The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-10-02

admits that at the request Of the President he in
serted clause in the 10th fundamental article Of hi
own bill forbiddngt agencies to discount. The So
cond bill asserted the right to locate these agencie,
without the consent of the States, and give them un
limited authority to discount in the shape Of bills O
exchanges. In the conversation on the 18th the Pre-
sdent expressly limited the agencies to the transfer
the public moneys and connected their action on the
exchanges and the currency to this transfer of the
public moneys The second bill gave these agencies
full power to discount bills of exchange to any
amount. " aa aHt
have thus demonstrated that, up to the 18th Of
August, the President conversed fully and fairly with
his Cabinet. On that day he appealed to them and
said, You must stand by me In this emergency"
And in answer to this appeal his Cabinet did under
take to see that the House should pass bill which
he could "approve without inconsistency" The
question is, was the second such biil2 have de-
Inonsrated that it was not .afaft
But there are other facts connected with the resg
nation Of the Cabinet Of which it is proper here to
treat. @&pm -@
This conversation was on the 18th. After this,
Mr. Clay delivered his speech in the Senate in which
he denounced the President and his Veto, and de-
cared that he had the authority Of part of his Cabi-
net for saying that the President had vetoed the first
bill against their unanimous advice. Mr.. Bolts let
ter denouncing the President, and declaring that a
bill would be concocted and passed, which would dis
grace him had been published; secret caucuses had
been held and that the bill had been concoced in eau
Gus, and was the work of political cabal, some of
whose members were undisguised and bitter in de-
nouncing the President, was openly avowed, and
III Def IN, aoIv IN Mr.
Clay had in their places in the House, openly de-
nounced the Cabinet, and urged the necessity OF
organization That the bill was connected in caucus,
and hurried through the House without amendment
or debate by resolutions adopted in caucus well
known, and is admitted by Mr.. Ewing, who tells us
that in this crises the President appealed his Cabinet
to have the bill laid the table and the subject post
pJned until the next session. Mr.. Ewing also tells
that he refused to exert his influence to crafty the
President in this respect unless he would pledge him
self as to what he would do in case the question
then postponed and that while the question pend
ing in the Senate, the matter submitted to
Gus of the Wing members of both Houses who re-
fused to authorize the Wing Senators postpone the
bill because the President would pledge himself
TO what he would do. t. ~.." ..."..
Now, let us stop for moment to examine the posi-
ton in which the proceedings of Mr. Clay and his
partsans have placed the country and the Wing
party? ~ Ill, 4. q ~. IT,. ... e.
Congress is nearly equally divided. One party in
favor Of and the other decidedly opposed to- Bank
The President tells Mr. Ewing, at the commence
of the session. that he does believe that Con-
gress have the power to create corporation in any Of
the States but at the time tells him that he does
believe that Congress create Bank in the District
of Columbia that the Bank may be authorized to 10.
cate branches in any of the States with the assent Of
the States and when the States refuse this assent
the Bank may employ agents to receive transfer and
dsburse the public money-that he believes that to
give the Bank the of the public money and make
its notes and its only receivable in payment of
the public dues, will enable that Bank to regulate the
exchanges and thus regulate the currency. He tells
Mr.. Ewing further that this transfer of the public
money to this Bank and making its and its
only receivable in payment of the public dues will in
duce the States to give their assent to the location of
branches within their limits and that thus, by the
ercise of admitted powers by Congress and the States
Bank may be established free from all constitutional
objection, and relief given to the country by the ad
justment of the question of the currency. He tells
Mr. Ewing this is the single point of difficulty. And
accordingly, when MIR. Ewing bill was under consid
eration this the only point discussed-the Pres
dent did not read the bill throughout-hs attention
was occupied with the 10th article alone No one de-
MES the power of Congress, the local Legislature
to create Bank in the District of Columbia. No one
denies the power of Congress to say that the notes of
that Bank alone shall be received in payment Of lie
dues and no will deny the power of the 81 ate of
New York to authorize that Bank, -the right to do
having been given in the charter to locate branch
or branches in New York. Would New York have
permitted the public moneys collected in that State to
be sent to Philadelphia Boston, to build up rival
Cities rather than give the Bank permission to locate
branches in that State? No one can for a moment
believe it..
But it is said that this would be an enlargement or
amendment of the Federal Constitution by the action
of single State. How preposterous 1t is not an
enlargement of the powers of the Federal Constitu-
ton. 1t is but the exercise of powers admitted to exist
in the Federal and State GovernmeLts-each acts
within its admitted powers to accomplish what many
deny that the Federal Government can of itself do.
And why refuse to accomplish this important
in this manner? No one will now deny that Bank
might have been obtained at the extra session if
Mr. Clay and his partizans would have inserted the
provision that no branch should be located in any
State without its ask, wherefore refuse to
accomplish this important measure in this mode since
all must have known that, under the circumstances in
which we were placed, this was the only mode in
which it could be done 3
The question between Mr.. Clay and the President
was not question of Bank or no Bank,-it was,
Shall the Bank locate its branches in the States
against their consent?
have demonstrated that no State would have re-
fused its assent to the location of any important Bank
for as New York would be governed by the large sum
received at the custom house in that State so would
be the other States II follows that the Bank could
have been put into immediate action; few months
only being sufficient to obtain the assent of the States
How is it now2 Mr.. Clay and his partzans, by the