Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-02-08

laws: subject too, always, 10 Tie liispoo'ioA oii
examination of either House OF congress; sup
iect ALWAYS tn communicate to the head of the
Treasury Department on request, statements OF
its amount of stock, debts due, moneys deposit
ed. notes in circulation, and specie on hand.
Under these restrictions, the establishment OF
IFS offices. the amount Of its discounts and eve
nv thing respecting those discounts, It's purchas-
es and sales of exchange, ana all otner concerns
of the institution, are to be conducted and ma
ma ped nv the directors. There is nothing IN the
charter, giving the slightest authority to the Sc
| cretarv to decide, as between the bank on the
| one hand. and the Government or the people on
the other, whether the general management OF
the directors is wise or unwlse, or whether IN re-
card to matters not connected with the deposltes
! f has or has not violated the conditions of its
| charter.
The statement which the bank is bound to
| make to the Secretary, he may lay before Con-
qress; and he is doubtless bound by his official
! duty TO communicate to Congress any other in
formation in his possession, tending, in his Judg-
ment to show that the bank had disregarded its
charter, or failed to fulfil all or any ofits duties.
But here his authority, so far as regards the ge-
neral course and operations OF the bank, ends.
It is then for Congress to act, II 1t see OCCASION
and to adopt the regular remedies for any evils
(which it may suppose to exist. But II trans
cends the power Of Congress itsefto pronounce
! the charter violated, without hearing, without
trial, without Judgment far less is any such pow
| er of pronouncing final judgment confined to the
| Secretary. His power simply is, that in regard
to the deposites of the public money, he is to
| Judge in the first instance, whether Just cause
| has arisen for their removal
The Secretary seems to suppose-indeed, the
| very basis Of his argument assumes-that the
! law has confided to him general guardianship
over the public welfare so far as that welfare is
| in any way connected with the bank, or liable
| to be affected by its proceedings; and that he
| holds the power of the removing the deposites
| as the means, or instrument by which he is to
| enforce his own opinions respecting that well
| fare The committee do not adopt this opinion.
| They think that if such had been the design of
| the law, its provisions would have been differ
ent from those which it does actually contain.
| Ifsuch general guardianship had been intend
ed to be conferred on the Secretary, it is reason
| able to believe that he would have been vested
with powers more suitable to such high trust.
| The had been made or intended to be made,
general inspector or superintendent, other au-
| thority than merely that ofremoving the depo-
| sites would have been given him, for this plain
reason, that the Government and the country
have interests of much magnitude connected
with the bank, besides the deposites of the pub
lie moneys in its vaults, and to which interests,
| if endangered, the removal of the depOSites
| would bring no security
The Government is proprietor Of seven mil
lions of the stock OF the bank, and yet no authO-
rity is given to the Secretary to sell this stock
under any circumstances whatever, or IN any
other way to interfere with il.
The bills and notes Of the bank, too, are made
receivable in all payments to the United States,
until Congress shall otherwise order; and no
power is given to the Secretary to prevent their
| being so received, either during the ses ion of
| CONGRESS or in its recess however the credit OF
these bills and notes might become deprecated.
| How is it possible to conceive that, if Congress
| intended to give to the Secretary general right
to Judge of the operations and proceedings of
the bank, and a power of course, to declare
when it had violated its duty, and was no longer
trustworthy, it should yet leave him under an
absolute obligation to receive its bills and notes
in all payments to the Treasury, though they
might have lost all credit, and place no means in
his hands to execute his high authority ofsuper-
intendent, except the mere power OF removal?
TTo BE CONTINUED