Gazette of the United-States. (New-York [N.Y.]) 1789-1793, March 19, 1791, Page 786, Image 2

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    ment by which it was proved that either indivi
duals, private banks, or foreigners, could with
fafety and propriety be depended on as the effi
cient and neceH'ary means for so important apur
pofe. Although money was at present plenty in
Europe, and might be borrowed on ealy terms,
it might not be so to -morrow, in cafe a war should
break out, and our'neceffities become prefling.—
He again enumerated the harmless qualities with
which it was propoftd to veil the bank corpora
tion, by the bill on the. table, for the important
purposes of the common defence and general
weltare". Gentleman had not yet pointed out
any danger to the community, neither did
lie think it wap 'poflible that any could ever be
mentioned equal tothofeof fufFering the govern
ment to depefid upon individuals orprivate banks
for loans, in a day of diftrefi.
But it wai said that this bill gave the corpora-
Jon a right to hold real property in a state,
which Cengrefs had no powers to do. The terms
of the bill are misapprehended—this is a right,
which has already been shewn attaches to the ci
tizens individually, or in their aflociated capa
city ; the bill therefore does no more than to
■velt a number with an artificial single capacity,
■under a fictitious name, and by that name to hold
lands, make byc-lavos, See. &c.—all which they
might have done before as citizens in a collec
tive capacity.—So far from giving a new power,
their original individual rights are limited for
the public fafety as to the amount of their itock
and the duration of their exifteuce.
Mr. Boudinot then proceeded to cite numerous
instances of powers exercifedby Congress during
tlie last two years, deduced under the conftiui
tion by necelfary implication, to (hew the utter
impolfibility ofcarryingany one provision of that
authority into execution for the benefit of the
people, without this reasonable latitude of con
itru<Sion. He alio adverted to some indances of
the like condud: under the former confederation.
It had been urged that rhe newsCongrefs had no
rights or powers but what had been veiled injand
given to them by the individual States, and there
fore they could not accept a cession from Great-
Britain by the treaty of peace of the lands ex
tending to the lake of the woods, because not
before included in any individual State. Every
member was soon convinced of the abfurdjty of
this argument, and by a necessary implication,
eftablilhed the power of the confederated legis
lature. During the war the commander in chief
gave a paflport to a Briti/h officer to tranfinit
cloailiing to the Britifli prisoners at Lancaster.
He accordingly conveyed a very large quantity
of British goods into Pennsylvania for that pur
pose, which being direcftly against an exprel'slaw
of that State, they were seized and condemned
by the proper Magistrate. On a complaint to
the legislature of the State, they referred the
fame to their judicial officers, upon whose report
(that Congress being veiled with the power of
declaring war, the right of giving fafe palfports
to an enemy wasneceflarily implied, which there
fore was duly exercised by their commander in
chief, tho no express power was given to him
for that purpose) the legislature declared their
law directing the condemnation of tfie goods
•void ab initio and the judgment of condemnation
had no effect.
This was also the rule that governed this House
with regard to the removability of officers by the
President—and the authority given to a council
to legislate for the weflern territory. In fine he
concltlded, that it was universally understood
that whenever a general power was given, espe
cially to a supreme legislature, every neceflary
means to carry it into execution were neceflarily
included.—This was the common sense of man
kind, without which it would require a multi
tude of volumes to contain the original powers
of an encreafing government, that mull necef.
farily be changing its relative situation every year
<6f two.
If power was given to raise an army, the mak
ing provision for all the neceflary supplies and
incident charges were included.—lf a navy was
to be formed, the manning and supplying the
Warlike fibres are necellarily underltood.—lf a
power is given to borrow money, a right to mort
gage or pledge the public property to feeure the
re-payment, is underflood to be veiled in the
borrower. Take up the present statute book,
and every page will afford evidence of this doc
trine.-—Examine the law with regard to crimes
and punishments ; under the power of eftablifh
ing*courts, we have implied the power of punifh
ingthe dealing and falfifying the records, and
afceriained the punishment of perjury, bi ibery,
and extortion. Under the power of regulating
trade we have accepted ceflions of real estate, and
built light-houses, piers, &c.—All this is under
thedocflrine of neceflary implication for the pub
lic good ; and in cases not so flrong as the pre
sent, and on the exercise of which no gentlemen
thought proper to dart this objection.
This conftrucftion appears so natural and ne
ceflary, that the good sense of every gentleman
on the floor, has hitherto led him to proceed on
this principle ever finee we began to legislate :
What principle of the conllitution does it destroy ?
It gives nothing that can affect the rights of any
(late or citizen. Indeed it has been said, that it
is exerciling a high atft of power : He thought it
had been shewn to be rather of the inferior kind
—but allow the polition, and who so proper as the
legislature of the whole union, to exercise such a
power for the general welfare. It has also been
said, that this power is a mere conveniency for
the purpose of fifcal tranfaclions, bat not neces
sary to attain the ends proposed in the conftitu
tiou. This is denied, and at bell is mere matter
of opinion, and mull be left to the discretion of
the legislature to determine.
Mr. Boudinot laid, he lliould now conclude
what he had to f?y, had not an honorable gentle
man (Mr. Jackson) brought forward the obferva
tious of the author <*f the Federalist, 2 vol. pa. 72
73 and 74, to Ihew a different contemporaneous
exposition of the constitution, and charged the
auchor, who he alledged was said to be also the
author of the present plan before the houfe,with
a change of fentitnent-—As this gentleman is not
here to speak for himfelf, he ought to have the
next best chance, by having what he then wrote,
candidly attended to, especially as gentlemen al
low him to be good authority.—Mr. Boudinot
read only part of the 73d page referred to by
Mr. Jackson, in these words : " Had the conven
' tion attempted a positive enumeration of the
' powers necellary and proper for carrying their
' other powers into effect, the attempt would
' have involved a compleat digest of laws on eve
' ry fubjeft to which the constitution relates :
' accommodated too not only to the existing state
' of things, but to all the polfible ch9nges which
' futurity may produce ; for in every new appli
' ca;ion of a general power, the particular powers,
e which are the means of attaining the general
' power, must always neceflarily vary with that
' object, and be often properly varied whilst the
' object remains the fame.' How these senti
ments can be said to be a different contemporane
ous exposition must be left to the house to deter
mine. Mr. Boudinot then begged the indulgence
of the house to hear the fame gentleman when
arguing expressly on that part of the constitution
now under consideration ; and then read pages
144,5 and 6 of the ift. vol. of the Federalift,which
were too long to be inserted. He declared that
in his opinion it was impracticable to put toge
ther language in the fame length, that could
more forcibly and pointedly elucidate and prove
Ihe construction contended for in support of the
bill on the table. There remained yet but two
objettions, to wich Mr. Boudinot would detain
the house any longer. 1
The gentleman from Geoigia (Mr. Jackson)
had charged the measure with eftabliihing the
commercial interests, to the great injury of the
agricultural. If this was true, he never would
agree to it, for heconfidered the agricultural in
terests of America, as its great and sure depend
ance. Mr. Boudinot confefled that so far from
feeing these measures in this point of light, he
could not bring his mind to comprehend how the
commercial interests of a country could be pro
moted without greatly advancing the interests of
agriculture.—Will the farmer have any tempta
tion to labor, if the surplus of what he raises, be
yond his domellic consumption, is to perish in his
barn, for want of a market—Can a market be ob
tained without the merchant—lf commerce flou
rifhes the merchants increase, and of course the
demand for the produce of the land ; but if the
merchantile interests fail, there is none to export
the surplus produced by agriculture. If the far
mer lhould undertake to export his own produce,
he could not give his whole attention to his as
fairs ; or if the merchant Jhould attempt to raise
the grain he wanted, he could not carry on his
merchandize. The one interest depends on the
other ; a separation destroys both.
But the incapacity of the bank to extend its in
fluence to the extremes of the union, has been
argued, from the gentleman never having seen a
uoteofthe present Bank of North-America in
Georgia ; he therefore concludes, that bank has
never been of any service to her agricultural in
terests. Mr. Boudinot (aid, that he drew very
different conclusions from this fart—he supposed
that by means of the bank, the traders with Geor
gia had been enabled to fend her the precious me
tals, while the bank paper had answered their
purposes nearer home, where they circulated with
undoubted credit. He inltanced a cafe, of a Phi
ladelphia merchant, who was poflefled of £100
in gold, and £iooin credit at the bank ; the mer
chant wanted £100 worth of rice of a Georgia
planter, and the like value in flour of a Pennfyl
vania farmer.—When he purchased the one of
the Georgian, he could fafelypay him the whole
in gold, while he found the Pennfylvanian would
as readily receive the bank paper for his flour :
But had there been no bank, he could have pur
chased but £;o worth of each, and the Georgian
and Pennfylvanian both have gone without a mar
ket for. the residue. In short the whole union
may be likened to the body and limbs ; you can
not aid or comfort one, but the other nntft be
likewise benefited.
786
He said it was however difficult, and imprafti.
cable, to (hew that every measure adopted by the
government, (hould have an effe<sl perfectly equal
over so extensive a government as that ot'the
United States, it was fufficientif, upon the whole
the measures of government taken all together
produced the desired equality.
The lad objection was, that by adopting, tin's
bill weexpofed the measure to be considered and
defeated by the judiciary of the United Stai«,
who might adjudge it to be contrary to the con
lliuition and therefore void, and not lend their
aid to carry it into execution. This, he alledg
ed, gave hi in no uneasiness. He was so far from
controverting this right in the judiciary, that it
was his boaltand his confidence. It led him, he
said, to greater decision on all fubjefts of a con
stitutional nature, when he reflected that if from
inattention, want of precision, or any other de
fect, he Ihould do wrong, that there was a pow
er in the government which could conllitutional
ly prevent the operation of such wrong meafur<
from afFeifting his constituents.—He was legisla
ting for a nation and for thousands unborn, and
it was the glory of the constitution that there wai
a remedy even for the failures of che supreme le
giflature itfelf.
Upon the whole then, he said, that on taking
the power in question in every point of view and
giving the constitution the fulleft consideration,
under the advantage of having the objciiions
placed in the strongest pointof light by thegreat
abilities of the gentlemen in the opposition, he
was clearly in favor of the bill; as to its expe
diency, there could belittle doubt on the minds
of any gentleman, and unlefsmore conclusive ar
guments could be adduced to fliew its unconftitu
tionality he fliould in the end vote for palling the
[The foregoing speech of Mr. Boudinot, is copied
from " The General Advertiser"—the others, which
have appeared, and will be publijhedin this paper, on
the fubji'El of the Bank, are originals.~\
L O N D O N, Dec. 7.
Extrail of a letter from Paris, Nov. 2J.
| IWO celebrated Mechanics (Messrs. Per-
A riers) obtained permiflion in 1777, to con
ftrutfl, at their own expence, some fire pumps,
that were to raise and distribute the Seine water
into all the streets of the capital. A co.nfidera
ble sum of money was wanting to form such an
ettablifhment, and Mefl". Perrier's riches consist
ed, at that time, only in calculations ; but con
vinced that their enterprise would prove extreme
ly lucrative, they inspired some of the inhabitants
of Paris with their confidence, and several of the
citizens entered into a society with them, under
the name of Perrier's water company. The fun
damental base of this society was the creation of
1200 fliares of 1200 livres £50 (telling each : the
number of these (hares soon encreafed to 400, and
it was at the time, unluckily for the public Trea
sury, that stock-jobbing was very a»Sive about this
eftablilhment. Pompous advertisements, and al
luring proposals, were swarming in every coffee
houfe, and posted up at the Exchange, ana at
the corner of every public street. The cupidity
of speculators was so enticed by such flattering
advantages, that the fliares rose, from their ori
ginal price of T2OO to 4000 livres. This sucCess,
however, was likely to produce a total fall, for
in order to support such marvellous promises,
success must have been certain to the enterprise ;
the public, however absolutely refufed to let the
water into their houses. Every body appeared
alarmed at the expence. The company then, in
order to conciliate once more the favor of the
public, joined to it a Fire-Office for infurnnce,
but the inhabitants of the capital exprefled as lit
tle desire to preserve themselves from fire, as they
did to buy water—the stock-jobbers then chang
ed their manoeuvres.—They were bold and fuc
cefsful enough to add the credit of government
to that of the company, and the money of the
public Treasury to precarious and difcreditecl
(hares. In vain did M. de Mirabeau (the Elder)
publish a severe pamphlet against the enterprise,
and stock-jobbing ; upwards of twenty millions
of livres for the four thousand fliares, which ori
ginally were worth only four millions eight hun
dred thousand livres, and are at present °f no
real value. -Not content with this only, Men.
Per riers had influence enough to obtain from the
late Parliament of Paris a sentence, concerted
between them and the company's directors, by
which the said Perriers, were declared creditors
on Government for about two millions of livrtt-
M. de Batz, in the name of the committee of Li
quidations, reported the whole of this infamous
tranfacftion to the Natiorvil Aflembly on Monday
last, and filled the house with aflonifhment an
indignation. He concluded his report with the e
remarkable expreflions : . ,
" It is time the National Aflembly fliould begin
to impress the minds of individuals with a pio
found refpedt for the public weal, and for tie
painful fruits of the people's labor. A line o
demarcation ought certainly to be traced between
the errors of a vicious adminiftxation, and t ie