New-York tribune., 1882-09-26

he did not exrress them. IL was pretehueu os "o
faction that the bank used ITS power TO s'rens'nen
the ain OF wealth and counterpoise 'ho ="
Guence of extended suffrage IN the dsposl'ioh
Of nnblc affairs" 1t is pretty clear. now
ever. that the Administration men tried 10
drive the bank to use poli'ical influence
On ,he,r side. and that the bank resisted not on
bshalf of the other party but behalf OF its nde'
nrndenee. Thus the war was begun by Jacl sons
Kitchen Cabinet, aud Jackson threw himself INFO
il uuder the impulse OF the passions which AMI
mate AN In liam on the war-path." lie gave as
reason for removing the deposits that if the bank
had the public money nothing could prevent u
from buying up Congress and getting renew"
of the charter. Professor Sumner does not DeileNo
that Jackson's Administration had case agahS'
the bank or that tho charges it made were proven
To say this is say that Jacksons Admihis'ra''o"
unjuSty, palsonatcly ignorantly and wlthouV io-
gard to truth, assailcd q great and Valuable man,
cal institution and illuminated its IT mal"so'.o"
Nor does there seem TO he any excuse lo' '"oN'o'
accusation against the integrity of Congress AZ
for the preicxt that the bank used money 10 couI-
tcrpoise ths influence of extended suffrage, '"o
hest answer ,o that is tho history of what followed
the removal of tlc deposits IL is not proven that
thc de,osits were ever used by the Bank OF the
United States for any political puipose Whatever
IL is conclusivcly proven that the deposits welo
used by Jacksons Administration, through Nhl-
news aoeocv. 10 reward adhercnts and to win sup
porters" The deposits were distributed among
the State banks which could show that they were
Jackson's friends, and without any regard 10 lu-
dnstrj,I and commercial conditions After the 1st
of January 1888. when the public debt was All
paid the de,osts increased with great Iapdity'
and there was occasion to spend them. Inc
stat, of things was therefore this: an Immense
amount of capital was being collected by taxes and
plaoed in the hands of party fav0rltcs OF the Al
ministratiop as free loan for an indefinite
period on which they could earn prohts by putting
il out at interest. Comment upon this phase ol
reform is superfluOuS.
Professor Sumner gives Jackson somewhat
erudging praise for his action in ths nullliica-
ton crisis " He lives in popular memory ana IRA
ditOn chiefly The man who put down TINS urea
son. but the historian must remember that, II jack
sou haL done his duty IN regard to Georgia and the
Indians. nuliGcation would never have attained
any strength There is truth in this ana the
South had some Justification for regarding the pro-
clamation against the nulilcrs the real author OF
which was Edward Livingston as inconsistent with
the Presiuent's earlier opinions, In lS32 FOR eX-
annie the state of Georgia assumed the right TO
nullify decision of the Supreme Court OF the
United States dcTing the release OF two missona-
res to the Cherokee Indians whom the State author
tiles had Imprisoned under unconstitutional law,
and jackson refused to take any measures for Civ
ing effect to the orders of the Court. i" John Mar
shall has made his decision said he " now lot hlm
enforce It," When Mississippi violated q treaty OF
the United Sta,es in 5rter to compel the migration
of the Choctaws, the President declared that he
could not help it, Notification direct aiiront
to his personal authority and it quite in ac-
cordance with his character to resent that Never
heless his con luct was wiSe dgnifed. and spirited.
and we can afford to con end it without inqulring
cautiously into the private considerations by which
1t may possibly have been influenced Perhaps
clew to JacksOns inconsistencies in his exercise of
the gederal authority may be found in what Pro-
frssor Sumner says Of his political philosophy No
government which has felt itself strong has ever
had the sef-control to practise faithfully the non
interference theory" That is favorite theory in
the declulations of the democratic party, bat like
nearly all the other democratic theories 1t was 1aty
contradcteI in the career of the great democratic
hero II c acted upon the principle of personal gov
ernment Especially this the case after his
second election when he assumed that erythng
in his public and private conduct had been formally
approved by a popular verdict. lie " held that his
reelection WAS triumphant vndcation OF him In all
the points in which he had been engaged in contro-
versy with anybody, and kind Of charter TO him,
as representative rather tribune, of the people,
to 90 on aud govern on his own Judgment, over ana
against everybody, including Congress- lie grew
more and more dogmatic and wllul, more and moro
prone to experiment with public institutions AID in
terests on his own responsibility. The Jacksonian
democracy approached d" the Napolconc type of the
democratic empire, in which the elect of the nation
is charged to protect the State against every body,
chiefly however against any constitutional organs"
The answer to the questions What chances Jack
son had and What he did with them may he
drawn from the foregoing summary. Professor
Sumner adds these remarks: " 1t came in his way
to do some good. to check some bad tendencies and
to strengthen some good n,s; but the moment the
historian tries to anayze these acts. and to bring
them for purposes of generalization into relations
/ with the standpoint doctrine by which Jackson
acted that moment lie Tcrceives that Jackson acted
| from Spite pque, instinct, prejudice. or emotion.
and the influence he exerted sinks 10 the level OF
an incident OF an accident If we think that
/ intelligent elaboration and disciplined reason
ou.ht to control the civil affairs of a civilized State.
we must say of Jackson that he stumbled along
1 through a magnificent career, now and then taking
up chance without really appreciatlnG it; leav-
/ ing behind him distorted and discordant elements
Of good and i'll, just fit to produce turmoil and
disaster in the future.