The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1824-06-01


greater part will be Ultimately pad.
Considering the state Of tie currency 90.
the west, during the time, aud lhr l,r..
amount received by this bank, winch ~.
about sl,l64,0OO, it Is Doubtful whefb.r
any individual transactions, of lhe sama
extent, though attended To with great ear.
would have been followed by less ultlma,.'
/ loss.
That the charge Of having favored hi,
bank, at the sacrifice Gfthc public Interest T.,
without foundation, must be evident trn,,
the acts which have been here exhibited
That the bank does not consider itsef .,
having been favored hy thr Treasury +,
! proved by the fact that claim has bee,
/ preferred by the bank for an allowanc.
upon the ground that the services, which i,
/ has rendered to the Treasury, have nor
! been sufficiently compensated. Am!ujs,
remarkable coincidence of circumstance,
/ that, at the very time charge is preferred
! by Mr.. Edwards against the Secretary. far
/ having done too much for that bank The
! agent Of the bank is at Washington, pet,-
] tloning Congress, because the Secrctarv
! has done TOO little.
The transactions Of the Bank Of Nilsson
ri being thus explained, the only oiber acts
included in the charge against the Serr.ta,
! ry, Of having received uncurrent funds !,
payments fem banks, are the recent ,,f
/ SD, 900, in notes, ofthe State Bank Of
Carolina, and Sl8 ,562, in notes of the bank
] of Kentucky the former from the Tom.
! beckbe Bank, and the latter from the ban r
Of Edwardsrille.
Although, hya rigid construction Of the
arrangement, by which these banks agreed
To account for the public depostes, recen-
ed by them, as cash, the whole amount
might; perhaps, have been demanded Of
them in specie, or United States Bank
notes yet, such was never the in.
teutor of tire parties. The term "casb'
was used in opposition to that of special
dep0sIte," and was not meant to render the
banks liable for the payment of specie, for
notes, which they might receive, on behalf
Of the Treasury, and which might cease 10
be convertible into specie. Such con.
strnctlon is opposed by the Tombeckbe
! Bark, IN its letter Of the 18th Of August
1919, [see NJ. Nc 3, L66,l although the
| President Of that institution expresses it's
willingness to leave the construction 10 IL
Justice and liberal policy of the Depart
ment. 1t IS more emphaleally dischimt3.
| however, by the Bank Of EdwardsyiNr, ia
| It's letter to tire Secretary Of the 18th Of
! April, 1890, SEE y No. 3, b6 ard IN his
letter To MI Edwards, Of the 18th January,
1890, see A. No. 2, 49, heretofore refer
red to- la that tstter the Bank ltaintains
that " 1t Is not supposed that any construc-
" ton Of the conditions, upon which the
q depasles were received, can render the
e bank the guarantee Of those banks, be
cause II would be contrary to every priu-
clple oil reason, 20 suppose that the paper
" OF other banks, who have, or may, sus-
p" pend specie payments, shall by the mere
=" act of depOsItc, III tins institution, by the
=" Receivers, be converted into specie, OF its
" equivalent, aud this bank held accounta-
" table for II as such. We are persuaded
tins never was the intention Of The Secrp-
tary of the Treasury, nor can II be infer
red, from the conditions upon which the
" depostes arr made" THIS letter, as il
was written by The President of the bank,
/ 10 one Of its Directors, whom it had consu
tnted an agent for negotiating a modifca
! ton Of its arrangement, with the Treasury,
may be naturally supposed to contain is
real views. And, although Mr.. Edwards
now denies the construction then couteudrd
for, by the bank, yet, from the terms in
which he communicated the letter to the
! Secretary, it is presumed that NJ then gave
il his assent
But, although this construction could not
be formally acknowledged by the Secreta
ry, without leading to the evil which the
/ terms of these arrangements were partly
intended to prevent, that OF Especial depo
sites" yet, IT was always his intention,
whenever the case presented itself, to admit
such an Interpretation OF the contract, as
might be equitable, and not injurious to
! the public interest. The letter OF the Tom
beckbe Bank, of the Sd of August 1919,
stating that there were then Oh hand, in
that institution, $4,000, in North Carolina
notes, which had been received on depo
site, for the Treasurer, and which it had
not yet been able to exchange, although no
care had been spared inseiiectinX that OF
Iect, " since some difficulties were under
stood to affect the bank" presented d case
ol TINS kind. At that time, the State Bank
] Of North Carolina had not stopped pay
ment, although it did so before the Sccre
/ tdiy's answer was communicated to the
Tombeckbe Bank. The Secretary, having
called upon the State Bank to disclose tho
means of paying such of its notes as had
been received, on account of the Treasury
and, having been Informed, by the bank.
that it did possess the means, aud would
speedily apply them to that object, con
sented that these notes should be transfer
red, from the credit of the Treasurer, IN
the Tombeckbe Bank, to the credit OF the
Treasurer, in the State Bank OF y. Caroline
and, by that bank they were afterwards
paid, as were all the other claims, of every
kind, which the Treasury had nponlt. ,
! I'LL L llII