if possible, this might be effected. Yet, the gentleman accused him of a design to create a surplus.

The gentleman had again said, that one of the arguments urged by him in favor of the Distribution Bill had been, that the deposit of the public money in banks was a great instrument of fraud and speculation. This was a great mistake. He had said no such thing. The President, however, had undertaken to legislate on the subject, and had issued an order, which was much more like an act of Congress than an executive measure. The President deemed the evil so great, and the remedy so specific, that he had ventured on a great stretch of power to realize the object. Now, after what the President had said on this subject, any man who should vote to leave the public money in deposit banks stood openly convicted of being in favor of speculators.

Mr. C. hoped the Senator would not persist in his motion to refer the bill to a committee which he knew to be utterly opposed to it. Nothing could be more unparliamentary. He hoped the gentleman would at least indulge him with a special committee.

[Here, after some remarks from Mr. Buchanan, in favor of the motion to refer the bill to the Committee of Finance, Mr. Walker again rose in support of his motion; and alleged that Mr. Calhoun, by not advocating the recommendation of the President in regard to a reduction of duties, was, in fact, voting to create a surplus for distribution.]

Mr. Calhoun rejoined and explained, with a view to show that the case of which the gentleman from Mississippi complained was not parallel to the present, and still insisted on the propriety of allowing him a special committee. If, however, the Senate should resolve to send this bill to the Committee of Finance, he should not be at a loss to understand the movement. He had read the President's

Message attentively. It was an extraordinary document. He read with no less care the report of the Secretary of the Treasury; that, too, was an extraordinary document. The perusal had suggested some suspicions to his mind; and should the present bill be sent to the Finance Committee, those suspicions would be fully confirmed. Such a measure would go far to convince him that the policy of the administration was agreed upon, and that it would be--to make a demonstration on a reduction of the revenue, but, in fact, to leave the revenue in the deposit banks. The end of this session was not far off, and that would tell whether he was not correct in his opinion. He would now, in his turn, venture to become a prophet; and he would predict that, if the present motion succeeded, the very thing which the President in his Message had most decidedly condemned, would be the thing actually realized. Notwithstanding the President's opposition to the collecting of surplus revenue, and all he had said on its tendency to promote speculation and corrupt the public morals, that was the thing which would be done. He was sorry he did not see the Senator from New-York (Mr. Wright) in his place. On that gentleman, peculiarly, lies the obligation to provide for the reduction of the revenue. Mr. C. well knew the difficulty of touching this subject. He had himself had a full and sound trial of that operation. He knew the efforts by which the existing reduction had been effected, and he felt very sure that the Senator from New-York could not be sanguine in the expectation of effecting a reduction to any great amount. He had heard much said in private on that subject, and he could not but regret that the President, when alluding to it in his Message, had not referred to the difficulties attending it. Mr. C. thought he saw how things were to go, and he thus openly announced what his conviction was. He believed nothing would be done to reduce the revenue; that the money would still be collected, and would be left, not

where it ought to be found, in the treasuries of the States, but in the deposit banks.

If the Finance Committee would report an adequate reduction, of the revenue, Mr. C. would consent to withdraw his bill. He should infinitely prefer a reduction to a distribution provided the thing could be done. In the meanwhile the South claimed the execution of the Compromise Bill; it had not only closed a long and painful controversy, but had enabled them to make some feeble stand against the progress of executive influence. He concluded by moving for a special committee.

[Here Mr. Rives of Virginia said something in support of the motion of the Senator from Mississippi, and taxed Mr. C. with inconsistency in voting to refer the question of reduction to the Committee on Finance, while he opposed the present motion.]

Mr. Calhoun repelled the charge of inconsistency. He had been in favor of sending the subject of a reduction of the revenue to the Committee on Finance, because he considered the subject as appropriate to their specific duties; but he was opposed to sending this bill to that committee, because they were known to be adverse to its object. In one case he had gone on the great parliamentary principle, that propositions were to be referred to committees favorable to the object proposed; and in the other case, he still had sent it to a committee at least not unfavorable to the measure. He was rejoiced to hear the honorable Senator from Virginia declare so explicitly that he did not repent the course he had taken in reference to the Compromise Bill. He was confident the gentleman never would have reason to repent the able and honorable course he had pursued on that memorable occasion; and he trusted the gentleman would agree in sentiment with those who were opposed to leaving the public money in the deposit banks. Mr. C. had given many evidences of his desire that a reduction should be made in the

revenue; and had, the last session, sent a bill to the Committee on Manufactures for that object, which afterwards had passed the Senate almost unanimously, and had been sent to the other House, after which, it was never again heard of. He was not the inan, however, to disturb the terms of the compromise, which had so happily been effected, unless it could be done by common consent. The South were prepared to assent to such a step, and if the North would also agree to it, there need be no difficulty in the case. The gentleman from Virginia seemed to suppose that, because it was the duty of the Finance Committee to consider the question, whether there was likely to be a surplus revenue or not, therefore, this bill ought to be sent to them. The argument was too wide ;-on the same principle, every proposition which related to the application of any portion of the public resources must be sent to that committee. It would swallow up almost all the business of the Senate. He concluded by demanding the yeas and nays on the question of commitment.

REMARKS

On Mr. Benton's proposition to apply the unexpended balances of Appropriations in the Treasury to objects of National Defence; made in the Senate, December 28th, 1836.

[MR. BENTON, after stating the contents of the report of the Secretary of the Treasury (called for on his motion), showing the amount of unexpended balances of appropriations made at the last session, and commenting, at some length, on them, moved the printing of the document, and that five copies be sent to the Governor of each State, ten copies to each branch of the State Legislatures, and one thousand copies retained for the use of the Senate.

The main objects of the movement being to retain these balances in the treasury, and to withdraw from the States the surplus revenues which had been deposited with them, under an act of the previous session, Mr. Calhoun rose and said :]

He desired to make a very few remarks on the very extraordinary motion of the Senator from Missouri, and to ask for the yeas and nays on the question. The sending out this paper in the manner proposed, would make an erroneous impression on the minds of those to whom it would be sent, and would be an unusual departure from the ordinary practice of the Senate. Did not every Senator know that there was a large amount left in the treasury, say five millions of dollars, by the Deposit Law of the last session, for the purpose of meeting these balances? Did not every Senator know that, by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, there were three millions of dollars of these appropriations that would not be wanted, and were therefore transferred to the surplus fund in pursuance of a standing law? And was there not besides, a large sum in the hands of the disbursing officers of the Government? He knew, Mr. C. said, that every exertion would be made in order to defeat the Deposit Bill at this session. He knew well that the battle was yet to be fought a battle in which the people would be on one side, and the office-holders and office-seekers on the other. While up, he would refer to the Committee on Finance, and make one remark in reference to the report of that committee on the bill introduced by him a few days since, and, much against his wishes, referred to them. They had reported against the bill, and it was not strange that they should do so; because a majority of that committee were three out of the six who voted against the Deposit Bill at the last session. But what he complained of was, that they had reported it without one single word of explanation; the chairman simply saying that he was instructed by the committee to move for its indefinite postponement. He would now ask the chair