The Madisonian., 1840-01-18

loI uOIng So anu thi' ug tuooo ""D '-'' r.
fsssed TO think as | sincerely did, was what !
did not anticipate. | am sure that, upon ihis
subject, my practice has corresponded with
my professions. Sill, should feel degraded
if | were To pronounce any old associate
traitor, or likeD him TO Benedict Arnold, be-
cause at This time he disagrees with me IN
opinion.
They are greatly mistaken who suppose
the object Of lhis bill was 10 take from TINS
class Of officers any right whatever. Pre-
cisely the reverse was the intention. IL was
10 emaneipote them from The siauish bondage
in which they were held. IL was TO enable
every man Of them to vote according TO the
dictates of his own judgment. and to absolve
them from the painful alternative ofbeing om-
PEELED TO, not only vote, but 10 eleciioneer ior
candidates not Of their choice, but OF the
President, on pain Of dismissal from office.
The great object waL To prevent the Fre-
sdent from controlling Tie people in the choice
of their officers, Stale and Federal. This
class Of officers, whose daily bread for their
families, depended on Executive favor. were
constrained, as part of their official duly, not
only 10 vote as the President misked, but to
endeavor to influence others to do so ike
wise. II they did not perform this duty they
were dismissed, and with their families leit
:, starye. An enlight, ned statesman once
called them the enlisted soldiers OF the
President"
A politician, who knows as well as any
other man The motives by which men are IN
fuenced in relation to elections, says -
"Wheneper he sees an o6fce-holder interfering
in elections, he concludes he is thinking of has
salary and his bread and IS uery unfit adui-
ser Of the people" BY the passage of this
bill it was hoped the instruments for mislead-
ing the people would be taken from the Pre-
sdent, that these s'enlisted soldiers" would
be discharged from electoneering duties and
yet receive their pay and that if they per-
formed the duties OF their offices faithfully,
they might safely vote according TO the die
tates Of their own judgment, and yet be Sc
cure in " their salaries and their daily bread"
By.your fourth resolution, as one Of your
Senators, | am instructed to "vote against
the measure heretofore brought before Con-
gress, which had for its object the distribu-
ton among the States Of the proceeds of the
sales of The Public Lands"
In justice TO myself, as well as TO my con-
stituenis, | must be permitted to state the
manner in which my mind has operated on
this subject at different times, and under diff
ierent circumstances.
When bill was first introduced, having
such distribution as that spoken Of for its OBJ
ject, vo'ed against its passage, and in favor
of the veto of the Chief Magistrate. on the
ground that no such distribution ought to be
made until The public deb. uas all paid.
Upon looking into the deeds, by which
those lands were ceded to the United States,
by the respective States | found that they
were conveyed in trust, to pay out Of the pro-
ceeds of their sales, our public debt then
owing by the United States, anddhat the resi-
due should be for the joint benefit of each of
the several States including those making the
cessions.
At that time portion of the Public debt
was unpaid, and deem it improper to distri-
butte any part OF this fund until the debt was
fully discharged, that being the primary OBJ
ject of the donor.
When a like bill was afterwards introduced,
not only voted for it. but gave it such sup
port as my feeble abilities enabled me.
By this time the public debt had been fully
paid and we had very large sum in the Trea-
sury beyond the necessary wants of the Fe-
deral Government.
could not doubt The power Of Congress to
make the distribution, because there was an
express trust that this fund should be for the
use of the respective States; we had large
sum on hand which thought, in honesty, be-
longed TO the States, and the proportion be-
longing to Tennessee, believed, would be
highly useful in enabling her TO make inter
nal Improvements. and in providing sys-
TEN for the education Of those who might be
unable to bear the expenses OF educating
themselves. In addition TO these considera-
lons, perceived if this large sum was not
distributed, it would encourage a system of
extravagant expenditure inconsistent with the
welfare of the country.
still believe these views were sound, and
that if | committed any error, It was not CIV
ing my support to the first bill as well as the
last believe il would be unwise, perhaps
unconstitutional, for the Federal Government
to impose taxes for the purposes of collecting
more money than is necessary To carry out
its affairs, to the end that it might have a sur
plus to distribute among the States: but this
fund stands on different ground, it is a trust
fund which belongs not to the Federal but to
the State Governments.
The ordinary duties necessary and proper
for the regulation Of our commerce with
foreign nations, ought to be sufficient to bring
into the Treasury as much money as would
defray the economical expenses of the Fede-
raj Government, and each Of the States ought
10 receive its fair proportion of the proceeds
of the sales of the public lands.
consider Tennessee as honestly entitled
to her proportion Of this fund, as any of your
honorable body is to tract Of land devised to
him by his father
II appears to me even at this time, our
State verv much needs her proportion of this