The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-06-07

rations OF credit, circulation and commerce. Like
the Virginia justice, you tell the man whose turkey
has been stolen that your books of precedents furnish
no loim for his case but then you will grant him
precept to search for cow, and, when looking for
that, he may possibly find his turkey. You say TO
this corporation authorize you to discount
to emit paper to regulate commerce, &c. No! Our
book has presidents of that kind. But then we
can authorize you to collect the revenue, and, while
engaged with that, you may do whatever else you
please" Who can read the above, and compare it
with Mr. Cay's now, and not blush for his in
consistency
Again, he says, ''What is corporation such as the
bill contempates IL is splendid association Of ia
vored individuals, taken from the mass of society,
and invested with exemptions and surrounded by i'm
munities and privileges. The honorable gentleman
from Massachusetts (Mr. Lloyd has said that the
original law, establishing the Bank, justly liable
to the objection of vestng in that institution ex
elusive privilege, the faith of the Government being
pledged that other bank should be authorized du
ring its existence This objection he supposes is OBJ
waited by the bill under consideration but all corpo
rations enjoy exclusive prvileges-hat is the corpo
rators have privileges which no others possess if
you create fifty corporations instead of one, you have
only fifty privileged bodies instead of one. contend
that the States have the exclusive power regulate
contracts, to declare the capacities and ncapacites
to contract and to provide to the extent respon-
sbility of debtors to their creditors. If Congress
have the power to erect artificial body and say it
shall be endowed with the attributes of an individual
If you can bestow on this Object of your own Gre
alton the ability to contract may you not, in contra
venton of State rights, confer upon slaves, infants,
aud femes covert the ability to contract And if
you have the power to say that association Of in
dwiduals shall be responsible for their debts on in
alimed degree, what is to prevent extension Of
a similar exemption to individuals Where is the
limitation OF this power to set up corporations =
You establish one in the heart OF State, he basis Of
! whose capital is money. You may erect others
whose capital shall consist of land slaves and per-
sona estates, and thus the whole property within the
jurisdiction of State might be absorbed by these po
tcal bodies. The existing Bank contends that it is
beyond the power Of State to tax it, and if this pre-
tension be well founded, it is in the power of Con-
gress by chartering companies, to dry up all the
sources of State revenue" What change is here,
my countrymen Mr.. Clay in 1911 was Republic
can, and the representative of hardy industrious,
NcpuuliCdu IcJpic-Ht HtNcI Dccli W EuTope,
and not contaminated by the glitter and pomp of
"a splendid Government Now, he holds in utter alb
horrence and detesta ion those who hold the prn-
ciples which he held in 1871.
/ Again he says g You cannot create the necessity
of Bank, and then plead that necessity for its estab-
lshment" If | recolect correctly he himself
avowed necessity as the ground Of his change of
opinion. Again " In the administration of the
finances, the Bank simply acts payer and re-
Il celyer. The Secretary of the Treasury has money
in New York. and wants it in Charleston the Bank
willturnish him with check or bill to make the re-
mittance, which any merchant would do just as well =
Again will now proceed to show by fact, actual
experience, not theoretic reasoning, but by the
cords themselves of the Treasury that the operations
of that Department may be yell conducted ,cithot
as nth this Bank The delusion has consisted (and it
consists now than it ever did, Mr.. Clay in the
use of high sounding phrases dexterousy used on
the occasion" the collection the revenue'- the
administration of the fnance'-" the conducting of
the fiscal affairs of the Government" the usual Ian
guage Of the advocates of Bank, (the very Ian
guage of yourself now, Mr. Cay,) extort express
assent, awe into acquiescence, without inquiry or
examination into its necessity" Again 1.-THE
power OIL 10 CONSIST III Inc SWORD and
the purse Perhaps at last, all power is receivable
into that of the purse, for with it you may command
almost every thing else. The specie circulation Of
the United States is about ten millions and if it be
no more, one moiety is in the vaults of this Bank
May not the time arrive when the concentration Of
such vast portion of the circulating medium of the
country in The hands Of any corporation, will be dan
gerous to our liberties BY whom is this immense
power welded BY body who, in derogation Of
the great principle of all our institutions, response
bility to the People, is responsible only to few
stockholders and they chiefly foreigners.
Suppose attempt to subvert this Government
(this attempt is making, Mr. Clay, and by the
instrument of foreign captal) would not the traitor
first aim by force corruption to acquire the trea-
sure of this company Look at it in another aspect
Seven-tenths of its ca tal in the hands of TO-
regneis, and these foreigners chiefly English sub
jects. We possibly on the eve of rupture with
that nation. $50 we at the present time }
Should such event occur, do you apprehend
that the English Premier would experience any
4 difficulty IN obtaining the entire control of this
institution. Republics, above all other governments,
should most seriously guard aga INST foreign niu-
ence All history proves that the internal dissensons
excited by foreign Intrigue, have produced the down
fall OF almost every free government that has hereto.
tore existed and yet gentlemen contend we are bene-
ited by this foreign capital. If we could have its use
wi bout It's attendan; abuse, SHOULD be gratfed also
But II is in vain to expect without the other.
\ Wealth is power, and under whatsoever form it ex-
ss its proprietor, whether he lives on this or the other
side of the Atlantic, will have propotionate influ-
ence IL Is argued that possession oil this
Engllsh capital gives agreat influence over the Br
fish Government. If this reasoning be sound, we
had better revoke the Introduction as to aliens holding
land and invite foreigners to engross the whole pro-
nprtv rpnI nd nf tho W. t,.J