The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-10-10

There is another expedient 10 augment eS-
ecutiYe power quite novel in its character. re-
fer to the power conferred upon the President 70
select from among the appropriations oil ION
gress, such as he may suppose the sfate Oh tne
Treasury most to justify, and may give or "l'ii-
hold the public money accordingly. This IS Ger
tainly marvellously democratic doctrine; 70
You not remember the emphasis with when MI
Jefferson expressed himself on the subject o. SPe-
cifc appropriations? The law, as il now stands'
requires them to be specific If Congress APP
propriats many dollars for building OF shlPs'
no part of the money may be applied to the Pay
of sailors or marines. But how has this legai
provision been treated2 The restriction remains
in the statute it did before-the appropriations
are specific still-but then a specific power IS
given to the President, to dispense with the re-
striction-and thus one specific is set against the
other. Iaughter) Let this process be carried
but one step farther, and although there may Dc
variety OF appropriations made by Congress-
yet, inasmuch we have entire trust and conn
dence, in the executive discretion, that the Presl
dent will make the proper selections from among
them, therefore, be it enacted, That what little
money there may at any time be found in the
Treasury, the President NAV expeRd very nuch
according to his own pleas ure. cloud laugh
ter)
There is one other topic must not omit. l
am now endeavoring to prove that of all men on
the face of the earth, you Of Virginia, the de-
scendants and disciples of some Of the creates
men of the Revolution, are most called to re-
pudiate and to condemn the doctrines of this adj
ministration. | call upca you to apply to thus
administration all that body of political truth
which you have learned from Henry, from JEFF
ferson, from Madison, from Wythe, and that
whole constellation Of revolutionary worthless,
of which you are justly proud, and under this
light to examine and to say whether this present
only Democratic administration the favorera
of civil liberty and of State Rights, or the re-
| verse. And, ia furtherance OF this design,
call your attention to the conduct OF the PresI-
dent, of the Executive Departments, and of the
Senate Of the United States, in regard to the
right and practice of the States to contract debts
for their own purposes Has it occurred to you
what deadly blow they have struck at the just
| authority and rights oil the States? Let us fol-
low this matter out little In the palmy times
of the Treasury, when it was not only full but
OVERLOOKING with the public money, the States,
to a very considerable extent, engaged IN worAs
of Internal Improvement, and III consequence OF
doing so, had occasion to borrow money. We
all know that money can be had on much cheap
er terms on the other continent than on this:
hence the bonds of the States went abroad and
absorbed capital in Europe; and so long as their
credit unassailed, and remained sound, this
was accomplished for the most part at very rea-
S0naDle LHlS pTOCSoS5 anu NliiiS d
number of the States had thss their State secu-
rites in the foreign market, the President of the
| United States, in his opening message to Con-
| gress at the commencement eli the last session,
comes out with a series OF the most dlscouraglng
and most disparaging remarks on the credit OF
/ all the states. He tells Congress that the States
will repent what they have done, and that they
will find 1t difficult to pay the debt they have
contracted; and this official language OF the
Chief Magistrate to the Legislature goes out
into the very market where these State bonds
are held for sale. Then comes his Secretary,
| MI. Woodbury., with report in the same strain,
| giving it as his opinion, That the States nave
gene too far in this assumption OF liabilities
| But the thing does not stop here MIR. Benton
| brings forward a resolution in the Senate, de-
claring that the General Government ought not
| to assume these debts of the States that resolu-
| ton is sent to a committee, and that sommlttee
| make a report upon the subject as long as yon-
| der bridge, Though not, believe, much ira
yelled or as often gone overO the whole object
and tendency of which, is to disparage the credit
| of the States; and then MIR. Grundy makes
speech upon it. What had MIR. Benton or MIR.
| (irundy to do with the matter? Were they call
ed on to guaranty the debts of Virginia or OF
| MARYLAND? Laughter) Yet, the effect very
naturally and inevitably was, to depress the
value of State securities in the foreign market.
| | was in Europe at the time. My own State
| had her bonds in that market: and what did
see? The most miserable, pitItul, execrable lu-
cubrations taken from the public press in New
| York, endea voring to prove that the States had
| not sovereignty enough to contract debts These
wretched productions decl lred that the bonds is
sued bv the States of this Union were all void:
| that they were no better than waste paper: and
exhor ed European capitalists not to touch one of
them. These articles, coming as they did, from
this side the water, were all seized on with avidi-
ty and put into circulation in the leading jour
| mails all over Europe-at the same time, the Ad-
| ministratIon press in this country, unrebuked by
| the Government, put forth arguments going to
show that Virginia has no authority to contract
a debt in the name and on the credit of the Com
onweath-that Massachusetts, is SO completely
shorn of every particle Of sovereignty whatever,
that she can issue no public security of any kind
on which to borrow money!
And this is the doctrine of State Rights
Well, gentlemen, was called on to meet this
question, and l told those who put to me the
enquiry that the States of the American Union
were, in this respect, Just as sovereign as any
of their States in Europe | held cores
pondence on the subject, which was published
at large; and for that-yes, for defending State
Rights before the face of all Europe, have
been denounced as one who wants the General
Government to assume the debts of the States
as enc who has consplred to BUY up BRUSH
Wings with foreign gold loud laughter
and cheering.) All this, however, has not
rufIled my temper. l have seen it all with
composure.-But confess there is one thing
which has disturbed the serenity ofmy mind.
1t is what appears to be a studied attempt, on
the part of this whole Administration, includ
ing its head, 10 fix spot upon the good name
OF the early founders ofour Constitution. Read
the letter of the President to some ofhis friends
in KentuclY-to what he calls 'the entire De-
| mocracy of Kentucky" l should like much
to know what constitutes the Democracy of a
State These good friends of the President
write to him that the entire Democracy Of the
State is with him, and he writes back how hap
by he is to hear that such is the fact. The State
comes to the vote, and two thirds ofthe People I
Of the State are found to be against him-yet
still he clasps to his breast. with exultation, |
the ''entire Democracy ofKentucky!" IGreat
laughter aud cheering.] And SO it will be a
month hence. Gen. Harrison will have been