Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1837-07-06


tuenta TO be disregarded or in peril.
have felt myself called to defend and
Ivindieate them, without regard TO pos
sible consequences to myself In this
! have barely and vigorously discharged
my duty, for which and for any acct
dental inconvenience that may have
fallen TO me in the progress Of public
measures, the appreciation Of your
selves aud Of our constituents is ample
reward. ] accept also the token Of
your regard which you have the good
ness now 90 present 10 me, its value in
all other respects than as friendly to-
ken being within the bounds which
have, throughout my whole public life.
prescribed 20 myself in the acceptance
Of presents.
With regard 10 the present situation
OF our country, my sentiments cores
pond entirely with yours. In the midst
Of the bounties Of Providence. shower
ed upon as with a profusion scarcely
ever lavished upon any other nation,
we are suffering severely from causes
| fear we must attribute entirely TO our
selves. In our relations at this lime
with foreign nar;ons. and most espe-
ciAlly with the Indian tribes. We have
more TO answer for than 20 complain of.
Our recent Indian war was Of our own
provoking, and has been waged in no
creditable manner. And. while We
have wronged our neighbor at the
South, by utterly unjust6able viola
lions oiher territory. unauthorized even
by Congress, we are permitting another
neighbor at the North 10 encroach with
IMMUNITY upon our own territory and
TO cuhail the boundaries Of State.
once part Of our own native Common
wealth.
We present, at the present moment,
a still more astonishing and portentous
spectacle 10 the world. Without a
dollar Of national debt, we are in the
midst Of national bankruptcy. From
Treasury overlooking with fifty mil
lions Of dollars, our Government pays
~ paper trash the wages of the clerks
in the public Offices. The nation is in
.soivent-the whole People are insol-
vent. You inquire II this is owing 90
the conduct OF the late administration.
! believe il is attributable 60 various
causes. among which the grant Of the
use Of the moneys in the Treasury TO
numerous State corporations, by order
Of the late President OF the United
States, without authority If law, was
the most Pernicious. Having said so
when the deed was done, can have
no hesitation in repeating il now that
ITS fatal consequences are seen floating
from the wreck of the public credit
The use Of the public moneys while IN
the Treasury, in the interval between
the receipt Of them as revenue and the
payment Of them as public expendi-
lures, 10 fulfil the engagements Of the
nation. had been granted by law TO the
Bank of the United States for an cqui-
valent. II never bad been Of much 1ro-
~ 10 that bank, because the deposiies
there had never been considerable at
any one time. They never were suf-
fered to accumulate; for the moment
a surplus appeared, il was applied to-
wards the discharge Of the national
debt. II was precisely al the moment
when the whole debt was paid of, and
and when the revenue was doubled
by the sudden and enormous increase
Of the proceeds Of the public lands, that
the use OF the moneys in the Treasury
was taken from the Bank Of the United
States, chartered by, and under the
Control Of, Congress, and drtbbled out
in parcels TO suit iavorile purchasers.
10 a multitude Of State banks. without
responsible capitals, anG wholly beyond
tho control Of Congress or Of the exc
cuiive Of the United States.
OF the means Of information possessed
! by the Government as 20 their condi-
ton and credit, you may Judge from
the reeeLt circular addressed 90 them
by the Secretary Of the Treasury, stat.
ing that be bad learnt their sloppage oi
{ payment from the Heppapers
But the ruin Of the pecuniary con.
Germs Of the nation, The melancholy re-.
verses Of fortune aud loss Of character
among the wealthy, snd the loss oil
daily bread 10 the laboring poor and
tiiNit AhlAhIEHt TIC uibllEaa NC are VII
Messing among sll classes Of the People
are not owing alone 10 the errors Of the
late Administration. There have been
errors Of the People themselves. ior
which they arc now hioning. aod from
which they can recover only BY lhoii
own energies. The tide Of their pios.
| pefily las rushed upon them in a EN-.
pest, till It oveTllowed their banks
aud broke down their mounds. Al
history ieslifes, Is the fstbcr Of ou
race pronounces bis lamoniahon IN lh,
Paradise Lost,
i "Now perceive
"Psaee % o0rrUi {, no less than War 20 waste. =
| Tho unresirained pursuit Of inordinai,
wealth, and the abuse d credit, sspe
oially BY ibe agency Of banks, are ID,
+ lproximate causes Of The eaIasroph,
under which We afc now laboring.
believe a national bank. chartered b,
j Congress, with a copital suGicienill
large % conirol al other existing banks