The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-10-27

tsu,ptuous laughter and suppose hardly neoes \,
nv to speak 70 you Of Mr.. Poinseus dln,a nn ",
Iiaughierl Into which Of your mountains mas MOI
Il. discussion penetrated Up which OF all your
winding streams has not its echo hoated am sure
he must be very tired Of himself Loud Laughter.
Remember always that the great principle O me ;
itution on that subject is that the militia Is the mil
Tia OF the States and Of the General Government
Loud cries of 'Yes land being thus me mn
Tia of the States there is no part oil the Cohslu,on
woyded with greater care and WIN more seIuPuous
jealousy, than that which grants and limits the power
of Congress il. Does Il say that Congress may
make use Of the militia il peases-that Il may call
them out for drill and discipline under its own pay
No such thing The terms used are the most precise
and particular Congress may provide Tor calling out
the militia to execute the laws, TO suppress nsurrec-
lion and 10 repel INVASION These three are
specified, and these all. Call out the militia 70
drill them To discipline theml To march the mn
litia of Virginia to Wheeling 10 be drilled why,
such thing entered into the head o. any
never, never. Laughter and cheering wa.
not very usual in the Constitution, ai.ef .iiis ~
enumeration Of powers, it adds negative ~ .nes.
golden words reserying to the States tue appointment
Of officers and the training of the militia That's H.
(Cheers Yes that's IT, Read TINS clause anu
then read in Mr.. Ponsetts project .hat the m'ia are
TO be trained by the President! lShouts.l LOOK on
this picture and on that do Virginia no more than
Justice when say that she first laid hold upon TINS
monstrous proiect and has continued to denounce It
till she has made its authors heart sick, cheering
and she don't TO pardon 1t even now. lNo, no y
AS to the SUD IthbuIy TIC SupycNs ~N>'
The TOPIC is almost empty of new IDEAS the Urea
sury itself 10 of money. Laughter, and great Cheer
ingl had the other day, the honor to address an
assemblage of the merchants Of New fork asked
them, AMONG other things, whether TINS e'ernal ely
about separation of Bank and State was not all
mockery and humbug; and thousands OF merchants
intimately acquainted with the whole subject, cried
Yes YES it sp The fact unquestionaby IS that the
funds ofhe Government are just as much IN the Gus
tody of the banks at this moment as they ever were
vet AT the time believe that, under that law,
there does exist whenever the revenues OF the country
shall be uncommonly large, power to stop al plea
sure all the solvent banks in the community Such Is
the opinion every where held by the best informed men
in the commercial parts of the country
There is another expedient to augment Executive
power quite novel in its character refer 10 the
power conferred upon the President to select from
among the appropriations Of Congress such as ne may
suppose the state of the Treasury most to justify and
TO give or withhold the public money accordingly.
This is certainly marvellousy democratic doctrine.
Do YOU not remember the emphasis with winch M.
Jefferson expressed himself the subject OF SPECIFIC
appropriations The law, it now stands, requires
them To be specific. If Congress, for instance, appro
pirate SO many dollars for the building OF ships no part
of the money may be applied to the pay OF sailors or
marines This is the common rule But how mas
this subject been treated in regard to those objects
over which this Presidential discretion extends The
appropriations are specific still but then specihc
power is given to the President to dispense with .he
restriction and thus specific is set against the
other, [Laughterl Let this process be carried but
one step further and although there may be variety
of appropriations made by Congress- yet nnsmuch as
have entire trust and confidence in the Executive
discretion that the President will make the proper
selections from among them therefore we may enact,
or say shall be enacted that what little money there
may any time be found in the Treasury the Presi-
dent may expend very much according to his own
pleasure Loud laughter.]
There is one other topic must not omit am now
endeavoring to prove that of all men on the face Of
the EARTH you Of Virginia, the descendants and dsci
Piles of of the greatest men OF the REVOLUTION
most called to repudiate and to condemn the doc
trines Of this Administration. call upon you to ap
ply to this Administration all that body of political
truth which you have learned from Henry, from JET
ferson, from Madison, from Wythe, and that whole
constellation of Revolutionary worthless, OF whom you
Justly proud and under this light to examine and to
say whether this present only Democratic Admlnistra-
ton the favorers of civil liberty and of State Rights
or the And, in furherance of this design,
call your attention to the conduct OF the President OF
the Executive Departments and of the Senate OF the
United States 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 of the States
Let us follow this matter out little. In the pamy
times Of the Treasury, when it not only full but
overlooking with the public money, the States, TO
very considerable extent engaged in works OF internal
improvement, and, IN consequence OF doing SO, had
occasion to borrow money. We all know that money
can DO had on much cheaper terms the other con-
tinent than this hence the bonds of the States
went abroad and absorbed capital in Europe, and so
long their credit unassailed and remained sound,
this accomplished for the most part very reason
able rates. During this process and while number
of the States had thus their State securities IN the
foreign market the President of the United States in
his opening message to Congress at the commence
ment Of the last session. out with series OF the
most discouraging 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 it difficult to pay the debts they have. con-
tracted; and this official language Of the Chief Mags-
tate to the Legislature goes into the very market
where these State bonds are held for sale Then
comes his Secretary, Mr. Woodbury., with report IN
the same strain giving it his opinion that the states
have gone too far in this assumption OF liabilities but
the thing does not stop here Mr. Benton brings for
ward resolution in the Senate declaring that the
General Government ought not to these debts
of the States that resolution is sent committee,
and that committee make report upon the subject as
long yonder bridge (thohgh not, believe much
travelled often gone over the whole object and
tendency OF which is to dsparage the credit OF the
States, and then Mr. Grundy makes a speech upon it.
What had Mr. Benton or Mr. Grundy TO do with the
matter Were they called on to guaranty the debts
of Virginia of Maryland [Laughter,j Yet, the
effect very naturally and inevitably was, to depress
the value of State securities in the foreign market
was In Europe last summer. Massachusetts, had her
bonds in that market and what did see { The most
miserable pitful execrable lucubrations taken from
the Administration press in New ~ ork endeavoring
TO prove that the States had sovereignty enough
contract debts. These wr,tched productions declared
that the bonds issued by the States this MON
all void that they were no better than waste paper
and exhorted European capitalists not to touch Of
them These articles, coming they did, from this
side the water, all seized with avidty and put
into circulation in the leading journals all over Eu-
repeat the same time, the Administration press in
this country, unrebuked by the Government put forth
arguments going to show thai Virginia has no autho
rity to contract a debt in the name and the credit
of the Commonweah--tha Massachusetts, is so com
pleey shorn of every particle of sovereignty whatever
that she issue public security of any kind
which to borrow money! And this is the doctrine of
State Rights Well, gentlemen, | called on to