a- % ur>v &*^*& i^» Glass. Book 1 VJ •me***r*0immmmmmm SPEECH OF THE HOW. WILLIAM SMITH, M DELIVEREB OH l&OtfDAY, AUGUST 1, 1831, AT A MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF SPANTANBURG DISTRICT, AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF "PRINTED AT THE JOURNAL OFFICII, 1831, > I ■38^ t>6£ *> w X* \5 O 1^ ON the first Monday in August, upwards of 1,500 citizens of Spartanburg District, assembled at this village for the purpose of expressing, by Resolutions, their decided opposition to the doctrine of "Nullification," now so vehemently urged upon the public mind by a certain portion of our politicans. The assemblage was so great that they had to retire to a plea- sant grove, adjacent to the village, where they were addressed in succession by H. H. Thompson, Esq. of Spartanburg Dis- trict, by Judge Smith of York District, and by Honorable W* T* Nuckolls, of Union District, SPEECH OF MR. SMITH. FELLOW-CITIZENS,— I have not come here by the invita- tion of your Committee of Arrangement, nor by the invitation of any other citizen of your District. I heard ot your intended meeting and its object, and have volunteered my attendance ; and by your indulgence have been called upon to address you. I an, for'that purpose, and have no hesitation to avow it. I had bee associated with you in various political relations. I had for; merly presided in your Courts. I had been your Senator n th Congress of the United States. I am now, and have been fo. more than forty years ago, associated with you in the same Con gressional Election District. These I calculated, as I hay, found it, would shield me from the imputation of an intrude! But I ea dilated on another reason, a little stronger still, to sh.eh me from that imputation. I believed that there existed betwee, ™ . kindred sympathy for the safety of our country, and a du position to co-operate in the best means to preserve our happ; Union and I came, not under a belief that I could pour out Union, ami j. •-<"■"=, , m n ds captive, o inrrent of eloquence, b) wnicn 10 ieau ;»«■ r > prostrate you? reasoning faculties, and prose yte you to ne ndunheadof doctrines; but I came, my fellow-citizens, t m"„ "le my humble voice with yours, in deprecating the .leva. S doctrine of "Nullification," now stalking through yo» lounfry, d squlting the peaceful repose of your honest citizens and f not an-ested by the good sense of our f ^° n < " „;.,- mrst inevitably produce a dissolution of the Union, or "ate of civil war To reflecting minds these alternatives pr. SC ffta" NuUificalton first made its appearance among us, it w no i a spirit of conciliation and respect for the honest opinio, of others but it bursted .forth with nny.e ding intolerance ar t advocates have assume*, with unwearied coldness, the do trines which they taught Cue people to contemn ; have usurp, v HI see in- earnestness the very characters winch they bran, Id wth reproach ; and with an unusual self-eomplaseney to eo. win ai ' virtuous appellation that marks t! taken to themselves every " dres? _inthisborrd^ natriot and the statesman. inuiisii.»«"» a 11 mole they have slept in our path, and cry out, "follow , Follow us! amiall will be well ;" at the same time unblushing V 6 denouncing erafy man^vho refuses to embrace the new political faith, as a submission mdf^—a coward — a federalist — a tory — an advocate for non-resistance and perfect obedience, or some such reproachful epithet calculated to force him into their ranks to escape their scourge, or to disgrace him, and render any ar- guments he might offer against "nullification" unavailing, and a thousand other misrepresentations — in the division of which they have heaped on myself, with an unsparing hand, characters and epithets which never belonged to me, to which I have al- ways acted in direct opposition, and which they had but just shaken from their own shoulders. Had nullification slumbered, where its advocates left it after the proposition for Convention had failed, I should cheerfully have permitted those misrepresentations and calumnies to have slept with it. But unfortunately for the repose of this commu- nity, it has recently been revived with renovated vigor. Their public speakers are abroad — convention is no longer spoken of, but nullification is loudly proclaimed. As I cannot subscribe to doctrines which I conceive to be fraught with consequences so disastrous to this Union, I only desire, by bringing to view those unwarrantable attacks, to call the attention of a liberal communi- ty to what may happen in future. And should I communicate any thing upon this important question, they may give to it such consideration as it may. claim, and not permit it to be lost in calumny and reproach. I lay no claim to infallibility — I ask no exemption from just remarks ; on the contrary, I acknowledge that men in public stations are justly subject to public animadversions, whensoever they permit themselves to indulge in maintaining and inculcating, at different periods, different political creeds upon the same po- litical subject. It holds in check the wily and ambitious politi- cian, and corrects the errors of the honest statesman. But when a public man's conduct is called in question it ought to be sup- ported by facts, not by assertions of men who have no regard for fair dealing. There are several statesmen among us who have been amonor your most decided Tariff and Internal Improvement men. They were the first to concede the power to the General Government 3ver the Tariff and Internal Improvement, and certainly the first ;o propose nullification as a means of regaining it by the States. [ intend to bring to public view their distinct opinions as given jy themselves on both sides. I shall do it respectfully, because hev are held up both at public festivals and in legislative speeches, as illustrious examples for our imitation in. the nullifi- cation doctrine. The statesmen, to whom I allude, arc the Vice President, Cal- loun. the Hon. George MTKiffie, Governor Hamilton, General "Robert Y. Haync, and Governor Miller. They are uniformly toasted together on all public occasions, as the great men of the nation. Mr. IT. L. Pinkney in his legislative speech on nullifi- tion, during last winter, triumphantly exclaims: "If I err, I have the consolation, at all events, to know, that I am with many of our purest patriots and most distinguished statesmen. With Mr. Calhoun — with Mr. M'Duffie — with Mr. Hamilton, and with Mr. Miller." — [See his Speech, public debates, page 122.] I mean to oiler nothing but fair extracts from their own printed speeches, and their own printed books, written by themselves, and their own votes as recorded in the Journals of Congress, or from the most authentic sources. I will, in all cases, give the authority where the extracts are to be found, by which any person may ad- vert to the original, and examine the whole doctrine for himself. This will be doing them complete justice, and of which I am sure they will not complain. And as they are so often referred to •as political guides to lead us through this "mazy dance," if it can be clearly demonstrated that they have been mistaken them- selves, and have distrusted their own first and long entertained -opinions, and have totally abandoned them, and assumed new opinions directly opposite, whatever distinctions they may other- wise have attained, they certainly have no claims as distinguish- ed (juides. Before I go into a detailed history of the Tariff and Internal Improvement principles of those gentlem :n, permit me, without entering upon a formal self-defence, to give my own creed upon the same subject. I cannot do it letter t-han by repeating what I have constantly repeated, and what I have uniformly declared: That I have been an unceasing advocate for abolishing all pro- tecting duties, on whatsoever laid* and in whatsoever state they may operate. That I have been unceasingly opposed to the In- ternal Improvement system in all its forms. I have been so op- posed, because I most conscieniiously believed them both to be unconstitutional, and in their operation unequal, therefore un- just, and peculiarly oppressive to th„ Southern States, without affording those States any of the benefits intended to flow from < item of policy. And, furthermore, because I saw in that policy the degradation of my country. I commenced my opposi- tion to Internal Improeement with my first political breath. I opposed the famous "Bonus Bill," in my maiden spekch, within three weeks after I entered the Senate. I commenced my op- position to the Tariff the next session thereafter, on a pr opposi- tion to lay an additional duty on Iron. I have preserved with ardour in that opposition tip to the present moment. I have served ten years in the Legislature of the State, and I have served twelve years in the Senate of the United States, and without fear of contradiction I assert, they cannot prod^po 8 one instanee in which I have given different votes on the same subject at different times — yet the constant slang of the nullify- ing gentlemen, is, that I have abandoned my former principles and become a Tariff man. Their change of opinion cannot be better illustrated than by comparing the opinions they have respectfully held an:l acted upon at one period, with the opinions they have held and acted upon at another period, upon the same subject, the subject of the Tariff and Internal Improvement. When I shall have done this, I shall have done all I have promised to do. It will remain for others to account to the people for their mutations. MR. CALHOUN'S TARIEF OPINIONS IN 1810. Mr. Calhoun, after the bill which laid the foundation of the Tariff of 181G, had been fully discussed by other gentlemen, made a speech in support of it, from which the following is an extract: "The debate heretofore on this subject has been on the degree "of protection which ought to be afforded to our cotton and wool- len manufacturers. He regretted much his want of prepara- tion. But whatever his arguments might want on that account "in weight, he hoped might be made up in the disinterestedness "of his situation. He was no manufacturer; he was not from "that portion of our country supposed to be peculiarly interest- ed. Coming, as he did, from the South ; having, in common "with his immediate constituents, no interest but in the culti- vation of the soil, in selling its products high, and buying cheap "the wants and conveniencies of life, no motives could be attri- "buted to him, but such as were disinterested." — [Sec his Speech, Nat. Int. 22d April, 1816. MR. CALHOUN ON THE TARIFF IN 1828. Mr. Calhoun continued to be the unwavering advocate of a protecting Tariff until 1828, four years after the Tariff of 1834, which fixed the system upon us. He then spoke freely of nul- lification, and the repeal of the 25th section of the act of 17$?, and of deciding the constitutionality of the Tariff laws by the verdict of a jury, on the revenue bonds ; and in the autumn of that year, he wrote his famous "Exposition," which gave the first impulse to nullification. The following are extracts from it: "The government has no mines. Some one must bear the "burdens of its support. This unequal lot is ours. We are the "serfs of the system, out of whose labour is raised not only the "money that is paid into the Treasury, but the funds out of "which are drawn the rich reward of the manufacturer and his "associates in interest. The encouragement is our discourage- men." — [Exposition, page 11. MR. CALHOUN IN 1816. "Manufactures fostered, the former will find a ready market 9 -'For his surplus produce, and, what is aimost of equal conse- quence, 'a certain and cheap supply of ail his wants. Thus "situated, the storm may beat without, but within all may be "quiet and safe. To give perfection to this state of things, it "will be necessary to add, as soon as possible, a system of In- eternal Improvement. But it lias been objected, that the conn- "try is not prepared for manufacturing, and that the result of "our premature exertion would be to bring distress on it, with- "out effecting the intended object. But he coucd not for a mo- "ment yield to the assertion — on the contrary, he firmly believed "that the country is prepared, even to maturity, for the intro- "duction of manufactures. It will introduce a new era in our "affairs, in many respects highly advantageous, and ought to be "countenanced by the government." — [His Speech, IS at. Intel. 2'2d April, 1816. MR. CALHOUN IN 1828. "Their object in the Tariff is to keep down foreign competition, "in order to obtain a monopoly of the domestic market. The "effect on us is to compel us to purchase, at a high price, both "what we purchase from them and from others, without receiv- ing a corresponding increase of price from what we sell." — [His Exposition, pa ge li. "We already see indications of the commencement of a com- "mercial warfare, the termination of which cannot be conjectur- "ed, though our fate may easily be. The last remains of our "great and once flourishing agriculture, must be annihilated in "the conflict." — [Exposition, page 12. MR. CALHOUN IN 1816. "But it will no doubt be said, if manufactures are so far es- tablished, and if the situation of the country is so favorable to "their growth, where is the necessity of affording them protec- tion. It is 'o put them beyond the reach of contingency." — [See Nat. Int. 2M April, 1816. MR. CALHOUN IN 1828. "It has already been proved that our contribution through the "Custom House to the Treasury of the Union amounts annually "to $16,658,000, which leads to the enquiry, what becomes of "the amount of the products of our labor, placed by the opera- "tion of the system at the disposal of Congress. One point is "certain, a very small share returns to us, out of whose labor it "is extracted." — [Exposition, page 14. MR. CALHOUN IN 1816. "Besides, circumstances, if we act with wisdom, are favorable "to attract to our country much skill and industry. The coun- "try in Europe, having the most skilful workmen, is broken up. "It is to us, if wisely used, more valuable than the repeal of the "edict of Nantz was to England. She had the prudence to profit 10 "by it: let us not discover less political sagacity. Afford to in- "genuity immediate and ample protection, and they will -not - "fail to give a preference to this free and happy country." — [See Nat. Int. Z'M April, 1810. MR. CALII017N IN 1828. "Our very complant is that we are not permitted to consume ":he fruits of our labour ; but through an. artful and complex sys- tem, in violation of every principle of justice they are transfer- red from us to others.'"— Exposition, page 15. MR. CALHOUN IN 1810. "Manufacture? produced an interest strictly American, as "much so as agriculture^ in which it had the decided advantage "of commerce and navigation. The country, from this will de- rive much advantage."— [See Nat. Int. ZM April, 1816. MR. CALHOUN IN 1823. "But the existence of the right of judging of their powers, "clearly established from the sovereignty of the States, as clear- "7y implies a veto, or control on the action of the General Gov- "ernment on contested points of authority ; and this very con- trol is the remedy which the constitution has provided to pre- "vent the encroachment on the reserved right of the Stales."— \ Exposition, page 30. A MR. CALHOUN IN 1816. "Again, it is calculated to bind together more closely our wide- ly spread republic. It will greatly increase our mutual de- pendence and intercourse ; and will, as a necessary conse- "ouence, excite an increased attention to Internal Jmprove- "ment, a subject every way so intimately connected with the ul- timate attainment of our national strength and the perfection "of our political institutions. He regarded the fact that it would "make the parts adhere more closely, that it would form a new "and most powerful cement, far out weighing political cbjec- "tions that might be urged against the system."— [See Nat. Int. 22i April, 1816. MR. CALHOUN IN 1828. "The co itinuance of this unhuppp state must end in the loss "of all affection, leaving the government to be sustained by force "instead of patriotism. In fact, to him who will duly reflect, it "must be apparent, that where there ore important separate in- terest to preserve, there is no alternative but a veto or military "force."— [Sec Exposition, page 56. * I have given Mr. Calhoun's opinions of 1810 and ot lfcWS— a paragraph from the one, and a paragraph from the other, alter- natly { and assuredly they are as opposite as it is possible forooiuionstobe— and here I will leave him for the present, and examine his votes upon the Tariff whilst he was a member of our Confess, in 1816. It has been said by Mr. Calhoun s 11 friends, that the Tariff of 1816 was not a Tatiff of protection bat to reduce the duties which were laid to support the war.— His votes will prove that his object was to increase the dudes, and that for the express purpose of raising up the "American' System" in favor of the manufacturers. The duty on salt was intirely a war duty. Previous to the war salt paid no duty. la 181(5, more than a year after the war terminated, Mr. Calhoun voted: "To continue in force the act laying a duty on imported salt ; "granting a bounty on picket fish exported", and allowances to' "certain vessels employed in the fisheries." — [See Jour. II. R. 1st Session, \4tk Congress, page 188. An amendment was proposed,' by the committee of the whole, to reduce the duty on iron in bars and bolts from seventy-live cents per hundred weight to forty-five cents. "Mr. Calhoun voted against reducing the duty, and left it "seventy-five cents, instead of forty-five cents," which has since increase.! to one hundred and seventy-five cents per hundred.— [Jour. II. R. 1st Session, ]4th Congress, page 582. It was proposed to amend the bill by reducing the duty on brown sugar from four cents per pound to two cents per pound. "Mr. Calhoun voted for the four cents per pound instead of "two cents per pound."— [Jour. II. R. 1st Sess. 14th Congress page 58 1. ° It was then proposed by Mr. Huger, (S. C.) to reduce the duty on woollen manufactures from. twenty-five cents to twenty cents "advalorcju.'" "Mr. Calhoun voted for twenty-five cents duty in preference "to twenty cents."— Journ. IL it. Ut.Sess. Uth Con. pagetiM. Mr. Calhoun voted to increase the duties on salt,' iron and brown sugar, and on coarse woollen and coarse cotton (roods, and voted for the final passage of the bill, with all its burdens MR. CALHOUN ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. The effect of the Internal Improvement in keeping U r) the Tariff, is but little understood. The Tariff will 'give way 'at once, if you could put an end to Internal Improvement. It "is a fact not to be doubted, that no m mey whatever, but the neces- sary expenditures of the government, except what is expended for making roads and canals, is derived from the Tariff. Mr. Calhoun has silently passed over this subject in his "Expositia pr. M'Duffie, his friend, lias said, that Internal Improvement was first proposed as a system,, by Mr. Calhoun. Mr. Calhoun laid its foundation in his speech on the Tariff of 1816. He there connected their fortunes together, and made Internal Improve- ment to depend on the Tariff. And at the next, succeeding Ses- sion of Congress he made Hie folllowing motion: "That a committee be appointed to enquire into the expedi- 12 «encv of setting apart the Bonus, and the nett annual profits ot "the National Bank, as a permanent fund for Internal Improve- «ment."-J " sure you feel that it is not unbecoming the condition of colonial "vassalage to which our state is reduced, that we should mingle "even with the festivities of the hospitable board, the solemn "consideration of the nature and extent of our grievances, and- " tn^ means by which our violated rights can be most successful-. " ly reclaimed and secured." — See his Charleston dinner Spceeh.' MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1821. " And do we not see almost passing before us, in this tranquil " period of peace, an example of State insubordination. The* "laws of the Union, clothed with the most solemn sanctions of. "the constitution, have been under the extreme pressure of. "local embarrassment, absolutely resisted by the State authori-i "ties — After. the supreme tribunal of the country -, pronounced. " an act of Congress constitutional, arid consequently the supreme- " law of the land, a State Government has openly opposed its.. " execution. It will be readily understood that I allude to the " embarassing conflict of authority between the General Gov-* "ernment and the State of Ohio, in relation to the National "Bank. And I hesitate not to pronounce it one of the most por- tentous events that has occurred since the adoption of the< ' Federal Constitution. For if after the National Judiciary 15 M have solemnly affirmed the constitutionality of a law. it is» " still to be resisted by the State rulers, the constitution is litter " ally at an end; a revolution of the Government is already ac- " complished, and anarchy waves his horrid sceptre over the "'broken alters of this happy Union!" — l)neofthcPconlc,pagc 15 MR. MDTJFFJfi IN 1831. "We vainly boast of the blessings of self Government, when ■"those who are directly interested in our destination, are dis- ** posing of our rights at their pleasure, and actually immolating "them at the shrines of avarice and ambition. In this state of " things a very grave and awful responsibility devolves upon the " sovereignty of South Carolina: that of interposing its sacred " shield to protect our citizens from plunder and oppression, and "ultimate ruin. I believe this to be one of these great emcr- " gencies in human affairs, which impose an imperative obliga- " tion upon the sovereign power of the Stale, to take care that " the republic receive no detriment." — His Spree!: in Charleston , Mil. M'DUFFIE IN 1821. "You assert that when any conflict shall occur between the "General and State Governments, as to the extent of their res- "«jJeetive powers, "each party have a right to judge for itself. " I confess I am at a loss to know how such a proposition ought " to be treated. No climax of political heresies can be imagined, " in which this might not fairly claim the most prominent place. " It resolves the government, at once, into the elements of phy- " sical force ; and introduces us directly into a scene of anarchy "and blood. There is not a single power delegated to the "General Government, which it would not be in the power of "every State Government to destroy, under the authority of " this licentious principle." — [One of the People, page 10, MR. M'DUFFIF/IN 1831. " We hear our oppressors, and not unfreqhently our own citi- " zens, very gravely talking about the treason and rebellion of "resisting the unconstitutional acts of Congress, by interposing " the sovereign power of the State, precisely as the Fmglish op- pressors of our ancestors and the tories of that day talked " about the treason and rebellion of resisting our sovereign Lord " the King. But thanks to our illustrious and heroic ancestors, " the States are no longer Co]onies. Where, then, is the diffi- culty,, and where the danger of interposing the sovereign power " of the State, in a case of acknowledged injustice and oppres- sion, perpetrated in opposition to the; most solemn guarantees " of the covenant of the Union? Allow me to tell you that there "is no teal difficulty or danger in the matter, that a freeman " should regard for a moment." — [His Speechin Charleston, MR. M'MUFFJE FN I8'21. ■' Up-jn the discretion of Congress in "laying and collecting J 6 "taxes," and "in raising and supporting armies," there a re k« " restrictions but those imposed by nature. Congress may push "these powers to the utmost verge indicated by the physical "capacity of the country. They may, upon the slightest occa- sion, and for the most unwise, improvident, and wicked ends, " draw from the people (of the States too !) the uttermost far- " thing that can be spared from their suffering families, to fill the " natural coffers, and call out the last man that can be spared "from raising the necessaries of life, to fill the national armies " and fight the battles of ambitious rulers. And all this, however "inexpedient, unjust, and tyrannical, they can do, without tran- " scending the limits of their constitutional authority. The " General Government is thus invested, {safely and constitu- " iionally invested,) with an unlimited command over the purse "and the sword of the nation." — [One of the People, page 8. Can any thing transcent this surrender of power made to the General Government ? I here leave Mr. M'Duffie's "One of the People," and will draw on his speech in Congress, made upon the powers of the General Government over Internal Improve- ment. MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1624, "I confidently assert, that this Government is as popular in " its organization and as safe a depository of power as a State " Government." — [His Speech in Congress on Internal Im- provement. " I am clearly of opinion, that, under the general power to "raise and appropriate money to "promote the common de- " fence and general welfare," Congress has the power to ap- " priate money for making roads and canals, with the consent " of the States in which these works may be executed, without " reference to any of the specific grants of power." — [His Speech on Internal Improvement, page 15. "My position is, that Congress has power to raise and appro- " priate money to carry into effect the other powers expressly " granted, and also to promote " the general welfare" so far as " it can be promoted by money merely." — [His Speech on In- ternal Improvement, page 1G. MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1831. "Those who dare not openly vindicate tyranny and justify "oppression, exclaim in the most patriotic agonies, the "Union, " the Union, the Union is in danger. The Union, such as the " majority have made it, is a foul monster, which those who "worship, after seeing its deformity, are worthy of their " chains." — [See his Charleston Dinner Speech. " Whatever they may pretend, and whatever they may believe, " those are not the true friends of a constitutional Union, who " recommend passive obedience to every act of tyranny and op- 1* * v preg'9iou, perpetrated in the name of that t7nioti. But dig- " union is not the worst of the spectral dangers that have been •• conjured up by our adversaries. Frightful pictures of war and ** blood are presented to alarm the timid, and it is with deep V mortification that I acknowledge that many have been imposed * upon by so shallow an artifice. "-[His Charleston dinner speech MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1824. "Though I have deemed it important to show that this Gor- " eminent has the power to execute Internal Improvements, "with the consent of the States in which they may be made, I M confess I deem it of much more importance to establish its ab- " solute and sovereign power to make such roads and canals as "are requisite and proper for giving a salutary efficiency to the "great powers expressly conferred upon it, "in order to form "a more perfect union," and perpetuate the blessings of liber- " ty." — [See his Speech on Internal Improvement, page 20. "Indeed, I am satisfied that the proposition, that power is e&- " sential to liberty, will be found to be philosophically true, upon " the fullest examination."- — [See his Speech on Internal Im- provement, page 26. " The course of argument, which denies to this Government " the power to make Internal Improvements, is too refined and " metaphysical for the comprehension of the people, and as far "as my observation has extended, it is almost entirely confined "to the politicians. Tell a plain man that the Government. has " not this power, and you will strike him with astonishment."-— [See his Speech on Internal Improvement, pages 27-28. "In whatever light we view these improvements, whether in "reference to the diffusion of intelligence, the increase of the "defensive power of the country, or the perpetuation of the "Union, they are as essential to our existence and prosperity as " a nation, as the veins which give circulation to the principle of " animal life are to the health and vigor of the animal system. "-^ [See his Speech e\i Internal Improvement, page 31. MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1831. "If every State actually paid an equal contribution to the " Federal Treasury, by a system of direct taxation, my life upon " it, there would be no farther waste upon wild and improvident "schemes of Internal improvement. Those who are now so "liberal in expending the money of other people, would then be "as remarkable for economy in expending their own; and I " think it exiremely doubtful whether an appropriation could be " forced through Congress for constructing a national road ten "miles long."— [See his Charleston Dinner Speech. MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1828. It had been intimated to Mr. M'Duine that he was suppose^ :3 18 U have abandoned hia Internal Improvement principled. To» remove this unjust suspicion, on the 15th of March, 1828, -Mr. M'Dufiie wrote a letter to his friend, in which he used the fol- lowing expressions: ••' The Cumberland Road, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, titer •■'Canal connecting Pittsburg with the Lakes, the line of inland "navigation from New Orleans around the coast, through the 46 neck of {Florida* and thence to the extreme north, and finally, " the post road from Washington to New Orleans, are the priti- " e4pal national works which I have always regarded as entitled " to the patronage of Congress. And I am prepared to carry "•them on, pari passu, as soon as our financial resources will " enable us to do it." — [See his Letter in the U. S. Telegraph, April 1th, 1828. " I think the Southern and Western States are the natural " advocates of a system of Internal Improvements ; and I regret " that the constitutional scruples of a portion of the southern "people, should prevent a hearty co-operation." — [The same letter as above. (Signed,) " GEORQE M'DUFFIE." MR. M'BUFFIE IN 1831. "Shall we be terrified by mere phantoms of blood, when our '♦ancestors, for less cause, encountered the dreadful reality? "Great God! are we the descendants of those ancestors — are " we freemen — are we men — grown men — to be frightened from " the discharge of our most sacred duty, and the vindication ot" " our most sacred rights, by the mere nursery stories of raw- £iead and bloody-bones." — [His Charleston Dinner Spe-ech.. MR. M'DUFFIE IN 1824. " A man who will contend that our government is- a confedera- " cy of independent States, whose independent sovereignty was " never in any degree renounced, and that it may be controlled " or annulled at the will of the several independent States or sove- " reignties can scarcely be regarded as belonging tv the present " generation. The several independent sovereign States con- trol the General Government M This is anarehy itself. — [See Jlemarks appended by Mr. M* Duffies to his Internal Improvement Speech, of November, 1824, page 8., I have faithfully alternated Mr. M'Dufiie's opinion, and if he thinks after making this tremendous surrender of power to the General Government, whieh he has done in his " One of the People" and his Congressional speech on Internaljlmprovement; and the denial of our Government being a confederacy of inde- pendent sovereignties, can console himself and his friends that they have had no agency in forging chains for their children, I. Ijave no motive to envy that consolation. X wili now compare gome of the political views of Governor 1 Ijfamiltoa, «s tfiey nave "been presented to the World Bf^lffenGyf limes on the same political subjects. MR. HAMILTON in 1821. This gentleman in 1821, found Mr. M'DumVs numbers signed "One of the People." floating in the newspapers, and ad- miring the principles they contained, collected and published them in a pamphlet, and to give them great fame, prefixed an " Advertisement" thereunto, in which he has adopted the principles as his own. A number of which I have just stated, in comparing Mr. M'Duffie's opinions, and which show not only the adoption, but the sacred estimation in which these principles Were likewise held by Gov. Hamilton: I make the following ex- tracts therefrom. lie there says: " In preserving the subjoined Essays from the fugitive columns s8 of a newspaper, and in placing them in a form more perma* 41 nent and enduring, we conceive we are paying no more than «, "just homage to the sacred principles, they inculcate." — [See "his advertisement prefixed to " One of the People." "The basis, however, of the argument in.which the "Trio" " indulge is in contending " for a strict and literal construction ef " the Constitution," and in affirming an absolute negation of ever- " ry thing wearing the aspe-t of an "implied power." This con- " struction, as their own reasoning proves, would limit the sphere "of our National Charter, merely to those suicidal efforts, " which in the end would have produced its dissolution, as a. " matter of inevitable consequence. To these views the " Tri- " umvirate" added the tocsin of "State Sovereignty;" a noto " which has been sounded in " the Ancient Dominion" with such "an ill omened blast, but .with no variety, by them, to relieve "its dull and vexatious dissonance." — [See his Advertisement* MR. HAMILTON IN 1S30. " The writers of the Trio" (the articles to which " One of the "People" was a reply) had evidently in view the object of "anointing Mr. Crawford for the Presidency, amidst all their "parade of patriotism, and this at the expense of the rest of the "Administration. To eornbat this pious crusade, is the busi- " ncss of these numbers of " One of the People" which we have "omitted, to the loss, we readily allow, of those who relish " overwheming ridicule and triumphant sarcasm." I dm now "satisfied thai I did great injustice to the motives qfmanp of if the friends of that gentleman, to whose enlightened forecast, " subsequent events have borne the most irrefutable testimony.** See Mr. Hamilton's letter. Courier 23 August, 1830. "I had taken up somewhat on trust, without much examitta- '" Hon, but with no other than the purest motives, opinion;-' "in som^ rtnv^^s (htft witjj what I the'n supposed prdjjgt 20 ■ ■• - (If) i nleui-ated f o snsUnn some of its implied j*«\sfer&, ,r — &&- •v{?wc Letter. [' 1 now think after an experience of nine years, that the pro •'serration of the Constitution and the salvation of the South, " depends on a strict construction. — See same Letter. Mil. HAMILTON IN 1821. " The argument of " One of the People" is now presented in- " an unbroken succession, familiar to the most ordinary, and " gratifying to the most comprehensive understanding. The* " truths that are unfolded are in their nature essentially im~ " perishable." — [See his Advertisement to " One of the People." Although those imperishable truths have already been un~ folded in the history of Mr. M'Duflle's opinions, yet as this- second eulogy is so transcendent, it may tend the better to illus- trate their intrinsic worth by presenting some of them at least* with Mr. Hamilton's latter opinions. The following quotation from "One of the People" we did not give Mr. M'Duffie the- benefit of, though it equally applies to both gentlemen. — It says to " the Trio." "I understand you to affirm, that in expounding the Federal w Constitution we should be " tied down to the strict letter" of " that instrument, and that the General Government, was not "made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the power s- " delegated to itself but that, as in all other cases of compact- •• among parties having no common judge, each party has a right if to judge for itself." — As t-'iesemay be considered the concen- trated essence of all the wild and destructive principles that- "have ever been advanced, in relation to the subjects under " consideration, and as they constitute the basis of acontemplated "revolution in the administration of the General Government; I " have been particular in using your very language, lest I should bo w suspected of giving my own impressions of the result of your "arguments, or more correctly speaking, of your quotations," $ev " One o* the People, pages" 13 14. "In asserting that we ought not to travel out of the "strict " letter" of the Constitution, I am almost disposed to believe, in " charity, that you were ignorant of your own proposition. — For " ii", with its obvious and necessary consequences before you, I "could believe you would still maintain it, I should be compel- led to think very unfavorably of your characters, as nothing M is more clearly demonstrable than that your rule of construe* " Uon would paralyze every living energy of the constitution, "and absolutely annihilate the government. Without implied "and incidental powers, almost the entire mass of means by "which the machine of government is kept in motion, could no£ "be wielded a single moment, but would fall from the hands o£ ."the a^^tisJ*atib|j;"-r-[" One of the People." page Idr MR. HAMILTON IN 1831. u 1 do not come forward to apologize or to make qualifications* *'and exceptions for a doctrine which I believe to be essential ** to the political rights of a sovereign State in this Union, and 41 the civil freedom of its citizens. It is altogether true, that in ■" October, 1828, in addressing my former and most highly valued ** constituents of Colleton, I did express my undoubting convic- -" tion in the validity and abiding confidence in the efficacy of "Nullifiation, as a peaceful and effectual mode of resisting, ■** within the limits of a State in this Confederacy, an act of usur- " pation on the part of the General Government." — [His Dinucr Speech, 4th of July, 1831, in Charleston. Compare the above nullifying sentiment of Governor Hamil- ton in 1831, with the following imperishable truths which he -so enthusiastically pressed upon the public attention: MR. HAMILTON IN 1821. "You assert that when any conflict shall occur betw T een tha ** General and State Governments, as to the extent of their res- *• pective powers, " each party has a right to judge for itself." I " confess I am at a loss to know how such a proposition ** ou^ht to be treated. No climax of political heresies can be ** imagined in which this might not fairly claim the most promi- ** nent place. It resolves the governtment at once, into the ele- " ment of physical force ; and introduces us directly into a *** scene of anarchy and blood. There is not a single power ** delegated to the General Government, which it would not be ** in the power of every State Government to destroy, under the ii authority of this licentious principle." — [" One of the Pco* pie" page 16. On the subject of Internal Improvement, Mr. Hamilton said much, but wrote little. He was however, the great supporter of that system up to 1825. In the great contest in the House of Representatives, in 1824, which settled the question in favor of the power of the General Government over Internal Im- provement, Mr. Hamilton, in one of his ablest speeches, said:- — " He hoped before long, he should see East Indiamen passing "along a canal through Florida point into the Gulf of Mexico, *' thence through the Isthmus of Darien into the Pacific Ocean." This is given on the authority of General Mercer, who men- tioned it in a publie speech on Internal Improvement in presence of Mr. Hamilton, who replied, he had been once caught, but (Would take care in future. I will now advert a little to the different political opinions of Oem Hayne. Although they are short, yet they are pregnant. GEN. HAYNE IN 1824. This gentleman took his seat in the Senate of the U. States'' Xn 1§S3 ; ip 18&£ fie joined the Internal Ioiprovem-ent party, vixd \ve&t every length with thorn in establishing the great principle of appropriating $30,000 for furnishing surveys, plans and es- timates for making Roads and Canals. It was considered as having established the principle forever, and $30,000 have been appropriated in accordance with that established principle every year since. When the Bill making this appropriation was before the Senate, it was proposed by Mr. Van Dyke, of Delaware, to amend it by adding a "Proviso, That previous to making any of the aforesaid sur- " veys, the consent of the States through which the said sur- " veys are to be made, shall first be obtained by the President, who was ever in favor of milTifrcati-onj M Km HAYNE IN I83& We have 1 seen the system of Internal Improvement, whidi came recommended to us by the fair promise of unnumbered blessings, degraded into a disgraceful scramble for the public tnoney, and threatening speedily to become, in the prophetic language of Mr. Jefferson, a source of boundless patronage to the executive, of jobbing to the members of Congress and their friends, and a bottomless abyss of public money — a source of eternal scramble among the members who can get most money Wasted in their States, and in which they will get most who are- meanest. — [See Mr. Hayne'' s Dinner Speech 1st of July, 1830, Charleston, page 18. It was the very law for which Mr. Hayne voted in 1824, to which Mr. Jefferson alluded in the expressions quoted in the above paragraph. I will here leave Mr. Hayne and take a short but respectful notice of Governor Miller's politics, as he has been referred to Iky his friend Mr. H. L. Pinckney. MR. MILLER IN 1817. Since 1824, until Nullification arose among us, Mr. Miller was considered a correct politician. But whilst he was in Congress, he too, assisted to lay the foundation of the Tariff and Internal Improvement systems. In the House of Representatives. The following resolution was submitted by Mr. Williams. " Resolved, That the internal duties be repealed, and that the "committee of ways and means be directed to report a bill for " that purpose." — [See House Jour. 2d Sess..,l^th Con. page 400. "Mr. Mills moved further to amend the said resolutions, by "inserting after the word "repealed" the following words: " And also, that the duties at present imposed on brown Sugar, " eoffee, bohea, souchoung and other black teas." — [See House Jour. 2d Sess. 14M. Con. page 436. Afterwards the House again resumed the consideration of the resolution submitted by Mr. Williams, to abolish the internal du- ties; and the question recurred on the first member of the amendment proposed yesterday by Mr. Mills, which was to re- duce the duty on Brown Sugar one half. Mr* Miller voted for the indefinite postponement,, by which the bill was lost. — See House Journal, 2d Session, 14tfA Coa* g'ress, pages 442, 443. MR. MILLER IN 1818. In 1817, Mr. Madison negatived Mr. Calhoun's famous Bill for establishing a system of Internal Improvement and setting- apart a large fund for carrying it on. But the next year the Question was again revived, and the following Resolution was adopted: " Rtfsolvedy That the Secretary of the Treasury be instructed ^ t > k 'to prepare and report to this House, at their next Session, €t *' plan for the application of such means as are within the power 14 of Congress, to the purpose of opening- and improving- roads, *' and making canals; together with a statement of the underta- kings of that nature, which, as objects of public improvement, "may require and deserve the aid of the government; and also, a ''statement qf works of the nature above mentioned which have "been commenced; the progress which has been made in them; 44 the means and prospect of their being completed; the public " improvements carried on by States or by companies, or incor- porations which have been associated for such purposes, to "which it may be deemed expedient to subscribe or afford assis- tance, the terms and conditions of such associations, and the ""state of their funds, and such information, as in the opinion " of the Secretary shall be material in relation to the objects of "this resolution." Mr. Miller voted in favor of this resolution. — See House Jour- nal, 1st Session, l&tk Congress, page 422, It was the adoption of this Resolution that gave the first im- pulse to associating the General Government with incorporated companies for carrying on works of Internal Improvements, at a great expense without any profit. It were these companies that were the most importunate in calling for appropriations for Internal Improvement. And the reason was quite obvious; be- cause when their own funds were exhausted the United States Treasury could supply the deficiency At the same Session we find recorded in the Journal of the House of Representatives the following: "An engrossed bill to increase the duties on iron in bars and "bolts, iron in pigs, castings , nails, and alum, and to disallow "the drawback of duties on the re-exportation of gunpowder, "was also read the third time, and passed." — [House Journal, 1st Session, lath Congress, page 469. Mr. Miller voted for the passage of the bill. MR. MILLER IN 1S30. "The great question which has agitated this country for the " last fourteen years, is, has Congress the power to tax all other " branches of domestic industry, in order to give the proceeds "to the manufacturers of certain articles? The injustice of " making, by law, one man pay to support another, is so appa- " rent, that the right to do so ought to be manifest, before it is " asserted." — See kis Message No. 1 to the Legislature, Novem- ber 23d, 1830. " If Congress ean constitutionally impose a tax upon the far- " mer for the benefit of the manufacturer, then he has no legi- " timate cause of complaint. It is one of the grievances inci- ei dent to the social compact. But if sueh right does not exist. 2& *"* it isa most sacred duly which the fanner owes lo himself, »«&* 44 to submit to that which is not binding upon him. That an "unconstitutional Jaw is not binding, is a truism no one will "deny."—- See same Message, No. 1, Not* 22d, 1830. Mr. Milter, in his official message, has carried back the great agitation of the Tariff, to a period of " fourteen years," which was one year previous to his voting against reducing the duty oil Brown Sugar from three cents, to one and a half cents per pound: And two years previous to his voting " to increase the duties on Iron in bars and bolts, Iron in pigs, castings, nails -« ^jreis'; ami that tficy will fie ground into dust uules> Hiey will join the nullifiers, as the only means of putting it down. Those honest unsuspectiiag country gentlemen astonished at this new information!, are naturally led to enquire who tii$(l this new hurden upon them. Those Town and Village gentle- men reply, it was the Federalists. And when asked who are those Federalistst? The reply is, " The Union and State Right* party," and then they point to two gentlemen only of thai party, and suppose as those two were reputed to be Federalists, every man who is opposed to nullification must be a Federalist Iike- fcise. This is certainly an unfair way of judging the political character of a political party. And one I should never have re- ported to. But if the Nullification party will insist upon it that !wo gentlemen who oppose Nullification are Federalists, and, therefore, all who oppose Nullification, are as a matter of course, Federalists also, they must permit the rule to work both ways. And if we are to cull the two ranks of the parties for Federalists, there can be ten Federalists found in the Nullifica- tion ranks for every two that can be found in the Union ranks: Therefore, by their own rule of calculation, there are five Nul- lifying Federalists for one Union Federalist. Consequently the Nullification party are live times as federal as the Union party. This is a fair deduction. The two gentlemen to whom they so constantly, and so unkindly allude, although Federalists, were patriots and soldiers during the late war with Great Britain. One was a General of Brigade, the other, Colonel of a Regiment. and both confessedly as brave men as ever drew a sword. Will trhe nullifying gentlemen take up this chanllenge, and say, the voice of their own leading Federalists was for war, during than portentous period? This trick, because it is nothing but a trick, has been gotten up to excite prejudices in ihe minds of the mass of the commu- nity, who in former days had just grounds to beware of Fede- ralists. And by associating Federalism with opposition to Nul- lification, they hope to excite the same indignant feeling against the Union party, that formerly existed against Federalism itself, and thereby gain over honest men as proselytes to their party* before they have had time to find out the cheat. Federalism has nothing to do with this question. If it had* who revived Federalism after its sun had set never to rise again, at the close of the late war; when the Federalists ihemseh ; > acknowledged they could hold together no longer as a party? 1 answer the question for them: Mr. Calhoun and his friends. Major Hamilton, then, now the Chief Magistrate of your State, and Vice President of the Club formed in Charleston, for pub- lishing- and distributing Tracts among the virtnons and u:*in<- fMjm-ed part o£ the co.m.mimi.'y, snug to F-erdr-rt: IT-ni Kg* Bpqtiftbut' in I&J1. The following specimen of fascinating etaquestce $f that gentleman, not surpassed for beauty or pathos by any thing he has said, in his late 4th of July speech, in favor of State Sovereignty and Nullification, was the funeral dirge which laid Federalism to repose in the green sea. That gentleman after entertaining the Revolution and Cincinnati Societies upon other important topics, turned their attention to the sublime sub- ject of an Union of the Federal and Republican parties, who had previously been opposed for thirty years. We here give his own language "These are not the only reflections of an cxhilirating charao " ter which the late war is calculated to excite. It has led to the- "extinction of those parties, the collisions of which once " weakened our country, and disturbed the harmony of it's socie* " ty. — See Major Hamilton's Speech, ±ih of July* 1821, page 17, "I come not here to burn the torch of Alccto — to me there is "no lustre in its tires, nor cheering warmth in its blaze. Let ""us rather oiler and mingle our congratulations, that those un- "happy differences which alienated one portion of the commu- M nity from the rest, are at an end, and that a vast fund of the " genius and worth of our country has been restored to its ser- " vice, to give new vigor to its career of power and prosperity." See same Speech, same page. "To this blessed consummation the administration of our " venerable Monroe, has been a powerful auxiliary." — Sarat Speech, same page. "The delusions of past years have rolled away, and the mists "which once hovered over the forms of now unshaded bright- "ness are dissipated forever. We can all meet and exchange " our admiration and love in a generous confraternity of feeling, " whether we speak of our Jefferson or our Adams, our Madison l " or our Hamilton, our Finckney or our Monroe; the associa- '* tions of patriotism are awakened, and we forget the distance " in the political zodiac which once separated these illustrious " luminaries, in the full tide of glory they are pouring on the " brightest page of our history. This unanimity of sentiment 41 is no sickly calm, in which the high energies of the nation are " sunk into a debilitating paralysis. "-[.See same Speech, page 18. " This union can only annoy the Demagogue, who lives by the " proscription of one half of his fellow-citizens, and in the deJu- " sions of a distempered state of public opinion. But to him who " loves his country as a beautiful whole, not scarred and cut into " the selfish compartment of sects and of schisms such a picture *< is one of unmixed triumph and gratulation" — [See Maj. Ham- ilton? s Speech, 4dh July, \&2\,pagc 19. After such a solemn aet of oblivion, extended in ^oeh an e^*- i 31 tatic ilourisii of panegyric to his friends, and soeli an ''ex- change of admiration and love in a generous confraternity of feeling," (these are his own sympathetic words,) who could !iave> imagined that the centinels of the Nullifying gentlemen, ou the out posts should have been heard to cry from the watch tow- er, in undertones, you will be destroyed by the Federalists untcsn you take protection under our banner. As it regards the Tariff and Internal Improvement, my fellow citizens, I think now as I have always thought since tiie adoption of our Resolutions in the Legislature of our State, in 1825. I then saw a developement of public opinion against them. Pub- lic opinion, and public opinion alone must correct the evil. When that shall be brought to bear, these systems must and will give way. But be assured they will never give way to the vio- lence of a party in a single State. In the nature of things, iu the common course of events, these systems were gradually wea- ring down. At the close of the session of Congress in May, 1830, there was abundant reason to believe that nothing but a little lime was necessary to a completion of our wishes. The Tariff, almost the only thing complained of by that party who seek re- dress through Nullification, had evidently sunk in the estimation of the manufacturers themselves. Many who had believed that great wealth was inseparably connected with a cotton or wool- len manufactory, had, through a misguided zeal, embarked the last farthing in those establishments. Butchers had quit their stalls, Shoe-makers had forgotten that wholesome maxim, ne sutor ultra cregidam, and had gone be* yond their lasts ; Black-smiths, Tailors and Mechanics of various pursuits, had quit their shops for the spinning jenny and power loom, and whilst looking with longing hopes for the full tide of over-grown wealth, not only their new-born hopes were blasted, but the earnings of their whole lives in their former pursuits, were swept away in an instant ; and the only source of relief was the clemency of an insolvent debtor's law Hundreds be- came bankrupts. Can we suppose for a moment that such a state of things could last, and that men would pursue an avocation that had beggared themselves and families? There is another fact upon which no man, howsoever violent he may be, can shut his eyes ;. the payment of the National Debt is fast approaching. When that period arrives, there will then no pretext exist for continuing the tariff as a protective system any longer. There are many other concurrent circumstances, all tending the same way, which I will not now stop to enumerate. The Internal Improvement system, of which Mr. M'Duffie so loudly and repeatedly boasts Mr. Calhoun to be the author, and of which Mr. Calhoun, himself, in all his displays in his esposi* rioii on our oppressions, has preserved a j*rtfcand sileiree, was 32 literally wa'rlyzed at th« close of the session o/Csagre-stfin May*, 1830. ana through that, the energy and disinterested patriotism of President Jackson. I say disinterested, because he could have acted from no other possible motive. His political friends have threatened his' political destruction if he would dare to put his negative upon their favorite Road-bills. He dared do anv thina* which he believed would maintain the purity of the constitution, and preserve the equal rights of his fellow-citizens; and he did negative those bills; and in doing so he crippled the favorite system of some of the favorite sens of South Carolina. Built up by them, and fostered by them for more favored climes than our own. For I know hot a solitary instance in which either Mr. Calhoun or the members from S. Carolina, who were asso- ciated with him in that grand political scheme, ever asked the general government for so much as one cent to make a road or canal in this State, except the efforts of Mr. M'Duffie to procure- appropriations, as I have been informed, to the Charleston Rail- road; and which it would seem he has now abandoned, as appears from his late speech in Charleston, unless done by a direct tax. And when President Jackson had gone further, and done more than any other man living, to put down this system, instead of contributing to his purpose, they have snatched it from his hands, to finish what he had so triumphantly began, by the new process of nullification ; as if they envied him the victory he was about to achieve, and were ambitious of transferring it to themselves, that they might have it to boast, that if they had raised it up, they had been able to put it down. When Nullification was first broached in Charleston by Mr- Hayne in July 1830, he forbore to mention the important check which President Jackson had given to Internal Improvement, notwithstanding he commented on it. He spoke of the Presi dent's Veto, on the Maysville Road; and called it " a gleam of light," only. He might have presented the extent to which that Road was intended to be run, which was about 500 miles. And he might have mentioned the solicitude manifested for its safety, among the Western members of Congress, who were the devoted political friends of President Jackson; to all of whom he gave great dissatisfaction by that veto. He might have said to his splendid audience, that President Jackson had at the same time put his Veto upon the Washington and Frederic Turn-pike Road, which also produced a great agitation, and particularly among the Maryland members. He might have said, he put his Veto upon a Turnpike Road in Connecticut, running into Mi- chigan Territory, of considerable expectation. He might have said that he had retained two other Bills, one appropriating $100,000 of public monies for the completion of the Portland •and Lotfisvillc Carta!, to which the General Gormimtfut had A 33 ready appropriated $200,000; the other a Bill, called tlie Light House Bill, providing for "building twenty-five new Light Houses, directing twenty-five new Beacons, and Buoys, and for survey- ing and clearing out thirty-eight Rivers, and Creeks, no body knew where. A collection of projects unprecedented. And he might have said that the President detained those Bills for the express purpose of placing upon them his Veto. Which he did, and returned them to Congress at the beginning of the next session. Mr. Hayne might have said, that President Jackson had re- cently negociated a favorable treaty with Great Britain for open- ing to us again the West India trade, which would necessarily employ considerable capital that must be drawn from the manu- facturing interest, and of course diminish it. Mr. Hayne might have said that President Jackson was determined to pay the Na- tional Debt with the public monies instead of appropriating it to the making corporation roads and canals. Mr. Hayne might have said that a strong disposition was mani- fested in the House of Representatives to put down the Buffalo and New Orleans Turnpike Road. And that it was put down by a pretty considerable majority: And by men who two years before would have voted for it. This was the favorite road of Mr. Calhoun and of Mr. M'Duflie. Mr. Hayne might have said that, in the Senate, General Smith of Baltimore, the oldest, and most influential member of either House of Congress, with all his talents and address, could not prevail upon the Senate to take up and consider the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Bill. In short, Mr. Hayne might have said, that after President Jackson had negatived a number of road bills, that a general temper prevailed in the Senate to pause upon the subject I presume Mr. Hayne must have forgotten all those facts, or viewing them very differently from other members, supposed they afforded no light. But I have had the misfortune to differ with Mr. Hayne upon this, as I have upon several other impor- tant political questions, yet I cannot but suppose this communi- ty will most probably think with me, that those facts taken all together, afforded a torrent of light instead of a mere gleam. Besides all these things, with a number of others of the same tendency to do away both the Internal Improvement and Tariff Systems, there is no member of Congress, who had any know- ledge of the political economy of the country, and the ordinary pursuits of the American people, who did not know, that there were not one twentieth part of the people of the United States that are engaged in manufactures. Then I will ask any man, politician or no politician, to say, if he verily believes, that nine- teen twentieths of tjjis enlighfened people can find it necessary Ijo put this whole country itito a wild commotion, and endanger, at least, a separation of the Union; or to unsheath the sword and tinge it in a brother's blood, that we may put down a sys- tem at once, which there is a great probability may shortly be put down by gentler means, and leaves us still united? Is there a man in a country situated as ours is, with 12,000,000 of peo- ple, whose minds are as free as the air they breathe, that can ior a moment believe that public opinion, that mighty agent in human affairs, will not correct these evils if left to be combatted by reason alone, without it being necessary to interpose Nullifica- tion or any such violent measures? If it will, is there a man who will sit down and count the cost and count the hazards', that upon cool reflection, would not deprecate any such violent measures? I venture to say there is not, even among your most violent nullifiers, however zealous they may have been, unless-s it be some reckless politician whose fortunes are connected with his ambition. Is it not worth while to pause a little before we adopt this new-born doctrine of Nullification? Would it not be prudent fi'rst to examine whether its powers be so transcendant as they are represented to be by its admirers? And ought we not to en- quire whether the benefits they tell us will flow from its adop- tion, are not the mere creatures of imagination, worked into supposed realities by mistaken and precipitate politicians? And more espcially, should we not weigh with great de- liberation, what sacrifices we must inevitably make, and what political degradations we are doomed to endure, after its adop- tion, if adopted it should be? As regards its powers, they are wonderful indeed, if Ave are to believe its advocates. They tell us we shall at once get rid x>f the Tariff and Internal Improvement Systems, without any blood-shed, without any revolution, without destroying the har- mony of the Federal Union, and even without interrupting our claims; or forfeiting our rights in that Union. That it is per- fectly peaceful in its operations; dignified in its character; con- stitutional in its principles; and of such commanding influence, that South Carolina can plant herself in the centre and wield the whole system of the General Government. And further- more, whilst these operations are going on, we are to have an entire Free Trade system, (in South Carolina only.) The Ta- riff laws of the United States are to be wholly suspended, so far ■US 1 we are concerned; and all goods imported from abroad, into this State, are to be duty free. And these halcyon days are to continue without interruption from the General Government Tintil Congress shall either repeal the Tariff laws, or three- fourths of the States shall call a convention to alter the constitu- tion After which the General Government is to be again un- 3 - trammelled, and go oif with its operations.^And then, but not till then, shall we be liable to pay any portion of the public due* that are necessary to sustain the General Government. During the whole of this tinie South Carolina is to remain in the Union, subject to none of its laws, enjoying all its immunities, and re- ceiving all its protection against foreign invasion and domestic vio- lence, without bearing any share of the public burdens: Send- ing her members to Congress to enact [laws for others, whilst her State legislature is nullifying thoseMaws as regards South Carolina, if she so wills it. These are the dogmas of the nullifying party; these contain the precise powers and benefits of nullification as developed by the leaders themselves ot that party, in their speeches, pam- phlets, tracts, and resolutions. And in the full confidence and belief of these happy results, there are thousands of our citi- zens, as honest and as virtuous men as ever lived, who have an abiding confidence in the efficacy of this heterogenous and vis- ionary process, because they had heard it from politicians in whom they had confided without analyzing its principles; many of whom are now investigating those dogmas for themselves, which must, like the " baseless fabric of a vision," give way at the touch. When this wonder-working policy was first agitated amongst lis, it was better known by the name of " the Soutli Carolina doctrines." This made it our own. The people at large, how- ever, could not so readily comprehend its virtues, coming from the source it did — from the very men, who, but the other day, had been the champions of the Tariff' and Internal Improvement Sysi ems, and who had loudly proclaimed the advantages of a; free construction of the constitvtion, and the necessity of "im- plied powers," to meet " the policy of a great and growing era- " pire, or the fresh lights, which the experience of our govern- " ment is perpetually affording." [See advert, to One of the People.] The better therefore to consecrate the doctrine of Nullification, recourse was had to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of '98, known to have been drawn by Mr. Madison and Mr. Jefferson, and were thenceforth called the " Virginia doctrines;" and under the sacred banners of those illustrious sages, Mr. Madison and Mr. Jefferson, have these doctrines been recently marshalled, and trumpeted to the world. And so far as they have succeeded, they owe their prosperity to their associa- tion with the names of those dignified statesmen. Governor Hamilton in his last 4th of July speech, in Charles- ton, adverting to the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, by Mr. Jefferson, and the Virginia Resolutions of the same date, by 3Is\ Mad!i-'M\ says': 36 151 They alPrmeti \a tettdeni verbis what South Carolina mean? 6 '- by Nullification. " This fact is not admitted. The definition which I have just given of .South Carolina Nullification is literally correct, if we are to place confidence in those- who gave it birth, and who cherish it as the palladium of our liberties. It means neither more nor less than a constitutional right, as well as a constitu- tional duty in any single State, to arrest by force the laws of the United States whenever a majority of the people of that single State shall deem such laws to be unconstitutional; and hold the General Government in durance vile, until th? laws complained of be repealed; and yet remain, in the utmost harmony, an affiliated member of the Union, dictating as she may think fit, Ibut subject to no control. Let the language of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions fcc what it may, it is utterly impossible to imagine that Mr. Madison or Mr. Jefferson could have intended any such mon- strous and untenable doctrine. But the Resolutions clearly prove that no such object could have been intended. Governor Hamilton says, those Resolutions " affirm in toti- aem verbis what South Carolina means by Nullification." Mr. J\tadison who drew the Virginia Resolutions affirms they do not. There then is an issue fairly made up. In all controversies the decision must depend on the strength of the testimony. "What that testimony is we will examine. Governor Hamilton tells us in his 4th of July speech, that. at an early stage of this controversy, he wrote to a distin- guished politician of Virginia, who assured him that the Caro- lina doctrines were, according to his understanding; the true version of the Virginia Resolutions. It appears that Governor Hamilton himself had his doubts whether the Virginia Resolu- tions and Carolina Nullification contained the same meaning-, therefore he writes to his friend in Virginia. And what does that friend say to the Governor upon this very grave subject? "Why, he says, '* the Carolina doctrines were, according" to Ms "understanding, the true version of those Resolutions." Here We have the simple response of a gentleman, no doubt highly respectable, who tells us nothing but, " that the Carolina doc- trines were, according to his understanding, the true version." He gives us no reasons why he thinks so. This testimony might satisfy the Governor as a private gentleman, but when given as testimony to bear upon a great national question, we want, and of right, ought to have, from the witness himself, the Rationale, instead of a mere Dictum. Besides, it is to be recollected, the Governor has not told us to what extent he explained the Carolina doctrines. And the Carolina doctrines explained one year ago, »' in a very early stage of this centre- rersy," would be essentially different from the Carolina doctnuej, of the 4th of July last;. One year ago it was positively asser- ted by the nullifying party, that their object was nothing more than to ask for a Convention to remonstrate. Now they cluiiu nothing less than plenary powers to arrest the course of the General Government, and subvert its laws at pleasure. The Governor doubts, and doubting writes to his correspon- dent in Virginia, who doubts also, or why did he not give more than an equivocal answer? And these doubts arc the sum total of the evidence that goes to prove the South Carolina doctrines are the true version of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. And this is the authority upon which this tremendous responsi- bility has been assumed. There are no circumstances accom- panying those Resolutions in the sequel, that can lead in the remotest degree to sustain so much as a belief, that Virginia in* tended forcibly to arrest the operation of the laws of the Gene- ral Government, or to assume to herself the constitutional right of forcing Congress to call a Convention. And where then is the illustration contended for? Let us now examine the testimony on the other side, which goes to prove beyond all controversy that the Carolina doctrines are not the true version of these Resolutions. And what higher evidence can we offer than the positive and unequivocal testi* tnony of Mr. Madison, who drew the Virginia Resolutions him- pelf? Who stood at the head of the Virginia Legislature, when they were considered, and directed, so far as one man could direct in such an enlightened body as that Legislature was, the whole operations, whilst they were under consideration. Th© following are entire paragraphs extracted from his own letter, recently written on that subject MR. MADISON'S LETTER. "That the Legislature could not have intended to sanction; "such a doctrine is to be inferred from the debates in the House " of Delegates, and from the address of the two Houses to their £' constituents, on the subject of the resolutions. The tenor of 4i the debates, which were ably conducted^ and are understood -* to have been revised for the press by most, if not all, of th& " speakers, discloses no reference whatever, to a constitutional "right in an individual State, to arrest, by force, the operation " of a law of the United States. Concert among the States for " redress against the Alien and Sedition Laws, as acts of usurped " power, was a leading sentiment; and the attainment of a " concert, the immediate object of the course adopted by the Ji Legislature, which was that of inviting the other States " to "concur in declaring the acts to be unconstitutional, and to ** co-operate in the necessary and proper measures in maintaining " unimnaire 1. the authoritie.s, rimt& a-ud iiherrjLiH reserved j'o 3S 1 the States respectively, audio the People." That, by the neces- 1 sary and proper measures to be concurrently and co-opera- ' tively taken, were meant measures known to trie Constiiutiqn, 'particularly the ordinary control of the people and Legisla- ' tures of the States over the Government of the United States, 'cannot be doubted; and the intei position, of this control, as ' the event showed, was equal to the occasion." "The published address of the Legislature to the People, 'their constituents, affords another conclusive evidence of its ' views. The Address warns them against the encroaching ' spirit of the General Government, argues the unconstitutionali- ' ty of the Alien and Sedition Acts, points to other instances in ' which the constitutional limits had been overleaped; dwells 'upon the dangerous mode of deriving power by implication; ' and in general presses the necessity of watching over the ' consolidating tendency of the Federal policy. But nothing ' is said that can be understood to look to means in maintaining 'the rights of the States, beyond the regular ones within the ' forms of the Constitution." — See Mr. Madison's letter in the Banner of the Constitution, Oct. 20th, 1830. The positive testimony of this illustrious Statesman will out- weigh the conjectures of any men, be their standing what it may; and here I might leave this question, were it not that the two last of the Virginia Resolutions, are of themselves, a complete developement of the views given by Mr. Madison in this letter; whieh was an appeal to the other States for their co-operation in a constitutional form, against the free construction and im- plied powers. The very doctrines which have been cherished, and that to an extreme degree, by all the great leaders of the South Carolina Nullifiers, until the very evils, of which they so loudly complain, were brought down, upon us by that very doctrine, and with whom those identical Virginia Resolutions, have been a sport and a by word. These are the Resolutions; they will speak for themselves; and will, upon the severest criticism, sustain, to the fullest ex- tent, the same views given by Mr. Madison in his letter. That the good people of this Commonwealth, having ever felt and continuing to feel the most sincere affection for their brethren of the other States; the truest anxiety for establishing and -perpetuating the Union of all; and the most scruvulous fidelity to that Constitution, which is the pledge of mutual friendship, and the instrument of mutual happiness; the Gene- ral Assembly doth solemnly appeal to the like dispositions in the other States, in confidence that they will concur with this Commonwealth in declaring, as it does hereby declare, thai the acts aforesaid are unconstitutional; and, that the necessary dud proper measures will be taken by each, for co operating with this State, in maintaining •, unimpaired^ the authorities, rights, and liberties reserved in the States respectively, or to the People. That the Governor be desired to transmit a copy of the fore- going resolutions to the Executive authority of each of the other States, with a request that the same may be communica- ted to the Legislature thereof; and that a copy be furnished to- each of the Senators and Representatives, representing this State in the Congress of the United Stasie. — [See the Report of tlie Virginia House of Delegates, pages 61 — 2. I will now, my fellow citizens, turn your attention to the Kentucky Resolutions, which were drawn by Mr. Jefferson, and which have been used in like manner with the Virginia Re- solutions, to bolster up Nullification: And Mr. Jefferson him- self, through that medium, has been made a Nullifier, of no ordinary character. Mr. Jefferson is gone from us. He is in the silent tomb. Ho Is not here to speak for himself as Mr. Madison has done. But he has left that kind of testimony which is equally irresistable. He has left his numerous letters, revised by himself in his last days, whilst his mind was yet in its vigor, and ordered by him- self to be published. I have those letters before me, and they are full upor this subject; and explicitly show that his object in drafting the Kentucky Resolutions was not Nullification, but to bring the public mind to bear on the subject, preparatory to a constitutional opposition. These letters, some written imme- diately before he drew the Kentucky Resolutions, some imme- diately after, all breathe a sacred devotion to the Union. The Kentucky Resolutions were brought before the Legisla- ture of that State on the ICth of November, 1798, and must have been written by Mr. Jefferson in the course of the pre- ceding summer. The first letter of his to which I will call your attention is a letter to John Taylor, a distinguished Republi- can of the Virginia school. The following are extracts from it. "THOMAS JEFFERSON TO JOHN TAYLOR." "PlIIXADELPHIA, JuNE 1, 1798.' "It is true that we are completely under the saddle of Mas- ri allude to? Certainly to the elections authorised by the fifth article of thi There was no other to which he Could allude He says, "they are, until then, the lex legusi. The strongest m . , , i m he could possibly have used. Which trans! leans, Tl of laws, or the fundamental law of the Union, which no power, short of that given by the constitution itself, could alter or amend* In his letter of the 26th Decern 7 ■ "o, to Governor Gil of Virginia, after speaking in the most emphatic and eloquent strain against the Tariff and Internal Improvement systems, as well as. against those who supported those systems, with whom, he says, "yon mi^ht as well reason and argue with the marble columns encircling them. After which, he makes the following remarks on the subject of sep; f ting the Uni If every infraction of a compact of so many parties is to be resisted at once, as a dissolution of it, none can ever be formed which would last one year. We must have patience and longer endurance then with cur brethren while under delusion; give them time for reflection and experience of consequences; keep ourselves in a situation to profit by the chapter of accidents; and ■separate from our companions only when the sole alternati are the dissolution of our Union with 'hem, or submission to a government without limitation of powers. Between those two evils, when we must make a choice, there can be no hesitation'. In all these letters of Mr. Jefferson, although written in the bitterness of his soul against the free construction and implied power doctrine, there is not a sentence, no, not a syllable, that Wears the most distant aspect of Nullification. If nullification had been his object, would Mr. Jcherson have told us at one time, " Better keep together as we are:" At anoth- er time, " We should never think of separation but for repeated "and enormous violations." And at a third time, "Separate "from our companions only when the sole alternatives \c^t, are "the dissolution of the Union with them, or submission to ;t " government without limitation of powers." Why should Mr. Jefferson so repeatedly and so ardently admonish us against a dissolution of the Union, if Nullification was his object? :. Why did the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky order 44 copies of their respective Resolutions to be transmitted to each of their own Senators and Representatives in Congress, and also to each of the Governors of the other States, to be laid be- fore their respective legislatures, for their consideration, if Nul* Jification was all they sought? And why did the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions them- selves call on all the other States of the Union, not only for their dissent to the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition laws, but also call on those States to " unite with them in requesting " their repeal at the next session of Congress," if the nullifying process could have been interposed by the legislature, of either Virginia or Kentucky? Virginia accordingly transmitted her Resolutions to all the ether States of the Union; several of which returned their pro- tests, and others so little regarded them, that they were permit- ted to slumber unnoticed, or were thrown into some corner, with the rubbish, to moulder and become food for worms. See- ing the stand she had taken, repelled by some of her Co-States, and totally neglected by others, and rejected by Congress, her legislature at their next session, with great independence, pro- found dignity, distinguished abilities, and with perfect respect and courtesy towards the States which had protested against their resolutions, offered to the world a masterly vindication; drawn by Mr Madison himself, without an intimation of nulli* fying those laics by the reserved rights of the State: and con- cluded that vindication by a renewed protest, on their own part, against 4i the Alien and Sedition acts," in the following words; Resolved, That the General Assembly, having carefully and 4 ' respectfully attended to the proceedings of a number of the " States, in answer to their resolutions of December 21, 1708, 44 and having accurately and fuiiy re-examined and re-consider- " ed the latter, find it to be their indispensable duty to adhere to * ; the same, as founded in truth, as consonant with the Consti- * % tution, and as conducive to its preservation; and more espe- " cially to be their duty to renew, as they do hereby renew, 44 their protest against " the Alien and Sedition acts," as palpa- " ble and alarming infractions of the Constitution." — [See ike Report of ilie Committee fyc. page 65. Can we look at the circ umspect, frank, high minded, indepen- dent course which has characterized at all times, the Virginia politicians, and perhaps at no time more than when those reso- lutions were before the Virginia Legislature, and suppose for a moment that Virginia would recoil from her purpose when she had once taken her stand, and take refuge under a second pro- test? It is impossible! Virginia has at no time given evidence ©f such political imbecility. Virginia valued the principles •••-. the Constitution too much to snort with them. Besides, >she had greater resources, at that time, than any State in the Union. Under all these circumstances she permitted the odious Sedi- tion lav*' to continue in operation until it expired by its own li- mitation. In the mean while, Callender was tried in the Capitol, in the city of Richmond; was convicted of sedition, sentenced, and punished, under that Sedition law, in the face of the State of Virginia, and of her legislature. And all this took place af- ter the adoption of the Virginia Resolutions by her Legislature. Yet we hare never heard a whisper that that, distinguished State ever dreamed of nullifying or repealing that law, by an act of the Virginia Legislature. Notwithstanding we arc told the Vir- giniaand Kentucky Resolutions affirmed, in totidem verbis, what {South Carolina means by Nullification. The political course of Virginia has, perhaps, been as firrri, uniform and unwavering as that of any other State in the Union. Virginia has been a bulwark to this confederacy, in all great national, and particularly in all constitutional questions. And her politicians are now alive to the subject; and I will hazard an assertion, that there is not one politician, or man of sense in that great State, who has reflected on this question, who will say: That a single State can, by virtue of its reserved sovereignty, constitutionally declare, by an act of its own State legislature, a law of Congress unconstitutional; and arrest the entire opera- tion of that law by virtue of that reserved sovereignty, and still remain a member of the Union, peacefully and constitutionally enjoying all its privileges and immunities. Fellow-citizens — I am aware that I have spun out this proof to a ""ery considerable length. But as the peace and quiet of the State, if not the safety of the Union, may depend on this single question; whether the Kentucky and Virginia Resolu- tions were intended to maintain the doctrine, that a single State had the power to control the Union, by arresting at pleasure any of its laws, or were only intended to produce a co-opera- tion of the States in a constitutional and energetic opposition to what were deemed unconstitutional laws, and to procure their joint efforts in an application to Congress, for the repeal of those laws; I have, therefore, taken more of your time than I should otherwise have ventured to do. And I trust the mass of testimony I have brought before you, will conclusively prove ** that tho Carolina doctrines" arc not the true version of the Virginia Resolutions. But if South Carolina Nullification can be maintained up- on sound principle, why bring to its aid the Virginia and K tucky Resolutions? It Ought to bo maintained on principle-, if it. can be maintained at all. If it cannot, who is there enough to'sav it ought to be maintained without principle? Chancellor Harper, in one of his public speeches, has laid down the doctrine of Nullification distinctly, according to his own views, in the following paragraph. In which he says: "I will not affect to disguise ray own opinions, though abler *' men may differ from me, that if all other efferts fail, the sove- "Ireign power of the State ought to interfere, for the purpose " of arresting the operation of the unconstitutional laws of " which we complain; thus compelling the general government " to abandon its oppressive policy, or to apply to a convention " of the States for the purpose of obtaining, by a vote of three- " fourths, an express grant, of the power which it claims. I be- " lieve this course to be necessary; I believe it to be constitw- " tional, and that the State may adopt it without relinquishing " her character as a member of the Union; I believe it to be " safe and peaceful." — [See his Speech at Columbia* 2Qth Sep- tember, 1830. That a State ean by its sovereign power, constitutionally ar- rest a law of the general government, and still remain in the Union, without relinquishing her character as a member, and that such a course is safe and peaceful, is. to me, incomprehensi- ble. It is one of those operations which the ancients would have ranked with the occult sciences. Agrippa would have given it a place in his books of occult philosophy, as one of the wild dreams of imagination Chancellor Harper has given to this diction no illustration. He does rot inform us how the force is to be applied, or what that force is, by which the State can compel the General Gov- ernment to abandon its oppressive policy, or to call a co'nven* tion. He cannot expect the State to say to the General Govern- ment, as Joshua did to the sun, "stand thou still," and that the General Government will instantly obey the " high behest." When a statesman speaks of a State compelling the General Government to abandon her policy, we expect him to shew the agency by which the compulsion can be enforced. Our nullify- ing statesmen, and this gentleman has avowed himself a de- voted advocate of that doctrine, speak of compelling the Gene- ral Government to any measure they please, with as much fa- miliarity and as mubh certainty, as a mechanic would speak cf stopping the motion of a watch or clock, by removing its pro- pelling power. Or that by sounding the tocsin of Nullification, the General Government would as promptly obey the signal, as the engineer of a steam boat would lake ofF the steam or un- ship the wheels, to stop the motion of his boat, whenever the pilot should ring his bell as a signal for him to do so. Chancellor Harper knows perfectly well that there is but one constitutional mode of calling a convention- And thai; model's 47 distinctly 1 expressed iu t!ie constitution itself. Ir. is in the fol- lowing words: "The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall *' deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitu- " tion, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of " the several States, shall call a convention'^ for proposing- * c amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents 41 and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the* Cl legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by con* s* ventionsin three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode *' of ratification may be proposed by the Congress." — [See his public speech at Columbia, 20th September, 1830. There are no other words in the constitution respecting a con- vention. And this constitutional provision, so far from compel- ling Congress to call a convention, expressly sa}\s, it must be " on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the se- veral States." Not "on the application" of one State. Not, on the mandate of one State. Not on the mandate of even two- thirds of all the States. Where, then, is the compulsory power •over the General Government, for calling a convention, found? It is found in the declamatory speeches of the nullifying ora- tors; and in the tracts and pamphlets which they write and cir- culate amongst the honest citizens, whom they hope to proselyte to their newly fabricated doctrines. Chancellor Harper is too well read in constitutional law, to say it is found in the constitution itself. If it is not found there, it is found only where I have placed it. "Whatever that gentleman may have said, or thought under great excitement, and a fertile and heated imagination, he has too much sound dis- cretion, and too much moral and political virtue, to assert upon cool reflection, that if the legislature of South Carolina should enact a law, declaring the tariff laws of the United States null and void within her limits, and go on to arrest the operation of those laws, that it is not revolutionrry, and if persevered in, must inevitably produce a war between the two governments, or a secession of the State from the Union. The following extracts are from the speech of Governor Hamilton, on the last 4th of July in Charleston, on the subject of Nullification: He says it is: " A peaceful and effectual mode of resisting within the limits *' of a State in this confederacy, an act of usurpation on the part of *? the General Government," And then remarks: " In one *' word, fellow-citizens, I believe, without the power of sovereign 4i interposition on the part of a State in this confederacy, thro* * 4 the ordinary functions of its judicature, which is Nullification, " we are utterly destitute of all peaceful mean? for the protec- "Hion.af our reserved-rig.hts/' In a third Dlace he says: !< We " have what the confederacies of antiquity wanted, State Legis- " latures of acknowledged authority and influence, the deposito- ries of residuary masses of sovereignty, not delegated, and •* competent to the protection of their citizens by no other force *' than the great and inestimable right of a trial by jury." — ]Sce Charleston Mercury, July 12, 1831. The mode of applying the sovereign power of the State, pointed out by Governor Hamilton, is through the trial by jury. We all yield our assent to the inestimable value of this mode of* trial, in all cases proper for its exercise. The Governor speaks of the peaceful and effectual mode of resisting an act of oppres- sion, by this mode of trial. He has not adverted to its contin- gences, the mode in which a jury is brought together, and the doubtful results that always await its issues. Nor has he told us on what subjects it is to operate. But we presume he means the trials of suits on the "Revenue Bonds. It is not a matter of course that the importing merchants will refuse to pay their bonds. The probability is that they will not refuse. But if they should, what certainty is there that the juries will find ver- dicts against those bonds? There is none. Ycu may have a jury at twelve o'clock that will find a verdict for the. merchant, against the bond. You may have another jury at one o'clock, on the same day, that will find a verdict for the United States, in support of the bond. The jurors in all courts, are changed every hour of the day. I put out of the question the contin- gences of special pleading, and the legal absurdity of pleading nan est factum to a revenue bond, to bring the consideration upon which the bond Was given before the court; and I lay aside every other contingency attendant on the trial by jury, and ask this question of an enlightened community: In a government like this, with a population of 12,000,000 of people, and grow- ing beyond all calculation: Is it fit that twelve men, no matter how respectable, picked up in the streets of Charleston, or brought from their counting 1 houses or shops, or from the dinner table, without a moment's reflection or the least information on the subject, except what they obtain in the mkkt of an animated debate, in the court house, should be the sole abiters in settling a great constitutional principle that shall gevern a great Republic for ages to come? Or are the free men of South Carolina, however they may ad- mire the trial by jury within the proper sphere of its action, prepared to deliver into the hands of any twelve men, of any party, the power that shall mark the boundaries of their consti- tutional rights? And we are gravely told by that gentleman, that this is * Nullification " and the "peaceiul means for the protection of our reserved rights." I take the liberty, respect- fully to dissent from f h?t opinion- and to sayr, it must im^'it'?- 49 Uy lead to a serious controversy with the General Government unci to a speedy dissolution ot the Union; or to what would be to us more disastrous, if possible, the humiliating condition of retracing our steps. I will endeavor to prove this from autho- rity. '1 he revenue law, says: No person, whose bond has been received cither as principal or surety for the payment of duties, or for whom any bond has been given by an agent, factor, or other person, which bond may be due and unsatisfied, shall be allowed a future credit for duties until such bond be paid or discharged. — See act of Con- gress, 2d March, 1799, Sec. 2. Those merchants then, according to this positive law, are not entitled to any further credit for duties. Of course the trial by jury is at an end, as regards them; and they must then, either pay the duties, at the Custom House, before they can laud their goods; or sutler them to be seized by the Custom House officers; or force a landing in defiance of all law. If tney pay tne duties, they gain n thing by their former verdicts; if they suffer them to be seized, then their struggles terminate with the total loss of their goods, for attempting to elude the revenue laws; and in either case the General Government is still in the receipt of the full revenue. Bui if they should choose the third alternative, to force a landing, then the contest with the General Government must begin. But when it will end is beyond my comprehension. It is the duty of the President to see the law executed. The Constitution of the United States says: " The President shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- cute 1.7 — See Constitution United Suites, Art. II, Sec. III. In pursuance of this positive injunction of the Constitution, the President takes a solemn ath, upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that he will see the laws faithfully executed. And it would be a vain hope to suppose that President Jackson will shrink from a duty, that he has taken a solemn oath to per- form. If he on that subject; that if I would only go for Nullifica- tion, I should have no opposition for that office, and by persons who knew I owned a sugar plantation. Besides these, I had sundry declarations from others. My reply was, that I could not, nor would not make the sacrifice; and these very men set 54 themselve against me. Statesmen do not sell their country for money, as Judas Iscariot sold his lord and master. Statesmen who sell their country sell for high offices of honor. For which there are not a few in the market. Should I be asked if I am willing to submit to the tariff, I will reply, that the tariff is going down by the very means I pointed out in my address last autumn. If I should be mista- ken, I will then adopt the language of Mr. Jefferson, so beauti- fully expressed in his letter to the late Governor Giles, of Vir- gina, in the following words: " We must have patience and longer endurance then with our • { brethren while under delusion; give them time for reflection 41 and experience of consequences; keep ourselves in a situa- 44 tion to profit by the chapter of accidents; and separate from " our companions only when the sole alternatives left, are the 44 dissolution of our Union with them, or submission to a gov- " eminent without limitation of powers. Between these two *' evils, when we must make a .choice, there can be no hesita- " tion." There are a few typographical errors in this pamphlet; none, however, we believe, but such as will be readily corrected by the intelligent reader. One or two mistakes, however, may as well be noted. In the 5th line from the commencement, read " I came for that purpose," instead of " / am $c." In the 5th line from the bottom of the 7th page, read " perse- vered" for "preserved." The publication of the speech has been delayed by causes not within the control of the parties to them, and not necessary to be repeated here. It is sufficient that we exonerate Judge Smith from a participation in them. We know the delay to have been the cause of as much regret to that gentleman, as to THE PUBLISHER. * /