The sub-treasury: In place of renewing the bank charters, MVB had
proposed
a sub?
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
Other details of cost, etc, are hidden [86:6IJ.
157. Tory not a Liberal: On the right to search suspicious vessels at sea, which the British under the liberals asserted in provoca- tive tones of voice. With Robert Peel as prime
151. Quam
dom is hidebound. " Randolph, in a speech ca. 1827 supporting Jackson against JQA, is prompted to recall other great statesmen: "Cardinal Richelieu was what? A priest. Yes, but what a priest! Oxenstierna was a chan- cellor. He it was who sent his son abroad to
regitur:
L, "such
small
wis-
? 528
minister, says MVE, "a great change had
occurred in the tone of the English Minis~ try" [ibid. , 528-529].
, 89/599 I
gentlemanly; and he dispenses . . . a generous and liberal hospitality" [TYV, 11, 101]. Fre- mont said of THB: "Mr. Benton always re- laxed to the enjoyment of the interesting and cheerful dinner-table" [Memoirs, 414- 415].
165. Domvile: [102:29].
166. Uberti: [77:99; cf. 127 above].
167. "His agreeable niece . . . : MVB as minister to Britain speaks of Prince Talley? rand: "I visited his house as often as the habits of society in relation to persons in his position would justify, and was always re~ ceived with cordiality by himself and his agreeable niece the Duchesse de Dino"
[MVB, Auto, 458] .
168. Mihailovitch: Prob. Draza Mihajlovic, a Yugoslav adversary of Tito who believed Communism was a greater threat than Fas~ cism. He was tried for treason in 1946 and executed [104:2].
169. Henriot: Prob. Philippe H. , minister in Petain's Vichy government. Three weeks and a day after the Normandy invasion (June 28, 1944), he was shot to death by members of the French Resistance [Bosha, Pat, 4-1, 99-100; 84-39].
170. Gentile: Prob. Giovanni G. , 1875-1944, who taught philosophy at several Italian uni- versities. An early supporter of Mussolini, he was called "the philospher of Fascism. "
171. "China . . . treaty: A would-be con man by the name of Caleb Cushing sought notori- ety and fame by promoting a trade treaty between the U. S. and China. A bill spon- sored in Congress for money to promote this unwise project was opposed by Benton and many others. The idea came because China had signed a peace treaty with Great Britain; but that treaty was in settlement of a con- flict. Both China and wise men in this coun~ try said that trade between the two coun- tries had increased amid fine relationships and no such formality or costly administra- tive arrangement was needed. In spite of this, President Tyler was charmed by
89/599
Cushing and his idea, so money was appro~ priated. Cushing was launched on his mission with three battleships "carrying altogether near two hundred guns; a formidable accom~ paniment for a peace mission seeking a com~ mercial treaty" [TYV, 11,515]. Fortunately, fire and disaster disabled some of the ships or Cushing might have caused a war. When he got to China, he demanded to see the emperor. "The Emperor's governor-general, Ching, replied that the Emperor would not give audience to a trade mission, and that it was the custom and law for foreign trade missions to conduct business outside the heavenly empire, at Canton" [Watts, unpub. 206]. Cushing persisted and threatened to sail up the river and hunt down the emperor, who was "insulting the dignity of the United States. " Benton concludes that only the de- lay of the warships may have prevented Cushing blundering the U. S. into war-a re- sult that seems to have been narrowly avoided. The lines focus on several argu- ments. Our trade with China had gone on with little bureaucratic interference or con~ trol. Benton outlines Ching's response: "With respect to the treaty offriendship and commerce, the governor declares there is no necessity for it-that China and America have traded together two hundred years in peace and friendship without a treaty-that all nations now had the benefit of the treaty with Great Britain, which treaty was neces? sary to establish relations after a war; and that the United States, having had no war with China, had no need for a treaty" [TYV, 11,516].
172. Cambreling: [Cambreleng]. Jackson ap- pointed Samuel Swartwout, an old political ally, to be the customs collector of New York Harbor over the protests of his secre- tary of state, Van Buren) who considered resigning because he thought the appoint~ ment so unwise. His own choice was Churchill C. Cambreleng [37:58]. MVB de- cided, finally, to stay on but with the pro- viso that he be allowed to state his objec~ tions to his friends in New Yark. In response to his letters) Cambreleng ended a long re- ply: "and now mark me-if our Collector is
529
not a defaulter in four years, I'll swallow the Treasury if it was all coined in coppers . . . C. C. Cambreleng" [MVB, Auto, 268]. It was discovered in 1838 that Swartwout had embezzled $1,250,000.
173. Tazewill . . . St James: Jackson wanted to appoint Randolph's friend Littleton W. Tazewell (senator from Virginia) as minister to England. MVB thought he was too old and unsuited to the pomp of English court life: "I am sure he derived more social enjoy- ment from his games at quoits with Chief Justice Marshall . . . and others . . . than he could promise himself abroad" [ibid. , 259] . Tazewell declined the appointment.
174. "Of great . . . resolved on: Although Jackson had turned over office to MVB with the nation not only free of debts but with a surplus in the treasury, the politicians in consort with the bankers put up a big and destructive fight in the next round of bank battles. One thousand banks in all the states were empowered to issue paper money with- out specified specie reserves. Some went so far as to issue 20 times as much paper as they had specie to redeem it. Financial ruin loomed. Daniel Webster Ca henchman of Biddle) and the bank were conniving to force the bank's rechartering. At a critical
moment Webster made a famous speech to a large crowd in New York blaming Jackson and MVB for all the monetary troubles. Ben- ton writes of the Webster performance and explains what he was up to: "It was the first formal public step which was to inaugurate the new distress, and organize the proceed- ings for shutting up the banks, and with them, the federal treasury, with a view to coerce the government into submission to the Bank of the United States and its con- federate politicians. Mr. Van Buren was a man of great suavity and gentleness of de- portment, and, to those who associated the idea of violence with firmness, might be sup~ posed deficient in that quality. An experi~ ment upon his nerves was resolved o n - a pressure of public opinion, in the language of Mr. Webster, under which his gentle tem- perament was expected to yield" [TYV, 11,
158. Galileo: [85:7]. 159. jb: : Meng4
[M4428], "great, emi- nent"; + :tzu3 [M6939], "a son, a philoso- pher. " "Meng-tzu," Mencius ["Mang Tsze,"
SP ,81-97].
160. caliginern vespertinum: L, "evening fog" or "darkness. "
161. 1fvpwatv . . . e"AC<TTT),: H, "and he set fire to the sea. "
162. Caleb . . . christening": Meigs says of THE: "Benton was . . . often outrageously personal in his criticisms. " During the slave VS. free-state debates of 1849: "Claiborne Jackson and two other leading enemies at- tended one of his meetings and took front seats with a view to interrupting him with questions; but the interruption did not oc- cur, after Benton early in his speech said,
'And here are Claib Jackson [and the others, naming them] . . . as demure as three prosti- tutes at a christening' " [Meigs, Life o f THB, 456). Pound's "Johnson" is an error.
163. Calhoun called . . . : Henry Clay in open Senate debate said Calhoun used this epithet for MVB. MVB drew up a bill pro- posing a national treasury system and Cal~ houn endorsed it: "What the drawer thinks of the indorser, his cautious reserve and stif? fled enmity prevent us from knowing. But the frankness ? of the indorser has not left us in the same ignorance with respect to his opinion of the drawer. He has often ex~ pressed it upon the floor of the Senate. On one occasion. . . denying him any of the royal beast of the forest, he attributed to him those which belong to the most crafty, most skulking, and the meanest of the quad~ ruped tribe" [TYV, II, 101].
164. Firm taste . . . : Clay's own opinion of MVB is different: "I do not . . . share with [Calhoun] . . . in this opinion of the Presi- dent of the United States [MVB]. 1 have always found him . . . civil, courteous and
? 530
89/600
89/600
531
15-16]. MVB did not yield. He even man- aged to restore the situation and get federal notes issued backed by specie and taxes to resolve the crisis without rechartering the bank. But his acts were "political suicide. " In 1840 the bankers and their cohorts mounted "the most scurrilous and fradulent campaign against a Presidential incumbent in American history. " MVB was defeated by the innocuous Harrison, who would, they believed, restore the bank to power.
175. Had Crab . . . day: Pound's translation of Dante's "Sf che, se il Cancro avesse un tal cristallo, / L'inverno avrebbe un rnese d'un sol di" [Par. XXV, 101-102]. Guided by Beatrice, Dante comes to the Heaven of the fixed stars where he is questioned about his hopes. After his response, a splendid vision takes place in which the soul of St. John flashes across the heavens: "then one light among them shone out so bright that if the Crab had one such crystal, winter would have a month of one unbroken dayn [Singleton ] .
King we read: "The prosperity and unset- tledness of a State may arise from one man. The glory and tranquillity of a State also may perhaps arise from the excellence of one man" [Grieve, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 471, 492].
180. "even if . . . : Source unknown, but the idea applies in all the significant political struggles of Cantos 87-89.
181. M. Hottinguer . . . : [Hottenguer]. A month after the bank was declared insolvent, Biddle and others were indicted as criminals for lending $30 million in unrecoverable loans to their friends, supporters, and others, in contravention of the bank's charter. In trying to cover their tracks, they had sought to raise money abroad, especially with their agents in Paris and London. But the "state of the accounts of the bank with its agents abroad did not warrant any large drafts upon them, expecially that of the Messrs. Hottin- guer in Paris" [TYV, II, 370-372; 101-32].
as well as the multitude of other crimes the American bankers were guilty of, and almost sighs at the comparison: "For misappropri- ating sixty thousand dollars of one of their customers-using it [not to steal but] with- out his consent-these three great London bankers were sentenced to fourteen years' transportation: for misappropriating thirty- five millions, and sinking twenty-one millions more in other institutions) the wrong-doers go free in the United States"
[ibid. ] .
183.
The sub-treasury: In place of renewing the bank charters, MVB had proposed a sub? treasury system that would perform the same services. To accomplish this, the Inde- pendent Treasurer Act was passed in 1840, MVB's last year in office. The first thing the Whig-dominated Congress of 1841 did waS repeal the act in a special session. But the regular session of that year revived it. Said Benton: "The measures passed, had no dura- tion . . . were repealed by the same congress that passed them. . . . The sub? treasury sys- tem, believed to have been put to death, came to life again" [TYV, 11,372-373].
184. Louis Philippe: Tyler, in his second annual message, proposed another scheme for a quasi-public agency to issue paper cur- rency. Benton opposed it and in doing so remarked on the soundness of French cur- rency: "And here let me do justice to the wisdom and firmness of the present king of the French. The Bank of France lately re- solved to reduce the minimiJm size of its notes to two hundred francs (say forty dol- lars). The king gave them notice that if they did it, the government would consider it an injury to the currency) and would take steps to correct the movement. The Bank re- scinded its resolution; and Louis Philippe . . . showed himself to be a patriot king"
[ibid. , 391].
185. From '34 . . . : In praising the success of the hard-money policy adopted, Benton said: "The long . . . struggle between paper money and gold was now [1842] verging to a crisis. The gold bill, rectifying the errone-
ous valuation of that metal, had passed in 1834: an influx of gold coin followed. In seven years the specie currency had gone up from twenty millions to one hundred. . . . There was as much as the current business of the country and of the federal government could use: for these 100 million . . . in every ten hands that they passed through, would do the business of one thousand millions"
[ibid. , 406].
186. "ad valorem": L, "in proportion to the value. " Tariffs were a longtime source of conflict between the North and the South. The North wanted them in order to protect their manufacturing interests. The South didn't because it decreased their markets. One plan was to go ~'to a uniform ad valo- rem duty of twenty per centum on all dutied articles. ') Those who knew could see this ploy would end in an increase in the tariff. Benton says: "The introduction of the uni- versal ad valorem the exception. " The trou- ble would be in hundred of customs officers trying to determine value, which would lead to legal actions: "So that this ad valorem system, besides its great expense, its chance for diversity of opinions among the ap-
praisers, and its openness to corruption, also gave rise to differences among the highest administrative and law officers of the gov- ernment, with resorts to courts of law, in nearly all of which the United States was the loser" [ibid. , 189-190].
187. Wright: Silas W. , 1795? 1847, U. S. sena- tor (1833-1844) and governor of New York (1844? 1846). Benton made a eulogy to the Senate in memory of Wright in which he
said: "His mind was clear and strong. . . . spoke to the head, not to the passions:
In 1844 he left the Senate, to stand for the governorship of New York; and never did his self-sacrificing temper undergo a stronger trial. . . . He liked the Senate: he disliked the governorship. . . . But it was said to him . . . that the State would be lost to Mr. Polk, unless Mr. Wright was associated with him in the canvass: and to this argument he yielded. He stood the canvass for the governorship- carried it-and Mr. Polk with him; and saved
176. mariners.
economic distress of the South vs. the North as partly due to the North's money, ship- ping) international trade) etc. : "continued unequal legislation in Congress; and in- creasing expenditures of the government, chiefly disbursed in the North, and defect of seamen in the South (for mariners cannot be made of slaves), all combined to retain the foreign trade" [TYV, II, 133].
177. Guinicelli: Guido G. [51: 1], a Ghibel- line poet from Bologna who was one of the most important influences on Cavalcanti and Dante. His most famous canzone ("AI Cor gentil ripara sempre Amore") has lines that Wilhelm translates: "Sun beats against the mud the livelong day; / Mud it remains; Sun does not lose its ray;" [JW,Medieval Song, 232; 51:2].
178. MrTyler: [37:39;87:13].
179. Ideogram: [M3016]: "one"; [M3097]: "man. " A rhyme with, "It may depend on one man" [86/563]. In the Shoo
: THB accounted the
. . .
though the indictment against Biddle and his
cohorts led to their arrest, they procured writs of habeas corpus and were "discharged in vacation by judges before whom they were brought. " Benton compares this action with the action involving much smaller bank crimes in London in 1855: "three of the greatest bankers in London are receiving sen- tence of transportation for fourteen years for offences, neither in money nor m-orals, the hundredth part of the ruin and crime perpetrated by our American bank-bearing the name of the United States. " Benton said, "The case presents too strong a contrast . . . to be omitted" So he doesn't: "one of them, Sir 10hn Paul, was a baronet by descent, and allied to some of the mghest nobility of England. He was first cousin to . . . Vicoun- tess Barrington, Lady Bloomfield; and, above all, the honorable Mrs. Villiers. . . . These connections. . . did not save them from a criminal trial and utter disgrace. . . . The defendants appeared in court, attended by Sir Frederick Thesiger . . . and other al- most equally eminent counsel. . . . " Benton thinks of the $30 million misappropriations
182. Vicountess
transportation: Al-
He . . .
? 532
89/600-601
89/601
533
the presidential election of that year" [ibid. , 701].
even became beggared in 1870 by an effort to build a railroad. But his wife gave him constant support. Although he was a contro- versial figure, he became a sort of folk hero by the end of his life and was known as "the Pathfinder. " He finally received a govern- ment pension just before his death. The canto line here refers to the attempt to stop Fremont's expedition because, as he said, "in addition to ordinary arms, I had taken a howitzer with me. " The plot was foiled when his wife didn't forward the dispatch [cf. 120above].
that . . .
"Charlemagne fights the Monopolists; he de? crees a commodity denar, or a grain denar, and the significance escapes six hundred and more economists in a sequence of centuries"
205. "Perche . . . idee): I, "Why in order [do you wish to put your ideas]? " [87:4].
. . .
[Par. XX, 92; Par. XXIV, 66]. Translators
variously render it as "essence" or "quiddity. "
. . .
188. Quiditas
the word "quiditate" twice in the Commedia
: I,
"essence. "
Dante used
. . . Maria Theresia
[86:79].
189. Under head of
ton wrote about the navy's misappropriation of funds, saying that "the disorderly con~ duct of the Navy was notorious" and that its expenses in peace time (1843) were greater than they were during the war with England. Furthermore: "The honorable member
of Georgia]
[Meriwether
under the head of medicine there had been purchased out of the same funds, whiskey, coal, clothing, spirits, harness, stationery, hay, corn, oats, stoves, beef, mutton, fish, bread, charcoal . . . and purchases of all arti- cles were . . . made from particular persons, and double prices paid" [TYV, II, 484-485].
190. 8 . . . 'iOf": H, "of men he saw" rOd. I, 3]. The whole line translates: "and he saw the cities of many men, and knew their minds" [12:7].
191. Fremont . . . : John Charles F. , 1813? 1890, born in Savannah, Ga. , the son of a French refugee. Attended Charleston Col? lege, taught math to naval cadets, and in 1838 was introduced to the West as a mem~ ber of a surveying team. He eloped with Jessie Benton, daughter of THB, who be? came reconciled to him later and helped secure him command of several expeditions-Des Moines River, Rocky Mts. , Oregon, and California. In 1845 when the Mexican War was brewing, he raised the re- volt against the Mexican authorities in Cali- fornia and was court-martialed and found guilty of disobeying orders. President Polk pardoned him and in 1848 he was back on the exploration trail. He served briefly (1850? 1851) as U. S. Senator from California and was even chosen by the RepubHcans as their presidential candidate in 1856. He lost, though he was considered a national hero. From that moment his fortune declined; he
193. der Schwiegersohn: G, "the son?
157. Tory not a Liberal: On the right to search suspicious vessels at sea, which the British under the liberals asserted in provoca- tive tones of voice. With Robert Peel as prime
151. Quam
dom is hidebound. " Randolph, in a speech ca. 1827 supporting Jackson against JQA, is prompted to recall other great statesmen: "Cardinal Richelieu was what? A priest. Yes, but what a priest! Oxenstierna was a chan- cellor. He it was who sent his son abroad to
regitur:
L, "such
small
wis-
? 528
minister, says MVE, "a great change had
occurred in the tone of the English Minis~ try" [ibid. , 528-529].
, 89/599 I
gentlemanly; and he dispenses . . . a generous and liberal hospitality" [TYV, 11, 101]. Fre- mont said of THB: "Mr. Benton always re- laxed to the enjoyment of the interesting and cheerful dinner-table" [Memoirs, 414- 415].
165. Domvile: [102:29].
166. Uberti: [77:99; cf. 127 above].
167. "His agreeable niece . . . : MVB as minister to Britain speaks of Prince Talley? rand: "I visited his house as often as the habits of society in relation to persons in his position would justify, and was always re~ ceived with cordiality by himself and his agreeable niece the Duchesse de Dino"
[MVB, Auto, 458] .
168. Mihailovitch: Prob. Draza Mihajlovic, a Yugoslav adversary of Tito who believed Communism was a greater threat than Fas~ cism. He was tried for treason in 1946 and executed [104:2].
169. Henriot: Prob. Philippe H. , minister in Petain's Vichy government. Three weeks and a day after the Normandy invasion (June 28, 1944), he was shot to death by members of the French Resistance [Bosha, Pat, 4-1, 99-100; 84-39].
170. Gentile: Prob. Giovanni G. , 1875-1944, who taught philosophy at several Italian uni- versities. An early supporter of Mussolini, he was called "the philospher of Fascism. "
171. "China . . . treaty: A would-be con man by the name of Caleb Cushing sought notori- ety and fame by promoting a trade treaty between the U. S. and China. A bill spon- sored in Congress for money to promote this unwise project was opposed by Benton and many others. The idea came because China had signed a peace treaty with Great Britain; but that treaty was in settlement of a con- flict. Both China and wise men in this coun~ try said that trade between the two coun- tries had increased amid fine relationships and no such formality or costly administra- tive arrangement was needed. In spite of this, President Tyler was charmed by
89/599
Cushing and his idea, so money was appro~ priated. Cushing was launched on his mission with three battleships "carrying altogether near two hundred guns; a formidable accom~ paniment for a peace mission seeking a com~ mercial treaty" [TYV, 11,515]. Fortunately, fire and disaster disabled some of the ships or Cushing might have caused a war. When he got to China, he demanded to see the emperor. "The Emperor's governor-general, Ching, replied that the Emperor would not give audience to a trade mission, and that it was the custom and law for foreign trade missions to conduct business outside the heavenly empire, at Canton" [Watts, unpub. 206]. Cushing persisted and threatened to sail up the river and hunt down the emperor, who was "insulting the dignity of the United States. " Benton concludes that only the de- lay of the warships may have prevented Cushing blundering the U. S. into war-a re- sult that seems to have been narrowly avoided. The lines focus on several argu- ments. Our trade with China had gone on with little bureaucratic interference or con~ trol. Benton outlines Ching's response: "With respect to the treaty offriendship and commerce, the governor declares there is no necessity for it-that China and America have traded together two hundred years in peace and friendship without a treaty-that all nations now had the benefit of the treaty with Great Britain, which treaty was neces? sary to establish relations after a war; and that the United States, having had no war with China, had no need for a treaty" [TYV, 11,516].
172. Cambreling: [Cambreleng]. Jackson ap- pointed Samuel Swartwout, an old political ally, to be the customs collector of New York Harbor over the protests of his secre- tary of state, Van Buren) who considered resigning because he thought the appoint~ ment so unwise. His own choice was Churchill C. Cambreleng [37:58]. MVB de- cided, finally, to stay on but with the pro- viso that he be allowed to state his objec~ tions to his friends in New Yark. In response to his letters) Cambreleng ended a long re- ply: "and now mark me-if our Collector is
529
not a defaulter in four years, I'll swallow the Treasury if it was all coined in coppers . . . C. C. Cambreleng" [MVB, Auto, 268]. It was discovered in 1838 that Swartwout had embezzled $1,250,000.
173. Tazewill . . . St James: Jackson wanted to appoint Randolph's friend Littleton W. Tazewell (senator from Virginia) as minister to England. MVB thought he was too old and unsuited to the pomp of English court life: "I am sure he derived more social enjoy- ment from his games at quoits with Chief Justice Marshall . . . and others . . . than he could promise himself abroad" [ibid. , 259] . Tazewell declined the appointment.
174. "Of great . . . resolved on: Although Jackson had turned over office to MVB with the nation not only free of debts but with a surplus in the treasury, the politicians in consort with the bankers put up a big and destructive fight in the next round of bank battles. One thousand banks in all the states were empowered to issue paper money with- out specified specie reserves. Some went so far as to issue 20 times as much paper as they had specie to redeem it. Financial ruin loomed. Daniel Webster Ca henchman of Biddle) and the bank were conniving to force the bank's rechartering. At a critical
moment Webster made a famous speech to a large crowd in New York blaming Jackson and MVB for all the monetary troubles. Ben- ton writes of the Webster performance and explains what he was up to: "It was the first formal public step which was to inaugurate the new distress, and organize the proceed- ings for shutting up the banks, and with them, the federal treasury, with a view to coerce the government into submission to the Bank of the United States and its con- federate politicians. Mr. Van Buren was a man of great suavity and gentleness of de- portment, and, to those who associated the idea of violence with firmness, might be sup~ posed deficient in that quality. An experi~ ment upon his nerves was resolved o n - a pressure of public opinion, in the language of Mr. Webster, under which his gentle tem- perament was expected to yield" [TYV, 11,
158. Galileo: [85:7]. 159. jb: : Meng4
[M4428], "great, emi- nent"; + :tzu3 [M6939], "a son, a philoso- pher. " "Meng-tzu," Mencius ["Mang Tsze,"
SP ,81-97].
160. caliginern vespertinum: L, "evening fog" or "darkness. "
161. 1fvpwatv . . . e"AC<TTT),: H, "and he set fire to the sea. "
162. Caleb . . . christening": Meigs says of THE: "Benton was . . . often outrageously personal in his criticisms. " During the slave VS. free-state debates of 1849: "Claiborne Jackson and two other leading enemies at- tended one of his meetings and took front seats with a view to interrupting him with questions; but the interruption did not oc- cur, after Benton early in his speech said,
'And here are Claib Jackson [and the others, naming them] . . . as demure as three prosti- tutes at a christening' " [Meigs, Life o f THB, 456). Pound's "Johnson" is an error.
163. Calhoun called . . . : Henry Clay in open Senate debate said Calhoun used this epithet for MVB. MVB drew up a bill pro- posing a national treasury system and Cal~ houn endorsed it: "What the drawer thinks of the indorser, his cautious reserve and stif? fled enmity prevent us from knowing. But the frankness ? of the indorser has not left us in the same ignorance with respect to his opinion of the drawer. He has often ex~ pressed it upon the floor of the Senate. On one occasion. . . denying him any of the royal beast of the forest, he attributed to him those which belong to the most crafty, most skulking, and the meanest of the quad~ ruped tribe" [TYV, II, 101].
164. Firm taste . . . : Clay's own opinion of MVB is different: "I do not . . . share with [Calhoun] . . . in this opinion of the Presi- dent of the United States [MVB]. 1 have always found him . . . civil, courteous and
? 530
89/600
89/600
531
15-16]. MVB did not yield. He even man- aged to restore the situation and get federal notes issued backed by specie and taxes to resolve the crisis without rechartering the bank. But his acts were "political suicide. " In 1840 the bankers and their cohorts mounted "the most scurrilous and fradulent campaign against a Presidential incumbent in American history. " MVB was defeated by the innocuous Harrison, who would, they believed, restore the bank to power.
175. Had Crab . . . day: Pound's translation of Dante's "Sf che, se il Cancro avesse un tal cristallo, / L'inverno avrebbe un rnese d'un sol di" [Par. XXV, 101-102]. Guided by Beatrice, Dante comes to the Heaven of the fixed stars where he is questioned about his hopes. After his response, a splendid vision takes place in which the soul of St. John flashes across the heavens: "then one light among them shone out so bright that if the Crab had one such crystal, winter would have a month of one unbroken dayn [Singleton ] .
King we read: "The prosperity and unset- tledness of a State may arise from one man. The glory and tranquillity of a State also may perhaps arise from the excellence of one man" [Grieve, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 471, 492].
180. "even if . . . : Source unknown, but the idea applies in all the significant political struggles of Cantos 87-89.
181. M. Hottinguer . . . : [Hottenguer]. A month after the bank was declared insolvent, Biddle and others were indicted as criminals for lending $30 million in unrecoverable loans to their friends, supporters, and others, in contravention of the bank's charter. In trying to cover their tracks, they had sought to raise money abroad, especially with their agents in Paris and London. But the "state of the accounts of the bank with its agents abroad did not warrant any large drafts upon them, expecially that of the Messrs. Hottin- guer in Paris" [TYV, II, 370-372; 101-32].
as well as the multitude of other crimes the American bankers were guilty of, and almost sighs at the comparison: "For misappropri- ating sixty thousand dollars of one of their customers-using it [not to steal but] with- out his consent-these three great London bankers were sentenced to fourteen years' transportation: for misappropriating thirty- five millions, and sinking twenty-one millions more in other institutions) the wrong-doers go free in the United States"
[ibid. ] .
183.
The sub-treasury: In place of renewing the bank charters, MVB had proposed a sub? treasury system that would perform the same services. To accomplish this, the Inde- pendent Treasurer Act was passed in 1840, MVB's last year in office. The first thing the Whig-dominated Congress of 1841 did waS repeal the act in a special session. But the regular session of that year revived it. Said Benton: "The measures passed, had no dura- tion . . . were repealed by the same congress that passed them. . . . The sub? treasury sys- tem, believed to have been put to death, came to life again" [TYV, 11,372-373].
184. Louis Philippe: Tyler, in his second annual message, proposed another scheme for a quasi-public agency to issue paper cur- rency. Benton opposed it and in doing so remarked on the soundness of French cur- rency: "And here let me do justice to the wisdom and firmness of the present king of the French. The Bank of France lately re- solved to reduce the minimiJm size of its notes to two hundred francs (say forty dol- lars). The king gave them notice that if they did it, the government would consider it an injury to the currency) and would take steps to correct the movement. The Bank re- scinded its resolution; and Louis Philippe . . . showed himself to be a patriot king"
[ibid. , 391].
185. From '34 . . . : In praising the success of the hard-money policy adopted, Benton said: "The long . . . struggle between paper money and gold was now [1842] verging to a crisis. The gold bill, rectifying the errone-
ous valuation of that metal, had passed in 1834: an influx of gold coin followed. In seven years the specie currency had gone up from twenty millions to one hundred. . . . There was as much as the current business of the country and of the federal government could use: for these 100 million . . . in every ten hands that they passed through, would do the business of one thousand millions"
[ibid. , 406].
186. "ad valorem": L, "in proportion to the value. " Tariffs were a longtime source of conflict between the North and the South. The North wanted them in order to protect their manufacturing interests. The South didn't because it decreased their markets. One plan was to go ~'to a uniform ad valo- rem duty of twenty per centum on all dutied articles. ') Those who knew could see this ploy would end in an increase in the tariff. Benton says: "The introduction of the uni- versal ad valorem the exception. " The trou- ble would be in hundred of customs officers trying to determine value, which would lead to legal actions: "So that this ad valorem system, besides its great expense, its chance for diversity of opinions among the ap-
praisers, and its openness to corruption, also gave rise to differences among the highest administrative and law officers of the gov- ernment, with resorts to courts of law, in nearly all of which the United States was the loser" [ibid. , 189-190].
187. Wright: Silas W. , 1795? 1847, U. S. sena- tor (1833-1844) and governor of New York (1844? 1846). Benton made a eulogy to the Senate in memory of Wright in which he
said: "His mind was clear and strong. . . . spoke to the head, not to the passions:
In 1844 he left the Senate, to stand for the governorship of New York; and never did his self-sacrificing temper undergo a stronger trial. . . . He liked the Senate: he disliked the governorship. . . . But it was said to him . . . that the State would be lost to Mr. Polk, unless Mr. Wright was associated with him in the canvass: and to this argument he yielded. He stood the canvass for the governorship- carried it-and Mr. Polk with him; and saved
176. mariners.
economic distress of the South vs. the North as partly due to the North's money, ship- ping) international trade) etc. : "continued unequal legislation in Congress; and in- creasing expenditures of the government, chiefly disbursed in the North, and defect of seamen in the South (for mariners cannot be made of slaves), all combined to retain the foreign trade" [TYV, II, 133].
177. Guinicelli: Guido G. [51: 1], a Ghibel- line poet from Bologna who was one of the most important influences on Cavalcanti and Dante. His most famous canzone ("AI Cor gentil ripara sempre Amore") has lines that Wilhelm translates: "Sun beats against the mud the livelong day; / Mud it remains; Sun does not lose its ray;" [JW,Medieval Song, 232; 51:2].
178. MrTyler: [37:39;87:13].
179. Ideogram: [M3016]: "one"; [M3097]: "man. " A rhyme with, "It may depend on one man" [86/563]. In the Shoo
: THB accounted the
. . .
though the indictment against Biddle and his
cohorts led to their arrest, they procured writs of habeas corpus and were "discharged in vacation by judges before whom they were brought. " Benton compares this action with the action involving much smaller bank crimes in London in 1855: "three of the greatest bankers in London are receiving sen- tence of transportation for fourteen years for offences, neither in money nor m-orals, the hundredth part of the ruin and crime perpetrated by our American bank-bearing the name of the United States. " Benton said, "The case presents too strong a contrast . . . to be omitted" So he doesn't: "one of them, Sir 10hn Paul, was a baronet by descent, and allied to some of the mghest nobility of England. He was first cousin to . . . Vicoun- tess Barrington, Lady Bloomfield; and, above all, the honorable Mrs. Villiers. . . . These connections. . . did not save them from a criminal trial and utter disgrace. . . . The defendants appeared in court, attended by Sir Frederick Thesiger . . . and other al- most equally eminent counsel. . . . " Benton thinks of the $30 million misappropriations
182. Vicountess
transportation: Al-
He . . .
? 532
89/600-601
89/601
533
the presidential election of that year" [ibid. , 701].
even became beggared in 1870 by an effort to build a railroad. But his wife gave him constant support. Although he was a contro- versial figure, he became a sort of folk hero by the end of his life and was known as "the Pathfinder. " He finally received a govern- ment pension just before his death. The canto line here refers to the attempt to stop Fremont's expedition because, as he said, "in addition to ordinary arms, I had taken a howitzer with me. " The plot was foiled when his wife didn't forward the dispatch [cf. 120above].
that . . .
"Charlemagne fights the Monopolists; he de? crees a commodity denar, or a grain denar, and the significance escapes six hundred and more economists in a sequence of centuries"
205. "Perche . . . idee): I, "Why in order [do you wish to put your ideas]? " [87:4].
. . .
[Par. XX, 92; Par. XXIV, 66]. Translators
variously render it as "essence" or "quiddity. "
. . .
188. Quiditas
the word "quiditate" twice in the Commedia
: I,
"essence. "
Dante used
. . . Maria Theresia
[86:79].
189. Under head of
ton wrote about the navy's misappropriation of funds, saying that "the disorderly con~ duct of the Navy was notorious" and that its expenses in peace time (1843) were greater than they were during the war with England. Furthermore: "The honorable member
of Georgia]
[Meriwether
under the head of medicine there had been purchased out of the same funds, whiskey, coal, clothing, spirits, harness, stationery, hay, corn, oats, stoves, beef, mutton, fish, bread, charcoal . . . and purchases of all arti- cles were . . . made from particular persons, and double prices paid" [TYV, II, 484-485].
190. 8 . . . 'iOf": H, "of men he saw" rOd. I, 3]. The whole line translates: "and he saw the cities of many men, and knew their minds" [12:7].
191. Fremont . . . : John Charles F. , 1813? 1890, born in Savannah, Ga. , the son of a French refugee. Attended Charleston Col? lege, taught math to naval cadets, and in 1838 was introduced to the West as a mem~ ber of a surveying team. He eloped with Jessie Benton, daughter of THB, who be? came reconciled to him later and helped secure him command of several expeditions-Des Moines River, Rocky Mts. , Oregon, and California. In 1845 when the Mexican War was brewing, he raised the re- volt against the Mexican authorities in Cali- fornia and was court-martialed and found guilty of disobeying orders. President Polk pardoned him and in 1848 he was back on the exploration trail. He served briefly (1850? 1851) as U. S. Senator from California and was even chosen by the RepubHcans as their presidential candidate in 1856. He lost, though he was considered a national hero. From that moment his fortune declined; he
193. der Schwiegersohn: G, "the son?
