Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1841-01-30
TAXING BANK PAPER.

TAXING BANK PAPER.
If our readers are not aware of the fact,
we will inform them that, now General
Harrison is elected President, who is
known to have been presumption man
in favor of the repeal of the duty on for
eign Salt, and in favor of reducing the
price of public lands before Col. Benton
had political existence, this arch hum
bugger knowing that these hobbys are
knocked from under him, has mounted an
other-that Of taxing bank paper! We
have not the room for his ranting remarks
this week, or we would gladly lay them be-
fore our readers, that they might see the
demagogue disappeared himself of his bor-
rowed robe. He introduced his bill, by
setting forth its various merits, the chief of
which seemed to be that it would speedily
drive out of circulation all bills under the
denomination of twenty dollars-sus-
tanning its doctrines by British precedent,
and reference to Mr.. Gallatin's publica-
ton on the currency. He stated that since
1915, the English Government had levied
an annual tax Of $500 per million ster-
ling, upon the paper circulation of the
country, and what was good policy there,
must be good policy here! If the Colonel
would take the pains to examine his paral-
lei, he would find that it is far from being a
parallel at all. The English Government is
one State, with one taxing power, while we
have t,Centy-Sir States the Government of
each having the power to tax their own in
stitutions, which they do, and if the feder-
al government has the right to tax them,
they will be doubly taxed. But we have
greater objection to the principles of the
bill than the policy for which it seems to
contend: 1t assumes the power to the Fed
eral Government to suppress State insti-
tutions; and if one, all. 1t proposes to ex-
ercise this power by means of taxing: thus
making the power to raise revenue means
Of ettecting any indirectpurpose whatever"
This, we esteem the rankest federalism, and
if carried out, State Legislation NAV be
wholly overthrown by its exercise. Are
Col. Benton's followers in Missouri pre-
pared to say that it was ever contemplated
to invest the Federal Government with such
authority? If they are, we will be enabled
to say that the most consolidating doctrine
ever preached in this country, emanatod
from a party who style themselves State
rlghts-republicansl Timothy Pickering Or
Alexander Hamilton, in the proudest DAVIS
OF federalism never dreamed of CLAIMING
such a grant ofpower, and if COL Benton
is henceforth to be the oracle of the
party, we shall acknowledge our surprise
If the honest portion of the State rights
men who are nOec acting with him. do not
declare their new position before the ides
of March.
80 far as its reception was concerned
there was one primary and fatal objection
to MIR. Benton's BILL of which he must have
been aware when he brought it forward
1t is bill to create revenue, and the Conet;-
tuition declares that all such bills must ORR
glnate in the House of Representatives.
After debate of several hours. of which
the greater portion was consumed bv Mr..
Benton, he virtually acknowledged the force
OF this objection, by asking leave to with
draw his motion for leave to introduce tha
bill. His main object, that of bringing ND the
question, was, he said, accomplished. This
was in effect declaration that he had d.
iayed the Legitimate business of the Senate
for several hours in discussing a measure
which that body could not constitutionoIIy
entertain. Thus do the demagogues Of =
death-smitten faction, waste the time and
money Of the country; thus do men who
profess to be strict constructionists of the
Constitution knowingly infringe that sa.
cred instrument, in order to gain an oppor-
UNITY TO gasp out their expiring dcuuncia.
! tons. '"-