Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856 (4 of 16 vol.)

I conceive, then, sir, that we are not empowered by the constitution nor bound by any practice under it, to renew the charter of this bank and I might here rest the argument. But, as there are strong objections to the renewal upon the score of expediency, and as the distresses which will attend the dissolution of the bank have been greatly exaggerated, I will ask your indulgence for a few moments longer. That some temporary inconvenience will arise, I shall not deny; but most groundlessly have the recent failures in New York been attributed to the discontinuance of this bank. As well might you ascribe to that cause the failures of Amsterdam and Hamburg, of London and Liverpool. The embarrassments of commerce, the sequestration in France, the Danish captures – in fine, the belligerent edicts, are the obvious sources of these failures. Their immediate cause is the return of bills upon London, drawn upon the faith of unproductive or unprofitable shipments. Yes, sir, the protests of the notaries of London, not those of New York, have occasioned these bankruptcies.

The power of a nation is said to consist in the sword and the purse. Perhaps, at last, all power is resolvable into that of the purse, for with it you may command almost every thing else. The specie circulation of the United States is estimated by some calculators at ten millions of dollars; and if it be no more, one moiety is in the vaults of this bank. May not the time arrive when the concentration of such a vast portion of the circulating medium of the country in the hands of any corporation will be dangerous to our liberties? By whom is this immense power wielded? By a body who, in derogation of the great principle of all our institutions, responsibility to the people, is amenable only to a few stockholders, and they chiefly foreigners. Suppose an attempt to subvert this Government, would not the traitor first aim, by force or corruption, to acquire the treasure of this company? Look at it in another aspect. Seven-tenths of its capital are in the hands of foreigners, and these foreigners chiefly English subjects. We are possibly upon the eve of a rupture with that nation. Should such an event occur, do you apprehend that the English Premier would experience any difficulty in obtaining the entire control of this institution? Republics, above all other nations, ought most studiously to guard against foreign influence. All history proves that the internal dissensions excited by foreign intrigue have produced the downfall of almost every free Government that has hitherto existed; and yet gentlemen contend that we are benefited by the possession of this foreign capital. If we could have its use, without its attending abuse, I should be gratified also. But it is in vain to expect the one without the other. Wealth is power, and under whatsoever form it exists, its proprietor, whether he lives on this or the other side of the Atlantic, will have a proportionate influence. It is argued, that our possession of this English capital gives us a certain influence over the British Government. If this reasoning be sound, we had better revoke the interdiction as to aliens holding land, and invite foreigners to engross the whole property, real and personal, of the country. We had better at once exchange the condition of independent proprietors for that of stewards. We should then be able to govern foreign nations, according to the arguments of gentlemen on the other side. But let us put aside this theory, and appeal to the decisions of experience. Go to the other side of the Atlantic, and see what has been achieved for us there by Englishmen holding seven-tenths of the capital of this bank. Has it released from galling and ignominious bondage one solitary American seaman, bleeding under British oppression? Did it prevent the unmanly attack upon the Chesapeake? Did it arrest the promulgation, or has it abrogated the Orders in Council – those orders which have given birth to a new era in commerce? In spite of all its boasted effects, are not the two nations brought to the very brink of war? Are we quite sure that, on this side of the water, it has had no effect favorable to British interests. It has often been stated, and, although I do not know that it is susceptible of strict proof, I believe it to be a fact, that this bank exercised its influence in support of Jay's treaty; and may it not have contributed to blunt the public sentiment, or paralyze the efforts of this nation against British aggression?

The Duke of Northumberland is said to be the most considerable stockholder in the Bank of the United States. A late Lord Chancellor of England, besides other noblemen, was a large stockholder. Suppose the Prince of Essling, the Duke of Cadore, and other French dignitaries owned seven-eighths of the capital of this bank, should we witness the same exertions (I allude not to any made in the Senate) to recharter it? So far from it, would not the danger of French influence be resounded throughout the nation?

I shall give my most hearty assent to the motion for striking out the first section of the bill.

Mr. Pope. – Mr. President, in rising on this occasion, I never more entirely obeyed both my feelings and my judgment. The principle involved in the decision about to be given, is in my view of more magnitude than any which has been presented for our consideration since I had the honor of a seat here. It is no less than whether we shall surrender to the State Governments the power of collecting our revenue and rely upon the old system of requisitions. We are called upon to return to that state of imbecility and chaos from which this political fabric was reared by the wisdom and patriotism of the first statesmen of which any age or nation can boast. For twenty years we have collected our revenue, borrowed money, paid our debts, and managed our fiscal concerns through the agency of a national bank. That it has answered the most sanguine expectations of its authors; that it has been well managed, is admitted by the most decided opponents to the renewal of the charter. Although in public debate, in newspapers, court-yards, muster-fields, &c., we have heard much of dangerous powers, violations of the constitution, British influence, and poisonous vipers, &c., &c., which were to sting to death the liberties of the people, yet we find ourselves as free almost as the air we breathe, and hardly subservient to the mildest code of laws by which any nation was ever governed. In the city of Philadelphia, and the State of Pennsylvania generally, where these animals called banks have grown to the most enormous size, we find as sound morals, and as much real practical republicanism, as in those parts of the Union where the rattling of this viper's tail has never been heard, and in point of solid wealth and internal improvements, mark the contrast. We are required to disregard the lessons of that best teacher, experience, and to try some new scheme. However captivating new theories and abstract propositions were a few years since, I believe the thinking men of all parties in the nation are perfectly convinced that one ounce of experience and common matter-of-fact sense is worth more for the purposes of legislation than a ship-load of theory and speculation. We are told that we must force into the vaults of the bank a large portion of the circulating medium, and thereby depress the price of every thing in the market; we must give a shock to credit of every kind, check and embarrass every branch of agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing industry; give up the young mechanics, manufacturers, and merchants with small capitals a prey to the cupidity of moneyed men, who will be tempted to withdraw their funds from trade to speculate on the wrecks of the unfortunate. This is not mere matter of calculation. I only state facts proved to us by the most unquestionable evidence. We are not only, sir, to ruin many innocent and unoffending individuals, but to derange the national finances; and for what is all this to be done? To promote the public good or advance the national prosperity? No, sir, it is not pretended. We are gravely told, that we, the Representatives of the people, must sacrifice the people to save the constitution of the people, whose happiness and welfare it was intended to secure. If this be true, it is indeed a strange Government under which we live. I advance the opinion with confidence, that no principle which, in its practical effects, outrages the common sense and feelings of mankind, can be a sound one, and we ought to examine it well, and hesitate much before we give our assent. To bring distress on the country, not to prevent a violation of any positive provision of the constitution; but to correct what we suppose to have been an erroneous construction of it by our predecessors, of which neither the States nor the people have ever complained, appears to be more nice than wise.

Disguise this question as you will, sir, and still it will clearly appear to be a contest between a few importing States and the people of the United States. Resolutions have been already laid on our table by gentlemen from the two large States; from which instructions have been received in substance, requiring Congress to give up to the State banks the collection of the national revenue. I am, Mr. President, on the side of the people of the United States. This is indeed a question of party, but of a very different character from that which will be attempted to be palmed on the people. It is a contest between the friends and enemies of the Federal Constitution revived; for, if I am not mistaken, the power of laying and collecting imposts and duties was strongly objected to by some of the large States having advantageous seaports, before the constitution was adopted. I am for preserving both the States and the Union. I consider the safety and independence of the several States, and the liberties of the people, inseparably connected with and dependent on the efficiency of the National Government, and it is to me unaccountable that gentlemen in favor of strong measures against foreign nations should be so solicitous to strip the General Government of this very essential part of its power. We were told, a few days since, that our army was so insignificant and contemptible, that it would require a constable, with a search warrant, to find it. I have heard another gentleman of very high standing suggest the propriety of retroceding the ten miles square to the States of Virginia and Maryland. Our gunboats are almost rotten. We have not more frigates and other armed vessels than sufficient to carry our Ministers and diplomatic despatches to foreign courts, and if we yield to the States the collection of our revenue, what will remain of the Federal Government with which the people can identify their feelings or affections? In what will this Government consist? It will be a mere creature of the imagination – a political fiction. And, analogous to the fiction in the action of ejectment, we shall have to suppose its existence, and then bottom our proceedings upon that supposition. If I was hostile to our Federal Union, or wanted to prepare the public mind for a surrender of this happy system of Government, I would join in the hue and cry against this institution; I would support every measure calculated to destroy all confidence in and respect for this Government, both at home and abroad; I would endeavor to produce throughout the country, confusion and disorder, and a state of glorious uncertainty; then persuade the people to seek security and tranquillity under some other form of Government. The transition from a wild, factious democracy, to despotism, is often easy, and generally sudden. The extremes are very nearly allied. A Republican Government, guided by the virtue and intelligence of a nation, is the first of human blessings, but when directed by the angry, vindictive passions of party, the worst of which the imagination can conceive. A republic, to be durable, must inspire confidence and respect. Such instability, such variable, unsettled policy as now appears to be the order of the day, could not have been anticipated by any man blessed with a tolerable degree of faith in the success of this great republican experiment. Mr. President, I have ever been opposed to yielding to the commercial interest an undue influence in this Government, but I am unwilling to make an unnecessary and wanton attack upon them. Coming from an agricultural State, I am not disposed to increase the jealousies which unfortunately exist, and thereby weaken the ties by which these States are held together. I am sensible, too, how much the prosperity of the State I represent depends on a prosperous state of trade, and although the shock from the dissolution of this bank will be first felt in the commercial cities, it must immediately react to the extremes of the empire. I know many are under an impression that Federalists and British agents are to be the victims; but very different will be the result. I refer to the evidence detailed by the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts, (Mr. Lloyd.) But is it possible that an intolerant spirit of party has prepared us for this? Are gentlemen ready to injure their country, weaken our Federal Union, the sheet-anchor of our political safety, to reach their political opponents? I will not believe it. When I see around me some of the soldiers of the Revolution, actuated I am sure by nobler views; when I see the professors of a religion which teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves, I cannot persuade myself that Christian charity, and all the noble, generous feelings of the human heart, are extinguished by this demon, party spirit. If there be a man in the nation who can witness with unfeeling apathy the distresses of his fellow-citizens, he would have figured in Smithfield in the bloody reign of Queen Mary of England, in binding heretics to the stake; or in the sanguinary time of Robespierre, in adding victims to the guillotine; but he is unworthy the blessings of a free Government.

Sir, I address the Senate under circumstances discouraging indeed. I have been told, and on this floor, that debate is useless; that no man's opinion is to be changed; that I shall find verified in the decision of this question the sentiment contained in two lines of Hudibras – "He that is convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." I cannot admit this. I know there are gentlemen fully sensible of the evils about to befall their country, without any obstinate pride to conquer, who would rejoice at being convinced it is in their power to avert them. Let me entreat them to pause and reflect, before they inflict a wound on their country's interest, under the influence of constitutional doubt; and if they err, I would ask them, would it not be more safe and patriotic to err in favor of the people? Permit me now, sir, to redeem this subject from the constitutional difficulties with which it has been encumbered.

To form a correct opinion, we must retrospect the defects of the old Government, and ascertain the remedy which was anticipated in the present constitution. I believe it will be conceded that the great cause of the inefficiency of the former, was not because their principal field of legislation was too limited, but was owing to its dependence on the States for the means to carry their powers into effect. For the truth of this position, I appeal to the history of that day – to the candor of gentlemen who hear me. The present constitution was framed for national purposes, with ample authority to pass all laws necessary and proper for the attainment of its objects, independent of State authority, except so far as expressly made dependent by the constitution. The erroneous impressions with regard to this bank have arisen from ignorance of facts, relative to the practical fiscal operations of the Government, and from confounding an original, independent power, to establish banks and corporations, with a necessary auxiliary to the execution of the powers given. By the constitution it is expressly declared, that Congress shall have power to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry into effect the powers previously enumerated, and all other powers vested in the Government of the United States, or any department or officer thereof. Our power to create a bank is not derived by implication. No, sir. If this express delegation of power had not been inserted, we must have implied the authority to provide the means necessary and proper, &c.

But the Convention, with a full knowledge of the defects of the old Confederation, and deeply impressed with the necessity of an efficient national Government, determined to exclude all doubt by granting to the new Government, in express and unequivocal language, ample authority to use all means necessary and proper for the attainment of the ends for which it was instituted. If a man was requested to look at the constitution and decide whether power is given to Congress to create a bank, or corporations generally, he would answer in the negative. This would very naturally be the answer of most men upon the first blush of the constitution. It is not pretended that Congress have power to create corporations as an independent proposition. The authority to establish a bank or corporations is only contended for so far as it can be fairly considered as a necessary and proper auxiliary to the execution of the powers granted by the constitution. The question of constitutionality depends upon facts, dehors the instrument, of which we must be informed before we decide, and which could not be ascertained before the attempt was made to give motion and energy to this political machinery. If the fact be ascertained, by the best evidence the nature of the subject affords, that a bank is necessary and proper to effectuate the legitimate powers of Government, then our power is express, and we need not resort to implication. To prove to the satisfaction of the Senate and the world, this material fact, will be my business before I request their assent to the position assumed, that Congress have an express power to incorporate a bank. To do this it is indispensable that we should understand the practical financial concerns of the Government, or have the information of those who do. We appropriate money for fortifications on the report of our engineer, Colonel Williams, and for the Capitol, &c., upon the report of Mr. Latrobe. To know how much timber or other materials are necessary for a ship or a house, you must understand the subject yourself, or have the information of those who do. For myself, I am ready to admit that I rely much upon the information and experience of others. To ignorant men, and those who do not profess to be fully acquainted with the nature and management of the national finances, the following evidence is presented. The first, and with many, perhaps the best, not heretofore particularly noticed, which I shall offer, is the Congress of 1781, which established a national bank, called the Bank of North America, during our revolutionary struggle, the utility and necessity of which were ascertained by the experience of that day.

It is worthy of remark, that they created a bank under powers much more limited than ours. That act was not passed precipitately, but was the result of the most mature and deliberate consideration. I beg leave to read the preamble of the law which contains the opinions of that Congress with regard to the utility and necessity of a National Bank. "Whereas Congress, on the 26th day of May last, did, from a conviction of the support which the finances of the United States would receive from the establishment of a National Bank, approve a plan for such an institution, submitted to their consideration by Robert Morris, Esq., and now lodged among the archives of Congress, and did engage to promote the same by the most effectual means; and whereas the subscription thereto is now filled, from an expectation of a charter of incorporation from Congress, the directors and president are appointed, and application has been made to Congress by the said president and directors, for an act of incorporation: and whereas the exigencies of the United States render it indispensably necessary that such an act be immediately passed – Be it therefore ordained," &c. This act passed on the 31st day of December, 1781. And here permit me to observe, that this National Bank, styled the Bank of North America, was not produced by British influence or party spirit. No, sir, the little, slandering, intriguing partyism of the present moment was unknown to the patriots of that awful period. They had no party but their country – liberty and independence were their objects. Their souls were fired with a noble, a generous enthusiasm, on which Heaven looked down with pleasure. It appears from the journals of the Congress of 1781, that the members from every State were unanimous in favor of a National Bank, except Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia – the two members from Massachusetts voted against it, the two members from Pennsylvania were divided – of the four from Virginia, Mr. Madison alone voted against it. Here it is evident that, in the very infancy of our Republic, before indeed it could with propriety be said to be born, when every bosom glowed with enthusiasm for liberty and a pure disinterested patriotism, a National Bank was not thought that dangerous, dreadful monster, which the very wise and exclusive patriots of 1811 are endeavoring to represent it to the American people. And the construction given to the grant of powers in the Articles of Confederation by the Congress of 1781, is strong evidence of our right to establish a bank under a grant of powers much more ample, and with money concerns vastly more extensive and complicated.

The next evidence I shall adduce for the consideration of the Senate, is the opinion of the late General Hamilton, appointed by President Washington, the first Secretary of the Treasury; whose province and duty it was to superintend the national finances. His attention was therefore particularly directed to the subject, and, in a very able report to the first Congress, assembled under the new constitution, he recommended a National Bank. Although opinions have been imputed to this gentleman very foreign to my feelings and notions about Government, yet he has ever been acknowledged, by the candid and liberal of all parties, one of the first American statesmen. For reasons, which it is unnecessary for me to assign, I will not press his opinion upon the attention of the Senate, but will introduce other and perhaps less exceptionable testimony. The Congress of 1791, which incorporated the present bank, merits the highest regard. It was composed of the most enlightened and distinguished men in America, many of whom had been members of the convention, and were fully apprised of the defects of the old and the objects of the new Government. A large majority of both branches voted in favor of the bank. They were not divided on the question by party. Many who have continued with the Republican party under every Administration voted in favor of this bank. Although different speculative or abstract political opinions were then entertained, yet the spirit and passion of party had not diffused itself so generally through the nation as at a subsequent period. The next authority in favor of this bank, and one which must at all times and on all occasions command the highest respect, is no less than our immortal Washington. He was President of the United States in 1791, when this bank law passed. After it had received the sanction of both branches of the Legislature, with that circumspection and prudence which regulated his conduct through life, he consulted the able men who composed his Cabinet Council on the constitutional question; they differed in opinion; he heard their arguments for and against the measure; and, after full consideration, approved the law. I cannot yet, sir, take leave of this very important testimony in favor of the bank. The opinion of our Washington has the strongest claim to our confidence. Let us pause before we disregard his solemn advice. This is the hero who led our armies to victory; this is the Washington, who, at the close of our Revolutionary war, disbanded a disciplined army in the bosom of the Republic, and voluntarily exchanged the splendid robes and ensigns of military power for the plain, humble garb of a private citizen. This Washington, who continued an American, a Republican in heart and in sentiment, until summoned to the mansions of bliss; yes, sir, this illustrious departed hero, this practical statesman, has solemnly declared to the American people that a National Bank is a necessary and proper auxiliary to the execution of the national powers. The last authority I shall particularly notice in support of this institution, is the opinion of the present Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Gallatin. If this gentleman cannot boast of the military laurels which have adorned the brows of the patriots I have mentioned; as a statesman and faithful public servant, he stands inferior to none. Mr. Gallatin, from his first appearance on the theatre of public life, has been considered by all parties an able financier. At a very early period the finances of the United States became the subject of his particular attention and inquiry; the result of which was a treatise, published in 1796, called "Gallatin, on the finances of the United States," in which he gives a decided opinion in favor of this bank. I rely much on his opinion at that period, because it must have been the result of conviction, and not of any party feeling or consideration, as he was then in the minority, and continued in it until the Administration changed. His report to the Senate during the last session of Mr. Jefferson's Administration, and his letter to the committee, show, that time and experience, so far from changing, have confirmed him in the opinion he first formed on the subject; to which I might add every Administration and almost every man practically acquainted with our money concerns. Is not this mass of evidence sufficient to substantiate the facts upon the existence or non-existence of which the constitutionality of this measure depends? I put the question to the candor and good sense of gentlemen, whether they are not satisfied, in the language of the constitution, that a National Bank is necessary and proper to effectuate the legitimate powers of the National Government? If they answer in the negative, I can only say, he who will neither regard the suggestions of experience, nor believe the report of the great political disciples who have gone before us, would not believe though one were to rise from the dead. And what is the answer to all this out of doors? Why, that we are not to be governed by the information or opinion of others, however well acquainted with the subject; we are so self-sufficient as to disregard the best lights which can be presented to us. The cry is up to the hub, down with the bank, huzza for the party! So long, Mr. President, as I shall be honored with a seat in the Senate of the Union, I am determined to respect my station and my own feelings and character too much to be driven along by any such idle, ridiculous clamor.