Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-03-12
TIE RAxx QUESTIONABLE. l.

oi protective Tariff, sovereign
cured by The miserable drusnn Of giving them the proceeds OF
The sales at the public lands, their d.twoud he
literally 'toe terrible than army with banners do not be
eNt Gc puhit liberty would long such
.heDptFe'S Letter, FEB, 1914.
Some compiler, for the columns of the Richmond
Wing, has devoted series of Nos TO this important
subject The oh act he PROCESSES atlan is to correct
the ''msapprehensions' which he alleges 10 have pre-
vailed and "disabuse the public mind OF preJudces
uhnstly created His proiessed object, IS 10 show
that the National Bank not Federa measure
emphatically ia of the old Republican
Party; that zee in fact not the Republicans, and the
honest Wings are the Simon Pure Republicans oil the
land The real object of the writer, IS 10 carry oul
the policy of lSi0-to delude the people, and, by the
same want of candor, and the force OF deception,
OF which Mr.. Newton justly complains, TO catch birds
ct every feather IN the net of Mr.. Clay Hence
this ingenious and audacious attempt to prevail on the
anti Bank Republicans to GO over the party of the
great champion of % million Bank. We confess,
The enterprise is daring the are nsidous
and dishonest.
There Is another feature which stamps these essays
with the uncandld spirit Of 1910 The Editor heads
the articles with "Ihc Fair Proposition " And this fair
proposition consists in this that if the Enqulrer will
republlsb all his essays, the Wing will epubsh our
replies We beg the reader TO consider the very differ
ent positions in which this very "fair (honesD PROPOSE
ton places The Enquirer and the Wing. The Wing
is daily paper, with rather scope and verge and
space, than paper which generally appears but twice
week. We are asked then to commence series Of
essays, which might run to an indefinite number
and actually spun out 10 No IL and still going
Indeed, we have never the seamans saying
SO completely verified of "spinning long yarn
And al! this time. we must not only occupy
columns with his essays, but with our own brief
replies. We must give up our precious space
TO his fluctuations, and turn away the hundred
other matters which already ver-crowd cur columns
and all the while we are permitting Wing scrbbler TO
stand upon the vantage ground of making long and
disingenuous attack upon party, whilst we are only
defending ourselves by parrylng off his blows. As
friend remarked the other day, this modest gentleman
asks the privilege If coming into our own house, for
the purpose of hitting with his cane and kindly
allows us the privilege of wardIng OFF his blows with
our Is not this most unequal and d $ n
gennous manmnvre, instead of being "a iar PROPOSE
lion lbs he is pleased 10 call 1t.
There are the Essays, howcvcr-most disingcnuousiy
got up made up of public documents mos, unfairly gar
bcd with important facts, most dishonesty suppressed
with the view Of giving new and false coloIing TO
The transactions Of 30 years. And what Is the object
Why it is TO show that The whole country has been Ia
boring for years past under gross deusion and that
the truth is al last 10 be brought by the ingenuity Of
modern discovercrand thai the Bank is really Repub
lican though il claims Hamilton for its autor
and that the fede' aists the true anti Bank men,
though Jefferson in the front Of The opposition
One would suppose that it would require mountain of
facts and Of ingenious arguments TO bolster up such
audacious paradoXes these Yet the attempt has been
made and in a long and elaborate series of Nos And
though shall pretend 10 follow the author through
all s assertions AMI cquiyoca:ons. yet shall expose
Of his specimens of his honest discussions
aud his far propositions.
His st No. opens with the establishment OF the Bank
OF North America in 1881, under the Old Continental
Congress. The argument IS that the powers Of that
Congress were vastly less than those conferred The
Congress organized under the Constitutions yet no
scrupes were expressed then 10 the authority Of Con-
efeSS 10 pass The ordiacace" And why should any now
has . "a, apad
by Mr.. Giles in his speech on the Bank Of I79l-and
Mr. G.. rebuts 1t on the ground that "that act the
child OF necessity during the pressure Of The Revo-
lutonary wnr and Compress douLted lis ieoitmacv and
the act itself was never confirmed by judicial deci
and the same Congress did not pretend t, possess
the right 10 punish those who should counterfeit the
paper Of the Bank, and recommended II 10 the States
To confirm the act which they had done, and to pass
laws for The purpose Of punshng those who should
counterfeit the paper; and this circumstance, which
one of the most essential 10 the existence and opera
ton Of this act is lhheld from our view The serb
bier for the Richmond Wing not only whholds this
and other facts from but boldly asserts that
sthe act passed (the old Congress) without question
being raised as 10 lis competency TO act-and that the
Representatives from Virginia, including Mr. Madison,
voted for the Bank. Yet Mr.. Madison IN his speech
of ~ speaks of this Bank being cited precedent
and adds, "Thls was known 10 have been child Of
necessity. 1t never could be justified BY the regular
powers of the articles Of Confederation. Congress be-
uayeQ CONSCIOUSNESS OI III 10
States 10 incorporate the Bank ALSO on the
solution Improving of the plan for establishing Ma
tonal Bank, Mr.. Madison voted so.
The whole argument, in fact, founded upon gross
Federal heresy, which even Alexander Hamilton him
self did not sanction IN his report |, is founded on
gross ignorance Of the true theory of the present Con.
st',utIon. Judge Story says I'm his "Commen,arles
the Constitution Vol. |, p 1893 that "lhe powers
Of that Government Qhe Confedera,ion.) were not,
and indeed conld not be reA de.hned On p 2O5, he
cites approvingiy the words of Mr. Justice Patterson,
(who was revolutionary statesman) to the following
effect: "The powers of Congress were probationary
in their nature arising out Of events, adequate every
national emergency and CO extensive with the object
TO be attained Mr.. Justice Chase, himself also n
Revolutionary statesman, sald STORY l. D. 2G6) "ihe
powers o Congress originated from necessity and
out Of 1t, and were only Hmitd by events; Or other
words, they were revolutionary IN their nature. Their
extent depended on the eXgencies and necesssities
Of public alairs In deciding the. powers of Con-
gress and Of The several States before the confederation
see but safe rule, n,meiy, that all The powers
tnaHy exercised by Congress before that period were
riehttuHy exercised the presumption not to be
conttoverted, that they were authorized by the
pile they represented, by an express or implied
grant. Judge Story himself says, on page POI "ln
respect TO the powers of the Contnel Congress exer
cised before the adoption OF the articles Of Confedera
ton, few questions were judciay discussed during
the Revolutionary contest; for men had not leisure in
the heat of nicely 10 scrunze or weigh such sub
jecls; inter silent legeS The people, relying on
the wisdom and PATRIOTISM Of Congress, silently ac-
guiesctd in whatever authority they assumed" And
Penhallow v. Doane, Dali, it was decided, says
Judge Story, 'that the actuat powers exercised by
Congress, respect TO National objects furnished the
best exposition Of lis constitutional authority,
they emanaed from the represe Of the people,
and were acquiesced in by the people.
We should not be surprised the R. Wing
to claim likewise that call the powers actually exercised
by Congress are rigMfuHy exercised
The truth admitted TO be, That the old Congress
did overlap "ihsir constitutional limits (Federalrst.
33th No land the excuse given was, that "he pub
lie interest, the necessity Of The case imposed upon
the task of overlapping them : (b) Who 0r, bu, ar
ignorant dishonest politician, would pretend just.
IS entertainment by encroachmentand btcause certain
powers ere usurped by the Congress- under
the stern necessity Of The State, to supply The defects
of revolutionary Constitution, in state Of war for
the Liberties of the people; therefore we must found up
on these usurpatIons the assumption of powers n"i
granted under u wel!-dgested Constitution, desEned
for peace as we'll for war; The argument is false
The design only shows how ready these Federasss are
TO Obtain any power, in any way they can, even IN
contempt OF the Constitution itself.
What does commo sense tell us, when the Consti
tuition was be formed 1t calculated and design
ed to correct The defects of the articles Of the Conird