resolutions ofthe 30th of Novembei', 1830, and 11th of March,
1831, and entertain a full conviction of the necessity of a
renewed attention to the object of those resolutions, and that
the President be authorized and requested to continue his
exertions for the promotion of said object."
Taken in connexion with the nature of the expenditures
heretofore made, as recently disclosed, which the board not
only tolerate, but approve, this resolution puts the funds ofthe
bank at the disposition of the President for the purpose of
employing the whole press ofthe country in the service ofthe
bank, to hire writers and newspapers, and to pay out such
sums as he pleases, to what persons and for wiiat services he
pleases, without the responsibility of rendering any specific
account. The bank is thus converted into a vast electioneer-
130 GLORY OF AMERICA.
ing engine, with means to embroil the country in deadly-
feuds, and under cover of expenditures, in themselves im-
proper, extend its corruption through all the ramifications
of society.
Some of the items for which accounts have been rendered
show the construction whicli has been given to the resolu-
tions, and the way in which the power they confer has been
exerted. The money has not been expended merely in the
publication and distribution of speeches, reports of commit-
tees, or articles written for the purpose of showing the con-
stitutionality or usefulness of the bank ; but publications have
been prepared and extensively circulated, containing the
grossest invectives against the officers of the government,
and the money which belongs to the stockholders and to the
public has been freely applied in efforts to degrade, in pub-
lic estimation, those who were supposed to be instrumental in
resisting the wishes of this grasping and dangerous institu-
tion. As the President of the bank has not been required to
settle his accounts, no one but himself yet knows how much
more than the sum already mentioned may have been squan-
dered, and for which a credit may hereafter be claimed in
his account under this most extraordinary resolution. With
these facts before us, can we be surprised at the torrent of
abuse incessantly poured out against all who are supposed to
stand in the way of the cupidity or ambition of the bank
of the United States? Can we be surprised at sudden and un-
expected changes of opinion in favour of an institution which
has millions to lavish, and avows its determination not to
spare its means, when they are necessary to accomplish its
purposes? The refusal to render an account of the manner
in which a part of the money expended has been applied,
gives just cause for the suspicion that it has been used for
purposes which it is not deemed prudent to expose to the eyes
of an intelligent and virtuous people. Those who act justly
do not shun the light, nor do they refuse explanations when
the propriety of their conduct is brought into question.
With these facts before him, in an official report from the
government directors, the President would feel that he was
not only responsible for all the abuses and corruptions the
bank has committed, or may commit, but almost an accom-
plice in a conspiracy against that government which he has
sworn honestly to administer, if he did not take every step
within his constitutional and legal power likely to be efficient
in putting an end to these enormities. If it be possible, within
the scope of human affairs, to find a reason for removing the
government deposites, and leaving the bank to its own re-
sources for the means of effecting its criminal designs, we
have it here. Was it expected, when the money of the
MEMOIRS OF ANDREW JACKSON. 131
United States was directed to be placed in that bank, that it
would be put under the control of one man, empowered to
spend millions without rendering a voucher or specifying the
object? Can they be considered safe, with the evidence
before us, that tens of thousands have been spent for highly
improper, if not corrupt purposes, and that the same motives
may lead to the expenditure of hundreds of thousands, and
even millions more? And can we justify ourselves to the
people by longer lending to it the money and power of the
government, to be employed for such purposes ?
It has been alleged by some, as an objection to the removal
of the deposites, that the bank has the power, and in that
event will have the disposition, to destroy the state banks
employed by the government, and bring distress upon the
country. It has been the fortune of the President to en-
counter dangeis which were represented as equally alarming,
and he has seen them vanish before resolution and energy.
Pictures equally appalling were paraded before him when
this bank came to demand a new charter. But what was
the result ? Has the country been ruined, or even distressed ?
Was it ever more prosperous than since that act? The
President verily believes the bank has not the power to pro-
duce the calamities its friends threaten. The funds of the
government will not be annihilated by being transferred.
They will immediately be issued for the benefit of trade, and
if the bank of the United States curtails its loans, the state
banks, strengthened by the public deposites, will extend theirs.
What comes in through one bank, will go out through others ;
and the equilibrium will be preserved. Should the bank, for
the mere purpose of producing distress, press its debtors more
heavily than some of them can bear, the consequences will
recoil upon itself, and in the attempt to embarrass the country,
it will only bring loss and ruin upon the holders of its own
stock. But if the President believed the bank possessed all the
power which has been attributed to it, his determination would
only be rendered the more inflexible. If, indeed, this corpora-
tion now holds in its hands the happiness and prosperity of
the American people, it is high time to take the alarm. If the
despotism be already upon us, and our only safety is in the
mercy of the despot, recent developments in relation to his
designs, and the means he employs, show how necessary it is
to shake it off. The struggle can never come with less dis-
tress to the people, or under more favourable auspices, than at
the present moment.
All doubt as to the willingness of the state banks to under-
take the service of the government, to the same extent, and
on the same terms, as it is now performed by the bank of the
United States, is put to rest by the report of the agent recent^:"
132 GLORY OF AMERICA.
employed to collect information; and from that willingness,
their own safety in the operation may be confidently inferred.
Knowing their own resources better than they can be known
by others, it is n-^t to be supposed that they would be willing
to place themselves in a sitii^.tion which they cannot occupy
vv'ithout danger of annihilation or embarrassment. The only
consideration applies to the safety of the public funds, if
deposited in these institutions. And when it is seen that the
directors of many of them are not only willing to pledge the
character and capital of the corporation in giving success to
this measure, but also their own property and reputation, we
cannot doubt that they, at least, believe the public deposites
would be safe in their management. The President thinks
that these facts and circumstances afford as strong a guar-
antee as can be had in human affairs, for the safety of the
public funds, and the practicability of a new system of collec-
tion and disbursement through the agency of the state banks.
From all these considerations, the President thinks that the
state banks ought immediately to be employed in the collec-
tion and disbursement of the public revenue, and the funds
now in the bank of the United States dravrn out with all con-
venient despatch. The safety of the public money, if deposited
in the state banks, must be secured beyond all reasonable
doubts : but the extent and nature of the security, in addition
to their capital, if any be deemed necessary, is a subject of
detail to which the Treasury department will undoubtedly
give its anxious attention. The banks to be employed must
remit the money of the government without charge, as the
bank of the United States now does ; must render all the ser-
vices which that bank now performs; must keep the govern-
ment advised of their situation by periodical returns; in fine,
in any arrangement v.ith the state banks, the government must
not, in any respect, be placed on a worse footing than it now
is. The President is happy to perceive by the report of the
agent, that the banks which he has consulted have, in general,
consented to perform the service on these terms, and that
those in New-York have further agreed to make payments
in London, without other charge than the mere cost of the
bills of exchange.
It should also be enjoined on any banks which may be
employed, that it will be expected of them to facilitate do-
mestic cxchaneres for the benefit of internal commerce: to
grant all reasonable facilities to the payers of the revenue ;
to exercise the utmost liberalitv towards the other state
banks ; and do nothing uselessly to embarrass the bank of the
United States.
As one of the most serious objections to the bank of the
United States is the power vrhich it concentrates, care must
MEMOIRS OF ANDREW JACKSON. 133
be taken, in finding other agents for the service of the
Treasury, not to raise up another power equally formidable.
Although it would probably be impossible to produce such a
result by any organization of the state banks which comd be
devised, yet it is desirable to avoid even the appearance. To
this end, it would be expedient to assume no more power
over them, and interfere no more in their affairs, than might
be absolutely necessary to the security of the public deposites,
and the faithful performance of their duties as agents of the
Treasury. Any interference by them in the political contests
of the country, with a view to influence elections, ought, in
the opinion of the President, to be followed by an immediate
discharge from the public service.
It is the desire of the President that the control of the banks
and the currency shall as far as possible be entirely separated
from the political power of the country, as w^ell as wrested
from an institution which has already attempted to subject
the government to its will. In his opinion, the action of the
general government on this subject, ought not to extend
beyond the grant in the constitution, which only authorizes
Congress ' to coin money and regulate the value thereof;"
all else belongs to the states and the people, and must be
regulated by public opinion, and the interests of trade.
In conclusion, the President must be permitted to remark,
that he looks upon the pending question as of higher consi-
deration than the mere transfer of a sum of money from one
bank to another. Its decision may affect the character of
our government for ages to come. Should the bank be suf-
fered longer to use the public money, in the accomplishment
of its purposes, with the proofs of its faithlessness and cor-
ruption before our eyes, the patriotic among our citizens will
despair of success in struggling against its povv'er, and we
shall be responsible for entailing it upon our country for ever.
Viewing it as a question of transcendent importance, both in
the principles and consequences it involves, the President
could not in justice to the responsibility which he ov/es to
the country, refrain from pressing on the Secretary of the
Treasury his view of the considerations which impel to
immediate action. Upon him has been devolved by the con-
stitution and the suffrages of the American people, the duty
of superintending the operation of the Executive Depart-
ments of the government, and seeing that the lavv's are faith-
fully executed. In the performance of this high trust, it is
his undoubted right to express to those Vv'hom the laws and
his own choice have made his associates in the administra-
tion of the government, his opinion of their duties under cir-
cumstances as they arise. It is this right which he now
exercises. Far be it from him to expect or require that any
12
134 GLORY OF AMERICA.
member of the cabinet should, at his request, order, or dic-
tation, do any act which he believes unlawful, or in his con-
science condemns. From them, and from his fellow citizens
in general, he des'res only that aid and support which their
reason approves, and their conscience sanctions.
In the remarks that he has made on this all-important
question, he trusts the Secretary of the Treasury will see only
the frank and respectful declarations of the opinions which
the President has formed on a measure of great national
interest, deeply affecting the character and usefulness of his
administration ; and not a spirit of dictation, which the Pre-
sident would be as careful to avoid, as ready to resist.
Happy will he be, if the facts now disclosed produce unifor-
mity of opinion, and unity of action, among the members of
the administration.
The President again repeats, that he begs his cabinet to
consider the proposed measures as his own, in the support of
which he shall require no one of them to make a sacrifice of
opinion or principle. Its responsibility has been assumed,
after the most mature deliberation and reflection, as necessary
to preserve the morals of the people, the freedom of the press,
and the purity of the elective franchise, without which all
will unite in saying that the blood and treasure expended by
our forefathers in the establishment of our happy system of
government, will have been vain and fruitless. Under these
convictions, he feels that a measure so important to the
American people cannot be commenced too soon; and he
therefore names the first day of October next as a period
proper for the change of the deposites, or sooner, provided
the necessary arrangements with the state banks can be
made.
ANDREW JACKSON.
An opinion has been already given on the above docu-
ment. That opinion is not changed by after and more
mature consideration ; but, this occurrence may give rise
to the inquiry, whether the Secretary of the Treasury is,
in all cases, the absokite dictator of the measures which
shall be pursued, so far as the safety of the funds is con-
cerned. As a member of the cabinet, he is, or "may be, a
mere cipher, an instrument to be used by the Executive,
for the gratification of his caprice, or for sinister purposes.
The document speaks for itself : the whole that is known,
is before a public capable of pronouncing a righteous de-
cision.
MEMOIRS OF ANDREW JACKSON. 135
Perhaps three pages can hardly be filled to better pur-
pose, than by extracts from the Veto Message, comprising
some of its more prominent facts and arguments.
"The present corporate body, denominated the Presi-
dent, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the United
States, will have existed, at the time this act is intended to
take effect, twenty years. It enjoys an exclusive privileo-e
of banking under the authority of the General Govern-
, ment, a monopoly of its favour and support, and, as a
necessary consequence, almost a monopoly of the foreio-n
and domestic exchange. The powers, privileges, and
favours bestowed upon it, in the original charter, by in-
1 creasing the value of the stock far above its par value,
: operated as a gratuity of many millions to the stock-
holders.
I "An apology may be found for the failure to guard
agamst this result, in consideration that the effect of the
original act of incorporation could not be certainly fore-
seen at the time of its passage. The act before me pro-
poses another gratuity to the holders of the same stock,
and, ni many cases, to the same men, of at least seven
millions more. This donation finds no apolooy in any
uncertainty as to the effect of the act. On all hands it is
conceded that its passage will increase, at least twenty or
thirty per cent, more, the market price of the stock, subject
! to the payment of the annuity of 200,000 per year,
secured by the act ; thus adding, in a moment, one fourth
to its par value. It is not our own citizens only who are
to receive the bounty of our government. More than eio-ht
millions of the stock of this bank are held by foreigners.
By this act the American republic proposes virtually to
make them a present of some millions of dollars. 'For
these gratuities to foreigners, and to some of our own
opulent citizens, the act secures no equivalent whatever.
j They are the certain gains of the present stockholders
' under the operation of this act, after making full allow-
ance for the payment of the bonus.
"Every monopoly, and all exclusive privileges, are
granted at the expense of the pubhc, which ought to re-
ceive a fair equivalent. The many millions which this
!
136 GLORY OF AMERICA.
act proposes to bestow on the stockholders of the existing
Bank, must come, directly or indirectly, cut of the earn-
ings of the American people. It is due to them, there-
fore, if their government sell monopolies and exclusive I
privileges, that they should at least exact for them as
much as they are worth in open mark-et. The value of
the monopoly in this case may be correctly ascertained.
The twenty-eight millions of stock would probably be at
an advance of fifty per cent., and command m market at
least forty-two millions of dollars, subject to the pa^mient
of the present bonus. The present value of the mono-
poly; therefore, is seventeen millions of dollars, and this
the act proposes to sell for three millions, payable in fif-
teen annual instalments of 8200,000 each."'
'But this act does not permit competition in the purchase
of tliis monopoly. It seems to be predicated on the erro-
neous idea, that the present stockholders have a prescrip-
tive right, not only to the favour, but to the bounty of
government. It appears that more than a fourth part of
the stock is held by foreigners, and the residue is held by
a few hundred of our o^^^l citizens, chiefly of the richest
class : for their benefit does this act exclude the whole
American people from competition in the purchase of this
monopoly, and dispose of it for many millions less than it
is worth. This seems the less excusable, because some
of our citizens, not now stockholders, petitioned that the
door of competition might be opened, and ofier to take a
charter on terms much more favourable to the government
and country.
' But this proposition, a-lthoug-h made by men whose ag-
^regate Vv'ealth is believed to be equal to all the private
stock in the existing" Bank, has been set aside, and the
bounty of our government is proposed to be again bestow- \
ed on the few who have been fortunate enough to secure
the stock, and, at this moment, wield the power of the ex-
isting institution. I cannot perceive the justice or policy
of this course. If our g-overnment must sell monopolies,
it would seem to be its duty to take nothing less than their
full value ; and if gratuities must be made once in fifteen
or twenty years, let them not be bestowed on the subjects
MEMOIRS OF ANDREW JACKSOX. 137
of a foreign government, nor upon a designated and fa-
voured class of men in our own country. It is but justice
and good policy, as far as the nature of the case will ad-
I mit, to confine our favours to our own fellow citizens, and
let each in his turn enjoy an opportunity to profit by our
bounty."
" If a State Bank in Philadelphia, owe the Bank of the
United States, and have notes issued by the St. Louis
Branch, it can pay the debt with those notes ; but if a
merchant, mechanic, or other private citizen, be in like
circumstances, he cannot by law pay his debt with those
notes, but must sell them at a discount, or send them to
St. Louis to be cashed. This boon, conceded to the State
Banks, though not unjust in itself, is most odious, because
it does not measure out equal justice to the high and low,
the rich and the poor. To the extent of its practical ef-
fect, it is a bond of union among the banking establish-
ments of the nation, erecting them into an interest, sepa-
rate from that of the people, and its necessary tendency is
to unite the Bank of the United States and the State Banlcs
i in any measure which may be thought conducive to their
common interest."
12*
!
133 6L0tlY OF AMERICA*
Tour of the Preside?it, in 1833.
The travels of natioijal executives, whether in Mo-
narchical Europe, or Republican America, excite much
attention, furnishing the subject matter of many columns
in the public papers, and food for much private gossip.
The sayings and doings of bodies corporate and incorpo-
rate the bills of expense the replies to loyal and pom-
pous addresses the various travels, parades, and " moving-
accidents,'* serve to gratify curiosit}^ and " kill time," that
ever vigilant enemy to the idle and thoughtless. That a
tour of observation might, if properly conducted, be a
source of much real benefit to our country, is freely a.d-
mitted ; but that a race against time, through crowds of
soldiers, citizens, and bevies of females, can answer any
valuable national purpose, is entirely beyond our feeble
ken.
We give below, a sketch of the travels of the President
and his party, and a 77iore particular detail of the events
of his sojourn in New York, for obvious reasons. First,
and all suiiicient, we give as a reason, that six pages is all
which Vv^e can occupy on this subject. Secondly, the sub-
stance of all the honours paid him in his route, may be
gathered from these particulars, if we except the diploma
constituting him L. L. D. conferred on him by the Cani-
brids-e Universitv.
Yv'e could urge an objection against the increasing evil
of aping the empty pageantry of eastern countries, but we
leave to the good sense of our readers to gather the moral
from the fact.
The wdiole route extended from Y\~ashingtGn cily to
Concord, Massachusetts. On the 6th of June, he v.rs
received v;ith eveiy demonstration of respect bv the consti-
tuted authorities of Baltimore, thirty-six miles from Wasl:
ington. Of his reception in Philadelphia, the Pcnnsylva
nian thus speaks :
' Altogether, the reception of the President in this city, hna
been equal in enthusiasm to that of Lafayette in 1S24. The
feeling pervaded all classes ; no coldness vnus moriKst from
MeMOIUS of ANDREW JACKSON. 139
any. There seemed to be a general effort to be foremost in
rendering honour to him to whom honour is due. The hostility
lately manifested against him and his patriotic efforts, has
melted away like frost before the sun, and the people have
proved, that although gratitude may have slumbered, it is not
dead ; that although they were temporarily misled, they are
not to be kept from the right path."
The following account is copied from a daily paper,
published in New York :
RECEPTION OF THE PRESIDENT.
TFIE DAY.
Never, within our recollection, have we experienced more
beautiful weather than yesterday. The previous rain had
laid the dust, and the streets through which the procession
was to pass, being swept, and in the best possible order, every
thing conspired to facilitate the previous arrangements. The
wind blew a gentle breeze, sufficient for the various craft
under way to work lively, and the temperature was neither
too hot nor too cold for comfort.
THE SHIPPING.
At sunrise the flags were displayed from the forests of
masts that crowd our wharves : and from eveiy liberty pole,
the principal hotels, and flag staffs, the American flag was
seen waving. A number of vessels in the stream were beau-
tifully dressed with the flags of all nations.
PREPARATIONS.
The city appeared alive, from sunrise to sunset. The mili-
tary were all under arms at 10 A. M., parading the streets ;
crowds followed, and every thing had the appearance of a
gala day. At noon, business was wholly suspended ; me-
chanics, artisans, and labourers, all left their work. The
Exchange and Wall street, was nearly deserted, and a large
concourse were seen moving to the great centre, Broadway.
The Battery, and Broadway to the Park, with all the wharves,
vessels, tops and windows of houses, appeared black with
the population of the city. Every carriage, cart, stage,
wagon, and other vehicle, appeared to have got into Broad-
way, both sides of which were lined to such a degree, that it
appeared impossible to move. In the centre of the street a
small line was kept open for the procession to pass.