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A
M EMOIR
OF
HUGH LAWSON WHITE,
JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE, MEMBER OF THE
SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ETC.
WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS
SPEECHES AND CORRESPONDENCE.
EDITED BY
NANCY N. SCOTT,
ONE OF HIS DESCENDANTS.
PHILADELPHIA
J. B. LIPPINCOTT, & Co.
1856.




ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & Co.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania.
W. H. TINSON, STEREOTYPER.'24 Beekman St., New York.




TO
MRS. MARY M. OVERTON,
THE ONLY SURVIVING SISTER OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE "THE JUST,"
OF HIS PURE LIFE AND WORTHY DEEDS,
THE IRREPRESSIBLE OUTPOURING OF A YEARNING SPIRIT, WRITTEN
WITH A HOPE THAT IT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO
A RIGHT ESTIMATE OF THE MAN,
BUT WITH THE CONVICTION THAT A MUCH MORE PERFECT AND LOFTY
TRIBUTE IS JUSTLY HIS DUE,
IS RESPECTFULLY AND LOVINGLY DEDICATED BY
THE WRITER.








PREFACE.
THIS book has many imperfections. It is not compiled by
an experienced writer, nor has it been prepared with the
advantages of position or reputation. It is simply a tribute
to the memory of one beloved and departed; the offering of
that almost idolatry which is found only in the breasts of
those few who by nature are nearest and dearest to man.
Only the merits of earnestness and devotion can therefore
be claimed for it.
The writer has endeavored to retire from view; to accomplish the present purpose in the most unobtrusive manner,
by a narrative brief and plain, interspersed with such letters,
speeches, and other documents, as may best illustrate the
relations of Judge White to the great men and measures of
the times, and the high and honorable position-honorable
to himself, his state, and his country-which he held in the
hearts and councils of his countrymen.








CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Ancestry-Gen. James White-Mary Lawson his Wife,.          1
CHAPTER II.
Childhood —Youth-Studies-Expedition  against the Indians-Private
Secretaryship,...                                           8
CHAPTER III.
Lawyer and Judge —Other Public Appointments,... 15
CHAPTER  IV.
State Legislator-Controversy with Mr. Grundy-Duelling,... 19
CHAPTER  V.
Wilderness Journey to Gen. Jackson,.                 24
CHAPTER VI.
A Financier-Presidency of Bank of Tennessee,.               28
CHAPTER  VII.
Commissioner under Treaty with Spain-Second Commissionership,.. 33
CHAPTER VIII.
Senate-Panama Mission-Federal Judiciary Apportionment,.. 36
CHAPTER IX.
Senate-Internal Improvements-United States Bank,...        70
CHAPTER X.
Senate-Indian Tribes —" Force Bill "-Executive Patronage-Expunging
Resolutions,.                       153




x                           CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
PAGE
Senate —Abolition-Public Land Distribution-Sub-Treasury Bill-Appearance —Business habits-Surname,...191
CHAPTER  XII.
First Political Position-Subsequent Change-Letter from Mr. PolkPublic Confidence in Judge White —His Singular Position,... 245
CHAPTER  XIII.
Relations; to Messrs. Grundy, Polk, Johnson, and Catron-Correspondence
with Polk and Johnson-Judge White and the Presidency,.. 253
CHAPTER  XIV.
His relations to Gen. Jackson,......265
CHAPTER  XV.
Canvass with Mr. Van Buren-Letter from Mr. Clay,..         327
CHAPTER  XVI.
Retirement from Public Life-Legislative Instructions-Resignation of
Senatorship,..                                              369
CHAPTER  XVII.
Dinner at Washington-Speeches of Messrs. Preston, White, Corwin,
Evans, Haberaham, and.Biddle,.8.....    395.
CHAPTER  XVIIL
Journey Home-Flattering Reception,....... 409
CHAPTER XIX.
His Family-Afflictions-Letter to Dr. Coffin;.. 413
CHAPTER XX.
His Death-Public Meetings-Proceedings of the Bar of Tennessee,. 420
Conclusion,.........437
Appendix,.......49




MEM O I R
OF
HiUGH LAWSON WHITE
CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY.
ONE mile above Knoxville, on the banks of the Holston River.
there stood, until within the last two years, a house worthy of remembrance as the home of two eminent Tennesseans; Hugh Lawson
White, the subject of this memoir, and his father, General James
White. The daguerreotype of the old building is before me. All
over the great West there are thousands like it-the shelters, palaces,
and castles of the hardy pioneer; his first forest home, the scene and
centre of freedom, energy, courage, privation, truly and peculiarly
American; the altar of his first triumphs over the subdued wilderness; often the humble birth-place of talent and genius, and of ambition high, noble, swift, and strong, such as rarely'or never before
sprung into existence.
A front view of the old edifice displays two square sections, " pens,"
or separate apartments, of unequal size, each a story and-a-half high,
built of logs coarsely hewn, the interstices of wlich are stuffed with
clay, and with an outer covering of boards. Between these two
rooms stands a heavy stone chimney, furnishing a fire-place in each.
A rude piazza extends across the whole front, its roof some distance
below the eaves of the house, and supported by six slender sawed
posts. The whole stands upon wooden blocks or underpinning; one
- 1                    1




2             MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
small window is visible, while a simple step-ladder in one corner of
the piazza is the stairway to the half story above.
In this house lived the father of Hugh Lawson White, and here he
brought up his family, during that trying period when East Tennessee
was a wilderness of wild beasts and fiercer savages.  General James
White was, in many respects, a remarkable man. He was of Irish
descent, and during his earlier years was an inhabitant and citizen of
North Carolina, where he married, and where his son Hugh was born.
He served his country faithfully in the Revolutionary war; afterwards
removed with his family to Fort Chiswell, in Virginia, and, finally, in
1781, emigrated to Knox county, Tennessee, where he erected for
himself the humble home just described, on the banks of the beautiful
Holston. For himself-but also for a home and resting-place for
every weary wanderer. From his hospitable door none were ever
sent empty away; and the more needy the applicant, the more certain was he of enjoying a full measure of hospitality.
Here his characteristic decision, energy, and philanthropy made
him a leader among the few but determined spirits with whom his lot.
was cast. The privations and dangers to which all new settlers are
exposed, seemed only to nerve him to greater exertions. The wild
and boundless forests, their inhabitants, whether savage beasts of
prey, or yet more savage red men, their enmities, their snares, their
secret and open attacks, all failed to intimidate him.  With his
fellow-emigrants, he determined that the fertile valleys and rugged
hills, the blue mountains and sparkling streams of East Tennessee
should become the paradise of the white man.
But enlarged and comprehensive as were his views and plans, and
brilliant as were his anticipations, yet when in 1792, he founded the
good town of Knoxville, he certainly could not have foreseen that
within fifty years there would stand in the place of the gloomy w-est,
a large and populous city, with its many spires pointing to heaven,
much less the triumphs of modern science. Little did he dream of the
gallant steamers that were to plough the clear blue waters where then
was seen only the Indian's bark canoe, or the rude raft of the trader.
Little did he dream of the iron horse, rushing with wind-like speed
along his fiery way, through the valleys and over the hills. Nor
could he even anticipate that almost within the half century there
would be erected, not a hundred yards from the site of his own humnble cabin, a manufactory of the very window-glass which he considered
not only a useless superfluity, but a harmful luxury.




GEN. JAMES WHITE.                       3
During his forty years' residence in Tennessee, Gen. White occupied
almost every post of distinction in the gift of the people. He was a
member of the convention chosen in 1785, for ratifying or altering the
proposed Constitution of the State of Franklin; and preserved the
independence and integrity of his character through the stormy scenes
of its sessions. He was elected to the first Territorial Assembly at
Knoxville, in 1794; and, while serving in that body, introduced a bill
creating a literary institution; which measure was the origin of
Greenville College.  Statesmen, judges, lawyers, clergymen, men
eminent in every variety of public station in Tennessee, date the
beginning of their career in learning from the day when, often as
rude, awkward, penniless boys, they first turned their hesitating steps
toward the modest tower and white spire of that institution, which
gleamed so long with the light of science and religion over that beautiful landscape. Its memory now alone remains, inseparably blended,
however, with that of the good men who gave it a name and power in
the land.
General White was also a member of the convention which framed
the Constitution of the State of Tennessee-a legislative body whose
disinterestedness is without parallel in our national history. By act
of Assembly, each member was entitled to two dollars and a half per
diem for services, and as much for every thirty. miles of travel in going
and coming. The convention first reduced this compensation nearly
fifty per cent., and then, to show their disregard for mere pecuniary
reward, voted unanimously to receive nothing.
He was also, at a subsequent period, a member and speaker of the
State Senate. In 1812, although now an old man, he again proffered
his services to his country, in order to maintain the independence
which in his youth he had assisted to establish. He was chosen
Brigadier-General by the militia of Tennessee, and distinguished himself in the Creek War.
General White was admirably fitted by physical and mental constitution, for the times and circumstances in which he was placed.
Strong, hardy and active in person, intrepid, cool and hopeful, he
was ever ready to encounter any hardship or to brave any peril. On
the 26th of June, 1791, Zeigler's Station, near Bledsoe's Lick, the rude
defeince for several families, was attacked by a large party of Creek
Indians and burnt. Zeigler himself, who was intoxicated, and could
not make his escape, was consumed in the flames; his three little
daughters, together with Mrs. Wilson, General White's half-sister, were




4            MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
taken prisoners, and were afterwards ransomed by him. But his
niece, Miss Wilson, only nine years old, was hurried away by the
savages, although twice redeemed from them. General White determined to make a third effort to liberate her; and accordingly made
the long journey alone on horseback, reached the Indian encampment
in safety, a third time paid ransom for his niece, and feeling assured
that all was now satisfactorily arranged, set out on his return home;
his little charge, in the primitive style of those days, seated on his
horse behind him. But his self-gratulation was short. He was soon
overtaken by a friendly Indian, who told him that the treacherous
Creeks, already repenting their bargain, had determined to way-lay
and kill him; and offered to guide him by a different route from that
first contemplated. General White gratefully accepted his assistance,
and was soon beyond the reach of his enemies; while his savage ally
returned to his companions, who, still in ambush, impatiently awaited
the approach of their victims. When assured of their escape, they
gave way to rage and disappointment; and were only appeased by
the adroitness of the fellow, who told them that the General was a
good man, and therefore the Great Spirit had caused him and his
horse to pass invisible.
At another time, on his noble grey, rifle in hand, he leaped, unconscious of danger, directly over an Indian who was concealed behind a
fallen tree with the express design of killing him. Apparently it was
only Providential interposition that saved him.
General White's bravery and military skill were fully tested during
the hostilities of 1793, with the Creek and Cherokee Indians; and
particularly, while he was colonel of militia in the "IIamilton District," composed of Jefferson and Knox counties, by the coolness and
tact displayed in the arrangements made by him to oppose an Indian
invasion. This attack was contemplated by a force of savages nearly
fifteen hundred in number, three-fourths Creeks, who intended to invade
the settlements on the Holston, and to destroy Knoxville. The excuse
for this attack, on the part of the savages was the cruelty practised
by Major Beard on Hanging Maw, a Cherokee, and the murder of his
wife, and of several other Cherokees. In the absence of Gov. Blount,
Beard had been despatched by Secretary Smith, with fifty-six men, in
pursuit of a party of Indians who had murdered a white family within
sixteen miles of Knoxville; with instructions not to cross the Tennessee
river, nor to invade the Indian settlements. He, however, violated
these orders, and a failure by a court-martial to inflict punishment for




GEN. JAMES WHITE.                      5
this violation, and thereby to satisfy the revengeful spirit of the red
men, was the ostensible reason for the meditated invasion. The
Spaniards having become allies of the hostile Creeks and Cherokees,
had furnished them with ammunition for the occasion. As continual
ravages by the Indians had long demanded active measures for the
defence of the frontier, which the General Government, despite many
and increasing complaints, neglected to take, the whites now at last
determined to defend themselves against the constant inroads of the
treacherous foe. The dauntless heroism exhibited subsequently, as
well as upon the particular occasion now mentioned, is commemorated
in an address delivered by Rev. Thos. W. Humes, on the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Knoxville.
"Their entire number," he says, speaking of the Indian forces,
"has been variously estimated from nine to fifteen hundred, but was
most probably about the latter. Knoxville, the object of plunder and
ruin by this formidable band, and which the news of its coming had
reached, could at that time muster but forty fighting men; but these
forty were no cravens, to fly at the approach of danger, even though
it presented itself in the terrible shape in which it then menaced them.
Here were their homes, their families, their all; and with an alacrity
and zeal worthy of the crisis, they prepared to defend their firesides.
A knowledge of Indian cunning, with other reasons, induced them to
conclude that the approach of the savages to the town would not be
made by the main western road, but in a more northern and circuitous
direction; and they determined to meet them on the ridge, over which
the road to Clinton now passes, about a mile and a half from town,
and there, by a skilful arrangement of their little company, attack their
line of march, and, if possible, alarm and intimidate them. Leaving
the two oldest of their number to mould bullets in the block-house,
which stood on the spot now occupied by the Mansion House, and
which contained three hundred guns belonging to the United States,
the other thirty-eight proceeded, under the command of Col. James
White, to station themselves on the north side of the ridge we have
mentioned, with an interval of twenty feet between each man. Orders
were given to reserve their fire until the Indians were brought within
the range of every gun, when at a given signal, they were to pour in
upon them a well-directed volley, and, before the savages could recover from their surprise, secure their owr retreat to the block-house,
and there, with their wives, mothers, and children around them, sell
their lives at a fearful price, or scatter from the port-holes a shower




6            MIEMIOIE   - OF HUGt  LAWSON WHITE.
of leaden hail among the besiegers that would diive them from their
banquet of blood."  Fortunately, neither of these contingencies
awaited them. The Indians were so delayed by their own dissensions,
that they were unable to reach Knoxville before daylight, and, therefore, abandoned the attack. This fact, however, detracts nothing from
the cool and dauntless courage, and skilful and deliberate arrangements with which the citizens prepared for the attack. The Rev. Mr.
Foster, whose quaint pen has recorded the event, has declared, that
" an incident fraught with so much magnanimity in the early fortunes
of Knoxville, should not be blotted from the records of her fame. It
is an incident on which the memory of her sons will linger without
tiring, when the din of party shall be hushed, and its strife forgotten.
Those men of former days were made of sterner stuff than to shrink
from danger at the call of duty. And it will be left to a future historian to do justice to that little band of thirty-eight citizens, who
flinched not from the deliberate exposure of their persons in the open
field, within the calculated gun-shot of fifteen hundred of the fleetest
running and boldest savages."
General White endeared himself to all about him by the noble
charity which he showered with bounteous hand upon the poor and
needy; a charity of which many instances are yet remembered. In
that day grist-mills were few and far between. The General owned
two; and When grain was scarce throughout the country, he often
refused to sell to purchasers, that he might give to those too poor to
buy. More than once he loaned money without expectation of being
repaid. When warned by his son, on one such occasion, that he might
lose the amount thus advanced, he answered, "That is the very reason
that I let him have it. If he were rich, he would need neither money
nor friends. It is for the very reason that he is poor that no one will
help him."  The practical Christianity of this reply, and of such conduct, might well be adopted as a rule of action in our own times.
While expressing his pleasure at the rising prospects of the village
he had founded, now the city of Knoxville, and in general at the
happiness which he had been able to bestow upon others, he was told
by his daughter that it might be well for him to remember the old
proverb, that "Charity begins at home;" and that he would have
nothing left to give his children. " My children," he answered, " are
independent. I love to aid those who really need assistance." Such
sentiments are frequently enunciated; but we rarely find them carried
out in action so literally as they were by General White.




GEN. JAMES WHITE.                        7
He was by religious profession a Presbyterian; and a true and
devout Christian. His family altar was faithfully served. It was one
of his peculiarities that all the children were required to sing. On
one occasion he noticed that a grandson who was present failed to
observe this rule. "Why don't you sing, James?" said the old gentleman. "I can't, sir," was the reply. " Well, try;" insisted his grandfather. James did try, but the result was a succession of sounds so
hideous, that he was ever after excused from participating in that
portion of the service.
It would not be proper to close this brief sketch without some
notice of Mary Lawson, General White's noble and devoted wife. She
was slight and delicate in figure, but firm and decided in character.
Like her husband, she was a devout and consistent Christian, and a
steady Presbyterian; and possessed of more than ordinary intellectual
powers. She had courage equal to any endurance, and proved indeed a
helpmeet for her husband in the many severe vicissitudes of their experience. Often, when the Indians were prowling in the vicinity, and
her husband was absent, she stood sentinel over her own home, rifle in
hand. Often she spent whole nights in moulding bullets; and she
was habituated to similar hardships.
General White was married in 1770. His wife died before him,
and he soon followed. They are united in a world far different from
this, but for which, the trials of this were a fitting preparation.




8           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
CHAPTER II.
CHILDHOOD-YOUTH-STUDIES.
HUGH LAWSON WHITE, eldest son and second child of Gen. James
White and Mary Lawson his wife, was born in Iredell county, North
Carolina, October 30th, 1773. At the age of eight, he emigrated
with his parents to Tennessee. From a combination of circumstances,
these two States were more intimately blended and incorporated than
any other two in the Union.  At this period, Congress had not
accepted the act of the Legislature of North Carolina, ceding to the
United States her Western Territory, to assist in liquidating the heavy
national debt incurred in the achievement of National Independence;
and the interests and feelings of the inhabitants of thile two commonwealths consequently yet remained the same. North Carolina, however,
failed to make adequate provision for the defence of the frontier and
the protection of the Western settlers, and they were accordingly
obliged to organize themselves and devise means of securing the safety
of themselves and families.
In the seasons of loneliness and peril incident to a life in the almost
unbroken wilderness, while their father was absent on military duty,
Hugh and his brothers were the only sentinels to watch, and to warn
their noble mother when the savages approached their dwelling for
plunder. And well and faithfully was the task performed. The
family were often obliged to take refuge in the fort, upon which occasions Hugh always acted in the capacity of guide. This sometimes
had to be done when the night was so dark that the person of the
young leader was wholly invisible. At such times he was accustomed
to mount a white horse and go before them, that by distinguishing
the color of the animal they might be able to follow to a place of
comparative safety. After the treaty of 1791, while the Indians still
continued their depredations, stealing horses and cattle, and murdering
the helpless victims that fell into their power, travellers frequently
turned aside from the fatigues and dangers of their journey to enjoy




YOUTH AND STUDIES.                      9
the hospitalities of General White's house. Their horses, which were
belled and turned loose to graze, sometimes wandered to a distance;
when their owners often hired young Hugh and his brothers to seek
them. In doing this he ran great risks; and in such youthful enterprises and exposures he learned and proved, even in early boyhood,
the dauntless courage which so strongly characterized him in after
life.
Of the luxuries of civilization the family of General White, as well
as their neighbors, were wholly deprived. Added to the other discomforts of their situation was the difficulty of obtaining bread; there
being at that time but a single " tub-mill" ill the neighborhood. It
was Hugh's business to act in the capacity of mill-boy, which he
regularly did, despite the constant danger from lurking savages.
And after his return home, he often found way-faring guests enough
to dispose of all his meal; whereupon, he and the rest of the family
would make their repast of pounded hominy and milk.
It will easily be seen that the circumstances of a youth passed amid
such scenes must have precluded young White from the enjoyment
even of such opportunities of study as are now offered to all. In the
wild regions where he lived, refined and extensive scholarship was
hardly known; and existed, if at all, in the persons of some few whose
acquirements were elsewhere made. He attended such schools as the
country afforded, during the winter, laboring industriously upon his
father's farm through the remainder of the year. In this manner he
might acquire a knowledge of those studies which were necessary to
qualify him for the competent discharge of the plainest practical duties
of life, but nothing more. And if afterwards he rose to distinction,
his success in so doing is one more example of the success of noble
ambition, and honorable'and unfaltering exertions victorious over surroundings the most unfavorable and disheartening. Though hundreds
of miles from any college, he applied himself, at the age of fifteen, to
the study of the ancient languages, under the tuition of Rev. Samuel
Carrick, with some assistance from Mr. (afterwards Judge) Roane,
both gentlemen and scholars of eminence.
But these literary pursuits were soon and sadly interrupted. Indian hostilities still continued. The inconveniences and sufferings to
which the settlements were exposed by savage depredations, were
extreme. Almost daily, reports were brought into the stronger settlements of the murder and scalping of men and lads, of the brutal abuse
of women and children. The burning of Cavat's Station in 1'793, and




10           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
the cruelties inflicted upon the settlers at that point by Double Head,
the Creek chief, and his followers, while on their way to attack Knoxville (of the failure of which enterprise an account was above given),
so effectually aroused the apprehensions and indignation of the whites,
that a force of seven hundred volunteers was immediately raised for
the pursuit and punishment of the marauders. At such a time, it
was impossible for Hugh L. White to sit quietly over his books,
congenial as literary pursuits were to his tastes and disposition. With
native generosity and bravery, he abandoned his studies, and at the
age of nineteen volunteered as a private soldier in the Indian campaign.
Of the battle of Etowah, at which young White did good service,
the following account is extracted from Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee::" Finding no Indians to attack at Estimaula, Sevier took up his line of
march in the direction of Etowah, with the Coosa on the right. Near
the confluence of these streams, and immediately below, was the Indian
town, Etowah. The river of the same name had to be crossed before the
town could be attacked. Firing was heard in the direction of the town;
and apprehending a general attack, Sevier judiciously ordered a halt, and
sent forward a detachment from the main body against the town. By
mistake of Carey and Findleston, the guides, the party was led to a ferry
half a mile below the fording-places, and immediately opposite the town.
A few of the foremost plunged into the stream and were soon in swimming water, and pushing their way to the opposite bank. The main
body, however, discovering the mistake, wheeled to the left, and rode
rapidly up the river to the ford, where they crossed with the design of
riding down to the town, and attacking it without delay.
" The Indians, having previously obtained information of Sevier's approach, had made excavations in the bank of the river nearest their town,
each of them large enough for one man to lie with his gun poised, and
with a leisurely aim to shoot our men as soon as they came in sight. In
these, the warriors were safely entrenched; but perceiving the movement
of horsemen down the river, and suspecting some other project was devised against their town, they quitted precipitately their places of ambush,
crossed the river, and hurried down on its other side to defend it.
" A fortunate mistake of the pilots thus drew this formidable party out
of its intrenchments, exposed it in the open field, and left to the invaders
a safe passage through that bank of the river so recently lined with armed
men. But for this mistake, the horsemen could not have escaped a most
deadly fire, and in all probability, a summary defeat. But the method of
fighting was now entirely changed. The crossing by the horsemen was
too quickly done to allow the Indians to regain their hiding-places; their




EXPEDITION AGAINST TE INDIANS.                   1
ranks were scattered, and the main body of them hemmed in between
the assailants and the river. This done, the men dismounted, betook
themselves to trees, and poured in a deadly fire upon the enemy. They
resisted bravely, under the lead of the King Fisher, one of their most
distinguished braves. Ile made a daring sally within a few yards of
where one of the party, Hugh L. White, was standing, and the action was
becoming sharp and spirited, when White and a few comrades near him,
levelling their rifles, this formidable champion fell, and his warriors immediately fled.*'' The town was set on fire late in the evening, and the troops encamped
near it. During the night they were attacked by the Indians. McNutt
and Grant were standing as sentinels in an exposed point of the encampment. The Indians approached stealthily upon them, and each of them
fired. Grant was shot through the body, but ultimately recovered.
"After the engagement the Indians made good their escape into the
secret passes of the adjoining country. The army, after the town was
burned, rescued from the places in which they were obliged to conceal
themselves, Col. Kelly and the five horsemen who had swam their horses
at the lower crossing.
" Sevier having accomplished thus much of the object of the expedition,
desired to extend his conquests to Indian towns still lower down the
country. The guides informed him there was but one accessible path by
which the army could reach these distant villages, and that it could be
passed only under disadvantageous circumstances. Little hope remained of
meeting the enemy in such numbers as to inflict upon the perpetrators of
the mischief at Cavat's suitable punishment for their atrocities. They
had been expelled from the frontier, the heart of their country had been
penetrated, their warriors defeated and baffled, and their towns and crops
burnt up and destroyed. Orders for the return march were given, and
the army soon reached their homes in safety. This was Gen. Sevier's last
military service."
" The troops employed in this expedition"-we quote from Rev. Mr.
Hume's address, above referred to-" were refused payment, on the
ground that it was undertaken without authority from the President,
and in violation of instructions from the Department of War to
Governor Blount, forbidding offensive operations against the Indians.
In 1796, Hugh L. White, who served in the campaign, petitioned
Congress for remuneration, with the view of establishing a precedent
that might apply to all his fellow-soldiers. In January, 1797, Andrew
* Judge White shot the King Fisher. Yet such was his instinctive horror at the idea of
destroying human life, that he could never endure to have the deed mentioned; and explicitly
forbid Dr. Ramsey, the historian, so to state the fact in his "Annals,"




12      ~    MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
Jackson, from the Committee of the House of Representatives, to
which the petition was referred, reported in favor of a provision by
law for the payment of the troops."
That this was not the only occasion upon which Hugh L. White
displayed a lofty and honorable bravery in the defence of his country,
we have the following testimony from the narrative of the same events,
by one conversant with the history of those times of peril and suffer
ing.
" It was about the year 1793 that a large body of Indians came into
the settlements on Holston, murdered a family, and carried off all the
plunder which fell within their reach.  A force was immediately
raised to pursue them. Hugh L. White, then a youth under twenty,
made one of the party. The battle was fought on the banks of a
river whose current was rapid, and its crossing difficult. The
Indians took advantage of this position, and attacked the white men as
they passed the stream; one detachment of the latter having rushed
forward, rose the steep ascent, and were in the midst of the enemy at
once, when an obstinate conflict ensued; whilst the other party waited
under the bank to form, where they continued until the battle was
fought and won-until the war-whoops ceased to be heard, and until
the report of the rifle died away in the distance; then they formed a
most excellent line, presented an unbroken front, marched boldly up,
and deliberately took possession of all the plunder, to the last beaverskin. When the fighting-men returned from the pursuit, White, who
had been from the start amongst the foremost of them, found that
one of these bank-men, in his eagerness for the spoils of victory, had
taken possession of his wallet of provisions, which had got lost in the
scuffle. But he demanded that as his own right, and made him give
it up." Upon this unimportant occasion, as often afterwards in more
critical contingencies, young White, though he scorned to strive for,,r to appropriate, any share of the spoil, contended obstinately and
uncompromisingly for tne full extent of the rights involved.
During this expedition, while the Tennessee troops were encamped at'Estimaula, on the Coosa River, a little adventure occurred, which gave,quite unexpected evidence of the dexterous strength contained in the
slender frame of our young soldier. Colonel Blair, of the Washingington District, had given to Colonel Christy, of the Hamilton Dis
trict, a sort of challenge, after the old Scriptural fashion of Abner's
suggestion to Joab. "Let the young men arise and play before
us." He said, in other words, that a certain man in his regiment




PRIVATE SECRETARYSHIP.                      13
could "whip any other man on the ground."  With this, of course,
a wrestling-match was arranged; and Colonel Christy appointed to
the championship, on his part, Hugh L. White, who was by far the
most delicate-looking man in the regiment.  The challenger made
his appearance; his gigantic stature and brawny frame inspiring the
stoutest with awe; the combatants laid aside their coats, and entered
the ring; both regiments being quite confident that the victory was
safe for the "biggest bones." But, to the astonishment of all, the
slender White, after a long and doubtful struggle, overthrew his burly
antagonist, and retired with his laurels, amidst the shouts of the
whole multitude.
At the age of twenty, Hugh L. White was appointed Private
Secretary to Governor Blount; for his strong and elastic intellect, his
habits of laborious application, and his determined practice of doing
well and thoroughly whatever he undertook, had already rendered
him conspicuous for talent and ability. Mr. Blount, in addition to the
office of Territorial Governor, held the important and responsible post
of Superintendent of Indian Affairs; which devolved upon him the
management of all negotiations and transactions with, and concerning the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw tribes. The duties
of these two stations were arduous and complicated in the extreme;
requiring the most wise, patient, and skilful management.   The
Federal authorities restricted the Territorial Government to purely
defensive warfare; and the settlements were but scantily provided with able-bodied men. The Indian nations, however, were
strong in numbers and in physical power. Naturally ferocious and
relentless, their savage passions were, moreover, continually nourished
and stimulated by the contrivances of Spanish and British traders,
interested against the quiet and prosperity of the white settlers. In
each tribe there was a minority which faithfully adhered to the
United States.   This circumstance produced continual dissensions
and disputes among themselves, for the adjustment of which resort
was had to Governor Blount. In all the intricate and critical duties
of this active service, as well as in the accompanying heavy official
correspondence with individuals and public functionaries, the young
Secretary so faithfully and efficiently aided the Governor, as to secure
to himself the life-long confidence and affection of that eminent man,
as well as the esteem of his fellow-citizens of the Territory.
Having thus borne himself with gallantry and honor during the
war, young White, at its close, determined to pursue a course of




14           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
mathematical study at Philadelphia, under the supervision of Professor Patterson. But here a temporary difficulty arose. General
WVhite, his father, although possessed of extensive and valuable
landed property, was never, owing to his excessive liberality, a man
of wealth, and could not, at the time, command the means necessary
to accomplish the laudable desire of his son. It is due to the generosity of General White's son-in-law, Colonel Charles McClung, to
say that, in this strait, he kindly came forward and advanced the
money necessary to complete the education of his brother-in-law.
In 1795, Hugh L. White left Philadelphia for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he engaged with great zeal and energy in the study of
the law, under the instructions of James Hopkins, an eminent counsel of that place. As a proof of his continued attachment to the
people of Pennsylvania, after a lapse of thirty-two years, it may not
be inappropriate to quote here an extract from a speech made at a
dinner given to him in Knoxville, in 1827:
"' I ask but one favor more, and that is, that you join me in a sentiment, in relation to a people, who, next to those of my own and native
State, I most esteem; amongst whom I have spent a small portion of my
early life, which I reflect upon with much satisfaction, because it was
spent inoffensively and pleasantly, if not profitably. I offer you-' The
people of Pennsylvania. Modest and unpretending; too enlightened'to
be misled, and too virtuous to be seduced from Republican principles.'"




CHAPTER III.
LAWYER AND JUDGE.
HAVING completed the usual course of preparatory study, Mr.
White returned to Knoxville, and in 1796 assumed a station at the
Tennessee bar, with favorable prospects; and very soon, if his contemporaries may be credited, rose to a place which he maintained for
years, at the head of his profession.
After he had passed away from the busy scenes of time, one who
knew him well, and was himself distinguished for more than ordinary
talents, wrote in the following terms of his powers, both as a lawyer
and a judge" Judge Hugh L. White," he says, " was a remarkable man-remarkable for his eccentricities, and for the very high order of his moral
and mental endowments. He had but little taste and care for polite
scholarship and general literature. His great superiority was, not in
his moral integrity, which was equal to the very best any where to be
found, for many first-rate moralists there are to equal anybody. His
great eminence-the especial gift of God, and inherited directly from
his mother, Mary Lawson, consisted in all those peculiar points of intellect, which made the lawyer and the judge. In this order of mental
endowments he had not five equals in America, and perhaps but two
superiors-John Marshall and John Haywood. The superiority of
these two men over him, was the result only of circumstances. Like
John Marshall, Hugh L. White was a great lawyer and a great judge,
even without reading and without books. Naturally enough for him,
he despised a'case lawyer,' and still more, a mere case judge."
During the following five years, he devoted himself assiduously to
his studies and his business; steadily increasing and extending his
reputation for honesty, industry, and ability. The whole results of
the professional efforts of those five years, eternity only can disclose;
but time has already developed enough to demonstrate that Hugh L.
White is entitled to an overflowing measure of the purest and loftiest
15




16           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
fame which the noblest professional exertions of the lawyer can give —
the fame of powerful benevolence-of earnestly and effectively promoting the welfare of his fellow-men. There are none who are conversant with his own history, and with the history of East Tennessee,
who cannot remember many irrefutable testimonies to his praisetears of gratitude, shed by wives whose husbands his powerful arguments have saved from the hangman's rope, and blessings of children
whose fathers have been preserved from the brand of blood-guiltiness.
There are men even now living, whose powerful frames will heave with
mighty emotion when they speak of him, who now rests so quietly from
his labors; not only because as a lawyer he argued their cases, but
because as a kind and sympathizing friend he lifted them from depths
of degradation and crime, and with words of kindly counsel, as well as
by his own pure and lofty example, encouraged them to "go, and sin
no more."
The noble powers of his vigorous and elastic intellect, and the
whole exertions of an uncommon faculty of steady and laborious
application, were scrupulously devoted to the interests of his clients.
His invariable punctuality to every engagement, and his faithfulness
in the discharge of every responsibility gave him so strong an additional hold upon the esteem and confidence of the community, that it
would have been difficult to empannel a jury not already strongly
inclined in his favor. This predisposition was always corroborated by
his straightforward contempt for any advantages derivable from legal
quibbles, even in advance of the weight of his argumentation, and the
influence of the fervent earnestness with which he plead his cause.
At the end of this short term of practice, Mr. White's legal acquirements and abilities had given him such a professional reputation, that,
in 1801, at the early age of twenty-eight, he was elected Judge of the
Superior Court, then the highest judicial tribunal in the State. Concentrated and successful assiduity in the study of his profession had
already, however, prepared him to perform with credit the important
functions of this high station. Possessed of an eminently legal mind,
he had equal or superior moral endowments. In the practice of law
he had ever applied the principles of justice; and had to an uncommon extent escaped the one-sided habits of thought, and incapacity
of balancing both sides of a question, which is the common fate of the
mere attorney.
While on the bench, his intercourse with the members of the bar
was marked by the kindliness and genuine courtesy which character



PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS.                     17
ized him in every relation in life. He assumed no personal nor official
superiority, nor exhibited any favoritism or preference, unless such
names could be applied to a constant readiness to aid and encourage
the younger lawyers, and to afford them every fair opportunity of
getting into notice and business.
In 1809, Judge White was appointed District Attorney of the
United States, but soon resigned the office; for the reason, stated in
a letter to James Madison, then Secretary of State, that he found it
impossible to attend at once to the duties of the office, and to others
which he considered paramount; and that by the constitution of the
State, he should, by acceptance of the Attorneyship, be precluded
from taking the seat in the Legislature, to which he had been
re-elected.
In the same year the judiciary of Tennessee was organized anew,
and a supreme court established, in which, although not a candidate
for the office, he was appointed to preside. He held this station six
years; during which time he was continually associated with the most
eminent men in Tennessee, and by the able and impartial discharge of
his duties, gave universal satisfaction. The perspicuity, accuracy, and
uncompromising honesty of his opinions raised him into such high
and universal estimation, that his final resignation of his seat was
received with great and unmingled regret.
At the close of his appointment as Spanish Commissioner, in 1824,
he was again unanimously appointed by the legislature, Judge of the
Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals of the State of Tennessee, but
declined the appointment, alleging in his letter of declinature to
Governor Carroll, his feeble health, and the fact that his acceptance
would compel a number of clients to seek new counsel; thus, in his
opinion, causing them more injury than would be compensated by his
acceptance, with no fairer prospect of ability for the discharge of the
duties of the office. This declinature is an honorable instance of selfsacrifice and devotion to the interests of his fellow-men.
On more than one occasion Judge White was offered a seat on the
bench of the Supreme Court of the United States by President
Jackson; but this appointment he steadily refused. This refusal may
be considered fortunate, in saving Judge White from coming under
any real or fancied obligations to the dominant political party, and
more especially, as being the means of preserving a noble example of
purity and high-minded disinterestedness where it certainly was
needed-in the field of political action.
2




18           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
A single short anecdote, relating to this portion of Judge White's
public life, will naturally conclude this chapter. A law student, living
at a considerable distance, had come to Knoxville for a license.
Having heard much of the professional learning and ability of Judge
White, he proceeded to his residence, and with great trepidation
inquired for him; thinking possibly that the judge would receive
him "with his ermine on," and with an imposing display of official
pomp. Being told that the Judge was at his farm, he went in search
of him; and discovering an individual very busily engaged in
ploughing, inquired for Judge White. "I am the man, sir," was the
answer. " I wish to obtain a law license," said the young man; " and
have come to be examined."  " Well, sir," replied the Judge, " if you
will be good enough to come down into the shade, I will attend to
the business with great pleasure." So the Judge fastened his horse,
selected a shady seat, invited the aspirant to another, subjected him
forthwith to a searching examination, found him well qualified, invited
him to partake of the hospitalities of his house, made out the required
license, and returned to his plough-handle.




CHAPTER IV.
A STATE LEGISLATOR.
IN 1807, Judge White was elected a member of the State Senate;
and re-elected in 1809. So acceptably did he perform the duties of
this position, that he was a third time, in 1817, requested to resume
it, which he consented to do, and was elected by a vote nearly unanimous. During the session of 1807, he compiled the present state
system of Land Laws, and procured their enactment; a service for
which all Tennesseans who remember the destructive frauds and
violent and bitter controversies which were frequently attendant upon
the old system, must still feel grateful. On this occasion he delivered
his first political speech, which was acknowledged to be a production
of great power and cogency. In 1817, he took charge of a bill introduced by Mr. Trimble, a member from Davidson county, taxing very
heavily any banking institution which should attempt to do business
in the State without a charter from it. The object of this bill, which
was generally approved, and indeed passed almost unanimously, was
to prevent the Directors of the United States Bank from establishing
a branch bank in the State. We shall here proceed to narrate, though
out of their strict order in time, certain subsequent occurrences relating to this bill, for the sake of the connection, and to exemplify the
State patriotism and disinterestedness with which Judge White could
advocate the undefended cause of the absent, notwithstanding his
dissent from their political opinions, and disapproval of their course:
and that without sacrificing his own consistency or beliefs. Four
months before the passage of this bill in the State Legislature, an
application had been made for the establishment in Nashville of a
branch of the United States Bank, which was signed by sixty of the
most influential citizens of the town and its vicinity. At the head of
this list stood the name of the Hon. Felix Grundy.  In the face of
this petition however the bill passed, to the entire satisfaction of a
large majority of the people of the State, so far at least as could be
* He received every vote but one in Knox county.
19




20           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
judged from the cordiality with which their representatives were
received by them, and the number of them afterwards re-elected.
This act of this body was prominently noticed in the Senate Chamber
of the United States, as late as April 20th, 1838, when the Adminis
tration, influenced greatly in its general policy by General Jackson,
was making powerful efforts to carry through its favorite scheme, the
passage of " A bill to prevent the issuing and circulation of the bills,
notes, and securities of corporations, created by Congress, which have
expired." During the discussion Mr. Benton read a letter from
General Jackson, dated Nov. 29th, 1837, in which, to manifest his
utter aversion to the banking system, he denominated these sixty
gentlemen, many of them his own friends and honest supporters, and
some of them determined to stand by and defend his administration
at all hazards, an " aristocratic few," attempting to carry their own
ends, in defiance of the State authority. When subsequently Mr.
Grundy in particular, and perhaps others of these gentlemen, apparently forgetful of having ever borne any part in the movement, thus
so severely condemned by General Jackson, made war upon the whole
banking system-"war," in Mr. Grundy's strong and emphatic language, "to the knife, and the knife to the hilt "-Judge White, though
the main instrument in the passage of the law, in opposition to the
wishes of the sixty, hearing them thus denounced upon the floor of
the Senate, spoke in their defence. Although Mr. Grundy offered not
a word of apology or explanation for them or for himself, Judge White
exculpated them from the serious charge of attempting that which
was expressly prohibited by the laws of their State, by showing that
their'petition was prepared and presented before the enactment of
the law for taxing foreign banks doing business in Tennessee. During
this debate, Judge White showed that General Jackson, in 1818,
while that law was in full force, in anticipation of the establishment
of this bank at Nashville, signed recommendations of two gentlemen,
one for President, and the other for Cashier; thus lending to the
scheme the sanction of his name, and even, in order that it might
have its full weight, appending his former official title of "Major
General, Southern Division"; to which, as Judge White insisted, he
then had no right. During this forcible exposition of the varying and
inconstant courses of men in high positions, Judge White also read a
document transmitted to the President and Directors of the United
States Bank at Philadelphia, dated in 1818, containing the proceedings of a town meeting at Nashville, and likewise a letter from the




CONTROVERSY WITH MR. GRUNDY.                    21
Nashville committee of sixty, headed by Mr. Grundy, in which this
same legislature is most contemptuously spoken of; from each of
which documents we make an extract. The town meeting
Resolved-" That it is the sense of this meeting, that the State law passed
by the legislature of this State, in taxing banks to be established in this
State by an authority other than the laws of this State, while the banks
established by the authority of the State are not taxed, is impolitic and
unconstitutional."
The committee in their letter say:
" In making this statement to you, we are influenced by what we
believe a duty we owe to the character of Tennessee. For she has not
been less uniform in her political principle, and inviolable attachment to
the general government, than distinguished for her alacrity and prowess
in defending the honor of the Union. And lest persons at a distance
should suppose from her legislature having inconsiderably raised the arm
of hostility against a great fiscal establishment of the general government, that her character was not to be confided in, we seize with pleasure
every opportunity to show to the world that such conclusion is erroneous."
There was also a private letter from Judge Grundy to this same
bank at Philadelphia (which Judge Grundy admitted to Judge White,
while in the presence of Col. Benton and others, to be a true copy);
which Judge White read on the floor of the Senate, as follows:
NASHVInLE, February 14, 1818.
"DEAR SIR: From a knowledge that some acquaintance must have
been formed between you and myself at Washington, many of my neighbors have frequently solicited me to forward to you a list of the names
of fit persons to whom to confide the management of a branch bank of
the United States at this place. I have heretofore declined it, nor should
I at any time have said anything on the subject, had it not been for the
puerile attempt of our last Legislature to prevent an establishment of a
branch here altogether. The motives which gave birth to that measure
were selfish, the policy contracted, and the views of such men cannot be
liberal and impartial. Any number, from seven to thirteen, might be
selected from the following, and the choice could not be a bad one.
Jenkin Whitesides, Andrew Hays, Randall McGavocke, John P. Erwin,
Thomas H. Fletcher, James Stewart, Felix Robertson, Robert Weakly,
Elihu S. Hall, Alfred Balch, William  Carroll, Thomas Hill, George W.
Gibbs, Robert C. Foster, Samuel Zelford.
" Those printed in italics are merchants; the others, substantial free



22            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
holders, and men of intelligence. A board of managers selected from
them would, in my opinion, conduct the affairs of the institution with
ability and integrity. Although you and the directors have a discretion
as to number, between seven and thirteen, I would submit to you the
propriety of the largest number. It may have an effect in keeping down
that spirit of opposition which has hitherto manifested itself.
"I have no fears that any attempt will be made to enforce the Tennessee law. Should there be, it will be re-visited with effect here, no
concern need be felt on that subject. Should there be no impropriety in
it, I should like to know when you will put the institution in operation
here? and it would seem to me that some persons should be authorized
beforehand to provide a house, &c. You will excuse me for the freedom
of my suggestions. If unnecessary, they are harmless."
Your obedient servant,
FELIX GRUNDY.
WM. JONES, EsQ., President U. S. Bank, Philadelphia.
"P. S. —Although this is addressed to you only, I have no objection
to its being seen by any of the directors.
F. G."
Judge White then added, "This letter was written in 1818. It
remained a secret in the hands, and for the guidance of, a directory of
a powerful monied institution, from the time of its receipt, till 1835,
without any one of those calumniated in it, having any suspicion
that among their acquaintances there could be found a man, capable
of thus stabbing their reputation in the dark.  It was brought to
light by the investigating committee, and from the time I first saw it,
until now, I have never been able to think favorably of its author.
The man who could thus treat me might deceive me once, but he never
will a second time, unless, perchance, he should hereafter do some act,
which comports with the character of an honorable man."  Mr.
Grundy was forced to make a rejoinder, which embraced a confession
of having done all Judge White had charged him'with doing-even
to speaking, writing, reporting, and memorializing in favor of a U. S.
Bank and of a branch institution at Nashville. In the following- June
Mr. Grundy replied to Judge White's remarks, which he affected to
repel with disdain and scorn, and attributed them to the predominance
of prejudice and passion in the bosom of the latter.  Judge White
replied with much spirit and effect to Mr. Grundy's defence.  "He
hoped never to see the day when he would be obliged to take six
weeks to prepare and con over an answer to any speech; he regretted
sincerely to know that his colleague had grown so deaf of late, as not




DUELLING.                         23
to have heard the whole of his remarks.  But," asked Judge White,
"what is the substance of his reply, so long in coming?  Does he
controvert a single fact? Does he attack a single position? Does
he meet a single argument of mine? Take his reply now- and at the
time my speech was delivered, and can you find in either, a single
fact alleged by me, denied or controverted? No, sir! no discipline,
no drilling can bring him to deny anything advanced. I will not
take back a word (continued Judge W.); nothing but the character
of this place prevents me from saying more: and my colleague has
permission to believe that I have spoken out of the Senate, what I
have spoken here."
To this thorough exposition no reply was possible, and none was
made.
In the session of the Tennessee legislature of 1817, Judge White
drafted an act for the prevention of duelling, which effectually preserved that State from becoming the scene of this horrible and senseless mode of indulging personal enmity.  He held in utter abhorrence
this wicked and desperate practice of setting at naught one's own life,
the life of an antagonist, and the peace and happiness of the many
interested on either side. His whole private and public life may
attest his high sense of honor; but he would never admit that duelling
is the proper means for its defence when assailed. He maintained
that it required far greater courage to refuse to fight, in the face of the
so-called "laws of honor" than to fight; and avowed himself deficient
in that sort of courage which was requisite either to rush unbidden
into the presence of his God before the appointed time, and without
having finished the work assigned to him on earth, or to consign his
fellow-creatures to a like destiny. His views upon this subject made
a lasting impression throughout the length and breadth of the State.
In East Tennessee, where he was best known, and exerted the most
profound influence, an aversion to duelling is proverbial. Men ever
ready to defend their rights, to protect the defenceless from all aggressions, or at an hour's warning to go forth armed at their country's
call, shun the reputation of the duellist, and the crime of the duel.
These measures, important and meritorious as they were, are only
a few, selected from the many important services rendered by Judge
White to his own State while a member of her legislature; although
it is impossible in this place to do more than barely make allusion to
the remainder.




CHAPTER V.
PATRIOTIC EPISODE-WILDERNESS JOURNEY TO GENERAL JACKSON.
IN the spring of 1812, an Indian styling himself " The Prophet,"
belonging to the Northern tribe of Shawnees, who, partly instigated
by the British, were making preparations for a war against the United
States, despatched his brother Tecumseh to the Creek Indians, inhabiting the tract of country between the Chattahoochee and Tombigbee
rivers, and extending from the Tennessee river to the Florida line, for
the purpose of enlisting the Southern tribes in the same enterprise.
After repeated conferences, Tecumseh succeeded in infusing into the
minds of several of their most influential leaders a feeling of deadly
hostility towards the whites. These chiefs, in turn, by their intrigues
and harangues, at length aroused an insatiate desire for warfare in the
majority of the nation. They resolved upon instant hostilities; and
savage incursions of the usual sudden and devastating nature ensued.
Whole families were horribly butchered. All the frontier of Georgia
and Southern Tennessee, at once became the scene of frightful outrages; and this cruel warfare was waged, not only against the whites,
but also against such of the Creeks as were disposed to preserve their
friendship with them.  Many peaceable Indians were thus driven to
take refuge with such settlers as they might have formerly befriended,
or with whom they might otherwise have amicable relations.
The treacherous massacre of Fort Mimms, which took place
August 30th, 1812, awoke a universal feeling of horror and violent
resentment throughout Tennessee. Her legislature, which convened
a few days afterwards, passed an act authorizing the Executive, in
conformity with instructions previously received from the Secretary
of War, to call into the field three thousand five hundred volunteers,
and to commence a vigorous campaign against the enemy.  To
guard against all contingencies, two hundred thousand dollars were
voted for their support. General Jackson, who was supposed to be
better qualified than any other man in the State, having been appointed
24




EXPEDITION TO AID JACKSON.                              25
by the Governor to the command of the Second Division of Tennessee
Militia, and having received orders for immediate action, hastened to
carry them into effect. He accordingly set out early in October and
was soon encamped on the borders of the enemy's country.
Rumors of General Jackson's near approach to the Creek Nation, and
of the strong probability that he would be opposed by a considerable
body  of Creeks, arrived  almost daily at Knoxville.   Then  it was
reported that he was surrounded with serious difficulties; that his
brave men were contending not only with the sons of the forest, but
with famine and want, even to the extremity of sustaining life on
"roots and acorns."   Hoping to be able to render some relief to his
countrymen in their distressed and destitute condition, Judge White
left the bench, and with two other companions, the  Honorable Luke
Lea, and Honorable Thomas L. Williams, started for the wilderness.
After several days and nights of perilous adventure, they reached the
encampment of the East Tennessee troops, at Fort Armstrong on
the Coosa, on the 13th of November. Here they learned from General Cocke that owing to some disaffection among his troops, no junction had been formed between the East and West Tennessee divisions,
that for want of a messenger no communication had passed between
them, and that General Jackson did not even know the reasons which
led to General White's return from Turkey-town.* Judge White
expressed great anxiety for the fate of the West Tennessee division,
and fear that they might be cut off, or very materially injured, for
the want of that support which had been expected from the East
Tennessee troops; and offered to be the bearer of any despatches
General Cocke might choose to send.- He accordingly left on the
* It is proper here to advert to the charges or insinuations of insubordination, or other
sinister motives, which were made by General Jackson's biographers, at and since this time,
against General White, for joining General Cocke, instead of continuing on to join Jackson at
Fort Strother, at the time alluded to in the text. The truth of the case was this: General
White, having been ordered by Jackson to join him, undertook to put his force in motion from
Turkeytown, for that purpose; but discovered that the men would not obey such orders, but
would return to General Cocke, instead, for the reason, alleged by them, that they and their
horses would incur an imminent risk of starvation in the advance. This was not an unreasonable fear; It is well known that General Jackson's forces at that very time were almost entirely
disorganized from lack of provisions. Under these circumstances General Cocke decided to
recall General White. He was influenced hereto, also, by the consideration that after this junction, the superior morale of the troops under his own command would enable him to compel
White's men to march anywhither; and by the fact that the delay would enable him to procu- supplies. Instead of being sent to Jackson, therefore, General White was detached in
anothe: direction, against the Hillabee Towns, where he did good service. Such beingthe case,
the blame, if any, must rest with the rank and file and subordinate officers ~f General White's
detachment, for refusing to encounter what they supposed would be serious danger ef starvation; ar.d not with their commander, who could not compel the services of unwilling militia.




26            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
morning of the 14th November, with both verbal and written
dcespatches, and reached General Jackson's encampment on the 18th,
at 12 o'clock. After consultation with General Jackson as to the
best means of relieving him from his embarrassed situation, ho
returned to Fort Armstrong with important despatches from General
Jackson to General Cocke, and remained until General White's
detachment returned from the Creek Nation, and a junction was
formed on the 8th December, between the two divisions at Fort
Strother. It was then determined that he should return through the
wilderness to Tennessee, and exert his influence in raising volunteers,
and procuring provisions for the distressed and famishing army.
He appealed directly to the patriotism of his brother-in-law, Colonel
John Williams, commander of the 39th regiment, who, having raised a
force of 600 men, had enlisted in the regular army, and was making
preparations for an expedition to New  Orleans.  He told Colonel
Williams that he had been commissioned by General Jackson, to
represent to him  "his condition as very deplorable, that his men had
all abandoned him  except his life-guard, and unless he came to his
aid, the country would be overrun by savages, the inhabitants become
victims of every species of cruelty, and the reputation of their State
forever blasted."
But Judge White's exertions did not end here. He remained with
Colonel Williams nearly all night, using every means in his power to
impress upon his mind the necessity of relieving Jackson's force.
His importunities finally prevailed.*  Colonel Williams acquiesced m
his wishes; wrote to the War Department, stating his intention to
proceed to General Jackson's head-quarters, instead of to the South
according to his previous instructions; and upon learning that his
plans were approved by the government, at once marched for
the former destination, and arrived with his troops, February 6th,
1814.
On the 14th, they marched in quest of the enemy, and reached
the village of Tohopeka on the 27th, where they found a strong force
of Indians, a thousand or twelve hundred in number, awaiting their
approach; upon which there ensued the most desperate engagement
of the whole war, the bloody Battle of the Horse-Shoe.t
The intrepidity and firmness of the 39th regiment, the skill
* Colonel Williams said that Judge White's arguments and persuasions used to him at this
time, were altogether superior to anything he ever heard from him at the Bar.
t General Jackson, in expressing his gratitude to Col. W., after the engagement, remarked,
"Sir, you have placed me on the road to high military fame."




AID TO JACKSON.                       27
of their commander, Colonel Williams, the aid of the friendly Indians
under Colonel Gideon Morgan, and of Captain Russell's company
of spies, decided the hard-fought battle; which gave a death-blow to
the hopes of the enemy, and brought the war to a successful termination.
While absent on this expedition, Judge White missed several terms
of his court. By the laws of Tennessee the Judges were paid only
in proportion to duty performed.  The legislature, however, in consideration of the services he had rendered to General Jackson,
passed a resolution that there should be no deduction from his
salary. But he declined the gift; refusing to receive more than that
for which he had rendered actual service. He said that " his country
was in distress; that the aid he had rendered was without the hope
of reward. and that he would receive none."




CHAPTER VI.
A; FINANCIER.
BEFORE resigning his seat on the Supreme Bench in 1815, Judge
White was elected President of the Bank of Tennessee.  Fortunately
for him, his early habits of labor and activity had so strengthened his
constitution, which was naturally delicate, as to enable him to endure
an immense amount of bodily and mental fatigue. In order fully to
discharge his numerous and important duties, he was at this time
accustomed to rise early, take breakfast by candle-light, and be in
town at his post, by dawn of day, usually riding to and from his
duties. He was fond of horseback exercise, and always rode fine
horses, and with great ease and grace. His command over them was
extraordinary. One morning while acting as supreme judge, he was
riding into town from the eastern entrance (all who are acquainted
with the location of Knoxville, know something of the hilly ascent).
Near what -was then denominated the " Spout Spring," he came across
a man driving a wagon, very heavily loaded. It was during the
winter season; the roads heavy, the hill very steep, and the driver
not very well skilled in the management of his horses, which seemed
much more inclined to descend than to ascend the elevation. Many
persons were collected on either side of the street, whose object seemed
to be rather to observe, than to render aid. Judge White sat for some
minutes on his horse, closely scanning the operations. He finally dismounted, and offering his assistance, took the lines, mounted the
saddle-horse, and by his skill as a driver, quickly carried the load and
horses to the top of the slippery hill.
His high qualifications as a financier were fully established by the
success of the bank; "such was the wisdom of his management, that
its paper was always equal to specie, as it was'lifted' with silver and
gold when presented for payment; indeed, it was the only instance
for several years of a bank paying specie in the Western country.
28




PRESIDENCY OF BANK OF TENNESSEE.                  29
The stock of this bank never depreciated, but was always equal to any
bank stock in the Union."
In July, 1827, Judge White resigned the office of President as well
as Director of the bank; his reasons for this course are given in a
letter to the directors of the bank, June 30th, 1827.  We need not
insert them here. It is, however, proper to substitute the following
statement of the Directors in reference to this transaction, which is
found in the Register of July 18th, 1827:
" The Bank of Tennessee commenced its operations on the 30th day of
November, 1812. Hugh L. White has been the President thereof ever
since. He has repeatedly and earnestly desired, that he might not be
elected either a Director or the President, but the stockholders have
uniformly been desirous to retain him and avail themselves of his
services. From the 30th day of Nov., 1812, to the 10th day of January,
1815, he received no salary or compensation whatever for his services.
On the 9th day of January, 1815, the stockholders allowed him an
annual salary of one thousand dollars, which continued till the 1st of
January, 1820, at which time it was increased to fifteen hundred dollars
per annum.
"On the 31st of March, 1821, he was appointed a Commissioner under
the Florida Treaty with Spain, which appointment he continued to hold
until the 9th day of June, 1824, a little upwards of three years. When
the Commission was not in session, his attention was devoted to the
business of the bank; and although this was the case, he uniformly
refused to receive any salary for his services, and never has received one
cent for any services he rendered the bank between the 31st of March,
1821, and the 1st day of July, 1824. About the last of October, 1825, he
was elected Senator of the U. S.; and since his election, he has uniformly
given his attention to the business of the bank when he was not necessarily absent, and during the whole of this time, that is from the 31st
Dec., 1825, to this date, has received from the bank for his services, only
the sum of three hundred and seventy-five dollars, equal, barely, to one
quarter's salary. From the first organization of the bank to this time, it
has uniformly relied upon him, for all the legal advice the Directors
needed, which he has uniformly given, for which he has never demanded
or received one cent in compensation. Any suits to which the bank was
a party, when the business could be done at Knoxville, he has attended
to as a lawyer, for which he has never asked or received one cent.
"He is not a borrower of money from the bank to the amount of one
dollar, and is an endorser on one note only, and that for barely three
hundred dollars.
" The bank has uniformly had the use of his private funds for nothing.
Ie has, in many instances, taken journeys upon the business of the bank,




30              MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
when a confidential person was necessary, and in no instance has he
received any compensation whatever for any such services.
"Given under our hands at Knoxville, the 27th day of June, 1827:
LUKE LEA, Cashier.               JOHN CROZIER,    ]
WILLIAM PARK, Ex- Cashier.        JOHN HILLSMAN,
ANDREW MCMILLAN,  Late Clerks.  JAMES PARK,          I
H. A. M. WHITE,                   DAVID CAMPBELL,   Directors.
CALVIN MORGAN,
ROBT. KING,
JAMES DARDIS,    J
JOSEPH C. STRONG, Former Director."
This home testimony, from neighbours and men of standing, well
acquainted with the circumstances of the case, and from different political
parties, is entirely reliable; and its statements strikingly illustrate the
lofty purity of Judge White, and his unselfish devotion to the interests
of his fellow-citizens. We have here the case of a man who performed
the onerous and responsible duties of a leading Bank officer three
years for nothing; three years more for nothing also, but this time
while the salary of fifteen hundred dollars only awaited acceptance;
for a year and a half more, for three months' salary; who declined to
receive such sums, not on the ground that he had not done the work,
but for the unprecedented reason that he had been in the receipt of
contemporary income for public services rendered during the same
period; who, under these circumstances, having also transacted the
law business of the bank without fee or reward, obtained accommodation from it not even to the extent of a single cent, raised no money
by its help, nor, except as endorser upon one single small note, aided
others to do so. Such indifference to pecuniary gains usually esteemed
perfectly legitimate, and at the same time such active and untiring
efficiency in the discharge of these unpaid duties, is very rare in this
or any country.  Whether such conduct be considered a lofty
exertion of virtue, or, as by Judge White himself, the mere performance of ordinary duty, it is not here assumed to decide. But in
either event, its rarity at least is the same: and that alone entitles it
to a careful record.
To show that Judge White's character in this respect was appreciated abroad as well as at home, are given a few words from the
United States Telegraph, published about the time of his resignation
of the Presidency of the Bank.




ANECDOTES OF JUDGE WHITE.                    31
"Few men in any age have possessed more of that incorruptible
integrity which places public men above private scandal. We venture to
assert that no other man who has been so long associated with any
monied institution in the country, can deserve as much as the officers of
this bank have said of Judge White. We take pleasure in recording this
evidence of his Roman virtues."
One or two anecdotes, kindly furnished by Dr. Ramsey, the wellknown historian of Tennessee, will further illustrate the home reputa.
tion and influence of Judge White, as a safe and reliable financier.
"When in 1836 the books for the subscription of stock in our great railroad enterprise were first opened in Knoxville, we who were appointed
commissioners for that purpose, experienced great difficulty in obtaining
subscriptions. We found few willing to adventure anything; some
objecting to the whole scheme as wild, visionary, and impracticable.
On the evening of the last day of subscription Judge White was sent for.
We exhibited to him our meagre list of subscribers, and the inadequate
amount of stock. He made a few sensible remarks on the subject, and
added that elsewhere, when citizens had not the money on hand unemployed, they used their credit. He proposed the formation of an association of twenty, of which he would himself be one, to subscribe to the
enterprise. The association was at once formed, nineteen of us joined
him, with him subscribing $200,000, and thus securing the charter at
the very end of the time to which the commissioners were limited by
law. His example and influence thus saved the charter."
When the Bank of the State of Tennessee was chartered (I believe in
1813) some one was needed to go to the East to have the necessary
engravings-plates &c., prepared to put the bank in operation. The
task was then herculean-there were no stages-much less steamboats
and railroad cars. The long journey was to be performed on horseback.
Younger men shrunk from the undertaking. His professional duties at
home scarcely allowed him to leave the State. But mounting his horse
he rode to the Eastern cities-had the engravings made-the bills struck
-looked into the forms of financiering which were then all unknown in
the West-and with the whole machinery of the first Bank of Tennessee
about his person and in his portmanteau, he returned to Knoxville in so
short a space of time, that the expedition was considered quite a remarkable adventure.
I may as well here add one word of his financial ability. At that
time gold and silver were the only circulating money in the State, banking
in the West was in its infancy; and to put a State institution into successful operation among a people strangers to a paper currency and
prejudiced against the credit system, required fiscal talents of the first




32             MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
order. But his strong common sense, his far-seeing discernment and
his unquestioned probity succeeded in overcoming the seemingly insurmountable difficulties which he encountered. The parent bank he managed in person at Knoxville, established several branches elsewhere, and
a sounder currency no State was blessed with while he managed its
finances.
The following is an instance of the careful punctuality with which
Judge White superintended even minute details of Bank management.
Believing that "example is better than precept," and being a man
of few words, Judge White generally acted instead of talking. While
he was president of the Bank of Tennessee, he accompanied his
daughters to a ball, given in Knoxville. Luke Lea, who was cashier
at the time, and a single gentleman, was also present. When the
hour for dispersing came, the Judge went to Mr. Lea (whom he found
at the card table, with a number of other gentlemen, engaged in a
game of whist), and said, "If you are not going to leave this place,
give me the key of the bank, and I will act as guard myself."  MIr. Lea
answered that he would go immediately to his post, and remain there.
The Judge, after seeing his daughters home (two miles in the country),
fearing Mr. Lea might becomp so absorbed as to neglect or become
forgetful of his duty, mounted his horse, and returned to town. He
went first to the bank, but finding no one there, he repaired to the
ball-room, and there found Mr. Lea still at the card table.  Without
saying one word, he stepped forward and demanded the key. Against
this Mr. Lea remonstrated, but the Judge was inexorable.  He could
not be induced to abandon his intention of remaining all night,
which he actually did.
Mr. Lea, who became distinguished for business habits, and for
great uprightness and integrity of character, says this was the most
effectual rebuke he ever had. It was a lesson he never forgot.




CHAPTER VII.
SERVICES UNDER THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT, AS COMMISSIONER
UNDER THE TREATY WITH SPAIN.
WHEN Florida was ceded to the United States in 1819, the latter
agreed to exonerate the Spanish Government from all future claims
on account of depredations committed during the war of 1812 by
Spanish subjects upon property of her citizens; and likewise that
those citizens should be indemnified to the amount of the purchase
money ($5,000,000) for all loss or injury originating from the doings
of foreign cruisers, agents, consuls, or tribunals, in the Spanish territory, which might be imputable to the Spanish government. It was
to ascertain the amount of valid claims under this treaty, that Judge
White, Hon. Littleton W. Tazewell of Virginia,. and Governor King of
Maine, were appointed Commissioners by President Monroe, in 1821.
In 1820, from too close application to business, Judge White's
health had begun to decline; and it was feared that he must inevitably become a victim of the dreadful disease which afterwards proved
such a terrible scourge in his family. He therefore changed in some
measure his habits of living, partly gave up business and retired to
his farm, where by his remarkable energy of will, in planning and
pursuing a course of judicious exercise, he succeeded in regaining sufficient strength for undertaking the laborious task assigned him by this
commission. During this temporary relief from the pressure of his
many cares, he was in the habit of walking or riding over his farm,
once every day. During one of these excursions, an incident occurred,
trivial in itself, but not without results of some personal importance to
him. One morning, while visiting his plantation two miles distant fiom
his residence, he had occasion to walk a log which lay.across a creek.
The weather was very cold, and the log covered with ice. His foot
slipped and he was plunged into the stream, which was of sufficient
depth completely to immerse him. His clothes immediately became
frozen, and in this condition he rode home, changed his dress, and
3                           33




34           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
went to bed without delay.  All were apprehensive, that, in his
delicate state of health, this accident would prove fatal. But the
excitement threw him into a profuse perspiration, and having slept,
he arose as well as usual. He was ever of opinion that this circumstance cured him, for from that time forward his health began to
improve.
Although Judge White held many important trusts in his own
State, and was known there as a profound jurist and able statesman,
yet he had never held office under the general government until he
received this appointment under the treaty with Spain. Some idea
may be had of the arduous duties of the position he had now assumed,
when it is recollected that the commission only lasted for the short
space of three years, and that the whole immense amount of claims
had to be received, examined, and decidmed upon, according to the
principles of justice, the laws of nations and the stipulations of the
treaty between the high contracting parties.*  The Intelligencer
says:  "The praise of ability, assiduity, and devotion to business will
be conceded to this board; and it is admitted that the President
could not have made a more judicious choice of persons to execute
this arduous trust."
In reference to the manner in which that trust was executed, Mr.
Tazewell thus expresses himself in a letter to the writer, dated Nov.
15th, 1853:
" The duties of this commission proved to be very burdensome; much
more so than either of us had anticipated. Many reasons combined to
induce us to endeavor to complete it within the three years prescribed
by the statute as the term for the continuance of the commission. To
enable us to accomplish this work with more facility to ourselves, we took
lodgings in the same boarding-house, to the end that our conferences
might be more conveniently held; and labored at our task indefatigably
until it was finished. It would not become me to say how the duties of
the commission were discharged. But it is due to Judge White to state
that whatever of good may have been done by it, ought to be ascribed
mainly to his patience, industry and excellent judgment."
During these three years, Judge W. lived on terms of great intimacy with Mr. Tazewell, and contracted a strong friendship for that
thorough lawyer and profound thinker. This friendship was warmly
* The Hon. Daniel Webster is said to have received $75,000 for prosecuting claims before
this Boardo




SECOND COMMISSIONERSHIP.                   35
reciprocated. Says Mr. Tazewell: "When we parted in WVashington
after the close of the Florida commission, in 1824, it was in the painful belief that we should not probably ever meet again. In this,
however, we were mistaken. The death of one of the Senators of
Virginia in the Congress of the United States produced a vacancy in
that office. To fill that vacancy I was elected by the legislature of
this State; and I returned to my old lodgings in Washington, in the
latter end of 1824, to enter upon the duties of this new station."
"Judge W. was not a member of the Senate when I first entered
that body. But the next year, 1825, Gen. Jackson, then one of the
Senators of the State of Tennessee, resigned his seat, and Judge WT.
was elected as his successor, and his votes while in that body prove
that he was a Republican of the'most straitest sect.' And this evidence was amply confirmed, by every sentiment I ever heard him
utter, whether in private or public." At the close of the session of
1831-32 they parted-Mr. Tazewell having resigned his seat in the
Senate; and although Judge White continued in that body eight
years afterwards, they never met again. It was during one of the
recesses of Congress that the hand of affliction was laid heavily upon
them  both. Each lost a grown-up son; and their meeting at the
commencement of the next session is described by one who witnessed
it as very affecting, neither being capable of utterance, but both g'iving
vent to their feelings in floods of tears.
If any further evidence is needed of the high estimation in which
the legal ability and statesmanship of Judge W. were held, it appears
in the selection of himself and Judge Burnett of Ohio, on the 19th
Nov., 1822, by the Government of Kentucky, as Commissioners to
adjust the military land claims of Virginia.  The Commissioners
appointed on the part of Virginia, were Benj. W. Leigh and Wnm.
Gaston of North Carolina.  His association with such men in the
discharge of such highly responsible duties, is a sufficient proof of
his great reputation for solid and reliable sagacity and integrity, as
well as of professional acquirements.




CHAPTER VIII.
SENATORIAL CAREER-PANAMA MISSION-FEDERAL JUDICIARY.
THus far, Judge White has been presented to the reader chiefly as
a local jurist and politician. He will now appear as an actor in more
important and interesting scenes; in which his life and acts are interwoven with national interests, and become portions of national history.
Nor can his character be adequately estimated without a full view of
the manner in which he discharged the duties of his elevated station
in the National Legislature.
When General Jackson resigned his seat in the Senate of the
United States, in 1825, Judge White, being then fifty-two years of
age, was elected for the remainder of his term, and continued to fill
the place until 1840, being thrice elected not only by a unanimous
vote, but without having solicited the office. Even at his entrance
upon the duties of his position he brought much weight of character
into our national councils, acquired by the punctual and faithful discharge of all the responsibilities which had before that time been
imposed upon him, by unyielding integrity, and by his well-known
sound and safe habits of investigation, decision and action.
The fifteen years of Judge White's senatorship belong to a period
of more stormy and thrilling interest than any in American political
history, since the adoption.of the Constitution; a period of party
reorganization, and reform  and re-direction of public policy, effected
and opposed, amidst the most reckless and impassioned political warfare. During all the mighty conflicts of principles and opinions,
interests, parties and men, which made the Senate during Jackson's
administration a chosen arena for the combats of intellectual giants;
during the memorable conflicts upon the Mission to Panama, Internfal
Improvements; during the great struggle to establish Mr. Clay's
A' American System," the critical battle with Nullification, the desperate
contest with the United States Bank, and also during all the collateral
and contemporary minor debates that crowded every session, Judge
36




SENATE-PANAMA MISSION.                    37
White was often upon the floor, and in every struggle sustained his
part fearlessly, honorably and well. He was a disciple of the old
Republican school; of the school of Jefferson and of Jackson, and in
accordance with the views of the statesmen of that school he discussed
all the questions of the day; and whatever external differences
he may have had with others of his own political belief, to the
declared principles of that belief he adhered firmly and consistently to
the last.
In 1826, during the administration of John Quincy Adams, was
introduced the question, now almost forgotten, of the Panama Mission.
This was debated in Congress, upon motions to send accredited Ministers from the Government of the United States to a proposed Convention of the Republics of North and South America, to be holden
upon the Isthmus of Panama. This Convention, was to discuss and
determine, if possible, commercial and international principles and
courses of action in a free and liberal manner, such as was befitting
the joint action of free nations. Its objects were noble, and such as
temporarily to enlist an overwhelming popular feeling in favor of the
mission. The purposes for which it was claimed that the United
States should participate in the Congress were represented to be
1. To establish liberal international commercial regulations.
2. To determine and agree upon a doctrine of maritime neutrality.
3. To establish the doctrine that " free ships make free goods."
4. To establish the "Monroe doctrine," so called; of preventing
European interference with American national action.
5. To advance religious liberty.
6. To conciliate the good will of our American co-nations, by
accepting their invitation and aiding in their deliberations.
This was an administration measure, and was opposed by the great
mass of the opposition, then already organized as the Democratic
party. Judge White, as an opposition speaker, delivered against it
on the 26th of March, 1826, a speech which discussed the general
principles brought up in the course of the debate (which was secret,
although afterwards allowed to be published); and which was pronounced " the ablest exposition of the powers of government made
during the whole discussion."
After showing that the question was whether the Senate should
advise this mission, and also that the not advising it ought not to
give offence to the nations inviting it, Judge White said, speaking




38            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
upon the report of the committee of the Senate, adversely to the
Mission:
Mr. President: Were I to be advised by my feelings I should remain
silent, but when I reflect upon the relation in which I stand to the report
now under consideration, a sense of duty compels me to submit to the
Senate some of the views which my mind has taken of this subject.
The only question iv, the expediency of the Mission to Panama. The
President has distinctly asked of us an opinion upon this question.
Our advice is to be given as freemen, not as slaves. In this course we
serve the Executive, maintain the dignity and independence of the Senate,
and promote the best interests of the United States. If the mission should
not be advised, we give no cause of offence to the Spanish American States.
The evidences heretofore given of our friendship for them, in acknowledging their independence, and interposing our good offices to effect it,
ought to shield us against any suspicion of unfriendly feelings towards
them, at present. The President will likewise comply with the only
promise made to those who have tendered the invitation, his acceptance
of it having been conditional " if the Senate advise," &c.
The subject is then fairly before us, for the exercise of our best judgment, without a fear that any promise of the Executive will be violated,
should the Senate disagree with him in opinion: but even if this were not
so, we could not without a shameful dereliction of duty, offer anything,
as our advice, but the result of our best judgment.
The first reflection upon this subject, is produced by its novelty. Since
the acknowledgment of our independence, it has no precedent in our
history. This ought to beget caution and circumspection.
If this mission should be advised, a new era will have commenced
in the history of our foreign relations. Peace with, and good-will
towards all nations, entangling alliances with none; has been our cardinal policy, in the time past. It was recommended by the Father of
our Country-repeated, and practised upon, by his republican successors.
When given, we were few in number, comparatively poor, and insignificant, in the scale of nations; now, we are twelve millions; rich in men, in
means and in character. Our prosperity has surpassed the most extravagant calculations of the most sanguine amongst us.
In our late contest with the most powerful nation in the civilized
world, unaided by, and unallied to, any other nation, we furnished conclusive evidence, both upon the ocean and upon the land, that we are
able and willing to defend the rich inheritance derived from our ancestors.
The sincerity of our conduct in our intercourse with other nations, and
a careful abstinence from all interference in their concerns, united to our
determined and successful resistance to lawless encroachments upon our




SPEECH ON PANAMA MISSION.                   39
rights, have given us a proud name throughout the nations of the earth.
Happy at home, and respected abroad, why should we change the policy
by which these blessings have been obtained?
We ought not to advise it, except to obtain some lasting and important
benefit for the United States, certainly attainable in this mode, probably to be attained in no other; but never from sympathy for others,
from a desire to serve them, or from a desire of gratifying national
vanity.
We are then naturally led to inquire into the objects expected to be
obtained, and the probability of accomplishing them in this mode.
Here we cannot fail to perceive how difficult it appears to have been,
for those who gave the invitations, to fix upon any subject for discussion,
which they believed of sufficient importance to the United States, to
induce them to accept those invitations; hence, both the Minister from
Columbia, and from Mexico, introduce the idea of subjects "which the
Congress may give rise to," &c.
How can the Senate advise the President to send Ministers to discuss
unknown subjects? to accomplish objects which no person can designate? and in relation to which it is impossible to say whether their
attainment would comport with the honor and interest of the United
States, or not? Suppose those giving these invitations had specified
no subject whatever for discussion, but had asked the attendance of
our Ministers, to discuss, and come to an agreement, upon such subjects as
the Congress might give rise to; is there any one member of the Senate,
that would advise a mission upon such an invitation? Would it not be
thought both useless and hazardous?
To these questions it would seem to me there can be but one answer.
Fond would he be of the creation of officers, and heedless of the honor
and interest of his country, who would advise the appointment of Ministers to a foreign country, to attend a Congress for the purpose of seeing
whether a subject could be produced that might be proper for an agreement with the United States. I will not degrade the Senate by supposing
there is any such man among us, and will proceed with this investigation,
as if no allusion had been made to any unknown subject, which could
neither be designated, nor described.
The first subject mentioned is, the resistance or opposition to be made
to the interference of any neutral nation in the war of Independence, &c.
This appears to be a point of primary importance, in the estimation of
all concerned. Let us calmly and dispassionately reflect upon it. Six of
the former Spanish American Colonies have declared themselves independent of Spain, and to maintain this independence, have put at hazard
their lives and their fortunes. Spain asserts that they are still parts of
her dominions, that she has the right to govern them, and that, cost what
it may, she will reduce them to subjection. The decision of this issue is




40            MEMOIR  OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
submitted to the God of battles. These six colonies have become six
States, and are belligerent on one side, and Spain on the other. Heretofore these States have exerted their strength separately without any regular alliance with each other, although they have had a common enemy to
contend with. The belief, that it would conduce to their common interest, and best secure that independence for which all are contending, has
induced five of them to enter into treaties, by which they are bound to
make common cause against Spain, and by their united efforts, to compel
her to acknowledge the independence of each. To produce union in
council, and concord in action and design among the new States, they
have devised the Congress at Panama. It is to be perpetual. Its primary
and leading object is belligerent. Its secondary and inferior objects and
duties are peaceful. The first subject, then, which will claim the attention of this Congress, is some plan, by which the independence of each
State, will not only be maintained, but secured.
A fear has been entertained, that some European power, now neutral
in this war, will be induced to unite with Spain, and lend her assistance
to reduce these States to the condition of colonies. They wish to provide against such an event, and in giving these invitations, they state, that
they have a pledge from the President, and that there is an accord between
them and the Cabinet at Washington; that if any neutral power does
take part with Spain, the United States will take part with them; and
wish the attendance of our Ministers with a view to discuss the subject,
and come to an agreement in relation to it, by which it will be stipulated,
what contingent each party shall furnish when the casus fcederis shall
occur; and they say, that in the meantime this agreement or convention
may be kept secret.
Mr. President, I object to sending ministers for the purpose of discussing and coming to any agreement or convention upon this subject. It is
not true, as far as I am advised, that the United States stand pledged to
take part in this war in any event whatever. Nothing can bind us to
go to war with any nation, but a declaration made in the proper form,
and by the proper department of this Government. The Executive cannot declare war, but I admit he may pursue a course of policy which
will justify other nations in making war upon us. Congress has taken no
step, has done no act, has passed no law, by which we are bound to
unite with these new States in their war of independence, upon any contingency whatever. The Executive had no power to bind the United
States by any pledge he could give. But what has he done? The groundwork of this pretended pledge, it seems, is found in President Monroe's
Message of December 1823. It contains no pledge-it is a general declaration to his own Congress, of the sentiment which would be felt if any
neutral should interfere on the side of Spain. Notwithstanding that declaration, the United States were still at liberty, consistently with their




SPEECH  ON  PANAMA  MISSION.                       41
honor, to take part with the new States, or omit to do so, as the wisdom
of Congress might judge best, when any neutral power did take part with
Spain. This declaration had a good effect. Not wishing to give offence
to the United States, it may have prevented some of the European States
from taking part with Spain. The new States have had the full benefit
of this declaration. Thus the matter appears to have rested, till the close
of Mr. Monroe's Administration. Since the new Administration came into
power, it seems, that upon the appearance of a French fleet in our seas,
some of the new States called upon the Executive to redeem  the pledge
which had been given. Upon this application, in place of correcting the
mistake upon the subject, it would appear from  the documents with
which we are furnished, the Administration admitted that which I do not
see was the fact, that a pledge had been given, and directed RMr. Brown,
our Minister in France to ask an explanation, &c. Upon this point, however, I think we are still in the dark; we have no copy of the application
fiom  the new  States, nor of our answer to them.  These documents
would have shown how far our new Administration have gone towards
compelling us to take part in this war. It is very singular, that after all
the calls for information which the Senate have been compelled to make,
upon this important business, there is still a want of documents, that
would probably be useful.  But if we are at liberty to judge fiom the
correspondence between Mr. Poinsett and the Mexican Minister, and
from  Mr. Secretary's letter to Mr. Poinsett, it does really seem that the
Executive has admitted to Mexico, that we have given a pledge, which
we may be called on to redeem, whenever the contingency shall occur.*
Of this pledge, the people of these States are yet uninformed. I feel persuaded they have no idea we stand pledged upon any contingency to
embark in the war with these new States, whether it may comport with
our interest or not. This is an inadvertence which cannot be corrected
too soon.  If we send Ministers and an agreement is entered into, then
indeed, will the United States be pledged.  We now know the object.
We see the predicament in which we are placed, and with this knowledge, if Congress can be induced to give its sanction to this measure,
and this pledge of the Executive is refined into an agreement, by which
the United States shall be bound to furnish men, money, ships, &c., in aid
of the new States, whenever any power, now neutral, may choose to take
part with Spain, then, indeed, shall I think this nation has given a pledge,
* Mr. Poinsett's letter to Mr. Clay, 28th September, 1825:
"To these observations I replied, that against the power of Spain they had given sufficient
proof that they required no assistance, and the United States had pledged themselves not to
permit any other power to interfere with their independence or form of government; and that
as in the event of such an attempt being made by the powers of Europe, we would be comrpelled to take the most active and efficient past and to bear the brunt of the contest, it was
not just that we should be placed on a less favorable footing, than the other republics of
America, whose existence we were ready to support at such hazards."




42            MIEMOIt  OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
one that it may cost us too much to redeem, when the casusfeaderis shall
happen.
But, sir, how is it that we are told our neutral character is not to be
compromitted? that we are not to enter into any alliance? to engage in
nothing importing hostility to any other nation? Are we to be led
away from the substance of things by mere names? Are we to have so
much faith as to induce us to disregard the plainest evidence that can be
furnished? I hope not. What is the substance of this proposition?
These new States say, the President has given a pledge to take a part in
the war now waged, if any neutral nation shall take part with Spain;
and that the Cabinet at Washington has done the like: but, as this is
only a general pledge, and they do not know exactly what assistance
they are to receive, they wish the United States to send Ministers to
Panama, empowered to discuss this subject, and come to a definite
agreement upon it, by which it may be distinctly known what contingent
the United States are to furnish, when the casus foederis happens, and
that all this matter shall be kept secret.
Suppose we do send Ministers, for such a purpose, to a Congress composed entirely of belligerents on one side, is it not a violation of our
neutrality? What is our situation?  We profess friendship for both the
parties to this war, and that we are not disposed to aid either. Is it no
departure from the professions to send our Ministers? Can any gentleman doubt upon this point? Recollect that this Congress is created and
assembled avowedly for the purpose of discussing war measures, settling
plans, and devising means, by which Spain shall be compelled to
acknowledge their independence, and by which that independence can
be best secured.
With this knowledge, and for the purpose of entering upon the
discussion, and -making an agreement, by which we will be bound, upon
a certain contingency, to aid the party with whom we make the agreement we send our Ministers. Can we be called indifferent?  Countenancing neither, to the prejudice of the other? Surely not. Wllat is
the answer to this argument? The only one as yet attempted is by the
gentleman from Rhode Island, that if two nations are at war, it is no
breach of neutrality in a third Power to send a Minister to both, or
either. This is very true, and yet it proves nothing, as it relates to the
question now in dispute.  For peaceful purposes-for any purpose
unconnected with the war-the third power may send a Minister, may
discuss, may treat upon any peaceful subject; but, does this prove
that you may send a Minister to the Court of one belligerent to
discuss belligerent questions, to advise one party what steps he is
to take in the war, whether it is most prudent to strike his adversary at a given time, or in a given quarter? Surely not. And yet
this is the very point which gentlemen on the other side must main



SPEECH  ON  PANAMAK   MISSION.                 43
tain. This part of the subject has been placed by the gentleman
from South Carolina on ground which cannot be shaken. His argument
has not been answered. It never will be, while there is a distinction
between truth and the reverse.
Mr. President, I go one step farther, and insist, if you do send Ministers, and they discuss this subject, and enter into the proposed agreement,
so far as you have power over the matter, your neutrality is not only
broken, but you are in a state of war, and that with any and every
power that is now neutral, and may hereafter elect to take a part with
Spain. This is a dilemma from which we cannot escape, without disgrace. Send Ministers, make the agreernent-and the question of peace,
or war, is not with zus; and, at any moment afterwards, any European
or even an American nation can put you at war, whether it may suit
your interest or not.
I object to sending Ministers for the discussion of any such subject, or
for the accomplishment of any such object. Even if we believed that
such a state of things would probably be produced, as to make it proper
for us to take a part in this war, I would still be opposed to any agreement by which we will become bound to do so. It is impossible now to
foresee what may best comport with the interest of the United States at
any subsequent period; and they ought to be left free to act, unfettered
by any agreement whatever, as their interest or honor may require,
when some other power does actually interfere.
It is vain to say, we are not to take a part in any belligerent question;
that our neutrality is not to be violated; that we are not to engage in
anything importing hostility to any other power, while this proposition
is presented to us. One of the Ministers who gave the invitation classes
the subject to be discussed into belligerent and peaceful, and states that
the United States are not expected to take any part in the first; but, in
the last, they are, and in this class, he specifies this very subject. Does
this make it peaceful?. Surely not. It is belligerent. I admit it is not
an absolute stipulation to take part in the war, and, therefore, some may
feel justified in saying it does not import hostility; yet, it is undoubtedly
an agreement to take part upon the happening of a certain contingency.
It will import hostility upon a certain condition, which contingency or
condition is not within the control of the United States.
After remarking upon the failure to transmit to the Senate certain
information in regard to the feelings of the European cabinets in
relation to any attempt to wrest Cuba from Spain, Judge White
proceeded with observations by no means unimportant or unseasonable in their bearing upon subjects at this very day exciting a lively
interest in the public mind. He said, on this point:




44              MEMOIR  OF  HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
These colonies (Cuba and Porto Rico) are convenient to the new
(South American) States; which having expelled their enemies from
their own territory, will probably stimulate a portion of the inhabitants
of those Islands to rebel, to declare themselves independent of Spain,
and by uniting their forces with those revolted subjects, endeavor to put
down the Spanish authorities in those Islands. What consequences are
likely to flow from such a measure? Russia probably, and France
almost certainly, would then immediately take part with Spain, in the
war.  From  the documents, we have evidence that they would have
strong inducements to interpose immediately.  It is their wish that
Spain should retain her dominion over those Islands, because then that
balance would be kept up in the seas where those Islands are situate
which those powers think ought to be preserved.*
Again: all monarchs, and these in particular, would feel an interest to
check this spirit of revolt; if not put down, none of them would feel
safe; and while aiding Spain, they would be rendering more secure their
own dominions. To lend assistance would be esteemed by them a principle of self-defence. Lastly, these new States have told us, even now,
they suspect that France is secretly furnishing Spain the means of continuing the war.  Spain tells you France is her friend-that "in six
troubles she has stood by her, and that, in the seventh, she will not forsake her;" and from the connection between these powers, at home,
it is rendered extremely probable, that the opinions entertained, both by
the new States and Spain, as to the policy of France, will turn out to be
correct.  Suppose, then, you sanction this mission, your Ministers discuss
this subject, come to an agreement upon it, stipulate that if any neutral
power interferes on the part of Spain, that the United States will take
part with the new States, and Russia and France do thus take part with
Spain, the casus fosderis will then have happened, and the United States,
in connection with the Spanish American States, will thus become one
party in the war, and Spain, Russia, and France. the other, and how or
whenl it will terminate, no man can foresee.
In this state of things what is to become of our own important interests, our commerce for example, to secure which we seem so anxious?
Great Britain is ever attentive to her own interest, watching the course
* "She is, however, in the mean while, pleased to hope, that the United States, becoming
every day more convinced of the evils and dangers that would result to Cuba and Porto Rico
from a change of Government, being satisfied, as Mr. Clay has said in his dispatch, with the
commercial legislation of these two Islands, and deriving an additional motive of security
from the honorable resolution of Spain not to grant to them, any longer, letters of marque,
will use their influence in defeating, as far as may be in their power, every enterprise against
these Islands, in securing to the rights of his Catholic Majesty constant and proper respect in
maintaining the only state of things that can presesrle a just balance of power in the Sea
of the Anrtilles, prevent shocking examples, and, as the Cabinet at Washington has
remarked, secure to the general peace salutary guaranties." —Count Nesselrode to Mr. Middleton, 20th Aug. 1825.




SPEECH  ON  PANAMA  MISSION.                  45
of events, and turning them to the advantage of her own subjects. Even
now, some fear she is at this Congress,not as a party but as a listener, and
will gain some advantage by our delay: how would she probably act?
She would take no part in the war.  She would be neutral, the United
States belligerent; and what then becomes of your commerce? It will be
engrossed by your neighbor, who has been attending to her own interest,
while you have been seeking distinction by neglecting your own concerns,
and attending to those of other nations.
But, sir, if in this I mistake the course of Great Britain, and she
should elect to take a part in the war, it would probably be on the side
of Spain, and then we should have our difficulties increased to the full
extent of her means and resources.
To this view of the case, I beg the attention of the gentleman from
Rhode Island, and respectfully ask an application of the rule of " probabilities," and then let him say whether this Congress is so harmless, and
whether, in his judgment, we have nothing to apprehend?
There are other views of this subject which render it inexpedient to
sanction this measure.
This agreement or treaty is to be kept secret.  By the frame of
our Government, treaties are to be the supreme law; would it be discreet
to have a treaty, by which the United States may be involved, concealed
from the People? It is their Government, it is their interests, that are
at stake, and nothing material ought to be secreted from them.
Again, such an arrangement would be inconsistent with our character for candor. We owe it to ourselves to do no act, to make no agreement, that we ought to be unwilling to avow.
The very circmustance of a desire to conceal is a proof that the project
is inconsistent with our professed neutrality, and would be justly offensive to Spain and to other nations.
After showing that it was inconsistent with the dignity of the
United States to stipulate with other nations, according to that article
of the Panama programme, which provided for mutual agreement
that no contracting State should suffer European colonies to be
planted within its borders, Judge White proceeded to another subject, also absorbingly interesting at this day, as follows:
Mr. President: I pass to the next subject specified. It is to discuss
and agree upon the means to be employed for the entire abolition of the
slave trade. Of all subjects that could be thought of, none would be
found more unfortunate than this.  It was hoped, that, after rejecting
the convention with Columbia upon this subject, the Senate would have
no more of it from foreigners. If slavery is an affliction, all the Southern
and Western States have it, and with it, their peculiar mIlloes of thinking




46G           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
upon all subjects connected with it.'In these new States, some of them
have put it down in their fundamental law, "that whoever owns a slave
shall cease to be a citizen."  Is it then fit that the United States
should disturb the quiet of the Southern and Western States, by a discussion and argument with the new States, upon any subject connected
with slavery?  I think not.  Can it be the desire of any prominent
politician in the United States, to divide us into parties upon the subject
of Slavery? I hope not. Let us then cease to talk of slavery in this House;
let us cease to negotiate upon any subject connected with it. The United
States have by their own laws put an end to the slave trade so far as
their citizens, or their vessels, are concerned in it —more than this, they
ought not to attempt. Let other nations discharge their duty as well,
and the slave trade, so called, will be abolished.
One word more upon this point, MBr. President, and I will dismiss it.
If there be any gentlemen in the United States, who seriously wish to
see an end of slavery, let them cease talking and writing, to induce the
Federal Government to take up the subject, because, by the course now
pursued by some, they are postponing a measure, whose accomplishment
they profess a wish to hasten. Whenever the States in which slavery
exists, feel it as an evil too intolerable, move towards its removal
at home, and apply through their Legislatures to this Government for
aid to abolish it, then, and not sooner, we may discuss it within these
walls.
We are invited to attend and settle " the basis of our relations to Hayti,"
and others, that may be in like circumstances, &c.
Will gentlemen tell us whether a Representative from Hayti is invited
to attend this Congress?  It appears to me that it will be very unfair
to settle this question, when that Government is unrepresented. It is
therefore most probable, her Minister is to be there likewise. Reflect,
Mlr. President, upon the population of that country, and upon that of
a portion of our own, as well as upon the peculiar modes of thinking in
Spanish America, and then let honorable gentlemen say whether they
think this will be a fit subject for discussion. It is a question which the
South American statesmen must settle for themselves and by themselves.
Our situation, in relation to this subject, is so peculiarly delicate, that I
cannot suppose any real friend to the Union, would propose that it should
be settled at the Congress of Panama. The suggestion of such a project
may be readily excused in a foreigner, but in an American citizen it
would be inexcusable.
Upon the proposition to establish an American system, Judge
White remarked, with solid and profound wisdom:
The Minister from Central America proposes, that at this Congress
an American Continental System  shall be got up, as Europe has one.




SPEECH ON  PANAMA MISSION.                   47
Let us bestow a few thoughts upon this subject, and see to what it
tends. In Europe, the object of their system is to make common cause
to support monarchs on their thrones.
The contrary would be, to make common cause to secure in America
a Republican form of government to each nation.  Our fundamnental principle is, that every nation ought to be permitted to have just such a form
of government as the people of that nation may think best suited to their
condition, and best calculated to secure their lives, liberty, and property,
and that, in settling their forms of government, no other nation has any
right to interfere.
We find fault with the European system, and with the Holy Alliance,
because it is their object to fix monarchy upon the people of the respective States, whether the majorities in those States are pleased with such
governments or not. Are we then to combine with other States, to compel each one to preserve a republican form of government, whether they
will it or not? We believe, and I flatter myself truly believe, that ours is
the best plan of government which has yet been devised; but, if it is the
best for the people of these United States, does it thence follow that it
would be the best for every other nation?
Ours is the best for an intelligent and virtuous people; but it does not
thence follow, that it would be best for an ignorant and vicious people.
The people of each country ought to understand their own character better than the people of any other country; and they ought to be the exclusive judges of what plan of government is best suited to their peculiar
character and condition, and any interference by the people of any other
country, to force upon them a form of government which they do not
themselves choose, is an act of tyranny and oppression. The whole project, then, is wrong in principle and therefore ought not to meet our
sanction.
Again, we are only in the course of experiment at home. Whether our
plan is as perfect as it ought to be, is at this moment a subject of discussion over the way. We are endeavoring to improve it, and hope to render it so perfect that we shall be pleased with it for ever: yet, even we
may change our minds upon that subject, and if we do, we shall claim the
right of changing our government likewise. Let us then not be too
hasty. Are we sure our politicians are well acquainted with the character of our own people upon all points? It would be unreasonable to
suppose them intimately acquainted with every peculiarity of character
in each of the Spanish American States. Without this knowledge, we
are not in a situation to form an opinion on this subject. Their true character is yet to be developed. The war must be finished first. A foreign
enemy may have kept them in a state of internal peace. Remove the
idea of this foreign enemy, and we cannot foresee how soon discord and
bloodshed may ensue among themselves. Even the other day, in one of




48            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
these States, we saw considerable resistance made to some of their laws.
Let us then afford time for a thorough development of character, before
we identify our fate with theirs to too great an extent, upon this, or any
other point. But, again, in Europe, they have a continental system, and
therefore we are to get up a countervailing one in America. We are to
have a system opposed to a system; the friends of each endeavoring to
make proselytes; in what will this course terminate? In warm words,
if not in blows. It leads to discord and war. We have extensive commercial intercourse with the powers of Europe, as well as with those of
the new States. Our interest consists in peace and friendship with all;
let us not rashly adopt a course calculated to disturb our harmony with
either. To preserve our own liberty; to better the condition of our own
citizens; will furnish sufficient employment for our own most enlightened
public servants, and let us not suffer any one, from a vain desire to fill an
uncommon number of pages in our own future history, to influence us to
such an interference in the concerns of others, as will put in jeopardy
those of our own people.
After examining the other proposed objects of the mission, Judge
White proceeds to exhibit the danger from such uncontrolled powers
of appointment as would seem to exist in the Executive, if the nominations were to be confirmed.
Another point, however, is not to be lost sight of. I have, Mr. President, upon this argument, been endeavoring to maintain, that this mission is inexpedient. Upon one of the incidental questions which we have
heretofore partially discussed, I had the honor of making to the Senate,
some observations upon a question first suggested by a gentleman from
Kentucky, and afterwards enlarged upon by the gentleman from Virginia. It is this-is there in truth, any vacant office to fill with the
persons now nominated? I have insisted there is not, that we have begun this business at the wrong end. In our government we can have but
two sources from which offices can be created. The one is the Constitution, the other statutes made by Congress. These offices are not created by the one, or by the other. By the Constitution, the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, can appoint ambassadors,
and other public ministers, &c.
Under this provision, the President has the power, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, to appoint an ambassador, or any other public
agent, recognized by, and known to the laws of civilized nations; but as
to all other offices, they must be created by some statute of the United
States, before any person is nominated to fill them. The sole question
upon this point, then, is, are such ministers as those now proposed, known
to, and recognized by the law of nations? I deny that they are. The




SPEECH  ON PANAMA  MISSION.                  49
Congress is created by treaties, among the Spanish American States. It
is contended by gentlemen on the other side, that it has no attribute of
sovereignty attached to it-if this be so, then you cannot, by the law of
nations, send any ministers to transact business with such a body. If you
do send them, it must be in virtue of some treaty, or by virtue of some
statute of the United States. In this instance, there is neither the one
nor the other. Therefore, there is no office as yet created, and until one
is created, neither the President alone, nor he, with the advice of the Senate, can, consistently with the Constitution, proceed to fill it.
The fair way to have taken the sense of the nation upon the expediency
of this mission would have been to have consulted Congress, in their
legislative capacity, on the propriety of the mission, by asking an appropriation to defray the expenses of it, and stating the objects expected to be
obtained by it. The subject would then have come fairly before the
representatives of the nation, who would have discussed and decided
upon its expediency with open doors. If affirmatively decided, the offices
would have been created by statute, and then the President could have
nominated characters, which he deemed suitable to fill them, and upon
these nominations, the Senate would have acted in their executive capacity, and advised the President whether, in their opinion, these men
were or were not, suitable persons to fill these offices. But here the
order of things is reversed-the Senate has been called upon to discuss
and settle the expediency of this mission, upon mere nominations to
office, and if the nominations should be confirmed, then we are to pass a
law in the shape of an appropriation bill, by which, the offices will, for
the first time, be created. The injustice of this course, to the minority
on this question, and to the nation, is obvious. Upon the nominations we
have been constrained to act with closed doors, the nation has no knowledge
of the facts upon which our opinions rest, nor of the reasons in support
of those opinions. Little do they suspect that principles of such vital
importance are involved in this decision.
I have again mentioned this point, not intending to argue it the second
time. I mention it because, if a majority-thus irregularly, I might
say-in my opinion, unconstitutionally-determine that this mission is
expedient, I must and will, entertaining the opinion I now do, vote
against any man, who has been, or can be nominated, because I will not
agree to fill any office which I do not believe has the sanction of either
the Constitution or law of the United States for its creation.
The result of the discussion was that the nominees of the President,
Messrs. John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, and Richard C. Anderson, of
Kentucky, were confirmed, by a vote of 24 to 20. But they were
never sent upon their errand, for the Congress was never held. And
the effervescence of popular interest in the scheme rapidly dying
4




50            MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
away, the "sober second thought" of the people resulted in a general
acquiescence in the sound and moderate views of Judge White and
his fellow opponents to the mission.
At the time of Judge White's entrance into the Senate there was,
and had for some time existed, throughout the Western States, a very
just cause of complaint, in the unfair apportionment of the United
States Judiciary Districts.  In nine of the Western States, the decisions in the United States Courts were rendered, either by a District
Judge alone, or with very little and cursory assistance from the
Circuit Judge; a state of things which caused the administration of
justice in those States to be both slower and more erroneous than in
the remaining fifteen, by reason of the action of a single judge, and
of the necessary shortness and infirequency of the terms in each
circuit. Upon Judge White's first entrance into Congress, his attention was given to this subject. With great difficulty a bill passed the
House of Representatives, creating three additional circuits, and
requiring three additional judges of the Supreme Court. It was sent
to the Senate, and then to the Judiciary Committee, who amended it
in two particulars; making it the duty of the three additional judges
to reside in the new circuits, and secondly, changing the distribution
of the different States from that proposed in the original bill. These
amendments passed the Senate by a very large majority. Of the ten
Senators from the five States of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and
Missouri, only three were in favor of the distribution made in the bill
from the House. That body, however, refused to agree to either of
the Senate amendments, the Senate adhered to both, and thus the bill
was lost.  Judge White voted with the majority.  His former
position at the bar, and on the bench, enabled him to appreciate the
wants of the Western country in this particular, and he did not
slumber over them. At the next session, he again brought the
subject before Congress in a speech, showing the inequality as to the
administration of justice under which the Western States had been
laboring, and arguing that the evil ought to be remedied; and used
his endeavors to have it acted on, but for want of time the subject was
then postponed.
Judge White's remarks on this subject, furnish a clear analysis of
the wants of the West in the particular under consideration, and
intelligent views of the operation of residence or non-residence upon
the professional ability and success of a judge; and contain so many
suggestions of permanent value upon the practical duties of the judi



JUDICIARY  APPORTIONMENT.                     51
cial office, as to justify the insertion of portions of his speech,
delivered April 11, 1826, that is, during that one of the two sessions
above referred to, in which the Senate and House failed to agree upon
a bill to meet the wants of the West in the required' reformation of
the courts.
Judge White said:
If it could be shown that the remedy proposed to obviate the inconveniences complained of in those sections of country, would be injurious
to the whole Union, he ought not to expect, or to wish, that their special
inconveniences should be removed to the injury of the whole community.
The subject on which we are about to legislate is, in my mind, one
of infinite importance. We are about to pass an act in relation to a
department of the government which every man feels and ought to
understand. It is in vain we enact good laws unless they are well administered.  It is that department of government which operates directly
on the persons and property of individuals who happen to be citizens of
the United States, so far as the jurisdiction is local, or so far as it relates
to the internal concerns of the citizens of the respective States. So far as
it may o.perate on general principles it is still more important-therefore
have I heard with great attention everything that has been urged by gentlemen who are opposed to it, and I shall still be glad to hear all further
objections that can be urged.
We cannot judge whether the alteration will be beneficial or injurious,
without first making ourselves acquainted with the inconveniences which
are supposed to exist. Till we are acquainted with the disease we cannot tell what will be a suitable remedy. I think I can, if favored with
the attention of the Senate, if not already satisfied on that point, satisfy
them that the disease lies much deeper than the gentleman from Rhode
Island seems to suppose. I paid great attention to the argument, and he
seems to think, so far as I can understand it, that the main grievance
which we are called on to remedy, is the delay which takes place in the
Supreme Court of the United States. He has not even, in his excellent
argument, given the most distant glance at the situation of that section
of the country which is on the other side of the mountains, to see what
the local inconveniences are, and whether the remedy he proposes would
be a suitable one or not. The grievances which do exist in the country,
are, as I think, of two kinds; one, in the manner in which the business
is conducted in the respective States; the other, that which exists in
the Supreme Court itself; and this latter does not consist so much in the
delay, as in the incorrectness of the decisions where the questions depend
upon the municipal laws of the respective States.
These are the grievances which exist, and which it is the object of this




52            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
bill to remedy. First, by extending to nine States the circuit system,
which is applicable to, and practised beneficially in, the other fifteen
States; and secondly, to increase on the bench of the Supreme Court a
knowledge of the local laws; those are its leading objects. These nine
States, when we look to them, we find thus circumstanced: Six of them
haave never had, either nominally or in fact, the benefit of a circuit judge,
three of these States had nominally, and to a very limited extent, the
benefit of the attendance of a judge of the Supreme Court from thle
year 1809 up to this time. I say they have had it nominally, but not so,
in point of fact. When the judge of the seventh circuit was in the
vigor of life, and in the enjoyment of perfect health, it was his duty to
attend and hold circuit courts in the districts of East and West Tennessee, of Kentucky and Ohio, and from the necessity he was under of
leaving one court in time to arrive at the next, in his circuit, an opportunity was not afforded him of disposing of the causes on either docket.
For example, he would have suits enough in West Tennessee to require a
session of two months, but at the end of three or four weeks he was
compelled to be in Kentucky, distant two hundred miles, and so on; and
thus it happened, either that the district judges Inust continue the courts
after his departure, or the causes must remain undecided. In important
suits, parties would not be willing to trust the opinion of the district
judge alone, and he would willingly yield to applications for delay, until
he could have the assistance of the judge of the Supreme Court, and
thus the business must be either long delayed, or in most instances decided
in the circuit courts of those three States, by the district judge alone.
For several of the last years of Judge Todd's life, his want of health put
it out of his power to attend his circuit courts, and thus it has happened
that the business in Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, has accumulated to
an unreasonable extent, and those States have, in truth, been no better
provided with an opportunity of obtaining a due administration of justice in their Federal Courts, than the other six Western States; and how
is it with regard to them?  They have never had the benefit of the circuit system, even nominally. They have each a district judge, who does
all the duties which other district judges perform, and who is vested with
the jurisdiction which circuit courts possess in the other States. So
far as relates to the grievances which exist in the country, we are safe in
considering the whole nine States to be practically in the same situation.
VWhen we come to look at the laws which vest the courts with jurisdiction, we find that a large portion of the jurisdiction which is to be exercised in those nine States, is of that description which falls within the
jurisdiction of a circuit court, and not within the jurisdiction of a district court. A district court, as such, can have no jurisdiction of suits
between A and B, whether citizens of the United States, or of different
States. Some attempts have been made to get them to entertain jurisdic



JUDICIARY  APPORTIONMENT.                    53
tion of the suits between citizens of different States, when the matter in
dispute is of more value than twenty, and of less than five hundred
dollars, but so far as I know, they have been unsuccessful.
As it relates to a great portion of the jurisdiction which is to be exercised in those nine States, the Senate must see at once, it is of that class
of cases which belongs to the circuit courts in the other States. What
is the situation of these other States? They have, in point of fact, as
well as in point of law, a circuit court, composed of one judge of
the Supreme Court, and the district judge. When a suit is brought, and
the matter in dispute exceeds the stun of two thousand dollars, upon the
trial, the parties have the benefit of the opinions of two men, which will
in most instances be satisfactory: but if not, the unsuccessful party can
remove it to the Supreme Court and there have the judgment revised,
and if wrong reversed. If the matter in dispute is less than two thousand dollars, and the judges disagree in opinion upon any point, either party
can have that point certified to the Supreme Court, then revised, and the
judgment of the circuit court rendered in conformity with the opinion
of the Supreme Court. In all criminal cases the defendant has the like
advantage. How is it in those nine States? In no case, either civil or
criminal, can the parties in the circuit court have any opinion but
that of the district judge, which in every criminal case, and in every
civil one where the matter in dispute is of less value than two thousand
dollars, is final and conclusive whether right or wrong; and in all other
civil causes, although an erroneous judgment may be revised in the
Supreme Court, it is at an expense and trouble which would often be
avoided if two judges sat in the circuit court.
The gentleman from New Hampshire said yesterday, we of the West
would not compare wealth with those in the East; all true enough; and
therefore there are many causes where the matter in dispute does not
amount to two thousand dollars, and still it is very material to the parties that they should be correctly decided. It is certainly not just that a
man should be punished as a criminal under an erroneous judgment, or
that lie should lose his all by the like means, while those living under the
same government are protected in their persons and property because
more wealthy. We are one people living under a government common
to us all, and each State has a right to expect from the Federal Government, that a like provision will be made for her citizens, with that made
for the citizens of the other States.  This has not been done, and as
*we are to be one people, we have a right to expect it will be no longer
delayed.
Fifteen of the States of this Union have more than double the chance
for a correct exposition of your laws that the other nine have; these
nine complain of this inequality, and the only wonder is, that their complaints have not been more loud and frequent against this crying injustice.




54            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Tennessee was admitted into this Union upon an eqitalfooting with the
original Stcates, and so have the other Western States been. These States
feel that this promised equality has not been extended to them; as sovereign States, they insist that their citizens must be placed in a situation where
their persons and property shall be equally as safe in the Federal Courts,
as the citizens of any other State are in their persons and property. With
nothing less than this will they be contented. But it is said the proper
time is not come; we are used as well as others have been used. I should
be glad to know when the time will arrive?
Tennessee is thirty years old, Kentucky is older. Ohio came into the
Union in 1803, Louisiana in 1812, Indiana in 1816, Illinois in 1816,
Missouri in 1821, Mississippi in 1817, Alabama several years ago. Will
the gentleman tell us when we shall have arrived at such mature age,
as to entitle us to the same benefits of the Federal judiciary that are
enjoyed by the other States? Sometimes they are willing to recognize
us as at years of discretion, to put their dearest interests in our keeping.
Personal services, money, anything we have, we are disposed to lender
freely our full share of, according to our abilities. We are willing to do
our duty; and I call upon the Senate to say whether they do their duty
to us, if they do not put the administration of justice on the same footing in the Western States, as it is in the others. Is not the life of a man
in any one of those nine States, worth as much to society as it would be,
if he were a constituent of the gentleman from New Hampshire or Rhode
Island?  Is it not reasonable to afford the same man as good a chance
for justice in the States where he now lives as he would have if he lived
in any other? Is that opportunity furnished? No, Sir, it is not.
It was intimated we had not applied in time. Why did we not apply
at the time we were admitted into the Union? We did apply, and you
promised us, and we now respectfully ask a compliance with that promnise. Had we been of the original States, should we not have had the
benefit we now ask you to extend to us?  Surely we should; therefore,
do not put us off with less now.
It may be said there is not much in all this; the wrong is on a limited
scale, because the State Courts do the mass of the business. When the
people are called to account for crimes, they are called before State Courts,
to answer for offences against the State, and not for those against the
United States. If gentlemen will think a little they will see the case is
not so. We have heard a good deal respecting Indians latterly; there is
a portion of the territory within the limits of the Western States, where
the Indian title is not extinguished, and when that is the case, every
offence committed by a white citizen against an Indian on the Indian
side of the line, is a subject of Federal and not of State jurisdiction,
according to our laws; so likewise of crimes committed by Indians on
citizens. Trials for crimes under this branch of your laws are not unfre



JUDICIARY APPORTIONMENT.                     55
quent, and no matter whether the accused is a white, or a red man, a
fair opportunity for a correct exposition and application of the laws
ought to be furnished.  Against the Indians, prejudices invariably
exist; they are ignorant, not only of our laws and forms of proceedings,
but of our language also; and common humanity requires that at least
the same measure of justice should be meted them, as to a white citizen.
I have witnessed several of those trials, and have no doubt they were
conducted with perfect integrity; yet the legal correctness of some
might well be doubted. The criminal business then which has existed
and may exist in the courts in some of these States is not so limited as
those at a distance might incline to believe.
But, sir, we are told that the accumulation of business in some of
these courts, in the three States, is produced by temporary causes that are
passing away, and that there is no necessity for any alteration in the
system on that account: that one circuit judge can do all the business
in those three States. It is not to pass away so rapidly as the gentlemen suppose.  I do not doubt the correctness of the statement of any
gentleman living in any one of those States; he knows what the business is;
therefore I do not choose to doubt the correctness of what was advanced
by the gentleman from Kentucky. I have before me a certificate from the
clerk of the district and circuit court of Kentucky, and at the session of November last, the number of causes on the two dockets combined were nine
hundred and fifty. As very little business is to be done in this district
court, much the greater portion must be on the circuit court docket of
that State. How is it in Tennessee? You have the statement of the gentleman who belongs to the Western part, and altogether it may be estimated at two hundred. But it is not the number of causes which proves
the necessity of a circuit judge, and an extension of the system; this
necessity is produced, more by the kind of causes that are to be decided,
than by their number. These causes are generally in their own nature,
especially those brought into the Federal Court of Tennessee, of the most
litigated description. Many of them relate to lands; foreigners claim
titles to them, and assert them in the Federal Courts. It is necessary to go back and examine what was the condition of the country
forty years ago, and you get into a set of difficulties, from which nothing
can extricate you, but a patient, laborious and protracted investigation.
They necessarily consume a great deal of time, first in ascertaining the
facts before a jury who are to decide the cause, and next in investigating
the legal principles which are to govern that decision. To investigate and
decide one of those causes, has sometimes taken two weeks; suppose only
one hundred causes on the docket, I ask, if it would not be more necessary
to extend the judicial system through a country like that, than to a place
where there was five hundred on the docket, of which thirty or forty
might be disposed of in a day. If we were to be governed by the mere




56            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
number of causes we should make a most important mistake as relates to
this matter. Many disputes in Tennessee relate to land, the titles tc
which are founded on the act of 1777 in North Carolina, or the act of
1783, or those acts to which these two have given birth, and in investigating matters of fact, it is necessary to go back and ascertain what were
the names of different places at different times, from those periods up to this
time; the whole country was a wilderness, and every man who had a
claim under these laws had a right to select a piece of land within a certain boundary, of from four to five hundred miles one way, and one
hundred miles the other.  We had not only to investigate our titles
derived from the State of North Carolina, but in some instances those
issued by Virginia and perhaps Kentucky, likewise, as disputes respecting
boundary with those States once existed, upon adjusting which provision
is made to secure individual rights.
We have amongst our own citizens those who claim under Virginia
grants, under Kentucky grants, under North Carolina grants, and under
those issued by the State of Tennessee. Wherever there is any dispute
respecting any of these conflicting titles, they may go into the Federal
Court, although the parties may be citizens of the same State. You are
extinguishing the Indian title as fast as those people are willing to sell;
and, wherever you do, the settlements will keep pace with the extinguishnlent of title. In Tennessee there is a very large district of country,
granted to individuals under the law of North Carolina in 1783, which,
until a very short time ago, the United States had secured to the Indians
by treaty; that country is now settling, and every man has to look for
the land for which he obtained his patent. Many of these conflict, and
whenever they do, and a foreigner happens to be the owner of one of
these titles, the consequence is, that the cause goes into the Federal
Court. So long as this process of extinguishing the Indian title, and
settling the country, is going on, it is in vain for gentlemen to say that
those disputes are produced by temporary causes, or that they are passing away; they cannot pass away until your settlements are completed.
Do we not all know that, in 1794, and onward for several years, a
great rage for speculation existed, in Philadelphia, New York and the
Eastern States; that immense quantities of Western lands were bought
up by foreigners, or citizens of other States? Considerable quantities were
purchased in Tennessee. These companies have found it convenient to
part with their titles to various individuals, and those claimants who
have got titles in this manner, living in other States, when they come
forward to assert their titles, now that the Indian title is extinguished,
assert them in the Federal Courts.
But, the gentleman says, you have Federal Courts, and the people must
have confidence in them, because, if they had not, they would sue in the
State Courts. Will the Senate reflect, for a moment, on the idea sug



JUDICIARY APPORTIONMENT.                     57
gested, and they will easily see some of the difficulties under which we
labor. The titles to the land must be settled by the laws of the State in
which the land lies. A citizen of another State, or a foreigner, claims
title to a tract in Tennessee; he finds a man in possession under a conflicting title. This foreigner can sue either in the Federal or State Courts,
at his election. He submits his title to counsel, who advises him  that,
according to the decisions of the State Courts, the man in possession has
the better title. The foreigner orders suit in the Federal Court; there is
but one judge, and he, living in the State, will likely follow the State
decisions, and give judgment in 1favor of the defendant. The plaintiff
takes a writ of error, and carries the cause to the Supreme Court, before
a set of judges, who neither know or have they the means of knowing,
the local laws, or the true reasons of the decision; and, for want of this
information, judgment is reversed, and thus the plaintiff becomes the
owner of a piece of property which he otherwise would not have acquired. Plaintiffs often commence suit in the Federal Courts expressly
for the sake of gaining an advantage over their adversaries, which they
could not get in any other tribunal whatever. And yet, this is the argument relied on to show that Federal justice is well administered to us.
What, sir, is the situation of the other States, Louisiania for examnple?
These are British, Spanish, and French grants; so also, in Mississippi and
Missouri.  All these may go, and mostly do go, into the Federal Courts,
principally for the sake of having these cases removed into the Supreme
Court of the United States, if such a decision is not given as is satisfactory to the plaintiff. So far as Tennessee is concerned, those who act
under the belief that our business has accumulated from temporary causes,
are in the main mistaken: to a limited extent, no doubt, they are correct.
I believe if our circuit had been one of reasonable extent, and we had the
benefit of our circuit judge the number of suits on our docket would
have been imuch less. Where a man has a cause which he thinks he
ought to gain, if the law is well understood, he will not agree to have
that cause tried before any one man, when there is another of a higher
legal character. It is a very unpleasant thing to have to settle disputes
between man and man, and when it comes to the last stage, there are few
men who would not like to be eased of a portion of the responsibility of
the decision. If a reasonable excuse can be made to defer it to another
time the district judge will fall in with it, because his associate will then
be with him, and he will have the benefit of his opinion, and be better
satisfied, if they agree, that he is right, than if there was none with him,
and if he should disagree in opinion with him, by certifying that there
was a difference of opinion, it could be carried into the Supreme Court,
and no mischief would arise. It is to their credit that they have this
disposition. I do not make unnecessary complaints against the district
judge of the State in which I live. He is entitled to as much oharacter




58            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
as any other judicial officer on the score of integrity; and if he ever does
mnake mistakes, which, I think, is but seldom, it is in endeavoring to attain
that which he thinks the justice of particular cases. The people of
Tennessee have as much right as the people of any other State in the
Union, to have the opinions of two men who will concur, as to which is
right in their disputes. It is vain to tell me we are placed on an equal
footing with the other States, while they have one measure of justice
meted to their citizens and the citizens of Tennessee have a different inea
sure meted to them. I would rather you should lop off one of our Senators, or three of our Representatives-reduce us as to the power we have
in the Executive and Legislative business of this government, but when
you come to the practical operations of this government, that are to take
away a man's life, liberty or property, let our citizens have an equal opportunity for the administration of justice, with any portion of the good
people of the United States.
During the last session this subject was before you and was put off by
saying, we have not had time to examine it, and at the next session, we
will all lay our shoulders to the wheel and accomplish this particular task.
And, sir, where are we now? About the 12th of April they took up this
subject in the other house, the committee made a report, the subject
was examined and amply discussed, and they passed a bill in substance
similar to the one on your table. The same subject was referred to the
Judiciary Committee of this body, who concurred in a similar report;
and after the bill from the other house was brought here, it was referred
to them, and they reported it, with an amendment, which is not calculated to change very materially the principles of the bill. Every gentleman has matured his judgment on this subject, and, if he does not like
the present proposition, let him give us his system in its stead. But now
the worthy gentleman from New Hampshire comes forward with a general
proposition to refer the bill to the Judiciary Committee, to see whether
they cannot contrive, in some way or other, to relieve our local distress
and inconvenience, without adding any member to the Suprelne Court.
I put it to the gentleman himself, and to every member of the Senate.
whether, if they have solid objections to this bill, if they are able to
digest a system which they think better suited to put us on an equality
with the rest of the Union; whether they do not owe it to their own
justice, to their own character, to their own high standing, to have
brought forward a distinct proposition, containing another system that
would have placed us in a similar condition with the other States of the
Union? It is very easy to raise objections; but you can never test the
merits of this bill, compared with any other plan, until you have the
other in detail likewise. Suppose sir, that a majority of this Senate
should believe that the number of judges ought to be seven, and they
send it back to the committee to find out how the United States are to




JUDICIARY  APPORTIONMENT.                    59
be divided into seven circuits; they try it every way. They cannot fix
on any plan that is not liable to stronger objections than the present bill
— what then?  Are we to have no relief? If the gentleman who made
this proposition had given us something like a detailed plan for his seven
judges, and compared that plan with this, then there would have been
something to test the principle he has so ably advocated on this occasion.
It is a principle which seems plausible within itself; but when you come
to detail it, to reduce it to practical operation, it is found to be one which,
when compared to the situation of the United States, cannot be used. I
think we have cause to complain when we find that, after this matter has
been postponed for eight or ten years, and the lapse of time which has
taken place during the present session, those who are opposed to it say
they are disposed to do what is just towards us, but find fault without
submitting any plan which might keep up hopes that we are not to be
always in the situation in which we are now placed.
The gentleman from Rhode Island I understand exactly. He wishes to
get back to the good old system of 1801, because he thinks it is better
than any other which can be devised. I do not intend for hin anything
which I say upon the subject of unkindness, they are all intended for the
gentleman from New Hampshire, who sends us so many good wishes, of
which I wish to see the fruits.
As to the circuit court part of the system, every one must be satisfied that we are not on an equal footing with the other States. Increase,
then, the number of judges to such an extent as to enable us, with reasonable circuits, to have the services of some one or other of the judges
of the Supreme Court. This is the remedy, and then shall we be on an
equal footing with the others. Let no gentleman object to this system
because we cannot furnish good materials for judges; if they cannot be
found in that part of the country, we will receive, thankfully, the addition of talent from any quarter of the Union. That luminary which gives
us light rises in the East and passes to the West. I suppose it is the
same with genius and talent: let us then go to the morning, and draw
from the fountain-head of talent as much as will answer the wants of the
West, and give us the benefit of it. I wish justice administered. I indulge in no prejudices. From the East they have sent us out those who
lhave made us valuable officers, whom I should be sorry to part with. I
wish them to remain with us as citizens of our State, and if the present
system should be adopted, the President should see fit to find the materials to fill the offices in the East, let him make the experiment, and if
it turns out that they are qualified, I shall never be disposed to be very
clamorous on that subject.
The gentlemen from Rhode Island and New Hampshire seem to
think, that on this system, if it should pass, no benefit to us can result as
to an increase of knowledge of local laws on the bench of the Supreme




60            MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Court. In this I disagree with the gentlemen. Take a man from Rhode
Island, and I think it likely he is as ignorant of the laws of Tennessee as
I am of those of Rhode Island; place him on the Supreme Court bench,
and let him be compelled to hold our circuit courts, and reside among
us, and I think that in the course of one year he will be better qualified
to decide our causes than any judge in the Supreme Court in the present
organization will be in forty years. He sets out ignorant of our local
laws-but he is acquainted with his own profession; he is associated at
once with the district judge, who is intimately acquainted with the local
laws; he meets with that which he never met with in the Supreme
Court; he meets with the most intelligent of the profession in that county
where he goes to do business. They have their own materials, their own
books; they have had leisure to make preparations for every cause; they
have looked into every act of Assembly which relates to the subject,
into every record, into every case found which has any relation to the
subject, and this judge, so called on to dispense justice, after he has
heard the arguments on both sides, and has conferred with the district
judge, will be very likely to decide correctly even in the first instancefor six weeks or two months his court may continue-daily, causes
depending on the local laws are under discussion; his leisure moments
are spent in conversation relative to those local laws; at the end
of his first term will he not have acquired more knowledge of the
local laws than on the bench of the Supreme Court during his life? In
the Supreme Court one cause, depending on those local laws, may be
argued during a term, without the necessary books, without much preparation, by those ill informed of those laws; it is decided: and perhaps
for twelve months no other cause, depending on those same laws, comes
before the court. The subject is then taken up as a new one; and thus
he may go on from year to year, without any improvement in a knowledge of local law. Take a man of good natural capacity-a scientific,
well-bred lawyer, compel him to reside in the circuit; he immediately
acquires a knowledge of the local laws of the States in his circuit because
he must continue his mind upon a succession of similar causes, until he
has disposed of perhaps fifty or one hundred without having it distracted
by an attention to any other. He soon acquires a knowledge of the laws
as a system, which is not to be forgotten. But upon the bench of the
Supreme Court, he has no such advantage; and it would be strange if
he did not go off almost as ignorant of local laws as he came on it.
Now, whether it be seven or ten, or of whatever number it may be, I
insist that it is a valuable feature in our system, and one that I would
not part with any more than I would with that most valuable political
privilege, of trial by jury; that the man who is ultimately to decide the
cause must be in a situation to have a reasonable opportunity of becoming
acquainted with the laws that are to form the ground of that decision.




JUDICIARY APPORTIONMENT.                    61
Says the gentleman, by what mystery is it that you are going to communnicate the information which that one judge has obtained, to the other
nine? The moment a cause is brought into the Supreme Court, instead
of their having to grope about without knowing how, or where to find the
necessary statutes and authorities, they make common stock of all the
knowledge they have acquired, and the judge who has made himself
acquainted with the local laws, applicable to the case in question, brings
to their view at once, not only the statutes, but all the authorities he has
had access to, in relation to the same question, and when these materials
are spread before them, then, sir, they are prepared to come to a correct
determination. There is no mystery in this? Each is not to lock up
within his own breast all the information he has acquired upon legal
subjects, and let his brethren be groping about in darkness. They talk
freely on legal subjects amongst themselves, they make joint-stock of
their knowledge, they apply their natural talents, and then, sir, they
bring out such a result as they think will be according to the justice and
law of the case. The moment you give me one judge on the bench of the
Supreme Court that has a knowledge of the laws of the country in which
I live, the Supreme Court is placed in a situation that it can dispense
justice between man and man in Tennessee; but till that is done, it is as
much a matter of accident, as anything else, that justice should be done,
I have no complaint to make against the judges of the Supreme Court,
nor have I any eulogies to pronounce on them. In some causes that have
come from Tennessee to the Supreme Court, I think their decisions erroneous; I have the same opinion as it relates to some other States. But in
the situation in which they have been placed, T am surprised they have
not been oftener wrong. It is the lot of human beings to err when they
have the best means of information, and it would be strange if they did
not err, when you compel them to act without the necessary means of
information. There was one case in which their decision was in opposition to all the decisions of the State Courts, in which they applied old
principles that were inapplicable to our local laws, and thereby reversed
the decision of the district judge doing duty as a circuit judge, and sent
the cause back to be retried; upon the second trial, a more enlarged
view of the case was given in a bill of exceptions, and the cause again
brought to the Supreme Court, and they a second time reversed the
judgment of the circuit court, and took great pains to explain away
what seemed to be the ground of the first decision, thereby using their
endeavors to ward off the mischief likely to flow from the first opinion.
I mention these things, not as a ground on which to censure any man
who is on that bench; I have as much confidence in them as any man
who has no more acquaintance with them, and who is as little capable of
forming opinions relative to their decisions. Still, I am constrained to
believe, that not only in the case alluded to, but in some others, they




62           ]MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
have not correctly expounded our municipal laws, and that mischiefs
have been produced; and that more must inevitably be produced, if that
court is not placed on a different footing from that on which it now
stands.
Had we not better pass the bill on the table, than throw everything into
a state of confusion by the reference?  Had we not better refuse the
gentleman's proposition? If you agree to it, when is there to be an end?
The gentleman from New York stated that there were grievances under
which we labored, but that he did not deem them to be so great as to
justify all the clamor that had been raised in that part of the country. I
think he has not yet got to the bottom of our grievances, unless[Mr. Van Buren rose to explain; he had stated on the part of
Tennessee, that there had been no complaint-their memorials were
such as they ought to have been-they stated their grievances fairly and
fully, and left it to the wisdom of Congress to apply the remedy. But he
had stated that complaints had been made elsewhere.]
Mr. White resumed. I am very glad to receive the explanation. It
gave me pain to think our complaints should be censured from so respectable a quarter, and I am relieved to find I misunderstood the gentleman.
By the bill upon your table, we can be relieved; without some change,
the causes of complaint must continue. The gentleman from New Halmpshire finds fault with the bill, and chalks out no plan. The gentleman
from Rhode Island excepts to the bill, and refers to a substitute. What
is his remedy? He wishes the judges of the Supreme Court to form an
appellate court, and to be relieved from all circuit duties, and to have a
separate set of judges, called circuit judges, to try all causes in the
respective circuits. Indeed; sir, I should think (to use his own language)
he would give us a remedy worse than the disease, and I believe that no
man that has reflected well on this subject, and is a friend to the Supreme
Court of the United States, will ever put its high character in jeopardy
by any such system. As an American I am proud of the character it
now sustains. It is not only a blessing upon the whole to the nation, but
some of its members are a credit to the age in which we live. And how
did they become so?  Not by being shut up in Washington, in New
York, or in Rhode Island, but by letting them have a fair opportunity to
become acquainted, not only with those things which are to be got out of
books, but with those things which are going onil in that society of which
they are members. Let me not be told that I wish to send the judges
out popularity hunting-to drink a dram with this ignorant man, or to
take his breakfast with another; but I say, send the judges of the Supreme
Court, to administer and dispense justice in the respective States in the
presence of the citizens of those States, of the counsel that attend the bar
and the jury; let them hear the witnesses that depose as to the facts of
the case.




JUDICIARY  APPORTIONMENT.                     63
While the judge in his circuit dispenses justice, he watches, with all
possible care, the conduct of the counsel, the course of the testimony, and
sees its practical application to the particular transactions of men; at the
same time that he is dispensing justice, he is keeping up an essential part
of his education; he is keeping up his personal knowledge of human
nature, he sees its workings as it is;-and of all the places on earth where a
man can be placed to acquire a knowledge of human nature, the best is a
court of justice, when the jury is to decide a matter of fact, and viva voce
testimony is given, to inform them on it. Put the question down in the
most careful state you can, in a bill of exceptions, and an appellate court
never can have the same impression made on their minds, that they
would have had, if they had seen and heard the same testimony delivered
to a jury. Do you believe there would have been the improvement there
has been in the doctrine of evidence during the last hundred years, if
those who established these rules had possessed no practical knowledge
acquired at nisi priuls or elsewhere?  How long is it since the distinction
has been drawn between a competent and a credible witness? But lock
these judges up in Westminster Hall, or in Rhode Island, or in New
York, or Washington, and you take them from the source of information,
and what becomes of them? If I wished to lessen their standing in
society, and to destroy public confidence in them, to put them in such a
situation that, instead of doing justice between man and man, they
should become a curse to the country, I would adopt the system recommended by the gentleman from Rhode Island.
Again sir: it is a great object in the administration of justice to
keep mankind satisfied. If I could spare the property, I would almost
as soon lose a portion of mine, by the decision of a man in whom I had
entire confidence, as to gain by the judgment of one that I believed
decided in my favor, he thinking that his own decision was wrong;
because in such case, I would feel that neither my person or property
was safe. Take the judges of the Supreme Court from all circuit duties,
and you make them strangers to society; they will have no acquaintance
with any portion of the profession, except the very few who may practice at their bar; let them then decide some favorite statute of some of
your large sovereign States to be unconstitutional, and it will be found
that they have not enough of character to sustain them. But keep each
of them in the discharge of circuit duties, and they are all forced into
society; in their respective circuits, they become personally and intimately known to most of the respectable men in those circuits; to clerks,
marshals, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, bystanders, and if they have
integrity and talents to fit them for their high station, it becomes known,
and felt by the mass of society; who are witnesses of their usefulness:
then let them decide such a statute to be unconstitutional (and so they
ought to do, if such be the fact), and then see how well public opinion




64            MEM3OIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHIITE.
will sustain them. The moment the decision is complained of, the
inquiry by every man will be, did the judge with whom I am acquainted,
concur in that decision? and if answered in the affirmative, he will
immediately say, the decision must be right, he is honest and enlightened, and would not have concurred unless the judgment was correct.
Again, you put a man of middle life upon the Bench well qualified
for his station; make the court stationary; take from the judge all
circuit duties: and, if he live to reasonable age, he will most probably
die unqualified for his office. How will the judges fill up the intervals
of time between the sessions of the Supreme Court? It is answered by
reading. I put it to every practical, well-informed lawyer to say,
whether it would not be more profitably employed in holding circuit
courts. Take any one legal subject, and let the judge be in search of
information upon it, and, I say he will, in my opinion, acquire more by
hearing arguments upon it, for one day in the week, than he will by
reading the whole week; and that which he has thus acquired, will
remain with him for life.
Again.  Take from  them  circuit duties, and a main stimulus to
exertion is destroyed; the mind is, for a considerable portion of life,
improved by use, one exertion prepares it for another, and by repeated
efforts, it acquires a vigor and force not to be otherwise acquired.
Make the judges stationary, and they will soon content themselves with
moderate labors, their reading will be alone; none to help them to compare and examine ideas collected from books, they will have no precise
object in view: but keep them to the circuits, and then they will have
every inducement to exertion; their conduct will be in the view of the
world; the causes openly argued; the opinions of the judge are formed
for present use, must be accompanied by his reasons to support them,
delivered in presence of jury, witnesses, parties, counsel, and bystanders; if wrong, he will be called upon to re-examine them on motion
for a new trial, when their errors will be openly exposed, and refuted.
He will therefore, have every inducement to continued and unremitted
exertion; and this exertion will daily increase his capacity for usefulness.
On the plan proposed by this bill, you make the judges men of
vigorous minds, well stored with useful knowledge, capable of forming
and continually, not only forming, but actually expressing opinions for
themselves.
On that proposed by the gentleman from Rhode Island, you will soon
have your judges, bookworms, if you choose, without any practical
knowledge; their minds enervated for want of use, neither habituated to
form, nor to express opinions for themselves, acting seldom or never on
individual responsibility; always in the presence only of the comparatively few, who may be attendant on the Supreme Court. By this plan,




JUDICIARY  APPORTIONMENT.                    65
they will soon lose that manly independence so beneficial to society, and
become mere drivellers, drones, ready to lean upon any associate,
ambitious of distinction, and admirably fitted for any unworthy purposes
to which a designing Executive may wish to apply them.
It is said that another misfortune from  the proposed plan will be,
that it will add to the existing grievance in the Supreme Court-delay.
At the first view, there certainly appeared something very plausible in
this objection; but, upon mature consideration, I think the business
will rather be expedited by this additional number of justices, than
otherwise.
How is the delay to be increased?  Because, say gentlemen, each
judge must make himself acquainted with the contents of the record,
and it will take ten men longer to do so than seven.
This difficulty is in a good degree removed, if we suppose the judges
will make sbch arrangement as that one shall read the record, and the
other nine listen to him while reading it; upon this plan, ten will
become acquainted with its contents in as short a time as seven. But
suppose some delay to be occasioned from this cause, it is more than
counterbalanced by positive advantages by an increase of the number of
judges.
Have ten judges of the Supreme Court performing the duties of circuit judges, and you bring to the Bench of the Supreme Court in a short
time, an intimate knowledge of the municipal laws of the respective
States; when one of those causes depending for its decision upon any
of those local laws shall be brought into the Supreme Court, the court
will at once be able to refer to all the statutes and decisions which ought
to govern their judgment; when as now they are frequently at a loss to
procure either the one or the other; and it consumes much time and
requires great labor to procure those materials, from which, alone, a
correct opinion can be formed; and often it must happen, that decisions
are given without the benefit of all the information from these sources
which they ought to have.
Suppose a case to be decided upon the local laws of a State, and the
State desirous to have fixed the construction of a doubtful statute; but
no book of reports containing those decisions to exist-how can the
Supreme Court acquire the necessary information? Only through the
industry and research of the counsel employed. They may and often
will report them differently, and leave the court in great doubt. But
pass this bill, and one at least of the members of the Supreme Court will,
on his circuit, have acquired a knowledge of those decisions, and can
give correct information to his brethren.
But, sir, it has been urged that by increasing the number of judges,
you increase the number of causes in the Supreme Court, and of course
must delay the decisions there. To this argument I answer, first, it is
5




66            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
not likely the fact will turn out to be as supposed: in all suits exceeding
the value of two thousand dollars writs of error can now be brought; if
a judge of the Supreme Court is associated with tL'e district judge on
the trial below, and they concur in opinion, most frequently both parties
will be satisfied, and no writ of error will be brought; whereas now,
when the causes are decided below, by one man, and he a district judge,
writs of error will be almost invariably brought if there is the least room
for a doubt. It is therefore most probable the number of writs of error
will be diminished in all those cases to which I have alluded.
But it is said now, no criminal case can be brought to the Supreme
Court, nor can any civil one, when the matter in dispute is of less value
than two thousand dollars; because as the decisions will be by the district judge alone, there can be no certificate of a division of opinion, by
which means only such cases can be brought to the Supreme Court.
I must regret that such an argument should be used to defeat this bill.
It conforms to the rule by which tyrants govern. The substance of it is,
that it is better that a man in one of those nine Western States, should be
hanged or lose his property by the erroneous decision of the single judge,
than that a suitor from any other of the fifteen States should have his suit
delayed in the Supreme Court, by increasing the number of causes upon
its docket.
This argument cannot be tolerated; all are to be equally obedient
to the same laws; all must be protected by them. The main object
of government, and one of its first duties is, to protect the innocent at
the same time that it punishes the guilty. The citizens of one State
are not to be unjustly punished, that those of another may have a
speedy revision of their causes in the Supreme Court. The citizens of
each are entitled to the same measure of justice, and an equal chance for
a correct administration of it must be furnished to all. Will it be allowed
that a citizen of Tennessee must submit to injustice, for no better reason
than to enable a citizen of New York, or Rhode Island, to have his cause
speedily decided in the Supreme Court? It is hoped not.
Something was said about the weight of population, and that the
proposed bill would give to the West more judges than their relative
numbers would entitle them to.
Mr. President, I have not felt the force of any argument used upon this
point. Before the judicial system of the United States is extended, there
must be States, those States must have citizens living in them; and those
citizens must have suits, or a reasonable prospect for suits of Federal
jurisdiction to be decided, and whenever these things occur, your system, applicable to the other States, ought to be extended to embrace them.
Take a State composed of a number of counties, some of them thickly
populated, others with a population more sparse; what would be thought
of a legislature which, in devising a judicial system, would make one sys



JUDICIARY  APPORTIONMENT.                  67
tem for those counties of dense, another for those of thin population I
Would they act wisely or justly when they directed the courts in counties
thinly settled, to be held by a single justice of the peace whose decision
should be final; and the courts in the counties thickly settled, to be
holden by a justice of the peace and a judge of the Supreme Court; and
that in all cases where they disagreed, no judgment should be entered
until a Supreme Court, composed of seven men should be consulted 2 All
would concur in pronouncing such a course unwise and unjust; yet the
very argument now used goes to justify such a system.
Upon this branch of the subject I hope it will be seen that, if this bill
passes, the confidence reposed in the decisions of the circuit courts, will
tend to diminish rather than increase appeals; that the increased knowledge of local laws on the Supreme Bench will facilitate the decisions
there, in place of delaying them; but that, if some delay should be produced, it is far better that should be submitted to, than that nine States
should be compelled to live under a judicial system less favorable to the
administration of justice than that which is afforded to the other fifteen.
There is another point of view in which this matter ought to be considered, when we are considering and comparing the utility of the bill
upon your table, with the system of 1801, which the gentleman fromn
Rhode Island desires to re-establish as a substitute for it.
That which this bill proposes is a mere extension of the judicial system,
as it now exists, and has existed in fifteen of the States for many years.
Its utility has been tested by experience, and its provisions have been
generally approved. If the bill passes, no change even in the nine States,
will be affected by which society can be disturbed; the courts will sit
at the same time in the respective circuits; the business will be conducted
upon the same plan heretofore adopted; the only sensible alteration will
be that, instead of one man upon the bench when the courts sit, there
will be two. We are creatures of habit, and any radical change in a
judicial system, by which the settled habits of the people are disturbed,
or changed, is not likely to succeed, even if the new would, in the end,
be better than the old; it is not likely that the new will be tolerated long
enough to give it a fair experiment, unless the old has been found glaringly defective. In this instance this is not the case-the old has been
tested and approved, and if now changed, as the gentleman wishes, the
people will compel us to change back to that which this bill proposes.
It has been said that the system of 1801 did not go into operation, it
was unpopular on account of those who proposed and adopted it, and therefore, put down without a fair experiment. Be it so; and it is a proof of
the correctness of my argument. The old system, that which we wish
now to extend, had been adopted in 1789; its utility had been proved;
without necessity a new experiment was made by the act of 1801, not
called for by any existing grievance; the people would not submit to it;




68            MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
they put it down, and with it, or rather before it, those who had brought
it into existence. You now wish to re-instate that system to relieve the
West. From that very quarter came the attack upon it. It was commenced by Breckenridge, of Kentucky, and it was repealed. It is a mistake to suppose it never went into operation; we had the circuit system
in operation, for a short time, both in Kentucky and Tennessee, the only
two Western States then in existence. No time was lost in putting it in
operation anywhere, and but little lost in commencing the struggle by
which it was put down, and that of 1789 re-instated. Let us not repeat
the experiment. We need not flatter ourselves it will be better received
now than it was then. The system then approved, is that which is still
approved; pass this bill, and thereby extend its benefits to the nine
Western States. By this means you will keep the people happy and contented: but, disturb their settled habits, uselessly make the radical
change which gentlemen desire, and a struggle is again commenced,
which will produce great discontent, and end in the overthrow of the
new system and the re-establishment of that which is now known and
approved.
The alteration effected by this bill will be, that the Supreme Court
will be composed of ten in place of seven. Gentlemen say they would
rather reduce, than increase the number of judges-six, say they; and
then, as circumstances will permit, until the number which composes it
shall be only four. Seven is the favorite number in religious matters, and
four in legal matters, according to the opinion of gentlemen on the other
side. And why fix upon the number of four? Because, in Great
Britain, four is the number which comprises their highest courts.
Mr. President, we have borrowed many of our most valuable ideas upon
legal subjects from Great Britain; but care must be taken not to copy
too far. That country is of small extent, an island; a judge in any one
part of it has it perfectly in his power to acquire a knowledge of the
general laws applicable to the whole, and also of the particular customs
applicable to any particular part. That is not our situation in the United
States-our country is of immense extent; even judges of the Supreme
Court ought to be well acquainted with the general laws of nations;
your conventional laws; with the Constitution and laws of the United
States, and with the Constitution and laws of twenty-four distinct and
independent States, varying from each other in many important particulars. The same system which has been found well adapted to the one
country, may be entirely unsuited to the other. Four judges would be
more likely to bring all necessary legal knowledge into the Court of King's
Bench, in England, than ten will be to bring all the legal knowledge
necessary to the bench of the Supreme Court. The situation and circumnstances of our own country must be carefully attended to, otherwise we
shall do great mischief by borrowing from others, and adopting systems




JUDICIARY APPORTIONMENT.                    69
not suited to the extent of our territory, to the circumstances, and
situation, and habits of our citizens, nor to the various and multiplied
peculiarities in our Federal and State laws. From no country upon earth
can we expect a model which will suit us for a judiciary. Our country,
and everything in it, is upon a more extended scale; and our judiciary
must be adapted to our own situation and circumstances. The politician,
who will be useful in the United States, must permit his mind to comprehend the various interests of the different sections of country; the
habits, customs, and pursuits of the people in different quarters-even
their prejudices, if you choose-and from all these considerations, enact
his laws upon such principles as will secure the interests of the whole.
He who will not permit his mind so far to expand as to embrace the whole
extent of his own country, will always be in danger of inflicting injury,
while he intends to afford protection. Let us then pass this bill; make
our system co-extensive with the country; adapt it to the wishes and
expectations of society; place every State on an equal footing in fact,
with every other: we will then have made an effort upon this subject
fiom which we have reason to anticipate much good. Should it, contrary to our expectations and wishes, be productive of mischief, the fifteen
States which now have an efficient system, can have no just cause of complaint. The situation of all will be equal; the inconvenience will be com.
mon to all. We have a right to expect and therefore do expect, this risk
will be encountered in an attempt to do justice to all.




CHAPTER IX.
SENATORIAL CAREER-INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-U. S. BANK.
DURING the period from the session of 1825-6 to that of 1831-2,
Judge White delivered few speeches of any considerable length. Indeed, during his whole life, he spoke unfrequently; saying so much
as would explain his reasons for voting, where necessary, or briefly
presenting his views upon any subject of sufficient importance.
In the days of President Jackson, the question of Internal Improvements was one as yet not fully investigated.  There was in many
sections of the country, a strong feeling, based upon the evident profits
to accrue from such improvements, in favor of the extension of aid to
them by the general government; and the question was, moreover,
warmly urged by the opposition, probably not without a view of embarrassing the administration, by forcing it either to appropriate vast
sums for the purpose, and so to incur the odium of extravagance, or
to defeat all such appropriations, and so to incur dislike in the sections of country asking them. Judge White never sanctioned the
doctrine of Internal Improvements by the federal government. He
believed that no power was expressly granted by the Constitution to
the federal government to engage in the business of Internal Improvements as a system. On the contrary, it was his opinion that
the extensive power of making roads and canals through States, be
longed exclusively to the States, and should never be surrendered to the
central government; that although in a state of war, or for purposes
of war, the United States possessed the power to make a road through
any State, as, in a case of necessity they might also, under the power to
"establish post roads," construct a road, such powers were only to be
exercised in extraordinary cases. And, aside from this decision upon
the ground of unconstitutionality, the power in question would, he
believed, be dangerous from its capacity of being abused. It would
place an immense patronage in the hands of the federal Executive,
and might thus be most destructively wielded whenever the Executive
70




SPEECH AT KNORVILLE) 1827.                     71
should choose, in purchasing friends at elections or other critical
periods.
As a good summary of his opinion on this and some other subjects,
and likewise for the sake of exhibiting by its latter paragraphs the
principles avowed by the party which elected General Jackson, which
were deserted by them at their convenience, when expediency seemed
to call for tergiversation; and for consistent adherence to which principles, and for the consequent necessary severance from the remainder
of his former friends, they poured out upon him during the last years
of his life, such floods of unfounded reproach, we here insert the
larger part of a speech delivered by Judge White to his constituents
at Knoxville, April 5th, 1827, at a dinner there given by them to him,
in acknowledgment of his services in the Senate.
GENTLEMEN:
I should be worse than insensible, if I did not feel very grateful for the
kind sentiments just expressed. Next to being conscious of good intention, is the approbation of those who have reposed confidence in me;
and, especially, that portion of them, who have been witnesses of my conduct from youth to manhood, and from middle age to the decline of life.
For this testimony in my favor, I tender you my most grateful acknowledgments.  It is due, however, to myself to say, that I feel humbled
under the conviction that it has not been in my power to render any
service to my country, in my present station, at all equal to those your
kind partiality has been pleased to ascribe to me. Had I been fully aware
of the difficulties I would have to encounter, and of the afflictions I was
doomed to suffer, I believe I should have shrunk from the task assigned
mne by the Legislature; but, having voluntarily undertaken it, no domestic
afflictions, no public calumny, could make me seriously doubt for one moment the course I ought to pursue. I must remain at my post fearlessly,
and without faltering discharge my duty, trusting to the intelligence of
my countrymen to refute calumny, and to my neighbors, by acts of personal kindness, to soften private afflictions.
Happily, associated with those who espouse different sides of all doubtful political questions, every way better qualified to discuss them than
myself, I have been, in most instances, relieved fiom taking much part in
public debate, and have been content to listen patiently, and vote according to what I considered the best interests of the country. It would be
presumptuous in me to suppose I have not sometimes erred; but, I can
safely say, never intentionally. Too unimportant to be often singled out by
name as an object of abuse, I have still come in for a share in the presses
in the employ of the administration, under the general appellation of " the
unprincipled faction of the Senate." This charge, so far as it applies to




72            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  "'HITE.
me, no matter by whom stated, I have no hesitation in pronouncing an
unfounded calumny; and as it may relate to others, with whom I have
acted, I believe it to be equally destitute of truth. So far as it has related
to every measure calculated to cause the affairs of the United States to be
conducted upon the principles to which we have been accustomed during
the republican administrations, there has been little variety of opinion since
I have been in Congress: and, in every instance, as it relates to such
measures, the Administration has had the most prompt and efficient aid
from those who, in the coalition prints, have been denominated "the unprincipled faction."  Indeed, when elected to the Senate, I never dreamed
that the General Assembly of Tennessee expected me to go dressed in the
uniform either of those opposed to the Administration, or of the Adclministration itself-I was sent in the uniform of my country, and to vote, as in
my judgment, would most promote its interest, and this duty, I feel conscious, I have discharged in the best manner I knew how. So far frota
expecting that was to happen, which has come to pass during the pendency of the last Presidential election (although I always had a decided
preference), I believed the government would be administered upon republican principles, let which of the candidates might prevail, and, until after
my election to the Senate, had seen no good reason to change that opinion
The President's message to Congress, at the commencement of the first
session, since I was a member, took me by surprise. I saw in it a claim
of powers for the federal government, more extravagant than had ever
been made in the days of federalism-a claim which I believed every
sound American federalist, as well as every republican, ought to be
equally prompt in condemning. This was soon followed by a message to
the Senate, on the mission to Panama, in which was claimed for the Executive, powers which, if yielded, would leave to the Senate nothing on
the subject of foreign missions worth preserving.
From my entrance into the bustle of life, I had been in the habit of
thinking, that those who denied to the federal government, all power,
except that which is granted in express terms, or which is necessary to
carry into effect some power expressly granted, expounded the Constitution more correctly than that sect who wish to confer power by implication, who believe the federal government ought to protect the people
"against their worst enemies-themselves;" because they have "not virtue and intelligence sufficient for self-government;" I could not, therefore,
do otherwise than oppose the Executive in those extravagant pretensions.
This celebrated mission to Panama, it appeared to me, was inconsistent with our former policy, with the wholesome advice given us by the
Father of his Country, and uselessly putting at hazard the liberty and happiness of the people of the United States. My best wishes, as well as
yours, were with those who were struggling for the right to govern
themselves; but these wishes could not induce me to sanction a policy,




INTERNAL IMPROVMENTS.                       73
which, according to -my best judgment, put at hazard the true interest of
our own citizens, for the wild notion of being esteemed the fiiends and
upholders of liberty throughout the civilized world. We might, I thought,
better employ ourselves in strengthening our own Union —a union, which,
if perpetuated, will furnish adequate employ for all our patriots and statesmen, without extending the sphere of our duties to embrace other nations, to whom we are under no special obligations.
If doubts were entertained in the first instance, whether it was not
intended to make some agreement with these Spanish American States,
by which our fate would, in some respects, be identified with theirs, those
doubts were very much increased when the President openly came out,
and endeavored to satisfy the American people, that the advice of Washington against " entangling alliances " had no application to republics on
our own continent. But I pass from a topic which has been long since
amply discussed, and in relation to which at this day, there cannot well
be more than one opinion.
In comparatively modern days, a subject has been got up, concerning which, I will venture a very few remarks. I allude to internal
improvements by the federal government. The most I have found it my
duty heretofore to say upon that subject was, that where the'road or
canal was to pass through a State, I doubted the power of the federal
government, and while I thus doubted, I would not vote in favor of an
appropriation for such an object. In relation to roads or canals through
a territory, the case was different.
Whether the federal government possesses the power to engage in the
business of internal improvement as a system, is a question of very grave
import. This is neither the time nor place to engage in the discussion of
such a question. Thus much, however, I frankly state as my opinion;
that I cannot find any such power expressly granted in the Constitution
of the United States, nor do I believe it at all necessary to give effect to
any power that is expressly granted by that instrument. Still, it may be
true, that in a state of war, and for the purposes of war, the United
States may have power to make a road through any State. So, likewise
it may be true in a case of necessity under the power " to establish post
roads " that they may have power to construct a road: but if they have
such power in these extraordinary cases, I think it is not true, that they
possess the power to embark in the business of constructing roads and
canals through the respective States when and where they choose in
defiance of the will of the States. I am the decided friend of internal
improvements, but I am friendly to them when made by the power which,
consistently with the Constitution, can make them. No man, I think,
can reasonably doubt but that each of the States has the power to make
as many roads and canals as they please,within their own limits, and that
they will exercise this power in every instance where the interest of their
citizens require it, I cannot doubt.




74           1MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
I think not only that the United States do not possess this extensive
power, but farther, that it ought never to be surrendered to them.
Already it is alarming to contemplate the patronage of the federal
government when acting within the sphere of Constitutional power:
grant it this additional power, and, in my opinion, it will be useless to
talk of State rights, or the people's rights; they will exist in name, only,
or at most, at the will of the federal government. Of all powers this
would be wielded most destructively whenever the federal executive
might choose. At present, offices, the hope of offices, or the use of the
people's own money, placed at the disposal of the executive, are the comnmnon means of corrupting one class of the community, who may be relied
upon, to mislead and deceive another: but with this power, whole sections of country might be operated upon directly. At present, the executive can only purchase friends by retail; then, they could engage in the
wholesale business. We are not altogether destitute of experience upon
this subject. A few years ago, I think in 1824, Congress passed an act
authorizing the President to have such routes surveyed, for roads and
canals, as would be considered national in relation to commerce, to post
roads, or to military roads, and to enable him to give effect to this law,
has at each session since, appropriated large sums of money, to defray the
expense of the engineer corps engaged in the business. And how has
this law been practised upon? It has been in many instances abused and
perverted from its meaning. If there is any one road that would be considered more national than any other, it would be one from Washington
to New Orleans. Accordingly, one was to be surveyed, and three routes
were proposed for a road between those points. One to go through the
capital of each of the Southern States-another to go along the foot
of the mountains on their southern side, and the third to cross the Blue
Ridge not far from Washington and come along the valley through this
quarter of the country, and so on to New Orleans. Engineers were
ordered to view these routes, and ascertain the advantages and disadvantages relating to each, that it might be decided which of the three should
be preferred. The surveys of the southern and middle routes were made
by three engineers; and when the one, in which we are interested, called
the northern, was to be examined, only two of the three could be spared,
and they were ordered to hurry on by the nearest practicable course;
and so it is, that they travelled at a gait which enabled them to comle with
nearly as much speed as travellers on ordinary business, not feeling themselves at liberty to deviate to the right hand or the left from the most
direct route, to make any examination whatever. It is true, that they
were necessarily detained in this place a few days, waiting the arrival of
a gentleman now present, who had been appointed to accompany them
through this State. Here, they were requested by myself and others, to
view the several routes which had been spoken of through Tennessee, but
the answer was, their orders did not permit them to deviate from the




INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.                      75
nost direct route, for the sake of examining any other. Upon a report
after such a survey, the northern route is to come in competition with
the other two, and to have its advantages and disadvantages, compared
with those of the others; and after all this haste, no route is yet located.
All three are taught to expect the road, and at the same time that a friend
of the Administration here is trying to satisfy you, that, if you will be
friendly to those in power, and vote for them and their fiiends, they will
deal kindly with you, and cause the road to be located on your route,
exactly the same language may be employed by their advocates on each
of the other routes, and thus, by keeping those three routes in the market,
it is hoped that the mass of the people, from the extreme of the northern
route, to the Atlantic may be influenced the whole distance fiom Washington to New Orleans. The like practices are pursuing elsewhere. In
Maine, a State which has more sea coast than, perhaps, any in the Union,
in the course of the past year, engineers were kept well employed in
surveying routes for roads and canals-their elections were going on, and
to get a good senator in Congress, it was necessary to have good members
of assembly, and so it is, that Mr. Holmes has been engineered out, and
another put in his place, who, it may be hoped, will not be " an unprincipled factionist."
In Virginia, towards Greenbrier, routes were also carefully attended to,
and surveyed, and Mr. Randolph is disposed of. In one of the other districts of Virginia, the people were becoming restless, their representative
was likely to be considered a coalitionist, and an opposition candidate
was talked of: but application is made for a part of the engineer corps to
survey a little eight-mile route for a canai in the neighborhood, where
you must bring water twelve miles to feed it, and the executive promptly
attended to the call; a detachment of engineers was sent, the route
surveyed and the people soothed because all this was effected through the
representative, who is on good terms with the Administration, who are
every ready to attend to such applications. I cannot upon this subject
do better than to refer such as have not read it, to Mr. Rives's speech at
the last session. He shows, practically, what use may be made; nay more,
what is made, of this power, by the federal executive.
In the midst of all this waste, although repeatedly applied to, they had
no spare engineers to survey any route for a road or canal for Tennessee
or for Alabama. Have patience my friends, our elections are to come on
in August, a detachment will be here in due season. Tennessee needs
good members of Congress and members of Assembly, as well as other
States, and the executive will have its business attended to here even if
something is neglected elsewhere. This is a power so capable of being
abused, already so much abused, so destructive of the purity of elections,
that I cannot think the federal government either does, or ought to
possess it. After what I have said, it is necessary, to prevent misconcep



76            MEM[OIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
tion, that I should add, it is not my intention to throw out a hint against
any gentleman in the engineer corps. I have never heard aught to their:
prejudice; I presume they are well qualified for the stations they respectively fill, and I have in no one instance heard of any of them interfering
in the elections, or political concerns of the country. The influence of
which I complain is of a different description-the very fact of having
routes surveyed for these roads and canals is calculated, and I believe
intended, to excite expectations in different quarters of the country, that
the present rulers are kindly disposed, and that they will, if continued
in power, cause roads and canals to be made where it is not intended to
make them, and where, if made, they would be of little or no importance.
Should, however, a majority of Congress determine on making a road
from Washington to New Orleans, which, to say the least, I doubt their
power to do, I have no question, but the northern route, that which leads
through this section of country, ought for many reasons to be preferred,
to either of the other two; and I think we have much cause to complain,
that the engineers were not permitted to give to it as thorough an examination, as they did to those others.
The tariff, as it is called, was much talked of during the last winter,
and a bill passed the House of Representatives, the object of which was
to increase very considerably, the duty upon woollens, not of the highest
price. It was not discussed or acted upon in the Senate for want of time.
I have never heard any public discussion of the question relative to taxes
imposed on foreign merchandise, with a view to protect and encourage the
manufacture of similar fabrics, in the United States. To give protection
to a certain extent, I have never doubted the power of the federal government; but this, like every other power, ought always to be exercised for
the good of the whole; and under my present impression I never would
impose a tax upon a foreign article, which as a nation, we could convenientlyv do without, where I saw, or had reason to believe, it would
increase the price of the article throughout an extensive section of country
and none were to be benefited by it but a few capitalists who would be
thereby levying a tax upon a considerable portion of the community for
their individual benefit. I should like to see domestic manufactures
flourish; but would never wish to see them brought into existence or
nourished in one section of country at the expense and positive loss of
another.
In some quarters of the United States, I see the last Congress is complained of, because they passed but few laws. For my own part, I
believe if the necessary laws are passed to enable the United States to
perform promptly their appropriate functions, and to meet punctually their
just engagements, it ought never to be cause of regret, that there is
little legislation. As to our internal concerns, they are better understood
and acted upon in the respective States than they can ever be in Con



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.                     77
gress. Indeed, there are but few internal concerns with which Congress can
properly intermeddle. It is mainly to regulate our foreign concerns, that
the federal government was created, and it ought never to be the policy
of those who wish well to the United States to increase the action of the
federal government; because, as you increase its action you increase the
expenditure of money, and as there are but few of the States in which legitimate objects of expenditure can be found, it will operate most injuriously
that large sums should be drawn from all equally and expended among few.
Although it is true but few laws were enacted at the late session; yet,
some of great importance were acted upon finally; the bankrupt bill,
long and ably debated, was finally negatived, a provision for a naval
school was also a good deal discussed and finally negatived; as well as
many others which it were useless to allude to at this time.
There is one other subject upon which it is natural to expect I should
say something, and I do it the more willingly, as this may be the only
occasion offered at present, where I can see many of my fellow citizens
under circumstances in which it would be proper to say anything publicly; and there is no usage of which I am aware to justify printed communications to them. I allude to the next election for President. It is
said by the Administration and their friends that there is nothing of principle involved in it, that it is a mere question among men, whether A
or B shall be preferred. In my conception, there cannot well be a statement more incorrect. The present incumbent is placed in the highest
office known to our law, agreeably to the forms of the Constitution, in
direct opposition to the known wuill of a majority of the people of the
United States, and this, through the active agency of the man, who now
Jills the most honorable station in his cabinet. Thus placed by their
own management (hard words are useless) in berths which give them
the control of the whole executive patronage of the United States, they
believe the judicious use of the patronage, thus placed in their power,
is sufficient to procure as many partisans as will secure the re-election
of the present incumbent for the next term, and then, according to " safe
precedent," a suitable successor, and so on, perpetually. The true question is, whether the people are sufficiently virtuous and enlightened to
govern themselves. If they are, they will at the time pointed out in the
Constitution, by their votes, displace the present incumbent, and thus
give a lesson not to be misunderstood, one which will teach every
aspirant for office, that the will of the people shall not be disobeyed with
impunity, that they are not yet so uninformed and corrupt, as to be
bought up with their own money and their own offices, in sufficient numbers to enslave the majority.
Every effort of which the opposition Congress was capable, was made
to have the Constitution so amended, as to permit the people, in person,
in their respective districts, to vote for the man of their choice, and thus




78            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
prevent them from being defrauded by the faithlessness of their agents,
but this proposition was strenuously resisted and ultimately failed.
That the people are the sovereigns, is our theory; that their will, as to
who shall fill their offices when fairly expressed, must be obeyed; yet
some States in the last election were misrepresented and the representatives, in defiance of the known will of their constituents, and in opposition
to solemn public pledges, gave their votes to the present incumbent; the
only punishment which the people could inflict upon these faithless
representatives was to dismiss them from further employ at the next
election. This they have done, and yet, with this mark of the people's
displeasure imprinted upon them, if I am correctly informed, some of
them have lately been remunerated by the executive with offices, conferred as a reward for their treachery. As this course is pursued, let
the people put forth their own strength, and let the President feel that
their uwill is to be consulted, and not that of any set of political jugglers
whatever. Let them dismiss him from public employ, who, with their
offices and their money, would defraud them  of their most invaluable
privilege, that of having those to serve them, whom the majority wills
should do so.
If this ill-gotten power is sufficient, if offices actually given, and the
hope of offices hereafter expected; if money already given, and that hereafter expected, are sufficient to procure partisans, who have management
enough to mislead a majority, there is an end of free government; it
exists in name only.  That is the experiment now making, that is the
issue made up and to be tried at the next election. Let every man take
his side-in such cases there can be but two parties, and all who are not
disposed to come forth in vindication of the people's right and capacity
to govern themselves, are with the coalition, who would fix upon us,
that which is worse than monarchy itself, and yet leave us the name
of a republic.
On the subject of Internal Improvements, Judge White afterwards
writes to a political personal friend and correspondent, March 31st,
1830:
Your favor giving an account of the meeting in Knoxville, on the subject of the Buffalo and New Orleans Road came safely to hand.... The
result* is creditable to the integrity and intelligence of Knox County.
The temptation to transgress the constitutional bounds is very strong...
I lament that my friend R. should not control his temper. Knives and
pistols are silencing, though seldom convincing arguments. They ought
never to be tolerated in a country civilized and free.
* An expression of opinion against the propriety of building the Road (which would have
crossed Tennessee) by federal aid.




INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.                     79
This last digressive paragraph is in consonance with the writer's
well-known and lofty sentiments upon the barbarian custom of single
combat.
He writes again, sarcastically, on the same Road Bill, under date
April 2d, 1830:
A thought upon this road:-If we are really to sell out our principles for pay, or if it be intended through the medium of Internal
Improvements to give us a due share of public disbursements, how is it
that we are to have only a dirt road at fifteen hundred dollars a mile?
Why not give us a Macadamized turnpike or a railroad? I view it as an
indignity to my country and my constituents. Give us as good as is given
to others, or give us nothing, say I. I am against the power to make the
road; but I would infinitely rather vote for a decent one, such as is made
for others, than for one made on this dirt-dabbing plan.
Again, to the same, in relation to the well-known Maysville and
Lexington Road, May 21st, 1830:
Several bills have been introduced, and some of them passed, requiring the United States to subscribe for stock in companies created by
State Laws to make Roads or Canals.  One of them, to wit, for making
a road from  Maysville to Lexington, in Kentucky, is now before the
President for his signature. Great doubts are entertained as to what he
will do with it. Some think he will sign, others that he will not.
Without knowing anything, I hope for the last. The common impression
is, that our opponents have had a settled plan to appropriate so much
money as to prevent the President from paying the National Debt; and
it is a matter of regret that some of our political friends have acted with
them, under a hope that their own particular counties could in a partnership scramble obtain some local advantage.
I hope much from the integrity, firmness and intelligence of the
President. If he yields to this corrupting branch of federal patronage,
I shall consider the country ruined.
The Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816. It was
made the receptacle of the public moneys of the United States; and
by means of this powerful substantial aid in connection with the
numerous branches throughout the Union, and by the skilful use
of certain exclusive privileges, it soon became the centre and fountain of a vast and constantly increasing circulation of paper-money.
Judge  White looked upon this rapid extension as a dangerous
stimulus to business, and as hazarding the public good by encourag



80            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
ing extravagant speculation. This was a serious evil; but another
which he dreaded more, was the power which the bank or any similar
institution might exercise in controlling elections. He opposed the
bank from principle; as he would oppose any measure or establishment which would place it in the power of politicians, or capitalists,
or combinations of both, to exert any undue influence upon the use
of the elective franchise.  He  had  been  long and intimately
connected with banks, was well versed in their nature, operations and
tendencies; and early and accurately  augured the revulsions of
1819-'20, as well as those which followed up to 1834, as natural
results of the operations of the United States Bank.
It has been shown that while a member of the Tennessee Legislature, in 1827, he opposed the establishment of a branch of this institution in that State. At a still earlier period, when the bill containing
the original charter of the central bank was before the House of
of Representatives at Washington, Wm. G. Blount, then representative
from Judge White's district (who had been his ward, and an inmate
of his family), sent him a printed copy of the bill, asking his opinion
of it. Judge White wrote to him, giving a decided opinion against
it. Mr. Blount alone voted against the bill, of all the Tennessee
delegation.
Judge White went into the Senate in 1825, entertaining the opinion
that the charter was both unconstitutional and impolitic; and upon
that opinion he uniformly acted. When the bill for the renewal of
the charter was brought before Congress in 1832, he opposed it in a
speech of some length, which was characterized by the public prints
as the ablest argument on the subject made during the session. What
state of feeling prevailed at Washington, between the friends and
enemies of the bank, may be inferred from a letter of Judge White's,
dated Feb. 22d, 1832; just one day before Mr. Clayton's motion to
appoint a committee for investigating the affairs of the bank.
Judge White says:
Everything here is in a bustle. Nothing out of which mischief can be
made is suffered to slumber. Ill blood is produced by almost every event;
and a great disposition is manifested by some to appeal to the trial by
battle. Newspapers have, as yet, answered to let off the superabundant
steam. As the weather grows warmer, passions will rise higher, and, I
think, depletion by the drawing of blood, will, before long, become indispensable to restore that courtesy which never ought to be lost sight of by
those entrusted by society with the promotion of its highest interest. No




UNITED STATES BANK.                        81
man can tell when or with whom he is to be involved. i will do all that
a prudent man ought to do to avoid difficulties, but should it be my lot to
have them forced upon me, my reliance is, that Providence will guide me
through them in safety.
Judge White's speech, delivered on the 7th and 8th of June, 1832,
of the same year, on the question of the engrossment and third reading of the bill to renew the charter of the bank, was as follows:
Mr. President-I am pleased with the manner in which the discussion
of this important subject has been commenced and continued thus far;
and, although it is my intention to express my own sentiments with that
freedom which belongs to my place, and with the frankness of one who
has no opinion to conceal, yet I should be sorry if, in the remarks I am
about to submit, I should unnecessarily say anything calculated to change
the tone of the debate.
Whether the charter of the existing Bank of the United States ought to
be renewed, is a question which should not be blended with another
great question, and that is, whether the high duties to be performed by
the federal government can be discharged without the aid of a bank of
some description.*
To the existing company the United States should, in good faith, discharge every obligation they have contracted; up to this time they have
done so; and if they shall not put in operation any other bank until the
existing charter expires, and in other respects comply with existing
stipulations, in the meantime, no violation of their faith can be charged
to them.
The present stockholders, so far as they are citizens, will have had a
complete monopoly for twenty years, and would, in my opinion, have less
claim to become subscribers to any other bank to be created by the
federal government, than other citizens who have been excluded from all
banking privileges, in time past. Foreigners, who, at present, are stockholders, have no claims whatever upon us. This charter was always
exceptionable, on account of the United States being a stockholder. By
owning stock they become the partner of a few private citizens, and give
them the benefit of the character, resources, and influence of the whole,
thus enabling a favored few to make profits out of the whole, for their
own exclusive benefit; this is wrong in principle. Ours is a government
founded on equality, and ought never to be so conducted as to give a few
* I do not wish it to be understood, as my opinion, that a bank, chartered by Congress, may
not be necessary to insure the correct management of the fiscal concerns of the federal
government. On the contrary, I think it very probable, that, upon the expiration of the
present charter, one may be devised, consistent with the Constitution, giving to the United
States all the benefits which a bank can confer, and guard against the evils feared from the bill
now under consideration.-Note by Judge White.
6




82            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
an advantage over the whole. Although it may be said, all had an equal
opportunity to subscribe originally, and therefore those who did not, cannot now complain; yet, when we come to the question we are now
considering, that of giving a new charter, this answer loses all its force;
because now we select a few by name, become connected with them, and
exclude all others from any participation for an additional fifteen years.
If we now renew this charter, because the present stockholders have
been the partners of the United States for twenty years, the argument for
a second renewal will become stronger at the end of the next fifteen, and
thus we shall have created permanently a privileged class of society, who
will have the sanction, influence, and resources of the government
afforded them to make money at the expense of the rest of society. But
of all partnerships, this would be the most exceptionable. The United
States own seven millions of stock, foreigners, we know, own eight
millions; how much more in the names of citizens we cannot tell, and
the residue is owned by others, and these different interests are to be
combined in one act of incorporation, and to be partners in banking for
fifteen years. This ought not to be done, when our citizens have spare
capital, which they are anxious to invest in such stock.
There might be some apology for this course, if we were destitute of
capital and needed foreign aid; but this we know is not the case —our
own surplus capital, seeking safe and profitable investments, is the cause
of our present political discontents. During the European wars, which
commenced soon after the formation of the present Constitution, by the
employment of our own capital, in navigation and commerce, great additions were made to it. The French decrees and British orders in council
produced our restrictive measures, and terminated in the declaration of
war in 1812. This war caused much of the capital, previously employed
in navigation and commerce, to seek employment at home. It was
invested in manufactures, and upon the return of peace it asked and
obtained from Congress protection from foreign competition. This protection occasioned new investments, and these new applications for
additional protection, at different periods, up to the present time. We
have no scarcity of American capital-it is fully equal to all our wants.
Why then should we renew this charter, and give exclusive privileges to
foreigners, when our citizens are anxious to invest their money in the
bank, and are offering to Congress terms more favorable, than are secured
to us by this bill? It is said this bank has restored specie payments,
collected your revenue, paid it out, paid your pensioners, and equalized
exchange.
Sir, it is the character of the United States, of which this bank has
had the exclusive use, it is the funds of the United States, of which the
bank has had complete control, it is the influence of our character, and
our money, that restored specie payments, and enabled the bank to continue them in spite of bad management.




UNITED STATES BANK.                       83
The collection of your revenue has not cost the bank one cent. It has
only done for you, what any bank would gladly do for an individual.
It has received your money on deposit, when carried to its vaults at your
expense. It has received your custom-house, and other bonds for collection. It voluntarily paid, and received the money when due. If not
paid, it put the bonds into the hands of your law officer, and he has made
the collections, at your expense, and then deposited the money in the bank.
Your drafts upon the bank have been paid, when and where presented,
and well they might, because you had your money deposited, in every
place where there was either a principal or a branch bank. This, in place
of a disadvantage, must have been a source of profit to the bank, because
upon your funds it could draw, and re-draw bills in favor of individuals,
and secure premiums to itself.
By the laws, the bank was not bound to pay, nor did it pay, as is be
lieved, pensioners, except in States where there was either the principal
or a branch bank. The only trouble was to pay the pensioners when they
applied at the bank and take receipts. This service any bank would gladly
have performed for the benefit of the deposit, till pay-day should arrive.
As to the uniformity of our currency, every man knows that the notes
of this bank are not, in every quarter of the country, as good as the specie. A branch note payable at Nashville or New Orleans, is necessarily at
a discount, in Maine or New York; and as to the domestic exchange, it
is always in favor of the bank, so as to enable it to receive a premium
upon a bill, or draft, when it sells one, and obtain a discount when it purchases.
Much credit has been claimed for the able administration of the affairs
of the bank. Gentlemen ought to remember that this praise has been
claimed on a scale too extensive. For a portion of the time, since this
bank has been in operation, it has been managed as badly as any institution ever was, under either Federal or State authority. It was literally
bankrupt by bad management. By good fortune, at a lucky moment, the
services of Mr. Cheves were procurecl, at the head of the institution; his
talents, his business habits, his stern integrity, and, above all, his unyielding firmness, gave to its concerns a direction, which saved it from open
and notorious bankruptcy, and enabled it, gradually, by the whole pecuniary assistance the United States could afford, to recover its character, and
afterwards sustain its credit. These transactions it has not been thought
necessary to preserve, by placing them in the same volume with the affairs relating to our banks, and with which we have each been furnished;
but we ought, nevertheless, to recollect them, and ought to remember,
also, that there is no certainty, but the affairs of this institution may
again be under the direction of those equally as incompetent, or faithless,
as any that have preceded them.
The bank now has, and at the end of the charter will have, its transac



84           MEIOIR OF HUGHII LAWSON  WHITE.
tions widely spread over an immense territory. It will have many debts
to pay, and many to collect. Until it commences winding up, those who
have transactions with it will not generally speak out, according to the
truth. While it is discounting, and accommodating, it will be popular;
but when the hour for final payment shall have arrived, then we will hear
of the mismanagement, if any exists; then we will find out the bad debts,
and how, and for what contracted. Every thing now looks well upon
paper. We see that the bank has in circulation upwards of twenty millions of dollars, in notes. The sum due for deposits is large; all these
debts are to be paid, and with what?  With the funds in possession, and
the proceeds of debts due. No man living can tell, until the time of collection, how many of these debts are due from solvent men. Whenever
that time shall have arrived, the country at large, and Congress, can find
out whether this bank has been managed well or ill, with fidelity or not.
Nay, more, we can then see, and know, whether such a bank, in its operations, is beneficial or injurious to society.
Every merchant, long in business, knows, that if he has done a business
upon credit, he must, at the end of every ten or fifteen years, change his
style, and commence a new concern, for the purpose of being able to wind
up his old concern-he must collect his debts, and pay those to whom he
is indebted. In no other way can he tell, certainly, whether his business
has been profitable or otherwise. If this be true, in mercantile concerns,
how much more so is it in the case of such a bank as this?
By suffering this charter to expire, a flood of light would be shed upon
this subject, which would be of great use to society, and which would
enable Congress to know whether a bank ought to be again chartered, and
what ought to be the modification and improvement in the charter to be
granted.
Again. If we were disposed to renew the present charter, it is too
soon to do so. It has almost four years yet to run, and then two years
are allowed for collections. By renewing now, we put the corporation
four years, unnecessarily, beyond our control. The main security we
have for the good behavior of the bank, is, that at the termination of the
charter, a renewal will be refused, unless its concerns shall have been
faithfully managed. Why, then, should we give up this security, so long
in advance? All our offices of trust are based upon the principle, that
the person employed shall come, as frequently as convenience will permit,
to the p6wer which gave him employ, that his capacity and fidelity may
be judged of; and, if found deficient in either, then a better man may be
chosen in his stead. The principle is the same here, and yet this immense moneyed institution is to be made an exception, and four years in
advance, its charter is to be renewed.
The reason assigned for this is entirely unsatisfactory. It has been
said, if the directors had the charter renewed, they can not only continue,




UNITED STATES BANK.                       85
but extend their business. If not renewed now, they must begin to collect their debts, &c. A little reflection will satisfy us, that there is not
much force in this argument. It has always been urged, in favor of this
bank, that the paper, in which it deals, is business paper. If this be true,
what does it want with time to wind up? A owes B five thousand dollars, for which he gives his note, payable in ninety, or any other number
of days. B wishes to use the money presently; he carries the note to
the bank, endorses it, and has it discounted. When this note falls due,
A is notified that it belongs the bank; he goes and pays it, and there
is an end of the transaction. If this be the description of paper, in which
the bank deals, it does not need any time for winding up. All that need
be done is, to omit discounting when the charter expires, and the debts
come in of course. But if a considerable portion of the business of the
bank is done upon accommodation paper, no time ought to be granted.
It is unsafe to the bank, ruinous to society, and should be discountenanced.
The man who opens a standing accommodation with the bank, and relies upon renewing his note, periodically, by paying the discounts, be his
business what it may, will generally be taken by surprise, when called on
to pay the principal, will be ruined himself, and very often his endorsers
with him.
I fear very many of the debts due to this bank are substantially founded
upon accommodation paper. Look at the case from New York, disclosed
in the report of the committee of the other house-the debt was contracted
with the bank in 1831, payable by installments, the last of which was only
due in the fall of 1836, six months after the charter is to expire. Does
any one pretend, this was anything but accommodation paper? I speak
not of the purity of this transaction, but suppose it to be, as the friends
of this institution represent it, and then say, I think such transactions
with banks can never be considered real business transactions, but must
fall within the class called accommodations.
Examine the documents upon our desks, and see the items of domestic
bills. I am strongly impressed with the opinion, if examined, they are
substantially accommodation paper of the most ruinous kind. On the
Ist of April, 1831, they amounted to $14,725,923. On the 1st December, of the same year, they amounted to $14,853,530, with but little variation, as to amount in the meantime. This would scarcely have happened for so long a period, unless they were in substance accommodations. I will take the liberty of suggesting, how some of these domestic
bills are probably brought into existence, and continued-I will take for
my illustration, what may be the operations of the branch in my own
State.
A merchant needs an addition to his capital; he procures endorsers,
and obtains a discount for sixty days. When his note falls due he di.



86            MEMOIR  OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
counts another, and by paying in the discount, and applying the nett
proceeds of the last note, to the discharge of the first, he lifts it. When
the second falls due, he is called upon for actual payment-this he cannot make, but offers a bill upon his commission merchant, in New
Orleans, payable in four months; this is received by the bank, taking off
the discount and charging one or two per cent.; or whatever else is the
difference of exchange, between Nashville and New Orleans. To obtain
endorsers for these notes, a guarantee for the bill of exchange, and to
procure acceptance of the bill, the borrower has to pay to each of the
persons concerned, probably two per cent. His reliance for lifting the
bill when due, is the proceeds of a crop, which he hopes to raise, and
ship to New Orleans, in time to meet the demand. If he is disappointed
in whole, or in part, when the bill falls due, it is lifted by re-drawing
upon Nashville, at the same heavy expense, incurred in the first instance,
and thus in the shape of domestic bills drawn first one way, and
then the other, the accommodation is continued as long as the man's
means of paying discounts, rates of exchange, and other charges continue; and then he fails, and when he does, if a merchant, every farmer,
to whom he is indebted, will probably lose his debt, and if the debtor
was a farmer, he will probably lose his plantation, or his slaves, besides
injuring his endorser. I have no knowledge of any transactions such
as I have described; but they may, and I fear do exist, if not at the
Nashville branch, at some others. If such there are, they are injurious
to the country, and ought to be checked.
By permitting the question of renewal to remain for the present, we
shall obtain information upon the subject, and three years hence can
better determine, whether the operations of the bank are friendly to the
community or not.
The stockholders have weakened very much their claims to the
renewal of the charter, by some of their transactions in time past. I
allude now to the issuing and circulating checks, or drafts, for twenty
dollars and under, in place of notes of the same denominations. I consider this as a plain evasion of the charter, and under very peculiar
circumstances. When this charter was granted in 1816, the community
suffered on account of two difficulties, relating to the paper of the State
banks. First, if the notes in circulation were genuine, they were not as
good as the sum called for, because the banks issuing them did not
redeem them by paying specie. Second, the State banks were so numerous, that when a note was found in circulation, in many instances, no
man could tell whether is was genuine or a counterfeit. The Bank of
the United States was intended, and expected to remove both these
difficulties. It was to pay specie, and thereby put down all State banks,
which did not pay likewise. The fundamental articles require that
every note issued, and put in circulation, should be signed by the




UNITED STATES BANK.                       87
president and cashier of the principal bank. By having the signatures
of only these two officers it was supposed that their hand-writing would
soon become familiar to every man of business, who would thus readily
distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit. In the course of a few
years, the directors applied to Congress for permission to designate two
other persons to sign small notes, as it was physically impossible for the
president and cashier to sign the number required. Congress refused to
grant this request —a second, third, and if I mistake not, fourth applica
tion of the like kind was made, and refused; at all events not granted.
After this, in the year 1826 or'27, the directors searched in the charter,
for what is called a new combination of their powers, and these drafts
were devised, to be used as substitutes for small notes. These drafts are,
in form, bills of exchange, bearing the signatures of the presidents of the
respective branches, addressed to the cashier of the principal bank, and
requiring him to pay upon demand, the amount specified. The circulation of theim as a substitute for notes, is a plain violation of the charter.
It takes from society, without the consent of Congress, that security
against counterfeits, which was given by the charter. We must not, in
examining this point, confound two things which are separate and distinct. Whether the bank is bound to pay these drafts, when presented
at the principal bank, is one question which I answer in the affirmative.
But whether these drafts furnish the uniformity of paper currency, the
same security against counterfeits, which the notes would do, is a very
different question, which I answer in the negative. There are now how
many branches? Seventeen is it? I have not counted. No, says Mr.
Benton, twenty-five. Well then; the holder of one of those drafts runs
twenty-five times as many risks of having counterfeit paper put on himn,
as Congress intended he should run. This, I say ought not to have
been, and still I have all respect for the learned counsel, who were
consulted, and who I doubt not are entitled to all the respect and
character which society has awarded to them. It cannot escape notice,
that the stress of the opinion, is placed upon a point, upon which I think
there can be no doubt, the liability of the bank to pay, and the other
point, the want of uniformity in signatures to the paper currency is
almost entirely overlooked. My respect for those counsel I know, and
for the character of the one I am unacquainted with, constrains me to
think, if the true question had been directly put to them, they would
have given such opinions as I now insist conform to the true construction of the charter.
For a moment let us examine the excuse set up for this evasion"6 That the president and cashier were not able to sign a sufficient number of notes." Be it so; and what ought they to have done? Surely
not to have issued these checks, they ought to have signed as many
notes as they could, and to have used specie, when they had not a suffi



88          IMEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE..
ciency of notes. This would have conformed to the charter, been very
acceptable to the public, and have been in furtherance of the great
object in establishing the bank, that of restoring to society a specie currency. Besides, it would have been actually testing the utility of the
excellent experiment spoken of by the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr.
Webster, that of ceasing to circulate any notes as low as twenty dollars,
and using in their place, a specie circulation.
It appears to me that the use made of these checks, is highly injurious
on another ground. The effect of such a circulation in the South and
West, is to remove from those sections of country the whole of the
specie, which can be collected there, and leave us nothing but a paper
currency composed of those checks.
I assume it as a fact, that every one of those drafts or checks, is upon
its face, made payable by the cashier of the principal bank. They are,
therefore, payable in Philadelphia, and payment cannot be legally
demanded in the first instance, at any other place. What then is to be
the inevitable result? Tle specie must be withdrawn from the branches,
which circulate these checks, and taken to Philadelphia, and be there in
readiness to lift them, when they arrive. So far as common people are
concerned, this will never happen. No man will ever travel from
Louisiana, Tennessee, or Kentucky, to Philadelphia with a note of five,
ten, or twenty dollars, to demand the specie for it. He would save
money by putting it in the fire, in preference. As matter of accommodation, as long as the specie would hold out, the branches would no
doubt give specie for them, but that must soon fail, and then the holders
will be told, we have sent the money to Philadelphia, to lift them,
whither you must go. We have at present hardly any small notes in
circulation; nothing but these checks. I do not believe I have seen a
single note for five or ten dollars in Tennessee for the last two years.
No inconvenience has as yet been experienced, because you can get the
specie for one of them, in any merchant's shop you step into: but this
must soon cease: the specie will by the circulation of such paper be all
withdrawn, and you will have a paper medium, and no specie within
any reasonable distance. The very process of which I am now speaking,
is,' and has been going on; the documents upon our table prove it. In
a letter under date of 24th December, 1831, from the cashier of the principal bank, to the cashier of the New Orleans branch, found at page 516
of the report of the minority of the committee, we find this language:
"On every account we should, from present appearance, desire to be
reinforced by all the means which you can throw into our hands, and
would therefore recommend, that your local discounts should be prudently and gradually reduced-a course, which circumstances with
~'ou evidently favor; and that you should extend your operations in a
corresponding degree in exchange, and afford us large supplies of specie




UNITED STATES BANK.                       89
to meet your circulation, as it comes in at the North."  Can ally one
doubt what this means? It is the same thing as if he had said, your
circulation, these checks, are payable at the North, here; send us on
large supplies of specie with which to pay them.
At page 205, of the report of the majority of the committee, we see
the actual operation, as it is going on. In 1831, the amount of specie sent
from the branches to the principal bank was $3,628,853 76. In 1830,
it was $3,653,202 13. In 1829, it was $2,673,115 97. In 1828, it was
$2,055,756 78, and in 1827, it was $1,787,049 18. This is the year in
which the checks first began to be used, instead of notes, as a circulating
medium. To me it is obvious, that by continuing their use, and withdrawing the specie, we shall have nothing but paper, near the branches
of the West and South.
It may be asked what benefit the bank can derive from this process?
The answei is obvious. They can extend their discounts, and make
more money. In 1827, when they began to issue them, their notes in
circulation were upwards of $18,000,000.  Since then, they have
extended to from twenty to twenty-four millions of dollars. The bank
can safely put in circulation, far from  the place of payment, a much
larger amount of these drafts than they could of notes made payable
where they were issued. I cannot but consider what has been done in
this respect, an evasion of the charter, highly injurious to society, and
done under circumstances calculated to take fiom the bank all claim to
a renewal of the charter.  The honorable chairman of the co-mmittee,
which reported this bill, has told us, that the committee did not feel
called upon to investigate how the bank had been conducted. Because.
says he, if a public officer abuses his trust, that is no reason why you
should abolish the office, etc.; and added, he had no doubt, if they had
inquired, it would have been found, that the bank had been faithfully
and ably conducted.
While I admit, that if a public officer abuses his trust, that is no
reason why you should abolish the office, then the remedy would be to
turn out the faithless officer, and put a better man into the office necessary for the public interest, I deny entirely the analogy of this case.
Here I say, if the directors have abused their trust, and the stockholders,
after knowing the fact, continue them in office, the charter ought
to be rescinded; at all events, it ought not to be renewed, when it
expires.
I urge these considerations against renewing this charter at any time,
and especially at the present time, in addition to other conclusive reasons,
urged a few days ago, by the Senator fiom Missouri (Col. Benton), and
which I shall not repeat.
The great questions still remain to be considered:
1st. Is it proper, at any time for Congress to incorporate a banking
company, vesting it with the powers which this bill confers?




90            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
I am free to declare, that in preference to vesting such powers in anv
company whatever, powers which may be used to such pernicious purposes, even if I believed I had the power to do so, I would trust the welldoing of this government, and the people, to a specie currency alone, and
to such facilities as banks incorporated by the respective States may be
able to afford.
It will operate as a conductor, to carry off all the circulating medium
from those sections of country, principally agricultural, where few or no
stockholders reside; and place it down to be used in those sections of
country where stockholders may be found. Take, for example, the operation of the branch bank at Nashville. It is now doing a business of
friom four to five millions of dollars-suppose it to be four and a half
millions. The common interest upon that sum would equal two hundred
and seventy thousand dollars per annum. All these profits are made
from those living convenient enough to the bank to be its customers. At
the end of each six months, they are taken and distributed among the
stockholders. In Tennessee we have only three or four stockholders, owning some two or three hundred shares. Nearly the whole of this sum
must therefore be takenfrom that State, and paid over to persons residing
in other States, and in Great Britain. This operation is to be continued
from year to year, so long as the charter lasts; and ere long, will, as I
think, withdraw from our use the whole circulating medium we possess.
The same effect must be produced in every other State, similarly circumstanced. What benefit does the bank confer equivalent to this loss? In
most cases I think none. Banks are generally of no use in countries
highly agricultural. They are of use to those engaged in commerce,
whose business is increased by anticipating their funds, who handle
money freely, and can be punctual. The farmer whose profits are small,
and long coming into possession, is generally injured by the bank, from
which he obtains an accommodation. The longer he borrows the worse
he gets, and after paying interest for several years, it too frequently
happens he is compelled to sell his home, to liquidate the debt thus contracted.
Suppose it to be a merchant who borrows with a view to aid his
capital. Where he has so many to compete with, who have capital sufficient of their own on which to do business, it will seldom happen that a
bank accommodation will enable him to succeed; most usually it gives
him a false credit, which he will use in purchasing produce upon credit,
by promising something more than the cash price: eventually he fails,
the bank may collect its debt, either from the drawer, or his endorser,
but the farmer loses the debt due for his produce. The bank may give
the appearance of prosperity to the country, it may enable people to purchase or improve lots in a town, or to build houses on farms in the
country; but this appearance will, in the end, be found deceptive. These
houses and lots, and these plantations, thus improved, will generally




UNITED STATES BANK.                       91
change owners, and all the benefit the borrower will receive will be the
honor of having had an account with the Bank of the United States which
has stripped him of his possessions, and thus prepared him to seek a new
home.
Believing, therefore, that a charter such as this, authorizing two
branches if the directors choose, to be established in each State, without
the consent of the legislature, may, and will, prove a means of impoverishing the citizens of many States for the benefit of others, I cannot, and
will not vote for this bill.
It is idle to insist that we must have this bank to enable the farmers to
sell their surplus produce. Take away the bank to-morrow, and every
man who has produce for sale will find, if it is in demand, that those
who wish to purchase will send their agents, woith funds, into the market,
who will purchase and make prompt payment, as was the case before the
bank was established. When there is no demand for the produce, no one
will purchase, whether there is or is not a bank. With the immense
capital furnished this bank, all concentrated in, and controlled by the
same persons, backed by the deposits, the name and influence of the
United States, this bank will have the power at any time it chooses to
exert it, to take to itself all the active capital of the State banks, in all
places not very highly commercial; therefore it may, and probably will,
be the place, at which all men of business and influence, in the Union,
will do their business, and obtain their accommodations.
Is it to have power to establish as many as two branches in each State,
without the consent of the State, and to withdraw them at pleasure?
The directors of the principal bank appoint whom they please as directors of the respective branches, and can change them at pleasure. Seven
directors at the principal bank constitute a board, and four of them will
form a majority.
Already it has its operations throughout the whole country, presently
they will be extended into every corner of society.
Suppose the directors to wish their charter changed, so as to suspend
specie payments, or any other alteration made; or suppose them to wish
a tariff changed, the price of the public lands made higher or lower, or
any other public measure carried, can they not control the Congressional
and State elections whenever they choose? Yes, less than one half-dozen
men, seated in the principal bank in Philadelphia, will have the power,
if they choose to exercise it, to have the same story in praise, or dispraise,
of any man, or set of men, put in circulation in every neighborhood, in
every State in the Union, at any hour of any day in the year, they please;
and what makes this power the more terrific is, that no one injured will
be able to find out the source from which the injury originates. Thus
any man may be put in or out of office at the will of this bank, and of
course any measure carried or defeated, as these directors may think will
best answer their purposes.




92            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
Again, suppose a man elected President of the United States, not disposed to promote the public good, but to pursue his individual interest,
and that of his friends, at the public expense, and to have an understanding with the directors of the bank, that so long as he or his friends
should continue in office, the interest of the bank should be promoted.
Could he ever be displaced? I fear not. When you array all the patronage
of the federal executive, and all the influence of this moneyed institution
on one side, and have nothing to oppose to it but the ill-arranged and unorganized action of the common people, the country may well tremble for
the result. We have now exhibited a curious spectacle to the American
people; the President a candidate for re-election, and daring to speak his
opinions in opposition to this institution: it is what I never expected to
witness; and let the approaching election terminate as it may, the youngest
amongst us will not live long enough, in my opinion, to witness the like
again. In all time to come, the President and directors of the bank, will,
as I fear, think alike and act in concert, on all subjects interesting to
either, and doing so on the days of election, will be an over-match for
any influence which can be brought to bear against them.
I have heard some intelligent men say, we would gain but little by putting down this bank, because, then the public deposits must be made in the
State banks; and through that medium, there would be as much danger
of influence as from this bank. Sure I am, those gentlemen had not sufficiently reflected on this subject or they would have perceived the immense
difference in the cases. Glance at them, for a moment. If you place the
deposits in State banks, your whole funds will be divided among so many
as to afford but little temptation to any one. Suppose one or two to be
tempted, by these deposits, to interfere improperly in politics, the rest
would remain sound, and little or no mischief could ensue. The number
to be misled is so great, and so divided, that, having no common connection with each other there is little or nothing to apprehend. But in the
case of the Bank of the United States, it must withstand the temptation
of your whole funds, because the same institution is to have your whole
deposits. Again-procuring the cooperation of a majority of the directors
of one single board accomplishes everything; they would manage their
respective branches, and the branches their customers, throughout the
whole community. The number to be approached and misled by the
executive is so limited, that there is infinitely more to apprehend in the
latter than in the former case.
Should it ever again be our misfortune to be involved in a war with
any foreign power, will not this bank compel you to make peace, whenever it chooses, upon any terms it may dictate.
It will have command of the whole active capital employed in any
banks. Without money, we cannot successfully prosecute any war. How
could-these funds be procured? There is no provision in this bill, or the
original act, by which the bank is bound to loan the government one




UNITED STATES BANK.                       93
dollar. It is prohibited from loaning more than five hundred thousand
dollars, without an act of Congress to authorize it. But if an act should
be passed, requiring a loan, there is no obligation on the bank, to advance
a cent, even of your own seven millions, vested in stock. Suppose this
bank to have existed during the late war with Great Britain, and the
stock to have been owned by British subjects, and by our own citizens,
who thought it so unjust, that they esteemed it immoral to thank the
Author of all good for our victories-does any man believe we could
have procured a loan from this bank? No, sir. You could not have
procured enough money to have loaded a musket, or to purchase a ration.
This bank now has, and will continue to have,, under this charter, a
complete control over the whole circulating medium, in the United States.
At its will, money will be plenty, or scarce. The value, therefore, of
every man's property, is in its power; it may be enhanced or depressed
at pleasure. Should the directors, or their friends, have property to sell,
they can make money abundant, and secure an extravagant price. Should
they wish to puirchase, they need only limit the discount, press debtors for
payment, make money scarce, and purchase at their own prices.
They will have a monopoly, in bills of exchange, both foreign and
domestic, and can regulate exchanges, to suit the interest of the bank.
They can make premiums high, or low, to suit them, or they can in any
week change the rates, in most cases, so as to purchase at discounts, when
they had, a few days before, been selling for an advance.
Mr. President, is it sound policy?  Is it.consistent with the freedom of
election? Is it just to the rest of the community, to create or continue, any
corporation, vested with such powers? Surely not. By the abuse of them,
liberty may be endangered, if not destroyed, and our property sacrificed.
It is not a sufficient answer to these arguments to say, none of these
mischiefs have happened; the directors are men of integrity and high
character; therefore, all is safe. I say no. There is no certainty how
long the management of this bank may be in the hands of the present directors. To-morrow we may have dishonest directors; those who will pursue
their own interest, and that of -the stockholders, regardless of the public
welfare,; and we are safe only when no powers are given which can be
used to the prejudice of society.
Mr. President, there is one other question on this bill, which is surely
worth consideration: I mean, the power of Congress to Incorporate this
bank. The Honorable Chairman of the Committee has told us, this
question "is gone by," " is settled." It may be so, with some; with me,
it is otherwise. I have been taught, that "a frequent recurrence to
fundamental principles is essential to liberty."  Why shall we recur to
them, if we are to give up our own opinions, and make the opinions of
other men the rule of our conduct. Acts of the legislature, containing
general rules, must be expounded, and applied to individual cases, by the




94            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON "WHITE.
decisions of courts of justice. After a settled train of judicial decision,
on any contested point, those decisions expounding the statute, in courts,
are as much esteemed the rule for future decision, as the statute itself.
But this is not so, in any legislative body. I admit, everywhere, if a
man is called upon to act, and after exercising his best judgment he
is in doubt how he ought to act, when he can find what other enlightened men, acting under the same obligations with himself, have done,
in the like cases, he ought, as a reasonable man, to conclude, he will most
probably be correct, if he follows in their footsteps. But if, after examining the subject fully, he is convinced that they were mistaken, I deny
that he is justified in following others in error. How, then, can it be
said this question of power is gone by, is settled, not to be thought upon,
nor talked about. Sir, it is not settled. It is a vexed question. This
power has always been contested, from the formation of the Constitution
to this moment. In Congress, in courts, in society, it now is, and ever
has been, disputed. In 1791, when the old Bank of the United States was
chartered, the power was denied, by those who aided in framing the
Constitution. The argument Mr. Madison then made, has never, as I
think, been satisfactorily answered. But a majority of Congress affirmed
the existence of the power, and acted upon it. General Washington
consulted his cabinet, and they were equally divided, two and two. The
judicial decisions affirmed the power, and when that charter was about
to expire, an application was made to renew it. What did Congress then
do? Did it conceive the question was gone by, settled, and that nothing
was to be done but to follow on? No, sir. The power was given, contested, and negatived. Here, then, is precedent the other way. Thus
the matter rested, till during the war; there was then an attempt to get
up a bank, and it failed. After the war, at the session of 1815-16, this
bank was chartered. But the power was contested; and those about to
use it were emphatically told, that in 1811, they had themselves determined, they did not possess the power.
The judicial decisions have affirmed the power, confirmed by this
charter, as they did that confirmed by the act of 1791; but the opponents
of this bank cannot now be told, that this question is settled, with any
more propriety, than those were so told in 1811, when then the question
of re-charter occurred. Indeed I have always thought the granting the
charter in 1810, ought to weigh very little. The time was unfriendly to
correct constitutional opinions, as to federal p9owers. The war was just
ended; those who had struggled through it, had their minds toned for an
exercise of federal powers, at which they would have hesitated in time
of peace. Only the year before, 1814 and 1815, they had a project for a
great paper bank, which was on the eve of passing. Would they have
dreamed of such a power, in time of peace? I think not. The giving
this charter, then, in 1816, ought not to weigh much on the question of




UNITED STATES BANK.                       95
power. It was an act of necessity, in the opinion of a majority, and they
were spurred up to the exercise of this power, by the contest through
which the country had just passed.
Under all these circumstances, I think, I treat with no disrespect, the
opinions of enlightened men, who have affirmed this power to be in
Congress, when I say my mind has arrived at a different conclusion, and
that I feel bound to act upon the best judgment I have been enabled to
form myself.
If then, we are yet at liberty to examine the Constitution, and to form
an opinion, whether we have the power to create such a bank as this,
may not those opposed to it ask, respectfully, of its advocates, to point
to that clause which confers this power?
We all know what the answer to such request must be, that no such
power is given in express terms, but it is necessary that Congress should
exert this power, otherwise effect cannot be given to other important
powers, which we are obliged to exercise for the public good.
We ask what they are, and one gentleman says-Congress is authorized
to levy and collect taxes, and provide for the common defence and general
welfare.
Another, that Congress has the power " to coin money and fix its value
and the value of foreign coin, and to regulate the standard of weights and
measures," and this gives a complete power over the whole monetary
system of the United States.
A third, that the power to coin money, emit bills of credit, and to
make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts is expressly taken from the States; and, that therefore, Congress must have
the power now claimed, &c. These positions have each been separately
examined, and, as I think proved, in argument, to be untenable.
In 1791, Mr. 3Madison's argument in the House of Representatives, and
Mr. Jefferson's opinion in the Cabinet, placed this in a stronger light than
anything I could say would do, and on their arguments I very much rely.
In 1811, the arguments of other statesmen enforced their doctrine, in a
manner I can never hope to imitate; and I do not propose to fatigue
the Senate, by repeating the arguments which they have used, and which,
in my opinion, have never been satisfactorily answered.
But, sir, I may be permitted to ask, if we infer the power to create a
bank such as this is, what power may not be inferred? The United States
have a power to declare war-to have an army and navy. We cannot
make a successful war, unless preparations are made in time of peace.
Arms and ammunition are essentially necessary-why not incorporate
a company to make arms, to smelt lead, and to make gunpowder?
Clothing and blankets are necessary for your troops-why not incorporate companies to manufacture them? Provisions are essentially necessary to feed the troops-why not incorporate companies to procure lands,




96            MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
to raise grain, and to rear stock? The power to incorporate companies for
these purposes could be presumed with better reason than the power to
incorporate a bank.
We are to presume that we have a power to incorporate stockholders
for a bank; because a bank is a necessary and proper means to collect, to
keep safe, and pay out the revenue. Is it not fair to say, if you create a
bank for such purposes, we ought to confine its operations to these duties?
But when once created by implication, instead of confining it to these duties,
we confer upon it other important primary powers, and the performance
of these governmental duties are the least part of its business; mere
incidental matters, hardly worth notice. We presume the power to make
the bank, and having made it, presume we have the power to keep its
paper pure, and therefore presume we can pass laws to hang or imprison
those who counterfeit its notes, and the human mind can hardly fix any
limits to the presumed powers, which may be created from the first
construction.
In my opinion a very erroneous impression has got abroad, founded
upon the supposition, that bank notes are currency. The Constitution of
the United States never contemplated any currency as legal but a metallic
currency. No other is constitutional, nor can any other be made legal.
The United States have a power to coin money, and to fix the value
thereof, and to fix the value of foreign coin, and to regulate the standard
of weights and measures.
No State shall have power to coin money, emit bills of credit, or make
anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
From these sections some have argued, the Constitution intended to
give Congress the power over the whole currency.
I agree to this position, and think such was the intention of those
who framed the Constitution; but the question recurs, of what was that
currency to consist? I say not of paper of any description. It was to
consist of metals, and those metals were to be coined in the United States,
and their values fixed by law, or they must be coined in some other
country, and their value fixed here by our laws, and by the same power
made current. I admit the currency we actually have is mostly notes,
either of the Bank of the United States or of some of the State banks; but
I deny that this paper is any more a legal currency within the meaning of
the Constitution, than a negotiable promissory note or a bill of exchange
would be. Bank notes are used by society, instead of gold and silver,
for convenience, by common consent-having no constitutional or legal
foundation whatever as a standard of value, nor can any such effect be
given to them by either federal or State government; all must agree that the
States have no power to make a man take bank notes in payment of a debt.
I put this question, Can the federal government do so? I say no. Congress have no such power. Taking such power from the States, does not




UNITED STATES BANK.                      97
Lecessavily confer it upon the federal government, because the United
States have an express power to make metals currency, and nothing is
said about a paper currency.
T admit Congress has the power to compel their own officers to receive
bank notes or anything else they choose, in discharge of debts, due to the
United States, but deny that they have any power to compel A to receive
from B any description of paper whatever, in discharge of a debt due to
him. What then becomes of this power to create a bank, because we
have the power to regulate the currency, when that currency is to be,
according to the Constitution, nothing but specie? It vanishes.
Under the articles of confederation, an express power had been given
to Congress to emit bills of credit. This power had been liberally used;
too much so, as was believed, for the benefit of society. In framing the
present Constitution, the convention determined to guard against the
exercise of any such power in future, either by the State or federal
government. Therefore, by express words, they took from the States the
power to emit bills of credit; and amended the draft of the Constitution
submitted to them, which confined the power to emit bills of credit, by
striking those words out. (Journal of Convention, pp. 75 and 256.) Thus
by taking from the States this power, and refusing to give it to Congress,
they believed society was secured in a metallic currency, and guarded
against everything else.
We have the express testimony of Mr. Madison, a member of the convention, of Mr. Martin, another member of the same body, and of Mr.
Jefferson, a member of President Washington's cabinet, that in the convention there was an attempt to give Congress the power to incorporate:, bank, and it was refused.
The journal containing the proceedings of that body is now published;
and we find that, on three several occasions, an attempt was actually made
to give to Congress the power to pass acts of incorporation, and it was
uniformly refused.
It seems, therefore, clear to me that the convention did not intend to
give the power, now claimed, to Congress; and that we have no right to
vest ourselves with such a power by construction.
In my mind, there are many provisions in this charter violative of the
Constitution. The United States themselves cannot purchase and hold
lands in any State, without the consent of such State; yet this charter
authorizes this corporation composed in part of aliens and of the United
States to do so. The friends of this bill have solemnly refused to insert a
provision, by which the States can impose any tax upon the capital
employed within their limits, although such States will be bound to
protect the persons in the employ of, and the property belonging to, this
institution.
The bill gives a monopoly to this company for fifteen years, which is
not only odious, but against the genius of the Constitution.




98            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
It confers upon this corporation the power of regulating the currency
of the country, which is an attribute of sovereignty that Congress has no
power to transfer to our citizens, much less to foreigners.
The whole emoluments of this bank will go to these stockholders; they
have had, and are still to have, all your public money, on which to do
business; and by a vote of this body they are to pay no interest whatever
for the use of these funds. We thus take the money of all for the benefit
of a few.
But it is said, we are benefited by a sound currency in peace and in
war, and by having an institution to which we can have access for loans,
in cases of emergency.
How is this matter? When we had the quasi war with France, in
1798-9, we had a bank, and yet had to borrow from individuals at an
interest of eight per centum. In case of another war, we cannot obtain
loans from this bank, unless specie payments are suspended. Look at its
condition, after it has been in operation fifteen or sixteen years in time of
peace. It now has notes out for upwards of twenty millions of dollars,
owes large deposits, and has from seven to eight millions of dollars only
in specie. In case of war, suppose you wish to borrow ten, twenty, or
fifty millions of dollars, could it loan you, and continue to pay specie? It
could not; you must again have paper money or no money. Your bank
could not hold out six months and pay specie.
During the last war, when every resource was likely to fail, a bank was
thought of, and what kind of a one was it to be? A paper ban~k. So
will this be-if we have a war, and are obliged to borrow a hundred millions of dollars.
Who abused the rags of State during the war? The enemies of the
United States, not this government.
The government sanctioned the suspension of specie payments. It
was then patriotic to aid the government; without a suspension of specie
payments, these loans could not be made. Without these rags, we could
not feed, clothe, or pay a single soldier. Paper money carried us
through the War of Independence; paper money got us through the last
war; and if we have another war of much duration, we will have paper
money the third time. But as soon as peace returns, we will do as we
have done in time past, work ourselves into hard money, into a sound
currency.
Sir, if we are to have this bank with these extraordinary, and, as 1
think, unwarranted powers, it may bear down all before it; like other
institutions, it will use its powers for the benefit of the stockholders. It
has been said, Corporations have no souls. If this one does not injure
society it will be an exception; it must have more soul and better feelings
than belongs to mortals. We need not fret about the Tariff, or the price
of public lands; let it unite its influence with other capitalists, and all
can be managed as they choose. Look at the inducements it has to do




UNITED STATES BANK.                       99
so. It is to have all your public money on deposit, without interest.
The higher our taxes, the larger the deposits; the more the deposits, the
greater will be the profits of the bank. For the last several years, the
United States deposits have averaged from six to eight millions of dollars.
The bank will have an interest in not having them less. If the directors
act correctly under such strong temptations, they will be justly entitled
to higher eulogiums than any their warmest friends have yet pronounced.
That Judge White's private sentiments were similar to these
spoken opinions, if such proof were needful, would appear from  the
following letter to an intimate friend in Tennessee, written about this
time:
The Bank bill is before the House of Representatives. It will without
doubt be passed there, and there is much speculation as to what the
President will do. I do not profess to know more than others of his
opinion on the subject, but am as certain that he will put his veto upon
it, should it be presented to him in the shape it left the Senate, as I can
be of any future act that depends upon the will of one man.
We will then see whether the bank will or will not endeavor to control the election of the next President.  If it does, I hope it will open the
eyes of the public, and enable every man to see the danger of such a
moneyed corporation, with such immense powers, and large funds in a
free country.
From the newspapers it appears that Mr. Baring, one of our foreign
stockholders, is spoken of as a probable member of the new ministry in
Great Britain.  It is a curious spectacle that an American Congress
should be incorporating a company, in which foreigners own eight
millions of stock, the United States themselves seven millions, and
private citizens twenty millions, and that at the very same time, in
Great Britain, a whig ministry should be turned out, and in the formation of a new tory nministry, one of the foreign stockholders in this
American company should be likely to be selected as a member.
Much as I like money and good company, I should blush to see my
name on the list of American stockholders, but that is only because I do
not feel that my God did me injustice in not causing me to be born a
nobleman.
The bill passed; and as was anticipated, the President vetoed it.
This measure Judge White did not fail to foresee.  He writes to a
friend, dated June 18th, 1832:
The Bank bill is in the House.  I have no doubt it will pass.




100           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
The President will be as certain to put his veto upon it as that it is presented to him at the present session in its present shape. I, of course,
speak my own opinion, without pretending to know more than is known
to every one who has read the public documents; but I calculate upon
his course with as much certainty as I can upon that of any man whom
I have neither inclination nor power to control.
My calculation is, that he will veto the bill; and that the bank will
endeavor to defeat his election; and that that attempt will open the eyes of
the people as to their danger, and that they will put down the bank
entirely.  If they (the bank) should take the veto and still support the
President, it will be their strongest recommendation to favorable notice
at a subsequent day; but this I am sure they will not do.
My arguments against it are written and with the printer to be published in pamphlet. A job printer is publishing them. I will not
degrade myself by any intercourse on the subject with the editors of
the principal papers here, considering the manner in which they have
conducted.
P. S. You may wash up the types,*-  it will be a more angry and
bitter political contest than you have either witnessed or heard of.
Again, dated July 2d, 1832. he says, of the reported plans of the
fiiends of the bank:
The chit-chat is, that if the President vetoes the bill, enough of members opposed to the bank will for one cause or another be absent, to let
the bank have two thirds in each House to pass the bill, the veto notwithstanding. I hope these insinuations are without any foundation in
truth.  It seems to me that such a course would, and ought to excite
public feeling to a higher pitch than usual.
July 10th he writes from the Senate Chamber, to the same correspondent:
The Senate have this moment received a message from the President,
returning the bill to continue for fifteen years the charter of the Bank
of the United States, with his objections to its passage. It is a lengthy
and plain document. To-morrow at 11 o'clock the Senate will proceed
to reconsider the subject. If the Senate is full, and the members retain
their former opinions, this bank falls for the present.
Upon the receipt of the veto message in the Senate, Mr. Webster
* His correspondent was editor of a newspaper in Tennessee.




UNITED STATES BANK.                      101
opened the debate, commenting upon the President's objections, and
arguing again in favor of the bill. Judge White replied, fully sustaining the course of the President upon this important occasion.
Judge White's remarks, delivered July 11th, 1832, were as
follows:
MR. PRESIDENT: —Pressed as we are for time, I must crave the indulgence of the Senate, while I attempt some answer to the matters urged by
the senator from Massachusetts to the message accompanying the bill, now
to be re-considered.
I rejoice that for once we have a document from the present Chief
Magistrate, acknowledged by the opposition to be frank, plain, and susceptible of only one interpretation. Heretofore, the common complaint
from that quarter has been that his important communications were so
worded, as to be interpreted one way in one section of the country, and
a different way in another. Here it is admitted we have a document so
worded, as to be understood every where alike.  The honorable senator
thinks this frankness on the part of the Chief Magistrate ought to be met
in a corresponding spirit, by those who differ from him in opinion. Approving of this course, I shall endeavor to be equally as explicit, in what I
propose to say in answer to his argument.
The senator thinks if the charter of this bank is not renewed, ruin to
the country is to be the consequence, because the bank must wind up all
its concerns. This is nothing but the old argument used in 1811, when
the then existing bank applied for a renewal of its charter. Distress to
the community, and ruin to the country were predicted by the advocates
of the bank. The predictions were not verified. The capital employed
in the bank was not annihilated. It still existed, and in loans to individuals, or in some other shape, it was applied to the uses of the community.
Debtors sought, and obtained accommodations elsewhere; as the notes of
that bank were withdrawn from circulation, their places were supplied
by specie, or the paper of local institutions, and little or no inconvenience
was experienced; and such will be the case again, should the charter of
this bank be allowed to expire in 1836. Debtors, worthy of credit, will
obtain accommodations from either individuals or other banks, and discharge their dues to this, and as the notes of this bank disappear, their
places will be supplied by specie, or the paper of other banks, and the
mass of the community will, in a short time, hardly be sensible that the
operation of winding up has been performed. We have been told, that
in the Valley of Mississippi alone, there is due to this bank, thirty millions of dollars. Twenty millions for loans made, and ten millions for
domestic bills of exchange. That the press occasioned by the collection
of this debt, will be too severe to be borne. The charter has almost four




102           MEMOIR  OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
years yet to run, and then two years are allowed for collections, making
nearly six years. How often have we been told, during this session, of
the general prosperity of the country, and especially that part of it in the
Valley of the Mississippi. If these statements have any resemblance to the
truth, it ought to be entirely within the power of these debtors, in five or
six years, to adjust and pay whatever they may owe. I must repeat what
I said on a former occasion: If these debts are real transactions, the adjustment of them will be a simple operation. The paper evidencing
these debts will be paid at maturity, and let the bank be careful not to
discount when the charter is near expiring, and the whole object will be
accomplished. If the transactions are not real, but fictitious, and the
paper discounted has assumed the appearance of business paper for the
purpose of obtaining permanent loans, im other words, standing acconlmodations, the sooner the truth is known the better to all concerned.
The community has a deep interest in this matter; false credit, given to
individuals by false appearances, is an injury to society, and of no actual
benefit to individuals, and the sooner such transactions are brought to a
close, all the better-the fewer will be the number of sufferers.
If I am not very much mistaken, this opinion was, some years ago, advanced, in a report from a Secretary of the Treasury, whose opinions
upon such a subject are entitled to the highest respect. But, sir, if when
this bank has been in operation only fifteen or sixteen years, the debts
have become so numerous, and so large, that we must, on these accounts,
renew the charter, I must be allowed to ask, what will be the state of
things at the end of thirty-five years? Will they not be much worse?
Most certainly they will. What, then, do gentlemen mean?  Do they
intend that this charter shall become perpetual?-that this company,
foreigners and all, shall have this monopoly for ever? If this be not their
intention, I must ask the senator from Massachusetts to tell us, at what
time the institution can be wound up, with less inconvenience than at
the expiration of the present charter. When will the debtors of the Valley of the Mississippi be better able to pay, than when this charter expires?  If the argument of the senator proves anything, it proves that
this corporation ought to exist for ever. Is any gentleman willing to avow
this? I am decidedly opposed to it. Pay-day for these debtors must arrive some time; and it appears to me that the affairs of this bank, probably, would be closed with less inconvenience to the community at the
expiration of this charter, than they can be fifteen years afterwards.
The senator says, the President alleges that the application to renew
the charter is premature, and thinks we ought not to be chided by him
for acting on the subject, as he had directed the attention of the nation,
and of Congress, to this subject, in his message of 1829, and in two succeeding messages.
Mr. President, to me it is obvious, that the notice taken of the bank




UNITED STATES BANK.                       103
in those messages, was not to recommend to Congress to act upon the
subject, at either of the sessions when those messages were delivered, but
as the subject was esteemed of vital interest to the community, to turn
the attention of all to it, at an early period; so that opinions might be
well matured upon it, when the charter was about to expire, and when it
would become necessary to act upon it.
But if Congress ought now to act upon it, because the subject is brought
before us by those messages, why was it not acted on at the sessions when
these messages were delivered?  Why not at the session in 1829?  The
senator has answered the question with frankness. He has told us it is
material it should be known before the Presidential election, whether the
President would sign the act renewing the charter or not, because if he
would not, he ought to be turned out, and another put in his place, who
will, and as the election is to take place the succeeding fall, application
for the renewal could not be longer delayed.
I thank the senator for the candid avowal, that unless the President
will sign such a charter as will suit the directors, they intend to interfere in the election, and endeavor to displace him. With the same
candor I state, that after this declaration, this charter shall never be
renewed with my consent.
Let us look at this matter as it is. Immediately before the election, the
directors apply for a charter which they think the President at any
other time will not sign, for the express pwrpose of compelling him  to
sign contrary to his judgment, or to encounter all their hostility, in
the canvass and at the polls. Suppose this attempt to have succeeded,
and the President, through fear of his election, had signed this charter,
although he conscientiously believes it will be destructive of the liberty
of the people, who have elected him to preside over them, and preserve
their liberties, so far as in his power. What next? Why, whenever the
charter is likely to expire hereafter, they will come as they do now,
on the eve of the election, and compel the Chief Magistrate to sign such
a charter as they may dictate on pain of being turned out and disgraced.
Would it not be far better to gratify this moneyed aristocracy, to the
whole extent at once, and renew their charter for ever? The temptation to a periodical interference in our elections would then be taken
away.
Sir, if under these circumstances the charter is renewed, the elective
franchise is destroyed, and the liberties and prosperity of the people are
delivered over to this moneyed institution, to be disposed of at their
discretion. Against this I enter my solemn protest.
The honorable senator next adverts to what the President says on
the constitutionality of this act, and animadverts on what is stated in
relation to there being two precedents in Congress, where this power is
asserted, and two in which it is denied, and then asserts that since




104           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
the year 1791, when the first bank was chartered, Congress has never
denied this power.
Mr. President, it appears to me that whether the President can show
any recorded vote denying this power, or not, the senator ought not to
be too severe upon the executive for this mistake, if it be one. When a
renewal of the charter was applied for in 1811, its constitutionality was
argued, and ably argued, by those opposed to it, and the application was
rejected. The bank then applied for time to wind up its business, the
petition was referred to a committee, who reported against the application, alleging that it was unconstitutional, and this report was concurred
in. Afterwards, in 1815, when a bank charter was under consideration
in the House of Representatives, a member from Massachusetts, in his
place, then acting under the same high obligations which the President
acts under, arguing against the charter, stated expressly, that the
renewal of the charter had been refused because it was unconstitutional.
The President, without doubt, has read this argument, and seen this
resolution, and if he reposed confidence in these statements, and was
thereby misled, which I suppose he was not, I submit to the honorable
senator whether, under such circumstances he would not have been
entitled to milder treatment, from him, than he has received.
The attention of the Senate has been next called to that part of the
message, found in page 6, in which the decisions of the Supreme Court
are spoken of.
The honorable senator argues that the Constitution has constituted
the Supreme Court a tribunal to decide great constitutional questions,
such as this, and that when they have done so, the question is put at
rest, and every other department of the government must acquiesce.
This doctrine I deny. The Constitution vests "the judicial power in a
Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may from time to
time ordain and establish."  Whenever a suit is commenced and prosecuted in the Courts of the United States of which they have jurisdiction, and such suit is decided by the Supreme Court, as that is the court
of the last resort, its decision is final and conclusive between the parties.
But as an authority, it does not bind either the Congress, or the President of the United States. If either of these co-ordinate departments is
afterwards called upon to perform  an official act, and conscientiously
believes the performance of that act will be a violation of the Constitution, they are not bound to perform it, but on the contrary are as much.
at liberty to decline acting, as if no such decision had been made. In
examining the extent of their constitutional power, the opinion of so
enlightened a tribunal as our Supreme Court has been, and I hope ever
will be, will always be entitled to great weight, and without doubt,
either Congress or the President would always be disposed, in a doubtful case, to think its decisions correct; —but I hope neither will ever view




UNITED STATES BANK.                      105
them  as authority binding upon them.  They ought to examine the
extent of their constitutional powers for themselves; and when they
have had access to all the sources of information within their reach, and
given to everything its due weight; if they are satisfied the Constitution
has not given a power to do the act required, I insist they ought to
refrain from doing it.
Suppose the House of Representatives to have passed an act on a given
subject for a number of successive sessions, and fromn want of time the
Senate had not acted on it, and the constitutionality of such an act to
come before the Senate, would any member think those opinions of the
House, authorities by which he was bound? Certainly not. They
would have due weight, and be respectfully considered, but disregarded
in the decision made by the Senate, if shown to be incorrect. In principle there can be no difference between such cases and the judicial decisions. Suppose the President to recommend ever so often the passage
of an act, which he may think constitutional, would the Senate, the
House of Representatives, or the Courts; feel themselves bound by his
opinions? I think not. Each co-ordinate department, within its appropriate sphere of action, must judge of its own powers, when called upon
to do its official duties, and if either blindly follows the others, without
forming an opinion for itself, an essential check against the exercise of
unconstitutional power is destroyed. A mistake by Congress in passing
an act inconsistent with the Constitution, followed by a like mistake by
the Supreme Court, in deciding such act to be constitutional, might be
attended with the most fatal consequences. Let each department judge
for itself, and we are safe. If different interpretations are put upon the
Constitution, by the different departments, the people are the tribunal to
settle the dispute. Each of the departments is the agent of the people,
doing their business according to the powers conferred, and when there
is a disagreement, as to the extent of these powers, the people themselves, through the ballot-boxes, must settle it. The senator, if I heard him
correctly, has said that the President has asserted that the Supreme Court
has no power to decide upon the constitutionality of an act of Congress.
The gentleman has not attended to the message with his usual accuracy.
No such opinion is advanced, but the contrary one; that each department
within its appropriate sphere of action, has the right to judge for itself,
and is not bound by the opinion of both, or either of the others; and
this I incline to think is the correct constitutional view of the sulbject.
The honorable senator thinks the President entirely mistaken when he
supposes Congress cannot deprive itself of some of its legislative powers.
Let us for a few minutes attend to the view of this part of the subject
presented by the message and then examine its correctness.
The Congress is vested with exclusive legislative powers over the
District of Columbia. It therefore has an undoubted power to establish,
within the district, as many banks with as much capital to each as it




106               MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
chooses.  By this charter it is stipulated that Congress shall  wot establisn
any bank within the district, nor shall it increase the capital of existing
banks.  This, the President thinks, is unconstitutional.  By this agreement the present Congress, and its successors, are deprived of the powers
of establishing any bank, no matter how pressingly the public interest
may require one.  Congress by this agreement will have stripped  itself
of all power to legislate upon a subject during the existence of the charter, when the Constitution had vested the most ample power. Is this
constitutional?   Ought we to be bound by such an agreement for fifteen
or twenty years, and permit the best interests of society to be sacrificed
for the want of a power which the Constitution has conferred, but which
we have bartered away?   The message supposes we are not at liberty
to dispose of our legislative powers in this manner, and therefore, this act
is unconstitutional.  This is certainly a very important point. If we make
such an agreement we ought to be bound  by it, and yet, I think, cases
might occur, in which we ought not to be, nor would we, be bound by
ally such agreement.  The public safety, tile public interest might long
before the expiration of the  charter imperiously  demand the  establishment of one or more banks within  the  district, and I do not believe we
can constitutionally deprive ourselves or our successors of the power to
do so.*
The senator insists, that in many cases, we derive our powers not fromn
* The doctrine in 6th Wheaton, 598, I think fully sustains the message upon this point. It
is as follows:
"In the year 1797, the Legislature of Maryland, among other powers given the Corporation
of Georgetown, enacted, that they shall have full power and authority to make such by lacws
and ordinances, for the gradocation and levelling of the streets, lanes, and alleys woithin
th.eju'risdiction of the same town, as they tmay judge necessary for the beozefit thereof."
In pursuance of this authority, the Corporation, in May, 1799, passed an Ord inance for the
graduation of certain streets.  The first section appoints Commissioners, and authorizes
them to make the graduation and level of the streets.
The second section is in these words: "And be it ordained, that the said level and graduation, when signed by the Commissioners, or a majority of them, and returned to the clerk of
this Corporation, shall be for ever thereafter considered as the true graduation of the streets
so graduated, and be binding upon this Corporation, and all other persons whatever, and
be for ever thereafter regarded in making improvements upon said streets."
A man named Gosler, owned lots upon one of the streets, and made improvements thereon,
according to the graduation made and returned to the clerk of the Corporation. In September 1816, the Corporation passed another Ordinance, directing the level and graduation of
the street to be altered. And the Commissioners appointed being about to cut dowse the
street, by Gosler's House, he filed a bill to enjoin them from doing so.
In the Supreme Court, one question made, was, whether the Corporation had, by the Ordinance of 1799, put it out of their power to legislate on the levelling and graduation of the
streets; and the Court says, "When a Government enters into a contract, there is no doubt
of its power to bind itself to any extent not prohibited by its Constitution. A corporation
can make such contracts only, as are allowed by the acts of incorporation. The power
of this body to make a contract, which should so operate as to bind its legislative capacities for ever thereafter, and disable it from enacting a by-lawo, which the Legislature envables
it to enact, may well be questioned. We rather think, that the Corporation cansnot abridge
ts own legislative power."




INITED  STATES BANK.                     107
express grants, but by construction, and asks how we acquire power to
pass laws to hang those who rob the mail. He says it might be argued
that fine and imprisonment would be sufficiently severe.
To this I answer, that when an express power is granted to Congress
to accomplish a given object, and no means for its accomplishment are
pointed out, then we must, by construction, have the necessary and
appropriate means. In case of the mail-robber, we have the power to
hang, because we have an undoubted power to carry the mail and deliver
its contents safely, and unless those who violate it can be punished
criminally, this granted power cannot be carried into effect; and as
putting to death the man who will break open the mail and steal its contents is a necessary and appropriate means for preventing such acts, Congress has the power to thus punish. But this will not furnish a precedent
for exercising the power to confer upon a bank created, ostensibly, for
public and financial purposes, a set of powers and privileges not in the
least necessary or proper for enabling it to perform any of the duties to
be required of it by the government.
The honorable senator has wearied himself a good deal with a criticism upon the word " monopoly."  He says it is used, at least, twenty
times in this message, and never correctly. That the act only confers
exclusive privileges, and the word monopoly means the sole power of
trading
Mr. President, I do think upon this great subject the minds of statesmen may be more profitably employed, than in close criticisms upon the
definition of particular words; but I am content to take the senator's
definition and insist it is appropriately used. The charter does grant the
sole power of banking for fifteen years to this company. They, therefore,
have the sole power of trading in the manner pointed out in that charter
for the period of its duration.  To make it a monopoly, the company need
not have the exclusive right of trading in everything; the sole right to carry
on a particular branch of business, is sufficient, and as this company is to
have sole, or exclusive right, it appears to me the word is properly used.
The honorable senator fears much mischief may follow from the objections urged against foreigners owning stock in the bank, unless something shall be done to remove these erroneous impressions. He says we
are interested in encouraging them to make loans for public purposes to
the general and State governments, and that heretofore it has been our
policy to encourage them to hold property among us.
Mr. President, this never has been our policy as to lands; the respective
States have, and ought ever to have, the exclusive right to determine who
shall hold lands within their limits. It has generally been, and probably
ever will be, their policy to prevent aliens from acquiring freeholds within
their limits. This policy of theirs, we have no constitutional right to
interfere with. As to our public stocks, I think with the senator,




108           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
foreigners may well make loans to the government, or purchase stock
owned by our citizens. Much benefit may result from this, and we have
no injury to fear. As to our public stocks, foreigners owning them, can
have no agency whatever in creating them or managing them. At the
end of each quarter, the government pays the stipulated interest, and at
the time agreed on, discharges the principal. The holder of the stock,
by no act of his can make his profits more or less. But the case is not
so as to bank stock. Although the foreigner can neither vote nor be
a director, yet he can in many instances have an indirect influence on the
operations of the bank, and by regulating exchanges favorably for the
bank and injuriously for our citizens, can increase the profits of the establishment, and thus benefit himself. Will any gentleman say he is of
opinion that the Barings, who own a million of stock, can have no influence on the profits to be made by this institution? I think not.
Some of the views then in this message, of the manner in which this
stock may, and probably will, be managed by our citizens and foreigners,
are very forcible as they strike my mind.
Under the old charter the bank could not be taxed by the State governments according to the decision of the Supreme Court, but citizen stockholders might be taxed by the States in which they reside, for the stock
which they hold. The assessors in Connecticut applied to the bank in
that State for the names of the stockholders residing there. The names were
not furnished, and the like application was made to the president of the
principal bank, who, by the advice of counsel, returned a veiy polite
answer, declining to give the names, as the bank could not lend their aid,
to enforce penalties against their stockholders. To remedy this mischief
under the renewed charter, provision is made that the names of the citizen
stockholders shall be furnished. The President thinks that under this
renewed charter, the construction will be that the bank cannot be taxed,
therefore, you cannot tax foreigners: but that citizens may be taxed for
the stock they own, therefore this stock will be worth one per cent. per
annum more, to the foreigner, than to the citizen. That, with this inducement, foreigners will purchase out all the stock except enough to be left
in the hands of a few citizens who will thus have a power every year to
elect themselves directors.  That this company thus formed of a few
citizens, and foreign stockholders will manage the institution for their
own particular benefit in time of peace, and that in time of war it will
possess a power dangerous to the government itself. The honorable
senator says the message frequently repeats, that the institution may be
"dangerous " to our liberty, dangerous to our prosperity, &c., but that he
can see nothing dangerous in it.
Mr. President, we must remember that in case of war, this bank, if in
existence, must be our main dependence for raising money, and yet there
is no provision by which it is bound to loan us one cent. Now suppose




UNITED STATES BANK.                     109
It to have existed during the last war, and the stock to have been owned
by British subjects and a few of our own citizens, and those citizens to
have belonged to that sect in politics who were seeking to change our
federal rulers-who thought it wicked to thank God for our victories upon
either land or water-who had sent an embassy to this city to request the
then President to resign. Does any man believe the Administration could
have procured the loan of one cent? Those politicians, I am willing to
suppose, were acting honestly-that they believed the war impolitic,
unjust, and wicked; so much so that they would not aid it with their good
wishes. Does any one suppose that they would not have held it treason
against good morals, to have loaned pecuniary aid? Surely they would.
We must then have been without money, and without the means of
obtaining any. Peace must have been made, and upon any terms, dictated by the bank or by the enemy.
I put then the questions to the Senate, to the senator from Massachusetts, to answer me, if they can see no danger in this state of things?
The honorable senator next recurs to that part of the message which
speaks of the bonus. The President supposes that this is proof upon the
face of the act, that more power and greater privileges are conferred than
were necessary for the performance of the public business to be done by
the bank. The senator thinks this small affair is within a nut-shell, and
that shell not worth cracking. That any one capable of taking the view
of a statesman would have seen that the other powers were necessary to
make a bank of any use for public or private purposes.
Mr. President, I have endeavored to expand my mind so as to take this
enlarged view of the subject, and what I find is, that the advocates of
this bank, upon the plea that the bank is necessary for the fiscal concerns
of the government, wish, by construction, to acquire the power to create
a bank, and having thus possessed themselves of the power, wish to use
it, so as to confer powers not in any degree necessary for a bank to possess, to enable it to do all which the government may wish to have done:
but through which the stockholders may enrich themselves and their
friends, and acquire an influence greater than the government itself, and
control all our political concerns, in such manner, as to gratify their
ambition and promote their interests to any extent they may wish. In
short, it appears to me, that in creating the bank, the pretence is, through
it to do the public business, and as soon as created, the public business is
a mere insignificant incident, and private emolument without limit, is the
main object.
But it is said, we have the President's project for a bank. It is to be
one without money, without credit, and to do no business.
Others, before the honorable senator, have supposed the President to
mean any sort of bank, that could be most easily turned into ridicule. I
do not know when the honorable member has seen the project of which




110           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
he speaks. I have never seen or heard of any such thing from the President.
The senator seems to suppose the President's fears upon the subject of
the States not being allowed to impose a tax entirely too great.
How stands this matter? The Supreme Court has decided that the
States cannot tax the bank. This charter imposes no condition upon the
bank that it shall pay any tax to any State, and provides a mode by which
resident stockholders may be taxed for their stock. What then will be the
construction under this renewed charter? No man can doubt it. As no
provision is made, no tax can be collected. I hold that in every State
where a branch is situated-as the State laws must protect the persons
who manage the affairs of this corporation, and must protect the property
within their limits, it is strictly j.ust that a reasonable tax should be paid
for this protection.
All this might have been easily provided for. Although Congress cannot confer upon a State the power of taxation, it certainly can impose a
condition upon this corporation, that it shall pay a tax or the charter be
forfeited. As no such condition is imposed, the States must lose the tax,
under the decision of the Supreme Court. I take the liberty of saying
further, that the reasoning in that case, if correct and carried out, will
produce a class of persons exempt from taxation that would be highly inconvenient. The principle established is, that the bank is necessary for the
federal government. That the State government is an adversary power,
and if allowed the power to tax, could tax so heavily as to exclude the
bank and branches from the States. Carry out the same principle, and
you must exempt from State taxation the houses and the property, of
every other federal officer of every grade.  If the bank is necessary
to the United States in an individual State, and that State cannot tax it,
because it may, by taxing, exclude it, I ask, are not federal judges necessary-marshals, clerks, collectors, and a host of officers? Why shall the
States tax them or their property? They may be taxed out of the States
by this adversary power, and, therefore, they must be freed fiom taxation. I am not prepared to yield my assent to a doctrine leading to such
a result. The President must be right in wishing to preserve for the
States all the powers of taxation, which they have not in express terms
surrendered in the Constitution; these are few. He says, imports and
exports. The objects of taxation are only limited by their discretionpersons, and property of every description, real and personal, corporeal
and incorporeal, with the exception mentioned, are, and of right ought
to be, liable to State taxation; yet, under the charter, they will be deprived of it for want of some such provision as it was attempted to introduce here, and was rejected.
The honorable member has alluded to that part of the message which
speaks of the investigation of the bank being unwillingly yielded, and at




UNITED STATES B3ANK.                    1 ll
the same time, lie says, as it does not allude to this branch of the legis.
lature, we cannot notice it.
Sir, is not the statement true? Was not the creation of a committee
opposed? The bank had its agents here no doubt. Gentlemen of the
House, confiding in the statements of the agents, thought the investigation useless, therefore they opposed it,  It owas unwillingly yielded.
Who is blamed for this in the message? Not the House-not the members of the Hiouse —let any candid mind examine the whole paragraph,
and he must see, it is those who applied for a renewal of the charter, and
persisted in the application after this limited and unsatisfactory examination. The honorable senator thinks the message is unfortunate, in ascribing' to the patriots of the Revolution the spirit of compromise, which
ought not to be imitated. Mr. President, if the message did read as the
senator has read it, it would have been substantially correct. The lead-.
ing patriots of the Revolution, were the leading men in framing and
adopting the Constitution; and, it is the spirit of compromise, which
these men manifested in adopting the Constitution, which we are called
upon to imitate-not that displayed during the Revolution in fighting the
enemy-but the paragraph was misread by the senator, no doubt unintentionally, and furnishes no color, when correctly read, for the criticism
we have heard upon it.
It has been argued, that it is strang9 the message should intimate that
the executive ought to have been called upon for a draft of the project
of a bank. I submit, Mr. President, that it is not at all strange. In every
instance, heretofore, the bank projects have proceeded from the treasury,
and so they ought. Although the bank established in General Washington's day may have been the best that could be devised, as things then
were; yet, the increase of population-numnerous changes in almost every
thing-might make it a very unsuitable plan at this time. The Secretary
of the Treasury, whose duty it is to watch the finances of the country,
asnd the operations of the bank, could better judge of the details proper
for a bill, than any other officer; and now, as in time past, ought to have
been consulted.
Mr. President: —In submitting this message, one of the highest duties
of the Chief Magistrate has been performed. Under peculiar and trying
circumnstances, he has given his sentiments, plainly, and frankly, as he
believed his duty required.
When the excitement of the time in which we act, shall have passed
away, and the historian and biographer shall be employed in giving his
account of the acts of our most distinguished public men, and comes to
the name of Andrew Jackson, when he shall have recounted all the great
and good deeds done by this man, in the course of a long and eventful life,
and the circumstances under which this message was communicated, shall
have been stated, the conclusion will be, that, in doing this, he has shown




112           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
a willingness to risk more to promote the happiness of his fellow-men,
and to secure their liberties, than by the doing of any other act whatever.
That the arguments above set forth were conclusive, may be inferred from the circumstance that Webster, having made the first speech,
after being responded to by Judge White, refused to close the debate.
Judge White writes next day.
The veto message on the subject of re-chartering the bank was taken
up for consideration in the Senate yesterday. Mr. Webster opened the
debate. He openly avowed that this time was selected for applying for a
renewal of the charter, that the opinion of the executive be known, to
the end that if adverse to the bank, he might be displaced at the approaching election. This declaration was followed up and affirled by
Ewing, Holmes, and Clayton, who all spoke on the same side yesterday.
It is no longer a question of doubt, whether the bank is disposed to interfere in the approaching election. We have it openly avowed in the
Senate by the advocates of the charter. Those who are opposed to the
renewal of the charter, have sustained, and will continue to sustain, as
well as they can, the opinion of the President upon the subject.
No one has spoken in support of the message except your humble correspondent. What he said is so inaccurately reported in the Intelligencer
of the morning, that he will be compelled to write out before he leaves
Washington, what he actually did say.
In 1833, when by order of President Jackson, the public deposits
were removed from  the United States Bank, and placed in certain
State Banks, in consequence of which measure the country was
plunged from a condition. of unprecedented prosperity into sudden andl
wide-spread adversity, Mr. Webster, as a means of relief to the commercial community, moved in the Senate, in the latter half of the
session of 1834, for leave to bring in a bill to extend the charter of
the bank for six years, from and after March 3d, 1836. He accomlpanied the application by a speech of great ability, and was followed
by Mr. Calhoun, MI. Wright, and Mr. Benton, each presenting his
own views on the subject. Judge White considered the opportunity a
suitable one for the statement of some of his own opinions relating to
the bank, its management, the conduct of the Secretary of the Treasury in removing the deposits, and that of the President in removing
Mr. Duane.
Mr, White's speech, delivered March 24, 1834, was as follows:




UNIITED STATES BANK.                     113
Mr. President: When a subject of so much importance is under consideration; when topics are discussed which produce a diversity of opinion,
not only as to the powers conferred upon the federal government, but
also, as to the manner in which the powers certainly conferred, are distributed among the several departments; and when our decision may
vitally affect, as well the fiscal concerns of the government, as the pecuniary interests of all classes of the community, I am unwilling to record
my vote until I shall have given some of the reasons, at least, which
lead to them.
I am pleased that the honorable senator from  Massachusetts has asked
leave to introduce this bill; not because I approve of it, but because it
offers something practical, which we can discuss, consider, and decide.
If the bill proposed contained any principle, which, under any modification, I believed we had a power to enact into a law, I would most
willingly extend the usual courtesy of granting leave to introduce it.
although I Iight disapprove all its details; but, in my judgment, its
olbject is to do that which, by the Constitution, we have no power to (o.
The sole object is, to extend the charter of the present Bank of the
United States, under certain modifications, for the term of six years after
the 3d of March, 1836, when the existing charter will expire.
It is said the country is distressed in consequence -of the derangement
of our currency, and the object of this bill is to relieve that distress, by
extending the charter. If leave is granted to introduce the bill, the hope
will be indulged, that in due season the bill will be passed into a law, and
the relief desired be thus afforded. We ought not, in my opinion, even
by our silence, to encourage any expectation, or hope, which we do not
intend to make good.
Entertaining the opinions which I do, in relation to this bank, I cannot
silently acquiesce in the introduction of this bill, without creating expectations which, so far as is in my power, I should certainly disappoint;
therefore, I hope, when I deny the leave asked, my conduct may not be
attributed to a willingness to act otherwise than courteously, toward the
honorable senator who has submitted the motion.
I hold that, by the Constitution of the United States, Congress has no
power -to create a bank, and having no power to create it, we have no
power. to continue it beyond the period limited for its termination.
I wish the Senate not to be alarmed, from a belief that I am about to
weary their patience, or exhaust my own strength, by an elaborate argument to prove the truth of this position.
I am well aware that this question has been repeatedly and ably discussed, in Congress, and before our highest judicial tribunals, and that
many of the most enlightened and pure men we have ever had in public
employ, have affirmed the existence of this power; yet, I consider the
question unsettled. The power has always been questioned and displuted;
8




114           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
It never has been yielded. The decisions are not binding as authorities,
when Congress is called upon to exercise the power. If we are certain
we do not possess it, or it is doubtful whether we do, it ought not to be
exercised.
Those who affirm the existence of this power, do not pretend that in
thb Constitution it is expressly granted, but rely upon that clause of
the 8th section, 1st article, which provides that "Congress shall have
power to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry into effect the powers
expressly granted."  They next say that, by the 5th paragraph of the
same section, Congress has an express grant of power "to coin money,
and to fix the value thereof, and the value of foreign coin, and to regulate
the standard of weights and measures." Hence, they argue that it was
the intention to vest in Congress the whole power over the monetary
system of the United States, and that this cannot be done without giving
a power to incorporate a bank. I admit it was intended to vest the
whole power in Congress, over our money, our currency, but deny that
there is any necessity for a bank to give effect to this power.
By the 10th section, 1st article, it is said, " no State shall coin money,
emit bills of credit, make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, expostfacto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts."  Before the fornlation of this Constitution,
much injury was supposed to have resulted from the power which the
individual States possessed and exercised, of emitting bills of credit;
therefore, this power is taken from the States, by express words. The
federal government has no power but that which is expressly given, as
is said in the tenth amendment to the Constitution. There is no power
given, in any part of that instrument, to emit bills of credit. Since the
adoption of this Constitution, the power to emit bills of credit is extinct
in the United States. The State governments cannot exercise it, because
it is expressly taken away; the federal government cannot exercise it,
because it is not given to it; therefore this evil of a paper currency is
effectually cured. Before the adoption of this Constitution the States had
a power to make articles of produce, or merchandise, a tender in payment
of debts. This power, in some of the States, had been exercised. It is
also extinguished under the present Constitution.
Formerly, there was a want of uniformity in the value of the same
piece of money, in the different States: in some, a dollar was four shillings and eightpence; in another, six shillings; in others, seven and sixpence; and in some others, eight shillings. This was an evil cured by
this Constitution. Congress has the power to "coin money and fix its
value, and the value of foreign coin;" and the power to coin money, in
future, is denied to the States. Thus, uniformity in value is produced:
a dollar in one State, is a dollar, and no more, in every other. Weights
and measures were, and might be varied in different States. The power




UNITED STATES -BANK.                      115
to regulate the standard of weights and measures is given to Congress:
when exercised, uniformity in each State is produced; a bushel of
wheat must be of the same quantity, and an hundred pounds of hemp or
tobacco, must be of the same weight, in each State.
By these different provisions, the whole people of the United States
were intended to be secured, in a uniform currency, a uniform standard
of weights and measures, and the same provisions contain a prohibition
against making anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts,
and a denial of any power to pass a law to impair the obligation of
contracts.
What species of currency then, I ask, was intended?  Metallic and
nothing else. Money coined, and the salue fixed, under the authority of
Congress, or foreign coin, the value of which is fixed by the same power.
Will any gentleman state, that in his opinion, either Congress, or a State
legislature, has a power, under our Constitution, to make one individual
receive from another anything but a metallic currency, in discharge of a
debt due?
The opinion that Congress has no power to create a bank, is, as I
think, very much strengthened, when we reflect where the convention
sat, when it sat, and what was going on in relation to banks.
The Bank of North America commenced business in January, 1782, in
Philadelphia.  It had a double authority, as was supposed, for so doing
— from Congress, and from the legislature of Pennsylvania. In 1785, it
had become so odious, that several counties petitioned the legislature to
repeal the charter. These petitions were referred to a committee, who
made a report, upon which, an act did pass, repealing the charter, without giving the corporators any form of trial whatever. This gave rise to
a most violent controversy, in the course of which there were many
publications. The bank still continued its business, under the power it
had derived from Congress. In 1786, an attempt was made in the legislature, to repeal the repealing act, but this attempt was successfully
resisted by the democrats of that day, headed by Finley and Smilie, and
the confusion continued till the next year, when a limited charter for
fourteen years was granted. Thus we find at the very time the convention sat, and in the very place it sat, the practical operations of the bank
of that day, were considered decidedly hostile to the liberty and independence of the country. Is it then probable that it was intended to
vest a power in Congress to create any institution capable of so much
mischief?
I have looked into the petitions presented to the legislature, and the
report of the committee, to ascertain the objections upon which the
repealing act was founded, and have been so forcibly struck with the
similarity of the reasons then urged, with those since relied upon, that I
must ask the indulgence of the Senate, while I read the report, a copy of




116           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WIIITE.
which is before me, in these words:. "That it is the opinion of this committee, that the said bank, as at present established, is in every view
incompatible with the public safety; that in the present state of our
trade, the said bank has a direct tendency to banish a great part of the
specie from the country, so as to produce a scarcity of money, and to
collect into the hands of the stockholders of the said bank, almost the
whole of the money which remains amongst us. That the accumulation
of enormous wealth, in the hands of a society who claim perpetual duration, will necessarily produce a degree of influence and power, which
cannot be intrusted in the hands of any set of men whatsoever, without
endangering the public safety. That the said bank, in its corporate
capacity, is empowered to hold estates, to the amount of ten millions of
dollars, and by the tenor of the present charter, is to exist for ever, without being obliged to yield any emolument to the government, or to be at
all dependent upon it. That the great profits of the bank, which will
daily increase, as money grows scarcer, and which already far exceed the
profits of European banks, have tempted foreigners to vest their money in
this bank, and thus to draw from us large sumns of interest.
"That foreigners will, doubtless, be more and more induced to become
stockholders, until the time may arrive, when this enormous engine of
power may become subject to foreign influence; this country may be
agitated with the politics of European courts, and the good people of
America reduced, once more, to a state of subordination and dependence
upon some one or other of the European powers. That at last, even if it
were confined to the hands of Americans, it would be totally destructive
of that equality, which ought to prevail in a republic. We have nothing
in our free and equal government, capable of balancing the influence the
bank must create; and we see nothing, which, in the course of a few
years, can prevent the directors of the bank from governing Pennsylvania. Already we have felt its influence, directly interfering in the
measures of the legislature.  Already the House of Assemlbly, the
representatives of the people, have been threatened, that the credit of
our paper currency will be blasted by the bank; and if this growing
evil continues, we fear the time is not very distant when the bank
will be able to dictate to the legislature, what laws to pass, and what to
forbear."
Much has been said of the President's opinions upon the subject of
banks, and his ideas respecting the dangers to be apprehended froln the
operations of this bank..He appears to be maintaining the same
doctrines maintained by the republican people of Pennsylvania in 1785,
1786, and 1787; and, as I verily believe, the same doctrines intended to
be incorporated into the Constitution, and made perpetual by it.
It seems to be thought by the honorable senator from South Carolina
[Mr. Calhoun], that although we cannot establish a bank to make rnoney,




UNITED STATES BANK.                      117
we may, to have a currency, which will control the currency of State
banks. I find no warrant in the Constitution for any such distinction.
[Here Mr. Calhoun interrupted Mr. White, and said he had taken a
distinction between doing and undoing.] Mr. W. continued, and said, I
hope the honorable senator will believe me when I say nothing is farther
from my wish than to misrepresent his arguments. I can have no motive
to do so. The distinction between doing and undoing can have no influence on my argument. This bill attempts to do something, not to undo.
Its object is to continue this charter six years longer. This is an exertion of the same kind of power which was exerted in passing the charter
for twenty years, in 1816. This power is not given by the Constitution.
The honorable senator thinks the wise course is, to look at the circumstances in which we are placed, and adapt our measures to our situation.
This is all true when we possess the power to act; but here the first
consideration is, Have we the power? if we have not, it is vain to
consider how that ought to be used which we do not possess. The
present charter has yet two years to run: if the object of this bill were
now to repeal it, then the doctrine of the honorable senator would be
applicable. With him I would look to the circumstances in which we
are placed, and although I might believe the act of 1816, incorporating
the bank, to be unconstitutional, yet as the stockholders and society had
acquired interests under the act, I would not offend the moral sense of
the community by voting for the repeal; besides, I would reflect that
these rights were subjects of judicial cognizance, and if a mistake were
made here, as to our powers, the courts would protect the rights of individuals; but the object of this bill is not to repeal, it is to extend. It is
not to take anything from the bank, but to continue its powers six years
longer, as the bill now is; twelve years, as the senator from South
Carolina thinks it ought to be. I deny the power to do this. The case
of Louisiana, referred to by the honorable senator from Virginia [MAr.
Leigh], and which the senator from South Carolina thinks so happy an
illustration of his doctrine, with great deference, I must say, does not
appear to me to have any application.
Mr. Jefferson, it is said, entertained an opinion that Louisiana could
not, consistently with the Constitution, be purchased and added to the
Union. It was purchased, has been formed into a State, and admitted on
an equal footing with the other States; and gentlemen ask, will you now
exclude her because it was unconstitutional to admit her? I answer, no.
I would look to the existing state of things, and take no step-let them
remain as I found them. But suppose it had been possible to have
admitted her upon trial for six years, to see how she would behave in the
Union, and when those six years had elapsed, there was an application to
admit her permanently, then we would have an analogous case, and, I say.
the constitutional question would be as much open as it was when sheo




118           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
was admitted for the six years. [Here Mr. Leigh interrupted 3Mr. White,
and said, he desired to know what would be done when Arkansas applied
for admission, and he would, with as much pleasure receive the information firom  the senator of Tennessee as from  any other gentleman.1
Mr. W. continued: In answer to the interrogatory put by the honorable senator from Virginia, I can only say, that when Arkansas does
apply to be admitted as a member State, if any gentleman shall think
it unconstitutional to admit her, we will then examine and decide the
question.
Mr. President: I can find no warrant in the Constitution, for a distinction between money and currency. That circulating medium which is to
be the standard by which the seller and buyer of property are to ascertain
its value, is metallic, to be coined, and its value fixed by Congress; or
foreign coin, the value of which is fixed by the same power. Nothing
else is money, nothing else is currency, by the Constitution.
By the first clause of the 8th section of the 1st article of the Constitution, a power is vested in Congress, " to lay and collect taxes, imposts,
duties, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defenco
and general welfare of the United States." It is argued by those who
maintain the power to incorporate a bank, that it is necessary and proper
to have one, as an agent to collect the taxes, to keep them safely, and to
pay the debts due by the government, in the different sections of the
country. I think a Bank of the United States would be convenient for
these purposes, but deny that one is necessary.
Mr. President, if there were no bank, either State or federal, in the
Union, our taxes could be collected, the money safely kept and paid out,
according to the provisions of law, by the appointment of natural persons. Now we may employ them in preference to banks, if we choose.
There cannot, therefore, be a necessity to create a bank for such purpose;
and if we infer the power to make the bank, because it would be a
matter of convenience, where can any limit be fixed to implied powers?
I cannot fix any. But suppose a bank to be necessary and proper as a
fiscal agent, there are State banks —why not employ them?  It is said
that, as these banks are not created by Congress, we cannot have any
control over them. This I deny; we will have all the control over them
which we ought to have. The custom of the United States, as depositors,
will always be sufficient to ensure fidelity in collection, safe-keeping, and
disbursements of your money; and these are the only uses we have for
such-agents. Whenever it is believed one is about to act in bad faith,
dismiss it. This we will always have a power to do; and a fear that this
power will be exercised, will procure fidelity. Your power will always
be sufficient for every salutary purpose: seldom, if ever, sufficient to be
productive of mischief. Suppose a bank employed in each State, over
which we have no control, except what our deposits would give: there




UNITED STATES BANK.                      119
would then be twenty-four banks, governed by directors, created under
the authority of the respective States; accountable to them; and each
independent of every other. How could the United States procure a
concert of action among them, for any unworthy purpose? Corrupting
one would be no advantage in attaining the object. All must be corrupted, the moment the attempt was made-and one honest man found
in any one board, the whole plan would be exposed, and its authors held
up to public contempt and scorn. A bank, created by the United States,
accountable to them, having the use of all your money, and managed by
a mnajority of a board, composed of seven men, is in a very different situation. The pecuniary influence you would have, would be much greater
— the number of men necessary to corrupt, would be so small, that the
danger of improper influence is increased to an alarming extent.
But it is said the very admission that Congress may employ State banks,
as fiscal agents, is an admission of the power to create a bank, for the same
purpose. This, I think, is not so. You may wish an artificial person to
perform a particular service for you —you may find artificial persons already
made, that can perform these services-there cannot therefore be any
necessity that you should create one, simply that you may employ him in
preference.
What is the real difficulty and struggle here? It is not that we create
a bank to have a fiscal agent. No. The real struggle is to keep in
existence a commercial bank, for commercial purposes. It is dismissed
by the excutive from its fiscal agency, and yet it continues, endowed with
powers sufficient to embarrass all commercial transactions.
The truth is, that upon a supposed necessity for a bank as a fiscal agent,
one was created in 1816, endowed with powers for the most extensive
commercial uses, and instead of the duties of a fiscal agent being its main,
or principal business, its leading, its general, its profitable, and almost
constant employ is unconneted with this agency, and its business is
devoted, almost exclusively, to other purposes. The business of a fiscal
agent dwindles into a mere by-business, entirely incidental; so much so,
that when these duties are taken from it, we find it possessed of powers and
capacities, almost without limit, for good or for evil, so far as the moneyed
affairs of the country are concerned. This I conceive is a practice under
the Constitution, unsupported by a fair construction of it. I think with
the honorable senator from South Carolina, that these powers are trust
powers, and ought to be so exerted, as to attain the object in vesting the
trust. Now if it be true, that we have a constitutional power to create
a bank, for the purpose of collecting the public money, keeping it safe,
and paying it out, at the points desired, it gives no power to create a
bank, for the purposes of issuing ban/ notes, and granting accommodations to those concerned in trade and commerce, to any extent the wants
or wishes of society may require.




120           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WIIITE.
Again. If it is necessary and proper to incorporate a bank, as a fiscal
agent, which I do not admit, there can be no power to establish such a
bank as this. We can neither wish, nor expect a bank of issues, and of
calculation; all we can possibly need will be a bank of discount and
deposit, and that of small capital. Such a bank would be perfectly able
to make our collections, preserve, and pay out the public moneys; and in
addition to the discharge of these duties, such a bank could, and would
most effectually check excessive issues of paper by the State banks; it could
also grant discounts to a reasonable extent to commercial men, or others;
and likewise by drafts, on the different branches, in different sections of
country, could furnish the means of remittance, to any extent that would
be reasonably required.
Indeed, one on a scale still more limited, would answer every fiscal
purpose.  A bank of deposit and transfer is all that the government
could have occasion for. How then it is possible we can fairly deduce a
power to establish a bank, and vest in the corporation the immense
powers which this charter confers, I am unable to discover; therefore, I
will not consent to use a power which I do not think we possess, to prolong the existence of such an institution, for a day, a year, or for any
other term  whatever.  Holding these opinions, I am not among the
number of those who can ever be embarrassed by the question, whether
the United States Bank ought to be placed in Chesnut street or in Wall
street.
Mr. President, if we had the power to create a bank, I insist it is bad
policy to exercise it as is now proposed.
The objections to extending this charter are, in my opinion, stronger
than they were to incorporating the bank originally. The theory of our
government is perfect equality. Make all safe in every thing to which they
have a just right, and give no one an advantage, by law, over any other.
This we ought, as far as we can, to carry oit in practice. When the act
of incorporation was passed, there was an apparent equality, at least,
because every citizen had an equal opportunity of subscribing for stock, but
if we extend the charter the value of the stock is immediately increased,
and the present stockholders have, by law, a privilege extended to them,
in exclusion of every other person.
But, sir, if I am mistaken in everything I have said, I still contend
the charter ought not to be prolonged. The immediate benefit to be
derived from the passage of this bill is a relief to a distressed community.
To form a proper estimate of the remedy, we ought to have some opinion
of the extent of the disease, and of the causes which have produced it.
I am not among the number of those, who deny that there is any
pecuniary distress. That there is, in mainy parts of the country, a want
of money, and considerable sacrifices because it cannot be obtained, I
verily believe. These sufferings have not yet reached the particular




UIITED STATES BANK.                      121
country which I in part represent: but as all others, as well as my
immediate constituents, are to be affected by my votes, I consider it as
much my duty to relieve the distresses of others, if in my power, as it
would be to relieve the distresses of those I immediately represent.
I will add, that there does not live in the United States, the humnan
being, whose condition I would not gladly make better. What has led
to these pecuniary wants, is a question, on which there has been sonie
variety of opinion. I think it very obvious, that the operations of the
Bank of the United States have been the principal cause. She has not
only refrained from granting the usual accommodations to men in business, but she has been operating the wrong way; she has been curtailing her discounts; this has compelled State banks to do so likewise.
Money then is made much scarcer than formerly. The demand for it is
increased. Under the tariff laws, cash is now to be paid in some
instances where credit had formerly been given. In other cases where
long credits had been given, short credits are now allowed. The long
credits and the short credits have been falling due at the same time.
The bank has caused bills to be purchased payable in the large cities, to
a greater amount than formerly. These different causes have created an
increased demand for money, and the common means of obtaining it are
withdrawn. To these ought to be added the doubt and uncertainty, as
to the result of our legislation, which prevents men of business from
adapting their proceedings to any settled course.
The result of the whole is, the business part of the community need
more money than formerly, and can obtain less. I believe there is suffering and distress, and if this bank is to wind up, this suffering must,
at some period, be increased. If we admit, which I think we ought not,
that the withdrawal of the deposits made some curtailment of her business necessary, on the part of the bank, I do not believe we ought to
doubt but they have been carried farther than was necessary. One
thing, I think, has been clearly shown, by the honorable senator from
Missouri: that is, that no additional curtailments to make the bank safe,
can be necessary.
This bank then is the main cause of this suffering and this distress,
and to relieve them we are asked to extend its powers for six years
longer. Heretofore it has pursued its own interest; will it not do so
again? If its interest prompts to liberal accommodations, they will be
granted, and circulating medium will be plenty. If its objects can be
better accomplished by withdrawing accommodations, and lessening the
circulating medium, that course will be pursued, and our pecuniary
sufferings and distresses will again return. I have no confidence in such
a remedy; it will probably be worse than the present disease.
How would the bank employ its vast means, during the prolonged
time? I think just in such manner as would most promote its own
interest, without any special regard to the interest of the community.




122           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
All persons, natural or artificial, dread dissolution.  The natural person
will cling to existence as long as possible; he will lay hold of anything
within his reach, by which he can preserve himself for an hour, a day,
or a week; just so with this corporation; it will use its whole power to
procure a renewal of the charter, after the lapse of the six years. It
will use its means to increase the number of its friends, and to put its
opponents in a situation not to thwart its views. It will extend its
business whenever, and wherever, such a course will aid its prospects;
it will contract its issues, and curtail its discounts, whenever and
wherever opposition to its plans can be put down, by oppression. I
have no idea that the directors now, or at any other time, have engaged
in any scheme of oppression, because they delight in inflicting an injury
upon any one. Corporations, it is said, have no souls, but they are
managed by those who have, and by those who will be attentive to their
own interests, and will use their powers to promote them. Prolong this
charter, and your control is gone; the bank will act as it may think
best; it will, and must, mingle in your politics; its permanency will
depend on displacing enemies from power, and supplying their places
by the promotion of friends. No means will be left untried, to accomplish this object. That it should interfere in politics, is inherent in the
charter itself  It is a partnership between the government and individuals. It is a mixture of political power with money, and in every
controversy in which the corporation can have an interest the bank will
interfere in elections, on the one side or the other. The principles contained in the charter lead necessarily to this result, and we need expect
nothing else. The very object of extending for six years is, to relieve
the community presently, and in the meantime, to see whether this
bank shall be continued afterwards, or some other substituted. HIow
then can we doubt its course, during this period? It will extend its
business first, and contract it afterwards, if success is likely to be
attained by such a course.
If its business is ever to cease, why not at the end of the present
charter? It is admitted the resources of the country never were greater
than now. There is no reason to believe debtors will ever be more able
to pay. We have had distress and suffering for five or six months; if
the charter is prolonged, this must be gone over again six years hence,
and there is no reason to think we shall be better able to meet the
demands of the bank then, than now. The remedy for present distress,
is only a-palliative; the cause of the disease will remain in the system;
it will be acquiring strength for six years, and then break out with
increased violence, and the injury and ruin will be on a more extensive
scale.
We can only form an opinion of what the bank will do in future, by
reflecting on what it has done in time past.
In December, 1829, the Chief Magistrate made his first communica



UNITED STATES BANK.                     123
tion to Congress, showing that he was disinclined to a renewal of the
charter; this was followed up in his messages of 1830 and 1831. These
communications he was bound in duty to make, if he believed the
public good would be promoted by an expression of his opinions, to
the national legislature. The bank, ever attentive to its own interest,
in 1831 began a rapid extension of its business, and early in 1832, had
increased its accommodations to the amount of twenty-eight millions of
dollars, as its opponents say, and as is admitted by itself, to upwards
of seventeen millions. The Presidential elections took place in the fall,
1832.  To me it appears plain that this extension was intended to make
as many friends, as acts of kindness could make. The accommodations
are now reduced from  seventy millions to about fifty-four millions.
Why this decrease? The expansion, or contraction, must have been
too great. The pretence is, that the state of the country required
the increase, when there was an extension, and that accommoda
tions were curtailed, when the state of business justified the reduction.
We all know that there is an error in this statement. There was
no such change in the business of the country, as to justify this
change in the policy of the bank. Friends were to be made by extending wide the wings of the net, with a full knowledge that when the
birds were coaxed in, and those wings contracted, the fluttering would
commence, and an escape from the toils would be sought by almost
any means.
The increase and decrease, were made with a view to the interest of the
stockholders, without regard to the effect upon the customer, or upon
society.
The bank went into operation the first day of January, 1817; one of
the leading objects in granting its charter was, through its operations, to
reduce the extravagant dealings with State banks; to restore and preserve
a sound currency to the country. The directors well knew this, yet they
acted with a single eye to what they conceived the interest of the bank,
and its friends; in place of checking it sti'mulated overtrading. Instead
of restoring and preserving a sound currency, it adopted measures which
in 1818 and 1819, placed it in the power of the State banks, in Philadelphia, to take from it every single dollar and leave it still in debt to
them upwards of one hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars. Mr.
Cheves took charge of the bank, and as President, pursued a policy,
which in seventy days placed the bank in a state of security, but the
curtailments were so rapid, and the withdrawal of the circulating
medium so great, as to ruin society, compel other banks to suspend
specie payment, and again afflict the community with a depreciated
currency.
Liberal accommodations, and extensive issues, had given an appear.
ance of wealth, to those worth little, or nothing. Property commanded




124           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WIIITE.
enormous prices, as this bank had made money plenty; but the counter
current commenced, and in 1819, a scene of wide-spread ruin was presented.  The bank made money scarce; the price of property fell to
almost nothing; those who had been apparently wealthy, were found
to be bankrupts, and hardly any man had wherewithal to pay his
debts.
An individual had, when money was plenty, purchased a house and
lot, for ten thousand dollars; he paid six thousand, was sued for the
balance; the house and lot sold at fifteen hundred dollars; and thus, he
sunk in the single bargain, eight thousand five hundred dollars.
In the principal cities and towns, thousands of individuals were thrown
out of employ, the whole business of the country was deranged, scenes
of misery and distress were produced, to which the present distress and
pressure bear but little resemblance. This state of things was produced,
because the directors managed the bank with a view to their own interest,
and that of their friends, disregarding the interest of that community
from which they had acquired their power. May they not do so again?
HIave we not reason to fear they will, if the charter is prolonged?
[Here Mr. White gave way for a motion to adjourn.]
Mr. White resumed as follows, next day:MR. PRESIDENT: Before I resume the discussion in which I was yesterday engaged, when the Senate adjourned, I must beg permission to call
the attention of this body, for the first time since I have been honored
with a seat here, to a newspaper paragraph, in which my name has been
introduced. I know that my standing here is too humble, and my
opinions of too little value, to make it necessary for me, on common
occasions, to contradict any statement coupled with my name; but considering the excitement which now prevails in some sections of the
country, and the desire repeatedly expressed, for the adoption of some
measure, by Congress, to relieve the community from the distresses which
it is said they experienced, I think it improper to permit any statement
to remain uncontradicted, which is calculated to excite expectations,
which, so far as in my power, will not be fully realized.
The publication to which I allude, purports to be a correspondence
with the New York Journal of Commerce, and is in the following
words:
" WASHINGTON, MARcH 19, 1834.
"At length, we may discern one faint glimmer of light in our political
prospect. Mr. Calhoun has devised a plan for a new national bank on
principles which wholly avoid the constitutional scruples of the Southern
representatives, and which will be generally acceptable. The plan has
been submitted to a number of senators of different parties, and has been




UNITED STATES BANK.                      125
decidedly approved, particularly by those senators who are opposed on
constitutional grounds to the re-charter of the present bank, and who
are at the same time averse to General Jackson's experiment upon the
currency,  It is also unequivocally approved, it is said, by Messrs.
Grundy and White, who are friendly to the President."
Mr. President, what I have now to say, in relation to the matter mentioned in this letter, is, that I have no knowledge of any plan for a blanc,
to be submitted by the honorable senator from South Carolina; that I
know nothing of that gentleman's opinion on the subject of a United
States Bank, except what I have collected from the public speeches
delivered here. The last of those speeches was not delivered until after
the date of this letter. Out of this place in this chamber, I have not
heard from him one word during this session, on the subject of any bank
whatever. Therefore, the whole statement in this letter, so far as my
name is connected with it, is erroneous, and has not the shadow of truth
for its foundation. I have shown this letter to my colleague, whose
name is also mentioned; he has read it, and I am not only authorized,
but requested by him to say, that the same statement which I make as
to myself, is equally true as it relates to him.
When the Senate adjourned on yesterday, I was considering the effects
on society, in the year 1819, of the proceedings of the Bank of the
United States, from the time it went into operation.
The distresses then experienced, and those now felt, are the fruits of
the charter granted in 1816. The patriots of that day, found the country
flooded with a depreciated paper medium, put in circulation by State
banks, and unfortunately, as I think, sought to remedy the evil by the
establishment of a bank. As the United States were to have the entire
mno7neyed power, by the Constitution, and as the States had established
banks, it was believed the United States might establish one also, to regulate the currency. Instead of this, if the collection of the revenue, and
all debts due to the government, had been enforced in money, the moral
sense of the community, the fertility of our soil, and the industry of the
people, would soon have given us a sound circulating medium. State
banks, which had the means, would soon have been compelled to resume,
and continue, specie payments, and those which were unable to do so,
must have stopped business.   The duties upon foreign importations
alone, were from forty to fifty millions of dollars. With the power of,
government exerted in the proper direction, a sound currency must have
been procured, within a very short period.  But bank notes, though not
money, were considered currency, and with a view to check and control
a depreciated State currency, it was supposed the United States had a
power to establish a bank, which should give a sound currency itself, and
compel State banks to do likewise. This word " currency " I cannot find




126           liME~MOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
in the Constitution.  Constitutionally speaking, nothing but money is
currency, and nothing can be money which is not metallic. Bank notes
issued under the authority of the federal or State governments, are not
currency; they are not money, nor can they be made so. They are
nothing but credits used by common consent, to pass as substitutes for
money. Promissory notes, negotiable and negotiated, or bills of exchange,
are as much entitled to the appellation, of currency, as bank notes are.
If bank notes are currency, what will be said of the notes of the bank of
the late Stephen Girard? What of the notes of the bank of my countrymen, Yeatman, Woods, and Co.?  These bank notes are as current as
the notes of the Bank of the United States. A man may set out at New
Orleans, and travel on to Philadelphia, and he will find these notes
current the whole route; yet no charter for a bank was ever granted, by
any government, to either of those gentlemen. These notes are nothing
but credits; they pass in place of money, by common consent, and so do
the other bank notes. The only thing that gives them  currency is the
confidence, that whenever the holder wishes  ioney for them, and will
apply for it, at the place specified for payment, the makers will be found
able and willing to pay the specie, and lift them. Nothing can prevent
them fiom depreciation but this confidence.
iMr. President, I know of whom I speak, and I know among them alre
men, who have the highest claims to our confidence, which purity of
motive and strength of intellect can give; yet I must be permitted to say,
I think the distinction then taken, and acted upon, by granting this
charter, between money and cutrrency, has no warrant in the Constitution.
I think the bank then created in consequence of that distinction, an excrescence, which has grown out of an erroneous construction.' This bank
is a political cancer, the roots and fibres of which have ramified themselves through all society, and we might as well hope to tear from the
human body, the cancer there formed, as to expect to remove from the
body politic, this bank, without causing pain and suffering.
It is due, I think, to this subject, that we should permit our minds to
recur to the situation in which we were placed, as to our currency, when
this act of incorporation was passed, and the causes which led to the
state of things which then existed. War had been declared in 1812,
without any pecuniary preparation, to meet the extraordinary calls which
the prosecuting of the war could not fail to produce. So far from this,
the conduct of some of the European powers had driven our government
into a series of restrictive measures, which so much embarrassed our commercial operations, as to produce distresses and complaints, which were
laid before Congress in the strongest.erms. Out of Congress, these measures were reprobated in terms of great bitterness. The measures of the
then Administration, were represented as ruinous to the commerce of the
country; it was said we were truckling to a foreign power; that there




IUNITED STATrES BANK.                    127
was no mode of maintaining the honor of the country, but by a declaration of war, and that the Administration was so pusillanimous, it could
not be kicked into a war.
Congress believed there was just cause, and therefore did declare war
against Great Britian. Money was necessary; the treasury had it not;
it must be procured by loans; the opponents of the Administration
employed themselves assiduously, no doubt many of them firom very
proper motives, to produce an indisposition in all who had money, to
grant those loans. The politicians, the presses, even the pulpits, endeavored to impress the public with the opinion that it was immoral, and
wicked, to furnish funds to prosecute a war so unjust, and which had
been declared, as they insisted, from motives most unworthy. This course
of the opposition, stimulated the advocates of the Administration to exert
every nerve, to procure the necessary funds. Individuals and banks made
loans to the full extent of all their means. The banks were soon led to
believe that it was a test of patriotism to be liberal in their advances.
They were urged, nay almost begged, by the Administration, to take up
loans. The consequence was, that the banks extended their loans to
government, and to individuals, beyond the limits which their specie
would justify. Let it never be forgotten, that without the paper of these
banks, a barrel of flour, a load of ammunition, or even a flint, could not
be purchased for your army or navy. Peace was restored in 1815; it
found some of the banks already not paying specie; many others soon
afterwards suspended such payments also. This, so far fiom being discountenanced by the government, was most certainly winked at, if not
expressly approved.
A depreciation in the value of the notes of these banks was the necessary consequence of suspending specie payments, and the same political
party, which declared the war, still constituted the majority, and endeavored to devise some plan to restore a sound currency to the country.
The plan devised was the instrumentality of this bank. The object was
not gain to the stockholders, but the high purpose of regulating the currency, through the power of this agent. The government had five directors, and the stockholders twenty, and at the head of the directory, was
placed a man of high respectability-one of so much character, that if I
mistake not, at one period during the war, he acted as the head of three
of the executive departments at the same time.
The bank commenced its operations, and instead of aiming, by a prudent, steady, and wise policy, to attain the object for which it was created,
it united with the State banks, in extending accommodations to individfials, and in increasing the issues of bank paper to a most unreasonable
extent. Specie payments were resumed, it is true. Branches of this
bank were established in several of the States: those established in the
West, with which I had the only acquaintance, were not furnished with




128           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
one dollar of actual capital. The cashier was sent to establish a branch,
furnished with drafts for the public moneys deposited in the State banks,
and with a power to collect the floating capital in the country, by drawing upon the banks in the Eastern cities. In place, then, of aiding State
banks to continue specie payments, when resumed, this very bank withdrew the means of enabling them to do so. In place of inducing them to
curtail, by prudent means, their issues, already too great, they were
encouraged to increase their circulation still more. The immense amount
of money in circulation gave an artificial value to everything. Overtrading was carried to such an extent, that all idea of the true standing
and credit of men, in society, was lost sight of. Cities were improved,
and villages sprung up, as if by enchantment; each little town was furnished with more merchants than were sufficient to have done the
business of the whole country in which it was situated. This artificial
state of things could not last. As soon as there was a demand for specie,
the counter-current commenced. The United States Bank began a rapid
curtailment, to save itself from open bankruptcy; it broke up State banks
and individual customers. The State banks broke up their customers;
many of them  were forced to suspend again specie payments, and a
depreciated currency was imposed upon the community. Some of the
State banks never afterwards resumed specie payments; and a sound
currency was not again restored to the country until from 1824 to 1826.
Where, in 1817 and 1818 there appeared nothing but wealth, prosperity,
and comfort, in 1819, 1820, and for some time after, there was one scene
of pressure, distress, bankruptcy, and ruin. And all this grew out of the
incorporation of this bank, and transferring to it the power of regulatinz
the currency. The country was flooded with a paper currency when it
suited the bank to make property high; and the whole circulating medium
was withdrawn, when it was the interest of the bank to reduce property
in value. What assurance can we have that the operations of this bank
will not, again, be directed to individual gain, should the charter be
prolonged?
This bank was vested with its extensive powers for high governmental
purposes. It is admitted that the State banks, generally, are completely
in its power, and under its control. All these immense powers have
been, in some instances, used for the purposes of individual gain, at the
expense of the community. Society at large is unsafe while it is in the
power of a board of directors of this bank to fix what value they please
upon property, by making the common standard of value, the circulating
medium, plenty or scarce.
Mr. President, the conduct of this bank well justified the Secretaiy
of the Treasury in using the power given him by the 16th section of
the act of incorporation, if he thought it sound policy to withdraw the
public deposit.




UNITED STATES BANK.                    129
I will not weary the Senate by travelling over the whole of the reasons
he has assigned for the removal, but will only advert briefly to some
which, to my mind, would be satisfactory.
The bank, as the fiscal agent, violated the trust reposed in it, by not
paying the three per cent. stock as directed.
A summary of the leading facts shows this to have been the case: The
administration determined to pay a portion of this stock, at a given time;
the bank was furnished with the necessary funds, and instructed to make
the payment. Instead of complying with these instructions, it negotiated
with the owners of the stock, to induce them not to apply for payment at
the time specified, but to delay the application for some eight or twelve
months, and promised that it, the bank, would pay the accruing interest.
I contend this was a violation of duty, for which the agent should have
been dismissed. An individual owes another a sumn of money, bearing
interest; he determines to pay the debt, and lift the bond: he furnishes
his agent with the necessary funds, and instructs him to make the payment at a given period.  The agent disobeys his instructions, and
promises the creditor that if he will hold the bond twelve months longer,
he will pay the interest. What ought the principal to do in such case?
I say, dismiss the agent. And it should have been done in this case,
with the less hesitation, because here the agent sought its own interest,
at the time the instructions were violated. The uses, to which the bank
applied the money, yielded a profit of six per cent. And the stock
bore an interest of only three; so that the bank would pocket the
difference.
Again. As I have already stated, this bank was established for the
high purposes of restoring a sound currency to the community, and keeping it sound. The Secretary tells us in his report, that it commenced
rapid curtailments in the month of August, and continued them up to the
first of October; that these curtailments compelled the State banks to,
curtail likewise; that the deposits of public moneys enabled it to accumulate large balances against the State banks, and for those balances it
was drawing the specie; that a continuance of this system a short time
longer, would have compelled the State banks to have suspended specie
payments, and visited the trading part of the community with bankruptcy and ruin.  This state of facts, the truth of which I see no
reason to doubt, furnished two satisfactory causes for changing the
deposits.
Again. One object of vesting this corporation with these extravagant
powers, in trust, was about to be violated. These powers were exerted
in such a manner, as to compel a suspension of specie payments, which
would inevitably have led to a depreciated currency. This was a breach
of the trust, and the Secretary had a right to ward off the mischief, by
withdrawing the public funds, which were the instruments employed by
9




130           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
the bank, for the accomplishment of its purpose. Upon principle, it
seems to me the Secretary had a right to exercise his power to maintain
a sound currency, and it has been abundantly shown that Mr. Crawford,
when Secretary, often exerted the like power to accomplish the same
object. But it has been argued that Mir. Crawford did not claim this
power by virtue of this 16th section, but by virtue of the joint resolution,
adopted during the same session. To this argument by our opponents, I
submit two answers. 1st. It is a mistake to suppose that Mr. Crawford
did not claim this power in virtue of the 16th section. Some of his letters referred to by other gentlemen, show expressly, as I think, that this
power was claimed and exercised in virtue of this very section. 2d. If I
am mistaken in this; and the power was exercised in virtue of the resolution, the same power is still continued to the present Secretary. The
resolution is not temporary, but permanent. It is unlimited as to time.
It authorizes the Secretary to adopt such measures as he may judge
necessary, to procure a sound currency. Of what use would it be to
enable banks to resume specie payments, and afford a sound currency,
unless such payments are continued. The same means, therefore, which
could lawfully be employed to procure a sound currency. may lawfully
be used to continue such a currency. If, then, Mr. Crawford could
rightfully transfer the public moneys to State banks, to enable them to
establish a sound currency, so could Mr. Taney to enable them to maintain it.
Again. If I am mistaken in this, from the same facts another reason
is furnished, which justifies the removal. It is admitted, by those who
put the most limited construction upon the powers of the Secretary, that
he may and ought to remove the public moneys whenever they are
unsafe. They say the power of removal is a trust, and to be so used as
to preserve the fund. Suppose this principle correct, for the sake of the
argument. The Secretary informs us, that the bank was pursuing a
course in the commercial cities, which, if not checked, would have compelled the State banks to suspend specie payments, and have placed in a
state of bankruptcy, the commercial community in those cities. These
same merchants were the debtors of the government upon bond, for
duties constantly falling due; these bonds when taken are always deposited with the bank for collection; the government has the same interest
in its debtor continuing able to pay a bond thus deposited, that it has in
preserving the money from loss, after it has been paid. Upon the principles assumed then, by honorable gentlemen who have argued on the
other side, it seems to me the Secretary might well remove the deposits,
if by doing so, it would protect the debtors of the government from that
oppression practised by the bank, which would have ended in their bankruptcy, and have defeated the payment of the bonds already in possession
of the bank for collection.




UNITED STATES BANK.                      131
I contend, also, that the bank violated the spirit of the 9th fundamental rule, contained in the 11th section of its charter, which is in these
words: "The said corporation shall not, directly or indirectly, deal or
trade in anything except bills of exchange, gold or silver bullion, or in the
sale of goods, really and truly pledged, for money lent, and not redeemed
in due time," &c.
The bank is charged with having interfered in elections, and with
having used its corporate funds, for the sake of defraying the expenses
of publications intended to influence public opinion. The bank admits it
has expended various sums to protect itself against unfounded accusations, and to enlighten public opinion as to the nature and operations of
the bank. By looking into the bank statements it will be found, that
before the present Chief Magistrate came into office, the expense account
for printing, was only a few hundred dollars per annulm. In the two
years, 1831 and 1832, the expense account for "speeches in Congress,
and other miscellaneous publications," was upwards of forty-one thousand
dollars. In the last of those years was the presidential election. There
can be no mistake as to facts; in this case they are shown, and openly
admitted by the bank. The justification it sets up is, that it was attacked
by the President, and that it had a right to defend itself. The resolutions of the board show, that the directors authorized the president of the
bank to expend money without limitation, for such purpose. Now I am.
willing to admit that a corporation may defend itself, by publishing a
contradiction, or giving an explanation of any charge made against it by
any person whatever; but there I say it mnust stop. It has no right, by
any expenditure of its corporate funds, to enlighten, or regulate public
opinion on the science of banking.
How does the bank say the President attacked it? In his different
messages to Congress. These communications it was his duty to make if
they contained his sentiments, and he believed it for the public interest
that these opinions should be made known to the national legislature;
and against such communications, the corporation had no right to make
publications, or cause them to be made by others. If the bank is useful
to the public, if its operations are beneficial to the community, that community and its public agents will advocate its utility. The individuals
composing the corporation, have the rights, and are allowed the same
powers, through the press, or by other means, to defend their interests,
that other individuals have, but they have not the additional right, to
use their corporate funds for the same purposes. This would give the
corporation such an advantage over individuals, as to bear them down, by
the mere force of money. The corporation has no right to use a dollar
for any purpose not specified in the charter, or necessary to give effect
to some purpose specified. The matters, in which the corporation may
trade, or deal, are specified. All others are forbidden. It has no right




132           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
to deal in "speeches," in "addresses" to State Legislatures, or in " mini
cellaneous publications."  If it has a right to expend money in purchasing them, it has a right to make money by selling them. Why not set up
a bookstore? The principle is the same. Nay, worse. The real object
is, to trade in public opinion. Not to buy "golden opinions," but to
procure opinions by the use of gold.
Honorable senators who argue on the other side, say the bank can have
no influence in elections, that there is a prejudice against moneyed institutions, and that, in a canvass, they would rather have the bank against,
than for them. I think very differently. A bank can, and often has a
controlling influence, and the more dangerous, because it is often unseen;
and if ever I should be engaged in a contest for popular favor, I would feel
much more safe with the friendship, than with the enmity of the bank.
The honorable senator from Georgia who has so ably and so eloquently
sustained the course of the Administration, thinks the bank can never influence public opinion, and adduces the result of the last presidential
election, as a proof of the correctness of this opinion. Mr. President, I
admit the bank did interfere in the last election for President; that it
spared no pains or expense, to influence the public opinion against the
present Chief Magistrate, and I admit he was elected by an overwhelmning majority; but I deny that this was any proof that the bank has no influence, on ordinary occasions, where men of common standing, and ordinary services, are competitors. The popularity of the successful candidate, is not of the ordinary kind-it does not rest on the common foundation. His public services commenced when he was yet a boy. At the
close of the Revolution, he was an orphan, without relatives, but not unknown, or without friends. His services and his conduct had already
attracted the attention of some. With his manhood commenced a series
of public services and employments, which have been continued throughout a long life, and one for usefulness, having hardly any parallel. From
these services, the roots of his popularity struck deep, and extended far
among the neople of the United States. They were watered by the sweat
of many toils, they were strengthened by numerous and imminent perils,
until finally, on the plains of New Orleans, he was presented in an aspect,
and his character proclaimed to the world in peals of thunder, accompanied
by blazes of lightning, that at the same time astonished, and drew tears
of joy from the eyes of patriots within these walls. These services embedded him in the hearts of his countrymen, and enthroned him in their
affections. They fixed the conviction in public opinion, that he possessed
a strength of mind, which the eloquence of Demosthenes cannot mislead:
an integrity, which the wealth of Creesus cannot corrupt, and a firmness,
which the daring boldness of Catiline cannot intimidate. Tell me not.
then, that the result of this election is a proof that the bank can have no
influence. In this instance, all ages and sexes knew and appreciated the




UNITED STATES BANK.                      133
services of the successful candidate. You can hardly find a boy twelve
years of age, who cannot tell you something of them. But let a canvass
commence, in which the bank feels an interest; let the competitors be
men whose character and worth are only known to few public me-l with
whom they may have been associated, and we may witness a very different result.
Honorable senators cannot perceive how the bank, through the use of
money can influence public measures. Mr. President, " Money is the root
of all evil." Men desire it, because it stands in place of everything else.
With it, we can decorate our own persons, and gratify the wishes of our
families. With it, we can, as we think, procure almost every temporal comfort. While we are men, it is vain to talk of us as though we were angels.
I can imagine many cases, in which the use of money might have a decided influence on the conduct of men esteemed virtuous and enlightened.
I have no feqr of the influence of this bank, because it will go, or send
others to buy votes, among the mass of the people, by giving five dollars
to one, ten dollars to another, or twenty to a third. No sir. My apprehensions from its influence are of a different description. Two years ago,
this bank applied for a renewal of its charter; you [Mr. King, of Alabama,
in the chair], and I, both opposed it. We voted against it, and used our
best exertions to defeat it. It now seeks a restoration of the deposits,
and an extension of its charter. We came here determined to vote
against it, upon all points, and such we believe to be the sentiments,
and wishes of those we represent. Shortly after our arrival, you are informed that your crop of cotton has fallen far short of what you expected,
and that its price is much lower than you anticipated. You had contracted a debt, say for ten thousand dollars, which you had directed your
manager to pay fiom the proceeds of this crop. Hle informs you the crop
has failed; that your creditor needs, and must have his money. (I beg
your pardon for using your name for my illustration, take my own.)
Here I am, without any more means than will bear current expenses, and
here I must stay until the business of the public is finished. What is to
be done? I must borrow if I can, but from whom? Local banks have extended as far as they dare go, I need not apply to them. The United
States Bank has means, and could accommodate, but I think it will not;
it knows I have done, and will continue to do, all I can to disappoint its
wishes. I make my case known to my friends-they advise me to apply
to this bank; that it does not proceed upon the selfish and illiberal principles attributed to it. I prepare my note, my friends endorse it, and I
make my application. The officers tell me they can spare the money
very conveniently; that they know the debt would be good, but if the
loan was made, it might not in the end be an accommodation; that the
bank is struggling for its existence, against all the influence the executive
can bring to bear-already have the public deposits been removed; there




134           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
is no certainty they will be restored, and if they are, unless the charter
is prolonged, they must be arranging their concerns for its determination;
therefore, if they make the loan, they can give no assurance how long
they can continue the accommodation; that they know I have been opposed to the bank, upon princi2ple, and expect me to continue so, but
that circumstance can make no difference; that it would give them as
much pleasure to accommodate me, as if I were a friend to the institution, provided they could do so. My credit is in jeopardy-I need, and
must have the money; I determine to take it, and run the risk of being
in some way enabled to repay it, when called upon. With the money, I
return with a light heart to my lodging, and enclose it to my correspondent at home, with instructions to lift my bond. My mind dwells upon
the transaction, and I begin to conclude after all, this bank is not so bad
as it has been represented: its conduct has at all events been more liberal
to me than I had any reason to expect. I come to the Senate the next day,
and listen attentively to the arguments adduced to prove, that the President, in removing these deposits, has violated the public faith; that he
has violated the chartered rights of this corporation; that he has usurped
a power not vested in him by the Constitution or laws, and that if such
conduct receives no rebuke, the government will be changed, and all
power concentrated in the hands of one man, who will be a tyrant or a
despot. These arguments make a deep impression; I reflect upon them:
they acquire additional force, and I am sure they would have been satisfactory to my constituents, if they could have heard them; more especially as the question of "Bank or no Bank," is not involved. The question is, " Constitution or no Constitution," "Liberty or Slavery."  My
mind settles down in favor of restoring the deposits; I so vote, and the
deposits are restored. What next? The State banks have extended their
loans, on the strength of these deposits, which are now to be withdrawn.
These accommodations must be rapidly curtailed; these curtailments
produce bankruptcies, and unmeasured distress in society: the funds necessary to protect these banks, against the Bank of the United States, are
taken from them, and placed in the hands of an enraged rival; through
these funds large balances are immediately accumulated against them;
the specie is all withdrawn from some one, and it is compelled to suspend
specie payments: this creates a "panic," which produces a run upon all,
and ends in a general suspension of specie payments. Here is a new state
of things; a depreciated local currency. If we have bank notes at all,
they ought to be of that description, that five dollars here, will be five
dollars everywohere in the Union; neither I nor my constituents, will be
content to handle as money, rags and trash, with a pocket full of which a
man could not pay for his breakfast. Up comes the great question for
renewing or elongating the charter of this bank; "Bank or no Bank,"
and what am I now to do? This is precisely similar to the state of things




UNITED STATES BANK.                      135
which existed in 1816. As a statesman, I must adapt my legislation to
the circumstances in which I find my country. In the like circumstances,
men of the strongest intellect, most cultivated minds, purest patriotism, and unsullied characters, gave up their constitutional scruples, and
for the sake of purifying the "currency," established this bank; for the
like reasons I will lay down my old opinions, and vote to continue it.
The session closes, and before I go home, I call at the bank to make some
arrangement relative to my loan, until I can return at the next session, and
pay the debt. The officers tell ince things have taken a direction, which
they did not anticipate; fortunately public agents have seen the public
interest, in its true light; the bank has had its charter enlarged; its business will be continued, and must of necessity require the services of some
professional man, as its legal adviser and attorney, that it will be considered
a favor if I will accept my note as a retaining fee. Thus the matter ends.
Now, who will venture in the case supposed, to charge me with corruption, and yet does not every one feel, and see that money was the cause
of all these operations through which the mind passed? We must take
man as he is; if properly constituted, acts of kindness will have their influence upon him, and none can certainly say, to what extent they may
carry him. Who can be unmoved, while his "enemy is heaping coals of
fire upon his head," by doing him acts of kindness, which add to his comforts? Few, if any, who are composed of the conmmon materials.
Mr. President: It appears to me that the Secretary of the Treasury,
for the reasons which I have stated, as well as for those which have
been stated by others, and which I have no inclination to repeat, had
the power to remove the public moneys from the Bank of the United
States, and place them in other banks for safe-keeping; and that tile
conduct of the bank justifies the exercise of that power. But, when he
came to form an opinion whether it was good policy to exercise it, or not,
a question was presented, upon which the warmest friends of the
Administration, and the sternest opposers of the bank, might well and
honestly entertain various o2pinions. The immense powers of this bank
-its great capacity to do good, or inflict evils upon this community,
and the unyielding determination it had manifested to procure a renewal
of its charter, if possible, might well make the prudent, the timid, if you
choose, decline its exercise. But the deposits have been removed, and
with me the question now is, is it good policy to restore them. I say
no. I am opposed to prolonging the charter of this bank; I wish its
concerns closed when the charter expires. It is said the country is
distressed. I believe it. The deposits have been removed into State
banks, and accommodations have been extended on the strength of these
deposits. If the deposits are restored these accommodations must be
withdrawn. This will make the confusion greater, and add to the
distresses. The United States Bank is under no necessity, as has been




136          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
clearly demonstrated by the senator from Missouri, to curtail its accommodations any farther at present. If the deposits are restored, the bank
will be under no obligations to grant any increased accommodations on
account of them: if it does, they must be limited in amount, and for
short periods. If the bank is to be wound up it must collect its debts,
and pay what it owes. By restoring the deposits, you put the State
banks in the power of this bank to destroy them, and to compel them
to suspend specie payments at will. This power, I fear, would be
exerted, if it were believed that that was the most certain mode in
which to procure a renewed charter.
The honorable senator from  Massachusetts thinks the deposits ought
to be restored, and the bank rechartered, and that this is an effectual
plan to relieve a distressed community. With the opinions he entertains, his policy is sound. He is correct throughout, and consistent.
If I believed as he does, that we had power to charter a bank, and that
this bank was an essential agent for the government, and its operations
a blessing to the community, I would go with him and say, the deposits
ought not to have been removed; they ought to be restored; the bank
rechartered, and society put at rest. But, believing we have no such
power (and if we had, that it ought not to be exercised), to restore these
deposits, would, I think, aggravate existing distresses, and make "confusion worse confounded."
Mr. President, it has been urged, that if there has been any impropriety in the conduct of the bank, such conduct will find a justification
in the conduct of the Chief Magistrate; that he has been guilty of an
usurpation of power; that his course has been tyrannical; that he has
violated chartered rights, the Constitution of his country, and the public
faith. These are high charges, made with great freedom, and maintained
by distinguished ability. I am not among the number of those who find
fault with this course, on the part of those opposed to the Administration. Our liberty depends on the freedom with which we examine the
conduct of those in high offices. If the charges are not well founded,
making them cannot do harm to those against whom they are made;
and if well founded, society is benefitted by having their misdeeds publicly exposed. The whole of these charges rest upon the supposition
that the President has assumed and exercised powers, with which he was
not vested by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
We are here naturally led to inquire, what has he done, and what is
the nature or character of the power he has exercised.
He has removed one Secretary of the Treasury and appointed another.
He called upon the directors of the Bank of the United States, which,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, he had appointed, to report
to him the manner in which the business of that institution had been
conducted and was being conducted. After he received their report, lie




UNITED STATES BANK.                      137
determined that the public moneys to be collected after the 1st October
last, should not be deposited in that bank, but placed in other banks for
safe-keeping, until called for to satisfy appropriations made by Congress.
The whole power then, which the President has undertaken to exercise,
is neither more nor less than this, that he, as the Chief Magistrate, has
the power to construe the Constitution and laws of the United States, to
endeavor to ascertain their true meaning, and then carry that meaning into
effect, so far as depends upon his own action, or the action of those inferior officers appointed to aid him in the discharge of his executive duties.
It appears evident to me that he possesses this power, and that his whole
duties consist in exercising such powers. He, therefore, has not assumed
or taken upon himself to exercise any power, which, in its nature, he
did not possess. In its exercise he may be mistaken; he may think the
framers of the Constitution or law meant one thing, when they intended
another; but this would only be an error in judgment, if unintentional,
or an abuse of power, if designed: in neither case would it be an
assumption of unauthorized power. In what manner then did he exert
this power   He sought the necessary information to enable him and
the Secretary of the Treasury to form  a correct opinion, whether the
power given to the Secretary, in the 16th section of the act incorporating the bank, to remove the public deposits, ought to be exerted
or not. When this information was obtained, he came to the conclusion
that the public interest required that they should be removed. The
then Secretary of the Treasury came to the conclusion that the deposits
ought not to be removed, and that as he was the officer appointed by
the act to give the order, he was constituted the sole judge, and that the
President had no power to control him. He, therefore, refused to give
the order, and'iefused to resign: the President dismissed him, and
appointed another, who agreed with him in opinion, and ordered the
deposits to be removed. Had the President a constitutional power to do
this? I have no doubt he possessed the power. By the first section of
the second article of the Constitution, the executive power is vested in
the President of the United States. In every government there are two
general classes of power; one to make the law, the other to execute it.
By our Constitution this latter class is subdivided into judicial and
executive. We, therefore, have three great departments:
1. Congress, to make laws, with the aid of the President, upon all subjects confided, by the Constitution, to the general government.
2. The judiciary, to expound and enforce, or execute the laws confided
to that department.
3. And the executive power, which is vested in the President, and
comprehends the whole executive power given by the Constitution, and
not expressely conferred somewhere else.
The whole judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, and such infe



138           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
rior courts as Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish.
The Treasury department belongs to the executive department, by the
Constitution. It has no connection with the power of making laws,
therefore, belongs not to the legislative department.  It belongs not to
the Supreme, or to any inferior court, therefore, is no part of the judiciary.  The only remaining department is the executive, to which it
must belong.
It appears evident to me, that the framers of the Constitution intended
that the executive power should be vested in one head, who would be
bound not only to discharge, faithfully, all his own personal duties, but
likewise should be clothed with the necessary powers to comnpel the inferior officers in the executive department, to perforlm  theirs likewise.
The President is bound to see that the laws are faithfully executed. This
gives him no power over the judiciary. The courts have their appropriate duties confided to them by the laws and the Constitution, and
discharge them independently of the executive.   But all executive
officers falling within the executive department, he has, and n;ust have,
a power to control. The heads of departments are appointed by  iln;
they can only be displaced by him, or by impeachment and conviction.
If the Secretary of the Treasury should put an improper construction
upon a revenue law, and would neither give up his construction, nor
retire, he might defeat the collection of the whole revenue before Congress would be in session, unless the President had the power of removing him. In this very case, suppose the President had believed the whole
of the money in the bank would be wasted before the session of Congress,
and had called upon the Secretary to remove them, and he had refused,
saying, he conscientiously believed there was no danger, and the President had yielded, from a belief that he had no power to remove him in
such a case, and the money had been all wasted. Would any gentleman
justify the President. I think not?  When they conscientiously disagree, one must yield, or retire, and that should be the subordinate;
otherwise we have no executive government, of any practical utility.
There is ore thing in which I think Mr. Duane was right, and that is ill
not giving the order for removal, unless he had been convinced his
opinion against the removal was wrong; but his error, as I think, consisted in not withdrawing.from the department. While he believed a
proper case was not made for the removal, and that a public injury
would be done by the removal, no consideration ought to have induced
him to sign an order for such a purpose. But if the President believed
they ought to be removed, and that a great public injury would result
from permitting them to remain, and his Secretary would neither give
the order nor retire, I think he had the power to remove him.
But, Mr. President, although I think the Chief Magistrate does possess
this power, yet I believe it is one to be exercised with great caution, and




UNITED STATES BANK.                      139
only in cases where he is clearly convinced the public interests demand
its exercise. This point has been so fully examined, and ably maintained by gentlemen who have preceded me, that I will no longer dwell
upon it.
Had the President a right to call upon the government directors, and
to receive reports from them, of the manner in which the business of the
bank had been conducted? Some honorable members have denied that
he had. On a former occasion, I stated my doubts as to their construction of the charter. Since then, I have examined it with more attention,
and am satisfied their limited construction is inaccurate. I will, as
briefly as I can, state the reasons which have led to the opinion I
entertain.
In our examination of the act incorporating this bank, we ought never
to forget, that the very objects of its creation were high national ones. To
restore and preserve a sound circulating mediumn to the community, and to
act as fiscal agent, in receiving and paying out the public moneys. To
accomplish these important objects, there are to be twenty-five directors
to mnanage the institution; five of these were to be appointed by the
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. These
directors are to hold their appointments for one year, and until others
are appointed; and an express power is given to the President to remove
the five government directors, within the year, if he believes the public
interest requires it. By the 1st section, the United States are to subscribe
for seventy thousand shares, equal to seven millions of dollars, which is
one fifth of the whole capital. By the 7th section of the act, the stockholders are vested with a power to make such by-laws, rules, and regulations, for the government of the corporation, and for the management
of its affairs, as to them  may seem proper, not inconsistent with the
Constitution or laws. In the making of these by-laws, ordinances, rules,
and regulations, the United States were to have no voice, no vote. By
the 5th rule in the 11th section, it is provided that a number of stockholders, not less than sixty, who together shall be proprietors of one
thousand shares, or upwards, shall have the power at any time, to call a
general meeting of the stockholders, for purposes relative to the institution, giving at least, ten weeks' notice, in two public newspapers of the
place where the bank is seated, and specifying in each notice, the object
or objects of such meeting. By this provision, sixty stockholders owning
one thousand shares, can call a general meeting whenever they have
reason to fear their business is mismanaged. They can call their directors
to account and examine into their whole proceedings, and make any alterations or regulations they think their interests may require. At this
general meeting, the United States are unrepresented; they have no voice;
they have no vote, they have no person to attend, either to receive, or to
give any information, although they own seventy thousand shares, worth




140           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
seven millions. Is it possible for us to suppose the executive branch of
the government was intended to be excluded from all kcnowledge of
the manner in which the institution was conducted; that the United
States, owning one-fifth of the whole stock, should have no voice in
making lacws for the government of the directors, and no means of knowing whether they conformed their conduct to the laws or not; more
especially that they should have no means of knowing whether the
policy prescribed and pursued, was likely to carry into effect the high
governmental purpose of preserving a sound currency? I cannot think
it possible. Such a construction I must be permitted to say, with great
deference, would, in my judgment, be a severe reflection upon the enlightened men who passed this act.
But if we admit, which I think we ought, that they intended the five
government directors should have an equal agency with any other equal
number of directors, in the management of the affairs of the bank, and
that they should be bound at any time, when called upon by the executive, representing the United States, their constituents, to report to him
exactly the same information, which the private stockholders at a general
meeting might demand of their directors, then every thing is consistent
and reasonable.
MZy construction is, I think, very much strengthened, by the provisions
in the 23d section, which enacts " that it shall at all times be lawful for a
committee of either house of Congress, appointed for that purpose, to
inspect the books, and examine into the proceedings of the corporation
hereby enacted, and to report whether the provisions of this charter have
been by the same violated or not; and whenever any committee, as aforesaid, shall find and report, or the President of the United States shall have
reason to believe, that the charter has been violated, it may be lawful for
Congress to direct, or the President to order, a scire facias to be sued
out," &c. It must, I think, strike every one reading this section, with
great force, that complete power is given to Congress to acquire the most
precise information, to enable it to judge whether the charter has been so
far violated, as to make the issuing a scire facias necessary. In the same
section a power is given to the President, to direct a scire facias, if he
has reason to believe the charter is violated. From what source is he to
acquire a knowledge of facts upon which to found his opinion? Not the
report of the committee. Congress is to act upon it, if any person. It
would be absurd to suppose that it was intended Congress should procure
the information, and not to order any scirefacias, and that the President
should ulpon the same report, direct one to be issued. Congress was to act
upon the report of its own committee; the President to give his direction
upon information derived from some other source, and that source is the
report of the directors whom he had appointed, and had a power to
remove, for faithless or unwise conduct. This construction is farther con



UNITED STATES BANI.                      141
firme(d when we see in the same section, that in the scire facias the facts
which it is supposed have constituted a violation of the charter, must be set
down so precisely, that an issue can be taken upon them, and tried by a
jury. What has been alleged in favor of the opposite construction?
Nothing, except that it is said, the five government directors shall, with
the other twenty, manage and direct the bank. To single out a single
expression or paragraph, and fix the meaning from that alone, is not the
sound rule of interpretation; we must take the whole act, compare one
part with another, and fix the meaning from the context. Or what is
still more correct; we must ascertain the spirit and meaning of the act,
and give it such interpretation as will give effect to the will of the lawgiver. If my construction needs farther aid, its correctness is proved
beyond question, by the debates when the act was under consideration.
Those who opposed that provision in the charter which allows directors
to be appointed, insisted the provision should be stricken out, because
these directors would be "spies," and informers. The friends to the provision say it ought to be retained, because we want these directors as
" sentinels on the watch tower," to give information. By what rule then
is it that we are to say the executive has violated the charter, in calling
for these reports, or the directors for having made them? By none heretofore recognized as a sound one. The true rule is, to ascertain what the
legislature intended when they were enacting the law, and then say, that
is its construction now. My view of this subject is rendered still more
certain by the opinion of a distinguished gentleman from New York, who
was at the head of a most respectable committee of the House of Representatives, in November, 1818. They had given this charter, and the proceedings of the directors under it, a laborious examination, and had
maturely considered the whole subject. One paragraph, in their report,
connected with a proposition of Mr. Spencer, the chairman, shortly
afterwards, shows conclusively, his opinion upon this point. The report
is in these words: " Two by-laws of the bank, seem to your committee
to deserve notice; one of them that no discounts shall be made without
the consent of three-fourths of the directors present," and another, " that
no director shall, without especial authority, be permitted to inspect the
cash account of any person with the bank. These by-laws appear to
render nugatory the provisions of the charter authorizing the appointment by the government of one-fifth of the whole number of directors,
and are different from the provisions, in that respect, by the former Bank
of the United States, although most of the local banks in Philadelphia
have similar regulations. Should a state of things exist, in which the
stockholders should deem their interest hostile to that of the nation, such
provisions as these stated would render the government directors mere
spectators of the proceedings of the board."
The proposition afterwards submitted by Mr. Spencer, contained various




142           MEMIOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
matters, intended as amendmnents of the charter; the 5th is in these words:
"That no by-law of the said corporation, sh4il exclude the directors
appointed by the government, from a full knowcledge of all the concerns
of the bank, and of the accounts of every person dealing with it; and that
the assent of at least one public director, shall be necessary to allow any
discount, and to render valid every act of the board of directors."
By the report, it is obvious the draughtsman and a majority of the
committee, at least, were of opinion that the government directors were
bound to report whatever information they could acquire. Mr. Spencer
believed that the by-laws restricted them too much, and that they ought
to have access to every account in the bank, as well as the private accounts
of individuals, as the general accounts. Why enlarge the field ih which
these directors were to collect information, unless they were at liberty to
communicate all they could collect when required?  Thus then, it seems
to me, the context, the spirit and meaning of the charter, compel us to
conclude, Congress intended the government directors should make
reports. The friends and enemies of the charter agreed that that was the
intention, at the time the act was on its passage, and such has been considered its construction ever since, until this controversy. If the contrary is now settled to be its meaning, and the directors are not at liberty
to communicate any information; if the whole proceedings of the board,
and all the operations of this great moneyed institution, in which the
government has so much at hazard, and which can so materially affect
every interest in the community, are to be kept profound secrets, then I
must be permitted to believe it is too odious, and too dangerous, to be
tolerated one moment longer tllan we are now compelled to allow it to
exist.
Mr. President, I have now discharged a duty, far from pleasing to myself.
It was due to those who sent me, as well as to others, that from my place
in this body, I should state the reasons upon which I expect to rest my
votes.  Having done so, I will only add nly acknowledgments to the
Senate, for their patient attention, after the subject had been so long, and
so ably discussed, as to have left no hope that anything I could say,
would be matter of interest either here or elsewhere.
The following letter, dated the day before the delivery of the
speech, is of some importance as showing Judge White's sentiments
as to the obligation resting upon him in regard to it. The expression
of his sentiments was a delicate task, but one which his constituents
expected him to perform; and he acquitted himself satisfactorily to
those with whom he acted, and in such a manner as to give no just
cause of offence to those who differed from him in opinion.  He com



'UNITED STATES BANK.                      143
mences with some very sound reflections suggested by a dissension
among some of his friends in Tennessee:
The majority of men are selfish; and whenever their plans for wealth
or honor are not seconded by others, their hostility is sure to manifest
itself; but by bearing with them, such hostility will only last until they
see that the object of their wrath has again the power of giving them
assistance. Then, simulated friendship again returns, and all is well.
The life of a useful public man is necessarily one of sacrifices of interest
and feelings. By these sacrifices alone can he live down the daily slanders
with which he is loaded.
On to-morrow, if I live and am favored with tolerable health, I intend
to express some of the opinions I entertain, on the topics* so long and so
ably discussed. In the extensive field, hardly a head is left for the
gleaner; but if I say nothing, the motives of my silence may be misrepresented; therefore something must be said.
I have felt embarrassed, and still do, by the following circumstance.
Last summer the President asked my opinion as to the removal of the
deposits. I thought, with the information I then had, it was bad policy,
and so told him. Although this correspondence was confidential, my
letter was shown to his cabinet, and to others. Thus you see the unpleasant situation in which I am placed, by acting with that frankness towards,
and friendship which I hope ever to feel for, the Chief Magistrate. Thus
situated, I thought silence best became me. Now, we have arrived at a
point where, in my opinion, silence would be censurable. I must therefore present my opinions as they are honestly entertained, regardless of
all consequences.
He adds, with terse sincerity, in reply to a suggestion that his name
should be used for the presidential candidacy in the election of 1836:
There are in my mind two reasons why my friends ought not to think
of using my name as you suggest. 1st. The public do not wish it.
2d. I do not.
Condy Raguet, the well-known financial writer, addressed to Judge
White, March 28, 1834, the following dexterous letter, which refers
to the subject of the bank, and likewise, though very indistinctly, in
the final paragraph, to the same plan.of making Judge White a
presidential candidate in the election of 1836:
Dear Sir: The high opinion I entertain of your public character and
private integrity induces me to address you this letter. Being one of the
* Topics connected with the Bank.




144           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON'&    WHITE.
very few individuals north of the Potomac who entertain a conscientious
conviction of the unconstitutionality of a federal bank, I feel a deep concern lest the course which public opinion seems to be taking, may bring
about a state of things far more disastrous than has yet been anticipated.
I allude to the mania for the incorporation of State banks with immense
capitals, founded solely upon the expectation of having the control of the
public money. These banks, if they should be chartered in various States,
might by combinations be rendered as dangerous to the peace of tile
country as any single federal bank; and it seems to me that all who are
opposed upon principle to the extension of paper machinery, should use
their influence in preventing it.
Taking it for granted that there is not the most remote probability of
the renewal of the charter of the present bank for any length of time,
long or short, or of the incorporation of a new one, during the term of
service of the present executive, and believing that the future happiness
of the country demands that the government should be wholly separated
fiom the banking system in all its forms, I have turned the subject over
in my mind, and have placed on paper the result of my reflections, written
as I would have worded an editorial article. This sketch I enclose form
your perusal. If you think that it contains any suggestions which can be
made useful, it is at your service. If not, be pleased to return it to me,
and allow me to say that as I have no right to intrude my opinions upon
you in such a way as to appear to invite yours, it will give me no umbrage
if you do so without a word of comment. The question at issue is one
upon which honest men widely differ, and as I do not know your sentiments in relation to it, I cannot be charged with rudeness in making
known to you mine. I consider the country to be in a fearful state, and
would be glad to see some firiend of the Administration upon whose
virtue and principles I could rely, bring forward some measure for relief.
I am, dear sir,
With sentiments of much respect,
Your ob't serv't,
CONDY RAGUET.
P. S. —After writing the above, and before the letter was sealed, a
respectable gentleman whom I happened to see, made the following remark. " There are two parties here, one of which would do anything to
put down General Jackson, and the other anything to sustain him. But
there is a third party, and a very large one, who care not a straw about
who is President, but who anxiously desire to see some measure of relief
for the country, let it operate against, or in favor of, whom it may."
This is no doubt true; and the man who should propose in Congress and
carry through a measure calculated to conciliate all parties, by yielding
something to each, would merit, and would receive, the applause of the
whole people."




LETTER TO CONDY RAGUET.                   145
This letter Judge White answered, April 6, 1834, with a noble and
complete statement of absolute political independence, and a manly
avowal of consciousness of the comparatively uninfluential station
which such independence must always necessitate; and with a clear
and vigorous summary of his opinions on the points of the bank
question, as follows:
DEAR Sin:'Your letter dated 29th ult., and the project which accompanied it, reached me in due course of the mail. Other duties have prevented my answer at an earlier day. I feel gratified that my course has
been such as to be approved by one whom I think so well qualified to
form correct opinions in everything which relates to the fundamental
principles of our government.
Nothing could give me more pleasure than to be the instrument of
doing something which would be of lasting benefit to the people whose
interests are liable to be affected by my public conduct. But I feel too
little confidence in my own abilities, and am sure that my hold upon public opinion is too slender, to permit the hope that this can ever be effected
by venturing to become a leader. I do not carry on political or friendly
correspondence with any man living: I have a cordial dislike for everything like contrivance, by which to put or keep any man or set of men
in power. Thus you will see my course is too individual for me to be
useful on a large scale. My whole aim and ambition is to fix in my own
mind the political principles which in my own opinion best accord with
the Constitution, and then to give them such practical effect as will be
productive of the most good.
Upon the great questions which now so agitate the public mind, I have
employed myself industriously, with an anxious desire to come to correct
conclusions, and I give you the results with that candor which I hope
belongs to my character.
I do not believe the Constitution of the United States vests in Congress any power to charter a bank, nor do I think the precedents which
have been furnished are binding as authorities upon this or any future
Congress.
I do not believe the present Congress has any more power to prolong
this charter for even a year, than that of 1816 had to grant it for twenty
years.
If Congress had the power to incorporate a bank, I do not think it
ought to be exercised. Money in large masses ought to be dreaded, and
the fewer hands it is placed in the more it is to be dreaded. If continued,
the executive and the bank, in time, must and and will unite their influence; and when they do, they will endanger our liberties.
I think the President had the power to remove the Secretary of the
10




146          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
Treasury, if he conscientiously believed a serious injury would be the
consequence of his not using the power given him to change the place of
depositing the public moneys.
I believe the conduct of the bank had been such as to justify the Secretary in the exercise of the power given in the bank charter.
I hold that although the Secretary had the power, and the conduct of
the bank well justified its exercise, yet there was another great question
remaining to be decided, and that was, the effect the change of the deposits would have upon society; and if the Secretary conscientiously
believed it would be injurious, he did right to refuse to give an order for
the removal; and the willingness of the President to take the responsibility would not have excused him for doing what he believed to be wrong.
But if the President had formed a different opinion, the Secretary ought
to have resigned.
Although I think the President possesses the power of removal on
account of a difference of opinion with an executive officer, yet I think it
ought not to be exercised except in a case where the executive officer is
clearly wrong.
The deposits having been removed, even if it is admitted to have been
impolitic to have done so, I hold it would be bad policy now to restore
them, unless the bank is to be rechartered.
Against those concerned in the direction of the Bank of the United
States, I certainly have no cause of personal dislike, but the contrary.
Still, I fear any extension of time to close their concerns would be assiduously employed to procure a recharter. We cannot bind such a corporation by any regulations upon paper, any more than Samson could have
been bound by a thread of sewing-silk. An attentive examination of its
proceedings has satisfied me that such construction will be put upon any
recharter, as will best promote the interests of the stockholders.
Your plan is, in my judgment, greatly preferable to any which I have
heard suggested, and I do not discern any objection to it, but my strong
conviction that the time allowed for winding up would be employed for
the purpose of procuring a new charter, as exceptionable as that which
they now have.
I am, however, so much struck with the power of what you advance,
that I am unwilling to return the project unless you say I must do so.
Although I have no wish to conceal any of my opinions, yet I have
such an instinctive dread of appearing in the public prints, that I beg
you to consider this letter for yourself.
In order to the completeness of this view of Judge White's arguments upon the question of the bank, are here inserted, somewhat in
advance of their proper succession in time, his remarks delivered ill




UNITED STATES BANK.                       147
the Senate, April 20th, 1838. The charter of the bank had expired
in 1836. It was allowed two years after that time, in which to wind
up its concern. In 1838, a bill was reported by the judiciary committee, to prevent the re-issuing of its notes.  Judge White, with
consistent adherence to his republican sentiments, opposed the bill,
as asking an extravagant and unnecessary exertion of power, in a case
where there already existed an adequate remedy.  He said:
Mr. President: I do not wish that the reasons for the vote which I
intend to give on this bill should be misunderstood, and therefore I now
address you.
The evil to be remedied by its passage is the reissuing the notes of the
late Bank of the United States, chartered by Congress in 1816. The penalty to be inflicted is that of fine and imprisonment. I deny that Congress has the power to pass such a bill.
Let us examine, for a moment, the principles contended for by its firiends.
1st. MAy honorable colleague has deduced the power from the second
section of the third article of the Constitution, which says, that the
courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction in all cases arising
under the Constitution or laws of the United States, &c.
This clause was never intended to designate the cases in which Congress
should legislate, but the cases which the judiciary Wmight decide.
All cases in which we legislate, whether we have the Constitutional
power or not, the judiciary may have cognizance of. If, because the judiciary have this jurisdiction in all cases, Congress may also legislate
in all cases, there is an end of all limitation to the powers of the federal
government.
This is a more extravagant claim of power than I have ever known to
be set up by any class of politicians.
2d. His next recourse is to that clause in the Constitution which gives
to Congress the power "to coin money and to regulate the value of it," &c.
From this clause he has argued that Congress has the whole power
over the coin, and, if these notes are permitted to circulate, they will put
out of circulation an equal amount of coin, therefore, Congress has the
power to legislate them out of circulation.  I deny the soundness of this
argument.
It is true Congress has the sole power over the coin, but it is not true
that they have, on that account, absolute power over all credits, which the
States or the people may choose to circulate as substitutesfor coin. They
cannot pass any law which will make it unlawful for one man to circulate,
the promissory negotiable note of another, as a substitute for coin. Nor
can they prohibit the circulation of notes issued by the banks chartered
by any of the States.
The circulation of checks or notes on State banks displaces the specie to




148           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
the same amount, and if this argument of my colleague were sound, this
whole circulation could, at any time, be prohibited by Congress.
This claim of power is, in itself, so extravagant, that few have heretofore ventured to assert it. In my opinion, it comes with a bad grace from
those claiming to be States right men, or Republicans of the Jeffersonian
school.
3d. His last resource, to establish this power, is a recurrence to that
clause in the Constitution which gives Congress the power to pass all laws,
necessary and proper, to carry into effect any of the powers before vested
in them.
This argument of my colleague carries us back, and places us upon the
broad old federal doctrine, "that Congress may do any thing which they
believe is for the general welfare."
The republican doctrine is, that this clause in the Constitution, instead
of vesting in Congress any power on any netw subject, was intended as a
limitation upon powers already granted.  Without this clause, Congress
would have been compelled, in many cases, to take power by implication,
or by construction, otherwise they could not attain manyr of the objects over
which express powers to legislate had been granted to them. To cut off
all pretence for assuming powers by implication, this clause was inserted,
and express power conferred to pass all laws necess88cy andpro0per to give
effect to the attainment of those objects, in relation to which express
powers had been granted.
I cannot but think, that he who now insists on the reverse, and still
calls himself a Republican of the Jeffersonian school, mistakes the class
of politicians to which he belongs.  Certain I am, he and I do not belong
to the same class, because I will not take from this clause the power to
act on any new or independent subject whatever. I can only take power
firom it to use the means necessary and aplropricate to effectuate some object, in relation to which an express power to legislate is given.
The honorable senator from New Jersey, who addressed us yesterday,
has had recourse to judicial determinations, to prove that Congress possesses the power to pass this bill.
It appeared to me that those authorities only went to establish, that
where Congress has the power to create an institution, they have the
power to regulate it or destroy it.
If this doctrine is sound, the argument leaves me exactly where it found
me, because I am one of that unfortunate class of politicians who do not
believe Congress had the power to create this corporation.
The honorable senator from  Alabama, farthest from me (Mr. Clay).
supposes we have the power to pass this bill, because the notes thus improperly put in circulation, the United States are morally bound to pay.
I deny that the United States ever were, or ever can be, either legally
or morally bound to pay a single note issued by that bank.




UNITED STATES BANK.                      149
The bank was called by our name, we were stockholders to the amount
of seven millions of dollars, and we were no farther bound to the payment
of the debts of that bank than any individual owning the same amount
of stock, and the very moment we sold the stock we were not interested
in the bank to the amount of one cent.
The cases put by the senator to illustrate his argument, prove that the
name of this bank has misled him.
He says, if a man forges a note or obligation upon the Treasurer of the
United States, he could be punished for forgery, &c.
Suppose I yield that he could, why would he be thus punishable by an
act of Congress? It would be because the Treasurer is an officer of the
United States, and because, if the forged note or obligation were genuine,
the United States must pay the money out of the Treasury.
The persons this bill intends to punish, are not our officers, our agents,
or our trustees; nor are the United States, either legally or morally, bound
to pay one dollar to redeem these notes.
The notes, if re-issued, are thus dealt with, by the officers, the agents,
or trustees of the bank, in which we have no interest whatever, the
United States having sold the whole amount of their stock to the bank
chartered by Pennsylvania.
I think if the honorable senator will re-consider the opinions he has advanced, and give them an application to the facts as they really exist, he
will be satisfied he is maintaining a doctrine too extravagant to be seriously insisted on by any one.
The argument of the honorable senator from Connecticut (Mr. Niles), is
by far more plausible than anything I have heard.
It is this in substance, that we cannot now inquire whether Congress
had the power to charter this bank or not. It was chartered, these notes
were made in virtue of a power conferred by the charter, and it is our
duty to see that society is not defrauded by means of our creation.
It there were no other means of checking the mischief but by our legislation, the necessity of the case would make a man strain hard to find
some source from which he could have power to compel those who are
trustees to cancel those notes as fast as they are lifted by them.
But there is no sort of necessity for our legislation to check this mischief.
How are the facts?
By the charter of 1816, the bank had twenty years, within which to do
business; they expired on the 3d March, 1836. The bank was to have
two additional years within which to wind up its concerns; they expired
the 3d March, 1838.
Before the expiration of the twenty years, the State of Pennsylvania
gave to the stockholders, with the exception of the United States, a new
charters and the old stockholders transferred to this new brlk all thenr




150          AMEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WVHITE.
funds in trust to wind up their concerns; in other words, in trust to collect all the debts due to the old bank, and to pay all the debts it owed.
Now I am very clear in the opinion that whenever the trustee, witk
the funds of the old bank, lifted any of its notes, it was a duty to cancel
them, and if, instead of doing so, the trustee re-issued them, it was a
breach of trust, and upon an application to a court of chancery, by any
one having an interest, I have no doubt a decree would be made to restrain the re-issue, and to compel the trustee to cancel the notes as fast as
lifted with the trustfundcs.
Where then is the necessity for Congress to exert the power to check a
mischief for which there is a clear, unembarrassed, and adequate remedy?
There can be none as I think. There certainly is none to protect any interest of the United States. They never had any interest in this new bank,
and they have none in the old, because under an act of Congress our seven
millions of stock were sold to the new bank, receipted for, and as fast as
the installments have fallen due, according to the contract, they have bwh
punctually paid.
There, therefore, as it seems to me, can be no necessity or propriety
in deriving the power claimed from the necessity of the case, and there is
the more danger in deriving any power from such source, because every
honest mind is easily misled by it, as the exercise of the power is to attain an object honest and praiseworthy.
But, Mr. President, are not all those who assume this ground, and think
we have no power to charter a bank, assuming a most dangerous and deceptive ground?
I cannot but think so, and with great deference I say, it has appeared to
me, we are likely to commit error by not separating in our minds things
which ought to be kept distinct.
The new bank and the old bear the same name. The stockholders,
with the exception of the United States, are the same in both banks.
The principal officers in the old are the prominent officers in the new.
Hience I have thought we are inclined to view the officers in this State
bank as our officers, exercising an authority derived from the United
States, when in truth and in fact they derive their power and authority
under a State law, and are neither our officers, our trustees, nor our
agents. Their whole power and authority over the affairs of the old bank
are derived from the contract between the old and the new banks, by
which the latter became the trustee of the former.
Is it possible that Congress can derive any power to legislate on this
point on the ground of this contract?
Suppose Pennsylvania had never granted this new charter, and the
stockholders of the old bank had made just such a contract with the bank
of Virginia in virtue of which this latter bank became the trustee, and
there was an allegation that this trustee was re-issuing some of the notes




UNITED STATES BANK.                     151
Instead of cancelling them. Is any gentleman prepared to maintain that
Congress could pass a law to send the trustee to jail, or to have him
mulcted in a fine?
Upon principle there is no distinction between the cases.
The claim of power rests upon the ground that as we inferred the power
to create the bank, when in truth we had no such power, we may assume
any other power we choose to check our own mischief.
I deny this doctrine entirely, and insist that by our own legislation we
can never enlarge our own powers.
Here we have created a bank. Will any gentleman affirm that an
express power to charter a bank is given in the Constitution? No gentleman can so allege. Even those who claim such a power for Congress
have never pretended there is any express grant of power. All agree it
is a power that must be inferred for the sake of carrying out some othei
express grant of power.
Some have said we have express power to lay and collect taxes, and a
bank is necessary as a fiscal agent.
Others that we have a power to coin money, and, therefore Congress
has power over the whole currency, and to keep that sound, a bank is
essential.
While those who deny any such power have denominated it " a vagrant,
crawling over the Constitution in search of a soft place on which to make
a comfortable settlement."
If we pass this bill, in my judgment, we first assume, by implication,
that Congress had the power to charter the bank, and then we infer that
Congress can impose whatever pains and penalties it pleases, even unto
death, to compel the cancelling of the notes.
These powers, I think, we do not possess, and, therefore, I will
not exercise them. I will adhere to what I think the old republican
doctrine:
1st. Show an express grant of power to do the principal matter, and
then
2d. That the means you wish to employ are the necessary and proper
means to be used, and I am ready to act; if I doubt, reasonably, I ought
not to act.
Is there any gentleman who hears me who can say there is no reasonable
doubt in this case?
After all, if we pass this bill, how is any one to find out what
notes were re-issued?  There will be no mark put upon them.
We can only believe some have been re-issued, because we see, at
an after day, more are in circulation than there were on a former
one: but what identical notes they were, society can have no means of
knowing.
I now have one or two in my pocket, but I have no knowledge when




152           MEMOIR  OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
or how they were put in circtlation, nor had I any means of ascertaining,
All I know is that they came to my hands fairly.
Other gentlemen, who condemn my rule of construing the Constitution, may find a satisfactory source from which to derive their power to
pass this bill; if so, let them pass it. All I wish, is, that the principles
on which I act may be understood.




CHAPTER X.
SENATORIAL  CAREER-INDIAN  TRIBES-EXECUTIVE  PATRONAGEEXPUNGING RESOLUTIONS.
THE condition of the Indian tribes was the principal subject which
attracted Judge White's attention, and commanded his most earnest
efforts. The history of this race has been one of curious and stirring
interest to every reflecting mind, and must awaken sympathy in every
feeling heart. Comparatively few years have passed, since they were
sole masters of this glorious land, erecting their wigwams at pleasure,
and ranging free and untrammelled throughout their vast huntinggrounds. By a rapid and singular, but sure process, those tribes
which had occupied our extreme Northern territory were nearly
wasted away, or quite exterminated, by the white man, in his lust for
gain. Nor was the work to stop here. The same influences were
beginning to be felt by our Southern and Western tribes. The heart
of every philanthropist recoiled from the view of the future prospects
of this miserable race; and a desire to preserve and elevate them
gave rise at an early day to the benevolent design of colonizing
them in the vast territory west of the Mississippi. The scheme was
originated by that profound and organizing statesman, Thomas
Jefferson, and had been pursued or attempted without much success
by subsequent administrations. It was anew submitted to Congress
in the session of 1829-'30, and after a most laborious examination
and discussion was sanctioned by that body. Judge White was at
that time chairman of the committee on Indian Affairs. Although he
had in early life been engaged in warfare against them, and although
he had looked with horror upon the scenes of their savage barbarity,
he could not calmly witness their extinction.
His feelings were all enlisted in the measures for ameliorating their
condition.  His plans contemplated not merely their preservation
from the utter annihilation which so evidently menaced them, but tbeir




]54           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
instruction in the arts of civilization, and the communication to them
of the saving influences of Christianity.  When the bill providing
for their colonization was brought before the Senate, though overborne by heavy domestic affliction, with his characteristic devotion to
the interests of others, he rose superior to his private griefs, aroused
all his energies, and poured forth his soul in a fervid plea for the
appropriation to them of a permanent home.  The measure was carried by that powerful effort, and probably no act of his life ever gave
him more pleasure.  His interest in the Indian was deep and abiding.
Its fervor was undiminished to the last hour of his life.  "Almost in
my last interview with him," says the Rev. Dr. Foot, "he spoke with
inimitable tenderness of their having been rescued from  gradual
extinction-of their prospect in the colony-of his expectation that
civilization and Christianity would now prevail amongst them, and as
he described the elevation to which he believed them destined to
arrive, the tears fell from his eyes, and his whole countenance told
his delight in anticipating their prosperity."
Feb. 22, 1830, Judge White, as chairman of the Committee on
Indian Affairs, made a report upon the business in their charge,
which we insert, as follows:
Everything which relates to those Indian tribes or nations with which
we have political -relations, created or regulated by treaties, is becoming,
every year, more and more interesting; especially those relating to such
as reside within any of the States of the Union, or of the territories
belonging to it. The matters communicated by the President, in his
message, relative to the Cherokees, are of the most delicate and interesting character, whether considered in relation to the United States, to the
States of Georgia and Alabama, or to the Cherokee nation. The committee have employed themselves assiduously in their investigation, with
an anxious wish to avail themselves of all the information within their
reach, and desirous to recommend something to the Senate, which, if
productive of no positive good, will at least have the merit of not farther
embarrassing questions already sufficiently.complicated.
With this nation, the United States have formed a number of treaties,
commencing as early as the year 1785, and ending in the year 1819. At
the formation of the first, the Indians occupied portions of territory
within the chartered limits of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Since that period, North Carolina ceded a part of
her territory, on which a portion of these Indians resided, to the United
States; and that territory, according to the terms of the deed of cession,
has been since formed into the State of Tennessee. South Carolina and




REPORT ON INDIAN  AFFAIRS.                 155
Georgia amicably settled the boundary between them; and by an agreement between the United States and Georgia, dated in the year 1802, the
United States acquired the title to a portion of territory, out of which
the State of Alabama, and the greater part of the State of Mississippi,
have been since formed. And now, it so happens, that a part of the
Cherokees still reside within the States of North Carolina and Georgia,
according to their present boundaries, as well as within the limits of Tennessee and of Alabama. Latterly, Georgia, in the exercise, as she supposes, of her'sovereign powers, has extended her laws over the whole
of the State, and subjected the Indians to her jurisdiction. Meantime,
the Cherokees have formed a civil government of their own, entirely
independent of any State, claiming to have a right to do so in virtue of
their original title to the lands on which they reside, and relying, likewise, upon the guarantee of their country, in several of their treaties
formed with the United States. They have called upon the executive to
make good this guarantee, by preventing the operation of the laws of
either Georgia or Alabama, within those limits secured to them by the
said treaties. To this application, the President has replied, that he has
no power to check the operation of the laws of those States, within their
respective limits; that the Constitution of the United States forbids the
formation of any new State within the limits of an old one, without its
consent; therefore, the Cherokees cannot be recognized as a separate
State, within those limits where they now reside; and that, if they
choose to remain there, they shall be protected in doing so, but that they
must submit to the laws of the respective States, at the same time they
are protected by them, and earnestly recommends to them to consent to
exchange the territory where they now reside, for one west of the Mississippi, owned by the United States, and not yet included within the
bounds of any State or territory, where they can be again united with
that portion of their nation which has already emigrated, and where the
United States can, and will, make them forever secure from any interruption from the whites, or from any other nation or people whatever.
To this proposition the Indians have given an absolute refusal, still
insisting on a fulfillment of their treaty stipulations.
The laws of Georgia will commence their operation in the month of
June next. It is easy to foresee the painful consequences which will probably follow, from laws operating over the same territory, at one and
the same time, and flowing from jurisdictions or sovereigns, independent
of each other.
The evil will not stop here; already we are advised that Mississippi
has passed a law, incorporating her Indian population with her citizens;
that Alabama has extended her laws over the Creek Indians within her
limits; and, before long, we may anticipate that the like policy will be
pursued by several other States.




156           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
From the information before the committee, no hope need be entertained that either of these States will change their policy, and repeal
those laws; a period has arrived when the United States have a duty to
perform, which must be discharged, in good faith, to the States concerned, to the Indians, and with a sacred regard to their own high
character.
In the view which the committee have of this subject, they believe it
would be unnecessary, if not improper, for them to offer any opinion
upon the points in dispute between the contending parties; because there
can be no reason to suppose any additional enactments by Congress are
necessary to put it in the power of the executive to make good the
guaranties contained in the treaties, if, in his judgment, they ought to
have the construction for which the Cherokees insist, and his duty,
according to the constitution, would authorize him to oppose the operation of the State laws.
In 1802, Congress passed an act to regulate trade and intercourse with
the Indians, the provisions of which, connected with the treaties, are
sufficiently broad to authorize the executive to give effect to every stipulation, which it is the duty of the United States to perform.
The failure to comply with the wishes of the Cherokees, as it appears
to the committee, proceeded not from a defect in the law, but because in
the opinion of the executive, constitutional objections exist, which it is
not in the power of Congress to remove, by any law which they could
enact.
The difficulties which have actually occurred, were foreseen some years
since, and successive Administrations seem to have been anxiously endeavoring to avoid them; and the only remedy suggested by any, appears
to have been, to provide a country west of the Mississippi, beyond the
limits of any State or organized territory; to have it laid off and divided
into as many districts as would accommodate all the Indians residing
within any of the States or territories; to have those districts so
described, by natural or artificial marks, that each could be known from
every other; and then, by fair and peaceable means, to induce the
Indians to exchange the lands where they live, for some of those thus
described, and to emigrate. Suitable country, as is believed, has been
procured, but, owing to some cause or other, the districts have not, as
yet, been laid off, and properly described. Exchanges, however, to a considerable extent, have been made, and, consequent emigrations from various tribes have taken place. A portion of the Cherokees, equal, as is
believed, to from one third to one half of the whole, has actually removed
to, and settled in, a country well suited to their wants and wishes, west
of the Mississippi.  There is good reason to believe that many more
would have removed before this time, except for various causes, which,
as yet, the United States have not been able to overcome. The principal




REPORT ON  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.                  157
one is, the idea of a separate and independent State of their own, where
they now live. This is the work, principally, of comparatively a few,
who are either white men connected with the nations by marriage, or of
those of mixed blood, born in the nation, who are well educated and
Intelligent, who have acquired considerable property, and, through the
annuities paid by the United States, and by other means, are yearly adding to it. This class of people, it is believed, do not altogether equal one
hundred in number. A very small portion of full-blooded Indians can be
named, who are in the like circumstances, or who have much agency in
their public affairs.
Those who are in public employ have an influence almost unbounded
over the nation. They fill all the offices created by their laws, and have
the entire management of the funds derived from every source. The rest
of the nation may be divided into two classes. The one, owning some
small property, and having settlements of their own, upon which they
make a sufficiency to support themselves and their families, and but little
surplus. Those of the other, comprehending, as is believed, the mass of
the population, are as poor and degraded as can well be imagined. They
may be said to live without hope of better circumstances; they have
almost no property, and seem destitute of the means or prospect of acquiring any. There is very little game in their country. They are without
industry, without information, unlettered, and subsisting chiefly upon what
they can beg, and upon the birds and fish they can procure. A stranger
who travels along a leading road through the nation, or makes but a short
stay in it, will form a very erroneous opinion of the condition of the great
mass of the population.  He has intercourse only with those of the first
or second class before mentioned, and forms his opinions of all, from the
condition of those with whom he associates. It may then be asked, why
do these people refuse to emigrate?  The answer is, those who have
influence over them use every means in their power to prevent them.
They misrepresent the country offered, west of the Mississippi. They
use persuasion while it answers the purpose, and threats, when persuasion is likely to fail. The committee are well satisfied, that every
humane and benevolent individual, who is anxious for the welfare of the
great body of the Cherokees, and is correctly irformed of their true condition, must feel desirous for their removal, provided it can be effected
with their consent.
Other strong inducements for this desire, must be found in the condition to which they are now brought, by the collision between them and
the laws of the States in which they reside.
Although the committee, for the reasons before given, consider it
unnecessary, if not improper, in them, to offer any opinion upon the validitv of the conflicting claims of the parties; yet, it may not be without
its use to call the attention of the Senate to some of the leading facts, and




158           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
main points, upon which the controversy has depended, and must hereafter depend.
The title of the Cherokees must rest upon their original right of occupancy, and upon the treaties formed with the United States.
As to the first, " their title by occupancy," the answer would be, when
the country was discovered, they were savages; and that this discovery,
of itself, gave a right to form settlements, and to exclude all other civilized nations. That is conferred upon the nation of the discoverer and
settler, the right to acquire the usufructuary interest which the natives
had. It would be added, that, at a very early period, tile Cherokees
formed a treaty with Great Britain, by which they gave up their independence, and put themselves under the protection of his Britannic
Majesty. That they took a part with the British Crown in the war of
the Revolution.  That the American arms were employed against them,
and they conquered, when Independence was acknowledged, and the
treaty of peace made with Great Britain.  That this conquest conferred
upon the respective States, within whose limits they were, all the rights,
and gave them all the powers which the Crown had, prior to the Revolution. That this right still continued in the States, and never was
yielded to the United States.  That, in securing these rights, they severally exercised these powers, from the year 1776 up to the year 1785, in
such manner, as, in their sovereign will, they believed to be wise and
just, without any control fiom the United States.
That, although, in the Articles of Confederation, there is a power given
to the United States to make treaties with Indians residing out of their
limits, yet there is, in the ninth article, an express saving to each State,
of all its legislative rights, woithin its chartered limits.
As to the second point, the political condition of the Indians, as established by treaties between them and the United States. The first and
only treaty with the Cherokees, during the Articles of Confederation,
was concluded in November, 1785.
By that treaty, a boundary is established, which allots to the Indians
a great extent of country, within the acknowledged limits of both North
Carolina and Georgia, and over which those States had actually legislated; had previously authorized by law the sales of land therein; a considerable quantity had in fact been sold to individuals, and the consideration money paid to the State.
Against this treaty both Georgia and North Carolina entered their
solemn plrotests, it being, as they alleged, in violation of their legislative
rights.
Not very long after this treaty, the Cherokees waged a war against the
citizens of those States, which continued until some short time prior to
the treaty of Holston, concluded in the year 1791.
This was the first treaty made with those Indians under the authority




REPORT ON  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.                  159
of the present Constitution of the United States, and by it a new boundary is agreed upon, by which the limits before allotted to the Indians
are reduced to a smaller compass.
By the seventh article, "' the United States solemnly guarantee to the
Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded."
On the seventh day of February, 1792, an additional article to this:last-mentioned treaty is agreed upon, by which an addition of five hundred dollars is made to the annuity stipulated in the former treaty.
In June, 1794, another treaty is made between the parties, by which
the provisions of the treaty of 1791 are revived, an addition made to
their annuity, and provision for running and marking the boundary line.
In October, 1798, an additional treaty is concluded, by which former
treaties are revived, the boundary of Indian lands curtailed by another
cession to the United States, for an additional compensation.
In October, 1804, another treaty is concluded, by which more land is
ceded by the Indians, for a consideration agreed upon and specified in
the treaty.
In October, 1805, two treaties are made, by which the Indians cede all
additional quantity of land.
On the seventh day of January, 1806, another treaty is concluded, in
which more land is ceded to the United States; and in September, 1807,
an explanation is agreed upon of the boundary line intended in the treaty
last mentioned.
On the twenty-second day of March, 1816, another treaty is concluded,
by which the Indians relinquish their title to lands in South Carolina,
for which the United States engage South Carolina will make payment;
and on the same day another treaty is made, in which the Indians relinquish to the United States their claim to more lands, and agree to allow
the use of the water courses in their remaining country, and also to permit roads to be made through the same.
On the fourteenth of September, 1816, another treaty is made, by
which an additional quantity of land is ceded to the United States.
On the eighth day of July, 1817,,nother treaty is concluded, by
which an exchange of lands is agreed on, and a plan for dividing the
Cherokees settled: one part to remain east of the Mississippi; another
to emigrate west of the Mississippi, to a country designated in the
treaty; and those who might happen to fall within the territory ceded,
to have an election to become citizens of the United States, and each head
of an Indian family to have a reservation of six hundred and forty acres
of land, to include his improvements.
And on the twenty-seventh of February, 1819, another treaty is concluded, intended to be in execution of the stipulations contained in that
of 1817, in several particulars, and in which an additional tract of country is ceded to the United States.




160           MHEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
These, as the committee believe, are all the treaties between the
United States and the Cherokee nation on the east side of the Mississippi, and within the limits of any of the United States.
In several of them there are stipulations for roads, the navigation of
rivers, and the establishment offerries, within the bounds reserved by the
Cherokees to themselves, and guaranteed to them by the United States.
In virtue of these treaties, the Cherokees contend they have a valid
and complete title to the lands of which they are in possession; and
that they have a right to establish such government, as, in their own
opinion, is best suited to their condition; and that such government is
independent of any of the States within the limits of which any portions
of their territory may happen to be; and that the United States stand
solemnly pledged to protect them in the peaceable enjoyment of it, against
all the world.
On the other side, the States may admit, that, if the political condition
of the Cherokees was to be considered, as it related to the rights and
powers of the United States only, then it is true they are, and ought to
be, a community sovereign, in all respects-those only excepted in which
they had by the treaties expressly surrendered their independence; and
still contend that Georgia was a sovereign and independent State, fionm
the fourth day of July, 1776, a period anterior to the Union of the States,
under either the Articles of Confederation, or of the present Constitution. That, as a sovereign State, she had a right to govern every human
being within her limits, according to her own will, and to dispose of all
the vacant lands, when, to whom, and for what consideration, she
pleased.  That she is still in the possession of all those rights and
powers, excepting only such as she has expressly surrendered. That slhe
never has surrendered to the United States, either by a treaty, or by any
other means, the power to dispose of her vacant territory, or to authorize the establishment of a government within her limits, without her
consent. So far from it, that the ninth article of the Confederation forbids any violation of her legislative rights, and expressly provides that
no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United
States; and that the third section of the fourth article of the Constitution expressly says: iVo new State shall be formed within tile limits of
one or more of the old, without their consent. And the tenth amnendment of the Constitution declares, that even "private property shall not
be taken for public use, without making just compensation."  That, if
private property cannot be taken without compensation, the conclusion is
very strong, that it was not intended to give a power to take the
property which belonged to a sovereign State, under any circumstances
whatever. That she never did give her consent to this disposition of
either her jurisdiction or of her territory; so far from it, she entered her
solemn protest against thefirst treaty formed in the year 1785, as viola



REPORT ON INDIAN  AFFAIRS.                   161
tive of hei rights, and that no inference can be drawn, to her disadvantage, from her silence, or from anything she may have said in relation
to any subsequent treaty; because in each of them a change was made,
by which a portion of her territory and jurisdiction was restored to her,
and thus her condition rendered better than it was under the treaty of
1785, against which she had protested.
She may further insist, that the second section of the second article ot
the Constitution, which gives to the President, with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, power to make treaties, has no application to Indians within the chartered limits of any of the States; nor the
eighth section of the first article, which gives Congress power to regulate
commerce with the Indian tribes. That if Indians can be treated with,
it must be those only who reside out of the limits of the States, and
those with whom commerce may be regulated must be similarly situated; otherwise, that part of the second section of the first article, which
forbids the enumeration of Indians residing within the States, and "not
taxed," will be without any appropriate meaning. That although the
United States may have contracted obligations with the Cherokee nation,
yet they had previously contracted those equally as solemn with each of
the States. That in the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution, the following pledge is given: " The United States shall
solemnly guarantee to every State in this lUnion a republican form of
Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and, on
application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened), against domestic violence."
She may ask, how can Georgia have a " republican form of government," co-extensive with her limits, unless a majority of her citizens are
permitted to prescribe rules, to which all must conform? How will the
United States have made good the "guarantee against domestic violence,"
if they permit a portion of the population within her limits to establish
a government, contrary to her will, with authority to prescribe rules
inconsistent with those prescribed by herself? She may add, that it was
in the confidence that this " solemn guarantee " would be sacredly kept,
that she consented to give tup any portion of her sovereignty, and become
a member of the Union.
In addition, she may urge, that in 1802, upwards of twenty-seven
years ago, she made a contract with the United States, by which they
became bound to purchase any claim which the Cherokee nation, or any
other, might set up to lands within her limits, as soon as such purchase
could be made upon reasonable terms. That, for this stipulation, she
paid at the time a valuable consideration, in lands which she conveyed.
That, after waiting thus long, and seeing for several years past, the prospect of a compliance on the part of the United States decreasing, she had
determined to exert her own sovereign powers, over her whole territory,
11




162           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
in such manner as she believes will be just to her whole population.
That the object of this agreement was to obtain a benefit for herself,
within her reserved limits, and that, if she should fail to receive the
benefit she expected, she will take care not to suffer her condition to be
made worse.
That she is yet sovereign, within her own limits, to every extent she
was when she became a member of the Union, except so far as she
expressly surrendered her sovereignty by the terms of the Constitution.
That, although she is determined to use her power within her limits, yet
she owes it to her own character so to exert it as most to promote the
happiness of every rational being who may remain subject to her control,
no matter what may be his color, or in what language he may make
known his wants.
Alabama and Mississippi may say they were a part of the State of
Georgia, up to the time of the compact and cession, in 1802, and that
they have been erected upon parts of the territory then ceded to the
United States; and that, with the exception of the difference, produced
by not owning the soil within their limits, they are entitled to the
benefit of every argument which Georgia could urge in this controversy.
Should these arguments, or any others, in favor of the States, have the
effect of proving that the United States have not the power to comply
with the stipulations contained in their treaties with the Cherokees, on
account of prior and superior obligations which they had contracted, it
could not, in the opinion of the committee, take anything fiom that character for integrity and good faith, to which they are so justly entitled.
None could suspect that the obligation was contracted with a design to
mislead or to deceive; and while the United States are both able and
willing to make a full and adequate compensation for all that may be lost
for want of a specific performance of their agreement, their faith is preserved as inviolate as it would be if all their stipulations were specifically
complied vwith. Should the Indians continue determined to reside where
they now are, and become subject to the laws of the respective States in
which they reside, no difficulty can occur, as your committee see no
reason to apprehend that either of the States have it in contemplation to
force them to abandon the country in which they dwell; but, if they
determine to remain, and continue to insist on a separate and independent government, and refuse obedience to the laws of the States, the
consequences which must inevitably ensue, are such as the humane and
benevolent cannot reflect upon without feelings of the deepest sorrow
and distress.
If, on the contrary, they should consent to exchange their present
places of residence for a country west of the Mississippi, it is in the
power of the United States to furnish one suited, as the committee
believe, to their wants and condition, where they can be secured against




REPORT ON  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.                     163.the intrusion of any other people; where, under the protection of the
United States, and with their aid, they can pursue their plan of civilization, and, ere long, be in the peaceable enjoyment of a civil government
of their own choice, and where Christian and philanthropist can have
ample scope for their labors of love and benevolence.
Your committee are of opinion, that ample means should be placed, by
Congress, in the power of the President of the United States, to authorize
and enable him to have the country west of the Mississippi, out of the
limits of all the States, laid off into as many districts as may be deemed
necessary for the residence of the Indians, now within the respective
States, with which the United States have treaties; to have those
districts accurately described; and also, to make exchanges and purchases with such tribes, or parts of them, as may choose to remove; to
give aid in the removal, and to contribute, for a season, to their slpport,
at their new places of residence.  For which purposes, the committee ask
leave to report a bill.
A BILL
To provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of
the States or Territories, and for their removal west of the river 2iississippi.
Be,it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatves of the United
States of'America in Congress assembled, ThLat it shall and may be lawful
for the President of the United States, to cause so much of any territory
belonging to the United States, west of the river Mississippi, not included
in any State, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished, as he
may judge necessary, to be divided into a suitable number of districts for
the reception of such tribes or nations of Indians as may choose to
exchange the lands where they now reside, and remove there, and to
cause each of said districts to be so described by natural or artificial
marlcs, as to be easily distinguished from every other.
SEc. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for
the President to exchange any or all of such districts, so to be laid off
and described, with any tribe or nation of Indians now residing within
the limits of any of the States or territories, and with which the United
States have existing treaties, for the whole, or any part or portion of the
territory claimed and occupied by such tribe or nation, within the
bounds of any one, or more, of the States or territories.
SEa. 3. And be it further enacted, That, in the making of any such
exchange, or exchanges, it shall and may be lawful for the President
solemnly to assure the tribe or nation with which the exchange is made,
that the United States will forever secure and guarantee to them, and
their heirs or successors, the country so exchanged with them, and that,




164            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
if they prefer it, the United States will cause a patent or grant to be
made and executed to them for the same: Provided alcays, That such
lands shall revert to the United States, if the Indians become extinct, or
abandon the same.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That if, upon any of the lands now
occupied by the Indians, and to be exchanged for, there should be such
improvements as add value to the land claimed by any individual or individuals of such tribes or nations, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such value to be ascertained, by appraisement or otherwise,
and to cause such ascertained value to be paid to the person or persons
claiming such improvements.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, upon the making of any such
exchange as is contemplated by this act, it shall and may be lawful for
the President to cause such aid and assistance to be furnished to the emigrants, as may be necessary and proper to enable them to remove to, and
settle in, the country for which they may have exchanged; and also, to
give them such aid and assistance as may be necessary for their support
and subsistence for the first year after their removal.
SEc. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawTful for
the President to cause such tribe or nation to be protected, at their new
residence, against all interruption or disturbance from any other tribe or
nation of Indians, or from any other person or persons whatever.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for
the President to have the same superintendence and care over any tribe
or nation in the country to which they may remove, as contemplated by
this act, that he is now authorized to have over them at their present
places of residence.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of giving
effect to the provisions of this act, the sum of     dollars is hereby
appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury, not otherwise
appropriated.
Still continuing to take his accustomed interest in the concerns of
the Indians, Judge White, in relation to the so-called " Cherokee
MIemorial" presented by Mr. Clay, spoke as follows, Feb. 4th, 1835;
IN presenting the memorial and resolutions, the Hon. Senator has
gone into a discussion of the powers of the States, and the manner in
which those powers have been exerted over the Indians.
I do not believe any benefit is likely to result to the people of the
United States, or to the Indians, from such discussions; but as the subject has been introduced, it is due to the States, that, at least, some of
the grounds upon which they have acted, should be brought to the notice
of the Senate.




SPEECH ON CHEROKEE MEMORIAL.                    165
What was the condition of the Indians, within the limits of the States
at the close of the revolutionary war?
The people of the United States declared their independence, and the
revolutionary war in maintenance of that declaration, terminated in a
treaty of peace in 1783. The limits and bounds of the States are described
in that treaty. Each of the States, within its territorial limits, believed it
was free, sovereign, and independent, and that a majority had a right to
prescribe whatever rules they pleased for the government of every person,
of every age, sex, and color, within their acknowledged boundaries.
Each of these States believe they still possess all these powers, except
so far as they have expressly granted to the Federal Government, for the
good of the whole.
The articles of confederation gave to the Federal government power to
regulate trade and intercourse with the Indians, but contain an express
proviso that Congress shall not interfere with the territorial rights of the
States.
The first treaty with the Cherokees was made in 1785, and although
the articles referred to were then in force, the lands allotted to the
Indians included a large portion of the territory of North Carolina.
That State was not inattentive to her rights. She had an agent present
when the treaty was negotiated, and he there entered the solemn protest
of his State, more than once, against this exercise of federal power.
These protests are still on record, and can yet be produced at any time
the Senate may desire.
The next treaty with the Cherokees was after the present constitution
was adopted.
In the mean time, North Carolina had been urged to cede her western
lands to the United States, and one motive for this was, that the United
States would be the better enabled to regulate her affairs with the
Cherokees, it being then believed, they all, or nearly all, lived on
these lands.
In 1789, North Carolina, yielding to these solicitations, made the cession.
The vacant lands, after satisfying all existing claims against North
Carolina, were the property of the United States, who also had the sole
power of legislation. The United States thus owning the vacant soil, and
having the entire sovereignty and jurisdiction, and still believing the
Cherokees resident upon this territory, made the treaty of Holston in 1791.
After arguing upon the boundary between the Whites and the Indians,
there is one express guarantee to the Indians of their lands. This, if my
memory serves me, is theflrst guarantee to these Indians. This guarantee was inserted not by the mere motion of our Commissioner, but by the
express instructions of President Washington. The reason of this is
obvious to me. General Washington believed, at that day, the country
guaranteed to the Indians was a tract over which the United States alone
had the sovereignty and jurisdiction, and that they were the owners of
the soil; that neither the sovereign nor territorial rights of any Sta te




166            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
were invaded by such a stipulation, and that it would be the means of
preventing future encroachments upon the Indians.
We now know by our own executive journal, kept secret until a few
years past, that when the first agreements with the Indians were made,
after the adoption of the constitution, the President himself doubted
whether they ought to go through the forms prescribed for treaties; he
sent a message to the Senate; it doubted, but eventually seemed to have
acted upon the opinion, that the formal sanction of two-thirds of the
Senators present, required to ratify treaties, would be a safe rule, as to
these compacts or agreements, which course has been pursued ever since.
A further illustration of General Washington's views as to the rights
of States, may be given by his conduct in relation to lands within the
limits of New York, which were attempted to be secured to Indians by
treaty. He condemned this course on the part of the agent, and made it
the subject of a special letter on record.
The tract of country, ceded by North Carolina to the United States, in
1789, and which was a territory in 1791, when the IIolston treaty was
made, continued to be a territory till February, 1796, when the residents
framed the constitution, and afterwards were admitted into the Union.
In the treaties with Cherokees, subsequent to that period (and there
were many of them, as has been correctly said by the honorable senator
from Kentucky) the United States seemed te have lost sight of the distinction between their powers over a country, of which they had both
the right of soil and jurisdiction, and one where the States had the right
of soil and jurisdiction, and to have continued the guarantee as inserted
in the treaty of 1791.
The States, however, do not acquiesce in this exercise of federal
power. The same opinion entertained by North Carolina, in 1785, is
adhered to now. They maintain that they are sovereign and independent
communities, within the whole of their chartered limits, upon all points,
where they have not transferred their powers to the federal government.
They maintain that these agreements with a portion of their own
population are not treaties, within the meaning of the Constitution; and
they deny that they have ever vested in the federal government the power
by treaty, or otherwise, with any portion of the people within their lirnits,
no matter whether French, German, or Indians, to take from the State
one acre of its territory, and transfer it to any other people whatever.
They maintain that each State has the right, independently of the
federal and all other governments, to enact such laws for the government
of their whole population, as, in the wisdom of their own legislatures,
may seem best suited to the interest of all; and that in the exercise of
this power, none, out of their limits, has the right to interfere.
If the States are right in the operation of these powers, it must clearly
follow that they alone have the power to judge whether their laws are
adapted to the condition and wants of the people.
Whether the States are correct in the assertion and maintenance of




SPEECH ON CHEROKEE MEMORIAL.                   167
these rights and powers or not, they think they are, and many others
think with them. They have acted upon them, and will continue to do
so, as I firmly believe. Georgia has extended her laws over the whole
limits. Tennessee has, to some purposes, done the same thing, and so
have North Carolina and Alabama.
How, then, are these States to be induced to rescind or repeal those
laws?  Suppose the United States apply to them for the repeal; they
will answer, their laws are approved by their people, they had the power
to enact them, and they will not repeal them. What then? Are the
United States to apply force to compel the repeal? If they do, and such
force is met by an opposing force from the States, we then have presented to our view the most horrid of all spectacles. Armed strife
between brothers, and in the midst of it, what becomes of the Red men
for whose rights this war is waged? They are swept from this state of
existence. When the war terminates, there will be no Indians to be protected by the United States, or by those States individually.
The time has arrived when we must all speak out plainly as we think.
These people, if they remain where they are, must submit to the laws of
the respective States. They cannot exist in the States as a separate and
distinct community, governed by their own customs and laws. Some of
them are civilized and enlightened; they will make useful and respectable members of the community. They may still remain where they are
if they choose. But this is not the condition of the mass of the Indian
population. They are poor, ignorant, and uninformed.
Residing where they now do, certain misery and ruin await them.
If they will remove beyond the Mississippi, out of our States and organized territories, they may be preserved. Then they may progress in that
civilization which has commenced; they can, as freemen, have a government of their own choice; their interests can be promoted, and their
rights protected, by the United States, without collision with any State.
Who now doubts that it is their interest to do so? Few men can doubt it,
who will take pains to acquire correct information, and then duly consider
the subject. I believe the time has nearly arrived, and will certainly
soon have arrived, when there will be but one opinion upon this subject
throughout the country.
The policy of inducing our Indians to remove west of the Mississippi,
did not originate with this administration. As early, at all events, as
1804, it was the policy of Mr. Jefferson. It has been the policy of every
succeeding administration; and during the last administration, it had,
in the then Secretary of War, one of its ablest advocates. The great distinction between this and prior administrations consists in the present
having succeeded to a much greater extent in carrying into effect, what
all, from the time of Mr. Jefferson, desired to accomplish.
The honorable Senator from Kentucky thinks, as the State of Georgia
has shut her courts against those people, we ought to open those of the
United States to them. And if we can, let me ask, Mr. President, of




168            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
what practical benefit will such a provision be? Useless. Encourage
a poor Indian, living surrounded by Whites, unfriendly to him, to com.
mence suit in the federal circuit court, and then follow it here to the
Supreme court, to assert his title to 160 or to 640 acres of land, and by
the time the cause is decided, he and his family will starve to death.
Instead of this, let us encourage them by all the means in our power,
to remove. Every day they remain, the means of the United States to
furnish them comfortable homes west of the Mississippi, are lessening.
Other tribes are going and getting their choice of the country. Let
these be encouraged to remove speedily; provide funds for their removal,
for their comfortable support for a season. Furnish them a permanent
home; guarantee it by all the solemnities which can be deemed necessary, and then faithfully observe this guarantee. Upon these points, if
additional legislation is found to be proper, I am willing to go to any
extent which may be deemed necessary, and which is not inconsistent
with what is due to the interests of the great body of our community.
In a letter to J. A. Whiteside, Esq., dated Sept. 17, 1835, Judge
White furnishes a valuable statement of his views on the Indian question.  In a portion of that letter he says:
I most heartily approve the policy of the present Administration in
removing the Indians settled within the States and territories, to the
western side of the Mississippi; and then settling them beyond the limits
of any State or organized territory, and have given such aid as was in
my power to effect that object.
During the session of 1829-30, the plan was submitted to Congress,
and after a most laborious examination and discussion, was sanctioned
by that body. In that examination and discussion, it was my lot to take
no inconsiderable part, and at that day, those with whom I was associated were pleased to think my exertions were of no inconsiderable value.
Public opiniofi was much divided; it has now settled down in an approval of the plan then adopted. Many treaties have been formed with the
various tribes of Indians, and numbers of them have been actually
removed. Those residing east of the Mississippi, to wit: the Chickasaws,
Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, and Seminole Indians, were the hardest
to convince that their interest would be promoted by a removal. All of
these, except the Cherokees, have at length become convinced, ceded their
country, and have either actually removed, or agreed to do so. The
Cherokees yet remain, and parts of their country are in Tennessee, N.
Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. To each of these States, it is a matter
of peculiar interest that their claim should be extinguished, and they
removed. In repeated instances, the United States have made treaties
with the Cherokees from the year 1785 up to the year 1819, and solemnly
bound themselves to guarantee to them the country where they now
reside. As early as the year 1802, the United States made a compact
with the State of Georgia, in which they bound themselves for a valuable




LETTER ON INDIAN AFFAIRS.                    169
consideration to extinguish the Indian tribe within her limits, so soon as
it could be done on reasonable terms. On the one hand, Georgia has
been pressing for a compliance with this stipulation; on the other, the
Cherokees have been urging a compliance with the guarantee contained
in the treaties. These inconsistent obligations have occasioned much embarrassment. I have mentioned the doctrine, that if no other government were concerned but the United States, they were bound to make
good their treaty stipulations, by securing to the Indians the enjoyment
of the country guarantied; but that Georgia was completely sovereign and
independent within her own acknowledged limits, except so far as she had
expressly surrendered her sovereignty to the United States; that she never
had granted the power to the Federal government, by treaty or otherwise, to dispose of any portion of her territory; and therefore these guarantees to the Indians could not be complied with specifically, but must be
compensated by paying to the Indians the full value of their country
whenever the state chose to assert her rights within her own limits.
This subject I had occasion to discuss at length, in the early part of the
year 1830, and have maintained this doctrine, at all times, and in all
places, when it was spoken of in my presence, from that day to this.
On all occasions I have used everyfair means in my power to produce
a disposition on the part of the Indians, to sell out their claim to the
United States, and remove, and he who asserts to the contrary does himself great injustice, because he asserts that which is untrue.
By those who have latterly been disposed to find fault, it has been
alleged, that winter before last, the United States negotiated a treaty
with the Cherokees, which, if ratified by the Senate, would have put this
question at rest, and that I was opposed to its ratification.
It is true, at the time mentioned, Andrew Ross, James Starr, and some
others, came on to Washington, and there made what was called a treaty;
and it is also true, that instrument was submitted to the Senate for ratification, and that the whole committee, of which I was one member,
reported against its ratification, on the ground that it was not a treaty.
A treaty is a contract or agreement between two or more nations or
countries. To give it any validity, it must have the assent of both
parties. This instrument, if ratified, was intended to bind the United
States on one part, and the Cherokee Indians on the other.
Andrew Ross and his party were not chiefs of the nation; they did not
pretend to represent the nation; they were not authorized by the nation
to make the treaty, nor did they pretend they had any such authority;
and there was a protest signed, or pretended to be signed, by almost the
whole nation, against any attempt of theirs to make a treaty.
Under these circumstances, I could find no principle or precedent
which would justify me in calling that a treaty, which not only had not
the assent of the Indians, but was made against their express wishes;
therefore I held myself bound not to recommend its ratification. I
sought information from the Secretary of War and others, and could find
no one man who could furnish me with either principle or precedent foi
a course different from that which I pursued. It will be recollected,
that during a prior administration, by some inadvertence, a treaty had




170            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
been made and ratified with the Creek Indians, which, upon examine
tion, was found to be without authority from the Indians, and what
were the consequences?  A civil war; the principal Indian negotiators
put to death, and the treaty annulled by the President and Senate.
With a full knowledge of all this, I could not recommend the ratification of this instrument as a treaty, when, in my best judgment, it wanted
the essential requisites to make it binding upon the parties.
It has also been objected to me, that during the same winter, I introduced and urged the Senate to adopt a resolution, requesting the President to negotiate with the State of Georgia, for a portion of her territory
for the Cherokees. It is true, such a resolution was recommended by the
unanimous consent of the Committee on Indian Affairs, of which I was
chairman, and the Senate did not adopt it. I was induced to give my
support to that resolution for the following reasons: — Georgia had
extended her laws over the Indians. She had parcelled out among her
citizens the Indian territory, reserving to the Indians the tracts of land
upon which they actually resided. Ross and the other chiefs petitioned
Congress to make good the guaranties contained in the treaties. Georgia
was pressing to have the Indian title extinguished according to the conmpasct, and one of the senators had introduced a bill, the first section of
which provided that the United States should purchase out from.  the,Indians those settlements which had been reserved by the Georgian laws,
if they were willing to sell; and the second section provided, if the
Indians would not sell, that then the United States should purchase out
from the individual citizens theirjus simplex in those reservations, and
vest the same in the Indian occupants.
These various matters were all before the committee at the same time,
and in addition to this, Ross and his party communicated to the committee a wish, if nothing more could be done, that the Federal Government
should endeavour to procure from Georgia a small portion of her territory,
upon which the Indians might reside afew years, until they could be
better qual'ified for the civil government of the State of Georgia, and
alleged that some influential men in Georgia had assured them  that the
State would be willing to make such an arrangement, and if she would
not when applied to by the Federal Government, that then the Indians
would sell out their whole country and remove.
In this state of things, and under these circumstances, I gave my sanction to the resolutions, without much expectation that Georgia would
yield to the wishes of the Indians; but with a settled conviction that if
Georgia refused, that then the Indians could have no pretext for longer
delaying a treaty; and I yet believe, if the Senate had adopted the resolution, and Georgia had refused, that before this time we should have
had a treaty with the Cherokees. In this I may be mistaken, therefore
Snd no fault with that part of the Senate who thought differently.
During the last session of Congress, there were two parties of Cherokees in Washington, the one headed by John Ross, and supposed to
represent the whole of the Cherokees, the other by Ridge, and said to
represent a small portion only. Memorials from both these parties had
been presented to the Senate, the first, praying Congress to make good




LETTER ON INDIAN AFFAIRS.                   171
their treaty stipulations, and the last, praying provision to be made for
their removal west of the Mississippi. These memorials were referred to
the committee, of which I was chairman. Near the close of the session,
I was informed by the Secretary of War that the executive had been
negotiating with Ross and his party for the extinguishment of their title
to the whole country now occupied by them, and that they had disagreed
as to the price to be given, and that Ross had proposed to accept any
sum which the Senate would say was reasonable, and therefore it was
wished the Senate should give its advice as to the price.
The difficulty at once presented itself, what mode could be adopted to
bring the subject before the Senate, so as to enable that body to express
its opinion. I took the liberty of suggesting that the President ought to
send a confidential message, asking the advice of the Senate, and then,
without doubt, it would be given, as this had been the course pursued by
President Washington and the Senate, prior to the treaty of 1791, with
this same nation of Indians. The Secretary afterwards informed me he
had conferred with the President, who declined sending any message
asking advice from the Senate, and thus it appeared the negotiation must
fall through, as at that time no other regular mode of bringing the subject
before that body occurred to me, or was suggested by any other person.
Much solicitude was felt by several members with whom I conversed, as
well as by myself, that the opportunity of settling amicably a controversy
which had occasioned much trouble often, and serious apprehensions,
should be lost, and in reflecting upon the subject, a mode of bringing
the matter before the Senate presented itself to my mind, which was
satisfactory. I stated it to the committee; they concurred in it; Mwe
brought the case before the Senate, and it aided in the adoption of a resolution which you have seen published.
Any statement or suggestion which has been made, that either publicly or privately I have said or done anything since being a member of
the Senate, with a view, in any respect, to delay or defeat a treaty with
the Cherokees, is entirely erroneous; my best exertions have, at all
times, been used to effect that object, and when the resolution, just
alluded to, was adopted, I felt that my task was finished, and that a
treaty would be the immediate consequence. If it fails, the fault ought
not to be placed to my account.
In 1826, soon after his entrance into political life, Judge White, in
common with the whole party of which Gen. Jackson became the
head, and in conformity to the declarations of that leader, was an
avowed enemy to the existing system of executive patronage, and the
class of measures naturally resulting from  it.  In 1833, upon the
receipt of Mr. Calhoun's report (from the select committee appointed




172         MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
at his instance) to inquire into the extent and operation of the constantly increasing patronage of the executive of the United States,
Judge White spoke in support of this bill, although by so doing he
incurred much displeasure from his friends of the party in power.
He avowed the same principles that he had avowed before, in 1826,
and afterwards in 1830. He was consistent in action and in speech;
but his friends of the Democratic host, who were now using for their
own purposes the machinery whose use had afforded them so fine a
subject for invective when in the hands of their opponents, could not
patiently listen to a speech which, while it was strictly and entirely
a repeated statement and a support of Judge White's own views,
was indirectly though clearly a thorough exhibition of their own
inconsistency. Judge White's remarks on this subject are of lasting
interest; and that not the least at the present day.  We subjoin the
essential portions of this forcible and valuable speech. February 16th,
1835, Mr. White said:
Mr. President: It was my fortune to be placed on the committee of
nine, in the year 1826, whose proceedings have been spoken of in this
debate. I am one of the committee who concurred in reporting the bill
said to be similar to the one under consideration. I am now as ready
to carry out the opinions then entertained as I was at that time, unless
it can be shown that Congress has no power to make the enactments, or
that they would be injurious to society.
The number of officers employed in handling public money was necessarily very much increased during the war which terminated in 1814-15.
Although the President had the power to remove all the officers mentioned in this bill, yet it was believed, in the year 1820, it had not been
exercised as frequently as the public interest required; officers who had
collected money which they ought to have paid into the treasury, and
officers who drew money out of the treasury, which it was their duty
to disburse according to the requirement of acts of Congress, had in
many instances failed in the performance of their duty; losses had been
sustained, and more were feared, unless additional provisions were
made; these circumstances gave rise to the act of 1820.
By this statute, at the end of every four years each of these officers is to
be out of office as a matter of course, without the exercise of any executive power whatever; and during four years, the President, if he
chooses to do so, has the power of removing all or any of them from
office. In carrying into effect the provisions of this act, it was expected
that when the term of an officer expired, the President would inform
himself through the proper department, whether the officer had discharged his duty with fidelity; and if he was informed he had, that he




OFFICE AND PATRONAGE.                     173
would then renominate him for the same office for another term. I
believe that the benefits expected from this law have been realized by
the practice under it. Ever since I have had the honor of a seat on this
floor, I affirm that, both under the past and the present Administration,
I have witnessed the strictest scrutiny into the conduct of these officers,
whenever renominated; and I do not remember a single case in which
there was a disposition manifested to continue any one of them who had
been faithless in his trust. But in 1826, the committee believed, that
although much good had resulted from this law, yet, in the struggles for
place and for power between parties, very great evils which had not
been foreseen, would in all probability be experienced. The whole of
these officers, amounting to a vast number, all going out at the end of
each four years, and being entirely dependent upon the will of the President, for the renewal of their commissions, many of them would be
induced to look more to their own situation and interest than to the
welfare of the country; and, with a view to secure themselves, they
would be most likely to conform their opinions to the wishes of the
President, whoever he might happen to be. If he was a candidate for
re-election himself, they would most likely vote for him; or if one of his
friends was a candidate, they would vote for him, although they might
not conscientiously believe the best interests of the country would be
promoted by the interests of his opponent. It is no answer to this
argument to say it casts reproach upon these officers to suppose they
would surrender their opinions to those in power. Mr. President, is it
a reproach to say they are men? Is it a stigma upon their character to
say that while they live in this world, that while they have families to
provide for, they must have the means of living? We all know that we
are too apt to conclude that our neighbors will be pretty well provided
for when we are very well provided for ourselves. Experience convinces us that when a man who is dependent on his own exertions for a
living, obtains one of these offices, he and his family manage well if they
keep their expenditures within their salary. They become dependent
upon the quarter's salary for food and clothing. If deprived of the office,
the man knows not what to turn his hand to, to earn a dollar to subsist
upon. To be deprived of the office is to be deprived of the only means
of obtaining a livelihood by honest means. Under such circumstances, it
is most likely the officer will not give his judgment fair play; he will
conform his opinions to the opinion of the man who has his all in his
power; or if he has manliness enough to form an impartial opinion of
the merits of the respective candidates, he will too seldom have the
fortitude to express it, either in conversation or by his vote. The probability is that he will soon lose all that manly independence so essential
to the preservation of a free government.
But, Mr. President, this evil does not stop with the head of the




174           AMEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WIIITE.
family; the same tone of servile feeling is communicated to his whole
family. It stops not with his wife and his children; it is communicated
to his family connections. They know the situation of the officer; ho
and they talk it over in their family circle; they sympathize with him
and all know the feelings of the executive will be the more kind towards
him in proportion to his influence among his friends; and the result will
be that in most cases they will all settle down in the conviction that it is
nmost wise to think and vote as the President wishes. Very little
reflection, I think, must satisfy us of the alarming extent of this ilfluence
in our elections. All district attorneys, all custom-house officers, all
paymasters, all receivers of public moneys at your land offices, and all
surveyors of your public lands, with their clerks, and all their famlily
connections, placed in a situation to do as the President of the United
States may wish; add to this the further consideration that tlhese men,
fiom their official stations, each has vastly more influence amilong his
acquaintances than he would have if he were a private man.  Society,
from the very situation of the officer, will suppose him a better judge of
the fitness of a man forl the presidential chair than he would be if' he
were a private man: besides that, many will know that the officer will
have it in his power to do them  good turns in his office if they can
secure his good opinion.
Now, let us suppose a President in office, possessed of the lnass of influence thus collected, wishing to be elected for a second term, wlen1 it was
the interest of society to leave him out and put some other pers>nl ill: or
let us suppose a President in for the last time, and wishing to d(esignate
some individual as his successor, who would not be the choice otfa iiajol'ity,
if left free to act according to their unbiased judgment.  Wl.at then
would most probably happen? We might some time find that the President would not, in such a case, be contented with all these people simlply
thinking with him and voting with him; they must do more  n lp)ain of
not being renominated; they must each man do his best to intluence as
many to think, to speak, and to act with them, as they can l')ocure.
Where could you find a man able to make a stand in opposition to this
demand? Nowhere; and you would seldom find one willing to lllake the
experiment. Every one mnust believe he would have no chance of success
against such fearful odds. These officers and their friends would act in
concert fiom one end of the Union to the other. They will have it in their
power to pour out at once through the whole body politic, a flood that
would sweep from the purest man that lives, every particle of repultation
he had acquired by a long life of virtue and usefulness. In 1826), as one
member of the committee, I came to the conclusion that it was dangerous to leave such a power in the hands of the executive, and through our
chairman expressed that opinion to the world. I entertain tlhe same
opinion now, and am prepared to re-affirm, and to act upon it. Then I




OFFICE AND PATRONAGE.                     175
was in opposition to the Administration; now, I am a friend to the Administration. This can make no change in my course. When we have a
pure and virtuous man for our Chief Magistrate he will thank Congress to
take from him every discretionary power which it can take with propriety. It will ease him of a labor and responsibility most unpleasant to
a good man, and he will still have as many discretionary powers as he
will know how to exercise for the public good. If ever it should be our
misfortune to have one of an opposite character, disposed to use all his
powers for the benefit of himself and his friends, and for the purpose of
perpetuating power in his and their hands, then society at large ought to
thank us for stripping the executive of this influence.
My opinions upon this subject are not founded upon the petty consideration of who is in power, whether he is a political friend or a political opponent; they rest upon the eternal principles of what I think is right and
wrong between those who are in and those who are out of power. They
are founded upon principle deep as the foundations of government itself;
upon principles the disregard of which will poison the very fountain
from which all the blessings of our free and happy government flow. The
elective fianchllise-corrupt that; place our citizens in such a situation
that they will not fieely form opinions for themselves and fearlessly act
upon them; and we shall have little left worth preserving.
When called on to act my part, it is matter not to be considered by me,
whether my fiiends are in or out. In 1826, when called on for an opinion,
my friends and myself were at the bottom of the political wheel. I then
entertained and expressed an opinion. Now it has turned; my friends
and myself are at the top; our opponents are at the bottom; where we
may be with the next whirl, no man can tell. As wise men, what ought
we to do? We ought to act justly to all men, honestly carry out our own
old opinions, and secure the people, as far as we can, in the firee, uninfluenced exercise of their own opinions at elections. My principles are
to limit power, if we can, so as to make every man secure in voting for
whom he pleases, as he is in matters of religion; in worshipping his
Maker according to the dictates of his own conscience. When power is
so limited that no man can so use it as to injure his opponents, then, and
then only, do I consider myself safe.
The question recurs, how can Congress secure the citizen in office against
an arbitrary exercise of this power, in cases where the public good does
not require it? The committee have attempted to give this security by
providing that whenever a nomination is made to the Senate to fill a
vacancy occasioned by a removal, the President shall state the reasons
for such removal. This it has been contended Congress has no power to
do, because all executive power is vested in the President by the Constitution, and removal from office is an exercise of executive power.
The arguments upon this point are far from being satisSlctory to my




176           ME'MOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
mind, and I must crave the indulgence of the Senate while I present as
briefly as possible my own views upon it.
Is any gentleman prepared to state it as his opinion that under our
form of government, executive power is unlimited and undefined?  I
hold no such doctrine; and it would appear to me a most wild and mis
chievous opinion.
The executive power, in our government, in the President, is that vested
in him by express grants in the Constitution, or by acts of Congress
passed in pursuance of the Constitution, and no more. By the Constitution, " all legislative power herein granted is vested in Congress."  By the
same instrument the executive power is vested in a President. In this
latter clause, the words " herein granted," used in the former are dropped.
The reason for dropping them is to my mind very obvious. If they haa
been used as to the President, he would have but a small portion of the
powers necessary to be vested in him to enable him to carry on the affairs
of the government. The framers of that instrument foresaw that he
must have many more powers than they could specify in the Constitution,
and therefore they say the executive power shall be vested in a President,
intending that he should have and exercise all the power they themselves
afterwards might vest in him, and also all others which Congress might
from time to time vest in him by laws passed in pursuance of the Constitution. And afterwards they sum up his duties by saying that he shall
see that the laws are faithfully executed.
Under these several clauses the executive powers are easily ascertained.
We first look into the Constitution, and there see what powers are
expressly given to him. Next we look at the acts of Congress, and
there find what powers Congress has invested himn with; and thus we
ascertain his whole powers, and then we see that his duties are to see that
all these powers are faithfully executed.  Whatever powers are vested by
the Constitution, Congress has no power to change: whatever powers
they vest by statute, they may change and modify at pleasure. Any
other notion of executive powers vested in the President, it seems to
me, cannot be maintained under our frame of government. By the
Constitution two classes of officers are evidently intended. One of
these, Congress is bound to create; and when created, the tenure of
their office is fixed by the Constitution, and can never be changed by
act of Congress. As relates to the other class, Congress may create the
office or not, as they please. In creating it, they may fix the tenure as
they please; for life, for years, or at will; they prescribe what duties they
please, and fix the compensation to suit their own pleasure; and they
may point out the mode in which the officer is to be removed or
displaced.
Ours is emphatically a government of laws. We are a free people
because it is so. Whenever the will of the people is expressed, either in




OFFICE AND PATRONAGE.                     177
the Constitution or in a law passed in pursuance thereof, it must be complied with, because, according to the theory of our government, the
people are sovereign. No person doubts, or can doubt, the power of the
President to remove in such cases; but the manner in which he acquires
this power is a different question. Gentlemen who argue against this
section say, he has it from the Constitution, because it is an executive
power. I deny this, and say it is an executive power because it is made
so by statute, and he performs a constitutional duty when he removes,
because he is as much bound to perform executive duties pointed out by
statute as he is to perform those specified by the Constitution. It is an
executive power, because it was the will of the people, through Congress, as their agent, to make it so; and the same power, through the
same agent, could have made it a judicial duty, if it had been deemed
wise so to provide.
Mr. President, these are the principles upon which I was prepared to
act in 1826. They are those upon which I wished to bring into power
the present Chief Magistrate. I speak only for myself; but I believed
they were the principles of the party with which I acted, and that we
were to give effect to those principles, so far as we might hlave the
power. For one, I have seen no sufficient reason to change them, and
am prepared to act them out. It is in vain to tell me that this is a
party question. It is a question of fundamental principles, and I am on
that side of it in which I have been educated, on which I have heretofore acted, as well as my humble abilities have enabled me; it is one I
cannot abandon for any earthly consideration, because in its maintenance
I believe the prosperity, happiness and security of the present and succeeding generations have a deep and abiding interest. It is asked by
the opponents of this bill, what benefit its friends expect fiom a statement of the reasons of the removal when the nomination of a successor
is presented to the Senate? I answer for myself, I wish to cut up by
the roots the demoralizing tendencies of office-hunting.  I wish to
make such provisions by law as will shield the Chief Magistrate from
impositions practised upon him to induce him  to remove men from
office. I wish to shield him from being imposed upon as to the character of those who apply for office. As the law now stands, whenever a
man may take a fancy to an office filled by his neighbor, all he has to do
is to poison the mind of the executive against the incumbent, and to
make a favorable impression as to the fitness of him who desires to
be the successor. These objects can be accomplished by making characters in secret upon paper. Before the officer is aware of it, his reputation is blasted by secret and confidential communications made by some
of those he had esteemed his friends; they are lodged with the executive, where it is expected they will remain secret; and upon the strength
of these representations the officer is removed. When this is accom12




178           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  L4AWSON  WHITE.
plished, the scuffle commences for a successor, and paper characters are
procured for' perhaps half a dozen applicants; and very frequently, the
individual having, in point of fact, the worst character of any in the
group is so dressed up and supported by certificates as to convince the
executive that the public interest will be promoted by selecting him as
the successor, and he is nominated to the Senate. The business does
not end here. All the disappointed applicants then go to work with
senators to defeat a confirmation of the nomination, each hoping that if
that is done, he stands next best with the executive, and will secure
the office.
Under the present state of things, society will become demoralized;
men will be constantly coveting that possessed by their neighbors; and
for the sake of procuring what they covet, they will themselves bear, and
will procure others to bear false witness. Under the laws, as they now
stand, the business of office-hunting will become a science. Men will be
selected and furnished with funds to defray the expense of coming to
Washington, for the purpose of having one set turned out and another
set put in, by means of artful tales, secretly gotten up and reduced to
writing, which, it is supposed, will never see the light. This officer and
representative of office-hunters will come on with one pocket full of bad
characters with which to turn out incumbents, and the other full of good
characters with which to provide for his constituents.
Pass this bill, and a wholesome check will be given to this whole
system. Require the reasons for removal to be stated, and no man will
dare to make a statement which he does not believe to be true, because
exposure and disgrace will certainly be the consequence. You will take
out of the hand of the cowardly assassin, the poisoned dagger heretofore
used in the dark. You will shield the executive from mistakes founded
on false representations. No executive can be personally acquainted with
the characters of all men in office, nor with the characters of all those
who desire office; he must act upon information derived from others; he
ought, and I feel persuaded the present Chief Magistrate will, thank Congress for any plan by which he may be the better enabled to discharge
his official duties to the enhancement of the welfare of society.
Another advantage to be derived from this bill is, that it will check
the thirst for office, and restore harmony to society. When a man is
removed for want of capacity, for want of integrity, for intemperance, or
for lack of business habits, why not put down the reason? Who is
harmed by it?  Nobody. Now a man's reputation is stabbed in the
dark; by whom, or in what manner, he is unable to find out. Pass this
bill, and if a man is injured, he will know by whom, and in what manner; and can wipe out the stain, not by a controversy with the President, but by a controversy with the man whose falsehoods mislead the
President.




OFFICE AND PATRONAGE.                     179
Again; we shall in all time to come secure honest officers in the enjoyment of honest political opinions. No President will ever remove an
officer, simply because he will not think and act with him in politics,
when he knows this reason is to be of record, and to remain through all
time. For myself, now above all others is the time when I wish to see
this security furnished to honest men in office. I wish the credit of it
for this Administration, for this executive. His anxious wish has been
to secure to the States and to individuals what, in his judgment, they had
been improperly deprived of by federal power; and I wish to see in his
day a surrender of all means which an unprincipled Chief Magistrate
might use to influence the political opinions of men. I know him too
well not to believe it would meet his hearty approbation; and in time to
come, when the'historian shall record the beneficial acts of our illustrious men, I feel persuaded that this act will not escape his attention.
The sentiments expressed in this speech are alluded to in a letter to
J. A. Whiteside, Esq., Sept. 17, 1835. Judge White says to that
gentleman:
When this subject was before the Senate, I took occasion to state the
reasons for my course so fully, as to render it unnecessary now to say
much on that subject. It was a subject which had excited much interest,
while Mr. Adams was President of the United States; I formed the same
opinions then which I expressed last winter. The subject was again before
the Senate in 1830, and at that time my opinions were the same they had
been in 1826, and yet are. I firmly believed they were the same opinions entertained by Mr. Jefferson, and by the political party to which I
belonged. I not only believed they were the principles of the present
Chief Magistrate, but thought one great object of the struggle to bring
him into power, was to maintain, and to carry out by legislative enactments, and by his practice, these very principles.
I would have held myself dishonored as a man, and felt as if bringing
disgrace upon the Republican party, and more especially upon the Chief
Magistrate, if I had maintained one set of principles to acquire place and
power, and then, for the purpose of retaining them, attempted to practise
upon another.
No matter who is President of the United States, I firmly believe executive power ought to be limited within the narrowest limits compatible
with an administration of the government; otherwise all eticient agency
of the people, in their own affairs, will soon be lost. If the executive
power and patronage be left as they now are, and we should ever have a
popular Chief Magistrate willing, from any motive, to lend his influence,
and to use his patronage for the purpose of designating and electing his
successor, then will this tremendous power be felt, and if it does not end




[80          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
in the destruction of those rights secured to the people, and substituting
in their place the will of one man, then shall I think the people of the
United States a peculiar race, and more highly favored of heaven than
any who have preceded them.
I was born under a king, but raised and educated in a Republic. To
secure to our posterity the same freedom for which our fathers toiled, it
is essential that executive favor and patronage should be limited by law;
otherwise the day may not be remote when we will have in fact a
monarchy, and it the more odious because a deceptive form of a republic
may be continued.
Mr. Benton, of Missouri, whose rugged instinctive honesty was in
full sympathy with Judge White on this point, alone of all the
administration phalanx in the Senate, voted with him for the passage
of the bill.
In March of the year 1835, Judge White had occasion to state his
views upon the much contested question of the Expunging Resolutions, so widely known and so exciting in their day; and which were
introduced by Hon. Thomas H. Benton of Missouri. It may not be
entirely superfluous to mention that these resolutions contemplated
the actual expunging-the wiping out, or erasure-from the journals
of the Senate, of a certain vote of censure upon General Jackson, for
his conduct in removing the deposits from the United States Bank,
which vote was there recorded March 28th, 1834.  Judge WVhite
contended that the Senate had no right thus to destroy the records
of their doings. Upon offering an amendment which would call for
the "rescinding, repealing, reversing and declaring null and void"
of the resolution censuring General Jackson, instead of the expunging it, he said:
Mr. President: The object of my amendment is, to enable each senator to express the opinion he really entertains of the resolution formerly
passed by this body.
To vote for the resolution of the senator from Missouri in its present
shape, I cannot. He proposes to "expunge" from our journals one of
our resolutions, which was adopted when our votes were taken and
recorded by yeas and nays. The Constitution requires that " each House
Shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and that at the decision of one-fifth
zf its members, the yeas and nays shall be taken on any question."  This
Constitution each member has solemnly sworn to support. When we
speak of the journal of our proceedings, we speak of a book kept here,




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTION.                   181
ninder our? own0 inspection, in which is faithfully recorded, under its appropriate dlate. every transaction of the body.  This book is the original
and all others are only copies of it. Now, what is proposed by the
resolution?' It is to expunge one of the resolutions which we all admit
we actually adopted, upon yeas and nays, on the 28th of March, 1834.
Now if we adopt this resolution, we solemnly order that our former
resolution shall be erased, rubbed out, blotted, obliterated, or so corrected
that it cannot be read. Suppose this order carried into effect, and any
man to read our record, our journal, under date of the 28th March, and
he would have no knowledge that such a resolution as that complained
of had ever existed.
The answer given to this argument by the honorable senator is not
satisfactory. He says in his resolution now under consideration, " It is
preserved, because it is set out word for word." But it is not under its
true date; and upon that principle, if we wish to ascertain what was
done 28th March, 1834, we must look not to the journal of that year, but
to the journal of 1835. This would not be a diary or journal of our
proceedings according with the facts.
Again, what would become of our yeas and nays? Are we to deprive
ourselves, those of our own day, and posterity, of all means of knowing
how we voted? The gentleman does not propose preserving our yeas
and nays. I do not wish to lose mine, nor do I suppose any other member wishes to give up this record evidence of his opinion.
It appears to me plain that we cannot vote for expunging the journal,
because it is contrary to the positive injunction of the Constitution,
which we are bound to observe. Adopt my amendment, and then pass
the resolution, and we accomplish everything desirable.  We " rescind "
and declare " null and void" the original resolution. This is all that can
be wished by any person; we reverse our decision because we now think it
was wrong; and we declare it null and void, because it was always wrong,
and ought never to have been adopted.
This is the effect of my amendment as first proposed by me; and now
at the instance of the honorable senator, from Pennsylvania (Mr.
McKean), I have modified, so as to incorporate into it the additional words
" repealed and reversed.' It now reads that the resolution of 28th March
is "rescinded, repealed, reversed and declared to be null and void."
This, it appears to me, is as strong an opinion as we can give, that the
original resolution shall not stand as the judgment of the Senate, and
that it ought never to have found a place upon our journals.
Thus far I am willing to go, because it conforms to the opinion I now
entertain, and to the opinion I entertained when the original resolution
was adopted.
If time permitted, I would gladly say more on this subject; but it does
not, and I must content myself with expressing a hope that my amlend



182               MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
ment may be adopted, so that I can vote for the resolution without a
violation of one of my most solemn obligations.
The question was quieted for that session by means of a motion to
lay it on the table. Next year however, under the indomitable lead of
Benton, it was started again; and  Judge White  defined his position
upon it more at length, in a speech delivered June 28th, 1836, as follows:
The following preamble and resolution offered by Mr. White being
under consideration:
Whereas, on the 28th day of March, 1884, the Senate of the United States adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
" Resolved, That the President, in the late executive proceedings in relation to the public
revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and powers not conferred by the Constitution
and laws, but in derogation of both:"
And whereas, upon the question whether said resolution should be adopted, it was decided by
one-fifth of the senators present that the same should be taken by yeas and nays; and the
votes of the several members now stand recorded on the journal of the Senate:
And whereas the said resolution still remains on the journal of the Senate in full force, not
rescinded, reversed, repealed, or annulled; and cannot now be expunged, cancelled, or in any
way obliterated or defaced without violating that clause of the Constitution of the United
States which is in the following words, to wit: " Each house shall keep a journal of its proceed.
ings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such part as may in their judgment
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of either house on any question shall, at the desire of
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal:"
And whereas each senator, before taking his seat, was bound to take, and did take, an oath
to support said Constitution:
And whereas the President of the United States, in the late executive proceedings in relatior
to the public revenue, alluded to in said resolution, did not, in the opinion of the Senate
assume upon himself authority and powers not conferred upon him by the Constitution and
laws: Therefore, it is
Resolved, That the said resolution, and the opinion therein expressed, be, and the same
hereby are, rescinded, reversed, and annulled; and it is hereby declared that the said resolution ought not to be considered as having had, or as now or hereafter having any force or
effect whatever.
Mr. White addressed the Senate as follows:
Mr. President: By means not within my control, I have become so far
connected with this subject as to consider it a duty to submit the resolution now under consideration, and to urge its adoption by such reasons
as are satisfactory to my own mind. During our last session, the honorable senator from Missouri offered a resolution, proposing that we should
order the resolution of the 28th March, 1834, to be expunged from the
journal.   When it was taken  up  for consideration, entertaining  the
opinion that the Senate had not the power to make such an order, I
moved to amend  the resolution, by striking out the order to expunge,
and all which followed it, and inserting that the resolution should be




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTION.                   183
rescinded, reversed, repealed, and declared to be null and void. The
senator from Alabama moved that the question be first taken on striking
out the word " expunge," and, after a very short debate, it was stricken
out, by almost a unanimous vote; and then, upon the motion of one of
the senators from Massachusetts, the subject was laid on the table. At
this session we have a proposition, which is now on the table, for a
qualified or limited expunging. Still believing my first impressions on
the subject were correct, I have ventured to submit my resolution, and
upon it will desire the decision of the Senate.
The first position assumed in the preamble to my resolution liable to
doubt is, that we have not the power to expunge from our journal the
resolution of the 28th March, 1834.
Our government is republican, and, by the Constitution, it was intended
that all agents in the different departments of it should be responsible for
their public conduct. With a view to secure this accountability, so far as
the two Houses of Congress are concerned, and also for the purpose of
perpetuating a knowledge of what should be done by them, it is provided
by the Constitution of the United States, 5th section of -the 1st article,
that "each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and firom time to
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment,
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House,
on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be
entered on the journal."  Generally, that interpretation of the Constitution, or of a statute, is the true one, which would be put upon it by a
common man.
It appears to me very clear that were a common man asked what did
the firamers of the Constitution mean should be done, when they used the
language just quoted, he would answer, that each house should have
faithfully recorded the proceedings of each day, and carefully preserve the
book in which they were recorded. To determine the meaning of this
word "k eep," we are not to look into a glossary to see how many different
definitions we can find, but to the context and to the object the framers of
the Constitution wished to attain. Each house is directed to keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time to publish the same. The
object evidently is, that the body itself may at all times know what it
and its predecessors have done, and that the constituent may also know
what has been done, and by whom.-[Bayacrd's Exposition of the Constztution, p. 58.]
If, as soon as we have recorded our daily proceedings, we have performed the whole duty required by this clause, and may then burn, tear
up, obliterate, or expunge the journal, the whole object will be defeated.
The convention were aware that neither house would be always in session, and that when in session the members themselves could not, in
parson, keep the journal; provision is therefore made in article 1, sections




184              MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
2 and 3, that each house shall have power to appoint the necessary
officers.  Through officers thus appointed the journal is kept and preserved, as the records of courts are kept and preserved by their clerks.
We are not only to keep the journal, but from time to time to publish
the same. The journal which is kept is the one which is to be published;
not once only, but from time to time. If we admit that after our pro
ceedings have been once published, then we may expunge, how shall we
comply with the injunction to publish from time to time? Those to
whom the printed copies have been delivered are under no constitutional
obligation to preserve their copies. They may be destroyed at pleasure
Upon their care we must depend to enable us to publish a second or third
edition; yet we have been directed to keep and, from  time to time, publish. Again, if we do publish a second or third edition from our own
journal, having expunged some of our proceedings immediately after the
first publication, then the first edition and the subsequent ones will not
agree, because the expunged proceedings will not appear in the last publications, no matter whether the expunging is considered literal or figurative.  And what will make the matter worse is, there will be no record
in charge of our own officer, by which to prove which edition is a true
copy.
The provisions in the 7th section of the same article strongly support
the construction for which I contend:
"Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall,
before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve, he
shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have
originated, who shall' enter the objections at large on their journal,' and proceed to reconsi.
der it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it
shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be
reconsidered; and, if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all
such cases, the' votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of
the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house,
respectively.' If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as
if he had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which
case, it shall not be a law."
The like ceremonies are to be gone through in relation to order, resolutions, or votes, in which the concurrence of both Houses is necessary.
Now, sir, is any gentleman prepared to say, that in any case arising
under this section, we have the power to expunge the journal?  If we
cannot, how can we in any other case?  The language requiring us to keep
a journal of our proceedings is as strong and imperative as the language
in this section, requiring the President's objections to be entered on the
journal, and the names of the voters to be recorded. The same solemn
guards are thrown around both: and if we now have the power to
expunge the journal of March, 1834, we also have the power to go back




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTION.                    185
antI expunge from the journal the proceedings in relation to any veto sent
to vs by any President.
To keep a journal of our proceedings must mean that we shall have
them faithfully recorded, and then the record carefully preserved; otherwise, the whole context is disregarded, and the great object of responsibility of legislative agents defeated. Let us, for a moment, consider some
of the familiar cases put by the other side.
We employ a man " to keep the door."  After he has opened it, and
let some person in or out of the house, surely he is not at liberty to
break the door.
A man employs a person to keep his house. After the house is put in
good order, the house-keeper is not at liberty to break or burn the furniture, or to expunge it, by making black marks around it.
A merchant employs a person to keep his store and books. After the
day's or weck's work is over, the clerk is not at liberty to tear out or
expunge any of the entries, showing the goods sold, or the cash received;
yet all these things might lawfully be done by these different persons, if
the arguments in favor of expunging our journal are correct.
It has been sometimes urged that each house has a discretion as to the
matter that shall be put on its journal. This, to some extent, is true, but
cannot affect my argument. Each house is for ever bound to put enough
matter on the journal to show on what subjects it acted, and the decision
of the body on each subject.
To prove this discretionary power, it is said we may select for publication such parts of the journal as we please, and keep the rest secret.
It is true, by the clause under consideration, each house is bound to
keep a journal of all its proceedings, but may refrain firom having
published such parts as the public interest requires should be kept
secret.
This power to refrain from publishing is expressly given, and therefore
may be legally exercised. It is, with me, conclusive to show that we are
bound always to preserve the journal. Parts of it we need not publish.
Now, if we are not bound to preserve the record of our proceedings,
there would be no evidence in existence of what had been done upon those
subjects in relation to which the journal had not been published.
Again: we have the express power given not to publish some parts of
vour proceedings; if, in addition to this, we assume the power which is
not given to expunge what we please, we may, and probably will, some
time choose not to publish some proceeding which would not be acceptable to our constituents; and then, after it had performed what we
intended, we could expunge it, and thus evade all that responsibility
intended to be secured.
It is said the journal is nothing but inducement to some other matter
more important. This opinion I do not think is well fouid4&l. Tne




186           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
journals, so far from being considered as merely introductory, or inducenent to something more important, and therefore in our power to dispose
of as we please, ought to viewed as sacred, because they contain the only
evidence of the judgment of the representatives of the people upon the
different subjects acted on; they are the very essence, or, as the lawyers
term it, the gist of the whole matter.
In our free and happy country our laws are binding, because they contain the mwill of the people themselves, expressed by their representatives,
in the mode pointed out in the Constitution. The journal is the only
evidence of this will. An act is not binding because it is signed by the
presiding officers of the two houses, but because it is the expressed will
of a majority in each house; and the journal is the highest evidence of
this wvill. At the last session, by some mistake, a bill, which our journal
shows was indefinitely postponed, was signed by the presiding officers
and by the President. It was no law, although it had the form of one.
It wanted the essence, the will of a majority of one of the houses, and
the journal of that house is the highest and only evidence of the defect.
I, therefore, deny that we have any power to expunge, on the ground that
the journal is mere inducement to something more important. But,
again: even if it were only inducement, I deny, on that account, we have
any power to disobey a command of the Constitution. It says we shall
keep a journal of our proceedings. We call Heaven to witness we will
obey this command. In consequence of this solemn promise, we are
intrusted with matters of the highest interest.  We have faithfully
recorded one of our proceedings, but afterwards tear or blot it out, or
expunge it-that is, prick it out-and are called upon for the reason, and
answer, it was of no consequence, because it was mere inducement to
something else. The excuse ought never to be admitted; if it is in one
case, it may be in every case. We may obliterate, expunge, or burn the
whole.
It is further urged, if the whole record is destroyed, after the journal
has been published, it makes no difference, because each printed copy
is the journal.
This I think an entire mistake; the printed journal is only a copy of the
original, and, although it may be admitted as evidence in court, it is only
because it is supposed.to be a true copy of the original, as it has been
printed by public authority; and because you cannot procure the original,
it being the duty of the secretary to keep it in his own possession.
The original is the best evidence; and the party is only excused from
producing it because he cannot procure it. Suppose the copy offered not
a true one, the error is always corrected by having recourse to the
original.
Again: if all these printed copies are originals, and we order the
journal to be expunged, we must make our secretary apply the process




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTIONS.                    187
to each copy; if he does to one, and not to all, they will vary from each
other; and if we apply the process to the original, and not to the printed
copies, every copy will vary from the original.
The journal of 1834 has been published —many copies of it-the
obnoxious resolution with the rest. Suppose we now expunge it, actually
or figuratively, and then publish another edition, the resolution would
not appear in the last edition, and thus it would vary from that now in
existence.
If we decide that the printed copies are to be considered as the originals, and not copies merely, it appears to me we endanger the purity of
our whole proceedings. It will be very easy for those who are ingenious
in villany to print with our mark and impose on the world spurious
copies, and insert as our proceedings matters which never occurred.
It is thought we err in giving the same sanctity to our journal which
is properly given to the records of courts of justice, which, it is admitted,
cannot be expunged, or altered after the term.
In my opinion, our journal ought to be considered the most sacred of
the two. The records of the courts only affect the private rights of individuals; our records affect all society.  Records of courts are only
required to be kept by legislative enactments; the records of each house
of Congress were not left to statutory enactments, but are required to be
kept by the Constitution itself.
Those who insist that we have the power to expunge seek support from
precedents; and it has been said that in the sixth year of the reign of
Henry VIII. it was enacted that a record should be kept of the leaves
of absence granted to different members of the Parliament. And fiom
this it is argued that Parliament was bound by law after that time to keep
a journal; and if they expunged any of their proceedings, so may we.
To this I answer, that the expunging of any entry made on the journal
after that time, on any other subject than that of giving leave of absence
to a member, is of no more weight than if such a statute had never
been enacted; and gentlemen have not produced, and I do not believe
they can produce, a case in which either House expunged any such
entry.
The statute did not require a record to be made of anything except leave
of absence, and if any other proceeding was recorded in the same book,
it was by some order of the house; and the same power could, at any
time, order it to be expunged, just as well as if it had been recorded in
any other book.
Our constitution requires that we shall keep a journal of all our proceedings; and we ought to preserve the whole with as much care as the
Parliament did their leaves of absence.
By the articles of confederation, Congress was required to publish
every month the journal of their proceedings; and from this it is inferred




18 8          MEMOIR  OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
they were bound to keep a journal of all their proceedings. In the first
place, I think this inference very far from imposing the same obligation
upon the old Congress that is imposed on us by the present consideration,
in language too plain to be misunderstood. In the next place, if it did,
what cases have gentlemen shown of any matter being expunged fromn
their journals? None.
It were a useless consumption of time in me to notice in detail the different cases cited, to show that the journals have been expunged by both
Houses in Great Britain, under the Colonial Government in Virginia, and in
the State of Massachusetts, because the same general answer may be given
to all. The legislature was not required by either a constitution or a law
to keep a journal. The journal was only kept by virtue of the order or
usage of each house, and could be changed at any time, to any extent
either house might think right.
But a precedent has been referred to in my own State, and there the
Constitution does require that each house shall keep a journal.
Gentlemen who rely upon this precedent have been misinformed. They
have not named the case, but I can be at no loss as to what the reference
is made. It must be the case of Judge Williams, who was impeached, and
tried; and to convict, the Constitution required twoo-thirds of the members. When opinions were expressed, there were two-thirds for conviction, if absent members were not counted; if they were, there were not
two-thirds. Upon this point there was a great variety of opinion, and
ultimately the presiding member discharged the judge as acquitted. On
the next morning, when the journal was read, a member moved to correct it, because the court had authorized no such order. This motion, it
will be perceived, was in a court, therefore, no precedent for us.
Next, it was not to expunge anything which the Senate had done, but
to strike from the journal that which had been put there by mistake, and
which the body never had ordered.
Now, sir, if a man were set to search a case unlike the one before us, he
could not do better than take the Tennessee case.
Two precedents have been referred to in the proceedings of Congress,
upon which I will make one or two remarks.
On the last day of the session of 1806, two petitions were presented by
a member of the Senate, complaining of the conduct of one of our courts;
they were received by the body and disposed of. During the same day a
member moved to return the petitions, and to expunge the order for their
reception from the journal, which was done accordingly.
The first observation I make is, that we are to keep a journal of our
proceedings. In other words, at the end of each day our record ought to
show the result of our judgment upon each subject before us.
The journal of that day does show this precisely. After the entry was
expunged, the subject of those memorials was placed precisely where, in




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTIONS.                   189
the judgment of that body, it ought to rest, and that was, that Congress
should have nothing to do with it.
I will illustrate my meaning by a familiar case. A merchant, in the
forenoon, sells a bale of cloth to a customer, who pays him one hundred dollars for it. He enters the transaction on his journal. In the afternoon,
of the same day, the customer returns, and asks the merchant to take
back the cloth and return him his money; with which request he complies, and, instead of incumbering his journal with another useless entry,
he scratches out, or, in other words, expunges the entry he made when he
sold the cloth. After this expunging, his journal will show the exact
truth relative to this bale of cloth; that is, it will give no account whatever of the transaction, because the cloth was his in the morning, and it
is still his the next morning.
If we expunge the resolution of 28th March, 1834, by an order now
made, our journal of that day will be so altered as not to show the result
of the Senate's judgment on that day upon that subject; therefore, there
is no likeness in the two cases.
Again, if they were similar, the precedent ought to have no weight
whatever. There was no time for either discussion or deliberation. Besides, this was done in high party times-related to an exciting topicBurr's conspiracy, and the expunging was ordered by a strictly party
vote.
The second case is that which occurred in the House of Representatives
in 1822.
Mr. Randolph announced the death of Mr. Pinkney, who was not dead,
and for that reason moved an adjournment. The adjournment took place,
and the next day he moved that the reason assigned for the adjournment
should be expunged, because it was not true, and it was accordingly expunged. In this case, what the House did was not expunged. It had in
fact adjourned, and so the journal still shows; but the reason why they
came to a decision to adjourn, being founded in mistake, was expunged.
Now, sir, the journal at this moment shows, as well as it did when the
entry was made, the proceedings of the House on that day; and all the
alteration produced is, that the reason for one of their acts cannot be
known, as it is expunged.
But in the case under consideration, to expunge would be to destroy all
evidence of a decision itself, for which I insist we have no precedent in
the case relied on.
The truth must be, the members of the convention were well aware of
all the precedents in Great Britain, and in our own country, which existed
when they framed the Constitution, and intended to leave nothing to the
discretion of either house. They intended effectually to secure a just accountability fromn the representative to the constituent; therefore they used
the Constitution itself the imperative language, "each house shall keep




190           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
a journal," &c. Let us not, then, be misled by precedents which we fancy
may bear us out. At best they are nothing, but "crutches on which
weak minds sustain themselves"; and if we aare sustained by these prece
dents in expunging the resolution of 1834, the precedent which we will
now make may sustain those who come after us in expunging important
principles from the Constitution itself.
It is urged that the mere act of expunging the journal is not a matter
of any importance; it is the effect or moral of the resolution which it is
desired to remove.
Why not adopt my resolution, then? No man can doubt our power to
rescind, repeal, and reverse the resolution.
The bad moral taught by the resolution will be removed by the subsequent decision pronouncing the former one to be erroneous. But it is
thought best to use the word "expunge," as, by the use of that word in
parliamentary proceedings, the principles of civil liberty have been maintained in other countries.
If it has been always used for wise and good purposes elsewhere, let us
be cautious that uwe do not so use it as eventually to produce mischief in
this, the most free and favored country in the world
It appears to me, however, that this word, like everything else over
which we have control, has been sometimes used when correct principles
were asserted, and, in other instances, when the reverse was the case.
When King James entered one of the houses of the British Parliament,
and with his owon hand expunged the journal; when the House of Lords
expunged the recognizance entered into before the Lord Mayor of London,
and when the journals of the Virginia Legislature were expunged, or attempted to be expunged, during the Colonial government, it was not the
watchword of the friends of liberty. I am not aware that it ever has
been used, and I fear it never will be used, in aid of civil liberty, or the
rights of man, when the process is resorted to to gratify the feelings of
those in poweer, who are generally too prone to believe liberty is attacked
whenever any portion of their conduct is disapproved, or there is any
attenlpt to impose restraints on their liberty to do as they imagine is
most for the public good.
Mr. President, I propose in the next place to examine the soundness of
the reason assigned why we may, and ought, to expunge.
It is briefly this: that, as the Senate is the tribunal established by the
Constitution to try the President when impeached, it is unconstitutional
to pass a resolution which charges him with a crime for which he might
be impeached, and that this resolution not only charges, but convicts him
of a crime. I do not concur in this opinion, and beg leave to assign my
reasons for dissenting from it.
Under the Constitution, the powers of the Senate are judicial, executive.
or legislative; judicial, when trying impeachments; executive, when




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTIONS.                          191
advising the President in relation to treaties, or as to the persons to be
appointed to office; legislative, in making laws, and in everything connected with making, amending, or repealing them. (Constitution U. S.
art. 1, sect. 1.)
The power of the Senate in all legislative matters is equal to that of
the House of Representatives in all respects, with the single exception
that bills to raise revenue must originate in the House.  In the discharge
of any legislative or executive duty, any individual member may say in
his place that the President, or any other civil officer, has assumed powers
not conferred upon him by the Constitution or laws.
What any one may lawfully say, every other may say with equal propriety. What any one or all may say, individually, all, or a majority,
may with propriety express by way of resolution, which is nothing but
an expression of the opinion of a majority on a given subject.
The objection to this resolution is, that it charges the President with,
and convicts him of, a crime, for which he may be impeached by the
House; and in that case it would be the duty of the Senate to try him;
therefore, it was unconstitutional to adopt the resolution.
To this I answer, first, if it were an unconstitutional act to pass the
resolution, it furnishes no reason why it should be expunged.  If it did,
we might go back and expunge from the journal everything which had
been done by political opponents, from the adoption of the Constitution,
which we chose to say was unconstitutional-all entries, relative to the
alien and sedition laws, chartering the banks, &c. These entries, which
we deem violations of the Constitution, of all others, are the ones we
ought to desire should stand. By them, the disgrace of political opponents would be perpetuated. Were I one of a majority who voted for such
unconstitutional proceedings, I would feel very grateful to opponents who
would wipe out, or expunge, the evidence of my disgrace so soon as they
obtained the power.
But again: we find in the Constitution, 1st art. 3d sect. these words:
"Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office,
and to disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United
States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial,
judgment, and punishment, according to law."
And, in art. 2, sect. 4, the language following:
"The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed
from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
misdemeanors."
To my mind it is very clear that neither the President, nor any other
civil officer, can be impeached, unless he is charged with some crimne.
The question then is, does the resolution of the 28th of March, 1834,




192           MEMOIR  OF HUGHI  LAWSON  WIIITE.
charge the President with the commission of a crime? It is in these
words:
" Resolved, That the President, in the late executive proceedings in relation to the public
revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and powers not conferred by the Constitution and
laws, but in derogation of both."
It is with this resolution, and this only, we have to deal. As to what
the bank or its agents had said or done, or as to the arguments or speeches
of gentlemen, the Senate has given no opinion; and upon the question
now pending, we have nothing to do with them.
I affirm that this resolution does not impute to the President any crime
or misdemeanor whatever.  There can be no such thing as a crime, without a bad motive. The resolution is entirely silent as to the motives by
which the Chief Magistrate was governed. It therefore charges nothing
but mere error of judgment. It alleges he assumed powers not conferred
by the Constitution or laws; but whether the motives which induced
him to assume these powers were virtuous, or the reverse, is not stated.
If they were to promote the public good, and he honestly believed the
powers he assumed had been conferred, although he might be mistaken,
yet he ought to be applauded as a patriot, instead of being censured as a
criminal.
Intention to do wrong-bad motives-are the essence of crime; and
without them there can be no such thing. In this very case, if, in every
act the President did, he mistook his powers, but still acted fromn high
and pure motives, no honest tribunal upon earth could convict him of
crime.
This new doctrine of crime without evil intent has no sanction in
morals, in reason, or in any adjudged case. The only cases referred to
for its support are the impeachments against Judges Chase and Pickering.
In the first of these, it is true, some of the articles of impeachment did
not charge bad motives, but upon those he was acquitted without a dissenting voice.
In Pickering's case, the question was whether he was sane or not. He
had been a highly respectable man, but acted badly on the bench, and it
was alleged he was deranged. It was answered, if he was deranged, it
was from intemperance, and therefore an aggravation of the offence; and
on that ground he was convicted.
God forbid that a doctrine so unreasonable, so inconsistent with our
imperfect condition, as that of crime without evil design, should ever be
sanctioned anywhere, especially here. You and I are obliged to act in
this very question; it is our public duty to form opinions, and act upon
them; we disagree; must one of us be guilty of a crime? Look at the
situation of courts. A cause is tried before two judges in an inferior
court, and they disagree; must one be a criminal? A writ of error is




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTIONS.                      193
taken from an inferior to a higher tribunal, and the judgment reversed;
are the judges of the court to be viewed and treated as crimninals? If they
are, suppose there to be a still higher tribunal, to which the same cause
is carried, and the last decision reversed, and the first established; what
are you to do then-punish the second set of judges?
In the federal circuit courts, a judge of the Supreme Court and the
district judge decide a cause; a writ of error is taken to the Supreme
Court, where the same judge forms one of the court, and he concurs with
his brethren in reversing his own decision.  What is to be done with
him? According to this strange doctrine, he is obliged to be guilty of a
crime, because he has decided against himself. Away with such doctrine,
it is absurd. Error and crime are as distinct as the motives by which
angels and devils are governed.
The great error in the argument on the other side is occasioned by not
attending to the distinction between the acts of private citizens and of
public officers. A private individual does an unlawful act; the law
presumes he did it from bad motives; because, so far from  being conmpelled to act, it was his duty not to act. In the case of a public officer,
he is compelled to act; he is sworn to do so; and whenever he does an
official act, the presumption is, that his motives were good, although the
act may have been contrary to law. If the law were not so, no honest
man, conscious of his defects, would ever fill an office. He is bound to
act —sworn to do so; and when he uses all the means within his reach to
inform himself, and exercises his best judgment, he is innocent, whether
his acts are lawful or the reverse. This distinction between the acts of
individuals and of public officers runs through all the cases which can be
found in our books. The acts spoken of in the resolution as assumptions
of power in derogation of the Constitution and law, were acts done by
the President in his official capacity; therefore, the resolution imputes to
him no criminality whatever.
The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution against the late Postmaster-General, condemning some of his acts as unlawful; but it charges
him with no crime. If error is hereafter to constitute crime in our public
officers, I should like to know who is to be judge. Who feels that he has
the infallible standard? If any one will say " I have it," my word for it,
if you will cultivate his acquaintance, you will soon find he wants the
common requisites, integrity and talents, essential to constitute a tolerable
judge.
If we expunge the journal, then we will have established the doctrine
that, in every case, a President, or any other civil officer, may assume
authority and powers not conferred by the Constitution and laws, but in
derogation of both, and we dare not say that is our opinion. Against
such a 5-octrine I enter my protest. We not only have the power, but it
is our duty to exercise it whenever such a case occurs. Suppose the
13




194          MEMiOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WIIITE.
President to nominate for some office a man who already holds the office
of governor or judge, I surely would have a right to say I will not vote
for himn, because I think he has, in the office he now holds, assumed
powers he did not possess, and therefore I will not trust him farther.
After having said so, if he is impeached, I cannot be challenged and
excluded from  sitting as one of his triers. I have charged him with
no crime; and, having given an opinion that his conduct was unlawful,
does not disqualify me. If this were so, we must reverse the whole
order of things; and whenever a judge is called on to decide a cause
similar to. one he had before decided, we must exclude him, and appoint
some other; whereas the common impression has ever been, that the
judge is the better qualified for having examined and previously decided
the same or a similar question.
In England a peer cannot bebchallenged because he has previously given
an opinion; nor can a Senator here. They are judges, having a right to
decide the law as well as the facts of the case.
But the Senate heretofore attempted to exercise this very power in the
case of the Panama nominations.  Mir. Adams (I beg pardon, the late
President), in his message, told us he had the power to have sent ministers
without consulting the Senate; but, as they were soon to be in session, he
thought it best to delay the appointments, and consult them. A resolution was submitted denying this claimed power, and a long discussion
ensued. If we contested this claimed but unexerted power, can any one
doubt but, if it had been exercised, we would have denied it by a resolution if we could? For one, I never doubted but the President honestly
entertained the opinion expressed.
The subject of removing the deposits had been regularly brought before
the Senate by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury. It was one on
which we had a right to legislate.  We had a right to know why it was
done, and how it was done, to either approve or disapprove; to legislate
upon it: to direct the money to be returned, or to be kept anywhere else;
in short, to approve or disapprove what had been done.
We could have thanked the executive for his prompt attention to the
public interest; for his efficiency in displacing one Secretary, who would
not remove the money, and appointing another who would. Why, then,
had the Senate no power to say that, in doing these things, he transcended his power? To me it appears they had constitutionally the power
to pass the resolution. But it then was, and yet is, my opinion that, in
exercising this power, the Senate themselves erred when they resolved
that he had assumed powers not conferred. I believed he had the power
to remove the Secretary, and to do every other act then attributed to
him, if he believed a proper case was made out for its exercise. Am I
to be told by Senators who voted for the resolution that I committed a
crime when I voted against them? I hope not. Nor am I at liberty to




EXPUNGING  RESOLUTIONS.                   195
say they committed a crime when they disagreed in opinion with me.
This is everything the resolution charges the President with. He thought
he had the power which he exercised; a majority of the Senate thought
he had not, and so expressed themselves in the resolution, not question.
ing the purity of the motives from which he acted. By doing so they
did not assume any power not conferred on them by the Constitution.
In Great Britain the House of Lords acts as a court. A writ of errors
lies there to remove a cause from the Court of King's Bench. Suppose a
cause thus removed, and the judgment reversed, because the judges had
assumed powers they did not possess; if they were afterwards impeached
for so deciding, because they were bribed, could not the peers try the impeachment? Undoubtedly they could. I cannot vote to expunge or deface
our journal, because I think the Constitution forbids it. I cannot assign
as a reason for either expunging or rescinding the resolution that the
Senate had no power to adopt it, because I do not think so; and because
I think it of the last importance we should retain with the Senate those
powers vested in it for high and important purposes, and which are, or
may be, essential to preserve the liberty of the people; but most willingly
can I vote to rescind, reverse, and repeal the resolution; because I think
that the Senate erred in adopting it. To say the least, there are doubts
of our power to expunge: and no one, I think, ought to be certain the
Senate had no power to adopt the resolution. Why, then, shall we cling
to the word " expunge," and to this r'eason, when there is a plain course
to pursue, in which what is due to the Chief Magistrate and to ourselves
can be accomplished. To me, the reason is obvious. To expunge has
become an executive measure. It is now the watchword of a party; and,
by its use, those are to be hunted down who will not conform to the
will of the party. In March, 1834, when the resolution was adopted, a
mnajority of the Senate was opposed to the Chief Magistrate.  His long
and valuable services have endeared him to the American people. They
are sensitive as to everything which can affect his reputation as a man or
as an officer.
My opinion had been expressed, and was well known; I believe it conforms to the opinion of my State and its legislature; and I hold myself
especially bound to endeavor to have it effected by the adoption of the
resolution which I have submitted. Those who believe that either I or
the people of my State are opponents of the Administration, mistake our
character. Our politics are as they have been; we now stand on the
same ground, advocate the same principles we did in 1828, when sustaining General Jackson to bring him into power. But we are the slave of no
man; and when it is attempted to ingraft on our principles a system
which does not belong to them, I will not yield my assent, be the consequences what they may. My wish is to rescind, reverse, and repeal the
resolution of 1834, because, in my judgment, it is erroneous, and because




196           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
I believe such is the judgment of my State. To vote to expunge it, I
cannot; because, in my opinion, the Constitution forbids it; and, anxious as my constituents are to vindicate the character of the Chief Magistrate, they will never require me to do so at the expense of that sacred
instrumllent, which we are all under the most high and most solemn obligations to maintain inviolate.
Thie objections thus made were ultimately evaded by so wording
the resolution as to make it define the mode of performing the proposed operation; and after a desperate resistance by the opposition,
whicll at last, in the words of Mr. Webster, as recorded by Mr. Bentoll in his " Thirty Years' View," had " degenerated into a question of
nerves and muscles," the expunging resolution was passed, MarCIch 16th
1837.  Upon that day the secretary, in the presence of the Senate,
produced the original journal, and (in the words of the resolution)
" having drawn a square of broad, black lines around the' obnoxious
censuring resolution,' wrote across its face in strong letters these
words:' Expunged by order of the Senate, this 16th day of Marcb,
i 8:3 7.1 11 




CHAPTER XI.
SENATORIAL CAREER-ABOLITION-PUBLIC LAND DISTRIBUTION —SUBTREASURY-TARIFF-DEMEANOR-BUSINESS HABITS-SURNAME.
UPON the disturbing question of slavery, which has since grown
so portentously in importance, Judge White's sentiments were loyal
to those of his native State, and were characterized by the solidity
and prudence which were such important elements in his character.
These sentiments he expressed March 2d, 1836, upon occasion of the
presentation of one of the petitions then so frequently presented by
some northern members for the abolition of slavery within the District of Columbia.  Upon that occasion he spoke as follows:
MIr. President: I address you under the solemn conviction that if
this government is to continue to accomplish the great purposes for
which it was est ablished, it can only be, by administering it in the same
spirit in which it was created.
When the Constitution was framed, the great and leading interests of
the whole country were considered, and in the spirit of liberality and
compromise were adjusted and settled.
They were settled upon principles that ought to remain undisturbed
so long as the Constitution lasts, which I hope will be for ever; for
although liberty may be preferable to the Union, yet I think the Union
is indispensable to the security of liberty. At the formation of the
Constitution, slavery existed in many of the States; it was one of the
prominent interests that was then settled. It, in all its domestic bearings, was left, exclusively to the respective States, to do with, as they
might think best, without any interference on the part of the federal
government.  This, it is admitted, by every gentleman who has
addressed you, is now the case, in every slaveholding State; therefore,
it is only urged that Congress has the power to abolish slavery in the
District of Columbia. It should never be forgotten that when the Con.
stitution was formed and adopted, what is now the District of Columbia,
was then comprehended within two of the slaveholding States, Maryland and Virginia.
197




198           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WIIITE.
Suppose when all the details of the Constitution had been adjusted, it
had been foreseen, that the District of Columbia would be formed out of
a tract of country ceded by those States, and situated in the centre
between them, it had been asked of the members of the convention,
what do you intend as to the district? You have placed the question of
slavery in the States, entirely under their control within their respective
limits, do you intend that Congress shall have the power to abolish
slavery in the district? Would not every man have answered in the
negative?
It has been said that when petitions to abolish slavery are presented
to either House of Congress, those who demand the question whether
they shall be received, and thus produce discussion, are agitators, and
produce excitement on this delicate subject. To me it seems this is
unfair. Let us for a moment consider the circumstances of the country,
alld the situation in which we are all placed.
There are twenty-four States, several Territories, and this District.
Thirteen of these States have no slaves, the other eleven have slaves;
in fact, their slaves constitute a large item of all the property they own.
During the past year, it has so happened, that many newspapers,
pamphlets, and pictorial representations made their appearance, and
through the mail, and by other means, extensively circulated in the
slaveholding States. By these means, a spirit of discontent was created,
which occasioned much excitement and disorder in various places, and
rendered it necessary, in a summary manner, to put to death several
white persons, and a number of slaves. In various quarters of the
Union there were assemblages of people, who expressed their opinions
with great freedom. In the course of the fall and winter, many of the
State Legislatures have been in session-they have been addressed on
this subject by their respective governors. They have expressed publicly their opinions-the President, in his message, has invited the
attention of Congress to it-the Senate has referred that part of the
message to a special committee, which has made a lengthy report,
accompanied by a bill, which is now upon our docket, and must, in due
course, be discussed, and either passed or rejected. Are all these to be
called agitators, and charged with unnecessarily producing excitement?
If not, how is it that members of Congress are to be thus charged when
petitions are presented that we must in some mode dispose of? Each
of us must suggest such mode as we think most correct, and none can
justly be liable to any such charge. If there is any wrong, it is found in
tlhose, who, in such a state of public feeling, will press their petitions
upon us. The petitions are forwarded to members who feel it their
duty to present them; when presented, others think it their duty to
demand the question whether they shall be received. Is it true that on
this delicate subject, every officer of the federal or State government,




ABOLITION  PETITIONS.                    199
can express his opinion, as to what it is best to do, and that a senator
dare not express his opinion without being liable to censure? I hope not.
This is a delicate subject: would to God it had not been pressed upon
us; but as it is placed here by the petitioners, we must dispose of it.
To enable us to do so, we must think upon it, and we may tell each
other what we think, and our reasons for so thinking.
It is not by speaking upon it we will be likely to do mischief. Everything depends upon the temper with which we express our opinions, and
the sentiments we advance. My wish and aim is, if I can do no good, to
do no harm, and if I believed in what I propose to say, I would utter a
sentiment from which mischief would be produced, I would close my
lips, take my seat, and content myself with yea or nay, to every question
proposed by others, leaving every person at liberty to conjecture the
reasons for my votes; but entertaining no fear of that kind, I must ask
permission to state, as briefly as I can, some of the reasons for the course
I shall pursue.
In doing this, I shall not address myself to senators coming from
either the East, or the West, the North, or the South, in particular, but
to the Senate, the whole Senate, because if it is desired, as I believe it is,
that we should remain together as one people, secure, prosperous, happy
and contented, the whole country, every section of it has a deep interest
in this matter, this agitation and excitement must cease.
What then ought we to do, as most likely to put an end to those
angry feelings which now prevail.
In my opinion, we should refuse to receive these petitions. It is a
mere question of expediency what disposition we shall make of them.
All who have yet spoken admit that Congress has no power whatever
over slavery in the respective States. It is settled. Whether slavery is
right or wrong, we have now no power to consider or discuss.  Suppose,
then, a petition were presented, to abolish slavery in the States, would
we receive it? Assuredly we ought not, because it would be asking us
to act upon a subject over which we have no power.
But these are petitions asking Congress to abolish slavery in this district. Have we the power? I think not. I consider the argument of
the honorable senator fiom Virginia (Mr. Leigh), upon that point, conclusive. It has not beeen answered, and I do not believe it can be.
Slaves are property in this district-Congress cannot take private
property, even for public use, without making just colnpensation to the
owner. No fund is provided by the Constitution to pay for slaves
which may be liberated, and the Constitution never gives Congress the
power to act upon any subject, without, at the same time, furnishing
the means for its accomplishment. To liberate slaves is not taking them
for public use. It is declaring that neither individuals nor the public
shall use them. I will not weaken the honorable member's argument by
going over it.




200            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WtIITE.
This district was intended as the place where the great business of
the nation should be transacted for the good of the whole. Congress,
under the Constitution, is placed here to legislate upon those subjects
enumerated and specified in the Constitution, that we might be able to
protect ourselves, and the officers residing here, and be out of the reach
of the laws of any State. It was never intended that we should have
any local legislation, except such as would meet the wants and the
wishes of the people residing within the ten miles square.  We should
never permit this place to be converted into a political workshop, where
plans would be devised, or carried into operation, that will have the
effect of destroying the interest of any of the States.
Members of Congress, executive, and judicial officers, were to come from
any, and every section of the Union. From the slaveholding, and the
non-slaveholding States; and their property was to be as secure here, in
this ten miles square, as it was in the States from which they respectively
came. They would bring their habits and their domestic servants with
them. Those front the non-slaveholding States their hired servants, and
those from the slaveholding States their slaves; and who can believe it
was intended to vest the power in Congress to liberate them if brought
within the district.
Again, the right of property in slaves in the States is sacred, and beyond the power of Congress to interfere with, in any respect; yet, if it be
conceded that we have the power to liberate them in the district, we can
as effectually ruin the owners as if we had the power to liberate slaves in
the States. By abolishing slavery here, we not only make a place of refuge for runaways, but we produce a spirit of discontent and rebellion in
the minds of slaves in the neighboring States, which will soon spread
over all, and which cannot fail to compel owners to destroy their own
slaves, to preserve their own lives, and those of their wives and children.
I beseech gentlemen to look at this matter as it is. Take for illustration
the case of a small planter in Mississippi, living on his own land, with
thirty slaves to cultivate it. Suddenly it is discovered that one half of
then is concerned in a plot to destroy the lives of their master, his family, and neighbors, with a view to produce their freedom, and immediately with or without law they are tucked up and hanged. The man is
thus deprived of his property without any chance for an indemnity, besides
the disquiet and anxiety of mind occasioned by a loss of confidence in his
remaining slaves. It cannot have been intended that Congress by acting
on this subject, should have a power thus to occasion a destruction of
slave property.
To me it seems that we ought to treat these petitions precisely as we
would do, if they prayed us to abolish slavery in one of the States. We
have no more power to abolish it here than we have there.
I think in either case we ought to refuse to receive them. I hold that
if the petitioners ask us to do that which we have no power to do, or to




ABOLITION  PETITIONS.                     201
do that which will be productive of a great and lasting mischief, we not
only have the right, but that it is our duty to refuse to receive them.
By the Constitution no man can be held to answver for a criminal charge
but by presentment, or indictment.  Suppose a petition presented here, alleging that some citizen in the district had been guilty of a crime, and that
he was so influential that he could not be reached by the ordinary forms
of law in court, and therefore we are asked to pass a bill of attainder.
Ought we to receive the petition? Suppose a petition to ask us to plass a
law to prohibit any member of this body friom making a speech against
the prayer of the petitioners, would we receive it? Suppose a petition
to be offered asking us to establish a particular religion in this district, or
to prohibit any publication in a newspaper on the subject of abolishing
slavery, unless it was previously approved of by a committee; would
we, ought we, to receive any such petition? I think, most certainly, we
ought not. But suppose we have the power, is there any senator who
believes we ought exercise it. I trust not. Those who urge the reception of this petition, which is from the Society of Friends, have spoken
most highly of the petitioners and the class of citizens to which they
belong. In all this I cheerfully concur. These particular persons are
strangers to me. I doubt not the purity of their motives; the sect to
which they belong is worthy of all the encomiums passed upon it. I
respect and esteem them most highly, and do not feel that in my composition there is a particle of unkindness towards them; but I think they
would have us do that which we have no power to do, and if we had the
power, by exercising it, we should do infinite mischief  Thi-. these petitioners do not desire. They have discharged what they think is their
duty by having their petitions presented; I only discharge mine when I
say, consistently with what I feel to be my duty, I cannot receive them.
But it is further insisted, that the right of petition is a sacred one, that
belongs to the nature of free government, and existed befobre the formation of our Constitution, and that instrument did not give the right to
petition, but intended only to secure it. This is sound doctrine, and has
my hearty assent.
The people are sovereign; members are their agents, or servants; they
have a right to make known their grievances, real or imaginary. We
can pass no law, we can make no rule to abridge or destroy that right.
But what do gentlemen mean when they speak of the right of petition? Do they mean that when the petition is presented we must receive
it, and do that which is prayed for?  No. Not one member contended
for this; so far from it, they say, that if the language of the petitioner is
disrespectful to the body, or any member of it, we may, and ought to
refuse to receive it.
How is this? I beg that we may reflect seriously upon this matter.
We are about to establish a doctrine to which I can never yield my assent.




202            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Are we to be exalted above our employers? Is our dignity to be of higher
consideration than the property and lives of those who send us here? If
a petition contains matter charging disgraceful conduct on the Senate, or
any of its members, we may not receive it; but if it contains matter which
is to destroy the slave property in this district, and in eleven States of this
Union, and also to endanger the lives, and dwellings of every citizen within
their limits, we are bound to receive it?
This is the doctrine contained in the arguments. I deny that there is
any such distinction to be found in a single feature of our political institutions.  The truth is, we have the power in both instances to refuse to
receive the petitions, but in exercising it when we ourselves only are assailed, we ought always to act mnost liberally in receiving, but where the
safety, the lives and tile property of our masters are concerned, we have
no right to exercise the same liberality.
With great deference for the opinions of others, I think the force of
their whole argument rests on a plain mistake.
They argue as if we never became acquainted with the contents of a
petition, or could consider and decide upon its merits until after it is
received.
This is most clearly not correct. What we have been doing for the
last few weeks is full proof of it. These petitions have been publicly
read, their merits and tendency, and our powers to abolish slavery have
been long under discussion-has any man denied our right to do so? Not
one. The only doubt suggested is, whether it was prudent to adopt this
course.
By our 24th rule, when a petition is presented the member must briefly
state its contents, and what the petitioners wish should be done. I-Ie
then asks that the petition may be received, and specifies what he wishes
to be done with it after it is received. If no member objects, for the purpose of saving time, it is received and disposed of without formally propounding the question of reception; but if any member objects, he may
call for the reading, and then urge his reasons why it should not be
received.
This rule establishes no new doctrine, it is founded in good sense, is
perfectly consistent with the right of petition, and is laid down as the
correct practice by Mr. Jefferson in his Manual at page 140.
What is the right of the petitioner? It consists in his having firee permission to make known to Congress what he esteems a grievance, and to
ask them to provide a remedy. When his petition is presented, the duty
of Congress commences. That consists in the members making themselves acquainted with the contents of the petition, and granting its prayer
if it be just and consistent with the public interest, or in refusing to
receive the petition, or making some other disposition of it, which in
their judgment will more conduce to the good of the community.




ABOLITION PETITIONS.                    203
When we refuse to receive a petition, we no more destroy or impair
the right of petition, than we do when we receive the petition and lay it
upon the table, or reject the prayer of it, or refer it to a committee who
report that it is unreasonable, and ought not to be granted.
In each of these cases, the complaint of the petitioner has been heard,
considered and decided on. In neither instance has he obtained a redress
for what he supposed a grievance, but each leaves him equally at liberty
to renew his petition at any subsequent period.
Four modes have been suggested by which to dispose of this and all
others on the same subject.
The first we have been considering, and is to refuse to receive it.
The second is to receive them, lay them on the table, and there let
them lie.
The third is to receive them, and then instantly reject the prayer of
the petitioners.
The fourth is to receive them, refer them to a committee, and let that
committee make a report upon them.
I prefer the first, because, when we refuse to receive the petitions, they
are returned to those who sent them, and it will most strongly discountenance all hope that Congress ever can, or ever ought, to pass any law
upon the subject to which they refer.
In each of the other three, we retain the petitions, place them on our
files in the custody of our officer, and at any subsequent session they are
here, and it will be competent for any member to move their reference
to a committee; whereas, if returned to the petitioner, if they ever
again make their appearance, it must be by their being re-sent and
re-presented.
I think that plan is the most advisable, and will be most likely to calmn
the disturbance in the slave States, which will most strongly manifest to
all, in every quarter, that Congress will not interfere with slavery as it
exists in the States and in this district.
If these petitions are received, I then think the disposition of them
proposed by the senator from Pennsylvania the next best —that is,
immediately to reject their prayer. This would be far preferable to laying them silently on the table without expressing any opinion whatever.
There is another aspect in which this question may be viewed that has
had great influence on my own mind.
Congress sits here as the legislature of the whole Union, and also as the
only legislature for the local concerns of the District of Columbia.
These petitions do not ask us to make a general law, operating throughout
the whole Union, but a law, the operations of which are to be spent entirely
upon property within the ten miles square.  Now if we were in form,
as well as in substance, a local legislature when acting on this question,
which gentlemen say is to affect slavery in the district, and no




204           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
where else, would we be bound to receive these petitions?  No more
than we are bound to receive petitions from France or Germany. Would
gentlemen, if sitting as members of the legislature of Alabama, feel
bound to receive petitions from  citizens of Maine or Pennsylvania to
emancipate slaves within their own State?  Assuredly not. If that be
so, is it not most reasonable, when we are called upon to pass an act confined exclusively to this district, that we should conduct towards the
people here, as if in this matter they were our constituents?
Will it not be time enough to receive petitions on this subject when
they are presented on behalf of those upon whose property alone, it is
said the law would operate?
Honorable senators have told us there are two classes of abolitionists, and that public opinion will soon put down the mischievous
class, which is small in number.  Gentlemen, I doubt not, think as they
say. All we know is, that our peace has been very much disturbed by
them, whether few or many.
Their newspapers, their pamphlets and pictorial representations have
been plentiful. They have come to us through the mail, and by other
means, in great abundance, and if we are to live together as one people,
they must stop. It is vain to reason with people about the liberty of
speech, and of the press, when their lives are put at hazard. When the
domestic circle is invaded, when a man is afraid to eat his provisions, lest
his cook has been prevailed on to mix poison with his food, or dare not
go to sleep, lest the servants will cut the throats of himself, his wife and
children before he awakes, he will not endure it; and, when he can lay
hands upon those who prompt to such deeds of mischief; he will not wait
for the ordinary form of law to redress him. He takes the laws into his
own hands, and everything which accustoms us to violate the law, is a
serious evil in a country as free as ours, where the laws should govern.
The honorable senator from Mississippi has shown us something of the
feelings of his State, which has suffered much. In mine, when we first
heard of punishing persons in Mississippi, without legal trial, we thought
it all wrong, and somle of our leading newspapers courteously found fault
with it. Their columlns were not long dry until one of these distributers
of abolition pamphlets was found in our most populous and respectable
city, and an assemblage of our most orderly and discreet citizens immediately resorted for address to the same summary process which had been
used in our sister State.
Public opinion may have done something on this subject. I know of only
one attempt to establish a press for such publications in any slaveholding
State. The neighbors of the gentleman informed him that his press
would be productive of mlischief, and he must not establish it in their
town —he answered that he held it a high duty which he could not dispense with, to proceed, and he would do so. They replied if he did they




PUBLIC LANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.               205
would consider it their duty to demolish his building, and sow his types
broad-cast in the streets. This manifestation of public opinion he
respected. He knew that those with whom he had to deal would keep
their word. Hie desisted, retired to a neighboring State, where, as I have
understood, he is now publishing his paper.
I beg gentlemen to consider that it is of no consequence to us whether
the abolitionists, in their States, are many or few; their publications are
numerous; they have already produced much mischief, and if persisted in,
must end in consequences to be for ever regretted by us all.
For myself, on the subject of the disposition we mlay make of these
petitions, I can have no other wish than that it may be such, as will most
tend to allay excitement, and restore that harmony, which is so essential
to the common interest of our whole country.
When Mr. Clay's bill for the distribution of the proceeds of the
Public Lands was first presented, Judge White voted against it, for
the plain reason that the treasury was comparatively empty, and the
nation in debt. When it was subsequently presented, the treasury
was full to overflowing, and he voted for it; sustaining it in a speech
worthy of his reputation, in which he maintained that the surplus in
the treasury had been gathered by taxation fiom the people, and that
it was but just that it should now be distributed for their benefit.
He also forcibly exhibited the vices of the various other plans for the
use of the same funds; and took occasion to urge the adoption of
measures substantially identical with those at present urged for facilitating the purchase of land by actual settlers upon it. This wellconsidered and valuable speech, delivered April 26, 1836, is as follows:
Mr. President: The subject under consideration is not new, but the
circumstances connected with it are both novel and important.
Formerly we were in debt, and had no money in the treasury, which
we could not conveniently use. Now we owe nothing, and have an
overflowing treasury. The common wants for an economical administration of the government, will require but a small portion of our vast
and accumulating treasure; and the question is, what disposition shall
we make of the surplus.
Several projects have been presented. An increase of the Army, of the
Navy, additional fortifications, and munitions of War, is one plan. Another is to put the funds in the power of the Commissioners of the Sinking
Fund, and let them vest them in stocks, which will add to our wealth.
A third is, to form contracts with incorporated railroad companies, for
transporting the mail, your warlike stores, and your armies. And the




206               MIEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
fourth is that presented by this bill, which is to distribute the proceeds
of the public lands among the several States.
In forming an opinion upon this subject I find myself compelled to
form  some opinion on each of the others also, that I may be able to decide which ought be preferred.
But the first question to be settled is one of power.
If we have no power to dispose of this money, as this bill'proposes, it
is only a waste of time to pursue the subject any farther.
Some of our enlightened public men, years past, foresaw difficulties,
which would, in time, originate from  surpluses accumulating in the treasury, and suggested this very plan for disposing of them.  Some doubted
the power under the Constitution, and suggested an amendment to remove
the doubt; others felt no doubts, therefore did not deem  any amendment
necessary. All, however, seem to have concurred in the fairness and
justice of this disposition of such funds, as might not be needed, for the
uses of the federal government.
If I mistake not, Mr. Jefferson, while President, made a suggestion to
Congress on this subject.
Ten years ago an honorable senator, from New Jersey, now Secretary
of the Navy, and I do him  the justice to  add, then, as well as now, a
zealous friend  of the present Chief Magistrate, moved in this body on
this subject, had a committee created, made an able, detailed report,
accompanied by a bill, which was not finally acted on during the session.
To do that gentleman justice I must recur to this report, and read such
parts of it as are material, that we may have the benefit of his opinion as
enforced by himself. It is found in the 4th vol. of the Senate Documents
at the session 1825 and 1826: doc. 95, page 1; and is in these words:
The Committee, from as careful an examination of the subject, as a due attention to their
other duties would permit them to make, have come to the conclusion that great advantages
would result to the United States from an annual distribution among them, by some equitable
ratio, of a portion of our national revenue, for the purposes of education and internal improvement, or for such other purposes as the State governments may respectively deem most to their
advantage. Whether the United States shall divide the whole of their revenues, beyond what
are required for the usual expenditures of the government, domestic and foreign, civil, military,
and naval, to the reduction of our public debt, until the whole of it shall be extinguished; or
whether they shall apply a portion of those revenues, as proposed for the most important purposes, and thereby cause a more gradual reduction of the public debt, resolves itself into a
question of expediency.
It remains for Congress to determine which of these courses will most effectually promote
the present, as well as the future, prosperity of the country. There can be no doubt, thatmoney
distributed among the States as proposed, would be invested in a way to give much greater
profit, than the interest on such money would yield at three, four and a half, or even five per
cent, which are the rates of interest now paid on the greater part of our public debt.
As a large portion of this debt is payable to persons in Europe, to discharge it as fast as our
means would permit, would be to send from the country sooner than necessary, funds that are
wanted at home; the inconvenience of which would be sensibly felt in the present embarrassed
state of our money market, and most probably, for several years to come.
Money distributed as proposed, would give new activity to industry and enterprise in all
the States; and that equally and simultaneously.




PUBLIC  LANDS FOR  ACTUAL  SETTLERS.                         201It would create a vigilance on the part of the State governments, over the expenditures of
the general government, and thereby prevent the waste of money, and the adoption of extravagant measures, that might diminish the amount of the annual dividends.
It would secure ismpartialj'astice to all the States in the distribution of the expenditures of
our revenue, a failure in which at present is a subject of loud and just complaint.
It would relieve the general government of the serious inconvenience of an overflowing
treasury, which, if not provided for in the manner proposed, or by a reduction of our revenue,
will impair the most important principles of our Constitution.
It would relieve the two HIouses of Congress of a large portion of legislation, now devoted to
the disposal of our surplus funds-legislation of the worst kind, calculated to produce comubinations, sectional feelings, injustice and waste of the public treasure.
It would transfer to the States, the regulation of expenditures for internal improvements by
roads and canals, which if retained and exercised by the general government, contrary, as is
believed by many, to the letter and spirit of our Constitution, will, in time, so far decrease the
powers of the State governments, and increase those of the United States government, as to
destroy the federative principle of our Union, and convert our system of confederated republics
into a consolidated government.
It would remove the cause of the great and increasing difficulties arising from an objection,
on constitutional grounds, to the exercise of the right claimed on the part of the United States,
of making roads and canals throughl the different States of the Union. It would enable the
general government to keep in operation an efficient system of finance and revenue with advantage to the States. And should the exigencies of the country require the application of all
our means to some object connected with our national peace and prosperity, those means could
soon be brought into operation, by suspending, for a time, the dividends to the States. By this
our treasury would be filled without a sudden resort to new taxes, which might be oppressive
to agriculture, and which might create much inconvenience by interrupting the pursuits and
industry of our citizens.
Money collected from the sources which now give us our revenues and distributed among
the States as proposed, would produce a rapid and profitable circulation of our funds, from the
centre to the extremities of the Union, and thus add to the force of the moneyed capital of the
country.
It will here be remarked, no doubt was felt or expressed, as to power
to distribute every portion of the revenue, which could be spared, and a
plan was recommended for adoption immediately, although we then owed
a large debt, bearing various rates of interest from  three up to six per
centutn.
Next in the order of time, is the message of the present Chief Magistrate at the commencement of the session of Congress in 1829, found in
the Senate Journal, pages 13 and 14. That part of it which is material,
is in these words:
After the extinction of the public debt it is not probable that any adjustment of the tariff, upon
principles satisfactory to the people of the Union, will, until a remote period, if ever, leave the
government without a considerable surplus in the treasury, beyond what may be necessary
for its current service. As then the period approaches when the application of the revenue
to the payment of debt will cease, the disposition of the surplus will present a subject for the
serious deliberation of Congress, and it may be fortunate for the country that it is yet to be
decided. Considered in connection with the difficulties which have heretofore attended appropriations for purposes of internal improvement, and with those which this experience tells us will
certainly arise, whenever power over such subjects may be exercised by the general government, it is hoped that it may lead to the adoption of some plan, which will reconcile the diversified interests of the States, and strengthen the bonds which unite them. Every member of
the Union, in peace and in war, will be benefited by the improvement of inland navigation,
and the construction of highwoays in the several States. Let us then endeavor to attain this




208                MIEMMMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
benefit in a mode which will be satisfactory to all. That hitherto adopted has, by many of our
fellow-citizens, been deprecated as an infraction of the Constitution; while, by others, it has
been avowed inexpedient. All feel that it has been employed at the expense of harmony in
the legislative councils.
To avoid these evils, it appears to me that the most safe, just and federal disposition, which
could be mad(e of the surplus revenue, would be its apportiontment among the several States according to their ratio of representation-and should this measure not be found warranted by
the Constitution, that it would be expedient to propose to the States an amendment authorizing
it. I regard ass appeal to the source of power, in cases of real doubt, and when its exercise is
deemed indispensable to the general welfare, as among the most sacred of all our obligations.
Upon this country, more than any other, has, in the providence of God, been cast the special
guardianship of the great principle of adherence to written Constitutions. If it fail here, all
hope in regard to it will be extinguished. That this was intended to be a governnent of
limited and specific, and not general, powers, must be admitted by all; and it is our duty to
preserve for it the character intended by its framers. If experience points out the necessity
for an enlargement of these powers, let us apply for it to those for whose benefit it is to be
exercised; and not undermine the whole system by a resort to overstrained constructions.
It will be perceived that in these two short paragraphs, the justice and
utility of distributing these surplus funds, are presented to the mind, in
language as clear, distinct, and forcible, as can well be employed.
It was not necessary to his purpose, and therefore he did not examine
the question whether the powers of Congress over the moneys arising
from  the public lands, were as limited  as those possessed over moneys
derived from  taxes, and  he contents himself with the expression  of a
general doubt on the question of power, and recommends an amendment
of the Constitution to remove it.
At the session of 1831 and 1832, this subject is introduced  into the
report of Mr. McLane, then Secretary of the Treasury, and  afterwards
Secretary of State. What he says will be found in the Senate Documents,
vol. 1, doc. 3, page 12-and is in these words:
The sources from which the revenue has hitherto been derived, are the imports, public lands,
and bank dividends. With the sales of the bank stock the latter will cease; and as the
imports, according to any scale of duties which it will be expedient and practicable to adopt,
will be " amply sufficient " to meet all the expenditures, that portion of the revenue heretofore
drawn from the sale of the public lands maybe dispensed with, should Congress see fit to do so.
On this point, the undersigned deems it proper to observe, that the creation of numerous
States throughout the Western country, now forming a most important part of the Union, and
the relative powers claimed and exercised by Congress and the respective States over the public
lands, have been gradually accumulating causes of inquietude and difficulty, if not of complaint. It may well deserve consideration, therefore, whether, at a period demanding an anmicable and permanent adjustment of the various subjects which now agitate the public mind,
these may not be advantageously disposed of, in common with the others, and upon principles
just and satisfactory to all parts of the Union.
It must be admitted that the public lands were ceded by the States, or subsequently acquired
by the United States, for the common benefit, and that "each State has an interest in their
proceeds, of which it cannot justly be deprived." Over this part of the public property, the
powers of the general government have been uniformly supposed to have a peculiarly extensive
scope, and have been construed to authorize their application to purposes of education and
improvement, to which other branches of revenue were not deemed applicable. It is not prac.
ticable to keep the public lands out of the market, and the present mode of disposing of them is
not the most profitable, either to the general government, or to the States, and must be




PUBLIC LANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.                         209
expected, when the proceeds shall be no longer required for the public debt, to give rise to new
and more serious objections.
Under these circumstances, it is submitted to the wisdom of Congress, to decide upon the
propriety of all the public lands in the aggregate, to those States within whose territorial limits
they lie, at a fair price, to be settled in such manner as might be satisfactory to all. The aggregate price of the whole "may then be apportioned among the several States of the Union,"
according to such equitable ratio as may be consistent with the objects of the original session,
and the proportion of each paid.
The vigorous and discriminating mind of this highly gifted and useful
man, at once recognizes as sound, a distinction in the powers of Congress
over moneys derived from  a disposition of the public lands, and those
powers which that body may be supposed to possess over moneys derived
from other sources, and he strongly urges the necessity and; propriety of
a distribution among the States.
It is fortunate that we are not yet placed in circumstances which make
it essential to decide whether we have a power to divide all surplus revenue, no matter from what source derived.
I profess to be what is called a strict constructionist of the Constitution, and that our power to appropriate money is necessarily confined to
appropriations, to effect some object upon which  Congress is expressly
empowered to legislate, or some necessary and appropriate means to effect
such enumerated objects.  Still I never have been satisfied we do not possess the power to distribute surplus revenue, if it is believed wise to do so.
No just government will take, either by direct or indirect taxes, more
money than is necessary to defray all the reasonable expenses of the
government.  When taxes are imposed either directly, or by an assessment of duties, it cannot be foretold precisely how much will be wanted,
or how much will be received, in the treasury.  We must necessarily act
upon estimates. To some extent, we shall be mistaken. Foreseeing this,
and for the sake of collecting what will be certainly sufficient, we shall
almost invariably collect more than is necessary. In a series of years,
these accumulating balances will amount to a sum  too large to remain
locked up and entirely useless.  What then is to be done?  We surely
are not at liberty to devise some wasteful and mischievous project, merely
to use the money.
It came into the treasury by mistake-mistakes which, in the nature
of things, could not be avoided. Have we no power to correct themr
when discovered?  Is not the power to refund the money a necessary
result from the power to assess and collect it?
Is not this a power which Congress has always exercised, and must
exercise, as to individuals?
By mistake, our officers collect and place in the treasury, money which
ought not to have been collected; the mistake is discovered, and the individual calls on Congress for redress. We pass a law to refund the money.
Where do we get power to do this? There is no express grant of
14




210             MEMOIR  OF  HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
any such power; but it results from  the very nature of the relation
which exists between the payer and receiver.  The latter must always
have power to act justly, to act honestly, and whenever he finds he has
money through mistake, he would seem to have power to return it.  But
I do not intend to express any opinion on this point, or to prolong a discussion, by introducing important topics, not necessary to our action on
this bill.  All I intended, was to state, for myself, that should it ever
become necessary to discuss the general subject of our power to distribute
the whole surplus, no matter from what source derived, for one, I think
it well worth a careful and deliberate consideration, before it is either
affirmed or denied; and I most heartily concur in the sound doctrine of
the President, that we ought not to act, when there is a reasonable doubt
of our power.
The question which we must now decide is, whether we have power to
do that, which all admit, it is perfectly just we should do, if we have the
poioc' —distribute the proceeds of the sales of the public lands.
The following considerations have satisfied my own mind, and they arrespectfully submitted for the reflection of others. Our public lands
were acquired by the United States, by deeds of cessions fiom  several
individ ual States, and by the purchase of Louisiana and Florida, which
vere paid for by moneys derived from the lands which had been ceded by
individual States.
The most important cession was made by the State of Virginia, in the
year 1784, and that part of the cession material to our present purpose, is
in the following words:
That all the lands within the territory so ceded to the United States, and not reserved for,
or appropriated to any of the before-mentioned purposes, or disposed of in bounties to the
officers and soldiers of the American army, shall be considered as a " common fund" for the
use and benefit of such of the United States as have become, or " shall " become, members of
the confederation, or federal alliance of the said States, " Virginia inclusive, according to
their usual respective proportions in the general charge and expenditure," and shall be "faithfully and bona fide disposed of for that purpose, and for no other use or purpose whatsoever."
-Laws US. vol. i., p. 4T4.
This language creates an express trust between the United States and
each individual State.
By it the United States stand pledged to hold these lands in trust, that
they shall be faithfully managed, and their avails applied for the joint
beiefzt of all.
So far as it has been applied to the payment of debts due by all, the
trust has been complied with; but now the debts are paid, and there is a
surplus, have we the power to give this surplus to those for whose use
the trust was created?
I might ask who can doubt it?
Suppose the States still bound together only by the articles of confede



PUBLIC LANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.                     211
ration, out of money raised in its own way, and out of its own means,
each State had paid, when called on, its regular quota for the expenses of
the federal government, and for the payment of the national debt, and
there was a surplus of twenty or thirty millions of dollars, for which the
federal government had no use, would we not be bound to distribute it?
I say we would not only have the power to do so, but if we did not exert
it, a court of chancery would compel us, if we could be sued.
The very terms of the cession look to distribution. If this were not
so, why say in the deed, that when used for the benefit of all, " Virginia"
shall be included?  Why fix the " ratio" in which payments shall be
made to each? If we only have power to pay debts, and bear common
expenses of government, with these moneys, and can do nothing else with
them, both these regulations would have been useless.
I take it, therefore, as too clear for a doubt, that if now connected by
the articles of confederation only, we would have the power to distribute.
The next question is, did the adoption of the present Constitution alter
the rights of the parties, or take from Congress the power to comply with
their engagement? I answer, unhesitatingly, no.
In the 6th article of the Constitution, the first paragraph runs thus:
All debts contracted, "and engagements entered into," before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution " as under the confederation."
In the third section of the fourth article of the same instrument, this
language is found:
The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations,
respecting the territory or other property of the United States, and nothing in this Constitution shal be construed to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any "particular
State."
Thus we find all debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before,
were to remain unchanged, and the respective rights of the United States
and of each individual State, were to remain precisely as if the form of
government had not been altered, and express power is conferred to
dispose of the public lands, and to make all needful rules and regulations
respecting the territory or other property of the United States.
With these different provisions before him, who can doubt the power
of the United States, to do that which, by accepting this trust, they
expressly agree to do?
Cessions from  the other States are made substantially on the same
conditions, and liable to the same dispositions by Congress.  Louisiana
and Florida were purchased with the avails of those ceded lands, the
trustee is the same, and that trustee holds these lands loaded with exactly
the same burden, and is bound, if those for whose use they are holden
desire it, to dispose of them and their proceeds in the same manner.




212          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
I hold, therefore, that, be the general question of power to distribute
the whole revenue settled as it may, there ought to be no question as to
the power to divide moneys arisingfrom the sales of lands.
But it has been argued that if we have the power there is no money to
divide. That when the amount is settled, the net gain will not exceed
$400,000.
To this I can never agree. The United States took this trust fiund,
and with it purchased Louisiana and Florida, and now we are told
they have had the use of the money for nothing, and will only account for
the principal.
This is not the rule. If the trustee takes the trust fund and trades upon
it, he must account to the cestuy que use, for all the profits made.
The question in chancery would be, not what these countries cost, but
what they are worth.
You cannot fix a price. Louisiana and Florida! The sovereignty and
jurisdiction over them alone, is worth more to this Union, than all the
national debt we ever owed.
How much duties have we collected fiom their ports? IIow much
have we avoided paying, by making theml our own, instead of letting them
remain foreign ports? How many wars have we avoided by their purchase? In short, what would you take for them? No sum! They are
beyond price to the rest of the Union.
On this part of the subject, the question with me is, not what sum we
now have in the treasury, which was received for the sale of lands, but
whether we have a sum in the treasury equal to that proposed to be distributed, over and above all that is necessary to be appropriated to take
care of the great interests of the country, and without debiting the
States with the sums paid for Louisiana and Florida, because I am sure,
upon a fair settlement, the sum due from the Union is at least equal to
the sum which it is proposed now to distribute.
What sum have we, and what shall we probably receive, in the course
of the year?
I will take round sums, disregarding fractions.
We now have in the treasury.                       $32,000,000
Of this sum, the quarter ending 31st March, produced
$11,000,000. Suppose the remaining three quarters to average the like sum, and we will have on the 31st December,
more by.33,000,000
Add the value of our bank stock..   7,500,000
Estimated amount... $72,500,000
Deduct for falling off and deficiencies.          5,500,000
$67,000,000




PUBLIC LANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.                213
After'this liberal deduction we shall have sixty-seven millions at the end
of the year.
Now for expenditures:
The ordinary wants of the government ought not to exceed $15,000,000.
Mr. AIcLane, in the report of 1831, to which I have adverted, fixes upon
that as a sum amply sufficient, and it appears to me in all conscience it
must be enough, unless our prosperity is to drive us into most mad
excesses.
Let us then take this as the sum necessary for our ordinary expenses in the course of the year.      $15,000,000
Add to this, to be distributed among the States..  27,0001000
These two sums amount to.... $42,000,000
Take forty-two millions from sixty-seven, and we still have in the
treasury tiwenty-five millions of dollars, to apply to any extraordinary
expenditures for the army, the navy, for fortifications, or for any other
purpose whatever.
The army ought to be increased so much as to render secure our frontiers. The increase of our navy may be hastened to some extent; we
ought ultimately to have a naval force, more than able to chastise and
drive off any foreignfleet sent to blockade, or seriously to infest our coast.
Larger than that we do not need, and ought not to have, if it were given
to us.
Fortifications are only wanted for important points, at which an enemy
might do much mischief to public or to private property, by a sudden
incursion. The whole coast we never can, and should never attempt to
defend by fortifications.
If we do, we must have a large standing army to defend them; otherwise they will be applied to the protection of our enemies.
We are told by the Secretary of War, in a document before me, that
Old Point Comfort covers sixty-three acres of ground, apnd to protect it
by an adequate force, would require several thousand men.
We never can, we never ought to attempt to defend our whole coast,
by so many fortifications, as will require any considerable increase of our
army.
If we do, in time of peace, these troops will come on days of election,
and as they are hired to do our fighting they will do our voting likewise,
and in a short time leave us nothing worth fortifying.
Such defences are contrary to the spirit and genius of our government,
and ought never to be countencanced, or tolerated to the unreasonable
extent, which some appear now to desire. In the same document at
pages 21, 22, from the War Department, the Secretary says, no new fortification ought to be commenced until all the proposed sites are resurveyed and plans devised upon a suitable scale, and recommends a board




214           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
for that purpose, which will require a small appropriation of thirty
thousand dollars.
He also recommends experiments to be made in relation to steam, or
movable batteries, which will require an appropriation of one hundred
thousand dollars.
Well then, if we concur with the Secretary, we want at present no
appropriation for new fortifications, but these two sums equal to ono
hundred and thirty thousand dollars to defray the expenses of a board,
and the experiments of which I have spoken.
As to the fortifications, now in progress, let sulch increase be made in
the appropriations, as can reasonably be used in the course of the year.
As to the suggestion made that we ought, at once, to appropriate a sum
large enough to complete the work, although it may be five or ten years
before it can be completed, I do not think it ought to be sanctioned. It
is unnecessarily, and for a long time, putting at hazard in the hands of
agents, who may prove faithless, large sums of money. From year to
year let the appropriations be made, and thus avoid all unnecessary risk.
According to this same document, the expense necessary for ordnance
must be comparatively trifling. We can be much more readily supplied
than I had imagined.
Upon the whole I think all the reasonable demands for the army, for
the navy, for fortifications, ordnance. and other munitions of war, can be
supplied without making any serious impression upon that large furnd
left in the treasury, after providing for the distribution, as proposed in this
bill.
Allusion has been made to matters pending before us, when not acting
as a legislature, which, if perfected, may occasion a considerable increase
of expenditure.
That may be so; yet we must remember that not much of this expenditure will, or can be this year, or the next, and that these very measures
will increase our resources, if not entirely equal to our increased expenditures, very nearly so. These matters, therefore, may be laid aside.
Another project for ridding the treasury of its surplus, is that of
placing it in the hands of Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, and authorizing them to vest it in some secure stock, yielding a reasonable profit.
This might do, and is probably intended as an expedient to save the
money from loss; but as to a mode of lessening the fund, it would be
making bad worse, it would be devising a plan to increase our store,
because we should expect a return of the principal and the interest produced by it.
But for myself; I have no idea of sending our money among stockjobbers, into the market, to be higgling for bargains, which in one way
may be very good, and in some other, very bad. Far rather would I
prefer they should remain where they now are.




PUBLIC LANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.                215
The last scheme for adoption is, that from the Post Office Committee
with the aid of steam. With the aid of this machinery, I have very little
doubt the whole can be accomplished in a very short time.
The whole of this, which, without intending disrespect to the Committee, I must call artful contrivance, is neither more nor less, than the
old system of internal improvement, with federal means, and by federal
power, revived, and the more odious, because of the attempt at concealment. The old system has the merit of manliness. Its friends think the
federal government has the power, and openly avow that they will
exercise it, because, in doing so, they promote the public interest. This
seeks to violate the Constitution by stealth, and the contrivers of it must
think the device is so artfully concealed, that the public can never find
out the design.
Now, sir, I think it perfectly proper, that where a railroad can be had,
the Postmaster General ought to have the power to contract with the coinpany, to carry his mail, and I understand he has this power already;
therefore, as to existing roads, the bill will be of no use. He can make
just as good a contract without, as with, this bill.
It can only operate on roads commenced and unfinished, or ones being
commenced. How then will it operate? Say the road is to be one
hundred miles long, and ten or twenty miles only finished, and the conpany to need funds, they make a contract to carry the mail, and receive
at once out of the treasury, a sum of money, the interest on which,
yearly, will be equal to the sum paid yearly in time past, for carrying the
mail; with this money the company are to progress, and make another
part of the road, then the contract will be enlarged on the same principles, an additional sum paid, and thus the road completed. Can this be
anything but an enlarged, masked system of internal improvement? and
if the charter of the company is for fifty or an hundred years, or for ever,
your contracts are to be in the same way. To carry out this system,
what sum would it probably cost? No man dares to offer a conje'cture.
To enable us to have a glimpse of it, let us suppose one case. Upon a
given route the sum paid for carrying the mail was twenty thousand
dollars per annum. We are now to give to the company presently, and
to be retained as long as the charter lasts, a sum which, at an interest of
six per cent., will produce twenty thousand dollars yearly.
What sum would that be? No less than three hundred and thirty-three
thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars and one-third.
This would be but one route, and I presume of the middling class, and
pray what sum would it not require, to spread this system over the United
States?
Suppose one of those companies, directly after receiving your mone3,
to fail, and decline business, what then? We must lose the money, or take
the road. We take the road and employ managers, and hands enough, to




216               MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
carry on business, on our own account. We should then have a little army
of our own, moving to  and fro by steam.  Under such a system, we
would be steamed out of all our money, all our character, and everything
but a handsome addition to federal patronage.
Adopt this plan, and my word for it, we will never have another argument on the subject of disposing of our surplus revenue: it will be
scattered to the four winds.
As this project is brought forward by a friend of the Administration,
it is supposed to be an Administration measure; by this I mean, a
measure approved by the President.  How  this fact may be, I do not
profess to know, but I have seen enough in my day here, to satisfy me,
that it is very unfair, that every measure brought forward, and advocateid
by members professing to be friends of the Administration, should be
considered as having the sanction of the President.  I know not what his
opinions on such subjects are now; I know  what they have been, and
until informed in some authentic mode, they have been changed, I esteem
it fahir to suppose they remain unchanged.
Let us hear hium  speak for himself, in two of his communications.  In
his annual message, 1830, the President says:
In speaking of direct appropriations, I mean to include a practice, which has obtained to
some extent, and to which I have in one instance, in a different capacity, given my assentthat of subscribing to the stock of private associations. Positive experience, and a more
thorough consideration of the subject, have convinced me of the impropriety, as well as in expediency, of such investments. All improvements effected by the funds of the nation, for
general use, should be open to the enjoyment of all our fellow-citizens, except from the payment of tolls, or any imposition of that character.
Same message, he says farther:
That such improvements, on account of particular circumstances, may be more advantageously and beneficially made in some States than in others, is doubtless true; but that they are
of a character which should prevent an equitable distribution of the public funds amongst the
several States, is not to be concluded.
We have it constantly before our eyes, that professions of superior zeal in the cause of internal improvement, and a disposition to lavish the public funds upon objects of that character,
are daily and earnestly put forth by aspirants to power, as constituting the highest claims to
the confidence of the people. Would it be strange, under such circumstances, and in times of
great excitement, that grants of this description should find their motives in objects which may
not accord with the public good. Those who have not had occasion to see, and regret, the
indication of a sinister influence, in these matters, in time past, have been more fortunate than
myself, in their observation of the cause of human affairs.
In his message of 1832, he says:
I recommend that provision be made to dispose of all stocks, now held by it (the government), in corporations, whether created by the general or State governments, and placing the
proceeds in the treasury. As a source of profit, these stock are of little, or no, value; as a
means of influence among the States, they are adverse to the purity of our institutions.
The whole principle on which they are based, is deemed by many unconstitutional, and to
persist in the policy which they indicate, is considered wholly inexpedient."




PUBLIC LANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.                 217
Are we to infer, after this, that he would approve of this plan? I
think not. To me, it appears much more probable, were we to pass
such a bill as this, that it would be vetoed by him, than that he should
negative the distribution bill, when he would reflect upon the altered
state of things, since that subject was acted on by him.
Such a system as this would be one of internal improvement, with the
moneys, and under the patronage of the federal government. It would
be for the benefit of companies, some of whose charters may be for long
periods, as without limit as to time, they would still continue to receive
toll from the people.
It would operate partially and unjust to the different sections of the
country. Some would receive plenty; others none.
Instead of trying to rid the government of all connection with stock
companies, we would be forming more extensive and dangerous connections than have ever been thoubght of in time past. I therefore conclude,
such a scheme, however plausible at first view, can never ultimately find
favor from any majority in Congress.
I will now advert to some of the strongest objections which I have
heard, to the policy of distribution.
It is thought a system of distribution will make the States feel dependent on the federal government, and induce them to engage in enterprises
not necessary, and beyond their fair means.
Ought we not to remember that it is the same people, who are represented, both in the State and federal legislatures?  That they are
competent to understand their own rights, and have the power to compel obedience to their will, by their representatives at home as well as
here?
Will they not know that the money distributed is their owon money,
not a boon from Congress? How then will they feel dependent upon
those who have done them no favor, but the simple act of justice, of paying them their own money, in place of keeping it locked up, or having it
wasted by others.
If the people are capable of self-government, they must be capable of
understanding their own rights, and pursuing their own interests. They
will not view this as a boon, but as a delivery to them of that which is
their own. They will never look to distribution as a regular and certain
resource for State purposes, but as an incidental addition to their other
means, which will enable them  to carry on with more vigor, any plan,
which in their wisdom may be devised, for improving their country, or
increasing the means of education.
Again. It is said the new States may justly fear that distribution will
induce the old States to keep the price of lands high, and thereby check
settlements in them.
It appears to me there can be no real foundation for any alarm on this




218           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
account. The new States now form a very respectable minority. That
minority will soon be increased to the number of ten or eleven. If we
are fit to live together under one general government, there never can,
there never will, come a time, when so large a minority cannot prevail
upon enough to make up a majority, to do that which is not only just,
but liberal to them.
Nothing can be so likely to prevent this, as a contracted and illiberal
policy on their part. If they prevent distribution, and thus prevent
others fiom attaining any participation in a common fund, and this with
a view to benefit themselves, may they not destroy all disposition to
meliorate their condition?  Will it not be more wise in them, to let
that, which can well be spared from the proceeds of the public lands, be
distributed, and with their fair proportion of it, in common with other
States, go on and make such internal improvements as the interest of
their people demands, and rely upon the justice of Congress, from time
to time, to make such reductions in the price of the public iands, in
favor of actual settlers, as the interests of the new States may require?
For one, having been raised, and having lived in a new State, and
knowing the difficulties they have to encounter, my feelings have been
with them, and, since honored with a place here, I have ever been
disposed by my votes to favor their wishes and interests, so far as it
could consistently be done. I hope still to do so, let them pursue what
course they may.
Either now, or at any subsequent time, I am ready to vote a reduction
of the price of the public lands, in favor of the actual settler, the cultivator of the soil; but not to favor the speculator-he who would buy
largely at a small price, to sell to the settler in small quantities at a
high price.
Of all the evils which can befall a new State, none is greater, than to
reduce the price so low as to encourage individuals or companies to
purchase large quantities of the public donmain. They will be held up
for increased prices, and effectually check the growth, the prosperity,
and wealth of any State, where such policy is pursued.
But the actual settler may well be favored by procuring a home of his
own, at a low price, where he can cultivate his own soil, and independently of all others, maintain his family.
I voted yesterday against the amendment of the senator from Mississippi, because it did not provide for actual settlers, only for those who
represented that they wished to become settlers. Let lands be entered
upon such statements, and those who entered them would, in many
cases, soon change their minds, and some speculator would be found to
be the true owner, at the reduced price.
Whenever the lands have been so long in market, at a reasonable
price, as to show that they are not of value to the general government,




PUBLIC L,ANDS FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.              219
let thlle  be transferred upon some fair terms to the States in which
they respectively lie.
In the State which I have the honor in part to represent, the United
States now own some lands, which never have been, and never can be,
brought into market by them, so as to produce any benefit whatever;
to the State they would be worth something; there is now a bill pending in the other house, which has for its object their transfer to the
State, and if it reaches the Senate, which I hope it soon will, it is
believed we shall be able to show the propriety of passing it.
Let us now reflect a little on some of the advantages which will flow
from the passage of this bill.
In the first place we shall do that which is an act of justice to the
individual States. Several of them, my own among the rest, have never
received a dollar from  the federal government, while others have
received large donations in lands, or in money.
In some States, opposed to internal improvements by the federal
government, no contributions have been made for either roads or
canals, while in others large sums have been expended. This inequality
has produced heart-burnings and discontents. Give to each its own
proportion of this fund, to use as it pleases, and this cause of discontent
will be removed.
Each State is the proper judge what ought to be done with its own
money.  I am, therefore, opposed to giving any direction as to the
objects to which it shall be applied: but I have no doubt, in most
instances, it will be expended either in internal improvements, or in the
business of education.
I have been one of those, who do not believe the federal government
has the power to carry on a system of internal improvements within the
States; and I shall now think it peculiarly hard, when we find a large
sum of money, which we have the power to distribute, if it should be
taken, and wasted upon remote and distant objects, and my State receive
nothing. I should consider myself criminally negligent, if I did not
urge the necessity of giving that, which I think is justly our due.
By making this distribution we shall withdraw from the deposit banks
a large sum of money, now locked up from the common and beneficial
pursuits of life, and put it in circulation, not in one State or place in particular, but in every State in the Union, so that its beneficial effects will
be felt by all.
Now, if this money is loaned by the banks, it is evident to my mind,
the loans are not made to commercial men, accustomed to bank accommodations, but to companies, engaged in speculations in our most valuable public lands; by means of these loans, the honest settler is driven
off from your public sales, or is forced to join some company, for the
sake of enabling himself to procure, at a fair price, the small piece of
land on which he has settled.




220           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Formerly, we sold the public lands upon credit; while that was the
case, companies were formed, and speculations carried to a great extent.
I attended one of those sales, and saw enough to satisfy me, Mr. President, that if you and I could unite our capacity for business, we would
not then be able to purchase, at its value, a section of land. The speculators would force us to join them, or drive us out of the market. They
would tell us the land we desired to purchase was worth ten dollars per
acre, and if we would give them the difference between the sum we had
to give at sale, and ten dollars, then we might buy, otherwise they
would run it up to twenty dollars per acre; and they would keep their
word, if we did not come to terms; if we did, then we could bid off the
land at a dollar and a quarter, which we would pay to the government,
and in addition we would pay the company eight and three quarter dollars per acre.
The Congress determined to break up these speculations, by requiring
cash payments. It worked very well till lately. Within the last year,
the land speculations are revived to a fearful extent. Now what is
probably the cause? These large sums, so long on deposit, enable the
banks to make to these companies large loans on long credits, and with
the money thus borrowed, your best lands are sacrificed. Thiis is nothing
but the credit system revived in a new shape. Formerly, the government
itself, openly gave credit-now the banks give the credit, but the government furnishes the funds which enable them to do so. This is a growing
evil. It is like rolling a snow-ball; every turn makes it larger, and if
not checked, we shall soon have this matter carried to an extent, which
will make the mischief incurable. Divide this money, and we take from
the banks the power of making these loans, and your lands will be purchased in fact, as well as inform, for money.
Beside these considerations, we shall prevent our deposit banks from
overtrading to an unreasonable extent. If these speculations are to be
persisted in, a day of reckoning will come. If a run is made on your
banks, which they cannot stand, we not only lose our money on deposit,
but what is infinitely worse, we bring upon the country the evils of a
depreciated currency, which always fall most heavily upon those least
able to bear the loss.
Pass this bill, and we not only avoid these evils, but we furnish each
State with the strongest inducements to aid your banks, in maintaining
a sound and wholesome currency; with their proper proportions of which,
when received, I have no doubt, all will make judicious internal improvements, and take care to have the business of education suitably encouraged.
When the leading measure of Mr. Van Buren's administration, the
Sub-Treasury bill, was before the Senate in 1838, and was discussed
by some of the ablest men in that body, he again avowed himself an




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                      221
enemy to "federal incorporated banks," and "federal bills of credit."
Hle opposed this measure principally upon the ground that it was
putting the control of the whole moneyed capital of the country into
the hands of the executive; and that, especially in view of the unwillingness of the executive to have the powers and patronage of the
government curtailed, such a control was hazardous to the prosperity
of our fi'ee institutions. On this subject he spoke as follows, March
24th, 1838:
Mr. President: I address you under circumstances of peculiar disadvantage. The subject is one of the greatest importance. It has been long
discussed, ably discussed, by those of most distinguished talents. Their
highest efforts have been made on both sides to present its advantages
and disadvantages in every view the human mind can take of it.
The crowded audience has become wearied, and even many senators
themselves can hardly give respectful attention to our most interesting
debates.
Upto the termination of the last address of the distinguished senator
from Massachusetts who sits nearest to me (Mr. Webster), I was not
satisfied whether it would be my duty to do more than listen respectfully
to others, and then say yea or nay to the different questions presented to
the Senate.
At the close of his animated, able, and interesting speech, he recurred
to a scrap of the history of my own State, fifty years ago. Instantly lilmy
mind settled down in the conviction that my constituents had a right to
expect more of a son of one of the actors in that scene than a bare vote.
I promise those who may favor me with their attention, that if what I
say should not be interesting, it shall not be tedious.
The advocates of this bill expect to accomplish two objects by its
passage:
Ist. To designate the only species of funds which shall be received in
payment of any dues to the government.
2d. To designate the persons by whom, and the places where, those
moneys shall be kept, between the time of their collection and disbursement.
The provisions, as to the first, are, that after the lapse of six years
nothing shall be received but gold and silver, and such paper as shall be
issued by or under the authority of the federal government; and, in the
mean time, that certain proportions may be received in the notes of
specie-paying banks.
1st. My first objection to this plan is, that it sets out with a distinction
in favor of those who are in the employment of the federal government,
or have any money to receive from it, and those who are in the employ




222           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  L.WSON  WHITE.
of the State governments, as well as the mass of the people. The distinction is odious, and ought not to be sanctioned.
Senators who support this bill say these are mere catch-words (one
kind of money for the government, and another for the people), of which
all have become ashamed, and that latterly they have been driven out of
the Senate.
To this, I reply, the gentlemen are mistaken; this distinction is made
on the very face of the bill, in terms too plain to be misunderstood.
If all the money mentioned is of equal value, why mention gold and
silver, treasury notes, notes of specie-paying banks, &c.?  The whole
argument in favor of the bill rests on the supposition that gold and silver
are the best, and that, as far as it goes, is to be used for federal officers
and those who have federal contracts, leaving to others to get what they
can and how they can.
2d. The bill itself contemplates a paper medium emanating from the
federal government.  To this I object, because we have no power to
issue it. As a currency, they are bills of credit, unconstitutional; more
clearly so than to incorporate a bank; and because, if we can issue such a
medium, we ought never to do it. It will lead to the most wasteful and
extravagant expenditures. It will be used moderately at first, until the
people become reconciled to it, and then gradually extended in place of
borrowing money, so as to meet all the calls of an extravagant administration, and must end in a large national debt, or depreciate like your
continental money.
Many, with great reason, have believed that no government can long
be economical upon even a system of indirect taxation. That under such
a system the people generally are not conscious of the burden they bear.
They pay their taxes when they buy their clothes, or other articles, on
which duties are imposed, without reflecting that any part of the money
they thus expend comes into the treasury; they therefore cease to be
watchful over the manner in which the public moneys are expended;
and, whenever they cease to keep strict watch, their agents commence
useless and wasteful expenditures. But when the taxes are direct, every
man knows how much he pays, and when he pays, and will carefully
watch how the moneys are expended; and if the expenditures are wasteful
or extravagant, a suitable corrective will be immediately applied. Our
whole system of federal taxation is in the general indirect; and, if we
once commence a system of supplying deficiencies in the treasury by an
issue of paper to be used as currency, the country may be ruined.
At the special session we were obliged to add ten millions of dollars to
our means. This we did not do by a direct loan, which every man could
understand, but by authorizing an issue of treasury notes. When that
bill was before the Senate, the senator from Missouri, and, if I mistake
not, the senator from Pennsylvania, both friends of the Administration,




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                        223
placed these notes on the ground of making a loan; that they, as they
were to bear an interest not exceeding five per cent. would be disposed
of for mloney, and with the money thus procured, our creditors could be
paid; and in this view I voted for the bill. In the House the amount of
the notes was reduced one-half, and I soon perceived that the Administration intended to use them, not to procure a loan, but as a currency; and
when the bill was returned to us, I took the earliest opportunity to record
my vote against it. The notes issued under that bill have in fact been
used as a currency, and at various rates of interest, some as low as one
mill per year.
This year our revenue is again to be deficient; we will need, in addition to our means in the treasury, ten, fifteen, or twenty millions of dollars; and this addition will be made by new issues.  This paper currency
seems to cost nothing; and, as our wants increase, the issues will be
isncreased, until the paper depreciates; and then, for the first time, the
people will seriously look into the manner in which not only their money,
but their credit has been squandered.
The provisons of this bill for treasury notes, bills, or other securities,
issued by the federal governme~nt, or under its authority, if sanctioned by
Congress, will settle a principle which, if carried into practice, must seal
the fate of this nation.  Office-holders and office-hunters can all be
accommodated by the executive at the public expense, and the people will
not be aware of it until too late.  In short, it will take off almost the
only restraint which yet remains to our extravagant expenditures.
This view of the subject has alarmed me. Do we not all see and know
that those in office are pressing to have their salaries increased?  That
those who are not, desire the number of offices increased that they may
get in?  AVe are teased to increase the number of land districts; and if
we do, offices are multiplied.  When all the offices among the whites
are filled, then we have among our red brethren exploring parties, visiting parties, commissioners and agents, by construction, at executive disscretion, and compensated as he pleases.
With the facilities of paper money to be created for the trouble of making, importunities for offices, jobs, contracts and increase of salary, will
be multiplied, and the President will not have the heart to resist them
when artfully pressed by noisy and worthless partisans. I have been
forcibly struck with some of the remarks made upon the subject of this
government paper currency.  The honorable senator from  South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) thinks it will not depreciate, and if it does, it will not
make any difference, as the government must always receive it at par,
and therefore sustain the whole loss.
Mr. President, if the honorable senator will take a moment to think
upon this subject, I am convinced he will perceive the error. No paper
currency, not convertible into specie at the will of the holder, ever did or
ever will long retain its nominal value.




224           MIEMOIR  OF HIUGH  LAWSON  WHIITE.
If a man has a note of any kind, and has confidence that he can get
the amount of it in specie at any time he pleases, most generally he would
rather have the note than specie, because more convenient; but the
moment he doubts, then he wants the specie presently. In the issue of
treasury notes, that moment the amount issued much exceeds the revenue
to be paid into the treasury, and the purchase of public lands, they must
and will depreciate, unless provision is made that they shall be paid when
presented at the treasury. When they do depreciate, the whole loss will
not fall on the treasury, but will fall likewise on those through whose
hands they have passed. The very case put by the senator proves it.
A treasury note issues for fifteen dollars. It depreciates until it can be
purchased in market for ten. Some person who owes the treasury fifteen
dollars, goes and purchases it at ten, and pays his debt of fifteen dollars.
Now does not every one perceive that the profit of five dollars, made by
the man who paid the note to the treasury, must have been a loss of the
same amount to the man from whom he purchased, or to some other person through whose hands it has passed? In all such cases, profit and loss
are correllative terms, and that which is one man's gain must have been
a loss to some other.
As you increase expenditures you increase executive power, already
too great. The President or those acting under his orders, must necessarily select the recipients, who, it will always be understood, can olly
be those who conform to his wishes in elections. These objections are
independent of the consideration whether this bill will establish a bank
or not. It will certainly sanction the issuing a paper medium of circulation. Those who advocate this provision certainly think as I do, that
the country must and always will have bank credits, or paper of some
kind, to use as a substitute for the precious mIetals. The business of the
country can never be done without it. A support of the State banks is
the only shield which can be presented agatinst fedlerll  bills of credit, and
afederal incorporated bank.
I hold both these last unconstitutional, and the first of theml infinitely
the most dangerous to the liberties of the people. In 1834, I heard of
this plan of separating government from all banks as depositories, and
thought well of it. Indeed, I would then have gone for it, if political
friends had agreed upon it. Then there was no idea of issuing paper
money by government. Then State banks were paying specie, and their
notes would have continued a circulating medium. Then I had confidence
in the Administration, and believed that none would ever dare to interfere
with the elective franchise, or to refuse to have the executive patronage
limited and curtailed by law. Now all these things are changed. The
Admlinistration want paper money issued by government, substituted for
loans. The State banks are not paying specie, and this bill forbids the
receipt of their notes.
The executive is disposed to hunt down any and every man who wishes




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                     225
to limit his power. He openly interferes in elections, both State and
federal, and uses all his powers to have them carried according to his
will. Under these circumstances, in my judgment, I would be a traitor
to civil liberty were I to sanction the idea that we will make federal
paper the circulating medium.
What has become of our bills, five or six in number, to limit executive
patronage, reported in the days of the younger Adams? They sleep the
sleep of death. The honorable chairman of the committee, who originally
reported them, felt it his duty to endeavor to revive them under the administration of the late President, and received so little countenance from
old friends that he ceased his struggle with them.
The honorable senator from South Carolina, who never thinks any load
too heavy, took up one of them, and made one of his most powerful
efforts, and it passed this body. But how many old firiends voted for it?
Sir, all had been whistled or ordered off, except the senator from Missouri,
and one or two others.
I have been honored with a seat here for the thirteen or fourteen last
sessions, and believe I have never once recurred to the journals to see
how any gentleman had voted; but there are some things I find it impossible to forget.
When that bill was before the Senate, believing that I could give the
senator from South Carolina something more than my vote, I made a
speech in its favor; and that speech sealed my fate with the great democratic party. I.respectfully ask the senator from Missouri, whether any
of the former friends of that measure, the Jackson democrats, voted for
it, except he and myself?
It went to the other house, and as they were more fresh from the people
than we, better understood what is meant by modern democracy, they
put this aristocratic bantling to sleep; and we have never heard a cry or
even a whimper from it since. Since then, executive power and patronage have put forth their branches in every direction, and no man dare
raise his voice against them on pain of political death.
Shall we then put this rich bed of manure to the root of this dangerous
power, that the crops of executive influence may be increased in our
elections? Nay; God forbid!
I have been zealous for putting down the Bank of the United States,
and for maintaining a sound metallic currency, and, to do this, believed
we ought to sustain, as far as we could, State banks; prevailing on them,
by all incidental means in our power, to cease the use of small notes, and
had hoped we could have succeeded: but specie payments have been
suspended, and the advocates of this bill say we must try some other
experiment.
Divorce, divorce, a vinculo mactrimonii is the watchword whenever
you find a modern democrat.
15




226           MEKMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WIII'TE.
That there is a divorce a mensa et thoro existing, I admit, but am of
opinion that it has been produced by violent temper, and want of due care
on the part of the federal head, and too yielding and complying a disposition on the part of the banks, and that the whole might yet be reconciled,
at all events to the advantage of the family.
I have heard of cases where a dashing libertine married a wife, attached
to, and every way worthy of him; that he, upon looking farther into
the world, concluded that if he were freed from his first love, he
could be better suited on a second experiment; and, with a view to
obtain a divorce, threw temptations in his wife's way which she had not
stern virtue enough to resist; she sinned, and then he applied for a
divorce. And what have courts of conscience said in such cases? Depart hence! you have contributed to your wife's transgression, and shall
not profit by your own iniquity.
Apply these principles to this case. When the executive wooed and
won the State banks, they were pure and unsullied. Their utmost exertions were necessary to aid in prostrating the Bank of the United States;
they were coaxed, almost commanded, to extend their loans. They did
so, to imprudent lengths.  The executive saw and knew this. Were
they admonished to diminish their discounts? Never! So far as I know,
on the contrary, they were eulogized up to July, 1836; then came the
executive denunciations, and they have never since ceased.
The executive is to blame, so are the banks; but on account of their
quarrel, the great American family ought not to be sacrificed.
If none were to be injured but themselves, I certainly should feel no
inclination to interfere; but I do think it nothing but just that both parties should bear their due proportion of blame, and that a separation
ought not to be permitted under circumstances by which an unoffending
community must be the sufferers.
But again; I think if it is even proper to establish this system, and to
have this divorce, now is not the proper time.
The banks are State institutions; society have a deep interest in their
maintaining a sound currency; this can only be done by resulning specie
payments; this they never can do until their credit is re6stablished;
while the whole weight of a popular Administration is against them, they
never can resume with a hope of continuing specie payments. You
separate now, and why? Because, say the whole Administration and its
friends-and if we pass this bill we join in the cry-they are unworthy of
credit! Every man who believes this statement, and has a claim against
them, would apply for his money, and they would be compelled immediately to stop again.
Take the weight of the federal government off them. It is now pressing
them into the dust, and while it is upon them, you might as well order a
man, whose legs had been cut off, to jump to his feet and walk, as to




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                     227
require them to resume, with a hope that they can do so. Let their
credit be again restored, and if we must separate, they could better then,
than now, sustain the shock.
The federal government obtained the use of them when their credit
was good; it should be restored, and then, if ever, they ought to be
returned, in equally good credit, to the exclusive use of the States.
Suppose we pass this bill, and then the banks resume, five-sixths of
the revenue must be taken in their notes; in a very short time, enough
would be received to enable your depositories to withdraw so much of
their specie as to compel them to suspend. And if they do not resume,
their paper depreciates, and specie becomes an article of merchandise,
and thus the federal servant will receive better money than the State
officers, or the masters of both-the mass of the people.
The State banks never can resume with a hope of doing a profitable
business.
Suppose the system in complete operation. Then all the revenue is
received in specie, your average surplus in the treasury will be at least
seven or eight millions of dollars. This, if left in the banks, would furnish a specie basis upon which safely to issue three for one. Hence, by
this process, you abstract and lock up twenty or twenty-five millions of
dollars of the circulating medium, which is of no more use to the government or individuals than if sunk in the ocean.
Banks go to excess occasionally, and there is temporary suffering: so
of every thing else-we have nothing good but what produces evil when
carried to excess.  Banks issue too much paper, but that is no reason
they should all be destroyed. Over-issues produce individual suffering.
but even this is productive of some benefit. It makes roads and canals,
and improves plantations. Although all these change owners when a
curtailment takes place, yet the improvements remain for the benefit of
the people at large.
What do gentlemen mean? Do they mean to put us back to the year
eleven hundred, when they say banks commenced; Are we to quit our
ordinary business, and commence wading branches in search of golden
pebbles, to add to the stock of precious metals? Are we to give up the
earnings of our families, our porringers, and our spoons to this Aaron
of democracy, that he may melt them, and, with his graving tools, mlake
us our own metallic god to worship?  The more free a country is, the
more prone are its people to run into excess, and none so much as our
own.  What was Great Britain before the establishment of her
bank? Like other nations, who are destitute of everything but a
specie circulation, poor, unthrifty, anti-commercial. And what is she
now?
We need a larger circulation than any country upon earth of the same
population, because we are freer than any other. The circulation ought




228           MEMIOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
always to bear a due proportion to all salable or exchangeable commo.
dities. In some of the States everything is of that description. Entails
are destroyed, all property, real and personal, is unfettered, and for sale
whenever a man thinks he can better himself by selling in an old, and
purchasing in a new State. In many States so much is land unfettered
that it can be sold in fee simple upon a writ af fleri facias.
In our country a man's capital, in many instances, is his character for
integrity, his capacity for business and his business habits.  These give
him credit with banks. With the aid of bank accommodations, in many
instances he makes himself wealthy in a few years, and every man who
adds to his own stock of wealth enriches the whole country.
Give me wealthy people and a poor treasury, and then the country is
rich, and its liberty safe.
Destroy banks, and you throw every man again into the hands of
capitalists, Jews, money-lenders, where few can borrow  who cannot
mortgage land to secure payment. Whereas banks always feel it a favor
conferred on them when they can get a good customer.
Although I speak thus freely of the utility of banks, they never have
been favorites of mine, but we must have them. The country cannot,
and will not do without them.
We must have a treasury bank1, a bank incorporated by Congress, or
State banks. And I prefer the last. They are the least dangerous, and
the States have clearly the power to incorporate them.  The States, in
granting charters, can, if they choose, guard generally against excesses.
If they were to direct all profits over six or eight per cent. per annum
to go into the treasury, as a school fund, the temptation to shave and to
make excessive loans would be taken away. And if they would prohibit
standing accommodations, few bad debts would be contracted.
2d. The other object of the bill is to compel our collectors and receivers
to cease depositing money in banks, and to compel them  to deposit all
moneys in the hands of officers appointed by the President, and remnovable
at his pleasure, there to be kept till needed for disbursement. I think
this arrangement much worse than to deposit in the banks.
First, because the directors and officers of the bmnks will be more likely
to be faithful than officers appointed by us. The stockholders will always
intend to select those who will be most likely not to waste their moneys.
Our officers for some time have been, and I consider the system is to be
continued, selected more with a view to influence in elections than to
any qualifications for the particular offices they are to fill. Let me not
be misunderstood. I do not mean to say that every office-holder is a
mere party tool. I think there are many who are not. But I do mean
to state it as my opinion, that now, and for some time past, the principal
qualification looked for is political influence; and such men, appointed
from such motives, I think will generally be unsafe depositories. Suppos



SUB-TREASURY BILL.                       229
ing these officers equally faithful, they will not generally have places as
safe as those provided by banks.
Again: this plan will occasion a great increase of expense. New
officers, clerks, visitors, houses, safes, vaults, &c. There will be no effectual checks, either upon those officers or upon disbursing officers. It is
said there have been, in modern times, but few losses by defalcation of
disbursing officers.
One principal, if not the sole reason of this is, the check upon them, by
ordering them, whenever their position will enable them to do so, to
keep their moneys in banks, and every week or month an account is furnished the Secretary of the Treasury by the deposit bank showing the
sums deposited, and by whom. This furnishes strong reasons against
using or loaning money; immediate detection would be the consequence.
Under the proposed system this check is entirely removed, and the
public money will, in many cases, be misused.
I now have in my drawer a document showing what has been done in
one case by an officer in whose integrity I once had unlimited confidence.
He collected a large claim from one debtor to the government, and imlmediately loaned the amount received to some political friends, not only
without authority, but contrary to his instructions, and, at this moment,
two suits are pending against these new debtors, who have refused to pay
their notes as they fall due. If I mistake not, one of the parties to this
very transaction has been appointed to, and now holds an office which
will make him a sub-treasurer if this bill should pass.
A bank in my own State has been alluded to, in a letter read by the
senator from Missouri, which he has received from the late Chief Magistrate.
A brief review of the history of that bank, and matters connected with
it, may be of use to us on the subject under consideration.
The act establishing that bank was passed at a called session, in the year
1820. The charter of the United States Bank was passed in 1816, and
the bank went into actual operation the 1st of January, 1817.
It was no administration measure, and when the bill was before Congress, the representative from my district sent me a copy of it, with a
request that I would give him my opinion of its provisions, which I did,
in a pretty lengthy letter. That opinion was very decidedly against the
bill, and the opinion I then formed and expressed I have ever since entertained, and still entertain. He, alone, from Tennessee, as I believe, voted
against the bill.  For this vote he was attacked at home, and I felt
in duty bound to maintain him  as well as I could. This brought me
in direct conflict with the friends of the United States Bank as early
as 1816.
Soon after the bank went into operation, it established branches in
Kentucky, and, before the fall of 1817, many of the loans first made had
fallen due, and payment was exacted. To this the people had not been




230           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
accustomed; and, as is always the case, although the bank had been
popular when making loans, it soon became very unpopular when trying
to collect its debts.
Stories of the ruinous operations of the bank in Kentucky soon reached
us in Tennessee, and in the autumn of 1817, with a view to save Tennessee from the like oppression, her legislature passed an act, as I believe,
unanimously, imposing a very heavy tax, say fifty thousand dollars, upon
any persons attempting to. bank in Tennessee without authority fiom the
State.
A few years since, while the controversy was going on with the Bank
of the United States, the Senate created a committee, of which MIr. Tyler,
of Virginia, was a member, to examine into its proceedings, and when
they made their report, for the first time, I found a letter dated in 1818,
now bound up in our documents, soliciting the president of the bank to
establish a branch in Nashville, notwithstanding the act of assembly,
informing him that the act was passed by contracted, illiberal men, and,
after furnishing a list of names for directors, assuring him that if a branch
was established, and directors appointed fiom the list, he would see that
a good account should be given of those who would attempt to enforce
the State law.
Mir. Jones, the then president, answered this letter, and, very properly,
refused to send a branch into the State contrary to the expressed will of
the legislature.
Thus the matter rested until 1826, when this same gentleman was a
leading member of the Tennessee legislature; and, not having been able
to get a branch bank of the United States, he and others determined they
would have a paper bank, founded on State funds and the faith of the
State. They passed an act creating a bank. There was then in the State
a bank in which the State had twenty thousand dollars of the stock. It
was called the Bank of the State of Tennessee, and had been so conducted as to give society confidence in it; and, in baptising this new bank
its authors gave it exactly the same name, and thus we had, at the same
time, two banks, having the same name, in the same State. The friends
of the old would not have hesitated in charging the leaders who established the new with pilfering their name, that they might derive benefit
from their credit, had they been other than members of the assembly.
The plan of this new bank was not to pay specie, and to please the
people, it was said it was a bank to relieve the people from pecuniary
distress.
At the same session, and to force into circulation paper money not
redeemable in specie, laws were passed to prevent levies of execution,
unless plaintiffs would agree to receive irredeemable bank paper.
These proceedings met with very decided opposition from the sup.
porters of a sound currency.
They denounced a depreciated paper currency as a curse to the country




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                     231
and the old State bank would not touch the paper of the new; and, after
a long controversy between the directors, under the administration of an
enlightened and worthy directory of the new State bank, it was so conducted as to be converted into a specie paying bank, and I believe it has
faithfully redeemed whatever notes it put in circulation.
But, then, what became of the capital and profits? Much of them
were wasted. There was a branch or agency in each county.
The cashier of the principal bank, a highly worthy, intelligent, and
generous man, could not resist the temptation; he permitted importunate
and needy friends to draw checks, which he paid when they had no funds
in bank. This practice was detected and exposed, and he ruined.
Some of the agents, men of as much integrity as those to be found now,
either used, or permitted others to use, the moneys entrusted to their care.
Those moneys were in some instances lost, the agents ruined, and the
State has been for several years endeavoring to save something from the
wreck.
With these examples before me, I cannot, I will not, I dare not, give
my sanction to a scheme so demoralizing, and fraught with so many mischiefs.
But, sir, our history stops not here. I think, about the year 1826, a
Nashville bank failed, and occasioned much excitement. The legislature,
then in session, repealed our act of 1817, imposing the tax of which I
have spoken; a branch of the United States Bank was applied for, and
established. It went down with the principal and the other branches,
and from that time, until July, 1836, we were State bank men, generally:
these banks having a safe specie basis, and always paying specie. During
the whole of these arduous conflict, others have had an advantage over me.
They first wanted a United States Bank, that we might have a good
currency everywhere. Next they wanted paper money, and creditors
forced to receive it, or to get nothing; then United States Bank notes
again; and now, when the monster is slain, and we can all venture to
measure the length and breadth of its supposed deformities, nothing will
do them but the pure unadulterated hard money.
Mr. President, these politicians ever have the advantage of me. I never
can give up an old opinion, until I am sure I have found better reasons
for a new one. They have the full benefit of what is called the march of
mind. They march and countermarch so that I cannot keep pace with
them. I turn slowly, awkwardly, and these politicians give me the dodge,
and are sometimes out of sight before I know they intend to change.
But this is of no consequence to me. Such wills-with-the-wisp or jackswith-the-lantern I would not follow, if I could see them. They would
only pilot me into some quagmire or swamp, and then leave me, although
their dexterity could easily extricate themselves.
For myself, I now am, and ever have been a hard money man, to every




232           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
reasonable and Constitutional extent. Nothing is with me money, within
the meaning of the Constitution, but the precious metals, and they either
coined, and their value fixed by acts of Congress, or foreign coin, whose
value is declared in the same way. No government, either State or fed.
eral, can make anything else a tender in payment of debts. This kind of
money, and this only, is the end of the law, where pecuniary compensation is to be made. It is not only the standard by which the value of
property is to be fixed, but it is in itself property, which can be applied
to other useful purposes. The federal government has no power to incorporate individuals, and bestow upon them banking powers and privileges, to be exercised within the States.
The federal government cannot issue, or authorize to be issued, paper
to be used as currency.
The Constitution takes from the States the power to issue bills of
credit.
It does not confer upon Congress any such power, and it can exercise
no power except that which is expressly granted. The framers of the
Constitution having taken from the States the power to issue bills of
credit, and having refused or omitted to confer such a power on Congress,
believed they had secured the country against the issue of a paper currency by either government, which individuals could have no means by
suit to compel the payment of, and which, if tolerated, would be sure
to depreciate.
Before the Constitution of the United States was framed, the State
had the power to incorporate individuals, and give them banking powers
and privileges; this power was never taken from them, and, therefore,
they still possess it.
I have believed, and now do, that in a country so extensive as ours,
so highly commercial, and so free, our business cannot be transacted without paper of some kind, which is not imoney, but credit, the representative of money. These credits will be highly injurious, unless regulated
by law. I therefore have maintained State banks, at the same time
wishing to put down, by all means in my power, small notes; to have
none less than five, ten, twenty, and even higher than that, if a majority
wished, so as to furnish a broad specie basis the better to maintain and
support the organized credits, evinced by bank notes or checks.
It is all idle to tell me that the only mode to have hard money is to put
down State banks. Put them down to-morrow, and then we will find it
indispensable to have a United States Bank owned by individuals, or a
treasury bank owned by the United States, and governed at the will of
the executive.
Being opposed to both these, and thinking the country must have
credits in some shape, I support State banks as the only means of
preventing the establishment of some one of the others. I think them




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                     233
both unconstitutional, and the treasury bank infinitely the most dan.
gerous.
We might as well at once put the whole moneys of the government at
the disposition of the executive as to pass this bill; because, although
some of the officers who are to have charge of it must have the sanction
of the Senate in their appointment, yet the President can remove, or have
removed at his pleasure, every man of them.
This bill, in truth and in fact, creates a bank with vast powers and
extensive capacity.
Suppose Congress to incorporate a number of individuals, and confer
upon them powers to do exactly the same thing which the officers named
in this bill are empowered and required to do, what would gentlemen
call their institution?  It must and would be a bank; they would have
all the usual powers of a bank, except to loan money by discounting
notes.
The only use of an act of incorporation is to empower a number of
individuals, or some one man, to transact certain business under particular restrictions. Now if we give to our own officers exactly the same
powers which, if given to one or more individuals, would denominate the
establishment a bank, it is equally so in both cases.
This bill provides places where our whole treasure, hard money, notes
of specie-paying banks, treasury notes, or other paper issued under the
authority of the government, are to be kept.
It authorizes the transfers and re-transfers of those moneys from point
to point, at the discretion of the Secretary. There is now a bill before
the other house authorizing an issue of ten millions of treasury notes; it
will certainly pass for that or a larger sum.
Now let us consider how these powers will be made to operate.
1st. The capital is the whole treasure of the nation, say any sum we
please not less than twenty-five, nor more than fifty millions of dollars.
This sum can be concentrated at one place, or dispersed to different
places, as the Secretary chooses. A merchant of New York owes fifty
thousand dollars for duties, and this sum he is to pay to the collector there,
who is to deposit it in his vault. He borrows the amount from a speciepaying bank in the notes of the State bank, and pays the debt. Instantly
the collector goes to the bank, draws the specie, and returns its notes,
and locks the specie up in the vault, where he is to keep it till needed for
disbursement; and by pursuing this plan the whole specie may be withdrawn from the banks, or so much of it as to compel the banks to
wind up.
Again: a merchant in Nashville owes fifty thousand dollars for goods
purchased in New York; he gets that amount in notes of the Nashville
banks by borrowing or otherwise, but they will not answer to pay his
debt in New York; he therefore goes to the sub-treasurer, who has his




234           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
proportion of these treasury notes, and gives him his fifty thousand dollars, and receives a treasury note, or notes, and perhaps allows one per cent.
as the difference of exchange, and the sub-treasurer immediately goes to
the State bank, returns its notes, takes the specie and locks it up in the
vaults. When a creditor of the government applies for payment of his
salary, or other dues, he may be paid in treasury notes, and thus we find
this is a bank of issues.
It is useless to pursue this subject farther. Every practical man must
see this is in substance a treasury bank, with immense funds as a capital,
with unlimited power to draw and redraw, and that it is a bank to issue
not hard money alone, but paper money, issued by or under the authority
of the United States. That it confers powers and capacities which will
enable it to prostrat~ the State banks, any and everywohere at its pleasure.
It will not only control the State banks, and make them subservient to
its will, but will also influence all men engaged in commerce, which
requires the use of funds at distant places.
Pass this bill, and we put it in the power of the President, through his
Secretary of the Treasury, to control the whole pecuniary active capital
of the country. We are to add this tremendous power to a patronage
already dangerous in the extreme, and this at a time when we have a
Chief Magistrate who is not only unwilling to have his power and patronage curtailed and limited, but is desirous to add to them, even to the
extent of encouraging armed voluntary associations to stand ready to
carry out his views by force of arms.
In the early and pure days of the Republic, in 1789, the republican
doctrine was, that no President would ever dare to remove an officer who
held office at the will of the President, simply on account of his politics;
and, if he did, Kr. Madison said it would be a crime for which he should
be impeached.
Mr. Jefferson, upon assuming the reins of government, prohibited all
inferior officers from interfering in elections, further than to vote, on pain
of dismissal.
In the canvass, which brought the late President into office, we all
thought the same way, and that this was the sound democratic or repubcan doctrine.
Do we not all remember the outcry against Mr. Adams, because we
thought, through a Mr. Slade, a clerk in some of the departments, he had
signified to the Vermont legislature that he preferred the old senator,
Mr. Seymour, to Mr. Van Ness? The newspapers rung with this charge,
and if Mr. Adams or his cabinet had avowed that they had a right to endeavor to influence people in elections, it is doubtful how he would have
got through even the four years to which he had been elected.
Now the whole course of thinking and acting is changed.
During the last Administration it was not only maintained that the




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                      235
President and all under him had a right to interfere, but, for the sake of
securing a democratic Administration, it was a duty to aid in electing his
successor, members to both houses of Congress, Governors of States, &c.
The present incumbent improves upon this, and countenances what
may be called legions of honor, to maintain him by force in carrying out
modern democracy.
I have been surprised that in none of our discussions has any gentleman alluded to a correspondence between an association in Philadelphia
and the Chief Magistrate during the past year.
They informed him that they had voluntarily associated together, had
armed and equipped themselves, and made a tender of their services to
carry out the laws.
In a country as free as ours, where the laws themselves are nothing
but the will of a majority of the people, constitutionally expressed, every
thing which tends to weaken or diminish our respect for the laws is
highly reprehensible. Now what would we reasonably expect as an
answer from our Chief Magistrate to such a tender of services?
I looked for grateful acknowledgments for their good feelings towards
him, and a request that, as they regarded him and his fame, they would
immediately lay aside their warlike implements and dissolve the association; because, if the country was to remain free, such voluntary associations could never be necessary. Public opinion, and forces, when indispensable, called out under the authority of law, would always be sufficient
in the hands of the executive to give effect to the will of the people,
expressed through their acts of Congress.
But I was sorry to find no such sentiments; on the contrary, sincere
thanks, and a manifest willingness to countenance the use of such forces
if emergency should require their services.
The good sense of society must check this course of thinking, or there
is reason to fear that, at no distant day, we may have, through the agency
of such means, anarchy first, and then despotism.
The senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Webster), at the close of his reply
to the senator from South Carolina, "for his special benefit," in very good
temper, and in a most happy manner, referred to the early history of that
portion of my State, now called East Tennessee, once known as the State
of Fcranklin. He read us a part of one of her acts of assembly, which
fixed the salaries of some of her officers, and directed the species of currency in which they were to be paid.
I always feel gratified when I know, or hear, that my State has done
anything which benefits any portion of my fellow-men.
"Blessed are the peace-makers," is the language of Holy Writ. On
this occasion the two honorable and distinguished senators had assumed
an attitude so belligerent, that I really feared it might end in something
worse than words. But no sooner were the labors of my State fifty years




236           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
ago brought to the notice of this grave body, than we all forgot that any
of us had ever been out of temper, and so soon as we could recover composure enough to adjourn, we separated like a band of brothers-no two
leaving the chamber in better temper with each other than the two honorable senators.
But, sir, the senator knew nothing of the practice under the State law,
therefore we have not the full benefit which we ought to derive fiom his
reminiscence. He could have related the whole incidents so much better
than I can, that I regret he did not mention this subject to me before lie
addressed the Senate; if he had I would have given him the additional
facts, that the whole might have been detailed in the Senate in his good
tempered and felicitous manner.
It will be remembered that the governor, chief justices, and some other
officers, were to be paid in deer-skins, other inferior officers were to be
paid in raccoon-skins.  Now, at that day, we were all good whigs,
although we had some of the notions of the democrats of the present day.
We thought these taxes might safely remain in the hands of tle collectors as sub-treasuries until wanted for disbursement. The taxes were,
therefore, fairly collected in the skins and peltry pointed out in the law.
But the collectors, as report says, knew that although raccoon-skins were
plenty, opossumn-skins were more so, and that they could be procured for
little or nothing. They, therefore, procured the requisite numbers of
opossum-skins, cut the tails off the raccoon-skins, sewed them to the opossum-skins, paid them into the general or il)incipal treasury, and sold the
raccoon-skins to the hatters.
The treasurer had been an unlucky appointment, although a worthy
man; he was a foreigner, knew nothing of skins or peltry, and was,
therefore, easily deceived by his sub-treasurers. When this imposition
was discovered, the whole system went down, and we never have had a
great fancy for leaving the taxes in the hands of the sub-treasurers or collectors from that day to this.
But, sir, these old proceedings more clearly developed the true character of my State than almost anything of the present day.
The territory or tract of country called Franklin, was composed of four
counties of North Carolina, and separated from the body of the State by
the great ledge of mountains, called at different places by different names,
and from what is now West Tennessee by the Cumberland Mountains,
and a wilderness of two hundred miles.
The Revolutionary War had terminated with Great Britain in 1783, but
it continued with the powerful tribes of Indians who had been in alliance
with her. The depredations of these Indians were so serious that aid to
arrest their ravages was desired from North Carolina; that State was not
in a situation to furnish protection, and instead thereof, from good motives, no doubt, but without due consideration, passed an act ceding us to




SUB-TREASURY BILL.                      237
the United States. When the news was received the leading men, who
were King's mountain mnen —Sevier, the companion of the gallant Campnell and Shelby, at their head, took fire; the discontent ended in a declaration of independence, and the formation of the State called, to perpetuate our whig principles, " l'ranklin."
North Carolina discovered her error, and, before Congress could act on
the subject, repealed her act of cession. But it was too late. We had
been disposed of without our consent. Though but a handful, with a
powerful savage enemy infesting our whole frontier, and without a dollar
to begin with, we set up for ourselves. We would not brook the indignity; we had begun the fight for liberty, and liberty or death we would
have. We continued the controversy till 1789, when an accommodation
with our parent State took place; and with our own consent, and upon
terms thought just, we, with other portions of territory, were ceded, in
1789, to the United States.
In 1796, we became the State of Tennessee, and how we have since
conducted, I willingly leave to the judgment of our sister States.
I confess, instead of feeling humbled by, I am proud of, this ancient
reminiscence. I feel proud that my ancestor was one of that unyielding
band; that I now find myself associated here with a Sevier and a Tipton;
and although I sometimes think two generations back those of their name
would not have worked so tamely in party gear, yet every once in a while
the blood shoiws itself, and you can see, that if their home concerns are not
attended to here, according to what is just, they break party bandages,
and walk abroad in that freedom for which their fathers perilled every
thing.
It is true we are neither whigs, tories, nor democrats by inheritance,
but there is much in blood, much in education. Early lessons from
mothers are apt to have an influence upon us through life. What the
father says when he first sends his boy to school is hardly ever forgotten.
When that law was passed, and for years afterward, the first morning
the son was to start for school, he was sure to receive the father's advice,
in emphatic terms, calculated to make a lasting impression, in language
like the following: My son, you are now going to school, you must
render a willing obedience to your master; he is in my place, obey him,
if you love me. Be kind to all your school-fellows, do nothing offensive
or unjust to them. Be careful in all you say, and do not give any of
them cause of offence, and, if they will quarrel with and abuse you, take
care you never come home whipped by any one of them, if you have the
power to prevent it.
Children were taught from infancy the doctrine of equality, that no
distinction ought to exist except that which was produced by vice or
virtue.
And as to a circulating medium, this old act contains a volume of




238           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WIIITEo
instruction for me. At that day, the medium of our exchanges was
skins and peltry, or furs. They were the the currency in which the
people were obliged to transact their business, and my father, when
voting for that law, thought it just that our officers, from the governor
to the constable, should be paid in the same kind of currency which the
people were compelled to use in their dealings with each other, and so
think I now as to our federal officers. Such, I think, have been the
opinions of a majority of my constituents fiom my youth to this day.
lMy wish is to carry into effect their will. If I had fortitude enough
to venture into an unknown world, I would rather do so now, and upon
this s3pot, than knowingly to give a vote upon a subject so important,
which would disappoint the wishes of the companions of my youth, the
associates of my maturer years, and those who have ever sustained me
against all attacks, at every stage of life.
What I believe to be their will, corresponds with my own judgment
on this subject; and, however much I may and do regret a difference of
opinion with enlightened men from other States, yet I acknowledge no
responsibility to any human power except to the citizens of my own
State who have so long honored me with their confidence.
Judge White's opposition to the tariff was always firm but judicious. He never doubted the power of the federal government to
give protection, to a certain extent, to horne manufactures by imposing
taxes on foreign merchandise; but that, he thought, like every other
power, ought to be exercised for the good of the whole, and under
that impression he never would vote to impose a tax upon a foreign
article, which as a nation we could conveniently dispense with, when
he saw, or had reason to believe, it would increase the price of the
article throughout any large portion of the country, and none were to
be benefited by it but a few capitalists, who would be thereby levying a tax upon a considerable portion of the community for their
individual benefit. Ie liked to see domestic manufactures flourish,
but never wished to see them  brought into existence, or nourished,
in one section of the country, at the expense and to the positive detriment of another.  He therefore uniformly opposed a protective tariff
both by his votes and speeches.
In 1835, there approached one of the most momentous periods of
our national history, namely, that session of Congress during which
was originated and conducted with such talent and fiery zeal on either
side, that discussion of the Tariff question, which had well-nigh rent
the Union, and filled the land with civil war and bloodshed. Just




MR. WISE S EULOGIUM.                     239
before this memorable session, MIr. Calhoun resigned the Vice Presidency-which resignation called Judge White to occupy a position
still more responsible and conspicuous than any he had hitherto
filled. How fully he met the expectations of the body that promoted
him, and of the nation at large, in this season of impending danger,
is now a matter of history.  The firmness, impartiality, decision, and
dignity with which he presided over these stormy debates, were commended by the Hon. Henry A. Wise, during the debate in Congress
on the Treasury note bill.
I should have remembered (says Mr. Wise) another model of wisdom,
and virtue, and patriotism whom I have seen, and seen in all situations
of life-long and intimately did I know him —well did I love him, and
sacredly do I cherish his memory. IIe is no more. I wish I could imitate his virtuous and hallowed example in life. I mean the lamented
IIugh Lawson White, a servant of Tennessee, a son of North Carolina,
without whose aid the compromise act never could have become a lawwithout whose patriotism and firmness there would have been a civil
war upon a sovereign State, and upon the Union. South Carolina ought
to be told of this, who, in 1836, threw her vote from him, her best
defender against a tyrant. When this act was before the Senate, he was
president pro tem. of that honorable body. He was in the chair, and had
the appointment of the committee which had to consider the report
upon the plan of adjusting the tariff difficulties. In this high place, with
this power, he was warned-I will not say by whom* —not to put a certain gentleman (John M. Clayton, of Delaware) on the committee.
The reason was, that there were rival plans, one proposed by the Senator from Kentucky, of whom, and whose measures that gentleman was
the friend; and the other plan was that of the Administration then in
power.  That Administration was governed by one of two motives,
perhaps by both, in wishing to defeat this act. They wished, certainly,
to give preference to their own plan, and to deprive the authors of this
of the honor of the compromise; and, perhaps, the head and chief
wished nothing so much as the opportunity to apply "the second
section" to the leaders of resistance whom he charged more with treason
to him personally than to the country. The president pro tem. of the
Senate knew well the danger of defeating this act, but when orders were
issued to him not to appoint its friend and advocate on the committee,
what was his reply?  The reply of that sage, and patriot, and herohero he was, for he had, like his chief, been in the wars-his reply was a
* By Gen. Jackson, or by a message from him.




240            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
plea to the jurisdiction of any power to dictate the manner of discharging
his duty. He told the man who assumed this authority: "You are too
late. Mr. Clayton is appointed; and, if he was not, he should be. I
voted for the Force bill as a decision merely that the Government had
the power to execute its laws. I never intended it should operate or
actually be put in force against any of my countrymen who happened to
differ from me in opinion, and who are as honest and conscientious in
their opinions as I am in mine. And, having voted for it, I will afford
every opportunity to legislation in my power, to prevent its effect."
And this, sir, produced the first cause of difference between him and
Gen. Jackson. He muzzled the blood-hounds, disappointed his chief
of his prey, aided the compromise, and gave peace to a distracted
people.
Judge White's punctuality and devotion to business, as we have
remarked, were most exemplary.* "' His deportment in the Senate,"
says a senatorial contemporary, "was quiet and dignified. He spoke
but little, but when he did it was to the purpose. He was very
attentive to what was going on; and I have often seen him in his
seat, almost the only listener to a dull speech.  I once remarked to
him that I thought him the best listener to speakers of all the
Senate.  His reply was to this effect:'Well, it is my duty to be
here; and when a member is speaking, nothing else can be done, so
I keep my seat and listen to him.  I find that I can learn something
from even the poorest speech that is made here.'  The writer adds,
with. great truth, " This was a just remark; for however incompetent
a speaker may be to discuss the question which is the subject of his
speech, and however deficient in general intelligence, he will usually
suggest some facts, and make some remarks worthy the attention of
those better informed and more able."
Judge White's regularity in attendance was extreme and remarkable.  He was always in his place.  "I know of no man," said a- distinguished member of Congress, " except Judge Marshall, who rides
about the city so little in carriages." It was his habit to repair to the
capitol every morning immediately after breakfast, and to spend the
time in the committee-room  until the regular hour of convening
Congress.  So universally was this the case that he became proverbial for being the first man in the Senate, and the last to leave it.
Col. E. H. Foster, his colleague during his last term, one day remarked to his companions that he was determined to have it said that
* Hon. John M. Niles, lately deceased.




HIS PUNCTUALITY.                    241
he had beaten Judge White at the capitol at least once. Accordingly, he departed one morning in great haste, and upon reaching
the Senate chamber found it vacant.  Quite delighted at having
accomplished what he considered so great a feat, he exclaimed: "I
am satisfied, I have beaten the'skeleton' once in my life."  But
upon entering the committee-room he there found the Judge, standing in the middle of the floor, and holding a bundle of papers. He
had a hearty laugh at the disappointment of Col. Foster, who, seating
himself, remarked, " It is useless to try any further, Judge; you are
entitled to the palm."
Judge White was not less strict in the observance of all arrangements necessary for his seasonable arrival at Washington, than in
the performance of his official duties when there. No ordinary
circumstances prevented him from setting out upon his journey at
the appointed time. The valley of Virginia being the nearest and
most frequently travelled route, his colleagues, journeying on horseback, would frequently stop and rest a few days with him.  In
the fall of 1832, Hon. Felix Grundy, with another member, paid
the Judge a visit of this kind. He had fixed upon the next Monday
morning to commence his journey. Sunday night a deep snow fell.
The visitors did not relish the idea of turning out in such weather.
Perceiving this, their host said, " Gentlemen, here are my house and
servants at your service. Order what you want, and make yourselves perfectly at home. The time has come for me to leave; and
I must go." The others made some pleasant remark in reply about
his "old fashioned habits," but on the whole, thought it not best to
separate themselves from such good company; and the three legislators accordingly, upon the Monday morning, set out together.
On another occasion, he had allowed himself time to make a visit
to friends in Philadelphia. The family invited certain of their
acquaintances to meet at their home and pass the evening with him.
Judge White, however, without knowing this circumstance, had fixed
upon that day to leave the city, and no importunities could induce
him to remain. He had allowed himself just time enough to reach
Washington in season for the meeting of Congress; and would not
permit himself to be tardy even for a day. On but one occasion was
he ever absent from his seat when Congress convened; and this was
in 1838, when he was suffering under severe bodily infirmity. And
on that occasion, so conscientious was he, that he intended to resign
16




242            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
in time for the Governor to make a pro tempore appointment; and
actually sent in the resignation, which, however, the Governor
refused to accept.
WThile in the pay of the country, he was accustomed to consider
his time, strength, and talents the property of his constituents.  He
suffered neither his private interests, his personal gratification, nor
(as in the case of his speech on the Indian question) even the keenest
and deepest afflictions, to interfere with their claims.  He not only
performed the public duties of his station, but was accustomed
to  adjust private claims for individuals, without compensation.
During his early residence in Washington, an old Revolutionary
soldier, living in Claiborne County, East Tennessee, applied to him
for the purpose of having his name placed on the pension list. His
claims proved valid; and the'Judge presented to the worn veteran
his pension certificate, together with all his back pay, which amounted
to a sum more considerable than the old man had ever had at one
time.  Said he, with deep gratitude, "Judge White, how much do I
owe you?" " Not one cent, sir," replied the Judge; " when I was
a whistling ploughboy, you were fighting for the liberty of our country. I then knew, or, indeed, cared but little about it; but, my old
friend, I have since learned to estimate the value of those efforts;
and to all who fought our battles in those'times that tried men's
souls'  I owe a debt of gratitude I can never repay."
As an instance of the like scrupulousness in fulfilling prescribed
duty we may present an extract from a letter written to a friend in
Knoxville, in 1833, in relation to his becoming a candidate for the
convention which was to meet in the next May, at Nashville, for the
purpose of amending the Constitution of Tennessee. He says:
I have reason to think that Congress will be in session on the third
Monday in May, when the Convention is to sit in Nashville, 750 miles
distant. To reach that point in season, I must leave this the first of
May, the most important business of the session probably still unfinished.
The General Assembly elected me to the Senate.  The same body,
though not the same men, fixed the time for the meeting of the Convention; when it must have been expected that the Senate would then be
in session. Under these circumstances, were I to abandon my post here,
for the one proposed, I feel that I could not assign any reason for so
doing, which ought to be satisfactory.




THE NASHVILLE CONVENTION.                   243
I hope, my friends, upon reflection, will see the propriety of my declining to consent that my name be used as a member of Convention. I
would rather serve my friends and neighbors than any equal number of
people; but it ought to be remembered the whole people of the State
sent me here, and that a small number of the same people cannot give
me leave of absence.
Although his other public duties prevented his co-operating with
his friends in this important movement, yet he felt the greatest solicitude on this subject, and his anxiety that the power should rest
where it belonged, with the people, will be seen from an extract of
another letter to this same friend:
I have great fears that the alterations which may be made in the Constitution will not really be amendments. The idea ought to be constantly
impressed upon the public mind, that no alteration will be part of the
Constitution, until approved by a vote of the people. In the proposed
amendments the Convention should insert a provision, that the Constitution shall remain as it now is, unless the people, by their vote, shall
sanction the proposed amendments.
When Judge White entered the Senate, he was fifty-two years of
age, five feet eleven inches in height, of erect form, very slender but
graceful proportions, and with a firm and elastic step.  His brow was
broad and full, his eyes blue, and deeply set; and his firmly compressed lips bore testimony to his unwavering tenacity of purpose.
His abundant gray hair was thrown back from his forehead, and
curled at considerable length upon his shoulders; its silvery waves
adding to his venerable and remarkable appearance.  The usual
expression of his face in repose was sad. When thought deepened,
this sadness gave way to a look of sternness. But both these were
dissipated under the influence of his social feelings; and at such
times his whole countenance became illuminated with a bright expression of kindness.
By the talents and virtues, the strength and integrity of character
displayed in this eminent station, by zeal for the promotion of the
public good, by uniform moderation and love of justice, by jealous
watchfulness over the public wealth, by that indifference to public




244           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
honors which prevented him from ever canvassing for any office, or
from any other demonstration than the mere expression of his willingness to fill such places as might render him useful, Judge White
acquired his high rank among the first men of the nation, and his
extended and firmly based influence among its masses; and like.
wise the expressive and appropriate surname of "CThe Cato of the
Republic."




CHAPTER XII.
HIS FIRST POLITICAL POSITION-ITS SUBSEQUENT CHANGE.
WHEN Judge White entered the Senate in 1825, Mr. Adams was
the occupant of the Presidential chair.  Supposing that the General
Assembly expected him not to array himself in the party ranks either
of the Administration, or of its opponents, but to act simply as the
servant of his country, and to vote as in his judgment would best
promote its interests; he was ready to give to the measures of the
Administration his prompt and efficient aid, so far as those measures
coincided with republican principles.
He believed that those who denied to the federal government all
power except that which is granted in express terms, or which
is necessary to carry into effect some power expressly granted, expounded the Constitution more correctly than those who contended
for the exercise of implied powers. Being here associated with men,
who espoused different sides of all the doubtful political questions then
agitating the country, and who were in every way well qualified to discuss them, his mind settled down, before the election of Gen. Jackson
to the Presidency, in favor of all those great political principles, which
were adopted by that President, in the outset of an administration,
undoubtedly one of the most marked and eventful in the political
history of the country. We have every evidence, that Judge White
was something more than a mere supporter of this party, which a
friend of General Jackson says was " more perfect in its organization,
and more lasting in its duration, than any before established, giving
its own line of statesmen and its own course of policy to the country;
a party which was to exert a stronger influence upon the world, and
to cause a greater increase of the wealth, territory, and population of
the republic, than any had yet caused or exerted.
As an evidence of General Jackson's regard for Judge White, and
of his appreciation of the aid rendered him by the latter in founding
his political system, we shall here give a few extracts from unpublished
245




246           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
letters, showing that he may in fact be considered the author of many
of the leading measures of General Jackson's Administration.  The
first two are from  General Jackson, and were written immediately
after his elevation to the Presidency. The first is dated Hernmitage,
Oct. 17, 1828:
I thank you kindly for the suggestions you have made, and will always
thank you for your friendly counsel. We have grown up together, have
passed to the top and over the hill of life together, and permit me to
assure you there is no one in whom I have greater confidence, in their
honor, integrity, and judgment than in yours.
The second letter bears date Judge Overton's, Dec. 31, 1828.
It will give me pleasure at all times to receive your views upon all and
every subject; you have my confidence and friendship, and to you and
Major Eaton I look as my confidential friends.
After General Jackson went to Washington-Mr. Tazewell, who
was a warm friend of Judge White's, and a firm supporter of General
Jackson's Administration says:
Judge White was one and I believe the most confidential of all his
advisers, as well before as after his inauguration, while the Senate continued in session. I have good reason to justify the opinion, that many
of the most important measures, adopted by the President during that
period were the result of the sound advice given to him by Judge White,
in whom the President then reposed the most unlimited confidence-a
confidence zealously reciprocated by the Judge, whose personal attachment to General Jackson was most ardent and devoted.
When the Senate adjourned in 1829, Judge White went home and did
not return until the commencement of the next session. I was prevented
from taking my place in that body until Feb. 1830. Very soon after I
took my seat, I saw very plainly that new relations had sprung up between
the President and some of his former friends. Judge White did not seem
to have observed this; and his feelings toward General Jackson remained
unchanged, although it was evident to all others, that he no longer occupied
the same place in the estimation of the President which he had done. I
never knew the cause of this apparent estrangement, but thought it
might be easily.eonjectured.
The cause which led to a dissolution of General Jackson's cabinet
in 1831, was General Jackson's determination to have Mr. Van Buren




LETTER FROM MR. POLK.                     247
elected his successor, and to attain this end it was determined to dismiss such cabinet officers as were unfavorable to this purpose, and to
appoint others, who could be moulded to it; those who sanctioned it
having voluntarily resigned.  And notwithstanding this apparent
estrangement which was so obvious to all, General Jackson again
tendered the war department to Judge White, and the pertinacity
with which it was urged upon him will be seen fiom the following
letters. One of these selected from among a large number, because
it was written at the instance of the President; and the others, show
the opinion which their authors (of whom  the next chapter treats)
entertained of Judge White at that day:
COLUMNBIA, facy 5tA, 1531.
MY DEAR SIR: The last mail brought us the letters of resignation of
Mr. Van Buren and Major Eaton, and also a rumor, which I doubt not is
true, of the resignation of the other members of the cabinet. This event
I cannot say surprised me much. We had reason to apprehend an explosion of some sort, but could not anticipate the manner or the time at
which it would occur. I am anxious to see the letters of resignation of
the other members of the cabinet, which have not yet reached us.
Should all have retired in such a manner as to impress upon the public
mind the idea that a part did so voluntarily, and a part by coercion, I
cannot see that the party or the country is to be affected by it. That the
new cabinet, profiting by a knowledge of the difficulties which their
predecessors had to encounter, will act in harmony with each other, and
with the President I have no doubt. Avoiding the causes which have
led to the present state of things, I doubt not that their labors will prove
enminently beneficial to the country, by sustaining the great principles
which have marked the course of the Administration.
I need not assure you that I am highly gratified to find your name,
among those whom it is said the President intends to invite into his
cabinet. Upon this point but one sentiment has been expressed among
our intelligent and common friends here. In the course of his Administration the President has had many difficulties to contend with, not
among the least of which, has been the want of harmony, and concert of
action, among his confidential and constitutional advisers. As against
an organized and vindictive, and I may add, in some respects, unprincipled opposition, he never had nor has he now anything to fear. I know
he has unlimited confidence in you, and in this his hour of need will I
have every reason to believe be anxious to have your assistance in the
Administration. Should he invite you to a place in his cabinet I trust
you may reconcile it to your sense of duty and propriety to accept, and
that no considerations may induce you to decline. Your fiiends in the




248           MEMOIR  OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
State may regret to lose your services in the Senate, but no one of tLon
sincerely attached to our cause can, I think, or would for one moment
hesitate, not only to assent to your acceptance of the new station, should
it be offered to you, but to advise it. We would hazard nothing I think
in supplying your place in the Senate with a man of the right politics,
though none can be found in whom the people of the State would have
so much confidence as in yourself. I trust therefore that you will duly
appreciate my motives, when I insist that you will not decline if invited
by the President (of which I have no doubt), to accept a place in his
councils.
Very sincerely and truly,
Your friend,
JAMES K. POLK.
NASHVILLE, Mlay 17th, 1831.
DEAR Sin: I hope before this time, you have accepted the office of
Secretary of War. If not, I now write for the purpose of uniting my
solicitations and that of my neighbors in favor of your acceptance.
There is entire confidence here in the proposed new cabinet-for myself
I can say, it affords the first clear sunshiny political weather I have seen
for some time. Whatever your diffidence may suggest, rely on one thing,
there is no other man who under all the circumstances will unite so much
public confidence-all past notions of non-acceptance of office &c., should
be surrendered at this time for the public good.
Your friend,
FELIx GRUNDY.
NASHVILLE, M3ay 18t, 1831.
MY DEAR SIR: When the news reached us (1st May), of the resignation of the cabinet, the same account brought the suggestions of the successors. From that time until yesterday I have been to Kentucky on a
visit to my parents.  That the war department has been tendered
to you, I am told is true. I have been out amongst the people since
the report went forth, in the south of Kentucky, and in Tennessee.
For a range of 150 miles I am sure of public opinion. It is not only in
favor of your accepting, but that no man could be found so likely to fill
the station satisfactorily to the West and South-and all things considered
it was the very best selection that could have been made-the Clay men
generally said to me-" with Hugh White, we are perfectly satisfied."  So
I find opinion here. The desire that you should accept, is most anxious
with the Jackson men, and your declining would dishearten very many,
under the impression of difficulties attending the administration of the
government, that deterred the most prudent, and efficient men from




PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN  JUDGE WHITE.               249
taking office under it. A thing the farthest imaginable from being true,
under the present aspect of affairs.
I think it due to the country, and the party of our opinion politically,
that you should accept the office.
I would not have written you, but our friend General Coffee, on being
informed of the facts above, suggested the propriety of my writing-saying he had done so-and if it did no good-no harm could come of it.
As a Western man, I should feel disagreeable with all strangers in the
cabinet-one old acquaintance of General J. ought to be there —and a
man not wanting too much hereafter-one that feels as if, " in the fork of
the poplar, safe from the pack."  Out of Tennessee he cannot be found.
If you refuse, we will feel restive, unsafe, and anxious.
The Kentucky people in the south of the State are generally for office
on the Clay side-the aspirants are waiting until they are wearing out
with age-are becoming doubtful that a union of N. Light Federalists
with Kentucky republicans, if possible, cannot last-are dropping off, and
if the government is successfully administered, will not long seriously
oppose it. Such are the symptoms at present.
For your health and happiness accept my best wishes.
J. N. CsTRos.
WASHINGTON CITY, l8t May, 1831.
DEAR JUDGE: I have just parted from the President. He informs me,
confidentially, that you have declined the office of Secretary of War.
The old man said he wrote you yesterday, urging you still to accept.
I know your friendship for the President, and I know, too, Judge, the
sacrifices you have ever been willing to make for the love of your country.
I write this at the request of the old General, because he says I have
been present here, and can describe plainly to you the situation of things
as they are. The old man says, that all his plans will be defeated unless
you agree to come; should it be but for a period short of the continuance
of his Administration. The public have settled down on you, Judge, as
the man. The wishes and confidence of every one seem to require your
acceptance.  Nothing that you can offer will satisfy your friends;
because, as the old man says-this is a crisis in which he wishes his best
friends to be with him-and you well know that you are the nearest; so
he declares, Judge —now for my own views. The good of the countrythe honor of your best friend-the character of the State-and, lastly, it
must not be said, that aid is refused the old chief from Tennessee, and
that, too, by Judge White.
Judge, pardon me for attempting to influence you. I write because I
know you will do one thing, and that is, believe what I say. Could you




250           MIEIOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
but witness the anxiety of the General, and the distress that follows,
under the supposition that you will not join him, I know you would
yield.                       Yours truly,
F. W. ARMSTRONG.
The importunities of these mutual friends did not succeed in effecting their object, and it was determined to make another attempt to
operate upon Judge White from  another quarter.  For this purpose
General Jackson, accompanied  by Judge White's brother-in-law,
Judge Overton, visited Virginia, and conferred with Mr. Tazewell; as
it was well known that the relations existing between Mr. Tazewell
and Judge White were of the most intimate and friendly character.
Mr. Tazewell, in speaking of the alienation of General Jackson friom
Judge White, says:
Under this impression, I was somewhat astonished at an incident
which I will now relate. During the summer or fall of 1831, General
Jackson, accompanied by Judge Overton, of Tennessee, paid a visit to
Old Point Comfort, a watering place not very far from here. So soon as
I was able, after I was informed of their arrival there, I called to see
them. Upon this occasion, I was told by Judge Overton, that the office
of Secretary of War, then vacant, either had been or would be offrered to
our friend Judge White; and I was asked my opinion as to his qualifications to fill it, and as to the probability of his accepting it. To these
inquiries I replied promptly, that the war department, during several
years past, had been getting into much confusion, as I thought, and that
none of my acquaintance was so well calculated to restore it to order as
Judge White, of whose unwearied industry and sound judgment I had
had the best opportunity to form a correct opinion. But that from my
knowledge of him, I did not believe that he would accept such an
appointment. Judge Overton concurred in the opinions I had expressed;
and as I believe communicated them to the President. For in a very short
time, similar inquiries were addressed to me by the President himself, to
which I returned the same answers. He too expressed his apprehensions
that Judge White might not accept; and requested that I would write to
him, advising him to do so. With this request I declined to comply,
stating to Gen. Jackson as my reason for doing so, that I thought it would
be indelicate on my part to give such advice to any one situated as
Judge White then was. I had just heard of the sad domestic bereavement with which he had been afflicted.
When we met in Washington, at the commencement of the next session
of the Senate, I communicated to Judge White the substance of what
had occurred. He then informed me, that the war department had been




SINGULAR POSITION OF JUDGE WHITE.             251
offered to him, which he had promptly declined; and thanked me, with
much feeling, for the part I had taken in the subject, of which Judge
Overton had informed him.
His utter refusal to accept this position under Gen. Jackson, and
thereby to aid in the elevation of Mr. Van Buren, to the Presidency;
his firmness and impartiality in favoring Mr. Clay's compromise in
1832; his endeavors to check the constantly increasing patronage of
the executive, by voting against large appropriations, to be expended
as the President might choose; and above all, his permission to his
friends to use his name as a candidate for the Presidency, in opposition to Mr. Van Buren, gradually alienated Gen. Jackson from him,
and at last widened the breach between them, until they became
totally separated in their feelings and principles.
Judge White's position in the Senate now became singular. If
there was any one of his own political sect whose judgment coincided
with his, the moral courage was wanting to stand by the side of one
looked upon as a victim marked ftr destruction. But this isolation had
no terrors for Judge White. Although his course was necessarily
solitary, yet it was marked with a fixed determination at any hazard
" to maintain what he believed sound principles and sound practices,
under the supposition that his constituents, when they re-elected him
to office in 1835, intended he should resist every attempt of the
executive through his patronage to influence public opinion;" and but
few public men ever received such decided marks of approbation, or
were so fully sustained in their course, as he by the people of his own
State.
When the subject of the Presidency was agitated in 1838, and Mr.
Clay and Mr. Van Buren seemed likely to be the favorite candidates
of the two parties, Judge White, who had opposed the ruinous policy
pursued by the latter, in his administration of the government, did
not stand aloof because he could not find a candidate to suit his own
views in every particular. Had it been his province to nominate one,
he would not have selected either of these gentlemen, as he differed
from them both upon important questions; but as this was not his
prerogative, and he felt no disposition to occupy a neutral position, he
deemed it expedient to support the one whose policy would best promote the interests of the country. With these views his choice was
fixed upon Mr. Clay, and he avowed his determination as a private
citizen to sustain him for the Presidency —but at the same time




252         MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WlITE.
declared his purpose to resist in the Senate, any measure which in his
judgment might be adverse to the prosperity of the nation. Instead
of Mr. Clay, Gen. Harrison was the nominee of the Harrisburg Convention, and although Judge White would have preferred the former,
he announced his determination to support the new candidate. This
he would doubtless have done in good faith had his life been spared.




CHAPTER XIII.
RELATIONS TO MESSRS. GRUNDY, POLK, JOHNSON AND CATRON.
THE peculiar relations which these gentlemen sustained to Judge
White, and the prominent position they occupied as politicians, render it necessary to take. special notice of their course.  Judge
Grundy was for a number of years Judge White's colleague in the
Senate. They all belonged to the same political party. Although
not on terms of particular intimacy, they labored together harmoniously up to 1834, on most points of importance. Judge White
had the kindest feelings towards his colleague, and never doubted the
sincerity of his professions, until certain developments connected with
a meeting at Washington, which was designed to test Judge White's
strength in the Tennessee delegation, proved that his friendship was
not to be relied upon. About this juncture, affairs connected with
Judge Grundy's course in regard to the U. S. Bank, proved that
the suspicions awakened as to his fidelity were not without foundation.
To Mr. Polk, Judge White was very much attached. During the
session of 1833-34, when he and Col. Bell were both run for
speaker of the House of Representatives, Judge White wrote to the
editor of the Knoxville Register —" Polk and Bell were both run for
speaker; the latter is elected. I fear a want of kind feelings between
them may grow out of the canvass, and be the means of dividing, at
home, those who now pass for friends. Both are to me like children;
therefore I took no part in the contest.
" Justice to these gentlemen, as well as sound policy, requires that
nothing should be said, or done, which can have the effect of wounding the feelings of either."
Some months after this, during the summer of 1834, Judge
White's name was freely used in connection with the Presidency.
Upon hearing of some threats from Gen. Jackson of what he would
253




254           MEMOIR  OF HIUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
do, in such an event-Judge White addressed a letter to his friend
Mr. Polk, and received the following' answer:COLUMBIA, Sept. 2d, 1834.
MI  DEAR Sin: I received your letter of the 26th ult. on yesterday.
I am  surprised and astonished at the information which has been
communicated to you-that one of your oldest and most valued frietds,*
now high in office, has said that " he will denounce you as soon as it is
ascertained that you are willing to be a candidate," &c. There must be
some mistake about it. It certainly cannot be so; and unless your
information comes in a most unquestionable shape I should be slow to
believe it, but should much sooner suspect that the communication came
from an interested source, or from one having some object to effect, by
separating in feeling at least, old and long tried personal and political
friends. It has not been a great while since the person to whom I presume you must allude, gave public evidence of the estimate in which he
held your private and public character; as well as of your capacity for
high office, by his willingness to have you associated with him in highly
confidential and responsible public relations. This opinion of you was,
I knoo, long since that time unchanged, and I have never had any reason
to believe, for one moment, that his former confidence in you was in the
slightest degree impaired. I would much sooner suspect the accuracy of
my information therefore, than yield for an instant to the impression
which the information itself is calculated to make upon your mind.
Nothing could pain mutual firiends more, than the idea, that anything
could occur, to break up, or in the least disturb the intimate relation of
private friendships which have existed for more than forty years, or to
separate those now in the evening of life, who for so many years have
acted together upon public affairs, and who have always agreed —with
perhaps unimportant exceptions-upon all measures of public policy, and
especially those which have engaged the public attention, during the
present and pending Administration.
I am very sincerely,
Your friend and obt. servt.,
JAMES K. POLK.
It would appear from the contents of the above letter that Mr.
Polk was at that time not well informed as to the sentiments of Gen.
Jackson in reoard to his successor; but so soon as he became fully
satisfied on this subject, a certificate which we will insert presently,
will show, that his determination was taken, to shape his course
according to the President's wishes, although motives of personal
* Gen. Jackson.




THE PRESIDENCY.                      255
policy, and the watchful eye he ever kept in the direction of his own
political aggrandizement, decided him not to define his position until
after his re-election the ensuing August.
It was already understood that the party would support the nominee of the Baltimore Convention. Judge White's friends determined
that at the meeting which was organized to test his strength, his
claims should be presented without respect to this convention. No
one better knew than Messrs. Grundy, Polk, and Johnson, what
would be the result of the Baltimore Convention, and none better
understood the object of this meeting, and yet in the face of all this
they made slight excuses for absenting themselves from the meeting
-but at the same time, avowed that they were in favor of Judge
White, and privately pledged themselves to his support, as the certificate above referred to, shows.
The following letter written a few weeks after this meeting by
Judge White to E. Alexander, Esq.,shows the course these gentlemen were pursuing towards him.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 1835.
MY DEAR SMR: I have avoided, during the present session, writing to
any person when I have not been compelled to answer letters, for reasons obvious to you.
While society is employed in scrutinizing my character with a view to
know whether they will wish to employ me in a public station different
from that which I now occupy, I hold that I ought so to conduct myself,
as to give no reason to suspect that I am saying or doing anything with
a view to influence the public judgment.
Three of my colleagues, Grundy, Polk, and Johnson, think the use of
my name as a candidate for the highest office known to our government,
may be the means of breaking up the democratic party, that it will be
disapproved by my own State, and that by not stopping the use of it, I
am placing myself in a situation that must destroy me at home, as well
as abroad. In this view of things they are zealously and cordially supported by Judge Catron, who has been here some time. Mr. Laughlin
from Nashville, arrived here on the 8th inst., and it is said comes here
to aid these gentlemen by his services as a letter writer.
All the other representatives from Tennessee think differently, and
urge, in conversation, my pretensions, and represent the wishes of my
State as being different from what is urged by Mr. Grundy and those
who act with him. Which of them is right, I do not profess to know.
All I have said, and all I will say is that I have had no agency in causing
my name to be used and I will not prohibit the use of it. My political
friends at home and abroad I hope and believe have not used it, and will




256           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
not use it for any purpose other than the interest of the country; and
whenever they are satisfied the country will be injured, not benefited.
by its use, they will give me sincere pleasure by withdrawing it.
Neither Mr. Grundy, Colonel Polk, Colonel Johnson, nor Judge Catron
has ever alluded to the subject in conversation with me, and I cannot but
feel it personally unkind, that any of them should be injuring me in the
judgment of strangers without knowing from myself whether I deserve
their condemnation or not.
The honorable judge is, I think, treating me with great unkindness to
give every body else the benefit of the information he has acquired in
his extensive travels, and withhold it all from me.
He is viewed by some of my friends as a political commissary, sent out
to receive just such news as he has brought, and in consideration of his
endeavors to detract from my standing here, and destroy me at home, he
hopes to fill the first vacancy on the bench of the Supreme Court of the
United States, which can with propriety be given to him. In all this
matter I feel no personal interest; a greater personal favor could not
well be bestowed on me, than by leaving me at home after the 4th of
March next.
These people are preparing for a great effort in Tennessee next summer. They think they'can send to the legislature such materials as will
supersede me in the Senate. Thus dropped, my pretensions to anything
else are at an end.
I put up no pretensions to anything, and therefore can never be disappointed.
Subsequent events showed Judge White's surmises to be correct.
A correspondence in February, 1835, may demonstrate that Polk and
Johnson, at least, had determined to pick a quarrel with Judge White
if possible. He had made certain inquiries of them as to a nomination for the district attorneyship of West Tennessee. The note containing the inquiries was answered by the following sour epistle, in
Mr. Polk's handwriting:
WASHINGTON CITY, Feb. 25, 1885.
DEiR SIR: We have received your letter of yesterday, in relation to
the nomination of Mr. Brown, of Nashville, to be District Attorney of
West Tennessee, which you inform us is now pending before the Senate.
You express your surprise at this nomination, as you "had not heard of
Mr. Collingsworth's resignation, and knew that Mr. Brown had come to
this place as an applicant for the office of Judge in Arkansas." You state
that we " are the only members of the Tennessee delegation who have
recommended Mr. Brown," and you " therefore presume" that we " are
the only ones here acquainted with the circumstances," and you " therefore ask" us " to inform" you "whether the profession in Nashville and




CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  POLK  AxND JOHNSON.            257
the other parts of West Tennessee were apprised of Mr. Collingsworth's
resignation, so that recommendations for others might have been furnished before the nomination of Mr. Brown." In answer to this inquiry
we have to state, that it is known to you, that we left town early in
November. At that time we had not heard the resignation of Mr. Collingsworth spoken oft and whether and to what extent his intention to
resign had subsequently to that time attained publicity, you as well as
other members of the delegation have the same means of knowing that
we have. * * * We have to regret the opinion which you seem to
have formed that "the case as it stands is calculated to make the impression that there has been a secret contrivance to have Mr. Brown
appointed, before his brother lawyer could be apprised that the office was
vacant." We are not aware of any such " secret contrivance." We do
not believe that any such exists; but if there be the slightest grounds for
such an opinion, we are wholly ignorant of it. If it is intended by you
to convey the idea that we could be capable of lending ourselves to any
such "secret contrivance," we feel ourselves called upon to repel an insinuation which, your own sense of justice must satisfy you, nothing in
our conduct, public or private, has ever justified. You must know that
the President of the United States, who made the nomination, is equally
incapable of lending himself to any such "secret contrivances," for the
advancement of any such purposes as those indicated in your letter.
You must know further, that the President of the United States was intimately acquainted with the members of the bar at Nashville, as much so
as any representative of the State could be, and from his knowledge of
their qualifications and character was in possession of information to
enable him to make the nomination without any recommendation whatever. Although this was the case, and was known to us, still we did not
hesitate, at the request of Mr. Brown, to address the letter in his behalf
to the President, which we infer from your letter, has been communicated
to the Senate, and read by you. In recommending Mr. Brown, we have
done nothing more than we have often done for other citizens of the
State, who have desired letters to be addressed to the executive for appointments within his gift. We think it probable that you and others
of the delegation have often addressed such letters to the President. * *
It is proper that we should add that we have understood that a recommendation had been signed by some members of the bar at Nashville,
(though we have never seen it), in favor of the appointment of another
person. The President, with a personal knowledge of both gentlemen,
as well as of the other members of the bar at that place, possessed information altogether sufficient to enable him to select a person qualified for
the office. He has chosen to nominate Mr. Brown.
Your obedient servants,
JAMES K. POLK,
C. JOHNSON.
17




258           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
To this prickly effusion Judge White answered immediately and
temperately, but with all needed plainness, as follows:
GENTLEMEN: Your favor of this date, in answer to mine of yesterday,
was handed me a few minutes since.
During the last session of Congress an idea was somehow taken up in
West Tennessee, that Mr. Collingsworth would not be re-appointed; and
several members of the bar were applicants for the office in case it should
be vacant. Mr. Collingsworth was, however, appointed and continued
in office until 25th of January, when he resigned. His resignation was
received at the State department on the 2d February, and on the 4th Mr.
Brown was nominated, and until some days after the nomination, I had
no knowledge that Mr. Collingsworth had resigned. I had been informed
that Mr. Brown's business here was to procure the office of judge in
Arkansas.
Under these circumstances I really did think, as I had heard of no application on behalf of any other gentleman, and as there did not appear
among the papers any recommendation this winter from the profession,
that it was my duty to the profession to make some inquiry to know
whether they had been fairly treated. I found no recommendation from
any of my colleagues except you, and very naturally concluded you could
give me the information I desired; and I was the more inclined to apply
for it, having always had a good opinion of Mr. Collingsworth, with whom
I was acquainted, and having received a very high character of Mr.
Brown, from friends in whom I had confidence.
I regret to see the spirit in which this inquiry is met in your letter;
and that you feel yourselves called upon to " repel" what you are pleased
to fancy an imputation upon yourselves, and upon the President of the
United States. Neither of you believes for one moment that I intended
to insinuate anything to his disadvantage, nor can you believe from the
style of my letter that I intended any imputation upon Mr. Brown. I
sincerely wish that if ever the President should be attacked, when he has
few friends, he may find as many zealous advocates as he now has when
he has more friends than he can provide for.
I have too long known the President to insinuate aught to his disadvantage, or that he is capable of sanctioning a secret contrivance to do anything incorrect if he knew it; but, I tell you in candor, that I have not
the same exalted opinions of all other. Many of those who beset him
with professions of friendship, I think every way capable of making every
cent out of him they can, either by telling what they know to be untrue,
t' by suppressing what they know to be true.
It will be time enough for you to repel insinuations against yourselves
when you have reason to think they are made. When Imake them, they
bhall be in language not to be misunderstood, and supported by facts




JUDGE WiliTE AND THE PRESIDENCY.             259
which will remain, any efforts to repel them to the contrary notwithstanding.
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
Hu. L. WrITE.
Despite these bold assertions by Messrs. Polk and Johnson, there
can be no doubt of the duplicity of their conduct regarding Judge
White; and of Mr. Grundy's participation in the same, the following
correspondence respecting him and Mr. Polk appears to furnish sufficient evidence.
You, sir, must remember, that as soon as the subject of the meeting was
taken up, it was mentioned, as a matter of regret, that all the members
of the delegation friendly to the Administration were not present, as it
was very desirable that the views of all should be known, and, that whatever course should be resolved upon, should be done by the unanimous
voice of the delegation. To this it was replied by one of the undersigned
that although a part of the delegation were not present, the absent gentlemen had been consulted upon the subject of the meeting, and that their
views had been expressed, and were known to one or more present.
Whereupon one of the undersigned (Luke Lea) stated that he had requested
Col. Polk to attend the meeting, and that he said he did not think he could
do so, owing to the personal relations in which he stood to some of the
delegation, and asked the relator's advice upon the subject, but although
he declined attending, he stated he was for Judge White in preference to
any other man for the Presidency-that the people of his district were
for him, and that he would go as far as any of the delegation, in support
of his election under any circumstances that he, Judge White, would permit his name to be used. Another one of the undersigned (James Standifer) stated that he had conversed with Mr. Grundy upon the subject of
Judge White's being a candidate, and had requested him to attend this
meeting; that Mr. Grundy said that he did not know that it would be
altogether proper for him to attend the meeting, but if Judge White was
brought out, he would show by his actions that he was as much his friend
as any other man, and would support him in any way in which he would
permit his name to be run. The same member stated, that he had seen Mr.
Blair, who was out of the city that evening, and that Mr. Blair had told
him, that JudgeWhite was his choice; that he would be found as earnest
in his support as any other man; and that he would co-operate with the
delegation in whatever course they should adopt, to bring Judge White
out.
This was the substance, and as near the language as we can recollect,
of the report made in your hearing, of the views of those gentlemen who
were absent, and whose co-operation was sought. When they had




260           MEMOIR OF IHUGH LAWSON WHITE.
finished, you remarked that, as to Mr. Grundy and Col. Polk, you could
state, that they stated to you last summler, at Nasllhville, that they sllotld
support Judge White, if he was a candidate. One of the undersigned
inquired whether Mr. Grundy and Col. Polk mentioned in tlhat conver'sation whether they expected Judge WhVite to be nominated by a national
convention before they would give liln their support. You replied, that
nothing was said about a convention, and that you understood thlel to
mean they would support Judge White, if he was run as a candidate, in
any way he would suffer his name to be used. The undersigned clearly
understand from what you said, not only that those gentlemen were
anxious to run Judge White, but that you, as their friend, were putting
in their claim to be considered original White men. They further considered this disclosure as an evidence of the zeal and sincerity with which
you espoused the cause of Judge White.
[Signed]            JAMES STANDIFER,
BALIE PEYTON,
WILLIAM M. INGE,
JOHN BELL,
JOHN B. FORRESTEn,
LUKE LEA,
DAVID W. DICKINSON.
To the Hon. CAVE JoHNsoN.
January 1, 1S85.
P. S. In making a report to the meeting of what my colleague Mr. Blair
said when applied to to attend the meeting, I olnitted to state that Mr. Blair
objected to any formal nomination of Judge White for the Presidency by
the delegation. I did not understand that any member of the delegation
proposed to nominate Judge White under their names.
JAMES STANDIFER.
I do not recollect the particulars of the conversation which Mr. Johnson
said took place between him and Mr. Grundy and Col. Polk, at Nashville,
last summer, but the impression I have is, that they expressed themselves
favorable to the pretensions of Judge White for the Presidency.
WM. M, INGE.
The meeting of a part of the Tennessee delegation in Congress, in December last, for the purpose of consulting together as to the propriety of
running Judge White as the successor of Gen. Jackson to the Presidency,
was a project of my own without being prompted by any one. My
reasons for asking my colleagues to meet was, that when talking to the




JUDGE WHITE AND THE PRESIDENCY.               261
delegation they all, with whom I spoke on the subject, said they were in
favor of Judge White, but I was occasionally told that Judge Grundy and
Col. Polk were opposed to him, which I did not believe. Being on the
strictest terms of friendship with Grundy and Polk, I mentioned to them
the reports I had heard, informing Col. Polk I had heard that when he
passed through Pennsylvania a short time before the meeting of Congress,
he had been speaking in opposition to Judge White; he denied the truth
of the report, and appeared angry; and to convince me of his attachment to
White he spoke in the highest terms of him —saying he boarded with him,
and complained that he should be so badly belied. Col. Polk inquired of
me if Col. Bell was for White; I told him I did not know, I understood he
was; he said he had understood that Bell had written letters, which could
be produced, to some of Mr. VanBuren's friends, inducing them to think he
was for Van Buren. I informed Judge Grundy that I had heard he was
opposed to White, and was throwing difficulties in the way of his election,
which he denied, and said no man could say so and tell the truth. He
then inquired how Col. Bell was going, I told him I did not know, not
being in the habit of conversing with him on those subjects, but had
understood he would support White. Judge Grundy observed that Bell
was playing a double game, to which I replied, if he was playing a double
game I was too old a politician not to catch him. I then determined to
ask a meeting of my colleagues for the purpose of consulting as to the
propriety of running Judge White; but another object with me, which I
did not disclose, was to ascertain who was playing the double game.
The first or second person I spoke to in relation to the meeting, was
Col. Bell, on the morning of the day before the meeting, on Pennsylvania
Avenue, on our way to the Capitol. When I mentioned the object of the
meeting, and requested his attendance, he hesitated, and spoke with caution, and seemed to measure his words. He was well apprised that I had
voted for Col. Polk against him for Speaker, which I supposed was the
reason of his hesitation when I mentioned the subject of the meeting to
him. I insisted we ought to meet and consult together, and ascertain
whether we were all for supporting Judge White, or what other course
we had better pursue. He at last said, if the members of his own State
met to consult together, he did not know that he could refuse. About
the time of the House's meeting that morning, I mentioned the intended
meeting to such of my colleagues as I saw. I saw Col. Polk in his committee-room, and mentioned to him the contemplated meeting, and requested him to attend. He inquired if Col. Bell would attend; I told him
what Bell had said to me, and that I supposed he would. Col. Polk then
declined, remarking that he and Bell were not on speaking terms, and that
his constituents would not approve of his consulting with a man he would
not speak to. I then told Col. Polk I would ask Mr. Lea to call and see
him on the subject; he replied he would be glad to see Mr. Lea at any




262          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
time. When Judge Grundy was requested to attend, he made use of the
expressions reported to the meeting.
[Signed.]       JAMES STANDIFER,
3Mount Airy, August 15, 1858.
Polk, Grundy, Johnson, and Catron, all became fierce opponents of
Judge White, and denounced him as a deserter from the Republican
ranks. Whether Judge Catron was working for pay or not, must
perhaps remain uncertain. But it is not uncertain that he filled the
first vacancy that occurred afterwards on the Supreme Bench.
As had been predicted, every means was used by these gentlemen
to induce the legislature of 1835 not to re-elect Judge White to the
Senate; but the people of Tennessee too well understood their course
to be influenced by them. Mr. Polk, however, was steady to his
purpose. From this time forward, everything that could be done was
done by him, both publicly and privately, to injure Judge White.
He misrepresented his course, by giving, in his "Address to the
people," garbled extracts from his speeches; took the stump against
him; and undoubtedly furnished his organ at Nashville with materials which he had every reason to know were untrue. During the
session of 1839, when the Instructing Resolutions were before the
legislature, it was currently reported and believed, that Governor
Polk attended the caucus meetings, and was unceasing in his efforts
to have them passed.
The sequel of these resolutions is before the world. They drove
Judge White from the Senate. When this was accomplished, Col.
Polk, with his usual diplomacy, after the death of Judge White, which
soon followed, attempted to make capital of their having so long
acted in concert: —and his organ avowed that Judge White had
always been a " strict constructionist of the Constitution"-thereby
paying him the highest compliment according to its views that could
be passed upon a politician.
There had never been any special intimacy between Judge White
and Col. Johnson. They were colleagues in Congress, and boarded
at the same house. An inspection of MS. letters and papers, reveals a
coincidence, which is noticed here more with a view to show the
nature of the charges that were made against Judge White, as well
as the character of the men who made them, than as of any great
importance in itself. In Mr. Johnson's stump speeches in 1835 he
says, "When General Jackson was surrounded with difficulties, and




JUDGE WHITE AND COL. JOHNSON.                 263
when it was necessary for him to have by his side some of his old
and well-tried friends-he called upon Judge White and offered him
the appointment of Secretary of State. Judge White declined to
accept the offer. He then offered it to Mr. Van Buren. He stepped
forward, and accepted. Since then he has been the main pillar of the
Administration."
It would seem that the leading Jackson men must have known,
that Mr. Van Buren received his appointment upon General Jackson's
going into power, and not, as Col. Johnson supposes, when he was
surrounded with difficulties. Instead of Mr. Van Buren's extricating
General Jackson from these difficulties, he was their very cause. But
it is a little strange that this charge should be in substance the very
same that was made against Mr. Johnson himself in 1833; and that
he should, as the following correspondence proves, have called on
Judge White for, and actually procured, his certificate to prove that
to the best of his knowledge he had on a former occasion, sustained
General Jackson's Administration.
CLARKSVILLE, April 20th, 1833.
DEIAR SIR: I find upon my arrival in my district such a variety of
stories in circulation as to the course pursued by me, as a member from
Tennessee, that I feel myself somewhat under the necessity of calling on
my friends for the expression of an opinion as to the course pursued by
me at Washington, as the most ready means of putting an end to the
various stories circulated here. It is said here, that I have been, and am,
unfriendly to the President and his Administration. Such general and
undefined charges are scarcely worth notice; but as I have two of the
strongest men in the district to contend with, it is a matter of some
importance to me, to suppress if possible all such accusations. I know
they have had their origin from Major Eaton, and W. B. L. in consequence of the course pursued by me in relation to the Chickasaw treaty,
but that is never urged as an evidence against me. If therefore you feel
no delicacy in the expression of an opinion upon my course, you would
greatly oblige me by stating whether I have not uniformly sustained the
Administration, and whether I have not been always so esteemed among
members. I am not aware of having separated from my political friends
upon any important question, except the Force Bill, which I thought
unnecessary after the passage of the Tariff Bill. I shall be a good deal
pressed by my opponents but do not fear the result.
Very respectfully,
Your friend,
C. Jor-NsoN.




264           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
KNOXVILLE, 3fay 16th, 1833.
DEAR SIR: Your letter under date of the 20th ult. was received a few
days ago. You state that in your district a story is circulated that you
are unfriendly to the present Administration and wish upon that subject
a statement from me.
In answer to this point I can only say, that so far as has come to my
knowledge you have always in Washington and elsewhere avowed yourself friendly to President Jackson and his Administration, and I have
never doubted the sincerity of your declarations. Entertaining no doubt
that you were a sincere supporter of the Administration, I state in candor
that I was surprised when I heard of your vote against the bill to enforce
the collection of the revenue.
My recollection of the passage of that bill, and the one to modify the
tariff, is different from yours. You think the bill to modify the tariff
was first passed, and thereby the other rendered unnecessary.
My impression is that the bill to enforce the collection of the revenue
was first passed in the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives.
Then Mr. Clay's bill to modify the tariff was passed by the Senate and
also sent to the House. The House then took up the Tariff Bill reported
by the Committee of Ways and Means, and amended it by striking the
whole of it out and inserting the bill which had been sent by the Senate, and
thus amended the House passed the Tariff Bill and sent it to the Senate,
not having finally acted on the bill to enforce the collection of the revenue
which had been first sent. The Senate took up the Tariff Bill which had
been sent from the House and passed it twice and let it lie for a third reading until it was informed the House had finally passed the bill to enforce
the collection of the revenue. Upon receiving this information the Senate
took up and finally passed the Tariff Bill. So that according to my recollection the Force Bill, as it is called, finally passed the House before, and
not after, as you suppose, the bill to modify the tariff.
But as to myself, I repeat I never doubted the sincerity of your attachment to the Administration, nor do I now, although I differ with you in
opinion as to the propriety and necessity of passing a bill to enforce the
oollection of duties.
With sincere esteem,
Your obedt. servt.,
Hu. L. WHITE.




CHAPTER XIV.
HIS RELATIONS TO GEN. JACKSON.
THE first recorded account of the association of Gen. Jackson and
Judge White, is at the bar of Tennessee. They were both of Scotchirish descent. Both were Carolinians by birth.  Both were Tennesseans by adoption. Gen. Jackson being six years the senior, was
on the supreme bench of the State, while Judge White was a practising lawyer. Here a personal friendship sprang up between them,
which lasted many years. The latter, who was never a man of words,
but of deeds, exhibited the warm attachment he felt for his friend, on
many trying occasions. The first manifestation we have of it, is in
the severe trials he encountered in his trip to the Creek nation, and
the important services he there rendered him.
Next, when Gen. Jackson was on a trial before the Senate of the
United States, and his destruction was sought by his enemies, in the
highest tribunal in the nation; when the committee reported unfavorably, concerning the manner in which the Seminole war was conducted, Judge White boldly espoused his cause, and avowed the
opinion that Gen. Jackson deserved praise rather than censure;
incurring by so doing the displeasure of some of the most prominent
members of the government.
In 1824, when Gen. Jackson was first a candidate for the Presidency, a majority of the legislature of his State wished to send him
to the Senate. Judge White was in Murfreesboro' (then the seat of
government), and remonstrated against such a movement as impolitic,
for the reason that his election to the Senate must necessarily diminish
his chances for the Presidency. A majority however differed with
him, and chose to run Gen. Jackson for the Senate. Judge White
found no fault with them for so doing, but uniformly urged the propriety of acquiescence by the voters of East Tennessee in the decision.
He steadfastly believed in Gen. Jackson's honesty; considering that
he possessed qualities which would make him highly useful to the
265




266          MEMOIRS OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
country, when associated with honest, honorable, and well-informed
men; and on all occasions and at all places, unfalteringly supported
the General's claims to the Presidency, both in 1824 and in 1828.
Of the estimation in which Gen. Jackson held Judge White, before,
at, and even after the time of the elevation of the former to the Presidency, abundant evidence is extant in the General's own handwriting,
and in that of his well-known confidential friends. In truth, as a
well-informed friend of both parties has said, " the entire policy of the
Jackson administration was directed by Judge White, so far as currency and Indian emigration West were concerned-which embraced
two-thirds of the Jackson policy now memorable."
Major J. H. Eaton writes him as follows, February 23d, 1829, while
arrangements were being made for the organization of the cabinet
and for the determination of the course of the Administration:
DEAR SIR: A letter received some time ago from Gen. Jackson, stated
he desired you, or mne, to be near him. In a recent conversation with
him, he remarked that he had had a full and free conversation with you;
and at the close remarked that he desired to have me with him. I presumed, without inquiring, that he had probably talked with you on the
subject, and that you had declined accepting any situation, as you before
had told me would be your feelings. Nothing definite has taken place
on this matter between General Jackson and myself, and I hope you
know me well enough, and my regard and friendship for you, to know
this, that I should never permit myself to stand in competition with any
desire you may entertain. If you have any desire, say so to me in confidence, and it shall so be received. If you have none, then in reference
to every and all considerations I should consent to any such appointment.
Think of this, and give me your opinion frankly.
Your friend
J. H. EATON.
Gen. Jackson's wish to have him in his cabinet, upon his first
accession to power, and the anxiety manifested by both him, and
his friends, in 1831, that Judge White should take charge of the
War Department (though, from Mr. Tazewell's account, he seems
not to have been in full communion with the party at that time),
prove the President's unlimited confidence in his integrity and his
capacity for business.  These honors were not tendered to Judge
White in compensation for any favors he had shown the Administration, or its members.  Both General Jackson and his friends
expressly stated that it was for the benefit of the Administra



HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               267
tiou and of the country that they urged him to accept; knowing full
well, that such motives only would govern him. Judge White, however, declined to accept in the first instance, for reasons best known to
himself. The cause which led to the dissolution of the cabinet in
1831, and which he relates in his "Address to the Freemen of Tennessee," was a scheme, which he would not have sanctioned for a
moment, under any circumstances, and was doubtless one cause of his
refusing to go into the cabinet at that time.
He earnestly desired to retire from the Senate in 1829-30 and 31;
but, to please Gen. Jackson, and his friends, who assured him they
could not dispense with his services in that body, he remained; and
while there gave Gen. Jackson his hearty support on all measures,
which were not at variance with his professed principles.
The following quaint letter from General Jackson will exemplify
the terms in which the continuance of Judge White's services in the
Senate, or his acceptance of higher office, was sought, or acknowledged
by the President:
WASHINGTON, Oct'r 12th, 1829.
MY DEAR SIR:I have rec'd your letter from Nashville, 26th ult., and
am pleased to learn from it your determination to remain in the Senate
a little longer. Your services there, for the present, is* all-important to
your country, and your continuance in the Senate very gratifying to me.
The severe affliction by the loss of so many of your children, I was
aware, made public life a burden to you; still, I knew the high estimation in which your public services were held by your country, and that
you would find it difficult to obtain the consent of your constituents to
retire; am truly happy that you have consented to continue, for I had a
hope that I would have your aid in the Senate so long as I remained in
the executive.  Both of us, I do suppose, would be more contented
and happy in private life; but the lordt hath willed it, and we must
submit.
How grateful I feel to you for your kind and friendly visit to the Hermitage, where lies all that made life desirable to me, and whose loss I
can never cease to mourn, and over whose tomb I would like to spend
the remnant of my days in solitude, preparing to meet her in a happier
and a better world.
Be pleased to present me kindly to every branch of your family, and
believe me your friend,
ANDREW JAOESON.
* So writtenin the original.  t So written in the original.




268           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Judge Overton, a confidential friend of the President, writes in a
similar strain:NASHVILLE, OCt. 5th, 1880.
*  * *  *  I pray God that you may be able to get along amidst
your accumulated misfortunes, without resigning your seat in the Senate.
The Gen'l* and myself are sensible of your value to the country at all
times and under any circumstances; but now, my friend, your presence
in the Senate, is all-important * * * The times, especially as respects
the Senate are peculiarly delicate and hazardous.
One staunch, undeviating and intelligent friend there now, is a jewel
of the first water, and without its compeer. I have always, and so does
the Gen'l, viewed you as such. But if there be any other, I do not
know him. *'k *
Your friend as usual,
J. OVEiTON.
The following letter, of later date, refers to the Secretaryship
offered to Judge White when General Jackson was reorganizing his
cabinet, with reference to the support of Mr Van Buren as his successor in the Presidency.
NASHVILLE, 3d May, 1831.
DEAR SIR: We have just received in handbills the account of a general dissolution of the cabinet at Washington, by resignation of all the
principal secretaries. I suppose you have seen the same, and probably
more, as rumor says the new cabinet has been designated, and that you
are one of them. The friends of the President here are highly pleased
with the arrangement, and more particularly that you will be with him.
My dear sir, I know, that you are not desirous to be placed in such a
situation. We all know that you have ever refused to accept of appointments to leave home. But at this particular crisis, when all seems to be
at stake, and nothing but a firm steady course, to be well marked out, and
steadily pursued, by the Administration, will or can support us, and prevent division in the republican ranks, I hope you will make the sacrifice of
feelings, and accept of appointment if called on by the President; and I
feel assured that in his present situation, his attention would first and
very naturally turn toward you, in whom he can confide. You and he
have grown up together, and have passed from youth to mature and somewhat advanced age; your friendship has been uninterrupted: you
understand each other, and I believe your political views are the same;
* Jackson; with whom Judge Overton was very intimate.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                269
and from these circumstances and facts, there is no one so well fitted to
be with him as one of his counsellors and advisers, as you are; and there.
fore it is the earnest wish of your friends here that you will yield to the
call. * * *
I beg you, my dear sir, to accept my best wishes for your health and
happiness.
JNO. COFFEE.
In such terms was the support and co-operatior of Judge Wmhite
acknowledged, and the continuance or special use of the same solicited
by General Jackson and his confidential friends during his first
Presidential term.
There is little doubt that the uncompromising and inaccessible independence displayed by Judge White was profoundly displeasing
and disappointing to the President and his especial co-laborers in
political schemes for the future.  That this was the case, and that
Judge White saw it and coolly and unfalteringly recognized it, and as
coolly and unhesitatingly disregarded both the anger and its consequences, when principles and consistency required it, the following
extract from a letter to a confidential friend* is sufficient evidence.
SENATE CHAMBER, May 18, 1832.
*  *  *  The true reason why nothing I have said is noticed in the
Globe, I have no doubt is, because I have never assured any man that as
soon as Gen. Jackson's terms of service are at an end, I will use all my
endeavors to elect the favorite of those who direct the operations of that
paper. I am for Gen. Jackson; but am not either a Calhoun Jackson
man, or a Van Buren Jackson man, and therefore it is pleasing to the
Globe and Telegraph not to notice favorably anything I can say or do;
and as I am opposed to Mr. Clay, his papers will of course speak disrespectfully of me. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, I will go on
exactly as I have done, making myself as useful as I can; determined to
leave myself at liberty, when Gen. Jackson is off the stage, to exercise
my own judgment on the question of a successor.
I cannot attend the Baltimore Convention, from which I expect
nothing of benefit. My duties in the Senate preclude the possibility of
my being absent.
Your friend,
HU. L. WHITE.
* F S. Heiskell, Esq., editor of the Knoxville Register; a true and able friend of Judge
White, and to whom were written many of the letters used in this volume.




270            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
Even at an earlier date, there is reason to believe that advisers of
the Administration, if not the President himself, had begun to harbor secret dislikings against Judge White. The cause, in all probability, was apprehended opposition, or at least failure of hearty support from him, in their scheme of a re-election of General Jackson:
a plan which flew directly in the face of their previous noisy advocacy of the one term principle, and which was justified only on the
ground of its being necessary to keep " the party " together; although
its secret motives were the doubts of Calhoun and Van Buren
respectively whether an election as Jackson's successor was at so
early a day in their power.  There seems no other interpretation for
the allusion in this extract from a letter, of date April 28, 1830.
*- *  *  The Bill to provide for a removal of the Indians west of the
Mississippi has finally passed the Senate by a vote of 28 to 19. This has
taken off my mind a burthen which has been oppressive from the commencement of the session. I hope it may pass the other house.
Cold as the notice taken of our exertions in the Telegraph* is, no
Georgian nor Tennessean will ever be mortified by hearing the debate
spoken of, if truth be told. We had, I think, in the estimation of all
intelligent men, at least as much ascendency in the argument as we had
in the vote. As good fortune would have it, Judge Overton, Collingsworth, district attorney of West Tennessee, Major Armstrong, and many
others from different quarters, were present, and know that our side was
sustained in a style which gratified our friends, and mortified our
opponents.
I have not, nor will I, commit myself to support any particular pretender after Jackson is off the stage. Of course I shall never have my
exertions applauded in the Telegraph, nor in any other paper published
here, while things remain as at present.
I have as much of the kind feelings of all as I can expect, unless I
become the partisan of some one, which I do not intend to do prematurely.
Your friend,
Hu. L. WHITE.
W\Te here insert a correspondence between Judge White and
Francis P. Blair, editor of the Globe.  This also may be interpreted
by the supposition of positive or negative unfairness in that print;
which must be supposed to originate from an apprehension similar to
* Conducted by Duff Green, and in the interest of Calhoun.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                  271
that alluded to in Judge XWhite's letter of May 18th.  It presents
evidence of the high valuation set upon his services, that such elaborate efforts were made to keep on good terms with him; and his
terse replies indicate consciousness that his offences against the
friends of the Globe, being such adherences to principle as would
necessarily exhibit by contrast their dereliction from it, could not in
fact be atoned for except by some means which he would not stoop
to use.  The first overture is from Mr. Blair, dated June 2d, 1832, as
follows:
DEAR SIR: Doctor Jones and Major Lewis have both informed me
within a day or two past, that some person (whose name they did not
give me) is using to my disadvantage, a displeasure which it is said you
have conceived at my course in relation to yourself.
I am confident there must be some mistake in this matter. Entertaining as I do the highest consideration for your character, and having
as I trust, manifested the respect I bear you, as far as opportunities have
permitted me, I feel the most perfect consciousness that I can have done
nothing to offend you, certainly not intentionally. I am equally certain that your elevated sense of propriety would not conceive an offence
unless you had some reason to believe one was intended.
Do me the favor to inform me frankly whether anything has occurred
which could authorize the assertion made by others that I have given you
cause of dissatisfaction. I assure you that it will give me gratification to
explain any accidental omission or inadvertence on my part, which may
have excited a feeling to authorize the report to which I have alluded.
Your most obedient servant,
F. P. BnlAIR.
To this Judge White replies, on the next day but one:
DEAR SIR: Your favor under date of the 2d was handed me yesterday
afternoon. In answer to its contents permit me to say, that as I am
ignorant of what Dr. Jones or Major Lewis may have reported to you,
as proceeding from me, I am, of course, unable to make any statement.
I have been a pretty attentive observer of the course of the Globe, and
on some occasions expressed the opinion I entertain, not only of it, but
of the motives of those who influence it.
For myself, I have no inducement to trouble the editor to explain any
part of his conduct. It is sufficiently explicit to enable me to form




272            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
opinions upon every point, in relation to him, and the patrons of his
paper, where. it may become my duty as a public man, to act. Most
respectfully, I am
Your obt. servt,
Hu. L. WHITE.
June 8th, Mr. Blair makes a still more elaborate effort, thus:
DEAR SIR: On the first perusal of your note of the 4th instant, it
seemed to preclude any further correspondence between us. Upon a
further consideration of it, I am led to believe it may not have been so
intended.
It is proper that I should inform you that Major Lewis and Dr. Jones
reported nothing to me as proceeding from  you.  They merely stated
generally that they had understood that I had in some way occasioned a
dissatisfaction in your mind, and that this feeling on your part was used
to my injury. From respect to you, and a wish to prevent any mischief
to me, from what originated in misunderstanding on your part, as they
supposed, or misrepresentation on that of others, they were desirous
that I should communicate with you on the subject. Their motives
were honorable and charitable.
Supposing that the cause of dissatisfaction (of which I am still entirely
ignorant), related personally to yourself, I was desirous to ascertain the
fault imputed, that I might dissipate it by an explanation. I felt confident that I should have no difficulty in this, because my own heart assured me that if I had a conscience void of offence towards any human
being, it was so in relation to you.
From your note I am left to infer that the course of the Globe has not
met your approbation. I am sensible of the difficulties and of the
responsibilities I encounter as the editor of this print, and of my inadequacy to meet them; and you certainly have a right to animadvert on
the manner in which I conduct it, because of the deep interest you have
in the Administration, with which it is in some sort connected. But
does not this circumstance give me some claim to ask of you in what
particular, according to your judgment, I have offended? As the disinterested, long-tried, and most trusted friend of the President, I should
take advice from you as a kindness, and receive even censure with respect. If I have erred from want of judgment, information, or experience; if, as you hint, I am operated on by any sinister influence, may I
not hope, seeing, as you do, the mischiefs I may draw down upon myself, if not upon the cause with which I am connected, that you will apprise me of the danger in which I stand?




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                 273
"Plain and round dealing is the honor of every man's nature," and
if there be any man living from whose character I could expect this, it
is from yours. I ask it from you on the present occasion. I should be
glad to have a private and, if you please, a confidential interview, that
the mystery (with me) which has led to the present correspondence may
be solved.
With high respect, I am, sir,
Your most obedient servant,
F. P. BLAIR
To this Judge White answers, next day, still more decidedly:
DEAR SIR: Your note of yesterday has been this moment handed to
me. You are certainly right in coming to the conclusion that my answer to your former communication was not intended to change our
relations towards each other in any respect.
Should you believe an interview necessary, I assure you it would at
all times give me pleasure to converse with you; but for the purpose of
any explanation, no such thing is necessary. I have no desire to be on
unfriendly terms with any man living, and cannot possibly have any
motive for a controversy with you.
If I have had any causes of complaint, they have been upon points in
relation to which I can never ask or expect redress. The time for either
explanation or remedy has gone by. They must remain as they are;
but, rest assured, I know too well what is due to myself as well as the
public, to permit myself to take any course by way of redress, which is
calculated to injure the political party to which I belong.
Most respectfully, your obedient servant,
Hu. L. WHITE.
Here Mr. Blair gave it up.
Secret dissatisfaction at the evident impracticability of harnessing
Judge White into the traces in which certain politicians were drawing, or indeed into any man's harness, began thus and henceforth to
sap the friendship of the President for him.  The first circumstance,
however, which gave opportunity for open objection on the part of
Gen. Jacklson and his friends, was Judge White's vote in the
Senate upon the Three Millions Appropriation, so called; which
was appended to the Fortification Bill on short notice, at the
close of the night session, March, 1835.  Early in the succeeding
session, Col. Benton in the Senate, and Mr. Adams in the House,
18




274            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
charged the senators who voted against this appropriation, with having
caused the loss of all the appropriations contained in the Fortification
Bill.  These accusations were met by firm  and fearless denials.
During the discussion, which was conducted with great acrimony,
Judge White (the only Administration member who voted against
this bill) made a personal defence in his speech on the Surplus Revenue, which could not fail to carry the conviction to every impartial
mind, that instead of being governed by unkind personal feelings, he
was just to the President, and true to his country.  He showed that
the bill was lost in the House instead of the Senate.
That portion of this speech which refers to Judge White's vote is
as follows:
"I am one of those who voted against that appropriation, and against
whom the charge is made. Against the accusation I might well plead a
former acquittal, by the only tribunal competent to try me. This accusation was made in my own State, those to whom only I am accountable
for my conduct here, have passed upon it, and their unanimous verdict
of acquittal I presented the other day, and it now remains on the files
of the Senate. But I scorn to rely on that plea; I have a right to a
separate trial, to plead not guilty, and give the special matter in
evidence.
" I do not feel that I, or any of those with whom I voted, are answerable for the loss of that bill. The vote I then gave was the result of my
best judgment. I then approved of it, have done so ever since, and probably ever shall, so long as I am capable of reflecting on the affairs of
this world.
" It will be no part of my plan, to attach censure to any one for his vote;
all may have been governed by motives as worthy as I feel my own were.
The time will soon come when we must all appear before that tribunal,
where there can be no mistake either in the evidence or the judgment
which ought to be pronounced. To that tribunal, then, where my motives and conduct must be submitted, I cheerfully leave the decision of
the motives of all others; but it is due to the country and to myself, that
I shake from  my own skirts that blame which others seek to attach
to me.
" A few very plain views of this matter will, I think, satisfy every
honest mind that the Senate are in no fault whatever.
" The bill was originated in the House of Representatives, passed that
body in the month of January, and was sent to the Senate. It then contained the whole sum esteemed by the Executive and the House necessarv for fortifications and ordnance. This sum amounted to about four




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                275
hundred and thirty-nine thousand dollars. The Senate might have given
its consent to the bill without any alteration. If it had done so, there
would have been a grant of the sum just mentioned, and no more, to
these objects.
"The Senate, from the best information it possessed, believed the
defence of the country required much larger appropriations, and, as it
had a right to do, increased some of the items of appropriation, and
added others to the amount of about four hundred and thirty thousand
dollars, thus increasing the grant from $439,000 to $869,000, and on the
24th day of February, returned the bill to the House, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the Representatives would agree to the increased
grant made by the Senate. If the House had simply agreed to these
amendments, the bill would have become a law, and there would have
been an appropriation for fortifications, &c., equal to $869,000. The
House did not do this, but retained the bill from the 24th of February,
till 8 o'clock in the night of the 3d of March, and then returned it to the
Senate with a new section as an amendment to the amendment of the
Senate.
" This new section has been read so often, that every member, I presume, has it by memory. It is in these words:' That the sum of three
millions of dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended in
whole or in part, under the direction of the President of the United
States, for the military and naval service. including fortifications and
ordnance, and increase of the Navy: Provided such expenditures shall
be rendered necessary for the defence of the country prior to the next
meeting of Congress.'
"For one, I declare, when this new section was read, I was as much
surprised as I could have been if it had been dropped through the skylight above our heads into the bill. The chairman of the Committee of
Finance moved that the Senate disagree to the amendment, and after
some discussion, in which I took no part, the vote was taken, and stood
29 to 19, mine among those in the affirmative.
" At that time I knew not who had proposed this amendment in the
House. The President had not asked, as far as I knew, for any such
appropriation; there was no estimate sent from any department on which
to found it. My belief was the President did not wish it. I supposed it
had been offered by some member opposed to the administration, who
wished a free disbursement of money about our seaport towns, not caring
what embarrassment was occasioned by such a loose appropriation, and
that in the hurry and confusion of a night session, it had been permitted
to pass without any particular examination, and fancied that, so soon as
their attention was particularly called to it, the House would recede
from it, and the bill be passed as originally sent from the Senate.




27G            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
"In these conjectures I soon found I had been mistaken, for presently
the bill was returned to the Senate with a message stating that tho
House insisted on the amendment. A motion was made that the Senate
adhere to its disagreement. Before voting on that question I took the
liberty of stating very briefly the reasons upon which my first vote was
given and upon which the second would be founded.
" The President had sent no message asking such an appropriation,
no estimates had been sent on which to found it. I believed it would
have been the duty of the Executive to have sent such a message and
estimates, and I farther believed he would faithfully discharge his duty,
and therefore concluded that he did not think the interest of the country
required this additional grant. Beside this, the question was then pending and undecided before the French Chamber relative to the appropriation to comply with their treaty. I believed the strong probability was
that it would pass, either then, or at the next session, and that with a
little patience and good sense we should receive the money without any
warlike preparation. This was not only my own opinion, but the declared opinion of all with whom I had conversed.
" I was what I professed to be, and ever had been, a friend to the administration; I had received no information that the President desired
the appropriation, and I saw the section was so worded as to throw upon
him a responsibility which he ought not to bear. The proviso left it
discretionary with him whether the money should be used or not. I
thought all the interest of the army, the navy, the large cities, and those
who had ordnance to dispose of,.would be brought to bear on him, to induce him to use the money: if he did order it to be used, and there should
be no war, as I hoped and believed would be the case, he would be censured for wasting this large sum. If he resisted all importunities and
did not use the money, and war did come, he would be censured for not
providing for the defences of the country.
" Again, suppose the money to be drawn, what was to be done with it?
How much to the army, to the navy, to fortifications, and to ordnance?
The section does not say; all is indefinite, vague, loose, and left to Executive discretion.
" These reasons were satisfactory to my own mind-I voted upon them.
From the time the three millions was first mentioned in the Senate until
we adjourned, I did not converse, as I believe, with a single member of
the House upon this or any other subject -nor did I converse with any
member of the Senate except my colleague, who joined me in the lobby
behind the colonnade, after our last vote. He was kind enough to speak
favorably of my humble effort, and to express his regret that I had not
made my argument before the first vote; but neither he nor any other
member of either House ever intimated that the President wished such
an appropriation.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                277
"I sincerely believed he did not; but in that it seems I was mistaken,
and the first notice I had of my mistake was in his answer to a company
of gentlemen in New York, who, after the rise of Congress, made him a
tender of their service to defend the country. Whether I would have
voted for the amendment in this loose shape, if I had known it comported
w'ith the views of the President, I do not pretend to say. I think I ought
not, but am willing to state, because such is the truth, that if, upon reviewing my whole votes since honored with a seat in this Chamber, any
votes could be found which I would wish had not been given, the error
is more attributable to my unbounded confidence in the Executive, and
anxious desire to sustain him as far as I conscientiously could, than to
any other cause whatever.
"But it has been urged by the honorable Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Hubbard, that on the 28th February the Chairman of the
Committee of Foreign Relations of the House had given notice that when
this bill should be taken up he would move an amendment appropriating
one million of dollars for fortifications, and two millions for the navy,
and that this accorded with the views of the Executive, and the gentleman adds, the members of the House no doubt made this the subject of
conversation, and that Senators would probably secure the information;
and also that in the Globe newspaper of 2d March, this notice is published and has passed into the history of the country.
" To all this I answer, I did not hear of this notice. If any members
with whom I associated heard this notice, they never mentioned it in my
presence. So far from it, one of my colleagues of the other House, probably as attentive as any member there, assures me he did not hear any
such notice; and when the amendment was under consideration he had a
curiosity to know whether the President desired the appropriation or
not, that he conversed with a colleague sitting near him, and neither of
them knowing, he asked another of his colleagues, then Chairman of the
Committee of Ways and Means, who told him the President did wish it,
and added that he must say nothing about it. He did say nothing about
it till since this discussion commenced during the present session. With
the motives for this request to conceal I am not acquainted, therefore can
say nothing.
"The other source of information, The Globe, I did not apply to, I
never read it till since I heard the gentleman's argument. If I had
wished to read the newspaper for information I had no leisure, my place
was here, my duty here, and I had quite as much as I could attend to
without reading the Globe. If I had wished information to guide my
judgment, and felt bound to look into newspapers for facts, the Globe
is the last place upon earth I should look into for the truth.
"Again, if I had seen this notice, I am yet to learn that the President
has any member of this House to act as his substitute, and to give that




278             MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
information to the Senate which we have a right, by the Constitution, to
receive from the Chief Magistrate himself.
" Lastly, if I had seen that notice, I would not have supposed this sec.
tion was what was intended by it. The notice was specific-one million
for Fortifications, and two millions for the Navy. The amendment is for
every thing relating to either sea or land, in a general mass, for the Executive to divide out, as well as he could, according to his discretion.
" If the amendment had pursued the notice, it would have been well
expressed; but in the shape presented in the bill, I doubt whether the
combined talents of the members of both Houses can frame a section on
such subjects more loose, more general, and more indefinite than it is.
"It has been insisted by the Senator from New Hampshire, that this
section did make a specific appropriation of this three millions of dollars,
and was justified by precedents in the days of General Washington, Presidel t Jefferson, and of President Madison.
" By the term specific appropriation, I understand that we mean the
dircelion of the latw to apply a given sum of money to the accomplishment
of a particular object, in exclusion of all others.
" If this idea be correct, this section has no claims whatever to the
appellation of specific. The object of it was to place every thing at the
discretion of the Executive.  1st, Whether the money should be used at
all. 2d, If used, to apply it to any object he pleased, connected with the
land or naval service, or defence.
" The precedents referred to, do not bear out the arguments. The
first is an appropriation of $116,000 to pay the civil list. Here the sum
must all be applied to the discharge of the civil list, and nothing else.
" The next is $70,500 for fortifications.  Although it is not said what
sum should be applied to this or that fortification, yet the whole must
be applied to fortifications, and to no other object. The third and last
precedent rests on the same principles.
"In the case, now under consideration, every thing is vague, indefinite,
and left to Executive discretion, and without any communication from
the President, or any estimate whatever. I venture another remark,
founded on what I heard said by a gentleman of much experience, not
now among us, that during the period of a popular Administration, was
the very time we must expect bad precedents to be set.
" These precedents, incautiously set, when we have unbounded confidence in the Executive, are sure to be relied on, in after times, by those
who may wish to use power without regard to the public welfare.
"This section, if adopted, would in after times have furnished a precedent, by which any grant of the public money might be made, to be
used at Executive discretion.
"I now put it to gentlemen with whom, on former occasions I had
generally acted, to say, whether if such a grant had been proposed




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                279
during the late Administration, a single man of them would have voted
for it? No. It would have been said this money would be drawn and
used, not for the public interest, but in jobs to control and regulate
public opinion.
" Upon this matter, for one, I am perfectly satisfied that I, and those
who voted with me, were right in not agreeing to this amendment; but
the matter did not end with the vote of the Senate, the bill did not necessarily fall thereby. Let us pursue the subject, and see when, how, and
where the bill was finally lost.
" The Senate returned the bill to the House, accompanied by a message, informing them that the Senate adhered to their disagreement to
the amendment as to these three millions. Upon receiving this message,
it was competent to the House to have receded from their amendment,
and then the bill would have passed, appropriating the $869,000 proposed by the Senate; but instead of that they took a vote, and determined they would not recede. House Journal, page 518. After this,
page 519, a motion was made that the House do ask a conference on the
disagreeing votes. This motion was agreed to, and a committee of three
appointed, and a message sent to the Senate, asking it to appoint a committee to confer on the subject. This message is found in the Senate
Journal, page 236. As soon as it was received, the Senate agreed to the
conference, and appointed a committee on their part, page 237. In the
course of a short time, the committee on the part of the Senate returned,
and reported that the conferees had agreed to recommend to their respective Houses as a substitute for the $3,000,000, an appropriation of
three hundred thousand dollars for arming the fortifications, and an additional appropriation of five hundred thousand dollars for the repair and
equipment of ships of war. Senate Journal, page 237.
" If each I-louse had agreed to this report, then there would have been
the appropriation of $869,000 contained in the bill as sent from the
Senate, and an addition of $800,000, making in all, instead of $439,000
which the Executive had asked, $1,669,000. Here the question recurs,
whose fault is it that this was not done? Unquestionably not that of
the Senate. Its conferees had acted promptly, and promptly made their
report. The Senate could go no further; it could take no vote, as the bill
and other papers had been carried to the House by the conferees on the
part of the House. This was entirely wrong. When the conference
ended, it was the duty of the conferees on part of the House to have
delivered the bill and papers to the conferees on the part of the Senate,
who would have presented them when they made their report; the Senate
could then have sanctioned the report by a vote, which I have no doubt
would have been unanimous, immediately sent the bill to the House, which
could have given its sanction, and the bill become a law. Instead of




280            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
this, the House conferees kept the bill and papers, and by so doing
defeated the whole bill.
"The rule upon this subject is so perfectly plain it cannot be mistaken. It is this: in all cases where a conference is asked before a vote
of disagreement, the conferees of the House asking the conference, when
it is over, must take the papers back with them, because their House is
entitled to the next vote; but in every case where a conference is asked
after a vote of disagreement, then when the conference is over, the conferees of the House asking the conference must deliver over the bill
and papers to the conferees of the other House, because that other
HIouse is entitled to the next vote.
" In this case the Senate had voted to adhere to their disagreement to
the amendment. The House had after this, voted that they would not
recede, and then proposed the conference, therefore, as the House had
given the last vote, the Senate was entitled to the next, and to enable
them to give it, it was the duty of the conferees of the IIouse to havc
given the papers to the conferees of the Senate, and if they would not
receive them, they might have been left in the committee room.
"This doctrine, so reasonable in itself, is laid down in Jefferson's
Manual, at 187, title Conference, in language too plain to be misunderstood, and it has been practised on by Congress in the cases with which
I am acquainted, see the case of the bill for the relief of Mr. Monroe, in
Senate Journal, page 374, of the session 1825 and 1826, and House
Journal of the same session, pages 616 and 628.
" Let it not be supposed that the conferees of the two Houses were
equally to blame for permitting the papers to remain with the conferees
not entitled to them after the conference ended; because the conferees
of the Senate did not know, and had no means of knowing that the House
had voted not to recede after the Senate had voted to adhere.  Strange as
the fact may seem, the truth is, that the House, in its message to the
Senate proposing the conference, omitted to state the fact that a vote, not
to recede, had been taken after the House last received the bill. See the
message, Senate Journal, page 236.
" The conferees on the part of the House knew the fact, because their
Journal shows they were present, and voted, see the House Journal,
page 518, 519.
" The conferees of the House having improperly taken the bill and
papers, and thereby put it out of the power of the Senate to take any
step whatever, are answerable for all the consequences.
"I do not state this omission in the message by way of censure on
the Clerk for any intentional wrong. All these matters relative to this
bill took place in the night, in the confusion which occurred at the end
of the session, and it is very seldom that the most temperate and prudent are as  ell qualified to do business or have their wits as well about




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                281
them after a comfortable dinner as they have in the early part of the
day.
" Mr. President, let us now see what the conferees of the House did
with these papers after taking them from the conference room. They
returned to the House and the chairman made no report whatever, the
Senate waited from one to two hours, and being able to hear nothing,
sent a respectful message calling the attention of the IIouse to this subject, see House Journal, page 530. Then the chairman stated that the
committee had returned at the time a vote was taken on a resolution
providing for the payment of Mr. Letcher, by which it was ascertained
there was not a quorum, and that the constitutional term had expired,
and that for these reasons he had declined making a report. Mr. Lewis,
another member of the committee, then took the papers and made the
report, which was never acted on, and thus the matter ended.
" The first reason assigned for not having made the report was the
want of a quorum, this it is said was ascertained by the vote on the resolution just mentioned.
" The chairman ought to have put the House in possession of the
report as he found the House in session. Had he done so, no doubt it
would have been acted on.  The Journal shows that much business
was done afterwards, and a resolution reported by Mr. Winm. Cost
Johnson was adopted by the House, see House Journal, from page 524
to 530.
"Now, if there was a quorum to do other business, to adopt other
resolutions, how is it that there was not a quorum to receive and act on
this report?
"The remaining reason assigned is, that the constitutional term for
which the members were elected had expired. In other words, it was
after 12 o'clock on the night of the third of March.
"Haow can this be?  There must have been some mistake on this
point. If it was not too late to do the other business I have mentioned,
how did it happen to be too late to make this report.
"Again, the most certain information we have as to time is derived
from the statement of the honorable Senator from Virginia. Ile tells us
he looked at his watch when the conferees left the Senate chamber, and
it then wanted fifteen minutes of eleven. When they returned and made
their report, he was not in, but returned shortly afterwards, and it was
then twenty minutes after eleven. We may, therefore, suppose the conferees had returned about one quarter of an hour after eleven, leaving
three-quarters of an hour to have disposed of this bill before the hour of
twelve o'clock arrived.
"There was, therefore, ample time, if the report had been made, to
have disposed of this before our constitutional term expired according to
the strictest construction.




282             MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
"Mr. President, this is the eleventh session I have been here, and
until last session never knew of an important measure having failed
because 12 o'clock had arrived.
"So far as I know, the universal course has been, if the business necessary to be done could not be finished before twelve o'clock, to go on
and accomplish it if it took till daylight.
" I well remember on one occasion, at a short session, we sat all night,
and before I got to my lodging place, it was broad daylight.
"There always have been some members who had conscientious scruples about sitting after 12 o'clock. I always have, and always shall,
respect men who act on such scruples, although I may differ with them
in opinion.
" For myself, I have never felt any hesitation about voting after 12
o'clock, when the business required it.
" By the Constitution, members of the House are elected for two years.
The President and Vice President for four, and the Senators for six.
The only difficulty is to ascertain when the term commences. The Constitution does not fix it, but authorized the old Congress to do so. That
Congress fixed the first Wednesday in March, 1789. That happened to
be the 4th day of the month. Now, if we believe the first Congress met
in the night at 12 o'clock, the 3d of March, 1789, then our constitutional
term will expire in the night at 12 o'clock of the 3d of March, every
second year, and the terms of the President and Vice President at the
same hour every fourth year. But if we suppose Congress did not
assemble earlier than 12 o'clock on the 4th of March, 1789, then, in
truth, our constitutional two years, &c., do not expire till the same hour
of the 4th of March, and we have our constitutional day, as it was, when
light and darkness were first separated, and it was said the evening and
the morning should be the first day.
"I submit to gentlemen who have these scruples, whether it, is not
worth while to reflect maturely on this subject. If the term of Congress
expires the night of the 3d of March, so must that of the President and
Vice President. This will always leave an interval of several hours,
when we will have no President or Vice President. It appears to me
those who framed the Constitution did not so intend. It is easy to think
of cases which would be very hard upon such a construction. Suppose
shortly before the expiration of a Presidential term, a man to be sentenced to be hanged in a federal court. Afterwards it should be ascertained to a certainty that the person was innocent, and a messenger is
sent for a pardon, but cannot reach the President till after 12 o'clock on
the night of the 3d of March, is the man to be hanged because there is
no President until his successor is sworn in? This ought not to be the
construction.
" I apprehend the whole difficulty originates from our perplexing our




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                  283
minds with a legal fiction that there can be no fraction of a day. This,
like every other fiction, must yield to fact when justice requires it.
"A man sells a tract of land for a full consideration in the morning
of the 4th of March, and conveys it. In the afternoon he sells and conveys the same land to another person; both vendees cannot hold, and
yet, according to the idea produced by this fiction, both deeds were executed the first minute of the day, and are of equal date; but every man
knows that this fiction would yield to fact, and that the first vendee
would hold the land.
" Whether these reflections be altogether accurate or not, they have
always satisfied me that I did not act unconscientiously, or assume powers
I did not possess, when I voted in the night of the 3d of March after
12 o'clock.
" The honorable member from New Hampshire will perceive that the
resolution he has read, which was adopted in the year 1790, does not
remove the difficulty. That resolution only says the term expires on the
3d of March; but still the question recurs, when does the 3d of March
end according to the meaning of the Constitution.
"To Senators on all sides, I submit, whether this crimination and
recrimination for past acts, or omissions, is likely to produce dispositions now to act together harmoniously, and to endeavor to devise and
perfect such measures as will most promote the interest and welfare of
the country.
"Mr. President: In every view I have been enabled to take of this
whole subject, it has appeared to me that this bill was lost in the House,
not in the Senate; that the Senate were right in the votes which a
majority gave as to this sum of three millions. I was satisfied with my
votes when I gave them, and am yet satisfied, more, I am proud of them.
I feel that the Author of my existence will approve of them, and to use
the language of a distinguished man, now no more,'I wish they were
recorded in the centre of Heaven, in characters as bright as the sun,
that the whole world might read them.' "
The statements in this speech were corroborated by MBr. Webster
and others. Mr. Peyton says: "It was party spirit in the House
which defeated the measure, many of the Van Buren members
refusing to answer to their names when called, although present; thus depriving the House of a quorum, and defeating the
bill."
Mr. Wise said, in his speech on the causes of the loss of the For.
tification Bill, "Neither the House nor the Senate were chargeable
with the act."  But he affirmed that "it was certain Van Buren




284            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
members, C. C. Cambreleng, and those with whom  he acted, who
defeated the measure, for the purpose of affecting Judge White's
interest." He charged it against Speaker Polk, (and proved the
charge by a written statement given to him by the Hon. Luke Lea,
and corroborated by the Hon. Samuel Bunch, and admitted by
Mr. Polk himself, who was, at the time, chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means,) that "he knew the fact that the President wished the appropriation, but did not communicate it to his
committee or the House; but only to a few individual members in
their seats, requesting them  to say nothing about it."  No estimate had been sent to the House by the President.  Judge White
did not know that he wished the appropriation, and therefore voted
against it.
So great was his devotion to the Administration, and so effectively
did he sustain it, as to call forth such testimony as that borne by the
lion. Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, who, in his speech on Mr. Benton's
fortification resolutions, used the following descriptive language to
prove the motive of the ill-timed and unprovoked assault upon the
Senate. The thoughts expressed in the extract occurred to him
while Judge White addressed that body in vindication of his vote
against the Three Millions Appropriation, and he was led by them to
form his conclusions as to the real object entertained by the Administration upon that vote.  Judge White plead his acquittal by the
legislature of Tennessee, which had unanimously re-elected him,
after he gave that vote. Mr. Clayton said:
It may be considered necessary to make the most of this, the only
offence he has committed against the Administration. The difference in
the votes of the honorable senators from Tennessee (Mr. White and MIr.
Grundy), on the amendment to the Fortification Bill, has called up some
reminiscences of bygone events, exhibiting some other differences between them. When I first came into Congress, they were both considered so true to the Administration, and so effective in its aid, that, out
of sheer compliment among their friends here, they were called "Jackson's Tennessee Rifles." They both proved true for a time, and told,
with unerring certainty, in every conflict with those who opposed the
executive. But although both were good rifles, there was an allowed
difference between them. One missed the mark altogether, during that
famous contest which was carried on here about the time of Mr. Foote's
resolutions. It was believed to have been near bursting, in consequence




IIIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               285
of being overcharged with nullification powder. There was also another
failure. This same rifle was assigned to the defence of the post-office,
and was charged to the muzzle for keeping and maintaining that position; but the post was carried by its assailants, and the defence was censured by those who directed it, because the enemy entered in despite of
the garrison, and exposed most piratical depredations which had been
committed on the people. For my own part, I have always inclined to
attribute this failure to the indefensible condition of the post. But, said
lMr. Clayton, pointing to the seat of Mr. White, the old Tennessee rifle
which has stood against that desk ever since I knew it, was a rare piece,
and always has attracted my especial admiration. Although fighting on
the other side, I never like to see it come into action. For six years,
although it was almost every day engaged, it never snapped, missed, or
hung fire; nor was it ever said' to have failed to hit the mark, until
about midnight of the 3d of March last. The people of Tennessee, who
are said to be excellent judges of a good shot or a gallant blow, have
since decided that this was a most "palpable hit," and that, however
others, who are ignorant of the qualities of a first-rate weapon, may have
foolishly desired to break the old rifle of the West, they still hold it entitled to the first rank when engaged for their defence; and will never
consent that it shall either be injured by abuse, or left out of service.
Even those who have condemned it, because, as they think, it has once
missed the mark, may relent, when they reflect that it has been clearly
shown in this debate that, on the occasion alluded to, the President himself did neither charge nor pull the trigger.
When Mr. Clay's resolution, censuring General Jackson's removal
of the deposits, "upon the ground that he had assumed to himself
authority and powers not conferred by the Constitution and laws,
but in derogation of both," was before the Senate, Judge White not
only voted against it, but argued that the President had the Constitutional right to remove the public moneys whenever he hadc reason to
believe them unsafe. But the resolutions were adopted and entered
upon the journals. The President protested against the stigma that
had been attached to his name by the proceeding.  Mr. Benton, in
his devotion to General Jackson, afterwards brought forward his
Expunging Resolutions, the object of which was to remove this
reproach. Judge White voted against them. He had done all he
could to prevent this unpleasant procedure: but the work had been
done, and he maintained that it was unconstitutional and a dangerous
expedient to obliterate the journals.  In lieu, however, of these reso



286             MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
lutions, he offered one, ordering Mr. Clay's to be " rescinded, reversed,
repealed, and declared null and void."  He wished to do justice to
the Chief MIagistrate, but at the same time, to do justice to the public and to the Senate.  And in this opinion he was joined by most of
the Administration members, only six or seven  of whom  voted to
retain the word " expunge."
That General Jackson  had received  favors from  Judge White,
without any obligation on the part of Judge White to confer them,
except that induced by friendship, both he and his friends admit.
How were they returned?
The time came when General Jackson could have shown his gratitude by simply remaining silent; instead of which, because Judge
W17hite did not choose to acquiesce in all his views with regard to the
succession, he entered personally and warmly into the presidential
contest of 1836, denouncing all the friends of the latter who differed
with him in opinion as "Federalists," "Nullifiers," and "New-born
Whigs."  Not only was this done, but he permitted and even encouraged office-holders to use their time and talents in the same cause.
An instance is noticed in the remarks of Judge White, on a resolution
submitted by him to the Senate, on the subject of Benjamin F. Curry's
employment —and in his correspondence with the Secretary of AWar,
in reference to a letter written by MIr. Curry, and published in the
"Nashville Union."  It is due to Judge White, to publish here his
remarks and the correspondence. January 12, 1836, Judge White
addressed the Senate as follows:
Mr. President: I rise to offer the resolution which I hold in my hand;
but to enable the Senate to understand why it is offered, and the object
I wish to accomplish, it is a duty incumbent on me, to accompany it
with some explanation; I will therefore read and then pass it to your
table:
Resolved, That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, requested to inform the Senate
what office Benjamin F. Curry holds in the Cherokee nation, under what law he was appointed
and at what time; what salary he receives, and whether he has at any time received any
allowvance, in addition to his salary, and how much; stating particularly the whole amount he
has received each year.
This Mr. Curry went into the nation some time after the election of
the present Chief Magistrate, and I believe until about twelve months
ago, he had been employed as an inferior agent to superintend the enroll



HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                287
ment of Cherokees for emigration, to have their improvements valued,
&c.
During the last winter he was here, and when I returned home last spring,
I understood he was making some figure as a politician; that out of his
own head, or by the instigation of some person more wicked than himself, he had, while here, written some letters for publication to a small
newspaper in my own State, which had engaged in the business of traducing me. In the course of the summer, we had, in some of our Congressional districts, animated contests between candidates for Congress.
This gentleman, I understood, took an active part.  He sometimes
travelled out of the nation, and even out of his Congressional district, was
zealous in propagating his opinions, and as I am informed and believe,
either wrote himself, or furnished the materials for one or more pieces
for the same vehicle of slander, to which he had written while in Washington.
In the district including the Cherokee agency he was zealous in opposing the election of the former member, and with the view to enable him
to act efficiently, was in the habit of reading and showing confidentially,
a letter said to be written by the President himself, finding fault with the
former member by name, and using general expressions which Mr. Curry
said were intended for me. I have likewise been informed, that still
farther to succeed in his plans of defamation, he confidentially used a
letter, said to be written to him by my honorable colleague, in which my
name was used, not much to my advantage; and I now take this occasion, in the Senate, in presence of our brother senators, in the presence
of this audience, in the face of the world, to ask my colleague to say,
whether at any time, he wrote any letter to AMr. Curry, in which my
name was used.
[Mr. Grundy answered-" That he was taken by surprise with the
question; but he did not remember he had ever written a letter on any
subject to Mr. Curry, and he felt certain if he had, he had never used his
colleague's name in other terms than those of respect."]
Mr. White proceeded-I am then satisfied with the answer given for
the present, and this artifice must have been used by MIr. Curry, the more
effectually to mislead and deceive those to whom he made such statements.
All this conduct I disregarded, and did not think it worthy to be made
matter of conversation. Our elections terminated, the former member
was reelected; and when the legislature met, I was again honored with
a seat here by a unanimous vote.
Some time ago, a friend brought me a Georgia newspaper, and pointed
out to me a letter under the signature of 1ff*. Curry, dated 1st December,
1835, and addressed to the editor of a newspaper called the Federal Union.
In that paper it had been published, and from it copied into various other
papers, and finally into one in my own State called the Nashville Union,




288           ME1MOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
gotten up by funds furnished here, expressly for the purpose of distribute
ing, in my own State and elsewhere, all the dirty filth and slanders
which could be collected, with a view to detract from  my humble
standing.
The time at which this letter was published, as well as the place where
and the matter of it, struck me with some force. The legislatures of
Georgia, of Alabama, of Tennessee, of North Carolina, Virginia, and
several other States were then in session, if I mistake not, and if I do I
hope gentlemen will correct me, and that of Mississippi was soon to meet.
Four of these States had a deep stake in the Indian question, because the
Indians were residing, and yet reside, in portions of them.
I saw that the most gross and base falsehoods were contained in it as
to myself. This I did not so much regard, but I saw further, that with a
view to reach me, a statement was made respecting Mr. M'Connell, one
of my constituents, a humble and inoffensive citizen, which swould, in all
probability, cost him his life. I felt hurt by this, as I had been the medium
through which the Secretary of War had induced him to undertake this
delicate, confidential and hazardous agency.
The falsehoods were so glaring, and the mischievous tendency of the
letter so obvious, that I at first hoped, as soon as it met the eye of the
Administration, the matter would be set right without any application
from any quarter. After waiting some time without any step having
been taken, and having good reason to believe the letter had been seen
by at least one member of the Administration, I addressed a letter to the
Secretary of War under date of the 2d inst. a copy of which I will now
read.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 1836.
DEan Sin: I must take the liberty of inviting your attention to a
letter under the signature of Benjamin F. Curry, published in a newspaper called the Federal Union, and bearing date, " Cherokee Agency,
Dec. 1, 1835."
In it you will see in speaking of Samuel McConnell, Mr. Curry uses
this language-" He has for some years past, under the procurement of
Judge White of Tennessee, been receiving pay from the United States
Government, as a secret and confidential agent, while all his visible efforts
have been to defeat the measures of the ostensible agents in bringing about
a treaty."
I feel assured your own sense of justice will at once pronounce that
this statement, so far as I am concerned, is entirely unfounded.
The name of MIr. McConnell was not brought to your notice by me; I
never asked or procured the department to appoint him. Any agency I
had in the matter was at the instance of the department, and to carry
into effect its wishes, as is fully disclosed in the letter from the acting




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                289
Secretary of War to me, and my answer, with its enclosure to him, to
which I beg leave to refer you.
In that, as in everything else, I was willing to do all in my power to
aid in carrying into effect the wishes of the department in relation to the
Indians, and must think I am treated with great injustice, if your agents,
attached to your department, are thus to misrepresent and calumniate
me. From all the information I possess, I must think that in the charges
against McConnell there is a great disregard of truth. I had once believed,
and yet do, that he acted with great fidelity, and that from his services
much benefit resulted.
But, sir, if Mr. McConnell was a secret agent, appointed by your
department, does he merit that his life should be endangered by this
statement of your agent? If he was not a secret agent, is it right that he
should be endangered by the statement of such a falsehood?
In another part of Mr. Curry's letter he states that shortly before the
council, Lewis Ross came to Knoxville, and after his return, rumors were
put afloat connected with my name.
The inference which Mr. Curry wishes should be drawn from this statement no doubt was, that Lewis Ross came to Knoxville to consult me.
I assure you, if Mr. Ross was at Knoxville, from the time I left Washington in March till my return this fall, I never heard of it until I read Mr.
Curry's letter, and have had no communication whatever with him.
The whole tenor of this letter, so far as I am concerned, is a tissue of
misrepresentations, intended to place my conduct in a false view before
the world.
I am well aware that those who know Mr. Curry would not excuse me
for taking any notice of his slanders generally, but from the particular
nature of his charge, and the circumstance of his being connected with
your department, his statement may be thought entitled to some credit,
should it pass without rebuke.
He is your officer, you are the witness who knows the gross injustice
done me, and to you I confidently appeal for such steps as will do that
which is just to the country, to Mr. Curry and to myself.
I beg to be informed what course you will pursue in this matter.
I have the honor to be, most respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Hu. L. WHITE.
Hon. LEWIS CASS.
On the night of the 15th I received his answer dated the 14th, inclosing a copy of one written to Mr. Curry on the 9th.
DLEPARTMENT OF WAR, JTan. 14th, 1836.
DEAR SIR: I must ask your indulgence for not having answered your
letter of the 29th inst., which was received here on the 15th. The deliay
19




290           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
has been owing to the great press of business, and to the propriety of
laying the matter before the President.
I have now the honor to send the copy of a letter addressed to Major
Curry, and in which the President's disapprobation is conveyed to him.
The statement that Mr. McConnell was employed at your suggestion is
altogether erroneous, and I have put the matter right by giving the true
facts of the case. I consider the department under obligations to you,
for the trouble you took on the subject of the employment and proceedings of Mr. McConnell, and I have endeavored to do justice to his
services, so far as these are known to me. If Major Curry intended to
intimate, as you suppose, that there was a communication between yourself and Mr. Ross, such an intimation was highly improper.  Independent of the entire want of proof of such a course, your word is quite
sufficient to satisfy me that there was no just ground for the suggestion.
I am, dear sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
LEwwm CASS.
HON. HUGHn L. WHITE.
WAR DEPARTMENT Jan. 9th, 1836
SiR: The attention of this department has been drawn to a letter
from you to the editor of the Federal Union, and which was published
in the Augusta Centinel of the 22d ult.
I am instructed by the President, if that letter was written by you,
to convey to you his disapprobation of a part of it. There certainly can
be no impropriety in an officer's communicating to the public proper
information, when circumstances require it, and the general proceedings
relating to the prospects and progress of the Cherokee emigration, are
of this nature. But it is with regret the President observes, in this
communication, allusions to persons and parties, which do not seem to be
necessary, and are calculated to produce an injurious effect. There is
one error of fact, which it becomes the special duty of this department
to correct, as the requisite information is upon its files.  You state that
Mr. McConnell "has for some years past, under the procurement of
Judge White of Tennessee, been receiving pay from the United States'
Government, as a secret and confidential agent," &c. You have been
led into a mistake on this subject.  Mr. McConnell was not employed
under the procurement of Judge White.  The suggestion that Mr.
McConnell's services might be useful, as well to the United States as to the
Cherokee Indians, was made to this department from another and very
respectable quarter. As all the necessary circumstances were not fully
kncwn at the department, proper instructions were given to Mr McCon.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               291
nell and enclosed to Judge White, to be delivered, if he thought the
arrangement would be useful. Judge White had no agency whatever in
the matter, until he was requested, by the express direction of the President, to serve as a medium of communication between Mr. McConnell
and this department.
Mr. McConnell transmitted various reports, containing information
respecting the state of things in the Cherokee country.  But there is
nothing in these, going in the slightest degree to show that he did not
act with due fidelity, as well to the United States as to the Cherokee
Indians.
It is also a matter of regret, that you should have alluded at all to
the employment of Mr. McConnell.  From the relation in which he
stands to the Cherokees, and the suspicious disposition of Indians, the
disclosure may even put his life at hazard. It is therefore the more
imperative upon me, to state explicitly, as I have done, that there was
nothing in the report of Mr. McConnell which could give just offence to
the Indians.
The President has directed me to say, that he has read and approves
this letter, and that while he appreciates the zeal you have displayed in
the execution of your duties, he deems it incumbent upon him to recommend to you great discretion, and particularly to convey to you his disapprobation of the allusion you have made to the employment of Mr.
McConnell.
Very respectfully,
Your most obedient servant,
[Signed]            LEwIS CAss.
MAJOR B. F. CuRnn, 2New Echota, Georgia.
To this, on the 16th, I wrote a very short reply:WASHINGTON, Jan. 16thl 1S36.
DEAR SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge that I received last
night, your favor under date of the 14th, with its enclosure, in answer
to mine of the 2d inst.
The result is so different from what, I think, I had a right to anticipate, that I refrain from any remarks on the contents of the letter written
to Mr. Curry, by direction of the President.
I have the honor to be, most respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
lu. L. WHITE.
I had applied in the only friendly mode I could devise, for the interposition of the executive power. I remembered well the great principle




292           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
for which the party had struggled to elevate the President to his present
station. I remembered his recognition of it in his inaugural address,
which thousands of the citizens of the United States, as well as most of
those now in the reach of my voice, heard him deliver, as containing the
principles upon which he would administer the government. The paragraph is in the following words:"The recent demonstration of public sentiment inscribed on the list of
executive duties, in characters too legible to be overlooked, the task of
reform; which will require particularly the correction of those abuses
that have brought the patronage of the federal government into conflict
wlith the freedom of elections, and the counteraction of those causes
which have disturbed the rightful course of appointment, and have
placed, or continued power in unfaithful or incompetent hands."
This short paragraph shows the main ground on which the contest
rested, when ended in the election of the present Chief Magistrate. It
contains the sentiments avowed by him in presence of nearly twenty
thousand freemen. It contains the sentiments which, as one of his advocates, I honestly entertained. It contains the sentiments on the maintenance of which I believe our freedom and liberty especially depend.
I felt hurt and mortified upon reading the Secretary's letter; I could not
reply without using expressions not fit to address to a member of the
President's Cabinet. In place of Mr. Curry's receiving such a rebuke as
would deter him from committing a similar offence in future, it appeared
to me that he was complimented.  Although his conduct was not
approved as to Mr. McConnell, as to me it was very well, that instead of
an inferior agent he was to be viewed as an electioneering political diplomatist, and that hereafter, if the Gardiner spoke of by the senator from
Massachusetts, the other day, is to wear his diplomatic button, Mr.
Curry ought to figure in his political electioneering star and garter.
But, sir, what was I to do next?  The falsehood has gone forth to
answer the meditated mischief. In some of the States it is probable it
has accomplished its object; how is it to be contradicted? I have been
furnished with a document proving the falsehood. Is it supposed that I
would sneak to a printing office to beg a publication of its contradiction?
No, I cannot descend to such an act of meanness. If I could, I dare
not. The proud, high-minded honorable men who sent me here would,
for such an act of degradation, recall me from a station among honorable
men, and thus gratify some high in office who seek to displace me.
My course is here; my place is here: from my stand on this floor I
contradict the falsehood and expose the injustice. If my opponent will
deny my statement, or justify this outrage, I meet him here openly, face
to face, eye to eye, and maintain and assert what is due to my constituents and myself, by all honorable means in my power.
But the Nashville Union —this vehicle of slanders and falsehoods,
gotten up in this city, as I have understood for just such purposes. The




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                293
editor came here last winter, upon his own mere notion, or by the solicitation of some other person, with, as I have understood and believe, not
more money than would bear his expenses; he lived in the house with my
honorable colleague, and while here, was furnished with some five or six
thousand dollars, to establish his press in Nashville, and, without relying
upon subscribers, to be enabled to throw his paper into the hands of every
man who would condescend to read it. Even this very number, containing this letter, I have no doubt, has been innocently sent under
the frank of senators from this floor, to many of the States in the
Union.
If there is any person within my hearing who can contradict my statement as to the manner in which this paper was established, I wish to
hear him do so.
[Mr. Grundy rose and stated:-" That the editor had come here last
winter, not at his instance; that how the money was raised, or by whom,
he had no knowledge; that the paper had taken its side, and was maintaining it as well as it could; that he had not noticed this letter in it,
and that he knew there was great scuffling to get subscribers for it at
home. Mr. McConnell he knew, and thought himl a clever man, of good
sense, and he believed he had recommended him for this office."]
To which Mr. White replied-Yes, Mr. President, there zoas a great
scuffling to get subscribers for it. So great, that our old acquaintance,
Samuel Gwin, the land officer, from Mississippi, was called into service,
and when procuring subscribers at Gallatin, in April last, wrote to Mr.
Ritchie, of the " Enquirer," the celebrated letter as to Tennessee politics,
intended unjustly to influence the Virginia elections, and which no doubt
had the desired effect. Mr. President, I have made these disclosures
with great pain and the most deep mortification; but I deemed it my
duty to do so. The answer to my resolution will show whether it will
be in my power, and whether it will be my duty to attempt anything
further on the unpleasant subject.
The following is an extract from  Mr. Curry's letter, alluded to in
the above remarks:
At the October council, there attended a certain Mr. Payne, and one
Samuel McConnell, of Tennessee; Payne hails from New York, but came
through Georgia. He is of the whig party, and rumor makes him an
abolitionist. He, it is said, formed an alliance with Mr. Longstreet, of
Augusta, and other editors, by which he was to furnish matter, and they
were to print it for political effect. McConnell is the same who insti
gated the arrest of the Georgia surveyor, and had him carried to Athens,
Tennessee, for a violation of the intercourse laws some three years ago
for making lines within the limits of your State. He has large claims for
reservations made to Indians under the treaties of 1817-19; and has for




294           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
some years past, under the procurement of Judge White, of Tennessee,
been receiving pay from the United States government, as a secret and
confidential agent, while all his visible efforts have been to defeat the
measures of the ostensible agents in bringing about a treaty.
Lewis Ross, one of John Ross's executive counsellors, visited Knoxville
about the commencement of this council, and, while absent, much concern was manifested by John, to know where his brother Lewis could be.
Lewis at length arrived.
Rumor was put afloat that Judge White, if made President, would do
much for this people.
So constant and glaring did infringements on the rights of the
people, similar to those exhibited above, become, that they were a
constant theme of remark on the floor of Congress. Many members
of the opposition made assertions which were never answered from
the other side. In 1836, a special committee was appointed by the
House of Repres;entatives, of which Mr. Wise was chairman, to inquire
into the condition of the public funds. At the instance of General
Jackson and Mr. Van Buren, Judge White was summoned to appear
before this committee, which he did in January, 1837, and gave evidence upon oath, of many instances in which officers of the government and those in their employment, had attempted to influence
public opinion in elections; and made a statement of the part the
President himself had taken in the late presidential canvass, as well
as his attempt to influence him in his public duties, both while he
was President of the Senate and subsequently.  General Jackson
answered these charges in a publication some months afterwards, in
which he complained of Judge White's deposition, and flatly contradicted his statements. This drew forth Judge White's "Address to
the Freemen of Tennessee."  This was the last intercourse, either of a
public or private nature, that ever took place between them.
Judge White's testimony before the committee, and also his
answer to General Jackson's circular, are here subjoined, that all who
desire mav read and decide for themselves.
TESTIMONY OF THE HON. HUGH L. WHITE
Before the committee appointed to inquire into the executive
departments, &c.
Monday, JTan. 80, 1837.
Hon. Hugh L. White, a senator of the United States, summoned as a
witness, appeared before the committee, and read a paper of the following
iuuort:




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               295.Decearation of the Hon. Hugh L. White.
SiR: On Saturday evening last, I was summoned to attend before the
committee of which you are chairman, and give evidence touching the
matters submitted to your investigation. I now appear before your committee, at the time specified in the subpoena, but not in obedience to its
mandate.
I am a member of the Senate of the United States, now in session,
and in the daily discharge of my duties as a senator, and, while I am thus
engaged, do deny that any committee of the House of Representatives has
the power, by its mandate, to compel me to absent myself from the body
of which I am a member. I do, therefore, protest against the power
assumed by your committee, in the issuance and service of said subpcena.
But, at the same time that I feel it my duty thus to protest against
the exercise of a power which I believe is not vested in your committee,
I assure them that I will at all times, when my duties as a senator do not
compel me to be elsewhere, voluntarily attend and give them upon oath,
all the information I possess in relation to ally of the matters which may
come within the range of their investigation.
I respectfully ask that this protest may be entered on the journal of
your proceedings, lest hereafter, it may be thought I have sanctioned the
exercise of a power which, it is easy to foresee, may be so used as to
destroy that body of which I am an humble member.
I have the honor to be, most respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
HU. L. WHITE.
To the Hon. HENRy A. WISE, Chairman of the
Special Committee of the House of Representatives.
The Hon. Mr. White then read to the committee another paper of the
following import:
Reasons of the Hon. Hugh L. White for consenting to testify.
" Mr. Chairman: Before being sworn, it is due to the committee, as
well as myself, that I should make a very short statement, to show the
situation in which I am about to be placed, without any agency of
mine.
" For many years I have been on the most intimate and confidential
terms with the Chief Magistrate. We have conversed with, and written
to, each other, perhaps with as much freedom as if we had been brothers;
much that has passed was, of course, highly confidential.




296           MEMOIR OF HIUGIH LAWSON  WHITE.
" I should hold myself disgraced by designedly bringinging any matters of
this kind before the public.
" If sworn I must tell what I know or believe to be true; and I consider myself called upon to testify, at the instance of the present Chief
Magistrate, and of the distinguished citizen who has been chosen to succeed him; and that, if any disclosure I may make would seem to be
of matters which, as a man of honor, I ought not to make public, I do
so in consequence of the necessity they have imposed on me; and that
the injunction of secrecy has been removed by them, and not by me.
"With this statement, I am now ready to be sworn, if the committee
desire it."
Testimony of the Hon. Hugh L. White.
Mlonday, Feb. 18, 1837.
A communication in writing, in answer to the interrogatory put to the
Hon. Hugh L. White, was received through the chairman, and read to
the committee, as follows:
The oath administered to me was,' to tell the truth; the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth," &c.
After being thus sworn, the interrogatory put to me is in the words
following:
Question. "Do you, of your own knowledge, know of any act by
either of the heads of the executive departments, which is either corrupt,
or a violation of their official duties?"
"From the manner in which this question is worded, it is somewhat
difficult for me to determine to what extent I ought to proceed in my
answer. I presume it could not be the meaning of the committee to constitute me the judge of what shall be considered corruption, or a violation
of official duty, by any of the heads of the executive departments. If
so, I might believe facts within my knowledge did not amount to either
corruption, or a violation of official duty, and on that account omit any
statement whatever; or, on the other hand, state facts which I believe
prove one or the other, when the whole committee might disagree with
me in opinion, and consider the disclosures entirely useless, as not tending to prove any impropriety whatever. In this situation, I presume I
shall best discharge my duty by telling what I may know falling within
the range of either of the executive departments, and such circumstances
as may tend to show the motive with which the act was done or omitted,
leaving it to the committee to determine whether any statements I may
make will be of use or not in their investigation.
Of my own knowledge I do not know of any frauds actually practised
either as to the sale of public lands, or in the purchase of Indian reser-,vations; yet, from information I have received, in which I confide, I do




MIIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               297
believe great frauds have been practised, and are yet going on, as to both;
and that in some of these, our own officers or agents have been, and
now are, concerned or interested; and that if the committee will call
upon persons who were and yet are in the vicinity of the places where
those transactions have taken place, to disclose what they know, these
frauds, and those concerned in them, can be ascertained. Whether the
heads of either of the departments are liable to be censured for any of
these acts, the committee will of course decide for themselves, when they
shall have ascertained all the facts.
In the year 1830 the system now going on for removing the Indians,
with their consent, out of the limits of the States and territories, and
settling them west of the Mississippi, was sanctioned by Congress. It
has been progressing as rapidly as possible ever since. The duties
relating to this branch of business pertained to the War Department.
At the session of Congress for the years 1831 and 1832, and near the
time when a short session would have terminated, the Secretary of War
came to me, as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, and stated
that his duties were becoming so onerous that he could not discharge
them without an alteration in the Indian Department; that the gentleman who was then at the head of the Indian bureau, and who was then
receiving a salary of fourteen or sixteen hundred dollars, although a
very amiable man, was entirely incapable of discharging his duties in
such a manner as to give that aid which the public interest required;
that he had drafted a bill to create the office of Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, with a salary of three thousand dollars per annum, which he
wished me to introduce, and endeavor to have passed into a law. I
informed him that the session had then so far advanced, and the opposition to the Indian system was so strong, that I doubted it would be out
of my power; besides, that some of the appointments which had been
made, were, in my opinion, injudicious, and that if this office were
created and filled by a person as incompetent as he represented the person then at the head of the Indian bureau to be, the public business
would be no better done, and there would be necessarily a considerable
increase of expense, and that I was unwilling to move on the subject,
unless I could be assured, if the office were created, it should be wuell
filled. This he assured me should be done. I then requested him to
speak with the chairman of the Committee of Indian Affairs of the House,
and if his co-operation could be procured, I would on my part, do all in
my power to give effect to his wishes.
The bill was introduced, and, owing to the strong representation made
of the necessity for its passage, the opposition in the Senate was withdrawn and the law was passed. Congress adjourned, and no appointment of commissioner was made until the next session; and then the
same gentleman whose supposed incompetency at the head of the Indian




298           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
bureau, with a small salary, had given rise to this law, was nominated,o
fill the office of commissioner, to which was attached the salary of three
thousand dollars per annum. The nomination was referred to the Com.
mittee on Indian Affairs, and they reported recommending that the nomination should be confirmed. At that session I happened to be in the
chair; and when I heard the report, withdrew from the chair, and
spoke to the gentleman who made the report; told him what had passed
between the secretary and myself, and that I felt it due to the Senate
and to the country that the facts should be disclosed, so that the nomination might be acted on with a full understanding of the facts. lie told
me he would have the nomination laid on the table, until he could see the
secretary, and have his explanation on the subject. He did so, and afterwards informed me that he had seen and conversed with the secretary,
and communicated to him my statement; and that the secretary admitted
my statement to be true, as to what passed between us, but that after
the passage of the law Mr. Herring had devoted himself to acquiring
a knowledge of the duties pertaining to the office, and was then well
qualified to discharge them. Under this statement I said nothing further,
and the nomination was confirmed; and it so did happen that, although
I never heard Mir. Herring's integrity called in question, yet his want of
capacity was admitted by all with whom I conversed before he quit the
office.
During the last session he was appointed pay-master, and Mr. C. Harris
appointed commissioner, who, so far as I can judge, is a most faithful,
competent and efficient officer.
I think the public interest suffered much from the incompetency of Mr.
Herring while he was in office; and that it will take some time still to
come before his successor, with all his zeal, watchfulness and industry,
will be enabled to make those reforms which the public interest requires.
I feel that I should do the late secretary injustice, were I to stop here.
I do not believe he intended to deceive me, or to injure the public, when
he promised me that if the office was created it should be well filled; but
that after it was created, as it connected itself with all the rcoanifcations
of the Indian Department, and the officer might have a very extensive influence, it was esteemled a matter of importance to have it filled with a
decided friend to the gentleman who was then looked to by the President
and many others as the person who ought to Fucceed the present Chief
Magistrate; and that the secretary was constrained to yield to an influence which he believed he had not the power successfully to resist. I
am the more inclined to adopt this opinion, because, from a very extensive intercourse with the secretary relative to the Indian affairs, I was
impressed with the belief that in all cases where he was left free to pursue his own judgment, he was disposed to act with the utmost fairness,
and with a strict regard to public interest; and because I know, in a




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSCN.                299
manlier most satisfactory to myself, that, as early as 1831 (if not sooner),
when the first cabinet was dissolved, and a new one to be created, the
President had fixed his mind upon the present President elect as the most
suitable person to succeed him; and that, with a view to procure harmony among the members of his political family, it was considered
important to remove from the old cabinet three gentlemen, who, it was
believed, did not coincide in opinion with him upon that subject, and
form a new cabinet which would be a unit; that is, each member of it
concurring with the President as to the person most proper to succeed
him when his eight years of service should terminate.
When the old cabinet was broken up, it was not wished to have the
services of Major Eaton; tile intention and wish was, to put me in his
place, and with my aid in Tennessee, to have him elected to succeed me
in the Senate.
This opinion as to the motive for the appointment of Mr. Herring is
still further fortified and confirmed in my mind, from the belief that a very
large portion of all the officers appointed from that time to this have been
selected upon the same principles, and with a view to the same object.
Connected with this subject, and tending to show that I am most probably correct in the view which I take of it, there are many circumstances
which I have become acquainted with, which show that the President
watched with care, and uniformly endeavored to prevent, everything
which would have the effect of enabling any other citizen to compete,
successfully, with the gentleman who was his favorite. During the same
session of 1832 or 1833, when Mr. Herring was appointed, it will be
remembered, the United States seemed to be on the eve of a civil war
with South Carolina, on account of the tariff; and that a bill was sent to
the House of Representatives from the Treasury Department, proposing a
modification and a reduction of it; that the provisions of that bill were
so changed in the House, that it became very unacceptable to a large
majority, and had no prospect of finally passing; that, in this state of
things, and after what was called the Force Bill had been considerably discussed in the Senate, Mr. Clay introduced what is commonly called the
Compromise Bill, and, upon its second reading, it had been referred to a
select committee, composed of seven members. This committee, it was
my duty, as presiding officer, to appoint. Before the members of it were
named, I received a note from the President, requesting me to go to his
house, as he wished to see me. I returned for answer, that while the
Senate was in session it was out of my power to go, but that as soon as it
adjourned I would call on him. I felt the high responsibility which
rested on me in appointing the committee; the fate of the bill, in a good
degree, depended on it; and if the bill failed, we would probably be
involved in a most painful conflict. I endeavored to make the best selection I could, by taking some tariff men, some anti-tariff, one nullifier and




300           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Mr. Clay himself-hoping that if a majority of a committee, in which all
interests and views were represented, could agree on anything, it was
likely it would pass. Taking tkese principles for my guide, I wrote down
the names of seven members, Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, being one; and
immediately before we adjourned, handed the names to the secretary,
with directions to put them on the journal, and in the course of the evening waited on the President. Soon after we met, he mentioned that he
had wished to see me on the subject of appointing a committee on Mlr.
Clay's bill, to ask that Mr. Clayton might not be put on it; as he was hostile to the Administration, and unfriendly to Mr. McLane, he feared he
would use his endeavor to have a preference given to Mr. Clay's bill over
that of the Secretary of the Treasury, or words to that effect. I observed,
in answer, that it would always give me great pleasure to conform to the
wishes of my political friends, whenever I could do so with propriety;
but that the treasury bill had been so altered and mangled, and that, as I
understood, in a good degree by the votes of his own party, that it had
but few friends; that we seemed to be on the eve of a civil war, and that
for the sake of averting such a calamity, I would further all in my power
any measure, come from whom it might, which would give peace to the
country, and that any bill, having that for its object, was esteemed by
me a measure above party, and any man who was the author of it was
welcome to all the credit he could gain by it. But, at all events, it was
too late to talk on the subject, as I had handed the names of the committee to the secretary before we adjourned; and that as I had a very high
opinion of Mr. Clayton's talents and liberal feelings, I had put him on the
committee, without knowing he was personally unkind to the Secretary
of the Treasury. He then asked me if I could not see the secretary of the
Senate that evening, and substitute some other name for Mr. Clayton,
before the journal was made up; I told him I could not —in my judgment
it would be wrong; and then the interview terminated.
An incident occurred relative to an appointment, falling in with the
business of the State Department, which I feel it my duty to state, but do
not know that the Secretary of State had any participation in it.
At the session of 1833 and 1834, if my memory serves me, Mr. Stevenson, of Virginia, was nominated as Minister to Great Britain, and his
nomination rejected. At the session of 1834 and 1835, on the Sunday
immediately preceding the close of the sessions a gentleman called at my
lodgings to see me, and informed me that he had called, at the instance
of the President, to consult me on the subject of again nominating Mr.
Stevenson as Minister to Great Britain; and to say, that if I believed a
majority in the Senate could be procured to confirm the nomination, the
name of Mr. Stevenson would be sent in; if not, no nomination would be
made during the session. I observed to the gentleman, I could not give
any answer, as I had heard nothing on the subject, and had not reflected




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               301
on it; and further said, from what I could hear, I was at a loss to know
whether I myself was viewed as friendly, or the reverse. The gentleman
replied, there was a mistake on that subject; that it was commonly
thought Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Ritchie, of the Enquirer, were friendly to
Mr. Van Buren, but that was not so; they were soured with him,
believing it was his wish to make Mr. Rives the great man of Virginia.
After some further conversation, I told him I would think of it until next
morning, and would then tell him what I thought. He did call the next
morning, when I requested him to say to the President, that I had no
means of knowing how other senators would vote, and that the only
advice I could give was, for the President to do what he believed to be
his'duty, leaving the senators to discharge theirs.
The nomination was not sent in till the next session; and, in the mean
time, Mr. Stevenson had been presiding officer at the Baltimore convention, and an active partisan in aiding to carry out the views and wishes
of the President as to his successor.
As the time of the election of his successor approached nearer and
nearer, the Chief Magistrate became more and more open and undisguised
in his interference to influence and control public opinion. I am well
acquainted with his signature, and have seen many newspapers and other
publications sent under his frank to individuals, and to members of assembly, calculated and intended to injure, in public estimation, those who
were unwilling to act in accordance with his wishes as to his successor;
have seen a toast given by him at a public dinner; have seen letters published from him in newspapers, and have heard of many others and now
have copies of some never published; and all this after he had endeavored
to induce me, and the State in which I reside, to accede to his wishes,
under the promise of his influence to have my name used in the first
instance as Vice-President, and afterwards for the Presidency, as I have
been informed, and verily believe. And to satisfy the committee that I
do not speak unguardedly, and from unkind feelings upon this subject, I
subjoin to this answer the extract of a letter dated 23d August, 1836, from
Mr. Orville Bradley, of Hawkins county, Tennessee. He is a man of high
character for intelligence and veracity, and I have not the shade of a
doubt that everything he there states on the subject of his conversation
with the President is strictly true.
In the course of last summer, the President made a visit to his home
in Tennessee; and, as I have been informed, and verily believe, almost
as soon as he entered the State, denounced me and several of my colleagues, who are my political friends, publicly, and in strong terms;
charging some of them, and especially Col. Peyton, with having given a
vote relative to an appropriation on the Cherokee treaty, directly contrary to what the journal, the newspapers, and members who had been
present, at the passage of the bill, showed, and stated to be the fact; and,




302           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
as to another of them, Mlr. Huntsman, in answer to a question from him,
he alleged he was on the fence, and it was doubtful which side he would
fall; and afterwards, when written to by Mr. Huntsman, would appear
to have forgotten that he ever used such expressions: all which will
appear by a copy of Mr. Hnntsman's letter to him; and a copy of his
answer, and my reply, hereto attached; and the committee will readily
perceive, by an extract of a letter from Col. O'Brien, and a certificate of
[Mkr. Carriger, both highly respectable men, that his memory is so much
impaired, as not to be relied on, even for a few months, for what he has
said relative to the character and conduct of a representative in Congress.
Under all these circumstances, although I feel I, and the Senate through
me, were misled, in the creation of the office of Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, and in the appointment of Mr. Herring to fill said office; and
believe that, upon investigation, it will be found that frauds, in this branch
of the administration of the War Department, have been committed; and
that some of the officers or agents of the government have participated
in, and derived pecuniary benefits from them; yet I do not believe the
Secretary of War intended to do wrong, but was constrained to act in
accordance with the wishes of others.
Alnidst the variety of daily duties claiming attention, and without
an~ything but a general question pointing to a particular transaction, it is
very probable that some facts and circumstances, within my knowledge,
are omitted, which more direct and specific questions would bring to my
recollection. It has been my wish to make my answer as full as I reasonably could, that I might save the committee the trouble of a protracted
examination.
Extract from  Mr. Brad ley's Letter.
HIAWKINS COUNTY, EAST TENNESSEE, Aug. 23, 1836.
In the fall of 1834, on his return from the West, General Jackson called
at my father's; I was with him then, and travelled some distance with
him along the road in this county (Hawkins). In the course of the time
we were together, the subject of succession was freely discussed. Your
claims were mentioned, and the feeling of the State to have opposition to
Van Buren. I spoke of the attempt which had been made in the asseimbly of 1833, of which I was a member, to nominate Judge White, which
I told him I thought I had been mainly instrumental in defeating, by
virtue of an authority you had given me before you left Nashville, to say
you desired it should not be done. I told General Jackson that I thought,
after having had considerable opportunities of forming a correct estimate,
that I felt satisfied that two-thirds of the members of that assembly were
indisposed to support Van Buren, and would not do it, if they could get




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.              303
any other respectable man of their own principles to vote for; that the
assembly was only restrained from nominating Judge White, by his own
disinclination to such nomination, and by an apprehension that in the
condition of the public feeling in the United States (it was just after the
removal of the deposits), that his nomination might throw such. a firebrand into the ranks of the Administration as might break down Judge
White, and prostrate the whole party, and throw the power of the
government into the hands of the bank party, and by the further consideration, that as Tennessee had the incumbent of the Presidency, that it
might be considered arrogant in them to be the first to nominate another
of her citizens for that high office. I also stated to General Jackson my
opinion, that if Judge White should receive a respectable nomination anywhere out of the State, that it would be immediately and generally followed
up in Tennessee. I told the President that immediately after the rise of
the assembly, and before I left Nashville, I had written to Judge White a
full account of the state of things at Nashville, all that had occurred, the
part that I had taken, and the reasons that had influenced me, and that
Judge White had immediately answered me, approving of my course, and
stating that if he had been nominated, that under the state of things that
then existed at Washington, he should have felt bound to put down the
movement under his own hand and signature.
I further told General Jackson, that I thought there was a decided
indisposition in Tennessee to support Van Buren, and intimated to him,
that although, under the circumstances that then existed, I had felt it my
duty to oppose, among the members, any attempt by the assembly to
bring out Judge White, that I did not like to support Van Buren, if I
could please myself any better. General Jackson entered warmly into a
vindication of Van Buren; spoke of him in the highest terms, said that
he was the man to whom the party, generally, out of Tennessee, was looking to be his successor; that White could hardly get a vote out of Tennessee, and that Tennessee must not separate from the rest of his friends;
that he found there was a #trong disposition in this State to press the
claims of Judge White, but that it would not receive any countenance or
support elsewhere. But further, said he, this matter must be compromised. Judge White and the State of Tennessee ought to be satisfied to
have the name of Judge White on the ticket with Mr. Van Buren as Vice
President. Judge White is yet young enough to come in after Mr. Van
Buren, and such an arrangement will make all right now, and secure the
certain elevation of Judge White, after Mr. Van Buren. I do not know,
said he, with a smile, what we shall do with Richard M. Johnson, but I
suppose we can arrange the matter with him some other way. General
Jackson requested me to come on to Washington at the commencement
of the session of Congress; and when I told him I could not, he requested
me to write to him during the winter what was going on in Tennessee.




304           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
I told General Jackson, when he proposed that Judge White should be
put on the ticket as Vice President, that if Judge White should be run on
the same ticket with Van Buren, that I would support it, and I thought
a majority of those who were desirous of bringing out Judge White in
Tennessee would do the same, but that it would not satisfy all.
I told the substance of this conversation to Judge Powell, and John
Kennedy, Esq., shortly after it occurred; I think, also, to John Young, of
this county, and S. D. Mitchell, and, perhaps, to some others.
When you came on afterwards, the same fall, on your way to Washington, I told it to you at Rogersville. Your reply, after listening till I got
through, was, that the office of Vice President of the United States was a
place not unworthy of the ambition of any man, when properly obtained;
that it was, perhaps, greatly superior to your merits, but that you would
not accept that or any other office, when your name was to be used as a
lure to draw men into the support of a ticket they would not otherwise
vote for. We had other and further conversation on the matter of the
same tenor, which it is not necessary now to recapitulate. Immediately
after my leaving your room, I was accosted by several of those to whom
I had told General Jackson's proposition of your being put on the ticket
as Vice President, and asked if you would accede to that proposition. I
gave them your reply, as above set forth. They then said you would
[not] run; for in the conversations they had heard upon the subject of
your nomination, it had been maintained by many-perhaps, a majority
— that you would not allow your name to be run at all. General Jackson
had expressed that opinion in the conversation we had. lie had also
stated, he had no objection to a nomination of Judge White, if he was
only recommended to the American people, and to the favorable consideration of a general convention of the party; but that any attempt to procure an absolute nomination must be put down by his friends.
The foregoing is the substance of my conversation with General Jackson, in relation to your nomination and being run for the Presidency to
the best of my recollection. At this late period, I have, for the first time,
attempted to reduce it to writing, and, of course, cannot pretend to be
absolutely and certainly right in every particular. But I think I have
committed no essential errors.
You are at liberty to use this letter as you please. I do not wish it
to go into the newspapers without some strong necessity. But if such
should exist, I will not shrink from the responsibility.
Your friend,
ORVILLE BRADLEY.
The Hon. HuGa L. WiITE.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                305
WASHINGTON CITY, Jan. 1, 1886, (7.)
DEAR SIR: In a speech which was made by Judge White at Jonesboro,
Tennessee, and which has been published in the papers of that State and
elsewhere, he stated in substance (I have not the speech before me), that
you were asked how I stood in relation to the Administration, and the coming election for President; and that your reply was, I DO NOT KNOW HOW
HE STANDS; I BELIEVE HE IS UPON THE FENCE, AND IT IS UNCERTAIN WHICH
SIDE HE WILL DROP. The first time I saw Judge White after the publication of his speech, I requested to know who was his author in regard
to the expression you were said to have made. He gave the name of Mir.
O'Brien, of Washington county, Tennessee (if I remember right), as the
person who heard you make the expression. It seems that one of my
colleagues, and an honorable member from Virginia, have thought proper
to reiterate this charge upon the floor of Congress, in the discussion of a
question now pending and undeterminated in the House of Representatives.
Not having any acquaintance with Mr. O'Brien, and having some doubts
in regard to the accuracy of his statements, I hope you will not deem it
disrespectful in me to ask froln you a refutation or a confirmation of it.
I know, sir, that the weighty affairs of government, which draw so
largely upon your time and attention, leave you but little time to attend
to small matters like this; yet it has become one of considerable importance to me, or it is made so through the agency of others.
As I do not consider that I occupied the doubtful position assigned me,
and having no reason to believe that you would knowingly do me the
least injustice, I ask with the more confidence your answer as early as
my be convenient.
With sentiments of respect, I have the honor to be,
Your most obedient servant,
ADAM HUNTSMAN.
The President of the United States.
WASHINGTON, January 2, 1836, (7.)
SIR: Your letter of the 1st instant is before me. I have not the slightest
recollection of having made the remarks in reference to you, which, it
seems from your note of yesterday's date, was imputed by Judge White
to me, in a speech at Jonesboro, Tennessee. I do not know, nor have I
any recollection of the witness to whom Judge White refers you. I have
no acquaintance with the O'Brien family. And it is scarcely possible
that I should have entered into the familiar discourse described by Judge
White with a perfect stranger, without retaining some trace on my
memory of the man, or of the extraordinary questioning to which it
C20




306           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
would seem he subjected me. If I had been interrogated about you, by
one whom I thought entitled to take such liberty, I should have said to
him that I esteemed you, from your votes and course in Congress, as a
friend to the Administration; that in regard to the then pending election
for President, you were the avowed friend of Judge White for President,
but willing to give effect to the wishes of your constituents, if they preferred Mr. Van Buren, in case the election came into the House of Representatives.
It is, however, superfluous labor to contradict the fabrications put forth
by Judge White and his speech-makers, who, it seems from your note,
are repeating the stories made up for their electioneering harangues in
the House of Representatives. The public know how to estimate their
assertions. If it were worth the trouble, there is not one of their narratives with which they have connected my name, so far as I have
heard, that could not be proven as mere fiction by all the persons whom
they represent as bearing a part in what they pretend to describe.
But I do not blame these subalterns. Judge White himself, in his
Knoxville speech, did not hesitate to lead the way in this sort of traduction. To distinguish his own purity, and claim credit for disinterested
moderation in declining the Vice Presidency (and at the same moment
when he was seeking the Presidency itself, and electioneering for it by
boasting of his incomparable modesty), he gave the people of Tennessee
to understand that I had attempted to purchase his support of Mr. Van
Buren by an offer of the Vice Presidency as the first consideration, with
the Presidency itself in reversion. There never was a grosser libel than
this. There is about as much truth in it, as there was sincerity in that
lame apology in the Judge's letter to Mr. Prior Lea, wherein Judge White
pretends he was desirous to prevent my election to the Senate of the
United States, and send my bitterest enemy to that body, giving him a
high station whence to scatter calumnies against me, merely for my good
-namely to advance my pretensions to the Chief Magistracy, by saving
me from the suspicions of accepting the senatorial office as a means of
electioneering for myself! An office which he lately accepted precisely
under the circumstances which subjected him to the identical imputation from which he was so anxious to screen me!  This, and many
recent developments of character, show that Judge White, under strong
temptation, has a lax code of morals for himself; and his remarkable
readiness to invent pretexts to cover the naked and palpable selfishness of his late tergiversations and multiplied inconsistencies, shows
that he need not tax the invention of his subordinate instruments for
falsehoods to suit his exigencies. Whether, then, he has fabricated himself the improbable story to which you refer, in addition to the other
zhameful imputations with which he has associated my name, or is indebted for them to some of the numerous family of the O'Briens, is matter




IS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               307
of but little moment to me. They all now stand in equal credit with the
country.
I am, sir, your most obedient servant,
ANDREW JACKSON.
The Hon. ADAM HIUNTSMAN, in Congress.
P. S. As Judge White has been the subject of your letter and this
reply to it, you will please show him this my answer.
A. J.
Copy of a letter to the Hon. Adam Huntsman, from the Hon. Hugh
E~. White.
WASHINGTON Jan. 4th, 1837.
DEAR Sin: Herewith I return the correspondence between you and the
President, dated the 1st and 2d instant, which you handed me this afternoon. As you requested, I have not shown it to any person, nor have I
mentioned to any one that I have seen it.
I feel called on, when returning it, to say something in relation to its
contents.
In the President's answer, he says he has no recollection of Mr. O'Brien,
and thinks it not likely he would have been catechised by an entire
stranger, &c.
I never said that Mr. O'Brien had conversed with, or asked him a
question, but that he heard him make the statement in answer to questions put by others in Jonesboro. All I know is, that Mr. O'Brien gave
ine the information. He is a respectable man. I believe what he told
me to be true; and the circumstance that the President does not recollect
anything on the subject is only additional proof that the best of us cannot
always recollect what we have said. Our colleague, General Carter, was
present, and heard my conversation with lMr. O'Brien, and to him I refer
you for the accuracy of my statement.
As to the other parts of the President's letter, I regret to find the
temper in which it is written. It indulges in statements and suspicions
not only erroneous, but unfounded and unjust.
Everything in the speech stated as of my own knowledge was true,
and everything derived from the information of others I then believed,
and yet believe, to he true.
I hope you will not deem me unreasonable, when I ask a copy of this
correspondence.
I do not complain of the injunction imposed, not to showo it to any
person; but if you have allowed others to see it, and make its contents
the foundation of accusations against me, I would think I was unfairly
treated, and that you ought to remove that injunction.
Most sincerly and truly yours,
HIu. I,. WHITE.




308           MEIIOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  YVI ITE.
Copy of a letter from John O'Brien, Esf. to the Eon. W. B. Carter.
PURLIEU IRON WORKS, Jan. 19th, 1837.
DEAR, SIR: Yours of the 5th instant was received on yesterday evening, requesting me to state the particulars respecting an expression I
heard General Jackson make while in Jonesboro. On the evening of the
clay of General Jackson's arrival in Jonesboro, I accidentally happened
at the place, and after night, was invited by the Hon. John 31lair, to walk
with him to Nathan Gammon's, Esq., to see the President. I accolnpanied him, and was introduced by him to the President. Immediately
after my introduction, I took a seat but a short distance from. the President, near Mr. Donelson and G. Gammon, Esq.  I was so near the
President, that I could distinctly hear every word he said. IHe was
asked by some gentleman in the room (for there were several present),
what he thought of several of the Tennessee delegation in Congress; to
all of which questions he replied. Amongst the rest he was asked what
he thought of fMr. Huntsman. He replied: " Ie is on the fence, sir, and
I do not know on which side he may fall."  I remained in the room a
short time after the General lhad made the foregoing expression, and left
the room. with the HIon. John Blair.
Enclosed is a certificate from under the hand of Christian E. Carriger,
Esq., who accompanied the Hon. John Blair and myself fiom fMr. Blair's
to Mr. Gammon's. I will go to Jonesboro this evening, and endeavor to
obtain the statements of some gentlemen there, who were present at the
time, which I will enclose to you so soon as I obtain them.
With high consideration, I remain your friend,
JOHN O'BRIEN.
Gen. W. B. CARTER.
(ertifccate of Chrfistian E. Ccarriger, Esq.
Janfuary 19, 1837.
I do hereby certify, that on General Jackson's last visit to Jonesboro,
on his way to the Hermitage, at the request of the Hon. John Blair, I
went in company with him and John O'Brien, Esq., to see the General,
at Nathan Gammon's, Esq. That at Mr. Gammon's, in presence of Mr.
O'Brien and several other gentlemen, I heard some gentleman ask the
General several questions respecting the Tennessee delegation; among
other questions, what he thought of the Hon. Adam HIuntsman? "I He is
on the fence, sir, and I do not know on which side he will fall;" was the
General's reply, (as near as I can remember) verbatim.
Given under my hand,
CHRISTIAN E. CARRIGER.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                 309
Reply of Judge White to General Jackson.*
TO THE FREEMEN OF TENNESSEE:
FELLOW CITIZENS: A recent production, over the name of the late Chief
Magistrate of the United States, now going the rounds in our newspa]ers,
imposes on me the duty of addressing you. We live in strange times.
At peace with all the world, a handful of savages excepted; a few months
ago, apparently prosperous to an extent almost unexampled, with funds
in the treasury so far beyond the economical wants of the federal government, that statesmen were perplexed to know how to dispose of them.
Now, our commerce destroyed, our merchants in every direction ruined
and breaking; the crops of our planters without a market, and they in
debt, without any means with which to make payment; specie payments
suspended by our banks, and their notes depreciated, and the government
itself placed in such a situation, as to its moneyed concerns, that it cannot move; hardly a dollar can be collected or paid without a violation
of our acts of Congress. What has caused these misfortunes, is a question of grave and solemn import. It is one, in relation to which, every
man is called on to form an opinion, and a free expression of opinions
sincerely entertained, may, it is to be hoped, lead to some suitable remedy.
For myself, I cannot doubt but the specie circular, as it is called, which
issued in July last, and the mode adopted to transfer to the respective
States their proportions of our surplus treasure, were the immediate causes.
I have ever believed that circular less justifiable than any act of our
federal executive. It undertakes to legislate for the people of the United
States by the sole power of the President. It makes distinctions between
different classes of our citizens, which I doubt whether Congress, with
the aid of the President would have the power to make; and I feel confident, if they had the power they dare not exercise it.
Independently of the President having no power to cause such an order
to be issued, its provisions were unwise, unjust, and calculated to produce the very state of things which now exists. From the time I first
read it, I have ever most firmly believed the true reasons which gave rise
to it were not avowed by its authors. It bears date in July, a few days
after the rise of a Congress at which an act had passed directing a portion
of the surplus revenue to be deposited with the States. This act was
very offensive to the President, although he gave it his signature. One
object then, of this circular was, to lessen the sales of the public lands,
so that there might be little or nothing to divide on the first day of January and afterwards.
A Presidential election was then pending and the incumbent was using
his influence in favor of one of the candidates, and it was behlered the
*From the Knoxville Register of July 12, 1837.




310           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
permission to the people of the new States to pay for their lands in banA
notes till after the Presidential election, would influence their votes in
favor of his candidate, and a still more important object was, to produce
such a run upon all banks as would compel them to suspend specie payment. Every holder of a bank note is told in substance, that it is doubtful whether his note is good, that the banks had overtraded themselves
and would probably be unable to pay their debts. This idea is advanced
by the President of the United States, in whom the people had unbounded
confidence, and who from his official station had a right to know the funds
and condition of each of the deposit banks. Nothing could have been
better calculated to produce a run upon the banks than such a statement
from such a source. In addition to this destruction of their credit, all
those who held notes and did not reside in the State where they might
wish to purchase lands must necessarily call for specie from the banks,
as nothing else would be received at the land offices.
This attack on the credit of the banks and the runs either made or
expected, compelled them not only to withhold the usual accommodations from merchants, but to exact payment for debts already contracted.
Thus merchants must probably fail first and then the banks must surely
follow, shortly afterwards.
But if the circular itself was not sufficient to destroy the credit of the
banks, the mode proposed for transferring the funds to the respective
States was well calculated to give it the final blow. The specie was to be
drawn from the deposit banks, to be placed in the State treasury. Could
any plan have been devised better calculated to alarm the banks and
society? Beside, no conceivable benefit could result to the States from
such an operation. If each State had been furnished with drafts upon
banks in proper sections of the Union, upon these drafts they could have
received their moneys at home, and the trade and commerce of the
country been essentially benefited, without incommoding in any degree
any of the banks.
I have no doubt the banks had extended their discounts too far in many
instances, and it may likewise be true that merchants had overtraded;
but I have no doubt the great error in some of the banks consisted in
making extravagant loans, to companies of land purchasers, at our public
sales, and of Indian reservations. This prevented in many instances the
usual accommodations to merchants, and enabled the fiiends and favorites
of the Administration to monopolize immense bodies of our most valuable
lands, at the minimum price. No attempt that we know of was made to
check the deposit banks in this course, until the desired purchases were
completed, and the political views of the party were accomplished. They
were lauded, and society was taught to believe the wise measures of the
executive would presently give us all wealth to our hearts' content. Thus
then the banks were first encouraged in their imprudence, and when the




lIad RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               311
proper time arrived, those who had used them for pecuniary and electioneering purposes' caused the treasury order to be issued, and followed up
by the worse than useless mode of transferring the public moneys, and by
these means have caused the disasters to the merchants, and the suspension of specie payments, to the great discredit of the banks and loss of
every portion of the community.
It will be asked why I believe the Administration wished to compel the
banks to suspend specie payments.
I will answer the question in all sincerity; because I believe General
Jackson notw wzoishes a bank of the United States founded upon the moneys
of the United States, and attached to the treasury department.
We all know that in more than one of his messages he recommended
such a bank, and I know that in 1829 he wished Mr. Grundy elected to
the Senate, in preference to Judge W. E. Anderson, because he believed
Mr. Grundy could better aid in making up a party in Congress to establish such a bank.
His object when he came into the Presidency was t;o have such a bank;
nothing was said by him recommending it after Mr. McDuffie's report.
In common with others, I believed he had despaired of it after that report,
until I re-ad the treasury circular, and from that time I have believed it
was an object that he had never lost sight of, and that he and his advisers
have put into operation a series of measures, disastrous to the country
at large, and ruinous to many individuals, in order to prepare the public
mind for such a bank.
The President has repeatedly said, that unless the successor designated
by himself was elected, the great measures of his Administration would
not be carried out, and if they were not carried out, the great value of all
he had done would be lost.
What great measure is yet to be carried out?  I answer the makcing a treasury bank.  How was the public mind to be prepared for
such an institution? By the very means he has employed. The United
States Bank must first be put down, because while it lasted there could
be no use for a treasury bank, and in the second place, it must be proved
by actual experiment, that the State banks cannot do the fiscal business
of the government, and give society a sound currency. Now, whenever
the banks refuse to pay in specie the government deposits, and decline
paying specie generally, what is the argument? It is, that we have tried
a bank of the United States by incorporating individuals, and find that
it will not answer, because it will soon have so much power that it will
control the government itself. We have made an experiment with the
State banks, and find they cannot do our fiscal business, nor can they
give us a sound currency; therefore, there is no alternative, but to create
a bank of our own, upon our funds, and which will always be subject to
our control.




312           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Every circumstance which is now transpiring, connected with this
subject, confirms me in the opinion which I have expressed.
1. The tenacity with which any deposit with the States is resisted.
2. The manner in which the illegal treasury circular is adhered to,
although the decisive opinion of Congress and of society is known to be
opposed to it.
3. Mr. Cambreleng's letter in New York, in which he is opposed to
giving the banks any indulgence.
4. The loyalists in this State and others, candidates for Congress, are
said to be advocating it.
5. The Globe has ventured to broach the subject likewise.
6. A pamphlet, purporting to be written in Great Britain, which is
now in circulation, recommending such a bank.
While the people at large are lamenting the serious misfortunes which
have befallen the country, the President is, as I believe, felicitating himself that the time is rapidly approaching, when one of his great, unfinished
measures, is to be accomplished under the management of his successor.
In all this he may be very honest; he may conscientiously believe, that
our highest interests will be promoted by it-that we can be secured in
a sound currency-have our fiscal concerns well managad-and above all,
that the great democratic party will thus be enabled always to retain the
political power it now possesses. Those engaged in speculations in public
lands, who are debtors of the banks, must be delighted with the present
state of things. Specie payments are suspended; this will enable the
banks to give them longer indulgence; the notes have depreciated, and
will continue to depreciate, and they will presently be able to purchase,
at a great discount, notes enough to discharge their debts, and thus realize
the speculations which they anticipated.
But General Jackson says, in substance, that I advised the removal of
the deposits fiom the Bank of the United States, and that my only complaint against his conduct was, that the removal was not made soon
enough, &c. He has expressed himself too loosely upon this subject, to
give to the public a correct idea of the part I took in this matter.
Hie never had a personal conversation with me on the subject of removing the deposits from the Bank of the United States. He never consulted
me by letter, or otherwise, but once, and that was by letter bearing date
the 24th of March, 1833. In answer to which I gave him my opinion in
hLe following words, under date of April 11th, 1833:
"To this inquiry I answer, we ought not only to do that which is for
the public interest, but we should do it under circumstances which will
enable us to satisfy the people whose business we transact, that the change
was necessary to promote their interest.
" When the Bank of the United States failed to obey the directions of
the government in paying off its debt and negotiated with the creditors




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               313
for indulgence, I think the deposits ought to have been immediately
withdrawn, and every federal officer instructed not to receive any of
those small drafts or checks, now used as substitutes of five, ten, and
twenty dollar notes. Public opinion I have no doubt would then have
sustained the executive in such a course; but the government, from
motives which all ought to approve, wished to be certain of the insolvency of the bank before it withdrew the public deposits, therefore
appointed an agent to examine and report its condition. That report is
before the world, and is as flattering as the bank could wish, as to its
insolvency. Since then the matter has been brought to the notice of
Congress, a committee has been created by the House of Representatives,
and a majority of that committee has made a report most favorable to
the bank. The minority of the committee has also submitted its view
of the solvency and management of the bank, in such terms as, if it stood
alone, would create a well-founded belief, that the public money was
unsafe where now deposited. But the question occurs, what opinion will
society form from these documents, taking them altogether? The opinion
of the confidential agent of the treasury, and that of a majority of the
committee one way, and that of the minority of the committee the other,
places the question of the solvency of the bank in such an attitude before
the public, that I do not believe the executive would act wisely in ordering a withdrawal of the deposits from the Bank of the United States, and
placing them in State banks at this time. Public opinion will, in my
judgment, best sustain the executive in permitting them to remain with
the Bank of the United States until its charter expires, or some future
development shall show that the bank is so managing its concerns as to
make it necessary to the public interest that the public money should be
withdrawn from the power and control of the bank."
During the session of Congress next succeeding the removal, upon a
question whether a bill might be introduced to prolong the charter of
the Bank of the United States, I took occasion to express my opinions as
to the power of the President to cause the removal, and against the restora(tion of the deposits to the bank; but as to the wisdom or policy of the
removal at the time it took place, the preceding autumn, I explicitly
stated that, as a question upon which the best friends of the President
might well differ in opinion.
I was then, as I ever had been, and yet am, of opinion that Congress
had no power to grant the charter, or to renew it, and that if they possessed the power it would be bad policy to exercise it, and as the deposits
had been removed, and constituted a fund upon which State banks were
doing business, that it would be unwise to restore them to a bank, the
charter of which must soon expire, and which I did not believe ought
ever to be renewed.
These were my opinions, freely expressed and acted on. They may




314           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
have been erroneous, but were honestly entertained, and if the President
intends to communicate to the public the idea that I ever gave any other
opinion, or advice, as to the propriety of the removal, than those I have
now adverted to, he is doing himself, as well as me, injustice, because he
is communicating to the public information which is not in conformity
with the fact.
At the time the deposits were removed, before that time, and evei
since, I have been of opinion the fiscal concerns of the government could
be managed through the agency of State banks, and that they could at
the same time furnish the country a sound currency, and I had the most
unbounded confidence in the integrity of the Chief Magistrate, and
believed he would cause a fair experiment to be made. Had I then foreseen what I now believe to be true, that the real design was to obtain a
control over the public moneys, that they and the State banks might be
used for electioneering purposes, and as a means by which favorites could
monopolize our public lands, and that then the banks were to be compelled to suspend specie payments to prepare the public mind for a treasury bank, such a course for such purposes could have had no countenance
from me.
I consider the experiment which has been made with the State banks
an experiment to ascertain whether our public deposits will enable an
executive to obtain so much control over the State banks as to enable him
to induce them to overtrade themselves, and after the political and pecuniary purposes of himself and friends have been accomplished, then to
compel them to suspend specie payments, and that that experiment has
been successful.
It is in vain to expect benefits to society from this or that system of
laws, upon any subject, unless the system is to be carried into effect by
men of integrity and capacity.  The best system which can be devised
by the wisdom of man will terminate in ruin and distress to society, if
its administration is placed in the hands of dishonest and incompetent men.
lNo man can shut his eyes so close as not to see that many of our offices
have been filled during the late Administration with the very worst
material the country furnished; and this is the inevitable effect of party
excess. The great democratic party must be kept up, and how? By the
Administration making a democrat whenever one becomes necessary to
control an election, and this is speedily done by taking a rancorous old
federalist or monarchist, getting him to promise allegiance to the party, for
which he must be given, or promised, an office for which he is unfit, or
favored with the purchase of public land, or an Indian reservation; he
then becomes ipso facto a democrat, and is sent forth " to shoot as a
deserter " any honest man who does not choose, to every extent, to give
up his principles and become associated with a party, which has no fixed
principles, save the one " that to the victors belong the spoils."




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                315
I have felt it my duty to make these remarks to prevent, if possible,
imy constituents from being incautiously led into a trap, which I think'has been set for the people of the United States; I mean the support of a
treasury bank. Should such an one be established, and placed as it must
be, under the control of the federal executive, the power thus conferred,
when added to that already possessed, will give us to every substantial
purpose, as complete a monarchy as exists anywhere, and one which will
equal, if it does not excel, in its means of corruption, any government
known to the civilized world.
According to what we see in the public prints, Congress is to convene
on the first Monday in September next, for what purpose we are not told,
but all presume, to aid in some plan to relieve the country and the government from the existing embarrassments. Should it be my fortune to
make one of that honorabe body, I will most heartily concur in any
measure which may conform to the Constitution and be calculated to promote the welfare of the country; but I use this occasion to say, explicitly,
that I will be asked in vain, as now advised, to concur in the establishment of a treasury ban;k, because I believe it would destroy the last hope,
that your children and mine could enjoy that liberty which is their birthright.
I now proceed to make some remarks on the comments General Jackson
has seen fit to make on my deposition before the committee of investigation, of which Mr. Wise is the chairman:
In the card which preceded, by several weeks, the extensive commentary, we had a foretaste of what might be expected.
It commenced with a statement that his (the General's) attention had a
few days before been called by a friend to my deposition. As much as
to say in plain language, that until his attention was thus called to it, he
was ignorant of its contents.
This statement is not such an one as ought to have been expected from
so distinguished a man. In Washington it was repeatedly said, and I
have no doubt truly, that some of the members of that committee daily
submitted to the labor of making a copy of whatever was deposed to,
and furnished the President with it, before he retired to take his night's
repose. When the circumstances under which I was called before that
committee, what occurred before I was sworn, and the President's letter
to the committee, are considered, it is hardly within the range of probability that he should be indifferent to the matter which the deposition
contains as not to have immediately procured a copy of it. Indeed the
dates of the very certificates he publishes to counteract its contents, and
what is stated in that from Mr. Randolph, prove that he was familiar with
it long prior to the time indicated in his publication. I-Is real object, no
doubt, was to so time his publication, as to have the most effect upon our
approaching elections; some apology for delay was necessary, and the one




316           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
made is, as I think, not consistent with the high character a retired President ought ever to maintain.
His next object seems to be, to show that I acted incorrectly in saying
anything on the subject of privilege, and then submitting to be sworn as
a witness.
In endeavoring to do this, his advice, his quotations, and his statements
are so lengthy, that it is with some difficulty we can keep pace with him.
It may be that I erred in suffering myself to be sworn as a witness; but
as I had to act according to my own feeble judgment without the benefit
of his advice, I took that course which I believed to be the most correct.
The investigation of the committee had developed some facts not pleasant to those concerned; if a fair examination was persisted in, farther
disclosures would add to the unpleasantness of their situation. To avoid
this, I have no doubt, the expedient was resorted to, of having several
members of Congress, lmyself among the numrber, summoned as witnesses.
I was not summoned at the instance of any one who woished to pursue
the investigation to ascertain whether frauds had been committed or not.
The application for the summons was made by Mr. Mann, of New York,
and it was distinctly understood that he made this application at the
instance of the President. The committee had no right to issue any such
subpoena for me, and this must have been well known to gentlemen as
well informed as the President, and the majority of the committee, and
I had no doubt, they expected and hoped that I would disobey the subpcena
and refuse to be sworn; then the cry would have been raised that the
charges were all groundless; I knew it, and had refused to testify; but
all these calculations were defeated when I voluntarily appeared, protested
against the legality of the proceedings and showed a willingness to be
sworn, and at the same time distinctly stated that I understood I was
summoned at the instance of the then President and his successor, and
that if sworn must tell what I knew, confidential or otherwise.  Br.
Mann was then present, did not contradict one word that I said, and it
was evident the party was brought to a pause. After some time I was
told by the committee I could then retire, and when they wanted me I
should be notified. This gave rise to the President's letter to the committee, which has been published, and it must be seen he had so entangled
himself he could take no other course but that which his letter indicated.
I was afterwards notified to attend, did so and made the deposition of
which the President complains.
In all this it appears to me I was right. I had stated nothing either in
the Senate or elsewhere, which I did not either know or believe to be true.
On my own account, I had nothing to conceal-and, if those who had
made confidential communications would have me sworn, what must I
do? Nothing but that which I did do, tell the truth and nothing but
the truth.




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                 317
He next proceeds to that part of the deposition relative to the creation
of the office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the appointment of
Mr. Herring.
The deposition affirms that the Secretary of War induced me to introduce the bill and have it passed, upon a representation that Mr. Herring,
then at the head of the Indian bureau, with a salary of sixteen hundred dollars, was so illy qualified for the office, that the public interest was likely
to suffer —and that after the law had passed, this same individual was
appointed to the new office with the salary of three thousand dollars,
and that he was really not qualified, and that the public interest has
suffered, and then offers as matter of excuse for the secretary, that he
was probably induced to acquiesce in this appointment, by others for
electioneering purposes, &c. Now, what material part of this statement
is contradicted? Not one word of it, by either the President, or any of
his witnesses.
No man has said, or can with truth say, the secretary did not represent
him as incompetent. Nor has any one pretended he was competent.
Why did not Major Donelson or Mr. Harris testify to one or both
these points? Mr. Harris knows he was incompetent, and that in consequence of it, the public interest has suffered, and if asked, cannot say
otherwise.
In what situation then does the President's comments and testimony
place his secretary? Why, in the situation of a man who has practised
a gross fraud upon Congress to obtain the creation of a new office, and
increased salary for Mr. Herring, and had made the two chairmen of the
committees on Indian affairs his dupes to carrry such unworthy views
into effect.
I did not believe the secretary capable of such conduct, nor do I now
think so. I made such apology for him as I believed to be true, and in
that belief am not in the least shaken.
If the Indian department was intended to be used for electioneering
purposes, an incompetent man of all others was best suited for the office.
It appears to be thought as Mr. H. was a Clintonian in New York he
must have been an enemy to Mr. Van Buren's election as President.
Strange conclusion. Clinton is dead, and since his death Mr. Van Buren
is himself his friend, and pronounced to his colleagues in Congress a
high-wrought eulogy upon his worth and character.
Mr. Herring in his manners and deportment is a gentleman; I never
have heard his integrity questioned, and regret that I have been compelled to speak of him, as I have done; but truth is truth, and if any one
can conscientiously say his appointment, under the circumstances, "was
with a single eye to the public interest," then I can only say I entertain
a very different opinion.
The President states that after the law passed he had intended to




318           MIEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
nominate another individual for the office, had made out the nomination,
and was prevailed on by his secretary not to send it to the Sen-ate, and
that in conversation with me he had told me so.
To this'statement, so far as it relates to any communication of such a
fact to me, I can only say the President is undoubtedly mistaken. Neither
at the time spoken of by him, nor at any other time, did he ever communicate any such fact, nor did I ever hear of it until I read his publication.
In time past when the President has made statements of facts, which
I knew or believed to be erroneous, I was ready to find an apology for
them in what I supposed his decayed memory; but in this publication his
statements of some facts and contradiction of others are so extraordinary
that I must leave it to others to find out the cause. I hope it will not be
considered as disrespectful when I add, there is reason to believe the loss
of memory is not the only mental loss lie has sustained within the last
few years.
The attempt to get clear of the effects which he fears may be produced
by that part of the deposition relative to the dissolution of the first
cabinet in 1831, is both in the matter and manner of it well calculated to
mortify every sincere friend lie ever had. It discloses the want of memory
and mind, to an extent of which I was not aware. Formerly, although
his style was rough and generally not very good English, yet it was nervous and perspicuous. In this effort he appears bewildered, and to have
lost all distinct recollection of what occurred in the first years of his own
Administration. It is confused as to the dates of different facts and transactions, and huddles together a confused mass of matter, much of which
can have no bearing on the subject.
The deposition affirms, that when the cabinet was dissolved, the President had made up his mind that Mr. Van Buren should succeed himthat he wished to get clear of the old cabinet, and create a new one that
would be a unit towards accomplishing that object-that he did not wish
to lose sight of Major Eaton's services, and therefore desired me to be
Secretary of War, and Major Eaton to succeed me in the Senate, &c.
Now, this is all true, before God, as I religiously believe, and General
Jackson can never forget that I know it, in a mode which ought to leave
no doubt on my mind; and he certainly cannot have forgotten that he
was told by me, that if even my seat in the Senate were vacant, it would
be very difficult to procure Ma'jor Eaton's election, on account of some of
his votes while he had been a member of that bodv. He now states, that
at that time Mr. Van Buren had not been thought of as his successor.
He is entirely in error, and can perhaps correct himself; if he will recur
to ifr.'Van Btaren's letter of resignation, and other written evidence,
which either is, or ought to be, in his own possession at this time.
The old cabinet was composed of AIessrs. Van Buren, Eaton, Barry,
Berrien, Branch, and Ingham. The three first were friendly to MIr. Van




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                319
Buren's elevation, the three last were supposed not to be so, and there.
fore produced a want of harmony. The real desire was to get clear of
these gentlemen. It was supposed that if the two first resigned, the three
last would follow their example, and supersede the necessity of their dismissal. The experiment was made and failed, and the President was
driven to their dismissal, although he admitted their duties had been faithfully performed.
Now, if the truth were not as I assert, why was not Barry dismissed
also? The President did not wish to lose him, and if dismissed there
was no chance of his coming in from Kentucky.
Unfortunately for the President, but fortunately for the development
of truth, he has gone into some of the secret history of the early part of his
Administration; and among other things, states, that he had reduced to
writing the principles upon which his Administration should be conducted
-and one of these was, that no member of his cabinet should be a candidate
to succeed hiot; that this paper was shown to me, and I approved of it, &c.
Now, is not this admission proof as clear "as evidence from  Holy
Writ," that my statement is correct?  Mr. Van Buren, from March 1829,
to 1831, was a member of the cabinet; then it was determined that he
should be the candidate to succeed General Jackson, and as it was an
article in the Jacksonian creed, reduced to writing and shown to the
members of the party, and approved of by them, it became essential, that
he should cease to be a member of the cabinet, and he resigned accordingly.
If General Jackson's mind is so enfeebled that he cannot comprehend
this, I feel confident the public will understand it very fully.
These ancient reminiscences give rise to very unpleasant reflections.
Some former Administrations have been suspected of using the patronage and influence of the federal government to control public opinion in
the Presidential elections, simply because members of the cabinets had
been candidates. General Jackson and his whole party had warred
against this abuse, had represented it as a high moral and political offence,
and when he came into office he came in solemnly pledged to reform this
most gross, demoralizing, and alarming abuse of power; and to assure
his friends he would carry out this principle in practice, his creed containing this article was reduced to writing, and shown to myself and others,
and, I approved of it.
True as gospel!, I approved it then, ever since, and never saw the necessity for it so strongly as now.
How has thlis solemn pledge been kept?  To the ear only, but to the
sense most shamefully, openly and notoriously violated.
If Mr. Van Buren had continued in the cabinet, and been a candidate
to succeed General Jackson, it would have been suspected that the
patronage and influence of the government was used to elect him. To




320           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
avoid this suspicion he must resign, and then openly and notoriously this
very patronage and influence is brought to bear with its whole force upon
public opinion, and through this means he is elected; and I and all others
who will not say this is right, and in conformity with the Jackson deInocratic creed, are to be excommunicated, and, to use the New York phraseology, "shot as deserters;" that is, calumniated out of all the character
we ever had.
But the General says, that my statement of his using the appointing
power to bring in Mr. Van Buren is unfounded, because after that time
he appointed my step-son, at my instance, to an office, and that he also
appointed many other of my friends.
This statement is calculated to deceive if unexplained. It is true that
at my instance he appointed Mr. Frost secretary to the French commission, and about the same time may have appointed other officers upon
my recommendation, and I have the gratification of believing that Mr.
Frost discharged all the duties pertaining to the office with integrity and
ability.
At the time this appointment was made I was in full communion with
the church, as the President supposed, my name had never been thought
of as a candidate, so far as I was informed; and he no doubt believed
that whenever he and those he could control changed their creed, I would
change my creed likewise, and he never was convinced to the contrary,
until after his attempt upon me through Mr. Bradley, which was in the
autumn of 1834.
If the President or any of his new party will give me the name of any
avowed friend of mine having been appointed to office cafter it owas knowon
I had consented that my name might be used as a candidcate, other than
some one whose opinion was changed, or expected to be changed, by
virtue of such appointment, I will thank them for it.
I too well know the names of some, who professed to be my friends,
having received offices immediately preceding the election, and that they
changed their opinions and became loyal members of the democratic party,
whose whole creed is comprised in the few words, " to the victors belong
the spoils."
This political simony is the very thing of which I and my friends
complain, and if either the white people or the Indians, or both, do not
in the end, find that they have a hard bargain of some of these " patent
democrats," I shall be very much and agreeably disappointed.
It is admitted in the commentary upon the deposition that a conversation was held with me in relation to appointing Mr. Clayton upon a
committee, but it is alleged this conversation was at another time and
related to some other committee.
This allegation is founded in error. The conversation was at the time,
and related to his appointment upon the committee, mentioned in the




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.               321
deposition, and to no other, and the substance of that conversation is correctly stated in the deposition. If it had been. at another time, and in
relation to another committee, why was not the other time and committee mentioned?
It is asked why I did not give the names of the other members of the
committee? The answer is so ready that I am surprised it should be
asked; it is, because no request was made of me as to any other members
of the Senate, and the very reason I placed Mr. Clayton on the committee
was, that it is in conformity with parliamentary law, to so constitute a
committee as to give the proposed measure the fairest chance to be put in
such a shape as that it will pass. From Mr. Clayton's talents, his liberality of sentiment, the position of his State in the Union, and his known
influence with his political friends, I believed his course would have a
most decided influence on the fate of the bill, and in this belief I was not
disappointed. I very naturally concluded the President, and all others as
attentive as he was to what was constantly passing, would form the like
opinion.
My wish was to give upon the committee a fair representation of every
interest and party in the Union, under the hope that they would agree
upon some compromise, and if they did, and the law should pass, it would
most likely be acceptable to the nation.
Mr. Clay was a tariff man, had introduced the bill, was from the West,
and was placed as chairman; Mr. Webster from the East, a tariff man;
Mr. Clayton from a Middle State, and friendly to the tariff; and these
three were national republicans; Mr. Calhoun from the South, a nullifier
and anti-tariff; Mr. Grundy from the West, a nullifier and anti-tariff likewise; Mr. Dallas from a Middle State, and a tariff man, and Mr. Rives
from a Southern State, and anti-tariff. The four first named of these gentlemen were opposed to the Administration and the three last friendly to it.
The bill was a measure proposed by an opposition member, who in my
judgment was entitled to be chairman, and to have a majority who would
probable be inclined to favor his measure.
Thus, a view is given of the whole committee, their politics and a
summary of the reasons for their selection, and who can say it was
wrong?  No one except some person who thinks a presiding officer, in
party times, should be a mere party hack, who would disregard the parliamentary law, the interest of the country, and pack a committee who
would stifle a measure lest his party might lose some influence by its
adoption.
The venerable ex-president thinks that all who know him will believe
if I had stated to him what the deposition imports, he would have given
a suitable reply, &c.
My own opinion is, he did conduct, in the only manner which was suitable, and it ought to be remembered if he had made what he would in21




322          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
sinuate would have been a suitable reply, it could have received a suitable rejoinder.
This idle vaunt is all lost upon me. There is no man who knows the
ex-president has more confidence in his chivalry and readiness to resent
an insult, than I have-but at the same time, the history of his life will
show, that whenever he intends to make such a reply as might provoke
controversy, he has always timed it so prudently, that there should be a
sufficient number of persons present to prevent ill temper from producing
bad consequences. There were none present but he and I; no insult was
either offered or intended; but I did mean, as I hope I always shall, to
state my sentiments precisely as they were, without stopping to consider
whether they would be acceptable or not.
The statement in the deposition relative to Mr. Stevenson, it is said, is
a fabrication.  This is a very simple mode of getting clear of an unpleasant point. The General is mistaken, the facts occurred as detailed,
and the gentleman who was the bearer of the message, must have strange
and unpleasant sensations, when he reads the charge made by the general, that the story is a fabrication. He may make new friends by such
charges, but by them, he must stagger the faith of old ones. Had the
committee asked the name of the gentleman, I should have felt bound to
have given it, and he could have been examined, but they did not, and I
am sure the General can have no need of the name, as he must well remember it, and far be it from me uselessly to drag any individual before
the public.
The General next proceeds to controvert the statements made by Mr,
Bradley in his letter, a copy of which was attached to my deposition.
That Mr. Bradley's statement is strictly true, I have no more doubt
than I would have had, if I had been present and heard the conversation
between him and the President, and I do not believe, among, the whole
circle of his numerous acquaintances, one man can be found who, in his
heart, believes him capable of making such a statement, if it were not
strictly true. The General has, at least, brought nothing to counteract it,
but the statements of his two travelling companions: and according to
their own account of the matter the whole conversation and propositions
might have been repeated ten times over, while Mr, Bradley and the
President were together, and those two gentlemen not have heard one
word of it.
The relation in which Mr. Bradley stood to me, our known intimacy,
the part he has acted in the legislature of 1833, at my instance, in relation to my nomination, his detailing to several gentlemen, whose names
are given by him, this very conversation with the President, immediately
after it took place, the suppor4. it derives from the testimony of Mr. Pey.
ton and Col. Standifer, place the statement beyond the reach of doubt in
any mind desirous to ascertain truth.




HIs RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                323
The fact, no doubt, is, that the General has determined that in his biography his character shall appear to posterity, to have been aperfect onehe thinks this proposition, and several other disclosures which have been
made, will not well bear examination, when the heat of the moment
shall have passed away, and wishes to get clear of the effects to be produced by them: Let me assure him he will never mend the matter by his
fiat contradictions of every man, who does not testify to suit his wishes.
His biographer, if he be honest, in enumerating the many excellent and
striking traits in his character, will not put it down, that in his latter
days, he was a correct narrator of matters of fact.
IHe next passes to the statement respecting Mr. Huntsman, and produces
a number of certificates to disprove the statement made by Col. O'Brien
and Mr. Carriger. With an enlightened public, such certificates can have
no effect. O'Brien and Carriger are men of excellent character, could
have no inducement to fabricate such a statement; they positively
assert, they did hear the President make the statement respecting MIr.
Huntsman; his certifiers only say, that they did not hear it. Had he
obtained an hundred such certficates, the facts would still remain
proved to be true.
But on this part of the subject, the ex-president is peculiarly unfortunate; he has taken some pains to prove that he did not reach Jonesborough for some days after I had passed that place, and had made my
speech, in which I should have stated, that he had said Mr. Huntsman
was on the fence, &c. He therefore argues, that it is absurd to suppose
I could know what he would say three days after I had made that
speech.
Now, the facts are, that I was in Jonesborough about the 20th July,
1836 —dined there, and made a very short speech, in which Mr. Huntsman's name was never mentioned, and which never was published. The
President reached that place about the 22d July, and then ~made the statement respecting lMr. Huntsman. Some days afterwards, Col. O'Brien
came to Knoxville, and while there, repeated to me what the President
had said, and on the 31st August, 1836, 1 made a speech at Knoxville,
which was published; in which Istated the liberty which had been taken
with Mr. Huntsman's name. In addressing the President, Mr. Huntsman, in his letter, by mistake, says my speech was made in Jonesborough
when he ought to have said Knoxville. As soon as Mr. Huntsman showed me his correspondence with the President, I addressed him a note,
which was appended to my deposition. This note of mine to Mr. Huntsman, no doubt was perused, when the other parts of the deposition were
under examination, and I leave it to the public to judge, from what motive
it has been suppressed, and a miserable quibble resorted to, which I must
think, could not be creditable to a pettifogger.
It must be painful to any sincere friend of the ex-president, to see the




324           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
infatuation under which he seems to act, owing, no doubt, to the influence artful and designing men have obtained over him. In almnost every
paragraph he writes, something can be found to take from the high character we were generally disposed to ascribe to hinm.  Look at his statement, even now, in relation to Col. Peyton's conduct relative to the Cherokee treaty. He set out in the first instance, by asserting that Col. Peyton both spoke and voted against an appropriation to carry it into effect.
He was told by those who knew better, and in whom he ought to have
confided, that he was misinformed, that Col. Peyton had not only voted
for, but had made an excellent speech in favor of the appropriation. IIe
still persisted in a repetition of his assertions, and even now, after he,
and every other intelligent man, ought to be possessed of the most authentic information, proving his error; he persists in asserting to the
world that although Mr. Peyton voted for the appropriation, he had made
an argument against it. If any member of Congress has practised upon
his credulity, and caused him to be the retailer of such a glaring mistake,
his name ought to be known, that he might be shunned by every honorable man.
The General supposes that Mr. Wise and Colonel Peyton, who were my
messmates and friends, were stimulated and advised by me to pursue the
course which they did in Congress. I do not think hard of this suspicion,
although it is unfounded in fact, and both these gentlemen know it, yet
we were messmates for the two last winters, and I am proud to believe I
had their most sincere friendship. They certainly had mine. The General ought, in charity to the country, to believe that there are yet some
few men, who would not be dictated to in the discharge of their public
duties, by either him or myself. Wise and Peyton are two of them;
talented, well-informed, honest, bold, and men who fearlessly discharged
their whole duty, in defiance of all the calumnies of degraded and hired
presses, the frowns of those who sat in high places, and even the statements of the Chief Magistrate himself, that they ought to be "H IIoustonized."
Their names will be hailed as the dauntless friends and champions of
civil liberty, in after times, when the political course of some of their
revilers will be spoken of, as the severest affliction with which our
beloved country has ever been visited. To have obtained the friendship
of such men, is one of the most prized achievements of my whole life.
Their course relative to the investigations spoken of, was the dictate of
their own judgment. Their country ought to thank them for it. They
have elicited enough to show fuller investigations are necessary, that
something is probably wrong, otherwise so many obstructions would not
have been thrown in the way of ascertaining truth; and when we shall
have a Chief Magistrate who will lend his aid to a fair and faithful investigation, I firmly believe it will be found the public has been deceived and




HIS RELATIONS TO GENERAL JACKSON.                325
injured to an extent of which not one citizen in one thousand has any
conception.
For myself, I most solemnly declare, I have not either in the Senate, or
elsewhere, uttered one sentence relative to thte supposed abuses which I did
not know or believe to be true; and if after a thorough investigation, by
an impartial, not a packed committee, it can be shown that my suspicions are unfounded-I would consider it one of my first duties, publicly
to acknowledge my error.
The General at the close of his address intimates that he has attained an
advanced age, has infirm health and desires repose. Why, then, the statements before leaving Washington, that he intended to feast this summer
upon John Bell and myself-that Tennessee should stand erect, in her
politics, in less than six months?
As I believe, he has come home determined to destroy every man who
dared to differ with him in opinon as to his successor, and that is the
experiment he is now making. If it be his will, let him proceed. Angry
discussion can never add to my comfort, it may to his. Our temperament and aim are, as I believe, a little different. I endeavor to take facts
as I know or believe them to exist, and meet all the responsibility they
justly throw upon me. In the temper he now is, and with enfeebled
facunties, he views everything as an enemy that stands in the road of his
ambition.   He personifies truth, justice and everything else which
obstructs his course, and attacks them with all that gallantry, with which
he assails political or personal opponents. He has determined he will
die having the character of a great man. While my highest ambition is
to die conscious that I deserve the reputation of an honest one.
Your fellow citizen,
HUGu L. WITE.
Jzuly 2I, 1837.
JACKSON, July 1st, 1887.
DEAR Sin: Upon reading Gen. Jackson's review of your testimony, I
discovered that it seems to be considered a matter of importance in
regard to the place where you made the speech, in which you alluded to
the statement of O'Brien. I had not your speech before me at Washington city, when I addressed Gen. Jackson upon that subject, consequently
I had to depend upon recollection only as to the place. Since I came
home I have had reference to your speech, and find it was del'vered at
Knoxville, instead of Jonesboro', as I had first supposed, when my letter
to the General was written. This may serve to correct the mistake by
me in this particular.
With much respect, yours,
A. HUNTSMAN
loN. HI. L. WHITE




326           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
This reply, addressed to the freemen of Tennessee, was reckoned a
satisfactory disposal of the charges iMentioned in it.  We add a letter
addressed to its author in reference to it, shortly after its publication:
*  * *  " I hope to meet you at the opening of the special session of
Congress; but I cannot without violence to my feelings permit the occasion to pass, without thanking you most sincerely for your masterly'Address to theFreemen of Tennessee.' The ex-president has at no time,
nor by any person, been so severely handled, and so fully exposed. I
think he will be advised not to enter the field of controversy again with
you, hereafter. * * * You have done no more than justice to Mr.
Clayton, in the part he took in the passage of the Compromise Bill. I
was advised fiom day to day of every important proposition that was
made in the committee, and out of it; and I say without hesitation, that
if Mr. Clayton had not been on the committee, the Compromise Bill would
not have passed.
"His geographical residence gave him an influence over both the Northern and the Southern members; but aside from this, there was no man, in
or out of Congress, within my knowledge, so well calculated to conciliate
the contending parties and interests on that great and momentous occasion, involving the fate of the nation, as was Mr. Clayton.
" His intelligence, his pure intentions, his firmness, his urbane manners,
his enlarged national views, and his talents, rarely equalled, qualified him
for that occasion. All the faculties of his mind were brought into exercise; for on the fate' of the compromise depended, in his judgment,
the fate of the Union.
* *  *  i' Gen. Jackson did not wish any compromise of the question.
He had no personal objection to Mr. Clayton, as a member of the committee, and in sending to you, he was influenced by a third person, who
was hostile to Mr. Clayton.
"The President wished an opportunity to subdue the disaffected in
South Carolina, and then it was his intention to propitiate the South by
reducing the Tariff at once. The bill gained strength from a desire to
defeat his intentions in both particulars mentioned.
Very sincerely and respectfully yours,
E. WHITTLESEY."




CHAPTER XV.
CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.
THE estimate placed upon Judge White's character and services by
his State and his country is evidenced by the movement in favor of
his election to the Presidency; for he did not become a candidate voluntarily.
There was a strong wish on the part of the Tennessee legislature,
in 1833, to nominate him for that high office, but he withheld his
assent, and took pains to discourage the movement, and even went so
far as to leave it in charge with some of his friends in that body to
prevent such a nomination, if attempted in his absence. After his
name had been freely used in other parts of the country, the meeting
of the Tennessee delegates took place in Washington city. This was
not a movement exclusively on the part of his Tennessee friends. At
the time, they supposed, and had a right to believe, that he could
and would be successfully sustained, and that his Presidency would be
the inauguration of a new era in the government. At the time they
moved in his behalf, they had assurances of many, not to say of all
the leading Jackson men, in every Southern State, that he would be
supported. Some of them were a little coy, but still they were relied
on, and encouraged the movement.
Judge White was known to have been opposed to all the leading
measures and policy of the whigs of the Northern States. He was
the friend of Gen. Jackson, had supported all his leading measures,
and it was not natural to suppose that he would detach himself from
his fortunes. This point was fully discussed between them and his
friends, and was an obstacle to their support; but it was conceded by
all that he was a safe man, without intrigue or management, and as
his course had always been dignified and liberal towards them, they
were resolved to overlook this objection to him, as they greatly pre327




328          MEMOIR OF HUGtH LAWSON  WHITE.
ferred him to Mr. Van Buren. The main reliance, however, was upon
the South, which there was every reason to calculate would be united.
A few States at the North, or even one large State there would thus
have secured his election. That many in that section were casting
their eyes hopefully toward Judge White as a pure and available
candidate, may be inferred from various letters received by him
about this period.  One from  Condy Raguet, has already been
given.  Below follows an extract from another, which may be considered at its date (whatever artificial direction may afterwards have
been given to popular feeling), to have represented the sentiments of
no small number of true and honest men.
DORCHESTER, Apr. 27, 1884.
Will you permit me to add, sir, that your opinions and sentiments in
reference to the topics of these pamphlets [sent with' the letter] will be
received with great respect by all who are interested in them; and that a
personal visit to Massachusetts by you,would afford the highest gratification
to some of her citizens. There are some, if not many, who are seeking
for an individual on whom to bestow their suffrages, whose moral and
political character will furnish a guaranty of the perpetuation of what
still remains of the patrimony of liberty, and who will firmly resist those
intrigues and blandishments which have solnetimes seduced those we
had confided in, from the paths of Constitutional Republicanism.
With great respect, &c.,
SAMUEL WHITCOMB, JR.
Of Judge White's answer to this letter-an answer containing no
reference to the suggestions just given, but discussing some remarks
on Labor, Capital and Society in a former portion of it —we give a portion, valuable for clear views and strong good sense.
*  *  *  We need but one distinction in our society, and that ought
never to be lost sight of. It is the distinction between vice and virtue.
If a man's occupation is lawful, useful to himself and his fellow-men, honestly and diligently followed, he ought to be esteemed respectable; every
one ought to be pleased with his prosperity; and the road to trust and
honor ought always be open to him. We know, however, in fact, that
those who own capital are always seeking profitable investments for it;
that the owners have acted, and will act in concert, and that by doing
so,'hey have more actual influence in directing all the operations of gov



CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   329
ernment, than ten, nay, twenty times their number, without spare capital,
and compelled to pursue some honest and useful occupation for a living.
This is not just, but I know of no corrective for the evil so likely to be
effectual as by all means to enable and encourage this latter class to better their condition, and increase their information, as to the political
concerns of the country.
In our government there is a thirst for office that is alarming. If this
originated in a wish to be useful to the country generally, or in the wish
to gratify personal pride by occupying places of distinction, it might be
well; but there is reason to fear that in too many instances it has its
origin in a wish to make the operations of the government subservient to
the pecuniary interest of those in public life, their friends and connections. If this latter be the motive, a mere reduction of salary would not
correct the evil, because an unworthy occupant will always make sufficient individual gain, by sacrificing whatever public property or interest
may be committed to his charge.
Everything which tends to the dissemination of useful information
among that class of individuals who have to labor for a living, and to
make it convenient for them to act in concert, when their peculiar interests are likely.to be assailed or sacrificed, would in my opinion be an improvement in the condition of our society; and in no instance ought any
man to be placed in office who is not honest, capable and habitually attentivo to his business.
Sound morals, as well as sound politics, and permanent truth, are most
eminently in point at the present day.
Judge White signified his willingness to be nominated for the
Presidency on the 20th December, 1834. The Tennessee delegation
in Congress had requested his decision in the following letter: —
WASnINaTON, Dec. 29, 1834.
DEAR Si:-You cannot be unapprised that for some time past your
name has been frequently mentioned as a desirable person to succeed the
present Chief Magistrate of the United States.
Being your colleagues in Congress since the commencement of the
present session, we have been repeatedly asked what were the sentiments
of our own State upon that subject, and more frequently, what w.ere
your own wishes, and what would likely to be your course, should public
opinion seem to require the use of your name as a candidate, and fears
are often expressed that you would not give your consent.
Upon this latter point we are at some loss what answer to give.
It is our wish not to deceive ourselves, or to be the means of deceiving




330           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
others. We will therefore esteem it a favor if you will put us in posses.
sion of your wishes and determinations.
Very respectfully, sir,
We are your oot. servts.
WM. M. INGE,
BALIE PEYTON,.JAMES STANDIFER,
JOHN BLAIR,
W. C. DUNLAP,
SAML. BUJNCH,
JNo. BELL,
DAVID CROCKETT,
JoHN B. FORRESTER,
LUKE LEA,
DAVID W. DICKENSON.
Judge White's answer was this, dated next day:
GENTLEMEN: —Your note dated yesterday was handed me a few
minutes since.
I am aware that for some time past my name has been occasionally
mentioned in our own State and elsewhere, for the office you mention.
I had never supposed it would be so far acceptable to the public, as to
render an application to me necessary to ascertain my wishes or determination.
Not having taken any pains to ascertain public opinion upon that subject, I am, perhaps, less acquainted with the sentiments even of our own
State than any of my colleagues. As to my own wishes and determination, I can have no difficulty in giving you an answer.
I am not conscious that at any moment of my life, I have ever wished
to be President of the United States. I have never knowingly uttered
a sentence, or done an act, for the purpose of inducing any person to
think of me for that distinguished station. When the duties and responsibilities of the office are considered, in my opinion it is an object more
to be avoided than desired. I shall certainly never seek it while I have
so little confidence in my own capacity to discharge the duties of it, as I
now have.
Those for whose benefit it was created, have a right to fill it with any
citizen they may prefer, provided he is eligible by the Constitution; and
the person who would refuse to accept such an office, if offered by the
people of the United States, ought to have a much stronger hold upon
public opinion, than I can ever hope to possess.
My most anxious wish is, that in any use you may think proper to make
of my name, you may lose sight of every consideration except the public




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                  331
interest. I have not had any agency in causing it to be used, and I do
not feel that I would be justified in directing the use of it to be discontinued. I can, however, with truth say, that if those political friends
who have used it thus far, shall have reason to believe that a further use of
it will be an injury, instead of a benefit to the country, and may choose to
withdraw it, they will have my hearty concurrence.
I am, most respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Hu. L. WHITE.
This permission having been given, Judge White was formally
nominated for the Presidency of the United States by the Legislature
of Tennessee, on the 16th and 17th of October, 1835, by the adoption
of the following preamble and resolutions:
WHEREAS, the people of the State of Tennessee in 1822, in 1825, and
again in 1827, animated by a sincere determination to support those cardlinal doctrines and principles which had distinguished the true republican party from the commencement of the federal government, up to
that period, and also to correct and reform those practices which appeared
to be erroneous, and to constitute abuses in the policy and adminstration
of the government, brought forward General Andrew Jackson, our
present distinguished Chief Magistrate, as a person qualified by his principles, energy, and great popularity, to effect these objects. And wohereas,
among the most important of these objects were: 1st. To secure to the
people the exercise of the right of suffrage in the election of the President of the United States, independent of the influence and dictation of
caucus nominations. 2d. To resist the establishment of the practice of
electing the President of the United States according to any plan of regular succession among the great functionaries of the government. 3d. The
limitation and control of executive patronage within such safe and expedient bounds as to secure the freedom and purity of the elective franchise against all undue official influences.  And whereas, we are firmly
persuaded that the principles upon which General Jackson was originally nominated and supported for the Presidency, by the people of the
State of Tennessee, have lost nothing of their truth or importance by
the lapse of time, and change of circumstances, we feel impelled by a
proper regard for consistency, now, when again called upon to reconsider
them in reference to the choice of a successor, or to re-affirm them by
a renewed and solemn declaration.
In the organization and proceedings of the late Baltimore Convention
we perceive the same violation of the spirit of the Constitution, the same
tendency to a usurpation of the rights and powers of the people in the




332           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
election of President, the same spirit of intrigue, the same liability in the
members to be corrupted and influenced in their course by the promise
and expectation of office, which we saw in the organization and proceedings of the Congressional caucus in 1823, and then condemned in the
most public and solemn manner.
And whereas, no individual has been presented to the consideration of
the American people as a candidate for the next Presidency, whose
character and political opinions afford the same guarantee for the maintenance of those principles which brought General Jackson into office,
and for carrying out the principal measures of his administration, and
which so well accord with the political sentiments of the people of Tennessee, as set forth in this preamble, as our fellow citizen, HUGGH LAWSON
WHITE-therefore,
Resolved, That HuGn LAwsoN WHITE be recommended to the people
of the United States as a man eminently qualified to fill the office of
President.
Resolved, That we approve generally of the principles and policy, both
foreign and domestic, of the administration of the federal government
during the term of service of our present distinguished Chief Magistrate,
General Andrew Jackson.
EPHRAIM IH. FOSTER,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
JONATHAN WEBSTER,
Speaker of the Senate.
Adopted in the House on the 16th, and concurred in by the Senate on
the 17th of October, 1835.
These proceedings were communicated to Judge White in the
following letter, dated Nashville, Oct. 22, 1833:
To THE HON. HUGyH L. WHITE:
SIR: The undersigned have been appointed a joint committee of both
houses of the General Assembly, to inform you that the people of the
State of Tennessee have by their representatives nominated you to their
fellow-citizens of the United States, for the office of Chief Magistrate.
This duty, we conceive, will be best discharged by communicating to
you the preamble and resolutions adopted by both houses of the General
Assembly. From them you will learn the principles on which the nomination was made. These, as also the attending circumstances, we take
leave to say, appear to us no less honorable to the people of the State
than to yourself. By this act, they have shown a discrimination and
devotion to principle, worthy the imitation of posterity.
We avail ourselves of this occasion to tender to you the assurances of




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                  333
our esteem and veneration for your character, and our ardent wishes for
your personal happiness.
WM. LEDBETTER,  Committee on
ROBT. H. HYNDS, the part of the
TERRY H. CAHAL. Senate.
ADDISON A. ANDERSON,
WMl. MCCLAIN,
GRANVILLE D. SEAROY,
LION ROGERS,
COmmittce on
G. W. CHUIRCHWELL,
HARVEY M. WATTERSON,art  f the
WM. B. CAMPBELL,
J. A. MABRY,
CHARLES READY,
ROBERTSON ToPP.      J
To this communication Judge White responded in the following
dignified letter, dated Nashville, Oct. 23, 1835:
GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication under date of yesterday, inclosing a copy of a preamble
and resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Tennesee, recommending me as a suitable person to succeed the present Chief Magistrate
of the United States.
To receive evidence at any time that the representatives of the people
of my own State continue to repose confidence in me would be highly
gratifying; but at this particular time, and after such multiplied efforts
have been unceasingly made from various quarters to destroy my reputa-.
tion, to receive such testimony of increased confidence is matter calculated to call forth my most profound acknowledgments.
Some of those who are members of the present General Assembly, and
who were members of the same body two years ago, can bear testimony
to the fact that I earnestly endeavored to prevent my name from being
submitted to the American people for the highest office within their gift,
but my efforts have been unavailing. A state of things has been produced which induces a portion of my political friends to believe the
interest of the country would be promoted by the use of my name as a
candidate, and when applied to on various occasions, I have given my
consent, and I now take this opportunity to state that this consent will
not be withdrawn.
In common with a large majority of the citizens of Tennessee, 1 was an
humble advocate of the principles set forth in the preamble to ynur




334           TYMEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WItITE.
resolutions. Time andl increased experience have tended to confirm me
in the opinion that on the maintenance of these principles the liberties
of the people of the United States essentially depend.
From the formation of the Federal Constitution, up to this time, there
have been parties in the United States. Where they are separated upon
principle the members of each may honestly believe the permanent welfare of the country depends upon having the government administered
upon the principles which they advocate, and may honorably use every
fair effort to elevate their own party, and put down their opponents.
But when an attempt is made to create a party not founded upon ally
settled political principles, composed of men belonging to every political
sect, having no common bond of unity save that of a wish to place one of
themselves in the highest office known to the Constitution, for the purpose of having all the honors, offices, and emoluments of the government
distributed by him among his followers, I consider such an association,
whether composed of many or of few, a inerefcaction, which ought to be
resisted by every man who loves his country, and wishes to perpetuate
its liberty.
To conciliate the favor, or procure the support, of any man or set of
men, belonging to ally party, I lhave not changed, nor agreed to change,
any one political principle I ever avowed. Those upon which I have
heretofore practised shall continue to be my guide in whatever situation
I may be placed, so long as I believe them to be correct; disdaining, as
I hope I ever shall, an attempt to win my way to power upon one set of
principles, and then to practice upon another.
Through you I beg leave to tender to the General Assembly my unfeigned and heartfelt thanks for this additional evidence of their continued
and unbroken confidence, and for yourselves be pleased to accept the
assurance that I am, with sentiments of the highest respect,
Your most obedt. servt.,
Hu. L. WITrE.
The President, upon finding that he had been foiled in his efforts
to influence Judge White to become a candidate on the Van Buren
ticket for Vice-President, or to accept a seat on the Supreme bench,
now began to use the patronage of the government to seduce fiom
Judge White's interest some of the leading men in the Southern
States. The plea urged by them for withdrawing from Judge White's.support was, that, by running more than one man, the great republican party would be divided, and that unless Judge White obtained
the nomination of the Baltimore Convention, they could not sustain
him. Had General Jackson's election depended upon a caucus nomination, he would never have been President; but he entertained




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                  335
different views at that time; and when first presented by the people
of Tennessee and Pennsylvania did not prohibit the use of his name,
although there were no less than three other candidates in the field,
besides himself; Mr. Clay, Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Adams.
General Jackson having decided upon his course, his confidential
friends, the Editor of the Globe, and Major Donelson, his private secretary, circulated a statement that the contest in this canvass would
really be between him and Judge White. The Van Buren papers
spoke confidently of Judge White's defeat even in Tennessee. This
prediction, as they affirmed, was based upon General Jackson's preference for Mr. Van Buren. Neither Judge White nor his friends
gave any attention to these movements; and General Jack-son, in the
confidence of his power over the minds of the people of Tennessee,
took occasion fully to define his position through a letter to the Rev.
Samuel Gwinn, in which he advocated the Baltimore Convention. It
was then said in Washington (alluding to this letter), that a document
had been sent to Tennessee, which would settle the matter there.
This Convention-which assembled at Baltimore on the 20th May
-had been gotten up for the express purpose of nominating Mr. Van
Buren, who very naturally received its unanimous vote. The three
States of Alabama, Illinois, and South Carolina, were not represented
in the Convention. As the President had recommended this Convention to his Tennessee friends, a failure on their part to appoint
delegates, created such a universal regret in that assembly, as to
induce a Mr. Rucker, a gentleman from Tennessee then accidentally
present, and invited to act as delegate, to cast fifteen votes for the
State, and thereby to secure Col. R. M. Johnson's nomination for the
Vice-Presidency. To show the invalidity of this vote, it is only necessary to insert Mr. Rucker's own letter to the Editors of the Nashville
Union, explanatory of his conduct on this occasion.
You will discover my name introduced into the proceedings of the
Baltimore Convention. To prevent all misunderstanding, I make the
following statement: I was not delegated to act in that convention. I
happened in Baltimore at the time of its sitting, and after the delegates
from the different States had their credentials examined by the committee
appointed for that purpose, there appeared to be no one present representing Tennessee. This circumstance seemed to be deeply regretted by
many, and upon its being mentioned that I was there, and a Tennessean,
it was suggested by some that I might vote, which I accordingly did.
E. RPucsuR.




336           MEMOIR OF HIUG   LAWSON WHITE.
This latitudinarian proceeding gave rise to the phrase "Ruckerize,"
which was then and afterwards used to describe that and other similar contrivances.
It was supposed that the decision of the Baltimore Convention, and
the Gwinn letter, would have the effect of causing Judge White's
friends to make the issue between him and Gen. Jackson, which was
so desirable to the friends of Mr. Van Buren. Charges of cowardice,
and want of chivalry, in not assailing the President at once, with
various taunts and epithets of abuse, such as " disorganizers, intriguers,
anti-republicans," were heaped upon that portion of the community
which could not perceive the justice, or acknowledge the truth of the
accusation that Judge White had lost his claim to the names of a
good republican and a virtuous citizen, by consenting to become a
candidate for the Presidency. It now seemed that all their efforts
were about to prove abortive. The Gwinn letter had failed-the
hoped-for issue had not been secured-and other means must be
resorted to-the work must be accomplished.
The public mails were soon flooded with " Globes " and extras, containing most virulent attacks upon Judge White, with specific charges,
of " bargain, intrigue and corruption," between Judge White and Mr.
Bell, and Judge White and the opposition. These papers bore the
President's frank.  The dishonorable course of the Administration, in this firanking privilege, became necessarily subject to the animadversions of the public press. Even then, Judge White's friends
were willing to believe, and to avow their belief, that Gen. Jackson's
confidence had been abused and his name used in this illegal way
by designing men. Investigation proved this supposition to be correct, to some extent. However, when suspicion settled upon Major
Donelson, the President's private secretary, Gen. J. wrote a second
Gwinn letter, asserting that he had never franked any packages for
Major Donelson, without a perfect knowledge of their contents, and
contending, that the packages contained public documents, though it
was notorious and has been fully proven that they were those malicious
assaults upon Judge White, which have just been mentioned.
These things transpired a little before the State elections; and one
object evidently was, to influence those elections in such a manner, as
to secure a legislature, subject to the will of the party in power-and
who would relieve it of Judge White's opposition in the Senate, by
passing resolutions instructing him to vote for Mr. Benton's expunging
resolutions. To insure success in this experiment, the copies of the




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN  BUREN.                  337
Globe, containing Col. Benton's speech on these resolutions, were
franked by the President to many members of the legislature, and
letters were written by him to Mr. Brown, and A. O. P. Nicholson,
complaining that "Judge White had not only failed to take part in
his defence, but had moved to strike out the word' expunge,' and all
the reasons on which Mr. Benton's motion rested."
In his course %p this subject, Judge White was sustained by many
distinguished members of the Jackson party, viz., King of Ala., King
of Ga., Cuthbert, Buchanan, McKeever, Tipton and Hendricks. What
was a virtue in them was a crime in him. His political enemies were
not yet fully aware of the materials of which the Tennessee legislature was composed, and their great desire to expel Judge White only
made his fiiends more resolved to sustain him. They had elected him
a few months before, with a full knowledge of this objection, and could
not be induced to instruct him to act differently. So, instead of holding his seat by the President's endorsement, he unexpectedly held it
in defiance of his protest.
Col. E. H. Foster, writing to Judge White, date Nashville, Feb. 26,
1836, gives the following graphic account of the struggle in the legislature of Tennessee, to manoeuvre through the instructions to vote
for expunging, and the resolutions to withdraw Judge White's nomination:
In other matters, a very large majority of that legislature who
elected you, sir,'with one voice, have proudly distinguished this noble
State before the whole American Republic. They have withstood alike
the persuasions and the threats of the strongest arm in the nation, and
that mighty arm laid bare and unblushingly held up to the gaze of all,
that nothing of its overwhelming effects on popular love and veneration
might be lost-that arm, hitherto and perhaps still invincible, was laid
upon you and your friends. Thank God, here we have thus far withstood its withering, destructive, paralyzing force, and we stand proudly
erect after the storm has spent its violence and wasted its strength. How
happy I am in the reflection I leave your own patriotic feelings to paint.
* * * The " expunging resolutions " had been suffered to sleep in quiet
for the space of near a five-month. Meanwhile, as you have no doubt
heard, no means were left untried to gain friends indoors and without.
The people were invoked, and Gen. Jackson's reputation, like Caesar's
pierced and bloody mantle, was held up before them. Public meetings
were called, and private memorials circulated. They sought to seduce
the ignorant by misrepresentation, and to allure others by promises and
22




338           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
flatteries. Gen, Jackson, as you may have seen, did not think it out of
the way to address himself personally, and by strong appeals, to many
members of the legislature, and among thema to some who must have
been designated by some shrewd friend at Washington (the Speaker of
the House, we suppose here), for they had never had the honor to see ox
be seen by the President, and were surprised-not flattered off by the distinction. Well, the session was fast drawing to a close, and the Van
Buren leaders (not bad tacticians, I assure you), determined on an effort.
Friday, the 12th instant, they [the expunging resolutions, Ed.] were
called for, and notwithstanding many of your friends, anxious for the
fight, voted with the enemy to bring them up, the call failed. Not to be
out-done, or disappointed in all hopes of making something by a discussion
that might bring your name into angry collision with the President's, they
then called for Col. Johnson's "' Te lcudamus " resolutions. The call succeeded, and the forgotten and long-neglected paper, almost covered with
dust and cobweb, was dragged to light.  The question was on the
amendment in lieu of the whole, offered by Mr. Whiteside, when the paper
came from the Senate last October. Mr. Ridley obtained the floor, and
moved to amend Mr. Whiteside's amendment, by engrafting on it most
of the servile matter contained in the original resolutions. Mr. Martin,
of Madison, inquired if a motion to amend the original would take precedence of a motion to amend the amendment? Being answered from
the chair in the affirmative, he proposed an additional resolution approving " both generally and specially," the President's proclamation against
South Carolina nullification; " not " as he observes, " that he approved of
the reasoning or the doctrine contained in that paper, either in whole or
in part; for he had made, and still made open-day war against the instrument, its logic and its conclusions, and his arm would never be grounded;
but he felt a desire to try the stomachs of some of his ovei'-righteous,
wvhole-hog Jackson friends, and as the occasion fitted so well, he could
not forego the pleasure, or the malice, as gentlemen might choose to call
it, of making the experiment." If a whizzing little bomb had fallen on the
floor, it would not have produced more amazement in certain quarters,
than this villainous amendment did. Mr. Humphreys, Mr; Overton, and Mr.
Allen, of Perry, all " good men and true" to the cause of Mr. Van Buren,
sprang on the nullifier. It seemed as if they really intended to devour
him. I cast a longing eye towards Martin, for I felt for him. One glance
convinced me that I might save my compassion. There he sat, like a
huge bull-dog, casting a calm and indifferent eye, now on this side and
now on that, at the whole pack that bayed him, conscious no doubt of
his own strength, and knowing that he could crush them whenever they
ventured too far. On the question, the amendment was ordered by a large
vote, Mr. Humphreys and Mr. Allen voting with the minority, and doubtless cursing the artificer and the artifice that forced them to so unmannerly




CANVASS WITH  MR. VAN  BUREN.                 339
an exposure. Not contented with this experiment, but resolved to try their
" faith" by the most horrible and at the same time indisputable test, Martin
again reached the floor, and moved an amendment, that the President's
course, in attempting by his influence to secure the election of a successor
of his own choice, by his franks and his letters, so far as any member had
knowledge of such letters and franks, met the hearty approbation of the
General Assembly. This, indeed, was the " unkindest cut of all." Old
Job himself, patience personified, could not stand it longer. But necessity is the mother of invention; and the Van Buren men, thus chased
and caught in their own toils, immediately took shelter under the " expunging resolutions."  Col. Guild moved a substitute in lieu of Mr. Martin's
amendment. It was a new and improved edition of the " expunging resolutions," just from Washington, dispatched by Col. Benton, as was publicly charged in debate and not denied; and defined " expunging " to
consist in drawing black lines around and making notes across, and not
in blotting out or erasing an offensive entry. And then by a war of
ingenuities, a debate not anticipated originated in the House. It presented, I assure you, an animated scene. The lobby was soon thronged
to overflowing, and many went away who could not crowd in. In justice to all, I must sav, the discussion was ably, adroitly and at tinmes
eloquently conducted, on both sides. It continued Friday, Friday night,
Saturday all day, and until 12 at night, and despite all my exertions, was
received at times with loud applause in the lobby and on the floor. As
you will readily imagine, yourself and Mr. Van Buren both got some
hard knocks, and among hands the " old hero " himself now and then
received an -unlucky blow, only, however, when the stroke was aimed at
Mr. Van Buren ensconced behind his mighty buckler. As I told you, the
House continued the debate until 12 o'clock, and then adjourned without
taking the question. On Monday, and perhaps the next or a succeeding
day, several ineffectual attempts were made to bring up the subject. On
Saturday morning last, and when but few anticipated the movement, Mr.
Topp, the talented, eloquent and spirited member from Shelby, having
being deprived of an opportunity to address the House when the debate
was in progress before, and resolved not to be cut off from delivering his
sentiments, rose in his place, and offered a preamble and resolutions highly
complimentary to you, and approving your course on Mr. Benton's
expunging resolutions. He followed up his motion by one of the mlost
pungent, forcible, and interesting speeches I have yet heard. He cut all
round with a two-edged sword, and being about to close, mentioned that
it was not his intention at that late period to lay the resolutions before
the I-House —that he had simply introduced them to enable him to give
his honest sentiments against the odious proposition to expunge, and that
he would now withdraw them as he had a right to do by the rules. * * *
And thus the'" expunging " and the "laudatory " resolutions descend for the




340           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WVIHITE.
present to the "tomb of the Capulets;" tle former, I trust in God, never to
rise again, nor the latter, while they come to us in strains of adulation
more suited to the attributes of his Maker than of man.
Judge White's correspondence at and about this period bears sufficient testimony to the equanimity with which he bore the assaults
and manoeuvres of his enemies, although a proper regard for his own
character and for the friends who were upholding him rendered it a
right, that he should now be interested in his own success, and at
least do whatever was necessary to a proper appreciation and acknowledgment of their endeavors.  These letters show likewise that he
was well aware of the corrupt means.used by his opponents, who
descended even to the unlawful examination of private mailed letters.
A personal friend writes to him, to Washington, from  home, date
January 7, 1836:
I have this moment had a conversation with Mr. James Jackson, who
is directly from Nashville, and who says that the members of our Legislature have very lately received communications from the President,
urging thein to adopt the resolution instructing you to vote for Benton's
expunging resolution, and very abusive of yourself.
Believing it the duty of a friend to advise you of such proceedings,
I do so, and in addition that you may not be deceived, I here state to you
that Andrew Jackson's frank is very frequent on papers abusive of yourself and Col Bell, sent to this office. I think (though you did not as
early as myself make the discovery) you will be satisfied that he is not
the man we at one time took him to be.
At one time I was a very clever fellow, and so were you and Bell;
but we have become great scoundrels in the estimation of the tyrant who
wields the executive department (indeed all) of the government.
A short statement made by Judge White in the Senate, June 28,
1836, furnishes a summary of the various underhanded engineerings
to which his opponents were stooping:
At the last session, the member from Missouri (I doubt not from a
conviction of the correctness ot the procedure) submitted his proposition
to expunge. The Chief Magistrate had made up his mind who should be
his successor, and had determined to use all his personal influence and official patronage to secure his election. Whilst there was a majority of the




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                  341
Senate opposed to him, this patronage could not be brought to operate
with full effect. Upon discussing the expunging resolution, the opinions
of every senator were expressed. The times of some were then expiring
-the very day of voting. The venerable Chief Magistrate at once saw
the use which could be made of this instrument, and he has given it his
full influence ever since, under the hope that, through its use, the Senate
could be expurgated, members whom he deemed unworthy of the station
excluded, and their places supplied by others, in his opinion, more worthy.
He seized the weapon, and has wielded it with all the effect he could.
The cry "expunge " was raised, and has been continued.
I shall speak of what I know, and what I believe to be true. The time
of one of the senators in my own State had expired. Members of the
legislature and to the House of Representatives were to be elected in
August. The Chief Magistrate interfered, through the agency of others,
in the elections to be made by the people, and in the election to be made
by the legislature.
Does any one who hears me doubt this statement? He need not.
The following facts will show, incontestably, that he interfered in the
election to be made by the people:
1st. His two letters addressed to the Rev. Mr. Gwin, which all who
look into newspapers must have read. They were intended for publication, and were actually published.
2d. Besides the number of copies of the Globe itself, hundreds of which
he has sent to Tennessee under his frank, he franked many copies of the
prospectus for the extra Globe, which contains very little except misrepresentations and insinuations utterly unfounded and untrue. There can
he no pretence that this was sent because it contained any speech, or any
public document. There is no such thing in it. I hold one that he sent
to Tennessee, frank and all, in my hand, just as received by the gentleman
to whom it was addressed; and many others were scattered through the
country under his frank.
3d. He wrote a letter to Mr. Curry, which was used in Col. Standifer's
district, with a view to influence public opinion.
4th. He wrote a letter to my colleague, a copy of which was furnished
to Mr. Johnson, who used it in his canvass upon the stump with a view to
aid his election; and it must have been intended for such use when written, otherwise we must suppose my colleague abused the confidence of
the Chief Magistrate, in permitting his letter to be applied to a purpose
not intended by the writer.
These few facts, independent of many others which might be stated,
satisfy me that he did interfere, and use his influence with the people to
regulate their opinions in the elections.
Secondly. He interfered with the legislature.
1. On the next day after they assembled, under his frank, each member




34"           INIEMMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
received three numbers of the extra Globe, amounting to three hundred.
Here is one of them, frank and all. Some of these Globes contain matter
of the lowest kind, intended, no doubt, to disgust the members with their
former senator, and to prevent his re-election.
2. tie wrote a letter to Mr. Nicholson, one of the members, which we
have seen published in the newspaper, in which he complains of the formner senator for not defending him on the expunging resolution at the
last session, and justifying the use made of his franking privileges.
3. Ile wrote a similar letter to Mr. Brown, another member, a copy of
which I now hold in my hand.
4. Iie wrote to Mr. Guild, one of the leading members, a letter containing an argument to prove the propriety of instructing the senators to
vote for expunging the resolution of March, 1834, and urging the propriety of giving such instructions, and authorized Mr Guild to submit it to
the p)erusal of other members; which he did; and
5. Fr'om this place was sent to this same Mlr. Guild a copy of the form
of expunging, which the senators were to be instructed to use; and this
form corresponds, as I have understood, with that used in the resolution
proposed at this session by the senator from Missouri.
All these facts prove that the first object was to defeat the re-election
of a senator, who, at the last session, had shown he would not conform
his conduct to the will of the Chief Magistrate; and, when that failed, to
cause such instructions to be given as it was known that that senator
could not obey, and thereby force him  to resign. Both these objects
failed. The senator was re-elected, and the legislature would not give
any instructions.
Mr. President, I have not stated these facts by way of complaint against
the executive.  I perhaps am, least of all others, competent to judge
whether such a course was in conformity with his station or his peculiar
situation; but I state them that justice may be done to the independence
of the legislature, and to their determination not to be persuaded or
forced from what they thought the path of duty. Their course is the more
commendable, when it is remembered they sat within a few miles of his
residence; were surrounded by his personal friends; and that they themselves can furnish from their own body many of his earliest, firmest, and
most undeviating political and personal firiends. Let it be remembered,
also, that they then were, and now are, the firm and unflinching supporters of his Administration, upon every point where his measures conform to the principles avowed to bring him into power. Yet they would
not, and did not, give their senators any instructions upon this question.
They were willing to trust them without instructions upon this as well
as other points; and on this account it is that I feel myself under higher
obligations to endeavor to carry out the will of my State upon this subject,
than I should have been if formally instructed.




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   343
Writing to Hon. Geo. W. Churchwell, date Washington, January.3, 1836, he says:
MY DEAR SIR: I ought to, as I do, sincerely thank you for your two
letters. They are the only ones received from any member since I reached
Washingtun.  Your last letter had evidently been opened and very
clumsily closed again.
Every effort has been making here to influence public opinion. B. was
beaten for no other reason than because he would not go against me. It
was urged by the faithful, that by the election of Polk, the vote of Tennessee would be changed. The course of Alabama, it is now said, will be
followed by the legislature of Tennessee, and that in a very short time my
name will be dropped everywhere.
I have never had a word from Mr. Clay, but understand from others
that he says without hesitation, that he will not be a candidate. Webster, it would seem, having lost the nomination in Pennsylvania and
Maryland, will either be dropped soon, or if his name is continued, it
will be thought to be done to benefit Mr. Van Buren.
I have not heard that Mr. Webster himself has said one word on the
subject. Gen. Harrison, from every indication, will continue a candidate, and my friends do not believe my prospects are to be materially
changed by it.
Everything which can be done to my injury, within their power, is
done by Grundy and Johnson, from my own State, and probably by
Polk, also.
By the faithful, it is confidently supposed, that you will pass the resolutions, ordering us to expunge.
Those who can be seduced by hopes of power and benefits are operated on in that way; others are denounced in the coarsest terms.
As to myself, I await my fate with the most perfect indifference on
my own account. For others, I have much feeling; but for nothing so
much as the reputation of my State. She now has the proudest name in
the Union, and upon her firmness in this crisis, her future fame essentially depends.
Her citizens, in primary assemblies first, and her legislature afterwards,
have brought my name before the world. Torrents of unmerited abuse
have been poured on my devoted head, for not prohibiting them from
doing so, and if now it is withdrawn by the mandate or management of
any earthly power, then, indeed, will I admit I knew nothing of the
character of the people among whom I have been raised.
I wish the expunging resolutions were disposed of, if they are to pass,
the public interest would require I should know it in tine to apprise the
legislature of my course before they adjourn. Write me frequently; even




344           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
if our letters are read, it makes no difference, provided they would even
then forward them.
What will be the fate of any nomination before the Senate, I know not.
My course must be an individual one, as I am not in the confidence of
any party. I shall, so far as my vote will go, carry out the great principle of checking executive patronage, being employed to influence the right
of suffrage.
With the most sincere esteem and regard,
Your obedient servant,
tu. L. WHITE.,
Hon. GEORGE W. CHURCHWELL.
And again, a little later:
SENATE CHAMBER, February 23, 1836.
MY DEAR SIR:  Your favor under date of the 8th instant, was
received, apparently safe, on yesterday. We have had, almost constantly,
a state of very high excitement in Congress, and have, as yet, done but
little, except talk.
The Globe has become more and more abusive. It is now plainly seen
that I will neither be coaxed, nor driven from the position, in which I
have been placed by my political friends. The only alternative, therefore, is to destroy me if possible.  I am  charged with insincerity,
duplicity, falsehood, suppressing the truth &c., without stint. In addition, it is obvious the whole power and patronage of the executive is
brought to bear. For all this, I care not. My leading friends here, stand
firm, and fearlessly do their duty. How many of them may do so elsewhere, time alone will show.
I shall calmly, coolly, and without faltering, as well as I am able, discharge what I think the duty assigned me, without stopping to consider
whether it will elevate or depress me in public opinion.
The policy is to whistle off as many of my friends as possible, and to
sacrifice the rest.
When the contest is over, even if left a private citizen, I would not
exchange either feelings or character, with the venerable Chief Magistrate. I intend to act, as far as God may enable me, upon the principles which I have ever avowed, which I believe are sound and correct.
I will, therefore, have my own approbation: whereas, my old friend is in
open disregard of the leading measures he professed to entertain when
tie sought power, and is saying, and countenancing others in saying,
things against me, which he has the strongest reasons to believe are
unjust and unfounded.
Our French war is happily ended. Should the instructing, expunging
resolutions have passed, I shall leave for home as soon as I can make the
necessary preparations.




CANVASS WITH  MR. VAN  BUREN.                 345
If permitted to remain here, I have no doubt we shall have the names
of some of Our Flying Syuad in Tennessee before the Senate for their
pay. My health continues very good.
Most sincerely and truly,
HU. L. WHITE.
Hon. G. W. CHUROiHWELL.
WASHINGTON, June 181t, 1836.
MY DEAR SiR: I thank you most sincerely for your letter enclosed to
Mr. Lea, and which he handed me on yesterday.
I see no reason to conclude that anything which has occurred here
during the session can have the effect of doing us harm; on the contrary
I think we may well flatter ourselves that progress has been made in
giving to the people some useful information.
Everything in the power of the executive to do for the purpose of
injuring me has been done, and I doubt not the same course will be
continued.
In conformity with my own judgment, as well as what I believed the
wishes of my constituents I have in every instance sustained the executive, excepting only in such measures as I believed inconsistent with the
great principles for which we all struggled when the present President
came into power.
Strange as it may seem, I have no doubt the truth is, the President is
exceedingly anxious that it should be known that his successor will have
been elected by his means and influence; and I am perfectly convinced
he intends to put down every man who dares to throw any obstacles in
his way.
That the timid and calculating will yield to his wishes is according to
the common course of things; as to myself I am content to await the
result without anxiety. I will never yield to the dictation of any one
man living, but will willingly abide the expressed will of a majority, be
that what it may. That the patronage of the government has been used,
is now being used, and will continue to be used to influence public opinion,
I firmly believe. After the 4th March, 1837, the opinion and influence of
General Jackson will be regulated entirely by the manner in which his
whole public conduct shall be estimated by the community at large.
I venture one prediction, and that is that if he ever after that
period should need friends he will find very few among those he is now
serving most zealously.
Why should we try to prove our letters were broken? Who cares?
Those who are profited by such villainy will only be the better pleased.
All we can do in such cases is to state the truth as it is, whenever and
wherever we please, and let others believe or disbelieve us as best suits
them.




346           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
You must expect and so you will find the truth to be, that you w l
have the opposition and enmity of all those who believe you are, or will
be, in their way; and you will have better luck than I, if you do not
find those most bitter whom you have treated best.
Patience and good temper under injustice is always the best policy.
When people lie, live them down by exemplary conduct.
Your letter at the close of the session was received and answered. As
you did not receive the answer some one else received the benefit of it.
If ill usage could disgust any one with the world I ought to be disgusted: but I am not. When those who ought to treat me well, ill use
me, I am more than compensated by the friendship and support of those
who are under no obligation to me.
Most sincerely and truly, yours,
Hu. L. WHITE.
GEORGE W. CHURCHWELL, Esq.
A speech made by Judge White at a dinner given him by his
constituents at Knoxville, in August of the same year, contains a clear
exposition of the principles upon which he was and had been acting,
of the gross violation and desertion of them  by the party who were
now seeking Mr. Van Buren's election, and of the methods and motives
by which the opposition to himself was conducted by the Administration. The sentiment introducing him was the following:
Our distinguished guest and neighbor the ton. Hugh Lawson TVhite.His public career has been no less conspicuous for its consistency, independence, and usefulness, than his private life for its propriety, purity,
and uprightness.  Malevolence and persecution cannot prostrate him.
Tennessee will sustain hinm firmly and fearlessly against the slanders of
malice and the magic of the most influential name.
After the loud and reiterated bursts of applause with which this
sentiment was received, had subsided, Judge White rose and said:
GENTLEMEN: The sentiment just given, and the feelings with which it
has been received, encourage me to do something more than make my
acknowledgments for your undeviating support, and continued confidence.
After an absence of almost nine months, seven of which were devoted
to my duties in Congress, upon my return home, to find my neighbors,
the people of my own county, ready to greet me as a friend, and to
declare in the face of the world, that my character as a private citizen
does not deserve reproach, and that my conduct as a public man meets




CANVASS WITH  MR. VAN  BUREN.                  347
their approbation, is a source of the highest gratification. More especially
when I reflect how incessantly I have been assailed, and with how much
industry the vilest slanders have been circulated, under the sanction of
names, some of which I know are, and long have been, very dear to you,
as well as to the great majority of my fellow-citizens.
For eleven years I have, in part, represented Tennessee in the Senate
of the United States. Until the two last, my services, humble as they
were, appeared to be acceptable to the great body of the people. Any
complaints against me were made, comparatively, by a few, and they
were of those decidedly opposed to the present Chief Magistrate and his
Administration.
Now the matter has changed, and I have been violently assailed by
some of those with whom I have formerly acted, and several of those who
were my bitter opponents on account of my attachment to the Chief
Magistrate, have become his zealous friends, while they still continue
their hostility to me. Having resided in the State from mly boyhood,
and having, from the time I attained the years of discretion, been busy
among the people in some capacity or other, I believed a large and overwhelming majority of our fellow-citizens were decidedly Jeffersonian
Republicans, and belonging to that school of politicians myself, when
honored with a seat in the Senate, I flattered myself that on all important
questions, when I honestly carried out, in practice, my own political
opinions, I would also faithfully represent the opinions of my constituents.
I have neither solicited nor desired the berth, and could not have been
induced to accept it, if a sacrifice of any of my principles had been
required. At one period, domestic afflictions visited me in such rapid
succession, and with such weight, that I had made up my mind to withdraw, and let my place be supplied by some one, whose mind would not
be doomed to brood so much over his own misfortunes; but abandoned
the idea at the earnest solicitation of some, whom I, childishly, then
thought my friends, and who are now under the hypocritical pretence of
continued friendship, my most deadly enemies.
In the great struggle to bring the present Chief Magistrate into office,
it became necessary that his friends should proclaim and enforce, by all
the arguments they could advance, their political principles; and what
were they?
1st. All useless expenditures of the public moneys should be discontinued.
2d. All offices should be filled by men who were honest, capable, faithful
to the Constitution, and of business habits.
3d. That neither Congress nor any department of the federal government had any power, except that which was expressly granted by the
Constitution, or was necessary and proper to carry into effect some power
which was expressly granted.




348           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
4th. That the Executive power should be so limited and regulated by
law, that neither the President nor any officer appointed by, or dependent
upon him, could use his influence or power to control or guide public
opinion in elections.
5th. That the Constitution should be so amended as to secure to the
people the right of choosing, the'Chief Magistrate themselves. That the
same person should not be elected for a second term, and that offices
should not be filled with members of Congress.
6. That all surplus moneys which might accumulate in the treasury,
beyond the reasonable wants of the federal government, should be
divided among the States by some fair ratio, to the end that the people,
to whom it rightfully belonged, might have the benefit of it for internal
improvements, education, &c.
7th. That all caucuses or combinations of men, whose object it was to
create or control public opinion in the election of President and VicePresident should be discountenanced and put down.
These were the great and leading principles for which we, in common
with others, contended. The public voice sanctioned them by the election of the Chief Magistrate in 1828. In his inaugural address in 1829,
and in his subsequent addresses, he has avowed and proclaimed several of
them.
They are the very doctrines on which I have practised from that day
to this, so far as my humble capacity enabled me; and I now challenge
my persecutors to put their fingers on the cases in which I have departed
fiom them.
How then has it happened, that for the last eighteen months, or two
years, my humble name has, in a certain set of newspapers, and among
a certain clan of politicians, been constantly coupled with some degrading charge?
Upon this subject, I can, perhaps, give you some facts not heretofore
generally known, and this I shall do, not for the purpose of injuring any
one, but for the sake of making a just defence of myself.
The General Assembly of this State sat in Nashville in the fall of 1833.
At the commencement of its session, as is my habit, I was there. While
there, the news reached us that the deposits of the public moneys had
been removed by the order of the President, from the bank of the United
States. I immediately foresaw that this would produce a violent effort
in. Congress to put down the Administration. I ascertained that there
was a wish among the members, before the session closed, to present my
humble name to the people of the United States, as a suitable person to
succeed the present Chief Magistrate.  To every member with whom I
conversed, and to every other person who addressed me on the subject, I
used all the arguments in my power to prevent them from doing so; and
with some that I could take most liberty with, when coming away, left




CANVA,. WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   349
It in charge, that should a nomination be attempted in my absence, to
have it prevented.
At the close of the session one of those gentlemen wrote me, that he
was censured as unfriendly, for not concurring in the plan of a nomination. I immediately answered his letter, assuring him he had not only
acted in conformity with my wishes, but in accordance with my request
-and that so sure was I that such a nomination would have weakened
the President in Congress, that if it had been made, I would have held
myself bound to withhold my assent.
In the spring of 1834, I received communications from different quarters upon the same subject, proposing that if it met my approbation, there
would be meetings of th6 people to nominate me. To this course I gave
no encouragement. During that year the President visited Tennessee,
our convention was in session, and after their rise, I was informed, that
some of the members had wished to nominate me, but had abandoned the
attempt after they had ascertained it would incur his displeasure. On
his journey to Washington, he conversed freely with some of my friends,
and remonstrated against any attempt to nominate me as Presidentsaid that there must be a national convention, that Mr. Van Buren ought
to be nominated as President, I, as Vice President, and wqhen his eight
years were excpired I was young enough then to be taken up as President.
All this was communicated to me, and the only answer that I could
make was, that either office was beyond my merits, but that I could not
enter into any arrangement, which would operate as a lure to induce any
person to vote for myself, or for any other person contrary to his judgment. Thus the matter stood when the session of Congress commenced
in December 1834. During that winter, many county meetings were
held, at which my name was brought before the public, as well as by
the legislature of Alabama.
Under a full belief that a system was about being put in operation,
which would destroy the freedom of election, which was intended to
transfer all federal power into certain hands, who, by the like process,
would transfer it into the hands of others at their pleasure, and that the
effect of this would be to give the operations of the government such a
direction as would favor the interests of one class of citizens, at an entire
sacrifice of the interests of all others, I consented that my political friends
might use my name, or not, as they believed would most promote the
public interest.
In this I might have erred; but if I did it was an honest error.
After giving this consent, and before the Baltimore Convention, I was
repeatedly forewarned what I might expect if my name was not withdrawn. These threats carried no terrors to me. Whatever of character
I have, was given to me by my country, and whenever it becomes necessary to risk the whole of it, in defence of those principles which I think




l3 50         MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
essential to the preservation of liberty, I willingly stake it all. I feel
that I was not intended to be the sltae of any man or set of men —that
I have some mind, and that the author of my existence intended that I
should exercise it-that I should form opinions as to politics and religion, and freely and fearlessly act upon them, without being intimidated
by what either man or devils can do. Could I have hesitated for one
m-oment in my course, I would have fancied that I heard myself addressed
firom the tombs in yonder church-yard (pointing to the place where his
father and mother are buried), in language like this: my son, remember
that the saone principles are now involved, which were proclaimed in July,
1776. That to maintain them, I risked my life, and everything dear to
man-that after struggling through a seven years' war, with my compatriots in arms, we succeeded in the establishment of a free government
-under it I lived happy, prosperous, and died without leaving a spot
upon my name-that good name, and that free government, I left my
children as an invaluable inheritance; and is it possible that, for the lack
of moral coturage, you w-ill deprRive yourself and your children of those
blessings for which I toiled. so long, and risked so much?  If I still
doubted, a voice still more endearing, if that be possible, would salute
mny ears in accents like these: can you for an instant forget the lessons
taught by your mother?-remember you have not only your father's
name in charge, but that you have also that of my family.  Do you not
recollect how I used to encourage you, and your brother to dischlarge
your duty, as my only sentinels to watch and warn me when the tories
would approach our dwelling for plunder, in your father's absence in the
tented field?  That I would then inform  you, that my family were
among the first to hoist the pole of liberty in the South, and among the
most firm and fearless in defending it! And will you, who have not a
drop of any but whig blood in your. veins. hesitate as to the course you
ought to pursue? To these questions I could give but one answer-Fear
not for me. The same good name you have transmitted, and the same
rich inheritance, shall be left unstained, and transmitted unimpaired to
your grand children.
But to proceed-the Baltimore Convention met, and in due form nominated a candidate for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, against whlom
no man has heard me say one word. They have accepted the nominations, and I have no doubt, in doing so, acted on those principles which
they think it right to maintain. As to myself, I solemnly declare that
with the knowledge I have of the manner in which that convention was
brought about, the object it was intended to accomplish, and the consequences expected to flow fiom it, had I been nominated by it for either
office, such nomination would have been almost the only contingency
upon which I would have prohibited the use of my name.
Let me not be misunderstood-I am very far from intimating it as my




CANVASS WITH AIR. VAN BUREN.                  351
opinion, that the whole of that assemblage, or a majority of them, were
either dishonest, or dishonorable men. Many of them are strangers to
me, and I hope were governed by worthy motives, and I doubt not
believed great good would result from their labors. I, on the contrary,
think nothing but evil can result from a nomination by a set of men collected under the auspices of the executive, with a view to nominate an 
individual designated by him.
Notwithstanding this nomination, my name has been permitted to
remain where it was before placed, and tile threatened vengeance has
been pouring out upon my devoted head ever since.  "Tray, Blanche,
and Sweetheart, little dogs and all," have been let loose upon me. I have
heeded them not. It has been my aim to bear any and everything. I
have uniformly conformed my public conduct to my avowed principles,
and what I believed the politics of my State. So far as the Administration has acted on the principles which brought the Chief Miagistrate into
power, I have been, as I think, a uniform  and steady, though very
humble, supporter. If on any point he has changed his principles, it is
unreasonable to expect me to change with him, unless I can be furnished
with sufficient reasons for such change.
Humble as my pretensions are represented to be, we all now see, and
know, that my venerable friend, the Chief Magistrate himself, in his
own proper person, has openly, and in the view of the sovereign people
themselves, undertaken to control and regulate public opinion. This is a
trouble which I am very sorry he had to take on my account. His acts are
to live after him. He occupies the most dignified station upon earth. If
any man living did more towards elevating him to that station than I
did, it was because he had more influence.  He has the efficient control
of the whole fund of the nation-the disposal of our invaluable public
domain —the appointment of all officers at home and abroad-the power
to remove tens of thousands of officers, who have no means to procure
subsistence for a day if he chooses to remove them; they must do as he
directs, or be turned loose to starve. All this power I zealously strove to
give him, and I did so under a thorough conviction that he would only
use it in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. That he would
follow the wise example of Washington, of Jefferson, of Madison, und
Monroe. That so far from openly interfering in the election of his successor, or encouraging any executive officer to do so, he would sternly prohibit it in others, and think it a high political and moral duty in himself
to be perfectly " neutral," and lest he should disclose his preference would
" avoid conversing on the subject with his most intimate friends."  In this
I have been disappointed. I have been apprised that for twelve months
past he has neither been sparing nor backward in his censures of me.
It gave me no uneasiness-I was willing to bear it all without complaint. My only wish was that he might so conduct as to take nothing




35 2          MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
from the high charactor which in common with others, I had for years
endeavored to give him. Not content with this he comes to our own
State, among my own constituents, those in whose employ I now am,
took a circuitous route through Ecst Tennessee, so as to be in many
villages, and is still on his tour through West Tennessee into Nortll
Alabama, openly denouncing me as a " red hot Federalist," having abandoned his Administration, and being as far from him as the poles are
asunder, &c. Now with great deference to the opinion of that highly
esteemed and venerable man I must be allowed to say he is entirely mistaken. I am not now and never was a Federalist, in any sense of that
term recognized by or known to the American people. I am now and
ever have been, a Republican of Mr. Jefferson's school, so far as I have
been able to comprehend the doctrines taught by him. The true way to
test this matter is for each of us to put down the articles of his political
creed, and see in what we disagree. I have given you mine; you and
the American people, who have taken the trouble to read what I have
said, or to notice my recorded votes, know that I have practised on my
professions. It is not with me to say whether the Chief Magistrate has
practised on his or not. If we now disagree in anything, I aver that I
agree with the Republican creed, and that he will be found on that side
which leads directly to monarchy, although I hope he does not so intend it.
It is undoubtedly true that upon one point he and I are antipodes, as
far apart as the poles are from each other. He thinks it an important
point of his Administration before his time expires, to select his successor, and through the medium of a Convention, got up under his own
auspices, to have the person thus selected, recommended as a suitable candidate, to use all his influence and patronage to procure the election of the
person thus recommended, and he denounces every man as a Federalist,
and as opposed to his Administration, who will not vote for and support
such person.
I disagree with this whole doctrine, and insist, it is no part of his duty
to select his successor, to have him recommended by a convention, or to
use his influence or patronage to induce or coerce persons to vote for him.
This is obviously the point of disagreement, and I willingly leave to the,
present generation, and to those who are to succeed us, to say which of
us holds the Republican side.
Suppose Mr. Adams to be now President, and his term about to expire,
and he had designated Mr. Clay as his successor, and was using all his
patronage to induce persons to vote for him, and was actually travelling
through M3assachusetts and elsewhere, haranguing the people and denouncing General Jackson as a red-hot federalist, because he would not withdraw his name and vote for Mr. Clay. What would be said by our
venerable friend in such case?
With a view to bring this doctrine home to the comprehension of every




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   353
man; suppose there were now a proposition to amend the Constitutionl,
and make it the duty of every President before his term expired to select
the man in his judgment best qualified to succeed him —to have a convention called to recommend such person, and then to use all his patronage
and influence to have him elected. Is there any one man in America so
stupid as not to see, it would be taking from the people all choice, all
power in electing their Chief Magistrate, and vesting it in the hands of
one man? If such an amendment were to prevail, so far as the election
of President was concerned, we would have to all intents and purposes a
Monarchy. Well; if we can be prevailed on to think this practice ought
to be pursued, without such an amendment, practically the government
is a monarchy, because the people will have given up their right of choice
and transferred it to one man. It is not me alone that is denounced, but
every friend I have in Congress from the State. They are taken up one
by one by iname and denounced by the President as federalists, and
opponents of his Administration. In what have they opposed his Administration? Did they vote against his three millions session before
last? Did they vote against expunging the journals? Not they. Not
one of them. Yet they are opposed to his Administration, because they
will not vote for the person he has selected as his successor. It is true as
to one of them,.Mr. Huntsman, when the President was asked how he
was, he said he did not know, he was hanging on the fence, and it was
doubtful which side he would fall.
In justice to that gentleman I must be permitted to state, if there be any
sincerity in man, he is as much on the Tennessee side of the fence, as any
of his colleagues. I have thought it right on this occasion to bring this
point plainly and distinctly to your view that you might every one see
the reason why I and my friends are denounced as Federalists, opposed
to the Administration and the antipodes of our esteemed and venerable
Chief Magistrate.
The real offence which I have committed is not the abandonment of
my principles, but that I would not abandon them.  Not because I
became the tool of the opposition: but because I would not unite with
an old and valued friend in doing that, under evil and mischievous advisers, which before God I believe, would rob the people of that freedom
for which our fathers " perilled their lives, their fortune and their sacred
honor," and bring reproach upon our memory when we are numbered
with the dead.
I have no controversy with the Chief Magistrate. I aspire to nothing
which he wants. If there is any controversy it is between my countrymen, who solicited the use of my name, and him. They have solicited
me to let my name be used as his successor, and I have consented. This
is my whole offence. If there be anything wrong in it, who is the cause
of it? It is not I who am to be put down and disgraced in this contro23




354            MIE.M2OIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
versy, if Tennessee is either coaxed or coerced to surrender her choice.
It is the people, who have placed me in the position I now occupy. The
Saviour of the World, when upon earth, found among the small number
of his disciples, one Judas, who not only sold, but betrayed him for his
thirty pieces of silver.. It were vain for one of my humble attainments,
who has nothing to offer but his best efforts to promote the public welfare, to hope that all who professed to be his friends would continue to
act up to that character. Already have I found more than one Judas,
who by parting with their interest in me have received or expect to
receive more than twice their thirty pieces. I doubt not there may be
more who will yet do so; but if it is the will of Providence that the use
of my name shall be of service to my fellow-men, it will be so ordered
that in place of such hollow-hearted and false friends, I shall receive the
aid and support of many honest men, who will desire nothing but that
the government may be preserved in its purity: and if there lives the
man, who can induce a majority of the people of Tennessee to abandon
their own principles, and sacrifice an individual, whose name they had
placed before the public to gratify his wishes, then will I admit that I
never understood the character of the people among whom I have lived
for almost fifty-two years.
My enemies have made a mistake. They imagine that as I have determined( not to advocate my own pretensions for the most dignified station
upon earth, that they may charge me with what misconduct they please,
in my present station as senator, and that I must remain silent, or lay
myself liable to the charge of indecency in electioneering. I cannot and
will not act on any such false delicacy. If I am unjustly accused-if I am
charged with entertaining principles, which do not belong to me, and
these charges are made to my own constituents, by a person of the
highest standing, it is due to you, it is due to the country and it is just to
myself, that I not only repel the charges, but disclose the motives of those
who make them.
SMy political friends who have placed my name before the public, are
Jeqffersonian Jackson Republicans, professing and practising now, the same
creed they professed in 1828. Our motto is " not words but deeds."  We
determine to prove our " faith in our creed by our practices."  If for this
we are to be denominated "new-born Whigs," we are content. Instead
of being placed in the company of aliens and strangers we will still be in
the embraces and arms of our, long-cherished principles. "Names are
nothing," said our venerable Chief Magistrate, in his letter to Mr. Monroe.
Dress a tory in the garment of a whig and he will be a tory still. As
well might we expect to conceal the wolf by putting on the covering of the
lamb, as to suppose that we conceal the conspirator who seeks to deprive
the people of their right of suffrage, by throwing over him the name of
a "good old Jeffersonian democratic republican."




CANVASS  WITH;MR. VAN  BUREN.                     355
All political power is vested originally, in the great body of the people.
It all resides there yet, except such portions of it, as they have vested in
their different agents, to be used for their benefit. They have reserved
to themselves the right freely to choose the two highest officers, known
to the Constitution, in that mode pointed out by it.
This right is the sure rock, upon which the whole superstructure rests.
Upon it I have planted myself-" The rains of slander may descend, the
floods of calumny may come, the winds, the storms, and the tempests of
denunciation may beat upon me," but there will I remain unmoved, until
some political earthquake s.hall shiver both it and me to atoms.
In conclusion, permit me to add, that as to our venerable and esteemed
Chief Magistrate, if in anything I have said there is the appearance of
unkindness, or want of respect, it was certainly not intended. He has
assailed me openly for my conduct, while in your employ. One of the
first laws of our nature is self-defence.  I obey that law as a freeman,
whose rights and reputation are dear to him. We disagree in opinion on
a most important subject. At our age, and every circumstance considered, it becomes us both to disagree, in opinion, in good temper.  In
times past he has had his troubles, and in them, he never was without a
friend to justify or excuse his conduct when I was present. He has
decreed that we shall separate, or I surrender that freedom for which my
father fought. The first is the only alternative for a man determined to
preserve his self-respect. He and I are poorly employed, if we lose our
temper about human governments. In the course of nature they must
soon cease to have any operation upon either of us. We must soon
appear before a tribunal where the Judge himself will be the only witness. He cannot be misled as to our acts or our motives; and my prayer
is, that instead of applying the rules of strict justice to either, our errors,
vices and infirmities may find forgiveness in his mercy.
If thanks from the fullness of a grateful heart would avail you anything for your unshaken confidence and steady support under every
change and vicissitude of life, I would pour them out as long as my
strength would permit; but I feel that I have detained you already too
long.  I offer you the following sentiment, in which I know  you will
cheerfully unite.
Practices, not professions:-The Republicans of Tennessee are now what they were in 1828,
Jacksonians, followiong the creed of that Apostle of Liberty, Thomas Jefferson. Should this
entitle them to a " New-born " name, they care not; provided they are left in the full enjoyment of their inalienable right of suffrage. They would rather have even a bad name with
good principles, than bad principles concealed under a good name.
The President now determined to make the issue boldly and publicly between Judge White and himself; and for that purpose, when
Congress rose in 1836, he made a second visit to Tennessee. As he




35D6         MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
passed through East Tennessee, he appeared in the character of an
open electioneerer. His conversations at Blountville, Jonesboro',
Greenville, and Newport proved that the object of this tour was to
aid Mr. Van Buren. Judge White was denounced by him  as a
federalist; and Mr. Van Buren was eulogized as one of the purest
democrats that ever lived. He remarked to Mr. Sewell of Lebanon,
that no one could be his friend, who was Judge White's; that they
were as far apart as the East from the West. The same remark iii
substance he made in the presence of Mr. Gillespie of Nashville, a
strong Jackson and Van Buren man. But he ascertained, that as his
former interference, through the agency of others, could effect no
change in favor of his candidate, so neither could his presence now.
The freemen of Tennessee claimed the right of thinking and acting
for themselves, and by their independent course, did more honor to
their State than any other could have secured.
The result of this contest is known to all. Judge White lost the
election, but received the handsome majority of 10,000 votes in his
own State, notwithstanding the whole power of the press, the patronage of tile government, and the personal popularity of General Jackson
were used to prevent it. The vote in the Hermitage district was
forty-three for White, eighteen for Van Buren. Besides Judge White
and Mr. Van Buren, there were three other candidates in the field;
Mir. Webster, Mr. Mangum, and General Harrison. The last mentioned was the third person presented, and his introduction into the
canvass was supposed to have been a movement on the part of Mr. Clay.
To this opinion Judge White subscribed, and avowed it to his constituents in a speech at Knoxville, 1st August, 1838. This speech follows. It is another proof of the inflexible honesty with which the
speaker clung to his principles, and of the easy versatility with which
his opponents held or dropped them, as the case might demand.
FELLOW CITIZENS: I accept your invitation, not so much to partake of
your hospitality, as to thank you, in great sincerity, for your continued
confidence and support. You have been to me an impenetrable shield
against calumniators and enemies.
After an absence of twelve months, with but little intermission, I am
again among my constituents.
Thanks to a kind Providence, and to my enemies, I am in good health,
ready and willing to converse with you, on all that has passed, and is
likely to happen.
My political enemies sought to destroy me; they fancied it an easy task;




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   357
more of life was left than they or I supposed; their uljust attacks
revived energies which I myself believed were extinct, and to all appearances they have renewed my life's lease for some ten or twenty years.
I am not only here, but in good health; and although the two last sessions of Congress were among the most laborious I have ever served, I
have no want of health to plead, for any deficiency you may find in the
performance of my official duties.
I am grateful to Providence, and proud before you, in the belief that
I have not been that simple automaton which, by the official organ, I was
represented to be, capable only of saying yea or nay to the different questions presented to the Senate for decision.
The labors of Congress, both at the called and regular sessions, have
been arduous; and although but few laws of a general nature have been
passed, yet it has not been from inattention to the great interests of the
country. There was a continued struggle between the executive and
Congress; the first wishing to obtain an unlimited discretionary power
and control over the moneys belonging to the public; the latter anxiously
endeavoring so to provide as to have them safely kept and secured, in
such manner as to make them applicable at all times, to the wants of the
public. To the opposition in the House of Representatives, the credit is
due, of preventing the moneyed power from being, in due form, added to
the other powers of the executive.
Shortly after I entered your service in the Senate, the great controversy
commenced, which ended in ousting the then incumbent, and placing the
late Chief Magistrate in the executive chair. The principles for which
you and I contended, and which we successfully maintained, ought never
be forgotten, and cannot be too often recurred to.
We contended that the powers of the executive were too great, and
ought to be reduced, and limited by law.
That the expenditures of the government were extravagant, and ought
to be reduced.
That it was a crime in the President, or any officer under him, to use
his official station to influence the people in elections.
That all moneys which came into the treasury, beyond those which
were necessary to defray the economical expenses of the government,
ought to be returned to the people, who were the true and legitimate
owners.
And we solemnly pledged ourselves in the face of the civilized world,
that if we could obtain place and power, retrenchment and reform should.be the order of the day. That the Augean stable should be thoroughly
swept out and cleansed.
Emblematic of what we intended to accomplish, we chose for our motto
the broom, not one of the common material, but the Hickory broom.
Hickory, when young, is of all descriptions of wood the most tough,




358           MEMIOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
strong, and durable, but when old and worm-eaten, the most brittle
and worthless.
Confiding in the sincerity of our professions, the sovereign people,
through the ballot box, placed our political friends in power, and after a
most solemn and formal renewal of our pledges, we commenced our
operations, and for the first four years I believed we were making somna
headway. We had checked internal improvements within the States, by
mere federal power, by vetoing the Maysville Road Bill, the Rockville
Road Bill, and by vetoing a bill to re-charter the Bank of the United
States; but when the second four years of our terms commenced, then
commenced also a controversy upon the question, who should succeed the
then Chief Magistrate.
For one, I kept on, endeavoring to accomplish the task we had undertaken, but the more we swept the dirtier the stable became, and eventually we found our broom would not perform its office; the political moths
and worms had got into it, and had eaten the splits so badly, that the
moment we attempted to sweep, they broke off, and finally, when the
second four years ended, and we come to look into the Augean stable, we
found it ten times as full of litter and filth as it was when we commenced
our operations.
In the Senate we made an effort to pass, and did actually pass, a bill
to limit the power of the executive in removals from office. This bill
was precisely similar to one reported by a committee of which I was a
member, while Mr. Adams was in office. So far as I know, it was then
approved by the whole political party to which I belonged; I therefore
gave it all the support in my power, and made in favor of it, what I
thought the best speech I had ever made in Congress. But alas! when
we came to take the vote, had it not been for Col. Benton, who with
difficulty voted for it, of all my old Democratic friends, I would have
been found " solitary and alone " in its support.
For this vote and this speech, I have never been forgiven by these in
power. I was excommunicated; that which was sound democracy when
Mr. Adams was in power, was, in their opinion, rank federalism in the
days of his successor.
They did right to excommunicate me. It was a mistake to suppose I
ever belonged to such a set of changelings. I had been in earnest in my
professions, and wished to carry them out in practice. You know what
sort of a democrat I am.  I claim to be a republican of the Jefferson
school, such an one as my God and my education have made me.
Modern democrats are a different sect entirely. They are made at any
time the federal executive needs them. He makes a modern democrat
out of an old federalist, or any other worse material. You and I both
know some, that not many years since were made out of anti-war federalists, so rank, that during the late war the young men had thoughts of




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                    359
soaking them in the tanvats, on account of their tory sentiments. The
process is a very simple one; the President has a political jar ready filled
with a yellow metal, and by rubbing well the candidate for democracy,
with this metal, his views and principles are entirely changed, and he
immediately becomes a fit communicant of this modern church. Away
with such democrats; they cannot, and will not long deceive the people.
Ere long it will be found by all, that while this sect have democracy on
their lips, at heart they are tyrants and despots.
For what did you and I toil and labor to displace Mr. Adams? It was
that we might bring back the practice of the government to sound Jeffersonian principles; to an economical expenditure of the public money.
Before the second term of his successor had expired, some of my political friends believed my humble name ought to be presented to the people as a candidate for the high station he filled. Some in this assemnblage well know I remonstrated against this use of my name, and foretold that with my limited capacity and humble pretensions, no hope of
success ought to be entertained. They thought differently; I did not,
and would not yield my assent until informed that the federal executive
had threatened that if I did permit the use of my name, I should be
rendered odious to society. This threat answered a purpose that the persuasion of friends could not. Despotic power never has governed and
never shall govern me. My name was given to the public, and should
have been, if the act had lost me the good opinion of every political
friend I had upon earth, and I might almost add if it had even endangered the good opinion of my wife and children. The result is known to
us all. The Administration did its worst. Its thousand presses were
opened upon me and my friends, and here I am, in better health, and I
think entitled to more character than when they commenced upon me.
Still, let no man scorn the power of the press. To withstand its intfl uence
is a perilous effort. I have made the experiment, and now assure you.
that I should feel less risk in to-morrow shouldering my musket and
knapsack, and marching to the swamps of Florida for a six months' campaign against the Seminoles, than in encountering such incessant di;charges of calumny and slander from all the presses which an American
executive has the-power to bring into action.
In this conflict you, the freemen of Tennessee, were my shield. The
poisoned arrows of my enemies have fallen harmless at my feet. I have
sustained no injury, and your firmness has given a brilliancy to the star
which glitters over the name of Tennessee, of which we may all be proud.
For one, I am quite satisfied with the result. Let none suppose I am
either disappointed or mortified. Still more, all may be assured, that
with my consent my name will never again be used for any office whatever. If I ever had any aspirations for high office, time has put an end
to tlheni.    am not so old yet, as to have the childish belief, that my




360           MEMOIR  OF HIUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
vigor of body and mind are to last always. In all the stations I have yet
occupied I have been enabled so to acquit myself, as never to mortify my
friends. Humble as my pretensions are, I have sometimes been placed
in high office, as the associate of some, who have had much character
among men; many of you were witnesses of the manner in which our
official duties were discharged, and I am proud in the belief that my
reputation has never suffered by any comparison. Mly hope and prayer
is, that I may have discretion enough to surrender even my present station, before I am so enfeebled, either in body or mind, as to make it
necessary for the interest of Tennessee to hiss ine from the stage.
The late executive, then, has had his will carried into effect by the vote
of the American people. They have listened to his statements " that the
whole value of his Administration would be lost, unless Mr. Van Buren
was elected to carry out his unfinished measures."  The appointee of the
late President has been elected to " finish his unfinished business."
My fiiends, is he not getting through it with a rapidity which you did
not anticipate? From the height of prosperity, in about six months fiom
the day of his inauguration, the country was brought to a state of unexampled embarrassment.  Should lie keep on in his ill-advised course,
he will have performed his allotted task, long before the lapse of his four
years. The great interests of the country will be all sacrificed, and by an
addition of the moneyed power of the government, in an organized form,
to the powers already possessed by the federal executive, the liberty of
the people will be near its termination.
Do nbt deceive yourselves by thinking that the executive project for
uniting the purse with the sword, is to be abandoned.
No such thing. It will be renewed, again and again, so long as the
most distant hope of success continues. The present executive knows
full well he has no distinctive character of his own. That he must conform to the will and wish of those who placed him  in his present high
station. He knows the means by which he acquired it, and must act out
his part.
Remember that the miserable lizard can reach the pinnacle of the same
spire on which the eagle proudly perches himself; but the process by
which lie reaches it, is very different.  The latter trusting to his
native strength and his own good wings, fearlessly soars aloft, and
proudly perches himself on the summit, in view of all beholders. While
the other, degraded reptile, stealthily and cautiously creeps up, clinging
to, and ascending, that side of the column which will but screen him
from observation until he reaches the pinnacle, and then slily peeps over,
ready to shrink back when he finds himself discovered.
Do you ask what then is to be done, when a political lizard has taken
possession of the station which ought alone to be occupied by the eagle?
My answer is ready. Through the ballot-boxes, keep steadily switching




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   361
him, until he descends to that level which it is the interest of mankind
he should occupy.
It is useless to deny the fact, it is undeniably true, that notwithstanding all the promises, professions, and pledges of the late Administration,
the executive branch of the government has become a piece of mere
party machinery, operating in all elections, both State and federal. Some
few years since, on the centenary birth-day of General Washington, it was
beautifully said, by one of our most distinguished men, " that whenever
our government became a party machine, the liberty of the country
could not be preserved; that the government could, by law, protect men
against murder, but not against suicide."  There is great force in the
remark, yet I hope it is not true. There is, however, but one remedy in
either case. Take from the individual the razor with which he is about
to cut his throat, and he is, for the present, safe against suicide. In the
same way, when you find those in possession of executive power using it
as the machine of political suicide, take away the means of mischief, and
you prevent political suicide. Take from them their offices, and place
them in hands more worthy, and the Republic may yet be saved.
The late Administration came in on the question of reform, and a
retrenchment of expenditures. Pray, what abuse has been corrected?
Not one! What retrenchment has taken place? None. Abuses have
been multiplied and expenditures have been increased.
Mr. Adams was turned out because he was expending from twelve to
thirteen millions of dollars per year, and now we are expending from
thirty-five to forty millions per annumn.
Can any man be so stupid as not to see this is all wrong? Can the
babble of democracy sanctify such a course?
Partisans may sing democracy until, like the locusts, their backs are
split, but it will not satisfy the people. We must be taught two things,
and that speedily. We must have sozund currency, and the government
must expend less money.
There is a constant press to increase offices, and to increase salaries.
Can any friend of the Administration put his finger upon any message,
specifying the office to be abolished, or the salary to be decreased?
Yet they prate of democracy.
A short time since, we had a great struggle to know what should be
done with surplus money in the treasury. Now the struggle is to know
how to raise enough to keep the government in motion.
That which we had, is all gone. Our currency is destroyed, and with
it the commerce of the country. Our sources of revenue are the sales of
public lands, and duties upon importations of goods.
While the currency is deranged, both these sources of revenue are drying up, and we are without revenue to supply actual wants, and what
have we resorted to?  To making paper money; to issuing treasury
rt




362           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
A short time since, we and our families were to be made glad, by peeping at our Benton yellowjackets, that were peeping through our purses at
us: but what now have we? Nothing but yellow-backed treasury notes,
intended to supply the double purpose of a deficit in the treasury, and a
circulating medium.
Since the first of September last, we have authorized the issuing of
twice ten millions of treasury notes, and why? Because we needed
money, and had it not.
The credit of the United States is good, and we have an express power
to borrow money; but if we borrow, the public will see that a national
debt is contracting, and will inquire into the expenditures; therefore, the
Administration prefer a resort to treasury notes. They appear to cost
nothing, and if tolerated, extravagant expenditures may be continued
without alarm to the public. This contrivance ought to be nipped in the
bud.
Treasury notes are unconstitutional, except used as a means to procure
a loan. Bills of credit cannot be used as a currency, by either federal or
State authority. If tolerated, we will soon have an extravagant government, and a depreciated paper currency. Whenever an amount of treasury notes is issued as a currency, beyond the duties and sales of the public lands, they must and will depreciate, and the mass of the people are
to be the sufferers.
Against these issues I have raised my voice, and recorded my votes,
and shall continue to do so.
You are ready to ask me what is a remedy for the evils under which
the country labors? I tell you plainly. The remedy must be found in a
firm and manly exercise of the elective frianchise. Vote for no man, who
will not firmly and fearlessly exert himself to prevent these now in power
from accomplishing the purposes they have in view, and when the time
arrives, let us exert ourselves to displace the present Chief M agistrate.
I may ask, who will you put in his place? Is he not one of your own
original party and will you go against a man of your own principles?
In all sincerity I will answer these questions. In the first place then I
say, at present, I do not know whom we ought to endeavor to put in the
place of the present incumbent. Two years and more are to elapse before
the election. Previous to that time every man whose namne has been
mentioned as a probable candidate, may be removed from the stage of
action, as matters may be disclosed in relation to him, which may
change entirely our opinions of his character and qualifications. There
is only one thing on this subject upon which my mind is at rest, and that
is that for the present incumbent I will never vote, while I entertain the
same opinion of himn which I now do.
I have now the same politics, and the same political objects to accomplish, which I had in 1828, when you and I successfully exerted ourselves
to elect the late Chief Magistrate.




CANVASS WITH MR. VAN BUREN.                   363
Towards the accomplishment of this object, we have made no progress
whatever. We have been deceived and disappointed, and in my opinion
the present incumbent has been the chief instrument in effecting this
deception and disappointment. To continue him longer in office would
therefore be giving up all wish for those improvements in our public affairs, which I believe the interests of the country pressingly
require.
Before the time of election arrives, some man, not now thought of as a
candidate, holding political opinions similar to my own, may be brought
before the public with a reasonable prospect of success. In that event he
should have my cordial support.
Although much has been said during the last session of Congress on
the subject of the next election; yet I have taken no part in it, either
directly or indirectly, and to no one of those spoken of as candidates have
I in any degree committed myself. I am now as free to make my choice
as any of you can be.
I have however reflected on this subject, in all its bearings and contingencies, and am free to state, that from present indications, I think it
most probable Mr. Van Buren will be a candidate for re-election, and that
he will be opposed by some one, only, of the old opposition. Very probably Mr. Clay. In that event I have asked myself the question, what
course ought I to pursue?
For Mr. Van Buren I have already said I never can and never will
vote, if he pursues the course pursued for the last few years. My motto
is " not words, but deeds." I judge of him by what he has done, and
caused to be done, and not by what he has professed.
It is true he has professed, at times, to belong to the same political
party to which I have ever adhered; but his practice has on no one point
corresponded with that profession.
He is a tariff man and voted for that most odious of all our tariffs, that
of 1828. I am against all tariffs for protection merely.
He is for internal improvements by the federal government where the
object is what he calls national, and actually voted for the erection of toll
gates on the Cumberland Road.
I deny that the federal government possesses any such power within
the State.
He is against a national bank, and so am I, but then he goes for a
treasury bank, which I think is worse than a national bank, by incorporating stockholders.
He is for increasing executive power and patronage. T am for diminishing and limiting them.
He is in favor of the federal executive, and officers under him using
their power to influence public opinion in elections; I am decidedly
opposed to any such practices.




36-4          MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Ile is in favor of the Chief Magistrate, in office, selecting his successor,
and using all his influence to have him elected.
I think such a practice calculated to convert our Republic into a
/Monarchy, and therefore believe no man ought to be President who holds
such doctrine.
It is useless now to pursue this contrast any further, You will readily
perceive it is an entire mistake to suppose we ever belonged to the same
party; yet it is true we once nominally did. Ile came into it, and gave
his support at rather a late day, when possibly he believed he would
succeed whether he joined us or not.
To him I have still another objection.  He did not come into office
upon any character of his own, and no man is fit for the station he now
occupies unless he attains it upon the strength of his own principles and
character. He is nothing but a mere tuft of political misletoes, having
no root of his own, adhering to and supported by, the limb of a distinct
trunk altogether, and must as infallibly perish whenever that trunk
ceases to nourish him, as the tuft on yonder oak, whenever that oak shall
have decayed and fallen.
The question then recurs, should Mr. Clay be the opposing candidate,
what ought I to do?
I answer I ought to exercise my right of suffrage, so as most to promote the public welfare. I amn entirely opposed to following the exam
pie of throwing away my vote, because the community will neither
select me nor the man of my choice. It is my duty deliberately and
impartially to compare the principles and characters of those between
whom the choice is to be made, and to vote according to my best judgment. Permit me, then, for a few moments, to draw your attention to
a contrast between these two gentlemen.
Mr. Van Buren is in favor of a protective tariff, and voted for that of
of 1828.
3Mr. Clay is also in favor of a protective tariff, but did not vote for that
of 1828. He is the author of the Compromise Act of 1832, which settles
the question to the satisfaction of the country at large, and which he
believes ought not to be disturbed.
~Mr. Clay thinks the federal government has the power to nmake internal improvements within the States, but ought not to exercise the power
except upon an object of general or national utility, and that now, as the
States have taken up the business of internal improvements, the federal
government ought not to meddle with it, but rather aid the States with
mceans by distributing, when our funds will permit us, the proceeds of
our public lands.
Mr. Van Buren thinks the federal government can and ought to make
internal improvements when the object is national; but has no such
powier where the object is local.




MR. VAN BUIEN AND MR. CLAY.                  365
This opinion I think more exceptional than that of Mr. Clay, because
under it, the President has a discretionary power to make improvements
where he pleases, by calling the objects national, and refusing them at
pleasure, by calling the objects local.
Mr. Clay thinks we have the power to charter a national bank, and
that we ought to exercise it.
Mr. Van Buren is against a national bank, but is in favor of a treasury
bank.
The last is in my judgment the most dangerous opinion.
One great objection to incorporating a national bank is a fear that the
directors and president might co-operate in elections, and if they did,
that the moneyed power united with executive patronage would be an
overmatch for any power in the hands of the people.
Now in case of a national bank owned by stockholders, this Union
might, or might not take place; but in case of a treasury bank the Union
is certain, and everything is in due form of law put into the power of
the President.
Even upon these great leading points, I think Mr. Clay greatly preferable to Mr. Van Buren; but the contrast ought not to stop here.
Mr. Van Buren is in favor of executive power and patronage in its
very worst forms and ramifications. Mr. Clay is in favor of reducing
and limiting them by law.
In a few words I must state, that I think the great difference between
the two men is, that Mr. Van Buren will profess any opinions which will
gain him most votes in an election, and that when elected, he will practice on whatever principles will give to himself and his partisans the
most money, without any regard to the great interest of the country.
That Mr. Clay is a bold, ambitious, frank, and talented man. That in
office he would be ambitious so to administer the government as to make
for himself the reputation of a great man, in the estimation of enlightened men in his own day, and of posterity in all time to come.
I have thus frankly stated to you my opinion in relation to these men.
I have done so the more willingly, because I am under no obligation
to either, nor have I anything to hope from them.
It has been the fashion with you and with me, to endeavor to put down
and keep down Mr. Clay in time past. In turn he has helped to put and
keep me down. His third candidate for the Presidency furnished the only
argument which enabled the late Chief Magistrate to transfer the Southern
States to his candidate. For all this I care not. I had no claims on Mr. Clay.
On several great questions we had ever disagreed and still do. Should
I support him in the coming contest, it will not be because I have changed
or intend to change my principles; but because I like his better than
those of Mr. Van Buren, and because should he be elected I expect much
benefit to the country; but not all I would expect by electing a candidate with whom I accorded in opinion, upon all great questions.




366           MIEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
Be it therefore remembered, that if I sustain Mr. Clay, neither he nor
his friends are to believe for a moment that I surrender any one of my
political principles. Far otherwise; I will retain them all, and should I
still be in the Senate, if he were elected, and attempted to carry out any
principle in which I have disagreed with him, he would find in mne the
same opposition I have ever manifested.
In voting in elections, as in the discharge of every other duty to society,
it is my business to do all the good I can, and if I cannot get a candi
date to vote for, who comes up to my political standard, to select that
one who comes nearest to it.
Fellow-citizens: I thank you for your continued confidence and good
opinion; I thank you for the patient manner in which you have given
me your attention. Had I the voice now, which I had, when, forty-two
years ago I first addressed my countrymen on yonder hill (pointing to the
court-house), you would have been enabled to hear me without crowding
together in so small a compass: but your kindness can always remedy
my imperfections. I ask you to join me in the sentiment which I will
read, and pass to your president to be proposed as one nearest to my
heart:"' Tennessee." —May she ever adhere to her own principles-remain
too honest to be purchased, too well informed to be mislead, and too
unyielding to be subdued. In every struggle between parties may her
sons rally as a body-guard to protect the Constitution.
In reply to this avowal of Judge White's sentiments respecting
Mr. Clay, the latter gentleman addressed to him the following letter; which is published in justice to that distinguished statesman,
and as proof that the charge of a coalition between Judge White and
the opposition was unfounded.
ASHLAND, Aug. 2T, 1838.
DEAR SIR: I am indebted to you, or to some other friend, for a
copy of the speech which you delivered on the late occasion of a
public dinner with which you and Mr. Bell were complimented on your
return from Washington. I have attentively perused it, and with much
satisfaction; and I cannot deny myself the pleasure of saying to you that
it is candid, independent, and in perfect consistency with your own principles, character, and course. I might not be willing to admit the ambition which you ascribe to me; but I do not mean to insist upon that
observation of yours as detracting from the general fairness of the
speech. My chief object, however, in now addressing you, is to correct
an error into which you have fallen, in respect to the last Presidential
election. You appear to be under the impression that Gen. Harrison
was a candidate brought out by me, and brought out to avenge injuries




LETTER FROM MR. CLAY.                     367
which I had previously experienced from you. Now, I assure you, sir,
that I had no more agency in presenting the General as a candidate than
you had. It was done without any prompting of mine, and without any
prior consultation with me, N or did I, during the whole of the canvass,
take any active part in it. I felt the difficulty of supporting the General,
on account of the military basis of his pretensions: and I felt the difficulty of supporting you, on account of the difference which existed
between us on some leading points. But I never forgot that it was due
to my own character to avoid becoming an active partisan. Towards
the close of the canvass, in October of 1836, a great barbecue was gotten
up in sight of my house, connected with the presidential election, and I
was invited to it. I could not decline going; and very much against my
wishes, I was drawn out to say a few words on the subject of the
approaching election. The main idea which I expressed was, that it
was the duty of the people, in my opinion, to make the most determined
opposition to Mr. Van Buren; and for one, I declared my hearty preference for either of the other candidates. I spoke of you in terms of high
respect, and avowed my preference of you to Mr. Van Buren. Finally,
I stated to the meeting that I should vote for Gen. Harrison, because I
thought that he combined the greatest prospects of defeating Mr. Van
Buren. Most certainly the General was not my first choice. I should
have preferred Mr. Webster to him, and so stated.
The condition of the opposition to Mr. Van Buren at the last election,
was unfortunate. No mode was devised, and none seemed practicable,
to present a single candidate in opposition to him. The Southern, and
Southwestern States would not unite in the election of Gen. Harrison or
Mr. Webster, and their friends would not unite in your election. Under
these circumstances it was thought to be the best that could be done, by
those who took an active part in those matters, that all three of you should
be run. On a review of the past, I think you must admit that the disappointment was greatest in those States which were supposed to be
friendly to you. That may have been in consequence of the number of
candidates in the field; but that cause did not prevent Gen. Harrison from
obtaining quite as many votes as were ever expected. And I am sure
you will regard it only as matter of history when I express the opinion
that if the General had been out of the way, I do not think that you
could have obtained the votes which he received. They would have
gone to Mr. Webster, or, which is more probable, have been divided
between hira and Mr. Van Buren. In the course of a long conversation
with Mr. Webster, months before the election, I expressed to him the
opinion of the expediency of his retirement from the co3ntest, but he did
not retire.
If, as by this time I hope, you will believe that I had no agency in
putting forward Gen. Harrison, and certainly no purpose of injur



368           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
ing you, you will do me no more than justice in believing the assurance that I now make; that I felt no injury from you, which required to
be avenged. I certainly felt no obligation to the party of the late President to which you were once attached; but I had never understood that
you had been distinguished by any peculiar enmity towards me. And at
the period of the late election I regarded you with feelings far different
from those of a political enemy or opponent.
I thought these explanations due. I hope they will be received in the
same frank and friendly spirit in which they are made.
I hope you have recovered from the fatigue of our late exhausting session of Congress. Although I have not been five miles from home
since my return, I feel the want of further repose.
Mrs. Clay desires her respects to be presented to Mrs. White, and I beg
leave to add mine also, and for yourself, assurances of the most cordial esteem and regard of
Your faithful and ob't servant,
H. CLAY.
The Hon. HUIGH L. WrHIT




CHAPTER XVI.
RETIREMENT FROM PUBLIC LIFE.
IN the fall of 1838, Judge White's health became much impaired,
in consequence of an attack of congestive fever, which had prevailed to
an alarming extent in Knoxville. Under the belief that he should be
unable to reach Washington in time for the meeting of Congress, he
sent in his resignation, which Governor Cannon refused to accept.
As soon as it was ascertained that the legislature of 1839 contained
a majority of Administration members, it was at once determined by
them, to instruct him  out of the seat which he had so repeatedly
desired to resign, but had retained to gratify the leading men of their
own party. To effect this object as speedily as possible, and at the
same tinle to avoid, if it might be, the odium that must attach to them
in consequence of such a course, they, in the first place, endeavored
to make his resignation, which had been tendered the preceding fall,
take effect then; and a resolution was passed by the Senate, calling
upon the governor for the correspondence which had passed between
them.
In answer to which resolution his excellency sent in reply the following communication:GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE: In compliance with your resolution
of the 11th instant, I have the honor to state that there is not in my
possession, or in the executive department, or ever has been, a copy of
the correspondence between the Hon. Hugh L. White and myself, tonching his resignation as senator. No copy of the same has ever been taken,
nor is his letter to me on that subject in my possession, or in the executive department, it having been returned to him, by his request, a short
time after it was received. I have kept no memorandum of this communication, nor do I now remember its precise date. I am under the
impression, however, that it was in the early part of November last, that
I received a communication fiom this honorable senator informing me of
the severe affliction he had suffered and the very feeble state of his health
at that time; also expressing his belief that he would not be able to reach
24                         3G9




370           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Congress by the ensuing session. And in consequence of his inability he
proposed resigning his seat in the Senate of the United States in order
that a pro tem. appointment might be made by me in due time. On the
reception of this letter, I determined to suspend my official action on the
resignation thus tendered for a reasonable length of time, for the restoration of the health of our senator, sufficiently to enable him to proceed to
the discharge of his duties; which determination was communicated to
him with such reasons and suggestions as at that time were deemed appropriate, and resulted in an acquiescence of the withdrawal of his letter
containing the proposition to resign, which was returned to him by his
request, without my acceptance of his resignation or my official action
on it in any way whatever.
This is, according to the best of my recollection, the substance of the
correspondence which took place between the honorable senator and myself,
during the time and on the subject referred to in your resolution. Itis
praiseworthy course on this occasion afforded to my mind strong
additional evidence (to a long course of the most faithful public services)
of the most exalted and refined sense of honor and honesty, by which lie
has been influenced, and few examples of which have been set before us,
by the public men of our times. It has seldom happened tlhat those occupying similar situations, whether in reference to the general or State
governments, have shown, under such circumstances, equal patriotism and
devotion to the public interests, and in the assumption of authority on
my part, which has been exercised in this case by me as executive of the
State, I am conscious of having been influenced by honest views of the
interests of the people for whom I have acted, together with what was
due under the circumstances, to a well tried and faithful public servant;
and in assuming the responsibility which belongs to the station I hlave
occupied, in the discharge of this part of my duty, I cannot for a monment
believe that I have misconstrued the just and generous character of the
people of our State or that of their senators in the legislature, with regard
to the kind and indulgent feelings which animate them  towards those
faithful public servants who have rendered faithful and important services to our country, to every citizen of which, as well as to your honorable
body, I feel equally responsible for every official act.
"Very respectfully,
" NEWTON CANTON.
" Executive office, Nashville, Oct. 12th."
Resolutions to the following effect were shortly introduced by Mr.
Levin H. Coe, instructing their senators, and requesting their representatives to vote for them1. Against a national bank.
2. In favor of the sub-treasury.




LEGISLATIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO JUDGE WHITE.               371
3. Against Mr. Crittenden's Bill to secure the freedom of elections, or
any similar bill.
4. Against the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands.
5. In favor of a bill repealing all duties on imported salt.
6. To support in good faith the leading measures and policy of the
present Administration.
While these resolutions were under discussion in the House of Representatives, previous to their passage in that body, the representative
from Knox county, Gen. Jacobs, by reading the following letter gave
the House full assurance of the course which Judge White would
pursue in the event of his receiving such instructions.
Sept. 5th, 1839.
DEAR SIR: Your note of this date has been handed ine a few hours
since. By it you request me to inform you what course I will feel it my
duty to pursue, in case the General Assembly should-pass resolutions
instructing their senators to vote for the bill, denominated the Sub-Treasury Bill, or resolutions simply expressing the opinion that such bill ought
to pass, without any express instructions to the senators to vote for it.
I have long been an advocate for the doctrine of instructions, and am
of opinion that when a senator receives instructions from the legislature
of his State, upon any subject, when no constitutional question is involved,
he ought to conform his conduct to, and vote according to such instructions, or resign; and I have never been able to see any good reason why the
expression of an opinion by the legislature should not be considered as
instructions, although no express instructions accompany such expression
of opinion, unless the legislature say they do not intend an expression of
their opinion to control the conduct or votes of their senators.
I have considered a senator as the agent or trustee of the people of his
State, and that he ought to carry into effect, so far as is in his power, the
sentiments of a majority of the people he represents upon all subjects,
when he can do so, without violating the Constitution. He ought to
suppose the legislature, who are his immediate constituents, express no
opinion, or give no instructions which do not accord with the sentiments
of a majority of the people, and if he does not conform his conduct to the
expressed opinion of the people, through the agency of the legislature,
he is guilty of a breach of trust, and does not faithfully represent his State.
The Sub-Treasury Bill, so far as I am advised, does not involve any
constitutional question; therefore, if the General Assembly deem it proper to instruct their senators to vote for its passage, or consider it wise
to express the opinion that it ought to pass, in either of these cases I
should consider myself bound, either to give it the support of my vote, or
to resign; and I should certainly adopt the latter branch of the alternative. No consideration could induce me knowingly to misrepresent the




3 7 2          MIE3MOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WI1ITE.
people of Tennessee, especially upon a subject so important, and by my
vote, no bill productive of so many ill consequences, as I think this
w-oulld be, shall ever be passed. Consistently, therefore, with my principles, no course would be left me but to resign.
I have heretofore opposed the sub-treasury, and voted against it, nnde!
a firm conviction, that if passed, it would be productive of much imischief; I believed a large majority of the people of Tennessee entertained
the same opinion. At the last session our General Asselmbly instructed
ilme to pursue this course; with much pleasure I conformed to those
instructions, and I cannot now act so inconsistent a part as to suplport a
measure, in my judgiment fraught with such ruinous consequences to
society. I still believe a majority of the people of this State accord wiith
mle in opinion upon this subject, but as a senator, do not consider myself
aIt liberty to go behind the legislature in search of public opinion.  I
will act as if I believed they correctly expressed the opinion of my State,
and if they do not, they are accountable, not to me, but to the people
who are our conRaon constituents or masters.
It is true, as I have heretofore said, that in 1834, when the subtreasury was first spoken of, I thought favorably of it, and would have
supported it: plrovided my political friends had agreed with me in opinion, but the matter is now entirely changed in my view of tlhis subject.
Then my idea was that the details should be such as to lessen, not to
inrease, the power of the executive over the public moneys.  Now the
project is to give, in my opinion, almost unlimited control over them.
Then it was very doubtful whether safe banks could be induced to
take charge of the public moneys upon reasonable and fair termls. Now,
iio such doubts are entertained.
Then, I had entire confidence in the executive; now, that confidence
does not exist.
Then, we had not the benefit of experience on this subject. The sub-treasury has now been in actual operation for several years, and I consider
that this experience ought to have taught us all, that, under its operations, the public money will be unsafe, and society will be demoralized
by the illenal use of it, and that the power of tl-e federal executive will
be increased to an extent inconsistent with our liberties.
It was my intention not to obtrude my opinions upon this, or any
other subject, upon any of the members of the General Assembly, but at
thle same time, I can have no inducement to conceal thenm. I have, therefore, endeavored very briefly to answer all the points embraced in your
note, and have no difficulty in giving the permission you ask, to use nmy
answer in any way you may think proper.
With sentimenlts of the most sincere regard, I am
Your ob't servant,
IHuGH L. WHITE.
G-en. SoLoMoN D. Jacons.




LEGISLATIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO JUDGE WHITE.            373
Completely frustrated in their previous attempt, the political opponents of Judge White now determined to effect what seemed to be
their sole object without regard to consequences.  After the disposal
of a long and tedious series of obstructing amendments offered by
whig senators, Mr. Gillespie, at the end of a month's hard labor,
moved the previous question, and succeeded in carrying through the
resolutions at midnight, November 8th, by a strict party vote.
These proceedings brought upon their contrivers the reprobation
of the country, as is shown by the tone of the public journals of the
day.
The "Madisonian" thus treats the subject:Since the destructives carried the State of Tennessee by political turpitude and chicanery, they have been unceasing in their efforts to push
Judge White from his seat. We do not wonder at it-there is a daily
beauty in the presence of that pure and exalted patriot, which makes
this hideous; hence the ghost of the blood-stained Banquo was not a
more unwelcome visitor to the tyrant at his feast, than would be Judge
White to the ruling party in the Senate. We most sincerely trust he
will not resign. At this particular juncture, the nation at large, as well
as the State of Tennessee in particular, has a deep interest in his retaining his seat. We cannot bear the idea that a station held with honor to
himself and usefulness to the nation, should be yielded to make room for
some of those suppliant tools that have been engendered through the
base degeneracy of the times. Although in some instances, the private
station may be the post of honor, yet in others it becomes the duty of
the statesman to yield his individual views to the wishes of the country.
We feel persuaded that however much Judge White may have desired
repose, their base attempts at intimidation will nerve him to a proper
resistance of their nefarious schemes.
The " N. Y. Times," in speaking of the movement of the ruling party
in Tennessee, says:We are sorry to say that the manner in which these gentlemen were
" instructed" out of their seats, was grossly rude and insulting. More disgusting samples of low-bred abuse than are to be found in the speeches
made by some of the locofoco members at Judge White during the
debate on the instructing resolutions, never disgraced a parliamentary
body. This portion of the picture is, however, somewhat relieved by a contemplation of the beautiful dilemma in which the locofocos were involved
by their acute and eloquent opponents. So completely were the former
entangled in a web of contradictions, so ludicrous were their perplexed




374           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
efforts to steer between the Charybdis of giving the lie to Gen. Jackson,
by voting against resolutions embodying his very words, and the yet
more awful Scylla of repudiating the sub-treasury by endorsing them,
that we suppose we must find some palliation for the overflow of their
malignity in the agony of their annoyance.
The " Louisville Journal " thus commented upon the subject:
The speaker of the lower branch decided that an amendment could
not be laid on the table without carrying with it the main question. This
decision was clearly correct; it was in accordance with all parliamentary
usage. Some members, however, in order to test. the sense of the House,
took an appeal to that body; and the decision was almost unanimously
confirmed, the locofocos going for it in a mass. Well, only two or three
days afterwards, while the instructing resolutions were up for consideration, the whigs began to torment the locofocos by proposing certain troublesome amendments, which the locos did not dare to vote either for or
against. The only way they saw of getting rid of them, was to lay the-m1
on the table; and so in direct defiance of the previous decision, the
ispeaker decided and all the party except three sustained him in it, that
aG? amendment might be laid on the table without carrying with it the
main proposition.
The following is from the "Hamilton Gazette," a neutral paper, pub-.ished in Tennessee:Well might the venerable White exclaim against his own State, as
did the noble Caesar against his fellow and friend Brutus when he too
stabbed him  in the Roman Senate.  Judge White is an old public
servant; he has won a good name from every dispassionate man. We
are told that in Washington City his unbending morality and inflexible
patriotism, manifested by every action public and private-his lofty
demeanor and talents of the first order —his attention to business, and
whole general bearing is so much assimilated to that of the " father of his
country," that he stands pre-eminent, even among the Clays, Calhouns,
Websters and Adamses. Yet this man, for no other reason than because
his views and sentiments do not exactly tally with the majority of the
legislature, has been requested to resign his seat in the Senate of the
United States. It is not often that we permit our feelings to lead us into
a censorious notice of either party. But we confess, that when we think
of the disgrace that has been brought upon our State, by the reckless
mendacity and total disregard of every principle of right, to foster the
pretensions of a party, our " gorge rises," and we are almost disposed to
think that a worse curse is coming upon us through the management of




LEGISLATIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO JUDGE WHITE.           375
our rulers, than rested upon France in her most bloody era. If it were
possible for a more judicious choice than Judge White to be made in
Tennessee, the case would not be so bad. But every man in the majority,
knows full well, that if half a dozen of their leaders were thrown into a
crucible, purified, and cast into one man, that he would fall short of the
merits of Judge White."
The party being now anxious to precipitate measures at Washington, on the 13th January, Mr. Wright called up the Sub-Treasury Bill
in the Senate, and pressed its consideration on that body. Thereupon,
Judge White rose and said, that " he held in his hand a number of
resolutions adopted by the legislature of his State, one of which
instructed him to vote in favor of the bill, proposed for the consideration of the Senate to-day."
He requested permission to read to the Senate his reply to the
legislature, which was granted.
Mr. White then addressed the Senate to the following effect:
Mr. PRESIDENT: I have a duty to perform this morning, before we proceed to any regular order of the day. Presuming that the business of
presenting petitions is now over, I proceed to discharge it with as little
delay as possible.
When I reached this place on the 29th of November last, I was furnished by one of our officers with a letter, which contained several resolutions adopted by the legislature of Tennessee, condemning one of the
votes given by the senators fromn that State, at the last session, and
instructing them how to act in future, on many subjects. I believed my
duty to my State, and to the public, would be best discharged by remaining in my seat and continuing to attend to the business of the Senate, in
the manner I had been accustomed to do, until some of the subjects
specifically mentioned in the resolutions should be placed before the body
for discussion. On this day of the last week, the honorable chairman of
the committee of finance reported a bill, commonly called the Sub-Treasury Bill, and gave notice that on this day he would ask for its consideration. This being one of the subjects mentioned in the resolutions, the
time has arrived when, in my opinion, it is respectful to the legislature
of my State, that I should present them to this body, to the end that the
members of it, as well as the community at large, may be made acquainted
with what the General Assembly has chosen to express as public opinion
in Tennessee. I move that the preamble and resolutions, which I now
send to the secretary, may be read, printed, and laid on the table.
After the resolutions had been read, Mr. White proceeded and said,




376           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Mr. President-As I am now a member of this body, and my instructions have been read and ordered to be printed, I consider it proper that
I should follow the example set by others, and make equally public the
conclusions to which I have come in relation to them.
The subjects of which they treat are of vital interest to the country,
and I am anxious that the opinions I entertain and express upon theml
shouldT neither be misunderstood nor mzisrepresented; I will, therefore,
take the liberty of deviating fiom my usual course of delivering my sentiments (which has been not even to use notes), and will now read the
answer which I have prepared, and intend, without delay, to forward to
the same body which adopted the resolutions.
Mr. White then read his answer in the following words'To the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee.
GENTLEMEN: On the 29th of November last, in the city of Washington,
I received a copy of sundry preambles and six resolutions, which appear
to have been adopted by you on the 14th of that month, instructing your
senators, and requesting the representatives in the Congress of the United
States how to act on a variety of subjects.
An answer to the resolutions would have been immediately given had I
not believed it my duty to remain at the post assigned me by your predecessors, until some of the matters specified in them should be presented
to the Senate for its action. Although I might entertain an opinion
different from that employed by your honorable body, and might be
unwilling to surrender that opinion; yet if no case should be presented
for the action of the Senate, in relation to which such difference of
opinion existed, I could, perceive no good reason why I should state what
course I would pursue, upon a subject, which might never be presented
for consideration. Now, however, bills are presented to the Senate upon
some of the subjects embraced in your resolutions, and I deem it my duty,
without further delay, to inform you, that I cannot obey the instructions
contained in some of those resolutions, and respectfully to assign some
of the reasons which influence my conduct.
That I may b e the better understood, I will notice each of the resolutions in the order in which they were adopted.
First. As one of your senators, I am instructed " to vote against the
chartering by Congress of a national bank."
This instruction corresponds with the opinion I have repeatedly
expressed and acted on, and I could now feel no difficulty in conforming
my vote to your wishes on this subject.
Secondly. I am instructed "to vote for, and use all fair and proper
exertions to procure the passage of the measure brought forward in the




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                  377
Congress of the United States, commonly called the Sub-Treasury Bill,
or Independent Treasury Bill," &c., &c.
The following, with many other reasons, induced me to believe I ought
not to comply with the instructions contained in this resolution.
It has often happened, and will generally be the case, that a considerable time must elapse between the receipt of public money from the
debtor to the United States, and its disbursement to their creditors;
during this interval the money will be much more safe in the custody of
well selected banks than it can be in the hands of individuals, supposing
them to be faithful.
Supposing any one of your honorable body had one hundred thousand
dollars of his own money, which he did not intend to use for six or nine
months, and lived in the vicinity of a bank of respectable standing,
would he keep the money in his own house, under his own care, or
would he deposit it in bank for safe-keeping until he wished to use it?
If he was a prudent man, regarding his own interest, he certainly would
deposit it.
Are we then justified in taking less care of the people's money than a
prudent man would take of his own? With great deference to your better judgment, I think not.
It often happens that the receiving officers have on hand much larger
sums than that named in the supposed case, and as the sum is increased
and the time it is to be kept between its receipt and disbursement
enlarged, the danger of loss, when in the hands of an individual, is
increased likewise.
Again. All experience teaches us that large sums of public money left
in the hands of individuals will be misused and squandered. It will
either be used by the individual himself for his own purposes, or loaned to
importunate friends whom he may wish to accommodate, and who are
sure not to be able to return it when called for.
It is said banks are irresponsible, therefore not to be trusted. In my
opinion, generally, they are more responsible than individuals. They
have more means with which to pay, and if they fail to make payments
when required, they are as much amenable to the process of a court of
justice as individuals are; and in addition, they are to be found with much
more certainty, as a corporation aggregate can very seldom abscond, or
leave the country, which an individual easily can, and often does do when
he misuses the public money.
We need all the checks which can reasonably be imposed on our
collecting and disbursing officers.  Banks have been found to furnish
one highly beneficial upon both of these classes. By a regulation between
the treasury department and each deposit bank, the latter has been
required at short periods to furnish its account current with the treasurer,
and on the face of it to show all sums deposited to his credit, wlicen such




378           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
deposits were made, and by whom. By comparing this account with the
accounts furnished by the respective officers themselves, it can readily be
discovered whether they are misusing the public money or not. By the
proposed change, and allowing the collector or receiver to be himself the
keeper, until the money is wanted for use, you have no check whatever, and
the whole money received by an officer may be squandered before it is
wanted for disbursement, without any means of detection.
I, therefore, conclude the Sub-Treasury Bill ought not to be passed, if
there were no other objections to it save that of the public money being
less secure. But there are other weighty objections.
The only plausible reason which can be assigned why we should discard banks entirely and appoint sub-treasurers, keepers of the public
funds, must be, that the banks are unworthy of confidence.
If that be so, does it not necessarily follow that you ought either not
to receive any bank notes in discharge of (Idues to the government, or if
received, that you should order the officer with whom they are deposited
for safe-keeping, immediately to call upon the banks for specie to their
amount.  It is absurd to say we will not deposit with the bank, because
we have no confidence in it, and at the same time to allow our officers to
receive bank notes, and retain them in the hands of our officer, up to the
time we wish to pay the money away. There is less probability that the
banks would redeem their notes in specie when called on, than that they
would deny the payment in specie for money received on deposit.
The practice, then, of receiving nothing but specie from debtors, or of
immediately converting the notes received into specie, and locking that
up until the time of disbursement arrives, must be resorted to, in order
to carry out your wishes.
This, I apprehend, would be ruinous to society. A large portion of the
specie that might otherwise circulate, would be withdrawn from the use
of every person a considerable portion of each year. This would affect
the prices of property, of labor, and of everything else, and would render
it next to impossible for even a prudent man, who happened to be in
debt, ever to extricate himself.
Beside this, the heavy draws for specie upon banks, would compel
them, in a short time, either to wind up or to do a very precarious business. Whenever a suspension of specie payments would take place, we
would have a depreciated paper currency, on which to do the business of
the country, and specie would become an article of merchandise. The
man in office, or who had a job or contract with the government, would
receive his salary or his pay in specie, which he would immediately sell
for bank paper, receiving a premium of some ten or fifteen per centum,
and with that paper pay his debts or purchase such property as he might
wish. This practice is at this moment in operation. For every hundred
dollars paid me as a member of Congress, I can receive one hundred and




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                   379
eight or nine dollars in bank notes, and with them pay the landlord who
feeds, or the tailor who clothes me.
It has appeared to me, if we commence this entire operation which
your resolution contemplates, and go into this thorough hard money
system, we shall presently, in Tennessee especially, be in a deplorable
condition. Look at its effects: all debts and taxes are to be paid to the
federal government in hard money, or in bank notes, for which the specie will be immediately received, and the specie thus received is to be
locked up securely, until it is paid out in discharge of some debt due by
the government. Suppose our first year's taxes paid, in all the States,
amounting to some twenty-five or thirty millions of dollars. That is
only to be returned into circulation when the federal government pays
the debts which it owes. What chance will Tennessee have to receive,
by federal disbursement, any portion of what she may have paid? We
have no forts, no foundries, no arsenals, no fortifications, no army, no
navy, navy-yards, or dry-docks. In short, we have next to no objects
upon which the federal government expends money; therefore none of it
would be returned to us. We must pay up our full proportion of all
indirect taxes in hard money, with a certainty that little or none of it
would be returned to us by federal expenditures, and in the course of a
very few years, we must be drained of every hard dollar we now have.
There is another class of objections against this measure, entitled, I
think, to still more grave considerations.
The addition it will make to the powers of the federal executive.
Every officer with which the money is to be deposited, or left for safekeeping, will be appointed by the President, and removable at his pleasure. We might as well give it to the President himself, as entrust it to
those whom he can and will control.
This plan will multiply officers and increase considerably our expenses
at its commencement, and in the end, no man can foresee the swarms of
dependents it may generate, and the additions it may occasion to our
expenditures of the public money.
By the use of the patronage already belonging to that officer, we all
know and feel that a large portion of the power vested in the legislative
department exists only in name; it is in substance vested in, and
expressed by, the President as he wills; shall we, then, give him a controlling power over all the pecuniary resources of the federal government? For one, I cannot consent to it.
Lastly, this sub-treasury is nothing but a stepping-stone to a bank
created by the federal government, bottomed on its own funds, attached
to the treasury department, and all placed at the control of the President, or of those who will never have any will which does not correspond
with his.
It appears to me, no reasonable man can think if we commence this
system we are to stop short of such a bank.




380            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Let one year only pass with all your revenue in specie, and that locked
up, your State banks and paper currency deranged, and what then?
Those who may wish to carry out this system will then recur to the
sound doctrine advanced by the late President Jackson, " that the money
of the country ought not to be kept locked up by the government, any
more than the arms belonging to the citizens-both will be sure to be
misused."  And it will be urged that society is suffering for a sound circulating medium; we must pass a law authorizing this money to be
loaned, the interest will ease us of the payment of much taxes, and by
circulating treasury notes, or drafts drawn by one of these treasurers
upon another, we will have a sound paper currency, good everywhere,
and bottomed on a metallic basis.  This doctrine will become the democrsatic doctrine, and every man who opposes it will be denounced as a
bank-bought federalist; the law will pass, and in due form we shall have
the Treasury Banlk; and what then?
The purse and the sword will be united, and a power to increase the
surse, as need may require, not by adding eagles and hard dollars to our
funds, but by issues of paper, in such sums as may be deemed necessary
and proper. This bank, with its pecuniary means, and the credit and
resources it will possess, can either destroy or render subservient to the
views of the executive any State banks which may be in existence. The
whole moneyed power, not only of the federal government, but of all
State banks, being thus placed in the hands of the President, he will be
able to control the destinies of the country.
His will becomes the law of the land. He will never again have to
appeal to " the sober second thought of the people" to carry any favorite
measure. His first recommendation will always secure its speedy enactment into a law.
In the views which I take of this subject, I may be in error; but they
are sincerely entertained. In the first instance, I placed my vote against
it, under the belief that such were the sentiments of the people I represented. Afterwards, I was instructed by the legislature to continue my
opposition. I did so, from a conviction that I was right; and nothing
would give me more pleasure than to conform my vote to your wishes,
if the measure were an ordinary one, or if I believed the error of sanctioning it could be corrected; but believing, as I do, that the power once
granted to the executive can never be recalled, and that its exercise will
take from the people that freedom of thought and of action which alone
entitles our government to be considered free, I most respectfully, but
decidedly state, that I cannot and will not obey the instruction contained
in your second resolution.
Your third resolution unqualifiedly condemns the provisions of a bill
of the last session, entitled, a bill to prevent the interference of certain
federal officers in elections, declares the same to be a violation of the
Constitution of the United States, unqualifiedly condemns the vote given




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                  381
in favor of 3aid bill by my colleague and myself, and instructs your Sena.
tors to vote against, and to use all fair and proper exertions to prevent
the passage of the same, or any similar bill.
When my colleague and myself gave our votes in favor of that bill,
we acted under the same solemn sanction of an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, that the members of your honorable body
did when they voted in favor of this condemnatory resolution. We had
the benefit of very able arguments both for and against the bill. Wo
examined it with all the care we could, and came to the conclusion that
it was not unconstitutional, and believing that the prevailing practice of
the President interfering in elections, both State and federal, through the
instrumentality of officers, who hold their places during his pleasure,
called loudly for a remedy; we voted in favor of its passage.
If your decision was final, I would not be so childish as to ask of you
to reconsider the constitutional question.
To men of ordinary capacity, or equivocal moral character, I might
make such a request, from a belief that the decision was a hasty one,
produced by some extraneous influence, and that a more deliberate investigation of the subject might lead to a different conclusion; but when I
reflect that the leading members of that majority which passed the
resolution are men as much distinguished by their nmoral character as by
their intellectual attainments and deep researcch on subjects connected
with constitutional law, and see that my vote is not only " condemned,"
but " unqualifiedly condemned," I cannot hope that one of my humble
pretensions could urge anything which would occasion even a doubt in
your minds of the correctness of your decision.
But there is a higher earthly tribunal than your honorable body, that
will judge both your vote and mnine, and pass sentence dispassionately,
without any predisposition to unqnualifiedly condemn either of us, but in
charity hoping that each believed, when giving his vote, he was acting
correctly. To that tribunal, then, our common constituents, through you,
their immediate representatives, I beg leave respectfully and briefly to
assign some of the reasons which influenced the vote complained of.
Every officer named in that bill holds his office at the will of the President, and is liable to be dismissed whenever it is the pleasure of the
President to dismiss him. Each and every one of the offices is created
by act of Congress. The qualification for the office, the tenure of it, and
the duties to be performed by the officers are, and were, matters of legislative enactment.
The President has no power to dismiss or control one of these officers,
merely because he is President, but because Congress, by law, gave him
that power. The bill itself expressly provided that all these officers
should be secure in the right to vote on all elections, according to their
own judgment, and only forbid their interference to control and influence
the votes of others.




382            MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
I affirm that Congress had the power to create these offices, or not, at
its pleasure. That, when they were created, Congress could prescribe
the duties of the officers. That, if it had been deemed necessary, Congress could have enacted that the officers should hold the office during
good behavior; but that, if any one of the officers interfered to influence
the votes of others, in any election, either State or federal, it should be a
nzisdcezeanor in office, for which he should be dismissed.
When the bill complained of was under consideration, Congress had
exactly the same power over the subject that it had when the offices were
first creating.  They might have repealed the law entirely, and thus have
turned out every one of these officers.
Suppose, instead of the bill complained of, a bill had been introduced
and passed, stating that, whereas these officers were in the habit of interfering to influence the votes of the citizens in elections, therefore, Be it
enacted, that the law creating their offices should be repealed, &c., would
your honorable body venture the opinion that such law would have been
unconstitutional, and that these officers would still have remained in
office? I think not.
On the question of constitutional power, there can be no distinction
between the case supposed and the bill complained of. If the one would
have been constitutional, so is the other.
Prior to the year 1820, these officers held their office during pleasure.
Congress tken believed many of them had mnisdemeaned themselves, were
defaulters, &c.; and, with a view to provide a remedy, on the 15th of
May, in that year, an act was passed chcanging their tenure, and limiting
each of them to the term of four years, and made them  removable at
pleasure within these four years. Has it ever been thought that act was
unconstitutional? Not at all. Yet such an objection might have been
urged with much more force in that case than in this.
The only reason assigned in your resolution why this bill was unconstitutional is, that it took from these officers the liberty of speech, and
the Constitution provides that " Congress shall pass no law abridging the
freedom of speech and of the press."
This provision in tile Constitution was intended for the safety and
protection of the common citizen who holds no office. It was foreseen
that those in office might abuse their trust, and to protect themselves
against exposure, might pass laws restraining the citizens from censuring
them, either in speeches or through the press. Now, in your resolution,
you exactly reverse the matter, and suppose it was intended to protect
the instruments of the President, who hold office at his will, in their
endeavors to influence and mislead the people in elections. During the
administration of the elder Mr. Adams, many complaints were made and
charges urged. both in speeches and through the press, by the citizens,
against him, and those in office under him. With a view to silence the
citizens, and to maintain and shield those in office, the sedition law was




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                    383
passed. The Republicans, one and all, condemned it as unconstitutional
and unjust, and they were right in such condemnation.
Your resolution maintains now, exactly the same doctrines then
advanced by the federalists. They wished to silence the people, that
they might retain their places and power, and your resolution seeks to
allow the officeholders to go forth with all their power and influence, to
mislead and corrupt the people-obtain their votes in elections, and thus
retain their offices with all their emoluments.
Does your honorable body intend to affirm that Congress has no power
to regulate the conduct of this class of officers?
Are they to be allowed to go forth on days of election, and with a view
to procure votes for the President or his favorites, promise money or offices,
jobs or contracts, by which much money may be made with but little
labor? The officeholder, in making these promises to influence voters,
would be using his powers of speech, which the resolution affirms Congress cannot abridge or lessen. If the proposition can be maintained,
then Congress had better go home, and yield up everything to the President, and the corps who hold office at his pleasure.
We will, after a little reflection, perceive that this resolution not only
unqualifiedly condemns your senators for their vote, but necessarily the
conduct and opinions of others whom the country has most delighted to
honor.
The only reason assigned in your resolution why this bill was unconstitutional is, that it abridged the freedom of speech.
If you are correct, how dare Mr. Jefferson, " the Apostle of Liberty,"
in his letter to Governor McKean, use the language he did on this subject?
Still more, when he came into office as President, why did lhe dare to
issue his circular letter, prohibiting this class of officers, on pain of dismissal, from interfering in elections farther than to give their own votes?
He was swo0rn to support the Constitution, and if Congress abridges the
freedom of speech, secured by the Constitution, by the enactments proposed in this bill, it follows clearly that the President in his circular
violated the same provision, by pronouncing the like penalty for the like
offence?
I defy any person to condemn the one without condemning the other;
unless, indeed, we suppose there is a class of politicians who believe the
Constitution does not and ought not to impose any restraint upon the
President.
I fear such a sect has lately sprung up, and is increasing. It cannot be
too speedily suppressed.
The late President, General Jackson, in his inaugural address, when.'he was fresh from the people," inculcated the same doctrine with Mr.
Jefferson.  "To prevent the patronage of the government from  being
brought into conflict with the freedom of elections, was z duty inscribed




384           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  W1IITE.
in characters too legible to be misunderstood," &c., was the strong Ian
guage he then used. How was the duty to be discharged? Did we not
one and all, believe he would discharge it as Mr. Jefferson had done? If,
then, these Presidents could, without violating the Constitution, prohibit
these officers from interfering in elections, why could not Congress by its
enactments prohibit them likewise?
No satisfactory answer can be given to this question.
The President already had the power vested in him to dismiss these officers at his pleasure; and Congress unquestionably had the power to limit
his discretion, by specifying the cases in which he should exercise it. If,
then, my colleague and I erred on this question of power, with great
deference I submit that, the company with which our opinions were
associated ought, at least, to have softened the asperity of the language
in which our condemnation was pronounced. If there was any one subject above all others, upon which I believed my colleague and I could
not mistake the sentiment of our constituents, it was that embraced in
that bill.
To prevent the President, through those officers, from interfering in
elections, was a theme upon which the fiiends of the late President
(Jackson) had dwelt most, both in and out of Congress. In 1826, a
committee of the Senate, of which I was a very humble member, through
their chairman had made a most able report, the principles of which
were applauded by the whole party, and by our State in particular. Upon
them, mainly, General Jackson came into power; he gave them  his
solemn sanction in his inaugural address, in presence of thousands of witnesses.  I had been twice elected after my opinions were well known
upon this subject, and now, when I endeavor faithfully to carry them
out, to be unqualifiedly condemned for doing so, and that by those who
then professed to think as I sincerely did, was what I did not anticipate.
I am sure that, upon this subject, my practice has corresponded with my
professions. Still, I should feel degraded if I were to pronounce any old
associate a traitor, or liken him to Benedict Arnold, because at this time
he disagrees with me in opinion.
They are greatly mistaken who suppose the object of this bill was to
take from this class of officers any right whatever. Precisely the reverse
was the intention.  It was to emancipate them from the slavish bondage
in which they were held. It was to enable every man of them to vote
according to the dictates of his own judgment, and to absolve them from
the painful alternative of being compelled to not only vote, but to electioneer for candidates not of their choice, but of the President, on pain of
dismissal from office.
The great object was, to prevent the President from controlling the
people in the choice of their officers, State and federal. This class of offi.
cers, whose daily bread for their families, depended on executive favor.




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                   385
were constrained, as a part of their official duty, not only to vote
as the President wished, but to endeavor to influence others to do so
likewise. If they did not perform this duty they were dismissed, and
with their families left to starve. An enlightened statesman once called
them the " enlisted soldiers of the President."
A politician who knows as well as any other man the niotives by
which men are influenced in relation to elections, says:-" Whenever he
sees an officeholder interfering in elections, he concludes he is thinking of
his salary and his bread, and is a very unfit adviser of the people."  By
the passage of this bill it was hoped the instruments for misleading the
people would be taken from the President, that these " enlisted soldiers"
would be discharged from electioneering duties, and yet receive their
pay; and that if they performed the duties of their offices faithfully, they
might safely vote according to the dictates of their own judgment, and
yet be secure in their "salaries and their daily bread."
By your fourth resolution, as one of your senators, I am instructed to
" vote against the measure heretofore brought before Congress, which
had for its object, the distribution among the States of the proceeds of the
sales of the public lands."
In justice to myself, as well as to my constituents, I must be permitted
to state the manner in which my mind has operated on this subject at
different times and under different circumstances.
When a bill was first introduced, having such distribution as that
spoken of for its object, I voted against its passage, and in favor of the
veto of the Chief Magistrate, on the ground that no such distribution
ought to be made until the public debt was allpaid.
Upon looking into the deeds, by which those lands were ceded to the
United States, by the respective States, I found that they were conveyed in
trust to pay out of the proceeds of their sales, our public debt then
owing by the United States, and that the residue should be for the joint
benefit of each of the several States, including those making the cessions.
At that time a portion of the public debt was unpaid, and I deemed it
improper to distribute any part of this fund until the debt was fully dis.
charged, that being the primary object of the donor.
When a like bill was afterwards introduced, I not only voted for it,
but gave it such support as my feeble abilities enabled me.
By this time the public debt had been fully paid, and we had a very
large sum in the treasury, beyond the necessary wants of the federal
government.
I could not doubt the power of Congress to make the distribution.
because there was an express trust that this fund should be for the use
of the respective States; we had a large sum on hand which I thought,
in honesty, belonged to the States, and the portion belonging to Tennes25




386           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
see, I believed, would be highly useful in enabling her to make internal
improviements, and in providing a system for the education of those who
might be unable to bear the expenses of educating themselves. In addition to these considerations, I perceived if this large sum was not distributed, it would encourage a system of extravagant expenditure inconsistent with the welfare of the country.
I still believe these views were sound, and that if I committed any
error, it was not giving my support to the first bill as well as the last.
I believe it would be unwise, perhaps unconstitutional, for the federal
government to impose taxes for the purposes of collecting more money
than is necessary to carry out its affairs, to the end that it might have a
surplus to distribute among the States: but this fund stands on a different ground; it is a trust fund which belongs not to the federal,
but to the State government.
The ordinary duties necessary and proper for the regulation of our
commerce with foreign nations, ought to be sufficient to bring into the
treasury, as much money as would defray the economical expenses of
the federal government, and each of the States ought to receive its
fair proportion of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands.
I consider Tennessee as honestly entitled to her proportion of this
fund, as any of your honorable body is to a tract of land devised to
him by his father.
It appears to me, even at this time, our State very much needs her
proportion of this fund, and that in a short time we shall be much more
in want of it.
Your honorable body may be satisfied that a majority of our citizens
are willing to relinquish their interest in this fund, but I am not so
satisfied, and as a senator in Congress, I will not do any act by which
such an idea is to be sanctioned.
It may be in the course of a very short time, that this fund will be
indispensably necessary to save our citizens from heavy taxation, and I
should never forgive myself, if by yielding to your instructions, I did an
act which produced a serious injury to the people, who have so long
honored me with their confidence.
By the last clauses in your fourth resolution, I am instructed to vote
for graduating the price of the public lands, and for granting pre-emption
rights to occupants.
These instructions correspond with the opinions I have maintained and
acted on, therefore, I should find no difficulty in conforming to your
wishes in relation to them.
In the fifth resolution, your instructions are "to vote for and use all
fair and proper exertions to procure the passage of a law repealing the
duties on imported salt."
This subject has been before the Senate on several occasions since I




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                 387
have been a member, and my votes have ever been in favor of removing
this duty, and I should still conform my conduct to my settled conviction, that my past course on this subject has been correct.
In your sixth resolution you state, that you' heartily approve the
leading measures and policy of the Administrations of Andrew Jackson
and Martin Van Buren, and" instruct " your senators to support in good
faith, the leading measures and policy, as brought forward and advocated
by the present President of the United States, and to use all fair and
proper exertions to carry out, sustain, and accomplish the same."
The phraseology of this resolution is so general and indefinite, that I
am not sure I comprehend the meaning of your honorable body; but
believe you intend that I shall support all the leading measures of the
Chief Magistrate, as well those hereafter to be brought forward as those
heretofore recommended.
To instructions of this description, I could not with propriety, pay any
attention whatever.
Our fathers and statesmen believed they had done much towards the
security of civil liberty, when, by the Constitution, they divided the
great powers conferred into three departments, each, in its sphere, independent of the other two. These were the legislative, the executive,
and the judicial.
If the powers of any two of these departments should be placed in the
samne hands, the whole machinery of the government is destroyed, and
the checks interposed are removed.
You instruct your senators to conform their votes on all the leading
measures, to the will of the President, who is at the head of the executive department. If you have a right to give such instructions, and your
senators are bound to obey, every other legislature in the Union has the
same right, and their senators would be equally bound to yield obedience.
Why not let the President at once make the law, and then execute it?
If we are bound to vote as he recommends, it is a solemn mockery to
consult us at all. The law would not be the will of the Senate, but the
will of the President. By this process the whole legislative power would
be yielded up and surrendered to the executive.
I have been educated to believe, that continued watchfulness, and constant jealousy of those in power, are essential to the preservation of
liberty.
Your honorable body would now teach me a different lesson, and
instead of being a sentinel on the watch-tower, to guard the liberty of my
constituents, I am to betake myself to slumber, examine nothing, but
vote on all leading measures as the President may recommend.
If this be the kind of service to which your senators are to be applied,
I never can perform it, and feel myself unsuited to a station, which I
have heretofore considered most honorable as well as confidetia'.




388           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
After your resolutions shall have performed their wonted qfice and my
resignation shall have been received, before electing my successor, I hope
in your wisdom you will either rescind or expunge this sixth resolution.
Our common constituents, the free and chivalrous citizens of Tennessee,
I hope will ever be represented in the Senate by those whose principles
and feelings are in accordance with their own; and while this resolution
is suffered to remain, no man can accept that high station but one who
is himself enslaved, and fit only to represent those in the like condition.with himself.
I have now troubled you with all the remarks I deem it necessary to
make upon your six resolutions, taken separately, but do not feel that I
will have discharged my whole duty until I have shown the deduction to
be drawn from them when connectedly considered.
They contain the political creed of the present Chief Magistrate of the
United States, as expressed through his friends in the Tennessee legislature; and what is it?
By the 2d resolution it is proved he wishes the whole moneyed power
of the United States vested in him, and subject to his control.
By the 3d it is proved he will not agree that the patronage and power
he now exercises shall be either lessened or regulated by law.
By the 4th, it is proved that in order to have fill coffers, he wishes the
States to surrender their right to the moneys arising fiom the sales of the
public lands, and
By the 6th, it is proved that he wishes Congress compelled to vote for
every leading measure he may recommend, and I am instructed in good
faith to give my aid to maintain this creed.
These instructions I cannot and will not obey. So far from it, my
creed upon these points is:
1st. That the power over the public purse ought to be constantly kept
under the control of the legislature.
2d. That the patronage as well as the expenditures of the executive are
already too large, and ought to be reduced.
3d. That instead of surrendering the rights of the States to any portion
of the public moneys, they ought to adhere to those rights, and in due
season provide for a fair distribution of the land funds; and
Lastly, for no consideration ought we to agree that any other portion
of the legislative power shall be vested, either directly or indirectly, in
the President, save that which is already vested in him by the Constitution of the UTnited States.
At last, no person can help seeing that the difference between your
honorable body and myself is, that you wish to add to the power and
patronage of the executive, I wish to lessen his power and patronage.
On the decision of this contest by the American people, in my opinion,
the liberty of the country depends. Should your creed prevail, ere long




JUDGE WHITE' S RESIGNATION.                  389
the whole legislative power, vested in Congress by the Constitution,
will be transferred, substantially, to the President, and the only use of
Congress will be to stand between the President and public odium, when
laws are enacted which are disapproved by the people.
In addition to this, the election of State officers, and State legislation,
will be regulated according to the will of the executive of the Union.
Should mine prevail, the States will retain the powers they now possess;
the powers of the federal government will remain divided into different
departments in substance as well as form.
Which of these creeds will best secure the liberty, the happiness and
prosperity of the people, I cheerfully submit for decision to the Freemen
of Tennessee.
In England, this would be the common contest between the prerogative
of the crown and the privileges of the people. Those maintaining your
side would be called tories, those maintaining mine would be called
zwhigs.
Here it is a contest between the patronage of tfhe President and the
right of suffrage of the people. I will not at present give those who
maintain your creed any name-you may give those who maintain mine
any one you choose.
"INames are nothing with me."  My motto is, "Principles in preference to men;" while I sometimes think that of some of my opponents
ought to be, "Men without principles; " though I would be sorry to
intimate that such a motto would suit your honorable body.
I shall trouble you with no further observations on these important
topics. It has been my aim to state my opinions with candor, and to
maintain them with firmness; but, at the same time, to treat your honorable body with the most perfect respect.
I was called to the service of my State, fifteen years ago, without any
solicitation on my part. With reluctance I accepted the high station I
now occupy. I have been continued in it, perhaps, too long for the
interest of the country. I have been thrice elected, by the unanimous
vote of your predecessors. Mly services have been rendered in times of
high party excitement-sometimes threatening to burst asunder the bonds
of this Union-and your resolutions contain the high compliment that
bitter political opponents can find only a solitary vote worthy, in their
judgment, of " unqualijfied condemnation."
I hope it will be in your power to select a successor who can bring
into the service of the State more talents-I feel a proud consciousness,
that more purity of intention, or more unremitting industry, he never can.
For the sake of place, I will never cringe to power. You have instructed
me to do those things which, entertaining the opinions I do, I fear I
would not be forgiven for, either in this world or in the next; alid pracrising upon the creed I have long professed, I hek'eby tender to you mny




390           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
resignation of the trust confided to me, as one of the senators from the
State of Tennessee to the Congress of the United States.
Allow me to add my sincere prayer that the Governor of the Universe
may so over-rule our dissensions as to secure the liberty and promote the
prosperity of our common constituents.
I have the honor to be, gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
HU. L. WHITE,
Senate Chambner, Jan. 11, 1840.
After which he proceeded and said:
Mr. President-I have now finished my task; henceforth, I am to cease
being a member of this body. I cannot share with former associates, the
honors, the privileges, or the emoluments of a senator in the Congress of
the United States. At the same time, I will be relieved from my portion
of the labors, and from sharing with you the high responsibilities which
necessarily pertain to the station.
In taking my leave of you, in the utmost sincerity my prayers are, that
collectively and individually you may be enabled to pursue a course,
which will afford you the highest comforts in this life; and that your
labors may be so blessed as to secure you the grateful remembrance of
the present and all succeeding generations.
His retirement from the Senate is thus described by the correspondent of the " Knoxville Times:"
WVASHINGTON, Jan. 13th.
The Hon. Hugh L. White resigned his seat in the Senate to-day. The
Senate chamber was crowded with members of the House, and the galleries thronged with citizens and strangers attending to see this veteran
Statesman quit the field in which he had so long and so faithfully toiled.
Speaking of his letter to the legislature, the writer says:
It is a most able paper, giving at its conclusion a short review of his
political life. It was received in the most profound silence, and created
deep feeling. His remarks on the resolutions of the legislature instructing
him to vote for and sustain the leading measures of the Administration
were very severe. He then bade adieu to the senators, tendering them,
individually and collectively, his best wishes for their happiness, and
remarking he had now no share in the honors of that body, and was
excused from any participation in its labors. Judge White's old fiiends
went up and shook him cordially by the hand, as he stood by the fire



JUDGE WHITE'S RESIGNATION.                 391
place, in view of every one, and expressed their regret at parting with
an " old soldier," who had so faithfully served his country. Messrs. Clay,
Southard, and Preston were among the rest. It was a proud day in the
history of Hugh L. White. He has left the Senate with the pleasant
consciousness of having never failed in his duty to the people. His hands
are not soiled with the public plunder, nor his heart stained with either
treason or hypocrisy. Had the old farmers of Knox —had the people
of Tennessee witnessed the scene, how would their eyes have flashed
with virtuous indignation, and their lips muttered of future revenge!
The "National Intelligencer" thus notices Judge White's retirement:
The Senate chamber has rarely presented a scene of more solemn
interest than that exhibited yesterday by the resignation of Judge White.
The universal estimation in which this venerable citizen was held by
men of all parties-his long services-the unquestionable honor of his
character, and his antique sternness of virtue, combined to make him, at
such a moment, the object of great and just interest. And well was this
interest sustained by the able, eloquent, and dignified document, which
he read to the profoundly attentive Senate. There has rarely been a
more solemn sacrifice upon the altar of party.
A correspondent of the " Cincinnati Gazette," writing as a retired
citizen of Campbell county, thus speaks of Judge White's letter of
resignation:
MR. EDITOR: Although an obscure individual, of a remote spot in
Campbell County, Ky., there occasionally falls into my hands a newspaper, by private conveyance. Some days since a gentleman of Newport,
Ky., handed me your paper of the 6th inst., in which was published the
Hon. Hugh L. White's letter of resignation to the legislature of Tennessee.
This letter of Judge White's is a strong document. It is couched in
terms which show the great depth of his intellect, and the incorruptibility of his heart. As an expose of the great political heresies of the day,
it is pre-eminent. His strictures upon the spirit of the Tennessee resolutions are so palpable, that the absurdities are made manifest even to " the
wayfaring man."
What does the language of the Tennessee resolutions convey, but the
precise doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance, which came
into repute immediately after the abdication of Richard Cromwell, and
upon the accession of Charles II. to the throne of England. This vasalage was opposed, indeed, by the enemies of the crown, and here (1660)
we date the origin of the distinction of whig and tory; the whigs oppos



392           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
ing the crown, the tories advocating it. But in Judge White we had a
senator who was not that pliant sycophant, that, " for the sake of place,"
would yield his principles and become the mere tool of the President.
Beholding the corrupt and dangerous tendency of the resolutions, he
spurned, with indignation, their propositions, and by his resignation has
given Tennessee the opportunity to fill his place with some one more
flexible and temporizing. But in his response, he has exhibited facts
which deserve the deep contemplation of every American citizen. He
has shown that submissiveness to the President's will on the part of our
legislators, or their constituents, would but presage the wreck of our
boasted republic. Yea! it would but augur the speedy destruction of all
that renders us happy and free.
When Judge White's letter of resignation was read before the
House of Representatives of the General Assembly on the 28th Jan.,
General Jacobs moved that the letter be entered at large upon the
journals, which motion was accompanied by the following remarks:
Mr. SPEAKER: I request the indulgence of the House for a single
moment, while I make a few remarks in relation to the individual who is
the subject of the resolution which I have just had the honor of submitting; to the adoption of which I trust there will not be a single dissenting voice.
I wish not, I intend not, sir, on this occasion to arouse a single party
feeling, or to add a solitary splinter to the I)olitical flame which is already
burning with too intense a heat among us. I should do injustice to the
distinguished author of the communication which has just been read, as
well as to my own feelings, were I to attempt to do so. With the act of
the majority of the legislature of Tennessee, which has compelled him to
retire from the Senate of the United States, I have nothing, at this time,
to do; it is before the tribunal of the people whom we represent, and it
is their province to pass judgment upon it.
In my boyhood, Mr. Speaker, I was taught to reverence the name of
I1 ugh L. White, and I have lived to witness the reality of all that my
youthful imagination had pictured of this truly good and great man. I
have known him intimately for more than twenty years: I have seen him
at the bar, on the bench of the Supreme Court of the State, and on the
floor of Congress: I have known him in the domestic and social circle,
and in the heat and turmoil of political agitations, and can bear testimony
to his claims to the character of a profound lawyer, an able and impartial judge, a consistent politician, a pure patriot, and an honest man.
I have seen him under circumstances the most trying, and amid afflictions
tlhe most severe, when one after another of a numerous, most interesting
and amiable family were cut off in the prime of youth, and yet has he




JUDGE WHITE S RESIGNATION.                   393
never been absent from his post, or swerved from the path of duty and
rectitude. Bold, firm, manly and independent, both in his private and
political department; possessing an intellect, clear, powerful and discriminating; pure, spotless and uncontaminated by the pollutions of party, and
unawed by the strong arm of power, this venerable statesman has kept
" the even tenor of his way," regardful only of his country and his country's good. He has never cringed for favor, or shrunk from responsi
bility; he has never feared anything but dishonor, or loved anytliing
better than his country.
Nor, sir, is his private character less pure and unexceptionable, than
his political career has been consistent and patriotic. The record of hlis
private life does not exhibit a single spot or blemish. No violation of
promise; no sin of ingratitude; no act of extortion; nothing illiberal,
unmanly, immoral, or dishonest, from his infancy to the present molnent,
can rise up in judgment against him. His friends, his neighbors, his
acquaintances, all, all revere him; around him are entwined the strong
cords of their affection, and nothing but the hand of death can unloose
them.
By the deliberate act of the majority of this legislature this incorruptible
citizen, this venerable patriot has been compelled to retire to private
life. His political race is run; and in the course of human events his
earthly pilgrimage, in a very few years, will also be terminated; and
when the waves of oblivion shall have swept over the present, and the
party feelings and political excitements of the times shall have become
hushed into a calm; when the prejudices consequent on this state
of things shall have been consigned to the "Tomb of the Capulets,"
and sober, dispassionate judgment and reflection resume their sway,
full and ample justice will be done his character. He has served his
country forty years and, in the name of this venerable statesman, and
incorruptible patriot, and on account of his long and faithful services, I do
most respectfully ask that this House will spread upon its journals the
communication which has just been read, that they will admit to record
this last will and testament of his political existence.
" The motion was carried by 47 to 26 votes. In the Senate a similar
motion was made and rejected by a vote of 13 to 11."
To show that the people did not sanction the course of their representatives towards their senators, we have but to read the preamble and
resolutions adopted by a whig convention which met at Knoxville on the
10th Feb. 1840. This convention was composed of delegates from the
various counties of East Tennessee convened for the purpose of nominating electors for the districts of East Tennessee and the State at large.
Judge White's name was placed upon the latter ticket; and that, together
with the other proceedings, certainly may be considered an indication
of the sentiments of the people whom he had so long and faithfully
served.




394           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
Whereas, we have recently seen with mingled feelings of regret and
indignation, an old, faithful and well-tried public servant, the greater
portion of whose life has been spent in the councils of his country, proscribed by the blind, infuriate zeal of faction —therefore,
Resolved, That the Hion. flugh L. White be invited to meet his East
Tennessee friends in Knoxville, at such time as may suit his convenience,
and partake with them of a barbecue, to be prepared for the occasion.
JResolved, That the president of the convention express to Judge Whito
the kind feelings and grateful recollections of the members of this con-,
vention, and tender to him the invitation to the contemplated festival.
Resolved, That a committee of thirty be appointed by the president, to
superintend the necessary arrangements for the proposed barbecue.
The preamble and resolutions were adopted, but Judge White's health
was too feeble on his return home to accept the flattering and kind invitation and receive the gratulations of his many warm friends. But he
placed the highest estimate upon their attentions.




CHAPTER XVII.
WASHINGTON DINNER: SPEECHES OF JUDGE WHITE AND OTHERS.
A FEW days after Judge White's resignation a dinner was given
him in Washington City, as a last mark of affectionate respect from
those with whom he had been so long privately and politically associated. To give an adequate idea of this deeply interesting scene, a
sketch of some of the speeches made on the occasion by distinguished
men, as well as of that of Judge White himself is here inserted. Mr.
A. R. Humes, at the expense of some time and much trouble, collected copies of these proceedings and transmitted them to the
"Knoxville Times" for publication.  Below is an extract from his
communication on this occasion.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18th, 1840.
The public dinner, given yesterday in honor of Judge White, was
attended by many of the most illustrious and distinguished men of whom
our nation can boast. It was one of the grandest exhibitions of varied
talent ever witnessed on a like occasion. The several impromptau
speeches abounded in sallies of wit, the keenest satire, and the richest
classical allusions.
About one hundred and fifty were present, principally members of
Congress.
At 8 o'clock, the company was ushered into the splendid hall at
Brown's hotel, and when Messrs. Clay and Preston entered with their
distinguished guest, the "' National Band" struck up the inspiring air of
" Hail Columbia."
It was indeed a scene of melancholy and imposing grandeur. By the
patriotic Tennesseean, it would have been witnessed with the most contradictory emotions. To see the father of his State dishonored in his
old age, by the blind infuriate zeal of party! To see the man who had
achieved for Tennessee a just and honorable fame!-" the noblest
Roman of them  all"-a willing victim upon the altar-preferring banishment from office, to the desertion of principle-he would have most
deeply felt that the true glory of his State was indeed eclipsed for the
moment.
395




396           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
The Hon. William C. Preston presided; at his right and left were
seated Hugh L. White and Henry Clay. One might easily have believed
that he lived in times equalled only by the best days of the republic of
Rome for here were senators of more than Roman virtue. There stood
the aged Cato with the crown of martyrdom  on his head-banished
from the councils of his country, yet firm to his faith, and inflexible in
truth.
Messrs. Davis of Massachusetts, Biddle of Pennsylvania, Gen. Walter
Jones, Col. George Washington of Maryland, and Mr. Corwin of Ohio,
acted as vice-presidents on the occasion.
It was indeed a brilliant scene. The rich chandeliers threw a blaze
of light over the extensive room, which was tastefully decorated with
evergreens, and wine gushed forth from  the bottle, and mirth from the
heart.
But there was yet higher banquetting.
MIr. Preston, the president, said:" I rise to perform a very agreeable duty. We are here to do honor
to a man whose private worth has commended him to our affections,
and whose public services challenge our approbation and gratitude. The
vicissitudes of public life have removed him from a high station, which he
has long filled in such a way as to honor it, as much as it had honored
him. He ascended to it through various gradations of public service,
both in his own State, and in this government-at each step displaying
an assemblage of high and useful qualities-of virtues and of talents,
which showed him capable of a still more extended sphere.
His life has been a pattern to statesmen of an honest and unflinching
adherence to principle. He came here to Washington, the loved and
honored favorite of a great and dominant party, who had the power, and
the inclination to gratify all that his ambition might have aspired to;
but when their policy no longer conformed to his judgment, he surrendered at once the smiles of power for the duties of patriotism.
The purity of his motives is vindicated by the fact, that he left the
strong for the weaker side. The vigor of his patriotism is shown, by his
willingness to incur for the sake of his country, the displeasure of a friend in
the moment of his power, to whom, in every variety of his fortune, through
a long life he had adhered with a romantic fidelity. He quitted the palace
for his principles, he gave up the court for his country. He did not
believe that a palace sanctifies what without its walls was reprehensible.
He was of sterner stuff than to'crook the pregnant hinges of the
knee,' where'thrift might follow fawning.' With a noble self-sacrifice
he pursued the steady tenor of his principles wherever they led him, and
has permitted me to present his name to you. I doubt not it will so
stand in after times:"HeGH L. WHITE. — The man and the statesman, without fear and without reproach."




FAREWEI,L DINNER  AT WASHINGTON.                 397
These remarks were delivered in the most finished style of oratory, and
when Mr. Preston pronounced the above sentiment, its reception was
hailed with loud and continued " huzzas." But when the venerable form
of that veteran statesman, to whom it was addressed, was seen rising
from his seat, the welkin rung with "yet a louder, and a louder strain."
Mr. White rose and said:
" GENTTLEMEN: The most eloquent response I could make to the sentl
ments contained in your toast, would be to remain entirely silent. No
language of which I am master, can convey an adequate idea ofthe emotions produced by the expression of such sentiments, and the manner in which they have been received by this large and respectable
assembly. At a time when I am banished from the service of my country,
without any hope that I can be longer useful to any man, to find myself
surrounded by so many men, whose friendship and countenance, any man
in any age or country, in possession of the most extensive power, would
justly feel proud of, overwhelms me. Thanks, from my heart, I return,ou, and it is probably the only return I can ever make, for your kindness and attention.
" Were I to go alone from the service of the public, I could find but little
to regret. My country would be more ably served by some one who has
seen feiwer years.  [Cries of'never! never!']  Now in my sixtyseventh year, the last thirty-eight almost wholly spent in some public
employment, little more could be expected of me; but, for the sake of
reaching me, my late colleague must be made a victim likewise. [Cries
of'shame! shame!'] He had served his State but one session in the
Senate, and I think all now present, who are acquainted with him, will
agree with me in opinion that no man who has entered that body in our
day, made more friends in the same length of time. ['No! none.'] A
man of the strictest integrity, with a mind highly endowed and well
cultivated, aided by manners pleasing to all with whom he associated, of
untiring industry, and in the vigor of life; had he been spared, his State
and the country at large, had much to hope from his labors. For myself,
I am proud that my State can, in my person, produce yet one man willing
to be made a sacriice rather than sacrifice his principles." [Nine cheers!]
Mr. White continued-" One thing may yet be permitted to me, and that
is to beseech my State that when, hereafter, that " monster, party spirit,"
shall call upon her to furnish a victim for the altar, she may spare her
younger sons, and let loose her blood-hounds upon some man already
worn out in her service, who may be found willing to be offered up as a
sacrifice, rather than stamp as hypocritical his former professions."
He next alluded to his separation from the late Administration, and
said —" When my countrymen asked the use of my name, as a candidate




398           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
for the Presidency, and I gave my consent, my destruction was decreed,
and how was it to be effected?  In no way but by driving me from the
Administration; and how was this to be accomplished? I would not
and did not abandon any one political principle, I had ever professed.
The separation, therefore, could only be brought about by the Administration changing its practice in relation to every great subject, except
that of removing the Indians. It did so, wheeled to the right about, and
I kept on, directly in its former course."
[Mr. White was here interrupted by loud bursts of applause and confirmations of his statement.]
He continued-" That branch of the public service in which I labored
most, related to the Indian affairs. In that I, and the late Administration, had stuck together to the last, and the Indians are mostly removed
from Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan."  And he asked, with
boldness and emphasis-" Who dare charge me with failing to give my
best support both to the late and present Administration, on that great
and interesting subject?  Upon this subject, I willingly leave my character, to be settled by the testimony of my colleagues, upon the committee."
[A voice from a senator-' I am a witness.']
" I am thankful to my State, that she permitted me to remain here, until
her Indians were removed, and our lands brought into market, so that
tlie State is now receiving into her treasury the proceeds of their sales."
[It is well known that Mr. White has long been the able chairman of,.he committee on Indian affairs.]
" There is yet a most important part of the great plan to be accomplished,
and that is establishing a plan for their government, by which they can
be made secure among themselves, and the neighboring whites rendered
safe from  any of their depredations, and one upon which they can be
civilized and christianized.
"This latter object the committee have endeavored to accomplish.
They have for several sessions, reported a bill, and had it passed in the
Senate. They at first had the aid and sanction of the Administration for
the measure. [Now, however, it has got off the Jackson track, (laughter)
and is discountenancing the measure, and what the President wishes
done, the Lord only knows. (Loud laughter.)  I do not know, and he
has not deemed it necessary, in his labored message, to give us a useful
hint upon the subject.
"A high responsibility rests upon the executive, and to my old associates I say, if this subject be not faithfully attended to, and delicately,
as well as ably managed, we will, I fear, ere long witness the blaze of
war, from one end of our southern frontier to the other.
i" Before the year closes a Chief Magistrate is to be elected for four years,
succeeding the 4th Mharch, 1841. Since the respective parties have agreed




FAREWELL DINNER AT WASHINGTON.                  399
upon their candidates, I have amongst you, said nothing as to whom I
should prefer.
" Upon this subject I do not wish to be non-committal. Neither of the
gentlemen named would have been my choice. I would greatly have
preferred the distinguished gentleman from Kentucky, now near me.
(Mr. Clay bowed-the whole company rose as by one impulse, and gave
three deafening cheers at the mention of this great man.)
"Upon some subjects, he and I did not agree; but upon the same points,
I disagree with the present Chief Magistrate also. Most of these have
now ceased to be practical. Upon the great subjects now practical, I
coincide heartily with that gentleman, and disagree with the present
incumbent. Had he continued a candidate, I would have given him a
cordial support. His talents, integrity, and past services, in trying times,
at home and abroad, entitle him to it. His qualifications are of that
order which would have made me feel my country safe, under his administration. He would have been as great, if not a greater man, than any
one called to his aid, and therefore could not have been misled by any
pretended friend, in or out of his cabinet.
" I once exerted myself in favor of an intimate acquaintance, in whose
honesty, decision, and knowledge of human character, I had unbounded
confidence. I believed a defective knowledge of what was in books,
could be supplied by calling in the aid of enlightened and honest men,
and thus the well-being of the community secured.
"I was disappointed, and determined never again to make such an
experiment.
"' General Harrison is by birth a Virginian; his father was a patriot,
and signer of the Declaration of Independence. At an early age he joined
the army, and was distinguished under the gallant Wayne. Preceding
and during the last war, we find him battling with the savage foe at
Tippecanoe; then with the combined British and Indians at Fort Meigs,
and finishing in a blaze of glory at the river Thames.
" These important services, no man can doubt. Real and documentary
testimony establish them beyond contradiction.
" In the civil department, his services have been still more useful. He
was governor, and superintendent of Indian affairs, north west of the
river Ohio, over a tract of country of immense extent. Look at your
Indian treaty book, and you will find him the able negotiator of many
Indian treaties. He was a delegate in Congress, a member of the House
of Representatives, and afterwards, a member of the Senate, and finally
a minister, to represent us in Spanish America.
" In each of those stations, he was useful and conspicuous. He probably
had control of millions of dollars of public money, and not one dollar did
he squander or misuse. He gives the highest evidence of honest integrity. Although frugal, he is poor-with not more ready money than his




400            MEMiOIR  OF IHUGH  LAWSON  WIIITEo
necessities require." [Mr. White here said, he had detained the company
long enough.  Cries of "No! no! go on! go on!"]
He continued-" What are the services of his opponent, in military or
civil life?  lHe has been long a public man, and I wish I could find one
of his friends, who could point me to any one, great measure, beneficial
to his country, of which he was the author. In, and of himself he is
entitled to less standing than almost any one of his party who is at all
distinguished.
" Take from him the importance he has acquired, by glueing himself to
General Jackson, and there is nothing of public character left, which any
man need envy. He is a feeble glimmering rushlight, which when the
sconce of General Jackson, from which we have a bright reflection, is
withdrawn [roars of laughter] nothing is left, by which anything useful
can be discovered.
" When we are to choose men for office, we commonly judge of what they
woill do by what thay have done. As General Harrison has been found
honest and capable heretofore, I am willing to trust him again. As he
has often risked his life for the country, I am willing to risk mny vote for
him. [" So are we! so are we, all!"]
" With a heart full of gratitude for all past kindness, I have one last
favor to ask-that you join me in the sentiment with which I close:" Our country-May every whig stand prepared to be offered up, as a sacrifice for the welfare of the republic, in preference to witnessing the sacrifice of the public interest, to the
aggrandizement of selfish individuals."
This is but a faint outline-an imperfect sketch-of the eloquent
remarks of Judge White. They were received with marked interest and
the most enthusiastic applause.
Having taken his seat, his friends and fellow  statesmen thronged
around him once more, to shake the hand of him whom they loved to honor,
and whose public services, if denied him by his own State, demand the
gratitude of our common country.
Vice President Davis was then called upon, and Massachusetts was ably
represented.  After a few brief and appropriate remarks, he said" that the old Bay State, had gotten drunk on fifteen gallons, but was just
getting sober."  He alluded, in a glowing strain, to the mists that
shrouded Bunker Hill-but they were soon dispersed.  It is true, that
clouds now overshadow Massachusetts, but they too would soon be dissipated, and the whigs again would triumph.
He concluded by offering the following sentiment:" The great West-She has unfurled her banner in the Great Whig Cause; as she goes, so
goes the Country."
Loud and repeated calls were here made for Mr. Clay from every




FAREWELL; DINNER  AT WASHINGTON.                  401
quarter of the room, and when he arose, he was greeted with thunders of applause.
He spoke, with deep feeling, of the occasion which had called
them together, and delivered a most eloquent and appropriate eulogium on the character and virtues of the late venerable senator.  He
denounced with an unsparing hand, the ruinous policy of the past
and present Administration, and briefly alluded to General Jackson
as " the distinguished person of the Hermitage." He referred to the
Harrisburg convention, and said that the result of the deliberations of
that enlightened body,, met his most hearty and cordial approbation.
In conclusion, he gave a sentiment: —
" May Tennessee yet learn to honor and do justice to her distinguished son, whom by her
mistaken course, she has compelled to quit the councils of his country."
Mr. Clay's remarks, though few, were received with great and
universal acclamation. They were worthy of him and of the occasion.
Mr. Preston was here: called upon, and in addition to his introductory speech, made some eloquent remarks, which I regret for the
present I am unable to furnish you.
Vice-president Corwin of Ohio, being called on by the president,
rose and said:He responded to the call with feelings of mingled triumph and regret.
He had listened to the noble and patriotic sentiments which an honored
guest (Judge White) expressed with no common interest. Mr. President,
said Mr. Corwin, a great ethical writer of integrity, has said that the noblest
sight ever exhibited to the eye of man, is that of a great patriot struggling and falling with the falling institutions of his country, We see
before us, one of the oldest, most beloved, and faithful of the American
patriots of our times, nobly sacrificing station, and power, and the means
of serving his country in its public councils, to his own stern regard for
a great principle. We see him driven by his old associates, either to forsake his and their former principles, or himself to surrender the station
he holds in the public service. He has not hesitated, sir! if he had, he
would have proved false to his own history, false to his country, false to'
himself. It is melancholy to see selfish faction, combined with executive power thus even temporarily successful, in their most unhallowed
purposes.  Still, as I have said, sentiments of triumph are inspired,
when we behold such martyrs falling in our cause. If human nature is
not changed, if past history has not ceased to instruct in the future, then
such a cause as ours, so sanctified by principle, so consecrated by sacri26




402           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
flee, so illustrated by the men who sustain and adhere to it, must triumph.
Sir, I only rose to express in a few words, my hearty and sincere
concurrence iu the sentiments of high regard for our venerable friend
(whose retirement has called us together), which have echoed fiom every
quarter of this crowded hall. A gentleman from Massachusetts has tonight alluded to the banner of our party lately unfurled in the "great
West." As a citizen of the West, I cannot but feel some pride that the
standard-bearer of that host of battle for constitutional liberty, is taken from
amongst the citizens of my own State, and let me assure you, Mr. President,
let partisans from any quarter say what they will, throughout the whole
extent of that great West, victory, proud and complete victory awaits
that flag. Mr. President, we have met here to do honor and homage to
one who has nobly sacrificed self to duty, who has turned away from old
friends and clung only to his country. Sir, I see before me others, who
in a sphere less conspicuous, but with a courage not less unyielding and
steady, have fought the same battle, and conquered. Men, who, in opposition to great names, and what was thought overwhelming influence,
did not hesitate, when their country called, to defy names however great,
influence however powerful, and old associates however strong. Sir,
when I look around this hall, and over this country, I see in our cause,
and those who sustain it, the sure indications of future and speedy triumph. I remember, sir, when a boy, to have listened with strong interest to the narrative of one who had been present at the battle of the
Rapids, where Gen. Wayne finally vanquished the Indian forces in the
North-West, and gave peace to a widely extended frontier settlement.
The old soldier said, that whilst the battle was raging hottest, many in
that wing of the army where he was, were beginning to falter and
think of a retreat. Just at the moment when this feeling began to be
prevalent, a young lieutenant, who was known as the confidential aid of
old Mad Anthony, galloped up to the line and called to the men, with
a voice that was heard above the roar of battle: " Onward! my brave
fellows! the enemy is flying, one fire more and the day is ours." Sir, that
young lieutenant was William Henry Harrison, now, the bearer of that
glorious banner under which we wage war against usurping power,
crafty peculation and blind hostility to the good old maxims of our
fathers. There are our foes —there are our country's foes; let me exhort
you in the language of the young lieutenant-" One fire more, and the
day is ours!"
Mr. Evans of'Maine being called upon, said:He appeared there in a representative capacity, and although he was
not generally much in favor of the doctrine of instructions, especially
practised, as it has been, to drive from the service of the country, at a
critical period of its affairs, one of the most venerable, distinguished, and




FA1REWELL DINNER AT WASHINGTON.                403
useful of its public servants, yet he acknowledged and would obey the
instructions, which he (Mr. E.) had received on the present occasion.
It happened, Mr. Evans said, that although he was anxious to unite in
this testimonial to the worth of the honored guest of this evening, he,
accidentally, had expressed his determination in the hearing of a fair
friend, just before coming to the hall, not to obtrude any remarks or
sentiments of his own, upon the attention of the meeting. To this, the
lady to whom he referred made decided objection, and finally laid commands on him, in her behalf, to express the sentiments, which according
with his own she entertained for the public character and private worth
of the distinguished guest, in whose honor we are assembled.  The
friend in whose behalf he spoke, was a lady of great classical and historical attainments, of varied learning, of accurate taste, and just perception of the appositeness of comparisons-and her first thought was to
propose a sentiment, alluding to the ostracism of the Just, from the city
he had served so long, and faithfully. Yet a moment's reflection suggested the thought, that the allusion was so obvious, that doubtless it
would occur to many others also, and would be frequently made during
the evening. We, therefore, acknowledging the great propriety of the
comparison, concluded to abandon the idea of designating the honorable
senator as the Aristides of the Republic.  The event has proved the
accuracy of her observations, for the allusion has been made more than
once already, and all of us perceive its propriety.
It then occurred to her, to apply to our venerable friend, the cognomen
of the Cincinnatus of our Commonwealth. To which I objected, as we
had already appropriated the title to another, whom, by the blessing of
God, the people of these United States designed to call, not many months
hence, from his farm, on the banks of the beautiful Ohio, to the executive
mansion, and the executive duties, here. My objection was deemed
valid.
My learned friend then suggested that in the ingratitude of the Republic toward this eminent servant, he bore resemblance to Belisarius, among
the last and most distinguished sons of the Ancient Mistress of the world;
but we could not bring ourselves to confess, even so remotely, that our
country was yet in its last days of degeneracy and corruption. We
looked forward to the day, now dawning, when the pristine virtues of
our country would again be restored and illustrated-a day which our
aged guest, we trust, will be spared to see and rejoice in.
Coming down to later days, and regarding the purity of the character
of our friend -knowing that he was without fear, and without reproach,
and if he is now to fall, he falls with his face to the enemy, it was suggested to me, that allusion might very appropriately be made to the
celebrated chevalier of the sixteenth century, the Chevalier Bayard, and
this was the sentiment I was instructed to offer. Anticipating, however,




404           MMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.,
from  the manifest fitness of the allusion, that some other gentleman
might propose it, before I should have the opportunity, as has in fact
happened, and to guard against being unprepared, in such an event,
various other references were suggested. In recalling to mind the history
of eminent patriots, statesmen, and philanthropists of other days, wherever
worth, public and private, integrity without blemish, patriotism pure
and unalloyed, had appeared among men, or many points of resemblance
existed, to which reference could be made, so much of all that was glorious and valuable, and praiseworthy in human character, and conduct,
had been displayed and developed in the life of the eminent statesman
who is about to leave us, that the great difficulty was from which to
select.
We thought of Pericles, of Themistocles and Cato, and of the wise and
good of later days, but circumstances in the life of each, rendered the
allusion not, in every particular, literally correct, without some alteration.
Finally, not to be tedious, I was reminded of the expression of the mother
of Brasidas, over his dead body, which had been brought home from the
battle, where he so gloriously fell. It was the answer of a Spartan
mother. Tennessee may, in some respects, in the coming contest be our
Sparta, and although I see around me distinguished men of that State,
and others I know to be in the field not now here, they will excuse me, I
know, in the sentiment I was charged to offer, for altering somewhat the
expression of the mother of the Spartan hero.
Our Honored Guest.-" Sparta hath ne'er a worthier son, than he."
A sentiment from General Thompson, of South Carolina, elicited
the following remarks from Mr. iHabersham:
Mr. President: The honor which has just been conferred upon me,
was so wholly unexpected, that I feel myself entirely unprepared to make
a suitable acknowledgment.  I feel, however, that that compliment was
rather extended for the State which I here in part represent, than for
any merit of my own. It is a fact which may have been forgotten by
many, perhaps by most of the gentlemen at this table, that in the great
contest for the Presidency some three or four years ago, Georgia was
almost the only State which cast her vote in favor of the venerable and
distinguished man whom we have met here to honor. Sir, I took part
in that contest in behalf of that venerable man, and battled in the ranks
of his friends. Sir, as I have said, Georgia stood almost alone in her vote
for that individual. She stood so, in support of that great principle
which she has so often carried out into practice-the great principle of
nullification.  I mean nullification in its only true and legitimate meaning: the principle of sustaining the Constitution and the law, as grassed




FAREWELL DINNER AT WASHINGTON.                  405
in pursucance thereof. Yes, si,; she stood in his support to maintain that
principle, as far as circumstances would permit.'Tis true, that this
venerable guest had opposed that principle as acted out in South Carolina; but of the candidates then presented to our choice, he was in our
opinion, the man most likely to stem the torrent of corruption, to maintain the rights of the South, and the integrity of our beloved Constitution.
irHe had not promised " to follow in the footsteps."
Sir, on this principle I and my friends had dared also to stand forth in
maintenance of Carolina, in her great struggle for Constitutional rightsin that struggle, we had fallen into a minority in our own State, and the
victory obtained in behalf of Judge White, was the first which graced our
banner, after a long series of defeats.
In maintenance of that principle Mr. President, once so dear to your
own beloved State of South Carolina, I was sent here-and to maintain
it, I have come here. Yes, sir, I and my colleagues have maintained it
in an assembly here, more noisy and boisterous than this, composed of
the representatives of twenty-five States and the sixth of a State. We
maintained New Jersey, by our vote, in her struggle for those Constitutional rights of which she has been robbed. We maintained the priu~ciple in our vote in behalf of the Constitution and the laws passed iu
pursuance thereof.
I little dreamed, sir, when I came here, of the scenes I was about to
witness. In the one hall I saw, as it seems to me, a majority of the
representatives of the people, trampling under foot the sacred compact of
our Union. From that hall, I passed into the other, at the further end
of the Capitol, and there again, I witnessed a scene, which was enough to
make the heart of any man bleed, who respected the sacred institutions
of his country. I know not that I have ever had my feelings so deeply'excited, as in witnessing the retirement of our venerable guest from his
seat in the Senate, which he had so long honored. Sir, he was at that
moment obeying the mandate of his legislature; and, however I may
differ with him on the right of a legislature to instruct, I could but commend him, for he was acting honestly, and carrying out the principle
which he himself had always maintained. Sir, in my humble opinion,
this doctrine of instruction, as now insisted upon and practised, is
destructive of that permanence and independence which the Constitution
intended to secure in the Senate; I maintain the right of the people to
instruct-but it belongs solely to the people in their sovereign capacity
when met in Convention.  The legislature is the mere agent provided by
the Constitution to elect a senator-he is elected for six years-the legislature for but one. He represents the sovereignty of the State in the
Councils of the Union-they, the sovereignty of the people, to make
laws for the States'; they are both agents for the people of the Stateneither the Constitution nor the people have given to the legislature the




406           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE,.
right to dictate to, or to control the senator. 1That right the people hase
resorved to themselves, to be exercised in Convention; and the attempt to
instruct a senator is an usurpation by the legislature, of the right
reserved to the people. The senator is not the agent of the legislature.
The legislature is but itself an agent of the people for certain purposes
specified in the Constitution of the State. The senator is the agent, and
representative of the sovereignty of the State in the Senate of the Union,
and is only bound by instruction from that sovereign body, the people
of the State, to whom  alone the right belongs, and by whom alone it can
be exercised.
But, sir, that venerable man, that honest man, felt himself bound to
obey the instructions, and there, in that Senate Hall, I saw him standinghis grey locks streaming over his shoulders-a tear, not of weakness, but
of deep and manly feeling, trembling in his eye-there he stood, while in
tremulous tones of the deepest feeling, he took, perhaps, a last leave of
the associates with whom he had so long acted.  It almost seemed to me
as if that tear was about. to fall upon the very ashes of the Constitution.
It seemed to me as if the last pillar of the Constitution was about to
crumble into dust-I almost imagined, that I saw " the hand-writing on
the wall." But God in his mercy has given us time for repentance-He
still spares us from the wrath of his mighty indignation.
Thus, at both ends of the Capitol, in that self-same hour did I witness
what seemed to me, the utter destruction of the great compact of our
Union. I have done-I did not expect to make a speech at this board,
and was utterly unprepared to do so. I do trust that our honored guest
may live long enough to allow his State to do him justice by sending him
back to his old seat in the Senate. I give you, sir,
The Hlon. John Bell of Tennessee.-The man who had the courage to grapple with the lion
in his den.
Mr. Biddle, on a call from the president, alluded to the terms in
which that honorable gentleman had himself deprecated, and for some
time eluded, a similar call on the plea of shrinking from an attempt
tQ follow the eloquent addresses that had been heard.
It looked a little like mockery, after a noble addition to the formidable
list, to turn round and make the present requisition. Yet he (Mr. B.)
was willing to believe that the feeblest echo of the prevailing sentiment
vmight prove acceptable to the enthusiasm around us. He must, in candor, admit that he had no other sentiment about him-absolutely nonebut the absorbing one of the evening-profound respect, and he might
add affection-for him whom they had assembled to'honor.
It is not known, perhaps, said Mr B., even to that gentleman himself,




FAREWELL DINNER AT WASHINGTON.                   407
that he and I, sixteen years ago, were fellow-laborers in the same political struggle, Yes, sir, in 1824, I was amongst the ardent supporters in
Pennsylvania, of Gen. Jackson for the Presidency. We were not led
away merely by military renown. Who has forgotten the lofty and
noble principles of action announced in the memorable letters to Mr.
Monroe?  These letters were surreptitiously obtained and published to
do him prejudice, yet, what a trumpet-note of hope to the young and the
sanguine! —What blessings, in the perspective, upon our beloved country,
when party, with all its vileness, its profligacy, its fraud, its idolatry, its
proscription, was to be trampled into dust with an iron heel!
It is not a little curious to look back and recollect who, at that period,
were the most bitter and vindictive in their opposition to Gen. Jackson. Whose ridicule was most pungent at his pretensions? Who loudest
to declare that his election would be a curse to the country? Sir, they
were the mere party hacks, the. professional politicians, who found matter for alarm in the very freshness, purity, and ingenuousness which
seemed to breath in every line of those letters. He was not a safe President for them. Can it be denied that the men who thus reasoned, and
with whom, in Pennsylvania, we had to struggle, were afterwards rallied
to the contest by Mr. Ritchie in the South, Mr. Van Buren in the North,
and Mr. Benton in the West? His supposed virtues were a terror, and it
was not then ascertained that his foibles and his passions could be turned
to profitable account!
Sir, I well remember how often, in those days, the name of Hugh L.
White was upon our lips. When Gen. Jackson was denounced as a man
of violence and outrage, we pointed to those who were known to be his
closest friends, his most confidential advisers, and whose characters
afforded a guarantee for the manner in which public affairs would be
conducted. Need I say that foremost on the list was Judge White? All
had heard of, and revered, a name identified with profound wisdom, lofty
honor, and ardent patriotism. The severe and fixed simplicity of his lift
was believed to furnish the best security that human frailty afford,
against mutability amidst the temptations and blandishments of prosperity
As a commissioner under the Florida Treaty, his reputation had, of late,
been more widely diffused, for indefatigable industry, unerring judgment,
and spotless integrity. It was known too, that his high spirit (of which
some flashes had been seen to-night) would for ever prevent his becoming
a tool of power, or being approached by grovelling and sinister influences.
At the end of sixteen years, I am in the presence of this man! And
how crowded with great events are these memorable years! Who are
now to be found in the pride of power and place, under the protection of tL.
name of Jackson? The very spoilers who trembled at the lofty aspira
tion of his outset; but who found, at length, with the crunning of the;,
tribe, that by ministering to his passions he could be made to minister ti
their interest and advancement. And where is our guest? The same a,




408           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
in 1824, unchanged, unchangeable; faithful amongst the perfidious; pure
amongst the sordid; the victim of his virtues, with the crown of martyrdom upon his brow!
Sir, it cannot be that such triumphs over integrity and moral worth
are to be perpetual. In those days of the revolution, to which our venerable friend has so touchingly alluded, the prospect often seemed darker
and more appalling. At Brandywine, our fathers had to give way before
Howe-backed as he was by the corps of Hessians, under Kniphausen,
and Count Donop. The Capital was taken. And may we not take it
as an omen, that he who in after years became the guest of the nation,
was on that occasion trodden upon under foot by mercenaries, and desperately wounded, yet lived to take part in the great triumph at
Yorktown?
Mr. President, it is not for us, as I very well know, to read lessons to
the gallant State of Tennessee. Her spirit would take fre. She will
permit no interference with her domestic differences. It is for her and
her only to say, how she will regard this attempt to stigmatize her
venerable statesman in the high presence of this whole Union. Denunciation from us would but wound the ear of our honored guest, who kindles
at even a sarcasm against Tennessee, from the lips of strangers. He has
told us that he goes home with no rankling in his bosom, but to seek
repose and a final resting-place:" An old man broken with the storms of State,
Is come to lay his weary bones among ye;
Give him a little earth for charity."
Yes, he asks but for a little earth-yet it must, in charity, be the earth
of Tennessee. He would fain take his last sleep amidst those hills and
streams and valleys that he loves so dearly; where each inanimate object
may often times cast back the glow of other days upon the chillness of
age; and where stands, in sacred privacy, the domestic altar at which
his heart has ministered from youth upwards! No, sir, no! this is not
the place for invective. Yet may we not hope that a better and a kinder
feeling will spring up? Can it be that this savage cry of exultation
over prostrate integrity, is to be for ever heard? Can it be that, while
the hearts, even of strangers, weep at this spectacle of degradation, it
shall be gloated over in triumph by those who are the friends, the neighbors, the daily companions of the victim? I will not believe it.
Our excellent guest is about to leave us. Let him on his return,
appeal, I will not say from Philip drunk to Philip sober, but from the
Jacksonism of 1839, to the Jacksonism of 1824! Can we doubt that on
such an appeal, justice, good faith, consistency, fidelity to principle, may
be triumphantly rallied? Sir, I will not despair; and, in view of such a
resurrection (if you will pardon the term) I propose to you
4" The Futurse State of Tennessee."




CHAPTER XVIIL
JOURNEY HOME.
SOON after the scene just described, Judge White set out for home,
At almost every step, he was greeted with spontaneous and hearty
applause. At Lexington, Va., a public dinner was tendered him, the
acceptance of which, however, in consequence of the uncertain state
of his health and the long journey before him, he was compelled to
decline.
As he drew near his own State, he met a deputation of citizens
from Sullivan County, inviting him to attendc a public dinner, at
Kingsport. Similar manifestations of respect were shown him  at
every town from the Tennessee line to Knoxville. He invariably
declined these invitations; but, when he reached these several places,
he was forced to accept their hospitalities, everything being in readiness for his entertainment. These manifestations bore a superabounding testimony to the high appreciation that the people placed upon
his eminent public virtues and private worth. This was peculiarly grateful to the heart of him against whom the storms of political injustice
had beaten with such violence, because it was an affectionate emanation from the hearts of the dwellers around his own fireside; of those
who knew him best, and best understood the motives that governed
all his actions.  These testimonials were especially grateful from
their entire disinterestedness and sincerity. For the people of his
own State well knew, that the days of his political power had passed
away, and that he would never again have public favors to bestow.
The malevolence of his enemies, however, kept pace with the affections of his friends, and this spirit determined them not to permit
him to pass on his way without insult. At Rogersville, a number of
the leaders of the party hung over the principal street by which the
town was entered, a cloth upon which was written in large letters,
" Van Buren and Polk,"declaring, that Judge White should, by passing under this, acknowledge himself the victim of the President of
409




410          MEMOIR OF HUGlH LAWSON WHITE.
the United States, and of the Governor of Tennessee. Several of the
most respectable citizens of Rogersville requested, as a special favor,
that this inscription should be removed. Instead of granting this
request, a band of ruffians rallied around it, to defend it and prevent
its removal by force when Judge White should reach the place.
Upon being informed of the affair, with his usual disinterested consideration for his friends he requested to be conducted on his way
by a more unfrequented route, declaring that "no one, capable of
such disgraceful conduct, had the power to insult him."  His enemies were thus denied the gratification of accomplishing their malignant purpose. Escorts of citizens accompanied him along the whole
route fiom the Virginia line; and even in the country, and by the
road-side, as he pursued his way, his fellow-citizens greeted him with
smiles of affection, approbation and hearty acclamations of applause.
A gentleman of Rogersville, Mr. Wales, voluntarily preceded Judge
TWhite, having under his charge a piece of artillery, whose frequent
discharges sent the reverberating echo through hill and valley,
announcing the coming of " the man who esteemed honor dearer than
office." The banner that floated above the gun, was surmounted by
a wreath of evergreen presented by the ladies of Rogersville, and
bore this inscription:
HUGH L. WHITE,
WORTH Y  OF  ALL HONOR
BOTH AS
A MAN AND A STATESMAN.
He now entered Knoxville, the place where he had been reared
from his boyhood, where he was greeted by the firing of cannon, the
ringing of bells, and the earnest gaze of old and young, who thronged
the streets to look upon him. Accompanied by a large procession of
persons on horseback, with his aged head nncovered, he passed on to
his own residence, through a multitude, who testified in various ways
the high estimation in which they held him. The following extract
from the " Richmond Whig," written by a distinguished Virginian, is
evidence of the high reputation he sustained abroad, as well as at
home:The name of this gentleman demands a passing note. If there be
truth in the adage, " nemofelix ante mortem," then is he more to be




RETURN HOME.                             411
envied than any man on earth. His political life was more than half his
existence, and he has rendered it up and rendered up an account of his
deeds, and received while he yet lives, that judgment in which even his
enemies concur, and which, therefore, posterity must ratify. He lives
to read his own epitaph, and its language is that of praise. He lives
to hear the voice of lamentation at his untimely fall, arising from all the
land. He hears himself mourned as a father by his children. He walks
among us as though his disembodied spirit had returned to earth, and we
turn aside with awe, and look upon him as a thing not of this world.
Men gaze upon him, as he passes, and the question "Which is he?" is
asked, not because he is a distributor of honors and emoluments, but
because he has secured to himself an honor which the world gave not,
and cannot take away-an honor greater than any the world can give.
We have God's word for it, that his gray hairs, worn, as they have been,
in the " paths of righteousness," are indeed "a crown of glory."  May
God's peace rest and abide with him.
An appropriate requiem  is found in the following lines addressed by
an English poet to an old oak, uprooted by a tempest:"Thou who unmoved hast heard the tempest chide,
Full many a winter round thy craggy bed;
And, like an earth-born giant hast out-spread
Thy hundred arms, and heaven's own bolt defied;
Now liest along thy native mountain's side
Uptorn; yet deem not that I come to shed
The idle drops of pity o'er thy head,
Or basely to insult thy blasted pride.
No! still'tis thine, tho' fallen, imperial oak,
To teach this lesson to the wise and brave:
That'tis far better, overthrown and broke,
In freedom's cause to sink into the grave,
Than, in submission to a tyrant's yoke,
Like the vile reed, to bow and be a slave."
He came back among his old friends worn down by severe illness;
having performed a trying journey of thirty-three days, in a state of
such extreme debility, that his friends watched each day, with trembling, lest it should be his last.  Yet, throughout all this suffering,
the public welfare continued to excite his deepest interest. The subjoined letter, one of the last which he ever wrote, shows that his
country, her institutions, and her prosperity, inspired him with the
profoundest solicitude.
MY FRIEND:-If towards any man I ought to use that term, I know
of no one to whom I can apply it with a deeper conviction it is merited.
You have stuck to me through good and evil report, without ever faltering or making a false or foolish move. The object of this letter is to




412           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON  WHITE.
give you all now in an old man's power, and one who feels on the verge
of the grave-my most heartfelt thanks for your kind, able, and efficient
care of me and my reputation. I am now through. On the 13th Jan.
my political life was terminated by my enemies. I have no faith in
the political resurrection of old men; but think not I am either mortified
or depressed.'Although I may be placed hors de combat, I hope that
some seeds have dropped even from the last limbs of my decayed trunk,
which, if watered and cherished, may yet bring forth fruit for the good
of the country.
Late letters from some of my colleagues in Washington, assure me that
from every quarter the news in relation to General Harrison's prospects
are most encouraging.
I like your electoral ticket with the exception of my name. That I
think unfortunate, considering the state of my health; but time will
show what ought to be done, and my rule is never to act in haste.
Would to God I could be with you a day or two. I write now to
show that there is yet something of me left, although you will see there
is very little of either mental or physical strength.
Sincerely
HUGH L. WHILE.
A. A. HALL, Esq.
His last prayer was answered. His country was redeemed from
the reproach which had been thrown upon it. Although the grave
closed over him, before he was permitted to witness that redemption,
yet the foul stain, which had been cast upon his own fair fame, was
wiped out by an overwhelming majority in the Presidential contest
of 1840, a result to which the influence of his speeches and actions
largely contributed.




CHAPTER XIX.
HIS FAMILY-HIS AFFLICTIONS.
JUDGE WHITE'S social and domestic affections were remarkably
strong; and so far as his political career withdrew him from the
sphere of their attractions, it was far from delightful to him. He
loved home as such, and seldom left it except when business rendered
it necessary.
In 1798 he married Miss Elizabeth Moore, daughter of his early
friend and instructor, the Rev. Samuel Carrick. She was born in
Rockbridge county, Virginia, and possessed all the warmth, frankness,
and generosity characteristic of the people of her native State. Her
father was one of the early settlers of Tennessee. He was the first
Presbyterian minister who ever had charge of a congregation in
Knoxville, and was afterwards the founder and first President of
Blount College
His daughter was but just verging upon her fifteenth year at the
period of her marriage; and although her personal beauty was the
first cause of attraction, yet, even at that early age, her capacity for
fulfilling the important responsibilities of the position then assumed
soon developed itself and proved to be of no ordinary grade. She
was early distinguished for her many domestic virtues. As a wife
she was preeminently faithful to all the interests of her husband, kindly
caring for his personal comfort, and in his absence zealously watching
over his pecuniary interests. Nor was her usefulness confined within
the limits of her household.
She seldom lost an opportunity of alleviating the distresses of the
miserable and destitute.
It was the will of Providence to continue this conjugal relation,
which was productive of so much domestic happiness, for thirty-three
years. They soon found themselves surrounded by a large family of
children.  Four sons and eight daughters cemented this union —
413




414           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
of whom two died in infancy, and the remainder reached years of
maturity.
For twenty-five years they lived inl the full enjoyment of all the
social pleasures the little world of home could bestow; and the happiness they themselves enjoyed was imparted to others. " Their house
was the abode of every delight and virtue." *  The fond attachment
of the husband was manifested by the regard and acts'of kindness
which he showed to all who were objects of interest to her, and on
her Itrt was reciprocated by cheerfully gratifying the wants and promoting the welfare of all his friends.
As parents they labored assiduously to "impress the minds and
imbue the hearts " of their children with all those graces which
would alone fit them for time and eternity. He was peculiarly gifted
in awakening and encouraging their most confiding affection, and at
the same time commanding their most profound respect, while she as
a mother, was eminently qualified to keep alive and growing these
important principles; and the result was, they were happy in seeing
these objects of their warmest solicitude, grow up around them models
of gentleness and truth.
But the scene changed.  Death entered their quiet and happy
home, in that insidious but most fatal of all forms of disease, pulmonary consumption; and the first born was the first victim of the
relentless tyrant. Carrick, their eldest son, died in 1826, in the 27th
year of his age —when, says a cotemporary, "the attainments of his
mind were but just developing themselves, and yet already in his profession of the law, his brethren of the bar, and the public were ready
justly as well as generously, to award him the praise of almost unrivalled acuteness and promise, and his clients the most unbounded
confidence in the strictness of his integrity and the fidelity of his
course."
The following letter to his friend James Park, Esq., the father-inlaw of his son, shows that notwithstanding the sad news was not
altogether unlooked for, yet his sensibilities were completely overwhelmed when it reached him.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 81st, 1826.
BMI  DEAR SIR.-Be pleased to deliver the inclosed letter to Nancy.
Letters from James and Doctor Watkins had taught me expect the sad
news, which this morning's mail brought me. That my beloved son is
* Dr. Foot's funeral sermon upon Judge White.




DOMESTIC AFFLICTIONS.                    415
no more. Yes, that Carrick is gone, gone forever, and that without the
farewell of his father. Dreadful, heart-rending, and life embittering
thought!
I am incapable of offering any advice about anything. I should be
glad to hear from you, who are capable of deriving consolation in the
midst of all misfortunes, from sources of which I have no right to draw.
Most sincerely yours,
Hu. L. WHITE
JAMES PARiK, ESQ.
From this time his domestic life became a scene of constant trial.
The destroyer severed in rapid succession the ties of affection. From
time to time he was doomed to drink still more deeply of the bitter
cup of sorrow, which only a parent's heart can know as he sees the
objects of his fondest hopes, in the full prime of manhood, and in the
full blush of womanhood sinking one after another into premature
decay. Early in the year 1827, another daughter and daughter-inlaw passed away.
In anticipation of the calamity, he again writes to the same friend.
SENATE CHAMBER, Feb. 6th, 1827.
DEAR SI:-Y-our favor of the 22d January is this moment received.
Your previous letter loitered long by the way. I answered it immediately
after it was received.
I have for some time been desirous to write to Nancy and to Lucinda;
but cannot bring myself to write to either.
For some weeks I have been under the belief that even the painful
satisfaction of ever seeing either of them in this life is not to be afforded
me.
I already feel as though they were lost to me; the affliction you realise
I know: But " shall we receive good and not be prepared to submit to
affliction from the hand of the Lord?"
I have no news.
Your friend,
Hu. L. L. WHITE.
JAMES PARK, ESQ.
On this occasion his fears were not fully realised. He arrived at
home on the morning of the 20th March, and his daughter Lucinda,
of whom he writes in this letter, died on the evening of the same day.
So that she died not, without giving a parting look of recognition to
the father she loved so tenderly.
The year 1828 was more fatal to him than any which had preceded it.




416           MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
In this year his second daughter, Mrs. Mary L. Swan, who had been
married but eight months, died. The following July his eldest daughter,
Betsey, relict of Newton Scott, died. "She was early taught by the
death of her husband, but a few months after their marriage, the entire
instability of all earthly expectations, and she had the happiness to
profit in the school of adversity." In November of the same year he
was deprived of his second son, James, under circumstances, if possible
still more distressing. Soon after obtaining a license to practise law,
he removed to Huntsville, Ala., and commenced his professional
career. He had remained there but a few years, when his course was
arrested by disease. He then returned with his family to Knoxville, in
the hope of recovering his health. At the approach of winter he
sought a milder climate, presuming it would be more congenial to
his constitution, and assist in the restoration of his strength; but he
was unable to proceed farther than Tuscaloosa, where he died,
without the affectionate care of wife, mother or sister, to watch over
his helpless hours of sickness, to soothe his pains, or minister to his
infirmities.
Says a friend, in writing of this son: " In his profession, though young,
he was conspicuous; though his career was short, it was brilliant. He
was argumentative and eloquent, ingenious and profound, and had a
fair prospect of obtaining a preeminent reputation."
Although Judge White's heart was filled with profound sorrow at
these untimely losses, yet there was no murmuring or repining.  His
entire submission to the Divine will in these bereavements will be
seen from the following letter to Dr. Coffin, President of East Tennessee.
College, and former preceptor of his sons.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6th 1828.
DEAR SIR.-By the mail which arrived this morning I received a letter
from Tuscaloosa, which gave the sorrowful information that James is no
more. Believing, when I parted with him, that we would never meet
again in time, I had been striving to reconcile my mind to such a separation, and hoped that I could hear of his death with composure, but while
there was life there was also hope, and I found the news had an effect I
did not anticipate. In and by my children I expected to obtain my distinction while I lived, and by the same medium to be known to posterity.
My leading object was to deserve the reputation of integrity, to acquire
funds equal to a comfortable support, and to the giving them a good education. Providence favored these endeavors to every desirable extent.
With my elder children, good dispositions and an aptitude to learn, it




LETTER TO DR. COFFI,.                   417
appeared to mne, were found united. My assiduous attention was given
to inculcate, in the first place, the value of good morals, and in the next,
to create a strong desire for the improvement of their minds. I was
flattered in the belief that I had succeeded, and they had become my most
intimate companions. I was proud of them, they were just as I had
desired they should be. Now, where are they? Of twelve, only five
younger ones remain. Seven have had their state of probation, and have
passed to their everlasting home. Good God! I am forced to realize the
solemn thought, that they and I never can see each other in time. This
is a heart-rending reflection, which I can hardly summon up fortitude
enough to bear. So it is, and I must submit to it.
In the midst of all these bereavements I have had, and continue to have,
some sources of high consolation. Of the five who were grown, no one
was addicted to any one vice, so far as I know. If not entitled to the
appellation of pious, each of them was at least moral. It pleased God so
far to restrain them, that each of them lived esteemed, and died without
having done any act disgraceful, in the estimation of society. They were
so far favored that each died of a slow, and lingering complaint, seldom,
if ever deprived of the full exercise of their reason. They were thus
enabled solemnly to review their short lives, to repent of all departures
from the Will of their Maker, and to pray for forgiveness to that Being
who alone has the power to pardon.
While spared to me I had all the satisfaction with them, and believe
they had with me, which can reasonably be expected between a father
and his children. Enabled by the blessing of Providence to supply all
their temporal wants, and having done so with the most heart-felt satisfaction, and they in return having given me not only their gratitude but
their fondest filial love, I see not why I ought to grieve. "The Lord
gave them " to me, He made them a blessing to me while here, " He hath
taken them away," and surely I ought to add, " blessed be the name of
the Lord." He knew best when to give them, how long to permit them
to remain, and when and how to remove them to that place, as I hope,
" where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest."
If, according to my blind wishes, he had permitted either of them to
have lived in health, a week, or even one day longer, they might have committed some act more distressing than their death. I will then try to be
satisfied. He who removed them hence knows all things, and orders
everything for the best. Therefore His will, not mine be done.
Present me in terms of kindness to your good lady and your children,
and believe that,
I am, with the highest regard and esteem,
Your most ob't servant,
Hu. L. WIITnc.
Doctor CHARLES COFIN.
27




418          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
Two other daughters soon followed. In January 1829, his fifth
daughter, Cynthia, died at the age of seventeen; and Melinda, his
sixth daughter, in April 1830, at the age of fifteen.
Though the recital of so many similar events has made the scene
familiar, yet we have now to record one, if possible, of more melancholy importance. The malady which had carried away the children, demanded also the mother. In the autumn of 1830, she was
attacked with illness, and to avoid a separation, accompanied her
husband to Washington, where she lingered through the winter.
All hopes being abandoned of her restoration to health, her only wish
now seemed to be, to reach home, and see those of her family who
remained behind. She and her husband left Washington on the 5th
March and travelled at the rate of ten or twelve miles a day.
She continued to decline, and died on the 25th March 1831, at a
public house near the Natural Bridge in Virginia, in the same county
in which she was born. Her remains were placed in a coffin, and
brought to Knoxville, three hundred and twenty miles, and deposited
in their ancestral burying place.
Although there were friends with him, who would have done him
any act of kindness, yet lest the carriage should be rudely driven, the
mourning husband undertook the sad task, and carefully conducted
her lifeless form to its last resting-place.
The day preceding his arrival at home, he was met by a number
of his friends and neighbors, who remained with him all night, and
by many acts of personal kindness, softened the private afflictions he
had been doomed to suffer, and enabled him to remain at his post,
and fearlessly and unfalteringly to discharge his duty to them and his
country.
His fourth daughter, Margaret W. Alexander, upon learning her
mother's real situation, requested to be taken to her. Her friends,
knowing the difficulties and dangers which must attend a trip
through the valley of Virginia, at that inclement season, attempted
to dissuade her from it. For a while she acquiesced and endeavored
to comply with her father's injunction to remain at home.  But
finally, upon hearing of the low condition of her mother, she could
not be dissuaded from her purpose. She left home in company with
her husband, and reached the Natural Bridge on the morning of the
26th, too late to receive the parting blessing of her parent. From
exposure consequent upon this trip, she contracted the same disease,
and died the following September.




DOMESTIC AFFLICTIONS.                   419
But few men have ever been so severely chastened. Death was so
continually and so suddenly destroying all around him, that in the
short space of six years he was called to resign the companion of
his youth and eight grown children, and so rapidly that four were consigned to the tomb in the short space of nine months. The duties of
his position were such, that he had the privilege of being with only
three out of the number in their last hours. Even his wife, whose
fortitude never forsook her, amidst those multiplied trials, was denied
the comfort of his presence.
These afflictive dispensations produced their legitimate results.
Under the first bereavements he turned tremulously away from God,
as one who felt he had no claims upon His promise of sustaining
grace; but as renewed strokes of chastening from a kind Father's hand
were laid upon him, he bowed submissively, not only acknowledging
the power, but the goodness of God.
He now found himself alone with " the recollection of what they
were;" and still so strong were his attachments for home, that he
preferred remaining by his now desolate hearthstone to seeking
enjoyment elsewhere. It was at this period that he was more than
ever resolved upon retiring from public life, but was induced to sacrifice
his personal feelings to the interests of his friends and the public.
Out of twelve, two children were all that were left him; a son
aged six years, and a daughter aged nine.
His grandchildren now shared with his children his paternal solicitude. His sons left four children, and his eldest daughter one;
the latter was reared in his own house-and the education of all was
his peculiar care. Btit while engaged in discharging his duty to the
living, he did not forget the sacred debt he owed to those who were
no more. Upon leaving and returning home his first and last visits
were to their quiet resting-place. This habit continued with him
throughout life, and proved that their virtues were embalmed in his
mleimory.
In November, 1832, Judge White formed a second marriage with
Mrs. Ann E. Peyton, of Washington City, a lady of fine mind and
polished address, with whom he lived eight years, in great happiness,
and from whom he was seldom separated.  She proved herself an
affectionate and devoted wife, and shared a large portion of his last
thoughts. She survived her husband seven years, and died at his
residence near Knoxville, in April, 1847. Her remains were taken
by her request to Washington, and interred by the side of her daughter




CHAPTER XX.
HIS DEATH.
JUDGE WHITE'S health was somewhat impaired, in consequence of an
attack of pneumonia, which he had before leaving Washington.  The
fatigue and exposure of travelling at so inclement a season of the year,
caused his disease to terminate in pulmonary consumption. As soon as
he found himself upon the soil of his own State, the very air of Tennessee seemed to exert a reviving and invigorating influence upon his
health. After he reached home, he so far improved, that he was able
to take an interest in everything around him; and his mind was constantly employed in devising plans for the future comfort of his
family. He made a contract for building on his farm (two miles distant from his residence) where, as he frequently expressed himself, he
would pass the remainder of his life with his wife and children.
His physical strength did not entirely forsake him to the very last.
le was able to take his accustomed rides of one or two miles,
almost daily, either on horseback or in a carriage, which gave his
friends cause to hope his life might yet be prolonged. On the 8th of
April he rode four miles in a carriage, but was unable to sit up all
the way. This was the last exercise he took. On the 9th, the day
previous to his death, he did not leave home, but sat up the greater
part of the day and until a late hour at night, and was unusually
cheerful. He slept as comfortably as usual until two o'clock, A. M.,
when it was discovered that his cough was changed.  The abscess on
his lungs had broken, and being too feeble to discharge it, he lived
about six hours, suffering apparently little pain, and died at half-past
eight o'clock, on the morning of the 10th of April, 1840. To the
last hour of his life the vigor of his intellect remained unabated.
Although unable to talk much, he was perfectly conscious, and occasionally expressed great concern about his family.
420




HIS DEATH.                        421
He never made any public profession of religion; but, from the pious
precepts and examples placed before him in early life, he imbibed a
veneration for all its institutions. He believed that religion consisted
more in doing right, from a sense of obligation to the Supreme Being,
than in forms and ceremonies. His resignation to the Divine will,
and confidence in his acceptance with God, was full and perfect. A
few days before his death he was visited by the Rev. Dr. Foot, president elect of Washington College, who conversed with him fully and
freely upon the subject of his approaching change. Judge White was
a firm  believer in Christianity as revealed in the Bible, and as
expounded by orthodox Christians. He had entire faith in the plan
of atonement. He affirmed in his last hours, that " having made it
a point through life, to do all the good in his power, and as little harm
as possible, and placing a firm reliance on the merits of Christ to
supply all the deficiencies incident to human frailty, he now had no
more fear of appearing in the presence of his Heavenly Father, than
he would in that of a kind, earthly parent.
WVhen the intelligence of his death reached the town, all business
was immediately suspended. The Chancery Court, which was in session, adjourned over to the ensuing day.
His body was interred in the burial ground of the First Presbyterian
Church on Sunday, at two o'clock, P. M., and was followed to the grave
by an immense concourse of citizens. The procession left his late residence in the following order:-Clergy — members of the medical profession-judges and members of the bar —pall-bearers —the bodyrelatives of the deceased-trustees of East Tennessee Universitypresident and professors of East Tennessee University —students of
the University-principal and students of Hampden Sydney Academy
-citizens. Immediately behind the body of the deceased, followed
his riding horse, Rienzi, with saddle and bridle, but without rider;
whose slow and measured tread seemed to betoken that he, too, sadly
felt the loss of his master, and called forth a fresh burst of grief from
his friends and fellow citizens.
Appropriate services were held at both the house and grave. After
which the assembly dispersed; and all classes of the community seemed
to feel that they had been called to mourn a heavy calamity.
A plain tomb-stone marks the spot where rest the ashes of this good
and great man, with the following simple inscription:



4'22          MEMOIR  OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
THE MEMORY OF
HUGH LAWSON WHITE,
Who was born Oct. 29th, 1773, and departed this life fpril 10th, 1840.
Composed in suffering, and in joy sedate,
Good without noise, without pretension great,
True to his word, in every thought sincere,
lie knew no wish but what the world might hear.
This humble tribute of devoted affection and deep regret is deposited by his
bereaved wife.
In different parts of the country, numerous public discourses were
delivered on the occasion of his death, and fiequent testimonials of
resl)ect appeared in the public journals of the day. One is selected
from those published in each division of his State, because of the
treatment he had received from a small portion of its citizens. An
account of the meeting at Washington is also given in consequence
of his long residence and services in that city.  These addresses
were delivered by men who had known the deceased intimately for
many years both in his public and private capacity; and  therefore their testimony is entitled to confidence.
On the 26th April, 1840 a funeral sermon was expected to have
been delivered in the Presbyterian church at Knoxville, by the Rev.
J. I. Foot, D. D., who was killed by a fall fiom his horse on the 20th
of the same month, within a few miles of Rogersville, while on his
way to Washington College.  A part of the sermon was, however,
prepared, from Isaiah xl. 6.  "The voice said, Cry.  And he said,
What shall I cry 8  All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof
is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth."
At a meeting of the members of the Bar, at Knoxville, Hon.
Thomas L. Williams was called to the chair, and John H. Crozier,
Esq., appointed secretary.




PUBLIC MEETING  AT KNOXVILLE.                         423
The Hon. Edward  Scott presented  the following preamble  and
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted.
A GREAT MAN HAS FALLEN IN ISRAEL!
This day, about the hour of nine o'clock, at his residence near this
place, the HIon. Hugh L. White ceased to exist. Henceforth he will live
only in the memory of his friends and his countrymen.  He was certainly a great and worthy man; a friend to truth, virtue, liberty, and the
Constitution.  Iis was a life of labor and activity-a life of usefulness,
moderation, regular conduct, and inflexible integrity. The law was his
profession. By his fair, open, and manly conduct, he won the sincere
affection and approbation of all his contemporaries.  He was an agreeable and eloquent speaker. In him were happily blended a profound jndgmnent, and accomplished address.  In him the unfortunate and the honest ever found a protector, while the guilty were marked for punishment.
Raised to the highest office in his profession, he did honor to the station,
and was among the greatest, and ablest magistrates that ever lived
among us. Elevated to a seat in the United State Senate, he maintained
hat purity of character which marked his private life. He loved the Constitution, nor would he consent to a forced construction of that instrument for the oppression of the people. The future historian will not fail
to record his virtues. We all know that his private character was without blemish; he was an affectionate husband, a kind parent and a steadfast friend. In short, he died as he lived, a true republican, an ardent
advocate of the rights of man, and an enemy to arbitrary power.
Resolved, That in token of our high respect and esteem for the private virtues, and public
character of the deceased, we will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days.
On motion of John H. Crozier, it was
Resolved, That the foregoing preamble and resolutions be presented by the Hon. Edward
Scott, on to-morrow morning, to the Chancery Court now in session in this place, with the
request that the same be entered on the record of the Court.
Resolved, That we tender to the family and relatives of the deceased our sincere condolence
on their late distressing bereavement, and that the Secretary furnish them with a copy of
these proceedings.
THOMAS L. WILLIAMS, Chairmait.
J6HN H. CROZIER, Secretary.
At a meeting of the citizens of Nashville, Thursday, the 6th of
April, Col. George Wilson was called to the chair, and Edwin H.
Ewing, Esq., appointed secretary.




424           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE.
The chairman having stated the object of the meeting, Allen A.
Hall offered the following preamble and resolutions:THE BEAUTY OF ISRAEL IS SLAIN UPON. THY HIGH PLACES.
Hugh Lawson White has passed off the stage of the great theatre of
life! Well and nobly has he sustained the high character for which he
was cast. Would that the curtain of mortality had not fallen, till the
epilogue to his eventful life had all been acted out and spoken, in the
surely vindicating future.  Quod scriptum  scriptum  est!  " What is
written, is written."  Yes! in the court above, the decree-how truly
irreversible! —has been entered up: and the name, and virtues and
services of Judge White are become the priceless inheritance of his country. Conspicuous among those of his day, to whom it has happened to
have lived, acted and spoken under the scrutinizing eye of history, he
has labored for the benefit of his country, as truly as ever a man toiled
for his family.
Illustrious by the eminence of his virtues, the usefulness of his talents,
the importance of his functions, his character needs no indeterminate
commendations, no accumulated epithets-no didactic reflections. His
merits require no exaggeration. lIe had nothing to dissemble. His history, written with faithfulness, will be his best eulogium. " He hath so
planted his honors in our eyes, and his actions in our hearts, that for our
tongues to be silent, and not confess so much, were an ungrateful injury:
to report otherwise, were a malice, that giving itself the lie, would pluck
reproof and rebuke from every ear that heard it."
The spontaneous feeling of unaffected sorrow, which has here convened
the friends of the deceased, can find but imperfect expression in these
extemporaneous and preliminary proceedings. We pause at the threshold
till, some orator, worthy of his subject, shall bid us enter, with becoming
awe, the temple of his fame.
From the age of thirteen, roughly disciplined in the border life of Tennessee; at nineteen, acting a manly part in savage warfare; a judge, at
the early age of twenty-eight, and for twelve years giving universal
satisfaction by able, and in many instances important decisions; twelve
years president of the Bank of Tennessee, it was always prosperous by
ihis prudent and wise counsels; a senator in the State legislature;
district attorney of the United States; commissioner between Virginia
and Kentucky in the settlement of important land claims, and again,
under the Spanish treaty. In all these varied trusts, equally honest and
capable, he was the exact, efficient man of business; twice was he elected
without opposition to the Senate of the United States, and on a memorable occasion, when in the conflict of great principles, an arbiter was
needed to control giant minds, he was chosen to preside over that body.




PUBLIC MEETING  AT KNOXVILLE.                       425
As self-poised and magnanimous in declining honors, as in accepting
office; he refused a seat on the Bench of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and more than once a place in the cabinet of the federal executive,
In a public career of forty years, of spotless integrity, with a rare disinterestedness, he twice refused compensation, to a large amount, for most
valuable public services.
Nor is the reverse of the medal less beautifully defined.  His private
life exhibited the perfect harmony of his whole character; and so attractive has it ever been, that his numerous friends have regarded him more
with the sentiments of paternal affection, and the tenderness of a near
relationship, than with the ordinary feelings which attach a public man
to his constituents.  Accordingly they have rejoiced at his well deserved
success, or have been indignant at the ungrateful returns, which the best
benefactors often receive, and in all vicissitudes, they have felt his reputation dear to them as their own personal concern, and they still
" Wear him
In their heart's core; ay, in their heart of hearts."
Ungrateful returns!  They were the vouchers of his uncompromising
integrity and consistency; they were the evidences of his greatness!
When attacked, he defended himself beyond all ordinar'y powers of
endurance, with the weapons of truth, and the bravery of conscious
uprightness. That reputation which grows, as the oak, through all
changing seasons amidst alternate storms, and sunshines, shall still be
firmly rooted and majestic, when the rude tempests of party strife are all
blown over. The subject of our eulogy has been in this triumphant,
that his last days were the best witnesses of his worth. Death only could
subdue him.  " Without fear and without reproach," he had a right to
demand an honorable discharge; but his self sacrificing, generous love of
country, brought him to the foremost place in that hot fight, in which we
are now engaged. He has died in his armor, covered with glory. " His
end lamented by the good, by none more than by us."
"Dear let his memory be, and proud his grave!
And this his epitaph: "He lived, he fought
For truth and wisdom, foremost of the brave,
Him glory's idle fancies dazzled not,'Twas his ambition, generous and great,
A life to life's great end to consecrate!"
"He came to his grave in full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in,
in his season."  Full of years, and of just honors full, the venerable
White "rests from his labors, and his works do follow hirl."
Resolved, That we lament the death of the Hon. Hugh L. White, as a great calamity; in
which our sense of loss to that cause to which he was more especially pledged, in the present
posture of public affairs, is merged in condolence with the good, the enlighlte:ed, and the iibe.
ral of all parties.




426              3MIEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
Resolved, That it be suggested to the whig electors to wear the usual badge of mourning
ninety days.
Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the immediate family of the deceased, and that
a copy of these proceedings be transmitted to them, as an expression of our condolence.
Resolved, That the record of these proceedings, signed by the Chairman and Secretary, be
published in the newspapers at Nashville.
Ephraim  H. Foster, Esq., having  seconded the adoption of the foregoing preamble and resolutions in a few appropriate remarks, they were
adopted without a dissenting voice. Whereupon the meeting, on motion
of Henry Hollingsworth, Esq., adjourned.
GEORGE WILsON, Chairmcan.
EDWIN H. EWING, Secretary.
The Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee, in session at Jackson,
on receiving the melancholy intelligence of the death of the Hon.
Hugh L. White, immediately  adjourned; after which  the  members
of the Bar of West Tennessee, in attendance on the Supreme Court,
convened at the court-house for the purpose of paying a tribute of
respect to the memory of the deceased.
Whereupon, on  motion  of Adam  Huntsman, Esq., P. M. Miller
Esq., was called to the chair, and  Micajah  Bullock, Esq. and Austin
Miller, Esq., were appointed secretaries.
Henry G. Smith, Esq., then offered the following preamble and
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:
Information having been this day received of the death of the Hon.
Hugh L. White, of Knoxville, formerly a judge of the Supreme Court of
this State, and long a distinguished member of our profession; as a testimonial of respect to his memory, due alike for his eminent public services, for his great private worth, to the purity, propriety, and dignity,
of his long and active life, the members of the Bar of West Tennessee in
attendance upon the Supreme Court at Jackson, assembled for the pur-pose of declaring their sentiments:Resolved, That in his death the Bar of this State has sustained the loss of a most distin.
guished member and ornament; the people of Tennessee, of a long tried and faithful servant;
society, of a good and useful citizen; his family, of a kind father and affectionate husband;
mankind, of one of the noblest of the race.
And, therefore, that we are penetrated with feelings of an unfeigned sorrow and regret upon
the occasion of his death; and that the members of the Bar of West Tennessee, assembled at
this meeting, respectfully and affectionately tender their condolence and sympathy to his
bereaved family.
Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings of this meeting be presented to the Supreme Court
at this place, with the request that the same may be entered on the minutes of the court; and
that a copy be addressed to the family of the deceased;




PROCEEDINGS OF THE BAR AT JACKSON.                427
And that a copy be furnished for the press, with a request that the proceedings may be pub.
ished;
And that the same be signed by the Chairman and Secretaries.
Whereupon the meeting adjourned.
P. M. MILLER, Chairsman.
A. MILLER,   Secretares.
JAcKSON, April, 18, 1840.
And afterwards, on Monday, the 20th day of April, the resolutions
above were presented to the court at its opening in the morning, with
the request that they might be entered on the minutes of the court.
The request was promptly complied with, and the following response
to the motion was made by his honor Judge Reese, presiding on
behalf of the court:
We have been requested to cause to be spread upon the records of this
court, a copy of the proceedings of a meeting of the members of the bar of
West Tennessee, in attendance at the present term, intended by them as a
testimonial of their regret for the death, and their respect for the memory
of the Hion. Hugh L. White. We promptly and cordially assent to this
request.
We received with the liveliest sensibility and profoundest regret, the
melancholy intelligence that one so long and so eminently distinguished,
as a member of our profession, and as a judge of this court, is no more
to be numbered among the living. The individual upon whom has
devolved the duty of responding to the request of the gentlemen of the
bar, has known the deceased intimately for the last twenty years. The
traits of his character were strongly marked. His intellect was unusually
active, acute, clear, and vigorous. He had great firmness of purpose and
energy of will, and if his temper was ardent, and his emotions sometimes
intense, he had a prudence, discretion and fairness which directed his
efforts to right ends by the use of proper means. Iis professional career
commenced about the time when this State became a member of the
Union, and he rose at once to honorable distinction. Although his
preparation, scholastic and professional, as might be expected from
the character of the country and the times, was rather accurate and useful, than extensive; still, such were the endowments of his mind, and the
strength of his character, that for forty-five years, and to the last, he
kept up with the improvements of society and the development of our
institutions, and never lost that position in the very first rank of his profession with which he set out. As a lawyer, he was ever at his post and
always prepared. As a speaker at the bar, he was animated, argumentative and eminently impressive; force and perspicuity were his striking




428           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
attributes. As a judge, he was courteous, dignified, impartial and able.
This elevated station he reached at an early age, and he largely contri.
buted by the purity of his personal character and the energy, wisdom and
justice of his official actions, to impress upon a new community that
respect for, and submission to, an enlightened administration of the law,
which has in all times and under all circumstances since, so honorably
distinguished them.
The moral qualities of Hugh L. White were of the first order. Truth,
that basis upon which must rest all the virtues he strongly loved, and
scrupulously practised. His integrity was inflexible; no example of
others, no fashion of the times could tempt him, for a moment, into any
transaction, questionable in the motives, or equivocal in the tendency.
He was an honest man, and ever kept his escutcheon stainless; and this
he himself regarded as the highest and most honorable point in personal
character. As a husband, a father and neighbor, he was all that a man,
such as we have described him, could be expected to be. His long and
active life brought him in contact with society at points which we mean
not here to discuss. He was much in the political service of his country:
even here we may be permitted to express the individual conviction that
the period is not distant, when the turmoils of the present moment having
passed by, few, if any, of his countrymen will be found to question the
motives of his public conduct, or to deny that, in all the solid and essential qualities of a virtuous patriot and an enlightened statesman, he was
eminently distinguished among the men of his time.
Upon Judge White's death being announced in the Senate by his
successor, Mr. Alexander Anderson, the motion for the customary
honors to be paid to his memory was seconded by Mr. Preston of
South Carolina, who at the same time pronounced the following brief
and merited eulogy upon the virtues of the deceased:
"I do not know, Mr. President, whether I am entitled to the
honor I am about to assume in seconding the resolutions which have
just been offered by the Senator from Tennessee, in honor of his late
predecessor; and yet, sir, I am not aware that any one present is




REMARKS OF HON. MR. PRESTON.                 429
more entitled to this melancholy honor, if it belongs to long acquaintance, to sincere admiration, and to intimate intercourse.  If these
circumstances do not entitle me to speak, I am sure every senator
will feel, in the emotions which swell his own bosom, an apology for
my desire to relieve my own, by bearing testimony to the virtues and
talents, the long services and great usefulness, of Judge White.
"My infancy and youth were spent in a region contiguous to the
sphere of his earlier fame and usefulness. As long as I can remember anything, I remember the deep confidence he had inspired
as a wise and upright judge, in which station no man ever enjoyed a
purer reputation, or established a more implicit reliance in his abilities
and honesty. There was an antique sternness and justness in his
character. By a general consent he was called Cato. Subsequently,
at a period of our public affairs very analogous to the present, he
occupied a position which placed him at the head of the financial institutions of East Tennessee. He sustained them by his individual
character. The name of Hugh L. White was a guarantee that never
failed to attract confidence.  Institutions were sustained by the
credit of an individual, and the only wealth of that individual was
his character. From this more limited sphere of usefulness and
reputation, he was first brought to this more conspicuous stage as the
member of an important commission on the Spanish treaty, in which
he was associated with Mr. Tazewell and Mr. King. His learning,
his ability, his firmness and industry, immediately extended the
sphere of his reputation to the boundaries of the country. Upon
the completion of that duty, he came into this Senate. Of his career
here I need not speak. His grave and venerable form is even now
before us-that air of patient attention, of grave deliberation, of unrelaxed firmness. Here his position was of the highest —beloved, respected, honored; always in his place- always prepared for the
business in hand-always bringing to it the treasured reflections of a
sedate and vigorous understanding. Over one department of our




430            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
deliberations he exercised a very peculiar control.  In the management of our complex and difficult relations with the Indians, we all
deferred to him, and to this he addressed himself with unsparing
labor, and with a wisdom, a patient benevolence, that justified and
vindicated the confidence of the Senate.
" In private life he was amiable and ardent. The current of his
feelings was warm and strong. His long familiarity with public
affairs had not damaged the natural ardor of his temperament.  We
all remember the deep feeling with which he so recently took leave
of this body, and how profoundly that feeling was reciprocated. The
good-will, the love, the respect which we bestowed upon him then,
now give depth and energy to the mournful feelings with which we
offer a solemn tribute to his memory."
At a meeting, in the Capitol at Washington of the personal friends
and admirers among the members of the House of Representatives in
Congress, of the late Hugh L. White of Tennessee, called on the
21st instant, for the purpose of paying a tribute of respect to his
memory;
The Hon. Thomas W. Chinn, of Louisiana, was called to the
Chair, and the Hon. William  K. Bond, of Ohio, was appointed
secretary.
The Hon. John Bell, of the Tennessee delegation, rose and introduced the object of the meeting, with the following remarks:As the senior member of the Tennessee delegation, now present, it
may be expected that I should state the object of this meeting, which is
simply to make some suitable manifestation of our sorrow for the death
of the late Judge White, and to pay such tribute of respect to the excel
lence of his character, as I am sure will be equally grateful to our own
feelings, and to his numerous relatives and friends, wherever they may
be.
Not having been a member of the House of Representatives, the pre.
cedents do not authorize the annunciation of his name in that body, nor




REMARKS OF HON. JOHN BELL.                    431
admit the customary proceedings in honor of departed fellow members.
The deep and unaffected concern with which the melancholy intelligence
of his death was received by every member who had formed a personal
acquaintance with him in the course of his public service, and the anxious solicitude they expressed that some mode should be adopted, by
which they could testify their feelings to the world, will, perhaps, after
all, be regarded as a higher testimonial of his worth than any we can
now offer.
Many were of opinion that his long and useful public services, the venerable age at which he had arrived, and above all, the unblenished
purity of his whole life, were sufficient to set aside all precedents, and to
justify an extraordinary proceeding in the House. But on reflection, it
was concluded that nothing should be attempted, which under the excitement of the times, could be attributed to any possible motive except the
desire of doing sincere homage to the virtues of the deceased.  I must
confess, however, there is something very unsatisfactory to the feelings,
in the customary proceedings of the two HIouses, upon the occasion of
the decease of a member.  They are, for the most part, indiscriminate;
there is the same routine in every case; oftentimes the duty of speaking
the eulogy is devolved upon one who has neither the heart to appreciate,
nor perhaps, the inclination to do justice to his memory. I, therefore, on
every account, prefer the mode of our present meeting. Here, there is
no involuntary or exacted homage; none give their attendance, but
those whose feelings would not allow them to be absent. Here, too, we
can give full scope to our friendship and admiration, unrestrained by the
fear of giving offence to the taste of the cold and indifferent; and besides,
it is not the member of Congress whose death we now deplore, to whose
memory we offer the tribute of our sorrow and our tears. It is to the
man, the public officer, the statesman, who was an honor, and a bright
and shining one, not only to the State in which he lived, to the country
he served so long, so ably, and so faithfully, but to human nature
itself. For if there be truth in the proposition, that the noblest work of
Deity is an " honest man," then was the late Hugh Lawson White, of
Tennessee, one of the noblest specimens of divine workmanship. Altogether, he formed a character of rare perfection. Though determined in his
own purposes of ardent and decided attachments, though engaging freely
and actively in all the concerns of life, there was nothing in his whole
career, no infirmity, no act, public or private, over which his friends
need draw a veil in charity. The history of his last days we all know.
Retiring from the Senate, in obedience to his principles and that inexorable sense of duty which had influenced his whole life, though suffering
from indisposition at the time, he resolved to set out immediately for his
residence in Tennessee. Incapable, from long habits of self denial, of
personal indulgence, the entreaties and warnings of his friends, who had




432           MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
but too clearly foreseen the perils of so long a travel, in a season of such
uncommon severity, were unavailing. The exposure and privations of
his journey were fatal to his health. Disease fastened on a vital part of
his system, and he finally sunk under it, with signal composure and
fortitude.
Thus terminated a life of uncommon usefulness, and one which, I trust,
when it shall become more generally known, will leave a salutary
impress upon the whole country. Judge White was, indeed, in many
respects, a man of most rare and felicitous endowments, some of which
may have passed unobserved even by many of those who enjoyed his
friendship during the latter years of his existence. His manly patience
and fortitude under the severest afflictions, are known to but few.
Though tender and affectionate to the last degree, in his domestic relations, yet his patient endurance under the greatest and most overwhelming domestic bereavements, was almost superhuman. By calling to his
aid the will, that faculty, which, with him, when once summoned into
action, was absolute and invincible, he could appear among his friends
with serenity upon his brow, while his heart was pierced with the keenest
anguish.
It may not be generally known, that this venerable patriot was, late
in life, destined to the affliction of beholding the objects of his early paternal care, the pride, and joy, and hope of his affections fall, stricken by
the " insatiate archer," one by one, in succession, until two only of a lovely
and cherished group of ten remained; and what seemed yet a harder,
and more relentless fate, all these sank into the tomb at full maturityhis sons in the vigor of manhood, and giving high promise of all their
father was-the more tender and lovely members of his family in the
full bloom of youthful beauty. Yet so stern was the sense of public duty,
which always governed this eminent citizen, that, at its bidding, I have
known him to allow himself but a single hour in which to weep the early
doom of still another " daughter dear."
By a singular and unfortunate coincidence, a measure of great importance in the Senate of which he had charge, and which he alone, from
his intimate acquaintance with the subject, was able to explain and
enforce, was set for the very day on which he received the melancholy
tidings of this new bereavement. The measure was urgent, and admitted no postponement. One moment I saw him with his heart wrung by
inexpressible anguish-the next, he appeared in the Senate, composed
and resolute, and a moment afterwards he entered upon one of the ablest
and most effective speeches ever delivered by him in that body.
One other illustration of these less conspicuous, and perhaps, less useful qualities, yet still so characteristic of the man, I cannot forbear to
give. I would speak of his gratitude-a virtue which he highly prized in
himself, and the violation of which in others, he was less able to bear




REMAREKS OF HON. JOHN BELL.                  433
than any man I have known. Yet this cup, bitter as it is, he was, near
the close of his valuable life, compelled to drain to the dregs.
It gives me great pleasure to see in this assembly so many of those
who assisted upon another, but very different occasion, to consecrate,
and canonize the last public act of this distinguished public servant. The
generous sympathy, the just measure of approbation and applause
you bestowed upon his public course, and upon the principles and
tentiments he avowed in that, his last intellectual effort in this
capitol-in this world-contributed to make the close of his public
career the proudest and most glorious event of his life. I am sure it
will long be a subject of pleasing reflection to each of you, to be
informed that the recollection of the friendship and admiration so
kindly manifested by you on that occasion, continued to animate and
console him during the remaining, but too short, period of his life. It
supported him in his painful journey horne, as the letters which now lie
before me fully evince. It continued to be the frequent theme of his
conversation and of his pen in the last days' of his affliction, and it
afforded a gleam of light to'illumine the darkness of his last hour. This
will not appear extraordinary, when we know that next to the approval
of his own conscience, he valued and coveted, above all things, the good
opinion of his friends and countrymen. His great ambition through life
was to live without reproach, to be esteemed in private life, an honest
man, and in public, a useful and faithful servant. This was his passion,
and surely no man in our times, through so long a life, and filling so
many important stations, has lived so well and so successfully up to the
standard his ambition had prescribed for the regulation of his conduct.
It is no common-place or unmeaning eulogy'to say, that Aristides was
not more just. He was in truth a model to two generations, for the
moral conformation of the youth of the country around him-a mirror in
which to dress themselves out in all the moral excellences of our nature
-in all those qualities which make up the eminently useful and distinguished citizen.
When we reflect upon the keen sensibility of our lamented friend, his
leading passion, the moderate though noble measure of his ambition,
judge ye what must have leen the intensity of his emotions when-after
a life of nearly forty years spent in the public service, filling with the
unanimous approbation of the whole people, for so long a period. the
highest and most responsible stations, without censure or reproach, or
question of his fidelity, and at a time, too, when, in the course of nature,
hie verged towards the close of his public labors-he was abruptly driven
from the public councils, dismissed that public service he had so long
adorned, not only with indifference, but with personal indignity and
invective superadded. We can better imagine than embody in words the
effect of such treatment upon a man constituted as he was. In truth, it
28'




434              MEBMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
came near riving his noble heart.  For a moment it quite vanquished
him; for one moment his inflexible spirit seemed to give way, but it was
only for a moment.  The consciousness of having discharged every duty
faithfully to the last, and a strong sense of the unmerited censure whichl
had been cast upon him, soon came to his relief, and restored him  to the
exercise of his accustomed fortitude and power of endurance.
My feelings will allow me to proceed no further.  I offer to the meet
ing, for their adoption, the resolutions which I hold in my hand:
Resolved, That the present meeting, composed of the personal friends and admirers of the
late Hugh Lawson White, of Tennessee, have received the information of his death with the
deepest emotion and regret.
Resolved, That, in testimony of those feelings, and as some small tribute of respect for the
rare virtues, the distinguished ability and usefulness of a man who, in his whole life, was an
example fit for the study and imitation of the present and future generations of his countrymen,
we will wear the customary badge of mourning during thirty days.
After the reading of the above resolutions, Mr. Wise; of Virginia,
rose and paid an eloquent tribute to the character of the deceased,
and when he had concluded his remarks, the above resolutions were
unanimously adopted.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Wise,
Rcsolved, That the chairman of this meeting forward a copy of these proceedings to the
family of the deceased.
Resolved, That copies of these proceedings be sent to the editors of the " National Intelligencer " and the " Knoxville Times," with a request that the same be published in their respective papers.
THOMAS W. CHINN, CCairmzan.
WILLIAM  R. BOND, Secretary.
At the Young Men's Whig Convention assembled in Baltimore,
May, 1841, Mr. A. R. Humes of Tennessee being called upon for a
report from that State, alluded  in  the following touching  strain  to
Judge White.  The "Madisonian" says, one of the most striking
incidents of the day was the manner in which the immense assemblage
received his reference to the good and great Hugh L. White.  He
said:" Fellow Citizens: In the midst of this'army of banners,' borne aloft
by the stout arms of freemen, there is one robed in the sable weeds of
mourning.   Tennessee deplores the death, and this day honors the memory of Hugh L. White."
The very moment the name of the departed patriot was mentioned,
the thousands who surrounded  the rostrum  simultaneously took off




REMARKS OF MR. HUMES.                     435
their hats, and bent their heads in mournful homage to his memory.
The effect was instantaneous-was sublime-was electric.
Mr. Humes continued:You, my countrymen! by your uncovered heads, at the mention of his
great name, and by the holy and virtuous indignation you feel, written
in legible characters, upon every face in this vast assembly, pay a just
tribute to the worth of this parted patriot. He now sleeps with " the
illustrious dead." His heart no longer throbs with the pulsations of
freedom; his voice no longer eloquent in the councils of the nation, is
hushed for ever, in the unbroken silence of the grave.
Mr. Humes, in alluding to the universal proscription of the party
in power, said:"Among the many victims, who have bled upon the altar of this modern Moloch, this fierce, relentless despotism, was that man, who has been
justly termed " the Cato of the Republic." He forsook a past Administration in the noon-day of its power in defence of the Constitution and
the laws-he renounced adherence to men, for the sake of principle. He
"passed the Rubicon" and the decree went forth. He was banished
from office-and with a heart full of deep, unutterable feeling, and a venerable form, trembling beneath the palsying hand of age, he returned,
once more, to the peaceful abodes of private life. But the storms of
winter, and the baseness of ingratitude, " more strong than traitor's arm,
quite vanquished him."  Disease and calumny completed their workhe returned to his final home-a dishonored soil received the ashes of her
injured exile. There we might hope, he would rest in undisturbed
repose. But no! with fiendish malignity, do his defamers pursue him.
Like fierce hyenas, they prowl around his grave, and insult his injured
manes.  But, fellow citizens! there is a day of terrible retribution.
The blades of twenty thousand freemen are leaping from their scabbards
to revenge his wrongs. A voice, from his fresh sodden grave, speaks in
tones of thunder to you, this day. The foul stain upon the brightness
of gallant Tennessee, will soon be wiped off-her glory is eclipsed,
but not departed-the dark spot upon her broad disk, will soon pass
away, and the year 1841 will dawn upon the young Switzerland of
America regenerate and redeemed."
These eloquent tributes to the memory of Judge White, emanating
from such high sources, were, certainly, grateful to his many friends.
They were no less gratified by the many other marks of the same
deep respect for his character and of the same unaffected and sincere
sorrow manifested at his loss by the people.




436          MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
A battalion of militia mustered in Roane County, Tennessee,
when Judge White died. When the news of his death was carried
to the place, by request of the commanding officer, the event was
announced to the battalion, by Thomas J. Campbell Esq., who was
present, and who added appropriate remarks touching his public and
private character. The whole battalion evinced the deepest interest
on the occasion, and unanimously determined on their return march
from the field, to proceed with muffled drums, shrouded in black, which
was accordingly done.
Another incident shows the affection with which he was regarded
by the people. At the great whig convention held in Knoxville, in
August, 1840, a gentleman who was present, and heard Col. David
WV. Dickenson's speech, says that, " when he (the orator) came to
speak of Judge White, almost every man in that vast assembly was
in tears."




CONCLUSION.
HAVING given the leading incidents in the life of Judge White,
and shown him firm in his adherence to all his duties both of a public and private nature, in defiance of all denunciation, or seductive
influences, the subject might well be left, in the confident belief that
posterity will not fail to render that award of lofty merit which his
character so eminently deserves. Testimonials to his worth have
been inserted from so many and such high authorities, that it is
scarcely necessary to say much in conclusion. But for the more perfect completion of the task a few observations may not improperly be
added, descriptive of his appearance, or illustrative of his character.
His health, naturally delicate, had given him much trouble from
the year 1819 until his death. His lungs were the seat of his disease,
and although he was never so ill as to render it necessary for himi to
absent himself from his public duties, yet his hemorrhages were so
frequent as to keep him in a constant state of apprehension.
His personal appearance changed but little towards the close of
his life; he retained his erect form, and elastic step, almost to the
last. He had an acute sense of the ludicrous, and was a lover of wit,
although his appearance indicated a want of mirthfulness.
Assiduity in him was combined with great mental activity. He
was distinguished for his ability to apply his mind intensely and protractedly, and for an unusual power of concentrating his thoughts
upon a single subject. Accustomed from the beginning to consider
seriously the impediments in the way of his attaining an object, he
attentedly weighed them, and when he had undertaken to execute
his purpose, his perseverance overcame every obstacle. Additional
obstructions awakened additional strength, new and unforeseen difficulties led to the device of new and unforeseen expedients, until he,
who might, in a sense, have appeared to be weak, and unable to maintain his own position, was changed into an intellectual giant, divesting his adversary of his armor, destroying his strong-hold, and lead437




438           MEMOIR OF HUGH  LAWSON WHITE.
ing him captive at his will. His mind was not of that brilliant order,
whose only use is to astound the multitude. It delighted not to
indulge in flights of the imagination, nor in sallies of wit. It did not
chiefly rely on circumstances for its operation. What it had accomplished at one time, and in one class of circumstances, it could also
accomplish in others of a widely different nature.  Those mental
efforts which depended on external and occasional excitements in
other men, were by industry and perseverance easily and habitually
performed by him. It was this reliable and ready power which made
him equal to the exigencies of every cause which he undertook, and
the duties of every office which he was called to fill. The vigor,
which in some other men of equal, and perhaps superior, genius
was fluctuating and doubtful, was with him more uniform.
He was a deep thinker, and remarkable for his power of comparison and of discovering inconsistencies, and of clothing his ideas in
suitable language.
He examined thoroughly the arguments of others, his mind grasped
and retained the leading points of a subject with great vigor, and his
reasoning was so clear, that he made his ideas intelligible to the
understanding of all. His style was forcible, perspicuous and concise.
His sentences were commonly short and so selected and arranged
that whatever he said could readily be followed. His style was often
figurative, for purposes of illustration; never for the sake of ornament.
He addressed himself to the understanding and moral sensibilities
and not to the passions-and when speaking, either in popular assemblies, or in parliamentary debate, his manner was marked by the most
impassioned earnestness and he seldom failed to fix the attention of
his hearers.
The operations of'his mind were rapid; his feelings were quick and
intense and susceptible of exquisite enjoyment or extreme pain. His
mental activity grew out of an ardent temperament. I-o used to say
that he was naturally one of the most irritable and passionate of men,
but he governed his temper well, and that was one secret of the influence which he exercised over the minds and conduct of others.
His own purity of motive rendered him slow to suspect or to censure
the doings of others. Yet he was not deficient in the power of resisting; and he never allowed his character to be trifled with, his rights
invaded, or his friends imposed upon. This trait was more frequently
exercised and clearly exemplified, by means of circumstances occurring during the last years of his life.




JUDGE WHITE S CHARACTER.                   439
His incorruptible integrity was, however, the most prominent feature in his whole character. He abhorred the subtlety with which
some advocates are accustomed to plead, and to seek to obtain an unjust
verdict, and every course where success depended upon management
and intrigue he regarded as unsound. Neither personal fiiendships,
nor personal dislikes or animosities, ever colored his decisions; and the
accuracy of his opinions and his uncompromising honesty secured for
him universal respect.
In private life he was remarkable for the dignity and simplicity of
his manners. In all his transactions the same honorable frankness of
heart manifested itself. No instance is known in which his probity
was ever suspected. His domestic habits were simple. He was an
early riser, and when he had no particular business to transact, he
spent his time in reading or in some other useful occupation. He
was an excellent marksman, and rode much on horseback.  Aany of
his journeys to Washington were performed in that way, and so particular was he in his attention to his horse, that he was never
known to take his meals without first seeing that it received attention.
Although his family were provided liberally with domestics, his habit
was to wait upon himself, and he seldom called upon them for attentions; he required his children to imitate this example.  He was
systematic and orderly in all his habits; he had a place for everyth ing and kept everything in its place. He particularly disliked any
disturbance in the arrangement of his room; and was quick to detect it.
He was not insensible to praise or censure. He valued much the
good opinion of his fellow-men —but highly as he prized the approbation of the public in regard to his public conduct, he valued far more
the testimony of his companions and competitors in the same profession, and of his neighbors and friends, who had been witnesses of his
conduct from his entrance upon the busy scenes of life. His reputation
in distant parts of the land, was not greater than that he enjoyed in
his own State and town. By his long and constant attention to the
interest of his friends, he had become so endeared to them, that they
never withheld an expression of their warmest approbation, or lost an
opportunity of bestowing their renewed confidence and honors upon
him. In all the domestic relations his character vwas without a stain.
He was a devoted husband, an affectionate father, a kind neighbor,
and a good master. His servants loved, yet feared to offend him.
He rarely passed one of them, however small, without speaking a kind
word.




440            MEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
One or two anecdotes will exemplify this trait.  Judge White
owned a number of slaves, and had a manager to see that they discharged their duty.  It so happened that the family were unprovided
with fuel at a time when the weather became extremely cold and
unpleasant,'and probably neither the manager nor servants were apprised of the fact, or if they were, considered that no one in his
senses would think of turning out in such weather. The negioes
were collected around a log-heap fire in their cabins, and the manager, a man of by no means slight figure, or delicate constitution, in
his own comfortable quarters, all in full view of Judge White's
dwelling. Upon being notified that there was no wood, the Judge,
without saying a word to any one on the subject, protected himself
as well as he could against the weather, went to the stable, harnessed
the horses and hitched them to the wagon before it was known what
he was doing.  As soon as the news reached the cabins he was immediately waited on to know what were his wishes. He very mildly
and calmly requested the manager and servants all to return to their
homes, and make themselves comfortable; that he could, without
the least inconvenience, endure the cold.  Of course he was not left
alone, however, but made it a point to drive the horses himself.
In relating this, the manager said, as long as he was with Judge
IVWhite, after this, he never found the weather too bad to do whatever
was necessary to be done.
A little domestic occurrence may indicate his careful oversight of
the moral training of his family.
One Saturday in August, a grand-daughter and two nieces of
Judge White went out to make their grandfather and uncle a visit.
The Judge was then living in the suburbs of the town, and near him
resided a Presbyterian clergyman.  Soon after their arrival, it was
announced by one of the company that the Rev. Mr. M -  had a
peach tree loaded with ripe fruit, the first that had been seen that
season.  It was at once agreed by the whole party, including the
Judge's daughter and a grand-daughter, residing with him, to visit
the parson's garden some time during the day, and, if possible, procure some of the fruit. The day passed away pleasantly enough
until dinner was over, when the little party assembled themselves
together, and began to speculate as to the best means of accomplishing their object. After some consultation, one of the number, rather
more expert than the rest, proposed that the daughter apply to the




ANECDOTES OF JUDGE WHITE.                 441
father for permission for the party to take a walk.  The unseasonableness of the hour (for it was mid-day of mid-summer) struck the
Judge's mind as rather odd for such recreation, and he at once began
to interrogate as to the object, and direction, and extent of the ramble. All questions were promptly answered, that but a short walk
was contemplated, not beyond the confines of an enclosure, containing
some eighteen acres, which lay immediately in front of the house.
Finally, consent was obtained, but it was expressly enjoined upon the
young people that they should not transcend the bounds agreed upon.
Bonnets were put on, and all hands started off in high spirits; some
of them, perhaps, fearing that they were engaged in a rather hazardous expedition, but still not sufficiently impressed with the idea to
induce them to abandon it. The guilty company sauntered along
leisurely for some time, every now and then one of them turning
round to see that no one was near who could or would report them.
After making an almost entire circle, they reached at length that
part of the lot which lay nearest the parson's. It was now determined
that three of them should remain on watch, while the other two
crossed the fence, went to the house and obtained permission to gather the fruit. However, upon reaching the place, they found the
house closed, and the whole family absent. So, not liking the idea
of being disappointed, they resolved, as circumstances did not seem to
favor their obtaining the fruit by leave, that it would do no harm to
help themselves to a few without leave. Aprons were filled, and a
return made to join their former comrades. Now all was glee, each
one feeling perfectly satisfied that they had not been discovered.
Seats were procured under a large oak tree, the fruit disposed of, and
the seeds scattered, and the little folks began to retrace their steps.
They had got about half way when they met the Judge, who accosted
them with "Well, children, you did not go outside?" " No, sir,"
responded all, save the daughter, who was silent, and feeling some
misgivings about deceiving her father, returned and communicated
all that had taken place, though remonstrated with by her friends,
and urged not to expose them. This conduct, of course, drew upon
them the displeasure of the Judge. He directed them to proceed to
the house, and not to leave until his return. In the course of an
hour, the whole five were summoned to appeared in his presence.
There being no alternative, they obeyed —all the time feeling that
they would rather face the world than the Judge, under the circum



442            MEMIOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
stances.  After hearing that the Judge had witnessed the whole
affair from a window on the second floor, and hearing a lecture of
sodme twenty or thirty minutes' length, many promises of better conduct in future were given, and tnose of them not belonging to the
family began to make arrangements for home.  To this Judge White
objected, assuring them that they should have tea in time to return
before night.  Here again the guilty trio were compelled to face him
at table. Scarce a word was spoken. Now they were suffered to
depart, and it became the Judge's time to take a stroll. He returned
with his hands full of peach-seed, and presenting them to his children, said, he had always heard that stolen fruit was the best, and
requested them to plant the seed, and thereby be saved the necessity
of robbing a clergyman's orchard in future.  There stand the trees
now, a monument of disobedience, and other juvenile peccadilloes.
The lesson was never forgotten.
The elevated moral qualities and the lofty mental powers, which
are essential to the character of a perfect statesman were united in
Judge White.  Intrepidity and determination were combined with
freedom from prejudice, and from excesses of every kind; and firmness of purpose, which seemed to calculate the consequences of doing
his duty, with prudence in counsel, and energy in action.  At the
time of his death he had nearly completed his 68th year, and had
been engaged uninterruptedly almost forty years in laborious public
duties, and at the close of his political life, he exhibited the same
purity of intention, and earnestness and ardor in the promotion of
the public welfare, which were manifested in his earlier days.
He was strictly just in his dealings with all men, whether of business or friendly intercourse.   He loathed anything like duplicity.
His desire was, to be to all men in truth, what he appeared to them
to be.  His great purity of character placed him above the intrigues
of politics, and, consequently, he was seldom or never cognizant even
of those of his own party.
Upon this trait Dr. Ramsey remarks:
I can recollect well when he was last a candidate for the State Senate.
He was too honest to act the demagogue, and had too high regard for
the constituency to try to deceive or flatter them. He addressed only
their cool and dispassionate judgment-neither laughing himself nor
exciting laughter in others; I remember that he spoke of his competitor
rarely, and that then he usel the adjective worthy when he did mention




ANECDOTES OF JUDGE WHITE.                   443
him. He never spoke to Buncombe (excuse the vulgarism), and his
high eulogy is that he never courted the people, nor sought to be
their favorite. He tried to deserve applause rather tha n to receive it.
In relation to other points of Judge White's character, Dr. Ramsay
says:
Another instance of benevolence, more private, but not less honorable
to his memory, I may not omit to mention; as it was not heralded abroad,
and, indeed, was known only to a few intimate friends. Rev. T. H. Nelson, pastor of the Old Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, was, as is well
known, a poor man, and inadequately supported. In the erection of his
humble residence he had not only exhausted his private means, but
had contracted considerable debt, which he had no means of liquidating, and which hung like an incubus upon his drooping spirits. For
some reason, too, a portion of his salary had not been paid; and these
accumulated discouragements led him almost to despair. Judge White,
though not a member of his church, hearing of the embarrassed condition of Mr. Nelson, called upon Captain Crozier, an elder in his church,
and proposed to be one of eight, six, or even four, to assume Mr. Nelson's debt, and take up his n.ote, then in bank, for the amount. In the
captain he found a congenial spirit. Four men were found who paid
the bank debt; the note was sent to the minister cancelled, and his mind
set at ease."
The judge was present once when an effort was being made to get up
a dancing school. He favored the object by remarking, " that young
men should learn to dance, for if they were unable to participate in that
amusement, they would at parties resort to cards, which would lead to
gambling. He was a great student; if he was not always reading, what
was still better, he was always thinking. Earnest and profound thinking was a (perhaps the) prominent feature of his intellect. He thought
quickly, yet deeply and accurately. What others found by a pains-taking search and tedious investigation, he obtained intuitively. To look
at a subject at all was to penetrate it with an eagle's glance, to touch
was to dissect, to handle was to unravel and analyze. He wrote well,
yet his productions possessed few of the embellishments of art, and none
of the ornaments of style, though always enlivened and brilliant from
the flashes of a true and innate eloquence.
Like other truly great men, Judge White's manners were simple and
unpretending. He rarely, out of the private circle, jested, and though
an impressive and instructive talker, he never was loquacious. In large
assemblies he was rather retiring and taciturn; and yet when ho did




444             MEMOIR OF HUGHI LAWSON WHITE.
speak, the attention of every hearer was arrested with the good sense,
the originality, and the profundity of his remarks. Where he chose to
use them as weapons of defence, he resorted effectually to irony, ridicule
and sarcasm, and woe to the antagonist on whom he turned these instruments of torture, accompanied by the significant pointing of his finger,
and the withering glance of his piercing eye-" I would rather be in
hell," exclaimed a profane juror, "than to have been in  -'s shoes today, in the court-house." And yet to his friends he was habitually kind
and benignant, and faithful. None were more so-he was grave without
being haughty, and dignified without being arrogant. He had a lofty
reserve and a consequential bearing, which belong to, and are inseparable from, superior mental endowments, and superior moral principle,
and a severe public and private virtue; but nothing of the superciliousness that belongs to, or is affected, by the weak pretender or the pedagogue. lMens conscia recti did elevate him in his own, as well as in the
esteem of others, and no one man than he better deserved the proud
epitaph,
"Integer vite scelerisque purus."
On his first election to the United States Senate, he remarked to a
number of young men around him, when the news arrived from Nashville, "Young gentlemen, never seek office-let office seek you."
He was exceedingly industrious, punctual, and methodical. An early
riser, he was generally in town, and in his office, before the citizens had
eaten their breakfast -though his residence was for many years two
miles in the country. He was very domestic, and though qualified to
figure in the public counsels, he was always fond of home and retirement.
I mention a single other trait of character-his filial piety. Ile not only
venerated his father, but he bowed before and idolized his mother. From
her he inherited his genius, and his intellect —his quickness, and his
originality, and her he never ceased to admire and reverence.
I have thus thrown together some of my recollections of the subject of
your volume-some of my remarks are condensed from my manuscript
of a future volume of my History of Tennessee. Take them for what
they are worth. Your theme is an interesting one, and will, I doubt not,
be a valuable contribution to Tennessee Literature, and Tennessee Biography. I am already impatient to see it.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. G. M. RAMSEY..Mecklenburg, Tenn., Dec. 18th, 1855.
But honest and benevolent as were all his intentions throughout life,
his character would have been greatly defective without that confi.




ANECDOTES OF JUDGE WHITE.                445
dence and serenity which he displayed amidst his many vexations and
disappointments.  Friends became estranged from  him — he was
called to surrender up parents, brothers, sisters, children, and wifeand to follow their cold bodies to "the home appointed for all the
living." Yet in all afflictions he acknowledged the hand of Godand by them his heart was brought into a holy conformity to the
divine will.
When through the machinations of his political opponents he was
not only driven from an honorable station, but abused and insulted
even along the highway, his patience and gentleness, and his noble
saying that he could have no other feeling than pity for those who
thus assailed him, showed that he lived in a continual sense of the
presence of God; and committed his cause into the hands of Him
unto whom reward and punishment belong.
A single characteristic anecdote of Judge White, extracted from
Rev. James Gallagher's "Western Sketch Book," is here added:
From his youth, Judge White was characterized by profound reverence for the ordinances of the gospel. He was a regular attendant at
the house of worship. And while he was a Presbyterian, that being the
church of his fathers, and the church of his choice, he was benevolent
and liberal towards other branches of the great Christian family. He
gave to the Methodist church, at Knoxville, the ground on which their
house of worship was built; and occasionally he would appear in the
congregation and join them at their worship.
Now in those days there was a notable "presiding elder" in that region, called Father Axley; a pious, laborious, uncompromising preacher
of the gospel, who considered it his duty to rebuke sin wherever it should
presume to lift its deformed head within the limits of his district. And
while Father Axley was a man of respectable talents, undoubted piety,
and great ministerial fidelity, he had moreover a spice of humor, oddity,
and drollery about him, that rarely failed to impart a characteristic
tinge to his performances.  The consequence was, that amusing anecdotes of the sayings and doings of Father Axley abounded throughout
the country.
On a certain day, a number of lawyers and literary men were together
in the town of Knoxville, and the conversation turned on the subject of
preaching and preachers. One and another had expressed his opinion
of the performances of this and that pulpit orator. At length Judge
White spoke up: "Well, gentlemen, on this subject each man is, of
course, entitled to his own opinion; but I must confess, that Father As
ley brought me to a sense of my evil deeds, at least a portion of them,




446           IMEMOIR OF HUGH LAWSON WHITE.
more effectually than any preacher I have ever heard."  At this, every
eye and ear was turned; for Judge White was never known to speak
lightly on religious subjects, and, moreover, he was habitually cautious
and respectful in his remarks concerning religious men. The company
now expressed the most urgent desire that the Judge would give the
particulars, and expectation stood on tiptoe.
"I went up," said the Judge, " one evening to the Methodist church.
A sermon was preached by a clergyman with whom I was not acquainted; but Father Axley was in the pulpit. At the close of the sermon he
arose, and said to the congregation:'I am not going to detain you by
delivering an exhortation. I have risen simply to administer a rebuke
for improper conduct which I have observed here to-night.' This, of
course, waked up the entire assembly; and the stillness was most profound, whbile Axley stood and looked for two or three seconds over the
congregation. Then stretching out his large, long arm, and pointing
with his finger steadily in one direction,'now,' said he,'I calculate that
those two young men who were talking and laughing in that corner of
the house, while the brother was preaching, think that I am going to
talk about them. Well, it is true, that it looks very bad, when welldressed young men, who you would suppose, from their appearance, belonged to some genteel, respectable family, come to the house of God,
and instead of reverencing the majesty of Him that dwelleth therein, or
attending to the message of everlasting love, get together in one corner
of the house (the finger all this while pointing straight and steady as the
aim of a rifleman), and there, through the whole solemn service, keep a
talking, tittering, giggling, laughing, and annoying the minister, disturbing the congregation, and sinning against God. I'm sorry for the
young men. I'm sorry for their parents. I'm sorry they've done so tonight. I hope they'll never do so again. But, however, that's not the
thing I was going to talk about. It is another matter, and so important
that I thought it would be wrong to suffer the congregation to depart
without administering a suitable rebuke. Now,' said he, stretching his
huge arm and pointing in another direction,'perhaps that man who was
asleep on the bench out there, while the brother was preaching, thinks
I am going to talk about him. Well, I must confess, it looks very bad
for a man to come into a worshipping assembly, and, instead of taking
his seat like others and listening to the blessed gospel, carelessly stretch
himself out on a bench and go to sleep! It is not only a proof of great
insensibility with regard to the obligations which we owe to our Creator
and Redeem.er, but it shows a want of genteel breeding. It shows that
the poor man has been so unfortunate in his bringing up, as not to have
been taught good manners. He doesn't know what is polite and respectable in a worshipping assembly, among whom he comes to mingle. I'm
sorry for the poor man. I'm sorry for the family to which he belongs.




ANECDOTES OF JUDGE WHITE.                  447
I'm sorry he did not know better; I hope he will never do so again.
But, however, that is not what I was going to talk about.' Thus Father
Axley went on for some time;'boxing the compass,' and hitting a number of persons and things that he was'not going to talk about,' and
hitting them hard, till the attention and curiosity of the audience were
raised to the highest pitch, when finally he remarked:'The thing of
which I was going to talk, is chewing tobacco. Now, I do hope, when
any gentleman comes here to church who can't keep from chewing tobacco during the hours of public worship, that he will just take his hat
and put it before him, and spit in his hat. You know we are Methodists.
You all know that our custom is to kneel when we pray. Now, any
gentleman may see in a moment how exceedingly inconvenient it must
be for a well-dressed Methodist lady to be compelled to kneel down in a
great puddle of tobacco spit!'
" Now," said Judge White, " at this very time I had in my mouth an
uncommonly large quid of tobacco. Axley's singular manner, and train
of remark had strongly arrested my attention. While he was striking to
the right and left, hitting those things that he was not going to talk
about, my curiosity was roused, and conjecture was busy to find out
what he could be aiming at. I was chewing my huge quid with uncommon rapidity, and spitting, and looking up at the preacher, to catch
every word and every gesture, and when at last he pounced on the
tobacco, behold, there I had a great puddle of tobacco spit! I quietly
slipped the quid out of my mouth, and dashed it as far as I could under
the seats, resolving never again to be found chewing tobacco in a Me.
thodist church."








A PP END I X.
IT was not until after the printing of the foregoing pages that there
appeared, in Chapter L. of Vol. II. of Senator Benton's "Thirty
Years' View," certain unfortunate misrepresentations respecting passages in Judge White's life.  The evident fairness of intention with
which Mr. Benton has written, and the value and authority of the
opinions of one so able, generally reliable and experienced, render it
the more requisite that these errors should here meet a suitable correction.
Mr. Benton, after having spoken of Judge White's life, services
and character, so worthily and nobly as even by his own words to seem
inconsistent in what follows, proceeds to state his reasons, why Judge
White, although "so favored by his State during a long life, should
have lost that favor in his last days, received censure from those who
had always given praise, and gone to his grave under a cloud, after
having lived in sunshine."  He accounts for this version of Judge
White's non-election, and for what he represents as disappointment
and grief arising from it, as follows: "The reason is briefly told. In
his advanced age he did the act which, with all old men, is an experiment, and with most of them, an unlucky one.  He married again;
and this new wife, having made an immense stride [!] from the head
of a boarding-house table to the head of a Senator's table, could see
no reason why she should not take one step more, and that comparatively short, and arrive at the head of the Presidential table." And
lastly; he says that the various opponents of Mr. Van Buren, with
intent to use Judge White in defeating Mr. Van Buren, " combined
and worked in concert; and their line of operations was'brough the
vanity of the victim's wife. They excited her vain hopes. And this
modest, unambitious man, who had spent all his life in resisting office
pressed upon him by his real friends, lost his power of resistance in
his old age, and became a victim to the combinations against him -
29                                             (449)




450                        APPENDIX.
which all saw and deplored, except himself." Mr. Benton further
quotes as corroborating authority an extract from a letter, written not
in the most delicate manner, by a member of Congress from Kentucky, Hon. R. P. Letcher, and published by his correspondent, after
a fashion still less gentlemanly, as follows: "Judge White is on the
track, running gaily, and won't come off; and if he would, his wife
won't let him."
Some of these expressions are somewhat deficient in point of decorum; but they are liable to the much graver objection of unreason.
able error.
To consider these points in the order of time, Mr. Benton says, in
substance, that Mrs. White was vain and ambitious even to folly;
that Judge White exhibited equal weakness by permitting her to
govern his public conduct; and that the opponents of Mr. Van Buren
made her the instrument of deceiving him with unfounded hopes of
the Presidency, merely to further their own intrigues.
It will hardly be claimed that there was anything wrong or foolish,
in a desire or aspiration on the part of Mrs. White, to see her husband President, and herself at the head of his table; for unless some
privileges of some aristocratic order are to be set up, it is difficult to
see on what principle any lady in the United States is to be blamed
for the same; and much more then, was the desire a right one, when
the circumstances of the case rendered its fulfilment so honorably
probable.
But there is improbability in this imputation against Mrs. White.
She was of a respectable and influential family; the daughter of
Colonel Craven Payton, of Loudon County, Virginia, who lost his life
in the war of 1812. Educated most thoroughly, and possessed of uncommon force of character, as well as great talent, she was one of the
most attractive women in the Union.  She had been unhappily married; and having been divorced, and nobly resolving not to be a
burden upon her friends, she deliberately undertook to maintain herself and her two children by her own exertions. Having failed in an
attempt to establish a school at Alexandria, she opened a boarding.
house at Washington, and by financial tact, skill and perseverance,
not only extricated herself from the pecuniary embarrassments which
her first failure had brought upon her, but also accumulated a considerable property. Her house was well known as the resort of the
most respectable class of visitors to Washington; and after Judge
White had resided there while in that city, from 1820 to 1832, she




APPENDIX.                         451
became his wife. She was abundantly qualified for her new position,
and she filled it with credit, attracting much attention, and giving
great pleasure to her husband, who loved her and was proud of her.
But that he suffered himself to be governed by her desires in
determining his official or public course, and especially that he was led
away into a vain and foolish ambition by her, is a gratuitous assump.
tion, totally irreconcilable with the main body of Mr. Benton's own
statements respecting his character, and with the truth.  He would
doubtless do all that was possible to comply with her wishes; but there
is not one action or word in all his life, which does not aid in demonstrating that in regard to the ordination especially of his public and
official acts, he proceeded according to the principles of right and
duty, without swerving aside in deference, either to his own comfort
or pleasure, or to that of others, however near and dear.
It is not a little surprising that Mr. Benton should have reproduced,
even with the modified form of expression which he has substituted,
so vulgar a piece of slang and scandal as the remark about Judge
White's being now " on the track," &c., and that even if he should
desire to come off, "his wife won't let him."  Mr. Letcher's conduct
in relation to the nomination of Judge White, and his motives as indicated in this letter, were discreditable enough to have justified entire
silence about the transaction; but since Mr. Benton has chosen to
endorse the idle tale, it is best to answer it.  Mr. Letcher was sharply
reproved for his conduct and his words, and that by men not suspected of unduly favoring Judge White.  Mr. Blair, of the Globe,
says, in an editorial, Nov. 30, 1835, " With regard to Mr. Letcher's
introduction of Judge White's wife into his political epistle, we think
no reprehension too severe.  Enjoying as he did last winter, the confidence and intimacy of Judge White and his friends, and the portion
of his family then in this city living in social intercourse with that of
the Judge, we cannot conceive a more ungrateful return than the
ridicule he attempts to cast on the victim of his political intrigues,
through his dearest domestic relation."
Whatever Mr. Blair's personal relations with Judge White may
latterly have been, his words in this relation are entitled to great
weight. And he more than once repeated the reproof.
But Mr. Benton represents Judge White as having been a mere tool
in the hands of his wife; and the intelligent and passive victim
through her means, of the deceitful machinations of Whigs, Calhoun men and disaffected Democrats, working together to defeat Mr.




452                        APPENDIX.
Van Buren at any sacrifice. This has always been the representation
of the partisans of Jackson and his successors, who of course were
interested to maintain the reputation of their own managers.  Mr.
Blair, in the same articles which administered to Mr. Letcher a
deserved castigation, gave, as his version of the facts, precisely the
substance of Mr. Benton's representations.
It is true, as Mr. Benton himself states, that Judge White did not,
like most political men, seek office, but merely consented to accept it,
often refusing. As of other nominations, so was this true of the
Presidential nomination. It was repeatedly pressed upon him before
he consented to accept it; and when he did accept it, it was in answer
to the calls of duty, not of ambition.  His nomination, instead of
being a contrived scheme of Calhoun, Clay, and other opponents of
Van Buren, working together, was the spontaneous voice of his own
and other States; and the ultimate partial abandonment of it was not
the result of the further efforts of those same schemers, but of the
machinations of those pretended friends of Judge White, within his
own political party, who, along with General Jackson, were determined
to continue what might be called a dynasty of Jacksonian Presidents,
by the election of Van Buren. The abandonment of his nomination
by the Legislature of Alabama, was one success for this combination;
but the rebuke which they received in Tennessee, has been stated.
That this is the real state of the case, satisfactory evidence has been
adduced in the preceding chapters; especially in the twelfth, and the
five next succeeding.
Mr. Benton also states very positively, and as a thing undisputed,
another old partisan story, viz., that Judge White's alienation from
the "Democratic " organization, and his opposition to Mr. Van
Buren's administration, brought upon him the censure of his own
State. Now it is very true that this alienation and opposition brought
upon Judge White the bitter and unscrupulous enmity of the leading
"Democrats," who, even then, both at Washington and in Tennessee,
had degenerated from statesmen into mere managers and place hunters; and that the machinations of these men prevailed to carry, in
the Tennessee Legislature, those instructions in response to which
Judge White resigned his seat in the Senate of the United States.
But it certainly is altogether incorrect to represent this vote as the
voice of the State of Tennessee.  The hearts of the mass of citizens
in that State were steadily with Judge White, as well after his difference with Jackson and the other schemers for Van Buren, as before.




APPENDIX.                       453
Was it a sign of departed confidence and a mark of reprobation, that
in Jackson's own State, and against the whole immense weight of his
official and personal influence, strenuously used and abused, Judge
White had a majority of ten thousand, forty-three to Van Buren's
eighteen in the Hermitage district itself? And although the administration members of the Tennessee Legislature did afterwards contrive
to pass the instructing resolutions which it was well known would
oblige Judge W hite to resign, yet the work was only done after a desperate struggle, and by the stringent operation of party and parliamentary machinery.  It certainly was not done in obedience to any
call from the people of Tennessee, for the subject was not passed upon
or even alluded to during the election which constituted that Legisla.
ture. It was not the deliberate demand of a dissatisfied constituency;
it was a sly contrivance, sprung and engendered by a few angry and
unprincipled enemies. The indignation meetings which afterwards
took place in various parts of Tennessee, the triumphal progress of
Judge White's final journey from Washington to his home, were much
truer indications of his place in the esteem of the voters whom he had
so long and so faithfully represented.
Judge White never swerved from consistent practice accordant with
the principles which governed his conduct. These principles were
perhaps too pure and lofty to harmonize with the views of most of
those who then led the " Democratic" hosts. At any rate, it was
Judge White who did not deviate from pure and consistent Democratic principles, and from upright political conduct, but Jackson and
the remaining friends of Mr. Van Buren who did so deviate; and
thus it was, according to all experience, that the delinquents expended
all their anger, and strove to cast all the blame of the difference in
opinion, upon him whose unstained honor and undeviating consistency
was a standing monument of their own duplicity and shame.
As Mr. Benton says, Judge White, although of measured and quiet
deportment, was a man of strong feelings. He was peculiarly alive
to anything savoring of ingratitude, meanness, or deceit. Such being
the case, it would not be strange if the proceedings of these men in
the Jackson and Van Buren interest, who had formerly been his own
personal friends, had received so many kindnesses from him, and had
made so many professions, not only of general good feeling, but of
efficient advocacy and support in that very nomination -it would not
be strange if these evidences of foul play touched him deeply. They
did; but that either they, or the ignoble mortification of a disappointed




454                         APPENDIX.
office-seeker, were causes sufficient to shorten a life so pure, self-sustained and noble, so unstained by passion, and so uninfluenced by selfish interests, is a proposition absurd on its face.  It is, moreover,
directly in conflict with the uniform assertions of Judge White himself, before, during, and after the election; and whatever distrust is
usually felt of such professions from men in public life, probably no
man will impugn the absolute and perfect truthfulness of Judge
White, even in a matter so immediately concerning himself.
These misrepresentations, in short, are neither even presumptively
reasonable, nor based upon correct statements of actual fact.  It is as
absurd as it is untrue to assert that after a long life of honor and usefulness, passed, before the sight of all men, upon an eminence so lofty
as that to which Judge White's integrity and abilities lifted him, and
under the searching gaze which always scrutinizes such men, without
a single stain or shadow of folly or wrong doing —it is as absurd as it
is untrue to assert that the patriot grown old in the practice of wisdom
and in disinterested toil, closed the long succession of his honorable
and honored actions, with the exhibition of superannuated folly and
imbecile grief charged upon him by his former opponents, and yet
reproduced even by the best of their survivers.
It remains to suggest adequate reasons for these erroneous imputations of passive folly, of weak ambition, and of weaker lamentation.
They are not wanting.
First. That which is described as having been the unresisting submission of a weak old man, was singly perseverance in a long life rule
" never to seek office, but to let office seek him."  Such were Judge
White's own words; and as always before, so did he now quickly prepare to respond to the call of his fellow-countrymen, if it should be
uttered. It was'a thing of course, that his unmoved and dignified
conduct should, in the eyes of the greedy, grasping and intriguing
class of sQlfish politicians, who at that period descended like a cloud
of locusts upon the land, seem to be foolishness and imbecility. Nor
were they the first shrewd men who have been "wiser in their own
generation" than the loftier and more far-sighted, whose principles
of action and views of true expediency they could neither practice
nor comprehend.
But-with due respect be it said-it is, secondly, to be observed,
that this verdict from Mr. Benton seems easily to be accounted for by
his very general habit of attributing all the actions of his prominent
political cotemporaries of opposite belief, to motives purely selfish and




APPENDIX.                       455
personal. He has given, for Judge White's conduct, such reasons as
it is his habit to give for the conduct of many other eminent men;
although, indeed, he has not attributed such to Gen. Jackson, or to
any others of those with whom his own political communion has been
undisturbed.  The " Panama Mission" is said to have been contrived
and used, only as an Administration measure, in the behalf of President Adams and Mr. Clay; vol. I., p. 65. The Tariff of 1828 was
advocated, by Mr. Clay and the Administration, with reference to the
election of 1828, as a means of beating Jackson, not for the good of
the country; vol. I., p. 95, et seq.  Clay and Calhoun desired the
Tariff question to be withdrawn from politics, because they could not
use it to become Presidents with; vol. I., p. 314.  Calhoun attempts
to become President by Nullification; p. 340. Both these gentlemen, Chap. LXXXV., arranged the "Compromise of 1833 " with
sole reference to their own Presidential aspirations. Clay, Calhoun,
and Webster, join to aid the United States Bank in procuring a recharter, that they may overthrow Jackson and rise by his fall; Chap.
XCVIII. Indeed, assertions and implications to similar effect are
too numerously sprinkled throughout Mr. Benton's work, to permit
more than a very few of them to be referred to. It need not be supposed that that honest and upright statesman has consciously wronged
any man.  Such a conviction has not improbably been the legitimate
result of his observations.  His error in this single case is simply
failure to recognise an exception to a rule unhappily generally correct.
THE END.