Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-04-15
Conversation Of Mr.. Hooe, NTH the people o
King George. at the Election. -

inlet upon you speech OF IdDOr, leHSlh anu
method; but having, by circumstances beyond
nv control been prevented for some time, from
holding any political communication win you,
and these being times of great nauopal excite
ment and interest and the more especially as
| have had very recent reason 10 Delleve tnat
all do notunderstand alike my views upon the
subject of the removal ofthe Deposites and the
United States Bank, and being determined, so
far as it is in my power to prevent it, that no
one shall, even for a moment, be in doubt, much
less in ignorance, about my opinions upon any
subject connected with the great national weal,
particularly when that subject may fall wlthln
the sphere of action to which may be assigned
by your act ofthis day, beg leave, in the most
possible laconic conversational manner, TO give
YOU my views on these two subjects.
I had hoped that my votes in the recently gone
ny Legislature, and the publication of series
IF resolutions which had the honor OF submit
ting to that body, embracing these two queS-
TONS would have saved me any further trouble;
but as it is otherwise, will, without any further
preface. proceed to remark, that it forms no
part of my design to lavish bitter denunclauons
uoon Gen Jackson as a man. Ii any gentle-
mans appetite is keen TO feast upon any anath-
emas against him personally, that may fall rom
my lips tell him that he will not be grained
have no such feeling in my heart-my sole
purpose is to speak of his political acts-they
are fair game, in which every citizen OF these
United States is as much interested as he is, and
this is the incipient rightiul redress OF ffeemen
for the abuse of any confided or delegated a
gency Fellow citizens, have risen to say to
YOU that my mind, by the most sober and unlm-
FASHIONED reflection, has been lrreSistibly con-
Quoted to the belief that the President in evict-
ing Mr.. Duane from office, was guilty of pal
pable abuse of the appointing power, and that
his whole interposition on that subject constl-
tutes stride to usurpation, whatever his opin-
ion may be to the contrary notwithstanding, II
not its full and actual contamination, scarcely
paralleed in the history of our government.
By this act he has transcribed the power pre-
scribed by the Constitution for the exercise of
executive authority, for by it he claims power
over the public purse, thereby concentrating IN
his single person, all the efficient and cardinal
powers Ofthe government. Not content with
power over the sword-with authority to ap-
point all Executive officers and the vetolng
power all of which are conferred upon him by
the Constitution-he claims still more-control
of the Treasury Department, which, by the
Constitution, is wisely eonfided to Congress- the
immediate representatives ofthe people. Unite
all these powers in any one man, no matter
whether it had been Geo. Washington in his
life, or Andrew Jackson now, and you consti-
tute the highest possible sum of all power-poW-
er to appoint the Executive officers who would
too readily become moulded to his will-power
to veto any act of Congress not passed by two
thirds ofthat body-the public purse to buy up
d ",
to their hands to execute any act against the
liberty of his country, which his unholy and
pampered ambition might suggest. Who is it
that believes that our wise, virtuouS and Wing
like ancestors ever intended to bequeath to their
children an ordinance ffaught with such mon
strous provisions-with such regal principles
such an imputation upon the trainers OF the
Constitution? Such misconstruction of that
instrument must have its origin in spirit OF un-
becoming subservency to the federal executive
must be founded in love of arbitrary power
But approve and confirm this construction, and
say in the language of Mr.. Leigh, that tse
principles of civil liberty are sapped-thatlib er-
ty is in jeopardy.
Gen. Jackson by making this act his own,
which he has done, by insisting upon the res
ponsiblity-indeed his whole course upon this
fiscal concern of the country, inculcates the
doctrine that the Secretary of the Treasury,
who is vested by law, with a special discretion
over that department, is only the mouth-piece
of the President, to speak forth his will, and
Congress, that is clothed by the same authority
with supervisory power over his conduct, is but
farce In the prosecution of his views in re-
lation thereto, he has treated lightly the public
fath-disregarded contract sacredly entered
acknowledgement laws, and executed them
agreeably to such misnterpretation, both statu-
tory and fundamental-he has torn up and tram
pied under foot a charter of high national I'M
port, to which the government was one party,
and given number OF individuals the DINER
and was instigated TO all this, there is too much
room to fear, from desire to inflict additional
torture upon institution which he had, by
the vetoing power, by constitutional authority,
already reduced TO the throes of death. He
saw it writhing in its last agony, and in mercy,
there should have been content to have left it.
In all that he did in conformity with the vetoing
power, he was sustained by the Constitution,
and had my most hearty concurrence-indeed,
Regarded his veto of the Bank as the most glo-
rious triumph ofhis life whether civil or militia
nv; but every step he advanced beyond it, was
in violation of law and met my most unquali-
fed disapprobation 1t never was intended that
the corporate existence ofthis institution should
depend upon the mere prejudice or whim ofthe
President.
Its first and original executioners, fellow-cit-
Gems. are the immediate representatives of the
people in Congress assembled-they gave it ex-
istepce and they have the paramount power to
deprive it of its being 1t is true, that the Presi-
dent by the exercise of the vetoing power, can
destroy any Bank charter, as he can any other
in bvf xUO-thir0S of that DOQV