Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-07-13


was also President of the Bank, and who was
moro afraid Of jcopardziny the former than anxi-
To- retain the latter Office Tor which he was
not then allowed 4 cent ot Co,npcasati0n,) fear
Ing that the credit otthc sank might be impair
CD, and that other i'll consequences might result
from my withdrawing from it, and being, ALSO \
bound by the Secrc.ary's instructions ''to COM
niunicatc any circumstance affecting the cha
raCter of the Bank" twas xcry easily prey allied
Oh TO write the letter i'll question, to enclose my
publication, and tn withhold the depositcS, for
the purpose Of iessenitig the additional weight of
responsibility which lie thought--and truly
thought-the circumstances mentioned in his
letter had deyotved upon him.
My objects IN referring to my publication aud
to this letter, were twotoId.
1. TO shew the course oil conduct had pur
sued in relation l- my withdrawal from the
Bank.
,. To shew that Mr.. Crawford was we'll in
fOrnedai,d duly notified thereof. Both were
rendered necessary by tue ungencrous and dis
ingenious attempts TO subject me to unjust cen
sure, which are adyertcd to in my correspon-
dcnCe with him in Feb. 1922.
II is rc:Iiar kah;e that, with a pcrtinacity the
most extraordinary, he still pcrsevercs in his eff
forts to iinpiioate in the transactions of that
Bank, we'll knowing that my connection with it
has long since ceased. Andhcncei is his labOrcd
effort, in his late COMMUNICATION to the Commit.
tee, to prove that continued to be Director
thereof, after the fall Of 1919. In doing this,
he must hare attempted to i,npose upon others
what he himself could not have believed. With
all the information which ne must have mad at
the time OF writing his late communication what
could be less justifiable than the iuy cations to
winch he has thus so recently endcayured to sub
Jcct mc' Whatever else h- may think of me.
YOU cannot believe that he thinks me so .rrcat n
tool, as tohave so repeatedly and publicly assert
ed' and hnaHy sworn to the fact of my having
Withdrawn from the Dictatorship of that Bank.
II 1t had not been true; SINCE in that case. il
would have been so easy to have convicted me
OF faisehood and perjury. What then, can be
thought ofhis candor, in insisting, even at this
late period, that Continued to be Director of
that Bank after the fall of 1919?
Let us, however, see now he endcayors TO es
t,blisli this fact.
Referring to that part Of my oath before the
COMMITTEES, in February, 1929, in which had
sworn that though had once been elected Di.
rector, since the fall of 1919, had refused 70
accept the appointment, and had had nothing Ia
do with the management of the Bank since that
time. :" Yet" says he, 'sin the following winter
.Mr. Edwards is found presenting himself TO fI,e
Secretary, not only in the character of a D;rec.
tor of the Bank, but of Director speciqiiy dck.
esrnted and authorized by the Bank to conclude
an important arrangement with the secretary, in
respect to the terms on which the Bank was to
continue a depository of public money By the
printed papers accompanying the Secrctary's re-
port to the House, of the 27t, April 1922 If an
pears that, on the l5t', February, 1920. MIR. Ed
wards, then in Washington transmitted to the
Secretary letter from the Bank to the Sccreta
ry, signed by this very Receiver, as President of
the bank, containing list of directors for the
year 1920, in which Mr.. Edwards name is inclp
ded; that, at the same time he also transmitted
TO the Secretary letter from tho Bank sirned
by the same hlr. Stephenson, informing the Sc
cretary that Mr.. Edwards, zone OF the directors
OF the institutions" is authorized to s,tgrrsf GER.
tam NOTIFICATIONS of the contract between the
Secretary and the Bank, and to conclude sucb
arrangements as ne may deem accountable. which
Will be considered obligatory and he likewise
transmitted, at the same time, q letter from tho
banf, addressed To himself, signed also by Mr..
Stephenson, stating TO him. at large. the chanr
es desired 10y the Bank, avid the reasons there
fJr.7'
Contrasting all this parade Of circumstances.
WIN atI that did, IN regard to the a,,tho,ity thus
conferred upon me, ''to sus.cst certain mofifcn
tons 81 the contract" and TO nv special dclceo
ttoh To Conclude the Iasporttnt drran cement il
would seem that MIR. Crawford could not have
desired a stronger confirmation of the truth of
the very statement which he now affects to oues-
ton. What did do? Nothing more than write
to him short note, in the following words. viz
= have the honor, herewith, to transmit TO Won
CERTAIN communications, which have recently
received from the Bank of EdwardsyiIIe. the oh
Ject Oh which Is fully explained by the coInrnur;
cations themselves" Is it presumable that any
member of the Senate, mot excepting nv col.
league, who was opposed to the bank \ would NOT
Understandable have done this much
CouLt l, with any kind of decent respect for =
portion OF the people represented, liayc done
less. '0'''
Without otherwise saying any thing to him on
the SUBJECT simply left the papers to speut Eo,.
oteDasetces AT that time he and myself were
on terms OF intimacy. and, as | thought, cor
duality and friendship. Had not been deter.
mined not to interfere further in the business T
should certainly have spoken To him about it.
II nd he not perfectly UNDERSTOOD from nv pub
cation, nc. the reasons of my silence, he would
DOUBTLESS, have mentioned the subject te me-
But no conversation having taken place between
US, IN regard to this matter, confirms my state
Jncnt, aud affords very strong presumption that
lac had received all the information before refor.
rld o.
Ills attemp to produce an impression unEiyor-
able 10 INC, from the circumstance of nv na,ne,s
appearing on the list of Directors, is the more
extraordinary, since he himself has prefaced his
remarks on that subject with an extract from
my oath, from which it appears, 'sthat, though
lad been once elected 20 that station since 1919
had refused to acccptit." He well knows that
20 constitute IA Director, requires the concur.
ring wills of the electors, aud the person cleo
ted; and, knowing had g refused to accept the
appointment" nothing can be more dislDgenuous
than to pretend To recognize me to that cl,arac-
ter Ii he hal entertained the least suspicion
that had not sworn trlly on the subject his
whole conduct towards me can leave no doubt
that ne would have spared Bo p1ins to have been
prepared to prove thcfstct, IL beinr tboroforo