Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-10-26

1rieH P9~Se"
effect rpm Popular Eicctioas-1He Mcs Of No
qemJer ,riH bring ruth them The Trial ~ tic
great Origiaaioy-The aJSsrdiiy and proatsacy
Of gtriag 10 bcnefcarics rhat IS ocine 10 eredi-
tors-OI niring trhat 0ne has n0t-Ihc WatSs
forget tiat tie same People rho support me St91eS
also Snpport The Federal G0rcrRment-Lcncchr
Distrlbrtion hat makes them Creditors, constr
fuics them Dc5.oys-IHe m0ttres 81 lis laAtor,
&c, Sc
Tue FAR South, Oct. II, 1914.
To HENRY CLAY, ESQ:
Sir. When then the Distribution Law passed
Congress and spirited away 10 the States Inc
Land Fund-estimated al S3O0ouoo-lhe Ma
,ional Treasury was without a dollar 10 supply
,his vas, drain from its revenues. Nobody dis
nntes that. Besides, there were public creditors
10 amounts reaching in the aggregate some SIS.
600 600 due and maturing, which commanded
every dollar which the Government coald raise
from all sources of supply. About three-iourlhs
of this Indebtedness, you and you: economizlng
party. in your first brief hours oil power, hau
contrived 10 waste in lavish expenditures and
funded the resulting liabilities in the form OF
national debt The material fact, however, 10 be
dealt with al present is, that a, the time Indicated,
The Treasury was destitute and indebted beyond all
existing means of payment. This statement was
renea,elly avouched upon the floors OF Congress,
when the bill 10 distribute The land fund was I'M
der discuSSion-waS fully sustained BY the Wing
Treasury Report, and its verify was not drawn
in question from any quarter IN truth II was
The want of these very means which prompted
YOU and your party IN open the governments
loan books and fund lis debts.
These simple facts speak vuumes-demand in
yes,isa,ion and challenge reproof. In many otthe
States the supporters and abetlors Of tins banelul
measure were arraigned and tried for their poil'-
cal lives before the augustribunalso OF the people,
and numerous verdics and judgments OF GUILTY
have either fused them as integers into the popular
masses, or consigned them for aye TO the Botany
Baus of the Republic, 10 alone thiiher, and IN
shame. their vile and fragrant lransgressioDs.
am very sure that YOU have not forgotten how
whole delegations were swept into exile before
The tempes, of the public resentmentS: and that as
long as that oiious law with the objections TO
which il was obnoxious, were freshly remember
ed, there was scarcely popular election in The
States which did not usher into Congress It's anti
Dis,ributionists. But the Idcs OF the coming No
yember are 10 witness and proclaim the peoples
verdict upon the great author OF the SIC meInora-
ble Distribution bills. 1t will be for them 10 say,
whether y0u, Sir, the originator OF the scheme.
and the suborner OF It's advocates, shall not only
olive down" the scorn, and eludc The scaih, which
came upon your followers with such signal retri-
button. but be rewarded for the niqri;y with HE
Hottest civic station in the World gilt Lei the
ballot-box be- consulted, Tor they must tell. II
Bep,eSe,!aice> are 10 be justified in lavi>hing in
Ds'5ijution, what must be promptly and onereus-
" resli,u;ei b. the pc0plc, through totaoa. They
mus. tell, il YOU can sGuanGer 10 the bsacfct4'g
what is duc OF the cyeditOr. Az! they must tell,
and tell now aud tell for all time whether these
Sovereign States are 30 hc pros,acd and sunk
into such depths oil dependency and vileness, as
10 become mere pensioncd nendicants upon The
Federal charities.
TclI; Il thn
,rue guide 10 duty. In the matter before us, lis
connseis could not be mistaken. 1t admonished
Won to he Jus; before you were generous that II
was M, honest 10 I've oherwise:-ihat. if yon h2G
ANYTHING 10 give 10 give it 10 your crediors--hat
if you had any thing to pay with, you should pay
your debts. Instead Of that, what do you practical
ly do1 WHY you give away that which you have
no,-which you could not spare, il you had-which
vou need a, the time, and must have Though
donation, yon demand II Dach, dho p"i'ieii II
with charges
But if Congress possessed a five hundred
Ro,hschld power of distribution, how could II
distrihu,e what il had not ?-or, il it could, OF
what use could il BEG The creditor IN disirbufioh,
when your Treasury is Bankrupt, becomes co M
SAINT under the financial necessities of the case
the dcbt0r IN restitution, or some one else must he
liable Well if such creditor Of the Government
is. By the mere fact of payment 10 him, converted
due and dcmandable, as it does in such con-
lecture. can Tom E1o!cYV itself transcend the alb
surdity disclosed By the operation. But il Is
worse still il same one Csc becomes the debtor for
what the creditor in distribution gets from The Co
vernment. Ii is void OF all justice, of common
honesty, of common sense, that one man should
be deemed tRtcbtcd torthe 9fataiics bestowed upon
another This would DC 'robbing Peter 10 pay
Paul" with vengeance Now, the knayeryand
,C Ill, nall M gn
and vet Q am constrained to add 10 the shame OF
The 9Th Congress, 10 the disgrace of Whigscry,
il falls far short OF the knaveIy and absurt!ily oil
the Distribution Law. lie; us see:
AS the Government was in debt and the Trea-
sury was deficient or asSuredly would become so,
and to tina, extent by the Distribution, that def
cheney would have 10 be supplied. From rhcnre?
The States. From whom The pc0rlc The
Dcopli WHAT PEoPLEl WHY, THE PEOPLE OF
TuE STATES, to be sure, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE or
THE UNITED STATES. Hence the same people,
who get the money to-day, must pay il back TO-
morrow. If so, what gan results from the ope-
raton1 This is the very question profound
statesman propounds 10 himself and solves salts
tac,orily, before he "bmdgcs an 'nch," Gas the
homelv phrase has ) in disturbing and disorder
ing the balanced interests Of Commonwealihs.-
Had This been done, the country nigh, have been
dispensed with such pestilen absnrdi,ieS and foul
impositions upon betrayed and insulted consli-
tuency.
But. had YOU deliberatcd till dooms-dav, all
your talents would have been ba!ticd anu deiled 10
point out any one OF the great interests Iii The
country which was 10 be benefited by Dl>trihu-
lion What one Surely not that OF The fedc-
raj Government IL must have been injured
rather for in breaking faith with its creditors il
must have perilled its credit, and most assurcdly
have rendered i, quo minus sH.Heicns to meet lis
maturing obligations. Not The States rs surely;
for, as they would acquire wihou, right so they
would possess without enjoying and must al last
refund with most onerous additions. Not The
people en- n,assc for they at once are the primary
and residuary obligors, who at last must pay the
principal, interest, and enormous costs, resulting
IRON the political knaveries of all these financial
paradoxeS What SaiR results quotha Why
the people, the blessed, humbugged people, have
eained a pretty considerable loss by the operation
as will demonstrate hy-and-bye. But il the
poor people have lost, others have gained-salncd
capital, political capital -Ihg capital-CL.Y
capi,al--ani ali! Mr.. Clay, fear me much, and
il inks me TO add, that this whole scheme has had
its origin, sus,cnance and advocacy, IN motives
100 grovellng for craftsmanship, and too selfish
for patriotism. Ny most searching scrun'es
have not brought me upon the first trace or inn
press OF public good either in realization or pro
mise: and when find your venal orators in all
parts of the Union suppressing truth and dlstoit-
ing facts, and claiming States votes for you, in
consideration Of your votes for the States in re-
plenishing their Treasures al the sacrifice OF the
public faith the national honor, the rishti''l so
vereignty of the States, and the Constitution II
self, am constrained 10 regard actions asthe ex-
ponents of motives, and cxpoand designs con-
ceived BY ends aimed al. BE right or be
wrong let NovemberS mighty verdict proclaim
the Judgment OF the living; and if not content,
there is posterity its slealthy and noisclcss but
ranid way hiiherward-sure 10 come and soon 10
no here and looking over The shoulders OF this
generation will be plenary OF knowledge. and
sure to be impartial.
To the Editors Of the Enquirer
NORFOLK, Oct. %, 1914.
laval myself of the only opportunity Ihave,
n write Won a few lines in relation to the Demo-