Thirty Years' View (Vol. 2 of 2): or, A History of the Working of the American Government for Thirty Years, from 1820 to 1850Benton, Thomas Hart
History
Thirty Years' View (Vol. 2 of 2): or, A History of the Working of the American Government for Thirty Years, from 1820 to 1850
Benton, Thomas Hart
United States -- Politics and government -- 1815-1861
This is good history from a close witness of what he relates. The
member referred to as having prepared the treasury order, and
offered it in the shape of a bill in the Senate, and getting no vote
for it but his own,--who stood solitary and alone on that occasion,
as well as on some others--was no other than the writer of this
View; and he has lived to see about as much unanimity in favor of
that measure since as there was against it then. Nine-tenths of the
members of Congress were then against it, but from very different
motives--some because they were deeply engaged in land speculations,
and borrowed paper from the banks for the purpose; some because
they were in the interest of the banks, and wished to give their
paper credit and circulation; others because they were sincere
believers in the paper system; others because they were opposed
to the President, and believed him to be in favor of the measure;
others again from mere timidity of temperament, and constitutional
inability to act strongly. And these various descriptions embraced
friends as well as foes to the administration. Mr. Webster says
the order was issued eleven days after that Congress adjourned
which had so unanimously rejected it. That is true. We only waited
for Congress to be gone to issue the order. Mr. Benton was in the
room of the private secretary (Mr. Donelson), hard by the council
chamber, while the cabinet sat in council upon this measure. They
were mostly against it. General Jackson ordered it, and directed
the private Secretary to bring him a draft of the order to be
issued. He came to Mr. Benton to draw it--who did so: and being
altered a little, it was given to the Secretary of the Treasury to
be promulgated. Then Mr. Benton asked for his draft, that he might
destroy it. The private secretary said no--that the time might come
when it should be known who was at the bottom of that Treasury
order: and that he would keep it. It was issued on the strong will
and clear head of President Jackson, and saved many ten millions
to the public treasury. Bales of bank notes were on the road to
be converted into public lands which this order overtook, and
sent back, to depreciate in the vaults of the banks instead of the
coffers of the treasury. To repeal the order by law was the effort
as soon as Congress met, and direct legislation to that effect was
proposed by Mr. Ewing, of Ohio, but superseded by a circumlocutory
bill from Mr. Walker and Mr. Rives, which the President treated as a
nullity for want of intelligibility: and of which Mr. Webster gave
this account:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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