USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903, Volume Two > Part 20
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Union unless the further introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be prohibited ; and all chil- dren born within the said territory, after its admission into the Union as a State, shall be free, but may be held to service until
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the age of twenty-five years." Opposition to slavery at home, which had been rendered effectual, opposition to new slave-holding States, and to its existence in the District of Columbia, Ritner declared, were the cherished doctrines of Pennsylvania, and he proposed to "maintain them unshrinkingly and fearlessly."
The speculation described so vividly by Ritner in his messages, the establishing of banks, the flooding of the country with paper- money, the unhealthy expansion of prices and business, the fever everywhere prevalent, finally culminated, as every thoughtful man knew it would, in the general crash of the banks, overthrow of business, and of failures of men throughout the country. At once there was a strong pressure put on Governor Ritner to con- vene the Assembly for the purpose of granting authority to the banks to suspend specie payments, in other language, to grant them authority to extend the time for paying their notes until they were able and could conveniently do so. The Governor wisely resisted, for, had the Assembly convened, the banks would have had their way and a new flood of State notes would probably have been authorized to fill the place of the discredited bank circu- lation. Such certainly was Governor Ritner's opinion, for in his message in December, 1837, he declared that we had "escaped the utter prostration of the currency by a vast emission of small notes, which the legislature would probably have authorized, and which would have continued to curse the country long after the present illegal circulation of a similar description shall have disappeared."
Though the banks suspended the payment of their notes, in other words, had failed, they continued to circulate them, though this was not legal. In law the banks had become discredited from the moment of their failure and had no right to continue business. Says Governor Ritner: "The fact that a general suspension of payment in gold and silver has taken place, without producing a general forfeiture of the charters, though it was the evident inten- tion of the legislature to prevent or punish such a catastrophe by that penalty, neither justifies the suspension, nor proves that the
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penalty is unjust. It only shows that a crisis has arisen not fore- seen by the legislature of 1824, in which the infliction of the penalty would be productive of more evil to the people than a continuance of the suspension. It is a remarkable instance of the virtual repeal of a general law of the land by the expressive, but silent, action of public necessity, by which even the fierceness of party zeal has been restrained."
It was simply necessity which kept the discredited notes in circulation. What would the people do if they were withdrawn? Would the substitution of State notes be any better? The people had been treated to some severe and lengthy experience of that kind. So, notwithstanding their discredited condition, they con- tinued to float among the people. But now came a sudden change. The banks had been organized to make money by exploiting in all kinds of ways the credulity of the people; they had been tempted to borrow money, to speculate, to indulge in all sorts of excesses ; and now that danger was seen ahead the banks turned on their customers suddenly and thought only of rescuing them- selves.
More than sixteen million of loans had been cut off suddenly, and the notes paid by creditors had been retired. The banks were trying to preserve themselves, though by so doing they were doing their best to ruin their customers by cutting off their monetary supply. The Governor, though a friend of the banks, believed that the system needed radical amendments, and some of his rec- ommendations are worth giving. He argued that the profits to shareholders should be restricted to seven per cent. annually, the notes to be still further reduced in amount; other borrowers than brokers should be first accommodated, and every bank should be compelled to keep its notes at par in Harrisburg, Pittsburg and Philadelphia; that all notes below $10 be withdrawn.
Meantime the State was flooded with small notes. They were odious, yet they went. Each political party blamed the other for their origin; each disliked them, yet took them, for the larger
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portion came from unquestioned solvent sources, but all were illegal. At the last day of the previous session the State author- ized a loan of $150,000 to the Harrisburg and Lancaster Railroad company. This was vetoed because the Governor did not believe in beginning private works with State assistance "without full ability and preparation to complete them." This was an old prac- tice which the Governor thought had been "too extensively fol- lowed and should be discountenanced." Besides, the proposed road was to parallel that of the State.
Knowing that Ritner was a strong believer in internal im- provements, the legislature passed a bill appropriating large sums for private, as well as for public works. This he vetoed, but the next year the Assembly passed another and still more objectionable act. It appropriated for State work and repairs $1,382,044, for State roads and bridges $116,300, for turnpikes $159,000 and for company canals and railroads $295,000. The Governor hesitated to sign it, for he knew that a large portion of the money would be spent for useless purposes. Yet the Governor did sign it, and in his next message, the last he ever wrote, he thus explained his action : "The appropriations of last session were made with great profusion. They exceeded by nearly $1,000,000 the amount which a prudent foresight seemed to me to justify. At the commence- ment of the session a full expose of the means of the State and the most pressing claims upon the treasury was exhibited. Dur- ing the course of the session an adherence to moderation in ex- penditure was attempted to be enforced by every means within the power of the executive, on every proper occasion, but without success. And finally the unpleasant alternative was presented, as had been foreseen, of sanctioning appropriations, of which, in the existing condition of the public finances, he could not approve, or of wholly obstructing the use of the completed works by defeating a bill containing the indispensable provision for repairs. Under these circumstances that bill was sanctioned, but no act of my public life was ever performed with greater reluctance."
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Strong as Governor Ritner had always been in favor of internal improvements, his faith began to fail toward the end of his ad- ministration. The frauds were so great, the need of appropriating so much money to worthless purposes to secure the sum needful for useful ones, that he began to despair. In his last message he sadly remarked : "I once thought that no combination of circum- stances would cause me ever to hesitate in advocating the speediest
SULLIVANS ROUTE
Outline of Tioga Point or Indian Arrow
Showing positions of Fort Sullivan and Spanish Hill. Reproduced especially for this work from original map in possession of N. F. Walker
means that could be devised for the completion of our noble system of improvements; but the experience of the past two years has, I confess, shaken my confidence in the attainment of this desirable end, within any reasonable period. I have beheld the treasury amply supplied with means, and yet the session terminate without any provision for the prosecution of the works, because the terms dictated by companies and sectional jealousies could not be complied with. The next year the executive has been compelled.
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for the sake of obtaining a repair fund, without which even the portion already in operation would have been thrown idle, to sanction a bill pouring almost the last dollar of the public into the coffers of the private companies and into new channels.
"Thus it has come to pass that, notwithstanding a succession of circumstances the most fortunate, and of receipts the most ample and unexpected, the Commonwealth is left without means to continue her own works and redeem her own faith. Her con- tractors, her citizens, and the public generally, are, I fear, about to possess good cause of complaint that she has entered upon under- takings that she cannot accomplish; or, as the only alternative, the means to complete and render productive the projects of pri- vate speculation which have already proved so burdensome to the treasury and so insatiable in their demands, must continue to be granted without regard to consequences. If I could believe that the lesson, thus far, would be sufficient to produce reformation, I could even compel myself to recommend an increase of the State debt to meet the urgent wants which are now around us; but I cannot. The same spirit is yet at work; the same tax will still have to be paid by the State for permission to apply even her bor- rowed funds to her own works." All that he did, therefore, was to commit the matter to the legislature with a statement of the sums that would be required and the sources whence they might be obtained, if the gigantic swindle was to be continued.
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CHAPTER XIII.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1838-THE BUCKSHOT WAR
W E must now turn aside from the main stream of history to describe a new experience in constitution making. As the constitution of 1790 was a radical departure from that of 1776 in strengthening the executive and changing the mode of legislation, so another departure was made hardly less radical than the last. Even if the constitution of 1790 had been perfect for the people of the day, it could hardly be expected to fulfill the needs of the people living half a century afterwards. Afraid of the shadow of power in 1776, when battling with Great Britain, a constitution had been hastily formed confiding nearly all power to the Assembly, believing that, as the members were the repre- sentatives of the people, there was no danger of usurpation. The constitution broke down from the lack of an executive head, and its unfitness, especially for a Revolutionary purpose, would have been soon apparent if the bold leaders had not disregarded its provisions whenever necessary. The constitution of 1790, on the other hand, gave too much power to the Governor, especially in making appointments to office. The belief soon began to grow that this should be lessened, and the term of the judges short- ened; in other words, that the constitution should be more demo- cratic, reserving to the people a larger measure of power in the election of officers. Such a change, it was believed, would result in better selections and a juster balance of power. For many years the subject of holding a convention had been considered.
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Duane tried years before to stir the people to action, but he met with no success. Public sentiment had been gradually chang- ing, however, and in 1835 the question was submitted and carried by a majority of 13,404 in a vote of 159,736. The people hav- ing voted in favor of a convention, the legislature fixed on Harris- burg as the place for assembling on the first Tuesday of May, 1837. Meantime delegates were to be chosen by the people (on the first Friday in November, 1836), apportioned in the same manner as the Senate and House and of the same number.
The city of Philadelphia sent John Sergeant, Charles Chauncey, William M. Meredith and James C. Biddle: the county, Charles J. Ingersoll; Adams county was represented by Thaddeus Stevens ; Beaver by John Dickey and Daniel Agnew, and Northampton by James M. Porter. There were other delegates who often partici- pated in the proceedings ; indeed, the stream of debate was copious and prolonged, but these were its most prominent characters. Over this body John Sergeant presided. For many years he had been one of the most brilliant and honored men in the legal pro- fession, a member of congress, effective in securing the Missouri Compromise, an envoy in 1826 to the Panama congress and a candidate for the vice-presidency of the United States on the ticket with Henry Clay in 1832. Of stainless character, impar- tial, the friend of all, the members of that body, one of the most worthy that ever sat in the State, selected him with a rare willing- ness, knowing that his judgment would be as impartial as his well known love of justice. . The convention met on May 2, 1837, but not until the 16th did they begin to consider amendments. The intervening time had been occupied in organizing and adopting rules of procedure, which caused lengthy debate. Everything was debated; the stream of talk was unending. The convention had not been assembled a week before the fires of controversy began to rage. The convention had been called during a time of intense political excitement. Ritner was Governor and the Dem- ocrats were smarting under their defeat. The appointment of
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special committees on currency and finance and internal improve- ments caused a hot debate ; for all knew what an opening of these discussions meant.
FORT SULLIVAN
Boulder marking old Fort Sullivan
The inscription on the tablet reads: "In Sulli- van's expedition, the march that destroyed sav. agery and opened the Keystone and Empire States to civilization, four brigades furnished by the States of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire, with Proctor's ar- tillery and Poor's riflemen, took part. At this Tioga Point, long the southern door of the Iroquois confederacy, 5,000 troops encamped. Named by the Continentals and garrisoned by 250 soldiers of the 2nd New Jersey regiment. under Colonel Israel Shrieve, here stood Fort Sullivan with four block houses, curtains and abatis, from August 11th to October 3rd, 1779. This tablet is erected by the Tioga Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1902."
The first regular debate was on article VIII, relating to the oath of office. This provided that "members of the general as-
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sembly and all officers, executive and judicial, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support the constitution of the common- wealth, and to perform the duties of their respective offices with fidelity." During the debate Mr. Biddle inquired into the influ- ence of oaths. "Are they reverenced? Are they not rather almost like custom-house oaths, which are proverbially a by-word and a reproach? But it is said that the history of these States has shown such oaths to be necessary for the purpose of preserv- ing the different States in due subordination to the general gov- ernment, that States have openly and even by laws resisted the rightful authority of the Union . . . . . We must be bound to- gether by something stronger than oaths of office ; these will never prevail against the conflicts of passion, and the jarring interests which may, at times, shake our government. It must be deeply rooted in the respect, the confidence, the affections of the people. Let these be lost and parchment constitutions and official oaths will prove of no avail."
On May 17, Mr. Stevens threw a little fire-brand into the convention in the form of a resolution to appoint a committee on the subject of secret societies and extra-judicial oaths. This was adopted, but the discussion was temperate. The fourth article relating to impeachments was debated at great length. It was proposed to change it, making the vote of a majority sufficient for conviction. The debate ran strongly against the change. One of the most noteworthy speeches was made by Mr. Biddle. "In all cases," he remarked, "this is objectionable, but especially so in its operations on the judiciary. There is no department of government in which all are so deeply interested . . . It pervades all society, and the sphere of its influence is coextensive with social order. While its functions are thus important, it is the weakest of all departments. It possesses no patronage, it dispenses neither favors nor rewards. While on the other hand it is thus unsup- ported, on the other, it is peculiarly exposed to assault. . . . . The very nature of their duties exposes them to the vengeance of
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ill-disposed men. Shall no shield be extended over them for their protection?"
Mr. Porter, of Northampton, asked, "What evils have ever grown out of the present system of impeachment? Has any man ever been acquitted who ought to have been convicted? If so, I have not heard of the case. Judge Addison was convicted and all agree that he deserved to be removed from office for bringing politics upon the bench, yet many have thought that his offenses were rather such as would have justified removal by address than conviction or impeachment."
After a debate of several days and before concluding it, a majority of the committee on currency, corporations, public high- ways and eminent domain, reported that it was "unnecessary and inexpedient" to make any changes in the constitution on those matters. The minority, however, of whom Mr. C. J. Ingersoll was the leading spirit, thought differently. Their report was one of the most forcible documents presented to the convention, in- deed, a noteworthy report in every way.
"Sore from the evils of paper money, which the exigencies of the Revolution extorted, the funding of whose greatly depreciated obligations was one of the first causes of discontent and division between the speculating and substantial classes of the new Amer- ican nation, any other standard of value than the precious metals was earnestly deprecated at the outset of American government by all the prudent, the patriotic and the industrious, and was sup- posed to be guarded against by adequate provisions. For there is no other standard. There can be none. Every attempted sub- stitute is delusive, if not fraudulent, a snare by which industry, morality, private property and public prosperity, all suffer alike. The shocking vicissitudes of an unconvertible paper me- dium are but too familiar to all experience. They have cost this country more than all its wars. They were the greatest difficulty of the Revolution ; and they are at this moment, the most oppres- sive, by far, of all the public burthens. They have caused a
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calamitous convulsion. No law can create capital at a strike. It is the slow growing offspring of industry and liberty alone. Preposterous luxury, insolvency and crime are the certain follow- ers of the bank mania, a system of stupendous gambling and supersedes and derides regular occupation. Plethora brings on want, unnatural plenty, unnatural scarcity, prices so high that the working classes were pinched for food; then all at once, so low that nothing but a bad currency, speculation and monopoly can account for such sudden vicissitudes, the most devouring usury, controversy and litigation, panic, clamor, convulsion, and at last the refusal of the banks, in a time of profound peace, to redeem their notes in good money. These have been the rapid events of the last few months. With $80,000,000 of gold and silver and abundance of everything needful for prosperity and content, large portions of our people are in a revolutionary state of disgust and excitement, are reduced to want, and maddened with disappointed hope.
"In common with the whole United States, this State is now suffering the most distressing crisis of a disordered currency. The great, first and pervading cause of that disorder is departure from the specie basis, and the whole strain of this review of the subject, avoiding as much as possible those exciting topics which have become party politics and as such infuse themselves into all discussion, has been to demonstrate that to restore the specie standard and reduce the bank supremacy is the obvious, the only and the infallible remedy. The last has been a terrible year for this country, more so than any one that has preceded it since the independence of these United States, distressing at home and dis- graceful abroad. It will require many seasons of prosperous pro- duction to repair the banking ravages of the last two years at home, and a long tract of time to recover the American character lost abroad. The mode of living introduced by the imposing facilities of bank credit must be like the less ostentatious habits of the days of hard money ; it is the first interest of this leading
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State to restore that sterling standard." The committee then proceeded to describe the limitations that should be enforced on banks and then to consider the subject of corporations. "At the period of adopting the first constitution of Pennsylvania they were so little known in practice that it was thought necessary to invest the legislature with express power to grant them. Thus the numberless and multifarious charters that had been granted by the present constitution of this State are the creatures of a constructive power both novel and questionable. They are all a compromise of the principle of equality with that of property. Whatever power is given to a corporation is just so much power taken from the State in derogation of the original power of the mass of the community, and violative of the equality of every individual not incorporated. Should no check be put on the pres- ent facilities and habits of incorporating individuals for lucrative purposes, that system of extensive and provident legislation which guarded against the accumulation and perpetuity of property by primogeniture and entail will be completely annulled, and the tenure of a property carried back to a system, not feudal in its military features, but much more strict and lasting than feudal tenure. Liberty remains, freedom of speech, of action, of the press, of religion, and of acquiring property; but equality is rapidly disappearing in the possession, distribution and trans- mission of it."
Various limitations to corporate power were proposed; laws forbidding perpetuities or monopolies for private purposes, the granting of charters only by a two-thirds vote of the members of two successive legislatures. A fierce debate arose over the printing and distribution of this report. Thaddeus Stevens started the debate. He said he had "listened to town meeting speeches and inflammatory harangues from raw Irishmen and imported Democrats, but he never listened to anything so incen- diary in its principles and absurd in its arguments as this most extraordinary document. At a time when the whole community
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was ready for an explosion ; when a magazine was laid which a single spark would cause to explode, to the disaster and utter ruin of the whole community, would the convention permit a member of its body to lay the train and apply the torch?"
The debate grew hotter and hotter over the printing of Inger- soll's report. Then Mr. Dunlap arose and inquired : "What, sir, have we to fear from this report? I esteem it perfectly gentle, harmless as the comet of Encke, that all the astronomers have been able to see through without the least difficulty, a mere globule of steam and vapor. We are told that it is inaccurate in its facts, delusive in its reasoning and unsound in its deductions. Is that any reason it should not be printed? If it is a mere pic- ture of the works of fancy, the mere vagaries of genius, would you not let the people have a look at it? We permit our children to read the tales of the Arabian Nights, and is this more false than they? The Metamorphoses of Ovid are studied by our boys, and is there anything more monstrous in this abused and pelted docu- ment? I ask you imploringly, won't you let this elegant and polished document be presented to the full grown men and women of this Commonwealth? Why, sir, they'll get it anyhow ; do not gentlemen know that it will be printed by that very accurate and industrious paper, the 'Daily Chronicle,' which shows us up so prettily to our fellow citizens every morning ?" The debate con- tinued throughout the day and at its close the convention decided by sixty-eight to fifty-seven to print the report.
Without considering any further these interesting debates, it may be remarked here that in July the convention adjourned to meet again at Harrisburg, and removed in December to Phila- delphia, where the labors of that body were completed on Febru- ary 22, 1838. The amendments proposed were ratified at the general election in October by a vote of 113,971 to 112,759. The principal features of the constitution of 1838 were that the polit- ical year should begin in January ; that the Governor should serve but two terms of three years each in any period of nine years, and
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