Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1803-04-14

paynent Of the capital or principal OF any
,sr,s Of the debt of the United States
then due or to become due 6arjng fbe
xeu,h of tbaf gear TO the Bank OF the
United States, or to the Bank OF New
York, or for any infalmeni OF foreign
debt; & certificates for fix Per cent itock
irredeemabIe till 1910 were TO be iiiaed
for any borrowed. The third fe6fion Of
the aa provided that it lhould be deemed
a good execution of the power 10 borrow,
for the conniGioneEs Of The Sinking Fund
to cauie TO 70 continued, certificates OF
flock of the defcripsion before mentioned,
and to caule the fame TO &c fold IN the
United STATES OF eilewhere, provided that
no more than one moiety OF the flock
fhould be fold under par. We then find
claufe in the following words, from
which the commihioners infer their pow
err TO fell the Bank Stock :-"And 1t
ihall be lawful for the commifioners of
the Sinking Fund if they fhall find the
fame to be mott advantageous, TO fell fuch
and 70 many Of the fhares of the Stock of
the Bank of the United States as they
may think proper; and that they apply
the proceeds thereof to the payment of the
fdid debts, infesd of telling certificates
Of flock in manner preltribed in this
ad."
The aa of Congrels provided three
| ways of rafting the money required.
1T. ry an ordinary loan I'd. by the
iale Of Fix per cent flock below par; 3D..
! by the fale of the Bank Stock.
The money at that time was not TO be
borrowed. he bank had been The COM
mon lender, but it was the bank which
was now to be paid. The commi6ion-
ers then had recourfe to the contribution
| of fx per cent flock, ard tent, for ex-
pertinent, $4,000 dollars to New York
TO be fold. The flock was fold, but at
dilcount Of 20 Per cent. The lois was
toe enormous to fufer this .courfe to be fur
Their purified.
TIE only fund which remained, and to
which the commiHicners were driven by
necefity, was the back ltock. They ac-
cordingly fold 1850 flares, which rrOduc-
cd the fun of 1884, 400 dolls. which was
applied purluant to the directions of the aet
! of Congrefs,
The deGgn in diainguilhiug the feveraI
loans which formed the aggregate of the
debt intended to be provided for by the
aa Of 1896, is in order to refer thofe DIE
pofed to make the enquiry, to the direct
and fpecial proyiGon Of fund in each
| law, authorizing loan, eventually TO an
fwer the debt TO be conr,a3ed. This
fund was the furplus of duties on imports
and tonnage. The furplus of the ordinary
revenue was made by law the immediate,
and in itielf was the natural fund to meet
the debts in qnefion. WbiAe /ueb (ay-
PlaDss ex1fed, therefore, it was clearly
not The intention ofthe att Of 1896 TO fuf-
fer fix per cent fock TO be contributed ard
fell under par, or to allow any Of the
"GIJ'os HHH P'03HETSe JAH"' Va tu0 "
States to be difpofed Of. The power &c
fell the fix per cents and til: bark Jf0ek,
was evidently predicated upon the failarf
gtbf orisiiaalj finds broOided, in COME
quence of the ordinary revenue being ab-
forbed by prior membranes.
Can il now be affirmed, that il was the
intention Of the law to fufer fix per cents
to be fold under par, or the bank flock to
be difpoled of, when there was idle money
lying in the treafury, wanted for no ex-
igency, and bound by no apProP. iation !?
And what are the circumstances uader
which the flock has been folds
ltappears from the Meaage Of the Pre-
fident, and the report of the Secretary of
the Treafury, that there was /arplm Of
Nancy beyond expenditures in the tresiu-
ry during the iaf year, of 4, $780, 900
dolls. AT the commencement Of the laf
year, the debt due TO the bank was dolls.
z,74o,o 900. It does not appear thar the
bank had rven reouel}ed the psyment Of