The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-01-10

unWll1lng TO unlte SUCH P0WtT WITH
sword. which. was given to this government. SUCH
conjunction-the purse and the sword-they thought
would prove as disastrous to liberty here 1t had else
where Hence in 1877 and lss Congress- IN pursuance
OF this example of abstinence from the exercise OF doubt
full powers passed the following declaratory resolutions
in the negatiue-and that too, after protracted and
elaborate bate in which such statesmen as Barbour OF
Virginia Blount of Tennessee Cobb, OF Georgia Desha
of Kentucky, Holmes, OF Massachusetts, and hihSgoiu
of Maryland, took active and conspicuous part IN Tue
negative. The resolutions are as follows;
Ist Resolved That Congress has power, under me con
siluton, construct post-roads and military ioad ~
rded, That private property be not taken Tor pubic use
without just compensation
Yeas 50, nays 81.
I'd RtsolUed That Congress has power. under the con
stution, to construct roads ana cs lor
y be not taken for public purposes "i'hoo' just
ton.
Yeas IL nays %.
3D. R<,olped That Congress has power under the
urion construct canals for military p"rpo'es Propi
ded That private property be taken for any such Pnr
pose without just compensation therefor
Yeas 81, nays 49,
Such, sir was the course of Congress upon this sub
ect down to 1917 and 1885, and such the ground upon
which it was rested Yet sir according to the history
of organized power everywhere, find that IN 1929,
when General jackson had succeeded to the presidency
that this early and long continued practice and construc
ton of the constitution had been Overthrown, and most
loose and atitudinous adopted in It's stead VIVID
and extravagant schemes of internal Improvement had
s a G es had thy
greatest favor and had been pushed to excess so much
So that less than ten years after It's introduction more
than 5000 900 had been asked for various objects OF
internal Improvement President Jackson saw that the
alarming evil demanded speedy remedy, and he then
boldly and noby stepped forth to save his country from
career of corruption, bankruptcy and rum, as he had
before saved her from the OF foreign Toe upon the
eyermemorabe plains of New Orleans. He vetoed or re-
fused to sign the following acts:
"An making appropriations for building lighthouses
light boats beacons and monuments, placing bnoy I'M
proving harbors, and directing surveys An act author
zng subscription for stock in the Louisville and Portland
Canal Company An act for the improvement OF certain
habors. and the navigation OF certain rivers And finally
In his objections to the aforementioned act, he says
The desire embark the federal government IN works
Of 5 Of Se @ e a
honor meet in my present situation When the bill au-
in he Mays and Turnpike Company
pissed the houses there had been reported by the
propratons such Objects exclusive Of those for the
Cumberland road and for harbors and lighthouse to the
In this amount included authority the Secretary Of
the Treasury subscribe for the stock of different compa
MES great extent and the residue was principally for
the direct roads by this government In ad
dton these projects which have been presented to the
two under the sanction and recommendation of their
respective committees on internal improvements, there
were then still pending before the committees and in me
projects for works of similar character. the expense OF
which cannot be estimated with certainty but must have
exceeded one hundred millions OF dollars
Much sir, was thus done by President Jackson to
correct growing evil the consammaon OF which WIN, must
TO be aoae he l onH
reached part the evil and did not go far enough
he afterwards admitted 1t reserved for Mr. Polk to
extend the rule and strike at the root OF the whole evil
to finish the work commenced by his llustrious prede-
cessor And how did he finish it? Simply by referring
the subject of river and harbor improvements to the
States, who may clearly take cognizance OF It with the
consent of Congress But will let the President speak
! for himself. He says:
"The constitution provides that mo State shall without
the E.
collected, and expended by the States We are not left IN
the dark as the objects of this reservation of to
the States The subject fully considered by the con-
vention that framed the constitution. tappears in Mr.
Madson's report of the proceedings OF that body that
one object of the reservation was that the States should
purpose Of clearing harbors Other objects named
in the Debates and among them, the support OF seamen
Mr. Madison, treating on this subject IN the Federallst
declares that
"sThe restraint on the power the States imports
and exports enforced by all the arguments which prove
federal councils 1t needless therefore, remark fur.
the this head than that the manner in which the re-
saint qualified well calculated at once to
to the reasonable discretion in providing for the
convenency of her imports ard exports and TO me United
States reasonable check against the abuse OF This dlscre-
ton"
"The States may lay tonnage duties for clearing harbors,
improving rivers for other purposes but are restrain
can take effect the consent of Congress must be OBJ
tanned Here is a safe provision tor the improvement OF
harbos and rivers in the reserved powers OF the States
and in the aid they may derive from duties OF tonnage
levied with the consent OF Congress Its safeguards are,
that both the State legislatures and Congress have to
cur in the act of raising the funds; that they
~ instance to be levied upon the OF those ports
which are profit by the proposed improvements that no
question of conflicting power or jurisdiction IS involved
that the expenditure being in the hands OF those who
| to paw the money and be Immediately benefited, will be
i more carefully managed and more productive of good
than If the funds were drawn from the national treasury
and dsbursed by the officers OF the general government
that such system will carry with 1t no enlargement OF
federal power and patronage and leave the States to be
the sole judges OF their own wants and interests with
only conservative negative in Congress upon any abuse
| of the power which the States may attempt.
"Under this wise system, the Improvement OF harbors
and rivers commenced rather continued from the
organization Of the government under the present cons
tuition. Many acts were passed by the several States
/ evying duties of tonnage and many were passed by
Congr giving their consent to those acts Such acts
have been passed by Massachusetts, Rhode sland Penn
/ syvania, Maryland. Virginia North Carolina, South
Carolina and Georgia. and have been sanctioned by the
consent OF Congress"
i Such Mr. Chairman is brief outline of the history Of
internal improvements by this government and such has
| been Mr. Folks upon that subject. Who now
shall reproach him for broachng and untried theo-
lryl Who now shall condemn him for exercising, ac-
cording to the dictates of his conscience, an unqueson-
able constitutional power, for veoing two bills,
the titles of which proessed to be what was belied by
their enactmens (which united in groesquc and corrupt
conjunction Great Woods Hole, Little Sodus bay, Hog ISL
Mississippi and great lakes. which you'd have taken
from the treasury time of war; perhaps millions Of mo-
new and thereby essened the ability of the government
to feed and cothe armies and maintain their
in the field which would have created national debt
Dro fanfO and thereby, perhaps, national bank-thus