Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-05-09
CONGRESS.
UNITED sTaTEs BANK
IN SENATE.


80 tn me most uasound and untenablc.
Still gentlemen Of intelligence and ofintesri'
", who have though. long and deeply on inc
subject, .hink differently from me and feel
bound 10 respect their opinioas, however OPP
posed they may be to my own. Yet, sir, l
will venture to predict, without feeling any
anxiety forthe fate Of the prophecy, that should
this bank be suffered 20 run down, such VIII
be the state OF things before this time twelve
month, ths. tnsre are other gentlemen, VINO as
presen, have constitutional objections, but VINO
nave not thought 50 long and deeply upon
them, will, before that tGac, receive slich
! food Of intelligence, as on this head perfectly
to dispcl their doubts, and quiet their conscl'
enccs.
Sir, l shall now proceed as briefly as may
be in my power to state the situation OF th,s
bank Oh the expiration OF Its charter, x the e.
fccts on the community consequent on H..
There is now due to the bank from individuals
fifteen million. of dollars. These aiteen mill
lions of dollars must be collectcd-..the power
Of the bank to grant discounts will ha" ceased,
and the duty Of the directors must require
them to make the collection. Sir, how Is this
to be done Whence can the money be obtaln'
ed shall demonstrate to you presently, that
already, from an apprehension ola non renew
al of the charter of the bank, business Is near
" at stand..-that navigation, real estate, and
merchandise are unsaleable and that n.a:9
worth one hundred thousand dollars, at the re-
Gently rated value of property, and owing
10000 dollars, must still be utterly unable to
meet his engagements. Suppose, Sir, this
property consists i'll houses o. shipping
suppose his warehouse is tull.of goods, and
he has large sum placed at his credit lii En-.
giand---If, sir, he en- neither sell bis ships,
norhis goods--f he cannot sell MS real estate
nor scarcely give sway his exchange, which
hitherto, to men who had money IN England,
has been q never falling source OF supply in
case Of need say, under these c!rcunistas,-
ces, sir, whichever may DC mis- property. he Call
not meet his engagements. Sir, can men thus
situated, solvent as they ought 20 be ten times
over, Snd relief from the STATE banks: Certain
" not, sir These banks nave already gone to
the extreme length o. their .biity; they have
always discounted to ;.n amount in proportion
to their capital exceeding that of the bank of
the y. States, which is incontrovcrtibly proved
bv the dividends they have declared, which
have at most universally equallcd and frequent
y exceeded those of the bank of the Uaited
States, Notwithstanding the advantage enjoyed
by the latter from the deposit of public mo-
mics. Sir, SO far from having it in their pow
Ell, in the case of the dissolution of the bank
of the United States, to assist the debtors 70
that bank in meeting their engagements to it,.
| affirm the fact, on which have myself
perfect reliance, that, take the state banks
from Boston to Washington, and after paying
their debts to the bank Of the United States,
they have not, nor do believe thcy have had,
for s months back, specie enough to pay the
of their bills i'll circulation. And here I beg
it to be observed, that bank bills, and bank de-
posts, CT credits, are precisely the same thing
---with this difference, that the latter, from the
residence in the neighborhood IF the banks,
and the vigilance of the proprietors, wou!d be
the first called fer. How Idle is it then to ex-
pect to obtain relief from banks which have
already extended themselves beyond the
bounds ofprutlence, and have not even at pre-
sent the ability to meet their existing engage
ments ! Il might nearly as well be expected,
that man who WAS already bankrupt should
prop and support his falling nsish5or.
Sir, much has been recently Said of the a.
mount Of specie in the y. States. Theoreti.
Cal men have made many and vague coniec.
turcs about it, for after all it must rest upon
coniecture---some have estimated it at ten
millions of doilars---somc twelve, some twenty,
and some newspaper scribblers at forty milli-
ons of dollars. Sir, l do not believe that for
the last ten years the y. States have at any
time been more bare OF specie than al the pre-
sent moment. A few years since, specie flowed
in upon us in abundance. This resulted prin.
cip4lly from an operation OF very singular
and peculiar nature. The Spanish govern
mcnt, as it was then understood, agreed to pay
to France very large sum of money---inss.y
millions of dollars, the precise number am
unable TO state---irom her possessions in South
America France contracted with celebrat.
ed English banking house, as was said at the
time, with either the concurrence or conniv.
ance ofthe English government, that this mo-
ney should be obtained through the United
States. These bankers, by their agent, cor
tracted with certain American houses, princi-
a,lly believe in Rsltimore for the ;-,ror+,,;