Columbus Democrat., 1839-07-27

trust, aud thus reducing tho NoNetnmeht !"
bankruptcy, by a refusal OF payment when all OF
them had a portion, and most Of them sulh-
Gent potion of specie 10 have enabled them TO
hquidate at least this debit Have we not seen
lheta with considerable amounts oi specie IA
their vaults, IN dlrect violation ct their solemn,
engagements, refusing the payment OF their notes,
aud permitting them 10 deprecm'e from hte 10
fifty per cent. IN tho hands OF the pcoplei Have
we not seen them here, distributing large dIv-
! dends of alledeed profits among delr stockhol.
ders, IN direct fraud OF thotr creditors, TO whom
they were refusing all payment
Il has been officially proved that two ol the hanks
Of this State were stated upon the same fictitious
certificates of dcpos,tc from bank that had a,lcd
and that another was started hy the fraudulent han
! of 81 600 600 from bank m ncchb,rmg State,
contracted to be returned, aud actually returned IN
a irw DAYS after the bank went into operation, thus
leaving Il To proceed N vast issues with 80 capital
whatever Have not The tanks after an alleged
resumption Of specie pOyuieni, issued vast amounts
oi poNt-uotrS, payable IN s'S or twelve months, and
have they not loaned out these notes at ul value,
and iu interest after they were known 10 have de-
prccinled more thaa twenty per CENT DO they
| not although collecting foil interest on all thcIr
debts uniformly refuse all allowance oi accrung IN
| tercst ON their post-notcs; and to ayol the pay
mcnt Of al interest even AT maturity have they not
! repeatedly received thrsc postnotts on dtposlte,
and then after the lapse OF months, when these de-
poslics were checked lnr have they not refused Ia
paw out the notes deposited on Which the interest
| had accrued, or others of similar character, and
compelled their creditors TO take less valuable post
notes. of later date, and payable at subsequent
period, and sometimes dated and tlcd up alter the
] chcc, was presented Tor payments l. not the com
| ~. III 49, a..
and in fact Of an interest II A, should give ms
note 10 b. for 81 O0o dated January l. 1850, and
| PAYABLE al twelve months ailcr date, with SIX per
cent interest from date and subsequently thc agent
| of h. should dcpositr this note wnh A. or SAFE
| keeping, and when upon the lst ol July 's3H, u.
called upon 4. 6r The note, and he refused To dcv-
cr it, but handed him his note for the same amount
| but dated lst july, 1882 ana payable at twelve
months after date, with six per cent nlcfel from
date, would udt A. have dcrauded u. OF SIX months
interest aud is mol this the very thing now beng
done by many Of the Banks Of thus State u we
! look at the manner ako ~ which the loans have
been dlsribuledh by The banks Of ihls State, The re-
sui must amaze every friend Of equal rights and
privilege. In tie official report OF the Bank Com
mssioucfs of this State to the Legislature last year.
It Is stated in page 10 as oows,-' II w''I be seen
! hy au examination Of the foregoing statement ihat
203 directors OF q banks owe the banks they d.
rect neatly as much as one bali The entire circaio-
tion Of he hetHfy. fire banks This, however, is
only lhcif immediate liabilities as pnyors 10 'hclr
own banks but as they often have paper discount
cd for their benefit without appearing liable e'htr
as principal or endorser, and many OF them have
extensive accommodations IN each others banks,
we are unable 10 state the amount OF bnnk credit
used by these Q03 directors lha: 2o3 bank d.
rcctnrs IN population of near iour hundred V0u-
eand, should monopolZc by loans to themselves oEs
half the entire bank circulation Of the state y moN
malilcstly unfair and UNJUST. OF The y banks eH-
| amIncd by the commissioners, The directory had, ~
appears by their own returns loaned to themselves
| as payers, three millions, two hundred and loity
! thousand dollars and we're liable besides cnd0r-
sCrs IN ihc same banks, for six million nlnc hundred
| aud eighty thousand making an aggregate dsccr-
tamed and admitted liability Of The directory 10 their
| own banks only, Of ten million two hundred aud
| twenty thousand dollars. Bot to this w0must a.so
add lhe liability Of the directory in the three prlnc-
| pal banks ol this State, not examined having an
aggregate capital paid in Of almost twelve millions
| of dollars. We have some data, however, ns re-
CARDS one Of these banks IN the report, namely, TIE
| afidayits ol n former book-kecper and cashier oi
| the Planters Bank, proving that ionr commission
| houses whose names arc gwen and who were hn0wh
| 10 constitute IN part the directory % ulS Dhhh,
were liable to the Planters Bank Tor two millions
| of dollars" Similar facts have been established as
! regard. the Agricultural Bank AS regards The
| | mon Baut, have no report before me- or data
| from which 10 ryc any optnon respecting that IN
srtnlion. But from thc data altcady furnished
above there cannot be the slightest doubt, that the
directory Of the banks oi tins State were indebted
To their orn banks in at least the following amounts,
namely, as payers and dsconntcrs, including all
notes discounted for their benefit, Of six millions oi
dollars and as cndorscrs wcp liable besides for ten
l.. tn Itah tttf a..
their own banks Of sixteen millions Of doafs;-aBd
# IA Tins we add the vast amount Of their Liability TO
other banks Of this State in which they Dre not d.
rcetors the liability Of The bank directory Of tins
Slate 10 All The banks ol the State, on Their own ac
count cannot be less than eight millions, and as en-
dorsers twelve millions, making an aggregate abll-
" of the bank directory Of this State to the banks
Of this State Of twenty millions ol doIars,-belng
one half the bank liability Of the whole State, com
bined IN less than two hundred and MY directors
Similar facts as regards tie monopoly o discounts
by themselves and by commission merchants, are
exhibited in the Official statements Of the Louisiana
banks. believed IN bank phraseology TO he among
the sopndesl and best managed banks Of the Union.
By official communications made by oint com
miliee e both Houses Of the Legislature Of Louis-
ana. In December 1881 and March, 1855 It APP
nearq that the liability uf the bank directory (l72 m
nurber) Of ,he sixteen banks Of New Orleans To
those hanks. was as reported By themselves, scren-
teen million, eight hundred and serentytre thon-
sand FIRE hundred and niHety.tro doiiar', namely,
AZ payers and dscounters, Sl5,G07,2TI, and as en-
dorsers, s2,26s,3d, the total amount of all the dis
counts Of the banks being at the same time Sj2,-
4o7,I7o, exhibiting bank liability Of l72 directors
in all amount about equal TO one third OF the bank
liability Of the whole population Of Louisiana. We
thus sec the bank Liability Of bank directory com
posed Of 400 persons in two States amounting TO
thriy-eipht millions Of dollars. From no other
States have any Official returns on thIs subject, ex-
cept from single branch OF one bank ~ Alabama,
ia which the liability OF the directory OF that branch
alone, was half million Of dollars. From what we
have seen, however, in these three States, there
cannot be doubt, but that the total liability Of all
the directories to all the banks in the Union, cahno
be less than one hundred aud fifty million dollars; Of
IL q. L. La LnLal La.