Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1856-03-01

I
opposition IN achose acisdom, Jfrmness and patri-
0ttsm had no reason to confde."-" IL qodS
clear, aeM oar joint forces (arAigs and nuAtf-
ers,) zee could utterly orerthroao and demolisA
them; 6at IL ecas not less clear that the rictory
ieonld eaare, not TO as, bit ekclustrey to the ben
eft of our allies and their cauSe"
These passages were much commented upon,
especially in the rejoinders and when the
whole letter produced by Mr.. Calhoun, and
the meaning claimed for them fully stated by
him s.
In the speeches for and against the crown
we see Demosthenes answering what has not
been found in the speech of .Eschines the
same anomaly took place in the earnest debate,
as reported between Mr.. Clay aud Mr.. Cal
houn. The latter answers much which is not
found i'll the published speech to which he is
replying 1t gave rise to some remark be-
tween the speakers during the rcioindcrs. Mr.
Calhoun said he was replying to the speech as
spoken. Mr.. Clay said it was printed under
bis supcrvision-as much as to say he sane
toned the omissions. The fact is that, with
commendabie feeling he had softened some
parts and omitted others for that which is
severe enough in speaking, becomes more so in
writing and its omission or softening is ia.
cit retractiou, and honorable to the cool refiec-
tion which condemns what passion or heat had
prompted. But Mr. Calhoun did not accept
the favor; and, neither party desiring quarter,
the one answered what had been dropt, and
the other reproduced it, with interest. In his
rejoinders, Mr.. Clay supplied all that had been
omitted-and made additions to it.
This contest between two eminent men, on
a theatre SO elevated, in which the stake to
each was so great and in which each did his
best, conscious that the eye of the age and of
posterity was upon him, was an event in itself,
and in their lives. 1t abcunded with exempli-
fications of all the different sorts of oratory
of which each was master on one side-dec
lamation, impassiOned eloquence, vehement in
vectve, taunting sarcasm on the other-close
reasoning, chaste narrative clear statement,
keen retort Two accessories of such contests
descriptions of friendships), were missing, and
well-tle pathetic and the virulent. There
was no CRYING, or blackguardism in it--nOth-
ing like the weeping scene between Fox aud
Burke, when the heart oyerhowed with ten
derneSs at the recollection of former love, now
gone forever nor like the virulent one when
the gall, overaowing with bitterness, warned
an ancient friend never to retnrn as spy to
the camp which he had left as a desertcr
There were in the speeches of some remark
able passages, such only as actors in the scenes
could furnish, and which history will claim
Thus: Mr.. Clay gave some inside views Of the
of the famous Compromise act of
1888 which, SO far as they 90, correspond
with the secret history of the same concoction,
as given in one of the chapters on that subject
in the first volume of this work Mr.. CLAWS
Il, Il fiOn
that the protective system, which he so long
advocated, was never intended to be perma-
nent that its only design was to give tenn
porary encouragement TO infant manufactures
and that it had fulfilled its mission.
Mr. Calhoun's speech was also remarkable
for admitting the power and the eXpediency
of incidental protection, as it was called and
on this ground he justified his support of the
tariff of ISI6-sO much objected against him.
He also gave his history of the compromise
of 1888, attributing it to the efficacy of nuli
ication and of the military attitude Of South
Carolina when brought upon him the relent-
less sarcasm of Mr.. Clay, and occasioned his
explanation of his support of national bank
in 1916. He was chairman OF the committee
which reported the charter for that bank, and
gave it the support which carried it through
with which he was reproached after he became
opposed to the bank He explained the cir
under which he gave that support
such as have often heard him state in con-
vcrsation and which always appeared to me
to be sufficient to exempt him from rcproach.
At the same time, (and what is but little
known he had the merit of opposing, and
probably of defeating far more dangerous
bank-one of fifty millions equivalent to one
hundred and twenty millions now, and found
ed almost wholly upon United States stocks
imposingy recommended to Congress by the
then Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. AleXan-
der J Dallas The analytical mind of Mr..
Calhoun, then one of the youngest members,
solved this monster proposition in
to its constituent elements, and his power OF |
and condensation enabled him
to express its character in two words-LeAdlng
ouy credit to the bank for aothing, and 60rr0tc-
iar IL back at slr per cent interest.
As an alternative and not as choice, he
the national bank that was charter
ed, after twice defeating the monster bank of
ffty millions founded on paper ; for that mon
ster was twice presented to Congress, and twice
repulsed.
The last time it cams-as a currency measure,
as bank TO create national currency aud
as such was referred to select committee on
national currency, of which Mr. Calhoun was
chairman He opposed it, and fell into the
support of the bank which was chartered
Strange that in this search for a national
bank, the currency of the constitution seemed
to enter no ones head. The revival of the
gold currency was never suggested: and in
that oblivion Of gold, and still hunting sub
stitute in paper, the men who put down the
first national bank did their work much less
cffectually than those who put down the sec
ond one.
The speech of each of these senators, so far
as they constitute the personal part of the de-
bate will be given in chapter of its own
the rejoindcrs, being brief, prompt, and respon-
sive each to the other, will be put together in