Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-07-30


the stands and ,eacmenfs nc ~ acquired must b.
bu NE consent of tic LEGISLATURE II The SGts in mhch
me- same shan Ge%" II they urgently wanted i"r
the exprtss purpose Of erecting 'i"rls, arse
nails dock yards aud other nsed!ul buildings, ana
one hundred thousand citizens ready and anAI"is
and offer 10 sell 10 the Government all The Glands anh
trnaments il needs and IN the most acceptable terms,
the Government nevertheless could not buy i"o' ~
,hrm, unless ''dy he e"nSrnt cf The Legislature q me
Sfafe in rrLich lie same sLaH Ia. 81, after all "r
Claws sturdy uppnson 10 the 'assent If thr Stairs,
ii. will find his B'nh, shvering, naked, h"u~er's
thing under the Constitution if 1t shnmid happen -
struggle over into State jurisdictions, "irHhont thef
consent" hold on the contrary, that while tlir"
ssconsent" can confer no power on the federal w"
ycrnment, tm ia The tnnmrsattd cases jnst referred
TO- vet the rgh ("h ch they undoubtedly possrssl 10
,oaLhold thnt consent, altogether Incompatible WIN
roht in CongresS within their jurisdiction
the branching p0ircr at dH right To possess, "nat
another at the tmc has right to rtthhoa' W
wolves a contradiction of terms, and an utter coa'us
of ideas | have heard Of claims to favor, persua'
sons that could influence that could convince
hut that rara ars IN ferris of right to ones consent -
surely right which has eluded all the scrunes oi pm
L,sophers and iurists "CoRsent is matter oil r7hh0n
Riris are to be demanded fthen, the right 81 Con.
grcss 10 exercise thu "Jranchng po'cer IS contingent
u,on the tp9;spensabie condition III previously obtaining
me ucousfui of the States to its exercise within Their
b,rders then il must be c!assed with those rshfs q"
"imperrct Obligation, which the Roman Dnci"rs anu
modern iuriss concur in declaring, are not suscep,'o
III legal enforcement. In very truth, 1t is no T'e q"
all The right is in the States ana there u mus -
ua;n III par,ea ,r;A Il, is ng ht Of jurisdiction =
When ia acoasea gwen and ths purchase IS net"
,tIu ,node and the objrct of II embraced within he
ennmaratiou-,ha Stale right IS g"ne-or II was
r;oM Of sorerejgn,y aud jnr'Sd,ctton, and when r
oysrnmcnt has consiiiutionaay acquired the property
# course the Suites yigh mast give way 10 The no'
rcrnmsut's rioht of "ErcIusirc jnriSd,etion.
: think that il must be- conceded BY every one
,h,, In. poston have taken cannot be nverihrown;
that il is constitutional ground ! occupy, "enlirriy
md exactly" Rnt then II Will be attempted to quihns
AWAY the force of the argument, ny maintaining thai
Il is not the Government, but the BdnE that o'rnS ana
boids the "iands fenem6ntS, &c Well, let the qnrs-
ton he tested in tins issue, and see how Il works
involved in the proposition, or, at all events as
sumo, that the fact IL proved, that the G"vern'nen'
ud not under tie Con III ulon, acquire and hold those
Stands. tentmenis" &c, as the Bank has done? Very
we'll Ior did the Bank obtain the right t. acquire and
haiti those stands feacmcnts, c BY their charter Of
incorpora,ion Very well. Uade deriratnr' Uht"re
came the charter II conferred by thu Gorernm'nt
Very we'll 81, after all, trace The BanEs ~hOie
rjahf Ia acguirc and hoId those Islands, sc up IL the
Gorcrnment which ! have already proved was without
the pow or 10 acquire and hntd them What miserable
stuff is ihis The Government can besiow upon 4
Bank power il nerrr possessed hseJ The Govern,
me nj can authorize Bank to acquire and hotd Glands,
&c for H. in Safr- rithout MS consent, and winch
only purposes which could sanction the acquisition,
10 vii: or the erection Of orts. magazines, arsen0is
dock yards, and oiher a'edfu baudi"gs And this
power Of dnaed acquisition does not result nj all
from the Constitution Lfor that f"Tb'ds IT. Oh no
But from the mage irce of d"iing its sorereigRfy,
and entering into a c0rporae roparncrshiP with md
riduais But tins IS not all. This power comes from
some where-Wha brings it into the partnership
have already shown, that the power 10 acquire and hod
those Stands, Nc, Is power that the Government
han tl,H
men never did bring, and could not have brought II
INTO the partnership Still, Il is there, and must hare
btcn brought there-and the conclusion inevitable,
that the other coparncrsthc individual! stockholders
must have brought II there. Well, such power IS
surely vast boon-An unlimited power in the CO.
vernment 10 aequrc and hoid stands tenements herfdt
iaments, &c, lnv"ves the power OF controlling So
ve-rign States, of organizing tenantry, and com
handing popular supp IT. The Government noT pos
sesscs tins vast power X did not possess 1t b.iort-
|, il The first ffafs Of this corp"rnie copartner-
ship-and must have been derived from the ndIvl-
dual CO. partners But whence did they derive Il: J
do not mean the pnwcr Of acquiring and hoidng for
themselves stands, &c, but mhenre they derived the
poctr nj ronltrriog the Gorrrnmcnt The Perer 10 10
soa Hheace9 WHY from rhr chartcr Uhe"cs' Why
from the Gorernment That TO say, the Gorfrnmcnt
conter- on fm (hc sockhoidcrs the Powcr 10 confer
on IL (he Coreramca tr porer Of Exercising Po'ecr.
which neither the stockholders nor The Government
ever did could possess.
q Under the foregoing views, and tho reducti0 nd
absardun, in which hnk have involved my adver-
sary rrasoners-ihc powers Of the Government are
chanyed F,fty-say five hundred individuals have
revouunized the Government The Constitution
has been afrrd without the assistance or CO cptTd0"
&c the Suites And these astounding changes have
been wrought by simple association of private 'ndI'
vdua!s and through the magic Influences OF f0TP0r"te
rs.parfncrsaip. The Government could not acqafe
and hoid "iaa1S &c, by itsef, but register 1t as
-par;ner-and prestu-tile restrictions are removed .
Well. e. suppose that this co-partner,hPls brought
to an end. Suppose Congress, after length OF Time,
pass law to purchase up all the individual stock, aud
is purchased, and it thus becomes exclusively Lo
rerniacat Bank-or suppose individual stockholders
forfeit all their stock and the Government remains The
sole stockhoder. Il, is still Government Ban6-ot
Congress had, as il could, Of it can create Bank
at all) made il originally Government Bunk The
property Of Bank attaches to its stock In either OF
,hp instances suggested, the property would all belong
To the Government, be il Stands, tensmentS, &c, or
any other kind Of Properfy The long ana sh"f, 'i u
is that The Government has arqareda and holes fands
tenementS, Nc, IN the States, not obtained lot any %
the purposes enumerated in the Constitution, nor ~
The way or through the means the Constitution has
prescribed ; but through is own means, through a
Bank, the creature of ia own usurpat"ns me tFm
lure brcomcs greater than lis crrof0r Inc BHnE "u
MoriscS what the Constitution forbids The Govern.
mrn clutches AT the Bank authority. ana sPnrhs Tue
hehests II the Constitution. The Bank IS trIumphah
and the Constitution ~ overthrow
10. ! have supposed the partnership brought 10 an
end bY the individual stocks hrng ioreied or b"ughi
up under the authority nt an act of Congress ~
nothing torbdS Congress from passInga law 10 sen on
the Government stuck or, inbred, nj making the BANK,
the first Instance. individual Bank, nv " has Tue
power 10 create Bank al ally lei rs suppose me
partnership brought IN end by these means. J ne
Government then has CEASED To hold dollar worth
of thu stock The individuals If other States e3clu-
sivrly, Ut may bc,( exercising BanLfng Po"frS,
q n Wt
ts consent, dsordcring ut may br,) ITS finances, rs
currency, and diminishing ts revenues, unhrf 'he
shield Of charter which protects It's active cap.'hi
from the powers Of State taxation Can thus thIhg
hc' Has not State most perfect right +" deny !"
lis citizens limiting po~rrS' to refuse them an act
Of incorporation l"r that purpnse Has moi snrh re-
fusa been ofien (not haf oirn enough, God hno'es)
and been acquiesccd in resulting from the exercise
Of most nnd"ub'cd right: May it not deny I" thr
c-tns If oher Saies what il may deny To its orn c.
h:taS: May il not Illustrate powers which Il had a
right 10 withhold, and rxprl such Bank from us SO.
vrrrigu Jurtsd c,ons II To- candid innt
can refuse affirmative answer Ia these questions
II this b. 50, fellows that Individuals derive nu
fr,.u rtSn RAJ kInr n