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Life and speeches of Henry Clay (vol. 2)

Life and speeches of Henry Clay (vol. 2) Clay, Henry, 1777-1852. 400dpi TIFF G4 page images University of Kentucky, Electronic Information Access & Management Center Lexington, Kentucky 2002 b92-85-27376238v2 Electronic reproduction. 2002. (Beyond the shelf, serving historic Kentuckiana through virtual access (IMLS LG-03-02-0012-02) ; These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Life and speeches of Henry Clay (vol. 2) Clay, Henry, 1777-1852. Published by Leary & Getz, Philadelphia : 1854. 2 v. ; 23 cm. Coleman Microfilm. v. 1-2. Atlanta, Ga. : SOLINET, 1993. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. (SOLINET/ASERL Cooperative Microfilming Project (NEH PS-20317) ; SOL MN02919.01 KUK) Printing Master B92-85. IMLS This electronic text file was created by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). No corrections have been made to the OCR-ed text and no editing has been done to the content of the original document. Encoding has been done through an automated process using the recommendations for Level 1 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file. United States Politics and government 1815-1861. Clay, Henry, 1777-1852.Mallory, Daniel. 14 44: THE LIFE AND SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY, VOLUME It. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY LEARY GETZ. NO. 138 NORTH SECOND STREET. 1 8 5 4. This page in the original text is blank. CONTENTS OF VOLUME It SPEECHIS oaw In Defence of the American System ,...................................... 9 On a National Bank .68 On the Bank Charter .82 On the Veto of the Bank .89 On the Public Lands .104 On Introducing the Compromise Bill .139 In support of the Compromise Act .157 On the Removal of the Deposites. 177 On the State of the Country.............. 1 .............. 231 On the State of the Country .235 On Our Treatment of the Cherokees .249 On Surrendering the Cumberland Road .266 On Appointments and Removals .269 On the Land Distribution .287 On the Expunging Resolutions .296 On the Sub-Treasury .313 On the Sub-Treasury ........................................................ 344 Outline of a National Bank...................... 390 On Abolition Petitions...................... 395 On the Presidential Election...................... 420 On the Pre-Emption Bill...................... 443 On the Bank Veto...................... 492 On a Tiu- P'ublic Policy.51............................... 851 On Retiring from the Senate................ 552 On Returning to Kentucky .................................................. 560 In Reply to Mr. Mendenhall .591 On the Irish Famine .598 On the Compromise Resolutions .601 On the Compromise Bills .669 This page in the original text is blank. SPEECHES oF H E N R Y C L A Y DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 2D, 3D, ANT 6TH, 1832. [Mr. CLAY, having retired from Congress soon after the establishment of the American System, by the passage of the Tariff of 1824, did not return to it till 1831-2, when the opponents of this system had covertly acquired the ascendancy, and were bent on its destruction. An act reducing the duties on many of the protected articles, was devised and passed. The bill being under consideration in the Senate, Mr CLAY addressed that body as follows :] IN one sentiment, Mr. President, expressed by the honorable gen- tleman from South Carolina, (General Hayne,) though perhaps not in the sense intended by him, I entirely concur. I agree with him, that the decision on the system of policy embraced in this debate, in- volves the future destiny of this growing country. One way I verily believe, it would lead to deep and general distress, general bankrupt- cy and national ruin, without benefit to any part of the Union: the other, the existing prosperity will be preserved and augmented, and the nation will continue rapidly to advance in wealth, power, and greatness, without prejudice to any section of the confederacy. 0 to SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Thus viewing the question, I stand here as the humble but zealous advocate, not of the interests of one State, or seven States only, but of the whole Union. And never before have I felt, more intensely, the overpowering weight of that share of responsibility which belongs to me in these deliberations. Never before have I had more occasion than I now have to lament my want of those intellectual powers, the possession of which might enable me to unfold to this Senate, and to illustrate to this people great truths, intimately connected with the lasting welfare of my country. I should, indeed, sink overwhelmed and subdued beneath the appalling magnitude of the task which lies before me, if I did not feel myself sustained and fortified by a thorough consciousness of the justness of the cause which I have espoused, and by a persuasion I hope not presumptuous, that it has the approba- tion of that Providence who has so often smiled upon these United States. Eight years ago, it was my painful duty to present to the other House of Congress, an unexaggerated picture of the general distress pervading the whole land. We must all yet remember some of its frightful features. We all know that the people were then oppress- ed and borne down by an enormous load of debt; that the value of property was at the lowest point of depression; that ruinous sales and sacrifices were every where made of real estate; that stop laws, and relief laws, and paper money were adopted to save the people from impending destruction; that a deficit in the public revenue existed, which compelled government to seize upon, and divert from its legiti- mate object the appropriations to the sinking fund, to redeem the na- tional debt; and that our commerce and navigation were threatened with a complete paralysis. In short, sir, if I were to select any term of seven years since the adoption of the present constitution which exhibited a scene of the most wide-spread dismay and desolation, it -would be exactly that term of seven years which immediately prece- ded the establishment of the tariff of 1824. I have now to perform the more pleasing task of exhibiting an im- perfect sketch of the existing state of the unparalleled prosperity of the country. On a general survey, we bihold cultivation extended, the arts flourishing, the face of the country improved, our people fully and profitably employed, and the public countenance exhibiting tranquility, contentment and happiness. And if we descend into par IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. ticulars, we have the agreeable contemplation of a people out of debt, land rising slowly in value, but in a secure and salutary degree; a ready though not extravagant market for all the surplus productions of our industry; innumerable flocks and herds browsing and gambol- ing on ten thousand hills and plains, covered with rich and verdant grasses; our cities expanded, and whole villages springing up, as it were, by enchantment; our exports and imports increased and in- creasing; our tonnage, foreign and coastwise, swelling and fu]ly occu- pied; the rivers of our interior animated by the perpetual thunder and lightning of countless steam-boats; the currency sound and abundant; the public debt of two wars nearly redeemed; and, to crown all, the public treasury overflowing, embarrassing Congress, not to find subjects of taxation, but to select the objects which shall be liberated from the impost. If the term of seven years were to be selected, of the greatest prosperity which this people have enjoyed since the establishment of their present constitution, it would be ex- actly that period of seven years which immediately followed the pas- sage of the tariff of 1824. This transformation of the condition of the country from gloom and distress to brightness and prosperity, has been mainly the work of American legislation, fostering American industry, instead of allow- ing it to be controlled by foreign legislation, cherishing foreign indus- try. The foes of the American System, in 1824, with great boldness and confidence, predicted, 1st. The ruin of the public revenue, and the creation of a necessity to resort to direct taxation. The gentle- man from South Carolina, (General Hayne,) I believe, thought that the tariff of 1824 would operate a reduction of revenue to the large amount of eight millions of dollars. 2d. The destruction of our navi- gation. 3d. The desolation of commercial cities. And 4th. The augmentation of the price of objects of consumption, and further de- cline in that of the articles of our exports. Every prediction which they made has failed-utterly failed. Instead of the ruin of the pub- lic revenue, with which they then sought to deter us from the adop- tion of the American System, we are now threatened with its sub- version, by the vast amount of the public revenue produced by that system. Every branch of our navigation has increased. As to the desolation of our cities, let us take as an example, the condition of the largest and most commercial of all of them, the great northern capital. I have, in my hands, the assessed value of real estate in the 1t SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. city of New York, from 1S17 to 1831. This v lue is canvassed contested, scrutinized and adjudged by the proper sworn authorities. It is, therefore, entitled to full credence. During the first term, com- mencing with 1817, and ending in the year of the passage of the tariff of 1824, the amount of the value of real estate was, the first year, 57,799,435, and, after various fluctuations in the intermediate period, it settled down at 52,019,730, exhibiting a decrease, in seven years, of 5,779,705. During the first year of 1825, after the pas- sage of the tariff, it rose, and, gradually ascending throughout the whole of the latter period of seven years, it finally, in 1831, reached the astonishing height of 95,716,485! Now, if it be said that this rapid growth of the city of New York was the effect of foreign com- merce, then it was not correctly predicted, in 1824, that the tariff would destroy foreign commerce, and desolate our commercial cities. If, on the contrary, it be the effect of internal trade, then internal trade cannot be justly chargeable with the evil consequences imputed to it. The truth is, it is the joint effect of both principles, the do- mestic industry nourishing the foreign trade, and the foreign com- merce in turn nourishing the domestic industry. Nowhere more than in New York is the combination of both principles so complete- ly developed. In the progress of my argument, I will consider the effect upon the price of commodities produced by the American Sys- tem, and show that the very reverse of the prediction of its foes, in 1824, actually happened. Whilst we thus behold the entire failure of all that was foretold against the system, it is a subject of just felicitation to its friends, that all their anticipations of its benefits have been fulfilled, or are in pro- gress of fulfillment. The honorable gentleman from South Carolina has made an allusion to a speech made by me, in 1824, in the other House, in support of the tariff, and to which, otherwise, I shouid not have particularly referred. But I would ask any one, who can now command the courage to peruse that long production, what principle there laid down is not true what prediction then made has been falsified by practical experience It is now proposed to abolish the system, to which we owe so much of the public prosperity, and it is urged that the arrival of the period of the redemption of the public debt has been confidently looked to as presenting a suitable occasion to rid the country of the evils with 12 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. which the system is alledged to be fraught. Not an inattentive oo- server of passing events, I have been aware that, among those who were most early pressing the payment of the public debt, and, upon that ground, were opposing appropriations to other great interests, there were some who cared less about the debt than the accomplishment of other objects. But the people of the United States have not cou- pled the payment of their public debt with the destruction of the pro- tection of their industry, against foreign laws and foreign industry. They have been accustomed to regard the extinction of the public debt as relief from a burthen, and not as the infliction of a curse. If it is to be attended or followed by the subversion of the American System, and an exposure of our establishments and our productions to the unguarded consequences of the selfish policy of foreign powers, the payment of the public debt will be the bitterest of curses. Its fruit will be like the fruit "Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste Brought death into the world, and all our woe, With loss of Eden." If the system of protection be founded on principles erroneous in theory, pernicious in practice-above all if it be unconstitutional, as is alledged, it ought to be forthwith abolished. and not a vestage of it suffered to remain. But, before we sanction this sweeping de- nunciation, let us look a little at this system, its magnitude, its rami- fications, its duration, and the high authorities which have sustained it. We shall see that its foes will have accomplished comparatively nothing, after having achieved their present aim of breaking down our iron-founderies, our woollen, cotton, and hemp manufactories, and our sugar plantations. The destruction of these would, undoubtedly, lead to the sacrifice of immense capital, the ruin of many thousands of our fellow citizens, and incalculable loss to the whole community. But their prostration would not disfigure, nor produce greater effect upon the whole system of protection, in all its branches, than the de- struction of the beautiful domes upon the capitol would occasion to the magnificent edifice which they surmount. Why, sir, there is scarcely an interest, scarcely a vocation in society, which is not em- braced by the beneficence of this system. It comprehends our coasting tonnage and trade, from which all foreign tonnage is absolutely excluded. 13 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. It includes all our foreign tonnage, with the inconsiderable excep. tion made by treaties of reciprocity with a few foreign powers. It embraces our fisheries, and all our hardy and enterprising fish- ermen. It extends to almost every mechanic art: to tanners, cordwainers, tailors, cabinet-makers, hatters, tinners, brass-workers, clock-makers, coach-makers, tallow-chandlers, trace-makers, rope-makers, cork-cut- ters, tobacconists, whip-makers, paper-makers, umbrella-makers, glass-blowers, stocking-weavers, butter-makers, saddle and harness- makers, cutlers, brush-makers, book-binders, dairy-men, milk-farm- ers, black-smiths, type-founders, musical instrument-makers, basket- makers, milliners, potters, chocolate-makers, floor-cloth-makers, bon- net-makers, hair-cloth-makers, copper-smiths, pencil-makers, bellows- makers, pocket book-makers, card-makers, glue-makers, mustard- makers, lumber-sawyers, saw-makers, scale-beam-makers, scythe- makers, wood-saw-makers, and many others. The mechanics enu- merated, enjoy a measure of protection adapted to their several con- ditions, varying from twenty to fifty per cent. The extent and im- portance of some of these artizans may be estimated by a few par- ticulars. The tanners, curriers, boot and shoe-makers, and other workers in hides, skins and leather, produce an ultimate value per annum of forty millions of dollars; the manufacturers of hats and caps produce an annual value of fifteen millions; the cabinet-makers twelve millions; the manufacturers of bonnets and hats for the fe- male sex, lace, artificial flowers, combs, c. seven millions; and the manufacturers of glass, five millions. It extends to all lower Louisiana, the Delta of which might as well be submerged again in the Gulf of Mexico, from which it has been a gradual conquest, as now to be deprived of the protecting duty upon its great staple. It effects the cotton planter himself, and the tobacco planter, both of whom enjoy protection. To say nothing of cotton produced in other foreign countries, the cultivation of this article, of a very superior quality, is constantly extending in the adjacent Mexi. can Provinces, and, but for the duty probably a large amount would be introduced into the Unitea States, down Red river and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. 14 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. The total amount of the capital vested in sheep, the land to sustain them, wool, woollen manufactures, and woollen fabrics, and the sub- sistence of the various persons directly or indirectly employed in the growth and manufacture of the article of wool, is estimated at one hundred and sixty-seven millions of dollars, and the number of per- sons at one hundred and fifty thousand. The value of iron, considered as a raw material, and of its manu- factures, is estimated at twenty-six millions of dollars per annum. Cotton goods, exclusive of the capital vested in the manufacture, and of the cost of the raw material, are believed to amount annually, to about twenty millions of dollars. These estimates have been carefully made, by practical men of un- doubted character, who have brought together and embodied their information. Anxious to avoid the charge of exaggeration, they have sometimes placed their estimates below what was believed to be the actual amount of these interests. With regard to the quantity of bar and other iron annually produced, it is derived from the known works themselves; and I know some in western States which they have omitted in their calculations. Such are some of the items of this vast system of protection, which it is now proposed to abandon. We might well pause and contem- plate, if human imagination could conceive the extent of mischief and ruin from its total overthrow, before we proceed to the work of de- struction. Its duration is worthy also of serious consideration. Not to go behind the constitution, its date is coeval with that instrument. It began on the ever memorable fourth day of July-the fourth day of July, 1789. The second act which stands recorded in the statute book, bearing the illustrious signature of George Washington, laid the corner stone of the whole system. That there might be no mistake about the matter, it was then solemnly proclaimed to the American people and to the world, that it was necessary for " the encourage- ment and protection of manufactures," that duties should be laid. It is in vain to urge the small amount of the measure of the protection then extended. The great principle was then established by the fa- thers of the constitution, with the father of his country at their head. And it cannot now be questioned, that, if the government had not then been new and the subject untried, a greater measure of protec. SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. tion would have been applied, if it had been supposed necessary. Shortly after, the master minds of Jefferson and Hamilton were brought to act on this intei esting subject. Taking views of it apper- taining to the departments of foreign affairs and of the treasury, which they respectively filled, they presented, severally, reports which yet remain monuments of their profound wisdom, and came to the same conclusion of protection to American industry. Mr. Jefferson argued that foreign restrictions, foreign prohibitions, and foreign high dnties, ought to be met at home by American restrictions, American prohi- bitions, and American high duties. Mr. Hamilton, surveying the entire ground, and looking at the inherent nature of the subject, treat- ed it with an ability, which, if ever equalled, has not been surpassed, and earnestly recommended protection. The wars of the French revolution commenced about this period, and streams of gold poured into the United States through a thousand channels, opened or enlarged by the successful commerce which our neutrality enabled us to prosecute. We forgot or overlooked, in the general prosperity, the necessity of encouraging our domestic madnu factures. Then came the edicts of Napoleon, and the British orders in council; and our embargo, non-intercourse, non-importation, and war, followed in rapid succession. These national measures, amount- ing to a total suspension, for the period of their duration, of our for- eign commerce, afforded the most efficacious encouragement to Amer- ican manufactures; and accordingly they everywhere sprung up. While these measures of restriction, and this state of war continued, the manufacturers were stimulated in their enterprise by every assu- rance of support, by public sentiment, and by legislative resolves. It was about that period (1808) that South Carolina bore her high tes- timony to the wisdom of the policy, in an act of her legislature, the preamble of which, now before me, reads: "XWherias, the establishment and encouragement of domestic manufactures, is conducive to the interests of a State, by adding new incentives to industry, and as being the means of disposing to advantage the surplus productions of the a 'ncultsu- rist: and whereas, in the present unexampled state of the world, their estabtishment in our country is not only expedient, but politic in rendering us independent of foreign nations." The legislature, not being competent to afford the most efficacious aid, by imposing duties on foreign rival articles, proceeded to inscor. porate a company. 16 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. Peace, under the treaty of Ghent, returned in 1815, but there did not return with it the golden days which preceded the edicts levelled at our commerce by Great Britain and France. It found all Europe tranquilly resuming the arts and the business of civil life. It found Europe no longer the consumer of our surplus, and the employer of our navigation, but excluding, or heavily burthening, almost all the productions of our agriculture, and our rivals in manufactures, in navigation, and in commerce. It found our country, in short, in a situation totally different from all the past-new and untried. It be- came necessary to adapt our laws, and especially our laws of impost, to the new circumstances in which we found ourselves. Accordingly, that eminent and lamented citizen, then at the head of the treasury, (Mr. Dallas,) was required, by a resolution of the House of Repre- sentatives, under date the twenty-third day of February, 1815, to prepare and report to the succeeding session of Congoess, a system of of revenue conformable with the actual condition of the country. He had the circle of a whole year to perform the work, consulted mer- chants, manufacturers, and other practical men, and opened an ex- tensive correspondence. The report which he made at the session of 1816, was the result of his inquiries and reflections, and embodies the principles which he thought applicable to the subject. It has been said, that the tariff of 1816 was a measure of mere revenue, and that it only reduced the war duties to a peace standard. It is true that the question then was, how much and in what way should the double duties of the war be reduced Now, also, the question is, on what articles shall the duties be reduced so as to subject the amounts of the future revenue to the wants of the government Then it was deemed an inquiry of the first importance, as it should be now, how, the reduction should be made, so as to secure proper encouragement to our domestic industry. That this was a leading object in the ar- rangement of the tariff of 1S16, 1 well remember, and it is demon- ,strated by the language of Mr. Dallas. He says in his report: " There are fewv, if any governments, which do not regard the establishment of do. mestic manufactures as a chief object of public policy. The United States have al. ways so regarded it. The demands of the country, while the acquisitions of supplies from foreign nations was either prohibited or impracticable, may have adlorded a sufficient inducement for this investment of capital, and this application of labor but the inducement, in its necessary extent, must tail when the day of compnjetition returns. Upon that change in the condition of the country, the preservation of the manufactures, which private citizens under favorable auspices have constituted the property of the nation, becomes a consideration ot general poli- cy, to be resol ed by a recollection of past embarrassments; bv the certainty of an increased ditliculty of rdlinstating, upon any emergency, the manufact'res which lhall be allowed to perish and pass away," c. 17 SPEECHES OF HENRY CL. Y. The measure of protection which he proposed was not adopted, in regard to some leading articles, and there was great difficulty in as- certaining what it ought to have been. But the principle was then distinctly asserted and fully sanctioned. The subject of the American system was again brought up in 1S20, by the bill reported by the chairman of the committee of manufac- tures, now a member of the bench of the Supreme Court of the Uni- ted States, and the principle was successfully maintained by the rep- resentatives of the people; but the bill which they passed was de- feated in the Senate. It was revived in 1824; the whole ground carefully and deliberately explored, and the bill then introduced, re- ceiving all the sanctions of the constitution, became the law of the land. An amendment of the system was proposed in 1828, to the history of which.I refer with no agreeable recollections. The bill of that year, in some of its provisions, was framed on principles directly adverse to the declared wishes of the friends of the policy of protec- tion. I have heard, without vouching for the fact, that it was so framed, upon the advice of a prominent citizen, now abroad, with the view of ultimately defeating the bill, and with assurances that, being altogether unacceptable to the friends of the American system, the bill would be lost. Be that as it may, the most exceptionable fea- tures of the bill were stamped upon it, against the earnest remon- strances of the friends of the system, by the votes of southern mem- bers, upon a principle, I think, as unsound in legislation as it is repre- hensible in ethics. The bill was passed, notwithstanding this, it having been deemed better to take the bad along with the good which it contained, than reject it altogether. Subsequent legislation has corrected the error then perpetrated, but still that measure is ve- hemently denounced by gentlemen who contributed to make it what it was. Thus, sir, has this great system of protection been gradually built, stone upon stone, and step by step, from the fourth of July, 1789, down to the present period. In every stage of its progress it has re- ceived the deliberate sanction of Congress. A vast majority of the people of the United States has approved and continue to approve it. Every chief magistrate of the United States, from Washington to the present, in some form or other, has given to it the authority of his name; and however the opinions of the existing President are inter- is IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. preted South of Mason's and Dixon's line, on the north they are at least understood to favor the establishment of a judicious tariff. The question, therefore, which we are now called upon to deter mine, is not whether we shall establish a new and doubtful system or policy, just proposed, and for the first time presented to our consider- ation, but whether we shall break down and destroy a long establish- ed system, patiently and carefully built up and sanctioned, during a series of years, again and again, by the nation and its highest and most revered authorities. And are we not bound deliberately to con- sider whether we can proceed to this work of destruction without a violation of the public faith The people of the United States have justly supposed that the policy of protecting their industry against foreign legislation and foreign industry was fully settled, not by a single act, but by repeated and deliberate acts of government, per- formed at distant and frequent intervals. In full confidence that the policy was firmly and unchangeably fixed, thousands upon thousands have invested their capital, purchased a vast amount of real and other estate, made permanent establishments, and accommodated their in- dustry. Can we expose to utter and irretrievable ruin this countless multitude, without justly incurring the reproach of violating the na- tional faith I shall not discuss the constitutional question. Without meaning any disrespect to those who raise it, if it be debateable, it has been sufficiently debated. The gentleman from South Carolina suffered it to fall unnoticed from his budget; and it was not until after he had closed his speech and resumed his seat, that it occurred to him that he had forgotten it, when he again addressed the Senate, and, by a sort of protestation against any conclusion from his silence, put for- ward the objection. The recent free trade convention at Philadelphia, it is well known, were divided on the question; and although the topic is noticed in their address to the public, they do not avow their own belief that the American system is unconstitutional, but repre sent that such is the opinion of respectable portions of the American people. Another address to the people of the United States, from a high source, during the past year, treating this subject, does not as- sert the opinion of the distinguished author, but states that of others to be that it is unconstitutional. From which I infer that he did not himself believe it unconstitutional. 19 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. [Here the Vice-President interposed and remarked that, if the Senator from Ken- lucky alluded to him, he must say that his opinion was, that the measure was un- constitutional.] When, sir, I contended with you, side by side, and with perhaps less zeal than you exhibited, in 1816, 1 did not understand you then to consider the policy forbidden by the constitution. [The Vice-President again interposed, and said that the constitutional question was not debated at that time, and that he had never expressed an opinion contrary to that now intimated.] I give way with pleasure to these explanations, which I hope will always be made when I say any thing bearing on the individual opinions of the Chair. I know the delicacy of the position, and sympathise with the imeumbent, whoever he may be. It is true, the question was not debated in 1816; and why not Because it was not debatable; it was then believed not fairly to arise. It never has been made as a distinct, substantial and leading point-of objec- tion. It never was made until the discussion of the tariff of 1824, when it was rather hinted at as against the spirit of the constitution, than formally announced as being contrary to the provisions of that instrument. What was not dreamt of before, or in 1816, and scarce ly thought of in 1824, is now made, by excited imaginations, to as- sume the imposing form of a serious constitutional barrier. Such are the origin, duration, extent and sanctions of the policy which we are now called upon to subvert. Its beneficial effects, al- though they may vary in degree, have been felt in all parts of the Union. To none, I verily believe, has it been prejudicial. In the North, every where, testimonials are borne to the high prosperity which it has diffused. There, all branches of industry are animated and flourishing. Commerce, foreign and domestic, active; cities and towns springing up, enlarging and beautifying; navigation fully and profitably employed, and the whole face of the country smiling with improvement, cheerfulness and abundance. The gentleman from South Carolina has supposed that we, in the West derive no advan. tages from this system. He is mistaken. Let him visit us, and he will find, from the head of La Belle Riviere, at Pittsburgh, to Ameri- ca, at its mouth, the most rapid and gratifying advances. He will behold Pittsburg itself, Wheeling, Portsmouth, Maysville, Cincinnati' 20 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. Louisville, and numerous other towns, lining and ornamenting the banks of the noble river, daily entending their limits, and prosecuting, with the greatest spirit and profit, numerous branches of the manu- facturing and mechanic arts. If he will go into the interior, in the State of Ohio, he will there perceive the most astonishing progress in agriculture, in the useful arts, and in all the improvements to which they both directly conduce. Then let him cross over into my own, my favorite State, and contemplate the spectacle which is there ex- hibited. He will perceive numerous villages, not large, but neat thriving, and some of them highly ornamented; many manufactories of hemp, cotton, wool, and other articles. In various parts of the country, and especially in the Elkhorn region, an endless succession of natural parks; the forests thinned; fallen trees and undergrowth cleared away; large herds and flocks feeding on luxuriant grasses; and interspersed with comfortable, sometimes elegant mansions, sur- rounded by extensive lawns. Thb honorable gentleman from South Carolina says, that a profitable trade was carried on from the West, through the Seleuda gap, in mules, horses and other live stock, which has been checked by the operation of the tariff It is true that such a trade was carried on between Kentucky and South Carolina, mu- tually beneficial to both parties; but, several years ago, resolutions, at popular meetings, in Carolina, were adopted, not to purchase the produce of Kentucky byway of punishment for her attachment to the tariff. They must have supposed us as stupid as the sires of one of the descriptions of the stock of which that trade consisted, if they imagined that their resolutions would affect our principles. Our dro- vers cracked their whips, blew their horns, and passed the Seleuda gap, to other markets, where better humors existed, and equal or greater profits were made. I have heard of your successor in the House of Representatives, Mr. President, this anecdote: that he joined in the adoption of those resolutions, but when, about Christ- mas, he applied to one of his South Carolina neighbors, to purchase the regular supply of pork for the ensuing year, he found that he had to pay two prices for it; and he declared if that were tne patriotism on which the resolutions were based, he would not conform to them, and, in point of fact, laid in his annual stock of pork by purchase from the first passing Kentucky drover. The trade, now partially resumf- ed, was maintained by the sale of western productions, on the one side, and Carolina money on the other. From that condition of it the gentleman from South Carolina might have drawn this conclusion, 2 0I SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. that an advantageous trade may exist, although one of the parties to it pays in specie for the production which he purchases from the other; and consequently that it does not follow, if we did not pur- chase British fabrics, that it might not be the interest of England to purchase our raw material of cotton. The Kentucky drover receiv- ed the South Carolina specie, or, taking bills, or the evidences of de- posite in the banks, carried these home, and, disposing of them to the merchant, he brought out goods, of foreign or domestic manufacture, in return. Such is the circuitous nature of trade and remittance, which no nation understands better than Great Britain. Nor has the system which has been the parent source of so much benefit to other parts of the Union, proved injurious to the cotton growing country. I cannot speak of South Carolina itself, where I have never been, with so much certainty; but of other portions of the Union in which cotton is grown, especially those bordering on the Mississippi, I can confidently speak. If cotton planting is less profitable than it was, that is the result of increased production; but I believe it to be still the most profitable investment of capital of any branch of business in the United States. And if a committee were raised, with power to send for persons and papers, I take it upon my- self to say, that such would be the result of the inquiry. In Ken- tucky, I know many individuals who have their cotton plantations below, and retain their residence in that state, where they remain during the sickly season; and they are all, I believe, without excep- tion, doing well. Others, tempted by their success, are constantly engaging in the business, while scarcely any comes from the cotton region to engage in western agriculture. A friend, now in my eye, a member of this body, upon a capital of less than seventy thousand dollars, invested in a plantation and slaves made, the year before last, sixteen thousand dollars. A member of the other House, I under- stand, who, without removing himself, sent some of his slaves to Mississippi, made last year, about twenty per cent. Two friends of mine, in the latter State, whose annual income is from thirty to sixty thousand dollars, being desirous to curtail their business, have offered estates for sale which they are willing to show, by regular vouchers of receipt and disbursement, yield eighteen per cent. per annum. One of my most opulent acquaintances, in a county adjoining that in which I reside, having married in Georgia, has derived a large portion of his wealth from a cotton estate there situated. 22 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. The loss of the tonnage of Charleston, which has been dwelt on, dloes not proceed from the tariff; it never had a very large amount, and it has not been able to retain what it had, in consequence of the operation of the principle of free trade on its navigation. Its tonnage has gone to the more enterprizing and adventurous tars of the north- ern States, with whom those of the city of Charleston could not main- tain a successful competition in the freedom of the coasting trade, ex- isting between the different parts of the Union. That this must be the true cause, is demonstrated by the fact, that however it may be with the port of Charleston, our coasting tonnage, generally, is con- stantly increasing. As to the foreign tonnage, about one-half of that which is engaged in the direct trade between Charleston and Great Britain, is English; proving that the tonnage of South Carolina can- not maintain itself in a competition, under the free and equal naviga- tion secured by our treaty with that power. When gentlemen have succeeded in their design of an immediate or gradual destruction of the American System, what is their substi- tute Free trade Free trade ! The call for free trade is as una- vailing as the cry of a spoiled child, in its nurse's arms, for the moon, or the stars that glitter in the firmament of heaven. It never has existed, it never will exist. Trade implies, at least two parties. To be free, it should be fair, equal and reciprocal. But if we throw our ports wide open to the admission of foreign productions, free of all duty, what ports of any other foreign nation shall we find open to the free admission of our surplus produce We may break down all barriers to free trade on our part, but the work will not be complete until foreign powers snall have removed theirs. There would be freedom on one side, and restrictions, prohibitions and exclusions on the other. The bolts, and the bars, and the chains of all other na- tions will remain undisturbed. It is, indeed, possible, that our in- dustry and commerce would accommodate themselves to this unequal and unjust, state of things; for, such is the flexibility of our nature, that it bends itself to all circumstances. The wretched prisoner in- carcerated in a jail, after a long time becomes reconciled to his soli- tude, and regularly notches down the passing days of his confinement. Gentlemen deceive themselves. It is not free trade that they are recommending to our acceptance. It is in effect, the British colonial system that we are invited to adopt; and, if their policy prevail, it 23 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAD. will lead substantially to the re-colonization of these States, utxo. - The commercial dominion of Great Britain. And whom do we fin some of the principal supporters, out of Congress, of this foreign sys- tem Mr. President, there are some foreigners who always remain exotics, and never become naturalized in our country; whilst, happi- y, there are many others who readily attach themselves to our prin- ciples and our institutions. The honest, patient and industrious Ger- man readily unites with our people, establishes himself upon some of our fat land, fills his capacious barn, and enjoys in tranquility, the abundant fruits which his diligence gathers around him, always rea- dy to fly to the standard of his adopted country, or of its laws, when called by the duties of patriotism. The gay, the versatile, the philo- sophic Frenchman, accommodating himself cheerfully to all the vicis- situdes of life, incorporates himself without difficulty in our society. But, of all foreigners, none amalgamate themselves so quickly with our people as the natives of the Emerald Isle. In some of the vis- ions which have passed through my imagination, I have supposed that Ireland was originally, part and parcel of this continent, and that, by some extraordinary convulsion of nature, it was torn from America, and drifting across the ocean, was placed in the unfortunate vicinity of Great Britain. The same open-heartedness; the same generous hospitality; the same careless and uncalculating indiffer- ence about human life, characterize the inhabitants of both countries. Kentucky has been sometimes called the Ireland of America. And I have no doubt, that if the current of emigration were reversed, and set from America upon the shores of Europe, instead of bearing from Europe to America, every American emigrant to Ireland would there find, as every Irish emigrant here finds, a hearty welcome and a hap- py home! But sir, the gentleman to whom I am about to allude, although tong a resident of this country, has no feelings, no attachments, no sympathies, no principles, in common with our people. Near fifty years ago, Pennsylvania took him to her bosom, and warmed, and cherished, and honored him; and how does he manifest his gratitude By aiming a vital blow at a system endeared to her by a thorough conviction that it is indispensable to her prosperity. He has filled at home and abroad some of the highest offices undes this government, ciuring thirty years, and he is still at heart an alien. The authority of his name has been invoked, and the labors of his pen, in the form 24 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. ct a memorial to Congress have been engaged to overthrow the kmerican System, and to substitute the foreign. Go home to your native Europe, and there inculcate upon her sovereigns your Utopian doctrines of free trade, and when you have prevailed upon them to unseal their ports, and freely admit the produce of Pennsylvania and .ther States, come back, and we shall be prepared to become con verts, and to adopt your faith. A Mr. Sarchet also makes no inconsiderable figure in the common attack upon our system. I do not know the man, but I understand he is an unnaturalized emigrant from the island of Guernsey, situated in the channel which divides France and England. The principal business of the inhabitants is that of driving a contraband trade with the opposite shores, and Mr. Sarchet, educated in that school, is, I have been told, chiefly engaged in employing his wits to elude the operation of our revenue laws, by introducing articles at less rates of duty than they are justly chargeable with, which he effects by vary- ing the denominations, or slightly changing their forms. This man, at a former session of the senate, caused to be presented a memorial signed by some 150 pretended workers in iron. Of these a gentle- man made a careful inquiry and examination, and he ascertained that there were only about ten of the denomination represented; the rest were tavern keepers, porters, merchants' clerks, hackney coachmen, c. I have the most respectable authority, in black and white, for this statement. [ Here General Hayne asked, who and was he a manufacturer i Mr. Clay replied, Col. Murray, of New York, a gentleman of the highest standing for honor, probity, and veracity; that he did not know whether he was a manufacturer or not, but the gentleman might take him as one.] Whether Mr. Sarchet got up the late petition presented to the Senate from the journeyman tailors of Philadelphia, or not, I do not iLnow. But I should not be surprised if it were a movement of his, and if we should find that he has cabbaged from other classes of so- ciety to swell out the number of signatures. To the facts manufactured by Mr. Sarchet, and the theories by Mr. Gallatin there was yet wanting one circumstance to recommend Mr. Clay subsequently understood that Col. Murray was a merchant. SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. them to favorable consideration, and that was the authority of some high name. There was no difficulty in obtaining one from a British Repository. The honorable gentleman has cited a speech of my lord Goderich, addressed to the British Parliament, in favor of free trade, and full of deep regret that old England could not possibly conform her practice of rigorous restriction and exclusion to her liberal doc- triles of unfettered commerce, so earnestly recommended to foreign powers. Sir, I know my lord Goderich very well, although my acquaintance with him was prior to his being summoned to the British House of Peers. WVe both signed the convention between the United States and Great Britain of 1815. He is an honor- able man, frank, possessing business. but ordinary, talents, about the stature and complexion of the honorable gentleman from South Caro- lina, a few years older than he, and every drop of blood running in his veins being pure and unadulterated Anglo-Saxon blood. If he were to live to the age of Methuselah, le could not make a speech of such ability and eloquence as that which the gentleman from South Carolina recently delivered to the Senate; and there would be much more fitness in my lord Goderich making quotations from the speech of the honorable gentleman, than his quoting, as authority, the theo- retical doctrines of my lord Goderich. We are too much in the habit of looking abroad, not merely for manufactured articles, but for the sanction of high names, to support favorite theories. I have seen and closely observed the British Parliament, and, without derogating from its justly elevated character, I have no hesitation in saying, that in all the attributes of order, dignity, patriotism and eloquence, the American Congress would not suffer, in the smallest degree, by a comparison with it. I dislike this resort to authority, and especiallyforeign and interest- ed authority, for the support of principles of public policy. I would greatly prefer to meet gentlemen upon the broad ground of fact, of experience, and of reason; but, since they will appeal to British names and authority, I feel myself compelled to imitate their bad ex- ample. Allow me to quote from the speech of a member of the Brit- ish Parliament, bearing the same family name with my lord Goderich, hut whether or not a relation of his, I do not know. The member alluded to was arguing against the violation of the treaty of Methuen -that treaty. not less fatal to the interests of Portugal than wot Id 26 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. 27 be the system of gentlemen to the best interests of America-and he went on to say: " It was idle for its to endeavor to persuade other nations to join with itS in adopting the principles of that was ralled "free trade." Other eationj knew, as well as the no- ble loid opjresire, and those who acted with him, what we meant by "free trarle" itas nothing mairc nor less than, by means of the great adranlages we enjoyed, to get a mO- nopol'/ atol'l their 'markets for our manuxfactures, and toprevent them, one and all,fromn ever becoming aonnfarturing nations. When the system of reciprocity and free trade had been proposed to a French embassador, his remark was, that the plan was excellent in theory, but, to make it fair in practice, it would be necessary to defer the attempt to put it in execution for half a century, until France should be on the came looning with Great Britain, in marine, in manufactures, in capital, and the mYany other Peculiar advantages which it now enjoyed. The policy that France act- el on, was taht of encouraging its native manufactures, and it was a wise policy ; because if it were freely to admit our manufactures, it would speedily be reduced to the ranik of an ag-ricultural nation ; and therefore, a poor nation, as all must be that de'Pend exciusively upon agriculture. America acted too upon the same principle with France. America legislated for futurity-legislated for an increasing popula- tion. America too, was prospering under this system. In twenty years. America would be independent of England for manufactures altogether. S S S But (i we thi peace, France, Germany, America, and all the other countries of the world, had proceeded upon the principle of encouraging and protecting native man- factures." But I have said that the system nominally called " free trade," so earnestly and eloquently recommended to our adoption, is a mere re- vival of the British colonial system, forced upon us by Great Britain during the existence of our colonial vassalage. The whole system is fully explained and illustrated in a work published as far back as the year 1760, entitled " The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain considered, by Joshua Gee," with extracts from which I have been furnished by the diligent researches of a friend. It will be seen from these, that the South Carolina policy now, is identical with the long cherished policy of Great Britain, which remains the same as it was when the thirteen colonies were part of the British empire. In that work the author contends- " 1. That manufactures, in American colonies, should be discouraged or prohi- bited. " Great Britain, with its dependencies, is doubtless as well able to subsist within ,itself as any nation in Europe. We have an enterprising people, fit for all the arts of peace and war. We have provisions in abundance, and those of the best sort, and are able to raise sufficient for double the number of inhabitants. We have the very best materials for clothing, and want nothing either for use or even for luxury, but what we have at home, or might have from our colonies: so that we might make such an intercourse of trade among ourselves, or between us and them, as would maintain a vast navigation. But we ought always to keep a watchful eve over our colonies, to restrain them from setting up any of the manufactures which are car- ried on in Great Britain; and any such attempts should be crushed in the beginning; for if thev are suffered to grow up to maturity, it will be difficult to suppress them." .Pages 177, 8, 9. " Our colonies are much in the same state Ireland was in, when they began the woollen inamilnuctory, and as their numbers increase, will fall upon manufactures for clothing themselves, if due care be not taken to find employment for them in 28 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY raising such productions as may enable them to furnish themselves with all then necessaries from us." Then it was the object of this British economists to adapt the means or wealth of the colonists to the supply required by their ne- cessities, and to make the mother country the source of that supply. Now it seems the policy is only so far to be reversed that we must continue to import necessaries from Great Britain, in order to enable her to purchase raw cotton from us. " I should, therefore, think it worthy the care of the government to endeavor, by all possible means, to encourage them in raising of silk, hemp, flax, iron, [only pig to be hammered in England] pot ash, c., by giving them competent bounties in the beginning, and sending over judicious and skilful persons at the public charge, to assist and instruct them in the most proper methods of management, which in my apprehen-ionl would lay a foundation for establishing the most profitable trade of any we have. And considering the commmanding situation of our colonies along the sea coast the great convenience of navigable rivers in all of them the cheapness of land, and the easiness of raising provisions, great numbers of people would transpor themselves thither to settle upon such improvements. Now, as people have been filled with fears thatthe colonies, if encouraged to raise rough materials, would set up for themselves, a little regulation would remove all those jealousies out of the way. They have never thrown or wove any silk as yet that we have heard of. Therefore, if a law was made to prohibit the use of every throwster's mill, of doubling or horsfing silk with any machine whatever, they would then send it to us rawv. And as they will have the providing rough materiasl to themselves, so shall we have the manufacturing of them. If encouragement be given for raising hemp, flax, c., doubntless they will soon begin to manufacture, if not p-evented. There- fore, to stop the progress of any such manufacture, it is proposed that no weaver shall have liberty to set up any ooms without first registering at an office kept for that purpose, and the name and place of abode of any journeyman that shall work for hind. IPt if any particular inhabitant shall be inclined to have any linen or woollen made of their own spinning, they should not be abridged of the same liber- ty that they now make use of, namely, to carry to a weaver, (who shall be licensed by the governor,) and have it wrought up for the use of the family, but not to be sold to any person in a private manner, nor exposed to any market or fair, upon pain of forfeiture. "And, inasmuch as they have been supplied with all their manufactures from hence, except what is used in building of ships and other country work, one half of our exporrts being supposed to be in NAILS-a manufacture which they allow has never hitherto been carried on among them-it is proposed they shall, for time to come, never erect the manufacture of any under the size of a tvo shilling nail, horse nails excepted that all slitting mills and engines, for drawing wire, or weaving stockings, be tar down, and that every smith who keeps a common forge or shop, shall register his name and place of abode, and the name of every servant which he shall employ, which license shall be renewed once every year, and pay for the liberty of working ait such trade. That all negroes shall be prohibited from weaving either linen or woollen, or spinning or combing of wool, or working at any manufacture of iron, further than making it into pig or bar iron. That they also be prohibited from manufacturing hats, stockings, or leather of any kind. This limitation will not abridge the planters of any privilege they now enjoy. On the contrary, it will turn their industry to promoting and raising those rough materials." The author then proposes that the board of trade and plantations should be furnished with statistical accounts of the various permitted manufactures, to enable them to encourage or depress the industry of the colonists, and prevent the danger of interference withl British in dustry. IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. It is hoped that this method would allay the heat that some people have shown for destroying the iron w rks on the plantations, and pulling down all their forges- taking away in a violent manner their estates and properties- preventing the hus- bandinen from getting their ploughs-hares, carts, and other utensils mended ; destroy. ing the manufacture of ship building, by depriving them of the liberty of making bolts, spikes, and other things proper for carrying on that work, by which article returns are made for purchasing our woollen manufactures."-Pages 87, 88, 89. Such is the picture of colonists dependent upon the mother coun- try for their necessary supplies, drawn by a writer who was not among the number of those who desired to debar them the means of building a vessel, erecting a forge, or mending a ploughshare, but who was willing to promote their growth and prosperity as far as was consist- ent with the paramount interests of the manufacturing or parent State. " 2. The advantages to Great Britain from keeping the colonists dependent on her for their essential supplies. " If we examine into the circumstances of the inhabitants of our plantations, and our own, it will appear that not one fourth part of their product redounds to their omen profit, for, ont of all that comes here, they only carry back clothing and other accomrridoations for their families, all of which is of the merchandise and manufac- ture of tlhis kingdom." After showing how this system tends to concentrate all the surplus of acquisition over absolute expenditure in England, he says: "All these advantages we receive by the plantations, besides the mortgages on the planter's estates, and the high interest they pay us, which is very considerable; and therefore very great care ought to be taken in regulating all the affairs of the colonists', that the planters be not put under too many difficulties, but encouraged to go on cheerfully. "New England, and the northern colonies, have not commodities and productr enotugh to send us in return for purchasing their necessary clothing, but are under very great difficulties; and therefore any ordinary sort sell with them. And when they have grown out of fashion with us, they are new-fashioned enough there." Sir, I cannot go on with this disgusting detail. Their refuse goods, their old shop keepers, their cast-off clothes good enough for us! Was there ever a scheme more artfully devised by which the ener- gies and faculties of one people should be kept down and rendered subservient to the pride, and the pomp, and the power of another! The system then proposed differs only from that which is now recom- mended, in ome particular; that was intended to be enforced by pow- er, this would not be less effectually executed by the force of circum- stances. A gentleman in Boston, (Mr. Lee,) the agent of the free trade convention, from whose exhaustless mint there is a constant Issue of reports, seems to envy the blessed condition of dependent Canada, when compared to the oppressed state of this Union; and it 29 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. is a fair inference from the view which he presents, that he would have us hasten back to the golden days of that colonial bondage, which is so well depicted in the work from which I have been quo- ting. Mr. Lee exhibits two tabular statements, in one of which he presents the high duties which he represents to be paid in the ports of the United States, and in the other, those which are paid in Can- ada, generally about two per cent. ad valorem. But did it not occur to him that the duties levied in Canada are paid chiefly in British manufactures, or on articles passing from one part to another of a common empire; and that to present a parallel case in the United States, he ought to have shown that importations made into one State from another, which are now free, are subject to the same or higher duties than are paid in Canada I will now, Mr. President, proceed to a more particular considera- tion cf the arguments urged against the Protective System, and an in- quiry into its practical operation, especially on the cotton growing country. And as I wish to state and meet the argument fairly, I in- vite the correction of my statement of it, if necessary. It is alleged that the system operates prejudicially to the cotton planter, by dimin- ishing the foreign demand for his staple; that we cannot sell to Great Britain unless we buy from her; that the import duty is equivalent to an export duty, and falls upon the cotton grower; that South Ca- rolina pays a disproportionate quota of the public revenue; that an abandonment of the protective policy would lead to an augmentation of our exports of an amount not less than one hundred and fifty mill- ions of dollars; and finally, that the South cannot partake of the ad- vantages of manufacturing, if there be any. Let us examine these various propositions in detail. 1. That the foreign demand for cot- ton is diminished; and that we cannot sell to Great Britain unless we buy from her. The demand of both our great foreign customers i3 constantly and annually increasing. It is true, that the ratio of the increase may not be equal to that of production; but this is owing to the fact that the power of producing the raw material is much great er, and is, therefore, constantly in advance of the power of consump tion. A single fact will illustrate. The average produce of laborers engaged in the cultivation of cotton, may be estimated at five bales, or fifteen hundred weight to the hand. Supposing the annual average consumption of each individual who uses cotton cloth to be five 30 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTM. pounds, one hand can produce enough of the raw material to clothe three hundred. The argument comprehends two errors, one of fact and the other of principle. It assumes that we do not in fact purchase of Great Britain. What is the true state of the case There are certain, but very few articles which it is thought sound policy requires that we should manufacture at home, and on these the tariff operates. But, with respect to all the rest, and much the larger number of ar- ticles of taste, fashion, and utility, they are subject to no other than revenue duties, and are freely introduced. I have before me from the treasury a statement of our imports from England, Scotland and Ire- land, including ten years, preceding the last, and three quarters of the last year, from which it will appear that, although there are some fluctuations in the amount of the different years, the largest amount imported in any one year has been since the tariff of 1824, and that the last year's importation, when the returns of the fourth quarter shall be received, will probably be the greatest in the whole term of eleven years. Now, if it be admitted that there is a less amount of the protected articles imported from Great Britain, she may be, and probably is, compensated for the deficiency, by the increased consumption in America of the articles of her industry not falling within the scope of the policy of our protection. The establishment of manufactures among us excites the creation of wealth, and this gives new powers of consumption, which are gratified by the purchase of foreign objects A poor nation can never be a great consuming nation. Its poverty will limit its consumption to bare subsistence. The erroneous principle which the argument includes, is, that it devckves on us the duty of taking care that Great Britain shall be en- abled to purchase from us without exacting from Great Britain the corresponding duty. If it be true, on one side, that nations are bound to shape their policy in reference to the ability of foreign powers, it must be true on both sides of the Atlantic. And this reciprocal obli- gation ought to be emphatically regarded towards the nation supply- ing the raw material, by the manufacturing nation, because the in- dustry of the latter gives four or five values to what had been pro- duced by the industry of the former. 31 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. But, does Great Britain practice towards us upon the principles which we are now required to observe in regard to her The ex. ports to the United Kingdom, as appears from the same treasury statement just adverted to, during eleven years, from 1821 to 1831 and exclusive of the fourth quarter of the last year, fall short of the amount of imports by upwards of forty-six millions of dollars, and the total amount, when the returns of that quarter are received, will ex- ceed fifty millions of dollars! It is surprising how we have been able to sustain, for so long a time, a trade so very unequal. We must have been absolutely ruined by it, if the unfavorable balance had not been neutralized by more profitable commerce with other parts of the world. Of all nations, Great Britain has the least cause to complain of the trade between the two countries. Our imports from that single power are nearly one-third of the entire amount of our importations from all foreign countries together. Great Britain constantly acts on the maxim of buying only what she wants and cannot produce, and selling to foreign nations the utmost amount she can. In conformity with this maxim, she excludes articles of prime necessity produced by us-equally, if not more necessary than any of her industry which we tax, although the admission of those articles would increase our ability to purchase from her, according to the ar- -ument of gentlemen. If we purchased still less from Great Britain than we do, and our conditions were reversed, so that the value of her imports from this country exceeded that of her exports to it, she would only then be compelled to do what we have so long done, and what South Caro- lina does, in her trade with Kentucky, make up for the unfavorable balance by trade with other places and countries. How does she now dispose of the one hundred and sixty millions of dollars worth of cotton fabrics, which she annually sells Of that amount the United States do not purchase five per cent. What becomes of the other ninety-five per cent Is it not sold to other powers, and would not their markets remain, if ours were totally shut Would she not continue, as she now finds it her interest, to purchase the raw mate- rial from us, to supply those markets Would she be guilty of the folly of depriving herself of markets to the amount of upwards of one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, because we refused her a market for some eight or ten millions 32 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. But if there were a diminution of the British demand for cotton equal to the loss of a market for the few British fabrics which are within the scope of our protective policy, the question would still remain, whether the cotton planter is not amply indemnified by the creation of additional demand elsewhere With respect to the cot ton-grower, it is the totality of the demand, and not its distribution, which effects his interests. If any system of policy will augment the aggregate of the demand, that systein is favorable to his interests, although its tendency may be to vary the theatre of the demand. It could not, for example, be injurious to him, if, instead of Great Brit- ain continuing to receive the entire quantity of cotton which she now does, two or three hundred thousand bales of it were taken to the other side of the channel, and increased to that extent, the French demand. It would be better for him, because it is always better to have several markets than one. Now, if, instead of a transfer to the opposite side of the channel, of those two or three hundred thousand bales, they are transported to the northern States, can that be injuri- ous to the cotton grower Is it not better for him Is it not better to have a market at home, unaffected by war or other foreign causes, for that amount of his staple If the establishment of American manufactures, therefore, had the sole effect of creating a new and an American demand for cotton, ex- actly to the same extent in which it lessened the British demand, there would be no just cause of complaint against the tariff The gain in one place would precisely equal the loss in the other. But the true state of the matter is much more favorable to the cotton grower. It is calculated that the cotton manufactories of the United States absorb at least two hundred thousand bales of cotton annually. I believe it to be more. The two ports of Boston and Providence alone received dur ing the last year, near one hundred and ten thousand bales. The amount is annually increasing. The raw material of that two hundred thousand bales is worth six millions, and there is an additional value conferred by the manufacturer of eighteen millions; it being generally calculated that, in such cotton fabrics as we are in the habit of making, the manu- facture constitutes three-fourths of the value of the article. If, there fore, these twenty-four millions worth of cotton fabrics were not made in the United States, but were manufactured in Great Britain, in or- der to obtain them, we should have to add to the alre.ady enormous disproportion between the amount of our imports and exports, in the 33 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. trade with Great Britain, the further sum of twenty-four millions, or deducting the price of the raw material, eighteen millions! And will gentlemen tell me how it would be possible for this country to sustain such a ruinous trade From all that portion of the United States lying North and East of James River, and West of the mountains, Great Britain receives comparatively nothing. How would it be possible for the inhabitants of that largest portion of our territory, to supply themselves with cotton fabrics, if they were brought from England exclusively They could not do it. But for the existence of the American manufacture, they would be compelled greatly to curtail their supplies, if not absolutely to suffer in their comforts. By its existence at home, the circle of those exchanges is created which reciprocally diffuses among all who are embraced within it the productions of their respective industry. The cotton-grower sells the raw material to the manufacturer; he buys the iron, the bread, the meal, the coal, and the countless number of objects of his eon- sumption from his fellow-citizens, and they in turn purchase his fabrics. Putting it upon the ground merely of supplying those with necessary articles who could not otherwise obtain them, ought there to be from any quarter, an objection to the only system by which that object can be accomplished But can there be any doubt, with those who will reflect, that the actual amount of cotton consumed is in- creased by the home manufacture The main argument of gentle- men is founded upon the idea of mutual ability resulting from mutual exchanges. They would furnish an ability to foreign nations by pur- chasing from them, and I to our own people, by exchanges at home. If the American manufacture were discontinued, and that of England were to take its place, how would she sell the additional quantity of twenty-four millions of cotton goods, which we now make To us That has been shown to be impracticable. To other foreign nations She has already pushed her supplies to them to the utmost extent The ultimate consequence would then be, to diminish the total con- sumption of cotton, to say nothing now of the reduction of price that would take place by throwing into the ports of Great Britain the two hundred thousand bales, which no longer being manufactured in the United States would go thither. That the import duty is equivalent to ar export duty, and falis on the producer of cotton. 34 35 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. I Here General Hayne explained, and said that he never contended that an import duty was equivalent to an export duty, under all circumstances; he had explained in his speech his ideas of the precise operation of the existing system. To which Mr. Clay replied, that he had seen the argument so stated in some of the ingenious essays from the South Carolina press, and would therefore answer it.] The framers of our Constitution, by granting the power to Con- gress to lay imports, and prohibiting that of laying an export duty, manifested that they did not regard them as equivalent. Nor does the common sense of mankind. An export duty fastens upon, and incorporates itself with, the article on which it is laid. The article cannot escape from it-it pursues and follows it, wherever the article goes; and if, in the foreign market, the supply is above or just equal to the demand, the amount of the export duty will be a clear deduc- tion to the exporter from the price of the article. But an import du- ty on a foreign article leaves the exporter of the domestic article free, 1st, to, import specie; 2dly, goods which are free from the protect- ing duty; or, 3dly, such goods as being chargeable with the protect- ing duty, he can sell at home, and throw the duty on the consumer. But,it is confidently argued that the import duty falls upon the grow- er of cotton; and the case has been put in debate, and again and again in conversation, of the South Carolina planter, who exports one hun- dred bales of cotton to Liverpool, exchanges them for one hundred bales of merchandise, and, when he brings them home, being compelled to leave, at the custom-house, forty bales in the form of duties. The argument is founded on the assumption that a duty of forty per cent. amounts to a subtraction of forty from the one hundred bales of mer- chandise. The first objection to it is, that it supposes a case of barter, which never occurs. If it be replied, that it nevertheless occurs in the operations of commerce, the answer would be that, since the export of Carolina cotton is chiefly made by New York or foreign merchants, the loss stated, if it really accrued, would fall upon them, and not upon the planter. But, to test the correctness of the hypothetical case, let us suppose that the duty, instead of forty per cent., should be one hundred and fifty, which is asserted to be the duty in some cases. Then, the planter would not only lose the whole hundred bales of merchandise, which he had gotten for his hundred bales of cotton, but he would have to purchase, with other means, an additional fifty bales, in order to enable him to pay the duties accruing on the proceeds of the cot- ton. Another answer is, that if the producer of cotton in America, SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. exchanged against English fabrics pays the duty, the producer of those fabrics also pays it, and then it is twice paid. Such must be the consequence, unless the principle is true on one side of the Atlan- tic, and false on the other. The true answer is, that the exporter of an article, if he invests its proceeds in a foreign market, takes care to make the investment in such merchandise, as when brought home, he can sell with a fair profit; and, consequently, the consumer would pay the original cost, and charges and profit. 3. The next objection to the American System is, that it subjects South Carolina to the payment of an undue proportion of the public revenue. The basis of this objection is the assumption, shown to have been erroneous, that the producer of the exports from this coun- try pays the duty on its imports, instead of the consumer of those imports. The amount which South Carolina really contributes to the public revenue, no tnore than that of any other State, can be pre- cisely ascertained. It depends upon her consumption of articles pay- ing duties, and we may make an approximation sufficient for all prac- tical purposes. The cotton planters of the valley of the Mississippi with whom I am acquainted, generally expend about one-third of' their income in the support of their families and plantations. On this subject I hold in my hands a statement from a friend of mine, of great accuracy, and a member of the Senate. According to this statement, in a crop of ten thousand dollars, the expenses may fluctuate between two thousand eight hundred dollars and three thousand two hundred dollars. Of this sum, about one-fourth, from seven to eight hundred dollars, may be laid out in articles paying the protecting duty; the residue is disbursed for provisions, mules, horses, oxen, wages of overseer, c. Estimating the exports of South Carolina at eight millions, one-third is two millions six hundred and sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars; of which one-fourth will be six hundred and sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six and two- thirds dollars. Now supposing the protecting duty to be fifty per cent., and that it all enters into the price of the article, the amount paid by South Carolina would only be three hundred and thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three and one third dollars. But the total revenue of the United States may be stated at twenty-five millions, of which the proportion of South Carolina, whatever stand- ard, whether of wealth or population, be adopted, would be about one million. Of course, on this view of the subject, she actually 36 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. pays only about one-third of her fair and legitimate share. I repeat, that I have no personal knowledge of the habits of a. tual expenditure in South Carolina; they may be greater than I have stated, in re- spect to other parts of the cotton country; but if they are, that fact does not arise from any defect in the system of public policy. 4. An abandonment of the American System, it is urged, would lead to an addition to our exports of one hundred and fifty millions of dollars. The amount of one hundred and fifty millions of cotton in the raw state, would produce four hundred and fifty millions in the manufactured state, supposing no greater measure of value to be com- municated, in the manufactured form, than that which our industry imparts. Now sir, where would markets be found for this vast ad- dition to the supply Not in the United States, certainly, nor in any other quarter of the globe, England having already everywhere pressed her cotton manufactures to the utmost point of repletion. We must look out for new worlds; seek for new and unknown races of mortals to consume this immense increase of cotton fabrics. [General Hayne said that he did not mean that the increase of one hundred and fifty millions to the amount of our exports would be of cotton alone, but of other articles.] What other articles Agricultural produce-bread stuffs, beef and pork c. Where shall we find markets for them W1hither shall we go To what country whose ports are not hermetically sealed against their admission Break down the home market and you are without resource Destroy all other interests in the country for the imagina- ry purpose of advancing the cotton planting interest, and you inflict a positive injury, without the smallest practical benefit to the cotton planter. Could Charleston, or the whole South, when all other mar- kets are prostrated, or shut against the reception of the surplus of our farmers, receive that surplus Would they buy more than they might want for their own consumption CouUl they find markets which other parts of the Union could not W-6ould gentlemen force the freemen of all north of James river, east and west, like the mis- erable slave, on the Sabbath day, to repair to Charleston, with a tur- key under his arm, or a pack upon his back, and beg the clerk of some English or Scotch merchant, living in his gorgeous palace, or rolling in his splendid coach in the streets, to exchange his "truck" for a bit of flannel to cover his naked wife and children! No! I am 3 37 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. sure that I do no more than justice to their hearts, when I believe that they would reject, what I believe to be the inevitable effects of their policy. 5. But it is contended, in the last place, that the South cannot. from physical and other causes, engage in the manufacturing arts. I deny the premises, and I deny the conclusion. I deny the fact of in- ability, and, if it existed, I deny the conclusion, that we must, there- fore, break down our manufactures, and nourish those of foreign coun tries. The South possesses, in an extraordinary degree, two of the most important elements of manufacturing industry-water-power and labor. The former gives to our whole country a most decided advantage over Great Britain. But a single experiment, stated by the gentleman from South Carolina, in wich a faithless slave put the torch to a manufacturing establishment, has discouraged similar en- terprises. We have in Kentucky the same description of population, and we employ them, and almost exclusively them, in many of our hemp manufactories. A neighbor of mine, one of our most opulent and respectable citizens, has had one, two, if not three, manufactories burnt by incendiaries; but he persevered, and his perseverance has been rewarded with wealth. We found that it was less expensive to keep night watches than to pay premiums for insurance, and we em ployed them. Let it be supposed, however, that the South cannot manufacture, must those parts of the Union which can, be, therefore, prevented Must we support those of foreign countries I am sure that injustice would be done to the generous and patriotic nature of South Caroli- na, if it were believed that she envied or repined at the success of other portions of the Union in branches of industry to which she might happen not to be adapted. Throughout her whole career she has been liberal, national, high-minded. The friends of the American System have been reminded by the honorable gentleman from Maryland, (General Smith,) that they are the majority, and he has admonished them to exercise their power in moderation. The majority ought never to trample upon the feelings, or violate the just rights of the minority. They ought never to tri- umpn over the fallen, nor to make any but a temperate and equitable use of their power. But these counsels come with an ill grace from 38 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTM. the gentleman from Maryland. He, too, is a member of a majority- a political majority. And how has the administration of that miajor- ity exercised their power in this country Recall to your recollec- tion the 4th of March, 1829, when the lank, lean, famished forms, from fen and forest, and the four quarters of the Union, gathered te- gether in the halls of patronage; or stealing by evening's twi light into the apartments of th3 President's mansion, cried out, with ghast- ly faces, and in sepulchral tones, " Give us bread! give us treasury pap! give us our reward !" England's bard was mistaken ; ghosts will sometimes come, called or uncalled. Go to the families who were driven from the employments on which they were dependent for subsistence, in consequence of their exercise of the dearest right of freemen. Go to mothers, while hugging to their bosoms their starving children. Go to fathers, who, after being disqualified by long public service for any other business, were stripped of their hum- ble places, and then sought, by the minions of authority, to be stripped of all that was left them-their good names-and ask, what mercy was shown to them! As for myself, born in the midst of the revolu- tion, the first air that I ever breathed on my native soil of Virginia, having been that of liberty and independence, I never expected jus- tice, nor desired mercy at their hands; and scorn the wrath and defy the oppression of power. I regret, Mr. President, that one topic has, I think, unnecessarily been introduced into this debate. I allude to the charge brought against the manufacturing system, as favoring the growth of aristoc- racy. If it were true, would gentlemen prefer supporting foreign accumulations of wealth, by that description of industry, rather than in their own country But is it correct The joint stock companies of the north, as I understand them, are nothing more than associa- tions, sometimes of hundreds, by means of which the small earnings of many are brought into a common stock, and the associates, ob-- taining corporate privileges, are enabled to prosecute, under one su- perintending bead, their business to better udvantage. Nothing can be more essentially democratic or better devised to counterpoise the influence of individual wealth. In Kentucky, almost every manufac- tory known to me, is in the hands of enterprising and self-made men, who have acquired whatever wealth they possess by patient and dil- igent labor. Comparisons are odious, and but in defence, would not be made by me. But is there more tendency to aristocracy in a man- 39 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ufactory supporting hundreds of freemen, or in a cotton plantation with its not less numerous slaves, sustaining perhaps only two white families-that of the master and the overseer I pass, with pleasure, from this disagreeable topic, to two general propositions which cover the entire ground of debate. The first is, that under the operation of the American System, the objects which it protects and fosters are brought to the consumer at cheaper prices than they commanded prior to its introduction, or, than they would command if it did not exist. If that be true, ought not the country to be contented and satisfied with the system, unless the second pro- position, which I mean presently also to consider, is unfounded And that is, that the tendency of the system is to sustain, and that it has upheld the prices of all our agricultural and other produce, including cotton. And is the fact not indisputable, that all essential objects of con- sumption affected by the tariff, are cheaper and better since the act of 1824, than they were for several years prior to that law I appeal for its truth to common observation and to all practical men. I appeal to the farmer of the country, whether he does not purchase on better terms his iron, salt, brown sugar, cotton goods, and woollens, for his laboring people And I ask the cotton planter if he has not been better and more cheaply supplied with his cotton bagging In re- gard to this latter article, the gentleman from South Carolina was mistaken in supposing that I complained that, under the existing duty the Kentucky manufacturer could not compete with the Scotch. The Kentuckian furnishes a more substantial and a cheaper article, and at a more uniform and regular price. But it was the frauds, the viola- tions of law of which I did complain; not smuggling, in the common sense of that practice, which has something bold, daring, and enter- prising, in it, but mean, barefaced cheating, by fraudulent invoices and false denomination. I plant myself upon this fact, of cheapness and superiority, as upon impregnable ground. Gentlemen may tax their ingenuity and pro- duce a thousand speculative solutions of the fact, but the fact itself will remain undisturbed. Let us look into some particulars. The total consumption of bar iron in the United States is supposed to be about 146,000 tons, of which 1 12,S66 tons are made within the coun- try, and the residue imported. The number of men employed in the 40 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. manufacture is estimated at 29,254, and the total number of persons subsisted by it, at 146,273. The measure of protection extended to this necessary article, was never fully adequate until the passage of the act of 1828; and what has been the consequence The annual increase of quantity, since that period, has been in a ratio of near twenty-five per cent., and the wholesale price of bar iron in the northern cities was, in 1828, 105 per ton, in I829, 100, in 1S30 90, and in 1831, from 85 to 75-constantly diminishing. We import very little English iron, and that which we do, is very inferior, and only adapted to a few purposes. In instituting a comparison be- tween that inferior article and our superior iron, subjects entirely dif- ferent are compared. They are made by different processes. The English cannot make iron of equal quality to ours, at a less price than we do. They have three classes, best-best, and best and ordinary. It is the latter which is imported. Of the whole amount imported, there is only about 4,000 tons of foreign iron that pays the high duty, the residue paying only a duty of about thirty per cent., estimated on the prices of the importation of 1829. Our iron ore is superior to that of Great Britain, yielding often from sixty to eighty per cent., while theirs produces only about twenty-five. This fact is so well known, that I have heard of recent exportations of iron ore to Eng- land. It has been alleged, that bar iron, being a raw material, ought to be admitted free, or with low duties, for the sake of the manufacturers themselves. But I take this to be the true principle, that if our coun- try is producing a raw material of prime necessity, and with reason- able protection, can produce it in sufficient quantity to supply our wants, that raw material ought to be protected, although it may be proper to protect the article also out of which it is manufactured. The tailor will ask protection for himself, but wishes it denied to the grower of wool and the manufacturer of broadcloth. The cotton planter enjoys protection for the raw material, but does not desire it to be extended to the cotton manufacturer. The ship builder will ask protection for navigation, but does not wish it extended to the essential articles which enter into the construction of his ship. Each in his proper vocation solicits protection, but would have it denied to all other interests which are supposed to come into collision with his. Now the duty of the statesman is. to elevate himself above these 41 SPECHES OP HENRY CLAY. petty conflicts; calmly to survey all the various interests, and delib- erately to proportion the measures of protection to each, according to its nature and to the general wants of society. It is quite possible that, in the degree of protection which has been afforded to the va- rious workers in iron, there maybe some error committed, although I have lately read an argument of much ability, proving that no injustice has really been done to them. If there be, it ought to be remedied. The next article to which I would call the attention of the Senate, is that of cotton fabrics. The success of our manufacture of coarse cottons is generally admitted. It is demonstrated by the fact that they meet the cotton fabrics of other countries, in foreign markets, and maintain a successful competition with them. There has been a gradual increase of the exports of this article, which is sent to Mexico and the South American Republics, to the Mediterranean, and even to Asia. The remarkable fact was lately communicated to me, that the same individual, who twenty-five years ago was engaged in the importation of cotton cloth from Asia for American consumption, is now engaged in the exportation of coarse American cottons to Asia, for Asiatic consumption! And my honorable friend from Massachu- setts, now in my eye, (Mr. Silsbee,) informed me that on his depart- ure from home, among the last orders which he gave, one was for the exportation of coarse cottons to Sumatra, in the vicinity of Calcutta! I hold in my hand a statement, derived from the most authentic source, showing that the identical description of cotton cloth, which sold in 1817, at twenty-nine cents per yard, was sold in 1819 at twenty-one cents, in 1821 at nineteen and a half cents, in 1823 at seventeen cents, in 1825 at fourteen and a half cents, in 1827 at thirteen cents, in 1S29 at nine cents, in 1830 at nine and a half cents, and in 1831 at from ten and a half to eleven. Such is the wonderful effect of protection, competition, and improvement in skill, combined! The year 1829 was one of some suffering to this branch of industry, probably owing to the principle of competition being pushed too far. Hence we observe a small rise in the article of the next two years. The introduction of calico printing into the United States, constitutes an important era in our manufacturing industry. It commenced about the year 1825, and has since made such astonishing advances, that the whole quantity now annually printed is but little short of forty millions of yards- about two-thirds of our whole consumption. It is a beautiful manu- facture, combining great mechanical skill with scientific discoveries 42 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. in chemistry. The engraved cylinders for making the impression require much taste, and put in requisition the genius of the fine arts of design and engraving. Are the fine graceful forms of our fair countrywomen less lovely when enveloped in the chintses and cali- coes produced by native industry, than when clothed in the tinsel of of foreign drapery Gentlemen are no doubt surprised at these facts. They should not underrate the energies, the enterprise, and the skill of our fellow- citizens. I have no doubt they are every way competent to accom- plish whatever can be effected by any other people, if encouraged and protected by the fostering care of our own government. Will gentlemen believe the fact, which I am authorised now to state, that the United States, at this time, manufacture one-half the quantity of cotton which Great Britain did in 1816 ! We possess three great advantages; 1st. The raw material. 2d. Water power instead of that of steam, generally used in England. And 3d. The cheaper labor of females. In England, males spin with the mule and weave; in this country women and girls spin with the throstle, and superin- tend the power loom. And can there be any employment more ap- propriate Who has not been delighted with contemplating the clock-work regularity of a large cotton manufactory I have often visited them at Cincinnati and other places, and always with increas- ed admiration. The women, separated from the other sex, work in apartments, large, airy, well warmed and spacious. Neatly dressed, with rudy complexions, and happy countenances, they watch the work before them, mend the broken threads, and replace the exhaust- ed balls or broaches. At stated hours they are called to their meals, and go and return with light and cheerful step. At night they sepa- rate, and repair to their respective houses, under the care of a mother, guardian or friend. " Six days shalt thou labor and do all that thou hast to do, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Accordingly, we behold them, on that sacred day, assembled together in His Temples, and in devotional attitudes and with pious counte- nances offering their prayers to Heaven for all its blessings, of which it is not the least that a system ef policy has been adopted by their country, which admits of their obtaining a comfortable subsistence. Manufactures have brought into profitable employment a vast amount of female labor, which, without them, would be lost to the country. 43 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. In respect to woollens, every gentleman's own observation and ex- perience will enable him to judge of the great reduction of price which has taken place in most of these articles, since the tariff of 1S24. It would have been still greater, but for the high duty on the raw material, imposed for the particular benefit of the farming interest. But, without going into particular details, I shall limit myself to in- viting the attention of the Senate to a single article of general and necessary use. The protection given to flannels in 1828 was fully adequate. It has enabled the American manufacturer to obtain com- plete possession of the American market; and now, let us look at the effect. I have before me a statement from a highly respectable mer- cantile house, showing the price of four descriptions of flannel, during six years. The average price of them, in 1S26, was thirty-eight and three quarter cents; in 1827, thirty-eight; in 1828, (the year of the tariff,) forty-six; in 1829, thirty-six; in 1S30, (notwithstanding the advance in the price of wool) thirty-two; and in 1831, thirty-two and one-quarter. These facts require no comments. I have be- fore me another statement of a practical and respectable man, well versed in the flannel manufacture in Ameriea and England, demon- strating that the cost of manufacture is precisely the same in both countries; and that, although a yard of flannel which woul dsell in England at 15 cents, would command here twenty-two, the differ- ence of seven cents is the exact difference between the duties in the two countries, which are paid on the six ounces of wool contained in a yard of flannel. Brown sugar, during ten years, from 1792 to 1802, with a duty of one and a half cents per pound, averaged fourteen cents per pound. The same article, during ten years, from 1820 to 1830, with a duty of three cents, has averaged only eight cents per pound. Nails, with a duty of five cents per pound, are selling at six cents. Window glass, eight by ten, prior to the tariff of 1824, sold at twelve or thir- teen dollars per hundred feet; it now sells for three dollars seventy- five cents. The gentleman from South Carolina, sensible of the incontestible fact of the very great reduction in the price of the necessaries of life, protected by the American System has felt the full force of it, and has presented various explanations of the causes to which he ascribes it. The first is the diminished production of the precious metals, iD 44 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM.U consequence of the distressed state of the countries in which they are extracted, and the consequent increase of their value relative to that of the commodities for which they are exchanged. But, if this be the true cause of the reduction of price, its operation ought to have been general, on all objects, and of course upon cotton among the -est. And, in point of fact, the diminished price of that staple is not greater than the diminution of the value of other staples of our agri- culture. Flour, which commanded some years ago, ten or twelve dollars per barrel, is now sold for five. The fall of tobacco has been still more. The kite-foot of Maryland, which sold at from sixteen to twenty dollars per hundred, now produces only four or five. That of Virginia has sustained an equal decline. Beef, pork, every article almost, produced by the farmer, has decreased in value. Ought not South Carolina then to submit quietly to a state of things, which is general, and proceeds from an uncontrolable cause Ought she to ascribe to the " accursed" tariff what results from the calamities of civil and foreign war, raging in many countries But, sir, I do not subscribe to this doctrine implicitly. I do not believe that the diminished production of the precious metals, if that be the fact, satisfactorily accounts for the fall in prices: For I think that the augmentation of the currency of the world, by means of banks, public stocks and other facilities arising out of exchange and credit, has more than supplied any deficiency in the amount of the precious metals. It is further urged that the restoration of peace in Europe, after the battle of Waterloo, and the consequent return to peaceful pursuits of large masses of its population, by greatly increasing the aggregate amount of effective labor, had a tendency to lower prices; and un- doubtedly such ought to have been its natural tendency. The same cause, however, must also have operated to reduce the price of our agricultural produce, for which there was no longer the same demand in peace as in war-and it did so operate. But its influence on the price of manufactured articles, between the general peace of Europe in 13.15, and the adoption of our tariff in 1S24, was less sensibly felt, because, perhaps, a much larger portion of the labor, liberated by the disbandment of armies, was absorbed by manufactures than by agri- culture. It is also contended that the invention and improvement of labor saving machinery have tended to lessen the prices of manufac. 4b SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. tured objects of consumption; and undoubtedly this cause has had some effect. Ought not America to contribute her quota of this cause, and has she not, by her skill and extraordinary adaptation to the arts, in truth, largely contributed to it This brings me to consider what I apprehend to have been the most efficient of all the causes in the reduction of the prices of manu- factured articles-and that is COMPETITION. By competition, the to- tal amount of the supply is increased, and by increase of the supply, a competition in the sale ensues, and this enables the consumer to buy at lower rates. Of all human powers operating on the affairs of mankind, none is greater than that of competition. It is action and re-action. It operates between individuals in the same nation, and between different nations. It resembles the meeting of the moun- tain torrent, grooving by its precipitous motion, its own channel, and ocean's tide. Unopposed, it sweeps every thing before it; but, coun- terpoised, the waters become calm, safe and regular. It is like the segments of a circle or an arch; taken separately, each is nothing but in their combination they produce efficiency, symmetry, and per- fection. By the American System this vast power has been excited in America, and brought into being to act in co-operation or collision with European industry. Europe acts within itself and with Ame- rica; and America acts within itself, and with Europe. The conse- quence is, the reduction of prices in both hemispheres. Nor is it fair to argue from the reduction of prices in Europe, to her own presuma- ed skill and labor, exclusively. We affect her prices, and she affects ours. This must always be the case, at least in reference to any ar- ticles as to which there is not a total non-intercourse ; and if our in- dustry, by diminishing the demand for her supplies, should produce a diminution in the price of those supplies, it would be very unfair to ascribe that reduction to her ingenuity, instead of placing it to the credit of our own skill and excited industry. Practical men understand very well this state of the case, whether they do or do not comprehend the causes which produce it. I have in my possession a letter from a respectable merchant, well known to me, in which he says, after complaining of the operation of the tariff of 1828, on the articles to which it applies, some of which he had imported, and that his purchases having been made in England, be- fore the passage of that tariff was known, it produced such an effect 46 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. upon the English market, that the articles could not be re-sold with- out loss, he adds: "' for it really appears that, when additional duties are laid upon an article, it then becomes lower instead of higher." This would not probably happen, where the supply of the foreign article did not exceed the home demand, unless upon the supposition of the increased duty having excited or stimulated the measure of the home production. The great law of price is determined by supply and demand. What- ever affects either, affects the price. If the supply is increased, the demand remaining the same, the price declines; if the demand is in- creased, the supply remaining the same, the price advances; if both supply and demand are undiminished, the price is stationary, and the price is influenced exactly in proportion to the degree of disturbance to the demand or supply. It is therefore a great error to suppose that an existing or new duty necessarily becomes a component ele- ment to its exact amount of price. If the proportions of demand and supply are varied by the duty, either in augmenting the supply, or diminishing the demand, or vice versa, price is affected to the ex- tent of that variation. But the duty never becomes an integral part of the price, except in the instances where the demand and the sup- ply remain after the duty is imposed, precisely what they were before, or the demand is increased, and the supply remains stationary. Competition, therefore, wherever existing, whether at home or abroad, is the parent cause of cheapness. If a high duty excites pro- duction at home, and the quantity of the domestic article exceeds the amount which had been previously imported the price will fall. This accounts for an extraordinary fact stated by a Senator from Missouri. Three cents were laid as a duty upon a pound of lead. by the act of 18S2. The price at Galena, and the other lead mines, afterwards fell to one and a half cents per pound. Now it is obvious that the duty did not, in this case, enter into the price: for it was twice the amount of the price. What produced the fall It was stimulated production at home, excited by the temptation of the ex- clusive possession of the home market. This state of things could not last. Men would not continue an unprofitable pursuit; some abandoned the business, or the total quantity produced was diminish- ed, and living prices have been the consequence. But, break down the domestic supply, place us again in a state of dependence on the 47 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. foreign source, and can it be doubted that we should ultimately have to supply ourselves at dearer rates It is not fair to credit the for eign market with the depression of prices produced there by the irr- fluence of our competition. Let the competition be withdrawn, and their prices would instantly rise. On this subject, great mistakes are committed. I have seen some most erroneous reasoning in a late report of Mr. Lee, of the Free Trade Convention in regard to the ar- ticle of sugar. He calculates the total amount of brown sugar pro duced in the world, and then states, that what is made in Louisiana is not more than two and a half per cent. of that total. Although his data may be questioned, let us assume their truth, and what might be the result Price being determined by the proportions of sup- ply and demand, it is evident that when the supply exceeds the de- mand, the price will fall. And the fall is not always regulated by the amount of that excess. If the market at a given price, required five or fifty millions of hogsheads of sugar, a surplus of only a few hundred might materially influence the price, and diffuse itself throughout the whole mass. Add, therefore, the eighty or one hun- dred thousand hoghsheads of Louisiana sugar to the entire mass produced in other parts of the world, and it cannot be doubted that a material reduction of the price of the article throughout Europe and America, would take place. The Louisiana sugar substituting foreign sugar in the home market, to the amount of its annual pro- duce, would force an equal amount of foreign sugar into other mar- kets, which being glutted, the price would necessarily decline, and this decline of price would press portions of the foreign sugar into competition in the United States, with Louisiana sugar, the price of which would also be brought down. The fact has been in exact con- formity with this theory. But now let us suppose the Louisiana su- gar to be entirely withdrawn from the general consumption-what then would happen A new demand would be created in America for foreign sugar, to the extent of the eighty or one hundred thou- sand hogsheads made in Louisiana; a less amount by that quantity, would be sent to the European markets, and the price would conse- quently everywhere rise. It is not, therefore, those who, by keep- ing on duties, keep down prices, that tax the people, but those who, by repealing duties, would raise prices, that really impose burthens upon the people. But, it is argued that if, by the skill, experience, and perfection 48 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. which we have acquired in certain branches of manufacture, they can be made as cheap as similar articles abroad, and enter fairly into competition with them, why not repeal the duties as to those articles And why should we Assuming the truth of the supposition the foreign article would not be introduced in the regular course of trade, but would remain excluded by the possession of the home market, which the domestic article had obtained. The repeal, therefore, would have no legitimate effect. But might not the foreign article be imported in vast quantities, to glut our markets, break down our establishments, and ultimately to enable the foreigner to monopolize the supply of our consumption America is the greatest foreign market for European manufactures. It is that to which European attention is constantly directed. If a great house becomes bankrupt there, its store-houses are emptied, and the goods are shipped to America, where, in consequence of our auctions, and our custom- house credits, the greatest facilities are afforded in the sale of them Combinations among manufacturers might take place, or even the operations of foreign governments might be directed to the destruc- tion of our establishments. A repeal, therefore, of one protecting duty, fromn some one or all of these causes, would be followed by floodingo the country with the foreign fabric, surcharging the market, reducing the price, and a complete prostration of our mannfactories; after which the foreigner would leisurely look about to indemnify him- self in the increased prices which he would be enabled to command by his monopoly of the supply of our consumption. What American citizen, after the government had displayed this vascillating policy, would be again tempted to place the smallest confidence in the public faith, and adventure once more in this branch of industry Gentlemen have allowed to the manufacturing portions of the c(ommunity no peace; they have been constantly threatened with the 'overthrow of the American System. From the year 1S20, if not from 1S16, down to this time, they have been held in a condition of con- stant alarm and insecurity. Nothing is more prejudicial to the great interests of a nation than unsettled and varying policy. Although every appeal to the national legislature has been responded to in con- formity with the wishes and sentiments of the great majority of the people, measures of protection have only been carried by such small majorities as to excite hopes on the one hand, and fears on the other. Let the country breathe, let its vast resources be developed, let its 49 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. energies be fully put forth, let it have tranquillity, and my word for it, the degree of perfection in the arts which it will exhibit, will be g'-ater than that which has been presented, astonishing as our pro- g;:ess has been. Although some branches of our manufactures might, and in foreign markets now do, fearlessly contend with similar foreign fabrics, there are many others yet in their infancy, struggling with the difficulties which encompass them. We should look at the whole system, and recollect that time, when we contemplate the great movements of a nation, is very different from the short period which is allotted for the duration of individual life. The honorable gentle- man from South Carolina well and eloquently said, in 1824, " No great interest of any country ever yet grew up in a day; no new branch of industry can become firmly and profitably established but in a long course of years; every thing, indeed, great or good, is ma- tured by slow degrees: that which attains a speedy maturity is of small value, and is destined to a brief existence. It is the order of Providence, that powers gradually developed, shall alone attain per- manency and perfection. Thus must it be with our national institu- tions, and national character itself." I feel most sensibly, Mr. President, how much I have trespassed upon the Senate. My apology is a deep and deliberate conviction, that the great cause under debate involves the prosperity and the destiny of the Union. But the best requital 1 can make, for the friendly indulgence which has been extended to me by the Senate, and for which I shall ever retain sentiments of lasting gratitude, is to proceed with as little delay as practicable, to the conclusion of a discourse which has not been more tedious to the Senate than ex- hausting to me. I have now to consider the remaining of the two propositions which I have already announced. That is: Secondly. That under the operation of the American System, the products of our agriculture command a higher price than they would do without it, by the creation of a home market; and by the aug- mentation of wealth produced by manufacturing industry, which en- larges our powers of consumption both of domestic and foreign arti- cles. The importance of the home market is among the established maxims which are universally recognised by all writers and all men However some may differ as to the relative advantages of the foreign and the home market, none deny to the latter great value and high 50 51 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. consideration . It is nearer to us; beyond the control of foreign legis- lation; and undisturbed by those vicissitudes to which all internation- al intercourse is more or less exposed. The most stupid are sensible of the benefit of a residence in the vicinity of a large manufactory, or of a market town, of a good road, or of a navigable stream, which connects their farms with some great capital. If the pursuits of all men were perfectly the same, although they would be in possession of the greatest abundance of the particular produce of their industry, they might, at the same time, be in extreme want of other necessary articles of human subsistence. The uniformity of the general occu- pation would preclude all exchanges, all commerce. it is only in the diversity of the vocations of the members of a community that the means can be found for those salutary exchanges which conduce to the general prosperity. And the greater that diversity, the more ex- tensive and the more animating is the circle of exchange. Even if foreign markets were freely and widely open to the reception of our agricultural produce, from its bulky nature, and the distance of the interior, and the dancers of the ocean, large portions of it could never profitably reach the foreign market. But let us quit this field of the- ory, clear as it is, and look at the practical operation of the system of protection, beginning with the most valuable staple of our agriculture. In considering this staple, the first circumstance that excites our surprise, is the rapidity with which the amount of it has annually in- creased. Does not this fact, however, demonstrate that the cultiva- tion of it could not have been so very unprofitable ! If the business were ruinous, would more and more have annually engaged in it The quantity in 1S16, was eighty-one millions of pounds; in 1826, two hundred and four millions; and in 1S30, near three hundred millions ! The ground of greatest surprise is, that it has been able to sustain even its present price with such an enormous augmentation of quantity. It could not have been done but for the combined opera tion of three causes, by which the consumption of cotton fabrics has been greatly exended, in consequence of their reduced prices: 1st. competition; 2d., the improvement of labor-saving machinery; and 3dly., the low price of the raw material. The crop of IS 19, amount- ing to eighty-eight millions of pounds, produced twenty-one millions of dollars; the crop of 1S23, when the amount was swelled to one hundred and seventy-four millions (almost double that of 1819,) pro duced a less sum by more than half a million of dollars; and the crop SPEECIJES OF HENRY CLAY. of 1824, amounting to thirty millions of pounds less than that of the preceding year, produced a million and a half of dollars more. If there be any foundation for the established law of price, supply, and demand, ought not the fact of this great increase of the supply to account satisfactorily for the alleged low price of cotton Is it neces- sary to look beyond that single fact to the tariff-to the diminished ploIucsof tbe minesfurnishing the precious metals, or to any other cause, for the solution This subject is well understood in the South, and although I cannot approve the practice which has been intro- duced of quoting authority, and still less the authority of newspapers, for favorite theories, I must ask permission of the Senate to read an article from a southern newspaper. [Here General Hayne requested Mr. Clay to give the name of the anthority, that it might appear whether it was not some other than a southern paper expressing southern sentiments. Mr. Clay stated that it was from the Charleston City Gazette, one, he believed, of the oldest and most respectable prints in that city, although he was not sure what might be its sentiments on the question which at present divides the people of South Carolina. The article comprises a full explanation of the low price of cotton, and assigns to it its true cause-increased production.] Let us suppose that the home demand for cotton, which has been created by the American System, were to cease, and that the two hundred thousand bales, which the home market now absorbs, were thrown into the glutted markets of foreign countries-would not the effect inevitably be to produce a further and great reduction in the price of the article If there be any truth in the facts and principles which 1 have before stated and endeavored to illustrate, it cannot be doubted that the existence of American manufactures has tended to increase the demand, and extend the consumption of the raw mate- rial; and that, but for this increased demand, the price of the article .would have fallen, possibly one-half lower than it now is. The error Mr. Clay stated that he assumed the quantity which was generally computed, but he believed it much greater, and subsequent information justifies his belief. It appears from the report of the cotton Committee appointed by the New York Con- vention, that partial returns show a consumption of upwards of two hundred and fifty thousand bales; that the cotton manufaeture employs nearly forty thousand females, and about five thousand children; that the total dependents on it are one aundred and thirty one thousand four hundred eighty-nine; that the annual wages paid are 12,155723; the annual value of tts products 32,306,076; the capital 44,914,984; the number of mills 795; of spindles, 1,246,503; and of cloth made 28,461,990 yards. This statement does not comprehend the western manufactures 52 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. of the opposite argument is, in assuming one thing, which being de- nied, the whole fails; that is, it assumes that the whole labor of the United States would be profitably employed without manufactures. Now, the truth is, that the System excites and creates labor, and this labor creates wealth, and this new wealth communicates additional ability to consume, which acts on all the objects contributing to hu- man comfort and enjoyment. The amount of cotton imported into the two ports of Boston and Providence alone during the last year, (and it was imported exclusively for the home manufacture,) was one hundred and nine thousand five hundred and seventeen bales. On passing from that article to others of our agricultural produc- tions, we shall find not less gratifying facts. The total quantity of flour imported into Boston, during the same year, was two hundred eighty-four thousand five hundred and four barrels, and three thou- sand nine hundred and fifty-five half barrels; of which, there were from Virginia, Georgetown and Alexandria, one hundred fourteen thousand two hundred and twenty-two barrels; of Indian corn, six hundred eighty-one thousand one hundred and thirty-one bushels; of oats, two hundred thirty-nine thousand eight hundred and nine bush- els; of rye, about fifty thousand bushels; and of shorts, thirty-three thousand four hundred and eighty-nine bushels. Into the port of Pro- vidence, seventy-one thousand three hundred and sixty-nine barrels of flour; two hundred sixteen thousand six hundred and sixty-two bushels of Indian corn, and seven thousand seven hundred and seven- ty-two bushels of rye. And there were discharged at the port of Philadelphia, four hundred twenty thousand three hundred and fifty- three bushels of Indian corn; two hundred one thousand eight hun- dred and seventy eight bushels of wheat, and one hundred ten thou- sand five hundred and fifty-seven bushels of rye and barley. There were slaughtered in Boston, during the same year, 1831, (the only northern city from which I have obtained returns,) thirty-three thou- sand nine hundred and twenty-two beef cattle; fifteen thousand and four hundred calves; eighty-four thousand four hundred and fifty- three sheep, and twenty-six thousand eight hundred and seventy-one swine. It is confidently believed that there is not a less quantity of Southern flour consumed at the North than eight hundred thousand barrels-a greater amount, probably, than is shipped to all the koreign markets of the world together. 4 53 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. What would be the condition of the farming country of the United States-of all that portion which lies North, East and West of James river, including a large part of North Carolina, if a home market did not exist for this immense amount of agricultural produce Without that market, where could it be sold In foreign markets If their restrictive laws did not exist, their capacity would not enable them to purchase and consume this vast addition to their present supplies, which must be thrown in, or thrown away, but for the home market. But their laws exclude us from their markets. I shall content my- self by calling the attention of the Senate to Great Britain only. The duties in the ports of the United Kingdom, on bread-stuffs are pro- hibitory, except in times of dearth. On rice, the duty is fifteen shill- ings sterling per hundred weight, being more than one hundred per cent. On manufactured tobacco it is nine shillings sterling per pound, or about two thousand per cent. On leaf tobacco three shillings per pound, or one thousand two hundred per cent. On lumber, and some other articles, they are from four hundred to fifteen hundred per cent. more than on similar articles imported from British colonies. In the British West Indies the duty on beef, pork, hams and bacon is twelve shillings sterling per hundred, more than one hundred per cent. on the first cost of beef and pork in the western States. And yet Great Britain is the power in whose behalf we are called upon to legislate, so that we may enable her to purchase our cotton! Great Britain that thinks only of herself in her own legislation ! When have we experienced justice, much less favor, at her hands When did she shape her legislation in reference to the interests of any foreign pow- er She is a great, opulent and powerful nation; but haughty, ar- rogant, and supercilious-not more separated from the rest of the world by the sea that girts her island, than she is separated in feeling, sympathy, or friendly consideration of their welfare. Gentlemen, in supposing it impracticable that we should successfully compete with her in manufactures, do injustice to the skill and enterprise of their own country. Gallant, as Great Britain undoubtedly is, we have gloriously contended with her, man to man, gun to gun, ship to ship, fleet to fleet, and army to army. And I have no doubt we are des- tined to achieve equal success in the more useful, if not nobler contest for superiority in the arts of civil life. I could extend and dwell on the long list of articles-the hemp, iron, lead, coal and other items, for which a demand is created in the 54 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. lome market by the operation of the American System; but I should exhaust the patience of the Senate. Where, where should we find a market for all these articles, if it did not exist at home What would be the condition of the largest portion of our people, and of the terri- tory, if this home market were annihilated How could they be sup- plied with objects of prime necessity What would not be the certain and inevitable decline in the price of all these articles, but for the home market And allow me, Mr. Piesident, to say, that of all the agricultural parts of the United States which are benefited by the operation of this system, none are equally so with those which bor- der the Chesapeake Bay, the lower parts of North Carolina, Virginia, and the two shores of Maryland. Their facilities of transportation, and proximity to the North, give them decided advantages. But if all this reasoning were totally fallacious-if the price of manufactured articles were really higher, under the American Sys- tem, than without it, I should still argue that high or low prices were themselves relative-relative to the abilityto pay them. It is in vain to tempt, to tantalize us with the lower prices of European fabrics than our own, if we have nothing wherewith to purchase them. If, by the home exchanges, we can be supplied with necessary, even if they are dearer and worse, articles of American production than the foreign, it is better than not to be supplied at all. And how would the large portion of our country which I have described be supplied, but for the home exchanges A poor people, destitute of wealth or of exchangeable commodities, has nothing to purchase foreign fabrics. To them they are equally beyond their reach, whether their cost be a dollar or a guinea. It is in this view of the matter that Great Britain, by her vast wealth-her excited and protected industry-is enabled to bear a burden of taxation which, when compared to that of others nations, appears enormous; but which, when her immense riches are compared to theirs, is light and trivial. The gentleman from South Carolina has drawn a lively and flattering picture of our coasts, bays, rivers and harbors; and he argues that these proclaimed the design of Providence, that we should be a commercial people. I agree with him. We differ only as to the means. He would cher- ish the foreign, and neglect the internal trade. I would foster both What is navigation without ships, or ships without cargoes By pen etrating the bosoms of our mountains, and extracting from them their precious treasures; by cultivating the earth, and securing a home 65 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. market for its rich and abundant products; by employing the water power with which we are blessed; by stimulating and protecting our native industry, in all its forms; we shall but nourish and promote the prosperity of commerce, foreign and domestic. I have hitherto considered the question in reference only to a state f peace; but a season of war ought not to be entirely overlooked. We have enjoyed near twenty years of peace; but who can tell when the storm of war shall again break forth Have we forgotten, so soon, the privations to which, not merely our brave soldiers and our gallant tars were subjected, but the whole community, during the last war, for the want of absolute necessaries To what an enormous price they rose! And how inadequate the supply was, at any price! The statesman who jusly elevates his views, will look behind, as well as forward, and at the existing state of things; and he will graduate the policy, which he recommends, to all the probable exigencies which may arise in the Republic. Taking this comprehensive range, it would be easy to show that the higher prices of peace, if prices were higher in peace, were more than compensated by the lower prices of war, during which supplies of all essential articles are indis- pensable to its vigorous, effectual and glorious prosecution. I con- clude this part of the argument with the hope that my humble exer tions have not been altogether unsuccessful in showing- 1. That the policy which we have been considering ought to con- tinue to be regarded as the genuine American System. 2. That the Free Trade System, which is proposed as its substi- tute, ought really to be considered as the British Colonial System. 3. That the American System is beneficial to all parts of the Union, nd absolutely necessary to much the larger portion. 4. That the price of the great staple of cotton, and of all our chief productions of agriculture, has been sustained and upheld, and a de- cline averted by the Protective System. 5. That if the foreign demand for cotton has been at all diminish- ed by the operation of that system, the diminution has been more than compensated in the additional demand created at home. IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. 6. That the constant tendency of the system, by creating competi- tion among ourselves, and between American and European industry, reciprocally acting upon each other, is to reduce prices of manufac tured objects. 7. That in point of fact, objects within the scope of the policy of protection have greatly fallen in price. 8. That if, in a season of peace, these benefits are experienced, in a season of war, when the foreign supply might be cut off, they would be much more extensively felt. 9. And finally, that the substitution of the British Colonial System for the American System, without benefiting any section of the Union, by subjecting us to a foreign legislation, regulated by foreign interests, would lead to the prostration of our manufactures, general impover- ishment, and ultimate ruin. And now, Mr. President, I have to make a few observations on a delicate subject, which I approach with all the respect that is due to its serious and grave nature. They have not, indeed, been rendered necessary by the speech from the gentleman from South Carolina, whose forbearance to notice the topic was commendable, as his argu- ment throughout, was characterized by an ability and dignity worthy of him, and of the Senate. The gentleman made one declaration, which might possibly be misinterpreted, and I submit to him whether an explanation of it be not proper. The declaration, as reported in his printed speech, is " the instinct of self-interest might have taught us an easier way of relieving ourselves from this oppression. It wanted but the will to have supplied ourselves with every article embraced in the protective system, free of duty, without any other participation on our part than a simple consent to receive them." [Here General Hayne rose and remarked, that the passage which immediately preceded and followed the paragraph cited, he thought plainly indicated his mean- ing, which related to evasions of the system, by illicit introduction of goods, which they were not disposed to countenance in South Carolina.] I am happy to hear this explanation. But, sir, it is impossible to conceal from our view the facts that there is a great excitement in South Carolina; that the protective system is openly and violently SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. denounced in popular meetings, and that the Legislature itself has declared its purpose of resorting to counteracting measures-a sus- pension of which has only been submitted to, for the purpose of al- lowing Congress time to retrace its steps. With respect to this Union, Mr. President, the truth cannot be too generally proclaimed, nor too strongly inculcated, that it is necessary to the whole and to all the parts-necessary to those parts, indeed, in different degrees, but vitally necessary to each-and that threats to disturb or dissolve it, coming from any of the parts, would be quite as indiscreet and im- proper as would be threats from the residue to exclude those parts from the pale of its benefits. The great principle, which lies at the foundation of all free governments, is, that the majority must govern; from which there is or can be no appeal but to the sword. That ma- jority ought to govern wisely, equitably, moderately and constitu- tionally, but govern it must, subject only to that terrible appeal. If ever one, or several States, being a minority, can, by menacing a dis- solution of the Union, succeed in forcing an abandonment of great measures deemed essential to the interests and prosperity of the whole, the Union, from that moment, is practically gone. It may linger on, in form and name, but its vital spirit has fled for ever! En- tertaining these deliberate opinions, I would entreat the patriotic peo- ple of South Carolina-the land of Marion, Sumpter and Pickens; of Rutledge, Laurens, the Pinkneys and Lowndes-of living and present names, which I would mention if they were not living or present-to pause, solemnly pause ! and contemplate the frightful precipice which lies directly before them. To retreat may be pain- ful and mortifying to their gallantry and pride, but it is to retreat to the Union, to safety, and to those brethren with whom, or with whose ancestors, they, or their ancestors, have won, on fields of glory, imperishable renown. To advance, is to rush on certain and inevitable disgrace and destruction. We have been told of deserted castles, of uninhabited halls, and of mansions, once the seats of opulence and hospitality, now abandoned and mouldering in ruins. I never had the honor of being in South Carolina; but I have heard and read of the stories of its chivalry, and of its generous and open-hearted liberality. I have heard, too, of the struggles for power between the lower and upper country. The same causes which existed in Virginia, with which I have been acquainted, I presume, have had their influence in Carolina. in IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. whose bands now are the once proud seats of Westover Curl, May. cox, Shirley,+ and others, on James River, and in lower Virginia Under the operation of laws, abolishing the principle of primogeni. ture, and providing the equitable rule of an equal distribution of estates among those in equal degree of consanguinity, they have pass- ed into other and stranger hands. Some of the descendants of illus- trious families have gone to the far West, while others, lingering behind, have contrasted their present condition with that of their venerated ancestors. They behold themselves excluded from their father's houses, now in the hands of those who were once their fa- ther's overseers, or sinking into decay; their imaginations paint an- cient renown, the fading honors of their name-glories gone by; too poor to live, too proud to work, too high-minded and honorable to resort to ignoble means of acquisition, brave, daring, chivalrous; what can be the cause of their present unhappy state The "ac- cursed" tariff presents itself to their excited imaginations, and they blindly rush into the ranks of those who, unfurling the banner of nul- lification, would place a State upon its sovereignty! The danger to our Union does not lie on the side of persistence in the American System, but on that of its abandonment. If, as I have supposed and believe, the inhabitants of all north and east of James river, and all west of the mountains, including Louisiana, are deeply interested in the preservation of that system, would they be recon- ciled to its overthrow Can it be expected that two-thirds, if not three-fourths, of the people of the United States, would consent to the destruction of a policy, believed to be indispensably necessary to their prosperity When, too, the sacrifice is made at the instance of a single interest, which they verily believe will not be promoted by it In estimating the degree of peril which may be incident to two opposite courses of human policy, the statesman would be short- sighted who should content himself with viewing only the evils, real or imaginary, which belong to that course which is in practical ope- ration. He should lift himself up to the contemplation of those greater and more certain dangers which might inevitably attend the adoption of the alternative course. What would be the condition of this Union, if Pennsylvania and New York, those mammoth members ' As to Shirley, Mr. Clay acknowledges his mistake, made in the warmth of de- bate. It is yet the abode of the respectable and hospitable descendants of its former puleat proprietor. 59 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. of our confederacy, were firmly persuaded that their industry was paralysed, and their prosperity blighted, by the enforcement of the British colonial system, under the delusive name of free trade They are now tranquil and happy, and contented, conscious of their wel- fare, and feeling a salutary and rapid circulation of the products of home manufactures and home industry throughout all their great ar- teries. But let that be checked, let them feel that a foreign system is to predominate, and the sources of their subsistence and comfort dried up; let New England and the west, and the middle States, all feel that they too are the victims of a mistaken policy, and let these vast portions of our country despair of any favorable change, and then indeed might we tremble for the continuance and safety of this Union ! And need I remind you, sir, that this dereliction of the duty of pro- tecting our domestic industry, and abandonment of it to the fate of foreign legislation, would be directly at war with leading considera- tions which prompted the adoption of the present constitution The States respectively, surrendered to the general government the whole power of laying imposts on foreign goods. They stripped themselves of all power to protect their own manufactures, by the most effica- cious means of encouragement-the imposition of duties on rival for- eign fabrics. Did they create that great trust Did they voluntarily subject themselves to this self-restriction, that the power should re- main in the Federal government inactive, unexecuted, and lifeless Mr. Madison, at the commencement of the government, told you otherwise. In discussing at that early period this very suoject, he declared that a failure to exercise this power would be a "fraud" upon the northern States, to which may now be added the middle and western States. [Governor Miller asked to wht.t expression of Mr. Madison's opinion Mr. Clay re- ferred; and Mr. Clay replied, his o' nion, expressed in the House of Representatives in 1789, as reported in Lloyd's Congiessional Debates.] Gentlemen are greatly deceived as to the hold which this system has in the affections of the people of the United States. They repre- sent that it is the policy of Neyv England, and that she is most bene- fitted by it. If there be any part of this Union which has been most steady, most unanimous, and most determined in its support, it is Pennsylvania. Why is not that powerful State attacked Why pan so0 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. her over, and aim the blow at New England New England came reluctantly into the policy. In 1824 a majority of her delegation was opposed to it. From the largest State of New England there was but a solitary vote in favor of the bill. That enterprising people can readily accommodate their industry to any policy, provided it be set- tled. They supposed this was fixed, and they submitted to the de- crees of government. And the progress of public opinion has kept pace with the developments of the benefits of the system. Now, all New England, at least in this house (with the exception of one small still voice) is in favor of the system. In 1824 all Maryland was against it; now the majority is for it. Then, Louisiana, with one exception, was opposed to it; now, without any exception, she is in favor of it. The march of public sentiment is to the South. Virginia will be the next convert; and in less than seven years, if there be no obstacles from political causes, or prejudices industriously instilled, the majority of eastern Virginia will be, as the majority of western Virginia now is, in favor of the American System. North Carolina will follow later, but not less certainly. Eastern Tennessee is now in favor of the system. And finally, its doctrines will pervade the whole Union, and the wonder will be, that they ever should have been opposed. I have now to proceed to notice some objections which have been urged against the resolution under consideration. With respect to the amendment which the gentleman from South Carolina has offered, as he has intimated his purpose to modify it, I shall forbear for the pre- sent to comment upon it. It is contended that the resolution propo-. ses the repeal of duties on luxuries, leaving those on necessaries to remain, and that it will, therefore, relieve the rich without lessening the burdens of the poor. And the gentlemen from South Carolina has carefully selected, for ludicrous effect, a number of the unprotect- ed articles, cosmetics, perfumes, oranges, c. I must say, that this exhibition of the gentleman is not in keeping with the candor which he has generally displayed; that he knows very well that the duties upon these articles are trifling, and that it is of little consequence whether they are repealed or retained. Both systems, the American and the foreign, comprehend some articles which may be deemed luxuries. The Senate knows that the unprotected articles which yield the principal part of the revenue, with which this measure would dispense, are coffee, tea, spices, wines, and silks. Of all these articles, 61 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. wines and silks alone can be pronounced to be luxuries; and] as to wines, we have already ratified a treaty, not yet promulgated, by which the duties on them are to be considerably reduced. If the universality of the use of objects of consumption determines their classification, coffee, tea, and spices, in present condition of civilized society, may be considered necessaries. Even if they were luxuries, why should not the poor, by cheapening their prices, if that can be effected, be allowed to use them Why should not a poor man be allowed to tie a silk handkerchief on his neck, occasionally regale himself with a glass of cheap French wine, or present his wife or daughter with a silk gown, to be worn on Sabbath or gala days I am quite sure that I do not misconstrue the feelings of the gentle- man's heart, in supposing that he would be happy to see the poor as well as the rich moderately indulging themselves in those innocent gratifications. For one, I am delighted to see the condition of the poor attracting the consideration of the opponents of the tariff. It is for the great body of the people, and especially for the poor, that I have ever supported the American System. It affords them profita- ble employment, and supplies the means of comfortable subsistence. It secures to them,certainly, necessaries of life, manufactured at home and places within their reach, and enables them to acquire a reasona- ble share of foreign luxuries; while the system of gentlemen promises them necessaries made in foreign countries, and which are beyond their power, and denies to them luxuries, which they would possess no means to purchase. The constant complaint of South Carolina against the tariff, is, that it checks importations, and disables foreign powers from pur- chasing the agricultural productions of the United States. The ef- fect of the resolution will be to increase importations, not so much, it is true from Great Britain, as from the other powers, but not the less acceptable on that account. It is a misfortune that so large a portion of our foreign commerce concentrates in one nation; it sub- jects us too much to the legislation and the policy of that nation, and exposes us to the influence of her numerous agents, factors, and mer- chants. And it is not among the smallest recommendations of the measure before the Senate, that its tendency will be to expand our commerce with France, our great revolutionary ally-the land of our Lafayette. There is much greater probability also, of an enlarge- ment of the present demand for cotton in France, than in Great 62 63 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. Bhitain. France engaged later in the manufacture of cotton, and has made, therefore, less progress. She has, moreover, no colonies pro- ducing the article in abundance, whose industry she might be tempt- .ed to encourage. The honorable gentleman from Maryland, (General Smith,) by his reply to a speech which, on the opening of the subject of this resolu- tion. I had occasion to make, has rendered it necessary that I should take some notice of his observations. The honorable gentleman stated that he had been accused of partiality to the manufacturing in- terest. Never was there a more groundless and malicious charge preferred against a calumniated man. Since this question has been agitated in the public councils, although I have often heard from him professions of attachment to this branch of industry, I have never known any member a more uniform, determined and uncompromising opponent of them, than the honorable Senator has invariably been. And if, hereafter, the calumny should be repeated, of his friendship to the American System, I shall be ready to furnish to him, in the most solemn manner, my testimony to his innocence. The honor- able gentleman supposed that I had advanced the idea that the perma- nent revenue of this country should be fixed at eighteen millions of dol- lars. Certainly I had no intention to announce such an opinion, nor do my expressions, fairly interpreted, imply it. I stated, on the oc- casion referred to, that, estimating the ordinary revenue of the coun- try at twenty-five millions, and the amount of the duties on the un- protected articles proposed to be repealed by the resolution, at seven millions, the latter sum taken from the former would leave eighteen. But I did not intimate any belief that the revenue of the country ought, for the future, to be permanently fixed at that or any other precise sum. I stated that, after having effected so great a reduc- tion, we might pause, cautiously survey the whole ground, and de- liberately determine upon other measures of reduction, some of which I indicated. And I now say, preserve the Protective System in full vigor; give us the proceeds of the public domain for internal im- provements, or if you please, partly for that object, and partly for the removal of the free blacks, with their own consent, from the United States; and for one, I have no objection to the reduction of the pub- lic revenue to fifteen, to thirteen, or even to nine millions of dollars In regard to the scheme of the Secretary of the Treasury for pay SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ing off the whole of the remaining public debt, by the 4th day of March 1833, including the three per cent., and for that purpose, sell- ing the bank stock, I had remarked that, with the exception of the three per cent., there was not more than about four millions of dol- lars of the debt due and payable within this year, that, to meet this, the Secretary had stated in his annual report, that the treasury would have, from the receipts of this year, fourteen millions of dollars, ap- plicable to the principal of the debt; that I did not perceive any ur gency for paying off the three per cent. by the precise day suggested: and that there was no necessity, according to the plans of the treasu- ry, assuming them to be expedient and proper, to postpone the repeal of the duties on unprotected articles. The gentleman from Mary- land imputed to me ignorance of the act of the 24th April 1830, ac- cording to which in his opinion the Secretary was obliged to pur- chase the three per cent. On what ground the Senator supposed I was ignorant of that act he has not stated. Although when it passed I was at Ashland, I assure him that I was not there altogether unin- formed of what was passing in the world. I regularly received the Register of my excellent friend (Mr. Niles,) published in Baltimore, the National Intelligencer, and other papers. There are two errors to which gentlemen are sometimes liable; one is to magnify the amount of knowledge which they possess themselves, and the second is to depreciate that which others have acquired. And will the gen- tleman from Maryland excuse me for thinking that no man is more prone to commit both errors than himself I will not say that he is ignorant of the true meaning of the act of 1830, but I certainly place a different construction upon it from what he does. It does not oblige the Secretary of the Treasury, or rather the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, to apply the surplus of any year to the purchase of the three per cent. stock particularly, but leaves them at liberty " to apply such surplus to the purchase of any portion of the public debt, at such rates as, in their opinion may be advantageous to the United States-" This vests a discretionary authority, to be exercised under official responsibility. And if any Secretary of the Treasury, when he had the option of purchasing a portion of the debt, bearing a high- er rate of interest at par or about par, were to execute the act by purchasing the three per cents., at its present price, he would merit impeachment. Undoubtedly a state of fact may exist, such as thert being no public debt remaining to be paid, but the three per cent stack, with a surplus in the treasury, idle and unproductive, in which 64 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. it might be expedient to apply that surplus to the reimbursement of the three per cents. But whilst the interest of money is at a greater rate than three per cent., it would not, I think, be wise to produce an accumulation of public treasure for such a purpose. The post- ponement of any reduction of the amount of the revenue, at this ses- sion, must however give rise to that very accummulation; and it is, therefore, that I cannot perceive the utility of the postponement. We are told by the gentleman from Maryland, that offers have been made to the Secretary of the Treasury to exchange three per cents. at their market price of ninety-six per cent. for the bank stock of the government at its market price, which is about one hundred and twenty-six, and he thinks it would be wise to accept them. If the charter of the Bank is renewed,that stock will be probably worth much more than its present price; if not renewed, much less. Would it be fair in government, while the question is pending and undecided, to make such an exchange The difference in value between a stock bearing three per cent. and one bearing seven per cent. must be really much greater than the difference between ninety-six and one hundred and twenty-six per cent. Supposing them to be perpetual annuities, the one would be worth more than twice the value of the other. But my objection to the treasury plan is, that it is not necessary to execute it-to continue these duties as the Secretary proposes. The Secre- tary has a debt of twenty-four millions to pay; he has from the ac- cruing receipts of this year fourteen millions, and we are now told by the Senator from Maryland, that this sum of fourteen millions is ex- clusive of any of the duties accruing this year. He proposes to raise eight millions by sale of the Bank stock, and to anticipate from the revenue receivable next year, two millions more. These three items then of fourteen millions, eight millions, and two millions, make up the sum required, of twenty-four millions, without the aid of the du- ties to which the resolution relates. The gentleman from Maryland insists that the general government has been liberal toward the West in its appropriations of public lands for internal improvements; and, as to fortifications, he contends that the expenditures near the mouth of the Mississippi are for its especial benefit. The appropriations of land to the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Alabama, have been liberal; but it is not to be overlook- ed, that the general government is itself the greatest proprietor of 65 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. land, and that a tendency of the improvements, which these appropri- ations were to effect, is to increase the value of the unsold public do- main. The erection of the fortifications for the defence of Louisiana, was highly proper; but the gentleman might as well place to the ac- count of the West, the disbursement for the fortifications intended to defend Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, to all which capitals western produce is sent, and in the security of all of which the west- ern people feel a lively interest. They do not object to expenditures for the army, for the navy, for fortifications, or for any other offensive or commercial object on the Atlantic, but they do think that their condition ought also to receive friendly attention from the general go- vernment. With respect to the State of Kentucky, not one cent of money, or one acre of land, has been applied to any object of internal improvement within her limits. The subscription to the stock of the canal at Louisville was for an object in which many States were in- terested. The Senator from Maryland complains that he has been unable to obtain any aid for the railroad which the enterprise of Bal- timore has projected,and in part executed. That was a great work, the conception of which was bold, and highly honorable, and it de- serves national encouragement. But how has the committee of roads and canals, at this session been constituted The Senator from Ma- ryland possessed a brief authority to organize it, and, if I am not mis- informed, a majority of the members composing it, appointed by him, are opposed both to the constitutionality of the power, and the expe- diency of exercising it. And now, sir, I would address a few words to the friends of the American System in the Senate. The revenue must-ought to be reduced. The country will not, after, by the payment of the public debt, ten or twelve millions of dollars become unnecessary, bear such an annual surplus. Its distribution would form a subject of perpetual contention. Some of the opponents of the system understand the stratagem by which to attack it, and are shaping their course accord- ingly. It is to crush the system by the accumulation of revenue, and by the effort to persuade the people that they are unnecessarily taxed, while those would really tax them who would break up the native sources of supply, and render them dependent upon the foreign. But the revenue ought to be reduced, so as to accommodate it to the fact of the payment of the public debt. And the alternative is or may be, to preserve the protecting system, and repeal the duties on the unpro- 66 IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. tected articles, or to preserve the duties on unprotected articles, and endanger if not destroy the system. Let us then adopt the measure before us, which will benefit all classes ; the farmer, the professional man, the merchaut, the manufacturer, the mechanic; and the cotton planter more than all. A few months ago there was no diversity of opinion as to the expediency of this measure. All, then, seemed to unite in the selection of these objects for a repeal of duties which were not produced within the country. Such a repeal did not touch! our domestic industry, violated no principle, offended no prejudice. Can we not all, whatever may be our favorite theories, cordially unite on this neutral ground When that is occupied, let us look be- yond it, and see if any thing can be done in the field of protection, to modify, to improve it, or to satisfy those who are opposed to the sys- tem. Our southern brethren believe that it is injurious to them, and ask its repeal. We believe that its abandonment will be prejudicial to them, and ruinous to every other section of the Union. However strong their convictions may be, they are not stronger than ours. Be- tween the points of the preservation of the system and its absolute repeal, there is no principle of union. If it can be shown to operate immoderately on any quarter-if the measure of protection to any article can be demonstrated to be undue and inordinate, it would be the duty of Congress to interpose and apply a remedy. And none will co-operate more heartily than I shall in the performance of that duty. It is quite probable that beneficial modifications of the system may be made without impairing its efficacy But to make it fulfill the purposes of its institution, the measure of protection ought to be adequate. If it be not, all interests will be injuriously affected. The manufacturer, crippled in his exertions, will produce less perfect and dearer fabrics, and the consumer will feel the consequence. This is the spirit, and these are the principles only, on which, it seems to matt, that a settlement of the great question can be made, satisfactorily tl "1I parts of our Union. 67 ON A NATIONAL BANK. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES-1811. (The course of Mr. CLAY, in regard to a National Bank has been a subject of extensive comment throughout the last ten years. All know that he opposed the Recharter of the first United States Bank in 1811; that he favored the creation of the second in 1816, and that he has ever since been an ardent and prominent cham- pion of such an institution. As this is the only topic of any moment on which Mr. CLAY, has seen occasion to change his opinions in the course of a long and active public life, we have chosen to present at one view his sentiments at each different period on this much controverted question. We give, therefore, in succession, his speech of 1811, the substance of his remarks in 1816, and his speech of 1832-as follows:] MR. PRESIDENT, when the subject involved in the motion now un- der consideration was depending before the other branch of the Legis- lature, a disposition to acquiesce in their decision was evinced. For although the committee who reported this bill had been raised many weeks prior to the determination of that House on the proposition to re-charter the Bank, except the occasional reference to it of memo- rials and petitions, we scarcely ever heard of it. The rejection, it is true, of a measure brought before either branch of Congress does not absolutely preclude the other from taking up the same proposition; but the economy of our time, and a just deference for the opinion of others, would seem to recommend a delicate and cautious exercise of this power. As this subject, at the memorable period when the charter was granted, called forth the best talents of the nation-as it has, on various occasions, undergone the most thorough investigation, and as we can hardly expect that it is susceptible of receiving any further elucidation, it was to be hoped that we should have been spared useless debate. This was the more desirable because there are, I conceive, much superior claims upon us for every hour of the small portion of the session yet remaining to us. Under the operation of these motives, I had resolved to give a silent vote, until I felt myself bound, by the defying manner of the arguments advanced in support ON A NATIONAL BANK. ot the renewal, to obey the paramount duties I owe my country and its constitution; to make one effort, however feeble, to avert the pas- sage of what appears to me a most unjustifiable law. After my hon- orable friend from Virginia (Wr. Giles) had instructed and amused us with the very able and ingenious argument which he delivered on yesterday, I should have still forborne to tresspass on the Senate, but for the extraordinary character of his speech. He discussed both sides of the question with great ability and eloquence, and certainly demonstrated to the satisfaction of all who heard him, both that it was constitutional and unconstitutional, highly proper and improper to prolong the charter of the bank. The honorable gentleman ap- peared to ine in the predicament in which the celebrated orator of Virginia, Patrick Henry, is said to have been once placed. Engaged in a most extensive and lucrative practice of the law, he mistook in one instance the side of the cause in which he was retained, and ad- dressed the court and jury in a very masterly and convincing speech in behalf of his antagonist. His distracted client came up to him whilst he was thus employed, and interrupting him, bitterly exclaim- ed, "you have undone me! You have ruined me!!"-" Never mind, give yourself no concern," said the adroit advocate; and turning to the court and jury continued his argument by observing, may it please your honors and you, gentlemen of the jury, I have been stat- ting to you what I presume my adversary may urge on his side. I will now show you how fallacious his reasoning and groundless his pretensions are." The skilful orator proceeded, satisfactorily refuted every argument he had advanced, and gained his cause! A success with which I trust the exertion of my honorable friend will on this occasion be crowned. It has been said by the honorable gentleman from Georgia, (Mr. Crawford) that this has been made a party question, although the law incorporating the Bank was passed prior to the formation of par- ties, and when Congress was not biased by party prejudices. (Mr. Crawford explained. He did not mean that it had been made a party ques- tion in the Senate. His allusion was elsewhere.] I do not think it altogether fair to refer to the discussions in the House of Representatives, as gentlemen belonging to that body have no oppor- tunity of defending themselves here. It is true that this law was not to 5 69 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the effect, but it is no less true that it was one of the causes of the po. litical divisions in this country. And, if, during the agitation of the present question, the renewal has, on one side, been opposed on party principles, let me ask if, on the other, it has not been advocated on similar principles Where is the Macedonian phalanx, the opposi- tion in Congress I believe, sir, I shall not incur the charge of pre- sumptuous prophecy, when I predict we shall not pick up from its ranks one single straggler! And if, on this occasion, my worthy friend from Georgia has gone over into the camp of the enemy, is it kind in him to look back upon his former friends, and rebuke them for the fidelity with which they adhere to their old principles I shall not stop to examine how far a representative is bound by the instructions of his constituents. That is a question between the giver and receiver of the instructions. But I must be permitted to express my surprise at the pointed difference which has been made between the opinions and instructions of State Legislatures, and the opinions and details of the deputations with which we have been sur- rounded from Philadelphia. Whilst the resolutions of those legisla- tures-known legitimate, constitutional and deliberative bodies-have been thrown into the back ground, and their interference regarded as officious, these delegations from self-created societies, composed of nobody knows whom, have been received by the committee with the utmost complaisance. Their communications have been treasured up with the greatest diligence. Never did the Delphic priests col- lect with more holy care the frantic expressions of the agitated Py- thia, or expound them with more solemnity to the astonished Gre- cians, than has the committee gathered the opinions and testimonies of these deputies, and through the gentleman from Massachusetts, pompously detailed them to the Senate! Philadelphia has her im- mediate representatives, capable of expressing her wishes upon the floor of the other house. If it be improper for States to obtrude upon Congress their sentiments, it is much more highly so for the unau- thorized deputies of fortuitous congregations. The first singular feature that attracts attention in this bill is the new and unconstitutional veto which it establishes. The constitution has required only, that after bills have passed the House of Repre- sentatives and the Senate, they shall be presented to the President for his approval or reiection, and his determination is to be made 70 ON A NATIONAL BANK. known in ten days. But this bill provides, that when all the con- stitutional sanctions are obtained, and when according to the usual routine of legislation it ought to be considered as a law, it is to be submitted to a new branch of the legislature, consisting of the Presi- dent and twenty-four Directors of the Bank of the United States, holding their sessions in Philadelphia, and if they please to approve it, why then it is to become a law ! And three months (the term allowed by our law of May last, to one of the great belligerents for revoking his edicts, after the other shall have repealed his) are grant- ed them. to decide whether an act of Congress shall be the law of the land or not! An act which is said to be indispensably necessary to our salvation, and without the passage of which universal distress and bankruptcy are to pervade the country. Remember, sir, that the honorable gentleman from Georgia has contended that this char- ter is no contract. Does it then become the representatives of the nation to leave the nation at the mercy of a corporation Ought the impending calamities to be left to the hazard of a contingent remedy This vagrant power to erect a Bank, after having wandered throughout the whole constitution in quest of some congenial spot to fasten upon, has been at length located by the gentleman from Geor- gia on that provision which authorizes Congress to lay and collect taxes, c. In 1791, the power is referred to one part of the instru- ment; in 1811, to another. Sometimes it is alleged to be deducible from the power to regulate commerce. Hard pressed here, it disap- pears and shows itself under the grant to coin money. The sagacious Secretary of the Treasury in 1791 pursued the wisest course-he has taken shelter behind general, high-sounding and imposing terms. He has declared, in the preamble establishing the Bank, that it will be very conducive to the successful conducting of the national finances; will tend to give facility to the obtaining of loans, and will be produc- tive of considerable advantage to trade and industry in general. No allusion is made to the collection of taxes. What is the nature of this government It is emphatically federal, vested with an aggregate of specified powers for general purposes, conceded by existing sovereign ties, who have themselves retained what is not so conceded. It is said that there are cases in which it must act on implied powers. This is not controverted, but the implication must be necessary, and obviously flow from the enumerated power with which it is allied. The power to charter companies is not specified in the grant, and I 71 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. contend is of a nature not transferable by mere implication. It is one of the most exalted attributes of sovereignty. In the exercise of this gigantic power, we have seen an East India Company created, which has carried dismay, desolation, and death, throughout one of the largest portions of the habitable world. A company which is in itself a sovereignty--whizh has subverted empires, and set up new dynas- ties, and has not only made war, but war against its legitimate sove- reign! Under the influence of this power, we have seen arise a South Sea Company, and a Mississippi Company, that distracted and con- vulsed all Europe, and menaced a total overthrow of all credit and confidence, and universal bankruptcy. Is it to be imagined that a power so vast would have been left by the wisdom of the constitu- tion to doubtful inference It has been alleged that there are many instances in the constitution,where powers in their nature incidental, and which would have necessarily been vested along with the princi- pal, are nevertheless expressly enumerated; and the power " to make rules and regulations for the government of the land and naval forces," which it is said is incidental to the power to raise armies and provide a navy, is given as an example. What does this prove How ex- tremely cautious the convention were to leave as little as possible to implication. In all cases where incidental powers are acted upon, the principal and incidental ought to be congenial with each other, and partake of a common nature. The incidental power ought to be strictly subordinate and limited to the end proposed to be attained by the specified power. In other words, under the name of accom- plishing one object which is specified, the power implied ought not to be made to embrace other objects, which are not specified in the con- stitution. If then you could establish a bank to collect and distribute the revenue, it ought to be expressly restricted to the purpose of such collection or distribution. It is mockery, worse than usurpation, to establish it for a lawful object, and then to extend it to other objects .which are not lawful. In deducing the power to create corporations, uch as I have described it, from the power to collect taxes, the rela- tion and condition of principal and incident are prostrated and destroy- ed. The accessory is exalted above the principal. As well might it be said that the great luminary of to-day is an accessory, a satelite to the humblest star that twinkles forth its feeble light in the firmament of heaven ! Suppose the constitution had been silent as to an individual depart- 72 ON A NATIONAL BANK ment of this government, could you, under the power to lay and col- lect taxes, establish a judiciary I presume not; but if you could derive the power by mere implication, could you vest it with any other authority than to enforce the collection of the revenue A bank is made for the ostensible purpose of aiding in the collection of the revenue, and while it is engaged in this, the most inferior and subordi- nate of all its functions, it is made to diffuse itself throughout society, and to influence all the great operations of credit, circulation, an( commerce. Like the Virginiajustice, you tell the man whose turkey had been stolen, that your books of precedents furnish no form for his case, but then you will grant him a precept to search for a cow, and when looking for that he may possibly find his turkey! You say to this corporation-we cannot authorize you to discount, to emit paper, to regulate commerce, c. No! Our book has no. precedents of that kind. But then we can authorize you to collect the revenue, and while occupied with that, you may do whatever else you please! What is a corporation, such as the bill contemplates It is a splen- did association of favored individuals, taken from the mass of society, and invested with exemptions, and surrounded by immunities and privileges. The honorable gentleman from Massachusetts, (Pir. Lloyd,) has said that the original law, establishing the Bank, was justly liable to the objection of vesting in that institution an exclusive privilege, the faith of the government being pledged that no other bank should be authorized during its existence. This objection he supposes is obviated by the bill under consideration; but all corpora- tions enjoy exclusive privileges-that is, the corporators have privi- leges which no others possess: if you create fifty corporations instead of one, you have only fifty privileged bodies instead of one. I con- tend that the States have the exclusive power to regulate contracts, to declare the capacities and incapacities to contract, and to provide as to the extent of responsibility of debtors to their creditors. If Con gress have the power to erect an artificial body, and say it shall be endowed with the attributes of an individual-if you can bestow on this object of your own creation the ability to contract, may you not, ia contravention of State rights, confer upon your slaves, infants, and femmes covert the ability to contract And if you have the power to say that an association of individuals shall be responsible for their debts only in a certain limited degree, what is to prevent an exten- sion of a similar exemption to individuals Where is the limitation 73 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. upon this power to set up corporations You establish one in the heart of a State, the basis of whose capital is money. You may erect others whose capital shall consist of land, slaves, and personal estates, and thus the whole property within the jurisdiction of a State might be absorbed by these political bodies. The existing Bank contends that it is beyond the power of a State to tax it, and if this pretension be well founded, it is in the power of Congress, by chartering compa- nies, to dry up all the sources of State revenue. Georgia has under- taken, it is true, to levy a tax on the branch within her jurisdiction; but this law, now under a course of litigation, is considered as invalid. The United States own a great deal of land in the State of Ohio. Can this government, for the purpose of creating an ability to pur- chase it, charter a company Aliens are forbidden, I believe, in that State, to hold real estate-could you, in order to multiply purchasers, confer upon them the capacity to hold land, in derogation of the local law I imagine this will hardly be insisted upon; and yet there ex- ists a more obvious connexion between the undoubted power which is possessed by this government, to sell its land, and the means of executing that power, by increasing the demand in the market, than there is between this Bank and the collection of a tax. This govern- ment has the power to levy taxes, to raise armies, provide a navy, make war, regulate commerce, coin money, c., c. It would not be difficult to show as intimate a connexion between a corporation, established for any purpose whatever, and some one or other of those great powers, as there is between the revenue and the Bank of the United States. Let us inquire into the actual participation of this bank in the col- lection of the revenue. Prior to the passage of the act of 1800, re- quiring the collectors of those ports of entry at which the principal bank, or any of its offices are situated, to deposit with them the cus- tom-house bonds, it had not the slightest agency in the collection of Jhe duties. During almost one moiety of the period to which the existence of this institution was limited, it was nowise instrumental in the collection of that revenue, to which it is now become indis- pensable ! The collection previous to 1800, was made entirely by the collectors; and even at present, where there is one port of entry, at which this bank is employed, there are eight or ten at which the collection is made as it was before 1800. And, sir, what does this bank or its branches, where resort is had to it It does not adjust 74 ON A NATIONAL BANK. with the merchant the amount of duty, nor take his bond, nor, if the bond is not paid, coerce the payment, by distress cr otherwise. In fact, it has no active agency whatever in the collection. Its opera- tion is merely passive; that is, if the obligor, after his bond is placed in the bank, discharges it, all is very well. Such is the mighty aid afforded by this tax-gatherer, without which the government cannot get along! Again, it is not pretended that the very limited assis- tance which this institution does in truth render, extends to any other than a single species of tax, that is, duties. In the collection of the excise, the direct and other internal taxes, no aid was derived from any bank. It is true, in the collection of those taxes, the farmer did not obtain the same indulgence which the merchant receives in pay- ing duties. But what obliges Congress to give credit at all Could it not demand prompt payment of the duties And, in fact, does it not so demand, in many instances Whether credit is given or not, is a matter merely of discretion. If it be a facility to mercantile ope- rations, (as I presume it is) it ought to be granted. But I deny the right to engraft upon it a bank, which you would not otherwise have the power to erect. You cannot create the necessity of a bank, and then plead that necessity for its establishment. In the adminiztration of the finances, the bank acts simply as a payer and receiver. The Secretary of the Treasury has money in New York and wants it in Charleston-the bank will furnish him with a check, or bill, to make the remittance, which any merchant would do just as well. I will now proceed to show by fact, actual experience, not theo- retic reasoning, but by the records themselves of the treasury, that the operations of that department may be as well conducted without as with this bank. The delusion has consisted in the use of certain high-sounding phrases, dexterously used on the occasion-" the col- lection of the revenue"-" the administration of the finance"-" the conducting of the fiscal affairs of the government," the usual lan- guage of the advocates of the bank, extort express assent, or awe into acquiescence, without inquiry or examination into its necessity. About the commencement of this year, there appears, by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury of the 7th of January, to haye been a little upwards of two millions and four hundred thousand dollars in the treasury of the United States; and more than one-third of this whole sum was in the vaults of local banks. In several instances where opportunities existed of selecting the bank, a preference has 75 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. been given to the State bank, or at least a portion of the deposits has been made with it. In New York, for example, there was deposited with the Manhattan Bank 188,970, although a branch bank is in that city. In this district, 115,080 were deposited with the Bank of Columbia, although here also is a branch bank, and yet the State banks are utterly unsafe to be trusted! If the money, after the bonds are collected, is thus placed with these banks, I presume there can be no difficulty in placing the bonds themselves there, if they must be deposited with some bank for collection, which I deny. Again, one of the most important and complicated branches of the treasury department, is the management of our landed system. The sales have, in some years, amounted to upwards of half a million of dollars-are genrally made upon credit, and yet no bank whatever is made use of to facilitate the collection. After it is made, the amount, in some instances, has been deposited with banks, and, according to the Secretary's report, which I have before adverted to, the amount so deposited was, in January, upwards of three hundred thousand dollars, not one cent of which was in the vaults of the Bank of the United States, or in any of its branches, but in the Bank of Pennsyl- vania, its branch at Pittsburgh, the Marietta Bank, and the Kentucky Bank. Upon the point of responsibility, I cannot subscribe to the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury, if it is meant that the ability to pay the amount of any deposits which the government may make, under any exigency, is greater than that of the State banks; that the accountability of a ramified institution, whose affairs are managed by a single head, responsible for all its members, is more simple than that of a number of independent and unconnected establishments, I shall not deny; but, with regard to safety, I am strongly inclined to think it is on the side of the local banks. The corruption or miscon- duct of the parent, or any of its branches, may bankrupt or destroy the whole system, and the loss of the government, in that event, will be of the deposits made with each; whereas, in the failure of one State bank, the loss will be confined to the deposit in the vault of that bank. It is said to have been a part of Burr's plan to seize on the branch bank at New Orleans. At that period large sums, im- ported from La Vera Cruz, are alledged to have been deposited with it, and if the traitor had accomplished the design, the Bank of the United States, if not actually bankrupt, might have been constrained to stop payment. 76 ON A NATIONAL BANK. It is urged by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lloyd,) that as this nation advances in commerce, wealth and population, new energies will be unfolded, new wants and exigences will arise, and hence he infers that powers miust be implied from the consti- tution. But, sir, the question is, shall we stretch the instrument to embrace cases not fairly within its scope, or shall we resort to that remedy, by amendment, which the constitution prescribes Gentlemen contend that the construction which they give to the constitution has been acquiesced in by all parties, and under all admin- istrations; and they rely particularly on an act which passed in 1804, for extending a branch to New Orleans; and another act of 1S07, for punishing those who should forge or utter forged paper of the Bank. With regard to the first law, passed no doubt upon the recommenda- tion of the treasury department, I would remark, that it was the ex- tension of a branch to a territory over which Congress possesses the power of legislation almost uncontrolled, and where, without any constitutional impediment, charters of corporation may be granted As to the other act, it was passed no less for the benefit of the com- munity than the Bank-to protect the ignorant and unwary from counterfeit paper, purporting to have been emitted by the Bank. When gentlemen are claiming the advantage supposed to be deduci- ble from acquiescence, let me inquire what they would have had those to do who believed the establishment of a Bank an encroach- ment upon State rights Were they to have resisted, and how By force Upon the change of parties in 1800, it must be well recol- lected that the greatest calamities were predicted as a consequence of that event. Intentions were ascribed to the new occupants of power, of violating the public faith, and prostrating national credit. Under such circumstances, that they should act with great circumspection, was quite natural. They saw in full operation, a bank chartered by a Congress who had as much right to judge of their constitutional powers as their successors. Had they revoked the law which gave it existence, the institution would, in all probability, continued to transact business notwithstanding. The judiciary would have been appealed to, and from the known opinions and predilections of the iudges then composing it, they would have pronounced the act of incorporation as in the nature of a contract, beyond the repealing power of any succeeding legislature. And, sir, what a scene of con- fusiou would such a state of things have presented-an act of Coro. 77 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. gress, which was law in the statute book, and a nullity on the judicial records! was it not the wisest to wait the natural dissolution of the corporation rather than accelerate that event by a repealing law in- volving so many delicate considerations When gentlemen attempt to carry this measure upon the ground of acquiescence or precedent, do they forget that we are not in West- minster Hall In courts of justice, the utility of uniform decision, exacts of the judge a conformity to the adjudication of his predeces- sor. In the interpretation and administration of the law, this practice is wise and proper, and without it, every thing depending upon the caprice of the judge, we should have no security for our dearest rights. It is far otherwise when applied to the source of legislation. Here no rule exists but the constitution, and to legislate upon the ground merely that our predecessors thought themselves authorized, under similar circumstances, to legislate, is to sanctify error and to perpetu- ate usurpation. But if we are to be subjected to the trammels of precedent, I claim on the other hand, the benefit of the restrictions under which the intelligent judge cautiously receives them. It is an established rule, that to give a previous adjudication any effect, the mind of the judge who pronounced it, must have been awakened to the subject, and it must have been a deliberate opinion, formed after full argument. In technical language, it must not have been sub vikentio. Now the acts of 1S04 and 1807, relied upon as pledges for the rechartering this company, passed not only without any discus- sion whatever of the constitutional power of Congress to establish a Bank, but l venture to say, without a single member having had his attention drawn to this question. I had the honor of a seat in the Senate, when the latter law passed, probably voted for it, and I de- clare with the utmost sincerity, that I never once thought of that point, and I appeal confidently to every honorable member who was then present, to say if that was not his situation. This doctrine of precedents, applied to the legislature, appears to me to be fraught with the most mischievous consequences. The great advantage of our system of government over all others, is, that we have a written constitution, defining its limits, and prescribing its authorities; and, that, however, for a time, faction may convulse the nation, and passion and party prejudice sway its functionaries, the fason of reflection, will recur, when calmly retracing their deeds, 78 ON A NATIONAL BANK. all aberrations from fundamental principle will be corrected. But once substitute practice for principle-the exposition of the constitu- tion for the text of the constitution, and in vain shall we look for the instrument in the instrument itself! It will be as diffused and intan- gible as the pretended constitution of England :-and must be sought for in the statute book, in the fugitive journals of Congress, and in reports of the Secretary of the Treasury ! What would be our con- dition if we were to take the interpretations given to that sacred book, which is, or ought to be, the criterion of our faith, for the book itself We should find the Holy Bible buried beneath the interpre- tations, glosses, and comments of councils, synods, and learned di- -vines, which have produced swarms of intollerant and furious sects, partaking less of the mildness and meekness of their origin than of a vindictive spirit of hostility towards each other! They ought to af- ford us a solemn warning to make thatconstiution which we have sworn to support, our invariable guide. I conceive then, sir, that we were not empowered by the constitu- tion, nor bound by any practice under it, to renew the charter of this Bank, and I might here rest the argument. But as there are strong objections to the renewal on the score of expediency, dnd as the dis- tresses which will attend the dissolution of the Bank, have been greatly exaggerated, I will ask for your indulgence for a few mo- ments longer. That some temporary inconvenience will arise, I shall not deny; but most groundlessly have the recent failures in New York been attributed to the discontinuance of this Bank. As well might you ascribe to that cause the failures of Amsterdam and Ham- burg, of London and Liverpool. The embarrassments of commerce -the sequestrations in France-the Danish captures-in fine, the belligerent edicts, are the obvious sources of these failures. Their immediate cause in the return of bills upon London, drawn upon the faith of unproductive or unprofitable shipments. Yes, sir, the pro- tests of the notaries of London, not those of New York, have occa- sioned these bankruptcies. The power of a nation is said to consist in the sword and the purse Perhaps at last all power is resolvable into that of the purse, for with it you may command almost every thing else. The specie circula- tion of the United States is estimated by some calculators at ten mil- lions of dollars, and if it be no more, one moiety is in the vaults of 79 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. this Bank. May not the time arrive when the concentration of such a vast portion of the circulating medium of the country in the hands of any corporation, will be dangerous to our liberties By whom is this immense power wielded By a body, who, in derogation of the great principle of all our institutions, responsibility to the people, is amenable only to a few stockholders, and they chiefly foreigners. Suppose an attempt to subvert this government-would not the trai- tor first aim by force or corruption to acquire the treasure of this company Look at it in another aspect. Seven-tenths of its capital are in the hands of foreigners, and these foreigners chiefly English subjects. We are possibly on the eve of a rupture with that nation. Should such an event occur, do you apprehend that the English pre- mier would experience any difficulty in obtaining the entire control of this institution Republics, above all other governments, ought most seriously to guard against foreign influence. All history proves that the internal dissentions excited by foreign intrigue, have produced the downfall of almost every free government that bas hitherto existed; and yet, gentlemen contend that we are benefitted by the possession of this foreign capital ! If we could have its use, without its attending abuse, I should be gratified alsq But it is in vain to expect the one without the other. Wealth is power, and, under whatsoever form it exists, its proprietor, whether he lives on this or the other side of the Atlantic, will have a proportionate influ- ence. It is argued that our possession of this English capital gives us a great influence over the British government. If this reasoning be sound, we had better revoke the interdiction as to aliens holding land, and invite foreigners to engross the whole property, real and personal, of the country. We had better at once exchange the con- dition of independent proprietors for that of stewards. We should then be able to govern foreign nations, according to the reasoning of the gentleman on the other side. But let us put aside this theory, and appeal to the decisions of experience. Go to the other side of the Atlantic, and see what has been achieved for us there by Eng- lishmen holding seven-tenths of the capital of this Bank. Has it re- leased from galling and ignominious bondage one solitary American seaman bleeding under British oppression Did it prevent the un. manly attack upon the Chesapeake Did it arrest the promulgation, or has it abrogated the orders of council-those orders which have given birth to a new era in commerce In spite of all its boasted effect, are not the two nations brought to the very brink of war so ON A NATIONAL BANK 81 Are we quite sure, that on this side of the water, it has had no ef- fect favorable to British interests It has often been stated, and although I do not know that it is susceptible of strict proof, I believe it to be a fact that this Bank exercised its influence in support of Jay's treaty-and may it not have contributed to blunt the public sentiment, or paralyze the efforts of this nation against British ag- gression. The duke of Northumberland is said to be the most considerable stockholder in the Bank of the United States. A late lord chancel- lor of England besides other noblemen, was a large stockholder. Suppose the prince of Essling, the duke of Cadore, and other French dignitaries owned seven-eighths of the capital of the Bank, should we witness the same exertions (I allude not to any made in the Senate) to re-charter it So far from it, would not the danger of French influence be resounded throughout the nation I shall therefore give my most hearty assent to the motion for atri- king out the first section of the bill. ON THE BANK CHARTER. AT LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, JUNE 3, 1816. [Mr. CLAY'S speech on the question of chartering the Bank of the United States in 1816 was not reported; but in an Address to his Constituents, published in the Ken. tacky Gazette, Lexington, June 3d, 1816, he gave the substance of it, as follows :] ON one subject, that of the Bank of the United States, tg which, at the late session iof Congress, I gave my humble support, I feel particularly anxious to explain the grounds on which I acted. This explanation, if not due to my own character, the State and district to which I belong have a right to demand. It would have been unne- cessary, if my observations, addressed to the House i of Renresenta- tives, pending the measure, had been published; but they were not published, and why they were not published, I am unadvised. When I was a member of the Senate of the United States, I was induced to oppose the renewal of the charter of the old Bank of the United States, by three general considerations. The first was, that I was instructed to oppose it by the Legislature of the State. What were the reasons that operated with the Legislature, in giving the instruction, I do not know. I have understood from members of that body, at the time it was given, that a clause, declaring that Congress had no power to grant the charter, was stricken out; from which it might be inferred, either that the Legislature did not believe a bank unconstitutional, or that it had formed no opinion on that point. This inference derives additional strength from the fact, that, although tie two late Senators from this State, as well as the present Senators, voted for a National Bank, the Legislature, which must have been well apprised that such a measure was in contemplation, did not again interpose, either to protest against the measure itself, or to censure the conduct of those Senators. From this silence on the part of a body which has' ever fixed a watchful eye upon the pro- aN THE BANK CHARTER. ceedings of the general government, I bad a right to believe that the Legislature of Kentucky saw, without dissatisfaction, the proposal to establish a National Bank; and that its opposition to the foimer one was upon grounds of expediency, applicable to that corporation alone, or no longer existing. But when, at the last session, the question came up as to the establishment of a National Bank, being a member of the House of Representatives, the point of inquiry with me was not so much what was the opinion of the Legislature, although un doubtedly the opinion of a body so respectable would have great weight with me under any circumstances, as what were the senti- ments of my immediate constituents. These I believed to be in favor of such an institution, from the following circumstances: In the first place, my predecessor, (Mr. Hawkins) voted for a National Bank, without the slightest murmur of discontent. Secondly, during the last fall, when I was in my district, I conversed freely with many of my constituents upon that subject, then the most common topic of conversation, and all, without a single exception as far as I recollect, agreed that it was a desirable, if not the only efficient remedy, for the alarming evils in the currency of the country. And lastly, during the session I received many letters from my constituents, prior to the pas- sage of the bill, all of which concurred, I believe without a solitary exception, in advising the measure. So far, then, from being instruct- ed by my district to oppose the bank, I had what was perhaps tanta- nount to an instruction to support it-the acquiescence of my con- stituents in the vote of their former representative, and the communi- cations, oral and written, of the opinions of many of them in favor of a bank. The next consideration which induced me to oppose the renewal of the old charter, was, that I believed the corporation had, during a portion of the period of its existence, abused its powers, and had sought to subserve the views of a political party. Instances of its oppression for that purpose were asserted to have occurred at Phila- delphia and at Charleston; and, although denied in Congress by the friends of the institution during the discussions on the application for the renewal of the charter, they were, in my judgment, satisfactorily made out. This oppression, indeed, was admitted in the House of Representatives, in the debate on the present bank, by a distinguished member of that party which had so warmly espoused the renewal of the old charter. It may be said, what security is there that the new 83 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. bank will not imitate this example of oppression I answer, the fate of the old bank warning all similar institutions to shun politics, with which they ought not to have any concern; the existence of abundant competition, arising from the multiplication of banks, and the precautions which are to be found in the details of the present bill A third consideration, under which I acted in is] 1, was that, as the power to create a corporation, such as was proposed to be con- tinued, was not specifically granted in the constitution, and did not then appear to me to be necessary to carry into effect any of the powers which were specifically granted, Congress was not authorized to continue the bank. The constitution contains powers delegated and prohibitory, powers expressed and constructive. It vests in Congress all powers necessary to give effect to enumerated powers- all that may be necessary to put into motion and activity the machine of government which it constructs. The powers that may be so ne- cessary are deducible by construction. They are not defined in the constitution. They are, from their nature, indefinable. When the question is in relation to one of these powers, the point of inquiry should be, is its exertion necessary to carry into effect any of the enumerated powers and objects of the general government With regard to the degree of necessity, various rules have been, at different times, laid down; but, perhaps, at last, there is no other than a sound and honest judgment exercised, under the checks and control which belong to the constitution and to the people. The constructive powers, being auxiliary to the specifically granted powers, and depending, for their sanction and existence, upon a neces- sity to give effect to the latter, which necessity is to be sought for and ascertained by a sound and honest discretion, it is manifest that this necessity may not be perceived, at one time, under one state of things, when it is perceived at another time, under a different state of things. The constitution, it is true, never changes; it is always the same; but the force of circumstances and the lights of experience may evolve to the fallible persons, charged with its administration, the fitness and necessity of a particular exercise of a constructive power to-day, which they did not see at a former period. When the application was made to renew the old charter of the Bank of the United States, such an institution did not appear to me 84 ON THE BANK CHARTER. to be so necessary to the fulfillment of any of the objects specifically enumerated in the constitution as to justify Congress in assuming, by construction, power to establish it. It was supported mainly upon the ground that it was indispensable to the treasury operations. But the local institutions in the several States were at that time in pros- perous existence, confided in by the community, having a confidence in each other, and maintaining an intercourse and connexion the most intimate. Many of them were actually employed by the treasury to aid that department, in a part of its fiscal arrangements, and they appeared to me to be fully capable of affording to it all the facility that it ought to desire in all of them. They superseded, in my judg- ment, the necessity of a national institution. But how stands the case in 1S16, when I am called upon again to examine the power of the general government to incorporate a National Bank A total change of circumstances is presented. Events of the utmost magni- tude have intervened. A general suspension of specie payments has taken place, and this has led to a train of consequences of the most alarming nature. I behold, dispersed over the immense extent of the United States, about three hundred banking institutions, enjoying, in different de- grees, the confidence of the public, shaken as to them all, under no direct control of the general government, and subject to no actual re- sponsibility to the State authorities. These institutions are emitting the actual currency of the United States; a currency consisting of a paper, on which they neither pay interest nor principal, while it is exchanged for the paper of the community, on which both are paid. I see these institutions, in fact, exercising what has been considered, at all times and in all countries, one of the highest attributes of sov- ereignty, the regulation of thekcurrent medium of the country. They are no longer competent to assist the treasury in either of the great operations of collection, deposit, or distribution of the public revenues. In fact, the paper which they emit, and which the treasury, from the force of events, finds itself constrained to receive, is constantly ob- structing the operations of that department. For it will accumulate where it is not wanted, and cannot be used where it is wanted for the purposes of government, without a ruinous and arbitrary broker- age. Every man who pays or receives from the government, pays or receives as much less than he ought, as is the difference between the medium in which the payment is effected, and specie. Taxes are no 6 85 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. longer uniform. In New England, where specie payments have not been suspended, the people are called upon to pay larger contribu tions than where they are suspended. In Kentucky, as much more is paid by the people in their taxes than is paid, for example, in the State of Ohio, as Kentucky paper is worth more than Ohio paper. It appears to me that, in this condition of things, the general gov- erminent can no longer depend upon these local institutions, multiplied and multiplying daily-coming into existence by the breath of eighteen State sovereignties, some of which, by a single act of volition, havse created twenty or thirty at a time. Even if the resumption of specie payments could be anticipated, the general government remaining passive, it does not seem to me that the general government ought longer to depend upon these local institutions exclusively for aid in its operations. But I do not believe it can be justly so anticipated. It is not the interest of all of them that the renewal shall take place of specie payments, and yet, without concert between all or most of them, it cannot be effected. With regard to those disposed to return to a regular state of things, great difficulties may arise, as to the time of its commencement. Considering, then, that the state of the currency is such that no tninking man can contemplate it without the most serious alarm, that it threatens general distress, if it does not ultimately lead to convul- sion and subversion of the government, it appears to me to be the duty of Congress to apply a remedy, if a remedy can be devised. A National Bank, with other auxiliary measures, is proposed as that remedy. I determined to examine the question, with as little preju- dice as possible arising from my former opinion. I know that the safest course for me, if I were to pursue a cold, calculating policy, is to adhere to that opinion, right or wrong. I am perfectly aware that if I change or seem to change it, I shall expose myself to some cen- sure. But, looking at the subjet with the light shed upon it by events which have happened since the commencement of the war, I can no longer doubt. A Bank appears to me not only necessary, but indis pensably necessary, in connexion with another measure, to remedy the evils of which all are but too sensible. I prefer, to the sugges- tions of the pride of consistency, the evident interests of the commu- nity. and am determined to throw myself upon their candor and jus- tice. That which appeared to me in 1811, under the state of things 836 ON THE BANK CHARTER. then existing, not to be necessary to the general government, seems now to be necessary, under the present state of things. Had I then foreseen what now exists, and no objection had laid against the re- newal of the charter, I should have voted for the renewal. Other provisions of the constitution, but little noticed, if noticed at all, on the discussions in Congress in 1811, would seem to urge that body to exert all its powers to restore to a sound state the money of the country. That instrument confers upon Congress the power to coin money, and to regulate the value of foreign coins; and the States are prohibited to coin money, to emit bills of credit, or to make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. The plain inference is, that the subject of the general currency is in- tended to be submitted exclusively to the general government. In point of fact, however, the regulation of the general currency is in the hands of the State governments, or, which is the same thing, of the banks created by them. Their paper has every quality of money except that of being a tender, and even this is imparted to it by some States, in the law by which a creditor must receive it, or submit to a ruinous suspension of the payment of his debt. It is incumbent upon Cong-ress to recover the control which it has lost over the general currency. The remedy called for is one of caution and moderation, but of firmness. Whether a remedy, directly acting upon the banks and their paper thrown into circulation, is in the power of the gen- eral government or not, neither Congress nor the community are pre- pared for the application of such a remedy. An indirect remedy, of a milder character, seems to be furnished by a National Bank. Going into operation with the powerful aid of the Treasury of the United States, I believe it will be highly instrumental in the renewal of specie payments. Coupled with the other measure adopted by Congress for that object, I believe the remedy effectual. The local banks must follow the example, which the National Bank will set them, of re- deeming their notes by the payment of specie, or their notes will be discredited and put down. If the constitution, then, warrants the establishment of a Bank, other considerations, besides those already mentioned, strongly urge it. The want of a general medium is everywhere felt. Exchange varies continually, not only between different parts of the Union, but betweeen different parts of the same city. If the paper of a National 87 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Bank is not redeemed in specie, it will be much better than the cur rent paper, since, although its value, in comparison with specie, may fluctuate, it will afford an uniform standard. If political power be incidental to banking corporations, there ought perhaps to be in the general government some counterpoise to that which is exerted by the States. Such a counterpoise might not in- deed be so necessary, if the States exercised the power to incorporate banks equally, or in proportion to their respective populations. But this is not the case. A single State has a banking capital equivalent, or nearly so, to one-fifth of the whole banking capital of the United States. In the event of any convulsion, in which the distribution of banking institutions might be important, it may be urged that the mischief would not be alleviated by the creation of a National Bank, since its location must be within one of the States. But in this re- spect the location of the Bank is extremely favorable, being in one of the middle States, not likely, from its position as well as its loyalty, to concur in any scheme for subverting the government. And a suf- ficient security against such contingency is to be found in the distri- bution of branches in different States, acting and reacting upon the parent institution, and upon each other t88 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, JULY 12, 1832. 1 HAVE some observations to submit on this question, which I would not trespass on the Senate in offering, but that it has some command of leisure, in consequence of the conference which has been agreed upon in respect to the tariff. A bill to recharter the bank has recently passed Congress, after much deliberation. In this body, we know that there are members enough who entertain no constitutional scruples, to make, with the vote by which the bill was passed, a majority of two-thirds. In the House of Representatives, also, it is believed, there is a like majority in favor of the bill. Notwithstanding this state of things, the Presi- dent has rejected the bill, and transmitted to the Senate an elaborate message, communicating at large his objections. The constitution requires that we should reconsider the bill, and that the question of its passage, the President's objections notwithstanding, shall be taken by ayes and noes. Respect to him, as well as the injunctions of the constitution, require that we should deliberately examine his reasons, and reconsider the question. The veto is an extraordinary power, which, though tolerated by the constitution, was not expected, by the convention, to be used in ordinary cases. It was designed for instances of precipitate legisla- tion, in unguarded moments. Thus restricted, and it has been thus restricted by all former Presidents, it might not be mischievous. Dur- ing Mr. Madison's administration of eight years, there occurred but two or three cases of its exercise. During the last administration I (10 not now recollect that it was once. In a period little upwards of three years, the present Chief Magistrate has employed the veto four times. We now hear quite frequently, in the progress of measures SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. through Congress, the statement that the President will veto them urged as an objection to their passage. The veto is hardly reconcileable with the genius of representative government. It is totally irreconcileable with it, if it is to be fre- quently employed in respect to the expediency of measures, as well as their constitutionality. It is a feature of our government borrowed from a prerogative of the British king. And it is remarkable that in England it has grown obsolete, not having been used for upwards of a century. At the commencement of the Freneh revolution, in dis- cusssing the principles of their constitution, in national convention, the veto held a conspicuous figure. . The gay, laughing population of Paris bestowed on the king the appellation of Monsieur Veto, and on the queen, that of Madame Veto. The convention finally decreed that if a measure rejected by the king should obtain the sanction of two concurring legislatures, it should be a law, notwithstanding the veto. In the constitution of Kentucky, and perhaps in some other of the State constitutions, it is provided that if, after the rejection of a bill by the Governor, it shall be passed by a majority of all the members elected to both Houses, it shall become a law, notwithstand- ing the Governor's objections. As a co-ordinate branch of the gov- ernment, the chief magistrate has great weight. If, after a respect- ful consideration of his objections urged against a bill, a majority of all the members elected to the legislature shall still pass it, notwith- standing his official influence and the force of his reasons, ought it not to become a law Ought the opinion of one man to overrule that of a legislative body twice deliberately expressed It cannot be imagined that the convention contemplated the appli- cation of the veto to a question which has been so long, so often, and so thoroughly scrutinized, as that of the Bank of the United States, by every department of the government, in almost every stage of its existence, and by the people, and by the State legislatures. Of all the controverted questions which have sprung up under our govern- ment, not one has been so fully investigated as that of its power to establish a Bank of the United States. More than seventeen years ago, in January, 1815, Mr. Madison then said, in a message to the Senate of the United States: " Waiving the question of the constitutional authority of the Legislature to estak 90 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. lish 'ab incorporated Bank, as being precluded, in my judgment, by repeated recog. 'ititons, under varied circumstances, of the validity of such an institution, in acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches ot the government, accompanied by indications, in different modes, of a concurrence of the general will of the nation. Mr. Madison, himself opposed to the first Bank of the United States, yielded his own convictions to those of the nation, and all the departments of the government thus often expressed. Subae- quent to this true but strong statement of the case, the present Bank of the United States was established, and numerous other acts, of all the departments of government, manifesting their settled sense of the power, have been added to those which existed prior to the date of Mr. Madison's message. No question has been more generally discussed, within the last two years, by the people at large, and in State Legislatures, than that of the Bank. And this consideration of it has been prompted by the President himself. In his first message to Congress, (in December, 1S29,) he brought the subject to the view of that body and the nation and expressly declared, that it could not, for the interest of all con- cerned, be "1 too soon" settled. In each of his subsequent annual mes- sages, in 1830 and 1831, he again invited the attention of Congress to the subject. Thus, after an interval of two years, and after the inter- vention of the election of a new Congress, the President proposes to renew the charter of the Bank of the United States. And yet his friends now declare the agitation of the question to be premature ! It was not premature in 1829 to present the question, but it is pre- mature in 1832 to consider and decide it ! After the President had directed public attention to this question, it became uot only a topic of popular conversation, but was discussed in the press and employed as a theme in popular elections. I was myself interrogated, on more occasions than one, to make a public expression of my sentiments; and a friend of mine in Kentucky, a candidate for the State Legislature, told me near two years ago, that he was surprised, in an obscure part of his county, (the hills of Ben- son) where there was but little occasion for Banks, to find himself questioned on the stump, as to the recharter of the Bank of the United States. It seemed as if a sort of general order had gone out, from head-quarters, to the partizans of the administration every where, to agitate and make the most of the question. They have done so: and 91 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. their condition now reminds me of the fable invented by Dr. Frank- lin of the eagle and the cat, to demonstrate that Esop had not ex- hausted invention, in the construction of his memorable fables. The eagle, you know, Mr. President, pounced from his lofty flight in the air upon a cat, taking it to be a pig. Having borne off his prize, he quickly felt most painfully the paws of the cat thrust deeply into his sides and body. Whilst flying, he held a parley with the supposed pig, and proposed to let go his hold, if the other would let him alone. No says puss, you brought me from yonder earth below, and I will hold fast to you until you carry me back-a condition to which the eagle readily assented. The friends of the President, who have been for near three years agitating this question, now turn round upon their opponents, who have supposed the President quite serious and in earnest in present- ing it for public consideration, and charge them with prematurely agitating it. And that for electioneering purposes! The other side understands perfectly the policy of preferring an unjust charge in or- der to avoid a well founded accusation. If there be an electioneering motive in the matter, who have been actuated by it Those who have taken the President at his word, and deliberated on a measure which he has repeatedly recom- mended to their consideration; or those who have resorted to all sorts of means to elude the question By alternately coaxing and threat- ening the Bank; by an extraordinary investigation into the admini- stration of the Bank; and by every species of postponement and pro- crastination, during the progress of the bill. Nothwithstanding all these dilatory expedients, a majority of Con- gress, prompted by the will and the best interests of the nation, passed the bill. And I shall now proceed, with great respect and deference, to examine some of the objections to its becoming a law, contained in the President's message, avoiding, as much as I can, a repetition of what gentlemen have said who preceded me. The President thinks that the precedents, drawn from the proceed ings of Congress, as to the constitutional power to establish a Bank, are neutralized, by there being two for and two against the authori- ty. He supposes that one Congress in 1811, and another in 1815, 92 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. decided against the power. Let us examine both of these cases. The House of Representatives in 1811, passed the bill to re-charter the Bank, and, consequently affirmed the power. The Senate during the same year were divided, 17 and 17, and the Vice-President gave the casting vote. Of the 17 who voted against the Bank, we know from the declaration of the senator from Maryland, (General Smith,) -now present, that he entertained no doubt whatever of the constitu- tional power of Congress to establish a Bank, and that he voted on totally distinct ground. Taking away his vote and adding it to the 17 who voted for the Bank, the number would have stood 18 for, and 16 against the power. But we know further, that Mr. Gaillard, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Robinson, made a part of that 16; and that in 1815, all three of them voted for the Bank. Take those three votes from the 16, and add them to the 18, and the vote of 1811, as to the question of constitutional power, would have been 21 and 13. And of these thirteen there might have been others still who were not go- verned in their votes by any doubts of the power. In regard to the Congress of 1815, so far from their having enter- tained any scruples in respect to the power to establish a Bank, they actually passed a Bank bill, and thereby affirmed the power. It is true that, by the casting vote of the speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives, (Mr. Cheves,) they rejected another bank bill, not on grounds of want of power, but upon considerations of expediency in the particular structure of that Bank. Both the adverse precedents therefore, relied upon in the message, operate directly against the argument which they were brought for- ward to maintain. Congress, by various other acts, in relation to the Bank of the United States, has again and again sanctioned the power. And I believe it may be truly affirmed that from the commencement of the government to this day, there has not been a Congress opposed to the Bank of the United States upon the distinct ground of a want of power to establish it. And here, Mr. President, I must request the indulgence of the Senate, whilst I express a few words in relation of myself. I voted, in 1811, against the old Bank of the United States, and I delivered on the occasion, a speech, in which, among other reasons, 93 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. I assigned that of its being unconstitutional. My speech has been read to the Senate, during the progress of this bill, but the reading of it excited no other regret than that it was read in such a wretched, bungling, mangling manner. During a long public life, (I mention the fact, not as claiming any merit for it, the only great question in which I have ever changed my opinion, is that of the Bank of the United States. If the researches of the Senator had carried him a little further, he would, by turning over a few more leaves of the same book from which he read my speech, have found that which I made in 1816, in support of the present Bank. By the reasons as- signed in it for the change of my opinion, I am ready to abide in the judgment of the present generation and of posterity. In 1816, being speaker of the House of Representatives, it was perfectly in my pow- er to have said n6thing and done nothing, and thus have concealed the change of opinion which my mind had undergone. But I did not choose to remain silent and escape responsibility. I chose publicly to avow my actual conversion. The war and the fatal experience of its disastrous events, had changed me. Mr. Madison, Governor Pleasants, and almost all the public men around me, my political friends, had changed their opinions from the same causes. The power to establish a Bank is deduced from that clause of the constitution which confers on Congress all powers necessary and proper to carry into effect the enumerated powers. In 1811, I be- lieved a Bank of the United States not necessary, and that a safe re- liance might be placed on the local banks, in the administration of the fiscal affairs of the government. The war taught us many les- sons, and among others demonstrated the necessity of the Bank of the United States, to the successful operations of the government. I will not trouble the Senate with a perusal of my speech in 1816, but ask its permission to read a few extracts: " But how stood the case in 1816, when be was called upon to examine the pow- ers of the general government to incorporate a National Bank A total change of circumstances was presented-events of the utmost magnitude had intervened. "A general suspension of specie payments had taken place, and this had led to a train of circumstances of the most alarming nature. He beheld, dispersed over the immense extent of the United States, about three hundred banking institutions, en- ioying, in different degrees, the confidence of the public, shaken as to them all- under no direct control of the general government, and subject to no actual respon, sibility to the state authorities. These institutions were emitting the actual cup It is understood to have been read by Mr. HilL 94 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. 95 rency of tie United States-a currency consisting of paper, on which they neither paid interest nor principal, whilst it was exchanged for the paper of the community on which both were paid. We saw these institutions in fact, exercising what had been considered, at all times, and in all countries, one of the highest attributes of sovereignty-the regulation of the current medium of the country. They were no longer competent to assist the Treasury in either of the great operations of collec- tion, deposite or distribution of the public revenues. In fact, the paper which they emitted, and which the Treasury, from the force of events, found itself constrained to receive, was constantly obstructing the operations of that department ;.for it would accumulate where it was not wanted, and could not be used where it was wanted, for the purposes of government, without a ruinous and arbitrary brokerage. Every man who paid to or received from the government, paid or received as much less than he ought to have done, as was the diference letween the medium in which the pa ment was effected and specie. Taxes were no longer uniform. In New England, where specie payments had not been suspended, the people wvere called upon to pay larger contributions than where they were suspended. In Ken- tucky as much more was paid by the people, in their taxes, than was paid, for ex- ample, in the State of Ohio, as Kentucky paper was worth more than Ohio paper. '5 ' 5 "Considering, then, that the state of the currency was such that no thinking man could coitemplate it without the most serious alarm ; that it threatened general distress, if it did not ultimately lead to convulsion and subversion of the government ---it appeared to him to be the duty of Congress to apply a remedy, if a remedy could be deviscd. A National Bank, with other auxiliary measures was proposed as thar remedy. Mr. Clay said he determined to examine the question with as little prejudice as possible, arising from his former opinion ; he knew that the safest course to him, if he pursued a cold calculating prudence, was to adhere to that opinion right or wrong. He was perfectly aware that if he changed, or seemed to change it, he should expose himself to some censure ; but, looking at the subject with the light shed upon it, by events happening since the commencement of the war, he could no longer doubt I He preferred to the suggestions of the pride of consistency, the evident interests of the community, and determined to throw him- self upon their justice and candor." The interest which foreigners hold in the existing Bank of the United States, is dwelt upon in the message as a serious objection to the recharter. But this interest is the result of the assignable nature of the stock; and if the objection be well founded, it applies to gov- ernment stock, to the stock in local banks, in canal and other compa- nies, created for internal improvements, and every species of money or moveables in which foreigners may acquire an interest. The as- signable character of the stock is a quality conferred not for the bene- fit of foreigners, but for that of our own citizens. And the fact of its being transferred to them is the effect of the balance of trade being against us-an evil, if it be one, which the American system will correct. All governments wanting capital, resort to foreign nations possessing it in superabundance, to obtain it. Sometimes the resort is even made by one to another belligerent nation. During our revo- lutionary war we obtained foreign capital (Dutch and French) to aid us. During the late war American stock was sent to Europe to sell; and if I am not misinformed, to Liverpool. The question does not depend upon the place whence the capital is obtained, but the advan- tageous use of it. The confidence of foreigners in our stocks, is a proof SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. zf the solidity of our credit. Foreigners have no voice in the admin- istration of this Bank; and if they buy its stock, they are obliged to submit to citizens of the United States to manage it. The senator from Tennessee, (Mr. White,) asks what would have been the condi- tion of this country, if, durina the late war, this Bank had existed with such an interest in it as foreigners now hold I will tell him We should have avoided many of the disasters of that war, perhaps those of Detroit and at this place. The government would have pos- sessed ample means for its vigorous prosecution; and the interest of foreigners, British subjects especially, would have operated upos them, not upon us. Will it not be a serious evil to be obliged to remit in specie to foreigners the eight millions which they now have in thiv bank, instead of retaining that capital within the country to stimulate its industrv and enterprise The President assigns in his message a conspicuous place to thtS alleged injurious operation of the Bank on the interests of the western people. They ought to be much indebted to him for his kindness manifested towards them; although, I think, they have much reason to deprecate it. The people of all the west owe to this Bank about thirty millions, which have been borrowed from it; and the President thinks that the payments for the interest, and other facilities which they derive from the operation of the Bank, are so onerous as to pro- duce " a drain of their currency, which no country can bear without inconvenience and occasional distress." His remedy is to compel them to pay the whole of the debt which tbey have contracted in a period short of four years. Now, Mr. President, if they cannot pay the interest without distress, how are they to pay the principal If they cannot pay a part how are they to pay the whole Whether the payment of the interest be or be not a burthen to them, is a question for themselves to decide, respecting which they might be disposed to dispense with the kindness of the President, if, instead of borrowing thirty millions from the Bank, they had borrowed a like sum from a Girard, John Jacob Astor, or anv other banker, what would they think of one who should come to them and say-" Gentlemen of the west, it will ruin you to pay the interest on that debt, and therefore 1 will oblige you to pay the whole of the principal in less than four years." Would they not reply-" We know what we are about; mind your own business; we are satisfied that in ours we can make not only the interest on what we loan, but a fair profit besides." 96 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. A great mistake cxists about the western operation of the Bank. It is not the Bank, but the business, the commerce of the west, and the operations of government, that occasions the transfer, annually, of money from the west to the Atlantic States. What is the actual course of things The business and commerce of the west are car- ried on with New Orleans, with the southern and southwestern States and with the Atlantic cities. We transport our dead or inanimate produce to New Orleans, and receive in return checks or drafts of the Bank of the United States at a premium of a half per cent. We send by our drovers our live stock to the south and southwest, and receive similar checks in return. With these drafts or checks our merchants proceed to the Atlantic cities, and purchase domestic or foreign goods for western consumption. The lead and fur trade of Missouri and Illinois is also carried on principally through the Bank of the United States. The government also transfers to places where it is wanted, through that Bank, the sums accumulated at the different land offices, for purchases of the public lands. Now all these varied operations must go on; all these remittances must be made-Bank of the United States or no Bank. The Bank does not create, but facilitates them. The Bank is a mere vehicle; just as much so as the steamboat is the vehicle which transports our produce to the great mart of New Orleans, and not the grower of that producc. It is to confound cause and effect, to attribute to the Bank the transfer of money from the west to the east. Annihilate the Bank tomorrow, and similar transfers of capital, the same description of pecuniary operations, must be continued ; not so well, it is true, but performed they must be, ill or well, under any state of circum- stances. The true questions are-how are they now performed; how were they conducted prior to the existence of the Bank; how would they be after it ceased I can tell you what was our condition before the Bank was established; and, as I reason from the past to future expe- rience, under analogous circumstances, I can venture to predict what it will probably be without the Bank. Before the establishment of the Bank of the United States, the exchange business of the west was carried on by a premium, which was generally paid on all remittances to the east of two and a half 97 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. per cent. The aggregate amount of all remittances, throughout the whole circle of the year, was very great, and instead of the sum then paid, we now pay half per cent, or nothing, if notes of the Bank of the United States be used. Prior to the Bank, we were without the capital of the thirty millions which that institution now supplies, stimulating our industry and invigorating our enterprise. In Ken- tucky we have no specie paying Bank, scarcely any currency other than that of paper of the Bank of the United States and its branches. How is the west to pay this enormous debt of thirty millions of dollars It is impossible. It cannot be done. General distress, certain, wide-spread, inevitable ruin must be the consequences of an attempt to enforce the payment. Depression in the value of all pro- perty, sheriff's sales and sacrifices-bankruptcy, must necessarly ensue, and, with them, relief laws, paper money, a prostration of the courts of justice, evils from which we have just emerged, must again, with all their train of afflictions, revisit our country. But it is argued by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. White) that similar predictions were made, without being realized, from the downfall of the old Bank of the United States. It is, however, to be recollected, that the old Bank did not possess one-third of the capital cf the pre- sent; that it had but one office west of the mountains, whilst the present has nine; and that it had little or no debt due to it in that quarter, whilst the present Bank has thirty millions. The war, too, which shortly followed the downfall of the old Bank, and the sus- pension of specie payments, which soon followed the war, prevented the injury apprehended from the discontinuance of the old Bank. The same gentleman further argues that the day of payment must come; and he asks when, better than now It is to be indefinitely postponed; is the charter of the present Bank to be perpetual Why, Mr. President, all things-governments, republics, empires, laws, human life-doubtless are to have an end; but shall we therefore accelerate their termination The west is now young, wants capi- tal, and its vast resources, needing nourishment, are daily developing. By and by, it will accumulate wealth from its industry and enterprise, and possess its surplus capital. The charter is not made perpetual, because it is wrong to bind posterity perpetually. At the end if the term limited for its renewal, posterity will have the power of deter- mining for itself whether the Bank shall then be wound up, or pro. 98 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. longed another term. And that question may be decided, as it now ought to be, by a consideration of the interests of all parts of the Union, the west among the rest. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. The President tells us, that, that if the executive had been called upon to furnish the project of a Bank, the duty would have been cheerfully performed; and he states that a Bank, competent to all the duties which may be required by the government, might be so orga- nized, as not to infringe on our own delegated powers, or the reserv- ed rights of the States. The President is a co-ordinate branch of the legislative department. As such, bills which have passed both houses of Congress, are presented to him for his approval or rejection. The idea of going to the President for the project of a law, is totally new in the practice, and utterly contrary to the theory of the government. What should we think of the Senate calling upon the house, or the House upon the Senate, for the project of a law. In France, the king possessed the initiative of all laws, and none could pass without its having been previously presented to one of the chambers by the crown, through the ministers. Does the President wish to introduce the initiative here Are the powers of recommen- dation, and that of veto, not sufficient Must all legislation, in its commencement and in its termination concentrate in the President When we shall have reached that state of things, the election and annual sessions of Congress will be a useless charge upon the peo- ple, and the whole business of government may be economically con- ducted by ukases and decrees. Congress does sometimes receive the suggestions and opinions of the heads of department, as to new laws. And, at the commence- ment of this session, in his annual report, the Secretary of the Trea- sury stated his reasons at large, not merely in favor of a Bank, but in support of the renewal of the charter of the existing Bank. Who could have believed that that responsible officer was communicating to Congress opinions directly adverse to those entertained by the President himself When before has it happened, that the head of a department recommended the passage of a law which, being accord- ingly passed and presented to the President, is subjected to his veto What sort of a Bank it is, with a project of which the President would have de igned to furnish Congress, if they had applied to him. 99 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. he has not stated. In the absence of such statement, we can only conjecture that it is his famous Treasury Bank, formerly recommended by him, from which the people have recoiled with the instinctive horror, excited by the approach of the cholera. The message states, that " an investigation unwillingly conceded, and so restricted in time as necessarily to make it incomplete and un- satisfactory, disclose enough to excite suspicion and alarm." As there is no piospect of the passage of this bill, the President's objec- tions notwithstanding, by a constitutional majority of two-thirds, it can never reach the House of Representatives. The members of that House, and especially its distinguished chairman of the committee of ways and means, who reported the bill, are therefore cut off from all opportunity of defending themselves. Under these circumstances, allow me to ask how the President has ascertained that the investi- gation was unwillingly conceded I have understood directly the contrary; and that the chairman, already referred to, as well as other members in favor of the renewal of the charter, promptly consented to and voted for the investigation. And we all know that those in support of the renewal could have prevented the investigation, and that they did not. But suspicion and alarm have been excited! SUSPICION AND ALARM ! Against whom is this suspicion The House, or the Bank, or both Mr. President, I protest against the right of any Chief Magistrate to come into either house of Congress, and scrutinize the motives of its members; to examine whether a measure has been passed with promptitude or repugnance; and to pronounce npon the willingness or unwillingness with which it has been adopted or rejected. It is an interference in concerns which partake of a domestic nature. The official and constitutional relations between the President and the two houses of Congress subsist with them as organized bodies. His action is confined to their consummated proceedings, and does not extend to measuses in their incipient stages, during their progress through the houses, nor to the motives by which they are actuated. There Are some parts of this message that ought to excite deep alarm; and that especially in which the President announces that each pub- lic officer may interpret the constitution as he pleases. His language is, " Each public officer, who takes an oath to support the constitu- Lion, swears that he will support it as he understands it, and not as it 100 ON THE VETO OF THE BANK. ie understood by others." " The opinion of the judges has no more authority over Congress than the opinion of Congress has over the judges; and on that point the President is independent of both." Now, Mr. President, I conceive, with great deference, that the President has mistaken the purport of the oath to support the constitution of the United States. No one swears to support it as he understands it, but to support it simply as it is in truth. All men are bound to obey the laws, of which the constitution is the supreme; but must they obey them as they are, or as they understand them If the obligation of obedience is limited and controlled by the measure of informnation-in other words, if the party is bound to obey the con- stitution only as he understands it, what would be the consequence 'The judge of an inferior court would disobey the mandate of a supe- rior tribunal, because it was not in conformity to the constitution, as he understands it; a custom house officer would disobey a circular from the treasury department, because contrary to the constitution, as he understands it; an American minister would disregard an in- struction from the President, communicated through the department of State, because not agreeable to the constitution, as he understands it; and a subordinate officer in the army or navy, would violate the orders of his superior, because they were not in accordance with the constitution, as he understands it. We should have nothing settled, nothing stable, nothing fixed. There would be general disorder and confusion throughout every branch of administration, from the high- est to the lowest officers-universal nullification. For what is the doctrine of the President but that of South Carolina applied through- out the Union The President, independent both of Congress and the Supreme Court! Only bound to execute the laws of the one and the decisions of the other, as far as they conform to the constitution of the United States, asfar as he understands it ! Then it should be the duty of every President, on his installation into office, to carefully examine all the acts in the statute book, approved by his predeces- sors, and mark out those which be was resolved not to execute, and to which he meant to apply this new species of veto, because they were repugnant to the constitution as he understands it. And, aftei the expiration of every term of the supreme Court, he should send for the record of its decisions, and discriminate between those which he would, and those which he would not, execute, because they were or were not agreeable to the constitution, as he understands it. 7 ION SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAT- There is another constitutional doctrine contained in the message, which is entirely new to me. It asserts that " the government of the United States have no constitutional power to purchase lands within the States," except " for the erection of forts, magazines, arsena s, dockyards, and other needful buildings ;" and even for these objects, only "by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be." Now sir, I had supposed that the right of Congress to purchase lands in any State was incontestible: and, in point of fact, it probably at this moment, owns land in every State of the Union, purchased for taxes, or as a judgment or mortgage creditor. And there are various acts of Congress which regulate the purchase and transfer of such lands. The advisers of the President have con- founded the faculty of purchasing lands with the exercise of exclusive jurisdiction, which is restricted by the constitution to the forts and other buildings described. The message presents some striking instances of discrepancy. 1st. It contests the right to establish one bank, and objects to the bill that it limits and restrains the power of Congress to establish several. 2d. It urges that the bill does not recognise the power of State taxation generally; and complains that facilities are afforded to the exercise of that power in respect to the stock held by individuals. 3d. It ob- jects that any bonus is taken, and insists that not enough is demand- ed. And 4th. It complains that foreigners have too much influence, and that stock transferred loses the privilege of representation in the elections of the Bank, which, if it were retained, would give them more. Mr. President, we are about to close one of the longest and most arduous sessions of Congress under the present constitution; and when we return among our constituents, what account of the opera- tions of their government shall we be bound to communicate We shall be compelled to say, that the Supreme Court is paralysed, and the missionaries retained in prison in contempt of its authority, and in defiance of numerous treaties and laws of the United States; that the Executive through the Secretary of the Treasury, sent to Con- gress a tariff bill which would have destroyed numerous branches of our domestic industry, and led to the destruction of all; that the veto has been applied to the Bank of the United States, our only reliance for a sound and uniform currency; that the Senate has been violently 102 ON T1lE VETO OF THE BANK. 103 attacked for the exercise of a clear constitutional power; that the House of Representatives has been unnecessarily assailed; and that the President has promulgated a rule of action for those who have taken the oath to support the constitution of the United States, that must, if there be practical conformity to it, introduce general nullifi cation, and end in the absolute subversion of the government. ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 1S32. (The proper disposition or the Public Lands of the United States, after the pay ment of the Revolutionary Debt for which they were originally pledged, and to aid in discharging which was a principal inducement to their cession by the States to the Union, had for some time been a subject of increasing solicitude to our wisest statesmen. President JEFFERSON, as early as 1806, suggested the appropriation of their proceeds to the construction of works of Internal Improvement and to the support of Education. even though it should be deemed prerequisite to alter the Federal Con- stitution. General JACKSO-, as early as 1830, again called the attention of Congress to the subject, and proposed the cession of the remaining Lands, without recompense, to the several States which contained them, thus shutting out the Old Thirteen States altogether (with a good part of the New,) from any participation in their benefits. This proposition would very naturally be received with great favor in the States containing Public Lands, while the others might very safely be relied on, judging from all experience, to take little or no interest in the subject. Mr. CLAY and Gen- eral JACKSON were then rival candidates for President, and the election not very distant; and the adversaries of Mr. CLAY, composing a decided majority of the Senate, having placed him at the head of the Committee on Manufactures, now resolved to embarrass and prejudice him with the New States by referring to that committee this proposition to give away to those States the Public Lands. Extra- ordinary as this resolution may well seem, it was carried into effect, and Mr. CLAY required to report directly on this project of Cession. He did not hesitate to discharge manfully the duty so ungraciously thrust upon him, and after earnest consideration, devised and reported a bill to DISTRIBUTE TO ALL THE STATES THE PROCEEDS OF THE PUBLIc LANDS, with which his fame and fortunes will stand identified to all future time. In support of this bill, he addressed the Senate as follows:] IN rising to address the Senate, I owe, in the first place, the ex- pression of my hearty thanks to the majority, by whose vote, just given, I am indulged in occupying the floor Pn this most important question. I am happy to see that the days when the sedition acts and gag laws were in force, and when screws were applied for the suppression of the freedom of speech and debate, are not yet to return; and that, when the consideration of a great question has been special- ly assigned to a particular day, it is not allowed to be arrested and thrust aside by any unexpected and unprecedented parliamentary manceuvre. The decision of the majority demonstrates that feelings ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. of liberality, and courtesy, and kindness still prevail in the Senate; and that they will be extended even to one of the humblest members of the body; for such, I assure the Senate, I feel myself to be. It may not be amiss again to allude to the extraordinary reference of the subject of the public lands to the committee of manufacturesr I have nothing to do with the motives of honorable Senators who com posed the majority by which that reference was ordered. The deco- rum proper in this hall obliges me to consider their motives to have been pure and patriotic. But still I must be permitted to regard the proceeding as very unusual. The Senate has a standing committee on the public lands, appointed under long established rules. The members of that committee are presumed to be well acquainted with the subject ; they have some of them occupied the same station for many years, are well versed in the whole legislation on the public lands, and familiar with every branch of it-and four out of five of them come from the new States. Yet, with a full knowledge of all these circumstances, a reference was ordered by a majority of the Senate to the committee on manufactures-a committee than which there is not another standing committee of the Senate whose prescribk ed duties are more incongruous with the public domain. It happen ed, in the constitution of the committee of manufactures, that there was not a solitary Senator from the new States, and but one from any western State. We earnestly protested against the reference, and insisted upon its impropriety; but we were overruled by the majority, including a majority of Senators from the new States. I will not at- tempt an expression of the feelings excited in my mind on that occa- sion. Whatever may have been the intention of honorable Senators, I could not be insensible to the embarrassment in which the commit- tee of manufactures was placed, and especially myself. Although any other other member of that committee could have rendered him- self, with appropriate researches and proper time, more competent than I was to understand the subject of the public lands, it was known that, from my local position, I alone was supposed to have any par- ' This subject had been set down for this day. It was generally expected, in and out of the Senate, that it would be taken up, and that Mr. CLAY would address the Senate. The members were generally in their seats, and the gallery and lobbies crowded. At the customary hour, he moved that the subject pending should be laid on the table, to take up the L and Bil. It was ordered accordingly. At this point of time Mr. Forsyth made a motion, supported by Mr. Tazwell that the Senate pro- ceed te executive business. The motion was overruled 105 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ticular knowledge of them. Whatever emanated from the committee was likely, therefore, to be ascribed to me. If the committee should propose a measure of great liberality towards the new States, the old States might complain. If the measure should seem to lean towards the old States, the new might be dissatisfied. And, if it inclined to neither class of States, but recommended a plan according to which there would be distributed impartial justice among all the States, it was far from certain that any would be pleased. Without venturing to attribute to honorable Senators the purpose of producing this personal embarrassment, I felt it as a necessary con- sequence of their act, just as much as if it had been in their contem- plation. Nevertheless, the committee of manufactures cheerfully entered upon the duty which, against its will, was thus assigned to it by the Senate. And, for the causes already noticed, that of prepar- ing a report and suggesting some measure embracing the whole sub- ject, devolved in the committee upon me. The general features of our land system were strongly impressed on my memory; but I found it necessary to re-examine some of the treaties, deeds of cession, and laws which related to the acquisition and administration of the public lands; and then to think of, and, if possible, strike out some project, which, without inflicting injury upon any of the States, might deal equally and justly with all of them. The report and bill, sub- mitted to the Senate, after having been previously sanctioned by a majority of the committee, were the results of this consideration. The report, with the exception of the principle of distribution which con- cludes it, obtained the unanimous concurrence of the committee of manufactures. This report and bill were hardly read in the Senate before they were violently denounced. And they were not considered by the Senate before a proposition was made to refer the report to that very committee of the public lands to which, in the first instance, I con tended the subject ought to have been assigned. It was in vain that we remonstrated against such a proceeding, as unprecedented, as im- plying unmerited censure on the committee of manufactures as lead- ing to interminable references; for what more reason could there be to refer the report of the committee of manufactures to the land com- mittee, than would exist for a subsequent reference to the report of this committee, when made, to some third committee, and so on in 106 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. aul endless circle In spite of all our remonstrances, the same ma- jority, with but little if any variation, which had originally resolved to refer the subject to the committee of manufactures, now determin- ed to commit its bill to the land committee. And this not only with- out particular examination into the merits of that bill, but without the avowal of any specific amendment which was deemed necessary! The committee of public lands after the lapse of some days, presented a report, and recommended a reduction of the price of the public lands immediately to one dollar per acre, and eventually to fifty cents per acre; and the grant to the new States of fifteen per cent. on the nett proceeds of the sales, instead of ten, as proposed by the com- mittee of manufactures, and nothing to the old States. And now, Mr. President, I desire, at this time, to make a few ob- servations in illustration of the original report; to supply some omis- sions in its composition; to say something as to the power and rights of the general government over the public domain to submit a few remarks on the counter report; and to examine the assumptions which it contained, and the principles on which it is founded. No subject which had presented itself to the present, or perhaps any preceding Congress, was of greater magnitude than that of the public lands. There was another, indeed, which possessed a more exciting and absorbing interest-but the excitement was happily but temporary in its nature. Long after we shall cease te be agitated by the tariff, ages after our manufactures shall have acquired a stability and perfection which will enable them successfully to cope with the manufactures of any other country, the public lands will remain a subject of deep and enduring interest. In whatever view' we con- template them, there is no question of such vast importance. As to their extent, there is public land enough to found an empire; stretch- ing across the immense continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwestern lakes, the quan- tity, according to official surveys and estimates, amounting to the prodigious sum of one billion and eighty millions of acres ! As to the duration of the interest regarded as a source of comfort to our people, and of public income-during the last year, when the great- est quantity was sold that ever in one year, had been previously sold, it amounted to less than three millions of acres, producing three mil- lions and a half of dollars. Assuming that year as affording the stand- SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ard rate at which the lands will be annually sold, it would require three hundred years to dispose of them. But the sales will probably be accelerated from increased population and other causes. We may safely, however, anticipate that long, if not centuries after the pre- sent day, the representatives of our children's children may be de- liberating in the halls of Congress, on laws relating to the public ands. The subject in other points of view, challenged the fullest atten tion of an American statesman. If there were any one circumstance more than all others which distinguished our happy condition from that of the nations of the old world, it was the possession of this vast national property, and the resources which it afforded to our people and our government. No European nation, (possibly with the exception of Russia,) commanded such an ample resource. With respect to the other republics of this continent, we have no informa- tion that any of them have yet adopted a regular system of previous survey and subsequent sale of their wild lands, in convenient tracts, well defined, and adapted to the wants of all. On the contrary, the probability is that they adhere to the ruinous and mad system of old Spain, according to which large unsurveyed districts are granted to favorite individuals, prejudicial to them, who often sink under the incumbrance, and die in poverty, whilst the regular current of emi- gration is checked and diverted from its legitimate channels. And if there be in the operations of this government, one which more than any other displays comsummate wisdom and statesman- ship, it is that system by which the public lands have been so suc- cessfully administered. We should pause, solemly pause, before we subvert it. We should touch it hesitatingly, and with the gentlest hand. The prudent management of the public lands, in the hands of the general government, will be more manifest by contrasting it with that of several of the States, which had the disposal of large bodies of waste lands. Virginia possessed an ample domain west of the mountains, and in the present State of Kentucky, over and above her munificent cession to the general government. Pressed for pecuni- ary means, by the revolutionary war, she brought her wild lands, during its progress, into market, receiving payment in paper money. There were no previous surveys of the waste lands-no townships, no sections, no official definition or description of tracts. Each pur- JOB ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. chaser made his own location, describing the land bought as he thought proper. These locations or descriptions were often vague and uncertain. The consequence was, that the same tract was not unfrequently entered various times by different purchasers, so as to be literally shingled over with conflicting claims. The state perhaps sold in this way, much more land than it was entitled to, but then it received nothing in return that was valuable; whilst the purchasers in consequence of the clashing and interference between their rights, were exposed to tedious, vexatious, and ruinous litigation. Ken- tucky long and severely suffered from this cause; and is just emerg- ing from the troubles brought upon her by improvident land legisla- lation. Western Virginia has also suffered greatly, though not to the same extent. The state of Georgia had large bodies of waste lands, which she disposed of in a manner satisfactory no doubt to herself, but aston- ishing to every one out of that commonwealth. According to her system, waste lands are distributed in lotteries among the people of the State, in conformity with the enactments of the legislature. And when one district of country is disposed of, as there are many who do not draw prizes, the unsuccessful call out for fresh distributions. These are made from time to time, as lands are acquired from the Indians; and hence one of the causes of the avidity with which the Indian lands are sought. It is manifest that neither the present gen- eration nor posterity can derive much advantage from his mode of alienating public lands. On the contrary, I should think, it cannot fail to engender speculation and a spirit of gambling. The State of Kentucky, in virtue of a compact with Virginia, ac- quired a right to a quantity of public lands south of Green river Neglecting to profit by the unfortunate example of the parent State, she did not order the country to be surveyed previous to its being offered to purchasers. Seduced by some of those wild land projects, of which at all times there have been some afloat, and which hither- to the general government alone has firmly resisted, she was tempted to offer her waste lands to settlers, at different prices, under the name of head-rights or pre-emptions. As the laws, like most legislation upon such subjects, were somewhat loosely worded, the keen eye of the speculator soon discerned the defects, and he took advantage of them. Instances had occurred of masters obtaining cerificates o. 109 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. head-rights in the name of their slaves, and thus securing the land, in contravention of the intention of the legislature. Slaves generally have but one name, being called Tom, Jack, Dick, or Harry To conceal the fraud, the owner would add Black, or some other cog- nomination, so that the certificate would read Tom Black, Jack Black, c. The gentleman from Tennessee, (Mr. Grundy,) will remember, some twenty-odd years ago, when we were both mem- bers of the Kentucky legislature, that I took occasion to animadvert upon these fraudulent practices, and observed that when the names caine to be alphabeted, the truth would be told, whatever might be the language of the record; for the alphabet would read Black Tom, Black Harry, c. Kentucky realised more in her treasury than the parent State had done, considering that she had but a remnant of public lands, and she added somewhat to her population. But they were far less available than they would have been under a system of previous survey and regular sale. These observations in respect to the course of the respectable States referred to, in relation to their public lands, are not prompted by any unkind feelings towards them, but to show the supeliority of the land system of the United States. Under the system of the general government, the wisdom of which, in some respects, is admitted even by the report of the land commit- tee, the country subject to its operation, beyond the Alleghany mountains, has rapidly advanced in population, improvement and prosperity. The example of the State of Ohio was emphatically re- lied on by the report of the committee of manufactures-its million of people, its canals, and other improvements, its flourishing towns, its highly cultivated fields, all put there within less than forty years. To weaken the force of this example, the land committee deny that the population of the State is principally settled upon public lands derived from the general government. But, Mr. President, with great deference to that committee, I must say that it labors under misapprehension. Three-fourths, if not four-fifths of the population of that State, are settled upon public lands purchased from the United States, and they are the most flourishing parts of the State. For the correctness of this statement I appeal to my friend from Ohio, (Mr. Ewing,) near me. He knows as well as I do, that the rich valleys of the Miami of Ohio, and the Maumee of the Lake, the Sciota and 110 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. -he Muskingum are principally settled by persons deriving titles to their lands from the United States. In a national point of view, one of the greatest advantages which these public lands in the west, and this system of selling them, affords, is the resource which they present against pressure and want, in other parts of the Union, from the vocations of society being too closely filled, and too much crowded. They constantly tend to sustain the price of labor, by the opportunity which they offer of the acquisition of fertile land at a moderate price, and the consequent temptation to emigrate from those parts of the Union where labor may be badly rewarded. The progress of settlement, and the improvement in the fortunes and condition of individuals, under the operation of this beneficent system, are as simple as they are manifest. Pioneers of a more ad- venturous character, advancing before the tide of emigration, pene- trate into the uninhabited regions of the west. They apply the axe to the forest, which falls before them, or the plough to the prairie, deeply sinking its share in the unbroken wild grasses in which it abounds. They build houses, plant orchards, enclose fields, cultivate the earth, and rear up families around them. Meantime, the tide of emigration flows upon them, their improved farms rise in value, a de- mand for them takes place, they sell to the new comers, at a great advance, and proceed farther west, with ample means to purchase from government, at reasonable prices, sufficient land for all the mem- bers of their families. Another and another tide succeeds, the first pushing on westwardly the previous settlers, who, in their turn, sell out their farms, constantly augmenting in price, until they arrive at a fixed and stationary value. In this way, thousands and tens of thousands are daily improving their circumstances and bettering their condition. I have often witnessed this gratifying progress. On the same farm you may sometimes behold, standing together, the first rude cabin of round and unhewn logs, and wooden chimneys, the hewed log house, chinked and shingled, with stone or brick chim- neys; and, lastly, the comfortable brick or stone dwelling, each de- noting the different occupants of the farm, or the several stages of the condition of the same occupant. What other nation can boast of such an outlet for its increasing population, such bountiful means of pro- moting their prosperity, and securing their independence illl SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. To the public lands of the United States, and especially to the ex- isting system by which they are distributed with so much regularity and equity, are we indebted for these signal benefits in our national condition. And every consideration of duty, to ourselves, and to posterity, enjoins that we should abstain from the adoption of any wild project that would cast away this vast national property, holden by the general government in sacred trust for the whole people of the United States, and forbids that we should rashly touch a system which has been so successfully tested by experience. It has been only within a few years that restless men have thrown before the public their visionary plans for squandering the public do- main. With the existing laws the great State of the west is satisfied and contented. She has felt their benefit, and grown great and powerful under their sway. She knows and testifies to the liberality of the general government in the administration of the public lands, extend- ed alike to her and to the other new States. There are no petitions from, no movements in Ohio, proposing vital and radical changes in the systsm. During the long period, in the House of Representa- tives, and in the Senate, that her upright and unambitious citizen, the first representative of that State, and afterwards successively Senator and Governor, presided over the committee of public lands, we heard of none of these chimerical schemes. All went on smoothly, and quietly, and safely. No man, in the sphere within which he acted, ever com- manded or deserved the implicit confidence of Congress more than Jeremiah Morrow. There existed a perfect persuasion of his entire impartiality and justice between the old States and the new. A few artless but sensible words, pronounced in his plain Scotch Irish dia- lect, were always sufficient to ensure the passage of any bill or reso- lution which he reported. For about twenty-five years, there was no essential change in the system; and that which was at last made, 7arying the price of the public lands from two dollars, at which it had 11 that time remained, to one dollar and a quarter, at which it has been fixed only about ten or twelve years, was founded mainly on the consideration of abolishing the previous credits. Assuming the duplication of our population in terms of twenty- five years, the demand for waste land, at the end of every term, will at least be double what it was at the commencement. But the ratio of the increased demand will be much greater than the increase of 112 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS the whole population of the United States, because the Western States nearest to, or includcing the public lands, populate much more rapidly than other parts of the Union; and it will be from them that the greatest current of emigration will flow. At this moment Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, are the most migrating States in the Union. To supply this constantly augmenting demand, the policy, which has hitherto characterized the general government, has been highly liberal both towards individuals and the new States. Large tracts, far surpassing the demand of purchasers, in every climate and situa- tion, adapted to the wants of all parts of the Union, are brought into market at moderate prices, the government having sustained all the expense of the original purchase, and of surveying, marking, and di- viding the land. For fifty dollars any poor man may purchase forty acres of first rate land; and for less than the wages of one year's labor, he may buy eighty acres. To the new States, also, has the govern- ment been liberal and generous in the grants for schools and for inter- nal improvements, as well as in reducing the debt, contracted for the purchase of lands, by the citizens of those States, who were tempted, in a spirit of inordinate speculation, to purchase too much, or at too high prices. Such is a rapid outline of this invaluable national property-of the system which regulates its management and distribution, and of the effects of that system. We might here pause, and wonder that there should be a disposition with any to waste or throw away this great resource, or to abolish a system which has been fraught with so many manifest advantages. Nevertheless, there are such, who, impatient with the slow and natural operation of wise laws, have put forth va- rious pretensions and projects concerning the public lands, within a few years past. One of these pretensions is an assumption of the sovereign right of the new States to all the lands within their respec- tive limits, to the exclusion of the general government, and to the exclusion of all the people of the United States, those in the new States only excepted. It is my purpose now to trace the origin, ex- amine the nature, and expose the injustice of this pretension. This pretension may be fairly ascribed to the propositions of the gentleman from. Missouri, (Mr. Benton,) to graduate the public lands, to reduce the price, and cede the (' refuse" lands (a term which I lis 1PEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. believe originated with him) to the States within which they lie Prompted probably, by these propositions, a late Governor of Illinois, unwilling to be outdone, presented an elaborate message to the legis- lature of that State, in which he gravely and formally asserted the right of that State to all the land of the United States, comprehended within its limits. It must be allowed that the Governor was a most impartial judge, and the legislature a most disinterested tribunal, to decide such a question. The senator from Missouri was chanting most sweetly to the tune, "refuse lands," "refuse lands," " refuse lands," on the Missouri side of the Mississippi, and the soft strains of his music, having caught the ear of his excellency, on the Illinois side, he joined in choruis, and struck an octave higher. The senator from Missouri wished only to pick up some crumbs which fell from Uncle Sam's table; but tho Governor resolved to grasp the whole loaf. The senator modestly claimed only an old smoked, rejected joint; but the stomach of his excellency yearned after the whole hog! The Governor peeped over the Mississippi into Missouri, and saw the senator leisurely roaming in some rich pastures, on bits of refuse lands. He returned to Illinois, and, springing into the grand prairie, determined to claim and occupy it, in all its boundless extent. Then came the resolution of the senator from Virginia, (Mr. Taze- well,) in May, 1826, in the following words: "Resolved, That it is expedient for the Uuited States to cede and surrender to the several States, within whose limits the same may be situated, all the right, title, and interest of the United Statcs, to any lands lying and being within the boundaries of such States, respectively, upon such terms and conditions as may be consistent with the due observance of the public faith, and with the general interest of the United States." The latter words rendered the resolution somewhat ambiguous; but still it contemplated a cession and surrender. Subsequently, the senator from Virginia proposed, after a certain time, a gratuitous sur- render of all unsold lands, to be applied by the legislature, in support of education and the internal improvement of the State. [Here Mr. Tazewell controverted the statement. Mr. Clay called to the Secretary to hand him the journal of April, 1828, which he held up to the Senate, and read from it the following: " The bill to graduate the price of the public lands, to make donations thereof to 114 ON THE I'UPLTtC LANDS. actual settler,, and to cede the refuse to the States in which they lie, being under consideratioi- Mr. Tazewell moved to insert the following as a substitute: " That the lands which shall have been subject to sale under the provisions of this act, and shall remain unsold for two years, after having been offered at twenty-five cents per acre, shall be, and the same is ceded to the State in which the same may lie, to be applied by the legislature thereof in support of education, and the internal improvement of the State."] Thus it appears not only that the honorable senator proposed the cession, but showed himself the friend of education and internal im- provements, by means derived from the general government. For this liberal disposition on his part, I believe i;t was, that the State of Missouri honored a new county with his name. If he had carried his proposition, that State might well have granted a principality to Lim. The memorial of the legislature of Illinois, probably produced by the message of the Governor already noticed, had been presented, asserting a claim to the public lands. And it seems (although the fact had escaped my recollection until I was reminded of it by one of her senators (Mr. Hendricks,) the other day, that the legislature of Indiana had instructed her senators to bring forward a similar claim. At the last session, however, of the legislature of that State, resolu- tions had passed, instructing her delegation to obtain from the gene- 1.1 government cessions of the unappropriated public lands, on the most favorable terms. It is clear from this last expression of the will of that legislature, that, on reconsideration, it believed the right to the public lands to be in the general government, and not in the State of Indiana. For, if they did not belong to the general government, it had nothing to cede; if they belonged already to the State, no cession was necessary to the perfection of the right of the State. I will here submit a passing observation. If the general govern- ment bad the power to cede the public lands to the new States for particular purposes, and on prescribed conditions, its power must be unquestionable to make some reservations for similar purposes in be- half of the old States. Its power cannot be without limit as to the new States, and circumscribed and restricted as to the old. Its cana- city to bestow benefits or dispense justice is not confined to the new States, but is coextensive with the whole Union. It may grant to all, or it can grant to none. And this comprehensive equity is not 115 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. anly in conformity with the spirit of the cessions in the deeds from the ceding States, but is expressly enjoined by the terms of those deeds. Such is the probable origin of the pretension which I have been tracing; and now let us examine its nature and foundation. The ar- gument in behalf of the new States, is founded on the notion, that as the old States, upon coining out of the revolutionary war, had or claimed a right to all the lands within their respective limits; and as the new States have been admitted into the Union on the same foot- ing and condition in all respects with the old, therefore they are enti- tled to all the waste lands embraced within their boundaries. But the argument forgets that all the revolutionary States had not waste lands ; that some had but very little, and others none. It forgets that the right of the States to the waste lands within their limits was controverted; and that it was insisted that, as they had been con- quered in a common war, waged with common means, and attended with general sacrifices, the public lands should be held for the com- mon benefit of all the States. It forgets that in consequence of this right asserted in behalf of the whole Union, the States that contained any large bodies of waste lands (and Virginia, particularly, that had the most) ceded them to the Union for the equal benefit of all the States. It forgets that the very equality, which is the basis of the argument, would be totally subverted by the admission of the validity of the pretension. For how would the matter then stand The re- volutionary States will have divested themselves of the large districts of vacant lands which they contained, for the common benefit of all the States; and those same lands will enure to the benefit of the new States exclusively. There will be, on the supposition of the validity of the pretension, a reversal of the condition of the two classes of States. Instead of the old having, as is alleged, the wild lands which they included at the epoch of the revolution, they will have none, and the new States all. And this in the name and for the purpose of equality among all the members of the confederacy! What, espe- cially, would be the situation of Virginia She magnanimously ceded an empire in extent for the common benefit. And now it is proposed, not only to withdraw that empire from the object of its solemn dedi- cation, to the use of all the States, but to deny her any participation in it, and appropriate it exclusively to the benefit of the new States carved out of it. 116 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. If the new States had any right to the public lands, in order to produce the very equality contended for, they ought forthwith to cede that right to the Union, for the common benefit of all the States. Ha- ving no such right, they ought to acquiesce cheerfully in an equality which does, in fact, now exist between them and the old States. The committee of manufactures has clearly shown, that if the right were recognised in the new States now existing, to the public lands within their limits, each of the new States, as they might hereafter be successively admitted into the Union, would have the same right; and consequently that the pretension under examination embraces, in effect, the whole public domain, that is, a billion and eighty millions of acres of land. The right of the Union to the public lands is incontestible. It ought not to be considered debateable. It never was questioned but by a few, whose monstrous heresy, it was probably supposed, would escape animadversion from the enormity of the absurdity, and the utter im- practicability of the success of the claim. The right of the whole is sealed by the blood of the revolution, founded upon solemn deeds of cession from sovereign States, deliberately executed in the face of the world, or resting upon national treaties concluded with foreign pow- ers, on ample equivalents contributed from the common treasury of the people of the United States. This right of the whole was stamped upon the face of the new States at the very instant of their parturition. They admitted and recognised it with their first breath. They hold their stations, as members of the confederacy, in virtue of that admission. The sena- tors who sit here, and the members in the House of Representatives from the new States, deliberate in Congress with other senators and representatives, under that admission. And since the new States came into being, they have recognised this right of the general government by innumerable acts. By their concurrence in the passage of hundreds of laws respecting the public domain, founded upon the incontestible right of the whole of the States. By repeated applications to extinguish Indian titles, and to survey the lands which they covered. 8 117 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. And by solicitation and acceptance of extensive grants from the general government, of the public lands. The existence of the new State is a falsehood, or the right of all the States to the public domain is an undeniable truth. They have no more right to the public lands, within their particular jurisdiction, than other States have to the mint, the forts and arsenals, or public ships within theirs, or than the people of the District of Columbia have to this magnificent capitol, in whose splendid halls we now de- liberate, The equality contended for between all the States now exists. The public lands are now held, and ought to be held and administered for the common benefit of all. I hope our fellow citizens of Illinois, In- diana, and Missouri will reconsider the matter; that they will cease to take counsel from demagogues who would deceive them, and instill erroneous principles into their ears; and that they will feel and ac- knowledge that their brethren of Kentucky and of Ohio, and of all the States in the Union, have an equal right with the citizens of those three States in the public lands. If the possibility of an event so dire- ful as a severance of this Union, were for a moment contemplated, what would be the probable consequence of such an unspeakable calamity; if three confederacies were formed out of its fragments, do you imagine that the western confederacy would consent to the States including the public lands, holding them exclusively for themselves Can you imagine that the States of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, would quietly renounce their right in all the public lands west of them No, sir! No, sir! They would wade to their knees in blood before they would make such an unjust and ignominious sur- render. But this pretension, unjust to the old States, unequal as to all, would be injurious to the new States themselves, in whose behalf it has been put forth, if it were recognized. The interest of the new States is not confined to the lands within their limits, but extends to the whole billion and eighty millions of acres. Sanction the claims however, and they are cut down and restricted to that which is in- cluded in their own boundaries. Is it not better for Ohio, instead of the five millions and a half-for Indiana, instead of the fifteen mil- ;ions-or even for Illinois, instead of the thirty-one or thirty-two mill- 118 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. ions-or Missouri, instead of the thirty-eight millions-within their zespective limits, to retain their interest in those several quantities, and also retain their interest, in common with the other members of the Union, in the countless millions of acres that lie west, or north- vest, beyond them I will now proceed, Mr. President, to consider the expediency of a reduction of the price of the public lands and the reasons assigned by the land committee, in their report, in favor of that measure. They are presented there in formidable detail, and spread out under seven different heads. Let us examine them: the first is, " because the new States have a clear right to participate in the benefits of a reduc- tion of the revenue to the wants of the government, by getting the reduction extended to the article of revenue chiefly used by them. Here is a renewal of the attempt made early in the session to confound the public lands with foreign imports, which was so successfully exposed and refuted by the report of the committee on manufactures. Will not the new States participate in any reduction of the revenue, in common with the old States,without touching the public lands As far as they are consumers of objects of foreign imports, will they not equally share the benefit with the old States What right, over and above that equal participation, have the new States to a reduction of the price of the public lands As States, what right, much less what " clear right" have they to any such reduction In their sove- reign or corporate capacities, what right Have not all the stipula- tions between them, as States, and the general government been fully complied with Have the people within the new States, consider- ed distinct from the States themselves, any right to such reduction Whence is it derived They went there in pursuit of their own happiness. They bought lands from the public because it was their interest to make the purchase, and they enjoy them. Did they, be- cause they purchased some land, which they possess peacefully, ac- quire any, and what right, in the land which they did not buy But it may be argued, that by settling and improving these lands, the ad- jacent public lands are enhanced. True; and so are their own. The enhancement of the public lands was not a consequence which they went there to produce, but was a collateral effect, as to which they were passive. The public does not seek to avail itself of this aug- mnentation in value, by augmenting the price. It leaves that where it was; and the demand for reduction is made in behalf of those who 119 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY say their labor has increased the value of the public lands, and the claim to reduction is founded upon the fact of enhanced value! The public, like all other landholders, had a right to anticipate that the sale of a part would communicate, incidentally, greater value upon he residue. And, like all other land proprietors, it has the right to sk more for that residue, but it does not, and for one, I should be as .inwilling, to disturb the existing price by augmentation as by reduc- tion. But the public lands is the article of revenue which the people of the new States chiefly consume. In another part of this report libe- ral grants of the public lands are recommended, and the idea of hold- ing the public lands as a source of revenue is scouted, because it is said that more revenue could be collected from the settlers as consu- mers, than from the lands. Here it seems that the public lands are the articles of revenue chiefly consumed by the new States. With respect to lands yet to be sold, they are open to the purchase alike of emigrants from the old States, and settlers in the new. As the latter have most generally supplied themselves with lands, the probability is, that the emigrants are more interested in the question of reduction than the settlers. At all events, there can be no peculiar right to such reduction existing in the new States. It is a question common to all, and to be decided in reference to the interest of the whole Union. 2. " Because the public debt being now paid, the public lands are entirely released from the pledge they were under to that object, and are free to receive a new and liberal destination,for the relief of the States in which they lie." The payment of the public debt is conceded to be near at hand; and it is admitted that the public lands, being liberated, may now re- ceive a new and liberal destination. Such an appropriation of their proceeds is proposed by the bill reported by the committee of manu- actures, and which I shall hereafter call the attention of the Senate -ore particularly to. But it did not seem just to that committee, that this new and liberal destination of them should be restricted " for the relief of the States in which they lie," exclusively, but should extend to all the States indiscriminately upon principles of equitable distribution. 3. " Because nearly one hundred millions of acres of the land now in market are the refuse of sales and donations, through a long series of years, and are of very lit- tle actual value, and only fit to be given to settlers, or abandoned to the States in which they lie." 120) ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. According to an official statement, the total quantity of public land which has been surveyed up to the 31st of December last, was a little upwards of one hundred and sixty-two millions of acres. Of this a large proportion, perhaps even more than the one hundred millions of acres stated in the land report, has been a long time in market The entire quantity which has ever been sold by the lJnited States, up to the same day, after deducting lands relinquished and lands re- verted to the United States, according to an cfficial statement, also, is twenty-five millions two hundred forty-two thousand five hundred and ninety acres. Thus after the lapse of thirty-six years, during wvhich the present land system has been in operation, a little more than twenty-five millions of acres have been sold, not averaging a m'illion per annum, and upwards of one hundred millions of the sur- veyed lands remain to be sold. The argument of the report of the land committee assumes that " nearly one hundred millions are the refuse of sales, and donations," are of very little actual value, and only fit to be given to settlers, or abandoned to the States in which they lie. Mr. President, let us define as we go-let us analyze. What do the land committee mean by " refuse land " Do they mean worth- less, inferior, rejected land, which nobody will buy at the present government price Let us look at facts, and make them our guide. The government is constantly pressed by the new States to bring more and more lands into the market; to extinguish more Indian titles; to survey more. The new States themselves are probably urged to operate upon the general government by emigrants and settlers, who see still before them, in their progress west, other new lands which they desire The general government yields to the solicita- tions. It throws more land into the market, and it is annually and daily preparing additional surveys of fresh lands. It has thrown, and is preparing to throw open to purchasers already one hundred and sixty-two millions of acres. And now, because the capacity to purchase, in its nature limited by the growth of our population, is to- tally incompetent to absorb this immense quantity, the government is called upon, by some of the very persons who urged the exhibition of this vast amount to sale, to consider all that remains unsold as re- fuse ! Twenty-five millions in thirty-six years only are sold, and all the rest is to be looked upon as refuse. Is this right If there had been five hundred millions in market, there probably would not have 121 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. been more, or much more sold. But I deny the correctness of the conclusion that it is worthless because not sold. It is not sold be- cause there were not people to buy it. You must have gone to other countries, to other worlds, to the moon, and drawn from thence peo- ple to buy the prodigious quantity which you offered to sell. Refuse land ! A purchaser goes to a district of country and buys out of a township a section which strikes his fancy. He exhausts his money. Others might have preferred other sections. Other sec tions may even be better than his. He can with no more propriety be said to have refused" or rejected all the other sections, than a man who, attracted by the beauty, charms and accomplishments of a particular lady, marries her, can be said to have rejected or refused all the rest of the sex. Is it credible that out of one hundred and fifty or one hundred and six- ty millions of acres of land in a valley celebrated for its fertility, there are only about twenty-five millions of acres of good land, and that all the rest is refuse Take the State of Illinois as an example. Of all the States in the Union, that State probably contains the greatest proportion of rich, fertile lands; more than Ohio, more than Indiana, abounding as they both do in fine lands. Of the thirty-three mil- lions and a half of pnblic lands in Illinois, a little more only than two millions have been sold. Is the residue of thirty-one millions all re- fuse land Who that is acquainted in the west can assert or believe it No, sir; there is no such thing. The unsold lands are unsold because of the reasons already assigned. Doubtless there is much inferior land remaining, but a vast quantity of the best of lands also. For its timber, soil water power, grazing, minerals, almost all land possesses a certain value. If the lands unsold are refuse and worth- less in the hands of the general government, why are thbey sought after with so much avidity If in our hands they are good for noth- ing, what more would they be worth in the hands of the new States " Onlv fit to be given to settlers !" What settlers would thank you what settlers would not scorn a gift of refuse, worthless land If you mean to be generous, give them what is valuable; be manly in your generosity. But let us examine a little closer this idea of refuse land. If there e any State in which it is to be found in large quantities, that State 122 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. 123 would be Ohio. It is the oldest of the new States. There the pub- lic lands have remained longer exposed in the market. But there we find only five millions and a half to be sold. And I hold in my hand an account of sales in the Zanesville district, one of the oldest in that State made during the present year. It is in a paper, entitled the " Ohio Republican," published at Zanesville the 26th May, 1832 The article is headed " refuse land,7 and it states: "It has suited the interest of some to represent the lands of the United States which have remained in market for many years, as mere I refuse' which cannot be sold; and to urge a rapid reduction of price, and the ces- sion of the residue in a short period, to the States in which they are situated. It is strongly urged against this plan that it is a specula- ting project, which, by alienating a large quantity of land from the United States, will cause a great increase of price to actual settlers, in a few years-instead of their being able forever, as it may be said is the case under the present system of land sales, to obtain a farm at a reasonable price. To show how far the lands unsold are from oeing worthless, we copy from the Gazette the following statement of recent sales in the Zanesville district, one of the oldest districts in the west. The sales at the Zanesville land office since the com- mencement of the present year have been as follows: January, 7,120 80, February S,542 67, March 11,744 75, April 9,209 19, and since the first of the present month about 9,000 worth have been sold, more than half of which was in 40 acre lots-" And there cannot be a doubt that the act, passed at this season, authcriz- ing sales of forty acres, will from the desire to make additions to farms, and to settle young members of families, increase theEales very much, at least during this year. A friend of mine in this city bought in Illinois last fall about two thousand acres of this refuse land, at the minimum price, for which he has lately refused 6 per acre. An officer of this body, now in my eye, purchased a small tract of this same refuse land of one hun- dred and sixty acres, at second or third hand, entered a few years ago, and which is now estimated at 1,900. It is a business, a very profitable business, at which fortunes are made in the new States, to purchase these refuse lands, and, without improving them, to sell them at large advances. Far from being discouraged by the fact of so much surveyed public SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY land remaining unsold, we should rejoice that this bountiful resource, possessed by our country, remains in almost undiminished quantity, notwithstanding so many new and flourishing States have sprung up in the wilderness, and so many thousands of families have been ac- commodated. It might be otherwise, if the public land was dealt out by government with a sparing, grudging, griping hand. But they are liberally offered, in exhaustless quantities, and at moderate prices, enriching individuals, and tending to the rapid improvement of the country. The two important facts brought forward and emphatical- ly dwelt on by the committee of manufactures, stand in their full force, unaffected by anything stated in the report of the land commit- tee. These facts must carry conviction to every unbiassed mind that will deliberately consider them. The first is, the rapid increase of the new States, far outstripping the old, averaging annually an increase of eight and a half per cent., and doubling of course in twelve years. One of these States, Illinois, full of refuse land, increasing at the rate of eighteen and a half per cent. ! Would this astonishing growth take place if the lands were too high or all the good land sold The other fact is, the vast increase in the annual sales: in 1830, rising of three millions. Since the report of the committee of manufactures, the returns have come in of the sales of last year, which had been estimated at three millions. They were in fact 3,566,127 94 ! Their progressive increase baffles all calculation. Would this hap- pen, if the price were too high It is argued that the value of different townships and sections is various; and that it is, therefore, wrong to fix the same price for all The variety in the quality, situation, and advantages of different tracts, is no doubt great. After the adoption of any system of classification, there would still remain very great diversity in the tracts belonging to the same class. This is the law of nature. The presumption of inferiority, and of refuse land, founded upon the length of time that the land has been in market, is denied, for reasons already stated- The offer, at public auction, of all lands to the highest bidder, previ- ous to their being sold at private sale, provides in some degree for the variety in the value, since each purchaser pushes the land up to the price which, according to his opinion, it ought to command. But if the price demanded by government is not too high for the good land, (and no one can believe it,) why not wait until that is sold before any reduction in thee price of the bad And that will not be sold for 124 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. many years to come. It would be quite as wrong to bring the price of good land down to the standard of the bad, as it is alledged to be to carry the latter up to that of the former. Until the good land is sold there will be no purchasers of the bad: for, as has been stated in the report of the committee of manufactures, a discreet farmer woud rather give a dollar and a quarter per acre for first rate land, than accept refuse and worthless land as a present. " 4. Because the speedy extinction of the federal title within their limits is neces. sary to the independence of the new States, to their equality with the elder States; to the development of their resources; to the subjection of their soil to taxation, culti- vation and settlement, and to the proper enjoyment of their jurisdiction and sover. eignty." All this is mere assertion and declamation. The general govern- ment at a moderate price, is selling the public land as fast as it can find purchasers. The new States are populating with unexampled ra- pidity; their condition is now much more eligible than that of some of the old States. Ohio, I am sorry to be obliged to confess, is, in internal improvement and some other respects, fifty years in advance of her elder sister and neighbor, Kentucky. How have her growth and prosperity, her independence, her equality with the elder States, the development of her resources, the taxation, cultivation, and set- tlement of her soil, or the proper enjoyment of her jurisdiction and sovereignty, been affected or impaired by the federal title within her limits The federal title! It has been a source of blessings and of bounties, but not one of real grievance. As to the exemption from taxation of the public lands, and the exemption for five years of those sold to individuals, if the public land belonged to the new States, would they tax it And as to the latter exemption, it is paid for by the general government, as may be seen by reference to the compacts; and it is moreover, beneficial to the new States themselves by hold- ing out a motive to emigrants to purchase and settle within their limits. " 6. Because the ramified machinery of the land office department, and the own- ership of so much soil, extends the patronage and authority of the general govern. ment into the heart and corners of the new States, and subjects their policy to the danger of a foreign and powerfil influence." A foreign and powerful influence ! The federal government a for- eign government! And the exercise of a legitimate control over the national property, for the benefit of the whole people of the United States, a deprecated penetration into the heart and corners of the new 125 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. States ! As to the calamity of the land offices, which are held with. in them, I believe that is not regarded by the people of those States with quite as much horror as it is by the land committee. They justly consider that they ought to hold those offices themselves, and that no persons ought to be sent from the other foreign States of this Union to fill them. And, if the number of the offices were increased, t would not be looked upon by them as a grievous addition to the calamity. But what do the land committee mean by the authority of this foreign, federal government Surely they do not desire to get rid of the federal government. And yet the final settlement of the land question will have effected but little in expelling its authority from the bosoms of the new States. Its action will still remain in a thou- sand forms, and the heart and corners of the new States will still be invaded by post-offices and post-masters, and post-roads, and the Cum- berland road, and various other modifications of its power. " Because the sum of 425,000,000 proposed to be drawn from the new States and Territories, by the sale of their soil, at 1 25 per acre, is unconscionable and im- racticable-such as never can be paid-and the bare attempt to raise wvhich, must drain, exhaust and impoverish these States, and give birth to the feelings, which a ense of injustice and oppression never fail to excite, and the excitement of which snould be so carefully avoided in a confederacy of free States." In another part of their report the committee say, speaking of the immense revenue alledged to be derivable from the public lands, " this ideal revenue is estimated at 425,000,000, for the lands now within the limits of the States and Territories, and at 1,363,589,- 691 for the whole federal domain. Such chimerical calculations pre- clude the propriety of argumentative answers." Well, if these cal- culations are all chimerical, there is no danger from the preservation of the existing land system of draining, exhausting and impoverish- ng the new States, and of exciting them to rebellion. The manufacturing committee did not state what the public lands would, in fact, produce. They could not state it. It is hardly a subject of approximate estimate. The committee stated what would be the proceeds, estimated by the minimum price of the public lands; what, at one-half of that price; and added that, although there might be much land that would never sell at one dollar and a quarter per acre, " as fresh lands are brought into market and exposed to sale at auction, many of them sell at prices exceeding one dollar and a quar 126 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. ter per acre." They concluded by remarking that the least favora- ble view of regarding them was to consider them a capital yielding an annuity of three millions of dollars at this time; that, in a few years, that annuity would probably be doubled, and that the capital might then be assumed as equal to one hundred millions of dollars. Whatever may be the sum drawn from the sales of the public lands, it will be contributed, not by citizens of the States alone in which they are situated, but by emigrants from all the States. And it will be raised, not in a single year, but in a lono series of years. It would have been impossible for the State of Ohio to have paid, in one year, the millions that have been raised in that State by the sale of public lands; but in a period of upwards of thirty years the payment has been made, not only without impoverishing, but with the constantly increasing prosperity of the State. Such, Mr. President, are the reasons of the land committee for the reduction of the price of the public lands. Some of them had been anticipated and refuted in the report of the manufacturing committee; and I hope that I have now shown the insolidity of the residue. I will not dwell upon the consideration urged in that report against any large reduction, founded upon its inevitable tendency to lessen the value of the landed property throughout the Union, and that in the western States especially. That such would be the necessary consequence, no man can doubt who will seriously reflect upon such a measure as that of throwing into market, immediately, upwards of one hundred and thirty millions of acres, and at no distant period up- wards of two hundred millions more, at greatly reduced rates. If the honorable chairman of the land committee (Mr. King,) had relied upon his own sound practical sense, he would have presented a report far less objectionable than that which he has made. He has availed himself of another's aid, and the hand of the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Benton,) is as visible in the composition as if his name had been subscribed to the instrument. We hear again, in this pa- per, of that which we have so often heard repeated before in debate, by the Senator from Missouri-the sentiments of Edmund Burke. And what was the state of things in England, to which those sentiments were applied. 127 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. England has too little land, and too many people. America has too much land, for the present population of the country, and wants peo- ple. The British crown had owned, for many generations, large bodies of land, preserved for game and forest from which but small revenues were derived. It was proposed to sell out the crown lands, that they might be peopled and cultivated, and that the royal family should be placed on the civil list. Mr. Burke supported the propo- sition by convincing arguments. But what analogy is there between the crown lands of the British sovereign, and the public lands of the United States Are they here locked up from the people, and, for the sake of their game or timber, excluded from sale Are not they freely exposed in market, to all who want them, at moderate prices The complaint is, that they are not sold fast enough, in other words, that people are not multiplied rapidly enough to buy them. Pa- tience, gentlemen of the land committee, patience! The new States are daily rising in power and importance. Some of them are already great and flourishing members of the confederacy. And, if you will only acquiesce in the certain and quiet operation of the laws of God and man, the wilderness will quickly teem with people, and be filled with the monuments of civilization. The report of the'Nand committee proceeds to notice and to animad- vert upon certain opinions of a late Secretary of the Treasury, con- tained in his annual report, and endeavors to connect them with some sentiments expressed in the report of the committee of manufactures. That report has before been the subject of repeated commentary in the Senate, by the Senator from Missouri, and of much misrepresen- tation ind vituperation in the public press. Mr. Rush showed me the rough draft of that report, and I advised him to expunge the paragraphs in question, because I foresaw that they would be mis- represented, and that he would be exposed to unjust accusation. But knowing the purity of his intentions, believing in the soundness of the views which he presented, and confiding in the candor of a just pub- lic, he resolved to retain the paragraphs. I cannot suppose the Sen- ator from Missouri ignorant of what passed between Mr. Rush and me, and of his having, against my suggestions, retained the para- graphs in question, because these facts were all stated by Mr. Rush himself, in a letter addressed to a late member of the House of Rep- resentatives, representing the district in which I reside, which letter, more than a year ago, was published in the western papers. 128 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. 1 shall say nothing in defence of myself-nothing to disprove the charge of my cherishing unfriendly feelings and sentiments towards any part of the west. If the public acts in which I have participa- ted; if the uniform tenor of my whole life will not refute such an imputation, nothing that I could here say would refute it. But I will say something in defence of the opinions of my late pa- triotic and enlightened colleague, not here to speak for himself; and I will vindicate his official opinions from the erroneous glosses and interpretations which have been put upon them. Mr. Rush, in an official report which will long remain a monument of his ability, was surveying with a statesman's eye the condition of America. He was arguing in favor of the Protective Policy-the American system. He spoke of the limited vocations of our society, and the expediency of multiplying the means of increasing subsis- tence, comfort and wealth. He noticed the great and the constant tendency of our fellow-citizens to the cultivation of the soil, the want of a market for their surplus produce. the inexpediency of all blindly -ushing to the same universal employment, and the policy of dividing ourselves into various pursuits. He says: " The manner in which the remote lands of the United States are selling and set. tling, whilkt it possibly may tend to increase more quickly the aggregate population of the country, and the mere means of subsistence, does not increase capital in the samr proportion. 0 Anything that may serve to hold back this tendency to difliiion from running too far and too lonv into an extreme, can scarcely prove otherwise than salutary. + If the population of these, (a ma- ioritv of the States, including some western States,) not yet redundant in fact, though appearing to be so, under this legislative incitement to emigrate, remain fixed in more instances, as it probably would be bv extending the motives to manu- factrring labor, it is believed that the nation would gain in two ways: first, by the more rapid accumulation of capital: and next by the gradual reduction ofthe ex- esqs of its agricuiltural population over that engaged in other vocations. It is not imagined that it ever would be practicable, even if it were desirable, to turn this etreamO of emigration aside; but resources, opened through the influence of the law-, in new fields of industry, to the inhabitants of the States already sufficiently peo fled to enter upon them, mnight operate to lessen, in some degree, and usefully lessc n, its absorbing force." Now, Mr. President, what is there in this view adverse to the west, or unfavorable to its interests Mr. Rush is arguing on the tendency of the people to engage in agriculture, and the incitement to emigration produced by our laws. Does he propose to change those laws in that particular Does he propose any new measure So far from suggesting any alteration of the conditions on which the public lauds are sold, he expressly says that it is not desirable, if it were 129 SPEECHES OF HEN rf CLAY. practicable, to turn this stream of emigration aside. Leaving all time laws in full force, and all the motives to emigration, arising from fez- tile and cheap lands, untouched, he recommends the encouragement of a new branch of business, in which all the Union, the west as well as the rest, is interested; thus presenting an option to population to en- gage in manufactures or in agriculture, at its own discretion. And does such an option afford just ground of complaint to any one Is it not an advantage to all Do the land committee desire (I am snre they do not) to create starvation in one part of the Union, that emigrants may be forced into another If they do not, they ought not to condemn a multiplication of human employments, by which, as its certain conse- quence, there will be an increase in the means of subsistence and com- fort. The objection to Mr. Rush, then, is, that he looked at his whole country, and at all parts of it; and that, whilst he desired the prosperity and growth of the west to advance undisturbed, he wished to buildup, on deep foundations, the welfare of all the people. Mr. Rush knew that there were thousands of the poorer classes who never would emigrate; and that emigration, under the best aus- pices, was far from being unattended with evil. There are moral, physical, pecuniary obstacles to all emigration; and these will increase as the good vacant lands of the west are removed, by intervening set- tlements further and further from society, as it is now located. It is, I believe, Dr. Johnson, who pronounces that of all vegetable and ani- mal creation, man is the most difficult to be uprooted and transferred to a distant country; and he was right. Space itself-mountains, and seas, and rivers, are impediments. The want of pecuniary means- the expenses of the outfit, subsistence and transportation of a family, is no slight circumstance. When all these difficulties are overcome, (and how few, comparatively, can surmount them,) the greatest of all remains-that of being torn from one's natal spot-separated for- ever from the roof under which the companions of his childhood were sheltered, from the trees which have shaded him from summer's heats the spring from whose gushing fountain he has drunk in his youth, the tombs that hold the precious relic of his venerated ancestors! But I have said that the land committee had attempted to con- found the sentiments of Mr. Rush with some of the reasoning em- ployed by the committee of manufactures against the proposed reduc- tion of the price of the public lands. What is that reasoning Hera ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. it is; it will speak for itself; and without a single comment will de- mnonstrate how different it is from that of the late Secretary of the Treasury, unexceptionable as that has been shown to be. " The greatest emigration (says the manufacturing committee) that is believed now to take place from any of the States, is from Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The eifects of a materia eduction in the price of the public lands would be-Ist., to lessen the value of real estate in those three States; 2d., to diminish their interest in the public domain, as a common fund for the benefit of all the States ; and 3d., to offer what wonld operate as a bounty to further emigration from those States, occa- sioning more and more lands, situated within them, to be thrown into the marketst thernby not only lessening the value of their lands, but draining them both of their population and labor." There are good men in different parts, but especially in the Atlantic portion of the Union, who have been induced to regard lightly this vast national property; who have been persuaded that the people of the west are dissatisfied with the administration of it; and who be- Iieve that it xvill, in the end, be lost to the nation, and that it is not orth present care and preservation. But these are radical mistakes. The great body of the west are satisfied-perfectly satisfied with the general administration of the public lands. They would indeed like, and are entitled to, a more liberal expenditure among them of the proceeds of the sales. For this provision is made by the bill to which I will hereafter call the attention of the Senate. But the great body of the west have not called for, and understand too well their real interest to desire any essential change in the system of survey, sale, or price of the lands. There may be a few, stimulated by dema- gogues, who desire change; and what system is there, what govern- ment, what order of human society, that a few do not desire change It is one of the admirable properties of the existing system, that it contains within itself and carries along principles of conservation and safety. In the progress of its operation, new States become identified with the old, in feeling, in thinking, and in interest. Now, Ohio is as sound as any old State in the Union, in all her views relating to the public lands. She feels that her share in the exterior domain is much more important than would be an exclusive right to the few millions of acres left unsold, within her limits, accompanied by a vir- tual surrender of her interest in all the other public lands of the Uni- ted States. And I have no doubt that now, the people of the othcr new States, left to their own unbiassed sense of equity and justice, would form the same judgment. They cannot believe that what they have not bought, what remains the property of themselves and all 131 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. their brethren of the United States, in common, belongs to them ex- elusively. But if I am mistaken-if they have been (deceived by erroneous impressions on their mind, made by artful men, as the sales proceed, and the land is exhausted, and their population increased, like the State of Ohio, they will feel that their true interest points to their remaining copartners in the whole national domain, instead of bringing forward an unfounded pretension to the inconsiderable rem- nant which will be then left in their own limits. And now, Mr. President, I have to say something, in respect to the particular plan brought forward by the committee of munufac- tures for a temporary appropriation of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands. The committee say that this fund is not wanted by the general go- vernment; that the peace of the country is not likely, from present appearances, to be speedily disturbed; and that the general govern- ment is absolutely embarrassed in providing against an enormous surplus in the treasury. While this is the condition of the Federal government, the States are in want of, and can most beneficially use, that very surplus with which we do not know what to do. The pow- ers of the general government are limited; those of the States are ample. If those limited powers authorised an application of the fund to some objects, perhaps there are some others, of more importance, to which the powers of the States would be more competent, or to which they may apply a more provident care. But the government of the whole and of the parts, at last is but one government of the same people. In form they are two, in substance one. They both stand under the same solemn obligation to promote by all the powers with which they are respectively entrusted, the happiness of the people; and the people in their turn, owe respect, and allegiance to both. Maintaining these relations, there should be mutual assistance to each other afforded by these two systems. When the States are full-handed, and the coffers of the general government are empty, the States should come to the relief of the general govern- ment, as many of them did, most promptly and patriotically, during the late war. When the conditions of the parties are reversed, as is now the case, the States wanting what is almost a burthen to the 132 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. general government, the duty of this government is to go to the relief of the States. They were views like these which induced a majority of the com- mittee to propose the plan of distribution contained in the bill now under consideration, For one, however, I will again repeat the de- claration, which I made early in the session, that I unite cordially with those who condemn the application of any principle of distribu tion among the several States, to surplus revenue derived from taxa- tion. I think income derived from taxation stands upon ground totally distinct from that which is received from the public lands. Congress can prevent the accumulation, at least for any considerable time, of revenue from duties, by suitable legislation, lowering or augmenting the imposts; but it cannot stop the sales of the public lands, -without the exercise of arbitrary and intolerable power. The powers of Con- gress over the public lands are broader and more comprehensive than those which they possess over taxation and the money produced by it. This brings me to consider 1st -the power of Congress to make the distribution. By the second part of the third section of the fourth article of the constitution, Congress " have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United States." The power of disposition is plenary, unrestrained, unqualified. It is not limited to a specified object or to a defined purpose, but left applicable to any object or purpose which the wisdom of Congress shall deem fit, acting under its high responsibility. The government purchased Louisiana and Florida. May it not apply the proceeds of lands within those countries to any object which the good of the Union may seem to indicate If there be a restraint in the constitution, where is it-what is it The uniform practice of the government has conformed to the idea of its possessing full powers over the public lands. They have been freely granted, from time to time, to communities and individuals, for a great variety of purposes. To States for education, internal im- provements, public buildings; to corporations for education; to the deaf and dumb; to the cultivators of the olive and the vine; to pro- emptioners; to General Lafayette, c. 9 133 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. The deeds from the ceding States, far from opposing, fully warrant the distribution. That of Virginia ceded the land as " a common fund for the use and benefit of such of the United States as have be- come, or shall become members of the confederation or federal alli- ance of the said States, Virginia inclusive." The cession was for the benefit of all the States. It may be argued that the fund must be retained in the common treasury, and thence paid out. But by the bill reported, it will come into the common treasury, and then the ques- tion how it shall be subsequently applied for the use and benefit of such of the United States as compose the confederacy, is one of modus only. Whether the money is disbursed by the general govern ment directly, or is paid out upon some equal and just principle to the States, to be disbursed by them, cannot affect the right of distribution. If the general government retained the power of ultimate disburse- ment, it could execute it only by suitable agents; and what agency is more suitable than that of the States themselves If the'States ex- pend the money, as the bill contemplates, the expenditure will, in effect, be a disbursement for the benefit of the whole, although the several States are organs of the expenditure; for the whole and all the parts are identical. And whatever redounds to the benefit of all the parts necessarily contributes in the same measure to the benefit of the whole. The great question should be, Is the distribution upon equal and just principles And this brings me to consider, 2d. The terms of the distribution proposed by the bill of the corn mittee of manufactures. The bill proposes a division of the nett pro- ceeds of the sales of the public lands among the sveral States compo- sing the Union, according to their federal representative population, as ascertained by the last census; and it provides for new States that may hereafter be admitted into the Union. The basis of the distribu- tion, therefore, is derived from the constitution itself, which has adopted the same rule in respect to representation and direct taxes. None could be more just and equitable. But it has been contended in the land report, that the revolutionary States which did not cede their public lands, ought not to be allowel to come into the distribution. This objection does not apply to thA purchases of Louisiana and Florida, because the consideration for them was paid out of the common treasury, and was consequently contributed by all the States. Nor has the objection any just founda- 134 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. tion when applied to the public lands derived from Virginia and the other ceding States; because by the terms of the deeds the cessions were made for the use and benefit of all the States. The ceding States having made no exception of any State, what right has the general government to interpolate in the deeds, and now create an exception The general government is a mere trustee, holding the domain in virtue of those deeds, according to the terms and conditions which they expressly describe; and it is bound to execute the trust accordingly. But how is the fund produced by the public lands now expended It comes into the common treasury, and is disbursed for the common benefit, without exception of any State. The bill only proposes to substitute to that object, now no longer necessary, another and more useful common object. The general application of the fund will continue, under the operation of the bill, although the particular purposes may be varied. The equity of the proposed distribution, as it respects the two class- es of States, the old and the new, must be manifest to the Senate. It proposes to assign to the new States, besides the five per cent. stipulated for in their several compacts with the general government, the further sum of ten per cent. upon the nett proceeds. Assuming the proceeds of the last year, amounting to 3,566,127 94, as the basis of the calculation, I hold in my hand a paper which shows the sum that each of the seven new States would receive. They have complained of the exemption from taxation of the public lands sold by the general government for five years after the sale. If that ex- emption did not exist, and they were to exercise the power of taxing those lands, as the average increase of their population is only eight and a half per cent. per annum, the additional revenue which they would raise would only be eight and a half per cent. per annum; that is to say, a State now collecting a revenue of 100,000 per an- num, would collect only 108,500, if it were to tax the lands recent- ly sold. But by the bill under consideration, each of the seven new States will annually receive, as its distribvtive share, more than the whole amount of its annual revenue. It may be thought that to set apart ten per cent to the new States in the first instance, is too great a proportion, and is unjust towards the old States. But it will be recollected that, as they populate much faster than the old States, and as the last census is to gevem in the 135 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. apportionment, they ought to receive more than the old States. If they receive too much at the commencement of the term, it may be neutralized by the end of it. After the deduction shall have been made of the fifteen per cent. lotted to the new States, the residue is to be divided among the wenty-four States, old and new, composing the Union. What each of the States would receive, is shown by a table annexed to the re- port. Taking the proceeds of the last year as the standard, there must be added one-sixth to what is set down in that table as the pro- portion of the several States. If the power and the principle of the proposed distribution be satis- factory to the Senate, I think the objects cannot fail to be equally so. They are education, internal improvements, and colonization-all great and beneficent objects-all national in their nature. No mind can be cultivated and improved; no work of internal improvement can be executed in any part of the Union, nor any person of color transported from any of its ports, in which the whole Union is not interested. The prosperity of the whole is an aggregate of the pros- perity of the parts. The States, each judging for itself, will select among the objects enumerated in the bill, that which comports best with its own policy There is no compulsion in the choice. Some will prefer, perhaps, to apply the fund to the extinction of debt, now burdensome, created for internal improvement; some to new objects of internal improvement; others to education; and others again to colonization. It may be supposed possible that the States will divert the fund from the speci fied purposes: but against such a misapplication we have, in the first place, the security which arises out of their presumed good faith; and, in the second, the power to withhold subsequent, if there has been any abuse in previous appropriations. It has been argued that the general government has no power in respect to colonization. Waiving that, as not being a question at this time, the real inquiry is, have the States themselves any such power For it is to the States that the subject is referred. The evil of a free black population is not restricted to particular States, but extends to and is felt by all. It is not, therefore, the slave question, but totally 136 ON THE PUBLIC LANDS. distinct from and unconnected with it. I have heretofore often ex- pressed my perfect conviction that the general government has no constitutional power which it can exercise in regard to African sla- very. That conviction remains unchanged. The States in which slavery is tolerated, have exclusively in their own hands the entir regulation of the subject. But the slave States differ in opinion as to the expediency of African colonization. Several of them have sig nified their approbation of it. The legislature of Kentucky, I believe unanimously, recommended the encouragement of colonization to Congress. Should a war break out during the term of five years, that the operation of the bill is limited to, the fund is to be withdrawn and applied to the vigorous prosecution of the war. If there be no war, Congress, at the end of the term, will be able to ascertain whether the money has been beneficially expended, and to judge of the pro- priety of continuing the distribution. Three reports have been mrade, on this great subject of the public lands, during the present session of Congress, besides that of the Sec- retary of the Treasury at its commencement-two in the Senate and one in the House. All three of them agree, 1st, In the preservation of the control of the general government over the public lands; and 2d, They concur in rejecting the plan of a cession of the public lands to the States in which they are situated, recommended by the Secre- tary. The land committee of the Senate propose an assignment of fifteen per cent of the nett proceeds, besides the five per cent. stipu- lated in the compacts, (making together twenty per cent.) to the new States, and nothing to the old. The committee of manufactures of the Senate, after an allotment of an additional sum of ten per cent. to the new States, propose aR equal distribution of the residue among all the States, old and new, upon equitable principles. The Senate's land committee, besides the proposal of a distribution, restricted to the new States, recommends an immediate reduction of the price of " fresh lands,"1 to a minimum of one dollar per acre, and to fifty cents per acre for lands which have been five years or up- wards in market. 13" SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. The land committee of the House is opposed to all distribution, general or partial, and recommends a reduction of the price to one dollar per acre. And now, Mr. President, I have a few more words to say and shall be done. We are admonished by all our reflections, and by existing signs, of the duty of communicating strength and energy to the glori- ous Union which now encircles our favored country. Among the ties which bind us together, the public domain merits high considera- tion. And if we appropriate, for a limited time, the proceeds of that great resource, among the several States, for the important objects which have been enumerated, a new and powerful bond of affection and of interest will be added. The States will feel and recognize the operation of the general government, not merely in power and bur- dens, but in benefactions and blessings. And the general government in its turn will feel, from the expenditure of the money which it dis- penses to the States, the benefits of moral and intellectual improve- ment of the people, of greater facility in social and commercial inter- course, and of the purification of the population of our country, them- selves the best parental sources of national character, national Union, and national greatness. Whatever may be the fate of the particular proposition now under consideration, 1 sincerely hope that the atten- tion of the nation may be attracted to this most interesting subject; that it may justly appreciate the value of this immense national prop- erty; and that, preserving the regulation of it by the will of the whole, for the advantage of the whole, it may be transmitted, as a sacred and inestimable succession, to posterity, for its benefit and blessing for ages to come 138 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 12, 1S33. The election of General JAcKsoN to the Presidency for a second term took place in the fall of 1832, and immediately thereafter, the State of South Carolina assum- ed, by the formal edict of a regular Convention of her people, to nullify and make void the Tariff laws of the United States, on the ground that, being imposed for the purpose of protecting American Manufactures, they were unconstitutional and in- valid. General JACKSON promptly issued a vigorous Proclamation, denouncing the act as rebellious and treasonable, and declaring that he should use all the power entrusted to him to vindicate the laws of the Union and cause them to be respected. General SCOTT at the head of a considerable regular force, was posted at Charles- ton, S. C. and every portent of a desperate and bloody struggle was visible. Gen. JACKsON'S imperious passions were lashed to madness by the Carolina resistance, and the whole physical power of the country but awaited his nod. At this crisis Congress assembled, and the efforts of Mr. CLAY were promptly directed to the de- vising and maturing of some plan to prevent a collision between the Union and the nullifying State, and spare the effusion of blood. Under these circumstances, he projected and presented the bill known as the COMPRO-MISE ACT. On introducing this bill, he addressed the Senate as follows ] I YESTERDAY, sir, gave notice that I should ask leave to introduce a bill to modify the various acts imposing duties on imports. I at the same time added, that I should, with the permission of the Sen- ate, offer an explanation of the principle on which that bill is founded. I owe, sir, an apology to the Senate for this course of action, because, although strictly parliamentary, it is, nevertheless, out of the usual practice of this body; but it is a course which I trust that the Senate will deem to be justified by the interesting nature of the subject. I rise, sir on this occasion, actuated by no motives of a private nature, by no personal feelings, and for no personal objects; but exclusively in obedience to a sense of the duty which I owe to my country. I trust, therefore, that no one will anticipate on my part any ambitious display of such humble powers as I may possess. It is sincerely my purpose to present a plain, unadorned, and naked statement of facts connected with the measure which I shall have the honor to propose, and with the condition of the country. When I survey, sir, the whole SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. face of our country, I behold all around me evidences of the most gratifying prosperity, a prospect which would seem to be without a cloud upon it, were it not that through all parts of the country there exist great dissensions and unhappy distinctions, which, if they can possibly be relieved and reconciled by any broad scheme of legisla- tion adapted to all interests, and regarding the feelings of all sections, ought to be quieted; and leading to which object any measure ought to be well received. In presenting the modification of the tariff laws, which I am now about to submit, I have two great objects in view. My first object looks to the tariff. I am compelled to express the opinion, formed after the most deliberate reflection, and on full survey of the whole country, that whether rightfully or wrongfully, the tariff stands in imminent danger. If it should be preserved during this session, it must fall at the next session. By what circumstances, and through what causes, has arisen the necessity for this change in the policy of our country, I will not pretend now to elucidate. Others there are who may differ from the impressions which my mind has received upon this point. Owing, however, to a variety of concurrent causes, the tariff, as it now exists, is in imminent danger, and if the system can be preserved beyond the next session, it must be by some means not now within the reach of human sagacity. The fall of that policy, sir, would be productive of consequences calamitous indeed. When I look to the variety of interests which are involved, to the number of individuals interested, the amount of capital invested, the value of the buildings erected, and the whole arrangement of the business for the prosecution of the various branches of the manufacturing art which have sprung up under the fostering care of this government, I cannot contemplate any evil equal to the sudden overthrow of all those interests. History can produce no parallel to the extent of the mis- chief which would be produced by such a disaster. The repeal of the edict of Nantes itself was nothing in comparison with it. That con deinned to exile and brought to ruin a great number of persons. The most respectable portion of the population of France was condemned to exile aud ruin by that measure. But in my opinion, sir, the sud- den repeal of the tariff policy would bring ruin and destruction on the whole people of this country. There is no evil, in my opinion, equal to the consequences which would result from such a catas- trophe. 140 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. What, sir, are the complaints which unhappily divide the people of this great country On the one hand, it is said by those who are opposed to the tariff that it unjustly taxes a portion of the people, and paralyzes their industry; that it is to be a perpetual operation; that there is to be no end to the system; which, right or wrong, is to be urged to their inevitable ruin. And what is the just complaint, on the other hand, of those who support the tariff It is, that the policy of the government is vascillating and uncertain, and that there is no stability in our legislation. Before one set of books are fairly opened, it becomes necessary to close them, and to open a new set. Before a law can be tested by experiment, another is passed. Be- fore the present law has gone into operation-before it is yet nine months old-passed, as it was, under circumstances of extraordinary deliberation, the fruit of nine months labor-before we know anything of its experimental effects, and even before it commences its opera- tions, we are required to repeal it. On one side we are urged to re- peal a system which is fraught with ruin; on the other side, the check vow imposed on enterprise, and the state of alarm in which the public mind has been thrown, renders all prudent men desirous, look- ing ahead a little way, to adopt a state of things, on the stability of which they may have reason to count. Such is the state of feeling on the one side and on the other. I am anxious to find out some principle of mutual accommodation, to satisfy, as far as practicable, both parties-to increase the stability of our legislation; and at some distant day-but not too distant, when we take into view the magni- tude of the interests which are involved-to bring down the rate of duties to that revenue standard for which our opponents have so long contended. The basis on which I wish to found this modification, is one of time; and the several parts of the bill to which I am about to call the attention of the Senate, are founded on this basis. I propose to give protection to our manufactured articles, adequate protection, for a length of time, which, compared with the length of human life, is very long, but which is short, in proportion to the legitimate dis- cretion of every wise and parental system of government-securing the stability of legislation, and allowing time for a gradual reduction, on one side; and, on the other, proposing to reduce the duties to that revenue standard for which the opponents of the system have so long contended. I will now proceed to lay the provisions of the bill before the Senate, with a view to draw their attention to the true character of the bill. 141 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. LMr. CLAY then proceeded to read the first section of the bill.] According to this section, it will be perceived that it is proposed to come down to the revenue standard at the end of little more than nine years and a half, giving a protection to our own manufactures which I hope will be adequate, during the intermediate time. [Mr, CLAY here recapitulated the provisions of the sections, and showed by vari ous illustrations how they would operate: and then proceeded to read and comment upon the second section of the bill.] It will be recollected, that at the last session of Congress, with a view to make a concession to the southern section of the country, low priced woollens, those supposed to enter into the consumption of slaves and the poorer classes of persons, were taken out of the general class of duties on woollens, and the duty on them reduced to five per cent. It will be also recollected that at that time the gentlemen from the south said that this concession was of no consequence, and that they did not care for it, and I believe that they do not now consider it of any greater importance. As, therefore, it has failed of the purpose for which it was taken out of the common class, I think it ought to be brought back again, and placed by the side of the other description of woollens, and made subject to the same reduction of duty as proposed by this section. [Having next read through the third section of the bill, Mr. CLAY said:] After the expiration of a term of years, this section lays down a rule by which the duties are to be reduced to the revenue standard, which has been so long and so earnestly contended for. Until other- wise directed, and in default of provision being made for the wants of the government in 1842, a rule is thus provided for the rate of duties thereafter, Congress being in the meantime authorized to adopt any other rule which the exigencies of the country, or its financial condition, may require. That is to say, if, instead of the duty of twenty per cent. proposed, fifteen or seventeen per cent. of duty is sufficient, or twenty-five per cent. should be found necessary, to pro- duce a revenue to defray the expenses of an economical administra- tion of the government, there is nothing to prevent either of those rates, or any other, from being fixed upon: whilst the rate ( f twenty per cent. is introduced to guard against any failure on the part of Congress to make the requisite provision in due season.. 142 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. This section of the bill contains also another clause, suggested by that spirit of harmony and conciliation which I pray may preside over the councils of the Union at this trying moment. It provides (what those persons who are engaged in manufactures have so long anx- iously required for their security) that duties shall be paid in ready money-and we shall thus get rid of the whole of that credit system, into which an inroad was made, in regard to woollens, by the act of the last session. This section further contains a proviso that nothing in any part of this act shall be construed to interfere with the freest exercise of the power of Congress to lay any amount of duties, in the event of war breaking out between this country and any foreign power. [Mr. CLAY then read the fourth section of the bill.] One of the considerations strongly urging for a reduction of the, tariff at this time is, that the government is likely to be placed in a dilemma by having an overflowing revenue; and this apprehension is the ground of an attempt totally to change the protective policy of the country. The section which I have read is an effort to guard against this evil, by relieving altogether from duty a portion of the articles of import now subject to it. Some of these would, under the present rate of duty upon them, produce a considerable revenue; the article of silks alone would yield half a million of dollars per an- num. If it were possible to pacify present dissensions, and let things take their course, I believe that no difficulty need be apprehended. If the bill which this body passed at the last session of Congress, and has again passed at this session, shall pass the other House, and be- come a law, and the gradual reduction of duties should take place which is contemplated by the first section of this bill, we shall have settled two (if not three) of the great questions which have agitated this country, that of the tariff, of the public lands, and, I will add, of internal improvement also. For, if there should still be a surplus revenue, that surplus might be applied, until the year 1842, to the completion of the works of internal improvement already commenced; and, after 1S42, a reliance for all funds for purposes of internal im- provement should be placed upon the operation of the land bill, to which I have already referred. It is not my object in referring to that measure in connexion with 143 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY that which I am about to propose, to consider them as united in their fate, being desirous, partial as I may be to both, that each shall stand or fall upon its own intrinsic merits. If this section of the bill, ad- ding to the number of free articles, should become law, along with the reduction of duties proposed by the first section of the bill, it is bv no means sure that we shall have any surplus revenue at all. I have been astonished indeed at the process of reasoning by which the Secretary of the Treasury has arrived at the conclusion, that we shall have a surplus revenue at all, though I admit that such a con- clusion can be arrived at in no other way. But what is this process Duties of a certain rate now exist. The amount which they produce is known; the Secretary, proposing a reduction of the rate of duty, supposes that the duties will be reduced in proportion to the amount of the reduction of duty. Now no calculation can be more uncertain than that. Though perhaps the best that the Secretary could have made, it is still all uncertainty; dependent upon the winds and waves, on the mutations of trade, and on the course of commercial opera- tions. If there is any truth in political economy, it cannot be that result will agree with the prediction; for we are instructed by all ex- perience that the consumption of any artich is in proportion to the- reduction of its price, and that in general it may be taken as a rule, that the duty upon an article forms a portion of its price. I do not mean to impute any improper design to any one; but, if it had been so intended, no scheme for getting rid of of the tariff could have been more artfully devised to effect its purposes, than that which thus cal- culated the revenue, and in addition, assumed that the expenditure of the government every year would be so much, c. Can any one here say what the future expenditure of the government will be In this young, great, and growing community, can we say what will be the expenditure of the government even a year hence, much less what it will be three, or four, or five years hence Yet it has been estimated, on assumed amounts, founded on such uncertain data, both of income and expenditure, that the revenue might be reduced so many millions a year! I ask pardon for this digression, and return to the examination of articles in the fourth section, which are proposed to be left free of duty. The duties on these articles now vary from five to ten per cent. ad valorem; but low as they are, the aggregate amount of revenue which they produce is considerable. By the bill of the last 144 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. wecsion, the duties on French silks was fixed at five per cent. and that on Chinese silks at ten per cent. ad valorem. By the bill now pro- posed, the duty on French silks is proposed to be repealed, leaving the other untouched. I will frankly state why I made this distinc- tion. It has been a subject of anxious desire with me to see our com- merce with France increased. France, though not so large a cus- tomer in the great staples of our country as Great Britain, is a great growing customer. I have been much struck with a fact going to prove this, which accidentally came to my knowledge the other day; which is, that within the short period of fourteen years, the amount of consumption in France of the great southern staple of cotton has been tripled. Again, it is understood that the French silks of the lower grades of quality cannot sustain a competition with the Chinese without some discrimination of this sort. I have understood, also, that the duty imposed upon this article at the last session has been very much complained of on the part of France; and, considering all the circumstances connected with the relations between the two gov- ernments, it appears to me to be desirable to make this discrimina- tion in favor of the French product. If the Senate should think differently, I shall be content. If, indeed, they should think proper to strike out this section altogether, I shall cheerfully submit to their decision. LAfter reading the fifth and sixth sections, Mr. CLAY said:] I will now take a few of some of the objections which will be made to the bill. It may be said that the act is prospective. that it binds our successors, and that we have no power thus to bind them. It is true that the act is prospective, and so is almost every act which we ever passed, but we can repeal it the next day. It is the estab- lished usage to give all acts a prospective operation. In every tariff there are some provisions which go into operation immediately, and others at a future time. Each Congress legislate according to their own views of propriety; their act does not bind their successors, but creates a species of public faith, which will not rashly be broken. But if this bill shall go into operation, as I hope even against hope, that it may, I doubt not that it will be adhered to by all parties. There is but one contingency which will render a change necessary, and that is the intervention of a war, which is provided for in the bill. The hands of Congress are left untied in this event, and they will be at liberty to resort to any mode of taxation which they may 143 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. propose. But if we suppose peace to continue, there will be no mo- tive for disturbing the arrangement, but on the contrary, every motive to carry it into effect. In the next place, it will be objected to the bill, by the friends of the protective policy, of whom 1 hold myself to be one, for my mind is immutably fixed in favor of that policy, that it abandons the power of protection. But I contend, in the first place, that a suspension of the exercise of the power is not an abandonment of it; for the power is in the constitution according to our theory- was put there by its framers, and can only be dislodged by the people After the year 1842, the bill provides that the power shall be exer cised in a certain mode. There are four modes by which the industry of the country can be protected. First, The absolute prohibition of rival foreign articles that are totally untouched by the bill; but it is competent to the wisdom of the government to exert the power whenever they wish. Second; The imposition of duties in such a manner as to have no reference to any object but revenue. When we had a large public debt in 1816, the duties yielded thirty-seven millions, and paid so much more of the debt, and subsequently they yielded but eight or ten millions, and paid so much less of the debt. Sometimes we have to trench on the sinking fund. Now we have no public debt to absorb the surplus revenue, and no motive for continuing the duties. No man can look at the condition of the country, and say that we can carry on this system with accumulating revenue, and no practical way of expend- ing it. The third mode was attempted last session, in a resolution which I had the honor to submit last year, and which in fact ulti- mately formed the basis of the act which finally passed both Houses. This was to raise as much revenue as was wanted for the use of the government, and no more, but to raise it from the protected and not from the unprotected articles. I will say, that I regret most deeply that the greater part of the country will not suffer this principle to prevail. It ought to prevail-and the day, in my opinion, will come, when it will be adopted as the permanent policy of the country. Shall we legislate for our own wants or that of a foreign country To protect our own interests in opposition to foreign legislation was the basis of this system. The fourth mode in which protection can be afforded to domestic industry, is to admit free of duty every arti- cle which aided the operations of the manufacturers. These are the four modes for protecting our industry; and to those who say that 146 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. the bill abandons the power of protection, I reply, that it does not touch that power ; and that the fourth mode, so far from being abandoned, is extended and upheld by the bill. The most that can ne objected to the bill by those with whom I co-operate to support the protective system, is that, in consideration of nine and a half years of peace, certainty, and stability, the manufacturers relinquished some advantages which they now enjoy. What is the principle which has always been contended for in this and in the other House After the accumulation of capital and skill, the manufacturers wvill stand alone, unaided by the government, in competition with the imported articles from any quarter. Now give us time; cease all fluctuations and agitations, for nine years, and the manufacturers in every branch will sustain themselves against foreign competition. If we can see our way clearly for nine years to come, we can safely leave to posterity to provide for the rest. If the tariff be overthrown, as may be its fate next session, the country will be plunged into extreme distress and agitation. I want harmony. I wish to see the restoration of those ties which have carried us triumphantly through two wars. I delight Lot in this perpetual turmoil. Let us have peace, and become once more united as a band of brothers. It may be said that the farming interest cannot subsist under a twenty per cent. ad valorem duty. My reply is, " sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." I will leave it to the day when the reduction takes effect, to settle the question. When the reduction takes place, and the farmer cannot live under it, what will he do I will tell you what he ought to do. He ought to try it-make a fair experiment of it-and if he cannot live under it, let him come here and say that he is bankrupt and ruined. If then nothing can be done to relieve him, sir, I will not pronounce the words, for I will believe that something will be done, and that relief will be afforded, without hazarding the peace and integrity of the Union. The confederacy is an excellent contrivance, but it must be managed with delicacy and skill. There' are an infinite variety of prejudices and local interests to be regarded, but they should all be made to yeild to the Union. If the system proposed cannot be continued, let us try some inter mediate system, before we think of any other dreadful alternative. Sir, it will be said, on the other hand-for the objections are made by the friends of protection principally-that the time is too long; 147 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. that the intermediate reductions are too inconsiderable, and that there is no guarantee that, at the end of the time stipulated, the reduction proposed would be allowed to take effect. In the first place, shoui') be recollected, the diversified interests of the country-the measures of the government which preceded the establishment of manufactures -the public faith in some degree pledged foi their security; and the ruin in which rash and hasty legislation would involve them. I will not dispute about terms. It would not, in a court of justice, be main- tained that the public faith is pledged for the protection of manufac- tures; but there are other pledges which men of honor are bound by, besides those of which the law can take cognizance. If we excite, in our neighbor, a reasonable expectation- which in- duces him to take a particular course of business, we are in honor bound to redeem the pledge thus tacitly given. Can any man doubt that a large portion of our citizens believed that the system would be permanent The whole country expected it. The security against any change of the system proposed by the bill, is in the character of the bill, as a compromise between two conflicting parties If the bill should be taken by common consent, as we hope it will be-the his- tory of the revenue will be a guarantee of its permanence. The cir- cumstances under which it was passed will be known and recorded- and no one will disturb a system which was adopted with a view to give peace and tranquillity to the country. The descending gradations by which I propose to arrive at the minimum of duties, must be gradual. I never would consent to any precipitate operation to bring distress and ruin on the community. Now, viewing it in this light, it appears that there are eight years and a half, and nine years and a half, taking the ultimate time, which would be an efficient protection, the remaining duties will be with- drawn by a biennial reduction. The protective principle must be said to be, in some measure, relinquished at the end of eight years and a half. This period cannot appear unreasonable, and I think that no member of the Senate, or any portion of the country, ought to make the slightest objection. It now remains for me to consider the other objection-the want of guarantee to there being an ulterior continu- ance of the duties imposed by the bill, on the expiration of the term which it prescribes. The best guarantee will be found in the circum 148 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. stances under which the measure would be passed. If it passes by common consent; if it is passed with the assent of a portion-a considerable portion of those who have directly hitherto supported this system, and by a considerable portion of those who opposed it- if they declare their satisfaction with the measure, I have no doubt the rate of duties guarantied, will be continued after the expiration of the term, if the country continues at peace. And, at the end of the term, when the experiment will have been made of the efficiency of the mode of protection fixed by the bill, while the constitutional ques- tion has been suffered to lie dormant, if war should render it neces- sary, protection might be carried up to prohibition; while if the coun- try should remain at peace, and this measure go into full operation, the duties will be gradually lowered down to the revenue standard, which has been so earnestly wished for. But suppose that I am wrong in all these views, for there are no guarantees, in one sense of the term, of human infallibility. Suppose a different state of things in the south-that this Senate, from causes which I shall not dwell upon now, but which are obvious to every reflecting man in this country-causes which have operated for years past, and which continue to operate-suppose, for a moment, that there should be a majority in the Senate in favor of the southern views, and that they should repeal the whole system at once, what guarantee would we have that the repealing of the law would not destroy those great interests which it is so important to preserve What guarantee will you have that the thunders of those powerful manufactures will not be directed against your capitol, because of this abandonment of their interests, and because you have given them no protection against foreign legislation. Sir, if you carry your measure of repeal without the consent, at least, of a portion of those who are interested in the preservation of manufactures, you have no security, no guarantee, no certainty, that any protection will be continued. But if the measure should be carried by the common consent of both parties, we shall have all security ; history will faithfully record the transaction; narrate under what circumstances the bill was passed; that it was a pacifying measure; that it was as oil poured from the vessel of the Union to restore peace and harmony to the country. When all this was known, what Congress, what Legislature, would mar the guarantee What man who is entitled to deserve the char- 10 149 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. acter of an American statesman, would stand up in his place in either House of Congress, and disturb this treaty of peace and amity Sir, I will not say that it may not be disturbed. All that I say is, that here is all the reasonable security that can be desired by those on the one side of the question, and much more than those on the other would have by any unfortunate concurrence of circumstances. Such a repeal of the whole system should be brought about as would be cheerfully acquiesced in by all parties in this country. All parties may find in this measure some reasons for objection. And what human measure is there which is free from objectionable qualities It has been remarked, and justly remarked, by the great father of our country himself, that if that great work which is the charter of our liberties, and under which we have so long flourished, had been sub- mitted, article by article, to all the different States composing this Union, that the whole would have been rejected; and yet when the whole was presented together, it was accepted as a whole. I will admit that my friends do not get all they could wish for; and the gentlemen on the other side do not obtain all they might desire; but both will gain all that in my humble opinion is proper to be given in the present condition of this country. It may be true that there will be loss and gain in this measure. But how is this loss and gain dis- tributed Among our countrymen. What we lose, no foreign hand gains; and what we gain, will be no loss to any foreign power. It is among ourselves the distribution takes place. The distribution is founded on that great principle of compromise and concession which lies at the bottom of our institutions, which gave birth to the consti- tution itself, and which has continued to regulate us in our onward march, and conducted the nation to glory and renown. It remains for me now to touch another topic. Objections have been made to all legislation at this session of Congress, resulting from the attitude of one of the States of this confederacy. I confess that I felt a very strong repugnance to any legislation at all on this sub- ject at the commencement of the session, principally because I mis- conceived the purposes, as I have found from subsequent observation, which that State has in view. Under the influence of more accurate information, I must say that the aspect of things since the commence- ment of the session have, in my opinion, greatly changed. When I came to take my seat on this floor, I had supposed that a member of 150 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROTMISE BILL. .Aiis Union had taken an attitude of defiance and hostility against the authority of the general government. I had imagined that she had arrogantly required that we should abandon at once a system which had long been the settled policy of this country. Supposing that she had manifested this feeling, and taken up this position, I had, in con- sequence, felt a disposition to hurl defiance back again, and to impress upon her the necessity of the performance of her duties as a member of this Union. But since my arrival here, I find that South Carolina does not contemplate force, for it is denied and denounced by that State. She disclaims it-and asserts that she is merely making an experiment. That experiment is this: by a course of State legisla- tion, and by a change in her fundamental laws, she is endeavoring by her civil tribunals to prevent the general government from carrying the laws of the United States into operation within her limits. That she has professed to be her object. Her appeal is not to arms, but to another power; not to the sword, but to the law. I must say, and I will say it with no intention ot disparaging that State, or any other of the States-it is a feeling unworthy of her. As the purpose of South Carolina is not that of force, this at once disarms, divests legis- lation of one principal objection, which it appears to me existed against it at the commencement of this session. Her purposes are all of a civil nature. She thinks she can oust the United States from her limits; and unquestionably she has taken good care to prepare her judges beforehand by swearing them to decide in her favor. If we submitted to her, we should thus stand but a poor chance of ob- taining justice. She disclaims any intention of resorting to force un- less we should find it indispensable to execute the laws of the Union by applying force to her. It seems to me the aspect of the attitude of South Carolina has changed-or rather, the new light which I have obtained, enables me to see her in a different attitude and I have not truly understood her until she passed her laws, by which it was intended to carry her ordinance into effect. Now, I venture to pre- dict that the State to which I have referred must ultimately fail in her attempt. I disclaim any intention of saying anything to the dispar- agement of that State. Far from it. I think that she has been rash, intemperate, and greatly in error; and to use the language of one of her own writers-made up an issue unworthy of her. From one end to the other of this continent, by acclamation, as it were, nullification has been put down, and put down in a manner more effectually than by a thousand wars or a thousand armies; by the irresistible force, 151 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY by the mighty influence of public opinion. Not a voice beyond the single State of South Carolina has been heard in favor of the princi- ple of nullification, which she has asserted by her own ordinance; and I will say, that she must fail in her lawsuit. I will express two opinions; the first of which is, that it is not possible for the ingenuity f man to devise a system of State legislation to defeat the execution of the laws of the United States, which cannot be countervailed by federal legislation. A State might take it upon herself to throw obstructions in the way of the execution of the laws of the federal government; but federal legislation can follow at her heel quickly, and successfully counteract the course of State legislation. The framers of the constitution fore- saw this, and the constitution has guarded against it. What has it said It is declared, in the clause enumerating the powers of this government, that Congress shall have all power to carry into effect all the powers granted by the constitution, in any branch of the gov- ernment under the sweeping clause-for they have not specified con- tingencies, because they could not see what was to happen-but whatever powers were necessary, all, all are given to this govern- ment by the fundamental law, necessary to carry into effect those powers which are vested by that constitution in the federal govern- ment. That is one reason. The other is, that it is not possible for any State, provided this government is administered with prudence and propriety, so to shape its laws as to throw upon the general gov- ernment the responsibility of first resorting to the employment of force; but, if force at all is employed, it must be by State legislation, and not federal legislation; and the responsibility of employing that force must rest with, and attach to, the State itself. I shall not go into the details of this bill. I merely throw out these sentiments for the purpose of showing you that South Carolina, hav- ing declared her purpose to be this, to make an experiment whether, by a course of legislation, in a conventional form, or a legislative form of enactment, she can defeat the execution of certain laws of the UJ nited States, I, for one, will express my opinion-that I believe it is utterly impracticable, whatever course of legislation she may choose to adopt, for her to succeed. I am ready, for one, to give the tribu- nals and the executive of the country, whether that executive has or has not my confidence, the necessary measures of power and authority M5 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. to execute the laws of the Union. But I would not go a hair's breadth further than what was necessary for those purposes. Up to that point I would go, and cheerfully go; for it is my sworn duty, as I regard A, to go to that point. Again: taking this view of the subject, South Carolina is doing nothing more, except that she is doing it with more rashness, than some other States have done-that respectable State, Ohio, and, if I am not mistaken, the State of Virginia also. An opinion prevailed some years ago, that if you put the laws of a State into a penal form, you could oust federal jurisdiction out of the limits of that State, be- cause the State tribunals had an exclusive jurisdiction over penalties and crimes, and it was inferred that no federal court could wrest the authority from them. According to that principle, the State of Ohio passed the laws taxing the branch of the United States Bank, and high penalties were to be enforced against every person who should attempt to defeat her taxation. The question was tried. It happened to be my lot to be counsel at law to bring the suit against the State, and to maintain the federal authority. The trial took place in the State of Ohio; and it is one of the many circumstances which re- dounds to the honor of that patriotic State, she submitted to the fed- eral force. I went to the office of the public treasury myself to which was taken the money of the Bank of the United States, it having re- mained there in sequestration until it was peaceably rendered, in obe- dience to the decision of the court, without any appeal to arms. In a building which I had to pass in order to reach the treasury, I saw the most brilliant display of arms and musquetry that I ever saw in my life; but not one was raised or threatened to be raised against the due execution of the laws of the United States, when they were then enforced. In Virginia (but I amn not sure that I am correct in the history of its there was a case of this kind. Persons were liable to penalties for selling lottery tickets. It was contended that the State tribunals had an exclusive jurisdiction over the subject. The case was brought before the Supreme Court-the parties were a Mr. Myers and somebody else, and it decided as it must always decide, no mat- ter what obstruction-no matter what the State law may be, the con- stitutional laws of the TTnt+ed States must follow anid defeat it, in its attempt to arrest the federal arm in the exercise of its lawful authority. South Carolina has attempted-and, I repeat it, in a much more of- fensive way, attempted to defeat the execution of the laws of the 153 154 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. iUnited States. But it seems that, under all the circumstances of the case, she has, for the present, determined to stop here, in order that, by our legislation, we may prevent the necessity of her advancing any further. But there are other reasons for the expediency of legisla- tion at this time. Although I came here impressed with a different opinion, my mind has now become reconciled. The memorable first of February is past. I confess I did feel an unconquerable repugnance to legislation until that day should have passed, because of the consequences that were to ensue. I hoped that the day would go over well. I feel, and I think that we must all confess, we breathe a freer air than when the restraint was upon us. But this is not the only consideration. South Carolina has prac tically postponed her ordinance, instead of letting it go into effect, till the fourth of March. Nobody who has noticed the course of events, can doubt that she will postpone it by still further legislation, if Con- gress should rise without any settlement of this question. I was going to say, my life on it, she will postpone it to a period subsequent to the fourth of March. It is in the natural course of events. South Carolina must perceive the embarrassments of her situation. She must be desirous-it is unnatural to suppose that she is not-to re- main in the Union. What ! a State whose heroes in its gallant an- zestry fought so many glorious battles along with those of the other States of this Union-a State with which this confederacy is linked by bonds of such a powerful character! I have sometimes fancied what would be her condition if she goes out of this Union; if her five hundred thousand people should at once be thrown upon their own resources. She is out of the Union. What is the consequence She is an independent power. What then does she do She must have armies and fleets, and an expensive government-have foreign mis- sions-she must raise taxes-enact this very tariff, which has driven her out of the Union, in order to enable her to raise money, and to sustain the attitude of an independent power. If she should have n( force, no navy to protect her, she would be exposed to piratical in cursions. Their neighbor, St. Domingo, might pour down a horde of pirates on her borders, and desolate her plantations. She inus' have her embassies, therefore must she have a revenue. And, let me tell you, there is another consequence-an inevitable one; she has a certain description of persons recognized as property south of the Potomac, and west of the Mississippi, which would be no longer ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. recognized as such, except within their own limits. This species of property would sink to one-half of its present value, for it is Louis- iana and the south-western States which are her great market. But I will not dwell on this topic any longer. I say it is utterly impossible that South Carolina ever desired, for a moment, to become a separate and independent State. If the existence of the ordinance, while an act of Congress is pending, is to be considered as a motive for not passing that law, why, this would be found to be a sufficient reason for preventing the passing of any laws. South Carolina, by keeping the shadow of an ordinance even before us, as she has it in her power to postpone it from time to time, would defeat our legisla- tion for ever. I would repeat that, under all the circumstances of the case, the condition of South Carolina is only one of the elements of a combination, the whole of which, together, constitutes a motive of action which renders it expedient to resort, during the present session of Congress, to some measure in order to quiet and tranquilize the country. If there be any who want civil war-who want to see the blood of any portion of our countrymen spilt-I am not one of them. I wish to see war of no kind; but, above all, I do not desire to see a civil war. When war begins, whether civil or foreign, no human sight is competent to foresee when, or how, or where it is to termi nate. But when a civil war shall be lighted up in the bosom of our own happy land, and armies are marching, and commanders are win- ning their victories, and fleets are in motion on our coast-tell me, if you can, tell me if any human being can tell its duration. God alone knows where such a war would end. In what a state will be left our institutions In what state our liberties I want no war; above all, no war at home. Sir, I repeat, that I think South Carolina has been rash, intemper- ate, and greatly in the wrong, but I do not want to disgrace her, nor any other member of this Union. No: I do not desire to see the lustre of one single star dimmed, of that glorious confederacy which constitutes our politicalsysterm still less do I wish to see it blotted out, and its light obliterated for ever. Has not the State of South Caro- lina been one of the members of this Union in " days that tried men's souls " Have not her ancestors fought along side our ancestors 15.) SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Have we not, conjointly, won together many a glorious battle r If we had to go into a civil war with such a State, how would it termi- nate Whenever it should have terminated, what would be her con- dition If she should ever return to the Union, what would be the condition of her feelings and affections; what the state of the heart of her people She has been with us before, when her ancestors mingled in the throng of battle, and as I hope our posterity will min- gle with hers, for ages and centuries to come, in the united defence of liberty, and for the honor and glory of the Union, I do not wish to see her degraded or defaced as a member of this confederacy. In conclusion, allow me to entreat and implore each individual mem- ber of this body to bring into the consideration of this measure, which I have had the honor of proposing, the same love of country which, if I know myself, has actuated me, and the same desire of restoring harmony to the Union, which has prompted this effort. If we can forget for a moment-but that would be asking too much of human nature-if we could suffer, for one moment, party feelings and party causes-and, as I stand here before my God, I declare I have looked beyond those considerations, and regarded only the vast interests of this united people-I should hope that, under such feelings, and with such dispositions, we may advantageously proceed to the considera- tion of this bill, and heal, before they are yet bleeding, the wounds of our distracted country. 156 IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPROMISE ACT. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 25, 1S33. I The bill before noted, having been introduced and favorably reported, its passage was opposed in the Senate, especially by Mr. WEBSTER. Mr. CLAY replied to the arguments adduced against it as follows:] BEING anxious, Mr. President, that this bill should pass, and pass this day, I will abridge as much as I can the observations I am called upon to make. I have long, with pleasure and pride, co-operated in the public service with the Senator from Massachusetts; and I have found him faithful, enlightened, and patriotic. I have not a par- ticle of doubt as to the pure and elevated motives which actuate him. Under these circumstances, it gives me deep and lasting regret to find myself compelled to differ from him as to a measure involving vital interests, and perhaps the safety of the Union. On the other hand, I derive great consolation from finding myself on this occasion, in the midst of friends with whom I have long acted, in peace and in war, and especially with the honorable Senator from Maine, (Mr. Holmes) with whom I had the happiness to unite in a memorable instance. It was in this very chamber, that Senator presiding in the committee of the Senate, and I in committee of twenty-four of the House of Representatives, on a Sabbath day, that the terms were adjusted, by which the compromise was effected of the Missouri question. Then the dark clouds that hung over our beloved country were dispersed; and now the thunders from others not less threatening, and which have been longer accumulating, will, I hope, roll over us harmless and without injury. The senator from Massachusetts objeets to the bill under consider- ation on various grounds. He argues that it imposes unjustifiable restraints on the power of future legislation; tnaL it abandons tbhe protective policy, and that the details of the bill are practically den SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. fective. He does not object to the gradual, but very inconsiderable, reduction of duties which is made prior to 1842. To that he could Lot object, because it is a species of prospective provision, as he ad- mits, in conformity with numerous precedents on our statute book. He does not object so much to the state of the proposed law prior to 1842, during a period of nine years; but throwing himself forward to the termination of that period, he contends that Congress will then find itself under inconvenient shackles, imposed by our indiscretion. In the first place I would remark, that the bill contains no obligatory pledges; it could make none; none are attempted. The power over the subject is in the constitution; put there by those who formed it, and liable to be taken out only by an amendment of the instrument. The next Congress, and every succeeding Congress, will undoubtedly have the power to repeal the law whenever they may think proper. Whether they will exercise it or not, will depend upon a sound dis- cretion, applied to the state of the whole country, and estimating fairly the consequences of the repeal, both upon the general harmony and the common interests. Then the bill is founded in a spirit of compromise. Now, in all compromises there must be mutual conces- sions. The friends of free trade insist that duties should be laid in reference to revenue alone. The friends of American industry say, that another, if not paramount object in laying them, should be to diminish the consumption of foreign, and increase that of domestic products. On this point the parties divide, and between these two opposite opinions, a reconciliation is to be effected, if it can be accom- plished. The bill assumes as a basis, adequate protection for nine years, and less beyond that term. The friends of protection say to their opponents, we are willing to take a lease of nine years with the long chapter of accidents beyond that period including the chance of war, the restoration of concord, and along with it, a conviction com- mon to all, of the utility of protection; and in consideration of it, if, in 1842, none of these contingencies shall have been realized, we are willing to submit as long as Congress may think proper, to a maxim- um rate of twenty per cent., with the power of discrimination below it, cash duties, home valuations, and a liberal list of free articles, for the benefit of the manufacturing interest, To these conditions the opponents of protection are ready to accede. The measure is what it professes to be, a compromise; but it imposes, and could impose no restriction upon the will or power of a future Congress. Doubtless great respect will be paid, as it ought to be paid, to the serious con- 158 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. lition of the country that has prompted the passage of this bill. Any Future Congress that might disturb this adjustment, would act under a high responsibility, but it would be entirely within its competency to repeal, if it thought proper, the whole bill. It is far from the ob- ject of those who support this bill, to abandon or surrender the policy zf protecting American industry. Its protection or encouragement may be accomplished in various ways. 1st. By bounties, as far as they are within the constitutional power of Congress to offer them. 2d. By prohibitions, totally excluding the foreign rival article. 3d. By high duties, without regard to the aggregate amount of revenue which they produce. 4th. By discriminating duties so adjusted as to limit the revenue to the economical wants of government. And 5thly, By the admission of the raw material, and articles essential to manu- factures, free of duty. To which may be added, cash duties, home valuations, and the regulation of auctions. A perfect system of pro- tection would comprehend most if not all these modes of affording it. There might be at this time a prohibition of certain articles, (ardent spirits and coarse cottons, for example,) to public advantage. If there were not inveterate prejudices and conflicting opinions prevail- ing, (and what statesman can totally disregard impediments ) such a compound system might be established. Now, Mr. President, before the assertion is made that the bill sur renders the protective policy, gentlemen should understand perfectly what it does not as well as what it does propose. It impairs no power of Congress over the whole subject; it contains no promise or pledge whatever, express or implied, as to bounties, prohibitions, or auctions; it does not touch the power of Congress in regard to them, and Congress is perfectly free to exercise that power at any time; it expressly recognizes discriminating duties within a prescribed limit; it provides for cash duties and home valuations; and it secures a free list, embracing numerous articles, some of high importance to the manufacturing arts. Of all the modes of protection which I have enumerated, it affects only the third; that is to say, the imposition of high duties, producing a revenue beyond the wants of government. The senator from Massachusetts contends that the policy of protec- tion was settled in 1S16, and that it has ever since been maintained. Sir, it was settled long before 1816. It is coeval with the present constitution, and it will continue under some of its various aspects, during the existence of the government. No nation can exist-no 159 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY nation perhaps ever existed, without protection in some form, and to some extent, being applied to its own industry. The direct and ne- cessary consequence of abandoning the protection of its own industry, would be to subject it to the restrictions and prohibitions of foreign powers ; and no nation, for any length of time, can endure an alien legislation in which it has no will. The discontents which prevail, and the safety of the republic, may require the modification of a spe- cific mode of protection, but it must be preserved in some other more acceptable shape. All that was settled in 1816, in 1824, and in 1828, was that pro- tection should be afforded by high duties, without regard to the amount of the revenue which they might yield. During that whole period, we had a public debt which absorbed all the surpluses beyond the ordi- nary wants of government. Between 1816 and 1824, the revenue was liable to the great fluctuations, vibrating between the extremes of about nineteen and thirty-six millions of dollars. If there were more revenue, more debt was paid ; if less, a smaller amount was reimbursed. Such was sometimes the deficiency of the revenue that it became necessary to the ordinary expenses of government, to trench upon the ten millions annually set apart as a sinking fund, to extin- guish the public debt. If the public debt remained undischarged, or we had any other practical mode of appropriating the surplus revenue, the form of protection, by high duties, might be continued without public detriment. It is the payment of the public debt, then, and the arrest of internal improvements by the exercise of the veto, that un- settle that specific form of protection. Nobody supposes, or proposes that we should continue to levy by means of high duties, a large an- nual surplus, of which no practical use can be made, for the sake of the incidental protection which they afford. The Secretary of the Treasury estimates that surplus on the existing scale of duties, and with the other sources of revenue, at six millions annually. An an- nual accumulat,,oa at that rate, would, in a few years, bring into the treasury the whole currency of the country, to lie there inactive ana dormant. This view of the condition of the country has impressed every pub- lic man with the necessity of some modification of the principles of protection, so far as it depends upon nigh duties. The senator from Massachusetts feels it; and hence, in the resolutions which he sub- 160 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE BILL. mitted, he proposes to reduce the duties, so as to limit the amount of the revenue to the wants of the government. With him revenue is the principal, protection the subordinate object. If protection cannot be enjoyed after such a reduction of duties as he thinks ought to be made, it is not to be extended. He says, specific duties and the pow- er of discrimination, are preserved by nis resolutions. So they may be under the operation of the bill. The only difference between the two schemes is, that the bill in the maximum which it provides, sug- gests a certain limit, while his resolutions lay down none. Below that maximum the principle of descrimination and specific duties may be applied. The senator from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Dallas,) who, equally with the senator from Massachusetts, is opposed to this bill, would have agreed to the bill if it had fixed thirty instead of twenty per centum; and he would have dispensed with home valuation, and come down to the revenue standard in five or six years. Now, Mr. President, I prefer, and I think the manufacturing interest will prefer, nine years of adequate protection, home valuations, and twenty per centum to the plan of the senator from Pennsylvania. Mr. President, I want to be perfectly understood as to the motives which have prompted me to offer this measure. I repeat what I said on the introduction of it, that they are, first, to preserve the manufac- turing interest, and secondly, to quiet the country. I believe the American system to be in the greatest danger; and I believe it can be placed on a better and safer foundation at this session than at the next. I heard with surprise, my friend from Massachusetts say, that nothing had occurred within the last six months to increase its hazard, I entreat him to review that opinion. Is it correct. Is the issue of numerous elections, including that of the highest officer of the gov- ernment nothing Is the explicit recommendation of that officer, in his message, at the opening of the session, sustained, as he is, by a recent triumphant election, nothing Is his declaration in his procla- mation, that the burdens of the South ought to be lelieved, nothing Is the introduction of a bill into the House of Representatives, during this session, sanctioned by the head of the treasury and the adminis- tration, prostrating the greater part of the manufactures of the country, nothing Are the increasing discontents, nothing Is the tendency of recent events to unite the whole South, nothing What have we not witnessed in this chamber Friends of the administration, burst- ing all the ties which seemed indisuolubly to unite them to its chief, SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and, with few exceptions south of the Potomac, opposing. and vehe mently opposing, a favorite measure of that administration, which three short months ago they contributed to establish ! Let us not de- ceive ourselves. Now is the time to adjust the question in a manner satisfactory to both parties. Put it off until the next session, and the alternative may, and probably then would be a speedy and ruinous reduction of the tariff, or a civil war witn the entire South. It is well known, that the majority of the dominant party is adverse to the tariff There are many honorable exceptions, the senator from New Jersey, (Mr. Dickerson,) among them. But for the exertions of the other party, the tariff would have been long since sacrificed Now let us look at the composition of the two branches of Congress at the next session. In this body we lose thre, friends of the protec- tive policy, without being sure of gaining one. Here, judging from present appearances, we shall at the next session be in the minority. In the House it is notorious that there is a considerable accession to the number of the dominant party. How then, I ask, is the system to be sustained against numbers, against the whole weight of the ad- ministration, against the united South, and against the increased pen- ding danger of civil war There is, indeed, one contingency that might save it, but that is too uncertain to rely upon. A certain class of northern politicians, professing friendship to the tariff have been charged with being secretly inimical to it, for political purposes They may change their ground, and come out open and undisguised supporters of the system. They may even find in the measure which I have brought forward, a motive for their conversion. Sir, I shall rejoice in it, from whatever cause it may proceed. And, if they can give greater strength and durability to the system, and at the same time quiet the discontents of its opponents, I shall rejoice still more. They shall not find me disposed to abandon it, because it has drawn succour from an unexpected quarter. No, Mr. President, it is not destruction, but preservation of the system at which we aim. If dan- gers now assail it, we have not created them. I have sustained it upon the strongest and clearest convictions of its expediency. They are entirely unaltered. Had others, who avow attachment to it, sup- ported it with equal zeal and straight-forwardness, it would be now free from embarrassment; but with them it has been a secondary in- terest. I utter no complaints; I make no reproaches. I wish only to defend myslf now, as heretofore, against unjust assaults. I have 162 ON INTRODUCING T.1E COMPROMISE ACT. been represented as the father of this system, and I am charged with an unnatural abandonment of my own offspring. I have never arro- gated to myself anj such intimate relation to it. I have, indeed, cherished it with parental fondness, and my affection is undiminished. but in what condition do I find this child It is in the hands of the Philistines, who would strangle it. I fly to its rescue, to snatch it from their custody, and to place it on a bed of security and repose for nine years, where it may grow and strengthen. and become accepta- ble to the whole people. I behold a torch about being applied to a favorite edifice, and 1 would save it if possible before it is wrapt in flames, or at least preserve the precious furniture which it contains. I wish to see the tariff separated from the politics of the country, that business men may go to work in security, with some prospect of stability in our laws, and without everything being staked on the is- sue of elections as it were on the hazards of the die. And the other leading object which has prompted the introduction of this measure, the tranquilizing of the country is no less important. All wise human legislation must consult in some degree the passions and prejudices, and feelings, as well as the interests of the people. It would be vain and foolish to proceed at all times, and under all cir- cumstances, upon the notion of absolute certainty in any system, or infallibility in any dogma, and to push these out without regard to any consequences. With us, who entertain the opinion that Congress is constitutionally invested with power to protect domestic industry, it is a question of mere expediency as to the form, the degree, and the time that the protection shall be afforded. In weighing all the considerations which should control and regulate the exercise of that power, we ought not to overlook what is due to those who honestly entertain opposite opinions to large masses of the community, and to deep, long cherished and growing prejudices. Perceiving, ourselves, no constitutional impediment, we have less difficulty in accommoda- ting ourselves to the sense of the people of the United States upon this interesting subject, I do believe that a majority of them is in favor of this policy; but I am induced to believe this almost against evidence. Two States in New England, which have been in favor of the system, have recently come out against it. Other States of the north and east have shown a remarkable indifference to its preser- vation. If, indeed, they have wished to preserve it, they have nev- ertheless placed the powers of government in hands which ordinary 163 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. information must have assured them were rather a hazardous depose- tory. With us in the west, although we are not without some direct, and considerable indirect interest in the system, we have supported it more upon national than sectional grounds. Meantime the opposition of a large and respectable section of the Union, stimulated by political success, has increased, and is increas- ing. Discontents are multiplying and assuming new-and dangerous aspects. They have been cherished by the course and hopes inspired during this administration, which, at the very moment that it threatens and recommends the use of the power of the Union, proclaims aloud the injustice of the system which it would enforce. These discontents are not limited to those who maintain the extravagant theory of nul- lification; they are not confined to one State; they are coextensive with the entire South, and extend even to northern States. It has been intimated by the senator from Massachusetts, that, if we legis- late at this session on the tariff, we would seem to legislate under the influence of a panic. I believe, Mr. President, I am not more sensi- ble to danger of any kind, than my fellow-men are generally. It per- haps requires as much moral courage to legislate under the imputa- tion of a panic, as to refrain from it lest such an imputation should be made. But he who regards the present question as being limited to South Carolina alone, takes a view of it much too contracted. There is a sympathy of feeling and interest throughout the whole South. Other southern States mav differ from that as to the reme- dy to be now used, but all agree (great as in my humble judgment is their error,) in the substantial justice of the cause. Can there be a doubt that those who think in common will sooner or later act in concert Events are on the wing, and hastening this co-operation. Since the commencement of this session, the most powerful southern member of the Union has taken a measure which cannot fail to lead to important consequences. She has deputed one of her most distin- guished citizens to request a suspension of measures of resistance. No attentive observer can doubt that the suspension will be made. Well, sir, suppose it takes place, and Congress should fail at the next ses- sion to afford the redress which will be solicited, what course would every principle of honor, and every consideration of the interests of Virginia, as she understands them, exact from her Would she not make common cause with South Carolina -and if she did, would 164 rN SUPPORT OF THE COMPROMISE ACT. not the entire South eventually become parties to the contest The rest of the Union might put down the South, and reduce it to submis- sion; but, to say nothing of the uncertainty and hazards of all war, is that a desirable state of things Ought it not to be avoided if it can be honorably prevented I am not one of those who think that we must rely exclusively upon moral power, and never resort to physical force. I know too well the frailties and follies of man, in his collective as well as individual character, to reject in all possible cases, the employment of force; but I do think that when resorted to, especially among the members of a confederacy, it should manifestly appear to be the only remaining appeal. But suppose the present Congress terminates without any adjust- ment of the tariff, let us see in what condition its friends will find themselves at the next session. South Carolina will have postponed the execution of the law passed to carry into eflct her ordinance until the end of that session. All will be quiet in the south for the present. The President, in his opening message, will urge that jus- tice, as he terms it, be done to the south, and that the burdens im- posed upon it by the tariff be removed. The whole weight of the ad- ministration, the united south, and majorities of the dominant party in both branches of Congress, will be found in active co-operation. Will the gentleman from Massachusetts tell me how we are to save the tariff against this united and irresistible force They will accuse us of indifference to the preservation of the Union, and of being will- ing to expose the country to the dangers of civil war. The fact of South Carolina postponing her ordinance, at the instance of Virginia, and once more appealing to the justice of Congress, will be pressed with great emphasis and effect. It does appear to me impossible that we can prevent a most injurious modification of the tariff at the next session, and that this is the favorable moment for an equitable arrange- ment of it. 1 have been subjected to animadversion for the admission of the fact, that, at the next session,our opponents will be stronger, and the friends of the Anmierican System weaker than they are in this Congress But, is it not so And is it not the duty of every man who aspires to be a statesman to look at naked facts as they really are Must he. suppress them Ought he, like children, to throw the counterpane over his eyes, and persuade himself that he is secure from danger Are not our opponents as well informed as we are about their own strength 11 1f66 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. If we adjourn, without any permanent settlement of the tariff; in what painful suspense and terrible uncertainty shall we not leave the manufacturers and business men of the country All eves will be turned, with trembling and fear, to the next session. Operations will be circumscribed, and new enterprises checked, or, if otherwise, ruin and bankruptcy may be the consequence. I believe, sir, this meas- ure, -which offers a reasonable guarantee for permanence and stability, will be hailed by practical men with pleasure. The political manu- facturers may be against it, but it will command the approbation of a large majority of the business manufacturers of the country But the objections of the honorable Senator from Massachu- setts are principally directed to the period beyond 1842. During fte intermediate time, there is every reason to hope and believe that the bill secures adequate protection. All my information assures me of this; and it is demonstrated by the fact, that, if the measure of protection, secured prior to the 31st December, 1S41, were perma- nent, or if the bill were even silent beyond that period, it would com- mand the cordial and unanimous concurrence of the friends of the policy. What then divides, what alarms us It is what may pos- sibly be the state of things in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, or subsequently ! Now, sir, even if that should be as bad as the most vivid imagination or the most eloquent tongue could depict it, if we have intermediate safety and security, it does not seem to me wise to rush upon certain and present evils, because of those which, admitting their possibility, are very remote and con- tingent. What! shall we not extinguish the flame which is burst- ing through the roof that covers us, because, at some future and dis- tant day, we may be again threatened with conflagration I do not admit that this bill abandons, or fails by its provisions to secure reasonable protection beyond 1842. I cannot know, I pre- tend not to know, what will then be the actual condition of this coun- try, and of the manufacturing arts, and their relative condition to the rest of the world. I would as soon confide in the forecast of the hon- orable Senator from Massachusetts, as in that of any other man in this Senate, or in this country; but he, nor any one else, can tell what that condition will then be. The degree of protection which will be required for domestic industry beyond 1S42, depends upon the reduction of wages, the accumulation of capital, the improvement 166 IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPROMISE ACT. in skill, the perfection of machinery, and the cheapening of the price, at home, of essential articles, such as fuel, iron, c. I do not think that the honorable Senator can throw himself forward to 1842, and tell us whal, in all these particulars, will be the state of this country, and its relative state to other countries. We know that, in all human probability, our numbers will be increased by an addition of one-third, at least, to their present amount, and that may materially reduce wages. We have reason to believe that our capital will be augment- ed, our skill improved; and we know that great progress has been made, and is making, in machinery. There is a constant tendency to decrease in the price of iron and coal. The opening of new mines and new channels of communication, must contioue to lower it. The successful introduction of the process of coaking will have great effect. The price of these articles, one of the most opulent and intelligent manufacturing houses in this country assures me, is a principal cause of the present necessity of protection to the cotton interest; and that house is strongly inclined to think that 20 per cent. with the other advantages secured in this bill, may do beyond 1842 Then, sir, what effect may not convulsions and revolutions in Europe, if any should arise, produce I am far from desiring them, that our coun- try may profit by their occurrence. Her greatness and glory rest, I hope, upon a more solid and more generous basis. But we cannot shut our eyes to the fact, that our greatest manufacturing, as well as commercial competitor, is undergoing a momentous political experi- ment, the issue of which is far from being absolutely certain. Who can raise the veil of the succeeding nine years, and show what, at their termination, will be the degree of competition which Great Britain can exercise towards us in the manufacturing arts Suppose, in the progress of gradual descent towards the revenue standard, for which this bill provides, it should, some years hence, become evident that further protection, beyond 1842, than that which it contemplates, may be necessary, can it be doubted that, in some form or other, it will be applied Our misfortune has been, and yet is, that the public mind has been constantly kept in a state of feverish excitement in respect to this system of policy. Conventions, elec- tions, Congress, the public press, have been for years all acting upon the tariff and the tariff acting upon them all. Prejudices have been excited, passions kindled, and mutual irritations carried to the high- est pitch of exasperation, insomuch that good feelings have been al- 1671 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. most extinguished, and the voice of reason and experience silenced, among the members of the confederacy. Let us separate the tariff from the agitating politics of the country, place it upon a stable and firm foundation, and allow our enterprising countrymen to demon strate to the whole Union, by their skilful and successful labors, the inappreciable value of the arts. If they can have, what they have never yet enjoyed, some years of repose and tranquillity, they will make, silently, more converts to the policy, than would be made during a long period of anxious struggle and boisterous contention. Above all, I count upon the good effects resulting from a restoration of the harmony of this divided people, upon their good sense and their love of justice. Who can doubt, that when passions have subsided, and reason has resumed her empire, that there will be a disposition throughout the whole Union to render ample justice to all its parts Who will believe that any section of this great confederacy would look with indifference to the prostration of the interests of another section, by distant and selfish foreign nations, regardless alike of the welfare of us all No, sir; I have no fears beyond 1842. The peo- ple of the United States are brethren, made to love and respect each other. Momentary causes may seem to alienate them, but, like family differences, they will terminate in a closer and more affection- ate union than ever. And how much more estimable will be a sys- tem of protection, based on common conviction and common consent, and planted in the bosoms of all, than one wrenched by power from reluctant and protesting weakness That such a system will be adopted, if it should be necessary for the period of time subsequent to 1842, I will not doubt. But, in the scheme which I originally proposed, I did not rely exclusively, great as my reliance is, upon the operation of fraternal feelings, the return of reason, and a sense of justice. The scheme contained an appeal to she interests of the South. According to it, unmanufactured cotton Pros to be a free article after 1842. Gentlemen from that quarter have dgain and again asserted that they were indifferent to the duty of three cents per pound on cotton, and that they feared no foreign competition. I have thought otherwise; but I was willing, by way of experiment, to take them at their word; not that I was opposed to the protection of cotton, but believing that a few cargoes of for- eign cotton introduced into our northern ports, free of duty, would hasten our southerE friends to come here and ask that protection fo. 1468 IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPROMISE ACT. their great staple, which is wanted in other sections for their interests. That feature in the scheme was stricken out in the select committee, but not by the consent of my friend from Delaware (Mr. Clayton) or myself. Still, after 1842, the south may want protection for sugar for tobacco, for Virginia coal, perhaps for cotton and other articles whilst other quarters may need it for wool, woollens, iron and cotton fabrics; and these mutual wants, if they should exist, will lead, I hope to some amicable adjustment of a tariff for that distant period, satis- factory to all. The theory of protection supposes, too, that, after a certain time, the protected arts will have acquired such strength and perfection as will enable them subsequently, unaided, to stand up against foreign competition. If, as I have no doubt, this should prove to be correct, it will, on the arrival of 1842, encourage all parts of the Union to consent to the continuance of longer protection to the few articles which may then require it. The bill before us strongly recommends itself by its equity and im- partiality. It favors no one interest, and no one State, by an unjust sacrifice of others. It deals equally by all. Its basis is the act of July last. That act was passed after careful and thorough investi- gation, and long deliberation, continued through several months. Al- though it may not have been perfect in its adjustment of the proper measure of protection to each article which was supposed to merit it, it is not likely that, even with the same length of time before us, we could make one more perfect. Assuming the justness of that act, the bill preserves the respective propositions for which the act provides, and subjects them all to the same equal but moderate reduction, spread over the long space of nine years. The Senator from Massa- chusetts contends that a great part of the value of all protection is given up by dispensing with specific duties and the principle of dis- crimination. But much the most valuable articles of our domestic manufactures (cotton and woollens, for example,) have never enjoy- ed the advantage of specific duties. They have always been liable to ad valorem duties, with a very limited application of the minimum principle. The bill does not, however, even after 1842, surrender either mode of laying duties. Discriminations are expressly recog- nised below the maximum, and specifc duties may also be imposed, provided they do not exceed it. The honorable Senator also contends that the bill is imperfect, and 169 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. that the execution of it will be impracticable. He asks, how is the excess above 20 per cent. to be ascertained on coarse and printed cottons, liable to minimums of 30 and 35 cents, and subject to a duty of 25 per cent. ad valorem; and how is it to be estimated in the case of specific duties Sir, it is very probable that the bill is not perfect, but I do not believe that there is anything impracticable in its execu- tion. Much will, however, depend upon the head of the treasury department. In the instance of the cotton minimums, the statute having, by way of exception to the general ad valorem rule, declared, in certain cases, how the value shall be estimated, that statutory value ought to govern; and consequently the 20 per cent. should be exclusively deducted from the 25 per cent. being the tate of duties to which cottons generally are liable; and the biennial tenths should be subtracted from the excess of five per cent. With regard to spe- cific duties, it will, perhaps, be competent to the Secretary of the Treasury, in the execution of the law, for the sake of certainty, to adopt some average value, founded upon importations of a previous year. But if the value of each cargo, and every part of it, is to be ascertained, it would be no more than what now is the operation in the case of woollens, silks, cottons above 30 and 35 cents, and a va- riety of other articles: and consequently there would be no more im- practicability in the law. To all defects, however, real or imaginary, which may be supposed will arise in the execution of the principle of the bill, I oppose one conclusive, and, I hope, satisfactory answer. Congress will be in session one whole month before the commencement of the law; and if, in the meantime, omissions calling for further legislation shall be discovered, there will be more time then than we have now to sup- ply them. Let us, on this occasion of compromise, pursue the exam- ple of our fathers, who, under the influence of the same spirit, in the adoption of the constitution of the United States, determined to ratify it, and go for amendments afterwards. To the argument of the Senator from Massachusetts, that this in- terest, and that, and the other, cannot be sustained under the protec- tion beyond 1842, I repeat the answer, that noone can now tell what may then be necessary. That period will provide for itself. But I was surprised to hear my friend singling out iron as an article that would be most injuriously affected by the operation of this bill. If I 170 IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPROMISE ACT. am not greatly mistaken in my recollection, he opposed and vott against the act of 1S24, because of the high duty imposed on iror But for that duty, (and perhaps the duty on hemp,) which he ther considered threw an unreasonable burden upon the navigation of the country, he would have supported that act. Of all the articles tt which protecting duties are applied, iron, and the manufactures ot iron, enjoy the highest protection. During the term of nine years the deductions from the duty are not such as seriously to impair those great interests, unless all my information deceives me; and beyond that period the remedy has been already indicated. Let me suppose that the anticipations which I form upon the restoration of concord and confidence siall be all falsified; that neither the sense of frater- nal affection, nor common justice, nor even common interests, will lead to an amicable adjustment of the tariff beyond 1842. Let me suppose that period has arrived, and that the provisions of the bill shall be interpreted as an obligatory pledge upon the Congress of that day; and let me suppose, also, that a greater amount of protec- tion than the bill provides is absolutely necessaiy to some interests, what is to be done Regarded as a pledge, it does not bind Congress for ever to adhere to the specific rate of duty contained in the bill The most, in that view, that it exacts, is to make a fair experiment. If, after such experiment, it should be demonstrated that, under such an arrangement of the tariff, the interests of large portions of the Union would be sacrificed, and they exposed to ruin, Congress will be competent to apply some remedy that will be effectual; and I hope and believe that, in such a contingency, some will be devised that may preserve the harmony and perpetuate the blessings of the Union. It has been alledged that there will be an augmentation, instead of a diminution of revenue, under the operation of this bill. I feel quite confident of the reverse; but it is sufficient to say that both contin- 'gencies are carefully provided for in the bill, without affecting the pro- tected articles. The gentleman from Massachuetts dislikes the measure, because it commands the concurrence of those who have been hitherto opposed, in regard to the tariff; and is approved by the gentleman from South Carolina, (Mr. Calhoun) as well as by myself. Why, sir, the gen- tleman has told us that he is not opposed to any compromise. Will e be pleased to say how any compromise can be effected, without a I'll SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. concurrence between those who had been previously divided, and taking some medium between the two extremes The wider the di- vision may have been, so much the better for the compromise, which ought to be judged of by its nature and by its terms, and not solely by those who happen to vote for it. It is an adjustment to which both the great interests in this country may accede without either be. ing dishonored. The triumph of neither is complete. Each, for the sake of peace, harmony, and union, miakes some concessions. The south has contended that every vestige of protection should be eradi- cated from the statute book, and the revenue standard forthwith adopted. In assenting to this bill, it waives that pretension-yields to reasonable protection for nine years; and consents, 'in considera- tion of the maximum of twenty per cent. to be subsequently applied, to discriminations below it, cash duties, home valuations, and a long list of free articles. The north and west have contended for the prac- tical application of the principle of protection, regulated by no other limit than the necessary wants of the country. If they accede to this adjustment, they agree, in consideration of the stability and certainty which nine years' duration of a favorite system of policy affords, and of the other advantages which have been enumerated, to come down in 1S42 to a limit not exceeding twenty per cent. Both partied, ani- mated by a desire to avert the evils which might flow from carrying out into all their consequences the cherished system of either, have met upon common ground, made mutual and friendly concessions, and, I trust, and sincerely believe, that neither will have, hereafter, occasion to regret, as neither can justly reproach the other with what may be now done This, or soire other measure of conciliation, is now more than ever necessary, since the passage, through the Senate, of the enforcing bill. To that bill, if I had been present, on the final vote, I should have given my assent, although with great reluctance. I believe this gov- ernment not only possessed of the constitutional power, but to be bound by every consideration, to maintain the authority of the laws. But I deeply regretted the necessity which seemed to me to require the pas'sage of such a bill. And I was far from being without serious apprehensions as to the consequences to which it might lead. I felt no new-born zeal in favor of the present administration, of which I now think as I have always thought. I could not vote against the measure; I would not speak in its behalf. I thought it most proper 172 IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPROMISE ACT. in me to leave to the friends of the administration and to others, who might feel themselves particularly called upon, to defend and sustain a strong measure of the administration. With respect to the series of acts to which the executive has resorted, in relation to our south- ern disturbance, this is not a fit occasion to enter upon a full consid- eration of them ; but I will briefly say, that, although the proclama- tion is a paper of uncommon ability and eloquence, doing great credit, as a composition, to him who prepared it, and to him who signed it, I think it contains some ultra doctrines, which no party in this coun- try had ventured to assert. With these are mixed up many sound principles and just views of our political systems. If it is to be judged by its effects upon those to whom it was more immediately addressed, it must be admitted to have been ill-timed and unfortunate. Instead of allaying the excitement which prevailed, it increased the exaspe- ration in the infected district, and afforded new and unnecessary causes of discontent and dissatisfaction in the south generally. The mes- sage, subsequently transmitted to Congress, communicating the pro- ceedings of South Carolina, and calling for countervailing enactments, was characterized with more prudence and moderation. And, if this unhappy contest is to continue, I sincerely hope that the future con- duct of the administration may be governed by wise and cautious counsels, and a parental forbearance. But when the highest degree of animosity exists; when both parties, however unequal, have ar- rayed themselves for the conflict, who can tell when, by the indis cretion of subordinates, or other unforseen causes, the bloody strug- gle may commence In the midst of magazines, who knows when the fatal spark may produce a terrible explosion And the battle once begun, where is its limit What latitude will circumscribe its rage Who is to command our armies When, and where, and how is the war to cease In what condition will the peace leave the American System, the American Union, and, what is more than all, American liberty I cannot profess to have a confidence, which I have not, in this administration, but if I had all confidence in it, I should still wish to pause, and, if possible, by any honorable adjust- ment, to prevent awful consequences, the extent of which no human wisdom can foresee. It appears to me, then, Mr. President, that we ought not to con- tent ourselves with passing the enforcing bill only. Both that and the bill of peace seem to me to be required for the good of our coun- 13 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. try. The first will satisfy all who love order and law, and disapprove the inadmissible doctrine of nullification. The last will soothe those r-ho love peace and concord, harmony and union. One demonstrates the power and the disposition to vindicate the authority and suprema- cy of the laws of the Union; the other offers that which, if it be ac- cepted in the fraternal spirit in which it is tendered, will supersede the necessity of the employment of all force. There are some who say, let the tariff go down; let our manufac- tures be prostrated, if such be the pleasure, at another session, of those to whose hands the government of this country is confided: let bank- ruptcy and ruin be spread over the land: and let resistance to the laws, at all hazards, be subdued. Sir, they take counsel from their passions. They anticipate a terrible reaction from the downfall of the tariff, which would ultimately re-establish it upon a firmer basis than ever. But it is these very agitations, these mutual irritations between brethren of the same family, it is the individual distress and general ruin that would necessarily follow the overthrow of the tariff, that ought, if possible, to be prevented. Besides, are we certain of this reaction Have we not been disappointed in it as to other meas- ures heretofore But suppose, after a long and embittered struggle, it should come, in what relative condition would it find the parts of this confederacy In what state our ruined manufactures When they should be laid low, who, amidst the fragments of the general wreck, scattered over the face of the land, would have courage to en- gage in fresh enterprises, under a new pledge of the violated faith of the government If we adjourn, without passing this bill, having entrusted the executive with vast powers to maintain the laws, should he be able by the next session to put down all opposition to them, will he not, as a necessary consequence of success, have more power than ever to put down the tariffalso Has he not said that the south is oppressed, and its burdens ought to be relieved And will he not feel himself bound, after he shall have triumphed, if triumph he may in a civil war, to appease the discontents of the south by a modifica- tion of the tariff, in conformity with its wishes and demands No, sir; no, sir; let us save the country from the most dreadful of all calamities, and let us save its industry, too, from threatened destruc- tion. Statesmen should regulate their conduct and adapt their meas- ures to the exigencies of the times in which they live. They cannot, indeed, transcend the limits of the constitutional rule; but with re 174 ON INTRODUCING THE COMPROMISE ACT. spect to those systems of policy which fall within its scope, they should arrange them arcording to the interests, the wants, and the prejudices of the people. Two great dangers threaten the public safety. The true patriot will not stop to inquire how they have been brought about, but will fly to the deliverance of his country. The difference between the friends and the foes of the compromise, under considera- tion, is, that they would, in the enforcing act, send forth alone a flam- ing sword. We would send out that also, but along with it the olive branch, as a messenger of peace. They cry out, the law ! the law! the law! Power! power ! power! We, too, reverence the law, and bow to the supremacy of its obligation; but we are in favor of the law executed in mildness, and of power tempered with mercy. They, as we think, would hazard a civil commotion, beginning in South Carolina and extending, God only knows where. While we would vindicate the federal government, we are for peace, if possible, union and liberty. We want no war, above all, no civil war, no family strife. We want to see no sacked cities, no desolated fields, no smok- ing ruins, no streams of American blood shed by American arms! I have been accused of ambition in presenting this measure. Am- bition! inordinate ambition! If I had thought of myselfonly, I should have never brough it forward. I know well the perils to which I expose myself; the risk of alienating faithful and valued friends, with but little prospect of making new ones, if any new ones could com- pensate for the loss of those whom we have long tried and loved; and the honest misconceptions both of friends and foes. Ambition! If I had listened to its soft and seducing whispers; if I had yielded myself to the dictates of a cold, calculating, and prudential policy, I would have stood still and unmoved. I might even have silently gazed on the raging storm, enjoyed its loudest thunders, and left those who are charged with the care of the vessel of State, to conduct it as they could. I have been heretofore often unjustly accused of ambi- tion. Low, grovelling souls, who are utterly incapable of elevating themselves to the higher and nobler duties of pure patriotism-beings who, for ever keeping their own selfish aims in view, decide all pub- lic measures by their presumed influence on their aggrandizement, judge me by the venal rule which they prescribe to themselves. I have given to the winds those false accusations, as I consign that which now impeaches my motives. I have no desire for office, not ven the highest. The most exalted is but a prison, in which the 175 176 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. incarcerated incumbent daily receives his cold, heartless visitants, marks his weary hours, and is cut off from the practical enjoyment of all the blessings of genuine freedom. I am no candidate for any of- fice in the gift of the people of these States, united or separated; I never wish, never expect to be. Pass this bill, tranquilize the coun- try, restore confidence and affection in the IJnion, and I am willing to go home to Ashland, and renounce public service for ever. I should there find, in its groves, under its shades, on its lawns, amidst my flocks and herds, in the bosom of my family, sincerity and truth, attachment and fidelity, and gratitude, which I have not always found in the walks of public life-Yes, I have ambition, but it is the ambition of being the humble instrument, in the hands of Provi- dence, to reconcile a divided people, once more to revive concord and harmony in a distracted land-the pleasing ambition of contem- plating the glorious spectacle of a free, united, prosperous, and fraternal people ! ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. 1h THE SENATE OF THE: UNITED STATES, DECEMBER 26, 1833. phe war of General JACKSON upon the United States Bank having been prose- cuted so far as to secure the ultimate downfall of the institution-a renewal of its itzer having been prevented by the Executive Veto-the House of Representa- nv, in the spring of 1833, resolved that the Deposites of the Public Moneys in the tn..ted States Bank were safe, and (impliedly) that they ought to be continued. In the face of this, General JACKSON, on the 18th of September, read a paper to his Ca Inet, avowing his determination to procure the Removal of the Deposites. On the 24th he removed Mr. Du.ANE from the office of Secretary of the Treasury, and appfiinted ROGER B. TANEY (before Attorney General) in his stead. Mr. TANEY immediately removed the Deposites. Upon the assembling of Congress the follow- ing December, the propriety of this important and novel step came naturally under discussion. Mr. CLAY submitted the following resolutions: Resolved, That by dismissing the late Secretary of the Treasury because he would not contrary to his sense of his own duty, remove the money of the United States in doposite with the Bank of the United States and its branches, in conformity with the President's opinion ; and by appointing his successor to effect such removal, which has been done, the President has assumed the exercise of a power over the Treasury of the United States not granted to him by the constitution and laws, and dangerous to the liberties of the people. Resolved, That the reasons assigned by the Secretary of the Treasury for the re- moval ot the money ofthe United States, deposited in the Bank of the United States and its branches, communicated to Congress on the 3d of December, 1833, are unsatisfactory and insufficient.] WE are in the midst of a revolution, hitherto bloodless, but rapidly tending towards a total change of the pure republican character of the government, and to the concentration of all power in the hands of one man. The powers of Congress are paralyzed, except when exerted in conformity with his will, by frequent and an extraordinory exer- cise of the executive veto, not anticipated by the founders of our con- stitution, and not practised by any of the predecessors of the present chief magistrate. And, to cramp them still more, a new expedient is springing into use, of withholding altogether bills which have re- ceived the sanction of both Houses of Congress, thereby cutting off SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. all opportunity of passing them, even if, after their return, the mem bers should be unanimous in their favor. The constitutional parti cipation of the Senate in the appointing power is virtually abolished by the constant use of the power of removal from office, without any known cause, and by the appointment of the same individual to the same office, after his rejection by the Senate. How often have we, Senators, felt that the check of the Senate, instead of being, as the constitution intended, a salutary control, was an idle ceremony How often, when acting on the case of the nominated successor, have we felt the injustice of the removal How often have we said to each other, well, what can we do; the office cannot remain vacant, with- out prejudice to the public interest, and, if we reject the proposed substitute, we cannot restore the displaced, and, perhaps, some more unworthy man may be nominated The judiciary has not been exempt from the prevailing rage for innovation. Decisions of the tribunals, deliberately pronounced, have been contemptuously disregarded. And the sanctity of nu merous treaties openly violated. Our Indian relations, coeval with the existence of the government, and recognised and established by numerous laws and treaties, have been subverted, the rights of the nelpless and unfortunate aborigines trampled in the dust, and they brought under subjection to unknown laws, in which they have no voice, promulgated in an unknown language. The most extensive and most valuable public domain that ever fell to the lot of one na- tion, is threatened with a total sacrifice. The general currency of the country-the life-blood of all its business-is in the most immi- nent danger of universal disorder and confusion. The power of inter- nal improvement lies crushed beneath the veto. The system of pro- tection of American industry was snatched from impending destruc- tion, at the last session; but we are now coolly told by the Secretary of the Treasury, without a blush, " that it is understood to be con- ceded on all hands, that the tariff for protection merely is to be finally abandoned." By the 3d of March, 1837, if the progress of innova- tion continues, there will be scarcely a vestige remaining of the gov- ernment and its policy, as they existed prior to the 3d of March, 1829. In a term of eight years, a little more than equal to that which was required to establish our liberties, the government will have been transformed into an elective monarchy-the worst of all forms of government. 178 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. Such is a melancholy but faithful picture of the present condition of our public affairs. It is not sketched or exhibited to excite, here or elsewhere, irritated feeling. I have no such purpose. 1 would, on the contrary, implore the Senate and the people to discard all pas- sion and prejudice, and to look calmly, but resolutely, upon the ac- tual state of the constitution and the country. Although I bring into the Senate the same unabated spirit, and the same firm determinatio which have ever guided me in the support of civil liberty, and th defence of our constitution, I contemplate the prospect before us with feelings of deep humiliation and profound mortification. It is not among the least unfortunate symptoms of the times, that a large portion of the good and enlightened men of the Union, of all parties, are yielding to sentiments of despondency. There is, unhappily, a feeling of distrust and insecurity pervading the commu- nity. Many of our best citizens entertain serious apprehensions that our Union and our institutions are destined to a speedy overthrow. Sir, I trust that the hopes and confidence of the country will revive. There is much occasion for manly independence and patriotic vigor, but none for despair. Thank God, we are yet free; and, if we put on the chains which are forging for us, it will be because we deserve to wear them. We should never despair of the republic. If our ancestors had been capable of surrendering themselves to such igno- ble sentimens, our independence and our liberties would never have been achieved. The winter of 1776-7 was one of the gloomiest pe- riods of the revolution; but on this day, fifty-seven years ago, the father of his country achieved a glorious victory, which diffused joy and gladness and animation throughout the States. Let us cherish the hope that, since he has gone from among us, Providence, in the dispensation of his mercies, has near at hand in reserve for us, though yet unseen by us, some sure and happy deliverence from all impend- ing dangers. When we assembled here last year, we were full of dreadful fore- bodings. On the one hand we were menaced with a civil war, which, lighting up in a single State, might spread its flames throughout one of the largest sections of the Union. On the other, a cherished sys- tem of policy, essential to the successful prosecution of the industry of our countrymen, was exposed to imminent danger of immediate destruction. Means were happily applied by Congress to avert both 179 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. calamities. The country reconciled, and our Union once more be- came a band of friends and brothers. And I shall be greatly disap- pointed, if we do not find those who were denounced as being un- friendly to the continuance of our confederacy, among the foremost to fly to its preservation, and to resist all executive encroachment. Mr. President, when Congress adjourned, at the termination of the last session, there was one remnant of its powers, that over the purse, left untouched. The two most important powers of civil gov- ernment are, those of the swold and the purse. The first, with some restriction, is confided by the constitution to the executive, and the last to the legislative department. If they are separate, and exer- cised by different responsible departments, civil liberty is safe; but if they are united in the hands of the same individual, it is gone. That clear-sighted and sagacious revolutionary orator and patriot, (Patrick Henry) justly said, in the Virginia Convention, in reply to one of his opponents: "Let him candidly tell me where and when did freedom exist, when the sword and purse were given up from the people Unless a miracle in human affairs in- terposed, no nation ever retained its liberty after the loss of the sword and the purse. Can you prove by any argumentative deduction, that it is possible to be safe without one of them If you give them up you are gone." Up to the period of the termination of the last session of Congress the exclusive constitutional power of Congress over the Treasury of the United States had never been contested. Among its earliest acts was one to establish the treasury department, which provided for the appointment of a treasurer, who was required to give bond and secu- rity in a very large amount, " to receive and keep the moneys of the United States, and to disburse the same upon warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Treasury, countersigned by the Comptroller, record- ed by the Register, and not oTherwise." Prior to the establishment of the present Bank of the United States, no treasury or place had been provided and designated by law for the safe-keeping of the pub- lic moneys, but the treasurer was left to his own discretion and re- sponsibility. When the existing Bank was established, it was pro- vided that the public moneys should be deposited with it, and conse- quently that Bank became the Treasury of the United States. For whatever plac e is designated by law for the keeping of the public money of the United States, under the care of the treasurer of the 180 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. United States, is for the time being the treasury. Its safety was drawn in question by the chief magistrate, and an agent was ap- pointed a little more than a year ago, to investigate its ability. He reported to the executive that it was perfectly safe. His apprehen sions of its solidity were communicated by the President to Congress, and a committee was appointed to examine the subject. They, also, reported in favor of its security. And, finally, among the last acts of the House of Representatives, prior to the close of the last session, was the adoption of a resolution, manifesting its entire confidence in the ability and solidity of the bank. After all these testimonies to the perfect safety of the public moneys, in the place appointed by Congress, who could have sup- posed that the place would have been changed Who could have imagined that, within sixty days of the meeting of Congress, and, as it were, in utter contempt of its authority, the change should have been ordered Who would have dreamed that the treasurer should have thrown away the single key to the treasury, over which Con gress held ample control, and accepted in lieu of it some dozens of keys, over which neither Congress nor he has any adequate control Yet, sir, all this has been done, and it is now our solemn duty to inquire-Ist, By whose authority it has been ordered and 2d, Whether the order has been given in conformity with the constitution and laws of the United States I agree, sir, and I am happy whenever I can agree with the Presi- dent, as to the immense importance of these questions. He says, in a paper which I hold in my hand, that he looks upon the pending question as involving higher considerations than the " mere transfer of a sum of money from one bank to another. Its decision may affect the character of our government for ages to come-" And, with him, I view it as of transcendent importance both in its consequences and the great principles which the question involves. In the view which I have taken of this subject, I hold the bank as nothing, as perfectly insignificant, faithful as it has been in the performance of all its duties, efficient as it has proved in regulating the currency, than which there is none in all Christendom so sound, and deep as is the interest of the country in the establishment and continuance of a sound currency, and the avoidance of all those evils which result from a defective or unsettled currency. All these I regard as questions of no importance, 12 181 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. in comparison with the principles involved in this executive innova. tion. It involves the assumption of power by the executive, and the taking away a power from Congress which it was never before doubted to possess--the power over the public purse. Entertaining these views, I shall not, to-day, at least, examine the reasons assigned by the President, or by the Secretary of the Treasury; for if the Presi- dent had no power to perform the act, no reasons, however cogent or strong, which he can assign as urging him to the accomplishment of his purpose, no reasons can sanctify an unconstitutional and illegal act. The first question, sir, which I intimated it to be my purpose to examine, was, by whose direction was this change of the deposites made Now, sir, is there any man who hears me, who requires proof on this point Is there an intelligent man in the whole country who does not know who it was that decided on the removal of the de- posites Is it not of universal notoriety Does any man doubt that it was the act of the President That it was done by his authority and at his command The President, on this subject, has hiil self furnished evidence which is perfectly conclusive, in the paper which he has read to his cabinet; for, although he has denied to the Senate an official copy of that paper, it is universally admitted that he has given it to the world as containing the reasons which influenced him to this act. As a part of the people, if not in our senatorial character, we have a right to avail ourselves of that paper, and of all which it contains. Is it not perfectly conclusive as to the authority by which the deposites have been removed I admit that it is an unprece- dented and most extraordinary paper. The constitution of the United States admits of a call, from the chief magistrate, on the heads of departments, for their opinions in writing. It appears, indeed, that this power which the constitution confers on the President, had been exercised, and that the cabinet were divi- ded, two and two, and one, who was ready to go on either side, being a little indifferent how this great constitutional power was settled by the President. The President was not satisfied with calling on his cabinet for their opinions, in the customary and constitutional form; but he prepares a paper of his own, and, instead of receiving reasons from them, reads to them, and thus indoctrinates them according t 182 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. his own views. This, sir, is the first time in the history of our coun- try, when a paper has been thus read, and thus published. The pro- ceeding is entirely without precedent. Those who now exercise power consider all precedents wrong. They hold precedents in con- tempt: and, casting them aside, have commenced a new era in ad- ministration. But while they thus hold all precedents in contempt, disregarding all, no matter how long established, no matter to what departments of the government they may have given sanction, they are always disposed to shield themselves behind a precedent, when- ever they can find one to subserve their purpose. But the question is-who gave the order for the removal of the deposites By whose act were they removed from the Bank of the United States, where they were required by the law to be placed, and placed in banks which the law never designated I tell the gen- tlemen who are opposed to me, that I am not to be answered by the exhibition of an order signed by R. Taney, or any one else. I want to know, not the clerk who makes the writing, but the individual who dictates-not the hangman who executes the culprit, but the tribunal which orders the execution. I want the original authority, that I may know by whose order, on whose authority the public deposites were removed, and I again ask-is there a member of this Senate, is there an intelligent man in the whole country, who doubts on this point Hear what the President himself says, in his manifesto, read to his Cabinet: " The President deems it HIS duty, to communicate in this manner to his cabi- net the fnal conctsstiOAs OF HIS OWN MIND, and the reasons on which they are found- ed," c. At the conclusion of this paper what does he say " The President again repeats that he begs his cabinet to consider the proposed measure as H.S OWN, in the support of which he shall require no one of them to make a sacrifice of opinion or principle. ITS RESPONSIBILITY HAS BEElf ASSUMED, after the most mature reflection, as necessary to preserve the morals of the people, the free- dom of the press, and the purity of the elective franchise, without which all will unite in saying that the blood and treasure expended by our forefathers in the estab- lishment of our happy system of government will have been vain and fruitless. Un- der these convictions, he feels that a measure so important to the American people cannot be commenced too soont; and HE therefore names the first day of October next as a period proper for the change of the deposites, or sooner, provided the neces- sary arrangements with the State Banks can be made." Sir, is there a Senator here who will tell me that this removal was not made by the President I know, indeed, that there are in this 183 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. document many of those most mild, most gracious, most condescend. ing expressions,with which powerwell knows how to clothe its man. dates. The President coaxes, he soothes the Secretary in the most bland and conciliating language: "In the remarks he has made on this all important question, he trusts the Secre- ary of the Treasury will see only the frank and respectful declarations of the opin- ions which the President has formed on a measure of great national interest, deeply affecting the character and usefulness of his administration; and not a spirit of dic- tation, which the President would be as careful to avoid, as ready to resist. Happy will he be, if the facts now disclosed produce uniformity of opinion and unity of action among the members of the administration." Sir, how kind! how gentle! How very gracious must this have sounded in the gratified ear of the Secretary of the Treasury ! Sir, it reminds me of an historical anecdote related of one of the most re- markable characters which our species has ever produced. While Oliver Cromwell was contending for the mastery of Great Britain, or Ireland, (I do not now remember which,) he besieged a certain Catho- lic town. The place made a stout resistance; but at length the town being likely to be taken, the poor Catholics proposed terms of capitu- lation, stipulating therein for the toleration of their religion. The paper containing the terms was brought to Oliver, who, putting on his spectacles to read it, cried out, " Oh, granted, granted; certain- ly"-he, however, added-" but if one of them shall dare to be found attending mass, he shall be hanged"l-(under what section is not men- tioned; whether under a second, or any other section, of any particu- lar law, we are not told.) Thus, sir, the Secretary was told by the President that he had not the slightest wish to dictate-oh, no: nothing is farther from the Presi- dent's intention: but, sir, what was he told in the sequel " If you do not comply with my wishes-if you do not effect the removal of these deposites within the period I assign you, you must quit your office." And what, sir, was the effect This document bears date on the 18th of September. In the official paper, published at the seat of government, and through which it is understood that the govern- Inent makes known its wishes and purposes to the people of the United States, we were told, under date of the 20th September, 1833, two days only after this cabinet paper was read, as follows: "We are authorized to state"-[authorized; this is the word which gave credit to this annunciation]-" We are authorized to state that the deposites of the public money will be changed from the Bank of the United States to the State Banks, as 184 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. soon as necessary arrangements can be made for that purpose, and that it is believed they can be completed in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, in time to make the change by the first of October, and perhaps sooner, if circumstances should render an earlier action necessary on the part of the government." Yes, sir, on the 18th of September this measure was decided on; and on the 20th, it is announced to the people, that the deposites would be removed by the first of October, or sooner, if practicable! Mr. Duane was continued in office till the 23d, on which day he was dismissed: and between the 23d and the 26th, on which latter day the mere clerical act of signing the order for removal was performed, Mr. Taney, by whom it was done, was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, having conformed to the will of the President, against his own duty, which Mr. Duane would not do. Yes, sir, on the 20th went forth this proclamation, by authority, of the removal of the deposites, although Mr. Duane remained in office till the 23d. On this point we have conclusive proof in a letter of the President to that gentleman, dated on the 23d, which letter, after all the gracious, friendly and conciliating language of the cabinet paper, concludes in these terms: " I feel constrained to notify you, that your further services as Secretary of the Treasury are no longer required." Such, Mr. President, is the testimony on the one side to prove the truth of the proposition, that the removal of the deposites from the Bank of the United States was a measure determined on by the Pre- sident himself- determined on while the latter Secretary of the Trea- sury was still in office, and against the will of the Secretary; although Mr. Taney may have put his signature to the order on the 26th-a mere ministerial act, done in conformity with the previous decision of the President, that the removal should take place on or before the first of October. I now call the attention of the Senate to testimony of the other party: I mean Mr. Duane. After giving a history of the circum- stances which accompanied his appointment to office, and what pass- ed antecedent to his removal, he proceeds to say: "Thus was I thrust into office-thus was I thrust from office-not because [ had neglected any duty-not because I had differed with him about the Bank of the United States-but because I refused, without further inquiry by Congress, to remove the deposites." Can testimony be more complete to establish the proposition I have 185 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. advanced And is it possible, after the testimony of the President on one side, and of his Secretary on the other, that the former had decided that the deposites should be removed, and had removed the Secretary because he would not do it, that any man can doubt that the removal was the President's own act that it was done in ac- cordance with his command And now, sir, having seen that the removal was made by the com- mand and authority of the President, I shall proceed to inquire whether it was done in conformity with the constitution and laws of of the United States. I do not purpose at this time to go into the reasons alleged by the President or his Secretary, except so far as those reasons contain an attempt to show that he possessed the requisite authority. Because if the President of the United States had no power to do this thing- if the constitution and laws instead of authorizing it, required him to keep his hands ofB the treasury, it is useless to inquire into any reasons he may give for exercising a power which he did not possess. Sir, what power has the President of the United States over the treasury! Is it in the charter establishing the Bank The clause of the char- ter relating to the public deposites declares, " That the deposites of the money of the United States, in places in which the said Bank and branches thereof may be established, shall be made in said bank or branches thereof, unless the Secretary of the treasury shall at any time otherwise order and direct; in which case the Secretary of the Treasury shall immediately lay before Congress, it in session, and if not, immediately after the commencement of the next session, the reasons of such order or direction." This is in strict consonance with the act creating the treasury de- partment in 1789. The Secretary of the Treasury is by that act constituted the agent of Congress; he is required to report to Con- gress annually the state of the finances, and his plans respecting them; and if Congress in either of its branches shall require it, he is to re- port at any time on any particular branch of the fiscal concerns of the country. He is the agent of Congress to watch over the safety of the national deposites; and if, from any peculiar circumstances, the removal of them shall be required, he is to report the fact-to whom to the President No, sir-he must report it to Congress, together with his reasons therefor. By the charter of the Bank, the President of the United States is clothed with two powers respecting it, and two only. By one of its clauses he is authorized to nominate, 186 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. and by and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint the govern- ment directors, and to remove them: by the other clause he is em- powered to issue a scirefacias when he shall apprehend that the charter of the institution has been violated. These, I say, are the only powers given him by the charter, all others are denied to him, and are given to others. The Bank is not bound to report the state of its affairs to him, but to the Secretary of the Treasury; and it is thus to report whenever he shall call upon it for information; but when it becomes necessary to go farther, a committee of Congress is authorized to examine the books of the Bank and look into the whole state of its affairs, and to report, not to the President, but to Congress who appointed them. The President as I have said, is restricted to the two powers of appointing directors, and issuing a 3cirefacias. And has the President any power over the treasury by the consti- tution None, sir-none. The constitution requires that no money shall be drawn from the treasury except by appropriation, thus placing it entirely under the control of Congress. But the President himself says: "Cupon him has been devolved, by the constitution and the suffrages of the American people, the duty of superintending the ope- ration of the executive departments of the government, and seeing that the laws are faithfully executed." Sir, the President in another part of this same paper, refers to the same suffrages of the American people, as the source of some other and new powers over and above those in the constitution, or at least as expressive of their approba- tion of the exercise of them. Sir, I differ from the President on this point; and though it does not belong exactly in this place in the ar- gument, I All add a remark or two on this idea. His re-election re- sulted from his presumed merits generally, and the confidence and attachment of the people; and from. the unworthiness of his compet- itor ; nor was it intended thereby to express their approbation of all the opinions he was known to hold. Sir, it cannot be believed that the great State of Pennsylvania, for instance, which has so justly been denominated the key stone of our federal arch, in voting again and again for the present Chief Magistrate, meant by that act to reverse her own opinions on the subject of domestic industry. Sir, the truth is, that the re-election of the President proves as little an approbation by the people of all the opinions he may hold, even if he had ever unequivocally expressed what those opinions were, (a thing which he never, so far as my knowledge extends, has yet done) as it would 187 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. prove that if the President had a carbuncle or the king's evil, they meant by re-electing him, to approve of his carbuncle. But the President says, that the duty " has been devolved upon him," to remove the deposites, " by the Constitution and the suffrages of the American people." Sir, does he rnean to say that these suf- frages created of themselves a new source of power That he deri- ved an authority from them which he did not hold as from any other source If he means that their suffrages made him the President of the United States, and that, as President, he may exercise every power pertaining to that office under the constitution and the laws, there is none who controvert it; but then there could be no need to add the suifrages to the constitution. But his language is, " the suffrages of the American people and the constitution." Sir, I deny it. There is not a syllable in the constitution which imposes any such duty upon him. There is nothing of any such thing; no color to the idea. It is true, that by law, all the departments, with the exception of the treasury, are placed under the general care of the President. He says this is done by the constitution. The laws, however, have appointed but three executive departments; and it is true that the secretaries are often required by law to act in certain cases according to the directions of the President. Sofar, it is admitted that they have been, by the law, (not by the constitution,) placed under the direction of the President. Yet, even as to the State department, there are duties devolving upon the Secretary over which the Presi- dent has no control; and for the non-performance of which that offi- cer is responsible, not to the President, but to the legislative tribunals or to the courts of justice. This is no new opinion. The supreme court, in the case of Marbury and Madison, expressed it in the fol- lowing terms: " By the constitution of the United States, the President is invested with certain important political powers, in the exercise of which, he is to use his own discretion, and is accountable only to his country in his political character, and to his own con- science. To aid him in the performance of these duties, he is authorized to appoint certain officers, who act by his authority, and in conformity to his orders. "In such cascs, iheir acts are his acts; and whatever opinion may be entertained of the manner in which executive discretion may be used,still there exists, and can exist, no power to control that discretion. The subjects are political. Thev respect the nation, not individual rights, and being entrusted to the executive, the'decision of the executive is conclusive. The application of this remark will be perceived by adverting to the act of Congress for establishing the department of foreign affairs. This officer, as his duties were prescribed by that act, is to conform precisely to the will of the President. He is the mere organ by whom that will is communicated The acts of such an officer, as an officer, can never be examined by the courts ;88 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. " But when the legislature proceeds to impose on that officer other duties; when be is directed peremptorily to perform certain acts, (that is, when he is not placed under the direction of the President,) when the rights of individuals are dependent on the performance of those acts, he is so far the officer of the law; is amenable to the laws for his conduct; and cannot at his discretion sport away the vested rights of others " The conclusion from this reasoning is, that where the heads of departments are the political or confidential agents of the executive, merely to execute the will of the President, or rather to act in cases in which the executive possesses a constitu- tional or legal discretion, nothing can be more perfectly clear than that their acts are only politically examinable. But where a specific duty is assigned by law, and individual rights depend upon the performance of that duty it seems equally clear that the individual who considers himself injured, has a right to resort to the laws of his country for a remedy." Though the President is mistaken in his assertion, that the consti- tution devolves upon the President the superintendence of the depart- ments, there is one clause of that instrument which he has very cor- rectly quoted, and which makes it his duty to " see that the laws are faithfully executed," as it is mine now to examine what authority he obtains by this clause in the case before us. Under it, the most enor- mous pretensions have been set up for the President. It has been contended, that if a law shall pass which the President does not conceive to be in conformity with the constitution, he is not bound to execute it: and if a treaty shall have been made, which, in his opinion has been unconstitutional in its stipulations, he is not bound to enforce them- And it necessarily follows, that, if the courts of justice shall give a decision, which he shall in like manner deem repugnant to the constitution, he is not expected or bound to execute that law. Sir, let us look a little into this principle, and trace. it out into some of its consequences. One of the most important acts performed at the departments is, to settle those very large accounts which individuals have with the government; accounts amounting to millions of dollars ; to settle them, an auditor and a comptroller have been appointed by law; whose official acts may affect, to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the property of individual contractors. If the pretensions of the President are well founded, his power goes further than he has exerted it. He may go into the office of the auditor, or the office of the comptroller, and may say to him, Sir, Mr. A. B. has an account under settlement in this office, one item of which objected to by you, I consider to be in accordance with the constitution; pass that ac- count and send it to the auditor: and he may then go to the auditor 189 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and hold similar language. If the clause of the constitution is to be expounded, as is contended for, it amounts to a complete absorptiop of all the powers of government in the person of the executive. Sir, when a doctrine like tiis shall be admitted as orthodox, when it shall be acquiesced in by the people of this country, our government will have become a simple machine enough. The will of the President will be the whole of it. There will be but one bed, and that will be the bed of Procrustes; but one will, the will of the President. All the departments, and all subordinate functionaries of government, great or small, must submit to that will; and if they do not. then the President will have failed to " see that the laws are faithfully execu- ted." Sir, such an extravagant and enormous pretension as this must be set alongside of its exploded compeer, the pretension that Congress has the power of passing any and all laws which it may suppose conducive to " the general welfare." Let me, in a few words, present to the Senate what are my own views as to the structure of this government. I hold that no pow- ers can legitimately he exercised under it but such as are expressly delegated, and those which are necessary to carry these into effect. Sir, the executive power as existing in this government, is not to be traced to the notions of Montesquieu, or of any other writer of that class, in the abstract nature of the executive power. Neither is the legislative nor the judicial power to be decided by any such reference These several powers with us, whatever they may be elsewhere, are just what the constitution has made them, and nothing more. And as to the general clauses in which reference is made to either, they are to be controlled and interpreted by those where these several powers are specially delegated, otherwise the executive will become a great vortex that must end in swallowing up all the rest. Nor will the judicial power be any longer restrained by the restraining clauses in the constitution, which relate to its exercise. What then, it will be asked, does this clause, that the President shall see that the laws are faithfully executed, mean Sirs, it means nothing more nor less than this, that if resistance is made to the laws, he shall take care that resistance shall cease. Congress by the 1st article of the Sth section of the constitution is required to provide for calling out the militia to execute the laws, in case of resistance. Sir, it might as 190 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. well be contended under that clause, that Congress have the power of determining what are, and what are not the laws of the land. Congress has the power of calling out the military; well sir, what is the President, by the constitution He is commander of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia when called out into actual service- When, then, we are here told that he is clothed with the whole physical power of the nation, and when we are af- terwards told, that he must take care that the laws are faithfully ex- ecuted, is it possible that any man can be so lost to the love of liber- ty, as not to admit that this goes no farther than to remove any re- sistance which may be made to the execution of the laws We have established a system in which power has been carefully divided among different departments of the government. And we have been told a thousand times, that this division is indispensable as a safe- guard to civil liberty. We have designated the departments, and have established in each, officers to examine the power belonging to each. The President, it is true, presides over the whole; his eye surveys the whole extent of the system in all its movements. But has he power to enter into the courts, for example, and tell them what is to be done Or may he come here, and tell us the same Or when we have made a law, can he withhold the power necessary to its practical effect He moves, it is true, in a high, a glorious sphere. It is his to watch over the whole with a paternal eye; and, when any one wheel of the vast machine is for a time interrupted by the occurrence of invasion or rebellion, it is his care to propel its movements, and to furnish it with the requisite means of performing its appropriate duty in its own place. That this is the true interpretation of the constitutional clause to which I have alluded, is inferred from the total silence of all contem- poraneous expositions of that instrument on the subject. I have my- self (and when it was not in my power personally, have caused others to aid me,) made researches into the numbers of the Federal- ist; the debates in the Virginia convention, and in the conventions of other States, as well as all other sources of information to which I could obtain access, and I have not, in a solitary instance, found the slightest color for the claims set up in these most extraordinary times for the President, that he has authority to afford or withhold at pleas- ure the means of enforcing the laws, and to superintend and control "n officer charged with a specific duty, made by '. e law exclusively 191 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY his. But, sir, I have found some authorities which strongly militate against any such claim. If the doctrine be indeed true, then it is most evident that there is no longer any control over our affairs than that exerted by the President. If it be true that when a duty is by law specifically assigned to a particular officer, the President may go into his office and control him in the manner of performing it, then is it most manifest that all barriers for the safety of the treasury are gone. Sit, it is that union of the purse and the sword, in the hand of one man, which constitutes the best definition of tyranny which our language can give. The charter of the Bank of the United States requires that the public deposites be made in its vaults. It also gives the Secretary of the Treasury power to remove them-and why The Secretary is at the head of the finances of the government. Weekly report are made by the bank to him. He is to report to Congress annually; and to either House whenever he shall be called upon. He is the sentinel of Congress-the agent of Congress-the representative of Congress. Congress has prescribed and has defined his duties. He is required to report to them, not to the President. He is put there by us as our representative: he is required to remove the deposites when they shall be in danger, and we not in session: but when he does this, he is required to report to Congress the fact, with his rea- sons for it. Now, sir, if, when an officer of government is thus spe- cifically assigned his duty, if he is to report his official acts on his responsibility to Congress, if in a case where no power whatever is given to the President, the President may go and say to that officer, " go and do as I bid you, or you shall be removed from office"-let me ask whether the danger apprehended by that eloquent man has not already been realized But, sir, let me suppose that I am mistaken in my construction of the constitution; and let me suppose that the President has, as is con tended, power to see every particular law carried into effect; what, then, was it his duty to do in the present case under the clause thus interpreted The law authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to remove the deposites on his responsibility to Congress. Now, if the President has power to see this, like other laws, faithfully executed, then surely the law exacted of him that he should see that the Sec- retary was allowed to exercise his free, unbiassed, uncontrolled judg 192 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. nient in removing or not removing them. That was the execution of the law. Congress had not said that the Secretary of War, or the Secretary of State, might remove the public deposites from the trea- sury. The President bad no right to go to the Secretary of War and ask him what the Secretary of the Treasury ought to do. He might as well have consulted the Secretary of the Treasury about a contem- plated movement of the army, as to ask the Secretary of War about the disposition of the public moneys. It was not to the President, and all his secretaries combined, that the power was given to alter the disposition of the deposites in the bank. It was to the Secretary alone, exclusive of the President and all the other officers of govern- ment. And according to gentlemen's own showing, by their con- struction of the clause, the Secretary ought to have been left to his own unbiassed determination, uncontrolled by the President or any body else. I would thank the Secretary of the Senate to get me the sedition law. It is not very certain how soon we may be called to act upon it. Now, sir, let us trace some of the other sources of the exercise of this power, or motives for it, or by whatever other name they are to be called. He says to Mr. Duane: " The President repeats that he begs the cabinet to consider the proposed measure as his own, in the support of which he shall require no one of them to make a sac. rifice of opinion or principle. Its responsibility has been assumed, after the most mature deliberation and reflection, as necessary to preserve the morals of the people the freedom of the press, and the purity of the elective franchise." The morals of the people! What part of the constitution has given to the President any power over "the morals of the people ar None. It does not give such power even over religion, the presiding and genial influence over every true system of morals. No, sir, it gives him no such power. And what is the next step To-day he claims a power as neces- sary to the morals of the people; to-morrow he will claim another, as still more indispensable to our religion. And the President might in this case as well have said that he went into the office of the Sec- retary of the Treasury, and controlled his free exercise of his authority 193 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. as Secretary, because it was necessary to preserve " the religion of the people !" I ask for the authority. Will any one of those gen. tiemen here, who consider themselves as the vindicators of the execu tive, point me to any clause of the constitution which gives to the present President of the United States any power to preserve " the morals of the people " But " the freedom of the press," it seems, was another motive. Sir, I am not surprised that the present Secretary of the Treasury should feel a desire to revive this power over the press. He, I think, was a member of that party which passed the sedition law, under precisely the same pretext. I recollect it was said, that this Bank, this monster of tyranny, was taking into its pay a countless number of papers, and by this means was destroying the fair fame of the Pre- sident and his Secretary, and all that sort of thing. Sir, it is some- times useful to refer back to those old things to the notions and the motives which induced men in former times to do certain acts which may not be altogether unlike some others in our own time. The famous sedition act was passed, sir, in 1789; and it contained, among others, the following provision: "Sec. 2. That if any person shall write, print utter or publish, or shall cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered or published, or shall, knowingly and will- ingly, assist or aid in writing, printing, utterfing or publishing, any false, scandalous and malicious, writing or writings, against the government of the United States or either House of the Congress of the United States, or the President of the United States, with intent to defame the said government, or either House of the said Con- greses, or the said President, or to bring them, or either of them, into contempt or disrepute; or to excite against them, or either of them, the hatred of the good people of the United States, or to stir up sedition within the United States; or to excite any unlawful combinations therein, for opposing or resisting. any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested by the constitution of the United States; or to resist, oppose or defeat, any such law or act ; or to aid, encourage or abet, any hostile designs of any foreign nation against the United States, their people, orgovernment then such person being thereof convicted before any court of the United States having jurisdiction'thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two years." We have now, sir, in the reasons for the removal of the govern- ment deposites, the same motives avowed and acted upon. The abuse of the government, bringing it into disrepute, using contemptu- ous language to persons high in authority, constituted the motives for passing the sedition law: and what have we now but a repetition of the same complaints of abuses, disrespect, c. As it is now, so it was then: for, says the next section of the same sedition act: 194 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. " That if any person shall be prosecuted under this act for the writing or publish- ing any libel aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the defendant, upon the trial of the cause, to give in evideuce in his defence, the truth of the matter contained in the publication charged as a libel. And the jury who shall try the cause, shall have a right to determine the law and the fact, under the direction of the court, as in other cases." It is only for the sake of the truth, said they who favored the pas- sage of that law-for the sake of justice; as it is now said that it was necessary to remove the deposites in order to preserve the purity of the press. That's all, sir. But there is one part of this assump- tion of power by the President much more tyrannical than that act. Under that law, the offending party was to have a trial by jury; the benefit of witnesses and of counsel; and the right to have the truth of his alledged libels examined. But what is the case now under consideration Why, sir, the President takes the whole matter in his own hands; he is at once the judge, the jury, and the executioner of the sentence, and utterly deprives the accused party of the oppor- tunity of showing that the imputed libel is no libel at all, but founded in the clearest truth. But " the purify of the elective franchise," also, the President has very much at heart. And here, again, I ask what part of the consti- tution gives him any power over that " franchise " Look, sir, at the nature of the exercise of this power ! If it was really neces- sary that steps should be taken to preserve the purity of the press or the freedom of elections, what ought the President to have done Taken the matter into his own hands No, sir; it was his duty to recommend to Congress the passage of laws for the purpose, under suitable sanctions; laws which the courts of the IUnited States could execute. We could not have been worse off under such laws, (how- ever exceptionable they might be,) than we are now. We could then, sir, have reviewed the laws, and seen whether Congress or the President had properly any power over this matter; or whether the article of the constitution which forbids that the press shall be touched, and declares that religion shall be sacred from all the powers of legis- lation, applied in the case or not. This the President has underta- ken to do of himself, without the shadow of authority, either in the Constitution or the laws. Suppose, sir, that this contumacious institution, which comnmitted the great sin, in 1829, of not appointing a new President to a certain one of its branches-suppose that the bank should go on and vindi. 195 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. cate itself against the calumnies poured out upon it-that it should continue to stand upon its defence, how inefficient will have been the exercise of power by the President! How inadequate to the end he had in view, of preserving the press from being made use of to de- fend the bank! Why, sir, if we had had the power, and the Presi- dent had come to us, we could have laid Mr. Nicholas Biddle by the heels, if he should have undertaken to publish another report of gen- eral Smith or Mr. Duffie, or another speech of the eloquent gen- tleman near me, (Mr. Webster) or any other such libels, tending to bring the President or his administration into disrepute. But the President of the United States, who thought he had the bank in his power; who thought be could stop it; who was induced to believe, by that " influence behind the throne, greater than itself," that he could break down the bank at a word, has only shown his want of power over the press by his attempt to exercise it in the manner he has done. The bank has avowed and openly declared its purpose to defend itself on all suitable occasions. And, what is still more pro- voking, instead of being a bankrupt, as was expected, with its doors closed, and its vaults inaccessible, it has now, it seems, got more money than it knows what to do with; and this greatest of misers and, boarders cruelly refuses to let out a dollar of its ten millions of specie to relieve the sufferings of the banks to which the government deposites have been transferred. Sir, the President of the United States had nothing to do with the morals of the community. No, sir; for the preservation of our mor- als we are responsible to God, and I trust that that responsibility will ever remain to Him and His mercy alone. Neither had the Presi- dent anything to do with the freedom of the press. The power over it is denied, even to Congress, by the people. It was said, by one of those few able men and bright luminaries whom Providence has yet spared to us, in answer to complaints by a foreign minister, against the freedom with which the American press treated certain French functionaries, that the press was one of those concerns which admit- ted of no regulation by the government; that its abuses must be tol- erated, lest its freedom should be abridged. Such, sir, is the freedom of the press, as recognized by our constitution, and so it has been re- spected ever since the repeal of the obnoxious act which I have al- ready quoted, until the detestable principles of that law have been 196 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. reasserted by the President in his assumption of a power, in nowise belonging to his office, of preserving the purity of the press. Such, sir, are the powers on which the President relies to justify his seizure of the Treasury of the United States. I have examined them one by one; and they all fail, utterly fail, to bear out the act. We are irresistibly brought to the conclusion, that the removal of the public money from the Bank of the United States has been effected by the displacement from the head of the treasury department of one who would not remove them, and putting in his stead another person who would ; and, secondly, that the President has no color of au- thority in the constitution or the laws for the act which he has under- taken to perform. Let us now, for a few moments examine the consequences which may ensue from the exercise of this enormous power. If the Presi- dent has authority, in a case in which the law has assigned a speci- fic duty exclusively to a designated officer, to control the exercise of his discretion by that officer, he has a right to interfere in every other case, and remove every one from office who hesitates to do his bid- ding, against his judgment of his own duty. This, surely, is a logi- cal deduction not to be resisted. WVell, then, how stands the matter Recapitulating the provisions of the law prescribing how money should be drawn from the treasury and the deduction above stated, what is to prevent the President from going to the Comptroller and if he will not countersign a warrant which he has found an accom- modating Secretary to sign, turning him out for another; then going to the Register, and doing the same; and then to the Treasurer, and commanding him to pay over the money expressed in the war- rant, or subject himself to expulsion. Where is the security against such conduct on the part of the Pre- sident Where the boundary to this tremendous authority which he has undertaken to exercise Sir, every barrier around the treasury is broken down. From the moment that the President said, " I make this measure my own. I take upon myself the responsibility,"- from that moment the public treasury might as well have been at the Hermitage as at this place. Sir, the measure adopted by the Presi- dent is without precedent-in our day at best. There is indeed, a recedent on record, but you must go down to the Christian era for 13 197 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. it. It will be recollected, by those who are conversant with ancient history, that after Pompey was compelled to retire to Brundusium, Caesar, who had been anxious to give him battle, returned to Rome, " having reduced Italy (says the historian) in sixty days, (the exact period sir, between the removal of the deposites, and the meeting of Congress, without the usual allowance of three day's grace,)-withb out bloodshed." The historian goes on " Finding the city in a more settled condition than he expected, and many Senators there he ad- dressed them in a mild and gracious manner-(as the President ad- dressed his late Secretary of the Treasury,) and desired them to send deputies to Pompey with an officer of honorable terms of peace. As Metellus, the Tribune opposed his taking money out of the public treasury, and cited some laws against it-(such, sir, I suppose, as I have endeavored to cite on this occasion)-Cwsar said, "Arms and laws do not flourish together. If you are not pleased with what I am about, you have only to withdraw-(leave the office, Mr. Duane!) -War, indeed, will not tolerate much liberty of speech. When I say this, I am renouncing my own right; for you and all those whom I have found exciting a spirit of faction against me, are at my dispo- sal." Having said this, he approached the doors of the treasury, and as the Keys were not produced, he sent for workmen to break them open. Metellus again opposed him, and gained credit with some for his firmness; but Coesar with an elevated voice threatened to put him to death, if he gave him any farther trouble. "And you know very well, young man," said he, " that this is harder for me to say than to do." Metellus, terrified by the measure, retired, and Coesar was afterward, easily and readily supplied with every thing necessary.for the war. And where now, sir, is the public treasury Who can tell It is certainly without a local habitation, if it be not without a name. And where is the money of the people of the United States Float- ing about in treasury draughts or checks to the amount of millions, placed in the hands of tottering banks, to enable them to pay their own debts, instead of being appropriated to the service of the people. These checks are scattered to the winds by the treasurer of the Uni- ted States, who is required by law to let out money from the treasu- rer, on warrants signed by the Secretary of the treasury, counter signed, registered, c., and not otherwise. 198 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. [Mr. CLAY here referred to a correspondence, which he quoted, between the tree. surer and the officers of the bank, complaining of these checks drawn without pro- per notice, c., in which the treasurer says they were only issued to be used in ox0- tain contingencies, c.] Thus, sir, the people's money is put into a bank here, and the bank there, in regard to the solvency of which we know nothing, and it is placed there to be used in the event of certain contingencies -contin- gencies of which neither the Treasurer nor the Secretary have yet deigned to furnish us any account. Where was the oath of office of the treasurer when he ventured thus to sport with the people's money Where was the constitution which forbids money to be drawn from the treasury without appro- priation by law Where was the treasurer's bond when he thus cast about the people's money Sir, his bond is forfeited. I do not pre- tend to any great knowledge of the law, but give me an intelligent and unpacked jury, and I undertake to prove to him that he has for- feited the penalty of his bond. Mr. President, the people of the United States are indebted to the President for the boldness of this movement; and as one among the humblest of them, I profess my obligations to him. He has told the Senate, in his message refusing an official copy of his cabinet paper, that it has been published for the information of the people. As a part of the people, the Senate, if not in their official character, have a right to its use. In that extraordinary paper he has proclaimed that the measure is his own; and that he has taken upon himself the responsibility of it. In plain English, he has proclaimed an open, palpable, and daring usurpation! For more than fifteen years, Mr. President, I have been struggling to avoid the present state of things. I thought I perceived in some proceedings, during the conduct of the Seminole war, a spirit of de- fiance to the constitution and to all law. With what sincerity and truth-with what earnestness and devotion to civil liberty, I have Struggled, the Searcher of all human hearts best knows. With what fortune, the bleeding constitution of my country now fatally attests. I have nevertheless, persevered; and under every discouragement, during the short time that I expect to remain in the public councils 199 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. I will persevere. And if a bountiful Providence would allow an un- worthy sinner to approach the throne of grace, I would beseech him, as the greatest favor he could grant to me here below, to spare me until I live to behold the people rising in their majesty, with a peace- ful and constitutional exercise of their power, to expel the Goths from Rome; to rescue the public treasury from pillage, to preserve the constitution of the United States; to uphold the Union against the danger of the concentration and consolidation of all power in the hands of the executive; and to sustain the liberties of the people of this country against the imminent perils to which they now stand exposed. [Here Mr. CLAY, who was understood to have gone through the first part of his speech only, gave way, and Mr. Ewing of Ohio moved that the further considera- tion of the subject be postponed until Monday next; which was ordered accordingly. And then the Senate adjourned to that day. December 30, Mr. CLAY resumed his speech.] Before I proceed to a consideration of the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the second resolution, I wish to anticipate and answer an objection, which may be made to the adoption of the first. It may be urged that the Senate, being in a certain contingency, a court of impeachment ought not to prejudge a question which it may be called upon to decide judicially. But by the constitution the Se- nate has three characters, legislative, executive, and judicial. Its ordinary, and by far its most important character, is that of its being a component part of the legislative department. Only three or foul cases, since the establishment of the government, (that is, during a period of near half a century,) have occurred, in which it was necex- sary that the Senate should act as a judicial tribunal, the least im portant of all its characters. Now it would be most strange if, wheix its constitutional powers were assailed, it could not assert and vindi - -ate them, because, by possibility, it might be required to act as a c )urt of justice. The first resolution asserts only, that the President has assumed the exercise of a power over the public treasury not granted by the constitution and laws. It is silent as to motive; and without the quo animo-the deliberate purpose of usurpation-the President would not be liable to impeachment. But if a concurrence of all the elements be necessary to make out a charge of wilful viola- tion of the constitution, does any one believe that the President will now be impeached And shall we silently sit by and see ourselves 200 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. stripped of one of the most essential of our legislative powers, and the exercise of it assumed by the president, to which it is not delegated, without effort to maintain it, because, against all human probability he may be hereafter impeached The report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the first paragraph, commences with a misstatement of the fact. He says, " I have direct- ed" that the deposites of the money of the United States shall not be made in the Bank of the United States. If this assertion is regarded in any other than a mere formal sense, it is not true. The Secretary may have been the instrument, the clerk the automaton, in whose name the order was issued; but the measure was that of the Presi- dent, by whose authority or command the order was given ; and of this we have the highest and most authentic evidence. The Presi- dent has told the world that the measure was his own, and that he took it upon his own responsibility. And he has exonerated his cabi- net from all responsibility about it. The Secretary ought to have frankly disclosed all the circumstances of the case, and told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If he had done so, he would have informed Congress that the removal had been decided by the President on the 18th of September last; that it had been an- nounced to the public on the 20th; and that Mr. Duane remained in office until the 23d. He would have informed Congress that this important measure was decided before he entered into his new office, and was the cause of his appointment. Yes, sir, the present Secretary stood by, a witness to the struggle in the mind of his predecessor, between his attachment to the President and his duty to the country; saw him dismissed from office, because he would not violate his con- scientious obligations, and came into his place, to do what he could not honorably, and would not perform. A son of one of the fa- thers of democracy, by an administration professing to be democrat- ic, was expelled from office, and his place supplied by a gentleman who, throughout his whole career, has been uniformly opposed to de- mocracy! A gentleman who, at another epoch of the republic, when it was threatened with civilwar, and a dissolution of the Union, voted, (although a resident of a slave State) in the legislature of Maryland, against the admission of Missouri into the union with- out a restriction incompatible with her rights as a member of the con- federacy. Mr. Duane was dismissed because the solemn convictions of his duty would not allow him to conform to the President's will; 201 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. because his logic did not bring his mind to the same conclusion with those of the logic of a venerable old gentleman, inhabiting a white house not distant from the capital; because his watch [Here Mr Clay held up his own,] did not keep time with that of the President He was dismissed under that detestable system of proscription for opinion's sake, which has finally dared to intrude itself into the halls of Congress-a system under which three unoffending clerks, the fa- thers of families, the husbands of wives, dependent on them for sup. port, without the slightest imputation of delinquency, have been re- cently unceremoniously discharged, and driven out to beggary, by a man, himself the substitute of a meritorious officer, who has not been in this city a period equal to one monthly revolution of the moon! I tell our Secretary, (said Mr. Clay, raising his voice,) that, if he touch a single hair of the head of any one of the clerks of the Se- nate, (I am sure he is not disposed to do it,) on account of his opin- ions, political or religious, if no other member of the Senate does it, I will instantly submit a resolution for his own dismission. The Secretary ought to have communicated all these things; he ought to have stated that the cabinet was divided two and two, and one of the members equally divided with himself on the question, willing to be put into either scale. He ought to have given a full account of this, the most important act of executive authority since the origin of the government; he should have stated with what unsullied honor his predecessor retired from office, and on what de- grading conditions he accepted his vacant place. When a moment- ous proceeding like this, varying the constitutional distribution of the powers of the legislative and executive departments, was resolved on; the ministers against whose advice it was determined, should have resigned their stations. No ministers of any monarch in Eu rope, under similar circumstances, would have retained the seals of office. And if, as nobody doubts, there is a cabal behind the curtain, without character and without responsibility, feeding the passions, O The following is the proceeding to which Mr. CLAY referred: Resolved, by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Senators and Repre- sentatives from this State in Congress, be requested to use their utmost endeavors in the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union, to prevent the prohibition of slavery from being required of that State as a condition of its admission." It passed, January, 1820, in the affirmative. Among the names of those in the megative, is that of Mr. Taney. 202 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. stimulating the prejudices, and moulding the actions of the incumbent of the presidential office, it was an additional reason for their resig- nations. There is not a Maitre d'hotel in Christendom, who, if the cullions were put into command in the parlor and dining room, would not scorn to hold his place, and fling it up in disgust with in- dignant pride ! I shall examine the report before us, first, As to the power of the Secretary over the deposites; second, His reasons for the exercise of it; and third, The manner of its exercise. 1. The Secretary asserts that the power of removal is exclusively reserved to him; that it is absolute and unconditional, so far as the interests of the Bank are concerned; that it is not restricted to any particular contingencies; that the reservation of the power to the Secretary of the Treasury exclusively, is a part of the compact; that he may exercise it, if the public convenience or interest would in any degree be promoted; that this exclusive power, thus reserved, is so absolute, that the Secretary is not restrained by the considerations that the public deposites in the Bank are perfectly safe; that the Bank promptly meets all demands upon it; and that it faithfully per- forms all its duties; and that the power of Congress, on the contrary, is so totally excluded, that it could not, without a breach of the com- pact, order the deposites to be changed, even if Congress were satis- fied that they were not safe, or should be convinced that the interests of the people of the United States imperiously demanded the re- moval. Such is the statement which this unassuming Secretary makes ot his own authority. He expands his own power to the most extrava- gant dimensions; and he undertakes to circumscribe that of Congress ,in the narrowest and most restricted limits! Who would have expect- ed that, after having so confidently maintained for himself such abso- lute, exclusive, unqualified and uncontrollable power, he would have let in any body else to share with him its exercise Yet he says, " as the Secretary of the treasury presides over one of the executive departments of the government, and his power over this subject forms a part of the executive duties of his office, the manner in which it is exercised must be subject to the supervision of the officer, "(meaning the President, whose official name his modesty would not allow him 203 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. to pronounce) " to whom the constitution has confided the whole ex- ecutive power, and has required to take care that the laws be faith- fully executed." If the clause in the compact exclusively vests the power of removal in the Secretary of the treasury, what has the Pre- sident to do with it What part of the charter conveys to him any power If, as the Secretary contends, the clause of removal, being part of the compact, restricts its exercise to the Secretary, to the en- tire exclusion of Congress, how does it embrace the President espe- cially since both the President and Secretary conceive that "the power over the place of deposite for the public money, would seem properly to belong to the legislative department of the government " If the Secretary be correct in asserting that the power of removal is confined to the Secretary of the treasury, then Mr. Duane, while in office, possessed it; and his dismission, because he would not exer- cise a power which belonged to him exclusively, was itself a viola- tion of the charter. But by what authority does the Secretary assert that the treasury department is one of the executive departments of the government He has none in the act which creates the department; he has none in the constitution. The treasury department is placed by law on a different footing from all the other departments, which are, in the acts creating them, denominated executive, and placed under the direction of the President. The treasury department, on the contrary, is organized on totally different principles. Except the appointment of the officers, with the co-operation of the Senate, and the power which is exer- cised of removing them, the President has neither by the constitution nor the law creating the department, anything to do with it. The Secretary's reports and responsibility are directly to Congress. The whole scheme of the department is one of checks, each officer acting as a control upon his associates. The Secretary is required by the law to report, not to the President, but directly to Congress. Either House may require any report from him, or command his personal attendance before it. It is not, therefore, true that the treasury is one of the executive departments, subject to the supervision of the Presi- dent. And the inference drawn from that erroneous assumption en- tirely fails. The Secretary appears to have no precise ideas either of the constitution or duties of the department over which he pre- sides. He says: 204 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. " The treasury department being intrusted with the administration of the finances of the country, it was always the duty of the Secretary, in the absence of any legis- lative provision on the subject to take care that the public money was depositedin safe keeping, in the hands of faithful agents," c. The premises of the Secretary are only partially correct, and the conclusion is directly repugnant to law. It never was the duty of the Secretary to take care that the public money was deposited in safe keeping, in the hands of faithful agents, c. That duty is expressly, by the act organizino the department, assigned to the Treasurer of the United States, who is placed under oath, and under bond, with a large penalty, not to issue a dollar out of the public treasury, but in virtue of warrants granted in pursuance of acts of appropriation, " and nototherwise." When the Secretary treats of the power of the Pres- ident, he puts on corsets and prostrates himself before the executive, in the most graceful, courteous and lady-like form; but when he treats of that of Congress, and of the treasurer, he swells and expands himself, and flirts about, with all the airs of high authority. But I cannot assent to the Secretary's interpretation of his power of removal, contained in the charter. Congress has not given up its control over the treasury, or the public deposites, to either the Sec- retary or the Executive. Congress could not have done so without a treacherous renunciation of its constitutional powers, and a faithless abandonment of its duties. And now let us see what is the true state of the matter. Congress has reserved to itself, exclusively, the right to judge of the reasons for removal of the deposites, by requiring the report of them to be niade to it; and, consequently, the power to ratify or invalidate the act. The Secretary of the Treasury is the fiscal sentinel of Congress, to whom the bank makes weekly reports, and who is presumed constantly to be well acquainted with its actual condition. He may, consequently, discover the urgent necessity of prompt action, to save the public treasure, before it is known to Con- gress, and when it is not in session. But he is immediately to report -to whom To the executive No, to Congress. For what pur- pose That Congress may sanction or disprove the act. The power of removal is a reservation for the benefit of the people, not of the bank. It may be waived. Congress, being a legislative party to the compact, did not thereby deprive itself of ordinary powers of legislation. It cannot, witLout a breach of the national faith, re- 205 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. peal privileges or stipulations intended for the benefit of the bank. But it rmay repeal, modify or waive the exercise altogether, of those narts of the charter which were intended exclusively for the public Could not Congress repeal altogether the clause of removal Such a repeal would not injure, but add to the security of the bank. Could not Congress modify the clause, by revoking the agency of the Sec- retary of the Treasury, and substituting that of the Treasurer, or any other officer of government Could not Congress, at any time dur- ing the twenty years duration of the charter, abolish the office alto- gether of Secretary of the Treasury, and assign all his present duties to some newly constituted department The right and the security of the bank do not consist in the form of the agency, nor in the name of the agent, but in this: that, whateve- way be its form or his de- nomination, the removal shall only be made upon urgent and satis- factory reasons. The power of supplemental legislation was exer- cised by Congress both under the new and old bank. Three years after the establishment of the existing bank, an act passed, better to regulate the election of directors, and to punish any one who should attempt, by bribes, or presents in any form, to influence the operation of the institution. The denial of the Secretary, to Congress, of the power to remove the deposites, under any circumstances, is most extraordinary. Why, sir, suppose a corrupt collusion between the Secretary and the bank to divide the spoils of the treasury Suppose a total nonfulfillment of all the stipulations on the part of the bank Is Congress to re- main bound and tied, whilst the bank should be free from all the obli- gations of the charter The obligation of one party, to observe faith fully his stipulations, in a contract, rests upon the corresponding obli- gation of the other party to observe his stipulations. If one party is released, both are free. If one party fail to comply with his contract, that releases the other. This is the fundamental principle of all con- tracts, applicable to treaties, charters, and private agreements. If it were a mere private agreement, and one party who had bound him- self to deposite, from time to time, his money with the other, to be redrawn at his pleasure, saw that it was wasting and squandered away, he would have a clear right to discontinue the deposites. It is true that a party has no right to excuse himself from the fulfillment of his contract, by imputing a breach to the other which has never been made. And it is fortunate for the peace and justice of society, 206 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. that neither party to any contract, whether public or private, can de- cide conclusively the question of fulfillment by the other, but must always act under subjection to the ultimate decision, in case of con- troversy, of an impartial arbiter, provided in the judicial tribunals of civilized communities. As to the absolute, unconditional and exclusive power which the Sec- retary claims to be vested in himself it is in direct hostility with the principles of our government, and adverse to the genius of all free institutions. The Secretary was made, by the charter, the mere rep- resentative or agent of Congress. Its temporary substitute, acting in subordination to it, and bound, whenever he did act, to report to his principal his reasons, that they might be judged of and sanctioned, or overruled. Is it not absurd to say that the agent can possess more power than the principal The power of revocation is incident to all agency, unless, in express terms, by the instrument creating it, a different provision is made. The powers, whether of the principal or the agent, in relation to any contract, must be expounded by the principles which govern all contracts. It is true that the language of the clause of removal, in the charter, is general, but it is uot there- fore to be torn from the context. It is a part only of an entire corn pact, and is so to be interpreted in connexion with every part and with the whole. Upon surveying the entire compact, we perceive that the bank has come under various duties to the public; has underta- ken to perform important financial operations for the government; and has paid a bonus into the public treasury of a million and a half of dollars. We perceive that, in consideration of the assumption of these heavy engagements, and the payment of that large sum of money on the part of the bank, the public has stipulated that the public de- posites shall remain with the bank, during the continuation of the charter, and that its notes shall be received by the government, in payment of all debts, dues and taxes. Except the corporate charac- ter conferred, there is none but those two stipulations of any great importance to the bank. Each of the two parties to the compact must stand bound to the performance of his engagements, whilst the other is honestly and faithfully fulfilling his. It is not to be conceiv- ed, in the formation of the compact, that either party could have an- ticipated that, whilst he was fairly and honestly executing every obli- gation which he had contracted, the other party might arbitrarily or capriciously exonerate himself from the discharge of his obligations. 207 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Suppose, when citizens of the United States were invited by the gov. ernment to subscribe to the stock of this bank, that they had been told that, although the bank performs all its covenants with perfect fidelity, the Secretary of the Treasury may, arbitrarily or capricious ty, upon his speculative notions of any degree of public interest or convenience to be advanced, withdraw the public deposites, would they have ever subscribed Would they have been guilty of the folly of binding themselves to the performance of burdensome duties, whilst the government was left at liberty to violate at pleasure that stipula- tion of the compact which by far was the most essential to them On this part of the subject, I conclude, that Congress has not parted from, but retains, its legitimate power over the deposites; that it might modify or repeal altogether the clause of removal in the char- ter; that a breach of material stipulations on the part of the bank would authorize Congress to change the place of the deposites; that a corrupt collusion, to defraud the public, between the bank and a Secretary of the Treasury, would be a clear justification to Congress to direct a transfer of the public deposites; that the Secretary of the Treasury is the mere agent of Congress, in respect to the deposited, acting in subordination to his principal ; that it results from the na- ture of all agency that it may be revoked, unless otherwise expressly provided; and, finally, that the principal, and much less the agent, of one party cannot justly or lawfully violate the compact, or any of its essential provisions, whilst the other party is in the progressive and faithful performance of all his engagements. If I am right in this view of the subject, there is an end of the ar- gument. There was perfect equality and reciprocity between the two parties to the compact. Neither could exonerate himself from the performance of his obligations, while the other was honestly pro- ceeding fairly to fulfil all his engagements. But the Secretary of the Treasury concedes that the public deposites were perfectly safe in the hands of the bank; that the bank promptly met every demand upon it; and that it faithfully performed all its duties. By these conces- sions, he surrenders the whole argument, admits the complete obli- gation of the public to perform its part of the compact, and demen" strates that no reasons, however plausible or strong, can justify an open breach of a solemn national compact. 208 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. 2. But he has brought forward various reasons to palliate or justify his violation of the national faith; and it is now my purpose to pro- ceed, in the second place, to examine and consider them. Before I proceed to do this, I hope to be allowed again to call the attention of the Senate to the nature of the office of Secretary of the Tieasury. It is altogether financial and administrative. His duties relate to the finances, their condition and improvement, and to them exclusively. The act creating the treasury department, and defining the duties of the Secretary, demonstrates this. He has no legislative powers; and Congress neither has nor could delegate any to him. His powers, wherever given, and in whatever language expressed, must be inter- preted by his defined duties. Neither is the treasury department an executive department. It was expressly created not to be an execu- tive department. It is administrative, but not executive. His rela- tions are positive and direct to Congress, by the act of his creation, and not to the President. Whenever he is put under the direction of the President, (as he is by various subsequent acts, especially those relating to the public loans,) it is done by express provision of law, and for specified purposes. With this key to the nature of the office and the duties of the offi- cer, I will now briefly examine the various reasons which he assigns for the removal of the public deposites. The first is the near approach of the expiration of the charter. But the charter had yet to run about two and a half of the twenty years to which it was limited. During the whole term the public deposites were to continue to be made with the bank. It was clearly foreseen, at the commencement of the term, as now, that it would expire, and yet Congress did not then, and has never since, thought proper to provide for the withdrawal of the de- posites prior to the expiration of the charter. Whence does the Sec- retary derive an authority to do what Congress had never done Whence his power to abridge in effect the period of the charter, and to limit it to seventeen and a half years, instead of twenty Was the urgency for the removal of the deposites so great that he could not wait sixty days, until the assembling of Congress He admits that they were perfectly safe in the bank; that it promptly met every demand upon it; and that it faithfully performed all its duties. Why not, then, wait the arrival of Congress The last time the House of Representatives had spoken, among the very last acts of the last session, that House had declared its full confidence in the safety of 209 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the deposites. Why not wait until it could review the subject, watb all the new light which the Secretary could throw upon it, and again proclaim its opinion He comes into office on the 23d of September, 1833, and, in three days, with intuitive cc;lrity, he comprehends the whole of the operations of the complex depa tment of the treasury, perceives that the government, from its origin, had been in uniform error, and denounces the opinions of all his predecessors! And, has. tening to rectify universal wrong, in defiance and in contempt of the resolution of the House, he signs an order for the removal of the de posites! It was of no consequence to him, whether places of safety, in substitution of the Bank of the United States, could be obtained or not; without making the essential precautionary arrangements, he commands the removal almost instantly to be mrade. Why, sir, if the Secretary were right in contending thiat he alone could order the removal, even he admits that Congress has power to provide for the security of the public money, in the new places to which it might be transferred. If he did not deign to consult the rep- resentatives of the people as to the propriety of tWe first step, did not a decent respect to their authority and judgment exact from him a delay, for the brief term of sixty days, that they might consider what was fitting to be done The truth is, that the Secretary, by law, has nothing to do with the care and safe-keeping of the public money. As has been already shown, that duty is specifically assigned by law to the treasurer of the United States. And, in assuming upon him- self the authority to provide other depositories than the Bank of the United States, he alike trampled upon the duties of the treasurer, and what was due to Congress. Can any one doubt the motive of this precipitancy Does anybody doubt that it was to preclude the ac- tion of Congress, or to bring it under the influence of the executive veto Let the two Houses, or either of them, perform their duty to the country, and we shall hereafter see whether, in that respect, at least, Mr. Secretary will not fail to consummate his purpose. 3. The next reason assigned for this offensive proceeding, is the re-election of the present chief magistrate. The Secretary says: " I have always regarded the result of the last election of President of the United States as the declaration of a majority of the people, that the charter ought not to be renewed." 0 " Its voluntary application to Congress for the renewal of its charter four years before it expired, and upon the eve of the election of President, as understood on all sides as bringing forward that question for incidental decision 210 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. at the then approaching election. It was accordingly argued on both sides before the tribunal of the people, and their verdict pronounced against the bank," c. What has the Secretary to do with elections Do they belong to fe financial concerns of his department Why this constant refer- ence to the result of the last presidential election Ought not the President to be content with the triumphant issue of it Did he want still more vetoes The winners ought to forbear making any complaints, and be satisfied, whatever the losers may be. After an election is fairly terminated, I have always thought that the best way was to forget all the incidents of the preceding canvass, and espe- cially the manner in which votes had been cast. If one has been suc- cessful, that ought to be sufficient for him; if defeated, regrets are unavailing. Our fellow citizens have a right freely to exercise their elective franchise as they please, and no one, certainly no candidate, has any right to complain about it. But the argument of the Secretary is, that the question of the bank was fully submitted to the people, by the consent of all parties, fully discussed before them, and their verdict pronounced against the insti- tution, in the re-election of the President. His statement of the case requires that we should examine carefully the various messages of the President to ascertain whether the bank question was fairly and frankly (to use a favorite expression of the President) submitted by him to the people of the United States. In his message of 1829, the President says: " The charter of the Bank of the United States expires in 1836, and its stockhold- ers will most probably apply for a renewal of their privileges. In order to avoid the evils resulting from precipitancy in a measure involving such important principles, and such deep pecuniary interests, 1 feel that I cannot, in justice to the parties in. terested, too soon present it, to the deliberate consideration of the legislature and the people." The charter had then upwards of six years to run. Upon this solemn invitation of the chief magistrate, two years afterwards, the bank came forward with an application for renewal. Then it was discovered that the application was premature. And the bank was denounced for accepting the very invitation which had been formally given. The President proceeds: " Both the constitutionality and the expediency of the bank are well questiond by a large portion of ourfellow citizens." 211 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAr'. This message was a non-committal. The President does not an. nounce clearly his own opinion, but states that of a large portion of ourfellot citizens. Now we all know that alarge and highly respec- table number of the people of the United States have always enter- tained an opinion adverse to the bank on both grounds. The Presi- dent continues: " If siich an institution is deemed essential to the fiscal operations of the gov- ernment, I submit to the wisdom of the legislature whether a national one, founded upon the credit of the government, and its resources, might not be devised." Here, again, the President, so far from expressing an explicit opin. ion against all national banks, makes a hypothetical admission of the utility of a bank, and distinctly intimates the practicability of devising one on the basis of the credit and resources of the government. In his message of 1830, speaking of the bank, the President says: "Nothing has occurred to lessen, in any degree, the dangers which many of oar citizens apprehend from that institution, as at present organized. Iin the spirit of im- provement and compromise, which distinguishes our country and its institutions it becomes us to inquire whether it be not possible to secure the advantages afforded by the present bank through the agency of a Bank of the United States, so modified in its principles and structure, as to obviate constitutional and other objections." Here, again, the President recites the apprehensions of " many of our citizens," rather than avows his own opinion. He admits indeed " the advantages afforded by the present bank," but suggests an in- quiry whether it be possible (of course doubting) to secure them by a bank differently constructed. And towards the conclusion of that part of the message, his language fully justifies the implication, that it was not to the bank itself, but to " its present form," that he ob- jected. The message of 1S31, when treating of the bank, was very brief The President says: "Entertaining the opinions heretofore expressed in relation to the Bank of the United State- as ait present organized"-[non-committal once more: and what that means, Mr. Pre ident, nobody better knows than yot and I]-" I felt it my duty, in my former mesagez, frankly to disclose them." Frank disclosures! Now, sir, I recollect perfectly well the impres- sions made on my mind, and on those of other Senators with whom I conversed, immediately after that message was read. We thought 212 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. and said to each other, the President has left a door open to pass out. It is not the bank; it is not any Bank of the United States to which he is opposed, but it is to the particular organization of the existing bank. And we all concluded that, if amendments could be made to the charter satisfactory to the President, he would approve a bill for its renewal. We come now to the famous message of July, 1832, negativing the bill to recharter the bank. Here, it might be expected, we shall cer- tainly find clear opinions, unequivocally expressed. The President cannot elude the question. He must now be perfectly frank. We shall presently see. He says: " A Bank of the United States is, in many respects, convenient to the government, and useful to the plople. Entertaining this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief that some of the powers and privileges possessed by the existing bank, are uanathorlze(d by the constitution," c,. ' " I felt it my duty, at an early period of my a ministration, to eall the attention of Congress to the practicability of otr-n ini an institution, combining all its advantages, and obviating these ob- jections. I sincerely regret, that in the act before me I can perceive none of those rnodiiwations,` MC. "That a Bank of the United States, competent to all the duities which may be required by the government, might be so organized as not to infringe on our own delegated powers, or the reserved rights of the States, Ido not entertain a dounbt. Had the Executive been called on to furnish the pruect of such on institution, the duty would have been cheerfully performed." The message is principally employed in discussing the objections which the President entertained to the particular provisions of the charter, and not to the bank itself; such as the right of foreigners to hold stock in it; its exemption from State taxation; its capacity to hold real estate, c. c. Does the President, even in this message, array himself in opposition to any Bank of the United States Does he even oppose himself to the existing bank under every organiza- tion of which it is susceptible On the contrary, does he not declare that he does not entertain a doubt that a bank may be constitutionally organized Does he not even rebuke Congress for not calling on him to furnish a project of a bank, which he would have cheerfully Supplied Is it not fairly deducible, from the message, that the charter of the present bank mnight have been so amended as to have Secured the President's approbation to the institution So far was the message from being decisive against all Banks of the United States, or against the existing bank, under any modification, the President expressly declares that the question was adjourned He says: 14 213 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. " A general discussion will now take place, eliciting new light, and settling im portant principles ; and a ncit Congress, elected in the midst ot such discussion, and furnishing an equal representation of the people, according to the last lensus, will bear to the Capitol the verdict of public opinion, and I doubt not bring this impor. tant question to a satisfactory result." This review of the various messages of the President, conclusive- ly evinces that they were far from expressing, frankly and decisively, any opinions of the chief magistrate, except that he was opposed to the amendments of the charter contained in the bill submitted to him for its renewal, and that he required furtheramendments. It demon- strates that he entertained no doubt that it was practicable and desir- able to establish a Bank of the United States; it justified the hope that he might be ultimately reconciled to the continuation of the present Bank, with suitable modifications; and it expressly pro- claimed that the whole subject was adjourned to the new Congress, to be assembled under the last census. If the parts of the messages which I have cited, or other expressions, in the same document, be doubtful, or susceptible of a different interpretation, the review is sufficient for my purpose; which is, to refute the argument so confi- dently advanced, that the President's opinion, in opposition to the present or any other Bank of the United States, was frankly and fairly stated to the people, prior to the late election, was fully under- stood and finally decided by them. Accordingly, in the canvass, which ensued, it was boldly asserted ny the partisans of the President that he was not opposed to a Bank of the United States, nor to the existing Bank with proper amend- ments. They maintained, at least wherever those friendly to a Na- tional Bank, were in the majority, that the re-election would be fol- lowed by a recharter of the Bank, with proper amendments. They dwelt, it is true, with great earnestness, upon his objections to the pernicious influence of foreigners in holding stock in it; but they nevertheless contended that these objections would be cured, if he was re-elected, and the Bank sustained. I appeal to the whole Senate, to my colleagues, to the people of Kentucky, and especially to the citizens of the city of Louisville, for the correctness of this statement. After all this, was it anticipated by the people of the United States tlhat, in the re-election of the President, they were deciding against an institution of such vital importance Could they have imagined that, after an express adjournment of the whole matter to a DeW 214 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. Congress, by the President himself, he would havc prejudged the action of this new Congress, and pronounced that a question, express- ly by himself referred to its authority, was previously settled by the people He claimed no such result in his message, immediately af- ter the re-election; although in it he denounced the Bank as an un- safe depository of the public money, and invited Congress to investi- gate its condition. The President, then, and the Secretary of the Treasury, are without all color of justification for their assertions, that the question of bank or no bank was fully and fairly submitted to the people, and a decision pronounced against it by them. Sir, I am surprised and alarmed at the new source of executive power, which is found in the iesult of a presidential election. I had supposed that the constitution and the laws were the sole source of executive authority ; that the constitution could only be amended in the mode which it has itself prescribed ; that the issue of a presiden- tial election, was merely to place the chief magistrate in the post as- signed to him; and that he had neither more nor less power, in con- sequence of the election, than the constitution defines and delegates. But it seems that if, prior to an election, certain opinions, no matter how ambiguously put forth by a candidate, are known to the people, these loose opinions, in virtue of the election, incorporate themselves with the constitution, and afterwards are to be regarded and ex- pounded as parts of the instrument. 4. The public money ought not, the Secretary thinks, to remain in the Bank until the last moment of the existence of the charter. But that was not the question which he had to decide on the 26th Sep.. tember last. The real question then was, could he not wait sixty days for the meeting of Congress There were many last moments, near two years and a half, between the 26th of September and the day of the expiration of the charter. But why not let the public money remain in the-Bank until the last day of the charter It is a part of the charter that it shall so remain; and Congress having so ordered it, the Secretary ought to have acquiesced in the will of Con- gress, unless the exigency had arisen on which alone it was supposed his power over the deposites would be exercised. The Secretary is greatly mistaken, in believing that the Bank will be less secure in the last hours of its existence than previously. It will then be col- lecting its resources, with a view to the immediate payment of its 215 SPEECHESf 0o HENRY CLAY. notes, and the ultimate division among the stockholders of their capi tal; and at no period of its existence will it be so strong and able to pay all demands upon it. As to the depreciation in the value of its notes in the interior, at that time, why, sir, is the Secretary possess- ed of the least knowledge of the course of the trade of the interior, and especially of the western States If he had any, he could not have made such a suggestion. When the Bank itself is not drawing, its notes form the best medium of remittance from the interior to the Atlantic capitals. They are sought after by merchants and traders with avidity, are never below par, and in the absence of Bank drafts may command a premium. This will continue to be the case as long as the charter endures, and especially during the last moments of its existence, when its ability will be unquestionable, Philadelphia be- ing the place of the redemption; whilst the notes themselves will be received in all the large cities in payment of duties. The Secretary asserts that " it is well understood that the superior credit heretofore enjoyed by the Notes of the Bank of the United States, was not founded on any particular confidence in its manage- ment or solidity. It was occasioned altogether by the agreement on behalf of the public, in the act of incorporation, to receive them in all payments to the United States."-I have rarely seen any state paper characterised by so little gravity, dignity and circumspection, as the report displays. The Secretary is perfectly reckless in his as- sertions of matters of fact, and culpably loose in his reasoning. Can he believe the assertion which he has made Can he believe for ex- ample, that if the Notes of the Bank of the Metropolis were made receivable in all payments to the government, they would ever ac- quire, at home and abroad, the credit and confidence which are at- tached to those of the Bank of the United States If he had stated that the faculty mentioned, was one of the elements of the great credit of those notes, the statement would have been true; but who can agree with him, that it is the sole cause The credit of the Bank of the United States results from the large amount of its capi- tal; from the great ability and integrity with which it has been ad- ministered; from the participation of the government in its affairs; from its advantageous location; from its being the place of deposite of the public moneys, and its Notes being receivable in all payments to the government; and from its being emphatically the Bank of tAl 216 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. Uinited States. This latter circumstance arranges it with the Bank of England, France, Amsterdam, Genoa, c. 6. The expansion and contraction of tne accommodations of the bank to its individual customers, are held up by the Secretary, in bold relief, as evidences of misconduct, which justified his withdrawal of the deposites. He represents the bank as endeavoring to operate on the public, by alternate bribery and oppression, with the same object in both cases, of influencing the election, or the administration of the President.' Why this perpetual reference of all the operations of the institution to the executive Why does the executive think of no- thin, but itself It is I ! It is I! It is I, that is meant, appears to be the constant exclamation. Christianity and charity enjoin us never to ascribe a bad motive if we can suppose a good one. The bank is a moneyed corporation, whose profits result from its business; if that be extensive, it makes better; if limited, less profit. Its interest is to make the greatest amount of dividends which it can safely. And all its actions may be more certainly ascribed to that than any other principle. The administration must have a poor opinion of the vir- tue and intelligence of the people of the United States, if it supposes that their judgments are to be warped and their opinions controlled by any scale of graduated bank accommodations. The bank must have a still poorer conception of its duty to the stockholder, if it were to regulate its issues by the uncertain and speculative standard of po- litical effect, rather than a positive arithmetical rule for the computa- tion of interest. As to the alleged extension of the business of the bank, it has been again and again satisfactorily accounted for by the payment of the public debt, and the withdrawal from Europe of considerable sums, which threw into its vaults a large amount of funds, which, to be productive; must be employed; and, as the commercial wants pro- ceeding from extraordinary activity of business, created great demands about the same period for bank accommodations, the institution nat- urally enlarged its transactions. It would have been treacherous to the best interests of its constituents if it had not done so. The re- cent contraction of its business is the result of an obvious cause. Notwithstanding the confidence in it, manifested by one of the last acts of the last House of Representatives, Congress had scarcely left the district before measures were put in operation to circumvent its 217 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. authority. Denunciations and threats were put forth against it. Ru. mors stamped with but too much authority, were circulated, of the intention of the executive to disregard the admonition of the House of Representatives. An agent was sent out-and then such an agent- to sound the local institutions as to the terms on which they would receive the deposites. Was the bank, who could not be ignorant of all this, to sit carelessly by, without taking any precautionary mea- sures The prudent mariner, when he sees the coming storm, furls his sails, and prepares for all its rage. The bank knew that the ex- ecutive was in open hostility to it, and that it had nothing to expect from its forbearance. It had numerous points to defend, the strength or weakness of all of which was well known from its weekly returns to the Secretary, and it could not possibly know at which the first mortal stroke would be aimed. If, on the twentieth of September last, instead of the manifesto of the President against the bank, he had officially announced that he did not mean to make war upon the bank, and intended to allow the public deposites to remain until the pleasure of Congress was expressed, public confidence would have been assured and unshaken, the business of the country continued in quiet and prosperity, and the numerous bankruptcies in our commer- cial cities averted. The wisdom of human actions is better known in their results than at their inception. That of the bank is manifest from all that has happened, and especially from its actual condition of perfect security. 7. The Secretary complains of misconduct of the bank in delega- ting to the committee of exchange the transaction of important busi- ness, and in that committee being appointed by the President and not the board, by which the government directors have been excluded. The directors who compose the board meet only periodically. Deri- ving no compensation from their places, which the charter indeed prohibits them from receiving, it cannot be expected that they should be constantly in session. They must, necessarily, therefore, devolve a great part of the business of the bank in its details, upon the offi- cers and servants of the corporation. It is sufficient, if the board controls, governs, and directs the whole machine. The most impor- tant operation of a bank is that of paying out its cash, and that the cashier or teller, and not the board performs. As to committees of exchange, the board, not being always in session, it is evident that the convenience of the public requires that there should be some au 218 ON THE REMOVAL OF SME DEPOSITES. thority at the bank daily, to pass daily upon bills, either in the sale or purchase, as the wants of the community require. Every bank, I believe, that does business to any extent, has a committee of exchange similar to that of the Bank of the United States. In regard to the mode of appointment by the President of the board, it is in conform- ity with the invariable usage of the House of Representatives, with the practice of the Senate for several years, and until altered at the commencement of this session, with the usage in a great variety, if not all of the State legislatures, and with that which prevails in our popular assemblies. The president, speaker, chairman, moderator, almost uniformly appoints committees. That none of the government directors have been on the committee of exchange, has proceeded, it is to be presumed, from their not being entitled, from their skill and experience, and standing in society, to be put there. The govern- ment directors stand upon the same equal footing with those appoint- ed by the stockholders. When appointed they are thrown into the mass, and must take their fair chances with their colleagues. If the President of the United States will nominate men of high character and credit, of known experience and knowledge in business, they will no doubt be placed in corresponding stations. If he appoints different men he cannot expect it. Banks are exactly the places where cur- rency and value are well understood and duly estimated. A piece of coin, having even the stamp of the government, will not pass unless the metal is pure. 8. The French bill forms another topic of great complaint with the Secretary. The state of the case is that the government sold to the bank a bill on that of France for 900,000, which the bank sold in London, whence it was sent by the purchaser to Paris to receive the amount. When the bank purchased the bill, it paid the amount to the government, or which is the same thing, passed it to the credit of the treasury,tobe used on demand. The bill was protested in Paris, and the agents of the bank, to avoid its being liable to damages, took up the bill on account of the bank. The bill being dishonored, the bank comes back on the drawer, and demands the customary dama ges due according to the course of all such transactions. The com- plaint of the Secretary is, that the bank took up the bill to save its own credit, and that it did not do it on account of the government; in other words, that the bank did not advance at Paris 900,000 to he government on account of a bill which it had already paid every 219 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. dollar at Philadelphia. Why, Sir, has the Secretary read the charter if he has, he must have known that the bank could not have ad. vanced the 900,000 for the government at Paris, without subjecting itself to a penalty of three times the amount (2,700,000.) The 13th section of the charter is express and positive: " That if the said corporation shall advance or lend any sum of money for the use or on arcount of the government of the United States, to an amount exceeding five hundred thousand dollars, all persons concerned in making such unlawful advances or loan, shall forfeit treble the amount, one fifth to the informer," c. 9. The last reason which I shall notice of the Secretary is, that this ambitious corporation aspires to possess political power. Those in the actual possession of power, especially when they have grossly abused it, are perpetually dreading its loss. The miser does not cling to his treasure with a more death-like grasp. Their suspicions are always active and on the alert. In every form they behold a rival, and every breeze comes charged with alarm and dread. A thousand spectres glide before their aifrighted imaginations, and they see, in every attempt to enlighten those who have placed them in office, a sinister design to snatch from them their authority. On what other principles can we account for the extravagant charges brought for- ward by the Secretary against the bank More groundless and reck- less assertions than those which he has allowed himself to embody in his report, never were presented to a deceived, insulted, and outraged people. Suffer me, sir, to groupe some of them. He asserts, " that there is sufficient evidence to prove that the bank has used its means to obtain political power ;" that, in the Presidential election, "the bank took an open and direct interest, demonstrating that it was using its money for the purpose of obtaining a hold upon the people of this country ;" that it " entered the political arena ;" that it circulated publications containing " attacks on the officers of government ;" that "it is now openly in the field as a political partisan ;" that there are "positive proofs" of the efforts of the bank to obtain power. And, finally, he concludes, as a demonstrated proposition: " Fouthly, That there is sufficient evidence to show that the bank has been and still is seeking to obtain political power, and has used its money for the purpose of influencing the election of the public servants." After all this, who can doubt that this ambitious corporation is a candidate for the next Presidency Or, if it can moderate its lofty pretensions, that it means at least to go for the office of Secretary ot 220 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. the Treasury, upon the next removal But sir, where are the proofi of these political designs Can anything be more reckless than these confident assertions of the Secretary Let us have the proofs: I call for the proofs. The bank has been the constant object for years of vituperation and calumny. It has been assailed in every form of bit- terness and malignity. Its operations have been misrepresented; its credit and the public confidence in its integrity and solidity attempted to be destroyed; and the character of its officers assailed. Under these circumstances, it has dared to defend itself. It has circulated public documents, speeches of members of Congress, reports made by chairmen of committees, friends of the administration, and other pa- pers. And, as it was necessary to make the defence commensurate with the duration and the extensive theatre of the attack, it has been compelled to incur a heavy expense to save itself from threatened destruction It has openly avowed, and yet avows, its right and purpose to defend itself. All this was known to the last Congress. Not a solitary material fact has been since disclosed. And when be- fore, in a country where the press is free, was it deemed criminal for any body to defend itself Who invested the Secretary of the Trea- sury with power to interpose himself between the people, and light and intelligence Who gave him the right to dictate what infor ma- tion should be communicated to the people and by whom Whence does he derive his jurisdiction Who made him censor of the public press From what new sedition law does he deduce his authority Is the superintendence of the American press a part of the financial duty of a Secretary of the Treasury Why did he not lay the whole case before Congress, and invite the revival of the old sedition law Why anticipate the arrival of their session Why usurp the authority of the only department of government competent to apply a remedy, if there be any power to abridge the freedom of the press If the Secretary wishes to purify the press, he has a most Herculean duty nefore him. And when he sallies out on his Quixotic expedition, fie had better begin with the Augean stable, the press nearest to him, hiis organ, as most needing purification. I have done with the Secretary's reasons. They have been weighed and found wanting. There was not only no financial motive for his acting-the sole motive which he could officially entertain-but every financial consideration forbade him to act. I proceed now, i 221 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the third and last place, to examine the manner in which he has ex- ercised his power over the deposites. 3. The whole people of the United States derive an interest from the public deposites in the Bank of the United States, as a stockholder, in that institution. The bank is enabled, through its branches, to hrow capital into those parts of the Union where it is most needed. Thus it distributes and equalizes the advantages accruing from the collection of a large public revenue, and the consequent public de- posites. Thus it neutralizes the injustice which would otherwise flow from the people of the west and the interior, paying their full proportion of the public burdens, without deriving any corresponding benefit from the circulation and deposites of the public revenue. The use of the capital of the bank has been signally beneficial to the West. We there want capital, domestic, foreign-any capital that we can honestly get. We want it to stimulate enterprise, to give activity to business, and to develope the vast resources which the bounty of Na- ture has concentrated in that region. But, by the Secretary's finan- cial arrangements, the twenty-five or thirty millions of the public revenue collected from all the people of the United States (including those of the west) will be retained in a few Atlantic ports. Each port will engross the public moneys there collected. And, as that of New York collects about one-half of the public revenue, all the peo- ple of the United States will be laid under contribution, not for the sake of the people of the city of New York, but of two or three banks in that city, in which the people of the United States, collectively, have not a particle of interest; banks, the stock in which is or may be held by foreigners. Three months have elapsed, and the Secretary has not yet found places of deposite for the public moneys, as substitutes for the Bank of the United States. He tells us, in his report of yesterday, that the bank at Charleston, to which he applied to receive them, declined the custody, and that he has yet found no other bank willing to assume it. But he states that the public interest does not in consequence suffer. No! What is lone with the public moneys constantly re- ceiving, in the important port of Charleston, the largest port (New Orleans excepted) from the Potomac to the gulf of Mexico What with the revenue bonds It appears that he has not yet received the charters from all the banks selected as places of deposite. Can any- 222 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. tming be more improvident than that the Secretary should undertake to contract with banks, without knowing their power and capacity to contrat t by their charters. That he should venture to deposite the people's money in banks, without a full knowledge of everything re- specting their actual condition But he has found some banks will- inrg to receive the public deposites, and he has entered into contracts with them. And the very first step he has taken has been in direct violation of an express and positive statute of the United States. By the act of the 1st of MIay, 1820, sixth section, it is enacted: " That no contract shall hereafter be made by the Secretary of State, or of the Trrasmry, or ot the department of war, or of the navy, except under a law authoriz- ing the same, or under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment ; and excepting, also, contracts for the subsi tence and clothing of the army or navy, and contracts by the quarter master's department, which may be made by the Secretaries of those departments." Now, sir, what law authorized these contracts with the local banks, made by the Secretary of the Treasury The argument, if I under- stand the argument intended to be employed on the other side, is this: that, by the bank charter, the Secretary is authorized to remove the public deposites, and that includes the power in question But the act establishing the treasury department confides, expressly, the safe- keeping of the public moneys of the United Slates to the Treasurer of the United States, and not to the Secretary; and the Treasurer, not the Secretary, gives a bond for the fidelity with which he shall keep them. The moment therefore, that they are withdrawn from the Bank of the United States, they are placed, by law, under the charge and responsibility of the Treasurer and his bond, and not of the Secretary, who has given no bond. But let us trace this argu- ment a little further. The power to remove the deposites, says the Secretary fromn a given place, implies the power to designate the place to which they shall be removed. And this implied power to designate the place to which they shall be removed, implies the power to the Secretary of the Treasury to contract with the new banks of deposite. And, on this third link, in the chain of implications, a fourth is constructed, to dispense with the express duties of the Trea- surer of tne United States, defined in a positive statute; and yet a fifth, to repeal a positive statute of Congress, passed four years after the passage of the law containing the present source of this most ex- "raordinary chain of implications. The exceptions in the act of 1820, prove the inflexibility of the rule which it prescribes. Annual appro- riations are made for the clothing and subsistence of the army 223 224 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAT. and navy. These appropriations might have been supposed to be in cluded in a power to contract for those articles, notwithstanding the prohibitory clause in that act. But Congress thought otherwise, and therefore expressly provided for the exceptions- It must be admit ted that our clerk (as the late Governor Robinson, of Louisiana, one of the purest republicans I have ever known, used to call a Secretary of the Treasury,) tramples with very little ceremony upon the duties of the Treasurer, and the acts of the Congress of the United States when they come in his way. These contracts, therefore, between the Secretary of the Treasury and the local banks are mere nullities, and absolutely void, enforcea- ble in no court of justice whatever, for two causes-Ist. Because they are made in violation of the act of the 1st of May, 1820; and 2d. Because the Treasurer, and not the Secretary of the Treasury, alone had, if any federal officer possessed, the power to contract with the local banks. And here again we perceive the necessity there was for avoiding the precipitancy with which the executive acted, and for awaiting the meeting of Congress. Congress could have deliberately reviewed the previous legislation, decided upon the expediency of a transfer of the public deposites, and if deemed proper, could have passed the new laws adapted to the new condition of the treasury. It could have decided whether the local banks should pay any bonus, or pay any interest, or diffuse the public deposites throughout the United States, so as to secure among all their parts equality of bene- fits as well as of burdens, and provided for ample guaranties for the safety of the public moneys in their new depositories. But let us now inquire whether the Secretary of the Treasury has exercised his usurped authority, in the formation of these contracts, with prudence anu discretion. Having substituted himself to Con- gress and to the Treasurer of the United States, he ought at least to show that, in the stipulations of the contracts themselves, he has guarded the public moneys and provided for the public interests. I will examine the contract with the Girard Bank of Philadelphia, which is presented as a specimen of the contracts with the Atlantic banks. The first stipulation limits the duty of the local banks to receive in deposite, on account of the United States, only the notes of banks convertible into coin, " in its immediate vicinity," or which it is, " or the time being, in the habit of receiving." Under this O'N THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. stipulation, the Girard Bank, for example, will not be bound to re- ceive the notes of the Louisville Bank, although that also be one of the deposite banks, nor the notes of any other bank, not in its imme- diate vicinity. As to the provision that it will receive the notes of banks which, for the time being, it is in the habit of receiving, it is absurd to put such a stipulation in a contract, because by the power retained to change the habit, for the time being, it is an absolute nul- lity. Now, sir, how does this compare with the charter and Bank of the United States The bank receives everywhere, and credits the government with the notes, whether issued by the branches or the principal bank. The amount of all these notes is everywhere availa- ble to the government. But the government may be overflowing in distant bank notes when they are not wanted, and a bankrupt, at the places of expenditure, under this singular arrangement. With respect to the transfer of moneys from place to place, the local banks require in this contract that it shall not take place but upon reasonable notice. And what reasonable is, has been left totally un- defined, and of course open to future contest. When hereafter a transfer is ordered, and the bank is unable to make it, there is noth- ing to do but to alledge the unreasonableness of the notice. The local bank agrees to render to the government all the services now performed by the Bank ot the United States, subject, how- ever, to the restriction that they are required " in the vicinity" of the local bank. But the Bank of the United States is under no such re- strictions; its services are coextensive with the United States and their territories. The local banks agree to submit their books and accounts to fhe Secretary of the Treasury, or to any agent to be appointed by him, but to be paid by the local banks pro rata, as far as such examination is admissible without a violation of their respective charters; and how far that may be the Secretary cannot tell, because he has not yet seen all the charters. He is, however, to appoint the agents of ex- amination, and to fix the salaries which the local banks are to pay. And where does the Secretary find the authority to create officers and fix their salaries, without the authority of Congress But the most improvident, unprecedented and extraordinary pro- vision in the contract is that whieh relates to the security. When, 225 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and not until, the deposites in the local bank shall exceed one-half of the capital stock actually paid in, collateral security, satisf, ctory to the Secretary of the Treasury, is to be given for the safety of the de- posites. Why, sir, a freshman, a schoolboy, would not have thus dealt with his father's guardian's money. Instead of the security preceding, it is tofodlow the deposite of the people's money ! That is, the local bank gets an amount of their money, equal to one-half its capital, and then it condescends to give security ! Does not the Secretary know, that, when he goes for the security, the money may be gone, and that he may be entirely unable to get the one or the other We have a law, if I mistake not, which forbids the advance of any public money, even to a disbursing agent of the governriient, without previous security. Yet, in violation of the spirit of that law, or, at least, of all common sense and common prudence, the Secre- tary disperses upwards of twenty-five millions of public revenue among a countless number of unknown banks, and stipulates that, when the amount of the deposite exceeds one-half of their respective capitals, security is to be given ! The best stipulation in the whole contract is the last, which re- serves to the Secretary of the treasury the power of discharging these local banks from the service of the United States whenever he pleases; and the sooner he exercises it, and restores the public deposites to the place of acknowledged safety, from which they have been rashly taken, the better for all parties concerned. Let us look into the condition of one of these local banks, the near- est to us, and that with respect to which we have the best informa- tion. The banks of this district (and among them that of the Me- tropolis) are required to make annual reports of their condition on the first day of January. The latest official return from the Metrop- olis bank is of the first of January, 1S32. Why it did not make one on the first of last January, along with the other banks, I know not. In point of fact, I am informed, it made none. Here is its account of January, 1832, and I think you will agree that it is a Flemish one. On the debit side stand capital paid in 500,000. Due to the banks, 20,911 10; individuals on deposite 74,977 42; dividend and ex- penses17,591 77; and surplus 8,131 02; making an aggregate of 684,496 31. On the credit side there are bills and notes discount- ed, and stock (what sort ) bearing interest, 626,011 90; real estate. 226 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. 18,404 86; notes of other banks on hand, and checks on do., 23, 213 SO; specie-now Mr. President, how much do you imagine Recollect, that this is the bank selected at the seat of government, where there is necessarily concentrated a vast amount of public mo- ney, employed in the expenditure of government. Recollect that, by another executive edict, all public officers, charged with the disburse- ment of the public money here, are required to make their depositf s with this Metropolis; and how much specie do you suppose it had at the date of its last official return 10,974 76. Due from other banks, 5,890 99; making in the aggregate on the credit side,684, 496 31. Upon looking into the items, and casting them up, you will find that this Metropolis bank, on the first day of January, 1832, was liable to an immediate call for 176,3:i5 29, and that the amount which it had on hand ready to meet that call, was 40,079 55. And this is one of the banks selected at the seat of the general government, for the deposite of the public moneys of the United States. A bank with a capital of thirty-millions of dollars, and upwards of ten mill- ions of specie on hand has been put aside, and a bank with a capital of half a million, and a little more than ten thousand dollars in specie on hand, has been substituted in its place! How that half million has been raised-whether in part or in the whole, by the neutralizing operation of giving stock notes in exchange for certificates of stock, does not appear. The design of the whole scheme of this treasury arrangement seems to have been, to save united in one common league a number of local banks, dispersed throughout the Union, and subject to one central will, with a right of scrutiny instituted by the agents of that will. It is a bad imitation of the New York project of a safety fund. This confederation of banks will probably be combined in sympathy as well as interest, and will be always ready to fly to the succor of the source of their nourishment. As to their supplying a common cur rency, in place of that of the bank of tile United States, the plan is totally destitute of the essential requisite. They are not required to credit each other's paper, unless it be issued in the "d immediate vici- nity. " We have seen what is in this contract. Now let us see what is not there. It contains no stipulation for the preservation of the pub- lic morals; none for the freedom of elections; none for the purity of 227 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the press. All these great interests, after all that has been said against the Bank of the United States, are left to shift and take care of them.. selves as they can. We have already seen the President of a bank in a neighboring city, rushing impetuously to the defence of the Se- cretary of the treasury against an editorial article in a newspaper, although the " venom of the shaft was quite equal to the vigor of the bow." Was le rebuked by the Secretary of the treasury Was the bank discharged from the public service Or, are mor als, the press, and elections, in no danger of contamination, when a host of banks become literary champions on the side of power and the officers of government Is the patriotism of the Secretary only alarmed when the infallibility of high authority is questioned Will the States silently acquiesce, and see the federal authority insinuating itself into banks of their creation, and subject to their exclusive control We have, Mr. President, a most wonderful financier at the head of .)ur treasury department. He sits quietly by in the cabinet, and wit- nesses the contest between his colleague and the President; sees the conflict in the mind of that colleague between his personal attach- ment to the President on the one hand, and his solemn duty to the public on the other. Beholds the triumph of conscientious obligation; contemplates the noble spectacle of an honest man, preferring to sur- render an exalted office with all its honors and emoluments, rather than betray the interests of the people. Sees the contemptuous and insulting expulsion of that colleague from office; and then coolly en- ters the vacated place, without the slightest sympathy or the small- est emotion. He was installed on the 23d of September, and by the 26th, the brief period of three days, he discovers that the government of the United States had been wrong from its origin ; that every one of his predecessors from Hamilton down including Gallatin (who, whatever I said of him on a former occasion, and that I do not mean to retract, possessed More practical knowledge of currency, banks, and finance, than any man I have ever met in the public councils,) Dallas, and Crawford had been mistaken about both the expediency and constitutionality of the ba-k, that every chief magistrate, prior to him whose patronage he enjoyed, had been wrong; that the supreme court of the United States, and the people of the United States, dur- ing the thirty-seven years that they had acquiesced in or recognised the usefulness of a bank, were all wrong. And opposin g his single opinion to their united judgments, he dismisses the bank, scatters the 229 ON THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES. public money, and undertakes to regulate and purify the public mo. rals, the public press, and popular elections. If we examine the operations of this modern Turgot, in their finan- ial bearing merely, we shall find still less for approbation. 1. He withdraws the public moneys, where, by his own deliberate admission, they were perfectly safe, with a bank of thirty-five mill ions of capital, and ten millions of specie, and places them at great hazard with banks of comparatively small capital, and but little spe cie, of which the Metropolis bank is an example. 2. He withdraws them from a bank created by, and over which the federal government had ample control, and puts them in other banks, created by different governments, and over which it has no control. 3. He withdraws them from a bank in which the American peo- ple as a stockholder, were drawing their fair proportion of interest accruing on loans, of which those deposites formed the basis, and puts them where the people of the United States draw no interest. 4. From a bank which has paid a bonus of a million and a half, which the people of the United States may be now liable to refund, and puts them in banks which have paid to the American people no bonus. 5. Depreciates the value of stock in a bank, where the general government holds seven millions, and advances that of banks in whose stock it does not hold a dollar; and whose aggregate capital does not probably much exceed that very seven millions. And, finally, 6. He dismisses a bank whose paper circulates, in the greatest credit throughout the Union and in foreign countries, and engages in the public service banks whose paper has but a limited and local cir- culation in their " immediate vicinities." These are immediate and inevitable results. How much that large and long-standing item of unavailable funds, annually reported to 15 229 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Congress, will be swelled and extended, remains to be developed by time. And now, Mr. President, what, under all these circumstances, is it our duty to do Is there a senator, who can hesitate to affirm, in the language of the resolution, that the President has assumed a dan- gerous power over the treasury of the United States not granted to him bv the constitution and the laws; and that the reasons assigned for the act, by the Secretary of the treasury, are insufficient and un- satisfactory The eyes and the hopes of the American people are anxiously turned to Congress. They feel that they have been deceived and in- sulted; their confidence abused; their interests betraved; and their liberties in danger. They see a rapid and alarming concentration of all power in one man's hands. They see that, by the exercise of the positive authority of the executive, and his negative power exerted over Congress, the will of one man alone prevails, and governs the Republic. The question is no longer what laws will Congress pass, but what will the executive not veto The President, and not Con- gress, is addressed for legislative action. We have seen a corpora- tion, charged with the execution of a great national work, dismiss an experienced, faithful and zealous President, afterwards testify to his ability by a voluntary resolution, and rewai d his extraordinary servi- ces by a large gratuity, and appoint in his place an executive favor- ite, totally inexperienced and incompetent, to propitiate the Presi- dent. We behold the usual incidents of approaching tyranny. The land is filled with spies and informers; and detraction and denuncia- tion are the orders of the day. People, especially official incumbents in this place, no longer dare speak in the fearless tones of manly free- men, but in the cautious whispers of trembling slaves. The premoni- tory symptoms of despotism are upon us; and if Congress do not ap- ply an instantaneous and effective remedy, the fatal collapse will soon come on, and we shall die-ignobly die! base, mean, and abject slaves -the scorn and contempt of mankind-unpitied, unwept, unmourned I 230 ON THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MARCH 7, 1834. [On presenting certain memorials praying for relief from the effects of the Removal of the Deposites, Mr. CLAY said-] I have been requested by the committee from Philadelphia, charg- ed with presenting the memorial to Congress, to say a few words on the subject; and although after the ample and very satisfactory ex- position which it has received from the Senator from Massachusetts, further observations are entirely unnecessary, I cannot deny myself the gratification of complying with a request, proceeding from a source so highly worthy of respectful consideration. And what is the remedy to be provided for this most unhappy state of the country I have conversed freely with the members of the Philadelphia committee. They are real, practical, working-men; intelligent, well acquainted with the general condition, and with the sufferings of their particular community. No one, who has not a heart of steel, can listen to them, without feeling the deepest sym- pathy for the privations and sufferings unnecessarily brought upon the laboring classes. Both the committee and the memorial declare that their reliance is, exclusively, on the legislative branch of the government. Mr. President, it is with subdued feelings of the pro- foundest humility and mortification, that I am compelled to say that, constituted as Congress now is, no relief will be afforded by it, unless its members shall be enlightened and instructed by the people them- selves. A large portion of the body, whatever may be their private judgment upon the course of the President, believe it to be their duty, at all events safest for themselves, to sustain him without re- gard to the consequences of his measures upon the public interests. And nothing but clear, decided and unequivocal demonstrations of SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the popular disapprobation of what has been done, will divert therm from their present purpose. But there is another quarter which possesses sufficient power and influence to relieve the public distresses. In twenty-four hours, the xecutive branch could adopt a measure which would afford an effi- cacious and substantial remedy, and re-establish confidence. And those who, in this chamber, support the administration, could net render a better service than to repair to the executive mansion, and, placing before the chief magistrate the naked and undisguised truth, prevail upon him to retrace his steps and abandon his fatal experi- ment. No one, sir, can perform that duty with more propriety than yourself. You can, if ycu will, induce him to change his course. To you, then, sir, in no unfriendly spirit, but with feelings softened and subdued by the deep distress which pervades every class of our countrymen, I make the appeal. By your official and personal rela- tions with the President, you maintain with him an intercourse which I neither enjoy nor covet. Go to him and tell him, without exagge- ration, but in the language of truth and sincerity, the actual condi- tion of his bleeding country. Tell him it is nearly ruined and un- done by the measures which he has been induced to put in operation Tell him that his experiment is operating on the nation like the phi- losopher's experiment upon a convulsed animal, in an exhausted re- ceiver, and that it must expire in agony, if he does not pause, give it free and sound circulation, and suffer the energies of the people tc be revived and restored. Tell him that, in a single city, more than sixty bankruptcies, involving a loss of upwards of fifteen millions of dollars, have occurred. Tell him of the alarming decline in the value of all property, of the depreciation of all the products of in- dustry, of the stagnation in every branch of business, and of the close oF numerous manufacturing establishments, which, a few short months ago, were in active and flourishing operation. Depict to him, if you can find language to portray, the heart-rending wretchedness of thousands of the working classes cast out of employment. Tell him of the tears of helpless widows, no longer able to earn their bread, and of unclad and unfed orphans who have been driven, by his policy, out of the busy pursuits in which but yesterday they were gaining an honest livelihood. Say to him that if firmness be honor able, when guided by truth and justice, it is intimately allied tc another quality, of the most pernicious tendency, in the prosecution 232 ON MHE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. of an erroneous system. Tell him how much more true glory is to be won by retracing false steps, than by blindly rushing on until his country is overwhelmed in bankruptcy and ruin. Tell him of the ardent attachment, the unbounded devotion, the enthusiastic grati tude towards him, so often signally manifested by the American peo- ple, and that they deserve at his hands better treatment. Tell him to guard himself against the possibility of an odious comparison with that worst of the Roman emperors, who, contemplating with indiffer- ence the conflagration of the mistress of the world, regaled himself during the terrific scene in the throng of his dancing courtiers. If you desire to secure for yourself the reputation of a public benefactor, describe to him truly the universal distress already produced, and the certain ruin which must ensue from perseverance in his measures. Tell him that he has been abused, deceived, betrayed, by the wicked counsels of unprincipled men around him. Inform him that all ef- forts in Congress to alleviate or terminate the public distress are par- alyzed and likely to prove totally unavailing, from his influence upon a large portion of the members, who are unwilling to withdraw their support, or to take a course repugnant to his wishes and feelings. Tell him that, in his bosom alone, under actual circumstances, does the power abide to relieve the country; and that, unless he opens it to conviction, and corrects the errors of his administration, no human imagination can conceive, and no human tongue can express, the awful consequences which may follow. Intreat him to pause, and to reflect that there is a point beyond which human endurance can- not go; and let him not drive this brave, generous, and patriotic peo- ple to madness and despair. Mr. President, unaffectedly indisposed, and unwilling as I am to trespass upon the Senate, I could not decline complying with a re- quest addressed to me by a respectable portion of my fellow citizens, part of the bone and sinew of the American public. Like the Sena- tor from Massachusetts, who has been entrusted with the presenta- tion of their petition to the Senate, I found them plain, judicious, sensible men, clearly understanding their own interests, and, with the rest of the community, writhing under the operation of the- mea- sures of the executive. If I have deviated from the beaten track of debate in the Senate, my apology must be found in the anxious solici- tude which I feel for the condition of the country. And, sir, if I shall have been successful in touching your heart, and exciting in you 2.33 RS44 SPEECHES O lIxi t CLAY. a glow of patriotism, I shall be most happy. You can prevail upon the President to abandon his ruinous course; and, if you will exert the influence which you possess, you vwilI command the thanks an4 the plaudits of a grateful people. ON THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MARCH 14, 1834 I AM charged with the pleasing duty of presenting to the Senate the proceedings of a public meeting of the people, and two memori- als, subscribed by large numbers of my fellow citizens, in respect to the exciting state of public affairs. The first I would offer are the resolutions of the young men of Troy, assembled upon a call of upwards of seven hundred of their number. I have recently visited that interesting city. It is one of the most beautiful-of a succession of fine cities and villages that de- corate the borders of one of the noblest rivers of our country. In spite of the shade cast upon it by its ancient and venerable sister and neighbor, it has sprung up with astonishing rapidity. When I saw it last fail, I never beheld a more respectable, active, enterprizing and intelligent business community. Every branch of employment was flourishing. Every heart beat high in satisfaction with present en- joyment, and hopes from the prospect of future success. How sadly has the scene changed ! How terribly have all their anticipations of continued and increasing prosperity been dashed and disappointed by the folly and wickedness of misguided rulers! The young men advert to this change, in their resolutions, and to its true cause. They denounce all experiments upon their happiness They call for the safer councils which prevailed under the auspices of Washington and Madison, both of whom gave their approbation to charters of a Bank of the United States. But what gives to these resolutions peculiar interest, in my esti- mation, is, that they exhibit a tone of feeling which rises far above any loss of property, however great, any distress from the stagnation of business, however intense. They manifest a deep and patriotic SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. sensibility to executive usurpations, and to the consequent danger to civil liberty. They solemnly protest against the union of the purse and the sword in the hands of one man. They would not have con- sented to such a union in the person of the father of his country, much less will they in that of any living man. They feel that, when liberty is safe, the loss of fortune and property is comparatively no- thino; but that when liberty is sacrificed, existence has lost all its charms. The next document which I have to offer is a memorial, signed by near nine hundred mechanics of the city of Troy. Several of them are personally known to me. And judging from what I know, see and hear, I believed there is not any where a more skilful, indus- trious and respectable body of mechanics than in Troy. They bear testimony to the prevalence of distress, trace it to the legal acts of the executive branch of the government in the removal of the public deposites; ask their restoration, and the recharter of the Bank of the United States. And the committee, in their letter addressed to me, say: " We are, what we profess to be, working men, dependent upon our labor for our daily bread, confine our attention to our seve- ral vocations, and trust in God and the continental Congress for such protection as will enable us to operate successfully." The first mentioned depository of their confidence will not deceive them. But I lament to say that the experience. during this session, does not authorize us to anticipate that co-operation in another quar- ter which is indispensable to the restoration of the constitution and laws, and the recovery of the public purse. The last memorial I would present, has been transmitted to me by the Secretaries to a meeting stated to be the largest ever held in the county of Schenectady, in New York. It is signed by about eight hundred persons. In a few instances, owing to the subscrip- tions having been obtained by different individuals, the same name occurs twice. The memorialists bring their testimony to the exis- tence of distress, aud the disorders of the currency, and invoke the application of the only known, tried and certain remedy, the estab- lishment of a National Bank. And now, Mr. President I will avail myself of the occasion to say 236 ON THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. t few words on the subject matter of these proceedings and memori- als, and on the state of the country as we found it at the commence- ment of the session, and its present state. When we met, we found the executive in the full possession of the public treasury. All its barriers had been broken down, and in place of the control of the law was substituted the uncontrolled will of the chief magistrate. I say uncontrolled: for it is idle to pretend that the executive has not unrestrained access to the public treasury, when every officer connected with it is bound to obey his paramount will. It is not the form of keeping the account; it is not the place alone where the public money is kept; but it is the power, the au- thority, the responsibility of independent officers, checking and check- ed by each other, that constitute the public security for the safety of the public treasure. This no longer exists, is gone, is annihilated. The Secretary sent us in a report containing tire reasons (if they can be dignified with that appellation) for the executive seizure of the public purse. Resolutions were promptly offered in this body, denouncing the procedure as unconstitutional and dangerous to liber- ty, and declaring the total insufficiency of the reasons. Near three months were consumed in the discussion of them. In the early pare of this protracted debate, the supporters of distress, pronounced it a panic got up for dramatic effect, and affirmed that the country was enjoying great prosperity. Instances occurred of members asserting that the places of their own residence was in the full enjoyment of enviable and unexampled prosperity, who, in the progress of the de- bate, were compelled reluctantly to own their mistake, and to admit the existence of deep and intense distress. Memorial after memorial poured in, committee after committee repaired to the capitol to re- present the sufferings of the people, until incredulity itself stood re- buked and abashed. Then it was the Bank that had inflicted the calamity upon the country--that Bank which was to be brought un- der the feet of the President, should proceed forthwith to wind up its affairs. And, during the debate, it was again and again pronounced by the partisans of the executive, that the sole question involved in the resolutions was bank or no bank. It was in vain that we protested, solemnly protested that that was not the question; and that the 237 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. true question was of immensely higher import; that it comprehended the inviolability of the constitution, the supremacy of the laws, and .he- union of the purse and the sword in the hands of one man. In vain did members repeatedly rise in their places, and proclaim their intention to vote for the restoration of the deposites, and their settled determination to vote against the recharter of the Bank, and against the charter of any Bank. Gentlemen persisted in asserting the iden- tity of the bank question, and that contained in the resolutions; and thousands of the people of the country are, to this moment, deluded by the erroneous belief in that identity. Mr. President, the arts of power and its minions are the same in all countries and in all ages. It marks a victim ; denounces it; and excites the public odium and the public hatred, to conceal its own abuses and encroachments. It avails itself of the prejudice, and the passions of the people, silently and secretly, to forge chains to en. slave the people. Well, sir, during the continuance of the debate, we have been told over and over again, that, let the question of the deposites be settled, let Congress pass upon the report of the Secretary, and the activity of business and the prosperity of the country will again speedily re- vive. The Senate has passed upon the resolutions, and has done its duty to the country, to the constitution, and to its conscience. And the report of the Secretary has been also passed upon in the other house; but how passed upon The official relations which exist between the two houses, and the expediency of preserving good feelings and harmony between them, forbid my saying all that I feel on this momentous subject. But I must say, that the House, by the constitution, is deemed the especial guardian of the rights and inte- rests of the people; and, above all, the guardian of the people's mo- ney in the public treasury. The House has given the question of the sufficiency of the Secretary's reasons the go-by, evaded it, shunned it, or rather merged it, in the previous question. The House of Re- presentatives have not ventured to approve the Secretary's reasons- It cannot approve them ; but, avoiding the true and original question, has gone off upon a subordinate and collateral point. It has indirect ly sanctioned the executive usurpation. It has virtually abandoned its constitutional care and control over the public treasury. It has 238 ON THE STATE Of THE COUNTRY. surrendered the keys, or rather permits the executive to retain their custody; and thus acquiesces in that conjunction of the sword and the purse of the nation, which all experience has evinced, and all patriots have believed, to be fatal to the continuance of public liberty. Such has been the extraordinary disposition of this great question. Has the promised relief come In one short week, after the house pronounced its singular decision, three Banks in this District of Co- lumbia have stopped payment and exploded. In one of them the government has, we understand, sustained a loss of thirty thousand dollars. And in another, almost within a stone's throw of the capi- tol, that navy pension fund, created for our infirm and disabled, but gallant tars; which ought to be held sacred, has experienced an ab- straction of 20,000 ! Such is the realization of the prediction of relief made by the supporters of the executive. And what is the actual state of the public treasury The Presi- dent, not satisfied with the seizure of it, more than two months be- fore the commencement of the session, appointed a second Secretary of the treasury since the adjournment of the last Congress. We are now in the fifth month of the session; and in defiance of the sense of the country, and in contempt of the participation of the Senate in the appointing power, the President has not yet deigned to submit the nomination of his Secretary to the consideration of the Senate. Sir, I have not looked into the record, but, from the habitual prac- tice of every previous President, from the deference and respect which they all maintained towards a co-ordinate branch of the government, I venture to say that a parallel case is not to be found. Mr. President, it is a question of the highest importance what is to be the issue, what the remedy of the existing evils. We should deal with the people openly, frankly, sincerely. The Senate stands ready to do whatever is incumbent upon it; but unless the majority in the House will relent, unless it will take heed of and profit by recent events, there is no hope for the nation from the joint action of the two Houses of Congress at this session. Still, I would say to my countrymen, do not despair. You are a young, brave, intelligent and as yet a free people. A complete remedy for all that you suffier, and all that you dread, is in your own hands. And the events, to which I have just alluded, demonstrate that those of us have noA 239 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. been deceived who have always relied upon the virtue, the capacity and the intelligence of the people. I congratulate you, Mr. President, and I hope you will receive the congratulation with the same heartfelt cordiality with which I tender it, upon the issue of the late election in the city of New York. I hope it will excite a patriotic glow in your bosom. I congratulate the Senate, the country, the city of New York, the friends of liberty every where. It was a great victory. It must be so regarded in every aspect. From a majority of more than six thousand, which the dominant party boasted a few months ago, if it retain any, it is a meagre and spurious majority of less than two hundred. And the whigs contended with such odds against them. A triple alliance of state placemen, corporation placemen and federal placemen, amount- ing to about thirty-five hundred, and deriving, in the form of salaries, compensations and allowances, ordinary and extra, from the public chests, the enormous sum, annually, of near one million of dollars. Marshalled, drilled, disciplined, commanded. The struggle was tre. mendous; but what can withstand the irresistible power of the vota- ries of truth, liberty, and their country It was an immortal triumph -a triumph of the constitution and the laws over usurpation here, and over clubs and bludgeons and violence there. Go on, noble city Go on, patriotic whigs ! follow up your glo- rious commencement; persevere, and pause not until you have re- generated and disenthralled your splendid city, and placed it at the head of American cities devoted to civil liberty, as it now stands pre- eminently the first as the commercial emporium of our common country ! Merchants, mechanics, traders, laborers, never cease to recollect that, without freedom, you can have no sure commerce or business; and that without law you have no security for personal iberty, property, or even existence! Countrymen of Tone, of Em- net, of Macneven, and of Sampson, if any of you have been deceiv ed, and seduced into the support of a cause dangerous to American liberty, hasten to review and correct your course ! Do not forget that you abandoned the green fields of your native island to escape what you believed the tyranny of a British king! Do not, I adjure you. lend yourselves, in this land of your asylum, this last retreat of the freedom of man, to the establishment here, for you, and for us all, of that despotism which you had proudly hoped had been left behind 240 ON THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. you, in Europe, forever! There is much, I would fain believe, in the constitutional forms of government. But at last it is its parental and beneficent operation that must fix its character. A government may in form be free, in practice tyrannical; as it may in form be des- potic, and in practice liberal and free. It was a brilliant and signal triumph of the whigs. And they have assumed for themselves, and bestowed on their opponents, a demon- stration which, according to all the analogy of history, is strictly cor- rect. It deserves to be extended throughout the whole country. What was the origin, among our British ancestors, of those appella- tions The tories were the supporters of executive power, of royal prerogative, of the maxim that the king could do no wrong, of the detestable doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance. The whigs were the champions of liberty. the friends of the people, and the defenders of the power of their representatives in the House of Commons. During our revolutionary war, the tories took sides with executive power and prerogative, and with the king, against liberty and inde- pendence. And the whigs, true to their principles, contended against royal executive power, and for freedom and independence. And what is the present but the same contest in another form The partisans of the present executive sustain his power in the most boundless extent. They claim for him all executive authority. They make his sole will the governing power. Every officer con- cerned in the administration, from the highest to the lowest, is to conform to his mandates. Even the public treasury, hitherto regard- ed as sacred, and beyond his reach, is placed by them under his en- tire direction and control. The whigs of the present day are oppos- ing executive encroachment, and a most alarming extension of ex- ecutive power and prerogative. They are ferreting out the abuses and corruptions of an administration, under a chief magistrate who is endeavoring to concentrate in his own person the whole powers of government. They are contending for the rights of the people, for civil liberty, for free institutions, for the supremacy of the constitu- tion and the laws. The contest is an arduous one; but, although the struggle may be yet awhile prolonged, by the blessing of God and the spiritsof our ancestors, the issue cannot be doubtful 241 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. The Senate stands in the breach, ready to defend the constitution, and to relieve the distresses of the people. But, without the con. currence of another branch of Congress, which ought to be the first to yield it, the Senate alone can send forth no act of legislation. Un aided, it can do no positive good; but it has vast preventive power. It may avert and arrest evil, if it cannot rebuke usurpation. Sena- tors, let us remain steadily by the constitution and the country, in this most portentous crisis; let us oppose, to all encroachments and to all corruption, a manly, resolute and uncompromising resistance, let us adopt two rules from which we will never deviate, in deliber. ating upon all nominatkons. In the first place, to preserve untarnish ed and unsuspected the purity of Congress, let us negative the nomi- nations of every member for any office, high or low, foreign or do- mestic, until the authority of the constitution and laws is fully re- stored. I know not that there is any member of either house capable of being influenced by the prospect of advancement or promotion, I would be the last to make such an insinuation ; but suspicion is abroad, and it is best, in these times of trouble and revolution, to de- fend the integrity of the body against all possible imputations. For one, whatever others may do, I here deliberately avow my settled determination, whilst I retain a seat in this chamber, to act in con- formity to that rule. In pursuing it, we but act in consonance with a principle proclaimed by the present chief magistrate himself when out of power ! But, alas ! how little has he respected it in power How little has he, in office, conformed to any of the principles which he announced when out of office ! And, in the next place, let us approve of the original nomination of no notorious brawling partisan and electioneerer; but, especially, of tne reappointment of no officer presented to us, who shall have prostituted the influence of his office to partisan and electioneering purposes. Every incumbent has a clear right to exercise the elec- tive franchise. I would be the last to controvert or deny it. But he has no right to employ the inflnence of his office, to exercise an agen- cy which he holds in trust for the people, to promote his own selfish or party purposes. Here, also, we have the authority of the present chief magistrate for this rule; and the authority of Mr. Jefferson The Senator from Tennesee (Mr. Grundy) merits lasting praise for his open and manly condemnation of these practices of official incum- bents. He was right, when he declared his suspicion and distrust of 242 A' THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 243 the purity of the motives of any officer whom he saw ibusity interfer- ing in the elections of the people. Senators! we have a highly responsible and arduous position; but the people are with us, and the path of duty lies clearly marked be- fore us. Let us be firm, persevering and unmoved. Let us perform our duty in a manner worthy of our ancestors-worthy of American Senators-worthy of the dignity of the sovereign States that we re- present-above all, worthy of the name of American freemen ! Let us " pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor," to rescue our beloved country from all impending dangers. And, amidst the general gloom and darkness which prevail, let us continue to present one unextinguished light, steadily burning, in the cause of the people, of the censiitution, and of cavil liberty, ON OUR RELATIONS WITH FRANCE. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY 14, 1835. [General JACKSON having in a Special Message recommended the adoption of ex treme measures, or the conferring on the Executive of power to adopt such meas. ures against France, in case her government did not promptly comply with her Min. istry's stipulation to pay us 25,000,000 francs in satisfaction of our claims, Mr. CLAY, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the following resolu. tion: Resolved, That it is inexpedient, at this time to pass any law vesting in the Presi- dent anthority for making reprisals upon French property, in the contingenvc of pro- vision not being made for paying to the United States the indemnity stipulated by the treaty of 1831, during the present session of the French Chambers. The question being on agreeing to this resolution, Mr. CLAY said:] IT is not my purpose, at the present stage of consideration of thie resolution, and I hope it will not be necessary at any stage, to say much with the view of enforcing the arguments in its favor, which are contained in the report of the committee. In the present posture of our relations with France, the course which has appeared to me and to the committee most expedient being to await the issue of those deliberations in the French Chambers which mav even at this mo- ment be going on, it would not be proper to enter at large, at the present time, into all the particulars touched upon in the report. On all questions connected with the foreign affairs of the country, differ- ences of opinion will arise, which will finally terminate in whatever way the opinion of the people of this country may so tend as to in- fluence their representatives. But, whenever the course of things shall be such that a rupture shall unfortunately take place between this country and any foreign country, (whether France or any other) 1 take this opportunity of saying that, from that moment, whatever of energy or ability, whatever of influence I may possess in my coun- try, shall be devoted to the carrying on that war with the utmost vigor which the arms and resources of the United States can give to ON OUR RELATIONS WITH FRANCE. it I will not anticipate. however, such a state of things-nay, I feel very confident that such a rupture will not occur between the United States and France. With respect to the justice of our claim upon France for payment of the indemnity stipulated by the treaty, the report of the committee is in entire concurrence with the executive. The opinion ofthe corn mittee is that the claims stipulated to be paid are founded in justice; that we must pursue them; that we must finally obtain sat- isfaction for them, and, to do so, must, if necessary, employ such means as the law of nations justifies and the constitution has placed within our power. On these points there is no diversity of sentiment between the committee and the President; there could be no diver- sity between either the committee or the President and any American citizen. In all that the President has said of the obligation of the French government to make the stipulated provision for the claims, the com- mittee entirely concur. If the President, in his message, after making his statement of the case, had stopped there, and abstained from the recommendation of any specific measure, there could not have been possibly any diversity of opinion on the subject between him and any portion of the country. But when he declares the confidence which he entertains in the French government; when he expresses his con- viction that the executive branch of that government is honest and sincere in its professions, and recites the promise by it of a renewed effort to obtain the passage of a bill of appropriation by the French Chambers, it did appear to the committee inconsistent with these pro- fessions of confidence, that they should be accompanied by the recom- mendation of a measure which could only be authorized by the con- viction that no confidence, or, at least, not entire confidence, could be placed in the declaration and professions of the French government. Confidence and distrust are unnatural allies. If we profess confidence anywhere, especially if that confidence be but for a limited period, it should be unaccompanied with any indication whatever of distrust- aconfidence full, free, frank. But to say, as the President, through our minister, has said, that he will await the issue of the deliberations of the Chambers confiding in the sincerity of the king, and this, too, after hearing of the rejection of the first bill of appropriation by the hambers, and now, at the very moment when the Chambers are 16 245 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. about deliberating on the subject, to throw out in a message to Con- gress what the President himself considered might possibly be viewed as a menace, appeared to the committee, with all due deference to the executive, and to the high and patriotic purposes which may be sup- posed to have induced the recommendation, to be inconsistent to such a degree as not to be seconded by the action of Congress. It also ap. peared to the committee, after the distinct recommendation by the President on this subject, that there should be some expression of the sense of Congress in regard to it. Such an expression is proposed by the resolution now under consideration. In speculating upon probabilities in regard to the course of the French government, in reference to the treaty, four contingencies might be supposed to arise: First, that the French government may have made the appropriation to carry the treaty into effect before the reception of the President's message: Secondly, the Chambers may make the appropriation after the reception of the President's message, and notwithstanding the recommendation on this subject contained in it: Thirdly, the Chambers may, in consequence of that recommen- dation, hearing of it before they shall have acted finally on the sub- ject, refuse to make any appropriation until what they may consider a menace shall have been explained or withdrawn: Or, fourthly, they may, either on that ground, or on the ground of dissatisfaction with the provisions of the treaty, refuse to pass the bill of appropriation, Now, in any of these contingencies, after what has passed, an expres- sion of the sense of Congress on the subject appears to me indispen- sable, either to the passage of the bill, or the subsequent payment of the money, if passed. Suppose the bill to have passed before the reception of the message, and the money to be in the French treasury, it would throw upon the king a high responsibility to pay the money, unless the recom- mendation of the message should be explained or done away, or at any rate unless a new motive to the execution of the treaty should be furnished in the fact that the two Houses of Congress, having consid- ered the subject, had deemed it inexpedient to act until the French Chambers should have had an opportunity to be heaid from. In the second contingency, that of the passage of a bill of appropriation after receiving the message, a vote of Congress, as proposed, would be soothing to the pride of France, and calculated to continue that goo 246 ON OUR RELATIONS WITH FRANCE. understanding which it must be the sincere desire of every citizen of the United States to cultivate with that country. If the Chambers shall have passed the bill, they will see that though the President of the United States, in the prosecution of a just claim, and in the spirit of sustaining the rights of the United States, had been induced to recommend the measure of reprisals, yet that a confidence was enter tained in both branches of Congress that there would be a compliance, on the part of the French government, with the pledges it had given c. In that contingency, the expression of such a sentiment by Con- gress could not but have a happy effect. In the other contingency supposed, also, it is indispensable that some such measure should be adopted. Suppose the bill of appropriation to be rejected, or its pas- sage to be suspended, until the Chambers ascertain whether the recommendation by the President is to be carried out by the passage of a law by Congress, a resolution like this will furnish the evidence desired of the disposition of Congress. If, indeed, upon the reception of the President's message the Chain bers shall have refused to make the appropriation, they will have put themselves in the wrong by not attending to the distribution of the powers of this government, and informing themselves whether those branches which alone can give effect to the President's recommenda- tion, would respond to it. But, if they take the other course sug- gested, that of suspending action on the bill until they ascertain whether the legislative department of the government coincides with the executive in the contingent measure recommended, they will then find that the President's recommendation-the expression of the opinion of one high in authority, indeed, having a strong hold on the aiiections and confidence of the people, wielding the executive power of the nation-but still an inchoate act, having no effect whatever withont the legislative action-had not been responded to by Con- gress, c. Thus under all contingencies happening on the other side of the water, and adapted to any one of those contingencies, the pas- sage of this resolution can do no mischief in any event, but is eminently calculated to prevent mischief, and to secure the very object which the President doubtless proposed to accomplish by his recommendation. I will not now consume any more time of the House by further re- mnarks, but will resume my seat with the intimation of my willingness to modify the resolution in any manner, not changing its result, which 247 248 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. mav be calculated to secure, what on such an occasion would be So highly desirable, the unanimous vote of the Senate in its favor. I believe it, however, all essential that there should be a declaration that Congress do not think it expedient, in the present state of the relations between the United States and France, to pass any law whatever concerning them. (After brief remarks by several other members, the resolution was slightly modi hed and oassed by a unanimous vote] OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. TN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 14, 1835. [The fiat for the Removal of the Cherokees from their territory within the United States having gone forth, Mr. CLAY presented to the Senate the memorial of those Indians, and accompanied it by the following Speech. I HOLD in my hands, and beg leave to present to the Senate certain resolutions and a memorial to the Senate and House of Representa- tives of [he United States, of a Council met at Running Waters, con- sisting of a portion of the Cherokee Indians. The Cherokees have a country-if, indeed, it can be any longer called their country-which is comprised within the limits of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina. They have a population which is variously estima- ted, but which, according to the best information which I possess, amounts to about fifteen thousand souls. Of this population, a por- tion, believed to be much the greater part, amounting, as is estimated to between nine and ten thousand souls, reside within the limits of the State of Georgia. The Senate is well aware, that for several years past it had been the policy of the general government to trans- fer the Indians to the west of the Mississippi river, and that a portion of the Cherokees have already availed themselves of this policy of the government, and emigrated beyond the Mississippi. Of those who remain, a portion-a respectable, but also an inconsiderable por- tion-are desirous to emigrate to the west, and a much larger portion desire to remain on their lands, and lay their bones where rest those of their ancestors. The papers which I now present emanate from the minor portion of the Cherokees; from those who are in favor of emigration They present a case which appeals strongly to the sym- pathies of Congress. They say that it is impossible for them to con- tinue to live under laws which they do not understand, passed by authority in which they have no share, promulgated in language of which nothing is known to the greater portion of them, and estab- lishing rules for their government entirely unadapted to their nature, SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. education and habits. They say that destruction is hanging over them if they remain; that, their right of self-government being de- stroyed, though they are sensible of all the privations, and hardships, and sufferings of banishment from their native homes, they prefer exile with liberty, to residence in their homes with slavery. They implore, therefore, the intervention of the general government to provide for their removal west of the Mississippi, and to establish guaranties never hereafter to be violated, of the possession of the lands to be acquired by them west of the Mississippi, and of the per- petual right of self-government. This is the object of the resolutions and petition which I am about to offer to the Senate. But I have thought that this occasion was one which called upon me to express the opinions and sentiments which I hold in relation to this entire subject, as respects not only the emigrating Indians, but those also who are desirous to remain at home; in short, to express in concise terms, my views of the relations between the Indian tribes and the people of the United States, the rights of both parties, and the duties of this government in regard to them. The rights of the Indians are to be ascertained, in the first place, by the solemn stipulations of numerous treaties made with them by the United States. It is not my purpose to call the attention of the Senate to all the treaties which have been made with Indian tribes bearing on this particular topic: but I feel constrained to ask the at- tention of the Senate to some portions of those treaties which have been made with the Cherokees, and to the memorable treaty of Greenville, which has terminated the war that previously thereto, for many years, raged between the United States and the northwest- ern Indian tribes. I find, upon consulting the collection of Indian treaties in my hand, that within the last half century, fourteen differ- ent treaties have been concluded with the Cherokees, the first of which bore date in the year 1775, and some one or more of which have been concluded under every administration of the general government, from the beginning of it to the present time, except the present administration, and that which immediately preceded it. The treaty of Hopewell, the first in the series was concluded in 1775; in the third article of which " the said Indians for themselves, anQ their respective tribes and towns, do acknowledge all the Cherokees to be under the protection of the United States of America. and of no other 250 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. sovereign whatsoever." The fifth article of the same treaty provides that, " If any citizen of the United States, or other person, not being an Indian, shall attempt to settle on any of the lands westw ard or southward of the said boundary, which are hereby allotted to the Indians for their hunting grounds, or, having al- ready settled, and will not remove from the same within six months after the ratifi.- cation of this treaty such person shall forfeit the protection of the United States, and the Indians may punish him or not, as they please: provided nevertheless, that this article shall not extend to the people settled between the fork of French, Broad, and Holston rivers," c. The next treaty in the series, which was concluded after the esta- biishment of the government of the United States, under the auspices of the father of his country, was in the year 1791, on the banks of the Holston, and contains the following provision: " Art. 7. The United States solemnly guarantee to the Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded." This is not an ordinary assurance of protection, c., but a solemn guaranty of the rights of the Cherokees to the lands in question. The next treaty to which I will call the attention of the Senate, was concluded in 1794, also, under the auspices of General Washington, and declares as follows: "The undersigned Henry Knox, Secretary for fhe department of war, being au- thorized thereto by the President of the United States, in behalf of the said United States, and the undersigned chiefs and warriors, in their own names, and in behalf of the whole Cherokee nation, are desirous of re-establishing peace and friendship between the said parties in a permanent manner, do hereby declare that the said treaty of Holston is, to all intents and purposes, in full force and binding upon the said parties, as well in respect to boundaries therein mentioned, as in all other re- spects whatever." This treaty, it is seen, renews the solemn guarantee contained ilk the preceeding treaty, and declares it to be binding and obligatory upon the parties in all respects whatever. Again: in another treaty, concluded in 1798, under the second Chief Magistrate of the United States, we find the following stipula- tions: " " Art. 2. The treaties subsisting between the present contracting parties are ac- knowledged to be of full and operating force; together with the construction and usage under their respective articles, and so to continue." " Art. 3. The limits and boundaries of the Cherokee nation as stipulated and marked by the existing treaties between the parties shall be and remain the same, where not altered by the present treaty." There were other provisions, in other treaties, to which, if I did 251 252 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. not intend to take up as little time as possible of the Senate, I Ty ight advantageously call their attention. I will, however, pass on to one of the last treaties with the Cherokees, which was concluded in the year 1S17. That treaty recognized the difference existing between the two portions of the Cherokees, one of which was desirous to re. main at home and prosecute the good work of civilization, in which they had made some progress, and the other portion was desirous to go beyond the Mississippi. In that treaty, the fifth article, aftel several other stipulations, concludes as follows: "And it is further stipulated, that the treaties heretofore between the Cherokee nation and the United States are to continue in full force with both parts of the na- tion, and both parts thereof entitl-d to all the privileges and immunities which the old nation enjoyed under the aforesaid treaties ; the United States reserving the right ot e-,tablishing factories, a military post, and roads within the boundaries above defined." And to this treaty, thus emphatically renewing the recognition of the rights of the Indians, is signed the name as one of the Commis- sioners of the United States who negotiated it, of the present Chief Magistrate of the United States. These were the stipulations in treaties with the Cherokee nation, to which I thought proper to call the attention of the Senate. I will now turn to the treaty of Greenville, concluded about forty years ago, recognizing some general principles applicable to this subject. The fifth article of that treaty reads as follows: " To prevent any misunderstanding about the Indian lands relinquished by the United States in the fourth article, it is now explicitly declared, that the meaning of that relinquishment is this: the Indian tribes who have a right to those lands are quietly to enjoy them, hunting, planting, and dwelling thereon so long as they please without any molestation from the United States; but when these tribes, or any of them, shall be disposed to sell their lands, or any part of them, they are to be sold only to the United States ; and, until such sale, the United States will protect all the said Indian tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United States, and against all other white persons who intrude upon the same. And the said Indian tribes again acknowledge themselves to be under the protection of the said United States, and no other power whatever." Such, sir, are the rights of the Indian tribes. And what are those rights They are, that the Indians shall live under their own cus- toms and laws; that they shall live upon their own lands, hunting, planting and dwelling thereon so long as they please, without inter- ruption or molestation of any sort from the white people of the United States, acknowledging themselves under the protection of the United States, and of no other power whatever; that when they no longer 252 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. iish to keep the lands, they shall sell them only to the United States, whose government thus secures to itself the pre-emptive right of pur- chaqe in them. These rights, so secured by successive treaties and guaranties, have also been recognized, on several occasions, by the highest judicial tribunals. [Mhr. CLAY here quoted trom an opinion of the Supreme Court a passage declaring that the Indians are acknowledged to have an unquestionable and heretofore un. questioned right to their land, until it shall be extinguished by voluntary cession to this government.] But it is not at home alone that the rights of the Indians within the limits of the United States have been recognized. Not only has the Executive, the Congress of the United States, and the Supreme Court, recognized these rights, but in one of the most important epochs of this government, and on one of the most solemn occasions in our intercourse with foreign powers, these rights of the Indian tribes have been acknowledged. You, sir, will understand me at once to refer to the negotiation between the government of Great Britain and that of the United States, which had for. its object the termination of the late war between the two countries. Sir, it must be within yout recollection, and that of every member of the Senate, that the hinge upon M hich that negotiation turned-the ground upon which it was for a long time apprehended that the conference be tween the commissioners would terminate in a rupture of the nego- tiation between the two countries-was, the claim brought forward on that memorable occasion by Great Britain in behalf of the Indians within the limits of the United States. It will be recollected that she advanced, as a principle from which she would not recede, as a sina qua non, again and again, during the progress of the negotiation, that the Indians as her allies, should be included in the treaty of peace which the negotiators were about forming; that they should have a permanent boundary assigned them, and that neither Great Britain nor the United States should be at liberty to purchase their lands. Such were the pretensions urged on that occasion, which the com- missioners of the United States felt it to be their imperative duty to resist. To establish, as the boundary, the line of the treaty of Greenville, as proposed, which would have excluded from the benefit of American laws and privileges a population of not less than a hundred thousand of the inhabitants of Ohio, American citizens, en- 253 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. titled to the protection of the government, was a proposition which the American negotiators could not for a moment entertain: they W"ould not even refer it to their government, though assured that it would there meet the same unanimous rejection that it did from them. But it became a matter of some importance that a satisfactory assur. ance should be given to Great Britain that the war, which we were about to bring to a conclusion with her, should close also with her allies: and what was that assurance I will not trouble the Senate with tracing the whole account of that negotiation, but I beg leave to call your attention to one of the passages of it. You will find, on examining the history of the negotiation, that the demand brought forward by the British government, through their minister, on this occasion, was the subject of several argumentative papers. Towards the close of this correspondence, reviewing the course pursued towards the Aborigines by the several European powers which had planted colonies in America, comparing it with that of the United States, and contrasting the lenity, kindness and forbearance of the United States, with the rigor and severity of other powers, the American negotiators expressed themselves as follows: "From the rigor of this system, however, as practised by Great Britain, and all the other European powers in America, the humane and liberal policy of the United States has voluntarily relaxed. A celebrated writer on the law of nations, to whose authority British jurists have taken particularsatisfaction in appealing, after stating, in the most explicit manner, the legitimacy of colonial settlements In America, to the exclusion of all rights of uncivilized Indian tribes, has taken occasion to praise the first settlers of New England, and of the founder of Pennsylvania, in having purchased of the Indians the lands they resolved to cultivate, notwithstanding their being furnished with a charter from their sovereign. It is this example which the United States, since they became by their independence the sovereigns of the terri- tory, have adopted and organized into a political system. Under that system the In- dians residing In the United States are so far independent that they live under their own cu7stoms, and not under the laws of the United States; that their rights upon the lands where thev inhabit or hunt are secured to them by boundaries defined in amica- ble treaties between the United States and themselves- and that whenever those boundaries are varied, it is also bv amicable and voluntary treaties, by whikh they receive from the United States ample compensation for every right they have to the lands ceded by them," Sac. The correspondence was further continued; and finally the com- missioners on the part of Great Britain proposed an article to which the American commissioners assented, the basis of which is a decla- ration of what is the state of the law between the Indian tribes and the people of the United States. They then proposed a further arti- cle, which declared that the United States should endeavor to restore peace to the Indians who had acted on the side of Great Britain, to- gether with all the rights, possessions, privileges and immunities which 254 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. they possessed prior to the year 1811, t1 at is, antecedent to the war between England and the United States; in consideration that Great Britain would terminate the war so far as respected the Indians who had been allies of the United States, and restore to them all the rights, privileges, possessions and immunities which these also had enjoyed previously to the same period. Mr. President, I here state my solemn belief that, if the American commissioners had not declared the laws between the Indians and the people of this country, and the rights of the Indians to be such as they are stated to be in the extracts I have read to the Senate; if they had then stated that any one State of this Union who happened to have Indians residing within its limits, pos- sess-d the right of extending over them the laws of such State, and of taking their lands when and how it pleased, that the effect would have been a prolongation of the war. I again declare my most solemn belief, that Great Britain, who assented with great reluctance to this mutual stipulation with respect to the Indians, never would have done it at all, but under a conviction of the correspondence of those prin- ciples of Indian international law, (if I may use such a phrase) with those which the United States government had respected ever since the period of our independence. Sir, if I am right in this, let me ask whether in adopting the new code which now prevails, and by which the rights of the Indians have been trampled on, and the most solemn obligations of treaties have been disregarded, we are not chargeable with having induced that power to conclude a peace with us by suggestions utterly un- founded and erroneous Most of the treaties between the Cherokee nation of Indians and the United States have been submitted to the Senate for ratification, and the Senate have acted upon them in conformity with their con- stitutional power. Besides the action of the Senate, as a legislative body, in the enactment of laws in conformity with their stipulations, regulating the intercourse of our citizens with that nation, it has acted in its separate character, and confirmed the treaties themselves by the constitutional majority of two-thirds of its members. Thus have those treaties been sanctioned by the government of the United States and by every branch of this government; by the Senate, the Execu- tive, and the Supreme Court; both at home and abroad. But not only have the rights of the Cherokees received all these recognitions 255 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. they have been, by implication, recognized by the State of Georgia itself, in the act of 1802, in which she stipulated that the government of the United States, and not the State of Georgia, should extinguish the Indian title to the land within her limits; and the general govern- ment has been, from time to time, urged by Georgia to comply with its engagements, from that period until the adoption of the late new policy upon this subject. Having thus, Mr. President, stated, as I hope, with clearness, the RIGHTS of the Indian tribes, as recognised by the most solemn acts that can be entered into by any government, let me in the next place inquire into the nature of the injuries which have been inflicted upon them ; in other words, into the present condition of the Cherokees, to whom protection has been assured as well by solemn treaties as by the laws and guaranties of the United States government. And here let me be permitted to say, that I go into this subject with feelings which no language at my command will enable me ad- equately to express. I assure the Senate, and in an especial manner do I assure the honorable senators from Georgia, that my wish and purpose is any other than to excite the slightest possible irritation on the part of any human being. Far from it. I am actuated only by feelings of grief, feelings of sorrow, and of profound regret, irresistibly called forth by a contemplation of the miserable condition to which these unfortunate people have been reduced by acts of legislation proceeding from one of the States of this confederacy. I again assure the honorable senators from Georgia, that, if it has become my pain- ful duty to comment upon some of these acts, I do it not with any desire to place them, or the State they represent, in an invidious po- sition; but because Georgia was, I believe, the first in the career, the object of which seems to be the utter annihilation of every Indian right, and because she has certainly, in the promotion of it, far out- stripped every other State in the Union. I have not before me the various acts of the State in reference to the Indians within her bounds; and it is possible I may be under some mistake in reference to them; and if I am, no one will correct the error more readily or with greater pleasure. If, however, I had all those laws in my hands, I should not now 256 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. attempt to read them. Instead of this, it will be sufficient for me to state the effects which have been produced by them upon the condi- tion of the Cherokee Indians residing in that State. And here follows a list of what has been done by her legislature. Her first act was to abolish the government of these Cherokees. No human community can exist without a government of some kind; and the Cherokees, imitating our example, and having learned from us something of the principles of a free constitution, established for themselves a govern- ment somewhat resembling our own. It is quite immaterial to us what its form was. They always had had some government among them; and we guarantied to them the right of living under their own laws and customs, unmolested by any one; insomuch that our own citizens were outlawed, should they presume to interfere with them. What particular regulations they adopted in the management of their humble and limited concerns is a matter with which we have no concern. However, the very first act of the Georgia legislature was to abolish all governments of every sort among these people, and to extend the laws and government of the State of Georgia over them. The next step was to divide their territory into counties; the next, to survey the Cherokee lands; and the last, to distribute this land among the citizens of Georgia by lottery, giving to every head of a family one ticket, and the prize in land that should be drawn against it. To be sure there were many reservations for the heads of Indian families ; and of how much did gentlemen suppose -of one hundred and sixty acres only, and this to include their improvements. But even to this limited possession the poor Indian was to have no fee simple title: he was to hold as a mere occupant at the will of the State of Georgia for just as long or as short a time as she might think proper. The laws at the same time gave him no one particular right whatever. He could not become a member of the State legislature, nor could he hold any office under State authority, nor could he vote as an elector. He possessed not one single right of a freeman. No, not even the poor privilege of testifying to his wrongs in the charac- ter of a witness in the courts of Georgia, or in any matter of contro- versy whatsoever. These, Mr. President are the acts of the legislature of the State of Georgia, in relation to the Indians. They were not all passed at one session; they were enacted, time after time, as the State advanced further and further in her steps to the acquisition of the Indian coun- 257 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. try, and the destruction and annihilation of all Indian rights, until, by a recent act of the same body, the courts of the State itself are occlu- ded against the Indian sufferer, and he is actually denied an appeal even to foreign tribunals, in the erection and in the laws of which he had no voice, there to complain of his wrongs. If he enters the hall of Georgia's justice, it is upon a surrender at the threshold of all his rights- The history of this last law to which I have alluded, is this. When the previous law of the State, dividing the Indian lands by lottery was passed, some Indian3 made an appeal to one of the judges of the State, and applied for an injunction against the proceeding; and such was the undeniable justice of their plea, that the judge found himself unable to refuse it, and he granted the injunction sought. It was the injunction which led to the passage of this act: to some of the provisions of which I now invite the attention of the Senate And first, to the title of the act: " A bill to amend an act entitled an act more effectually to provide for the govern- ment and protection of the Cherokee Indians residing within the limits of Georgia: and to prescribe the bounds of their occupant claims: and also to authorize grants to issue for lots drawn in the late land and gold lotteries." Ah, sir, it was the pursuit of gold which led the Spanish invader to desolate the fair fields of Mexico and Peru-" and to provide for the appointment of an agent to carry certain parts thereof into exe- cution ; and to fix the salary of such agent, and to punish those per- sons who may deter Indians from enrolling for emigration, passed 20th December, 1833." Well, sir, this bill goes on to provide, " That it shall be the duty of the agent oragents appointed by his excellency the Governor, under the authority of this or the act of which it is amendatory, to report to him the number, district, and section of all lots of land subject to be granted by the provisions of said act, which he may be required to do hy the drawer, or his agent, or the person claiming the same; and it shall be the duty of his excellency the Governor, upon the application of the drawer of any of the aforesaid lots, his or her special agents, or the person to whom the drawer may have bona-fide conveyed the same, his agent or assigns, to issue a grant therefor ; and it shall be the duty of he said agent or agents, upon the productions of the grant so issued as aforesaid by he grantor, his or her agent, or the person, or his or her agent to whom the said land o granted as aforesaid may have been bona-fide conveyed, to deliver possession of .aid granted lot to the said grantee, or person entitled to the possession of the same under the provisions of this act, or the act of which this is amendatory, and his ex- celleney the Governor is hereby authorized upon satisfactory evidence that the said agent is impeded or resisted in delivering such possession by a force which he can- not overcome, to order out a sufficient force to carry the power of said agent or agents fully into effect, and to pay the expenses of the same out of the contingent fund: protdded nothing in this act shall be so construed as to require the interference of the said agent between two or more individuals claiming possession, by virtue of titles derived from a grant from the State to any lot.' Thus after the State of Georgia had distributed the lands of the 258 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. Indians by lottery, and the drawers of prizes were authorized to re- ceive grants of the land drawn, and with these grants in their hand were authorized to demand of the agent of the State, appointed for the purpose, to be put in possession of the soil thus obtained; and if any resistance to their entry should be made-and who was to make it but a poor Indian -the Governor was empowered to turn out the military force of the State, and enable the agent to take possession by force, without trial, without judgment, and without investigation. But, should there be two claimants of the prize, should two of the ticket holders dispute their claim to the same lot, then no military force was to be used. It was only when the resistance was by an Indian-it was only when Indian rights should come into collision with the alledged rights of the State of Georgia, that the strong hand of military power was instantly to interpose. The next section of the act is in these words: " And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any person dispos- sessed of a lot of land under this act, or the act of which it is amendatory, shall go before a justice of the peace or of the inferior court, and make affidavit that he or she was not liable to be dispossessed under or by any of the provisions of this or the aforesaid act, and file said affidavit in the clerk's office of the superior court of the county in which said land shall lie, such person upon giving bond and security in the clerk's office for the costs to accrue on the trial, shall be permitted within ten days from such di possessing to enter an appeal to said superior court, and at said court the judge shall cause an issue to be made up between the appellant and the person to whom possesiotn of said land was delivered by either of said agents, which said issue shall be in the following form." [Nr. Cuthbert, of Georgia, here interposed: and having obtained Mr. CLAY' consent to explain, stated that he had unfortunately not been in the Senate when the honorable Senator commenced his speech; but had learned that it was in sup- port of a memorial from certain Cherokee Indians in the State of Georgia, who de- sired to emigrate. He must be permitted to say, that the current of the honorable Senator's remarks did not suit remarkably well the subject of such a memorial. A memorial of a different kind had been presented, and which the Committee on In- dian A ffairs had before it, to which the Senator's remarks would better apply. The present discussion was wholly unexpected, and it seemed to him not in consistency with the object of the memorial he had presented.] I am truly sorry the honorable gentleman was absent when I com- menced speaking. I delayed presenting the memorial because I ob- served that neither of the Senators from Georgia were in their seats, until the hour when they might be expected to be present, and when one of them (Mr. King) had actually taken his seat. If the honora 259 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ble Senator had been present he would have heard me say that I thought the presentation of the memorial a fit occasion to express my sentiments, not only touching the rights of these individual petition- ers, but on the rights of all the Indian tribes, and their relations to this government. And if he will have but a little patience he will find that it is my intention to present propositions which go to em- brace both resolutions. And here, Mr. President, let me pause and invite the attention of the Senate to the provision in the act of Georgia which I was reading -that is, that he may have the privilege of an appeal to a tribunal of justice, by forms and by a bond with the nature and force of which he is unacquainted; and that then he may have--what besides I invoke the attention of the Senate to this part of the law. What, I ask, does it secure to the Indian His rights The rights recog- nized by treaties The rights guarantied to him by the most solemn acts which human governments can perform No. It allows him to come into the courts of the State, and there to enjoy the benefit of the summary proceeding called in the act "lan appeal !"-but which can never be continued beyond a second term; and when he comes there, what then He shall be permitted to come into court and enter an appeal, which shall be in the following form: " A. B., who was dispossessed of a lot of land by an agent of the State of Georgia, comes into court, and admitting the right of the State of Georgia to pass the law under which agent acted, avers that he was not liable to be dispossessed of said land, by or under any one of the provisions of the act of the General Assembly of Georgia, passed 20th December, 1833, ' more effectually to provide for the protection of the Cherokee Indians residing within the limits of Georgia, and to prescribe the bounds of their occupant claims, and also to authorize grants to issue for lots drawn in the land and gold lotteries in certain cases, and to provide for the appointment of an agent to carry certain parts thereof into execution, and fix the salary of such agent, and to punish those persons who may deter Indians from enrolling for emigration,' or the act amendatory thereof, passed at the session of the legislature of 1834: ' in which issue the person to whom possession of said land was delivered shall join- and which issue shall constitute the entire pleadings between the parties, nor shall the court allow any matter other than is contained in said issue to be placed upon the record or files of said court; and said cause shall be tried at the first term of the court, unless good cause shall be shown for a continuance, and the same party shall not be permitted to continue said cause more than once, except for unavoidable providential cause: nor shall said court at the instance of either party pass any order or grant any irnjunction to stay said cause, nor permit to be engrafted on saia cause any other proceedings whatever.'" At the same time we find, by another enactment, the judges of the courts of Georgia are restrained from granting injunctions, so that the only form in which the Indian can come before them is In the form of an appeal; and in this, the very first step is an absolute renuncia- 260 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. tion of the rights he holds by treaty, and the unqualified admission of the rights of his antagonist, as conferred by the laws of Georgia; and the court is expressly prohibited from putting anything else upon the record. Why Do we not all know the reason If the poor Indian was allowed to put in a plea stating his rights, and the court should then decide against him, the cause would go upon an appeal to the supreme court; the decision could be re-examined, could be annulled, and the authority of treaties vindicated. But, to prevent this, to make it impossible, he is compelled, on entering the court, to renounce his Indian rights, and the court is forbidden to put anything on record which can bring up a decision upon them. Mr. President, I have already stated that, in the observations I have made, I am actuated by no other than such as ought to be in the breast of every honest man, the feelings of common justice. I would say nothing, I would whisper nothing, I would insinuate nothing, I would think nothing, which can, in the remotest degree, cause irrita- tion in the mind of any one, of any Senator here, of any State in this Union, I have too much respect for every member of the confederacy I feel nothing but grief for the wretched condition of these most un- fortunate people, and every emotion of my bosom dissuades me from the use of epithets that might raise emotions which should draw the attention of the Senate from the justice of their claims. I forbear to apply to this law any epithet of any kind. Sir, no epithet is needed. The features of the law itself; its warrant for the interposition of military power, when no trial and no judgment has been allowed; its denial of any appeal, unless the unhappy Indian shall first renounce his own rights, and admit the rights of his opponent-features such as these are enough to show what the true character of the act is, and supersede the necessity of all epithets, were 1 even capable of applying them. The Senate will thus perceive that the whole power of the State of Georgia, military as well as civil, has been made to bear upon these Indians, without their having any voice in forming, judging upon, or executing the laws under which he is placed, and without even the poor privilege of establishing the injury he may have suffere by In- dian evidence: nay, worse still, not even by the evidence of a white man ! Because the renunciation of his rights precludes all evidence, white or black, civilized or savage. There then he lies, with his 17 261 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. property, his rights, and every privilege which makes human exis- tence desirable, at the mercy of the State of Georgia; a State, in whose government or laws he has no voice. Sir, it is impossible for the most active imagination to conceive a condition of human society more perfectly wretched. Shall I be told that the condition of the African slave is worse No, sir; no, sir. It is not worse. The in. terest of the master makes it at once his duty and his inclination to provide for the comfort and the health of his slave: for without these he would be unprofitable. Both pride and interest render the master prompt in vindicating the rights of his slave, and protecting him from the oppression of others, and the laws secure to him the amplest means to do so. But who, what human being, stands in the relation of master or any other relation, which makes him interested in the preservation and protection of the poor Indian thus degraded and mis. erable Thrust out from human society, without the sympathies of any, and placed without the pale of common justice, who is there to protect him, or to defend his rights Such, Mr. President, is the present condition of these Cherokee memorialists, whose case it is my duty to submit to the consideration of the Senate. There remains but one more inquiry before I con- clude. Is there any remedy within the scope of the powers of the federal government as given by the constitution If we are without the power, if we have no constitutional authority, then we are also without responsibility. Our regrets may be excited, our sympathies may be moved, our humanity may be shocked, our hearts may be grieved, but if our hands are tied, we can only unite with all the good, the Christian, the benevolent portion of the human family, in deplor- ing what we cannot prevent. But, sir, we are not thus powerless. I stated to the Senate, when I began, that there are two classes of the Cherokees; one of these classes desire to emigrate, and it was their petition I presented this morning, and with respect to these, our powers are ample to afford them the most liberal and effectual relief. They wish to go beyond the Mississippi, and to be guarantied in the possession of the country which may be there assigned to them. As the Congress of the United States have full powers over the territories, we may give them all the guaranty which Congress can express for the undisturbed pos- session of their lands. With respect to their case there can be no question as to our powers. 262 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. And then, as to those who desire to remain on this side the river, I ask again, are we powerless Can we afford them no redress Must we sit still and see the injury they suffer, and extend no hand to relieve them It were strange indeed, were such the case. Why have we guarantied to them the enjoyment of their own laws Why have we pledged to them protection Why have we as- signed them limits of territory Why have we declared that they shall enjoy their homes in peace, without molestation from any - If the United States government has contracted these serious obliga- tions, it ought, before the Indians were reduced by our assurances to reJy upon our engagement, to have explained to them its want of authority to make the contract. Before we pretend to Great Britain, to Europe, to the civilized world, that such were the rights we would secure to the Indians, we ought to have examined the extent and the grounds of our own rights to do so. But is such, indeed, our situa- tion No, sir. Georgia has shut her courts against these Indians What is the remedy To open ours. Have we not the right What says the constitution "The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made or which shall be made under their authority." But here is a case of conflict between the rights of the proprie- tors and the local laws; and here is the very case which the consti- tution contemplated, when it declared that the power of the federal judiciary should extend to all cases under the authority of the United States. Therefore it is fully within the competence of Congress, un- der the provisions of the constitution, to provide the manner in which the Cherokees may have their rights decided, because a grant of the means is included in the grant of jurisdiction. It is competent, then, for Congress to decide whether the Cherokees have a right to come into a court of justice and to make an appeal to the highest authority to sustain the solemn treaties under which their rights have been guarantied, and in the sacred character of which they have reposed their confidence. And if Congress possesses the power to extend relief to the Indians, are they not bound by the most sacred of human considerations the obligations of treaties, the protection assured them, by every Christian tie, every benevolent feeling, every humane im- pulse of the human heart, to extend it If they were to fail to do this, and there is, as reason and revelation declares there is, a tribunal 263 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. of eternal justice to which all human power is amenable, how could they, if they refused to perform their duties to this injured and op- pressed, though civilized race, expect to escape the visitations of that Divine vengeance which none will be permitted to avoid who have committed wrong, or done injustice to others At this moment, when the United States are urging on the govern- ment of France the fulfillment of the obligations of the treaty con- cluded with that country, to the execution of which it is contended that France has plighted her sacred faith, what strength, what an ir resistible force would be given to our plea, if we could say to France that, in all instances, we bad completely fulfilled all our engagements, and that we had adhered faithfully to every obligation which we had contracted, no matter whether it was entered into with a powerful or a weak people; if we could say to her that we had complied with all our engagements to others, that we now came before her, always acting right as we had done, to induce her also to fulfil her obliga- tions with us. How shall we stand in the eyes of France and of the civilized world, if, in spite of the most solemn treaties, which have existed for half a century, and have been recognized in every form, and by every branch of the government, bow shall we be justified if we suffer these treaties to be trampled under foot, and the rights which they were given to secure trodden in the dust How would Great Britain, after the solemn understanding entered into with her at Ghent, feel after such a breach of faith And how could I, as a commissioner on the negotiation of that treaty, hold up my bead be- fore Great Britain, after being thus made an instrument of fraud and deception, as I assuredly shall be, if the rights of the Indians are to be thus violated, and the treaties, by which they were secured, violated How could I hold up my head, after such a violation of rights, and say that I am proud of my country, of which we must all wish to be proud For myself, I rejoice that I have been spared, and allowed a suita- ble opportunity to present my views and opinions on this great na- tional subject, so interesting to the national character of the country for justice and equity. I rejoice that the voice which, without charge of presumption or arrogance, I may say, has ever been raised in defence of the oppressed of the human species, has been heard in defence of this most oppressed of all. To me, in that awful hour of death, to which 264 OUR TREATMENT OF THE CHEROKEES. 265 all must come, and which, with respect to myself, cannot be very far distant, it will be a source of the highest consolation that an oppor- tunity has been found by me, on the floor of the Senate, in the dis- charge of my official duty, to pronounce my views on a course of policy marked by such wrongs as are calculated to arrest the atten tion of every one, and that I have raised my humble voice, and pro- nounced my solemn protest against such wrongs. I will no longer detain the Senate, but will submit the following propositions: Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be directed to inquire into the expediency ot making further provision, by law, to enable Indian nations, or tribes, to whose use and occupancy lands are secured by treaties concluded between them and the United States, in conformity with the constitution of the United States. Resolved, That the Committee on Indian Affairs be directed to inquire into the expediency of making further provision, by law, for setting apart a district of coun- trv vest of the Mississippi river, for such of the Cherokee nation as may be disposed to emi grate and to occupy the same, and for securing in perpetuity the peaceful and undisturbed enjoyment thereof to the emigrants and their descendants. ON SURRENDERING THE CUMBERLAND ROAD. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 11, 1835. [A bill making appropriations for the completion of certain portions of the Cum- berland Road, and their surrender thereupon to the States, having been reported and discussed by several senators, in favor of and adverse to the Internal Improvement policy, Mr. CLAY spoke in substance as follows:] I WOULD not say a word now but for the introduction in this dis- cussion of collateral matters not immediately connected with it. I mean to vote for the appropriation contained in the bill, and I shall do so with pleasure, because, under all the circumstances of the case, I feel myself called upon by a sense of imperative necessity to yield my assent to the appropriation. The road will be abandoned, and all the expenditures which have heretofore been made upon it, will be entirely thrown away, unless we now succeed in obtaining an appro- priation to put the road in a state of repair. Now, I do not concur with the gentleman (Mr. Ewing) that Ohio can as a matter of strict right demand of the government to keep this road in repair. And why so Because, by the terms of the compact, under the operation of which the road was made, there was a restricted and defined fund set apart in oider to accomplish that object. And that fund measures the obligation of the government. It has been, however, long since ex- hausted. There is no obligation then on the part of the government to keep the road in repair. But I am free to admit, that considera- tions of policy will prompt it to adopt that course, in order that an opportunity shall be presented to the States to take it into their own hands. The honorable senator from Pennsylvania felicitated himself on having, at a very early epoch, discovered the unconstitutionality of the general government erecting toll gates upon this road, and he voted against the first measure to carry that object into execution. I must say, that for myself, I think the general government have a right to ON SURRENDERING THE CUMBERLAND ROAD. adopt that course which it deems necessary for the preservation of a road which is made under its own authority. And as a legiti- mate consequence from the power of making a road, is derived the power of making an improvement on it. That is established; and on that point I am sure the honorable gentleman does not differ from those who were in favor of establishing toll-gates at the period to which I have alluded. I would repeat, that if the power to make a road be conceded, it follows, as a legitimate consequence from that power, that the general government has a right to preserve it. And, if the right to do so, there is no mode of preservation more fitting and suitable than that which results from a moderate toll for keeping up the road, and thus continuing it for all time to come. The opinion held by the honorable senator at the period to which I have adverted, was not the general opinion. He will well remem- ber that the power which I contended did exist, was sustained in the other branch of the legislature by large majorities. And in that Sen- ate, if I am not mistaken, there were but nine dissentients from the existence of it. If my recollection deceives me not, I had the pleas- ure of concurring with the distinguished individual who now presides over the deliberations of this body. I think that he, (the Vice Presi- dent) in common with the majority of the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives, coincided in the belief, that a road, constructed under the orders of the general government, ought to be preserved by the authority which brought it into being. Now that is my opinion still. I am not one of those who, on this or any other great national sub- ject, have changed my opinion in consequence of being wrought upon by various conflicting circumstances. With regard to the general power of making internal improve- ments, as far as it exists in the opinions I have frequently expressed in both houses, my opinion is still unaltered. But with respect to the expediency of exercising that power, at any period, it must de- pend upon the circumstances of the times. And in my opinion the power is to be found in the constitution. This belief I have always entertained, and it remains unshaken. I cannot coincide in the opin- ion expressed by the honorable senator from Pennsylvania and the honorable senator from Massachusetts, in regard to the disposition that is to be ma(le of this road. 267 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. What, I would ask, has been stated on all bands That the Cum. berland road is a great national object in which all the people of the United States are interested and concerned; that we are interested in our corporate capacity, on account of the stake we posses in the pub- lic domain, and that we are consequently benefited by that road; that the people of the west are interested in it as a common thorough- fare to all places from one side of the country to the other. 1 say that the principle is fundamentally wrong; I protest against it-have done so from the first, and do so again now. It is a great national object, and we might as well give the care of the mint to Pennsylvania; the protection of the breakwater, or of the public ves sels in New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, to the respective le- gislatures of the States in which that property was situated, as give the care of a great national road in which the people of the United States were concerned, to the care of a few States which were ac- knowledged to have no particular interest in it-States having so little interest in that great work that they would not repair it when offered to their hands. But I shall vote for this appropriation; I am compelled to vote for it by the force of circumstances over which I have no control. I have seen, in reference to internal improvements, and other measures of a national character, not individuals merely, but whole masses-entire communities-prostrating their own settled opinions, to which they have conformed for half a century, wheel to the right or to the left- march this way or that, according as they see high authority for it And I see that there is no way of preserving this great object, which affords such vast facilities to the western States, no other mode of preserving it, but by a reluctant acquiescence in a course of policy, which all at least, have not contributed to produce, but which is formed to operate on the country, and from which there is no appeal In conclusion, I again reiterate, that I shall vote for the appropria. tion in this bill, although very reluctantly, and with the protest that the road in question, being the common property of the whole nation, and under the guardianship of the general government, should not be treacherously parted from by it and put into the hands of the local governments, who feel no interest in the matter. 2683 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 18, 1835. IA bill to define and fix the tenure of office, by limiting the President's power to remove subordinate officers to cases in which reasons shall be given by him, and prescribing the mode of its exercise, having been submitted to the Senate, Mr. CLAY, upon the question of its passage, addressed the Senate as follows :1 I THINK it extremely fortunate that this subject of executive patron- age came up, at this session, unencumbered by any collateral ques- tion. At the last session we had the removal of the deposited, the treasury report sustaining it, and the protest of the President against the resolution of the Senate. The bank mingled itself in all our dis- cussions, and the partisans of executive power availed themselves of the prejudices which had been artfully excited against that institution, to deceive and blind the people as to the enormity of executive pre- tensions. The bank has been doomed to destruction, and no one now thinks the recharter of it practicable, or ought to be attempted. I fear that the people will have just and severe cause to regret its de- struction. The administration of it was uncommonly able; and one is at a loss which most to admire, the imperturbable temper or th3 wisdom of its enlightened president. No country can possibly pos- sess a better general currency than it supplied. The injurious conse- quences of the sacrifice of this valuable institution will soon be felt. There being no longer any sentinel at the head of our banking estab- lishments, to warn them, by its information and operations, of ap- proaching danger, the local institutions, already multiplied to an alarm- ing extent, and almost daily multiplying, in seasons of prosperity, will make free and unrestrained emissions. All the channels of circula tion will become gorged. Property will rise extravagantly high, and, constantly looking up, the temptation to purchase will be irresistible. Inordinate speculation will ensue, debts will be freely contracted, and when the season of adversity comes, as come it must, the banks, act- ing without concert and without guide, obeying the law of self-pres- SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ervation, will all at the same time call in their issues; the vast num. ber will exaggerate the alarm, and general distress, wide-spread ruin, and an explosion of the whole banking system, or the establishment of a new Bank of the United States, will be the ultimate effects. We can now deliberately contemplate the vast expansion of execu five power, under the present administration, free from embarrass. ment. And is there any real lover of civil liberty who can behold it without great and just alarm Take the doctrines of the Protest and the Secretary's report together, and, instead of having a balanced government with three co-ordinate departments, we have but one power in the State. According to those papers all the officers con- cerned in the administration of the laws are bound to obey the Presi- dent. His will controls every branch of the administration. No matter that the law may have assigned to other officers of the govern- ment specifically defined duties, no matter that the theory of the con stitution and the law supposes them bound to the discharge of those duties according to their own judgment, and under their own respon- sibility, and liable to impeachment for malfeasance; the will of the President, even in opposition to their own deliberate sense of their obligations, is to prevail, and expulsion from office is the penalty of disobedience! It has not, indeed, in terms, been claimed, but it is a legitimate consequence from the doctrine asserted, that all the decis- ions of the judicial tribunals, not conformable with the President's opinion, must be inoperative, since the officers charged with their execution are no more exempt from the pretended obligation to obey his orders than any other officer of the administration. The basis of this overshadowing superstructure of executive power is, the power of dismission, which is one of the objects of the bill un- der consideration somewhat to regulate, but which it is contended by the supporters of executive authority is uncontrolable. The practi- cal exercise of this power, during the administration, has reduced the salutary co-operation of the Senate, as approved by the constitution, in all appointments, to an idle form. Of what avail is it that the Senate shall have passed upon a nomination, if the President, at any time thereafter, even the next day, whether the Senate be in session or in vacation, without any known cause, may dismiss the incumbent Let us examine the nature of this power. It is exercised in the re- rosses of the executve mansion, perhaps upon secret information 270 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. Te accused officer is not present, nor heard, nor confronted with the witnesses against him, and the President is judge, juror, and execu- tioner. No reasons are assigned for the dismission, and the public is left to conjecture the cause. Is not a power so exercised essentially a despotic power It is adverse to the genius of all free governments, the foundation of which is responsibility. Responsibility is the vital principle of civil liberty, as irresponsibility is the vital principle of despotism. Free government can no more exist without this princi pie than animal life can be sustained without the presence of the at- mosphere. But is not the President absolutely irresponsible in the exercise of this power How can he be reached By impeachment It is a mockery. It has been truly said that the office was not made for the incum- bent. Nor was it made for the incumbent of another office. In both and in all cases public offices are created for the public; and the peo- ple have a right to know why and wherefore one of their servants dismisses another. The abuses which have flowed and are likely to flow from this power, if unchecked, are indescribable. How often have all of us witnessed the expulsion of the most faithful officers, of the highest character, and of the most undoubted probity, for no other imaginable reason, than difference in political sentiments It begins in politics and may end in religion. If a President should be inclined to fanaticism, and the power should not be regulated, what is to prevent the dismission of every officer who does not belong to his sect, or persuasion He may, perhaps truly, say, if he does not dismiss him, that he has not his confidence. It was the cant lan- guage of Cromwell and his associates, when obnoxious individuals were in or proposed for office, that they could not confide in them. The tendency of this power is to revive the dark ages of feudalism, and to render every officer a feudatory. The bravest man in office, whose employment and bread depend upon the will of the President, will quail under the influence of the power of dismission. If opposed in sentiments to the administration, he will begin by silence, and finally will be goaded into partisanship. The Senator from New York, (Mr. Wright) in analyzing the list of one hundred thousand who are reported by the committee of pa- tronage to draw money from the public treasury, contends that a large portion of them consists of the army, the navy, and revolutionary pen- 271 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY sioners; and, paying a just compliment to their gallantry and patri. otism, asks, if they will allow themselves to be instrumental in the destruction of the liberties of their country It is very remarkable that hitherto the power of dismission has not been applied to the army and navy, to which, from the nature of the service, it would seem to be more necessary than to those in civil places. But accu- mulation and concentration are the nature of all power, and especially of executive power. And it cannot be doubted that, if the power of dismission, as now exercised, in regard to civil officers, is sanctioned and sustained by the people, it will, in the end, be extended to the army and navy. When so extended, it will produce its usual effect of subserviency, or if the present army and navy should be too stern and upright to be moulded according to the pleasure of the executive, we are to recollect that the individuals who compose them are not to live always, and may be succeeded by those who will be more pliant and yielding. But I would ask the Senator what has been the effect of this tremendous power of dismission upon the classes of officers to which it has been applied Upon the post-office, the land-office, and the custom-house They constitute so many corps d'armee, ready to further, on all occasions, the executive views and wishes. They take the lead in primary assemblies whenever it is deemed expedient to applaud or sound the praises of the administration, or to carry out its purposes in relation to the succession. We are assured that a large majority of the recent convention at Columbus, in Ohio, to nominate the President's successor, were office-holders. And do you imagine that they would nominate any other than the President's known fa- vorite The power of removal, as now exercised, is nowhere in the consti- tution expressly recognized. The only mode of dispiacing a public officer for which it does provide, is by impeachment. But it has been argued on this occasion, that it is a sovereign power, an inherent power, and an executive power; and, therefore, that it belongs to the President. Neither the premises nor the conclusion can be sustained. If they could be, the people of the United States have all along to- tally misconceived the nature of their government, and the character of the office of their supreme magistrate. Sovereign power is su- preme power; and in no instance whatever is there any supreme power vested in the President. Whatevet sovereign power is, if there be any, conveyed by the constitution of the United States, is vested 272 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. in Congress, or in the President and Senate. The power to declare war, to lay taxes, to coin money, is vested in Congress; and the treaty making power in the President and Senate. The post-master general has the power to dismiss his deputies. Is that a sovereign power, or has he any Inherent power ! That is a new principle to enlarge the powers of the general government. Hitherto it has been supposed that there are no powers possessed by the government of the United States, or any branch of it, but such as are granted by the constitution; and in order to ascertain what has been granted, that it was necessary to show the grant, or to establish that the power claimed was necessary and proper to execute some granted power. In other words, that there are no powers but those which are expressed or incidental. But it seems that a great mistake has existed. The partisans of the exe- cutive have discovered a third and more fruitful source of power. Inherent power! Whence is it derived The constitution created the office of President, and made it just what it is. It had no power prior to its existence. It can have none but those which are conferred upon it by the instrument which created it, or laws passed in pursu- ance of that instrument. Do gentlemen mean, by inherent power, such power as is exercised by the monarchs or chief magistrates of other countries If that be their meaning, they should avow it. It has been argued that the power of removal from office is an ex- ecutive power; that all executive power is vested in the President; and that he is to see that the laws are faithfully executed, which, it is contended he cannot do, unless at his pleasure he may dismiss any subordinate officer. The mere act of dismission or removal may be of an executive nature, but the judgment or sentence which precedes it is a function of a judicial and not executive nature. Impeachments which, as has been already observed, are the only mode of removal from office ex- pressly provided for in the constitution, are to be tried by the Senate, acting as a judicial tribunal. In England, and in all other States, they are tried by judicial tribunals In several of the States removal from office sometimes is effected by the legislative authority, as in the ease of judges on the concurrence of two-thirds of the members. The administration of the laws of the several States proceeds regularly 273 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. without the exercise on the part of the governors of any power simi lar to that which is claimed for the President. In Kentucky, and in other States, the governor has no power to remove sheriffs, collectors of the revenue, clerks of courts, or any one officer employed in ad, ministration; and yet the governor, like the President, is constitu tionallS enjoined to see that the laws are faithfully executed. The clause relied upon to prove that all executive power is vested in the President, is the first section of the second article. On exam- ining the constitution, we find that, according to its arrangement, it treats first of the legislative power, then of the executive, and lastly, of the judicial power. In each instance it provides how those pow- ers shall be respectively vested. The legislative power is confided to a Congress, and the constitution then directs how the members of the body shall be chosen, and after having constituted the body enume. rates and carefully specifies its powers. And the same course is ob- served both with the executive and the judiciary. In neither case, does the preliminary clause convey any power; but the powers of the several departments are to be sought for in the subsequent provisions. The legislative powers granted by the constitution are to be vested, how In a Congress. What powers Those which are ennmerated. The executive power is to be vested, how In a council, or in sev- eral No, in a President of the United States of America. What executive power That which is possessed by any chief magistrate in any country, or that which speculative writers attribute to the executive head No such thing. That power, and that only, which the constitution subsequently assigns to the chief magistrate. The President is enjoined by the constitution to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Under this injunction, the power of dismission is claimed for him; and it is contended that if those charged with the execution of the laws attempt to execute them in a sense different from that entertained by the President, he may prevent E or withhold his co-operation. It would follow, that if the judiciary give to the law an interpretation variant from that of the President, he would not be bound to afford means which might become neces- sary to execute their decision. If these pretensions are well found- ed, it is manifest that the President, by means of the veto, in arresting the passage of laws which he disapproves, and the power of expound- ing those which are passed, according to his own sense of them, will 274 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. become possessed of all the practical authority of the whole govern- ment. If the judiciary decide a law contrary to the President's opin. ion of its meaning, he may command the marshal not to execute the decision, and urge his constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. It will be recollected perhaps, by she Senate, that during the discussions on the deposite question, I pre- dicted that the day would arrive when a President, disposed to en- large his powers, would appeal to his official oath as a source of power. In that oath he undertakes that he will " to the best of his ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States." The fulfilment of the prediction quickly followed: and during the same session, in the protest of the President, we find him referring to this oath as a source of power and duty. Now, if the President, in virtue of his oath, may interpose and prevent anything from being done contrary to the constitution, as he understands it, and may in virtue of the injunction to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, prevent the enforcement of any law contrary to the sense in which he understands it, I would ask what powers re- main to any other branch of the government Are they not all sub- stantially absorbed in the WILL of one man. The President's oath obliges him to do no more than every member ot Congress is also bound by official oath to do; that is, to support the constitution of the United States in their respective spheres of action In the discharge of the duties specifically assigned to him by the con- stitution and laws, he is for ever to keep in view the constitution; and this every member of Congress is equally bound to do, in the passage of laws. To step out of his sphere; to trench upon other departments of the government, under the notion that they are about to violate the constitution, would be to set a most pernicious and dan- gerous example of violation of the constitution. Suppose Conaress, by two-thirds of each branch, pass a law contrary to the veto of the President, and to his opinion of the constitution, is he afterwards at liberty to prevent its execution The injunction, to which I have adverted, common both to the Federal and most of the State Consti- tutions, imposes only upon the chief magistrate the duty of executing those laws with the execution of which he is specially charged; of supplying, when necessary, the means with which he is entrusted to enable others to execute those laws, the enforcement of which is confided to them; and to communicate to Congress infractions of the 275 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. laws, that the guilty may be brought to punishment, or the defects of legislation remedied. The most important branch of the government to the rights of the people, as regards the mere execution of the laws, is the judiciary; and yet they hold their offices by a tenure beyond the reach of the President. Far from impairing the efficacy of any powers with which he is invested, this permanent character in the judicial office is supposed to give stability and independence to the administration of justice. The power of removal from office not being one of those powers which are expressly granted and enumerated in the constitution, and having, I hope, successfully shown that it is not essentially of an executive nature, the question arises to what department of the gov- ernment does it belong, in regard to all offices created by law, or whose tenure is not defined in the constitution There is much force in the argument which attaches the power of dismission to the President and Senate conjointly, as the appointing power. But I think wt must look for it to a broader and higher source-the legislative de- partment. The duty of appointment may be performed under a law which enacts the mode of dismission. This is the case in the post- office department, the post-master general being invested with both the power of appointment and of dismission. But they are not neces- sarily allied, and the law may separate them; and assign to one func- tionary the right to appoint, and to a different one the right to dis- miss. Examples of such a separation may be found in the State gov- ernments. It is the legislative authority which creates the office, defines its duties, and may prescribe its duration. I speak, of course, of offices not created by the constitution, but the law. The office, coming into existence by the will of Congress, the same will may provide how, and in what manner, the office and the officer shall both cease to exist. It may direct the conditions on which he shall hold the office, and when and how he shall be dismissed. Suppose the constitution had omitted to prescribe the tenure of the judicial oath, could not Congress do it But the constitution has not fixed the tenure of any subordinate offices, and therefore Congress may supply the omission. It would be unreasonable to contend that, although Congress, in pur- suit of the public good, brings the office and the officer into being, and assigns their purposes, yet the President has a control over the offl- t276 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. cer which Congress cannot reach or regulate; and this control in virtue of some vague and undefined implied executive power which the friends of executive supremacy are totally unable to attach to any specific clause in the constitution. It has been contended, with great ability, that under the clause of the constitution which declares that Congress shall have power " to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all others vested by this consti- tution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof," Congress is the sole depository of implied powers, and that no other department or officer of the government possesses any. If this argument be correct, there is an end of the controversy. But if the power of dismission be incident to the legislative authority, Congress has the clear right to regulate it. And if it belong to any other department of the government, under the cited clause, Congress has the power to legislate upon the subject, and may regulate it, al- though it cannot divest the department altogether of the right. Hitherto I have considered the question upon the ground of the constitution, unaffected by precedent. We have in vain called upon our opponents to meet us upon that ground; and to point out the clause of the constitution which by express grant, or necessary im- plication, subjects the will of the whole official corps to the pleasure of the President, to be dismissed whenever he thinks proper, without any reasons publicly assigned or avowed for the dismission, and which excludes Congress from all authority to legislate against the tremen- dous consequences of such a vast power. No such clause has been shown; nor can it be, for the best of all reasons, because it does not exist. Instead of bringing forward any such satisfactory evidence, gentlemen entrench themselves behind the precedent which was es- tablished in 1789, when the first Congress recognized the power of dismission in the President; that is, they rely upon the pimion of the first Congress as to what the constitution meant as conclusive of what it is. The precedent of 1789 was established in the House of Represen- tatives against the opinion of a large and able minority, and in the Senate by the casting vote of the Vice President, Mr. John Adams. It is impossible to read the debate which it occasioned without being 18 277 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. impressed with the conviction that the just confidence reposed in the father of his country, then at the head of the government, had great, if not decisive influence in establishing it. It has never, prior to the commencement of the present administration, been submitted to the process of review. It has not been reconsidered, because under the mild administrations of the predecessors of the President, it was not abused, but generally applied to cases to which the power was justly applicable. [Mr. CLAY here proceeded to recite from a memorandum, the number of officers removed under the different Presidents, from Washington down; but the reporter not having access to the memorandum, was unable to note the precise number under each, and can only state, generally, that it was inconsderable under all the adminis. trations prior to the present, but under that of General Jackson the number of re- movals amounted to more than two thousand-of which five or six hundred were postmasters.] Precedents deliberately established by wise men are entitled to great weight. They are the evidence of truth, but only evidence. If the same rule of interpretation has been settled, by concurrent deci- sions, at different and distant periods, and by opposite dominant par- ties, it ought to be deemed binding, and not disturbed. But a solitary precedent, established, as this was, by an equal vote of one branch, and a powerful minority in the other, under the influence of a confi- dence never misplaced in an illustrious individual, and which has never been re-examined, cannot be conclusive. The first inquiry which suggests itself upon such a precedent as this is, brought forward by the friends of the administration, is, what right have they to the benefit of any precedent The course of this administration has been marked by an utter and contemptuous disre- gard of all that has been previously done. Disdaining to move on in the beaten road carefully constructed by preceding administrations, and trampling upon every thing, it has seemed resolved to trace out for itself a new line of march. Then let us inquire how this administra- tion and its partisans dispose of precedents drawn from the same source, the first Congress under the present constitution. If a precedent of that Congress be sufficient authority to sustain an exe- cutive power, other precedents established by it, in support of legis- lative powers, must possess a like force. But do they admit this principle of equality No such thing; they reject the precedents of the Congress of 1789 sustaining the power of Congress, and cling to 278 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. that only which expands the executive authority. They go for pre- rogative, and they go against the rights of the people. It was in the first Congress that assembled in 1789, that the bank of the United States was established, the power to adopt a protective tariff was maintained, and the right was recognized to authorize in- ternal improvements. ,And these several powers do not rest on the basis of a single precedent. They have been again and again affirm ed and reaffirmed by various Congresses, at different and distant pe- riods, under the administration of every dominant party; and in re- gard to the bank, it has been sanctioned by every branch of the gov- ernment, and by the people. Yet the same gentlemen who console themselves with the precedent of 1789 in behalf of the executive prerogative, reject as unconstitutional all these legislative powers. No one can carefully examine the debate in the House of Repre- sentatives in 1789, without being struck with the superiority of the argument on the side of the minority, and the unsatisfactory nature of that of the majority. How various are the sources whence the power is derived ! Scarcely any two of the majority agree in their deduction of it. Never have I seen, from the pen or tongue of Mr. Madison, one of the majority, any thing so little persuasive or con- vincing. He assumes that all executive power is vested in the Presi- dent. He does not qualify it; he does not limit it to that executive power which the constitution grants. He does not discriminate be- tween executive power assigned by the constitution, and executive power enacted by law. He asks, if the Senate had not been associa- ted with the President in the appointing power, whether the President in virtue of his executive power, would not have had the right to make all appointments I think not; clearly not. It would have been a most sweeping and far-fetched implication. In the silence of the constitution, it would have devolved upon Congress to provide by law for the mode of appointing to office; and that in virtue of the clause, to which I have already adverted, giving to Congress power to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry on the government. He says, " the danger then merely consists in this: the President can displace from office a man whose merits require that he should be continued in it. What will be the motives which the President can feel for such an abuse of his power What motives ! The pure heart of a Washington could have had none; the virtuous head of Madison 279 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. could conceive none; but let him ask General Jackson, and le will tell him of motives enough. He will tell him that he wishes his ad- ministration to be a unit; that he desires only one will to prevail in the executive branch of government; that he cannot confide in men who opposed his election; that he wants places to reward those who supported it; that the spoils belong to the victor; and he is anxious to create a great power in the State, animate4 by one spirit, governed by one will, and ever ready to second and sustain his administration in all its acts and measures; and to give its undivided force to the appointment of the successor whom he may prefer. And what, Mr. President, do you suppose are the securities against the abuse of this power, on which Mr. Madison relied "In the first place," he says, " He will be impeachable by this House before the Senate for such an act of mal-administration," c. Impeachment! It is not a scare- crow. Impeach the President for dismissing a receiver or register of the land office, or a collector of the customs ! But who is to impeach him The House of Representatives. Now suppose a majority of that House should consist of members who approve the principle that the spoils belong to the victors; and suppose a great number of them are themselves desirous to obtain some of these spoils, and can only be gratified by displacing men from office whose merits require that they should be continued, what chance do you think there would be to prevail upon such a House to impeach the President And if it were possible that he should, under such circumstances, be impeach- ed, what prospect do you believe would exist of his conviction by two-thirds of the Senate, comprising also members not particularly averse to lucrative offices, and where the spoils doctrine, long prac tised in New York, was first boldly advanced in Congress The next security was, that the President, after displacing the meritorious officer, could not appoint another person without the con- currence of the Senate. If Mr. Madison had shown how, by any action of the Senate, the meritorious officer could be replaced, there would have been some security. But the President has dis- missed him; his office is vacant; the public service requires it to be filled, and the President nominates a successor. In considering this nomination, the President's partisans have contended that the Senate is not at liberty to inquire how the vacancy was produced, but is limi- ted to the single consideration of the fitness of the person nominated But suppose the Senate were to reject him, that would only leave the 280 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. office stil vacant, and would not reinstate the removed officer. The President would have no difficulty in nominating another, and another, until the patience of the Senate being completely exhausted, they finally confirm the appointment. What I have supposed is not theory, but actually matter of fact. How often, within a few years past have the Senate disapproved of removals from office, which they have been subsequently called upon to concur in filling How often wearied in rejecting, have they approved of persons for office whom they never would have appointed How often have members ap- proved of bad appointments, fearing worse if they were rejected If the powers of the Senate were exercised by one man, he might op- pose, in the matter of appointments, a more successful resistance to executive abuses. He might take the ground that, in cases of improper removal, he would persevere in the rejection of every person nomi- nated, until the meritorious officer was reinstated. But the Senate now consists of forty-eight members, nearly equally divided, one por- tion of which is ready to approve of all nominations, and of the other, some members conceive that they ought not to incur the responsibility of hazarding the continued vacancy of a necessary office, because the President may have abused his powers. There is, then, no security, not the slightest practical security, against abuses of the power of re- moval in the concurrence of the Senate in appointment to office. During the debate in 1789, Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, called for the clause of the constitution granting the power. He said: "We are declaring a power in the President which mav hereafter be greatly abus- ed; for we are not alwavs to expect a chief magistrate in whom such entire coniidence can be placed as the present. Perhaps gentlemen are so itnlch dazzled with the splendor of the virtues of the present President, as not to be able to see into futitriry." s So BP "VWe ought to contemplate this power in the hands of an ambitious man who might apply it to dangerous purposes. If we give this power to the President, he may from caprice remove the most worthy men from office: his will and pleasure will be the slight tenure hy which the otfice is to be held, and of consequence voul render the otlicer the mere state dependent, the ab;ect slave of a per-on who may be disposed to abuse the confidence his fellow citizens have pldced in him." Mr. Huntington said: "If twe have a vicious President, who inclines to abuse this power, which God forbid, his responsibility will stand us in little stead." M\Ir. Gerry, afterwards the republican Vice President of the United States, contended, 281 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. " That we are making these officers the mere creatures of the President. they dare not exercise the privilege of their creations if the President shall order thXen to forbear; because he holds their thread of life. His power will be sovereign over thelr, and will soon swallow up the small security we have in the Senate's concur. rence to the appointment; and we shall shortly need no other than the authority of the supreme executive officer to nominate, appoint, continue or remove." Was not that prophecy; and do we not feel and know that it is prophecy fulfilled There were other members who saw clearly into the future, and predicted, with admirable forecast, what would be the practical ope. ration of this power. But there was one eminently gifted in this particular. It seems to have been specially reserved for a Jackson to foretell what a Jackson might do. Speaking of some future Pres- ident, Mr. Jackson-1 believe of Georgia-that was his name. What a coincidence ! " If he wants to establish an arbitrary authority, and finds the secretary of finance (Mr. Duane) not inclined to second his endeavors, he has nothing more to do than to remove him, and get one appointed (Mr. Taney) of principles more congenial to his own. Then, says he, 1 have got the army, let me have but the money, and I will establish my throne upon the ruins of your visionary republic. Black, indeed, is the heart 'of that man who even suspects him (WASHINGiTON) to be capable of abusing powers. But alas! he cannot be with us for ever; he is but mortal," c "May not a man with a Pandora's box in his breast come into power, and give us sensible cause to lament our present confidence and want of foresight." In the early stages, and during a considerable portion of the de- bate, the prevailing opinion seemed to be not that the President was invested by the constitution with the power, but that it should be conferred upon him by act of Congress. In the progress of it the idea was suddenly started that the President possessed the power from the constitution, and the first opinion was abandoned. It was finally resolved to shape the acts, on the passage of which the ques- tion arose, so as to recognize the existence of the power of removal in the President. Such is the solitary precedent on which the contemners of all pre- cedents rely for sustaining this tremendous power in one man! A precedent established against the weight of argument, by a House of Representatives greatly divided, in a Senate equally divided, under the influence of a reverential attachment to the father of his country, upon the condition that, if the power were applied as we know it has been in hundreds of instances recently applied, the President himself would be justly liable to impeachment and removal from office, and 282 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS which, until this administration, has never, since its adoption, been thoroughly examined or considered. A power, the abuses of which, as developed under this administration, if they be not checked and corrected, must inevitably tend to subvert the constitution, and over- throw public liberty. A standing army has been in all free countries, a just object of jealousy and suspicion. But is not a corps of one hundred thousand dependents upon government, actuated by one spirit, obeying one will, and aiming at one end, more dangerous and formid- able than a standing army The standing army is separated from the mass of society, stationed in barracks or military quarters, and operates by physical force. The official corps is distributed and ram- ified throughout the whole country, dwelling in every city, village, and hamlet, having daily intercourse with society, and operates on public opinion. A brave people, not yet degenerated, and devoted to liberty, may successfully defend themselves against a military force. But if the official corps is aided by the executive, by the post-office department, and by a large portion of the public press, its power is invincible. That the operation of the principle which subjects to the will of one man the tenure of all offices, which he may vacate at pleasure, without assigning any cause, must be to rernder them sub- servient to his purposes, a knowledge of human nature, and the short experience which we have had, clearly demonstrate It may be asked why has this precedent of 17S9 not bet n reviewed r Does not the long acquiescence in it prove its propriety It has not been re-examined for several reasons. In the first place, all feel and own the necessity of some more summary and less expensive and less dilatory mode of dismissing delinquents froin subordinate offices than that of impeachment, which, strictly speaking, was perhaps the only one in the contemplation of the framers of the constitution ; certainly it is the only one for which it expressly provides. Then, under al the predecessors of the President, the power was mildly and benefi- cially exercised, having been always, or with very few exceptions applied to actual delinquents. Notwithstanding all that has been said about the number of removals which were made during Mr. Jef- ferson's administration, they were, in fact, comparatively few. And yet he came into power as the head of a great party, which for years had been systematically excluded from the executive patronage; a plea which cannot be urged in excuse for the present chief magistrate It was reserved for him to act on the bold and daring principle of 283 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. dismissing from office those who had opposed his election; of dis- nissing from office for mere difference of opinion! But it will be argued that if the summary process of dismission be expedient in some cases, why take it away altogether The bill under consideration does not disturb the power. By the usage of the government, not I think by the constitution, the President prac. tically possesses the power to dismiss those who are unworthy of holding these offices. By no practice or usage, but that which he himself has created, has he the power to dismiss meritorious officers only because they differ from him in politics. The principal object of the bill is to require the President, in cases of dismission, to com- municate the reasons which have induced him to dismiss the officer; in other words, to make an arbitrary and despotic power a responsi- ble power. It is not to be supposed that, if the President is bound publicly to state his reasons, that he would act from passion or ca- price, or without any reason. He would be ashamed to avow that he discharged the officer because he opposed his election. And yet this mild regulation of the power is opposed by the friends of the ndmin- istration ! They think it unreasonable that the President should state his reasons. If he has none, perhaps it is. But, Mr. President, although the bill is, I think, right in principle, it does not seem to me to go far enough. It makes no provision for the insufficiency of the reasons of the President, by restoring or do- ing justice to the injured officer. It will be some, but not sufficient restraint against abuses. I have, therefore, prepared an amendment, which 1 beg leave to offer, but which I will not press against the de- cided wishes of those having the immediate care of the bill. By this amendment, as to all offices created by law, with certain ex- The amendment was in the following words: Be it further enacted, That in all instances of appointment to office, by the Presi- dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the power of removal shall be exercised only in concurrence with the Senate; and when the Senate is not in session, the President may suspend any such officer, communicating his reasons for the suspension during the first month of its succeeding session, and if the Senate concur with him the officer shall be removed, but if it do not concur with him, the officer shall be restored to office. Mr. CLAY was subsequently induced not to urge his amendment at this time 284 ON APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. ceptions, the power at present exercised is made a suspensory power. The President may, in the vacation of the Senate, suspend the offi- cer, and appoint a temporary successor. At the next session of the Senate he is to communicate his reasons: and if they are deemed sufficient, the suspension is confirmed, and the Senate will pass upon the new officer. If insufficient, the displaced officer is to be restored. This amendment is substantially the same proposition as one which I submitted to the consideration of the Senate at its last session.- Under this suspensory power, the President will be able to discharge all defaulters or delinquents; and it cannot be doubted that the Sen- ate will concur in all such dismissions. On the other hand, it will insure the integrity and independence of the officer, since he will feel that if he honestly and faithfully discharges his official duties, he can- not be displaced arbitrarily, or from mere caprice, or because he has independently exercised the elective franchise. It is contended that the President cannot see that the laws are faithfully executed, unless he possesses the power of removal. That injunction of the constitution imports a mere general superintendence, except where he is specially charged with the execution of a law. It is not necessary that he should have the power of dismission. It will be a sufficient security against the abuses of subordinate officers that the eye of the President is upon them, and that he can commu- nicate their delinquency. The State Executives do not possess this power of di mission. In several, if not all, the States, the Governor cannot even dismiss the Secretary of State; yet we have heard no complaints of the inefficiency of State Executives, or of the adminis- tration of the laws of the States. The President has no power to dis- miss the judiciary; and it might be asked, with equal plausibility, how he could see that the laws are executed, if the judges will not conform to his opinion, and he cannot dismiss them But it is not necessary to argue the general question, in considering either the original bill or the amendment. The former does not touch the power of dismission, and the latter only makes it conditional in- stead of being absolute. It may be said that there are certain great officers, heads of depart- ments and foreign ministers, between whom and the president entire confidence should exist. This is admitted. But surely if the Presi 285 286 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. dent removes any of them, the people ought to know the cause. The amendment, however, does not reach those classes of officers. And supposing, as I do, that the legislative authority is competent to regu- late the exercise of the power of dismission, there can be no just cause to apprehend that it will fail to make such modifications and excep- tions as may be called for by the public interest; especially as what- ever bill may be passed must obtain the approbation of the chief magistrate. And if it should attempt to impose improper restrictions upon the executive authority, that would furnish a legitimate occa- sion for the exercise of the veto. In conclusion, I shall most heartily vote for the bill, with or without the amendment which I have pro- Poe- ON THE LAND DISTRIBUTION. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, DECEMBER 24, 1835. [Former attempts to procure a Distribution to the several States of the Proceeds of the Public Lands having been baffled by Executive influence and the Executive Veto, Mr. CLAY, on the day above indicated, introduced the plan anew, advocating it as follows:] ALTHOUGH I find myself borne down by the severest affliction with which Providence has ever been pleased to visit me, I have thought that my private griefs ought not longer to prevent me from attempt- ing, ill as I feel qualified, to discharge my public duties. And I now rise, in pursuance of the notice which has been given, to ask leave to introduce a bill to appropriate, for a limited time, the proceeds of the sales of the public lands of the United States, and for granting land to certain States. I feel it incumbent on me to make a brief explanation of the highly important measure which I have now the honor to propose. The bill, which I desire to introduce, provides for the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands in the years 1833, '34, '35, '36 and '37, among the twenty-four States of the Union, and conforms substan- tially to that which passed in 1833. It is therefore of a temporary character ; but if it shall be found to have a salutary operation, it will be in the power of a future Congress to give it an indefinite continu- ance, and, if otherwise, it will expire by its own terms. In the event of war unfortunately breaking out with any foreign power, the bill is to cease, and the fund which it distributes is to be applied to the prosecution of the war. The bill directs that ten per cent. of the nett proceeds of the public lands, sold within the limits of the seven new States, shall be set apart for them, in addition to the five per cent. reserved by their several compacts with the United States; and that theresidue of the proceeds, whether from sales made in the States or Territories, shall be divided among the twenty-four States in pro- SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. portion to their respective federal population. In this respect the bill conforms to that which was introduced in 1832. For one I should have been willing to have allowed the new States twelve and a half per cent., but as that was objected to by the President, in his veto message, and has been opposed in other quarters, I thought it best to restrict the allowance to the more moderate sum. The bill also con- tains large and liberal grants of land to several of the new States, to place them upon an equality with others to which the bounty of Con- gress has been heretofore extended, and provides that, when other States shall be admitted into the Union, they shall receive their share of the common fund. The nett amount of the sales of the public lands in the year 1833, was the sum of 3,967,682 55, in the year 1834, was 4,857,600 69, and in the year 1835, according to actual receipts in the three first quarters and an estimate of the fourth, is 12,222,121 15; making an aggregate for the three years of 21,047,404 39. This aggregate is what the bill proposes to distribute and pay to the twenty-four States on the first day. of may, 1S36, upon the principles which I have stated. The difference between the estimate made by the Sec- retary of the Treasury and that which I have offered of the product of the last quarter of this year, arises from my having taken, as the probable sum, one-third of the total amount of the three first quarters, and he some other conjectural sum. Deducting from the 21,047,- 404 39 the fifteen per cent. to which the seven new States, accord- ing to the bill, will be first entitled, amounting to 2,612,350 18, there will remain for distribution among the twenty-four States of the Union the sum of 18,435,054 21. Of this sum the proportion of Kentucky will be 960,947 41 ; of Virginia, the sum of 1,581,- 669 39; of North Carolina, 988,632 42; and of Pennsylvania, 2,083,233 32. The proportion of Indiana, including the fifteen per cent. will be 855,588 23; of Ohio, 1,677,110 84, and of Mrissis- sippi, 958,945 42. And the proportions of all the twenty-four States are indicated in a table which I hold in my hand, prepared at my instance in the office of the Secretary of the Senate, and to which any Senator may have access. The grounds on which the extra The following is the table referred to bv Mr. CLAY: Statement showing the dividend of each State (according to the federal popula uon) of the proceeds of the Public Lands, during the years 1833-4 and '35, after de 288 ON THE LAND DISTRIBUTION. allowance is made to the new States are, first, their complaint that all lands sold by the federal government are five years exempted from taxation; secondly, that it is to be applied in such manner as will augment the value of the unsold public lands within them; and, lastly, their recent settlement. It may be recollected that a bill passed both Houses of Congress, in the session which terminated on the 3d of March, 1833, for the distribution of the amount received from the public lands, upon the principles of that now offered. The President, in his message at the conmencement of the previous session, had specially invited the at- tention of Congress to the subject of the public lands; had adverted to their liberation from the pledge for the payment of the public debt; and had intimated his readiness to concur in any disposal of them which might appear to Congress most conducive to the quiet, har- mony, and general interest of the American people. After such a message, the President's disapprobation of the bill could not have been anticipated. It was presented to him on the 2d of MIarch, 1833. It was not returned, as the constitution requires, but was retained by him after the expiration of his official term, and dncting from the amount 15 per cent. previously allowed to the seven New States. [Fractions of dollars are ommitted in the following sums.] Federal Popu- Sbare for each Fifteen per cent. Total to mw States. aion. State. to New states. Stea Maine . .............. 399,437 617,269 New Hampshire ... 269,326 416,202 Massachusetts". ." .....710,408 943,293 Rhode Island. .-------97,194 150,19a Connecticut.......... 297.665 459,996 V'rrnonit . . 280,657 433,713 New York ........ 1,918,553 2,94,8.34 New Jersey. ....... 319,.422 494,391 Pennvlvania - -... ..... 1,348,072 2,083,233 1)elaNware. ..... , 75,4:32 116,568 Atlrvinld............ 405.843 627,169 .ir.inia. ........... 1,023,503 1,5 41,669 North Carolina ........ 639,747 938,632 Sooth Carolina.... 4.55,025 701,495 Georgi.l . ....... 429,811 664,208 Kentolckv.............. 621,832 960,947 Tennessee ............. 625,263 966,249 Ohio............... 935,884 1,446.266 230,844 1,677,110 Loii I iena.......... _171,694 265,327 67,661 332,888 Indiana...............343,031 530,102 325,485 855,588 ITllnois...............157,147 242,8W6 483,760 726,606 Missouri..............130,419 201,54s 174,354 375,897 Mislissipp "............. 110,358 170,541 788,403 958,945 Alabama....... .. 262,508 405,666 641,91) 947,607 29 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. until the next session of Congress, which had no power to act upon it. It was understood and believed that, in anticipation of the pas- sage of the bill, the President had prepared objections to it, which he had intended to return with his negative; but he did not. If the bill had been returned, there is reason to believe that it would have been passed, notwithstanding those objections. In the House, it had been carried by a majority of more than two-thirds. And, in the Senate, although there was not the majority on its passage, it was supposed that, in consequence of the passage of the compromise bill, some of the Senators who had voted against the land bill had changed their views, and would have voted for it upon its return, and others had left the Senate. There are those who believe the bill was unconstitutionally re. tained by the President and is now the law of the land. But whether it be so or not, the general government holds the public domain in trust for the common benefit of all the States; and it is, therefore, competent to provide by law that the trustees shall make distribution of the proceeds of the three past years, as well as future years, among those entitled to the beneficial interest. The bill makes such a pro- vision. And it is very remarkable, that the sum which it proposes to distribute is about the gross surplus, or balance, estimated in the treasury on the 1st of January, 1836. When the returns of the last quarter of the year come in, it will probably be found that the sur- plus is larger than the sum which the bill distributes. But if it should not be, there will remain the seven millions held in the Bank of the United States, applicable, as far as it may be received, to the service of the ensuing year. It would be premature now to enter into a consideration of the probable revenue of future years; but, at the proper time, I think it will not be difficult to show that, exclusive of what may be received from the public lands, it will be abundantly sufficient for all the eco- nomical purposes of government, in a time of peace. And the bill, as I have already stated, provides for seasons of war. I wish to guard against all misconception by repeating, what I have heretofore several times said, that this bill is not founded upon any notion of a power in Congress to lay and collect taxes and distribute the amount among the several States. I think Congreas possesses no such power, and has no l ight to exercise it, until some such amendment as that pro, 290 ON THE LAND DISTRIBUTION. posed by the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) shall be adopted. Bit the bill rests on the basis of a clear and comprehensive grant of power to Congress over the territories and property of the United States in the constitution, and upon express stipulations in the deeds of cession. Mr. President, I have Ver regarded, with feelings of the profound- est regret, the decision which the President of the United States felt himself induced to make on the bill of 1833. If it had been his pleas- ure to approve it, the heads of departments would not now be taxing their ingenuity to find out useless objects of expenditure, or objects which may well be postponed to a more distant day. If the bill had passed, about twenty millions of dollars would have been, during the last three years, in the hands of the several States, applicable by them to the beneficent purposes of internal improvement, education, or colonization. What immense benefits might not have been diffused throughout the land by the active employment of that large sum What new channels of commerce and communication might not have been opened What industry stimulated; what labor rewarded flow many youthful minds might have received the blessings of edu- cation and knowledge, and been rescued from ignorance, vice, and ruin How many descendants of Africa might have been transported from a country where they can never enjoy political or social equality, to the native land of their fathers, where no impediment exists to their attainment of the highest degree of elevation, intellectual, social, and political Where they might have been successful instruments in the hands of God, to spread the religion of the Lord, and to lay the foundations of civil liberty ! And, sir, when we institute a comparison between what might have been effected, and what has been in fact done, with that large amount of national treasure, our sensations of regret, on account of the failure of the bill of IS33, are still keener. Instead of its being dedicated toi the beneficent uses of the whole people, and our entire country, it has been an object of scrambling among local corporations, and locked up in the vaults. or loaned out by the directors of a few of them, who are not under the slightest responsibility to the goverument orpeople of the United States. Instead of liberal, enlightened, and national purposes, it has been partially applied to local, limited, and selfish uses. Applied to increase the semi-annual dividends of favorite stock- 291 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. holders in favorite banks ! Twenty millions of the national treasure are scattered in parcels among petty corporations; and while they are growling over the fragments and greedy for more, the secretaries are brooding on schemes for squandering the whole. But although we have lost three precious years, the Secretary of the Treasury tells us that the principal is yet safe, and much good may be still achieved with it. The general government, by an ex- traordinary exercise of executive power, no longer affords aid to any new works of internal improvement. Although it sprung from the Union, and cannot survive the Union, it no longer engages in any public improvement to perpetuate the existence of the Union. It is but justice to it to acknowledge that, with the co-operation of the public spirited State of Maryland, it effected one national road having that tendency. But the spirit of improvement pervades the land, in every variety of form, active, vigorous, and enterprising, wanting pecuniary aid as well as intelligent direction. The States have un- dertaken what the general government is prevented from accomplish- ing. They are strengthening the Union by various lines of commu- nication thrown across and through the mountains. New York has completed one great chain: Pennsylvania another, bolder in concep- tion and far more arduous in the execution. Virginia has a similar work in progress, worthy of all her enterprise and energy. A fourth farther south, where the parts of the Union are too loosely connected, has been projected, and it can certainly be executed with the sup- plies which this bill affords, and perhaps not without them. This bill passed, and these and other similar undertakings comple- ted, we may indulge the patriotic hope that our Union will be bound by ties and interests that render it indissoluble. As the general gov ernment withholds all direct agency from these truly national works, and from all new objects of internal improvement, ought it not to yield to the States, what is their own, the amount received from the public lands It would thus but execute faithfully a trust expressly created by the original deeds of cession, or resulting from the treaties of acquisition. With this ample resource, every desirable object of improvement, in every part of our extensive country, may, in due time, be accomplished. Placing this exhaustless fund in the hands of the several members of the confederacy, their common federal 292 ON THE LAND DISTRIBUTION. nead may address them in the glowing language of the British bard, and "Bid harbors open, public ways extend, Bid temples worthier of the God ascend. Bid the broad arch the dangerous flood contain, The mole projecting, break the roaring main. Back to his bounds, that subject command, And roll obedient rivers through the land." The affairs of the public lands was forced upon me. In the session of IS31-2, a motion from a quarter principally unfriendly to me, was made to refer it to the committee on manufactures, of which I was a member. I strenuously opposed the reference. I remonstrated, I protested, I entreated, I implored. It was in vain that I insisted that the committee on the public lands was the regular standing commit- tee to which such reference should be made. It was in vain that I contended that the public lands and domestic manufactures were sub- jects absolutely incongruous. The unnatural alliance was ordered by the vote of a majority of the Senate. I felt that a personal embar- rassment was intended me. I felt that the design was to place in my hands a many edged instrument which I could not touch without oeing wounded. Nevertheless I subdued all my repugnance, and I engaged assidulously in the task which had been so unkindly assigned me. This, or a similar bill, was the offspring of my deliberations. When reported, the report accompanying it was referred by the same majority of the Senate to the very committtee on the public land, to which I had unsuccessfully sought to have the subject originally as- signed, for the avowed purpose of obtaining a counteracting report. But in spite of all opposition, it passed the Senate at that session. At the next, both Houses of Congress. I confess I feel anxious for the fate of this measure, less on account of any agency I have had in proposing it, as I hope and believe, than from a firm, sincere, and thorough conviction, that no one measure ever presented to the councils of the nation was fraught with so much unmixed good, and could exert such powerful and enduring influence in the preservation of the Union itself, and upon some of its highest interests. If I can be instrumental, in any degree, in the adoption of it, I shall enjoy, in that retirement into which I hope shortly to enter, a heart-feeling, satisfaction and a lasting consolation. I shall carry there no regrets, no complaints, no reproaches on my own account 19 293 294 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. When I look back upon my humble origin, left an orphan too young to have been conscious of a father's smiles and caresses, with a wid. owed mother, surrounded by a numerous offspring, in the midst of pecuniary embarrassments, without a regular education, without for- tune, without friends, without patrons, I have reason to be satisfied with my public career. I ought to be thankful for the high places and honors to which I have been called by the favor and partiality of my countrymen, and I am thankful and grateful. And I shall take with me the pleasing consciousness that, in whatever station I have been placed, I have earnestly and honestly labored to justify their confidence by a faithful, fearless, and zealous discharge of my public duties. Pardon these personal allusions. I make the motion of which notice has been given. ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES) JANUARY 16, 1837. [The Senate of the United States, having, in 1834, resolved, by a decisive vote, that the President (Jackson,) in his proceedings in connexion with the Removal of the Deposites, had assumed and exercised power not granted by the Constitution or the laws, but inconsistent with them-Mr. BENTON immediately gave notice that he should move to expunge the same from the journal of the Senate. He made his motion accordingly, but it did not prevail until the session of 1836-7, when a strong Jackson majority having been secured, it was wressed to a successful issue. On thu occasion, Mr. CLAY spoke as follows :] CONSIDERING that I was the mover of the resolution of March, 1S34, and the consequent relation in which I stood to the majority of the Senate by whose vote it was adopted, I feel it to be my duty to say something on this expunging resolution, and I always have intended to do so when I should be persuaded that there existed a settled purpose of pressing it to a final decision. But it was so taken up and put down at the last session-taken up one day, when a speech was prepared for delivery, and put down when it was pronoun- ced, that I really doubted whether there existted any serious inten- tion of ever putting it to the vote. At the very close of the last ses- sion, it will be recollected that the resolution came up, and in several quarters of the Senate a disposition was manifested to come to a defi- nitive decision. On that occasion, I offered to waive my right to address the Senate, and silently to vote upon the resolution ; but it Nvas again laid upon the table, and laid there forever, as the country supposed. and as I believed. It is however now revived; and sundry changes having taken place in the members of this body, it would seem that the present design is to bring the resolution to an absolute conclusion. I have not risen to repeat at full length the argument by which the friends of the resolution of March, 1834, sustained it. That argument is before the world-was unanswered at the time. SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and is unanswerable. And I here, in my place, in the presence of my country and my GOD, after the fullest consideration and delibera- dion of which my mind is capable, reassert my solemn conviction of the truth of every proposition contained in that resolution. But it is not my intention to commit such an infliction upon the Senate as that would be, of retracing the whole ground of argument formerly occupied, I desire to lay before it at this time, a brief and true state of the case. Before the fatal step is taken of giving to the expunging resolution the sanction of the American Senate, I wish, by presenting a faithful outline of the real questions involved in the resolution of 1834, to make a last, even if it is to be an ineffectual appeal to the sober judgments of senators. I begin by reasserting the truth of that resolution. Our British ancestors understood perfectly well the immense im- portance of the money power in a representative government. It is the great lever by which the crown is touched, and made to conform its administration to the interests of the kingdom, and the will of the people. Deprive parliament of the power of freely granting or with- holding supplies, and surrender to the king the purse of the nation, he instantly becomes an absolute monarch. Whatever may be the form of government, elective or hereditary, democratic or despotic, that person who commands the force of the nation, and at the same time has uncontrolled possession of the purse of the nation, has abso- lute power, whatever may be the official name by which he is called. Our immediate ancestors, profiting by the lessons on civil liberty, which had been taught in the country from which we sprung, endea- vored to encircle around the public purse, in the hands of Congress, every possible security against the intrusion of the executive. With this view, Congress alone is invested by the Constitution with the power to lay and collect the taxes. When collected, not a cent is to be drawn from the public treasury, but in virtue of an act of Congress. And among the first acts of this government, was the passage of a law establishing the treasury department, for the safe keeping and the legal and regular disbursement of the money so collected. BY that act a Secretary of the Treasury is placed at the head of the de- partment; and varying in respect from all the other departments, he is to report, not to the President, but directly to Congress, and is lia- 296 ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. b e to be called to give information in person before Congress. It is impossible to examine dispassionately that act, without coming to the conclusion that he is emphatically the agent of Congress in perform- ing the duties assigned by the constitution of Congress. The act fur- ther provides that a treasurer shall be appointed to receive and keep the public money, and none can be drawn from his custody but under the authority of a law, and in virtue of a warrant drawn by the sec- retary of the treasury, countersigned by the comptroller, and recorded by the register. Only when such a warrant is presented can the treasurer lawfully pay one dollar from the public purse. Why was the concurrence of these four officers required in disbursements of the public money Was it not for greater security Was it not intended that each, exercising a separate and independent will, should be a check upon every other Was it not the purpose of the law to con- sider each of these four officers, acting in his proper sphere, not as a mere automaton, but as an intellectual, intelligent, and responsible person, bound to observe the law, and to stop the warrant, or stop the money, if the authority of the law were wanting Thus stood the treasury from 1789 to 1816. During that long time no President had ever attempted to interfere with the custody of the public purse. It remained where the law placed it, undisturbed, and every chief magistrate, including the father of his country, respected the law. In 1816 an act passed to establish the late Bank of the United States for the term of twenty years; and, by the 16th section of the act, it is enacted, ' That the deposites of the money of the United States in places in which the said Bank and the branches thereof may be established,shall be made in said Bank or branches thereof, unless the Secretary of the Treasury shall at at any time other- wise orde r and direct; in which case the Secretary of the Treasury shall immedi- ately lay be ore Congress if in session and if not immediately after the commence- 'Rent of the next session, the reasons 'of such order or direction." Thus it is perfectly manifest, from the express words of the law, that the power to make any order or direction for the removal of the public deposites, is confided to the Secretary alone, to the absolute exclusion of the President, and all the world besides. And the law, proceeding upon the established principle that the Secretary of the treasury, in all that concerns the public purse, acts as the direct agent of Congress, requires, in the event of his ordering or directing a re- 297 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. moval of the deposites, that he shall immediately lay his reasons therefor before whom the President No: before Congress. So stood the public treasury and the public deposites from the year 1816 to September, 1833. In all that period of seventeen years, running through or into four several administrations of the govern. ment, the law had its uninterrupted operation, no chief magistrate having assumed upon himself the power of diverting the public purse from its lawful custody, or of substituting his will to that of the offi- cer to whose care it was exclusively entrusted. In the session of Congress of 1832--'3, an inquiry had been insti- tuted by the House of Representatives into the condition of the Bank of the United States. It resulted in a conviction of its entire safety, and a declaration by the House, made only a short time before the adjournment of Congress on the fourth of March 1833, that the pub- lic deposites were perfectly secure. This declaration was probably made in consequence of suspicions then afloat of a design on the part of the executive to remove the deposites. These suspicions were de- nied by the press friendly to the administration. Nevertheless, the members had scarcely reached their respective homes, before meas- ures were commenced by the executive to effect a removal of the deposites from that very place of safety which it was among the last acts of the House to declare existed in the Bank of the United States. In prosecution of this design, Mr. McLain, the Secretary of the Treasury, who was decidedly opposed to such a measure, was pro- moted to the Department of State, and Mr. Duane was appointed to succeed him. But Mr. Duane was equally convinced with his pre- decessor that he was forbidden by every consideration of duty to ex- ecute the power with which the law had entrusted the Secretary of the Treasury, and refused to remove the deposites; whereupon he was dismissed from office, a new Secretary of the Treasury was ap- pointed, and, in September, 1833, by the command of the President, the measure was finally accomplished. That it was the President's act was never denied, but proclaimed, boasted, defended. It fell upon the country like a thunderbolt, agitating the Union from one extremity to the other. The stoutest adherents of the administra non were alarmed, and all thinking men, not blinded by party pre- 298 ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. judice, beheld in the act a bold and dangerous exercise of power; and no human sagacity can now foresee the tremendous consequences which will ensue. The measure was adopted not long before the approaching session of Congress; and, as the concurrence of both branches might be necessary to compel a restoration of the deposited, the object was to take the chance of a possible division between them, and thereby defeat the restoration. And where did the President find the power for this most extraor- dinary act It has been seen that the constitution, jealous of all executive interference with the treasury of the nation, had confined it to the exclusive care of Congress by every precautionary guard, from the first imposition of the taxes to the final disbursement of the pub- lic money. It has been seen that the language of the sixteenth section of the law of 1816, is express and free from all ambiguity; and that the Secretary of the Treasury is the sole exclusive depository of the au- thority which it confers. Those who maintain the power of the President have to support it against the positive language of the constitution, against the explicit words of the statute, and against the genius and theory of all our institutions. And how do they surmount these insuperable obstacles By a series of far-fetched implications, which, if every one of them were as true as they are believed to be incorrect or perverted, would stop far short of maintaining the power which was exercised. The first of these implied powers is, that of dismissal, which is claimed for the President. Of all the questioned powers ever exer- cised by the government, this is the most questionable. From thet first Congress down to the present administration, it had never been examined. It was carried then, in the Senate, by the casting vote of the Vice President. And those who, at that day argued in behalf of the power, contended for it upon conditions which have been ut- terly disregarded by the present Chief Magistrate. The power of dismissal is no where on the constitution granted, in express terms, o the President. It is not a necessary incident to any granted power; 299 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and the friends of the power have never been able to agree among themselves as to the precise part of the constitution from which it springs But, if the power of dismissal was as incontestible as it is justly controvertable, we utterly deny the consequences deduced from it. The argument is, that the President has, by implication, the power of dismissal. From this first implication another is drawn, and that is, that the President has the power to control the officer, whom he may dismiss, in the discharge of his duties, in all cases whatever; and that this power of control is so comprehensive as to include even the case of a specific duty expressly assigned by law to the designa- ted officer. Now, we deny these results from the dismissing power. That power, if it exists, can draw after it only a right of general superin- tendence. It cannot authorize the President to substitute his will to the will of the officer charged with the performance of official duties. Above all, it cannot justify such a substitution in a case where the law, as in the present instance, assigns to a designated officer exclu- sively the performance of a particular duty, and commands him to report, not to the President, but to Congress, in a case regarding the public purse of the nation, committed to the exclusive control of Congress. Such a consequence as that which I am contesting would concen- trate in the hands of one man the entire executive power of the na- tion, uncontrolled and unchecked. It would be utterly destructive of all official responsibility. In- stead of each officer being responsible, in his own separate sphere, -for his official acts, he would shelter himself behind the orders of the President. And what tribunal, in heaven above or on earth below, could render judgment against any officer for an act, however atro- cious, performed by the express command of the President, which, according to the argument, he was absolutely bound to obey Whilst all official responsibility would be utterly annihilated iD subordinated officers, there would be no practical or available respon- sibility in the President himself. 300 ON THE EVPUNGING RESOLUTION. But the case has been supposed, of a necessity for the removal of the deposites, and a refusal of the Secretary of thb Treasury to re- move them; and it is triumphantly asked if, in such a case, the Pre- sident may not remove him, and command the deed to be done. That is an extreme case, which may be met by another. Suppose the President, without any necessity, orders the removal from a place of safety to a place of hazard. If there be danger that a President may neglect his duty, there is equal danger that a President may abuse his authority. Infallibility is not a human attribute. And there is more security for the public in holding the Secretary of the Treasury to the strict performance of an official duty specially assigned to him, under all his official responsibility, than to allow the President to wrest the work from his hands, annihilate his responsibility, and stand himself practically irresponsible. It is far better that millions should be lost by the neglect of a Secretary of the Treasury, than to establish the monstrous principle that all the checks and balances of the executive government shall be broken down, the whole power absorbed by one man, and his will become the supreme rule. The argument which I am combating places the whole treasury of the nation at the mercy of the executive. It is in vain to talk of appro- priations by law, and the formalities of warrants upon the treasury. Assuming the argument to be correct, what is to prevent the execu- tion of an order from the President to the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a warrant, without the sanction of a previous legal appro- priation, to the Comptroller to countersign it, to the Register to re- gister it, and to the Treasurer to pay it What becomes of that quadruple security which the precaution of the law provided In- stead of four substantive and independent wills, acting under legal obligations, all are merged in the executive. But there was in point of fact, no cause, none whatever for the measure. Every fiscal consideration, (and no other had the Secre- tary or the President a right to entertain,) required the deposites to be left undisturbed in the place of perfect safety where by law they were. We told you so at the time. We asserted that the charges of insecurity and insolvency of the bank were without the slightest foundation. And time, that great arbiter of human controversies, has confirmed all that we said. The Bank, from documents submit- ted to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury at the present se- sion, appears to be able not only to return every dollar of the stock 301 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. held in its capital by the public, but an addition of eleven per cent beyond it. Those who defend the executive act, have to maintain not only that the President may assume upon himself the discharge of a duty especially assigned to the Secretary of the Treasury, but that he may remove that officer, arbitrarily, and without any cause, because he refused to remove the public deposites without cause. My mind conducts me to a totally different conclusion. I think, I solemnlv believe, that the President " assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws, but in deroga- tion of both," in the language of the resolution. I believed then in the truth of the resolution ; and I now in my place, and under all my responsibility, re-avow my unshaken conviction of it. But it has been contended on this occasion, as it was in the debate which preceded the adoption of the resolution of 1834, that the Senate has no right to express the truth on any question which by possibility, may become a subject of impeachment. It is manifest, that if it may, there is no more usual or appropriate form in which it may be done than that of resolutions, joint or separate, orders, or bills. In no other mode can the collective sense of the body be ex- pressed. But Senators maintain that no matter what may be the executive encroachment upon the joint powers of the two Houses, or the separate authority of the Senate, it is bound to stand mute, and not breathe one word of complaint or remonstrance. According to the argument, the greater the violation of the constitution or the law, the greater the incompetency of the Senate to express any opinion upon it! Further, that this incompetency is not confined to the acts of the President only, but extends to those of every officer who is liable to impeachment under the constitution. Is this possible Can it be true Contrary to all the laws of nature, is the Senate the only being which has no power of self-preservation-no right to com- plain or to remonstrate against attacks upon its very existence The argument is, that the Senate, being the constitutional tribunal to try all impeachments, is thereby precluded from the exercise of Lhe right to express any opinion upon any official malfeasance, except when acting in its judicial character. 302 ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. If this disqualification exist, it applies to all impeachable officers, and ought to have protected the late Postmaster General against the resolution, unanimously adopted by the Senate, declaring that he had borrowed money contrary to law. And it would disable the Senate from considering that treasury order, which has formed such a prom- inent subject of its deliberations during the present session. And how do Senators maintain this obligation of the Senate to remain silent and behold itself stript, one by one, of all constitutional powers, without resistance, and without murmur Is it imposed by the language of the constitution Has any part of that instrument been pointed to which expressly enjoins it No, no, not a syllable. But it is attempted to be deduced by another far-fetched implication. Because the Senate is the body which is to try inipeachments, there- fore it is inferred the Senate can express no opinion on any matter which may form the subject of impeachment. The constitution does not say so. That is undeniable: but Senators think so. The Senate acts in three characters, legislative, executive and ju- dicial ; and their importance is in the order enumerated. By far the most important of the three is its legislative. In that, almost every day that it has been in session from 1789 to the present time, some legislative business has been transacted ; whilst in its judicial cha- racter, it has not sat more than three or four times in that whole period. Why should the judicial function limit and restrain the legislative fuLction of the Senate more than the legislative should the judicial If the degree of importance of the two should decide which ought to impose the restraint, in cases of conflict between them, none can doubt which it should be. But if the argument is sound, how is it possible for the Senate to perform its legislative duties An act in violation of the constitu- tion or laws is committed by the President or a subordinate execu- tive officer, and it becomes necessary to correct it by the passage of a law. The very act of the President in question was under a law to which the Senate had given its concurrence. According to the argu- ment, the correcting law cannot originate in the Senate, because it would have to pass in judgment upon that act. Nay, more, it can- 303 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. not originate in the House and be sent to the Senate, for the same reason of incompetency in the Senate to pass upon it. Suppose the bill contained a preamble reciting the unconstitutional or illegal act, to which the legislative corrective is applied, according to the argu- ment, the Senate must not think of passing it. Pushed to its legiti- mate consequence, the argument requires the House of Representa- tives itself cautiously to abstain from the expression of any opinion upon an executive act, except when it is acting as the grand inquest of the nation, and considering articles of impeachment. Assuming that the argument is well founded, the Senate is equally restrained from expressing any opinion which would imply the inno cence or the guilt of an impeachable officer, unless it be maintained that it is lawful to express praise and approbation, biut not censure ox difference of opinion. Instances have occurred in our past history, (the case of the British minister, Jackson, was a memorable one,) and many others may arise in our future progress, when in reference to foreign powers, it may be important for Congress to approve what has been done by the executive, to present a firm and united front, and to pledge the country to stand by and support him. May it not do that If the Senate dare not entertain and express any opinion upon an executive measure, how do those who support this expunging resolution justify the acquittal of the President which it proclaims No Senator believed in 1834 that, whether the President merited impeachment or not, he ever would be impeached. In point of fact he has not been, and we have every reason to suppose that he never will be impeached. Was the majority of the Senate, in a case where it believed the constitution and laws to have been violated, and th4 liberties of the people to be endangered to remain silent, and to re frain from proclaiming the truth, because, against all human proba bFlity, the President might be impeached by a majority of his politica r ends in the House of Representatives If an impeachment had been actually voted by thc House of Repre- sentatives, there is nothing in the constitution which enjoins silence on the part of the Senate. In such a case, it would have been a matter of propriety for the consideration of each Senator to avoid the expression of any opinion on a matter upon which, as a sworn judge, ne would be called to act 304 ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. Hitherto I have considered the question on the supposition, that the resolution of March, 1834, implied such guilt in the President, that he would have been liable to conviction on a trial by impeach- ment before the Senate of the United States. But the resolution, in fact, imported no such guilt. It simply affirmed, that he had " as- sumed upon himself, authority and power not conferred by the con- stitution and laws, but in derogation of both." It imputed no crim- inal motives. It did not profess to penetrate into the heart of the President. According to the phraseology of the resolution, the ex- ceptionable act might have been performed with the purest and most patriotic intention. The resolution neither affirmed his innocence, nor pronounced his guilt. It amounts then, say his friends on this floor, to nothing. Not so. If the constitution be trampled upon, and the laws be violated, the injury may be equally great, whether it has been done with good or bad intentions. There may be a differ- ence to the officer, none to the country. The country, as all expe- rience demonstrates, has most reason to apprehend those encroach- ments which take place on plausible pretexts, and with good in- tentions. I put it, Mr. President, to the calm and deliberate consideration of the majority of the Senate, are you ready to pronounce, in the face of this enligtened community, for all time to come, and whoever may happen to be the President, that the Senate dare not, in language the most inoffensive and respectful, remonstrate against any executive usurpation, whatever may be its degree or danger For one, I will not, I cannot. I believe the resolution of March, 1834, to have been true; and that it was competent to the Senate to proclaim the truth. And I solemly believe that the Senate would have been culpably neglectful of its duty to itself, to the constitution, and to the country, if it had not announced the truth. But let me suppose that in all this I anm mistaken; that the act of the President, to which exception was made, was in conformity with the spirit of our free institutions, and the language of our constitution and laws; and that, whether it was or not, the Senate of 1834 had no authority to pass judgment upon it; what right has the Senate of 1837, a component part of another Congress, to pronounce judgment upon its predecessor How can you who venture to impute to thos 305 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. who have gone before you an unconstitutional proceeding, escape a similar imputation What part of the constitution communicates to you any authority to assign and try your predecessors In what article is contained your power to expunge what they have done And may not the precedent lead to a perpetual code of defacement and restoration of the transactions of the Senate as consigned to the public records Are you not only destitute of all authority, but positively forbidden to do what the expunging resolution proposes The injunction of the constitution to keep a journal of our proceedings is clear, express and emphatic. It is free from ambiguity: no sophistry can pervert the explicit language of the instrument; no artful device can elude the force of the obligation which it imposes. If it were possible to make more manifest the duty which it requires to be performed, that was done by the able and eloquent speeches, at the last session, of the Senators from Virginia and Louisiana, (Messrs. Leigh and Porter) and at this of my colleague. I shall not repeat the argument. But I would ask, if there were no constitutional requirement to keep a journal, what constitutional right has the Senate of this Congress to pass in judgment upon the Senate of another Congress, and to expunge from its journal a deliberate act there recorded Can an unconsti- tutional act of that Senate, supposing it to be so, justify you in per- forming another unconstitutional act But, in lieu of any argument upon the point from me, I beg leave to cite for the consideration of the Senate two precedents: one drawn from the reign of the most despotic monarch in modern Europe, under the most despotic minister that ever bore sway over any people: and the other from the purest fountain of democracy in this country. I quote from the interesting life of the Cardinal Richelieu, written by that most admirable and popular author, Mr. James. The Duke of Orleans, the brother of Louis XIII. had been goaded into rebellion by the wary Richelieu. The king issued a decree declaring all the sup- porters of the duke guilty of high treason, and a copy of it was des- patched to the Parliament at Paris, with an order to register it at once. The parliament demurred, and proceeded to what was called an arret de partage. " Richelieu, however, could bear no contradiction in the course which he had laia 306 ON THE EXtUNGING RESOLUTION. down for himself ;" (how strong a resemblance does that feature of his character bear to one of an illustrious individual whom I will not further describe !] " and hurrying back o Paris with the king, he sent, in the monarch's name, a command for the members of the Parliament to present themselves at the Louvre in a body and onfoot. lie was obeyed immediately; and the king receiving them with great haughtiness the keeper of the seals made them a speech, in which he declared that thev had no authority to deliberate upon affairs of state: that the business of private individuals they might discuss, but that the will of the monarch in other matters they were alone called upon to register. The king then tore with his own hands the pwtte of the re_-ister on whirh the arret de partage had been inscribed, and punished ith Ssupension fiom their functions several of the menbers of the various courts com- posiug the Parliament of Paris." How repeated acts of the exercise of arbitrary power are likely to subdtte the spirit of liberty, and to render callous the public sensibility. and the fate which awaits us, if we had not been recently unhappily taught in this country, we may learn from the same author. "The finances of the State were exhausted, new impositions were devised, and a number of new offices created and sold. Against the last named abuse the Par- liament ventured to remonstrate: but the government of the Cardinal had for its first principle despotism, and the refractory members were punished, some with exile, some with suspension of their functions. All were forced to comply with his will, and the Parliament, unable to resist, yielded, step by step, to his exactions." The other precedent is suspended by the archives of the democ- racy of Pennsylvania, in IS 16, when it was genuine and unmixed with any other ingredient. The provisions of the constitution of the United States and of Penn- sylvania, in regard to the obligation to keep a journal, are substan- tially the same. That of the United States requires that, " Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time ub lish the same, except such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy- andlthe yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of onte-fifth of the members present, be entered on the journal." And that of Pennsylvania is: "Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish them weekly except such parts as require se recv, and the yeas and nays of the members, on any ttestion shall, at the desire of any two of them, be entered on the journals." Whatever inviolability, therefore, is attached to a journal, kept in conformity with the one constitution, must be equally stamped on that kept under the other. On the 10th of February, 1S16, in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, " the speaker informed the House that a constitutional question being involved in a decision by him yes. 307 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. terday, on a motion to expunge certain proceedings from the journal, he was desirous of having the opinion of the House on that decision, viz.: that a majority can expunge from the journal any proceedings in which the yeas and nays have not been called." Whereupon Mr. Holgate and Mr. Smith appealed from said decision; and on the ques. tion, Is the speaker right in his decision the members present voted as follows: yeas three, nays seventy-eight. Among the latter are to be found the two Senators now representing in this body the State of Pennsylvania. On the same day a motion was made by one of them (Mr. Buchanan) and Mr. Kelly, and read as follows: " Resolved, That in the opinion of this House no part of the journals of the House can be expunged even by unanimous consent." The Senate observes that the question arose in a case where there were but four members out of eighty-two who thought it was compe. tent to the House to expunge it. Had the yeas and nays been called and recorded, as they were on the resolution of March, 1834, there would not have been a solitary vote in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania in support of the power of expunging. And if you can expunge the resolution, why may you not expunge also the re- corded yeas and nays attached to it But if the matter of expunction be contrary to the truth of the case, reproachful for its base subserviency, derogatory from the just and necessary powers of the Senate, and repugnant to the constitu- tion of the United States, the manner in which it is proposed to ac- complish this dark deed, is also highly exceptionable. The expung- ing resolution, which is to blot out or enshroud the four or five lines in which the resolution of 1834 stands recorded, or rather the recitals by which it is preceded, are spun out into a thread of enormous length. It runs, whereas, and whereas, and whereas, and whereas, c., into a formidable array of nine several whereases. One who should have the courage to begin to read them, unaware of what was to be their termination, would think that at the end of such a tremendous dis- play he must find the very devil. It is like a kite or a comet, except that the order of nature is inverted, and the tail, instead of being be- hind, is before the body to which it is appended. I shall not trespass on the Senate by inquiring into the truth of all the assertions of fact and of principle, contained in these recitals. It 308 ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. would not be difficult to expose them all, and to show that not one ot them has more than a colorable foundation. It is asserted by one of them that the President was put upon his trial and condemned, unheard, by the Senate, in 1834. Was that true Was it a trial Can the majority now assert, upon their oaths, and in their con- sciences, that there was any trial or condemnation During the warmth of debate, senators might endeavor to persuade themselves and the public that the proceeding of 1S34 was, in its effects and conse'uences, a trial, and would be a condemnation of the President; but new, after the lapse of near three years, when the excitement arising from an animated discussion has passed away, it is marvelous that any one should be prepared to assert that an expression of the opinion of the Senate upon the character of an executive act was an arraignm.ent, trial and conviction of the President of the Uuited States Another fact, asserted in one of those recitals, is, that the resolu- tion of 1S34, in either of the forms in which it was originally pre- sented, or subsequently modified prior to the final shape which it assumed when adopted, would have been rejected by a majority of the Senate. What evidence is there in support of this assertion None. It is, I verily believe, directly contrary to the fact. In either of the modifications of the resolution, I have not a doubt, that it would have passed! They were all made in that spirit of accommo- dation by which the mover of the resolution has ever regulated his conduct as a member of a deliberative body. In not one single in- stance did he understand from any senator at whose request he made the modification, that, without it, he would vote against theresolution. How, then, can even the senators, who were of the minority of 1S34, undertake to make the assertion in question How can the new senators, who have come here since, pledge themselves to the fact asserted, in the recital of which they could not have had any connusance But all the members of the majority-the veterans and the raw recruits-the six years men and six weeks men-are requir- ed to concur in this most unfounded assertion, as I believe it to be. I submit it to one of the latter (looking toward Mr. Dana, from Alaine, here by a temporary appointment from the executive,) whe- ther, instead of inundating the Senate with a torrent of fulsome and revolting adulation poured on the President, it would not be wiser and more patriotic to illustrate the brief period of his senatorial existence 20 309 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. by some great measure, fraught with general benefit to the whole Union Or, if he will not or cannot elevate himself to a view of the interest of the entire country, whether he had not better dedicate his time to an investigation into the causes of an alien jurisdiction being still exercised over a large part of the territory of the State which he represents And why the American carrying trade to the British coloneis, in which his state was so deeply interested, has been lost by a most improvident and bungling arrangement Mr. President, what patriotic purpose is to be accomplished by this expunging resolution! What new honor or fresh laurels will it win for our common country Is the power of the Senate so vast that it ought to be circumscribed, and that of the President so restricted, that it ought to be extended What power has the Senate None seperately. It can only act jointly with the other House, or jointly with the executive. And although the theory of the constitution supposes, when consulted by him, it may freely give an affirmative or negative response according to the practice, as it now exists, it has lost the faculty of pronouncing the negative monosyllable. When the Senate expresses its deliberate judgment, in the form of resolu- tion, that resolution has no compulsory force, but appeals only to the dispassionate intelligence, the calm reason, and the sober judgment of the community. The Senate has no army, no navy, no patronage, no lucrative offices, nor glittering honors to bestow. Around us there is no swarm of greedy expectants, rendering us homage, antici- pating our wishes, and ready to execute our commands. How is it with the President Is he powerless. He is felt from one extremity to the other of this vast republic. By means of prin- ciples which he has introduced, and innovations which he has umade in our institutions, alas ! too much countenanced by Congress and a confiding people, he exercises uncontrolled the power of the State. In one hand he holds the purse, and in the other brandishes the sword of the country. Myriads of dependents and partizans, scat- tered over the land, are ever ready to sing hosannas to him, and to laud to the skies whatever he does. He has swept over the govern- ment, during the last eight years, like a tropical tornado. Every department exhibits traces of the ravages of the storm. Take, as one example, the Bank of the United States. No institution could 310 ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION. have been more popular with the people, with Congress, and with State legislatures. None ever better fulfilled the great purposes of its establishment. But it unfortunately incurred the displeasure of the President; he spoke, and the Bank lies prostrate. And those who were loudest in its praise are now loudest in its condemnation. What object of his ambition is unsatisfied When disabled from age any longer to hold the sceptre of power, he designates his successor, and transmits it to his favorite. What more does he want. Must we blot, deface and mutilate the records of the country to punish the presumptuousness of expressing an opinion contrary to his own. What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished by this expunging resolution Can you make that not to be which has been Can you eradicate from memory and from history the fact, that in March, 1834, a majority of the Senate of the United States passed the reso- lution which excites your enmity Is it your vain and wicked object to arrogate to youselves that power of annihilating the past which has been denied to Omnipotence itself Do you intend to thrust your hands into our hearts, and to pluck out the deeply rooted convictions which are there or is it your design merely to stigmatize us You cannot stigmatize US. "Ne'er yet did base dishonor blur our name." Standing securely upon our conscious rectitude, and bearing aloft the shield of the constitution of our country, your puny efforts are impotent, and we defy all your power. Put the majority of 1834 in one scale, and that by which this expunging resolution is to be car- ried in the other, and let truth and justice, in heaven above and on tne earth below, and liberty and patriotism decide the preponderance. What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished by this expunging Is it to appease the wrath, and to heal the wounded pride of the Chief Magistrate If he be really the hero that his friends represent him, he must despise all mean condescension, all grovelling sycophancy, all self-degradation, and self-abasement. He would reject with scorn and contempt, as unworthy of his fame, your black scratches, and your baby lines in the fair records of his country. Black lines ! Black lines ! Sir, I hope the Secretary of the Senate will preserve the pen with which he may inscribe them, and present it to that Sen- ator of the majority whom he may select, as a proud trophy, to be 311 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. transmitted to his descendants. And hereafter, when we shall lose the forms of our free institutions, all that now remain to us, some fu- ture American monarch, in gratitude to those by whose means he has been enabled, upon the ruins of civil liberty, to erect a throne, and to commemorate especially this expunging resolution, may institute a new order of knighthood, and confer on it the appropriate name of the knight of the black lines. But why should I detain the Senate or needlessly waste my breath in fruitless exertions. The decree has gone forth. It is one of ur- gency, too. The deed is to be done-that foul deed, like the blood- stained hands of the guilty Macbeth, all ocean's waters will never wash out. Proceed, then, to the noble work which lies before you, and like other skilful executioners, do it quickly. And when you have perpetrated it, go home to the people, and tell them what glori- ous honors you have achieved for our common country. Tell them that you have extinguished one of the brightest and purest lights that ever burnt at the altar of civil liberty. Tell them that you have silenced one of the noblest batteries that ever thundered in defence of the constitution, and bravely spiked the cannon. Tell them that, henceforward, no matter what daring or outrageous act any President may perform, you have forever hermetically sealed the mouth of the Senate. Tell them that he may fearlessly assume what power he pleases-snatch from its lawful custody the public purse, command a military detachment to enter the halls of the capitol, overawe Con- gress, trample down the constitution, and raze every bulwark of free- dom; but that the Senate must stand mute, in silent submission, and not dare to raise its opposing voice. That it must wait until a House of Representatives, humbled and subdued like itself, and a majority of it composed of the partisans of the President, shall prefer articles of impeachment. Tell them finally, that you have restored the glo- -rious doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance, and, if the people do not pour out their indignation and imprecations, I have vet to learn the character of American freemen. 312 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, SEPTEMBER 25 1837. C [The State Bank Deposite system of keeping and disbursing the Public Moneys having exploded on the general suspension of Specie Payments by the Banks throughout the Country in May, 1837, leaving the government nearly destitute of pecuniary means or financial machinery, Mr. VAn BUREN (then newly inaugurated as President) promptly summoned the new Congress to inset in Washington on the first Monday of September of that year. Although the Elections after the suspen- sion went heavily against him, yet the previous choice of members from one half the States, including New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio, had secured to his Administration a decided preponderance in each House. Congress assembled on the 4th, and the President in his message submitted the fiscal plan known as the INDEPENDENT TRic tsuay or Sub-Treasury, for the collection, safe keeping, and dis- bursement of the Public Moneys entirely 'divorced' from Banks. A bill embodying this proposition having been reported to the Senate, from its Committe on Finance by Mr. WRIGHT of New York, upon its consideration Mr. CLAY addressed the Sen- ate as follows :] FEELtNG an anxious desire to see some effectual plan presented to correct the disorders in the currency, and to restore the prosperity of the country, I have avoided precipitating myself into the debate now in progress, that I may attentively examine every remedy that may be proposed, and impartially weigh every consideration urged in its support. No period has ever existed in this country, in which the future was covered by a darker, denser, or more impenetrable gloom. None, in which the duty was more imperative to discard all passion and prejudice, all party ties, and previous bias, and look ex- Clusively to the good of our afflicted country. In one respect, and Is think it a fortunate one-our present difficulties are distinguishable from former domestic trouble, and that is their universality. They are felt it is true, in different degrees, but they reach every section, every State, every interest, almost every man in the Union. All feel, see, hear, know their existence. As they do not array, like our former divisions, one portion of the confederacy against another, it is to be hoped that common sufferings may lead to common sympathies SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY and common counsels, and that we shall, at no distant day, be able to see a clear way of deliverance. If the present state of the country were produced by the fault of the people; if it proceeded from their wasteful extravagance, and their indulgence of a reckless spirit of ruinous speculation; if public measures had no agency whatever in bringing it about, it would nevertheless be the duty of government to exert all its energies and to employ all its legitimate powers to devise an efficacious remedy. But if our present deplorable condition has sprung from our rulers; if it is to be clearly traced to their acts and operations, that duty becomes infinitely more obligatory; and gov ernment would be faithless to the highest and most solemn of human trusts should it neglect to perform it. And is it not too true that the evils which surround us are to be ascribed to those who have had the conduct of our public affairs In glancing at the past, nothing can be further from my intention than to excite angry feelings, or to find grounds of reproach. It would be far more congenial to my wishes that, on this occasion we should forget all former unhappy divisions and animosities. But in ordcr to discover how to get out of our difficulties, we must ascertain if we can how we got into them. Prior to that series of unfortunate measures which had for its ob- ject the overthrow of the Bank of the United States, and the discontinu- ance of its fiscal agency for the government, no people upon earth ever enjoyed a better currency, or had exchanges better regulated than the people of the United States. Our monetary system appeared to have attained as great perfection as anything human can possibly reach. The combination of United States and local Banks presented a true image of our system of general and State governments, and worked quite as well. Not only within the country had we a local and gen- eral currency perfectly sound, but in whatever quarter of the globe American commerce had penetrated, there also did the bills of the United States Bank command unbounded credit and confidence. Now we are in danger of having fixed upon us, indefinitely as to time, that medium, an irredeemable paper currency, which, by the universal consent of the commercial world, is regarded as the worst. How has this reverse come upon us Can it be doubted that it is the re- sult of those measures to which I have adverted When, at the very moment of adopting them, the very consequences which have hap- 314 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. pened were foretold as inevitable, is it necessary to look elsewhere for their cause Never was prediction more distinctly made; never was fulfilment more literal and exact. Let us suppose that those measures had not been adopted; that the Bank of the United States had been rechartered; that the public deposites had remained undisturbed; and that the treasury order had never issued: is there not every reason to believe that we should be now in the enjoyment of a sound currency; that the public deposites would be now safe and forthcoming, and that the suspension of specie i ayments in May last would not have happened The President's message asserts that the suspension has proceeded from over-action, over-trading, the indulgence of a spirit of speculation produced by bank and other facilities. I think this is a view of the case entirely too superficial. It would be quite as correct and just, in the instance of a homicide perpetrated by the discharge of a gun, to allege that the leaden ball, and not the man who levelled the piece, was responsible for the murder. The true inquiry is, how came that excessive over-trading and those extensive bank facilities which the message describes Were they not the necessary and immediate consequences of the overthrow of the Bank, and the removal from its custody of the public deposites And is not this proven by the vast multiplication of banks, the increase of the line of their discounts and accommodations, prompted and stimulated by Secretary Taney, and the great augmentation of their circulation which ensued What occurred in the State of Kentucky in consequence of the veto of the recharter of the Bank of the United States illustrates its effects throughout the Union. That State had suffered greatly by banks. It was generally opposed to the re-establishment of them. It had found the notes of the Bank of the United States answering all the purposes of a sound currency at home and abroad, and it was perfectly con- tented with them. At the period of the veto, it had but a single bank of limited capital and circulation. After it, the State, reluctant to engage in the banking system, and still cherishing hopes of the creation of a new Bank of the United States, encouraged by the sup- porters of the late President, hesitated about the incorporation of new banks. But at length, despairing of the establishment of a Bauk of the United States, and finding itself exposed to a currency in bank 315 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. notes from adjacent States, it proceeded to establish banks of its own and since the veto, since 1833, has incorporated for that single State bank capital to the amount of ten millions of dollars-a sum equal to the capital of the first Bank of the United States created for the whole Union. That the local banks, to which the deposites were transferred from the Bank of the United States, were urged and stimulated freely to discount upon them, we have record evidence from the treasury de. partment. The message, to reconcile us to our misfortunes, and to exonerate the measures of our own government frpm all blame in producing the present state of things, refers to the condition of Europe, and espe- cially to that of Great Britain. It alledges that, " In both countries we have witnessed the same redundancy of paper money, and other facilities of credit; the same spirit of speculation; the same partial su1ccess; the same difficulties and reverses; and, at length, nearly the same overwhelming catastrophe." The very clear and able argument of the Senator from Georgia, (Mr. King) relieves me from the necessity of saying much upon this part of the subject. It appears that during the period referred to by the message of 1833-4-5, there was, in fact, no augmentation, or a very trifling, augmentation, of the circulation of the country, and that the message has totally misconceived the actual state of things in Great Britain. According to the publications to which I have had access, the Bank of England in fact diminished its circulation, com- paring the first with the last of that period, about two and a half millions sterling; and although the joint-stock and private banks in- creased theirs, the amount of increase was neutralized by the amount of diminution If the state of things were really identical, or similar, in the two countries, it would be fair to trace it to similarity of causes. But is that the case In Great Britain a sound currency was preserved by a recharter of the Bank of England about the same time that the re- charter of the Bank of the United States was agitated here. In the United States we have not preserved a sound currency, in conse- quence of the veto If Great Britain were near the same catastrophe (the suspension of specie payments) which occurred here, she never 316 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. theless escaped it; and this difference in the condition of the two countries makes all the difference in the world. Great Britain has recovered from whatever mercantile distresses she experienced; we have not; and when shall we All is bright, and cheerful, and en- couraging in the prospects which lie before her; and the reverse is our unfortunate situation. Great Britain has, in truth, experienced only those temporary em- barrassments which are incident to commercial transactions, conduct- ed upon the scale of vast magnitude on which hers are carried on. Prosperous and adverse times, action and reaction, are the lot of all commercial countries. But our distresses sink deeper; they reach the heart, which has ceased to perform its office of circulation in the great concerns of our body politic. Whatever of embarrassment Europe has recently experienced, may be satisfactorily explained by its trade and connexions with the United States. The degree of embarrassment has been marked, in the commercial countries there, by the degree of their connexion with the United States. All, or almost all, the great failures in Europe have been of houses engaged in the American trade. Great Britain, which, as the message justly observes, maintains the closest relations with us, has suffered most, France next, and so on, in the order of their greater or less commercial intercourse with us. Most truly was it said by the Senator from Georgia, that the recent embarrass- ments of Europe were the embarrassments of a creditor, from whom payment was withheld by the debtor, and from whom the precious metals have been unnecessarily withdrawn by the policy of the same debtor. Since the intensity of suffering, and the disastrous state of things in this country, have far transcended anything that has occurred in Europe, we must look here for some peculiar and more potent causes than any which have been in operation there. They are to be found in that series of measures to which I have already adverted. 1st. The veto of the Bank. 2d. The removal of the deposites, with the urgent injunction of Secretary Taney upon the banks to enlarge their accommodations 317 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. 3d. The goldbill, and the demand of gold for the foreign indemnities 4th. The clumsy execution of the deposite law, and 5th. The treasury order of July, 1836 [Here Mr. CLAY went into an examination of these measures to show that the inflated condition of the country, the wild speculations, which had risen to thei, height when they began to be checked by the preparations of the local banks neces. sary to meet the deposite law of June, 1836, the final suspension of specie payments, and the consequent disorders in the currency, commerce, and general business of the country, were all to be traced to the influence of the measures enumerated. All these causes operated immediately, directly, and powerfully upon us, and their effects were indirectly felt in Europe.] The message imputes to the deposite law, an agency in producing the existing embarrassments. This is a charge frequently made by the friends of the administration against that law. It is true that the Banks having increased their accommodations, in conformity with the orders of Secretary Taney, it might not have been convenient to recall and pay them over for public use. It is true, also, that the manner in which the law was executed by the treasury department, transferring large sums from creditor to debtor portions of the coun- try, without regard to the commerce or business of the country might have aggravated the inconvenience. But what do those who object to the law think ought to have been done with the surpluses which had accumulated, and were daily augmenting to such an enormous amount in the hands of the deposite banks Were they to be incor- porated with their capital, and remain there for the benefit of the stockholders Was it not proper and just, that they should be ap- plied to the uses of the people from whom they were collected And whenever and however taken from the deposite banks, would not inconvenience necessarily happen The message asserts that the Bank of the United States, chartered by Pennsylvania, has not been able to save itself or to check other institutions, notwithstanding " the still greater strength it has been said to possess under its present charter." That Bank is now a mere State or local institution. Why is it referred to more than the Bank of Virginia, or any other local institution The exalted station which the President fills forbids the indulgence of the supposition, that the allusion nas Deen made to enable the administration to profit 318 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. by the prejudices which have been excited against it. Was it the duty of that bank, more than any other State Bank, to check the local institutions Was it not even under less obligation to do so than the deposite banks, selected and fostered by the general govern- ment But how could the message venture to assert, that it has greater strength than the late Bank of the United States possessed What- ever may be the liberality of the conditions of its charter, it is impos- sible that any single State could confer upon it faculties equal to those granted to the late Bank of the United States-first, in making it the sole depository of the revenue of the United States; and secondly, in making its notes receivable in the payment of all public dues. If a Bank of the United States had existed, it would have had ample notice of the accumulation of public moneys in the local banks, and, by timely measures of precaution, it could have prevented the specu- lative uses to which they were applied. Such an institution would have been bound by its relations to the government, to observe its appropriations and financial arrangement and wants, and to hold itself always ready promptly to meet them. It would have drawn together gradually, but certainly, the public moneys, however dispersed. Re- sponsibility would have been concentrated upon it alone, instead of being weakened or lost by diffusion among some eighty or ninety local banks, despersed throughout the country, and acting without any effective concert. A subordinate but not unimportant cause of the evils which at present encompass us, has been the course of the late administration towards the compromise act. The great principle of that act, in re- spect to our domestic industry, was its stability. It was intended and hoped that, by withdrawing the tariff from their annual discus- sions in Congress, of which it had been the fruitful topic, our manu- factures would have a certainty, for a long period, as to the measure of protection, extended to them by its provisions, which would com- pensate any reduction in the amount contained in prior acts. For a year or two after it was adopted, the late administration manifested a disposition to respect it, as an arrangement which was to be invio- jable. But, for some time past, it has been constantly threatened from that quarter, and a settled purpose has been displayed to disregard its conditions. Those who had an agency in bringing it forward, and 319 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY carrying it through Congress, have been held up to animadversion, it has been declared by members, high in the eonfidence of the admini- stration in both Houses, to possess no obligatory force beyond any ordinary act of legislation, and new adjustments of the tariff have been proposed in both Houses, in direct contravention of the princi- ples of the compromise; and, at the last session, one of them actu- ally passed the Senate, against the most earnest entreaty and remon- strance. A portion of the South has not united in these attacks upon the compromise; and I take pleasure in saying, that the two Senators froin South Carolina, especially, have uniformly exhibited a resolu- tion to adhere to it with perfect honor and fidelity. The effect of those constant threats and attacks, coming from those high in power, has been most injurious. They have shown to the manufacturing interest that no certain reliance was to be placed upon the steadiness of the policy of the government, no matter under what solemn circumstances it was adopted. That interest has taken alarm; new enterprises have been arrested, old ones curtailed; and at this moment it is the most prostrate of all the interests in the country. One-half in amount, as I have been informed, of the manufacturers throughout the country have actually suspended operations, and those who have not, chiefly confine themselves to working up their stock on hand. The consequence has been, that we have made too little at home, and purchased too much abroad. This has augmented that foreign debt, the existence of which so powerfully contributed to the sus- pension, and yet forms an obstacle to the resumption of specie pay- ments. The Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) attributed the .creation of the surplus revenue to the tariff policy, and especially to the acts of 1824 and 1828. I do not perceive any advantage, on the present occasion, in reviving or alluding to the former dissensions which prevailed on the subject of that policy. They were all settled and quieted by the great healing measure (the compromise) to which I have referred. By that act I have been willing and ready to abide. And I have desired only that it should be observed and executed in a spirit of good faith and fidelity similar to that by which I have been ever actuated towards it. 320 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. The act of 1828 was no measure of the friends of the manufactu- rers. Its passage was forced by a coalition between their secret and open opponents. But the system of protection of American industry did not cause the surplus. It proceeded from the extraordinary rules of the public lands. The receipts, from all sources other than that of the public lands, and expenditures of the years 1833-4-5-6, (dur- in, which the surplus was accumulating) both amount to about eighty-seven millions of dollars; thus clearly showing that the cus- toms only supplied the necessary means of public disbursement, and that it was the public domain that produced the surplus. If the land bill had been allowed to go into operation, it would have distributed generally and regularly among the several States the proceeds of the public lands, as they would have been received from time to time. They would have returned back in small streams similar to those by which they have been collected, animating, and improving, and fructifying the whole country. There would have been no vast surplus to embarrass the government; no removal of deposites from the Bank of the United States to the deposite banks, to disturb the business of the country; no accumulations in the deposite banks of immense sums of public money, augmented by the circuit it was performing between the land offices and the banks, and the banks and the land offices; no occasion for the Secretary of the Treasury to lash the deposite banks into the grant of inordinate accommodations; and possibly there would have been no suspension of specie payments. But that bill was suppressed by a most extra- ordinary and dangerous exercise of executive power. The cause of our present difficulties may be stated in another way. During the late administration we have been deprived of the practi- al benefit of a free government; the forms, it is true, remained and were observed, but the essence did not exist. In a free, or self-gov- ernment, the collected wisdom, the aggregate wisdom of the whole, or at least of a majority, moulds and directs the course of public affairs. In a despotism the will of a single individual governs. In a practi- cally free government, the nation controls the chief magistrate; in an arbitrary government, the chief magistrate controls the nation. And has not this been our situation in the period mentioned Has not one man forced his will on the nation Have not all these dis- astrous measures-the veto of the bank; the removal of the depo 321 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. sites; the rejection of the land bill, and the treasury order, which have led to our present unfortunate condition, been adopted, in spite of the wishes of the country, and in opposition, probably, to those of the dominant party itself Our misfortune has not been the want of wisdom, but of firmness, The party in power would not have governed the country very ill, if it had been allowed its own way. Its fatal error has been to lend its sanction, and to bestow its subsequent applause and support upon executive acts which, in their origin, it previously deprecated or con. demned. We have been shocked and grieved to see whole legisla- tive bodies and communities approving and lauding the rejection of the very measures which previously they had unanimously recom- mended! To see whole States abandoning their long-cherished poli- cy and best interests in subserviency to the executive pleasure ! And the numberless examples of individuals who have surrendered their independence, must inflict pain in every patriot bosom. A single case forces itself upon my recollection as an illustration, to which I do not advert from any unkind feelings towards the gentleman to whom I refer, between whom and myself civil and courteous relations have ever existed. The memorial of the late Bank of the United States, praying for a recharter, was placed in his hands, and be presented it to the Senate. He carried the recharter through the Senate. The veto came; and, in two or three weeks afterwards, we behold the same Sen- ator at the head of an assembly of the people in the state-house yard, in Philadelphia, applauding the veto, and condemning the bank-con- demning his own act! Motives lie beyond the reach of the human eye, and it does not belong to me to say what they were which prompted this self-castigation, and this praise of the destruction of his own work; but it is impossible to overlook the fact that this same Sena- tor, in due time, received from the author of the veto the gift of a plendid foreign mission! The moral deducible from the past is, that our free institutions are superior to all others, and can be preserved in their purity and excel- lence only upon the stern condition that we shall for ever hold the obligations of patriotism paramount to all the ties of party, and to in- dividual dictation; and that we shall never openly approve what we secretly condemn. 322 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. In this rapid, and I hope not fatiguing review of the causes which I think have brought upon us existing embarrassments, I repeat that it has been for no purpose of reproaching or criminating those who have had the conduct of our public affairs; but to discover the means by which the present crisis has been produced, with a view to ascertain, if possible, what (which is by far much more important) should be done by Congress to avert its injurious effects. And this brings me to consider the remedy proposed by the administration. The great evil under which the country labors is the suspension of the banks to pay specie; the total derangement in all domestic ex- changes; and the paralysis which has come over the whole business of the country. In regard to the currency, it is not that a given amount of bank notes will not now command as much as the same amount of specie would have done prior to the suspension; but it is the future, the danger of an inconvertible paper money being in- definitely or permanently fixed upon the people, that fills them with apprehensions. Our great object should be to re-establish a sound cur- rency, and thereby to restore the exchanges, and revive the business of the country. The first impression which the measures brought forward by the administration make, is, that they consist of temporary expedients, looking to the supply of the necessities of the treasury; or, so far as any of them possess a permanent character, its tendency is rather to aggravate than alleviate the sufferings of the people. None of them proposes to rectify the disorders in the actual currency of the country; but the people, the States, and their banks, are left to shift for them- selves as they may or can. The administration, after having inter- vened between the States and their banks, and taken them into their federal service, without the consent of the States; after having puffed and praised them; after having brought them, or contributed to bring them, into their present situation, now suddenly turns its back upon them, leaving them to their fate ! It is not content with that; it must absolutely discredit their issues. And the very people who were told by the administration that these banks would supply them with a better currency, are now left to struggle as they can with the very currency which the government recommended to theni, but which it now refuses itself to receive! 323 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. The professed object of the administration is to establish what it terms the currency of the constitution, which it proposes to accom plish by restricting the federal government, in all receipts arid pay- ments, to the exclusive use of specie, and by refusing all bank paper, whether convertible or not. It disclaims all purposes of crippling or putting down the banks of the States: but we shall better determine the design or the effect of the measures recommended by considering them together, as one system. 1. The first is the sub-treasuries, which are to be made the deposi- tories of all the specie collected and paid out for the service of the general government, discrediting and refusing all the notes of the States, although payable and paid in specie. 2. A bankrupt law for the United States, levelled at all the State banks, and authorizing the seizure of the effects of any one of them that stop payment, and the administration of their effects under the federal authority exclusively. 3. A particular law for the District of Columbia, by which all the corporations and people of the District, under severe pains and penal. ties, are prohibited from circulating, sixty days after the passage of the law, any paper whatever not convertible into specie on demand, and are made liable to prosecution by indictment. 4. And lastly, the bill to suspend the payment of the fourth instal- ment to the States, by the provisions of which the deposite banks in debted to the government are placed at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. It is impossible to consider this system without perceiving that it is aimed at, and, if carried out, must terminate in, the total subver- sion of the State Banks; and that they will all be placed at the mercy of the federal government. It is in vain to protest that there exists no design against them. The effect of those measures cannot be mis understood. And why this new experiment or untried expedient The people of this country are tired of experiments. Ought not the administra tion itself to cease with them Ought it not to take warning from 324 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. the events of secre t elections Above all, should not the Senate, constituted asi it now is, be the last body to lend itself to further ex- periments upon the business and happiness of this great people Ac- cording to the latest expression cf public opinion in the several States, the Senate is no longer a true expenent of the will of the States or of the people. If it were, there would be thirty-two or thirty-four whigs to eighteen or twenty friends of the administration. Is it desirable to banish a convertible paper medium, and to substi- tute the precious metals as the sole currency to be used in all the vast extent of varied business of this entire country I think not. The quantity of precious metals in the world, looking to our fair dis- tributive share of them, is wholly insufficient. A convertible paper is a great time-saving and labor-saving instrument, independent of its superior advantages in transfers and remittances. A friend no longer ago than yesterday, informed me of a single bank whose payments and receipts in one day amounted to two millions of dollars. What time would not have been necessary to count such a vast sum The payments, in the circle of a year, in the city of New York, were es- timated several years ago at fifteen hundred millions. How many men and how many days would be necessary to count such a sum A young, growing, and enterprising people, like those of the United States, more than any other, need the use of those credits which are incident to a sound paper system. Credit is the friend of indigent merit. Of all nations, Great Britain has most freely used the credit system; and of all, she is the most prosperous. We must cease to be a commercial people; we must separate, divorce ourselves from the commercial world, and throw ourselves back for centuries, if we restrict our business to the exclusive use of specie. It is objected against a convertible paper system, that it is liable to expansions and contractions; and that the consequence is the rise and fall of prices, and sudden fortunes or sudden ruin. But it is the im- portation or exportation of specie, which forms the basis of paper, that occasions these fluctuations. If specie alone were the medium of circulation, the same importation or exportation of it would make it plenty or scarce, and affect prices in the same manner. The nomi- nal or apparent prices might vary in figures, but the sensation upon the community would be as great in the one case as in the other. rhese alternations do not result, therefore, from the nature of the me- 21 325 SPEECHES OF HENRY CIAY. dium, whether that be specie exclusively, or paper convertible into sp.. cie, but from the operations of commerce. It is commerce, at last, that is chargeable with expansions and contractions; and against commerce, and not its instrument, should opposition be directed. I have heard it urged by the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) with no little surprise, in the course of this debate, that a convertible paper would not answer for a currency, but that the true standard of value was to be found in a paper medium not convertible into the precious metals. If there be, in regard to currency, one truth which the united experience of the whole commercial world has established, I had supposed it to be that emissions of paper money constituted the very worst of all conceivable species of cur- rency. The objections to it are: 1st. That it is impracticable to as- certain, a priori, what amount can be issued without depreciation; and, 2d. That there is no adequate security, and, in the nature of things, none can exist, against excessive issues. The paper money of North Carolina, to which the Senator referred, according to the in- formation which I have received, did depreciate. It was called Proc., an abbreviation of the authority under which it was put forth, and it took one and a half and sometimes two dollars of Proc. to purchase one in specie. But if any one desires to understand perfectly the operation of a purely paper currency, let him study the history of the bank of the commonwealth of Kentucky. It was established about fifteen or sixteen years ago, with the consent of a majority of the people of that State. It is winding up and closing its career with the almost unanimous approbation of the whole people. It had an au- thority to issue, and did issue, notes to the amount of about two mill- ions of dollars. These notes, upon their face, purported an obliga- tion of the bank to pay the holder, on demand, the amount in specie; but it was well known that they would not be so paid. As a secu- rity for their ultimate payment, there were: 1st. The notes of indi- viduals supposed to be well secured, every note put out by the bank being represented by an individual note discounted. 2d. The funds of the State in a prior State bank, amounting to about half a million of dollars. 3d. The proceeds of a large body of waste lands belong- ing to the State. And 4th. The annual revenue of the State, and public dues, all of which were payable in the notes of the Common wealth Bank 326 ON THE SUI3-TREASURY. Notwithstanding this apparently solid provision for the redemption of the notes of the bank, they began to depreciate shortly after it corn menced operation, and in the course of a few months they sunk as low as fifty per cent-two dollars for one specie dollar. They con- tinued depreciated for a long time, until after large amounts of them Nvere called in and burned. They then rose in value, and now, when there is only some fifty or one hundred thousand dollars out, they have risen to about par. This is owing to the demand for them, created by the wants of the remaining debtors to the bank, and their receiva- bility in payment for taxes. The result of the experiment is, that, although it is possible to sustain at about par a purely paper medium to some amount, if the legislative authority which creates it also cre- ate a demand for it, it is impracticable to adjust the proportions of supply and demand so as to keep it at par, and that the tendency is always to an excess of issue. The result, with the people of Ken- tucky, has been a general conviction of the mischiefs of all issues of an irredeemable paper medium. Is it practicable for the federal government to put down the State banks, and to introduce an exclusive metallic currency In the oper- ations of this government, we should ever bear in mind that political power is distributed between it and the States, and that, while our duties are few and clearly defined, the great mass of legislative au- thority abides with the States. Their banks exist without us, inde- pendent of us, and in spite of us. We have no constitutional power or right to put them down. Why, then, seek their destruction, openly or secretly, directly or indirectly, by discrediting their issues, and by bankrupt laws, and bills of pains and penalties. What are these banks now so descried and denounced Intruders, aliens, enemies that have found their way into the bosom of our country against our will. Reduced to their elements, and the analysis shows that they consist: 1st. of stockholders; 2d. debtors; and 3d. bill-holders and other creditors. In some one of these three relations, a large majority of the people of the United States stand. In making war upon the banks, therefore, you wage war upon the people of the United States. It is not a mere abstraction that you would kick and cuff, bankrupt and destroy, but a sensitive, generous, confiding people, who are anxKi usly turning their eyes towards you, and imploring relief. Every blow that you inflict upon the banks, reaches them. Press the banks, and you press them. 327 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. True wisdom, it seems to me, requires that we should not seek after if we could discover unattainable abstract perfection; but should look to what is practicable in human affairs, and accommodate our legislation to the irreversible condition of things. Since the States and the people have their Banks and will have them, and since we ave no constitutional authority to put them down, our duty is to ome to their relief when in embarrassment, and to exert all our legitimate powers to retain and enable them to perform, in the most beneficial manner, the purposes of their institution. We should em. bank, not destroy, the fertilizing stream which sometimes threatens an inundation. We are told that it is necessary to separate, divorce the govein- mcnt from the banks. Let us not be deluded by sounds. Senators might as well talk of separating the government from the States, or from the people, or from the country. We are all-People-States -Union-Banks, bound up and interwoven together, united in for- tune and destiny, and all, all entitled to the protecting care of a par- ental government. You may as well attempt to make the govern- ment breathe a different air, drink a different water, be lit and warm- ed by a different sun from the people! A hard money government and a paper money people! A government, an official corps-the servants of the people-glittering in gold, and the people themselves, their masters, buried in ruin, and surrounded with rags. No prudent or practical government, will in its measures run counter to the long-settled habits and usages of the people. Religion, language, laws, the established currency and business of a whole country, cannot be easily or suddenly uprooted. After the denom- ination of our coin was changed to dollars and cents, many years elapsed before the old method of keeping accounts, in pounds, shillings iind pence, was abandoned; and, to this day, there are probably some Lnen of the last century who adhere to it. If a fundamental change Decomes necessary, it should not be sudden, but conducted by slow and cautious degrees. The people of the United States have been always a paper money people. It was paper money that carried us through the revolution, established our liberties, and made us a free and independent people. And, if the experience of the revolutionary war convinced our ancestors, as we are convinced, of the evils of an irredeemable paper medium, it was put aside only to give place to 3,28 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. that convertible paper which has so powerfully contributed to our rapid advancement, prosperity, and greatness. The proposed substitute of an exclusive metallic currency, to the mixed medium with which we have been so long familiar, is forbid den by the principles of eternal justice. Assuming the currency of the country to consist of two-thirds of paper and one of specie; and assuming, also, that the money of a country, whatever may be its component parts, regulates all values, and expresses the true amount which the debtor has to pay to his creditor, the effect of the change upon that relation, and upon the property of the country, would be most ruinous.-All property would be reduced in value to one-third of its present nominal amount, and every debtor would, in effect, have to pay three times as much as he had contracted for. The pres- sure of our foreign debt would be three times as great as it is, whilst the six hundred millions, which is about the sum now probably due to the Banks from the people, would be multiplied into eighteen hun- dred millions. But there are some more specific objections to this project of sub- treasuries, which deserve to be noticed. The first is, its insecurity. The sub-treasurer and his bondsmen constitute the only guaranty for the safety of the immense sums of public money which pass through his hands. Is this to be compared with that which is possessed through the agency of Banks The collector, who is to be sub- treasurer, pays the money to the bank, and the bank to the disburs- ing officer. Here are three checks; you propose to distroy two of them; and that most important of all, the bank, with its machinery of president, directors, cashier, teller and clerKs, all of whom are so many sentinels. At the very moment, when the Secretary of the Treasury tells us how will his sub-treasury system work, he has communicated to Congress a circular, signed by himself, exhibiting his distrust in it, for he directs in that circular that the public mo- neys, when they amount to a large sum, shall be specially deposited with these very banks which he would repudiate. Inthe State of Ken- tucky, (other gentlemen can speak of their respective States) although it has existed but about forty-five years, three treasurers, selected by the legislature for their established characters of honor and probity, proved faithless. And the history of the delinquency of one, is the history of all. It commenced in human weakness, yielding to earnest 329 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. solicitations for temporary loans, with the most positive assurances of a punctual return. In no instance was there originally any inten- tion to defraud the public. We should not expose poor human na- ture to such temptations. How easy will it be, as has been done, to indemnify the sureties out of the public money, and squander the residue 2. Then there is the liability to favoritism. In the receipts, a po. litical partisan or friend may be accommodated in the payment of duties, in the disbursement, in the purchase of bills, in drafts upon convenient and favorable offices, and in a thousand ways. 3. The fearful increase of executive patronage. Hundreds and thousands of new officers are to be created; for this bill is a mere commencement of the system, and all are to be placed under the direct control of the President. The Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) thinks that the executive is now weak, and that no danger is to be apprehended from its patronage. I wish to God I could see the subject in the same light that he does. I wish I could feel free from that alarm at ex- ecutive encroachments by which he and I were so recently animated. Where and how, let me ask, has that power, lately so fearful and formidable, suddenly become so weak and harmless Where is that corps of one hundred thousand office-holders and dependents, whose organized strength, directed by the will of a single man, was lately held up in such vivid colors and powerful language by a report made by the Senator himself When were they disbanded What has become of proscription Its victims may be exhausted, but the spirit and the power which sacrificed them remain unsubdued. What of the dismissing power What of the veto Of that practice of withholding bills contrary to the constitution, still more reprehensi- ble than the abuses of the veto Of treasury orders, put in force and maintained in defiance and contempt of the legislative authority And although last, not least, of that expunging power which degra- ded the Senate, and placed it at the feet of the executive Which of all these numerous powers and pretensions has the pres- ent chief magistrate disavowed So far from disclaiming any one of them, has he not announced his intention to follow in the very 330 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. f(otsteps of his predecessor And has he not done it Was it against the person of Andrew Jackson that the Senator from South Carolina, so ably co-operated with us No, sir, no, sir, no. It was against his usurpations, as we believed them, against his arbitrary admin- istration, above all, against that tremendous and frightful augmenta- tion of the power of the executive branch of the government, that we patriotically but vainly contended. The person of the chief ma- gistrate is changed; but there stands the executive power, perpetu- ated in all its vast magnitude, undiminished, re-asserted, and over- shadowing all the other departments of the government. Every trophy which the late President won from them, now decorates the executive mansion. Every power, which he tore from a bleeding constitution, is now in the executive armory, ready, as time and oc- casion may prompt the existing incumbent, wherever he may be, to be thundered against the liberties of the people. Whatever may have been the motives of the course of others, I owe it to myself and to truth to say, that, in deprecating the election of General Andrew Jackson to the office of Chief Magistrate, it was not from any private considerations,but because I considered it would be a great calamity to my country; and that, in whatever opposition I made to the measures of his administration, which more than real- ized my very worst apprehensions, I was guided solely by a sense of public duty. And I do now declare my solemn and unshaken convic- tion, that, until the executive power, as enlarged, extended, and con- solidated by him, is reduced within its true constitutional limits, there is no permanent security for the liberties and happiness of this people. 4. Lastly, pass this bill, and whatever divorce its friends may pro. fess to be its aim, that perilous union of the purse and the sword, so justly dreaded by our British and revolutionary ancestors, becomes absolute and complete. And who can doubt it who knows that over the Secretary of the Treasury at Washington, and every sub-treasu- rer, the President claims the power to exercise uncontrolled sway- to exact implicit obedience to his will The message states that, in the process both of collection and dis bursement of the public revenue, the officers who perform it act under he executive commands; and it argues that, therefore, the custody 33l SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY also of the treasury might as well be confided to the executive care I think the safer conclusion is directly opposite. The possession of so much power over the national treasure is just cause of regret, and furnishes a strong reason for diminishing it, if possible, but none for its increase, none for giving the whole power over the purse to the Chief Magistrate. Hitherto I have considered this scheme of sub-treasuries as if t was only what its friends represent it-a system solely for the pur- pose of collecting, keeping, and disburseing the public money, in specie exclusively, without any bank agency whatever. But it is manifest that it is destined to become, if it be not designed to be, a vast and ramified connexion of government banks, of which the prin- cipal will be at Washington, and every sub-treasury will be a branch. The Secretary is authorized to draw on the several sub-treasurers in payment for all the disbursements of government. No law restricts him as to the amount or form of his drafts or checks. He may throw them into amounts suited to the purposes of circulation, and give them all the appearance and facilities of bank notes. Of all the branch- es of this system, that at New York will be the most important, since about one half of the duties is collected there. Drafts on New York are at par, or command a premium from every point of the Union. It is the great money centre of the country. Issued in convenient sums, they will circulate throughout the whole Union as bank notes; and as long as confidence is reposed in them, will be preferred to the specie, which their holders have a right to demand. They will sup- ply-a general currency, fill many of the channels of circulation, be a substitute for notes of the Bank of the United States, and supplant to a great extent the use of bank notes. The necessities of the people will constrain thenm to use them. In this way they will remain a long time in circulation; and in a few years we shall see an immense portion of the whole specie of the country concentrated in the hands of the branch bank-that is, the sub-treasurer at New York, and represent- ed by an equal amount of government paper dispersed throughout the country. The responsibility of the sub-treasurer will be consequently greatly increased, and the government will remain bound to guaran- tee the redemption of all the drafts, checks, or notes (whatever may be their denomination,) emitted upon the faith of the money in his custody, and, of course, will be subject to the hazard of the loss of the amount of specie in the hands of the sub-treasurer. If, in the 332 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. commencement of this system, the holders of this government paper shall be required to present it for payment in coin, within a specified time, it will be found inconvenient or impracticable to enforce the re- striction, and it will be ultimately abandoned, Is the Senate prepared to consent to place not only all the specie that may be collected for the revenue of the country at the will of the President, or which is the same thing, in the custody of persons act ing in obedience to his will, but to put him at the head of the most powerful and influential system of government banks that ever existed. It is said, in the message, that government is not bound to supply the country with the exchanges which are necessary to the transac- tion of its business. But was that the language held during the pro- gress of the contest with the late Bank of the United States Was not the expectation held out to the people that they would be sup- plied with a better currency, and with better regulated exchange And did not both the late President and the Secretary of the Treas- ury dwell, with particular satisfaction, in several messages and reports upon the improvement of the currency, the greater amount in ex- chanae, and the reduction of the rates, under the operation of the State bank system, than existed under the Bank of the United States Instead of fulfilling his promises then held out, the government now wraps itself up in its dignity-tells the people that they expect too much of it ; that it is not its business to furnish exchanges; and that they may look to Europe for the manner in which, through the agency of private bankers, the commerce and business of its countries are supplied with exchange. We are advised to give up our Ameri- can mode of transacting business through the instrumentality of banking corporations, in which the interests of the rich and the poor are happily blended, and to establish bankers similar to the Hopes, the Barings, the Rothschilds, the Hotinguers, of Europe; houses which require years of ages to form and to put in successful opera- tion, and whose vast overgrown capitals, possessed by the rich ex- clusively of the poor, control the destiny of nations, and determine the fate of empires. Having, I think, Mr. President, shown that the project of the ad- ministration is neither desirable nor practicable, nor within the con- stitutional power of the general government, nor just; and that it is 333 4PEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. contrary to the habits of the people of the United States, and is dan. gerous to their liberties. I might here close my remarks; but I con. ceive it to be the duty of a patriotic opposition not to confine itself merely to urging objections against measures to promote the general prosperity brought forward by those in power. It has further and higher duties to perform. There may be circumstances in which the opposition is bound formally to present such measures as, in its judg. ment, are demanded by the exigency of the times; but if it had just reason to believe that they would be unacceptable to those who alone can adopt them and give them effect,the opposition will discharge its duty by suggesting what it believes ought to be done for the public good. I know, sir, that I have friends whose partiality has induced them to hope that I would be able to bring forward some healing measure for the disorders which unhappily prevail, that might prove accepta- ble. I wish to God that I could realize this hope, but I cannot. The disease is of such an alarming character as to require more skill than I possess; and I regret to be compelled to fear that there is no effec- tual remedv but that which is in the hands of the suffering patient himself. Still, under a deep sense of the obligation to which I have referred, I declare that, after the most deliberate and anxious consideration of which I am capable, I can conceive of no adequate remedy which does not comprehend a national Bank as an essential part. It ap- pears to me that a National Bank, with such modifications as experi- ence has pointed out, and particularly such as would limit its profits, exclude foreign influence in the government of it, and give publicity to its transactions, is the only safe and certain remedy that can be adopted. The great want of the country is a general and uniform currency, and a point of union, a sentinel, a regulator of the issues of the local banks, and that would be supplied by such an institution- I am not going now to discuss, as an original question, the consti tutional power of Congress to establish a National Bank. In human affairs there are some questions, and I think this is one, that ought to be held as terminated. Four several decisions of Congress affirming the power, the concurrence of every other department of the govern- ment. the approbation of the people, the concurrence of both the great 334 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. parties into which the country has been divided, and forty years of prosperous experience with such a bank, appear to me to settle the controversy, if any controversy is ever to be settled; Twenty years ago Mr. Madison, whose opposition to the first Bank of the United States is well known, in a message to Congress said: " Waiving the question of the constitutional authority of the legislature to esta- blish an incorporated bank, as being precluded, in my judgment, by repeated recog- nitions, under varied circumstances, of the validity of such an institution, in acts of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government, accompanied by indications, in different modes, of a correspondence of the general will of the na- tion; the proposed bank does not appear to be calculated to answer the purposes of reviving the public credit, of providing a national medium of circulation, and of aid. ing the treasury by facilitating the indispensable anticipations of revenue, and by arlfrding to the public more durable loans." To all the considerations upon which he then relied, in treating it as a settled question, are now to be added two distinct and distant subsequent expressions of the deliberate opinion of a Republican Congress; two solemn decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, twenty years of successful experience and disastrous conse- quences quickly following the discontinuance of the Bank. I have been present, as a member of Congress on the occasion of the termination of the charters of both the Banks of the United States; took part in the discussion to which they gave rise, and had an op- portunity of extensively knowing the opinions of members; and I declare my deliberate conviction that, upon neither was there one- third of the members in either house who entertained the opinion that Congress did not possess the constitutional power to charter a Bank. But it is contended that, however indispensable a Bank of the United States may be to the restoration of the prosperity of the country, the President's opinion against it opposes an insuperable ob- stacle to the establishment of such an institution. It will indeed be unfortunate if the only measure which can bring relief to the people should be prevented by the magistrate whose elevated station should render him the most anxious man in the na- tion to redress existing grievances. The opinion of the President which is relied upon is that contained in his celebrated letter to S. Williams, and that which is expressed a the message before us. I must say, with all proper deferencec 335 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. that no man, prior to or after his election to the chief magistracy has a right to say, in advance, that he would not approve of a particu. lar bill, if it were passed by Congress. An annunciation of such a purpose is premature, and contrary to the spirit, if not the express letter of the constitution. According to that instrument, the partici- pation of the President in the legislative power-his right to pass upon a bill-is subsequent and not previous to the deliberations of Congress. The constitutional provision is, that when a bill shall have passed both Houses, it shall be presented to the President for his approval or rejection. His right to pass upon it results from the presentation of the bill, and is not acquired until it is presented. What would be thought of the judge who, before a cause is brought before the court, should announce his intention to decide in favor of a named party Or of the Senate, which shares the appointing power, if it should, before the nomination of a particular individual is made for an office, pass a resolution that it would not approve the nomina- tion of that individual It is clear that the President places his repugnance to a Bank of the United States mainly upon the ground that the popular will has been twice "solemnly and unequivocally expressed" against it. In this 1 think the President is mistaken. The two occasions to which he is understood to refer, are the election of General Andrew Jack- son in 1832, and his own election in 1836. Now, as to the first, there was not, before it took place, any unequivocal expression of the opinion of the late President against a National Bank. There was, in fact, a contrary expression. In the Veto Message, President Jackson admitted the public convenience of a Bank; stated that he did not find in the renewed charter such modifications as could se- cure his approbation, and added that if he had been applied to, he could have furnished the model of a Bank that would answer the purposes of such an institution. In supporting his re-election, there- fore, the people did not intend, by the exercise of their suffrage, to deprive themselves of a National Bank. On the contrary, it is with- in my own knowledge, that many voted for him who believed in the necessity of a Bank quite as much as I do. And I am perfectly per- suaded that thousands and tens of thousands sustained his re-election under the full expectation that a National Bank would be established during his second term. 336 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. DNor, sir, can I think that the election of the present chief magis- trate ought to be taken as evidence that the people are against a Bank. The most that can be asserted is, that he was elected, the expression of his opinion in the letter to Mr. Williams notwithstand- ing. The question of the election of a chief magistrate is a complex question, and one of compensations and comparison. All his opinions, all his qualifications are taken into consideration, and compared with those of his competitors. And nothing more is decided by the people than that the person elected is preferred among the several candidates. They take him as a man takes his wife, for better or for worse, with all the good and bad opinions and qualities which he possesses. You might as well argue, that the election of a particular person to the chief magistracy implies that his figure, form and appearance exhibit the standard of human perfection, as to contend that it sanctions and approves every opinion which he may have publicly expressed on public affairs. It is somewhat ungrateful to the people to suppose that the particular opinion of Mr. Van Buren in regard to a United States Bank, constituted any, much less the chief recommendation of him to their suffrages. It would be more honorable to him and to them, to suppose that it proceeded from his eminent abilities, and his dis- tinguished services at home and abroad. If we are to look beyond them and beyond him, many believe that the most influential cause of his election was the endorsement of that illustrious predecessor, in whose footsteps he stands pledged to follow. No, sir, no; the simple and naked question of a Bank or no Bank of the United States was not submitted to the people and " twice solemnly and unequivocally" decided against by them. I firmly be- lieve, that if such a question were now submitted to them, the re- sponse of a vast majority would be in the affirmative. I hope, how- ever, that no Bank will be established or proposed, unless there shall be a clear and undisputed majority of the people and of the States in favor of such an institution. If there be one wanted, and an une- quivocal manifestation be made of the popular will that it is desired, a Bank will be established. The President's opposition to it is found- ed principally upon the presumed opposition of the people. Let them demonstrate that he is mistaken, and he will not separate himself from them. He is too good a democrat, and the whole tenor of his life shows that, whatever other divorces he may recommend, the least that he would desire, would be one between him and the people 337 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAf Should this not prove to be the case, and if a majority should no' exist sufficiently large to pass a Bank Charter in spite of the veto, the ultimate remedy will remain to the people to change their rulers if their rulers will not change their opinions. But, during this debate it has been contended that the establish ment of a new Bank of the United States would aggravate existing distresses; and that the specie necessary to put it in operation could not be obtained without prejudice to the local Banks. What is the relief for which all hearts are now so anxiously throb- bing It is to put the Banks again in motion; to restore exchanges and revive the drooping business of the country. And, what are the obstacles They are, first, the foreign debt, and, secondly, a want of confidence. If the banks were to re-open their vaults, it is appre- hended that the specie would be immediately exported to Europe to discharge our foreign debt. Now, if a Bank of the United States were established, with a suitable capital, tne stock of that Bank itself would form one of the best subjects of remittance; and an amount of it equal to what remains of the foreign debt would probably be remit- ted, retaining at home, or drawing from abroad the equivalent in specie. A great, if not the greatest existing evil is the want of confidence, not merely in the government, but in distant Banks, and between the Banks themselves. There are noties or connexion binding them tc.. gether, and they are often suspicious of each other. To this, wan' of confidence among the Banks themselves, is to be ascribed that ex- traordinary derangement in the exchanges of the country. How otherwise can we account for the fact, that the paper of the Banks of Mississippi cannot now be exchanged against the paper of the Banks of Louisiana, without a discount on the former of ten or fifteer per cent.; nor that of the Banks of Nashville, without a discount of eight or ten per cent. against the paper of the Banks of the adjoining State of Kentucky It is manifest that, whatever may be the me- dium of circulation, whether it be inconvertible paper, or convertible paper and specie, supposing confidence to exist, the rates of ex- change in both cases ought to be nearly the same. But, in times like these, no Bank will allow its funds to accumulate, by the operations of exchange, at points whereno present use can be made of them. 338 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. Now, if a Bank of the United States were established, with a proper capital, and it were made the sole depository of the public moneys, and its notes were receivable in all government dues, it might commence operations forthwith, with a small amount of specie, perhaps not more than two millions. That sum would probably be drawn from the community, when it is now hoarded and dormant, or if it were taken even from the local banks, they would be more than compensated in the security which they would enjGy, by the remittance of the stock of the new Bank to Europe, as a substitute for their specie. Such a new Bank, once commencing business, would form a rally- ing point; confidence would revive, exchanges be again regulated, and the business and prosperity of the country be restored. And it is by no means certain that there would be any actual augmentation of the banking capital of the country, for it is highly probable that the aggregate amount of unsound Banks, which can never resume specie payments, would be quite equal to that of the new Bank. An auxiliary resolution might be adopted with salutary effect, sim- ilar to that which was adopted in 1S16, offering to the State Banks, as a motive to resume specie payments, that their paper should be received for the public dues; or, as their number has since that pe- riod greatly increased, to make the motive more operative, the offer might be confined to one or two Banks in each State known to be tiuztworthy. Let them and a Bank of the United States, commence specie payments, and all the other sound banks would be constrained, by the united force of public opinion and the law, to follow the ex- ample. If, in contrasting the two periods of 1817 and 1837, some advan- tages for the resumption of specie payments existed at the former epoch, others which distinguish the present, greatly prepouderate.J At the first there were none except the existence of a public debt, and a smaller number of banks. But then an exhausting war had 'wasted our means. Now we have infinitely greater wealth, our re- sources are vastly more developed and increased, our population near- ly doubled, our knowledge of the disease much better, and, what is of the utmost importance, a remedy, if applied now, would be admin- istered in a much earlier stage of the disorder. 339 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. A general currency of sound and uniform value is necessary to the well-being of all parts of the confederacy, but it isindispensableto the interior States. The seaboard States have each of them Banks, whose paper freely circulates within their respective limits, and serves all the purposes of their business and commerce at their capitals, and throughout their whole extent. The variations, in the value of this paper, in passing through those States, from one commercial metro- polis to another, are not ordinarily very great. But how are we of the interior to come to the Atlantic cities to purchase our supplies of foreign and domestic commodities, without a general medium The paper of our own Banks will not be received but at an enormous dis- count. We want a general currency, which will serve at home and enable us to carry on our accustomed trade with our brethren of the Atlantic States. And such a currency we have a right to expect. I do not arrogate to myself a right to speak for and in behalf of all the western states; but as a Senator from one of them, I am entitled to be heard. This union was formed to secure certain general, but highly important objects, of which the common defence, commerce, and a uniform currency were the leading ones. To the interior States none is of more importance than that of currency. Nowhere is the attachment to the union more ardent than in those States; but if this government should neglect to perform its duty, the valuie of the union will become impaired, and its very existence in process of time may become endangered. I do believe, that between a sound general currency, and the preservation of itself, in full vigor and per- fect safety, there is the most intimate connection. If, Mr. President, the remedies which I have suggested were suc- cessful, at a former period of our history, there is every reason to hope, that they would again prove efficacious; but let me suppose that they should not, and that some unknown cause, which could not then, should now, thwart their operation, we should have, in any event, the consolation of knowing that we had endeavored to profit by the lessons of experience, and if they failed, we should stand ac- quitted in the judgment of the people. They are heartily tired of visionary schemes and wild experiments. They wish to get out of the woods, into which they have been conducted, back to the plain. beaten, wide road, which they had before trod. 8410 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. How, and when, without such measures as I have suggested, are the State Banks to resume specie payments They never can ie- sume without concert; and concert springs from confidence; and confidence from knowledge. But what knowledge can eight hundred banks, scattered over our own vast territory, have of the actual con- dition of each other It is in vain that statements of it be periodi- cally published. It depends at last, mainly upon the solvency of th debtors to the bank; and how, whenever their names are not known can that be ascertained Instead of coming to the aid of these prostrate institutions, and assisting them by a mild and parental exercise of your power, in a mode sanctioned and approved by experience, you propose to aban- don them and the country to their fate. You propose worse, to dis- credit their paper, to distrust them even as special depositories, and to denounce against them all the pains and penalties of bankruptcy. How, and when will they resume specie payments Never, as far as my information extends, have exertions been greater than those which the banks have generally made to open again their vaults. It is wonderful that the community should have been able to bear, with so much composure and resignation, the prodigious curtail- ments which have been made. Confidence re-established, the for- eign debt extinguished, and a national institution created, most of them could quickly resume specie payments, some of them, urged by a high sense of probity, and smart ing under severe reproaches, will no doubt make the experiment of resuming and continuing specie payments. They may even go on a while; but without the co-ope- ration of the State Banks generally, and without the co-operation of a National Bank, it is to be apprehended that they will be again seized with a paralysis. It is my deliberate conviction that the preserva- tion of the existence of the State Banks themselves, depends upon the institution of a National Bank. It is as necessary to them as the union is to the welfare of the States in our political system. Without it, no human being can foresee when we shall emerge from the diffi- culties which surround us. It has been my fortune several times to see the country involved in great danger; but never before have I beheld it encompassed with any more menacing and portentous. Entertaining the views which I have presented, it may be asked, 22 341 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. why I do not at once propose the establishment of a National Bank I have already adverted to the cause, constituted as Congress now is I know that such a proposition would be defeated; and that it would be, therefore, useless to make it. I do not desire to force upon the Senate, or upon the country, against its will, if I could, my opinion however sincerely or strongly entertained. If a National Bank be established, its stability and its utility will depend upon the general conviction which is full of its necessity. And until such s conviction is deeply impressed upon the people, and clearly manifested by them, it would in my judgment, be unwise even to propose a Bank Of the scheme of the Senator from Virginia, (Mr. Rives) I think now as I thought in 1834, I do not believe that any practicable con- nection of State Banks can supply a general currency, be a safe de- pository of the public moneys, or act efficiently as a fiscal agent of the general Government. I was not then opposed to the State Banks in their proper sphere. I thought that they could not be relie d upon to form exclusively a Banking System for the country, although they were essential parts of a general system. The amendment of the Senator, considered as a measure to bring anout the resumption of specie payments, so much desired, I think must fail. The motive which it holds out of the receivability in all vayments to the government of the paper of such banks as may re- sume at a given day, coupled with the conditions proposed, is wholly inadequate. It is an offer to eight hundred banks; and the revenue, payment of which in their notes is held out as the inducement, amounts to some twenty or twenty-five millions. To entitle them to the inconsiderable extension of their circulation which would result from the credit given by government to the paper of all of them, they are required to submit to a suppression of all notes below five dollars, and at no very distant period, to all below twenty. The enlarge- ment of their circulation, produced by making it receivable by govern- ment, would be much less than the contraction which would arise from the suppression of the prohibited notes. Besides, if the quality proposed again to be attached to the notes of these local banks was insufficient to prevent the suspension, how can it be efficacious enough to stimulate a resumption of specie payments I shall, nevertheless, if called upon to give a vote between the pio 342 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. 'Ject of the administration and the amendment of the Senator from Virginia, vote for the latter, because it is harmless, if it effects no good, and looks to the preservation of the State Banks; whilst the other is fraught with mischiefs, as I believe, and tends, if it be not designed, to the utter destruction of those institutions. But, prefer- ingl to either, the postponement moved by the Senator from Georgia, I shall in the first instance, vote for that. Such, Mr. President, are the views which I entertain on the pre- sent state of our public affairs. It is with the deepest regret that I can perceive no remedy, but such as is in the hands of the people themselves. Whenever they shall impress upon Congress a convic- tion of that which they wish applied, they will obtain jit and not before. In the mean time, let us go home, and mix with and cousult our constituents. And do not, I entreat you, let us carry with us the burning reproach, that our measures here display a selfish solici- tude for the government itself, but a cold and heartless insensibility to the sufferings of a bleeding people. [The bill passed the Senate, by a vote of 26 to 20; but, on reaching the Houme it was, after a vehement struggle, land upon the table for the session, by a vote of 12D to 107 ] 343 ON PHE SUB-TREASURY. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES) FEBRUARY 19, 1838. [The Sub-Treasury or Independent Trcasury scheme of Finance, defeated at the Extra Session of 1SW7, was again strongly recommended by Presidrent VAr BuRzf, on the re-assembling of Congress in regular session, in December of that year, and a bill to establish it again reported to the Senate, by Hon. SILAS WRIGHT, from the Finance Committee. In the course of the debate on that bill, Mr. CLAY addressed the Senate as follows:] I HAVE seen some public service, passed through many trounled times, and often addressed public assemblies, in this capitol and else- where; but never before have I risen in a deliberative body, under more oppressed feelings, or with a deeper sense of awful responsibil- ity. Never before have I risen to express my opinions upon any public measure fraught with such tremendous consequences to the welfare and prosperity of the country, and so perilous to the liberties of the people, as 1 solemnly believe the bill under consideration will be. If you knew, sir, what sleepless hours reflection upon it has cost me; if you knew with what fervor and sincerity I have implored Divine assistance to strengthen and sustain me in my opposition to it, I should have credit with you, at least, for the sincerity of my convic- tions, if I shall be so unfortunate as not to have ynur concurrence as to the dangerous character of the measure. And I have thanked my God that he has prolonged my life until the present time, to enable me to exert myself in the service of my country, against a project far transcending, in pernicious tendency, any that I have ever had occa- sion to consiler. I thank him for the health I amn permitted to enjoy; I thank him for the soft and sweet repose which I experienced last night; I thank him for the bright and glorious sun which shines upon us this day. It is not my purpose, at this time, Mr. President, to go at large into a consideration of the causes which have led to the present most dis- astrous state of public affairs. That duty swas performed by others, ON THE SUB-TREASURY. aid myself, at the extra session of Congress. It was then c'Learly shown that it sprung from the ill-advised and unfortunate measures of executive administration. I now will content myself with saying that, on the 4th day of March, 1829, Andrew Jackson, not by the blessing of God, was made President of the United States; that the country then was eminently prosperous; that its currency was as sound and safe as any that a people were ever blessed with; f-nat, throughout the wide extent of this whole Union, it possessed a uni- form value; and that exchanges were conducted with such regularity and perfection, that funds could be transmitted from one extremity of the Union to the other, with the least possible risk or loss. In this encouraging condition of the business of the country, it remained for several years, until after the war, wantonly waged against the late Bank of the United States, was completely successful, by the overthrow of that invaluable institution. What our present situation is, it is as needless to describe as it is painful to contemplate. First felt in our great commercial marts, distress and embarrassment have penetrated into the interior, and now pervade almost the entire Union. It has been justly remarked, by one of the soundest and most practi- cal writers that I have had occasion to consult, that "all convulsions in the circulation and commerce of every country must originate in the operation of the government, or in the mistaken views and erro neous measures of those possessing the power of influencing credit and circulation; for they are not otherwise susceptible of convulsion, and, if left to themselves, they will find their own level, and flow nearly in one uniform stream-" Yes, Mr. President, we all have but too melancholly a conscious- ness of the unhappy condition of our country. We all too well know that our noble and gallant ship lies helpless and immovable upon breakers, dismasted, the surge beating over her venerable sides, and the crew threatened with instantaneous destruction. How came she there Who was the pilot at the helm when she was stranded The pLzty in power ! The pilot was aided by all the science and skill, by all the charts and instruments of such distinguished navigators as Washington, the Adamses, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe; and yet he did not, or could not, save the public vessel. She was placed in her present miserable condition by his bungling navigatio1s, or by his want of skill and judgment. It is impossible for him to escape from one or the other horn of that dilemma. I leave him at liberty to choose between them. 345 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. I shall endeavour, Mr. President, in the course of the address I am about making, to establish certain propositions, which 1 believe to be incontestible; and, for the sake of perspicuity, 1 will state them severally to the Senate. I shall contend- 1st. That it was the deliberate purpose and fixed design of the late administration to establish a government bank-a treasury bank-to be administered and controlled by the executive department. 2d. That with the view, and to that end, it was its aim and inten- tion to overthrow the whole banking system, as existing in the United States, when the administration came into power, beginning with the Bank of the United States, and ending with the State Banks. '3d That the attack was first confined, from considerations of poli- cy, to the Bank of the United States; but that, after its oi erthrow was accomplished, it was then directed, and has since been continued, against the State Banks. 4. That the present administration, by its acknowledgements, emanating from the highest and most authentic source, has succeeded to the principles, plans and policy of the preceding administration, and stands solemnly pledged to complete and perfect them. And, 5th. That the bill under consideration is intended to execute the pledge, by establishing, upon the ruins of the late Bank of the United States, and the State Banks, a government Bank, to be man- aged and controlled by the treasury department, acting under the commands of the President of the United States. I believe, solemnly believe the truth of every one of these five propositions. In the support of them I shall not rely upon any gratu- itous surmises or vague conjectures, but upon proofs, clear, positive, undeniable, and demonstrative. To establish the first four I shalt adduce evidence of the highest possible authenticity, or facts admitted or undeniable, and fair reasoning founded on them. And as to the last, the measure under consideration, I think the testimony intrinsic and extrinsic, on which I depend, stamps, beyond all doubt, its true character as a government bank, and ought to carry to the mind of the Senate the conviction which I entertain, and in which I feel per fectly confident the whole country will share. 846 ON THE SUB-TREASURY 1. My first proposition is, that it was the deliberate purpose and fixed design of the late administration to estahlish a government bank, a treasury bank, to be administered and controlled by the ex- ecutive department. To establish its truth, the first prooi which i offer is the following extract from President Jackson's annual mes sage of December, 1829: "The Charter of the Bank of th tUnited States expires in 1836, and its stockholdi ers will most probably apply for a renewal of their privileges. In order to avoid the evils resulting from precipitancy, in a measure involving such important principles, and such deep pecuniary interests, I feel that I cannot, in justice to the parties inter- ested, too soon present it to the consideration of the Legislature and the people. Both the constitutionality and the expediency of the law creating this bank, are well questioned b a large portion of ourfellow-citizens; and it must be admitted by all, that it has failed in the great end of establishing a uniform and sound currency. " Under these circumstances, if such an institution is deemed essential to the fiscal operations of the government, I submit to the wisdom of the legislature, w hether a na- tional one, founded upon the credit of the government and its revenues, might not be devised which would avoid all constitutional difficulties, and at the same time secure all the advantages to the government and the country that were expected to result from the present Bank." This was the first open declaration of that implacable war against the late Bank of the United States, which was afterwards waged with so much ferocity. It was the sound of the distant bugle to collect together the dispersed and scattered forces, and prepare for battle The country saw with surprise the statement that " the constitution ality and expediency of the law creating this bank are well question- ed by a large portion of our fellow-citizens when, in truth and in fact, it was well known, that but few then doubted the constitution- ality, and none the expediency of it. And the assertion excited much greater surprise that " it must be admitted by all that it has failed in the great end of establishing a uniform and sound currency." In this message, too, while a doubt is intimated as to the utility of such an institution, President Jackson clearly first discloses his object to es- tablish a national one, founded upon the credit of the government ana its revenues. His language is perfectly plain and unequivocal. Such a. bank, founded upon the credit of the government and its revenues, would secure all the advantages to the government and the country, he tells us, that were expected to result from the present bank. In his annual message of the ensuing year, the late President says: " The importance of the principles involved in the -nquiry, whether it will be Pitper to recharter the Bank of the United States, requires that I should again cail ho: intention of Congress to the subject. Nothing has occurred to lessen in any de 347 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. gree the dangers which many of our citizens apprehended from that institution, dt at yresent or"anized. In the spirit of improvement and compromise which distin. guishes our country and its institutions, it becomes us to inquire, whether it be na ossibtle to secure the advantages afforded by the present bank through the agency of a Bank of the Unzited States, so modified in its principles as to obviate constitutional and other objections. " It is thought practicable to organize such a bank, with the necessary officers, a4 a branch of the Treasury department, based on the public and individual depositee without power to make loans or purchase property, which shall remit the funds of the government; and the expense of which may be paid, if thought advisable, by allowing its officers to sell bills of exchange to private individuals at a moderate pre- mium. Not being a corporate body, having no stockholders, debtors, and property, and but few officers, it would not be obnoxious to the conmtitutional objections which are urged against the present bank; and having no means to operate, on the hopes, fears or interests -of large masses of the community, it would be shorn of the influence which m akes that bank formidable." In this message, President Jackson, after again adverting to the imaginary dangers of a Bank of the United States, recurs to his fa- vorite project, and inquires " whether it be not possible to secure the advantages afforded by the present bank through the agency of a Bank of the United States, so modified in its principles and structure as to obviate constitutional and other objections." And to dispel all doubts of the timid, and to confirm the wavering, he declares that it is thought practicable to organize such a bank, with the necessary officers, as a branch of the treasury department. As a branch of the treasury department! The very scheme now under consideration. And, to defray the expenses of such an anomalous institution, he suggests that the officers of the treasury department may turn bank- ers and brokers, and sell bills of exchange to private individuals at a moderate premium ! In his annual message of the year 1S31 upon this subject, he was brief and somewhat covered in his expressions. But the fixed pur- pose which he entertained is sufficiently disclosed to the attentive reader. He announces that, " Entertaining the opinion heretofore expressed in relation to the Bank of the United States, as at present organized, I felt it my duty, in my former message to disclose them, in order that the attention of the legislature and the people should be seasonably directed to th)it important subject, and that it might be considered, and finally disposed of in a manner best calculated to promote the ends of the con- stitution, and subserve the public interests." What were the opinions I heretofore' expressed in relation to the Bank of the United States, as at present organized, that is to say, an organization with any independent corporate government; and in fa- vor of a national bank, which should be so constituted as to be sub- ject to exclusive executive control. 348 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. At the session of 1831-'2, the question of the recharter of the Bank of the United States came up; and although the attention of Congress and the country had been repeatedly and deliberately before invited to the consideration of it by President Jackson himself, the agitation of it was now declared by him and his partisans to be precipitate and premature. Nevertheless, the country and Congress, conscious of the value of a safe and sound uniform currency, conscious that such a currency had been eminently supplied by the Bank of the United States, and unmoved by all the outcry raised against that ad mirable institution, the recharter commanded large majorities in both houses of Congress. Fatally for the interests of this country, the stern, self-will of General Jackson prompted him to risk every thing upon its overthrow. On the 10th of July, 1832, the bill was return- ed with his veto: from which the following extract is submitted to the attentive consideration of the Senate: ' A bank of the United States is, in many respects, convenient for the government and useful to the people. Entertaining this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief that some of the powels and privileges possessed by the existing bank are unauthorized by the constitution, subversive of the rights of the States, and danger. ous to the liberties of the people, I felt it my duty, at an early period of my adminis trjtion, to canll the attention of Congress to the practicability of organizing and insti- tution combining all its advantages, and obviating these objections. I sincerely re- gret that, in the act before me, I can perceive none of those modifications ot the Bank Charter, which are necessary, in my opinion, to make it compatible with tus tice, with sound policy, or with the constitution oi our country." " That a Bank of the United States, competent to all the duties which may be required by government, might be so organized as not to infringe upon our own de- legated fowers, or the reserved rights of the States, I do not entertain a doubt. Had the executive been called upon to furnish the project of such an institution, the duty would have been cheerfully performed. In the absence of such a call, it is obviously proper that he should confine himself to pointing out those prominent features in the act presented, which, in his opinion, make it incompatible with the constitution and sound policy." President Jackson admits in the citation which has just been made, that a Bank of the United States is, in many respects, convenient for the government; and reminds Congress that he had, at an early pe- riod of his administration, called its attention to the practicability of so organizing such an institution as to secure all its advantages with- out the defects of the existing bank. It is perfectly manifest that he alludes to his previous recommendations of a government-a treasury bank. In the same message he tells Congress that if he had been called upon to furnish the project of such an institution, the duty would have been cheerfully performed. Thus it appears that he had not only settled in his mind the general principle, but had adjusted 349 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the details of a government bank to be subjected to executive con trol; and Congress is even chided for not calling upon him to present Ihem. The bill now under consideration, beyond all controversy, is the very project which h e had in view, and is to consummate the work which he began. I think, Mr. President, that you must now concur with me in considering the first proposition as fully maintained. I pass to the second and third, which, on account of their intimate connection, I will consider together. 2. That, with a view of establishing a government bank, it was the settled aim and intention of the late administration to overthrow the whole banking system of the United States when that adminis- tration came into power, beginning with the Bank of the United States, and ending with the State Banks. 3. That the attack was first confined, from considerations of policy, to the Bank of the United States; but that, after its overthrow was accomplished, it was then directed, and has since continued, against the State Banks. We are not bound to inquire into the motives of President Jackson for desiring to subvert the established monetary and financial system which he found in operation; and yet some examination into those which probably influenced his mind is not without utility. These are to be found in his peculiar constitution and character. His egotism and vanity prompted him to subject everything to his will; to change, to remould, and retouch everything. Hence the proscription which characterized his administration, the universal expulsion from office, at home and abroad, of all who were not devoted to him, and the attempt to render the executive department of government, to use a favorite expression of his own, a complete "unit." Hence his seizure of the public deposites in the Bank of the United States, and his desire to unite the purse with the sword. Hence his attack upon all the systems of policy which he found in practical operation-on that of internal improvements, and on that of the protection of nation- al industry. He was animated by the same sort of ambition which induced the master-mind of the age, Napoleon Bonaparte, to impress his name upon every thing in France. When I was in Paris, the sculptors were busily engaged chisseling out the famous N., so odious vo the Bourbon line, which had been conspicuously carved in the 350 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. palace ci the Tuilleries, and on other public edifices and monuments in the proud capital of France. When, Mr. President, shall we see effaced, all traces of the ravages committed by the administration of Andrew Jackson Society has been uprooted, virtue punished, vice rewarded, and talents and intellectual endowments despised; brutal- ity, vulgarism, and loco-focoism, upheld, cherished, and countenanced. Ages will roll around before the moral and political ravages which have been committed, will I fear, cease to be discernable. General Jackson's ambition was to make his administration an era in the his- tory of the American government, and he has accomplished that ob- ject of his ambition; but I trust that it will be an era to be shunned as sad and lamentable, and not followed and imitated as supplying sound maxims and principles of administration. I have heard his hostility to Banks ascribed to some collision which he had with one of them, during the late war, at the city of New Orleans; and it is possible that may have had some influence upon his mind. The immediate cause, more probably, was the refusal of that perverse and unaccommodating gentleman, Nick Biddle, to turn out of the office of President of the New Hampshire branch of the Bank of the United States, at the instance of his excellency Isaac Hill, in the summer of 1829, that giant-like person, Jeremiah Mason -giant in body, and giant in mind. War and strife, endless war and strife, personal or national, foreign or domestic, were the aliment of the late President's existence. War against the Bank, war against France, and strife and contention with a countless number of individ- uals. The wars with Black Hawk and the Seminoles were scarcely a luncheon for his voracious appetite. And he made his exit from public life, denouncing war and vengeance against Mexico and th4 State Banks. My acquaintance with that extraordinary man commenced in this city, in the fall of 1815 or 1816. It was short, but highly respectful, and mutually cordial. I beheld in him the gallant and successful general, who, by the glorious victory of New Orleans, had honorably closed the second war of our independence, and I paid him the hom- age due to that eminent service. A few years after, -it became my painful duty to animadvert, in the House of Representatives, with the independence which belongs to the Representative character, up0. ome of his proceedings in the conduct of the Seminole war, which, 351 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. thought illegal and contrary to the constitution and the law of nations A non-intercourse between us ensued, which continued until the fall of 1824, when, he being a member of the Senate, an accommodation between us was sought to be brought about by the principal part of the delegation front his own State. For that purpose, we were in. vited to dine with them at Claxton's boarding house, on Capitol Hill, where my venerable friend from Tennessee, (Mr. White) and his colleague on the Spanish commission, were both present. I retired early from dinner, and was followed to the door by General Jackson and the present minister of the United States at the Court of Madrid. They pressed me earnestly to take a seat with them in their carriage. My faithful servant and friend, Charles, was standing at the door waiting for me, with my own. I yielded to their urgent politeness, directed Charles to follow with my carriage, and they set me down at my own door. We afterwards frequently met, with mutual re- spect and cordiality; dined several times together, and reciprocated the hospipality of our respective quarters. This friendly interco urse continued until the election, in the House of Representatives, of a President of the United States came on in February, 1825. I gave the vote which, in the contingency that happened, I told my col- league, (Mr. Crittenden,) who sits before me, prior to my departure from Kentucky, in November, 1824, and told others, that I should give. All intercourse ceased between General Jackson and myself. We have never since, except once accidentally, exchanged saluta- tions, nor met, except on occasions when we were performing the last offices towards deceased members of Congress, or other officers of government. Immediately after my vote, a rancorous war was com- menced against me, and all the barking dogs let loose upon me. I shall not trace it during its ten years' bitter continuance. But I thank my God that I stand here, firm and erect, unbent, unbroken, unsub- dued, unawed, and ready to denounce the mischievous measures of this administration, and ready to denounce this its legitimate offspring, the most pernicious of them all. His administration consisted of a succession of astounding mea- sures, which fell on the public ear like repeated bursts of loud and appalling thunder. Before the reverberations of one peal had ceased, another and another came, louder and louder, and more terrifying. Or rather, it was like a volcanic mountain, emitting frightful erup- tions of burning lava. Before one was cold and crusted, before the 352 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. voice of the inhabitants of buried villages and cities were hushed in eternal silence, another, more desolating, was vomited forth, extend- ing wider and wider the circle of death and destruction. Mr. President, this is no unnecessary digression. The personal character of such a chief as I have been describing, his passions, his propensities, the character of his mind, should be all thoroughly studied, to comprehend clearly his measures, and his administration. But I will now proceed to more direct and strict proofs of fiy second and third propositions. That he was resolved to break down the Bank of the United States, is proven by the same citations from his messages which I have made, to exhibit his purpose to establie:h a treasury bank, is proven by his veto message, and by the fact that he did destroy it. The war against all other banks was not originally announced, because he wished the State Banks to be auxiliaries in werthrowing the Bank of the United States, and because such an innunciation would have been too rash and shocking upon the people ,f the United States for even his tremendous influence. It was iecessary to proceed in the work with caution, and to begin with ehat institution against which could be embodied the greatest amount af prejudice. The refusal to recharter the Bank of the United States was followed bv a determination to remove from its custody the public money of the United States. That determination was first whispered in this place, denied, again intimated, and finally, in Sep- tember, 1832, executed. The agitation of the American publicwhich ensued, the warm and animated discussions in the country and in Congress, to which that unconstitutional measure gave rise, are all fresh in our recollection. It was necessary to quiet the public mind. and to reconcile the people to what had been done, before President Jackson seriously entered upon his new career of hostility to the State Banks. At the commencement of the session of Congress, irn 1834, he imagined a sufficient calm had been produced. and, in his annual message of that year, the war upon the State Banks was opened. In that message he says: " It seems due to the safety of the public funds remaining in that bank, and to the honor of the American people, that measures be taken to separate the govern. ment entirely from an institution so mischievous to the public prosperity, and so regardless of the constitution and laws. By transferring the public deposites, by appointing other pension agents, as far as it had the power, by ordering the discon- trnuance of the receipt of bank checks in payment of the public dues after the first day of January next, the executive has exerted all its lawful authority to seve- the connexion between the government and this faithless corporation." 3.53 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. In this quotation it will be seen that the first germ is contained of that separation and divorce of the government from banks, which has recently made such a conspicuous figure. It relates, it is true, to the late Bank of the United States, and he speaks of separatiag and sev- ering the connexion between the government and that institution But the idea, once developed, was easily susceptible of application to all banking institutions. In the message of the succeeding year, his meditated attack upon the State Banks is more distinctly disclosed Speaking of a sound currency, he says: " In considering the means of obtaining so important an end, Lthat is, a sound currency,) we must set aside all calculations of temporary convenience and be in fuenced by those only that are in harmony with the true character and permanent interests of the Republie. We must recur to the first principles, and see what it is that has prevented the legislation of Congrcss and the States on the subject of cur- rencv from satisfying the public expectation, and realizing results corresponding to those which have attended the action of our system when truly consistent with the great principle of equality upon which it rests, and with that spirit of forbearance and mutual concession and generous patriotism which was originally, and must ever continue to be, the vital element of our Union. " On this subject, I am sure that I cannot be mistaken in ascribing our want of success to the undue countenance which has been afforded to the spirit of monopoly. All the serious dangers which our system has yet encountered may be traced to the resort to implied powers, and the use of corporations clothed with privileges, the effect of which is to advance the interests of the few at the expense of the many. We have felt but one class of those dangers, exhibited in the contest waged by the Bank of the United States against the government for the last four years. Happily, they have been obviated for the present by the indignant resistance of the people; but we should recollect that the principle whence they sprang is an ever-active one, which will not fail to renew its efforts in the same and in other forms, so long as there is a hope of success, founded either on the inattention of the people, or the treachery of their representatives to the subtle progress of its influence." " We are now to see whether in the present favorable condition of the country, we cannot take an effectual stand against this spirit of monopoly, and practically prove, in respect to the currency, as well as other important interests, that there is no ne- cessity for so extensive a resort to it as that which has been heretofore practised." " It has been seen that without the agency of a great moneyed monop- oly the revenue can be collected, and conveniently and safely applied to all the pur- poses of the public expenditure. It is also ascertained that, instead of being neces- sarily made to promote the evils of an unchecked paper system, the management of the revenue can be made auxiliary to the reform which the legislature of several of the States have already commenced in regard to the suppression of small bills; and which has only to be fostered by proper regulations on the part of Congress, to secure a practical return, to the extenL required for the security of the currency, to the con- stitutional medium." As in the instance of the attack upon the Bank of the United States, the approach to the State Banks is slow, cautious, and insidious. He reminds Congress and the country that all calculations of temporary convenience must be set aside; that we must recur to first princi- ples ; and that we must see what it is that has prevented legislation of Congress and the States on the subject of the currency from satis- fying public expectation. He declares his conviction that the want 354 ON THE SUI-TREASURY. ot stucess has proceeded from undue countenance which has been afforded to the spirit of monopoly. All the serious dangers which out system has yet encounterd, may be traced to the resort to implied powers, and to the use of corporations. We have felt, he says, but one class of those dancers in the contest with the Bankof the United States, and he clearly intimates that the other class is the State Banks. We are now to see, he proceeds, whether, in the present favorable condition of the country, we cannot take an effectual stand against the spirit of monopoly. Reverting to his favorite scheme of a government bank, he says it is ascertained that, instead of being made necessary to promote the evils of an unchecked paper system, the manwgement of the revenue can be made auxiliary to the reform which he is desirous to introduce. The designs of President Jackson against the State Banks are more fully developed and enlarged upon in his annual message of 1836, from which I beg leave to quote the following passages: "I beg leave to call your attention to another subject intimately associated with the preceding one-the currency of the country. "It is apparent, from the whole context of the constitution, as well as the history of the times that gave birth to it, that it was the purpose of the convention to estab- lish a cTrrency consisting of the precious metals. These, from their peculiarproper- ties, which rendered them the standard of value in all other countries, were adopted in this, as well to establish its commercial standard, in reference to foreign countries, by a permanent rule, as to exclude the use of a mutable medium of exchange, such as of certain agricultural commodities, recognized by the statutes of some States as a tender for debts, or the still more pernicious expedient of a paper currency. "Variableness must ever be the characteristic of a currency of which the precious metals are not the chief ingredient, or which can be expande or contracted without regard to the principles that regulate the value of those metals as a standard in the general trade of the world. With us, bank issues constitute such a currency, and must ever do so, until they are made dependent on those just proportions of gold and silver. as a circulating medium, which experience has proved to be necessary, not only in this, but in all other commercial countries. Where those proportions are not infused into the circulation and do not control it, it is manifest that prices must vary according to the tide of bank issues, and the value and stability of property must stand exposed to all the uncertainty which attends the administration of inst- tlltions that -are constantly liable to the temptation of an interest distinct from that of the community in which they are established." "But, although various dangers to our republican institutions have been obviated by the failure of the bank to extort from the government a renewal of its charter, it is obvious that little has been accomplished, except a salutary change of public opinion, towards restoring to the country the sound currency provided For in the Constitution. In the acts of several of the States prohibiting the circulation of small notes, and the auxiliary enactments of Congress at their last session, forbidding their reception or pay went on public account, the true 1,liey of the country has been ad- vanced, and a larger portion of the precious metals infused into our circulating me- dium. These measures will probably be followed up in due time by the enactment of State laws, banishing from circulation batik notes of still higher denominatlens; and the objeet may be materially promoted by uirther acts of Congress, forbidding 355 356 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY the employment as fiscal agents, of such banks as issue notes of low donominattong and throw impediments in the way of the circulation of gold and silver." " The effects of an extention of bank credits and over-issues of bank paper, have been strikitgly illustrated in the sales of the public lands. From the returns made by the various registers ana receivers in the early part of last summer, it was perceived that the receipts arising from the sales of public lands were increasing to an unpre- cedented amount. In effect, however, these receipts amount to nothing more than credits in banks. The banks lent out their notes to speculators ; they were paid to receivers annd immediately returned to the banks, to be lent out again and again being mere instruments to transfer to speculators the most valuable public land, and pay the government by a credit on the books of the banks. Those credits on the books of some of the western banks, usually called deposites, were already greatly beyond their immediate means of payment, and were rapidly increasing. Indeed each speculation furnished means for another; for no sooner had one individual or company paid in the notes, than they were lent to another for a like purpose ; and the banks were extending their business and their issues so largely as to alarm con- siderate men, and render it doubtful whether these bank credits, if permitted to accu- mulate, would ultimately be of the least value to the government. The spirit of expan- sion and speculation was not confined to the deposite banks, but pervaded the whole multitude of banks throughout the Union, and was giving rise to new institutions to aggravate the evil. "The safety of the public funds, and the interest of the people generally, required that these operations should be checked ; and it became the duty of every branch of the general and State governments to adopt all legitimate and proper means to pro. duce that salutarv effect. Under this view of my duty, I directed the issuing of the order, which wilf be laid before you by the Secretary of the Treasury, requiring pay. ment of the public lands sold to be made in specie, with an exception until the fif. teenth of fhe present month in favor of actual settlers. This measure has produced many salutary consequences. It checked the career of the western banks, and gave them additional strength in anticipation of the pressnre which has since pervaded our eastern as well as the European commercial cities. By preventing the expan- sion of the credit system, it measurably cut off the means of speculation, and re- tarded its progress in monopolizing the most valuable of the public lands. It has tended to save the new States trorn a non-resident proprietorship-one of the great- est obstacles to the advancement of a new country and the prosperity of an old one. It has tended to keep open the public lands for entry by emigrants at government prices, instead of their being compelled to purchase of speculators at double or treble prices. And it is conveying into the interior large sums in silver and gold, there to enter permanently into the currency of the country, and place it on a firmer foun- dation. It is confidently believed that the country will find, in the motives which induced that order, and the happy consequences which have ensued, much to com- mend and nothing to condemn." It is seen that he again calls the attention of Congress to the cur- rency of the country, alledges that it was apparent from the whole context of the constitution, as well as the history of the times that gave birth to it, that it was the purpose of the convention to establish a currency consisting of the precious metals; imputes variableness and a liability to inordinate contraction and expansion to the existing paper system, and denounces bank issues as being an uncertain stand- ard. He felicitates himself upon the dangers which have been ob- viated by the overthrow of the Bank of the United States, but de- clares that little has been yet done, except to produce a salutary change of public opinion towards restoring to the country the sound currency providedfor in the constitution. I will here say, in passing, 356i ON THE SUB-TREASURY. that all this outcry about the precious metals, gold, and the consti- tutional currency, has been put forth to delude the people, and to use the precious metals as an instrument to break down the banking insti- tutions of the States, and to thus pave the way for the ultimate estab- lishment of a great government bank. In the present advanced state of civilization, in the present condition of the commerce of the world, and in the actual relations of trade and intercourse between the differ- ent nations of the world, it is perfectly chimerical to suppose that the currency of the United States should consist exclusively, or princi- pally, of the precious inetals. In the quotations which I have made from the last annual message of General Jackson, he speaks of the extension of bank credits, and the over-issues of bank paper, in the operations upon the sales of public lands. In his message of only the preceding year, the vast amount of those sales had been dwelt upon with peculiar complaisance, as illustrating the general prosperity of the country, and as proof of the wisdom of his administration. But now that which had been an- nounced as a blessing is deprecated as a calamity. Now, his object being to assail the banking institutions of the States, and to justify that fatal treasury order, which I shall hereafter have occasion to notice, he expresses his apprehension of the danger to which we are exposed of losing the public domain, and getting nothing for it but bank credits. He describes, minutely, the circular process by which the notes of the banks passed out of those institutions to be employed in the purchase of the public lands, and returned again to them in the form of credits to the government. He forgets that Mr. Secretary Taney, to reconcile the people of the United States to the daring measure of removing the public deposites, had stimulated the banks to the exercise of great liberality in the grant of loans. He informs us, in that message, that the safety of the public funds, and the in- terests of the people generally, required that these copious issues of the banks should be checked, and that the conversion of the public lands into mere bank credits should be arrested. And his measure to accomplish these objects was that famous treasury order, already adverted to. Let us pause here for a moment, and contemplate the circumstances under which it was issued. The principle of the order had been proposed and discussed in Congress. But one Senator, as far as I know, in this branch of the Legislature, and not a solitary maernber, within my knowledge, in the House of Representatives, was 23 3.57 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. in favor of it. And yet, in about a week after the adjournment of Congress, the principle, which met with no countenance from the legislative authority was embodied in the form of a treasury edict, and promulgated under the executive authority, to the astonishment of the people of the United States. I f we possessed no other evidence whatever of the hostility of Pre- sident Jackson to the State Banks of the United States, that order would supply conclusive proof. Bank notes,bank issues, bank credits, were distrusted and denounced by him. It was proclaimed to the people that they were unworthy of confidence. The government could no longer trust in their security. And at a moment when the banking operations were extended, and stretched to their utmost ten. sion; when they were almost all tottering and ready to fall, for the want of that metallic basis on which they all rested, the executive announces its distrust, issues the treasury order, and enters the mar. ket for specie, by a demand of an extraordinary amount to supply the means of purchasing the public lands. If the sales had continued in the same ratio they had been made during the previous year, that is, at about the rate of twenty-four millions per annum, this unprece- dented demand created by government for specie must have exhausted the vaults of most of the banks, and produced much sooner the ca- tastrophe which occurred in May last. And, what is more extraor- dinary, this wanton demand for specie upon all the banks of the com- mercial capitals, and in the busy and thickly peopled portions of the country, was that it might be transported into the wilderness, and, after having been used in the purchase of public lands, deposited to the credit of the government in the books of western banks, in some of which, according to the message, there were already credits to the government " greatly beyond their immediate means of payment." Government, therefore, did not itself receive, or rather did not retain. the very specie which it professed to demand as the only medium worthy of the public lands. The specie, which was so uselessly ex- acted, was transferred from one set of banks, to the derangement of the commerce and business of the country, and placed in the vaults of another set of banks in the interior, forming only those bank credits to the government upon which President Jackson placed so slight a value. Finally, when General Jackson was about to retire from the cares 358 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. 359 of government, he favored his countrymen with a farewell address. The solemnity of the occasion gives to any opinions which he has expressed in that document a claim to peculiar attention. It will be seen, on perusing it, that he denounces, more emphatically than in any of his previous addresses, the bank paper of the country, corpo- rations, and what he chooses to denominate the spirit of monopoly. The Senate will indulge me in calling its attention to certain parts of that address in the following extracts: "The constitution of the United States unquestionably intended to secure to the people a circulating medium of gold and silver. But the establishment of a National Bank by Congress, with the privilege of issuing paper money receivable in payment of the public dues, and the unfortunate course Of legislation in the several States upon the same subject, drove from general circulation the constitutional currency, and submitted one of paper in its place." ",The mischief springs from the power which the moneyed interest derives from a paper currency, which they are able to control; from the multitude of corpora- tions, with exclusive privileges, which they have succeeded in obtaining in the dif- ferent States, and which are employed altogether for their benefit ; and unless you become more watchful in your States, and check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges, you will in the end, find that the most important powers of government have been given or bartered away, and the control over your dearest interests has passed into the hands of these corporations." "But it will require steady and persevering exertions on your part to rid your- selves of the tni utnes and mischiefs of the paper system, and check the spirit of monopoly and other abuses which have sprung up with it, and of which it is the main support. So many interests are united to resist all reform on this subject, that you must not hope that the conflict will be a short one, nor success easy. My humble efforts have not been spared, during my administration of the government, to restore the constitutional currency of goldl an d silver: and something, I trust, has been done towards the accomplishment of this most desirable object. But enough yet remains to require all your energy and perseverance. The power, however, is in your hands, and the remedy must and will be applied, if you determine upon it." The mask is now thrown off, and he boldly says that the constitu- tion of the United States unquestionably intended to secure to the people a circulating medium of gold and silver. They have not en- joyed, he says, that benefit, because of the establishment of a National Bank, and the unfortunate course of legislation in the several States. He does not limit his condemnation of the past policy of this country. to the federal government, of which he had just ceased to be tb chief, but he extends it to the States also, as if they were incompe- tent to judge of the interests of their respective citizens. He tells us that mischief springs from the power which the monied interest de- rives from a paper currency, which they are able to control, and the multitude of corporations; and he stimulates the people to become more watchful in their several States, to check this spirit of monop Oly. To invigorate their fortitude, he tells the people that it will SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAT. require steady and persevering exertions, on their part, to rid them selves of the iniquities and mischiefs of the paper system, and to check the spirit of monopoly. They must not hope that the conflict will be a short one, nor success easy. His humble efforts have not been spared, during his administration, to restore the constituitiona, currency of gold and silver; and, although he has been able to d' something towards the accomplishment of that object, enough yet remains to require all the energy and perseverance of the people. Such, Mr. President are the proofs and the argument on which I rely to establish the second and third propositions which I have been considering. Are they not successfully maintained Is it possible that any thing could be more conclusive on such a subject I pass to the consideration of the fourth proposition. 4. That the present administration, by acknowledgments emana ting from the highest and most authentic source, has succeeded to the principles, plans, and policy of the preceding administration, and stand solemnly pledged to complete and perfect them. 'Ine proofs on this subject are brief; but they are clear, direct and plenary. It is impossible for any unbiassed mind to doubt for a mo- ment about them. You, sir, will be surprised, when I shall array them before you, at their irresistible force. The first that I shall offer is an extract from Mr. Van Buren's letter of acceptance of the nomi nation of the Baltimore convention, dated May 23d, 1835. In that letter he says: " I content myself, on this occasion, with saying that I consider myself the hon- ored instrument, selected by the friends of the present administration, to carry out Uts principles and policy; and that, as well from inclination as from duty, I shall, if honored with the choice of the American people, endeavor generally to follow in the footsteps of President Jackson, happy if I shal be able to perfect Ae work which he has so gloriously began." Mr. Van Buren announces that he was the honored instrument se- lected by his friends of the present administration, to carry out its principles and policy. The honored instrument! That word, accord- ing to the most approved definition, means tool. He was then, the honored tool-to do what to promote the honor, and advance the welfare of the people of the United States, and to add to the glory of the country No, no; his country was not in his thoughts. Party, party, filled the place in his bosom, which country should have oc- 360 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. cupied. He was the honored tool to carry out the principles and policy of General Jackson's administration; and if elected, he should, as well from inclination as from duty, endeavor, generally, to tread in the footsteps of General Jackson-happy, if he should be able to per- fect the work which he had so gloriously begun. Duty to whom . to the country, to the whole people of the United States No such thing; but duty to the friends of the then administration; and that duty required him to tread in the footsteps of his illustrious predeces- sor, and to perfect the work which he had begun ! Now, the Senate will bear in mind, that the most distinguishing features of General Jackson's administration related to the currency ; that he had de- nounced the banking institutions of the country; that he had over- thrown the Bank of the United States; that he had declared, when that object was accomplished, only one half the work was completed; that he then commenced a war against the State Banks, in order to finish the other half; that he constantly persevered in, and never abandoned, his favorite project of a great government treasury Bank; and that he retired from the office of Chief Magistrate, pouring out, in his farewell address, anathemas against paper money, corporations, and the spirit of monopoly. When the'e things are recollected, it is impossible not to comprehend clearly what Mr. Van Buren Means by carrying out the principles and policy of the late administration No one can mistake that those principles and that policy require hin) to break down the local institutions of the States. and to discredit and destroy the paper medium which they issue. No one can be at a loss to understand that, in following in the footsteps of President Jackson, and in perfecting the work which he begun, Mr. Van Buren means to continue attacking, systematically, the Banks of the States, and to erect on their ruins that great government Bank, begun by his predecessor, and which he is the honored instrument selected to Corn- plete. The next proof which I shall offer is supplied by Mr. Van Buren's inaugural address, from which I request permission of the Senate to read the following extract: " In receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided tb my illustrious predecessor, and which he has discharged so faithfully and so well, I know that I cannot expect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success. But united as I have been in his counsels, a daily witness of his exclusive and unsurpassed devotion to his country's welfare, agreeing tvith him in sentiments which his coun- trymen have warmly supported, and permitted to partake largely of his confidence I may hope that esomewhat of the same cheering approbation wil be found to attend upon my path 1" 361 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAT. Here we find Mr. Van Buren distinctly avowing, what the Amern. can people well knew before, that he had been united in the councils of General Jackson; that he had agreed with him in sentiments, and that he had partaken largely of his confidence. This Intimacy and confidential intercourse could not have existed without the concur. rence of Mr. Van Buren in all those leading and prominent measures of his friend. which related to the establishment of a government bank, the overthrow of the Bank of the United States, the attack upon the State institutions, and the denunciation of the paper cur- rency, the spirit of monopoly, and corporations. Is it credible that General Jackson should have aimed at the accomplishment of all those objects, and entertained all these sentiments, without Mr. Van IBuren's participation I proceed to another point of powerful evidence, in the conduct of Mr. Van Buren, in respect to the famous treasury order. That order had been promulgated, originally, in defiance of the opinion of Congress, had been continued in operation in defiance of the wishes and will of the people, and had been repealed by a bill passed at the last ordinary session of Congress, by overwhelming majorities. The fate of that bill is well known. Instead of being returned to the House in which it originated, according to the requirement of the constitution, it was sent to one of the pigeon-holes of the department of state, to be filed away with an opinion of a convenient Attorney General, always ready to prepare one in support of executive en- croachment. On the fifth of March last not a doubt was entertained, as far as my knowledge or belief extends, that Mr. Van Buren would rescind the obnoxious order. I appeal to the Senator from Missouri, who sits near me, (Mr. Linn,) to the Senator from Mississippi, who sits farthest from me, (Mr. Walker,) to the Senator from Alabama, (Mr. King,) and to the whole of the administration Senators, if such was not the expectation of all of them. Was there ever an occasion in which a new administration had so fine an opportunity to signalize its commencement by an act of grace and wisdom, demanded by the best interests and most anxious wishes of the people But Mr. Van Buren did not think proper to embrace it. He had shared too largely in the confidence of his predecessor, agreed too fully with him in his councils, to rescind an order which constituted so essential a part of the system which had been deliberately adopted to overthrow the State Banks. 362 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. Another course pursued by the administration, after the catastrophe f the suspension of specie payments by the banks, demonstrates the hostile purposes towards them of the present administration. When a similar event had occurred during the administration of Mr. Madison, did he discredit and discountenance the issues of the banks by refusing to receive them in payment of the public dues Did the State governments, upon the former or the late occasion, refuse to receive them in payment of the dues to them, respectively And if irredeemable bank notes are good enough for State governments and the people, are they not good enough for the federal government of the same people By exacting specie, in all payments to the gene- ral government, that government presented itself in the market as a powerful and formidable competitor with the Banks, demanding spe- cie at a moment when the Banks were making unexampled struggles to strengthen themselves, and prepare for the resumption of specie payments. The extent of this government demand for specie does not admit of exact ascertainment; but when we reflect that the an- nual expenditures of the government were at the rate, incl.ding the post-office department, of about thirty-three millions of dollars, and that its income, made up either of taxes or loans, must be an equal sum, making together an aggregate of sixty-six millions, it will be seen that the amount of specie required for the use of government must be immensely large. It cannot be precisely determined, but would not be less probably than fifteen or twenty millions of dollars per annum. Now, how is it possible for the banks, coming into the specie market, in competition with all the vast power and influence of the government, to provide themselves with specie in a reasonable time to resume specie payments That competition would have been avoided, if upon the stoppage of the Banks, the notes of those of whose solidity there was no doubt, had been continued to be re- ceived in payment of the public dues, as was done in Mr. Madison's 'administration. And, why, Mr. President, should they not have been Why should not this government receive the same description of me- dium which is found to answer all the purposes of the several State governments Why should they have resorted to the expedient of issuing an inferior paper medium, in the form of treasury notes, and refusing to receive the better notes of safe and solid banks Do not misunderstand me, Mr. President. No man is more averse than I am to a permanent inconvertible paper medium. It would have been as a temporary measure only that I should have thought it expedient 4 363 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. eceive the notes of good local banks. If, along with that neasure, the treasury order had been repealed, and other measures adopted to en- courage and coerce the resumption of specie payments, we should have been much nigher that desirable event than, 1 fear, we now are. In- deed, I do not see when it is possible for the banks to resume specie payments, as long as the government is in the field making war upon them, and in the market demanding specie. Another conclusive evidence of the hostility to the State Banks, on the part of Mr. Van Buren, is to be found in that extraordinary recommendation of a bankrupt law, contained in his message at the extra session. According to all the principles of any bankrupt sys- tem with which I am acquainted, the Banks, by the stoppage of specie payments, had rendered themselves liable to its operation. If the recommended law had been passed, commissions of bankruptcy could have been immediately sued out against all the suspended banks, their assets seized, and the administration of them transferred, from the several corporations to which it is now entrusted, to commis- sioners appointed by the President himself Thus, by one blow, would the whole of the State Banks have been completely prostrated, and the way cleared for the introduction of the favorite Treasury Bank; and is it not in the same spirit of unfriendliness to those banks, and with the same view of removing all obstacles to the establish- ment of a government bank, that the bill was presented to the Senate a few days ago by the Senator from Tennesee (Mr. Grundy) against the circulation of the notes of the old Bank of the United States At a time when there is too much want of confidence, and when every thing that can be done, should be done to revive and strengthen it, we are called upon to pass a law denouncing the heaviest penalty and ignominious punishment against all who shall re-issue the notes of the old Bank of the United States, of which we are told that about seven millions of dollars are in circulation; and they constitute the best portion of the paper medium of the country, the only portion of it which has a credit everywhere, and which serves the purpose of a general circulation; the only portion with which a man can travel from one end of the continent to the other; and I do not doubt that the Senator who has fulminated those severe pains and penalties against that best part of our paper medium, provides himself with a sufficient amount of it, whenever he leaves Nashville, to take him to Washington. 364 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. [Here Mr. Grundy rose, and remarked: No, sir; I always travel on specie.] Ah ! my old friend is always specious. I am quite sure that menr. hers from a distance in the interior generally find it indispensable to supply themselves, on commencing their journey, with an adequate amount of these identical notes to defray their expenses. Why, sir, will any man in his senses deny that these notes are far better than those which have been issued by that government banker, Levi Woodbury, aided though he be by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (I beg his pardon, I mean the ex-Chancellor,) the Senator from New York, (Mr. Wright ) I am not going to stop here to inquire into the strict legality of the re-issue of these notes ; that question, to- gether with the power of the government to pass the proposed bill, will be taken up when it is considered. I am looking into the mo- tive of such a measure. Nobody doubts the perfect safety of the notes; no one can believe that they will not be fairly and fully paid. What, then, is the design of the bill P It is to assail the only sure general medium which the people possess. It is because it may come in competition with treasury notes, or other government paper. Sir, if the bill had not been proposed by my old friend from Tennes- see, I would say its author better deserved a penitentiary punishment than those against whom it is directed. I remember to have heard of an illustrious individual, now in retirement, having on some oc- casion, burst out into the most patriotic indignation, because of a waggish trick played off upon him, by putting a note of the late Bank of the United States into his silk purse with his gold. But it is unnecessary to dwell longer on the innumerable proofs of the hostility against the State Banks, and the deliberate purpose c those in power to overthrow them. We hear and see daily through- out the country among their partisans and presses, denunciations against banks, corporations, rag barons, the spirit of monopoly, c. and the howl for gold, hard money, and the constitutional currency and no one can listen to the speeches of honorable members, friends of the administration, in this house and the other, without being in- pressed with a perfect conviction that the destruction of the State Banks is meditated. I have fulfilled my promise, Mr. President, to sustain the first four propositions with which I set out. I now pro ceed to the fifth proposition- 365 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. 5. That the bill under consideration is intended to execute Mr. Van Buren's pledge to complete and perfect the principles, plans and Vnlicy of the past administration, by establishing upon the ruins of the late Bank of the United States, and the State Banks, a govern. ment Bank, to be managed and controlled by the treasury depart. ment, acting under the commands of the President of the United States. The first impression made by the perusal of the bill, is the prodigal and boundless discretion which it grants to the Secretary of the Treasury, irreconcileable with the genius of our free institutions, and contrary to the former cautious practice of the government. As ori- ginally reported, he was authorized by the bill to allow any number of clerks he thought proper to the various Receivers General, and to fix their salaries. It will be borne in mind that this is the mere com- mencement of a system; and it cannot be doubted that, if put into operation, the number of Receivers General and other depositaries of the public money would be indefinitely multiplied. He is allowed to appoint as many examiners of the public money, and to fix their sal- aries as he pleases; he is allowed to erect at pleasure, costly buiid- ings; there is no estimate for any thing; and all who are conversant with the operations of the executive branch of the government, know the value and importance of previous estimates. There is no other check upon wasteful expenditure but previous estimates, and that was a point always particularly insisted upon by Mr. Jefferson. The Senate will recollect that, a few days ago, when the salary of the Receiver General at New York was fixed, the chairman of the Com- mittee on Finance rose in his place and stated that it was suggested by the Secretary of the Treasury that it should be placed at three tnou- sand dollars; and the blank was accordingly so filled. There was no statement of the nature or extent of the duties to be performed, of the time that he would be occupied, of the extent of his responsibility, or the expense of living at the several points where they were to De lo- cated ; nothing but the suggestion of the Secretary of the Treasury, and that was deemed all-sufficient by a majority. There is no limit upon the appropriation which is made to carry into effect the Jill, contrary to all former usages, which invariably prescribed a sum not to be transcended. A most remarkable feature in the bill, is that to which I have at- S66 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. ready called the attention of the Senate, and of which no satisfactory explanation has been given. It is that which proceeds upon the idea that the treasury is a thing distinct from the treasure of the United States, and gives to the treasury a local habitation and a name, in the new building which is being erected for the treasury department in the city of Washington. In the treasury, so constituted, is to be placed that pittance of the public revenue which is gleaned from the District of Columbia. All else, that is to say, nine hundred and ninety- nine hundredths of the public revenue of the United States is to be placed in the hands of the Receivers General, and the other deposit- aries beyond the District of Columbia. Now, the constitution of the United States provides that no money shall be drawn from the public treasury but in virtue of a previous appropriation by law. That tri- fling portion of it, therefore, which is within the District of Columbia, will be urder the safeguard of the constitution, and all else will be at the arbitrary disposal of the Secretary of the Treasury. It was deemed necessary, no doubt, to vest in the Secretary of the Treasury this vast and alarming discretionary power. A new and immense government bank is about to be erected. How it would work in all its parts, could not be anticipated with certaintv; and it was thought proper, therefore, to bestow a discretion commensurate with its novelty and complexity, and adapted to any exigencies which might arise. The tenth section of the bill is that in which the power to create a bank is more particularly conferred. It is short, and I will read it to the Senate. "SEC. 10. And be it fiuther enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the moneys in the hands of any depositarv hereby constitu- te(, to the treosury of the United States ; to the mint at Philadelphia ; to the branch nilrt at New Orleans; orto the offices of either of the Receivers General of public nmoneVss by this act directed to he appointed ; to be there safely kept, according to the provisions of this act ; and also to transfer moneys in the hands of any one deposit- arsi. ,rrnstituted by this act, to any other depositary constituted by the same, AT HIS DIS- cRE-rio, ;and as the safety or the publie moneys, and the convenience of the public ser- tief, shiall seem to him to require. And, for the purpose of pavrnenis on the public account, it shall bh lawful for the said Secretary to draw upon aniy of the said deposita- ries. as lbe may think most conducive to the public interests, or to the convenience of the public creditors, or both." It will be seen that it grants a power, perfectly undefined, to the Secretary of the Treasury, to shift and transfer the public money, from depositary to depositary, as he pleases. He is expressly authorized to transfer moneys in the hands of any one depositary, constituted by the act, to any other depositary constituted by it, at his discretion, SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and as the safety of the public moneys, and the convenience of the public service, shall seem to him to require. There is no specifica tion of any contingency or contingencies on which he is to act. All is left to his discretion. He is to judge when the public service (and more indefinite terms could not have been employed) shall seem to him to require it. It has been said that this is nothing more than the customary power of transfer, exercised by the treasury department from the origin of the government. I deny it, utterly deny it. It is a totally different power from that which was exercised by the cau- tious Gallatin, and other Secretaries of the Treasury-a power, by the by, which, on more than one occasion, has been controverted, and which is infinitely more questionable than the power to establish a bank of the United States. The transfer was made by them rarely, in large sums, and were left to the banks to remit. When payments were made, they were effected in the notes of banks with which the public money was deposited, or to which it was transferred. The rates of exchange were regulated by the state of the market, and un- der the responsibility of the banks. But here is a power given to transfer the public moneys, without limit as to sum, place or time, leaving everything to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Receivers General, and other depositaries. What a scope is al- lowed in the fixation of the rates of exchange, whether of premium or discount, to regulate the whole domestic exchanges of the country, to exercise favoritism! These former transfers were not made for disbursement, but as preparatory to disbursement; and, when dis- bursed, it was generally in bank notes. The transfers of this bill are immediate payments, and payments made, not in bank notes, but in specie. The last paragraph in the section provides that, for the purpose of payments on the public account, it shall be lawful for the Secretary to draw upon any of the said depositaries, as he may think most coln- ducive to the public interest, or to the convenience of the public credi- tors, or both. It will be seen that no limit whatever is imposed upon the amount or form of the draft, or as to the depositary upon which it is drawn. He is made the exclusive judge of what is " most con- ducive to the public interests-" Now let us pause a moment, and trace the operation of the powers thus vested. The government has a revenue of from twenty to thirty millions. The Secretary may draw it to any one or more points, as he pleases. More than a 368 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. moiety of the revenue arising from customs is receivable at the port of New York, to which point the Secretary may draw all portions of it, if he thinks it conducive to the public interest. A man has to re- ceive, under an appropriation law, 10,000, and applies to Mr. Sec- retary for payment. Where will you receive it he is asked. On New York. How In drafts from 5 to 500. Mr. Secretary Will give him these drafts accordingly, upon bank note paper, im- pressed like and simulating bank notes, having all suitable embla- zonry, signed by my friend the Treasurer, (whose excellent practical sense, and solid and sound judgment, if he had been at the head of the treasury, instead of Mr. Levi Woodbury, when the suspension of specie payments took place, would have relieved or mitigated the pecuniary embarrassments of the government and the people,) and countersigned by the Comptroller, and filled up in the usual way of bank notes. Here is one of them (He here held up to the gaze of the Senate a treasury note, having all the appearance of a bank note, colored, engraved, and executed like any other bank note, for 50.] This is a government post-note, put into circulation, paid out as money, and prepared and sent forth, gradually to accustom the peo- ple of this country to government paper. I have supposed 10,000 to be received, in the mode stated, by a person entitled to receive it under an appropriation law. Now, let us suppose what he will do with it. Anywhere to the southor west it will command a premium of from two to five per cent. Nowhere in the United States will it be under par. Do you suppose that the holder of these drafts would be fool enough to convert them into spe- cie, to be carried and transported at his risk. Do you think that he would not prefer that this nmoney should be in the responsible custody of tle government, rather than in his own insecure keeping Do you think that he will deny to himself the opportunity of realizing the premium of which he may be perfectly sure - The greatest want of the country is a medium of general circulation, and of uniform value everywhere. That, especially, is our want in the western and inte- rior States. Now, here is exactly such a medium; and, supposing the government bank to be honestly and faithfully administered, it Will, during such an administration, be the best convertible paper money in the world, for two reasons The first is, that everv dollar 369 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. of paper out will be the representative of a dollar of specie in the hands of the Receivers General, or other depositaries; and, secondly, if the Receivers General should embezzle the public money, the re- sponsibility of the government to pay the drafts issued upon the basis of that money would remain unimpaired. The paper, therefore, would be as far superior to the paper of any private corporation as the ability and resources of the government of the United States are superior to those of such corporations. The banking capacity may be divided into three faculties-de. posites, discount of bills of exchange, and promissory notes, or either, and circulation. This government bank would combine them all, except that it would not discount private notes, nor receive private deposites. In payments for the public lands, indeed, individuals are allowed to make deposites, and to receive certificates of their amount. To guard against their negotiability, a clause has been introduced to render them unassignable. But how will it be possible to maintain such an inconvenient restriction, in a country where every descrip- tion of paper imposing an obligation to pay money or deliver property is assignable, at law or in equity, from the commercial nature and trading character of our people Of all the faculties which I have stated of a bank, that which cre- ates a circulation is the most important to the community at large. It is that in which thousands may be interested, who never obtained a discount or made a deposite with a bank. Whatever a government agrees to receive in payment of the puclic dues, as a medium of cir- culation, is money, current money, no matter what its form may be, treasury notes, drafts drawn at Washington by the treasurer, on the Receiver General at New York, or, to use the language employed in various parts of this bill, " such notes, bills or paper issued under the authority of the United States." These various provisions were probably inserted not only to cover the case of treasury notes, but that of these drafts, in due season. But if there were no express pro- vision of law, that these drafts should be receivable in payment of public dues, thVy would, necessarily, be so employed, from their own intrinsic value: The want of the community of a general circulation of uniform 'alue everywhere in the United States, would occasion vast amounts 370 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. of the species of drafts which I have described to remain in circula- tion. The appropriations this year will probably fall not much short of thirtv millions. Thirty millions of treasury drafts on Receivers General, of everydenomination and to any amount, may be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury. What amount would remain in circu- lation cannot be determined a priori, I suppose not less than ten or fifteen millions; at the end of another year some ten or fifteen mill- ions more; they would fill all the channels of circulation. The ward between the government and State Banks continuing, and this mam- moth government bank being in the market, constantly demanding specie for its varied and ramified operations, confidence would be lost in the notes of the local banks, their paper would gradually cease to circulate, and the banks themselves would be crippled and broken. The paper of the government bank would ultimately fill the vacuum, as it would instantly occupy the place of the notes of the late Bank of the United States. I am aware, Mr. President, that the 25th section of the bill, in or- der to disguise the purpose of the vast machinery which we are about constructing, provides that it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue and publish regulations to enforce the speedy presentation of all government drafts for payments at the place where payable, c. Now, what a tremendous power is here vested in the Secretary ! He is to prescribe rules and regulations to enforce the speedy presentation of all government drafts for payment at the place where payable. The speedy presentation ! In the case I have sup posed, a man has his 10,000 in drafts on the Receiver General at New York. The Secretary is empowered to enact regulations re- quiring him speedily to present them, and, if he do not, the Secretary may order them to be paid at St. Louis. At New York they may be worth a premium of five per cent.; on St. Louis they may be liable to a discount of five per cent. Now, in a free government, who would ever think of subjecting the property or money of a citizen to- the exercise of such a power by any Secretary of the Treasury What opportunity does it not afford to reward a partisan or punish an Opponent It will be impossible to maintain such an odious and use- less restriction for any length of time. Why should the debtor (as the government would be in the case of such drafts as I have sup- posed) require his creditor (as the holder of the draft would be) to apply within a prescribed time for his payment No, sir; the sys 371 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. tem would control you; you could not control the system But, it such a ridiculous restriction could not be so continued, the drafts would, Devertheless, while they were out, be the time long or short perform the office of circulation and money. Let us trace a little further the operation of this government bank, and follow it out to its final explosion. I have supposed the appro propriation of some thirty millions of dollars annually by the govern. ment, to be disbursed in form of drafts, issued at Washington by the treasury department, upon the depositaries. Of that amount some ten or fifteen millions would remain, the first year, in circulation; at the end of one year, a similar amount would continue in circulation; and so on, from year to year, until, at the end of a series of some five or six years, there would be in circulation, to supply the indispensa. ble wants of commerce and of a general medium of uniform value, not less than some sixty or eighty millions of drafts issued by the gov- ernment. These drafts would be generally upon the Receiver General at New York, because on that point they would be preferred over all others, as they would command a premium, or be at par, throughout the whole extent of the United States; and we have seen that the Secretary of the Treasury is invested with ample authority to con- centrate at that point the whole revenue of the United States All experience has demonstrated, that in banking operations a much larger amount of paper can be kept in circulation than the spe- cie which it is necessary to retain in the vaults to meet it when pre- sented for payment. The proportions which the same experience has ascertained to be entirely safe, are one of specie to three of paper. If, therefore, the executive government had sixty millions of dollars accumulated at the port of New York, in the hands of the Receiver General, represented by sixty millions of government drafts in circu- lation, it would be known that twenty of that sixty millions would be sufficient to retain to meet any amount of drafts which, in ordinary times, would be presented for payment. There would then remain forty millions in the vaults, idle and unproductive, and of which no practical use could be made. Well, a great election is at hand in the State of New York, the result of which will seal the fate of an exist- ing administration. If the application of ten millions of that dormant capital could save, at some future day, a corrupt executive from overthrow, can it be doubted that the ten millions would be applied 372 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. to preserve it in power Again: let us suppose some great exigen- cy to arise, a season of war, creating severe financial pressure and embarrassment. Would not an issue of paper, founded upon and ex- ceeding the specie in the vaults, in some such proportions as experi- ence had demonstrated might be safely emitted, be authorized Finally, the whole amount of specie might be exhausted, and then, as it is easier to engrave and issue bank notes than to perform the un- popular office of imposing taxes and burdens, the discovery would be made that the credit of the government was a sufficient basis where- on to make emissions of paper money, to be redeemed when peace and prosperity returned. Then we should have the days of conti- nental money and of assignats restored ! Then we should have that government paper medium, which the Senator from South Carolina, (Mr. Calhoun) considers the most perfect of all currency ! Meantime, and during the progress of this vast government ma. chine, the State Banks would be all prostrated. Working well, as it may, if honestly administered, in the first period of its existence, it will be utterly impossible for them to maintain the unequal competi- tion. They could not maintain it, even if the government were ac- tuated by no unfriendly feelings towards them. But, when we know the spirit which animates the present executive towards them, who can doubt that they must fall in the unequal contest Their issues will be discredited and discountenanced; and that system of bank- ruptcy which the President would even now put into operation against them, will, in the sequel be passed and enforced without difficulty. Assuming the downfall of the local banks, the inevitable conse- quence of the operations of this great government bank; assuming, as I have shown would be the case, that the government would mono- polize the paper issues of the country, and obtain the possession of a great portion of the specie of the country, we should then behold a combined and concentrated moneyed power, equal to that of all the existing banks of the United States, with that of the late bank of the United States superadded. This tremendous power would be wield- ed by the Secretary of the Treasury, acting under the immediate com- miands of the President of the United States. Here would be a per- fect union of the sword and purse; here would be no imaginary, but an actual, visible, tangible, consolidation of the moneyed power. Who or what could withstand it The States themselves would become 24 373 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. suppliants at the feet of the executive for a portion of those paper emissions, of the power to issue which they had been stripped, and which he now exclusively posssessed. Mr. President, my observation and experience have satisfied me that the safety of liberty and prosperity consists in the division of power, whether political or pecuniary. In our federative system, our security is to be found in that happy distribution of power which ex- ists between the Federal government and the State governments. In our monetary system, as it lately existed, its excellence resulted from that beautiful arrangement by which the States had their institutions for local purposes, and the general government its institution for the more general purposes of the whole Union. There existed the great- est congeniality between all the parts of this admirable system. All was homogeneous. There was no separation of the federal govern- ment from the States or from the people. There was no attempt to execute practically that absurdity of sustaining, among the same peo- ple, two different currencies of unequal value. And how admirably did the whole system, during the forty years of its existence move and work ! And on the two unfortunate occasions of its ceasing to exist, how quickly did the business and transactions of the country run into wild disorder and utter confusion. Hitherto I have considered this new project as it is, according to its true nature and character, and what it must inevitably become. I have not examined it as it is not, but as its friends would represent it to be. They hold out the idea that it is a simple contrivance to collect, to keep and disburse the public revenue. In that view of it, every consideration of safety and security recommends the agency of responsible corporations, rather than the employment of particular in- dividuals. It has been shown, during the course of this debate, that the amount which has been lost by the defalcation of individuals has exceeded three or four times the amount of all that has been lost by the local banks, although the sums confided to the care of individuals have not been probably one-tenth part of the amount that ha. been in the custody of the local banks. And we all know that, during the forty years of the existence of the two banks of the United States, not one cent was lost of the public revenue. I have been curious Mr. President, to know whence this idea of 374 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. Receivers General was derived. It has been supposed to have been borrowed from France It required all the power of that most ex- traordinary man that ever lived, Napoleon Bonaparte, when he was in his meridian greatness, to displace the Farmers General, and to substitute in their place the Receivers General. The new system requires, I think I have heard it stated, something like 100,000 em- ployees to have it executed. And notwithstanding the modesty of the infant promise of this new project, I have no doubt that ulti- mately we shall have to employ a number of persons approximating to that which is retained in France. That will undoubtedly be the case whenever we shall revive the system of internal taxation. In France, what reconciled them to the system was, that Napoleon first, and the Bourbons afterwards, were pleased with the immense patro- nage which it gave them. They liked to have 100,000 dependents to add strength to the throne, which had been recently constructed or re-ascended. I thought, however, that the learned Chairman of the Committee on Finance must have had some other besides the French model for his Receivers General; and accordingly, upon looking into Smith's history of his own state, I found that, when it was yet a colony some century and a half ago, and when its present noble capital still re- tained the name of New Amsterdam, the historian says: "Among the principal laws enacted at this session, we may mention that tor es- tablishing the revenue, which was drawn into precedent. The sums raised by it were made payable into the hands of Receivers General, and issued by the Gover- nor's warrant. By this means the Governor became, for a season, independent of the people, and hence we find frequent instances of the assemblies contending with him for the discharge of debts to private persons contracted on the faith of the go- vernment." The then Governor of the colony was a man of great violence of temper, and arbitrary in his conduct. How the sub-treasury system of that day operated, the same historian informs us in a subsequent part of his work. 'The revenue," he says, " established the last year, was at this session continued five years longer than was originally intended. This was rendering the Governor independent of the people. For, at that day, the Assembly had no treasure, but the amount of all taxes went, of course, into the hands of the Receiver General, who was appointed by the crown. Out of the fund, moneys were only issuable by the Governor't warrant, so that every officer in the government, from Mr. Blaithwait, who drew annually five per cent. out of the revenue, as Auditor General, down to the meanest servant of the public, became dependent, solely, on the Governor. And hence we find the house. at the close of every session, humbly addressing his excel- lency for the fling wages of their own clerk." 375) SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. And, Mr. President, if the measure should unhappily pass, the day may come when the Senate of the United States will have humbly to implore some future President of the United States to grant it money to pay the wages of its own sergeant-at-arms and doorkeeper. Who, Mr. Presideut, are the most conspicuous of those who per- severingly pressed this bill, upon Congress and the American peo- ple Its drawer is the distinguished gentleman in the White House not far off, its endorser is the distinguished Senator from South Carolina, here present. What the drawer thinks of the endorser, his cautious reserve and stifled enmity prevent us from knowing. But the frankness of the endorser has not left us in the same igno- rance with respect to his opinion of the drawer. He has often ex- pressed it upon the floor of the Senate. On an occasion not very distant, denying him any of the nobler qualities of the royal beast of the forest, he attributed to him those which belong to the most crafty, most skulking, and one of the meanest of the quadruped tribe. Mr. President, it is due to myself to say that I do not altogether share with the Senator from South Carolina, in this opinion of the Presi- dent of the United States. I have always found him, in his man- ners and deportment, civil, courteous, and gentlemanly; and he dis- penses, in the noble mansion which he now occupies, one worthy the residence of the Chief Magistrate of a great people, a generous and liberal hospitality. An acquaintance with him of more than twenty years' duration has inspired me with a respect for the man, although I regret to be compelled to say, I detest the magistrate. The eloquent Senator from South Carolina has intimated that the course of my friends and myself, in opposing this bill, was unpatriotic, and that we ought to have followed in his lead ; and, in a late letter of his, he has spoken of his alliance with us, and of his motives for juittink it. I cannot admit the justice of his reproach. We united indeed, there were any alliance in the case, to restrain the enor mous expansion of executive power, to arrest the progress of cor ruption; to rebuke usurpation ; and to drive the Goths and Vandals from the capital; to expel Brennus and his horde from Rome, who, when he threw his sword into the scale, to augment the ransom de- manded from the mistress of the world, showed his preference for gold; that he was a hard-money Chieftain. It was by the much more valuable metal of iron that he was driven from her gates. And 376 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. how often have we witnessed the Senator from South Carolina, with woful countenance, and in doleful strains, pouring forth touching and mournful eloquence on the degeneracy of the times, and the down- ward tendency of the republic Day after day, in the Senate, have we seen the displays of his lofty and impassioned eloquence. Al- though I shared largely with the Senator in his apprehension for the purity of our institutions, and the perminancy of our civil liberty, disposed always to look at the brighter side of human affairs, I was sometimes inclined to hope that the vivid imagination of the Senator had depicted the dangers by which we were encompassed in some- what stronger colors than they justified. The arduous contest in which we were so long engaged was about to terminate in a glorious victory. The very object for which the alliance was formed was about to be accomplished. At this critical moment the Senator left us; he left us for the very purpose of preventing the success of the common cause. He took up his musket, knapsack, and shot-pouch, and joined the other party. He went, horse, foot, and dragoon, and he himself composed the whole corps. He went, as his present most distinguished ally commenced with his expunging resolution, solitary and alone. The earliest instance recorded in history, within my re- collection, of an ally drawing off his forces from the combined army, was that of Achilles at the siege of Troy. He withdrew, with all his troops, and remained in the neighborhood, in sullen and dignified inactivity. But he did not join the Trojan forces ; and when, dur- ing the progress of the siege, his faithful friend fell in battle, he rais- ed his avenging arm, drove the Trojans back into the gates of Troy, and satiated his vengeance by slaying Priam's noblest and dearest son, the finest hero in the immortal Illiad. But Achilles had been wronged, or imagined himself wronged in the person of the fair and beautiful Briseis. We did no wrong to the disinguished Senator from South Carolina. On the contrary, we respected him, confided in his great and acknowledged ability, his uncommon genius, his extensive experience, his supposed patriotism; above all, we confided in his stern and inflexible fidelity. Nevertheless, he left us, and joined our common opponents, distrusting and distrusted. He left us,-as he tells us in the Edgefield letter, because the victory which our com- mon arms were about to achieve, was not to enure to him and his party, but exclusively to the benefit of his allies and their cause. I thought that, actuated by patriotism-that noblest of human virtues -we had been contending together for one common country, for hey 377 SpeSCHES OF HENRY CLAY violated rights, her threatened liberties, her prostrate constitution, Never did I suppose that personal or party considerations entered into our views. Whether, if victory shall ever again be about to perch upon the standard of the spoils party,-the denomination which the Senator from South Carolina has so often given to his present allies- he will not feel himself constrained, bythe principles cn which he has acted, to leave them because it may not enure to the benefit of him- self and his party, I leave to be adjusted between themselves. The speech of the Senator from South Carolina was plausible, in- genious, abstract, metaphysical, and generalizing. It did not appear to me to be adapted to the bosoms and business of human life. It was aerial, and not very high up in the air, Mr. President, either, not quite as high as Mr. Clayton was in his last ascension in his ba- loon. The Senator announced that there was a single alternative, and no escape from one or the other branch of it. He stated that we must take the bill under consideration, or the substitute proposed by the Senator from Virginia. I do not concur in that statement of the case. There is another course embraced in neither branch of the Senator's alternative; and that course is to do nothing; always the wisest when you are not certatn what you ought to do. Let us sup- pose that neither branch of the alternative is accepted, and that noth- ing is done. What, then, would be the consequence There would be a restoration of the law of 1789, with all its cautious provisions and securities, provided by the wisdom of our ancestors, which has been so trampled upon by the late and present administrations. By that law, establishing the treasury department, the treasure of the United States is to be received, kept, and disbursed, by the treasurer, under a bond with ample security, under a large penalty fixed by law, and not left, as this bill leaves it, to the uncertain discretion of a Secretary of the Treasury. If, therefore, we were to do nothing, that law would be revived; the treasurer would have the custody, as he ought to have, of the public money, and doubtless he would make special deposites of it in all instances, with safe and sound Statp Banks as in some eases the Secretary of the Treasury is now obliged to do. Thus, we should have in operation that very special deposite system, so much desired by some gentlemen, by which the pu bli' money' would remain separate and unmixed with the money of banks. There is yet another course, unembracea Dy eitner oranCn of the alternative presented by the Senator from South Carolina; and 378 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. that is to establish a Bank of the United States, constituted according to the old and approved method of forming such an institution, tested and sanctioned by experience; a Bank of the United States which should blend public and private interests, and be subject to public and private control, united together in such a manner as to present safe and salutary checks against all abuses. The Senator mistakes his owvn abandonment of that institution as ours. I know that the party in power has barricaded itself against the establishment of such a bank. It adopted, at the last extra session, the extraordinary and unprecedented resolution, that the people of the United States should not have such a bank, although it might be manifest that there was a clear majority of them demanding it. But the day may come, and I trust is not distant, when the will of the people must prevail in the councils of her own government; and when it does arrive, a bank will be established. The Senator from South Carolina reminds us that we denounced the pet bank system; and so we did, and so we do. But does it therefore follow that, bad as that system was, we must be driven into the acceptance of a system infinitely worse He tells us that the bill under consideration takes the public funds out of the hands of the executive, and places them in the hands of the law. It does no such thing. They are now without law, it is true, in the custody of the executive; and the bill proposes by law to confirmn them in that cus- tody, and to convey new and enormous powers of control to the ex- ecutive over them. Every custodary of the public funds provided by the bill is a creature of the executive, dependent upon his breath, and subject to the same breath for removal, whenever the executive,from caprice, from tyranny, or from party motives, shall choose to order it. What safety is there for the public money, if there were a hund- red subordinate executive officers charged with its care, while the idocrine of the absolute unity of the whole executive power, pronlul gated by the last administration, and persisted in by this, remains unrevoked and unrebuked While the Senator from South Carolina professes to be the friend of State Banks, he has attacked the whole banking system of the United States. He is their friend ; he only thinks they are all un- constitutional ! Why Because the coining power is possessed by the general government and that coining power, he argues, was in- 379 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. tended to supply a currency of the precious metals; but the State Banks absorb the precious metals, and withdraw them from circula. tion, and, therefore, are in conflict with the coining power. That power, according to my view of it, is nothing but a naked authority to stamp certain pieces of the precious metals, in fixed proportions of alloy and pure metal prescribed by law, so that their exact value be known. When that office is performed, the power isfunctus officio; the money passes out of the mint, and becomes the lawful property of those who legally acquire it. They may do with it as they please, throw it into the ocean, bury it in the earth, or melt it in a crucible, without violating any law. When it has once left the vaults of the mint, the law maker has nothing to do with it, but to protect it against those who attempt to debase or counterfeit, and subsequently, to pass it as lawful money. In the sense in which the Senator supposes the banks to conflict with the coining power, foreign commerce, and es- pecially our commerce with China, conflicts with it much more ex- tensively. That is the great absorbent of the precious metals, and is therefore much more unconstitutional than the State Banks. For- eign commerce sends them out of the country; banks retain them within it. The distinguished Senator is no enemy to the banks; he merely thinks them injurious to the morals and industry of the coun- try. He likes them very well, but he nevertheless believes that they levy a tax of twenty-five millions annually on the industry of the country ! Let as examine, Mr. President, and see how this enor- mous assessment is made, according to the argument of the Senator from South Carolina. He states that there is a mass of debt due from the community to the banks, amounting to 475,000,000, the inter- est upon which, constituting about the sum of 25,000,000, forms the exceptionable tax. Now, this sum is not paid by the whole com- munity, but only by those individuals who obtain discounts from the banks. They borrow money at six per cent. interest, and invest it in profitable adventures, or otherwise employ it. They would not borrow if they did not suppose they could make profit by it. Instead, therefore, of there being any loss in the operation, there is an actual gain to the community, by the excess of profit made beyond six per cent. interest, which they pay. What are banks They are mere organized agencies for the loan of money and the transaction of mone- tary business; regulated agencies acting under the prescriptions of law, and subject to a responsibility, moral and legal, far transcending that under which any private capitalist operates. A number of per- 380 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. sons, not choosing to lend out their money privately, associate to- gether, bring their respective capitals into a common stock, which is controlled and managed by the corporate government of a bank. If no association whatever had been formed, a large portion of this capi- tal, therefore, of that very debt of 475,000,000, would still exist, in the shape of private loans. The Senator from South Carolina might as well connect the aggre gate amount of all the mortgages, bonds, and notes, which have been executed in the United States for loans, and assert that the interest paid upon the total sum constituted a tax levied upon the community. In the liquidation of the debt due to the banks from the community, and from the banks to the community, there would not be as much difficulty as the Senator seems to apprehend. From the mass of debts due to the banks are te be deducted, first, the amount of sub- scriptions which constitute their capitals; secondly, the amount of deposites to the credit of individuals in their custody; and, thirdly, the amount of their notes in circulation. How easily these mutual debts neutralize each other ! The same person, in numberless instan- ces, will combine in himself the relations both of creditor and debtor. The only general operation of banks beyond their discounts and de- posites, which pervades the whole community, is that of furnishing a circulation in redeemable paper, beyond the amount of specie to re deem it in their vaults. And can it be doubted that this additional supply of money furnishes a powerful stimulus to industry and pro- duction, fully compensating any casual inconvenience, which some- times, though rarely, occurs Banks reduce the rate of interest, and repress inordinate usury. The salutary influence of banking opera- tions is demonstrated in countries and sections of country where they prevail, when contrasted with those in which they are not found. In the former, all is bustle, activity, general prosperity. The country is beautified and adorned by the noble works of internal improve- ments; the cities are filled with splendid edifices, and the wharves covered with the rich productions of our own and of foreign climatcs. In the latter, all is sluggishncss, slothfulness, and inactivity. Eng- land, in modern times, illustrates the great advantages of banks, of credit, and of stimulated industry. Contrast her with Spain, desti. tute of all those advantages. In ancient times, Athens would presen 381 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. an image of full and active employment of all the energies of man carried to the highest point of civilization, while her neighbor, Sparta, t-Ah her iron money, affords another of the boasted benefits of me. tallic circulation. The Senator from South Carolina would do the banks no harm; but they are deemed by him highly injurious to the planting interest! According to him, they inflate prices, and the poor planter sells his productions for hard money, and has to purchase his supplies at the swollen prices produced by a paper medium. Now I must dissent altogether from the Senator's statement of the case. England, the principal customer of the planter is quite as much, if not more, a pa- per country than ours. And the paper-money prices of the one coun- try are neutralized by the paper-money prices of the other country. If the argument were true that a paper-money trades disadvantage- ously with a hard-money country, we ought to continue to employ a paper medium, to counter-balance the paper medium of England. And if we were to banish our paper, and substitute altogether a me- tallic currency, we should be exposed to the very inequality which has been insisting upon. But there is nothing in that view of the matter which is presented by the Senator from South Carolina. If, as he asserts, prices were always inflated in this country beyond their standard in England, the rate of exchange would be constantly against us. An examination, however, into the actual state of exchange be- tween the two countries, for a long series of years, evinces that it has generally been in our favor. In the direct trade between England and this country, I have no doubt there is a large annual balance against us; but that balance is adjusted and liquidated by balances in our favor in other branches of our foreign trade, which have been finally concentrated in England, as the great centre of the commer- cial world. Of all the interests and branches of industry in this country, none has profited more by the use and employment of credit and capital, derived from the banks and other sources, then the planting interests. It habitually employs credit in all countries where planting agricul- ture prevails. The States of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, have almost sprung -into existence, as it were by magic, or at least, have been vastly improved and extended under the influence of the credit system. Lands, slaves, utensils, beasts of burden, and 382 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. other supplies, have been constantly bought, and still continue to be purchased, upon credit; and bank-agency is all-essential to give the most beneficial operation to these credits. But the argument of the Senator from South Carolina, which I am combating, would not be correct, if it were true that we have inflated prices on this side of the Atlantic, without a corresponding inflation of price on the other side; because the planter, generally selling at home, and buying at home, the proceeds of his sale, whatever they may be, constitute the means by which he effects his purchases, and consequently neutralizes each other. In what do we of the West receive payment for the immense quantity of live stock and other produce of our industry, which we annually sell to the South and Southwest, but that paper-medium now so much decried and denounced The Senator from South Carolina is very fond of the State banks; but he thinks there is no legitimate currency except that of the constitution. He contends that the power which the government possesses to impose taxes re- stricts it, in their payment, to the receipt of the precious metals. But the constitution does not say so. The power is given in broad and unrestricted terms; and the government is left at liberty to collect the taxes in whatever medium or commodity from the exigencies of the case, it can collect them. It is, doubtless, much the most convenient to collect them in money, because that represents, or can command, every thing, the want of which is implied by the power of taxation. But suppose there was no money in the country, none whatever, to be extorted by the tax gatherer from an impoverished people Is the power of government to cease, and the people to be thrown back into a state of nature The Senator asks if taxes could be levied and collected on tobacco in cotton and other commodities Undoubt- edly they could, if the necessity existed for such an inconvenient im- position. Such a case of necessity did exist in the colony of Virginia, and other colonies, prior to the revolution, and taxes were accord- ingNly levied in tobacco or other commodities, as wolf-scalps, even at this day, compose a part of the revenue of more than one State. The argument, then,of the Senator against the right of the goverrk- inent to receive bank notes in payment of public dues, a practice co- eval with the existence of the government, does not seem to me to be sound. It is not accurate, for another reason. Bank notes, when convertible at the will of the holder into specie, are so much counted or told specie, like the specie which is counted and put in marked 383 SPFECHFS OF HFNRY CLAY. kegs denoting the quantity of their contents. The Senator tells u'V that it has been only within a few days that he has discovered that it is illegal to receive bank notes in payment of public dues. Does he think that the usage of the government, under all its administra- tions, and with every party in power, which has prevailed for nigh fifty years, ought to be set aside by a novel theory of his, just dream- ed into existence, even if it possesses the merit of ingenuity The bill under consideration, which has been eulogized by the Senator as perfect in its structure and details, contains a provision that bank notes shall be received in diminished proportions, during a term of six years. He himself introduced the identical principle. It is the only part of the bill that is emphatically his. How then can he con- tend that it is unconstitutional to receive bank notes in payment of public dues I appeal from himself to himself. The Senator further contends that general deposites cannot be made with banks, and be thus confounded with the general mass of the funds on which they transact business. The argument supposes that the motey collected for taxes must be preserved in identity; but that is impossible often to do. May not a collector give the small chance which he has re- ceived from one tax-payer to another tax-payer to enable him to effect his payment May he not change gold for silver, or vice versa, or both, if he be a distant collector, to obtain an undoubted remittance to the public treasury What Mr. President, is the process of making deposites with banks The deposite is made, and a credit is entered for its amount to the government. That credit is supposed to be the exact equivalent of the amount deposited, ready and forthcoming to the government whenever it is wanted for the purposes of disburse ment. It is immaterial to the government whether it receives back again the identical money put in, or other money of equal value. All that it wants is what it put in the bank, or its equivalent ; and that, In ordinary times, with such prudent banks as alone ought to be se- lected, it is sure of getting Again: the treasury has frequently to make remittances to foreign countries, to meet the expenditure neces- sary there for our naval squadrons and other purposes. They are made to the bankers, to the Barings or the Rothschilds, in the form of bills of exchange, purchased in the market by the agents of the government here, with money drawn out of the treasury. Here is one conversion of the money received from the tax-gatherer into the treasury. The bills are transmitted to the bankers, honored, paid, and the amount credited by them to the United States. Are th4 384 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. bankers bound to retain the proceeds of the bills in identity Are they bound to do more than credit the government for an equal amount for which they stand responsible whenever it is wanted If they should happen to use any portion of those very proceeds of bills remitted to them in their banking operations, would it be drawing money from the treasury contrary to the provisions of the constitL tion The Senator from South Carolina contends that there is no consti- tutional power to contract with the twenty-five selected banks, a proposed in the substitute ; yet the deposite act of 1836, which on- tained the hearty approbation of that Senator, contained a similar provision ; and the very bill under consideration, so warmly support- ed by him, provides, under certain contingencies, for contracts to be made with State Banks, to receive deposites of the public money upon compensation. He objects to the substitute, that it converts twenty- five State Banks into a system of federal institutions; but the employment of State institutions by the federal authority no more makes them federal, than the employment of federal institutions by the states converts them into State institutions. This mutual aid, and this reciprocal employment of the several institutions of the general and particular governments, is one of the results and beauties of our admirable though complex system of government. The gene- ral government has the use of the capital, court-houses, prisons, and penitentiaries, in the several States. Do they, therefore, cease to appertain to the States It is to be borne in mind that, although the State Banks may occasionally be used by the federal authority, their legal responsibility to the several States remains unimpaired. They continue to be accountable to them and their existence can only be terminated or prolonged by the state authority. And being governed, as they are, by corporate authority, emanating from, and amenable to, state jurisdiction, and not under the control of the executive of the United States, constitutes at once a greater security for the public money, and more safety to the public liberty. It has been argued that a seperation of the government from the banks will diminish the executive power. It must be admitted that the custody of the pub- lic money in various banks, subject to the control of state authority, furnishes some check upon the possible abuses of the executive gov- ernment. But the argument maintains that the executive has least power when it has most complete possession of the public treasury! 385 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. The Senator from South Carolina contends that the separation in q ies tion being once effected, the relation of the federal government and the State Banks will be antagonistical. I believe so, Mr. President. This is the very thing I wish to prevent. I want them to live in peace, harmony and friendship. If they are antagonists, how is it possible that the State Banks can maintain their existence against the tremen- dous influence of the government Especially, if this government should be backed by such a vast treasury bank as I verily believe this bill is intended to create And what becomes of the argument urged by the Senator from South Carolina, and the abolition reso. lutions, offered by him at an early period of the session, asserting that the general government is bound to protect the domestic institutions of the several States The substitute is not, I think, what the welfare of the country re- quires. It may serve the purpose of a good half-way house. Its accommodations appear fair, and, with the feelings of a wearied traveler, one may be tempted to stop awhile and refresh himself there. I shall vote for it as an amendment to the bill, because I be- lieve it the least of two evils- if it should, indeed, inflict any evil; or rather, because I feel myself in the position of a patient to whom the physician presents in one hand a cup of arsenic, and in the other a cup of ptisan; I reject the first, because of the instant death with which it is charged; I take the latter as being, at the most, harmless, and depend upon the vis medicatrix natura. It would have been a great improvement, in my opinion, if the mode of bringing about the re- sumption of specie payments, contained in the substitute, were re- versed: that is to say, if, instead of fixing on the first of July, for resumption, it had provided that the notes of a certain number of safe, sound and unquestionable Banks to be selected, should be forthwith received by the general government, in payment of all public dues; and that if the selected Banks did not resume, by a future designated day, their notes should cease to be taken. Several immediate effiects would follow: 1st. The government would withdraw from the mar- ket as a competitor with the banks for specie, and they would be left undisturbed to strengthen themselves. And, 2dly, confidence would be restored by taking off the discredit and discountenance thrown upon all Banks by the government. And why should these notes not be so received They are as good as treasury notes, if not bet- ter. They answer all the purposes of the State governments and the 386 ON THE SUB-TREASURY. people. They now would buy as much as specie could have com- manded at the period of suspension. They could be disbursed by the government. And finally, the measure would be temporary. But the true and only efficacious and permanent remedy, I solemn- ly believe, is to be found in a Bank of the United States, properly organized and constituted. We are told that such a bank is fraught with indescribable danger, and that the government must, in the se- quel, get possession of the bank, or the bank of the government. I oppose to these imaginary terrors the practical experience of forty years. I oppose to them the issue of the memorable contest, com- menced by the late President of the United States, against the late Bank of the United States. The administration of that bank had been without serious fault. It had given no just offence to government, towards which it had faithfully performed every financial duty. Un- der its able and enlightened President, it had fulfilled every anticipa- tion which had been formed by those who created it; President Jack- son pronounced the edict that it must fall, and it did fall, against the wishes of an immense majority of the people of the United States; against the convictions of its utility entertained by a large majority of the States; and to the prejudice of the best interests of the whole country. If an innocent, unoffending and highly beneficial institu- tion could be thus easily destroyed by the power of one man, where would be the difficulty of crushing it, if it had given any real cause for just animadversion Finally, I oppose to these imaginary terrors the example deducible from English history. There a bank has ex- isted since the year 1694, and neither has the bank got possession of the government, nor the government of the bank. They have existed in harmony together, both conducing to the prosperity of that great country; and they have so existed, and so contributed, because each has avoided cherishing towards the other that wanton and unneces- sary spirit of hostility whicn was unfortunately engendered in tLe late President of the United States. I am admonished, sir, by my exhausted strength, and by, I fear, your more exhausted patience, to hasten to a close. Mr. President, a great, novel, and untried measure is perseveringly urged upon the acceptance of Congress. That it is pregnant with tremendous con- sequences, for good or evil, is undeniabl, and admitted by all. We firmly believe that it will be fatal to the best interests of this country 387 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and ultimately subversive of its liberties. You, who nave been greatly disappointed in other measures or equal promise, can only hope, in the doubtful and uncertain future, that its operation may prove salutary. Since it was first proposed at the extra session, the whole people have not had an opportunity of passing in judgment upon it at their elections. Asfar as they have, they have expressed their unqualified disapprobation. From Maine to the State of Mis- sissippi, its condemnation has been loudly thundered forth. In every intervening election, the administration has been defeated, or its for- mer majorities neutralized. Maine has spoken; New York, Penn- sylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island, Mississippi and 'Michigan; all these States, in tones and terms not to be misunderstood, have denounced the measure. The key-stone State (God bless her) has twice proclaimed her rejection of it, once at the polls, and once through her legislature. Friends and foes of the administration have united in condemning it. And, at the very moment when I am ad- dressing you, a large meeting of the late supporters of the adminis- tration, headed by the distinguished gentleman who presided in the electoral college which gave the vote of that patriotic State to Presi- dent Van Buren, are assembling in Philadelphia, to protest solemnly against the passage of this bill. Is it right that, under such circum- stances, it should be forced upon a reluctant but free and intelligent people Is it right that this Senate, constituted as it now is, should give its sanction to the measure I say it in no disrespectful or taunting sense, but we are entitled, according to the latest expres- sions of the popular will, and in virtue of manifestations of opinion deliberately exp essed by State Legislatures, to a vote of thirty-five against the bill; and I am ready to enter, with any Senator friendly to the administration, into details to prove the assertion. WVill the Senate, then, bring upon itself the odium of passing this bill I im- plore it to forbear, forbear, forbear ! I appeal to the instructed Sen- ators. Is this government made for us, or for the people and the States, whose agents we are Are we not bound so to administer it as to advance their welfare, promote their prosperity, and give gen- eral satisfaction Will that sacred trust be fulfilled, if the known sentiments of large and respectable communities are despised and con- demned by those whom they have sent here I call upon the hon- orable Senator from Alabama, (Mr. King) with whom I have so long, stood in the public councils, shoulder to shoulder, bearing up the honor and the glory of this great people, to come now to their rescue. 3.9S ON THE SUB-TREASURY. 389 I call upon all the Senators; let us bury, deep and for ever, the cha- racter of the partisan, rise up patriots and statesmen, break the vile chains of party, throw the fragments to the winds, and feel the proud satisfaction that we have made but a small sacrifice to the paramount obligations which we owe our common country. [This bill again failed, the Specie exaction having been first struck out in th Senate, (:31 to 21) when 'Tr. CALHOUN voted against it, but it passed nevertheless, by 25 to 17. On reaching the House, however, it was instantly met by Mr. PATTON, of Vqrginia, with a motion that it do lie on the table, which prevailed: Yeas 106; -Nays 98. It was likewise defeated at the next session, and only became a law on the fourth tral , July, 1840, after the illegal admission of the sub-treasury claimanm from Neiv Jersey to seats in the House.] OUTLINE OF A NATIONAL BANK. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MAY 21, 1S38 (Mr. CLAY, on presenting a petition asking Congress to establish a Bank of the UWited States, spoke briefly as follows:] I WISH to present a petition, confided to my care, signed by a number of persons, praying for the establishment of a Bank of the United States. It is similar to several other petitions which have been presented to the Senate or to the House, during the present ses- sion, praying for the same object They afford evidence of a deep and returning conviction among the people of the utility of such an institution. While I am up, with the permission of the Senate, I beg leave to submit a few observations upon this subject. There is reason to be- lieve that much honest misconception, and some misrepresentation prevail in regard to it, which I wish to correct. It has been supposed that those who are desirous of seeing a Bank of the United States established, are anxious that a charter should be granted to an exist- ing State institution, which has an eminent individual at its head, and that this was the sole object of all their exertions. Now, I wish for one to say, that I have no such purpose in view. I entertain for that gentleman very high respect. I believe him uncommonly able, pro- foundly skilled in finance, and truly patriotic. There is but one other person connected with the banking institutions of the country, in whose administration of a Bank of the United States I should have equal confidence with Mr. Biddle, and that is Albert Gallatin, who, I am glad to learn, at an advanced age, retains in full vigor the facul- ties of his extraordinary mind. There may be other citizens equally competent with those two gentlemen, but I do not know them, or am not acquainted with their particular qualifications. But it is not for any existing State Bank, or any particular indi OUTLINE OF A NATIONAL BANK. vidual at its head, that I am contending. I believe the establishment of a Bank uf the United States is required by the common good of the whole country; and although I might be willing, if it were prac- ticable, to adopt an existing bank as the basis of such an institution, nder all circumstances, I think it most expedient that a new bank with power to establish branches, be created and chartered under the authority of Congress. My friends (as far as I know their opinions,) and 1, are not particularly attached to this or that individual, to this or that existing bank, but to principles, to the thing itself, to the in- stitution, to a well organized Bank of the United States, under the salutary operation of which, the business of the country had so greatly prospered, and we had every reason to hope, would again revive and prosper. And, presuming upon the indulgence of the Senate, I will now take the liberty to suggest for public consideration, some of those suitable conditions and restrictions under which it appears to me that it would be desirable to establish a new bank. 1. The capital not to be extravagantly large, but at the same time, amply sufficient to enable it to perform the needful financial duties for the government; to supply a general currency of uniform value throughout the Union, and to facilitate as nigh as practicable, the equalization of domestic exchange. I suppose that about fifty mill- ions would answer all those purposes. The stock might be divided between the general government, the States according to their federal population and individual subscribers. The portion assigned to the latter, to be distributed at auction, or by private subscription. 2. The corporation, in the spirit of a resolution, recently adopted by the General Assembly of the State, one of whose Senators I have the honor to be, to receive such an organization as to blend, in fair proportions, public and private control, and combining public and pri- vate interests. And, in order to exclude the possibility of the exer- cise of all foreign influence, non-resident foreigners to be prohibited not only from any share in the administration of the corporation, but from holding, directly, or indirectly, any portion of its stock. k1- though I do not myself think this latter restriction necessary, I would make it, in deference to honest prejudices, sincerely entertained, and which no practical statesman ought entirely to disregard. The bank would thus be, in its origin, and continue, through its whole exist- nce, a genuine American institution. 391 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. 3. An adequate portion of the capital to be set apart in productive stocks, and placed in permanent security beyond the reach of the cor. poration, (with the exception of the accruing profits on those stocks) sufficient to pay promptly, in any contingency, the amount of all such paper, under whatever form, that the bank shall put forth as a part of the general circulation. The bill or note holders, in other words, the mass of the community, ought to be protected against the possibility of the failure or the suspension of a bank. The supply of the circulating medinm of a country, is that faculty of a bank, the propriety of the exercise of which may be most controverted. The dealing with a bank, of those who obtain discounts, or make deposites, are voluntary and mutually advantageous, and they are comparatively few in number. But the reception of what is issued and used as a part of the circulating medium of the country, is scarcely a voluntary act, and thousands take it who have no other concern whatever with the bank. The many ought to be guarded and secured by the care of the legislative authority; the vigilance of the few will secure them against loss. I think this provision is a desideratum in our American banking, and the credit of first embodying it in a legislative act is due to the State of New York. 4. Perfect publicity as to the state of the bank at all times, inclu- ding, besides the usual heads of information, the names of every debt- or to the bank, whether as drawer, endorser, or surety, periodically exhibited, and open to public inspection; or if that should be found inconvenient, the right to be secured to any citizen to ascertain at the bank the nature and extent of the responsibility of any of its custom- ers. There is no necessity to throw any veil of secrecy around the ordinary transactions of a bank Publicity will increase responsibili- ty, repress favoritism, insure the negotiation of good paper, and when individual insolvency unfortunately occurs, will deprive the bank of undue advantages now enjoyed by banks practically in the distribution of the effects of the insolvent. 5. A limitation of the dividends so as not to authorize more than - per cent to oe struck. This will check undue expansion in the circulating medium, and restrain improper extension of business in the administration of the bank. 6 A prospective reduction in the rate of interest so as to restric 392 OUTLINE OF A NATWNAL BANK. the bank to six per cent. simply, or if practicabie, to only five per cent. Banks now receive at the rate of near six and a half per cent., ny demanding the interest in advance, and by charging for an addi- tional day. The reduction may be effected by forbearing to ex-act any bonus, or when the profits are likely to exceed the prescribed limit of the dividends, by requiring that the rate of interest shall be so lowered as that they shall not pass that limit. 7. A restriction upon the premium demanded upon post notes and checks used for remittances, so that the maximum should not be more than say one and a half per cent. between any two of the remotest points of the Union. Although it may not be practicable to regulate foreign exchange, depending as it does upon commercial causes not within the control of any one government, I think that it is otherwise with regard to domestic exchange. S. Every practicable provision against the exercise of improper influence, on the part of the executive, upon the bank, and, on the part of the bank, upon the elections of the country. The late Bank of the United States has been, I believe, most unjustly charged with interference in the popular elections. There is, among the public documents evidences of its having scrupulously abstained from such interference. It never did more than to exercise the natural right of self-defence by publishing such reports, speeches, and documents, as tended to place the institution and its administration in a fair point of view before the public. But the people entertain a just jealousy against the danger of any interference of a bank with the elections of the country, and every precaution ought to be taken strictly to guard against it. This is a brief outline of such a new Bank of the United States as I think, if established, would greatly conduce to the prosperity of the country. Perhaps on full discussion and consideration, some of the conditions which I have suggested might not be deemed expedient, or might require modification, and important additional ones may be proposed by others. I will only say a word or two on the constitutional power. I think that it ought no longer to be regarded as an open question. There ought to be some bounds to human controversy. Stability is a neces- 393 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. sary want of society. Among those who deny the power, there are many who admit the benefits of a Bank of the United States. Four times, and under the sway of all the political parties, have Congress deliberately affirmed its existence. Every department of the govern. ment has again and again asserted it. Forty years of acquiescence by the people; uniformity every where in the value of the currency; facility and economy in domestic exchanges, and unexampled pros. perity in the general business of the country, with a Bank of the United States; and, without it, wild disorder in the currency, ruinous irregularity in domestic exchange, and general prostration in the com- merce and business of the nation, would seem to put the question at rest, if it is not to be perpetually agitated. The power has been sus- tained by Washington, the Father of his Country; by Madison, the Father of the Constitution; and by Marshall, the Father of the Ju- diciary. If precedents are not to be blindly followed, neither ought they to be wantonly despised. They are the evidence of truth; and the force of the evidence is in proportion to the integrity, wisdom, and patriotism, of those who establish them. I think that on no occa- sion could there be an array of greater or higher authority. For one, I hope to be pardoned for yielding to it, in preference to submitting my judgment to the opinion of those who now deny the power, how ever respectable it may be. [No action was at this time taken on these suggestions J 394 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. vg THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 7,1839 [From the relations of the Federal Government and of the People of the Free States to S- very, spring the most perplexing and delicate questions which have arisen tnder our -omplex Political System-questions exciting acrimony, irritation and alarm in the Southern States, and requiring of the North conventional action in re- gard to the Right of those held in bondage, adverse to the fundamental principles of Free Government, on which the Institutions of the Free States are based. The pro- per disposition of the Petitions poured in upon Congress asking action adverse to the existence of Slavery, is one of the related topics which has at times arrested the action of Congress and threatened the existence of the Union. Mr. CLAY, having received one of these Petitions, with a request that he present it to the body of which he was a Member spoke as follows:] I HAVE received, Mr. President, a petition to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, which I wish to nresent to the Senate. It is signed by several hundred inhabitants of the Dis- trict of Columbia, and chiefly of the city of Washington. Among them I recognize the name of the highly esteemed Mayor of the city, and other respectable names, some of which are personally and well known to me. They express their regret, that the subject of the abolition of slavery within the District of Columbia, continues to be pressed upon the consideration of Congress by inconsiderate and mis- guided individuals in other parts of the United States. They state that they do not desire the abolition of slavery within the district, even if Congress possesses the very questionable power of abolishing it, without the consent of the people whose interests would be im- mediately and directly affected by the measure; that it is a question solely between the people of the District and their only constitutional legislature, purely municipal, and one in in which no exterior influ- ence or interest can justly interfere; that, if at any future period the people of this District should desire the abolition of slavery within it, they will doubtless make their wishes known, when it will be time enough to take the matter into consideration; that they do not, on this occasi )n, present themselves to Congress because they are slave- SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. holders-many of them are not; some of them are conscientiously opposed to slavery-but they appear because they justly respect the rights of those who own that description of property, and because they entertain a deep conviction that the continued agitation of the question by those who have no right to interfere with it, has an in- jurious influence on the peace and tranquility of the community, and upon the well-being and happiness of those who are held in subjec- tion; they finally protest as well against the unauthorized investiga. tion of which they complain, as against any legislation on the part of Congress in compliance therewith. But, as I wish these respectable petitioners to be themselves heard, I request that their petition may be read. LIt was read accordingly, and MIr. CLAY proceeded.] I am informed by the Committee which requested me to offer this petition, and believe, that it expresses the almost unanimous senti- ments of the people of the District of Columbia. The performance of this service affords me a legitimate oppor- tunity, of which, with the permission of the Senate, I mean now to avail myself, to say something, not only on the particular objects of the petition, but upon the great and interesting subject with which it is intimately associated. It is well known to the Senate, that I have thought that the most judicious course with abolition petitions has not been of late pursued by Congress. I have believed that it would have been wisest to have received and referred them, without opposition, and to have reported against their object in a calm and dispassionate and argu- inentative appeal to the good sense of the whole community. It has been supposed, however by a majority of Congress, that it was most expedient either not to receive the petitions at all, or, if formally received, not to act definitively upon them. There is no substantial difference between these opposite opinions, since both look to an ab- solute rejection of the prayer of the petitioners. But there is a great difference in the form of proceeding; and, Mr. President, some ex- perience in the conduct of human affairs has taught me to believe that a neglect to observe established forms is often attended with more mischievous consequences than the infliction of a positive injury 396 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. We all know that, even in private life, a violation of the existing usages and ceremonies of society cannot take place without serious prejudice. I fear, sir, that the abolitionists have acquired a consider- able apparent force by blending with the object which they have in view a collateral and totally different question arising out of an al- ledged violation of the right of petition. I know full well, and take great pleasure in testifying, that nothing was remoter from the inten- tion of the majority of the Senate, from which I differed, than to violate the right of petition in any case in which, according to its judgment, that right could be constitutionally exercised, or where the object of the petition could be safely or properly granted. Still, it must be owned that the abolitionists have seized hold of the fact of the treatment which their petitions have received in Congress, and made injurious impressions upon the minds of a large portion of the community. This, I think, might have been avoided by the course which I should have been glad to have seen pursued. And I desire now, Mr. President, to advert to some of those topics which I think might have been usefully embodied in a report by a Committee of the Senate, and which, I am persuaded would have checked the progress, if it had not altogether arrested the efforts of abolition. I am sensible, sir, that this work would have been ac complished with much greater ability and with much happier effect, under the auspices of a committee, that it can be by me. But, anx- ious as I always am to contribute whatever is in my power to the harmony, concord, and happiness of this great people, I feel myself irresistably impelled to do whatever is in my power, incompetent as I feel myself to be, to dissuade the public from continuing to agitate a subject fraught with the most dreadful consequences. There are three classes of persons opposed, or apparently opposed, to the continued existence of slavery in the United States. The first are those who, from sentiments of philanthropy and humanity, are conscienciously opposed to the existence of slavery, but who are no less opposed, at the same time, to any disturbance of the peace and tranquillity of the Union, or the infringement of the powers of the States composing the confederacy. In this class may be comprehend- ed that peaceful and exemplary society of " Friends," one of .whose established maxims is, an abhorrence of war in all its forms, and the cultivation of peace and good-will among mankind. The next class 397 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. consists of apparent abolitionists-that is, those who, having been persuaded that the right of petition has been violated by Congress, co-operate with the abolitionists for the sole purpose of asserting and vindicating that right. And the third class are the real ultra-aboli tionists, who are resolved to persevere in the pursuit of their object at all hazards, and without regard to any consequences, however calamitous they may be. With them the right of property is noth- ing; the deficiency of the powers of the general government is noth- ing; the acknowledged and incontestible powers of the States are nothing; a civil war, a dissolution of the Union, and the overthrow of a government in which are concentrated the fondest hopes of the civilized world, are nothing. A single idea has taken possession of their minds; and onward they pursue it, overlooking all barriers, and regardless of all consequences. With this class, the immediate aboli- tion of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the territory of Florida, the prohibition of the removal of slaves from State to State, and the refusal to admit any new State, comprising within its limits the institution of domestic slavery, are but so many means conducing to the accomplishment of the ultimate but perilous end at which they avowedly and boldly aim; are but so many short stages in the long and bloody road to the distant goal at which they would finally ar- rive. Their purpose is abolition, universal abolition, peaceably if they can, forcibly if they must. Their object is no longer concealed by the thinnest veil; it is avowed and proclaimed. Utterly destitute of constitutional or other rightful power, living in totally distinct communities, as alien to the communities in which the subject on which they would operate resides, so far as concerns political power over that subject, as if they lived in Africa or Asia, they nevertheless promulgate to the world their purpose to be to manumit forthwith, and without compensation, and without momal preparation, three mill- ions of negro slaves, under jurisdictions altogether separated from those under which they live. I have said that immediate abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and the territory of Florida, and the exclusion of new States, were only means towards the at tainment of a much more important end. Unfortunately, they are not the only means. Another, and much more lamentable one is that which this class is endeavoring to employ, of arraying one portion against another portion of the Union. With that view, in all their leading prints and publications, the alledged horrors of slavery are depicted in the most glowing and exaggerated colors, to excite the 398 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. imaginations and stimulate the rage of the people in the free States against the people in the slave States. The slave-holder is held up and represented as the most atrocious of human beings. Advertise- ments of fugitive slaves and of slaves to be sold, are carefully collect- ed and blazoned forth, to infuse a spirit of detestation and hatred against one entire and the largest section of the Union. And like a notorious agitator upon another theatre, they would hunt down and proscribe from the pale of civilized society the inhabitants of that en- tire section. Allow me, Mr. President, to say, that while I recognize in the justly wounded feelings of the minister of the United States at the Court of St. James, much to excuse the noti e which he was pro- voked to take of that agitator, in my humble opinion, he would have better consulted the dignity of his station and of his country in treat- ing, it with contemptuous silence. He would exclude us from Euro- pean society-he who himself can only obtain a contraband admission, and is received with scornful repugnance into it! If he be no more desirous of our society than we are of his, he may rest assured that a state of eternal non-intercourse will exist between us. Yes, sir, I think the American minister would have best pursued the dictates of true dignity by regarding the language of the member of the British House of Commons as the malignant ravings of the plunderer of his own country, and the libeller of a foreign and kindred people. But the means to which I have already adverted, are not the only ones which this third class of ultra-abolitionists are employing to effect their ultimate end. They began their operations by professing to employ only persuasive means in appealing to the humanity, and enlightening the understandings of the slave-holding portion of the Union. If there were some kindness in this avowed motive, it must be acknowledged that there was rather a presumptuous display also of an assumed superiority in intelligence and knowledge. For some time they continued to make these appeals to our duty and our inter- est; but impatient with the slow influence of their logic upon our minds, they recently resolved to change their system of action. To the agency of their powers of persuasion, they now propose to substi- tute the powers of the ballot box; and he must be blind to what is passing before us, who does not perceive that the inevitable tendency of their preceedings is, if these should be found insufficient, to invoke, finally, the more potent powers of 1 ne bayonet. 399 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Mr. President, it is at this alarming stage of the proceedings of the ultra-abolitionists that I would seriously invite every considerate man in the country solemnly to pause, and deliberately to reflect, not merely on our existing posture, but upon that dreadful precipice down which they would hurry us. It is because these ultra-abolitionists have ceased to employ the instruments of reason and persuasion, have made their cause political, and have appealed to the ballot box, that I am induced, upon this occasion, to, address you. There have been three epochs in the history of our country at which the spirit of abolition displayed itself. The first was immedi- ately after the formation of the present federal government. When the constitution was about going into operation, its powers were not well understood by the community at large, and remained to be ac- curately interpreted and defined. At that period numerous abolition societies were formed, comprising not merely the society of Friends, but many other good men. Petitions were presented to Congress, praying for the abolition of slavery. They were received without serious opposition, referred, and reported upon by a committee. The report stated that the general government had no power to abolish slavery as it existed in the several States, and that these States them- selves had exclusive jurisdiction over the subject. The report was generally acquiesced in, and satisfaction and tranquillity ensued; the abolition societies thereafter limiting their exertions, in respect to the black population, to offices of humanity within the scope of existing laws. The next period when the subject of slavery, and abolition inci- dentally, were brought into notice and discussion, was that on the memorable occasion of the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union. The struggle was long, strenuous, and fearful. It is too re- cent to make it necessary to do more than merely advert to it, and to say, that it was finally composed by one of those compromises charac- teristic of our institutions, and of which the constitution itself is the most signal instance. The third is, that in which we now find ourselves. Various causes, Mr. President, have contributed to produce the existing excitement on the subject of abolition. The principal one, perhaps, is the exam- ple of British emancipation of tti- slaves in the islands adjacent t( 400 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. our country. Such is the similarity in laws, in language, in institu- tions, and in common origin, between Great Britain and the United States, that no great measure of national policy can be adopted in the one country without producing a considerable degree of influence in the other. Confounding the totally different cases together, of the powers of the British parliament and those of the Congress of the United States, and the totally different situations of the British WYes India Islands, and the the slaves in the sovereign and independent States of this confederacy, superficial men have inferred from the undecided British experiment, the practicability of the abolition of slavery in these States. The powers of the British parliament are unlimited, and are often described to be omnipotent. The powers of the American Congress, on the contrary, are few, cautiously limited, scrupulously excluding all that are not granted, and above all, care- fully and absolutely excluding all power over the existence and con- tinuance of slavery in the several States. The slaves, too, upon which British legislation operated, were not in the bosom of the king- dom, but in remote and feeble colonies having no voice in parliament The West India slaveholder was neither represented nor representa- tive in that parliament. And while I most fervently wish complete success to the British experiment of West India emancipation, I con- fess that I have fearful forebodings of a disastrous termination of it. W\hatever it may be, I think it must be admitted that, if the British parliament had treated the West India slaves as freemen, it also treat- ed the West India freemen as slaves. If, instead of these slaves being separated by a wide ocean from the parent country, three or four millions of African negro slaves had been dispersed over England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and their owners had been members of the British parliament-a case which would have presented some analogy to that of our country-does any one believe that it would have been expedient or practicable to have emancipated them, leav- ing them to remain, with all their embittered feelings, in the United kingdom, boundless as the powers of the British parliament are Other causes have conspired with the British example to produce the existing excitement from abolition. I say it with profound regret, but with no intention to occasion irritation here or elsewhere, that there are persons in both parts of the Union who have sought to mingle abolition with politics, and to array one portion of the Union against the other. It is the misfortune in free countries that, in high 401 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. party times, a disposition too often prevails to seize hold of every thing which can strengthen the one side or weaken the other Charges of fostering abolition designs have been heedlessly and un- justly made by one party against the other. Prior to the late election of the President of the United, he was charged with being an aboli- tionist, and abolition designs were imputed to many of his supporters. Much as I was opposed to his election, and am to his administration, I neither shared in making nor believing the truth of the charge. He was scarcely installed in office before the same charge was directed against those who opposed his election. Mr. President, it is not true, and I rejoice that it is not true, that either of the two great parties in this country has any designs or aim at abolition. I should deeply lament if it were true. I should con. sider, if it were true, that the danger to the stability of our system would be infinitely greater than any which does, I hope, actually exist. While neither party can be, I think, justly accused of any abolition tendency or purpose, both have profited, and both have been injured in particular localities, by the accession or abstraction of abo- lition support. If the account were fairly stated, I believe the party to which I am opposed has profited much more, and been injured much less, than that to which I belong. But I am far, for that reason, from being disposed to accuse our adversaries of being abolitionists. And now, Mr. President, allow me to consider the several cases in which the authority of Congress is invoked by these abolition peti- tioners upon the subject of domestic slavery. The first relates to it as it exists in the District of Columbia. The following is the provi- sion of the constitution of the United States in reference to that matter: " To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular States, and the accept- ance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United States." This provision preceded, in point of time, the actual cessions which were made by the States of Maryland and Virginia. The object of the cession was, to establish a seat of government of the United States; and the grant in the constitution of exclusive legislation must be un- derstood, and should be always interpreted, as having relation to the obJect of the cession. It was m ith a full knowledge of this clause in 402 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. tbe constitution that those two States ceded to the general govern- ment the ten miles square, constituting the district of Columbia. In making the cession, they supposed that it was to be applied, and ap- plied solely, to the purposes of a seat of government, for which it was asked. When it was made, slavery existed in both those com- monwealths, and in the ceded territory, as it now continues to exist in all of them. Neither Maryland nor Virginia could have anticipa- ted that, while the institution remained within their respective limits, its abolition would be attempted by Congress without their consent. Neither of them would probably have made an unconditional cession, if they could have anticipated such a result. From the nature of the provision in the constitution, and the avow- ed object of the acquisition of the territory, two duties arise on the part of Congress. The first is, to render the district available, com- fortable, and convenient, as a seat of government of the whole Union; the other is to govern the people within the district so as best to pro- mote their happiness and prosperity. These objects are totally dis- tinct in their nature, and in interpreting and exercising the grant of the power of exclusive legislation, that distinction should be con- stantly borne in mind. Is it necessary, in order to render this place a comfortable seat of the general government, to abolish slavery with- in its limits No one can or will advance such a proposition. The government has remained here near forty years without the slightest inconvenience from the presence of domestic slavery. Is it necessary to the well-being of the people of the District that slavery should be abolished from among them They not only neither ask nor desire, but are almost unanimously opposed to it. It exists here in the mildest and most mitigated form. In a population of 39,834, there were, at the last enumeration of the population of the United States, but 6,119 slaves. The number has not probably much increased since. They are dispersed over the ten miles square, engaged in the quiet pursuits of husbandry, or in menial offices in domestic life. If it were necessary to the efficiency of this place, as a seat of the gen- eral government, to abolish slavery, which is utterly denied, the abo- lition should be confined to the necessity which prompts it, that is, to the limits of the City of Washington itself. Beyond those limits, per- sons concerned in the government of the United States, have no more to do with the inhabitants of the District than they have with the inhabitants of the adjacent counties of Maryland and Virginia which lie beyond the District. 403 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. To abolish slavery within the District of Columbia, while it remains in Virginia, and Maryland, situated, as that District is, within the very heart of those States, would expose them to great practical in. convenience and annoyance. The District would become a place of refuge and escape for fugitive slaves from the two States, and a place from which the spirit of discontent, insubordination, and insurrection might be fostered and encouraged in the two States. Suppose, as was at one time under consideration, Pennsylvania had granted ten miles square within its limits, for the purpose of a seat of the general government; could Congress without a violation of good faith, have introduced and established slavery within the bosom of that common wealth, in the ceded territory, after she had abolished it so long ago as the year 17S0 Yet the inconvenience to Pennsylvania in the case supposed, would have been much less than that to Virginia and Maryland in the case we are arguing It was upon this view of the subject that the Senate, at its last session, solemnly declared that it would be a violation of implied faith, resulting from the transaction of the cession, to abolish slavery within the District of Columbia. And would it not be By implied faith is meant, that, when a grant is made for one avowed and de- clared purpose, known to the parties, the grant should not be pervert- ed to another purpose, unavowed and undeclared, and injurious to the grantor. The grant, in the case we are considering, of the terri- tory of Columbia, was for a seat of government. Whatever power is necessary tn accomplish that object, is carried along by the grant. But the abolition of slavery is not necessary to the enjoyment of this site as a seat of the general government. The grant in the constitu tion, of exclusive power of legislation over the District, was made to ensure the exercise of an exclusive authority of the general govern- ment to render this place a safe and secure seat of government, and to promote the well being of the inhabitants of the District. The power granted ought to be interpreted and exercised solely to the end for which it was granted. The language of the grant was necesarily broad, comprehensive, and exclusive, because all the exigencies which might arise to render this a secure seat of the general government, could not have been foreseen and provided for. The language may possib.y De sufficiently comprehensive to include a power of abolition, but it would not at all thence follow that the power could be right- fully exercised. The case may be resembled to that of a plenipoten- 404 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. tiary invested with a plenary power, but who, at the same time has positive instructions from his government as to the kind of treaty which he is to negotiate and conclude. If he violates those instruc- tions, and concludes a different treaty, this government is not bound by it. And, if the foreign government is aware of the violation, it acts in bad faith. Or it may be illustrated by an example drawn from private life. I am an endorser for my friend on a note discounted in bank. He applies to me to endorse another to renew it, which I do in blank. Now this gives him power to make any other use of my note which he pleases. But, if instead of applying it to the intended purpose, he goes to a broker and sells it, thereby doubling my respon- sibility for him, he commits a breach of trust, and a violation of the good faith implied in the whole transaction. But, Mr. President, if this reasoning were an erroneous one as I believe it to be correct and conclusive, is the affair of the liberation of six thousand negro slaves in this District, disconnected with the three millions of slaves in the United States, of sufficient magnitude to agitate, distract and embitter this great confederacy The next case in which the petitioners ask the exercise of the power of Congress, relates to slavery in the Territory of Florida. Florida is the extreme southern portion of the United States. It is bounded on all its land sides by slave states, and is several hun- dred miles from the nearest free state. It almost extends within the tropics, and the nearest important island to it on the water side is Cuba, a slave island. This simple statement of its geographical po- sition should of itself decide the question. When, by the treaty of 1819 with Spain, it was ceded to the United States, slavery existed within it. By the terms of that treaty, the effects and property of the inhabitants are secured to them, and they are allowed to remove and take them away, if they think proper to do so, without limitation as to time. If it were expedient, therefore, to abolish slavery in it, it could not be done consistently with the treaty, without granting to the ancient inhabitants a reasonable time to remove their slaves. But further: By the compromise which took place on the passage of the act for the admission of Missouri into the Union, in the year 1820, it was agreed and understood that the line of 36 degr. 30 min. of north latitude should mark the boundary between the free states 26 405 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY and the slave states to be created in the territories of the United States ceded by the treaty of Louisiana; those situated south of it being slave states, and those north of it, free states. But Florida is south of that line, and consequently, according to the spirit of the understanding which prevailed at the period alluded to, should be a slave state. It may be true that the compromise does not in terms embrace Florida, and that it is not absolutely binding and obliga- tory; but all candid and impartial men must agree that it ought not to be disregarded without the most weighty considerations, and that nothing could be more to be deprecated than to open anew the bleed- ing wounds which were happily bound up and healed by that com- promise. Florida is the only remaining territory to be admitted into the Union with the institution of domestic slavery, while Wisconsin and Iowa are now nearly ripe for admission without it. The next instance in which the exercise of the power of Congress is solicited, is that of prohibiting what is denominated by the peti- tioners the slave trade between the states, or, as it is described in abolition petitions, the trafic in human beings between the States. This exercise of the power of Congress is claimed under that clause of the constitution which invests it with authority to regulate com- merce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes. The power to regulate commerce among the several States, like other powers in the constitution, has hitherto remained dormant in respect to the interior trade by land between these states It was a power granted like all the other powers of the general gov- ernment, to secure peace and harmony among the states. Hitherto it has not been necessary to exercise it. All the cases in which, during the progress of time it may become expedient to exert the ,general authority to regulate commerce between the states, cannot be conceived. We may easily imagine, however, contingencies which, if they were to happen, might require the interposition of the com- mon authority. If, for example, the State of Ohio were, by law, to prohibit any vessel entering the port of Cincinnati, from the port of Louisville, in Kentucky, if that case be not already provided for by the laws which regulate our coasting trade, it would be competent to the general government to annul the prohibition emanating from state authority. Or, if the State of Kentucky were to prohibit the intros duction, within its limits, of any articles of trade, the production of the industry of the inhabitants of the State of Ohio, the general gov 406 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. ernment might by its authority, supersede the state enactment But I deny that the general government has any authority whatever, from the constitution, to abolish what is called the slave trade, or, in other words to prohibit the removal of slaves from one slave state to ano- ther slave state. The grant in the constitution is of a power of regulation, and not prohibition. It is conservative, not destructive. Regulation ex ri termini implies the continued existence or prosecution of the thing regulated. Prohibition implies total discontinuance or annihilation. The regulation intended was designed to facilitate and accommodate, not to obstruct and incommode the commerce to be regulated. Can it be pretended that, under this power to regulate commerce among the States, Congress has the power to prohibit the transportation of live stock which, in countless numbers, are daily passing from the western and interior States to the southern, southwestern, and Atlan- tic States The moment the incontestible fact is admitted that ne- gro slaves are property, the law of moveable property irresistibly attaches itself to them, and secures the right of carrying them from one to another State, where they are recognized as property, without any hindrance whatever from Congress. But, Mr. President, I will not detain the Senate longer on the subjects of slavery within the District and in Florida, and of the right of Congress to prohibit the removal of slaves from one State to ano- ther. These, as I have already intimated, with ultra abolitionists, are but so many masked batteries, concealing the real and ultimate point of attack. That point of attack is the institution of domestic slavery as it exists in these States. It is to liberate three millions of slaves held in bondage within them. And now allow me, Sir, to glance at the insurmountable obstacles which lie in the way of the accomplishment of this end, and at some of the consequences which would ensue if it were possible to attain it. The first impediment is the utter and absolute want of all power on the part of the general government to effect the purpose. The con- stitution of the United States creates a limited government, compri- sing comparatively few powers, and leaving the residuary mass of political power in the possession of the several States. It is well known that the subject of slavery interposed one of the greatest diffi 407 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. culties in the formation of the constitution. It was happily compro. mised and adjusted in a spirit of harmony and patriotism. According to that compromise, no power whatever was granted to the general government in respect to domestic slavery, but that which relates to taxation and representation, and the power to restore fugitive slaves to their lawful owners. All other power in regard to the institution of slavery, was retained exclusively by the States, to be exercised by them severally, according to their respective views of their own pe culiar interest. The constitution of the United States never could have been formed upon the principle of investing the general govern- ment with authority to abolish the institution at its pleasure. It never can be continued for a single day if the exercise of such a pow er be assumed or usurped. But it may be contended by these ultra abolitionists that their obh lect is not to stimulate the action of the general government, but to operate upon the States themselves in which the institution of domes- tic slavery exists. If that be their object, why are these abolition societies and movements all confined to the free States Why are the slave States wantonly and cruelly assailed Why do the aboli. tion presses teem with publications tending to excite hatred and ani- mosity on the part of the inhabitants of the free States against those of the slave States Why is Congress petitioned The free States have no more power or right to interfere with institutions in the slave States, confided to the exclusive jurisdiction of those States, than they would have to interfere with institutions existing in any foreign country. What would be thought of the formation of societies in Great Britain, the issue of numerous inflammatory publications, and the sending out of lecturers throughout the kingdom, denouncing and aiming at the destruction of any of the institutions of France Would they be regarded as proceedings warranted by good neighborhood Or what would be thought of the formation of societies in the slave States, the issuing of violent aud inflammatory tracts, and the depu- tation of missionaries, pouring out impassioned denunciations against institutions under the exclusive control of the free States Is their purpose to appeal to our understandings, and to actuate our human- ity And do they expect to accomplish that purpose by holding us up to the scorn, and contempt, and detestation of the the people of the free States, and the whole civilized world The slavery which ex- ists among us, is our affair not theirs; and they have no more just 408 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. concern with it than they have with slavery as it exists throughout the world. Why not leave it to us, as the common constitution of our country has left it, to be dealt with, under the guidance of Provi- dence, as best we may or can The next obstacle in the way of abolition arises out of the fact of the presence in the slave States of three millions of slaves. They are there, dispersed throughout the land, part and parcel of our popula- tion. They were brought into the country originally under the au- thority of the parent government whilst we were colonies, and their importation was continued in spite of all the remonstrances of our ancestors. If the question were an original question, whether, there being no slaves within the country, we should introduce them, and incorparate them into our society, that would be a totally different question. Few, if any of the citizens of the United States would be found to favor their introduction. No man in it would oppose, upon that supposition, their admission with more determined resolution and conscientious repugnance than I should. But that is not the question. The slaves are here; no practical scheme for their removal or separation from us has been yet devised or proposed; and the true inquiry is, what is best to be done with them. In human affairs we are often constrained, by the force of circumstances and the actual state of things, to do what we would not do if that state of things did not exist. The slaves are here, and here must remain, in some con- dition; and, I repeat, how are they to be best governed What is best to be done for their happiness and our own In the slave States the alternative is, that the white man must govern the black, .or the black govern the white. In several of those States, the num- ber of the slaves is greater than that of the white population. An immediate abolition of slavery in them, as these ultra abolitionists propose, would be followed by a desperate struggle for immediate as- cendancy of the black race over the white race, or rather it would be followed by instantaneous collisions between the two races, which would break out into a civil war that would end in the extermination or subjugation of the one race or the other. In such an alternative, who can hesitate Is it not better for both parties, that the existing state of things should be preserved, instead of exposing them to the horrible strifes and contests which would inevitably attend an imme- diate abolition This is our true ground of defence for the continued existence of slavery in our country. It is that which our revolution 409 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. ary ancestors assumed. It is that which, in my opinion, forms onj justification in the eyes of all Christendom. A third impediment to immediate abolition is to be found in the immense amount of capital which is invested in slave property. The total number of slaves in the United States, according to the last enumeration of the population, was a little upwards of two millions. Assuming their increase at a ratio, which it probably is, of five per cent. per annum, their present number would be three millions. The average value of slaves at this time is stated by persons well informed to be as high as five hundred dollars each. To be certainly within the mark, let us suppose that it is only four hundred dollars. The total value, then, by that estimate, of the slave property in the United States, is twelve hundred millions of dollars. This property is diffused throughout all classes and conditions of society. It is owned by widows and orphans, by the aged and infirm, as well as the sound and vigorous. It is the subject of mortgages, deeds of trust, and family settlements. It has been made the basis of numerous debts contracted upon its faith, and is the sole reliance, in many instances, of creditors within and without the slave States, for the payment of debts due to them. And now it is rashly proposed, by a single fiat of legislation, to annihilate this immense amount of property ! To annihilate it without indemnity and without compensation to its owners ! Does any considerate man believe it to be possible to effect such an object without convulsion, revolution, and bloodshed I know that there is a visionary dogma, which holds that negro slaves cannot be the subject of property. I shall not dwell long on this speculative abstraction. That is property which the law de- clares to be property. Two hundred years of legislation have sanc- tioned and sanctified negro slaves as property. Under all the forms of government which have existed upon this continent during that long space of time-under the British government-under the colo- nial government-under all the State constitutions and governments -and under the federal government itself-they have been deliber- ately and solemnly recognized as the legitimate subjects of property. To the wild speculations of theorists and innovators stands opposed the fact, that in an uninterrupted period of two hundred years' dura- tion, under every form of human legislation, and by all the depart- ments of human government, African negro slaves have been held 410 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. and respected, have descended and been transferred, as lawful and indisputable property. They were treated as property in the very British example which is so triumphantly appealed to as worthy of our imitation. Although the West India planters had no voice in the united parliament of the British Isle, an irresistible sense of justice extorted from that legislature the grant of twenty millions of pounds sterling to compensate the colonists for their loss of property. If, therefore, these ultra-abolitionists are seriously determined to pursue their immediate scheme of abolition, they should at once set about raising a fund of twelve hundred millions of dollars, to indemn- nify the owners of slave property. And the taxes to raise that enor- mous amount can only be justly assessed upon themselves or upon the free States, if they can persuade them to assent to such an assess- ment; for it would be a mockery of all justice and an outrage against all equity to levy any portion of the tax upon the slave States to pay for their own unquestioned property. If the considerations to which I have already adverted are not suf- ficient to dissuade the abolitionists from further perseverance in their designs, the interest of the very cause which they profess to espouse ought to check their career. Instead of advancing, by their efforts, that cause, they have thrown back for half a century the prospect of any species of emancipation of the African race, gradual or immediate, in any of the States. They have done more; they have increased the rigors of legislation against slaves in most, if not all, of the slave States. Forty years ago the question was agitated in the State of Kentucky of a gradual emancipation of the slaves within its limits. By gradual emancipation, I mean that slow but safe and cautious liberation of slaves which was first adopted in Pennsylvania at the instance of Dr. Franklin, in the year 17S0, and according to which, the generation in being were to remain in slavery, but all their off- spring born after a specified day were to be free at the age of twenty- eight, and, in the meantime, were to receive preparatory instruction to qualify them for the enjoyment of freedom. That was the species of emancipation which, at the epoch to which I allude. was discussed in Kentucky. No one was rash enough to proposeor think of imme- diate abolition. No one was rash enough to think of throwing loose upon the community, ignorant and unprepared, the untutored slaves of the State. Many thought, and I among them, that as each of the 411 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. slave States had a right exclusively to judge for itself in respect to the institution of domestic slavery, the proportion of slaves compared with the white population in that State, at that time, was so incon. siderable that a system of gradual emancipation might have been safely adopted without any hazard to the security and interests of the commonwealth. And I still think that the question of such emanci- pation in the farming States is one whose solution depends upon the relative numbers of the two races in any given State. If I had been a citizen of the State of Pennsylvania, when Franklin's plan was adopted, 1 should have voted for it, because by no possibility could the black race ever acquire the ascendancy in that State. But if I had been then, or were now, a citizen of any of the planting States- the southern or southwestern States-I should have opposed, and would continue to oppose, any scheme whatever of emancipation, gradual or immediate, because of the danger of an ultimate ascendancy of the black race, or of a civil contest which might terminate in the extinction of one race or the other. The proposition in Kentucky for a gradual emancipation did not prevail, but it was sustained by a large and respectable minority. That minority had increased and was increasing, until the abolition- ists commenced their operations. The effect has been to dissipate all prospects whatever for the present, of any scheme of gradual or other emancipation. The people of that State have been shocked and alarmed by these abolition movements, and the number who would now favor a system even of gradual emancipation, is probably less than it was in the years 179S-'9. At the session of the legislature held in 1S37-'8, the question of calling a Convention was submitted to the consideration of the people by a law passed in conformity with the constitution of the State. Many motives existed for the passage of the law, and among them that of emancipation had its influence. When the question was passed upon by the people at their last annu- al election, only about one-fourth of the whole voters of the State supported a call of a Convention. The apprehension of the danger of abolition was the leading consideration among the people for oppo- sing the call. But for that-but for the agitation of the question of abolition in States whose population had no right, in the opinion of the people of Kentucky to interfere in the matter, the vote for a Con- vention would have been much larger, if it had not been carried. I felt myself constrained to take immediate, bold, and decided ground against it. 412 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. Prior to the agitation of this subject of abolition, there was a pro gressive melioration in the condition of slaves throughout all the slave States. In some of them, schools of instruction were opened by hu mane and religious persons. These are all now checked, and a spirit of insubordination having shown itself in some localities, traceable, it is believed, to abolition movements and exertions, the legislative authority has found it expedient to infuse fresh vigor into the police, and laws which regulate the conduct of the slaves. And now, Mr. President, if it were possible to overcome the in- surmountable obstacles which lie in the way of immediate abolition, let us briefly contemplate some of the consequences which would in- evitably ensue. One of these has been occasionally alluded to in the progress of these remarks. It is the struggle which would instanta- neously arise between the two races in most of the southern and southwestern States. And what a dreadful struggle would it not be! Embittered by all the recollections of the past, by the unconquerable prejudices which would prevail between two races, and stimulated by all the hopes and fears of the future, it would be a contest in which the extermination of the blacks, or their ascendancy over the whites, would be the sole alternative. Prior to the conclusion, or during the progress of such a contest, vast numbers, probably of the black race would migrate into the free States; and what effect would such a migration have upon the laboring classes in those States ! Now the distribution of labor in the United States is geographical; the free laborers occupying one side of the line, and the slave laborers the other; each class pursuing its own avocations almost altogether unmixed with the other. But on the supposition of immediate aboli- tion, the black class, migrating into the free States, would enter into competition with the white class, diminishing the wages of their labor and augmenting the hardships of their condition. This is not all. The abolitionists strenuously oppose all separation of the two races. I confess to you, sir, that I have seen with regret, grief, and astonishment, their resolute opposition to the project of colonization. No scheme was ever presented to the acceptance of man, which, whether it be entirely practicable or not, is character. ized by more unmixed humanity and benevolence than that of trans porting, with their own consent, the free people of color in the Unite 413 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. States to the land of their ancestors. It has the powerful recommen. dation that whatever it does is good; and, if it affects nothing, it in. flicts no one evil or mischief upon any portion of our society. There is no necessary hostility between the objects of colonization and abo- lition. Colonization deals only with the free man of color, and that with his own free voluntary consent. It has nothing to do with sla- very. It disturbs no man's property, seeks to impair no power in the slave States, nor to attribute any to the general government. All its action, and all its ways and means are voluntary, depending upon the blessing of Providence, which hitherto has graciously smiled upon it. And yet, beneficent and harmless as colonization is, no portion of the people of the United States denounce it with so much persevering zeal and such unmixed bitterness as do the abolitionists. They put themselves in direct opposition to any separation what- ever between the two races. They would keep them for ever pent up together within the same limits, perpetuating their animosities, and constantly endangering the peace of the community. They pro- claim, indeed, that color is nothing; that the organic and character- istic differences between the two races ought to be entirely overlook- ed and disregarded. And, elevated themselves to a sublime but im- practicable philosophy, they would teach us to eradicate all the re- pugnances of our nature, and to take to our bosoms and our boards the black man as we do the white, on the same footing of equal social condition. Do they not perceive that in thus confounding all the distinctions which God himself has made, they arraign the wisdom and goodness of Providence itself It has been his divine pleasure to make the black man black, and the white man white, and to dis- tinguish them by other repulsive constitutional differences. It is not necessary for me to maintain, nor shall I endeavor to prove, that it was any part of his divine intention that the one race should be held in perpetual bondage by the other; but this I will say, that those whom he has created different, and has declared, by their physical structure and color, ought to be kept asunder, should not be brought together by any process whatever of unnatural amalgamation. But if the dangers of the evil contest which I have supposed could be avoided, separation or amalgamation is the only peaceful alterna- tive, if it were possible to effectuate the project of abolition. The abolitionists oppose all colonization, and it irresistibly follows, what 414 ON ABOLITION PETITIONS. ever they may protest or declare, that they are in favor of amalga- mation. And who are to bring about this amalgamation I have heard of none of these ultra abolitionists furnishing in their own fam- ilies or persons examples of intermarriage. Who is to begin it Is it their purpose not only to create a pinching competition between black labor and white labor, but do they intend also to contaminate the industrious and laboring classes of society at the north, by a re- volting admixture of the black element It is frequently asked, what is to become of the African race among us Are they for ever to remain in bondage That question was asked more than half a century ago. It has been answered by fifty years of prosperity, but little chequered from this cause. It will be repeated fifty or a hundred years hence. The true answer is, that the same Providence who has hitherto guided and governed us, and averted all serious evils from the existing relation between the two races, will guide and govern our posterity. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. We have hitherto, with that blessing, taken care of ourselves. Posterity will finDd the means of its own preservation and piosperity. It is only in the most direful event which can befal this people that this great interest, and all other of our greatest interests, would be put in jeopardy. Although in particular districts the black population it- gaining upon the white, it only constitutes one fifth of the whole p pulation of the United States. And taking the aggre- gates of the two races, the European is constantly, though slowly, gaining upon the African portion. This fact is demonstrated by the periodical rr'turns of our population. Let us cease, then, to indulge in gloomy f rebodings about the impenetrable future. But, if we may attemnp' to lift the veil, and contemplate what lies beyond it. I, too, have v, ntured on a speculative theory, with which I will not now trouble you, but which has been published to the world. Ac- cording. to C iat, in the progress of time, some one hundred and fifty or two hutilred years hence, but few vestiges of the black race will remain aming our posterity. Mr. Prcsident, at the period of the formation of our constitution, and afterwards, our patriotic ancestors apprehended danger to the Union from two causes. One was, the Alleghany mountains, divid- ing, the waters which flow into the Atlantic ocean trom those wnich round their outlet in the Gulf of Mexico. They seemed to present a 415 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. natural separation. That danger has vanished before the noble achievements of the spirit of internal improvement, and the immortal genius of Fulton. And now, no where is found a more loyal attach- ment to the Union than among those very western people, who, it was apprehended, wo