Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-09-24
CoMaiUNICATiOSS.
"a -
Fcr the Enquirer.
THE ISLANDER DISPRONED:

thu, the Bank Of The United States and the Re
s,rctiye System are OF Republican, and not OF
Federal origin. The records Of our political
history have been not only saIb!ed ana misrePie-
scented, but actually rALsIFIED TO support ". w
do not fear tina, any Republican VIII, Tor mo
ment credit So preposlerous an assertion; tu' "
order that we NAV te able 10 give our opponents
rssons for The faith lha, is in Us, and prove 10 oil
Of Them. whose minds are open u conviction. me
tasehood Of this Islander on the memory Of The Old
Republican Party, VIC submit 10 YOU ma 10 Them
n succinct history OF those political questions III
this country. , - 10
Congress Of the Confederation IL has been iaisc-
X asserted. ('Fnn Propositions No. l. mat no
scrlpieS were expressed then, as 10 me @"tl9"y
OF Congress 10 pass the ordinance ar MAD
Aos y.oied AGAINST Met Bank, although me r ar
lPronostion." Qhe latest edition, in which the pub
fishers DENY ,ha, 'anv error" has been detected by
,hc y s,a,es that he voted FIR it, No. IL and ac-
,,s;I,. ro,pd agaiRs it!-(Sec Documentary Ills
,"ry of The Bank of the United States by Clarke
& Han Washington, 1888 page ll)-ln his
s,oach aoainst the Bank of 1871, delivered Feb
mary 81 1871. in the House o! Representatives,
ba SAYS "The case Of the Bank, established ny
The former Congress, has been c';ea as Prece-
dent This was LnoirR 10 have been the chiio oi
nsrcss;.u II NEVER could I've justified hv the regli-
IN
CONGRESS BETRAYED a consciousness oil thus, IN re-
,omnendino 10 the .Si0feS 10 incorporate The Bank
also They did not attempt H. protect the BANK
notes hv penaltieS against copniereiters. these
war.. reserved wholly to the authority OF the
S,,,,s n.-(Documentary History, page IL MIR.
anes in his rcply 10 Mr.. Madison. says: tie
(Air. MY has prepared rs 10 pronounce an euio-
"nim on his consistency, by informing Us, mat ne
yo,ed in the old Congress against Tie Bank OF
North America on the ground OF his present "o-
i..ri,oa 10 ths fenSiitrti0Aaifg. Il Documentary
History. page 10 e.
Rasio, himself on his own Justification OF the
,ac,s lhe author Of the Fair Propositions, then
cyprcsscs surprise that ii should be doubled;
whether the present Government ol the Cnileu
states. which il must be acknowledged on al
hands possesses much more cXtensive powers
Than the Continental Congress, has authority 20
adort measure which that Congress passed Win
ON y question bciag raised IS 10 ITS c'mi"tnf" 10
cnac, We have already corrected the gross his
,or;c,l error contained in the wor'.> we have
,,l;c;s.d and notice now this mons:rous rule Of
n,ernretaticn of the powers Of our present govern
lnent. r,-o, NJ
IN ,be debate on the Bank chatter OF 1871, Mr..
S-oxr showed that there were no powers IN IN"
Confederation. 10 which even (accoTclng 70 'he
reasoning of the other sidc) this power co,ild nc
lgcidc,,tai. but what required the vote ol n'Ee
States that the ordinance passed ~ Inc vo'c OF
.,rca States. which showed lha, nectSS@H atoEc
oore 6-fh 10 the measure" (Doc. Hist. =. Coz
Mr. GILES also in the same debate said; III IS
"a he remarked, hal that act Tor establishing The
Bank of America) was the ct'!d II aercSNtA ana
Congress douttsd is legitimacy, and nc @sf rScJ
2rqs mere, coafrascd by a jadtetat dee'S'oa' Doc
Hist. =. - .,-r,.
Mr. NJ ,plsox, in closing the debate, SAID: The
Bank of North America he had opposed, rs ne
ami tyoy nj h.
CONFEDERATION. Ii was. however, Tie ctM ot ne
ls<s;,V As soon a. the war was ovcr il ccrScf 70
ogcraic as 10 continental purposes. i5ui a'e pre-
ccdcn,s in ,-ar 10 Justify ro't'oH< RI IrGIfe @aa
,S2oic P;csfs in iinc ofpsaee? And asked ne did
rho L. 5 pass laws To punish thu c1un,eyiel.a@ iac
notes of that Banh2 They ID nal. teirs ron
lipeed of The taraiiGttyof such Law; The t.aca
therefore took shelter under the authority q i:c
state" [ot Pennsylvania (poc Hist ~
EpMtxp RaxpoLru, Attorney General, IN ht>
frs, opinion" given at ,l.e reqoest o: President
Washington. does not even aiiede 10 ms a's',
,nent, In his opinion, No. , he speaks OF 1t
ibus III has been also Preicafc9, that c"en Inc
infrm old Congress Incorporated Bank and
can less power be presumed 10 ce vested IN The
Federal Government. which has been formed TO
rcmcly their weakness? This a!gnmcn, is so
indefinite. he time Vi The Incorporation was 50
pressing and the States had such an unlimHeo
!.3mm,nd over Congress and ih.r &C :, that HE
,rhlic occuicscencc ought TO: ~ u the bass OF
such 4 power under prescn; circumstances. -
doc. Hist, p 81
THoMsS JEFFERsoN secretary .: o'a'', III w
onirino piven under The sane circumstances,
,ms no, c,nde>cend cvcn 10 aGGc 10 it,-5nd
Alexander Hamilton, in his very lengthy opinion
in Mrer of the con>titu,onali'y ot The Bank dos
nc omc although he states his belief, ,ha: ""o'tn@
IF consequence in the observations oi the Secretary
of State ana Acknowledgement, has hecn ialt IN
,icelr-(Doc His;.. p. il2) .IndeH Marshall
also. in his life of WASHINGTON. when treating oil
the Bank Question q: l19l, in his summary Of
the arguments on each size does TO, in The re-
ino,es manner a!lude to Ills!
Judge Story. good I'cicsalis' authority sayS
e. Commentaries on the Constitution, vo!. J.
page 1879 The po"cT> OF tia; Gove:n@ent
Ilae Confederation were not. a,.! indeed could
no; bc wN d.fld" On pe@e 29' he cites, aI-
proyinslr. the words Of 81. Justice Paterson,
who was Revolutionary sraiesman.) 70 the io!-
lowing effect; The powers %! Congress were
revolutionary in then nature, arising cut oieTenis
adequate 70 every nrlonal emergency. and CO.
extensive with the obec; 10 be ai;ained.' Mr..
Justice Chase, hi,nsei: also Revolutionary pa.
lrio.. said (S:ory, vol |, P. 20G) The powers oil
Congress originated hom necessity. and arose
out al it, and were orig iini'fd ~ crCRts; or, IN
other words, they were re,'o'6ioHarv in their ma
llrc. Their extent depended on the exi.encies
and necessities OF public affairs
Judge StorY says: "Fcw questions were Judi
ciallv discussed during The Revolutionary contest;
!or. men had not leisure in the heat Of war mere
" u scrr,inze or weigh such subjects: inter a.
saa silent i-ecS. The people, relying on 'he Wis
dom and patriotism of Congress. 81! afg atYn'-
c;>ca in Whatever authority they oS~mcd In
Penhallon rs Doane, ; Dali, il was decided,
SAYS Iu.ec StaIv, shat the nctu"' powers eSer-
cSei by Congress, in rcSpcc. 10 natona! oolecis
furnished the best exposition OF lis CONSTITUTIONAL
0Wia0rjty since they emanaied from the reTiesca-
aves OF the people, and were acGniesced III ~
the pcoplc" The truth is admitted 10 b., that
the old Congress did ove..cap their ''cons!itn-
,ional limits" {Fcleralis,, No. SO and the e3-
cnse given was that ''ihe public interest Tie ne
cessit; OF the case imposed upon it The task OF
overlapping them "-Qh1
The Bank OF America Itself, felt 50 insecure
under lis charter from the Continental congress,
that it applied for bEt with great difficulty on-
,ainc.l. new chatter from the STATE ot icnnsy!-
gania! YET. The author Of The 'r'air PROPOSE
lion in lis collection OF ,Alse data and state az
garments, gravely asks you 10 sanction the cXef-
else hv our present Government, of every power
which the Continental Congress under the pres
sure Of circumstances, may have thought iheri-
selves nccessita,ed 10 usurp! The Contnental
Congress invested Washington with dic'aiof!ai
power for six months; can Our present Congress
do the sa:ne2 Besides, The acts of The Continen-
fal Congress were clly valid, when sanctioned oF
the States themselves in their sovereign capacity
The States were represented there as separate and
distinct sovercigntics; the members from each
State represented its full and entire sovereignty
AMI acted according 10 their special instructions
in each case: the members OF our pfesen! Con
src>s meet as deputies of these sovereisniies Tor
the exercise OF certain powers given mem ny
,hcir State. when i; ratified the Constitution
These powers, and these alone. be they greater or
css. or merely different from those of the Cont,
mental Congress, can they LacfMg exercise, until
their sovereign BY analteration OF the Conslitu-
ton their general letter of instruction consli'u-
tionaliy made enlarges Cor resirc,s) their powers
Nore.-I; is well to remark, tha; the Bank Of
America was incorporated, because, in the wor'is
OF The charter, 'thc eSigencics OF the I. States
al; fhs. Sjl.h