any power to erect those works, but simply to exercise exclusive legislation over the places where they are erected, such place having been previously purchased with the consent of the states in which the same shall be. The power to erect such works and buildings is nowhere expressed in the Constitution. It is, then, an implied power, whose existence is recognized by the Constitution itself. But where can it be found, unless it is involved in the express powers to regulate commerce, and provide for the common defence? Without navigation, without commerce by sea, we should need no lighthouses, beacons, or piers.
If, then, it was constitutional to erect the works which have been men- tioned, to give facility, safety, and expedition to commerce by sea, will any one deny the constitutional power of Congress to erect similar works on our interior waters on the great lakes?
Internal Improvements.
Senate, February 27, 1817.
A Bill to set apart and pledge, as a permanent Fund for Internal Improvements, the Bonus of the National Bank, and the United States' Share of its Dividends.
Be it enacted, &c., That the bonus secured to the United States by the "act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States," and the dividends which shall arise from their shares in its capital stock, during the present term of twenty years, for which the proprietors thereof have been incorporated, be, and the same is hereby, set apart and pledged, as a fund for constructing roads and canals, and improving the navigation of watercourses, in order to facilitate, promote, and give security to internal commerce among the several states, and to render more easy and less expensive the means and provisions necessary for their common defence.
Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, That the moneys constituting the said fund shall, from time to time, be applied in constructing such roads or canals, or in improving the navigation of such watercourses, or both, in each state, as Congress, with the assent of such state, shall by law direct, and in the manner most conducive to the general welfare; and the proportion of the said money to be expended on the objects aforesaid, in each state, shall be in the ratio of its representation, at the time of such expenditure, in the most numerous blanch of the national legislature.
Sect. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said fund be put under the care of the secretary of the treasury for the time being; and that it shall be his duty, unless otherwise directed, to vest the said dividend, if not specifically appropriated by Congress, in the stock of the United States, which stock shall accrue to, and is hereby constituted a part of, the said fund.
Sect. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall also be the duty of the said secretary, unless otherwise directed, to vest the bonus for the charter or said bank, as it may fall due, in the stock of the United States, and also to lay before Congress, at their usual session, the condition of the said fund.
Message of the President, transmitting to the House of Representatives his Objections to the [above] Bank Bonus Bill.
To the House of Representatives of the United States:
Having considered the bill this day presented to me, entitled "An Act to set apart and pledge certain funds for internal improvements;" and which sets and pledges funds "for constructing roads and canals, and improving the navigation of watercourses, in order to facilitate, promote, and give security to, internal commerce among the several states, and to render more easy and less expensive the means and provisions for the common defence," I am constrained, by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling the bill with the Constitution of the United States, to return it, with that objection, to the House of Representatives, in which it originated.
