Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-01-24
REPEAL OF THE BANKRUPT LAW.


REPEAL OF THE BANKRUPT LAW
Ms. FILLMORE called up The bill for the repeal OF
the bankrupt law, which passed by the House. bot
still on the Spekers table, consequence of motion
OF reconsideration made by the gentleman from India
ma, (Mr Proflit.)
Mr.. CUSHING, who was entitled TO the floor ad-
dressed the House at length, in reply to the remarks
made by various gentlemen, during the last three
weeks in relation 10 the present Administration He
commenced by remarkiug that the President Of the
United States accused of obsiructing The passage
of Wing measures of relief, and charged with un.
certainty and vacllaon Of purpose As these charges
had been made against the President be felt il TO be
his duty TO ask the country vino ciargeabIe with
vaclatlon and uncertainty of purpose, and the de-.
| struction Of measures of relief, Who were they
who with sacrilegious hands, seeking 10 expuupe
the last measure Of the sar red session from
the stante books Forty seven Wings, he answered,
associated with the Democratic party in the House.
and formed q coalition TO blot out that measure
| Laughter, and cries Of "Good.'l He repeated ii
forty seven Wings formed coalition with the Demo.
Gratis 10 expunge all the remains of the extra session
winch existed For three weeks past, there had been
constantly poured forth the most eloquent denuncia
tons of the President, of the Secretary Of State and
OF himself. He might imagine, was said by Warren
| Hastings when such torrents of denunciation were
poured out upon him, that there was some foundation
Tor the lmputution OF the orators He should inquire
into the merits OF the political questions and into the
accusations made against him. lie was told that no
| had thrown frebrand into the House-that he had
brought tomahawk here. lie denied it, He had
done such thing. II that he commenced
the debate which carried on and when gentlemen
said that he had volunteered remarks of the regu-
lar order, in reply 10 the gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr Arnod,) he told them that they were judges
His mode OF defence was counter attack, and for
him TO judge of the argument If he carried the war
into the enemy's camp, The responsibility was with
those who commenced the attack.
| ltwas arrogated to themselves by the Wings that
they possessed the exclusive license ofatiack, and that
the friends of the Administration must stand up and
defend themselves. According to theee gentlemen, he
must not resist the attacks made upon him. He under.
stood his rights; and gentlemen would assa The AID.
instra,on-ifihey would pour out frantic abuse upon
it, il his right, TO reply, whenever his convictions
Of duty enabled him. In doing this, he had held 10
magic mirror tothe country He had placed before the
House the means by which members could read their
own hearts When gentlemen undertook 10 arraign
him for alleged sins against the Constitution and The
form Of our Government, and put upon him an iupu.
tation which could not be found in his speech and
which he challenged them to justify by pointing out
one single sentence-when gentlemen come here into
the House and do this, he declared that il was an en-.
deavor TO pass upon the country the false coin Of poli
cal profession. Was there any who would say that
PAP members of this House, every was free from
political motives in his conduct lie repealed The
charges which they made upon him and the Admins.
traton and he should endeavor TO show that they
proceeded only from interested motives, whether Of
fame, wealth, power, or anything else by which men
were handed together as parties. What was party
He defined party TO be association Of men seeking
to get power.
When they talked of principles, what did they mean,
The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr MarshalD did not
develop any principles which he acted. Principle
with that gentleman was measure-the u States
Bank. Did the United States Bank constitute princi.
pie: Did the Sub Treasury Of itself constitute prn.
ciple? The gentleman from New York mir. McKeon)
mods assent If such thing constituted principle he
(hir c. scorned The idea He did not recognize the
notion that the question whether the public depostes
should be kept by cashier agent, Constituted
principle. He scorned the idea that man should DO
called traitor, If he did not rally around the Sub
Treasury. He well understood what the gentleman
from New York (Mr. McKeon) meant by principles;--
and that was, the restoration Of the expelled Bonrbons
and with them the revival OF their repudated Sub.
Ireasury-a return TO power, TO revenge the mselves
upon those who had agency in their expulsion
As 10 the principles of the gentleman from Kentucky,
(Mr. Marshall,) he should wait until that gentleman
should have had an opportunity to develop tbem before
he made any comments.
Thus, then, when he saw that the questions now ag
atng the country questions of party; that partes
were divided upon tho issue Of what they called the
principles Of National Bank and a sub-1'rea.ury lie
thought il time for The country to interfere, and
prevent the interests of the people from being crushed
between the upper and neither millsones For present.
ing the true issue 10 The country and for calling upon
the House to aid the constitutional chief Of the Co
vernnent in carrying on the Government, he had
been accused Of offering at auction the power Of
the feoerai Goyernment When he the gentle
man from Indiana (Mr. X. w Thompson) occupying an
hour in expanding paragraph from the Globe into
speech, and the gentleman from New York responding
to the strain Of his argument, he reminded Of por
ton Of the funeral Grafton Of Antony over Cesar,
(which Mr. G. recited) When he found the gentle
man from Indiana taking up The interested lead of the
Globe and re echoing The charges of the Globe, he
asked himself, that gentleman in favor Of MIR. Van
Buren, for the Presidency? If not, he could explain
why that gentleman had fallen into the trap set by thi.
of MIR Van n indoo
that the gentleman, and those who followed him, were
like the wild bull in The Spanish shows, who rushed az
the red flag held out him. whilst the matadar stood
by to plunge the dagger in his side.
He would ask gentlemen 10 consider the merits Of
thsdebae. Whut the point in the eloquent denun
cations and the continued invectves which had been
heaped upon him; lie argued that the people of tho
United States were peculiarly nation Of political
readers and that they prided themselves upon their
political information; bat, in their reading there
too much of party-too much Of the superficial party
discussions Of the day. II man advanced general
idea Of political action apart from party, the people fell
into spasms al the paradox; and the remark imme
diateIy made subject Of attack by oil the chm nlpons of
party This illustrated by the treatment Of remark
made by him at the last session, upon the exercise Of the
power by the President For weeks together, he
was denounced for advancing the very idea which was
to be found in The works Of Madison But il was mecca
sory, 10 be made topic of reproach against one ol tho
friends of The President; and, therefore, il did not avail
anything to show that he right and that the very
doctrine which he advanced vas once uttered by Henry
Clay in corresponding debate in the Senate Of the
the IT, S. The same line Of debate was re wed upon
him at the present session.
The position Of the two great parties, and those few
who stood here to defend the acts Of The Admnstra
ton, was peculiar. Our Government under.
going q test in new particular. This The
FRS, time that the administration Of the Government
had ever devolyed upon the Vice President. Now, he
had called upon the people and the House TO adapt
themselves to That contingency and supDorf fhe Con.
stitution for with the Unconstitutional fact
caled The party fact, and whilst The President was not
party chief, there was party chief of the party in
power. The question was, whether there could be so
!Adminstratnns-one, constitutional Administration,
by the PRESIDENT and the Other party Administration
exercised by q party chief in the Capitol? With this
issue before him whether the President or the party
leader-c chiein the White House, the chief 10 The
Capitol carry The Administrators felt It
30 be duty which he on ed 10 the Government Of his
country, 10 give his rid TO tic constitutional chief.
That the real question which had peryaded oil our
thus far He said beye that