Vincennes Gazette, Volume 3, Number 32, Vincennes, Knox County, 11 January 1834 — Page 1

Hdii ilitldo

rusmcijYEs. i.vomjt jjutvjmry 11, 1834. JWTMBER 32

Tin: VINC2NNE3 GAS2TTE, Pu'Aishtd even Saturday,

Tcrms2 ",:. if paid durinir the year. i ('. it i'ihI 111 advance. i 00, it" not paid during the year 3' I -.3, (or ?i m ;:itli. raprr. 1 i -ontinue d only at the option of the publisher while arrearages aie due. ;r7 vfrtic4t:i nts making one square or less trill oe 1 ncMt tl tireo tiiin3 lor one dollar, and twenty -five cents for every subsequent insertion ; linger advertisements in the same ratio. irirr h articb s of produce, ns are n?ed in h futulv, w i h rt c.ci vcfl in payment for ub-r-ri;ti ns, ai liie market price, delivered in VinCenieis. OF A COMMITTEE OF MRElCTOnS OF THE CAMi or nn: i:mti:i stati:s. CONCLUDED The account ot the Treasurer at the Bank stodd thus: February 11, - - - 5717,264 22 lb, - - - 1,733,-toD '-:. (in conscq'ence rf the payment ot the r renoh bill,) 1 fhruavy o '1 Td arch 4, ' S , IS, l Id, 2d, l.rjt,tin y l.Ooi ti-7 J'b l,5V:.7."vJ d ,49o,'7 -ili l.U52,bd2 10 l,irtt,.)('d fc yi;;,8i6 tit 7Jo,tii3 rj 070 yu l-t,l-lri til 774,f..0 47 4.3 1,600 4d it April flay V I When the money wa3 repaid. It mil thus he seen, that there was at the CP- ii of the Treasurer on the 18;h of Pei-inai , . the. sum ot l,735,4GO 40, of wh'ch 9j3..Go 8f) were the proceeds d; l. I-.. I' II J .- . .1... U , t ine r leneii om, ami its in nit uiouui i i April there w as to lit credit only $9-iG,G13 rl, Ine mtleience liptueii these uvo s-urn. l hat if to py, sl56,9a2 2o had leeu . drawn out of that fund ot 'J03,5G5, 89. Ace-idmgi) , when the Treusuter came tn rrnav the monev. he hail nol enonrrh r ' i

. ' , . , . , . i i stance and tor that reason, every drawer ot it .remaining but was obliged to draw J ii i it . . i i i ! who was solvent might by nuking a rern funds elsewhere , so that in acknow ledg-: J ,, , . , , ini, f mittance to the Bankers in Lurope, alter ing the receipt ot his dralt on the 1 ltii ot ' . jvi lo-io .u i r ,u , li.w.L- i !bill protested lor non payment had been Way, 1833, the Cashier ol the bank ad- ,..,. . i .i j returned to the 1 reasury, induced them to ' . make a similar offer, and evade the pay"our transfer check tor 500.000 ",men, ot damages." the office of the Bank ot the United Slates! ' T , . ..,' I he lapse of vears at last reversed the at New oik will appear ai the tremi of j . , . .I,,!.,. ! state of the paittes. Mr. Girard becomes your account thisilay, and w ill ttius pie- , . , . i i.i i ..'t'ie largest stockholder in a corporation vent the overdraft which the i b .nge now . . I, . . . .. called the Bank ot the United States, and mi vised would otherwise have occaion- ' , I he and his partners in the course ot their 'business, purchase a bill from this same In the United States then the Bank had; olkerj ,he Secretary of the Treasury, jaid the amount ot the bill m us teasi con-, which C;imes Dac5 protested after having ventent toim But when it was protested j ,(fen lwice i;Ui, (or Mf Girar( heirs in Paris, the agents ot the Bank turning! an(J , associates appl v to the Secretary a bill with its name upon it protested, not evon for the same amount which r.arm forwaid and paid it on account ot Mf Gir;U(i frmer ly paidnot for twenthe Bank- sa that the Bank had actually : fy ppr cent ()e Janmge9 m Pennsylvania paid for this bill twice over-once in Phi.( Jbut tor ,-lf,een p.r cent lhe .oVages in ladelphia and once in Paris -that is, 't; Washington; and the only answei vouched ot course a credit for the proceeds ot i ... "r ,

f,uh,n ,l don hr ,u II r rate i '" " . tual di-burremeuts on account ot the bill were upwarus or iuvuuu. ;

What makes the case stronger is this (credit of the Government, and tarnish the that on the 22d ot Ma-ch. the day vvhen'.honor of the country 11 Such a course the protested bill came back to the Bank, tends to an utter contusion of all idea? of lhe whole amount in the credit ot the justice, nor is it a thing tolerable by the Treasury throughout the whole United American people th in an individual shall States, with the exception of l he Danish ! g, among ihe citizen-purchasing bills and indemnity money, was 1. 827.043 83. exacting damages, and when his own bill. Now the Bank bail a'tvauceii 5903,iG5 89 ,dd to those same citizens, returns pro in Philadelphia, ano g921,o90 18 m Pa 'tested, he sdiall wrap himself up in his ris, making J1,825,15G 97, so that although ' official immunity , and refuse to do to his it had credit in England, lor the bill sold , fellow citizens whathehascoinpelled them there, the Bank had actually advanced i to do to him on account of thi bill a sum equal within j Iiut supp0,ing ali lhi to )e directly the less than two thoa uul dollars, of the , rever9e ot whrtt it realv jsSupPosmg the whole funds cl the Government in Ike : cjaim to be questionable instead of being

-,dUAWhen the bill returned protested, the Bank, as the endorser, called upon the! Government to pay the principal and the fiamages. It did this as a matter of course,

'it did it as a matter ot the clearest duty I the Government The question is a leg il j o the Government, because if the Gov-j one . The judicial tribunals are to decide j jrntnent had any right at all to draw the,i. Yet while the Bank i quietly wait- j ;ill, it had a right to make France pay ling the action of the laws, the President; 'he damages for its breach of contract, and j of the United States prejudges the ques- j il lad ni mode of claiming against France,! tion denounces the Bank for paving pre ;

en'e-s in the lnslinstan. e it paid the dam-!

ages t the bank, w hich itm-ghtthe more j to the country as a reason why he should retdily do, as being one fifth partner ot instantly remove a Secretary of theTreaIht Bank, t:s own shale of the 153,000 j sury, in order to suhject the whole public would he j3l.G00. revenue of the United States to his own

But whether the French Government pays these daai.tg- ot not, it is manifest that Ilio Ameiicm Government must pay tbetn an I :i upon thrf si;nple principle, not ot e puty, hut of ordinary honCct . From the fonnlation of the Govern ment to ihe present day, whenever the Government has purchased a hill from a private ct;ieu, aad that bill has from whatever cauc retuiirt t protested, no cutter how hard the case may be, no matter w hat circumstances ot excuse or ilitig -HMn miv be otVered by the citt?en, on matter w hether damages were actually sastaiied or not, the Government has rijrorouslv enforced its claim lor damages, k It is not merelv forced a solvent met b int lu pay, tut has :csisted . it cuiim for damiges should have its legal :ccdcoce over all the j-.is: rights of ibe

other creditor? of an insolvent; and now business, el the most important business, when the case u changed, when the Gov- even that of granting discounts to any exernment sells its own hill to its own citi- tent, is entrusted to a committee ot five 7.pt.e, and that bill returns protested, with i members who do not report to the

what propriety, nay with what preten sion to common honesty, can the. Gov ernment presume to deny the same justice to its own citizens The books of the Treasury are crowded with cases ot damages exacted by the Government from American citizen? and one is now selected merely from its peculiar aptness to the present occasion. Some years ago, Mr. Stephen Girard sold to the Treasury lour bills, two of whir.h returned protested owing to the insolvency of his coi respondent in London ; when the two others Irecame mie the we ip paid for the honor of Mr. Guard by the Messrs. Barings, who also agreed to pay the two fiist in London, as of die d iv j on which they were payable. Mr. Girard j applied to Congress for exoneration from; the claim of '20 ner cent, damages, legina: "Tint fiom t lie said sum of 22,500 sterling, due on the 18th Augut lit. being passed by Sii Francis Baring & Co. to the credit of the Secretary ot the Trea ZJ r I sury of the United States, as on the day I !he same became due, no real loss or dam wze can accrue to the Untied States from me said bills being returned under protest " Congress rejected the claim; and Mr. Girard paid the damages of 20 per cent On that occasion, the Committee of Claims called on the Secretaiy of the Treasury, Mr. Gallatin, and in his answer, which makes part of their repor. he says that he had i ejected Mr Girar i'S claims for four reasons, of which the two most essential are : 1st. Because, considering, the large. amount ot bills (more than ;vo millions of dollars.) annually purchased on account of iovernmeot, it appeared absolutely ne cessjry never to give up the damages . . , H i . ' ... ,5 J IIICUIIIViV f " IVII U I ft U 1 V V ' " f k V U lf J circumstances been enforced. "2d Because, if abandoned in this inmct'jnro iviTlioiir ronrnrii tn iiciconc n r

.IT. .lUB 1 v - 'jth.s paragraph-first the strangeness of

ih..f iha r iim ti tua rtii.ir-i i.mi in biw ' requity to which the President now adds, that it is an attempt to impair the equitable, is there any thing in it which can at all justify this denunciation of the Bank'? Here is a claim made by certain American citizens for damages on a bill of exchange, which thev have purchased of sumed to make the claim and gives that I disposal . In further illustration of the opposition of the Bank to his election, he next proceeds to treat of certain act of the Board I of Directors. The annunciation of these is prefaced by remarks on the magnitude 'and importance of the facts, their recent disclosure and their great enormity; and the whole is concluded by a complaint of the "hundreds of thousands and even mtl liens"' which may he. employed in subverting tho liberties of the country and in disparaging the Executive. How little foundation in fact there is for all this, will be readily seen by examining the allega tinns in the order in which they are pre sented. First, lie says, that "although the charter nd the rules of the Bank both declare that 'not less than seven directors' shall be necesssrv to the trans act 'ion of

Boird

Now the charter doe not require seven directors to make discounts. Nor do the rules of the Bank require seven directors. Nor it is true that any committee of five has t hie power to discount. Nor does ny committee discount without reporting to the Hoard. The charter says that "not less thin! seven directors shall constitute a board for the transaction of business . but the , business of the board i not ex- lu-ivelv nor piimatily to make Joans; its business : is to govern the whole institution. If the charter requited seven Directors io make aDiscount.it would have said so of the j Board of Directors of the Branches, i whose more exclusive business is todis al-icount. But it idaces no such restriction ' I ( on the branches, w here by far the greater part of the discounts are made. The business of the hoard is to pi escribe how the details of the operations of the bank are to be made it mav delegate a portion of its power of making oan to committees, for in truth to require a board of seven directors to meet before any bill could be discounted, would entirely destroy the most useful operations of the Bank arid accordingly the Exchange committee meet every day for the purchase of bills, and their purchases are submitted to the board at their next meeting It would be supposed from the manner io which it is stated, that this was some recent innovation. So far from it, the discounting of bills of exchange was formeilv done by a smaller number than at pre-ent On the 12lh of February. 1821, during the administration of Mr Chevc. and hefnre the time of the present officers, a rule was adopted that "In the absence of the Exchange Com - mitfee. the President and Cahiei shall be authorized to purchase e xchange which may be offered for s ale. if an immediate answer be desired, and report such purchases to the Exchange Committee at its next meeting thereatTer " I 1 1 I ti i ' ' ti lUt i'"if ri uv.iv. wiui'iiii.iedof to only a single Director of the r, , . J , t. . Bank, let no one ever imagined that it In truth ... n:i.,i; r iim .i lrt IVilS U VIOIitllUII III IIIU LIISI ICI Iltllli it is a power exercised very generally by the officers of Banks throughout the Uni-

ted States . c mi i- t.rr . it ii r to ext end its funds in iav ment for irei arTbe second is "To cut off all means of : ' . , i communication with the Government in ng and circulating articles, and purchasrelat.ontoits most important acts, at the Pphlets and newspapers, calcu atcommencement of the present year, not pd h' th,e,r intents tn operate on elecone of the Government Directors was tmns and secure a renewal of its charter'

, :.. .i iiihi . i i tiiv iriir vniijui 1 1 ir . Mini cii" !, i " . i iii though. since, by an unusual remodelling r,, ii .i r: . of those bodies some of those Director i . , c.u r . have been placed on some of the Commit ' . . , , , c tees, thev are yet entirely excluded from v, - ... J r r. i . the Committee of Exchange, through whirh the greatest and most objectionable lom.g have f.een made There ate two things remarkable in I th is paragraph--first the strangeness ' .i f i i'li C the statement. It is here asserted that . ., . . not to have the Government Directors on Committees is to "cut off all means 0j - communication with the Government in relation to its most important acts; that IM . .. ff l. rtt Ua I', l..l..l Ai.ininnQ IS iw SilV lilrti hit- v i'ini'ir iiikii (niiiuuj and the unreserved expressions used bv their colleagues on a Committee are to be communicated to Government. It is preciselvthis fact thus officially announced which would make thee Directors unsafe depositories of the confidence of their colleagues "At the commencement of the present ear," he proceeifs, "not one of the Government Directors was placed on any one Committee 11 Now of these Directors who could then be appointed, there were but two residents of Philadelphia the third not having yet been appointed. Why these two Directors, one of whom had just come, for the first time, into a i banking institution, were not named on the Committee, in the place of old and valued Directors, it would be more invid ions than difficult to decide : but that there was no studied exclusion was obvious from the fact that at the very next quarterly appointment, two out of thee Government Directors were placed on Committees Nor is there any foundation for the assertion that any "unusual remodelling" of these Committees has taken place. On the contrary the Committees were appointed quarterly, as they have for years been apppoiuted, and not the slightest re modelling of them, usual or unusual have taken place. As to the Exchange Com mittees. who are charged with the arrangement of the Foreign and Domestic Exchanges of the Bank, lequiring com mercial experience and knowledge ot the tnismess and the credit of individuals, those who are presumed most qualified, are most naturallv choen. These Direc tors have no claim to the slightest distinction above their colleagues, and they must take their chances with the other members in the formation of the committees. In truth, men will choose their asi! .1. i n ( (i nn ninniiHn.. . i it. ri r r f 11 IfWT ?UV.Iftlf" Vll .VIllllMUri ?f tin III I J WAll'j ebe, from confidence in their capacity or their personal qualities; and not to be chosen to places of tuist implies only that e'hers are. more trustr.

The third is "It has long been known that the President of the Hank, by his single will, originates and executes many of the most important measures connected with the management of the credit of the Bank; and that the committee, as well as

'the Board of Directors, are left in entire ignorance of many acts done, and correspondence carried on, in their names, and apparently under their authority. An assertion fo general, can only be met by as general a denial; at the same time, the Committee deern it their duty to declare, that this allegation, so posi jjvely mnde. of h know n and ncknow ledg-pri fact, while it charges the Board of Directors with a dereliction of their duty, and a surrender of their trust, does; the iea?est and most flagrant wrong to the ofii er who presides over this institution. This officer has devoted eleven yettrs of thp l est portion of his life, and nil his time and all hi talents during that period, to

the service of the Bank: he has. at alltedu. What the Committee deem there

times, consulted fieelv with the Directors, and has never sought to make his "single will" the law of the Bank. The proofs of the ability and integrity of his administration, are to be read in the prosperity and strength of the institution; in the reiterated approbation of the stockholders: and in the unwavering confidence of the successive Boards of Directors who have been the witnesses of his labors And the Committee confidently believe, that such proof can never be obliterated by such sweeping declarations, let them emanate from what source thev may. The fourth is the following pas-age: The expenditures purporting to have been made under authority of these resn lutions, duriner the years 1831 and 1832, j were about sJRO.000 " Thi, too. is another misstatement. J The expenditures purporting 'o he made under these resolutions during the years 1831 and 1832. were, as will be explained n ,his report, exactly $43,287 90. The fifth is, "That publications have been prepared and extensively circulated, containing the grossest invectives against the offieers nf the Government: and the money which belongs to the stockholders i and to the public, has been freely applied in efforts to degrade, in putdic estimation, . . "V" ; . mental in resisting the wishes of this . . ..-.. 3r:,el''n an(' dangerous institution " - , - J " 1 he lacis nas neen recently (iibciou, that nn unlimited discretion has been, and Here are two mistaites it is nor true . that any "rtublications have been prepar- - . ... ' en anu exrensiveiy circuiaieu containing , A, nthe grossest invectives against the officers ' ,h , J? t . ., . o the Government. ' Nor is it true that . . . ... ..r anv power veste m the President "lor - . , . . . . . , VPS circulating articles, and ; purchasing pamphlets and newspapers, (calculated by their contents to operate on ! piprl:ona. i -eriire a renewal of itcharter.' rhar. No .orh ll0vver is iriven, and " no such nnwer is erercised ., i.:u uThe power actually given, which has , 1 . i ,neen exercised, ami win couwime iu uc ' nv-.r'iciKl la f.ir tho rvtfnrf fit the Rank - - ' . . r..,. i aiumnie!" wiiu un.n, iui ium 5 ears, the institution nas ueen pursueu i j ''The fact that the Bank controls and in some cases substantially owns-and by its money supports, some of the leading presses of the country, is uow more clear ly understood." Phis whole allegation is denied. The Bank does not now control, and never did control, any press whatever the Bank does not own, and never did own, any press the Bank does not now support, nor did it ever support, by its money, any press. Created for the purpose of giving aid to every branch of industry, it has not presumed to proscribe the conductors of the press from their share of the accommodation due to their; capital and industry. Of the extent and the security ot these loans, the Director claim the exclusive privilege of judging. The course of this inquiry has now brought the committee to the second paper referred to them by the Board signed by the Government Directors. It appears from their report that the President of the. United States addressed a letter to them, "directing them to examine and re port upon the expense accouutof the Bank of the United States for the last two years," and particularly, "that portion which embraced expenditures calculated to operate en the elections" which examination they state "undoubtedly present circumstances which in our opinion warrant the belief you have been led to entertain. 7 -j. his assertion ui .mgiu m the President of the United States io inquire into the expenses ot the Bank, with a view to ascertain whether any money was expended which might directly or indirectlv interfere with his own personal election, is alike novel and untenable. His authority, as we have seen, is limned lo the power of issuing a scire facias. But in no part ot lh charter ot the Bank, m no law of this countiy is there found any power in the President to inter tore hi lb ititeraal coucerns of the institution, or to

direct secret investigations. But that which they regard with surprise and regret rs, that these Directors, having siich a commission to execute from the President, never communicated the fact to their colleagues, rior to theOfficersof the Bank and while, these Officers were giving to them the freest and most tinreserved access to all the books and papers of the Bank, and while their colleagues were sitting in perfect confidence by their sides, neither those Othcer nor Directors had the remotest suspicion of the official investigation into their conduct, begun nearly two months before under orders of the President until they read it in the newspapers. When at the meeting of the Board, after its publication, the tuhject was introduced, one of the Government Directors in eiiVct acknowledged that

they had purposely concealed their obiject, lest if iheir colleagues had been aware of it. they would not ha?e peimit fore a subject of jut complaint, is the want of candor in thus trving their col leagues, without apprizing them h t they were on trial, or giving them any hance of knowing or answering the chargers made against them by the President. The report itself bears manifest evidence, of the haste with which it whs prepared. Thus "we proceeded," say they, "to look into ptich of the vouchers oa which they are founded as we had time and opportunity to do " They state that they would have fPnt copies of theso vouchers, but "the time and labor necessary for this mode would have prevented our resortinrr to it at present M When the truth is, that a few hours of tranquil industry would have enabled them to copy every word of these vouchers. Again they say, "ne were obliged to depend on our own partial inquiries.'1 The er rors of this partial and hasty inquiry the Committee will now proceed to notice. 1st. The first impression attempted to bo i made is that, whatever is here stated arc discoveries of things hitherto concealed, (and which now see. the light jn cnne iquence of their exertions. Thus they ! speak of the expenditures "discovered by ju-. ami or men "loveeugauoiis, mm they requested a particular statement from the Board, which "request was not complied with," and that they were "ohliged to depend on their own partial inquiries" And, finally, they say with an air of despondency, "we must infer from the course pursued by the Board when our resolutions were submitted to them, that a more exact statement ran onl v be obtained by an agent directly authorised by the Executive.'" Nothing caa be more erroneous than such an impression. No one concealed, no one desired to conceal no one could conceal this whole matter The resolutions of the Board were on the minutes the expenses under them were all recorded in a book, the vouchers all referred to by number in that book; and all of them minutes expense book and vouchers werp always to be eeen and examined by the Directors, so that the whole process of discovery was to ask for the books and vouchers, and to receive them. In the same spirit, they remark that, "the expense account, as made up in the book whicb was submitted to us, contained very little information relative to the particulars of this expenditure, and we were obliged, ia order to obtain them, to resort to an inspection of the vouchers." What tlid these Directors expect in an expense book? This'book contains the na.ne of the party, the sum paid, and the number of the voucher which supports it; and th voucher is at hand to verify it. If they meant that each item of each account should he copied into this expense book, they mean that which no expprise account ever did contain, or ever ought to contain; and the objection shows only the spi rit in which the inquiry was conducted. 2d . Another effort is to make it appear that these expenditures were exclusively at the Bank in Philadelphia, leaving ot' onrco tlii r Co r n a Ano r ! h ! t f Ko penditures at the branches might be in the same proportion. "AM expenditures of this kind, say the committee, introduced into the expense nccount, and discocred by us, we founii to be, so far as regards the institution in Shis city, embraced under the head of stationary and printing.' Now the truth is, that these expenses were not confined to Philadelphia, but embraced all the United States. The expense book showed, and the vouchers proved, that these expenditures were made in various and remote parts of the union a fact too apparent to escape im mediate observation. 3d. The next misrepresentation rsthi3. After quoting the resolutions they, pro ved; "In pursuance, it is presume., -,ai..i;,.n t'np item of stationai of these resolutions, the item oi slHl, unary and printing was indexed, during the fiist half of the year 1831. to the enormou? sum of 29,979 9-'. Now it appears on the very face of the expense account, that the increase oi' this enormous eutn, so far from having been occasioned fcy these resolutions, was caused by the purchase of large quantities of paper and engvings for bank notes, and in the supply of common Stattouar tiie Ba'nlc.