Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1838-01-26
NO. 2I.
From the Boston Atlas.
From the Boston Atas
THE. COMMONW EALTH BANK AND

The COMMONWEALTH Bank OF Boston, the
failure OF which we announced on Saturday,
has been ever since the seizure Of the pub
lie monies the great Government Bank of
New England. Around il have clustered
the immediate counselors and conidants of
the Federal Administration in this quarter
OF the country. It's management has been
exclusively controlled by agents friendly 10
the Administration, and we may say has
been conducted Immediately under the eyes
Of the President and his cabinet Those
who have partaken of IFS facilities have been,
almost without exception, the jealous parti-
zans or official sipendiaiies of the Admins
raton Isaac Hill, F. o. J. Smith, David
Henshaw, VIM Parmener, Amos Kendall,
and few more OF the original contrivers
and abettors Of the removal of the public
money from the United States Bank are the
men, who have been Immediately ageran-
died by that foul deed of violence and plum
der. The developments of every successive
day prove this assertion beyond cavil or u
doubt
But there are two or three facts in rela-
ton 10 the explosion of this Jackson and
Van Buren, banking institution, which we
would lay before our readers before indulg-
ing in further comments.
! The capital of the Commonwealth Bank
wasaS500,0o0 It's President was John X.
Simpson tpension AGENT Cashier. Charles
Hood
There is provision in our statutes ex-
pressly prohibiting any Bank from becom-
ing indebted more than double the amount of
!. its capital stock, and holding the directors
personally responsible for the excess except
in case of absence or dissent, which must
be forthwith made known to the Governor
and Council In direct violation of the
statute, we learn that the Commonwealth
Bank, with a capital OF 100000, has ex-
tended its Liabilities TO the amount OF 81 .400,-
000-leaving an excess of four hundred
thousand dollars, for which the directors be-
come responsible.
Among the directors, who are Immediately
implicated, we find the name of John Mills
the prosecuting attorney Of the United States
| for this district. The officer. whose express
duty it is TO prosecute all offences against
the general government, is here seen lending
his countenance and authority 10 the corrupt
management oil an institution, in which large
deposites of the public money are made, and
which has violated its faith TO the commun-
ity and the government in manner that
called for the severest application of the law.
The man, who by his official oaths was
bound TO observe the laws Of the land and 10
watch over the public interest in the dis
charge of his function Of prosecuting auor-
ney has acqulesced in the violation Of the
law he should have revered, and BETRAYED
the interests, which it was his duty to guard
In the Morning Post of Thursday last,
we find the following advertisement bearing
the date of its first appearance -
NoTIcE.-Persons holding checks against the
Custom House, are requested TO present them
either at the bank, or this Office Tor payment,
Immediately DAVID HENSHAW,
Jan. III. lwls Collector.
Is it not most remarkable that this notice,
calling upon the holders of checks to present
them al ns'TBE Bank =EEI for payment, or
at the office, where we may fairly presume
they would have received the bills of The
bank should have been published just thirty
six hours before the failure of The Bank was
made public, and on the very day that the
directors determined to stop payment Whv
should the holders of checks against the
Custom House have been called upon at that
particular and most suspicious time to ex-
change them for the bills of bank on the
verge of bankruptcy2 What need %vas
there Of q public, imperative call upon the
holders OF checks at that time2 Did the
Collector wish to save further losses to the
government at the expense OF the community.
OF did he wish TO rid himself in the easiest
way Of his own personal responsibilities D.
The transaction wears bad aspect The
public may be wrong in their suspicious
but immediate and ample explanations must
be made to the public, before those suspicious
can be removed
This explosion OF the great administration
bank of New England naturally calls to
mind an incident, TO which we may trace
the origin of the financial disasters, which
have harrassed the people of this country
for the last three or four years. 1t was in
this city, while enjoying the Inequalities of
our municipal authorities, that General Jack
son, at a time when his physicians had dcs.
paired of his recovery from prostraiing
illness, signed, in obedience to the soicitous
instigatons Of Van Buren,, Henshaw, g. Co.
the order for the removal of the public mo-
ney from its authorized place ofdeposit. 1t
was in this city tina. the plan of parlizan ag-
grandizement and plumber was maured and
carried into efiect--and it is in this city that
the fruits Of that delestable system have been
developed in the overthrow of the bank,
which was the first TO solicit and contract for
its portion of the spoils. 1--WE still have JUS
tice herel'' The bloody instructions have
returned ITO plague the inven,orpi The
spoilers have been spoiled The plunderers