Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1834-04-24

ton; and what other corporate faciI;tie
concern the security of the public treas
ure?
e 4. This cause is founded, moreover, IN
on an assumption that it would be tn
height OF cXtravagance to suppose it wa
r contemplated by the congress which in
corporated the bank. The secretary sun
poses that the charter sin many of its pro
visions, is not warranted by the constitu
ton, and that such powerful maa;ot
monopoly is dangerous to the liberties O
the people, and to the purity of our polite
Eal institutions" and that he is required t.
act upon the mere lapse of tire, because
he has no right to tssume that an uncoDsti
tutional law, and law dangerous to the
liberties of the people, will be renewed. :
bul 1t seems to have been forgotten tina
the question of removal is not the question
OF renewal, but question of the interpe
tatlon of the charter; and, If this is the
true question, can it be seriously ALLEGED
that the congress which passed this law
meant to include among the sufficient eau
ses OF removal, one that depended on the
assumption that the charter was against
the constitution? Had the charter con
tanned an express stipulation that it never
Should be renewed, instead of its following
Jas consequence that the bank ought not
to enjoy the privileges and benefits promls-
ed her up to the last moment of her exists
eucu, the contrary would have followed.
because the bank could not have an in
demnity for the wrong in the terms of a
subsequent charter.
5. 1t is attempted TO sustain the pro-
priety Of the removal for this cause, upon
the further ground, that the question of
renewal has been decided adversely to
the bank by last election Of. the presi-
dent. But what part of the charter, or
of any law of congress, authorizes the
secretary to communicate such rea-
son to the house? Where is the war
rant for the secretary's instructing con
gress as to the decision of the people
upon matter Of future legislaion?l
By what channel does the secretary
an intercourse with the peo-I
pie that not open to their representa-
tves? How does the secretary know
any thing as to the wishes of the people
which the representatives. of the people
do not better know themselves? Thel
communication Of such reason TO the
Of lreemen, who are
themselves freemen, is without prece-
dent in the history of this or any other
representative government. The allie
5ed TACT is, moreover, an assumption,
1nd mere assumption, without proof,
tnd without the means of proof. 1t is
L political inference which the people
IF this country will never sustain, until
they are prepared to say that the cleo
ion of a president is not the result Of Il
preference founded upon his general
qualifications, opinions, and actions, but
is an adoption and ratification Of his
single will TO any extent that he has al
any time declared it, and even when he
may have declared it in contrary direct
ions at different times.
G. Another suggestion by the scores
tary, in connection with the question of
time, is the apprehension of danger toI
the deposites, by permitting them to re
main in the bank until the expiration Of
the charter. The congress of 1876
were but a very few years removed from
a parallel case in the history of our gov
eminent, calculated TO put to flight eve
ry such apprehension. They had at
that time before them the closing trans
actions of the first bank of the United
States. They had seen the first admin
istraton of Mr.. Madison (and it was in
his second term of Office that the pres
ent bank was chariered) witnessed the
continuance of the public deposites in
that bank 10 the last moment of lis ex-
stence. They had seen that the then
secretary of the treasury, Mr.. Gallatn
who had been in office for ten years,
and who had for twice ten years given
the strength of his powerful mind to the
Investigations of finance, and of pIacti-
cal banking, had not directed removal
of the deposites from any apprehension
of a final default in the bank. They
had seen this, moreover, in the case of
bank whose corporate powers expired
totally and absolutely on the Sd ofMarch
1911, so that all subsequent operations
were to be conducted by the machine
ry of trust, and by no other means.--
They had seen this bank expire with a
circulation then flowing through the
country greater than the maximum of its