The Woodstock age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1844-1845, 1844-09-12
"A NATIONAL BANK.
House 81 Representatives,, jane Is, 1914


citizens of the state of Missouri, praying
that Congress would by law prescribe a
mode by which the sense of the people may
be taken on the question of the conslIlu-
tlonalty of banks under the authority of
the states, and of bank of the United
States, respectfully reports;
That they have had the subject under
consideration, and have come to the con.
cluslnn that there IS no occasion for the
adoption of the measure proposed.
The right OF the States to establish
banks has been practically settled by the
general acqniescenCe aud action Of the
people, SO far as this government is con
cerned, ever since its foundation. Ii can-
not be discussed as an open question:
The current Of acqnlescence aud praclice
is fact indiSpnlable aud conclusne.-
In government like ours, stability in leg
lSldtlnn and constitutional construction
are deeply essential to It's welfare. A Il the
interests of county otunexampedeXtenl,
resources, aud enterprise, aud ol unrlvalled
prospective greatness, may be vitality alice
ted by sudden changes in The laws, or in
lie exercise Of constitutional powers. Hun
dreds of banking institutions overspread
our country, aud mnnele III all the sources
Of It's activity and business; hundreds of
millions Of capital are invested IN them,
and upon them res, an incalcudble mass
at credit, aglganlc system Of ind vIdnal
and commerclal TRANSACTIONS, affecting the
value o. property over The whole eApanse Of
The Union; aud AT tins time seriously to
conlroverl the conSll,uloually tthe eXer-
else Of power by the States, winch has
created and npholds this great sliuctCreof
socicy, would be to agilate, without ad-
vantage, decision which nothing but II
conni.rcial revolution, utterly rununs. can
ever wholly >ubverl. Each State anus, reg
nale us own currency, as to its own WIS
dom shall seem advisable. Nune can
make anything but gold and silver a sol
vent of debt That constitutional restraint,
though i, cannot entirely prevent the evil,
of injudicious banking, can and will con-
SlanlIy undermine or destroy any paper
system expanded beyond the capacity oi
The immediate converlibllily olIlS promises
into sprcie. 1t mus, be left to the eAperl-
ence Of the people Of the States to cor
rec, The evils Of banking, or to abolish
within their limits the system altogether,
1t lea power over which they have uncon-
uollable authority. They may create,
prohibit, or destroy,
The question Of the constitutonality
and cXpedicncy of bank OF the United
States has also, in the opinion ofthc com
mittce, been solcmnly decided by the peo-
pie. The last twelve years has been
a period of mighty conflict, in which the
great question of the currency has been
one of an absorbing character. 1t has
become familiar to the people, and, in
our Judgment, large majority of them
have incontestibly settled that there is no
power in this government, under the con-
stitution, to establish Bank of the Uni
ted States; and that the exercise of such
Il power would be dangerous to the pros
pcrity and general welfare of the coun-
try. A large and powerful party has,
indeed, pcrtinaciously sought to fix such
an institution upon the government; but,
by the wisdom of the people, and the
providence of God, the design has been
counteractcd; and now when the power
of its prevention remains in the hands of
the people, we cannot believe that it will
again be voluntarily surrendc ed.
1t is unnecessary, in the opinion of the
committee, to discuss, in 'rien,o, the
question of the consttutionality and ex-
pedicncy of National Bank.
The convention that formed the consi-
tuition took into its serious deliberations
the propriety of comforting upon Con-
gress the power to create such an insti-
tuition. A proposition was distinctly sub
mitted, as appears by the historic record
of the proceedings of that body, to con-
fer upon Congress the power OF granting
charters of incorporation. 1t was fully
considered, and on solemn dclibcration,
refused. 1t was again substantially re-
presented in another form, under the
guise of giving to Congress power to
create corporations to make roads and
canals, and under which, by the mystic
ry of construction, capacity for bank
ing might be derived as an incident; and
this again was rejected. The project
was thus driven out of the convention.
The power to create corporations is
the highest attribute of sovereignty. 1t
gives vitality and being to a creature
which rises above the laws which God
has impressed upon the material world.
1t may survive its creator, and more than
once in the history of our country it has
mastered that power which gave it exis-
tence. 1t is delegation of a portion of
the authority the legislature, and can
not be bestowed but by the sovereign will
of the people legitimately made known;
and under constitution like ours, de-
claring that all powers not granted are
reserved to the people or the States,
how, without peryersion of this portion
of the fundamental law, can a power of
this magnitude be derived by implication,
as mere incident to others' Its advo-
Gates have endeavored to give it home
in alien sections of the constitution; but,
driven from one position, it has sought