the conduct of that bank and its friends. Let us imitate their zeal, their unanimity, and their perseverance. The amendment and the bill, now before the Senate, embodies our policy. Let us carry them, and the republic is safe.

The extra session had been called to relieve the distress of the federal treasury, and had done so by authorizing an issue of treasury notes. That object being accomplished, and the great measures for the divorce of Bank and State, and for the sole use of gold and silver in federal payments, having been recommended, and commenced, the session adjourned.

CHAPTER XVI.

FIRST REGULAR SESSION UNDER MR. VAN BU-
REN'S ADMINISTRATION: HIS MESSAGE.

culation, which had been dead for thirty years. The accumulation of eighty millions in the brief space of five years, fifteen millions of it in gold, attest the sincerity of their design, and the facility of its execution. The country was going on at the rate of an average increase of twelve millions of specie per annum, when the general stoppages of the banks in May last, the exportation of specie, and the imposition of irredeemable paper upon the government and the people, seemed to announce the total failure of the plan. But it was a seeming only. The impetus given to the specie policy still prevails, and five millions are added to the stock during the present fiscal year. So far, then, as the counteraction of the government policy, and the suppression of the constitutional currency, might have been expected to result from that stoppage, the calculation seems to be in a fair way to be disappointed. The spirit of the people, and our hundred millions of exportable produce, are giving the victory to the glorious policy of our late illustrious President. The other great A BRIEF interval of two months only interconsequences expected to result from that stop-vened between the adjournment of the called sespage, namely, the recharter of the Bank of the sion and the meeting of the regular one; and the United States, the change of administration, general state of the public affairs, both at home the overthrow of the republican party, and the and abroad, being essentially the same at both restoration of the federal dynasty, all seem to periods, left no new or extraordinary measures be in the same fair way to total miscarriage; for the President to recommend. With foreign but the objects are too dazzling to be abandoned powers we were on good terms, the settlement by the party interested, and the destruction of of all our long-standing complaints under Genthe finances and the currency, is still the cher-eral Jackson's administration having left us ished road to success. The miscalled Bank of free from the foreign controversies which gave the United States, the soul of the federal dynas-trouble; and on that head the message had litty, and the anchor of its hopes-believed by many to have been at the bottom of the stoppages in May, and known by all to be at the head of non-resumption-now displays her policy on this floor; it is to compel the repetition of the error of Mr. Madison's administration! Knowing that from the repetition of this error must come the repetition of the catastrophes of 1814, 1819, and 1837; and out of these catastrophes to extract a new clamor for the revivification of herself. This is her line of conduct; and to this line, the conduct of all her friends conforms. With one heart, one mind, one voice, they labor to cut off gold and silver from the federal government, and to impose paper upon it! they labor to deprive it of the keeping of its own revenues, and to place them again where they have been so often lost! This is VOL. II.-5

tle but what was agreeable to communicate. Its topics were principally confined to home affairs, and that part of these affairs which were connected with the banks. That of the United States, as it still called itself, gave a new species of disregard of moral and legal obligation, and presented a new mode of depraving the currency and endangering property and contracts, by continuing to issue and to use the notes of the expired institution. Its currency was still that of the defunct bank. It used the dead notes of that institution, for which, of course, neither bank was liable. They were called resurrection notes; and their use, besides the injury to the currency and danger to property, was a high contempt and defiance of the authority which had created it; and called for the attention of the federal government. The

1

President, therefore, thus formally brought the has a right to reissue these notes now, I can see procedure to the notice of Congress :

never raise to that price; and that the present uniform price, combined with their irregular value, operates to prevent a desirable compact-ty, since the passage of the last pre-emption law, ness of settlement in the new States, and to retard the full development of that wise policy on which our land system is founded, to the injury not only of the several States where the lands lie, but of the United States as a whole.

of graduation be accomplished in this way, and PENNSYLVANIA BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. the objections which have hitherto been urged against it avoided? It would seem to me that such a step, with a restriction of the sales to limited quantities, and for actual improvement, would be free from all just exception."

that it went on exactly as before. Its use of the defunct notes of the expired institution was a further instance of this conduct, transcending any thing conceived of, and presenting a case of danger to the public, and defiance of government, which the President had deemed it his duty to bring to the attention of Congress, and ask a remedy for a proceeding so criminal. Congress acted on the recommendation, and a bill was brought in to make the repetition of the of fence a high misdemeanor, and the officers and managers of the institution personally and individually liable for its commission. In support of this bill, Mr. Buchanan gave the fullest and clearest account of this almost incredible

misconduct. He said:

"Having assumed this responsibility, the duty of the new bank was so plain that it could not have been mistaken. It had a double character to sustain. Under the charter from Pennsylvania, it became a new banking corporation; whilst, under the assignment from the old bank, it became a trustee to wind up the Congress. These two characters were in their concerns of that institution under the Act of nature separate and distinct, and never ought to have been blended. For each of these purposes it ought to have kept a separate set of books. Above all, as the privilege of circulating bank notes, and thus creating a paper currency, is that function of a bank which most deeply and vitally affects the community, the new bank ought to have cancelled or destroyed all the notes of the old bank which it found in its possession on the 4th of March, 1836, and ought to have redeemed the remainder at its counter, as they were demanded by the holders, and then destroyed them. This obligation no senator has attempted to doubt, or to deny. But what was the course of the bank? It has grossly violated both the old and the new charand appropriated to itself all the notes of the ter. It at once declared independence of both, old bank,-not only those which were then still in circulation, but those which had been redeemed before it accepted the assignment, and were then lying dead in its vaults. I have which was ever made by the Bank to the Aunow before me the first monthly statement the 2d of April, 1836, and signed J. Cowperditor-general of Pennsylvania. It is dated on thwaite, acting cashier. In this statement, the Bank charges itself with 'notes issued,' $36,620,420 16; whilst, in its cash account, along with its specie and the notes of State banks, it credits itself with 'notes of the Bank of the United States and offices,' on hand, $16,794,713 71. It thus seized these dead transformed them into cash; whilst the differnotes to the amount of $16,794,713 71, and

"The charter of the late Bank of the United States expired, by its own limitation, on the 3d of March, 1836. After that day, it could issue no notes, discount no new paper, and exercise none of the usual functions of a bank. For two years thereafter, until the 3d of March, 1838, it was merely permitted to use its corporate name and capacity for the purpose of suits for the final settlement and liquidation of the affairs and accounts of the corporation, and for the sale and disposition of their estate, real, personal, and mixed; but not for any other purpose, or in any other manner, whatsoever. Congress had granted the bank no power to make a voluntary assignment of its property to any corporation or any individual. On the contrary, the plain meaning of the charter was, that all the affairs of the institution should be wound up by its own president and directors. It received no authority to delegate this important trust to others, and yet what has it done? On the second day of March, 1836, one day be fore the charter had expired, this very president and these directors assigned all the property and effects of the old corporation to the Penn-ence between those on hand and those issued, sylvania Bank of the United States. On the same day, this latter bank accepted the assignment, and agreed to 'pay, satisfy, and discharge all debts, contracts, and engagements, owing, entered into, or made by this [the old] bank, as the same shall become due and payable, and fulfil and execute all trusts and obligations Its boldness was equal to its utter diswhatsoever arising from its transactions, or regard of law. In this first return, it not only from any of them, so that every creditor or proclaimed to the Legislature and people of rightful claimant shall be fully satisfied.' By Pennsylvania that it had disregarded its trust its own agreement, it has thus expressly creas assignee of the old Bank, by seizing upon ated itself a trustee of the old bank. But this the whole of the old circulation and converting was not necessary to confer upon it that char- it to its own use, but that it had violated one acter. By the bare act of accepting the assign- of the fundamental provisions of its new charment, it became responsible, under the laws of ter." the land, for the performance of all the duties and trusts required by the old charter. Under the circumstances, it cannot make the slightest pretence of any want of notice.

equal to $19,825,706 45, was the circulation from the old. It thus, in an instant, appropriwhich the new bank boasted it had inherited ated to itself, and adopted as its own circulation, all the notes and all the illegal branch drafts of the old bank which were then in exist

ence.

Mr. Calhoun spoke chiefly to the question of the right of Congress to pass a bill of the tenor proposed. Several senators denied that right:

others supported it-among them Mr. Wright, who are subject to the penalties of the bill for Mr. Grundy, Mr. William H. Roane, Mr. John reissuing its notes. They are, pro tanto, our M. Niles, Mr. Clay, of Alabama, and Mr. Cal-officers, and, to that extent, subject to our jurisdiction, and liable to have their acts controlled, houn. Some passages from the speech of the as far as they relate to the trust or agency conlatter are here given. fided to them; just as much so as receivers or collectors of the revenue would be. No one can doubt that we could prohibit them from passing off any description of paper currency that might come into their hands in their official character. Nor is the right less clear in reference to the persons who may be comprehended in this bill. Whether Mr. Biddle or others connected with this bank are, in fact, trustees, or agents, within the meaning of the bill, is not a question for us to decide. They are not named, nor referred to by description. The bill is very properly drawn up in general terms, so as to comprehend all cases of the kind, and would include the banks of the District, should Congress refuse to re-charter them. It is left to the court and jury, to whom it properly belongs, to decide, when a case comes up, whether the party is, or is not, a trustee, or agent; and, of course, whether he is, or is not, included in the provisions of the bill. If he is, he will be subject to its penalties, but not otherwise; and it cannot possibly affect the question of the constitutionality of the bill, whether Mr. Biddle, and others connected with him, are, or are not, comprehended in its provisions, and subject to its penalties."

"He [Mr. Calhoun] held that the right proposed to be exercised in this case rested on the general power of legislation conferred on Congress, which embraces not only the power of making, but that of repealing laws. It was, in fact, a portion of the repealing power. No one could doubt the existence of the right to do either, and that the right of repealing extends as well to unconstitutional as constitutional laws. The case as to the former was, in fact, stronger than the latter; for, whether a constitutional law should be repealed or not, was a question of expediency, which left us free to act according to our discretion; while, in the case of an unconstitutional law, it was a matter of obligation and duty, leaving no option; and the more unconstitutional, the more imperious the obligation and duty. Thus far, there could be no doubt nor diversity of opinion. But there are many laws, the effects of which do not cease with their repeal or expiration, and which require some additional act on our part to arrest or undo them. Such, for instance, is the one in question. The charter of the late bank expired some time ago, but its notes are still in exist ence, freely circulating from hand to hand, and reissued and banked on by a bank chartered by The bill was severe in its enactments, prethe State of Pennsylvania, into whose posses- scribing both fine and imprisonment for the resion the notes of the old bank have passed. In petition of the offence-the fine not to exceed a word, our name and authority are used almost as freely for banking purposes as they were ten thousand dollars-the imprisonment not to before the expiration of the charter of the late be less than one nor more than five years. It bank. Now, he held that the right of arresting also gave a preventive remedy in authorizing inor undoing these after-effects rested on the junctions from the federal courts to prevent the same principle as the right of repealing a law, circulation of such defunct notes, and proceedand, like that, embraces unconstitutional as well as constitutional acts, superadding, in the ings in chancery to compel their surrender for case of the former, obligation and duty to right. cancellation. And to this "complexion" had We have an illustration of the truth of this the arrogant institution come which so lately principle in the case of the alien and sedition acts, which are now conceded on all sides to held itself to be a power, and a great one, in the have been unconstitutional. Like the act incor- government-now borne on the statute book as porating the late bank, they expired by their criminally liable for a high misdemeanor, and own limitation; and, like it, also, their effects giving its name to a new species of offence in continued after the period of their expiration. Individuals had been tried, convicted, fined, and the criminal catalogue-exhumer and resurrecimprisoned under them; but, so far was their tionist of defunct notes. And thus ended the unconstitutionality from being regarded as an last question between the federal government impediment to the right of arresting or undoing and this, once so powerful moneyed corporathese effects, that Mr. Jefferson felt himself compelled on that very account to pardon those tion; and certainly any one who reads the hiswho had been fined and convicted under their tory of that bank as faithfully shown in our provisions, and we have at this session passed, parliamentary history, and briefly exhibited in on the same ground, an act to refund the money this historic View, can ever wish to see another paid by one of the sufferers under them. bill is limited to those only who are the trus-national bank established in our country, or tees, or agents for winding up the concerns of any future connection of any kind between the the late bank, and it is those, and those only, government and the banks. The last struggle

The