Indiana Republican, Volume 3, Number 115, Madison, Jefferson County, 20 February 1819 — Page 1
i 4 1 f iU ft., a T" i!3 iffiwrn mAN 4, . WHERE l.tllt.r.TV DWlvPLs, THJ.Hi: IS MY COUNTRY. VOL. UI. MADISON, (INDIAN ) -SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1S19. No. 115. I
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,f , , 0.7 V ' ' "0. "l-rn 1 ''"-VTi ....-. , .'.,-.PP, .; 7" ." f ?7 ( J :( 'v - by ,'tp i 1. ' ' f c . , ;. ' I ' 1 .' I ' f I ' ' v ' ' " r post pA'a. 1 ;;p.r: 01 the committee apj:intrd to investigate the pK :e!i;i.;s of the t ank 01 tic Ur.i'e-.i State, e n i :xui n. Vhcimoun: p:id bv v.hec, aUv, ajv.u- troiii a?traet, t!: moi , if' not the wiiole, ot which wvv to driw the procec.k oi mM,c c'iseountcd tor the purp -. An it appear-, tint in mh instances, panicd- ! ir!v in cc, rei i:e.i in Mr. M'kun's v:j!r,ony, i; reatter re:er;-ed toan t in atethr leferrcii to ijuie President's letter ot ivf! h 1 8 7, marked XXV, th.o directors dU not c ;:iline :helve; to the tnounr prcs i!cd in the resolu. tit n iff :?rl Deec-P.ibcr, that is to the prMion ot the coin part of theeeond in-taiment, but owv.'imd to the tud vaiue ci the stock whicli was paid ! ar by the pieced ( f t.he n;ic c'i-o Mints; ui t!ie (iiscount, the; v eyp.ent of he second irwalr -nt, the ; srent ot tin prke ! the- owuc, the tr.m - re: and pief.: (he s ,.,.;.;, ucre, it is terird, simvikaneous ts. Ail theliscounis on s;(k er t lie ?. ; Fe Pi irv, 1 8 1 7, were nu-ie at the par value ot the shares, hich enabled the e:wcuiintcr nc only to pay the vdeeJeol Ins iistilroents, inclu- ' .a ; the speie part and the fanded debt rtrt, but also to riaw out of the Dink the a1: cunt, whici mpjht have been ya-.i in cm 1u- harc. It is alJo eeJ, in jLtiiication of those fiv.( rants, tint specie bore a very hih pemium, and that .ne lunk onid not have com. Merced l)usiiess unless that i'-ule ot detuning the specie fluent lial been adopted. VY;J resprctto the price of X eoe, it appears to have been H'tr cent, a; Philadelphia, on 6th January, 18 17, and a. bou the amc" price in 15altia!0rc and that it had been ?a! higher. Admittinir, -wcver,that the price wou'ld 1,lvcbccn much enhanced, in 'quencc of its being under--ecu 1)U tlc cojn p;lymcnt XI "cccntl instalment would Ji:uiiy exacted ; yet the ' ln;ncecai,not perceive the jv.i'j CJ'aljn,3K n:;c of the ,,l,i'i to evade that pay-
incut, had the consequent loss of the premium on specie, while the majority h.ni been compclhi to incur the same los in order, strictly, to comply with the tan- .md their ciigiements ; p.ti ticulariy unjut w.rs it to those who resided at such i di -t;m e from the hank, that they could not avail thcuw:lvcs ot t!ie p! i ilee it anted . and the inju-tice appears the greater when it i known, that the expense of the. specie afterwards imported by the hank, in ordei to supply the deficiency produced by the evai-M it had authorised, was asscsed eouaiiv upon tlnsc w!o iuul already, at ceuMdcraiile loss turnishcvl tiieir quota of coin,
am! upon tire iro ernment. s Sew:) ndlliors wis the whole sum required to bv paid in coin ;he ; ceic part ot the ill st invtainunt, amouipin. o 1 4 i.aoo.rcj iloMars v o poo tile 2,S : . ,e.-:. v. hicii w a to i:d to have been paid at t ::e instalment, it is isroav u-hat an - 1 t . 4ls , p. iid in co?".. 1 X her r 1 e'v n XXIV, -,! i- eoin at Ih ' si ki mat 'veil X " if !.oa n:a! pact. 0:1 a ii.Ntahneio ot u i. . 'a dollars wi. stH ka. -ur t m d xelu ive 1" rl.e aitiscriucd bv eovcrumen in. stead t if 2 1 ,iK,fic ; v iiie.h were requited by the law : and 14,1 . 107 dollars w.i ; paid, as statvdin the iPP:r rr, in i.oin. lkir in that jbcr.ic: a elieei: on the bank, or on eti er banks supposed to pa)' i-pv.. ie : : tieetucd a p.n mesu in coin; ind i the p a ment , on the second instalment continued to be tr.a.h atul received tor six months and more after it i due, and as durino; that tiir.e, 1 rree discounts on sorek were con. stautlv made, it is okvl011s that t he abstract cm not be relied on as e:dr.:;iunrr the actual amount paid in specie. Nor on the other hand, couid the whole amount of the discounts on ttock be considered as having teen applied to the payment of the second instalment. By statement marked (13) referred to in the Cashier's answer, and by tins committee marked XXVI I, it appears that the discount on the 30th July, 1817, on pledged stocls: am united to 8,046,932 dollars ; of that amount, a part was applied to the payment of the third instalment, and a part drawn out of the bank bv the discounters. A large portion of it, is believed, however, to have been used to piy the second instalment of the 2, 800,000 dollars, which was to have been paid at the third instalment, it is believed that a very tr'dlinr; amount was paid in coin, ami as little of the funded debt, but that nearly the whole of both was paid by the proceeds of notes discounted on the pledge of stock. The total amount of specie imported from Europe by the bank since its institution to this time, appears by statement XXVII, to
be 7,31 1,750 53 the expense of which including interest premium, and 20,000 dollars paid to tlica;;cnt i;oinj to London, amounts to 525,297 20, the contract made lor a part ot tint specie, and the authority to Mr. Serjeant, the acnt are submitteJ marked A X 1 , XXX. lothe reason uip,c i by the olilcers of the bank, t'.t siit h u-.i, the sv arc itv if s": that tt could not have been i.btaiucd, and tint without lui!tjtin.; the payments by ni.i!.-. discounts, the bank co .kt r : : have j;one iiito ip a uiontommittte oU eive t.'iat t!. y :ic at a Io to p revive :..nv : impfe act pt die-'-iHit!:. ( - ;'d make the pes e p'er :
that If it Wis n-u . 1 .'v ; e bank at t he tone ; : t;ie dicom: e; s o i.: J v . ' !lu.nni)v. t 1 The amount of the k ,.o. 1 : U the S. in j.oo.Mv.;:s 1 .;-o t! ;k deli or. !.:ore th 01 I v i : 1 ca t ot ; . ; : e oa ' i 1 1.1. 1 1 . i r 1 . . . e. i ; 1 w o ; w e : e Si.. w o : oe ceXi ; '. ..1 1 to ov t te.i t of the bar . . . . . a v ; 1 ' K V : to r : , 1:1 v - t o p o V- !. iv'l 1. . . V i , o.-rnvk::.: it into the b ml: a.iiti own bench! , t o the payment of z -pei'-: n t ot the second insd;pre:it an cperation of ir.ore p ' r-.cy, in creating specie, than vrr. isctibed to the i ib! r ! Mnias. i he peer A . C k 1? CO li ..I v I x l ' fc i A. 1' Hui uui1 v 1 l.'is or di-counts v,.i a t e 1 J . o o : - 4 . ele in ilie bank. From v hirh it would result, that the proceeds of the checks torthov-discouips werenot in aUcascscquivalent to specie. Astothe difiieuhy of the bmk troinii into one rat ion without those discounts being made, to facilitate the payment of the second instalment, it is not perceived how tint measure removed the dillicuity for it is obvious that it did not add a single cent to the specie in the vaults of the institution. What other dillicuity than the want of specie the bank had to encounter, is not known, as all other obstructions seem to have yielded almost without an ctX fort. The effect of these discounts was very obviously to enable tjiosc who had made large purchases, to retain their stock without paying for it, and to derive a benefit from its probable - advancement in specie. Had the bank rigidly required the payment of the instalment, the large stockholders must have sold that portion of their shares which their real mcansv did not enable them to hold; or, if the bank had not exacted the instalments, and had not afforded the means cf substituting credit for payment, the stock would net have ad
vanced materially in price, and the large holders of it would have no inducement to retain it. In either event, a more cqual diffusion of the shares would have been the consequence anil it would have leached the hands of solid c:ipit dists, who would have held only what they could pay for. It iX believed that the Ios ot the dividends, and the Iiahilit v
t ;iv in. n interest on the- instaldue, would have keen su.I.ukr.r to compel even ihe r o ''or tt) sell. Ah hough do; mints had not been tX. immediate pmhX 1 ... i. ...... i 1 . 1 K t. tli. . i uki nor na e it would not u un wield v capit.il li ould h lve nroi 1 prowinc with 1, and ! OM.gthMiu, : 1 e i oM he n.U mp . vi i .1 n - i ' V' . a m ' . .. m t , T! .: s we . ' vith of Phil s pr - 4 t O': h ;t h d k g tXan !i,;'s arh a t avpX li.w e e:;r. 1 a it ! es 1 . cr .: ) o VJO than to Che i : i r.e,. tain Iter native " , Y t(i t k, J.ioU Ot r c ii c ; th.; .'; avovced k :.ke p.. rt.i.i.ier.t reevie p P; ments. : ceumrv .ts e... aet ( ! bar;: the bard: of es inne.esed it. re the linked ;k it o . '!X a . ; . h: " i 1: s vie.. Ps to ocklio! Jers. div!, indeed, cnrectors to declare a i;ur, that the a i y the recent dividend nivi a i-.att per cerPi. p have been suppce eil, re; 1 urgeo', that the dis- : (Ui stovk was tlie out V.'O it nr : e . CO mcaus in tin pov ot tre br.nX to ( utorce tiie p-ayn entoi die second instalment. It is believed that the en -a'punent on the part of the stockhoklers could have been enforced without dillicukv by tiie courts of law; decisions to that effect have been made in the courts of the states of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New-York. And when the stockholder's note was taken with an endorser or any other collateral security, but the pledge of the stock, it is not perceived how his legal liability was increased. In the state of the stock pledged there was indeed a prospect cf indemnity, which depended however wholly on the price of shares in the market. The same circumstances that prevented the actual payment of the instalment would have interfered, it is presumed, to ob struct the liquidation of the note given in lieu of it. And in the emergency which would have compelled the bank to reduce its discounts it would most require a good price for the stock ; and the very r.ieccssity of the times wVich would force an unusual quantity of it into the market, would probably defeat the reject of security. In fact, a part of the amount. tlu discounted
was not paitl at the maturity of the notes; videstatcment xxvik but were renewed. Ot the still larger proportion which appears from that statement to have been paid, it is wholly impossible to determine what pare was converted into notes, on personal security, or what part assumed the new shape, which was given to r.nrrs jiscountcd on hedged stock after the 2atk hbruaiy 1817. It. ought to Pe remarked thar many persons a Per hndinp the dip)o,ifion of hoard, ob tained okaoimts vvh,i were perfectly prepared to pay ec would lue pud their insodncrits if the inducement to credit had not bet n oiler- p ict hem. Mad the bank lesered fo hs remedy through the cc-urts to obtain the payment or the -e-coiul irestakiiem , 0 -.voukl proVably have obtained so-uei'hirpg irom the stoekimidcrs; could
have k)U n ami at all v vents v.omd have vaved the cvidencX ur ; the eu ::.'. stock. Hut by t akir; tXe -e-:fr of the owner it adnrine t Ph r the instalment wo- pair!, :,l nbandoned the means , con gien fo die cliart : h withkinding tpe do., i :J t: obtained norking, It old i.ot in:rtase th,. -e onibihry cf the stockholder, while ir expo-red the bank to the reit.un io.i o: the divio; u , ain: to the chance d ios ir tiie stock should be forced into the market in large quantifies. The committee are of coinion that tlui.se resolution, and the practices of discoursing before ir.cn tioneti, weie mcorrect. That thev are p arthuiar- ) obiectiopab'e, frmr? their partial operation in thrding facilities to some stockholders, which could not be enjoyed by those at a distance. Even at Richmond, the stockholders made tiieir payments for the second instalment in funded debt and in coin, which probably was purchased at a premium. The committee find it eiikicult to reconcile those resoiutior.s with the views protested in their adoption, and are satisfied that they were connected intimately with other measures, calculated to affect the price of stock, and particularly with discounts of a similar character, soon after made. One ot the r.cts, obviously intended to gX e the bank stoca a kirph price in the Ecaopean market, vct th e est iiblisknient of 'an agency t here, to pay th -di idends. On the :PHu NcwnPber, P-'H, a rescluiion was pnss'.-ok by tl'e eustre.g- ote of the pei-eskka.t, and against tiie report of a committee who haul been appointed to consider the subject, authorising John Sergeant, Esq. to make at rane merits in Europe for the payment of the bank dividends, it the par of exchange, and at the rWs. and expanse of the bank. Such arc . arrangement was made, bv which: it was stipulated to make the payments six. month 5 after the diviflcr.fla. were declared; the papers a this subject are marked XXXXXL, kLl. How far it was objecTOhable thus io offer indivcemcutA U foreigners to become interested in our stock, and seru-ann-e.ally to withdraw from the country the amount of their divitUnds, tlie committee do not undertake to JeXnle, they coardde i gr.c of those ctv
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