sistaintag. aaoflf tne ame pplt diffe.-ewt ewrrenesee of eaeqiisl ala. A ltd b ad-atrUy did the whole sys tem, daring the lour year, of it e lin ear, move and work! And a th two tinf trtuaate -teeasioas of its ceasing to exist, now quickly did the basioe. end transactions of tht country run tato wdd disor der and alter confusion! Hitherto, 1 bsv. ronsidered this new project at it u, according t lU trot na- tare and character, an J what it mat in- eviublv become. 1 have sot examined it at it it ant, bat as its friend woolJ re present it to be. They bold out the idea that it is a simple contrivance to collect. ti keen, and to disburse the public ret e nae. la that s iew of it, every eonside ratios of safety and security recommends the aene of responsible corporationa rather than the employment of particular individuals. It baa been above, during of this debate, that the amount which has been lost by the defalcation I mous expansion of Executive power; to of individuals, has exreeded three or four I arrest the progress of corruption; t re times the amount of all that has been lost $ buke osurpation; to drire the (Jodie and by the local banks, although the sums ! aoJals from the capital; to expel Dre--l-e i.t , .M r i,i;i)usl. hate t onus and his horde from Rome, who, uot been probably one tenth part of the I amnat that has been ia the custody of crreiiiiess ral. and to suMnote in their plare the receivers general. The new system re quires, I think I bsve beard it stated, something like 100,000 employees to hsve it executed. Aod, notwithstanding the modosy of the infant promises of this uew ,r"jfct, I haTe no doubt that ulti mate !y w shall have to employ a num ber f person, approiimating to that which is rslatned n France. That will undoubtedly be the case whenever we shall revive the system of internal taxa tion. In France, what reconciled them to the system was that Napoleon first, and the Uourbons afterwards, were pleas ed with the immene patronage which it gave them. I hey used to nave tuo.uuo 1 Jen-nhnis to add strength to the throne, t wl.c -. mJ been recently construc.cd or j re-v.ided. I thought, however, Wat the learned r hiirman of the commit'ee of financr mJJt hsv had some other beside .he Frcnc't model for his receivers gene iai; and accordingly, upon locking into SmUVa history of his own atale, I found , that, when it was yet a colony, some cen turv and a half ago, and when its present ' nohle capita! anil retained the name of New Amsterdim. the historian says: , "Among the principal laws enacted at' this session, we may mention that for es tablishing the revenu, which was drawn into precedent. The sums raised by it were mad epayable into the hsuds of re- ceivns general, and issued by the (Jover nor's warrant By ihia means the Gover- , nor became, for a season, independent of j the people, and hence we and irequcnt instates of the Assemblies contending with him for the discharge of debts to pri- 9i nnrsnnt. contracted on the faith of ,t,. n..imnt " The then Governor I id ti colony was a man of great violence of teiiper. and arbitrary in his conduct. How the sub-treasury system of that day operated the same historian informs us in a aubspaoent nart of his work. The revenue," he says. " ....1 established the last year, wa at this session continued five , year, louger man wa. ortginaiiy iniena- ed- Tin. was rendering the Governor independent of the people. For, si that day, the Assembly had no treasure, out the amennt of all taxes went, of course, into the hands of the receiver general, who was apnoibted by the Crown. Out of this fund, moneys were only issuable by the Governor', warrant, .0 that eve- iy offieer ia the government, from Mr. Blaitliwair, who drew annually hve per cent, out of the revenue, as auditor gene ral, down to the meanest servant oj the public, tK-came dependent, solely, on the Governor And hence we find the house,' at the close of every session, humbly ad - dressing his excellency, for the trifling 'traces of their own clerk." And, Mr. ' President, if this measure should unhap pily pass, the day may come w hen the Sena'e of the United States will ' have humhif o implore some future President of the V. i'l States to grant it money to par or its own sergeant at-arms the LH-al banks. And we all know that, the mistress oi tne wor o, suoweu . - ,Ccordin to the old of Hist very debt of gl75.000.000. would during thefortyyeareoftheexistenceof preference for gold; that lie was a hJ?' atill exist, ia tlie shape ol private U.. th. two iWof th. United State,, not money ch.c u,n. t was by the much . tiS!&n' The Senator from SoUl Carolina might one cent was lost of the pubhe revenue, more valuable metal of iron that be was ! rXkoftrS sTates. a. well collect the aggregate amount of I have beea curious, Mr. President, to driven from her g.jes. And how often Vi.oolJ Weoi puWic i2 friwate all the mortgages, bonds, and nous, know whence thiaide. of receivers gene-j have w.witnes.sd the Senator fromSouth j' which have been executed in the United r, was derived. It ha. Uen suppoM-d Carolina, with woful counienance. and n State, for loaus. and a.ser, that the inte- ,o h.ve bren borrowed from France. It doMil .trains, pouring forth . touch g ? J1, fBi JJ i ,lumy cheek, rest paid upo "n.Uluted requ.red l the power of that mot extra- and mournful eliquenco on the degene- ner ai i n eseni s ,e an J (lie BpoB u.. community, ordinary m.a that ever lived. Napoleon racy of the times, and the downward ten- JJSl UlU iquidat.on of the debt doe to the Bonaparte, when be was is , bi. men iaa , 1 S ' uSl I Sow that tXly STJ. bank. fron?,he community, and from the . to disnuce tne iarmrr kiis- uc .....r, - . . , . ,f ... .... hank in i iff rommunitv. trie re wnuia not , and door ki-eper. V 1 1. M. President, are the most con epicuius of ihie who perseveringly pres acd ihi-bill u o Congress and the Ameri can people? ltsdrswens the distinguished eentlmaa in the white house not far off; its endorser is the distinguished Senator fro a Sooth Carolina, here present. What ih- drawer thinks of the endorser, his cauu ius reserve, and stifled enmity pre tents us from knowing." But the frank- nrt of the endorser has not left u. in the same ignorance with respect to his opinion of the drwer. He ha. olten ex pressed it upon ihe floor of the Senate. - a- . . un an occasion not very uistant, aeny iog to him any of the nobler qualities of the royal beast of ihe forest, he attribu ted to him iho which bolong 10 the most cr if.v, most skulking, aad one of the in a. test of the qu.idruped tribe. Mr. rreeiJtBt, it is due to myself to sav that 1 do not altogether ahare with the Sena tor from South Carolina m Lis opinio of the President of the United States. I have always found hiss in Lis manners and deportment, civil, courteous, aad gen- ilemauly; and he dispenses, in tne nuie mansion which be no occupies, one worthy the residence of the Chief Magis trate of a treat people, a generous and liberal hosmta'.itT. An acquaintance w ith bim or mom than twenty years aurauon hu insnirrd me with a lespect for the . man. although I regret to be compelled to say, I detest the Magistrate. The eloquent Senator from Sooth Car !ioa has intimated that the course oi my friends and myself ia opposing this bill, was unpatriotic, and that we ought to have Cloned ia bie lead; and ia a late letter oi bis, be has spoken ol bis alliance with us, and of his motives for quitting it. I cannot admit the iostiee of bis reproach. We united, if indeed there were any al liance in the case, l restrain the enoi- when he threw his sword into the scale, to augmeut the ransom demanded from bis lofty and impassioned eloquence. Although I shared largely with the ben ator in his apprehension for the purity ol our institutions, and the permanency of civil liberty, dispored always to look at the brighter side of human affairs. I was , sometimes inclined to hope that the tivid imagination of the Senator had depicted the dangers by which they were encm-! panted in somewhat atronger colors than ' ther justified. The arduous contest in which we were s long engaged was about to terminal, in a glorious victory. The very object for which the alliance was formed was about t be accomplished. At this' critical mam.'nt the Senator left us; he left u for the very purpose of preven ting the success ol the common caue. ( He look up his muke, knapssrk, and j siim-poutu, anu juimcu mr nm rinjr He went, horse, foot, and dragoon, and 1 he himself composed the whole corps. ' He went as hi present mot distinguish- j ed ally commenced with his expunging . resolution, solitary and aloue. The ear-1 liest instance recorded in history, within ' my recollection, of an ally drawing off his forces from the combined armv, was that of Achilles at the siege of Troy. He withdrew with all his troops and remain ed in the neighborhood, in sullen and dig nified inactivity. Hut he did not join the Trojan forces, and when, during the pro gress of the siege, his faithlul friend fell in battle, he raised his avenging arm, drore the Trojans back into the gates of Troy, and satiated bis vengeance by sUyiog Pri am's noblest and dearest son: the finest he ro in the immortal Uliad. ButAchiHcs had ! been wronged, or imagined himself wrorv ged, in the ed, in the person of the fair and bcau'.t ful Briseis. We did no wrong to the distinguished Senator from South Caroli na. On the contrary, we respected him. confided in his great and acknowledged ability, his uncommon genius, his exten- 1 aive experience, his supposed patriotism; . above all, we confided in his stern and m - . or use nirririirii iiarii Hr.iniPi iiiw wsw- a - - - - 4 ...... ... m. ., . .,.?. muexioje nuemy. .Aeverineiess, tie leit r "''' "pj'wuciu-, distrusting and distrusted. He left us, as he tells us in bis EJgefield letter, be cause the victory which our common arms were about to achieve was not to enure to him and his party, but exclusive ly to the benefit of his allies and their cause. I thought that, actuated by pa j trioiism. (that nublest of human virtues,) j we had been contending together for our : common country, ior ner vioiaiei rignis. her threatened liberties, her prostrated constitution. Never did I suppose that personal or party considerations entered into bur views. Whether, il victory shall ever again be. about to perch upon the standard of the spoils party, (ihe denom inalion w hich the Senator from South Ca rolina has so often given to his present allies.) he will not feel himself constrain ed, by the principles on which he has acted, to leave them, because il may not enure to the benefit of himself and his par ty, I leave to be adjusted between them' elves.-.. , ; -' , . The speech of the Senator from South Carolina was plausible, ingenious, ab stract, metaphysical and generalizing. It did not appear to me to be adapted to the bosoms and business of human life. It was xrial, and not very high up in the air, Mr. President, cither; not quite a. high as Mr. Clayton was in his last as cension in his balloon. ' The Senator an nounced that there was a single alterna tive, and no escape from one or the other branch of it. He stated that we must lake the bill under consideration, or the substitute proposed by the Senator from 1 irginia. I do not concur in that state ment of the case. , There is another coarse embraced in neither branch of the Senator's alternative; and that course is to do nothingalways the wisest, vhen you are not certain what vo'u ouzht to do. I .el us suppose that neither branch of the ' !tf native is accepted, and that nathirg j is done. What. then, would be the con-1 eqaencc? There would be a restoration r the lw of 17S9. with all its caauous and securities, provided by the wisdom of ocr ancestors, which ta been so trampled upon bT the late aad present administrations. By that law, establish ing the Treasury Department, tie trea of the United Sutea is to be reeeiv ,t. knt and disbursed br the Treasorer, under n bond with ample security, ender a large penalty fixed by law, and col leit. as this bra kaves it. W tne unccnam of a Secretary of the Treasury. If, therefore, we were to do nothing, that law would be revive J; the Treasurer would have the custody, as be ought to have, of the public money, and doubtless h would make especial deposilrt of it in stl inctMMi with sfe and sound state banks, at in some eases the Secretary of the Treasury is now obliged to do. Thus. we should bate ia operation mas very aeeial deoosite system, so much desir ed bv aome gentlemen, by which the pub lic money would remain separate and un mixed with the money of banks, mere is yet another course, onembraeed by ei ther branch of the alternative presented br the Senator from South Carolina; and i th it is to establish a Dank of the United er has barricaded itself cimt biishment of such a Inn. It adapted, at the last extra setsion. an unprecedented resolution, that the people of the United States should not have such a bank, al though it must be manifest that there was a clear majority of them remanding 11. But the day may come, aad 1 trus is not distant, when the will of the people must prevail in the councils of their "n go- vernment; and when it does arrive, a ban! will be established. The Senator from South Carolina re minds us that we denounced the pet bink system; and ao we did, and so we do. But does it therefre follow tint, bad as that system was. we mnst he driven into the acceptance of an infinitely wore? He tells us that the bill under consideration lakes the public funds out of the hands of the Eseouiive, and places them ia the hindt of the law. It doe no such thing. They are now without law, it is true, in the custody of the Executive; and the bill pr poe by law 10 confirm them in that custody, and to convey new and enor- mous powers of control t the executive over them. Every custodary of the pub lic funds provided by the bill, is a crea ture of the Executive, dependent upon his breath, and subject to the same breath for removal, whenever the Executive, from caprice, from tyranny, or from party mo tives, shall choose to order it. What safe ty is there for the public money, if there were a hundred subordinate executive of ticrrs charged with its care, whiUi the doctrine of the absolute unity of the J whole executive power, promulgated by 1 the last administration, and persisted ii bv this, remains unrevoked and unrebuk cd. Whilst the Senator from South Carolina professes to be the friend of Si.ve biuk, he has attacked the whole banking svstmi of the United States.. He is their fneml; he only thinks they are unconstitutional! I ivui Uecatisc the coining power is j pOSS8ej by ihe General Government, anJ t))at co,,njj power, he argue., was intended to supply a eurrency 01 the precious metals; but the S:ate banks absorb the precious metals, and withdraw them from circulation, and, therefore, are in conflict with the coining power. That power, .according to my view of it, is nothing but a n;iked authority to stamp certain pieces of ihe precious metals, in fixed proportions of alloy and pure metal, prescribed by law, .0 that their exact value may bo known. When that office is performed, the power is functus officio; the money passes out of the mint, and becomes tho lawful property of those who legally acquire it. They may. do with it as they please, throw it into the ocean, bury it in the earth, or melt it in a crucible, without violating any law. When il lias once left the vsults of the mint, ihe law-maker has nothing to do with il, but to protect it -gainst those who attempt to debase or ronnterfeil, and, subsequently, to pass il as lawful money. In the sense ia which the Senator sup pose, banks to conflict with the coining power, foreign commerce, and especially our commerce with China, conflict , with it much more exclusively. . That is the great absorbent of the precious metals, and is, therefore, much more unconstitu tional than the Slate bank. Foreign com merce sends them ont ol the country; banks retain them within it. The distin guished Senator is no enemy to the banks; he merely thinks them injurious to the morals and industry of the coun try, lie likes them very well, but he nevertheless believes that they levy a tax of twenty-five millions annually on the industry of the country I Let us examine, Mr. President, how this enormous and iniquitous assessment is made, according to the argument of the Senator from South Carolina. He states that there is a mass of deb! di'fl from th? community to the ia mm e.w spsii ni m iswainv naa miss kK. km w - laats, axiouauisg ta en5.euo.Uiw, ue interest ep which, constituting a'ooi that ana of tS.C00.000. forma the ex- rrptionabl. tax. this sea is not : L . m Mmmsiiilr. Suit Afifv nilU PJ tan j , -- y l-vat the bant.. 7 ow-w mnsrj at six per cent, interest, and invest it ia ... -M I proa table adventures', or ouer ise empioy it. Ther would "not borrow it if they did not suppose they could make profit by iu and in probability i that tney go make profit by it. I as tea J, tnerriore, oi there being any I ss ia the operation, there is an actual g on to the community, ny tne excess of profit snade beyond six per cent, ihterrsi, which ihey pay. nat are bank! They are mere organized agen cies for the loan of money and the transac tion of monetary busmen: regulated agencies, acting nnder the prescripuona t,i law. and subject to a responsibility. mnral and leeal. Ut transcending tnai under which any private capitalist ope rites. A number of persons, not choos ing to lend out their money privately, associate together, bring their respective init!a into a common stock, which is controlled and manazed by the corporate eovernmenl of a bank. If no association whair rvr bail been loreJ,alarge portion of this capital, a largf ponton therefore be as rauMi difficulty as the Senator seem. to apprehend, from the mass ol debts due to the banks are to be deducted, first, amount of subscriptions which con sli'ute their capitals; secondly, the amount of depositee to the credit of individuals in their custody; and, thirdly, the amount of their notes in circulation. How easily will these mutual debt, neutralize each other! The same pers n, in namheiTcas instances, will combine in himself the relatl nt boih of creditor and debtor. TN only general operation of banks beyond their discounts and depoMies, which pervade, the whole community, is that of furnishing a circulation in redeemable paper, beyond the amount of j specie to redeem it in their vaults. And can it be doubted that this additional supply of money furnishes a powerful stimulus li industry and production, fully compensating any caual inconveniences, which sometimes, though rarely, occur? Banks reduce the rate of interest, and repress inordinate usury. The salutary influence of banking operations is demon strated in countries and sections of coun try where they prevail, when contrasted wr.li those in w hich they are not found. In the former, all is bustle, activity, general property. Th. country is beau- liiicd and adorned by the nolle works of internal iiprotement;ibe cities are tilled with splendid edifices, and the w hares covered w ith the rich rotirtiori of our own or of foreign climates. In the latter, all is slugsi-.liiies. tlotiitulr.et., and inactivity. England, in modern times, illustrates the great advantages of banks, of credit, and of ttimuhted industry. Contract her with Spain, destitute of all those advantag'-. In ancient times, A thens would pie lent an image ol full and ariive employment of all the energies of man, carried to the highest point of civili zation, whilst her neighbor, Sparta, with her iron money, dlWds another of the boasted benefits of metallic circulation. The Senator from South Carolina would do the banks no harm; but they are deemed by him highly injurious to the planting interest! According to him, they inflate prices, and the poor planter sells his productions fur hard money, and has to purchase his supplies at the swoln prices produce! by a paper medium. Now, I must dissent ultngethcr from the Senator's statement of the case. Eng land, the principal customer of the planter, is quite as mat h, if not more, a paper country than onrs. And the paper-money prices of the one country are neutralized by the papnr-mnncy prices of Ihe other country. If the argument were true, that a paper-money country trades disadvantageous!)' with -a hard money country, we ought to continue to employ a paper medium, to counterbal ance the paper medium of England. And if we were to banish our paper, and substitute altogether a metallic currency, we should be exposed to the very inequali ty which has been insisted upon. But there is nothing in thai view of the matter which is presented by the Senator from South Carolina. If, as he asserts, prices. were always indited in this country, beyond their standard in England, the rale of exchange would be constantly against us. An examination, however, into ihe actual state of exchange between the two countries, for a long series of years evinces that it has generally been in our favor. - In the direct trade between England and this country, 1 have no doubt, there is n large annual balance ag&insl us; but that balance is adjusted and liquidated by balances in our favor in other branches of our foreign trade, which have finally concentrated in Eng land, as the great centre of the commercial world. . Uf all the interests and branches of in dustry in this country, none has profited titttt hf lite etc had epLvtutt credit and rp'tal derived (rem laiAifc.4 other tosms, than the tdautiag Uiets It habitually employe -credit it a.1 countries where planting sgrieidtars irt tads. The State, of Alabsas. JJ sippi. Arkansas, and L-Hjltuni, klte almost sprurjg4oi existence, m u tie, be sntie. or. at least, have beea improved and extended, ender tL ul. meeofthe credit system. Lands, ffc.,. utensils. beatU of burden, r.4 mlt supplies, bate been constantly Lroc,! and still continue to be purchased, t:yjt credit; and bank aeiey is a'4 esseavd h give lite most oenvbciii operation tatitrH credit. Rut the argument of the SVaau Irom bouth laioitna. which 1 am tmVu. ing, would not be correct, if it were tnt that we have inSatrd prices on this of the Atlantic, wilhnut a 'correspond,, inflation of price on the otLer sidr" because th planter generally aellis borne, and buying at home, the proceed, ol Lis .ale, whatever they may be, ee. etitule the meant by which be cdma lu purchases, and consequendy nmtri each other. In w bat do we vf the Wr. receive payment for the iranenseqBuu:j of live stock and other produce id induvrv, which we annually sell to iU Siulh and Sootliwesl, but that p medium now eo much decried and o.. nounced? The Senator from South ($. rolina is very fond of the .tat. bau';t:; be think, tliere is no legitimate currcae; except that of the constitution. IU (us- 1 tend, that the power which the (iovtn,- ment possesses to impose taxes restrku it, in their payment, to the receipt of tit precious metal. But the coostiiutiaj doc. not .ay ao. The power is givea ia broad and unrestricted terms; and th. Cot. eminent is left at liberty to rullrct tit taxes in whatever medium or comiuoj; t. from the rxigencie. of the rasr, it fin collect them. It is. douhtlett. much tLt most convenient to collect them in mooft, because that represents, or can cotnma&J, every thing, the want of which is imp!.! by the power of taxation. But suppot there was no money in the conntry, turns whatever, to be extorted by t!ie in gatherer from an imporciislied pcrirV It the power tf Government to eta, aud the people to be thrown bsrk into 1 state of nature? The Senator asks if mo could bft levied and collected in iibv?G. in cotton, and other commodities? I'r doubtedly ihey could, if the r.ecesMty ti isted for such an inconvenient imposiiini Such a cae of necessity did exist in l1' colony of Virginia, and other cMiwirf, prior 10 the devolution, and taxes m accordingly letted in tobacco or chr. commodities, a. wolf-sctp, een at day, compote a part of the rrtrnue :: more than one state. The arg'imet.t, then, of the Scmtor, against the richtof the government tn ! ceive bank notes in payment of pnMc dues, a practice coeval with the exiten't ot the government, does not seem ti & to be sound. It is not arcur tc, fr r. other reason. Bank notes, hen t ! vcrtihle at the will of the hoi Jcr into p cie, are so much counted or hM spc'it, like the specie which is counted andfn. into marked keg, denoting ihe unii!;!? of ihrir content. The Senator ihat it ha been only within a lew cYs Out he has discovered that it is iller-l 0 receive bank notes in payment if f t&if dues. Dot s he think that the vK' " the government, under all its admini-'ti-lion. nd with veiy party in power whih has prevailed for near fiftv yew. ought to be set ssido for a ootil tliroty of ht, jtisl dreamed inlo existence. fe: if it possesses the nterii of insenuitj The bill under consideration, which been eulogised by ihe Senator as perfcc; il its structure ami 'ct lilu, contains 1 Fra- vision that bank m tes shall be receive . diminished nmnonions. during a term sit years. He hime!f introduced iltf identiTil principle. It is the only rsrU Ihe bill lhat is emphatically hi.. H" then, ctn he contend ihat it is unconi'.! tulional to receive bnnk notes in paytrw of public de? I appeal from himsrl. ' himself. The Senator further contend, that general depnsitcs cannot be with banks, and be thus confounded the general mass ol the funds on slt: they transact busine5S. The try? supposes thn the money collected f"'w es must be presorted in identity; but i'j is impossible often lo d. May nnttj' collector give the small change which' has received from one isx-pycr to n'u cr tax-payer, to enable him to effort " nnvmpiii! M iv he nnt i banco g"l 1:1 kilter, or vice tra. or both, if hclf 3 distnnt collector. 1.1 obtain an nmli'U Mmitlam-tt lo tUti m.l.lir trpasurV? W"1'' Mr. President", is the process of mT- dcpoMies with banks?4 The uepn- made, and a credit is entered for " mount to the government. T hat ero is supposed lo be the exact equivalent 1 the amount deposited, ready and f""-.' coming lo the government whpnecr,n' wanted for the purposes ol disburse-" It is immaterial to the goverinneid ther it receives baek agtiio ihe ' cl!"'" moncv put in, or other money ; 'i'v value." All ihat it wants is what it 'l the bank, or its equivalent; ad ordinarv limes, with such prudent bk as alone otisht to be selected, it '"' ' ... . . . .i has I"' getting. Again: urn irc-mi" (inpnilv In iniliR remittances I" 'orei Mnenditure 111 cessary there for our naval equadr" -and other purposes. They are mf. the bankers, to die ll- rings or the W child, in the form of bill nf cNC';t