Alexandria gazette. [volume], February 12, 1834, Image 2

About Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974

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THE GAZETTE:
By EDGAR SNOWDEN.
-- - - - -
T ERMS.
Daily paper - - - - S3 per annum.
Country paper - - - 5 per annum.
The ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE for the coun
try is printed on Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday.
All advertisements appear in both papers, ana
are inserted at the usual rates. _
C O N G R E S S I O N A L.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF FI
NANCE—[Concluded.]
- »
The second reason especially reported by the
Secretary as arising from the conduct of the
bank, respects the bill of exchange drawn by
the Secretary of the Treasury on the Govern
ment of France, and purchased by the bank.
The general facts connected with this case
are these: ...
By the late treaty of indemnity between the
U. States and France, it was stipulated that the
French Government should pay to that of the
U. States twenty-five millions of francs, to be dis
tributed among those American citizens who had
claims against France for the unlawful seizure,
capture, and condemnation of their vessels and
property, the whole sum to be paid in annual in
stalments of four millions one hundred and six
ty-six thousand six-hundred and sixty-six francs,
each, into the hands of such persons as shall be
authorized by the Government of the U. States
to receive it; the first instalment to be paid at
the expiration of one year next following the
exchange of the ratification.
On the expiration of the year, the Secretary
drew a bill of exchange, signed by himself as
Secretary, on the French Government for the
amount or mis msiaiujcm, auu owiu
bank like any other bill of exchange, and re-,
ceivedthe proceeds by credit of the amount to
the account of the Treasurer in the bank.
On presentment of- the bill at the French
Treasury, payment was refused; the bill was
accordingly duly protested, and it was then ta
ken up by a third person for account or the
bank. The damages accruing on this bill, ac
cording to law and to constant usage in such
cases, are one hundred and fifty-eight thousand
dollars. _ _. ,
If this bill had been transferred by the bank,
as probably it was, the bank itself would have
been answerable for damages even at a higher
rate, if a third person had not taken up the bill
for the honor of the bank.
On receiving information of the protest of the
bill, the officers of the bank, as was their duty,
gave immediate notice to the Treasury Depart
ment, and accompanied that notice with the in
formation. always made in such cases, that the
drawers of the bill would be held answerable
for the damages. Such is the substance of the
facts in this case.
The bank it would appear, was willing to col
lect the bill on account of Government, and to
credit the Treasury with the proceeds when re
ceived; a course of proceedings, which had this,
to recommend it, that the money to be received
on the bill, was to be received by the Government
simply in trust for claimants under the French
treaty, and was not ultimately destined to the
ordinary uses of the Treasury. On the contra
ry, indeed before the dishonor of the bill was
known, it had been made, already, the legal du
ty of the Secretary to place the fund, so soon
as received, at interest for the benefit of the
claimants.
But it was thought best to sell the bill, and to
realize at once its amount into the Treasury;
and the bill was sold to the bank, in preference
to others offering to purchase, for no reason, it
is to be presumed, except that the terms of the
bank were more satisfactory. The bill was thus
purchased by the bank, and its proceeds credit
ed to the Treasury. This was a mere transac
tion of the purchase and sale of a bill of ex
change. There was no trust confided to the
bank, and no fiscal agency in the whole matter.
Indeed the agency of the bank had been decli
ned the Secretary preferring to deal with it not
as an agent, but as a purchaser, proposing to
it not to collect the bill, but to buy it. On being
remitted to Europe, and presented for payment,
the bill was protested. By the universal com
mercial law, the Government, on the occurrence
of this protest, became amenable to the bank for
the amount of the bill, with damages. These
damages may be ultimately claimed, with jus
tics from the French Government if the bill was
drawn upon sufficient grounds, and on proper
authoritity; in other words, if the obligation of \
the French Government was such that it was
bound to accept and pay the bill; but unless there j
be something in the case to vary the general j
rule, which the committee do not perceive, these j
damages were part of the debt which had be
come due to the bank, as much as the principal
sum of the bill. . If this be so, how could
the directors relinquish this part of the debt any
than the other? They are agents for the
corporation; they act as trustees, and have no
authority, without consideration, to release, ei
ther lo the Government or to individuals, debts
due, or properly belonging to the corporation.
It has been suggested that the bank should
have taken up this bill, when protested on Go
vernment account. T wo answers may be given
to this suggestion: the first is, that the bill had
been taken up by a correspondent abroad for
account of the bank, before it was known in the
United States that it had been protested. The
second is, that it would have been unlawful for
the bank to have advanced such amount to the
Government, or on account of Government, for
the purpose of taking up this bill, or for any
other purpose, without an act of Congress. The
express words of the charter forbid it.
But, as a reason for removing the deposites,
it appears to the committee quite immaterial
whether the bank be right or wrong in claiming
these damages. If wrong it will not recover
them. It is not to judge of its own rights; and
if the appropriate tribunals shall decide that
the bank was acting on this occasion, or ought
to have acted as the agent of the Government,
or that it was its duty to take up the bill on ac
count of Government, then the damages will
not be awarded to it. And in the worst aspect
of this case, how can its conduct, in this respect,
be any possible reason to justify the removal of
the deposites? What connexion has this oc
currence with the safe keeping of the public
treasures, or with the remittinglhem from place
to place, to meet the convenience of the Govern
ment, according to the duty of the bank under
the charter? The bank thinks itself entitled to
damages on a protested bill, purchased and held
by itself, and drawn by Government. The Sec
retary of ttie Treasury thinks otherwise. If
there be no reason to doubt the sincerity of the
Secretary’s conviction, there is as little to doubt
the sincerity of that entertained by the bank;
and it is quite inconceivable to the committee
that the pendency of such a difference of
opinion, on such a question, should furnish
any reason whatever for withdrawing the de
nosites, unless it be at once admitted that the
Secretary holds the power of removal as a per
fectly arbitrary power, and may exercise it, by
way of punishment, whenever, in any particu
lar, the conduct or the opinions of the bank do
not conform to his pleasure.
The Secretary does not argue this matter.—
He offers no reason in opposition to the legal
right ofthe bank to the damages claimed. In
deed, he hardly denies the right. He commen
ces his observations on the subject by saying,
that the ruling principle of the bank is its own
interest; and closes them with another declara
tion, that, as fiscal agent of the public, it avail
ed itself of the disappointment of its principal
for the purpose of enlarging its own profits.
Assertions like these, however else they may
be disposed of, cannot be made subjects of argu
ment. . t . . ,
The last charge preferred against the bank,
is, that it has used its means with a view to ob
tain political power, and thereby secure the re
newal of its charter.
The very statement of such a charge, as a
reason for removing the deposites, is calcula
ted to excite distrust in the wisdom and propri
ety of that measure; because the charge, too
general to be proved, is too general to be dis
proved; and since it must always rest mainly
on mere opinion, it might be made at any time,
by any Secretary, against any bank. It would
be, therefore, always a convenient cloak under
which to disguise the true motives of official con
duct. , _ , e
If proof be made out that the funds of trie
bank have been applied to illegal objects, the
proper mode of redress and punishment should
have been adopted, but what has this to do with
the deposites? As in the case of the French
bill, the Secretary cannot justify the removal of
the deposites on any such ground as this, unless
it be conceded that he may use the pow’er of re
moval as a punishment for any offence of any
kind which the bank, in his opinion, may have
committed. The committee have already ex
pressed the opinion that no such latitude of
muvpr hplnntrs to him. and the assertion of such
a power, for such a cause as is now under con
sideration, shows that the power ought never to
belong to any Secretary; because the offence,
on account of which it is here proposed to be ex
ercised, is a political offence, incapable of defi
nition, depending merely on the Secretary’s
opinion, and necessarily drawing into con
sideration all the exciting controverted topics
of the day. The bank, it is said, “ has sought to
obtain political power.” What is the definition
of such an offence as this? What acts consti
tute it? How is it to be tried? Who is to be the
judge? What punishment shall follow convic
tion? All must see that charges of this nature
are but loose and vague accusations, which
may be made at any time, and can never be
either proved or disproved; and to admit them
assufficent grounds to justify the removal of
the deposites, would be to concede to the Secre
tary the possession of a power purely arbitrary.
The main fact relied on for this cause of re
moval shows how extremely unsafe all proceed
ings on any such reasons must be. The main
fact is, that, between December 1880, and De
cember 1831, the bank extended its loans twen
ty millions of dollars; and it is further alleged
that, as if to leave no doubt of the motive of this
extraordinary conduct, it continued to add ra
pidly to its loans, until in May, 1S32, while its
petition for renewal was pending, those loans
amounted to seventy millions. And the Secre
tary declares that this extraordinary increase of
loans made in so short a space of time, and on
the eve of a contested election in which the bank
took an open and direct interest, demonstrates
that it was using its money to obtain a hold up
on the people of the country, to induce them, by
the apprehension of ruin, to vote against the
candidate whom it desired to defeat. This is
strong assertion, but, so far as the Committee
perceive, it is assertion merely. It is but the Se
cretary’s own inference from facts, from which
very facts his predecessors in office have drawn
no such conclusions.
This great extension of the loans, be it re
membered, took place in 1831. Why was it not
then complained of? How should it have escap
ed the vigilance of the Secretary at that day,
the time it took place? And, if it did not es
cape his vigilance, why did he not then remove
the deposites! So, also, as to the amount of
loans in May, 1832. That amount was perfect
ly well known at the time, and if it proved any
offence, why was not the punishment inflicted
then? How should all other Secretaries have
siept over this great mischief?
U might further be well asked, what evidence
is there of the existenee of any such motive as
is imputed to the bank in this extension of its
loans? There is no evidence but the mere fact
itself of the extension, and it cannot be denied
that other and very different reasons for the ex
tensions may have existed; so that the charge
is proved no otherwise than by inferring a bad
motive from an act lawful in itself, and for which
good reasons may have existed, nor is it either
acknowledged, nor, so far as the committee
[Ji uvcu uiai uir uaim iuur fin auu
direct interest, as a corporation, in the election
referred to. The bank certainly was much in
terested in certain accusations which had been
brought against it, and which became subjects
of public discussion during the pendency of that
election. It had been charged with great mis
conduct and gross violation of its charter.—
These accusations must undoubtedly have call
ed on the directors for answer. If made before
Congress, they were to answer before Congress;
if made judicially, they were to answer in
the courts; if mode in an official and formal
manner, and in that manner submitted to the
judgment of the country, the directors were
bound to meet them before that country by eve
ry fair use of fact and argument, not only for
the purpose of defending themselves as direc
tors, but for the higher purpose of maintaining
the credit of the bank, and protecting the pro
perty entrusted to their.care. If in thus defend
ing the bank before the community, the direc
tors carried their measures beyond the fair ob
ject of defence, or if they resorted to dishonor
able or indecorous modes of discussion; if they
sought rather to inflame than to reason; if they
substituted personal crimination for argument,
if, even, they met invective by violence; they
followed bad examples, and are not to be jus
tified.
But on their right to defend themselves before j
the public against grave charges brought against
them and urged before the public, the committee
entertain no doubt, and they are equally clear
in opinion that the Secretary of the Treasury is
not constituted the judge of the mode of exer
cising this right, and cannot justly remove the
deposites merely because the conduct of the
bank, in this particular, has not happened to
conform to his wishes.
The committee, therefore, consider this last
reason of the Secretary equally insufficient with !
the rest, and they regard it as the most objec
tionable of all in its principle, inasmuch as it
proceeds on grounds which, if admitted, would
leave a very high official duty to be exercise
from considerations connected with the political
feelings and party contests of every day, with no
guide but the individual opinion of the officer
who is to perform the act; an opinion which, it
is possible, may be no less tinctured with politi
cal motive and feeling than the conduct whi 1
it would reprehend. , , ~
If an unlimited power be conceded to the Se
cretary to inflict penalties on the bank for sup
posed political motives in acts legal in them
selves, where is the security that the judge may
not be found acting under the same impulses
which he imputes to the party accused?
The commitee entertain no doubt that the im
mediate cause of the existing public distress is
to be found in the removal of the public depo
sites, and in the manner in which that removal
has been made; and those who justify the
removal do not so much deny this to have been
the cause, as insist that it was not necessary that
any such effect should have followed from it.
In other words, they argue that, notwithstand
ing the removal, the bank still possessed the
power, if it had chosen to exercise it, of warding
off the blow which has fallen on the country, or
at least of mitigating its severity.
Nothing could have been rationally expected
but that the bank, deprived of the deposites, and
denounced by the Executive Government,would
feel itself called on to take just care of its own
interest and its own credit. Of the means
necessary to the attainment of these ends, the
directors alone were judges, and the committee
have no evidence before them to show they have
not exercised their judgment fairly, and with a
real solicitude to accommodate the commercial
community in the altered state of things as far
as has been practicable, consistently with the se
curity of the institution, which it is equally their
duty to the public and the stockholders to main
tain. They are certainly under every obliga
tion of duty, in the present distressed state of
the country, to do every thing for the public re
lief which is consistent with the safety of the
bank, and with those considerations which the
approaching expiration of its charter makes it j
lUi I wuv ^ ^ “ O
The removal itself, and the manner of effect
ing it, are causes entirely sufficient in the judg
ment of the committee, to produce all the con
sequences which the country has experienced,
and is experiencing; and these consequences,
they think, are to be referred to these causes as
their just origin. How could any other result
have been expected? The amount of the depo
sites was nine millions of dollars. On this amount
in deposite there was sustained, no doubt, a dis
count of far greater magnitude. The withdraw
al of this sum of nine millions from the bank
necessarily compelled it to diminish its discounts
to the full extent of all that part which may be
supposed to have been sustained by it. It is to
be remembered, too, that this was done at a mo
ment when business of every kind was pressed
with great activity, and all the means of the
country fully employed.
The withdrawing of so large an amount at
such a time, from hands actually holding and
using it. could not but produce derangement and
pressure, even if it had been immediately plac
ed in other banks, and if no unfriendly feeling,
and no want of confidence, had attended the
transaction. But, it is quite obvious that the
operation to which the Secretary has resorted
has been attended with both these additional
and powerful causes of derangement. It has
created unfriendly feelings, and it has diminish
ed confidence. This change of the deposites is
made on the strength of charges against the
bank of a very grave and aggravated nature,
such as, if true, would most seriously affect its
credit for solvency and stability. It is proclaim
ed to the whole world as having converted it
self into a political partisan, misapplied its funds,
neglected its highest Jnties, and entered on a ca
reer of electioneering against the government
of the country.
These serious charges necessarily put the
bank on its defence, and the extraordinary spec
tacle is exhibited of a warfare by the National
Government on the National Bank, notwith
standing that the Government is itself a great
proprietor in the bank, and notwithstanding that
the notes of the bank are the currency in which
the revenues of the country are by law receiv
able.
The true and natural relation between the
Government and the Bank is altogether revers
ed. Instead of enjoying the confidence of the
Government, it is obliged to sustain its most se
rious official assaults, and to maintain itself
against its denunciations. The banks selected
by Government as its agents are themselves
thrown, perhaps unwittingly, into an attitude of
jealousy and suspicion with the Bank ofthe Uni
ted States. They become cautious and fearful,
therefore, in all proceedings; and thus those who
should co-operate to relieve the public pressure,
are considering mainly their own safety. Fear
ful of each other, and fearful of the Government,
they see the distress continue, with no power of
beneficial interposition.
It may be asked, why are not these deposite
banks able to maintain as large a circulation on
the nine millions of deposites as the Bank of the
United States? And will they not be thus able
when the present panic shall have subsided?—
The committee think both the questions easily
answered.
The Bank of the United States has a credit
more general, it may De saici more universal,
than any State bank does possess. The credit
of the Bank of the United States is equally so
lid, its bills and notes received with equal confi
dence for the purpose of circulation and remit
tance, in every quarter of the country. No pa
per circulation, so far as the committee know,
which ever appeared in the world, has approach
ed nearer to the value and uniformity of a spe
cie currency, than the notes and bills of the
Bank of the United States. To the State banks
these notes and bills have performed the office
of specie. All the State banks have discounted
upon the possession of them, with the same free
dom and boldness as they would have done on
an equal amount of the precious metals. The
curtailment of their circulation, therefore, is not
merely a withdrawing of the amount curtailed
from the general mass of circulation, it is remo
ving, rather, to the amount curtailed, the basis
of the general circulation; and although the ac
tual amount of notes and bills has not been re
cently greatly diminished, there is reason to
suppose that the amount held by the State banks
has been greatly diminished.
The removal of the deposites has operated di
rectly on the amount of the circulating medium i
at a moment when that amount could not bear :
any considerable reduction, suddenly made, j
without producing sensible effect. It has dimi- I (
nished prices, and, in some instances, it has had j
this effect to a very material degree. It has !
operated on the internal exchange, and has, j
most manifestly, been attended with very serious
and heavy inconveniences in that important
branch of the national interest. More than all,
it has acted on opinion; it has disturbed the ge
neral confidence, it has weakened the public
faith in the soundness of the currency, and it has j
alarmed men for the security of property. As
vet we hardly know its effects on the credit of
the country in Europe. Perhaps it is not easy
to anticipate those effects; but if causes which
operate here should be found to have been effi
cient there also, a still greater degree of pres
sure and distress than has yet been felt may be
eXThe committee, therefore, cannot but regard
the removal of the deposites, on the whole, as a
measure highly inexpedient, and altogether un
justifiable. The public moneys were safe in |
the bank. This is admitted. All the duties of
the bank connected with these public moneys
were faithfully discharged. This, too, is admit
ted. The subject had been recently before the
House of Representatives, and that House had j
made its opinion against the removal known by •
a very unequivocal vote. Another session of j
Congress was close at hand, when the whole
matter would again come before it. Under these
circumstances, to make the removal, with the
certainty of creating so much alarm, and of pro
ducing so much positive evil and suffering, such
derangement of the currency, such pressure and
distress in all the branches of the business of pri
vate life, is an act which the committee think
the Senate is called on to disapprove. The rea
sons which have thus been stated apply to the
whole proceedings of the Secretary relating to
the public deposites, and make it unnecessary
rnn^irlpr whether there be an v difference be
tween his power over moneys already in the
bank, and his power to suspend future deposi
tes. The committee forbear, also, to consider
the propriety of the measures adopted by the
Secretary, for the safe keeping of the public
moneys since their withdrawal from the bank.
They forbear, too, from entering into any dis
cussion, at present, of the course of legislation
proper to be adopted by Congress under the ex
isting state of things. In this report, they have
confined their consideration to the removal of the
deposites, the reasons assigned first, and its im
mediate consequences; and on these points they
have formed tiie opinions which have now been
expressed.
They recommend to the Senate the adop
tion of the resolution which has been referredto
them.
The Raleigh, N. C. Star says:—“ We learn
that representations having been made to tiie '
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
that the notes of the Bank of the Metropolis, a
large amount of which has been paid to the mail
contractors, are not current in this section of
the country, assurances have been given by
tha* officer, that arrangements will be made
with our State Bank for the remedy of the evil; .
and that any merchant or other person who may '
receive such notes, by forwardingthem to Wash
ington, shall receive for them drafts on Balti
more or New-York.”
The excitement in Upper Canada, against the
Provincial Assembly, for their arbitrary course
towards Mr. Mackenzie, continues to increase,
and the Assembly remains obstinate. Since his
last expulsion, on the same ground of objection
as the four preceding, every motion favorable
to his right to a seat has been voted down.— j
Some of the people of his district,—the County
of York,—indignant at this persevering exclu
sion of their representative, have copied some
of the temper of the English on the Reform
Question, and determined to pay no taxes.
Balt. Amer.
We understand that orders have been receiv
at the Navy Yark, at Brooklyn, to fit out the fri
grate Brandywine for sea, immediately It is
not known where she is to go, but we presume (
the intention is to send her to the Pacific, as the
flag ship of the station.—Phil. Citron.
From the Portsmouth, Ar. II. Journal.
Value of Labor.—There is a man in the town
of Lime, in this State, who has been blind for
several years. After lie was visited with this
calamity, he was not a little at a loss to devise
means lor sustenance. lie soon, however, di
rected his attention to the manufacture of pegs
from maple wood used by boot and shoemakers.
For this purpose he procured the necessary ap
paratus and set himself to work. He purchas
ed a small maple tree, for which he gave about
seventy-five cents, converted it into pegs, which
he sent to various shoe manufactories in the ad
jacent towns, and realized, as the avails of his
labor on this tree, a sum amounting to about se
venty-live dollars. Encouraged by these ef
forts, he has continued to prosecute the business
for several years, realizing from seventy-five to
a hundred dollars on each tree which he worked
up. He has built him a house—got married—
and is now what people term fore handed.
DRAWS TO-MORROW
Literature Lottery of the State of Delaware,
Class No. 7 for lo34,
To be drawn at Wilmington, Thursday, Feb 13
HIGHEST PRIZE $12,000.
Tickets $4 00; halves 2 00; quarters 1 00
DR A rrs ON SA TURD A Y
Virginia State Lottery,
For the benefit of the Dismal Stramp Canal Co.
Class No. 4 for 1834,
Will be drawn atCatts5 Tavern, West End, on
Saturday, February 15
HIGHEST PRIZE 20,000 DOLLARS.
75 prizes of $500! &c. &c.
Tickets &4 50; halves 2 25; quarters 1 12 1-2.
To be had in a variety of numbers of
J. CO USE,
Lottery <$■ Exchange Broker, Alexandria.
DRAWS TO-MORROW
Literature Lottery ol the State of Delaware,
Class No. 7 for 1834,
To be drawn at Wilmington, Thursday, Feb 13
CAPITAL PRIZE $12,000.
Tickets Si 00; hnlw»c9 HO; miArtprs 1 00
/ --—-/ A
Virginia State Lottery,
For the benefit of the Dismal Swamp Canal Co.
Class No. 4 for 1834,
To be drawn at Alexandria, Va. on Saturday,
February 15
75 Number Lottery—11 Drawn Ballots.
1 prize of $20,000 1 prize of $2,000
1 do of 5,000 75 prize of 500!
Tickets $4 50; halves 2 25; quarters 1 12 1-2
On sale in great variety by
JAS. RIORD1X.
H33 Uncurrent Notes and Foreign Gold pur
chased.
Maryland State Lottery, Class 3 for 1834,
ro be drawn at Baltimore on Tuesday, Feb 11
66 Numbers—10 Drawn Ballots
I prize of $20,000 I 1 prize of $3,000
[ do of 5,000 I 10 prizes of 1,000 ,
Tickets $4 50; halves 2 25; quarters 1 12 1-2
To be had in a variety of numbers at
J. W. VIOLETT’S
Lucky Lottery Office,
1 Jpper end King Srcet.} near the Diagonal Pump, '
- #
PRO AND CON.
A variety of memorials, pro and cor, on i:.-.
subject of the Deposites, were presented in t!.-.
Housed Representatives on Monday, by Messis
Cambreleng and Selden, of New York, a:;
Mr. Sutherland, Mr. Binney, and Mr.Watmoug
of Philadelphia.
Mr. Cambreleng said
u The Bank of the United States has niad*1 r
bold experiment upon the country. Since ih
commencement of the session its presses at.
its friends abroad, ay, sir, even some of the ca
pitalists of the country, have been instrument >
in an attempt to destroy commercial confident <
by circulating the most alarming predictions «•:
approaching ruin and calamity. These rumor*
ol distress, ol frightful disasters, of panic, hav*1
been echoed here by distinguished gentiemer.
of both Houses. Sir, no other country upon
earth could have stood firm under such a gene
ral attack upon commercial confidence, as la
been made by the Bank and its friends abroad
during the last seventy-five days. 11 the dUrig
guished men of both Houses of Parliament In;
indulged in the same gloomy anticipations—! -
they for more than two months predicted urn
versal wreck and ruin, and general panic,
would have broken half the country bank.
England, and half of their merchants and i
nufacturers. It is, sir, a bold experiment ol t'
Bank of the United States, and has fallen
dreadful severity upon my constituents, produc
ed many bankruptcies, and ruined many lan1
lies; but, sir, were their losses and suflennc/ -
| times as great, so long as they are animated wri
the spirit of freemen they will never subject/
Government ot their own to the dominion '<
Bank of the United States.”
Mr. Biniiey said
‘‘It had been said that the distress was to -
attributed to the Bank of the United State
The remark thus made proceeded, as he belie'*
ed, either from an ignorance of facts, or l*1,1
the adoption of principles, which his mint! va
unable either to adopt or to comprehend.
tlemen would find,or he greatly misapprehend?^
the existing state of things, that the cause waspr?
ciseJy that which the memorialists had assigns
the universal destruction of confidence, and th®
this was operating with a secret and almost ik
perceptible influence, but with perfect certain^
and in a constant stream, to strip from the Stai?
Banks the means of sustaining their credit
their debtors, not to place their specie in
Bank of the United States, but to take it ^
private possession, in town and country, for ,
purpose of meeting the day of calamity whi<£
was apprehended by all. This 'State of thin.r:
was in a rapid course of developenient. !i
should be distinctly disclosed, either this dayc
the next, it would not surprise him. He beii?‘
ed it to be one of the worst forms in which
want of confidence was now operating, to hr*,
on the extreme distress and ruin which the *
morialists anticipated.”
^8 PRJNTFNfr neatly execute* at tins «»
ALEXANDRIA
WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEB. 12 A,;
CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO CANAl,
In the House of Representatives, on MonoA*
Mr. Stewart presented twenty one Memorial
all numerously signed, by the citizens of p3Pr'
sylvania, in favor of a further subscription r
stock to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
Mr. McKim presented the memorial of t,t
President and Directors of the Baltimore , ,
Ohio Railroad, in favor of a further subsc-h
tion of stock by Congress to the Chesapesi*
and Ohio Canal.
Mr. Stewart moved that this memorial \
printed, and took the occasion to expres* ' 7
high gratification at this conclusive evidencV’
the final and satisfactory adjustment of u7
fortunate controversy which had long
the progress of this great enterprise. " It iT n7-7
evident that these great rival companies'v^
hereafter to co-operate as friends and all: *77
prosecuting this great work, which, so far ash b 7
progressed, was surpassed in the durabili,y a7
grandeur of its structure by no similar wor'/j,
the world. He said, it must be gratifying t0 ,
the friends of the work, that, with this comm
versy, one of the most serious obstacles u7
progress was removed. This magnaiiinioi7
act, on the part of the Railroad Company, v 7
worthythe patriotic and enlightened source fr7
which it emanated; it was worthy and charai
ICIISLII/ uicguuciuuo UMCittJltj VViJICn Sij Hf;i
nently distinguished “the monumental eitv
from which it came. He hoped the House uoi
follow the example of those rival Comparn
and that when the bill, now on the table, pro
viding for the object indicated by the memoir
came up, the contending parties in this Hous
would for a moment forget the quarrels whu
so much disturbed and marred the progress o*
business here, and concur for once in^the r-c
complishment of this favorite object of the Fa
ther of his Country, and thereby unite, by a
powerful and enduring bond, the East and'tir
West—the seat of the Federal Government wit
the great Valley of the Mississippi.
He moved that the memorial be prime
which was agreed to.
FINAL DETERMINATION.
The official Government Journal, .yesterdry
by authority, gives the final and unalterable dj
temination of the President with regard to t:.»
financial prospects of the country. It is in then
words:—
“ In making the State Banks the fiscal age»; *
of the Treasury, the President has taken ;•
course which marks his final determination p
relation to this subject. He is convinced by th
experiment already made, that weJl-manugx,
State banks are fully adequate to the parform
a nee of all the duties connected with the coliec
tion, the safe-keeping, and transfer of the pm,’c
funds—the only duties which it is necessary
Government should require of such institute,
to facilitate the operations of the Treasury.
He is also satisfied that they are fully comp •
tent to carry on the business of domestic ex
change between the different parts of the r’nii:
States, in a manner that will be both con'vnie’r
and satisfactory to all parts of the country, a.v
[hat this can and will be conducted by them v:
3ii terms at least as favorable to the courmy
and probably more so, than has heretofore beei
Jone by the Bank of the United Stater,; and v.
feel ourselves authorized to state that all ropor'
to the contrary are mere inventions of the ene
my—and that the President is firmly resolv i ■
adhere to his plan of the State Banks.”