State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1831-1836, 1836-06-28


by loaninE-it out to those bood-suckers of
the community the city brokers and stock
jobbers? Sir, they vii. be satisfied with
no such thing. | warn you, Mr. Chairman
that if this measure fails to pass-ifwe sep
arate without making some distribution Of
the public money, the first question that
will he put TO you when you reach your
district will be, 'Why did'nt you pass The
land JW?' And have you, Sir, got your
answer prepared Mr. Mann nodded af-
firmatvely.l | understand your intmation.
| know, sir, that you can give as ingenious
an answer to Il difficult question as any
man in this house or out of it, But ] am
mistaken fyou do not find yourself puz-
lied to make satisfactory one to this. /
suppose you will reply to your constituent
in the familiar language of the party, and
say to him, "You know, friend, this is one
Of MIR Clay's old plans for breaking down
the Administration you vote for MIR Van
Buren,, don't you" 80 yes says the con
stituent, Il go for Mr. Van Buren, to be sure
hes the true democratic candidate; but
! then don't see how passing the land bill
could hurt him; Mr. Clay's not going to
rum 80 but says the representative, you
know Gen. Jackson is opposed to the bill,
and that he would have been vetoed if we
had passed it--you wouldn't have me 20
against General Jackson, would YOU?
Well,' answers the constituent, 'Pm a
Jackson mal to be sure; | always was a
Jackson mani mean ever since it came
out in the Argus that General Jackson was
taken into the democratic party; but |
don't see why General Jackson should be
opposed to this disribution--he used to be
in favor of it. Don't you link Mr. Fan
Buren, could hare persuaded him TO sign the
bWP Il sce,' says the representative, you
don't understand this matter; this is one of
the most outrageous measures that was
ever presented to Congress, the very es
sence of it is bribery 'Well,' says the
constituent, Il am opposed to bribery to be
sure; |, and General Jackson, and the
whole democratic party are opposed to all
bribery, in the State Senate and everywhere
else, but then Idont see holO dividing the
MONEY among the People, giving 10 every one
an equal share, can be bribery; when giving
it to a few men in the cities, or letting the
banks use it for nothing, is not But Pll
think of it. go for the democratic party,
to be sure for the Benton yellow boys, and
down with all monopolios but don't I'M
/ derstand how this can be bribery after all
] - IllllSl SluNtI INlIC lIlOlC liltO illl'
ter Mr. Chairman, will not pursue this
dialogue further. | will not suppose you
would address your constituent in what has
been alleged TO be the secret language of
party, and say TO him that the use of the
money was needed by the administration to
increase the patronage, and secure the
success of the party. / will not suppose
this, because know you to be incapable OF
o;, I,,,, ,x,i,ry of artinn N IN
motive. wish could say as much of
every body else.
Sir, / have Il few words to say in regard
to the peculiar position of my own state,
with reference to the expenditures of this
Government, when / shall have done. |
think ! may safely say, that no State in the
Union has shared SO little in the direct
pccunary benefits of the General Govern
ment us Vermont. From the very begin
ming, she did not reap all the advantages
conferred on the other States. Exercising
throughout the whole of the Revolutionary
War, an actual though unacknowledSed
independence, and occupying frontier
position, often the theatre of invasion, and
always in imminent danger of 1t, her peo-
pie have borne their full share in the perils,
the trials, the expense and the houors OF
that contest. Yet she came into the Union
in 81, bringing not with her state debt to
cast as burden on the nation, but to unite
with her sister states in the payment otthe
twenty millions of their debts which this
Government had already assumed. Under
the operation Of the taxing power OF this
Government, she has paid her share of the
debts of those States i'll proportion to her
population and resources. speak not this
by way of complaint; | make the statement
as matter of fact and of history. OF the
several hundred millions of the eXpendi-
lures which this Government has made
since its first organization under its present.
constitution, but u fraction has been dis
lursed in Vermont. | have not been able
to ascertain, from printed public documents,
the precise share which the State in part
represent has had in all your appropriations
but will give you the amount for three
permanent objects Of local expenditure, as
a sample. Your expenditures for iortitca-
tons have been Sl7,52G,OOO dollars for in
internal improvements, 6,2o3,OOO dollars
and of neither of these sums has dollar
reached Vermont. Your expenditures Tor
light houses have been 3,6l4,00O dollars,
and of this Vermont has received the sum
Of 1929 dollars and % cents. Sir, while
other states can boast of the Notifications,
the navy yards, the custom houses, the
maritime hospitals, the mints, the armories'
and other spIendi works, which your
treasury has caused to spring into eXistencei
of the harhors and rivers whose channels
you have deepened and enlarged; of roads
and canals, which your muniticence has
constructed or aided, the only legible marks
which you have made Oh the surface OF
Vermont, TO which her people can point as
evidence that she also belongs to the Union,
is the light house | have mentioned and u
small arsenal-both together costing the
J Government something less than fifteen
I ii; :,