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The Works of James Buchanan
This letterpress edition is limited to
j^o copies, of which this is
f-„ Q *"'
No
The Works
OF
James Buchanan
Comprising his Speeches, State Papers,
and Private Correspondence
Collected and Edited
By
John Bassett Moore
Volume IV
1838-1841
Philadelphia & London
J. B. Lippincott Company
1908
Copyright, 1908
By
J. B. LippiNCOTT Company
Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company
The Washington Square Press, Philadelphia, U. S. A.
CONTENTS of VOLUME IV
1838. PAGE
To Mr. Rheiner et Al^ July 2 I
Declines an invitation of the Democrats of Philadelphia for July 4— Opinion of
David R. Porter.
Report on the Northeastern Boundary, July 4 2
Remarks on the Abolition of Slavery, August 18 23 ^
To Mr. Caldwell, September 27 31
Pennsylvania politics— Resents criticism of David R. Porter.
To President Van Buren, November 12 31
Recommends the appointment of a Mr. Engle to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
Remarks on a Petition as to Rain-making, December 18 32
Remarks on Pensions to the Widows of Revolutionary Officers,
December 18 , jii
Remarks on the Construction of Steam Men -of- War, December 19. 36
1839.
Remarks on the Accommodation of Press Reporters, January 5 38
Remarks on the Treaty with Texas, January 9 40 >^
, Remarks on the Land Bill, January 9 40
Remarks on the Sale of Public Lands, January 17 41
Remarks on the Salt Duty and the Compromise of 1833, January 29. 49
Remarks on a Slavery Resolution, February 8 54
Speech on the Bill to Prevent theTnterference of Certain Federal
Officers with Elections, February 14 54
Remarks on the Dispute as to the Maine Boundary, February 26. . . 92
Resolutions on the Dispute as to the Maine Boundary, February 28. 98
Remarks on the Resolutions Concerning the Maine Boundary,
March i 100
Remarks on the Bill to Give the President Additional Powers to
Defend the Country against Invasion, March 2 iii
To Mr. Tate, March 26 116
Requests the withdrawal of his name from the Sentinel as a candidate
for Vice-President.
To General Jackson, April 9 117
Delay in making Jackson a visit — His joining the church— Pennsylvania politics —
Webster's attitude toward Great Britain.
To President Van Buren, May 11 119
Recommends an appointment— Whigs and Antimasons in Pennsylvania-
British relations.
V
vi THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN
To Mr. Carpenter et Al., June 17 121
Declines an invitation extended by the Democrats in the Pennsylvania Legislature.
From President Van Buren, December 27 124
Offers Buchanan the position of Attorney General.
To President Van Buren, December 28 124
Declines the position of Attorney General— Reiterates his wish for the appointment of
David R. Porter.
1840.
To General Porter, January 8 125
Resents the President's refusal to appoint Porter Attorney General.
Remarks on the Boundary between Missouri and Iowa Territory,
January 10 126
Remarks on the Maine Boundary Dispute, January 17 127
Speech in Reply to Mr. Clay, on the Independent Treasury Bill,
January 22 134
Remarks on a Petition for a Duty on Silk, January 24 175
Remarks on a Memorial Relating to the Use of Bloodhounds in the
Seminole War, February 11 177
Remarks on a Petition for the Abolition of Slavery, February 13. . . . 178
Remarks on a Petition for a Duty on Umbrellas, February 14 181
Remarks on the Assumption of State Debts, February 17 182
Remarks on the Question of a Bankrupt Law, February 24 183
Remarks on the Prohibition of Small Paper Currency, February
26 and 27 184
Remarks in Reply to Mr. Davis, on the Independent Treasury Bill,
March 3 194
Remarks in Reply to Further Remarks of Mr. Davis on the Inde-
pendent Treasury Bill, March 6 207
Remarks on the Day of Adjournment, March 31 227
Report on the Case of the Brig Enterprise, April 13 229
Report and Remarks on the Northeastern Boundary Dispute,
April 14 229
Remarks on Branch Mints, April 17 234
Remarks on a Petition for a Duty on Silk, April 24 235
Remarks on a Grant of Land to Dade Institute, April 29 238
Remarks on the Claim of Clarke and Force for Editing, May 4 239
Remarks on Public Expenditures, May 7 240
Remarks on Presents from the Emperor of Morocco, May 29 245
To General Porter, May 30 246
Reports a conversation with the President concerning his friendliness —
Pennsylvania politics.
Report on the Relief of A. H. Everett, June 3 248
Remarks on a General Bankrupt Law, June S 249
Remarks on a Bill Abolishing Extra Allowances to Officers of the
Army and Marine Corps, June 11 253
Remarks on a Bill to Continue the Corporate Existence of Banks
IN THE District of Columbia, June 15 255
To Mr. M'Callister et Al., June 23 263
Declines an invitation of the Democrats of Centre County— Deprecates
" unrestrained banking."
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV vii
Remarks in Favor of Printing Extra Copies of the Report of the
Secretary of the Treasury, June 26 26s
Remarks on a Report on the Northeastern Boundary, July 3 266
Remarks on a Proposed Appropriation for Dry Docks at New York
and Pensacola, July 11 267
Remarks on Banks in the District of Columbia, July 16 269
Remarks on Authorizing the President to Postpone Certain Expendi-
tures, July 17 283
To Mr. Jenks, August 3 286
Refutes a charge of a Whig speaker that he in his advocacy of the Independent
Treasury Bill favored a reduction of wages.
Speech before the Pennsylvania State Democratic Convention at
Lancaster, August s 288
To Mr. Mifflin, August 20 321
Resents the consistently hostile attitude of the Fennsylvanian, of Philadelphia.
To President Van Buren, September 25 322
Comments on Pennsylvania politics in the coming presidential election — Recommends
delay in the appointment of a District Attorney.
To Mr. Hood, November 7 323
Demands the correction of a false report of his speech, in the Union.
To President Van Buren, November 18 325
Expresses astonishment at the disastrous results of the presidential campaign
in Pennsylvania.
Remarks in Favor of Pensioning the Widow of a Revolutionary
Officer, December 23 326
Remarks on Commercial Reciprocity, December 28 327
1841.
Remarks on the Disposition of the Public Lands, January 4 and s . . . 329
Remarks on the Northeastern Boundary, January 8 341
Remarks on American Water-rotted Hemp, January 18 342
Remarks on the Disposition of the Public Lands, January 20 343
Speech Defending Van Buren's Administration against the Charge
OF Extravagance in Expenditures, January 22 3SS
To General Porter, February 9 380
Expresses the hope that he will oppose the issue of notes under five dollars.
To General Porter, February 17 381
Urges him " to put down the Bank of the United States."
Remarks on the Election of a Public Printer, February 18 382
Remarks on the Reorganization of Judicial Circuits, February 27. . . 385
Remarks on the Northeastern Boundary, March i 388
Remarks on the Dismissal of Blair and Rives as Printers to the
Senate, March 8 39i
Remarks on the Election of a Sergeant-at-arms, March 8 404
To Mr. Shunk, May 6 40S
Comments on the hanking and monetary legislation of Pennsylvania.
Remarks on Printing the President's Message, June i 407
viii THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN
Remarks on a Resolution Calling upon the Secretary of the
Treasury to Present a Plan for a National Bank or Fiscal
Agent, June 7 408
Remarks on a Petition for the Abolition of Slavery in the District
OF Columbia, June 9 409
Remarks on the McLeod Case, June 10 409
Remarks on a Resolution as to Unfinished Business, June 12 427
Speech on the McLeod Case, June 15 428
Resolution on Removals from Office, June 17 45i
Remarks on the Condition of the Finances, June 21 452
Remarks on Banks in the District of Columbia, June 23 454
Remarks on Removals from Office, June 24 4SS
Remarks on a Petition to Incorporate a National Bank, June 30. . . . 461
Speech on the Bill to Incorporate the Subscribers to the Fiscal
Bank of the United States, July 7 463
Remarks on the Same Subject, July 12, 13, 14, 17, and 21 500
The Works
OF
James Buchanan
TO MR. RHEINER ET AL.'
Senate Chamber,
Washington, July 2, 1838.
Gentlemen : I thank you for the honor which you have
bestowed upon me, by your invitation to celebrate the approach-
ing anniversary of our independence, in company with the demo-
cratic citizens of the city and county of Philadelphia. I can
assure you it would afford me very great pleasure to comply
with your request. My public duties here, however, forbid me
this gratification. Will you be good enough to present to the
assembled company, in my name, the following sentiment :
David R. Porter: Firm, prudent, and practical. The de-
mocracy of Pennsylvania have shown their wisdom in selecting
him for their candidate. He is now in the furnace of political
persecution; but shielded by his integrity, he will come out pure
gold on the second Tuesday in October.
Yours, very respectfully,
James Buchanan.
To Messrs. Rheiner, Thompson, Rush,
Snyder, and others, committee.
' Niles' Register, July 28, 1838, vol. 54, p. 347. This letter was addressed
to a committee on the Democratic celebration in Philadelphia of the Fourth
of July. The letter was read at the meeting, and the committee adopted the
following toast : " Hon. James Buchanan : Our talented, patriotic, and urbane
senator; whether at home or abroad, ever the same firm and unflinching
advocate of democratic principles and men, and of our country's dearest
i rights."
1
2 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
REPORT, JULY 4, 1838,
ON THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY.'
In the Senate, July 4, 1838, Mr. Buchanan submitted the
following
Report :
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred
the " bill to provide for the surveying of the northeastern boun-
dary line of the United States according to the provisions of the
treaty of peace of seventeen hundred and eighty-three," have had
the same under consideration, and now report :
That the first section of this bill directs " the President of
the United States to cause the boundary line between the United
States and the adjacent British provinces, from the source of the
St. Croix river directly north to the highlands which divide the
waters that fall into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into
the river St. Lawrence, thence along said highlands from the
northwest angle of Nova Scotia to the northwestemmost head of
the Connecticut river, as particularly defined in the treaty of
peace concluded at Paris the third day of September, 1783, to
be accurately surveyed and marked, and suitable monuments to
be erected thereon, at such points as may be deemed necessary
and important."
The second section provides for the appointment of a com-
missioner and surveyor by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, " who may employ such assistants,
under the direction of the President, as shall be necessary, and
who shall make an exact return of their proceedings to the
President, with a correct map of the country over which said
line passes, exhibiting the prominent points of its topography
and the location of the marks and monuments by them made and
erected."
The third and last section merely provides for the compensa-
tion of the commissioner and surveyor.
This bill, then, proposes that Congress shall create a com-
mission, independently of Great Britain, to run and mark the
northeastern boundary of the United States, conterminous with
that of New Brunswick and Canada, provinces of the British
empire. It asks no previous consent from Great Britain ; it does
' S. Doc. 502, 25 Cong. 2 Sess. vol. VI.
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 3
not require that Great Britain should become a party to the
survey; and yet that country has a common interest with the
United States in the correct establishment of this boundary,
according to the treaty. It would be premature and inexpedient,
the committee believe, tO' resort to such a course of separate action
towards a neighboring and friendly power, between which and
the United States there is a reciprocal desire to maintain the most
friendly relations, until every other means of amicably adjusting
the dispute shall be exhausted. Before the committee could
recommend the adoption of such a measure to the Senate, they
ought to be satisfied, beyond a reasonable doubt, first, that the
United States have a clear title to the disputed territory which
would be embraced within their limits by the proposed survey;
and, secondly, that no other and more friendly expedient remains
untried of bringing this long pending controversy to a conclusion.
The committee will, therefore, proceed to consider the ques-
tion under this two-fold aspect. And, first, in regard to our title.
This title depends altogether upon the correct construction
of the definitive treaty of peace between the United States and
his Britannic Majesty, concluded at Paris on the third day of Sep-
tember, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three.
By the first article of this treaty, " His Britannic Majesty
acknowledges the said United States, viz. : New Hampshire,
Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be
free, sovereign, and independent States ; that he treats with them
as such ; and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all
claims to the Government, propriety, and territorial rights of the
same, and every part thereof."
The United States had declared their independence almost
seven years previous to the date of the treaty. They had main-
tained this declaration before the world, and the treaty is not
only a solemn recognition of that independence by Great Britain,
but an express acknowledgment that she treated with them as
free, sovereign and independent States. We were equals treating
with an equal. Great Britain was not a superior assigning terri-
tory to an inferior. No superiority was claimed on the one side,
or would have been acknowledged on the other. Great Britain
then claimed no such prerogative as she now asserts, of assigning
an appropriate boundary to the United States, as a new power,
4 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
formerly under her dominion. The treaty must, therefore, be
construed as a solemn agreement entered into by one sovereign
and independent nation with another, equally sovereign and
independent. . .
It was not necessary expressly to have prescribed the limits
of the United States by treaty. At its date, the boundaries_ of
each of the thirteen States were well known. The first article
acknowledged each of them to be sovereign and independent, and
relinquished " all claim on the part of the British King to the
Government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same, and
every part thereof ; " and this would have been sufficient.
The commissioners who framed the treaty were, however,
not content with such a general recognition. Its second article
proves their desire to prescribe the limits of our boundary in a
manner so precise and specific, as forever to prevent all disputes
upon the subject. The second article is as follows:
Art. 2. " And tJtat all disputes which might arise in future,
on the subject of the boundaries of the United States, may be
prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the following
are, and shall be, their boundaries, viz. : from the northwest angle
of Nova Scotia, viz. : that angle which is formed by a line drawn
due north from the source of St. Croix river to the highlands;
along the said highlands which divide those rivers that empty
themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which fall into
the Atlantic ocean, to the northwesternmost head of Connecticut
river," &c. It is unnecessary, here, to repeat any more of the
treaty description.
In every delineation of territory, the all-important point is to
fix the place of beginning with the greatest possible precision and
certainty. To prevent all dispute hereafter, this was done by the
commissioners. " The northwest angle of Nova Scotia " was a
well known point. This can be clearly established by the most
authentic official documents, which, it will conclusively appear,
from the highest intrinsic evidence, were before the commis-
sioners at the time they formed the treaty. It is true that this
point had never been fixed by actual survey, nor had it been
marked by the erection of any monument; but that it could be
found upon the ground at the intersection of two clearly defined
lines was a mathematical truth, susceptible of demonstration. This
northwest angle of Nova Scotia, which was notorious, although
the very spot had not been ascertained, was fixed upon as the
place of beginning of our boundary, in order to prevent all future
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 5
disputes ; and yet, strange as it may appear, this is the very point
now contested by the British Government. Whether with any
good reason, it will be the task of the committee to inquire.
It is agreed by both parties that the map, called Mitchell's
map, a copy of which is annexed to this report, was the one used
by the commissioners at the formation of the treaty. It was pub-
lished in 175s, and bears upon its face an official stamp; having
been undertaken with the approbation and at the request of the
Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations. Whoever may
inspect this map will, at once, perceive the natural formation of
that region. The river St. Lawrence runs from the southwest
towards the northeast; whilst numerous tributaries rising in the
highlands to the south of it, and, passing north through its valley,
empty themselves into the main stream. These tributaries are all
necessarily short; because the highlands from which they flow
run at no great distance from the river, and in a parallel direction
to it, throughout its whole course. From these highlands, on the
south, proceed the head waters of the Connecticut, the Andro-
scoggin, the Kennebec, the Penobscot, the St. John, and the
Ristigouche, all flowing into the Atlantic ocean, through different
bays. And here it may be observed, that there is not a single
stream, which rises on the south side of these highlands, through-
out this whole region, which does not first empty itself into some
Atlantic bay ; not one of them flows directly into the main ocean.
Such is the natural formation : Highlands running in a parallel
direction with the St. Lawrence, and dividing the streams which
fall into that river on the north, from those which seek the
Atlantic ocean in the south. In 1755, when Mitchell's map was
published, the British possessions in North America did not ex-
tend north of the St. Lawrence. At that period, it will appear
from the map that the northwest angle of Nova Scotia was to be
found on the St. Lawrence, at the point intersected by the line
running due north from the source of the St. Croix. This north
line is distinctly marked upon the map. On the west of it, the
words " New England " are printed in large letters, and on the
east "Nova Scotia."
If this map were, alone, to be the guide, and if the place of
beginning of our boundary, mentioned in the treaty, had been
simply " the northwest angle of Nova Scotia " without further
qualification, the State of Maine would have extended to the
St. Lawrence. In what manner was this northwest angle of
Nova Scotia brought as far south as the highlands separating
6 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
the streams which flow in opposite directions to the St. Lawrence
and to the Atlantic? In February, 1763, Great Britain acquired
Canada from France by treaty. Canada, New England, and
Nova Scotia being then all subject to the British Crown, the Kmg
thought proper, in creating the province of Quebec, to extend its
limits south of the St. Lawrence, so as to include the valley of
that river. The reasons were obvious. Quebec, the seat of
Government, was situate on its northern shore. It was one of
the most important cities in North America, and the trade and
business of the people along the numerous streams which flowed
into the St. Lawrence from the highlands south of it, would
naturally center there. Besides, it was obviously convenient that
the limits of the different provinces should be regulated, as far
as practicable, by the course of the river ; and it would have been
highly inconvenient that the valley south of the St. Lawrence,
within sight of the capital of the province of Quebec, and neces-
sarily having constant intercourse with the opposite shore, should
continue attached to remote and distant Governments. The
King, therefore, by his proclamation, dated on the 7th of October,
1763, declared that the Government of Quebec should be bounded,
south of the St. Lawrence, by a line crossing that river and the
Lake Champlain, in forty-five degrees of north latitude, and
passing " along the highlands which divide the rivers that empty
themselves into the said river St. Lawrence, from those which
fall into the sea, and also along the north coast of the Bay des
Chaleurs and the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to Cape
Rosiers." Thus the province of Quebec was extended south, so
as to include the vale of the St. Lawrence, and its southern line
was fixed along the highlands from whence its tributaries flow.
New England and Nova Scotia were deprived of thus much of
their former territory; but they still retained all that portion of
it watered by streams whose sources were on the south side of
these highlands, and which emptied themselves into the sea. This
was a natural and proper division. After the date of this procla-
mation, where was " the northwest angle of Nova Scotia " to be
found? Can doubt or difficulty rest upon this question? We
must look for it on the line running north from the source of the
St. Croix, at the point where this line intersects the southern line
of the province of Quebec, " running along the highlands which
divide the rivers that empty themselves into the said river St.
Lawrence, from those which fall into the sea." This point is,
and necessarily must be, the northwest angle of Nova Scotia. It
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 7
is demonstration itself. To run these two well-described lines
upon the face of the earth, is to ascertain that angle. The com-
missioners, therefore, who formed the treaty, well and wisely
placed the beginning of our boundary at a point which could be
rendered absolutely certain, by merely running these two lines.
Those who choose to examine Mitchell's map will find that the
due north line marked upon it from the source of the St.
Croix, crosses the southern line of the province of Quebec, in
these dividing highlands, about the forty-eighth degree of north
latitude.
But the British Government deemed it proper to fix the
boundaries of the province of Quebec, even with more solemnity
than by royal proclamation. This was done by an act of Parlia-
ment passed in the year 1774, " for making more effectual pro-
vision for the Government of the province of Quebec, in North
America." By this act, the separating boundary between the
province on the north, and Nova Scotia and New England on,
the south, were still more clearly and distinctly defined than it
had been in the proclamation.
The following language is employed, to wit : " bounded on
the south by a line from the Bay of Chaleurs, along the highlands
which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the river St.
Lawrence, from those which fall into the sea, to a point in forty-
five degrees of northern latitude on the eastern bank of the river
Connecticut." In both the proclamation and the act of Parlia-
ment, the dividing highlands are described in the very same
language : " The highlands which divide the rivers that empty
themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which fall
into the sea." The termini of the boundary are more precisely
fixed by the act of Parliament than by the proclamation. This
■ act makes the southern point of the line commence on the eastern
bank of the river Connecticut, in latitude forty-five, and terminate
at the Bay of Chaleurs. Its extremities are two well known
natural objects. This bay is in latitude about forty-eight. The
act of Parliament seems to have been prepared with great de-
liberation. It was intended to fix the boundaries between vast
provinces of the same empire ; and no act of legislation demands
greater care and attention. The Bay of Chaleurs on the north,
in latitude forty-eight, and a point on the Connecticut, in latitude
forty-five at the south, were to be the two extremities; and the
intermediate line was to pass along the highlands running be-
tween these two points, which divide the rivers that empty them-
8 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
selves into the St. Lawrence on the one side, from those falling
into the sea upon the other. After this act of Parliament, is it
possible to conceive of a more extraordinary pretension, than it
would have been in the Government of Quebec to have claimed
jurisdiction, not only to these dividing highlands whence streams
flow into the St. Lawrence, but a hundred miles south and east of
them, embracing a region of country watered by a large river,
the St. John, and its numerous tributaries flowing into the sea?
Such a claim would have broken down the barriers between these
provinces, erected with so much care by the act of Parliament,
and made rivers running north into the St. Lawrence, mean the
same thing as rivers running south into the ocean. And yet the
present attempt of the British Government to make Mars hill
the northwest angle of Nova Scotia rests upon no other or better
principle, as will be shown hereafter.
The commissions of the different Governors of Quebec, in
describing the boundaries of their jurisdiction, followed the lan-
guage of the proclamation of 1763, until after the passage of the
act of Parliament in 1774. The first commission which subse-
quently issued was to Guy Carlton, Esq., in the same year, and
it adopts the language of that act. The southern limits of his
jurisdiction are described in its language to be " a line from the
Bay of Chaleurs, along the highlands which divide the rivers
that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those
which fall into the sea, to a point in forty-five degrees of northern
latitude, on the eastern bank of the river Connecticut." Thus the
province had for its northern boundary highlands dividing
streams running in opposite directions between a bay, and a fixed
point on the river. Was ever boundary better defined?
It would be a waste of time to recite the numerous commis-
sions which have issued to the Governors of Quebec, of Nova
Scotia, and after this province was divided, in 1784, of New
Brunswick; all speaking the same language. The western limit
of Nova Scotia, and afterwards of New Brunswick, is uniformly
described to run from that point where a line drawn due north
from the source of the river St. Croix would intersect the soutli-
ern boundary of Quebec, and from thence " to the northward by
the said boundary as far as the western extremity of the Bay des
Chaleurs." These commissions place the natural construction
upon one expression, which, in the act of Parliament, at first
view, might appear vague. In it the Bay of Chaleurs is men-
tioned generally, without a special reference to any particular
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 9
part of it, though from the whole context the evident meaning
was, the western extremity of that bay. The commissions to the
Governors of Nova Scotia, and afterwards New Brunswick,
render this certain, by specifying " the western extremity of the
Bay des Chaleurs."
Enough has already been shown to fix with precision what
was the acknowledged southern boundary of the province of
Quebec at the date of the treaty in 1783, and what it has
remained ever since. It was then clearly known to have been a
line from the western extremity of the Bay of Chaleurs, to a
point on the eastern bank of the Connecticut, in latitude forty-five,
and running along the highlands dividing the tributaries of the
St. Lawrence, from the sources of streams flowing into the sea.
Where, then, was the northwest angle of Nova Scotia known to
be at the date of the treaty?
Without going back to the creation of this province, in 1621,
by James the First, which the committee deem unnecessary,
though it would add strength to the argument, they will content
themselves with a reference to the first commission which was
issued to the Governor of Nova Scotia, after the date of the
proclamation of 1763. Before the proclamation, this province,
as well as New England, had extended north to the St. Lawrence.
After its date, it was necessary to make the commissions of the
Governors correspond with the extension of the province of
Quebec south of that river. Accordingly, the royal commission
to Montague Wilmot, Esq., bearing date the 21st November,
1763, limits and restrains the province of Nova Scotia, thus:
"To the northward our said province shall be bounded by. the
southern boundary of our province of Quebec as far as the west-
ern extremity of the Bay des Chaleurs; " and again, to the west-
ward " it shall be bounded by a line drawn from Cape Sable,
across the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, to the mouth of the
river St. Croix, by the said river to its source, and by a line
draimi due north from thence to the southern boundary of our
colony of Quebec." The next commission which issued to Lord
William Campbell, on the nth August, 1765, changes this de-
scription only commencing with the western instead of the north-
ern line, thus : " On the westward by a line drawn from Cape
Sable across the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, to the mouth of
the river St. Croix, by the said river to its source, and by a line
drawn due north from thence to the southern boundary of our
Colony of Quebec, to the northward by the said boundary as
10 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [18^8
far as the western extremity of the Bay des Chaleurs." In every
commission which has issued since to all the Governors of Nova
Scotia, and afterwards of New Brunswick, the same identical
language has been used. On the 29th of July, 1782, but four
months previous to the conclusion of the pro^vincial treaty of
peace with Great Britain, the commission granted to Governor
Parr describes the limits of Nova Scotia in precisely the same
manner. And here it may be proper to observe, that the St.
Croix has since been ascertained by a joint commission of two
Governments, and a monument has been erected at its source.
Were not, then, the commissioners who framed the treaty
fully justified in the conviction, that when they established the
point of beginning of the boundaries between the United States
and Great Britain, at " the northwest angle of Nova Scotia," they
were fixing it at a point long known and well established? To
render assurance doubly certain, however, they describe where it
is, in the very language which had been uniformly used by the
British Government in proclamations, in acts of Parliament, and
in numerous commissions to the Governors of Quebec and Nova
Scotia. " The northwest angle of Nova Scotia," says the treaty,
" is that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from
the source of the St. Croix river to the highlands." To what
highlands ? The treaty answers, " the highlands which divide
those rivers that empty themselves in the river St. Lawrence,
from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean." The northwest
angle of Nova Scotia, then, is to be found in these highlands, at
the point where the dividing due north line between New England
and Nova Scotia, which commences at the source of the St.
Croix, meets the southern boundary of the province of Quebec.
The act of Parliament of 1774 was doubtless before the commis-
sioners. They use its very language in the treaty : " Along the
highlands which divide the rivers that empty thanselves into the
river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea." The only
change of this language in the treaty is, that " the Atlantic
ocean " is substituted for " the sea." Both are evidently intended
to convey the same meaning. The solicitude of the commis-
sioners to preserve this highland boundary throughout between
the two nations is manifest. Under the act of Parliament, the
southern extremity of this line is described tO' be " a point in
forty-five degrees of northern latitude, on the eastern bank ol
the river Connecticut." In the treaty it is " the northwestem-
most head of Connecticut river." From thence the treaty line
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 11
runs " down along the middle of that river, to the forty-fifth
degree of north latitude."
Thus the British Government surrendered that small portion
of the province of Quebec between the northwesternmost head
of Connecticut river and the forty-fifth degree of north latitude,
in order to have a continuous highland boundary, from the north-
west angle of Nova Scotia to the source of the northwesternmost
head of the Connecticut. To accomplish this object, a part of
what had been taken from New England, when the province of
Quebec was established in 1763, has been restored by the treaty.
The great purpose was, that the entire line should consist of the
highlands, " which," in the language of the treaty and the act of
Parliament, " divide those rivers that empty themselves into the
river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea " or " the
Atlantic ocean."
The committee will now proceed to show what was the con-
struction placed upon this treaty fifteen years after its ratifica-
tion, by solemn ofificial declarations of high and responsible agents
of the British Government.
To render it more manifest that these declarations are wholly
inconsistent with the present claim of Great Britain, it will be
necessary first to show precisely the extent of that claim. It com-
prehends all that portion of the State of Maine which lies north
of the red line marked upon the map No. 2, annexed to this
report, and embraces about one-third of its whole territory.
This line leaves the due north line from the source of the St.
Croix, at the distance of forty miles from the monument there
erected, and one hundred miles south of the northwest angle of
Nova Scotia, marked A ; and thence passes to the westward, not
along highlands which divide the rivers that empty themselves
into the St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic
ocean, according to the terms of the treaty, but along highlands
dividing the rivers which flow into the St. John from those which
fall into the Atlantic. These highlands are far south of the St.
John; and if the British claim could be established, the whole of
that river, from its source to its mouth, with all its branches,
would be within British territory. Now, if it can be demon-
strated that agents of high character, acting under the express
authority of the British Government, several years after the date
of the treaty, have expressly admitted, in their official arguments
and correspondence, that this north line from the source of the
St. Croix, not only crosses the St. John, but runs as far north
12 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [18^8
as the streams emptying into the Bay of Chaleurs, what ought to
be thought of this recent pretension?
A short time after the conclusion of the treaty a question
arose between the two Governments what river was intended by
the St. Croix of the treaty. In order to determine this question,
commissioners were appointed under the fifth article of the treaty
of November, 1794, commonly called Jay's treaty. Ward Chip-
man, Esq., the agent of the British Government, contended that
the true source of the St. Croix was at the head of the Scoudiac
lakes, at the point marked W on the second map. In his argu-
ment in 1797, to establish this position, and to defeat the position
taken by the United States, he expressly admits that " this north
line (from the source of the St. Croix to the treaty highlands)
must of necessity cross the river St. John." Admitting this fact,
his leading purpose seems to have been to remove this line as far
west as he could, so that it might cross the St. John at as great
a distance from its mouth as possible, and thus embrace as much
of its course as was attainable within British territory. In prose-
cuting his argument, he says, " but if a north line is traced from
the source of the Cheputnatecook, ( as insisted upon by the United
States) it will not only cross the river St. John, within about fifty
miles from Fredericton, the metropolis of New Brunswick, hut
will cut off the sources of the rivers which fall into the Bay of
Chaleurs, if not of many others, probably the Mirramichi among
them, which fall in the Gulf of St. Laivrence." Thus it appears
that, in 1797, the British Government had never thought of con-
tending that the highlands of the treaty were to be found south
of the St. John, or even south of the sources of the streams which
empty into the Bay of Chaleurs.
Robert Listen, Esq., at the time of these proceedings, was
his Britannic Majesty's minister to the United States. He was
consulted by Mr. Chipman on the propriety of acceding to a
proposition made to him by the agent of the United States. This
proposition need not be stated. Mr. Liston, in his reply, dated
at Providence, on the 23rd October, 1798, advises Mr. Chipman
to accede to the proposition, because " it would give an addition
of territory to the province of New Brunswick, together with a
greater extent of navigation on St. John river." The British
Government now claim the whole river, and all its tributaries,
from its source to its mouth.
The committee might here enumerate, if they deemed it nec-
essary, the numerous maps of this region which were pubHshed
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 13
in England, between the proclamation of 1763 and the treaty of
1783, and subsequently until after the treaty of Ghent in 18 14,
embracing a period of more than half a century ; in all of which,
without a single exception known to the committee, the western
line of the province of Nova Scotia, afterwards New Brunswick,
crosses the river St. John, and the northwestern angle of Nova
Scotia is placed north of that river.
Previous to the treaty of Ghent, the British Government had
become convinced of the great importance of having a direct
communication, within their own territory, between their
provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the city of
Quebec. It will be seen from an inspection of the map No. 2,
that the territory of the State of Maine, now in dispute, intercepts
this communication. It was one object of the British commis-
sioners at Ghent, to obtain a cession of this territory. They did
indeed make a faint and feeble suggestion that our title was doubt-
ful ; but it was not seriously urged. As the occasion was solemn
and the object one of great importance, can any person suppose
that if they had even entertained doubts where " the northwest
angle of Nova Scotia " was to be found, they would not then
have earnestly insisted on the pretension which they now so seri-
ously maintain? From the date of the treaty of 1783, until the
conferences at Ghent in 18 14, during a period of more than
thirty years, our title was unquestioned, as it still remains
unquestionable.
In a protocol of August 8, 1814, the British commissioners
stated the following as one among other subjects upon which it
appeared to them that the discussions between themselves and the
American commissioners would be likely to turn : " A revision of
the boundary line between the British and American territories,
with a view to prevent future uncertainty and dispute."
In a note of the British to the American commissioners of the
same date, they specify more particularly what they mean by this
general proposition ; and in conclusion state, " If this can be ad-
justed, there will then remain for discussion the arrangement of
the northwestern boundary between Lake Superior and the Mis-
sissippi ; the free navigation of that river; and such a variation of
the line of frontier as may secure a direct communication between
Quebec and Halifax."
It will be perceived that they do not propose to ascertain and
fix a line previously agreed upon, by the treaty of 1783, but to
vary that line in such a manner as to secure a direct communica-
14 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
tion between Halifax and Quebec. This was in substance a
proposition to obtain a cession of territory, and was so considered
by the American commissioners. Accordingly on the 24th
August, 18 14, they replied, that " they had no authority to cede
any part of the territory of the United States; and to no stipula-
tion to that effect will they subscribe."
On the 4th September, 1814, the British commissioners
observe, that they are unable to reconcile this declaration with
the statement previously made by the American commissioners,
" that they were instructed to treat for the revision of their
boundary lines," " although the proposal left it open for them
(the American commissioners) to demand an equivalent for such
cession either in frontier or otherwise."
They then proceed to insinuate the first doubt in regard to
our title, in the following language : " The American plenipo-
tentiaries must be aware that the boundary of the District of
Maine has never been correctly ascertained ; that the one asserted
at present, by the American Government, by which the direct
communication between Halifax and Quebec becomes interrupted,
was not in contemplation of the British plenipotentiaries, who
concluded the treaty of 1 783 ; and that the greater part of the
territory in question is actually unoccupied.
" The undersigned are persuaded that an arrangement on this
point might be easily made, if entered into with the spirit of
conciliation, without any prejudice to the interests of the district
in question."
This note contains the first intimation ever made by Great
Britain of any doubt as to the title of the United States to the
disputed territory. The British commissioners first endeavor to
obtain it by cession; and, failing in this attempt, they intimate,
rather than assert, a claim to it.
This faint pretension was promptly repelled by the American
commissioners in their note of September 9, 1814; and it is due
to them that the committee should present their views in their own
language :
With regard to the cession of a part of the District of Maine, as to
which the British plenipotentiaries are unable to reconcile the objections made
by the undersigned with their previous declaration, they have the honor to
observe that at the conference of the 8th ult. the British plenipotentiaries
stated as one of the subjects suitable for discussion, a revision of the boundary
line between the British and American territories, with a view to prevent
uncertainty and dispute ; and that it was on the point thus stated, that the
undersigned declared that they were provided with instructions from their
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 15
government; a declaration which did not imply that they were instructed
to make any cession of territory in any quarter, or to agree to a revision
of the line, or to any exchange of territory where no uncertainty or dispute
existed. The undersigned perceive no uncertainty or matter of doubt in the
treaty of 1783, with respect to that part of the boundary of the District of
Maine which would be affected by the proposal of Great Britain on that
subject. They never have understood that the British plenipotentiaries, who
signed that treaty, had contemplated a boundary different from that fixed by
the treaty, and which requires nothing more in order to be definitely ascer-
tained, than to be surveyed in conformity with its provisions. This subject
not having been a matter of uncertainty or disptite, the undersigned are not
instructed upon it; and they can have no authority to cede any part of the
State of Massachusetts, even for what the British Government might con-
sider a fair equivalent.
Three subsequent notes, one from the British commissioners,
dated 19th September, 18 14, an answer from the American com-
missioners of the 26th September, and a reply from the British
commissioners dated 8th October, seemed to have contained all
the subsequent correspondence on this subject. In this last note,
they declare that " the British Government never required that
all that portion of the State of Massachusetts intervening between
the province of New Brunswick and Quebec, should be ceded to
Great Britain; but only that small portion of unsettled country
which interrupts the communication between Quebec and Hali-
fax, there being much doubt whether it does not already belong
to Great Britain." Thus it appears that in 1814, Great Britain
would gladly have accepted a small portion of the disputed terri-
tory by cession, and granted an equivalent therefor, either in
frontier or otherwise ; and yet, strange as it may seem, her claim
has since grown to such a magnitude that she now demands the
whole by right, under the treaty of 1783.
Our commissioners at Ghent, having successfully resisted
every attempt for the dismemberment of Maine, agreed upon an
article with the British commissioners, not to revise or change
the ancient treaty boundary, but to run and establish upon the
ground that very boundary, without any alteration, and to ascer-
tain " the northwest angle of Nova Scotia," its place of begin-
ning. This article is the fifth in the treaty. Under it, each party
appointed a commissioner. These commissioners disagreed.
According to the treaty the question was then referred to the
King of the Netherlands, as umpire, whose award was rejected
by the United States, because it did not profess to decide the
controversy, according to the terms of the submission, but pro-
posed a compromise, by a division of the disputed territory be-
16 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
tween the parties. Great Britain has also since announced her
abandonment of this award; and now, at the end of more than
half a century after the conclusion of the treaty of^ 1783, the ques-
tion not only remains unsettled, but threatens to involve the two
nations in a dangerous dispute.
The committee will now proceed to state the principles on
which Great Britain rests her claim to the disputed territory, and
to give them such an answer as in their judgment they merit.
She contends, in the first place, that the northwest angle of Nova
Scotia, mentioned in the treaty, is to be found at Mars hill, in the
line due north from the monument at the source of the St. Croix,
and forty miles distant from it; and that the highlands of the
treaty are those running to the westward from that point, and
dividing the sources of the streams flowing north into the St.
John, and south into the Penobscot. A reference to map No. 2
will clearly show the extent of this claim.
Great Britain contends, in the second place, that, if this be
not the true treaty line, it is impossible to find it; and then, the
description of the treaty would become void for uncertainty ; and
that no mode remains of terminating the controversy, but by
abandoning the treaty altogether and agreeing upon a conven-
tional line.
The committee trust that a sufficient answer has already
been given to this last proposition. They have endeavored, and
they believe successfully, to prove that the northwest angle of
Nova Scotia was a well-known point, capable of being easily
ascertained, ever since the proclamation of 1763, by simply run-
ning a due north line from the source of the St. Croix, to intersect
the southern line of the province of Quebec, which consists of the
highlands running from' the western extremity of the Bay of
Chaleurs to the head of Connecticut river, and dividing those
rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence, from
those which fall into the Atlantic ocean. It is certain as the
laws of nature, that these highlands, from which we know that
streams do flow in opposite directions, can be found on the face
of the country.
In support of the first proposition, the Government of Great
Britain contends that, as the eastern boundary of the United
States runs " by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river
St. Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy, to its source ; "
and as the St. John, though nowhere mentioned in the treaty, has
its mouth also in the Bay of Fundy, that, therefore, the St. John
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 17
is not a river which falls into the Atlantic ocean, according to the
description of the treaty. They assert, therefore, that, in looking
for the highlands of the treaty, you must search for highlands
south of the St. John. This brings them far south to Mars hill ;
and from thence, westwardly, along the highlands, marked in
map No. 2, to the western boundary of the State of Maine, where
they first reach the highlands which, as they contend, " divide
those rivers that empty themselves ifito the river St. Lawrence,
from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean." The whole argu-
ment of the British Government, it will be perceived, rests upon
the assumption that the St. John is not a river falling into the
Atlantic ocean, because it has its mouth in the Bay of Fundy.
Now, what are the objections to this extraordinary preten-
sion, as the committee are constrained to call it ?
And, first, what is the Bay of Fundy, if it be not part of the
Atlantic ocean ? A bay is a mere opening of the main ocean into
the land — a mere interruption of the uniformity of the seacoast
by an indentation of water. These portions of the ocean have
received the name of bays, solely to distinguish them from the
remainder of the vast deep, to which they belong. Would it not
be the merest special pleading, to contend that the Bay of Naples
was not a portion of the Mediterranean, or that the Bay of Biscay
was not a part of the Atlantic ocean ?
Again : the description of the treaty is, " rivers which fall
into the Atlantic ocean." Can it be said with any propriety, that
a river does not fall into the Atlantic, because, in reaching the
main ocean, it may pass through a bay? And yet this is the
British argument. The Delaware does not fall into the Atlantic,
because it flows into it through the Bay of Delaware ; and, for the
same reason, the St. John does not fall into the Atlantic, because
it flows into it through the Bay of Fundy. The committee know
not how to give a serious answer to such an argument. The bare
statement of it is its best refutation.
But, like all such arguments, it proves too much. If it be
correct, this portion of the treaty of 1783 is rendered absurd and
suicidal; and the wise and distinguished statesmen by whom it
was framed must be condemned by posterity for affixing their
names to an instrument, in this particular, at least, absolutely
void. Although they believed they would prevent " all disputes
which might arise, in future, on the subject of the boundaries of
the United States," by fixing their commencement at " the north-
west angle of Nova Scotia," and running from thence along " the
Vol. IV.— 2
18 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
highlands which divide those rivers which empty themselves mto
the river St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic
ocean," yet it is absolutely certain, that there was not a single
river in that whole region of country which, according to the
British construction, did fall into the Atlantic ocean. They all
fall into bays, without one exception. Neither can we plead
ignorance an excuse for these commissioners ; because it is fully
in proof, that they had Mitchell's map before them, from which
the fact clearly appears. The Ristigouche does not fall into the
Atlantic, because it has its mouth in the Bay of Chaleurs; nor
does the Penobscot, because its mouth is in the Bay of Penobscot ;
nor do the Kennebeck and Androscoggin, because, after their
junction, they fall into the Bay of Sagadahock. The same is
true, even of the Connecticut, because it empties itself into Long
Island Sound. All the rivers in that region are in the same
condition with the St. John. Thus it appears, if the British argu-
ment be well founded, that the commissioners have concluded a
treaty, and described highlands, whence streams proceed falling
into the Atlantic, as a portion of the boundary of the United
States, when, from the very face of the map before them, it is
apparent no such streams exist.
There is another objection to the British claim, which is con-
clusive. Wherever the highlands of the treaty exist, they must
be highlands from which on the north side streams proceed falling
into the St. Lawrence. This portion of the description is as
essential as that from their south side streams should issue falling
into the Atlantic. Now the British claim abandons the former
part of the description altogether. Their line of highlands com-
mencing at Mars hill is at least a hundred miles south of the high-
lands whence the tributaries of the St. Lawrence flow. Between
these highlands and those claimed by the British Government the
broad valley of the St. John spreads itself, watered by the river of
that name, and the streams which empty into it from the north
and from the south. The two points on the western line of New
Brunswick are distant from each other more than a hundred
miles; and when you arrive at the British highlands, you find
that they divide the sources of the St. John and the Penobscot,
and not the sources of the streams falling into the St. Lawrence
and the Atlantic ocean, according to the description of the treaty.
But, even suppose it were possible to prove that neither the
St. John or any other river in that region falls into the Atlantic
ocean, would this fact essentially benefit the British Government?
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 19
If this portion of the description should entirely fail, would it
render the other portion void ? Certainly not. It might be said
that the commissioners were mistaken as to where the streams
emptied themselves which flowed from the southern side of the
treaty highlands; as to the existence of these highlands,
there could be no mistake. They are the boundary; and
the streams flowing from them are mere matters of descrip-
tion. Can they be sufficiently identified, independently of this
mistake? If they can, the question is settled. Now, fortu-
nately, on this subject, no doubt can exist. Two circumstances
concur to identify them, about which it is not possible there can
be a mistake. According to the act of Parliament of 1774, they
constitute the southern line of the province of Quebec, between the
western extremity of the Bay of Chaleurs, in latitude 48 ; and it is
equally certain that from them, all along in regular succession,
streams proceed falling into the St. Lawrence. A mistake in one
part of a description of boundary has never been held to vitiate
the whole, provided sufficient remains clearly to designate the in-
tention of the parties.
But how is it possible ever to embrace Mars hill in the line
of highlands running from the western extremity of the Bay of
Chaleurs and forming the southern boundary of the province of
Quebec ? It is clear that in this, and this alone, the northwestern
angle of Nova Scotia is to be found. Mars hill is one hundred
miles directly south of this line. You cannot, by any possibility,
embrace -that hill in this range; unless you can prove that a hill
in latitude 46^ is part of a ridge directly north of it in latitude
48; and this, notwithstanding the whole valley of the St. John,
from its southern to its northern extremity, intervenes between
the two. The thing is impossible. Mars hill can never be made,
by any human ingenuity, the northwest angle of Nova Scotia.
Particular emphasis has been placed by the British Govern-
ment on the word " highlands," mentioned in the treaty ; and
comparisons have been made between the height of Mars hill and
that of different parts of the highlands which divide the streams
of the St. Lawrence from those of the Atlantic. Even in this
. they have failed ; because it has been shown that the summits of
the more elevated portions of the treaty highlands are consider-
ably above that of Mars hill, the highest point of the ridge claimed
by Great Britain. The committee, however, deem such a ques-
tion to be wholly immaterial. When highlands are spoken of as
dividing waters flowing in different directions, the meaning is
20
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
plain. P""rora the very nature of things, they must exist and slope
off in opposite directions ; but whether they consist of table land,
of mountains, or even of swamp, still if there be a height of land,
from which streams flow down in different directions, this is
sufficient. It is not their elevation, but their capacity to divide,
which gives them their character.
It is strange that the mere incidental mention of the Bay of
Fundy in the treaty, though not at all in connection with the
St. John, which is not even named, should have been the founda-
tion of the whole superstructure of the British argument. The
reason why it was mentioned at all is obvious. It was palpably
not for the purpose of creating a third class of rivers flowing into
that bay, distinct from those flowing into the St. Lawrence and
the Atlantic, as the British Government contend ; but merely for
the purpose of specifying with greater precision, the commence-
ment of the eastern boundary of the United States. Several
rivers in that portion of the country had borne the name of St.
Croix; from the fact that the early French navigators, actuated
by motives of piety, had planted a cross at their mouth when they
were first discovered. Hence it was necessary, in specifying the
beginning of our eastern boundary, to state that it was in the
middle of that St. Croix which had its mouth in the Bay of
Fundy. Notwithstanding this description, it has been seen, that
which of these rivers was the true St. Croix became a subject of
dispute between the two Governments. Still both parties were
prevented from claiming that any river which did not flow into
that bay was the St. Croix of the treaty.
The Bay of Fundy has been twice mentioned in the treaty.
After starting at the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, and from
thence sweeping round the boundaries of the United States to this
bay, it was necessary to fix as precisely as possible the point at
which our eastern boundary commenced. This was essential for
a double purpose. In the first place it was the extreme northern
point from which a line was to be run due east twenty leagues
into the ocean, according to the treaty; within which space the
United States were entitled to all the islands along their coast,
except such as were within the limits of Nova Scotia ; and, in the
second place, it was the point from which our eastern line was to
commence, and to run from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia.
Had the commissioners omitted to fix this point with as great
precision as they could, they would have been guilty of culpable
neglect. Having done so, and having mentioned the Bay of
1838] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 21
Fundy as that part of the ocean in which the St. Croix has its
mouth, the British Government have used it, not merely as it
was intended, to mark the eastern boundary of the United States,
but to render the whole treaty, so far as the northeastern boun-
dary is concerned, absurd, uncertain, and void. Surely the com-
missioners never could have foreseen any such result. The
language of this portion of the treaty is as follows :
East by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix, from
its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source, directly
north to the aforesaid highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the
Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence, com-
prehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of
the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the
points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia on the one part,
and East Florida on the other, shall respectively touch the Bay of Fundy
and the Atlantic ocean; excepting such islands as now are or heretofore
have been within the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia.
Upon the whole, the committee do not entertain a doubt of
the title of the United States to the whole of the disputed terri-
tory. They go further, and state that if the General Government
be not both able and willing to protect the territory of each state
inviolate, then it will have proved itself incapable of performing
one of its first and highest duties. They feel an abiding reliance,
however, in the inherent sense of justice of the British Govern-
ment. As soon as that Government shall become convinced that
the disputed territory belongs to the United States, which they
persuade themselves will be the case at no distant day, impelled
by a desire of preserving inviolate the faith of treaties, it will
hasten to relinquish its pretensions. In that event the committee
entertain not a doubt but that this long contested and dangerous
question may be settled to the mutual satisfaction of both Govern-
ments.
The committee will now proceed to make a very few observa-
tions on the second question proposed for discussion, which was,
does no other and friendly expedient remain untried of bringing
this long pending controversy to a conclusion, than the passage
of the bill which has been referred to them by the Senate ? They
are most happy to be able to answer this question in the affirma-
tive. Anxious as they are to cultivate, by every honorable means
in their power, the most friendly relations with Great Britain, it
affords them sincere pleasure, that the existing state of the nego-
tiations between the two countries will justify them in forbearing
to recommend the adoption of any measure on the subject by the
22 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
Senate at its present session. Negotiation has not yet been ex-
hausted. Although the committee are firmly convinced that the
title of the United States to the territory in dispute is clear and
unquestionable; although they acknowledge that the State of
Maine has just reason to complain not only of the long and
vexatious delay which has been experienced in settling this ques-
tion, but of the assumption of actual jurisdiction by Great Britain
over a portion of her territory, under circumstances well cal-
culated, in some instances at least, to excite her sensibility, yet,
from the known justice of that power, they still entertain a
confident hope that the pending negotiation may be productive of
the most happy results. The important preliminaries of a con-
vention between the two Governments, for the purpose of explor-
ing and surveying the disputed lines of the treaty boundary, have
already been adjusted. In this state of the question, it seems to
them not advisable to withdraw the subject from' the Executive,
to which it more properly belongs, and direct the boundaries to
be surveyed, the lines to be marked, and monuments to be erected
thereon, under the authority of Congress. In their opinion,
therefore, the bill referred to them, " to provide for surveying
the northeastern boundary line of the United States, according to
the provisions of the treaty of peace of seventeen hundred and
eighty-three," ought not to pass.
Entertaining this view of the whole subject, the committee
unanimously recommend to the Senate the adoption of the fol-
lowing resolutions :
Resolved, That after a careful examination, and deliberate
consideration of the whole controversy between the United States
and Great Britain, relative to the northeastern boundary of the
former, the Senate does not entertain a doubt of the entire prac-
ticability of running and marking that boundary, in strict con-
formity with the stipulations O'f the definitive treaty of peace of
seventeen hundred and eighty-three; and it entertains a perfect
conviction of the justice and validity of the title of the United
States to the full extent of all the territory in dispute between the
two powers.
Resolved, further. That considering that more than half a
century has elapsed since the conclusion of that treaty; consider-
ing the extraordinary delay which has hitherto marked the ne-
gotiations and proceedings of the Governments of the two coun-
tries in their endeavor amicably to settle the controversy; and
considering the danger of mutual irritation and collisions upon
1838] ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 23
the borders of the two kindred and friendly nations, from further
procrastination, the Senate cannot forbear to express an earnest
desire that the pending negotiation should be brought to a close,
and the final decision of the dispute made, as early as practicable.
Resolved, That as it would be inexpedient for the United
States to proceed, upon their separate authority, to survey and
mark the northeastern boundary, until all reasonable means of
effecting that object by the consent and concurrence of both
parties shall have been exhausted, the " bill to provide for the
surveying of the northeastern boundary line of the United States,
according to the provisions of the treaty of peace of seventeen
hundred and eighty-three," ought not to pass ; and it is, therefore,
ordered that it be laid upon the table. ^
REMARKS, AUGUST 18, 1838,
ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.^
Mr. Buchanan said there was one subject of vital importance
to the peace and perpetuity of the Union, which had not occupied
much of the attention of the former speakers; and, therefore, he
would make a few remarks upon it. He referred to abolition.
Was Joseph Ritner an abolitionist? This was a most interesting
question. If he were, then no friend to the existence of our
glorious Union ought to vote in favor of his election as governor.
He confessed, he had been astonished that the friends of Governor
Ritner had denied this charge. He would do him the justice to
say, that he never heard of his denying it himself. On the
contrary, in April last, in his letter to the anti-slavery society of
Pittsburg, he had boldly and manifestly re-affirmed the doctrines
on this subject contained in his message of 1836. If this mes-
sage, therefore, proves him to be an abolitionist, it will be vain
' The question having been put on the adoption of these resolutions, they
were agreed to nem. con.; and, on motion, 20,000 additional copies of the
report and resolutions were ordered to be printed. On March i, 1839, the
Senate unanimously ordered 50,000 copies to be printed. (Cong. Globe, 25
Cong. 2 Sess. VI. 496; S. Doc. 502, 25 Cong. 2 Sess. i.)
''These remarks are reprinted in Niles' Register, October 6, 1838, from
the Lancaster Intelligencer, where it is said : " The following is the substance
of the remarks on the subject of abolition, made by Mr. Buchanan, at the
great democratic meeting held in this city, on Saturday, the i8th August.
Their publication has been rendered necessary by the misrepresentations to
which they have already been subjected."
24
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
for any man to contend that he had not fairly presented himself m
true abolition colors whilst he was a candidate.
In order to understand and justly appreciate the abolition
doctrines of the governor's message of 1836, it will be necessary
to take a hasty review of the causes which produced their open
and solemn avowal. Upon examination, these will clearly appear
to be, the defeat which the abolitionists had sustained at the ses-
sion of Congress immediately preceding his message, and the
necessity that the governor of Pennsylvania should come to the
rescue of his associates.
Before the spirit of abolition had been conjured up from its
dark abode by political fanatics and hot-headed enthusiasts, all
was comparatively peaceful and tranquil in the southern states.
Slavery had been most unfortunately introduced into these states
by our British forefathers. It was there at the adoption of the
federal constitution ; and this constitution did not merely leave it
there, but it expressly guaranteed to the slave-holding states their
property in slaves, and the exclusive dominion over the question
of slavery within their respective borders. Such is the clear
language of the constitution itself; and such was the construc-
tion the first Congress placed upon it. Without this solemn con-
stitutional compact, the southern states would never have been
parties to the Union; and the blessings and benefits which it has
conferred, and will confer, not only upon our own country, but
the whole human race, would never have been realized. Those
in the free states who determine to violate this compact must
determine to dissolve the Union. The one is the necessary conse-
quence of the other.
The southern people, before abolition commenced, reposing
on their constitutional rights, had much, very much ameliorated
the condition of their slaves. Education, and particularly reli-
gious education, was becoming common amongst them. In sev-
eral of the states, the question of gradual emancipation had
come to be freely discussed. The question had been seriously
debated in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri; and
the doctrine had found numerous and talented advocates amongst
the most distinguished men of these states. In Virginia the
voice of the friends of gradual emancipation had been raised with
power in her legislative halls, and had been almost successful.
Another effort, and this ancient and powerful commonwealth
might have followed the examJDle of Pennsylvania, and have
become a free state.
1838] ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 25
But the spirit of abolition has blighted the fair prospect, and
has postponed for a long period, if not forever, the emancipation
of the slave. Self-preservation, which is the first law of nature,
and the fear of servile insurrection, with all its attendant horrors,
have compelled the master to abridge the liberty and indulgence
which he formerly granted to his slave. No sound of emancipa-
tion now greets the ear in any of the southern states. No man
could be found there, at the present moment, sufficiently bold to
attempt to raise the question in any legislative assembly. Such
have been the direful effects of abolition upon the poor slaves
themselves.
At the session of 1835-6 — that session which immediately
preceded Ritner's message — the question of abolition had occu-
pied much of the time and attention of Congress. It had been
discussed under every possible aspect. Petitions for the abolition
of slavery in the District of Columbia, got up and circulated by
the anti-slavery societies, poured into Congress from the free
states. This was the only mode in which the abolitionists could
agitate the question in Congress, because no fanatic, to Mr. B.'s
knowledge, had been so mad as to contend that Congress had
any power over slavery within the slave states themselves.
Petitions to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia formed
part, of the grand scheme of agitation by which the abolitionists
expected to accomplish their purposes. Throughout the spring,
summer, and autumn of 1835, a combined attempt was made upon
the southern states, not only by agitation in the north, but by
scattering over the south, through the post office, and by travelling
agents, the vilest publications and pictorial representations. He
had himself seen many of them. Their natural tendency was to
produce dissatisfaction and revolt among the slaves, and to incite
their wild passions to vengeance. A servile insurrection would
present a scene of horrors which he would not attempt to depict.
It would spare neither age nor sex. What agony of mind must
have been suffered — especially by the gentle sex — during this
period of alarm! Many a mother clasped her infant to her
bosom when she retired to rest, under dreadful apprehensions
that she might be aroused from her slumbers by the savage yells
of the slaves by whom she was surrounded. These were the
works of the abolitionists. The motives of many of them may
have been honest, but their zeal was without knowledge. The
history of mankind affords numerous instances of ignorant en-
thusiasts, the purity of whose intentions could not be doubted.
26
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
who have spread devastation and bloodshed over the face of the
earth. The abuse of the post office had become so alarming, that
General Jackson, in eloquent and indignant language, called the
special attention of Congress to it in his message of December,
1835, and recommended a remedy. " In connection," said he,
" with these provisions in relation to the post office department, I
must also invite your attention to the painful excitement produced
in the south, by attempts to circulate through the mails inflamma-
to^ry appeals to the slaves, and in various sorts of publications,
calculated to stimulate them to insurrection, and to produce all
the horrors of a servile war."
Under the influence of the feelings excited by these causes,
the southern members of Congress reached Washington in De-
cember, 1835. Many of them, with sorrow and anguish of heart,
declared, that if the southern states could not remain in the
Union without having their domestic peace continually disturbed
by the attempts of the abolitionists, the great law of self-preserva-
tion would compel them to separate from the north. Immedi-
ately after the commencement of the session, and throughout its
continuance, the abolitionists, intent upon their object, sent im-
mense numbers of petitions to Congress for the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia, couched in language cal-
culated to exasperate the southern members. What did they
ask? That in the District ten miles square, ceded to Congress
by two slave-holding states, and surrounded by them, slavery
should be abolished. What would have resulted from granting
their request? You would have thus established a citadel in the
very heart of these states, upon a territory which they had
granted to you for a different purpose, from which abolitionists
and incendiaries could securely attack the peace and safety of
their citizens. The District would have become a city of refuge
within the slave-holding states for runaway slaves. You would
have created, by law, a central magazine, from which trains of
gunpowder might be securely laid, extending into the surrounding
states, which might, at any moment, produce a fearful and de-
structive explosion. By passing such a law, you would have
introduced the enemy into the very bosoms of these two states,
and afforded him an excellent opportunity to produce a servile
insurrection. Is there any reasonable man, who can for one
moment suppose that Virginia and Maryland would have ceded
the District of Columbia to the United States, if they had enter-
tained the slightest idea that Congress would ever abuse it for any
1838] ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 27
such purpose? They ceded it for the use and convenience of the
government of the United States, and to pervert this grant to the
destruction of these two states, would be a violation of the most
solemn faith. When slavery shall cease to exist under the laws
of Virginia and Maryland, (and this, probably, might have been
the case before very many years, had it not been for the efforts
of the abolitionists,) then, and not till then, ought it to be abol-
ished in the District of Columbia.
Impelled by these motives, the senate, upon his motion, after
the petitions had been received, rejected the prayer of the petition-
ers by a vote of 34 to 6, and refused to abolish slavery in the Dis-
trict of Columbia. The two senators from Massachusetts, the two
senators from Vermont, and one from Indiana, and one from
Rhode Island, were all who voted in the negative. In the House
these petitions shared the same fate. They were referred to a
committee, a majority of which consisted of representatives from
free states, of which Mr. Pinckney, of South Carolina, was chair-
man; an able, temperate, and judicious report was made, and a
resolution was recommended, " That Congress ought not to inter-
fere in any way with slavery in the District of Columbia." This
resolution was adopted by a vote of 132 to 45.
Thus stood the question on the 4th of July, 1836, when
Congress adjourned. The members of Congress from tlie slave-
holding states, and their constituents, had a right to expect peace.
The question had been fully discussed and deliberately decided
by overwhelming majorities, and the south had reason to hope
that the minority would acquiesce, at least for a season, in the will
of the majority. Not so thought Joseph Ritner, the governor of
Pennsylvania. In his message of December, 1836, after de-
nouncing the democratic members of Congress from Pennsyl-
vania for having abandoned the policy and interests of the state,
from motives of subserviency to the executive of the nation, and
after enumerating several particulars in which he alleges that
they had thus violated their duty " at the nod of power," Ke adds,
" Last, but worst of all, came the base bowing of the knee to the
dark spirit of slavery." For what cause did the democratic
representatives of this state — for what cause did my respected
colleague (General McKean) merit this denunciation from the
governor, if it were not for having resisted the efforts of the
abolitionists, and having opposed the abolition of slavery in the
District of Columbia? At the time, it was thus understood
everywhere, both in and out of the state. Instead of sustaining
28 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
the character of Pennsylvania for devotion to the Union, and
cheering on her representatives at Washington in the good cause
which they had been advocating, he brands their support of it as
a " base bowing of the knee to the dark spirit of slavery."
The abolitionists throughout the Union hailed this senti-
ment with delight, and Joseph Ritner has ever since been extolled
in all their publications as one of their most distinguished advo-
cates. It was but the other day that I observed it stated in a
Pennsylvania paper that an abolition print in Pittsburg indig-
nantly repelled the idea advanced by a whig press of that city
that Joseph Ritner was not an abolitionist. Show me an aboli-
tionist throughout the state, and I will show you a supporter of
Governor Ritner.
And here I would ask, fellow-citizens, if it be possible to
assign any other motive for introducing the subject, in December,
1836, into the governor's message, but to sustain and cheer on the
anti-slavery societies and abolitionists, and encourage them not to
relax their efforts, notwithstanding their then recent defeat in
Congress ? Why was it mentioned at all, if not for this purpose ?
The governor proceeds further in his message: Arkansas was
about to become a state. Arkansas was south of the line fixed
by the celebrated Missouri compromise, which saved the Union,
within which slavery might exist. The people of Arkansas held
slaves. The abolition petitions had prayed that no new state
should be admitted into the Union where slavery existed. Joseph
Ritner gave the abolitionists his aid by coming out boldly and
strongly in his message against the admission of any new state
into the Union where slavery was recognized.
He is equally explicit in urging the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia. In his own language, opposition to the
admission into the Union of new slave-holding states, and oppo-
sition to slavery in the District of Columbia, the very hearth and
abode of the national honor, have ever been and are the cherished
doctrines of our state. Let us, fellow-citizens, stand by and
maintain them unshrinkingly and fearlessly.
It is very true, he admits that the free states have no power
over the question of slavery in the slave-holding states; but had
there been any fanatic so wild, before the date of his message,
as to assert such a power ? Not to my knowledge. On the con-
trary, this has always been admitted. How then was slavery
to be abolished in the south? By the existence of anti-slavery
societies in the north ; by the efforts of the abolitionists to arouse
1838] ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 39
the indignant feelings of our citizens against our brethren in
the south, because they were unfortunately born slave-holders —
hy making use of the post office " to scatter arrows, fire brands,
and death " among the slaves themselves, calculated, if not in-
tended, to incite them to insurrection; and by thus surrounding
their masters with so many dangers as to force them to emanci-
pate their slaves. Those who opposed this conduct, the direct
tendency of which was to divide the Union, and to involve our
brethren of the south in a servile war, were denounced as the
enemies of free discussion, and as subsei-vient souls, who would
how their knee to the dark spirit of slavery. Accordingly, we
find Governor Ritner, in his message, repeating upon this subject
what had been said a hundred times before in the abolition papers.
■" Above all," said he, " let us never yield up the right of free
■discussion of any evil which may arise in the land or any part
of it — convinced that the moment we do so, the bond of union
is broken." The right of free discussion certainly ought never
to be surrendered. But a right is one thing and its abuse is
another. It is certain we all have a right to discuss the question
of slavery ; but is it proper for us to organize ourselves into anti-
slavery societies, and to exercise this right systematically, not for
the purpose of doing any good at home, for, thank God! here
slavery does not exist, but for that of spreading terror and alarm
throughout the southern states, of distributing among the slaves
themselves, through the mails and by private agents, vile publica-
tions and pictorial representations, calculated to produce servile
insurrection, and thus to force their masters to emancipate them
or abandon the Union? Suppose we should thus act towards a
foreign government, would it not be just cause of war? And
have we any greater right to interfere with the domestic insti-
tutions of Maryland and Virginia, than with those of Cuba ?
When the message of Governor Ritner was received in
Washington, in 1836, it was considered by all as an abolition
message, and, as such, it produced an impression which I shall
never forget. With the utmost anxiety depicted on the counte-
nance of the inquirers, was I asked, over and over again, whether,
in my opinion, it spoke the voice of Pennsylvania. The Key-
stone state, which had been the firmest bulwark of the Union,
and had always respected the constitutional rights of her sister
states, had embraced, so far as her governor could commit her,
the creed, and had placed herself in the front rank of abolition.
It remains for the people of this great commonwealth, at the next
30
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
election, to ratify or reject the doctrines of this message. I con-
sider the question to be one of transcendent importance, involving
in itself the fate of the Union, and all that is near and dear to the
friends of constitutional liberty, not only here, but throughout the
world.
Should Joseph Ritner be elected, the people of Pennsylvania
will have declared, in a voice of thunder, that Florida shall not be
admitted into the Union, because it will be a slave-holding state;
that the question of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia
shall again and again be agitated, to disturb the repose of the
Union ; and that the doctrines of abolition, from which these are
but emanations, shall be maintained, no matter what may be the
fatal consequence. Whilst his election will be hailed as a victory
by the abolitionists everywhere, it will be felt to the extremities
of the Union as a most portentous omen of its dissolution.
I have studiously avoided producing any proofs that Joseph
Ritner was an abolitionist, except from his own solemn message,
the doctrines O'f which have been recently reiterated in his letter
to the anti-slavery society of Pittsburg. It is true, I might have
cited the efforts made by his political friends to obtain the hall
of the legislature as a place of meeting for the abolition conven-
tion; the cordiality with which he received its members, and the
spirit thus infused into them by his countenance and conversation ;
his preference for leading abolitionists, in making some of his
most important appointments ; and numerous other circumstances
tending to establish the same fact. I have thought it best, how-
ever, to confine myself to his own official declarations. That he
is sincerely an abolitionist, I do not doubt; and he deserves the
merit of firmly adhering to his opinion, which would have been a
great virtue in a good cause.
I might have also proceeded to illustrate the effects of the
triumph of this doctrine. What would be your situation, fellow-
citizens, if negroes were admitted to an equality O'f political and
social rights with white men and white women? You have
already had a foretaste of it in the scenes which were exhibited
at Pennsylvania hall. The subject is too disgusting, and I recoil
from it.
Go then to the polls, and by your votes in behalf of the
democratic candidate, David R. Porter, declare to your sister
States and to the world, that Pennsylvania will be again, as she
had ever been before Governor Ritner's election, the strongest
and firmest pillar of the Union.
1838] TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN 31
TO MR. CALDWELL.^
Lancaster 27 September 1838.
My dear Sir/
I have this moment heard that you had recently expressed
yourself in high terms in regard to Mr. Strohm & desired that
he might continue to be your colleague in the Senate and hence
it was inferred that you intend to vote for him at the approaching
election. I took upon myself to say that this imputation upon
your party fidelity could not possibly be true.
We are now straining every nerve to elect Mr. Reigart by
all honorable means ; and unless we are deceived in our informa-
tion from York County, with a prospect of success. The Democ-
racy of this city has become much exasperated against Mr.
Strohm since they have learned the abuse which he has poured
forth on General Porter at different Township meetings over the
county and the desire he has manifested to propitiate Ritner &
Stevens. You will observe that this spirit is running high from
the last Lancaster Intelligencer. If it were supposed by our
Democrats that you would either aid Strohm's election or vote
for him, it would produce a very high state of excitement.
Reigart is an honest, independent & excellent man who is per-
sonally, as well as politically popular wherever he is known; and
we have set our hearts upon electing him, if that is possible.
I beg of you therefore to write me a line contradicting this
slander, (I have no doubt it is one) by the earliest opportunity.
from your friend
James A. Caldwell Esq.
James Buchanan.
TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN."
Greensburg, Pa., 12 November, 1838.
Dear Sir,
A letter from Mr. Engle of Dubuque has been forwarded to
me at this place, requesting that I should recommend his appoint-
ment to the vacant seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of
^Buchanan Papers, private collection.
^Van Buren MSS., Library of Congress.
32 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
Wisconsin. Such bad success attended my former ardent efforts
in his behalf that I shall not repeat them further than to say, that
in my opinion, Mr. Engle, both from constitutional temperament
and legal learning and abilities, is well qualified to make a good
judge; and that he is now and ever has been firm and faithful
in the Democratic cause.
I regret to learn from Mr. Engle that Thomas M'Knight
the Receiver of Public Monies at Dubuque, to use his own
language, " is a rank Whig " and always has been. I know no
man who is more openly and bitterly opposed to Gen : Jackson,
Mr. Van Buren and to all the prominent friends and measures
of the administration !
from your friend
very respectfully
James Buchanan.
His Excellency
Martin Van Buren.
REMARKS, DECEMBER 18, 1838,
on a petition as to RAIN-MAKING.i
Mr. Buchanan said that he had rather a strange petition to
present to the Senate, but it came from a very respectable and
scientific man; and however strange it might appear, it was
vouched for by several of the most respectable literary gentlemen
of the city of Philadelphia. The petitioner was Mr. James P.
Espy, so deservedly celebrated for his knowledge of meteorology,
who says that he has discovered the means of making it rain in a
tract of country at a period when there would be no rain without
the use of his process. Mr. Espy proposed to make the experi-
ment at his own expense, and he proposed that Congress should
pass an act engaging to reward him with a certain sum if he
succeeded in making it rain in a tract of country ten miles square;
a still higher sum if he produced rain in a tract of country of one
thousand square miles; a still higher sum if he produced rain in
a tract of five thousand square miles ; and, lastly, to give him a
still greater compensation if he should cause the Ohio river to
be navigable all summer from Pittsburg to the Mississippi.
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. 41-42.
1838] REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONS 33
Mr. B. observed that he was perfectly acquainted with Mr.
Espy, and knew him to be a very respectable man. He had no
faith himself that the gentleman possessed the power he claimed ;
but it was true that there were several things in nature that
philosophy had never yet dreamed of. Mr. B. then moved to
refer the petition to the Committee on Agriculture.
Mr. Benton observed that the Senator from Pennsylvania,
who introduced the petition, could not make the motion which
he would make — that gentleman had felt himself bound to treat
this petition seriously, and move for its reference to a com-
mittee. He would move that the petitioner have leave to with-
draw his petition and papers, for reasons too obvious to require
notice.
Mr. Buchanan said that he would rather that the course
proposed by the Senator from Missouri should not be taken
with the petition. He scarcely knew himself what to say about
it ; but he knew Mr. Espy to be a highly respectable and learned
man, and knew that in the science of meteorology there was
scarcely a man in the United States his superior. He hardly
believed it to be in Mr. Espy's power to make it rain, though
there were some six or seven of the most respectable literary
gentlemen of the city of Philadelphia who expressed the opinion
that he proceeded on highly philosophical principles. He hoped
the Senator from Missouri would permit the petition to take
the usual course, and go to a committee, and if that motion did
not prevail, that it would at least be suffered to lie on the table.
The question was then taken; and the motion to refer the
petition was lost.
Mr. Buchanan then moved to lay it on the table; which
motion was carried.
REMARKS, DECEMBER 18, 1838,
ON PENSIONS TO THE WIDOWS OF REVOLUTIONARY OFFICERS.'
Mr. Buchanan observed, that if he understood this amend-
ment, he did not think that either the Senator from South
Carolina, [Mr. Calhoun,] or the Senator from Missouri [Mr.
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. 44. 46.
Vol. IV— 3
34 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
Benton,] understood it. Unless he was mistaken, this was not a
provision to pension men, but applied exclusively to old ladies,
widows of Revolutionary soldiers, and it was for them that this
provision was to be made. Now in any system of economy he
did not think we ought to attack the old ladies first; and as the
Government of the United States had pledged itself to make
them this payment, the amendment ought to pass. Whether
the act creating these pensions was right or wrong, he would
not undertake to say ; but the law having been passed, we were
bound in good faith to carry it into effect. The first law passed
in 1836 provided that if a lady had married a Revolutionary
soldier before the term of his service expired, and had faith-
fully remained his widow ever since; that that widow, old,
helpless, and faithful to her first husband, ought to receive from
the bounty of the Government a sufficiency to preserve her from
want. He had no doubt but the pension system had been grossly
abused, and that some persons were on the list who did not
deserve to be there ; but if he were going to put it down, he would
not for the first time violate the act of Congress by refusing to
make the necessary appropriation to carry it into efifect, as far
as the ladies were concerned, and at all events he would not
begin with them. The law of the last session was extended,
so as to provide for those widows who were married up to Jan-
uary, 1 794. He did not know whether he would have voted for
this law or not ; but it had been passed ; it was now on the statute
book; the time of payment was drawing nigh, and an attempt
was now made to withhold from these widows the pensions so
promised them, by refusing to make the appropriation.
It had been objected that this bill was not the proper place
in which to insert the provision for these pensions. Now, what
was the appropriate sphere of an appropriation bill? Was it
not to provide for carrying out the existing laws ? and, if so, was
there not here presented an existing law to be carried into effect ?
And did any body suppose that any appropriation bill could now
be introduced and passed in sufficient time to provide for these
pensions by the first of January, when the certificates for them
become due ? The time to contend against the principle involved
was when the bill passed, and not now, when the faith of the
Government was committed. With regard to economy, he was
glad to hear the sentiments that had been expressed on all sides.
Economy, however, was a matter of detail, and not of generals,
since the most extravagant men he had known had preached the
1838] REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONS 35
best sermons in favor of economy. Now he, for his part, was
prepared to act in detail, and resist these extravagant expendi-
tures that had been so often referred to, one by one, whenever
they should be proposed, though he should be charged with illib-
erality for so doing; but the last act of economy that he would
practice, would be to withhold these pensions, after Congress had
passed a solemn act declaring that it would provide for these
widows who are now all near the grave, and make their old
age comfortable. When the proper time came to examine into
the pension list, he trusted that he would be willing to do that
which economy as well as justice required. But he could not
agree to make the case of these widows the first for the exercise
of the former.
Mr. Buchanan did not intend to go further into this ques-
tion, but he rose to protest against its being admitted that this
body was not competent to originate appropriation bills. He
knew that, upon a very late occasion, when an attempt was made
in that body to introduce a large appropriation in a House bill,
that this question was raised, but he resisted the principle then.
It was true that burthens laid on the people must originate in the
House of Representatives, but after the money has gone into the
Treasury it was giving up too much by the Senate to admit that
they have no right to originate an appropriation of it.
Mr. Wright explained. He never doubted the right of the
Senate, as claimed by the Senator from Pennsylvania; he only
spoke of the practice.
Mr. Buchanan said that the question was of practice, and
not of power; for, on that occasion, gentlemen were very ready
to exercise the latter. Though it had not been the practice in
that body, since he had been there, yet to appropriation bills of
that nature, coming from the House, large appropriations had
been added. If he were to admit that the Senate ought not to
originate such bills, the case presented by the Senator from
New Jersey ought to be an exception to the rule. As to those
widows- who were married between 1783 and 1794, he did not
know whether he would have voted for them or not; but as the
faith of the Government was to be redeemed, and there was a
large amount of arrears due from the time of the passage of the
act till now, he hoped the amendment would be adopted. He did
not believe there was a Senator present who would vote against
36 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1838
the appropriation if it came up in a way he approved of. Even
the Senator from South CaroHna admitted that the faith of the
Government was pledged. As this was a proposition to carry
into effect an existing law, he must vote in the affirmative; but
if it were not a proposition to carry into execution an existing
law, he must consider that there was some force in the objections
of gentlemen who had opposed it.
REMARKS, DECEMBER 19, 1838,
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM MEN-OF-WAR.'
Mr. Buchanan said, that in perusing the late report of the
Secretary of the Navy, he had been much pleased with its brevity,
as well as clearness. In one respect, however, he had been disap- '
pointed, and that was that the Secretary had not alluded to a sub-
ject which now occupied much attention in both France and Eng-
land ; he referred to steam vessels of war. If the accounts which
we had received from both these countries were to be credited,
these vessels must eventually, in a considerable degree, supersede
all others in naval warfare. It would seem that the Governments
of these two countries entertained this opinion, as there appeared
recently to have been an emulation between them which should
construct and employ the greatest number of these vessels in the
shortest time. Mr. B. did not profess to be a competent judge
in this question ; but it was one of such importance as to demand
the serious consideration of those who were; and it was solely
for the purpose of directing public attention, as well as that of
the Committee on Naval Affairs, to this subject, that he had
offered the resolution. If steam ships of war should prove to
be as efficient for attack and defence as they were represented
to be, both in French and English publications, our country would
be placed in a most unfortunate condition in case of a war with
either of those two nations. We must advance as the world
advances; and it would be a signal disgrace that we, who were
the first successfully to apply steam in propelling commercial
vessels, should suffer by being the last in using it on vessels of
war. Mr. B. hoped, that if the Committee on Naval Affairs
should satisfy themselves of the utility of steam vessels for war-
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. 48.
1838] STEAM MEN-OF-WAR 37
like purposes, we should not close this session, without providing
for the construction of one or more of them. Even the most
skilful officers of our navy would require much experience, he
presumed, before they could become well qualified to command
and manage a steam vessel. The French and the English were
both, at this very moment, training their naval officers, in this
important service, on board of such vessels.
Mr. B. then submitted the following resolution, which was
read:
Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be in-
structed to inquire into the expediency of providing for the con-
struction of one or more steam vessels of war, and their employ-
ment in the naval service.
Mr. Benton observed that this subject of steam batteries was
not a new one. It had been several years ago recommended to
the consideration of Congress, by the Secretary of War, both
in relation to coast and harbor defence; this report would be
found among the detailed statements of the War Department.
The report went into a description of the nature of the vessels
recommended, as well as the situation of the coasts and harbors
recommended to be defended by them.
Mr. Buchanan observed, that he never moved in any subject
of this kind, without first obtaining all the information it pos-
sessed. He certainly was not ignorant of all that had been done
by the War Department on the subject, but it was not coast and
harbor defence only that his resolution contemplated, but it
referred to the building of steam vessels of war to act on the
ocean. It was for the purpose of calling the attention of the
Naval Committee and the public to the subject that he had intro-
duced in his resolution. What was the difficulty? Was not the
object embraced in the resolution a proper subject of inquiry?
All the scientific naval officers of the most powerful nations in
the world, were not only turning their attention to the subject,
but what was more, were training their officers to naval warfare
in steam vessels. During the last summer he had received more
than one dozen of publications made on the subject in Europe.
38 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
1839.
REMARKS, JANUARY 5, 1839,
ON THE ACCOMMODATION OF PRESS REPORTERS.'
Mr. Buchanan observed that he should vote for the motion
of the Senator from Connecticut; and he would, with the per-
mission of the Senate, briefly state the reasons which had brought
him to this conclusion. For his own part, he could not say that
he had any personal feelings in relation to these letter writers.
He bore, with as much philosophic patience as any other gentle-
man, that portion of infliction with which they had thought
proper to visit him; and he could not say that they had abused
him more than he had reason to expect. He never was mortified
but by one letter, and that had been written, he believed, to a
Maine newspaper, in which he was represented to be a venerable
old gentleman, apparently between sixty and seventy years of
age. This, he acknowledged, had touched him upon a tender
point.
If it were proposed to furnish seats to as many reporters
for the different newspapers of the United States as could be
accommodated in the whole of the front seat of the front gallery,
he would vote for the proposition with all his heart. But, he
would ask, who was a reporter? A reporter was a person who
gave a faithful historical account of the proceedings of the body,
with full reports or fair abstracts of the speeches of its different
members, from which the public could be made acquainted with
the nature of the business transacted. Were the letter writers
reporters in this sense? Would any Senator contend that they
were ? No : they did not themselves pretend to be so. They
gave partial and piquant accounts of such proceedings and debates
as struck their own fancy; and having the same party feelings
with the members of the body, they represented us in the light
which would be most agreeable to the readers of the journals for
which they were employed. Whilst the letter writer of one
party was in raptures with the speech of a favorite Senator, and
represented it as the very perfection of eloquence and argument,
another letter writer of the opposite party denounced the very
same speech as a poor, flimsy, frothy affair, which had been scat-
tered to the winds by the breath of some Ajax Telamon on the
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. loi.
1839] ACCOMMODATION OF PRESS REPORTERS 39
other side. Now it was notorious that these were the gentle-
men, under the name of reporters, for whom seats were to be
provided under the resolution then before the Senate. He
thought they were not entitled to any such privilege, nor were
their labors worthy of such a sanction by the Senate. He had
nothing to say against them. Let them mingle with our respect-
able fellow-citizens who daily frequent the galleries, and let them
write what they thought proper. Personally, he did not regard
their censure. In the long run, the people always came to a
correct conclusion in regard to the merits of public men, no
matter how much they were misrepresented. The case of the
Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Niles] was a striking example
of the justice of this remark. The letter writers had done him
no injury, although he had been caricatured to a greater degree
than any member of the body. Indeed, he believed that these
caricatures, instead of injuring, had elevated him in the public
esteem. He thought he could appeal with confidence to all sides
of the House, whether Whigs, Conservatives, or Democrats, for
the truth of the assertion, that the Senator from Connecticut now
stood higher, much higher, in the body itself, than he had done
two years ago.
Mr. B. had on several former occasions stated that if the
Senate expected to have full and faithful reports of their pro-
ceedings and debates, there was but one mode of accomplishing
this purpose. They could not expect the editors of the Globe
and Intelligencer to employ a sufficient number of skilful and
experienced reporters, to present to the public every thing of
importance that was said and done in the body. The patronage
of these journals would not justify the expense; and in this
respect they differed from the leading journals of London, in
which you might read the next morning the whole debate of the
preceding evening, in both Houses of Parliament. The few
reporters employed by the Globe and Intelligencer had done their
duty as well, and even better, than could have been expected ; but
if the Senate thought it desirable to communicate to the public a
full and accurate account of their debates and proceedings, they
must employ and pay a sufficient number of their own reporters
and make them responsible to the body itself.
Under all the circumstances, he was in favor of leaving the
rule as it now was, at least until the end of the present short
session. If these gentlemen who asked for the accommodation
were really reporters, he would cheerfully vote for the resolu-
40 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
tion; but as they were not, he would leave them to take their
chance with other citizens of the United States, in the comfort-
able galleries of the Senate.
REMARKS, JANUARY 9, 1839,
ON THE TREATY WITH TEXAS.'
The bill from the House of Representatives to provide for
carrying into effect the convention between Texas and the United
States, and marking the boundary, coming up for consideration —
Mr. Buchanan said that it was necessary to pass this bill
as early as possible. The season when operations should com-
mence was near at hand, as the surveyors should be on the line
by the ist of March next. The bill is an exact transcript of
the bill which was framed for carrying into effect the conven-
tion respecting the boundary line between this country and
Mexico — Texas now standing in the place of Mexico. The bill
had been shown to the members of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, who had unanimously approved of it, and acquiesced in
the necessity of its immediate passage. It had, therefore, in
fact, been referred to the committee and reported on, and he
hoped it would be put upon its passage at once.
The bill was then read twice, and, by unanimous consent,
ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and passed.
REMARKS, JANUARY 9, 1839,
ON THE LAND BILL.'
Mr. Buchanan, after a few remarks, offered an amendment
to limit the operations of the bill more strictly to actual settlers,
by providing that patents shall not be issued for entries made
under it until two years thereafter, when proof shall be made
of the actual settlement, under such regulations as the Secretary
of the Treasury shall prescribe; in default of which the entry
shall be void, and the land revert to the United States.
This amendment was agreed to — ayes 21, noes not counted.
'Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. no.
1839] SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS 41
Mr. Buchanan then offered a second amendment, to limit
the quantity to be entered under the provisions of this bill, by-
each actual settler, to 320 acres; which amendment was also
agreed to. After which,
Mr. B. offered another amendment, to limit the operations
under this bill for five years after its passage and no longer,
except for the purpose of granting patents to those who have
made their entries, but have not had an opportunity of making
their proof.
This amendment was also agreed to — ayes 25, noes not
counted.
REMARKS, JANUARY 17, 1839,
ON THE SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS.'
On the amendment proposed by Mr. Clay of Kentucky, to
reduce the price of the public lands which had been subject to
private entry for fifteen years, in favor of actual settlers, in lim-
ited quantities, at 50, 75 and 100 cents per acre, and to distribute
the proceeds of all the public lands among the several States,
after the ist day of July, 1840 —
Mr. Buchanan said it was very far from his intention, on
the present occasion, to follow the Senator from Kentucky [Mr.
Clay] throughout the whole course of his argument. He had
risen more for the purpose of defining his own position in rela-
tion to this question, than of attempting to enlighten the opinions
of other Senators.
He could not help congratulating the country and the Sen-
ate that the Senator from Kentucky had just expressed his con-
currence in opinion with the illustrious individual at the Her-
mitage, in regard to the propriety of selling small tracts of the
public land to actual settlers at reduced prices. When two such
high authorities united, he supposed the question might almost
be considered as settled. The extremes had met in favor of this
principle ; and, in his opinion, a wiser, more just, or more politic
principle in regard to the disposition of the public lands could
not be established, provided it were confined within safe and
proper limits. From his very first entrance into public life up
till the present moment, he had ever entertained the opinion.
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. Appendix, 60^1. The bill here
discussed was called the " Graduation Bill."
42 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
that the man who first went into the wilderness and felled the
forest ought to be regarded with peculiar favor. Such a man,
who, by the sweat of his brow, had provided a home for himself
and his family, would rear up children endowed with the frank
and manly virtues which were the firmest support of repilblican
institutions. Whilst encouraging such actual settlers, we were
acting in the best manner to promote our interest as proprietors
of the public land. Every improvement made by an actual
settler added value to all the surrounding lands, and enabled
the Government to sell them the more speedily at the standard
price.
Peculiar reasons now existed why we should encourage the
settlement of the country on the extreme western limits of the
States and Territory beyond the Mississippi. It had been our
policy to remove all the Indians from the States, and settle them
immediately beyond our extreme western frontier. There these
warlike, restless and discontented savages were brought together
in great numbers. Now what stronger barrier could we raise
against their hostile incursions, than to people this frontier with
a bold and hardy race of actual settlers, accustomed to the toils
and perils of the remote wilderness? Such a population might
prevent war, and if war should come, would save us the effusion
of much human blood, and millions of money, in conducting it.
The wisest nations of antiquity had always acted upon the same
principle. It was the policy of the Romans to send military
colonies to their frontiers, to be a barrier against the incursions
of the barbarians.
Whilst these were his fixed convictions, he could not forget
the interest of his own immediate constituents in the public
lands ; and if this bill proposed, as the bill of the last session had
done, to graduate the price of the public lands in favor of all
persons, it should again have encountered his opposition. But
it was now strictly confined to actual settlers; and no actual
settler could acquire a patent under it to more than half a section
of land, and not even to that, until he had established, by clear
proof, that he had settled, improved, and cultivated it, according
, to the terms and spirit of the law, although he was obliged to pay
the purchase money in advance. In favor of such a settler, the
bill reduced the price of that portion of the public land which
had been in the market and remained unsold for more than five
years, from $1.25 to $1 per acre; and such of this land as had
remained unsold for more than ten years, to seventy-five cents
1839] SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS 43
per acre. In order that we might fairly test the practical opera-
tion of this measure before we made it a permanent law of the
land, the bill had been amended, on his motion, so as to limit it
to the period of five years. Before the expiration of this term
the subject would again be brought before Congress, and we
could then act with all the lights of experience. He could not
vote for the amendment proposed by the Senator from Kentucky,
because he thought that it went too far, in reducing the price
of any portion of the public lands to fifty cents per acre, although
it might have been fifteen years in market without finding a
purchaser. It was too long a stride to go down at once from
one dollar and twenty-five cents to fifty cents per acre.
The bill, amended as it has been, will prevent fraud in the
most effectual manner, because self interest will present no
temptation to the commission of fraud. It had often been urged
as an argument against the pre-emption system, that speculators
under it hired individuals to become settlers upon lands before
they were offered at public sale, that the choicest and most
valuable tracts were granted to those individuals as actual settlers
at the minimum price, instead of being exposed to public sale,
and were then immediately conveyed to the speculators. He
did not doubt that in some cases such had been the fact. In
reg-ard to the actual settlers for whom this bill provides, no such
objection could exist. No speculator would be such a fool as
to incur the expense of employing an individual to make an
actual settlement on a tract of 320 acres of land, for the purpose
of procuring it at one dollar per acre, and then wait for the
title until the settlement had actually been made, when he could
go at any moment to the land office, and obtain a title for it
immediately, at $1.25 per acre. The difference of price would
only be $80 on a half section, which had remained unsold for
five years, and $160 if it had remained unsold for ten years.
The cost of employing an individual to make a settlement would
be greater, in either case, than the reduction of price. Besides,
the speculator always pounces upon the best portions of the land
immediately after it is brought into market. He seeks not the
lands for which no person was found as a purchaser, during
periods of five and ten years. This provision, then, will be
almost exclusively confined to poor men, who are not able to
pay the present prices for a quarter or a half quarter section of
land, and who are willing to provide themselves a home upon the
44 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
less valuable public lands, at a small reduction from the present
prices. It opens no door for speculation and fraud.
Now, sir, if we were to judge from the discussion upon
this question, we might consider it one of vast importance, cal-
culated in its consequences to shake the whole land system of
the country; but view it as truth presents it, and we find it to
be a very small affair. What is this land system as it at present
exists ? The public lands are surveyed, and are then exposed to
public sale ; but these sales have ever been so managed that they
have brought but a fraction more than the minimum price of
$1.25 per acre. After these public sales, all the residue of the
land is subject to be entered at any time, by any individual, at
$1.25 per acre; and there are now more than seventy millions
of acres in this condition. The best lands are always the first
selected; whilst their settlement and improvement give addi-
tional value to those which remain of an inferior quality. These
inferior lands in succession come into demand, and are sold at
the same rate. This progress, however, has been so slow, that
notwithstanding the rage for speculation which existed for some
years previous to the late suspension of specie payments, we
still have on hand more than seventy millions of acres subject
to private entry. This bill will only operate upon such of these
lands as have been in market for five or for ten years, without
finding a purchaser; and, in its present form, can produce but
little effect, one way or the other, upon the public revenue.
On this land system, for a number of years past, the prin-
ciple of pre-emption has been engrafted, which means nothing
more than that the pioneers of civilization, who go into the wil-
derness in advance of the public sales, shall be permitted to pur-
chase, in exclusion of all other people, the small tracts of land on
which they have settled, at $1.25 per acre. In other words, that
the speculators who attend the public sales shall not be permitted
to purchase these poor men out of house and home, and thus
convert to their own benefit the toil and the danger which they
have endured, in erecting cabins and cultivating spots of ground
beyond the limits of civilization, to shelter and support them-
selves and their families. This bill proposes to engraft another,
though a similar, principle upon the land system. It proposes
to sell to the poor settler, in small quantities, such of the public
lands as have remained unsold for more than five or ten years,
at a reduction of price, in the first case, of twenty-five cents, and,
in the last, of fifty cents per acre. This trifling boon, if such it
1839] SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS 45
may be considered, will not afifect the general system. It is a
small departure from it, in favor of a meritorious class, which
time and circumstances, and the condition of the new States,
have rendered necessary. It is one which we should most cheer-
fully grant ; and he felt perfectly convinced that his constituents
would never condemn him for giving such a vote. Whilst these
were his sentiments in regard to this particular matter, he was
by no means prepared at the present moment to unsettle the
settled policy of the Government in regard to the general dispo-
sition and sale of the public lands.
He should now proceed to make some remarks in regard to
that portion of the Senator's amendment which proposed to dis-
tribute the proceeds of the public lands, after the first day of
July, 1840, among the several States. At an early period of
his Congressional career, he had been friendly to a similar meas-
ure. When the Senator had last brought forward his distribu-
tion bill, he, Mr. B., had voted for it, though he was then acting
under instructions from the Legislature of Pennsylvania. It
was, however, proper to say that he never would have been the
agent in giving such a vote, had he deemed the measure to be
unconstitutional. Such had not then been his opinion, nor was
it so now. Should this measure hereafter be pressed, at a period
when our finances were in a condition to render the revenue
derived from the public lands unnecessary for the support of the
Government, he would decide upon the question, as it might then
be presented, under all the existing circumstances. At the
present moment, he was decidedly opposed to the Senator's
amendment. Our revenue was now scarcely sufficient, with the
utmost economy, to meet our expenditures. There were still
eight millions of outstanding Treasury notes, which must shortly
be redeemed. The Florida war, which was such a fruitful source
of expenditure, had not yet been terminated. He might enume-
rate other causes of extraordinary expenditure. He asked, was
this a moment to pass a bill which would deprive the Govern-
ment of the revenue derived from the public lands? He would
never consent to place the Administration and the country in
such a dilemma. The Senator seemed to be aware of this diffi-
culty, and, in order to overcome it, had expressed the opinion
that before July, 1840, the revenue derived from customs would
be sufficient of itself for our expenditures, without the aid of the
public lands. He was sorry that he could not entertain the same
opinion. We all know that, under the compromise act, the rate
46 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
of duties imposed on foreign imports was sinking every two
years. Was this a moment, then, when our expenses must be
necessarily great, to lop off the revenue derived from the public
lands, and give it away to the States? He thought not. He
firmly believed that, if this measure should be adopted, we must
either create a national debt or increase the tariff. But the Sen-
ator says, let us pass the bill now, and if, at the first session of the
next Congress, it should be found necessary, we can then sus-
pend or repeal the act. Now, for himself, he believed it to be
the part of wisdom to wait until the finances of the country were
in such a condition as to justify the withdrawal of the proceeds
of the public lands from the public Treasury,' before we should
take the question into serious consideration. It would be mis-
erable policy to spend time in enacting a law at this session,
which we had reason to believe we might be compelled to repeal
at the very next session; and that, more especially, as the Sen-
ator did not propose that his distribution should take effect until
the first day of July, 1840. In any view of the case, there was
no propriety in acting upon the subject at the present session of
Congress; and if the attempt were persisted in, it would only
consume important time, and prevent us from passing other
laws of pressing necessity.
The Senator says that the expenditures of this Government
have increased enormously, and unless the Administration should
use more economy, an increase of the tariff would be inevitable.
He had heard the same declaration over and over again on this
floor, from Opposition Senators, since the commencement of
the present session. It was the easiest thing in the world to
make general charges of wasteful expenditure, and, by compar-
ing the aggregate amount of expenditures for the last few years
with that of former tijnes, to present a plausible statement for
the purpose of alarming the fears of the people. But, do we not
all know the causes of this increased expenditure? We have
had to prosecute a most expensive war in Florida ; and is there
any man in the country who would say that this war ought to
be arrested? that the United States ought to cower before the
prowess of the Seminole Indians? and that the frontier should
be exposed to their merciless depredations, for the sake of saving
money? This war, then, has been one source of increased
expense. Another cause which greatly increased the aggregate
amount of our expenditure for the last few years, was the vast
sums of money which, in our liberal policy, we had paid for the
1839] SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS 47
extinguishment of the Indian title to lands within the different
States. Who regrets this? Who would not now pursue the
same course under the same circumstances? And yet all this
expenditure has been charged to the extravagance of the present
Administration. He had seen estimates of ,the gross amount
annually expended by this Administration, which, strange as it
may seem, actually included as an item of their extravagance
the millions of indemnities which the late Administration had
procured from foreign nations for American merchants. These
had first been paid into the Treasury, and were afterwards paid
out to those entitled to receive them under the different treaties ;
and these very disbursements were one item to swell the apparent
aggregate of the account current against the Administration, and
to prove that it was a most extravagant Administration. The
money collected from foreign Governments, by the vigorous and
successful diplomacy of General Jackson, was thus used for
the purpose of proving a charge of profligate extravagance
against his successor.
If the Senator desires to test the question whether he or
I am the most economical, I am ready for the trial. Let him
point to any single expenditure which can, with justice to the
country, be reduced, and if I shall not go as far as he will, then
' he may brand me with the charge of wasteful extravagance.
Will he reduce the army? Are twelve thousand men too great
an army for a nation of fifteen millions of people ?
[Here Mr. Clay said it was, and that he would reduce it]
Mr. B. resumed. Twelve thousand men too numerous, with
a seacoast stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and
thence to the Sabine, with the Florida war on hand to the South,
and Indian hostilities threatened along our whole Western bor-
der, and with the task of preserving our neutral relations through-
out the whole extent of our Canada frontier ! Reduce the army,
with an inland boundary of thousands and thousands, of miles,
and without any certainty that war may not rage along its whole
extent before the end of another year! Why, sir, a sufficient
number of men are scarcely left on the seaboard, I will not say
to garrison our fortifications, but merely to take care of
them, and keep up the police necessary for their preservation.
Why', it is a subject of astonishment for the whole world that
our army is so small. Now, sir, I do not believe that the Senator
himself, after a moment's reflection, would reduce the army
below twelve thousand men; and if he did, I feel confident that.
48 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
great as is his influence here, he could not find four Senators of
the whole body to sustain him in the attempt. Then if the
expenditures for the army cannot be lessened, would the Senator
wish to reduce the navy, which is the pride and the best defence
of the nation from foreign aggression? Have we too many
vessels of war, or are there too many of them in commission
for the protection of our commerce? I think the Senator will
not answer in the affirmative. The army and navy are noto-
riously the chief causes of our permanent expenditure; and if
they cannot be reduced, is it not unjust to charge the Administra-
tion with extravagance in maintaining them? But the Senator
complains that the expenses of our civil list at the origin of the
Government did not exceed $600,000; and now they have
greatly increased. He might as well complain that the coat
which was sufficient to cover a child in its infancy was not large
enough for the same purpose after it had grown to the dimen-
sions of a giant. Since then we have doubled the number of
States of the Union, and quadrupled our population, and ex-
tended in every form our foreign and domestic relations; and
yet the Senator would have us expend no more money on the
civil list than in the days of our infancy. Now economy was a
homely virtue. It did not deal in generals, but in particulars.
It saved wherever it could. One of the most extravagant men he
had ever known was one of the most powerful preachers of
economy in the general. If the Senator can neither reduce the
army, nor the navy, nor the number of those employed in civil
service, then I would ask him to lay his hand upon any abuses
which may exist in either service. Let him, said Mr. B., descend
from generals to particulars, and I shall go with him. Let him
point to any individual instance of extravagance, with which
the Administration is fairly chargeable, and I will unite with
him in condemning and correcting it. Till this shall be done,
these general charges amount to nothing.
Mr. B. said that in regard to the allowance of private claims,
he was one of those who had subjected themselves to the charge
of illiberality for having scrutinized them with too much severity.
As an individual, he might be, and he trusted he was, sufficiently
liberal with his own money; but he did not feel that he had a
right to give away that of the people. He was, therefore, pre-
pared to unite with the Senator in exposing and correcting every
extravagance in the administration of the Government. All he
wanted was the ability to discover this extravagance.
1839] SALT DUTY 49
To return to the subject, he did not think this was a pro-
pitious moment to make any general and radical change in our
land system, such as the Senator proposed. We were now
approaching the close of the last session of a long and stormy
Congress; and its few remaining weeks could be better, much
better, employed than in discussing the amendment, which it
was morally certain could not become a law before its termina-
tion. The bill proposed no change in the system, but merely that
of giving to actual settlers the right of purchasing, in limited
quantities, at a small reduction of price, lands which had been
refused by other purchasers for periods of five and ten years;
and to the resident owners of lands in the new States, the same
limited right of purchasing such vacant lands, provided any
such adjoined their present tracts. Whilst he should cheerfully
vote for the bill, he would vote with equal cheerfulness against
the Senator's amendment.
REMARKS, JANUARY 29, 1839,
ON THE SALT DUTY AND THE COMPROMISE OF 1833.1
On the motion of Mr. Benton for leave to introduce a bill to
repeal the duty on salt and the fishing bounties —
Mr. Buchanan said, that if the Senator from Missouri had
not himself made a special request that the usual courtesy might
be waived which required Senators not to oppose the introduction
and reference of any bill which a Senator might present, he
should not have said one word on the present occasion. There
certainly was no gentleman in the Senate to whom he should
more cheerfully have extended this courtesy than to the Senator
from Missouri. The Senator, however, had called the yeas and
nays, and desired to make the introduction of his bill a test
question, and to this he could have no objection. He was willing
to consider it as such; and briefly to assign the reasons why he
should vote against granting him leave to bring in the bill.
I have read (said Mr. B.) with great pleasure and instruc-
tion, the remarks of the Senator, published in the Globe of last
evening, in favor of repealing the duty on the importation of
salt, and the fishing bounties and allowances. If this were the
" Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. Appendix, 75-76.
Vol. IV— 4
50 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
session of 1841 or 1842, instead of 1839, I should feel disposed
to give great weight to his argument. On one point I consider
it conclusive. I think he has demonstrated that the bounty to
our fisheries originated exclusively in a drawback of the duties
on imported salt in their favor; and that this bounty ought to
fall with the repeal of these salt duties, unless it can be sustained
on some other principle.
My objection to this bill is, therefore, chiefly founded on
the famous compromise act of March, 1833; to the leading pro-
visions of which I desire to call the attention of the Senate. By
its terms, all duties on all imported articles, which had, under
previous laws, been subject to a duty exceeding twenty per cent,
on their value, were to be gradually reduced to this standard.
One-tenth of the excess of duty above twenty per cent, was to
be deducted after the last day of December, 1833; a second
tenth after the last day of December, 1835; a third tenth after
the last day of December, 1837; a fourth tenth after the
last day of December, 1839; three of the remaining tenths
after the last day of December, 1841 ; and the other three
remaining tenths after the last day of June, 1842. After that
day, as some sort of compensation to the domestic manufactur-
ers of the country, the present system of credits is to be abol-
ished, and this duty of twenty per cent, is to be paid by the
importer in ready money, and that, too, according to a valua-
tion of the articles made at the port of entry, and not at the
foreign port from which they have been exported. In addition
to this, the act contains a long list of articles, useful and neces-
sary to our manufactures, which are after June, 1842, to be
admitted free of duty. It is also provided that, after that date,
" duties shall be laid for the purpose of raising such revenue as
may be necessary to an economical administration of the Gov-
ernment."
Under the operation of this act, the duties will have grad-
ually reached the final point of depression on the 30th June,
1842, and will then stand at twenty per cent. Now it does
appear to me to be a palpable violation both of the spirit and
letter of this law, to which I intend to adhere in good faith, to
except the article of salt from its provisions. Salt is extensively
manufactured in a portion of the State which I have in part
the honor to represent. The Senator from Missouri states the
foreign salt imported to be annually about six million three
hundred thousand bushels; and he estimates the domestic pro-
1839] SALT DUTY 51
duction to be about the same quantity. Although I do not
speak from data on which I can rely, I believe the quantity of
domestic salt is considerably greater than the foreign importa-
tion. But be this as it may, it appears, from the Senator's own
showing, that the domestic manufactured article, protected in
some degree by the existing duty, exceeds six millions of bushels
per annum. The domestic manufacturers of salt, however much
they may have been dissatisfied with the compromise act, had at
least a right to expect that this article would not be made the
solitary exception and be admitted free of duty against its pro-
visions. They had a right to rely upon the protection which this
act affords; and the introduction of the present bill to make
salt a free article, will take them by surprise. Is not this attempt
a manifest violation of the compromise?
In the session of 1 841-2, at the latest, it will become the
duty of Congress seriously to consider the subject of duties on
' imports generally, and adjust it in that spirit of compromise
which gave birth to the Constitution itself. I hope and believe
that Southern gentlemen will, at that period, whilst they have a
right to insist that the revenue shall be reduced to the standard
of an economical administration of the Government, act in a
liberal spirit towards the manufactures of the country. A duty
granted merely and solely for protection we cannot ask, under
the compromise ; but we shall expect that whilst imposing duties
for revenue, such incidental discrimination may be made in favor
of our most important and necessary manufactures, as will
assist American industry in struggling against foreign competi-
tion. This principle of incidental protection, within these limits,
is as old as the Government ; and I have never understood that it
was objected to by gentlemen of the South. If I should live
until that day, and be then a member of the Senate, I shall enter
upon the task of adjusting the tariff with every disposition not
exclusively to regard the interest of any particular portion of
the Union, but to act with liberality, and do justice to all the
great interests involved. I know that, at that time, many con-
siderations may be urged in favor of a repeal of all the duties
on foreign salt. Such a measure would operate beneficially
upon the great agricultural interest which I have ever regarded
with peculiar favor. But, at the present moment, this duty rests
upon the compromise act, and representing, as I do, a consid-
erable salt manufacturing interest, I am not disposed now to
disturb it. At the time of the general revision of the tariff, the
52 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
duty on this article can be considered in connexion with all the
rest; and then a wiser and better disposition may be made of it,
than if we were now to act upon it alone, and without reference
to its bearings upon the whole subject.
Mr. B. said that the question of courtesy being as it was
out of view, he did not understand how Senators, who had
offered able arguments against this bill, could, notwithstanding,
conclude by declaring that they would vote for its introduction.
Mr. Benton having made some remarks, which will be given
hereafter —
Mr. B. said, (in reply to Mr. Benton,) as to the compromise
act, I shall say but little. Its reputed authors are here present,
and are very able to defend themselves. As to myself, I was in
a far distant land at the time of its passage, and shall never
forget my own feelings when I first received information of this
event.
The enemies of liberty in every country of the old world
were rejoicing in the prospect that this glorious Union — the last
hope of Republican institutions — was about to expire. The
advocates of despotism were everywhere gloating over the pros-
pect. It was impossible for any person placed in my situation
not to see, and to feel, and to know, that this was the cherished
hope of the enemies of liberal institutions throughout Europe.
It was a subject of conversation in every society which I fre-
quented in the great Northern Capital where I then resided.
Although I did not myself personally indulge in gloomy forebod-
ings, yet I hailed the news of the passage of the compromise
act as the harbinger of peace and tranquillity at home, with
more joy than I have ever felt upon the announcement of any
political event. It was then sufficient for me to know that the
question which had threatened the peace of my native land was
settled ; and that, too, by the passage of a bill which had received
the approbation of General Jackson. His sanction of it was, to
me at least, the strongest evidence that it was not " a mere
humbug." I felt the fullest confidence that his signature could
never have been affixed to any bill which would sacrifice, or
seriously injure, any of the great interests of the country.
Whether, under all the circumstances, I should have voted
for this bill or not, had I then been a Senator, or whether it
settled our difficulties wisely or unwisely, is not now the ques-
tion. Be this as it may, it has stood the test of time during a
period of six years, and it has not yet been changed by Congress
1839] SALT DUTY
53
in a single particular. The people of the State which I, in part,
represent, have, at least, acquiesced in its provisions; and they
are looking forward to the year 1841 or 1842 for a general
settlement of the whole question.
Now, sir, what is my position ? I am called upon to except
from this compromise a single article of domestic manufacture,
in which several counties of Pennsylvania are deeply interested.
Would I not be faithless to my trust, if I should agree that this
article, protected as it now is by the existing tariff, should be
made the solitary exception; and that, too, at a moment when
the manufacturers of it are reposing with perfect security on
the faith of a law adhered to, as it has been by Congress, ever
since its passage? It is not sufficient for me to know that we
possess the unquestionable power to violate it. The true ques-
tion is, would it be wise, or politic, or just, at the present
advanced stage of its progress, to disregard its provisions?
And, after all, what mighty matter is to be effected by
this bill? Under this very compromise, the duty on salt has
already been reduced to about six cents per bushel. After the
last day of the present year, it will sink still lower ; and after the
last day of June, 1842, it will be reduced to about two cents
per bushel. Within two or at the latest three years after the
close of the present session, there must be a general revision of
the tariff; and I would ask, what interest, in the mean time, can
suffer, by paying the small duty of six and afterwards of four
or two cents per bushel on the importation of foreign salt? Is
this a cause sufficient to justify the mighty efforts which have
been made to repeal the duty ? When I observed these efforts o'i
the Senator's great mind to accomplish an object so trifling and
inconsiderable, they forcibly reminded me of the simile of the
English poet. They resemble
" Ocean into tempest tost,
To waft a feather, or to drown a fly."
Let US wait for two or three years, and then settle this
little matter in conjunction with the great questions which must
then arise. It is not an object which could excuse, much less
justify, a departure from the compromise.
54 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 8, 1839,
ON A SLAVERY RESOLUTION.'
Mr. Buchanan requested the Senator from Michigan to
withdraw his motion for a moment. [Mr. Norvell assented.]
He said he should vote against the proposition to lay upon the
table. From his whole course on the subject of these abolition
petitions, he supposed no person would suspect him of being
friendly to them, or to their objects. But fair play is a jewel;
and he thought that the Senator from Ohio [Mr. Morris] had a
right to be heard, and to reply to the remarks that were made in
the Senate on this subject yesterday. That being done, he was
willing to take any course which might put the subject effectually
at rest.
SPEECH, FEBRUARY 14, 1839,
ON THE BILL TO PREVENT THE INTERFERENCE OF CERTAIN
FEDERAL OFFICERS WITH ELECTIONS.^
Mr. Buchanan rose and said :
Mr. President : The question raised for discussion by the
bill now before the Senate, is very simple in its character. This
bill proposes to punish, by a fine of five hundred dollars — the one
moiety payable to the informer, and the other to the United
Statesi — and by a perpetual disability to hold office under the
United States, any officer of this Government, below the rank
of a district attorney, who " shall, by word, message, or writing,
or in any other manner whatsoever, endeavor to persuade any
' Cong. Globe. 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VIL 179. Mr. Morris, of Ohio, sub-
mitted in the Senate, on Wednesday, February 6, 1839, a resolution directing
the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into certain matters pertaining
to the institution of slavery in the States and Territories, and to report
thereon to the Senate ; and he moved that this resolution be laid on the table
and ordered to be printed. Mr. Morris subsequently withdrew the proposal
to print, and the resolution was laid on the table. The resolution coming up
for consideration on February 8, Mr. Norvell, of Michigan, for the purpose of
getting rid of it, moved to lay the question of its consideration, which Mr.
Clay, of Alabama, had demanded, on the table, and asked for the yeas and
nays on the motion. On this motion, Mr. Buchanan made the remarks given
above. The motion to lay the motion to consider on the table was carried
by a vote of 22 yeas to 20 nays, Mr. Buchanan voting in the negative. The
discussion thus ended.
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. Appendix, 203-210.
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 55
elector to give, or dissuade any elector from' giving, his vote for
the choice of any person to be elector of President and Vice-
President of the United States," or to be a Senator or Repre-
sentative in Congress, or to be a Governor or Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, or Senator or Representative, within any State of the
Union, " or for the choice of any person to serve in any public
office established by the law of any of the States." The officers
of the United States against whom the penalties of this bill are
denounced, consist of marshals and their deputies, postmasters
and their deputies, receivers and registers of land offices, and
their deputies and clerks ; surveyors general of the public lands,
and their deputies and assistants; collectors, surveyors, naval
officers, weighers, gaugers, appraisers, or other officers or persons
concerned or employed in the charging, collecting, levying, or
managing the customs, or any branch thereof; and engineers,
officers, or agents employed or concerned in the execution or
superintendence of any of the public works.
The Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. Crittenden,] before he
commenced his remarks, moved to amend the bill by striking
from it the pecuniary penalty and perpetual disability against
these officers, and substituting, in their stead, the penalty of a
removal from office by the President, upon the production of
evidence satisfactory to him that any of them had been guilty
of the offence.
Now, for myself, (said Mr. B.) I shall not vote for this
amendment. I will not take advantage of the amiable weakness
of my friend from Kentucky, in yielding to the solicitation of
others that which his own judgment approved. I will more
especially not give such a vote, because the proposed amendment
makes no change in the principle of the bill. There is a beautiful
harmony and consistency in its provisions as it came fresh from
its author which ought to be preserved. I shall not assist in mar-
ring any of its fair proportions. Let it remain in its perfect origi-
nal form, and let his friends upon this floor come up to the baptis-
mal font, and act as its sponsors ; and let its avowed principles be
recognized as the established doctrines of the political church to
which they are all devoted. No, sir, no; if a village postmaster
should dare to exercise the freedom of speech guarantied toi him
by an antiquated instrument called the Constitution of the United
States, and have the audacity " to endeavor to persuade any
elector " to vote for Martin Van Buren, or what would be a
much more aggravated offence, dissuade any good Whig from
56 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
voting for the other distinguished Senator from Kentucky, [Mr.
Clay,] a mere forfeiture of his office would bear no just propor-
tion to the enormity of the crime. Let such a daring criminal
be fined five hundred dollars; let him be disqualified forever
from holding any office under the Government ; and let him be
pointed at as a man of blasted reputation all the days of his life.
With honest Dogberry, in the play of " Much Ado about Noth-
ing," I pronounce the offence to be " flat burglary as ever was
committed."
There is another reason why I shall vote against the amend-
ment. An issue has been fairly made between the Senator from
Kentucky and my friend from New Jersey, [Mr. Wall,] who,
from what we have heard in the course of this debate, has but
a few shattered planks left on which he can escape from a total
shipwreck of his fair fame. In mercy to him I would not remove
any of them. Let him have a chance for his life. He has dared
to make a report against the bill in its original form, as it was
referred to the committee of which he is the chairman ; and for
this cause has encountered all the withering denunciations of
the Senators from Kentucky and Virginia, [Messrs. Crittenden
and Rives.] In justice to him, the aspect of the question should
not now be changed. Let us, then, have the bill, the whole bill,
and nothing but the bill, against which his report was directed.
It would seem almost unnecessary to discuss the question
whether this bill be constitutional or not; as the Senator from
Kentucky, throughout the whole course of his argument, never
once attempted to point to any clause of the Constitution on
which it could be supported. It is true that he did cite some
precedents in our legislation which he supposes to have a bearing
on the subject ; but which, I shall undertake to prove, hereafter,
are wholly inapplicable. The Senator from Virg'inia [Mr.
Rives] has gone further into the argument, and has attempted
to prove that this bill is constitutional. At the proper time, I
shall endeavor to furnish the proper answer to his remarks.
By-the-by, this Constitution is a terrible bugbear. Whilst a
member of the other House, I once heard an old gentleman
exclaim, when it was cited against one of his favorite measures,
" what a vast deal of good it prevents us from doing ! " After
this bill shall have passed, it will be a bugbear no longer, so far
as the freedom of speech or the press is concerned. It will not
then alarm even political children.
The gentlemen have a precedent for their bill. Yes, sir.
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 57
they have a precedent in the sedition law;; but it does not go far
enough for their purpose. That law, which is the only true
precedent on which this bill can be founded, and on which alone
it can be sustained, permitted every man to write and to publish
what he pleased concerning public men and public measures,
and only held him responsible in case his charges should prove to
be false. But this bill is a gag law. It goes to the fountain
at once, and prohibits the officer not only from writing, but from
speaking any thing good, bad, or indifferent, whether true or
false, on any subject whatever which may affect any pending
election from that of a President down to a constable. It has
a much broader sweep than the sedition law, which did not inter-
fere with the liberty of speech, however much it may have
abridged the freedom of the press. Indeed, among the more
enlightened despotisms of Europe, I know not one which pro-
hibits the freedom of speech on all public subjects; it is only in
free and enlightened America that we propose actually to insert
the gag. The sedition law was bad enough, God knows ; but it
extended only to the use of the pen, not to that of the tongue.
There is, therefore, no parallel between the two cases.
Had it not been for the existence of the sedition law, I
should have supposed it to be impossible that there could have
been two opinions in regard to the utter unconstitutionality of
this bill. The Constitution, in language so plain as to leave no
room for misconstruction, declares that " Congress shall make
no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. The
rule is universal. There is no exception. This bill proposes not
only to abridge but utterly to destroy the freedom of speech
and of the press ; to interdict their use altogether to the enumer-
ated officers, on all questions touching the election of any officer
of the Federal or State Government. A plain man would
naturally suppose that barely to state the contradiction between
the Constitution and this bill was to decide the question. Not
so. An ingenious and astute lawyer, in favor of a liberal con-
struction of that instrument, can, by inference and ingenuity,
confer powers upon Congress in direct violation both of its letter
and its spirit, and of which its framers never once dreamed.
Such was the power to pass the sedition law. That law engrafted
one limitation upon the freedom of the press. It, in effect,
changed the meaning of the general terms " Congress shall make
no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press," and
excepted from their operation any law which might be passed
58 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
to punish libels against the President, the Government, or either
House of Congress. The present bill, in principle at least, pro-
ceeds much further. It excepts from the general prohibition of the
Constitution the power of punishing all persons holding offices
under the Government of the United States who shall dare either
to speak or to write at all on questions which may afiFect the
result of any election. This interpolation must be inserted,
before gentlemen can show any power to pass the present bill.
They cannot advance one step in their argument without it. This
Constitution can never be construed according to the meaning
of its framers but by men of plain, well-informed, and practical
judgment. Common sense is its best expounder. Ingenious
men, disposed to raise one implication upon another in favor
of Federal power, and to make each previous precedent the foun-
dation on which to proceed another step in the march towards
consolidation, may soon make it mean any thing or nothing. The
liberties of this country can only be preserved by a strict con-
struction of the enumerated powers granted by the States to
Congress.
Before I proceed further in my argument against the consti-
tutionality of this bill, it will be proper that I should develop
some of its latent beauties. I desire to delineate a little more
precisely its character — to present some of its striking features,
and to show what it is in principle, and what it will prove to be in
practice.
There are twenty-six sovereign States in this Confederacy,
united by a Federal compact, called the Constitution of the United
States. Each individual elector in this country sustains two
distinct characters. He is a citizen of some one of the States,
and he is also a citizen of the United States. He is bound to
perform the duties of a good citizen, both towards his own State
and towards the United States. Now, what does this bill pro-
pose? In the older States of this Confederacy, all the Federal
officers which we have in the interior are postmasters. It is true
that at our ports of entry there are custoin-house officers ; but in
Pennsylvania, for example, from the Schuylkill to the Ohio and
to Lake Erie, our people scarcely feel their connection with the
General Government except through the medium of the Post
Office Department. These postmasters are very numerous. They
are planted in every village and at every cross road. They are
agents for disseminating information throughout the country.
I might probably say that in nine instances out of ten the office
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 59
is scarcely worth holding, on account of its pecuniary emolu-
ments. In most cases, the postmaster accepts it for the accommo-
dation of his neighbors. Now, this postmaster is generally a man
of property and of character, having a deep stake in the com-
munity and in the faithful administration and execution of the
laws. Two candidates are presented to the people for office;
say that of a justice of the peace. If one of these village post-
masters should, in the exercise of his unquestionable rights as
a citizen of Pennsylvania, advise his neighbor to vote for one of
these candidates, and against the other, this bill dooms him to a
fine of five hundred dollars, and to a perpetual disqualification
from ever holding any office under the Government of the United
States. No matter whether the merits which he may have
ascribed to one of the candidates be true as holy writ, and the
delinquencies which he may have charged against the other may
be susceptible of the clearest proof, this will not arrest the ven-
geance of the bill. He is doomed to remain mute, although his
dearest interests may be involved, or incur its penalties. A gag
is to be put into his mouth, and he is to be punished if he dare
to express a preference for one candidate over the other. And
let me tell the gentleman, these postmasters hold all sorts of
political opinions. In my own State a considerable proportion of
their number are Whigs and Antimasons, opposed to the present
Administration. I might cite other examples to depict the enor-
mity of this bill, but I consider it wholly unnecessary. I might
ascend from the justice of the peace or the constable, through
all the gradations of elective office, State and Federal, to the
President of the United States, and show, that at each ascending
grade, the violation of the rights of the citizen becomes more and
more outrageous. I might enumerate the weighers and the
gaugers, and the other proscribed classes of inferior office hold-
ers, and paint the mad and wanton injustice which this bill would
inflict upon them. But enough.
The man who would accept office upon such terms, must
forfeit all self respect, and would become at once a fit tool for
corruption and for despotism. He must be degraded in his own
eyes, and degraded in the eyes of his fellow citizens below the
rank of a freeman. If you desire to depreciate the Government
itself under which we live, you cannot do it more effectually
than by placing such a stigma on its officers.
Why, sir, you could not, by any possibility, carry such a
law into execution. If it should pass to-morrow, it would fall
60 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
a dead letter upon your statute book. I would not advocate a
forcible resistance to any law, and do not believe that such was
the intention of my friend from New Jersey, [Mr. Wall,] when
he spoke of resistance; but does not the Senator from Virginia
know that laws may be passed of a character so odious, that
nobody could be found to carry them into execution ? Such are
all laws which are entirely opposed to the spirit of the age, and
the united and overwhelming current of public opinion. I firmly
believe this to be the character of the present bill.
But suppose me to be mistaken in this opinion, and that the
law could be carried into execution, what would be the conse-
quences? The doomed officer, the postmaster, the weigher or
the ganger, is placed in the midst of a thinking, acting, busy
population. Everything around him is proceeding with the
impetuosity of steam. Public opinion is marching onward with
giant strides. The officer is talked at and talked to, daily and
hourly, by the surrounding multitude, whilst the law compels
him to close his lips in silence. Under such circumstances, it
would be impossible for human nature long to refrain. What
then? If he utters a syllable on any of the exciting political
topics of the day, and these are all involved in the perpetual
canvass which is proceeding for offices, high and low, he is at
once seized upon by some harpy of an informer. This bill offers
a most tempting bribe to such eavesdroppers. It would soon call
into existence such a race, to dog and surround each officer, and
to catch up every incautious word which might be construed into
an endeavor to persuade or to dissuade an elector. Each indi-
vidual in society is stimulated by this bill to become a common
informer, by the tempting offer of a bribe of two hundred and
fifty dollars in each particular case. The proscribed officer thus
becomes his prey, and, in most cases, will be glad to compromise
with him for the payment of a great part, or the whole, of the
penalty of five hundred dollars, in order to avoid the stigma of
perpetual disability to hold any office under this Government.
There is another remark which I desire to make on this
branch of the subject. Whenever you attempt to violate the
plain letter and spirit of the Constitution, a thousand evils, of
which you have never dreamed, present themselves in the per-
spective. This law can alone be executed by the courts of the
United States. Where are they situated? In the large States,
such as Pennsylvania or Virginia, they are held at great dis-
tances from each other. A postmaster in either of these States,
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 61
the income of whose office does not exceed fifty dollars per
annum, may be dragged from home, a distance of one hundred
and fifty or two hundred miles, to stand his trial under this bill
before a Federal court. The expense would be enormous, whilst
he is obliged to appear before a tribunal far from the place where
his character, and that of his prosecutor, are known and appre-
ciated. Under such circumstances, he would almost be certain
to become the victim of the common informer, under this most
unjust and unconstitutional law. He would either be convicted,
or compelled to buy his peace at almost any price.
In conferring the powers enumerated in the Constitution on
the Federal Government, the States expressly reserved to them-
selves respectively, or to their people, all the powers not delegated
by it to the United States, or prohibited by it to the States. Now
I would ask the Senator from Kentucky when, or where, or how
has the State of Pennsylvania surrendered to Congress the right
of depriving any of her citizens, who may accept ofBce under the
General Government, of the freedom of speech or of the press?
Where is it declared by the Constitution, either in express terms,
or from what clause can it be fairly inferred, that Congress may
make a forfeiture of the dearest of all political rights, an indis-
pensable condition of office ? Each one of the people of Pennsyl-
vania, under her constitution and laws, is secured in the inalien-
able right of speaking his thoughts. The State, as well as each
individual citizen, has the deepest interest in the preservation of
this right. I ask the gentleman to lay his finger on the clause of
the Constitution by which it has been surrendered. Where is it
declared, or from what can it be inferred, that because the States
have yielded to the Federal Government their citizens to execute
public trusts under the General Government, that, therefore, they
have yielded the rights of those citizens to express their opinions
freely concerning public men and public measures ? The propo-
sition appears to me to be full of absurdity. In regard to the
qualifications of electors, the States have granted no power what-
ever to the United States. This subject they have expressly
reserved from Federal control. The Legislatures of the States,
and they alone, under the Constitution, possess the power of
prescribing the qualifications of the electors of members of the
House of Representatives in Congress. They have reserved the
same power to themselves in regard to voters for the choice of
electors of President and Vice President. What, then, does this
bill attempt? To separate two things which reason and the
62 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
Almighty himself have united beyond all power of separation.
You might as well attempt, by arbitrary laws, to separate human
life from the power of breathing the vital air, as to detach the
elective franchise from freedom of thought, of speech, and of the
press. In this atmosphere alone can it live, and move, and have
its being. To speak his thoughts is every free elector's inalien-
able right. Freedom of speech and of the press is both the
sword and the shield of our Republican institutions. To declare
that when the citizens of a State accept office from the General
Government, they thereby forfeit this right to express an opinion
in relation to the public concerns of their own State and of the
nation, is palpable tyranny. In the language referred to in the
report, " it puts bridles into their mouths and saddles upon their
backs," and degrades them from the rank of a reasoning animal.
The English precedent of the Senator was wiser, much wiser, in ■
depriving these officers of the right of suffrage altogether. It
does not attempt to separate by the power of man two things
which Heaven itself has indissolubly united.
If, therefore, the Constitution contained no express pro-
vision whatever prohibiting Congress from passing any law
abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, I think I have
shown conclusively that the power to pass this bill could not be
inferred from any of its express grants of power. But the Con-
stitution is not silent on the subject. Before its adoption by the
States, it was dreaded by the jealous patriots of the day, that
the Federal Government might usurp the liberties of the people
by attacking the liberty of speech and of the press. They, there-
fore, insisted upon the insertion of an express provision, as an
amendment, which, in all time to come, would prevent Congress
from interfering with these inestimable rights. The amend-
ment to which I have often referred was adopted, and these
rights were expressly excepted from the powers of the Federal
Government. And yet, in the very face of this express negative
of Federal power, we find the Senator from Kentucky coming
forward with his bill declaring direct war against any exercise
of the freedom of speech and of the press by those citizens of
the States who happen to be office holders under the General
Government.
But, says the Senator from Virginia, Congress possess, and
have exercised, the unquestionable power of creating offices under
the Constitution ; and they may, therefore, annex to the holding
of these offices such a condition as that prescribed by the bill,
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 63
or rather the amendment of the Senator from Kentucky. Now,
sir, what is this but to say that Congress may declare that any
citizen of Pennsylvania, who accepts a Federal office, shall take
it upon condition that it shall be forfeited the moment he exer-
cises the dearest political right guarantied to him and every
other citizen by the Constitution of the United States? Can
Congress impose any such condition upon an office? If they can,
they can repeal the most solemn provision of the Constitution,
and render it a dead letter in regard to every person in the
employment of the General Government. All mankind may then
speak and publish what they please, except those individuals who
have been selected, I hope, generally, for their integrity and
ability, to execute the important public trusts of the country.
The Senator from Kentucky has adduced several precedents
to prove that similar powers have been already exercised by
Congress in other cases. Let us examine them for a moment.
Congress, says he, has declared that an Indian agent who shall
himself trade with the Indians, shall be punished for this act.
But why? It is because this agent is vested with the power of
granting to our citizens licenses to trade with the Indians, and
thus to take care that they shall not be imposed upon and cheated.
To allow him, therefore, to trade with them himself, would be
to make him a judge in his own cause, and to withdraw from
them that protection which the law intended. Besides, Congress
have received from the States, by the Constitution, the power to
regulate commerce with the Indian tribes. The whole subject is
thus placed under their control. What, then, is this precedent
worth ? Is not the trading of an Indian agent with the Indians
an express and palpable violation of a duty necessarily involved
in his office? Can any thing be clearer than the power and the
duty of Congress to punish him for this oflfence? But what inter-
ference can there be between the performance of the duties
required by law from a postmaster, or from any other of the
proscribed officers, and his expression of an opinion to his neigh-
bor, either for or against any candidate for public office? If
the postmaster, for example, performs his whole official duty, if
he receives and delivers the letters entrusted to his care, and
regularly settles his accounts with the Department, what human
power can arbitrarily place a gag in his mouth, and declare that
he shall be punished for exercising the freedom of speech and of
the press, upon the pretext that the exercise of these rights of a
freeman are inconsistent with the duties of his office? You
64 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
might just as well punish him or deprive him of his office for
speaking or writing on natural philosophy, or mathematics, or
any other scientific subject. You would have the same power to
violate that clause in the Constitution conferring upon every man
the free exercise of religion, and punish him for expressing his
opinion on religious subjects, for attending prayer meetings or
bible societies, or for endeavoring to persuade or dissuade any
member of the religious society to which he belongs in relation
to the choice of its pastor. The principle is precisely the same in
both cases. Your whole power hath this extent, no more. You
can punish the officer for neglecting or for violating the duties
which appropriately belong to his office. You cannot repeal the
Constitution by declaring it to be an official duty that he shall
abandon the constitutional right of speaking his thoughts upon
any subject whatsoever, whether religious, scientific, or political.
In other words, you have no right to declare that he shall become
a slave when he becomes an officer.
A similar answer, if it were necessary, might be given to the
Senator's other precedents. Officers of the customs are pro-
hibited from owning any vessel or cargo under a pecuniary
penalty. And why? Because they themselves are to direct and
superintend the entry of vessels and cargoes belonging to other
persons and the collection of duties ; and to allow them to transact
this business for themselves, would be to make them judges in
their own cause. It would be an evident violation of the duty
naturally attached to their office. But will any one contend
that their constitutional freedom of speech, in regard to candidates
for office, is incompatible with the proper entry or unloading of
vessels engaged either in foreign commerce or the coasting trade?
So the register of a land office is prohibited from entering
lands in his own name, or, in other words, from selling lands to
himself.
Such are the precedents which the Senator has cited to jus-
tify himself in depriving the officers embraced by his bill of the
right of freedom of speech and of the press.
But I do not mean even to rest the constitutional question
here. From the very nature of the Constitution itself, two
great political parties must ever exist in this country. You may
call them by what names you will, their principles must ever
continue to be the same. The one, dreading Federal power, will
ever be friendly to a strict construction of the powers delegated
to the Federal Government and to State rights. The other,
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 65
equally dreading Federal weakness, will ever advocate such a
liberal construction of the Constitution as will confer upon the
General Government as much power as possible, consistently
with a free interpretation of the terms of the instrument. The
one party is alarmed at the danger of consolidation ; the other at
that of disunion. In the days of the elder Adams the party
friendly to a liberal construction of the Constitution got into
power. And what did they do? Among other things, in the
very face of that clause of the Constitution which prohibited
Congress from passing any law abridging the freedom of speech
or of the press, they passed the sedition law. What were its
provisions? It punished false, scandalous, and malicious libels
against the Government of the United States, either House of
Congress, or the President, by a fine not exceeding two thousand
dollars and imprisonment not exceeding two years.
At the present day, it would be useless to waste the time of
the Senate in proving that this law was a violation of the Consti-
tution. It is now admitted that Congress, in passing it, had
transcended their powers. If any principle has been established
beyond a doubt by the almost unanimous opinion of the people of
the United States, it is, that the sedition law was unconstitutional.
Such is the strong and universal feeling against it, that if it could
now be revived, the authors would probably meet a similar fate
with those deluded and desperate men in France who have them-
selves lately fallen victims upon the same altar on which they
had determined to sacrifice the liberty of the press.
The popular odium which followed this law was not so much
excited by its particular provisions, as by the fact that any law
upon the subject was a violation of the Constitution, and would
establish a precedent for giving such a construction to it as would
swallow up the rights of the States, and of their people in the
gulf of Federal power.
The Constitution had declared that " Congress shall pass no
law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press." Its
framers well knew that, under the laws of each of the States
composing this Union, libels were punishable. They, therefore,
left the character of all officers created under the Constitution
and laws of the United States to be protected by the laws of the
several States. They were afraid to give this Government any
authority over the subject of libels, lest its colossal power might
be wielded against the liberty of the press. Congress were,
therefore, prohibited from passing any law upon the subject.
Vol.. IV— 5
66 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
whether good or bad. It was not merely because the law was
unjust in itself, though it was bad enough Heaven knows, that
the indignant Republicans of that day rose against it ; but it was
because it violated the Constitution. It expired by its own limi-
tation in March, 1801 ; but not until it had utterly prostrated the
political party which gave it birth.
Now, sir, I shall say a few words concerning the Virginia
and Kentucky resolutions of 1798; although the Senator from
Virginia may consider it sacrilege in me to discuss this subject.
I have at all times, ever since I read and understood these reso-
lutions, held to the political doctrines which they inculcate ; and
I can assure the Senator I have studied them with care. I will
read a few extracts from the Virginia resolutions.
The General Assembly, in the third resolution, " doth explic-
itly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the
Federal Government, as resulting from the compact, to which the
States are parties, as limited by the plain sense and intention of
the instrument constituting that compact — and as no further valid
than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that com-
pact ; " and in the fourth resolution, they express their deep
regret, " that a spirit has, in sundry instances, been manifested
by the Federal Government, to enlarge its powers by forced con-
structions of the constitutional charter which defines them." In
regard to the sedition law, they declare that its passage was the
exercise of " a power not delegated by the Constitution; but, on
the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the
amendments thereto : a power, which, more than any other, ought
to produce universal alarm; because it is levelled against that
right of freely examining public characters and measures, and
of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever
been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other
right."
Now, sir, what is the essence, what is the root of all these
resolutions? It consists of one plain, clear, fundamental princi-
ple, from which all, others proceed as branches. It is this, that
patriotism — that the permanence of our institutions — that all
the principles of correct construction require, that the Federal
Government shall be limited to the express powers granted to it
by the States, and that no implied powers shall ever be exercised,
except such as are evidently and plainly necessary to carry the
express powers into effect. This is the foundation, the corner
stone, the vital principle of all the Virginia and Kentucky reso-
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 67
lutions. It was because the sedition law violated this principle,
that the Republican statesmen of Virginia and Kentucky opposed
it with such a determined spirit. It was, as Mr. Madison says
in his report, because such a loose construction of the Consti-
tution as would bring this law within its pale, would lay the foun-
dation from which the friends of a strong central governi|ient
might proceed to rob the States and the people of their liberties,
and establish a consolidated government. It was the first stride
towards a limited monarchy.
The Federalists of that day honestly believed that the Gov-
ernment should be strengthened at the centre, and that the pulsa-
tions of the heart were not powerful enough to extend a whole-
some circulation to the extremities. They, therefore, used every
effort to enlarge the powers of the Federal Government by con-
struction. This was the touchstone which then divided parties,
and which will continue to divide them until, which God forbid,
the Government itself shall cease to exist.
Now, sir, if I have correctly stated the principle which runs
through all the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, I would ask
whether the bill now before the Senate is not a more palpable
violation of this principle than the sedition law. I shall now
proceed to establish this position.
In the first place, then, the sedition law did not interfere with
the freedom of speech. The citizen might speak what he thought
and say what he pleased without subjecting himself to its penal-
ties. Under the despotisms of Europe there is a strict censorship
over the press. Everything written for publication must undergo
the supervision and correction of a Government censor before
it can be published. In the most despotic countries, however,
some indulgence is granted to the liberty of speech on political
questions. The bill establishes more than a universal censorship
over the freedom of speech. It compels the officer to be silent
altogether on political questions. He dare not utter a word with-
out incurring its penalties. In this country, every public question
connects itself with our elections. If there be two candidates
for any State Legislature, and the election should turn upon
internal improvements, or the division of ^ county, the officer is
as much exposed to the universal sweep of this bill, in case he
utters a word in favor of the one or against the other, as though
it were the Presidential election. He is equally doomed to
silence in the one case as in the other. Such tyranny is unknown
to the sedition law.
68 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
Whilst I was abroad some years ago, I heard an .anecdote
highly creditable to the King of Prussia, who, although a despot,
is, by his subjects, called a Democratic King. The revolutionary
war of Poland against Russia was then raging, and the Polish
subjects of the Prussian King were highly excited in favor of
their brethren under the dominion of Russia. They talked very
freely in favor of taking part in the contest; of casting off the
Prussian yoke, and uniting with their brethren in re-establishing
the independence of Poland. The counsellors of the King ad-
vised him to prohibit and to punish this freedom of speech. He
answered that he would do no such thing; that he would suffer
them to express their opinions, and that there was less danger
that they would rise against his government than if they remained
silent. This was the remark of a liberal and a wise man, who
had been instructed in the school of adversity.
But, in this favored land of liberty, in the nineteenth ceny
tury, we are about to deny to our citizens the privilege of speak-
ing their thoughts. This is the first attempt which I have ever
known or read of, either in England or in this country, to punish
the expression of opinions relative to candidates for office as a
crime. If ever this was done in England, even in the reigns of
the Tudors or the Stuarts, it must have been a Star Chamber
offence. In the more enlightened despotisms of Europe, they
will learn, with astonishment, that a bill has been introduced into
the Senate of the United States, proposing to punish a post-
master for expressing his opinion in favor of a candidate for
office, as if this were an enormous crime, with a fine of five hun-
dred dollars, and a perpetual disability to hold any other office
under the Government. Even under the common law of Eng-
land, oral slander is not punishable as a crime. The party injured
by it is left to his private remedy.
In the second place, the sedition law, although it did abridge,
did not, like this bill, totally destroy the freedom of the press.
The sedition law deprived no man of the right or the power, in
the first instance, to write and publish to the world any strictures
upon the Government which he might think proper. To be sure,
if in exercising this privilege he violated the truth, he was made
responsible to its penalties. This bill reaches the very fountains
of thought. Its object is to prevent its victims from speaking
or writing at all. No matter how innocent, or praiseworthy,
or true, may be the conversation or the publication, still if it can
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 69
be construed into an endeavor to persuade any elector to give his
vote for a particular candidate, he is doomed to a fine of five
hundred dollars, and a perpetual disability to hold office.
Again : under the sedition law, the accused was permitted to
protect himself against its penalties, by giving the truth of his
charge in evidence. Any individual who had accused the Presi-
dent of the United States of being a bad and dangerous man,
who was aiming a blow at the liberties of his country, and desired
to usurp the powers of the Government by a latitudinarian con-
struction of the Constitution, was protected by this law from all
responsibility, provided he could prove the truth of these alle-
gations to the satisfaction of a court and jury of his countrymen.
Not so the present bill. If a postmaster, or a land officer, or a
weigher, or a ganger, should endeavor to dissuade any elector
from voting for a particular candidate, and should say that this
candidate has been guilty of a crime and therefore his election
would be dangerous to the country, and be brought before a court
and jury for trial under this bill, he must be convicted, although
he may be able to prove the truth of his charge by evidence as
clear as a sunbeam. The old English maxim, " the greater the
truth the greater the libel," is again revived, with some show of
reason ; because the language of truth would be more powerful in
persuading or dissuading an elector than that of falsehood.
Although every member of the court and the jury might per-
sonally know that what the accused had uttered was the truth,
yet, under the provisions of this bill, they would be bound to
convict and sentence him to suffer its penalties.
I think I have thus established my position that this bill is
worse, and more glaringly unconstitutional, than the sedition
law.
I now approach the argument of the Senator from Virginia
in favor of the constitutionality of this bill. The old argument
in favor of the sedition law, as stated by Mr. Madison in his
report, was that the general phrases in the preamble and one
clause of the Constitution were sufficiently powerful to extend
the limited grants of power contained in the body of the instru-
ment, and to confer upon Congress the authority to enact any
law they might think proper for the common defence and the
general welfare. This doctrine has long since been exploded,
and was not adverted to by the Senator from Virginia. We are
informed by the same authority that another argument used
was, that all the State Legislatures had passed laws for the
70 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
punishment of libels; and that, therefore, the same power be-
longed to the Government of the United States. A similar argu-
ment could not be urged by the Senator in support of this bill;
because no State Legislature ever did, and I will venture to say
no State Legislature ever will, pass such a bill as that now before
the Senate. To what argument then did the Senator resort? I
shall endeavor to state it fairly. He asks if a judge were to use
the freedom of speech or of the press, in canvassing the merits
of a cause before the people, which it would become his duty
afterwards to decide, would it be an abridgment of this freedom
to punish him for such conduct? I answer, certainly not. But
does not the gentleman perceive that the offence in this case is
substantive and independent, and amounts to a total violation
of his official duty, for which he ought to be impeached? The
language, oral or printed, which he has used, is the mere agent
which he has employed in the commission of the offence. This
argument is a begging of the question ; for it assumes that, under
the Constitution, Congress possess the power to punish one citi-
zen for persuading another, by fair argument, to give his vote
for or against any candidate for office. This is the very principle
to be established. Again he asks, suppose one of the officers
embraced by the bill were to use the freedom of speech or of the
press, in saying to an elector, if you will give your vote for such
a candidate, I will procure you an office, would not such an officer
be punishable? I answer, certainly he would, under the State
laws ; because this would be an attempt to procure a vote by cor-
rupt and improper means. It is a distinct offence, the punishment
of which in no manner interferes with the liberty of speech or the
press when exercised to accomplish constitutional purposes. A
similar answer might be given to his interrogatory in regard to
giving a challenge, by word or by writing, to fight a duel. The
last question, which capped the climax of his argument, was, if a
man be guilty of a false and malicious libel against an innocent
person, may you not punish him, under the Constitution,- without
invading the freedom of speech or of the press — because it is
not the words he may use which you punish, but the falsehood
of the charge, the evil intention, and the injury inflicted? I ask
the Senator if this argument is not a justification of the sedition
law to the fullest extent? I have taken down the Senator's
words, and cannot be mistaken in their meaning. What did the
sedition law declare? That the authors of " false, scandalous
and malicious " libels, with the evil intentions enumerated in the
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 71
act, should incur its penalties. It was not the mere words pub-
lished that were punished, but it was their falsehood, their malice,
and their evil intention. The constitutionality of the sedition
law is, therefore, embraced not only within the spirit, but within
the very words, of the Senator's argument. Has he not, how-
ever unconsciously, defended the sedition law? This argument,
to my knowledge, never occurred to those who passed that law ;
but it is one which, if well founded, would give us the power
to-morrow to pass another sedition law.
Do not Senators perceive that the passage of this bill would
utterly disfranchise a large and respectable class of our people?
Under it, what would be the condition of all the editors of your
political journals, whose business and whose duty it is to en-
lighten public opinion in regard to the merits or demerits of can-
didates for office ? Pass this law, and you declare that no editor
of a public paper, of either party, is capable or worthy of holding
any of the proscribed offices. He must at once either abandon
his paper, and with it the means of supporting himself and his
family, or he must surrender any little office which he may hold
under the Government.
And yet this bill is supported by my friend from Virginia,
who, to use his own language, " has been imbued with the prin-
ciples of Democracy, and a regard for State rights, from his
earliest youth." If such a charge should ever be made against
him hereafter, his speech and his vote in favor of this bill will
acquit him before any court in Christendom where the truth may
be given in evidence. I yet trust that he may never vote for its
passage.
Every measure of this kind betrays a want of confidence in
the intelligence and patriotism of the American people. It is
founded on a distrust of their judgment and integrity. Do you
suppose that when a man is appointed a collector or a postmaster,
he acquires any more influence over the people than he had
before ? No, sir ! On the contrary, his influence is often dimin-
ished, instead of being increased. The people of this country
are abundantly capable of judging whether he is most influenced
by love of country or love of office. If they should determine
that his motives are purely mercenary for supporting a political
party, this will destroy his influence. If he be a noisy, violent,
and meddling politician, he will do the administration under
which he has been appointed much more harm than good. Let
me assure gentlemen that the people are able to take care of
72 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
themselves. They do not require the interposition of Congress
to prevent them from being deceived and led astray by the influ-
ence of office holders. Whilst this is my fixed opinion, I think
the number of Federal officers ought to be strictly limited to
the actual necessities of the Government. Pursue this course,
and, my life for it, all the land officers and postmasters and
weighers and gangers which you shall send abroad over the
country can never influence the people to betray their own cause.
For my own part, I entertain the most perfect confidence in their
intelligence as well as integrity.
That office holders possess comparatively but little influence
over the people, will conclusively appear from the brief history
of the last two years, the period during which this dreaded man,
Mr. Van Buren, has been in office. What has all this alarming
influence of the office holders effected at the only points where
they are to be found in any considerable number? In the city
of Philadelphia, notwithstanding all the influence of the custom-
house, the post office, and the mint, the majority at the last elec-
tion against the Administration w^as tremendous, being, I believe,
upwards of four thousand. The Praetorian guards, as they have
been called, performed but little service on that day in that city.
On the other hand, look at the interior of Pennsylvania. There
the Governor, whose patronage within the limits of the State was
as great, under the old Constitution, as that of the King of Eng-
land, had filled every office with enemies of the present Adminis-
tration. Of this I do not complain; for, whether right or wrong,
it has been the long established practice of both political parties.
It is true that many of the postmasters were friendly to the Ad-
ministration; but it is equally certain, that a large proportion of
them warmly espoused the cause of the Opposition. What was
the result? Those wielding this vast patronage were entirely
routed, notwithstanding the exertions of the office holders. Gen-
tlemen may quiet their alarms, and be assured that the people
cannot be persuaded to abandon their principles by the influence
of men in office.
Again : let us look at the State of New York for another
example. There the Albany Regency were seated in power. The
Democratic party was well drilled. All the office holders of the
State and of the city were friendly to the Administration. Be-
sides, in my opinion, they fought in the righteous cause ; and this
same abused Albany Regency, who were their leaders, was com-
posed of as able and as honest men as were ever at the head of
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 73
any State government. What was the result there? With all
this official power and patronage, both of the State and Federal
Governments, we were beaten, horse, foot, and dragoons. There
is not the least necessity for passing an unconstitutional law, to
save the people from the influence of the office holders.
Have we not been beaten in all the large cities of the Union,
where only there are Federal officers in any considerable number?
What has been our fate in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Bal-
timore, and New Orleans? We have been vanquished in all of
them. The hobgoblins and chimeras dire respecting the influence
of office holders, which terrify gentlemen, exist only in their
own imagination. The people of this country are not the tame
and servile creatures who can be seduced from their purpose by
the persuasion of the office holders. It is true that in 1828 I did
say that the office holders were the enlisted soldiers of that
administration by which they were sustained. This was too
strong an expression. But admit them to be enlisted soldiers;
and whilst I do not deny them some influence, there is no danger
to be apprehended from it, as long as there is virtue and intelli-
gence among our people.
And here I hope the Senator from Kentucky will pardon me
for suggesting to him an amendment to his bill. He has, I think,
made one or two mistakes in the classification of his officers;
though, in the general, it is sufficiently perfect. The principle
would seem to have been to separate what may be called the aris-
tocracy of office holders from the plebeians. Those of the ele-
vated class are still permitted to enjoy the freedom of speech
and of the press, whilst the hard-working operatives among them
are denied this privilege. The heads of departments and bureaus,
the officers of the army and navy, the superintendents and officers
of our mints, and our district attorneys are not affected by this
bill. These gentlemen are privileged by their elevation. They
are too high to be reached by its provisions. Who, then, ought
to care whether weighers and gangers, and village postmasters,
and hard-handed draymen, and such inferior people shall be per-
mitted to express their thoughts on public affairs ? I would sug-
gest, however, that the collectors of our principal seaports, the
marshals of our extensive judicial districts, and the postmasters
in our principal cities receive compensation sufficient to enable
them to figure in " good society." They ought to rank with the
district attorneys, and should be elevated from the plebeian to
the patrician rank of office holders. They ought to be allowed
74 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
the freedom of speech and of the press. As to the subordinate
officers, they are not worth the trouble of a thought.
To be sure there is one palpable absurdity on the face of the
bill. Its avowed purpose is to prevent office holders from exercis-
ing an influence in elections. Why, then, except from its opera-
tion all those office holders who, from their station in society,
can exercise the most extensive influence, and confine its pro-
visions to the humbler but not less meritorious class whose
opinions can have but a limited influence over their fellow-men?
The district attorney, for example, is excepted — the very man
of all others who, from his position and talents, has the best
opportunity of exerting an extensive influence. He may ride
over his district, and make political speeches to secure the election
of his favorite candidate. He is too high a mark for the gentle-
man's bill. But if the subordinates of the custom-house, or the
petty postmaster at the cross-roads with an income of fifty
dollars per annum, shall dare, even in private conversation, to
persuade an elector to vote for or against any candidate, he is to
be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars, and a perpetual
disability to hold any office under the Government. Was there
ever a bill more unequal or more unjust?
Now, sir, I might here, with great propriety, and very much
to the relief both of my audience and myself, leave this subject;
but there are still some other observations which I conceive it
to be my duty to add to what I have already said. Most of them
will be elicited by the very strong remarks of my friend from
Virginia ; for I trust that I may still be permitted to call him by
that name.
He and I entered the House of Representatives almost
together. I believe he came into it but two years after myself.
We soon formed a mutual friendship, which has ever since, I
may say, on my part, with great sincerity, continued to exist.
We fought shoulder to shoulder, and his great powers were
united with my feeble efiforts in prostrating the administration
of the younger Adams. General Jackson came into power; and
during the whole period of that administration he was the steady,
unwavering supporter of all its leading measures, except the
Specie Circular and his advocacy of the currency bill; and, on
that bill, I stood by him, in opposition to the administration.
Whilst this man of destiny was in power — this man of the lion
heart, whose will the Whigs declared was law, and whose roaring
terrified all the other beasts of the forest, and subdued them into
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 75
silence — where was then the Senator from Virginia? He was
our chosen champion in the fight. Whilst General Jackson was
exerting all this tremendous influence, and marshalling all his
trained bands of office holders to do his bidding, according to
the language of the Opposition, these denunciations had no terrors
for the Senator from Virginia. Never in my life did I perform
a duty of friendship with greater ardor than when, on one occa-
sion, I came to his rescue from an unjust attack made against
him by the Whigs in relation to a part of his conduct whilst
minister in France. After holding out so long together, ought
he not, at least, to have parted from us in peace, and bade us a
kind adieu ? In abandoning our camp, why did he shoot Parthian
arrows behind him? In taking leave of us, I hope not forever,
is it not too hard for us to hear ourselves denounced by the gen-
tleman in the language which he has used ? " He is amazed and
bewildered with the scenes passing before him. Whither, he
asks, will the mad dominion of party carry us? His mind is
filled with despondency as to the fate of his country. Shall we
emulate the servility of the senate and people of Rome? You
already have your Praetorian bands in this city." I might quote
from his speech other phrases of a similar character; but these
are sufficient. I do not believe that any of these expressions were
aimed at me personally ; yet they strike me with the mass of my
political friends, and I feel bound to give them a passing notice.
And why, let me ask the Senator, why did he not sooner
make the discovery of the appalling danger of Executive influ-
ence? Is there more to be dreaded from that cause, under the
present administration, than under that which is past ? Is Martin
Van Buren more formidable than General Jackson was ? Let his
favorite author, De Tocqueville, answer this question. He says,
" the power of General Jackson perpetually increases, but that
of the President declines ; in his hands the Federal Government
is strong, but it will pass enfeebled into the hands of his suc-
cessor." Do we not all now know this to be the truth ? Has not
the Government passed enfeebled into the hands of his successor ?
We see it, and feel it, and know it, from every thing which is
passing around us. The civilian has succeeded the conqueror;
and, I must be permitted to say, has exercised his high powers
with great moderation and purity of purpose. In what manner
has he ever abused his patronage? In this particular, of what
can the gentleman complain? \
In February, 1828, I did say that the office holders were the
76 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
enlisted soldiers of the Administration. But did I then propose
to gag them? Did I propose to deprive them of the freedom of
speech and of the press? No, sir, no! Notwithstanding the
number of them scattered over the country, I was not afraid of
their influence. On the contrary, I commended the Administra-
tion for adhering to its friends. I then used the following
language :
" In my humble judgment, the present administration could
not have proceeded a single year, with the least hope of re-elec-
tion, but for their patronage. This patronage may have been
used imwisely, as my friend from Kentucky [Mr. Letcher]
(and I am still proud to call him my friend, notwithstanding our
political opposition) has insinuated. I have never blamed them,
I shall never blame them, for adhering to their friends. Be true
to your friends and they will be true to you, is the dictate both
of justice and of sound policy. I shall never participate in abus-
ing the administration for remembering their friends. If you go
too much abroad with this patronage, for the purpose of making
new friends, you will offend your old ones, and make but very
insincere converts."
What was my opinion in 1828, when I was in the opposition,
is still my opinion in 1839, when I am in the majority. I say
now, that the administration which goes abroad with its patron-
age to make converts of its enemies, at the expense of its friends,
acts both with ingratitude and injustice. Such an administration
deserves to be prostrated. Although neither from principle nor
from feeling am I a root and branch man, yet, in this respect,
I adopt the opinion of General Washington, the first, the greatest,
the wisest, and the best of our Presidents. I prefer him either
to General Jackson or to the great Apostle of American Liberty.
This opinion, however, may proceed from the relics of old Fed-
eralism. On this subject General Washington says : " I shall
not, whilst I have the honor to administer the Government, bring
a man into any office of consequence, knowingly, whose political
tenets are adverse to the measures which the General Govern-
ment is pursuing; for this, in my opinion, would be a sort of
political suicide. That it would embarrass its movements is
certain."
Now, sir, if any freak of destiny should ever place me in one
of these Executive Departments, and I feel very certain that it
never will, I shall tell you the course I would pursue. I should
not become an inquisitor of the political opinions of the sub-
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 77
ordinate office holders, who are receiving salaries of some eight
hundred or a thousand dollars a year. For the higher and more
responsible offices, however, I would select able, faithful, and
well-tried political friends who felt a deep and devoted interest in
the success of my measures. And this not for the purpose of
concealment, for no public officer ought to be afraid of the scru-
tiny of the world ; but that they might cheerfully co-operate with
me in promoting what I believed to be the public interest. I
would have no person around me, either to hold back in the traces,
or to thwart and defeat my purposes. With General Washington
I believe that any other course "would be a sort of political
suicide."
In executing the duties of a public office, I should act upon
the same principles that would govern my conduct in regard to a
private trust. If the Senator from Virginia were to constitute
me his attorney, to transact any important business, I should
never employ assistants whom I believed to be openly and avow-
edly hostile to his interests.
But, says the Senator, you already have your praetorian
bands in this city. He doubtless alludes to the office holders in
the different departments of the Government ; and, I ask, is Mr.
Van Buren's influence over them greatly to be dreaded? If,
sir, the President relies upon such troops he will most certainly
be defeated. These praetorian bands are, to a great extent, on
the side of the Senator from Kentucky and his political friends.
I would now do them great injustice if I were to call them the
enlisted soldiers of the Administration. Whilst General Jackson
was here they did keep tolerably quiet, but now I understand
that many of these heads of bureaus and clerks use the freedom
of speech and of the press without reserve against the measures
of his successor. Of course I speak from common report. God
forbid that I should become an inquisitor as to any man's politics.
It is generally understood that about one-half of them are open
enemies of the present Administration. I have some acquaint-
ance with a few of those who are called its friends; and among
this few I know several, who, although they declare they are in
favor of the re-election of Mr. Van Buren, yet they are decidedly
opposed to all his prominent measures. Surrounded by such
praetorian bands, what has this tyrant done? Nothing, literally
nothing. I believe he is the very last man in the country who can
justly be charged with using his official patronage to control the
freedom of elections. His forbearance towards his political
78 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
enemies in office will unquestionably injure him to some extent,
and especially in those States where, under the common party
law, no person dreams of being permitted to hold office from his ,
political enemies. His liberality in this respect has been con-
demned by many of his friends, whilst he is accused by his ene-
mies of using his official patronage for corrupt political purposes.
This is a hard fate. The Senator must, therefore, pardon me,
after having his own high authority in favor of General Jack-
son's administration, if, under that of his successor, I cannot now
see the dangers of Executive patronage in a formidable light.
There was one charge made by the Senator from Virginia
against the present Administration, which I should have been the
first man to sustain, had I believed it to be well founded. Had
the President evinced a determination, in the face of all his prin-
ciples and professions, to form a permanent connection in viola-
tion of law, between the Government and the Bank of the United
States, or any other State bank, he should, in this particular,
have encountered my unqualified opposition. In such an event, I
should have been willing to serve under the command of the
Senator against the Administration ; and hundreds and thousands
of the unbought and incorruptible Democracy would have rallied
to our standard. I am convinced, however, from the reports of
the Secretaries of the Treasury and of War, and from the other
lights which have been shed upon the subject, that " their poverty
and not their will consented " to the partial and limited connec-
tion which resulted from the sale of the bond to the Bank of
the United States.^ Such seems to have been the general opinion
on this floor, because no Senator came to the aid of the gentle-
man from Virginia in sustaining this charge. " Where was
Roderick then? " Why did not the Senator from Kentucky come
to the rescue and sustain his friend from Virginia, in the accusa-
tion against the Administration of having again connected itself
with the Bank of the United States ?
The Senator from Virginia has informed us, that in his
State, a law exists, prohibiting any man who holds office under
the Federal Government from holding, at the same time, a State
'■ This refers to the sale by the United States to the Bank of the United
States of the third bond due by the latter to the former. The money paid
for the bond was to lie in the bank, subject to draft by the United States.
The Bank of the United States, having failed, by reason of Jackson's veto,
to secure the renewal of its national charter, had now been incorporated
under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania.
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 79
office. This law prevents the same individual from serving two
masters. A similar law, I believe, exists in every State of this
Union. If there is not, there ought to be. The Federal and
State Governments ought to be kept as distinct and independent
of each other as possible. The General Government ought never
to be permitted to insinuate itself into the concerns of the States,
by using their officers as its officers. These incompatible laws
proceed from a wise and wholesome jealousy of Federal power,
and a proper regard for State rights. I heartily approve them.
Then, sir, if there be danger in trusting a postmaster of the Gen-
eral Government with the commission of a magistrate under State
authority, how infinitely more dangerous would it be to suffer the
Administration to connect itself with all the State banks of the
country? What immense influence over the people of the States
could the Federal Government thus acquire! Suffer it to deposit
the public money at pleasure with these banks, and permit them
to loan it out for their own benefit, and you establish a vast
Federal influence, not over weighers and gangers and post-
masters, but over the presidents, and directors, and cashiers, and
debtors, and creditors of these institutions. You bind them to
you by the strongest of all ties, that of self interest; and they are
men who, from their position, cannot fail to exercise an exten-
sive influence over the people of the States. I am a State rights
man, and am therefore opposed to any connection between this
Government and the State banks; and last of all to such a con-
nection with the Bank of the United States, which is the most
powerful of them all. This is one of the chief reasons why I am
in favor of an Independent Treasury. And yet, friendly to State
rights as the Senator professes to be, he complains of the Presi-
dent for opposing such a connection with the State banks, and
thereby voluntarily depriving himself of the power and influence
which must ever result from such an union.
There are other reasons why I am friendly to an Independent
Treasury ; but this is not the proper occasion to discuss them. I
shall merely advert to one which, in my opinion, renders an
immediate separation from the banks indispensable to the public
interest. The importation of foreign goods into New York,
since the commencement of the present year, very far exceeds,
according to our information, the corresponding importations
during the year 1836, although they were greater in that year
than they had ever been since the origin of our Government.
This must at once create a large debt against us in England.
80 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
Meanwhile, what is our condition at home? New York has
estabHshed what is called a free banking law, under whose pro-
visions more than fifty banks had been established in the begin-
ning of January last, and I know not how many since, with
permission to increase their capital to four hundred and eighty-
seven millions of dollars. These banks do not even profess to
proceed upon the ancient, safe and well established principle of
making the specie in their vaults bear some just and reasonable
proportion to their circulation and deposits. Another and a
novel principle is adopted. State loans and mortgages upon real
estate are made to take the place of gold and silver; and an
amount of bank notes may be issued equal to the amount of these
securities deposited with the Comptroller. There is no restric-
tion whatever imposed on these banks in regard to specie, except
that they are required to hold eleven pence in the dollar, not of
their circulation and deposits united, but of their circulation
alone. Well may that able officer have declared, in his report
to the Legislature, that " it is now evident that the point of
danger is not an exclusive metallic currency, but an exclusive
paper currency, so redundant and universal as to excite appre-
hensions for its stability." The amount of paper issues of these
banks, and the amount of bank credits, must rapidly expand the
paper circulation, and again produce extravagant speculation.
The example of New York will have a powerful influence on
the other States of the Union. Already has Georgia established
a free banking law ; and a bill for the same purpose is now before
the Legislature of Pennsylvania. If the signs of the times do not
deceive me, we shall have another explosion sooner, much sooner,
than I had anticipated. The Senator from Massachusetts [Mr.
Webster] nods his assent. [Here Mr. Webster said, " I think
so also."] This paper bubble must, from its nature, go on rapidly
expanding, until it reaches the bursting point. The recent sus-
pension of specie payments by the Branch Bank of Mobile, in
the State of my friend from Alabama, [Mr. King,] may be the
remote and distant thunder premonitory of the approaching
storm. This is all foreign, however, to the subject before the
Senate. I desire now to declare solemnly in advance, that if this
explosion should come, and the money of the people in the
Treasury should again be converted into irredeemable bank paper
and bank credits, the Administration will be guiltless of the deed.
We have tried, but tried in vain, to establish an Independent
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 81
Treasury, where this money would be safe, in the custody of
officers responsible to the people.
There is -one incident in relation to the Bank of the United
States which my friend from Virginia may be curious to know.
Under the Pennsylvania charter it was prohibited from issuing
notes under ten dollars. I had fondly hoped that this example
might be gradually followed by our Legislature in regard to the
other banks, until the time should arrive when our whole circu-
lation under ten dollars should consist of gold and silver. The
free banking law of New York has enabled the Bank to nullify
this restriction. Under this law it has established a bank in the
city of New York, the capital of which may be increased to
$50,000,000, and has transferred to the Comptroller of that State
Michigan State loan to the amount of $200,000. And what notes,
Mr. President, do you suppose it has taken in lieu of this amount
of loan? Not an assortment of different denominations, as the
other banks have done, but forty thousand five dollar notes.
These five dollar notes will be paid out and circulated by the
Bank at Philadelphia; and thus the wise ten dollar restriction
contained in its Pennsylvania charter is completely annulled.
If, therefore, I could believe for a moment that this Gov-
ernment intended to form a permanent connection with the Bank
of the United States, and again make it the general depository
and fiscal agent of the Treasury, even if no other principle were
involved than that of the enormous increase of Executive pat-
ronage which must necessarily follow, I should at once stand with
my friend from Virginia in opposition to the Administration.
But I would not go over with him to the enemy's camp. I have
somewhere read a eulogy on the wisdom of the Catholic church,
for tolerating much freedom of opinion in non-essentials among
its members. A pious, an enthusiastic, and an ardent spirit,
which, if it belonged to any Protestant church, might produce
a schism, is permitted to establish a new order, and thus to bene-
fit, instead of injuring, the ancient establishment. I might point
to a St. Dominick and a Loyola for examples. Now, sir, I admit
that the Whig party is very Catholic in this respect. It tolerates
great difference of opinion. Its unity almost consists in diversity.
In that party we recognize " the Democratic Antimasonic "
branch. Yes, sir, this is the approved name. I need not men-
tion the names of its two distinguished leaders. The peculiar
tenet of this respectable portion of the universal political Whig
church is a horrible dread of the murderers of Morgan, whose
Vol IV— 6.
82 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
ghost, like that of Hamlet's father, walks abroad, and revisits
the pale glimpses of the moon, seeking vengeance on his mur-
derers. I wish they could be found, and punished as they deserve.
Though not Abolitionists in the mass, they do not absolutely
reject, though they may receive with an awkward grace, the over-
tures and aid of the Abolitionists. In my portion of the country,
at least, the Abolitionists are either incorporated with this branch
of the party, or hang upon its outskirts. The Senator from Vir-
ginia and myself could not, I think, go over to this section of
the party, nor would we be received by it into full communion.
The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] will, I think, find to his
cost that he has done himself great injury with this branch of
the Opposition, by the manly and patriotic sentiments which he
expressed a few days ago on the subject of Abolition.
Then comes the Whig party proper, in which the Senator
from Kentucky stands pre-eminent. I need not detail its prin-
ciples. Now, I humbly apprehend that even if the President of
the United States should determine to ally himself with the Bank,
and force us to abandon him on that account, neither the Sen-
ator from Virginia nor myself could find refuge in the bosom
of this party. We have both sinned against it beyond forgive-
ness. We were both in favor of the removal of the deposits — an
offence which, with them, like original sin, " brought death into
the world, and all our woe." For this, no penitence can atone.
Again : we both voted for the expunging resolution, which,
in their opinion, was an act of base subserviency and man wor-
ship, and, withal, a palpable violation of the Constitution. So
dreadful was this offence, that my friend from Delaware [Mr.
Bayard] will never get over it. He has solemnly pledged himself
to cry aloud and spare not, until this foul blot shall be removed
from the journals of the Senate. I should be glad to know why
he has not yet introduced his annual resolution to efface this
unsightly stain from the record of our proceedings.
In short, we should be compelled to form a separate branch
of the Whig party. We should be the deposit-removing, expung-
ing, force bill, anti-bank, Jackson Whigs. We should carry with
us enough of locofocoism and other combustible materials to
blow them all up. They had better have a care of us.
I hope the Senator may yet remain with us, and be persuaded
that his old friends upon this floor do not resemble either the
servile band in the Roman Senate under the first Caesar, or that
which afterwards degraded themselves so low as to make the
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 83
favorite horse of one of his successors high priest and consul.
He can never be fully received into the communion of the faith-
ful Whigs. Although the fathers of the church here may grant
him absolution, yet the rank and file of the party throughout the
country will never ratify the deed.
I was pleased to hear the Senator from Virginia, on yester-
day, make the explanation which he did to the Senator from
North Carolina, [Mr. Strange] in regard to what he had said
in favor of the British Government. I cheerfully take the expla-
nation. I did suppose he had pronounced a high-wrought eulogy
upon that government ; but it would not be fair to hold him, or
any other Senator, to the exact meaning of words uttered in the
heat and ardor of debate.
I agree with him that we are indebted for several of our
most valuable institutions to our British ancestors. We have
derived from them the principles of liberty established and con-
secrated by Magna Charta, the trial by jury, the petition of right,
the habeas corpus act, and the revolution of 1688. And yet, not-
withstanding all this, I should be very unwilling to make the
British Government a model for our legislation in Republican
America. Look at its effects in practice. Is it a government
which sheds its benign influence, like the dews of Heaven, upon
all its subjects ? Or is it not a government where the rights of the
many are sacrificed to promote the interest of the few? The
landed aristocracy have controlled the election of a majority of
the members of the House of Commons; and they, themselves,
compose the House of Lords. The main scope and principal object
of their legislation was to promote the great landed interest, that
of the large manufacturers, and of the fund holders of a national
debt, amounting to more than seven hundred and fifty millions
sterling. In order to accomplish these purposes, it became neces-
sary to oppress the poor. Where is the country beneath the sun
in which pauperism prevails to such a fearful extent? Is it not
known to the whole world that the wages both of agricultural
and manufacturing labor are reduced to the very lowest point
necessary to sustain human existence? Look at Ireland, — the
fairest land I have ever seen. Her laboring population is con-
fined to the potato. Rarely, indeed, do they enjoy either the
wheat or the beef which their country produces in such plentiful
abundance. It is chiefly sent abroad for foreign consumption.
The people of England are now struggling to make their
institutions more free ; and I trust in God they may succeed ; yet
84 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
their whole system is artificial, and without breaking it down
altogether, I do not perceive how the condition of the mass of
the people can be much ameliorated. In the present state of the
world, no friend of the human race ought probably to desire its
immediate destruction. We ought to regard it rather as a beacon
to warn us than as a model for our imitation. We ought never,
like England, to raise up by legislation any great interests or
monopolies to oppress the people, which we cannot put down
without crushing the Government itself. Such is now the condi-
tion of that country. I am no admirer of the British Constitution,
either in church or state, as it at present exists. I desire not a
splendid Government for this country.
The Senator from Virginia has quoted with approbation,
and sustained by argument, a sentiment from De Tocqueville to
which I can never subscribe. It is this : That there is greater
danger, under a Government like ours, that the Chief Magistrate
may abuse his power, than under a limited monarchy; because,
being elected by the people, and their sympathies being strongly
enlisted in his favor, he may go on to usurp the liberties of the
country with their approbation.
[Here Mr. Rives rose and explained.]
Mr. Buchanan. From the gentleman's explanation, I find
that I did not misquote either his proposition or his argument.
I am sorry he speaks under the dominion of so much feeling. I
have none at all on the present occasion. I shall proceed, and, at
the proper time, and, I trust, in the proper manner, give my
answer to this proposition.
The Senator has introduced De Tocqueville as authority on
this question ; and, in order to give greater weight and lustre to
this authority, has pronounced him superior to Montesquieu.
Montesquieu was a profound thinker, and almost every sentence
of his is an apothegm of wisdom. He has stood, and ever will
stand, the test of time. I cannot compare De Tocqueville with
Montesquieu. I think he himself would blush at such a com-
parison.
I may truly say that I have never met any Frenchman or
Englishman who could understand the complicated relations
existing between our Federal and State Governments. In this
respect, De Tocqueville has not succeeded much better than the
rest. I am disposed to quarrel with him for one thing, and that
is, that he is opposed to the doctrines of the Virginia and Ken-
tucky resolutions. He is one of those old Federalists, in the true
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 85
acceptation of that term, who beheve that the powers of the Gen-
eral Government are not sufficiently strong to protect it from
the encroachment of the States. Hence one great object of his
book is to prove that this Government is becoming weaker and
weaker, whilst that of the States is growing stronger and
stronger; and although he does not think the time near, yet the
final catastrophe must be, that it will be dissolved by its own
weakness, and the people at length, tired of the perpetual strug-
gles of liberty, will finally seek repose in the arms of despotism.
This result, in his opinion, is not to be brought about by the
strength, but by the weakness, of the Federal Government. I
might adduce many quotations to this efifect from his book, but
I shall trouble the Senate with but a few. He says, in summing
up a long chapter on this subject, " I am strangely mistaken if
the Federal Government of the United States be not constantly
losing strength, retiring gradually from public affairs, and nar-
rowing its circle of action more and more. It is naturally feeble,
but it now abandons even its pretensions to strength. On the
other hand, I thought that I remarked a more lively sense of
independence, and a more decided attachment to provincial gov-
ernment, in the States. The Union is to subsist, but to subsist
as a shadow ; it is to be strong in certain cases, and weak in all
others; in time of warfare it is to be able to concentrate all the
forces of the nation, and all the resources of the country in its
hands; and in time of peace its existence is to be scarcely per-
ceptible, as if this alternate debility and vigor were natural or
possible."
" I do not foresee anything for the present which may be
able to check this general impulse of public opinion; the causes
in which it originated do not cease to operate with the same
effect. The change will therefore go on, and it may be predicted
that, unless some extraordinary event occurs, the Government
of the Union will grow weaker and weaker every day." Again :
" So far is the Federal Government from acquiring strength and
from threatening the sovereignty of the States, as it grows
older, that I maintain it to be growing weaker and weaker, and
that the sovereignty of the Union alone is in danger." And
again : " It may, however, be foreseen even now, that when the
Americans lose their Republican institutions, they will speedily
arrive at a despotic government, without a long interval of lini-
ited monarchy."
Speaking of the power of the President, he says : " Hith-
86 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
erto no citizen has shown any disposition to expose his honor
and his life, in order to become the President of the United ,
States, because the power of that office is temporary, Hmited
and subordinate. The prize of fortune must be great to encour-
age adventurers in so desperate a game. No candidate has as
yet been able to arouse the dangerous enthusiasm or the pas-
sionate sympathies of the people in his favor, for the very simple
reason, that when he is at the head of the Government he has
but little power, but little wealth, and but little glory to share
amongst his friends ; and his influence in the State is too small for
the success or the ruin of a faction to depend upon the elevation
of an individual to power."
Now, if this greater than Montesquieu is to be believed, and
his authority is to be relied upon by the Senator from Virginia,
whence his terror and alarm lest the power of the President
might be strengthened by the influence of the lower class of
Federal office holders at elections ? Why should they be deprived
of the freedom of speech and of the press, upon the principle
that the power of Mr. Van Buren is dangerous to the liberties of
his country ? The gentleman's lauded authority is entirely against
his own position. Now, for my own part, I differ altogether from
De Tocqueville. Although I do not believe that the power and
patronage of the President can with any, even the least, justice
be compared with that of the King of England, yet from the
very nature of things, from the rapid increase of our population,
from the number of new States, from our growing revenue and
expenditures, from the additional number of officers necessary to
conduct the affairs of the Government, and from many other
causes which I might enumerate, I am convinced that the Federal
Executive is becoming stronger and stronger. Rest assured he
is not that feeble thing which De Tocqueville represents him to
be. Federal power ought always to be watched with vigilant
jealousy, not with unjust suspicion. It ought never to be
extended by the creation of new offices, except they are abso-
lutely necessary for the transaction of the public business.
The Whigs will be astonished to learn that, in the opinion
of this author. General Jackson has greatly contributed, not to
strengthen, but to weaken Federal power. " Far from wishing to
extend it," says he, " the President belongs to the party which is
desirous of limiting that power to the bare and precise letter of
the Constitution, and which never puts a construction upon that
act favorable to the Government of the Union ; far from stand-
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 87
ing forth as the champion of centralization, General Jackson is
the agent of all the jealousies of the States ; and he was placed
in the lofty situation he occupies by the passions of the people
which are most opposed to the central Government." He states
the means adopted by this illustrious man for destroying his
own power. They are : i. Putting down internal improvements.
2. Abandoning the Indians to the legislative tyranny of the States.
3. Destroying the Bank of the United States. 4. Yielding up the
tariff as a sacrifice to appease South Carolina. In this list, he
mentions the abandonment by Congress of the proceeds of the
sales of the public land to the new States to satisfy their impor-
tunity. These States will be astonished to learn that Mr. Clay's
land bill, to which they were so violently opposed, gave them the
greatest part of the revenue derived from this source; and my
friend from Missouri [Mr. Benton] will doubtless be much dis-
appointed to hear that President Jackson had completely adopted
the principles of this bill. De Tocqueville has communicated this
information to us, and he is high authority. Hear him : " Con-
gress," says he, " has gone on to sell, for the profit of the nation
at large, the uncultivated lands which those new States contained.
But the latter at length asserted that, as they were now fully
constituted, they ought to enjoy the exclusive right of converting
the produce of these sales to their own use. As their remon-
strances became more and more threatening. Congress thought
fit to deprive the Union of a portion of the privileges which it
had hitherto enjoyed; and, at the end of 1832, it passed a law
by which the greatest part of the revenue derived from the sale
of lands was made over to the new Western Republics, although
the lands themselves were not ceded to them." And, in a note
to this passage, the author says : " It is true that the President
refused his assent to this law; but he completely adopted it in
principle. See message of 8th December, 1833."
Here, sir, is a fair sample of the information which passes
current in Europe in regard to us and our institutions, and this
proceeds from the moidern Montesquieu! Had he been a gen-
uine Montesquieu,,,? think he would have said. General Jackson
has strengthened tne Federal Government by arresting it in its
career of usurpation, and bringing it back to its ancient constitu-
tional course. Thus all danger of collision, or even of jealousy,
between it and the States has been avoided ; and within its appro-
priate sphere every clog has been removed from its vigorous
action. It has thus become more powerful. Love of the Union
88 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
is a sentiment deeply seated in the heart of every American. It
grows with his growth, and strengthens with his strength; and
never was it stronger than at the present moment. One great
cause of this is, that General Jackson has denied himself every
power not clearly granted by the Constitution; whilst he has,
with a firmness and energy peculiar to himself, exerted all those
which have been clearly conferred upon the General Government.
But enough oi this.
Now, sir, I cannot agree with the Senator from Virginia,
according to the explanation which he has given, that there is
greater danger of usurpation by an elective President than by a
limited hereditary monarch. His was an argument to prove that,
in this respect, a limited monarchy has the advantage over our
Republican form of Government. If this be true, then our
Government, in one particular at least, is worse than that of
England. Now, sir, upon what argument does the gentleman
predicate this conclusion? Does he not perceive that it is upon
an entire want of confidence in the people of the United States?
He fears their feelings may become so enlisted in favor of some
popular Chief Magistrate who has been elected by their suffrages
— their passions may become so excited — that he may ride upon
their backs into despotic power. Now I do not believe any such
thing. I feel the utmost confidence in the people. As long as
they remain intelligent and virtuous, they will be both able and
willing to defend their own cause, and protect their own liberties
from the assaults of an usurper, whether they be open or dis-
guised. Their passions will never drive them to commit suicide
upon themselves. It is true the people may go wrong on some
questions. In my opinion, they have recently gone wrong in
some of the States; but I rely upon their sober second thought
to correct the evil. On a question, however, between liberty and
slavery, until they are fit to be slaves, there can be no danger.
The Senator has expressed the opinion, with great confi-
dence, that ours is a far stronger Executive Government than
that of England ; and has sustained this opinion by an enumera-
tion of office holders, and an argument to which I shall not
specially refer. Let any man institute a comparison between the
two, and he will find that this is but the creation of a brilliant
imagination. I got a friend in the library last evening to collect
some statistical information for me on this subject. Even now,
in the time of peace, the British army exceeds 101,000 men,
including officers ; and their vessels of war in commission- are
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 89
one hundred and ninety-one. How will our army of 12,000
men, and our navy consisting of twenty-six vessels in commis-
sion, compare with this array of force, and this source of pat-
ronage? The officers of the British army and navy, appointed
by the crown, hold seats in Parliament, and engage actively in
the business of electioneering. No law prohibits them from
exerting their influence at elections; and the bill of the Senator
from Kentucky, in this respect, bears a close resemblance to the
act of Parliament. No jealousy is manifested in either towards
the higher officers. It is only those of the humble class who are
deprived of their rights.
On the 5th January, 1836, the public debt of Great Britain
and Ireland amounted to £760,294,554 72^ sterling, say, in
round numbers, to thirty-six hundred millions of dollars. The
interest of every man who owns any portion of this vast national
debt is involved in and identified with the power of the British
Government. It is by the exertion of this power alone, that the
annual interest upon his money can be collected from the people.
In order to pay this interest and sustain the Government, there
was collected from the British people, in the form of customs
and internal taxes, during the year ending on the 5th January,
1836, the sum of £52,589,992 46^4 sterling; say, in round num-
bers, two hundred and fifty-two millions of dollars. What a
vast field for patronage is here presented ! How does our reve-
nue, of some twenty or twenty-five millions of dollars, compare
with this aggregate? Then there is the patronage attached to
the East and West Indies, to the Canadas, and to British pos-
sessions scattered all over the earth. The Government of Eng-
land is a consolidated Government. It is not like ours, composed
of sovereign States, all whose domestic officers are appointed
by State authority. The King is the exclusive fountain of office
and of honors and of nobility throughout his vast dominions.
What is the fact in regard to the General Government? With
the exception of post officers, its patronage is almost exclusively
confined to the appointment of custom-house officers along our
maritime frontier, and land officers near our western limits.
Throughout the vast intermediate space, a man may grow old
without ever seeing a Federal civil officer, unless it be a post-
master. I adduce these facts for the purpose, not of proving
that we ought not to exercise a wholesome jealousy towards the
Federal Government, but for that of showing how unjust it is
to compare the power and patronage of the President of the
90 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
United States with that of the King of England. You might'
as well compare the twinkling of the most distant star in the
firmament of Heaven with the blaze of the meridian sun. May
this ever continue to be the case!
I will tell the Senator from Kentucky how far I am willing
to proceed with him in punishing public ofificers. If a post-
master will abuse his franking privilege, as I know to my sorrow
has been done in some instances, by converting it into the means
of flooding the surrounding country with base libels in the
form of electioneering pamphlets and handbills, let such an
officer be instantly dismissed and punished. If any district
attorney should either favor or oppress debtors to Government,
for the purpose of promoting the interest of his party, he ought
to share a similar fate. So if a collector will grant privileges
in the execution of his office to one importer, which he denies
to another, in order to subserve the views of his party, he ought
to be dismissed from office and punished for his offence. I
would not tolerate any such official misconduct. But whilst
a man faithfully and impartially discharges all the duties of his
office, let him not be punished for expressing his opinion in
regard to the merits or demerits of any candidate. Above all,
let us not violate the Constitution, in order to punish an officer.
The Senator from Virginia has of late appealed to us often
to rise above mere party, and to go for our country. Such
appeals are not calculated to produce any deep impression on my
mind; because, in supporting my party, I honestly believe I am,
in the best manner, promoting the interest of my country. I
am, but I trust not servilely, a party man. I support the present
President, not because I think him the wisest or best man alive,
but because he is the faithful and able representative of my
principles. As long as he shall continue to maintain these prin-
ciples, he shall receive my cordial support; but not one moment
longer. I do not oppose my friends on this side of the House
because I entertain unkind feelings towards them personally.
On the contrary, I esteem and respect many of them highly. It
is against the political principles of which they are the exponents
that I make war.
I support the President, because he is in favor of a strict
and limited construction of the Constitution, according to the
true spirit of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions. I firmly
believe that if this Government is to remain powerful and per-
manent, it can only be by never assuming doubtful powers,
1839] INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS 91
which must necessarily bring it into colhsion with the States.
It is not difficult to foresee what would be the termination of
such a career of usurpation on the rights of the States.
I oppose the Whig party, because, according to their read-
ing of the Constitution, Congress possess, and they think ought to
exercise, powers which would endanger the rights of the States
and the liberties of the people. Such a free construction of the
Constitution as can derive from the simple power " to lay and
collect taxes " that of creating a National Bank, appears to me
to be fraught with imminent danger to the country. I am
opposed to the party so liberal in their construction of the Consti-
tution, as to infer the existence of a power in the Federal Gov-
ernment to create and circulate a paper currency for the whole
Union, from the clause which merely authorizes Congress " to
regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes." Such constructions would
establish precedents which might call into existence other alien
and sedition laws ; and it is such a construction which has given
birth to the bill now before the Senate, denying the freedom of
speech and of the press to a respectable portion of our citizens.
Should the time ever arrive when these principles shall be
carried into practice, and when the Federal Government shall
control the whole paper system of the country, either by the
agency of a National Bank, or an immediate issue of its own
paper, our liberties will then be in the greatest danger. In
addition to the constitutional patronage of the President, confer
upon him the influence which would result from the establish-
ment of a National Bank, and you may make him too powerful
for the people. Such a bank, spreading its branches into every
State, controlling all the State institutions, and able to destroy
any of them at pleasure, would be a fearful engine of Executive
power. It would indissolubly connect the money power with the
power of the Federal Government; and such an union might, I
fear, prove irresistible. The people of the States might still con-
tinue to exercise the right of sufifrage ; all the forms of the Con-
stitution might be preserved, and they might delude themselves
with the idea that they were yet free, whilst the moneyed influ- '
ence had insinuated itself into the very vitals of the State, and
was covertly controlling every election.
92 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 26, 1839,
ON THE DISPUTE AS TO THE MAINE BOUNDARY. '
A message was received from the President of the United
States, together with documents, on the subject of the recent
and existing difficulties between the people and authorities of
Maine and New Brunswick. The message and documents were
read throughout, and concurred most precisely with the accounts
of these matters heretofore published. It further appeared that
the British Minister, Mr. Fox, had, in a communication to the
United States Executive, declared, in concurrence with the
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, that it was well known
that the whole of the disputed territory had been placed under
the exclusive jurisdiction of British authority, and that it was
bound so to remain by an express agreement between the two
powers; and on this ground Mr. Fox demanded that Maine
should be ordered to withdraw her troops from the territory.
The President altogether and expressly denied the existence of
any such agreement, either express or implied, and called on Mr.
Fox to point out the passages or stipulations on which this
assumption was founded, whereupon Mr. Fox declared the two
Governments at direct variance on this point, entered his " pro-
test in the most formal manner " against the ground thus
taken by the President, that no such agreement existed, and
declared his intention, forthwith, to communicate with his Gov-
ernment on this point, and wait for further instructions. The
message maintained that the correspondence between the two
conflicting parties expressly disproved the existence of any
such agreement, and showed that each was to exercise the rights
and jurisdiction which they already possessed, without any
attempt at their advance, so as to avoid collision. It also main-
tained that Maine had a right to arrest the depredators on the
territory, and intimated an intention of the President to endeavor
again to settle the difficulty by referring it to the arbitration of
a third power. But if the authorities of New Brunswick should
persist in maintaining by force the assumption of exclusive juris-
diction over the territory, the President would then consider that
contingency as having arisen in which it would be proper for a
State to call for aid from the General Government. It further
appeared that the President had recommended to the Executive
^ Cong, Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. Appendix, 210-212.
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 93
of Maine to disband her troops as the first step to be taken toward
a return to a peaceful negotiation of the controversy.
Mr. Buchanan said that, in rising to move the reference of
this message and these documents to the Committee on Foreign
Relations, he deemed it his duty to submit a few observations to
the Senate. In this whole matter his ardent desire was, that the
Government of the United States might pursue such a course,
if this could be done with honor, as to preserve peace between
the two countries; and, if that object could not be accomplished,
that our course might be so firm, consistent, and dignified, as to
secure the universal approbation of our constituents. He desired
that our cause might not only be just in itself, but that it might
be conducted in such a manner as to leave no doubt of its justice
among the people of all political parties of the country ; because
he believed they were all actuated by the same desire to preserve
untarnished the honor of the nation. If war must come, we
should endeavor to inspire a unanimity of sentiment among the
American people; and then, in a righteous cause, we should be
irresistible.
In regard to our title to the disputed territory, he had but
little to say. It was sufficient for him to declare most solemnly
that, of all the important questions he had ever been called upon
to examine, this was the most free from doubt. In this opinion
he was happy to have been sustained, at the last session of Con-
gress, by the unanimous concurrence of the Committee on For-
eign Relations, and the unanimous vote both of the Senate and
House of Representatives. After the adoption of the resolu-
tions, in the beginning of July last, to which he referred, he had
fondly hoped that the British Government would long ere this
have entered seriously into a negotiation for the settlement of this
question ; but he was sorry to say that the same procrastination
and delay which had hitherto characterized their conduct still
continued to exist. He was happy, however, now to learn,
from the note to Mr. Forsyth from Mr. Fox, which has just
been read, that he anticipates an early settlement of the general
question. He hoped that in this particular Mr. Fox might not
be mistaken, and that his belief rested upon sufficient reasons
within his own knowledge.
In the brief remarks (said Mr. B.) which I have to make,
I wish to present a few points, to which I ask the serious atten-
tion of the Senate. The whole of the present difficulty on the
frontiers of Maine seems to have arisen from an entire misap-
94 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
prehension, on the part of the Britisii Government, in regard
to the question of exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed terri-
tory. Sir John Harvey seems to have proceeded entirely upon
this ground. I 'was no httle surprised when I read his letter to
the Governor of Maine, which asserts that, by an agreement
between the two Governments, the territory in dispute was to
remain under the exclusive jurisdiction of England until the
controversy should be determined; because I had supposed that
if any fact had been established beyond dispute by the corre-
spondence between the parties, from the day when the Senator
from Kentucky [Mr. Clay,] as Secretary of State, addressed
his first note to the minister of the British Government on this
subject until the present moment, it was, that their claim to
exclusive jurisdiction had always been resisted by the United
States. From the very nature of things, no such agreement,
either express or implied, could ever have been sanctioned by
this Government, without national degradation. ' What is the
true statement of the case? Two neighboring and friendly
nations have a dispute respecting the title to an intermediate
district of territory between their acknowledged limits; and by
far the greater part of this territory is a wilderness. Now, what
is the course, and the only course, which the very nature of such
a question would point out ? It is this : that, whilst the dispute
continued, each party should retain possession of that portion of
the territory which had been previously in its actual possession;
and the remainder should not be placed under the exclusive
jurisdiction of either.
Now, sir, unless I am greatly mistaken in my reading of
the documents, such an understanding has uniformly existed
between this Government and England, and has hitherto guided
the conduct of both parties. Nay, more, sir ; there is an express
agreement on this subject, if I understand the English language.
After the Senate had rejected the award of the King of Hol-
land, it became necessary to open a negotiation with England
for the purpose of settling this disputed question. At the con-
clusion of Mr. Livingston's note to Mr. Bankhead of the 2ist
July, 1832, written with this view, he says, " until this matter
shall be brought to a final conclusion, the necessity of refrain-
ing on both sides from any exercise of jurisdiction beyond the
boundaries now actually possessed must be apparent, and will no
doubt be acquiesced in on the part of his Britannic Majesty's
provinces, as it will be by the United States." Did the British
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 95
Government reject this friendly proposal? Did they then, as
Mr. Fox does now, assert any claim to exclusive jurisdiction?
No, sir, no. Sir Charles Vaughan, in his answer to Mr. Living-
ston, dated on the 14th of April, 1833, assures him " that his
Majesty's Government entirely concur with that of the United
States in the principle of continuing to abstain, during the
progress of the negotiation, from extending the exercise of
jurisdiction within the disputed territory, beyond the limits within
ivhich it has hitherto been usually exercised by the authorities of
either party." Now, can language be more explicit than this? A
distinct proposition, arising out of the very nature of the question,
was thus made by Mr. Livingston, and it was distinctly accepted
by Sir Charles Vaughan. Is not this, then, an express agreement
between the parties? I had, therefore, good cause for astonish-
ment when I saw the claim set up by the British Government to
the exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed territory. I cannot
help believing that, when Sir John Harvey and the British
authorities come to review this subject, they will arrive at a
different conclusion. In that event, our present alarming diffi-
culties will be speedily adjusted.
Now, sir, this being the state of the question, what rights
remained to each party ? It is true that, pending the controversy,
no exclusive jurisdiction can be exercised by either. But sup-
pose a band of lawless trespassers intrude themselves into this
disputed territory, and proceed to destroy its value by the plunder
of its timber, the chief article which renders it valuable, are both
parties obliged to stand by and look tamely on, whilst these
depredations are committed, without making any effort to pre-
vent them? Had not either party the right to drive away these
trespassers, without giving any reasonable cause of offence to
the other? To make the case familiar, let me suppose that my
friend from Missouri [Mr. Linn] and myself own adjoining
plantations, and that a controversy has arisen between us respect-
ing the title to some timber land along our boundaries. In order
to live at peace, we agree that, until the question of title shall be
settled, we will each refrain from taking possession of the prop-
erty in dispute. Now, sir, would this agreement prevent either
of us from driving away lawless trespassers from the timber
land to which we both claimed title? The two questions are
parallel. It appears to me that both these Governments have a
concurrent right, not against each other, but against lawless
intruders. I admit that in such a case each ought to act with the
96 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
most perfect good faith towards the other, and retire within their
acknowledged limits the moment the object is accomplished.
To drive away trespassers should never be made a pretext for
holding permanent possession of the territory in dispute.
Now, sir, what has Maine done? She has merely sent her
land agent, with a sufficient force, into the disputed territory,
under the authority of her Legislature, to expel the trespassers,
who were engaged in cutting down and removing the timber.
The resolution of the Legislature hath this extent, no more. In
my opinion, it was perfectly correct. It does any thing but
authorize an array of military force for the purpose of assum-
ing exclusive jurisdiction over the territory. It is merely the
employment of the land agent and the sheriff, with a sufficient
force, to expel the intruders. It is true this force was armed,
because the trespassers were armed, and had declared their pur-
pose of resistance. The amount of the appropriation made to
carry this resolution into effect was only ten thousand dollars.
Surely Sir John Harvey was mistaken in supposing that this
force, led by the land agent and the sheriff, went to the disputed
territory for the purpose of taking and holding permanent pos-
session of it in defiance of the British Government, and in viola-
tion of the subsisting agreement between the two countries.
But, sir, as a man of candor, I will say, that in one respect
I could desire that the Governor of Maine had acted in a differ-
ent manner from what he has done. His message to the Legis-
lature, and their resolution upon it, meet my entire approbation.
The only cause of regret which I have is, that he did not send a
copy of the message and resolution to the Governor of New
Brunswick. This might have been communicated to him confi-
dentially ; and thus the trespassers could not have received notice
of the intentions of Maine in time to make their escape. Had
he acted in this manner, it would have placed him entirely in the
right; and no pretext could have been afforded to Sir John
Harvey for rnistaking the character and object of the expedition.
It is true that in point of fact it would perhaps have made no
difference, as he has expressly declared that he was instructed
by his Government to maintain exclusive jurisdiction over the
territory, and that it was his fixed determination to obey this
instruction. Still, if this communication had been made to him,
it is possible no difficulty might have arisen.
There is a third and most important point to which I would
call the attention of the Senate. The Governor of New Bruns-
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 97
wick has expressed his determination to maintain exchisive juris-
diction over the disputed territory by miHtary force; and the
President of the United States, in his message, has expressed
an equal determination to resist any such attempt. He has
declared that if Sir John Harvey should invade this disputed
territory, he will consider it a case which, under the Constitu-
tion and laws, will make it his imperative duty to call out the
militia for the purpose of repelling this invasion. Should both
parties adhere to their determination, a collision becomes inev-
itable. The question, then, for the Senate to determine is, shall
the military seizure and occupation of this territory by the British
Government, under the pretext that they have a right of exclu-
sive jurisdiction over it, be resisted by force? Can we tamely
submit to such a violation of our rights? Is there any other
honorable alternative left ? Is there a Senator within the sound
of my voice who will doubt for a single moment on this ques-
tion? I sincerely believe there is not.
I do not yet believe that Sir John Harvey will persist in
a determination which would be an equal violation of our sov-
ereign rights, and of the express agreement of his own Govern-
ment. But ought any expectation that he will recede, to induce
Congress to adjourn without furnishing the President with the
means of repelling such an invasion? I think not. Congress
cannot be convened before September, because until then several
of the States would be without Representatives. In the mean-
time, actual war with a powerful nation may be forced upon
the country, without the President having the means of resist-
ance. A liberal contingent appropriation ought, therefore, to
be made before we adjourn.
I have thus presented the three points to the Senate which
I deem worthy of their deep and solemn consideration. Have
the British Government any right to the exclusive jurisdiction
over the disputed territory? If they have not, has Maine vio-
lated any right of that Government by expelling these lawless
intruders ? Shall we resist by force any attempt to take military
possession of the disputed territory whilst the negotiation is
pending ?
Mr. B. then moved the reference of the message and accom-
panying documents to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Vol. IV— 7
98 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
RESOLUTIONS, FEBRUARY 28, 1839,
ON THE DISPUTE AS TO THE MAINE BOUNDARY.'
Mr. Buchanan, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
to which was referred the President's Message, and accompany-
ing documents, in relation to the existing difficulties on the
Northeastern frontier, made a report thereon, which was read,
as follows :
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred
the Message of the President of the United States of the 26th
and the 27th inst. and the accompanying documents, in relation
to the existing difficulties on the Northeastern frontier of the
United States, report the following resolutions, and recommend
their adoption by the Senate:
Resolved, That the Senate can discover no trace, throughout
the long correspondence which has been submitted to them,
between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States,
of any understanding, express or implied, much less of any
" explicit agreement," such as is now alleged, that the territory
in dispute between them on the Northeastern boundary of the
latter, shall be placed and remain under the exclusive jurisdiction
of her Britannic Majesty's Government until the settlement of
the question; on the contrary, it appears that there was, and is,
a clear subsisting understanding between the parties, under which
they have both acted, that, until this question shall be finally
determined, each of them shall refrain from the exercise of
jurisdiction over any portion of the disputed territory, except
such parts of it as may have been in the actual possession of the
one or the other party.
Resolved, That whilst the United States are bound, in good
faith, to comply with this understanding, during the pendency
of negotiations, the Senate cannot perceive that the State of
Maine has violated the spirit of it by merely sending, under the
authority of the Legislature, her land agent, with a sufficient
force, into the disputed territory, for the sole purpose of expelling
lawless trespassers engaged in impairing its value by cutting
down the timber ; both parties having a common right, and being
bound by a common duty, to expel such intruders from a terri-
tory to which each claims title, taking care, however, to retire
• Cong. Globe, 2.s Cong. 3 Sess. VII. 229; S. Doc. 272, 25 Cong, 3 Sess.
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 99
within their acknowledged Hmits when this single object shall
have been accomplished.
Resolved, That should her Britannic Majesty's Government,
in violation of the clear understanding between the parties, per-
sist in carrying its avowed determination into execution, and
attempt, by military force, to assume exclusive jurisdiction over
the disputed territory, all of which, they firmly believe, rightfully
belongs to the State of Maine, the exigency, in the opinion of
the Senate, will then have occurred, rendering it the imperative
duty of the President, under the Constitution and the laws, to
call forth the militia, and employ the military force of the United
States, for the purpose of repelling such an invasion. And in
this event, the Senate will cordially co-operate with and sustain
the President in defending the rights of the country.
Resolved, That should the British authorities refrain from
attempting a military occupation of the territory in dispute, and
from enforcing their claim to exclusive jurisdiction over it by
arms, that then, in the opinion of the Senate, the State of Maine
ought, on her part, to pursue a course of similar forbearance.
And should she refuse to do so, and determine to settle the con-
troversy for herself by force, the adjustment of which is intrusted
under the Constitution to the Federal Government, in such an
event there will be no obligation imposed on that Government
to sustain her by military aid.
The report was ordered to be printed, and made the special
order for to-morrow.
100 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
REMARKS, MARCH 1, 1839,
ON THE RESOLUTIONS CONCERNING THE MAINE BOUNDARY.'
The Senate having taken up the resolutions reported by the
Committee on Foreign Relations, on the subject of the difficul-
ties between Maine and New Brunswick —
Mr. Buchanan said the subject had been so much discussed
that he would now offer no further explanation of the resolu-
tions, though he would be happy to reply to any questions which
might be proposed.
[Mr. Williams, of Maine, here made some remarks, and
concluded by moving that the fourth resolution be stricken out.]
Mr. Buchanan replied, that never had resolutions been drawn
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. Appendix, 308, 309-310, 311, 314-
315, 316. For the resolutions, see February 28, 1839, supra. In the Con-
gressional Globe, at the end of this debate, there appears the following note:
" In a report of the proceedings in the Senate on the Maine Boundary
Question, published in the Daily Globe of the gth instant, the remarks of
Mr. Buchanan, with several others, were copied from the Intelligencer. The
following note to the Editors of that paper, making some corrections, escaped
us at the time:
" To THE Editors.
" Lancaster, March 22, 1839.
" Gentlemen : There is one error in the sketch of the debate in the
Senate on the night of the ist instant, on the subject of the Maine contro-
versy, which appeared in the tri-weekly Intelligencer of Tuesday last, of
sufficient importance to justify correction from me. I am made to say, in the
fourth column of the fourth page, when speaking of the proceedings on our
Northeastern frontier, that ' all this the President looks at boldly and man-
fully, on an exalted eminence, above the feelings of the country,' &c. &c.
Now, I certainly never used, nor could have used, such an absurd expression.
The easiest mode of correction is to state the substance of what I did say,
which is as follows :
[The paragraph, as corrected, is given in the foregoing debate.]
" I might make some other corrections, such as that I did not say that the
boundary question ' had been a vexed question ever since the treaty of 1783,'
and that ' this territory had never been considered for a moment, from 1783
till now, as a part of Maine;' having endeavored to prove, and I think
successfully, in a report to the Senate on a former occasion, that it did not
even begin to be a question at all, until the conferences which preceded the
treaty of Ghent; but I forbear to trouble you further.
" I make these corrections in no spirit of complaint against the reporter ;
on the contrary, considering the lateness of the hour and the length of the
debate, his sketch is more accurate than could have been reasonably expected.
" Yours very respectfully,
"James Buchanan."
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 101
up with more care than these by any committee, and he did not
expect that they would meet with any opposition. Much that
was contained in the resolutions was a correct summary of the
views of the President. The committee had examined the cor-
respondence on this subject since 1832, at the time when the
Senate disaffirmed the award of the King of the Netherlands,
and in that correspondence they found an agreement in express
terms, which had been in force since 1835, ^"^ which was the
same as that embodied in these resolutions, " that, until this
question shall be finally determined, each of the two parties shall
refrain from the exercise of jurisdiction over any portion of
the disputed territory, except such parts of it as may have been
in the actual possession of the one or the other party." During
the pendency of the new negotiation it became indispensable to
enter into some arrangement on this subject, and Mr. Livingston
proposed that this should be the understanding between the two
parties. The Government of England concurred in this propo-
sition, not hastily, for it was not answered till April, 1833, when
the British Minister agreed to the terms of the proposition.
[Mr. B. read from the correspondence, showing that the agree-
ment was such as he had stated.] Here, he said, was a distinct
proposition, accompanied with its distinct acceptance; and if it
were necessary, and the time permitted, it could be shown that,
from that time to this, the two Governments had adhered to this
understanding.
Mr. B. said he would endeavor, in a few remarks, which he
would pledge himself to confine within the limits of five or ten
minutes, to show more fully what these resolutions were. The
first resolution, in the strongest terms that could be used, denied
the assertion made by Mr. Fox and Sir John Harvey, of the
right of the British Government to exclusive jurisdiction over
the disputed territory by an agreement, either express or implied,
and set up and demonstrated a clear understanding between the
two countries which was wholly inconsistent with the existence
of any such agreement, and entirely in conflict with any such
exclusive jurisdiction.
The second resolution justified the conduct of Maine through
this whole affair, maintaining that she ought to drive out tres-
passers on the disputed territory, and that it was not reasonable
cause of offence to the British authorities.
The third resolution went as far as possible, consistently
with what was due to the British Government, in asserting the
102 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
rights of Maine to the disputed territory, because it asserted that
if New Brunswick or Great Britain should persist in maintaining
exclusive jurisdiction by force of arms, in that case the exigency
under the Constitution and laws would have arisen, in which it
would be the duty of the President to call out the whole force of
the country to protect the property in the disputed territory.
And what was the fourth resolution ? Was it not apparent,
even from what the Senator from Maine had said, that this reso-
lution was necessary? Mr. B. would not now enter at all into
an examination of the conduct of Maine. But she was a brave
and gallant State, and her feelings of hostility were greatly
excited. Was there not, therefore, danger that, with 10,000
men at her command, she would rush into a conflict with the
New Brunswick or British authorities? The fourth resolution,
therefore, could do no less than declare that, if Sir John Harvey
should first withdraw his forces, then, in the opinion of the
United States Government, Maine ought to follow such an exam-
ple of forbearance, and that, if she did not, then this Government
would be under no obligation, after having done every thing it
could for Maine, to afford her any protection under such circum-
stances, nor ought she to expect it. The fourth resolution, said
Mr. B., simply defines our own position, and says that the Con-
stitution and laws impose on us no such obligation as to protect
Maine while pursuing a course contrary to the advice of this
Government. If we adopt only the first three resolutions, they
will be all on one side, and will lead Great Britain to believe
that we are ready for war at once.
And what is the argument of the Senator from Maine ? Sir,
I was at a loss to conceive what motive a Senator from Maine
could have in attempting to disprove this settled agreement.
And what reason does he assign for even a wish that it might
not exist? He says the negotiation may still be pending for
years, and Maine does not want this understanding to be inter-
posed between her and the possession of her territory.
Mr. Williams. I did not say we did not desire this under-
standing to exist. I only stated an objection to it, as here stated.
The resolution affirms the agreement to be so and so, when, per-
haps, it is still to be a subject of negotiation whether it is so or
not, for the British Government is but too ready to hang negotia-
tion on any practicable point that may possibly turn in their
favor.
Mr. Buchanan. Sir, did not the Senator and others from
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 103
Maine represent it as a great hardship that, under this agreement,
they could not enter into the disputed territory and settle it?
And if they should do so, the peace of the country would be
endangered, and this understanding is the only barrier in the
way of Maine to prevent her from taking possession of the dis-
puted territory. Sir, are we prepared for such a course which
must inevitably and at once bring us into open collision with the
British Government? For myself, I am prepared for that event
if it must come, but I would pursue the course of honor and of
right to the end of the controversy, and then, if hostilities must
come, we may be a united people, and enter into them with energy
and success. I presume the Senate are unanimously of the
opinion that, if Great Britain persists in asserting her claim to
exclusive jurisdiction over the territory, war is inevitable. And
yet this is objected to by the Senator from Maine, because it
contains an affirmance of the right of Maine. And why does he
object to this? Because we have made this affirmation a year
before, is there, can there be, any objection that we should again
affirm it? And yet on this ground the Senator objects.
In regard to the claim to exclusive jurisdiction on the part
of Great Britain, the Senator attempts to prove that there is
no understanding on this subject, and for that purpose he goes
back to the original correspondence, and presents from that a
claim set up by Great Britain, which was derogatory to our
rights, and degrading to the nation. And what was that claim?
That we were to hold the United States — ^their soil, their inde-
pendence, their existence — not in virtue of our own good swords,
not in virtue of our independence, declared and achieved by our
moral, intellectual, and physical energies, but as a base conces-
sion from England; and, therefore, as it did not appear that
England had conceded to us the possession and jurisdiction of
the disputed territory, it was consequently not ours. And how
did the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] meet that degrading
and insulting claim at the time? He met it with the highest
honor and with irresistible triumph. And now the Senator goes
back to that degrading claim, and follows up the train of events
to 1832, when he ought to have begun precisely where he left
off. And why? Because the state of things was entirely
changed in 1832, when the award of the King of the Nether^
lands was rejected by the United States Senate, at the instance
of Maine, and Mr. Livingston then proposed the present under-
standing, and made it as manifest as language could make it.
104 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
And what is it ? That, while the negotiation is pending, each of
the two parties should confine itself to rights already possessed,
and to this Sir Charles Vaughan, in the most formal manner,
gave his assent ; and it is the only possible principle on which the
peace of the two countries can be maintained, because there is
no hope of settling the controversy if either party has a right to
rush on the disputed territory, and assert its possession and
jurisdiction without any prescribed limits. Sometimes this
agreement has been attempted to be violated; but in every in-
stance, as I hope also they will in this, the British authorities have
desisted from carrying out such violations. [Mr. B. here read
from the President's message an account of various cases in
which England had refrained, when opposed, from extending
her rights and jurisdiction in the disputed territory.]
Sir, (Mr. B. resumed,) I hope this settlement will come
soon. I do not say we should wait forever; and if England
persists in her claim to exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed
territory, all America will be united, and she will be successfully
resisted. But if, on the other hand, this unfounded claim should
be withdrawn on the part of England, and Maine herself should
persist in the same violation of this agreement from which
England forbears, there may be war, doubtless, but the country
will be divided. Sir, if there must be war, let it be a national
war, and let it be on the side of right at every step, so that there
can be no question about it. And however I have been continu-
ally the advocate of Maine, and never more than at this moment,
yet I am unwilling that any of the individual States should
compel us in our course, and force us to go to war. Sir, I believe
I have redeemed my pledge, and in a manner which I hope will
be satisfactory to the Senator from Maine.
Mr. Buchanan. I have said all I intended to say on this
subject, and I leave it entirely with the Senate, stating this, how-
ever, that I believe the last clause of the fourth resolution is more
important than all the rest. It is no threat, but simply a state-
ment that we will not be under obligation to bring the United
States forces to the aid of Maine, if she goes out of the pale of
the Constitution by occupying the disputed territory with a mili-
tary force; and if the last i-esolution is stricken out, I do not
think the resolutions ought to pass.
Mr. Williams now moved to strike out the last clause of
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 105
the fourth resolution, denying the obligation of the United States
to support Maine in case of her not withdrawing if New Bruns-
wick should withdraw.
Mr. Buchanan said : I repeat that I consider the last part
of the fourth resolution as the most important part of the whole
matter ; and, lest this terrible anathema against a positive recom-
mendation of the President may occasion some more response,
I will read an extract from his message, which declares —
" These are still my views on the subject; and, until this step
shall have been taken, I cannot think it proper to invoke the
attention of Congress to other than amicable means for the set-
tlement of the controversy, or to cause the military power of the
Federal Government to be brought in aid of the State of Maine
in any attempt to efifect that object by a resort to force."
Sir, the resolution is not so strong as this. It does not
negative our going to the aid of Maine, if she does not comply
with the terms of the resolution, but merely asserts that we are,
in that case, not under obligation to aid her, and that is the whole
of it.
Mr. Webster said : Concurring, Mr. President, in the gen-
eral spirit of these resolutions, I should be glad if there could
be some modifications made in the latter branch of the fourth and
last, so as to insure for it my own approbation, and I should hope
the unanimous approbation of the Senate. I cannot vote for it
as it now stands. I must say that, in my opinion, there are well-
founded objections against it. I concur with the Senator from
Missouri in thinking that its sentiment is not constitutional.
Let us see, sir, how this fourth resolution stands. Its words
are,
Resolved, That should the British authorities refrain from attempting a
military occupation of the territory in dispute, and from enforcing their claim
to exclusive jurisdiction over it by arms, then, in the opinion of the Senate,
the State of Maine ought, on her part, to pursue a course of similar forbear-
ance. And should she refuse to do so, and determine to settle the controversy
for herself by force, the adjustment of which is intrusted under the Consti-
tution to the Federal Government, in such an event there will be no obliga-
tion imposed on that Government to sustain her by military aid.
To the latter part of this resolution I entirely object. It is
not fragrant of the true spirit of the Constitution of the United
States. It seems to imply that, in certain contingencies, we shall
106 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
leave the State of Maine to carry on a war alone against Eng-
land. It says, that if she shall not act as we recommend, but shall
make use of her own force, we will not aid her. But will that
fulfil our whole constitutional duty? Gentlemen say that they
will not suffer all the rest of the States to be dragged into a war
by Maine. Very well ; but, then, neither must Maine herself be
allowed to go to war, unless for reasons which shall induce this
Government to go to war also. We need not re-enact the Con-
stitution. We need not declare that no State can make war with
a foreign nation. Hostilities commenced by a State are not
lawful war. If a State declare war, it is still no lawful war, and
it is, unquestionably, our duty to repress all such hostilities, until
this Government is at war itself. It is wholly inadmissible to
suppose any case whatever, however contingent, or however
extreme, in which we may be quiet here, without dereliction of
our duty, while one of the States is in arms against a foreign
nation. No supposable or imaginable case would allow such a
state of things. Yet this seems to be implied, in the last branch
of this resolution. Hostilities, carried on by State authority,
are no more lawful than irregular invasions by multitudes of
private and unauthorized individuals. Unquestionably the duty
of this Government is to prevent all such occurrences.
We, therefore, must set out, in the consideration of such
subjects, with the conviction of this truth, that no State has a
right to make war for itself any more than it has to make war
for the whole country; or, as has been expressed, to drag the
other States into it.
These resolutions were of course drawn up hastily, as time
has been short.
Mr. Buchanan. They were not drawn up in two days.
Mr. Webster. I meant a compliment to the committee ; but
if gentlemen reject it, I will take it back. [Laughter.] There
may be a state of things by which Maine may be involved in
hostilities ; and shall we then keep hands off ? Shall we neither
repress those hostilities, nor make the war our own, but leave
her to fight out her own quarrel, in her own way? Sir, what
American statesman can maintain such doctrines? This cannot
be. We must prevent the war, or carry it on ourselves. And we
cannot constitutionally declare by a resolution that we will or
will not give her the military aid of this Government. For what
is implied in that? That she may go on, and make a little war
of her own, in which we may or may not take part, as we shall
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 107
be advised. This, I repeat, is the constitutional doctrine, fairly
to be inferred from this latter branch of the resolution; and I
again say, that it is a doctrine which I, for one, repudiate alto-
gether. Maine is not our ally ; she is part of ourselves. In what-
ever relates to our foreign relations, she has no capacity for
separate action, and can neither make war nor make peace for
herself. If she is invaded, she may repel that invasion, and it
will be our duty to hasten to her aid with all our power. If she
be not invaded, the power and the duty of vindicating her rights
against foreign nations devolve on this Government; and she
herself, in the mean time, is to keep the peace.
But I have another objection to this resolution. It seems
to carry an imputation against Maine. It implies that there is
reason to fear that she may violate her constitutional duty.
Now I am not disposed thus to censure her in advance. I will
impute to her no such purpose. Where is there any evidence that
she " determines to settle the controversy for herself by force,"
or that she is likely to come to any such determination? Thus
far, she has made no such attempt. Why, then, should we rebuke
her beforehand? Why suppose a case, and that a very improb-
able one, for no purpose but that of saying that, should it happen,
we will reject her, and cast her off? This reproach, in advance,
is unnecessary and unjust.
Why is it not enough to say, sir, that we will support the
peace of the United States, that we will protect the interests of
all the members of the Union, and vindicate their rights to the
soil;' that when there shall be a necessity for war, it shall be
declared and waged by the whole power of this Government;
but that, while there is peace, it shall be maintained by this Gov-
ernment ? Sir, I repeat again, that there can be no possible state
of things in which this resolution would be constitutional and
just. If there is an invasion of Maine, she may repel it, and we
must support her; and if Maine invade her peaceable neighbors
with hostile forces, it is our duty to be there and prevent such
invasion.
Sir, I concur cordially in the peaceful spirit of these reso-
lutions ; I would not hold out encouragement to acts which might
implicate the peace of the country. But the case made in this
fourth resolution is not actual ; it is all suppositious. Maine has,
as yet, done nothing which ought to be regarded as hostile.
Why, then, shall we presume that she will not still do her duty?
Is it not a matter of proper respect to the State to take it for
108 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
granted that, without an admonition or a rebuke from us, she
will confine herself to those defensive measures which every-
body knows she may rightfully exercise? She has manifested
no disposition to maintain exclusive jurisdiction by military
occupation; yet that is just the predicament in which this reso-
lution supposes she may hereafter place herself ; but why get
up a supposed case, in order to chide her, and to threaten her
with being left to her fate? I should be glad, Mr. President, to
be able to vote for all the resolutions ; but I cannot vote for the
last, unless this latter clause be struck out.
Mr. Buchanan said, since these resolutions have been met
with extraordinary objections, I will make a few observations
further. This body is truly the conservative body of the country,
and we are not to be deterred, through fear of giving offence,
from marching forward in the course of our duty.
It appears to me that some of the arguments of Senators
must of necessity involve the country in war; not a war of the
whole country, but a war brought on we know not how nor
what. What is the position of the Senator from Mississippi
and of the two Senators from Massachusetts ? It is, that this is
the territory of Maine, and therefore we are to go to war forth-
with. They support Maine in the occupation of this territory,
and let that proposition be adopted here, and the negotiation is
ended, and then war is the immediate and inevitable result.
But has the negotiation ended? I admit there has been
long delay. But has not the British Minister told us that he
expects a speedy settlement of the main question? But if the
negotiation has ended, every Senator knows that war is the
immediate result. Senators are wrong on this subject. This
disputed territory has never been in the possession of Maine.
She never held it. This has been a vexed question ever since
the treaty of 1783; and since the rejection of the award of the
King of Holland, it has, on our part, been under the control of
the treaty-making power of this Government, and Maine has not
the right to the exclusive possession of the territory any more
than England. It is withdrawn from the jurisdiction of both
severally, and is under the joint jurisdiction of this Government
and England, for the purpose of settling the controversy. But
if this is the territory of Maine, and we are at once to maintain
for her its possession, then the negotiation is ended, and we
are already in a state of war. Maine has expelled trespassers,
and she did right to that extent. But Senators now say the
1839] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 109
negotiation is ended, that the disputed territory belongs to Maine,
and that we are bound by the Constitution to call forth the militia
in defence of this territory. Sir, the President, in all this affair,
has acted with caution and firmness. He sees the approaching
storm. In Maine all parties are excited to the highest pitch,
and, if we go there, they are rising by hundreds and by thousands.
It is alleged that a force of four or five thousand men, under
the command of Sir John Harvey, is concentrating at the mouth
of the Aroostook, and that he has given notice to the land agent
of Maine that unless his men should disperse he would drive
them away; and the hardy freemen of that State are rallying
to the rescue. All this the President looks at boldly and calmly,
with a fixed determination to support Maine against such an
unjust attack; but having been placed in a position of exalted
eminence by the people of the whole country, where duty requires
him to stand above the excited feelings so natural to the single
State directly interested in the contest, and to view the question
in its bearings upon the whole Union, he says that, if Sir John
Harvey should withdraw his forces, he will not, in that event,
feel himself bound to send the forces of the United States to the
support of Maine, should she determine to settle the controversy
for herself by arms.
This territory has never been considered for a moment,
from 1783 till now, as a part of Maine ; and when we pledge our-
selves to stand by Maine to the death, is it unkind or unconstitu-
tional for us to adopt the last clause of the fourth resolution?
The Senate in that do not say that, even if Maine should do
wrong, a contingency might arise in which we would not rush
to her rescue. We could not say that, although it would have
been constitutional to do so. But we want to tell Maine that we
are not under a constitutional obligation to aid her if she take pos-
session of the disputed territory by her own force. And we do
not require of her even a simultaneous withdrawal; but the
British are to withdraw first, and we say, if they do that, as I
hope they will, then we are under no constitutional obligation to
sustain Maine in the possession of the territory, if she choose to
attempt it by force.
Sir, much as I deprecate war, yet I more dread dishonor;
and if Sir John Harvey persist in carrying his threat into execu-
tion, the Senate pledge themselves to war. And if we strike out
the fourth resolution, and send the other three to Maine, with
the speeches of the two Senators from Massachusetts, and the
no THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
Senator from Mississippi, we shall be at war before a fortnight.
And if we say to Maine, with the Senator from Ohio, [Mr.
Allen,] we will support you, right or wrong, sir, we shall then
be governed by her impulses, we shall be led astray by the enthu-
siasm of Maine. For her I am prepared to go to war. But I
wish to do it under such conditions that there can be no dispute
about the justice of our cause. And I am not willing to conclude
this proceeding without expressing to Maine our decision that
the question is exclusively with us, and not with her. As it
regards mere modifications of the resolutions, I am in favor of
them as far as they can aid in effecting unanimity. But as far
as the principle is concerned — that the question is ours — that I
cannot abandon ; and on that I had trusted and confidently hoped
that we should have unanimity in the Senate.
The vote was now taken on the question of striking out the
last clause of the fourth resolution, and it was decided in the
negative, by yeas i8, nays 26.
The President said it would be in order.
Mr. Webster said : I move, then, sir, to strike out the last
clause of this fourth resolution, and insert the words proposed
by the member from Illinois.^
Mr. Norvell suggested that these words might be amended,
by saying " the vindication of her rights," instead of the " redress
of her grievances ; " so as to read, " and leave the ultimate vindi-
cation of her rights to the Government of the United States, to
which it rightfully and constitutionally belongs."
Mr. Webster said he liked this change of words, and adopted
it with pleasure; and asked to have the whole resolution then
read, in order to see how it would stand, if thus amended.
The Secretary having read the resolution as proposed by
Mr. Webster to be amended —
Mr. W. said: There, sir, I can understand that; it savors
of the true doctrine, correctly describes the duties of Maine, and
our own duties ; it has the spirit of the Constitution in it, and I
trust the Senate will adopt it as it stands.
' Mr. Young, of Illinois, had moved to strike out the last clause of the
fourth resolution, and to insert, "and leave the ultimate adjustment of her
(Maine's) grievances to the Government of the United States, to which it
rightfully and constitutionally belongs."
1839] DEFENSE AGAINST INVASION 111
Mr. Buchanan said this modification would change entirely
the import of the substitute proposed by Mr. Young.
Mr. Webster thought otherwise.^
REMARKS, MARCH 2, 1839,
ON THE BILL TO GIVE THE PRESIDENT ADDITIONAL POWERS TO
DEFEND THE COUNTRY AGAINST INVASION.^
The bill from the House giving to the President of the
United States additional powers for the defence of the United
States in certain cases against invasion, and for other purposes,
was received, the i6th joint rule in the way of its reception was
suspended, and the Senate proceeded forthwith to consider the
bill. After the bill had been read the first time —
Mr. Buchanan observed that the bill from the House, now
before the Senate, entirely met his approbation, with perhaps a
single exception. Under all the circumstances, he doubted the
policy of sending a special minister to England; but he should
make no motion to strike this provision from the bill, unless his
doubts might be fortified by the opinion of other Senators.
With this exception, if such it ought to be considered, the bill,
he believed, was just such an one as the Committee on Foreign
Relations would have unanimously reported to the Senate, had
it not been deemed more proper that this measure should origi-
nate in the House. It was precisely in accordance with the reso-
lutions which had passed the Senate last night, by which we
pledged ourselves, that in case the British Government should
attempt to take possession of this disputed territory, we would
stand by the President of the United States, and sustain him with
all the military power of the nation in repelling this aggression.
This bill contained no provisional army. It simply authorized
a resort to the militia and volunteers, in case it should become
necessary to call out a military force before Congress could be
convened, and appropriated the money necessary to accomplish
the object. Mr. B. agreed with his friend from Missouri, [Mr.
' Mr. Webster's motion was carried by a vote of 24 yeas to 21 nays. The
first three resolutions of the Committee on Foreign Relations were agreed
to by 44 yeas to i nay (Mr. Ruggles) ; the fourth resolution, as modified,
was unanimously adopted.
' Cong. Globe, 25 Cong. 3 Sess. VII. 238, 239-240.
112 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
Benton,] that it was unnecessary to refer this bill to a committee,
as it was plain and simple in its provisions, and the session so
near its close. As to the propriety of sending a special minister
to England — he would be glad to hear the opinion of other
Senators on this subject.
Mr. Buchanan said that, even at this late hour of the night,
considering the position which he occupied in relation to the
subject, the Senate would excuse him for asking their attention
for a few moments, whilst he replied to the remarks of the Senator
from New Jersey, [Mr. Southard.]
For my own part, said Mr. B., I am not excited in the slight-
est degree, but am calm as a summer's morning; nor do I believe
that the Senate required a caution against acting under violent
impulse. I confess that, throughout the whole proceeding, I have
been only anxious that we should act with such coolness, such
dignity, and such discretion, as would secure the approbation of
the country. This important object has, I think, been accom-
plished. The justice of our cause is palpable; and I have only
labored to prevent it from- being obscured by the adoption of any
measure, in the assertion of our rights, on which our constituents
could be fairly divided in opinion. It was for this reason that I
have come into conflict with the State of Maine in relation to the
fourth resolution reported by the committee. Although I pre-
ferred that resolution as it originally stood, because it was more
precise, yet the change in the last clause does not materially affect
the meaning ; and it has procured an unanimous vote in its favor —
a consummation much to be desired. Should Maine act in accord-
ance with the spirit of this resolution, then if war must come, it
will find the country unanimous. On the part of Great Britain, it
will be a war of pure aggression, waged, during the pendency of
peaceful negotiations, for the purpose of assuming exclusive
military jurisdiction, against the clear understanding between the
two Governments, over a territory to which she has not even a
color of title. In such an event, the only alternative is war or
national dishonor; and between these two, what American can
hesitate? Force must be repelled by force; or national degrada-
tion is the inevitable consequence. I confess, however, it is still
difficult to believe that Great Britain will madly rush into such a
contest for an object so inconsiderable. This is a question for
1839] DEFENSE AGAINST INVASION 113
her own decision. All we have to do is to stand on the defensive,
and exercise forbearance until the shock of arms shall render
forbearance no longer a virtue.
I would ask the Senator from New Jersey what is there in
this bill which is not precisely in conformity with the resolutions
unanimously adopted last night ? Which was the most important
of all these resolutions ? Was it not that one which declared that,
if the British Government should, in pursuance of its avowed
determination, attempt, by military force, to take possession of the
disputed territory, that we would sustain the President in defend-
ing the rights of the country, and repelling this invasion ? This is
the single principle clearly and strongly expressed in the fourth
resolution. What, then, do we propose to do by this bill ? Merely
to carry out this principle in practice ; and that, too, in the mildest
form consistently with the safety of the country. Would we not
make ourselves a ridiculous spectacle before all mankind, if we
should adjourn, after adopting this solemn resolution, and leave
the President, without a dollar, to defend the country, in case it
should be attacked? We first pledge ourselves in the most solemn
manner to sustain him; and, when called upon to redeem our
pledge, we prove recreant to this duty which, but yesterday, we
imposed upon ourselves. Is there a single Senator here prepared
to act such a part ?
This bill is in fact but little more than a contingent appro-
priation of $10,000,000, placed at the disposal of the President,
to enable him to call forth the militia, in execution of the Consti-
tution and the existing law, for the purpose of repelling the
threatened invasion of the disputed territory. It is true that the
term of service is extended from three to six months, and the
President is authorized to accept of the services of volunteers.
These are the only changes in the old law effected by the bill. It
does not propose to add a soldier to the regular army. Until the
next meeting of Congress, it relies exclusively upon the present
army, militia and volunteers of the country, to repel the invasion
of the disputed territory. Now, I ask, what less can we do,
unless regardless of our duty, we should determine to adjourn
whilst war is impending over us, without providing any means
of defence ? And yet the Senator from New Jersey fancies that
he sees in the bill a menace to England ; and he dreads a rushing
of armed citizen volunteers across our frontier for the purpose
Vol. IV— 8
114 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
of invading the territory of a friendly power. But what says
the bill? Unless the contingency should happen for which it
provides, these volunteers will remain at home. They can never
be embodied without the orders of the President. They cannot
move towards the frontier until the event shall occur on which we
have solemnly declared that we will cordially co-operate with the
President in defending the interest and honor of the country.
What, then, is the inevitable consequence of the Senator's argu-
ment ? That we shall adopt no precautionary measures to repel a
threatened invasion, lest perchance they may be construed into a
menace by the invading power. The gentleman has not seen the
point to which his own argument would lead him. If he had, it
never would have been advanced. Besides, this argument implies
a want of confidence in our citizen volunteers, which I do not feel.
If we adjourn without passing this bill, we shall richly
deserve the reputation of being a Government valiant in resolu-
tions upon paper — a Government mighty in words, but contempti-
ble in action. We should become the scorn of our constituents.
But this bill is called a threat. A threat! To prepare for
war, when an intention to invade our territory has been avowed,
is a threat which may offend our powerful neighbor ! Such was
not the opinion of General Washington. He believed that to
prepare for war was the best mode of preserving peace. Weakness
always invites aggression. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for us,
from the very nature of our institutions, we shall never be well
prepared for war; but for this very reason, when we have cause
to apprehend immediate danger, our exertions ought to be so
much the more vigorous. We now find that Sir John Harvey is
collecting and concentrating his forces, which it is said will
amount to four or five thousand regular troops, with the avowed
purpose of making a descent on the disputed territory, and
placing it under the exclusive jurisdiction of England. When this
danger is impending, shall we place ourselves in the contemptible
position of resolving that the State of Maine shall be defended,
and then re-resolving that it shall not be defended, lest it might
give offence to the British Government? We can never avert war
by base submission; and if we could, the people of this country
will never purchase peace at the price of self-degradation. No,
sir, never. If the British Government should ever complain of
this bill as a threat, our Minister can point with confidence to the
1839] DEFENSE AGAINST INVASION 115
letter and proclamation of Sir John Harvey, in which he has first
threatened to take military possession of the disputed territory,
under the express command of his sovereign. He can show that
the menace first came from her Majesty's Government; and that
our proceedings have been purely defensive. This bill contains
no provision which goes further than adopting the necessary
means of self-defence, in case a foreign foe should invade our
native land. If my neighbor should be in the very act of attempt-
ing to deprive me of my property by force, and I should stand
upon the defensive, he might, with the same propriety, turn about
and accuse me of threatening him.
Whilst I am in favor of defending the just rights of Maine
to the last extremity, I am also disposed to inform her distinctly,
that if, in violation of the Constitution, which confers upon the
Executive of the Union the treaty making power, and in violation
of the clear subsisting understanding between the parties, she will
become the aggressor, and attempt permanently to occupy the
disputed territory by force, we are under no constitutional obliga-
tion to come to her aid, however difficult it might be, even in such
a case, to resist her appeal. In the language of the amendment
made to the fourth resolution, it is her duty to leave the ultimate
vindication of her rights to the General Government, to which it
rightfully and constitutionally belongs. Hands off from this
territory on both sides, whilst negotiations are pending. During
this period, the question belongs exclusively to the General Gov-
ernment. It would be forever a source of regret, both to Maine
herself and to the whole country, if she should not withdraw her
forces from this territory, in case Sir John Harvey should set her
the example, desisting from attempting its military occupation.
I deprecate war; but in a just cause I do not dread it. If it
should come now, it will be inevitable, and we may appeal to the
world for the justice of our cause. Our course has hitherto been
correct in asserting our rights. I trust and believe that Maine
will not embarrass us in pursuing it to the end. That she has
cause to complain, I cheerfully admit ; but let her continue to rely
upon the General Government, and when the crisis shall arrive, if
arrive it must, she will find the country as one man rushing to her
rescue. On the contrary, should the patriotic but excited feeling
which now seems to pervade her citizens drive them into acts of
aggression, and involve us in war, the best cause will be weakened
116 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
b}'^ such conduct, and distraction and division among the citizens
of the other States may be the consequence. Let her be prudent
as well as firm. This controversy must soon be ended either by
negotiation or by arms. Let her patiently and patriotically await
the result unless the territory should be actually invaded.
TO MR. TATE.i
Lancaster 26 March 1839.
Dear Sir/
I have received your favor of the 22d Instant, informing
me that in pursuance of a Resolution of the assembled Democracy
of Berwick Township, you had placed my name at the head of
the Sentinel as a candidate for the Vice Presidency; & asking
whether I will consent to become a candidate for that office.
Although I feel deeply grateful for the kind feelings mani-
fested towards me by so respectable a portion of my Democratic
fellow citizens ; yet a sense of duty towards the Democratic party
of the Union, as well as the preference which I feel for my
present situation in the Senate, induce me to decline the nomina-
tion. The practice, since the origin of the Government, has
been, I believe, to select a President & Vice President from
different grand divisions of the Union; and this practice is well
calculated to promote harmony among all the States. For my
own part, I entirely approve of this arrangement & think it
ought not now to be changed.
Mr. Van Buren will again by common consent be the candi-
date of the Democratic party for the Presidency ; & should Col :
Johnston decline a re-election, the N. C. will undoubtedly select
his successor not from a State adjoining New York, but from
one of the Southern or South Western Democratic States.
Under this conviction, permit me respectfully to request, that
you will not continue my name as a candidate for this office, at
the head of your columns.
Yours very respectfully
James Buchanan.
Levi L. Tate Esq.
" Buchanan Papers, private collection. Mr. Tate was the editor of the
Berwick Sentinel.
1839] TO GENERAL JACKSON 117
TO GENERAL JACKSON.'
Lancaster 9 April 1839.
My dear General,
Although a long distance separates us, and we may never
meet again on this side of time; yet my thoughts often dwell upon
you, and I contemplate the evening of your days, which may
Heaven prolong! with calm and unalloyed pleasure. Should you
be spared a very few years, you will live to witness the inevitable
and just award of posterity upon your public conduct. Already
the selfish passions which blinded the judgment of your former
revilers have sensibly subsided, and ere long the almost unani-
mous voice of a free people will do you justice.
I had anticipated, with heartfelt pleasure, a visit to the
Hermitage during the present Spring. Indeed I had made my
arrangements to go to the South West at the end of the late
Session of Congress; but the death of a beloved sister, a few
days before its close, caused me to abandon my purpose. I still
cherish a hope that we may yet meet again on earth.
Although not a member of any church myself; yet I was
gratified to learn, both for your own sake and that of the example,
that you had borne a public testimony to the truth and power of
religion. It can alone convert the inevitable ills attendant upon
humanity into positive blessings and thus wean us from this
world; and make death itself the portal to another and a better
state of existence. My poor sister died a triumphant death.
The Country is now, I fear, in a critical condition. In one
respect we are a strange people. Experience seems to be lost upon
us. Although the expansions and contractions of the Banking
system have periodically ruined thousands of our best and most
enterprising citizens ; yet we still continue to rush on in the same
mad career. The signs of the times are portentous of another
suspension of specie payments, although such an event is to be
deprecated; yet should it come, human ingenuity will not be able
to furnish a pretext for charging it on the Government. The
Banks have had their free sway. In that event, the final separa-
tion of Bank and State can no longer be retarded.
In Pennsylvania, the folly and wickedness of the Whigs and
'Jackson MSS., Library of Congress.
118 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
Antimasons, in attempting to nullify the late election and force
into'the Legislature the defeated Whig Candidates of the County
of Philadelphia, and thus usurp the Government, have greatly
strengthened the Democratic party. With honest and discreet
measures on the part of our State Government, and I have great
confidence in Governor Porter, we shall maintain our ascendancy
without difficulty. Bye the bye, you will be amused to learn, that
during our late tremendous Gubernatorial struggle, hickory poles
were raised in many places with flags bearing the inscription of
Jackson and Porter: so that you perceive, your name is still the
battle cry in the Keystone State. Her people have been as true to
you, as you have been to them.
I wish the prospects of Mr. Van Buren in New York were
as bright as they are in Pennsylvania. I fear he has lost that
State irretrievably. Our chief remaining reliance there must be
on the folly of the Whigs, who generally abuse power in such a
manner as to disgust the people, whenever they acquire it. New
York is a State in which the Banking interest has insinuated
itself into the very fibres and nerves of society. I was diverted
with a remark of Mr. Calhoun on the subject of this free Banking
law. He said he had not anticipated the final downfall of the
present Banking system for some years to come; but that this
free Banking, should it extend over the Country, would very soon
finish the work effectually.
What noble efforts they are now making in Virginia in favor
of the good cause! The Richmond Inquirer abounds in articles
of surpassing ability. Ritchie is making an effort which would
cover a multitude of past political errors. He has fairly aban-
doned Rives for the sake of his country. Both he and Judge
Parker calculate, with much confidence, upon victory. To lose
Virginia, at this crisis, would be a severe blow to the Demo-
cratic party throughout the Union ; but from all I can learn, the
issue is scarcely any longer doubtful.
I cannot believe that the British Government will go to war
with us in a cause so trifling and so unjust, as their claim to the
disputed territory ; when every blow which they would aim at us
must recoil upon themselves. Their prosperity is now almost
identified with ours. Still they are an arrogant and domineering
people; and their history presents but few, if any, examples, in
which they have surrendered any claim no matter how unjust, for
1839] TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN 119
which they have long and seriously contended, without fighting
for it. Besides, the present Ministry may be too weak in popular
confidence to be able to afford to do us justice. They are living
upon expedients from day to day. They are a sort of juste milieu
concern and are only maintained in power by the mutual jealousy
of the Tories and the Liberals. It is possible that a dread of losing
their places may occasion a war between the two countries. Still
I do not seriously apprehend such a result.
Your old friend Webster made a most terrific war speech late
one night, in the Senate and was clapped for his ardent patriotism.
He would not give the British Government longer than until the
next fourth of July to surrender up the disputed Territory. On
that day we must take possession of it, peaceably if we could,
forcibly if we must. " But a change came o'er the spirit of his
dream." Whether it was the desire of obtaining the special
Mission, or any other cause, certain it is, that he explained it all
away in his letter to Mr. Ogden which you have doubtless seen.
He is now ready to present the olive Branch as well as the sword
to England.
Please to remember me in the kindest terms to your son and
daughter and to Miss Donelson, and believe me ever to be your
devotedly attached friend
James Buchanan.
General Andrew Jackson.
TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN.i
Lancaster ii May 1839.
Dear Sir,
The enclosed is part of a letter which I have received from
Charles A. Bradford Esquire of Pontotoc, Mississippi. The
remainder of it relates to private business.
With the character of Mr. Bradford, you are probably
acquainted. He went to Pontotoc a few years ago and established
a Democratic paper there in which he was successful. He is now
a gentleman of high standing with his party and at present holds
an office in that State ; but I do not recollect what. He is nearly
' Van Buren MSS., Library of Congress.
120 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
connected with Mr. Macpherson ; and, with Mr. T. P. Moore, has
long been anxious to procure a Diplomatic or Consular appoint-
ment for that gentleman.
With Mr. M'Pherson I am not certain that I am acquainted;
yet from the enclosed letter and from other information, I believe
him to be eminently qualified for the Station to which he aspires.
I should personally feel much gratified at the success of his
application ; at the same time I do not wish to interfere in such a
manner as might defeat the claims of Dr. McClintock, Mr. Rogers
or Mr. Patton of this State. I presume, however, that the first
named gentleman is satisfied with his present appointment;
although I have not heard from him since he received it. I think
there are strong political reasons why Mr. McPherson should
obtain some appointment ; but doubtless you are better acquainted
with all the facts and circumstances than I can be.
I returned yesterday evening from an excursion to New
Jersey, where I went for the purpose of putting a little girl to
school. I passed one day at General Wall's and another at Mrs.
Harrison's. From all I could learn from the General and others,
our prospects are daily growing brighter in New Jersey.
For the last month or six weeks, I have read the Richmond
Inquirer, with admiration. Many of the editorials and communi-
cations are written with surpassing ability. Ritchie's recent con-
duct has merit enough in it to cover all his past sins. May
Heaven send the party a safe deliverance in that State! My
hopes are high of success.
I have not the least idea that the Harrison Antimasons of
the State can ever be induced to abandon him and support Mr.
Clay; and although I have no confidence in the Whigs, yet I
now begin to believe that they have gone too far to abandon Mr.
Clay, in case he should be nominated by the National Convention.
No calculation however, can be made upon their conduct ; for with
honor and patriotism constantly upon their lips, as a party in this
State, they have always abandoned the right to pursue what they
deemed the expedient. In any event, however, I think we have
nothing to fear.
I hope Lord Palmerston's convention may be such an one as
you can accept. Judging from the extracts from English News-
papers which I have seen they do not seem to understand the
question in that Country; and although they appear to be averse
1839] TO MR. CARPENTER ET AL. 121
to war, yet no disposition has been publickly manifested to yield
to us our unquestionable rights.
From your friend
very respectfully
Mr. Van Buren. James Buchanan.
[No enclosure.]
TO MR. CARPENTER ET AL.>
Harrisburg, June 17, 1839.
Gentlemen : I have been honored by your kind invitation
to a public dinner, to be given when it might best suit my conveni-
ence, during my visit to this place. The approbation of my public
conduct by the democratic members of any legislature of my native
state would inspire me with the most grateful feelings; but
'Niles' Register, June 22, 1839. vol. 56, pp. 267-268; reprinted from the
Harrisburg Keystone, June 10, 1839. Mr. Buchanan having visited Harris-
burg, he was invited by the Democratic members of the Legislature to dine
with them. The invitation read as follows :
" Hall of the House of Representatives,
" Harrisburg, June 15, 1839.
"Dear Sir: Hearing of your temporary sojourn in this place, the
undersigned Democratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives,
in testimony of their high sense of your services in the cause of liberal prin-
ciples ; and especially in the course you have pursued in sustaining the Presi-
dent of the United States in his firm stand in favor of a well regulated and
well guarded depository of the public treasure, under the strict control of
officers of the general government who are immediately responsible to the
laws and the people, as contradistinguished from a depository in irresponsible
private associations of individuals or corporations, tender to you a public
dinner at such time as may suit your convenience." [Here follow the names
of the signers which appear at the end of Mr. Buchanan's reply, as given
above.]
The Harrisburg Keystone, June 10, 1839, contains the following para-
graph :
" On Monday evening an entertainment was given at Nagle's, at which
all the Democratic members of the legislature, together with the governor,
heads of department, and many citizens of various parts of the State attended.
The assemblage was characterized by great hilarity, good feeling, and zeal.
Several interesting and eloquent addresses were delivered during the evening,
among which were addresses by Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Ingersoll, Col. Porter,
Col. Parsons, and others. The toasts were pointed and appropriate."
122 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
emanating as it now does from that faithful, able and devoted
band by whose patriotism, firmness, and discretion, our beloved
commonwealth has been saved from a revolution in its govern-
ment, I feel it to be a reward far beyond my desire. All I can
promise in return is, that I shall endeavor, by pursuing the same
course which has won youi" favor, to merit its continuance. I
regret that I cannot accept your invitation, as my engagements
require me to leave Harrisburg to-morrow morning.
When Mr. Van Buren first recommended to congress the
adoption of the independent treasury, as the leading financial
measure of his administration, I took my stand in its favor, from
the firmest conviction that it was a just and necessary measure.
Its true character was at iirst misunderstood by many of the best
and wisest democrats of the country; and it was misrepresented
in such a manner by the satellites of the banking power as to cover
it with a cloud of prejudice. The cloud has already been dissi-
pated by public opinion, the sovereign arbiter of all political
measures under our form of government ; and viewed in the light
of truth, it now stands as a monument of the wisdom, firmness,
and patriotism, of its distinguished author. Its final success, and
that at no distant day, seems inevitable. Another bank of the
United States is repudiated, at least for the present, by the leading
members of that party who were formerly its devoted friends.
What, then, are the remaining alternatives for the safe-keeping
of the public money? Does any man now seriously believe that,
for this purpose, the people will again resort to a league of affili-
ated state banks, and pour the public treasure into their vaults,
and thus again convert it into an engine of ruinous expansions
and contractions of the currency, and of new political panics and
pressures? Shall we place our money under the custody of
corporations which in the day of trial, when we shall most require
its use to sustain the honor and interest of the country, may
again convert it into irredeemable bank paper? Above all, shall
we, who profess to be the friends of state rights and the liberties
of the people, bind together by bonds of mutual interest the eight
hundred banks of the country and the chief executive magistrate;
and thus place under his control instruments of corrupting influ-
ence throughout every state of the union of more extensive
power than was ever wielded by the bank of the United States?
If the democracy of the country be not willing thus to put them-
1839] TO MR. CARPENTER ET AL. 123
selves in subjection to the banking power, the only remaining
alternative is the independent treasury. This measure is so simple
in itself, and so conformable to the spirit and letter of the consti-
tution, that it could not fail, vi^hen freed from the mists of preju-
dice, to command the approbation of the people. By its adoption,
we merely propose to return to the practice which prevailed for
some time after the origin of the federal government, and entrust
the safekeeping of the public money to agents responsible to the
government of the people, instead of banking corporations respon-
sible only to their own stockholders. The public money is now
collected by responsible officers, and it is disbursed by respon-
sible officers; why then, between the time of its collection and
disbursement, should it be confided to irresponsible banks ? This
is the sole question.
By depriving the banks of the custody of the public money,
you will not injure any one of them which is conducted on sound
and safe principles. It is true that the establishment of the inde-
pendent treasury, besides diminishing their profits in a small
degree, by taking from them the use of the people's money, to
which they have no just claim, may require them to keep in their
vaults a somewhat larger amount of gold and silver than hereto-
fore ; but this will be one of the greatest incidental advantages of
the system. This required increase of the precious metals will,
however, I fear, prove wholly inadequate to restrict the banks
within those safe limits which will secure to the public a paper
circulation at all times convertible into gold and silver. I merely
throw out these hasty hints on the great subject to which you
have thought proper to advert, and which is making such rapid
advances in the public favor. With sentiments of grateful respect,
I remain sincerely yours,
James Buchanan.
Samuel Carpenter, John Miller, Henry Myers, and
Thomas C. Miller, on behalf of the Democratic members
of the Senate.
Thomas B. McElwee, Stokes L. Roberts, J. R. Snowden,
William McKinstry, Charles Pray, Miles N. Car-
penter, E. W. Hamlin, and Wm. Field, on behalf of the
Democratic members of the House of Representatives.
124 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1839
FROM PRESIDENT VAN BUREN.i
Washington Deer. 27. 1839.
Dear Sir
The office of Attorney Genl. of the U. States has become vacant
by the resignation of Mr. Grundy. Although I have no reason to suppose
that it would be desirable to you to change your present position in the public
service, I have nevertheless felt it to be my duty to offer the seat in my
Cabinet which has thus been placed at my disposal for your acceptance, and
to assure you that it will afford me sincere pleasure to learn that it will be
agreeable to you to accept it ; — a sentiment in which those who would be your
associates, will, I am confident, cordially participate.
Should you decide otherwise the occasion will have been presented, &
cheerfully embraced, to express the high sense I entertain of your talents
and also my confidence in your patriotism, & friendship for the admin-
istration.
Please to let me hear from you at your earliest convenience, & believe
me to be
Very respectfully, & truly your friend & obednt. Servt.
M. Van Buren.
The Honble
James Buchanan.
TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN.^
Washington, Dec. 28th, 1839.
Dear Sir:— ^
I have received your note of yesterday evening, tendering to
me the office of Attorney-General. Whilst I regard it, with
grateful sensibility, as a distinguished mark of your kindness and
confidence, yet I prefer my position as a Senator from Pennsyl-
vania to the Attorney-Generalship, high and honorable as it is
justly considered. Nothing could induce me to waive this prefer-
ence, except a sense of public duty ; and happily upon the present
occasion, this presents no obstacle to the indulgence of my own
inclination. Devotedly attached, as I am, to the great principles
upon which your administration has been conducted, I feel that I
can render a more efficient support to these principles on the floor
of the Senate than I could in an executive office, which, from its
nature, would necessarily withdraw me, in a great degree, from
^ Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; Curtis's
Buchanan, I. 452.
^ Curtis's Buchanan, I. 452.
1840] TO GENERAL PORTER 125
the general politics of the country, and again subject me to the
labors of the profession.
Permit me to embrace this occasion of again respectfully
reiterating my earnest desire that you would confer this appoint-
ment upon Judge Porter. I believe him to be eminently qualified
to discharge the duties of the station ; and that it would be highly
gratifying to the Democracy of Pennsylvania to be represented
in your cabinet by a gentleman who enjoys so large a portion of
their confidence.
With the highest esteem, I remain very respectfully your
friend,
James Buchanan.
1840.
TO GENERAL PORTER.'
Coniidential.
Washington January 8th. 1840.
My Dear Sir,
The end has come, and notwithstanding all my protestations
to the contrary, the office of Attorney General was first offered to
Mr. Dallas and he having declined it, it was tendered to Mr.
Gilpin, and he has accepted it. That this was the President's
purpose from the beginning I entertain not a doubt. Thus every
avenue to a Cabinet office during Mr. Van Buren's administration
is closed against any Pennsylvanian ; and the President's disposi-
tion towards myself is proclaimed upon the house-top. This shall
not influence me in the slightest degree to swerve from the path
of duty, but it has changed my personal feelings and will in some
degree affect my personal relations with the President,
from your friend sincerely,
James Buchanan.
Gen. David R. Porter.
^Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
126 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
REMARKS, JANUARY 10, 1840,
ON THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN MISSOURI AND IOWA TERRITORY.'
The Vice President presented a memorial from the Legisla-
tive Council of Iowa, praying a settlement of the contested boun-
dary line between said Territory and the State of Missouri.
Mr. Buchanan said that this was in its nature a question
purely judicial, and therefore one on which the Senate ought to
act with perfect calmness and deliberation. They ought to hear
both sides patiently; and their decision, whatever it might be,
ought to carry with it that moral power which always resulted
from strict impartiality and thorough, as well as calm investiga-
tion. But what did we then witness? Ihe question had been
discussed whether, in case Congress should decide against Mis-
souri, that State would afterwards have the power of appealing to
the Federal Judiciary. But could it be of any possible benefit to
Missouri to discuss this question in advance ? It was possible the
question might never arise; and if it did, in consequence of a
decision by Congress against Missouri, she might then pursue the
course which she thought most compatible with her interest and
her honor. The question as to the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court of the United States over the subject could never properly
arise in this body.
Again : an attempt had been made to renew the war between
Ohio and Michigan in the discussion of this question. They had
had enough of this war in the Senate in former years to satisfy
any reasonable man ; and he trusted that question would not then
be conjured up to disturb our repose. It was now over and gone.
Mr. B. hoped the Senate would proceed and settle the real
question in controversy, so far as it was competent for them to
decide it, without entering upon an exciting discussion of one
question which might never arise, and of another which had
been already determined. He trusted that the letter would be
referred to the Judiciary Committee without further debate.
^Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. iii.
1840] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 127
REMARKS, JANUARY 17, 1840,
ON THE MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE.'
On motion of Mr. Buchanan, in accordance with his promise
on yesterday, the Senate took up the resolutions offered by Mr.
Williams, calling on the President of the United States for the
correspondence, not already communicated, with the British
Government, on the subject of the Maine Boundary, and with the
British Minister and the Governor of Maine relative to the
invasion of the State of Maine, and the exercise of jurisdiction in
the disputed territory.
The question being on the following additional resolution,
offered by Mr. Ruggles :
Resolved further, That the President be requested to communicate to
the Senate, so far as may not be incompatible with the public interest, whether
any, and, if any, what measures have been taken, under the act of Congress
of March, 1839, or otherwise, to cause the removal or expulsion of the British
troops which have taken possession of a portion of the territory of Maine
claimed by Great Britain; and especially whether, since the last session of
Congress, any military posts have been established in Maine, or any other
military measures adopted, preparatory to a just vindication of the honor
and rights of the nation and of Maine, as connected with the persevering
claim made by Great Britain to a portion of the territory of that State.
Mr. Buchanan said he scarcely knew what to say on the
subject of this resolution. It would seem to contain an implied
censure upon the President, which, in his humble opinion, was
wholly unfounded. In regard to the course pursued by that dis-
tinguished officer in this very important and delicate matter, there
was but one sentiment in this country, and all political parties
had evinced their approbation of it. But the resolution of the
Senator [Mr. Ruggles] called upon him to communicate to the
Senate whether any and what measures have been taken under
the act of March, 1839, or otherwise, to expel the British troops
from the disputed territory; and whether, since the last session,
any military posts have been established in Maine preparatory
to a just vindication of the nation's honor. Now, (said Mr. B.)
every Senator knows perfectly well the only answer which the
President can give to these interrogatories. Indeed, this answer
has been substantially given in advance. In his annual message,
dated on the second December last, he has informed us that he
had not touched a dollar of the $10,000,000 confided to him by
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 126-127.
128 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
the act of March, 1839; ^nd he then surrendered up the trust
which had been confided to him by Congress. And why did he
pursue this course? Simply because the contingency had not
happened upon which he could have applied this money. There
had been no invasion of our territory, or any imminent danger
of such an invasion. There had been no attempt on the part of
Great Britain to enforce by arms her claim to exclusive jurisdic-
tion over the disputed territory. So far from it, that a solemn
agreement had been entered into with the British authorities for
the express purpose of preventing any such attempt from being
made by either nation. It was not until about the first of January
that the President could possibly have heard that two companies
of British troops had been stationed at the Temiscouata lake,
because the letter of Governor Fairfield, communicating this
information, was not dated until the 23d of December. And yet
the Senate are gravely called upon to adopt a resolution, asking
the President whether he has taken any measures, under the act
of March, 1839, to expel these troops — in the very face of his
message of the 2d December last, declaring that he had not found
it necessary to use any of the powers conferred upon him by this
act. Nay, more. If the President had established military posts
in the disputed territory, his conduct would have been justly
censurable, and would have afforded to the British Government
the same cause of offence as they have afforded to us, unless it
should be satisfactorily explained, in recently stationing troops at
the Temiscouata lake. The President's answer to these inquiries,
we all know, must be in the negative; and it would, therefore,
seem that the object was to cast an implied though a very unjust
censure upon him for having done nothing.
Mr. B. said he did not know what course the President had
pursued since the receipt of Governor Fairfield's letter. He pre-
sumed, however, that, as a matter of course, he had protested
against this military occupation of the disputed territory by the
British authorities as a violation of the subsisting agreement and
of the rights of Maine, and had asked an explanation from the
British Minister. Before he attempted to expel these troops by
force, he must call upon Congress to furnish him the means.
Indeed, we as yet know nothing of the particular circumstances
attending this military occupation, except what is contained in
the letter of Governor Fairfield; he should, therefore, be glad if
the Senator from Maine would withdraw his resolution; but, if
1840] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 129
he did not, Mr. B. would not object to its passage. All the infor-
mation which it was in the President's power to communicate
would be elicited, if it could at this time be properly communi-
cated, by the two resolutions of the Senator's colleague, [Mr.
WiUiams.]
Mr. B. said that, on the question of the Northeastern
boundary, the conduct of the President had hitherto been so
fortunate as to satisfy even his political opponents. It had com-
bined prudence with firmness, and had received the approbation
of almost every reflecting man in the country. The negotiation
on this important question was, if he might be permitted to use
the expression, now at its very crisis; and the President had
deemed it inexpedient to communicate to Congress any of the
correspondence which had taken place between the two Govern-
ments since the close of the last session, doubtless because he
deemed that it might have an injurious efifect upon the negotia-
tion. Judging by the past, (said Mr. B. ) surely we ought to
have sufficient confidence in the President to wait for a short
period, and not be calling upon him for communications which
may be injurious to the public interest, and which, if so, ought to
be withheld. The final result of the negotiation will probably
soon be known; and will then, as a matter of course, be sub-
mitted to Congress, with all the correspondence.
Allow me, said Mr. B., to make one general remark before I
take my seat. I am very apprehensive that we may have serious
difficulties with the British authorities before the close of this
controversy. My earnest desire is, therefore, that our proceed-
ings may be marked with such justice, moderation, and firmness
as to justify us in the eyes of all mankind. A contest must be
avoided, if this be possible consistently with national honor; and
then, if it should be forced upon us, we shall be a united people.
He made these remarks without any knowledge upon the
subject other than that in the possession of every Senator.
Mr. Ruggles said he concurred fully in the resolutions of his
colleague, asking for copies of correspondence. But Mr. R.'s
amendment went further, and asked information as to what had
been done — not merely what had been said, but what had been
done by the President ; and Mr. R. would be glad to know what
had been done under the act of 1839, or by any other authority.
He had not been aware that his amendment could be construed
into any disrespect or censure of the President : certainly it was
not intended. It was a simple inquiry ;, and if the President had
Vol. IV— 9
130 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
not done what he ought, Mr. R. would leave that matter to be
decided by the State which he represented. Mr. R. also believed
that the President might have done something since the second of
December, under some authority, which he had not yet made
known, and which it was worth while to know. He at least might
have taken some precautionary measures, such, at least, as making
surveys, for it was to be presumed that the President had his eye
on what was known to the public, especially as he could not but
have apprehended the risk of difficulty as well as the Senator
from Pennsylvania and Mr. R. himself.
They had learned from the President himself, that commis-
sioners had been appointed to make a survey of the country, and
report, not to this, but to the British Government. And what
had that commission done? They had gone up the St. John's
river, crossing the line on their way tO' the west, to the head
waters of the St. John's, which were contiguous to those of the
Aroostook ; and they had then gone down the Aroostook, and had
entirely avoided that section of country which was designated
by the treaty of 1783, and where the highlands were to be found
as pointed out by the treaty. And now Mr. R. would ask the
Senator from Pennsylvania if he believed for a moment that all
this was for the purpose of ascertaining the facts in regard to
the treaty ? It had, on the contrary, been apprehended that thus,
under cover of the treaty, it was for the purpose of seeking out
military posts, and not of finding those marks and monuments
which the treaty designated. This suspicion might be unfounded ;
but the apprehension itself which the Senator from Pennsylvania
had expressed, seemed to warrant this inference of the people of
Maine in reference to this survey. They had surveyed the rivers,
and not the highlands; and this went to warrant the inference
that the object of the survey was to get information for the Gov-
ernment of Britain that might be useful to them in case of the
event which the Senator apprehended. And if such was their
object, was it not proper to ask the President whether he had
taken any precautionary measures, at least so far as to make a
similar examination, especially as there was not a question in
Congress or the country as to the right of Maine to the territory
in dispute.
Mr. R. said further, that there had been a palpable and
admitted violation of the arrangement entered into by the media-
tion of General Scott, of which the President could not but have
been aware; and, in respect to caution, there had been abun-
1840] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 131
dance of that. The British Government had been cautious enough
never to have a minister here with power to adjust the contro-
versy ; here, and here only, where the adjustment ought to have
been made. They had now been cautious enough to send on this
singularly conducted commission one of the ablest engineers of
England, as if for the very purpose of a military survey. Mr. R.
hoped, therefore, the amendment would be adopted.
Mr. Allen admitted the delicacy of this matter; but, delicate
as it was, Congress, the Executive, and the whole American
people were united as one man on the merits of this great question,
and in according the right over the disputed territory to the State
of Maine. Mr. A. ardently desired that this unanimity might be
disturbed by nothing even doubtful or ambiguous; and if this
resolution were doubtful in its character, he thought it ought to be
so modified as to remove all ambiguity.
Mr. Buchanan said he would cautiously avoid, on this occa-
sion, any debate on the general subject. His opinions were suffi-
ciently well known to render this unnecessary. There were three
resolutions before the Senate for consideration; two of them,
which he thought entirely proper, called on the President for all
the correspondence between the British Minister and the Governor
of Maine, the British Government and our own Government, on
the subject of the Northeastern boundary, which have not here-
tofore been communicated, provided its publication may not be
deemed incompatible with the public interest. We have just
heard, almost this instant, that British troops have occupied a
portion of the disputed territory. The Senator from Maine,
[Mr. Williams,] ever true to his trust, ofifers a resolution, calling
upon the President for all the information in his possession, the
publication of which he might not deem improper. All this was
very proper; but what did the resolution of the other Senator
[Mr. Ruggles] propose? Why, that [reads the resolution.]
Now, sir, what is the character of this resolution? And,
mark me, sir, I do not oppose its passage, but I will make a
single remark. Suppose the President had established military
posts in the disputed territory, as this resolution intimates he
ought to have done, would it not have been a direct violation of
the agreement concluded between General Scott and Sir John
Harvey? Had the President acted in this manner, he would
have violated the spirit, as the British, if our late information
should prove to be correct, had done both the letter and spirit of
this agreement. The agreement had procured us peace on the
132 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
border, and, in my opinion, should not have been Hghtly dis-
turbed. The President is asked what he has done under the act
of March, 1839, when the President has expressly informed us
that he has done nothing, because the contingency contemplated
in that act had not occurred at the date of his message. The
negotiation was then proceeding amicably, as the President had
informed us, and he hoped it might progress in the same spirit
until it reached a peaceful termination.
Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, said it always gave him great
pleasure to concur, when he could, in the views of the chairman
of the Committee on Foreign Relations. But he must now differ
from him so far as to think that there was not the slightest impu-
tation on the President in this resolution ; and the Senator himself
seemed to admit as much when he said he should make no objec-
tion to its adoption. And further, the mover of the resolution
had himself declared that he had no purpose whatever of censure.
That Senator was deeply interested in this matter, and was even
laudably desirous to know all that could be known about it con-
sistent with the public interest. And to what had we come, if
the President was to be asked no question in regard to his official
duties? And was there nothing to be allowed to a State whose
rights had been so long withheld? Sir, (said Mr. C.) while we
guard the President, let us not be insensible to the feelings and
just rights of a member of this Confederacy. On this subject he
saw no occasion to censure the President, but God knows he is
sufficiently amenable to censure without going out of the way to
find it. Sir, I think there is no imputation in the resolution, and
I hope it will be allowed to be passed.
Mr. Buchanan said that he felt so much confidence in the
Senator's ability to construe the meaning of language correctly,
and was so much pleased with the approbation he had expressed
of the President's conduct in regard to the Maine boundary
controversy, that he was willing to forego his own opinion of
the character of this resolution. It was true that this approbation
had been accompanied by a protestation that the President was
sufficiently censurable on other questions. As to the Senator's
" God knows," &c. when he brings forward his bill of particulars,
Mr. B. trusted that the friends of the Pi'esident would be able to
defend him triumphantly. At present Mr. B. was content with
the admission in favor of the President's conduct respecting the
Maine controversy, and he would now vote with more cheerful-
ness for the resolution.
1840] MAINE BOUNDARY DISPUTE 133
Mr. Davis said he had Hstened yesterday and to-day to the
idea that this resolution implied censure on the President; but it
had never entered his mind at all ; and as to adopting the resolu-
tion, or an equivalent, there could be no doubt. The sentiment
throughout Congress and the country was unanimous in favor of
the right of Maine; and what the President in his late message
had said, we all felt deeply to be true, that the controversy
had continued too long. It was full time for it to be brought to
a close. And who knew what might be the present state of facts ?
At the last session, such was the excitement in the public mind,
that when the British were about to take possession of this terri-
tory, there was great indignation manifested here and generally.
Maine thought it her duty to repel that invasion. And how was
the difficulty adjusted ? By the mediation of General Scott, sent
by this Government, between Maine and New Brunswick. There
was now intelligence, very nearly official, that the territory was
in the occupation of British troops, to remain there through the
winter; and there was even an admission by the Governor of
New Brunswick that the agreement then entered into had been
violated. And what was the explanation of the Governor? That
it had been done, not by his authority, but by one still higher,
viz: that of the Governor General of Canada. Mr. D. thought
there was every reason to be on the alert on this subject, and
though he would violate no delicacy, he would not, on the other
hand, forbear, till forbearance might well and justly be construed
into tame submission. Very near, if not quite, to this point we
had already gone, and he thought there was danger that the
British Government might so construe it, and act accordingly.
Mr. D. therefore insisted that this resolution, or something like
it, ought to pass.
Mr. Williams said when he offered his resolution, he sup-
posed it would bring all the correspondence, which the amend-
ment proposed calling for, and he saw no objection to the reso-
lution, and hoped it would be adopted.
Mr. Allen said he was entirely satisfied with the disclaimers
of the mover, and other gentlemen of the Opposition, of any
intended censure. With these disclaimers, he had no objection
to the passage of the resolution.
The resolutions were then adopted.
134 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
SPEECH, JANUARY 22, 1840,
IN REPLY TO MR. CLAY, ON THE INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL.'
Mr. Buchanan rose and said : Mr. President : It is not
my purpose, on the present occasion, to go very much at length
into a discussion of the provisions of this bill. I intend, in a
great degree, indeed almost exclusively, to confine myself to a
reply, or at least to an attempt to reply, to the remarks of the
Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay.]
In all discussions, if we desire to arrive at a satisfactory
conclusion, it is absolutely necessary that we should distinctly
understand what is the question to be discussed. Then let me
ask, what is the nature and character of the Independent Treas-
ury bill now before the Senate?
Since the origin of the Government, our own responsible
officers have always collected the public revenue, and have
always disbursed the public revenue. Heretofore, during the
intermediate space of time between its collection and its dis-
bursement, it has been deposited with banking corporations.
The object of this bill is to provide that our own responsible
officers shall be substituted as depositaries, instead of these bank-
ing, corporations ; and that these officers shall hereafter not only
collect and disburse the public money as they have always done;
but that they shall also have the custody of it between its col-
lection and disbursement.
Under the provisions of this bill, every officer throughout
the United States who receives public money is constituted a
depositary. But there are certain points where very large sums
of public money are collected, or are disbursed, or both; and at
these points, both the security of the revenue and the public con-
venience require that there should be depositaries distinct from,
and independent of, the collecting officers. These points are
Philadelphia, New Orleans, New York, Boston, Charleston,
and St. Louis. Accordingly, the bill proposes to convert the
Mint at Philadelphia and the Branch Mint at New Orleans into
places of public deposit, and entrusts the custody of the public
money to the treasurers of these institutions respectively; and it
creates sub-treasuries, each to be under the control of a receiver-
general, at New York, at Boston, at Charleston, and at St. Louis.
Thus far, sir, it will be perceived that this bill makes no
'- Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. Appendix, 129-137.
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 135
change in the settled policy of the country, except merely to
provide that the public money, in the intermediate time, between
its receipt into the Treasury and its disbursement, shall be en-
trusted to our own responsible officers, instead of irresponsible
corporations.
In addition to these provisions, the bill contains what has
been commonly denominated the specie clause. This section
provides that one-fourth of the dues of the Government shall be
collected in gold and silver, after the 30th June, 1840, one-half
• after the 30th June, 1841, three-fourths after the 30th June,
1842 ; and after the 30th June, 1843, ^11 the revenue of the Gov-
ernment shall be collected and all its disbursements shall be made
in gold and silver coin.
Now, sir, when separated from the details necessary to
carry these principles into execution, this is the bill, the whole
bill, and nothing but the bill which has excited so much unneces-
sary alarm throughout the country.
In discussing this bill, the Senator from Kentucky has
divided his remarks into two general heads. He has first con-
sidered the bill according to what its friends say it is; and in
the second place, has discussed it according to what he himself
believes it to be. In my reply I shall invert this order ; because
it is necessary first to prove that the Senator himself has entirely
mistaken the nature and effects of the measure, and that its
friends entertain a just conception of its character.
The Senator held up the bill triumphantly to public view,
and declared that it contained within its provisions a great
Government Treasury Bank. Now, if I cannot make it manifest
as the light of day, that in this proposition he is entirely mis-
taken, I shall then agree to surrender the whole argument. The
Senator has had an unsuccessful chase, through the provisions
of this bill, after the lurking monster. Had he succeeded in
dragging him into light, I should have been one of the first men
in the country to assist in putting him to instant death. But,
"He must have optics sharp, I ween,
Who sees what is not to be seen."
This, I think, has been the case with the Senator from
Kentucky.
Now, sir, what is a bank? According to the usual accepta-
tion of the word, in our country, it performs three offices. It
receives deposits, it loans money upon discounts, and it issues
a paper currency. I acknowledge that, in order to constitute a
136 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
bank, it is not necessary that it should perform all these three
functions. There are banks of discount and deposit merely,
and there are also banks of deposit and issue only; and this
latter class of banks are the most secure of any in the world,
when the deposits are confined toi the precious metals, and the
issues, in the form of certificates, do not exceed the sums actually
deposited. Such was the Bank of Amsterdam, and such is now
the Bank of Hamburg. It would be difficult to form an idea
of a bank of issue alone, without deposits or discounts, although
I know, from the utter inability of the Bank of England to regu-
late the paper currency of that kingdom, the question has been
seriously considered whether one bank of issue ought not to be
established, and whether all other banks ought not to be pro-
hibited from emitting paper currency. It is certain that, at the
present moment, a bank of issue, purely as a bank of issue, does
not exist on the face of the earth. Now, sir, this bill does not
authorize the public depositaries to receive money from indi-
viduals on deposit; and it not only does not authorize them
to loan the public money entrusted to their care, but it makes
such an act a felony, punishable by fine and imprison-
ment. This bill, then, clearly does not create a bank either
of deposit or of discount, and the Senator has not contended
for any such proposition. He has confined himself to prove that
it will create a bank of issue; and I shall examine this propo-
sition a little more in detail.
And, in the first place, if there be a bank lurking in the
bill, then we have had a Treasury bank in full operation ever
since the origin of the Government, without having the least
idea of its existence until the Senator from Kentucky made the
discovery. There has been no period of time, since General
Washington was first inaugurated in 1 789, until the present day,
when the Treasurer of the United States did not draw his war-
rants, either on banks or receiving officers, in favor of disburs-
ing officers or creditors of the Government. Without this power
the Treasury department could not exist. Debts could not be
paid to individuals, neither could the public revenue be applied
to accomplish the objects contemplated by the Constitution.
There is no other conceivable mode of conducting this branch
of the public business. The bill makes no change whatever in
this ancient and necessary practice, except to impose an import-
ant limitation upon it which has never heretofore existed; and
yet, according to the Senator from Kentucky, it creates a bank
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 137
of issue, and the drafts drawn by the Treasurer on the public
depositaries in favor of public creditors and disbursing officers,
are to be the paper currency which it will throw into circulation.
This is the sum and substance of his whole argument on this
point. He might with the same reason contend, that, if an
individual in extensive business had deposits in several banks,
and was in the habit of paying his debts and advancing money
to his agents by drawing drafts upon these banks, that, there-
fore, he himself had established a bank of issue. The cases are
precisely analogous.
In what part of this bill has the Senator discovered the
charter of his bank? He has referred to one, and only one
clause for the purpose of proving its existence. This is to be
found in the tenth section of the bill, and, as it is very brief, I
shall read it to the Senate. It is as follows :
And for the purpose of payments on the public account, it shall be
lawful for the Treasurer of the United States to draw upon any of the said
depositaries, as he may think most conducive to the public interest, or to the
convenience of the public creditors, or both.
There, sir, is the charter ; and what is it but a mere recogni-
tion of the power which I have just been describing, and which
has existed, and must necessarily have existed, ever since the
origin of the Government. It requires the Treasurer of the
United States to consult both the public interest and the con-
venience of the public creditor, or both, in selecting the deposi-
tary on which to draw his warrant. This he has always done.
In the first place he must select a depositary with whom there
is an amount of money sufficient to meet the draft; and among
such depositaries he must, unless the public interest forbids,
draw upon that one where it will be most convenient for the
public creditor to receive his money. Why, sir, this clause, so
terrific to the imagination of the gentleman, might be stricken
from the bill altogether, without producing the slightest incon-
venience. The practice which it prescribes, is that which must
necessarily be pursued in paying the debts of the Government.
And yet this simple and necessary power is the only part of the
bill on which the Senator relies to establish his great Treasury
Bank!
But I said that this bill contained an important limitation
which had never heretofore existed. This was introduced at
the special session of 1837, upon my own suggestion. It was
then apprehended that the holders of these Treasury warrants
138 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
might not present them for payment within a reasonable time;
and that a large amount of them might remain outstanding, and
be used as bills of exchange. As these outstanding drafts would
necessarily represent an equal amount of gold and silver in the
hands of the depositaries, it was apprehended that, unless they
were speedily presented for payment, a mass of them might
continue floating in the community, and thus produce an accumu-
lation of specie in the hands of the depositaries which might
prove injurious to the banks. To prevent this evil — to render
the draft upon the banks for specie as light as possible — and to
cause the gold and silver to flow out of the Treasury into gen-
eral circulation, as rapidly as it had flowed into it, this amend-
ment was adopted. It now constitutes the 23d section of the
bill, and is as follows :
Sec. 23. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the
Secretary of the Treasury to issue and publish regulations to enforce the
speedy presentation of all Government drafts for payment at the place where
payable, and to prescribe the time, according to the different distances of
the depositaries from the seat of Government, within which all drafts upon
them, respectively, shall be presented for payment ; and, in default of such
presentation, to direct any other mode and place of payment which he may
deem proper. But in all those regulations and directions, it shall be the duty
of the Secretary of the Treasury to guard, as far as may be, against those
drafts being used, or thrown into circulation, as a paper currency or medium
of exchange.
One might have supposed, from the extreme horror of the
gentleman lest this bill might contain a Treasury Bank, that he
would have been delighted with the provisions of this section.
Not so. On the contrary, he has declared, in the most solemn
manner, that it confers a tremendous power on the Secretary
of the Treasury, to which no people, jealous of their liberties,
ought to submit. The Senator is hard to please. He first
denounces, in the strongest terms, the tenth section of the bill,
because the Treasury drafts issued under its authority will, in
his opinion, become the circulating medium of his Treasury
Bank ; and almost at the very next breath, he denounces, in terms
equally strong, the very section which renders it impossible that
they ever can become such a circulating medium.
And what is this tremendous power vested in the Secretary
of the Treasury by the 23d section? Independently of post-
masters, there are perhaps a hundred and fifty receivers of public
money in the United States. These are scattered from Maine
to Georgia, and from the Atlantic to the far West. Some of
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 139
them are at the distance of fifty miles, and others are a thousand
miles from Washington. From the nature and necessity of the
case, the discretionary power is conferred upon the Secretary
to regulate " the speedy presentation " of these drafts, according
to the different distances of the depositaries from the seat of
Government; but even this is to be done in such a manner as
to prevent them from being thrown into circulation as a paper
currency or medium of exchange. And yet this is the tre-
mendous power so much to be dreaded ! No other provision could
have been made. It would have been a work of endless and
unnecessary labor to have attempted to enumerate each of the
depositaries in the bill, and to have prescribed the time within
which drafts on each of them should be presented for payment.
This is a mere matter of detail which must be yielded to the dis-
cretion of the Secretary.
And now what, in plain English, is this Government Bank?
It is no other than the power which has always been exercised
by the Treasurer of the United States, to pay the public creditors,
and to advance money to the disbursing officers by means of
drafts on the public depositaries; with a new restriction, how-
ever, imposed upon the holders of these drafts, requiring their
speedy presentation, for the express purpose of preventing the
possibility of their ever becoming a circulating medium. Any
man who can distinguish between a hawk and a handsaw, can
discriminate between this simple provision and a great Govern-
ment Treasury Bank.
The Senator, feeling that he has no foundation on which to
erect his Treasury Bank in the bill, as it is, has taxed his fancy —
a never failing resource — to alarm our fears as to what it will
become hereafter. He leaves the present far behind, and looks
forward to the future. He predicts that in less than three years
necessity will compel us to change the Independent Treasury
into a bank of issue. Having given his fancy the reins, he tells
us how this will be performed. The Secretary of the Treasury,
instead of giving single drafts on the depositaries for the amount
due to public creditors, and the sums to be advanced to disburs-
ing officers, is to have drafts prepared upon bank paper, in the
likeness of bank notes, of the denomination of twenty, of fifty,
and of a hundred dollars. These drafts he is to pay out like
bank paper. The restriction is to be repealed requiring their
speedy presentation to the depositaries. They are to become the
general circulating medium of the country. In less than ten
140 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
years the receivers-general are to have between forty and fifty
milHons of gold and silver in their vaults, to be represented by
the same amount of Treasury drafts in circulation, and in the
possession of the banks. The Government then calculating that
the demand upon these depositaries will not require them to keep
this amount of specie on hand, will draw it out clandestinely
for their own purposes, as was formerly done from the bank of
Amsterdam; and that some future President will, by means of
this stolen money, subvert the Government, and destroy the liber-
ties of the people.
Now, sir, is not this the merest fancy picture that was ever
sketched? It is all the offspring of the Senator's own proHfic
imagination. It is all prophecy, and no fact. Even by his own
showing, there is no foundation for it in the bill. On the con-
trary, every precaution has been used to prevent the possibility
of any such occurrences.
And what reason has he to predict that the friends of this
measure will change all their principles and purposes in less than
three years, and by new legislation convert the Independent
Treasury into a Government Bank ? Has not every Senator per-
ceived the holy horror with which my friend from Missouri
[Mr. Benton] was inspired at the bare idea that the Government
might ever issue " notes, bills, or paper," receivable in payment
of the public dues? His lynx-eyed jealousy seized hold of these
general expressions, in the 19th and 20th sections of the bill, and
although there was nothing on the face of the earth on which
these words could operate, unless possibly on some straggling
Treasury note which might remain unredeemed long after it
became payable, yet he had them stricken from the bill. " He
snuffed the tainted breeze " from afar ; and although there was
no present danger, yet he saw a possibility that these words might
have a meaning hereafter; and that in future years the Govern-
ment might be willing to issue " notes, bills, or paper," and there-
fore we all united with him in voting for his amendment. This
was, in the phrase of the lawyers, the exclusion of any conclu-
sion which might by possibility be drawn from these general
words in favor of Government paper.
But again : did not the Senator from Kentucky peixeive
with what alacrity the friends of the bill supported the amend-
ment of his colleague, [Mr. Crittenden,] imposing it upon the
Secretary of the Treasury as a solemn duty, to take care, in his
regulations for the speedy presentation of Government drafts to
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 141
the depositaries, that these drafts, as far as may be, shall never
be used as a paper currency or medium of exchange ?
Suppose it were possible that the Secretary of the Treasury,
without authority, and in the very face of the provisions of this
bill, and the known and avowed opinion of its friends, should,
as the Senator supposes he might, circulate these Government
drafts in the form of bank paper, and of the denomination of
twenty, fifty, and a hundred dollars; what do you think would
be the consequence? He would instantly be deprived of his
office for this daring violation of law, and would be justly held
up to public execration. In justice to that officer, I ought to say
that I am not one of those who consider it possible that he could
ever dream of pursuing such a course, without the express
authority of Congress; and I may venture to predict, with
unerring certainty, that such an authority will never be conferred
upon him by the present party in power. But even if he should
thus violate his duty; whilst the 23d section of this bill shall
remain in force, these drafts never could become a general circu-
lating medium : and, therefore, there could never be, as the Sena-
tor supposes, an accumulation of forty-five or fifty millions of
dollars in the hands of the depositaries. But even if this miracle
should be accomplished, and a future President should attempt to
embezzle this money, for the purpose of subverting the Govern-
ment, there would still be one most unpleasant obstacle in his
way. He would then, under the provisions of this bill, be guilty
of felony, and would be transferred from the White House to
the penitentiary. The truth is that " these hydras, gorgons, and
chimeras dire," exist only in the Senator's imagination.
The Senator, in a triumphant tone, exclaimed, that, by the
passage of the bill, the union of the purse with the sword will
be consummated in the hands of the President. This, if true,
would indeed be fearful. It would be the death knell of civil
liberty in this country. Wheresoever the power over the purse
and the sword is united in the hands of one man, there the Gov-
ernment is despotic. If any Executive Magistrate, be he King,
or be he President, possess the sole power to declare war, to raise
armies, to impose taxes, and to expend the public money at his
pleasure, there must be an end of civil liberty in that country.
This, and this alone, is what I understand to be a union of the
sword and the purse. But under our Constitution and laws, the
President neither has, nor ever can have, the power over either.
Can he declare war? No, sir; the Constitution expressly confers
142 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN. [1840
this power upon Congress. Can he enHst soldiers? No, sir;
he could not raise a single company to go to Florida, because
Congress alone have the power to raise and support armies. Can
he impose taxes upon the people, or borrow money? No, sir;
Congress is exclusively vested with the power of laying taxes
and borrowing money. But after this money shall have reached
the Treasury, can he apply a dollar of it to any use, public or
private? No, sir; no money can be drawn from the Treasury,
but in consequence of appropriations made by Congress. Nay,
more; if the President were so far to forget the duties of his
high station, as to enter into a collusion with any of the deposi-
taries, and draw one dollar of public money out of their posses-
sion, he would, like any other citizen, subject himself to fine and
imprisonment. And this is the union of the purse and the sword,
which the Senator has so feelingly described! This phrase, I
thought, had had its day, and had passed into oblivion; but the
Senator has again conjured up the spectre, for the purpose of
alarming our fears.
The Senator tells us that he has been warring in vain for
the last seven years, against the extension, of Executive power
and influence. Now, sir, if he had informed us that he had
been warring against the Executive, but in favor of an increase
of Executive power and influence, in my humble opinion he
would have come much nearer the mark. It is, perhaps, the
strangest spectacle which has ever been presented on the face
of the earth, that in this war between the Executive and the
Senator's political party, he has been endeavoring to deprive
himself of power, whilst they have been struggling to prevent
him from making this self-sacrifice.
Let me remind the Senator of a few instances ; and first, in
regard to internal improvements. I happened to be a member
of the other House during the administration of Mr. Adams.
I do not intend now to cast any censure upon that administration.
I speak merely of historical facts. In those days, -by virtue of an
act of Congress, the President exercised the discretionary power
of making as many surveys for internal improvements as he
thought proper, all of which, it was hoped by those interested,
would, at some future day, be constructed by the General Gov-
ernment. Splendid projects of such improvements were presented
to dazzle the fancy, and excite the cupidity, of almost every man
in the country. Our engineers were constantly traversing the
Union from east to west, and from north to south ; and before
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 143
they were arrested in their career, the estimated cost of com-
pleting the improvements which they had surveyed or projected,
if my memory serves me, amounted to more than one hundred
millions of dollars. Here was a vast field for Executive influence
and power. The fat jobs which might have been bestowed on
favorites; the actual expenditure of immense sums of money,
and the alluring hope presented by the mere survey of any rail-
road, turnpike road, or canal, in which masses of people felt an
interest; all, all contributed to swell the tide of Executive influ-
ence. Now, sir, was there ever a lure more tempting to Execu-
tive ambition than this power of pouring out the public treasure
to benefit, and, in their estimation, to bless a large proportion of
the people of this country? What was the conduct of the old
Roman in regard to this question ? For the good of his country,
he sacrificed all this power and all this patronage. His veto of
the Maysville road bill arrested the whole system; and, strange
as it may seem, a portion of the gentleman's seven years' war-
against the Executive, consisted in denouncing this voluntary
surrender of Executive power and influence, as ruinous to the
best interest of the country.
Again : the very bill now before the Senate, against which
the gentleman has been warring, is one of the strongest proofs
which the present Chief Magistrate could give, that he is willing
to abandon a large portion of Executive influence. In 1837,
there were between eighty and ninety Government deposit banks,
scattered over every State in the Union. What an immense
political power might have been exercised by the President
through the agency of these banks ! We know, from letters read
at the called session, that they were not very scrupulous, " where
thrift would follow fawning." Affiliated as they were, if the
President had been disposed to exert an improper influence over
them, they might have been used with prodigious effect to accom-
plish his purposes. The selection of these depositaries — the
amount of the public money which they should receive — how
long they should retain it, and in what manner they should con-
duct their business — all, all was left to Executive discretion.
What a boundless field for Executive influence is that which the
present President now desires to abandon! And yet the Sena-
tor, both at the called session, and the session succeeding it,
warred in favor of compelling him to retain in his hands this
unbounded source of political patronage and power. He pre-
ferred then, and, such is his detestation for the present bill.
144 THE AVORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
would, I presume, even now prefer, the deposit bank system to
the Independent Treasury.
Can any man, in sober earnest, compare the influence which
the Executive will acquire, under this bill, by the appointment
of four receivers-general of public money, with that over this
affiliated league of State banks, which he now desires to abandon ?
Think ye, sir, that if any of the leading officers of Government,
or any of the favored minions of Executive power, had desired a
loan from one of these banks, that he would have asked in vain?
Under the Independent Treasury bill, such favors can never be
extended without subjecting both the officer granting them, and
the recipient, to punishment in the penitentiary.
The Senator complains that the power of removal from
office should exist in the President, and says that he is not at all
satisfied with the argument in the first Congress on which it was
rested. This power has been exercised, without interruption,
ever since 1789. It is not, then, a recent usurpation. The first
Congress of the United States which ever assembled, by their
construction of the Constitution, solemnly declared that the
power of removal was vested in the President ; and many of the
members of this Congress had themselves been members of the
Federal Convention. Since the gentleman addressed the Senate,
I have examined the debate, and particularly Mr. Madison's
remarks upon this subject, and I think they ought to prove satis-
factory to every mind. He sketches the argument in favor of
the power with a master's hand.
How could the President execute the laws at all, if this
power did not exist? Suppose he should discover that one of
the receivers-general created by this very bill was applying the
public money to his own use — if he were deprived of the power
of removing him from office, he might be obliged to look patiently
on and suffer him to embezzle millions. Suppose a foreign
minister were violating his instructions, and betraying the best
interests of his country abroad — what is to be done? Without
the exercise of this power, the President would be compelled to
wait until the mischief might be entirely consummated — until
the country might be ruined — before he could recall this corrupt
or wicked minister. I might present a hundred similar instances.
This power is essential to the performance of the duty imposed
upon the President of seeing that the laws are faithfully executed.
Without it, he would be deprived of the necessary means of
executing this high trust reposed in him by the Constitution. It
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 145
is, therefore, wonderful how the existence of this power could
ever have been seriously contested.
If this power of removal did not exist in the President, it
would follow as a necessary consequence that the Senate must
remain in permanent session for the purpose of sanctioning
removals from office, as they might become necessary, through-
out this vast and growing country. The public interest imperi-
ously demands that some power should always exist competent
instantly to remove all officers the moment they are discovered
to be betraying their trust. But the Constitution never con-
templated that the Senate should be in session permanently.
Heaven forbid that this should ever be the case! After having
been in the political atmosphere of Washington for six months,
it is necessary that we should go home to mingle with our con-
stituents and to breathe the pure air of the country. The Ameri-
can people never will consent, and never ought to consent, that
our sessions shall become permanent.
Having now replied to all the arguments adduced by the
Senator under his second general head, and having, I think,
demonstrated that the bill contains no Government Treasury
Bank, I shall proceed to reply to those which he urged under
the first general head. It will be recollected that this was to
consider the bill according to the construction placed upon it
by its friends, which, I have endeavored to prove, is the true
construction.
Before I address myself directly to the Senator's argument,
allow me to indulge in some general observations.
What has been the financial history of this country for the
last twenty-five years? I can speak with positive knowledge
upon this subject during the period of eighteen years since I
first came into public life. It has been a history of constant
vibration — of extravagant expansions in the business of the
country, succeeded by ruinous contractions. At successive inter-
vals many of the best and most enterprising men of the country
have been crushed. They have fallen victims at the shrine of
the insatiate and insatiable spirit of extravagant banking and
speculation. Starting at the extreme point of depression of one
of these periods, we find that the country has been glutted with
foreign "merchandise, and it requires all our efforts to pay the
debt thus contracted to foreign nations. At this crisis the banks
can do nothing to relieve the people. In order to preserve their
own existence, they are compelled to contract their loans and
Vol. IV— 10
146 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
their issues. In the hour of distress, when their assistance is
most needed, they can do nothing for their votaries. Every
article sinks in price, men are unable to pay their debts, and wide-
spread ruin pervades the land. During this first year of the
cycle, we are able to import but comparatively little foreign mer-
chandise, and this affords the country an opportunity of recruit-
ing its exhausted energies. The next year the patient begins to
recover. Domestic manufactures flourish in proportion as for-
eign goods become scarce. The industry and enterprise of our
citizens have been exerted with energy, and our productions have
liquidated the foreign debt. The third year, a fair business is
done. The country presents a flourishing appearance. The
banks, relieved from the drains of specie required for foreign
export, begin once more to expand, and tempt the unwary to
their ruin. Property of all descriptions commands a fair price.
The fourth or the fifth year the era of extravagant banking and
speculation returns, again to be succeeded by another ruinous
revulsion.
This was the history of the country up till 1837. Since then
we have travelled the road to ruin much more rapidly than in
former years. Before that period it had required from three to
six years to get up an expansion and its corresponding explosion.
We have now witnessed the astounding fact that we can pass
through all these changes, and even from one suspension of
specie payments to another, in little more than two years.
It is curious to observe with how much accuracy you can
read the ever changing condition of this country in the varied
amount of our importations. The year 1836 was one of vast
expansion, and produced the explosion and suspension of specie
payments in 1837. The imports were greatly diminished in
1837, being less than they had been in 1836, by nearly fifty mil-
lions of dollars. In 1838, they sunk down to twenty-seven mil-
lions less than they had been in 1837, and nearly seventy-seven
milHons less than they were in 1836. In 1839, we had another
expansion, and our imports were forty-four millions of dollars
greater than they had been in 1838. This expansion preceded
the explosion and suspension of specie payments in the month of
October last. Thus we have become such skilful architects of
ruin, that a single year was sufficient to prepare the late explosion.
There never has existed a nation on earth, except our own,
that could endure such rapid and violent expansions and con-
tractions. It is the buoyancy of youth — it is the energies of our
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 147
population — it is the spirit which never quails before difficulties
— which enables us to endure such shocks without utter ruin.
Yes, sir, a difference in the amount of our imports, between the
years 1836 and 1838, of seventy-seven millions of dollars, is
sufficient to excite the astonishment of the world.
What causes chiefly operated to produce this speedy recur-
rence of the second explosion and the second suspension of specie
payments? Three may be mentioned. In the first place, after
the bank suspension of 1837, every person who was friendly to
well regulated banks, if such a thing iDe possible under the present
system, ardently desired that the different State Legislatures
might impose upon them some wholesome restrictions. It was
expected that they would be compelled to keep a certain amount
of specie in their vaults in proportion to their circulation and
deposits; that the foundation of a specie basis for our paper
currency should be laid by prohibiting the circulation of bank
notes at the first under the denomination of ten and afterwards
under that of twenty dollars ; that the amount of their dividends
should be limited; and, above all, that upon the occurrence of
another suspension their doors should be closed at once, and their
affairs be placed in the hands of commissioners. The different
Legislatures met. Much indignation was expressed at the con-
duct of the banks. They were severely threatened; but at last
they proved too powerful for the people. Indeed, it would almost
seem as if most of the State Legislatures had met for no other
purpose than to legalize the previous suspension of specie pay-
ments. No efficient restrictions were imposed; and the banks
were thus taught that they might thereafter go unpunished —
unwhipped of justice. Past impunity prevented them from re-
ducing their business and curtailing their profits in such a manner
as to render them secure in the day of trial. They have fallen
again ; I fear again to enjoy the same impunity.
In the second place, the immense amount of money loaned
to many of the States in England, a large portion of which was
brought home in the form of foreign merchandise, afforded
great facilities for overtrading, or rather overbuying.
And in the third place, the conduct of the Bank of the
United States greatly tended to produce these excessive impor-
tations. That institution became the broker for the sale of all
State bonds in Europe. It endeavored to monopolize the entire
cotton trade of the country; and it drew bills of exchange on
England, most freely, at moderate rates, against the proceeds
148 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
o£ these bonds and of its cotton. Every temptation was thus
presented to speculations in foreign merchandise.
These three causes combining, have occasioned a second
suspension of specie payments writhin two years after the first,
and produced that bloated credit system, from the wreck of
which our country is now deeply suffering.
I most heartily concur with the Senator from Kentucky in
one of his positions. We certainly produce too little and import
too much. Our expanded credit system is the great cause of
this calamity. Confine it within safe and reasonable bounds,
and this disastrous effect will no longer be produced. It is not in
the power of Congress to do much towards a consummation
so desirable. Still we shall do all we can; and the present bill
will exercise some influence in restraining the banks from
making extravagant loans and emitting extravagant issues.
What effect has this bloated system of credit produced
upon the morals of the country ? In the large commercial cities,
it has converted almost all men of business into gamblers. Where
is there now to be found the old fashioned importing merchant,
whose word was as good as his bond, and who was content to
grow rich, as our fathers did, by the successive and regular
profits of many years of patient industry? Such men were the
glory and pride of commerce, and elevated the character of their
country both at home and abroad. I ask, where are they? Is
not the race almost extinct? All now desire to grow rich
rapidly. Each takes his chance in the lottery of speculation.
Although there may be a hundred chances to one against him,
each, eagerly intent upon the golden prize, overlooks the interven-
ing rocks and quicksands between him and it, and when he
fondly thinks he is about to clutch it, he sinks into bankruptcy
and ruin. Such has been the fate of thousands of our most
enterprising citizens.
If the speculator should prove successful and win the
golden prize, no matter by what means he may have acquired
his wealth, this clothes him with honor and glory. Money,
money, money, confers the highest distinction in society. The
Republican simplicity and virtue of a Macon would be subjects
of ridicule in Wall street or Chestnut street. The highest talents,
directed by the purest patriotism, moral worth, literary and
professional fame, in short, every quality which ought to confer
distinction in society, sink into insignificance when compared
with wealth. Money is equivalent to a title of nobility in our
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 149
larger commercial cities. This is the effect of our credit system.
We have widely departed from the economical habits and
simple virtues of our forefathers. These are the only sure foun-
dations upon which our Republican institutions can rest. The
desire to make an ostentatious display of rapidly acquired wealth,
has produced a splendor and boundless expense unknown in
former times. There is now more extravagance in our large
commercial cities, than exists in any portion of the world, which
I have ever seen, except among the wealthy nobility of England.
Thank Heaven, this extravagance has but partially reached the
mountains and valleys of the interior. The people there, so far
as their potential voice can be heard, are determined to put an
end to this bloated credit system, which threatens to involve not
only their private fortunes, but their political liberties in ruin.
After the revulsion in 1837 — after the banks had blown
up, and left the Government without a dollar, the President
found it necessary to convene Congress. It then became indis-
pensable to take a new departure. The course which ought to
be pursued was the question. The banks had betrayed our trust ;
they had converted our money into rags, by a species of alchymy
the very reverse of that which was attempted in former times,
of converting baser things into gold. The President then rec-
ommended an absolute divorce between Bank and State, and his
political friends in Congress cordially responded to this recom-
mendation. We then gave our banner to the breeze, with the
motto of an Independent Treasury inscribed upon it. Have
we not firmly and immovably maintained our position? Had
we been the cormorants after office which our enemies have
described us to be, we should have yielded our convictions, when
we found one State after another abandoning our standard.
Neither the love of power nor of place made us falter. We did
not yield to the panic of the moment. We have ever since kept
this issue distinctly before the people, honestly believing that a
separation of the Government from banks was necessary to pro-
mote the best and dearest interests of the country. In the
opinion of our political opponents, we stood self -immolated.
But the people have at length gloriously come to the rescue.
The Senator is entirely mistaken in supposing this bill to be
unpopular. In every instance, during the elections of the last
year, when the question of an Independent Treasury was dis-
tinctly made before the people, the result has been either the
election of the Administration candidates, or a greatly increased
150 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [184(
number of votes in their favor. Is it not certain, that if th(
Congressional elections in those States which elected their mem
hers in 1838, had been postponed until 1839, we should now b<
in a triumphant majority in the other House? The Whig part]
know this ; and I am greatly mistaken in the signs of the times
if they have not determined that this bill shall pass. They wil
no longer give us the battle cry of an Independent Treasury
The bill is destined to become a law during the present session
I prophesy this result, and prophesy it solely upon my opinion o:
the sagacity of the Whig party. It is possible I may be mis-
taken, but if I should, I shall have one consolation in- my disap
pointment. If my political existence depended upon the result
I should rather have the success of the Independent Treasur)
identified with the re-election of Mr. Van Buren, than any othei
argument which can be used in his favor. It alone would be
sufficient to defeat the hero of Tippecanoe.
Now, sir, great changes have taken place in public opinior
since September, 1837. The prominent arguments then urgec
upon this floor against the Independent Treasury bill have nearl)
all vanished away. We now hear no more of a system of wel
regulated specie paying State banks to act as Government deposi-
tories. The half-way house has been abandoned. The accom-
modations there are no longer good. It is in a ruinous condition
and can no longer shelter those who formerly took refuge in it
The banks have blown up twice within little more than two years
and thus blown this argument of their friends sky high. N(
statesman, after our recent experience, would now think of plac
ing the people's treasure with the banks on general deposit fc
safekeeping.
Far different is the Independent Treasury. It present:
every guarantee which can be afforded for the safety and securiti
of the public money. It will be in the custody of officer
appointed by the Government, responsible to the Government
and punishable as felons for every violation of their trust. Ii
the day of danger, when the country is involved in war, tb
money will always be ready; and at such a crisis, the bank
would almost certainly suspend specie payments. Besides, the;
are mere State institutions, over which we have no control; an(
they may, when they please, convert our money into rags, an(
then place us at defiance. They are beyond the reach of pun
ishment under our authority. The Federal Government canno
justly be considered independent, if we must resort to Stat^
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 151
banks, or to any other power except our own, for the purpose
of keeping the money raised from the people by taxation, until
it can be applied to execute the great powers conferred upon us
by the Constitution.
Again: public opinion has annihilated another argument
against the Independent Treasury. The Senator from South
Carolina, in March, 1838, [Mr. Preston,] in his tenderness
towards the State banks, and for the purpose of enabling them
to resume specie payments, proposed that we should, for a lim-
ited period, receive their irredeemable paper in the payment of
dues to the Government. Much eloquence was also formerly
wasted upon the extreme cruelty of having one currency for the
Government and another for the people. Thank God! we hear
no more of all this. No person now contends that, under any
circumstances, the Government ought to receive depreciated
bank paper. Such fantasies have proved too light for earth.
They have risen to the moon, where it is said the crude notions
of speculative politicians are still floating about, and have a local
habitation and a name.
The Senator charges us with having employed the State
banks as depositories, and having commended their conduct in the
highest terms. This was a grievous sin, and grievously have we
answered it. The difference between him and us is this : that
after they had shown themselves to be utterly unworthy of our
confidence, we abandoned them; but at that moment he clasped
them to his bosom. Admitting that there has been inconsistency
on both sides, the state of the fact is this : we adopted the State
banks; they betrayed us, and we cast them off forever. The
Opposition denounced this system in the beginning, and prophe-
sied that it would prove a failure ; but at the very moment when
their prediction was verified, they embraced these castaways
themselves with all the ardor of lovers. These banks, as deposi-
tories of the public money, are now repudiated by all parties.
Their day has passed, and we shall hear little more of them in
connection with this subject.
All men are wise after the fact; but, to look back, it
has often occurred to me as wonderful how we could ever have
confided in the State banks as safe general depositories of the
public treasure. Our system of banking is' the very worst and
the most irresponsible that has ever existed on the face of the
earth. The charters of these banks nowhere impose any effi-
cient restraints upon the first instinct of their nature, which is
152 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
to make as much money for their stockholders as possible. They
will, therefore, always expand their credits and their issues in
the day of delusive prosperity, without regarding the approach-
ing storm. The immense deposits of the Government increased
this fatal tendency; whilst the public money was freely loaned,
and its security placed at hazard, for the benefit of their stock-
holders, but for the ruin of the country. The wonder, perhaps,
ought rather to be that they held out so long, than that they
should have finally exploded.
In 1836, the immense amount of these deposits had
stimulated them almost to madness. The expansion was then
great beyond all former example. Speculation raged throughout
the land. The suspicions of the country were aroused against
the Government, and the banks were charged with granting
peculiar favors to men high in office, and to influential partisans
of the Administration. They were denominated "the pet
banks." Such was the general sense of the insecurity of the
public money, in their possession, and such the jealousy which
existed among the people, in consequence of their connection
with the Government, that I verily believe the present Chief
Magistrate would never have been elected, had it not been for
the passage of the deposit bill. The adoption of this measure
was a choice of evils ; but it was a much less evil than to have left
nearly forty millions of the public money in possession of the
banks. Under the Independent Treasury system, we shall never
again be placed in such a fearful dilemma.
I was very much astonished that we had no homily from
the Senator against the specie clause of the bill. Even this
seems to have lost much of its terrors. It is no longer the
terrific monster which was to devour all the banks and establish
a pure metallic currency for all the transactions of all the people
of the United States.
There could be no Independent Treasury without this clause.
If you were to receive bank notes in payment of the public
dues, and retain them in your possession, you would, in this
manner, encourage the banks as much to make extravagant
expansions, as though you placed the same amount with them on
general deposit. Besides, you would thus confer a dangerous
power upon the Secretary of the Treasury, enabling him to favor
some banks and to ruin others; and even if this power should
not be abused, suspicion would always surround its exercise.
You must separate from the banks in every particular. Evils,
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 153
both to them and to the country, will follow from the least con-
nection with them. Besides, if you receive bank notes at all,
to the extent of the amount which you hold on hand, you incur
the very same risk of having them converted into irredeemable
paper by an explosion of the banks, as if they held them on
general deposit.
The Senator commenced his speech by presenting us the most
gloomy picture of national distress. He predicted that this
distress would continue to increase during the present year, and
that it would affect all classes of the community. The suffering,
he thinks, will be peculiarly severe during the approaching sum-
mer. I might say to him,
"Thy wish was father, Harry, to the thought."
I do not believe, however, he would desire that the people
should suffer in order to accomplish any political purpose. But
if, without contributing to this result himself, it should be the
will of the powers above to involve us in pecuniary distress
between this time and the Presidential election, he would doubt-
less bear the dispensation with Christian fortitude. It would
furnish political capital for his friends, and might contribute
greatly to verify his prediction, that General Harrison will take
possession of the White House on the 4th of March, 1841.
In my opinion, the Senator has greatly exaggerated the
extent of the existing distress. That all classes of the com-
munity have suffered in some degree is certain; but intense
suffering has been chiefly confined to the large commercial cities,
and those portions of the Union, such as the State of Mississippi,
where the banks have so evidently ruined the people as to place
all doubt of the cause at defiance. Where is there the country
under the sun on which a bountiful Providence has poured out
more blessings than on Mississippi ? No population on the globe,
in proportion to their number, produces a larger amount of
wealth from the cultivation of the soil. And yet the bounty of
Providence has been counteracted by her miserable banking
system, and her people are now subjected to intense suffering.
In this instance the effect flows so palpably from the cause,
that every man sees and feels and knows it. What an astonish-
ing fact was that stated by the Senator from Mississippi, [Mr.
Walker,] that in those counties of his State where banks do not
exist,, there is no suffering even at the present moment! If
you wanted an illustration of the pernicious effects of the bank-
154 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
ing system, when it tempts farmers and planters to abandon
their own proper business and embark on the ocean of wild
speculation, you could not have one more striking than that pre-
sented by Mississippi at the present moment. I am not aware
that there is much individual distress among the mass of the
people in the interior of Pennsylvania. There it is chiefly con-
fined to those who have been tempted, in the day of prosperity,
to go beyond their means by the facility of obtaining bank
accommodations.
But if I read the signs of the times aright, the crisis has
passed, or rather is gradually passing away. We cannot return
to a state of prosperity before the Presidential election ; but the
condition of individuals, generally, will not be one of intense
suffering. The resources of this vast country are so great, and
the productive classes are so industrious, that with two years
of fair play, they can produce as much wealth as the speculators
have been able to squander in one. There will be no great suffer-
ing during the next summer, unless it may be in our large com-
mercial cities.
After presenting in glowing colors the distress of the coun-
try, the Senator asks what measure of relief have we proposed?
I might ask him, in return, where he will find any clause in the
Constitution conferring power upon Congress to regulate the
banking and credit system of the respective States, and thus
strike at the root of our calamities and embarrassments? The
present Administration have not had the slightest agency in
creating the existing distress, and can do but little to arrest it, or
prevent its recurrence. This is a duty which devolves upon the
States. Still we have proposed a measure which we believe will
produce this effect to a limited extent. Our chief objects in
adopting the Independent Treasury, are to disconnect the Gov-
ernment from all banks, to secure the people's money from the
wreck of the banking system, and to have it always ready to
promote the prosperity of the country in peace, and defend it in
war. Incidentally, however, it will do some good in checking
the extravagant spirit of speculation, which is the bane of the
country.
In the first place, by requiring specie in all receipts and ex-
penditures of the Government, you will create an additional
demand for gold and silver to the amount of five millions of dol-
lars per annum, according to the estimate of the President. A
large portion of this sum will be drawn from the banks, and this
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 155
will compel them to keep more specie in their vaults in proportion
to their circulation and deposits, and to bank less. This, so
far as it may go, will strike at the root of the existing evil. I
fear, however, that it will prove to be but a very inadequate
restraint upon excessive banking.
In the second place, this bill will, in some degree, diminish
our imports, especially after June, 1842. I most heartily concur
with the Senator in desiring this result. What is the condition
of the importing business at the present moment? It is almost
exclusively in the hands of British agents, who sell all the manu-
factures they can dispose of in other portions of the world, and
then bring the residuum here to glut our markets. According to
our existing laws, they receive a credit from the Government
for the amount of its duties. They sell the goods for cash ; and
this credit becomes so much capital in their hands, to enable
them to make fresh importations. The Independent Treasury
bill requires that all duties shall be paid in gold and silver; and
after June, 1842, the compromise law will take away the credits
altogether. We shall then have a system of cash duties in opera-
tion, which will contribute much to reduce the amount of our
importations, and to encourage domestic manufactures.
In the third place, this bill will make the banking interest
the greatest economists in the country, so far as the Government
is concerned. Their nerve of self-interest will be touched in
favor of economy, and this will induce them to unite with the
people in reducing the revenue and expenditures of the Govern-
ment to the lowest standard consistently with the public good.
They will hereafter abhor a surplus revenue, as much as they
delighted in it formerly, when they used it for banking pur-
poses. Any surplus which may exist in future, will be locked
tip in gold and silver in the vaults of our depositories; and, in
proportion to its amount, will deprive the banks of so much of
their specie. They will, therefore, become the partisans of reduc-
ing the revenue to the actual and necessary expenditures of the
Government ; so that the specie may flow out of the sub-treasuries
with a rapidity corresponding with its influx. Nothing but a
large surplus can seriously injure the banks. Tliis was demon-
strated to me by one of the most distmguished financiers which
our country has ever produced, not himself, I believe, friendly
to the Independent Treasury. These Treasury drafts, in the
natural course of business, will find their way either into the
banks at the very points where our depositories are situated, or
156 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
into the hands of individuals there having duties to pay to the
Government. Take, for example, New York. A public credi-
tor receives such a draft on the receiver-general in payment of
his debt. Will he carry it to New York, receive payment, and
transport the specie from that city ? Such instances will be rare.
He will generally deposit it to his credit in the bank with which
he transacts his business, wherever that may be. This bank, if
not in New York, will transmit it for collection to one of the
banks there; and thus these banks will draw the specie from our
depository as rapidly as it is drawn from them for the payment
of the public dues. Thus the equilibrium will be preserved, so
long as the Government is without a large surplus. In other
instances, these drafts will be sought after and procured by
individuals having duties to pay, and they will be presented to
the receivers-general, and accepted by them instead of gold and
silver.
I now come to another and the most important portion of
the gentleman's argument, If the President had taken the Sena-
tor from Kentucky under his umbrella, and wrapped his India-
rubber cloak around him, and made him his Palinurus to steer
the ship of State
[Here Mr. Clay said this was not a possible case.]
Mr. Buchanan replied, that all things are possible, and
wonders will never cease. I admit that such an event is not
very probable; but should it ever occur, true as the needle to
the pole, the Senator would steer direct for a National Bank.
This is the Senator's sovereign panacea for regulating the cur-
rency of the country and restraining the extravagance of the
State banks. I admit that the true issue now before the country
is between an Independent Treasury and a National Bank.
" The Pet Bank " deposit system has been such an utter failure
that another resort to it cannot be seriously contemplated by any
considerable portion of the American people. I feel the utmost
confidence in the success of the Independent Treasury, should the
law be ably and efficiently executed; but should it fail, the next
experiment will doubtless be another Bank of the United States.
Waiving, at present, the constitutional question on which I
have often expressed my opinion before the Senate, I propose
to take up the Senator's argument, and prove that such a bank
would not regulate the currency if it could; and that even if it
felt the will to do so, it would be entirely destitute of the power.
Would such a bank, then, if it could, control and regulate
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 157
the loans and issues of the State banks ? In the affairs of human
life, if you expect one agent to restrain another, you ought to
render their interests conflicting. The proposition is emphati-
cally true, when such agents are banking corporations, intent
upon declaring the largest possible dividends among their stock-
holders. Now a Bank of the United States, so far from feeling
any interest adverse to the State banks, would have the very
same inducements with them to make extravagant loans and
issues. The duty of such a bank, as a regulator of the currency,
would be directly at war with its interest as a banking institu-
tion. You cannot raise men above the selfish passions of their
nature, by making them directors and stockholders in a Banl<
of the United States. When their interest as bankers conflicts
with their duty as regulators of the currency, the history of
mankind points you to the probable result. Like the State banks,
they will always extend their loans and their issues, whenever
they can do so without endangering their own security. This
is the powerful instinct of self-interest. It is absurd, then, to
expect that the president and directors of a Bank of the United
States will ever become safe and efficient regulators of the cur-
rency, in the very face of their own interest as stockholders.
It would be easy for me to prove, from historical facts, that
neither the former nor the present Bank of the United States
ever did exercise a regular and efficient control over the issues
of the State institutions. On the contrary, whenever their inter-
est impelled them to extend their own issues, they have pursued
this course; and thus, instead of checking, they have given loose
reins to the State banks. Both the Bank of the United States
and these banks have thus together rushed on, and with united
forces have ministered to that spirit of overtrading and extrava-
gant speculation which has so often desolated our country. Time
will not permit me to do more than refer to the vast expansions
of this Bank in 1817 and 1818, in 1823, in 1831, and in 1834.
These produced ruinous contractions and universal distress.
I think I may affirm, with perfect safety, that at each of these
periods, instead of restraining the State banks, it took the lead.
Has it ever preserved the State banking institutions in a sound
condition? Let Mr. Gallatin answer this question. He says
that one hundred and sixty-five of our banks broke between 181 1
and 1830; and during the greater part of this period, we all
know that the present Bank of the United States was in active
existence.
158 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
My great object, however, at this moment, is to prove, from
the present condition of the Bank of the United States, how-
hopeless it is to expect that any similar institution can ever
1t€ relied upon as a regulator of the currency. That Bank still
exists, if its present condition may be called existence; and this
is the first occasion on which I have ever known the Senator
to be guilty of ungratefully abandoning an old friend in the
hour of calamity. Before I take my seat, I shall endeavor to
identify the gentleman and his party with this institution.
" They were lovely in life, and in death they shall hot be
divided."
It is said that the Bank of the United States is now but a
mere State institution. But is its character changed by changing
the source whence it derives its charter? Is it not still the same
institution that it ever has been, with the same capital, the same
directors, the same stockholders, and, until very recently, has it
not been governed by the same controlling will ? Has it not been
exultingly proclaimed by its former president, that it now has a
much better charter from Pennsylvania than that which it had
received from Congress? This is strictly the truth; for such a
charter as that- under which it now exists was never before
granted to any banking corporation, either in England or this
country. The United States, it is true, ceased to be a stock-
holder ; but it enjoyed the privilege of selling their seven millions
of stock, for which it could have procured, and doubtless did
procure, a large advance.
From the very nature of things, this vast monopoly, with
a capital of $35,000,000, could not have become a State institu-
tion. A single State, with more than a sufiBcient number of
State banks already in existence, could not have furnished em-
ployment for its immense capital. It would have starved within
such narrow limits.
Did it, in point of fact, confine its operations to Pennsyl-
vania ? No, sir ; it aspired to regulate the currency and exchanges
of the whole Union. This was the high political duty to the
performance of which it proclaimed itself destined. To tell
me that this Bank all at once changed its character and became
a mere State institution, simply because it had received a charter
from the Legislature of Pennsylvania, is to deny the evidence
of our own senses. Was not the currency issued under the new
charter, as well as that under the old, declared, in 1836, to be
the best currency which the world had ever seen? Did not the
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 159
new notes command the same premium, all over the Union, with
the old ones; and would they not still continue to command the
same premium if it had not fallen — fallen from its high estate?
Why, sir, it became, in fact, more a Bank of the United
States after it received its Pennsylvania charter than it had ever
been before. It bought up State banks and converted them into
branches, in Louisiana and in Georgia; and it shot out its
branch agencies over the whole Union. In New York it has
established a branch bank, under their free banking law.
Since its new charter, not content with the whole United
States as the theatre of its operations, it has established an
agency in England, and aspired " to beard the lion in his den,"
and to become the rival of the Bank of England in London itself.
It scorned to confine itself to banking operations alone; but has
invaded the province of the merchant, and has attempted to
monopolize and regulate the whole cotton trade between Europe
and this country. And yet this Bank is now said to be a mere
Pennsylvania institution !
Now, sir, how has it succeeded in the task which it imposed
upon itself — of regulating the bank issues, and the foreign and
domestic exchanges of the Union? In little more than one year
after its charter from Congress had expired, whilst in all respects
it was under the same government, and continued to pursue the
very same course of policy that it had done before, it became
insolvent, and suspended specie payments with less than one
million and a half of gold and silver in its vaults, or less than
one dollar for twenty-three of its capital, to meet all its immense
liabilities. Their amount at the time I do not recollect at present,
nor have I the means of ascertaining it in my possession.
Now, sir, I would ask the Senator, is there the least reason
to believe that if this bank had continued to be the depositary of
the public revenue until May, 1837, that its fate would have been
averted, or that we should not then have had a general suspen-
sion of specie payments. Why, sir, the public deposits would
only have added fuel to the flame ; and would have tempted the
Bank to engage in still wilder speculations. The overbanking
and overtrading of 1836, which were conducted under its
auspices, would have become still greater — the expansion
would have been still more extravagant — the bloated credit sys-
tem, which enabled us in that year to import foreign merchandise
to the value of nearly one hundred and ninety millions of dollars,
might have raised our imports up to two hundred and fifty
160 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
millions; and the catastrophe which followed would have been
still more dreadful.
In order to repair its fallen fortunes, true to the law of its
nature, this Bank has since proceeded from one extravagance
to another, until it is now almost a heap of ruins. Instead of
controlling and regulating the other banks .of the country, it has
notoriously been the chief, nay, almost the only cause, of the
existing suspension of specie payments. The glory of which its
friends now boast is, that it has been able to borrow £800,000
sterling, at an extravagant rate of interest, from private bankers
in England, to save it from immediate bankruptcy and ruin.
Alas ! how are the mighty fallen !
And it is by the creation of another such institution that the
Senator seeks to regulate the currency, and control the bank
issues of the country ! Why, this is faith against fact ; specula-
tion against experience. This would be to adopt, as our grand
regulator, an institution precisely similar to that which has been
the great author of our vast bank expansions, and our bloated
credit system ; and which has fallen under the weight of its own
extravagance. With all the experience which the people of the
United States have had upon this subject, it will be long, I trust,
very long, before they return to a Bank of the United States.
But I proposed to prove that, even if a Bank of the United
States had the disposition to restrain the loans and issues of the
State banks, it would not possess the power. I suppose a case
for the sake of the argument, which can scarcely ever exist,
because, as a regulator of the currency, it would have a duty to
perform directly at war with the interest of its stockholders.
The only mode by which it has been thought that this object
could be accomplished, was for the Bank of the United States,
confining its own business within safe and proper limits, to
receive the notes of the State banks on deposit and in payment,
and to call upon them at short periods to pay the balances in
specie. But, in the nature of things, it would be impossible for
such a bank to receive the notes and restrain the over-issues of
more than a very few of the eight hundred banks which are
now scattered over this countr}^ Each of these banks has its
own limited sphere of circulation, and they are not compelled to
receive the paper of each other. In point of fact, this is not
generally done; nor could any Bank of the United States be
required to receive all the notes which these eight hundred paper
manufactories are constantly pouring out upon the public. From
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 161
the law which regulates currency, that which is the worst, has
always the most extensive circulation. Individuals will always
hold fast by the gold and silver, and pass away the bank notes ;
and of these notes, they will pay out the doubtful, and preserve
those which are above suspicion. No Bank of the United States,
however great its capital, and extended its powers, could ever
reach the evil. It could never transact business with one bank
in ten, I might say in twenty, of the whole number.
But it is in vain to speculate upon this subject. Experience
is the best teacher. One fact is worth one hundred arguments.
Independently of the adverse experience of our own country,
the experiment has been tried by the Bank of England under the
most auspicious circumstances, and it has utterly failed.
The real capital of the Bank of England is about seventy
millions of dollars, and it has ten branches at the most commer-
cial and manufacturing points of the kingdom. In 1836, the
rate of foreign exchange was largely against England. The
specie of the Bank was, .therefore, gradually drawn from its
vaults for exportation. It became necessary, for its own salva-
tion, that it should make a vigorous effort to diminish the amount
of the circulating paper medium, and thereby restore the equilib-
rium of the foreign exchanges. The bank credits and currency
of England had become so inflated, and, in consequence, the
prices of all articles had advanced to such a standard, that, to
use the language of one of their own statesmen, it had become
the best country to sell in, and the worst country to buy in,
throughout the world. It was profitable, therefore, to import
every foreign production which could be admitted to entry, and
on account of the high paper prices of their domestic produc-
tions, their exports were greatly diminished. The consequence
was, a continued and ruinous drain of specie from the Bank of
England to adjust the balance of the trade against that country.
The bank well knew that, if it could limit the amount of the
paper circulation, it would reduce the price of their home pro-
ductions in the same proportion, and thus render it profitable for
foreign merchants to export British manufactures instead of
specie. For this purpose it contracted its loans and issues, in the
vain hope that the joint stock and private banks would be com-
pelled to follow its example. In our slang, it put the screws
upon them. What was the result? I shall not enter upon a
detail of particulars. It is sufficient to say, that, as it contracted,
the other banks of the kingdom expanded their loans and their
Vol. IV— 11
162 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
issues; and that, too, in a greater proportion than its loans and
issues were diminished. Prices still continued to rise, and bul-
lion still continued to be drawn out of the Bank for exportation.
The utter impotency of this grand regulator of the currency to
control the otlier banks and keep the paper currency of the
kingdom within such limits as to arrest the exportation of gold
and silver, has thus been so clearly demonstrated, that many of
the ablest British statesmen despair of. accomplishing the object
in any other manner than by restricting the issues of paper money
to a single bank, and regulating their amount by the agency of
the Government. Here, then, is an important fact incontestably
established. If this be true, and there can be no question of its
truth, I would ask the Senator how a National Bank, even with a
capital of fifty millions of dollars, could regulate and restrain,
within proper limits, the loans and issues of eight hundred State
banks, scattered over the whole extent of this vast country? The
thing is impossible. It could not be accomplished by such a
bank.
And what is the condition of the Bank of England at the
present moment? According to the testimony of Mr. Horsley'
Palmer, its president, given before the secret committee of the
House of Commons, previous to its recharter in 1833, the prin-
ciple on which it had proceeded in regulating its issues, was to
keep as much coin and bullion in its cofifers as amounted to a
third part of its liabilities, including sums deposited, as well as
notes in circulation. Experience had established the fact, that
this rule of one for three of circulation and deposits was the
safe proportion. Its necessities have compelled it to depart
widely from this rule of its own creation. Instead of being able
to regulate the loans and issues of other banks, it has with diffi-
culty been able to save itself. It has been going down and down,
until, according to the last quarterly statement of its condition
which I have seen, it had not one pound sterling in bullion for
seven of its circulation and deposits. In this respect it is in a
much worse condition than many of the banks in our own coun-
try. In order to save itself from utter ruin, British pride has
humbled itself so much, that the Bank of England became a
suppliant to that of France for a supply of bullion, which was
graciously, though condescendingly, granted. This fact is the
highest evidence it is possible to present of the advantages which
a country, the basis of whose circulation is gold and silver,
enjoys over another country, whose paper currency is greatly
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 163
expanded. The Bank of England will probably never see the
day, under its present charter, when its bullion will again be
equal to one-third of its circulation and deposits. Indeed, one
bad crop, in its present condition, would drain it of its gold and
silver for the purpose of purchasing foreign grain, and compel it
to suspend specie payments. Neither this bank, nor the Bank of
the United States, can ever be relied upon as regulators of the
loans and issues of the other banks of their respective countries.
The Senator from Kentucky would have " a well regulated
Bank of the United States." He lays great emphasis upon the
words "well regulated." Does he mean to insinuate that the
present Bank of the United States, under its charter from Con-
gress, was not the best regulated bank which the world ever
saw ? I had thought that, in his opinion, this Bank was perfec-
tion itself. The truth, however, is, that any regulations which
you can prescribe in the charter of such an institution, will be
disregarded, whenever a powerful interest dictates their viola-
tion. Like the strong man in the Scriptures, it will snap the
cords by which it is bound, as if they were thread. It will cal-
culate upon violating its charter with perfect impunity, because
it well knows how unwilling Congress would be to inflict so much
evil upon the country as would necessarily result from its sudden
destruction. Once put such an institution into successful opera-
tion, and you can no longer regulate its motion by the restrictions
of its charter. The present Bank was ever a lawless institution,
up until the day when it fraudulently seized upon the entire
circulation of the old Bank, illegal branch drafts and all, and
compelled Congress to pass a law making it a penitentiary
offence in its officers to reissue these " resurrection notes."
Under its State charter, it has been true tO' its original character.
Although it now has a charter such as no other banking insti-
tution ever had, it has already been guilty of several palpable
violations of this charter, independently of having twice sus-
pended specie payments. I shall not trouble the Senate with the
enumeration of these violations. It is now at the mercy of the
Legislature. It has pronounced its own doom under its own
charter ; and it now only remains for the Legislature or the Gov-
ernor to carry this sentence into execution, through the agency
of the judicial tribunals. Whether they shall enforce this for-
feiture or not, is for them in their wisdom to determine, not
for me. I shall not, in this place, attempt to interfere with their
high and responsible duties, although I should consider it the
164 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
greatest of all bank reforms, if this Bank could be blotted out
of existence.
The Senator ridiculed the idea that the establishment of a
new Bank of the United States could prove dangerous to civil
liberty. Such a Bank, with a capital of from fifty to a hundred
millions of dollars, with branches in every State of the Union,
directing, by its expansions and contractions, when prices should
rise and when they should fall, would be a most tremendous
instrument of irresponsible power. It would be a machine much
more formidable than this Government, even if the Administra-
tion were as corrupt as the fancy of some gentlemen has painted
it. There is a natural alliance between wealth and power. Mr.
Randolph once said, " Male and female created he them." Com-
bine the moneyed aristocracy of the country, through the agency
of a National Bank, with the Administration, and their united
power would create an influence which it would be almost impos-
sible for the people to withstand. We should never again see
these powers in hostile array against each other. In the days
of General Jackson we witnessed the exception, not the rule. Give
any President such a Bank as I have described, and we shall
hereafter have a most peaceful succession. With all the power
of the Executive, combined with all the wealth of the country,
he would be the most arrant blockhead in the world if he were
not able to re-elect himself and to nominate his successor. All
the forms of the Constitution might still remain. The people
might still be deluded with the idea that they elected their Presi-
dent; but the animating spirit of our free institutions would be
gone for ever. A secret, but all-pervading, moneyed influence
would sap the foundations of liberty and render it an empty
name.
The immense power of such an institution was manifested
in the tremendous efforts which it made against General Jackson.
Had he not enjoyed more personal popularity in this country
than any man who ever lived, these efforts would have proved
irresistible. As it was, the conflict was of the most portentous
character, and shook the Union to its centre. Indeed the Bank,
at one time, would, in all human probability, have gained the
victory, had the election of President chanced to occur at that
period ; and we should then have witnessed the appalling spectacle
of the triumph of the Bank over the rights and liberties of the
people. The Constitution of the country and the Democratic
party would then have been prostrated together.
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 165
On Friday last, when I very unexpectedly addressed the
Senate, I stated a principle of political economy which I shall
now read from the book. It is this : " that if you double the
amount of the necessary circulating medium in any country, you
thereby double the nominal price of every article. If, when the
circulating medium is fifty millions, an article should cost one
dollar, it would cost two, if, without any increase of the uses of
a circulating medium, the quantity should be increased to one
hundred millions." The same effect would be produced, whether
the circulating medium were specie, or convertible bank paper
mingled with specie. It is the increased quantity of the medium,
not its character, which produces this effect. Of course I leave
out of view irredeemable bank paper.
I do not pretend that, on questions of political economy,
you can attain mathematical certainty. All you can accomplish
is to approach it as near as possible. The principle which I have
stated is sufficiently near the truth to answer my present pur-
pose. From this principle, I drew an inference that the extrava-
gant amount of our circulating medium, consisting, in a great
degree, of the notes thrown out upon the community by eight
hundred banks, was injurious to our domestic manufactures.
In other words, that extravagant banking and domestic manu-
factures are directly hostile to each other.
I did not understand that the Senator from Massachusetts
[Mr. Davis] contested the general proposition that an increase
in the currency of any country, without any increase of the uses
of a circulating medium, would, in the same proportion, enhance
the price of all the productions of that country whose value was
not regulated by a foreign demand. He could not have contested
this principle. If he had, all history and all experience would
have been arrayed against him.
The discovery of the mines of South America, and the
consequent vast increase of the precious metals put into circula-
tion in the form of money, have greatly enhanced the nominal
price of all property throughout the world. Indeed it is now a
matter of curious amusement to contrast the low prices of all
articles three centuries ago with their present greatly advanced
rates. The Bank of England recognises, and constantly acts
upon this principle, though often without success. When prices
become so high, in consequence of a redundancy of paper cur-
rency and bank credits, that it is more profitable to export the
precious metals from the kingdom than its manufactures, this
166 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
bank constantly diminishes its loans, raises the rate of interest,
and reduces its circulation, with the avowed object of reducing
prices to such a standard as will render it more profitable to
export merchandise than bullion. It is in this manner that the
Bank seeks to regulate the foreign exchanges.
But why need we resort to foreign nations for illustrations
of the truth of this position, when it has been brought home to
the actual knowledge of every man within this country? Have
we not all learned, by bitter experience, that when our periodical
expansions commence, the price of all property begins to rise?
It goes on increasing with the increasing expansion, until the
bubble bursts; and then bank accommodations and bank issues
are contracted, the amount of the currency is reduced, and prices
fall to their former level. This is the history of our own country,
and we all know it. A certain amount of currency is necessary
to represent the entire exchangeable property of a country ; and if
this amount should be greatly increased, without a corresponding
increase in the exchangeable productions of the country, the only
consequence would be a great enhancement in nominal prices.
I say nominal, because this increased price will not enable the
man who receives it to purchase more real property, or more of
the necessaries and luxuries of life, than he could have done
before.
Let me now recur to the proposition with which I com-
menced; and I repeat that I do not pretend to mathematical
accuracy in the illustration which I shall present. The United
States carry on a trade with Germany and France, the former a
hard money country, and the latter approaching it so nearly
as to have no bank notes in circulation under the denomination
of five hundred francs, or nearly one hundred dollars. On the
contrary, the United States is emphatically a paper money coun-
try, having eight hundred banks of issue, all of them emitting
notes of a denomination as low as five dollars, and most of
them one, two, and three dollar notes. For every dollar of gold
and silver in the vaults of these banks, they issue three, four,
five, and some of them as high as ten, and even fifteen, dollars of
paper. This produces a vast but ever changing expansion of
the currency, and a consequent increase of the prices of all
articles, the value of which is not regulated by the foreign
demand, above the prices of similar articles in Germany and
France. At particular stages of our expansions, we might, with
justice, apply the principle which I have stated to our trade with
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 167
these countries, and assert that, from the great redundancy of
our currency, articles are manufactured in France and Germany
for one-half of their actual cost in this country. Let me present
an example. In Germany, where the currency is purely metallic,
and the cost of everything is reduced to a hard money standard,
a piece of broadcloth can be manufactured for fifty dollars, the
manufacture of which in our country, from the expansion of
our paper currency, would cost one hundred dollars. What is
the consequence ? The foreign French or German manufacturer
imports this cloth into our country, and sells it for a hundred
dollars. Does not every person perceive that the redundancy
of our currency is equal to a premium of one hundred per cent,
in favor of the foreign manufacturer? No tariff of protection,
unless it amounted to prohibition, could counteract this advantage
in favor of foreign manufactures. I would to Heaven that I
could arouse the attention of every manufacturer of the nation
to this important subject.
The foreign manufacturer will not receive our bank notes in
payment. He will take nothing home except gold and silver,
or bills of exchange, which are equivalent. He does not expend
this money here, where he would be compelled to support his
family, and to purchase his labor and materials at the same rate
of prices which he receives for his manufactures. On the con-
trary, he goes home, purchases his labor, his wool, and all other
articles which enter into his manufacture, at half their cost in this
country, and again returns to inundate us with foreign woollens,
and to ruin our domestic manufactures. I might cite many other
examples ; but this, I trust, will be sufficient to draw public atten-
tion to the subject. This depreciation of our currency is, there-
fore, equivalent to a direct protection granted to the foreign
over the domestic manufacturer. It is impossible that our manu-
facturers should be able to sustain such an unequal competition.
Sir, I solemnly believe that if we could but reduce this
inflated paper bubble to anything like reasonable dimensions,
New England would become the most prosperous manufacturing
country that the sun ever shone upon. Why cannot we manu-
facture goods, and especially cotton goods, which will go into
successful competition with British manufactures in foreign mar-
kets? Have we not the necessary capital? Have we not the
industry ? Have we not the machinery ? And above all, are not
our skill, energy, and enterprise, proverbial throughout the
world ? Land is also cheaper here than jn any other country on
168 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
the face of the earth. We possess every advantage which Provi-
dence can bestow upon us for the manufacture of cotton; but
they are all counteracted by the folly of man. The raw material
costs us less than it does the English, because this is an article
the price of which depends upon foreign markets, and is not
regulated by our own inflated currency. We, therefore, save the
freight of the cotton across the Atlantic, and that of the manu-
factured article on its return here. What is the reason that,
with all these advantages, and with the protective duties which
our laws afford to the domestic manufacturer of cotton, we can-
not obtain exclusive possession of the home market, and success-
fully contend for the markets of the world ? It is simply because
we manufacture at the nominal prices of our own inflated cur-
rency, and are compelled to sell at the real prices of other nations.
Reduce our nominal to the real standard of prices through-
out the world, and you cover our country with blessings and
benefits. I wish to Heaven I could speak in a voice loud enough
to be heard throughout New England; because, if the attention
of the manufacturers could once be directed to the subject, their
own intelligence and native sagacity would teach them how
injuriously they are affected by our bloated banking and credit
system, and would enable them to apply the proper corrective.
What is the reason that our manufactures have been able
to sustain any sort of competition, even in the home market,
with those of British origin? It is because England herself is,
to a great extent, a paper money country, though, in this respect,
not to be compared with our own. From this* very cause, prices
in England are much higher than they are upon the continent.
The expense of living is there double what it costs in France.
Hence, all the English who desire to nurse their fortunes by
living cheaply, emigrate from their own country to France, or
some other portion of the continent. The comparative low prices
of France and Germany have afforded such a stimulus to their
manufactures, that they are now rapidly extending themselves,
and would obtain possession, in no small degree, even of the
English home market, if it were not for their protecting duties.
Whilst British manufactures are now languishing, those of the
continent are springing into a healthy and vigorous existence.
It was but the other day that I saw an extract from an English
paper, which stated that whilst the cutlery manufactured in Ger-
many was equal in quality with the British, it was so reduced in
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 169
price, that the latter would have to abandon the manufacture
altogether.
The Senator from Massachusetts, after all our experience,
doubts whether our currency has been inflated beyond the proper
degree; and to prove that it has not been, he says that the rates
of exchange upon England have often been below par. This
fact does not tend to prove that our paper currency is not inflated
at home. Our foreign exchanges are regulated by the specie
standard of the world, not by the amount of our bank issues at
home; and whether they are above or below par, depends upon
whether we are the debtor or the creditor nation. We ought
always to be, and would always be, the creditor nation, if it were
not for our extravagant speculations in foreign merchandise,
produced by the redundancy of our paper credits and circulation.
Our immense exports of cotton ought always to produce a bal-
ance of trade in our favor ; and yet this is rarely the case. There
is generally a particular period, however, in the progress of each
one of our expansions and contractions, when exchange is in our
favor. This occurs after our cotton and other exports have
paid the debt previously contracted to foreign nations; and
before we have had the time and the ability to get fairly under
way in a new career of extravagant importations. To say that
this circumstance proves that our paper currency is not inflated,
is an argument which I cannot understand. It proves nothing
but that Providence has provided us a resource in our vast pro-
duction of cotton, which enables us to repair the injuries which
we suffer from our extravagant speculations. It does not touch
my argument to show the pernicious influence which our ex-
panded currency exerts on our domestic manufactures. If it
were not for this cause, exchanges would not only be occasion-
ally, but always, in our favor; and the Bank of England could
not exercise that controlling influence over our banking institu-
tions of which the Senator from Kentucky so loudly complains.
This influence is derived solely from the fact that we are almost
always the debtor nation, as we must continue to be, until our
wild speculations shall be arrested.
In addition to the reason suggested why foreign exchange
has sometimes been in our favor, notwithstanding our extrava-
gant importations, I might add another which has operated with
vast power during the last two or three years. This is the
immense amount of money which several of the States have
borrowed from England within that period. This money con-
170 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
stituted a fund on which bills were drawn to a large amount,
and consequently reduced the rate of exchange. The payment
of the interest on this debt, particularly as we shall probably not
soon increase the principal, will operate hereafter in a contrary
direction, and will tend to raise, not reduce, the rate of our
foreign exchanges.
But the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] leaves no stone
unturned. He says that the friends of the Independent Treasury
desire to establish an exclusive metallic currency, as the medium
of all dealings throughout the Union, and, also, to reduce the
wages of the poor man's labor so that the rich employer may
be able to sell his manufactures at a lower price. Now, sir, I
deny the correctness of both of these propositions; and, in the
first place, I, for one, am not in favor of establishing an exclu-
sive metallic currency for the people of this country. I desire
to see the banks greatly reduced in number; and would, if I
could, confine their accommodations to such loans or discounts,
for limited periods, to the commercial, manufacturing, and trad-
ing classes of the community, as the ordinary course of their
business might render necessary. I never wish to see farmers
and mechanics and professional men tempted, by the facility of
obtaining bank loans for long periods, to abandon their own
proper and useful and respectable spheres, and rush into wild and
extravagant speculation. I would, if I could, radically reform the
present banking system, so as to confine it within such limits as to
prevent future suspensions of specie payments; and without ex-
ception, I would instantly deprive each and every bank of its
charter, which should again suspend. Establish these or similar
reforms, and give us a real specie basis for our paper circulation,
by increasing the denomination of bank notes first to ten, and
afterwards to twenty dollars, and I shall then be the friend, not
the enemy of banks. I know that the existence of banks and the
circulation of bank paper are so identified with the habits of our
people, that they cannot be abolished, even if this were desirable.
To reform, and not to destroy, is my motto. To confine them to
their appropriate business, and prevent them from ministering
to the spirit of wild and reckless speculation, by extravagant
loans and issues, is all which ought to be desired. But this I
shall say. If experience should prove it to be impossible to enjoy
the facilities which well regulated banks would afford, without,
at the same time, continuing to suffer the evils which the wild
excesses of the present banks have hitherto entailed upon the
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 171
country, then I should consider it the lesser evil to abolish them
altogether. If the State Legislatures shall now do their duty,
I do not believe that it will ever become necessary to decide on
such an alternative.
We are also charged by the Senator from Kentucky with a
desire to reduce the wages of the poor man's labor. We have
been often termed agrarians on our side of the House. It is
something new under the sun to hear the Senator and his friends
attribute to us a desire to elevate the wealthy manufacturer at
the expense of the laboring man and the mechanic. From my
soul I respect the laboring man. Labor is the foundation of the
wealth of every country; and the free laborers of the North
deserve respect both for their probity and their intelligence.
Heaven forbid that I should do them wrong ! Of all the countries
on the earth, we ought to have the most consideration for the
laboring man. From the vpry nature of our institutions, the
wheel of fortune is constantly revolving and producing such
mutations in property, that the wealthy man of to-day may
become the poor laborer of to-morrow. Truly, wealth often
takes to itself wings and flies away. A large fortune rarely lasts
beyond the third generation, even if it endure so long. We must
all know instances of individuals obliged to labor for their daily
bread whose grandfathers were men of fortune. The regular
process of society would almost seem to consist of the efforts of
one class to dissipate the fortunes which they • have inherited,
whilst another class, by their industry and economy, are regu-
larly rising to wealth. We have all, therefore, a common inter-
est, as it is our common duty, to protect the rights of the labor-
ing man; and if I believed for a moment that this bill would
prove injurious to him, it should meet my unqualified opposition.
Although this bill will not have as great an influence as I
could desire, yet, as far as it goes, it will benefit the laboring
man as much, and probably more, than any other class of society.
What is it he ought most to desire? Constant employment,
regular wages, and uniform, reasonable prices for the necessaries
and comforts of life which he requires. Now, sir, what has
been his condition under our system of expansions and con-
tractions? He has suffered more by them than any other class
of society. The rate of his wages is fixed and known ; and they
are the last to rise with the increasing expansion, and the first
to fall when the corresponding revulsion occurs. He still con-
tinues to receive his dollar per day, whilst the price of every
172 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
article which he consumes is rapidly rising. He is at length
made to feel that, although he nominally earns as much, or even
more than he did formerly, yet, from the increased price of all
the necessaries of life, he cannot support his family. Hence
the strikes for higher wages, and the uneasy and excited feel-
ings which have at different periods existed among the laboring
classes. But the expansion at length reaches the exploding
point, and what does the laboring man now suffer? He is for
a season thrown out of employment altogether. Our manufac-
tures are suspended; our public works are stopped; our private
enterprises of different kinds are abandoned; and whilst others
are able to weather the storm, he can scarcely procure the means
of bare subsistence.
Again, sir: who, do you suppose, held the greater part of
the worthless paper of the one hundred and sixty-five broken
banks to which I have referred? Certainly it was not the keen
and wary speculator, who snuffs danger from afar. K you were
to make the search, you would find more broken bank notes in the
cottages of the laboring poor than anywhere else. And these
miserable shinplasters, where are they? After the revulsion
of 1837, laborers were glad to obtain employment on any terms;
and they often received it upon the express condition that they
should accept this worthless trash in payment. Sir, an entire
suppression of all bank notes of a lower denomination than the
value of one week's wages of the laboring man is absolutely
necessary for his protection. He ought always to receive his
wages in gold and silver. Of all men on the earth, the laborer
is most interested in having a sound and stable currency.
All other circumstances being equal, I agree with the Sen-
ator from Kentucky that that country is most prosperous where
labor commands the highest wages. I do not, however, mean
by the term " highest wages," the greatest nominal amount.
During the Revolutionary war, one day's work commanded a
hundred dollars of continental paper; but this would scarcely
have purchased a breakfast. The more proper expression would
be, to say that that country is most prosperous where labor com-
mands the greatest reVvard ; where one day's labor will procure,
not the greatest nominal amount of a depreciated currency,
but most of the necessaries and comforts of life. If, therefore,
you should, in some degree, reduce the noranal price paid for
labor, by reducing the amount of your bank issues within reason-
able and safe limits, and establishing a metallic basis for your
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 173
paper circulation, would this injure the laborer? Certainly not;
because the prices of all the necessaries and comforts of life are
reduced in the same proportion, and he will be able to purchase
more of them for one dollar in a sound state of the currency,
than he could have done, in the days of extravagant expansion,
for a dollar and a quarter. So far from injuring, it will greatly
benefit the laboring man. It will insure to him constant employ-
ment and regular prices, paid in a sound currency, which, of all
things, he ought most to desire ; and it will save him from being
involved in ruin by a recurrence of those periodical expansions
and contractions of the currency, which have hitherto convulsed
the country.
This sound state of the currency will have another most
happy effect upon the laboring man. He will receive his wages
in gold and silver ; and this will induce him to lay up, for future
use, such a portion of them as he can spare, after satisfying his
immediate wants. This he will not do at present, because he
knows not whether the trash which he is now compelled to
receive as money, vnll continue to be of any value a week or
a month hereafter. A knowledge of this fact tends to banish
economy from his dwelling, and induces him to expend all his
wages as rapidly as possible, lest they may become worthless
on his hands.
Sir, the laboring classes understand this subject perfectly.
It is the hard-handed and firm-fisted men of the country on whom
we must rely in the day of danger, who are the most friendly to
the passage of this bill. It is they who are the most ardently in
favor of infusing into the currency of the country a very large
amount of the precious metals.
The Senator has advanced another position in which I am
sorry I cannot agree with him. It is this : that a permanent
high rate of interest is indicative of the prosperity of any coun-
try. Now, sir, a permanent high rate of interest is conclusive
evidence of a scarcity of capital, and is indicative of any thing
but prosperity. I think, therefore, it will puzzle him, with all
his ingenuity, to establish his proposition. To render a country
truly prosperous, capital and labor must be so combined as each
to receive a fair reward. In England, when the rate of interest
was very high, the country was not at all in a flourishing con-
dition; but as capital gradually accumulated, and the rate of
interest consequently sunk, she became more and more pros-
perous, though she did not reach her highest elevation until
174 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
money yielded considerably less than five per cent. But this
subject is so little relevant to the question under discussion, that
it is scarcely necessary to pursue it. If it were, it would be easy
to show that a high rate of interest, generally, if not universally,
enters into direct conflict with the wages of labor, which the
Senator is so anxious to maintain. Suppose, for example, that
it required a capital of $20,000 to put and to preserve an iron
manufactory in successful operation. In one country the interest
on this sum at ten per cent, would amount to $2,000, whilst in
another it could be procured at four per cent, or $800. The differ-
ence would be $1,200; and, unless this amount can be saved
either by a reduction in the wages of labor, or in some other
manner, the manufacturer who pays the higher rate of interest
cannot endure the competition. A high rate of interest almost
always presses upon the wages of labor.
If the gentleman's theory be correct. Wall street must be a
perfect paradise of prosperity. There, the rate of interest for
a long time has been permanently high, varying between two
and four per cent, a month, or between twenty-four and forty-
eight per cent, per annum. Post notes of the Bank of the United
States have been discounted freely at two per cent, per month.
With these facts before him, Mr. Jefifery would not now declare,
as the Senator informs us he formerly did, " that this country
was the heaven of the poor man and the hell of the rich." He
might probably reverse the position, though it would be equally
extravagant one way as the other. A country in which a rich
man can realize from twenty-four to forty-eight per cent, for
his money, would certainly be any thing but a place of torment
for him. But what is the condition of a poor man in such a
country? When capital commands such an extravagant interest
to liquidate commercial debts, it will no longer be used in the
employment of labor; and hence poor men must necessarily be
thrown out of employment. Such a condition is any thing but
a heaven for them.
The Senator exclaims with holy horror, " the Stuarts are
still upon the throne, and Charles the Second has succeeded
Charles the First." He has, I think, been very unfortunate in
this historical allusion, if he intended to compare our Andrew
with the first Charles. The enemies of Charles cut off his head,
whilst our Andrew, politically speaking, cut the heads off all
his enemies ; and many of them were in such terror of him, that
they dreaded he might turn the metaphor into a reality, and
1840] DUTY ON SILK 175
cut off their heads in earnest. Charles the Second did not suc-
ceed Charles the First. My Lord Protector intervened. Although
he and the Senator from Kentucky are as different in other
respects as two able and brave men can be, yet whilst he was
speaking, it struck me that there was one striking point of
resemblance between them. And what, sir, do you think that
was? My Lord Protector always began and ended every thing
as the Senator has begun and ended his speech — with prayer.
Then in regard to the second Charles, I have a little to say. Of
all men, the Senator ought to be the last to disparage our Martin.
I have read of a great conquered General, who always pro-
nounced his conqueror to be a very able and brave man, because,
as the historian observes, it would have lessened the merits of
the vanquished to have been overcome by a fool or a coward.
The Senator, in speaking of Martin, ought rather to exclaim,
" Great let me call him, for he conquered me."
If, in addition, the little magician should be victorious over
the hero of Tippecanoe, in the great battle to be fought the
approaching autumn, and I have full faith that such will be the
result, then he will go down to posterity with all " his blushing
honors thick upon him."
Thanking the Senate for their patient attention, I shall now
resume my seat.
REMARKS, JANUARY 24, 1840,
ON A PETITION FOR A DUTY ON SILK.'
Mr. Buchanan presented a memorial from a number of
citizens of the State of Pennsylvania, asking Congress to impose
a moderate duty upon the importation of silk.
In presenting this memorial, Mr. B. said that he would take
the liberty of making a few brief remarks. The morus multi-
caulis speculation had passed away; but, unlike other specula-
tions, it had produced consequences which were destined, at no
distant day, to promote essentially the prosperity of the country.
The culture and manufacture of silk were now naturalized
amongst us, and must, ere long, in a considerable degree, serve
to reduce the amount of those extravagant importations which
were so injurious to the best interests of the country. In the year
'Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. I43-
176 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
1836, silks had been imported to the value of nearly $23,000,000,
and in 1837 the amount was more than $14,000,000. In the
general reduction of imports in 1838, their value had sunk to
$10,000,000; but the expansion of 1839 had doubtless consid-
erably increased the amount, although he had no information
in his possession which enabled him to state precisely to what
degree. It was an astonishing fact, that during the three years
of 1836, 1837, and 1838, we had imported considerably more
than three times a greater amount in value of silks than we had
exported in flour.
Mr. B. said he had not the least doubt, that before the close
of the present session, we should be compelled to raise additional
revenue to meet the necessary expenditures of the Government.
And, he asked, was there a single article imported into the coun-
try, upon which a duty could be imposed with greater propriety
than upon silks? Silk goods were articles not of necessity, but
of luxury ; and by far the larger proportion of the tax would be
paid by the wealthy. Whilst it would be imposed for the purpose
of revenue alone, it would afford incidental encouragement to the
domestic production of this article; and there was no anti-tariff
Senator within his knowledge, who would object to such a con-
sequential benefit to so important a domestic interest. A duty
upon the importation of silks would not violate, but was in
accordance both with the letter and spirit of the compromise act
of March, 1833. This act expressly provided, that in the con-
tingency of a deficiency of revenue, duties might be imposed,
not exceeding twenty per cent, upon such articles as either paid
no duty, or a less amount of duty than twenty per cent. It was
known to the Senate that, under our existing laws, silks were
admitted free of duty. In his opinion, it would be much wiser
to raise a revenue upon the importation of silks, than to create a
debt against the country, either by the issue of Treasury notes,
or by borrowing money.
Mr. B. said that we had no treaty with any foreign nation
which would prevent Congress from imposing any duty they
might think proper on the importation of silks. He had heard
it stated in conversation, that our treaty with France might
stand in the way; but he had examined this treaty, and found it
had no application whatever to the subject.
He knew that, under the Constitution of the United States,
all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of
Representatives ; but the Senate might propose such amendments
1840] BLOODHOUNDS IN SEMINOLE WAR 177
to these bills as they thought proper. Notwithstanding this
prohibition, he hoped that the Committee on Finance of the Sen-
ate might have an opportunity of constitutionally expressing
their opinion on this subject before the close of the session; and
to their hands he committed it with the most perfect confidence.
The memorial was then referred to the Committee on
Finance.
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 11, 1840,
ON A MEMORIAL RELATING TO THE USE OF BLOODHOUNDS
IN THE SEMINOLE WAR.»
Mr. Buchanan presented a memorial from the representa-
tives of the religious Society of Friends in Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, and Delaware, and also fourteen memorials from citizens
of the city and county of Philadelphia, remonstrating against
the employment of bloodhounds in the war against the Seminole
Indians ; and moved their reference to the Committee on Military
Affairs.
Mr. Benton said he wished to say a few words in relation
to these memorials. He supposed they were like some other
memorials, a large proportion of whose signers were women and
children. He would say that the Government contemplated no
such thing as that prayed against by these memorialists; and
they were, therefore, misdirected when they sent them here.
If some individuals of the Territory of Florida have imported
such animals as those mentioned in the memorials, it has been
done without the consent or knowledge of the Government.
He was, therefore, opposed to a reference to a committee, requir-
ing them to act on a subject which had no existence in point of
fact.
Mr. Buchanan said he had presented these memorials,
expecting that they would be referred to the Committee on Mili-
tary Affairs, without a single remark, knowing that they could
and would, in a report of a dozen lines, exonerate the Govern-
ment from this heavy charge. He could himself have assured
the memorialists that these bloodhounds had been imported with-
out the knowledge of the War Department; but he preferred
it to come in a more official shape — as the report of a committee.
If his friend from Missouri would examine these memorials, he
"Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 183, 183-184.
Vol. IV.— 12
178 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
would ascertain that they were signed by many of the most
respectable and best informed citizens of Philadelphia, without
distinction of religious sect or political party. There were no
women and children, as he had supposed, among the memorial-
ists.
Mr. Buchanan said he had purposely refrained from enter-
ing into a discussion of this subject, but would only say that the
people of the country had a right to be informed concerning it,
and the committee to which he proposed to refer these memorials
was the best source to which we could apply for that information.
The memorials were then referred to the Committee on
Military Affairs.
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 13, 1840,
ON A PETITION FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.'
Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, presented the petition of Michael
H. Barton, praying for the abolition of slavery. He said that
he presented this paper in deference to the right of petition,
which he admitted in its full force. He thought the crisis of
this unfortunate agitation was passed; it was certainly passed
when Congress convened in December last. Whether the politi-
cal uses which have since been made of it may not revive it,
and revive it in a more imposing form, he was not prepared to
say.
Mr. C. took occasion to express the gratification which he
had derived, during the last summer, from the perusal of some
valuable works from Northern pens on the subject of Abolition,
and he considered them the ablest defences of Southern institu-
tions which he had seen. He designated " The Review of Dr.
Channing Reviewed," by a distinguished citizen of Boston;
" Abolition a Sedition ; " and " Some Thoughts on Domestic
Slavery ; " which were sold at Mr. Franck Taylor's book store
on the avenue, this side of Gadsby's. In the last named work,
which contained many profound philosophical truths, the propo-
sition was presented with uncommon force, that two communi-
ties of distinct races cannot live together without the one becom-
ing more or less in subjection to the other. Mr. Clay had called
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 187, 188-189, 197.
1840] ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 179
the writer's attention to the illustration given to his argument
by Lord Durham, in his report on the condition of Canada, sub-
mitted to the British Government. He expressed the firmest
conviction that whoever would read that report would come to
the same conclusion which was arrived at by the author of
" Thoughts on Domestic Slavery." Lord Durham states, as his
decided opinion, after much observation of the French and
British residents in Canada, that they cannot live together har-
moniously, and that it is utterly impossible to hope for peace
and tranquillity in those provinces, except by making one por-
tion of the inhabitants subordinate to the other.
Mr. Buchanan said he did not rise to make a speech, but to
submit a motion. Before he did this, however, he would take
leave to make a very brief explanation. Although he had ever
carefully avoided to speak of his own past conduct in the Senate
in terms which might appear like self commendation, yet, upon
the present occasion, he deemed it necessary to refer to his
former course upon the subject of Abolition.
In the session of 1835-6, said Mr. B., when an alarming
excitement prevailed on this subject throughout a large portion
of the country, I took a decided stand against the Abolitionists.
I then presented a memorial from the Cain Quarterly Meeting
of the highly respectable religious society of Friends in Pennsyl-
vania, asking Congress to abolish .slavery in the District of
Columibia; and at the time of its presentation, I declared that,
upon its reception, I should immediately move that the prayer
of the memorialists be rejected. This memorial was received
by a vote of 36 to 10; and my motion to reject the prayer of it
prevailed, with but six dissenting voices. Since this decision,
the Senate had adopted a practice which I think has proved
eminently beneficial, because it has afforded us peace and quiet
upon this subject. The memorial is presented, objection is made
to its reception, and a motion to lay the question of reception
upon the table is then immediately made and adopted. This
precludes all debate and all agitation.
Now, said Mr. B., in consequence of my conduct here
throughout that session, I have borne the brunt of the Aboli-
tionists at home. I agree with the Senator from Kentucky that
the danger has passed away, at least in Pennsylvania. The crisis
is now over ; and the fanaticism which threatened to invade the
180 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
constitutional rights of the South, and to dissolve the Union, has
been nearly extinguished.
The battle has been fought, where it must ever be fought,
not in the South, but in the North. It is we of the North who
must ever sustain the shock in such a contest. Under these cir-
cumstances, I appeal most solemnly to Senators from the slave-
holding States, whether they ought not to be governed, in a
great degree, by our advice as to the mode in which these Aboli-
tion petitions shall be treated. It is impossible, after all which
has passed, that they can doubt our devotion to the constitutional
rights of the South. Let me assure them, then, that our greatest
danger is from agitation here. Excitement is the element in
which Abolition lives, and moves, and has its being. A flame
kindled in the Capitol would soon pervade the Union. Let a
question now be raised upon the abstract right of petition— plet
the enemies of Abolition in this body divide upon this question,
as they probably would, and they will jeopard the great cause,
to the maintenance of which they are all devoted, in this most
unprofitable strife. The discussion of the Abolition question here
can do no possible good, and may do much positive harm. When
did fanaticism ever yield to the voice of reason? Let it alone,
and it will soon burn out for want of the fuel on which it feeds.
Deeply and solemnly impressed with a conviction of the
truth of these sentiments, and for the purpose of arresting this
debate, I make the accustomed motion, which cannot be debated,
that the question on the reception of this memorial be laid upon
the table.
Mr. Brown here interposed, in the most earnest manner,
and urged Mr. Buchanan to withdraw his motion, to afford him
an opportunity of answering remarks which he considered per-
sonal to himself. After much solicitation from him,
Mr. Buchanan reluctantly consented to withdraw his motion,
at the same time declaring that he would renew it on the very
first opportunity after the Senator had made his remarks.
On motion of Mr. Buchanan, the motion to receive the
petition was laid on the table.
1840] DUTY ON UMBRELLAS 181
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 14, 1840,
ON A PETITION FOR A DUTY ON UMBRELLAS.i
Mr. Buchanan said that he rose to present a petition signed
by six hundred and twenty-seven citizens of the city and county
of Philadelphia, " manufacturers of, and employed in the manu-
facture of, umbrellas and parasols."
These petitioners state that, under the twenty-first clause
of the second section of the tariff act of July, 1832, a duty of
twenty-five per centum ad valorem was imposed on the importa-
tion of " umbrellas and parasols, of whatever materials made."
That this duty continued to be collected from the time that act
went into operation, until the month of March last; when, under
a new construction of the compromise act of March, 1833, silk
umbrellas and parasols have been admitted free from any duty
whatever.
The memorialists, therefore, ask Congress to pass an explan-
atory act imposing the same duties on silk umbrellas and parasols
which were paid, under the acts of July, 1832, and March, 1833,
until the month of March, 1839. They conclude by declaring
that upon the action of Congress " depends the support of the
many thousands who are engaged in the hitherto growing branch
of domestic industry, which has amounted to millions of dollars
per annum, but if admitted free from duty, umbrellas and para-
sols must cease to be of American manufacture."
Mr. B. said that if the Senate were a proper forum in which
to debate or decide judicial questions arising under our own
laws, he thought he could convince the body that the first con-
struction of the compromise act, which had prevailed for six
years, was correct, and that the late construction was not war-
ranted by the spirit of that law.
In what condition had this recent construction placed our
umbrella manufacturers ? All the articles entering into the man-
ufacture of umbrellas, such as whalebone, brass, and iron, now
paid a considerable duty. To the extent of this duty, the foreign
manufacturer enjoyed a premium over the domestic manufac-
turer ; because the umbrellas of the former were imported alto-
gether free of duty. He did not believe that any Senator who
voted for the compromise bill, would say that he intended this
act should receive any such construction, or produce any such
effect.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 198.
182 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
Mr. B. trusted that the Committee on Finance would deter-
mine that a revenue duty of twenty per cent, should be imposed
on the importation of foreign silks, and this would relieve the
petitioners. Or, if this should not be the case, that they would
report an explanatory bill, placing the umbrella manufacturers
in the same position they had occupied for the six years previous
to March, 1839.
The memorials were then referred to the Committee on
Finance, and ordered to be printed, with the accompanying docu-
ment from Samuel Wright and William A. Drown, the Commit-
tee of Umbrella Manufacturers.
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 17, 1840,
ON THE ASSUMPTION OF STATE DEBTS.'
The resolutions connected with the report of the Select
Committee on the assumption of the State debts were taken up,
as follows:
1. Resolved, That the assumption, directly or indirectly, by the General
Government, of the debts which have been, or may be, contracted by the
States for local objects or State purposes, would be unjust, both to the
States and to the people.
2. Resolved, That such assumption would be highly inexpedient, and
dangerous to the Union of the States.
3. Resolved, That such assumption would be wholly unauthorized by, and
in violation of, the Constitution of the United States, and utterly repugnant
to all the objects and purposes for which the Federal Union was formed.
4. Resolved, That to set apart the public lands, or the revenues arising
therefrom, for the beforementioned purposes, would be equally unjust, inex-
pedient, and unconstitutional.
The cjuestion was on the substitute offered by Mr. Critten-
den, as follows :
Resolved, That the debts of the several States, so far as they are known
to the Senate, have been contracted in the exercise of the undoubted right
and constitutional power of said States respectively, and that there is no
ground to warrant any doubt of the ability or disposition of those States to
fulfil their contracts.
Resolved, That it would be just and proper to distribute the proceeds
of the sales of the public lands among the several States, in fair and rateable
proportions, and that the condition of such of the States as have contracted
debts is such at the present moment of pressure and difficulty as to render
such distribution especially expedient and important.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 204-205.
1840] BANKRUPTCY LAW 183
Mr. Buchanan asked the Chair if it would be in order to
amend the resolutions offered by the Select Committee, and being
answered in the affirmative, said that for the purpose of placing
himself in a correct position, and to avoid voting against what
he deemed the truth, he would move that the original resolutions
should be amended by adding thereto, as a distinct and separate
resolution, the first resolution of the substitute. Whilst he should
most freely vote that it was unconstitutional, inexpedient, and
unjust, for Congress to assume the payment of the existing
debts of the States, he was anxious, at the same time, to express
his entire confidence both in the ability and will of these States
to pay their debts honestly and in good faith. In the expression
of this opinion, he would go as far as the Senator from Ken-
tucky, and was, therefore, willing to adopt his resolution on this
particular branch of the subject.
Mr. Phelps, who was entitled to the floor, not being present,
the further consideration of the subject was postponed until
to-morrow.
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 24, 1840,
ON THE QUESTION OF A BANKRUPT LAW."
Mr. Webster submitted a memorial, and went somewhat at
length into an argument in favor of the passage of a general
bankrupt law, submitting an outline of the proposed law.
Mr. Buchanan said he rose to make a suggestion to the
Senator from Massachusetts and to the members of the Judiciary
Committee on this important subject, which he hoped they would
take into serious consideration in framing a bankrupt bill. In
the session of 1821, '2 — the session in which he first entered
the House of Representatives — there was a bankrupt bill before
that body, which was extensively discussed. At the first, his
impressions were favorable to its passage; but they had under-
gone a change before question was finally taken, and he had
made a speech, and voted against the adoption of that measure.
This change was produced by the arguments of a distinguished
member from South Carolina, (Mr. Lowndes,) now no more,
who, in his estimation, possessed more political information and
better matured practical wisdom, than any other statesman he
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 220.
184 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
had ever known. Mr. Lowndes was then in a state of such feeble
health that he had not physical strength sufficient to enable him
to present his views at large to the House, though, according to
his best recollection, he had made the attempt, and was obliged
to desist. He had, however, conversed with him freely upon
the subject.
His chief objection to the bill then before the House, accord-
ing to Mr. B.'s best recollection, was that the bankrupt law of
England was not at all applicable to this country. That from
the extent of the United States, and the few Federal courts which
existed, it must in practice prove an intolerable burden to the
people. That all the judicial business involved in the settlement
of a bankrupt estate must necessarily be drawn into these courts,
and they were at such a distance from a large proportion of the
people, that the attendance of parties, jurors, and witnesses,
upon them, would be exceedingly oppressive. And that the diffi-
culties thus interposed to the attainment of justice would prevent
justice from being done in the settlement of bankrupts' estates.
These points Mr. B. had attempted to enforce in the remarks
which he had made in opposition to the bill.
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 26 AND 27, 1840,
ON THE PROHIBITION OF SMALL PAPER CURRENCY.'
[Feb. 26.] The following resolution, submitted on Monday
by Mr. Buchanan, was taken up for consideration:
Resolved, That a select committee be appointed for the purpose of inquir-
ing into the expediency of proposing to the States such an amendment to the
Federal Constitution as will secure a larger specie basis for the circulation of
the country, by prohibiting the issue and circulation of bank notes and other
paper currency of denominations so low as to prevent the circulation of
gold and silver in the ordinary transactions of business and in payment of
the wages of labor.
Mr. Webster said that he wished to treat the motion of the
honorable member from Pennsylvania with perfect courtesy and
respect, and felt reluctant to oppose it, as it proposed only a
committee for inquiring into the expediency of a measure. Yet,
with the opinion which he held on the subject to which it referred,
he could not let it pass under circumstances from which his con-
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VlII. Appendix, 218, 219, 220, 220-221.
1840] SMALL PAPER CURRENCY 185
currence in it, in any degree, might be inferred. We had recently
had experience of the evil consequences of not dissenting, at the
beginning, from things which must be opposed in the end.
His objections to the resolution were, first, that Congress
already possessed full and adequate powers over the currency.
What was wanted was the exercise of those powers. We had
full power to regulate commerce, and currency, whether metallic
or paper, as the great instrument of commerce ; but had ceased to
exercise this power. If we proposed to amend the Constitution,
in order to get new powers, it would imply that we thought our
present powers not ample. Now, he thought them ample. If
we would only exercise them as they had been exercised success-
fully for forty years, we could accomplish, probably, all we
desired. At any rate, we did not exercise them at all.
His next objection was, that there was not the least reason
to suppose that any such proposed amendment would prevail.
The States derived revenue from their banks. They were in
favor of the circulation of small notes, and would not be at all
likely to consent to the suppression of them; at least not so
many of the States as would be required. Nor, indeed, did he
see any reason to think that the constitutional majority of the
two Houses of Congress could be obtained in favor of the
proposition.
If, indeed, nothing else was to be proposed; if we were to
do nothing, nor have any thing done, till the Constitution could
be amended, as was now proposed, and until we found relief in
the effect of such amendments, the condition of things, he con-
fessed, was even more deplorable than he had yet been quite
willing to regard it.
Mr. Buchanan said that, on this preliminary question, he
should detain the Senate with but a brief exposition of his
views in presenting the resolution. Indeed, he had not antici-
pated any debate upon the subject, supposing that Senators would
have waited until the report of the committee should be made.
In the first place, (said Mr. B.) no gentleman will deny
the truth of the proposition, that it is desirable to infuse into the
general circulation of the country a much larger proportion of
gold and silver than exists at present. Every thing which we
see, and hear, and feel around us, must convince us all that this
is an object of the first importance. On this point, therefore, I
shall offer no argument upon the present occasion.
What, then, is the only possible mode of accomplishing this
186 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
purpose? It is a law of currency almost as universal in its
operation as any law of nature, that paper and specie of the
same denominations cannot circulate together. We all recollect
the celebrated message sent by Mr. Burke to Mr. Pitt, in the
year 1797 or 1798, that, if he consented to the issue of one pound
notes, he would never see a guinea again. The subsequent expe-
rience of England had proved the sagacity of the statesman;
and guineas and sovereigns were almost as completely banished
from general circulation in that kingdom as if they did not exist.
After a persevering struggle of many years, led by their most
distinguished statesmen of both the great political parties, the
five pound note policy, originally advocated by the celebrated
Adam Smith, finally prevailed. One pound notes were excluded
from circulation, and, in the course of a very few years, it was
estimated that one-half of the currency of that country consisted
of the precious metals. The lowest bank note is now of the
denomination of about twenty-four dollars. They have now
about half and half of paper and specie.
What is the condition of our own country in this respect?
Can our half eagles circulate together with five dollar notes?
That they do not must be admitted by all. Will eagles ever cir-
culate generally in a country where there are ten dollar notes
issued in abundance to take their place? In those States where
one dollar notes are in general circulation, it is almost as rare
a thing to see a silver dollar' as it is in other States, where five
dollar notes circulate, to find a half eagle.
If there ever was a question upon which there had appeared
to be a unanimous, or almost unanimous, opinion among our
public men of all parties, it was in regard to the necessity of
excluding from circulation all bank notes and other paper cur-
rency of a less denomination than twaity dollars. This, all
admit, ought to be effected gradually, and in such a manner as
to give no shock to the business of the country; but all agree in
the ultimate object. It was a favorite principle with General
Jackson, and had found equal favor with the present President
of the United States. My friend from Missouri [Mr. Benton]
had presented this question to the Senate some years ago, and,
on his motion, we had adopted an amendment, with unexampled
unanimity, prohibiting the officers of the Government from re-
ceiving or disbursing bank notes of a less denomination than
twenty dollars.
The same principle had been adopted in the celebrated cur-
1840] SMALL PAPER CURRENCY 187
rency bill; and, under its provisions, after a certain period, the
notes of no bank which issued notes of a less denomination than
twenty dollars were to be received in the payment of the dues
to the Government. The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Rives]
had, on that occasion, made the ablest speech he had ever heard
him deliver on this floor, in favor of the principle of excluding
from circulation notes under twenty dollars.
Now, sir, can human ingenuity devise any mode of accom-
plishing this object so much desired by all, but by an amendment
of the Constitution? If it can, I should adopt that course. I
hold the Constitution in such reverence, that I would not offer
to amend it without absolute necessity. I would apply the rule
of epic poetry to its provisions — I forget the Latin quotation —
and say that the power of a divinity ought never to be invoked
without absolute necessity. To use the phrase of the Senator
from South Carolina, [Mr. Calhoun,] I can see no mode under
God's heavens of accomplishing the object but by amending the
Constitution. If one State undertakes to make this reform, what
is the consequence? Other States will not adopt it; and their
five and ten dollar notes fill up the vacuum. Hence, in self-
defence, those States which desire a reform are obliged to submit
to the evils of the small note currency. There is no mode of
reaching it but by proposing to all the States an amendment to
the Constitution which will be alike binding on all.
If I concurred in opinion with the Senator from Massachu-
setts [Mr. Webster] that Congress already possess the power
of regulating the currency of the States, I certainly should not
propose such an amendment. His sentiments are peculiar upon
the subject, and I should be glad that he would point out the
particular manner in which this can be accomplished. It is cer-
tainly not by the agency of a Bank of the United States ; because,
if such an institution should ever be re-established, and I trust
it never may, you could only provide by its charter that it should
not issue notes under twenty dollars. No man will contend that
this would prevent the issue and circulation, under the authority
of the States, of notes of smaller denominations.
Who doubts the utility of such a regulation to the banks
themselves? At present, when there is a demand for gold and
silver for exportation, and their vaults become exhausted, they
have no mode of replenishing them. The specie necessary for
this purpose is not in circulation in the country. Adopt this
amendment, and the difficulty will at once vanish. As the specie
188 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
is withdrawn from them, the void will be supplied by their draw-
ing upon the circulation of the country for the necessary amount.
Let there be a general circulation of half specie and half paper,
and the danger of suspensions of specie payments will be com-
paratively at an end.
But I promised that I should not detain the Senate long,
and I shall not be drawn into a general discussion of the merits
of the proposition at this stage, unless compelled to do so by
the course of other gentlemen.
Mr. Buchanan said that the Senator from Massachusetts
[Mr. Webster] had now made a distinct avowal of the mode by
which he would restrain the issue and circulation of bank notes
of the smaller denominations. He thought that Congress pos-
sessed the power of accomplishing this purpose by direct legisla-
tion upon the banks of the States. He would not, upon the
present occasion, argue this broad question with the Senator;
but should content himself by declaring that he was entirely
opposed to any such construction of the Constitution. At the
proper time, he should be ready to compare notes with him upon
this branch of the subject.
The Senator had stated that it would be a vain effort to
apply to the States for such an amendment to the Constitution;
and in proof of this assertion had observed that several of those
States which had prohibited the issue of bank notes under five
dollars had fallen back, and now authorized the circulation of
notes under that denomination. But what was the chief cause
of this retrograde movement ? It is not that these States believed
it was vain singly to attempt the reform, when the only effect of
their individual action was to substitute the small notes of other
States instead of their own? For the want oi such an amend-
ment to the Constitution as is now intended to be proposed,
several of the States opposed to the circulation of small notes,
have felt themselves compelled, I think unwisely, to abandon
the poilicy on which they had embarked.
If the proposed amendment be right in itself, it will event-
ually prevail. He had such an abiding confidence in the intelli-
gence and patriotism of the people of the country, that he was
convinced that, if the public interest demanded the measure, it
would be finally adopted. So far as he was acquainted with the
indications of public opinion in his oiwn State, they were decid-
1840] SMALL PAPER CURRENCY 189
edly favorable. He was determined to bring the question fully
and fairly before the people, so far as an humble individual
could; and whatever might be the result of his present attempt,
to pursue the subject with energy and perseverance, until success
should crown his efforts, or he should discover that success was
not attainable.
He would say a few words in reply to the Senator from
North Carolina [Mr. Strange.] Mr. B. was a plain, practical
man, and was content to consider human affairs as they were,
not as gentlemen might think they ought to be, or would be, at
some remote period of time. On this question, he feared there
was a radical difference between the Senator and himself. There
were twenty-six States of this Union, who had all, from their
origin, exercised the power of creating banks. This power had
been in uninterrupted operation for half a century. It was now
too late to question its existence. No man now living would ever
see the day when this power would be abandoned by the States.
There it was, and there it would remain, in spite of all the Sena-
tor could do to destroy it. He acknowledged that the proposed
amendment rested upon the assumption that these banks would
continue to exist under State authority, in some form or other,
and would issue a paper currency.
He had been no little surprised, therefore, to learn from the
Senator that one ground of his opposition to the amendment
was, that it would arrest the progress of public opinion, and
enable the banks to ride out the present storm. His own fears
differed very widely from those of the Senator. He was afraid,
not that the banks would perish in the gale, but that the State
Legislatures might act as they had done on a former occasion,
and not impose upon them those wholesome restrictions necessary
to guard the public against the evils of future suspensions. The
Senator (said Mr. B.) mistakes my purpose in supposing that
it is the same with his own, and that I desire to aim a death blow
at the banks. It is in this respect that I fear he and I radically
differ. Whatever might be my opinion of the question, were
it now for the first time to be decided whether we should estab-
lish banks or not, I find them now in existence, and so inter-
woven with the habits and interests and feelings of the people
that they cannot be destroyed. For good or for evil, they will
continue to exist long after he and I shall have been gathered to
our fathers. It is, therefore, my purpose, not to destroy, but
190 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
radically to reform them; to deprive them of the power of doing
evil, and to restrict them in such a manner as to make them use-
ful agents of the public, instead of instruments ruinous to the
prosperity of the people. Lord Liverpool had once said of the
banking system of England, that " it was the most insecure,
the most rotten, and the very worst of which it was possible to
conceive." He would not apply such strong epithets to our bank-
ing system ; though he would say that it was difficult for him to
conceive how it could be much worse. The expansions and con-
tractions and suspensions of specie payments to which, from the
very law of its nature, it was subject, were ruinous to the best
interests of the country. He believed that the States would
eventually reform it, and, if that were found impracticable,
would destroy it and substitute another system in its stead. Still
State banks, in some form or other, whether by special charter,
or under free banking laws, or in some other manner, would
continue to exist and to issue paper currency. Now, what was
the greatest reform which could be made to any system of State
banking which the human mind could devise? Was it not to
increase the specie basis of the paper currency — was it not to
secure the circulation of gold and silver in the ordinary transac-
tions of life and in the payment of the wages of labor? This
restriction alone would be the greatest practical bank reform and
the greatest security against future suspensions which could pos-
sibly be devised; and it could never be accomplished without an
amendment of the Federal Constitution. I can easily perceive
why the Senator, with his views, is opposed to the amendment.
Those who calculate upon the destruction of all the banks of
the country, and indulge in the visionary hope that we are about
to return to a pure metallic currency in all the business trans-
actions of all the people of the United States, may consistently
oppose every great reform in the banking system. They may
hope that the more evils it inflicts upon the people, the shorter
will be its duration. For myself, I indulge in no such expecta-
tions, and I desire to reform that which I know I could not, if
I would, destroy.
In these remarks, I have studiously avoided all party allu-
sions. This is a question which ought to be placed above party,
because it is deeply interesting to every individual citizen of the
country, whatever may be his political attachments, and I confess
that mine are very strong.
1840] SMALL PAPER CURRENCY 191
[Feb. 2y.] The subject again coming up for considera-
tion—
Mr. Calhoun said, that he rose simply to state the grounds
upon which he was compelled to vote against this resolution.
The amendment contemplated by the resolution would, if it
should ever be adopted, engraft on the Constitution the banking
system. To this I cannot give my assent, nor can I do any act
that might imply it. According to my conception, long enter-
tained, and openly expressed for the last six years, on all suitable
occasions, it would be one of the greatest calamities that could
befall the country.
Thus thinking, I cannot vote for the resolution; and yet
I regret that I find myself placed in a situation to vote against
a resolution of inquiry, which, by the courtesy of the body, is
usually granted as a matter of course. But, as the resolution
stands, it is impossible, with my conception, to extend it to the
present case. If, however, the mover would enlarge it, so as to
make it embrace a general inquiry into the expediency of so
amending the Constitution as to place the currency on a solid and
stable basis, it would remove my objection, and I should vote
for it with pleasure. Unless the Senator did so, he must vote as
he had indicated he was compelled to do.
Mr. Buchanan would not enter on a discussion of the merits
of the measure then; but, as the Senator from South Carolina
had spoken of courtesy, he would say a single word. He would
acknowledge most cheerfully that the Senate had always treated
him with uniform courtesy and kindness; so much so, as some-
times made him flatter himself into the opinion that he was a
general favorite. If «ver he had treated any Senator in any
other mode, he was not aware of the fact. The subject of which
the resolution treated had attracted the attention of the whole
country, and all classes of the community were more or less
deeply interested in it. It was a matter of inquiry only, and had
not assumed shape or form. The same rule would apply as well
to courtesy as to morals, viz : of doing as we would be done by.
When the Senator from South Carolina introduced his bill to
cede the public lands to the States in which they lie, although
he [Mr. B.] was as much opposed as any man could be to the
provisions of that bill, yet he had never thought of opposing
its introduction. Now all he desired was to present his views,
192 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
after consulting an able committee on the subject. His opinions
on this matter had not been taken up hastily ; he had been seri-
ously deliberating on it for years. If the Senate thought proper
to indulge him, he should be gratified; but if they rejected it,
why then he should take an opportunity of making a speech,
instead of a report.
Mr. Calhoun said he was much surprised that the charge
of discourtesy should have been brought against him on this
occasion. If there was any person who had a right to complain
of a want of courtesy, it was himself. He had proposed to the
Senator from Pennsylvania to enlarge the terms of his resolu-
tion, so as to avoid the insuperable objection he entertained
against it, and the Senator had not thought proper to accede to
his request. He found no fault with him for this. He, it was
probable, had good reasons for his course; and so have I. I
know where we tread, and I think I know where this resolu-
tion will carry us, and the momentous itsults that will follow. I
would much sooner see a United States Bank again incorporated,
than to engraft the present banking system on the Constitution.
Holding these opinions, why am I particularly selected as betray-
ing a want of courtesy? The Senator from North Carolina,
the Senator from Massachusetts, and the Senator from South
Carolina, all expressed their intention of voting against this
resolution, and yet there is nothing said of their want of cour-
tesy. But the Senator has alluded to his vote when I introduced
the bill on the subject of the public lands. Now, I hold there
would have been no discourtesy in opposing the bill at its intro-
duction, and that would have been a very proper time to oppose
it, with the opinion which the Senator entertains of that measure.
But I make no opposition to the resolution ; I simply state why I
cannot vote for it myself. I have no objection to its passing
with the votes of others, who think differently. I desire not to
change the opinions of others in relation to it; and would have
no sort of objection to standing alone in my vote against it;
and there is no reason why there should be any feeling on the
part of the Senator in regard to my course.
Mr. Clay of Alabama expressed a wish that the Senator
from Pennsylvania would adhere to the original phraseology,
and not allow the subject to embrace a wider range than he
originally contemplated. He was surprised that any idea should
have gone forth that there was any thing like grafting a
1840] SMALL PAPER CURRENCY 193
system on the Constitution by the adoption of a mere negative
proposition.
Mr. Strange rose to relieve himself from imputation of dis-
courtesy towards the Senator from Pennsylvania. None what-
ever was intended. The Senator has always been a favorite
with me, and I hope he will not consider that he has ceased to
be so.
Mr. Davis would say one word. It was well known that
he had, on former occasions, expressed his opinions as to the
necessity of a larger specie circulation ; but, of late, some strange
changes had grown up in relation to this matter from quarters
where they were not anticipated. Some were now for a mixed
currency, that formerly expressed very different opinions. He
had heard much in that body about the banks being mischievous
m their character, and dangerous in their tendency.
Holding the same opinions on this subject as those just
expressed by the honorable Senator from Tennessee, [Mr.
Grundy,] he was glad to hear such remarks from that quarter
of the Senate.
Mr. Grundy said he would thank the Senator to point out
the time or the place in which he had ever expressed sentiments
at variance with those he just made.
Mr. Davis. Far be it from me to say that the Senator ever
had done so. I was only expressing my gratification to learn
that there was not to be this general sweeping prostration which
seemed to threaten us. The Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr.
Buchanan] had his hearty concurrence in the matter before them.
Let the inquiry go to the public from his learned pen, and
give the public all the benefit of his able reasoning on the subject
— he would cheerfully give his vote for it; but in giving that
vote, he did not mean to be understood as at all committing him-
self on that or any other proposed amendment.
Mr. Preston rose to relieve himself of any charge of dis-
courtesy towards the Senator from Pennsylvania, in opposing
the resolution, and he would show himself in earnest by voting
for the proposed inquiry.
The question was then taken, and the resolution adopted.
Mr. Buchanan then moved that the select committee consist
of seven, and that it be appointed by the Chair, which having
been agreed to, the following Senators were named: Messrs.
Buchanan, Grundy, Crittenden, Wright, Davis, Clay, of Ala-
bama, and Henderson.
Vol. IV— 13
194 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
REMARKS, MARCH 3, 1840,
IN REPLY TO MR. DAVIS, ON THE INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL.'
Mr. President : I rise to perform a painful but imperious
duty, which I owe to myself. The speech which I lately deliv-
ered in favor of the Independent Treasury bill has been made the
subject of criticism and censure in another part of this Capitol;
under what rule of order I confess I cannot comprehend. In
some portions of the country, at public meetings and in the public
press, I have been denounced as the enemy of the laboring man,
and have been charged with a desire to reduce his wages, and
depress his condition to that of the degraded serfs of European
despotisms. Sentiments have been attributed to me which I
never uttered, and which my soul abhors. I repeat, what I
declared in that speech, that if I could believe for a moment that
the Independent Treasury bill would prove injurious to the labor-
ing man, it should meet my unqualified opposition.
I had intended to embrace the first opportunity which pre-
sented of doing myself justice upon this subject. Business called
me away, and I was absent whilst the Senator from Kentucky
[Mr. Crittenden] addressed the Senate on the resolutions now
before it. I understood that he had referred to the wages of
labor, in no offensive terms to me, however ; but in such a manner
as to have presented the opportunity which I so much desired.
When the Senator from New York, [Mr. Tallmadge,] after-
wards alluded to the same subject, the debate had assumed a
personal character, and I was not the man to interfere against
him in such a contest. He had said nothing which could excite
any disposition on my part to pursue such a course.
Had I obtained the floor at any time during the last week,
my explanation would have been short and simple. The means,
and the only means, by which it was alleged that I had sought to
reduce the wages of labor to the standard of the hard money
despotisms of Europe, was, by the introduction of an exclusive
metallic currency into this country. Now, to such a radical
change in our currency I have ever been opposed. I have avowed
my opposition repeatedly upon this floor and elsewhere; and
never more distinctly than in my late speech in favor of the
Independent Treasury. My motto has always been to reform,
not to destroy the banks ; and I have endeavored to prove — with
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. Appendix, 244-246.
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 195
what success, I mvist leave the public to judge — that such a
radical reform in these institutions as would prevent violent
expansions and contractions of the currency, and thus enable
them always to redeem their notes in specie, would prove emi-
nently beneficial to all classes of society, but more especially to
the laboring man.
On Saturday evening last a message was sent me by a friend,
requesting me to examine the published speech of the Senator
from Massachusetts, [Mr. Davis] and suggesting that it contained
an erroneous statement of the arguments which I had used in
favor of the Independent Treasury bill. I examined his speech in
the National Intelligencer, having never read it before, and I con-
fess it struck me with the utmost astonishment. I found that,
throughout, he had attributed to me arguments in favor of the
bill which I never used; nay more, that the objections to the
bill, which I had endeavored to combat, had been imputed to
me as the very arguments which I urged in its favor.
I shall proceed to make some remarks upon his speech. In
performing this duty, it is my sole purpose to justify myself,
without feeling the slightest disposition to do him injury.
In my remarks I urged the passage of the Independent
Treasury Bill, because it would separate the banks from the
Government, and would render the money of the people always
secure, and always ready to promote their prosperity in peace
and to defend them in war. Great as are the advantages, direct
and incidental, which the country will derive from the passage
of this bill, I knew that it could accomplish little or nothing
towards reforming our paper currency, or restraining the banks
within safe limits. This opinion I have declared upon all occa-
sions, and never more emphatically than in my late speech. I
stated that the additional demand for gold and silver which it
might create would not exceed five millions of dollars per annum,
according to the President's estimate; and that although this
might compel the banks to keep more specie in their vaults in
proportion to their circulation and deposits, yet that it would
prove but a very inadequate restraint upon excessive banking.
Nay, more; I plumed myself upon the fact that I had been the
first to suggest the amendment requiring the holders of Treas-
ury drafts to present them for payment to the depositaries with
as little delay as possible, for the express purpose of saving the
banks from the injury which might be inflicted upon them by
locking up a large surplus of revenue in gold and silver in the
196 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
vaults of the depositaries. And I endeavored to prove, not only
by my own arguments, but by the authority of one of the most
distinguished financiers that this country has ever produced, that
the banks never could be injured by the adoption of the Inde-
pendent Treasury bill, unless in the event of a .large surplus
revenue, which would not probably soon occur. I also stated
that it would thus become their interest, as it already was that of
the rest of the community, to prevent the accumulation of such
a surplus. In referring to the blessings which would flow to the
laboring man from the existence of a sound mixed currency,
whose basis should be gold and silver, I expressly declared that
the bill would exercise no great influence in producing this desir-
able result.
Again, in speaking of the effect which this measure would
produce in reducing the amount of our imports — a consumma-
tion devoutly desired by all — what was my argument? That
the bill would, in some degree, especially after June, 1842, dimin-
ish our imports; because we should then have a system of cash
duties, which would operate as an encouragement to our domestic
manufactures.
One of the great objects of my speech was to answer the
objections which had been urged against the Independent Treas-
ury bill, by proving that it would not injuriously influence the
business of the country in the manner which had been predicted
by its enemies; and especially that it would produce little or no
effect upon the sound and solvent banks of the country. I
thought I had succeeded. It certainly never entered into my
conception that any person on the face of the earth could so far
have mistaken my meaning as to attribute to me arguments in
favor of the bill, as directly opposite to those which I urged as
darkness is to light.
You may judge, then, Mr. President, of my astonishment,
when, in the very second paragraph of the speech of the Senator
from Massachusetts, I read the following sentence:
The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Walker] with his usual acknowledged
ability, and the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. Buchanan]
following in his track, have advanced the propositions that the embarrass-
ments and distress with which the country has been grievously afflicted for
several years past, and which now paralyze all its energies, are imputable to
the pernicious influence of bank paper, that this bill [the Independent Treas-
ury bill] contains the necessary corrective, as it will check importations of
foreign goods, suppress what they call the credit system, and by restoring a
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 197
specie currency, reduce the wages of labor and the value of property. This
is the character given to the measure by its friends; and alarming as the
doctrines are, I am gratified that they are frankly avowed.
Now, sir, I openly declare, in the face of the Senate and the
world, not only that no such doctrines were ever avowed by
me, but that these remarks of the Senator are palpable, I will not
say intentional, misrepresentations both of the letter and spirit
of my speech.
What! sir, to attribute to me the remark, that this bill, by
applying the necessary corrective to the pernicious influence of
bank paper, " and by thus restoring a specie currency," will pro-
duce the disastrous consequences which he has enumerated;
when a considerable portion of my argument was devoted to
prove that the bill would produce ,no injurious effect whatever
upon the sound and solvent banks of the country! Nay, more,
that it would exert but a very trifling influence, indeed, if any,
even in restraining within safe limits their loans and issues.
Now, sir, it may be very ingenious; but it is certainly not very
fair to put into the mouth of a friend of the bill, as arguments
in its favor, the strongest objections which have been urged
against it by its enemies. These would be so many admissions
of its fatal consequences, and they would be the stronger when
converted into arguments in its favor by one of its friends.
Against the whole current of my remarks — against my express
and reiterated declarations, both upon this and former occasions,
that I was no friend to an exclusive hard money currency, but
was in favor of well regulated State banks, how could the Sen-
ator be so far mistaken as to sit down and deliberately write that
I had urged in favor of this bill, that it would restore a specie
currency, and thereby reduce the wages of labor and the value
of property ? I leave it for him to answer the question according
to his own sense of justice towards a brother Senator who had
never done him harm.
But the Senator does not stop here. Throughout his whole
speech he imputes to me the use of such arguments in favor of
the bill as I have stated, and dwells upon them at length — argu-
ments which, if I had ever used, would prove conclusively that
I was an enemy of the bill which I professed to advocate, and
that scarcely even in disguise. This is the light in which he pre-
sents me before the world. Towards the conclusion of his
speech, he caps the climax. He says :
198 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
To follow out the case I have supposed : The income of every man, except
the exporter, is to be reduced one-half in the value of wages and property,
while all foreign merchandise will cost the same, which will obviously, in
effect, double the price, as it will take twice the amount of labor, or twice
the amount of the products of labor, to purchase it.
I do not ascribe this power to the bill; but it is enough for me that its
friends do. What response will the farmers^ mechanics, manufacturers, and
laborers make to such a flagitious proposition?
And all this the Senator says in a professed reply to me.
He thus charges me with having ascribed to the Independent
Treasury bill the power of reducing the income of every man in
the country " one half, in the value of wages and property."
Had I contended in favor of any such power, well might the
Senator have said it was " a flagitious proposition." He would
almost have been justified in the use of a term so harsh and
unparliamentary.
Self-respect, as well as the respect which I owe to the Sen-
ate, restrains me from giving such a contradiction to this allega-
tion as it deserves. It would surely not be deemed improper,
however, in me, if I were to turn to the Senator, and apply the
epithet which he himself has applied to the proposition he imputes
to me, and were to declare that such an imputation was a " flagi-
tious " misrepresentation of my remarks.
So far from imagining that the Independent Treasury bill
would restore to the country a metallic currency, I believed that
it would exercise but a slight influence in restraining the excesses
of the banking system. Other and much more efficient remedies
must be adopted by the several Stateg to restrain these excesses,
and thus to prevent future suspensions. In my remarks, I
stated distinctly what legislation would, I thought, be required
to accomplish this purpose. In the first place, I observed that
the banks ought to be compelled to keep in their vaults a cer-
tain fair proportion of specie compared with their circulation
and deposits; or, in other words, a certain proportion of imme-
diate specie means, to meet their immediate responsibilities.
2d. That the foundation of a specie basis for our paper currency
should be laid by prohibiting the circulation of bank notes, at
the first, under the denomination of ten, and afterwards, under
that of twenty dollars. 3d. That the amount of bank dividends
should be limited. 4th. And above all, that upon the occurrence
of another suspension, the doors of the bank should be closed at
once, and their affairs placed in the hands of commissioners. A
certainty that such must be the inevitable effect of another sus-
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 199
pension, would do more to prevent it than any other cause. To
reform^ and not to destroy, was my avowed motto. I know
that the existence of banks and the circulation of bank paper
are so identified with the habits of our people, that they cannot
be abolished, even if this were desirable.
Such a reform in the banking system as I have indicated,
would benefit every class of society; but above all others, the
man who makes his living by the sweat of his brow. The object
at which I aimed by these reforms was not a pure metallic cur-
rency, but a currency of a mixed character ; the paper portion of
it always convertible into gold and silver, and subject to as little
fluctuation in amount as the regular business of the country
would admit. Of all reforms, this is what the mechanic and the
laboring man ought most to desire. It would produce steady
prices and steady employment, and, under its influence, the
country would march steadily on in its career of prosperity with-
out suffering from the ruinous expansions and contractions and
explosions which we have endured during the last twenty years.
What is most essential to the prosperity of the mechanic and
laboring man? Constant employment, steady and fair wages,
with uniform prices for the necessaries and comforts of life
which he must purchase, and payment for his labor in a sound
currency.
Let us in these particulars compare the present condition
of the laboring man under the banking system which now exists,
with what it would be under such reforms as I have indicated.
And first, in regard to constant employment. What is the effect
of the present system of bank expansions and contractions, and
revulsions, in this particular? Is it not absolutely certain, has
not experience demonstrated, that under such a system constant
employment is rendered impossible? It is true that, during the
short period whilst the bubble is expanding and the banks are
increasing their loans, and their issues, labor of every kind finds
ernployment. Then buildings of all sorts are erected, manufac-
tories are established, and the carpenter and the mason, and other
mechanics, are in demand. Public works are prosecuted and
afford employment to an immense number of laborers. The
tradesman of every description then finds customers, because
the amount of paper in circulation produces a delusive appear-
ance of prosperity and promotes a spirit of extravagance. But,
sir, 'under this system, the storm is sure to succeed the sunshine;
the explosion is certain to follow the expansion; and when it
200 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
comes — and we are now suffering under it — what is then the con-
dition of the mechanic and the laboring man? Buildings of
every kind cease, manufactories are closed; public works are
suspended, and the laboring classes are thrown out of employ-
ment altogether. It is enough to make one's heart bleed to reflect
upon their sufferings, particularly in our large cities, during the
past winter. In many instances the question with them has not
been what amount of wages they could earn, but whether they
could procure any employment which would save them and their
families from starvation. If our State Legislature, which alone
possess the power, would but regulate our bloated credit system
wisely, by restraining the banks within safe limits, our country
would then be permitted to proceed with regular strides, and
the laboring man would suffer none of these evils, because he
would receive constant employment.
In the second place, what is the effect of the present system
upon the wages of labor, and upon the prices o^f the necessaries
and comforts of life? It cannot be denied that that country
is the most prosperous where labor commands -the greatest
reward; but this not for one year merely — not for that short
period of time when our bloated credit system: is most expanded
— ^but for a succession of years ; for all time. Permanence in the
rate of wages is indispensable to the prosperity of the laboring
man. He ought to be able to look forward with confidence to
the future, to calculate upon being able to rear and educate his
family by the sweat of his brow, and to make them respectable
and useful citizens. In this respect, what is the condition of the
laboring man under our present system? Whilst he suffers
more under it than any other member of society, he derives from
it the fewest advantages. It is a principle of political economy
confirmed by experience, that whilst the paper currency is ex-
panding, the price of everything else increases more rapidly than
the wages of labor. They are the last to rise with the expansion,
and the first to fall with the contraction of the currency. The
price of a day's or of a month's labor of any kind, the price of a
hat, of a pair of boots, of a pound of leather, of all articles of
furniture, in short, of manual and mechanical labor generally,
is fixed and known to the whole community. The purchaser
complains when these fixed prices are enhanced, and the mechanic
or laborer, in order to retain his customers, cannot and does
not raise his price until he is compelled to do it by absolute
necessity. His meat, his flour, his potatoes, clothing for himself
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 201
and his family, mount np to an extravagant price long before his
compensation is increased. It was formerly supposed that the
productions of meat and flour were so vast in our extended and
highly favored land, that a monopoly of them would be impos-
sible. The experience of the last two or three years has proved
the contrary. The banks, instead of giving credit in small sums
to honest men, who would have used the money wisely, in pro-
moting their own welfare, and, as a necessary consequence, that
of the community, have loaned it to monopoHsts, to enable them
to raise the price of the necessaries of life to the consumer.
Have we not all learned that a million of dollars have been
advanced by them to an individual for the purpose of enabling
him to monopolize the sale of all the beef consumed in our
Eastern cities ? Do we not all know that this effort proved suc-
cessful during the last year in raising the price of this necessary
of life to twelve and sixteen cents, and even higher, per pound ?
Now, sir, although the wages of the laboring man were then
nominally high, what was his condition? He could not afford
to go into the market and purchase beef for his family. If
his wages increased with the increasing expansion of our credit
system, aggravated in its effects by the immense sales of State
bonds in Europe, still the prices of all the necessaries of life
rose in a greater proportion, and he was not benefited. I might
mention, also, the vast monopoly of pork produced by a combina-
tion of individuals, extending from Boston to Cincinnati, which,
by means of bank facilities, succeeded in raising the price of that
necessary of life to an enormous pitch. What then did the
laborer gain, even at the time of the greatest expansion ? Noth-
ing— literally nothing. The laborers were a suffering class even
in the midst of all this delusive prosperity. Instead of being
able to lay by anything for the present day of adversity, which
was a necessary consequence of the system, the laborer was
"even then scarcely able to maintain himself and his family. His
condition has been terrible during the past winter. In view of
these facts, I said :
All other circumstances being equal, I agree with the Senator from Ken-
tucky that that country is most prosperous where labor commands the highest
wages. I do not, however, mean by the terms " highest wages " the greatest
nominal amount. During the Revolutionary war, one day's work commanded
a hundred dollars of continental paper; but this would scarcely have pur-
chased a breakfast. The more proper expression would be, to say that
that country is most prosperous where labor commands the greatest reward ;
where one day's labor will procure, not the greatest nominal amount of a
202 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
depreciated currency, but most of the necessaries and comforts of life. If,
therefore, you should, in some degree, reduce the nominal price paid for
labor, by reducing the amount of your bank issues within reasonable and
safe limits, and establishing a metallic basis for your paper circulation, would
this injure the laborer? Certainly not; because the prices of all the neces-
saries and comforts of life are reduced in the same proportion, and he will be
able to purchase more of them for one dollar in a sound state of the currency,
than he could have done in the days of extravagant expansion for a dollar
and a quarter. So far from injuring, it will greatly benefit the laboring man.
It will insure to him constant employment, and regular prices, paid in a
sound currency, which of all things he ought most to desire; and it will save
him from being involved in ruin by a recurrence of those periodical expan-
sions and contractions of the currency, which have hitherto convulsed the
country.
Now, sir, is not my meaning clearly expressed in this para-
graph? I contended that it would not injure but greatly benefit
the laboring man, to prevent the violent and ruinous expansions
and contractions to which our currency was incident, and by
judicious bank reform to place it on a settled basis. If this
were done, what would be the consequence? That, if the labor-
ing man could not receive as great a nominal amount for his
labor as he did " in the days of extravagant expansion," which
must always, under our present system, be of short duration,
he would be indemnified, and far more than indemnified, by the
constant employment, the regular wages, and the unifomi and
more moderate prices of the necessaries and comforts of life,
which a more stable currency would produce. Can this propo-
sition be controverted ? I think not. It is too plain for argument.
Mark me, sir; I desire to produce this happy result, not by estab-
lishing a pure metallic currency, but " by reducing the amount
of your bank issues within reasonable and safe limits and estab-
lishing a metallic basis for your paper circulation." The idea
plainly expressed is, that it is better, much better, for the labor-
ing man, as well as for every other class of society, except the
speculator, that the business of the country should be placed upon
that fixed and permanent foundation which would be laid by
establishing such a bank reform as would render it certain that
bank notes should be always convertible into gold and silver.
And yet this plain and simple exposition of my views has
been seized upon by those who desired to make political capital
out of their perversion; and it has been represented far and
wide, that it was my desire to reduce wages down to the prices
received by the miserable serfs and laborers of European despot-
isms. I shall most cheerfully leave the public to decide between
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 203
me and my traducers. The Senator from Massachusetts, after
having attributed to me the intention of reducing the wages of
labor to the hard money standard, through the agency of the
Independent Treasury bill, has added, as an appendix to his
speech, a statement made by the Senator from Maryland, [Mr.
Merrick,] of the prices of labor in these hard money despot-
isms; and it is thus left to be inferred that I am in favor of
reducing the honest and independent laborer of this glorious and
free country to the same degraded condition. The Senator ought
to know that there is too much intelligence among the laboring
classes in this highly favored land, to be led astray by such
representations.
3. Payment of wages in a sound currency. Under the pres-
ent unrestricted banking system this is entirely out of the question.
Nothing can ever produce this effect, except the absolute prohibi-
tion of the issue and circulation of small notes. As long as
bank notes exist of denominations so low as to render it possible
to make them the medium of payment for a day's or a week's
labor, so long will the laboring man be compelled to accept the
very worst of these notes for his wages. Unless it may be at
periods of the highest expansion, when labor is in the very
greatest demand, notes of doubtful credit will always be forced
upon him. This was emphatically the case after the explosion
of the banks in 1837. He could then procure nothing for his
work but the miserable shinplaster currency with which the
country was inundated. This he would not lay by for a rainy
day, because he did not know at what moment it might become
altogether worthless on his hands. The effect of it was to destroy
all habits of economy. Besides, as a class, laborers suffer more
from counterfeit and broken bank notes than any other class of
society. In order to afford the laborer the necessary protec-
tion against these evils, he ought always to be paid, and would,
from necessity, always be paid, in gold and silver, if the issue
and circulation of small notes were entirely prohibited.
Thus, it will be perceived^ that without the imposition of
wholesome restrictions upon the banks, the laboring man can
never expect to receive either constant employment, or steady
and fair wages, paid in a sound currency, or to pay uniform
prices for the necessaries and comforts of life, which he is
obliged to purchase. Under our present system every thing is
in a state of constant fluctuation and change. Prices are high
to-day, low to-morrow. Labor is in demand to-day, there is
204 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
no employment to-morrow. There is no stability, no uniformity,
under our present system. Of all men, laborers are the most
interested in such a wise regulation of the banking system, by
the States, as would prevent the violent expansions and con-
tractions in the currency, and the consequent suspensions of
specie payments under which we have been suffering.
Why, sir, under our present system, we endure the evils
both of an exclusive hard money currency and a bloated paper
system, without experiencing the benefits of either. The one
is the inevitable consequence of the other. At the present
moment we have reached a point of depression in the currency
which the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Calhoun] con-
siders as low, or lower, than the hard money standard. Here
we are, without credit, because no man, for the prosecution of
his necessary business, can procure a loan from the banks. They
are now in that state of exhaustion which is the inevitable con-
sequence of their former highly excited action. The case which
Senators supposed might exist, should we suddenly adopt a hard
money currency, exists already. It is now fact, and not fancy.
The man who purchased a property but one year ago, in the
days of the highest expansion, for two thousand dollars, and
paid half the purchase money -upon it, could, at this moment
of depression, scarcely sell it for the remaining one thousand
dollars. This is one of the greatest evils of our present ever
changing system; but such things must recur and recur again
forever, unless some efficient remedy shall be applied.
But the Senator from Massachusetts has appealed to the
ballot box in the most solemn manner, as the means of freeing
the country from the calamities which he says I have admitted
would flow from the passage of the Independent Treasury bill.
I unite with him most freely in this appeal. His fear of the
result in his own State is probably the best excuse which he
could make for the manner in which he has treated my speech.
The morning is not merely dawning upon old Massachusetts;
but a beautiful and brilliant Aurora is now shedding her light
upon it, and giving promise of a bright and glorious day. We
have at least an equal chance with the friends of the Senator,
of carrying Massachusetts.
Mr. Webster. As good a chance as we have of carrying
Pennsylvania ?
Mr. B. said : Before I take my seat I shall answer this ques-
tion ; but at present I am speaking of the Senator's State. I will
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 205
not venture absolutely to predict success to the cause of the
Administration in Massachusetts at the next election, although
my hopes are high. Year after year the cause of correct prin-
ciples has been gradually advancing in that ancient and re-
nowned Commonwealth ; and such a revolution in public opinion
never goes backward.
The Senator appeals to the polls, and expects that the labor-
ing men of the country will come to the rescue. In this I ven-
ture to predict he will be entirely mistaken. He will find it to
be a Herculean task to persuade the laboring man that the party
with which he is identified is friendly to him and to his interests.
What have we heretofore witnessed in the Senate? When the
pre-emption bill was before this body, the Senator from Mary-
land [Mr. Merrick] attempted to deprive the poor man who had
fled from the oppression of Europe to seek a home in the far
West from enjoying its benefits unless he were a naturalized
citizen. His proposed amendment was sustained by distinguished
Whig members in debate ; but was voted down by the friends of
the Administration. Again, sir, what party is it which, with
some honorable and distinguished exceptions, has always opposed
these pre-emption laws? Is not the poor man who goes into
the wilderness, settles upon the public lands, erects himself a
cabin, and expects to maintain and rear his family by the labor
of his hands, entitled to our protection ? To permit him to pur-
chase his quarter section of land on which he has settled, at the
minimum price, in preference to all others, is but sheer justice
to him, and experience has proved that it diminishes the receipts
of the Government but two or three cents per acre. Which is
the party that has ever opposed this equitable and just principle ;
and, by the course which it has pursued, would afford the specu-
lator an opportunity of enriching himself, by purchasing the
house and the home of this poor settler over his head, and thus
depriving him of the fruits of his honest labor? No, sir, no:
the laboring men of the country know too well which party is
their true friend, to be persuaded to enlist under the Whig
banner by the Senator from Massachusetts.
The right of suffrage is the most sacred political right which
the citizens of a free Government can enjoy. Like the right of
conscience, it ought ever to be regarded as a question between
the individual man and his Maker, with which no human power
ought to interfere, unless by convincing the reason. This is the
very foundation upon which our Republican institutions rest.
206 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
All men are regarded as equal in the sight of the law ; and they
ought all, therefore, to be equally free when they approach the
ballot box. I ask, has this principle been respected in regard to
the laboring man in our extensive manufactories? Have they
never been told that unless they voted according to the dictation
of their employers, they should be immediately discharged?
Have they never been accompanied to the polls by their employer
or his agent, to see that the tyrannical mandate should be carried
into execution ? The man who would act in such a manner, and
thus abuse the little brief authority which his station has given
him over his fellow men, is at heart a despot and a tyrant. These
things I have never witnessed myself, but have often heard.
I now come to answer the question propounded to me by
the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Webster] in regard to the
political prospects in Pennsylvania; and permit me here to say,
that although I do not complain, I should not have been the first
to introduce such topics upon this floor. Unlike some of my
friends in the Opposition, I have made no predictions here which
the result has not verified. I am, therefore, entitled to some little
character as a prophet, which, small as it may be, I should be
sorry to lose. The smoke which was raised by the late Whig
National Convention has had time to vanish away; and we can
now see objects in their true colors and just proportions. I have
endeavored to view the party struggle in my own State in the
light of truth, so as not to deceive myself or others ; and I have
had the best opportunities of acquiring correct information. I
now declare that I firmly believe the Keystone State will remain
true to her ancient political faith ; and from present appearances,
no future event can be more certain than that she will sustain the
present Chief Magistrate and his principles, by a triumphant
majority.
There is one circumstance which, in my opinion, renders the ■
result absolutely certain. It was our misfortune to have been
under Whig rule for a period of three yeai-s, during the admin-
istration of Governor Ritner. In what manner did that adminis-
tration treat the laboring men employed upon the public works?
No laboring man was permitted to remain in the employment of
the State, unless he would pledge himself to support the re-elec-
tion of Governor Ritner. He was deprived of the means of
earning his bread by the sweat of his brow, unless he would
abandon his right to feel and to think and to act, as a free and
independent citizen of the Commonwealth. In many instances,
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 207
the superintendents on our railroads and canals marched up to
the polls at the head of numerous bands of the laborers, to
enforce a compliance with the pledges which had thus been
extorted from them, and to see that they voted for Governor
Ritner. The election came, and Governor Ritner was defeated
at the polls by a handsome majority. Immediately afterwards, it
was announced from high official authority that this election
should be treated as if it had never taken place. The attempt to
carry this mandate into execution produced what has been most
unjustly called the Harrisburg mob. A revolution was threat-
ened, but the leaders fled from the fearful responsibility which
they had assumed, at the first moment of fancied danger; and
what had begun in tragedy thus ended in broad farce.
Now, sir, I shall not say one word to the prejudice of Gen-
eral Harrison. It is his misfortune in Pennsylvania to be iden-
tified with the leaders of the party which I have just described.
Tliey are his chief and most prominent supporters, and were
the most active and influential in procuring his nomination; and
they are sufficiently heavy to drag down any candidate for the
Presidency in Pennsylvania to whom they are politically bound.
This very fact will lose General Harrison thousands of inde-
pendent Whig votes in Pennsylvania. I trust I have now suffi-
ciently answered the inquiry of the Senator from Massachusetts.
REMARKS, MARCH 6, 1840,
IN REPLY TO FURTHER REMARKS OF MR. DAVIS ON THE
INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL.'
Mr. Davis having concluded his reply to Mr. Buchanan's
charge of misrepi'esentation,
Mr. Buchanan addressed the Senate as follows :
Mr. President : When I addressed the Senate on Tuesday
last, I endeavored to state my cause of complaint in the mildest
manner which the nature of the case admitted, and to treat the
Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. Davis,] so far as I could,
with courtesy and respect. The remarks of that gentleman to-day
have absolved me from any such obligation, and I shall proceed
to refer to his misrepresentations of my speech in favor of the
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 1 Sess. VIII. Appendix, 335-338.
208 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
Independent Treasury bill as they deserve. At the same time,
I shall endeavor to perform this duty in a manner consistent with
my own self-respect, and with the elevated character of the
Senate.
The Senator, in his labored remarks, has endeavored to
draw me into a false issue. In this attempt he shall not succeed.
I am not thus to be diverted from my purpose. Have I, or have
I not, advanced the arguments which he has published to the
world that I urged in favor of the bill? This is the question
at issue between us.
In regard to his speech against the Independent Treasury
bill, I have never said ( for I never shall say what I do not know
to be true) that he did not make that speech in the Senate. The
hour was late — the patience of the body was exhausted, and
he left the seat near me which he usually occupies, and spoke
from another part of the hall. He is, therefore, mistaken in
stating that I sat near where he stood, whilst he was delivering
his speech. Not having the least intention of replying to him,
I was talking freely, when in my seat, to those around me, and
was out of it a considerable portion of the time whilst he was
speaking. I not only did, not hear him. utter any one of the mis-
representations of which I now complain; but I most solemnly
declare that I never even suspected him of having given them
currency in his speech, until my attention was called to it by a
friend on Saturday evening last. This may have been culpable
negligence on my part. Whether or not, it has taught me the
necessity of paying strict attention to that Senator's statements,
should he ever reply to me hereafter.
But, sir, whether the speech delivered and the speech pub-
lished be identical or not, this cannot vary the question. It
remains precisely the same. Has the Senator attributed to me
arguments in support of the bill which I never used? This is
the point in controversy.
If the most artful and unfair man in the world had deter-
mined to destroy any public measure, in what manner could he
most effectually damn it in public estimation? It ^yould be to
enumerate all the terrible consequences which would flow from
it, according to the predictions of its enemies, and put them into
the mouth of its friends as arguments in its favor. There could
not by possibility be any sti'onger admission of its evil tendency.
Such is the manner in which I have been treated by the Senator,
and such is the character of my complaint against him.
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 209
Sir, the enemies of the Independent Treasury bill have de-
nounced it, from the beginning, as a measure which would
destroy the banks of the country, introduce an exclusive metallic
currency, prostrate credit, check importations, and reduce the
value of property and the wages of labor. Now, I could not
offer the least objection against any Senator in the Opposition
for urging any arguments he pleased, to prove that the bill would
be productive of all these fatal consequences. This would be all
perfectly fair. What I do object to, is, that the Senator, instead
of urging these arguments against the bill himself, has reiter-
ated, over and over again, that I supported it, because these
disastrous consequences would result from its passage. The
Senator has placed me precisely in this position. If I can prevent
it, he shall not escape from this plain question of fact by retreat-
ing into a wide field of irrelevant argument.
If this matter had been personal to myself alone, I might
have borne it, and probably would have borne it, in silence. But,
on the eve of a Presidential election, my sins are to be visited
upon the present Administration, whose principles I support.
The President is to be struck at through my side ; and it is thus
attempted to make the public believe that he also sustains the
Independent Treasury bill because it will be productive of all
the ruinous consequences which have been portrayed. This is
the key to unlock the whole published speech of the Senator from
Massachusetts.
In its first paragraph, he professes his intention of making
" a brief reply to the new doctrines which have been now, for
the first time, published here, and come to us through channels
that leave no doubt of their being the doctrines of the Adminis-
tration."
Now, Mr. President, what are these new doctrines which the
Senator says involve " great and momentous considerations,
affecting the most cherished interests of the people ? " After
heralding them in this imposing manner, he proceeds to announce
them. Two friends of the Administration, says he, Mr. Walker
and myself, have declared that this bill — mark me — this very
Independent Treasury bill, " contains the necessary corrective
for the evils imputable to the pernicious influence of bank paper,
as it will check importations of foreign goods, suppress what
they call the credit system, and, by restoring a specie currency,
reduce the wages of the laborer and the value of property."
" This is the character given to the measure by its friends ;
Vol. IV— 1 4
210 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
and, alarming as the doctrines are, I am gratified that they are
frankly avowed."
Now, sir, should I not deserve a strait jacket; ought I
not to be placed in confinement by my friends, if these imputa-
tions were well founded? What, sir, to rise before this august
body and to say, Mr. President, I support the Independent Treas-
ury bill— first, because it will destroy the banks of the country,
abolish all bank paper, and restore a specie currency; second,
because it will check importations ; third, because it will suppress
the credit system ; and fourth, because it will reduce the wages
of the laborer and the value of property ! !
And yet this is the ridiculous attitude in which I am placed
by the Senator's speech. If these imputations were well founded,
I must be one of the most ferocious men in existence. Destruc-
tion must be my delight. No wild agrarian in the country has
ever thought of waging such an indiscriminate war against all
property, my own among the rest, as that which has been attrib-
uted to me by the Senator.
Now, sir, need I say in the presence of this body, before
which my speech was delivered, that I never used any such argu-
ments ? On the contrary, in my reply to the Senator from' Ken-
tucky, [Mr. Clay,] I advanced no " new doctrines," but pursued
the very same course of argument which I had adopted when
this measure was first before the Senate in September, 1837.'
I was then convinced, and so declared in the most solemn man-
ner, that this bill would not injuriously affect the sound and
solvent banks of the country ; and my reflections since have served
to confirm this conviction. One of the points which I most
strongly urged at that time, in answer to the objections of the
enemies of the bill, was, that it would not operate with that
severity upon the banks which they professed to apprehend. I
alleged " that the cause was too impotent to produce any such
effect," and " that its infiuence would scarcely be felt ; " and I
maintained these propositions in the course of my remarks. In
my late speech, which has been the subject of so much unfounded
remark, I congratulated the country that " the prominent argu-
ments formerly urged against the Independent Treasury bill had
nearly all vanished away." Among others of this description,
I expressed my astonishment, " that we had no homily from the
Senator [Mr. Clay] against the specie clause of the bill. Even
this seems to have lost much of its terrors. It is no longer the
terrific monster which was to devour all the banks, and estab-
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 211
lish a pure metallic currency for all the transactions of all the
people of the United States."
And yet, in the very face of all this, the Senator, in his
speech, has put into my mouth, as arguments in favor of the
bill, and of course as consequences resulting from it which I
desired, that it vi^ould destroy the banks, introduce a pure metallic
currency, suppress credit, and reduce the wages of labor and
the price of property. Can he point to any portion of my speech
in which I contended that this bill would produce these mon-
strous effects? If he himself had urged that it would, I say
again, I could have made no objection. My cause of complaint
is, that he has sent abroad to the world his speech, and has by it
placed me in the ridiculous attitude of not only admitting that all
these objections to the bill are true, but of strenuously urging
its passage for this very reason. This, I repeat, is the point of
the controversy between us. In order to make good his charge,
he must prove that I used any such arguments in favor of the
bill — a task which no mortal man can perform. ' I never thought
or dreamed of any such arguments.
But the Senator proceeds to weave his web with much art.
He says:
I will now notice the effects upon the public policy imputed to this bill.
We have always been told that it was a simple proposition to divorce the
Government from the banks, so as to enable it to hold its own money, and,
therefore, harmless in its character, as it would affect nothing else.
This was precisely the character which I gave of it through-
out my late speech.
But, sir, (says the gentleman from Massachusetts) the Senator from
Pennsylvania, while he declares that he is not for an exclusive hard money
currency, or, in other words, is not hostile to well regulated State banks, if
they can be well regulated, as he expresses himself, argues that this bill
will diminish importations, suppress credit, and stop speculation, by modi-
fying the currency, so far as to work out these extraordinary ends.
And here permit me to observe, that the extreme candor of
the Senator is worthy of all commendation. He seems to have
been shocked at my destructive propensities. He was unwilling
that the public should believe that even this bill was as bad as
I had represented it to be. In order to apologize for my indis-
cretion, and to prevent the country from being too much alarmed
at my arguments, he most kindly interposes.
I am by no means satisfied (says he) that it (the bill) is capable of pro-
ducing all these consequences, but as such a power is imputed to it by its
212 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
warmest friends, and those who are in the councils and confidence of the
Administration, who bring it forward with this view and expectation, I shall,
in this reply, confine myself to the positions assumed. That it will do the .
country no good, I have never doubted; but I have never allowed myself to
believe that it can exert that influence upon its affairs which is ascribed to it.
Those in the councils and confidence of the Administration
bring the bill forward and impute these terrible consequences to
it; though the Senator himself recoils from the idea that it would
produce such disastrous effects ! I again repeat that this is the
issue between him and me. Did I ever impute any such conse-
quences to the bill? That is the question.
The Senator next proceeds to comment separately in detail
upon each of the arguments in favor of the bill which he has
thus imputed to me, as though they had been leading points of
my speech. After concluding this portion of his speech, he refers
to the T,d. or ^d. per day which the laboring man in hard money
Holland receives; and thus leaves it to be inferred, though he
has not expressly asserted the proposition, that I desire to bring
down the laboring man to the condition of the miserable serfs of
Europe. The Senator has shown much ingenuity in this effort.
He then proceeds to his hypothetical case. Hypothetical
I admit it to be in the first instance ; but after stating it as such,
he makes it real, by declaring that I had ascribed the power to
the bill of producing the effect which he describes.
And here, sir, permit me to remark, that after the disclaimer
which I understood him to have made on Tuesday last, in regard
to this topic, I should have' taken care in my reported speech to
have suppressed every allusion to the subject which could have
caused him pain. He has now disclaimed the disclaimer, and
I shall act accordingly.
He says :
To follow out the case, I have supposed the income of every man, except
the exporter, is to be reduced one-half in the value of wages and property,
while all foreign merchandise will cost the same, which will obviously, in
effect, double the price, as it will take twice the amount of labor, or twice
the amount of the products of labor, to purchase it.
Thus far the case is suppositious ; but the Senator, in plain
English, makes it a reality against myself in the very next
sentence.
" I do not ascribe," says he, "this power to the bill; hut it
is enough for me that its friends do." What power? What is
the immediate antecedent? Is it not this power, ascribed by its
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 213
friends to the bill, of reducing one-half " the value of wages and
property" in the country? But let us proceed a little further.
In the next sentence he asks, " what response will the farmers,
mechanics, manufacturers, and laborers, make to sitch a flagitious
proposition? "
What is this flagitious proposition? Is it the Independent
Treasury bill in itself? No, sir; no. The Senator throughout,
with aiifected candor, expresses the opinion that this bill would
produce no such fatal consequences as had been ascribed to it
by its friends. No, sir; it is palpably an attempt on the part of
the Senator to induce the public to believe that one of my argu-
ments in favor of the bill was that it would reduce the value of
wages and property one-half. He was pursuing the course which
he had adopted throughout every previous part of his speech,
still persisting in doing me the injury of putting arguments into
my mouth which I had never uttered. Any plain man who reads
his speech would place this construction upon it. After the
Senator has done me all the mischief he could, in public estima-
tion, it is now too late for him to say that he did not attribute
this argument to me.
Sir, his speech is not a manly and open argument against
the Independent Treasury bill. It is a subtle and ingenious con-
trivance throughout, for the purpose of casting odium upon
the Administration and its friends, by ascribing to them argu-
ments which they never uttered, and sentiments which they have
always disavowed.
It is an attempt to impose upon the public the belief that
we support the bill, not because it will separate the banks from
the Government, but because it will destroy the banks, intro-
duce a pure metallic currency, suppress credit, and reduce
the value of property and the wages of labor. The Senator has
become the witness against us; and he cannot, and shall not,
escape from the consequences of his own testimony.
A " flagitious proposition ! " The highest English author-
ity informs us that the meaning of the word " flagitious " is
" peculiarly infamous : " and I shall leave the Senate and the
world to determine whether this term may not be more appro-
priately applied to the Senator's misrepresentations of my re-
marks than to the Independent Treasury bill.
What a wonderful spectacle is presented in this speech of
the Senator ! From the first to the last, from the beginning to
the end of my speech, I did not attribute to this bill one of the
214 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
consequences which he has imputed to me. With my settled
convictions of the efifect of the bill, I should have been the great-
est dunce in Christendom thus to have causelessly alarmed the
fears of the country. I never intimated that it vi^ould seriously
injure, much less destroy, the State banks. It never entered
into my conception that it would introduce a pure metallic cur-
rency, or reduce the wages of labor, or destroy the credit system,
or seriously affect the business of the country in any manner. I
treated it throughout, as what the Senator informed us we had
been uniformly told by its friends that it was, " a simple propo-
sition to divorce the Government from the banks so as to enable
it to keep its own money, and therefore harmless in its character,
as it would effect nothing else." Throughout my speech, it was
one of my chief purposes in advocating the bill, as it had been
in 1837, to allay the fears of the country, and to prove that it
would produce none of these fearful effects.
I am happy to think that my efforts in this respect have not
proved wholly unavailing. I have good reason to believe that
they have had some influence in disabusing the minds of honest
men and relieving them from the apprehensions which they had
formerly entertained on the subject. I pursued the very same
course of argument I had done in September, 1837, when I first
addressed the Senate on this bill. On that occasion, I said :
In this crisis all which the General Government can effect is, in the first
place, to withhold its deposits from the banks, and thus refrain from con-
tributing its funds to swell the torrent of wild speculation ; and, in the second
place, to restrain the extravagance of their credits and issues, in some small
degree, by collecting and disbursing our revenue exclusively in specie, or in
the notes of banks which will pay the balances due from them in specie, at
short intervals. To accomplish these two purposes, as well as to render the
public revenue more secure, are the objects of the bill and amendment now
before the Senate.
I never, for a single moment of my life, entertained the idea
which the Senator has imputed to me, that the bill would destroy
the banks, or even restrain their extravagance except " in some
small degree." Was the imputation justified by any remarks in
my late speech? That, I repeat again, is the question between
the Senator and myself. In that speech, I declared that —
Our chief objects in adopting the Independent Treasury are, to discon-
nect the Government from all banks, to secure the people's money from the
wreck of the banking system, and to have it always ready to promote the
prosperity of the country in peace, and to defend it in war. Incidentally,
however, it will do some good in checking the extravagant spirit of specula-
tion, which is the bane of the country.
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 215
In the first place, by requiring specie in all receipts and expenditures of
the Government, you will create an additional demand for gold and silver to
the amount of five millions of dollars per annum, according to the estimate of
the President. A large portion of this sum will be drawn from the banks,
and this will compel them to keep more specie in their vaults, in proportion
to their circulation and deposits, and to bank less. This, so far as it may
go, will strike at the root of the existing evil. I fear, however, that it will
prove to be but a very inadequate restraint upon excessive banking.
In the second place, this bill will, in some degree, diminish our imports,
especially after June, 1842. I most heartily concur with the Senator in
desiring this result. What is the condition of the importing business at the
present moment? It is almost exclusively in the hands of British agents,
who sell all the manufactures they can dispose of in other portions of the
world, and then bring the residuum here to glut our markets. According to
our existing laws, they receive a credit from the Government for the amount
of its duties. They sell the goods for cash ; and this credit becomes so much
capital in their hands, to enable them to make fresh importations. The Inde-
pendent Treasury bill requires that all duties shall be paid in gold and silver ;
and after June, 1842, the compromise law will take away the credits alto-
gether. We shall then have a system of cash duties in operation, which
will contribute much to reduce the amount of our importations, and to
encourage domestic manufactures.
In the third place, this bill will make the banking interest the greatest
economists in the country, so far as the Government is concerned. Their
nerve of self-interest will be touched in favor of economy, and this will
induce them to unite with the people in reducing the revenue and expendi-
tures of the Government to the lowest standard consistently with the public
good. They will hereafter abhor a surplus revenue as much as they delighted
in it formerly, when they used it for banking purposes. Any surplus which
may exist in future will be locked up in gold and silver in the vaults of our
depositaries ; and, in proportion to its amount, will deprive the banks of
so much of their specie. They will, therefore, become the partisans of reduc-
ing the revenue to the actual and necessary expenditures of the Government,
so that the specie may flow out of the Sub-Treasuries with a rapidity cor-
responding with its influx. Nothing but a large surplus can seriously injure
the banks. This was demonstrated to me by one of the most distinguished
financiers which our country has ever produced, not himself, I believe,
friendly to the Independent Treasury. These Treasury drafts, in the natural
course of business, will find their way either into the banks at the very
points where our depositaries are situated, or into the hands of individuals
there having duties to pay to the Government. Take, for example. New
York. A public creditor receives such a draft on the receiver-general in
payment of his debt. Will he carry it to New York, receive payment, and
transport the specie from that city? Such instances will be rare. He will
generally deposit it to his credit in the bank with which he transacts his
business, wherever that may be. This bank, if not in New York, will transmit
it for collection to one of the banks there; and thus these banks will draw
the specie from our depositaries as rapidly as it is drawn from them for the
payment of the public dues. Thus the equilibrium will be preserved, so long
as the Government is without a large surplus. In other instances, these
216 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
drafts will be sought after and procured by individuals having duties to pay,
and they will be presented to the receivers-general, and accepted by them
instead of gold and silver.
I have presented these extracts from my speech before the
Senate, for the purpose of showing how absurd it was to have
imputed to me the arguments in favor of the bill attributed to
me by the Senator from Massachusetts. Instead of ascribing
to this bill the power of destroying the banks, and introducing
a pure metallic currency, I declare that " I fear it will prove to
be a very inadequate restraint upon excessive banking; " and that
it will not affect the banks at all, unless a large surplus of gold
and silver should be locked up in the vaults of the Sub-Treas-
uries— a case not likely soon to occur.
I have also stated that it would, in some degree, diminish
our imports, especially after June, 1842, when the duties on
imported goods must be paid in cash, and thus encourage our
domestic manufactures. Is there a patriot — nay, is there a man
in the country who does not consider this " a consummation
devoutly to be wished ? "
As I stated before, I ridiculed the idea that this bill would
destroy the banks of the country, and substitute a pure metallic
currency for bank paper. Instead of destroying the banks, I
proved that it did not even contain any power of wholesome
regulation; but for this purpose we must appeal to the State
Legislatures. I also established the position, that neither a bank
of the United States, nor the Bank of England — instruments of
vastly greater power than the Independent Treasury — could,
even if they possessed the inclination, restrain the excessive issues
and credits of the banks of their respective countries.
Now, sir, I have presented to you the materials, and the
only materials, from which the Senator from Massachusetts could
have derived the charge against me, which is presented in differ-
ent forms throughout the whole course of his speech ; that I had
argued that this bill would destroy the banks, restore a specie
currency, reduce the wages of labor and the value of property
one-half, check importations, and suppress the credit system.
I never attributed any one of these consequences to the bill. It
is too impotent in its character to produce any such effects.
The Senator does not seem to perceive, that even if he could
prove I was a hard money man, this would not, in the slightest
degree, justify his statement of the nature of my argument.
It is now too late for him to say, as he has done, that he did not
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 217
consider it of any moment to investigate the degree of influence
which the bill might have; but as I had admitted it v^^ould have
some influence as a corrective, he had directed his reply to the
general scope of my argument. Had his published speech cor-
responded with these sentiments, he and I should never have
had this unpleasant controversy. What I complain of is, not that
he drew unjust inferences from my argument; but that he im-
puted to me arguments which I never used : not that he declared
that I had expressed the opinion that the bill would have some
influence as a corrective, which I certainly did express, and
clearly defined what, in my opinion, would be the extent of its
influence; but that he put into my mouth, as arguments in favor
of the bill, that it would destroy the banks, introduce a pure
metallic currency, prostrate credit, and reduce the value of
wages and property. My cause of complaint is not any deduc-
tions which he might have drawn, fairly or unfairly, from my
speech ; but it rests on the fact that he has attributed to me argu-
ments in support of the bill which I never urged or thought of
urging. He might himself have contended, he might, if he could,
have inferred from my speech that I was a hard money man,
(though this would have been most unjust towards me,) and
have drawn any deductions from this fact which he thought
proper ; but he had no right to make me say that the bill would
establish a hard money currency.
Now, sir, the whole of the miserable attacks which have
been made upon me are based alone on the presumption that I
am an exclusive hard money man. On this question my opinions
have never been disguised. Although wiser and better men than
myself may be friendly to a pure metallic currency, yet when
the subject was first broached in the Senate, I took a decided
stand against it, which I have ever since maintained. In my
speech of 1837, I used the following language :
It is impossible that manufactures and commerce can flourish to any great
degree in this country without the aid of extensive credit. I would not,
therefore, abolish banks if I could. A return to a pure metallic currency is
impossible. To make such an attempt would be ruinous as well as absurd. It
would at once diminish the value of all property more than fifty per cent. ;
and would, in effect, double the amount of every man's debts. It would
enrich creditors at the expense of their debtors, and thus make the rich richer
and the poor poorer. It would paralyze industry and enterprise. I would
give enterprise wholesome food to feed upon; but would not drive it into
mad speculation by administering unnatural stimulants.
This is the ground which I occupied when the question was
218 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
first raised before the country. It is the ground which I have
maintained ever since. I differ in this respect with my friend
from Mississippi, who is now absent, and have had many argu-
ments with him, in a kind spirit, to convince him that he was
wrong in advocating a pure metalHc currency. On his return,
he will be no little astonished to learn that the Senator from
Massachusetts has represented me, in the very speech which
afforded the occasion of several of these friendly arguments, not
only as a hard money man, but as having advocated the Inde-
pendent Treasury bill, because it would put down the banks and
introduce an exclusive hard money currency. The Senator from
Mississippi, whatever may be his abstract opinions, never used
any such arguments in favor of the bill. My sentiments upon
the subject have been expressed fully and freely, both here and
elsewhere, as often as the occasion offered. How any Senator
could have misapprehended them, I am wholly at a loss to con-
jecture ; especially after I had clearly and distinctly repeated them
in my late speech. The published speech of the Senator from
Massachusetts has placed me in a strange position. It was but
the other day that a hard money journal of high character was
sent to me from New York, which denounced me in strong terms
for expressing, in my late speech, sentiments friendly to the con-
tinued existence of banks. A similar course has been pursued
towards me by another paper of the same character, in Virginia.
On the other hand, whilst I am thus attacked by the hard money
men, the Senator makes his appearance, and asserts not only
that I am a hard money man, but that I h$id urged the passage
of the Independent Treasury bill, because it would convert the
United States into a hard money country.
But whilst I am opposed to an exclusive metallic currency,
I am equally hostile to that system of banking which has been
the cause of those expansions and contractions of the paper cur-
rency which have produced so much ruin and misery among all
classes of society. This is the crying evil of our country. Would
to Heaven I had the power to correct it! What was my argu-
ment in relation to this subject? I shall read my remarks to
the Senate, as they are short; and because I cannot now state
them with as much clearness and force as I did on that occasion.
What has been the financial history of this country for the last twenty-
five years? I can speak with positive knowledge upon this subject during
the period of eighteen years since I first came into public life. It has been
a history of constant vibration — of extravagant expansions in the business
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 219
of the country, succeeded by ruinous contractions. At -successive intervals,
many of tlie best and most enterprising men of the country have been crushed.
They have fallen victims at the shrine of the insatiate and insatiable spirit
of extravagant banking and speculation. Starting at the extreme point of
depression of one of these periods, we find that the country has been glutted
with foreign merchandise, and it requires all our eflforts to pay the debt thus
contracted to foreign nations. At this crisis the banks can do nothing to
relieve the people. In order to preserve their own existence, they are com-
pelled to contract their loans and their issues. In the hour of distress, when
their assistance is most needed, they can do nothing for their votaries. Every
article sinks in price, men are unable to pay their debts, and wide-spread
ruin pervades the land. During this first year of the cycle, we are able to
import but comparatively little foreign merchandise, and this affords the
country an opportunity of recruiting its exhausted energies. The next year
the patient begins to recover. Domestic manufactures flourish in propor-
tion as foreign goods become scarce. The industry and enterprise of our
citizens have been exerted with energy, and our productions have liquidated
the foreign debt. The third year, a fair business is done — the country presents
a flourishing appearance. The banks, relieved from the drain of specie
required for foreign export, begin once more to expand, and tempt the unwary
to their ruin. Property of all descriptions commands a fair price. The fourth
or the fifth year the era of extravagant banking and speculation returns,
again to be succeeded by another ruinous revulsion.
This was the history of the country, up till 1837. Since then we have
travelled the road to ruin much more rapidly than in former years. Before
that period, it had required from three to six years to get up an expansion,
and its corresponding explosion. We have now witnessed the astounding
fact that we can pass through all these changes, and even from one sus-
pension of specie payments to another, in little more than two years.
Now, any person who has read my speech with candor, any
person who heard it in a fair spirit, must have observed that it
was exclusively my object to correct the excesses of the banking
system, not to destroy the banks. I wished, by wise and whole-
some State legislation, to reform it in such a manner as to secure
to the people the benefits which may be derived from it without
involving them in ruin by its periodical excesses. I desired to
see a sound mixed currency established, so that the wages of
labor, the value of property, and the prices of the necessaries and
comforts of life, might have a fixed and permanent character,
and not be liable to the perpetual fluctuations to which they are
now at every moment exposed.
But the Senator seeks to involve me in inconsistency, and
to prove that I am a hard money man, notwithstanding my
repeated and solemn disavowals of this doctrine, and notwith-
standing the admission in his speech, that I had declared I was
not friendly to an exclusive hard money currency, nor hostile to
220 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
well regulated State Banks. It is true that, in the very sentence
in which he makes the admission, as well as throughout his
speech, he nullifies its effect, and proceeds to argue as though it
had never been made. What course does he pursue to accom-
plish this purpose?
Having ever been the friend of domestic manufactures, I
endeavored to prove what I honestly believe to be the fact, that
" the extravagant amount of our circulating medium, consisting,
in a great degree, of the notes thrown out upon the community
by eight hundred banks, was injurious to our domestic manu-
factures. In other words, not that banking, but that extravagant
banking and domestic manufactures are directly hostile to each
other."
To establish this proposition, I referred to the well known
principle of political economy, " that if you double the amount
of the necessary circulating medium in any country, you thereby
doulale the nominal price of every article. If, when the circu-
lating medium is fifty millions, an article should cost one dollar,
it would cost two, if without any increase of the uses of a circu-
lating medium the quantity should be increased to one hundred
millions."
In order to apply this principle to our condition, and place
it in its most striking light before the country and the manu-
facturers, I took the United States, which is emphatically a paper
money countiy, not at the present moment of depression, but at
the extreme point of our periodical expansion, when every article
commanded the highest price; and contrasted the condition of
our manufactures at that point of time with those of Germany,
which is emphatically a hard money country. I presented the
two extremes, in order to make the contrast the more striking.
At particular stages of our expansion, (I said,) we might with justice
apply the principle which I have stated, to our trade with those countries,
and assert, that from the great redundancy of our currency, articles are
manufactured in France and Germany for one-half of their actual cost in
this country. Let me present an example. In Germany, where the currency
is purely metallic, and the cost of everything is reduced to a hard money
standard, a piece of broadcloth can be manufactured for fifty dollars ; the
manufacture of which, in our country, from the expansion of our paper
currency, would cost one hundred dollars. What is the consequence? The
foreign French or German manufacturer imports this cloth into our country
and sells it for a hundred dollars. Does not every person perceive that the
redundancy of our currency is equal to a premium of one hundred per cent.
in favor of the foreign manufacturer ? No tariff of protection, unless it
amounted to prohibition, could counteract this advantage in favor of foreign
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 221
manufactures. I would to Heaven that I could arouse the attention of
every manufacturer of the nation to this important subject.
The foreign manufacturer will not receive our bank notes in payment.
He will take nothing home except gold and silver, or bills of exchange, which
are equivalent. He does not expend this money here, where he would be
compelled to support his family, and to purchase his labor and materials at
the same rate of prices which he receives for his manufactures. On the
contrary, he goes home, purchases his labor, his wool, and all other articles
which enter into his manufacture, at half their cost in this country ; and again
returns to inundate us with foreign woollens, and to ruin our domestic
manufactures. I might cite many other examples, but this, I trust, will be
sufficient to draw public attention to the subject. This depreciation of our
currency is, therefore, equivalent to a direct protection granted to the foreign
over the domestic manufacturer. It is impossible tl;^t our manufacturers
should be able to sustain such an unequal competition.
But, sir, did I propose to convert this country into a hard
money country in order to place it in the same condition with
Germany and France in regard to domestic manufactures ? Far,
very far, from it. Such a change would violate all our fixed
habits, and be opposed to the genius of our people. The case
was presented, not with this view, but for the purpose of exhib-
iting the injurious consequences arising to manufactures from
the redundancy of our currency at the periods of our greatest
expansions. We must trade with these countries, whether we
will or not, and in order to place us in something like a position
of equality with them, I desired, if possible, to prevent these
extravagant expansions by introducing such bank reforms as
would secure to us a stable mixed currency, which should not
be perpetually fluctuating in amount. This was the whole tenor
of my remarks from beginning to end.
At the commencement of the very next paragraph I use
the following language : " Sir, I solemnly believe that if we
could but reduce this inflated paper bubble to any thing like
reasonable dimensions, New England would become the most
prosperous manufacturing country that the sun ever shone upon."
The same idea is conveyed throughout. It is the reduction of
our inflated paper currency to reasonable dimensions, not the
destruction of banks and bank paper, which I have uniformly
advocated.
In my statement of the simple fact known to all men, that
the foreign manufacturer goes home to his hard money country
and purchases his labor and his materials at half what they cost
here, at the moment when our currency is in a state of the great-
est expansion, the Senator finds his justification for asserting
222 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
that I desire to establish a hard money currency in this country,
and to reduce the wages of labor and the value of property.
But this is not all. Though the Independent Treasury bill was
entirely lost sight of at this period of the discussion, and the
only point involved was a general principle of political economy,
having no reference whatever to that bill, he has had the hardi-
hood to proclaim to the world, upon no other foundation than
what I have stated, that I urged its passage because it would
establish a hard money currency, and thus reduce the wages of
labor and the value of property.
In 1837, I introduced the very same principle of political
economy into the discussion, a^nd in similar language presented
the ruinous consequences which resulted to the manufacturing
interest from the expansions and contractions of our paper cur-
rency. No Senator then misunderstood my argument. It was
reserved for the Senator from Massachusetts, at this late day,
entirely to pervert my meaning, and to endeavor to hold me
up to the country as the avowed enemy of the poor laborer, and
as the advocate of the Independent Treasury bill, because it
would reduce his wages.
These periodical expansions and contractions of our cur-
rency seriously threaten to ruin our domestic manufactures.
Unless they can be prevented, by some means or other, these
manufactures must sink. When I express this opinion, I speak
in the sincerity of my heart. Whether I am friendly to the
cause of domestic industry or not, I leave for those to determine
who have observed the whole course of my public life.
Our periodical crash is always preceded by a year of enor-
mous importations. The reason is obvious. In proportion to the
expansion of our currency, the prices of all articles rise; and
from this enhancement of price, our country becomes the best
market in the world for the sale of foreign manufactures. In
the year 1839, our imports were greater, by forty-four millions
of dollars, than they had been in 1838. This excessive importa-
tion, whilst it was the immediate cause of the ruinous revulsion
in the business of the country, and of the suspension of specie
payments, left our markets flooded with foreign goods, to the
great injury of our own manufactures. When the explosion
came, manufacturers, merchants, mechanics, laborers, and all,
fell under its blasting influence. It was my object to correct
the excesses of the banking system which are productive of these
injurious consequences, and not to destroy the banks. The gen-
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 223
tleman, although he may take up detached sentences of my
speech, and pervert their meaning, can never place any other
construction upon the whole of it than such as I have stated.
To regulate — to restrain the banks within safe limits — to
afford to the laboring man constant employment and regular
wages — not to cause the wages of labor in one year to mount up
with all other articles to an extravagant price, and then, by the
revulsion in the succeeding year, to sink to almost nothing ; these
are the ideas which pervade my speech throughout. After our
periodical explosions, the laborer undergoes calamities and suffer-
ings much more severe than any other class of society. It was
to correct this inevitable result, and thus to benefit the laborer,
that I insisted upon bank reform. I declared that " an entire
suppression of all bank notes of a lower denomination than the
value of one week's wages of the laboring man, is absolutely
necessary for his protection. He ought always to receive his
wages in gold and silver. Of all men on the earth, the laborer
is most interested in having a sound and stable currency."
Is there any gentleman of any party who will not unite with
me in these sentiments ? Ought we not to abolish all small notes,
if this were in our power, of denominations lower than one
week's wages of labor? The history of the proceedings in this
Senate on the currency bill, and on other bills, proves that a
principle which would produce this effect was sanctioned by all
and voted for by all.
To show that I expressed no opinion in favor of an exclu-
sive metallic currency, but directly the reverse, permit me to
refer to another paragraph of my speech.
But the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] leaves no stone unturnfed.
He says that the friends of the Independent Treasury desire to establish an
exclusive, metallic currency, as the medium of all dealings throughout the
Union; and, also, to reduce the wages of the poor man's labor, so that the
rich employer may be able to sell his manufactures at a lower price. Now,
sir, I deny the correctness of both these propositions, and, in the first place,
I, for one, am not in favor of establishing an exclusive metallic currency
for the people of this country. I desire to see the banks greatly reduced in
number ; and would, if I could, confine their accommodations to such loans or
discounts, for limited periods, to the commercial, manufacturing, and trading
classes of the community, as the ordinary course of their business might
render necessary. I never wish to see farmers and mechanics and professional
men tempted, by the facility of obtaining bank loans for long periods, to
abandon their own proper and useful and respectable spheres, and rush into
wild and extravagant speculation. I would, if I could, radically reform the
present banking system, so as to confine it within such limits as to prevent
224 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
future suspensions of specie payments ; and without exception, I would
instantly deprive each and every bank of its charter which should again
suspend. Establish these or similar reforms, and give us a real specie basis
for our paper circulation, by increasing the denomination of bank notes first
to ten, and afterwards to twenty dollars, and I shall then be the friend, not
the enemy, of banks. I know that the existence of banks, and the circulation
of bank paper, are so identified with the habits of our people, that they cannot
be abolished, even if this were desirable. To reform, and not to destroy, is
my motto. To confine them to their appropriate business, and prevent them
from ministering to the spirit of wild and reckless speculation, by extravagant
loans and issues, is all which ought to be desired. But this I shall say.
If experience should prove it to be impossible to enjoy the facilities which
well regulated banks would afford, without, at the same time, continuing
to suffer the evils which the wild excesses of the present banks have hitherto
entailed upon the country, then I should consider it the lesser evil to abolish
them altogether. If the State Legislatures shall now do their duty, I do not
believe that it will ever become necessary to decide on such an alternative.
I declare that to reform, and not to destroy, the banks, is
my motto. This was my language in 1837: it is my lan-
guage now. The greatest enemies of these institutions are those
who are unwilling to arrest them, by wise legislation, in their
reckless and ruinous career, and thus prevent them from destroy-
ing themselves. There is no truth more certain than this : that
if the influence of the banks should prevent the adoption of such
legislation as will afford to the people the facilities which they
have a right to demand from these institutions, without, at the
same time, inflicting the evils which their wild excesses have
hitherto entailed upon the country, they will finally be crushed
by public opinion. This I should regret for many reasons,
although it is possible that a much better banking system might
arise from their ruins.
It is true that I expressed a serious doubt whether the present
banking system would be wisely regulated by the States. I feel
confident that this can never be effectually accomplished whilst
nine hundred banks exist, pouring forth upon the country, at
the periods of expansion, bank notes of all denominations from
a dollar and upwards. You cannot have sound banks unless you
reduce their num.ber. Out of the large commercial cities, where
banks transact their business much more by means of bank
credits, deposits, and checks, than by the issue of notes, no bank
can make money, and at the same time be safe, without an
extended theatre for circulation. Country banks, whose circu-
lation is limited to a circumference of a few miles in diameter,
if they do a profitable business, must, from the very nature of
1840] INDEPENDENT TREASURY BILL 225
things, force their paper upon the pubhc to such an amount as
to render them insecure. In the days of expansion, when specu-
lation is raging, they may not be in immediate danger. When
the reverse comes, and panic arises, the notes of such a bank
may be all thrown upon it for redemption in a single day, or a
single week. It can make no safe calculation of the extent to
which it can maintain its circulation, as it could do if this circu-
lation covered a large space of country. One of the greatest
reforms of our banking system would, therefore, be greatly
to reduce their number.
Now as to the wages of labor: I really thought it was
impossible that I could have been misunderstood, until I read the
speech of the Senator. In combating the remarks of the Sena-
tor from Kentucky [Mr. Clay,] I proved that what the laboring
man ought, above all things, to desire, was, such a reform in
our banking system as would afford him " constant employment
and regular wages, paid in a sound currency." It is ruinous
to him for his wages to be rising with the kite of speculation
one year, and the very next year to have them reduced to almost
nothing, and even to be without employment altogether. He
never benefits by extravagant speculation. It brings to him
nothing but unmitigated evil, because the increased prices which
he is obliged to pay for the necessaries and comforts of life,
counterbalance, and more than counterbalance, this advantage.
What he desires is stability and regularity in the business of the
country. He ought to be able to raise his family in peace and
comfort, and to look forward to the next year for the same
reward for his honest toil that he received the last. On this
subject no anxious doubts ought to harass his mind. He ought
to feel himself independent so long as it shall please the Almighty
to give him health and strength to earn his bread by the sweat
of his face, without being involved in those periodical crashes
of the banking system, which are produced by extravagant expan-
sions of the currency. Under the present system the laboring
man cannot calculate what a day may bring forth. He receives
high wages to-day and is starving for want of employment
to-morrow. In illustrating these views, I most cheerfully ad-
mitted in my speech that " that country is most prosperous where
labor commands the greatest reward; where one day's labof
will procure not the greatest nominal amount of a depreciated
currency, but most of the necessaries and comforts of life."
And I said that by correcting your bloated credit system in such
Vol. IV— 15
226 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
a manner as to reduce " the amount of your bank issues within
reasonable and safe limits, and establishing a metallic basis for
your paper circulation," you would greatly benefit the laborer.
He could then purchase more of the necessaries and comforts of
life for one dollar " than he could have done in the days of
extravagant expansion for one dollar and a quarter." Besides,
he would then enjoy the advantages which he never can do
under the present system, " of constant employment and regular
wages," without being " involved in ruin by a recurrence of
those periodical expansions and contractions of the currency,
which have hitherto convulsed the coiuntry." The last thing of
which I ever dreamed, was to bring his wages down to the pure
metallic standard. I wished to adopt that safe mixed currency
which I so fully described in the course of my remarks, and
which would be a blessing to manufacturers, merchants, mechan-
ics, laborers, and all the people of the country, because it would
produce certainty and stability in all the transactions of life.
It was the ardent desire of Henry the 4th, the great monarch
of France, so to govern his country, that every laborer in his
dominions might have a pullet in his pot on Sundays. In our
own highly favored land, even at the period of the greatest
expansion, the laboring man could not afford to regale himself
and his family with a roast of beef. If his wages were high,
the monopolists of this article, aided by the banks, raised the
price of this necessary of life in a much greater proportion.
I repeat that the Senator might have argued as he pleased
against the Independent Treasury bill, and this would have
afforded me no cause of complaint. He might have inferred,
from my argument, however unjustly, that I was friendly to a
pure metallic currency, and I should not have complained before
the Senate. But when he put into my mouth, as a leading argu-
ment in favor of the bill, that it would restore an exclusive
metallic currency to the country, I felt myself obliged, by im-
perious necessity, to correct the misrepresentation, because it was
doing me the most galling injustice.
I regret, exceedingly, that anything of a personal character
has grown out of this matter. It was the farthest thing imagin-
able either from my intention or my wishes. But when the Sena-
tor thought proper to treat my complaints with the scorn and
contempt which he said they deserved, I believed it to be a duty
which I owed to myself, to hurl back his defiance, and he may
make the most of it.
1840] DAY OF ADJOURNMENT 227
REMARKS, MARCH 31, 1840,
ON THE DAY OF ADJOURNMENT.'
The resolution submitted some time since by Mr. Lumpkin,
fixing the adjournment of Congress on the i8th of May, being
taken up,
Mr. Lumpkin hoped that a vote might be taken on the reso-
lution. His own opinion on the subject was unchanged, and
he believed, as he had formerly taken occasion to say, that the
business of the co'untry would be greatly accelerated if a definite
day was fixed for the adjournment. He was aware that a major-
ity of the Senate differed with him as to the time mentioned;
but if it was too early, the resolution might be amended so as to
fix it at a more remote day ; but he hoped that some day would be
designated.
Mr. Norvell thought that Congress could not with propriety
fix a day for adjournment until intelligence was received of the
action of the British Government on the propositions submitted
to her in relation to the boundary question. With a view, how-
ever, of disposing of this matter for the present, he would move
that the resolution, with the bill, introduced by him some days
since, fixing the day of meeting for the next session, be referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary.
No one appearing to object, the question was about being
put, when
Mr. Mouton observed that he considered it a very singular
direction to give this resolution, and he was very much surprised
that his friend from Georgia [Mr. Lumpkin] should acquiesce
in it, as he considered it equivalent to a rejection of the resolution.
Mr. Lumpkin said he was compelled to yield to what he could
not avoid. His friend from Louisiana and himself had the same
opinion on this subject, but the majority of the Senate thought
differently, and they had the power to give any direction to the
resolution they thought proper. He had endeavored repeatedly
to get a direct vote on his proposition, and had even asked it as a
personal favor; but it was not thought proper to grant his request,
and he bowed to the will of the majority. He therefore hoped
his friend from Louisiana would perceive that there was no
ground for being surprised in the fact of his yielding when he
could not help it.
? Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 296-297.
228 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
Mr. Buchanan said he agreed with the Senator from Georgia
on this subject, and had voted with him throughout. His legis-
lative experience, which was not short, had taught him that seldom
was there a determined purpose evinced to transact the business
of Congress until a day was fixed for the close of the session.
As to this question of the Northeastern boundary, the British
Government last July (he spoke from recollection) submitted a
proposition to this Government for its settlement. This not
proving satisfactory, our Government submitted to the British
Government a counter projet, to which, as yet, no answer has
been received. He was very glad to learn from the communica-
tion of the British Minister, which was read in this body on Thurs-
day last, though he did not like the temper displayed in that paper,
that an answer might be shortly expected. When the expected
answer to our counter projet is received, we will see daylight on
this question. We will then be informed whether the British
Government accedes to the proposition, and is disposed to settle
it amicably, or whether she refuses, and in that event we will
know what we have to do. He was not willing to vote for fixing
the 1 8th of May as the day of adjournment, but he thought that
in all human probability the reply of the British Government
would be received before the first of June. Should that answer
be unpropitious, which Heaven forbid, we can postpone it until
such measures can be passed as we may deem necessary for the
protection of the country.
Mr. Lumpkin having acceded to the modification of his reso-
lution, as suggested by Mr. Buchanan,
Mr. Allen said he would vote against the resolution under
consideration, or any other proposing to fix a day for the adjourn-
ment of Congress, in the present state of our foreign relations.
He would consider a vote fixing a day of adjournment, at the
present moment, when we are in expectation of the receipt of
important intelligence from Great Britain, as equivalent to a
declaration that we deemed the anticipated answer of the British
Government as of no moment, whereas that answer might involve
us in the most serious difficulties with that power. ^
' After some further remarks, the question was taken on laying the
resolution on the table, and decided in the affirmative, ayes 23, noes 17, Mr.
Buchanan voting in the negative.
1840] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY DISPUTE 229
REPORT, APRIL 13, 1840,
ON THE CASE OF THE BRIG ENTERPRISE.'
Mr. Buchanan made the following report :
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom were referred
certain resolutions " in relation to the national rights of vessels
forced by stress of weather into friendly ports, and the seizure
of the brig Enterprise under those circumstances," report the said
resolutions to the Senate, with the following amendments :
After the word " port," in the second line of the second
resolution, insert the words " and under the jurisdiction."
Strike out of the second resolution the following words,
in the second, third, and fourth lines, viz. : " she would, under
the same laws, lose none of the rights appertaining to her on the
high seas ; but, on the contrary ; " so as to make this resolution
read as follows :
Resolved, That if such ship or vessel should be forced by
stress of weather, or other unavoidable cause, into the port, and
under the jurisdiction of a friendly Power, she and her cargo,
and persons on board, with their property, and all the rights be-
longing to their personal relations, as established by the laws
of the' State to which they belong, would be placed under the
protection which the laws of nations extend to the unfortunate
under such circumstances.
REPORT AND REMARKS, APRIL 14, 1840,
ON THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY DISPUTE.^
Mr. Buchanan, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
made the following report :
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which were referred
the several messages of the President of the United States, com-
municating to Congress, at its present session, certain official
correspondence in relation to the question of the territory in dis-
pute with Great Britain on our Northeastern frontier; and also
certain resolutions of the Legislature of Maine on the same
subject,
' S. Doc. 378, 26 Cong. I Sess. For the history of this case and of certain
analogous cases, see Moore, International Arbitrations, I. 409-412.
'Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 322, 323- The report is also
printed in S. Doc. 382, 26 Cong, i Sess.
230 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
REPORT :
That they have had the same under consideration, and now
deem it expedient to communicate to the Senate their reasons for
not making, at the present moment, a general report upon the
whole subject. They feel that they will best perform this duty,
by placing clearly and distinctly before the Senate the existing
state and condition of the pending negotiation between the two
Governments.
The President of the United States, in hig annual message
of December last, informed Congress that, " for the settlement of
our Northeastern boundary, the proposition promised by Great
Britain for a commission of exploration and survey, has been
received, and a counter project, including also a provision for the
certain and final adjustment of the limits in dispute, is now before
the British Government for its consideration." The President
has not thought it advisable to communicate this counter project
to Congress ; yet we have his assurance, on which the most con-
fident reliance may be placed, that it is of such a character as will,
should it be accepted, finally settle the question. This proposition
was officially communicated to that Government during the last
summer.
Mr. Fox, the British Minister, in his note of the 24th
January last, doubtless with a perfect knowledge of the nature of
the project which had been submitted by the American Govern-
ment to that of Great Britain, assures Mr. Forsyth, " that he not
only preserves the hope, but he entertains the firm behef, that if
the duty of negotiating the boundary question be left in the hands
of the two National Governments, to whom alone of right it be-
longs, the difficulty of conducting the negotiation to an amicable
issue will not be found so great as has been by many persons
apprehended." And in his subsequent note of March 13, 1840,
he states that he has been instructed to declare, " that her
Majesty's Government are only waiting for the detailed report
of the British commissioners recently employed to survey the
disputed territory, which report, it was believed, would be com-
pleted and delivered to her Majesty's Government by the end
of the pre-sent month, (March) in order to transmit to the Gov-
ernment of the United States a reply to their last proposal upon
the subject of the boundary negotiation." Thus we may reason-
ably expect that this reply will be received by the President during
the present month, (of April,) or early in May.
Whilst such is the condition of the principal negotiation,
1840] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY DISPUTE 231
the committee have deemed it inexpedient, at this time, to report
upon the subordinate though important question in relation to
the temporary occupation of the disputed territory. They trust
that the answer of the British Government may be of such a char-
acter as to render a report upon this latter subject unnecessary.
In any event, they have every reason to believe that the state
of suspense will be but of brief duration.
The committee, ever since this embarrassing and exciting
question has been first presented for their consideration, have
been anxious that the Government of the United States should
constantly preserve itself in the right; and hitherto this desire
has been fully accomplished. The territorial rights of Maine
have been uniformly asserted, and a firm determination to main-
tain them has been invariably evinced ; though this has been done
in an amicable spirit. So far as the committee can exercise any
influence over the subject, they are resolved, that if war should be
the result, which they confidently hope may not be the case, this
war shall be rendered inevitable, by the conduct of the British
Government. They have believed this to be the surest mode of
uniting every American heart and every American arm in defence
of the just rights of the country.
It is but justice to remark, that the Executive branch of the
Government has, from the beginning, been uniformly guided by
the same spirit, and has thus far pursued a firm, consistent, and
prudent course, throughout the whole negotiation with Great
Britain.
Whilst the committee can perceive no adequate cause, at the
present moment, for anticipating hostilities between the two coun-
tries, they would not be understood as expressing the opinion that
this country should not be prepared to meet any emergency. The
question of peace or war may, in a great degree, depend upon the
answer of the British Government now speedily expected.
Mr. Wright called for the reading of the report, and it was
read accordingly; after which
Mr. W. observed that in calling for the reading of the report,
his only object was to hear the views of the committee, and to give
himself an opportunity to move for the printing of an extra num-
ber of copies. He would make that motion for the reason,
that within the last few weeks, he believed he might say within
the last two weeks, his correspondents, a great many of whom
were on the frontiers, seemed to entertain alarming apprehensions
of immediate hostilities between this country and England. From
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
what cause he knew not. He had seen nothing himself to author-
ize such apprehensions, and he was gratified to find that the Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations entertained the same opinion.
Mr. W. then moved for the printing of ten thousand extra
copies of the report.
Mr. Buchanan observed that the committee had no intention
of moving the printing of an extra number of copies of this report,
though certainly, as a member of it, he should not oppose the
motion. The report was very short, and from the interest gener-
ally taken in the subject, it might, and probably would, be copied
into all the country papers. He did not believe that it would
occupy more than one column in the ordinary sized newspapers,
and therefore there was little doubt but it would be extensively
circulated. Still, if the Senator from New York [Mr. Wright]
wished an extra number printed, he should not oppose it. He
had only made these suggestions for the information of the gentle-
man himself, and would be content with any decision that might
be made.
Mr. Buchanan observed that the remarks of the Senator from
Maine [Mr. Ruggles] seemed to render it necessary that he should
say a very few words on the subject before the Senate. Those
who had attended to the reading of the report, would perceive
that, throughout, it was intended for the sole purpose of present-
ing to the Senate the reasons why the committee did not think
it necessary, at this time, to make a detailed report on the whole
correspondence. That was the single object of the report. If it
should become necessary to make a report in regard to the tem-
porary occupation of the disputed territory, the committee would
not shrink from their duty. They were prepared to perform it
to the Senate and to the country. But at this moment, when we
have the solemn assurance of the British Minister that in a very
short time we should have an answer from his Government to the
counter projet presented by our Government; and when he not
only expresses the hope, but " entertains the firm belief," that
the " difficulty of conducting the negotiation to an amicable issue
will not be found so great as has been by many persons appre-
hended," it is wonderful that the Senator from Maine should
denounce this report, made under such circumstances, in such
strong language. The report, Mr. B. continued, reasserted the
rights of Maine in the most solemn manner; and it was extra-
1840] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY DISPUTE 233
ordinary that any citizen of Maine should expect a detailed report,
or one different from that which had been made, unless, indeed,
he could believe that the committee ought to have assumed a hos-
tile position, and gone into all the correspondence that had taken
place, and into the subject of the prepai^ations that had been made
by the British Government, in the very face of the assurance that
we should have an answer to our proposition in the course of this
month or the next; which, judging from the language of the
British Minister, we had reason to believe would prove satisfac-
tory. The committee thought it was their duty to place before
the Senate the precise state of the negotiation between the two
countries; and what that was might be summed up in twenty
words. A proposition for an exploration and survey of the dis-
puted territory had been made by the British Government; and
this Government not deeming it satisfactory, because it did not
embrace a provision for the final settlement of the question, had
sent to the British Government a counter projet, to which no
answer has yet been received. This counter projet was com-
municated to the British Government during the last summer,
and the British Minister here, several months afterwards, with
a perfect knowledge of its character, assures us that a speedy
answer will be given to it, and expresses his confident belief that
if this controversy is left to the two national Governments, it does
not present the difficulties which had been by many persons appre-
hended. He also declares that the commissioners who had been
sent out from England to make a survey of the disputed territory,
were preparing their report — that this report would be ready
within the month of March — and that then his Government would
transmit an answer to the proposition we had submitted to them.
Now in this state of the case, unless you suppose the British Gov-
ernment to be entirely faithless, which he had no reason to believe,
we may reasonably expect, in this or the coming month, to receive
an answer that may enable us to settle this question in conformity
with the stipulations of the treaty of 1783, and in accordance
with the just rights of Maine. Under such circumstances, how
could it be expected that the committee would make a belligerent
report? Mr. B. differed with the Senator from Maine in the
opinion that the people of his State either would or could so
construe this report, as to imagine that the committee or the Sen-
ate were prepared to surrender any portion of their rights. The
past conduct of this body should shield them from such a sus-
picion, and their future conduct, should it become necessary.
234 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
would show that they were as ready now as they have been in
former times, to sustain the honor of the nation as well as the
rights of a sovereign member of the Confederacy. From the
correspondence which had taken place between the two Govern-
ments, the committee hoped that this might never become neces-
sary. Sufficient for the day was the evil thereof; and the com-
mittee thought the subject was already sufficiently embarrassing
in itself, without unnecessarily adding to it other causes of
irritation.
REMARKS, APRIL 17, 1840,
ON BRANCH MINTS.'
Mr. Buchanan had a few words tO' say in regard to the bill
under consideration; and he should speak from memory, rather
than from any recent investigation of the facts. For one, when
these branch mints were established, he had the misfortune to
differ from a large majority of his political friends in the Senate;
and he voted under the banner of the Senator from Kentucky,
[Mr. Clay,] and Governor Hill of New Hampshire, who was
also opposed to them. He had seen no cause since to change the
opinions he had then formed, though he hoped he might see
abundant cause to do so hereafter. That, however, was not the
question. These branch mints had been already established, and
were now in operation ; and the first section of the bill, if he was
not greatly mistaken, was intended, not to increase, but to dimin-
ish the expense. Under the existing law, the superintendent
was obliged to employ a separate class of laborers for each par-
ticular purpose of the institution ; and at the mint in Philadelphia,
he may easily do so without loss or inconvenience; but at these
small mints, to confine the laborers employed to a particular branch
of the business, necessarily obliged them to be idle for a consider-
able portion of their time. The object of the first section, then,
was to enable the superintendent to employ the laborers at these
small mints in different branches, and not confine them to one
particular employment.
He would ask the Senator from New York [Mr. Wright,
the chairman of the Committee on Finance, who had reported the
bill] if he was not right in saying that the first section was not
■ Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII., Appendix, 317.
1840] DUTY ON SILK 235
to increase, but, as recommended by Mr. Patterson, was for the
express purpose of diminishing the expense ?
[Mr. Wright here answered in the affirmative.]
The whole amount of the business done at these mints, heaven
knows, has been little enough. He wished to give them some
more employment, and the superintendent said that this could
be done with very little additional expense ; that the silver could
be coined by the same machinery that was used for the gold coin-
age, and that the engraver was under a stated salary. The bill
provided for no appropriation whatever, and it was not supposed
that any additional expense, of the least consequence, would be
involved. Under these circumstances he was willing to give the
bill his vote, and at the same time he would say that if the Senator
from South Carolina, [Mr. Preston,] or any other Senator,
should introduce a resolution to inquire whether it was necessary
to keep up these mints, he should also vote for it. He had
conscientiously opposed these branch mints at the beginning. He
believed that strong arguments could be adduced to show that
there should be no other mint besides the one at Philadelphia.
He should, however, vote for the bill, and if any gentleman would
offer a resolution of inquiry, he would vote for it, also, and regu-
late his subsequent votes, in relation to the subject, by the infor-
mation that might be thus elicited.
REMARKS, APRIL 24, 1840,
ON A PETITION FOR A DUTY ON SILK.'
Mr. Buchanan presented the memorial of Jonathan H. Cobb
of Dedham, and Samuel Cobb of Needham, Massachusetts, manu-
facturers of sewing silk and other silk goods, requesting Congress
to impose a duty on the importation of foreign silk manufactures.
Mr. B. said that it had been demonstrated by experience,
that our soil, our climate, and our pure and dry atmosphere, were
peculiarly adapted to the production of silk. With this experience
before our eyes, our country presented the strange, he was about
to say absurd, spectacle of admitting the importation of foreign
silks free of all duty. This was done at a time when our revenues
were not equal to the expenses of the Government ; and we were
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 354-
236 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
actually borrowing money to supply the deficiency. A new issue
of Treasury notes might have been altogether avoided, had we, in
time, imposed a moderate revenue duty on the importation of this
article of luxury. Such a duty would have afforded, and would
still afford, incidental encouragement to the production of silk —
a branch of industry which was now struggling into existence,
not only without the aid, but in direct opposition to the existing
policy of our laws.
He confessed he could perceive no good reason why a
revenue duty should not be imposed upon this article at the
present session of Congress; whilst, as a mere revenue measure,
there were many good reasons for our immediate action. We not
only had lost the amount of revenue which would have resulted
from a direct duty upon this article ; but by a construction of the
laws, which Congress never intended, we had lost very large
sums incidentally.
There could be no policy more wise than that of varying our
productions. This would essentially contribute to check the
enormous amount of foreign importations under which our coun-
try now periodically suffered. The memorial states, " that in
the year 1836, it required the whole exports of the Union, with
the exception of cotton, and an addition of eight millions in cash,
to pay for the importation of silk alone." Was not this state-
ment— which he believed to be correct, although he had not him-
self recently examined the statistical tables — sufficient to carry
conviction to every mind? All the products of agriculture, except
cotton, of manufactures, and of the fisheries, which we exported,
were exhausted in the purchase of foreign silks, and eight millions
of dollars were required to supply the deficiency! What would
the civilized world think of such folly? And as if this were the
wisest policy in the world, we continue to throw open our ports
to the free importation of this article, whilst we are borrowing
money to defray the ordinary expenses of Government. Besides,
this can never be regarded as a sectional question; because our
whole country. North, South, East, and West, is admirably
adapted to the production of this article.
The imposition of a revenue duty upon silk would be in exact
accordance with the letter and spirit of the compromise law. It
has expressly provided that, in the contingency of a deficiency
of revenue before June, 1842, a duty not exceeding twenty per
cent, might be imposed upon silk, or any other article not expressly
excepted from duty by its terms. This contingency had hap-
1840] DUTY ON SILK 237
pened. Our revenue was deficient, and why should Congress not
immediately impose a duty of twenty per cent, on the importation
of this article? So well had he been convinced, both of the neces-
sity and policy of such a measure, that he should have read a
bill in his place, at the commencement of the present session, im-
posing this duty, could such a bill have originated in the Senate,
under the Constitution of the United States.
Before he took his seat, he would make a remark on the
compromise act of March, 1833, the true nature of which, he had
reason to believe, was much misunderstood throughout the coun-
try. It was supposed by many that the enormous importations
of 1839 were mainly produced by the reduction of duties under
this law. This could not have been the case ; and these importa-
tions must mainly be referred to other and much more powerful
causes.
That act, which was approved on the 2d March, 1833, by
President Jackson, provides that the excess of duty above twenty
per cent, levied by virtue of former laws on the importation of
foreign goods, shall be gradually reduced until it reaches that
standard on the 30th June, 1842. One-tenth of this excess above
twenty per cent, was to be deducted after the 31st December,
1833; two-tenths after the 31st December, 1835; three-tenths
after the 31st December, 1837; four-tenths after the 31st Decem-
ber, 1839; seven-tenths after the 31st December, 1841 ; and after
the 30th June, 1842, the duties were to sink to twenty per cent.
The operation of this act can be best illustrated by presenting an
example. Let us take the article of woollen goods. Under pre-
existing laws, the duty upon woollens was generally fifty per cent.
This duty was to be gradually reduced to twenty per cent, under
the provisions of the compromise. The excess then to be
deducted was thirty per cent. One-tenth of this excess, or three
per cent, was taken off after the 31st December, 1833, which
reduced the duty to forty-seven per cent. ; another three per cent,
was taken off after the 31st December, 1835, which reduced the
duty to forty-four per cent. ; a third three per cent, was taken
off after the 31st December, 1837, which reduced the duty to
forty-one per cent. Thus it will be perceived that the actual duty
collected on foreign woollens during the period of the vast impor-
tations of 1839, was forty-one dollars for every hundred dollars
of their valuation. And yet the woollen interest has been repre-
sented, by the Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. Webster] not
now in his place, as one of the most suffering and depressed
238 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
interests of the country. We must seek the sources of this suffer-
ing and depression in causes different from the compromise law.
The present duty upon woollen goods is thirty-eight dollars for
each hundred dollars of their valuation; and will thus continue
until the 31st December, 1841.
Mr. B. said he would make no comments upon these facts
at present. His sole object now was to place the amount of the
reduction of duties which had hitherto been made under the
compromise act, clearly before his constituents and the country.
REMARKS, APRIL 29, 1840,
ON A GRANT OF LAND TO DADE INSTITUTE.'
The bill granting one township of land to the Territory of
Florida, for the establishment of the Dade Institute, being
taken up,
Mr. Fulton rose to explain the object of the bill, which was,
to erect a monument to the brave dead, who had fallen in the
wilds of Florida, fighting the battles of their country. In erecting
this monument to the memory of the illustrious deceased, it
combined the advantage of a literary institution, in which the ris-
ing generation, while it was taught what would render the youth
of the country valuable members of society, would be inspired
with a love of glory, and emulation of those who had offered up
their lives as a sacrifice on the very spot where it was contem-
plated to found this institution. He thought the interest that
must be felt throughout the whole Union for the fate of those
gallant and chivalrous men who had met death far from their
homes, miist cornmend this measure to the favorable consideration
of the American people. Where could there be a more magnifi-
cent undertaking, or one more worthy of the American character,
than to erect over the ashes of fallen heroes a national monument,
at once to perpetuate the glory of the fallen sons of the Republic,
and to instruct the rising ones in their duty to their country?
He hoped the bill before them might not meet with any serious
objection. The desire of the American people to mark this spot,
to hold it up, like Thermopylae of old, as a memento of the noble
sacrifice of life to patriotic considerations, he thought, should
induce every Senator present to lend it his aid.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII., Appendix, 423.
1840] CLAIM OF CLARKE AND FORCE 239
Mr. Buchanan held the memory of Major Dade in high esti-
mation, and would be wilhng to accord every just tribute of
respect ; but he could not consent to vote for the bill before them
without some further information. While he was ready to admit
that the public lands could not be more usefully applied than to
seminaries of learning, yet he must know, when given, that they
are to be successfully applied. What security had been afforded
in this case, that, if the land were granted, the college would
be erected by the Territory ? Again : the bill provided that the
college should be built on the spot where Major Dade and his
comrades had fallen. Was that a proper site? was it in the
centre of population? Had all these necessary investigations
been made ? and if not, would it be proper to pass the bill before
these matters were fully considered? He would, therefore, sug-
gest to his friend from Arkansas, to let the bill lie over; his
remarks had called public attention to the subject, and at a future
time it could be introduced with a better chance of success. He
would, therefore, move to lay the bill on the table, expressing his
willingness to withdraw that motion, if any Senator desired to
debate it.
The bill was laid on the table.
REMARKS, MAY 4, 1840,
ON THE CLAIM OF CLARKE AND FORCE FOR EDITING.'
Mr. Buchanan observed that he was as anxious to get clear
of this contract as any other man ; but at the same time he was
anxious that Congress should get clear of it by doing what he
conceived to be justice and equity on their part. Now, it could
not be denied, because the recorded evidence was before them,
that this contract was entered into with these individuals under
an express act of Congress ; and it was too late now for them to
say, with the honorable Senator from Ohio, that the Congress of
the United States had no right to pass such a law. He should
not enter into the constitutional question, but it certainly would
not be fair, after the expense had been actually incurred by these
individuals under the contract, to refuse payment upon the plea,
whether well or ill founded, that we had no right to authorize
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 378.
240 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
the Secretary of State to make such a contract. In this case he
had no doubt that Mr. Livingston altogether misapprehended
the extent of the obligation he was incurring, and indeed he pre-
sumed that no member of Congress, at the time, had any idea that
the contract would ever involve any thing like the amount of
expense that they now saw it would. Nevertheless, they had got
themselves into the difficulty, and how they were to get out of
it was the question. By raising a legal question? No; but
by pursuing the course that had been pointed out by the Senator
from New Hampshire and the Senator from Alabama.
Let us (continued Mr. B.) pay them fairly — let us give them
a just indemnity for the expenses they have incurred and the labor
they have performed. He would not go to the extent of the
profits they might imagine themselves entitled to, but he was for
giving them a fair and even liberal indemnity. For his own part
he had felt rather inclined, as they would eventually be bound to
pay for the two volumes already published and the one now in
progress, to let the appropriation pass as it stood in the bill, if
such had been the pleasure of the Senate. The work had been
done under a law which is still in existence, and it would be in
vain for them to say that Congress had no right to pass the law.
Mr. B. concluded by saying that he was for paying for what had
been done and getting rid of the contract.
REMARKS, MAY 7, 1840,
ON PUBLIC EXPENDITURES.!
Mr. Buchanan said : I rejoice at this day's debate. It has
been the most propitious day for eliciting truth which we have
seen since the commencement of the session. Its consequences,
for good or for evil, must be felt, and will be felt, either by our
friends in the Opposition or by ourselves. I am most willing
to abide the result.
I do not rise to discuss any of the great questions agitated
to-day, which have not an immediate bearing on the subject before
the Senate. My purpose is, so far as my voice can be heard,
to fix the attention of the Senate and the country upon the very
question now at issue between the two great political parties;
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIIL, Appendix, 441-442.
1840] PUBLIC EXPENDITURES 241
which is, have the present Administration been guilty of an
extravagant and wasteful expenditure of the public money ?
As to the result of the next Presidential election; — ^I shall
never make that a subject of discussion in this body, unless I
should be forced into it by Senators in the Opposition. In pass-
ing, I would merely say, " Let not him that girdeth on his harness
boast himself, as he that putteth it off." I shall never raise the
shout of victory, until the battle has been fought and won;
although I may feel great confidence in the result. The event,
under Providence, is in the hands of the American people; and
this day's debate will essentially serve to enlighten their judgment
and to influence their decision.
Mr. Van Buren came into office on the 4th of March, 1837.
Since that day, we must all admit that the Treasury has not been
full. On the contrary, we have found difficulty ever since in rais-
ing the ways and means. This fact we cannot deny ; and if we
have been guilty of extravagant and unnecessary expenditures
of the public money within that period, we can neither justify
nor excuse ourselves under the plea of an overflowing Treasury.
We desire to escape from this charge under no such subterfuge.
We boldly deny the accusation of extravagance preferred against
us by our political opponents, and demand the proofs by which it
is to be sustained.
In order to establish their accusation, that this Administra-
tion has been guilty of an extravagant and unnecessary expendi-
ture of the people's money, since the 4th March, 1837, they must
clearly and distinctly point out the items and the objects of this
extravagant and unnecessary expenditure. We call upon them
for their bill of particulars. We ask them where, when, and
how, have these expenditures been incurred ? Vague and general
charges of extravagance, although clothed in the most eloquent
language, amount to nothing. We call for specifications — for
items. By this report from the Secretary of the Treasury, we
furnish our opponents with the best weapons to assail us, if we
are vulnerable. It enumerates, under different heads, all the
expenditures of public money since the present Administration
came into power. It presents the subject, item by item, and
makes an aggregate for the last year (1839) of thirty-seven
millions of dollars. The permanent and regular expenses of the
Government, during that year, did not reach thirteen millions
and a half; and it has never, to my knowledge, been asserted,
either by friend or foe, that, under any system of wise economy.
Vol. IV— 16
242 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
they could have been reduced below this sum. The remaining
twenty-three millions and a half (I speak in round numbers)
consist of eleven millions expended in the payment of the public
debt, which we were compelled to create in consequence of the
bank explosion of 1837; and twelve millions and a half appro-
priated by Congress for the purpose of meeting extraordinary
and temporary expenditures which we allege were unavoidable.
We now come to the very point in controversy. This is a ques-
tion of figures; and honorable Senators in the Opposition are
called upon, with the report of the Secretary of the Treasury in
hand, to lay their finger upon those items of expenditure, whether
ordinary or extraordinary, which they condemn. Let them point
out such as could have been avoided. This, and this alone, is
the mode by which they can establish the charge of extravagance
against the present Administration. Now, sir, our case is pre-
sented. The heads of our expenditure are before the Senate, and
the people of the United States, in an official and authentic form ;
and feeble as I may be, I am willing to take up the gauntlet, and
do battle with any of our political opponents in defence of the
present Administration against this charge. I shall not refer to
the journals for the purpose of proving that they themselves
have voted in detail for the very expenditures which they now
condemn in mass. This has never been my practice. I take
these expenditures as I find them; and all I ask is, that our
opponents shall come forward and specify, in a distinct and
tangible form, those particulars which they deem unnecessary
and extravagant.
Gentlemen, in the first place, fix fifteen millions of dollars
as the proper annual expenditure of the Government, and then
charge the Administration with extravagance, because it has
exceeded this imaginary standard. The present report of the
Secretary of the Treasury exposes, in the clearest light, the fallacy
and the injustice of such a course. Among the items constitut-
ing the twelve and a half millions of the extraordinaiy and tem-
porary expenditures during the last year, we must certainly find
the evidence of this extravagance, if it is any where to be found.
Can any Senator specify a single expenditure upon this list which
ought not to have been made? In it the items for Indian wars,
for the purchase of lands from the Indians, and their removal
west of the Mississippi, amount to a large sum. But who will
say that these expenditures have been unnecessary? The present
Administration, when it came into power, found an Indian war
1840] PUBLIC EXPENDITURES 243
raging on our Southern frontier. This war was more savage,
if possible, than any war which the savages had ever waged
against us. Men, women, and children, were murdered indis-
criminately. Would any one of our friends on this side of the
House, stop to calculate the cost of defending our citizens against
such a cruel and treacherous foe? I answer, not one. If mil-
lions more had been necessary for this purpose, they would them-
selves have granted these millions. With what justice, then,
can the Administration be censured for this expenditure? Ex-
travagance in this particular can with no more justice be charged
on Mr. Van Buren, than on the Emperor of China. He found
the Florida war raging when he came into power; and he was
bound, by the most imperative obligations, to apply the money
granted by Congress to the defence of the country. Had he acted
otherwise, he would have violated the highest duty of his station ;
and yet this is a heavy item in the extravagant expenditure with
which he is charged. It is perfectly fair for gentlemen to exam-
ine carefully the manner in which this war has been conducted,
and if they can find any thing in it justly censurable, to hold it
up to public view. But the war itself, and the necessary expenses
of conducting it, were inevitable. Then as to the removal of the
Indians and the purchase of their lands. This policy was, I
believe, commenced under the Administration of Mr. Monroe,
and has been steadily pursued throughout all the succeeding Ad-
ministrations. The object has now happily been almost accom-
plished. Is Mr. Van Buren chargeable with the expense incurred
by pursuing this policy? If Indian treaties, ratified by the Senate,
and sanctioned by Congress, had required the expenditure of five
or ten millions more in removing the Indians from the States
east of the Mississippi to the west of that river, who could have
fairly charged Mr. Van Buren with extravagance in this increased
expenditure? Is there any Senator who would restore the
Indians to Georgia, and the other States from whence they were
removed, even, if, by doing so, he could restore the cost of their
removal to the public Treasury ? Not one.
The most extraordinary item embraced in this general charge
of extravagance, is the large amount of indemnities paid by the
Treasury to our own citizens, for losses sustained by the injustice
of foreign Governments, and which the administration of General
Jackson obtained from these Governments by its vigorous and
successful policy. These sums were paid into the Treasury in
trust for the claimants, and of necessity they were paid out to
244 THE WORKS OF Jx\MES BUCHANAN [1840
these claimants. And yet this very disbursement contributes
largely in swelling the aggregate expenditure of the last year to
$37,000,000, and is thus made to constitute one of the items of
proof to establish the charge of extravagance against the present
Administration.
I might examine in detail the whole list of these extra-
ordinary and temporary expenses of the Government during the
last year, and ask which one of them could have been avoided;
and the answer to each individual question must be the same.
They were all necessary. Mr. Van Buren is fairly chargeable
with none of them. Point out when, and where, and how, he
could have avoided or diminished any of them. Unless you can
do this, you give up the question.
The honorable Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] takes up
the expenses of the civil list. He compares their aggregate
amount with what it was a number of years ago, and shows
that it has increased. This increase has been rendered absolutely
necessary by the increase of our rapidly extending country. But
he deals altogether in generals. He does not descend to particu-
lars where we could meet him.
Here Mr. Clay said, I do descend into particulars. I men-
tioned the increased number of custom-house officers.
Mr. Buchanan. The gentleman refers generally to the
custom-house officers. What kind of a bill of particulars is this ?
If the number of custom-house officers has been increased, let it be
shown that this increase was made without necessity, and was not
required by the public service. This, I think, will prove to be a
difficult task. Let the subject be minutely investigated.
This is not a question to be carried by eloquent appeals, but
by a close examination of facts and figures. The Secretary of the
Treasury has laid the case fairly open for gentlemen : and if there
has been any expenditure not justified by necessity, I am willing
to unite with them in condemning.it. Three years of the expendi-
tures of the present Administration are now before the country;
and I shall expect, at an early day, to hear from our friends in
the Opposition on this subject. I repeat again, let them point out
the items of extravagance; and if we who are the political friends
of this Administration cannot defend each one of them in detail,
we must suffer the consequences. The people of this country
have a right to know whether any, and, if any, what, amount of
the thirty-seven millions of dollars paid out of the Treasury
during the last year, has been expended without necessity.
1840] PRESENTS FROM MOROCCO 245
Sir, the necessary expenses of this Government must go on
increasing. No human prudence or foresight can prevent it.
All that we can do, is to take care that not a dollar shall be
expended which is not necessary to promote the interest or defend
the honor of the country. You might, with equal propriety,
say that the same quantity of cloth would make a garment for
the full grown man, which was sufficient for him when he was a
little boy, as to allege that the necessary expenditures for this
country, now embracing twenty-six States and three populous
Territories, should be limited by what they had been ten or twenty
years ago. The position cannot, for a moment, be maintained.
I agree with the Senator from South Carolina, [Mr. Pres-
ton] that sound policy dictates to us to increase our navy. It is
our best and most natural defence against a foreign foe, and our
commerce, which is spread over every sea, demands additional
protection. But, according to the positions assumed by gentle-
men, the appropriations which may be made by Congress to carry
this policy into effect, would constitute, in the aggregate of the
account current, a heavy item of extravagant expenditure against
the President, who should execute our will.
The present issue is precise and limited in its character.
Have the expenses of the Government been extravagant since
the 4th March, 1837? We are ready for the trial. This ques-
tion, however, is not to be decided by comparing the aggregate
of expenditures for the years 1837, 1838, and 1839, with the
aggregate for previous years, when there were no Indian wars —
no Indian lands to be purchased, nor Indians to be removed, and
none of the other enumerated extraordinary expenses to be in-
curred. I have nothing more to say.
REMARKS, MAY 29, 1840,
ON PRESENTS FROM THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO.'
Mr. Buchanan, from the committee on foreign relations,
reported a joint resolution from that committee, authorising the
sale of the lion and lioness sent to the president by the emperor
of Morocco, and of the Arabian horses, &c., sent by the Imaum
of Muscat, the proceeds to be deposited in the public treasury;
'Niles' Register, June 6, 1840, vol. 58, p. 218.
246 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
which resolution having been read twice, and coming under con-
sideration,
Mr. Tappan moved, or suggested, that the proceeds should,
in some form or other, be returned to the donors.
Mr. Buchanan stated that the consul at Morocco had per-
emptorily refused the emperor's present, who told him that the
refusal would have cost him his head, if he (the emperor) were
president of the United States. The lions were afterwards sent
to the house of the consul ; who still refusing, the nephew of the
emperor, who brought them, said he must either leave them or lose
his head, and he would therefore turn them loose, and, on his
proceeding to do so, the consul received them.
The Imaum of Muscat, on being told that the president could
not receive his presents, said he would send them to congress;
and when told that they could not receive them, he asked who
ruled in America. The answer was, the people; and he accord-
ingly sent them to the grand sultans of the U. States, the people.
Under these circumstances, and considering the expense of
keeping and importation, Mr. B. hoped the resolution would be
allowed to pass.
Mr. Young suggested the propriety of giving them to some
institution.
Mr. Allen said this was a new move in behalf of individual
associations.
The resolution, as reported, was ordered to be engrossed for
a third reading.
TO GENERAL PORTER.i
Washington,' May 30th, 1840.
My Dear Sir : —
I have received yours of the 28th inst., and it afforded me
much pleasure.
I have had a long and free conversation with Mr. Van Buren
this morning on the subject of Pennsylvania politics. It was
the first of the kind for some time. In the course of it I took
occasion to read your letter to him, with which he was much
gratified.
I impressed upon him, in the same terms I used to yourself,
the absolute necessity of union and harmony between the State
' Curtis's Buchanan, I. 453.
1840] TO GENERAL PORTER 247
and national administration. I told him that if one portion of
the party in Pennsylvania said they were for Paul, and another
for Apollos, the great cause with which both Paul and ApoUos
were identified might be ruined. He expressed, as he ever has
done, a great regard for you, and said he had given conclusive
evidence of it by the appointment of Judge Blythe, and that he
never had concealed the fact that this appointment was made
to gratify your wishes. Upon a suggestion of mine, that an
opportunity might probably be presented, on the 4th of July,
to manifest his regard for you by giving a toast in your favor,
he said he doubted the policy of that course, both in regard to you
and himself. That the better mode was for both to evince their
feelings by their conduct. He spoke freely of certain politicians
in Philadelphia, and I have no doubt from what he said, that he
will exert his influence in some manner to prevent them from any
longer treating you unfairly. Upon the whole, I left him more
convinced than I ever was before, that he is your friend. He
made the very observation to me which I had made to you, that
in the progress of the Presidential canvass, when the party became
excited, the feeling which now existed against you in a few
places would be entirely forgotten. Of this I am perfectly con-
vinced, especially if the bill should pass imposing the restrictions
on the banks recommended in your January message. There
is no man in the State who more ardently desires this result than
myself, and none who will more endeavor to accomplish it. De-
voted as I am to bank reform, from a conviction of its absolute
necessity, and having always expressed the same opinion on this
subject, publicly and privately, this bill would place a powerful
weapon in my hand. I shall have to visit Westmoreland County,
on the business of my late brother-in-law's estate, very soon after
the adjournment of Congress, and I am under the impression
that 1 can do much good there. I shall be very much rejoiced
indeed to hear of the passage of this bill.
I have had a long and a strong talk with . I
am confident his feelings towards you are not unkind.
The resolution of the Senate, expressing their opinion in
favor of the bankrupt system will place me in an embarrassing
position, should it pass the House. Had the legislature instructed
me, I should obey with pleasure, because all my sympathies are
in favor of the suffering debtors. If left to myself, my judg-
ment is so much opposed to my feelings, that I believe I should
vote against the bill without making any speech. The expression
248 THE AVORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
of a legislative opinion would probably compel me to give my
reasons for dissenting from their opinion. If there be a majority
of the House in favor of the measure, why not change the expres-
sion of their opinion into instructions, and then I shall be relieved
from all responsibility on the subject. I made a long speech in
opposition to the bankrupt bill during the first session of my
service in Congress, 1821-2; and I have yet heard nothing
materially to shake my ancient opinions, though I am still open
to conviction. I have not yet heard from Mr. Espy.
Ever your friend.
Very respectfully,
James Buchanan.
REPORT, JUNE 3, 1840,
ON THE RELIEF OF A. H. EVERETT.'
Mr. Buchanan made the following report :
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred
the bill from the House of Representatives entitled " An act
for the relief of Alexander H. Everett," report :
That this bill allows to Mr. Everett the sum of $958.32
for office-rent at Madrid, from the ist October, 1825, till 31st
July, 1829, while he was the minister of the United States at
Spain. This office was rented for the use of the legation at the
rate of $250 per annum, and the rent was charged in Mr. Everett's
accounts against the Government; but it was disallowed by the
Department of State.
Mr. Everett alleges that he rented the office under the belief
that the Government would pay the rent, founded on a knowledge
of the fact, that similar allowances had been made to our ministers
in London and Paris; and the committee entertain no doubt
of the truth of this allegation. The committee, notwithstanding,
do not feel themselves authorized to recommend the passage of
the bill.
It is true that, since 181 7, the ministers of the United States
at London, and, since 1822, our ministers at Paris, have been
allowed office-rent; though it may be well doubted whether this
allowance is sanctioned by the act of May i, 1810. That act is
clear and explicit in its terms. It expressly provides, " that the
' S. Doc. 511, 26 Cong. I Sess.
1840] A BANKRUPTCY LAW
President of the United States shall not allow to any minister
plenipotentiary a greater sum than at the rate of nine thousand
dollars per annum, as a compensation for all his personal services
and expenses; " and Mr. Everett was bound to know its pro-
visions. The committee believe that it is a necessary expense of
the minister to provide himself an office where the business of his
legation may be transacted; and that under no fair rule of con-
struction can office-rent be considered a contingent expense of
the mission. These contingent expenses are intended to embrace
only the postage on despatches, letters, &c., and other incidental
and uncertain expenditures. The allowance for office-rent in
London and Paris has doubtless been made on account of the
great expense of living in these cities, and the large amount of
business to be transacted there. It has never been extended to
any of the other ministers of the United States ; and the question
now is, whether Congress shall, for the first time, establish such a
precedent.
All our ministers and charges have undoubtedly paid office-
rent, in the dififerent countries to which they have been accredited ;
some under the general denomination of house-rent, and others
for offices separate from their houses. Indeed, similar claims
have already been advanced by other ministers to Madrid. If this
allowance should be made to Mr. Everett, it would be difficult
to conceive upon what principle the money expended for the same
purpose by all others in a similar situation could be withheld by
the United States. His mistake, arising from a very questionable
practice under the law at London and Paris, could afford no
just ground of discrimination. The committee would much
rather limit than extend this practice; and, therefore, they
recommend the indefinite postponement of the bill.
REMARKS, JUNE 5, 1840,
ON A GENERAL BANKRUPT LAW.i
Mr. Crittenden moved that the subject be referred to a select
committee.
Mr. Hubbard moved that the further consideration of the
whole subject be indefinitely postponed. In making this motion,
Mr. H. said that it was not his object, nor was it his wish, to pre-
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 445> 446.
250 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
vent any further discussion of this subject that might be desired.
He was anxious to hear all that might be said. But it was his
entire conviction that no bill could be matured at the present ses-
sion. To a portion of the Union the subject had not engaged as
yet much of the public attention, and he was unwilling that any
bill should be passed until more time should be allowed for the
consideration of this question in all its bearings. The bill from
the committee, and the bills of other Senators, had been printed,
and the subject had been debated, and he was now disposed to
leave the whole matter for the consideration of the American
people. In his opinion no bill could be passed at this session, and
it seemed to him that the time had arrived when the Senate
should, by their vote, determine whether it was prepared to adopt
a bankrupt system, based upon the principles which had been
sanctioned by the votes already given. The Senate has distinctly,
by its vote, determined to exclude all corporations from the pro-
visions of a bankrupt system. It had also determined, by its vote,
to include the voluntary and the compulsory principle. These
opinions have been so clearly expressed by the votes of the Senate,
that the committee, who, it is proposed, shall now take the subject
into their further consideration, will undoubtedly feel themselves
bound to report back a bill embodying those principles, and pro-
viding for their improvement by such details as they may consider
necessary. He therefore thought the Senate had now better
determine whether it is prepared to adopt a bankrupt system, em-
bracing exclusively the principles already settled by the action of
the Senate. He might be entirely mistaken, but he was not
prepared to believe that a majority of the Senate would yield its
assent to such a system. With these impressions, and believing
that the Senate ought to express its opinion upon the question,
he had made the motion for indefinite postponement. He was
well satisfied that no bill, matured upon the principles already
settled, could be passed at the present session through both Houses
of Congress. He thought, therefore, it would be advisable now
to take the question involved in the motion he had submitted ; and
that is, would it be proper to pass a bankrupt bill based exclusively
upon the principles as settled by the vote already taken in the
Senate? He thought not.
Mr. Buchanan expressed the hope that what had been done
would not be lost, but that the bill would be referred, made as
perfect as possible, and, even if it could not be now passed, be
sent forth for information to the people.
1840] A BANKRUPTCY LAW 251
Mr. Clay spoke in favor, not of the indefinite postponement,
but of taking the vote upon it now, to determine whether a major-
ity of the Senate was in favor of a bill, in any form, on this
subject.
Mr. Webster spoke with great earnestness against the indefi-
nite postponement. The Senator from New Hampshire might
well vote for it, because he was opposed to the bill in every form.
But Mr. W. entreated Senators who were in favor of such a bill
at all, not to delay its passage to another session.
Mr. Norvell also spoke emphatically against the postpone-
ment.
Mr. Clay said his sole object in desiring the vote to be taken
on this question now, was to see if a majority of the Senate were
in favor of passing the bill in any form.
Mr. Buchanan had but a few words to say. He had been,
in a great degree, anticipated by the remarks of his friend from
New Hampshire, [Mr. Pierce.] With that gentleman he pro-
tested against any attempt which had been made, or might be
made, to present the present as a test question to him.
He did not consider the motion to postpone the present
subject indefinitely, as any test question. Under what circum-
stances had it been made? Several weeks ago, the majority
of the Committee on the Judiciary had reported a bill, confined
in its provisions to cases of voluntary bankruptcy. The minority
of the same committee had presented another bill, which extended
to compulsory bankruptcy, and offered it as a substitute for the
bill of the committee. This amendment had been discussed at
great length, and amended in several important particulars ; and
now the friends of a bankrupt system moved to refer the original
bill, together with the amendment, on the adoption of which, as
a substitute for the original bill, no vote had yet been taken, to a
select committee. They desired in this manner to perfect the
details of the system, and to present it, in one uniform bill, to the
Senate and the country. It was at this stage of the proceeding
that the motion for indefinite postponement had been made. For
his own part, he believed that ordinary courtesy to the friends of
the measure required that they should be permitted to amend
their bill, and present it to the Senate in such a form as they
preferred. He would not deprive them, by his vote, of this oppor-
tunity. After they had presented the bill to the Senate, in its
252 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
matured shape, then, and not till then, would he consider the
question of indefinite postponement as a test question, and such
he believed had been the practice of the Senate.
But higher considerations than mere courtesy had brought
him to this conclusion. He held strong opinions against any
bankrupt bill founded upon the English system. These opinions
he had expressed at length, nearly twenty years ago, in the other
House of Congress. Although his sympathies were strongly
enlisted in favor of the suffering debtors throughout the United
States, still his impressions were unfavorable to the bill. He
should gladly be convinced that he had been wrong. The Senate
of his own State had passed a resolution, with but a few dissent-
ing voices, in favor of a bankrupt bill. It was not an instruction,
but a strong expression of opinion. Under such circumstances,
with so many meritorious individuals interested, he thought it
would be both a harsh and unjust measure for him to deny to the
friends of the bill the opportunity of perfecting its details. And
this was more especially the case, when every person who had
studied the subject must acknowledge that the details of any
bankrupt bill essentially entered into its merits. He himself was
not opposed to adopting the principle of releasing honest insol-
vent debtors who had surrendered all their property to their credi-
tors, provided such a law could be framed by Congress as would
not introduce evils in practice to the community which would
more than counterbalance all the good proposed to be accom-
plished. He was, therefore, entirely willing to recommit the sub-
ject to a select committee of its peculiar friends.
It was highly probable that no bankrupt bill would become
a law at the present session. Let its friends, therefore, place
the subject in its best form. Let them in this manner present a
distinct issue before the people of the country. He himself would
obey the voice of public opinion in his own State, expressed in
the constitutional manner. Should he not be instructed, at the
present session, by the authority which he felt himself bound to
obey, it was his strong impression that he should, acting upon
his own responsibility, vote against the measure, in any form
in which it would probably be presented by the committee. Still,
he was willing to give its friends every fair opportunity of offer-
ing it to the public in the form which they might deem the most
perfect.
Mr. Allen said that the object of his former remarks had
been attained. He desired that gentlemen, in giving their votes
1840] EXTRA ALLOWANCES TO OFFICERS 253
on this question, should not be placed in a false position. They
had accordingly explained their views in the votes they were
about to give, and this was the object he had in view when he
was up before. He would himself most cheerfully vote for the
indefinite postponement of the whole matter.
Mr. Sevier and Mr. Linn expressed their views on the whole
question somewhat at length, (a report of which will be given
hereafter,) and the question being taken, the motion to postpone
indefinitely was lost — ayes i6, noes 28.
REMARKS, JUNE 11, 1840,
ON A BILL ABOLISHING EXTRA ALLOWANCES TO OFFICERS
OF THE ARMY AND MARINE CORPS.'
Mr. Sevier then modified his motion so as to refer the bill to
the Committee on Military Affairs, with instructions to bring in a
bill abolishing all the extra allowances to officers of the army and
marine corps, and establishing in lieu of them a fixed and certain
monthly pay. He was in favor of giving these extra allowances
to the marines, if the other officers got them, but he wished them
all to be cut off.
Mr. Buchanan scarcely knew how to vote on this question.
He did not think that his friend from Missouri [Mr. Benton]
could not be engaged in a more laudable undertaking than in
executing these instructions, though at the same time he doubted
whether he would have time enough to do any thing this session.
He had often thought on this subject, and wished that the pay of
our officers was regulated in such a way that every one could
understand what it was. Was there a member of this body,
he asked, who could tell what the officers of the army or navy
received? He had endeavored to ascertain what some of them
received, without success. What did General Macomb or one
of the superior officers of the navy receive? He could not
tell. While he wished to give to every officer a fair and liberal
compensation, he at the same time wished to put them on the
same footing with every other public servant, and to ascertain
and fix a certain compensation for them, so that every body might
know what it was. This was what the public desired and
"Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 4S7-4S8.
254 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
expected. He understood that there was a large sum allowed for
forage to ofificers who kept no horses, and other allowances of a
similar nature. All this might be very proper, and might be
necessary to eke out their pay; but he wished to know what it
was. If the Senator from Missouri was unable to- execute this
duty, he would be willing to lay it over till the next session;
but he hoped that it would then, at least, be taken up and acted on.
Mr. Benton could assure gentlemen that, in his opinion, it
would take every moment that remained of the present session
for the committee to make up their opinions on a principle of
compensation, and then the chief difficulty would commence —
the application of the principle. The compensation of the officers
of the array is made up of a great many separate classes of items,
to all which separately the principle would have to be applied.
And what would be the result, supposing suqh a bill should become
a law? Here is an officer ordered out upon a march. Well,
if in lieu of extras, as by the present arrangement, he is allowed
a fixed and definite sum, he is to commence by being his own pur-
veyor. He has to provide for his food, his transportation, or if
he has a horse, to make provision for forage ; whereas, under the
present arrangement, he is in a condition to set out at once, and
make his requisition for these articles on the quartermaster.
This proposed arrangement would throw every officer on his own
resources, when he had received marching orders; just as a
private citizen would be when setting out upon a journey. These
would be some of the inconveniences of the arrangement, which
had occurred to him at the moment, but they were not all. He
would repeat that it would take all the time of the committee dur-
ing the remainder of the session, to adjust a scale of compensa-
tion, and when that was fixed, in his opinion, it would be found
incapable of application. He hoped gentlemen would therefore
see the propriety of not imposing a duty on the committee at this
late period, from which no practical results could be expected,
and would permit it to lay over until the next session of Congress.
Mr. Buchanan observed that he was sensible of the difficul-
ties involved in the question, but they did not appear to him to be
insuperable. No person imagined that an officer of the army was
to provide himself with beef and pork on a march ; but that diffi-
culty could be obviated by allowing him to draw provisions, and
charge him with the amount, to be deducted out of his pay. But
he apprehended that it would be of great importance to the service
to fix the standard of pay so as to cover all rations and allow-
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 255
ances of every kind that the officers now receive. Being satis-
fied, from the explanation of the Senator from Missouri, that he
could not attend to this business during the short time that was
left of this session, he would not, therefore, vote to impose it
upon him.
REMARKS, JUNE 15, 1840,
ON A BILL TO CONTINUE THE CORPORATE EXISTENCE OF BANKS
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.'
Mr. Benton moved an amendment, as follows :
Upon condition that said banks shall not issue and pay out the notes
of any bank, banker, or banking institution which is in a state of sus-
pension or non-payment of specie.
Mr. B. said that he did not offer this amendment to prevent
the banks from receiving such paper as they pleased, but to make
them send it home for collection. It was to prevent the conven-
tional agreements among themselves, by which they flooded the
country with irredeemable paper. Each one received the paper
of the other and sent it around and around in a circle, and thus,
though it was nothing but counters — worthless bits of paper, the
people were seduced into taking it. It was to break this chain,
which enabled them to impose upon the country, that he offered
his amendment. If they chose to receive this paper in payment
of the debts due them on deposit, they must send it home for
collection.
Mr. King supposed that the object of the gentleman was
to limit the banks to the circulation of their own paper. He
thought if he would turn to the amendment that he would find
that they could issue out no paper whatever in a state of suspen-
sion. If the gentleman would modify his amendment he would
vote for it.
Mr. Benton said that if the exception was made, it would
give the banks express authority to pay out suspended paper.
Mr. Buchanan was entirely in favor of the amendment of the
Senator from Missouri, if he would express it in language suffi-
ciently distinct to prevent its giving any sanction, directly or
indirectly, of the suspensions of these banks. One of the greatest
evils of these suspensions was, that the banks never paid out their
own notes at home. If they did, the people would have an oppor-
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 465, 465-466, 467-
256 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
tunity of compelling them by law to redeem these notes; but it
was obvious that it would cost the holders of them too much to
collect them by process of law at a distance.
The consequence of such a practice by the banks was, that,
as soon as specie payments were suspended, the people around
each of the banks were at once, in a great degree, deprived o^
the paper currency to which they had been accustomed, and in
which they had placed confidence, and were compelled to accept
the notes of distant banks, often of doubtful solvency, or get
nothing. It was no hardship upon the banks to compel them to
pay out their own notes alone during the period of suspension,
and to send home the notes of other banks which they might think
proper to receive. Under such a restriction, the banks of this
District would receive no notes unless they had been issued by
banks able and willing to make exchanges with them at short
intervals; and frequent settlements of this kind were a powerful
restraint upon excessive issues. The amendment would secure
to the people of the District that currency with which they were
best acquainted, and On which they could, at any time, bring suit
without being obliged to travel to a distance. He was in favor
of the principle contained in the amendment. He was for giving
the banks of this District time to wind up their affairs, and noth-
ing more ; and he intended, before this matter was over, to intro-
duce an amendment declaring that such was the sole purpose for
which their charters were to be extended. He had long been of
the opinion that, to keep six or seven little banks here, was doing
a serious injury to the people of the District. It was no time now
to substitute a larger bank for those now in existence, and he was
therefore willing to extend the charters of the latter, provided it
was only to enable them to go on for two years, and no longer,
for the purpose of winding up their affairs.
Mr. Grundy said, the effect of the amendment, if passed in
its present shape, would not be exactly what he supposed was
intended. If the words " not within the District of Columbia,"
were introduced, he thought it would be better.
Mr. Benton said, he preferred the motion as it stood ; but if
gentlemen thought it would create difficulties, he would withdraw
it, and they could offer it in a form modified to suit their views.
Mr. Grundy then offered the motion amended as he had
suggested.
Mr. Wright said, in its present shape, the provision would
countenance the emission and circulation of the notes of the
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 257
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal — the Washington and Baltimore
Railroad Company, &c.
Mr. Buchanan suggested a modification, by inserting the
word " other " before " bank," and striking out " District of
Columbia ; " which was agreed to, and the amendment then read
in the following words :
Upon condition that neither of said banks shall issue and pay out the
notes of any other bank, banker, banking institution, or corporation, which
is in a state of suspension or non-payment of its liabilities in specie.
The question on this amendment was taken by yeas and nays,
when there appeared for it 25, against it 17; Mr. Buchanan voting
in the affirmative.
Mr. Allen then moved the following:
Provided, also, that each of said banks shall, immediately upon the
taking effect of this joint resolution, commence and continue the resumption
of its notes in gold and silver coin ; and that, in case either of said banks
shall neglect or refuse to comply with any one of the conditions in this joint
resolution, the charter of said bank shall immediately cease to exist, and all
contracts and other acts thereafter made or done by or in behalf of such
bank shall be null and void.
On this question the yeas and nays were demanded, when
there appeared for it 14, against it 29; Mr. Buchanan voting in
the negative.
Mr. Benton moved further to amend by inserting :
And upon the further condition that the said banks, nor either of them,
shall take a stay of execution on any judgment recovered against them in any
case whatever, nor appeal from any such judgment, nor take a certiorari
thereon, except on an affidavit of merit.
Mr. Benton said that when he first came here after the sus-
pension, individuals were paying izYz per cent, discount on their
bank paper, and he asked them why they did not sue the banks
and obtain judgment. He was informed that when notes were
put in suit, the banks would take the advantage of the stay laws
that were in operation, by which they could keep the owner out
of his money for six months. This, with lawyers' fees, &c.,
was generally more than the note was worth, so that the poor
man, who was the owner of a five or ten dollar note, actually
had no remedy, though the laws professed to give him one.
After some remarks from Mr. Merrick in opposition, and
Mr. Clay of Alabama in favor of the amendment,
Mr. Buchanan said: It is out of all character for a bank,
after forfeiting its charter, and after suffering judgment to go
Vol. IV— 17
258 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
against it for non-payment of its notes, to take a stay of execu-
tion. It is certainly enough for us to continue their charters for
two years without giving the banks a stay of execution for six
months when sued on their notes. If I had known that any such
practice existed here as that spoken of by the Senator from Mis-
souri, I would myself have offered this amendment if he had not
done it.
Mr. Southard could see no more impropriety of a bank tak-
ing advantage of existing laws, than of an individual doing so.
If we passed this amendment, its operation would be unequal,
and would make one law for the banks and another for individ-
uals. Besides, what evidence had we of the fact that the banks
took advantage of these stay laws? He did not believe there
was any stay of execution in the District at the instance of the
debtor, and he demanded the proof. He would not take the alle-
gation of A B, or C D, that such and such things were matters
of fact. It was not the kind or character of information that we,
as legislators, should act upon.
Mr. Buchanan expressed his astonishment at the principle
which had been contended for by the Senator from New Jersey
[Mr. Southard.] He thought that after a little reflection that
gentleman would himself abandon this principle, well acquainted
as he was with the subject of banking. What was his position?
That it would be unjust to refuse to the banks the same stay of
execution, after judgments had been obtained against them, which
was granted to individuals. Is there not, said Mr. B., the most
striking reason for such a discrimination? Is there not a vast
difference between the two cases ?
To the banks we have granted the privilege of issuing and
circulating a paper currency. Bank notes always are, or at least
always ought to be, payable on demand; and under our present
banking system are, everywhere in this country, a substitute for
money. These notes circulate upon the faith that they shall at
all times be convertible into gold and silver. It is true that this
faith has been often violated, and will continue to be violated,
unless the States shall radically reform their banking institutions.
The principle, however, remains the same. A poor man, then,
has received a ten or a twenty dollar note as money, in compen-
sation for his labor, and goes to the counter of the bank and asks
that it shall be redeemed in gold and silver. The bank refuses
to comply with its promise, and the holder of the note is put to
the trouble and expense of instituting a suit against it, and obtain-
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 259
ing a judgment. Would it not be the most monstrous injustice
to allow this bank to avail itself of the ordinary privileges granted
to individuals, of staying execution for three or six months ? He
thought he might venture to assert, without poisitive knowledge,
that there was not a single State in the Union where such a privi-
lege was extended to banks. Certainly it ought not to exist
anywhere.
The case was wholly different in regard to judgments ob-
tained by one individual against another, or by banks against
individuals, to enforce private contracts. In such cases these
contracts were voluntary, and each party derived, or thought he
derived, a benefit from them, and the evidence of debt was not a
paper currency. But bank notes circulated in the community as
money, and every person by the force of circumstances was com-
pelled to accept them as money. It was a great and profitable
privilege conferred upon the banks to be permitted to issue them ;
and this was granted upon the express condition that they should
always be redeemed in specie. Under such circumstances, after
the banks have refused to redeem their notes according to their
contract, and have compelled the holders to institute suits and
obtain judgments, it would be a most unjust and extraordinary
privilege to grant them a stay of execution.
This bill proposes to continue these banks for two years,
unless Congress shall, in the mean time, otherwise direct. Even
during this limited period, we wisely reserve to ourselves the
power of blotting them out of existence at any moment. The
bill is a measure of necessity, not of choice. For my own part, I
have often expressed the opinion that these six small banks
ought never to be rechartered within this District of only ten
miles square. They have no field for circulation, and no deposits
sufficient to enable each of them to realize a fair profit on their
capital, and at the same time keep themselves in a sound condi-
tion. We ought to establish one respectable bank here, with
branches in Alexandria and Georgetown, and subject it to all the
restrictions which our fatal experience on the subject has mani-
fested to be absolutely necessary. It is admitted, however, on all
hands that Congress have not time, at the present session, to
mature and pass such a bill ; and if they had, it is a most unpro-
pitious period to create such a bank. The only alternative then
left, is either to continue the existence of these little banks for a
short period, or to destroy them at once, and subject their debtors
to the immediate pressure which this course would render neces-
260 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
sary. I prefer to continue them under an express understanding,
so far as I am concerned, that they shall never exist, under any
circumstances, one day beyond the 4th July, 1842. I intend to
move an amendment to this effect. This is but a mere temporary
expedient, in order to give us time to establish a new bank, on
wiser and better principles, without oppressing the debtors of
these institutions.
I am influenced in adopting this course by the consideration
that the surrounding States of Maryland and Virginia, of which
this District formed a part, and with whom it is intimately con-
nected in all transactions of business, have not thought proper to
forfeit the charters of their banks, because of their suspension of
specie payments. In acting with a spirit of forbearance towards
the District banks, I should not in any degree legalize their sus-
pension. This bill proposes to do no such thing. It leaves them
in this respect just where it found them, liable to be sued for
specie at any moment by their note holders and depositors, and
subject to the payment of twelve per cent, interest. But it would,
to a considerable degree, be legalizing this suspension, if we were
to permit the banks, after a judgment obtained against them, to
take the benefit of a stay of execution. During this period of the
stay, they could, under the existing law, place their creditors at
defiance. We now propose to deprive them of this extravagant
privilege; and so firmly am I convinced of its injustice that for
one I shall vote against the bill and leave these banks to their fate,
unless the amendment shall be adopted. Until this day, I had
never been informed that, under the laws of the District, the
banks were entitled to the samte stay of execution with individuals.
[The question was then taken on the amendment, and it was agreed to —
ayes 29, noes 11, Mr. Buchanan voting in the affirmative.]
Mr. Buchanan then moved to insert, "For the purpose of
winding up their affairs."
Mr. Allen rose, he said, to ask the Senator from Penn-
sylvania what effect he intended this amendment, if adopted, to
produce ? Does he intend tO' restrict the banks to the settlement
of their business already begun? or does he intend, notwithstand-
ing this amendment, that they may proceed, as formerly, with all
the business of banking, as if this amendment did not exist?
Mr. Buchanan said he did not intend at once to arrest
all banking operations in this District, under the peculiar circum-
stances in which it was placed, without providing any substitute
for the existing banks ; but it was his fixed purpose never to vote
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 261
for any further extension of their banking privileges beyond the
two years. He desired, therefore, to express this clear intention
upon the face of the bill, so that the banks might have fair notice
of the purpose of Congress, and proceed in such a manner as
they thought proper to wind up their affairs within the limited
period.
Mr. Allen rejoined. Then the amendment amounts to
nothing, as it does not restrict the banks, and cannot restrict a
future Congress. It is, therefore, worse than useless, for its
effect will be to delude the country, inasmuch as the amendment
professes to restrict the banks to " the purpose of winding up," but
not to restrict their action to that object; but on the contrary,
instead of winding up, they are to be at liberty to wind out their
business still further than it is now — so that at the end of the
two years, their claim to still further time to " wind up," will be
increased in exact proportion to the increase of their business,
under the present bill, authorizing them to wind up. I say, there-
fore, that the effect of this amendment is to mislead the people as
to the true character of this bill, which, whether the amendment
be adopted or not, is simply a bill to recharter non-specie paying
broken banks, without requiring them even to pay their notes —
the first bill I believe of the sort that ever, in the history of the
world, received the sanction of a legislative body.
The amendment was lost — ayes 17, noes 17.
The following is the bill as ordered to be engrossed :
An act to continue the corporate existence of the banks of the District
for two years, with certain restrictions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the charters of the Farmers'
and Mechanics' Bank of Georgetown, the Bank of the Metropolis, Patriotic
Bank of Washington, and Bank of Washington, in the city of Washington,
and the Farmers' Bank of Alexandria, and Bank of Potomac, in the town
of Alexandria, be, and the same are hereby, extended to the 4th day of
July, 1842, unless Congress shall in the mean time otherwise order and direct,
upon condition that neither of said banks shall issue and pay out the notes of
any other bank, banker, or banking institution, or corporation, which is in a
state of suspension or non-payment of its liabilities in specie; and upon
the further condition that the said banks, nor either of them, shall take a
stay of execution on any judgment recovered against them in any case what-
ever, nor appeal from such judgment, nor take a certiorari thereon, except
on an affidavit of merit.
Mr. Clay of Kentucky said, that, since Congress could not
legislate thoroughly at the present session, and place the banking
system on a stable and satisfactory footing, all that he thought
262 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
should be now done, was to continue the existing charters for one
or two years ; and, in the intervening time. Congress could make
a permanent arrangement. He was utterly opposed to treating
the District and its banks as a subject for experiment, and to
throwing those little institutions into a sort of crucible to dis-
cover the philosophical or political phenomena which, when ex-
posed to that test, they might exhibit. He thought such a course
unworthy the legislation of a great and magnanimous nation;
and might expose Congress to the imputation that, since it could
not reach the banks of the States, it would exercise its vengeance
on the banks of the District.
Mr. C. thought a temporary continuation of the banks, with-
out condition or restriction, is all that should now be done. He
had therefore voted against the amendment which prohibited the
banks from paying out, after receiving, the notes of banks situ-
ated without the District. Tlie notes of the banks at Richmond
or Baltimore are quite as good as the notes of the District banks.
And the operation of such a prohibition will be upon the debtors
of the banks, and not upon the banks themselves. Upon the
debtors themselves it will operate severely. For if the banks are
not allowed to pay out, they will be sure not to receive the notes
of distant banks.
He was also opposed to the amendment offered by the Sen-
ator from Pennsylvania, [Mr. Buchanan.] The amendment
will accomplish, practically, nothing. It requires the banks to
prepare, by winding up their affairs, for a termination of their
charters, at the expiration of the period to which they are to be
prolonged ; but it makes no adequate provision by which the banks
will be compelled to perform that duty. With respect to the
object at which the Senator aims, that of establishing a single
bank for the District, to be placed in Washington, with branches
in the other two cities, Mr. C. concurred entirely with him.
According to his (Mr. C.'s) observation, those banking systems
worked best in the several States, which consisted of two or three
large and respectable banks, with branches conveniently located,
instead of a multitude of small banks having no necessary con-
nection with each other. And whenever there was definitive
legislation upon the banking system of the District, he hoped it
would assume that form.
Mr. Buchanan had but a few words to say in reply to the
1840] TO MR. M'CALLISTER ET AL. 263
Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay.] He would add nothing
to that which he had already said in favor of the amendment to
prohibit each one of these banks from paying out the notes of
any suspended bank except its own. He thought it would prove
to be a most wise restriction.
In regard to the amendment which he had proposed, declar-
ing in express terms that the temporary continuance of these
charters was for the purpose of enabling them to wind up their
concerns, he had but one observation to make. He had accom-
plished the purpose which he had in view by proposing the
ameridment. All doubt was thus removed from his own course
in relation to this subject. He regretted that his amendment had
not prevailed, because it might inspire the banks with hopes which
he believed never would be realized. It is true that a future
Congress might be of a different opinion, and one Congress could
not bind another; but yet that was no good reason why the
present Congress should not express its own determination by
its own legislation.
TO MR. M'CALLISTER ET AL.^
Washington 23 June 1840.
Gentlemen : —
I feel greatly honored by your kind invitation to unite with
the Democracy of Centre County in the celebration of the ap-
proaching anniversary of Independence; and I most sincerely
regret, that vnthout abandoning the post of duty here, at which
the people have stationed me, I cannot enjoy the pleasure of
being with you on that ever memorable occasion. It is now
certain that Congress will not adjourn before the middle of July.
You will please to accept my thanks for the kind manner in
which you refer to me as " the advocate of a stable currency." I
should rejoice that every citizen of Pennsylvania could be made
as deeply sensible as you are of " the evils the community are
suffering from unrestrained Banking." It is this which period-
ically ruins our Manufactures, crushes industry, bankrupts our
most enterprising citizens, deprives labor of its employment &
its reward, and covers the face of the country with a depreciated
& irredeemable paper currency. Our Banking system must be
'Buchanan Papers, private collection.
264 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
radically reformed, or we are destined, periodically, after short
intervals of delusive prosperity, to suffer, again & again, the very
same calamities vs^hich we are now enduring. I regret, most
deeply regret, that the Legislature of Pennsylvania had not, at
their last session, embraced the most favorable occasion which
has ever been presented of imposing salutary restrictions on the
Banks. The time was most propitious ; and the Governor, in his
annual message, had made several excellent suggestions upon the
subject & had urged it, in the strongest terms, upon the attention
of the Legislature.
But we must not be discouraged by one defeat or by a
hundred. The Democracy & the Banks are now engaged in a
desperate conflict on this question ; and we must deprive these
Banks of their destructive privileges & confine them to their
legitimate business, or they will continue to be the masters of
the people, instead of their servants, — their destroyers, instead
of their useful agents. The Democracy never can & never will
abandon the principle of Bank reform, without first abandoning
their own principles. It ought to be inscribed with the names of
Van Buren & Johnston upon all our political banners during the
present contest. We ought never to suffer our attention to be
diverted from it for a single moment, until the great work shall
be accomplished.
But reform, radical reform & not destruction ought to be
our motto. The Democracy of Pennsylvania are eminently prac-
tical in their principles, and they know that it would in the present
condition of the country be impossible to suppress the circulation
of all Bank notes of every denomination & return to an exclusive
metallic currency. Even if this could be accomplished, it would
grind the debtor to the dust by doubling the value of what he
owes to his creditor. It would thus serve to make the rich
richer, and the poor poorer. Besides, it would in effect double
the present enormous burden of our State debt. We are, there-
fore, reformers, not destroyers. We are determined to enjoy the
advantages of well regulated specie paying Banks, without being
cursed by the evils which the present unrestricted system of
Banking periodically inflicts on the people.
In conclusion, permit me to offer you the following senti-
ment. A radical reform in our Banking system; — which shall
require the Banks always to keep on hand a reasonable amount
of gold & silver in proportion to their circulation & deposits; —
shall prohibit them from issuing notes, at the first, under the
1840] REPORT OF SECRETARY OF TREASURY 265
denomination of ten & afterwards of twenty dollars ; — and above
all, shall make any future suspension of specie payments an
instant and irreversible forfeiture of their charters.
Yours very respectfully
James Buchanan.
H. N. M'Callister
John R. Heard &
Samuel D. Miles Esquires
Committee &c.
REMARKS, JUNE 26, 1840,
IN FAVOR OF PRINTING EXTRA COPIES OF THE REPORT OF
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, i
Mr. Buchanan hoped the largest number of copies, five thou-
sand, would be printed. This was one of the most important
■ of the documents transmitted to Congress, and he found that it
was more called for than any other. His supply had not been
sufficient to meet the demand made on him for it. It was impor-
tant, too, that the country should be furnished with the valuable
information contained in this document at this time; for, next
year. Congress would be called on to adjust the tariff, and their
constituents should be able to understand more fully the impor-
tant questions that would come before them.
Mr. Davis could see no propriety in printing a large num-
ber of this document. The extra number usually printed had
been fifteen hundred. Two or three years ago, it had been
increased to two thousand; and last year, by some means or
other, he could not tell how, five thousand had been ordered. He
thought two thousand copies were amply sufficient, and any
amount over that number would be superfluous, and of little
service to any body.
Mr. Buchanan would just observe, that in the State of
Pennsylvania there were sixty counties, and he thought that at
least one copy should go to each county in all the States. Besides,
there was not a leading merchant in Philadelphia not anxious to
get a copy, and the same might be said in relation to the manu-
facturers of Pittsburg. He was generally averse to printing a
large number of extra copies of the documents laid before them,
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 487-
266 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
but this document was an exception. They had heretofore
printed extra numbers of documents which were comparatively-
unimportant. This document, as he said before, contained more
valuable commercial and manufacturing information than any
other, and yet they were to be restricted to 2,000 copies.
Mr. Walker expressed the hope that 5,000 copies would
be printed. It was an exceedingly important document, and
ought to be disseminated. He wished to send one copy to each
editor in his State.
The question was then taken on printing 5,000 copies, and
decided in the affirmative, without a division.
REMARKS, JULY 3, 1840,
ON A REPORT ON THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY.'
The resolution submitted by Mr. Ruggles on. Wednesday, .
requesting the President of the United States to communicate a
copy of the British report and survey on the subject of the North-
eastern boundary, was taken up for consideration.
Mr. Buchanan hoped that the Senator who introduced
this resolution would permit it to lie over until Monday. In the
mean time he would procure the map and document from the
committee on Foreign Relations of the House, to which it had
been transmitted after examination by the committee of the
Senate, when it would be accessible to the Senator from Maine
and every other Senator of the body. The delicacy of adopting
the resolution consisted in this : whether we should publish in this
country, and by the order of this body, a document which had
been transmitted to the Executive of this country from a feeling
of courtesy by the British Government, before it had been pub-
lished or even transmitted to Parliament by that Government.
Mr. Ruggles said he did not ask the adoption of this
resolution for his own gratification, but he considered it a matter
of vital importance to his State, and one on which they had a
right to have all the information in our power to give.
Mr. Buchanan replied that it was no secret communi-
cation at all ; but it was a document which the British Government
said that they had not yet laid before Parliament, nor taken any
^ Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 503.
1840] APPROPRIATION FOR DRY DOCKS 267
action upon ; and it was communicated to us in that way simply as
an act of courtesy. He did not know that there would be any
great objection to laying it before the Senate; but he spoke with
knowledge when he said that many times, and oft, the Govern-
ment of the United States had been prevented from receiving
important information from its agents abroad, because of the
knowledge that it would be made public. Now in this case he
would communicate this document to the gentleman with the
greatest pleasure ; it had already been communicated to the com-
mittee of the other House, and he should have every opportunity
to examine it. Mr. B. hoped that the resolution would be laid
on the table until Monday.
Mr. Allen said there was a manifest impropriety in adopt-
ing this resolution, especially as the action of the Senate, even
so far, on this map and report, would give them a sort of sanction
which ought not to be given them, while it was known that they
had not been accepted by the British Government, and no intima-
tion had been given that they would be adhered to. Mr. A. there-
fore moved to lay the resolution finally on the table; but, on its
being observed that Mr. Buchanan had left the Senate, and
might wish to say something further on the subject on Monday,
Mr. A. withdrew his motion, and,
Mr. Ruggles assenting, the resolution was accordingly laid
on the table until Monday.
REMARKS, JULY 11, 1840,
ON A PROPOSED APPROPRIATION FOR DRY DOCKS AT NEW
YORK AND PENSACOLA.i
Mr. Tappan then moved to strike out that part of the bill
making appropriation for dry docks at New York and Pensacola.
Mr. Buchanan supported the motion.
Mr. Clay of Alabama and Mr. Wright opposed it.
Mr. Buchanan would say a few words in reply to the
Senators from Alabama and New York, [Messrs. Clay and
Wright.] The Senator from Alabama contended that this was
the mere appropriation of a sum necessary to make surveys at
New York and Pensacola, for the purpose of ascertaining the
utility and practicability of constructing dry docks at those places.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. S'li.
268 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
Was that the fact ? Certainly not, according to the language of
the bill. There was $95,000 appropriated at each place abso-
lutely, and a portion of it was to be expended before the first of
March next in making surveys. The appropriation was absolute ;
and the Congress of the United States would never hear of this
subject again till the sites were fixed and a portion of the money
expended. Now would it not be right, before making this im-
portant appropriation, that they should make the surveys ? Shall
we now, said Mr. B., in a blind confidence in the Navy Depart-
ment, or any other Department of the Government, declare that
we should be bound by their decision ; and that as soon as they
are satisfied of the practicability of establishing dry docks at New
York and Pensacola, that they should go on and construct them
without further direction from Congress? That was the ques-
tion, and the only question. Where was the necessity for this
haste? No doubt a dry dock was necessary at New York, and
also at Pensacola ; but let such necessity be demonstrated, and at
the next session of Congress, with all the information before
them, it would be time enough to appropriate the amount suffi-
cient to construct them. What was the state of the Treasury
now? Why, they had to borrow money to defray the ordinary
expenditures of the Government, but, in the course of the next
session of Congress, things might grow better or worse. By
that time the surveys would have been made and laid before them,
and Congress could then be guided wisely by the state of the
Treasury. But here was an appropriation to be expended before
the end of the next session of Congress, except the sum neces-
sary for preliminary surveys. Was that wise legislation? He
considered New York and Pensacola in the same situation. Noth-
ing could be done before the next session of Congress but fixing
the sites. Beyond that he was not willing to go. The Senator
from New Hampshire [Mr. Hubbard] was willing to make an
ample appropriation for that purpose, and for that he should
vote; but he could not conceive any case in which he would be
willing to place in the hands of the Executive the power of
determining whether such works should be constructed, and so
large an amount of money be appropriated, without the further
action of Congress. He objected to the principle involved, and if
there was but one Senator to join him, he would oppose it.
The question was then taken on Mr. Tappan's motion, and
decided in the affirmative — yeas 21, nays 19.
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 269
REMARKS, JULY 16, 1840,
ON BANKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.'
Mr. Buchanan said he had hoped yesterday that he should
not feel himself obliged again to address the Senate in relation
to these District banks. He would not now utter one word upon
the subject if it were not palpable that this bill to continue the
corporate existence of these banks, after having yesterday been
engrossed by a triumphant majority, was destined to-day to be
defeated on its final passage. This was to be accomplished by a
union of the two extremes. The enemies of a speedy resumption
of specie payments would combine in their votes with the friends
of an exclusive hard money currency; and we, who are in favor
of moderate measures, must certainly be in the minority.
For my own part, said Mr. B., I never considered this as a
question involving any great general principles. I was, therefore,
entirely willing, as my votes will show, to continue the existence
of these banks for a short period, and until we could establish a
new bank or banks for the District upon any reasonable terms.
Senators have, I think unjustly, treated this question as if it were
a proposition to extend these charters during a considerable
period of time, when it is nothing more than a mere temporary
measure, justified by the existing peculiar circumstances of the
District. These banks, as banking institutions, are already dead.
Their charters all expired on the 4th day of July; and Congress
have already passed a law providing for the manner in which
they shall wind up their affairs.
Now, sir, what is the bill before us? We propose to con-
tinue their banking privileges until the 4th July, 1841, and no
longer; — immediately, in favor of those which have already
commenced the payment of specie, and at any time within sixty
days, in favor of the remainder of them, if they shall resume
within that period. These banks, under the present bill, can
entertain no hope that their charters will ever again be extended.
The present Congress will expire on the 4th day of March next,
and their banking privileges will expire on the 4th day of July
following, when Congress will not be in session. This will be
the last limit of their existence ; and from and after that day they
must commence winding up their affairs under the act which we
have already passed.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII., Appendix, 735-738-
270 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
In addition to this, the bill restricts them during this short
period, from paying out any notes except their own ; renders the
president, directors, and stockholders, liable to the amount of
their stock for debts hereafter contracted; and prohibits them
from declaring any dividend whilst in a state of suspension,
should that again occur before the 4th day of July next.
Under all these restrictions, I confess I cannot feel the force
of any argument against this bill, founded upon the principle that
these terms are too favorable to the banks. I can never refuse to
vote in favor of this measure on any such principle.
As a practical man, I can have no difficulty in giving this
bill my support. We are now legislating for a small district of
ten miles square, carved out of Maryland on the one side and
Virginia on the other ; and what is unfortunate, the charters of all
its six banks have expired on the same day. In what situation
am I then placed ? I know nothing of these banks ; care nothing
for them, except the general good will which I bear to the people
with whom I have been long associated ; and shall certainly never
receive a favor from any one of them. I believe, from the report
of the committee in 1836, that some of them have behaved badly.
But, after all, I must be governed in my vote by the peculiar
circumstances of the case. Alexandria is a city which exports
largely, and where the farmers of the valley of Virginia send
their produce to market. Georgetown is in a similar situation.
As to the city of Washington, I confess I can see no reason why
it should have a large banking capital. But here we are, acting
as the local Legislature of this small District; and is it right at
once to deprive these people of all banking privileges? I think
not; and I shall most cheerfully extend these privileges to the
existing banks one year longer. Now let us suppose that the
State of Maryland, or the State of New York, or any other State,
were placed in a similar situation. Suppose it had so occurred
that every bank charter in any State had expired at the same
moment. Would the Legislature of such a State (no matter how
hostile it might be to the banking system generally) determine
that all these banks should at once be compelled to wind up their
affairs, no matter how prejudicial it might be to the community?
Even those who are hostile to all banks, which I am not, ought to
adopt no sudden and violent course which might produce disas-
trous consequences to the people, in accomplishing their object.
Two years ago I was not in favor of extending these charters. I
should at that time have greatly preferred the establishment of
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 271
a new bank; but as this was then deemed impracticable, on
account of the suspension of specie payments, I yielded to the
necessity of the case, and voted for the bill of the Senator from
Missouri, [Mr. Benton,] because I regarded it as the less of two
evils. It is now admitted by all, that during the short remainder
of the present session, we cannot establish new banks, and I am
willing to adopt a similar course for the very same reason by
which I was actuated on that occasion. I am not prepared to say
to the merchants of Alexandria and Georgetown, who have been
in the habit of purchasing flour, corn, and tobacco, from the sur-
rounding country, we will cut you ofif at once from bank accom-
modations, and you shall not have your usual loans for making
these purchases. Now, if I could have regulated this matter for
myself, without the interference of the banks, I should have
extended these charters for a year ; and without sanctioning the
suspension of specie payments, I should have prohibited them,
whilst in a state of suspension, from paying out any except their
own notes, and from making dividends; and I should have
afforded to every note holder, who desired to recover specie, with
the twelve per cent, interest to which they are subject, the most
prompt and efficacious remedy to enforce his claim. Whilst I
should have been willing to adopt this course, I could never have
voted for the amendment of the Senator from Maryland [Mr.
Merrick] sanctioning their suspension of specie payments for
so long a period as until the 1 5th January next, or until the banks
of Baltimore and Richmond might think proper to resume. But
the District banks have made the law for themselves. Several of
them have declared both their ability and their willingness to
resume specie payments immediately; nay, some of them have
actually resumed; and thus, by their own conduct, they have
prevented me from voting for any extension of their charters
except upon the express condition that they shall be specie paying
banks. When they themselves say they are ready and willing to
resume, how can any person expect me to answer : " You are
neither ready nor willing, and you must have time for this
purpose." I am forced to take them at their word; and never
shall incur the responsibility of advocating a protracted suspen-
sion of specie payments against the solemn declaration of the
banks themselves.
I am, therefore, prepared to extend these charters for one
year;,not to benefit the banks, but for the purpose of placing the
people of this District, so far as I can, on an equal footing with
272 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
the people of Virginia and Maryland, by whom they are sur-
rounded.
If you should not pass this bill, I shall venture to predict
that in less than a fortnight bank agencies will be established in
this District by suspended banks in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
Richmond, and you will thus be instrumental in establishing a
much greater evil than that which you are now desirous of
preventing.
I have witnessed in the course of my legislative career some
strange things ; but I confess I have never been more astonished
in my life than at the course this bill has taken. It will be
defeated by a most marvellous union of hostile elements. Those
who, with my friend from Mississippi, [Mr. Walker,] are
friendly to an exclusive metallic currency, will vote against it;
and those who, I might say, are in favor of an irredeemable paper
currency, will also vote against it; and therefore it must be
rejected.
And why should any Senator who is not opposed to all
banks in all forms, vote against this bill? It contains no com-
pulsory feature, but leaves the banks entirely free to exercise their
own discretion whether they will accept its terms or not, and
allows them sixty days to make this decision. If they should not
accept the terms proposed by the bill, they will then remain in
precisely the same condition they are at present.
That all the banks in this District, with a single exception,
will accept these terms, I entertain not a doubt; but whether or
not, I think we should pass the bill, and impose the responsibility
of rejecting it upon them, instead of assuming it ourselves. I
was called out of my seat yesterday by a gentleman who stated
to me that the banks, or a majority of them, were not only
willing, but anxious to accept the present bill, and desired me to
state this fact to the Senate. I informed him that I should make
no such statement founded merely on a private conversation ; that
the terms of this conversation might be misapprehended by either
of us at the present time, or might be forgotten at a future day;
and it was, therefore, always dangerous to rely upon verbal
communications upon important subjects : that if the banks really
desired that this bill should pass, and their wishes were made
known to me in a written official form, it would afford me great
pleasure to make them known to the Senate. This gentleman
then left me, and in a short time returned and placed in my hands
the written declaration of three of the presidents of these banks.
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 273
which I shall now read. These declarations have been written at
the end of a printed copy of the bill itself, and are as follows :
The above bill is certainly better than none. Some of the provisions
are very harsh. I prefer this, however, to having no bill.
W. A. BRADLEY,
President Patriotic Bank.
I concur in the above, preferring that the third section should be stricken
out, as unjust and injurious to stockholders. We at this institution would
decidedly prefer this bill to having none.
Bank of the Metropolis, 15th July, 1840.
JOHNT. VAN NESS, President.
I concur in the view of the bill, as stated by Gen. Van Ness.
J. KURTZ,
President Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Georgetown.
Georgetown, July 15, 1840.
In addition to these declarations, a letter from General Van
Ness was handed to me this morning by a gentleman with whom
I am not acquainted, which I shall also read. Here Mr. B. read
the following letter :
Washington, July 16, 1840.
The Hon. James Buchanan :
Dear Sir: Five of the presidents of the banks of this District met this
morning. Three of them agreed according to the enclosed paper, signed by
them. The other two expressly pledged themselves not to oppose or object
to the passage of the bill ; and if it could be so amended as to strike out the
third section, it would then be satisfactory to them also.
With high consideration.
Your most obedient servant,
JOHN P. VAN NESS,
President of Bank of Metropolis.
A duplicate of the above, and of the within, have been sent to Mr.
Merrick.
The paper to which General Van Ness refers, is one similar
in its character to those which I have already read from the three
presidents of the banks; and therefore I shall not trouble the
Senate by reading it.
Now, sir, the responsibility of accepting or rejecting the
present bill, is to be removed from the banks. They are not to be
permitted to decide this question for themselves; and for what
reason? The Senator from Maryland [Mr. Merrick] has de-
clared that he will not permit these banks to commence the pay-
ment of specie, because this would prove oppressive to the people
of the District, and " I will not," says he, " go for it, even if the
banks want it." I quote the very words of the Senator.
Vol. IV— 18
274 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
[Mr. Merrick here explained; but the Reporter has taken
no note of the explanation, and cannot furnish it from memory.]
Mr. B. resumed. I understood the Senator perfectly; and
shall in a few moments speak of the points to which he refers.
But the facts are these, and I wish that the attention of the Senate
and the country may be fixed upon them. There are three of
these banks willing to accept the bill as it now stands ; and two of
the others, which have voluntarily pledged themselves not to
oppose or object to its passage, and have declared, that if the
third section could be stricken out, it would then be satisfactory
to them also ; and, notwithstanding, the Senator says : " I will not
go for it, even although the banks want it." I surely state his
proposition fairly.
We have now reached a new point in this war of the money
power against the people. Hitherto, unfortunately, my contro-
versy has been with those of my own political friends, such as
the Senator from Mississippi, [Mr. Walker,] who are exclusive
hard money men ; but the question now distinctly presented, and
which no human ingenuity can change, is between the advocates
of a redeemable and the advocates of an irredeemable bank cur-
rency. This is the question, and the Senator from Maryland
[Mr. Merrick] cannot escape from it. On this subject he is so
extravagant that he refuses even to permit the banks to judge for
themselves whether they are now able, or shall be able within
sixty days, to resume specie payments. It is the terrific idea of
bank resumption, under this bill, which has so alarmed the Sen-
ator, that he opposes it, whether the banks themselves iare willing
to resume or not. He will not consent to place this question at
their own disposal.
We have truly reached a new crisis in this important contest.
In every case heretofore, the banks have always urged an exten-
sion of the time for resumption, and have always declared their
inability to resume at an earlier period than they themselves had
indicated ; and, unfortunately, the State Legislatures have gener-
ally yielded to such suggestions. This is the first instance in the
history of the country where the banks have been willing to accept
an extension of their charters upon the condition of immediate
resumption, and the legislative body has interposed its veto to
prevent the banks from redeeming their obligations in gold and
silver. We say to them, in effect, " You are too reckless in regard
to your own interest and that of the community, in undertaking
to pay your honest debts, and it is necessary that we should
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 275
repress your ardor. Such a course would prove so injurious to
the people of the District, that we shall compel you at once to
wind up your aifairs altogether, rather than grant you an exten-
sion of your banking privileges on any such terms."
Suppose this question could be transferred to the Legislature
of Maryland, what do you suppose would be the result? One
half of the banks in Baltimore, and throughout that State, come
forward and offer to accept an extension of their charters, on the
express condition of immediate resumption. They say, we are
both able and willing to pay specie. Would any State Legislature
in the Union, under such circumstances, say to them, you must
not adopt this destructive measure? Although we desire to
extend your charters, yet it is better that you should be destroyed
altogether, as banking institutions, than to grant you the danger-
ous permission to resume specie payments whilst the surrounding
States, and one half of the banks in this State, still continue sus-
pended. Should you pay your debts in gold and silver, as the
Constitution and laws require you to do, you will entail misery
and distress both upon yourselves and the people. Are not the
two cases precisely parallel? The distinguished honor has been
reserved for Congress of refusing to the banks the permission
which they ask to resume specie payments.
I had always supposed that one of the greatest calamities
which could be inflicted upon the people of any country, was that
of being cursed with floods of irredeemable paper, banishing gold
and silver altogether from circulation. This has never been
justified by statesmen or politicians, except on the ground of
absolute, uncontrollable, irresistible necessity. But here no such
necessity exists, because three of these banks have not only
already resumed the payment of specie, but have declared to the
world their willingness and their ability to continue to redeem
their notes in gold and silver ; and it is evident that the two banks
in Alexandria will resume before the end of sixty days, should
the present bill pass.
What is the true cause of this extraordinary proceeding? I
think there will not be much difficulty in conjecturing. It is an
attempt (and I mean neither to charge nor insinuate any thing
improper against the Senator from Maryland) to carry the prin-
ciple into practice here which produced the present suspension
of specie payments throughout a large portion of the Union. It
is an attempt to play the game over again upon a small scale,
which was played upon a large scale in favor of the Bank of the
276 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
United States. In order to save that Bank from immediate
bankruptcy and ruin, the people of this country have been com-
pelled to submit to a suspension of specie payments ever since
October. The strong banks voluntarily reduced themselves to
the same level with the Bank of the United States; and they
suspended simply because that Bank could no longer continue to
pay specie.
At the commencement of the suspension unde'r which we are
now suffering, there was no foreign demand for gold and silver.
The rates of foreign exchange were not against us. There was
no drain of specie from this country to Europe. Every thing in
the State of Pennsylvania was calm as a summer's morning ; and
the suspension surprised us as much as a clap of thunder from a
cloudless sky.
At the meeting of the banks in Philadelphia, nine voted
against the suspension, whilst five only, including the Bank of
the United States, voted in its favor. In the face of this vote,
that Bank suspended on the next morning, and in order to save
, it from immediate ruin, all the other banks followed its example,
and were willing to share its fate.
The Bank of the United States, instead of preparing for a
speedy resumption, by contracting its issues, took advantage of
the suspension, for the purpose of expanding them. The Senator
from Missouri [Mr. Benton] has informed us that it sent its
agents throughout the West loaded with its irredeemable notes,
for the purpose of capturing the specie with them. Such was
its miserable condition, that it was compelled to obtain specie in
this manner to send abroad for the purpose of paying its foreign
debts. The notes of this Bank became the chief medium of circu-
lation in Philadelphia and throughout many portions of the
country. The other Philadelphia banks, after having suspended
to save it from bankruptcy, could not discredit its notes by refus-
ing to receive tbem on deposit, and in payment of debts. In
this manner it soon became so largely indebted to them, that,
although they were not under the necessity of suspending specie
payments at the first, they were soon reduced to such a condition
that they could not have resumed had this been their desire. The
Bank of the United States, by the process which I have just
described, had reduced them to its own level, and placed them in
such a situation that they could not resume until it should be able
to pay the balances which it owed them in specie. Thus the
country suffered and the bank was saved.
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 277
Now how does this statement of facts apply to the present
case? There is but one bank in this District which is opposed
to the passage of the present bill; and I do not intend to make
any insinuation against its eventual solvency. Far from it. It
has expanded its issues to such an extent that, unlike the other
five banks of the District, it is unable at the present time to
resume the payment of its liabilities in specie. I cannot ascertain
to what extent it has expanded, becavise we have no recent return
of its condition before us; but so far as my information and
observation have extended, its notes constitute a very large
portion of the circulation in this District. In that respect it bears
a close resemblance to the Bank of the United States in Phila-
delphia. In my opinion, it is to save the character and credit of
the Bank of Washington that the other banks will be refused the
power of accepting a charter on the condition of resumption ; just
as it was to save the Bank of the United States from immediate
bankruptcy that the other banks of Philadelphia consented to
combine with it in suspending specie payments. The interest of
the country was disregarded in order that this Bank might be
preserved.
It is this spirit of combination among the banks which is
one of the worst evils of our present very imperfect banking
system. The object of these combinations is never to elevate the
weak banks to the level of the strong, but always to reduce the
strong to the level of the weak. This evil can only be corrected
by an instantaneous, absolute, and irreversible forfeiture of the
charter of any and every bank which shall hereafter suspend
specie payments; and by placing them at once in the hands of
commissioners for the purpose of winding up their affairs. The
instinct of self-preservation will then counteract this spirit of
combination, and prevent the strong banks from suspending
specie payments in order to accommodate the weak. The other
advantages which would follow the adoption of such a provision,
I shall not now undertake to enumerate.
Congress have now presented to them, by a strange concur-
rence of circumstances, a most favorable opportunity of express-
ing their opinion emphatically upon the subject of these combina-
tions. By passing this bill, we can now offer to all these banks
an extension of their charters, upon condition that they shall
resume specie payments at any time within sixty days. Three of
them certainly, and two of them probably, will accept these terms.
Ought we, then, to be deterred from granting this charter by an
278 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
apprehension that the Bank of Washington may not be able to
comply with its terms ? I hope it may be ; but if it should not, it
would be flagrant injustice to punish those banks which have
conducted their business wisely and prudently, by refusing to
grant them a charter, simply because one other bank has placed
it out of its own power to embrace the provisions of the bill.
Thus, to save the Bank of Washington, the people of this District
will be doomed to a protracted suspension of specie payments,
just as the people of the Middle, Southern, and Western States
have been doomed to suffer the evils of suspension, to save the
Bank of the United States from destruction.
But the Senator from Maryland is not willing to trust the
banks themselves with this dangerous prerogative of paying their
debts to the community on demand, according to the term of their
contracts. To permit the banks to resume would, he contends,
compel them to oppress their debtors. Now let us examine this
objection, and ascertain whether there is any force in it. And
first, let us suppose that it should compel them, in some degree, to
bear hard upon their debtors, (which I do not believe,) would
this be a good reason for preventing these banks from redeem-
ing their notes in specie? The banks exercise the sovereign
power of issuing paper money; and this paper money is almost
the only currency in use among the people. No' man in any kind
of business can refuse to receive it. It is forced upon him by the
circumstances of the country ; and he must accept it, whether he
will or not. Besides, this privilege of issuing paper money is a
source of great profit to the banks. Now if there be a conflict of
interests between the noteholders and the debtors of these banks,
which of these two classes is entitled to our most favorable
regard? The noteholders are by far -the most numerous. They
have been compelled to receive these bank notes as money, in the
course of their business. They derive no profit from the banks.
The depreciation of the notes which they held at the time of
suspension was a dead loss to them. On the other hand, the
debtors of the banks have received accommodations from them,
which have enabled them to do a profitable business, or to embark
in profitable speculations. Many of them are stockholders in
these very banks. Under such circumstances, I would go for the
community who hold the bank notes rather than for the men
who have received bank favors. I should compel the banks to
redeem the currency which they have put in circulation, even if it
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 279
should force them to exercise some degree of severity in the
collection of their debts.
But I emphatically say that the resumption of specie pay-
ments, under the provisions of this bill, vsrould not compel the
banks vsfhich are willing to accept its terms to oppress their
debtors.
And, in the first place, all the deposits which they have
received in any bank paper except their own, since the date of the
suspension, have been accepted by them under a special agree-
ment that these deposits should be paid in similar bank paper.
The present bill recognizes this agreement; and thus the whole
amount which they have received on deposit in irredeemable
paper is at once wiped away, without the payment of a single
dollar in gold or silver. Thus their whole deposits — and these
are generally the heaviest item of bank liabilities — will give them
no trouble. They will not be compelled to oppress their debtors
for the purpose of paying their depositors.
Then, in regard to their bank notes now in circulation.
These banks have already enjoyed the benefit of a nine months'
suspension. Some of them have been curtailing their issues, and
contracting their business, and thus preparing for resumption.
Three of them, at least, can pay specie for all their notes in circu-
lation, even should the whole amount be demanded, which is not
probable, and have a large surplus of gold and silver left on which
to transact business. The most which can be said is, that they
may not probably be able to grant many new accommodations to
the public. Most certainly they will not be compelled to oppress
their debtors for the purpose of raising specie to pay their note-
holders. Besides, when we consider those debtors are in a great
degree their own directors and stockholders, we need not fear
that they will be oppressed without necessity.
But let me ask the Senator another question. Will there be
any run made upon these banks by their noteholders after they
shall have resuihed specie payments? Does not every person
perceive that the moment these notes are raised to the specie
standard, and public confidence in the ability of the banks to
redeem them is restored, all brokerage upon them will cease?
Who buys the notes of the specie paying banks of New York?
Make bank notes equivalent to specie in the public estimation, and
the noteholder, unless for purposes of change, will never ask gold
and silver from the banks. After he has tested their ability and
willingness to pay, and has loaded himself with the silver received
280 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
in exchange for the notes, he will be very glad to take the weight
from his back, and re-exchange it for these very bank notes.
This feeling is strongly illustrated by an anecdote which I heard
from an officer of one of these banks. He told me that, since they
had resumed, an individual had entered the bank and demanded
specie for several hundred dollars of their notes. These notes
were promptly redeemed in silver. The man was thus satisfied
that the notes were as good as the specie, and before he left the
bank, he voluntarily returned the silver, and asked and received
in exchange for it the very notes which he had brought to the
bank.
There will, therefore, be no conflict of interest whatever
between the debtors of such banks as shall accept the provisions
of this bill, and of the community which requires a speedy re-
sumption of specie payments.
But the Senator from Maryland says that it would be a
great hardship on these banks to be prohibited from paying out
the irredeemable notes of other banks. But does not the Senator
perceive that if they were permitted to do this, their resumption
of specie payments would be no more than a mere empty name?
If they could transact all their business with the notes of non-
specie paying banks, they would withdraw their own notes en-
tirely from circulation, and leave the people of the District in a
worse position than they already occupy. This would be merely
a substitution of foreign irredeemable bank paper for the present
paper currency of the District banks. If there must be an irre-
deemable currency hi circulation, it is better, far better, that it
should consist of the notes of these banks, with which the people
are familiar, and in which they have confidence, than of foreign
paper. Again, if any noteholder desires to exercise the right of
compelling the banks of the District to pay specie for their notes,
together with the twelve per cent, interest to which they are liable,
he can do this at home ; but if he holds a foreign note, the expense
and trouble of a lawsuit with a distant bank will always prevent
him from thus enforcing his rights. One of the greatest evils
attending the present suspension of specie payments is, that the
banks generally, as a matter of policy, pay out the notes of
foreign banks instead of their own; and thus bank notes are
made to circulate everywhere more extensively than at home.
But although this bill prevents the banks from paying out
any notes except their own and the notes of other specie paying
banks, it does not prohibit them from receiving the notes of
1840] BANKS IN THE DISTRICT 281
suspended banks in the payment of debts. This, in justice, they
ought to do, whenever these notes are offered in payment of
loans which were made in irredeemable paper ; and this, in most
instances, they would be glad to do whenever notes of the solvent
banks of Baltimore or Richmond are offered in payment of indi-
vidual debts. But I am asked, what use could the banks make of
these notes, unless they were permitted to pay them out at their
counters? I answer, they can send them home to Baltimore or
Richmond, deposit the amount to their credit, and draw drafts
upon it in payment of the debts which they may now owe to
foreign banks in a state of suspension. If there be still a balance
in their favor, they can demand interest for it ; and if they do not
think proper to enforce payment at present, they will receive both
the principal and the interest upon the general resumption of
specie payments. The District banks can, I have no doubt, get
along very well for themselves under this bill, whilst they will
greatly benefit the community.
But the Senator from Rhode Island [Mr. Dixon] says, we
might as well attempt to incorporate the paupers of the District
on the condition that they should pay specie, as to pass the present
bill. As well attempt to incorporate the paupers as these banks,
who are now able to redeem their outstanding notes, and have a
considerable surplus left in gold and silver ! This is a wonderful
proposition.
But he is also opposed to the bill because he believes that
these banks will again suspend specie payment within the year
during which we propose to prolong their existence, and in that
event he thinks it wrong to deprive them of the power, as this bill
does, of declaring dividends. But is it unjust to deprive banks
of the power of dividing profits among their stockholders whilst
they refuse to pay their honest debts ? No, sir : no. Under such
circumstances they ought to be compelled to husband all their
resources in order to bring about the most speedy resumption.
They ought first to be just towards their creditors before they
are permitted to be generous towards themselves. The stock-
holders, who receive all the profits of banking, ought to suffer
rather than those to whom they honestly owe money. The bare
statement of the proposition is a sufficient answer to the Senator
from Rhode Island.
Now, in regard to the great stumbling block which appears
to stand in the way of the two banks in Alexandria, and prevents
them from yielding their cordial assent to the provisions of this
282 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
bill — what is it ? The third section of the bill renders the stock-
holders of all these banks individually responsible, to the amount
of their stock, for debts hereafter contracted during the period
they may remain stockholders. This, I am informed, is already
the law of South Carolina. It ought to be the law everywhere :
and although I care nothing for this provision in the present bill,
which is a mere temporary measure to endure but for a single
year, yet in my own State, with my consent, no new bank shall
ever be incorporated without a similar provision. What, sir, shall
the stockholders, who have enjoyed all the privileges and profits
of prosperous banking, be permitted to say to the poor man who
has been compelled to take their notes, our bank has been so
badly managed that it has now become insolvent, and we shall
keep all we have got, whilst you shall receive nothing? This
individual responsibility of the stockholders to the noteholders
is one of the essential reforms required in our banking system.
Its effect would in the end prove as beneficial to the banks them-
selves as to the community. If the stockholders were responsible,
you would probably never witness another suspension of specie
payments. It is they who elect the directors, and if responsible
individually for the notes issued, they would take care that the
bank should be conducted in such a prudent imanner as to keep
themselves out of danger. Self-interest would thus be interposed
to secure the public. But what is the case now? Everything is
conducted at hap-hazard. The stockholder knows that he can
never be made individually liable for the payment of the notes
issued by the bank. He is therefore satisfied if he can get his
eight or ten per cent, per annum in dividends, with an occasional
contingent dividend of fifteen or twenty per cent., and he pays no
attention to the management of the institution. But let self-inter-
est bring the question home to his own bosom, and he will be
vigilant and cautious, and his whole conduct will be changed.
Most certainly if a loss is to be incurred, it ought to fall upon
those who have a direct control over the management of the
bank and receive all its profits, rather than upon the innocent
individual wholly disconnected from it, who has taken its notes
in the course of his honest business.
I might remark, in regard to this provision of the bill, that
in practice it would prove to be mere brutuni fulmen, with which
the banks of Alexandria ought not to be terrified. It is only the
declaration of a general principle which can never be carried into
execution without minute and carefully guarded legislation, in
1840] ON POSTPONING EXPENDITURES 283
which the present bill is singularly defective. If this bill were not
merely intended to subserve a temporary purpose, it ought never
to pass without many amendments. It not only omits essential
provisions which ought to be inserted in any new bank charter,
but the salutary principles which it asserts can never be carried
into effective execution under its present provisions. The late
hour of the session, and the hasty manner in which it has been
got up, and the very short period during which it will exist, must
be the justification for its imperfections. It is certainly the only
bill which can now pass; and although I have manifested my
willingness to accord to the banks more liberal terms, I have no
doubt that every bank in the District, with perhaps a single
exception, will gladly embrace its provisions, before the end of
sixty days. Why should w^e refuse them the option?
I need not now reiterate what I have over and over again
repeated on this floor, at successive sessions, ever since the ques-
tion first arose, that I am opposed to an exclusive metallic cur-
rency, and that I support the reform and not the destruction of
the banks. I desire to restrict them in such a manner as to con-
vert them into useful agents of the people, instead of destroying
them by their successive expansions, and contractions, and sus-
pensions. I cherish the hope that, ere long, the State of Penn-
sylvania, which owes much to her sister States for the mischief
she has done them by rechartering the Bank of the United
States, will set an example worthy of their imitation by control-
ling and reforming her banks in such a manner as to make them
blessings, instead of evils, to the whole country.
REMARKS, JULY 17, 1840,
ON AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT TO POSTPONE CERTAIN
EXPENDITURES.!
The Army Appropriation Bill being before the Senate, Mr.
Wright offered an amendment authorizing the President, in case
the moneys in the Treasury should be insufficient to meet all the
appropriations made by Congress, to postpone the expenditures
for certain public works and supplies for which the bill provided.
The amendment provoked a long debate, in which Mr.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong, i Sess. VIII. 535, 536.
284 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
Southard, of New Jersey, strongly spoke against the amendment
in all its phases, and especially deprecated the willingness mani-
fested to give discretionary power to the Executive. " There is
no danger, say gentlemen," exclaimed Mr. Southard. " That
was the same siren song sung in Athens and Rome until liberty
was lost."
Mr. Buchanan said: It seems we are in a most delicate
crisis, and that the Republic is on the very brink of ruin. We are
on a precipice and are just about to tumble into the yawning de-
struction beneath. We have arrived at the very point in our
career, according to the opinion of my friend from New Jersey
[Mr. Southard] where the Republics of Athens and Rome
perished ; and it would therefore be presumptuous in us to expect
to survive much longer. He has informed us that the principle
involved in this amendment is that which destroyed Athenian lib-
erty and deprived Rome of her free Government. Whilst the
Republic was thus threatened with ruin, strange to say, the
Senators in fatal security sat unconcerned, reading their news-
papers and writing their letters, utterly insensible of danger.
And what is this great danger? I have heard ruin to the
Republic often predicted since I came into the Senate ; but never
with more force and earnestness than upon the present occasion.
But is not all this " ocean into tempest wrought, to waft a feather
or to drown a fly? " What is the question now before the Sen-
ate? Unfortunately we are very much in want of money, and
our Treasury presents " a beggarly account of empty boxes." In
this state of affairs, it will depend upon contingencies to which I
need not advert, whether there will be sufficient money in the
Treasury to pay all the appropriations for which we have pro-
vided. If there should not be, what will be the consequence?
Unless this amendment shall be adopted, the President will have
unlimited discretion over all the great objects of appropriation,
and he may select or reject which of them he pleases. The
amendment then is an express limitation, not an extension, of
Executive discretion. We take up the general list of appropria-
tions and select from it what we deem to be the least important
objects : and we say toi the President, if you have not money to
pay all our appropriations then you shall withhold it from these
designated objects alone. Your discretion shall be limited, and
Congress, not you, will decide how the money must be applied in
case the revenue should prove insufficient to meet all the appro-
priations. Let human ingenuity turn and twist this question as it
1840] ON POSTPONING EXPENDITURES 285
may, this is the result. Tlie amendment is an abridgment of
Executive discretion. We may not have money enough to accom-
plish all the objects provided for by law ; and in such an event we
say to the President that we will designate those objects with
which we are willing to dispense.
And this is the whole amendment! And this is the vast
stretch of Executive power which may destroy the Government !
The President, for example, in case of a deficiency of money, is
directed to dispense with the appropriations " for barracks, quar-
ters, and storehouses," and for the purchase of " saltpetre and
brimstone," and for other objects, which I need not enumerate,
and which are not of great and pressing importance. Does not
the Senator from New Jersey perceive that this is an express
limitation on Executive power? Without it, if there should not
be money in the Treasury sufficient to accomplish all the objects
for which we have provided, the President will have the unlimited
power of dispensing with any appropriation which he may please.
But we choose to exercise this dispensing power ourselves, and
not to confer it on the Executive.
It is true that we might borrow more money ; but we think
it is wiser to reduce our expenditures than to increase our debt.
If we cannot make all the improvements we desire, we will not
trust our Executive agent with the discretion of ro'aming over the
whole list, and rejecting such as he pleases. We perform this
duty for ourselves by the present amendment, and give him his
instructions.
The Senator from New Jersey, with all his ingenuity, cannot
make more than this out of the amendment. The President can-
not expend more money than there is in the Treasury. If there
be not money enough for all the objects designated in our laws,
without the amendment, he could divert this money from any
one of them, and apply it to another. But we say, and say very
properly, that he shall not exercise this power. It is much better
that we should adopt this course, than either to borrow money or
trust to the unlimited discretion of the Executive.
Mr. Buchanan did not profess to have any wit, nor did he
believe he had any; but if he had, he should be very sorry either
" to bum or drown " the Senator in it. His acquaintance with
ancient history was not such as to inform him where, when, or
how either C£esar or Alcibiades had destroyed the liberties of
286 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
their respective countries by a provision similar to this amend-
ment. That might be owing to his own ignorance, which he
hoped the Senator from New Jersey would condescend to en-
lighten.
The Senator, said Mr. B., has replied to what he calls my
wit, but not to my argument. He has wisely passed the latter
over. What is the amendment but this? I have an estate on
which I desire to expend $100,000 in the course of the year. I
employ an agent to direct and superintend this expenditure. It
depends, however, upon the ability and will of a bank which is
indebted to me, whether I shall be able to place the whole amount
of this sum in his hands. Under such circumstances, what would
a wise man do? He would say to his agent, you shall not exercise
the discretion of deciding what particular improvement you will
arrest in case I am not able to furnish the whole $100,000. This
discretion I shall exercise for myself ; and in case of a deficiency
of means to accomplish the whole, you shall apply none of my
money to such and such improvements, which, although important
in themselves, must yield to others of more pressing necessity
and greater utility. And, sir, this is the true nature of the amend-
ment now before the Senate ; and yet, strange as it may seem, it
is strongly urged that it is an extension of Executive discretion!
This is the whole amendment ; and human ingenuity may be defied
to make any thing more of it. What do we say by this amend-
ment, to the President? If sufficient money should come in, you
shall apply it to all our appropriations ; but if it should not, you
shall not expend any of it upon those objects of minor im-
portance which we have designated. It is a clear limitation, not
an extension of Executive discretion.
The amendment was then adopted.
TO MR. JENKS.i
Lancaster 3 August 1840.
My dear Sir,
I have received yours of the ist Instant informing me that
at the late Whig meeting at Newtown, one of the speakers had
declared that I was in favor of reducing the wages of labor to
^ Buchanan Papers, private collection.
1840] TO MR. JENKS 287
fifteen cents per day & that he had documents to prove it. This
speaker was behind the times ; because the Whigs of this County
assert that it is my desire to reduce the price of wages to 6 cents
per day & that of wheat to i6 cents per bushel. Can you expect
that I will give a serious answer to such nonsense? Do you
suppose that a single man who utters such absurdities believes
them? They proceed from the belief which the Whig party,
under every alias, have always entertained that the people have
not sufficient intelligence to prevent themselves from being im-
posed upon by falsehoods however gross or improbable. Hence
they have always been, as they will again be disappointed. In
attempting to humbug the people, they will themselves again be
humbugged. There is no Democrat in the United States who
will believe that any Senator could have the wickedness as well
as folly to advocate the passage of any measure, upon the prin-
ciple that it would lessen the reward of honest labor or reduce
the value of property in the country. A strait jacket ought to
be placed upon any such man.
So far from this being the truth, one principal point of my
speech was to refute the argument of Mr. Clay who had at-
tempted to prove that the Independent Treasury Bill would
reduce the wages of the poor man's labor. I not only contended
that it would not produce this effect ; but declared most solemnly
that " if I believed for a moment that it would prove injurious
to the laboring man, it should meet my unqualified opposition.'"
This you will perceive from reading a pamphlet copy of my
speech which I send you. Mr. Merrick, the Whig Senator from
Maryland, replied to me the day after my speech was delivered &
" in opposition to the description as he truly said of the Bill,
given by me," contended that I was mistaken & that it would
" reduce the value of property & the wages of labor in the United
States." This was the very issue between the Democratic &
Whig parties in the Senate ; the first contending that it would not
& the second that it would 'reduce the value of property & the
wages of labor. And yet strange to say, it is now asserted and
repeated over & over again that I advocated the Bill because it
would produce the very effect which I spent much time in proving
that it would not produce. Such a ridiculous falsehood gives me
no concern ; because I know that no man in the Country, whatever
he may profess, believes such a silly slander. It is a silly attempt
on the part of the deceivers to deceive the people which [will]
recoil upon their own heads.
288 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
I should have passed by this idle story, as I have done,
without notice, but for the respect which I feel for you person-
ally & the earnestness of your appeal,
from your friend
very respectfully
Daniel I. Jenks Esq. James Buchanan.
SPEECH, AUGUST 5, 1840,
BEFORE THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
AT LANCASTER.!
After some introductory observations, Mr. Buchanan said
he intended to investigate the claims of the Whig party to be
considered the friends of the poor. That party had become
inspired with a new born love for the labouring men of the
country. The dwellers in splendid city palaces, surrounded by
all the luxuries of life, had lately become rural in their tastes,
and were now excessively enamoured of log cabins; and those
who had revelled in champagne, were now content, for a season,
to drink hard cider. The people would naturally ask the cause
of this sudden change of conduct. What purpose did the whigs
intend to accomplish by it? Deluded men! under every alias
which they have assumed, they have always underrated the in-
telligence and patriotism of the people, and therefore have always
destined themselves to disappointment. The rag baron aris-
tocracy of the land now fondly imagine they are deceiving the
people; but before the first day of December next, they will
discover that they themselves have been deceived. These men,
at the present moment, in the secret conclave of the bank parlor,
are chuckling over their fancied success in seducing the democ-
racy from their principles by the ridiculous cry of " hard cider
and log cabins," and all the other mummery and nonsense of the
day; but let me assure them that they can never succeed in
gaining the people by offering such gross insults to their under-
standings.
But, Mr. B. said, he would proceed without further delay to
elucidate the claims of the whig party to the support of the labour-
ing men of the country, and to show, by the history of the past,
what the people might expect from the success of Harrison and
Tyler at the approaching Presidential election.
* From the Lancaster Intelligencer, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 289
First — as to the right of suffrage. It has ever been a
cardinal principle of the Democratic party to extend the right of
suffrage, and to abolish every property qualification in the elector.
" All mankind are born equal," and every citizen, be he poor or
be he rich, is equally entitled to enjoy this inestimable privilege.
Who is it that meets and repels the foreign invader? It is the
men of strong arms and brave hearts, who have been inured by
toil to endure the fatigues and dangers of war. And is it to be
tolerated that such men, who have already risked their lives in
defence of their country, or are prepared to risk them at any
moment, should be denied a vote, because they are poor ? Until
it can be established that poor men love their country less than the
rich, and that they are less willing to defend it in the day and
hour of danger, the political privileges of both the rich and the
poor ought to be equal. Besides, wealth is constantly changing
hands in this country, and the rich man of to-day often becomes
the poor man of to-morrow. For these reasons, universal suf-
frage and universal education is the motto of the democratic
party. They will march hand in hand together, and nothing can
arrest their glorious career. How does General Harrison stand
upon this question? Is he a democrat in regard to the right of
suffrage? Is he in favour of conferring it equally on the poor
and rich? Let his own recorded acts answer this question. He
himself truly says, that when appointed Governor of Indiana, he
was invested with powers almost dictatorial. In exercising the
duties of this high office, on the 17th September, 1807, he ap-
proved a territorial law, restricting the right of suffrage to the
holders of a freehold of 50 acres of land in any county in the
territory ; or a less quantity in the county where the voter resided,
provided the less quantity, with the improvements, were worth
one hundred dollars. His friends have endeavoured to shield him
from the consequences of this anti-republican act, by contending
that the old ordinance of 1787, for the government of the North-
Western Territory, prohibited him from extending the right of
suffrage. How shallow this pretext is, will appear from the fact,
that the very act which he approved, did change this ancient ordi-
nance in an important particular. Under it, no man could vote
who did not hold a freehold in at least fifty acres of land, whilst
under General Harrison's law, any man might vote if he held a
freehold in only a single acre, provided, with the improvements,
it were worth one hundred dollars. On the 3d of March, 181 1,
Congress blotted out this foul stain, which disgraced the statute
Vol. IV— 19
290 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
book of Indiana, and extended the right of suffrage to all the
citizens of that Territory who had paid a county or territorial
tax. And yet, Harrison is the friend of the poor man, whilst he
would deprive him of the right of choosing the officers by whom
he must be governed ! If he be so, it must be on the aristocratic
principle that the people are their own worst enemies, and that
to allow poor men to vote, would be to place weapons in their
hands by which they might destroy themselves.
But how stands Tyler in regard to the right of suffrage?
In this respect " Old Tip and Tyler," as their friends delight to
call them, are a noble pair. In 1829, the people of Virginia held a
Convention, of which Mr. Tyler was a member, for the purpose
of amending their Constitution. Previous to that date, the right
of suffrage in Virginia had been confined to freeholders, and is
still very much restricted. On the 29th of December, in that
year, a proposition was made to extend the right of suffrage by
conferring it upon all the citizens of that commonwealth who had
resided therein two years — had been enrolled in the militia, if sub-
ject to military duty, and had paid a state or county tax. On this
proposition, how did the candidate of the whig party for the Vice
Presidency — that party which now professes to be devoted to the
interests of the poor man — record his vote? My answer is, in
the negative. The vote stood 47 to 47 — and the proposition was
lost because Tyler acted in the negative. Had he voted in the
affirmative, it would have prevailed, and every citizen of Virginia,
who had paid a state or county tax, and had been enrolled in the
militia, if subject to military duty, would have been entitled to
vote. But this is not all in regard to Tyler. He declared, in
public debate, in that convention, that whilst he was willing to
entrust the Governor with new powers, provided he should con-
tinue to be chosen by the legislature, yet he would not confer one
iota of additional privilege upon that officer, if he were to be
elected by the people. This distrust of the people has ever been a
distinguishing feature of the whig party, at all times, and under
every name which they may have assumed. Whenever in the
history of this country there has been a contest between liberty and
power — between the right of the many and the rights of few, that
party has always been arrayed on the side of privilege and prop-
erty. What think you, then, fellow citizens, of the devotion dis-
played by Harrison and Tyler towards the poor men in denying
to them the right of suffrage? It will require an ocean of hard
cider and myriads of log cabin raisings to persuade them, intelli-
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 291
gent and respectable as they are, that these gentlemen love the
mechanics and laboring men of our country.
But the whig party has given other convincing evidence of
the estimation in which it holds the right of suffrage. This,
like the right of conscience, is a sacred right. No human power
ought ever to attempt to control its free exercise. The free
voters of this land are the legitimate sovereigns of the country;
and they are responsible only to God and their own consciences
for the manner in which they exercise their right of suffrage.
Every citizen has an equal right, unawed by intimidation, to cast
his vote for whom he pleases. The petty tyrant who would
attempt to interfere with this right, by threatening the labouring
man with loss of employment and the starvation of himself and
his family, unless he should vote according to his dictation, is
himself a traitor to our free institutions. He ought to be held
up by name to public execration as a proper object for the finger
of scorn to point at. What signifies universal suffrage, if it is to
be controlled by the wealthy aristocrats of the land? Thank
Heaven ! there is a spirit abroad among the laboring men of the
country, which will spurn such dictation. Every man in this
favoured land, feels that he is a freeman, and will never yield to
such heartless oppression.
I ask you, fellow citizens, what has been the conduct of the
whig party in this particular? For our sins, in consequence of a
most unfortunate division in the democratic party, Joseph Ritner
was elected Governor in 1835. And what did he do while in
power? The public works of the commonwealth were placed
under the control of a gentleman with whom, or whose character,
we are all acquainted — I refer to Thaddeus Stevens. Well, do
we not all know, that every poor laborer on the public works —
every son of that glorious island famed for warm hearts and
brave spirits, was turned out of employment, unless he would
pledge himself to vote for the re-election of Joseph Ritner!
And this, too, in a free country, where we boast of equal rights
and privileges ! And the very party who have thus opposed the
poor man, now pretend to drink hard cider with him, and tell him
that they love him with all their hearts and all their souls !
If this tyrannical proscription for opinion's sake had been
confined to labouring men upon the public works, we might console
ourselves that the evil was now at end at least in this State, under
its present democratic administration. But this heartless pro-
scription has not been thus confined. Although many honorable
292 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
exceptions exist in the whig party, we know that their wealthy
manufacturers, their merchants in the large cities, their banks
and bank dependants, and even many of their land holders, are
in the habit of abusing the power which wealth has unworthily
conferred on them, and trampling the sovereign rights of those
who are dependent upon them in the dust. They are in the habit
of saying to the man who is as good as they are, "you shall vote
according to my dictation, or you shall leave my employment."
This is one of the crying evils of the times, and I desire you
should all seriously reflect upon it. It is a blow aimed at the very
vitals of our free institutions; and unless it can be arrested by
the power of public opinion, we might as well at once surrender
the elective franchise exclusively into the hands of the wealthy.
The devotion of the whig party to the interests of the poor
man, will further appear from their uniform hostility towards
foreigners. I rejoice that the party to which I am proud to
belong, has ever done justice to the oppressed of other lands, who
have come to our shores in the pursuit of liberty and happiness.
What is the reason that the whig party have ever been opposed
to foreigners ? I will tell you. Most of these men fly from the
oppression of kings and aristocrats in their native country; and
upon reaching our shores, by a natural instinct, they join the
democratic party, which they know to be the friends of liberty
and equal rights. Hence, foreigners have ever been objects of
jealousy to our political opponents. During the reign of terror
under the elder Adams, the term of their residence in this country,
before they could be naturalized, was extended from five to
fourteen years. Under this iniquitous law they were compelled
to pass almost half a lifetime amongst us before they could enjoy
the privilege of citizens. Soon after the democratic party came
into power under Jefferson, this odious law was repealed, and
the term of residence before naturalization was again reduced to
five years, as it had been established under the administration of
Washington. We all recollect the Alien act which once disgraced
our statute book, and which was one great cause of the defeat
of the elder Adams.
And what does this country owe to these persecuted foreign-
ers ? Was there a single battle fought during the revolutionary
war, in which they did not freely shed their blood in defence of
our liberties? We owe a debt of gratitude which we can never
cancel, to the brave Irish and Germans who assisted us in that
glorious struggle. The names of Montgomery and De Kalb, and
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 293
a host of other foreign patriots, ought ever to be embalmed in
the grateful memory of American freemen. Whence then the
deadly and persevering hate of the Whig party to foreigners?
The same spirit of proscription against them, which existed dur-
ing the reign of the elder Adams, still continues to actuate our
political opponents. This is rendered manifest by a proceeding
in the Senate of the United States so late as the month of Janu-
ary, 1838.
It has been the policy of our laws to afford all foreigners,
before they were naturalized, the same opportunity of purchasing
the public lands as though they were native citizens. We fur-
nished them an asylum and a home in the far West upon the same
terms with our own people. It has been equally the policy of the
government, for a number of years, to confer upon poor men,
who went into the wilderness on our frontier, and endured all
the perils and hardships of first settlers, the privilege of pur-
chasing the small tracts of land on which they had erected their
log cabins and were rearing their families, in preference to all
other persons. This privilege, however, strange as it may seem,
has always been resisted by the modern log cabin party. The
question has always been whether the speculator should be per-
mitted these small tracts of improved land from the Government
over the head of the actual settler ; and the Whig party, true to
its principles, has always espoused the cause of the speculator.
One of these pre-emption bills in favor of the settler was
before the Senate on the 29th January, 1838, when Mr. Merrick,
the whig Senator from Maryland, (and as a private citizen a most
amiable and excellent man, ) moved to make an odious distinction
between foreigners and citizens, by excluding the foreigner from
the benefits of the law. The question was debated at length, and
on the final vote, every whig present, with a single exception,
voted in favour of this discrimination, whilst every democrat
voted against it. The effect of the amendment, had it prevailed,
would have been to turn every poor foreigner who had settled on
the public lands, under the faith of our past legislation, out of
house and home, and to transfer his little property to the land
sharks who are always prowling about the frontiers, in search of
the most valuable spots which they can find. No matter whether
the poor foreigner had declared his intention to become a citizen
or not : nay, he might even have been naturalized at the date of
the passage of the act, but if this had not been done previous to
the 1st December, 1837, he would have forfeited his pre-emption
294 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
right, had the amendment prevailed. This penalty was to be
inflicted upon these foreigners simply because they were for-
eigners ; and that, too, by the party which now arrogates to itself
a peculiar friendship for poor men.
And now, fellow citizens, permit me to present another
striking illustration of the friendship of the Log Cabin candidate
for those who are the real tenants of Log Cabins. We live in
an enlightened age of the world, when the principles of civil
liberty and equal rights are thoroughly understood and justly
appreciated by a large majority of our countrymen. Under such
circumstances, I declare before Heaven, that I consider it the
most wonderful event that has ever occurred in free Republican
America, that any party, knowing the fact as the Whigs did,
should have selected as their candidate to fill the most exalted
office on earth, a man who had voted to sell his white fellow men
into slavery. General Harrison has not only recorded his vote in
favor of this measure, but if we are to believe what we hear on
the best private authority, he justifies the act at the present
moment. And this is the man whom the Whigs have selected to
preside over a nation of freemen ! So monstrous is the proposition
which he sustained, that in many portions of the country his
friends will not believe it to be possible ; and yet it has been placed
upon the public records of the State of Ohio, and upon them will
go down to the latest posterity. What will the enlightened
patriots of other lands, who are panting after the liberty we
enjoy, and who consider the example of this country as the
world's last hope — what will they think of the people of the
United States, if they should elect as their President a man who
voted to sell his fellow white men intO' slavery?
The proof of this damning fact is as clear as the sun at noon
day. The Statute Book of Indiana shows that on the seventeenth
day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and seven. General Harrison approved a law, as Gov-
ernor of that Territory, which declared that it shall and may be
lawful for the Court before whom any person should be fined
"on conviction of any crime or breach of any penal law," to sell
or hire any such poor man or woman who might be unable to pay
the fine, for such a term as they thought proper, to any master
or mistress who would pay the fine and costs of prosecution for
them. And this is not all. In case the unfortunate white slave
feeling the degradation of slavei-y should abscond from his
master, then the protection of a Court and Jury was withdrawn
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 295
from him, and on a summary conviction before a justice of the
peace, he was to receive thirty-nine lashes, and serve three days
for every one he had lost. And this extended to the gentler sex
as well as men. More than two thousand years ago, if any man
could exclaim with truth, " I am a Roman citizen," he could not
be scourged for any crime. The Roman Republic would not
degrade any of its free citizens by such an infamous punishment.
At the present day, a numerous and powerful party in the
American Republic are compassing sea and land to elevate to the
Presidency a man who approved a law to inflict thirty-nine
lashes upon any one of the sovereign people of this country who
might be too poor to pay the fine inflicted by the Court, and
who, after being sold, had absconded from his master. And, as
if this were all not enough, the Courts are directed to give this
infamous law in charge to every Grand Jury which might after-
wards assemble in the Territory.
More than thirteen years afterwards, on the 30th January,
1 82 1, the same subject came before the Senate of Ohio, while
General Harrison was a member of that body: and the same
law which he had approved as Governor of Indiana, he delib-
erately sanctioned and voted for as a Senator of Ohio, with the
exception of the thirty-nine lashes. Under the Ohio law poor
white men and women " Imprisoned upon execution or other-
wise for non-payment of a fine and costs, or both," which they
were unable to pay, were to be sold by the Sheriff, after ten days
public notice, to any master who would pay the amount for the
shortest period of service.
It is known to you all that men convicted of the most venial
offences implying little or no moral guilt, are punished by fine.
Assaults, assaults and batteries, riding or driving over bridges at
a more rapid rate than the law permits, and numerous other petty
offences, are punishable in this manner. And now let us suppose
a case which might well have happened under Harrison's law;
and if my memory serves me this very case was put to him by
General Lucas, afterwards Governor of Ohio, before he voted
for its passage. A revolutionary soldier is denounced by some
insolent aristocrat as a traitor to his country. His revolutionary
blood is fired by the imputation, and the old hero strikes his
insulter a blow. He is tried, convicted, and sentenced to pay a
fine for the offence. He is unable to raise the money, and in
obedience to the law is advertised for sale, and in this boasted
land of liberty you see him sold by public auction, at the jail door,
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
to the very man who had given him the insult which he had
resented. Under Harrison's law of Indiana, if the old hero, feel-
ing the pressure of tyranny, had escaped from his oppressor, he
would, in addition, have received thirty-nine lashes on his bare
back. Was there ever such a spectacle of oppression exhibited to
the world? No absolute monarch in Christendom would thus
dare to insult the feelings of his subjects.
And the free citizen of America is subjected to be sold as a
slave merely because he is poor. The rich man pays his fine, and
goes free. The poor man is not able to pay his, and he is stig-
matized, and his spirit is degraded by being sold as a slave. The
disgrace is entailed upon himself and his children, his spirit is
broken, and theirs are humbled. How could a man who had been
thus sold as a slave, ever afterwards feel the proud conscious-
ness that he was an independent freeman, and stood upon an
equal footing with the other sovereign people of this land? He
would be disgraced and degraded from the proud rank of an
American citizen, and this simply because he was poor. And yet
this same Gen. Harrison is the candidate of the united Whig,
Antimasonic and Abolition party !
And to cap the climax, the proudest aristocrats of that party
have condescended to drink hard cider out of gourds, and to pro-
fess unbounded attachment for the interests of the poor laboring
man. According to their own expressive motto at Baltimore,
" they stoop to conquer." Was there ever such an insult offered
to the understandings of the people? It will be amply avenged
in Pennsylvania on the 30th day of October next. — Such a candi-
date and such a party professing friendship for the poor ! What
ridiculous mummery!
I come now to say a few words about the Harrisburg Con-
vention, which nominated Harrison. The Whig party had in Mr.
Clay a candidate of whom they might have been justly proud — a
man of a bold and fearless heart — a man of high and command-
ing eloquence and a man of distinguished ability. Although
opposed to his political principles, yet I have ever felt for him
the highest regard. And how was he treated ? He was sacrificed
by the Whigs, to propitiate the Antimasons and Abolitionists.
He was too proud and too honest to declare himself an Anti-
mason, and his speech against Abolition, in the session of
1838-39, utterly destroyed him with that fanatical party. Mr.
Clay was, therefore, obliged to stand back and yield his place to
Gen. Harrison. Besides, they wanted a hero! Now, I do not
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 297
intend to attack General Harrison's military character. Although
I have no doubt that, like almost all other Americans, he is per-
sonally brave, and did his duty according to the best of his
ability, yet he is certainly not a General whose name will ever go
down to posterity on the same list with Washington or Jackson. —
He performed one act, however, worthy of all praise, and for
which the American people ought to feel forever grateful. This
was his resignation in the midst of the war which enabled Presi-
dent Madison to appoint Old Hickory as his successor. Now if
Gen. Harrison had adhered to his command, Gen. Jackson could
not have been appointed a Major-General in the army of the
U. S., and New Orleans would probably have become a prey to
the British invaders. Other Generals have acquired glory by
braving the toils and dangers of war ; but the best service which
Gen. Harrison ever performed for his country was that of resign-
ing his command. In order, as they foolishly imagined, to gull
the people of the country, the Whigs had to convert him into a
military hero, and supposed they could excite the same enthusiasm
in his favor which was aroused for General Jackson, the greatest
hero of the age.
But their candidate, in addition to his heroic qualities, must
be an Antimason; and on the subject of Abolition, his opinions
must at least be so equivocal that he might be supported by the
Abolitionists without glaring inconsistency. General Harrison
was the very man for them in both these particulars. He is now
a full-blooded Antimason. Although he boggled a little at first,
and did not at once come up to the mark, yet he finally took the
Antimasonic pledge to the entire satisfaction of that party, and
was consequently nominated as their candidate for President in
December, 1835. In reply to a letter from Thaddeus Stevens,
he says : " I consider myself, indeed, the oldest Antimason in
the U. S. My prejudices against masonry were formed as far
back as I can remember." And again : " Two sons-in-law have
been members, but have seceded, one of them upon my recom-
mendation."
According to the well known principles of the Antimasonic
party, an adhering mason can never be elected, or appointed by
them to a public office. The Masonic Whig office seekers had
better keep a sharp look out on this subject. How far General
Harrison is pledged to this principle of proscription, will best
appear from his own language. On the nth November, 1835,
immediately previous to the Antimasonic State Convention by
298 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
which he was nominated, WiUiam Ayres of Harrisburg ad-
dressed him a letter, asking for some explanations of one of his
former letters, from which the following is an extract :
" It is not expected or desired by Antimasons, in this section
of the country, that the powers of the General Government, or
any of its departments, should be exercised to suppress masonry.
The appointing power is the only one in the hands of the Execu-
tive, for the correction of evils which attach to themselves the
qualifications of applicants for office. I should be happy to receive
your views in relation to the foregoing."
To this very significant inquiry, the General replies under
note of the 20th November, 1835. The following is an extract
from his answer :
" Lest I should be misunderstood also in another particular,
I must take leave to say, that whilst I deny the rights of the
General Government, or any of its departments, to interfere with
the concerns of the people in relation to their principles, or party
movements, in all cases where the laws of the Union are not
violated, / cannot be supposed to mean, that it is not the duty of
the appointing power strictly to inquire into the principles of
those who are candidates for office. For my own part, I hesitate
not to say, that I would as soon think of appointing to an office
under this Republic, one of the sprigs of English nobility — a
scion from the pure Tory stock of the house of Eldon, or
Lowther, or Jenkinson, or Wellesley, as an American citizen who
zvould assert his right to enter into any engagement or combina--
tion, which would release him from his paramount obligations of
duty to the Constitution and laws of his country."
Now it is one of the fundamental articles of the Antimasonic
creed, nay, I might say it is the very fundamental article, how-
ever unjust and unfounded it may be, that the oaths taken by
Freemasons are of paramount obligation to the duty which they
owe to the Constitution and the laws. Has not, then. General
Harrison, as " the oldest Antimason in the U. S." one of whose
sons-in-law had seceded from the order of masonry upon his
recommendation, solemnly pledged himself never to appoint an
adhering Mason to office ? I leave you, fellow citizens, to answer
the question. — This solemn pledge which he finally gave, satisfied
the Antimasonic Convention; and he was nominated as their
candidate for the Presidency.
Daniel Webster, now the Magnus Apollo of General Harri-
son, and whom the Whig party have designated as his Secretary
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 299
of State, if not his successor, was also a candidate for the Presi-
dency before this same Antimasonic Convention. He was asked
by a committee of Antimasons at Pittsburgh for his opinions on
the subject of masonry ; and unhke General Harrison, he took the
final leap into their ranks without a moment's hesitation. He
sprung into existence at once, like Minerva from the head of
Jove, a perfect Antimason. His answer was of such a character,
that all good Antimasons declared " he had come up to the mark
boldly, and deserved the highest praise for the course [he] had
taken." Still his star waned before that of old Tippecanoe; and
General Harrison received the nomination.
And what are Gen. Harrison's opinions on the subject of
Abolition ? I shall not say that he is an Abolitionist ; although it
is a fact capable of demonstration, that he never could have sup-
planted Mr. Clay, before the Harrisburg Convention, without
the aid of the Abolitionists. His nomination was an Abolition
triumph, and his election will greatly strengthen their cause.
Should he be elected he will be indebted to them for his success ;
and common gratitude will induce him, if not to support, at least
to display no open hostility to them or their principles. In all this
vast assembly which I now have the honor of addressing, is there
a single Democratic Abolitionist to be found ? I have never heard
of but two such in Pennsylvania, and neither of them is present.
We are the party who bared our bosoms to the storm in defence
of Southern rights when danger was impending, and when
Joseph Ritner's Abolition message of 1836 was the signal for
his party to attack Southern institutions. And yet, strange to
say, the Southern Whigs are now leagued with these very Anti-
masons and Abolitionists to put down the Democratic party in
this State. Should they succeed, they will give an impulse to the
cause of Abolition which every pure patriot and friend of the
Union will forever regret.
The AboHtionists are dangerous fanatics; and the more so,
because they believe they are doing God service. They are im-
pelled by what they believe to be a holy zeal in a course which
would cover the face of this fair land with anarchy and blood.
It matters not to them that we have entered into the most solemn
constitutional compact with the Southern States, that their rights
in slave property shall be protected. The danger of a dissolution
of the Union inspires them with no alarni. They exclaim, let the
Constitution be violated; let the Union be dissolved; our duty
to Heaven is of paramount obligation to any earthly compact
300 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
with our fellow-men. It is whilst thus reasoning upon this prin-
ciple, that honest fanaticism, in the history of our race, has often
deluged the earth with blood. The first and necessary effect of
their doctrine would be to involve this country in a servile war — a
war which spares neither age nor sex — where bloodshed and
murder, and brutal lust, revel in all their horrors. Some years
ago, after Jos. Ritner was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, and
when it was believed in the South that a majority of the people
of this State had, by his election, declared in favor of Abolition,
and when our mails were groaning under the weight of inflam-
matory addresses and pictorial representations, calculated to ex-
cite the savage passions of the slaves to vengeance, the condition
of the gentler sex in the slaveholding States was truly deplor-
able. Many a Southern mother then clasped her babe to her
bosom in the evening, under dreadful apprehensions that by the
midnight hour she might be aroused to death, and worse than
death, by the savage yells of the brutal negro. It is true, this
terror has subsided; but the same fanatical spirit which pro-
duced it is now more active than ever. We have recently read
of the meeting of the World's Abolition Convention in London,
where our country was attacked in the most violent and vulgar
terms, and where the assembled fanatics determined that the
Constitution of the U. S. was no barrier against Abolition.
Foreign influence has thus been brought to bear directly upon
this question ; and the foreign world is now pledged in favor of
the Abolitionists. The danger never was greater than at the
present moment. On this vital question, and at this important
crisis, what is the position of Gen. Harrison ? There was a God
among the ancient Romans, called Janus, who had two faces ; and
so has General Harrison in regard to Abolition. With the one
he smiles upon the Southern slaveholder; and with the other he
casts a benignant look upon the Northern Abolitionist. He
writes one letter to Mr. Lyons at Richmond, to satisfy the people
of the South ; whilst he addresses another to Mr. Evans, a North-
ern Abolition member of Congress, for the purpose of propitiat-
ing the Abolitionists of the North. He strictly enjoined that
neither of these letters should be furnished for the public eye.
The slaveholder disregarded the injunction, and published the
letter directed to him, whilst the Abolitionist has obeyed it; but
has been secretly circulating Gen. Harrison's letter to him among
the Abolitionists and Abolition Societies of the North, for the
purpose of conciliating their favor.
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 301
No man who occupies this ambiguous position upon a ques-
tion of such vital importance — no man who is either ashamed or
afraid to declare, that he would veto any bill to abolish slavery in
the District of Columbia, as Mr. Van Buren has done, is worthy
to preside over the American people. Whilst Gen. Harrison is
writing private letters to the North and to the South, to the East
and to the West, adapted to every meridian, when he is publicly
called upon for his opinion on the Abolition and other questions
of the last importance to the American people, he stands mute
and refuses to answer. And this gentleman is the sort of candi-
date which the Whigs offer to you for your support !
Now let me call your attention to a branch of the subject
which is vital and essential to the existence of liberty. The very
essence of Republican Government consists in a frank and
honest public avowal of the political principles of every candidate
for office, and a strict responsibility of all public officers to their
constituents.
We, as Democrats, do not support Mr. Van Buren for the
Presidency, simply because we know him to be a great and a
good man ; but because, in voting for him, we know that we are
sustaining our own principles. — This is the only reason why we
are freemen, and not man-worshippers. " Principles and not
men " is our motto. And how can we support principles, if the
candidate for the highest office in the gift of the people refuses
to declare his opinions on questions essential to our peace and
happiness ? It is our pride and our boast that our candidate has,
on every suitable occasion, made a public avowal of his principles.
Now how is it with Gen. Harrison ?
The Harrisburg Convention made no declaration of their
principles for the public eye. This would have been impossible.
To have made such an attempt would have been to break that
body into fragments. Not to comment upon other vital differ-
ences of opinion amongst its members ; let me advert to one or
two. Morgan's ghost still walks unavenged amongst us; and
the Antimasonic partizans of Harrison and Webster would have
required the adoption of a resolution to lay the troubled spirit.
This the Masonic Whigs would have rejected with indignation.
Again : the Southern Whigs would have required the adoption of
a resolution against Abolition, and especially against the Aboli-
tion of Slavery in the District of Columbia; and this, in the very
State house, where, but three years before, Joseph Ritner, in a
message to the Legislature, had warmly advocated the Abolition
302 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
of Slavery in the District, and the rejection of the appHcation of
any new State for admission into the Union where slavery was
tolerated. Ritner and Stevens, and their partizans, would have
taken fire at such an insult. They would have pronounced the
adoption of such a resolution, as Joseph Ritner did the conduct
of the Democratic Senators and Representatives to Congress
from this State, in the session of 1835, '36, " as a bowing of the
knee to the dark spirit of slavery." This question must be passed
over in silence, or the Slades of the North and the Whig slave-
holders of the South could never have united in sweet com-
munion to tear down an Administration pledged in the most
solemn manner to sustain the rights of the South. Any attempt
by the convention to declare their principles would have pro-
duced confusion worse confounded. Instead of principles, there-
fore, they thought it best to treat the people with hard cider and
with spectacles of log cabins and coon skins.
A concealment of their principles from the public eye, is
therefore the fundamental principle of the present Whig party.
The Convention " deemed it impolitic, at the then crisis, to pub-
lish any general declaration of the views of the great Opposition
party." Their candidate has identified himself with this prin-
ciple, and his confidential committee has expressed the hope
that their friends would every where receive the nomination of
General Harrison, " with something akin to generoius confidence."
" Generous confidence ! " This is language unknown to the
vocabulary of freemen. Liberty is Hesperian fruit, and can only
be preserved by watchful jealousy. Generous confidence, thus
applied, is an utter subversion of the principles of our Govern-
ment. The strict responsibility of all public agents to their con-
stituents is at the very root of the tree of liberty. Every usurper
who has ever betrayed the cause of the people has demanded and
received this generous confidence. When before, in the history
of this country, did a candidate for the highest office dare to
stand mute when interrogated by the people upon questions vitally
affecting their dearest interests? When did a Convention ever
before assemble in free and enlightened America, which was
either ashamed or afraid to avow its principles? Suppose a can-
didate was before you for Congress, and after asking his opinion
on a question affecting your interests, he should inform you that
he had determined to make no declaration of principle for the
public eye, but trusted that you would treat him with generous
confidence : what would be your indignant feelings, on receiving
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 303
such an answer? Would you not treat him with scoi-n and con-
tempt, and spurn the idea of giving him your votes ? And how
much greater is the insult offered to the American people when a
candidate for the highest office on earth determines to stand
mute? Truly we have reached a new and alarming era in our
history !
The language of Gen. Harrison is, " you must bestow a gen-
erous confidence upon me and believe that I shall do all things for
the best." The candidate for the highest office in the world thus
plays the part of Gen. Mum. A principle of this kind is abso-
lutely destructive of all Republican liberty. If the People of this
country should at the next election elevate Gen. Harrison to the
Presidency, a precedent will then be established, under cover of
which men will be every thing and their principles nothing. The
People will be hoodwinked ; and when they ask for an avowal of
principles, they will be informed that their candidate is a hero,
and will be offered a drink of hard cider.— Such insulting conduct
can only proceed from men who believe that the people are their
own worst enemies, and are incapable of governing themselves.
They boast that the Baltimore Convention was attended by
fifty thousand people, though this is a vast exaggeration of the
number. Such a Convention of freemen assembled from every
portion of the Union to consult together upon objects of great
national importance, and to express their opinions, would have
been a sublime and imposing spectacle. But far different was
their purpose. They followed in the footsteps of Gen. Harrison.
They avowed no principles ; they adopted no resolutions. It was
a ridiculous pageant from first to last, and must have mortified to
the soul every friend of his country who was present at the spec-
tacle. Log cabins, hard cider, and Tippecanoe songs, were substi-
tuted for grave deliberation. It was a flagrant attempt to degrade
in order that they might deceive the people.
What must be the feelings of the friends of liberty in other
lands, who are now groaning under tyranny and oppression, upon
perusing a history of these proceedings ? We are a spectacle for
all other nations — a rainbow of promise — a chosen people, to
whose hands Providence has entrusted, in a great degree, the des-
tinies of mankind. Should we fail in our grand experiment of
free Government, a long night of Despotism will cover the
nations. The hopes of the friends of liberty throughout the
world are fixed upon us. They and we fondly believe in the
steady advancement of mankind in the love of liberty, and in the
304 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
virtue and knowledge necessary to sustain free institutions. In
the Baltimore Convention they have beheld a great and powerful
party in this country, which arrogate to themselves " all the
decency," identifying themselves with no principle, and attempt-
ing to carry their candidates by a shout and hurrah — by the cry
that they are the hard cider and log cabin candidates. How must
the hearts of these foreign patriots have died within them at such
a spectacle in the land of the free and the home of the brave! —
But they need not be discouraged. The Baltimore Convention
has sealed the fate of Harrison, and thousands upon thousands of
his former friends have abandoned him in disgust for this very
cause. They will never be able to seduce the American people ,
from the glorious principles they inherited from their fathers, by
concealing their own principles from every eye and from every
mind in the country.
But the Whigs not only display their contempt for the
people by concealing their own principles, but by gross and
palpable misrepresentations of the acts of the present Adminis-
tration. I proclaim it here boldly, that there is not one promi-
nent charge which they have brought against the existing Demo-
cratic Administration, which is not utterly and absolutely
unfounded. It is their policy to repeat these charges over and
over again, in the vain hope that the people will at last believe
them. I have not time, upon the present occasion, to advert to
them all. They are all of the same character as the ridiculous
humbug, that the Administration are about to resort to direct
taxation; when they know that every feeling and every principle
of Mr. Van Buren are opposed to any such measure. In time of
peace we must always collect the revenue required by an econom-
ical administration of the Government, by imposing duties on
the importation of foreign merchandize; and thus give all the
incidental protection which we can to our domestic manufactures.
They must form a low estimate, indeed, of the understanding of
the people, who suppose they can be induced to believe that Mr.
Van Buren would be guilty of the wickedness and folly of im-
posing direct taxes upon them, and thus commit political suicide.
But I shall not dwell upon the subject, as I intend to explain the
militia humbug a little more at length.
From every Whig orator in the land, we have heard it over
and over again reiterated that Mr. Van Buren has attempted to
establish a standing army of 200,000 men. On what does this
ridiculous charge rest ? On a plan or bill reported to Congress at
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 305
the last session, in obedience to the request of a committee of the
House of Repi-esentatives, by Mr. Poinsett, the Secretary of War.
Now the first striking fact connected with the subject is, that Mr.
Van Buren not only did not approve this plan, but was ignorant
of its existence. In the emphatic language of the Secretary him-
self, " with it or its details he (Mr. Van Buren) had nothing
to do." As is the usage in such cases, it was sent to Congress,
" without being previously submitted to the President." It is,
therefore, emphatically and exclusively the plan of Mr. Poinsett,
and not of Mr. Van Buren.
But what is this plan? There are at least one million five
hundred thousand men in the United States subject to militia
duty, and probably not much, if any, less than two millions.
From this mass it was proposed by Mr. Poinsett to take one
hundred thousand men, between twenty and thirty-seven years of
age, by draft or by volunteering, or one man in every fifteen,
which should constitute what the Secretary calls the active or
moveable force. This force was to be organized into companies
and battalions; and one-fourth of the whole number, say 25,000
men, to be determined by lot, was to pass out of the active force
into what is called the reserve or sedentary force, which was also
to consist of 100,000 men. Under the system in complete opera-
tion, twenty-five thousand men would pass each year, by draft or
volunteering, from the mass of the militia into the active force;
the same number of men would pass, each year, from the active
into the sedentary force ; and the like number would return, each
year, from the sedentary force into the mass of the militia from
which they had been originally drawn. Each of the militia men
thus drafted was to serve four years in the active force, and was
to constitute a part of the sedentary force during four years
longer. It was a new denomination by which to call a grand
division of the standing army — that of sedentary corps — but never
was name better applied. This divis^jn of the grand army are
literally to sit still, having perfected their military accomplish-
ments during their first four years' service in the active force.
They are not to be called out even in defence of the country, until
the active force shall have been exhausted. At one fell swoop,
then, one half of this grand army of two hundred thousand men
are annihilated.
Then as it regards the remaining 100,000 men of the active
force, what duties had they to perform? The U. States was to
be divided into convenient districts; and the President was
Vol. IV— 20
306 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
authorized to assemble such numbers of them as he might thinii
proper within their respective districts, during a period of not
less than ten, nor more than thirty days, during which they were
to receive pay for the purpose of instruction, discipline, and
improvement in military knowledge. This I pledge myself to
you, is substantially the plan, the whole plan, and nothing but
the plan of Mr. Poinsett, so far as it proposed to make any
change in the existing law. This is the standing army, not of
200,000, but of 100,000 men, scattered at various places
over the United States, for the purpose of improving themselves
in the military art; and that for a period not exceeding thirty
days, in each year, and this the Whigs proclaim to be portentous
to liberty. We have been told that these sons were to rise up
against their own fathers, and the fathers against their own
children; and were to destroy their own liberties; because they
were to be assembled from ten to thirty days in each year for the
purpose of learning how to defend their country. And it is out
of this miserable material that the Whigs would manufacture a
panic, and induce the people to believe that the President desires
to establish a standing army of 200,000 men to usurp the liber-
ties of the country ! What renders this humbug still more farcical
and ridiculous, if possible, is, that General Harrison himself,
whilst a member of Congress, advocated and strongly urged the
adoption of a similar plan to classify and train the militia. Nay,
more : Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson,
have, during the last half century, all recommended similar plans
to Congress; and this subject has been urged upon Congress
thirty-one times, by different departments of the Executive Gov-
ernment, since the adoption of the Federal Constitution.
The principal reasons upon which these great and good men,
ever since the origin of our Government, have advocated a similar
plan for re-organizing the militia, are, that whilst the present
militia system was a heavy burden and expense both of time and
money to the people, they acquired but little useful instruction
in the art of defending their country. It was, therefore, deemed
by them to be wiser to classify and instruct a small portion of
the younger men of the great mass, and relieve the remainder
altogether from the burden of militia duty. Their recommenda-
tions, however, have never found favor with Congress. Reports
were unanimously made against Mr. Poinsett's plan by the Com-
mittee on the Militia, both in the Senate and in the House; and
if there was a single Democratic member of Congress in favor of
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 307
its adoption, I know not the man. For my own part, I was
always opposed to it, believing that the true defence of the
country consists in the brave hearts and strong arms of the mass
of the people. Whenever danger is impending from a foreign
foe, hundreds of thousands of such men will volunteer to defend
their country ; and under the impulse of patriotism they will then
acquire more knowledge of the military art in a shorter period
than they could ever do in these camps of instruction, during a
time of profound peace. Besides, I believed that one feature of
the plan conflicted with the Constitution. But this plan is now
dead and buried, and its ghost is conjured up by the Whigs
merely for the purpose of affrighting the timid, and inducing
them to oppose a President who never approved it, and of sup-
porting a candidate who has been one of the chief advocates of a
similar measure.
But I am not yet quite done with General Harrison and the
militia. General Han-ison whilst a member of the House of Rep-
resentatives and Chairman of the Committee on the Militia, made
a report on the 17th January, 181 7, which he reiterated at a
subsequent session, strongly urging the necessity of appointing
military teachers, under the authority of the Federal Govern-
ment, to instruct every male scholar of the proper age in every
primary school throughout the United States in military disci-
pline ; whilst the more scientific part of the art of war should be
communicated by professors of tactics to be established in all the
higher seminaries. No man, except himself, has ever, to my
knowledge, suggested such a monstrous proposition. Just con-
sider it for a moment. What vast patronage and power would it
confer upon the President, to enable him to appoint and pay mili-
tary instructors for all the primary schools in the United States !
Besides, the expenses of the people would be enormous. Such a
system of education would soon convert this country into a mili-
tary despotism. He was a wise man who said, Let me direct the
sports and pursuits of the children, and I will mould the charac-
ter of the men into any form I please. Let all the male scholars
of the country receive military instruction from a public master,
instead of the games and plays to which they are accustomed;
let them be marched and counter-marched, with tiny muskets
upon their shoulders — let their youthful imaginations be thus
fired with visions of military glory, and when they become men
they will be unfitted for the peaceful and laborious pursuits of
civil life. They would then be the fit and the willing instruments
308 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
in establishing a splendid military despotism, such as that of the
great Emperor of France. Then place some able and ambitious
General in the Presidential chair, and you furnish him the very
best materials with which to subvert the liberties of his country.
In addition to this, create a splendid Bank of the U. S., with a
capital of seventy millions of dollars, such as the Whigs now
propose, and you may live to see the day when the power of the
purse and the sword, in the hands of the President, will not be,
as now, an empty name. The Whigs, in talking about Mr.
Poinsett's standing army, say nothing of this vast project of
Gen. Harrison for converting us into a military nation. It would
be absolutely startling to the imagination, if it were not for its
absurdity and folly.
I come now to speak of another Whig misrepresentation,
which concerns myself personally. It has been gravely published
and incessantly repeated all over the country, that I seriously rose
on the floor of the Senate, and said, in substance, " Mr. Presi-
dent, I advocate the passage of the Independent Treasury bill,
because it will reduce the value of the poor man's wages, and of
all the property in the country." A charge so absurd would be
scarcely worthy of a serious refutation, but for the pertinacity
with which its truth is insisted upon. If I could have uttered such
a sentiment, I should have been worthy of a strait jacket and a
cell in Bedlam, instead of a seat in the Senate of the United
States. The Whigs have already ridden this hobby to death, as
they have done every other. " Buchanan wages," as they call
them, have been in a rapid state of depreciation. They soon sunk
to ten cents per day for wages, and twenty-five cents for a bushel
of wheat. Recently I have understood that a public meeting has
been called in this county of all those opposed to the reduction
of wages to six cents per day, and the price of a bushel of wheat
to sixteen cents. At the next step, the Whigs will compel the
poor man to work for nothing and find himself! And it is by
such ridiculous absurdities as these, that they expect to delude
the intelligent people of this country ! The strangest part of the
whole concern is, that this falsehood is not only without any
shadow of foundation, but is in direct opposition, not merely to a
passing remark in my speech, but to one of the principal heads of
my argument. Mr. Clay, to whom I replied, had contended that
the Independent Treasury bill would, in its consequences, reduce
the wages of the poor man's labor. In opposition to this doctrine,
I contended, at length, that it would produce no such effect, and
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 309
that it would benefit the laboring man as much, and probably
more, than any other class of society. I declared that, from my
soul, I respected the laboring man, and that labor was the founda-
tion of the wealth of every country. I emphatically pronounced
the opinion, that that country was the most prosperous where
labor commanded the greatest reward, and solemnly stated, that
if I believed for a moment that the bill would prove injurious to
the laboring man, it should meet my unqualified opposition. I not
only asserted these general propositions, but endeavored to sustain
them by a long argument; with what success the public must
judge. On the very next day, the Whig Senator from Maryland,
Mr. Merrick, who is an honest man, replied to my argument,
which he stated fairly, in a speech which has been published to
the world. In opposition, he said, to the description of the bill
given by me, he contended that I was mistaken, and that it would
" reduce the value of property and the wages of labor in the
U. S." This was one of the chief points at issue between the
Whig and Democratic parties in the Senate ; the Whigs contend-
ing that the bill would, and the Democrats that it would not,
reduce the reward of labor and the value of property. — You may
then judge of my astonishment when I discovered that it was
asserted, and reiterated all over the country, that I had advocated
' the bill, because it would produce the very effect which I had
spent much time in proving that it would not produce! Such
ridiculous falsehoods give me no concern; because I know that
no man in the country, whatever he may profess for party effect,
believes the silly slander. I need make no professions of my
devotion to the interests of the poor man. The whole history of
my Legislative life, which has not been short, will prove that,
whenever an opportunity has offered, I have been his advocate
and his friend.
Fellow citizens, let me entreat you to look a little deeper
into this subject. It is the banks which injure and destroy the
laboring men of the country; and it is they and their stockholders
and dependants which have produced the present log cabin and
hard cider excitement, in order that they may again become the
depositaries of the people's money and loan it out for their own
benefit. They are outraged at the idea of surrendering any of
their enormous privileges. To collect the revenue of the United
States in gold and silver, and thus to compel them to keep more
specie on hand, especially whilst they issue irredeemable rags,
they consider almost high treason against their established pre-
310 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
rogatives. It is this that has occasioned the death-struggle which
is now depending between the Bank Whig and the Democratic
parties.
It would be an endless task to enumerate the misdeeds of
these banks. We have witnessed two suspensions of specie pay-
ments within the short space of three years, and the country is
now inundated with the very worst rag currency. What bank
now pays out its own paper ? They circulate nothing but foreign
trash ; and no man has a chance of seeing the notes with which he
is familiar. Checks upon them are paid in bank notes from a
distance, and thus the man who desires to enforce the law against
them, is without a remedy.
These banks exercise a power over the people of this coun-
try, which, if it were directly attempted by any foreign despot,
would shiver his throne to atoms. The value of every man's
property is subject to their control. They periodically raise and
depress the value of property and the wages of labor at their
pleasure. When the edict issues from the Bank parlor that the
currency shall be expanded, every thing rises in price ; and, on the
contrary, when they determine that it shall be contracted, every
article sinks in value. The bank speculators, who are in the
secret, know precisely when to buy, and when to sell; and thus
accumulate immense fortunes at the expense of their uninitiated
neighbors.
What has been the history of the country for the last quarter
of a century? It has been a history of constant vibration — of
extravagant bank expansions, which raise the price of labor and
the value of property to a nominally high standard, succeeded by
ruinous contractions, which depress them to almost nothing, and
often deprive labor of its employment altogether. Under the
blighting influence of these banks, the country moves like the
pendulum of a clock, swinging between the extreme points of
delusive prosperity and real adversity. There is nothing settled
or steady in our business. At one period we experience all the
evils, without any of the advantages, of an exclusive metallic
currency, and then, in a few short years, our paper currency is
again bloated to the bursting point. At successive intervals, many
of the best and most enterprising men of the country, who have
been tempted to their ruin by the facility of obtaining bank
accommodations, whilst the bubble was expanding, are crushed by
the contraction, and fall victims at the shrine of the insatiate and
insatiable spirit of extravagant banking. Yet, strange as it may
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 311
seem, the merchants and men of business in our large cities, who
suffer most from this baneful spirit, have never ceased to be its
worshippers.
But in what manner does extravagant banking injure the
laboring man? This is the proposition which I propose to dis-
cuss. What ought the mechanic and laboring man most to
desire? These three things— constant employment, regular and
fair wages, and payment in a sound currency. Now I shall under-
take to demonstrate that the banks rob him of these three advan-
tages, which are essential to his prosperity.
And first, as to constant employment. What is the effect of
the present system of bank expansions and contractions in this
particular? It is true that, during the short period whilst the
bubble is expanding and the banks are increasing their issues and
their loans, labor of every kind finds employment. But under
this system, the storm is sure to succeed the sunshine — the explo-
sion is certain to follow the expansion-^and when it comes, (and
we are now suffering under it,) what is then the condition of the
mechanic and the laboring man? Buildings of every kind cease
to be erected. Manufactories are closed; public works are sus-
pended; the times are so hard that mechanics suffer for want
of custom, and the industrious classes are thrown out of employ-
ment altogether. The recital of the sufferings of the laboring
men during the last winter, especially in our large cities, was
enough to make the heart bleed.
Then as to fair and regular wages. It cannot be denied, that
that country is the most prosperous where labor commands the
greatest reward ; but this not for one year merely ; not for that
short period of time when the banks are most expanded; but
for a succession of years — for all time. It is ruinous to the labor-
ing man that his wages should rise with the kite of speculation
one year, and the very next year sink to almost nothing. Perma-
nence in the rate of wages is indispensable to his prosperity. He
ought to be able to look forward with confidence to the future ;
to calculate upon being able to rear and educate his family by the
sweat of his brow, and to make them respectable and useful
citizens. Our present vicious banking system renders this im-
possible. Even during the periods of delusive prosperity, whilst
the paper currency is expanding, and when the price of every
thing else is increasing, the wages of labor are the last to rise.
This was the observation of Gen. Jackson, emphatically the friend
of the poor man. The price of a day's or a month's labor of any
312 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
kind — the price of a hat, of a pair of boots, of all articles of
furniture, in short, of manual and mechanical labor generally, is
fixed and known to the whole community. The purchaser com-
plains if these fixed prices are enhanced, and the mechanic or
laborer does not raise them, until he is compelled to do it by
absolute necessity. In the mean time his meat, his flour, his
potatoes, clothing for himself and his family, mount up to .an
extravagant price long before his compensation is increased.
Even when the wages of the laboring man become nominally
high, he finds that the price of all the necessaries and comforts of
life which he must purchase has risen in a still greater propor-
tion; and even during the last year, at the period of the greatest
bank expansion, he could not afford to go into the market and
purchase beef for his family at the enormous price which it then
commanded.
When the contraction comes, and the banks begin to turn
the screw upon the people, the wages of the laboring man are
the first to sink with the general depression; and he is often
thrown out of employment altogether, and reduced to absolute
want. The doctrine for which I contended in the Senate, and for
which I shall contend until my dying day, is, to reform the banks
in such a manner, as to prevent this eternal fluctuation in prices,
which is so ruinous to the people. We want stability. Establish
something like a permanent system of business, and destroy
gambling speculation, and the country will then rise gradually to
wealth and greatness, by its own intrinsic energies. If the poor
man then should not receive as high wages as he does at the very
moment of our greatest bank expansions, he will be far more
than indemnified even in the amount received, during a series of
years, by regular prices and constant employment. If his wages
should never rise so high as they now do during short occasional
intervals, they will never sink so low as the rates to which they
are reduced by far the larger portion of his time.
But, above all, under a proper system of bank reform, his
wages would be paid in a sound currency. At present, he is
compelled to receive the most worthless trash of shinplasters in
circulation. His desire to get clear of it, before it perishes on
his hands, banishes economy from his dwelling. He never thinks
of laying it by for a rainy day, lest it may become worthless. It
is absolutely necessary to his security that the banks shall be pro-
hibited from issuing notes under ten dollars, and, after a reason-
able period of time, the denomination ought to be increased to
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 313
twenty dollars. Then, and not till then, shall we have a specie
currency for the common purposes of life; and then, will the
laboring man receive his wages in gold and silver. This is an
object near to my heart; and till it be attained, he will be liable to
constant imposition.
The Democratic party is the true conservative party of the
country. We desire not to destroy, but to reform, the present
banking system. We desire to deprive the banks of their de-
structive privileges, and confine them to their legitimate business
— to render them the useful agents of the people, instead of their
destroyers. We intend to bring the instinct of self-preservation
to bear upon them, and thus to prevent another suspension of
specie payments, by declaring beforehand that it shall be an
instant and irreversible forfeiture of their charters. For myself,
notwithstanding all the slanders which have been circulated
against me, I have, from the first, been publicly, steadily, and
consistently, opposed to an exclusive metallic currency. Time
will not permit me to enlarge upon this subject.
But reform, radical reform, is absolutely necessary. Many
suppose that the passage of the Independent Treasury bill may
render this unnecessary. Far from it. That bill merely provides
that the public revenues of the country shall be collected in gold
and silver, and deposited with responsible officers of the Govern-
ment, and not with State banks. It therefore merely takes from
the banks the power of loaning the public money for their own
advantage; but it does not establish, and could not constitu-
tionally establish, any bank reforms. To the Legislature of our
own State we must look for the performance of this important
duty. Bank reform, bank reform, ought to be inscribed on all
our political banners during the present contest, with the names
of Van Buren and Johnson. Until it shall be accomplished, the
poor man can never occupy that independent position in society
to which he is justly entitled under the Constitution of a free
country.
The Democratic party is opposed to an irredeemable paper
currency as one of the greatest political evils which can afflict
the country; whilst the Whig party, which is cherished by the
banks, naturally desires to extend to them every possible indul-
gence. They are, therefore, opposed to the enforcement of a
speedy resumption of specie payments. Indeed, I pronounced
them on the floor of the Senate to be the irredeemable party. A
bill was before the Senate, at the close of the last session, rechar-
314 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
tering, for a limited period, the banks for the District of Colum-
bia, provided they should resume specie payments within sixty
days after its passage. Three of these banks expressed their
willingness to accept the bill, and declared themselves ready to
comply with its terms. I have the official evidence of this fact in
my possession, and I read it to the Senate. The Whig party,
however, opposed and defeated the passage of the bill, on the
ground that the premature assumption of specie payments by the
banks would prove injurious to their debtors. The interests of
the mass of the people who held their notes were thus entirely
abandoned. This is I believe the first case upon record where
banks themselves willing to resume, have been prevented from
doing so by legislative authority. Such is the Whig policy in
regard to resumption. During the first suspension of specie pay-
ments, a Whig Senator from South Carolina, (Mr. Preston,)
moved and advocated a proposition requiring that the Govern-
ment of the U. States should receive irredeemable bank paper for
a limited time in payment of the public dues. Had we yielded to
this Whig policy, the suspension of specie payments might have
been rendered perpetual. It is in vain to expect that this party,
should it obtain power, will ever regulate the banks or enforce
the speedy resumption of specie payments. They go for the
banks, because the banks go for them, whilst the Democratic
-party will require the banks always to pay specie or will blot
them out of existence.
Should Gen. Harrison get into power, we shall then have a
Bank of the U. S. in addition to the nine hundred State Banks,
already in existence. And this is what gives tremendous impor-
tance to the present contest. Let a Bank of the U. S. be estab-
lished, with a capital of $70,000,000, ramifying its branches into
every State of the Union; and although the forms of a free
Government may remain, its substance will have perished for-
ever. The money power will then be thoi-oughly under this
monster Bank, and the nine hundred State banks will act as its
auxiliaries. The affairs of the Government would then be dis-
cussed and regulated in the parlors of the Bank. You might then
still attend the elections and give your votes ; but a secret and all
pervading moneyed influence would control the result. We should
thus be reduced to the worst of all forms of Government, that of
an irresponsible moneyed Aristocracy. View the present struggle
in what light you may, it is a contest between the power of the
people and the power of money.
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 315
No man in the country could have put down the Bank of the
U. S., except Andrew Jackson. He had a lion heart; he knew
no fear ; he had iron nerves ; he was one of the people, and loved
the people with all the devotion of his heart. He clearly saw that
the Bank would endanger, if not destroy, our political liberties ;
and he cast himself into the breach, determined to beard the lion
in his den. The struggle was tremendous, and for a long time
doubtful. At one period, if the Presidential election had then
occurred, the Bank would probably have gained the victory. He
never, however, for a single moment, lost his confidence in the
people. I myself heard him declare, in the midst of the contest :
" I am not afraid of the people. I shall do what I believe to be
right; and those who do not confide in their integrity and intelli-
gence ought never to be trusted by them." There was no log
cabin non-committalism about him. He never concealed his
opinions from the public eye, but always expressed his thoughts
freely to friend and foe. The people sustained him, and the
Bank was prostrated. Are you now prepared to create a new
National Bank by the election of General Harrison; and by
doubling its capital to double its dangerous power? Shall the
labors and the success of General Jackson in prostrating the old
Bank prove to have been all in vain, or worse than in vain ? No,
never. If you should be now defeated, you can never expect to
have another Gen. Jackson to prostrate this new Bank — another
Hercules to slay the Hydra.
In the destruction of the last Bank of the U. States, we have
witnessed the exception, not the rule. Combine the moneyed
aristocracy of the country, through the agency of such a Bank,
with the administration of the Government, and their united
power would create an influence which it would be almost impos-
sible for the people to withstand. We should never again see
these powers in hostile array against each other. There is a
natural affinity between wealth and power. Speaking of them, Mr.
Randolph once said, " male and female created he them." The
power and patronage of the President will hereafter be com-
bined with the power and patronage of the Bank ; and whilst the
President will then always be able to select his successor, the
charter of the bank will be perpetual. It will wind itself around
every interest of the country; it will gradually insinuate itself
into the veins and marrow of the whole body politic ; corrupting
the entire system, until at last it cannot be destroyed without at
the same time causing the political death of the patient.
316 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
During this war between General Jackson and the Bank,
every effort which eloquence could exert, every influential press
which money could purchase, was used for the purpose of render-
ing him odious in the eyes of the American people. He was
denounced as a tyrant, an usurper, and a despot; but he stood
unmoved amid the storm. In what manner he regarded all this
abuse will appear from a short anecdote, which I will relate :
At that time the sympathies of the American people were
warmly excited in favor of the suffering Poles; and the pubHc
press every where was pouring out anathemas against the cruelty
of the Emperor of Russia towards them. The Russian Minister
called upon General Jackson, and complained loudly that the
newspapers should abuse in such unqualified terms a sovereign
who had ever been friendly to the United States. The General,
who is a man of great tact, (instead of reading him a homily on
the freedom of the press, and assuring him that he had not, and
ought not to have, any power to control it,) simply replied : " Go
home, my dear Baron, and re-examine the newspapers, and if you
do not find that the Bankites abuse me in more outrageous terms
than they have ever done your imperial master, then I shall agree
that you may have some cause of complaint." The minister was
struck with this remark ; he admitted its justice, and Old Hickory
never heard any further complaint upon the subject.
This man has made for himself a name throughout the world
which has exalted the American character. Whilst I was abroad,
I declare that I never was in any company where I was not
regarded as a man of importance, simply because I could tell them
something about " Old Hickory." His name was almost as
familiar to their lips as it is to those of our own countrymen.
And shall we now, by the election of Gen. Harrison, annihilate
the most glorious and most useful achievement of this man,
admired abroad and beloved at home — that of destroying the
monster bank — and create a new bank with twice the capital and
twice the power of the old one? No, never.
I desire to afford you another proof of the affection which
the Whigs feel for the rights and liberties of the people. How
do they treat elections? Let the history of the Buckshot war and
of the New Jersey fraud upon the rights of the people answer
this question. The principle which has been ever held sacred by
the Democratic party is, that the majority shall rule; and when
we are fairly beaten at the polls, we bow with submission to their
decision. Now, in the State of Pennsylvania, after the true
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 317
majority against Governor Ritner was known to be at least ten
thousand votes, a regular plot was formed for the purpose of
establishing a revolutionary Government. It was openly pro-
claimed by his Secretary of State, that the election of the people
should be treated as if it never had been held. In pursuance of
this plot to destroy the vital principle of this free Government, by
substituting the will of the minority for that of the majority, and
to usurp the powers of the State, Governor Ritner's Secretary
dared to withhold from the Legislature the true returns of the
election. It was known to every man, woman, and child in the
Commonwealth, that two Democratic Senators and eight Demo-
cratic Representatives, had been fairly elected in the county of
Philadelphia; and that the returns of their election had been
transmitted to this Whig Secretary at Harrisburg. But this
election was treated by him as if it had never taken place. A
false and fraudulent return, which had been manufactured to
suit the purpose by a minority of the return judges, was substi-
tuted instead of the true returns. A revolutionary House of
Representatives was organized, composed in part of the eight
defeated Whig candidates in the county of Philadelphia. And
what was this, my fellow-citizens, but a direct and daring attempt
to revolutionize this free Government, and to make you the sub-
jects of the conspirators, instead of the citizens of a free State?
The indignant freemen of Pennsylvania, by one common
impulse, rushed to the seat of danger from the peaceful moun-
tains and valleys of the Keystone State. At the sight of their
indignant countenances, the faces of the conspirators began to
blanch. Conscience made cowards of them all, and what had
commenced in deep tragedy, ended in broad farce. The jump of
Stevens, Penrose, and Burrowes, from the back window of the
Senate chamber has already become famous in story, and they
fled through the adjoining fields as if they believed every bush
was an officer. The Scriptures say that " the wicked flee when
no man pursueth," and such was the case upon the present occa-
sion, for no personal violence was intended. We relied upon the
moral power of truth to restore the Government to its constitu-
tional action. The buckshot war followed, but the troops in vain
sought for an enemy. The constitutional Government had been
restored before their arrival, and they " marched up the hill, and
then marched down again."
Should General Harrison be elected President, who will be
his most particular friends and most confidential advisers in this
318 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
State? Stevens, Penrose, and Burrowes. Without their aid,
Clay could never have been defeated, and Harrison could never
have, been nominated, at the Harrisburg Convention. Will you
then vote for Gen. Harrison, and thus restore to power and to
influence those very men who have already made one daring
assault upon your liberties ?
Another attempt of the Whig party to treat elections as if
they had never taken place, occurred about the same time in
New Jersey. There the broad seal of Governor Pennington was
interposed to sanction a fraud upon the rights of the people.
The minority candidates were thus attempted to be forced into
the H. of Representatives, instead of the members who had been
fairly elected by the peopled In this manner they hoped to defeat
the great measure of deliverance and, relief — the Independent
Treasury bill — which the Whig papers, fearing its effect upon
the people, have not even dared to publish. Having spent much
of the precious time of the House in the discussion of this ques-
tion, it was finally decided in favor of the members elected by the
people, with but twenty-two dissenting voices. I believe this was
the number, although I speak from memory. Thus has ended
the second attempt to treat elections as if they had never taken
place.
The Whigs tread upon dangerous ground in making these
experiments. Their conduct in this respect is one of the most
alarming symptoms of the times. Democracy will always submit
to the will of the majority.-r— We use no arms but those of reason ;
yet we shall never patiently submit to the rule of a usurper. Now
let me suppose a case. Suppose the election of 1838 to have been
a Presidential election, and that Governor Pennington had com-
missioned as electors, under the broad seal of New Jersey, indi-
viduals who had been notoriously defeated at the polls. Suppose,
in addition, that these defeated candidates had turned the scale,
and had elected a President of the U. S. Under such circum-
stances, would the people of this Union have patiently submitted
to the rule of a President who had been notoriously elected by
fraud, against the will of the majority? This is a startling ques-
tion. Should these practices be continued, I dread the result.
But it would seem that our political opponents, having tried
the power of fraud in vain, have now determined to resort to
open force, if that be necessary, to put down the will of the
majority. A few days ago, at the log cabin in Richmond, Vir-
ginia, the Whigs were addressed by Mr. Preston, of the U. S.
1840] DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 319
Senate, a distinguished and eloquent leader of their party. In the
course of his address, according to the report of Mr. Greenhow,
a gentleman of the highest character and standing, as published
in the Richmond Enquirer, Mr. Preston, " after indulging in the
most infuriate denunciation of the President of the U. S., and
exciting his audience to a pitch almost of frenzy, capped the
climax of his inflammatory appeal by telling them that, although
he believed Mr. V. Buren's election, would be defeated by Con-
stitutional means, yet if those means ivere insufficient — if the
ballot-box should fail him — he., for one, was willing to resort to
the rights and arms that Nature gave him." He said this to a
Virginia audience, and that Virginia audience answered him with
" shouts of applause ! " This declaration of the South Carolina
Senator, was adverted to this afternoon by the distinguished
gentleman from Philadelphia, (Mr. Dallas,) and its truth is sub-
stantially confirmed by a gentleman now present, of as much
standing and character as any man in Pennsylvania, who was
personally present and heard the remark. Similar threats of
civil war, for the purpose of deposing the President in case he
should be re-elected by the people, have been uttered by Whig
orators of inferior note in other portions of the Union. — Now,
with this distinguished Senator I have been in the habit of social
intercourse ; and I do not, I cannot believe that in his cooler and
calmer moments he would have uttered such a sentiment; much
less do I imagine he would shed the blood of his fellow-country-
men in civil war for the purpose of deposing Mr. Van Buren.
But such furious language is the inevitable consequence of the
political revels of log cabins, where the orator and the audience
are excited by draughts of what they call hard cider, to such a
pitch of passion, that the one will utter any extravagance, and
the other, like the Virginia audience, will applaud it. But the
Whigs will not do it. No, they will never dare to make the
attempt.
It will not be long before all this humbuggery will reach its
end. By the ides of November, the hard cider will have been
converted into sour vinegar under the burning rays of the sun of
Democracy; and the log cabins will disappear, as if by enchant-
ment. The Whigs will look upon their now favorite intoxicating
liquor, with the same nausea and disgust that the sick man,
already drenched with medicine, views a new dose of calomel and
jalap. They will return again to their champagne. The Tippe-
canoe buttons, the Tippecanoe pocket handkerchiefs, the Tippe-
320 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
canoe snuff-boxes, and Tippecanoe articles of every kind, will
disappear as rapidly as the miserable shinplasters after the re-
sumption of specie payments. The unsubstantial pageant faded,
will not leave a trace behind.
The Democratic lion of Pennsylvania is now shaking his
mane and rousing himself for the contest. Nothing is more
certain than that we are destined to achieve a triumphant victory
at the Presidential election on the 30th of October. Every where
the excitement prevails, and every where the people are aroused
to a sense of their danger. Every where they feel themselves
insulted, as they ought to do, by the ridiculous and humiliating
attempts of our opponents to seduce them from their principles.
They will again fail, for the simple reason that they know not
how to appreciate the people of this country. If they wish to
carry the people with them, they must appeal to their reasons, and
abandon the ridiculous mummeries to which they have resorted.
On the other hand, we can appeal to every principle of
morality, as well as every feeling of patriotism, in support of our
cause. Where will the true friends of temperance be found in
the present contest? This glorious I'eform has been spreading
over the world with rapid strides. Father Matthew, the cele-
brated Irish priest, has done more good to Ireland in this holy
cause, according to the confession of an English Bishop, than any
other man for the last hundred years. Every where, throughout
this land, the wise and the good are urging on the temperance
reform. What, then, shall we think of a party whose watchword
is an intoxicating liquor, upon whose banners is inscribed the
motto of "hard cider," and whose log cabins, of city manufacture,
are scenes of revelry and carousal ? Let the " all the decency "
party deny this, if they can. The true friends of temperance
every where will be found battling in our ranks.
We live in a glorious land ; and all of us who are assembled
here have been born, in the language of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, free and equal. Let us transmit our privileges to the
latest posterity, by sustaining Democratic principles and Demo-
cratic men.
On the present occasion, I have addressed myself to your
understandings ; and the patient attention with which I have been
heard by this vast multitude, is to me the highest reward.
1840] TO MR. MIFFLIN 321
TO MR. MIFFLIN.'
Lancaster 20 August 1840.
Dear Sir,
When I wrote to Mifflin & Parry this morning, I desired to
say something more than I did ; but concluded it would be best
to address you in a separate letter.
I have been an attentive observer of the course of the Penn-
sylvanian, and I cannot say that I believe it has ever done me
common justice. From the time that you demanded a pecuniary
compensation from Mr. Plitt for publishing my speech in defence
of General Jackson on the French question, down to your sup-
pression of the toasts in my favor at the Dallas dinner, your
want of friendship for me has been uniformly displayed, upon
every important occasion. During the late session of Congress
& ever since, whilst I have been violently assailed & misrepre-
sented by the Whig Press of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvanian
has preserved its consistency & has scarcely ever published any
thing in my defence. I might advert to many other particulars,
such as its total silence about my late enthusiastic reception at
Baltimore, as if unwilling to inform the Democracy of the State,
in what manner their persecuted Senator was regarded by the
Democracy of a sister & neighboring State; but this is un-
necessary.
Identified as I have been with the Democratic party &
traduced every where for my support of Mr. Van Buren & Demo-
cratic principles, I might have expected different conduct at your
hands. Policy might even now induce me to pass these matters
by with silence, when addressing the proprietor of a powerful
Press ; but it has always been my motto to use the utmost frank-
ness especially towards political friends, & I have determined
not to depart from it on the present occasion.
Yours very respectfully
James Buchanan.
Benjamin Mifflin Esq.
'Buchanan Papers, private collection.
Vol. IV.— 21
322 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN.^
Lancaster 25 September 1840.
My dear Sir^
I arrived here from Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday
evening last broken down in voice and so hoarse that I fear I
shall not again be able to take the field until after our first, elec-
tion. The effort of frequently addressing immense multitudes of
people in the open air is more severe than I could have antici-
pated. In these addresses I thought it politic to adopt a new
course and instead of confining myself to a defense of the admin-
istration I have endeavored, without giving personal offense, to
carry the war into Africa. Wherever I spoke great numbers of
Whigs came to hear me. But enough of myself.
The Counties of Pennsylvania west of the Allegheny will all
do much better for you than in 1836, with the single exception of
Allegheny County, and there the changes are every day in our
favor. Most powerful efforts are making in that County by
Wilkins, Shaler, M'Candless, Hamilton and others. Bye the bye,
Wilkins from the increase in the value of property has become a
man of independent fortune and now resides on a most beautiful
and valuable farm within six miles of Pittsburg in a fine house
which is the seat of hospitality.
Of the result of the election in Pennsylvania there is not
the least doubt ; but we wish to carry it by such a majority as will
produce a moral influence on other States. The Whigs, I pre-
sume, for the purpose of preventing this effect, have taken up no
ticket in several of our strongest Democratic Counties. Our
great effort must be to keep the excitement up among the Demo-
crats between the first and the second election.
Since I left this place, I have conversed with many of our
friends from Ohio ; and without a single exception they express a
firm conviction that we shall carry that State. The excitement
there seems to be without a parallel. It would seem almost that
the whole population have abandoned their ordinary business
for the purpose of electioneering.
Col. Smith, of Buffalo, with three beautiful Volunteer
Companies attended the Erie Convention. He made us an excel-
lent speech and expressed much confidence in regard to the vote
of New York.
' Van Buren MSS., Library of Congress.
1840] TO MR. HOOD 323
It will be an astonishing event should any of the Southern
States, after the recent developments on the subject of abolition,
give its vote for Harrison.
Should I recover my voice in time, it is my present intention
to make a campaign into the Jerseys. It is my determination to
exert myself to the utmost of my power in a cause which is that
of the people against a corrupt and corrupting monied Aris-
tocracy.
In the Counties west of the Mountains and North of the
Ohio River Governor Porter is extremely popular and he has
exerted his influence with much effect in support of the good
cause. Indeed every where, unless it may be in the City and
County of Philadelphia and partially in Westmoreland he is very
strong with the Democratic party.
The news from Maine gave me a chill; but it has passed
away.
Thomas Hamilton of Pittsburg is an applicant for the
Office of District Attorney of the Western District of Pennsyl-
vania. He is a sound lawyer, a respectable man and an active
and efficient politician. He would be a good District Attorney.
In saying this, however, I do not mean to unsay any thing which
I have written in favor of Judge Shaler who is now making
constant and able efforts in behalf of the cause and who as a
lawyer and advocate is second to no man in Western Pennsyl-
vania. I think it would be prudent to delay the appointment
until after the election. I do not intend to interfere in it.
With sentiments of the highest respect, I remain
Yours sincerely
His Excellency James Buchanan.
Mr. Van Buren.
TO MR. HOOD.'
Lancaster 7th November 1840.
Mr. Alexander H. Hood
Sir/
Since my return from Philadelphia this afternoon, the Union
of Tuesday last has been shown to me by a friend, containing
the following passage.
' Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
324 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
" At a meeting held last week in Philadelphia, ' a distin-
guished Senator' (we presume Mr. Buchanan is the personage
intended) made use of the following language; 'I believe Gen-
eral Harrison will be defeated by constitutional means, yet if
these means are insufficient, if the ballot box should fail, / for
one would resort to the rights & the arms which nature gave
me.' "
Now, Sir, the Public Ledger from which you profess to
quote does not state that such language was used by any Senator
in Philadelphia, nor was the name of General Harrison mentioned
in it at all. Besides, it is known to every person conversant with
the Public Journals of the day that this remark has been exten-
sively attributed to Col : Preston of South Carolina in a speech
said to have been made by him at the Log Cabin in Richmond,
Virginia. I referred to it myself as reported by Mr. Greenhow in
my published speech at Lancaster on the 5th of August last, and
also in my recent speech at Philadelphia; & on both occasions
condemned it in the strongest terms. You have now converted
me into the author of this sentiment myself.
Devoted as I am to the most extensive liberty of the Press,
I had fondly hoped that no occasion might ever occur which
would render it necessary for me to appeal to the laws of my
Country for redress against an unfounded charge. I consider
this charge, however, as one of such a grave & serious nature as
to render it indispensably necessary that I should vindicate my
character from it ; but before resorting to such a remedy, I have
thought it right in the first place to appeal to j-our own sense of
justice to correct it in the next number of your paper.
In order to give you all the information in my power I
enclose you a copy of my speech at Lancaster wherein you will
find the same quotation from Mr. Preston's speech as that con-
tained in the Public Ledger with my comments.
Yours very respectfully
James Buchanan.
1840] TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN 325
TO PRESIDENT VAN BUREN."
Lancaster i8 November 1840. —
My dear Sir/
The best mode which I can adopt of serving Col : Wright is
to send you his letter, although it was evidently not intended to
be used in this manner. The Colonel possesses handsome abili-
ties & has been your active, untiring & efficient supporter
during our late disastrous campaign. I know this fact from my
private correspondence with him as well as from the Public
Journals. He is a member elect of the Senate of Pennsylvania,
& well deserves your kindly notice. I need scarcely add that
your compliance with his request would be personally gratifying
to me.
I never was so much astonished or disappointed as at the
result in Pennsylvania. I had devoted nearly my whole time to
the election after my return from Washington; and relying on
the information which I received from friends in different por-
tions of the State who never had been deceived before, I calcu-
lated confidently upon a handsome majority. — But it is useless
to indulge in vain regrets. Your great measure will stand the
test of time & will finally triumph over every obstacle.
The Whigs & Anti-Masons of this State are now gloating
over the prospect of driving me from the Senate. Little do
they know how regardless I am of any thing which they can do
against me. Let them instruct me to vote for a national Bank,
and I shall glory in my political martyrdom,
from your friend
very respectfully
His Excellency James Buchanan.
Martin Van Buren.
^Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
326 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
REMARKS, DECEMBER 23, 1840,
IN FAVOR OF PENSIONING THE WIDOW OF A REVOLUTIONARY OFFICER .1
Mr. Buchanan said he voted for the passage of this bill last
session, and he intended to vote for it again ; and while he avowed
that intention, he took the opportunity to say that it was his pur-
pose on all occasions to watch the expenditures of the Govern-
ment, and to vote for no measure for which he could not vote with
a strict sense of justice. It was said to be a new principle in our
law to grant pensions to widows of men who had rendered service
to their country ; but he affirmed that it was an old national prin-
ciple, and not only in our system, but in every other country he
believed; certainly in all those civilized countries with which he
was acquainted. Why, if an officer of our army went to the
battle fields of Florida, and served but a single day, what was
the consequence? Why, his widow received a pension. The
death of a husband, immolated in the service of his country, had
in it a sufficient justification for the grant. This was the uni-
versal rule which pervaded the civilized world; and he was not
certain that in this country it ought to be confined to this single
case. Right or wrong. Congress had provided that the widows
of Revolutionary soldiers, who were married when their husbands
were in the service of the country, should be pensioned, and with
strong reason ; but they had gone further, and granted a pension
to every lady who had married a Revolutionary soldier up to
1794. He was pretty much of the opinion with the Senator from
New York in regard to that, but as it had been made, he was
not disposed to quarrel with it. But how could he justify himself
if he said that the widows of those who came forward to serve
their country in the hour of its utmost need should not be entitled,
by such meritorious service, to a pension, when the widows of
those who served but six months, and those who married prior
to '94, were so provided for? Could they say that those who
sacrificed their all should not be provided for, while those who
came in when the danger was nearly at an end were now drawing
pensions from the country; and who, perhaps, were reaping ad-
vantages in civil life by the glory which their military service gave
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 51. The measure before the Senate
was a bill to pension Hannah Leighton, whose first husband was Isaac Davis,
who was killed at Concord, April 19, 1775. After Davis's death, she was
married to a person named Leighton. At the time of the debate she was
said to be ninety years old and penniless.
1840] COMMERCIAL RECIPROCITY 327
them? Should, then, the women who were the partners of our
soldiers at a time when they were called upon to sustain privation
and sufferings in their country's defence, be denied assistance and
compensation? If so, there would be neither justice, nor equal-
ity, nor right in the denial. Now, as to the burden on the Treas-
ury, he could not think it would be very great. The claims went
back to '83 : that was fifty-seven years ago ; the period of marriage
in this country, he believed, was about twenty, and that would
make any lady now living seventy-seven years of age, and there
could not be many such. He confessed, with his principles and
feelings, he could not give his vote against this old lady's claim,
and he did not fear that it would be setting a bad precedent ; and
he could not conceive how any of his married friends could refuse
to provide for this poor old widow, who had peculiar claims on
them for protection.
The question was then taken on ordering the bill to be en-
grossed, and decided in the affirmative, yeas 29, nays 1 3 ; Mr.
Buchanan voting in the affirmative.
REMARKS, DECEMBER 28, 1840,
ON COMMERCIAL RECIPROCITY.^
Mr. Davis presented a memorial from the inhabitants of
Newburyport, Mass., praying for the repeal or modification of
the act of 29th May, 1830, regulating commercial intercourse
between the United States and certain British colonies, and
moved that it be referred to the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions. He spoke in support of the prayer of the memorial, but
was inaudible at the Reporter's desk.
Mr. Webster spoke, advising that great care should be taken
by the Committee on Foreign Relations in considering the subject
of the memorial. Mr. Davis said that there were instances where
reciprocity treaties, instead of affording reciprocal advantages,
drove merchants entirely out of the trade, thus showing " the ne-
cessity of an examination of a system, as suggested by his
colleague [Mr. Webster] which was of very doubtful policy, as
regarded the interests of this country."
Mr. Buchanan then said, certainly this was a very important
^Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. S9. 60.
328 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1840
subject; it was a request to change that policy of the country
which they had been endeavoring to carry into effect with all
foreign nations since the year 1815. That it was disastrous in
some respects, particularly in regard to our commerce with some
of the Hanse Towns, there could be no doubt; but why refer it
to the Committee on Foreign Relations? It was a subject
peculiarly relating to the commerce and navigation of the country ;
and the question was, how have these treaties of reciprocity oper-
ated on those two great interests, which in that body were
exclusively committed to the Committee on Commerce? It was
not a subject connected with their foreign relations, except inci-
dentally; and he moved, therefore, that it be referred to the
Committee on Commerce, which was its appropriate reference.
Mr. Davis had moved its reference to the Committee on
Foreign Relations, because it referred to a conventional agree-
ment of the treaty-making power between the British Colonies and
the United States. If, however, it would more appropriately go
to the Committee on Commerce, he was willing that it should go
there.
Mr. Buchanan trusted that it would not go to the Committee
on Foreign Relations. The question was, whether it was advis-
able to renew our treaty with Great Britain — whether, when this
treaty shall expire, it shall be renewed again ? These Newbury-
port merchants say it ought not, in their opinion, and who was to
decide that question ? It would be necessary to take a general and
broad view of the effect of this treaty on the commerce of the
country; and to decide that important question, it should be
referred to a committee acquainted with the subject. How could
the Committee on Foreign Relations determine a question respect-
ing the effect produced on their commerce? If it were sent to
them, it would be sent to a committee the members of which were
supposed not to have entered into its consideration at all, while
the Committee on Commerce, during the entire session, were in
the daily consideration of questions exclusively connected with it,
and therefore he again hoped it would go to the Committee on
Commerce. But he had another remark. If this subject was to
be investigated as it ought, and as its importance required that
it should be, it could not possibly be done so as to make a satisfac-
tory report at the present session. They would have to go back
through a variety of sources to ascertain what effect these reci-
1841] PUBLIC LANDS
procity treaties had had on our commerce, and this information
could not be collected in the six weeks or two months the Congress
would be in session. And then the country must have time to
reflect on it after it was collected, and in the expectation that this
memorial was to be sent to a committee, the members of which
were not conversant with the subject, he had no hesitation in
saying that it was idle and vain to suppose they could accomplish
anything this session. He thought the Committee on Commerce
might be in possession of information on this subject, and might,
therefore, be able to make a report at the present session, though
he much doubted ; but he was satisfied nothing could grow out of
the reference to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
The Senate then divided on the question of reference to the
Committee on Commerce, which was decided in the affirmative
by a vote of 19 to 9 ; and the memorial was ordered to be printed.
1841.
REMARKS, JANUARY 4 AND 5, 1841,
ON THE DISPOSITION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS.'
[Jan. 4.] Mr. Buchanan said that we ourselves soon forgot
what had passed in this body. It is not yet three years since
this very question was argued at considerable length, and solemnly
decided by the Senate. When the last pre-emption bill was under
consideration, in January, 1838, the Senator from Maryland [Mr.
Merrick] had moved to exclude foreigners from the benefit of its
provisions; and after much debate his motion was negatived.
From the investigation which then took place, the fact was
established, that from the very beginning of our land sales,
foreigners had always been permitted to purchase the public
lands in the same manner as if they were our own citizens. No
inconvenience had ever, to his knowledge, resulted from this
practice. No person even now proposed to change it. This
was the established policy of the country. The attempt now
made was not to prevent foreigners from purchasing the public
lands, but from acquiring the right of pre-emption. For his own
part, he thought that the alien who came to this country, traversed
'Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX., Appendix, 22, 23-24, 24-25, 26, 27.
330 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the Atlantic States, and made a settlement with his family in the
wilderness of the far West, ought not to be excluded from, the
privilege of purchasing at the minimum price, in preference to
all other persons, the small tract of land which he had improved,
merely because he had drawn his first breath in a foreign land.
In this particular he ought to be placed on the same footing with
our own citizens.
The uniform practice of selling the public lands to foreigners
interfered with no right of any of the States, no matter whether
aliens were permitted to purchase lands under their laws or not.
The title thus acquired by the alien would be good against all
mankind except tlie sovereign State within whose limits the land
was situated. If under its laws aliens could not hold real
estate, the State might forfeit it by the common law process of
escheat. None of the new States had ever adopted this course.
On the contrary, they were all glad that emigrants from other
countries should piuxhase and cultivate these lands. He was,
therefore, prepared, both on principle and on policy, to vote
against the amendment of the Senator from North Carolina, [Mr.
Mangum. ]
Mr. Clay of Kentucky said it was very true that this question,
as had been observed by the Senator from Pennsylvania, had been
raised some years ago; and he also believed, beyond the moun-
tains, aliens were allowed to hold land, but he also believed that
there was some condition required in almost all the States — in
some of them, a residence of two or three years. Now it might
be a question whether they should extend the privilege except
to those holding by State authority — and aliens who hold were
not entitled tO' a vote — but he [Mr. Clay] was opposed on principle
to the proposition that aliens should be invited from every portion
of the habitable globe, to take possession of the public lands on
terms so peculiarly favorable as were proposed by this bill.
Whilst a man is an alien, owing allegiance to any foreign
power, he ought not to exercise the right of franchise in our
country; nor ought either the serfs of Russia, or the subjects of
Austria, or of England, or France, bound by their allegiance to a
foreign potentate, to be allowed, until they renounced their fealty
to their original potentate, to enjoy the privileges of American
freemen. On this question he hoped, neither there nor else-
where, would there be any diversity of opinion, whatever there
might be of the necessity of a greater or less restriction in the
acquisition of the rights of an American citizen in the different
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 331
stages of the national progress, in its infancy and maturity. There
was another point on which there ought not to be any diversity
of opinion. Though it might be the practice of our Government
to sell the soil of our country alike to aliens as to citizens, there
should not be extended an invitation to aliens to come and pur-
chase our lands ; and yet such would be the effect of this bill. It
was a question of sound policy whether they would hold out to
all, without or within this country, these peculiar privileges of
pre-emptioners. He [Mr. Clay] should conform his vote to
that which he had given this question three years ago.
Mr. Buchanan said that like the Senator from Kentucky
[Mr. Clay] he would most cordially adhere to the vote which
he had given on this question three years ago. He agreed with
the Senator, that until a foreigner became a citizen, he ought
not to be permitted to exercise the elective franchise. But the
present case was far different. What, after all, was this privilege
of pre-emption about which we had heard so much? Was it a
gift of the land? No. Was it a sale of the land below the
ordinary price fixed upon it by the Government ? Certainly not.
What then was it ?
We had ascertained by long experience that the public lands,
from some cause or other, do not command at public sale on an
average more than two or three cents per acre more than the
minimum price. The reason of this we may easily conjecture.
The bands O'f speculators who attend thesiC sales combine for the
purpose of keeping down the price to the minimum standard.
They are thus enabled to obtain the choice tracts at but one or
two cents above one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Now
what is the great privilege which we confer by this bill? It is
nothing more than this ; — that the man who goes into the wilder-
ness— selects a quarter section of land — erects his log cabin upon
it, and brings it into a state of cultivation, shall not be turned
out of house and home by any greedy speculator who may have
cast his longing eyes upon it. This spot of land is not offered at
public sale, but is reserved for the actual settler, provided he pays
for it in cash at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per
acre. The Government may thus, by possibility, lose one, two
or three cents on each acre, in securing to this poor man his
selected home. This is the sum total of the benefit to him and
the loss to the Treasury; without bringing into the account the
advantage whicli the country derives from having its vacant lands
settled and cultivated by a brave and hardy population.
332 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Now, in regard to aliens. The Senator has admitted that,
from the origin of the Government until the present day, they
have been permitted to purchase the public lands of the West,
either at public sale or by private entry. This fact is incontro-
vertible. Then why make an odious distinction against foreign-
ers in this particular case? If you permit them to purchase
in every other form, why deny to them the privilege of purchasing
as pre-emptioners ? The alien who flies from oppression at home,
and makes his way into the far West, and there fixes his habita-
tion, at the same time places his body as a barrier against the
attacks oi the savage foe which your policy has collected on
that frontier. Such aliens thus furnish stronger evidence of
their fidelity to the country, and of their intention to become
citizens, than they could do by a mere declaration to this effect,
under the naturalization laws, though, he presumed, such a
declaration was made by them in almost every instance. A man
who merely does this may change his intention before he becomes
a citizen ; but the man who makes a settlement on the public land,
and purchases it from the Government, thus identifies his own
fate and that of his family, for weal or for woe, with our Govern-
ment. From such men we have nothing to apprehend. And
shall we suffer even the alien speculator, who has no intention
of ever becoming a citizen, to purchase the humble dwelling of
this poor man, and drive him out of possession? Such might
often be the case, if it were not for your pre-emption laws. For
my own part, I shall always most cheerfully, as long as I shall
be honored with a seat in the Senate, grant this trifling privilege
to the actual settler, whether he has emigrated from the old to
the new States, to improve his condition, or has fled from oppres-
sion in the old world, to live under the protection of our Republi-
can institutions.
[Jan. 5.] Mr. Buchanan could not have supposed that the
few incidental remarks which he had made on the question
which was yesterday decided by the Senate, would have brought
out the Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. Crittenden] or any other
Senator, in reply to-day. He had no right, however, to com-
plain of this, and was only sorry that he (Mr. B.) was now
compelled, in self-defence, to make a few observations in reply
to his remarks. It had been his purpose not to utter a single
word on the general subject of pre-emptions, which had been so
often discussed by him before ; but to content hiitiself by merely
giving his silent vote in favor of the bill.
1841] PUBLIC LANDS , 333
Mr. B. should neither vote for the first nor the second clause
of the Senator's amendment. He went against the whole and
each of its parts. In relation to the first clause, he held that
the foreigner who penetrated to the Western frontier of our
vast country, and there settled upon and cultivated a tract of
land, presented the clearest proof, and that by the most decisive
actions, of his intention to become a citizen of the United States.
How can it be contended that this was no proof of such an inten-
tion? The whole conduct of such a man manifested that he was
determined to live and to die by the soil. In what other manner
could he give stronger proof of his devotion to our institutions
than to have transferred his home from his native country to the
far West, and there to have felled the forest and erected a dwell-
ing (he would not say a log cabin, for he had no reason to be
remarkably partial to that name,) for himself and his family?
He thus acquired, not the title to the tract of land which he
had selected, but merely the right to purchase and pay for it at
the Government price, in preference to all other persons. If he
should prove unable to do this, his labor was all forfeited. Mr.
B. could assure the Senator, that from such aliens as these, he need
apprehend no danger of foreign influence. These pioneer farm-
ers were not the men from whom we had any thing to dread. He
should never consent to destroy the title of such a man, after
he had paid for his land, and thus to render all his toils and
privations unavailing, merely because through negligence he
might not have gone to a court of justice, and made a formal
declaration of his intention to become a citizen of the United
States, before his actual settlement commenced. No, never ! His
judgment and his feelings would equally revolt against such an
act.
He (Mr. B.) could not understand the opposition which
had been manifested in certain quarters to foreigners, who had
sought a refuge and a home in our country. Had they not ma-
terially assisted in achieving our independence? In the days of
the Revolution no such jealousy was felt towards the brave Irish-
men, Frenchmen, and Germans, who, side by side with our native
citizens, had fought the battles of liberty. On the contrary, he
had no doubt, it was from a grateful sense qf these services, that
it had ever been the settled policy of the Government to allow
them to purchase our vacant lands upon the same terms with
American citizens.
Was there no reason for pursuing the same policy at the
334 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
present day? Was it not clearly our interest as a nation to
permit such emigrants to purchase and possess our vacant lands,
and thus establish a line of defence on our frontier against the
incursions of the savage enemy? This was a wise policy which
he trusted might never be abandoned.
But the Senator [Mr. Crittenden] made light of the danger
from the hordes of savages, which, wisely or unwisely, had been
collected on our Western frontier ; and he thought it was degrad-
ing to American citizens to be protected and defended by any
foreigner not yet naturahzed.
Mr. B. believed that the danger was one which might well
be apprehended even by the bravest men. Some twenty or thirty
thousand Indian warriors, he did not recollect the number exactly,
now occupied the country along the Western line of the States
of Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. There they were, and
there they must remain, or the national faith must be violated.
They had been almost literally driven to that frontier from
their native homes in the interior of the States, with all the hostile
feelings and wounded pride which our conduct towards them
naturally inspired. At any time, at all times, there was danger
of a united war being waged by these savages against our
frontier settlements. We all know that it is the nature of the
Indian to brood over his vengeance, and to strike the most
dreadful blow when his enemy least expects it. Was it not then
clearly the poHcy of the Government to increase the number of
inhabitants on that frontier? And if an Irish, a German, or a
French emigrant thought proper to settle there, was he (Mr. B.)
to be censured for having declared that their bosoms would
become bulwarks against the incursions of our savage enemy?
These brave men would always be ready to die in defence of
those possessions which this Government had permitted them
first to improve and then to purchase.
But the Senator thought it would be degrading tO' Americans
to resort to such a defence. Mr. B. well knew that " the blood
of Douglas could protect itself." He knew that our own citizens
could defend their country : but how they could be degraded by
fighting in the same ranks with foreigners, as our Revolutionary
forefathers had done, he was utterly at a loss to conceive. This
was a species of exalted pride which he could not understand.
And this, too, when these foreigners, united with our own
citizens, were defending their common possessions and their
homes. It was certain that such men would become citizens as
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 335
soon as they could under our naturalization laws ; but if any of
them, either ignorantly or from negligence, had omitted to rnake
a formal declaration of their intention to this effect, he would
never deprive them of their privilege of pre-emption, and drive
them from their homes for this reason. He could not, therefore,
give his support to the first clause of the Senator's amendment.
On the second clause of the amendment, he should say nothing ; as
he did not deem it necessary, and would not, therefore, protract
the debate, into which he had entered with much reluctance.
Mr. Buchanan would say a few words in reply. The Sena-
tor from Kaitucky is a good logician, and, unless he were closely
watched, would get the better of his antagonist even in a bad
cause. His sophistry upon the present occasion consists in at-
tempting to infer from my argument that I was in favor of
substituting an actual settlement upon a tract of the public land
for the declaration of intention required from every foreigner
before he can become an American citizen. It would be very
easy for the Senator to triumph, if he were permitted to substitute
his own forced inference, for my express declaration to the
contrary. With this view, he triumphantly asks if I would be
willing to change our naturalization laws by rendering a residence
on our vacant lands equivalent to the declaration of intention
which these laws require ? Now, I ask him in return, have I ever
said that I would? Have I ever intimated any such intention?
On the contrary, have I not expressly declared that I would not
grant to any foreigner the elective franchise until he had become
a naturalized citizen under our laws ? Whilst I should not, with
the Senator from Kentucky, deny to the foreigner the right of
the pre-emption which he has fairly acquired by the dangers and
privations encountered in making a settlement on your remote
frontier, I would not, for this reason, confer upon him the high
political privileges of an American citizen. The Senator's argu-
ment, therefore, in this particular, falls to the ground. It has no
foundation, in any thing which I said, to rest upon. The right
of pre-emption is one thing ; but the high privilege of becoming
an American citizen is another and entirely different matter.
Afid what, after all, is this great privilege of pre-emption?
To what does it amount? What is its intrinsic value? It is
merely a contest between the speculator and the actual settler,
as to whether the former shall be permitted to purchase the spots
336 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
of land improved and rendered valuable by the toil of the latter.
Our experience has demonstrated that the average excess of the
price of the public lands advertised and sold at public sale, in
pursuance of the President's proclamation, is not more than two
or three cents per acre above the fixed price of the Government at
private sale.
What, then, is the privilege granted tO' the settler who goes
into the wilderness, clears away the forest, and there establishes
his home ? Does this bill offer such a man a donation ? Not at
all. Does it give him the land as a bounty? No such thing.
The privilege it confers is that he shall not be driven from his
humble home by the speculator. This mighty privilege is that
he shall pay for his land the price fixed by law, which may be
less, by two or three cents per acre, than it would command at
public sale; and that after he has paid for it, he shall hold it.
And why, at this late day, for the first time in your history, should
you make an odious distinction, in this small matter, between
the settler, who had drawn his first breath on the other side of
the Atlantic, and the American citizen ? No such distinction had
ever existed heretofore, and no complaint had ever been uttered by
those directly interested, that this trifling privilege had been con-
ferred upon foreigners. If the Senator had carefully read the
history of his country — I mean on this particular point — I myself
have not, but the fact has been furnished to me by one who has —
what would he have found in relation to these now despised
foreigners ?
[Here Mr. Crittenden denied that he had spoken of them
as " despised foreigners."]
Mr. Buchanan said, I know he has not ; but if he had under-
stood the honorable Senator correctly, he had spoken with in-
dignation against using the bodies of foreigners as a barrier
on our frontiers against the incursions of the savage foe, and
considered it a degradation to our own citizens to invoke the
aid of such defenders. If the Senator had read the history of
his country, he would have found that the Revolutionary Con-
gress, " in the times that tried men's souls," had invited those
foreigners to enlist under our banners, and had offered them not
a mere pre-emption right, but a bounty in lands, with the privilege
of at once becoming American citizens. Here Mr. B. read the
acts of Congress of August 14th, and August 27, 1776, from the
first volume and first page of the land laws. These acts mani-
fested the estimation in which foreigners, who were willing to
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 337
fight in the cause of independence, were at that day held by the
Revolutionary Congress. He could not be mistaken in believing
that it was far different from the estimate now placed upon them
by the Senator from Kentucky. Now, said Mr. B., I desire to
make no political capital out of any question of this nature. I
wish only to act towards those foreigners who may have settled
or shall settle upon our public lands, upon the principles of eternal
and immutable justice. Nothing more. From the beginning
it has been our policy to permit foreigners to purchase and settle
upon the public lands, and I shall not now, for the first time,
establish an odious distinction against them, in a pre-emption bill.
I will not now, at this late day, repeal the established policy of the
country, but in this particular shall pursue the system adopted by
the wisdom of our predecessors.
But the Senator has asked me why I am so willing to accord
these privileges, and yet am " so jealous of foreigners holding a
little stock in a petty little bank." This question I shall endeavor
to answer. Sir, said Mr. B., this is the class of foreigners who do
produce alarm in my mind, — they excite my terror. [Mr. Ben-
ton: " Yes, the millionaires."] These are not the men who fly
from poverty and oppression abroad, and settle in our country to
share in its toils as well as its advantages. They are not the
poor pre-emptioners of the West, who have indissolubly fixed their
fate with ours, and have no other himian hope but to live and die
upon our soil. No, sir, no. Very far from it. The foreign
stockholders in our banks have no intention of becoming Amer-
ican citizens. Their object is to increase their own fortune by
the spoils of our land, to suck our young life blood for the pur-
pose of strengthening and invigorating the decaying institutions
of other countries. They seek to acquire a political influence
over us, that they may turn it to their own advantage and our
destruction. Of such a foreign influence I confess that I am
jealous. I firmly believe that the day on which you shall establish
a new National Bank in this country, with a capital of one hun-
dred millions of dollars, and with the power of spreading its
branches over every portion of the Union, and more especially if
you shall permit foreigners to hold the stock, will be the darkest
and most portentous which has ever shone upon the Republic.
From that day we shall most probably forfeit not only our liberty
but our independence. You will then concentrate and fortify a
central money power, foreign and domestic, in this country, which
will exercise a controlling, an overwhelming influence over its
Vol. IV— 22
338 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
destinies. Senators themselves may live to rue the day when
they called such a vast, such an irresponsible power, into existence.
It is such a foreign influence that I dread, and not that of the
"log cabin men" of the far West, (I thought I never should
have used the expression,) whose fortune and whose fate are
necessarily identified with that of the country. It is the foreign
millionaire, who seeks to control the politics of the cO'Untry for
the purpose of promoting his own interest and increasing his own
fortune, of whom Republicans here and everywhere ought to be
jealous.
The Senator had said, and he appeared to place some stress
on the argument, that our vast country beyond the Rocky Moun-
tains might be settled by foreigners under this law, and they
might sell it out to every body and any body they thought proper.
But this country could not be settled under the provisions of the
present bill, until the Indian title should be extinguished; and
when the Indian title shall be extinguished in that region, Con-
gress may then establish such laws for its settlement as may be
suitable to its condition. The Senator has gone far away for
this argument. It will be a long time, notwithstanding the
sanguine expectation of some Senators, before this can become
a practical question. Before that day, it is probable that both
the Senator and myself will have passed from the theatre .of
public action. In regard to this remote question, which has been
invoked as an argument to affect the present interests and policy
of the country, he would answer, in the words of the other
Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. Clay,] on a late m'emorable occa-
sion. When he was appealed to a few days agO' to inform the
country what he intended to introduce as a substitute for the
Independent Treasury, in case he should succeed in repealing it,
his answer was, " sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." We
must not look too far ahead. When the time shall arrive for
considering the Oregon question, I hope there will be sufficient
wisdom in Congress to settle it aright. We are yet far on the
eastern side of the Rocky Mountains; and hordes of Indians
occupy the intervening space.
Mr. Buchanan said the Senator from Kentucky should not
transfer this battle to the west of the Rocky Mountains. With
his good leave we shall keep for the f>resent on this side of them.
The present contest was on the Indian frontier, and regarded the
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 339
rights which foreigners ought to acquire by settHng and cultivat-
ing lands within the limits of our existing States and Territories,
and not beyond the Rocky Mountains. And now, after all this
discussion, what was the difference between the honorable Sena-
tor and himself? Why, sir, he has come more than half round.
He has now become a good pre-emption man, and is in favor of
granting the right of pre-emption to all foreigners, provided they
have declared their intention to become citizens. But suppose
the case of a poor ignorant foreigner, not acquainted with the
laws of his adopted country, who has gone upon your public
land, cleared away the forest and erected a home for his wife
and his children — I ask, would you deprive such a man of all
the benefits of this bill, merely because he had omitted to make a
formal declaration of his intention to become a citizen? I ask
the Senator to say whether such a man, for such a cause, should
forfeit his right to become the purchaser of this tract of land in
preference to any hungry land shark who was ready to pounce
upon it as his prey ? The question between us has been narrowed
down to this point at last. Now I appeal to that gentleman's
own heart, to say whether he would not decide it in favor of the
foreigner. I know and feel that he would. He can entertain
no serious purpose that such a settler should forfeit his right.
I am sure he does not. And what, then, is all the mighty differ-
ence between us? After all our replies, and rejoinders, and
surrejoinders, the whole argument dwindles down to a mere
question of tweedledum and tweedledee. Can the Senator make
more of it? He is willing to place the foreigner upon the same
footing with our own citizens, and grant him every right of
pre-emption which they enjoy, provided he has gone through the
form of placing upon record the declaration of intention required
by our naturalization laws. I go one little step further, and
hold that the foreigner, by making his way to the far West, and
settling upon thq public land, manifests, by actions which speak
louder than words, even a stronger intention of becoming an
American citizen, than if he had merely made the formal
declaration required ; and in such a case, I ask, should he forfeit
his privilege on account of this omission? Sure I am that if
the honorable Senator from Kentucky were constituted the judge,
and this question were left to his decision, he would answer,
emphatically, no ! He would never decide that the foreigner who
has settled on the public land since June, 1840, upon the faith
of your past legislation, or who shall settle upon it hereafter,
340 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
shall forfeit his privilege of pre-emption, and be driven with his
wife and children from their home.
The Senator has done me injustice in another respect. I
never either said or insinuated that I would proclaim to the world
that we wanted foreigners to come and settle amongst us, that
they might protect us from danger. What I did say was, that
it had long been the national policy, and one which I considered
sound and wise, to encourage the settlement of dur frontier as
speedily and as densely as possible; and if this should be done in
part by foreigners, then, in the hour of danger, their bodies
would be our bulwark against a savage foe, just as surely as the
breasts of our own citizens. I cannot vote for his amendment,
because I am unwilling that an ignorant man, who may have
acquired an equitable title to a pre-emption, shall forfeit it for
want of having gone through a legal form'.
Mr. Crittenden. I am anxious to escape from^ any further
participation in this controversy; but, according to the usages of
the Senate, as I have offered an affirmative proposition, it is
necessary and proper that I should have the last word. The only
disingenuous thing which the honorable Senator has said is
contained in his last remark, that I am coming round, and, if
my amendment prevails, shall vote for the bill. No; I am not
committed to vote for granting a pre-emption to anybody.
Mr. Buchanan. I did not say that the Senator would vote
for the bill, for I am sure he will not. I said he would put
foreigners on the same footing with American citizens, if they
would only declare their intention to become such.
**********
Mr. Buchanan said he should like to understand how the
amendment stood; for, as he understood it, the Senator from
Kentucky [Mr. Crittenden] by accepting the proposition of the
Senator from Michigan [Mr. Porter] had substantially yielded
the point in discussion between them.
Mr. Crittenden then said he would prefer taking the question
on the amendment as he had originally presented it.
1841] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 341
REMARKS, JANUARY 8, 1841,
ON THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY.'
Mr. Walker submitted the following resolution for consid-
eration :
Resolved, That the Committee on Foreign Relations be instructed to
inquire into the expediency of causing to be procured and submitted to the
Senate, copies of the debates in the British Parliament, prior to the year
1820, in relation to the Northeastern boundary of the United States, and
copies of land titles emanating from the British Government repugnant in
the calls of said titles to the boundary now claimed by said Government.
Mr. Buchanan said that as this resolution was one of mere
inquiry, it might appear discourteous towards his friend from
Mississippi [Mr. Walker] to oppose its adoption, and he should
do so with great reluctance. If it were pressed, he would,
therefore, probably vote for it, although it appeared to him to be
a singular duty to impose on the Committee of Foreign Rela-
tions. Unquestionably the debate in the British Parliament, to
which it referred, was one of great importance. It proved that
shortly after the original treaty was concluded, British statesmen
of all parties agreed that the line designated by it included within
the limits of the United States the territory now in dispute
between the two Governments. But why should the Senate be
made the instrument of communicating this debate to the public ?
Such a course was unprecedented, so far as his knowledge
extended. This w;as information proper for the public, and it
might be communicated, like all such information, through the
agency of the public press. He thought this would be the best and
most appropriate course ; and unless his impression should change,
he would act upon this opinion, as a member of the Committee on
Foreign Relations, should the resolution be adopted.
He was glad of the present opportunity of saying a few
words on another branch of the subject. It had been expected
by some persons that the report of Messrs. Mudge and Feather-
stonhaugh would be noticed by the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions. That report was a tissue of sophistry from first to last,
which might be easily exposed; but so far as his information
extended, it had never been officially recognized by the British
Government. In this state of the case he did not believe it ought
to be made the subject of any report from the Committee on
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 91-92.
342 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Foreign Relations, and therefore he had never called the atten-
tion of the committee to it. Besides, it was well understood that
negotiations were now pending, and were nearly brought to a
happy conclusion, for referring the final decision of this question
to commissioners mutually chosen by the two Governments, with
such an ultimate provision, in case of their disagreement, as must
settle the question. Under these circumstances, he thought it
would be improper for the Senate to interfere.
REMARKS, JANUARY 18, 1841,
ON AMERICAN WATER-ROTTED HEMP.'
The President submitted a report from the Secretary of the
Navy in reply to a resolution submitted by Mr. Benton, some
days since, in relation to the use of American water-rotted hemp
in the navy of the United States.
Mr. Benton moved that the report be printed, and referred
to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Mr. Buchanan expressed his gratification that the Senator
from Missouri [Mr. Benton] had introduced this subject to the
attention of the Senate and the country. He himself, a number
of years ago, had procured some hemp to be water-rotted in Lan-
caster icounty, Pennsylvania, the place of his residence, and to be
sent to the navy yard in Philadelphia. After trial, it was found
to be fully equal, if not superior, to the best Russian hemp. The
process of water-rotting had, however, been abandoned in that
county, in consequence chiefly of an impression that it was un-
healthy.
Mr. Myerle had written him several letters on this im-
portant subject. That gentleman, with a perseverance and energy
which deserved all praise, had introduced extensively in Kentucky
the process of water-rotting. He had conquered the prejudices
which heretofore existed against it, and had, as he states, demon-
strated that it was not unhealthy. This was a most expensive
operation, in which he had risked his all; and he had thus ren-
dered gre^t service to his country. Why should we be dependent
upon foreign nations for the article of water-rotted hanp, which
is essential both to our navy and to our merchant service? Mr.
^ Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 107.
^^^ ii/^M
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 343
Myerle had demonstrated that our countrymen could supply this
article in abundance. He had sent Mr. B. a specimen of his hemp,
which had been submitted to those who were judges of the
article, and had been pronounced equal to the best Russian hemp.
After Mr. Myerle had embarked his all in this business, it
would be highly unjust to deprive him of the benefit of his
exertions. The Navy Department, according to the existing
laws, would be bound to grant the contract for American water-
rotted hemp to the lowest bidder. It might thus happen, and Mr.
Myerle was apprehensive it would happen, that some individual,
taking advantage of the knowledge acquired by his toils and
exertions, might underbid him a trifling amount, and thus impose
upon him all the labor and expense of introducing the process
of water-rotting hemp, whilst all the advantages would result
to another. He thought it wa.s no more than strict justice that
the Department should be authorized to contract with Mr. Myerle
for a reasonable quantity of hemp at a fair price, without adver-
tising for other bidders.
He was glad that the Senator from Missouri had moved in
this business, as it could not be under better auspices.
The motion -to print and refer was agreed to.
REMARKS, JANUARY 20, 1841,
ON THE DISPOSITION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS.'
Mr. Buchanan said that, as he was very friendly to early
marriages, he could not consent to vote for the amendment ; and,
indeed, on a little reflection, he was persuaded the Senator from
Connecticut would never find it in his heart to deprive a young
fellow who was under twenty-one, and had an affectionate wife
of eighteen, from' getting a pre-emption right and settling down in
life. As to our Western boys, he believed many of them were
disposed to marry early, and he thought that those who did so,
ought not to be discouraged from going into the new country.
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX., Appendix, 196, 199-201. The bill
to establish a permanent prospective pre-emption system in favor of settlers
on the public lands being before the Senate, an amendment was offered
which proposed to strike out the word " eighteen " and insert " twenty-one,"
thereby confining the benefits of the bill to heads of families, widows, and
single men over the age of twenty-one years. The amendment was lost.
344 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Give them a fair chance; and even those w^ho were not married,
let them go and erect a log cabin, and get it ready to accommodate
a wife immediately after they should be twenty-one. He thought
it would be rather a reflection on the Senate should they refuse
so small a boon. The provision in the bill could do no harm,
and he could not consent to strike it out.
Mr. Buchanan said his opinion in regard to the existing land
system of the country was, that it was based on the soundest
principles of wisdom and of policy. He was as much attached
to that system, and as much disposed to adhere to it with un-
shaken fidelity, as the Senator from Kentucky himself, [Mr.
Clay.] He was in favor of no new experiments upon it, for the
experience of half a century had proved that no wiser or better
plan could be devised by human ingenuity. But, while these
were his conscientious convictions, he was, nevertheless, of opin-
ion that the Senator from Kentucky was alarmed at spectres.
Mr. B. had witnessed with admiration the gigantic efforts of
that gentleman against pre-emption at former sessions, and yet
he had never begun to fear, nor did he now indulge the slightest
feeling of alarm in regard to this subject. I think (said Mr. B.)
that the time has now arrived when the pre-emption principle may,
with the utmost safety, and with perfect justice, be engrafted
on our excellent system for the management of the public domain.
Does the introduction of that principle vary, in the least degree,
any material portion of that system ? Not at all. Does it go to
reduce the price of the land? Not, at the utmost, more than
three or four cents an acre. What is its nature? Gentlemen
should take an extended view of the whole subject before they
made up an opinion in regard to its merits. We own a vast
wilderness of unsettled lands subject to sale, and at times there
have been attempts on the part of speculators to monopolize it:
fortunately, however, they have never yet succeeded. No for-
tunes have been realized in this way, so far as I have heard. In
this state of things, is it not our duty, our interest, and our
truest policy to encourage the settlement of the new States in
the West by a hardy, industrious, and moral population ? And in
what does this pre-emption system trench upon, or in the least
interfere with the established land system of the countiy? It
only allows the poor man, who wishes to establish himself in a
permanent home, to buy for himself a quarter section of land at
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 345
the full Government price. There is the whole of it. In consid-
eration of the expediency and desirableness of filling up this new
country with a hardy, and active, and enterprising race of settlers,
we do — what? Give them the public land? No; but first re-
ceive from them for it a dollar and a quarter an acre, and then
convey it to them in perpetuity. The difference in the receipts
of the Treasury from what would be obtained for the same land
at an auction sale has never been estimated higher by any person
than six cents an acre; and if it amounted to that, and even
more, in an enlarged view of the bearings of the entire subject,
this consideration presents no objection in my mind. There are
such vast quantities of land, and such a wide and ample choice,
that the speculator will never be obliged to give much more
than the Government price. And as to all the lands taken up by
the pre-emption rights, they are, when compared to our entire
domain, but as a drop in the ocean. Such, at least, has been
our past experience. Heretofore, we have been very cautious
to pass none but limited pre-emption bills, and we have wisely
determined to put down forever the practice of granting what
are called " floats," which was certainly productive of many and
great frauds. We have confined the extent of the pre-emption
grant to a single quarter section of i6o acres of land; and it is
now proposed to make this right of pre-emption prospective and
perpetual. The amendment of the Senator from Kentucky [Mr.
Crittenden] proposes to extend it in regard to every man whose
property does not exceed $i,ooo, not merely to i6o, but to 320
acres of land. And I now venture to predict that, when the
long proposed distribution bill of the Senator from Kentucky,
[Mr. Clay,] shall become a law, (and I presume that day is not
far distant,) there will be incorporated into it a provision grant-
ing to the actual bona Ude settler a pre-emption right to at least
160 acres. Even in his own bill of 1839, unless my memory fail
me, and if it does he will correct me, there was a provision in
favor of pre-emption. I repeat that, while I am in favor of the
settled land system, such as it now exists, pre-emption has no
terrors for me.
The honorable Senator has thought proper to say some-
thing of the " wild, reckless, and ruinous legislation " which pre-
vailed under the Administration of General Jackson; and in-
formed us that, during that period in our history, the sessions
of Congress were protracted to an unusual length. I was not a
member of the Senate when what he referred to as the longest
346 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
session ever known was held; but, I ask, what was the cause
of the protracted length of that session ? If any one would know,
let him look at the volumes — I think there are not less than six — ■
yes, six large volumes of " panic " memorials — which were then
sent up and flooded both Houses. And let him remember the long
and eloquent speeches which, for the most part, accompanied their
presentation, intended to convince the American people that they
were the most oppressed, impoverished, and ruined nation that
ever existed. And all for what? Why, simply with a view to
have the deposits restored to the United States Bank. And are
we to be charged with the protraction of sessions of Congress
when the true cause is so manifest? General Jackson has now
retired to the Hermitage, and may perhaps live to have the
judgment of posterity as it were passed upon him. He was an
able, sagacious, and truly patriotic man ; and I now say that those
of us, if there be any such, who shall survive during a quarter of
a century longer, will live to see the day when Jackson's name
and fame shall be cherished alike by persons of all political parties.
During the late tremendous Presidential canvass, amidst all the
thousand speeches which were made, who denounced him? Not
one, at least in my part of the country; and I personally know
at least one, and he a man formerly opposed to General Jackson,
who then lauded him: to the very echo. Were that distinguished
man now in power, I would not speak of him the high opinion I
entertain ; but now, when praise from me or any one else can no
longer be suspected to proceed from selfish motives, my heart
dictates to me to do him the fullest justice which my tongue can
accomplish.
And now, as to the extravagance of the present Administra-
tion, have we not repeatedly called on gentlemen who so loudly
urged the general charge, to specify particulars? Mr. Van Buren
inherited the war with the Indians in Florida. He came into
power incumbered with an immense debt for the removal of the
Indian tribes west of the Mississippi, and he entered on the
Presidency just at the commencement of a great fiscal revulsion,
which, affecting the business concerns of the whole country, dried
up the sources of revenue. He had to encounter every conceiv-
able obstacle to a prosperous financial administration of the
Government. The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Crittenden] can
very readily give us the aggregate of expenditure which has
accrued; but that is not the question. If the expenditure of a
large sum was rendered necessary by the state of the country,
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 347
who is to blame? Nobody. If the gentleman can go to the
records, which are all open to his inspection, and point out ex-
travagant and illegitimate charges on the Treasury, the Adminis-
tration must answer for it. But whilst he merely deals in the
gross, without rendering any bill of particulars to prove that the
various expenditures were wasteful and extravagant, his charge
falls harmless to the ground. General, indefinite accusations of
this kind amount to nothing. If this country were engaged in
a just and defensive war, the expenses attending it would no
doubt be enormous; but would their mere magnitude constitute
in itself a just charge against any Administration? Surely not.
The charge of extravagance in the present case is advanced in the
very face of documents going to show that the regular expendi-
tures of the Government over which the Executive has had any
control, have been in a course of gradual diminution from year
to year. I sincerely hope that in this respect General Harrison
may " walk in the footsteps of his predecessor." I make no war
on General Harrison in advance — it is not my nature. I will
judge of his acts fairly ; and if he shall go out of office, after four
years, with as little just complaint, on the ground of extravagance,
as Martin Van Buren will do, I shall consider his administration
a most fortunate one in this particular.
On the doctrine of pre-emption, I find myself sustaining the
opinions of General Harrison against his friends here. He gave
the strongest evidence, by his action when in the Senate, that
he was then the friend of pre-emption.
Mr. Benton. He professed the same thing in his letters
written last summer.
Mr. Buchanan. I do not know anything as to what he may
have written last summer.
Mr. Benton. I do.
Mr. Buchanan. If he adheres to his principles, he is in favor
of pre-emption still.
In regard to the Secretary of the Treasury, although polit-
ically his friend, I may say that my intercourse with him has not
been very familiar. I shall not enter on the question of the
merits of his style as a writer ; but I think I can see very clearly,
from what he states, how our revenue from imports during the
year may amount to $19,000,000. The public papers state that
the business of the country is reviving ; that there have been more
arrivals lately than during the same period for several years
past; and can it be otherwise? From the indebtedness of the
348 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
country for some time past, it was out of the question to extend
our importations. The laws of trade and the interests of indi-
viduals alike forbade it. We were obliged to pay up our old
debts before we could contract new ones. That time has now
passed away. We are not now in debt, as a people, to Europe,
except for the accruing interest on State bonds. The shackles
have fallen off from our foreign commerce, and it now
floats freely. The country is exhausted of foreign goods, and
now importations will naturally increase to fill up the vacuum.
Commerce from abroad will naturally pour into our seaports,
and the revenues of the year are, in my judgment, likely to reach
$19,000,000 at the least, and I have paid no small degree of
attention to the subject. I have no wish to embarrass the admin-
istration of General Harrison by leaving on his hands an empty
Treasury, and I am free to say that I would rather we had been
distinctly informed by the Secretary of the Treasury, at the com-
mencement of the session, that we must provide $5,000,000; but
ought our successors to complain of the issue of Treasury notes
to this amount ? They have now all the benefit of this argument
against us, and they will have the advantage of the money also.
We shall make provision for giving to General Harrison's admin-
istration a peaceful and prosperous commencement; and I think
the Senator, when his friends enter into power, will find that we
have swept out the house, and left it in a comfortable condition
for his reception. And, so far from clearing out the Treasury,
we shall give our successors $5,000,000 to commence house-
keeping upon.
I conclude by repeating that I am in favor of this pre-
emption bill, arjd equally in favor of the old and long-tried
land system, and that I have yet seen no new project which will
induce me to depart from it.
Mr. Clay of Kentucky said he should be much obliged to
the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania if he would furnish
the Senate with some of those strong reasons which went to
" illustrate the probability of a conjecture " that there would be
$19,000,000 of revenue received at the Treasury during the
present year. The honorable Senator, said Mr. C, has referred
to the papers of the day as declaring that a considerable revival
of business has already taken place. So there has, thank God,
since the result of the last election has been known. But I greatly
doubt whether the revenue will at once start up from $13,000,000
to $19,000,000 within a single year. It is too great a leap, consid-
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 349
ering the condition in which the Treasury was left us ; and, before
I can believe it, I must have some specification of the grounds on
which to build such a belief.
The honorable Senator spoke of Gen. Jackson, and made
that an occasion for pronouncing a eulogy upon his friend. Now,
I said not a word concerning Gen. Jackson personally, but
directed what I had to say to his Administration. The Senator,
however, has said, and the declaration is to his honor, that the
eulogy he pronounced was prompted by his heart. That the late
Minister to the Court of the Emperor of all the Russias should
feel some emotions of gratitude towards his distinguished patron,
was to be expected, and the Senator would certainly be to blame
if it were not so. I certainly shall be the last to find fault with
him for giving expression to that gratitude.
It seems, however, according to the honorable Senator, that
poor Mr. Van Buren came into power under very disadvanta-
geous circumstances. It may be so ; and, what is still more unfor-
tunate, these disadvantageous circumstances have been aggra-
vated during every year since by an excess of $8,000,000 a year
in our expenditures over the receipts at the Treasury. But this
was only the poor gentleman's misfortune. The honorable Sen-
ator tells us not to confine ourselves to general charges, but to
go into the items of the account. That we will do when we get
the papers. We have called on the Secretary of the Treasury
and on the head of the Post Office Department in vain ; there is in
their possession a great class of papers which are not to be seen,
but such as the most profligate Administration ever known in
England could never have dared to withhold from the investiga-
tion of Parliament. Give us the papers, and we will present him
with items enough, and will show to him and to all the world
the immense and extravagant expenditures of the Administration
now going out of power. But the common sense of the people is
guided by no such induction of particulars. They cannot go into
all the minute items of a long account. They will look at the
footing of the bill; they will compare the present with the past,
and promises with performance. But if the honorable Senator
challenges us to items, I could occupy days together in showing
more than, perhaps, he would like to see. It is true that Mr. Van
Buren was very unfortunate ; he was a sort of codicil to a pre-
vious Administration, and, though most willing to " follow in the
footsteps of his illustrious predecessor," has sometimes mistaken
the path, and has been unable to regain it. Why, my God ! can
350 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the Senator be serious in asking Gen. Harrison to follow in the
footsteps of Martin Van Buren ? If he should, one event would
follow which the gentleman, perhaps, would be delighted to see
— the footsteps would lead him to just such another result as we
are now witnessing. But, for myself, I hope for Gen. Harrison
better things. I trust he will avoid those devious and downward
paths in which his predecessors have walked. I hope he will blaze
for himself a new way in the forest. I hope he will put an end to
those multiplied abuses which have prostrated the institutions of
the country and brought the country itself down to its present
low, weak, degraded, and miserable condition. I trust he will
better fulfil his promises and pledges as to a wise and prosperous
administration of our public affairs.
The Senator tells us that he is a great friend to our old and,
well-tried land system; that he will not disturb it; but is it no
alteration of that system to sustain a bill which goes to supersede
some of its most important provisions? He tells us that Gen.
Harrison is a pre-emptioner, and that he is advocating the doc-
trines of Gen. Harrison against his friends here. But where, I
ask, is the evidence of his friendship for our land system and his
unwillingness to disturb it, when he opposes such a just and
reasonable restriction as is now proposed, and leaves the bill
almost boundless in its application and interminable in point of
time?
The Senator over the way, ( Mr. Clay of Alabama, ) thought
no part of my objections worthy of the least notice but that in
reference to the loss of the sixteenth section reserved in every
township for the purposes of education. He says my fears on
that subject are groundless, and my representations deceptive,
because the sixteenth section is already reserved by a provision
in the bill. That is matter of construction. It is not reserved by
the words of the bill. Suppose a man should settle on the six-
teenth section, (and how are you going to prevent him?) When
it is found that that is a good section, and has been settled on,
you will be immediately applied to to change the school section in
that township for another. Have we seen nothing like this in
times past ?
But the Senator said that I had always warred against the
new States, and against the people of his State in particular. I
deny it; I repudiate the charge. It is his interpretation of my
course; but I plead to his jurisdiction, and I deny the truth of
his accusation. No, sir ; it is the Senator himself who is warring
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 351
against the interests of his own State. It is the Senator who is
wilHng to give up the share of that State in the rich and fertile
lands of Missouri and Arkansas, for a parcel of wretched, miser-
able pine barrens. For these he is ready to barter away the
inheritance of his own Alabama, in all the rich and abundant
regions northwest of the Ohio. No, sir, no; I have been the true
friend of the new States, as, I hope, of all the States. In offering
a just and liberal distribution among them all, of the proceeds
of the public domain, and in consideration of the peculiar situ-
ation of the newer States, I have proposed to add twelve and a
half per cent, to their shares in this distribution. Is this the part
of an enemy? If the Senator chose to say that, in his opinion, I
was warring against the interests of his State, it would have been
another thing; but I deny his right here, or that of any other
Senator, to pronounce, as ex cathedra, that I am the enemy of the
new States, and am warring against them. The fact is directly
the reverse. I have been consulting their truest interests by
urging a just, liberal, generous system of policy, which would
at once advance the interests and secure the ultimate prosperity
of every State in the Union. I regret that the Senator should
have taken occasion to make this remark. It was unnecessary ;
it was uncalled for. If the Senator differs from me in opinion,
let him differ like a man, in an open, fair, dignified, and courteous
manner. Because he opposes my course in reference to the public
lands, does it therefore follow that I am hostile to the new States ?
I trust not ; and I hope, in future, that the honorable gentleman
will manifest a little more of toleration and of courtesy in his
speeches here. The Senator chose to use the word " irrevocable,"
as applied by me to the provision of this bill. I never used the
word. I said the bill was interminable in point of time ; and in
its present form it is interminable, until the requisite authority
shall interpose to repeal it.
From a view of the whole subject, I am opposed to the bill,
as impairing the amount of revenue to come into the Treasury
during the present year, thereby augmenting a deficit for which
provision ought long since to have been made, and as fraught
with evils passing all imagination, from the disputes and contests
for title among that flood of settlers which is invited from all the
quarters of the known world to rush in a mass upon our public
domain. I have made, and shall continue to make opposition, as
heretofore, with this difference, that, whereas formerly I opposed
pre-emption bills, though only retrospective in their operation.
352 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
and confined to a particular district, I oppose this the more as
being prospective, interminable, and reaching to the entire extent
of the public domain. And, most marvellous of all, it is yet said
that all this involves no interference whatever with our admirable,
our venerable, and long-tried land system, which has been so
justly lauded on the present occasion.
Mr. Buchanan said it was not his purpose to interfere in the
dispute between the two Senators of the same name, though on
opposite sides of the Senate and of the question. He should leave
them to fight their own battle. I gave my reasons (said Mr. B.)
for believing that the revenue during the present year will be
much greater than that of the past, and is likely to reach
$19,000,000.
Mr. Clay (interposing.) Will the Senator be so good as to
tell us, if the matter stands as he has just represented, how it
happens that the Secretary of the Treasury has estimated the first
quarter of the present year at no more than $3,000,000?
Mr. Buchanan said he should before he took his seat. The
Senator from Kentucky has expressed an opinion contrary to
mine. Mine is based on some facts, at least. His, so far as
appears, is founded upon none.
Mr. Clay. None except the product of the last year.
Mr. Buchanan. Yes ; but I have shown a distinction between
our circumstances during the last year and the present. The
Senator speaks of the revenue of the first quarter. Why, sir, we
have entered but twenty days in that quarter, and what estimate
can as yet be formed as to that ?
Mr. Clay. The Secretary has made one.
Mr. Buchanan. The receipts of this quarter will mainly
depend on last fall's importations, not on those of the present
year. You cannot, as yet, estimate, with any degree of accuracy,
what the results will be for this year. There have been great and
unusual storms on the ocean, and great destruction of property;
but so many arrivals have already taken place, as to justify the
expectation that the amount of duties at the custom-house will
be largely increased. Every body can see that the receipts for the
first quarter must, of course, fall short, because they depend
chiefly on the importations of last year, and there has not been
time, as yet, to show whether the Senator's estimate for the whole
year or my own may prove to be correct. I calculate that there
will be $19,000,000 of revenue, because the importation will
probably be large, and no reduction of the tariff will occur under
1841] PUBLIC LANDS 353
the existing laws till the last day of next December. But vast
importations, though they augment the revenue, furnish in them-
selves no evidence of national prosperity. On that subject, our
history runs in one eternal cycle. One year, we import too much,
and have more goods than we can pay for. We become alarmed
at this, and the next year import too little ; and hence the history
of our foreign commerce is a history of expansion and contrac-
tion, and of perpetually recurring revulsions.
The next thing I shall refer to in the remarks which fell
from the honorable Senator, was, that his good taste and his good
nature did not induce him to forbear from some remarks upon
my poor mission to Russia.
[Mr. Clay, (speaking across.) You filled it so well that you
ought not to complain of me on that account. ]
That, to be sure, is a sugar-plum, which in some measure
corrects the acidity of what went before. It comes in very timely,
and prevents some remarks in which I might otherwise have
indulged. I can, with great truth, say that mission was wholly
unsolicited by me, and that it was as unexpected as any event, the
most improbable, could have been, nor was it desired by me.
[Mr. Clay (across.) No bad thing though — not a thing for
a man to turn up his nose at. ]
It was not refused, it is true — but only for the reason that it
was pressed with so much earnestness by the distinguished man
then at the head of the Government. I accordingly yielded and
went abroad; and I can say, for the benefit of any gentleman (if
such there be) who may be looking forward to a foreign mission
as some great thing, that he will most assuredly be disappointed,
unless, indeed, he happens to be a millionaire.
I am glad, on one account, however, that I accepted the
mission. The precedent may do some good to my friends on this
side of the House. It requires no prophet, to predict, that in
appointing members of Congress to office, General Harrison will
at least follow in the footsteps of " his illustrious predecessor,"
and may probably leave him far behind. It would be hard indeed
to deprive him of the services of so many distinguished Senators
and Representatives, and equally hard to deprive them of the
pleasure of serving him, by acting upon a political principle which
would exclude them from office. I am happy to believe that there
is no danger of any such unpleasant result. If I read the signs of
the times aright, whatever objections may have existed against
General Jackson on this score, they will at least be equally well
Vol. IV— 23
354 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
founded against his illustrious successor ; and if any of his friends
here should happen to be looking out for " loaves and fishes," all
I can say is, that I wish them God speed. I might add, if it did
not weaken the force of the precedent, that the mission was not
offered to me, until after I had retired from Congress, and
become a private citizen.
The honorable Senator says that the time has not yet come
to investigate the extravagance of the Van Buren administration.
Well, I hope it may come, and I now venture to say that those
who attack it will not be able to show, in the whole course of that
Administration, any items of censurable extravagance. If any
such exist, the opportunity to investigate them is always present.
Every particular of expenditure, down to the last cent, is open
before you. What act of Congress has Mr. Van Buren violated?
In what has he departed from those economical principles we all
profess, and which I hope we shall all practice? I know of none.
We have called on gentlemen to specify particulars, but the
Senator from Kentucky says that he gpes only for aggregates.
He looks only at the footing of the bill. Can he defend such a
course? With all his ability and eloquence, can he show that
this is a fair mode of judging? The question depends not on the
gross amount of expenditure, but whether the expenditures have
been kept within the proper limits ; whether they have been wisely
directed. If a man buys what is very valuable, he must pay pro-
portionally, and no money has been expended by this adminis-
tration which was not sanctioned by Congress.
On the subject of pre-emption, I think I am perfectly safe,
for, although I am menaced by the giant arm of the Senator from
Kentucky, yet I am shielded by that of General Harrison, the
distinguished " military chieftain " who is soon to take the head
of the Government. We have heard that he goes the whole for
the pre-emption principle. Would it, then, not be ;well for the
Senator from Kentucky to reconsider his opposition? Let him
not attack the bill as hostile to the great principles of our land
system, because it does not trench upon them at all. It does not
reduce the price of the land. It proposes to keep that up at $1.25
per acre. Its whole effect is to give to the industrious and honest
settler an opportunity to buy for himself a home, provided he
contents himself with a quarter section of land — a small inroad
indeed on the existing land system — a system to which I am quite
as much devoted as the Senator from Kentucky.
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 355
SPEECH, JANUARY 22, 1841,
DEFENDING VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION AGAINST THE
CHARGE OF EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES.!
Mr. Buchanan rose to answer each of the four specific
charges of extravagance which had been made by the Senator
from Kentucky [Mr. Crittenden] against the present Adminis-
tration. That Senator had called upon him personally to make
this answer ; and he undertook the task with pleasure, not believ-
ing it to be one of much difficulty. Before, however, he should
apply himself directly to this work, he would take the liberty of
making some preliminary observations.
And in the first place, said Mr. B., permit me to observe that
I, at least, have never introduced into this Senate, as topics of
debate, " log cabins, hard cider, and coon skins ; " nor have I
ever made an observation here which could be tortured into a
reflection upon either the integrity or intelligence of the people
of the United States for having elected General Harrison their
President. The Senator from Kentucky has promptly and
frankly disclaimed any intention of imputing to me such a
charge ; and with this I am entirely satisfied. The people are the
only legitimate sovereigns of this country, and however much I
may regret their recent decision of the Presidential question, I
shall never, either here or elsewhere, indulge myself in the use
of reproachful language against them for this or any other
cause.
If I know myself, said Mr. B., I came to Congress in Decem-
ber last with the desire and with the expectation that this would
prove to be a business session. It was my sincere wish that the
political excitement which has recently agitated the people and
has extended to every portion of the land, might, for the present,
be suffered to subside, and that we might bring up the arrears of
business wfth which we are now encumbered. I had not the
most distant idea that this chamber would again so soon be con-
verted into a mere political arena. Acting under a sense of duty,
I have abstained from political conflicts since the commencement
of the present session, except when compelled to enter the lists in
the necessary defence of myself or of my party. I have made no
assaults, and have generally been a mere listener.
I had another reason for refraining from any participation
*Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX., Appendix, 106-111.
356 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
in the debate now before the Senate. I knew that the question of
the distribution of the proceeds of the pubHc lands was before
the Legislature of my own State, and that I might be instructed
on the subject; and, as I shall ever entertain and express the
utmost deference and respect for that Legislature, whatever polit-
ical party may be in the majority, I thought that a proper sense
of delicacy required me to abstain from discussing this question.
I have not, therefore, said, nor do I now intend to say, a single
word upon that subject : and I shall either give my vote according
to these instructions, should they pass, or resign my seat. I am
not the man who, after having enjoyed the sunshine of political
favor, will shrink from the storm. I long since, from the deepest
conviction, adopted the principle that the representative was
bound by the instructions of his constituents. I consider it essen-
tial to the wholesome action of a free, Democratic Republican
form of Government; and having publicly avowed this doctrine
at a period when there appeared to be but little probability that it
could ever reach myself, I shall not disavow it in the day of
apparent gloom and adversity. I am willing to abide the fate
of war.
For a similar reason, I might even have refrained from
advocating the passage of the pre-emption bill, dear as it now is,
and ever has been to me, had I then known that the instructions
before the Legislature of Pennsylvania embraced this subject, as
well as that of the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands.
I am glad, however, now to find, that even the Senator from
Kentucky himself [Mr. Crittenden] is in favor of the principle
of pre-emption, and has actually incorporated it with that of dis-
tribution in his motion now before the Senate. This renders it
certain that if ever a distribution bill should pass — and from the
signs of the times I consider such a result probable — the poor
man who has expended his toil in erecting an humble dwelling,
and cultivating the soil, shall not be driven from his home on the
public lands of the far West, provided he is willing to pay the
Government price for the quarter section which he has selected
and improved.
For one, it was both my design and my desire, so far as I
was concerned, to devote this session to the necessary business
of the country, and to wait patiently until General Harrison
should get into power. I shall then judge the tree by its fruits,
without any predetermination to oppose his measures. I am
bound, notwithstanding, in candor, to declare, that if he enter-
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 357
tains the opinion of his friend from Kentucky, [Mr. Crittenden,]
in regard to a National Bank, he [General Harrison] believes
that to be a great good, which I consider one of the greatest evils
which can befall the country. Without, at present, alluding to
its fatal political consequences, I believe that in a mere financial
point of view, it would prove destructive to our prosperity. In
order to obtain a specie capital for such an institution, you must
either ruin or essentially cripple our State banks; or you must
adopt the alternative of borrowing specie abroad, and creating a
national debt for this purpose. One or other of these alternatives
is inevitable; and the country is not in a condition to resort to
either, without great injury to the people. But enough of this
for the present. I return to the subject with which I commenced.
I shall now proceed to show that the charge of extravagance
which has been so often made and reiterated against the present
Administration by both the Senators from Kentucky, [Messrs.
Crittenden and Clay,] is without foundation. It will be for the
Senate and the country to decide whether I shall have succeeded.
It will be recollected that in the month of May last, a report
was made by the Secretary of the Treasury in obedience to a
resolution of the Senate on the subject of the annual expenditures
of the Federal Government during the fifteen preceding years.
Fropi that report it appears that the ordinary expenses of this
Government, which in 1824 amounted to a little more than seven
million one hundred thousand dollars, had been gradually in-
creasing until the year 1839, when they a little exceeded thirteen
millions and a quarter. I mean by " ordinary expenses " the
money annually disbursed in maintaining the permanent civil,
military, and naval establishments of the country, and embracing
every expenditure necessary to conduct the Government prosper-
ously in time of peace. Now, in regard to this class of expendi-
tures, I have never heard any Senator on either side of the House
complain of their amount, or that they had risen from seven to
thirteen millions of dollars between 1824 and 1839. During this
period, a number of new States have been admitted into the
Union, and several new Territories created — the army and navy
have both been considerably increased, and the expenses of Con-
gress have of late years become enormous, requiring reform more
than any other branch of the Government. Our expenditures
must necessarily increase with the growth of the country ; but it
ought to be our care that this increase shall be as slow as possible,
and never proceed beyond what is absolutely necessary for the
358 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
public service. We might with as much reason expect that the
little gannent which was sufficient to cover the child of eight or
ten years of age, would prove sufficient to protect him from the
wind and the storm after he had grown to be a giant, as argue
that the "ordinary expenses " of the Government should not
have increased with the rapid, nay the unexampled growth of the
nation during the last fifteen years. Nothing has been said
against these expenses, either in the aggregate or in detail, since
they were brought to the attention of gentlemen by the Secre-
tary's report. It is, then, fair to presume that nothing can be
urged against a single item of them. On this triumphant result,
I am most happy to have it in my power to congratulate the
friends of the present Administration.
The Secretary of the Treasury in the same report to which
I have referred, also presented an annual statement of the ex-
penses " of an extraordinary or temporary character," from 1824
to 1839, both years inclusive, arranged under different heads.
When this report came into the Senate in the month of May last,
both the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Benton] and myself called
upon the gentlemen on the opposite side to point out a single item
of extravagance amongst all these expenditures of the Govern-
ment, whether ordinary or extraordinary. Not one of them was
then bold enough even to make the attempt. Our challenge was
not met. And now I would ask the Senator from Kentucky [Mr.
Crittenden] on whom ought the burden of the proo_f of extrava-
gance to rest ? Would he require the friends of the Administra-
tion to go over, item by item, all the ten thousand items of
expenditure which have been submitted in a distinct form to
Congress, and show that in each particular instance there was no
extravagance? This would, as that honorable Senator well
knows, be reversing all the rules of common law, as well as of
common sense. We present to the Senators in opposition a clear
and distinct account in detail of the expenses of the Government;
and it is manifestly their duty, if they believe there has been
extravagance in any item, to lay their hand upon it and show
wherein the extravagance consists. This they cannot do, or they
would long since have accepted our challenge. They are, there-
fore, driven to condemn in the aggregate, although they can find
no fault with any of the details of which this aggregate is com-
posed. They exclaim that the Administration has been extrava-
gant, because it has expended one hundred and thirty millions of
dollars in four years, whilst they do not point out in what manner
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 359
it would have been possible to have reduced this expenditure. It
is true that at this late day the Senator from Kentucky [Mr.
Crittenden] has denounced four particular items of the account
as extravagant ; but I think I shall prove, before I sit down, that
he has been less wise and wary than his colleague, [Mr. Clay,] in
descending from generals to particulars.
I do not deny but that the " extraordinary expenses " of the
Government have been very large during the last four years.
But whether these expenditures were great or small, is not the
question. Were they inevitable? Could they have been avoided
by any human prudence or foresight on the part of the Executive
or his friends in Congress ? Was not each of the treaties and acts
of Congress under which these expenditures were necessarily
incurred, sanctioned and sustained by the very Senators who now
condemn them in the aggregate? These are the true questions.
These " extraordinary expenses " must, from the nature of
things, vary with the ever varying condition of the country. Our
circumstances are changing with every changing year. Some
years ago, the nation was gliding along on the smooth current of
prosperity, and requiring but little above the ordinary expenditure
necessary to Iceep the Government in regular motion. Not so,
since the present President came into power. It has been his
misfortune, that, during the period of his administration, heavy
expenses, of an extraordinary character, which he could not have
avoided, were rendered absolutely necessary, whilst the revenue
of the Government has been greatly reduced, by causes equally
beyond his control. Is it not, then, the most crying injustice — is
it not the strangest accusation in the world, to charge the man
who happened to take the helm of State when the country was
involved in such difficulties, with extravagance, merely because
he was compelled to execute treaties and laws which had received
the sanction of all political parties in Congress ?
Under such circumstances, ought he to be denounced because
the necessary expenses of Government happened to exceed, under
his Administration, those which were incurred under his prede-
cessors? True economy in a Government does not consist in
hoarding money like the miser,. and doing no good with it; but in
applying it, with a provident hand, to the accomplishment of such
objects as are necessary to the defence and prosperity of the
country. After these objects of expenditure have been desig-
nated by Congress, Executive economy consists in accomplishing
them at the cheapest rate possible. This is the only economy
360 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
which can be practised by the President ; and if he has neglected
this duty in any particular instance he would be liable to censure;
but not otherwise.
In order to swell the expenditures of the last four years to
one hundred and thirty millions, Senators have included items
not only of the most unjust, but of the most ridiculous character.
I shall enumerate a few of them.
One large item in this amount was for money expended upon
the public buildings. Is there a single member of the Senate who
either raised his voice or gave his vote against the appropriations
for this purpose ? The money expended on these buildings- alone
during the period of the present Administration amounts to
between four and five millions. I have not added up the sum ; but
it is certainly not less than four millions. And yet these appro-
priations made by Congress, without distinction of party, are
converted into an item of extravagance against Mr. Van Buren!
Then there was the money expended in the payment of
pensions, amounting to upwards of ten millions of dollars. Had
the Administration any control over this expenditure? These
pensions were granted by a grateful country to those who had
defended it in the perilous times which tried men's souls, and
who are now the feeble and broken relics of a past age, dependent
on the public bounty for their support. Congress has also granted
pensions to such widows of old soldiers, as in the days of the
Revolution remained at home, and attended to their families
whilst their husbands went forth to the battle field. Be this right,
or be it wrong, had the present Administration any agency in
granting these pensions ? Did not Congress pass these laws ; and
did not the Senator from Kentucky vote for them? I do not
know the fact, because it is not my practice to examine the
journals for the purpose of ascertaining how individual mem-
bers may have voted ; but I do know, from the nature of the man,
that he [Mr. Crittenden] is one of the last members of the Senate
who would vote against such pensions. And yet, strange to say,
the payment of these very pensions to old soldiers and their
widows, by the Treasury, is one of the items of extravagant
expenditure charged against Mr. Van Buren's administration;
and the aggregate of $130,000,000 composed of such items as
these has been spread over the whole country, in order to alarm
the fears of the people.
Again. There was the expense of extinguishing the Indian
title within the States and Territories of the Union, and of
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 361
removing the Indians west of the Mississippi, which amounted
to more than ten millions of dollars. Are the present Adminis-
tration to blame for this expenditure ? Could the President have
avoided it, after the Senate had ratified the treaties under which
it was incurred ? No Senator on this floor will say that he could.
He had no discretion whatever on the subject ; but was obliged to
execute these treaties and the laws made in pursuance of them.
How unjust is it, then, to put down this item in the aggregate of
one hundred and thirty millions of dollars expended by the
present Administration !
I might, if I pleased, pass in review all the other heads of
extraordinary expenditure detailed by the Secretary of the Treas-
uiy in his report, and show that it was impossible for the Presi-
dent to avoid any one of them. He can exercise no dispensing
power. He must obey the acts of Congress and treaties; and
these laws and treaties were of such pressing necessity as even to
have disarmed opposition, and to have received the votes of the
political enemies as well as of the friends of the Administration.
I may well spare myself this trouble, as not one of these items of
expenditure has ever been questioned by any Senator upon this
floor. It is true, they exclaim, you have spent one hundred and
thirty millions of dollars, and this is enormous ; but they make
no attempt to show how it was possible for the President to have
reduced this amount.
There are two or three items embraced within this aggre-
gate, of a character so extraordinary as to deserve more than a
mere passing notice. In the Secretary's report, the indemnities
amount to between six and seven millions of dollars. What are
these indemnities? General Jackson, during his prosperous Ad-
ministration, succeeded in obtaining satisfaction for all the old
claims which our citizens had against foreign Governments. He
got nearly five millions from France ; and I do not recollect pre-
cisely how much from Denmark, and other nations. At all
events, he left us a clear score, and the enjoyment of peace with
all foreign nations. Now, according to the terms of the treaties,
these indemnities, obtained from foreign Governments for our
own citizens, were paid into the Treasury for their use, and were
of course paid out of the Treasury to them, as soon as it was
ascertained how much each one was entitled to receive ; and yet,
strange as it may seem, these very payments from the Treasury
constitute a large item of the aggregate of one hundred and thirty
millions about which we have heard so much. This sacred trust
362 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
fund, which was acquired for our citizens by the most efficient
and persevering exertions — this very fund, which was fairly dis-
tributed amongst those entitled to receive it, has thus been con-
verted into a charge of extravagance to its full amount against
Mr. Van Buren, simply because it was paid out of the Treasury
during his administration. This item shows conclusively why
the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] goes for footings, and
not for particulars. Is this fair towards the present Administra-
tion? If it were, then had General Jackson succeeded in obtain-
ing twenty millions more from foreign nations, Mr. Van Buren,
who disbursed the money, would have been twenty millions more
extravagant ; and the gentleman might have exclaimed, " you
have expended one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, instead
of one hundred and thirty." In making out these debtor and
creditor accounts of extravagance, will any man say that it was
either just or proper to charge such an item as this against the
retiring Administration ?
I should have been rejoiced if the subject of the expendi-
tures of the present Administration had not again been introduced
until after the accession of General Harrison, because then, as
the Senator [Mr. Clay] says, the books and papers will be in the
possession of his friends. They will then be enabled to search
these books and papers to their hearts' content; and, for one, I
now give them fair notice, that should I be permitted to remain
in the Senate, I shall call upon them, when they have all the
official documents in their power, to make good the charge of
wasteful extravagance against Mr. Van Buren's administration.
This is due to themselves, as well as to that portion of the Amer-
ican people who have been deluded into the belief that the present
Administration has been guilty of a prodigal and wasteful ex-
penditure of the public money.
Another most extraordinary charge against Mr. Van Buren,
embraced within the aggregate of one hundred and thirty
millions, is that of more than twenty millions paid out of the
Treasury in discharge of the national debt. Now, sir, observe
the gross injustice of this charge. The Administration are first
charged with all the expenditures which rendered it necessary to
create a debt by the issue of Treasury notes, and afterwards, as
this debt was discharged, they are again chai"ged the second time
with the amount paid to the public creditors. According to this
mode of stating the account, an Administration is first charged
with, I shall say, twenty millions of dollars for public expendi-
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 363
tures. Their necessities require them to borrow these twenty
millions. They then pay the borrowed money, and this discharge
of the debt is twenty millions more expended, and swells the total
to forty millions instead of twenty, although this last sum is
palpably the whole amount expended. As a further illustration,
let me suppose a case. The Senator from Kentucky employs an
agent to build him a house which shall cost ten thousand dollars,
and directs him to borrow the money on his (the Senator's)
credit. The agent borrows the money and builds the house, and
afterwards discharges the debt from the proceeds of the Senator's
estate. What would be thought of his justice, if the Senator
were to brand this agent with extravagance, and say, you have
expended twenty thousand dollars of my money when I author-
ized you to expend but ten ? You have first paid out ten thousand
dollars in the erection of my house ; and, shameful extravagance !
you have squandered ten thousand dollars more in discharging
the debt which I authorized you to contract. And yet this is the
measure of justice which the Senator would apply to the present
President of the United States as the agent O'f the people.
Now, fortunately for this country, neither the present nor
any future President of the United States can be justly charged
with extravagant expenditures, except in a few cases, should
Congress do their duty. Under the Constitution, not one dollar
of public money can ever be drawn from the Treasury, " but in
consequence of appropriations made by law." In most instances.
Congress appropriates the precise sum which, under existing
laws, is required for each special purpose; and the Secretary of
the Treasury merely pays out these sums as their agent. Neither
he nor the President can make these payments either greater or
less. Since the origin of the Government, the public Treasury
has been protected by this constitutional guard.
But the present Administration have done more than all
their predecessors to secure the public money in the hands of
our receiving and disbursing agents. Hitherto, whilst the poor
wretch who stole five dollars to gratify the cravings of hunger
was doomed to the penitentiary, the public ofificer who squandered
the public money entrusted to his care, or fled with it to a foreign
country, was held to have committed a mere breach of trust, and
escaped without any punishment whatever. The much abused
Independent Treasury law, which is now about to be repealed,
was the first act of legislation which ever inflicted any punish-
ment upon public ofificers for plundering the public money.
364 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Under its provisions, such a crime is made felony ; and the culprit
is consigned to the four walls of the penitentiary, instead of being
sent on a mission to London or Paris, to revel in luxury there on
the spoils of the public, and to enjoy the pleasures of " good
society." But the decree has gone forth, and this law is to be
repealed by the new Administration.
The President of the United States can only be guilty of
extravagance by recommending and by influencing his friends in
Congress to adopt useless and extravagant projects not necessary
for the public good; or where, from the nature of the case, a
general appropriation must be made to accomplish a particular
purpose, by not applying this money, necessarily subjected to his
discretion, with a wise and proper economy.
Gentlemen may test the expenditures of the present Adminis-
tration by any reasonable rule which they please, and ascertain
whether any of them could have been avoided. There they are,
spread upon the record of the American Senate in the report of
the Secretary of the Treasury, and there they have been ever since
May last, subject to the inspection and scrutiny of each American
Senator ; and what has been the result ? At this late period, after
the Presidential election has been decided, the Senator from
Kentucky now, for the first time, makes four specific charges of
extravagance. If we were even to admit that these specifications
are all well founded, happy indeed would be the country where,
in the expenditure of so many millions, the research and in-
genuity of gentlemen could discover but four small and compara-
tively inconsiderable items to which they can object. There is no
other nation on the face of the earth which could present such a
spectacle in the administration of its finances, and even with
these blemishes, if they existed, it would be the glory of our
country to be able to present such an account. It would be con-
clusive evidence of the regard for law and the morality which
prevails amongst us.
After this report had been thus subjected to the ordeal of
these gentlemen for the greater part of a year, the Senator now
confines himself to a specification of only four particulars, in
which he alleges the Government have been guilty of extrava-
gance. If I can demonstrate, as I believe I can, that he has been
mistaken in each of these particulars, then the friends of the
present Administration will indeed have cause for congratulation
and triumph.
The Senator's first specification is, that the Administration
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 365
had brought mounted volunteers all the way from Missouri to
the Florida war, when men in abundance might have been ob-
tained from the neighboring States at a much less expense ; and
that instead of transporting these volunteers from Missouri to
Florida by water, a useless expense was incurred in sending
them over land. Three hundred was the whole number of these
Missouri volunteers, as I have been informed by the highest
official authority at the proper Department. And to what, then,
does this whole charge of extravagance against the Administra-
tion amount? To the excess of what it would cost to transport
three hundred men from Missouri to Florida above the cost of
transporting the same number of men from Georgia, Alabama,
or Kentucky. This difference of price is the whole sum and
substance of the Senator's first charge of extravagance. I have
been also informed from the same authority that these men did
not march over land through Kentucky, as the Senator supposes ;
but were unfortunately transported by water from St. Louis to
Florida. The consequence was, that they encountered a storm
in the Gulf of Mexico, and many of their horses were lost.
Happy, indeed, therefore, would it have been for them if this
portion of the Senator's charge had been well founded, and if
they had marched over land.
But why did the Secretary of War resort to Missouri for
these volunteers? Was it because he had not entire confidence
in the patriotism and courage of the men of Georgia, Alabama,
and Kentucky ? No, sir, not at all. But it was suggested to the
Secretary that the frontier men of Missouri — the hunters and
trappers of the far West, who had been accustomed to Indian
war, were better acquainted with the character and habits of our
savage foe, and would, for this reason, be more efficient than
equally brave soldiers who had not the same experience. It
was believed that these frontier men would be skilful in pene-
trating the Everglades of Florida, and discovering the Indians in
their hiding-places.
In the days of the Indian wars of Kentucky, the Kentuck-
ians were probably the best Indian fighters in the world. But
these days have fortunately long since passed away; and you
must now go further West for men of experience in this peculiar
mode of warfare. Considering how our army had been baffled
by the Florida Indians, it might have been wise, and I believe it
was wise, to accept the services of these Missourians; and the
conduct of this brave band, with the lamented Colonel Gentry
366 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
at their head, proved that the Secretary was not mistaken either
in their skill or courage. Some forty or fifty of them lost their
lives in battle; and yet the charge is, that their transportation
from St. Louis to Florida had cost the Government more than
it would have done to transport the same number of men from
Lexington or Nashville. This is truly a grave and serious
accusation !
I can inform the Senator in what manner I presume his
mistake originated in regard to the marching of the Missouri
volunteers through Kentucky. Although they did not march
through Kentucky, yet the second regiment of dragoons did ; and
he must have mistaken the one for the other. And why was this
regiment marched to Florida over land, and not transported by
water? It was not done to expend, but to save money. They
thus transported themselves, and therefore the Government saved
the cost of their transportation. Besides, in addition to all this,
they were trained and disciplined every day upon the road as
cavalry ought to be disciplined. The consequence was, that the
moment they arrived in Florida, they were prepared for active
and efficient service. On the other hand, had they been trans-
ported by water, their horses might probably have been lost, as
were those of the Missouri volunteers, and they could not have
improved in discipline on the way. In regard to the expenditure,
I have been informed at the Department that it was a clear
saving to the Government to march this regiment to Florida by
land, instead of transporting it by water. So much for the
Senator's first charge.
The second charge made by the Senator consists in this ; that
the Administration had collected five hundred thousand dollars'
worth of provisions in the Cherokee country, for the use of the
army; and that these provisions, not being wanted, were after-
wards sold at auction for a sum but little exceeding fifty thousand
dollars. To this and to all the other charges of the Senator, I
felt myself prepared to reply last evening; but concluded that it
was best to wait and reassure myself of the precise character of
the facts. I can now assure the Senator that there is great
exaggeration in this statement. The whole supply of provisions
was not sold at auction; but the comparatively small surplus
only, which remained after subsisting the troops, and this because
the articles were perishable, and would not bear the cost of
transportation. I admit that there was a considerable loss on
the sale of this surplus, chiefly in the articles of bacon and hard
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 367
bread; and I shall tell the gentleman how it occurred, and then
ask him to say whether the Administration is fairly chargeable
with it.
We all know that the Cherokees, at the first, refused to
execute their treaty and remove to the West of the Mississippi.
Indeed, an incipient war already existed. From the representa-
tions of their chief, and from other causes which I need not
detail, they were induced to believe that the Government would
never remove them by force. They were upon the soil of
Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, who insisted upon their
removal ; and it thus became the imperative duty of the Govern-
ment to enforce the execution of the treaty. Policy, humanity,
economy, and the example of the Florida war, all required that
a sufficient force should be sent into the Cherokee country to
overawe the Indians, and thus effect their removal without blood-
shed. One of the most eminent men of our country, the hero of
Lundy's Lane [General Scott] was selected to command these
forces, and ample discretionary power was conferred upon him
to carry the treaty into effect. This hero may, in future time,
become a still more distinguished character, for the race of mili-
tary chieftains is, probably, not yet extinct. Under these circum-
stances, it became necessary for the subsistence department to
collect within the Cherokee country a sufficient quantity of pro-
visions for the supply of the army. That this was their impera-
tive duty no one can deny.
General Scott executed the high trust confided to him with
distinguished fidelity and ability. With the example of the
Florida war before him, he deemed it necessary to act with the
utmost energy and vigor, and to concentrate such a force as
would overawe all opposition. I ask, then, would not the Ad-
ministration have been greatly to blame, had they not collected
sufficient provisions for the whole force which General Scott
deemed it expedient to call into service?
In this crisis, John Ross, the head chief of the Cherokees,
concluded an arrangement with General Scott, under the sanc-
tion of the Secretary of War, and engaged himself to remove his
people. It was thus rendered unnecessary to employ our troops
in removing them by force ; and a large portion of these troops
was immediately discharged. A sufficient number, therefore, did
not continue in the service to consume all the remainder of the
provisions which had been collected.
Were these provisions improperly collected? Was it not
368 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
necessary that the Department should have them at the point
where the army assembled? But a large portion of this army
was soon disbanded, and in this unforeseen contingency what
was to be done with the remainder of the provisions? There
they were in the midst of the Indian country, where no demand
existed for them ; and necessity compelled the officer in command
to direct them to be sold at auction, whatever price they might
bring. It is true the bacon and hard bread were sold at a sacri-
fice, but what else could be done? The expense of transporting
them to any place where they might have sold for their value
would have been greater than the difference between that value
and what the Government actually received.
But whether the loss were great or small, the Administra-
tion had nothing directly to do with the sale, and are not, there-
fore, liable to censure for this cause. The provisions were
collected by the proper department for the subsistence of the
army under the Commanding General, and he acted in strict
conformity with his duty in directing the sale of such of them as
he could not use. The Administration knew nothing of the
matter until after they had been sold, and the accounts of the sale
were rendered. Thus ends the second item of extravagance
alleged by the Senator against the Administration.
The third specification of extravagance mainly rests upon
the strange order of Brigadier-General Read of the Florida
militia. Of all the persons I have ever known, the Senator from
Kentucky can the most effectually turn into ridicule even that
which is not ridiculous in itself. What a rare occasion, then, does
this order present for his powers of satire! He must esteem it
as a precious relic, and therefore I shall most certainly comply
with his request, and return it to him as soon as I shall have read
it to the Senate.
Here Mr. Buchanan read the order as follows :
Headquarters, Florida Brigade,
Newnansville, December 4, 1840.
The troops of the Sedentary infantry service, of which Captain Broer's
company is an integral portion, shall not at any time be ordered on active
duty; nor will it ever occur during their term of service, that they shall
be ordered to march a greater distance than twenty miles beyond the head-
quarters of their respective companies. They will be directed to remain
at their usual places of abode, and expected to engage sedulously in the
pursuit of their usual occupations.
(Signed,) Leigh Read,
Captain Broer, Mandarien. Brigadier General, Florida Brigade.
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 369
If the Administration could be held responsible for the bad
taste in which this order was conceived, I should pronounce them
guilty at once. But this is a question not of taste, but of extrav-
agant expenditure, and regarded in that view, the Senator would
find that it did not at all establish his proposition.
I shall then first explain to the honorable gentleman why
Brigadier-General Read, who by the by is an excellent officer,
told these men to remain at home, and attend to their own busi-
ness. Although it might have been better taste not to have
embraced such a command in a general military order, at least
without further explanation, yet the Senator would himself soon
perceive the propriety of this injunction.
It will be recollected that at the last session the Secretary
of War had called upon Congress to raise a thousand mounted
men for the Florida war, to remain in service during its con-
tinuance, and to receive a bounty in land, with the same pay and
emoluments as the cavalry of the United States. The Senate
passed a bill for that purpose, increasing the force to fifteen
hundred men. This bill went to the House of Representatives,
where the Committee on Military Affairs, approving of the
policy, recommended a still further increase from 1,500 to 2,000
men; but the House never reached the measure, and no troops
were raised for the prosecution of the Florida war. But did
Congress, by this neglect, intend that Florida should not be de-
fended? Was it the design of Congress that the Florida militia
should not be called into service for this purpose ? Certainly not.
If anything could be inferred from the neglect of Congress to
pass the bill, it was that Florida should be defended by the militia
under the existing laws; for no Senator can suppose that we
intended to give up the wives and the children of its inhabitants
to the scalping-knife of the savage.
Whilst this bill was pending before Congress, the Governor
of Florida, in pursuance of an act of the Territorial Legislature,
called out into actual service a number of mounted men for the
defence of that Territory, nominally at its own expense, but
which we all know, from past experience, must eventually be paid
by the United States. After the adjournment of Congress without
having passed the bill to which I have referred, the Secretary
of War interposed, and ordered out twelve hundred mounted
men, embracing those thus already in service from Florida, to
serve in every part of the Territory, and to pursue the Indians
wherever they might be found, and five hundred infantry militia.
Vol. IV— 24
370 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
And for what purpose were these five hundred mihtia to be
employed ? They were intended for mere neighborhood defence,
and, Hke the minute-men of the Revolution, were to be ready to
repel invasion at a moment's warning. They are divided into
companies of seventy men; and these men cultivate the soil, and
are spread over the border which divides the savages from the
peaceful inhabitants. They are neither required nor permitted
to pursue the enemy more than twenty miles from the head-
quarters of their respective companies; because, if they were, it
would destroy the very purpose of neighborhood defence for
which they were called into service, and leave the settlements
unprotected. It is their duty to resist sudden incursions of the
savages into these settlements; and I understand that the most
happy consequences have followed the creation of this force.
Now, in regard to the expense, which is the main point of
this argument, let me assure the Senator that these men cost the
Government but one-sixth of the cost of the same number of
cavalry. They merely receive the pay of infantry, without
bounty, rations, or clothing. They are bound to raise corn and
provisions on the public lands on which they are settled, and at
the same time be ever ready to repel the incursions of the Indians.
When this duty has been performed, they return to their peaceful
agricultural pursuits. What have been the consequences of this
policy ? Since this system was first adopted by the Secretary of
War, the Government has been able to purchase provisions at a
greatly reduced price. These men raise not only what is sufficient
to supply their own wants, but a considerable surplus for sale.
They are settled in the very heart of Florida, where provisions
are most wanted for the use of the army; and the Govern-
ment thus saves much in the cost of transportation. This
whole arrangement, instead of affording any foundation for a
charge of extravagance against the Government, is one eminently
economical.
I am sorry to inform the Senator that the Secretary has not
yet been able to raise more than one-third of these five hundred
militia infantry.
I trust he will now be able to perceive why General Read
directed these " sedentary infantry " to remain at home, and not
to pursue the enemy a greater distance than twenty miles from
their headquarters. They were never intended for general
service, but were destined to be a rampart against the stealthy
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 371
attacks of the Indians — to be a body-guai-d on the frontier for
the women and children behind them, and to be a barrier for
their protection, over which the savages could not pass. If these
men could be withdrawn from the positions which they occupy,
and sent all over Florida, the result might be disastrous.
The fourth and last charge of extravagance against Mr.
Van Buren was, the establishment of the branch mints ; and yet
these mints were established by act of Congress in 1835, two
years before he came into power. Now I myself happen to be
one of those Senators who were decidedly opposed to the establish-
ment of these mints. With the exception of the one at New
Orleans, they have never done much good, nor do I expect that
they ever will hereafter. There is one of them in Georgia, at a
place called Dahlonega, and another at Charlotte, in North Caro-
lina. At these places I believe the gold has given out. Now, as
these two mints were established, not by Mr. Van Buren, but by
an act of Congress, passed without distinction of party, is it not
most extraordinary to charge him with the expense which has
been thus incurred ? He is not to blame if the gold has given out
and cannot be found in such quantities as to keep them in
employment. The only mode of getting clear of them is that
suggested by the Senator from North Carolina, [Mr. Mangum]
and I pledge myself to support any reasonable bill for that pur-
pose which he may introduce. In the event of its passage, for
one, I should feel myself indebted to the gentlemen on the oppo-
site side of the House, if they shall be able to find a purchaser
for them.
[Mr. Lumpkin of Georgia here said he wished to state that
the honorable Senator from Pennsylvania was mistaken in saying
that the gold had given out in Georgia. On the contrary, new
discoveries are constantly being made.]
Mr. Buchanan resumed. I am glad to learn that the gold
has not given out in Georgia, and that there is still some prospect
that the Mint at Dahlonega may yet be employed. In one thing,
however, I cannot be mistaken, and that is, that if gold has been
found, very little of it has been brought to the mint to be coined,
within the last few years. I have no right to doubt the statement
of the gentleman, and I should rejdice if gold would descend in
showers from above upon . Georgia, as it formerly did upon
Danae. It makes no difference, however, for my present puf pose,
whether this mint be necessary or not. It is certain, at least, that
Mr. Van Buren was not even President when it was established.
372 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
nor is his administration responsible for what appears to me to be
the useless expense which has been thus incurred.
If this were the proper occasion, I might adduce many-
arguments to prove that not more than one mint ought to exist
in this country ; although I acknowledge that strong reasons may
be urged in favor of a branch at New Orleans. Whatever gold
may be found in the vicinity of Dahlonega and Charlotte, might
be disposed of as profitably to the finders as if they carried it to
these mints for coinage. The other Senator from Kentucky
[Mr. Clay] will bear me witness that I steadily followed the lead
of himself and my friend Governor Hill of New Hampshire,
from first to last, in opposition to the establishment of these
branch mints.
I have thtis gone over the four specifications of my friend
from Kentucky, and happy indeed am I to find that these are the
only specific charges of extravagance which have been made
against the present Administration. The very fact is, in itself,
their most triumphant vindication. Indeed, I am almost sorry,
for the sake of the gentleman, that he could not have discovered
some charges a little more plausible than any of these, on which
he might have rested an argument.
If Congress, then, have determined that the exigencies of
the country absolutely demanded the expenditure of one hundred
and thirty millions within the last four years, and if the Senator
and his friends have concurred in this necessity, and have united
with us in making appropriations to that amount, with what
justice can they now blame the President for this expenditure?
It cannot be pretended either that he created this necessity for a
large expenditure, or that he squandered the public money in
accomplishing any of the objects designated by Congress. Away,
then, with such charges of extravagance! If any debt has been
created, in consequence of these large expenditures directed by
Congress, whose fault is it? Certainly not his. He had no
control over the matter.
I undertake to predict, that should the Secretary of the
Treasury prove to be as correct in all other respects as he is in
his estimate of revenue to be derived from customs during the
present year, we shall, at the end of it, be entirely clear of debt.
I have no doubt but that the revenue from this source will, at the
very least, amount to from eighteen to twenty millions of dollars.
Should this be the case, then the Secretary is of opinion that the
revenue of the country, during the year, will be sufficient to meet
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 373
its expenditures, provided Congress shall not exceed his estimates
in their appropriations; and will, in addition, discharge the
amount of the outstanding Treasury notes. But we are willing,
nevertheless, to provide five millions more to meet any unforeseen
contingencies which may arise at the commencement of a new
Administration.
I have now answered the remarks of the Senator from
Kentucky. The facts which I have stated in regard to his four
specifications of extravagance, have of course been communi-
cated to me by the proper Department. None of them are within
my own knowledge ; but I have no doubt they are all substantially
correct.
Mr. Crittenden replied at some length to Mr. Buchanan.
His remarks will be given hereafter.
Mr. Buchanan again rose, in reply to Mr. Crittenden, and
said that he considered this a proud day for the retiring Admin-
istration. It presented a moral spectacle on which the world
might gaze with wonder. In an expenditure of one hundred and
thirty millions of dollars, during the period of four years, the
Senator from Kentucky had only been able to enumerate four
items of extravagance, and each one of these had been fully
explained. Had the world ever beheld a nation in which such a
spectacle could be presented? Look over the kingdoms of
Europe; look over the vast continent of America; examine the
abuses under every other form of Government; and where, ex-
cept in this Republic of ours, can you find such an example?
One hundred and thirty millions had been expended, and the only
complaints of extravagance were, that three hundred troops from
Missouri had been employed in the Florida war; that five hun-
dred thousand dollars' worth of provisions had been collected to
subsist our army in the Cherokee country, all of which was
fortunately not required for that purpose; that two hundred
Florida militia had been called into service on a kind of duty
which did not meet the approbation of the Senator; and that
three branch mints had been unnecessarily established, two years
before the present Administration came into power! And this
was the sum total — these were the entire charges — which the
honorable Senator could urge against the Administration. This
was, then, the only foundation for the statements which had been
made in every portion of the country, swelling the extravagance
of this Administration to hundreds of millions. The vindication
of the old Administration was now triumphant against the
374 ■ THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
charges which, had every where been urged and reiterated by the
friends of the new Administration. He and his friend from
Missouri [Mr. Benton] had challenged the gentlemen of the
Opposition in May last, to point out the items of that extrava-
gance of which they complained in the aggregate. This challenge
had not then been accepted. They remained silent. The Senator
from Kentucky had now come forth with his specifications, and
what was their character? They afforded ample testimony that
the working of our Republican Administration had been admira-
ble. Indeed, no Administration in this country could squander
the people's money without detection, because the people always
keep a vigilant eye over their public servants. A Republican Ad-
ministration would not if it could, as it could not if it would, be
guilty of extravagance. Their own high principles would con-
demn and forbid the act. There was no possibility, under the
Constitution of our Republic, that any Administration could be
guilty of expending money on useless and extravagant objects,
without the previous authority of Congress. And here he was
about to say, that the honorable Senator had treated a portion of
his argument unfairly ; but he would not apply such a term, as he
had never met with unfairness from that source. The Senator
had stated that he ( Mr. B. ) had maintained that the President
could not be held responsible for the extravagance of officers
acting under his authority. Heaven forbid! that he (Mr. B.)
should ever have entertained such an idea. Far, very far from
it. The President's task was an arduous one. Whilst it was
the most honorable, it was also the most responsible station on
earth. He had the selection of his own agents, and their im-
proper acts must always attach odium to him. If his station were
high, his responsibility was and ought to be great.
Now, for what had he (Mr. B.) contended? He had taken
up the triumphant report of the Secretary of the Treasury — a
report which could not be met — and had presented from it the
expenditures of the Administration under their appropriate
heads, and demanded whether any man could complain of them
as furnishing evidence of Executive extravagance. What was
the nature of Executive estimates ? Did the Executive ever send
estimates of expenditures to Congress which were not demanded
by pre-existing laws ? It was his duty to go through the statute
book and furnish estimates of the amount required to execute
existing acts of Congress; and whilst he confined himself to
the performance of this duty, he was under no responsibility
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES . 375
whatever. Congress, and not the President, were then re-
sponsible. That was the point. The President stood upon the
laws of the land, and had confined his estimates strictly to what
they enjoined. He could not repeal any law. On the contrary,
he was bound to carry every law into execution.
There was, he had expressly admitted, a class of cases in
which a President ought to be held responsible for extravagance ;
and this was when he recommended unwise and unnecessary
objects of expense to Congress. He would also be responsible,
in a great degree, for the expenditures voted by his party in
Congress even without his express recommendation, because it
was fair to presume that he and they acted in harmony on all
great public measures.
Again : He had declared that the Executive might be justly
held responsible for the economical expenditure of public money
whenever gross sums were appropriated towards the accomplish-
ment of particular objects, and the employment of the money was
thus necessarily subjected to his discretion. In such a case, it
was his duty to see that the object should be accomplished in the
cheapest and best manner ; and if he failed to do so, he was justly
censurable. Responsibility! Yes, the Executive was, 'and, on
principle, ought ever to be, held responsible for the economical
expenditure of the public money, in obedience to the laws of
Congress.
Under all these admissions, said Mr. B., I ask the Senator to
take up the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, and point out
a single head of expenditure with which the country could have
dispensed. He [Mr. Crittenden] said, yesterday, that he did not
complain of any of those objects of expenditure. No, he did not
— ^he could not ; for, from the first to the last, there was nothing
in that list which could have been avoided, with a proper regard
to the interests of the country. He might add, that he believed
there was nothing in that list which had not received the support
of the Opposition, as well as the Administration party on this
floor.
He had but a few words more to say in reference to the four
items to which the Senator had specially referred. He deemed
it unnecessary to follow him at length, because he had already
furnished what he believed to be the facts ; and they constituted
the best refutation of his [Mr. Crittenden's] arguments.
In regard to the three hundred men taken from Missouri,
the Secretary of War might have judged unwisely. He might
376 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
possibly, with equal advantage to- the service, have taken a like
number of men from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, or Kentucky.
The people of these States were all equally brave with those of
Missouri. There was no question about that. But if the Secre-
tary had thought proper to employ three hundred Western hunt-
ers and trappers from Missouri, who were believed to possess
more experience in the mode of attacking Indians, and driving
them out of their Everglades, could the difference of expense in
transporting these men from Missouri to Florida, above that of
transporting a like number from Kentucky, be made a matter of
grave accusation against the Executive? The Secretary may
have judged unwisely, and the President may be responsible; but
it was as light a responsibility as ever President bore. Unfor-
tunately, a number of the horses belonging to these men were
lost, and the Government had to pay for them; but this could
not have been foreseen. All this might have been an error in
judgment, though he (Mr. B.) believed it was not; still it coujd
never be converted into a subject of serious charge against the
President, or prove that he had been guilty of extravagance. In
attempting to magnify into importance so small a matter, the
Senator from Kentucky had unconsciously bestowed one of the
highest compliments which he could pay to the economy of the
Administration.
In regard to the provisions conveyed to the Cherokee coun-
try:— we know there was not only danger of a war with this
powerful tribe of Indians, but that an incipient war then already
existed. Blood had then been shed, according to his best recol-
lection. The whole neighboring country was in commotion, and
the people of the surrounding States were terrified and alarmed.
Under such circumstances, was it not the duty of the Adminis-
tration to collect troops for the defence of the country and the
removal of the Indians? And he asked the honorable Senator
if these troubles had not ended in peace; if war had been the
result, and an army had been collected there without provisions,
might not the Administration, with great justice, have been
attacked for their improvidence? In such an event, they would
have been guilty of a criminal dereliction of duty, not only
against the army and the people of the States where the Indians
were located, but against the whole people of the United States.
And yet the burden of the Senator's charge against the Admin-
istration, is for doing an act, which, if they had not done, might
have resulted in disastrous consequences to the whole country, in
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 377
case the threatened war had not been avoided. It became, there-
fore, absolutely indispensable to collect these provisions for the
subsistence of the army; and it was only because, through the
mercy of a wise and over-ruling Providence, another Indian war
had been averted from the people of Georgia and the surround-
ing States, that this transaction could possibly have been con-
verted into a charge of extravagance against the Administration.
Who then can be justly blamed? There were the provisions and
we ought to be thankful that they were not all rendered neces-
sary. We had peace instead of war; and by the early dismissal
of the troops, all of these provisions could not be consumed.
Now he (Mr. B.) shrank from no responsibility on this occasion.
He admitted that the Administration were responsible for the
conduct of General Scott, a gentleman for whom he entertained
the highest regard and esteem. That General had done but his
duty as commander of the forces, in ordering these provisions,
which he could not use, to be sold. Indeed he could not have
acted otherwise.
But the Senator' had intimated that this sale was not fairly
made; and, that gold and silver being required in payment, the
purchasers were Government agents, who bought in the pro-
visions at a low rate, with Government money, for their own
private emolument. If this were true, every one of these officers
ought to be instantly dismissed. It was a heavy charge, and the
Senator did not pretend to know anything about it, except from
newspaper rumors, which were certainly not the most authentic
source of information. He (Mr. B.) had heard that some of these
provisions were damaged, and he had learned from the most
authentic source that Ross would not purchase provisions from
the contractors at any price, though he might have used them
advantageously in removing the Indians. It is much more prob-
able that the distance of these provisions from any point where
they could have been sold for their value, and the consequent cost
of transportation to such a place, together with the perishable
nature of some of them, were the reasons why they did not com-
mand a greater price, than that the disbursing officers of the
Government had been guilty of any fraudulent conduct. This,
then, was among the sins of extravagance charged against Mr.
Van Buren, although he knew nothing about it until long after
it took place. Happy, indeed, would be the fate of the succeed-
ing Administration, if no heavier charge could be made against
them at the end of their term of service.
378 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
A few words more in regard to the Florida war. When
Congress omitted to provide regular troops for the defence of
Florida, what was the only alternative left? Did not this omis-
sion necessarily devolve upon the President the duty of calling
out the militia for that purpose, under the Constitution and exist-
ing laws? The neglect of Congress to raise the force required
by the Secretary of War, did not prohibit him from availing
himself of the militia ; but, on the contrary, rendered a resort to
them imperatively necessary. The militia law still remained in
full force; and to that, and that alone, could he recur for the
defence of Florida.
[Mr. Crittenden here inquired whether Brigadier General
Read was not an officer of the United States Army.]
Mr. Buchanan said certainly not. In his famous order, to
which the Senator had himself referred, he had styled himself
Brigadier General of the Florida Brigade. He was not an officer
of the United States Army; but of the Florida militia; and he
(Mr. B.) understood they had been called into service under the
authority of our existing militia laws. And what else could the
Secretary have done under the circumstances ? What else would
the Senator from Kentucky himself have done had he been Secre-
tary of War ? Would he have abandoned Florida whilst Florida
was bleeding at every pore ? Would he have said, " I demanded
a mounted regiment of regular troops and Congress refused to
grant it, and because they refused, I shall not order the militia
into service, notwithstanding the existing law renders this my
duty. Let the blood shed in Florida be upon the head of Con-
gress, I am innocent!" No, there was not a man in America
who would not have recoiled from such reasoning, and none
sooner or more repulsively than the honorable Senator himself.
And yet, with all his eloquence and ingenuity, to what had
he finally been driven? To read an extract from some news-
paper, the name of which he had not thought proper to give us,
for the purpose of exciting a laugh and a sneer in the Senate of
the United States. All this was " at the expense of Uncle Sam ; "
but, from information derived from the Department itself, he
could assure the gentleman that these militia infantry did not, as
the paper alleged, receive $i8, but merely $7 per month — the
pay of United States infantry soldiers; and that, too, without
either bounty, clothing, or rations. Now, Heaven forbid that
the time may ever arrive, in this country, when Senators should
seriously attempt to criminate any Administration on this floor
1841] EXTRAVAGANCE IN EXPENDITURES 379
by bringing here the tittle-tattle of a newspaper, whilst they could
obtain the information desired in an authentic and official form
from the proper Department. How unnecessary, as well as
unjust, was it to attempt to prove a high officer of the Govern-
ment guilty of misconduct by newspaper statements, when, upon
the motion of any member, the power of the Senate would at any
time be exerted to prove him guilty, if guilty he were, by official
documents authenticated under his own hand? And yet this
was the course which the honorable Senator had thought proper
to pursue.
But, says the Senator, how could these two hundred militia
infantry have raised a crop of corn between the last adjourn-
ment of Congress in July and the present time ? But had he not
informed the Senator that while the question was depending
before Congress, whether mounted men should be raised for the
defence of Florida, the Governor of that Territory, knowing that
the expense would eventually fall upon the Government of the
United States, had called these men into service before our
adjournment, and under the Secretary's advice he had adopted
the policy previously pursued to encourage the raising of pro-
visions for the army? If the gentleman thought proper, at any
time, to call for authentic information on this subject, it would
be furnished him most cheerfully by the Department.
These, then, are the items of extravagance with which the
retiring Administration were charged, and this was the indict-
ment preferred against them. The branch mints are still con-
tinued; and the President is condemned because, forsooth, he
does not abolish them ! Now, could the President repeal the law
which created them? Could he undertake to say he would not
execute the will of Congress declared by an act of Congress ? If
he had closed these mints by his own authority, he would have
been guilty of the highest crime against the Constitution of his
country. He would, by usurping the prerogative of annulling
acts of Congress, have placed himself above the Legislative
power. He might then, with justice, have been denounced and
condemned as a tyrant. And yet it has been made a grave accu-
sation against the President, that he had not shut up these branch
mints, because they were too expensive — that he had not done
an act, for doing which he ought to have been impeached and
deprived of his high office. The Senator from North Carolina
[Mr. Mangum] took a more correct view of this subject. He
thought, with him (Mr. B.) that Congress was the proper source
380 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
of power in such cases. Let us move on in the ancient constitu-
tional manner; and although there might be some "prospects"
of gold around Dahlonega and Charlotte, he would vote at any
moment for the repeal of the law which had established these
branch mints. He believed them to be unnecessary; but how
the present Administration could be held responsible for their
expenses, he was utterly at a loss to determine. Nothing but the
ingenuity of the honorable Senator could ever have led to the
suggestion. He could draw upon the abundant fountain of his
wit, and turn the most serious subjects into ridicule, when it
suited his purpose; but he would never succeed in blotting out
from the minds of the people of this country the gratitude which
they would yet feel towards an Administration against which no
charges of extravagance could be made, except such as he had
enumerated.
TO GENERAL PORTER.^
Senate Chamber, Washington, February 9, 1841.
My Dear Sir: —
The third crash of the Bank of the United States so soon
after its resumption has taken us all by surprise. I sincerely hope
that it has made its last struggle, and may now go into final
liquidation. Whilst I regret the sufferings to which its stock-
holders may be exposed, I yet believe that its dissolution is neces-
sary to the prosperity of the country. As long as it shall continue
to exist, it will continue to derange the business of the country,
and produce again and again those revulsions to which we have
been subjected. It has ever been a lawless institution, and has
done what it pleased, knowing that to destroy it would subject
the people to evils which they would be unwilling to encounter.
We ought to rejoice that it has now destroyed itself. I most
sincerely hope that you may take this view of the subject; and
adhere strictly, as I have no doubt you will, to your opposition
to permitting the banks to issue notes under five dollars.
As a sincere friend, both personally and politically, I have
* Curtis's Buchanan, I. 454-455. David Rittenhouse Porter, son of General
Andrew Porter, and a native of Pennsylvania, served in both branches of
the State legislature at different times, and was governor of Pennsylvania
from 1839 to 1845. He died in 1867.
1841] TO GENERAL PORTER 381
deemed it to be my duty to make these suggestions, and I have
no doubt you will receive them as they are intended.
From your friend, sincerely,
James Buchanan.
Gen. David R. Porter.
TO GENERAL PORTER.'
Washington, February 17, 1841.
My Dear Sir: —
Sitting " solitary and alone " in my private room, the
thought has just struck me that I would address you a few lines.
If I were capable of envying any man, I should envy the position
in which you are now placed. The eyes of the Democracy of the
whole Union are now directed towards you with intense anxiety ;
and all you have to do to render yourself an object of their
respect and admiration is to adhere firmly to your avowed prin-
ciples. That you will adopt this course, I have not the shadow
of a doubt.
To put down the Bank of the United States will be a meas-
ure of the greatest relief to the State. It has not strength enough
to assist the people; but must exist by borrowing money and
crippling other institutions. If it were out of the way, the other
State institutions might safely be left to the people of the State.
And I firmly believe there would be no serious attempt to forfeit
their charters. The Bank of the United States makes a merit of
having loaned large sums to the State government, when, by this
means, it has preserved its existence this long. It exchanged its
own paper for what would command specie, and enable it to raise
money abroad. Whilst, therefore, I feel for the distress of those
whom it has ruined, I believe its going into liquidation would be
the best relief measure which could be adopted. It may occasion
much suffering for the present; but this will soon be over, and
all may then again hope to see settled times.
When I sat down, I wanted to say a word against small
notes ; but I am interrupted and must stop.
Ever sincerely your friend,
James Buchanan.
Gen. David R. Porter.
* Curtis's Buchanan, I. 455.
382 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 18, 1841,
ON THE ELECTION OF A PUBLIC PRINTER.'
The Senate then proceeded to the consideration of the reso-
lution to elect a Public Printer for the 27th Congress, the motion
pending being that made by Mr. Huntington to postpone its
further consideration until the 4th of March next.
Mr. Buchanan said that the Senator from Kentucky [Mr.
Clay] first, and after him the Senator from South Carolina, [Mr.
Preston,] had so clearly pointed out what would be the course of
the next Administration in regard to removals from ofifice, that
doubt or difficulty on this subject could no longer embarrass the
public mind. This distinct annunciation of Whig principles, pro-
ceeding, as it did, from such commanding authority, would in-
stantly relieve the anxious minds of a very large number of
office-holders. According to the avowal of the twO' distinguished
Senators, the inquiries respecting each man now in office would
be, was he honest? — was he capable? — was he faithful? — and
had he abused his official trust in promoting the re-election of
Mr. Van Buren? If his past conduct had been such as would
enable him to endure the application of these several tests with-
out injury, then he would be retained. On the other hand, if it
should be established that any officer was either dishonest, or
unfaithful, or incapable, or had brought the influence of his
office into collision with the freedom of elections, we should be
very captious, indeed, if we were to complain of his removal.
A suspicious man might, until this auspicious day, have
apprehended that an extensive latitude would be taken in con-
struing what was meant by the abuse of office for electioneering
purposes; but the Senator from South Carolina had also been
clear and explicit upon this subject. He had declared, in the
strongest terms, that an office-holder, like all other citizens, had
a right to express his opinion and to give his vote according to
the dictates of his own judgment; and if he had confined himself
to the exercise of these constitutional privileges, he would be in
no danger of removal. To use his own strong language, he had
proclaimed it to be a cardinal doctrine of the Whig faith, that
proscription must be proscribed.
This liberal doctrine would save from proscription all our
foreign ministers and other diplomatic agents who had been
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 194-195.
1841] ELECTION OF A PUBLIC PRINTER 383
absent from the country during the late struggle: but he (Mr.
B.) could hardly expect so much generosity even from the
Whigs. These were essentially political offices, and we could
not complain if they should be filled by individuals enjoying the
entire confidence of the new Administration. He would not,
therefore, hold his friends on this side of the House to such a
strict construction of their own principle as would prevent them
from making any changes in our diplomatic corps. There was,
however, another numerous class of foreign agents, (he referred
to our consuls,) which, he rejoiced to say, would all be protected
from proscription, both by the letter and spirit of the rule. He
had himself received some letters from individuals of this class,
expressing strong apprehensions lest they might be removed from
office ; and he had not ventured to give any of them much encour-
agement. He could now tell them that they might dismiss their
fears — nay, that they might even dispel their doubts — if they had
been honest, faithful, and capable. JFrom their residence abroad,
and from the purely commercial nature of their duties, it was
almost impossible that they could have abused their official trusts
in promoting the re-election of Mr. Van Buren. These useful
public servants, then, who were scattered over every civilized
country on the face of the earth, and who had been engaged in
their appropriate duty of aiding and protecting our foreign com-
merce, would all be safe under the tolerant sway of the new
Whig Administration.
There was another class of officers, if officers they might be
called — he meant the clerks in the different Departments — who
would sleep sounder to-night than they had done since the result
of the Presidential election was known. Their condition was
most dependent and pitiable; and many mothers, wives, and
daughters, had spent anxious days and sleepless nights in dread,
lest their sons, or husbands, or fathers, might be removed from
office, and their families be thus deprived of the means of sub-
sistence. Let them now cheer up and rest in perfect security.
All was safe. The disfranchisement of these clerks would prove
to be their best security. They could not by possibility have
voted for Mr. Van Buren, and the expression of their opinion
in favor of his re-election would never cause their removal.
Nobody ever heard of a mere clerk's appointment, in this dis-
franchised District, being abused and brought into conflict with
the freedom of elections. Such an idea would be ridiculous.
Now he must confess that he himself had hitherto entertained an
384 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
apprehension lest such clerks as had expressed their opinion in
favor of the re-election of Mr. Van Buren, and against that of
General Harrison, might be removed for this cause ; but he was
now happy thus publicly to acknowledge his mistake.
By the multitude of office-holders throughout the Union,
" the potential voice " of the two Senators would be heard with
delight. For his own part, he had been chiefly anxious about the
fate of a worthy and respectable widow lady, who was post-
master in the city where he resided. Gentlemen might smile,
but postmaster was the word; and an excellent postmaster she
was. This lady was the only relic which remained of the olden
time, when no rule existed to prevent ladies from being appointed
postmasters. Her last companion had been a respectable lady
who was postmaster at Georgetown ; but even this companion had
recently deserted her, and got married. She was, therefore, left
solitary and alone, being the only female in the United States
who now held a post office whose emoluments exceeded one
thousand dollars, and who, under the law of 1836, had received
her appointment from the President and Senate. Even this old
lady became apprehensive, from the Whig movements around
her, that she might not be permitted to serve out her term of
office. He had told her not to be uneasy — that General Harrison
had too much gallantry to remove her, whatever might be the
fate of other office-holders. These assurances he had ventured
to give on the merit of her own claims, which he had thought
would constitute an exception from what he then believed would
be the general rule. She might now rest doubly satisfied that she
was in no danger, because there would be no proscription for
mere opinion's sake anywhere, and nobody would pretend that
this old lady had ever entered the field, armed with her official
influence, either to defend Mr. Van Buren or to attack General
Harrison.
It was greatly to be regretted that the two Senators had not,
at an earlier period, more distinctly avowed their horror of pro-
scription. This might have saved their friends in different por-
tions of the Union from such unnecessary trouble and expense.
The general though mistaken impression in his State had been
that the political friends of Mr. Van Buren would be removed,
and that the Whigs, who had borne the heat and burden of the
contest, would be rewarded with their places. This erroneous
impression was not confined to Pennsylvania, but had certainly
extended to New York, as he had recently received a letter from
1841] JUDICIAL CIRCUITS 385
a town in that State, and that not a very large one either, inform-
ing him that there were twenty appHcants for the post office
there — all struggling to obtain subscribers, and all ready to rush
to Washington to attend the inauguration. These gentlemen
could not have known that the system' pf rewards and punish-
ments was abolished forever, and that we were now soon to be
blessed with a political millennium.
The virtue of the Senators would be violently assailed ; and
if it were capable of yielding to importunity, we might dread
the result. When General Jackson first came into power, the
applicants for office were more numerous than he had ever
expected to witness ; but, from what he had heard, the rush for
office here on the fourth of March next, would greatly surpass
anything which had ever been seen before. Numerous as had
been the individuals anxious to obtain office on the accession of
General Jackson, he would venture to predict that there would
be, in the city of Washington, on the day of General Harrison's
inauguration, at least double that number of patriotic Whigs,
ready to rush into the service of their country, and seize upon
official stations.
The question was then taken on Mr. Huntington's motion
to postpone, and negatived — yeas 19, nays 26; Mr. Buchanan
voting in the negative.
The question was then taken on the resolution, " That the
Senate will, on Saturday next, at one o'clock, proceed to the elec-
tion of a Public Printer for the Senate for the Twenty-seventh
Congress," which was passed.
REMARKS, FEBRUARY 27, 1841,
ON THE REORGANIZATION OF JUDICIAL CIRCUITS.'
Mr. Buchanan said : As he intended to vote in favor of this
amendment, proposed by his friend from Alabama, [Mr. Clay,]^
he should briefly state the reasons which had brought his mind
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 215.
^The amendment provided that the eastern and western districts of
Pennsylvania and the district of New Jersey and the district of Delaware
should form the third circuit ; the district of Maryland and the eastern
district of Virginia, the fourth circuit ; the district of North Carolina, the
eastern and western districts of South Carolina and the district of Georgia,
the fifth circuit, etc.
Vol. IV— 25
386 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
to this conclusion. So far from intending hostility to the " Old
Dominion," he felt great pleasure in declaring that she had
always justly enjoyed a very high and elevated character in the
Confederacy, and that character, in his estimation, had never
stood higher than at the present moment. He would much rather
add to her laurels than pluck a single feather from her proud
plume. His support of the present amendment must not, there-
fore, be construed into hostility to Virginia. He had never, in
his life, felt more strongly convinced of the propriety of any
vote which he intended to give, than upon the present occasion.
The question was within a very narrow compass. It was simply
this : Shall we prolong the existence of a judicial circuit east of
the mountains which is not at all required to transact the judicial
business of the country; or shall we abolish it, and in its stead
establish a new circuit in the Southwestern portion of the Union,
where it is so much wanted that it is now physically impossible
for the circuit Judge there to transact one-half the business, or
even personally to attend all the courts appointed by law to be
held. This was most certainly the true state of the case; and
under such circumstances, he did not believe that the people of
Virginia, merely for the sake of obtaining the appointment of an
unnecessary judge, would deprive their fellow-citizens of the
Southwestern States of a court which was absolutely indis-
pensable to their best interests.
The present number of Judges on the bench of the Supreme
Court was already greater than he could have desired. ' Nine
was too large a number if it could have been avoided. He would
not go into the general question at the present moment, but he
believed he was fortified in this opinion by all experience. It
might become absolutely necessary to increase this number; and
in that event, but in no other, should he ever give his consent to
it. The question; then, with him, would be, did the transaction
of the necessary business of the courts absolutely require an
increase of the number of the judicial circuits? If it did, he
might then feel himself constrained to add to the number of the
judges. Fortunately, no such necessity at present existed, nor
would it, he believed, for many years to come, in case the present
amendment should prevail. The fifteen States east of the Alle-
ghany Mountains had now six of the nine judges, whilst the
eleven Western and Southwestern States had only three. The
business in the three Southern Atlantic circuits was notoriously
inadequate for the employment of the judges. Maryland and
1841] JUDICIAL CIRCUITS 387
Delaware constituted the present circuit of the Chief Justice;
and he had expressed his entire willingness to hold the circuit
courts in Virginia, should this be required by Congress. He
would experience no difficulty whatever in transacting the circuit
court business of these three States ; and even with this addition,
a great portion of his time would be unemployed. The same
might be said of Judge Wayne, whose present circuit consisted
of South Carolina and Georgia. He was willing to hold the
circuit courts in North Carolina, and could do it without incon-
venience. Indeed, there was comparatively but very little circuit
court business in any of the Atlantic States south of Maryland.
The judges of the Supreme Court themselves were convinced of
the propriety of abolishing the Virginia and North Carolina
circuit, and giving the new judge to the West ; and, in contem-
plation of this change, they had made the arrangement pro-
posed by the present amendment, which would enable nine judges
conveniently to transact all the judicial business of the country.
What utility, then, was there in continuing the Virginia
circuit ? The public interest did not demand it- — the public good
did not require it. Nothing could be said in its favor, unless it
might be the question which had been asked by his friend from
Virginia, [Mr. Roane,] Would you blot out of existence the
ancient circuit of Virginia and North Carolina? I answer, yes,
if time and experience had shown its existence to be unnecessary,
and even prejudicial to the public welfare, by preventing another
portion of the Union from obtaining a judge, where such a judge
was imperatively required. It ought not surely to wound the
feelings of the people of the Old Dominion, to be united to Mary-
land and Delaware for judicial purposes, when such an union
was necessary to promote the public welfare. This was not a
question of pride, but of principle. He might say the same of
North Carolina.
Placed in similar circumstances, he might probably have
acted as his friend from Virginia [Mr. Roane] had done. Our
feelings were naturally very strong for our respective States, and
these feelings were highly honorable. It was, however, his duty
to decide this question impartially, and he had never felt less
hesitation in deciding any question than the present.
The inscrutable decree of an all-wise Providence had created
a vacancy on the bench of the Supreme Court, by the death of a
judge whose loss we all deplored. This enabled us to abolish a
circuit wholly unnecessary in this portion of the Union, and
388 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
create a circuit in the Southwest, where a new circuit was indis-
pensable, without increasing the number of the Supreme Court
judges. He thought it wise to embrace this opportunity. If you
once appointed a judge for the Virginia circuit the case was
hopeless. You could not then break up his circuit and ask him
to transfer his residence to the far West. No judge would ever
be transferred by Congress, against his will, from the East to
the West. Who would have thought of making such an attempt
in regard to Chief Justice Marshall or Judge Barbour, although
the business in their circuit was comparatively so trifling? It
would have been cruel as well as unjust. The present, therefore,
was the propitious moment when such an arrangement could be
made, and when the public might be accommodated without
doing injustice to any human being.
He need scarcely repeat, that in the vote which he proposed
to give, he intended no disparagement to Virginia or North
Carolina. The whole country ought to feel grateful to Virginia
for the distinguished luminaries which she had furnished to the
bench of the Supreme Court; but as five circuits on our Eastern
maritime frontier were, in his opinion, abundantly sufficient to
transact all the judicial business, he would not prolong the exist-
ence of the sixth, merely for the purpose of enabling Virginia
to furnish another judge to the Union.
He was sorry to entertain but a feeble hope of the passage
of the bill. Its friends ought to have first tried it in the other
House, and if it had passed there, he presumed there would have
been but little difficulty here. If we should pass it, of which he
entertained no doubt, he feared it never would be touched by the
other House.^
REMARKS, MARCH 1, 1841,
ON THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY.'
Mr. Buchanan said he was instructed by the Committee on
Foreign Relations to move to be discharged from the considera-
tion of the resolution which had been referred to that committee,
" requesting the President to communicate to the Senate, if not
' The amendment was adopted — ayes 34, noes 13 ; Mr. Buchanan voting
in the affirmative. The bill, after further amendment, was passed. (Cong.
Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 216.)
" Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 217-218.
1841] NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY 389
incompatible with the public interest, any correspondence which
may have taken place between this Government and that of Great
Britain' relative to the Northeastern boundary, not heretofore
communicated to the Senate."
He would state, with as much brevity as possible, the reasons
which had induced the committee to believe that it would be
inexpedient, at the present moment, to publish the correspond-
ence to which the resolution referred.
It would be recollected by Senators who had directed their
attention to this subject, that in consequence of the corre-
spondence already published between the two Governments, and
to which he need not particularly r^fer, it became the duty of
Great Britain to submit to our Government the projet of a con-
vention for the settlement of this long disputed boundary ques-
tion. This duty had been performed by the British Government
in the month of May, 1839. The President did not approve of
this proposed convention, chiefly because it contained no ultimate
provision which must inevitably and finally determine the con-
troversy between the two countries. Indeed, from its character,
it was quite probable that, had it been adopted, it would not have
produced this result so much to be desired. And the President
was firmly convinced, considering the long delay, the high state
of mutual irritation existing along the border, and the imminent
danger of actual collision, that the interest of both parties im-
peratively demanded the adoption of" such treaty stipulations as
must necessarily make an end of the question. The British
Government had since unequivocally coincided with the Presi-
dent in these sentiments, and the two Governments had already
agreed upon the essential points of a convention based upon these
principles, and alike advantageous and honorable to both. There
were still some provisions of this convention, of comparatively
minor importance, and involving detail rather than principle,
which had not yet been agreed upon; but if it were the sincere
desire of both parties, as he believed it was, to arrive at an
amicable conclusion, the negotiation must soon be successfully
terminated. Under these peculiar circumstances, the committee
believed that it could do no good to either party, whilst it might
be embarrassing to both Governments, to publish to the world the
correspondence and the different projets and counter-pro jets of
treaties which had passed between them.
Mr. B. said that his official position in the Senate had
afforded him free access to all this correspondence. He had
390 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
examined it with care, and would now frankly state the im-
pression which it had made on his mind. Although he would
not pretend to say that there were no omens of war in the conduct
of the British Government on our Northern frontier, yet this he
should assert, with much confidence ; that in the negotiation itself
relative to our Northeastern boundary, nothing had occurred
inconsistent with the sincere and anxious desire which had always
been professed by that Government to preserve the peace which
now so happily subsisted between the two countries, and to bring
the question to a final and satisfactory conclusion. Probably
this expression might be too strong, and he ought to have quali-
fied the general terms he had used, by excepting the delays we
had experienced from the tardy movements of the British Gov-
ernment at every stage in the progress of the negotiation. Still
he felt himself justified in using, at the present moment, the
language of the President in his message at the commencement
of the session ; that, " from the character of the points still in
difference, and the undoubted disposition of both parties to bring
the matter to an early conclusion, I look with entire confidence to
a prompt and satisfactory termination of the negotiation." He
had reason to believe that such were still the anticipations of the
President in regard to the Northeastern boundary question.
Mr. B. said that on the present occasion' he should purposely
refrain from the expression of any opinion in regard to the case
of the steamboat Caroline. This was rendered unnecessary by
the fact that all the correspondence in relation to this subject, of
any general importance, had already been published, and each
Senator had the same means of forming an opinion which he
himself enjoyed. There was ho truth whatever in the rumor,
now so current, that there had been an angry correspondence
between the British Minister and the Secretary of State since the
date of the last correspondence between them, now before the
public. There was no foundation for this rumor. It was true
that, since that time, a single note, bearing upon this subject, had
been addressed by Mr. Fox to Mr. Forsyth, which the latter had
answered ; but this note and answer were of so little importance,
that he (Mr. B.) did not deem it necessary to call for their
publication, and their tone was far from being of an angry
character.^
^ After Mr. Clay addressed the Senate, the question was taken on dis-
charging the committee from further consideration of the subject, and it was
agreed to.
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES 391
REMARKS, MARCH 8, 1841,
ON THE DISMISSAL OF BLAIR AND RIVES AS PRINTERS
TO THE SENATE.*
The question coming up on the adoption of the resolution
to dismiss Blair and Rives as the Printers to the Senate for the
27th Congress,
Mr. Buchanan said he did not rise to oppose this resolution
in the slightest hope that he should prove successful. He had no
doubt execution was to be done, and that speedily, on Blair and
Rives. The decree, the irreversible decree, had gone forth, and
it must and would be executed. He had a few words to say, not
with any expectation of arresting the judgment, because he knew
this would be vain ; but for the purpose of directing the attention
of the Senate and the country to this extraordinary proceeding.
He firmly believed that a principle would be established by the
adoption of this resolution long to be remembered, and long to
be deprecated.
In the Inaugural Address, which was delivered but a few
days ago, he found the following sentiment :
It was the remark of a Roman Consul, in an early period of that cele-
brated Republic, that a most striking contrast was observable in the conduct
of candidates for offices of power and trust, before and after obtaining them —
they seldom carrying out, in the latter case, the pledges and promises made
in the former. However much the world may have improved, in many
respects, in the lapse of upwards of two thousand years since the remark was
made by the virtuous and indignant Roman, I fear that a strict examination
of the annals of some of the modern elective governments would develop
similar instances of violated confidence.
What was the aspect of the case now before them ? Did it
not illustrate, in the most striking manner, the position main-
tained by the distinguished man, now the President of the United
States ? Hereafter he would have no occasion to travel back two
thousand years, for the purpose of citing the authority of a
Roman consul to prove that professions before an election, and
practices after it, were two very diflferent matters. His own
friends in the Senate were about to establish a modern precedent
on this subject, which would cast antiquity, into the shade.
This was not merely the case of removing an officer, or
"quasi" officer of the Senate, for political offences — no such
thing. If this had been all, although it would have violated that
'Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. 238-240, 241-242.
392 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
primary canon of the Whig faith, that " proscription must be
proscribed," he should not have been, in the shghtest degree,
astonished. Indeed, it would then have been nothing more than
he had anticipated. But the present case was far different. It
was an attempt on the part of the Senate to violate as binding a
contract as could be entered into by human language. It 'would
present the spectacle before the American people of this body
disregarding its plighted faith, and, in the face of the world,
trampling under foot the vested rights which two American citi-
zens had acquired under their contract. He would not be afraid
to leave the decision of this question to any judicial tribunal in
the land, upon a mere statement of the facts, against all the
arguments which ingenuity could adduce on the other side.
From the character of the resolution offered by the Senator
from North Carolina, [Mr. Mangum,] it might be easily inferred
that a military chieftain was at the head of the Government. His
resolution was in true military style, and its language was pre-
cise, striking, and much to the point — without ambiguity, and
without a single unnecessary word. The following was a copy
of it:
" Resolved, That Blair and Rives be dismissed as Printers to the
Senate for the 27th Congress."
Short, pointed, and directly to the purpose, it was in the true
style of Richard the Third : '"' Off with his head ! So much for
Buckingham." " If reasons were as thick as blackberries," he
supposed their friends on this side of the House would not give
us one " upon compulsion : " still less would they do so, when
they had no reasons to give. The resolution, therefore, was an
act of mere naked power, without any cause being assigned on
its face for its adoption. There was but one legitimate cause
which could, by possibility, have been assigned ; and that had no
existence in this case. If Blair and Rives had violated any
essential stipulation of their contract, it might probably have
justified the Senate in annulling it altogether, and employing
other Printers to perform the work. This was not, this could
not, be pretended. It had never even been insinuated that Blair
and Rives had not heretofore faithfully performed their duty as
Printers to the Senate ; and this was the best pledge which could
be given that they would do so hereafter. Why, then, were they
to be dismissed in this military style? Why was our own solemn
contract with them to be forfeited? Was it not simply because
they were the editors of a political newspaper, and dared to pub-
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES 393
lish articles in opposition to the party now in power ? This had
been openly avowed as the reason.
" Off with his head ! " What sin had poor Mr. Rives ever
committed, that he should be executed with Mr. Blair? It was
true that Mr. Rives was a partner in the firm, and in this capacity
had entered into the contract ; but it was equally certain that the
duties which he performed were of a mere business and mechan-
ical character, and he had never given cause of complaint to any
person. Why, then, should the political offences of Mr. Blair be
visited on the head of his unoffending partner, and the whole
Globe be prostrated for the purpose of reaching a single sinner ?
This was, however, no subject to jest about; but a question
— and he said so with the utmost sincerity and solemnity — in-
volving a principle of greater importance to the people of this
country than any which had been before the Senate of the United
States since he had been a member of the body. Should Blair
and Rives be dismissed from their contract, it would be recorded
as a precedent, and would prove to be the fruitful foundation of
many evils in our future history.
He would state the facts of the case with as much clearness
and precision as he could.
Previous to the year 1819, the printing of Congress had
been executed under contracts entered into with the lowest bid-
ders, by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House
of Representatives, respectively. After long experience, it was
found to be necessary, for reasons which he should not then
enumerate, to change this practice, and fix the mode of employ-
ing Printers by positive law. Accordingly, on the 3d March,
1819, a joint resolution was adopted by Congress, and approved
by the President of the United States, declaring that each House,
previous to the termination of every Congress, should elect a
suitable person to execute its own printing " during the next
Congress." This resolution prescribed particularly the manner
in which the printing should be done, and the prices which were
to be paid to the Printer. The chief reason for adopting the reso-
lution was clear and obvious. It was utterly impossible that any
new contractor could be prepared with the necessary paper, ma-
terials, and workmen to execute properly the printing for either
House of Congress, without some months' previous notice ; and,
therefore, the joint resolution gave him the time for preparation,
which would necessarily elapse between the termination of one
Congress and the meeting of another. The Printer, thus elected.
394 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
was required " to give bond, with sureties, to the satisfaction of
the Secretary of the Senate, for the prompt, accurate, and neat
execution of the work." And what power was granted by the
resolution to your Secretary over this Printer ? Why, sir, in case
of any inconvenient delay in the delivery of the work, the Secre-
tary was authorized to employ another Printer to perform any
portion of it he thought proper; and, if he were obliged to pay
an increased price, he was directed to charge this excess in the
account against the regular Printer.
There was not one word in this resolution, from beginning
to end, which gave the least color to the idea that this Printer
was an officer of the Senate. Throughout the whole of it he was
not called an officer, nor was his employment alluded to as
official, nor was there a single term used which was not in strict
accordance with the mechanical nature of the work to be per-
formed. Thus, then, stood this case. A solemn contract had
been entered into — under the joint resolution of 1819, con-
firmed as it was by the subsequent resolution of 1829 — with
Blair and Rives, who had been duly elected Printers to the
Senate — their bond, with sureties, had been approved by the Sec-
retary— the agreement on both sides was perfect and complete,
and, by its term, was to endure throughout the twenty-seventh
Congress; and these contractors had thus acquired an absolute
right, which no human power could constitutionally divest, to
execute our printing and receive for their work the stipulated
compensation. Ten times in uninterrupted succession had the
Senate elected printers under this resolution of 18 19, and ten
times had the Printers thus elected executed the printing " during
the next Congress."
When the eleventh period of election arrived, the Senators
on this side of the house were seized with violent constitutional
scruples. They denounced the joint resolution of 1819 as uncon-
stitutional; and, to manifest their abhorrence of its provisions in
a still more striking light, they resorted to the revolutionary
movement of refusing to vote for Printer, and of giving notice
that the moment they obtained the power they would nullify the
election. According to their opinion, the Congress which had
adopted the resolution could have known nothing about the
provisions of the Constitution; and our predecessors, who, for
almost a quarter of a century, and in times of the highest party
excitement, had carried it into execution, must have been stupid
dolts. During the whole of this long period they had been
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES 395
violating their oath to support the Constitution ; for Senators on
this side of the house had assured us that the joint resolution of
1819 was so plainly unconstitutional that he who runs might read.
No, sir, no: this would not do. This mantle was not broad
enough to cover them. Without intending to give offence to any-
one, Mr. B. said, it would have been better, much better, for
them to have boldly avowed that they were acting upon Rob
Roy's rule:
" That they should take who have the power,
And they should keep who can."
This was their rule of action on the present occasion. The
party to which he belonged had been denounced as Loco Focos,
Agrarians, Levellers, and violators of vested rights.. Should
the resolution be adopted, all these hard names would, he trusted,
be at once transferred to their opponents.
But the resolution of 1819 was unconstitutional! And if
it were so, what would be the consequence ? It was this : that
no constitutional power existed to pass any law under which
a binding contract could be made for printing, or for the per-
formance of any other mechanical labor for either House of
Congress, previous to the meeting of that Congress for which
the work was to be performed. And why? Because, say' the
Senators, the person who contracts to perform such printing, is
thereby at once transformed into an officer of the Senate; and
each Senate possessing the power under the Constitution to
choose its own officers, the act of employing such a Printer by
a previous Senate is in derogation of the constitutional right of
choice, which belongs to the succeeding Senate ; and is, therefore,
unconstitutional, null, and void. This had been the argument!
It was difficult to treat it seriously; but he should briefly show
that our Printer was not an officer of the Senate in the consti-
tutional sense; that if he were, it would not authorize the viola-
tion of this contract; and that no such thing existed, under our
system of Government, as a previous and succeeding Senate,
the Senate being a permanent body.
What argument had been used to prove that the firm of
Blair and Rives was an officer of the Senate? He had heard
but one; and that was the argument of the Senator from Dela-
ware, [Mr. Bayard,] which had afterwards been endorsed by
the Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. Clay.] The Senator must
have been hard run to obtain it, for he was obliged, for that pur-
pose, to go back to a period of the world before the art of
396 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
printing was discovered. This he believed w^as about its form.
" If the art of printing had not been discovered, our Secretary
must have employed a great number of amanuenses to make
copies of our proceedings, but the printers now make such copies
by means of their type ; therefore, the printers may be considered
as deputies of the Secretary and as officers of the Senate." This
argument assumed the fact, that, had the art of printing not
been discovered, every amanuensis who might have been em-
ployed for the purpose of making copies of our journals and
proceedings for distribution among the people, would necessarily
have become an officer of the Senate. If this illustration had
not been so far-fetched, he should not have desired one more
striking tO' prove the fallacy of the Senator's own argument, than
that which he himself had thus presented. Was not the idea
perfectly absurd, that the hundreds of mere copyists whom it
would have been necessary to hire, had not the art of printing
been discovered, would each one of them have become an officer
— a deputy Secretary of the Senate? In this purely imaginary
case, it would have been still more necessary than even at present,
to have provided, by contract, at a preceding Congress, for
procuring a great number of copyists; and it would then have
been still more inconvenient to have held that no power existed
under this Government which would enable Congress, at a pre-
vious session, to provide copyists for future service. But the bare
statement of the proposition was sufficient to convince every
candid and unprejudiced mind that the mechanic who contracted
to perform the printing of the body, and was to receive for it
the regular wages fixed by law, was not one of our officers. Was
the clock-maker, employed by the year to regulate your clock, —
or the paper-maker, who contracted with your Secretary to
furnish the Senate with stationery, an officer of the body? Cer-
tainly not.
The printing of the Senate was a mere mechanical work,
to be executed by men possessing skill in the art, and to be
paid for in proportion to the amount of labor actually performed ;
and we might, with equal propriety, call any other man, who per-
formed mechanical labor for the Senate, an officer, as thus to de-
nominate the Printer. The fact of his election by the Senate
could make no difference. It was the nature of the employment,
not the mode of selection, which constituted the officer. If our
Printer were now an officer of the Senate, he had been equally
so during the long period preceding the year 1819, when he
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES
397
was selected by the Secretary; and all the Printers would be
so again, who might be employed by the Secretary under the
resolution of Congress, in case the elected Printer should fail
to perform his duty.
This joint resolution was conceived in great wisdom. What
was the case before its adoption ? Congress met — printing was
immediately required, and the Clerk was authorized to employ
the Printer; but the Printer was not prepared, and could not
be prepared immediately with his paper, materials, and hands
to perfon-n the work. Great delay and defects in the execution
of the printing were the inevitable consequence; and, in order
to remedy these evils, the joint resolution was passed.
But suppose we should admit, for the sake of the argument,
that -Blair and Rives were oificers of the Senate — would this
benefit the Senators in the slightest degree? He apprehended
not. Could not the Senate enter into a contract with its own
officers which would be binding upon it? He should be glad
to hear any argument to prove that it could not. Let us, then,
suppose that the joint resolution had declared, in specific terms,
that the Printers elected under it should be officers of the Senate :
would such a declaration authorize the Senate to violate its
own solemn contract with these officers? This was the position
which gentlemen must establish, or they must fail in their argu-
ment. The resolution having expressly declared that the per-
sons elected should have the printing of the Senate throughout
the whole of the next Congress, and having required them to give
a bond with sureties faithfully to execute the work during that
period, could the Senate now, by dismissing them, even if they
were officers, relieve itself from the obligation of the contract,
which, by its terms, was to continue until the termination of the
next Congress? No, sir; this contract stood firm and would
endure as long as the Constitution of the country shall remain in
force. No human power could rightfully annihilate its binding
obligation. He would pledge his whole fortune that such would
be the decision, could this plain, simple question be submitted,
even without a word of argument, to the tribunal now in session
below us, (the Supreme Court.) Gentlemen, therefore, would
not gain their point by proving, if they could, that Blair and
Rives were officers of the Senate.
Senators had contended that one Senate or one Congress had
no right to elect officers for their successors ; and that, therefore,
the joint resolution violated the Constitution, because it gave
THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the election of a Printer for the next Senate to that which had
expired on the third of March. This was as strange a position
as any which had been assumed throughout the argument. An
old Senate and a new Senate! There could be no new Senate.
This was the very same body, constitutionally, and in point of
law, which had assembled on the first day of its meeting, in
1789. It had existed without any intermission, from that day
until the present moment, and would continue to exist as long
as the Government should endure. It was emphatically a per-
manent body. Its rules were permanent, and were not adopted
from Congress to Congress, like those of the House of Repre-
sentatives. For many years after the commencement of the
Government, its Secretary was a permanent officer, though oun
rules now required that he should be elected at stated intervals.
The Senate always had a President, and there were always two-
thirds of its actual members in existence, and generally a much
greater number. It would be useless to labor this question.
Every writer, without exception, who had treated on the subject,
had declared the Senate to be a permanent body. It never dies;
and it was the sheet-anchor of the Constitution, on account of its
permanency. Senators were thus deprived of , the poor apology
that one Senate had no right to bind its successors. Here, then,
we had the spectacle presented of the Senate, in all the forms of
law, but two weeks ago having elected an officer, if Senators
would have the firm of Blair and Rives thus called, and now dis-
missing that officer, and annulling their own solemn contract,
which, by its express terms, was to endure for two years. If
such things could be done — if this body of high and commanding
influence throughout the country could thus set aside its con-
tracts, and that at a period when too strong a disposition already
existed in the public mind to disregard the faith of contracts.
Heaven only could foresee what might be the disastrous results.
The force of our evil example would be felt throughout the
Union; and if we sanctioned the principle that no contract could
be binding on us, it was one which would be carried out in prac-
tice by other legislative bodies.
Let him beseech Senators to pause and reflect upon the
tremendous consequences which might probably result from the
adoption of the resolution. Once establish the principle that
this body can exercise the power of violating a solemn contract,
into which they had deliberately entered, and what would become
of the country? Did it not at once sanction the principle in its
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES 399
fullest extent, which had been falsely attributed to the party to
which he belonged, that a succeeding Legislature had a right to
repeal the contracts entered into by a preceding Legislature ? The
principle on which this resolution was based, would completely
justify Governor McNutt in his outrageous attempt to annul the
bonds of the State of Mississippi. The principle which lay at
the root of both cases was precisely the same, and the violation
of faith in both cases would be similar. Blair and Rives, by
virtue of a solemn contract, had a vested right to perform the
printing of the Senate for two years, and to receive the price
fixed by law for their work ; and if we could now nullify this
vested right, and release ourselves from the obligation of our
contract, neither Mississippi nor any other State in the Union
was obliged to pay its debts. If the Senate could not be sued,
neither could the State be. In this respect, they both stood
upon the same footing. A regard for public faith, and that
alone, could bind either of them to the performance of their
contracts.
But did Senators not perceive what a dangerous example
they would set to us by violating this contract, and dismissing
Blair and Rives from being Printers to the Senate? The signs
of the times plainly indicated that it was their intention to charter
a Bank of the United States, if they could, at the special session.
Now, sir, the Democratic Senators firmly believe that Congress
have no power under the Constitution to establish such a Bank.
Suppose, then, we should imitate their example and refuse to
vote upon the question, at the same time declaring to the world
our fixed purpose to repeal the charter at the very first moment
the Democracy of the country shall again be triumphant : would
they not consider this conduct revolutionary ? And yet it would
only be pursuing the very course which they have pointed out
to us, in refusing to vote at the election of Printer, and declaring
that they would remove Blair and Rives, and deprive them of
their contract, at the very first moment they should attain the
majority. Will not their conduct settle this principle, if any pre-
cedent could sanction such a measure, that, believing a Bank of
the United States to be unconstitutional, we shall be perfectly
justified in refusing to vote on the question, and in giving notice
to the world of our fixed determination to repeal the charter
the very moment we have the power ? The one act would be no
greater violation of pledged faith and of vested rights than the
other. And if we should pursue this course, no Bank of the
400 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
United States could be established. No capitalist, foreign or
domestic, could be induced to advance his money for stock in
this Bank, knowing that the charter would be repealed as soon
as a change should be effected in the administration of the
Government.
The Senator from Missouri [Mr. Benton] had, some years
ago, proposed to repeal the joint resolution of 1819. This was
the only constitutional mode of getting clear of it. He was
informed that at that time the Senator from South CaroHna
[Mr. Preston] had earnestly opposed this repeal. He thus gave
conclusive evidence that he did not then consider it a violation
of the Constitution. What had since changed his opinion, he
(Mr. B.) could only conjecture. But no repeal of it could now
divest the existing rights of Blair and Rives. Neither the power
of the Senate, nor of the whole Government, nor any human
power which existed in this land, could violate this contract
without the consent of the parties to be injured by such a viola-
tion. Just as certain as they had a futurity before them, the
day would arrive, if Blair and Rives should be deprived of the
benefit of their contract, when they would be fully indemnified
for every loss which they might sustain. That day would speedily
come, if under the Constitution it were now in their power to
bring a suit against the Senate of the United States.
He had ever held, and trusted he should ever hold, that
contracts were sacred and inviolable; and he hoped that his
party feelings might never carry him so far as to trample on the
rights of any individual. He was, therefore, opposed to doing
execution on Blair and Rives.
Mr. Buchanan would say a few words in reply to the Senator
from Delaware, [Mr. Bayard.] That Senator had still con-
tended that the Printer was an officer of the Senate. He should
not again argue that question, because he believed he had shown
conclusively that the Printer was not such an officer. The
Senator had compared our Printer with the collector of the
customs at New York, or the Secretary of the Senate here,
both of whom might be removed at pleasure, and had contended
that the cases were parallel. He would not now stop to point
out the vast difference between them, but would confine himself
to asking the Senator a single question. Had not the Senate,
if such were their pleasure, a right to make a contract with a
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES 401
mechanic, be he an officer or not an officer, and bind themselves
to perform it on their part during the period of two years ? And
if they had a right to enter into such a contract, have they any
constitutional power to nullify it at the end of two weeks, by
dismissing the officer, against his will, with whom they had thus
contracted ?
Mr. Bayard said : Unquestionably, the Senate might enter
into a contract, but all the terms of the contract must be con-
sidered. Part of the terms of this contract was, that it was
defeasible in its own nature. But if the office be held at will,
the ingredient was incorporated into the contract itself, and
therefore it was defeasible at any time.
Mr. Buchanan continued. This was precisely as he had
understood the Senator. This Senate, then, had the right to
enter into a contract with an individual to perform its printing,
which, by express terms, must continue two years; and yet, in
the face of this positive stipulation, it might annul the contract
the very next day; because, forsooth, the office was defeasible!
That was the position to which the Senator was driven; and if
any Senator, however ingenious he might be, could define the
nature of such a contract, he would award to him the meed for
his skill and ingenuity. The terms of the contract, under the
joint resolution, were as precisely fixed as though each member
of the Senate had collectively entered into the following stipula-
tion with these Printers : " You shall do our printing for two
years; and if you should not execute the work according to your
contract, then our Secretary shall be vested with the power to
have such portions of it done by others as he may think proper,
charging you with the difference between your contract price,
and what he may be obliged to pay." The Senate had reserved
no power whatever to remove the Printer before the termination
of the two years; but merely the remedy on his bond, and the
right of punishing him for violating his contract, by employing
another to do the work at his expense. The English language
could not make a more binding contract upon both parties, and
for the purpose of the present argument, he cared not whether
the Printer was considered an officer or not.
Names were nothing; it was the substance which we ought
to consider; and even if the Printer were an officer, which he
clearly was not, he was one of a very different character from
your Secretary, your Sergeant-at-Arms, or your Doorkeeper, who
were removable at pleasure. These officers required no capital.
Vol. IV— 26
402 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
engaged in no expensive business, and employed no workmen
to enable them to perform their duties. They gave us their per-
sonal services merely in recording our proceedings, serving our
process, preserving order in the chamber, and performing other
similar offices, for which they received a certain fixed salary. Not
so the Printer. He was selected under a resolution of Congress
directing the manner in which the printing should be executed,
fixing the prices which he was to receive for each item, and
assuring to him the contract for two years. Let him put a case
to the Senator, which might readily occur under this resolution.
A Printer is chosen by the Senate, who resides in Philadelphia,
New York, or Boston. He invests fifty or a hundred thousand
dollars in purchasing presses and paper, employing workmen,
and setting up an establishment in this city, for the purpose
of enabling him to perform his contract. The new Congress
meets ; and at the moment of their meeting, he is fully prepared
to execute our work ; but before he can enter upon it, the Senate
dismiss him from employment, and inform him that he was but
an officer, whose appointment, to use the language of the Senator
from Delaware, was defeasible at pleasure, and that he must
submit to be ruined without redress. Was there any Senator
who could say that this would not be a plain, palpable violation
of public faith, for which the Printer could obtain ample redress
under his contract, if the Senate could be sued in a court of
justice? The concluding clause of the joint resolution declared,
that " each House shall proceed to ballot for a Printer." To do
what? To perform the duties of an office? No, sir: such a
word did not occur throughout the resolution; but "to execute
its work." And for what period ? " During the next Congress."
What security did the Senate require that the Printer thus ap-
pointed should faithfully perform his contract? "A bond, with
sureties, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Senate, for
the prompt, accurate and neat execution of the work," not for the
performance of any official duty. And yet the Printer was an
officer who could be dismissed at pleasure ! No, sir, no. Blair
and Rives were employed " to execute the work " of the Senate
during the Twenty-seventh Congress, not to perform any official
duties whatever. The joint resolution provided that they should
be chosen before the termination of the 26th Congress; for,
if this were not the case, no Printers could be selected after
the meeting of the 27th Congress for either House, except Gales
and Seaton or Blair and Rives. In order to prevent a monop-
1841] BLAIR AND RIVES 403
oly in favor of Printers who owned large establishments in
this city, it was absolutely necessary to afford others the time
necessary to procure similar establishments before their duties
should commence. But, under the doctrine contended for, a
Printer elected by the Senate from Boston, New York, or Rich-
mond, who had prepared himself fully " to execute its work "
might be dismissed the first day of the session, and might be
informed, in the language of the Senator from Delaware : " You
should not complain, for you accepted this contract under the
implied condition that we could turn you out at pleasure." No,
sir; in order to promote a competition among printers, this joint
resolution provided for the creation of an absolute contract, to
endure for two years, which the Senate could not violate, and on
which the Printer might confidently rely. It did not refer tO' an
office at all, but placed the subject on its proper foundation,
that of the execution work — of mechanical labor — not of official
duties. It required bond and security to be given; and also,
that, in case the Printer did not perform the work in projjer
time, the Secretary might have it performed by others, at his
expense. By-the-by, would a Printer, thus casually employed by
the Secretary, also become an officer of the Senate?
Casting away all the ingenuity used on the other side of the
question, was not this the simple statement of the case ? I enter
into a contract to employ a carpenter, during the period of two
years, to build a house or houses for me, for which I agree to
pay him a fixed price, according to their measurement; and I
take a bond and security from him for the faithful execution of
his contract. I stipulate with him, that, in case he fails to per-
form his duty, I shall be at liberty to employ another mechanic
to take his place, and that he shall be answerable for all damages.
The moment he is prepared to enter upon his work, I turn
about and say, I reserved, in my own mind, the power of annul-
ling the contract, and I now annul it. You may go about your
business. I am above the law, and you cannot recover any
damages from me. You shall lose the expense and the trouble
which you have incurred in preparing to perform your contract.
What care I for that?
The Senate neither had the moral nor the constitutional
power to violate this contract ; and, if they should do it, Blair and
Rives, some day or other, before this or some other tribunal,
would obtain an ample indemnity for all losses sustained.
404 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Mr. Clay, of Kentucky. . . . But the gentleman from Penn-
sylvania said this was a contract — a binding, obligatory contract,
to the execution of which their honor, their good faith, their
fair dealing, were all pledged. And how did he make it out a
contract ?
Mr. Buchanan. I will answer the Senator, if he will per-
mit me.
Mr. Clay. At the proper time.
Mr. Buchanan. I thought you desired an answer.
Mr. Clay. I do at the proper time : at my time, not at your
time.
Mr. Buchanan. I await your time.
Mr. Clay. . . . Then, as to this contract under this resolution :
was it a contract because it specified the terms, the fees, and
the compensation? Why was not that the case with district
attorneys and marshals? Were not they compensated by fees
which were specified?
Mr. Buchanan. The time was not mentioned.
REMARKS, MARCH 8, 1841,
ON THE ELECTION OF A SERGEANT-AT-ARMS.'
Mr. Merrick moved to take up the resolution submitted by
him on Saturday, to proceed to the election of a Sergeant-at-
Arms to the Senate.
Mr. Buchanan said he should vote against the resolution.
After the death of Judge Haight, a strong appeal was made to
this body on behalf of his widow, and arrangements were made
by which she was to receive his salary for the entire term for
which he was elected ; and the Assistant Doorkeeper at that time
agreed to discharge the duties of Sergeant-at-Arms. This course
was adopted from motives of the purest philanthropy and justice;
that the Government might not pay two salaries, and yet that the
widow might receive that of which she stood so much in need.
And now at the close of this session, when there was no earthly
use for a Sergeant-at-Arms, why should they impose on the
Treasury a double salary? When the Democratic Senators had
' Cong. Globe, 26 Cong. 2 Sess. IX. Appendix, 317. The resolution
to elect was adopted by a vote of 26 ayes to ig nays, Mr. Buchanan voting
in the negative.
1841] TO MR. SHUNK 405
the power, they refrained from using it, and determined not
to elect a Sergeant-at-Arms ; they agreed to do without this
officer; and now, when no reason for the election exists — when
they could do without him until the meeting of Congress, he could
not vote for an election, and he called for the ayes and noes on
adopting the resolution.
TO MR. SHUNK.'
Lancaster 6 May 1841.
My dear Sir/
The news of the passage of the Revenue bill which I received
yesterday has caused my heart to sink within me. — My public
life has been stormy and tempestuous; but no political event
has ever made me despond before. — The last night was the first
which I have ever spent in sleepless anxiety reflecting upon public
affairs. — It would seem that whether the Democratic party are
successful or defeated in the popular elections, the result in regard
to the Banks is always the same. — I fear that honest men feeling
this truth will hereafter be discouraged from continuing the
struggle, upon the principle that it is better to be defeated by
an open enemy than betrayed by a treacherous friend. — I con-
sider the present Revenue Bill to be even worse than the Bill
to recharter the Bank of the United States. — That Bill continued
the existence of an Institution which many honest men errone-
ously believed might prove useful to the State; whilst this Bill
digs up and reanimates the corpse of the suicide after it had been
consigned by its own hands to a grave of pollution, infamy and
guilt.
By this Bill, Pennsylvania has yielded up every principle of
Bank reform, small notes & all, for which her honest and true
hearted Democracy have been so long contending. — We shall be
laughed to scorn by the Democracy of the other States. — We
have not only rallied under the banner of an irredeemable Bank
paper currency; but we have created for the use of the Banks and
'Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Francis Rawn
Shunk, a native of Pennsylvania, enlisted as a soldier in the war of 1812,
and was afterwards successively clerk of the House of Representatives,
secretary to the board of canal commissioners, and secretary of state of
Pennsylvania. From 1845 to 1848 he was governor of the State. He died
in 1848.
406 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
to enable them to withdraw their own paper from circulation, a
new species of still more depreciated irredeemable paper currency
as a substitute for it. — The value of this new currency will fluc-
tuate with the ever fluctuating value of State five per cent, loan
in the market on which alone it rests, & in which alone it is
redeemable. — What a standard of value! This will necessarily
become the chief currency of the state, not merely in notes of
one & two dollars, but in fives, tens, twenties and fifties; upon
the never failing principle that the worst currency, if it be not
too bad to circulate at all, will always circulate the most plen-
tifully.— For the very same reason that a man will withhold a
half eagle and pay out a five dollar Bank note, he will with-
hold his five dollar Bank note and pay out the scrip authorized
by this Bill, which would now be 19 per cent, below the par of
Bank paper.
And what is the miserable pretext for granting the Banks, —
and especially the Philadelphia Banks, this important boon of
enabling them to withdraw their own circulation and substitute
that created by this Bill, and for conferring upon them the
privilege of suspending for five years or forever? It is, says the
Bill, to enable them " to relieve the community " by loaning to
the State $3,100,000 of this currency which they graciously con-
descend to issue as the mere agents of the State, — on the respon-
sibility of State Loan and not in any degree upon their own
responsibility. — The same object might have been as well and
better accomplished directly by the State and the one per cent, on
the amount issued could thus have been saved. — But instead of
issuing State scrip, in the form of Bank notes, payable in five
years without interest and receivable in debts due to the Common-
wealth, with permission to the holder to convert these notes at
pleasure into five per cent, funded loan ; the State gives authority
to the Banks to do the very same thing; and then pretends that
these Banks by doing so relieve the people and purchase for a
fair equivalent the privilege of perpetual suspension. — What
miserable humbuggeryl
But my feelings are carrying me away. — I sat down for
the pui-pose of making a single suggestion to you and I have
written nearly two pages without once adverting to it. I observe
by the Harrisburg Reporter that there is a Bill now before the
Governor, which, if I understand the question aright from the
rather confused statement of it in that paper, will operate as a
repeal of the Bill which has already become a law so far as it
1841] PRINTING THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE 407
confers upon the Bank of the United States the privilege of the
17th Section. — If this be so and the Governor has not already
approved that bill, he ought to do it without a moment's delay.
The Stockholders of the Bank of the United States will at once
comply with the proviso of the seventeenth section; and if they
should do so before it shall be repealed, then according to the
decision of Judge King, it will become a Contract and the Gov-
ernor's subsequent approval of the Repealing Bill would produce
no efifect. —
I cannot correctly understand the question from the Harris-
burg Reporter ; but if the Governor has the power to exclude the
Bank of the United States from the benefit of the Bill which has
passed by the Constitutional majority, in opposition to his veto
— and he should inadvertently neglect to exert this power in time,
then he and you and I & all of us will go down together. —
I should have addressed him directly and made this sugges-
tion ; but I know how many cares and anxieties must be pressing
upon him at present ; and I thought that by writing to you, — the
subject would be more speedily and certainly brought to his
attention. —
Please to remember me kindly to Mrs. Shunk and the young
ladies and believe me to be Ever sincerely
Your friend
Francis R. Shunk Esq. James Buchanan.
P. S. Please to send me a copy of the bill now before the
Governor. After it had passed both houses what could have
been the reason why twelve Democrats deserted us and voted
against the veto ? Was it to save the Bank of the United States ?
I can perceive no other reason ; still I am unwilling to believe that
this was the cause. — Please to give me an explanation of this
mystery.
REMARKS, JUNE 1, 1841,
ON PRINTING THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.'
A motion having been made to print 10,000 copies of the
President's annual message, the mover afterwards modified the
proposal by reducing the number to 5,000 copies. Mr. Clay
supported the modification on grounds of economy.
" Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 8.
408 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Mr. Buchanan said he was glad to find the Senator from
Kentucky so much in favor of economizing. He should ever
find him (Mr. B.) ready to concur with him in all reasonable
efforts to curb expenditures. Allusion had Iseen made to the
extravagant expenditure for stationery supplied to Congress. He
had himself used, he believed, more of that stationery than any
other meniber. with the exception, perhaps, of the Senator from
New York. Much of it had been used in answers to applicants
for office. That necessity no longer existed; that day had gone
by, and he and the Senator from New York would economize in
that particular. But, although he admitted he had used a greater
quantity of stationery than any other Senator, with the exception
before made, yet he believed the value of what he had used at
any one session never exceeded $20. He thought some arrange-
ment might be made by which each Senator and Member of
Congress would be charged with the stationery supplied to him.
He did not, however, intend to urge this at present, but merely
threw out the suggestion.
The resolution, as modified, was then adopted.
REMARKS, JUNE 1, 1841,
ON A RESOLUTION CALLING UPON THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
TO PRESENT A PLAN FOR A NATIONAL BANK OR FISCAL AGENT.'
Mr. Buchanan expressed his anxiety to obtain a view of
this fiscal agent, of which so much had been said, and which was
to reconcile conflicting opinions. The political millennium, he
supposed, was at hand, and the lion was to lie down with the
lamb. This great regulator, let it be called what it might, if it
is to have the power to discount notes, issue paper, and buy
exchange, whether located in the District of Columbia or in
Wall street. New York, will still be nothing but another United
States Bank in fact. He and those who have heretofore objected
to that institution will object to this. He was inclined to think
that if the resolution was adopted, it would leave the matter in
doubt whether a Bank or a fiscal agent was called for. He
should therefore be in favor of having that point defined.
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong. 1 Sess. X. 23.
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 409
REMARKS, JUNE 9, 1841,
ON A PETITION FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.'
Mr. Buchanan presented a memorial from the Society of
Friends in Pennsylvania, asking the improvement of the condi-
tion of people of color, and asking the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia and the Territories, and the prevention
of the domestic trade.
Mr. Preston objected to the reception of these memorials.
The Chair. Tlie memorials are laid upon the table.
Mr. King. The question is upon their reception. The Chair,
when he is aware that petitions objectionable in their character
are presented, is bound to put the question upon their reception,
and the usual mode has been to move tO' lay the motion tO' receive
upon the table, and thus get rid of the matter.
The Chair said he was not aware that the Senate had passed
any such rule, and without it he did not feel himself called upon
to put the question in that form.
Mr. Buchanan coincided in the view taken by Mr. King as
to the practice of the Senate, and observed that nothing but
benefit had ensued from its observance. All agitation had en-
tirely ceased so far as the Senate was concerned, and he hoped
the practice would be perpetual. The question of reception was
understood as made, that question was then laid on the table,
and there was an end of the matter. Though he had held it his
duty to present this paper, he hoped the same course would be
observed with regard to this as to others.
REMARKS, JUNE 10, 1841,
ON THE McLEOD CASE.2
Mr. Rives having renewed his motion that so much of the
President's message as related to foreign affairs be referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Buchanan thereupon rose and addressed the Senate,
observing that when he had first read the correspondence between
the British Minister, Mr. Fox, and the American Secretary of
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 35.
''Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. Appendix, 14-18.
410 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
State, he had at once determined to make, upon the first fit oppor-
tunity, some observations upon that correspondence in the face of
the Senate and of the country. He regretted that, in finding
a fit opportunity, there had, contrary to his own inclinations,
been so much delay; but having at length found it, he vi^ould
accomplish his original purpose, and w^ould do it with as much
brevity as possible; premising, however, that he should not have
thought of such a proceeding upon this mere motion of reference,
had not the example been set and a precedent established at the
last session of Congress by the present Secretary of State.
He must be permitted to make one remark by way of
preface : and that was, that if he knew himself, he was not actuated,
in this matter, by any thing like party political feeling. He
trusted his construction of some portions of the correspondence
in question might prove incorrect; for though he acknowledged
himself to be a party man and strongly influenced by party feel-
ing, it had been his endeavor never to carry that feeling with
him into the Committee on Foreign Relations, (of which he had
for many years been a member, ) and he trusted that he had given
sufficient evidence of this by his course on that committee. Yet,
as he was firmly convinced that a proper regard for the American
character, both at home and abroad, required that some com-
mentary should be made on these papers, he had, upon reading
them, determined, at once, that that commentary should be made
by him without fear, but with respectful regard to the feelings
of all parties.
He had been asked, what objection could be made to the let-
ter of the 24th of April last, lately published, from Mr. Webster,
our Secretary of State, to Mr. Fox? There was little, indeed:
— much, very much, that it contained, had his cordial approba-
tion; but, unfortunately, that letter had little or nothing to do
with the substance of the matter. It did not make its appearance
until nearly six weeks after the important business between the
two Governments had been transacted. It was the letter of the
British Minister of the 12th of March, and the instructions of
the Secretary of State to the Attorney General of the United
States, of the 15th of the same month, which contained the true
merits of the case. It was that letter of instructions, a copy of
which had doubtless been communicated to the British Min-
ister, and had been openly referred to in the British Parlia-
ment; it was these instructions, especially, which lay at the root
of the question. On these two papers of the 12th and isth
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 411
March, public opinion had been formed and must be formed as
well in England as here; and the Secretary's last letter which
came limping along six weeks after, however just and however
eloquent it might be, could exert but little or no influence either
in Europe or in this country.
To understand the merits of the case a brief recapitulation
of facts was necessary. A rebellion, said Mr. B., or, if you
please, an attempt at revolution, existed in Canada; during the
course of which the insurgents took possession of Navy island, in
the Niagara river. A British militia force of two thousand men
was embodied at Chippewa, on the Canada side of the river.
The American steamboat Caroline, after having carried provisions
to the insurgents on Navy island, ( for I believe that was the fact, )
together with probably a single cannon, lay at anchor, after her
trip, fastened to the wharf at Schlosser, a small village notoriously
within the jurisdiction of the United States, under the sacred
eegis of our protection. And that country must be recreant to
itself and to its citizens, which would not, until the very last,
maintain and vindicate its own exclusive sovereignty over its
own soil against all foreign aggression.
There lay this vessel in American waters, under the guar-
dianship of our sovereignty and of the American flag; but these
afforded her no protection. What happened on the night of the
29th of December, 1837? Colonel Allan McNab, a name famous
in story, was in command of the body of militia at Chippewa.
Under his auspices, a Captain Drew, of the British navy, who,
I believe, has since been pensioned for his gallant exploit, under-
took to raise a body of volunteers, and, by way of characterizing
the nature of the service they were to perform, declared that
he wanted fifty or sixty desperate fellows, who would be ready
to follow him' to the devil. Under the authority of this Colonel
McNab, now Sir Allan McNab, (for I understand he has since
been knighted by Queen Victoria,) this body of men, with Cap-
tain Drew at their head, passed down the Niagara river at the
dead hour of midnight, without previous notice, and while the
people on board of the Caroline lay reposing under the protection
of American laws, and made an attack on unarmed men, who
were private citizens, not connected in any way with the resistance
to British authority, and murdered at least one of their number
within the American territory. These barbarians, regardless of
the lives of those who may have remained on board, unmoored
the boat, towed her out into the middle of the river, where a
412 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
swift and irresistible current soon hurried her down the falls
of Niagara, and to this hour it is not known how many American
citizens perished on that fatal night. This is no fancy picture.
Now, as to the principle of the law of nations which applies
to such a case, that pure patriot and eminent jurist, John Mar-
shall, has expressed it with great force and clearness. He says
that
The jurisdiction of a nation, within its own territory, is exclusive and
absolute. It is susceptible of no limitation not imposed by itself. Any re-
striction, deriving validity from an external source, would imply a diminution
of its sovereignty to the extent of that restriction, and an investment of that
sovereignty to the same extent in that power which could impose such restric-
tion.— 7 Cranch, ii6.
And again:
Every nation has exclusive jurisdiction over the waters adjacent to its
shores, to the distance of a cannon shot, or marine league. — i Gallis, C. C. R.
62.
According to the settled law of nations, if the Caroline had
been a vessel of war, on the high seas, belonging to the insurgents,
and after an engagement with a British vessel had been pursued
within a marine league of the American shore, our national sov-
ereignty, as a neutral power, would immediately have covered
her, and a hostile gun could not have been fired against her with-
out affording us grounds for just complaint. If, for example,
the British and French nations had been at open war, and a
French vessel, in flying before British pursuit, should have been
driven within a marine league of the American coast, all further
acts of hostility towards her must have instantly ceased, or we,
as the neutral power, would have been wounded in the most
sensitive point, namely, that of our sovereignty.
I shall not here argue to prove that in this case there has
been a gross violation of our national sovereignty, because on
that point no gentleman, I am' sure, does or can entertain a doubt.
That being clear, the American Government at once remon-
strated in strong and forcible, and even eloquent terms, through
our Minister abroad. The letter of Mr. Stevenson, on that
occasion, does him great honor, indeed. Repeated attempts
were made to induce the British Government to answer this
remonstrance, but all in vain. It is true that it has been stated
in the British House of Commons by one of the British ministers,
that the American Government had finally given up the question,
and did not intend to insist upon an answer. The pretence for
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 413
making this statement has most probably arisen from a custom
too common among us of publishing diplomatic correspondence,
whilst the negotiation to which it relates is still pending. Mr.
Stevenson, in his letter to Mr. Forsyth of the 2d July, 1839,
employs this language :
I regret to say that no answer has yet been given to my note in the case
of the Caroline. I have not deemed it proper, under the circumstances,
to press the subject vi^ithout further instructions from your Department.
If it is the wish of the Government that I should do so, I pray to be informed
of it, and the degree of urgency that I am to adopt.
To which Mr. Forsyth replies under date of September 11,
1839, as follows :
With reference to the closing paragraph of your communication to the
Department, dated 2d of July last, it is proper to inform you that no instruc-
tions are at present required for again bringing forward the question of the
" Caroline." / have had frequent conversations with Mr. Fox in regard
to this subject, one of very recent date; and, from its tone, the President
expects the British Government will ansiver yotir application in the case,
without much further delay.
The Senate will thus perceive that there is no foundation
in this correspondence for the pretext that the American Gov-
ernment had abandoned the pursuit of this question, unless it
may be by garbling the note of Mr. Forsyth and suppressing the
sentence which I have just read.
Whether the administration of President Van Buren pur-
sued its remonstrance with sufficient energy is not for me to say,
although I believe they did, but that forms no part of the ques-
tion now before the Senate. It seems that, from the conversation
of Mr. Fox, Mr. Forsyth was induced to believe that a speedy
answer would be given.
On the — of November, 1840, this unfortunate man, Alex-
ander McLeod, came voluntarily within the jurisdiction of the
United States. I am inclined to believe that the vain boasting
of this man, as to his presence and participation in the attack on
the Caroline, has occasioned all the difficulty which now exists.
I rather think he was not present at the capture of that vessel,
and this fact, if it had been wisely used, would have afforded the
means of adjusting the difficulty to the satisfaction of both par-
ties. But he came upon the American soil, and, in the company
of American citizens, openly boasted that he had belonged to
Drew's capturing squadron. In consequence of these assertions,
he was arrested by the local authorities, and indicted for murder.
This state of things gave rise to a correspondence between Mr.
414 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Fox and Mr. Forsyth, from which I intend to read a brief extract.
The correspondence resuhed in this : that Mr. Forsyth expressec^
it as his opinion, and that of the President of the United States,
that under the law of nations the avowal by the British Govern-
ment of the capture of the Caroline, should such an avowal be
made, would not free McLeod from prosecution in the criminal
courts of the State of New York. Its effect was merely cumula-
tive. It did not take away the offence of McLeod, but added
thereto, and made it a national as well as an individual offence.
The legal prosecution of McLeod, and the application to the Brit-
ish Government for satisfaction, were independent of each other,
and might be separately and simultaneously pursued. But
wdiether this were the true principle of national law or not, Mr.
Forsyth very properly said that the question must be decided by
the judiciary of New York, and that, if the position. of Mr. Fox
were well founded, McLeod would have the full protection of
that doctrine before the court. He could plead that his act had
been recognised by the British Government, and if the plea were
allowed, he would be set at liberty. That was the position of the
business at the close of Mr. Van Buren's administration; and a
happier, safer, and more secure position of the question for Amer-
ican rights and even for the honor of England, also, could not
have been desired. When the trial came on, McLeod would
have two grounds of defence : first, that he had not been present
at the capture of the vessel ; and, next, that this capture had been
recognised by the British Government as a public act done under
its authority. If, in this state of things, there had been a little
prudent delay, the question would probably soon have settled it-
self to the satisfaction of both parties. But inquiries had been
addressed, in Parliament, to the British ministers on this subject,
and a high excitement had been produced throughout the British
nation. This can always be done in that country on every contro-
versy with America, because our side of the question never ap-
pears in their public journals. I have been for years in the
habit of reading some of the English joiirnals, and, so far as I
have observed, our side of the question, even in relation to the
northeastern boundary, has never to this day been presented to
the British public. No Englishman can obtain from any of these
journals which I have seen, any distinct idea whatever as to the
ground insisted upon by us in that controversy.
An excitement had been raised on the McLeod question,
and loud defiances had been uttered on the floor of the House
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 415
of Commons. Threats had been made, in case the American
Government should dare to retain McLeod in custody. An
attempt had been made on both sides of the water to produce the
behef that war was impending ; and so far with success, that the
American fleet in the Mediterranean, or at least a portion of it,
had actually returned home, while all our vessels in that sea had
passed the straits and gone into the Atlantic. Some people here
even, other than the ladies, became afraid that the British fleets
would be upon our coast and lay our cities in ashes. A mar-
vellous panic prevailed for a time among those who had weak
nerves, and then, to crown all, came the letter of Mr. Fox to
Mr. Webster. The British nation has, I freely admit, much to
recommend it, but we all know that their diplomatic policy, unlike
that of other European nations, has been of a character bold,
arrogant, and overbearing. John Bull has ever preferred to
accomplish that by main force which other nations would have
attempted by diplomacy. I come now to the letter of Mr. Fox,
and such a letter! This letter is the more imposing from the
fact that it was not Mr. Fox's own composition, but is an official
communication from the British Government. This fact appears
from its first sentence, which is as follows :
The undersigned, her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary, is instructed by his Government to make the fol-
lowing official communication to the Government of the United States.
It is then an official communication from the British Govern-
ment themselves. It is not my desire on this occasion to excite
either here or elsewhere any feelings which should not be excited.
I merely state facts. To what is this letter an answer? If to
any thing, it is to the letter of Mr. Forsyth addressed to Mr. Fox
on the 26th December, 1840. I will not trouble the Senate to
read that paper; they may find it in document 33, page 4. And
what is the character of the letter of Mr. Fox? It commences
with a peremptory and conclusive settlement of the whole matter
so far as the British Government is concerned. It is not sufficient
for that Government to say that they take the responsibility of
the act of McLeod upon themselves, but they even justify in
the strongest terms the capture of the Caroline itself. Yet here
is Mr. Webster, on the 24th of April, arguing a question which
the British ministry had settled six weeks before. They do not
say, surrender McLeod, and the question of the Caroline shall
be left open. That would not be according to the manner of
John Bull when he puts himself fairly in motion. He does not
416 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
stop to argue, but at once cuts the knot without the trouble of
giving any reason. Mr. Stevenson had remonstrated in the
most urgent manner, and had submitted to the British Govern-
ment at London a mass of testimony, but no notice whatever was
taken of his communication, and no reasons given for their de-
termination. Mr. Fox, or rather that Government, in half a
sentence settles the question.
The transaction in question, (says the letter,) may have been, as her
Majesty's Government are of opinion that it was, a justifiable employment
of force for the purpose of defending the British territory, &c.
Our remonstrance, when this haughty reply was written,
had been pending for three years.
Mr. Forsyth, in his letter of 26th December, 1840, had
argumentatively stated the whole case, setting forth that the
avowal of McLeod's act, should it be assumed by the British
Government, so far from' doing away with our ground of com-
plaint, went only to increase it. It was cumulative, not excul-
patory. Whilst it would not relieve McLeod from personal
responsibility, it would seriously implicate the British Govern-
ment in his guilt. And how is 'that argument answered? In
this haughty, imperious sentence :
Her Majesty's Government cannot believe that the Government of the
United States can really intend to set an example so fraught with evil to
the community of nations, and the direct tendency of vv^hich must be to
bring into the practice of modern war atrocities which civilization and
Christianity have long since banished.
Here is no argument attempted, no authority cited, but a
simple declaration put forth in the strongest terms as to the
" atrocity " of the principle for which the American Government
had been seriously contending. But the crowning point of this
insulting letter is yet to come; and I undertake to say that it
contains a direct threat from the British Government. I am
not extensively acquainted with the language of diplomacy, but
I certainly have not seen any thing like this threat in any official
communication between civilized and friendly nations for the
last fifty years. I hope I may be mistaken in my view of the
language, but here it is :
But be that as it may, her Majesty's Government formally demand,
upon the grounds already stated, the immediate release of Mr. McLeod;
and her Majesty's Government entreat the President of the United States
to take into his most deliberate consideration the serious nature of the
consequences which must ensue from a rejection of this demand.
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 417
What consequences? What consequences? After the de-
nunciations we had heard in the British ParHament, and all that
had occurred in the course of the previous correspondence, could
any thing have been intended but " the serious nature of the
consequences which must ensue " from war with England f And
here let me put a case. I am so unfortunate as to have a differ-
ence with a friend of mine. I will suppose it to be my friend from
South Carolina, [Mr. Preston.] I know, if you please, even that
I am in the wrong. My friend comes to me and demands an
explanation, adding, at the same time, these words : If you do
not grant the reparation demanded, I entreat you to consider the
serious consequences which must ensue from your refusal. Cer-
tain I am there is not a single member of the Senate, I might
say not an intelligent man in the civilized world, who would not
consider such language as a menace, which roust be withdrawn
or explained before any reparation could be made. It was the
moment after I read this sentence that I determined to bring the
subject before the Senate. A thought then struck me which
perhaps I should do better now to repress; but it was this. I
imagined I saw that man whom Mr. Jefferson truly denominated
the old Roman, as President, sitting in his apartment and reading
this letter for the first time. When he came to this sentence,
what would be his feelings? What indignant emotions would
it arouse in his breast? Of him it may be justly said:
" A kind, true heart ; a spirit high,
That could not fear, and would not bow,
Is written in his manly eye,
And on his manly brow."
Would he not have resolved never to make any explanation under
such a threat? Would he not have required it to be withdrawn
or explained before any answer whatever to Mr. Fox's demand ?
In this possibly he might have gone too far. Our Secretary,
however, has passed over this threat without adverting to it in
any manner whatever.
And now we come to the case immediately before the Senate.
Although I think the Secretary of State decidedly wrong in his
view of the law of nations, that to me is comparatively a very
small matter. I have not, in this thing, any personal or private
feeling to gratify. Towards the Secretary of State I cherish
no unkindly feelings, and I sincerely hope that he may discharge
the duties of high and responsible station in such a manner as
to redound more and more to his own honor. What I complain of
Vol. IV— 27
418 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
is this omission, and an omission, I consider, of great conse-
quence. He has not, in his reply, noticed that threat at all,
although it was conveyed in such terms as would have entirely
justified him in saying, " The American Government has no an-
swer to give until this language has been explained." He should
at least have said, " This is a menace, such as is not usual in the
diplomatic correspondence between civilized and independent
nations, and I shall be glad if you will explain or reconsider the
language employed." For myself, said Mr. B., I have no desire
for war with England : so far am I from desiring it, that I would
consent to sacrifice all but our honor in order to avoid it. But I
think Mr. Webster to blame in not noticing language which I
consider as containing a very distinct and intelligible threat.
But let that pass.
Even if the Secretary were right in the view he takes of
the law of nations, still I think that common prudence would
have dictated to him not to express his opinion so strongly. It
was then a judicial question pending, and eventually to be decided,
by the highest court in the State of New York ; a tribunal which,
on all hands, and by Mr. Webster himself, is admitted to be
eminently entitled to confidence. Suppose it should happen (as
it will happen, if my humble judgment of the law should prove
correct) that the Supreme Court of the State of New York and
the Secretary of State of the United States should differ in
opinion as to the legal question. Suppose an appeal should then
be taken (if such an appeal may be taken) to the Supreme Court
of the United States, and it should there be decided, as I feel
great confidence that it should be, against the opinion of the Sec-
retary of State, what would be the condition of this Government ?
The judicial authority will be on one side of the question,
and the Executive Government on the other. Whilst the
Judiciary decide that McLeod is responsible in the criminal courts
of New York, the Secretary decides that he is not. By pre-
judging this pending judicial question, the Secretaiy has placed
himself in an awkward dilemma, should the Supreme Court of
New York determine that the recognition and justification by
the British Government of the capture of the Caroline does not
release McLeod from personal responsibility. In common pru-
dence, therefore, Mr. Webster ought to have expressed no decided
opinion on this delicate question, but left it to the Judiciary, as
Mr. Van Buren's administration had done.
But the Secretary of State thought otherwise. Tlie ira-
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 419
perious tone of Mr. Fox's letter does not seem to have produced
any effect on his mind. Three short days after its date, on
the 15th March, 1841, he issues his instructions to the Attorney
General. These instructions are the real, substantial answer
to Mr. Fox's letter, and have proved entirely satisfactory to
the British Government, as they could not have failed to do. The
letter w^ritten by Mr. Webster, on the 24th of the succeeding
April, will never disturb that Government. Long before it was
written, the Secretary had granted them every thing which they
could have desired.
He at once, by these instructions, abandoned the position
so ably maintained by Mr. Van Buren's administration, that
McLeod would still be responsible, individually, notwithstanding
the British Government might recognize the destruction of the
Caroline. In condemning this position, he uses terms almost as
strong as Mr. Fox had done in denouncing it. He says, " That
an individual forming part of a public force, and acting under
the authority of his Government, is not to be held answerable
as a private trespasser or malefactor, is a principle of public law
sanctioned by the usages of all civilized nations, and which the
Government of the United States has no inclination to dispute."
As actions speak louder than words, what did Mr. Webster
do with this threatening letter staring him in the face? With
fiery expedition he has his Attorney General on the way to Lock-
port; and I cannot but think, from my personal knowledge of
that officer, that the mission on which he was employed could
not have been very agreeable to him. He informs the British
Government at once, for we ought never to forget that the letter
to Mr. Crittenden is in substance the Secretary's answer to Mr.
Fox, that if it were in the President's power to enter a nolle
prosequi against McLeod, it should be done without a moment's
delay. " If this indictment," says he, " were pending in one of the
Courts of the United States, I am directed to say that the Presi-
dent, upon the receipt of Mr. Fox's last communication, would
have immediately directed a nolle prosequi to be entered." But
as this was not in Mr. Webster's power, the Governor of New
York was in the next place to be assailed, in order to accomplish
the same purpose. Mr. Crittenden was informed that he would
" be furnished with a copy of this instruction, for the use of the
Executive of New York and the Attorney General of that State."
" Whether," says the Secretary, in this case, " the Governor of
New York have that power, or, if he have, whether he would
420 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
feel it his duty to exercise it, are points upon which we are not
informed."
But the Governor of New York proved to be a very restive
subject. He felt no inclination whatever to enter a nolle prosequi
against McLeod. I have seen, somewhere, a correspondence
between that officer and the President, but I cannot now find it.
The tone of this correspondence on the part of the Governor
evinced a spirit of determined resistance to the suggestion of the
Secretary. The Governor complained that the District Attorney
of the United States was acting as the counsel of McLeod. This,
however, according to the explanation of the President, happened
by mere accident; the Attorney having been retained as counsel
some time before his appointment. The correspondence, at all
events, is sufficient to show that Governor Seward did not par-
ticipate in the views and feelings of the Secretary of State
towards McLeod, and we know that he did not approve of enter-
ing a nolle prosequi in his case.
But the Attorney General of the United States was armed
with instructions from the Secretary of State, to meet every
contingency. If McLeod could not be discharged by a nolle
prosequi; if he must be tried, then Mr. Crittenden was to con-
sult with McLeod's counsel, and furnish them the evidence ma-
terial to his defence, and he was even " to see that he have skilful
and eminent counsel, if such be not already retained." It is no
wonder that it appeared very strange to Governor Seward to
find the authorities of the United States thus actively and ardently
engaged in defending McLeod, whilst the authorities of New
York were enlisted with equal vigor in his prosecution.
The defence of this man, who had no claim to peculiar favor,
except what arose from an earnest desire to please and satisfy the
British Government, became the object of the Secretary's peculiar
solicitude, and this, too, in the face of a plain, palpable menace
from that Government.
The next thing we might hear would be a bill of costs and
counsel fees against this Government for the defence of McLeod;
it having been imposed as a duty on our Attorney General to
see that " he had skilful and eminent counsel."
Now these are features in this transaction anything but
creditable to our national character. I think that sufficient deci-
sion and firmness have not been displayed by the American Secre-
tai"y of State. It will ever prove a miserable policy to attempt to
conciliate the British Government by concession. It was the
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 421
maxim of General Jackson that, in our foreign relations, we
should ask only what was right, and submit to nothing that was
wrong; and, in my judgment, the observance of that maxim is
the very best mode of preserving peace. When a nation submits
to one aggression, another will soon follow. It is with nations
as it is with individuals. Manly and prompt resistance will se-
cure you from a repetition of insult. If you yield once, you will
be expected to yield again, and then again, till at length there is
no end to submission. I do not pretend that Mr. Webster has
done wrong intentionally; all I mean to say is, that, in my judg-
ment, he has not, in this instance, displayed a proper and becom-
ing American spirit. If he had waited a little longer before he
prepared his instructions to the Attorney General; if he had
taken time for reflection before he despatched that officer cru-
sading to New York, his conduct would probably have been
different. According to the practice of diplomacy, a copy of
these instructions was doubtless at once sent to Mr. Fox. It is
certain that they were known to the British Government before
the 6th of May, because on that day they were referred to by
Lord John Russell on the floor of the House of Commons as
a document in possession of the British Cabinet.
I shall now offer a few remarks on the question of public
law involved in this case, and then close what I have to say.
I sincerely believe the Administration of Mr. Van Buren was
perfectly correct on this doctrine, as laid down by Mr. Forsyth.
If I had found any authority to induce me to entertain a doubt
on that point, I would refer to it most freely. I now undertake
to say that the only circumstance which has produced con-
fusion and doubt in the minds of well-informed men on this
subject is, that they do not make the proper distinction between
a state of national war and national peace. If a nation be at war,
the command of the sovereign power to invade the territory of
its enemy, and do battle there against any hostile force, always
justifies the troops thus engaged.
When any of the invaders are seized, they are considered as
prisoners of war, and as having done nothing but what the laws
of war justified them in doing. In such a case they can never
be held to answer, criminally, in the courts of the invaded coun-
try. That is clear. The invasion of an enemy's territory is one
of the rights of war, and, in all its necessary consequences, is
justified by the laws of war. But there are offences, committed
even in open war, which the express command of the offender's
422 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
sovereign will not shield from exemplary punishment. I will
give gentlemen an example. A spy will be hung, if caught, even
though he acted under the express command of his sovereign.
We might cite the case of the unfortunate Major Andre. He was
arrested on his return from an interview with Arnold, and, his
life being in danger, the British commander (Sir Henry Clinton,
I believe) made an effort to save him, by taking upon himself
the responsibility of the act. But although he had crossed our
lines whilst the two nations were in a state of open and flagrant
war, in obedience to instructions from his commander-in-chief,
yet Washington, notwithstanding, rightfully hung him as a spy.
Now, let me tell whoever shall answer me, (if, indeed, any
gentleman will condescend to notice what I have said — for it
seems we on this side of the House are to do all the speaking, and
they all the voting,) that whilst all the modern authorities concur
in declaring that the law of nations protects individuals when
obeying the orders of their sovereign, during a state of open
and flagrant war, whether it has been solemnly declared or not,
and whether it be general or partial, yet these authorities proceed
no further. But, to decide correctly on the application of this
principle in the case before us, we must recollect that the two
belligerents here were England on the one hand and her in-
surgent subjects on the other, and that the United States were a
neutral power, in perfect peace with England. But what is the
rule in regard to nations at peace with each other? This is the
question. As between such nations, does the command of an
inferior officer of the one, to individuals, to violate the sovereignty
of the other, and commit murder and arson, if afterwards recog-
nised by the supreme authority, prevent the nation whose laws
have been outraged from punishing the offenders? Under such
circumstances, what is the law of nations? The doctrine is laid
down in Vattel, an author admitted to be of the highest author-
ity on questions of international law; and the very question,
totidem verbis, which arises in this case, is in his book stated
and decided. He admits that the lawful commands of a legitimate
Government, whether to its troops or other citizens, protects
them from individual responsibility for hostile acts done in obedi-
ence to such commands, whilst in a state of open war. In such
a case, a prisoner of war is never to be subjected to the criminal
jurisdiction of the country within which he has been arrested.
But what is the law of nations in regard to criminal offences
committed by the citizens or subjects of one power, within the
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 423
sovereignty and jurisdiction of another, they being at peace with
each other, even if these criminal acts should be recognised and
justified by the offender's sovereign? This is the case of the
capture and destniction of the Caroline. The subject is treated
of by Vattel, under the head " of the concein a nation may have
in the actions of her citizens," book ii, chap. 6, page i6i. I shall
read sections 73, 74, and 75 :
However, as it is impossible, says the author, for the best regulated
State, or for the most vigilant and absolute sovereign to model at his pleasure
all the actions of his subjects, and to confine them on every occasion to the
most exact obedience, it would be unjust to impute to the nation or the
sovereign every fault committed by the citizens. We ought not, then, to
say, in general, that we have received an injury from a nation, because we
'have received it from one of its members.
But if a nation or its chief approves and ratifies the act of the individual,
it then becomes a public concern, and the injured party is then to consider the
nation as the real author of the injury, of which the citizen was perhaps
only the instrument.
If the offended State has in her power the individual who has done the
injury, she may, without scruple, bring him to justice, and punish him. If
he has escaped, and returned to his own country, she ought to apply to his
sovereign to have justice done in the case.
Can any thing in the virorld be clearer? The author puts
the case distinctly. The nation injured ought not to impute to
the sovereign of a friendly nation the acts of its individual citi-
zens; but if such friendly sovereign shall recognise the acts
as his own, it then becomes a national concern. But does
such a recognition wash away the guilt of the offender, and
release him from the punishment due to his offence under
the jurisdiction of the country whose laws he has violated?
Let Vattel answer this question. He says: "If the offended
State has in her power the individual who has done the injury,
she may, without scruple, bring him to justice and punish
him." There is the direct, plain, and palpable authority. And
here permit me to add that I think I can prove that, according
to sound reason, the principle is correct, and that the question
would now be so decided by our courts, even if the law of nations
had been silent on the subject. This not only is, but ought to be,
the principle of public law.
Mr. Webster, in his letter to Mr. Fox of the 24th of April,
tells the British Minister that the line of frontier which separates
the United States from her Britannic Majesty's North American
provinces, " is long enough to divide the whole of Europe into
halves."
424 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
This is true enough. Now, by admitting the doctrine of
Vattel to be incorrect and unfounded, on what consequences are
we forced? I beg Senators to consider this question. The Hne
which separates us from the British possessions is a line long
enough to divide Europe into halves. Heaven knows I have no
desire to see a rebellion in Canada, or the Canadian provinces
annexed to the United States; but no event in futurity is more
certain than that those provinces are destined to be ultimately
separated from the British empire. Let a civil war come, and
let every McNab who shall then have any command in the British
possessions along this long line be permitted to send a military
expedition into the territory of the United States, whenever he
shall believe or pretend that it will aid in defending the royal
authority against those who are resisting it, and war between
Great Britain and the United States becomes inevitable. A
British subject marauding under the orders of his superior officer
on this side of the line is seized in the very act. Well, what
is to be done? I suppose we are to wait until we can ascertain
whether his Government chooses to recognise his hostile or crimi-
nal act, before we can inflict upon him the punishment which
he deserves for violating our laws. If it should recognise his
act, the jail door is immediately to be thrown open; the offender,
it may be murderer, takes his flight to Canada, and we then must
settle the question with the British Government. Such is the
doctrine advanced by the British Government and our own Sec-
retary of State. This principle would, as I say, lead us inevitably
into war with that power. What can be done in a state of war?
In that case, the laws of war provide that persons invading our
territory who are captured, shall be considered and treated as
prisoners of war. But while the two countries continue at peace,
a man taken in the flagrant act of invasion and violence cannot
be made a prisoner of war. McLeod, however, is not to be
treated on this principle, and punished under our laws if he be
guilty, lest we should ofifend the majesty of England. The laws
of New York are to be nullified, and the murderer is to run at
large.
But if the principle laid down by Vattel be sound and true,
all difficulty at once vanishes. If such an offender be caught in
the perpetration of a criminal act, he is then punished for his
crime. Let him be tried for it at least, and then, if there are any
mitigating circumstances in his case, for the sake of good neigh-
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 42,5
borhood let him escape. There will then be no danger of war
from this cause. Let me suppose a case. Suppose Colonel Allan
McNab should take it into his head that there exists in the United
States a conspiracy against the British Go'Vernment, and should
believe that he could unravel the whole plot by seizing on the
United States mail in its passage from New York to Buffalo'. He
places himself at the head of a party, comes over the line, and
seizes and robs the mail; but in the act he is overpowered and
arrested, and he is indicted before a criminal court of the United
States. Will it be maintained, if the British Government should
say, we recognise the act of McNab in robbing your mail as we
have already recognised that of his burning your steamboat and
killing your citizens, that Mr. Webster would be justified in
directing a nolle prosequi to be entered in his favor, and thus
suffer him to go free ?
I do not say that the British Government would act in this
manner; but I put the case as a fair illustration of the argument.
There was one case in which something very like this might
have happened, and it was even thought probable that it would
happai. It was reported that an expedition had been planned
to seize the person of McLeod, and to carry him ofif to Canada;
and I believe that a very distinguished and gallant general in
the United States service, (General Scott) — an ofificer for whom,
in common with his fellow-citizens, I cherish the highest respect
and regard — went, in company with the Attorney General, to
Lockport; and it was conjectured that he had received orders
to hold McLeod and defend the Lockport jail against any incur-
sion of Sir Allan McNab or any other person.
Suppose now that such an expedition had been set on foot,
that it had succeeded, and that McLeod had been seized and car-
ried off in triumph, the two nations being still in profound peace.
The rescue of a prisoner is a high criminal offence. What would
have been done with McNab if he had voluntarily come within
our jurisdiction and been arrested? If he could be indicted
and tried and punished before the British Government should
have time to recognise his act, very well. But if not, then, at
the moment of such recognition, he would be no longer respon-
sible, and must forthwith be set free. The principle of Vattel,
rightly understood, absolutely secures the territorial sovereignty
of nations in time of peace by permitting them to punish all in-
vasions of it in their own criminal courts, and his doctrine is
eminently calculated to preserve peace among all nations. War
426 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
has its own laws, which are never to be extended to the inter-
course between nations at peace.
The principle assumed in Mr. Fox's letter is well calculated
for the benefit of powerful nations against their weaker neigh-
bors. (But in saying this I do not mean to admit that we are a
weak nation in comparison with England. We do not, indeed,
wish to go to war with her, yet I am confident in the belief that
whatever we might suffer during the early period of such a
contest would be amply compensated by our success before we
reached the end of it.) But let me present an example.
Let us suppose that the empire of Russia has by her side
a coterminous nation, which is comparatively weak. A Russian
Colonel, during a season of profound peace, passes over the
boundary, and commits some criminal act against the citizens
of the weaker nation. They succeed, however, in seizing his
person, and are about to punish him according to the provisions
of their own laws. But immediately the Russian double-headed
black eagle makes its appearance; a Russian officer says to the
authorities of the weaker nation, " stop, take off your hands ;
you shall not vindicate your laws and sovereignty. We assume
this man's crime as a national act." What is the consequence?
The rule for which Britain contends will in this case compel the
injured nation, though the weaker, to declare war in the first
instance against her stronger neighbor. But she will not do it;
she will not become the actor, from the consciousness of her
weakness and the instinct of self-preservation. This principle, if
established, will enable the strong to insult the weak with im-
punity. But take the principle as laid down by Vattel. The
weaker nation defends the majesty of her own laws by punish-
ing the Russian subject who had violated them; and if war is
to ensue, Russia must assume the responsibility of declaring it, in
the face of the world, and in an unjust cause, against the nation
whom she has injured. It is said that one great purpose of
the laws of nations is to protect the weak against the strong,
and never was this tendency more happily illustrated than by this
very principle of Vattel for which I am contending.
I therefore believe that the Secretary of State was as far
wrong in his view of international law as in his haste to appease
the British Government, in the face of a direct threat, by his
instructions to Mr. Crittenden. The communication of these
instructions to that Government, we know, had the desired effect.
They went out immediately to England, and no sooner were
1841] UNFINISHED BUSINESS 427
they known on that side of the water, than in a moment all was
calm and tranquil. The storm portending war passed away, and
tranquil peace once more returned and smiled over the scene.
Sir, the British Government must have been hard-hearted indeed,
if a perusal of those instructions did not soften them, and afford
them the most ample satisfaction. This amiable temper will
never even be rufHed in the slightest degree by the perusal of Mr.
Webster's letter to Mr. Fox, written six weeks afterwards. The
matter had all been virtually ended before its date.
In the views I have now expressed I may be wrong; but
as an American Senator, without any feeling on my part but
such as I think every American Senator ought to cherish, I am
constrained to say, that I cannot approve of the course pursued
by the Secretary of State in this matter ; while at the same time,
I hope and trust that no other occasion may arise, to demand
from me a similar criticism on the official conduct of that
gentleman.
REMARKS, JUNE 12, 1841,
ON A RESOLUTION AS TO UNFINISHED BUSINESS.'
Mr. Buchanan thought the resolution unnecessary. There
was a courtesy among the members of that body which rendered
it always easy for gentlemen to accomplish their wishes as to the
order of business. He rejoiced, however, incidentally to have
heard that the subject of a Bank of the United States was to be
taken up next week ; that was emphatically the great business which
had brought them here ; and, when it should come up, he trusted
the Senator from Kentucky would find they were as anxious to
get on with its discussion and to dispose of it as he could himself
be. As to sitting so long at once as to produce exhaustion, he had
never known it to expedite public business, but the contrary. He
should be opposed to fixing the hour of meeting at lo o'clock.
He agreed, however, entirely with the honorable Senator that
the present session ought to be confined, rigidly, to the important
subjects for which Congress had been convened; but, owing to
the rapidity with which the Senate got on with its business, they
'Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 45. The resolution provided for the
consideration, during the rest of the session, immediately after the journal
was read and petitions and reports were received, of any undetermined
matter under discussion at the preceding adjournment.
428 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
might calculate, without any extra haste, on keeping far ahead of
the other House, which, for aught he could perceive, was likely
to debate abolition for a week or two longer. He thought no
man could complain of any want of rapidity in the manner in
which they had repealed the Sub-Treasury law; he believed that
operation had been completed in a day and a half, or two days.
If gentlemen persisted in having all the voting on one side of
the Senate, and all the speaking on the other, he thought they
might hope to get home again in two or three weeks.
SPEECH, JUNE 15, 1841,
ON THE McLEOD CASE.'
Mr. Buchanan expressed his thanks to the Senate for their
kind indulgence in permitting him to address them this morning,
instead of requiring him to proceed at the late hour last evening
when the adjournment was made. He should endeavor to merit
this indulgence by confining himself to as brief a reply as possible
to the observations which had been made in answer to his former
remarks.
And first, said Mr. B., I cannot but feel highly gratified that
the few remarks which I made in opening this debate, were suffi-
ciently potent to call forth four such distinguished Senators in
reply as those from Virginia, [Mr. Rives,] Massachusetts, [Mr.
Choate,] Connecticut, [Mr. Huntington,] and South Carolina,
[Mr. Preston.] In contending against such an host, my only
wonder is that I have not been entirely demolished. Thanks be
to Providence, I am yet alive and ready for the conflict; and,
what is of more importance, my arguments remain untouched,
however ably they may have been assailed by the distinguished
Senators.
The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Rives] has preached me a
homily on the subject of my party feelings. I acknowledge
myself to be a party man ; and why ? For the very same reason,
I presume, which has, also, made the Senator from Virginia a
party man. I sincerely believe that the very best interests of
the country are identified with the principles and involved in the
success of my party ; and he doubtless entertains a similar opinion
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. Appendix, 65-69.
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 429
in regard to the party to which he belongs. But he, of all men,
ought to be the last man in this Senate to read me such a lesson.
Is he no party man himself? This he will not pretend. I think
I may with confidence appeal to the Senate to decide whether
he is not, at the very least, as strong and ardent a party man as
myself.
In regard to our foreign relations, I have ever studiously
avoided, as far as this was possible, the influence of party feeling.
I have determined, on this subject, to be of no party but that
of my country; and if I know myself, I should rather have ap-
plauded, if that had been possible, than condemned the conduct
of the Secretary of State in his recent transactions with the
British Government. The commentaries which I have made on
his instructions to the Attorney General, I felt myself called upon
to make as an American Senator, jealous of his country's honor.
The Secretary's head would have been turned long ago, if
the incense of flattery could have produced this effect. Each of
the four Senators has indulged in an excess of eulogy upon him.
As if no one mortal man could be justly compared with him, he
has been almost deified by comparing him with the whole Roman
Senate. The Senator from Virginia has informed us that the
Secretary will deliver up McLeod to the British Government, as
the Roman Senate sent back the murderers of their embassadors
to King Demetrius, determined like them to avenge the insult
offered to his country, not upon the head of any subordinate
agent, but of the sovereign himself. We shall see hereafter the
justice of this parallel.
I have been for many years acquainted with the distin-
guished author of the instructions to Mr. Crittenden. For con-
densation of thought and of expression, and for power of argu-
ment, that gentleman is not surpassed by any man in this country.
But will these qualities alone make himi a great practical states-
man? No, sir, no. To be such a statesman, he must be powerful
in actions as well as in arguments — in deeds as well as in words.
He must possess the clear and sound judgment, the moral firm-
ness, and the self-reliance necessary to decide and to act, with
promptness and energy, in any crisis of political affairs. Tlie
Secretary is not the man whom I should select for my leader in
times of difficulty and danger. In the mighty storms which shake
empires, he is not the man whom I should place at the helm to
steer the ship of State in safety through the raging billows. Na-
ture generally distributes her gifts with an impartial hand. Some
430 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
she endows with great powers of eloquence, and others with
great powers of action; but she seldom combines both in the
same individual. Demosthenes himself, the greatest of orators,
fled disgracefully at the battle (I think) of Chasronea, and after-
wards accepted a bribe; whilst Cicero was timid and irresolute
by nature, and was, even in the opinion of his own friends, unfit
for great actions. I would not attribute to the Secretary that
want of courage and firmness which was so striking in Demos-
thenes and Cicero; and I present these examples merely for the
purpose of proving that great powers of ratiocination do not
alone make great statesmen, fitted to act upon trying occasions.
In leaving the Senate, the Secretary has, I think, left his proper
theatre of action. Should we be involved in serious difficulties
with England, I doubt whether he will ever be as conspicuous in
the field of diplomatic action, as he has been in the field of debate.
His is not one of those master minds which can regulate and
control events.
I shall now return to the subject of debate and shall spend
no more time upon it than may be absolutely necessary to reply
to the few points made by those who have, with such eloquence,
heaped eulogy upon eulogy on the Secretary, instead of refuting
my arguments.
There are some important principles on which the four
Senators and myself entirely agree. And in the first place, they
all coincide with me in regard to the enormous outrage com-
mitted on our national sovereignty by the capture and destruction
of the Caroline. We all agree that this was a most atrocious
invasion of our rights as a free and independent nation. An
American vessel, manned by American citizens, and lying within
our own waters under the protection of our own flag, has been
seized by a band of volunteer marauders from Upper Canada, has
been set on fire, and with our maimed and murdered citizens on
board — the living with the dead — ^has been sent headlong down
the dreadful precipice of Niagara. We all agree that this was
one of the greatest outrages ever committed by the subjects of
one independent nation against the sovereignty and the citizens
of another.
Is there, then, any principle of national law of such resistless
power that it will rescue these murderers from trial and punish-
ment when arrested within the jurisdiction of the sovereign State
where their crimes have been committed? Can the perpetrators
of this barbarity be claimed by their Government, and upon its
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 431
subsequent assumption of their responsibility and their guilt, must
they be released and permitted to go free by virtue of any
imperative mandate of the law of nations ? The British Govern-
ment and the American Secretary of State have answered this
question in the affirmative; whilst I trust I shall be able to prove
that the best writers on public law, as well as both reason and
justice, have answered it in the negative.
Sir, I desire to pay a deserved compliment both to the argu-
ment of the Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. Choate,] and to
the feelings displayed by him throughout his remarks. It was
his first appearance in debate here, and judging of others by
myself, I must say, that those who have listened to him once
will be anxious to hear him again.
On the great principle of international law involved in
this case, the Senator and myself entirely agree. Indeed on this
point there is no contrariety of opinion between myself and any
of the Senators who have replied to me, unless it may be the
Senator from' Virginia. In my opening remarks I laid down the
principle in as broad terms as any of them have used. I freely
admitted, that all the modern authorities concurred in declaring,
that the law of nations protects individuals from punishment
in the courts of an invaded country, for hostile acts committed
there, in obedience to the commands of their own sovereign, dur-
ing a state of public zvar; and that, too, whether this war has been
solemnly declared or not, and whether it he general or partial.
War has its own laws, and such individuals, if seized, can only
be held as prisoners of war. They cannot be punished. Upon
this principle of the law of nations we all agree. It is upon its
application to the circumstances of the present case, and upon
that alone, that we differ.
I think I shall satisfy the Senate that no war of any kind,
under the law of nations, existed between Great Britain and the
United States, in consequence of the attack upon the Caroline;
and that the capture of this vessel was not an act of war. I shall
then conclusively establish, from the very authorities cited by the
Senators, that the perpetrators of this outrage are liable to be
tried and punished in the criminal courts of New York.
If no war existed between the two nations, then, according
to the argument of the Senators themselves, M'Leod can enjoy
no immunity from trial and punishment. Was the capture of
the Caroline then an act of war? I answer not. And why?
Because no power on earth, except it be the supreme sovereign
432 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
power of a nation, can make war. Nay, more ; no other power
can even grant letters of marque and reprisal. The Senate will
understand that I speak of offensive war, such as the capture of
the Caroline must have been, if it were war at all. I admit that
any appropriate authority on the spot, from the necessity of the
case, may repel invasion, and thus make defensive war. What
does Vattel say upon this subject ? He declares that " -war, under
the law of 'nations, can never he waged by any but the sovereign
power of a State." — Vattell, page 291.
And again, in page 398, he says:
The right of making war, as we have shown in the first chapter of this
book, solely belongs to the sovereign power, Avhich not only decides whether
it be proper to undertake the war, and to declare it, but likewise directs
all its operations, as circumstances of the utmost importance to the safety
of the State. Subjects, therefore, cannot of themselves take any steps in
this affair; nor are they allowed to commit any act of hostility without
orders from their sovereign.
These elementary principles, necessary to prevent nations
from being involved in the calamities of war by every rash adven-
turer, or by any authority short of the sovereign power, are laid
down by Rutherforth as well as Vattel, and every other writer
on the law of nations. They are so simple and so consonant to
human reason, that I shall read no other authority to establish
them.
That there may be no escape from' the argument, permit
me to read a sentence or two from the favorite author of the
Senators, (2 Rutherforth's Institutes, 507,) to show what is the
nature of public war:
Public war, says he, is divided into perfect and imperfect. The former
sort is more usually called solemn, according to the law of nations, and the
latter unsolemn war. Grotius defines perfect or solemn war to be such
public war as is declared or proclaimed. . . . Unsolemn or imperfect
wars between nations, that is, such wars as nations carry on against one an-
other without declaring or proclaiming them, though they are public wars,
arc seldom called wars at all; they are more usually known by the name of
reprisals or acts of hostility.
Thus the Senate will perceive that whether the war be
solemn or unsolemn, perfect or imperfect, it is still public war,
and such as " nations alone can carry on against each other."
It would be vain to declare that the sovereign power alone can
wage solemn war, if you permit individuals, without its authority,
to make reprisals or commit acts of hostility. Suffer them to
do this, and they can involve their nation in a general war, not
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 433
only without the consent, but in opposition to the will of the
sovereign power.
Having thus established, by the highest authority, that public
war, whether perfect or imperfect, can alone be waged by the
command of the nation or sovereign power; let us proceed to
inquire whether the capture of the Caroline was an act of public
war by Great Britain against the United States.
Will it be pretended by any person that this invasion of
our territory was authorized or commanded by the sovereign
power of Great Britain? Certainly not. The expedition which
crossed the Niagara, captured the Caroline, and committed the
murder with which McLeod stands charged, was neither author-
ized nor commanded to make war on the United States by the
Government of England. This act of hostility was authorized
alone by Colonel McNab of the Canada militia, and not by
Queen Victoria, or even the supreme provincial Government. It
was undertaken suddenly by a band of volunteer marauders, who
neither knew nor cared what was the object of the expedition.
On the recent argument of this case before the Supreme Court
of New York, the Attorney General of that State, as appears
from the Herald, read a despatch of Governor Head to Lord
Glenelg, the British Colonial Secretary, from "Head's Narrative,"
pages 377-80. The letter was dated 9th February, 1838. The
letter showed the nature of the attack, and that it was com-
posed of volunteers, who embarked in ignorance of the precise
object of the expedition — Captain Drew, who led on the attack,
merely obtaining men who " would follow him to the Devil."
I regret that I could not procure this book. It has not yet
been received in the Congressional Library. No object was
avowed or even intimated by Captain Drew. Conscious that
he was about to embark in an unlawful and unjustifiable expedi-
tion, he concealed his purpose from his followers. Fifty or sixty
desperate banditti agreed to follow him to the Devil ; and on that
night they committed arson and murder upon the soil and within
the sovereign jurisdiction of the State of New York. And yet,
in order to save McLeod from the punishment due to his crimes,
Senators have been compelled to contend that this lawless attack
was an act of public war committed by Great Britain against this
country. Unless they can establish this position, their whole
argument sinks into nothing.
Now, sir, if there never had been a book written upon the
subject of national law, could such a principle be maintained for
Vol. IV.— 28
434 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
a single moment ? Reason would at once condemn the idea, that
such a marauding expedition, suddenly undertaken by an inferior
officer, was public war. No, sir ; no : there was no war between
Great Britain and the United States; and it follows as a neces-
sary consequence that every man engaged in this murderous
attack upon a vessel lying within the peaceful waters of the
sovereign State of New York, is amenable to her criminal
laws.
On this point, I shall presently show, that the authorities are
clear and decided. And here permit me to observe that the
Senator from Massachusetts did me no more than justice in
supposing that I had intentionally omitted to cite Grotius, for the
purpose of proving that individuals engaged in all public wars,
except such as are denominated solemn, might be arrested and
punished for their acts under the laws of the country which they
invaded. Grotius, in more places than one, has asserted this
principle. Whether there was not more humanity in this ancient
doctrine than in that which prevails at present, I shall not attempt
to decide. According to it, nations were compelled to make a
public and solemn declaration of war, and thus gave notice to
their enemy and all mankind of the commencement of hostilities ;
otherwise such wars were externally unlawful, and subjects were
liable to punishment for obeying the commands of their sovereign.
But I cheerfully admit that the law of nations has changed since
the time of Grotius, and that this immunity from individual
punishment now extends to public wars of the unsolemn or im-
perfect kind which are preceded by no declaration.
But what is the consequence if the members of a nation make
reprisals, or commit acts of hostility, as Colonel McNab and
Captain Drew have done, without the authority of the sovereign
power ? Are they, in such a case, protected from punishment for
their criminal acts, in the courts of the nation whose laws they
have violated? Let Rutherforth answer this question, (vol. 2,
P- 548.)
Thirdly : Grotius confines the external lawfulness of what is done in a
war which is internally unjust, to solemn wars only; whereas the external
lawfulness in respect of the members of a civil society extends to public wars
of the imperfe,ct sort, to acts of reprisal, or to other acts of hostility. By
giving the name of public war to reprisals or other acts of hostility which
fall short of being solemn wars, I suppose the reprisals to be made, or the
acts of hostility to be committed, by the authority of a nation, though it
has not solemnly declared war. For if the members of the nation make
reprisals, or commit acts of hostility, without being thus authorised, they
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 435
are not under the protection of the law of nations: as they act separately
by their own will, so they are separately accountable to the nation against
which they act.
Now, sir, here is McLeod's very case in so many words.
Human ingenuity cannot escape from it. Those who commit
acts of hostility, without the authority of the nation to which
they belong, are punishable by the nation against which they act.
No man can pretend to say that this midnight incursion of des-
perate banditti who followed Captain Drew, acted under the
command of the sovereign power of England. They were vol-
unteers— they acted upon their own authority; and McLeod
boasted that he was one of thisnumber. Under the very author-
ity read by the Senator from Massachusetts himself, as they acted
separately by their ozvn will, and without the authority of the
British nation, so they are separately accountable to the State
of Neiv York against which they acted. This then is the prin-
ciple upon which we stand. If, therefore, McLeod committed
the murder attributed to him, within the territorial jurisdiction
of New York, under every law, both human and divine, he ought
there to be punished for his offence.
On the question of national law, I might safely rest here.
I have conclusively shown that Colonel McNab, of his own
authority, could not wage war in behalf of Great Britain against
the United States; but I shall go one step further, and present
an authority which would seem almost to have been intended
for this individual case. It will be found in 2d Rutherforth's In-
stitutes, pages 496, 497, 498, &c. The questions there answered
are. Can any inferior magistrate make war? or must war proceed
from the supreme magistrate ? The author, after having treated
the subject at some length, and proved that no inferior magis-
trate, whether of a civil or military character, can lawfully make
war, concludes with the following language:
Upon the whole, whatever liberty we have to use words in what sense
we please, the law of nations will call no war a public one, unless it proceeds
on both parts from those who are invented with supreme executive power;
for in the vieiv of this law no other magistrates have a public character in
respect of war.
It would be a monstrous doctrine, that every petty British
magistrate along the Canada line can, at his pleasure or his
caprice, involve this country in war with Great Britain. If he
can authorize lawless adventurers to make such an incursion upon
us as Captain Drew has done, he may license pirates, robbers,
436 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
and murderers to invade our borders, and, after they have been
guilty of the greatest enormities, may demand their surrender,
and rescue them from punishment, by casting the responsibihty
upon his Government.
No subsequent approbation of the offender's criminal act by
his sovereign can relieve him from punishment. It is the exist-
ence of actual war when the crime was committed, and that only,
which could constitute his defence. I, therefore, entirely agree
with the Senator from Massachusetts, in the principle that if
McLeod had been a soldier in public war, the proof of this fact
alone would relieve him from punishment. Tlie subsequent inter-
ference of his sovereign in his behalf was not necessary.
Whilst I admit this, I consider it equally clear, that if war did
not exist between the two nations, this interference could not
withdraw him from the penalty of the laws which he had vio-
lated. It is the fact of the existence of war, and not the inter-
ference of the British sovereign, on which the decision of
McLeod's case must depend.
In every case of a crime committed within our territory by
a foreigner, except only in actual war, the principle applies which
I cited from Vattel in my opening remarks. The State or nation
whose laws have been outraged, always punishes the offender.
If the sovereign of the nation to which he belongs should approve
or ratify his criminal act, in the language of Vattel, " it then
becomes a public concern against such sovereign." But this does
not prevent the offended State from bringing the criminal to
justice under her own laws. This is the rule between nations at
peace. It applies strictly to the case of McLeod; because when
the murder was committed with which he is charged, and ever
since, we have been at peace with England. I had not supposed
that any Senator would controvert this rule; because upon its
existence depends the sovereignty and independence of nations.
If the Queen of England or the King of the French, in time
of peace, can send emissaries into our country to excite insur-
rection; and if, when detected in crimes against our laws, the
foreign sovereign can rescue them from punishment by approving
their conduct, we are then no longer supreme and independent
within our own territory. If I understood the Senator from
Virginia [Mr. Rives] correctly, he contended that, under this
very authority which I had cited from Vattel, when properly
understood, the recognition of any criminal act of a foreigner
within our jurisdiction by his sovereign, would release the of-
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 437
fender from trial and punishment in our courts of justice. Upon
this recognition the prison doors must fly open, and even the
murderer escape. I cannot consent to argue this proposition;
but I shall present to the Senator an example of what might occur
in our own country if his doctrine were correct.
Suppose the Governor of Jamaica should send an emissary
into one of our Southern States for the purpose of inflaming
the passions of the slaves against their masters and exciting a
servile insurrection — is such an emissary not to be held account-
able to the laws of this State for his acts, because the British
Government, whose subject he is, may have authorized the sup-
pression of slavery in this cruel manner? Although blood and
assassination may follow in his footsteps, yet must he, when
arrested and brought before a court of justice to answer for his
crimes, be surrendered to his sovereign the moment his surrender
is demanded?
Mr. Rives here explained. He said that such was not the
position for which he contended. He had not intended to say
more than that military invasions were recognized by national
law as relieving the invaders from punishment.
Mr. Buchanan. Probably I may have mistaken the gentle-
man in supposing that the principle for which he contended
was, that the sovereign power under which an individual acted,
and not the individual himself, was responsible, no matter whether
he were employed as a military or a civil agent to accomplish the
designs of his Government. I certainly understood the Senator
distinctly to say, that the authority cited by me from Vattel would
prevent.the States of this Union from punishing any offence com-
mitted within their territories by a foreigner, provided his con-
duct were afterwards sanctioned by the offender's sovereign.
Mr. Rives. Such I understood to be the meaning of Vattel.
I did not read the passage myself. Vattel is mistaken in this
particular. I defined my argument as being applicable to military
aggression only.
Mr. Buchanan. .Then, sir, it seems that Vattel is wrong in
this particular; but I have the pleasure of knowing that the
Senator from Virginia concurs with me against what he under-
stands to be the opinion of this great author. But Vattel is not
fairly subject to the Senator's criticism. On the contrary, he
is the highest authority for the opinion which we now both enter-
tain. He lays it down that the sovereign aggrieved may punish
any such offence committed within his territory ; and it is nowhere
438 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
intimated that his arm shall be arrested, whenever a foreign
sovereign chooses to recognize the act.
We then agree that if, in time of peace, an offence be com-
mitted within the territory of a nation, no authority whatever can
screen the offender from the penalty inflicted by its laws. The
Senator admits that war, and war alone, can render these
sovereign laws impotent. But even in war a captured soldier
is not to be delivered up on the demand of his Government. He
is to be held as a prisoner of war; and if McLeod were in that
condition, Mr. Fox would have no right, under the law of nations,
to demand his release, though he might justly protest against his
punishment.
But as neither Colonel McNab nor Captain Drew could
authorize any act of hostility against the United States, no war
existed; and an imaginary war has been conjured up by gentle-
men as a last resort, to rescue McLeod from danger, and to justify
the Secretary of State in yielding to the demand of the British
Government. No' case, then, exists, to justify the demand of
McLeod's release ; and the State of New York has a perfect right
to punish him for any offence committed within her jurisdiction.
When I addressed the Senate before, I expressed an opinion
that McLeod was not present at the capture of the Caroline. On
examining the evidence, however, which was recently presented
to the Supreme Court of New York, I find sufficient testimony to
render it probable that I may have been mistaken. Among other
testimony, a witness deposed that on the morning after the
destruction' of the Caroline, he had met McLeod at a tavern in
Chippewa, who then boasted that he had killed " one damned
Yankee " in that expedition, and, pointing to his sword, said
" there's his blood." I hope this was only his own vain boasting,
and that he was not in reality so bad as his vanity prompted him
to pretend to be. On the question of his guilt or innocence, I
now desire to express no opinion.
The Senator from Massachusetts is mistaken in his appli-
cation of the established principle of the law of nations regarding
volunteers to the case of McLeod. It is certain that volunteers
who enter the military service of another country for the purpose
of acquiring skill in the art of war are, when taken by the enemy,
to be treated as if they belonged to the anny in which they fight.
This is the principle laid down by Vattel. Such a volunteer is
entitled to all the rights and privileges which war confers, to the
same extent as though he were a citizen or subject of the nation
1841] THE McLEOD'CASE 439
whose forces he has joined. But is this the case of McLeod ? In
order to make it such, the Senator must first prove that war
existed between this country and England, and that, being the
citizen of another country, that individual voluntarily joined the
British army.
The Senator from Massachusetts has put a case calculated to
affect our feelings. How hard would it be, says he, for a man
to be aroused from his bed at midnight, to be torn from the
arms of his wife and young child, and commanded, upon his
allegiance, to join an invading force; and then, after having
acted under this compulsion, to be subjected to punishment if
made a prisoner of war ! But this, all must perceive, is a mere
fancy sketch, and has no application to the case of McLeod. His
was a voluntary offence — there was no command — no compul-
sion. He was a volunteer, and was instigated by his own evil
impulses alone to join the expedition, and commit the crime of
murder, for which, according to the law of nations, if he should
be found guilty, he has forfeited his life to the offended laws of
New York.
The object of all human punishment is to prevent crime;
and it is certain that such lawless attacks on the sovereignty of
an independent nation will be most effectually prevented, if the
persons engaged in them know that they will certainly be punished
under the laws of the nation which they have attacked. This is
the clear principle of public law. When you arrest any such
assailant, who has voluntarily invaded your territory, and wil-
fully taken the life of one of your citizens, mercy teaches you
that you ought to hang him for murder, as an example to all
others who might be willing to offend in the same manner. If
this were your known determination, we should never more
suffer from such lawless expeditions as that of Captain Drew.
We should thus save our citizens from murder and rapine, and
the two nations from all the horrors and cruelties of actual war.
.Our side of the question is that of true humanity. The punish-
ment of a single offender at the first, would thus save the lives
of thousands of innocent victims hereafter.
Our Government ought to have taken a decided stand upon
this principle. I regret that they have not done it. Let an
insurrection again break out in Canada, and we shall reap the
bitter fruits of the Secretary's blunder. The inferior officers of
the British Government all along the border will be sending expe-
ditions across our frontier, which will plunder and murder our
440 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
citizens, under the pretence of defending their Canadian posses-
sions against the attacks of the insurgents. This will be done,
if for no other purpose but that of displaying their zeal and
devotion to their sovereign. The example of the capture of the
Caroline, and the honors, rewards, and approbation which have
been bestowed upon the captors, will animate them to undertake
similar enterprises.
Had the Secretary of State firmly resisted the demand of
the British Government to surrender McLeod, and let it be known
that those engaged in such enterprises should always be punished
under our laws, we should have experienced no farther difficulty.
Even if McLeod had been a regular soldier, and acted under
the command of his superior officer, this would not have relieved
him from punishment under our laws; although it might have
made a strong appeal to our feelings of mercy. There are many
instances on the records of British courts of justice, in which
soldiers have been held justifiable for disobeying the illegal com-
mands of their officers. In such a case as that of the incursion
into our territory for the purpose of capturing the Caroline, they
might have said, we will follow you into battle anywhere against
the enemies of our country, but we shall not obey your command
to invade a neutral and friendly nation, with which our sovereign
is at peace. In such a case, I admit that it would be much more
just to punish the officer who gave the command than the soldier
who obeyed, though in regard to the question of power there
would be no difference.
The case imagined by the Senator from Massachusetts would
be a hard one; but there is no hardship of that kind in the case
of McLeod. He invaded our territory of his own accord — he
determined to follow Captain Drew to the devil, and we ought
not to prevent him from reaching his place of destination. If it
should appear on the trial that he was the murderer of Durfee, he
ought to be hung. The judgiiient of all mankind would approve
the sentence, and the whole civilized world would say amen to
this act of justice.
[Mr. Benton from his seat here said " Amen."]
Even Sir Robert Peel, high Tory as he is, in the late debate
in the House of Commons, did not condemn the conduct of the
authorities of New York towards McLeod. On the contrary, he
declared that he would give no opinion whatever respecting his
arrest and imprisonment.
Having thus endeavored to demonstrate that no principle of
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 441
public law required the Secretary of State to surrender McLeod
on the demand of the British Government, we now come to the
most important point of the discussion ; I refer to the Secretary's
conduct and bearing throughout the whole transaction.
He is most fortunate in having such an advocate as the
Senator from Virginia. The devoted friendship which appears
to exist between these gentlemen reminds one of the language
of the poet. Theirs are
" Two bodies with one soul inspired."
The Senator has pronounced a truly brilliant eulogy on his friend,
the Secretary. Let us inquire whether that eulogy is justified
by the facts.
An outrage has been committed on our national sovereignty
in time of peace — an outrage of such an aggravated character as
to have justified an immediate declaration of war on our part;
and what have we been told by the British Minister? To do him
justice, he has never, like Senators on this floor, contended that
McLeod ought to be surrendered, because the capture of the
Caroline was an act of war against the United States. This was
an after thought to save the Secretary fromi condemnation for
yielding to the demand of the British Government. It is ridicu-
lous to pretend that war existed between the two countries. Mr.
Fox resorts to no such subterfuge. On the contrary, so far
as we can ascertain his views, he justifies the outrage upon a
principle which no American Senator would dare to defend. He
has very modestly informed us, in substance, that we were too
impotent to preserve our neutrality in the civil war which existed
in Canada, and that, therefore, it became necessary for her
Majesty's Government to perform this duty for us. To use his
own mild and moderate language —
The place where the vessel (the Caroline) was destroyed was nom-
inally, it is true, within the territory of a friendly power; but the friendly
power had been deprived, through overbearing piratical violence, of the use
of its proper authority over that portion of territory.
Nay, more, he justifies this invasion of our territory by
alluding to the example of General Jackson during the Florida
war. But is there any parallel between the two cases?
The Spanish authorities in Florida honestly confessed that
they had not sufificient power to restrain their Indians from cross-
ing our frontier and committing depredations on our territory ;
and it was not until after this humiliating confession had been
442 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
made, that General Jackson pursued these Indians across our line
into the Spanish territory. This was not done until we could
say to the Governor of Florida: You acknowledge that you
cannot comply with the stipulations of the treaty between us,
requiring each party to restrain the Indians within their own
limits, by force, from committing hostilities against the other
party, and, therefore, the paramount law of self preservation
justifies us in performing that duty for you. Besides, the terri-
tory of the Seminoles was wild and unsettled, and was but
nominally under the jurisdiction of Spain.
And yet the British Minister compares the Government of
the United States and the State of New York to the Colonial
Spanish Government, which was too feeble even to protect itself,
and justifies the capture and burning of the Caroline and murder
of Durfee by the example of General Jackson in pursuing the
barbarous Seminoles across the Spanish line !
Thus stood the question when Mr. Fox addressed the official
communication of the British Government to the Secretary of
State on the 12th March last. Now, Senators may talk as much
as they please about the high tone assumed by Mr. Webster in his
letter of the 24th April ; but the whole question between the two
Governments had been virtually ended on the 15th March, when
Mr. Webster announced to Mr. Fox his determination to comply
with the demands of the British Government, so far as that was
in his power. This annunciation was made by delivering to Mr.
Fox a copy of the Secretary's instructions to the Attorney
General.
The British Government, after having kept our remon-
strance, in the case of the Caroline, before them unanswered for
three years, put their veto upon it, and said in substance to Mr.
Webster, " we justify the act." In the late debate upon this sub-
ject in the House of Commons, Lord John Russell proclaimed to
the world that Lord Palmerston had informed the American
Minister at London " that the British Government had justified
the destruction of the Caroline." On this question, it does not
appear that they even granted us a hearing. Our able and elo-
quent remonstrance, sustained as it was by abundant testimony,
was disposed of in half a sentence ; and Mr. Webster was barely
informed that this outrage was a justifiable employment of force.
The British Government thus, in effect, declared, in their letter
to the Secretary, that they approved of what McLeod had done;
and they assumed the responsibility of the outrage, even to the
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 443
sending the Caroline adrift, with living men on board, to be
swept over the falls of Niagara.
In common civility, they ought to have confined themselves
to the simple demand of McLeod's surrender upon the principle
avowed in Mr. Fox's communication, and left our remonstrance
against the capture and destruction of the Caroline for future
negotiation. This question would then have been left open, and
our Secretary would have had a pending subject on which to
write his April letter. But such a course would not have com-
ported with the character of this proud and arrogant monarchy.
The communication then proceeds to reiterate the demand
of McLeod's surrender, and threatens us with the serious conse-
quences which must follow our refusal. How have the Senators
on the opposite side treated this plain and palpable threat ? The
Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Choate] did not allude to it
at all ; and this was his most prudent course. The Senator from
Connecticut [Mr. Huntington] explained it away in a summary
manner, by stating that the serious consequences to which Mr.
Fox alluded in his letter were not war against the United States,
but simply those which would result from disputing what he
deemed a settled point in the law of nations ! The Senator him-
self could not forbear from smiling, whilst placing this construc-
tion upon the threat. This example shows how certainly even a
gentleman of great ingenuity must be lost, whenever he attempts
to explain away clear and plain language conveying a direct and
precise meaning. This threat can never be explained away by
any human ingenuity.
Sir, it was we who had cause to threaten — it was we who
ought to have demanded from the British Government the sur-
render of the captors of the Caroline and the murderers of Amer-
ican citizens on that fatal expedition, that they might be tried and
punished under the laws which they had violated. We owed it
to ourselves and to our character before the world to make this
demand the very moment when the British Government first
justified the outrage to Mr. Webster. But instead of this, when
one of these miserable bandits was arrested within our territory
upon his own boastful acknowledgment that he was guilty, the
British Government at once interposed to save him from' trial
and from' punishment ; and they, instead of us, became the actors.
The British minister, in effect, tells Mr. Webster, " we cannot
regard the rights of your sovereign and independent States ; it is
the Government of the United States which we hold responsible ;
444 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
we therefore demand of you the release of McLeod from the
custody of the State of New York, and we entreat you deHber-
ately to consider the serious consequences which must follow from
your refusal."
Mortal man, in civil life, never had a more glorious oppor-
tunity of distinguishing himself than was presented to the Amer-
ican Secretary of State on this occasion. Had he then acted
as became the great nation whose representative he was, he would
have won the gratitude of his country and enrolled his name
among our most illustrious statesmen. The opinion of mankind
would have justified a high tone on his part towards the British
Government; and I verily believe that such a tone would have
been the most effectual mode of preserving peace between the two
nations. We had drunk the cup of forbearance to its last dregs,
and we ought then to have displayed a little of that patriotic
indignation which the conduct of the British Government was so
well calculated to excite. A small portion of the spirit of the
elder William Pitt would have impelled the Secretary to pursue
the proper and politic course for his country as well as for his
own fame.
The British Government ought to have been told that we
could never yield to a threat.. They ought to have been told
by the American Secretaiy, " you must first withdraw this threat
before we can do even that which we believe to be justice." This
is the conduct which honorable men pursue towards each other,
and it is the conduct required from a great nation by the public
opinion of the world.
Although this is the tone which the Secretary ought to have
assumed; yet I might have forgiven him even if he had taken
as high ground as was occupied by his own political friends in
the Legislature of New York, before they knew of the existence
of the threat. The position which they assume, in their address
to the people, is " that the subject of McLeod's guilt or inno-
cence is one exclusively belonging to the court and jury of the
State ; that, like all other persons accused of crime, he must have
a fair trial, enjoy a legal deliverance, if innocent, and suffer the
punishment of his crimes, if guilty; and that neither the British
Government, nor the Government of the United States, ought to
be allowed to interfere in any manner with the regular course
of legal proceedings in this case."
An answer such as this would at least have saved us from
disgrace. But, sir, what was the course of the Secretary? In
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 445
relation to it, I shall not now repeat what I have said on a former
occasion. After admitting in the strongest terms that McLeod
ought to be immediately surrendered, the Secretary, " with a
motherly care, lest any thing might be done against him contrary
to law," to use the language of the Senator from South Carolina,
[Mr. Preston,] despatches the Attorney General to Lockport.
For what purpose? To see that McLeod is saved from the
violence and injustice of whom? Of the highest judicial
tribunal of the sovereign State of New York.
Could not McLeod, if he were innocent, have justified him-
self without the actual interference of our Attorney General?
He had employed able counsel, and he was sustained by the
British Government. Would not the court have admitted any
legal evidence in his favor without the mission of Mr. Crittenden ?
Why, then, send him all the way to Lockport to exercise this
" motherly care " over McLeod, which he did not need, even if
he had deserved it? His life was in no danger, if he were inno-
cent, or if the opinion expressed by the British Government and
the American Secretary on the point of international law be cor-
rect; but even if he were in danger, no human power known to
the laws and Constitution of our country, could rightfully with-
draw him from the jurisdiction of that court.
In answer to the British Minister, the Secretary, in effect,
says : " Your demand is just. McLeod ought to be surrendered,
and if this were in my power, I would surrender him in a moment.
Unfortunately, he is not confined under the authority of a court
of the United States. H he were, I should at once have a nolle
prosequi entered in his favor. I cannot withdraw him from the
jurisdiction of the sovereign State of New York ; but I shall use
every effort in my power for his relief. I shall send the Attorney
General of the United States to his assistance ; and I now express
as strong an opinion as you could desire, that, under the law
of nations, the Supreme Court of New York are bound to throw
open his prison doors, and let him run at large."
Under these assurances, which the British Minister received
within three days after the date of his demand, in the form of
instructions from the Secretary to the Attorney General, he rested
entirely satisfied. He had gained his point. Our Government
had cowered before him, and this last act of submission has
capped the climax.
Armed at all points, the Attorney General was directed to see
that a writ of error should be taken to the Supreme Court of
446 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the United States from the judgment of the court in New York,
in case the defence of McLeod should be overruled.
If there be any law in existence which authorizes such an
appeal from the judgment of the Supreme Court of one of the
sovereign States of the Union, in a case of murder pecuHarly
within the jurisdiction of its own laws, I do not know the fact.
The Secretary of State is a great lawyer, and in his researches he
may possibly have discovered such a law; but yet I venture to
assert that the decision of the Supreme Court of New York,
whether for or against McLeod, will be final. I shall be glad to
learn the opinion of the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Hunting-
ton] on this subject, who is a profound and able jurist.
The Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Preston] has taken
me to task for stating that, under the circumstances of the case,
the Secretary of State ought not to have expressed the opinion,
in answer to Mr. Fox, that McLeod was entitled to his discharge
under the law of nations. He asks, why should the Secretary
have concealed his opinion, if he agreed with Mr. Fox in his
view of the subject?
Now, sir, whilst I admit that our diplomacy ought ever to
be, as it ever has been, frank, open, and candid; yet I should
not have responded to Mr. Fox, that McLeod ought to be dis-
charged under the law of nations, for two reasons, either of
which I deem amply sufficient.
In the first place, this very question was then, and still is,
pending before a judicial tribunal in New. York, having exclusive
jurisdiction over the matter. Under such circumstances, a pru-
dent man would have awaited the decision. If the court should
differ in opinion from the Secretary, as I think they ought, he,
as well as the President, will be placed in a most awkward
dilemma, in regard to our relations with the British Government.
If the court should insist upon hanging McLeod, whilst the
Secretary has already decided that he ought to go free, our posi-
tion will be truly embarrassing.
In the second place — I, at least, would never have expressed
such an opinion to Mr. Fox, in the face of a positive threat. It
would have been enough, in all conscience, for the Secretary
to have said : " Justice will be done to McLeod. If not guilty,
he will be acquitted, and on his trial he will have the full benefit
of that principle of the law of nations which you assert. If
guilty of a crime against the laws of New York, the Govern-
ment of the United States cannot interfere, because that State is
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 447
sovereign, and has an uncontrollable right to administer her own
criminal justice, according to her own pleasure."
That we should submit to the insolent threats of other
nations, because other nations have thus submitted, is not a rule
which any American citizen will ever recognize. Unhappy, in-
deed, must be the condition of Senators, when they are driven
to cite such precedents for the purpose of sustaining the Secre-
tary, and justifying England. The honorable Senator from' Vir-
ginia [Mr. Rives] informs us that he himself had used similar
language in a diplomatic note. I doubt not that he did ; I have
no recollection of it, although I once considered it a duty which
I owed to him to examine carefully all his correspondence with
the French Government. But even if the Senator has used lan-
guage such as that of Mr. Fox to a proud and haughty nation
like France, is that any reason why we should submit to- language
thus insulting from any nation on the face of the earth?
Mr. Rives explained, but the Reporter did not hear his
explanation.
Mr. Buchanan. Yes, sir, General Jackson, in a public
message to Congress, did use very strong language in regard to
France, as he had a right to do. He did assume a very lofty tone,
and thus, I believe, prevented war. But mark the difference. This
was in a message to a co-ordinate branch of our own Govern-
ment ; and was not addressed in the form of a diplomatic note to
the French Government.
I have not mistaken the language of the Senator from Vir-
ginia. The words were: "I have held language like this (of
Mr. Fox) to a proud and haughty nation."
Another precedent cited by the Senator was the language
addressed by this same Mr. Fox to Mr. Forsyth ; but he has for-
gotten to state what was Mr. Forsyth's answer. Mr. Forsyth at
least gave him a Rowland for his Oliver, and did not pass it by,
as Mr. Webster has done, without any notice. This is one great
difference between the two cases. But there is still another. The
expression used by Mr. Fox to Mr. Forsyth is not near so strong
as that which he used to Mr. Webster ; and in his note to Mr.
Forsyth he expressly declared that he was not authorized to
pronounce the decision of his Government upon our remonstrance
in the case of the Caroline. The British Government had not
then decided, as they have done now, to turn a deaf ear to our
complaint. Mr. Forsyth replied that no discussion of the ques-
tion here could be useful, as the negotiation had been transferred
448 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
to London; whilst he informed him that the opinion, so strongly
expressed by him, (in the case of the Caroline,) "would hardly
have been hazarded had he been possessed of the carefully col-
lected testimony which had been presented to his Government in
support of our demand " for reparation. Mr. Forsyth's conduct,
whether in public or private life, will afford but a bad precedent
to sustain the doctrine of submission.
The Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Preston] has in-
formed us that he had many precedents to justify the language
of Mr. Fox; but he took care not to cite one of them. He con-
siders it questionable whether the language of Mr. Fox amounted
to a threat or not, but triumphantly exclaims that if Fox did
threaten, " Webster defies back again." Defies back again ! Is
this the course which a proud Government ought to pursue?
Defies back again! Can insulting language be avenged in this
manner ?
But when did Mr. Webster defy back again ? Not until his
letter of the 24th April, which was not written until six weeks
after the threat. The whole question had then been settled, so
far as the British Government was concerned, forty days before.
It had all been adjusted to their entire satisfaction when this
" defiance back again " was uttered ; and this defiance might have
been much louder and stronger than it was, without disturbing
their equanimity.
We had demanded reparation for the outrage on the Caro-
line. The British Government had delayed for three long years
even to give any answer to our demand. But when McLeod is
arrested, that Government, through their minister, avow and
justify this outrage — demand his release, and threaten us with
the consequences in case we should refuse. Our Secretary at
once yields, admits that we have no right to try and punish
McLeod, and sends the Attorney General to New York to obtain
his release.
Now, sir, if the Secretary had responded to the high tone of
patriotic feeling which pervades this country, he never would have
met the demand and the threat of the British minister in this
manner. He should have said, " The American Government de-
manded reparation from you three years ago for the capture of
the Caroline. I now reiterate that demand, and I entreat the
British Government ' to take into its most deliberate consideration
the serious nature of the consequences which must ensue ' from
their refusal." Instead of this, what does the American Secre-
1841] THE McLEOD CASE 449
tary do? He treats the affair of the Caroline as though it were
still a pending question, and had not been decided by the British
Government, satisfies the British minister in regard to McLeod,
and takes forty days to write a chapter for effect to satisfy the
people of this country. But nowhere through this long essay
does he even allude to the threat, though he had yielded to it.
This letter of the 24th April will probably never even be noticed
by the British ministry, unless we should now make a new and
positive demand for reparation. The Secretary may write, and
write, and write again, as many long and able arguments as he
pleases ; if this be all, they will not move the British Government.
The difference between us is, that they act, whilst we discuss;
and as long as we do what they please, they will suffer us to write
what we please.
But how has the Secretary "defied back again?" The
Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Preston] has read some of
this language of defiance from the letter of the 24th April. " All
will see," says the Secretary, " that if such things are allowed
to occur, they must lead to bloody and exasperated war." When,
sir, do you suppose this bloody war of the Secretary will com-
mence ? Will it be on the next fourth of July, or some fourth of
July, or any fourth of July in all future time? Again : " This
Republic is jealous of its rights, and among others, and most
especially, of the right of the absolute immunity of its territory
against aggression from abroad; and these rights it is the duty
and determination of this Government fully, and at all times, to
maintain, whilst it will at the same time as scrupulously refrain
from infringing on the rights of others." This, then, is the
defiance back again of which the Senator from South Carolina
vaunts. Let me tell that Senator that it is not these vague and
unmeaning generalities, however beautifully expressed, which will
produce any effect upon the British Government. It is the de-
mand— the positive demand of atonement for the Caroline out-
rage, and the expression of a stern and unalterable purpose to
obtain it at any hazard, which can alone induce them to reconsider
their determination and yield to justice.
The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Rives] asks me whether
I suppose that the man whose death we are all now deploring, and
in memory of whom this chamber is now hung in black, would
have submitted to an insulting threat from the British Govern-
ment ? I most certainly think not. However much I may have
differed in political opinion from the late President, I believe he
Vol. IV— 29
450 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
never would have knowingly acted as his Secretary has done.
Had he been informed that Mr. Fox's letter throughout was in a
tone most arrogant and imperious — that it commenced with a
demand of McLeod, justified the capture of the Caroline, and
ended with a repetition of this demand, and a threat in case it
was refused — I honestly believe that his only reply to this threat
would have been, "No : never will I submit even to consider the
case, until this threat shall be withdrawn."
It was almost impossible, however, that General Harrison
could have given any attention to this subject. Mr. Fox's letter
was dated on Friday, the 12th of March, and Mr. Webster an-
swered it in the form of instructions to Mr. Crittenden on
Monday the 15th March. But two days intervened, and one
of them was the Sabbath. And what were the circumstances in
which that man was then placed whose death we now mourn?
When he should have been permitted by those who elevated him
to the Presidency to review calmly and deliberately the great
interests of the country, they were hunting him even to the death
in pursuit of office. He was not suffered to enjoy a moment's
time for quiet and reflection; and at last he sunk into the grave
under their persecution. I entertain a proper respect for the
memory of General Harrison. I believe his course towards the
British Minister would have been that of a proud American,
had he enjoyed the leisure necessary to examine the subject. He
never would have complied with an insolent demand, or submitted
to an insolent threat.
If John Tyler approves the course of the Secretary, as has
been intimated by the Senator from Virginia, he has taken special
care not to express his approbation of it in his message. What
does he say upon the subject?
A correspondence has taken place between the Secretary of State and
the Minister of her Britannic Majesty accredited to this Government, on
the subject of Alexander McLeod's indictment and imprisonment, copies
of which are herewith commimicated to Congress.
In addition to what appears from these papers, it may be proper to state
that Alexander McLeod has been heard by the Supreme Court of the State
of New York on his motion to be discharged from imprisonment, and
that the decision of that court has not as yet been pronounced.
These are the only passages in the message in which he
alludes to the affair. Do they contain any approbation of the
Secretary's arrangement ? Is there the slightest expression from
which it may be inferred that Mr. Tyler was satisfied with it?
On the contrary, would it not appear that he has cautiously and
1841] REMOVALS FROM OFFICE 451
purposely refrained from giving any opinion on the subject?
Besides, he was at Williamsburg, and not in Washington, when
Mr. Webster determined on his course, and wrote his instruc-
tions to the Attorney General. Mr. Tyler himself must avow
distinctly that these instructions meet his approbation, before I
shall believe the fact. Until then I shall think there has been
some mistake in this matter.
I have thus presented my views on a question which I fear,
from the manner in which it has been managed, may eventually
lead to a war with Great Britain. The spirit of this country will
now demand an atonement for the violation of our territory, for
the burning of the Caroline, and destruction of human life on that
melancholy occasion. Prudence and firmness, and a determined
spirit, may yet induce the British Government to yield to the
demands of justice. The American people will now never be
satisfied until the proper atonement shall be made. If the Secre-
tary had refused to yield to the haughty pretensions of that Gov-
ernment, and informed them that McLeod must be tried, and if
found guilty must be punished, all might have passed away with-
out serious difficulty. But having yielded to their demand for
the surrender of McLeod, the people will now insist that they
shall yield to our demand for atonement for the outrage on the
Caroline.
RESOLUTION, JUNE 17, 1841,
ON REMOVALS FROM OFFICE.'
Mr. Buchanan submitted the following resolution :
Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause
to be communicated to the Senate a list of all the removals from office,
or public employment of any kind whatsoever, which have been made by
himself, or by the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, or of the
Navy respectively, or by the Postmaster General or Attorney General, or
under the authority of either, since the 4th day of March last, stating therein
particularly the names of the persons removed, and the names of those
appointed. And that he be further requested to cause to be communicated
to the Senate a list of all the removals from office, or public employment
of any kind whatsoever, which have been made since the said 4th day of
March last by the different collectors of the customs, and other officers,
whose removals and appointments are submitted to the Secretary of the
Treasury for confirmation, stating therein particularly the names of the
' S. Doc. 25, 27 Cong. I Sess. ; Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 63-64.
452 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
persons removed, and the names of those appointed. And that he be further
requested to cause to be communicated to the Senate a list of all the removals
from office, or public employment of any kind whatsoever, made by the deputy
postmasters throughout the United States whose compensation amounts to
two thousand dollars and upwards per annum, stating therein particularly
the names of the persons removed, and the names of those appointed.
REMARKS, JUNE 21, 1841,
ON THE CONDITION OF THE FINANCES.^
Mr. Buchanan said that he did not rise to make a speech.
It had been his intention to offer some remarks upon the report
of the Secretary of the Treasury; but he should forbear. It
would be downright cruelty further to expose the mistakes, not
to give them a harsher name, of that extraordinary document.
His chief object in rising was to protest against the principle
assumed by the Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. Clay,] that this
was not a proper occasion to discuss the merits of the Treasury
report. Of all occasions it appeared to him to be the most proper.
When we were asked to print fifteen hundred copies of this report,
might we not be permitted to inquire what it contained ? It had
been put forth to the world as the justification of this expensive
session, called at the most inconvenient season of the year; and
was it not proper to inquire whether it contained any such justifi-
cation? Was it not competent for his (Mr. B.'s) friends to show,
as they have done conclusively, that from beginning to end it
contained gross blunders and mistakes, which the very facts
spread upon the face of the report itself, when rightly understood,
abundantly disproved?
Mr. Clay. Is it a proper time to discuss the condition of
the Treasury under a former Administration, upon a mere reso-
lution to print this report?
Mr. Buchanan had not said that it was; but it was proper,
he maintained, to discuss any subject treated of by the report
itself, proposed to be printed, with a view of controverting its
statements. He had frequently remarked that the Senator from
Kentucky was an adept in that species of political tact, which
under anticipated defeat, enabled him to lead us off upon a new
scent, until time was given to his discomfited friends to rally.
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 83.
1841] STATE OF THE FINANCES 453
Instead now of attempting to defend the report of his friend, the
Secretary, he desires to change the issue, and prove that its merits
ought not to be discussed on this motion. Never since he (Mr.
B.) had been a member of the Senate, had he seen any document
so ably examined, criticized, and triumphantly demolished, as had
been this unfortunate report. Even its own friends did not at-
tempt further to defend it. Without referring specially to his
(Mr. B.'s) other friends who had so unmercifully handled this
document, he would say that his friend from New York [Mr.
Wright] had made such an exposition of its fallacies and un-
founded assumptions, in his clear and conclusive manner, as was
wholly unanswerable. He should be exceedingly glad to hear
the new Chancellor of the Exchequer [Mr. Clay] make the at-
tempt to answer the speech of the old Chancellor, [Mr. Wright.]
Mr. Clay. I shall do so hereafter, when the proper occasion
arrives.
Mr. Buchanan said the present was the accepted time. An
answer now might prevent the conviction on the public mind,
which must result from this day's debate, that the Treasury report
could not be defended. An answer was due to the able Senator
from Maine, who had gallantly but unsuccessfully attempted to
sustain this report, and had said every thing which could be said
in Its defence. . Would the Senator from Kentucky suffer him to
stand alone against an host ? For his own part, he would not now
speak, if for no other reason than that he would not accept such
odds against one gallant champion. He would not attack him
after he had been successfully assailed by so many others. Had
the new Chancellor of the Exchequer thought proper to reply to
the old, he would then have had five or six questions to propound
to him, arising from the face of the report itself, on which he
should have respectfully requested answers. But as there was no
further resistance, he should not now delay the business of the
Senate by the argument which he had intended to submit. On
the very first suitable occasion, he would propound the questions
to which he had referred.
454 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
REMARKS, JUNE 23, 1841,
ON BANKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.i
Mr. Buchanan said he did not mean to come within the
range of the storm — but he desired to state the fact, that when
these bank charters were before the Senate at a former session,
the presidents of three of them had come to him and expressed
their wilHngness to accept the charters upon the terms now
proposed. They informed him that they believed if they were
to resume, under the condition to continue specie payments, as
imposed in the charters, they would soon secure the confidence
of the community, and that they would not have runs upon them
for their specie. He was absent yesterday when the vote was
taken on the amendment making stockholders responsible to the
note holders. He was in favor of the provision, which was
justice only, as the stockholders were the persons who had the
profits of the banks, and ought to make good the losses sustained
by others through a system devised for their benefit. This prin-
ciple prevailed in the joint stock banks of England, Scotland,' and
Ireland, and worked well. He was opposed to chartering the
District banks at this time; and disposed to await the general
resumption before he created banks here. He should vote on
the question pending in the way he thought most likely to pro-
duce the defeat of the bill.
Mr. Allen said he understood the Senator from. Kentucky
had said that the Pennsylvania Bank of the United States was
chartered by a Legislature, a majority of whom were Democrats.
He would thank the honorable Senator from Pennsylvania to in-
form them of the real state of the facts.
Mr. Buchanan said there was a decided majority of Whigs
and Antimasons in the House of Representatives, and this was
occasioned by the division of the Democratic party by the friends
of Messrs. Wolf and Muhlenberg. The Democratic party
thought they had a majority in the Senate; but five or six Sena-
tors, who had been the most terrific enemies of the Bank, went
over, and by the aid of their votes the bank bill was passed.
These gentlemen are now among the most influential and leading
— he was going to say respectable— members of the Whig party.
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 97.
1841] REMOVALS FROM OFFICE 455
Mr. Allen. Have any of them been appointed to office since
the accession of the present party to power?
Mr. Buchanan. That is a matter for consideration in
Executive session.
REMARKS, JUNE 24, 1841,
ON REMOVALS FROM OFFICE.'
Mr. Buchanan said it had not been his purpose to say
one vi^ord on his own resolution,^ for he did believe that the call
for information was so correct in itself, and the information
required was so proper for the public, that he could not have
anticijpated opposition from any quarter. He was sorry to find
himself mistalcen, and that gentlemen on the other side were so
sensitive in regard to the subject of it that they could not let this
resolution pass without encumbering it with an amendment cal-
culated to render it nugatory. If this had not been the object
of the Senator from North Carolina, [Mr. Mangum,] he would,
instead of his amendment, have offered a separate resolution,
to the adoption of which he (Mr. B.) could not have the least
objection. But if the amendment were attached to his (Mr. B.'s)
resolution, when was it probable that an answer could be obtained
from the President? If a range of inquiry as to all the removals
and appointments w'hich had been made during the last twelve
years were to be entered upon, would it be possible to- get an
answer to his resolution during the present session of Congress,
even if it should continue until the middle of September? This
was the only objection he had to the gentleman's amendment. If
the original resolution had called for the reasons of removals from
office, the gentleman's sensitiveness would be excusable; but he
(Mr. Buchanan) asked for no reasons. He simply desired a
list of those removed and those appointed by the present Admin-
istration. He at first thought of entering into some explanation
of the nature of his call for this information ; but the resolution
itself was so plain on its very face, that he deemed it unneces-
sary, at the present moment, to go into particulars.
Mr. B. said he could declare, in all sincerity, that the first
idea of making this call for information had been suggested to
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 101-102.
" For the resolution, see June 17, 1841, supra.
456 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
his mind but a few days before he left home, in consequence of
hearing daily of removals and appointments of postmasters
throughout the county where he resided. Respectable men, who
had been solicited by their neighbors to accept of little offices
established at the cross roads for the public convenience, were
removed, in order that some good Whig might be rewarded with
these small crumbs of Executive bounty. In at least one instance,
he believed that the post office itself had been removed to some
distance from the place where it was first established, in order
that the Postmaster General might find a worthy Whig recipient
of his patronage. After his arrival here, he learned that the
work of proscription was progressing on a grand scale among
these petty post offices. These removals were so extensive, and
so mysterious, as to produce much sensation. Everywhere the
victims were falling like leaves in October; but no man knew
whence the blow came, or who had put the Executive arm in
motion. The names of the fated of these victims were concealed
from the public, as far as this was possible. Neither of the
official journals here had published the removals or appointments
made by the Postmaster General. The blow was aimed against
these Democratic postmasters from the secret recesses of the Post
Office Department; and their number and their names veiled in
Executive mystery, and not permitted to meet the public eye.
When the late Postmaster General had made removals, they were
weekly published in the Globe, and were thus communicated to
the whole country. But what was the case now? He had it
from' authority on which he relied, that the Postmaster General
was now removing at the rate of one hundred and thirty post-
masters per week ; and for any thing which appeared in the public
papers of this city, he had never made a single removal since
he came into office. The country had thus been kept in utter
ignorance of the extent of the proscriptions of this anti-proscrip-
tive Administration. They had concealed their hand. And the
honorable Senator from North Carolina had informed us that
what has yet been done was only the preface — ^the volumes would
hereafter be written. We have had but a small duodecimo;
hereafter we were to receive the quartos.
Was it not necessary for the public information that the
changes in the difiierent post offices should be published? It
was often, very often necessary that individuals who had business
to transact in remote districts of country should know who were
the incumbents of the different post offices. Show your hands,
1841] REMOVALS FROM OFFICE 457
gentlemen, said Mr. B., and never do that which you are either
ashamed or afraid to pubHsh. Amos Kendall, the late Post-
master General, never set such a precedent to his successor. He
then called upon the Senator from North Carolina to answer him
the question directly; — why, when removals were proceeding at
the rate of one hundred and thirty per week, and if they were
not, the answer to this call would disprove it, the Whig journals
of the city were entirely silent on the subject. The public acts
of public men under a free Government, were public property,
and should never be concealed from the people. When this had
to be resorted to, it was always evidence that there was some-
thing wrong. He might refer particularly to the proscriptive
conduct of other Departments, but should forbear for the
present.
Another reason, he confessed, which had induced him to
offer the resolution, was to show the beautiful consistency be-
tween Whig professions and Whig practice; between promises
made before the election, and performance afterwards. If the
late Administration did make removals, he asked whether, in
doing so, they had ever violated any of their principles or
promises? The maxim which the Senators on the other side
had attributed to it, and which its friends had always denied,
was, that "to the victors belong the spoils." It was certain,
however, that when opportunities offered, we have preferred our
friends to our enemies ; but all was open and fair in our conduct.
The late Administration had never shrunk from the responsibility
of their actions; and were never either afraid or ashamed to
publish them to the 'world.
But how had the supporters of the present Administration
acted throughout the canvass which preceded the late Presidential
election? Had they not made professions subserve them instead
of principles ? Could any man deny that there were numerous
and respectable individuals everywhere who had enlisted under
their banners, because they were made to believe that the late
Administration had pushed the principle of proscription entirely
too far, and that the election of General Harrison was loudly
demanded for this reason alone, even if no other existed ? The
Whigs solemnly promised radically to reform this system, which
they said converted the Presidential election into a mere struggle
between factions eager to seize the spoils of victory, instead of a
great contest for the ascendency of political principles. They
would be actuated by higher and nobler motives; and thousands
458 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
and tens of thousands of moderate men had been deceived by
such professions. How wretchedly had these men been disap-
pointed! Proscription assailed us at every step. We lived and
moved in the atmosphere of proscription, and its victims were
scattered everywhere around us.
If you go into the sacred walks of Christianity — Christianity,
the purest and the best gift which ever descended from Heaven
upon man, and you there find its professors preaching what they
never practised, and never intended to practise, what would be
your conviction of the sincerity and true character of such profes-
sors? What would you think of that man, if, with the precepts
of this sublime doctrine upon his lips, his life gave the lie to his
professions? You would not hesitate to pronounce him guilty
of the grossest hypocrisy. All mankind would unite with you in
calling him a hypocrite. He would not undertake to apply this
name to gentlemen on the other side, but he should leave the
people to judge. This, however, he should say : that the ruthless
proscription which was now progressing so directly at variance
with all the professions and pledges of the Whig party, was the
most glaring and signal example in the history of any Govern-
ment, ancient or modern, of the opposition between professions
before an election and practices afterwards. No popular Gov-
ernment had ever existed, beginning with that of Athens, and
coming down to the present day, in which a political party had
so recklessly and so suddenly violated their most solemnly pro-
fessed principles, as the Whig party of the present day had done.
It was no wonder that they should endeavor to shroud their
conduct in mystery, and to conceal their removals from the
world.
Never had the leaders of any party been more solemnly com-
mitted on any doctrine than those of the Whig party were in
their hostility to proscription. From the Senator from Kentucky,
[Mr. Clay] down, they had all spoken the same language. That
Senator had repeatedly, on this floor, denied the existence of the
power of removal by the President under the Constitution. How
eloquently had he declaimed against the maxim that "to the
victors belonged the spoils " ?
Mr. Clay. Will the Senator from Pennsylvania allow me a
word in explanation? I have said that power does not belong to
the President, though it has grown into use. It has been a sub-
ject of legislation, and as such it is not questioned.
Mr. Buchanan. The Senator from Kentucky then declared
1841] REMOVALS FROM OFFICE 459
that under the Constitution the right did not exist, but that in
law it did; and that now, being in office, he would justify his
Administration for its proscription, not by constitutional but by
legislative authority. Had he not, over and over again, de-
nounced the late Administration on the ground of proscription?
Mr. Clay, (from his seat, in a jocular way,) I did, sir; but
our practice now grows out of the necessity of our case. We
cannot, indeed, sir, consent to allow your friends to remain in
our confidence.
Mr. Buchanan. The Senator then acknowledges that whilst
he hates the principle, he loves the practice. So much for Whig
consistency! And the Senator from Kentucky candidly admits
that the power of necessity goes beyond the power of principle ;
and this, because the friends of the late Administration stand in
the way of principle, and its enemies are clamorous for the loaves
and fishes.
He (Mr. Buchanan) had never expressed any opinion of his
own on the subject of the spoils belonging to the victors. He
had never said that to the victors belonged the spoils. He had
acted differently when he had declined to disturb the Whigs in
petty post offices in his district of country. But proscription now
proceeds rapidly, and in less than six months hence, at the same
rate, there will not be a man left in office who was appointed by
the late Administration. In the entry of the present Administra-
tion into power, he did expect that they would at least have done
one thing. Hundred of persons had been appointed to office by
the late President, under existing laws, for the term of four years.
If the present Administration had allowed them to remain till
the expiration of their term, it would, in some small degree, have
acted in conformity with its professions, and would have lost
nothing by the arrangement ; because what its friends might have
lost in the beginning would have been made up to them in the
end. But not even having adopted this principle, what had been
the spectacle presented to the world by the determination, so in-
stantly and almost by anticipation, acted upon, of unsparing
proscription? Did not the blush of shame suffuse the cheek of
every disinterested American when the spectacle of the rush for
office was exhibited in all its odious colors at the time of the
inauguration?. Did it not furnish foreigners an occasion of de-
riding our institutions? If the new Administration had an-
nounced that all those in office would be allowed to complete the
term of their appointments for four years, unless they had been
460 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
guilty of official misconduct, there would have been no unseemly
rush for offices; the new appointments would have been made
gradually as the old expired; and this country would have been
spared the humiliating spectacle which the supporters of the
Administration exhibited. But proscription was necessary to
reward those who had restored the golden age ! And what had
been promised as one of the blessed effects of the rule of that
golden age?
The Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Preston] had uttered
a sentiment which had gone forth tO' the world, and was hailed
with eulogy whenever it was read — far and wide had it spread
over the land — that the days of proscription had gone forever;
that PROSCRIPTION WAS ITSELF TO BE PROSCRIBED. There was
a profession of the golden age!
That Senator had, with virtuous and eloquent indignation,
repelled, on this floor, even after the Presidential election, the bare
insinuation that the Whigs would act upon the doctrine of pro-
scription. The maxim that " to the victors belong the spoils,"
he proclaimed to be infamous and detestable. Even Machiavel
himself, in the Senator's opinion, had never conceived or avowed
so foul a maxim.
The present President of the United States had been as
strongly committed by declarations, speeches, pledges, and ad-
dresses, against this doctrine, as any other member of the Whig
party.
He (Mr. B.) would not further attempt to paint the manner
in which these distinguished Whigs had carried out their prin-
ciples. This might spoil the picture. All he wanted was the
list of removals and appointments. This would speak for itself;
and he had no doubt we might then exclaim with justice, " how
he nicks them ! "
He was sorry that the Senator from North Carolina [Mr.
Mangum] had proposed his amendment to this simple resolution
of inquiry. It might have the effect of preventing the presenta-
tion to the whole land, wherever the beautiful sentiment to which
he had alluded had been read, of the understanding which the
party in power attached to that sentiment. He [Mr. Buchanan]
yet hoped the Senator from North Carolina would reflect upon
the consequences of his amendment, and withdraw it.
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 461
REMARKS, JUNE 30, 1841,
ON A PETITION TO INCORPORATE A NATIONAL BANK.'
Mr. Tallmadge said he was requested b}' a most respectable
and intelligent committee of the Board of Trade of the city of
New York to present a petition of from fifteen to twenty thou-
sand citizens of that city, for the establishment of a National
Bank. He was authorized to say that, although the great portion
of the petitioners were friends of the present Administration,
there were many names of those who belong to the other party ;
and that the number of petitioners, by taking a little more time,
could have been increased to thirty thousand. It is believed that
there is not the name of a single individual to that petition who
is not a legal voter. They are of the business and working por-
tion of the community. And he (Mr. T.) had no doubt that a
decided majority of the people of New York were in favor of
a National Bank. He did not, at this time, intend to occupy the
time of the Senate on this subject. If he should deem it neces-
sary to say any thing further, he would take an opportunity when
the Bank bill was under consideration.
[The petition, which was rolled on a reel and hung in a
frame, was laid on the Secretary's table. It was marked City
of New York, and stated to be 250 feet in length. As much of
it was unrolled by one of the pages of the Senate as reached
from the Secretary's table to Mr. Clay's desk.]
Mr. Clay said he had conversed with some of the members
of the committee that had brought on the document, and had
learned that such had been the feeling of the people in relation
to the subject, that even the aged had come forward to sign it,
and instanced an old gentleman upwards of eighty years of age,
who had actually walked a considerable distance to do so. It
had also been mentioned to him that five Loco Focos had at-
tended one of the precincts appointed for receiving signatures
to the petition, and had attempted to get up a disturbance, with
a view of preventing persons from signing the petition, but a
good Whig, who thought he would try what effect reason would
have on them, went forward and asked them, Did they know
any thing about the measure they were opposing? He then rea-
soned with them — explained the effect of a disorganized currency
— the cause of it — the object of this measure to restore the good
' Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 129.
462 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
old times of the United States Bank; and finally succeeded in
persuading four out of the five to sign the petition, and almost
converted the fifth. Now, he (Mr. Clay) was induced to wish that
this good Whig and his four Loco Foco converts had also come
on with the petition, that they might converse with his friends
at the opposite side of the Chamber, with a view of getting them
to reason on the matter, and dismiss their old prejudices. He
was sure, if they could but have an opportunity of sitting down
in one of the committee rooms together, and take a chew of
tobacco and a glass O'f grog sociably and amicably, while dis-
cussing the subject, they would stand some chance of being con-
verted by their New York brother LocO' Focos, and would be
saved the necessity of making speeches for no other purpose but
to keep alive their old Jackson prejudices.
Mr. Buchanan said it certainly would have been most ad-
visable had his friend, the Senator from Kentucky, imported
along with this petition the very extraordinary Whig and his
four or five Loco Foco converts, with a view of convincing the
Senate of what the honorable Senator himself had failed to con-
vince it ; that a United States Bank was to be the great panacea
he had promised to the country. He (Mr. Buchanan) until now
had thought the honorable Senator from Kentucky was as much
distinguished as any man in the community for his extraordinary
powers of persuasion; and having found that he had hitherto
failed to persuade any of his (Mr. Buchanan's) friends in the
Senate that their doctrines were unsound, or his own more ad-
vantageous to the country, he certainly was not prepared to learn
that there was yet another Whig in the world who could effect
what he had not effected. But if there was, it certainly behooved
the Senator to bring forward that Whig and his Loco Foco con-
verts to accomplish something more than the Senator himself
had been able to accomplish. As to the length of this petition,
he hoped the Senator could not imagine that the names tO' a
petition, measured out by the yard, whether that petition was 50
or 500 yards in length, could have any influence in deciding the
merits of a question to be discussed on principles of constitutional
right.
Mr. Clay asked leave to say a few words. If the Senator
from Pennsylvania and his friends would really undertake to
listen calmly to the good Whig in New York and his LocO' Foco
converts, he (Mr. Clay) did not know but he would send for them
to effect some change. He really thought if they would calmly
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 463
discuss the principles of the measure — even as he had said before,
over a chew of tobacco, or glass of grog, laying aside their Jack-
son notions of yellow-boy currency — they would very soon be-
come converts, too, and, instead of a useless opposition, would be
found perfecting a measure which they would soon feel satisfied
was called for by the best interests of the country.
Mr. Buchanan. Well, sir, I cannot undertake for my friends
to say what they will do; but I will tell the honorable Senator
from Kentucky, what I myself will do, and what I will not do.
I will not undertake to chew, tobacco and drink grog with his
New York Whig advocate, and four or five converted Loco
Focos; but I will, as I have often done before, have no objection
to a glass with the Senator himself, and listen tO' his arguments
with a sincere desire of discovering in them any thing which I
have hitherto failed to discover, to satisfy me that he is right and
I am wrong. It is too much to ask me tO' take in one dose so
many chews of tobacco and glasses of grog, together with argu-
ments for conversion.
Mr. Clay. Well, sir, take them in broken doses. Any
thing, sir, for a good effect.
Here the subject dropped.
SPEECH, JULY 7, 1841,
ON THE BILL TO INCORPORATE THE SUBSCRIBERS TO THE
FISCAL BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.'
Mr. Buchanan rose and addressed the Senate as follows :
Mr. President : It was originally my intention, in opening
this debate on our side of the question, to confine myself to some
observations in reply to the report of the Select Committee on
the Currency, and to the remarks of the Senator from Kentucky,
[Mr. Clay,] which I consider as a mere supplement to that
report. I intend still to pursue this course, although the occasion
is very tempting to depart from it, and go more at large into
the discussion. I think it could be demonstrated that this bill,
considered in itself as a mere Bank bill, is a production of the
dark ages of the world, and does not come down beyond the tenth
century of the Christian era; and that in its preparation, all the
'Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. Appendix, 161-16
464 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
lights of knowledge, and all the lessons of experience on the
subject of banking, have been utterly disregarded. But I waive
all this for the present, and proceed to my reply.
And, in the first place, the committee declare as " their de-
liberate conviction, that a vast majority of the people of the
United States concur in the expediency of establishing such an
institution as a Bank of the United States, and that they are now
looking with anxious solicitude to the deliberations of Congress,
under the confident hope that a Bank of the United States will
be established at the present extraordinary session of Congress."
It is their " deliberate conviction " that a vast majority of
the people of the United States anxiously desire the establishment
of a National Bank. Whence is this " deliberate conviction "
derived? From what source does it proceed? I am entirely
at a loss even to conjecture. Was the question of a National
Bank discussed anywhere before the people by the great Whig
party previous to the last Presidential election? Was the estab-
lishment of such a Bank then made a turning-point of Whig
policy anywhere? No, sir; no; the Whigs evei-ywhere shrunk
from the question. They concealed their opinions on the subject
—nay, more — in some States of the Union they professed, that
hostility to a Bank Oif the United States was one of the cardinal
principles of their party. The Whig convention of Virginia, in
their address to the people, expressly declare that General Har-
rison was opposed to a National Bank; that he was against it
on constitutional grounds : and unless I am greatly misinformed,
a distinguished gentleman of North Carolina, [Mr. Badger,] now
a member of the Cabinet, in an address before the Whig con-
vention of that State, indignantly pronounced the assertion that
General Harrison was in favor of such a Bank, to be a falsehood.
This speech was, I understand, printed and circulated all over
North Carolina. I have not seen it myself ; but have received my
information from an undoubted source.
Mr. Graham said the speech was not made before the Whig
convention, but at a public meeting in that State.
Mr. Buchanan. Then the gentleman admits that the speech
was made. Where it was made is of little consequence.
Mr. Calhoun. I have the speech of Mr. Badger in my hand,
and shall read the following extract from it :
" Next it is said that General Harrison favors a Bank of
the United States. The charge is false. His opinions, on the
contrary, are against a Bank."
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 465
Mr. Graham. Tlie speech was not made before the Whig
State Convention on the 5th of October, 1840.
Mr. Calhoun. It will show for itself. It appears to have
been made on the 3d of March, 1840.
Mr. Graham. At a meeting of the citizens at Granville.
Mr. Calhoun assented to this, and said that a hundred thou-
sand copies of the speech had been printed and circulated.
Mr. Buchanan continued. The misunderstanding relates not
to what Mr. Badger said, but merely as to when and where he
said it. The important fact is established beyond all doubt, that
this distinguished gentleman, who was selected by the late Presi-
dent as a member of the Cabinet, on account of his eminent
talents, and his avowed political principles, did come out, at a
great convention in March last, and, in the strongest terms, did
pronounce the charge to be false that Harrison favored a Bank
of the United States. This is all I desire to know ; and whether
one hundred thousand or one thousand copies of this address were
circulated, is a matter of small importance. We then have the
solemn declaration of a man of high character, at the head of
the Whig party in North Carolina, branding as a falsehood the
charge that the late President even favored a National Bank.
And yet it is gravely asserted that the people at the late election
have determined in favor of such a Bank !
To the best of my knowledge the question was never pub-
licly discussed anywhere in my own State by the Whig party
throughout the late canvass. They would have committed
political suicide had they made it a turning-point of the election.
Their intention to establish a National Bank was carefully con-
cealed from the people.
■ The late Legislature of Pennsylvania was Whig, decidedly
Whig, in both its branches. They, accordingly, instructed their
Senators to vote for the repeal of the Independent Treasury, and
the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands among the
several States; but they did not even attempt to instruct us in
favor of a National Bank. They were asked by our friends in
the Legislature " why do you not instruct your Senators on this
great question ? " They were urged to come up to this point by
the strongest appeals; but all in vain. They shrunk from the
responsibility, knowing that the people would have condemned
the act.
Three Congressional elections have since been held in Penn-
sylvania. Two of them were not contested; but in the third,
Vol. IV.— 30
466 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
there was an animated struggle. This was in the southwestern
district of the State, composed of the counties of Fayette and
Greene. I am informed by his successful competitor that the
Whig candidate in that district publicly and repeatedly declared
himself throughout the contest, to be the friend oi the Indep^end-
ent Treasury, and the enemy of a Bank of the United States.
How strong must have been the current of public opinion which
could drive this candidate into an avowal of friendship for the
Independent Treasury, and hostility to a National Bank !
But this " deliberate conviction " of the Committee on the
Currency is in direct opposition to the deliberate opinion of the
President of the United States; and I shall appeal from the judg-
ment of the committee to that of the head, at least the official
head, of the party. He has in substance declared, in his late
message, what the history of the coimtry has demonstrated to
be true, that the question of establishing a National Bank has
never yet been presented distinctly before the people of the United
States, without receiving their condemnation. I shall not read
this portion of the message, because every Senator is already
familiar with it. In the President's opinion, the late contest was
decided on well known principles ; but the creation of a National
Bank was not among the number ; and most assuredly he is cor-
rect in this latter opinion. In the face, then, of all these facts,
and many more which might be adduced, what becomes of the
" deliberate conviction " of the committee that a vast majority
of the American people are anxiously solicitous for the establish-
ment of a National Bank?
It would be well for gentlemen who are really the friends of
such a Bank, to consider seriously the consequences which may
flow from the passage of the bill at the present extra session. ■ No
notice of such a measure was given in the proclamation of the
President convening Congress. The people did not expect it, and
have never demanded it at your hands. Public opinion is wholly
unprepared for it. And yet, at this hot season oi the year, when
we ought to be all at home, here we are confined in the Capitol,
whilst the friends of the Bank are straining every nerve to
" nish " it, prematurely, through the forms of legislation, and
fasten it upon a reluctant people. What will be the consequences
should the bill become a law before our adjournment? Why, sir,
from every hill and valley throughout the land — from Georgia
to Maine, and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains — the
cry of " repeal " will be sounded. " The repeal of the Bank,"
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 467
will electrify the people of this country toi as high a point as " the
repeal of the Union " has electrified the Irish people. Sir, your
success will prove fatal to your Bank. All that the American
people demand is fair play. This they must have : and they will
never quietly submit to this snap judgment which would rivet
upon them and their children such an odious institution. No,
sir, death is not more inevitable, than that the sudden and prema-
ture adoption of this bill by Congress will be the source of
innumerable evils tO' the country. We shall witness new agita-
tions of public opinion, and a new Bank war, compared with
which our history has yet presented no parallel. I entreat you,
gentlemen, to pause. Wait at least for the fall elections — wait
for the expression of public opinion — and if it should demand
a Bank, why, let a Banlc be established. It may then hope to
exist in peace. 'But if it should now be forced upon us, it will
give birth to such political convulsions in the country as we have
never yet witnessed. A Bank established in obedience to the
public will, clearly expressed, may become a good investment
for its stockholders; but this political Bank, should it be now es-
tablished, will linger out a sickly existence, and at length fall
beneath the strong arm of public opinion.
Now, sir, whatever may be said in regard to the propriety
of repealing the charter — and for one I should never adopt this
measure unless driven to it in defence of the people against the
hasty and violent conduct of the friends of a Bank — I presume
there can be but little doubt of the power, even if Congress,
like the States, had been expressly prohibited by the Consti-
tution, from passing any law impairing the obligation of
contracts. In the celebrated case of Dartmouth College, the late
Chief Justice Marshall, in delivering the opinion of the Court,
plainly and broadly draws the line of distinction between public
and private corporations. Whilst those of a public character may
be repealed, those of a private nature are inviolable. Hear his
own words : "If the act of incorporation {of Dartmouth College)
he a grant of political power; if it create a civil institution to he
employed in the administration of the Government; or if the funds
of the' College be public property; or if the State of New Hamp-
shire, as a Government, be alone interested in its transactions,
the subject is one in which the Legislature of the State may
act according to its own judgment, unrestrained by any limita-
tion of its power imposed by the Constitution of the United
States."
468 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
But it required no judicial decision to teach a freeman this
doctrine. It never could be imagined for a single moment, that
the Constitution of the United States intended to enable Congress
or a State Legislature to transfer forever either to corporations
or to individuals those great and general powers of Government
■with vifhich they have been entrusted by the people. If Congress
can deprive itself by contract of any one of these powers, it may
dispose of them all, and that irrevocably; and the National Legis-
lature might thus destroy itself, and transfer all its most important
functions to corporations. Such an idea cannot be tolerated for
a moment.
The only question, then, would be, is this fiscal agent, in
the language of the late Chief Justice, " a civil institution, to be
employed in the administration of the Government ? " Who can
doubt it? Its friends avow that it is an institution necessary for
the collection, safe keeping, transfer, and disbursement of the
public money; and that it alone can furnish a sound and uniform
currency, and regulate the foreign and domestic exchanges, of the
country. Nay, more; its advocates admit that this corporation
is constitutional, only because it can exercise these great and
important financial powers of Government. It will be as much
a branch of the Treasury Department as ever the Independent
Treasury was; and, like it, and all other acts of Con-
gress which relate to the great public interests of the coun-
try, will be liable to repeal. If the Government should think
proper to call in the aid of private individuals to establish this
public fiscal corporation, their private interest can never paralyze
the arm of Congress or prevent it from exercising its high legis-
lative discretion in repealing this law and substituting any other
fiscal agent which might, in its opinion, conduce more to the
interest of the country.
I speak solely of the question of power, under judicial de-
cisions; and I merely glance at the subject for the present. In
the event of repeal, the private stockholders in such a Bank
may have an equitable claim for indemnity on Congress; but
nothing more. It is wholly unlike the case of a State bank charter
granted to individuals, which has been declared by the judiciary
to be a private corporation.
Yes, sir, " repeal," " repeal," will be the cry everywhere,
should the bill now pass ; and the struggle will never cease until
the law shall be expunged from your statute book, or until the
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 469
power of money shall have subdued the free and manly spirit of
the American people.
The Committee express a decided opinion that the power of
Congress to establish a National Bank " ought to be regarded as
a settled question." " It is settled," " it must be considered
as settled," say all the friends of the Bank ; and their arguments
upon this subject have been urged for the purpose of proving,
not that this question ought to be, but that it is settled in their
favor. Now, if it were not unparliamentary language, and if I
did not desire to treat all my friends on this side of the House
with the respect which I feel for them, I would say, that the idea
of this question having been settled so as to bind the consciences
of members of Congress when voting on the present bill, is
ridiculous and absurd. Before a court of law, in a case involving
private rights under either of the old charters, it may be consid-
ered as settled; but the proposition now before Congress is to
create a new Bank, the two old Banks having lived out the
allotted period of their existence. The question is now put to
the conscience of each Senator, and he is asked, " do you possess
the power under the Constitution to create this Bank?" If all
the judges and all the lawyers in Christendom had decided in
the affirmative, when the question is thus brought home to me
as a legislator, bound to vote for or against a new charter, upon
my oath to support the Constitution, I must exercise my own
judgment. I would treat with profound respect the arguments
and opinions of judges and constitutional lawyers; but if, after
all, they failed to convince me that the law was constitutional, I
should be guilty of perjury before high Heaven if I voted in its
favor.
I respect judicial decisions, within their appropriate sphere,
as much as any Senator on this fioor. They put at rest forever
the controversy immediately before the court, and, as a general
rule they govern all future cases of the same character, but even
these decisions, like all othei- human things, are modified and
chano-ed by the experience of time, and the lights of knowledge
The law is not now what it was fifty years ago- nor what it will
be fifty years hereafter.
But how does the constitutional question stand at the present
moment, even upon the authority of judicial precedent? Have
the Supreme Court decided that any independent power exists
in the Constitution authorizing Congress to establish a National
Bank? No, sir; no such thing; because this would have been m
470 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
direct opposition to the well known vote of the Convention itself,
refusing to Congress the pov^-er of granting charters of incorpora-
tion. There is no judicial precedent in existence which can re-
strain, or ever intended to restrain the freedom of members of
Congress, in voting on the question of a new bank. Directly the
reverse is the truth. The opinion of the Supreme Court, in the
case of M'Cullough against the State of Maryland, decides no
such principle. On the contrary, it expressly refers the consti-
tutional question back to Congress upon every new attempt to
pass a new bank chai'ter. This decision is founded upon two
clauses of the Constitution; the one conferring on Congress the
power " to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises "
for the purpose of paying the debts and providing for the common
defence and general welfare of the United States ; and the other,
" to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carry-
ing into execution " the enumerated powers. The only point
decided is, that after Congress have determined that the estab-
lishment of a bank is a means necessary and proper for the col-
lection and disbursement of the public revenue, the Supreme
Court will not rejudge their justice and declare that it is not a
necessary agent to accomplish these purposes. They say that
it must be an extreme case indeed which would induce them to
declare that the means selected by Congress to carry intoi effect
any express power, were not necessary and proper tO' accomplish
the purpose. They thus expressly refer the question back to each
Senator and Representative called to act upon the subject, and
cast upon him the responsibility of deciding whether a bank of
the United States be necessary to carry into effect the power of
taxation. This is the very point of the decision. But strange as
it may seem, whilst the Supreme Court have thus expi^essly de-
volved upon Congress the decision in the first instance of the
question, whether a bank be constitutional or not, keen-scented
gentlemen rise in their places here and gravely contend that this
very question has been so conclusively settled by the Court as
to fetter our judgments and consciences, and compel us to aban-
don the use of our reason when legislating upon the subject.
So long as the late bank was in existence, the judgment of the
Court declaring it to> be constitutional, was the law of the land
in relation to that institution. But it has passed away, and now
when it is proposed to establish a new bank, it becomes the im-
perative duty of one and all of us, even in the opinion of the
Court, to decide for himself whether this is a necessary agent to
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 471
carry into effect the taxing power. For my own part, I do not
think it is. I believe that the Independent Treasury is an infinitely
bettei" agent for the purpose of collecting and disbursing the pub-
lic revenue. I should greatly prefer, to a United States Bank,
even a system of special deposits of, the public money in State
banks, prohibiting them under severe penalties from using it for
banking purposes; although in comparison with the Independent
Treasury, I should disapprove and condemn such a pHan. But
any agent for me, rather than a National Bank. The Judiciary,
then, most clearly have not settled this question.
But even if the Judiciary had settled the question, I should
never hold myself bound, by their decision, whilst acting in a
legislative character. Unlike the Senator from Massachusetts
[Mr. Bates] I shall never consent to place the political rights
and liberties of this people in the hands of any judicial tribunal.
It was, therefore, with the utmost astonishment I heard the
Senator declare, that he considered the expositions of the Con-
stitution by the judiciary to be equally binding upon us, as the
expositions of the moral law by the Saviour of mankind, con-
tained in the Gospel, were upon Christians; and that these judi-
cial expositions were of equal authority with the text of the Con-
stitution. This, sir, is an infallibility which was never before
claimed for any human tribunal; an infallibility which would
convert freemen into abject slaves; an infallibility which would
have rendered the infamous sedition law as sacred as the Con-
stitution itself, the judiciary having decided this law to be con-
stitutional; and which would thus have annihilated throughout
the whole extent of this Union, the liberty of the press and the
freedom of speech. No, sir, no: it is not the genius of our
institutions to consider mortal men as infallible.
No man holds in higher estimation than I do, the memory
of Chief Justice Marshall; but I should never have consented to
make even him the final arbiter between the Government and
people of this country on questions of constitutional liberty. The
experience of all ages and countries has demonstrated that judges
instinctively lean towards the prerogatives of Government; and
it is notorious that the court, during the whole period which
he presided over it, embracing so many years of its existence has
inclined towards the highest assertion of Federal power. Ihat
this has been done honestly and conscientiously, I entertain not a
°'' The principle of constitutional construction which would
472 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
deduce the power to establish a Bank of the United States from
the soinxe where it is said to exist, would break down all the
barriers erected by our fathers between Federal and State author-
ity. If you can infer this power from the simple power of tax-
ation in the Constitution, I ask what other power which you may
desire to exercise may not be inferred from that or some other
clause? An ingenious man might thus fasten any power which
Congress or the President may desire to exercise, on some one
of the express grants contained in the constitution. But the inci-
dent cannot transcend its principal — the stream cannot ascend
higher than its fountain, and upon the mere power of levying
the taxes necessary to support an economical Government, you
can never erect a vast corporation to overshadow the whole land,
and, if not in form, yet in substance, tO' change the character of
all our institutions. Never, never, can you fairly infer the exist-
ence of the power to create a Bank from that of the power " to
lay and collect taxes." But it neither was nor is my purpose
to enter upon the constitutional argument further than to show
that the question has not been settled.
If the question has not been settled by the Judiciary, has
it been settled by Congress? Certainly not. If two National
Banks have been chartered, they have both been suffered to expire
at the termination of their charters, because their existence was
believed to be a violation of the Constitution. To say the least,
then, the legislative precedents are equal on each side. But if
we take into consideration the repeated attempts to establish a
Bank which have failed, Congress have much oftener decided
against the power than in its favor.
The people have never failed to decide against this power,
when the question has been distinctly presented to them, as it
was at the Presidential election of 1832, after General Jackson
had vetoed the Bank charter. In short, the question has neither
been settled by the Judiciary, nor by Congress, nor by the people,
nor by the Executive, unless it may have been against the exist-
ence of this dangerous power, and against the policy of its
exercise.
The committee say that " they have adopted Washington
city, proposed by the Secretary of the Treasury, as the place of
location of the principal bank." The Senator fromi Kentucl-cy
[Mr. Clay] has informed us that he felt a slight preference for
other places ; but he agrees with the committee in believing that
this is " a subordinate question." He has, therefore, I suppose.
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 473
kindly yielded the point to his companions on the committee, for
the sake of harmony. Now, sir, I consider this point which he
has thus surrendered to be of the very last importance.
Washington city, then — a place destitute of commerce, either
foreign or domestic — is the chosen home of this great central
money power. If you desire a bank for the purpose of" facili-
tating the commerce, encouraging the manufactures, and pro-
moting the agriculture of the country, Washington city is the
very worst spot for its location which could be selected within
the broad limits of the Union. But, sir, if you wish tO' establish
a great Treasury Bank, which shall be under the direct influence
and control of the Government, this, above all places in the uni-
verse, is the very place for its location. The reason is palpable.
Here the money power of the Union will be brought into con-
junction with the political power; and here they will act together
in perfect concert and harmony. Henceforward there will be
no jarring between these two high powers.
Now, sir, whatever may have been the design of its pro-
jectors, this Fiscal Agent, should it ever be established, will be,
both in fact and in form, nothing more nor less than a Govern-
ment Bank. If I were asked for a definition of a Government
Bank, could I give a better one than to say: it is a bank over
whose directors the Government will possess, from the very
nature of its organization, a controlling influence, — whose stock
will be chiefly owned by the Government, — whose surplus profits,
beyond a limited dividend to private stockholders, will all belong
to the Government, — and whose chief source of profit will be to
loan out to individuals, and use, according to its own discretion,
the money of the Government ? I think I could not give a more
perfect definition of such a Bank than is embraced in the par-
ticulars which I have just enumerated. If this be true, and who
can doubt it, then this Fiscal Bank of the United States will be
a Government Bank.
And, in the first place, the Government will have a con-
trolling influence over the directors of its own Fiscal Agent.
Who will these directors be? Not merchants; not manufac-
turers ; not men actually engaged in business. Such men will
never leave their home and their employment, to reside in this
city, and to become directors of this Bank. They will remain
in Boston, in New York, in Philadelphia, in Baltimore, in Rich-
mond and everywhere else except in this city, attending to their
business. Here no such practical men can be found; and the
474 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Senator from J^entucky is, therefore, of opinion that the directors
ought to be selected beyond the limits of the District. Who,
then, will these directors be? Does it not result, from the very
nature of things, that they must be politicians ? Who would come
to this city, and spend the whole, or the greater part of the year
here, as a director of this Bank, unless it were some political
cormorant, desirous of obtaining influence for himself and oflice
for his family and friends? Now, sir, if you desire to preserve
this Bank of the United States free from the influence and control
of the Government, you ought to remove it to as great a distance
as possible from this city. Instead of placing it under the control
of politicians, which must be the case, should you locate the bank
here, you ought to plant it in some commercial city, where mer-
chants and men of business, having a greater interest in com-
merce than in politics, would become its directors. This District
is redolent with politics. Here, " we live, move, and have our
being " in an atmosphere of politics : and during the walks of
these directors beneath the groves of the Capitol, (to use the
language of the Senator from Kentucky,) politics and not phi-
losophy will be the theme of their conversation, and politicians,
not philosophers will be their companions. Of all men in the
world, the moneyed aristocracy are the most anxious to propitiate
the Executive power and acquire political influence. There are
no persons before whom stars and garters and foreign missions
shine with such dazzling splendor. They have already acquired
wealth; and #hat they most desire afterwards is political
rank and standing in society for themselves and their families.
Truly Washington is the very spot in which to establish a great
political Treasury Bank, and here it will flourish in the utmost
perfection.
But let us proceed one step further. As if for the very pur-
pose of placing these Directors more effectually under the con-
trol of the President, their number has been reduced to nine.
Nine, sir, only nine is the number. The first Bank of the United
States had twenty-five directors, and the Executive appointed
none of them. It was said, and truly said, that the Government,
notwithstanding, exercised an undue influence over this Bank;
but before they could obtain it, they were obliged to propitiate
at least thirteen of these twenty-five directors. The number
afforded some security against Executive influence. The second
Bank of the United States had also twenty-five directors, one-fifth
of whom were appointed by the President ; but still eight of those
^^*^J A NATIONAL BANK 475
elected by the stockholders must be gained over to the Govern-
ment in order to obtain a majority. As if for the very purpose
of rendering this Bank a mere Govermnent machine which will
work easily, the number of Directors has been reduced to nine
I do not say that this was the intention; but such must be the
inevitable efifect. When we consider that these nine directors
are to be permanently established here, under the very eye of the
Executive, it must be admitted by all, that there never was a
better contrivance for making this a mere rotten borough political
Bank to be used for his benefit and at his pleasure throughout
the Union, whenever occasion may require. But nine solitary
directors ! And what else? On^third of these,-instead of one-
fifth as formerly, are to be appointed by the President. They
will be his own dependent creatures and directly under his own
control. In our former Banks, the directors received no salary
It was supposed that they would be men of business, owning stock
in the institution, who would give their time and services to pro-
mote its interest and thus to benefit themselves, as well as the
community of which they were members. But in this Bank the
directors will be salaried officers, and three of them may be de-
pendent for the bread which feeds their wives and their children,
on the will of the President of the United States. If he can
obtain but two of the directors elected by the stockholders, he
will then have a majority of the board. In this he will encounter
no difficulty. Wealth and power are ever ready to rush into each
other's arms; and the Bank and the President will act in har-
monious unison. For these reasons, I most solemnly declare that
I believe the project of a Fiscal Bank, reported to the Senate by
the Secretary of the Treasury, to be the very worst and most
dangerous exercise of the power claimed to create a Bank which
has ever been attempted under this Government. I doi not say
that it is the most unconstitutional ; but this is only because there
can be no degrees of unconstitutionality. Viewing the practical
evils which would flow from such a Treasury Bank, should it be
called into existence, it defies all comparison with any former
Bank. I am sorry the Senator from Kentucky ever yielded his
consent to it so far as he has done. Let this city be the place of its
location, and you make it from necessity the Bank of politicians,.
and not o f l)usiness men.
In the days of Jackson we have witnessed the exception, not
the rule. Then the money power arrayed itself against the
political power, and the struggle was tremendous. Nothing but
476 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the unexampled personal popularity of this great man decided
the contest in his favor. But these two powers will never again
assume a hostile attitude towards each other. It is their mutual
interest to cultivate the closest alliance. Henceforward, the
money power may play the part of Warwick in setting up kings;
but it will never attempt to pull them down. It will always be
the fast friend of the existing dynasty.
Why, sir, the very power which the Senator from Kentucky
has conferred upon the Secretary of the Treasury to examine
the accounts of private individuals with the Bank, sO' far from
being a restriction upon it beneficial to the public, will only prove
to be a new source of Executive influence. This examination
is virtually confined to the Secretary or his agent; because the
occasions will be extraordinary and will scarcely ever occur until
the mischief has been actually done, when either House of Con-
gress or a meeting of the stockholders will appoint a committee
for the purpose of making such an examination. The Secretary,
and he alone, will thus have it in his power to examjne or not to
examine, to conceal or to disclose the condition of the Bank
according tO' his pleasure. Should there be any thing wrong
in its management, as from its very nature there must and will
be, what an influence over the Bank this power will confer upon
him!
Whilst the power of examining private accounts is virtually
given to the Secretary alone, the stockholder who is a partner in
the concern, and perhaps interested to^ the whole amount of his
fortune, has been excluded from the exercise of his right,
privilege I will not call it, by a solemn vote of the Senate. When
I first read the Senator's report, and before I had examined his
bill, I was disposed to admit that he had at least introduced one
excellent restricticm, that of publicity, into his charter; but when
I discovered that this publicity was in fact confined tOi the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, whose daily associates " in the groves of
the Capitol " will be the nine Bank Directors stationed in this
city, I was compelled tO' change my opinion. I then at once
decided that this restriction, like all the rest, was one in name
and in name only.
If you will afford real publicity — if you will mal<e known
to those interested, who' are the borrowers from the Bank, and
the amount borrowed by each ; whilst you thus inflict no real
injury upon it or upon any O'f its honest and solvent customers,
you will impose a most salutary restriction upon its operations.
1841] A NATIONAL BANK
477
The true condition of a Bank can never be ascertained except
from the character and circumstances of the men who have bor-
rowed its money. To exclude the note holders and the stock-
holders from this knowledge, and to constitute the Secretary
of the Treasury, who may have no interest in the pecuniary con-
dition of the Bank, its sole examiner, will in practice prove to
be no efficient restriction whatever. Had real publicity been
required under the charter of the late Bank, thousands of widows
and orphajis would have been saved from ruin by its
mismanagement.
Now, sir, what power will these nine directors, one-third
of whom will be the dependent creatures of the President, exer-
cise? Within the broad limits of the charter their will is law.
They can establish branches where they please, and remove them
when they think proper. On them is conferred the patronage
of appointing all the directors and all the other officers of all
the branches throughout the whole extent of the Union. But all
this vast patronage will amount to nothing compared with the
power w^hich is claimed for the Bank by its friends. If this
exist, these nine Washington city directors will possess the power
to make money plenty, or make money scarce, over the whole
land; the power to make men rich to-day and poor to-morrow,
and the power, by expanding or contracting their issues, to
raise or to depress the price of real and personal estate through-
out the Union. These are powers which cannot safely be en-
trusted to any directory of mortal men; especially to men who
must, from the nature of their condition, be partisan politicians.
Sir, if you desire that these vast powers shall be exercised
with any regard to the safety of the people, you will act as
your fathers have done before you; you will place this Bank
at Philadelphia or New York; and put it under the control of
practical merchants and men of business, and not in this city,
under the control of these nine pensioned directors. If this be
the seat of Bank power, whenever a panic in the money market
may become necessary to accomplish a political object, a panic
will be created. Whenever, in order to effect any purpose, it
may become necessary to convince us that we are the most miser-
able and oppressed people upon the face of the earth, these nine
directors will be at hand to turn the screw to the proper point
of agony. On the other hand, when the President may desire
to satisfy the people, before an election, of the benevolence and
wisdom of his Administration, a case which may ere long occur,
478 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the screws will then be removed from the patient — paper
money will then be issued in floods — a fictitious prosperity will
pervade the whole land, and from the groves of the Capitol the
exclamation will spread over the Union: "Loi! how prosperous
and happy our Government makes us." I think, then, I have es-
tablished the position that this will be a Government Bank to
all intents and purposes, in regard tO' the controlling influence
which the Executive will exercise over its directors.
What strange mutations do we witness in the conduct of
public men, even within the brief space of one or two years ! I
very well remember that the distinguished Senator from Ken-
tucky delivered a speech here, of two or three hours in length,
and it was one of his most able and eloquent efforts, to prove
that the Independent Treasury would be nothing more nor less
than a Government Bank. I shall never forget the title page of
this speech. Upon it the heads of his argument, in large letters,
were presented in advance to the reader, all uniting in the con-
clusion that the Independent Treasury would be a Government
Bank. If he had succeeded in demonstrating this fact, it would
have been a conclusive argument against the measure, and it
ought to have been condemned and denounced by all mankind;
because, under a free Government, the money power and the polit-
ical power can never be safely united. The Senator was then hard
pushed to find any thing in the bill on which tO' base his argument.
To what provision of it, think ye, he resorted for this purpose?
Why, " forsooth," (as the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr.
Woodbury] would say,) to that which authorized the Treasurer
of the United States to draw drafts upon the depositories of the
public money in payment of debts due to individuals. Although
this practice had existed ever since the origin of the Government,
and must necessarily continue to exist until its end, yet this was
the provision which the Senator seized upon as the charter of his
Government Bank. He said the Treasurer might abuse his trust,
and, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, might
prepare such drafts at Washington in tlie form of bank notes
of different denominations, and pay them out to the public cred-
itors : and they would then go into the circulation of the country.
Although this abuse was rendered impossible by the express pro-
visions of the bill itself, yet the Senator was compelled to adhere
to it as the only provision which offered him the slightest pretext
for his argument.
But does he not perceive that even if his argument were
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 479
admitted to be correct, this would have been a Government Bank
merely for the purpose of affording a circulation? And yet
strange as it may seem, the Senator himSelf is now the great
advocate of a Government Bank, not only of circulation, but of
discount and deposit, and of every other attribute which can
connect it with the Executive power. It is even declared by the
bill that the public money in its vaults " shall be taken and deemed
to be in the Treasury of the United States." The mere name
had terrors for him two years ago, which the thing itself, in all
its odious deformity, now fails to inspire.
According to my definition of a Government Bank, I pro-
ceed, in the second place, to show that the stock of this Bank
will be chiefly owned by the Government, and that its surplus
profits, beyond a limited dividend to private stockholders, will
all belong to the Government. The banks of England and of
France, to which we have been referred, are exclusively the
property of private stockholders. These monarchical Govern-
ments do not hold a dollar's worth of stock in their own banks.
They leave the management and control of them tO' the private
stockholders. Not so with our Republican Government. We are
unwilling to confide this trust to the people who may desire to
invest their money in this stock; and, therefore, according to
the terms of the charter, the Government must subscribe ten
millions of dollars, or one third of the capital. The Senator
from Kentucky fearing, and justly fearing, that the whole of
the remaining twenty millions might not all be taken by indi-
viduals, has inserted a provision in the charter that " if the
deficiency do not exceed one third," " the residue shall be sub-
scribed for by the Secretary of the Treasury, on behalf of the
United States." This residue may, therefore, amount to
$6,666,666. In all human probability, as I shall show hereafter,
the Government will not only own the one third, but more than
the one half of the whole capital of the Bank.
But how shall we obtain the money to make the investment?
At this age of the world we are actually to go in debt to buy
Bank stock ! We are to borrow sixteen millions and a half of
dollars, and the greater part of it from Europe, not redeemable
until after fifteen years ; we are to create this debt, and fasten
it as a lien on the trade and industry of the people of this coun-
try to buy Bank stock! Excellent investment! Most wise
financiering! I do not believe that the Senator from Kentucky
will ever invest his own money, much less borrow money to invest
480 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
in the stock of this Bank. I would be very sorry, for his sake,
if he should do either the one or the other.
When General Jackson's administration had by its wise econ-
omy discharged the last dollar of our national debt, there was a
general jubilee throughout the country. Every American citizen,
no matter how humble might have been his condition, felt more
proud of his native land. And why ? Because it was free from
debt, and in this respect presented a striking contrast with all
other Governments on the face of the earth. Now this proud,
elevated and ennobling distinction is to be abandoned, and that
forever, for the sake of buying bank stock! It would be bad
enough in all conscience to make this purchase if we had the
money in the Treasury to pay for it ; but to run in debt sixteen
millions and a half for such a purpose does appear to me to be
the most supremely ridiculous policy which was ever pursued by
any people. This is financiering worthy of the head of the Treas-
ury Department whose annual report no Senator has yet even
attempted to justify except the gallant and able Senator from
Maine, [Mr. Evans.] In this attempt he stood alone, unaided by
any of his political friends. (Mr. Benton. And was exhausted
from the effort.) No, sir, (continued Mr. Buchanan) he is
not exhausted; but will again, I trust, undertake toi defend the
report. His abilities will be severely taxed for this purpose when
the twelve million loan bill shall reach us from the other House.
Yes, sir, we shall be compelled to take, not only ten, but
sixteen millions and a half of this stock. I admit it is possible
that men may be found to subscribe the remaining thirteen mil-
lions and a half, and become the partners of the United States
to that amount; but if they should, the)'- will not be the strong
and prudent capitalists of the country, but speculators and
individuals who want to borrow and not to lend, and who will
enter the concern for the purpose of enriching themselves, by
obtaining the use of the people's money deposited with the Bank.
Why, sir, bank stock has gone down everywhere. The age of
safe or profitable investment in such stock has passed away. The
days when banks were managed for the benefit of their stock-
holders are with the years beyond the flood. The dividends are
now small, when any are made. And why? Because the stock-
holders are plundered by the directors and officers of the Bank,
and their money is squandered upon speculators and favorites.
No prudent capitalist now buys bank stock; and above all, he
18*1] A NATIONAL BANK
481
will keep clear of stock in this great political machine which we
are about to create.
We are to charter this new Bank without receiving any
bonus. The late Bank gave us a million and a half of dollars for
the privileges conferred by its twenty years' charter. This was
a cheap purchase on the part of the Bank. One and a half mil-
lions was a small bonus, whether we consider the value of the
privileges which the people surrendered, or the advantages which
the charter conferred upon those, I do not, of course, mean the
stockholders, for whose benefit the Bank was conducted. This
sum would now go far in erecting fortifications, and placing our
country in a proper attitude of defence. But the committee have
determined not to accept any bonus from the new Bank; and
the Senator from Kentucky has given us the reasons for this de-
termination. And in the first place, he says, that bonus sounds
like another word beginning with a B, meaning bribery, I sup-
pose, and therefore because the words bonus and bribery begin
with the same letter of the alphabet, the people are to be deprived
of one and a half millions of dollars. This fancy of the Senator
will cost them dear.
But the Senator gives us another reason for demanding no
bonus. He says we shall borrow the money to buy our Bank
stock at five per cent. ; whilst the dividend we shall receive upon
it will be seven per cent. Here, then, is a difference in our favor
of two per cent. ; and this will be bonus enough.
The first Bank of the United States went into operation with
great advantages. There were then but three banks in existence
throughcxut the Union. Although it did interfere in the politics
of the country, it was governed by prudent and wise men, who
had a view to the interest of the stockholders. The Senator
from Kentucky says that this Bank divided, on an average, more
than eight per cent, during the whole period of its charter.
Although such dividends were made, yet the real profits
received by the stockholders on their investment but little
exceeded seven per cent. This reduction was occasioned by the
loss of interest sustained in winding up the concern. I have the
documents before me to establish this fact. I shall not read them;
but will most cheerfully submit them to the examination of any
Senator.
But I marvel, sir, whilst the Senator from Kentucky told
us what the first Bank of the United States divided, that he had
not given us some information in regard to the dividends of the
Vol. IV— 31
482 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
second or late Bank. I shall supply this deficiency. This Bank,
during the period of its existence under the charter from Con-
gress, was, in the opinion of the Senator, the beau ideal of a
National Bank. Wisdom and prudence presided in its counsels,
and it was managed to perfection. It furnished the best currency
which the world ever saw, and, in the opinion of Senators on this
side of the House, was a great blessing to the whole people of
the Union. What did it divide? I answer, on an average, but
a very small fraction over five per cent, and one quarter. I do
not speak of the period since it became a State institution, but
confine myself to the time during which it was a National Bank.
I have also the documents before me to verify the truth of this
statement, and they are subject to the inspection of the Senator
from Kentucky. And I speak not now of the large portion of
the capital of this Bank which was squandered whilst it was acting
under its charter from Congress. And yet the people of the
United States are to grant exclusive privileges to this new Bank
during a period of twenty years without any bonus, on account
of the twO' per cent, which we are to receive in Bank dividends
above the five per cent, interest which we must pay to foreign
and domestic capitalists, for the money which we shall borrow to
enable us to make this very wise investment.
Mr. Clay. Will the Senator allow me one moment? What
I said was that I disliked a bonus : but that we got bonus or
compensation in the excess of the dividend beyond the seven per
cent, which we were to put into the Treasury of the United States.
I never said that the difference between the five and the seven
per cent, was to be the bonus; but I urged this to prove that it
was no bad bargain on the part of the Government, and in regard
to the bonus, that we got that in payment of it which was beyond
the dividend of seven per cent.
Mr. Buchanan resumed. I should be sorry to misunderstand
the Senator; and even from his own explanation, I have mis-
imderstood him in terms rather than in substance. In that portion
of his argument relating to a bonus he spoke of the profit which
we should derive from borrowing money at five per cent, and
receiving dividends at the rate of seven per cent. It now seems
that the equivalent for a bonus is to be, not this difference
of two per cent., but the surplus profits beyond a dividend of
seven per cent, which the Bank is to pay into the Treasury. This
is even a still more forlorn hope for a bonus than I had
imagined. The poor girl in the fable, with the basket of eggs
1841] A NATIONAL BANK
483
upon her head, never, in my judgment, made a more extravagant
calculation. I shall arrive at the point which relates to these sur-
plus profits presently; but will in the meantime proceed with my
argument. Before I leave this branch of the subject, however,
let me ask the Senator, even if this new bank should be con-
ducted with the same ability as that of the old, which doubtless,
in his opinion, would be a difficult task, what becomes of the
two per cent, fund on which he calculates? It is gone — gone:
and the surplus beyond it, which is to be his bonus, is in a still
more desperate condition.
The Senator informs us that this bank stock will be readily
taken; and why? He says there is a great deal of unemployed
capital in the country which is now seeking a safe and profitable
investment; and this is doubtless the fact. But why has this
capital remained unemployed? It is solely on account of this
special session of Congress. Had business been permitted to
flow in its regular channels; had the agitation of a Bank of the
United States been suspended; and had the country been blest
with a short season of repose, capitalists would ere this have
invested their money in such a manner as to benefit themselves
and promote the prosperity of the whole people. It is this eternal
political agitation — this never-ceasing party struggle to which
the called session has imparted new vigor — that has locked up
capital ever)rv\rhere and has prevented it from being usefully and
profitably employed. Men of business can now make no calcula-
tions in advance. Every thing in the future is shrouded in uncer-
tainty and gloom.
But will the real capital of the country seek an investment in
this Bank ? No, sir, never. I will tell you the investment which
it will seek. The Senator, if he had intended to force this unem-
ployed capital into the Bank, ought not to have created a Gov-
ernment loan to come in competition with his Bank stock. This
five per cent, loan of sixteen millions and a half will be preferred
by capitalists. He himself has thus furnished a much better and
infinitely more secure investment than the stock of his Fiscal
Bank. If, in addition to this loan, and for the purpose of carrying
out the farce that the late Administration has left the country in
debt sixteen millions of dollars, we should borrow twelve mil-
lions more in order to pay this imaginary debt, the whole would
then amount to nearly twenty-nine millions of dollars. This sum
will be more than sufficient to absorb all the dormant capital in
the country; and it will be the very best and safest investment
484 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
which any man can make. I declare most solemnly that I would
rather be the owner of one hundred thousand dollars of this
United States five per cent, loan, than to hold two hundred thou-
sand dollars of stock in the Bank if I were obliged to keep it for
fifteen years. I should not hesitate a single moment in making
the choice. I know the stock will become a subject of gambling
speculation, and that it may be raised above par in the market;
but in the end it will probably sink as low as the stock of the late
Bank has already done, to the destruction of the credulous and
unsuspecting. Whilst speculators may enrich themselves by its
purchase and sale, at the last the Bank will fall, as the late
Bank has already fallen, and as every Bank must fall which
abandons its own proper business for the purpose of engaging
in the politics of the country. This Bank, from the necessity
imposed upon it by the law of its existence, must be a political
Bank from the very beginning.
The Senator has presented us with a list of restrictions in
the charter of this Bank which he thinks will work wonders in
restraining it within proper limits. Restrictions! you might as
well attempt " to tether flame with flaxen brand," as to bind a
Bank of the United States by paper restrictions. To what
restrictions did the late Bank ever submit from its origin until
its end, when any strong interest impelled it to violate them?
I shall not now trouble the Senate with a list of such violations
of its charter. The truth is, that the directors of such a Bank
well know, that after it has got fairly into operation, its sudden
destruction would inflict so many evils upon the country, that
they will always calculate upon impunity for their misconduct.
I should, therefore, esteem the restrictions imposed upon this
Bank as of but little importance, even if they were wise and salu-
tary in themselves. There is but one of them, however, of the
least value, even if they should be regarded by the Bank, and
that has been derived from what the Senator would call the odious
Sub-Treasury law. Under that law, for the first time in our
history, public defaulters were subjected to criminal punishment.
Their offence was declared to be a felony, and they were punish-
able by fine and imprisonment. I declare that I can see no re-
striction in the bill, calculated to have the slightest practical or
beneficial effect in favor either of the Government or the public,
except the application of this penal principle, borrowed from
the Independent Treasury law, to the officers of the Bank. 1
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 485
admit that this is very good so far as it goes, and therefore, thus
far, I recall the declaration which I have made, that this bill does
not contain a single practical restriction.
As to the limitation of the dividends to seven per cent, per
annum, I think I have conclusively shown, from the experience
of the two Banks which have already existed, that they will never
reach this amount. The last Bank divided but little more than
five per cent, and a quarter, and the first Bank, with all its
peculiar advantages, which no Bank at the present day can enjoy,
divided in fact but a small fraction over seven and a quarter per
cent.
[Mr. Clay. Eight per cent.]
Mr. Buchanan. I have already admitted that the dividends
declared, during the twenty years which the old Bank existed,
amounted on an average to eight per cent.; but I have shown
that it occupied more than thirteen years in winding up, and
after deducting the interest which the stockholders lost upon their
capital during this period, their average profits were reduced to
a very small fraction more than seven and a quarter per cent. I
repeat that the document from which I extract this information
is before me for the use of the Senator.
Now whilst it is my belief that the Bank never can and never
will divide any thing like seven per cent, on an average, and
that, therefore, this will be no restriction, yet if I should even
prove to be mistakai, I would not consider this restriction as any
real limitation upon its business. If the Senator, by his bill, had
confined the business of the Bank in such a manner that it could
not possibly make greater or much greater profits than seven
per cent., this might have operated as a restriction to that extent.
But merely to restrict its dividends, without any corresponding
restriction of its business, will produce little or no practical effect.
It will expand its loans and its issues as far as it can within the
limits of its charter, upon the pretence of creating a surplus to
be paid into the Treasury of the United States. But when have
banks ever paid such a surplus to any Government? This sur-
plus, should any such ever exist, instead of reaching the Treasury,
will be a most desirable contingent fund for politicians. It will
be inscribed upon what is technically called the line of suspended
debt, in a similar manner with the ten millions of suspended debt
due the present Bank of the United States of Pennsylvania. That
list of favored borrowers has never yet seen the light; neither
will any similar list of borrowers from this new Bank, if you shall
486 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
adopt no other provisions in regard to publicity, except those now-
contained in the bill.
The Senator from Kentucky authorizes the Bank to contract
debts to the amount of twenty-five millions of dollars over and
above its deposits, and calls this a restriction. Nay, more, deem-
ing this too severe, he moved to strike out twenty-five, and insert
thirty millions; but wonderful as it may seem, he failed in the
motion.
Now, is there any man in the country at all acquainted with
the business of banking, who believes this to be any practical re-
striction ? The late Bank of the United States, whose capital was
thirty-five millions of dollars, even with all its extravagance,
never had a circulation, at any one time, of more than twenty
millions; and it rose to that amount but for a single year. Its
average circulation during the whole period of its existence,
amounted to about eleven or between eleven and twelve millions.
And yet Senators talk of confining their new Bank, with a capital
of thirty millions, to twenty-five millions of circulation, as if this
would prove to be a most efficient restriction on its business. That
is, by way of restriction, the new Bank, with a capital five millions
less, is permitted to issue paper to more than double the average
amount of the circulation of the old Bank.
In this statement, I take it for granted that the amount of
debts contracted by the Bank over and above its deposits will
be almost exclusively for bank notes in circulation. A bank ought
always to be a lender, never a borrower of money. It was bor-
rowing money abroad, as much as any other cause, which first
crippled, and afterw'ards destroyed the Bank of the United States.
Had the Senator from Kentucky examined carefully the history
of this Bank, and investigated the causes of its ruin, he never
would have conferred upon his new Bank the very same power
to borrow money which existed under the old charter. I hope
this power may yet be stricken out of the present bill.
But again: there is another restriction on this Bank which
the Senator deems important. It is prohibited from loaning
more than seventy-five per cent, beyond the amount of its capital,
or, in other words, the debts due to it at any one time shall never
exceed that amount. Thus, with a capital of thirty millions, it
is permitted to loan fifty-two millions and a half of dollars. And
this is deemed a wise and salutary restriction! Why, sir, the
banking system of the United States, in the aggregate, consist-
ing of more than nine hundred banks, scattered over the country.
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 487
has scarcely ever, even in the days of its greatest extravagance,
made loans to the amount of seventy-five per cent, more than its
capital. In the two extravagant years of 1836 and 1837, the
Bank loans a little exceeded this proportion; but, with that
exception, they have greatly fallen short of it, ever since the year
1830. Thus it appears that the restriction which the Senator
from Kentucky would impose on the loans of his Bank, will in-
dulge it to a point which has scarcely ever been attained by our
banking system as a whole, even in the days of the wildest specu-
lation. To find such an example, we must look to the two worst
years of extravagant Bank expansion which we have witnessed in
our time. And yet this new Bank is to be the prudent and
powerful regitlator which will confine the business of our whole
State banking system within proper limits.
You will thus perceive that this Bank, within the limits of
its charter, may realize ten and one half per cent, upon its capital
merely by discounting notes. For example : it may loan fifty-two
millions and one-half at six per cent, which is equal to ten and
a half per cent, on thirty millions, the amount of its capital.
But this is not all. It will deal extensively in foreign and
domestic bills of exchange, on which the premium is not, and
probably cannot be, fixed by law. On the money invested in this
portion of its business it will receive a much greater interest than
six per cent. It would not, therefore, be too much to say that,
within the restrictions of its charter, it may make twelve instead
of seven per cent, per annum on the amount of its capital. But
will this surplus ever reach the Treasury? No, sir, it never
will. On the contrary, it will scarcely be sufficient to cover the
losses which must be sustained by this political Bank in loan-
ing money to trading politicians and speculators, without esti-
mating the amount of plunder which the Bank officers may
appropriate to themselves. This surplus will never reach the
Treasury, but will become the fund for these very purposes;
and it will probably prove by no means sufficient. If, there-
fore, you intend to impose any practical restriction, which will
be useful to the public, by limiting the dividends to seven per
cent, you ought to limit the business of the Bank in something
like the same proportion. Considering the losses to which it
must be exposed, I venture to predict that, let it expand as much
as it can, and yet it will never divide six per cent, on an average.
But there is still another restriction on which I desire to say
a few words. I mean that which prohibits the Bank from making
488 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
new discounts or loans, " when the notes in! circulation exceed
three times the amount of specie in its vaults."
The chief consideration which could induce any wise Govern-
ment to grant banking privileges, is that the public may enjoy
a paper circulation at all times convertible into specie. This is
the only direct interest which a vast niajority of the people have
in banks. That restriction, then, which would first strike every
mind as necessary to secure this advantage, is that each bank
should be compelled by its charter always to keep such a fair
proportion of gold and silver in its vaults in proportion to its
immediate liabilities, or in other words, to its circulation and
deposits, as experience has shown to be necessary to enable it
to continue the payment of specie in the worst of times. But
this is the very restriction to which no bank will submit if it
can possibly avoid it. They will agree to all other restrictions
in preference, and will continue to resist this to the very last.
And yet this is the touchstone which separates the alloy from the
pure gold. Without a certain, reasonable and fixed proportion
of gold and silver in the vaults of a bank compared with its cir-
culation and deposits, the public have no security against the
suspension of specie payments. A bank may be perfectly sound
and able eventually to pay all its debts; and yet not have one
dollar of gold and silver in its vaults. Its eventual ability to meet
its engagements depends upon the eventual solvency of those who
have borrowed its money. But the ability of a Bank at all times
to redeem its notes and deposits in specie depends upon the
amount of specie at all times in its vaults. The experience of
banks in this and in all other countries, has demonstrated the
necessity of such a restriction. Has the Senator from Kentucky
acted upon this principle in preparing his bill? The bill requires
the Bank to keep on hand one dollar in specie for three of its
circulation, leaving out the deposits altogether; and fearing
lest even this might prove to be too severe a restriction, he has
actually moved to strike it out. Now, sir, I would not give a
button for that restriction.
The circulation of the Bank of the United States will be
nothing when compared with its deposits. The great commercial
business of the country is transacted almost exclusively without
the use of bank notes. When a merchant borrows one hundred
thousand dollars from a bank in the city of New York, he has
it placed to his credit on the books of the bank. He pays his
debts with this bank credit, without the use of any bank notes
1841] A NATIONAL BANK
489
whatever, by giving checks to each of his creditors. These bank
checks, founded upon bank deposits, and not bank notes, con-
stitute, in a great degree, the commercial circulation of the coun-
try. Why then did the Senator from Kentucky, in preparing his
bill, require the Bank to keep no proportion of specie whatever
to meet these deposits? They are immediate liabilities of the
Bank as much as bank notes; and payment of them in gold and
silver may be demanded in large masses, equal to two, three, or
four times the whole amount of the circulation. And yet the
Senator, by his bill, has excluded these deposits altogether; and
he now desires to get clear even of the restriction requiring the
Bank to keep one dollar in specie for three of its circulation.
According to the testimony of Mr. Horsley Palmer, the late
Governor of the Bank of England, before a committee of the
House of Commons, " The average proportion of the coin and
bullion which the Bank thinks it prudent to keep on hand is at
the rate of a third of the total amount of all her liabilities, includ-
ing deposits as well as issues ; " and we ought to require our
new Bank always to keep on hand, at the very least, this propor-
tion of specie, if vi^e intend that it shall always remain a specie-
paying Bank.
Another restriction has been imposed upon the parent Bank
in this city. This Bank is to be prohibited from discounting
altogether ; because, says the Senator, if it were permitted to make
loans here, it would afford too great a facility to members of
Congress and officers of the Government in borrowing money.
If this were the object, why did not the bill declare, in express
terms, that members of Congress and officers of the Government
should never receive a loan from the Bank, or any of its branches ?
This would have been the only preventive capable of producing
the slightest effect. Does any person really suppose that the dis-
tance between this city and Philadelphia will prevent any mem-
ber of Congress from making such a loan? But there will be
a still more convenient branch at Baltimore, within two hours
of us, to which we can resort. My life upon the issue, that if
ever the secrets of the charnel-house at Philadelphia should meet
the light of day, it will be found that thousands and hundreds
of thousands, and even millions of money of the Bank have
found their way into the pockets of your public men and members
of Congress, notwithstanding the distance. I have received in-
formation on the subject, which I do not feel myself at liberty
to disclose; but what the present President of the United States
490 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
has published in his report, in regard to the indebtedness of
members of Congress to the late Bank, is known to the world.
And here permit me to say that I was rejoiced to learn from
such high authority as the Senator from Virginia [Mr. Rives]
that if there was any one man in the country more committed
against a Bank of the United States, than any other man, it was
our present President. This declaration has inspired me with
hope in the future. No, sir, instead of the distance to Philadel-
phia or Baltimore presenting any obstacle in the way of members
of Congress and officers of the Government, the present bill will
greatly facilitate their accommodation by bringing home to this
city the nine all-powerful directors of the parent bank. Private
friendship and political sympathy between our public men and
these directors will produce many such epistles as the following
to the directors of the branches in Baltimore and Philadelphia:
" Please to make a loan of fifty or a hundred thousand dollars
to the bearer." The romantic walks in the groves of the Capitol,
with bank directors, will be admirably calculated to produce this
effect; and in a few years we may find as long a list of suspended
debts of politicians in the new Bank, as already exists in the old.
So much for this restriction.
I had intended to make some remarks against granting to
this Bank the power of dealing in foreign exchange. The exer-
cise of this power contributed much to the ruin of the late Bank.
But I forbear for the present. The Secretary of the Treasury,
in his projet, deprives the Bank of this power; and the removal
of this restriction, is, in my opinion, the only particular in which
that projet has not been improved by the Committee on the
Currency.
Am I then right, Mr. President, in declaring, and I appeal
to you as a gentleman well acquainted with banking, (Mr. Bayard
of Delaware then occupied the chair,) that this bill throughout
contains not a single efficient practical restriction upon the busi-
ness of the bank, or one which would be regarded as such by any
man who understands the subject? No surplus will ever reach
the Treasury — never.
I need not dwell upon the remaining particular constituting
this a Government Bank: which is that it will receive upon de-
posit all the public money of the people of the United States,
to be loaned out at pleasure for its benefit, without any restriction
whatever on this privilege.
Then, sir, this is the real Government Bank — the directors
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 491
controlled by the Government; the greater portion of the stock
held by the Government ; the surplus profits, if any, given to the
Government; and the most profitable business of the Bank
founded upon the use of the money of the Govermnait. And why
should such a charter have been offered to Congress by the Treas-
ury Department? I shall not say that it was concocted there for
the express purpose of creating a mere engine or instrument of
political power; but if Talleyrand himself had been as great a
financier as he was a diplomatist, he could not have devised a
charter more completely adapted to effect this purpose than the
bill now before us presents. The influence of this machine,
located at Washington, under the eye of the Government, will
be felt everywhere throughout the Union.
I may be asked, as I have spoken so strongly against this
city as the location of the Bank, where I should desire to have it
established. I answer at once, either in Philadelphia or New
York ; and I should prefer Philadelphia.
It is very cruel for gentlemen to sneer at Philadelphia in
its misfortunes. I honestly believe that much of the extrava-
gance and folly of the late President of the Bank, in conducting its
affairs, may be fairly set down to the incense offered to his
vanity in this very chamber. What was said of him by Senators
here was sufficient to turn the head of almost any man. He was
induced to believe that he was the Atlas on whose shoulders the
financial Government of the world rested. Such was his ability
and power, in the opinion of a distinguished Senator, that had he
been appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 1837, whilst we
were suffering in common with all civilized nations, from the
revulsion in business which was felt over the whole globe, he
would have relieved us from our embarrassments, and produced
a revival of business and a resumption of specie payments within
the short space of sixty days.
I never flattered him in his prosperity, and I shall not attack
him in his adversity. I think he is as good in every particular
as the two or three directors who have been holding him up
to public execration. I believe that by far the greater part, if
not all, that they have said of each other, is true. I give equal
credit to all their statements, and, in my estimation, these gen-
tlemen all deserve to be placed on the same level. And let me
say, that there are men in Philadelphia now passing for saints,
who were directors in this Bank some time before its explosion;
—who knew its condition perfectly, and yet not only concealed
492 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
their knowledge from the world, but sold out their stock at high
prices, which were maintained upon the faith reposed by the
public in their integrity and judgment ; — such men, in my opinion,
are just as bad as the worst of those who continued to be direc-
tors until the end. Their consciences will never be disturbed
by the tears and groans of the widows and orphans whom they
have ruined.
But I say Philadelphia or New York is the proper place for
the Bank; and it is very hard that Philadelphia should be de-
nounced here in such terms. Why, sir, the Almighty would have
spared Sodom if five righteous men could have been found there:
and shall man be more terrible in his judgments than infinite
purity? I believe, from a knowledge of the character of the
people, that there is no city on the seaboard of the United States
which contains a greater number of intelligent, respectable, in-
corruptible, and faithful merchants, fit in every respect to- be
the directors of such an institution, than the city of Philadelphia.
No, sir; I shall never sit silent under sneers and attacks against
that city, although it has ever been hostile to me since I entered
into public life. But if you will not establish the Bank there,
then let it be located in New York.
The idea of establishing a National Bank in the city of
Washington, with a view of regulating the currency and business
of the country, seems to be truly absurd. The location of such
a Bank ought to be in a comi-nercial city, where its directors would
have the opportunity of observing carefully the state both of our
foreign and domestic trade. After long experience, sound prac-
tical men in England have arrived at the conclusion that the issues
of a National Bank ought to be regulated by the state of the
foreign exchanges. When the directors find that these exchanges
either are or probably soon will be against the country, in con-
sequence of a redundancy in the circulating medium, then the
issues of bank paper ought to be contracted to such a degree as
to arrest or correct the evil, and to prevent the exportation of
specie. This important duty can alone be safely devolved upon
men of ability and skill who are practically acquainted with our
foreign trade, who are able to anticipate its fluctuations, and who
are placed on a suitable theatre of observation, such as Philadel-
phia or New York. Your nine salaried directors in this city will
be politicians and not merchants, bankers, or other practical men ;
and even if they were, this is not a spot from whence they could
watch the current of foreign trade, or where they could obtain
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 493
the necessary information. In regard to the cUques of speculators
in Wall street and Chestnut street, of which we have heard, bad
as they are, I think that a clique of trading politicians in Wash-
ington city would make still worse directors of a National Bank.
[Mr. Benton. We will have both.]
I now come to speak very briefly of some of ^ the advantages
which the committee believe that this Bank will yield to the people
of the country. And first, they say, " It will give the people a
sound currency of uniform value throughout the Union." If
by this the Senator merely means that a man can put its paper
in his pocket in Georgia, and use it anywhere on the road in
travelling to Maine, I have no doubt that such will be the fact.
And why? Because the Government of the United States, by
agreeing everywhere to accept the Bank paper in payment of its
dues, gives it everywhere circulation and credit. They could
thus give to painted pasteboard the same currency. It is not the
credit of the Bank, but that of the Government, which will pro-
duce this effect. The drafts of the Treasury Bank, which the
Senator formerly so much dreaded, would have answered the
same purpose still better, and would have been of much greater
intrinsic value, because they would have represented gold and
silver, dollar for dollar. Besides, the bank which the Senator's
fancy created out of the Independent Treasury law, would have
been only a bank of issue, and not one of discount and deposit
also, such as he now advocates.
But the committee further allege, that this Bank " will re-
duce domestic exchanges from the enormous premiums and dis-
counts now frequently paid, to the moderate standard growing
out of the mere cost and insurance on the risk of transporting
specie from one to another part of the Union."
This argument has been everywhere urged, and often suc-
cessfully, in favor of creating a Bank of the United States; and
yet, to use the word of the Senator from Missouri, [Mr. Benton,]
it is the most " bamboozling " argument that ever was resorted
to. On 'Change in Philadelphia or New York, there is nobody so
soft as not to smile at its absurdity. Why, sir, the rates of ex-
change between money and money, in the different cities of the
Union, are at this very moment just as the Senator desires they
should be. In New Orleans, gold and silver will, at this very
day, buy a bill on New York at a premium of from one-half to
one per cent. Who does not perceive that it is the depreciation
on suspended bank paper, and not the real difference of exchange.
494 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
which you see quoted in all the papers and blazoned forth to the
world as if intended for the express purpose of imposing on the
public? In Philadelphia, the notes, for example, of the Bank of
Pennsylvania are worth about three and a half per cent, less than
specie; therefore, at New York the exchange on Philadelphia is
quoted at three and a half per cent, discount : but is it not self-
evident that this is the rate of exchange, not between money and
money, but between gold and silver in New York and depreciated
bank paper in Philadelphia? From the nature of trade, unless
under very extraordinary circumstances, the difference of ex-
change between two places in the same country, can never vary
much from the cost of transporting specie from the one to the
other. Some years ago, the bills of the Commonwealth's Bank
of Kentucky were at a discount of fifty per cent, below specie:
and, doubtless, exchange on Kentucky was then quoted at fifty
per cent, below par. But this was the depreciation of the bank
paper, and not the difference in value between money in New
York and money at Lexington, which can never be much greater
than the expense of transporting it from the one place to the
other.
If banks were everywhere in good credit, and were redeem-
ing their notes in specie, then these notes would be equal to gold
and silver at the place where they were issued; and the great
apparent inequalit)'- in the rates of exchange would immediately
disappear. The quotations would no longer consist of the con-
trast between the value of specie in New York and depreciated
bank paper at home; but would be the difference between the
value of specie and specie at different places. This inequality
in the nominal rates of exchange would at once disappear, if
you could restore specie payments throughout the Union.
But if the banks should all pay specie to-morrow, we have
no security whatever that they would not, organized as they are
at present, soon again suspend. There are two restrictions which,
if imposed upon them, would always insure a sound bank note
currency to the people of the United States, and prevent future
suspensions. First, if you would render them able at all times
to pay specie, you must require that they shall at all times keep
on hand at least one dollar of gold and silver for every three dol-
lars of their deposits and circulation combined. But this alone
might not prove sufficient. They might possess the ability to
pay, withotit the will. To secure this, you must impose another
restriction, which will prove to be an infallible preventive of
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 495
suspension. Declare in the charter of each Bank, by a self-ex-
ecuting provision, which nothing can arrest, that the moment it
suspends specie payments it shall " die the death." " In the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Render it the
irreversible, organic law of each bank's existence that a suspen-
sion of specie payments shall produce its civil death; and the
instinct of self-preservation will then compel it to perform its
duties in such a manner as to preserve its life. Upon this prin-
ciple, a bankrupt law applied to banks would do more in securing
a sound currency for the people of the United States, than twenty
national Banks scattered over the whole country could accom-
plish, even if they were disposed to exert all their power. When
it was first proposed to apply a bankrupt law to banks, I felt
strongly inclined to oppose it. But I am not one of those who
pride themselves in their uniform' consistency throughout life.
Live and learn is my maxim. I trust I am wiser this year than
I was the last; and that, if I live, I shall be wiser next year, or
twenty years hence, than I am at present. The man who prides
himself upon never having changed an opinion, proclaims himself
to have been infallible from the beginning, and thus announces
hirnself a blockhead. Any Senator, therefore, has my entire
permission to ransack the old journals and prove that I voted
many years ago on any subject differently from what I should
do at present. I have changed my opinion in regard to a bank-
rupt law as applied to banks; and this because I most solemnly
believe that it is the only remedy which can reach the root of the
evil and secure to the people, at all times and in all places, a
paper currency convertible into gold and silver.
But the committee say that this bank " will powerfully con-
tribute to the resumption of specie payments." How will it pro-
duce such an effect ? It is not sufificient that a declaration of this
kind shall be made ex cathedra in order to command our faith.
Will it be by producing a new and greatly increased demand for
specie in order to furnish a capital for the bank. Ask Mr.
Cheves, who is I believe the avowed author of those able num-
bers which have appeared in the Charleston Mercury, above the
signature of " Jay," whether the late Bank of the United States
contributed essentially to the resumption of specie payments,
when it first went into operation, and he will answer decidedly
in the negative. He ought to know this fact if it existed, because
he saved the Bank from ruin at an early period of its career.
The seven millions of gold and silver which the charter re-
496 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
quires to be paid by the private stockholders before the Bank
can go into operation, must be chiefly drawn from the vaults of
specie-paying banks. In addition to this, the large amount which
will be taken by our own citizens of the sixteen millions and a
half of the bank stock loan, to say nothing of the twelve million
loan, must be principally derived from the same source. The
probability is, that the run which this must occasion on the specie-
paying banks, will compel them to suspend. The banks already
suspended will hold fast what specie they have got. Self-
preservation will compel them to pursue this course. In this
manner, then, the establishment of the Bank, so far from pro-
moting a resumption of specie payments, will prolong the sus-
pension, and may, in all human probability, render it universal.
If the existing solvent banks should be able to meet the demand
for specie which will thus be made upon them, it will be by such
a sudden curtailment of their loans and issues as will produce
ruin and distress throughout the land. Never, never, was there
a more inauspicious moment than the present for establishing
a Bank of the United States; and I trust that its friends will
take this view of the subject into their deliberate consideration,
and postpone the question at least until December. Let the
general business of the country be restored; and then, and not
till then, let them begin to think seriously on the subject of es-
tabHshing a Bank of the United States.
But even if specie payments had been universally restored,
and business were again prosperous, I deny that this Bank will
ever regulate the State banks in such a manner as to prevent
the ruinous expansions and contractions in our currency which
have afflicted the country throughout its history, or secure us
against future suspensions. This Bank would not thus restrain
the State Banks if it could: — it could not if it would. On this
point I shall be as brief as possible, having already occupied
more of your time than I had intended.
And in the first place, this Bank will feel no disposition
whatever to restrain the issues axid loans of the local banks
within reasonable limits. And why ? Because its duty as a regu-
lator of the currency is in direct opposition to the interest of its
stockholders. If you desire to create one power for the purpose
of restraining another, you must make them " antagonistical "
either in point of interest or of inclination, or of both. But will
you change the nature of these nine directors and make them
better than other men, by placing them at the head of a National
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 497
Bank? If you cannot work this miracle, they will then feel the
same interest and the same inclination with the Directors of the
State Banks to expand the currency — to accommodate their
favorites and friends — to malce money plenty, and to increase
the profits of the stockholders.
No, sir, no; in the honest opinion of my soul, so far from
making these directors better, you will make them worse than
other men. Stationed here at the Capitol, and under the baneful
influence of highly excited political feeling, I believe they will
be even less inclined to act as a restraining power than the di-
rectors of many other banks of the country. Their first impulse
will be to promote their own interest, and to accommodate their
friends as far as possible. And yet this is the power which you
intend to establish for the purpose of controlling the govern-
ment of the State banks, and preventing them from being guilty
of excess. They would not do this if they could; because they
will act upon the same universal law which governs all bankers
and directors of banks, and impels them to extend their business
and increase their profits as far as practicable.
But I say that this Bank could not restrain the State banks,
even if it would ; and this want of power has been recently demon-
strated in England. It would be easy for me to maintain this
position by arguments, a priori, and to prove that this Bank, with
a capital of thirty millions, could not control the issues of a thou-
sand State banks, whose combined capital is more than ten times
that amount ; but reasoning would be only a waste of time, when
this conclusion has been established by well known facts. In
1836, the Bank of England clearly foresaw the approach of the
storm which afterwards spread ruin over that country as well
as this. The foreign exchanges were against England, and
specie was exported. The paper currency had become so ex-
panded, that the prices of all domestic productions were high, and
consequently it was the interest of foreigners to sell every thing
they could in that country, and buy as little there as possible.
Under these circumstances, the Bank of England determined to
put forth all its power, in order to reduce prices and restore the
equilibrium of the foreign exchanges. It accordingly commenced
a system of rapid curtailment of its loans and issues in the vain
hope that the joint stock banks of the kingdom would be compelled
to follow its example. Much to its astonishment, it found that
as it contracted, they expanded; and at the end of the process
there was more paper money in circulation than at its commence-
VoL. IV— 32
498 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
ment. So entirely satisfied are well informed men in England
that their National Bank, even with a capital of seventy millions
of dollars, cannot control these expansions and contractions of
the currency, that they now seriously think of confining the issues
of paper money to one Bank to be under the control of the Gov-
ernment, and of excluding all the other banks of the kingdom
from the enjoyment of this privilege. And yet, in the face of this
well known fact, it is seriously contended here that this BarJc of
thirty millions will possess the power to control the loans and
issues of the thousand banks scattered over our vast country. It
will do no good in this respect, but much evil.
During the period of the late Bank's existence, it was the
primary and efficient cause of all the very great expansions which
afflicted the country. I shall mention but one of these, though
I might. refer to those of 1823, 1831, and 1834. In the years
1 8 16, 1817, and 18 18, the first three years after the date of its
charter, what was its course ? It was a mere speculating machine.
It expanded the currency to such an extent and made money so
plenty that every thing rose to an enormous price. In the county
where I reside, land commanded from two to four hundred dol-
lars per acre ; and in one instance I know a tract to have been sold
for $1,500 per acre. The expansion of the Bank of the United
States encouraged all the country banks to follow its example,
and bank notes became so cheap that it required a large amount
of them to purchase any article of value. The Bank thus literally
stimulated the spirit of speculation to such a high degree as
almost to produce a general derangement of the public mind.
Such extravagance was never witnessed before.
The revulsion came, as come it always must, and the Bank,
to all appearance, was in the last agony. It was then that Mr.
Cheves was called to preside over it. In order to save it from
destruction, he was compelled to reduce its loans and curtail its
issues with unexampled rapidity; and in consequence, the years
1 819, 1820, and 1 82 1, were the most disastrous that this country
has ever experienced since the Revolutionary war. There was
more individual ruin — more property changed hands by forced
sales — during those three years, than we have witnessed in a
similar period before or since ; and all attributable directly to the
influence and example of this great regulator of the currency.
In 1821, tlie price of flour sunk to $3.75 per barrel in Philadel-
phia; and as far west as the State of Ohio it scarcely commanded
any price. There is no new thing under the sun, and should
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 499
this Bank ever get into successful operation, from the very law
oif its nature, it will follow in the footsteps of its illustrious pre-
decessor. It will be powerful to do evil, but feeble to produce
good.
The last reason which has been given by the Senator from
Kentucky why we should establish a Bank of the United States,
is, that other nations have National Banks, and therefore that we
also ought to have such an institution. Let me say, in the first
place, that other nations have no such Bank as the one which we
propose to establish. The Banks of France and England belong
to individuals, and no part of the stock of either is held by the
Government. But, under this charter, our Republican Govern-
ment is to ally its interests with those of the money power, by
becoming the proprietor of more than half of the whole capital
of this Bank. Does the Senator suppose that if the Bank of the
United States had continued to exist under its charter from Con-
gress until May, 1837, that it would then have weathered the
storm? Far different would have been its fate. It would have
been the first to fall under the revulsion of that fearful crisis;
and for this very reason, that being a National Bank, its con-
nection with England would have been more intimate and direct
than that of State banks. The blow which then prostrated our
banking institutions came from that country, and it would have
fallen with redoubled force on a National Bank as it did on the
Pennsylvania Bank of the United States, which then occupied a
similar position.
Sir, other nations have emperors and kings, and titles of
nobility, and established churches, as well as national banks;
but is that any reason why the people of the Uiyted States should
abandon their Republican principles, and imitate these foreign
forms of Government? Although the Senator from Kentucky
may not, and I believe does not desire such a change, yet he may
virtually accomplish it sooner than he anticipates. If he can
create this great National Bank, and can ally it with the Gov-
ernment in Washington city on terms of the closest intimacy;
if he can thus concentrate the money power here, and render its
interest identical with that of the political power, he may succeed
in establishing for this country not a monarchy, but the very
worst form ot Government with which mankind has ever been
cursed. A hereditary aristocracy has acquired this infamous
pre-eminence; but the Government of a moneyed aristocracy
would, if possible, be still worse. From interest and from habit.
500 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
a landed aristocracy has always cherished some feelings of kind-
ness for the people; but an upstart moneyed aristocracy has
no heart to feel for them, no desire to promote their welfare. It
looks upon mankind as mere laboring machines for its own
benefit. It never indulges in those kindly and Christian sym-
pathies which make us feel that all men are alike created in the
image of their Maker, and are brethren. This is the kind of
Government which may be established by an intimate union of
the political with the money power. We may approach nearer
to the Governments of the old world, by establishing this Bank,
than the Senator or any of his friends imagine. If this should
be the case, corruption will insinuate itself into the sinews and
nerves and very vitals of the body politic. The people would
still attend the elections and be flattered with the idea that they
still enjoyed all their liberties, whilst a secret, controlling, all-
pervading influence would direct their conduct. The corpse of
a free Government would then only remain, whilst the animating
spirit had fled forever.
But I do not permit myself to indulge in these gloomy fore-
bodings. I am not afraid that this Bank will ever be established ;
and if it ever should, the people of this country will pursue it
with a steady vigilance, which will never tire until they accom-
plish its destruction.
REMARKS, JULY 12, 13, 14, 17, AND 21, 1841,
ON THE BILL TO INCORPORATE THE SUBSCRIBERS TO THE FISCAL
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.'
[July 12.] Mr. Buchanan said it was with the greatest
reluctance he engaged in this debate. He had intended to offer
two or three amendments to this bill before it was taken out of
the committee, upon each of which he would probably make a few
remarks, but nothing was further from his intention or expecta-
tion than that he should be called on to take part in any discussion
which might arise on the bill to-day. But the Senator from
Kentucky had denounced in the strongest terms the Jacobinical
doctrine of the repealability of charters. Now he (Mr. B.) con-
tended that the power of repeal, in this particular case, existed
not only under the Constitution, but was sanctioned by judicial
decisions. The Supreme Court, Chief Justice Marshall presid-
" Cong. Globe, 27 Cong, i Sess. X. 18&-187, 192, 197, 199, 222-223, 234, 236.
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 501
ing, had declared that in public corporations, to be employed in
the administration of the Government, the right of repeal existed,
but that it did not exist in private corporations. But did it re-
quire the decision of a court to establish this principle? Can
Congress annihilate the sovereign legislative powers conferred
upon it for the benefit of the vi^hole people by transferring them
to a corporation? If it can do this for one year, what would
prevent it from doing so for fifty years, or forever? The de-
cision of the Supreme Court was, that if the corporation were
of public concern — were a grant of political power to be employed
in the administration of the Government, it was subject to repeal
or modification by the legislative power. This was the decision
of the judiciary, and was the spirit of the Constitution, unless it
could be contended that Congress had the right tO' divest itself
of its legislative discretion, and virtually destroy itself. Is this
Bank a public or private corporation ? It is a Government fiscal
agent, an agent of the Treasury Department, and the power to
establish it is inferred from the clause in the Constitution, con-
ferring upon Congress that high attribute of sovereign power,
to lay and collect taxes from the people. Did any Government
ever divest itself of the power of regulating, according tO' its
own will, the collection, safe keeping, and disbursement of its
revenue, or transfer this right irrevocably to corporations? If
Congress possessed this power, they could transfer the liberties
of the country to a corporation.
Mr. B. then referred to a case decided in the Supreme Court,
between Goszler and the corporation of Georgetown, in support
of the principle for which he contended. The Reporter under-
stood this to be a decision that the corporation were not bound
to execute an agreement into which they had entered with the
lot holders by an ordinance for grading the streets, on the prin-
ciple that such a gradation was a matter of public concern, regard-
ing the interests of the citizens generally, and that, like a public
law, it might be repealed. It was not a subject of private grant;
and on the same principle he held we had a perfect right to repeal
or modify this charter whenever we thought it proper to do so.
But while he asserted this power, he admitted that it would
be an extreme case in which he would be in favor of exercising
it. If this bill is to be rushed through Congress when the coun-
try is not prepared for it ; when the people have not asked for it ;
when no question has been made before the people on the subject,
and in Virginia and North Carolina, even the Whig party, in
502 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
the Presidential canvass, have taken ground against it, as witness
the speech of Mr. Badger, the present Secretary of the Navy,
and the address of the Whig Convention in Virginia, and that
this was the fact generally he would appeal from the Senator
from Kentucky to Mr. Tyler, the official head of the party: if
the measure was to be adopted under such circumstances, and
especially if the gag was to be applied in that body, a proper
regard to the interests of those we represented would prompt
us to sound the cry of repeal throughout the land, and that
question will be carried unless the people of this country are
willing to be transferred to the government of bank corporations.
He thought the doctrine, though an excellent one, of the
inviolability of contracts, came with an ill grace from those who
had, but a few months since, violated the contract of Blair and
Rives, the Printers to the Senate. There was a clear and unequiv-
ocal case of contract, founded on a law of the land, the bond was
signed, sealed, and delivered, and was approved of by your
Secretary. And yet, in the face of all this, the Senate of the
United States was faithless to its solemn contract, and Blair and
Rives were dispossessed of their rights, and another Printer has
since been elected.
He was firmly of the opinion that the best thing the friends
of the Bank could do would be to go home, and defer the passage
of the bill until the next session. Let them wait the result of
the fall elections; and should there be a decided expression of
the popular will in favor of the Bank, much as he was opposed to
it, he would not be the first to move in the question of repeal.
Mr. Clay of Kentucky said that when the conqueror of
Continental Europe, the hero of Marengo and Austerlitz, was in
the zenith of his power, an old maiden lady of Baltimore ex-
pressed, in warm terms, her disapprobation of his conduct.
Madam, said the Frenchman, with much gravity, to whom she
was addressing her remarks, I am sorry you entertain such senti-
ments of the Emperor ; I am sure he will be very much hurt when
he hears of it. So the subscribers to the stock of this Bank
would be very much hurt when they heard the opinion of the
honorable Senator as to the repealability of their charter. But
these threats of repeal passed him by as the idle wind; he knew
it would never be attempted to carry them into execution. But
if he would desire the Senator and his party to be placed in a
position which, above all others, would ruin them irretrievably,
it would be for them to make this a question before the free,
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 503
intelligent, and law-abiding people of this country. Here is a
charter granted by Congress for twenty years, and on the faith
of this pledge of Congress, individuals have been induced to
invest their funds in its stock. Let them make this question, and
my life on it, they will receive a more overwhelming defeat than
even that of November last. It was a monstrous proposition;
and it needs oijly to be stated, to receive the indignation of
the public.
Mr. Buchanan said the statement of the Senator from Ken-
tucky had only to be stated to meet with universal indignation
and reprobation. What was the proposition ? That the liberties
of the nation may be bartered away without the consent of the
people : that Congress can divest itself of its constitutional func-
tions, and confer them upon a banking corporation, by a law
which they could subsequently neither modify nor repeal. This
was the proposition, fairly stated. The Senator says he won't
argue the proposition. Sir, he can't argue it. It does not admit
of argument.' To state it is to answer it. Suppose Congress
should incorporate a great East India Company within the Dis-
trict, on which they would confer a monopoly of all the valuable
trade to that portion of the w;orld. Will any man, with the pulse
of liberty beating in his heart, contend that there is no legislative
power to repeal this odious monopoly, they remunerating indi-
viduals for any losses which they might sustain? Suppose the
Legislature of New York should charter a company with the
exclusive privilege of trading in the wheat and flour produced in
that great State. Would the Senator contend that a subsequent
Legislature could not annul that law? To contend for such a
doctrine would be to assert that a Legislature can destroy itself,
and transfer all its sovereign delegated powers to corporations.
He had as great a respect as any man for private contracts, and
the inviolability of chartered rights held by private individuals;
but he contended that the doctrine asserted by the Senator from
Kentucky was subversive of civil liberty, and was as convenient
a mode of changing our form of Government as had ever been
desired by its worst enemy.
It would be an insult to the memory of the great man who
lately presided over the Supreme Court, to assert that he had
ever asserted such a doctrine. Now what was that opinion?
After reading the remarks of Chief Justice Marshall, which pre-
ceded his conclusion, he said: Now, sir, comes the principle,
which I read the other day: "If the act of incorporation (of
504 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Dartmouth College) be a grant of political power — if it create a
civil institution, to be employed in the administration of the
Government — if, &c. &c. the subject is one in which the Legisla-
ture of the State may act according to its own judgment, unre-
strained by any limitation of its power imposed by the Constitu-
tion of the United States." And why? Because the subject of
the contract is a sovereign power of Government, and not a mere
private right.
Now, sir, continued Mr. B., I think I have shown that the
principle asserted by me is necessarily the law, and that if this
institution is one " to be employed in the administration of the
Government," nay, in the execution of some of its most important
functions, it is subject to amendment, modification, or repeal ; and
those who invest their money in its stock, will do so with that
understanding. In case of repeal, they will have to rely for
indemnity on the justice of Congress, under all the circumstances
of the case.
Suppose that this institution, instead of safely keeping the
funds of the Government, should squander them; suppose that,
instead of adding facilities to the operations of the Treasury
Department, it should interpose insurmountable obstacles and im-
pediments; suppose that, instead of creating a sound currency of
uniform value, it should derange the currency and render it
unsound and fluctuating in value: will honorable Senators con-
tend that in any or all of these cases Congress could not interfere
because of the inviolability of charters? To maintain such an
absurdity is nothing more nor less than to maintain that Congress,
in addition to the enumerated powers contained in the Consti-
tution, shall have the power of transferring the exercise of any
or all of these delegated powers to an incorporated company for
half a century, by a law which is irrepealable. The sovereign
powers of Government conferred upon Congress by the States
of this Union, can never be delegated to corporations or indi-
viduals. The mistake is in considering these powers as if they
were proper subjects of private contract.
Could the Congress irrevocably transfer the administration
of the War Department to an incorporation for twenty years,
to carry on war with the Indians, or with foreign powers ; could
it transfer the administration of the Navy Department, with the
charge of our ships, and their armaments, to an incorporation by
a law irrepealable for twenty years? Gentlemen would scarcely
contend for such an absurdity. And were not the functions of
'^ -5^
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 505
the Treasury Department as complex in their character, and as
important to the nation as those of either of these Departments?
The vaults of the Bank are declared by the bill to be the Treasury
of the United States; and must our treasure remain there for
ever under any circumstances, if Congress grant a perpetual
charter to this institution ? To maintain this proposition, would
be to^ transfer the whole power of the Government from its
regularly constituted authorities to incorporations.
Thank Providence, hope begins to beam upon us. From the
moment that I heard the declaration made on this floor by high
authority, that if there was any man in the United States who
had been more strongly committed against a Bank of the United
States than any other man, it was the present President, I have
cherished the idea that, after all, the Senator from Kentucky
would not be able to inflict this odious Bank upon the country.
I believe the gentlemen will yet be defeated, and that the
defeat of this measure instead of being a misfortune, ought to be
hailed as a day of jubilee throughout the land. If capital is un-
employed— if commerce is languishing — if the business of the
country has been arrested ; it is all owing to this special session.
The country only required a short season of repose, after the
late Presidential conflict, to put forth all its energies. But poli-
ticians would not permit this. Agitation — agitation was re-
quired for their benefit ; and this extra session must therefore be
convened. Had Congress not met until December, ere this we
should have seen the business of the country in a comparatively
settled and flourishing condition.
He had intended to have made a reply upon the opening
remark of the Senator's argument, but tlie subject was too grave
for wit ; and if the Senator could raise a laugh by repeating such
a stale and worn out joke as that between the old maid and the
French Minister, he could not envy either the taste of the Sena-
tor or his audience.
[July 13.] Mr. Wright having offered an amendment to
prevent the bank from issuing bills during a suspension of specie
payments —
Mr. Buchanan supported Mr. Wright's amendment. He
asserted that the principal object of granting banking privileges,
so far as the public were concerned, was to secure to the people,
at all times, a paper currency convertible into specie. That the
most effectual security which could be given to insure this, was
to subject the Bank, at the time of its creation, to an irrevocable
506 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
decree that, upon a suspension of specie payments, it must cease
to exist. Then the instinct of self-preservation would induce it
to conduct its affairs in such a manner as to avoid self-destruction.
This provision vi^as not an untried experiment. It had succeeded
admirably in preserving specie payments in New York. He con-
tended that the provision in the charter authorizing Congress to
pass future laws ujion the subject, or authorizing a scire facias to
issue by order of either House, would not produce the effect;
because the Bank would believe that Congress would never act
upon this power. They would indulge the Bank as all State
Legislatures had done. The provision, to be effectual, must be a
self operating provision, which would at once place the Bank
in a state of liquidation after having suspended specie payments
for sixty or ninety days. If this amendment should prevail, it
would be an example for the States by which they could not fail
to benefit. It would prevent combinations among the banks, such
as that which had existed in Philadelphia, arid resulted in a
suspension of specie payments throughout more than half the
Union. Each one must then stand upon its own independent
footing, and act in such a manner as to save itself from destruc-
tion. Had not the sound banks of Philadelphia combined to
save those that were unsound, this suspension would have been
avoided. But these unsound banks had soon afterwards brought
the sound ones to their own level.
[July 14.] Mr. Tappan then moved to amend the bill so as
to add to the last section a proviso that nothing in the act should
be considered as an admission that Congress has not the power
to alter, modify, or repeal the charter.
Mr. T. took the ground that this was an inherent principle
of legislative power. If a law was unconstitutional, it should be
repealed — whenever injurious it should be repealed. In a very
able and clear constitutional argument he illustrated the prin-
ciples of his proposition.
Mr. Buchanan suggested to Mr. T. the propriety of with-
drawing his amendment for the present. It was a very important
one, and might be offered again after we had gone through the
other amendments of minor importance. For his own part he
was willing to vote for the amendment ; but solely on the ground
that this bill would be a transfer of sovereign powers of Govern-
ment to a corporation, and therefore could be revoked by Congress
whenever the public interest demanded it. In this respect it was
wholly different from corporations of a private nature, in rela-
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 507
tion to subjects properly embraced by private contracts. He
trusted his friend would withdraw his amendment for the present.
Mr. Tappan then withdrew it for the present.
[Mr. Clay of Alabama moved to amend the bill by providing that a
suspension of specie payments should be held and adjudged ipso facto a
forfeiture of the bank's charter.]
Mr. Buchanan hoped that his friends on that side of the
House would not object to a modification of the amendment,
which he trusted would meet the concurrence of all sides of the
chamber. He proposed to modify it by declaring that a sus-
pension of payment should be held and adjudged to be cause of
forfeiture.
[The amendment as amended was agreed to without any dissenting
votes. Mr. Clay of Alabama moved to amend the bill so as to prohibit the
deposit of public moneys in the bank in case it failed or refused to discharge
any of its duties in the collection, safekeeping, and disbursement of the public
revenue, or to pay its notes in specie. A debate took place on this motion.]
Mr. Buchanan said he was as much opposed as the Senator
from Kentucky was to piling Pelion upon Ossa, but the Senate
had, by a unanimous vote, declared against the reception of the
notes of the Bank while in a state of suspension, and why should
we deposit the moneys of the Government in her vaults, when
her notes were not received?
[Mr. Clay of Kentucky moved an amendment that, if a suspension of
specie payments should take place during a recess of Congress, the Secre-
tary of the Treasury should have power to make such temporary disposition
of the funds as in his discretion might be deemed expedient. Mr. Clay of
Alabama thought that this left too much to Executive discretion.]
Mr. Buchanan felt bound to say that in any provision that
might be adopted, something would necessarily have to be left
to the discretion of the Executive.
[July 17.] Mr. Buchanan had imagined this was a mis-
take, and that it would be corrected without difficulty. If it was
not a mistake, would any Senator defend it? Did the majority
intend to give the power to the Executive to issue, in addition
to this loan of twelve millions, six or seven millions in Treas-
ury notes? He would yield the floor most cheerfully for an
explanation.
No one could demonstrate the necessity of raising more than
six millions in addition to its present resources to enable the
Treasury to carry on its operations for the year. It was an ele-
ment of British liberty, and of liberty everywhere, that the
508 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
supplies are only provided for the current year, except for perma-
nent appropriations, and beyond that the revenues are in the con-
trol of the Legislature. Now this bill conferred the privilege of
borrowing, in addition to the twelve millions in the bill, six or
seven millions more by the reissue of Treasury notes. For his
own part, he preferred the form of a loan to Treasury notes, but
he thought no Senator would contend for the justice or legality
of reissuing six millions of notes, which this bill provides the
means to redeem. He repeated, that he considered it a mistake,
and hoped there would be no opposition to the amendment.
Mr. Evans thought that gentlemen were laboring under a
great mistake. The Secretary had no power to reissue, except
in the case of the notes which were received in payments for
revenue.
Mr. Buchanan. That's what I mean.
Mr. Wright. Are they not redeemed ?
Mr. Evans said it was not redemption in a technical sense.
There were two modes of redemption — redeeming them when
they were due in coin; and receiving them in payment of cus-
toms. The latter was not a redemption in its technical sense, and
under the law of 1840, the Secretary had the power to reissue
them. Under this Administration he hoped and expected that
none of them would be reissued. There never could be more
than five millions outstanding.
Mr. Wright. Did not the Senator say this morning there
were ten?
Mr. Buchanan was glad to find that the Senator from Maine
and himself agreed on this subject. He never imagined that
when a Treasury note was paid off it could be reissued.
Mr. Woodbury said the Senators were both in error. It
had been the practice, under the law of 1840, to reimburse such
notes as in the words of the act " might be redeemed."
Mr. Evans asked if those which had been redeemed were
reissued.
Mr. Woodbury said they were, if redeemed before they fell
due.
Mr. Buchanan continued. His impression on this matter
agreed with that of the Senator from Maine — that the Secretary
had no power to reissue the Treasury notes which had been re-
deemed. Now what was the bill before us ? It was an authority
to borrow twelve millions of dollars; and in addition to this
amount, which is shown to be twice as much as is necessary, there
1841] A NATIONAL BANK 509
is a power to reissue Treasury notes to the amount of six or
seven millions more. Was that the intention of Senators?
Would they not, if they were now drawing up the bill, prohibit it?
And when the mistake is discovered, will they, on the plea of
urgency, force the bill through, without correcting it? He con-
sidered the discretion proposed to be vested in the Executive, as
of a most dangerous character, as he had no doubt if the Bank
bill passed, every dollar of these Treasury notes would be paid
in — the 5 per cent, loan running for fifteen years would be the
favorite stock, and capitalists would make their investments in it.
Mr. Clay of Kentucky opposed the amendment, on the
ground that it implied a want of honor and bad faith on the
part of the President or the Secretary of the Treasury. But
again, if the amendment were adopted, before the loan could
be effected. Treasury notes might be poured in, and having no
means to redeem them, the wheels of Government would be
stopped ; and this, though he was sure it was not intended, would
be the effect of the Senator's amendment. At last it comes to
this : confidence or no confidence. We have confidence in the
Administration ; the Senators on the other side have none. Then
let them make their propositions, and let us vote them down.
Mr. Buchanan was sorry that the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer manifested so much excitability.
Mr. Clay of Kentucky. Not at all; not at all. I wish I
had a more lady-like manner of expressing myself.
Mr. Buchanan. I am afraid the Senator will lose the proper
intonation of his voice if he pitches it on so high a key.
Mr. Clay. Not unlikely, as you put my voice so often in
requisition.
Mr. Buchanan continued. This question was not to be
carried in a whirlwind, but to be discussed in a calm and quiet
manner. The Senator says that gentlemen manifest a want of
confidence. Was that a principle on which they were to discharge
their constitutional duties in regard to the public money ? As a
Senator of a sovereign State he placed confidence in no Executive.
The doctrine was exploded, and if it ever obtained in this country,
our downward course would soon commence. The question is
whether Congress will confer a great and important legislative
discretion upon the Secretary of the Treasury, which, in his
opinion. Congress should retain in its own hands, and he would
give no vote with more pleasure than one against doing so.
510 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
Mr. Clay (in mellifluous tones) said he would modulate his
voice to suit the delicate ear of the Senator from Pennsylvania.
The Senator says he has no confidence, he would place no confi-
dence in the Executive— that confidence was an unparliamentary
word. Why, the old adage tells us there's honor among thieves,
and there is no association of men but what place confidence in
each other. The true principle of liberty was to limit and control,
but still confide. Did not the Senator vote for every bill to issue
Treasury notes ? That showed some little confidence in the Exec-
utive. Did he not vote for the power of the President to borrow
ten millions of dollars, and to raise forty thousand men, under
certain contingencies? That showed some confidence in the dis-
cretion of the Executive. What was the objection to investing
the present Executive with some small portion of authority and
confidence? He (Mr. Clay) had never said that the Secretary
should reissue notes paid for and redeemed; on the contrary, if
such a course should be pursued by the Secretary, he should deem
him worthy of impeachment.
Mr. Buchanan said he was very glad that he made the
remark on the Senator's manner, as all would admit that it was
greatly improved — being much more didactic, and much more
financial, and this was a proof that a poor critic could sometimes
improve a great author. But oh! for the glowing strains ot
eloquence with which the Senator from Kentucky had, but a
short time since, denounced faith in the Executive, and which
had warmed even his cold blood; but now thei^e is a change in
his opinion upon this subject, and he could not congratulate him
upon it, when his own friends have got the power, and we are
told there is honor among thieves — certainly not intending to
apply it to his own friends.
[July 21.] Mr. Allen having moved to strike out corpora-
tions from among those authorized to take stock in the bank —
Mr. Buchanan said he did not rise to answer any one's objec-
tions to the amendment, but he would briefly state his own reasons
for voting for it. The experience of his own State had been
such that the Legislature had found it necessary to interfere, 'and
prevent the local banks from purchasing stocks of corporate insti-
tutions, except to a very limited amount. He was far from
thinking that this Bank would pay either six or seven per cent,
on its stock. He would not hold out inducements to corpora-
tions to purchase stock that would desert them in the hour of
1841] ' A NATIONAL BANK 511
danger. For this cause, he would not only exclude local banks,
but savings banks, and corporations for the education of youth.
Mr. Buchanan said he had but a single remark to make in
reply to the Senator from Kentucky. This was a matter of
cautious deliberation — the creation of a corporation. By the bill
itself, the Bank was prohibited from investing in State institu-
tions, while State banks were allowed to hold capital in this. Here
was an inconsistency. The subscription of stock in this Bank, by
state corporations, disabled them, to the amount subscribed, from
exercising their full powers. Ought they then to hold out full
inducements to all banks of the United States to take capital
here? That was the question. He had voted for no amendment
of this charter that he did not believe would be essentially bene-
ficial to it, and on that ground he should give his vote for this.
[The amendment was then rejected, by the following vote: yeas, 21;
nays, 25 ; Mr. Buchanan voting in the affirmative.]
Mr. Buchanan offered an amendment to the i8th funda-
mental rule, providing that the Bank should not discount, &c.
when the notes in circulation and the private deposits exceeded
three times the amount of specie in its vaults.
As he was anxious to have the bill taken out of committee
this evening, he should be very brief. There was not one efficient
restriction in this bill, such as banking experience would have
dictated. The capital should be one to three, not only of the
circulation, but also of the deposits — which in this Bank would
be much greater than the circulation.
Mr. Clay of Kentucky said he was surprised that the Sena-
tor had said the Bank was without restriction. The number of
restrictions in the bill the Senator had never conceived of. There
were more restrictions in this bill than in any existing bank he
knew of. With regard to the amendment, its creditor and debtor
circulation were already restricted. How could they regulate the
circulation by this daily and hourly fluctuation of deposits?
How could it be known, when a note was to be issued, how much
deposits were in the branches ? He hoped the amendment would
not be adopted, and that Senators would cease shingling the
bill with amendments.
Mr. Buchanan would not vote for any bank charter in his
own State, whose capital was not to be in proportion to its circula-
512 THE WORKS OF JAMES BUCHANAN [1841
tion and deposits. This was the touchstone of banking, and
without which specie payments could not be continued. He de-
clared again that there was no efficient restriction in this bill.
[The amendment was rejected, by a vote of 22 yeas to 26 nays, Mr.
Buchanan voting in the affirmative.]
Mr. Buchanan then woujd move to make the proportion of
one to four.
Mr. Benton appealed to him not to undertake any further
to lessen the restriction. In England one-third was the least
proportion estimated safe, and he contended this was the least
that should be made. He would throw the responsibility on the
friends of the bill, and as he knew the proposition, if made, would
be lost, he did not wish their votes recorded as agreeing to
any less restrictions.
Mr. Buchanan said a proportion of one to four or five was
better than none, but as his friend differed with him, he would
not press it, as he wanted to keep their little band united.
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