The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1831-1858, 1832-08-22
SPEECH OF HENRY CLAY,
Ia the Senate, on the Presidents Ve.o Of the
Bank Bill, JuIu 70. 1899.

r. LA a tn charf
had recently n,ssed Co,rr.ss .f,sr much debeIa- /
ton In this boy we ~, ri ,bare are members
enough WIN en,er,,ip no cors,;,n,ioral scrupes. I
TO make with tho vn,o I,v hich tho hill was pass
ed a majority of two-tbirds, In the House of
Rep.eseniatives .lso /, i believed there is a like
majority in favor Of he ma Notwithstanding this
state of thinas the President has rejected the bill
and transmitted Ia The senate an elaborate mes I.
sage. communicating al large his objections. The
Constitution REQUIRES mai We should re consider
the bill and lha, the question of its passage the
Presidents objections notwithstanding shall be
taken by AYES and Noes. Respect TO him, as well
the ;niunctions of the Constitution, require
that we should deliberately examine his reasons
and reconsider the question.
The Veto is hardly reconclble with the genius
of representative Government 1t is totally ire
concable with it. if it is TO be frequently employ
cd in resnect IN the expediencv of measures as
well as tbeir constiintjnnalitv 1t is A feature
of our Gova,nmen, borrowed from rreroraVve
of the Rri,sb Klnp And it is remarkable that in
Eaeland il has crown obsolete not having been
used for unw,rds Of a century 1.-THE commence i
ment of the French Revolution in discussing the
rr;nc;,ios -. H. CONSERVATION /, ,Lo National
Canystia,, H.. v.t,, brIj A consu;cuo,s figure
Tho ra, Ia,rbnr nor,lation Of paris bestowed IN
tho K;ng tb cancellation of Mopsieur Veto and ON I
,b g. -. .LttF - sIJ,,na VI ~. f,,nyan
ton finally decreed that if measure rejected bv
the King should obtain the sanction of two con- (
curring I egisiatures il should he A law Dotwth-
standing the Veto In the Constitution of Ken. |
lucky and pethaos in some other OF the State Con.
stitutions il is proyded that it. after the rejection
of a bill bv the Governor it shall be passed by
majority of all the members elected to both Houses,
i; shall become a law notwithstanding the Govern
or's objections As coordinate branch of the
Government the Chief Magistrate has great
weight If after a respectful consideration of his
objections urged against a bill 4 majority of all
the members elected to the Legislature shall still
pass il notwithstanding mis- official influence and
fhp Of rL, - hac
law Ought the opinion of one man TO override
that of legislative BODY twice deliberately ex-
pressed
1t cannot be imagined that the Convention con-
templated the apnlicaiion of the Veto 10 a mes
ton whirb has hoe, 90 lopg so o,en and an ibor
ouphly scrntinized az that of tho r., nk Of the Tnit
ed States bv every department of tho Government
in almost every stage of lis existence and Inv the
people and b, the State Legislatures. OF all The
controyerted Questions which have sn,n,o ar, nm
der our Government not ON, Los heep so f,iIv IN =
vestgated as that of its power to establish Rank
OF the United states Nore than sevent.en yoars
aga, in January. 1915. MIR. Madison then said in
Messaoa IN 10 Son,,a oc 30 I-a;,aI So,
- Waving the question of the constitutional au-
thority Of Inc Legislature to establish and incor-
porate Bank as being prccluded in nv iudrment
by repeated recoqnitlons under varied circum-
stances, of the validity of such an insti,uton in
acts Of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial
branches of the Government acc,nnanied nv nd
Cations in different modes of concurrence Of the
general will of the Nation" Mr.. Madison himself
opposed to the first :ank Of the limited States Weld
ed his own convictions to those of the Nation and
all the Departments of the Goverpmer,tb us ostap
expressed. Subsequent 10 this true but stropr
statement of the case the present Bank of TIE
United States was established an, numerous o,br
acts, Of all the departments of the Goyernment
.manifestng their settled sense nj the ,o,ynr b,yo
been added to those wbich existed nrior n The
date of Mr. Madisaa's Message
No question has been more generally discussed
within the last two Years, BY the people at i,rge
and in State Legislatures than that of the Bank
And this consideration Of It has been prompted by
the President himself In his first Message To-
congress, lin December, 1929 } he brought the
subject TO the view Of THAI BODY and the Nation
and expressly declared, that it could not for the
interests OF all concerned, be too soon' settled
Ia each OF his subsequent annual -\lessages in
1851 and 1881, he again invited the attention Of
congress to the subject Thus. after an interval of
TWO years and alter the intervention of the election
or new congress the President del erate,renews
ms recommendation to consider the question of
- OF me t-harteT OF the Bank of the
, 49, ano yet ms friends now declare
.I' qIcs.,oh 10 De premature. II
,, - W To- 10 present the question
~ " "ena'-'e a 100 10 consider and decide
amer the President had directed public attention
70 th,s question II became not only the topic of
popular conversation, but was discussed in the
fress' ana employed as theme in popular cleo
aiohS was myself 'nterrogated, on more
SONS than one. to make public expression of nv
sen'.hehts aha hlend oi NINE, III Kentucky. a
Cd"a'u''e 'or inc STATE Legislature, told me
t"o years ago. that ne was surprised. an obscure