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-w a. vi -d. tlaV Vol. XVIII,-. DEBATE IX THE SENATE. Tir. Clay nud Sir. Calhoun, On tas SaVTreasarT Bill. March 10, 1933. ; yt. CIA Y. in continuation. . Bui t hit left 0 piny, a J Joined no rtrtj! N' With ihe Iiljr evi- jfflffi bt-f'we ot of bit frequent associa ii.i8.coanteUinf.an4 acting with the oth er riy. lit would tas our. credulity loo audi io require us to believe that he hat (jraed no connexion with iu He majr sua J upon hit reserved right, bnt they aui be menially metre J, for they art 1,4 hioo 19 ihe teste. 'Abandoned no rjrt! Why this letter prLiui his hniqnii as an J assigns hi reasons (or Juing iU one f which is that we are u f icor of tW mlioi.il bjfik which the $ :ir himself Las sustained about 2 1 t -,f. mil of the 27 t'nt he ha been i i pM.c life. Wlu'.ever imprein the S :ntr may endeavor to make without i Senate upon the country at large, no niihio lite Senate, who lu eyes ti r rtr to hear, en mistake hit p re ! pu-tfon and party tviiinexinn. If. ;i i ch which 1 aMrosed to the ji.rite .i a firmer d ), t'lc-re Jul hem a ; f .C! S'ated wh:ii W, lilt x-iff tt- , iv.; c nr an ii.feicr.ee t!ran which .. fiJi'v warranted. r any i!ecrrtio:i ,f !,s i.uiio t w hich vii incorrect, no iu:i v.dd enjoy great r rleaure ih n I s !iU do in rectifying the error. If. in 5 picture which I portrayed of the S - : it aid hi course, ihcre be any thin inch r -n justly give him diststisUction. t tsjt look to the original anJ not to , piiuirr. Tli conduct of an eminent ruSlic man it a f.ir uhjeet f.ir expoiure tni viinadveMion. When I adJrcsed ihe Senate before, I had iutt peruied l!ii ifV.tr. I recollected alt it reproachc 1 imputation annst u, and t!ioe '.ieh were inadenr implied in the tpecch i t!;t honorable iletntor were ato freth m my memory. I) lea he expect M be t J to cat aucii iin.muuon, and WMVif 1.W iMIM Wl i.htul rfiluii )n! ll tld n myitlf a- .La ! tie w t.iml aifmm mi-nable f.r tny pili!i eonduel, 1 cho ie it a'limi'lvrrl ii; io !.n. m unoii Hut ol Aft; wJieueer rireumtince, in nv lament, render it nert'siry, and I do ui!rr ll j'it reponi!oiilv wlncli be n; the excrcite of audi a pnu'.i-g?. I lie Semtor hat th.ui'ti proper to ex ie a eorrr iimtdini priilfe toward mywif, and. without being very peciue. ii ukrii upon liiinr-if to impute to me e rliiMe of gom over upon oine f.r- nif r ore 4ion. and tlut in a m -inner ln h 'ft mv HKitive no matter of .ronjeriur'. i Hi eiutir me4ii iuu.lt i i iii- tute Mil rrfuied r.iloomy if (!. Kmurr, wire ) in I rii hi-ir it wi!i.ml the '!ifVet e-n liion; and if ! can tiod any 'fiiiicnl l th.tt rent btiuirr tocoier his a ai!irrratinn, he is perfertlv nt hher it n enjoy all the he!trr wlm-h it-ilfird. myc4e there no nnz over :.out '; I a member of t ii llousa d lit' sistitaiive. and had lo give a vnt'1 for e uf three eandiilate fur the l'reiden- tr. Mr. (rawford unfortuii ite nhvti il ennililioii placed him out f the que "i. Ilia choice w. therefore, Ii nit rl to the vener ihle gt-ntleman from M ctiiweit nr to the I;siiiruiiiiI inha bmnt of ilie Uennine. I could give bitofie vote, and arr-or.li'igly a J slAted M a former nccsioo, 1 give the vot "iien, ftelore 1 leu Kentucky, I eominit ruecd to my colleague (Mr. Critten ln.) it wit my intention to give in the contingency which happrned- 1 have ver fur one moment regretted ihe vote "n rive. It it true that the Iegnlv lure of Kentucky had requested of the re- pfesfntative from that state to vote Tor Ienerl Jackson; but my own immcdU Me MnMiiuentt, I tnew well, were op- P"il w his flection,' and il was their and not that of the Legislature, ac "trdinj to everv nrinciols annlicable to fie doctrine of instruction, which I w a stress of the land bill, il may bo temera '"' 'lep.nite in the billot box. It is their I be red that I said Pass this bill, and and my own never to have concur tt the elevation f General Jackson. nfy ratified and confirmed mv vole. "Ill evfirv r-nronl!lir ihnt ill luvA nl l( Cmire aiuro. iiirln.liniS inV r , - a i '"enil the present member, has concur- ""1 Willi mi in imimiiiiiiii t iTia olpe 1 " -n l ail.tiiuisitratioii of (leitcral Jack- I. - ' -'.; h my i ifir n tii tn be not entirely in- f 'rf,"e , ami there wa any going cr in c pri'suieiitiiil il.'ettott which terminal- I "i in Pehuury, the Senator from ' t. r.ti;r, Htnl not I, went over. I iiiiilcrsto .d th n Uio Senator when ''' .1 to !. i i lavor of himself, that ' ' i !!ii niciO'ir.ih!e iiinvruient made ' ' "b'!;i hi i by tho rt"i:'iit Mmij'.er i . withd.Mwinm bis na tie fVom thi? ' '' w i the kniwo eiijionricr of tht ' 'u"ii of Mr. Adams. What motives '' I hint afterwards lo ttnito in ihe t'-ctiun of (Jenertl Jafkor.,l Lnow net. Jllg-LZiig .COXSTITUTIOX. It is not my habit to impute to other ts rharittLle motives, and I leave the Sena tor to settle that arrouut wj;U ,IWn roofcienee and his country. sir, I have no reproaches to make myself, and feel perfectly invulnerable to any eiUek from other, on account of any part which I took in the election of 1825. And I look bck with entire and cr.cio i tifetio0 upon the whole cour-e uf the arduous adininittraiioa which enued. The Senator from South Ctro i,ia think it is my mufortune to be id war riding some bobby, and that 1 lirk to" it till I ride it dovo. I thiuk il is hi ne ver to slick to one Ion enough. lie i hke a courier, who. riding fVooi pout to pot, with relays uf freh hore, nl.en he changes hi steed. em to f.r;rt al together the last which he had rao mtcd. Now it is a part of my pride and It i ure to ay, tlut I never in mv J.f ed nv d It Vr-ite .iiiin u..i, i a i j;ri jt inr t-cie id nr.ioo d tf'ify Iu: int.. . an I thit wa tue:itv-i o i i '.. quenti'Oi n( the -i-twer l i !4'il;! a 1J ,uk oflheU.Stj-.e. T ue c'i iije 4 41 Mi r.t'i by the sad and !i.-i!...i, xjit rn; .uv .. the want id urh a i iuititutMii Mm out ( t!.c calatiutii' uf war. Ii w.; u eliii'je hi-!t I m I io e.i.t.-.i ui !i lr, 1 diOt. t't (I erif i.f Vi.M!..4, and iUe grei! I id. -J ti I! , ..i j.u ty t w Ui. h 1 it nt- riff Ik! mij. .. No. .sr, the Sto-it.-r f o 8--U t'.ro. li.ia ii fff ' ffm -J.l . ;.i. .i h of Mi.-!kii t.t li.ttie. Uf o l -r a li.uk ..f iii? Uiittid StrfU io 1810. tie pro;M-d, iippoitfd. Mtd uith hi ae.-iisinined abi lity, earned tfirit the e!urtr. Ue uilaitied it upon t!iu admitt.-d ground i.f its conttitotioiiality, uf ubicli de neirr nnee breathed the expreioit of a doubt. During ihe tenty ye..rof it continuance oo tcruple ever ecped from l.im a lo the power to create it. And in 1831, when il was about to rx (lire, lie dehWrately a 1 vocated ilm renewal of it charter (3, term ol tweUe jeiri wore. However profound he may suppose ihe power of annlyns to bo, and wluievt r opinion he may enerjin of his owti ineiipliysioul faculty, eao lie i-naine thil any plain, praeueal. ciim turn irtise man, e,it coin prehend how it is constitutional to pro long an iiiiriiiisiituttotinl b.iiik f r tlie spue if twt-e years! llemiy nurronnd such a propoxitioii with as nu iv circo'ii Unce and Coiuhtions at he !e4e; lie o..iy Jri'j it up a-id i!n r.:ir it uith .( much drapery and ettcomps it wi.li as many ili-liiiction and qti ilii'n'.ti.i . a his imagination fan invent; it ci n. s at last to this: a lUnk of the t'lnl-d Si t-s is C"iti'.itiniiiul, or it i not. If it is un entitutioiul in its ri)iii, it is oucousti tottotil t!irotit!i'iut evrry uhequrnt ttujp .f its xisienee. And if it be ad mis'ihli io Continue mm Ii ho mn'onioilii im iuI iotiiu!ioo for me term of twelve years, il in.iv be 'niiiuie I aiiotlur .ni ao-ithrr. lo t!ie i-ihI of tune, Tlie distiuiti-Iied Senator t''k l-ng 1 1 no hobby. He um ni.ri- goly ununit ed On tint of hitrrii.il t'tijuoM-mt nts. We ro h lh:it do t'.ile. ihi Simi .t.r iiim h. -fore and I behmd him. lie ipiteity fl?H ped ir. leavi ig me to hld the itriilio. tie introduced n I e.irritd ihrt.n! Cm gres in 1818, the loll ceuiug wjiiirt the Itre b tni.s of i'.w. Ua ik .of the I'liiti d Stiles for internal improvement:1. Hi tpeceh delivered on tn.il oerasHiti, d v ....t i...ni. ll... -. I., tint constitutional power of thn lioveniiiiwT but proeml upin the ansumptioti of its being Hiei:!i:etle. U hert lift wss tib- ecqtieutly in Ihe Department l War, ho made to Congress a briounl. report, sketching as splendid and magnificent, a scheme of internal improvements ir tbe entire nation a ever wa presented to the admiration and wonder f mankind. Where is he now! For mvtelf, I am just where I was then, as to ihe existence of the power, although I am willing to admit that the altered, condition ol tlie country has lessened the degree of neces ity for its exercise. During ihe pro you will forever settle the power of the government over internal improvements. Although that meusum unfortunately fail led. for reasons already Slated, there is now tilde or no nc asimt for the aid and interposition of the General Government Hut the power remains iu the constitution; and if it he iiot.pra'MteaHy exercised, it will be like n!i r dormant powers eon laiued in the same iiitni;).t iit. An.l in .respeel to the power 1 1 prle-i AtnernMo iinlustry, it ih pist :m niueii no t:t Constitution as it was in 1316. when the t?o Senator from South ('arnlnui pn'd the policy with soV much' zeal a:nl a'niity ; just as fixed there as it was regarded frmii t'u! commencement of the governm-Mit down 1 1 l-S )or IS22, when for the first ii in- it was eoiiirovcrifil. Under its h iKih eot ooeration. thousands have been enabled to obtain a competency, many t aeiiuiro wealth, who otherwise woulJ ue ver'luve known either. Na f wtriot heart AND THE LAWS-TIIB OUJUIDUIW o75r MBM FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 183-?. -1 "iiiifc'ti, y ran f"d to capind with endtatioa at lie b!eiut5 which it 1.5 d .Tused. It hits placed t t in f ,yul eo?ppe:ni-i with some of the pnat-r moit sdraneed in rud.zv tin; ai.d in spite of all th-l has been in sidiously done against the interest, and which is still doing, our cherUhed manu factures will, I trust, stand up anJ main tain lhemelre against the unnatural hos tility at home, and all jealous rivalry furiaa. Tlie Senator from South Carolina set tired f his bobbies imi iwn, 'lite whole country was CN with jul alarm at ihe fearful stride of Executive power; and judging from the lone of the Senator's s,eeche, and the strenuousnese of hi exertions, no one was mre anxious than he, but a lew thorl months ago. to reduce it within safe nl constiiuiipnil limit. Dut he suddenly goes over to a party which mitnuins to the very letter the wh"le stent of the power ever claimed by t ie ExenMive Department maintain th it in a Ur", iim-Ui 't nt. and reponi' ! !. il ivermuei.t. cveiv t.hordinate Ex- t ivit:ic uiuer i ho:iiul impltetily to obey t if w ill ol i'ie lfidft.t, and that he may ex' Ti'i-c at hi i!iser lion tho tremeiidiiu i-o . r i l .i oi-ioo. not mtly without a4igui.iiie4snns,bui without tli smallest ; r .ettcl or avad .lilo r.'sponsibility for its i xerco-e. 1 1 1.4 tlforts hate not only eiM-p-1 t i re.tr tin a-td c:reumcrihe tl.e ti mer, hot he n:;n:or;s a measure winch will gtte to it a vast segment r.ion. I repe.it what I have so often said, that if this Executive bank is to be sanctioned by Co;:jfs, it will he the nf.er destruc tion i f nil oilier banks in ihe country. e sh ill hate, ki Uet, ultimately but one bank, and thr.t a Treasury bank, exclusive y contro.lcd by the Lxeeutive, emitting all t!e paper inediuin in ciiculation, and amatstng and hoarding the greater part or the specte of the country. We shall have, in short, that perfect union of the sword and the purse, which all real pa triots have ever so much dreaded. I think when the honorable Senator under takes lo establish hi ow n consistency, he assume a Herculean tak, beyond his powers, great and gigantic as he believe them to be. lie may have all the speeches he has ever delivered, read to us in an aadibie voie, by the Secretary, and call upon the Senate attentively to hear them, beginning with his speech tit favor of a hank of the United States in lSlu, down to hi speech niiiiuf a hank of the Unit ed Si ties, deiiiered the other d ty, and he wi'l h ive nude no progress in hi lack. I do not speak this in any unkind spirit; Hoi I will tell the hnoorable Senator when he will be cniisttteni. lie will be o, when he resolves hcocrforward, during the residue of Ins life, never la pronounce the word eg-iin. We began our public career nearly together; we remained together throughout the war and down to the pcacf. We agreed as lo a bank of tho United Mate as to a protecuve tariff as lo internal improvements and l itrlv, as to those arbitrary and vi ilenl measures which characterised the Ad ministration of General Jackson. No two prominent public men ever agreed better together in respect to important measures f national policy, j We concur now in nothing. We separate forever. The Senator sometimes says, that he is going to f ill back upon the Republican party f 1827. Then it is ihe entire South which he would unite. Then it is the Republican, party of 98. He pro fesses to rally on Mr. Madison's resolu tions; but ho and Mr.,-Madisott never could agree about their true import. The Senator deduced iiullilica.ioa from - those resolutions. But nullification nevt-renter-ed itito the head of Mr. Madison. , That pure and enlightened patriot never tould comprehend how a Confederacy .of 2d stales could get along at all, if any one of its member could, at its pleasure, set aside and nullify the will of the whole.. The Senator, too, professe to belong to the Republican party of 'OS. but 1 fear we should differ a much about its real tenets and doctrines as we do in respect lo any constitutional qucstionv The Se nator has allowed himself .to use some expressions not cry customary or parlia mentary in dclibcrnte assemblies; I shall not imitate his example in the employ ment of .hem. But I beg leave lo assure li-m of my feelings of perfect and entire reciprocity. " - . The Senator appeals to his present party, rallies his new allies, and cries out ti tlicm that victory is ahead, to wltjclt he wilt lead them. ' Pass the bill, he ex d li tis, and decide the long vexed qttes tio.i. ami tint put an end to all con troversy. lint does the Senator, and do nnv uf 'his friends suppose, that if their bill shall pass litis Senate by a majority of one or Poo votes, and the other House by a similar majority, it will pour oil on "the troubled waters, and give peace to this distracted country? No, sir, no. The trimmed business, the embarrass ment, and the threatened ruin of iho com mutiiiy, are not to be tettorcd to order and prosperity in that way. I know in other countries and ia other timts, it has been a common calculation with tyranny, that when the tyrant nods, his ill is to re obeyed and submission to ensue. Uul benalort need not 1st that flittering unction to their souls. The people of this country are too enlighten ed, too well acquainted with their interests and rights, and too firmly resolved at all hazards to maintain them, quicdy to sub mit to a measure fraught with such ruin and danger to their liberties as this is. The supporters of this bill seem determin ed, if they ran, to reverse the great principle, which lies at the foundation of all our institution. That principle i that tl.e popular will flows from the People into the legislative 1111. and control, directr, and modifies all measures, intend ed for the advancement of their happiness. Dut this bill treats the known will of the people w ith sovereign contempt, and sub stitutes the wid of ine servant for the will of the mister. It proceeds upon the fallacious assumption that the servants of the people know belter than tlie people themselvrt what will best promote their hnppinet , It it in vain that you put on the screw, and attempt to force from them reluctant acquiescence by cutting off every other prospect of relief. It is in vain that you pronounce your veto against a national bank, and promulgate to the world your solemn declaration that j passed, and went forth with healing on the people shall not have one, although it its wings. Il was hailed as the harbin should be manifest that there is a clear j ger of peace, and was understood to be majority of them demanding it. Ii is in vain that you should denounce, and lay your unhallowed hands on the domestic institutions or the states, endeared lo them by long habit and cherished affection. Do not deceive yourselves. There may be those who are bold while here, acting in the sunshine of Executive power; but when they return to their constituents, whose will or whose instructions they have defied, they will find in their frowns, their indignation and their maledictions, that the power of the people is superior to ihe power and inllence of their most exalted magistrate, whether in office or in retirement. When Mr. CUy resumed his scat, Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Preston both rose. The Chair cave the floor to MR. PRESTON, who said that no thing could be more unexpected or pain ful to him than the necessity under which he found himself uf interrupting for a moment the discussion between the Sen ator from Kentucky and his colleague. He well knew that in the general expec tation of the public, and by the acquies cence of die Senate, the day and the oc casion were appropriated and set apart for those gentlemen, and he had taken his seat, not doubling that he should lis ten in silence, to which his health at well a all the proprieties of thi occasion seem ed to consign him. Uul (said Mr. Pres ton) no condition of my health, no dread of violating an unexpected order of pro ceeding, no rule or ceremonious observ ance, can compel me t. silence under the remarks of the Sanntor from Kentucky in regard to my state. If they had been personal la myself, I might submit in si lence, or postpone a reply for a more fit occasion, without breaking in upon the unity of the present scene; bul the hono rable Senator has thought proper to in dulge a course of remarks upon certain recent and conspicuous acts of my state, pressed, as il seems to me, unnecessarily into this discussion, w hich I will alonce resent and repel. y 1 have remained eilent when vulgar witlings have sought lo amuse themselves or. others by a poor jest on nullification; and I have heard, without emotion, the rtTorlsof underling politicians, who, ever and anon, supply a vacuity of 6ense by a puny and innocent tirade against South Carolina. Sueh tfiings are to be expect ed from such quarters, and may be well submitted to in tilence and indifference; but when these poor topics are rescued from contempt in the only way by which this can be effected, by that adventitious consequence derived from the dignity and position of htm w ho uses them, they be come worthy of animadversion, not on their own account, but. on account of ihe party resorting to litem. In the contest which South Carolina waged with this government, whether she was right or wrong, no man of right mind, who Jinows the circumstances, wilt perceive matter for jest or ridicule. Her course is now histoiy. She acted in patriotism and honor. Her principles were openly asserted, her purposes bold ly avowed; wrong or right, the fearlessly assumed her ground, calmly arrayed her self against the whole power of this go vernment, sternly retorted the frowns of tyrant, armed as he was by ihe eager haste of a servile legislature, with all the power of the country, in or out of the constitution; and when the personal pas sion of Ihe Chief Magistrate, ministered to and inflamed by the ready seal of the most thoroughly devoted party which c A. 1117. this country ever taw, were joined and sustained by tlie greediness of iho manu facturing loterest in measares of snilitary violence, were there any symptoms of ir resolution, of giving back, amongst nt? Did the honorable oeastor see any sign of fear at borne, or hesitancy amongst those woo eo well and so nobly repre sented as here! DiJ we not hurl back the proclamation in the teeth of those who issued it! Did we not upon this floor answer argument by argument nod thieat by scorn, while at home the aula armed herself to repel force by force? Did any one who looked upon the scene in litis Senate, and our actors in it; diJ any one who looked to us at home, even from this distance, see any where the beating of men, whose names could be mentioned, except ia the vulgar violence of pampered power in any connexion with an ignominioua death, or whose conduct and destiny coulJ io any event be associated but wiib honor and respect? Slaughtered we might have been, crush ed and overwhelmed, perhaps, tut the honorable Senator did not understand the occasion, nor does he know the people cf whom he speaks, if he believes that the crisis of 1833 could have passed but by if or, or concession on the part of this government compromise, if the wcrd be more palatable. Well, sir, the compromise bill was . the result of mutual concessions, made in a high spirit of patriotism, for the pur pote of smoothing the heats which threa tened the country. In such a spirit, un questionably, we acceded to the compro mise, surrendering, for its sake, a portion of our iuterett, which in justice might have been insisted on; and, in such a spi rit, we supposed the honorable Senator, as the representative of the manufacturing interest had given his consent to the ar- rangement. These high and holy pur- 1 poses I attributed to the honorable gen tleman, and to those who acted with him, on that occasion. I thought him entitled to the glory of having acted from no per sonal motive, from nothing that savored 1 of parly feeling, but from a broad patri- otism, or the broader principles of that code which promises blessings to the j peace-makers. And on this high ground ' I have always understood the gentleman then placed himself; but his declarations to-day show that he is discontented with that position, and he prefer to have it known that his object was to drive a good bargain for the manufacturers; and that his views of peace did not extend beyond saving a good fellow or two from an igno minious death; that he did not believe that danger existed, or that South-Carolina intended aught but child's play. The honorable Senator has a right to estab lish ihe relation in which he stand to tjis transactions of that day, and to correct ihe history of them, which had falsely, as it now appears, anigned ao different, and, in my judgment, to much nobler an attitude to the honorable Senator. He now permits it lo be understood that, when he seemed ' to compromise with South-Carolina, it was, in fact, but secur ing the tariff against Gen. Jackson; and that, when he talked of the harmony of the Union, and the peace of the land, he did not, in fact, consider either in the slightest danger. In all this he was to tally mistaken; as much mistaken in re gard io us, and we were to him. We were anxious lo avoid, but not afraid to meet, a collision. We, at least, were in earnest, when we said we were willing to fight for our cause, or to compromise -for peace. We were resolute and armed; and when the honorable Senator speaks of that period in the light lone he has as sumed, he treats it in a way inconsistent with the true character of the crisis, with his own dignity and with the dignity of this Chamber. . Mr. CLAY. I am happy although the Senator from South. Carolina (Mr. Preston) has totally misconceived me, to have been the occasion of the very elo quent vindication of his own state which he has just pronounced. He complains of my allusion to Nullification. Hi com plaint ought not to be of me, but of his colleague (Mr. Calhoun,) whose exulta tion at the supposed overthrow of the protective policy, through the instrumen tality of Nullification, has reluctantly ex torted from me an exposition of the truth. But, Mr. President, nothing was further from my purpose than to cast the slight est imputation upon the gallant and pat riotic" state of South Carolina, or any of her citizens. In my opinion she was eminently wrong in that memorable con test; but I never doubted Iter sincerity, or her gallantry. I never doubted that, in the land of Marion, ofJSumpler, and ol Pickens, there were many of . their de scendants equally noble and brave, and that the people of South-Carolina would, upon all proper occasions, maintain the high character which they have sc just-
The Durham Recorder (Durham, N.C.)
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April 20, 1838, edition 1
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