220 miles above the Falls. Here having to visit a gentlemen in the
interior, I hired a chaise, for which I paid about two shillings British
per mile.

A great deal of excitement was just then produced among the inhabitants of
Maysville by the president's having put his veto on the bill, passed by
congress, granting loans to the "Maysville and Lexington road," and the
"Louisville canal" companies. The Kentuckians were in high dudgeon, and
denounced Jackson as an enemy to internal improvement, and to the western
states. It would appear that the friends of Adams and Clay, had determined
to place Jackson in a dilemma which would involve his character, either as
a friend to internal improvement or an enemy to lavish expenditure.
Accordingly, they passed an unusual number of bills, appropriating money
to the clearing of creeks, building of bridges, and making of canals and
turnpike roads; the amount of which, instead of leaving a surplus of ten
millions to the liquidation of the national debt, would not only have
totally exhausted the treasury, but have actually exceeded by 20,000,000
dollars the revenue of the current year. This manoeuvre was timely
discovered by the administration, and the president consequently refused
to put his signature to those bills, amongst a number of others. He
refused on two grounds. The first was, that although it had been the
practice of congress to grant sums of money for the purpose of making
roads and perfecting other works, which only benefited one or two states;
yet that such practice was not sanctioned by the constitution--the federal
legislature having no power to act but with reference to the general
interests of the states. The second was, that the road in question was
local in the most limited sense, commencing at the Ohio river, and running
back sixty miles to an interior town, and consequently, the grant in
question came within neither the constitutional powers nor practice of
congress.

The president recommends that the surplus revenue, after the debt shall
have been paid off, should be portioned out to the different states, in
proportion to their ratio of representation; which appears to be
judicious, as the question of congressional power to appropriate money to
road-making, &c., although of a general character, involves also the right
of jurisdiction; which congress clearly has not, except where the defence
of the country, or other paramount interests, are concerned.

The natio