The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1837-10-10
.'. FOR THE MADIsoNIAN.
TREASURY NOTES.
No. VII.

The noble principle on which you have
acted in admitting my fifth letter to your
columns, cannot fail with free people 10 re-
doundso your advantage. A free press is the
strongest fortress Of free government Let
the motto between us be, "AMIcITIA EFT We
notwithstanding and truth.
have assailed the Treasury notes in two
aspects, to wit: As being intended to pass in
payment Of debts, and thus form circulating
medium; and as being intended to raise
money on, by being loaned for gold and silver.
| would offer an idea or two more on each
point.
|. If the Treasury notes are to be used as
so much money 81 in paying the debts OF the
United States" and to pass from debtor to
creditor in the extinguishment Of debts, 1t Is
evident they must be possessed of the essen
tial attributes, and are designed to answer the
purposes of bank paper, forming circulating
medium To create them, with this view and
in this sense, is clearly to violate the consti-
tuition, unless the granted power ito coin
money!" means or was intended to confer
power TO make paper money. That 1t was not
SO intended is evident in the facts that the
trainers of the constitution used the words by
which they expressed their ideas, in the or
binary sense ; and that the sense in which
the word g coin" is ordinarily used, is to
stamp metal and convert it into money to
mint" Then, to make paper promises to pay,
intendedto pass in payment OF debts, IS sub
stantive act, separate and distinct from the
granted power to coin money. The power
" to coin money" is the only delegated power
on the subject of making money; and all
"the powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by
it to the States, are reserved to the States re-
spectively, or to the people" 1t follows that
the making of paper to pass in paying debts,
as money, is to do that which the power is
not expressly granted to do. For the Con-
gress to do that which the power is not ex-
pressly granted TO it to do, can only be justified
on the ground that the exercised power In this
case, of making such paper promises TO pay,
is power necessary for carrying into execu-
ton some expressly granted power. Before
it can be successfully maintained that an rs
sue Of Treasury notes made to pass in pay
ment of debts, is necessary to carryinto effect
any one of the expressly granted powers, the
powers which are granted and uncontested,
"to lay and collect taxes, to borrow money
on the credit of The United States" and ITO
coin money! must first be tried; for, surely,
no power can be fairly claimed TO be proper
ly Incidental, until the particularly enumera-
ted powers have been put in reqnlsition oil a
full action, and have been found TO be insni-
fcient Neither the power Of laying and coll
lec,ing taxes, nor that Of borrowing money, has
been tried in this emergency and yet the
power of making paperpromisesto pay, intend
ed to pass in payment Of debts, is claimed to
be fairly incidental, and necessary" TO the
successful conducting Of the finances
(The still contested exercises of this power
to make paper money, and the untoward null
tiplication Of the appella,ives Of paper money,