E340 .CI 5 M4 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DDDDsaaav^T « o s r> -^ •' , ^ '■'^M^ .^* '^^ "'^ MEASURES, NOT MEN. ILLUSTRATED BY SOXOS RSMAlLKS WON THE PUBLIC CONDUCT AND CHARACTER OF JOHN C. CALHOUN. " Unimpeached morality, practical talents, and republican simplicity of character, are indis- pensable qualifications ia the Citizen who is to be elected President of the United States." C(t!m Ohsener. COLLECTED PRINCIPALLY FROM PUBLIC DOCVMKV 1' BY A CITIZEN OF NEW-YORK. TSrefco=¥otft;: PRINTED BT E. B. CLAYTON, 64 PINE-STHEET Sold at the Bookstores. 182S. MEASURES, NOT MEN. ILLUSTRATED BY SOME REMARKS UPON THE PUBLIC CONDUCT AND CHARACTER OP JOHN C. CALHOUN. " Unirapeached morality, practical talents, and republican simplicity of character, are indis- pensable qualifications in "the Citizen who is to be elected President of the United States." Calm Observer, COLLECTED PRINCIPALLY FROM PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. BY A CITIZEN OF NEW-YORK. 3Srrto=¥orfe: /^ PRINTED BY E. B. CLAYTON, 64 PINE-STREET. Sold at the Bookstores. 182.S. JOHN C. CALHOUN. In attempting to present to the American public, a brief sketch of the life and political career of the distinguished statesman, whose name stands at the head of this article, we are not insensible of the importance and responsibility of the task we have undertaken. Perhaps the political destiny of these United States will not be more distinguished by any other circumstance, from that of those other republics, which flash but a momentary splendour on the page of history, than by the wide extent of territory over which they stretch. In a representative republic, whose population spreads over twenty-four States, and is destined to cover a much greater number, a faithful delineation of the conduct and character of living statesmen, is one of the most important functions of a free press. To the great mass of the American people, those distinguished politicians, whose united talents con- stitute the political wealth of the republic, must of necessity be personally unknown ; yet, as all political power emanates directly or indirectly from the people, a correct knowledge of the conduct, character, and qualifications of those who have had a leading agency in the various departments of public service, is of indispensable importance to a judicious exercise of that great attribute of popular sovereignty, the elective franchise. Under such circumstances, we feel well warranted in the assertion, that, without the agency of the press, the republican form of government could not be prac- tically and beneficially extended, much beyond that contract- ed sphere, in which the people could derive their knowledge of public men from personal observation and acquaintance. In this country, therefore, we must resort to the journals of the day, those chronicles of the passing time, for an authen- 4' tic record of those political measures, which reflect the cha- racter of the statesman who may have been instrumental in devising them. But the events of even a very short political life, are diffused over such a mighty and formless mass of newspaper detail, that they are quite inaccessible, not only to the great mass of the people, but even to those who have a more immediate agency in the transaction of public affairs. They are, of course, as unprofitable as the metal in the mine, until they have received a current form from the hands of the biographical compiler. These views show at once the re- sponsibility and the importance of our present undertaking. That responsibility we most sensibly feel. He who under- takes to write the life of a living statesman, is giving infor- mation in which the people are directly and immediately in- terested. He is, therefore, under the strongest obligations to give a faithful narrative of facts, and an impartial delineation of character. Under these impressions, the following sketch is presented to the public. We have collected the facts, by consulting such persons and documents, as for the last two or three years have fallen within the reach of our researches. John C. Calhoun, the present Secretary of War, is about forty-two years of age, and was born in the District of Abbe- ville, South Carolina. His father, Patrick Calhoun, emigra- ted from Pennsylvania before the commencement of the revo- lutionary war, and was one of the first settlers of the Upper Country, of the then Province of South Carolina. He was an active whig during our struggle for independence; and, it is believed, was a member of the Legislature of the State, under its different modifications, from the first organization of a revolutionary government, till his death. In consequence of this latter event, it devolved upon the mother of John C. to superintend his education. After a considerable conflict between maternal fondness and a sense of duty, she sent him from home to the Academy of the Reverend Dr. Waddel, where he laid the foundation of his classical and scientific attainments. Before he entered the grammar school, having had access to a good library, he became master of most of the ancient and modern historians. History was, indeed, his fa- vourite study ; and after he commenced his classical course, he would frequently steal an hqur from Virgil to devote to Plu- tarch, It is related of him by his schoolmates, that while at this Academy, he had an impediment or hesitancy in his speech, which, added to his unusual diffidence, rendered his prospectsof eminence asaspeakerquite unflattering. But his subsequent brilliant career as a parliamentary speaker, adds another proofto that furnished by the great orator of antiquity, that all minor obstacles will vanish before the persevering energies of a great mind. Having finished his preparatory studies, he became a member of Yale College, and graduated with much distinction, leaving behind him a high reputation for talents. In College he was distinguished for the power of in- vestigation ; and it is said, would never adopt any doctrine, until, by placingit in all its practical bearings, he obtained a kind of anticipated experience of its operation. He was most distinguished for his proficiency in metaphysics, mathematics, and what are usually denominated the precise sciences. These, better than any artificial system of logic, qualify the mind for profound and accurate reasoning. While in College, he manifested a great predilection for political inquiries; and it is said, the course of the lecture was sometimes suspended, by his friendly disputations with Dr. Dvvight, on the principles of government. Mr. Calhoun was one of the few republicans at that time in the College; and although the very name was in some degree odious, and exposed a young n)an to many disadvantages in his career of literary fame and distinction, he alwa3's maintained his opinions with that firmness and in- dependence, which has since characterized his conduct as a statesman. Notwithstanding his supposed political heresies, Dr. Dwight entertained a very high opinion of his talents, and foretold the political eminence which he would one day attain. In preparing himself for the practice of the law, he spent some considerable time in attending the lectures of Judge Reeve, at Litchfield, in Connecticut. During this time, he stu- died with great attention the character of the people of the north eastern section of the Union ; and it was probably the knowledge thus acquired, that enabled liim, during the darkest moments of our late contest with Great Britain, to contemplate without alarm the storm which lowered in that quarter of our horizon, and which some of our politicians looked upon as precursive of the approaching dissolution of the Union. He never doubted that the great body of citizens in New England were firmly attached to the Union. The violent opposition made in that section of the conn- try to the general govertnnent, he ascribed to the disappoint- ed ambition of the leading men, who saw that the sceptre of power had passed from their hands. This opinion is confirmed by the fact, that no sooner did the Hartford Convention un- furl even their dubious and equivocal banner of disunion, than they were deserted by the great mass of their former adherents. While at the law school, Mr. Calhoun was much dis- tinguished by his talent for extemporaneous debating. Such were his powers of rapid and lucid arrangement, that he would answer the desultory arguments of some half a do- zen speakers, in a speech of such logical and systematic com- bination, as would seem to indicate the most formal prepara- tion. At the bar, though he was never fond of the practice of law, he soon rose to the first grade of professional eminence. He appeared, however, to feel that he was not in his appro- priate element, and would frequently exert himself to break the shackles of an arbitrary and technical system, and expatiate in the wider field of reason and natural justice. Soon after he commenced the practice of the law, he was elected a member of tlie State Legislature. In this body, he soon be- came distinguished as a young man of uncommon powers of argument; and his comprehensive views, and disinterested principles, attracted universal confidence. From the usual character of the measures of a State Legislature, it will not be expected of us, to point out particularly those In which he took a leading- part. It will be sufficient to remark, in general terms, that upon all subjects, his views were those of a disin- terested politician. Although from the beginning a firm and decided republican, his principles were too national and elevated to embrace the narrow and selfish artifices to which political partisans too frequently resort. Intrigue he always detested, even in the members of his own party ; and we have frequently heard it remarked, that amidst the violence which characterized the measures of the leading men, when he came into the Legisla- ture, he stood aloof from their bickerings, pursuing the inde- pendent and erect course dictated by his own judgment. He seems, indeed, always to have disdained to be the follower of men, at the expense of principle. He had been but two years a member of the State Legislature, when he was elected a member of Congress. He tookhis^seat in this body, for the first time, in that eventful session, during which war was de- clared against Great Britain. To estimate the character and importance of that measure, it will be necessary to recur to the situation of the country at that time, growing out of her relations with Great Britain. It will be recollected, that in the year 1806, Great Britain declared a large portion of the continent of Europe to be in a state of blockade, although it was known to the whole world that she did not even pretend to apply an adequate force, to give that measure the character of a blockade, under the law of nations. In the spirit, and strictly within the principle of this first encroachment, the governments of France and Great Britain kept up a cross- fire of hostile regulations, which finally resulted in the anni- hilation of all that part of our commerce which we prosecu- ted with either of the powers at war, or their dependencies. By the British orders in council, our merchant ships, destined for the ports of France, or her dependencies, were liable to capture and condemnation ; and by the French decrees, they were liable to similar penalty, when destined for the ports of 8 Great Britain, or her dependencies. A glance at the map of the world will show, that tiiese lawless edicts had swept near- ly the entire mass of our commerce from the ocean. After a protracted course of negotiation, and of earnest, but ineflec- tual remonstrance on the part of our government. Congress, to test the sincerity of belligerent professions, and evince the spirit of forbearing moderation which actuated our councils, passed a law, by which the President was directed to open our occluded ports to that belligerent who should first repeal her unjust edicts, and keep them closed against the other, if she persisted in hers. This law induced France to with- draw her injurious decrees, but produced no effect upon Great Britain. In addition to the regulations injurious to our commerce, the national ships of Great Britain had been for years in the constant habit of impressing native American seamen from our merchant vessels, by the order of the British govern- inent, under tiie pretence of reclaiming British deserters. Thousands of our citizens had been torn tVom all the endear- ments of home, and consigned to slavery In the British ships of war, at the arbitrary discretion of British naval officers. Such was the tenure by which the American seamen held their freedom, and such the state of our relations with Great Britain, when Mr. Calhoun entered Congress. He was an able and decided advocate of the war ; and it is believed, that no member was more instrumental in bringing about that event, which fixed an important era in our na- tional history. He was Indeed of opinion, that the war ought to have been declared at an earlier period; and had de- cidedly disapproved of the restrictive system, in the extent to which it had been carried. As a mean of compelling foreign nations to do us justice, he esteemed it ineflicient; producing more than the privations of war, without exciting that tone of patriotic feeling, which a righteous war always produces, and which constitutes the moral energy of a nation. He believed that our long acquiescence in foreign wrongs, was rapidly sinking the spirit of the nation, and was likely to produce, to use his own language, " a sense of national inlieriority, the greatest of political evils." As chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations, he pre- sented to Congress the report, or manifesto, which, after reciting the wrongs committed on our commerce and seamen by Great Britain, recommended an appeal to arms. His views of the war, however, are more fully and distinctly given in the speeches delivered by him in Congress, on the various propositions which related to that measure. In answer to those who opposed the declaration of war, he admitted and deplored the fact, that we were not as well prepared as we ought to have been. But, appealing to Mr. Randolph, whose argument he was answering, he asked liim emphatically, whose fault it was, that due preparations had not been made for the storm, which had been so obviously brewing for many years, during which time, many of the gentlemen who now insisted that we are unprepared for war, had been members of the national councils f He conceived that the fact of their having been in the opposition, was no apology to the country for neglecting to propose what they now admitted to have been the duty of Congress. He be- lieved the voice of the people was decidedly for the war, a state of things, which ought to be an almost indispensable preliminary to the declaration of a war by such a government as ours. That while we were preparing the physical means, by levying taxes, and enlisting and organizing armies, there was danger of losing, what was incomparably more im- portant, that moral energy which was intimately connected with the existing tone of public feeling. In a popular war, a free people, abounding in resources, will never want the means to prosecute it. In discussing the causes of the war, he disdained to inquire which of the belligerents had first commenced the system of regulations injurious to our com- mercial rights. He denied the right of retaliating altogether. 2 10 That doctrine involves the extraordinary position, that the annihilation of neutral rights, is a lawful mean of assailing an adversary. Admitting that France had made regulations, which we had acquiesced in, to the injury of Great Britain, yet, when Great Britain captured our vessels for that injury, she clearly resorted to force for redress, which is the very definition of war. And even admitting that the war was rightful on the part of Great Britain, was it compatible with the spirit, the honour, or the interest of the nation, tamely and unresistingly to receive the blows of an adversary ^ Posterity will learn, with shame and astonishment, that al- though Great Britain was waging a destructive war upon our commerce and seamen, there were men in the councils of this country, who maintained that there was no just cause of war with that nation ! On the subject of impressment, Mr. Calhoun contended, that the reclamation of deserters was a mere pretext on the part of the British ministry, and that their real object was to man their ships of war with the trained seamen of other nations. He appealed to authentic documents, to show that the subjects of Sweden, and other powers, had been impressed, where no mistake could possibly have resulted from similarity of language. He denied, however, that it was any justification of Great Britain, that she was honestly seeking her own deserters. It was a degra- dation of the sovereignty of the country, and a disgrace to her character, for a moment to permit a petty British officer to erect in our merchant ships a capricious and interested tribunal, to decide, without appeal, upon the fate and free- dom of an American citizen. Here, again. Great Britain assumed the right of being her own judge, and redressing her own wrongs, in a matter involving American rights, and was thus committing war upon our citizens as well as on our commerce. He would not descend to inquire how many of our citizens had thus been deprived of their birthright by lawless violence. Fixing the number at the lowest estimate, lie contended that the government was under the most solemn n obligation to resist the violence, and to wipe out the staiiji which it had fixed upon the reputation of the country. The character of that nation must be low indeed, which can descend to compare the freedom of her citizens with the price of defending it. Among the capital advantages which Mr. Calhoun antici- pated from the war, was the establishment of the national character. Foreign nations entertained the opinion that our government was not capable of sustaining the shock, and meeting the exigencies of war. In fact, so long had we submitted to foreign wrongs, that we began to doubt our own powers of resistance. This most unfounded and dan- gerous idea, was inculcated by many distinguished politi- cians in our own country. It was openly declared, from high authority, that we had not received any injury, and if we had, we were not capable of avenging it. Mr. Calhoun conceived it all important to our future security, to dispel this illusion from the eyes of foreign powers, by practically demonstrating our capacities for war, of which he never en- tertained a doubt. In tliis point of view, he considered the late war not less important than the war of the revolution. — The latter secured to us a free government; the former would prove to ourselves and the world, that it was adequate to all the purposes for which it was created, and would exist as a durable and glorious monument of the wisdom and pa- triotism of those who framed it. In fact, it has been the unceasing efibrt of Mr. Calhoun, ever since he has been in the national councils, to impress upon the nation the im- portant truth, that a government which has a character for imbecility, has no security against foreign aggression. It is in vain to rely on the force of reasoning, or the justice of other nations. All history is replete with proof, that nothing but power can command respect among nations ; and when a nation ceases to be respected, she begins to be insulted. The opinion entertained of us by foreign nations, therefore, is no unimportant matter. Actual power can only repel ag^ gression, but a character for power prevents it. It is truly gratifying to reflect on the efl'ect of the late war upon the American character in foreign countries. Before that event, an American could scarcely hold up his head in Europe; the name was almost synonymous with impotence and con- tempt. Since, it has been customary for Englishmen, on the continent, to assume the American name, to insure respect and attention. The government, which it was supposed would crumble before the first blast of war, is now the ad- miration of the world. The nation that, a few years back, had scarcely a national ship on the ocean, is now looked upon as the power destined to humble the naval glories of Britain, and snatch the trident from her grasp ! Such have been the effects of a war, which many distinguished men confidently predicted, would sink the administration, and ruin the country. During the whole progress of the conflict, Mr. Calhoun was one of its most ardent, firm, and perse- vering supporters. In the most gloomy hour of the contest, when the storm of invasion darkened our shores, and the fires of faction raged within, he stood at his post, fearless and inflexible, never at any moment despairing of the re- public. Mr. Calhoun has been the uniform advocate of a navy. When that measure was before Congress, he most heartily co-operated with his able colleague, Mr. Cheves, who was chairman of the naval committee, in carrying it through Con- gress. He esteems it the only species of force by wliich we can at once assail that power, with whom it will probably be our destiny to come most frequently in contact, and ef- fectually defend our extensive maritime frontier from the rava- ges of an invader. He deems it the appropriate armour of a free people, as it furnishes protection to the country, with- out endangering lier liberties. He also considers the navy as one of the ligaments which bind the union together. It is a power which the people look upon witliout jealousy. It is not likely, therefore, like the army, to be identified with the 13 party in power. Its brilliant achievments will furnish a stock of national fame, in which every section of the country will be anxious to participate. Thus the bond which common interest renders strong, is made indissoluble by common glory. The dethronement of the French Emperor, and the con- sequent change in the political and commercial relations of Continental Europe, gave rise to a bill repealing the embar- go and non-importation acts. This bill was reported by Mr. Calhoun, as chairman of the committee on foreign relations, and ably supported by him in argument. Adverting to the origin of the restrictive system, and the grounds upon which it had been heretofore sustained, he said, it was a pacific policy, arising from the extraordinary state of the world at the time it was adopted, and was of course a temporary, rather than a permanent policy. It originated at a time when every power on the Continent was arrayed against Great Britain, and no country in Europe was interested in the maintenance of neutral rights. The occlusion of all the ports of the continent of Europe, against Great Britain, gave to the restrictive measures adopted by this country, an ef- ficiency, of which they would be now deprived, by a revolu- tion which had thrown open to the commerce of Great Bri- tain all the ports of Europe, those of France excepted. He admitted that the restrictive S3 stem had been too far extend- ed, and said that if he had been in Congress when it was first adopted, he should have recommended war in preference ; but contended, that there would be no inconsistency on the part of the government, in abandoning a system Ibunded on a state of things which no lon^jer existed. He said, being in its origin a pacific measure, it had been continued, he con- fessed, not wiih his approbation, as a war measure : and de- rived its force, as a war measure, entirely from the exclusion of our enemy from the continent of Europe. " But now," said he, " most of the great powers of the continent are neu- tral as between the United States and Great Britain. We 14 were contending for the freedom of trade, and ought to use every exertion to attach to our cause, Russia, Sweden, Hol- land, Denmark, and all the nations who had an interest in the freedom of the seas." " The commercial policy of Great Britain, infrin^L'-ed," he said, " upon the rights of all neutral powers ; and if we would now and then open our ports and commerce to the nations on the continent, it would involve Great Britain in a very awkward and perplexing dilemma. She must either permit us to enjoy a lucrative commerce with those nations, or, by attempting to exclude them from our ports, by her system of paper blockades, she would force them to espouse the cause of America. The very option which would be thus presented to the British cabinet, would so embarrass them, as to produce a stronger motive for peace, on their part, than ten years' continuance of the present system, inoperative as it was now rendered by the change of circum- stances." This is a very imperfect sketcli of the views pre- sented by Mr. Callioun, in the discussion of the proposed re- peal of the restrictive system. The peculiar character of the question rendered unnecessary an inquiry into the general policy of the restrictive measures as a substitute for war. But although Mr. C. repelled the insinuation of French influ- ence, and vindicated the motives which led to the embargo, and non-importation acts, we plainly discover, that he thinks, they ought to have been temporary, and the mere prelimi- naries of war. Towards the close ofthe late war, Mr. Dallas, then Secretary of the Treasury, submitted to Congress his celebrated bank scheme, for relieving the financial embarrassments of the go- vernment. The two distinctive features of the plan were, that the capital ofthe bank should consist principalis of government stock, and that the bank should be required to make a loan of thirty millions of dollars to the government. Mr. Cal- houn was opposed to this scheme, and proposed another, by which the principal part of the capital was to consist of treasury notes, which would supersede the necessity, on the 15 part of tlie government, of obtaining a loan from the bank. It also contemplated a rigid enforcement of specie payments, and provided that the government should not have the power of suspending them. The principal argument urged in fa- vour of the scheme of Mr. Dallas, was its tendency to revive public credit, and thereby promote the facility of obtaining favourable loans. It was contended, that by rendering the government stock subscribable to the Bank, the price of that stock would be raised in the market, and the credit of the government would consequently receive a corresponding elevation. The speech whith Mr. Calhoun delivered on the relative merits of the two plans, was never published, which we extremely regret, as, from the description we have had of it, as well as from the effect it produced, it was probably one of the most luminous and irresistible arguments, ever deli- vered in Congress. He had been detained from Congress by sickness during the early part of the session, and when he arri- ved at Washington, Mr. Dallas' plan had been matured; yet his speech immediately revolutionized the opinion of the house on this important and difficult subject, and his substitute recei- ved a majority of votes; though from subsequent events, neither that nor Mr. Dallas' was carried into effect. We are howe- ver left to infer the views of Mr. Calhoun, partly from what we have heard, and partly from a consideration of the subject itself. His scheme, we conceive, had the advantage of the other, in effecting its immediate object more directly, more certainly, and on terms more advantageous to the government. By the privilege given to treasury notes of being subscriba- ble to the bank, those notes could have been in due time sold, above par, to the extent of thirty millions, which was the amount of the Bank capital, for which treasury notes were subscribable. Thus the government would have sold its pa- per at a considerable premium, instead of 12 per cent, dis- count, which had been the case in previous loans. We cannot perceive how Mr. Dallas' plan was calculated to increase the credit of the government. It is certain that 16 the stock of the government, then in circulation, would have constituted the capital of the bank. The plan then would have resulted in giving to ihose, from whom the government had already borrowed on very disadvantageous terms, the additional premium of the bank dividend. But, would this liave raised the credit of the government with future lenders? The ability of a government to obtain fa- vourable loans, depends entirely upon the strength of the assurance which the lender has, that the government will comply with its engagements. This assurance can be founded only upon good faith oiPthe part of the government, in relation to all previous contracts, and its capacity to com- ply with all future contracts. But good faith cannot surely require more than a compliance with previous contracts. Individuals who had loaned their money, at a very high rate, had no right, moral or legal, to expect an additional premium. It is perfectly obvious, therefore, that by insur- ing to previous lenders more than it had promised, which would have been efl'ected by Mr. Dallas' plan, the govern- ment could not increase its credit with future lenders. Now, Mr. Calhoun's scheme left the previous creditors of the government precisely where their contract had placed them ; and held out to future lenders, those privileges which the other scheme proposed giving to persons from whom there was nothing to expect, at least as the immediate result of the scheme. There can scarcely be a doubt upon the whole, that, as a scheme for raising money promptly and advan- tageously, Mr. Calhoun's was decidedly preferable to the other. But there was another point of view in which Mr. Dallas' plan was more objectionable. It proposed that the Bank should make a loan to the government of thirty mil- lions of dollars. It was this feature which excited the most serious alarm in the mind of Mr. Calhoini, and, we think, justly excited it. There is perhaps no proposition more true in bank economy, than that long loans are incompatible with specie payments. Recurring to the then state of the curren- i 17 cy, we have no hesitation in asserting-, that the projected bank, being bound by its charter to make a loan to the government, to the extent of three fifths of its capital, would have found it impossible to continue them. To suppose that, a bank which gives its notes payable on demand, for the paper of the government, payable at six or twelve months, can continue to redeem those notes with specie, is of all supposi- tions the most wild and extravagant. Thus would the only efficient instrument in the power of the government for re- storing the degraded currency of the country, have been con- verted into an engine for perpetuating that most enormous national evil. Thus would the government itself have been accessary to a state of things, which it was under the most sacred constitutional obligations to remedy. We think Mr. Calhoun was well warranted in the assertion, that no measure had ever been submitted to the considerationof Congress, like- ly to produce such deleterious effects upon the liberties of the country, as the bank scheme submitted by the secretary of the treasury. But the memory of that independent and virtu- ous statesman is not the less sacred on account of a single error, on a subject of great obscureness and difficulty ! During the session of Congress which immediately succeed- ed the termination of the war with Great Britain, a committee was appointed to take into consideration the state of the national currency. Of this committee he was nominated chairman. To restore the medium of exchanges from its disordered con- dition to a state of soundness, the committee recommended the establishment of a national bank. We believe it is to the able, indefatigable, and ceaseless exertions of Mr. Calhoun, that the country is indebted for the success of that important measure. The number of commercial interests and political prejudices which stood opposed to the establishment of a na- tional bank, rendered his task peculiarly difficult and delicate. In a speech of uncommon ability, he portrayed the effects of the existing state of the currency. He said the paper of the state banks was extremely depreciated, varying in degree according to the section of the country in which it circulated. This, he contended, was a deep stain upon public and pri- vate faith, which ii behooved Congress to wipe away before it became indelible. If the remedy were not thus applied, the disease, he feared, would acquire such strength, as to defy the powers of the general government. The constitutional power of Congress to regulate the currency, a power of the utmost national importance, was, in point of fact, usurped by some two hundred and sixty banks, responsible to no power for their issues, and impelled by their thirst for gain, to a course of the most ruinous extravagance. There were not in the vaults of the banks more than fifteen millions of dollars in specie, and yet they had two hundred millions of their pa- per in circulation. He said that the quantity of circulating bank paper had, within five or six years, increased from eigh- ty or ninety, to two hundred millions, producing a constant depreciation in the value of money, unsettling the value of every thing else, and destroying the relative rights of the different classes of the community. The laws regulating the current coin, he said, were a mockery of legislation, when the excessive issues of bank paper had banished gold and silver from the country. To the suspension of specie payments, on the part of the state banks, he ascribed the ex- isting derangements of the currency. He said the banks had undertaken to do a new business, uncongenial with their nature, in making long loans to government, a practice whol- ly inconsistent with specie payments. Those who believed the existing state of things would cure itself, believed what was in the nature of things impossible. The banks were making large dividends, of from 12 to 20 per cent., and the effect of resuming specie payments, would be the immediate reduction of these extraordinary profits, for a time, to almost nothing. Banks must change their nature, before they would concur in doing what it was their interest to prevent. He proceeded to show that the banks had the ability to resume specie payments, if they had the disposition. If they would consentaneously begin to dispose of their public stock, to call 19 in their notes tor the treasury notes in their possession, and moderately curtail their discounts, he conceived they would be able to redeem their notes with specie. After withdrawing, by the sale of part of their stock and treasury notes, twenty-five millions of their own notes from circulation, the rest would be appreciated nearly to par, and they would still have fifteen millions of disposable stock to send to Europe for specie. The only difficulty, that of producing concert, he said, it was the business of Congress to surmount. A national bank, paying specie itself, would have a tendency to produce a general resumption of specie payments, both by its influence and example. Such an institution would also enable the general government to resort to measures for coercing specie payments, which would be otherwise impracticable. The lead- ing measure of this character would be, to deprive the banks refusing to pay specie, of all the profits arising from the busi- ness of the government, by prohibiting deposits with them, and refusing to receive their notes in payment of dues to the national treasury. This was as far as he was willing to go at present; but if the banks persisted in their present course, Congress would be under the necessity of resorting to mea- sures of a deeper tone. Having thus pointed out the remedy of what he conceived to be the most deep seated and alarming evil that ever existed since the foundation of the government, he appealed to Congress, as the guardians of public faith, to interpose their power, and rescue the nation from the impend- ing danger ! In vain had the constitution provided for the equal distribution of the burdens of taxation, when one sec- tion of the country paid its taxes in a medium thirty per cent, less valuable than that in which other sections paid theirs. This was an effect calculated to jeopardize the union itself. He conjured Congress, by all the considerations which the character and destmies of the country could suggest, to ap- ply the remedy then in their power, with firmness. Such is a meager sketch of the speech of Mr. Calhoun, which made so deep an impression upon Congress, that the bank bill pass- ed by a considerable majority. 20 ^V'hether we consider the immediate effects of the bank, or its permanent influence on the state of the currency, it must be admitted to be an institution of the highest national im- portance. It has, notwithstanding the unskilful management of its first directions, realized, thus far, the great objects for which it was established. It has compelled the state banks to embrace one of two alternatives ; either to resume and continue specie payments, or to close their operations. Thus, in a short time, spurious and depreciated paper will be ban- ished from circulation, a medium of commerce substituted in its place, as uniform in its value as it is practicable to estab- lish. It has been urged, as a complaint against the national bank, that it has not furnished a medium of equal value in every part of the union. To require this of the bank, is to require what its advocates never promised, and what every person who understands the subject, knows to be impossible. A bill redeemable in silver at Philadelphia or New- York, must, if the course of exchange is not favourable, upon the obvious principles of commerce, be less valuable at New-Or- leans than at the place of issue ; because the holder of the bill at New-Orleans, though absolutely certain of getting silver for it, must pay the expense of transporting the silver. And the depreciation will be precisel}' in proportion to the expense of transportation. In fact, the experience of the bank is conclusive on the subject. The first direction attempted to redeem, at each of the branches, the bills of all the others. This produced the utmost derangement in the distribution of the capital of the bank. The bills of the southern and wes- tern branches were carried, by the current of exchange, to the northern branches, and there presented for payment. The embarrassments resulting from such a state of things, are too obvious to need explanation. But we believe the clamours which so loudly assailed the bank, have in a great degree subsided The extravagant speculators, who have been ar- rested in their course, have still the infatuation to call for a suspension of specie payments, and an indeftnite issue of bank 21 jjaper. But tlie sober, lionest, and intelligent part of the community, look upon those advocates of the paper system, as men, under the influence of a species of derangement, and out of the reach of reason, argument, or experience. To a statesman who takes a comprehensive view of the ac- tual state of things in the United States, the necessity of such an institution as the national bank, must be almost self-evident. Whether it were not better that the circulating medium should consist wholly of the precious metals, is no longer a question open for discussion. Banks have become so intimately incorporated with the various interests of society, that it only remains for the gene- ral government to exercise over them such a control, as will secure the national currency from ruinous derangement. Without such a control, no language can convey an adequate idea of the embarrassments in which the finances of the govern- ment would be perpetually involved, as well as the whole of the commercial transactions of the country. Each state is in- terested in having a depreciated currency, because it can the more easily pay its taxes and debts to the general government, in such a currency. The United States have immense bodies of land, which, if judiciously disposed of, will lighten the bur- den of taxation, for a long series of years. But will it not be the obvious interest of those states, whose citizens make the largest purchases of the public lands, to permit excessive issues of bank paper, that the debts they owe to the general govirnment may be paid off in a depreciated me- dium. Experience has also shown, that those seaports where the circulating medium is most depreciated, engross the prin- cipal part of the importing business. If, for example, the currency of Maryland should be thirty per cent, less valuable than that of Massachusetts, the Boston merchant will find his interest in making Baltimore his port of entry ; because he can pay the imposts with little more than two thirds of the intrinsic amount he would have to pay at Boston. Thus, interest would prompt the importing and land purchasing ^2 states, to run the race of depreciation, each contending lor the foremost rank. And in this contention they would receive a powerful stimulus from the banks themselves, who are cer- tain to get rich if they can receive interest for their notes, when they are not bound to pay them, which is the plain Eng- lish of suspending specie payments. The above are mere instances to illustrate the frauds which would be committed on the general government, and which it could not possibly resist, but by the agency of the national bank. It re- Cjuires no great sagacity to foresee, that such a state of things would produce collusions extremely dangerous to the union. So deeply was Mr. Calhoun impressed with these views of the subject, that he laboured day and niglit, in the house, and out of it, during the progress of the bank bill, to communicate his impressions to the members of Congress. His views were so exclusively national, and so obviously disinterested, that he finally triumphed over the private interest and political opinion with which he had to contend. When the feelings and the in- terest of the moment shall have passed away, and posterity shall pronounce an impartial judgment on that measure, it will be sufficient glory for an American statesman, to have his name identified with the national bank. During the same session in which the bank question was decided, the discussion of the direct tax was, by common con- sent, selected as the occasion of entering fully into the ques- tion, of what ought to be the policy of the United States in time of peace. The speech which Mr. Calhoun delivered on that occasion, is not surpassed by any that we have ever read, either of ancient or modern times. It is, in our opinion, a perfect model of parliamentary speaking. The political views presented are profound and accurate, and are enforced with all the power which truth possesses, when accompanied with an elevated dignity of sentiment. The course of policy which is recommended, if steadily pursued, cannot fail to car- ry the United States to the high and happy destinies, for which Providence seems to have created them. 23 Speaking of the policy whicli ought to be pursued in re- lation to other nations, he said, " it is the duty of all nations, especially of one whose institutions recognise no principle of force, but appeal to virtue for their strength, to act with justice and moderation ; with moderation approaching to for- bearance. In all possible conflicts with foreign powers, our government should be able to make it manifest to the world, that it has justice on its side. But," said he, " as we ren- der justice to all, so should we be prepared to exact it from all. Our conduct should not only be moderate and just, but as high minded as it is moderate and just. In the policy of nations," he said, " there were two extremes; one extreme in which justice and moderation may sink into feebleness; another in which that lofty spirit, which ought to animate all nations, particularly free ones, may mount up to military violence. These extremes ought to be equally avoided ; but of the two," he considered " the former far the most danger- ous and fatal. There were," he said, " two splendid ex- amples of nations which had ultimately sunk by military violence — the Romans in ancient times, and the French in modern. But how numerous were the instances of nations sinking into nothingness through imbecility and apathy ! They had not indeed struck the mind so forcibly as the in- stances just mentioned, because they had sunk ingloriously, without any thing in their descent to excite admiration or re- spect." lie considered the extreme of weakness, not only the most dangerous in itself, but as that extreme to which the peo- ple of this country are peculiarly liable. " The people," said he " are high minded, but they are blessed with much happiness, moral, political and physical ; this operates on the disposition and habits of this people, something like the effects attributed to southern climates ; it disposes them to plea- sure and inactivity, except in the pursuit of wealth. The nature of our foreign relations," he said, " increased our in- clination to a feeble policy. We have indeed dangers to apprehend from abroad, but they are far oflT, at the distance 24 of three thousand miles, which prevents that continued dread they wouhl excite, if in our neighbourliood. Besides, we can have no foreign war that we should dread, but with Great Britain ; but a war witli her breaks in on the whole industry of the country, and affects all its private pursuits." Advert- ing to the probable policy of Great Britain, he said, " she was the most formidable power in the world, while the United States were the most growing ; most rapidly improving in those very particulars in which Great Britain excels." He asked, " if it could be reasonably expected, that the greater power would permit the less to attain its destined greatness, by natural growth, without interruption.^ He feared not. But admitting the councils of that nation to be govern- ed by a degree of magnanimity which the world had never witnessed, and he was warranted in saying never would, might not some unforeseen collision involve us in war with that power ^ I am sure," said he, " future wars with Great Britain are not only probable, but they will certainly take place. Future wars," he feared, with the honourable speaker, " future wars, long and bloody, will exist between this coun- try and Great Britain. He lamented it, but would not close his e^'es on future events, and forfeit the high trust reposed in him. You will have," said he, " to encounter British jealousy and hostility in every shape. As far as she can, she will dis- grace every tiling connected with you. Her reviewers, her paragraphists, and travellers, will assail you and your institu- tions, and no means will be left untried to bring you to con- temn yourselves, and be contemned by others. But," said he, " I thank my God, they have not the means of effecting it which they once had. No; the late war has given you a mode of thinking and acting, which forbids the acknowledg- ment of national inferiority, the greatest of political evils. Had we not encountered Great Britain, we should not have had the brilliant points to rest on, which we now have. We, too, have now our heroes and illustrious actions. If Britain lias her Wellingtons, we have our Jacksons, our Browns, and 25 ft our Scotts. If she has her naval heroes, we have them not less renowned, for they have snatched the laurel from her brow. It is impossible that we can now be degraded by comparisons. He then proceeded to consider the preparations which policy dictated. The extent of our preparations should be gradu- ated, with reference to the character and capacity of Great Britain ; a nation, said he, which excels, in means, all nations that now exist, or ever did exist, and, besides great moral re- sources, intelligent and renowned for masculine virtues. He considered the navy as the first object of attention; it was a species of force peculiarly adapted to our situation. Where, he asked, was Great Britain most vulnerable .'' In her commerce and navigation. There she is not only exposed, but the blow is fatal. There is her strength — there is the secret of her power. After enforcing the policy of increasing our naval force by a variety of practical viewsand illustrations, he proceeded to consider the military peace establishment, which he deemed small enough. " I know," said he, " the danger of large standing armies, and that the militia is the true force ; that no nation can be safe at home and abroad, without an effi- cient militia. But the time of service ought to be extended, to enable them to acquire a knowledge of the duties of a camp, and let the habits of civil life be broken. Your de- fence," said he " ought to depend, on the land, on a regular draft from the body of the people. It is thus, in time of war, the business of recruiting will be dispensed with, a mode of defending the country every way uncongenial with our repub- lican institutions ; uncertain, slow in its operations, and ex- pensive, it draws from society its worst materials, introducing into our army, of necessity, all the severities which are exer- cised in that of the most despotic government. Thus com- pounded, our army in a great degree loses that enthusiasm by which citizen soldiers, conscious of liberty, have ever been animated. All free nations of antiquity intrusted the defence of the country, not to the dregs of society, but to the bodyofciti- 4 26 zeus ; lience that heroism, which modern limes may admire, but cannot equal." " I know," said he, " that I utter truths unpleasant to those who wish to enjoy liberty, without making the efforts neces- sary to secure it. It had been said by some physicians, that life was a forced state ; the same might be said of freedom. It required efforts ; it presupposed mental and moral qualities of a high order, to be generally diffused in the society where it existed. It mainly stood upon the faithful discharge of two great duties, which every citizen of proper age owed the republic ; a wise and virtuous exercise of the right of suf- frage, and a prompt and brave defence of the country in the hour of danger. The first symptom of decay had always appeared, in the backward and negligent discharge of the latter duty. Large standing and mercenary armies then be- came necessary; and those who were not willing to render the military service essential to the defence of their rights, soon found, as they ought to do, a master." He then proceeded to recommend the establishment of a system of roads and canals ; but as he subsequently gave that subject a distinct discussion, we shall barely mention it here, as falling within liis general summary of the policy of the country. He also adverted to the policy of encouraging domestic manufac- tures, not with a view to increase the national wealth, for he admitted that industry left to itself would most effectually promote that object, but as a means of defence during war. The principal encouragement, he conceived, should be given to those branches of domestic industry which provide the materials of clothing and defence. He also pointed out the necessity of fortifying the weak points of the coast, particu- larly the mouths of the Mississippi and the Chesapeake. He observed, in relation to the finances, that it was unwise to de- pend entirely upon imports, as the character of the national industry was rapidly changing. While a nation is entirely agricultural, depending for supply on foreign markets, its people, said he, may be taxed, through its imports, almost 27 to the amount of Its capacity. Foreign commerce was, how- ever, daily bearing a less proportion to the national wealth, from the increase of manufactures. The financial resources of the nation would therefore daily become weaker and weak- er, if we did not resort to other objects than our foreign com- merce for taxation. Besides, he contended, that it was im- possible to prepare a system of internal taxation in time of war, without great embarrassment. Convince the people, said he, that such measures are necessary, and they will maintain them. Already they go far, very far, before this house, in energy and public spirit. If ever measures of this description become unpopular, it will be by speeches here. Are any willing to lull the people into false security .'* The subject, said he, is grave; it is connected with the happiness and existence of the country. He sincerely hoped Congress were the real agents of the people, brought together, in the language of the consti- tution, not to consult their ease and convenience, but the ge- neral defence and common welfare. The measures he had proposed involved, no doubt, great expense ; they required con- siderable sacrifices on the part of the people. But were they on that account to be rejected ? We may dispense with the taxes — we may neglect every measure of precaution, and feel no immediate disaster ; but in such a state of things, what virtuous, what wise citizens, but must look on the future with dread .'' The road, said he, that wisdom points out, leads up the steep, but leads also to security and lasting glory. The love of present ease and pleasure, that fatal weakness of human nature, has never failed, in in- dividuals or nations, to sink them to disgrace and ruin. On the contrary, virtue and wisdom, which regard the future, which spurn the temptations of the moment, however rugged their path, end in happiness. Such, said he, are the univer- sal sentiments of all wise writers, from the didactics of the philosophers, to the fictions of the poets. They agree that pleasure is a flowery path, leading off among groves and meadows, but ending in a gloomy and dreary wilderness. Tt is my wish, said he, to elevate the national sentiment, to 28 that which every just and virtuous mind possesses. No fort was needed to impel us the opposite way ; that mig be too safely trusted to the frailties of our nature. This r tion, said he, is in a situation, similar to that in which one the most beautiful writers of antiquity paints Hercules in 1 youth ; he represents the hero as retiring into the wildern< to deliberate on the course of life he ought to pursue. T\ Goddesses approached hiui, one recommending a life of es and pleasure, the other of labour and virtue. The he adopted the counsel of the latter, and his fame and glory a known to the world. May this nation, the youthful Hercuh possessing his form and muscles, be inspired with his sen ments, and follow his example. During the session of 1816-17, Mr. Calhoun proposed set apart and pledge, as a fund for internal improvement, tl bonus and United States share of the dividends of the natio al bank. On that question, he displayed the ability and ze which have invariably characterized his efforts, on all gre national subjects At peace with all the world, and abouni ing in pecuniary means, in the present state of party ar sectional feelings, to what, said he, can we direct our resourc and attention, more important than internal improvement What can add more to the wealth, strength, and political pro perity of our country ? After explaining the manner in whit the contemplated improvements would promote the nation: wealth, he said there were higher considerations whyCongrc! ought to take charge of the subject. If we were only to cor sider the pecuniary advantages of a good system of roads an canals, it might, indeed, admit of some doubt, whether the/ ought not to be left wholly to individual exertions; but whe we come to consider how intimately the strength and polit cal prosperity of the republic are connected with this subjee we find the most urgent reasons why we ought to apply oi resources to them. In many respects, he said, no country < equal population and wealth possesses equal materials < power with ours. The people, in muscular power, in hard 29 jnterprising habits, and in lofty and gallant courage, are surpassed by none. In one respect, and, in his opinion, in )ne alone, are we materially weak ; we occupy a surface pro- ligiously great in proportion to our number. The common itrength is brought to bear, with great difficulty, on the point Tienaced by the enemy. In the recent war, how much did ve suffer for the want of them. Besides, the tardiness, and con- ;equential inefficacy of our military movements, to what an ncreased expense was the country put, for the article of ransportation alone .'* It was not in this respect alone that oads and canals add to the strength of the country ; our pow- :r of raising revenue, in war, depends mainly upon them. In vnr, we must principally depend on internal taxes. What, hen, is the result ? The taxes are raised in every part of this .'Xtensive country uniformly ; but the expenditure must, in ts nature, be confined principally to the scene of military tperations. This drains the circulating medium from one )art, and accumulates it in another, and perhaps in a very listant one. Unless it can return through the operation of rade,the parts from which the constant drains take place must iltimately be impoverished. Commercial intercourse is the rue remedy for this weakness ; and the means by which that s to be effected, are, roads, canals, and the coasting trade. )n these, said he, combined with domestic manufactures, does he moneyed capacity of this country, in war, depend. With- lut them, not only will we be unable to raise the necessary upplies, but the currency of the country must necessarily fall ato the greatest disorder ; such as we lately experienced. But on this subject of national power, said he, what can Kffl^^V. "-^^ 0^ " ^ov^ :;^^'< '^--0^ r 0^ c^:«.. "^o. *<^^ -^ ^5^ *-7Vi* A t o [• <>* c*^ ; ^^6^ ->' .'jy"^ *r r- "^^ A^ ^ aWa^„ ^^^ .^^ : ^.. V .. t • .« • • O • k 6<=>.