The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-10-02

the second bill, asserting 40 ~ uu, PiSiP'o "heh
he had, upon full discussion informed them he never
could sanction7 What gives greater force to this
point u.s. that while the President, by way OF Precau-
ton caused these words other than for the purposes
of discount" to be inserted in Mr.. Ewings 10th fun
damental article, he did mot, Mr.. Ewing admits,
read "the bin throughout" WHY did he not read
| the whole bill2 There can be but one explanation.
| The President has long been of opinion that Con-
gress has power to ersOts corporation IN any
State" That opinion was made known to his Capl-
net II is also apparent that he believed that the loca
ton of branch of the Bank in any State without Its
consent first given, would be the creation OF such
corporation as he did not believe Congress had the
power to create. 1t is apparent also, that when he
and Mr. Ewing were discussing the 10th fundamental
article, he told Mr.. Ewing that, while he admitted
that Congress had the power create Bank in the
District Of Columbia and 10 authorize that branch to
employ an individual agent to manage and transact
its business other than for hepurposes Of discount"
He then told Mr. Ewing that in his opinion the EN-
ployment of such agencies with the power of discount
ing paper would convert such agencies into branches
corporations and give to them such character
would make il his duty to Veto the bi2 There can
be no other explanations given. No other
L
Mr.. Ewing's bill. e7ruaa.
We well imagine that the President said to Mr..
Ewing make but this one point / do not believe
that Congress establish any corporation in any
State, and do believe that to establish agencies of
Bank, with power to discount, would be to establish
| such COOPERATION. You must, therefore, preclude
such construction, by express provision that such
agency shall not discount that point secured leave
the other details of the bill you and to Congress-
All that ask is that the bill conforms to my view of
| the powers of Congress-"
That such was the language held by the President
to Mr.. Ewing think is further apparent from what
Mr. Ewing says in another place Speaking of the
| interview in the Cabinet Council of the 18th, he
| says ...t a.a ..,,
al Mr.. Ewing] then said to you" 1.-THE President
have no doubt, sir, that the House. having
tanned your views, will pass bill in conformity
them, provided they be satisfied that it would
swer the purpose Of the Treasury and relieve the
try" You then said: i" Cannot my Cabinet see that
this Is brought about? You mast stand by me in
this emergency. Cannot you that bill passes
Congress such as approve aOithout inconsistent
Cyl" declared again my belief that such bill might
be passed, and you then said to me, ,ohat do you
| oP'eto"e'
may see that there is no misapprehension about
! them? 7" Nv. 49,"
Mr.. Ewing then proceeded 10 state his understand
| ing of the Presidents opinions
"First, that Congress might create branch located
| in the District Of Columbia
| :" That they might authorize such Bank to estab
lsh offices of discount and deposit in the several States
| NTH The assent Of The States"
To this the President replied, "dont name dis
counts, they have been the of the most abom
nable corruptions and wholly unnecessary to en-
able the Bank to discharge its duties to the country
| and the Government" pa ..at.
a observed in reply that was proposing nothing,
| but simply endeavorng 10 state what had under
stood to be your opinion to the powers which Con-
gress might constitutionally confer on bank that
on that point stood corrected. then proceeded to
say tina! understood you to be of opinion that Con-
gress might authorize such Bank establish agencies
in the several States, with power 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 ayable in another That is
all the PoDer necessary for transmitting the public
funds, and regulating exchanges and the currency"
Mr.. Ewing further tells us that in reply to sugges-
ton by Mr. Badger, the President said
"Talk not to me of Mr. Ewings bill, il contains
that odious feature Of local discounts which have re-
| Pudia.ed in my message"lag ~s-, 80
] beg the reader to bear in mind that this s Mr.
| Ewings account of the conversation which is now
made the ground work of all the censure which is de-
nounced against the President In this the President
not only recurs to his opinions before SO fully discuss
ed between himself and Mr.. Ewing, and imboded in
| the 10th fundamental article az before cited and
which expressly denied the power of discount to the
agencies of the Bank but he goes further into the de-
of he - He kaEor
bill throughout-he then confined himselfto the SIN
gle point to wit: to the consent of the States to the
location Of branches, and restricting all agencies es-
tablished without such consent to the business oher
hanter the purposes Of discount !" but in this con-
versation he expressed his further disapprobaton of
Mr. Ewing's BILL because it contained that odous ea-
ture of local discounts" which he had repudiaed in
his message go T. :-r.
Now ask in the name of all that is fair and can
did, how all these members of the Cabinet TO
whom the President protested in such terms against
this principle of local discounts condemn the Pres
dent for his second Veto of BILL which not only es
tablished agencies in the States without their consent
but gave to those agencies full power TO discount local
paper to any extent, and any Of premium I'M
der the shape of foreign bills Of exchange? The
question, and that question, which, under this state
ment of the case would strike the mind Of every man
is, did the second bill authorize the Bank to discount
In the first place, If gave the agencies established
without the consent of the States the power of dis
count was violation of that fundamental principle
imbodied in Mr. Ewing's 10th fundamental article,
which had been fully discussed and understood by the
President; and according to Mr. Ewing's own show
ing, it was the duty Of the President to Veto the bill
because he had repeatedly declared his opinion that
Congress had no power to authorize the Bank to es-
tabllsh such agencies And again, this second con-
versation goes further. 1t would show, if it shows
any thing that the President not only opposed
permitting the agencies, established without the Con-
sent OF the States to discount but he was also opposed
to any Bank with power to discount at all because
he is made, in the two short paragraphs, to protest
t'oiee against this right to discount. Once when Mr.
Badger smoke Of Mr. Euinu's hill whom bs .,ys