Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1841-12-28

proposition TO issue bills of credit, when
under constellation at the formation Of
the Constitution, was struck out with the
express view of making this Government
hard money GOVernment-not cana
ole OF recognizing any other than specie
currehcy--a currency of gold and silver
"a cunenay known and valued. and
equally understood by every one. But
mere IS proposition TO do what was ex-
Pressly refused 10 be allowed by the fra.
mers the constitution-to exercise a
power not only not granted to congress
out power expressl y denied. The next
proposition is TO authorize the Federal
Government TO deal in and regulate ex.
changes, and to furnish exchange 10 ,ner
chants. This is a new inyeption-a
modern idea of the power of this Govern.
menf, invented by Mr.. Biddle, to helm
out a national Bank. Much as General
Hamilton was in favor of paper money he
never went the length of recommending
Government bills of credit, or dealings in
exchange by the United States Treasury,
The fathers of the church, Macon. and
John Randolph, and others, called this a
hard money Government, ,hey Objected
to bank paper, but here is Government
paper; and that goes beyond Hamilton,
much as ne was IN favor of the paDer
system. The whole scheme making
THIS Government a regulator Of exchange
"a dealer IN exchange-a furnisher of
exchange-i0 absurd, unconstitutional.
and pernlcious, and is new thing under
the sun.
Snow he, (Mr. Benton) obiolced to this
government becoming seller of ex.
chahge 10 the country, for which there
IS no more authority than there is for is
furnishing transportation of goods or
country produce. There is not word to
DC found Justifying the assumption. The
word exchange is not in The Constitution.
"hat does the message proposef Con
gress is called upon TO estabiisba a Board
with agencies, for the purpose offurnish.
ing the country with exchanges. Wbv
should not Congress be also called on TO
furnish that portion of the community
engaged In commerce with facilities for
transporting merchandIse3 The propo
Stion IS one ofthe most perDicious nature
aud such as must lead TO the most
dangerous CONSEQUENCES ifit be adop-
ted.
The British debt began in the time
OF Sir Robert Walpole, on issues of ex-
chequer bills-by which system the Brit.
lsh nation has been cheated, and plum.
ged lrretrievably in debt 10 the amount of
9UO,OOO,OOO of pounds. The PROPOSE
ton that the Government should become
the Issuer of exchequer notes, is one bor.
rowed from the system introduced in
Eng land by Sir Robert Walpole, whose
Wing Administration was nothing but
high tory administration of Queen Anne.
lie (M,. Benton) had mnch 10 say on
this subject, but this was not the time for
entering at large into it: This, perhaps
was not the proper occasion to say more; ;
nor would it, he (Mr. Benton) considered,
be treating the President of the United
states with proper respect to enter upsn
premature discussion, He (Mr. Ben
tony could not, however, in Justice to
himself, allow this resolution 10 pass
without stating his objections to two such
obnoxious features of the proposed fiscal
Ity, looking, as he did, upon the whole
thing as one calculated to destroy the
whole structure of the Government, TO
change it from the hard money it was in
tended to be, to the paper money Gov
ernment II was intended not to be, and
TO mix it up with trade, which no one ev-
er dreamed of He (Mr. Benton) had
on another occasion stated that this ad.
mlnlstration would go back, not only to
the federal times of '9S. but 10 the
times of Sir Robert WaIpole and
Queen Anne, and the evidence is now
before US.
"He (Mr. Benton) had only said few
words on this occasion, because he could
not let the proposition to sanction bills of
credit go without taking the very earliest
opportunity of expressing his disapproba-
ton, and denouncing system calculated
10 produce the same results which had
raised the unfounded debt of Great Brit
ain from twenty one millions to nine hum
dred millions of pounds. He should a.
vail himself of the first appropriate oppOr-
tunity 10 maintain the ground he had as
sumed as 10 the identity of this policy
with that of Walpole, BY argument and
references, that this plan of the Presi-
dents was utterly unconstitutional and
dangerous-part borrowed from the sys-
tenn of English Exchequer's issues, and
part from Mr.. Biddle's scheme of making
the Federal Government an exchange
dealer--though Mr.. Biddle made the
government act indirectly through board
of bank directors, and this makes it act
directly through Board of Treasury Di.
rectors and their agents.
"This is The first time that formal
proposition has been made TO change our