Here,  then,  believing  as  I  do,  that  our  highest
duties  to  the  constitution  and  to  the  public
liberties  forbid  our  doing  any  thing,  not  reouir-
ed  by  law  and  Justice,  wMch  would  tena  to
strengthen  this  dangerous  and  unconstitutional
institution,  (and  such,  I  think,  would  be  the
inevitable  tendency  of  a  restoration  of  the
deposits,)  I  might  have  been  content  to  termi-
nate my  view  of  the  snbject. But  grave  ooea-
tions  of  constitutional  law  have  been  maae  in
regard  to  the  rights  and  powers  of  the  Chief
Executive  office  on  this  occasion,  which  ought
not  to  be  shunned. Questions  of  this  sort,
whenever  they  arise,  should  be  firmly  met,
and  fuUy  and  fairly  canvassed,  as  nothing
can  be  of  deeper  interest  to  the  people  and  to
the  States  of  this  confederacy,  than  the  ascertain-
ment  of  the  true  principles  of  that  constitution
which  they  have  **  ordained  and  established."

I  will  now,  Mr. President,  examine  the  several
portions  taken  by  the  Senator  flrom  Kentucky,
(Mr. Cult,)  in  relation  to  this  question  of  con-
stitutional power. The  honorable  Senator
affirms  that,  by  what  has  been  done  with
regard  to  the  removal  of  the  public  deposits
from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  the  Execu-
tive has  usurped  the  power  over  the  Treasury
and  the  public  purse^  which  the  constitution
has  exclunvely  vested  in  the  Legislative  Depart-
ment. In  enforcing  this  position,  sir,  he  has
presented  to  us,  with  his  characteristic  elo-
quence, the  alarming  consequences  of  a  union
of  the  power  of  the  sword  and  of  the  purse  in
the  same  hands. As  no  topic  is  better  calcu-
lated to  arouse  the  Jealousies  of  a  fi'ee  people
than  this,  it  becomes  us  to  analyze  and  examme
it,  and  to  see  how  far  it  has  any  Just  application
to  the  subject  under  consideration. Sir,  it  is
a  great  maxim  of  constitutional  liberty,  in  that
country  from  which  we  have  derived  so  many
of  our  institutions,  that  the  powers  of  the  sword
and  the  purse  should  be  kept  separate  and  dis-
tinct; and  as  the  maxim  comes  to  us  from
tilience,  we  cannot  better  ascertain  its  scope
and  meaning,  than  by  seeing  how  it  is  under-
stood and  practised  there. In  Enriand. the
power  of  the  sword  is  in  the  hands  oi  the
King. He  can  declare  war,  make  peace,  raise
armies,  equip  fleets. 