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circumstances these were received, is not now sufficiently ascer tained.

But before these resolutions are rejected, on the ground that they may shield the treasury department from responsibility, it ought to be clearly shown that they are capable of such a construction. The mere passing of any resolution cannot have that effect. A declaration of what ought to be done does not necessarily imply any sanction of what has been done. It may sometimes imply the contrary. These resolutions cannot be made to imply any more than this, that the financial affairs of the country are in such a condition that the revenue cannot be instantly collected in legal currency. This they do imply, and this I suppose almost all admit to be true. An instantaneous execution of the law, without warning or notice, could in my opinion produce nothing, in a portion of the country, but an entire suspension of payments.

But to whose fault it is owing that the affairs of the country are reduced to this condition, they do not declare. They do not prevent, or in any degree embarrass, future inquiry on that subject. They speak to the fact that the finances are deranged. They say, also, that reformation, though it must be gradual, ought to be immediately begun, and to be carried to perfection in the shortest time practicable. They cannot by any fair construction be made to express the approbation of Congress on the past conduct of any high officer of government; and if the time shall ever come when this House shall deem investigation necessary, it must be a case of very unpromising aspect, and of most fearful issue, which shall afford no other hope of escape than by setting up these resolutions by way of bar to an inquiry.

Nor is it any objection to this measure that inquiry has not first been had. Two duties may be supposed to have rested on the House: the one, to inquire into the origin of the evil, if it needed inquiry; and the other, to find and apply the remedy. Because one of these duties has not hitherto been discharged, is no reason why the other should be longer neglected. While we are deciding which to do first, the time of the session is going by us, and neither may be done. In the mean time, public mischiefs of unknown magnitude and incalculable duration threaten the country. I see no equivalent, no consolation, no mitigation, for these evils in the future responsibility of departments. Let

gentlemen show me any responsibility which will not be a name and a mockery. If, when we meet here again, it shall be found that all the barriers which have hitherto, in any degree, restrained the emissions of a paper money of the very worst sort, have given way, and that the floods have broken in upon us and come over us, if it shall be found that revenues have failed, that the public credit, now a little propped and supported by a state of peace and commerce, has again tottered and fallen to the ground, and that all the operations of government are at a stand, what then will be the value of the responsibility of departments? How great, then, the value of inquiry, when the evil is past prevention, when officers may have gone out of place, and when, indeed, the whole administration will necessarily be dissolving by the expiration of the term for which the chief executive magistrate was chosen? I cannot consent to stake the chance of the greatest public mischiefs upon a reliance on any such responsibility. The stakes are too unequal.

As to the opinion advanced by some, that the object of the resolutions cannot in any way be answered, that the revenues cannot be collected otherwise than as they are now, in the paper of any and every banking association which chooses to issue paper, it cannot for a moment be admitted. This would be at once giving up the government; for what is government without revenue, and what is a revenue that is gathered together in the varying, fluctuating, discredited, depreciated, and still falling promissory notes of two or three hundred distinct, and, as to this government, irresponsible banking companies? If it cannot collect its revenues in a better manner than this, it must cease to be a government. This thing, therefore, is to be done; at any rate it is to be attempted. That it will be accomplished by the treasury department, without the interference of Congress, I have no belief. If from that source no reformation came when reformation was easy, it is not now to be expected. Especially after the vote of yesterday, those whose interest it is to continue the present state of things will arm themselves with the authority of Congress. They will justify themselves by the decision of this House. They will say, and say truly, that this House, having taking up the subject and discussed it, has not thought fit so much as to declare that it is expedient ever to relieve the country or its revenues from a paper-money system. Whoever

believes that the treasury department will oppose this tide, aided as it will be by strong feeling and great interest, has more faith in that department than has fallen to my lot. It is the duty of this House to interfere with its own authority. Having taxed the people with no light hand, it is now its duty to take care that the people do not sustain these burdens in vain. The taxes are not borne without feeling. They will not be borne without complaint, if, by mismanagement in collection, their utility to government should be lost, and they should get into the treasury at last only in discredited and useless paper.

A bank of thirty-five millions has been created for the professed purpose of correcting the evils of our circulation, and facilitating the receipts and expenditures of government. I am not so sanguine in the hope of great benefit from this measure as others are. But the treasury is also authorized to issue twenty-five millions of treasury-notes, eighteen or twenty millions of which remain yet to be issued, and which are also allowed by law to be received for duties and taxes. In addition to these is the coin which is in the country, and which is sure to come forth into circulation whenever there is a demand for it. These means, if wisely and skilfully administered, are sufficient to prevent any particular pressure, or great inconvenience, in returning to the legal mode of collecting the revenue. It is true, it may be easier for the people in the States in which the depreciated paper exists to pay their taxes in such paper than in the legal currency of treasury-notes, because they can get it cheaper. But this is only saying that it is easier to pay a small tax than to pay a large one, or that money costs more than that which is less valuable than money, a proposition not to be disputed. But a medium of payment convenient for the people and safe for the government will be furnished, and may everywhere be obtained for a reasonable price. This is all that can justly be expected of Congress. Having provided this, they ought to require all parts of the country to conform to the same measure of justice. If taxes be not necessary, they should not be laid. If laid, they ought to be collected without preference or partiality.

But while some gentlemen oppose the resolutions because they fix a day too near, others think they fix a day too distant. In my own judgment, it is not so material what the time is, as

it is to fix a time. The great object is to settle the question, that our legal currency is to be preserved, and that we are not about to embark on the ocean of paper money. The State banks, if they consult their own interest, or the interest of the community, will dispose of their government stocks, and prepare themselves to redeem their paper and fulfil their contracts. If they should not adopt this course, there will be time for the people to be informed that the paper of such institutions will not answer the demands of government, and that duties and taxes must be paid in the manner provided by law.

I cannot say, indeed, that this measure will certainly produce the desired effect. It may fail. Its success, as is obvious, must essentially depend on the course pursued by the treasury department. But its tendency, I think, will be to produce good. It will, I hope, be a proof that Congress is not regardless of its duty. It will be evidence that this great subject has not passed without notice. It will record our determination to resist the introduction of a most destructive and miserable policy into our system; and if there be any sanction or authority in the Constitution and the law, if there be any regard for justice and equality, if there be any care for the national revenue, or any concern for the public interest, let gentlemen consider whether they will relinquish their seat here before this or some other measure be adopted.

THE REVOLUTION IN GREECE.

THE rise and progress of the revolution in Greece attracted great attention in the United States. Many obvious causes contributed to this effect, and their influence was seconded by the direct appeal made to the people of America, by the first political body organized in Greece after the breaking out of the revolution, viz. "The Messenian Senate. of Calamata." A formal address was made by that body to the people of the United States, and forwarded by their committee (of which the celebrated Koray was chairman), to a friend and correspondent in this country. This address was translated and widely circulated; but it was not to be expected that any great degree of confidence should be at once generally felt in a movement undertaken against such formidable odds.

The progress of events, however, in 1822 and 1823, was such as to create an impression that the revolution in Greece had a substantial foundation in the state of affairs, in the awakened spirit of that country, and in the condition of public opinion throughout Christendom. The interest felt in the struggle rapidly increased in the United States. Local committees were formed, animated appeals were made, and funds collected, with a view to the relief of the victims of the war.

On the assembling of Congress, in December, 1823, President Monroe made the revolution in Greece the subject of a paragraph in his annual message, and on the 8th of December Mr. Webster moved the following resolution in the House of Representatives:

"Resolved, That provision ought to be made, by law, for defraying the expense incident to the appointment of an Agent or Commissioner to Greece, whenever the President shall deem it expedient to make such appointment."

These, it is believed, are the first official expressions favorable to the independence of Greece uttered by any of the governments of Christendom, and no doubt contributed powerfully towards the creation of that feeling throughout the civilized world which eventually led to the battle

* A Speech delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States, on the 19th of January, 1824.

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