Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1832-10-18

heard within the halls Of Congress, nor
has anv one yentured upon il before the
tribunals of Justice. The first exhibition,
its first appearance, as an argument, is in
the message Of the President Of the Uni
ted States. According to that mode of
constituting the constitution, which was a
dopted by Congress in 1891, and approv-
ed by Washington, and which has been
sanctioned by the judgment Of the Su-
premc Court, and affirmed by the prac-
tice of near forty years, the question up
on the constitutionality Of the bank in
wolves two inquiries; first, whether bank
in its general character, and with regard
to the general objects with which Banks
are usually connected, be, in itself, ht
means, a suitable instrument, to carry IN
to effect the powers granted to the Gov
ernment.
If it be so, then the second and the on
Jv other question Is, whether the powers
given in particular charter are dPpro-
PIRATE for bank. If they are powers
which are appropriate for bank, powers
which Congress may fairly consider to be
useful to the bank of the country, then
Congress may confer these powers be-
cause the discretion to be exercised IN.
framing the constitution Of the bank be-
longs TO Congress. One man may think
the granted powers not indispensable to
the particular bank another may suppose
them injudicious, or injurious; third may
imagine that other powers, ii granted IN
their stead, would be more beuefclal; but
all these are matters of expedency, a;
bout which men may differ; and the pow
or Of deciding upon them belongs to Con-
gress. | again repeat, sir, that if, for,
reasons of this kind, the President sees fit
to negative bill, OH the ground oiits be-
ing erpedieni or impoHt,c, he has right
to do so; but remember, sir, that we are
now on the constitutional question, Re,
member, that the argument of the Presl-
dent, is, that, because powers were given
TO the bank by the charter Of 1916, which,
he thinks not nee cessary, that churter IS ua-
constitutional. Now, sir, it will hardly be,
denied, or rather il was not denied or,
doubted before this message came to Us,
that, if there was to be bank, the pow
ers and duties of that Bank must be pre-
scribed in the law creating it, Nobody
but Congress, it has been thought, could
grant these powers and privileges, or pre-.
scribe their limitations. 1t is true, in.
deed, that the message pretty plainly in
Inmates, that the President should have.
been first consulted, and that he should
have had the framing Of the bill; but we
are not yet accustomed to that order of
things, in cnacting laws, nor do know a
parallel TO this claim, thus now brought
forward, except that, in some peculiar
cases in England, highly affecting the
royal prerogatives, the assent of the mo-
march is necessary, before either the
House of Peers or his majesty's faithful
Commons are permitted to act upon the
subject, or to entertain its consideration.
But supposing, sir, that our accustomed
forms and our republican principles are
still to be followed, and that a-law crea-
ting a Bank is, like all other laws, to o.
riginate with Congress, and that the Pre-
.ident has nothing to do with it, till it is
presented for his approval, then it is clear
that the powers and duties of proposed
Bank, and all the terms and conditions
annexed to it, must, in the first place, be
settled by Congress. This power, if
constitutional at all, is only constitutional
in the hands of Congress. Any where
else, its exercise would be plain usurpa-
ton. If, then, the authority to decide 4.
what powers ought to be granted to a
Bank belong to Congress, and Congress
shall have exercised that power, it would
seem little better than absurd to say that
its acts nevertheless, would be unconsti-
tutional and invalid, if, in the opinion Of
a third party, it had misjudged, on a.
question Of expediency, in the arrange
ment Of details
According to such a mode Of reason.
ing, mistake in the exercise ofjurisdic-
ton takes away the jurisdiction. If Con-
gress decide right, its decision may stand;
If it decide wrong, its decision Is nugato-J
nv: and whether its decision be ight or
wrong, another is to judge, although the
original po,cer Of making the decision must
be allo,ced to be Exclusively in Congress-
This IS the end to which the argument of
the message will conduct its followers
Sir, in considering the authority of Con-
gress to invest the Bank with the partic-
ular powers granted to it, the inquiry is
not, and cannot be how appropriate these
powers are, but whether they be at all
appropriate; whether they come within
the range Of just and honest discretion;
.ohether Congress may fairly esteem them
10 be necessary. The question is not, are
they the fttest means, the best means,
or whether the Bank might not be esta-
blished without them; brt the question is,
are they such as Congress, bona fde,
may have regarded as appropriate to the
end. If any other rule were to be adopt