Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-05-30


s. n conc,psion the undersigned would observe,
that neither of them gave his voice for the reso-
.Int;on creating the committee nor deemed the
;nonirv in many Of its objects, necessary orpro-
NOV nd TO add the expression of the opinion that,
had the attention Of the House been particularly
drawn in debate to the terms OF the fesolutlon,
II would have received some modification; and
.hat II ;s owing to its passage under the opera
tion of the Previous Question, and wlthout any
examination of its details, that it received IN It's
n,.esent form. the sanction of the House. being,
however. placed on the committee, the uhuei-
signed were discharging their duty as M pa.
Of it. under the order Of the House, 10 liie Gee'
of their ability, and according 10 thell uu
standing of the rights of the Corporation ViSi'eu
-fbe mowers Of the House, and the principles OF
iustice. They were DESTROYS of taking up the
various matters Of inquiry enumerated IN the re-
soIn,ion viz the causes of the Distress the alleg-
ed violations Of the charter. and the imputed
corruptons of the Bank, one by one; OF conSioel
mo them i'm the order in which they are arranged
bv the House; of Investigating each according
to its nature; of inspecting the books and exam
ming the proceedings Of the Bank according 10
the charter, that Isl in reference to all opJects
which, by the charter, are properly suDJects VI
such inspection and examination; or IN fegaIu
to which the Directors might voluntarily SUP
nit them for inspection; and OF lnqurlhS liilo
the other matters referred to them, as Tar as, on
Siiouiu uOO"'
petent to do so.
Of all these objects, the undersigned confess
that they regarded that which stands foremost
in the resolution as vastly the most lmporldht
an inquiry into the causes OF the present distress
1t was their firm persuasion that the country oe-c
manded this inquiry OF Congress numDeI Oh
memorials and Of subscribers to them greater
by far than have at any former period come be-
fore Con gress invoked the aid fthe National LIE"
gisature to relieve them from state OF uneX-
ampled distress. An embarrassment unusually
extensive and severe, and not yet essentially
alleviated, demanded an inquiry into It's causes
1t was alleged on the one hand, to be Wantonly
produced by the Bank; and, on the other, to be
the unavoidable consequence OF the hnanclal
policy pursued by the Executive. The under
signed wished to make this the first as 1t was
infinitely the most important OBJECT OF their IN
vestiyations: to receive the testimony Of enght-
ened merchants and men OF business, IN the IN
telligent community to which they were senl
(who might be willing to appear before them,)
as TO the extent and causes OF the distress; 10
receive from the Bank those statements OF Its
affairs, which they are well persuaded 1t would
most cheerfully have afforded, and which Wouid
have illustrated its whole course IN the oilncut
and trying position into Whlchlthas been throWh;
and from all other persons, on whom the COM
mittee would have had right to call, their les
timony as to the manner in which this measure
of the Executive has been taken up and carried
on. Such an examination the undersigned be-
lieve would have been useful to Congress, salts
factory to the people, and powerfully efficient
in leading to the removal Of the heavy burdens
now lying on them. This object first accom-
plished as it the first in the precept OF the
House. the undersigned would have proceeded
to consider the violations of the charter; and
as the resolution of the House does not contne
the inquiry to those violations with which the
Bank has been charged, they would have deem
ed themselves authorized to extend their re-
searches to those of which the Bank complains,
particularly to the removal OF the depoSlteS 1Of
reasons not deemed satisfactory by Congress,
as now appears of record on the journal OF one
of the Houses of Congress- If after these in
quries had been gone through, it had still ap-
peared, on considering the other matters com
pretended in the resolution, that they required
or admitted further Investigation, the underslgn"
ed would cheerfully have co-operated in the
work, resorting to every source OF information,
legally available, as far as the same could, by
the charter, be required from the Bank, or le-
gally received or compelled from any other
quarter. If, in the progress OF such an lnvestl-
CATION so conducted, disclosures had been made
of matter requiring or authorizing any further
procedure on the part of the House, the under
signed would not have been behind the most
Jealous Of their associates in denounclng IL TO
the House and the country. different view OF
leagues, resulting in series of measures, from
which the undersigned unfortunately found
themselves obliged to dissent.
But while there was form, in which the un-
dersigned were prepared to meet every part OF
the resolution under which the committee was
raised-the form most consonant to the wants
and wishes of the country, Ito which all other
matters of party elimination are insignificant,
compared with the great question of the causes,
the lust responsibility, and the remedies of the
present sore distress 1.-THE form unquestonably
in which the resolution was viewed by one con-
siderable class of those who voted for it in the
House-the undersigned freely admit that in
the range and character proposed to be given
to the inquiry by their colleagues, the majority,
of the committee, the purpose of the majority of
the House was not mistaken. They think that
no candid person, contemplating all the circum-
stances of the case, from the first demonstra-
tons of policy on the part of the Executive
hostile to the Bank, down to the recent measures,
in support of that policy in the House of Repre-
sentatves, will deny that its object was the over
throw of the institution, and the impeachment Of
its directors before the bar of public opinion, if