Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1834-04-17

lutte aud unconditional power as it re-
CARDS the bank. The minority reject
this doctrine as utterly irreconcilable
with justice or with law, with reason,
natural or technie al, with the
ofthe charter, as with the faith
Of the nation.
Various suggestions are made to sus-
tain the position that the exercise Of the
secretary's power, whether for good rea-
sons, or for no reasons at all, deter
mines the right of the bank to the de
posites, and leaves the nation free from
all reproach of violated faith.
Tits said that he is authorized to act,
before he gives his reasons to congress;
and his act, therefore, has validity. what
ever may be his reasons. The efficacy
of his act to remove the deposites is not
the question. Whether his reasons be
good OF bad, his order is. in the first it,
stance, to be respected; but if he is
bound to have good reasons, and his
reasons have not been good, the suhse
lquent communication of them will show
that his act was unjust at the time; and
if congress do not r3scind it, they will
sanction the injustice. There are innu>
merahle instances in which an order.
right or wrong, must be respected when
it is given; yet when il is subsequently,
shown to have been wrong, the injustice
is declared, and the aggressor punish
ed.
1t is further said that the bank has
paid nothing for the use of the depos
ties, and therefore has no right to them
) that they may not he revoked at pleas
5 ure, and that the bonus and other ex.
: penditures in the public behalf have
been paid by the bank for the privilege
l of exclusive banking. and for the bene
II: OF having their notes received in al
I payments to the United States. II the
deposites be a benefit, (and of this there
can be no doubt,) the Goth section of the
; charter shows that the bonus was give,
tor that benefit as much as for any 9th
er. The language of the section is gen
eral. The payment is Sin considerable
, OF the exclusive privileges and benefit,
conferred by the acl,'' and this is one o
S them. Whether the receipt ofthe note
IN public pay ments is really benefit tt
I the bank, has been much douhted.-
That IT is benefit at all comparable to
that OF having the deposites, cannot bt
maintained. The obligation of the u
Y States to receive these notes was ahso
lutte and unlimited in the charter of the
first bank, which did not pay any bonu.
: at all; and in the present charter, fol
: which large bonus was paid, the en-
r gagement to receive them is subject tt
= the pleasure of congress. The erea
t difference in benefit If the respectiv,
charters of the two banks is, that in the
first there was no stipulation for the
public deposites, and the bank paid moth
} Ing for its charter; whereas, in the pres
ent charter, the case is otherwise in both
! particulars. I
Another suggestion to show that the
power Of the secretary overthe depos-
ties is absolute and unconditional, is,
, that the power of congress T. repeal the
! guaranty of the notes is so The diff
terence between the cases is, that the
secretary must have reasons for his d.
rection. as the 18th section expressly de.
! rlares, whereas the 18th setion, 10 re-
gard to the notes, makes no such quail
hcation of the powers of congress.
It's again said that the COVER given
to the secretary by the i6h section is
his old, or former power, which was abb
solute and unconditional as it regarded
every depository with whom the public
money was placed, and therefore the
present power must be the same. If
the power given by the ! 9Th section is
the old power. the house is possessed of
the secretary's opinion as to the extent
of it. The language OF the secretary's
letter is as follows. "The treasury de
part nent being entrusted with the adj
miuistraion Of the finances Of the coun-
try, II was always the duty Of the sec.
rotary, in the absence of any legisla-
tive provision on the subject. to take
care that the public money was deposit
ed il safe keeping, in the hands of faith
ful agents, and in convenient places,
ready to be. applied according to the
wants Of the government. The law H.
cooperating the bank has reserved to
him, in the fullest cxten Mt, the power he
before possessed. 1t does not confer
upon him any pew power, but reserves
to him bis former authority without any