of power w-ith the Sen-
both British and Foreign, and then in the price of]^’^^ consideration—w'hen informed of
land, which advanced to farty oi- fifty years’ pur-1 hy authority, real or pretended, of the
thase. It led also to the formation of seventy-six } of Rhode Island, anJ knowing the course
joint stock companies, requiring capitals to the ! the President of tlic United States had taken
pounds sterling, or about
stock
amount of 174 million
850 million dollars.
In February, 1825, stocks were raised so hirh
that there was no prospect of a further rise. A
in the matter, whether it was consistent witfi the du
ty which they owed lo tie Constitution of the coun
try, to remain quiet sj>3Ctators of a civil war, in
which the powers of the Federal Government w'ere
ie» brought to bear ag:intst the constitution which
And so great was the . P^^ople had formed or themselves, and in sup-
rage for speculation in colonial produce, that on ‘ charter wh.K:h had been rendered null
one day, four or five hundred merchants Vorfro’^ or! American Revolution, and under
disregarded the hour of closinn- the London Fy- i since the period of the Revolution, that state
transfer pf funds then took place from the Slock to
the Commercial Exchan'^e. a .■
Cinton g6.3vi-
\V uoltn
X‘’la.\-,
:Mixed. - -
Macljinery,
1 laru ware.
L:.“ather.
I iats and ca*-.
hioap.
Candles,
Sugar,
Paper.
610,350,000
‘-20.090,000
822,000
O.j 55,000
io.ISO,COO
chanp, and were locked up in it, from a quarter
past four till half past five o’clock, w'hen, on their
earnest entreaty, they were released. Transactions
were on the scale of the largest magnitude; and
the satne parcels of goods changcd hfnds a dozen
leaving large profits to ihe several purcha-
time:
sers.
000
' ‘00
O'JO
^ joo
•' m
250.000
^:>5.oo(>
In May the Directors of the Bank in England,
finding the exchanges turned against the country,
deemed it expedient to reduce the amount of notes
ill cii culaIio.i. The first efTect of this measu re was
to chccic tne rage for new joint stock companies
Ihe next was to produce a scarcity of money
among merchants. This was sensibly felt in Au
gust, and continued to increase daily. In Novem
ber some of the principal city bankers failed, and
their bankruptcy was followed by that of the coun
try bankers. Distress pervaded all classes.
On the 12th and 13th of December, the difficul
ties uj the money market of
height. .Speaking
had no right to exercise the functions of an integrel
portion of this Union, of a sovereign State, or to
I send Senators or Representatives diis Congress.
; They had no more right to lake part in the legisla-
I tion of this Union, than they had to sit and legislate
i in the British Parliament. Sir, said Mr. A., the
i question is one of serious import. IMore—inhnite-
i ly more—important is it than any question of a
j bank, a tarilf, or anj^ question of national policy
I vvhich can arise under our form of Government.
I It is a question upon which rests the whole svstem
I ot the civil Government of this country, and of the
I civil liberties of its people. The President of the
I United States has undertaken to decide the question
I ihe American people—and that, too, a^^^ainst the
I people themselves. Well, sir, I said, and'’I repeat
; it, and it is with no unkind feelings towards any one
! --for reasons for such feeling I have none, but for
I the contrary feeling I have many—but to illustrate
the bearing of a jireal truth—a
arket of London reached the.r 'which has
of tlieso tvvo days H'lskisson r “"‘I "'hK'' I liope will con-
r ... iA-*3iv*''J>on tinue to rrovern tho Innn-..c.
said, “ Thut during forty-eight hours' it was impos
sible to conveit into money to any extent, the best
of th^ ^'invornmeut 'if the diffionlfios
tinue to govern the world as long as it continues its
revolutions upon its axis. I say again, there was
^ I no consliiutional form of government in Rhode Is-
• atrd by which that ooinmuni^y could be sonsidered
state of things to which an American
close his eyes—that is an exact inversion
politieal institutions. It leaves it in the power of
the Legislature lo declare who shall have the pri
cannot
of our
vilege of voting; and consequently they may pass
a kr.v excluding every one but themselves—perpet
uating to themselves and their descendants the privi
lege, and excluding all others. The sovereignty is
thus vested in the agent, and not in the principal
in tfie Representatives of the people, and noi in the
people themselves.
W^ell, sir, under these circumstances, what did
the people of Rhode Island gain by the Revolution ?
They thought they were struggling to exchann-e
British authority for the rights of civil liberty.—
\ et we see tfie great body of the people—three-
fifths at least of the entire population—being dis
franchised—left to the remaining two-fifths thc^pow-
er of governing. But we have seen that the people
have regenerated the Government—have thrown
off' this usurpation, under which they have so lono-
been deprived of their rights; and I will here ask,
By wha^i aulhoil}", under this charter, (if it dots ex
ist,) do .^Wliulorw tvom upun
this floor? Does the charter authorize the Slate
to elect Senators to the Congress of the United
States ? Sir, does the charter authorize a con
vention of the people of Rhode Island to incorporate
that Stale into the body of the American Republic 1
r presume not. sir. Hv whnt mithnrinr
as much wrong as
out. Instead of having their own duties pres^crTn
to them, they assumed the right to prescribe to th
people, their lords and masters, how niuchlibe*
they should enjoy. Sir, the President of the l; ?
ted States, it seems, is now called upon tosust^*'
this charter of a British monarch John Tyler \
called on to act as Charles II. of England wouU
have done, in enforcing this charter—by force* -
arms. Who ever before heard of an appeal ioa°^
Amciican President to support British authority?
And 1 say ngain, if he has the right to call in {r'
aid of an arniecl force to sustain that authority.
independence of this country does not exist.
a proceeding might be tolerated in Canada: but.
relation to one of the Sctitcs of this Union, the sup.
position is as ridiculous as it is odious. The Pre^;.
dent declares that he feels himself bound, and that it
is hU duty, to employ an armed force, if it becomes
necessaiT, in order to enfore obedience to this usur
pation, vvhich has been for half a century in exis-
tence in Rhode Island. He will march an armed
force of American citizens into that State in martial
array, to shoot’ down the people, in order lo susuia
that charter, wdiich it was the main object of iht*
Revolution to destroy. Lethimtryit! let him try
it! The President is a man, and but a man. 1]..
is an officer of the Government, and but an officer.
The power w'hich constituts the President rests
neither w'ith this body nor its friends; it posessesa
moral force which is superior to either. Let the
President undertake to march an army into Rhode
Island, to put down the liberties of the people at the
point of the bayonet, and he w'ill have done a deed
of which his posterity will be ashamed—of which
the nation will be ashamed. But though he threa
tens to do it, and stands officially pledged lo do it. I
tell him, i^s I have told him face to face, that tliu
American people will not permit him to do u
Here is what will test the question [holding up a
placard.} This I look upon as the first flash of i:i
dignation from the enraged brow' of an angry peo.
pie; and I warn the President to take notice of iht
lightning’s flash, as being the forerunner of a sionu
that will cover him with deep disgrace.
Yes, sir, this is a Government of principle, sus
tained by the sense of the people ; and the man whu
rashly undertakes to put down popular liberty in
this country, will meet with signal discomfiturf.
In connexion with my honorable colleague, I hav-j
the honor of representing one of the great and glu-
rious Stales of this Union; and, sir, I can assuru
you that I speak tlie feelings of the great body of
the people, acting only under the promptings of a
bold and heroic magnanimity, when Isay that they
wouM be roused—that they would rally as one in!i;i
in defence of our glorious liberities, whether inva
ded b}'' foreigner domestic foes.
I now’ oiler a resolution, which will test the sense
of this body upon the vitality of our whole systeri..
I liave introduced into it nothing but w'hat has beea
prompted by a natural impulse of patriotism—no-
o... ,wi. ux, it-apuiiucu CO uy aic wnon; t30ilvof
my coiintrymen. Had the Senate acted uponi'p.e
resolution when it was first offered, the President
wouid have retracted; he would not now'have stood
pledged; the Government of the people would have
gone on; the rights of all would have been protec
ted by t he votes of all.
Mr. Preston rose to a point of order. lie had
refrained from interrupting the Senator for a lon>;
time, though he had, from the beginning, transcend
ed not only the rules, but the ordinary license of de
bate.
Mr. Alien would save the Senator from the ne
cessity of proceeding any further, by informing him
that he had risen to his point of order just in the
right time—for he (Mr. Alleri) had not another
w’ord to say, except to submit his resolutions, as fol
lows ;
Resolved, That it is the right of the people of
Rhode L'land to establish for themaelves a constitu
tional republican form of State Gov'crmnent. and ia
any particular to alter or modify it, provided it:>
form be left republican.
litsolved, That it is not the right of the Federal
Government to interiere in any manner with the peo
ple, to prevent or discourage their so doing; but
Uiat, on the contrary, it is the duty of the Federal
Government to guaranty to them, as a State, such
republican form of State Government, wlken so es-
tablislied. altered, or modified.
RHODE ISLAND.
presume not, sir. By what authority, then, did
they act, when they became a constituent part of
this Union? Was it under that charter, granted
more than a century before the Revolution—was
it by virtue of that charter, under which the majori
ty of the inhabitants were disfranchised, that that
Slate took refuge, like a tempest-tost vessel, an J be
came safely moored in the harbor of the Republic?
Do you bring the charier into the Federal Constitu
tion with you ? No, sir; the people of the State of
Rhode Island adopted, in solemn convention assem
bled, the B ederal Constitution—the vital, elementa
ry piinciple of civil liberty. It w’as recognised by
all parties. Without this, the State could not have
become a member of the Union, because the Con
stitution requires that this shall be done. This was
not the work of a party; it was effected by the fa
thers of the Revolution, who laid down the funda
mental law of civil liberty—men w'hose veins were
drained of their life-blood in procuring that indepen
dence, and the enjoyment of that civil liberty, for
their decendants. What did that convention do?
I hey declared “ that there are certain natural rights,
of which men. when they form a social compact!
cannot depiive or divest their posterity; among
which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with
the means of acquiring, possessing, and protecting
property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and
There is yet much obscurity in the Rhode Island
movenientis lor the last few days. Compahng the
various accounts, we think the following will be
found to be the true version :
Governor Dohr returned fron: Washington with
a determination to upliold the constitution^ adopted
by a majority of the people of Rhode Island, atev-
ry hazard. To that end he determined to call
around him the military power of the State, (to be
used only in case of absolute necessiiy,) to tak3 the
public property out of the possession of the Charter
party, who hehi it in defiance of the fundamental
law, and to prevent tlie fnrther exercise ot anthori-
ty on their part, now to be considered in no other
lignt than as a usurpatiod. Accordingly a move
ment was made on Tuesday night of last week to
take possession ot the arsenal at Providence, wfiere
a quantity ot arms were on deposite, under chargc
ol a Cliarter guard. This movement failed; but
for what reason is a mystery, as those given, espe
cially tJie repeated Hashing of tlie cannon, are in
sufTicient to account for it. The probability is, that
the actual firing of the guns was never intended,
the design being merely to Irighten tlie guard into
a surrender j wfiich proving unsuccessful, the at
tempt to get possession of the arms without biood-
slied was relinquished.
In the mean time it seems to us to have becomc
apparent that the leading Suffrage men were not
united, and that Governor Dork became satisfied
that he would not be supported in e.Ktreme mea
sures by a considerable portion oi‘ his own party,
who despaired of success m opposition to the threa
tened interference of the General Govenmeht.—
The indisposition to proceed further appears to Jiavc
been strengthened by the promises ot the Cfiarter
party that they would immediately call a convention,
with the view of conceding all that the people de
manded. Thus, menaci-d on one side, and encour
aged on the other, it appears that a number of the
lidding Suifrage men, and his own family connec
tions, entreated Governor Dorr to relinquish ali
further attempts to enforce the authority ot tlie ne»v
Governnient, and, for a time, to leave the State.
He at first resisted all entreaties to abandon the de
termined spirits who liad rallied around him; but,
satisfied at last that, in consequence of the desertion
and wavering of friends, the contest must end m
the destruction of the i’cw who stood firm and
he yielded to repeated importunities, and, witnou
the kno'.vledgc of his c'vu companions in arms, ^
/