The Arkansas advocate., 1833-04-10

N heretofore been Government directors, one under the present, and one under1 twa former admlnistrations,) ln reply to1 Various interrogatorles, stated, as will abe seen in the evidence herewith sub. mltted, the means at 4hc command oi &he BDarI Of Directors. or any nennl'e". or 1t, for distinctly knowing the opera sfions .alsstha s.srssr.i h-....~issse, and tue character of the paper discounted at t,lc,a. together with their own opinion, drawn from these sources, of the genef- nl safety of such paper.
 The Committee ef Ways and Means have ta. regret that ihe constant and dal- IYpfessure ef tue various duties which zhave devolved upon them, during this short and laborious session, did not per. init more full examination of the con cerns of the institution. II, however, in the entire abseace of any evidence calculated to refnte, or, ln any way, in- peach. that which is before the commit tee, the statement and opinions of the Treasury agent, selected by the Freasn- cry to examine the condition ot the bank; those Of several of the present directors. men of character and lntelli- frea,r. Jo,,v rnnuens..st iss netou"ta and banking business; the otflcIal re- turns of the bank itself, and the report .sof it's principal committee, attested to Suader oath; f all these can be relied npaa. aas, furnishing satisfactory lnior- nation oil the present state and pecu- niary means of the institution, the fois lowing results will appear:
 First. The directors ot the Dai'N ct Philadelphia receive from tae pod'es of their branches frequent, regular, and ..rnit,nte returns offhe paper discounted t,vth,,u. These returns, together with the separate correspondence ot the Cashiers of the several branches, afford such infoenation of all the business of those branches as to enable the Board Of the mother Bank, or any single li- - 10 ascertain the character of the busi. ness of those branches: as, for instance, whether the mass oi paper discounted be founded on ordinary commercial transactions, and to be paid from their proceeds waen at maturity. or whether any considerable proportion of il con- sists of whatis called accommodation pa- per, regularly renewed. Theycan kno,., ln like manner, whether the domestic biiis of exchange, purchased Tt the branches, arise out of business transaes tons. and to be paid when at maturity. or whether they are mere aecommoda. ton paper in another form, to he re pearealy renewed by drawing and re drawing between distant offices.
 Second. These returns, together with the reports of the Boards of the sever al branches, upon whose character and Judgment they place great reliance, form the ground upon which the Direc~ tors have stated, under oath, their fulI confidence that the mass of paper dis counted by the Bank and it's branches, sssii detailed as actt1e debt in their state- anent, is safe. On this, they believe, no serious loss need be apprehended. The dishanored paper held by the Bank is stated to be returned as doubtful or sus- pended paper, and to be estimated, not at its noniaal, but at its presumed actual value. The real estate of the Bank IS, m like manner, valued, not at cost, but { On estimate founded on frequently re- newed appraisals of the probable mark ct value. They depose that, to the best of their knowledge and nelief, the whole amount, with inconsiderable ex- captions, If any, of domestic bills of ex- cnaage purchased by the Bank and it's o'lices, IS regular business paper, found ed upon she agricultural exports aud commercial imports of the country; and that hl far the greatest portion (proba
 bfy alnc tenthsl of the notes discounted IS oi the same character. They also assert, with much confidence, that most af their accommodation notes are we'll secured, ani form, ir fact, the safest in- vestment of the Bank.
 she Inquiries respecting the amount of accommodation paper were made to ascertain fhescharacter of the general business transactions of the Bank: and not because the committee believed that accommodation paper. discounted to great extent would necessarily en- danger the solidity Of any moneyed in- stitution. Snch paper may frequently be as safe, and such loans as useful, as any. But is certain, that, when mo- neyed institutions are in a hollow and nnsound state, 1t commonly arises from the capital having been invested in doubtful paper of this description. The very fact, therefore, of the discounts of 5 bank being principally applied to the s ordinary business paper of an active eommercial community, will show, that. allowing for only ordinary judgment