The North-Carolina standard., 1838-06-27


gregate amount divided by the number OF offl-
GERS, will show the average annual salary OF
each to have been but seventy-fVe dollars ana
seventy-three cents. And YET, sir, these humble
citizens who thus give their services to the puo-
lie for a conversation so trivial as this, are oe-
nounced in their absence, denounced In the coun-
ellis of their country, denounced with bitterness
and feroclty, basely prostituted by such salar-
les as these; and that, too, by members OF Con-
gress, who are themselves receiving, for less
than half of their time, average OF fifteen hun
dred dollars annually Of the public money
Yes. this is done; these denunciatlons are pour
ed forth by the very members who, not content
with the ample amounts drawn by themselves
from the public Treasury, are daily asking, and
daily receiving, thousands on thousands in loans
from banks, whilst they stand In their places
voting in return to these corporations the custody
and the use of the whole revenues of their coun-
try. 1t is in vain, sir, for men who so unJusiy,
so cruelty revile others for such causes as these
10 expect to elude suspicion, whilst exposed
themselves TO temptations so much more power
full Mo- the American people will Judge !;
they have a right; it is their duty to Jucge, be-
tween the delinquency of the accused and the
criminality of the accuser They will judge,
and correctly, too, who are the most exposed to
corruption, who most likely to yield the post
masters, with such salaries as these, living In
the people themselves or the men who with
drawn from the people, stand here, amidst the
impurities of the Capitol, reciprocatlng public
for private avors with the banks
And here, sir, in passing from this view OF
the subject, will only remark that, II the Iber,
ties of the country are ever overthrown, 1t Will
be by corruption and that If corruption ever
strikes into our system, to fatal degree, it will
begin and end in the legislative Department.
This apprehension is authorized by history, and
arises from the fact that whilst a legislative
! body is necessarily so small that a majority OF
its members may have each an individual inter
est in measures adverse to the general interests
| of the community, such body is yet so large
that the individual responsibility of each member
! is weakened and obscured In the crowd. IL IS
between these extremes Of great interests and
little responsibility, of great temptation and little
danger, that corruption strikes; for detection is
ever difficult and impuniy probable, when crime
comes in Crganized masses.
IT, Mr. President, the tendency of the banking
system 10 exert unwholesome influences over le-
gislative bodies, and if the exposure Of those bo
dies to such influences were not already appa-
rent these facts might be clearly demonstrated by
the extraordinary changes in the relations OF pub
| lie men since the bank contest began. The great
| body Of the people have stood immovably oppos-
ed 10 a National Bank, and as invariably favora-
bic to reformation of the whole banking sys
tenn. And yet how numerous are their public
agents, who afer their elections 10 Congress or
the State Legislatures have shifted their ground
upon all these questions2 But where have they
gone? What has been the result of these chan
ges2 How few who were friendly, have be-
come unfavorable to blnks2 How many who
were opposed have become friendly to them?-
Upon the known principles of the human mind,
when acting beyond thesphere Of adventurous in
fuences, 1t might be supposed that these chan
ges, for and against would in some degree, have
counteracied each other. Has snch been the
fact? No, sir: the betrayed Democracy OF the
Union feel, and will never forget, that these
changes in the course OF their public agents have
been almost uniformly against the country, and
in favor of the banks. And why this strange
coincidence Is it because the conduct of these
institutions has been such as to induce belief
in their purity and innocence? If so, why has
the same conduct tended only 10 strengthen in
the minds of the people themselves, the opposite
conviction No sir no: there can be but little,
there can be no difficulty in solving the secret.
Scarcely man, Of all the deserters from the De-
mocratc ranks, leaves behind him doubt as 10
the place of his destination. When he goes no
reward is necessary to his detection. He is to
be found in the vault of bank-there is the
attraction, and TO that he gravates.
The Senator from Virginia, mir. R1vEsl in the
zeal Of his oppstion to the bill before US, has been
pleased to attribute the present condition OF the
banks to "the hostile action of the Government
to 'the Treasury order" L regretted to hear
such charge from such source. That Senator
has long been a member of the party to whose
agency he now ascribes these criminal results.
We had reason to hope, and right to believe,
that his opposition to the measure would be that
of friend dissenting with regret; not such an
opposition as nigh. be expected from eager
ly seizing an occasion to criminate his old asso,
ciates or from an enemy venting the rage o
veteran hostility. This language is the more
to be regretted, because whilst it is rendered
doubly painful by the sincerity of former friend
ships, it seems to spring from conviction tina
those friendships may never be renewed Hac
the Senator but gently chided his friends for wha
he supposed to be the impolicy of the pending
measure, had he uttered but the counsels of mild
admonilion, he would then have evinced an un
changed temper of mind, rendering the probabili
ty Of his future cooperation more than equiv
alent for his present opposition. IT, however
he could not in sincerity, do this; if he has fix
ed his purpose to depart for ever, in spite Q
all the associations which formerly bound hin
to the Democracy of the Union; if snch be hi
destiny, then not a syllable remains to be pre-
| nounced hv his ancient friends but the melan