Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1843-11-18
From Hc Ndlj0Hai hirihgencrr,
TUE lNVARlABLE PRINCIPLES OF

or KENTUCKY,

THE lNyARlADLE PRINCIPLES OF
rllE DENOCR ACY.
Tho Pennsylvania docs Us tho homo
to answer as follows, late paragraph o
ours
"Tho National Inlcligenccr is announ
cling that the Bank is republican mca
sure and quotes Mr.. McDullig'5 speech
OF 1880 in the support Of the correctness
of its position. We suspect that our wor
thy contemporaries Of tho Inloligcncor
are rather IN the roarwnrd Of public opin.
ion, as derived from experience, in thi,
once Interesting matter. Since 1880, its
republican measure has ANONYMOUSLY
measured its length upon the earth, ha.
wing fallen 10 pieces by its own corrUp.
tions. But what if the Bank, in It's creu-
ton were republican measured Sup
pose that every republican in Congress
twenty or thirty years ago, did vote Tor it
whit then' Why, nothing but that
they did not understand the subject as
well as il is understood now. That which
was approved in theory exploded in prac
tice, and it is not the first time that such
result has ensued both in politics and in
mechanics"
This, the Pennsylvania wi allow us to
say, is rather sophistical reply: for in
theiirst place, it does not and cannot over
throw the absolute, undeniable fact that
the Bank was, in 1916, voted for by the
Repu blican party, as both highly expo
dent and entirely constitutional measure
In 1928 the new or Jackson Republicans
sci up a violent opposition to it, as both
inexpedient and unconstitutional, while
their leader, nevertheless, proposed (even
in denounclng ~ greater institution Of
the same sort
If, as the Pennsylvania pleads, expe-
rlence has shown the Bank to be bad
measure, then it is only necessary TO say
that tile opposition Of The Bank cannot juSti- |
Jy tself in that 'oay; for the experience in
question is of 1886, and the opposition
was older by some eight years.
But, further: the experience, the result,
could only, at most, decide the question
of expedency. That of constitutional
ty it could not touch; unless, indeed, the
present party doctrine be Gas it would
seem) that things are constitutional or
not merely according to the event.
Now, the measures was not adopted IN |
1916 without previous trial OF 20 years.
Four years Of financial confusion had sat
isfed the Republicans Of that day that a
Bank was an indispensable public agent.
1t was tried, with general success, up to-
about 1884, when the violent and unprin-
cipled exertion of the whole power of the
Government, welded by the despolic
will of one who made the Constitution
and laws just what he pleased, broke it
down, by compelling it to engage in poll
tics and fight for It's life with the same
sort of weapons which its INSCRIPTIONS
enemy used to destroy it. Experience,
lhen--which is really all tina, the Penn
sylvanian alleges--is here every way an
inadequate plea: first, because it applies
only to the matter of variable eXpe-
dicncy; second, because all epexrience
was favorable when the Jackson opposi-
ton began; third, because the final result
is, 10 say the least, such that no candid
Jackson man even can well dare affirm
that The Bank would have fallen but for
the fatal, the overwhelming means re-
sorted TO for its destruction
Letthe Pennsylvania, since ii has ia
ken up this argument, answer US with the
clearness, the candor, and The good humor
which it gives us pleasure to say 1t 50
much observes.
We hope it will at the same time, ex-
plain some f the difficulties which demo-
cratic dialectcs offer; as, for instance. pre-
scented by the following sentences in the
paragraph we have cited:
"But what if The Bank in its creation
were a republican measure? Suppose
that every republican in Congress, TWEEN
ty or thirty years ago, had voled lor it,
what then2 Why, nothing but that they
did not understand the subject as well as
il is understood now. That which was
approved in theory exploded in practice,
and it is not the first time that such re-
suit has ensued both in politics and in
mechanics.
The Pennsylvania avowS, then, in eI-
feet, that the repubicanism Of the lime Of
MADISON was, as TO the Bank, most Fed
eral for the Bank--once the test-queSllon
of republicanism, supported "by every
republican in Congress"-is now, to the
new republicans, the very arch,onormlly,
the ''unpardonable sin" OF Federalism.
What sort of principles, especially con-
principles, are those which are
white today, black as pitch tomorrow?
ltis perfectly obvious that as to this great
question:" the Richmond
Enquirer cries--the Federalists of 1916
wcretrue republicans; for they opposed
the charter. 1t stands confessed, that one
republican measure was highly Federal:
Why not, then, many others, nay all? for
fever so republican to-day; they may, like