Litchfield enquirer., 1841-09-23


power to deal in bills of exchange, without
the assent OF the States, to which you REPLIED
Yes, if they be foreign bills, or bills drawn
in one State and payable in another. That
! is all the power necessary tor transmitting
the public funds and regulating exchanges
and the currency
MIR. Webster then expressed, in strong
terms, his opinion that such charter woulG
answer all just purposes Of Government, ana
be satisfactory to the People; aud declared
his preference for it over any which had
been proposed, especially as it dispensed
with the assent of the States TO the creation
of an institution necessary for carrying Oh
the fiscal operations of Government. lie
examined it at some length, both as to its
cUnsttutionality and its influence on the cur
rency and exchanges, in all which views
you expressed your concurrence, desired
that such bill should be introduced, and
especially that it should go into the hands OF
some Of your friends Tony inquiry wheth-
er MIR. Sergeant would be agreeable to you,
you replied that he would. You especially
requested Mr.. Webster and myself to COM
municate with Mossrs. Berrien aud Sergeant
on the subject. to whom you said you had
promised to address note, but you doubted
not that this personal communication would
be equally satisfactory. You desired us, al
SO, in communicating with those gentlemen,
not to commit you personally, lest. this be-
| ing recognized as your measure, 1t might be
made subject OF comparison to your prelu.
dice in the course of discussion. You and
! Mr.. Webster then converscd upon the par
ticular wording of the 18th fundamental ar
ticle, containing the grant OF the power 10
deal in exchanges, and of the connection IN
which it should be introduced you also
spoke of the name OF the institution. desiring
that that should be changed. To this OBJ
jected, as it would probably be made a SUBJ
ject of ridicule, but you insisted there was
much in IL name, and this institution ought
not to be called bank. Mr.. Webster I'M
I der.ook 10 adapt it in this particular to your
| wishes. Mr.. Bell then observed to Mr..
Webster and myself that we had no time to
lose; that if this were not Immediately at
tended to, another bill, less acceptable, might
be got up and reported. We replied that
we would lose no time. MIR. Webster &C.
cordingly called on Messrs. Berrien and
Sergeant Immediately, and waited on him
! by his appointment ut o'clock on the same
| day, and agreed upon the principles of the
bill in accordance with your expressed wish
es. And am apprised Of the fact, though
it did not occur in my presence, that after
the bill was drawn up, and before it was re-
ported, it was seen and examined by your
self; that your attention was specially CALI
ed to the 10th fundamental article: that on
full examination you concurred in its provls-
ions that ut the same time its name was so
modified as to meet your appreciation and
the bill was reported and passed, in all es-
sential particulars, us it was when II came
through your hands.
You asked Mr.. Webster and myself each
to prepare and present you an argument
touching the constitutionaity OF tho bill i;
and before those arguments coulo be prepar.
ed and read by you, you declared, as
heard and believe, to gentlemen, men,
| bers of the House, that you would cut Oft
your right hand rather than approve it.
After this new resolution was taken, you
asked and earnestly urged the members of
your Cabinet to postpone the bill /; but you
would neither give yourself, nor suffer them
| to give, any assurance of your future course,
in case OF such postponement. by some of
us, and was myself one, the effort was
made to crafty your wishes in the only
way in which it could be done with propri-
ETY.; that is, by obtaining the general con-
currence of the Wing members of the two
Houses in the postponement. 1t failed, as
have reason to believe, because you would
give no assurance that the delay was not
sought as a means and occasion for hostile
movements. During this season Of deep
| feeling and earnest exertion upon our part,
ents and influence to serve and to sustain
you, the very secrets Of our Cabinet coun-
ellis made their appearance in an infamous
paper printed in neighboring city, the col
umns of which arc daily charged with flat
terry of yourself and foul abuse of your Cab
met. All this bore; for felt that my SER
vices, so long as they could avail, were due
to the nation-to that great and magnani-
NOUS People whose suflrages elevated your
predecessor to the station which you now
fill, and whose united voices approved his
act when he called us around him, to be his
counsellors and felt that what was due
to his memory, to the injunctions which he
left US in his last dying words. and to the
People, whose servants we were, had not
all been performed, until every means was
tried, and every hope had failed Of carry
ing out the true principles upon which the
mighty movement was founded that clCva-
ted him and you to power.
This bill, framed and fashioned accord
ing to your own suggestions, in the initia-
ton of which l and another member of
your Cabinet were made by you the agents
and the ncgotiators, was passed by large
majoritics through the two Houses of Con-
gress, and sent to you, and you rejected it.
Important as was the part which had TIA
ken, at your request, in the origination of
this bill, and deeply as I was committed for
your action upon it you never consulted
inc on the subject of tho veto message
| You did not even refer TO it in conversation,
and the first notice had Of its contents was
derived from rumor
| And to me, at least, you have done moth
ing to wipe away the personal indignity
arising out of the act. gathered, it is true,