Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1839-08-01
UNION BANK.

ecratlons OF the Union Bank Every person who ha
read the Constitution of this State knows that il wa,
necessary TO have expression of the popular will in
favor OF the Bank before its charter could take effect
or the faith of the State be pledged for the REDEMPTION
of the bonds. In compliance with this renusition o
the Constitution, the Union Bank charter was publish
ed IN several papers for some months before the gene
raj election, its merits were fully discussed and the
Legislature "tresh from the people" confirmed the
chartcr' General James Davis, the Democratic candi
cate Tor Congress, made the Union Bank his hobby.
and declared to the soyeegns that it would do away
with any necessity for National Bank: LARGE ma
Iorty both parties were favorable to the Bank but
when the Legislature convened in 1888, some of the
Democracy, with their usual mama for empircism.
had conceived the idea ofmakng the Union Bank en-.
urely State Institution, and as it required more than
majority of the Legislature to ratiry the charter,
the matter was, compromised by giving to the
state five millions ofstock From this brief sketch Of
the history Of the Union Bank it will be seen that tbe
Bank was not chartered by parfy; that the Lcgisla
ture acted in conformity with the erpresssd will Of
large majority the people in favor of the Bank; that
80 far as the parties differed on the subject the differ
ence was not whether the Bank should be created or
not (or IN that all agreed but whether the stock
should be owned exclusively by the State in lis corpo
rate capacity, or by the citizens of the State which,
pan was the more democratic? The other Banks of
the State were chartered principally for the advance
ment ofthc commercial interest but the primary m
Jeet of the Unon Bank promote the agricultural
interest OF the State. the State owned all the stock
would be more or less under the control of the Exc
cutlVc, and would be entirely under the direction of
individuals, whose personal interest in the welfare off
the Institution would be only coextensiye with the
amount OF their saIares,-n short the Bank would be
an Executive Bank, and its influence would be success.
uy exerted 10 perpeuato the ascendancy of the dom
nant party This would be carrying out the democrat
&c doctrine of "a divorce of Bank and State" with \
vengeance.
1t is too late to discuss the policy of charterinp
an institution such as the Union Bank. The dccdi
done The faith of the State is pledged for the re-
dempton of five millions of the stock and while no in
dvidual Except the officers of the Bank has anv pre-
sent or prospective gain to expect from the institution
Inc property OF eUery citizen is subject to taxation in
the event OF Encouragement Of the affairs of the Bank
to raise the amount of five millions of dollars and such
interest as may thereon. Is it any thing more
than justice, that those who are responsible for the
loss should share the profit if any? At the last ses
sion of the Legislature, bill passed both houses, au
thoriang the immediate sale of the remaining ten and
half millions of the bonds, aud making it obligatory
on the directory of the Bank TO establish forthwith the
branches This bill, although its provisions were in
tended to remedy the objections of the Governor urged
IN his message against the Bank, was vetoed by Gov
McNutt. The consequence was, that the sale of
the bonds and the establishment of the branches could
not take place until the individual stockholders and
the amount Of stock allotted to each were known to
the directory The connection Of the post note reso.
olution (Which was entirely disconnected and passed
at different time) in the veto message was a mere
ruse, ptiful disngonuous bit Of political manage.
ment, designed to blind the popuaco and lure their
attention from the real object of the Executive which
object was to cripple the operations of the Bank to
bring it into disrepute, and finally accomplish by
stratagcm what could not be done openly and fairly
to.wthe prevention Of the sale of the remainder of
the bonds, the consequent prohibition of individual
stockholders and the securing the Bank exclu.
sively State Institution under the control of the exc
cutive and the dominant party in the Legislature
The Union Bank is chartered for forty years, and
nothing but revolution and subyersion Of the State
government Gun take from it its existence That the
issuing of post notes bad policy, is admitted, and
is matter to be prevented and corrected by the PEG
pie. II not party question, for it was advoca'
ted by many Of both parties and among the rest by
General A. G. BRowN, the present democratic candi-
date for Congress. But this policy, and the general
management of the Bank, cannot be corrected until
the provisions Of the charter are carried into effect
and the election of the directory is taken from the Le
gsIature and placed where it ought to be, in the
hands Of the stockholders As has been already sta