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E 381 2J£: 3: 
 
 .C598 
 Copy 2 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF * 
 HENRY CIAV, 
 
 Delivered at the Mechanics' Collation, in the. 
 Apollonian Garden, in Cincinnati, (Ky.) on the 
 3d of August, 1830. 
 
 Eighth toast.— OUR VALUED GUEST. Ft is hi* 
 highest eulogium, that the narae of HENRY CLAY is inse- 
 parably associated with the best interests of the country, as 
 iheir assertor and advocate. 
 
 When the enthusiastic cheering which followed the read 
 irg of this toast had subsided, Air. Clay rose and addressed 
 the company as follows — 
 
 Mr. President and Fellow Citizens : 
 
 In rising to make ihe acknowledgments which are due 
 from me, for the sentiment which has been just drank, and 
 forth- honors which have been spontaneously rendered to 
 roe, ' n my approach, and during my visit to this city, I feei 
 more than ever the incompetency of all lar.gu ge adequate- 
 ly to express the grateful fe. lings of my heart. Of these 
 distinguished honors, crowned heads themselves might well 
 be proud. They ind* ed possess a value far surpassing that 
 cf any similar testimonies which could be offered to the 
 chief <f an absolute Government. There they are, not un- 
 fiequently , tendered by reluctant subjects, awed by a sense 
 of terror, or impelled by a spirit of servility. Here, in this 
 land of equal law s and equal liberty, they are presented to a 
 private fellow citizen, po-sessing neither office nor power, 
 nor et joying any rights or privileges which are not common 
 to every member of the community. Power could r.ot buy 
 nor de er them. And, what confers an estimablp value 
 ;tpon them to me — what makes them aloi e worthy ofyou 
 or mote acceptable to their object, w that they are offered, 
 not to iht- man, but to the public principles and public inter- 
 ests which you are pleased to a»socibte with his name. On 
 this occasion too, they emanate from one of those gr<-at pro- 
 ductive classes which form the main pillars of public liberty 
 and public prosperity. I thank you, fellow citizens, most 
 cordially, for these endearing proofs of your friendly at- 
 tachment. They have made an impression of gratitude on 
 :ny ht-art which can never be effaced, during the jesidue of 
 my life. I avail myself of this last opportunity of being pre- 
 sent at any large collection of my fellow citizens of Ohio, 
 
 ■ 
 
. ;^ £291 
 
 • ' * ' ""* .C 
 
 during my present visit, to express my respestfui acknow - 
 ledgraents for the hospitality and kindness with which 1 
 have been every where received and entertained. Thnaigh- 
 out my journey, undertaken solely for private purposes, 
 then has been a constant effort on my side to repress, and, 
 on that of my fallow citizens of Ohio, to exhibit puMic 
 manifestations of tl.eir affection <Mid confidence. It 
 has been marked by a succession of civic triumphs. — 
 I have been escorted Irom village to villagp, atjd have every 
 where found myself surrounded by large concourses 
 of my fellow citizens, often of both sexer, greeting and 
 welcoming me. Nor should I do jus'ice to my feel- 
 jags, if I confined theexpiession of my obligations 10 those 
 only with whom I hed the happiness to agree, on a late rub- 
 lie event. They are equally due to the candid and liberal 
 of tho«e from whom it was my roisf rtune to differ on that 
 occasi »n, for their exercise towards me of all lite 'ites of 
 hospitality and neighbourly courtesy. It is true that, in one 
 or two of the towns through which] passed, ! was i> f< rmetj 
 that attempts were mule, by a few political zealots to dis- 
 suade portions oi my fellow citizens from visiting and salu- 
 ting me. These zeaiots seemed to apprehend that an inva- 
 ding army was about to enter tie town : that it was neces- 
 sary to sound f e bells, to heat the drums to poii t the can- 
 non, and to make all needful preparations for a re olute 
 assault and a gallant defence They were accordingly 
 seen in the strei ts and at public places beating up tor re- 
 cruits, and endeavouring to drill their men. But 1 b. lieve 
 there were onlv a few who were awed by their threats or 
 seduced by their bounty, to enli>t in such a cause. The 
 great ho y oftbose who thought differently from me, in the 
 instance referred to, remained firm and immovable. They 
 could not comprel end tt at it was wrong to extend to a 
 stranger from a neighboring Siate the civiliti s which be- 
 long' to social life. They could n<.t comprehend that it was 
 ri ff ht to Iransfoi m political differences into deadly animos- 
 ities. Seeing that varieties in the m< de of worshipping the 
 gr at Ruler ol th* Universe did not disturb the harmony of 
 private inte'couise, 'hey could nol comprehend the propri- 
 ety of extending to mortal man a sacrifice which is not 
 offered to our Immortal Father, of all the friendly antiso- 
 cial feelings of our nature, because we could not all agree as 
 to the particular exercise of the elective franchise. As inde- 
 pendent and intelligent freemen, they would not consent t* 
 gubmit t i an arrogant usurpation which assumed the right to 
 pontrol their actions and to regulate the feelings of their 
 beans, and they scorned, with indignation, to y ield obedi- 
 ence to the mandates of would-be dictators. To quiet the 
 apprehensions of these zealots, I assure them that I do not 
 march at the hea of any military force: that I have heiiher 
 hor'e foot, nor ragoon ; ami that I travel with my friend 
 :hailes, (a black boy residing in my family, for whom i 
 
feel the same sort of ntfachmen! that I do for my own ch'i= 
 dren,) wihtout sword, pislol, or musket. Another species 
 of attempted embarrassment has been practised by an indi- 
 vidual of this city. About an hour before I left my lodgings 
 foi this spot, tie caused a packet to be left in my room by a 
 little boy; ■■vho soim mad* his exit Upon opening it I look- 
 ed at tne signature, and thai was enough for me. It con- 
 tained a long list of interrogatories which I wvs required 
 publicly to answer. I read only one or two of them. There 
 are some men whose contact is pollution. I can recognise 
 no right in the person in questim (o catechize me. I can 
 have no intercom se with one who is a disgrace to the gallant 
 and generous nation from which he sprang. I cannot stoop 
 to be thus interrogated by a man whose nomination to a 
 paltry office was rejected by n»arly the unanimous vote of 
 the Senate ; 1 must be excused if, when addressing my 
 friends, the mechanics of Cincinnati, I will not speak from 
 his notes. On the renewal of the charter of the present 
 Bank of the United States, which I believe formed the sub- 
 ject of one or two of these interrogatories, I will say a few 
 words for your, not his sake. I will observe in th- first 
 place, that 1 am not in favor of 8'ich a Bank as was recom- 
 mended in the Message of the President of the U. States at 
 the commencement of the last session of Congress ; that, 
 with the Committee of the two Houses, I concur in thinking 
 it would be an institution of a dangerous and alarming 
 characier ; and that, fraught as it would be wiih the most 
 •orrupting tendencies, it might be rm-.de powerfully instru- 
 mental in overturning our libe'ties. As to the existing 
 bank, I think it has been geuetaliy administered, and par- 
 ticularly of late yeais, with gieat ability ai'.d integrity ; that 
 it has fulfilled all the reasonable expectations 01 tht.se who 
 constituted it ; and, with the same committees, 1 think it has 
 made an appr ximation towards the equalization of -he 
 currency, as gr-at as is practicable. Whether t<e charter 
 ought to be renewed or not. near six years ence, in my 
 judgment, is a question of expediency to be decided by ihe 
 then ex'sting state of the country. It will be necessary at 
 that time to look carefully at the condit'n n both of the 
 Bank and of the Union- To ascertain, if the public debt 
 shall in the mean time be paid off, what effect ih.it will 
 piodii'-e/ what will he our then financial dndi'ion ? w at 
 that of local bai/i-s, ihe state of our commerce, foreign and 
 domestic, as w l! as the concerns of our currency geie; * 'lyl 
 I am, therelore, not now pre, ared to say whether the char- 
 ter ought or ought not to be renewed on Ihe expiration of 
 its present term The Bank may b come insolvent m d may 
 hereafter forfeit all pieten-ions to a renewal. Theques'iou 
 is prermture. 1 may not healiveto form any opinio' u;ion 
 it. It belongs to posterity, and if they would have the 
 goodness to decide for us some of the perplexing and practi- 
 cal questions of th« present day, we might be disposed le 
 
4 
 
 decide that remote question for them. As it is, it ought to 
 be indefinitely postponed. 
 
 With respect to the American System, which demands 
 your undivided approbation, and in regard to which you 
 are pleased to estimate much too highly my service, its great 
 object is to secure the independence of our country, to aug- 
 ment its wealth and to diffuse the comforts of civilization 
 throughout society. That eoject, it has been supposed, can 
 be best accomplished by introducing, encouraging and pro- 
 tecting the artsamong us. It may be called a system of reai 
 reciprocity, under the operation of which one citizen or one 
 part of the country, can exchange one description of the pro- 
 duce of labor with another citizen or another part of the 
 country for a different description of the produce of labor. 
 It is a system which deTelopes, improves and perfects the 
 capabilities of our common country, and enables us to avail 
 ourselves of all the resources with which Providence has 
 blest us. To the laboring classes it is invaluable, since it 
 increases and multiplies the demands for their industry, and 
 gives them an option of employments. It adds power and 
 strength to our Union by new ties of interest, blending and 
 con ecting together all its parts, and creating ao interest 
 with'each in the prosperity of the whole. It secures to our 
 own country, whose skill and enterprise, piopeily fostered 
 and sustained, cannot be surpassed, those vast profits which 
 are made in other countries, by the operation of conveiting 
 the raw material into manufactured articles. It naturalizes 
 and creates within the bosom of our country all the arts, and 
 mixing the farmer, manufacturer, mechanic, artist, and 
 those engaged in other vocations, together, admits of those 
 mutual exchanges, so conducive to the prosperity of all 
 and every one, free from th-- perils of the sea and war. All 
 this i> effects, whilst it nouiishes and leavi s a fair scope to 
 foreign trade. Suppose »e were a na'i<<n that < lad ourselves, 
 and made ail the implements neiessary to civilisation, but 
 did no produce our own bread, which we brought from for- 
 eign countries, although our own was capable of producing 
 it, under the influence of suitable laws of protection, ought 
 n«t sucli laws to be enacted? The case supposed is not essen- 
 tially i ifierent from the real state of things which ltd to the 
 adoption .if ihe American System. 
 
 T' at system has had a wonileiful success. It has mors 
 than teal zed all i he hopes of its founders. It has complete- 
 ly falsified all the predictions of its opponents. It ha in: 
 creased tie wealth, and power aud population of the Na- 
 tion. It has diminished tie pi ice of articles of c usuinp- 
 tio , and has i laced them within he reach of a fai gr. ^ t . r 
 numb t of <>ur people than Could ■ ave (on. <i m ans to coin. 
 mand them, if they I. ad been manufactured abroad ins ead 
 of ai home. 
 
 But i< is useless to dwell ou the argument in support of 
 Jhis beneficent system before this audience. It will be of 
 
more consequence here to examine some of (he objections 
 winch are still urged against it, and the means which are 
 proposed to subvert it. These objections are now princi- 
 pally confined to its operation upon the great staple of cot- 
 ton wool, and they are urged wiih most vehemence in a par- 
 ticular State. If the objections are well founded, the system 
 should be modified as far as it can consistently with intet- 
 ests in other parts of the Union. It they are not well found- 
 ed, it is to be hoped they will be finally abandoned. 
 
 In apj roaching the subject, I have thought it of impor- 
 tance to inquire what was the profit made upon capital em- 
 ployed in the culture of colt- n, at its present reduced price. 
 The result has been information, that it netts from 7 to 18 
 p^r cent per annum, varying according to the advantage of 
 situa'ion, and the degree ot skill, judgment, and industry, 
 applied to the production of the article. But the lowest 
 rate of profit, in the scale, is more than the greatest amount 
 which i made on capital employed in the farming portions 
 oflhe Ur.ion. 
 
 If the cotton planter have any just complaint against the 
 expediency of the American System, it must be founded on 
 the fact, that he either sells less ot his staple or sells, at lower 
 prices, or purchases, for consumption, articles at dearer rates 
 or of worse qualities, in consequence of that system, than he 
 would do, if it did not ex st. If lie would neither sell more 
 of his staple, nnr seli it at better prices, nor could purchase 
 better or cheaper articles for consumption, provided the sys- 
 tem did not exist, then he has uo cause, on the score of its 
 burthensome operation, to complain of the system, but must 
 look tooiher sources for the gtievances which he supposes 
 afflict him. 
 
 As respects the sale of his staple, it would be indifferent 
 to 'he planter wl. ether one portion of it was sold in Europe 
 and the other in America, provided the aggregate of both 
 were equal to all that he could sell in one market, if he had 
 buton'-, and provided he could command the same price in 
 both cases. The double market would indeed be something 
 better for him, because of its greater security in time ol war 
 p.- w^il as in peace, and because it would be attended with 
 Jess perils and less charges. If there be an equa- amount of the 
 raw niHterial manufactured, it must be immaterial to the 
 cotton planter, in the sale of the article, whether there be 
 two theatres of the manufacture, one in Europe and the other 
 in America, or but one in Europe; or if there be a difference, 
 it will be in favor of the two places of manufacture, instead 
 of one, for reasons already assigned, and others that will be 
 hereafter stated. 
 
 It could be of no advantage to the cotton planter, if all 
 the cotton, now manufai tured both in Europe and America, 
 was manufactured exclusively in Europe, and an amount of 
 cotton fabiics should tie brought back from Europe, equal 
 to both what is now bronchi fiom there aud what is manu- 
 
 *i 
 
factored in the. United States together. Whilst he woui'r. 
 gain nothing, the United States would lose the profit and em« 
 plnymen! resulting from the manufacture of that portion 
 which is now wrought up by the manufacturers of the Uniteii 
 States. 
 
 Unless, therefore, it can be shown that by the reduction 
 of import duties and the overthrow of the American System, 
 and by limiting trie manufacture of cotton to Europe, a 
 greater amount of the raw material would be consumed thai! 
 is at present, it is difficult to see what interest, so far as res- 
 pects the s»le of that staple, the cotton planter has in trie 
 subversion of that system, if a reduction of duties wculi 
 admit of larger investments in British or European fabrics cf 
 •;otton, and t' eir subsequent importation into this country, 
 this additional supply wbuld fake the place, if consumed, oS 
 'an equal amount of Ameiican maniifdciures^ud consequent- 
 ly would net augment the g> m ral consumption of <he raw 
 material. Additional importation does not necessarily ira- 
 ply increased consumption, especially when it is effected by 
 a policy which would impair the ability to purchase aa<i con- 
 sume. 
 
 Upon the supposition, just made, of a restriction to Etc 
 Tope of the manufacture of cotton, would more oi le»s of the 
 article be consumed than now is ? More could not be, ua- 
 Jess in consequence of sueh a monopoly of the manufacture, 
 Europe could sell more than she now does. But to what 
 countries could she sell more ? She gets the raw material 
 now unburshened by any duties except suet, moderate ones 
 r.s her policy, not likely to be changed, imposes She is en- 
 abled thereby to sell as much of the manu actured article as 
 She can find markets for in the States within her own limits 
 or in foreign countries. The destruction of the Ameiica;; 
 manufacture wouldnot induce her to sell cheaper, i-ut might 
 •enable her to sell dearer, than she now dies. The ability of 
 those foreign countries, to purchase and consume, would 
 not be increased by the annihilation of oui manufactures, 
 and the monopoly of European manufacture. The pioba> 
 liility is that those foreign countries, by the fact of thai mon- 
 opoly, and some consequent increase of price, wouid be 
 worse and dearer supplied than they now ate under the 
 operation of a competition between America and Europe ia 
 Sheirsupply. 
 
 At most, the United States, after the transfer from their 
 territory to Europe of the eniire manufacture of th*- article, 
 could not consume of European fabrics from cotton a great- 
 er amount than they now deiive from Europe and from ma- 
 nufacures within theii own limits. 
 
 But it is confidently believed that the consumption of 
 cotton fabrics, on the supposition which has been made, 
 with the United States, would be much less than it is at pre- 
 sent. It would be less, because the American consumer 
 would not possess the means or ability to purchase as much 
 
of the European fabric as he now dees to buy the American. 
 Euio;e purchases but little o! the produce of the Northern, 
 Middle and Western regions of the United states. The 
 staple productions of thosa regions are excluded from her 
 consumption by her policy or by her native supplies of simi- 
 lar productions. The effect, (he "fore, of obliging the inha- 
 bitants of t ose regions to depend upori the com. n manufac- 
 tures of Europe for necessary supi ol p. e article, would 
 be alike injurious 10 them and to the cotton grower. They 
 Would suffer from the.r inability fu supply theii wants, and 
 there woulu be a consequent diminution of ihe consumption 
 of ottui. By the location of the manufacture in the United 
 States, the quantity ol cotion consume ! is iucreased, and 
 the mote numerous poriou o* iheir inhabitants, who would 
 nol be otherwise sufficiently supplied, are abundantly served. 
 That this is the true state of thin;?*, i think cannot be doubt- 
 ed by any reflecting and unpi ejudiced man. The establish- 
 meat o' manufactures within the United Siates enables the 
 manufacturer to sel to (he farmi r. the mechanic, the physi- 
 cian, the lawyer, and all who are engaged in o'her pursuits 
 of life; and these, in their turns, supply the manufacturer 
 with subsistence, and whatever els.- his wants require. 
 Under \ne influence of the protect ng policy, many new 
 towns have been built and old ones enlarged. The popula- 
 tion of these places draw their subsistence fr»m the farming 
 inteiest of our country, their fuel from our fore«ts a d coal 
 mires, and the raw materials from which ihey fashion and 
 fabiieate, from the cotton planter anil the mines of our 
 country These mutual exchanges, so animating and invi- 
 gorating to the industry of the people of the United States, 
 could not possibly be effected between Ameiica and Europe, 
 if the latter enjoyed th monopoly of manufacturing. 
 
 It results therefore, that, so fai as the sale of (he great South- 
 ern staple is concerned, a greater quantity is sold and con- 
 sumed, and consequently belter puces are obtained, under 
 the operation ol the American System, than would be with- 
 out it. Doe- that system oblige the cotton planter to buy 
 dearer or worse articles of consumption than he could pur- 
 chas< , if it did not i sist ? 
 
 The same cause of American and European competition, 
 which enables him <o sell more of the produce of his indus- 
 try, and at better prices, also enables him to buy cheaper 
 and better articles for c nsumptiou. It cannot be doubted 
 th^t the tendency of the competition between th* Eu opean 
 and American maoutac'urer i- to reduc- the pr'ce and im- 
 prove the quality of tfteir respec ive tabriis, whenever they 
 come into colhsio . This is the immutable law of all com- 
 petition. If the American manufacture were discontinued, 
 Europe would then exclusively furnish those supplies which 
 are now derived from tin establishments in bo;h Continents ; 
 an ■ the first consequence would he an augmentation of the 
 demand beyoud the supply equal to what is now manufa« 
 
lured in the United Sfp.tes but which, in the contingency 
 supposed, would be wrought in Europe. If the destruction 
 of the American manufactures were sudden, there would be 
 a sudden and probably a considerable rise in the European 
 fabrics. Although, in the end, they might be ugain reduc- 
 ed, it is not likely that the ultimate reduction of the prices 
 would t>e to such rales as if both the workshops of America 
 and Europe remained sources of supply. Theie would «lso 
 be a sudden reduction in the price of the raw material in 
 consequence ol the cessation of American demand. And 
 this reduction would be permanent, if the supposition he 
 correct, that there would be a diminution in the consumption 
 of cotton fabiics arising out of lie inability on the pari of 
 large portions of the people of the United States to purchate 
 those of Europe. 
 
 That tie effect of competition between the European nnd 
 American' manufacture has been to supply the American 
 consumer with cheaper m.dbeiter articles, since the adop- 
 tion of the American System, notwithstanding the existence 
 «f causes »h:ch have obstructed ils lair operation, and 
 retarded its full devHopement, is incontestible. Both the 
 freeman and the slave are now better and cheaper supplied 
 than they were prior to an existence of that system. Cot- 
 ton fabrics have diminished in price, and been improved in 
 their t.xtmet ■ an extent that it is difficult fo>- the imagina- 
 tion to keep pace with. Those paitly of cotton and paitly 
 of wool are also better an I cheaper supplied. The sann 
 observation is applicable to those winch are exclusively 
 wrought of wool iron or glass. In short, it is believed that 
 there is not one item of the Tariff, inserted for the protection 
 of native industry, which has not fallen in price. The Ameri-. 
 can competition has tended to keep ''own the Europ> an i iv.il 
 fabiic, and the European has tended to lower the American. 
 
 Ol wtiat then can the South Carolina planter justly com- 
 plain in the operation of this system ? What is there 
 in it which justifies the harsh «nd strong epithets 
 which some of her po.iticians have applied to it? What is 
 there in her condition which warrants their assertion that 
 s* e is oppressed by a government to which she stands in 
 the mere relation of a colony ? She is oppressed by a gieat 
 reduction in the pticeof manufactured articles ol consump- 
 tion. 
 
 She is oppressed by the advantage of two markets for the 
 sale of her valuable staple, and for the purchase of objects 
 requited by her wants. 
 
 She is oppressed by better prices for that staple than she 
 could command if the system to which they object did not 
 exist. 
 
 S<ie is oppressed by the option of purchasing cheaper and 
 better articles, the produce of the hands of American free- 
 men, instead of dearer and worse articles,, the produce oi 
 the hands of British subjects. 
 
She is oppressed by the measures of a government in 
 which she'has had, lor many years, a larger proportion of 
 power and influence, at home and abroad, than any State 
 in t. e whole Unio' , in comparison with the population. 
 
 A glance at the composition of the Government of the 
 Union will demonstrate the truth of this last proposition. In 
 the Senate of the United States, South Carolina having the 
 presiding offi< er, exercises neaily one-sixteenth instead of 
 one-twenty-fourth pait of both its legislative and executive 
 functions. 
 
 In b«th branches of Congress some of her citizens now 
 occupy, as Chairmen orf Committees, the must important 
 and influential staiions In the Supreme Court of the Uni- 
 ted States, one of her c itizens being a member, she r as one 
 seventh part, instead of about one twentieth, her equal pro- 
 portion of the whole powei vested in that tribunal. Until 
 within a few months she had nearly one third ofall the mis- 
 sion- of the first grade, from this to foreign countries. In a 
 eontingencj which is far fr m impossible a citizen of South 
 Carolina would instantly become charged with the Admin- 
 istration of the whole of the vast power and patronage of 
 the Executive ftiie U. States, 
 
 Yet her situation has been compar d to that of a Colony 
 which has no voice in the laws euacted y the parent country 
 for its suhj ction ! And, to he relit ved from this cm 1 state 
 of vassala-e,ai d to put down a system wlich has been estab* 
 iished by the united voice of all America, some of her 
 politicians have broached a dcct ine as new as it would be 
 alarming, if itwere sustained by nun.beis in proportion to 
 the zeal and fervid eloquence with wii(h it is inculcated £ 
 call it a novel doctrine. I am not unaware th.tt attempts 
 have bern mads to support it on the authority of certain acts 
 of my na ive and adopted States. Although many of trseir 
 citizens are much more competent than I am to vindicate 
 them from this im; utation of purposes of disunion and 
 reb llion, my veneration and affection for them both urge 
 me to bear my testimony of their innocence of such a charge. 
 At the epoch of 1798— 9, I nad just attained my majority, 
 and al.th' ugh 1 wa too young to share in thepuhlic councils 
 of my country, I w s acquainted *ith many of the actors of 
 that memora le period ; i new their views, and formed and 
 freely expre-sed my own opinions on passing events. — The 
 then Administration of the Geneiai Government was 
 believed to entertain views (whether the bei'rf was right or 
 wrong is not mat rial to this argument, and is now an affair 
 of hi»t ry) hn»ti!e to the exisence of the liberties of this 
 country. The alien and sedition laws particularly, and 
 otiier measures, were thought to be in co sequences and 
 proofs of those vie > s If ihe administration hnd such a 
 purpos , it was feared that the extreme case, justifying 
 forcible resistance, mi^ht arise, but "■■ one believed that in 
 point of fact it had arrived, No one contended that a single 
 
16 
 
 glate possess? A the power to annul the deliberate acta of the 
 whole. And the best evidence of fhese remai'V.s is the fact 
 that the most odious of those laws (the seriithn act) wae 
 peaceably enforced in the capital of that great state which 
 took the lead in opposition to the existing administration. 
 
 The doctrine* of that day, and they are as true at this, 
 were, that the Federal Government is a limited Government; 
 that it has no powers but the granted powers. Virginia 
 contended that in case '* of a palpable, deliberate and 
 dangerous exercise of other powers not granted by said 
 compact, the States, who are parties thereto, have the right 
 to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for 
 maintaining within their respective limits the authorities, 
 rights and liberties appertaining to them." Kentucky de- 
 claiedjthat ih« "several States that framed that instrument,! he 
 Federal Constitution, being sovereign and independent^ 
 have the unquestionable right to judge of ils infractions, 
 and a nullilication by those sovereignties of all unauthorized 
 acts, done under color of that instruments the rightful rem- 
 edy." 
 
 Neither of those two Commonwealths asserted the right 
 of a single S' ate to inter pose and annul an act of the whole. 
 This is an inference drawn from the doctrines then laid 
 down, and it is not a ptinc-ple expressly asserted 
 or (airly deducible from the language of either. 
 Both refer to the Slates colle. lively (and not indi- 
 vidually) when th< y assert their right, in case of Fed; ra! 
 usurpation, to interpose "for arresting the progiess of 
 evil." Neither St.it<- ever did, no State ever yet has. by its 
 separate legislation, undei taken to set aside au act of Con- 
 51 ess. 
 
 That tin States collectively may interpose th'ir authority 
 to check the evils .1 Federal usurpation is manifest. T hey 
 may dissolve the Union. They may alt- r at pleasure the 
 character of the Co s'itution, by amendment; 'hey may an- 
 nul ;.nv acts puipo'iug to have been passed in corfortmly 
 to it, or they may, bv their elect. ons, change the function- 
 aries to whom the ad.ninistiation of it* oivet> is confir- 
 med But no one btate, by itself, is competent to ac- 
 e mplish these objects. Th- power ol a single State io 
 am ul ar act of the w:>ole has beenrtS' rved foi (he dr-covery 
 Of some politicians ii Sout. Carolina. 
 
 It is nol my purp so, up n an oceaion so unfit, to discuss 
 th's pretension. Upon am tl ei and a more Btiitattle theatre 
 it ha- bee examined and refuted with au ahility ai 1! elo- 
 quent whic: have nerei been surpass d onthefloois of 
 Congress, Bu <s it M announced lo be one o: the means 
 which is intended t" b emploved to break <io»t t e Ameri- 
 can " ysiem, L trust that I sh.ill be excused foi a fe« addition- 
 al parsing observations. On a late ft st;ve occasion, in the 
 Siat' v h re ii appears to find rnos favor, i> is said by a 
 gentleman whom I once proudly called my friend, and 
 
ii 
 
 towards whom I have done nothing to change that reiatioa, 
 — a gentleman who has been high in the councils and confi- 
 dence of the Nation — » h a t ! i < tali must He i< isisted oiallhaz- 
 arch. Another gentleman, who is a t .ndidntefor*(he chief ma* 
 gisiracy of that slate, derlaivs that the («me and the case for 
 resistance had arrived. And a I ird, a Senator of the Uni- 
 ted State-, who enjoys unbounded confidence with Hie 
 A<-. ericas. Execi live, laid down princi] . an' urged a gu» 
 ments tending direct!) and inevitably to violent resistance) 
 alti ough he did not indicate that as his specific rein riy 
 
 The doci> iip of some of the South Carolina politi ians is, 
 that it i- om, eteDt tothit State to annul, within it> '. mils, 
 tie a thority of an act deliberately passed by the ■ ongresa 
 of t' e United Sta^> s. They d nol a;,n nr to h»ve looked 
 much bev n I the simple octof nullification into the conse- 
 qtienc s which w uid en'-U'-, and have ot distinctly announc- 
 ed whether oneoflhemro ghtnot necessarilj be to light up a 
 civil w«r. 'they seem, however, to suppose tha' 'he Siale 
 might, h fter the act «?s performed, remain a membei of 
 the Union. Now, if one Stat« can. by an act oi its separate 
 power absolve itseM from the obligations of a ! aw of ( on- 
 g ess, and continue » part of th< Union, ii coul ■' hardly Le 
 esp -(.ted that any other State would render obedience to the 
 sans: law. Either every oti ei State would follow the nulli- 
 fying example, or Congre-s would feel itself constrained, by 
 a sense ot equal doty to all parts of the Union, to >epeal 
 altog ther the Bullified law Thus, the doctrine of South 
 Ca olina, al'hough n nominally assumes to act for one State 
 onlv, in elTect would be legislating for the whole L'nio ■,. 
 
 Congress embodies tl e i olle tive w ,11 ol the w| o!e Union, 
 am' that of South ' arolina among it'- other raemb is. The 
 ley sla-ionof Co giess is, therefore, founded upon tie basis 
 of the representation of all. In the L gislature, or a Con- 
 ventio' of South Carolina, the will ol the people of that 
 State is alot e collected. T ey alone are represented, and 
 the people of no ot-,er Star have any voice in their proceed- 
 ings. To s 1 1 up for that State a ilaim, by a separate exer- 
 cise of its power, to legislate in eff, tt foi the whole Union, 
 is to assert a pretension at war wit' r . the fundamental prin- 
 ciples ot all iepresei tative ami free governments. It would 
 pracically subject the unrepresented people of all c!'..er 
 parts I'fthe Union to the arbitrary and despotic power of 
 one St te It would suhstantially convert them into colo- 
 nies, hound hy tl e parental authority of that State. 
 
 N- r can thi* enormous p e:ei sioo deriv any support from 
 the con*i eration that thr powvr to annul is different fi-.m 
 t! e pf-er to originate Ians B'th powers are, in their na- 
 ture legislative: an' the misc : iefs which mig! t accroe '.o 
 the Republic from the an ulment of its wholesome laws, 
 m^y be just as great as tlvse which would flow fit m the 
 oi igination of bad Iawsh There are three things to v»hicb, 
 inorelhan all others, mankind, ia all ages, have showa 
 
12 
 
 themselves to be attached, their religion, their laus, and 
 their laoguage. 
 
 But 't Iih.s been argu -d, in the most solemn manner, "that 
 the acknowh dgment of the exclusive right of the Federal 
 Government to determine the limits of its own powers, 
 amounts to a recognition of its absolute supremacy over the 
 States and the people, and involves the sacrifice not only 
 of our dearest rights and interests, but trie very existence 
 otth Southern Slates." 
 
 In crtses where theie are two systems of Government, 
 operating at the snme tirneanH place over the same people, 
 the on general anil the other local or particular, one syst m 
 or the other must posstss the right to decide n,ion 'h. extent 
 of the powers, in cases of collision, which are claimed t-y 
 the General Government. No third party of sufficient 
 impartiality, weight, and responsibility, other thai, such a 
 tr:bonal as a Supieme Court, has yet been devised, or per- 
 haps ran be cr, *u (I. 
 
 Ti dootiine of one side is, that ibe General Government, 
 though limited i it* nature, must necessarily posits*, the 
 power to ascertain w hat authority it has. and by coi>sequ> 
 ence, the extent of that authority. And that if >ts legis- 
 lative or executive functianarifs by art transcend that 
 authority, the question may be brought b f > e the Supreme 
 Court, and being affirmatively decided by hat tribunal,! eir 
 act ovist be obeyed until repealed or altered by competent 
 power. 
 
 A.ainst the tendency of this doctrine to absoib nil p wr-r, 
 those who maintain it, think then are reaso able and. they 
 hope, sufficient securil e*. In the first place, all are represen- 
 ted in every iepi-lative or executive act, and of cruise, each 
 Stat can exert its proper influence to prevent the adoption 
 of any that may be deemed prejudicial or unc i stitutional 
 — 1 hen, there are sacred caths, elections, public virtue and 
 intelligence, the power of impeachment, a common subjec- 
 tion to bom systems of those functionaries who act under 
 either, the right of the States to interpose and an. end the 
 Constitution, or to dissolve the Union : and finally, the right, 
 in extreme cases, vvh« n all other remedies tail, to resist in- 
 supportable oppression. 
 
 The necessity being felt, by the fraroers of the Constitu- 
 tion, to declare which system should be supreme, and believ- 
 ing that the securities now enumerated, or some of them, 
 wtre adequate, they have accordingly provided that the 
 Constitution of tr.e United States and the laws made in 
 pursuance of it, and all treaties made under the authority ef 
 the United Sfates, shall be the supreme law of the land; and 
 that the Judicial power shall extend to all cases ari-ing 
 under the Constitution, laws, or treaties, of the United 
 States 
 
 The South Carolina docttine, on the other side, is, thRt 
 '.hat State has tfc right *c determine the limits of the powe/8 
 
13 
 
 granted to the ganeral government ; and that, whenever aoy 
 of its acts transcend those limits, in the opinion of the Stata 
 of S- uth C-irohna, she is competent to annual them, if the 
 power with which the Federal Government is invested, by 
 the Constitution, to determine the limits of its authority be 
 iiabie fo the possible danger of ultimate c ns •iidation, and 
 all thr safeguard* which have been mentioned mig"t prove 
 inadequate, is not this power, ciaured for S Carolina, 
 fraught with infinitely more ceitai.., immediate and fatal 
 danger ? It would reverse the rule of supremacy prescrib- 
 ed in the Constnuiion It would render the authority of a 
 sin j 'e State paran ou< t to that of tt>e whole Union For un- 
 doubtedly th«t Government »o some extent must be 
 supreme which can annul and set aside the acts of ano- 
 ther. 
 
 The securities which the people of other parts of tie 
 United States possess against the abuse of this trem ndous 
 power claim* d for South Caro!ina, will be found, on com* 
 panson, to be greatly inferior to those which she has a- 
 gainst the possible a uses of the General Government. They 
 have no voice in her councils ; tt-ey could not, by the exer- 
 cise of th- elective f. anc ise, change her rulers; they could 
 not impeach herju«lge.; they could not alter herconstuu ion 
 nor abolish er governmet t. 
 
 Under the S utti Carolina doctrine, if established, the 
 con-equer.ee would be a dissolution of tie Union, immedi- 
 ate, inevitable, ir eistible. There would be twenty -four chan- 
 ces to ..e against its ontinued existence. The appiehen- 
 ded dangers of the opposite doctrine , remote, coming nt, 
 and hardly possible, are greatly exaggerated, and againat 
 their realization all t'e precautions hav- been provided 
 which homan wisdom and patriotic foresight could con- 
 ceive and devis--. 
 
 Those who are opposed to the supremacy of the Con- 
 stitution, laws and tieaties of the U"it d States, are adverse 
 to all unh n, whatever contrary professions they may make. 
 For it may be truly affirmed, that n~ confederacy of States 
 can exist without a power, somewhere residing in the Gov- 
 ernment of tiat confederacy, to determine tire extent of the 
 auth rity granted to it by the confederating States. 
 
 It is admitted that the South Carolina doctnm is liable 
 to abuse ; but it is contended, that the patriuiism of each 
 atate is an adequate security, and that the nullifying power 
 would only be exerted ' l in an extraordinary case, where the 
 pow< rs reserved to the Sta es ui.der the Constitution 
 are usurpec by the Fede>al Government." And is not 
 t«e patriotism o' all the States as • reat a safeguard against 
 the assumption of powers not conferred upon the Gen Gov- 
 ernment, as the patriotism of one State is pgamst the dnial 
 of powers which are clearly grantel 1 Bu. the nullifying 
 power is only to be exercised in an extraordinary case Who 
 is to judge of this extraordinary case? What security is 
 <2 
 
14 
 
 there, especially in moments of great exci teraent, that a State 
 may not pronounce theplainest and most common exercise of 
 Federal power, an extraordinary case ? The e xpres^ioos 
 in the Constitution, 'general welfare,' have been often justly 
 criticised and shown to convey, in themselves, n<» ;>ow»r, 
 although they may indicate how t^e delegated power should 
 be exercised. But this doctrine of an ext' aordinary c»se, 
 to be judti'd of and applied by one of the 'wenty-four 
 sovereignties, is rep'ete with inBnitely more danger than 
 the doctrine of the 'general welfare* in the tandsof all. 
 
 We may form -ODte idea o' fut -re abuse* under the South 
 Carolina doctrine, by the application which is now propos- 
 ed to be made of it The American Syst. m is said to 
 furnish an extraordinary case jus'ifying that State to nullify 
 it. The po* -r to regulate foreign commerce, by a tariff, 
 so adjusted as to foster our domestic manufactures, has been 
 exercised from the commencement ofou> present C nstitu- 
 tion down t« the last session of Congress I hav* been a 
 member of the House of Representatives at three different 
 periods when the subject of the Tariff was debated at great 
 length, and on neither, according to my recollection, was 
 the want of a consti'utional pr wer in Congress, to enact it, 
 dwelt on. as forming a serious and substantial ' bjectinn to 
 its passage. On the last occasion (I think it was) in which 
 1 participated in the de ate, it pas incidentally said to be 
 against the spirit of the Constitution — .Whilst the authori- 
 ty of the father of the constitution is invoked to sanction, 
 by a perveision of his meaning, principles of disunion -nd 
 rebellion, it is rejected to sustain the controverted power, 
 although his testimony in support of it has been dearly and 
 explicitly rendered. This power, thus asserted, exercised 
 and maintained, in favor of which, leading politicians in 
 South Carolina have themselves voted, is alleged to furnish 
 "an extraordinary case, where the powers reserved to the 
 States, under the Constituiion, are usurped b. the Genet a! 
 Government." If it b", there is scare ly a stature in our 
 ode which would not present a case equally extraordinary, 
 justifying S^uth Carolina or any other State to nullify it. 
 
 The U. Sia>es are not only threatened with the :. unifica- 
 tion of numerous acts, which they have del'berat-ly passed, 
 bu> with a withdrawal of one of the members from 1h© 
 Confederacy. If the unhappy case should ever occur of a 
 State being really oesirous to separate itself from the Union, 
 it would present two que>tions The first wool ' be, « heth- 
 er it had a right to wiihdraw, without th^ common consent 
 of the members; and supposing, as I believe, no such right to 
 exist, whether it would be expedient to yield consmt. Al- 
 though there may be power to prevent a secession, it 
 might be deemed poli'ic to allow it. It might be considered 
 expedient to permit the refractory state to take the portion 
 of t;oods that falleth to her. to suffer her to gather her all 
 together, and to go off with her living. But, if a state should 
 
15 
 
 be willing, and allowed thus to depart and to renounce her 
 future portion ofthe inheritance of this great, glorious and 
 prosperous Republic, she would speedily return, and, in 
 language of repentance, sav to the other members of this 
 Union, Brethren '' I have sinned against Heaven and before 
 thee " Wether they would kdl the fatted calf, and, chi- 
 ding any complaining member of th* family, say "this thy 
 sister was dead and is alive again; and was lost, and is 
 fouid," I sincerely pray the Historian may never have oc- 
 casion to record 
 
 But nullification and disunion are not the only nor the 
 most formidable means of assailing the Tariff Its oppo- 
 nents opened the campaign at the last session of Congress, 
 and, with the most obliging frankness, have since public- 
 ly exposed their plan of operations. It is to divid<- and con- 
 quer ; to attack and subdue the sysi m in detail. They 
 began by reducing the duty on salt and molasses, and, res- 
 toring the drawback of the duty on the latter ai tide, allow- 
 ed the exportation of spirits distilled from it. To all who 
 are interested in the distillation of spirits from native mate- 
 rials, whether fruit, molasses or grain, this latter measure 
 is particularly injurious. During the administration of Mr. 
 Adams, the duty on foreign molasses was augmented, and 
 the drawback, which had been previously allowed of the 
 duty upon the exportation of spirits distilled from it. was 
 repealed. The object was to favor native produce, and <o> 
 lessen the competition of foreign spirits, or spirits distilled 
 from foreign materials, with spirits riistilled from domestic 
 material. It was deemed to be especially advantageous to the 
 western country, a great part of whose grain can only find 
 markets at home and abroad by being converted into dis- 
 tilled spirits. Encouraged by this partial success, the foes 
 of the Tariff may n*'xt attempt to reduce the duties on Iron, 
 Woollens, and Cotton fabrics, successively. The American 
 Sys'eni of protection should be regarded, as it is, an entire 
 and comprehensive System, made up of various i<erns, and 
 aiming at the prosperity of the whole Union, by protecting 
 the interests of each part. Ev^ry part, therefore, has a 
 direct interest in the protection which it enjoys of the arti- 
 cles which its agriculture produces or its roanufacto r ieg 
 fabricate, and also a collataial interest in the protection 
 whi'h other portions of the Union derive for their peculiar 
 interests. Thus t^e aggregate for the prosperity of all is 
 constituted by the sums of the prosperity of each. 
 
 Take any one article ot t*e Tariff (Iron for example,) and 
 there is no su> h direct intere-t in its protection pervadiog 
 the major part of the United Siates, as would induce Con- 
 gress to eccourage it, if it st o^ alone. The States of Penn- 
 sylvania, New Jersey, New York and Kentucky, which are 
 most concerned, are encouraged in the production or manu- 
 facture of this article, in consequence of the adoption of a 
 general principle, which extends protection to otaer inter? 
 ssts in other parts of the Uniop. 
 
16 
 
 The stratagem which bos been adopted b; the foes it 
 tar system, to 'estroy it, requires ihe exercise of constant 
 vigilan.e and firmness, to prevent the accomplishment of 
 the object. They have resolved to divide and c nquer— - 
 the friends of th» syst. m shoul I assume th^ r^volu>ionary 
 motto of our ancestors, " United we stand, divided we 
 fall " — They should allow no alteration in any part of the 
 systt m as it now fxists, which did not aim *t rendering 
 more effi-'ciousthe system of protection on which he wboli 
 Is loii'-d d. Every one should reflect, that h is not equal to 
 have a particular interest which he is desirous should be 
 fostered, in his part ol the country, protected ag ii.st for- 
 eign competition, without his being willing to extend thr 
 principle te other interests, deserving protection, in othes 
 parts of ttie Union 
 
 Bui the m asure of reducing the duty on salt and molass- 
 es, and r vivingthe drawbar on the importation of spirits 
 distilled from molass s, whs an attack on the system, Jess 
 alar.-ning than another which was made during the last 
 session of Congress, of a kindred system. 
 
 If any thing could be considered as settled, under the 
 present Constitution of our G verament, I had supposed 
 that it was its auth rity to coo-ti uct tuch internal improve- 
 xnents as may be deemed by Congress necessary and pro- 
 per to cany into effect the power gianted to it For near 
 tweiny-fiTr yi-ars the power has been asserted and exercis* 
 ed by the Qov rnment. For the last fifteen years, it has 
 beFD. otVn controverted in Congress, hut it has been invari- 
 ably maintained in that body, by repeated de- isions pro- 
 nounce I aft' r full and elaborate debate, and at interval; of 
 time implying the greatest deliberation. Numerous laws 
 attest the existence of the power ; and no Itss th<n twent- 
 ty odd laws fcave been passed in r. lation to a single work. 
 This power, necessary to all parts of the Union, is indispen- 
 sable to il e VWst. Wiihout it, this section can n^ver enjoy 
 any par 1 of the benefit of a regular disbursement of the vast 
 revenues of the United states I recollect perfectly »eil 
 that, atthelasi great struggle for the power in 1824, Mr. 
 P. P Barbour, of Virginia, the principal champion against 
 it, observed to me, that if it were affirmed, on ihat occasion 
 (Mr. He phill's survey bill) he should consider the ques- 
 tions tiled Audit as .ffiiraed 
 
 Yet we are t Id that this power can no longP r be exercised 
 without an amen 'ment of he Constitution ! On t'-eocca-. 
 si >u in S. Carolina to which I have already adverted, it was 
 sail t'-at ti.-eTr-r:rTa><d internal improvemn ts *'e ntimate- 
 )y c 'nnecte ■, and that the .enth blow • hich it was hrped 
 th* one hi-d received, will finally destroy t'-e othpr I 
 con ur in 'he opinion, that they are intimate y ,if n"t indisso- 
 lubly united. Not coin cted together wiih the fraudulent 
 intent which has been impute , but by th ir n Mure, by the 
 ten ency of each to advance t e objecis of the other, and 
 »f bath to augment the sum ol National prosperity. 
 
17 
 
 If I could believe that the Executive message which was 
 communicated to Congress upon the application of the Veto 
 to the Maysville Road, really expressed the opinion of the 
 President of the United States, in consequence of the unfor- 
 tunate relations which have existed between us, 1 would for- 
 bear to make any obseivation upon it. It has his name 
 sffixfd to it : but it is not every pater whicli bears the name 
 of a distinguished personage, that is his, or expresses his 
 opinion^. We have been lately informed ttiat the unhappy 
 King ot England, in perhaps h>s last illness, transmitted a. 
 paper to Parliament, with his royal signature attached to it, 
 which became an object of great curiosity. Can anyone 
 believe that that paper conveyed any other sentiments thai* 
 those ot His Majesty's Ministers ? It is impossible that the 
 Veto message should express the opinions of the President, 
 and I prove it by evidence derived trom himself. Wot forty 
 days befoiv that message was sent to Congress, he approved 
 a bill embracing appropriations to various objects of inter- 
 nal improvement and among others to improve ti.e naviga- 
 tion of Conneaut Creek Although somewhat acquainted 
 with the geography of our coumry, I declare I did not 
 know ot the existence of such a stre am until I tead the bill. 
 1 have since made it an object of inquiry, and have been 
 told that it rises in one corner of Pennsylvania, and is dis- 
 charged into Lake Erie, in a corner of the State of Ohio ; 
 and that the utmost extent to which its navigation is snsc- p- 
 tiblf of improvement is about seven miles ! Is it possible 
 ihat the President could conceive that a National object, 
 and that the imptovcment of a great thoroughfare on 
 which the mail is transported foi some eight or ten States 
 and 1 eintoiies is not a national consideration ? The power 
 to improve the navigation of water courses, nowhere ex- 
 pressly recognised in the Constititfion, is infinitely more 
 doubtful than the establishment of mail roads, which is 
 explicitly autho- ized in that instrument ! Did not the Pre- 
 sident, during the canvass which preceded his election, in his 
 answer to a lett r from Governor Ray of Indiana, written 
 at the instance of the Senate of that respectable State, ex- 
 pressly refer to his votes given in the Senate of the United 
 States, for his opinion as to the power of the General Go- 
 vernment, and inform him tnat his opinion remained unal- 
 tered / And o we not find, upon consultingthe journals of 
 the Sei ate, that arming other votes affirming the existence 
 of the power, he voted for an appropriation to the Chesa- 
 peak -uid Di laware Canil. which is only about fourteea 
 miles in extpnt? And do we n t know that it was at ti<at 
 time, like the Maysville road now, in progiess of execution 
 tinder the di; ection of a company incoi porated by a titate ? 
 An. t tha;, whils' the Maysville road ha a c •ni.exion with 
 rrads east of Maysville and sou:h-\vest "f Lexington, the 
 Tornpiking of which was contemplated, that caaal had uo 
 connexion with any other existing Canal? 
 2* 
 
18 
 
 The Veto Message is perfectly irreconcileable with the 
 previous acts, votes, and opinions of Ge.i, Jackson. It does 
 not express his "pinions, but those of his advisers and coun- 
 sellors, and Hspec ally those of his cabinet [f we look at the 
 com* osition of 'hat ca'inet, we can .ot doubt it Three of 
 the five who, I believe, compose it, (whether the Post Master 
 General be one or not, I i.o ot know,) are known to be di- 
 rect y and positively opposed to the power; a fourih, to use 
 a term >-criptive oi the favorte i olicy of one of them, is a 
 noncommittal, and as to the fifth, good Lor t deliver us 
 from such friendship as his lo it'tei nal improveme fs. Fur- 
 ther, I have heaid it from cood authority, (but I will not 
 vouch for it, although 1 believe it to be true,) that some • f the 
 gentlemen from the Sooth waited upon the PrrsiJenl, whilst 
 he held the Maysvillc bill und"r consideration «n<i told im 
 that if he approved if that bill, the South would no longer 
 approve of him, but oppose nis administration 
 
 I cannot, tliere'ort-, consider the message a* conveying 
 the sentiments and views of the Prpsident It is impossible, 
 it is *he work of his Cabinet ; and if unfortunately they were 
 not practically irresponsible to the perple of the United 
 States, they would deserve severe animadveisioni fur having 
 prevailed upon he President, io the t reeipitation of business, 
 and perhaps without his spectacles, to put his name to such 
 a paper and s?nd it forth t> Congress a'id to the nation.— 
 Why, I have read tnat pni.e' again ad again ; and 1 never 
 can peruse it without thinking of diplomacy, and the name 
 of Talleyrand Talleyrand, Tallyerand tferpettJdlly recur- 
 ring. It seems to have ben wriiten in the spirit of an ac- 
 commodating soul, who, being d termined to have fair 
 v/eather in any contingency, was equally ready to cry out, 
 pood L'<rd, good Devil. Are you for internal impiovements.? 
 You may extract fr "in the message tex s enough to support 
 your opinion. Are you against them ? The message sup- 
 plies you with abundant authority to countenance your 
 views? Do you think that a long and uninterrupted cur- 
 rent of concurring deri-ions ought to settle >he question ol a 
 controverted power ? So the authors of the message aflVct 
 to beiieye. But ought any precedents, however numerous, 
 to be allowed to esta'.li-h a doubtful power ? The message 
 agrees with him who thinks not. 
 
 I cannot read this singular document without thinking of 
 Talleyrand That r ma>k-bte person was one of the most 
 emiient and foitunate men of the French Revolution. Prior 
 to its common' ement, he hlda Bishop ick under the i II- in ted 
 Louis the Sixteenth. Whet t« at great p lilical storai show- 
 ed itself a!>uve the horizon, he saw which way the wind was 
 going to blow, and he trimmed his sails accordi. gly He 
 was in the majority of the Convention, o> the National As- 
 •em- ly, and of. the party that sustained the bloody Robe-: 
 spierre and his cut-throat surcessor. He belonged to the 
 party of the consuls, the consul for life, and finally the Era- 
 
19 
 
 peror. Whatever party was uppermost, you would see the 
 head of Talleyrand always ni f; f, am ng them, nevpr do*-n« 
 Likpa certain dexterious annual, thr 'W him as vou please, 
 head or tail, back or belly upper most, h, is always sure to 
 light upon his feet Duiing- a great part of the ..eriod des- 
 cri'i.d, he was Minister of F reign Affairs, and, although 
 totdly devoid of all principle, no ma" evet surpassed him in 
 the ad'ot ness of his diplomatic notes He is now, at an 
 advanced age, I believe, Grand Chamberlain of his Majesty 
 Charle- tl e Tenth 
 
 I have lately seen an amusiog anecdote of this celebrated 
 man, whi' I force* iiself upon me whenever 1 loo- at the 
 Ca ine? Mes-ape. The King of France, like our President 
 towards the close of the last s s?ion ul Congiess found im- 
 selt in a minority. A question arose whet er.ii con-equence, 
 lie should <1i solve the Chamber of Deputies, which re-em- 
 bles our House of R presentatives. All France was agita- 
 ta with the question. No one coold s>dve it At I ugth 
 thty ro cltredto go to tliat sa. acious cunning old fox, Tal- 
 leyrand, to let them k ow what sh juld be d ne It II you 
 what, eentl- men said he, (looking very grave'y and taking a 
 pinch of snuff.) in the morning 1 think 'is majesty will ( ( is- 
 solv th - Dei 'inies;. at n on, I have changed that opinion ; 
 and at nig.'i I have no opinion at all. No* , on ri-a 'ing the 
 first column of this oiessagp, ne thinks that the Cabinet 
 have a soitofan opinion ii iavor of internal mprnvements, 
 with some limitations. By the tin e he ha« rea-- to the mid- 
 dle of it, he concludes thev have a opted V-n o:>po : ite pin- 
 ion ; and w en he gets to the end of it, he is ppi fectly per- 
 suaded they have o opinion of teir own whatever • 
 
 Let u< elanc-at a fe<* only of the rpasnis, if r- asons they 
 oa:i be call d, of this piebald message. The first is, that the 
 exercise of the power has produced discord, and to re.- tote 
 haimony to the National Council' it should be abandoned, 
 or widen >s tantamount, -he Cons<itution mu-t be amended. 
 The President is therefore advised to turow himself into the 
 minority. Well — did that > vive harmony? When the 
 que<ti n wss tak n in th House of the people's Repres-u- 
 tative*,an o'isti>>ate majority s'ill voted for the bill, the 
 objecti'ins in the message notwiths'andi g. And in the 
 Senate, the Rspie-entativ-s of the States, a refractory 
 majority stood unmoved. But does the message man to 
 assert that no great measure about which public sentiment 
 is much divided, ought to be adopted in consequence .fit. at 
 division? T en none can ever be alopted. Apply t v if n w 
 rule to th- ca*e ot the Am ri' an Revolution. he colonies 
 were re-. t into i > placable parties — .he Tories every whe<e 
 abounded, and in some places out nunibere ' the Whigs — 
 This continued to be. the s'ate of t'dngs throug;v:ut the 
 revolutionary coutest. Suppose s me ti-oid, time seiving 
 Whi_' had, durintr i;., pn fgress, addre-se 1 the public, and 
 adverting to the discord which prevailed and to the expedi- 
 
20 
 
 ency of restoring; harmony in the land, had proposed to 
 abandon or postpone the establishment of our liberty and 
 independence until all s"ou!d agree in asserting them ? The 
 late war was opposed by a powerful and talented parly; 
 what woul • havt been thought of President Madison, if, 
 instead of a patriotic and euetgetic message, re- ommending 
 it, as the only alternative, to pit-serve our honor and vindi- 
 cate our righ', he had come to Congress with a prop sal 'hat 
 we should continue to submit to the wrongs and d<-giadation 
 inflh ted upon our country by a foreign power, because we 
 were unhappily greatly divided? \\ hai would have bi-cnme 
 of the settlement of the Missouri question, the Tariff, the 
 Indian hill of the last Session, if the existence of a sttong 
 and almost equal division in the public councils ought to 
 have prevented their adoption? The principle is nothing 
 nioie nor less toau a declaration thai the right ofthe major- 
 ity togovern must be yielded to the peiseverance, respec- 
 tability and numbers of ihe minority. It is in keeping with 
 the Nullify ing doctrines of S utn Carolina, and is such a 
 principle as might be expected to be put forth by such a 
 cabinet. The government of 'he United States, at this 
 juncture, exhibits a m^/St remirkable spe tacle. It is that 
 oj a majority ofthe Nation having put the powers of govern- 
 ment into the hands of the minority. If any o e can doubt 
 this, let him -ook at the element- of the Executive, at the 
 presiding officers of the two houses, at th composition and 
 the chairmen of the most important committees, who-hape 
 antl direct the publir business in Congi ess. Let him look, 
 above all, at measures, the necessary consequents of such 
 an anomalous stat*- of things — InteMia* Imp ovement gone, 
 or going; the whole American Svstem threatened, and the 
 triumphant shouts of anticipated v ctory sounding in our 
 ears. Georgia extorting, from the fears of an affrig ted 
 majority of Congress, an Indian bill, which may prostrate 
 all the laws, treaties and policy which have regulatid our 
 relations wiih the Indians from ihe commencement of the 
 Government ; aid politicians in South Carolina, at the same 
 time brandishing the torch of civil war, and pr nonnci g 
 unbounded eulogiuras upon the Piesid^nt for the good he 
 has done, and the -till greater good which they expect at his 
 hands, in the sacrifice ol the interests ofthe majority. 
 
 Another reason a-signed in the Maysville Message is, the 
 desire of paying the National debt. By an art passed in 
 the year 1817, an annual approptiation was male of ten 
 millions of dollars, which were v sted in the Commissioners 
 of 'hr sinking fund, to pay the principal and the interest 
 of the publit debt. That act was pnpated and earned 
 through Congress by one o/ the most esti . a'leand enlight- 
 ened .nen that this o untry ever <, n duced, whose pr- mature 
 death is to be lamented on every account, hut especally 
 because ifhewerenuv liviog he woul ' be able, m re tnan 
 any other man, to check the txtravagance and calm the 
 
21 
 
 violence raging in Sooth Carolina, his native State. Under 
 the operation of that act, near'y one hundred '-^nd fifty mil- 
 lions ol (he principal ar.d inter st of the public debt were 
 paid, prior to the camm meme< t of the present adminis- 
 tration During that of Mr. Adams, between foi ty and fifty 
 were paid, whilst larger appropiiations <>f mimey ad land 
 wetemadp, to objects of Internal Improvements, than ever 
 had been made by all preceding administrations together. 
 There only remained about fifty millions to be paid when 
 the present Chief Magistrate entered on the duties of that 
 office,a"d a considerable portion of that cannot be di-charged 
 during the prese I official term. 
 
 The redemption of the debt is, theref re, the work of 
 Congress; the President has : othing to do with it, t e Secre- 
 tary of the Tteasury being ditected annually to pay the ten 
 millions to the Commissioners ofthe Sinking Fund, whose 
 duty it is to apply the amount to the extingu:shment of the 
 debt. The Secretary hims- If has no nrnr.- t', do with the 
 operation ti>an t e hydrants through which tie water passes 
 to the consumption of the population of this city. He turns 
 the cock, on the first of Ja uary and first of July, in each 
 year, and the public treasure is poured out to the public 
 creditor from the reservoir filled by thf wi-dom of Congress. 
 It is evident, from this just view of the matter, thai Con- 
 gress, to which belongs the care of providing thf ways and 
 means, was as compt-tent as the President to determine 
 what portion of their constituents' monsy could be appiied 
 to the impiovemei.t of their condition. As much of the 
 pu lie debt as can be paid will be discharged in four years 
 byth operati. n of the S nking Fund. 1 have seen, in some 
 late paper, a calculation of the delay which would have 
 resulted in its payment, from the appropriation to the 
 Maysvil : e Ri.ad, and it was less than one week! How has 
 it happ ned that under the administration of Mr. Adams, 
 and duri' gf very year of •!, such large and lib ral appro- 
 priations could be made for Internal Improvements, without 
 touching the fund devoted to the public deb., and that this 
 administration should find its If baulked in iis first year ? 
 
 Tru; Veto Message proce-ds to insist (hat the May?ville 
 and Lexington R ad is not a National but a local R ad of 
 sixty miles in length, and confined within the limits of a 
 pa.ticular Stute If, as that document also asserts, the 
 power ran in no case be exercised until it shall >ave been 
 explained and defined by an amendment of theOms.itution, 
 the discrimination, ol National and Local roads, would 
 seem to be altogether unnecessary. What is or is not a 
 National Road the Message supposes may admit of contro- 
 versy, ad is not susceptible of precis^ definition. The 
 difficulty wr.ich its authors imagine, grows out of t' eir 
 attempt to substitute a rule founded upon the extent and 
 locality of the R ad, instead ofthe use and purposes to 
 which it is applicable. If the road facilitates ia a consider™ 
 
22 
 
 able degree the transportation of the Mail to a eonside r ab1« 
 portion of tie Union, and at the same time promotes 
 inte n.al commerce among several States, and may tend to 
 acceleiatp the movement of arroip" and the distiibution of 
 the munitions of war, it is of National consideration. — 
 Tested by this the true rule, the Maysville Road was 
 undoubtedly National. It connects the largest body, 
 per .aps. of fertile 'and in the Union with the navigation of 
 the Ohio an I Mississippi Rivei--, and with th, canals ol the 
 Stat^« of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York !■ he ins on 
 the line w ich divides the State of Ohio and Kentucky , and 
 of .our«^. quick' ns trade and inte course between them. — 
 Tested by the character of other works, for which the 
 President as a S nator voted, o which were apptov d by 
 him only about a month before be rejected the Maysville 
 Bill, the Roaa was undoubtedly National 
 
 But ti.is vie* of the matter, however satisfactory it ought 
 to be, is imperfect. I will be a mitted t at tbe • umber- 
 land Road is National. It is completed no further than Zanes- 
 villein the Sliteof \>hio On leaching that point <wc routes 
 present themselves fc its further extension both National 
 and both derserving of execution. One leadi.ie nortuwest- 
 warrily, thiough the States of Ohio. Indiana, and Illinois, 
 to Missouri, and the other souihwestwardly through the 
 States of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, 
 to the Gulf of Mexico. Both have pen long contem- 
 plated. Ol the two, the soul! -western is he most wanted, 
 in the present state of pop. lation, and will probably always 
 beofthe greatest use. But he ©ith-western route is in 
 progress of execution bey nd Zanesvil'e, aid apropiiations, 
 towards parts of it, w re sanctioned by th - President at the 
 last session National highways can only be executed in 
 aecions, at different 'imes. So the Cumberland Road was 
 and c ntinues to be construct d Of all the parts of the 
 south w stern route, the r»ad from Maysville to Lexington is 
 most needed, whet! er we regard the amount ol transporta- 
 tion and t avelling upon it, or the impediments which >t pre- 
 sents i. the Whiter an'* Si linff months. It took my family 
 f ur days to reach Lexington from Maysville in April, 1829. 
 
 The same scheme which has been devised an i piactised 
 to d' fea< th Tariff has been adopted to undermine Internal 
 Improvements They are hi he attacked i< detail. Hence 
 the i ejection of t'e May sv ill Rowd, the Fr-dericktown Road 
 and toe Louisville Canal. But is 'his fair? Ought each pro- 
 posed R ad to be viewed separately and detached? Ought 
 it not to be co sidered i* connexion with other great w.nks 
 which are. in progress of exe ution, or are projected? The 
 po ic\ of the I es indhate> what ought to be the policy of 
 tl.e friends of ihe. power. 
 
 The blow aimed at Interna 1 Improvements has fallen with 
 unmerireri sev> rity upon ;hf Sia'e of K-ntucky. No State 
 in the Uaiou has ever shown more generous devotion to its 
 
23 
 
 prservation and to the'support of its honor and its interest, 
 than sh has. Dnrirgthe la' wa he r son fougo ^alia-dly 
 by the side of t e President on t glorioun 8 h o» Ja -aiy, 
 whfn ' e covered himsell «i'h unfading laur^is — »'• h /ev»r 
 the «ar raged, 'hey were to r> found <\- "ig the f r most in 
 bat le, free.'v bleeding in th s rvic of h,r country.. They 
 have never thre >ie- ed nor cal ul 'ed h vane ol (his ha-'py 
 Union S heir Rppu sent uives in Congress have < onst-mtly 
 aod almost uoiuuinuously su nor! d the ower, cheerfully 
 voting tor large appropriations t works of In ernal Itn- 
 pr v -int-nts in other States N t one cent of the c m>' n 
 treasure has be~n ■ xpend'-d on a 'y public Ro?d in that 
 Sta'e. They contributed to the elevation o' the President 
 wirier a fir"- convicti n, produced by his deliberate acts 
 and his s ■< emn a.-ser<ion>, that he wa% friendly to the pow- 
 er. Under such ircums'anr.es. have they n-d just and abun- 
 dant cause ol surprise, r gr-t and mortifi. ation, at the late 
 unexpected deci in. 
 
 Anothei mode ot destroying the system, about «*l ich If ar 
 I have detai ed you too long, which its foes have ado^ ted, 
 is to assail the character of its friends. Cat* you otherwise 
 account for the spirit <{ animosity wiih which I am pursued? 
 A sentiment tins morning aught my eye, in the sh'pe of a 
 4th i f July toast, proposed at the celet-raa n of that anniver- 
 sary in S. Carolina by a gentleman whom I never saw and 
 to whom F am a to al stranger With humanity, chad y, and 
 christian benevol nee, unexampled he wished tiiat 1 n.ight 
 be driven so far beyond 'he fiigid regions of the Northe n 
 Zone that all Hell could not thaw me ! Do you believe it 
 was again>t me, this feebie aod fr.il form, totteiig with 
 age, this lump of perisising clay, that all ti is kindness was 
 directed? No, no, no. It was against the measu-es of 
 policy which I have e poused, against the sys : era which I 
 have laboured to uphold, that it was aimed. If I had been 
 opposed to the Tariff a d Internal Improvements, and in 
 favoor of the S. Carolina doctrine of nullification, the same 
 worthy gentleman would have wished that I might b. j . ever 
 fanned by soft breezes,, charged wif atomatic odors, that 
 my path might be strewed with roses, and my abode be an 
 earthly para ise. 
 
 I aiu now a private man, the humblest of the humble, 
 possess d of no office, no power, no tatronage, no subsi- 
 dized press, no Post Office Depar ment to distribute its 
 effu-ion«, n' army, no navy, no official coips to ch^unt my 
 praises and t dri k, in flowing bowls, my health and pros- 
 p rity. | have nothing bu; the warn afferfo s of a portion 
 of the peop'e, and a fair reputation, the only inheritance 
 derive t from my father, and al n st the only inherita- ce 
 whiC'i I am desirous of transmitting to my chnden. 
 
 The present Chirf Magistrate has done me much wrong, 
 bull have freely forgiven hun. He believ 1. no doubt, 
 that I had done him previous wrong. Although I am «n« 
 
24 
 
 •onsclous of it heVA'Mhat motive for his conduct towards 
 me. But ot. ers who haii jomed in the hue nod cry against 
 me ha. I no such pretext. Why then am I thus pursu^.1. my 
 words preverted ami distorted, tnya'ts misrepiese ted ? 
 Why do more thar> a hun H red presses daily point th ir can- 
 non at m . and thunder forth their peals of abuse and de- 
 traction ? It is not against me. 'fiat is impossible A few 
 years more, and this body will be where all is s~ ill and silent. 
 It i« against the principles of cml liberty, aga.nst the Tar- 
 iff and Internal Improvements, to which thr better part of 
 my life has been rievoteri, t^-at thi implac ble war is waged. 
 My er.emi'S fla'tei f'e.nselves that those systems may he 
 overthrown ty my d< struction. Vain and impotent h pe .' 
 My existence is not of the smallest con-.equ- ice t<» i ir 
 preservation. They will survive me. Long, long after I 
 am gone, whilst the lofty hills encompass this fair city, the 
 offspring of those measures shall remain ; whilst the ">eau- 
 tiful river that sweeps by its walls shall con'inue to b' ar 
 upon its prou>l boso.n the wonders which the immortal ge- 
 nius ofFulton, with the blessing of Providence, has given ; 
 whilst truth shall hold its sway among men, thos* systems 
 will invigorate the industry and animate the hopes uf the 
 farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, and all other class- 
 es of our countrymen. 
 
 People of Ohio here assembled-— mothers — daughters, 
 sons and sir<-s — w'.en reclining on the peaceful pillow of 
 repose, and communing with youi own hearts, ask your- 
 selves, if 1 ought to be the unremitting object of peipetu- 
 al calumny ? If, > hen the opponents of the late Presi- 
 dent gained the victory on the 4th of March, 1829, the war 
 ought not to have • eased, quarters been granted, and prison- 
 ers relensed ' Did not those opponents obtain all the hon- 
 ors, office* and emoluments of government ; the power, 
 which they have fr quently exercisei), of rewarding whoa* 
 they pi ased and punishing whom *hey could ? Was not 
 all this surliciuu 1 Does it all avail not whilst Mordecai the 
 Jt w stands at the King's gate ? 
 
 I thank yoo, fellow citizens, again and again, for the 
 numerous proofs you hfive given me of your attachment and 
 confidence. And may your fine city continue to enjoy the 
 advantage of the enterpris , industry and public spirit of 
 its mechanics and other inhabitants, until it vies in wealth, 
 extent and prosperity, witfi the largest of our Atlantic 
 Capitals. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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