Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-08-27
TWENTY.sEyENTH CoNcREss--lst Session.
IN SENATE,

Ill., ho,r of Twelve having arrived the Chair an
nounced the special order OF the oayIMs p't - ,''
corDoyate the subscribers 10 the Fiscal Bank q Ae 1ea
S,ores rim the message Of the President REFUSING ms
assent thereto. nc -
Mr. CLAY spoke for about an hour and a haii' IN
the course of his remarks he alluded to the
by which the Bank bill had been passed IN Do'n oFahc
es of Congress; to the manner IN whlch u hau o'eN
,ent hack and the requirements OF the Consltu.io'
that being returned without the signature oil Inc re-
sden il should receive the sanction oil two.,ntas u
each House before il could become law. ih's ma
;ority he did not expect. in such observations as ne
should make he dsclamed any dlsrespect Tor the ene
but regretted TO find that the 10Th iunoh
mental section of the BILL which had been offered IN
sprt of Cancellation and compromise, had oeen treat
ed with such harshness Of language, IN the message
now under consideration :, IN
Mr. CLAY adyerted the day on which alr Tyler
arrived in Washington TO take charge Of the office de-
yolyipp on him by the death OF Gen HARRISON, ana DE-
pc,ed what must have been his mingled emotions al
finding himself the Chief Magistrate OF the greatest
nation on earth; deducng, from the address ne ''i1n
nut forth TO the people, Wing principles, which could
bear no other construction but that ne would sanc.o
snch Bank rs had been Submitted TO hun since Tor ms
signature. Mr. c. rad several passages from ms ao
dress in support Of t!s assumption, and inferred tnat
according to has reference the fathers OF the RePuo
lie he would do as they had done, and he asked had
not Washington, Madison, Monroe, and Jefferson,
given their sanction Bank Of the Y . lie De,
MED that even Gen Jackson in his veto message mao
made am the power OF Congress 10 eslaosn
Bank for the purposes Of Government. On the con-
trary he believed Cen Jackson would have accepted
such Bank as lie conceived adapted TO the wants OF
the Government
When the friends OF National Bank found there
were scuples in the Presidents mind which could not
be got over, they framed compromise section IN a
spirit of kindness and Cancellation. First, concession
was asked of him. (r Clay by his friends, as to the
name Revolving as ii was TO hun, he yielded on that
point thinking that ia rose by any other name would
N Inh hp
had TO WELD was the location in the city of Washing
ton and the consequent restrictions as to loans and
discounts; and then the third the compromise clause,
which it had been the pleasure of the Presdentto cr
ticse in language harsh MIR. Clay alluded TO all
these concessions having been considered necessary
TO escape the veto, which, II seems not to be es-
capped by any such concessions.
Mr. Clay quoted that part of the Presidents message
in which allusion is made TO the difference OF OPINION
expressed by Congress various occasions, and by
several preceding Presidents with regard 10 the con-
stitutional power of Congress to establish National
Bank and denied that the position thus assumed was
historically true. He went on to show that five Con-
crosses had decided in favor of the power and not one
against it: That every President OF the u > who
had been called upon the question: had given
it his SANCTION but one, the present President OF the
United States. Mr. Clay expressed his as;onishtnent
that the President, in his attempt to represent the
question nicely balanced that he could not take
upon him to decide had not also quoted the authori
ty of another coordinate branch OF the Government
and in some respects paramount branch-the Ju-
dciary-and show what had been the decisions OF the
Supreme Court. He also expressed his surprise that
the President should think It necessary TO parade his
former opinions relation to the consttutionalty of
u S. Bank, and imagines these opinions were known
and scrutinzed during the Presidential but in
this he was mistaken: and he (Mr. Clay thought he
gave that circumstance more weight than 1t emit
tied TO. He would venture IL say, that ninety nine
out of every hundred voters who elected him TO the
Vice Presidency never thought of his opinions on the
subject of National Bank, being Of any consequence
with regard TO his duties in that Office and certainly
never calculated the death Of General Harrison or
the contingency OF the Presidential chair being filled
by the present incumbent The electors who placed
him in the office of Vice President did not give them
selves the trouble Of nqurng what his opinions were.
MIR. Clay next quoted that part Of the message IN
which is said, "Entertaning the opinions alluded TO-
and having taken this OATH tie Senate and the country
will see that could not give my sanction TO measure
of the character described, without surrenderng all
claim to the respect of honorable mon-all confidence
the part Of the peop'e-a selirespect-all regard
for moral and religious obligations, without obser.
ance of which no Government, can be prosperous ami
no people can be happy. il would be to comin,
crime which would not wiltully commit to gain any
earthly reward and which would Justly subject IL
the ridcnle and scorn of all vrtuous men.
In this passage il was evident he (AIr Clay thought
that the President looked rather much into his
heart, and the consequences to himself of the course
he should pursue, instead of 10 the opinions of those
who had elevated him to the trust reposed in him In
doing this he had expressed himself in language which
Madison would no, have used; for that great man
would never have gone the length of declaring Bank
for the purposes Of Government, unconstitutional -
He imagined what would have been Mr.. Nadison's
course could he have been called from his grave and
placed in Mr. Tyler's situation. He asked, did Mr..
Madison's assent to the United States Bank bring
down upon him the scorn and contempt of all re-
spectabie men Other authorities as high as tina, |
of the present President, and higher had decided tina,
Congress has the power of establishing National
Bank These decisions should have had some weight
the call of the country, decidedly expressed. should
have had some consideration; the majority ofl3l in
should have had some weight if doubts SO nicely
balanced BEFORE these considerations should have
ed the scale The blessings which the country had en-
joyed for forty years under the operations of the u
Bank should have helped to make decision. But Pre-.
sdent Tyler seemed TO have treated the subject az If