H. or R.

Compensation of Members.

MARCH, 1816.

relation to the Constitutional powers of the President. The best and wisest men in this country have always thought his power so great as to render it ultimately dangerous. What then is to the country; perhaps to endanger it. The only safe control is in the character, experience, and intelligence of this House. Whenever this House is properly composed, when it contains a sufficient number of men of ability, experience, and integrity, it of necessity will give direction to public affairs; but a weak and inexperienced House necessarily falls under Executive control. The increased pay is calculated to draw men of abilities into this House; and, what is of equal importance, to keep them here until they are matured by experience. What is the usual fact? Young men of genius, without property, for in four instances in five, such is the case with genius, are elected; being tempted into public service by the honorable desire of acquiring distinction in the service of the country; they remain here until they have acquired some experience, and begin to be useful to the country; but are finally compelled to return to private life from the inadequacy of the pay. It is a great public misfortune; it is highly injurious to the proceedings of this House. Ever since he had known the body, there had been no want of talent; but the want of experience had often been felt. If we are wise, we will, as far as possible, attract and secure ability and integrity in the public service. Providence intended them, as the best gift to the nation, for that purpose; and any

plastering over a vote for the taxes by saving this miserable pepper corn to the Treasury. The gentleman had advised us to go home and consult our constituents. Consult them for what? For four-pence-half-penny? Instead of receiv-be done? To weaken it, would be to weaken ing instructions from his constituents on this subject, Mr. R. said he should instruct them. He was an enemy, he said, to that self-denying principle which had given rise to the great military usurpation in England, which in the revolution was one of the chief agents in the hands of that hypocritical demagogue-a man whose talents almost redeemed his vices-commonly called Oliver Cromwell. Mr. R. adverted to the salaries of other officers of our Government, of whom even many clerks and doorkeepers received more than the members of Congress, and said that Congress was the only branch of the Government whose compensation had not been increased; so that they could at least say they had not began with themselves. This, said he. we have let alone until the gentleman from Kentucky, (Mr. JOHNSON,) with a gallantry that belongs to him, flung himself into the breach to repair it or perish in it. Another argument in favor of a 'liberal salary was, that it is the only way to counteract Executive influence in this House-not the necessary and proper influence-by placing every member above the temptation of office, &c. Mr. R. said his only objection to the bill was that it had not made the compensation $2,500, instead of $1,500; then a man might come here with a prospect of something like the comforts of home. At present all the charities of life were broken by it; wife, children, and family were all aban-people, as they use or neglect them, flourish or doned. He would also advert, though it was a subject of some delicacy, to the demoralizing effect of being separated from home for six months in the year. Nullius jurare in verba magistri; he hoped the gentleman (Mr. HUGER) would pardon him for quoting Latin in that House. Mr. R. concluded by saying that the honorable gentleman (Mr. HUGER) had greatly mistaken the powers of his logic and eloquence if he supposed the bill could be overturned by them.

Mr. CALHOUN said, so far as this bill proposed to increase the compensation to members, he was in favor of it, because he thought the present pay very inadequate to the dignity of the station, and far short of the time, labor, and sacrifice required. He thought $1,500 would be found not sufficient, and would prefer, on the ground of a due compensation, as well as regard to principle, $2,500. He said on principle, for in the fixing the pay of members heretofore, it had not been sufficiently attended to. Our extent, population, and wealth made a strong Executive necessary; and we accordingly find the framers of our Constitution have made that the preponderating part of our Government. It constitutes a branch of the Legislature, and has besides the whole patronage of Government, while the other branches have naked power only, without patronage or influence. He did not complain of any undue influence of Executive power now; he wished not to be so understood, as he was speaking solely in

decay. Another view of this subject, connected with the great extent of our Republic, made it expedient. A majority of the members come from three to eight hundred miles. In serving the country, they are not only obliged to be absent a great part of the year from their families; but what is almost equally distressing, to be absent a great distance. We serve at the expense of the best sympathies of our nature; we are far removed from the centre of that system of social feelings, which at once constitutes the solace and ornament of our nature. The best dispositions are the most sensible to this sacrifice; and are by it most likely to be driven out of the councils of the nation. This state of things ought to be counteracted as far as possible; the condition of a member ought to be made more desirable than at present; he ought at least to be able to have his family about him, which he cannot, at the present pay, without ruin, unless he be a man of property. For these reasons he thought the measure a wise one, and to be highly republican. It had for a long time been felt to be necessary. It was worthy of the disinterested gallantry of the member who had introduced it.

Mr. KING, of Massachusetts, was in favor of the bill, because it would shorten the sessions of Congress. If the measure was necessary at all, he asked if it was not as necessary for the present as a future Congress? For one, he was not afraid to trust himself in making compensation; be

cumstances) to take a seat in this House. It was the true Republican principle; for otherwise the Government would degenerate into an aristocracy. But though such were his opinions on this subject, without deciding whether a per diem allowance or annual compensation were preferable, he could not vote for any bill which gave additional compensation to himself. He had been elected under the expectation of receiving six dollars per day for his services; he could not think himself justified in increasing it. Gentlemen had termed this a squeamish delicacy. He had from his childhood been taught on all occasions of this kind that it was safest to err on the side of delicacy. He should therefore vote in the negative, though he would have had no objection to an increase of the allowance to members if its operation were postponed to a future Congress.

MARCH, 1816.

right, he should vote for it now; because if not applied to the present Congress, he did not know that it would ever do any good. He thought its immediate operation was the best part of the plan, and he should therefore vote for it.

Mr. SHARPE wished publicly to express his gratitude to his friend and colleague (Mr. JOHNSON of Kentucky) for bringing forward the proposition; and he was willing to go even further. The Constitution had provided that the compensation of Congress should be fixed by law, and if this measure was right, as had been conceded, was it proper to postpone its application to a succeeding Congress? One word, he said, as to the propriety of the compensation. If gentlemen wished to arrive at civilization it was not by imitating savage life. The American people ought to be known by another principle, and be distinguished as well for dignity of character, liberality, and civilization, as for the wisdom of their political institutions. The same solicitude ought to be felt in legislation to cherish talent, and to employ it, as in other branches of the Government. The question was then put, on the passage of the bill, and decided in the affirmative-ayes 81, noes 67, as follows:

Mr. GASTON Opposed the bill, not because he thought the pay too high-he believed it not high enough-but because it contemplated a mode radically wrong. He thought the services of members ought to be paid for according to those services, and not by an annual salary. To enforce this opinion, Mr. G. used various arguments. He did not believe the country would be benefitted by facilitating legislation; even if it YEAS-Messrs. Alexander, Atherton, Baylies, Betts, were true that the bill would produce that effect; Birdsall, Bradbury, Breckenridge, Brown, Calhoun, which he did not believe; because no Congress, Champion, Chappell, Chipman, Clarke of North Caroas a body, could ever have protracted the session, lina, Clark of Kentucky, Clayton, Clendennin, Condict, and remained here, for the sordid motive sup- Conner, Creighton, Culpeper, Davenport, Gold, Grosposed. The comforts of home would hasten them venor, Hardin, Henderson, Hopkinson, Hulbert, Irving away if nothing else. In North Carolina, said of New York, Jackson, Jewett, Johnson of Kentucky, Mr. G., from an ill-judged parsimony, the mem-Kent, Kerr of Virginia, King of Massachusetts, King bers were not allowed sufficient compensation to defray their expenses, and the effect was that the public business was hurried through improperly. He denied that the compensation of members by an annual stipend would accord with the genius of our Government; and advocated the per diem mode, as preferable in every view which he could take of the subject.

son.

Mr. YANCEY said he would vote with his colleague, (Mr. GASTON,) but for a very different reaHe thought the compensation, and had always thought it, inadequate. A member ought to have enough to compensate him for his services to his constituents and country. If the motion made yesterday to postpone the operation of the bill to the next Congress had prevailed, he would have been willing to vote for two thousand dollars instead of fifteen hundred. He was not afraid of despatching public business too fast, and he believed the proposed measure would produce that effect more than the previous question. Fix a salary, said he, and remove all obstacles to attention in the House, and business would be greatly facilitated. Mr. Y. repeated that, if not applied to the present Congress, he would support the bill, convinced that it was proper. He repelled the possible imputation of voting from an over-nice conscience-he imputed to none the desire to run after an unworthy popularity, and he should not incur such a suspicion himself.

Mr. CULPEPER said, that believing with his colleague (Mr. YANCEY) that the measure was

of North Carolina, Law, Lovett, Marsh, Mayrant,
McLean of Kentucky, McLean of Ohio, Middleton,
Milnor, Moore, Moseley, Nelson of Massachusetts,
Newton, Noyes, Ormsby, Parris, Pickens, Pickering,
Pitkin, Randolph, Reed, Robertson, Sergeant, Savage,
Sharpe, Sheffey, Smith of Pennsylvania, Smith of
Maryland, Stearns, Sturges, Taggart, Tallmadge, Tate,
Taul, Taylor of South Carolina, Thomas, Throop,
Ward of Massachusetts, Ward of New York, Webster,
Wendover, Wheaton, Thomas Wilson, Woodward,
Wright, and Yates.

NAYS-Messrs. Adgate, Baer, Barbour, Bassett, Bateman, Bennett, Blount, Boss, Burnside, Cannon, Cilley, Clopton, Comstock, Crawford, Crocheron, Cuthbert, Darlington, Desha, Edwards, Forney, Forsyth, Gaston, Glasgow, Goldsborough, Goodwyn, Griffin, Hale, Hall, Hammond, Hawes, Herbert, Huger, Hungerford, Ingham, Johnson of Virginia, Langdon, Lewis, Love, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Lyle, Lyon, Maclay, Mason, McCoy, Piper, Root, Ross, Smith of Virginia, Southard, Stanford, Strong, Taylor of New York, Telfair, Townsend, Tucker, Vose, Wallace, Ward of New Jersey, Whiteside, Wilcox, Wilde, Wilkin, Williams, Willoughby, William Wilson, and Yancey.

SATURDAY, March 9.

Mr. LOWNDES, from the Committee of Ways and Means, reported a bill to repeal the act entitled "An act to provide additional revenues for defraying the expenses of Government and maintaining the public credit, by laying duties on household furniture, and on gold and silver watches;" which was read twice, aad committed to the

MARCH, 1816.

National Bank.

Committee of the Whole on the report of the Committee of Ways and Means upon the subject of revenue.

H. of R.

after the return of Mr. C. to Kentucky, he made an address to his constituents, in which he gave the substance of it, as follows:]

On one subject, that of the Bank of the United

Mr. LOWNDES also reported a bill to abolish the existing duties on spirits distilled within the Uni-States, to which, at the late session of Congress,

ted States, and to lay other duties in lieu of those he gave his humble support, Mr. CLAY felt parat present imposed on licenses to distillers of spi- ticularly anxious to explain the grounds on which rituous liquors; which was read twice and com- he had acted. This explanation, if not due to his mitted to the Committee of the Whole last men-own character, the State and the district to which tioned. he belonged had a right to demand. It would have been unnecessary if his observations, addressed to the House of Representatives pending the measure, had been published; but they were not published, and why they were not published he was unadvised.

On motion of Mr. INGHAM, the Secretary of the Treasury was directed to report to the next session of Congress whether any, and, if any, what alterations are necessary to equalize the duty on the capacity of stills, boilers, and other implements used in distillation.

On motion of Mr. LOWNDES, the Committee of Ways and Means were instructed to inquire into the expediency of exempting from the payment of duties, the carriage of His Excellency Mr. Gore, Governor of the British Province of Upper Canada, who landed at New York and passed through the State of New York, in the month of August or September last, on his way to his Government.

When he was a member of the Senate of the United States, he was induced to oppose the renewal of the charter to the old Bank of the United States, by three general considerations: The first was, that he was instructed to oppose it by the Legislature of the State. What were the reasons that operated with the Legislature, in giving the instruction, he did not know. He had understood from members of that body, at the time it was given, that a clause, declaring that The bill from the Senate "in addition to the Congress had no power to grant the charter, was act entitled 'An act concerning the Navy Pen-stricken out; from which it might be inferred, sion Fund," was read twice and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

Mr. JACKSON, from the committee to whom was referred the bill from the Senate "to extend certain privileges as therein mentioned to Bernard Edme Verjon," reported the same with amendments; which were read and agreed to, and ordered to be engrossed, and the bill read the third time on Monday next.

either that the Legislature did not believe a bank to be unconstitutional, or that it had formed no opinion on that point. This inference derives additional strength from the fact, that, although the two late Senators from this State, as well as the present Senators, voted for a National Bank, the Legislature, which must have been well ap prized that such a measure was in contemplation, did not again interpose, either to protest against the measure itself, or to censure the conduct of those Senators. From this silence, on the part of a body which has ever fixed a watchful eye upon the proceedings of the General Government, he had a right to believe that the Legislature of The intervening orders of the day were post- Kentucky saw, without dissatisfaction, the proponed, and the House resolved itself into a Com-posal to establish a National Bank; and that its mittee of the Whole, on the National Bank bill. Mr. CADY offered an amendment to prevent the establishment of more than one branch of the bank in any one State.

An engrossed bill, entitled "An act for the relief of Gustavus Loomis," was read the third time and passed.

NATIONAL BANK.

The motion was opposed by Messrs. CALHOUN, BRADBURY, and WRIGHT; and supported by Messrs. CADY and CULPEPER; and then negatived without a division.

After some unimportant amendment, and the bill having been gone through, the question was stated on the Committee's rising and reporting it to the House, when Mr. CLAY rose and delivered at length his sentiments in favor of the bill, its principle and details.

A desultory debate followed, between Mr. JACK SON, Mr. CLAY, and Mr. RANDOLPH, on one or two points of Mr. CLAY's arguments-Mr. RANDOLPH touching incidentally on the bill itself. After which, the Committee rose and reported progress.

[The speech delivered on this occasion, by Mr. CLAY, appears not to have been reported, and, of course, cannot be inserted as uttered in the House; but,

opposition to the former one was upon grounds of expediency, applicable to that corporation alone, or no longer existing. But when, at the last sesIsion, the question came up as to the establishment of a National Bank, being a member of the House of Representatives, the point of inquiry with him was, not so much what was the opinion of the Legislature, although, undoubtedly, the opinion of a body so respectable would have great weight with him under any circumstances, as what were the sentiments of his immediate constituents. These he believed to be in favor of such an institution, from the following circumstances: In the first place, his predecessor (Mr. HAWKING) voted for a National Bank, without the slightest murmur of discontent. Secondly, during the last Fall, when he was in his district, he conversed freely with many of his constituents upon that subject, then the most common topic of conversation, and all, without a single exception, as far as he recollected, agreed that it was a desirable, if not the only efficient remedy for the alarming evils in the currency of the country.

H. OF R.

National Bank.

MARCH, 1816.

give effect to the latter, which necessity is to be sought for and ascertained by a sound and honest discretion, it is manifest that this necessity may not be perceived, at one time, under one state of things, when it is perceived, at another time, under a different state of things. The Constitution, it is true, never changes-it is always the same; but the force of circumstances, and the lights of

And, lastly, during the session he received many letters from his constituents, prior to the passage of the bill, all of which concurred, he believed, without a solitary exception, in advising the measure. So far, then, from being instructed by his district to oppose the bank, he had what was perhaps, tantamount to an instruction to support it-the acquiescence of his constituents in the vote of their former Representative, and the commu-experience, may evolve to the fallible persons nications, oral and written, of the opinions of them in favor of a bank.

charged with its administration, the fitness and necessity of a particular exercise of constructive power to-day, which they did not see at a former period.

The next consideration which induced him to oppose the renewal of the old charter, was, that he believed the corporation had, during a portion Mr. C. proceeded to remark, that, when the apof the period of its existence, abused its powers, plication was made to renew the old charter of and had sought to subserve the views of a politi- the Bank of the United States, such an institution cal party. Instances of its oppression, for that did not appear to him to be so necessary to the purpose, were asserted to have occurred at Phil- fulfilment of many of the objects specifically enuadelphia and at Charleston; and, although denied merated in the Constitution, as to justify Coain Congress by the friends of the institution, dur-gress in assuming, by construction, a power to ing the discussions on the application for the re-establish it; it was supported mainly upon the newal of the charter, they were, in his judgment, ground that it was indispensable to the Treasury satisfactorily made out. This oppression, indeed, was admitted in the House of Representatives, in the debate on the present bank, by a distinguished member of that party which had so warmly espoused the renewal of the old charter. It may be said, what security is there that the new bank will not imitate this example of oppression? He answered, the fate of the old bank-warning all similar institutions to shun politics, with which they ought not to have any concern; the existence of abundant competition, arising from the great multiplication of banks, and the precautions which are to be found in the details of the present bill.

operations. But the local institutions in the several States were, at that time, in prosperous existence, confided in by the community, having a confidence in each other, and maintaining an intercourse and connexion the most intimate. Many of them were actually employed by the Treasury, to aid that Department in a part of its fiscal arrangements; and they appeared to him to be fully capable of affording to it all the facility that it ought to desire in all of them. They superseded, in his judgment, the necessity of a national institution. But how stood the case in 1816, when he was called upon again to examine the power of the General Government to incorporate a National Bank? A total change of circumstances was presented-events of the utmost magnitude had intervened.

A third consideration upon which he acted in 1811 was, that, as the power to create a corporation, such as was proposed to be continued, was not specifically granted in the Constitution, and A general suspension of specie payments had did not then appear to him to be necessary to taken place, and this had led to a train of consecarry into effect any of the powers which were quences of the most alarming nature. He beheld, specifically granted, Congress was not authorized dispersed over the immense extent of the United to continue the bank. The Constitution, he said, States, about three hundred banking institutions, contained powers delegated and prohibitory enjoying, in different degrees, the confidence of powers expressed and constructive. It vests in the public, shaken as to them all, under no direct Congress all powers necessary to give effect to control of the General Government, and subject enumerated powers; all that may be necessary to to no actual responsibility to the State authoriput into motion and activity the machine of Gov-ties. These institutions were emitting the actual ernment which it constructs. The powers that currency of the United States; a currency conmay be so necessary, are deducible by construc- sisting of a paper, on which they neither paid intion; they are not defined in the Constitution; terest nor principal, whilst it was exchanged for they are, from their nature, indefinable. When the paper of the community, on which both were the question is in relation to one of these powers, paid. He saw these institutions, in fact, exercisthe point of inquiry should be, is its exertion ne-ing, what had been considered at all times, and cessary to carry into effect any of the enumerated in all countries, one of the highest attributes of powers and objects of the General Government? sovereignty-the regulation of the current meWith regard to the degree of necessity, various rules have been, at different times, laid down; but, perhaps, at last there is no other than a sound and honest judgment exercised under the checks and control which belong to the Constitution and the people.

The constructive powers being auxiliary to the specifically granted powers, and depending for their sanction and existence upon a necessity to

dium of the country. They were no longer competent to assist the Treasury, in either of the great operations of collection, deposite, or distribution of the public revenues. In fact, the paper which they emitted, and which the Treasury, from the force of events, found itself constrained to receive, was constantly obstructing the operations of that Department; for it would accumulate where it was not wanted, and could not be