Mobile daily commercial register and patriot., 1841-10-01
Messrs, GALES & STATION.
STATEMENT.

STATEMENT.
 l called to the President on official business on the morning (Monday, 18th AugusD before the first Veto Message was sent in. found him reading the message to the Secretary of the Treasury, He did me the lan0r to read the material passages to me- Upon reading that part oft which treats of the supe- ror importance and value of the business done by the late Bank of the United States in furnishing exchanges between the different states and sections of the Un- ion, was SO strangy impressed with the idea that he meant to intimate that he would have no objection to bank which should be restricted tu dealing in exchanges, that interrupted him in the reading and asked if was to understand, by what he had just read, that he prepared 10 give his assent to a bank in the District of Columbia, with offices or a. gencies in the states having the privilege, without their assent to deal ln exchanges between them and in foreign bills, He promptly answered that he thought experience had shown the necessity of such power in the Government. l could hot restrain the immediate expression of my qualification upon hear ing this ayowal. l said to the President at once that what had feared would lead fatal disse nsions among our friends, now regarded rather foriu- nate than otherwise that bis of the bill then be- fore him would lead to the adoption of much better one. l also congratulated him upon the happy cir cumstances of the delay which had taken place in sending in his Veto Message. The heat and violence which might have been expected If the veto had been sent in immediately upon the passage of the bill, would nov be aYoidad Time had been given for coel reflection, and as the message did not exclude the idea of bank in some form, no unpleasant con sequences would be likely to follow. He expressed his great surprise that there should be so much ex- citement upon the spbecti said that he had had his mind made np on the bill behre him from lhe first, but had delayed his Message that there should be time for the excitement to wear off that nothing could be more easy than to pass bill which would answer all necessary pprposes that t could Do done in three days. The next day, having occasion see the President again, he requested me to furnish him with such information the War Department affor- ded of the endorsements attending the transfer and disbursement of the public revenue to distant points the frontier, in Florida, &c; He at the same time requested me to draw up brief statement of my views upon the subject showing he practical advan- tages and necessity of such fiscal institution as he had thought of proposing. Such information I could hastily collect from tho heads of the principal disbursng bureaus of tbei Department ] Randad to him on the evening of the same day, knowing that time was of the utmost importance in the state in which the question then was. He received the state ments gave him with manifest indifference, and a. armed me by remark ing that he began to doubt wheth- he would give his assent Gas l understood hm) to any bank.
 The next day, "Wednesday, 18th August) was the stated time for the weekly meeting of the cabinet with .he President. Mir. Webster, MT, Ewing and myself went at 10 o'clock in the morning, and were informed that President was engaged with Messrs. Berrien, Sergeant, and think, Mir. Dawson, of Georgia We waited until they retired, and the President made his appearance about three quarters of an hour afterwards. Mir. Badger came in soon after the President joined us. Messrs. Crittenden and Granger did not attend, The conference which ensued was long one-lasting two hours at least, according to my recollection. l cannot pretend to detail all that was said; neither can l undertake to give the language of the President upon every point nor of the members of tle cabinet. can only state the substance of what said upon those points which most attracted my attention.
 The President commenced by stating that he had been waited upon that morning by committee of members of congress, who desired to know hIs views upon the subject of d bank-such a one as he could sanction. He had given them no satisfaction upon that subject, but had informed them that he would
 first consult with his constitutional adyisers-his ca- whom he thought it most regua' that his views should be communicated. He asked the opinion of his cabinet upon the correctness of the ground be had taken; renarking at the same time, that the hab. of expressing his views members of congress upon subjects of much interest subjected him to great embarrassment and much misrepresen, taton. This question being disposed of, the Press dent adverted briefly ,but without much connection to the relation in which he stood to the bank question: and his disposition to go as far he could to ply with the wishes of his friends He spoke of the relation that existed between him and his cabinet, and how necessary it was that he should have their support. Would they stand by hima He much pre- ferred that the whole subject should be postponed until next session but fit necessary to act now,
 
 corporation, might be carried tbrough He wonder ed why the senate continued to postpone acting upon his veto message, which was yet to be disposed of, He supposed it might be to hold it as rod oyer his head l, and had some doubts whether 1t proper that he should eopsjder further upon the subject until the senate had decided what they would do with the bill then before them. Some one present assured him that the postpon ment of the question pending in the senate was intended to give time for reflections and to prevent an incorporate debate,
 The President then gave the outline of such bank or fiscal institution he thought he could tion, It was to be in tue District of Columbia; to have the privilege of issuing its own notes receive moneys deposite and to deal in bills of exchange between the States and between the United States and foreign States. But he wished to have the opnr ion of his Cabinet upon it. His consistency and reputation must be looked to. He considered his Cabinet his friends, who must stand by and defend whatever he did upon the subject. He appealed par ticularly 10 Mir. Webster for his opinion upon the point of consistency; and whether there was not a clear distinction between the old bank of the United States--a bank of discount and deposite-and the one he now thought of proposing; and whether the constitutional question was not different. He re- minded us that, all his former speeches and ieperts, he had taken the ground that Congress had no con- stitutional power of local discount. Mr. Webster pointed out the distinction between the two plans in a manner which appeared satisfactory to him. The substance of what he sald was, as understood him, as follows: He had a decided preference for bank upon the plan then proposed over either of those which had been previously spoken of. He reminded the President that he had expressed his preference for bank which should be restricted in it's dealings to the bills of exchange when certain gentlemen from the city of New York were present several weeks before. He than thought, as be did now, that it would answer all useful purposes One ground of this preference was, and if had great weight with him. that the plan did not contemplate the consent of the States as, in any way or at any time necessary