Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1832-05-31

charges should be furnished to the Presi-
dent of the Bank. But the paper was
Withdrawn by the Chairman, and re-
solution was substituted in lis place.
which was entered upon the Journal OF,
the Committee. The objection Of the
subscriber to this course Of proceeding
was, at his request, entered upon the
Journal, aud at the request of the CHAIR
man an entry was made Of the grounds
upon which he deemed his own course
in this respect justiliable. The objection
Ofthe subscriber was, not that the Ciia'r-
man had thought proper to listen
privately to secret inlormers, but that he
required the action of the committee for
call oftestimony deeply affecting the
moral character Of the President OF the
Bank, and yet withheld from the com
,nitlee the name of his informant. The
subpoena to Mr.. Thomas Wilson was
nevertheless issued. The charges a
gainst the President Of the Bank were,
that Thomas Biddlc, distant relative
of his, and one of the most eminent Bro
kers of Philadel phia, had been ~ NE
habit, by permission of the President, of
taking money out of the First Tcller's
drawer. leaving in its place certificates
of stock; of Keeping the money an indie
finite number oI days, and then replace
ing the money, and taking back his GER
tificate Of stock, 'cifhom payneM of inter-
est OH the moneys of which he had the
use. The quiniessence Of the charge
was, the use by Mr.. Thomas Biddle of
the moneys. of the Bank without Interest.
As there was another charge, that the
President had also been in the habit of
making large discounts upon notes of
Thomas Biddle without consulting the
Directors, between the discount days,
and that the notes were entered as OF
the previous discount day.
MIR Wilson's testimony completely dis
provcd,s far as his knowledge went both
these charges. He had never known n
single instance in which MIR Thomas
Biddle, or any other person, had ever
been permitted by the President of the
Bank to use the MONIES of the bank
without payment of interest. He had
never known discount of note Of
Thomas Biddle by order of the Prcs-
dent of the Bank, without consulting the
Board Of Directors or the Committee du-
ly authorized to discount. MIR Wilson
had been removed in manner as inOt-
fensive TO his feelings as possible, from
his office of Cashier Of the Parent Bank
in 1924, by being first transferred to the
Branch at New Orleans, from which he
was also, afterwards removed. Previous
to his removal from the Bank at Phila-i
delphia, the personal intercourse be-
tween the President OF the bank and
him had not been altogether harmon
ions. Hc had hlnted to Mr. Reuben Nj.
Whitney, Director then secretly un-
friendly to the President, and to MIR
Paul Beck "A director particularly friend
ly to himself, that he thought the Presi-I
dent had too much influence over the
Board of Directors, and had spoken with
disapprobatiOn Of the fact that Mr. ThOs. |
Riddle had occasionally received dis
counts upon transferred stocks, with
checks, which at the end Of an indefinite /
number Of days, were taken up and the
cash returned, with regular payment of
interest, as upon discounted notes. The
checks being entered in the books un-
der the head Of Bills Receivable. Sew
eral cases of this kind had occurred in
the months of May and June 1894. Mr.
Wilson's testimony was very clear and
explicit to the integrity Of the President
Of the Bank, and it was totally contra
dictory to the statements which the chair \
private information which he had receiv-
ed, and the name of the inlormer ofwhich
he had declined giving to the Commit
tee. But Mr. Wilson had named Mr.
Paul Beck and Mr. Reuben Nj. Whit
ney, two Of the Directors Of the Bank in.
1924, and to whom he had incidentally
communicated his slight discontents at
the period Immediately before his remo-
val
Mr. Beck and Mr. Whitney were sum.
moned to appear and testify. The char
acter and responsibility of MIR Beck are
so universally known at Philadelphia,
that all remarks upon them would be SUI
perfuous. He had been Director of
the Bank in the years 1924, '25 '26, and
again in the years 1898, '29, and 80,
and Of course not only mt the time allu-
ded to by Mr. Wilson, but for five of the
years which have elapsed since then,
and till within less than two years past.
MIR Beck remembered the communica
tions made to him by MIR Wilson, short
ly before his removal, and had thought
them to proceed from irritation. H.
lie had seen no cause to doubt the
correctness of the official conduct Of the
President, and has retained his perfect
confidence in it unimpaired to the pre-
sent day.
The testimony Of Mr. Whitney was of
a different character. This person had
been n Dirccfnr nc the Bank in the vears