, 1840-07-11
o THE JOURNAL.
THE INDEPENDENT TREASURY,
No. iii.

MT. Edit0r-He ina WILL take inc ,lrOuOte
TO dive beneath the surface Of political events
in the primitive history Of this country, and
who will attempt.to trace effects from caus-
es, will no, fail to perceive that the bold step
taken by the sagacious Hamilton, was mel
ther, accidental or without design. 1t is uni
versally acknowledged by his warmest ad-
mirers, that he believed the British constitu.
ton with all its corruption, was the most
perfect constitution devised by the wit Of
man. He. openly and zealously owned the
doctrine thai men could not be governed ex.
cept by fraud or force. and that as a standing
army was out of the question. the other al.
tentative must be adopted. In the conven-
ton that formed our present constitution, he
advocated the propriety of a executive for
life, and a senate for life; and he thought
that the states, as states, should be abolished.
In his estimation, the English House Of
Lords was a most noble institutions" and
indeed his whole efforts, and the energies Of
his powerful mind were directed to the sin
gle object Of establishing a vast consolidated
governmeht;-a government that by its
strength could keep in subsection III. tur-
bulence of the mass" He was, however,
unsuccessful in his efforts to form our consti-
tuition after his English model and the princi-
pies Of Madison and Jefferson and Monroe,
prevailed over those of Adams, Hamilton
and Morris. Notwithstanding his defeat in
the convention, these principles were neith-
er abandoned in theory or in practice SO far
as there was a possibility of putting them in
operation. 1t was only by a stretch Of the
grants Of power to Congress that this could
be done; what the convention had refused
to grant in express terms, he endeavored to
obtain to some extent, by loose and latitu-
dinous construction Of the constitution
what was not expressly given, was to be
inferred as incidental 10 the granted power,
and to be Obtained by implication.
Among the first Of these attempts to
strengthen the~arm of the federal govern
ment, may he enumerated the funding of the
debts contracted by the confederacy during
the Revolutionary War. the next in i'm
portance having the same object in view.
was the assumption Of the debts OF the states
by the general government; thus seeking to
carry into practice another ~favorite theory
Of the federal party, "that public debt is a
public blessing. These measures had the ef
feet that Hamilton desired; that was, to give
strength to the federal head. 1t collected
around the government a horde of corrupt
and mercenary friends, who were tied to it
by the letters and ligaments of interest. 1t
was in this way that the schemes Of this de-
signing man were sustained. But they were
of Temporary influence, and in the language
of Mr.. Jefferson, some engine more perma-
nent must be contrived. aud that engine was
the United States Bank. This was to be
the instrument by which power was to be
given to the general government, and thus
swallow up the state sovereignties.
l have thus briefly sketched the steps
Which were taken, and the inf1uencies which
operated in the establishment of the frs, ma
tional bank-and by consequence the aban-
donment Of the treasury scheme as now pro-
posed. 1t will be seen that SO far from Mr..
Van Buren, and his party being the expert
msnters, that the federalists first departed
from the spirit and meaning of the constitu-
ton and letter of the law, and that the great
OBJECT Of this was to add strength to the fe-
deral government which Adams and HamiI-
ton believed TO be too weak TO be efficient.
| come down now, to a period in the histo-
~ OF the country nearer our own time
The reader will recollect that after the re-
mosal of the deposites from the vaults of the
US. Bank, by President Jackson in 1888,
that they were placed in state banks, famil.
iarly known as the "Pet Banks" At the
session of congress following, it became ne
cessary that the law should designate some
place o deposiie f.: the revenues of the gov.
ernment At that time, the administration
advocated The state bark system, and then
as now, another, a national bunk was the
choice Of a large portion of the opposition.
Early in the session of 1888 and "a, Mr..
Gamble Of Georgia, moved an inquiry into
the practicability IF dispensing with bank
agency in the fiscal operations of the gov.
ernment. Mr.. Gordon Of Va, another
states right politician, proposed to the House
what is now called the sub-treasury scheme.
Mr.. Robertson another member from Va.
believing the bill imperfect in its details, sub.
mitted a motion 10 reconmit it with ~instruc.
tons to the committee of ways and means
to report a measure to dispense with the
agency of banks 10 collecting and keeping
the public money. On this motion the ayes
and noes were taken; n~inety-one members
including every states right man, and every
wing except 8, voted for the motion. On