The brave old man lived not only to see the odious "gag rule" rescinded, but to listen to that magnificent speech from one of his colleagues, Dr. Palfrey, on the "inalienable_rights of man," at the conclusion of which, Mr. Adams characteristically exclaimed, "God be praised; the seals are broken; the door is open!"

Dying in his country's capitol, in the midst of his public duties, in February, 1848, his illustrious career shone brightly to the end. As secretary of state under Mr. Monroe, and subsequently as presi

charter of the United States bank, which would expire in 1836. The bank had not yet formally applied for such renewal, but, being thus pressed upon the attention of congress, it was referred to the committee on finance in both houses for examination; and on the thirtieth of April, 1830, Mr. McDuffie, of the house, made a report on the subject, taking ground directly at variance with the views of the president, arguing that Washington sanctioned and signed its original charter, that it had fulfilled the ends for which it was established, and that expediency and a regard for the public interest would dictate its continuance. The report in the senate concurred with these sentiments. Such was the effect produced by these reports, that the shares of the bank, which, under the effect of the message, had greatly fallen in value, soon reached the very highest figure.

As early as 1832, a memorial was presented to congress by the president and directors of the bank for a renewal of its charter. Soon after, a committee was appointed to investigate the proceedings of the bank. A majority of this committee reported against the bank, principally on the ground of a violation of its charter by illegal transactions; a minority report, however, declared that the affairs of the bank had been administered by Mr. Biddle and the directors, with very great ability, and with perfect fidelity to every obligation; and that, being an institution indispensable to the preservation of a sound currency, and to the financial operations of the government, its downfall would be a great national calamity.

On the tenth of June, the senate passed a bill, by eight majority, favoring the bank, and, shortly after, the house concurred by a majority of twenty-two. This bill was vetoed by the president, who declared it unauthorized by the constitution, subversive of the rights of the states, and dangerous to the liberties of the people. This veto, though not unexpected to the country, was bitterly denounced from one end of the Union to the other, as an act

pregnant with fearful and appalling woes. Such, too, was the political complexion of congress, at this period, that it was impossible to obtain anything like the two-thirds vote requisite to pass a bill over the presidential veto.

The conflict of opinion in regard to the bank,-an institution whose existence and operations naturally affected, for good or ill, every branch of industry, commerce, agriculture, and manufactures, throughout the country,-continued, and with increased intensity. All kinds of business had, by means of the vast loans so freely obtained from the bank, in larger or smaller sums, by speculators, become greatly inflated, and especially was this the case with stocks. Jackson, viewing the bank as, in this respect, an unhealthy corporation, and capable, in its dispensation of favors, of being a dangerous political engine, determined to cripple and crush it, and, as an effectual measure to this end, he planned the withdrawal from the bank, of those funds belonging to the government, of which the bank, according to its charter, was the legal depository. During the recess of congress, namely, on the eighteenth of September, 1833, the president read to the cabinet a document advocating and advising a speedy removal of the public treasure deposited with the United States bank,-this treasure constituting, as was well understood, the basis of the bank's credit and operations.

In the document read by the president, on this occasion, he begged the cabinet to consider the measure as his own, and in support of which he should require no one of them to make a sacrifice of opinion or principle. Its responsibility, he assured them, had been assumed by him, after the most mature deliberation and reflection, as necessary to preserve the morals of the people, the freedom of the press, and the purity of the elective franchise. Mr. Duane, at this time secretary of the treasury, disapproved of the proposed removal of the deposites, whereupon he was dismissed from that position, and his place supplied by Roger B. Taney, who at once

executed the presidential order. The president emphatically declared: "No power on earth-so help me God!-shall control the key to the nation's funds, but the United States government itself!"

Mr. Clay's indignant, burning eloquence, denunciatory of the acts of the executive, knew no bounds, and he concluded by offering resolutions of censure against the president, which, after a most stormy debate, passed the senate, in a slightly altered form, on the twenty-eighth of March, 1834, namely: "That the president, in the late executive proceedings in relation to the revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." Against this resolution, President Jackson sent in a long and severe protest. To this the senate responded, by resolutions declaring that the protest was a breach of the privileges of the senate, and that it should not be entered upon the journal. The house of representatives, however, sustained the president, in his opposition to the bank, and the removal of the deposites. Memorials and petitions, for or against the measures of the president, flowed in from all quarters. It was considered as momentous an issue as had ever agitated the land.

The president's wrath was unmeasured, that the resolutions of censure, in substance declaring him guilty of an impeachable offense, should thus be spread upon the legislative journal. Mr. Benton, the most powerful friend of the president, lost no time in giving notice of his intention to move a strong measure in behalf of the president, namely, an Expunging Resolution against the sentence of censure passed and recorded by the senate, committing himself irrevocably to the prosecution of the resolution, until he should succeed in the effort, or terminate his political life.

In support of the president's course, and of Mr. Benton's proposed method of vindication, various public proceedings were had in different sections of the country, and some of the state legislatures not

only voted in favor of the removal of the record of censure, but instructed their congressional delegations to use their influence and votes in a similar direction.

Mr. Benton's resolutions rehearsed the principal points involved in the past history and present aspects of the controversy, quite at length, the closing resolution being as follows: "That the said resolve be expunged from the journal; and, for that purpose, that the secretary of the senate, at such time as the senate may appoint, shall bring the manuscript journal of the session 1833-34 into the senate, and, in the presence of the senate, draw black lines round the said resolve, and write across the face thereof, in strong letters, the following words:

Expunged

day of

in the year of our Lord For three years, successively, did Mr. Benton bring forward, on different occasions, his celebrated motion, and again and again he suffered defeat, after the most violent and scathing debates that ever took place in any parliamentary body, the senate at this time containing an unusual amount of oratorical talent and forensic power.

But the last scene-and with it victory to the great Missourian and his presidential master, was now near at hand; and

this scene, as described, mainly, by Mr. Benton himself, was as follows: Saturday, the fourteenth of January, the democratic senators agreed to have a meeting, and to take their final measures for passing the expunging resolution. They knew they had the numbers; but they also knew they had adversaries to grapple with to whom might be applied the proud motto of Louis the Fourteenth: "Not an unequal match for numbers." They also knew that members of the party were in the process of separating from it, and would require conciliating. They met in the night at the then famous restaurant of Boulanger, giving to the assemblage the air of a convivial entertainment. It continued till midnight, and required all the moderation, tact and skill of the prime movers to obtain and maintain the union upon details, on the success of which the fate of the measure depended. The men of conciliation were to be the efficient men of that night; and all the winning resources of Wright, Allen of Ohio, and Linn of Missouri, were put into requisition. There were serious differences upon the mode of expurgation, while agreed upon the thing; and finally obliteration, the favorite of the mover, was given up, and the mode of expurgation adopted which had been proposed in the resolutions of the general assembly of Virginia, namely, to inclose the obnoxious sentence in a square of black lines-an oblong square a compromise of opinions to which the mover agreed upon condition of being allowed to compose the epitaph-" Expunged by the order of the Senate." The agreement which was to lead to victory was then adopted, each one severally pledging himself to it, that there should should be no adjournment of the senate. after the resolution was called until it was passed; and that it should be called immediately after the morning business on the Monday ensuing. Expecting a protracted session, extending through the day and night, and knowing the difficulty of keeping men steady to their work and in good humor, when tired and hungry,

the mover of the proceeding took care to provide, as far as possible, against such a state of things; and gave orders that night to have an ample supply of cold hams, turkeys, rounds of beef, pickles, wines, and cups of hot coffee, ready in a certain committee room near the senate chamber by four o'clock on the afternoon of Monday.

The motion to take up the subject was made at the appointed time, and immediately a debate of long speeches, chiefly on the other side, opened itself upon the question.

As the darkness of approaching night came on, and the great chandelier was lit up, splendidly illuminating the chamber, then crowded with the members of the house, and the lobbies and galleries filled to their utmost capacity with visitors and spectators, the scene became grand and impressive. A few spoke on the side of the resolution-chiefly Rives, Buchanan, Niles-and, with an air of ease and satisfaction that bespoke a quiet determination, and a consciousness of victory. The committee room was resorted to in parties of four and six at a time, always leaving enough on watch; and not resorted to by one side alone. The opposition were invited to a full participation—an invitation of which those who were able to maintain their good temper readily availed themselves; but the greater part were not in a humor to eat anything-especially at such a feast.

The night was wearing away; the expungers were in full force-masters of the chamber-happy-and visibly determined to remain. It became evident to the great opposition leaders, that the inevitable hour had come; that the 'damnable deed' was to be done that night; and that the dignity of silence was no longer to them a tenable position. The battle was going against them, and they must go into it, without being able to re-establish it. In the beginning, they had not considered the expunging movement a serious proceeding; as it advanced, they still expected it to miscarry on some point; now,