Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-05-04
}, VIRGINIA, TUESDAY, MAY 4, 1894.


| and your honorable body may well Judge. wbe-
| Their the public interest could have been much
Jeopar,ilzed, be the change recommended
from the following statement extracted from
the documents presented to you by Mr.. Craw-
ford.
The Bank Of Missouri had capital of Ss10,-
600, OF which, the stockholders drew out of it.
on pledges OF stock, S186, 1885, leaving only
Se3,665 for the further accommodation of them
Selves ana others. Upon this last sum, its real
banking capital, 1t discounted and paid on over
drafts, I'D the amount of S244,345 SO. The
whole amount of its discounts, includiprpav-
inents on over drafts, was 400, $50 dollars and
az cents; OF which sum its directors alone
| were responsible for 1907, 492 1871 as is pre-
| snned to be the case, they were cliargeable with
over drafts, to the amount of Sl1 500 OF.
10 this bank, Mr.. Crawford allowed a per
tnanent dcpositc fSi50, 600, equal TO a salary
Oh S9,ooo per ;tnn,,m. He permitted the pub
| nc money to accumulate in It, TO The amount of
ST26,O3l 80, i'll the course of nineteen success
siVe months, ending with the lst of September.
1919, without exacting those pecuniarv returns
and statements, which he himself considered
essential, to ensure the fidelity of all the banks
appointed to receive the public money; and.
eventually, he received from it, in part paw
ment oil Its debt, contrary to the positive iniinc-
tons OF the resolution of Congress, of 1916. a
large amount of uncurrent notes, some of which
were net worth twenty five cents in the dollar.
vauch he has Inystifed this subject, in seve-
raj OF his reports, and particularly in that one
whichispart of document'l O5 lin the 3th volume
State papers, I'd session 18th CongressN in
which he blends a Opposite in the Bank of his
souri,, OF SO 1913 So, with ''the special deposites
winch passed through the Bank of the United
States, IL cannot excuse, or even successfully
disguise, the fiagrant improperly of his hay,nm
received, at par, the uucurrent notes above re-
icrre'l TO; for, by the very document last men
toned, At appears that this depositc had been
IRE transferred 10 the Bank of Missouri, and as
""fncd as cash, In September, $780," which was
previous TO the receipt of those notes. His own
letter to the Cashier of the Bank of Missorr,
dated ed of March, 1919, and the Cashiers
answer dated Goth of June, 1919, "a and 81
clearly stew, that no justification for RECEIVING
uncnrrent paper can be derived from that Cir
cunlstance. Besides, he received uncurrent
notes that tcere not, and could not, have been in
Guided m that depositc; for, not to mention o.
tiier cases, the notes which he received on the
NDank OF Georgetown, kentuclky,n were not.
at that tune, even receivable in the land Offices.
NOR was there ever any contract between the
Bank of the United States, or the Treasury
department, with the Bank of Missouri from
winch the latter could derive any right to ten
der, or be any Justification for recciyinr those
| uncurrent notes. ~Ooo
But, had 1T been otherwise, it would not be
less difficult to Justify the placing of this bank
upon footing SO different from t,lat of all o,be,
| similar repositories ofpubiic money.
Under all these circumstances it would seen
,hcredioie, that any injury to the public could
nave resulted from the change of dcposite. 70,
which applied; and the attempt to subject me
70 csnsure, for the small participation which
nave iiad IN this business, ought TO be considered
as plain Acknowledgements of the awful weiobt
oil responsibility that rests upon him, whose es-
peclai duty 1t was, 10 take care of the pubic mo-
neg.
My responsibility, however, did not lone
continue; ior, finding the Bank of Edwards
vlie, on my return from Congress, soon after il
mad been authorized to receive the public rao.
ncy, involved in some difficulties, / determine
to sustain 1t against the dangers that then threa.
tened 1t, and, after seeing it in safe situation
to relieve myself from all kind of responsibility
Tor that, or any other bank. Accordiprlv. in
the same year, made publication in several
newspapers, and in two different States. of INV
determination to be held no longer responsible
Tor that, or any other bank. This publication
can be established by part, if not the whole, Of
the respective delegation, now in Congress
from the States OF Illinois and Missouri II wa
| forwarded TO Mr.. Crawford, and have no am
Prehcnsion that he will ever DENY having re-
! ceived it.
he had, also, been put upon inquiry, in re
gard TO tue Bank Of EdwarCkyille. by n bit
Ter PhIhPplc, In ample detail, against il, which
he received from the Hon. Mr.. Benton of the
Senate. This was shewn TO Col. johnson and
myself, and copy Of it was transmitted to the
bank, where, suppose, it now remains
lie was fully apprized of those very difficult
ties OF the bank, which produced my determine
to nfr -
ted IN letters from myself to Col. johnson, which
were intended to be, & were, forwarded TO Mr..
Crawford. The receipt of two of them is &C.
knowiedged by his letter to Col. Johnson, Of
l5th July, 1919, Ill whieh he sa.s, .s Yours OF
| the Soth uit came TO hand this morning. The
circumstance connected with the Bank of Ed
wardsville, as Developed in the two letters OF
Governor Edwards, submitted BY YOU to nv
perusal, will receive due consideration In the
same letter, he says, :" With Governor Edwards
had no personal acquaintance, before the last
winter. The opinion which had formed OF
his talents and integrity, from the official cor
respondcEce which had been carried on between
us, both in the War and Treasury Department,
has been confirmed by personal acquaintance.
Z" ne different subjects upon which he had
occasion to ask my opinion decision, during
the last session of Congress- were fairly and can
d1dly stated his comments upon them were
judicious, and it afforded me great pleasure to
be able, after due examination and reflection,
generally to coincide with him "The session here
spoken of is the one in which made the appli-
cation in favor of the Bank of Edwardsyille
Had Mr.. Crawford been as much disposed to
profit by the impressive lessons of experience,
which ne was constantly receiving, as was by
those OF few mouths only, il might have pre-
vented vast accumulation of {" tInaunLabie
funds" and have enabled him, much earlier, to
nave secured to the Bank Of the United States,