Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1824-06-01


ed by personal acquaintance.
"The different subjects upo, which he had
occasion to ask my opinion or DECISION, during
the last session of Congress, ware fairly and
candidly stated; his comments upon them
were judlcious, and it afforded m, great plea
sure to be able after due examination and re-
Hection, generally TO coincide with lam" The
session here spoken of, is the one ia which |
made the application in favor of the Bank of
Edwardsville.
Had Mr.. Crawford been as much disposed
to profit by the impressive lessons of expert
ence, which he was constantly receiving, as |
was by those of few months only, it might
have prevented a vast accumulation of :. una
uailable finds" and have enabled him, much
esrlier, to have secured to the Bank of the
United States, Sin their Just extent the adj
yantages intended to be secured to it bv the
charter" which he fairly promised to Com
gress, in his report Of the 10th December,
| 1917, (o) aud the necessity for which, he seems
to have been duly sensible of in another re-
port Is vol State Papers. Cd session 1z.L
| Congress, p. ~ in which he saws, In the
winter and spring of 1874 the Bank of the
United States was, in the pimon OF the en-
lghtened officer who presided over its direc-
ton, in great degree INDEBTED for the pre-
servaton of its credit to theforbearance of its
creditors, and to the suppdt which it receiv-
ed from the Treasury Department. Such were
my impressions OF its crat&A state, that felt
| II my duty TO accept propositions made by the
| board OF directors, which, hinder other circum-
stances, would have beeDdeclined" It'll won
| dertul therefore, that, with these impressions,
he should have thought If consistent with mis-
duty, to have extended such favors as have
been noticed, to a smile local banks much
less TO the multitude tlnt shared his patron.
| age, and could not have Existed without it.
1t would be just as far and candid to imp
| cate me in the unjasif. ble indulgence that
has been extended to he Bank Of Edwards
vile since its failure, as IL endeavor to involve
me in any kind Of censure for Ats continuance
| as depository OF public money, after the fall
OF 1919. At the time of its failure, it's re-
sources were, am well satisfied, more than
amply sufficient to have secured its debt to
the Government. But every m2n OF common
experience and observation knows that, the
resources of all banks, in IFS situation, must
necessarily become more and more impaired,
| and are more ami more liable to be misapplied
Yet strange and incredible as it may APP
pear, have never heard, nor do believe,
Chough reside in the same village in which
the bank is tocated,) that Mr.. Craw ford has
collected one cent from it or made any adj
lgstment with or resor,ed to any measure
70 coerce the payment of its debt. He, who
! could hnd motives tor an Indulgence SO extra
ordinary, and At the same time so Inconsistent
with, and detrimental TO, the public interest
| could not have required either my recomlnen-
dation or sanctio0, for continuing this Bank
| depository OF public money after the fall Of
1919.
/ come nov to the repor, that contains the
Il
So much of il as relates to this subject is in
the following words, viz. i" The lion. Mr.
| Edwards, late a Senator from Illinois, having
stated, on his examination before committee
of the House, on the 18th of February, 1928,
that the late Receiver Of public moneys at
| Edwardsville had, on his advice, and in his
presence, written lett,r to the Secretary,
lDclosing copy of the publication which Mr..
Edwards represents himself to have made
some time in the year 1919, announcing his
intention of retiring from the Directorshp of
the Bank at EdwardsviIls, and that he had adj
vised the Receiver to withhold his deposites
trsn the Bank, until he Gould receive further
orders from the Secretary ; and that the Re-
ceiyer afterwards informed INN. that he had
received 4 LETTER fromthe Secretary. d.
recting him to continue the deposites The
secretary deems it proper to state tina, no
such letter from the Kecever is to be found on
he files Of the department thai the officers
employed in it have no recollection of the re-
ceipt Of such aietter, and mat, "a an exalrlina-
| ton OF the records of the Department, it aE-
pears that no ANSWER to any such letter,
directing the Receiver to continue the depo.
sites, was ever written to him, by the Secreta-
ry of the Treasury"
This statement bears intrinsic evidence, that
it was intended to deprive me of the benefit
Of my justifcation--not voluntarily made, but
drawn from me by the committee, in regard
to the Bank OF Edwardsyille !; and to subiec,