Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-04-30


John ". Clayton.
ANpALrsIA, Bucks County, }
April Is, 1S4l.
NV dear Sir-I am about to explain to you some sin
pular details of what would otherwise be unntellglbt
the origin and nature of the late proceedings touch
ing the Bank of the U. S.
To you who have been wholly unconnected with Ell
ther the old or new Bank Of the u S.-to you, who
have never borrowed dollar, received favor iron
either been responsible Tor dollar as pfncpal oil
surety ether-what concerns the Bank possesses but
little interest but the story should be preserved, not
merely to show TO the suffering stockholders the nfu
ences which have msled them, but as a curious Illus
tration how obscure and insignificant causes may pro-
duce great disasters. pray you, therefore, 10 iolow
me down through these mysteries.
On the docket Of the Court of Common Pleas OF PHI
ladephia on the Equity side, is the following entry:
Cheyney Hickman for the use Of the President,
Directors Company of the Bank Of the United Deer Term
States and III. President, Directors and Company 1870
Of the Bank OF the United States,
Manuel Eyre and Charles Massey
Here is suit, the purpose of which is to decide q
claim for sum varying from $1,000 to sao,ooo' &C
cording to an account which the Bank wishes to com
pei the parties to render
Without meaning TO give any OPINION about ina
case, the simple fact that the Bank had just brought
j suit against Mr. Charles Massey, was Of itself suf
ficient TO prevent his being a member of that Com
mttee of Investigation. Before any tribunal he would
have been rejected Juror; and sense OF proprey
should have induced him instantly 10 decline the ap
pontmeht His partner, Mr.. Manuel Eyre, had been
Director in 1910, but in consequence OF complaints
against him left out OF the Board at the last election
- source OF keen disappointment. These feelings
found other stimulanis TO support them MI Eyre IS
understood to be the largest stakeholder in tho Schuy
kill Navigation Company, of which Mr. Lippncotl is
the President, and these three persons, Mr. Massey
Mr. Lippincot and Mr. Eyre, and their friends are
believed to have nearly all their fortunes dependent
on the of that work, while they have no in
ierest in the Bank-M.. Massey owning only two
shares, Mr.. Eyre three, and Mr. L'ppincott five
1t was at one period, thought profitable speculation,
but every day it Is encroached on by later improve
ments and more especially by railroad going directly
10 the very mouth Of the mines that its stock which
was sold at Sl70 or lS0 share is its decline,
and has already reached 500 or 500. These parties
are extremely sensitive on the subject OF every new
improvement which may Interfere with them, and they
are more particularly bitter against this Reading Rail
road, which, when completed, will probably supersede
the river navigation. Now the Bank Of the United
States has been obliged to take for debts large num-
Der of shares in the Reading Railroad, and with q
view TO protect its own interests, has gwen facilities
10 finish the road, to make it productive some
of the officers and directors also holders of shares
In the road and what still more criminal, Mr. Jau-
don while England negotiated some loan or got some
iron for the company Now the owners of the Naviga-
ton Company saw clearly that if these persons should
be rendered odious if the Bank of the u S. could be
broken down, it would carry down this Reading Rail
road, and thus increase the profits of the Company
This is really the foundation of the whole of this al,
tack upon the Bank. 1t is the vengeance Of the
Schuylkill Nav CATION Company against the Bank Of
the United States for lending money TO the Reading
Railroad.
OF that intrigue the Stockholders Of the Bank have
been already the dupes, and am very much afraid will
be the victims.
To carry it on awaiting themselves Ct the confusion
Of the annual meeting III January, Mr. Lippincou pro-
posed Committee, of which he was Of course made
hair Massey
others completed the Committee, which had power 10
fill their vacancies Three out Of the SIX members
declined serving, the remaining three filled their places
and of these remaining three Mr. Lppincott and Mr.
Massie the majority, the Committee is in fact
Committee of the Schuylkill Navigation Company
All this gallant friend Capt. Stockton began to
explain to the meeting, but he senced, you
saw, by the impatence of the crowd. Very soon after
they began their labors which originally confined
10 an examination of the assets Of the Bank came
the last suspension of specie payents-and then fol
the first time they received from the Board of Direct
os resolution declaring "that the Board ready TO af
ford them every facility in the prosecution of any in
vestigaton which the Committee may be willing &c
make Of the affairs and transactions of this Bank and the
causes of its actual situation and that il is The wish Of
this Board that the Committee should make such nves
tigaon Up to the date of the suspension, and while
the Board believed that they could go continuing
specie payments, they determined to keep this Com
mttee Of Investigation 10 their proper sphere of Ver
fying the assets and had instructed the Committee
Of the Board appointed to meet the Committee of In.
vestigation. But the moment they found that they
could longer continue specie paymentsin the alarm
and confusion which followed they appealed 10 the
Committee Of Investigation and begged them I,
examine the Of their ptostralion That the pur
pose of this to relieve themselves by throwing the
blame their predecessors, cannot be doubted nor Is
il less evident that the Committee as perfectly under
stood it If had been in the resolution; tor the most
remarkable character of the Report is this-that from
he hapi 10 hp nd mt
scarcely mentioned any transaction of the Bank within
the last two years There seems 10 have been tact
understanding that the Committee might investigate
what they pleased if they would only abstain from
touching the present Board awe commenced" says
the Committee, ian examination OF the affairs anc
transactions of the Bank and the Of its actual ST.
tuation and yet they find cause, transaction
no for the actual situation of the Bank that j.
not at least two years old II seems to me as If my ad
minstration had been sold to the Committee BY these
Directors at the price of their safety Had they
nothing TO say about the protest BY Nessrs Hongue
4 Co--nothing Of the injury to the credit Of The
Institution by the sales of Post Notes in the Fall o
le39-nohng of the publication of the lst of ia
third suspension Not one single word. The
Stakeholder wanted to know why his stock wa
reduced from ll6 in March, 1889, TO IL in March
1S4l. Well-the protest by Messrs. Hottingue
4 Co. reduced the stock S16 share-that was
loss of SIS 100000 the publication of the first o
January, 1871, brought il Sl7 share ower-that wa
loss Of about S6OOO,0OO the suspension in February
still further reduced it $50 share-that loss
about $4,000 900. None of these trfes seemed wor
thy of these anxious enqurcrs alter trnh-but having
at last obtained permission to examine the private
counts. they repaid it BY combining their attention /,
those only whom they hoped to njure, and abstaine
from all serious notice of what concerned those
power at present Accordingly, during these three
months inquisiton, they could find nothing more in
terestng than seek microscope in hand the accounts
of certain officers, and parade them before crowd
irritated stockholders TO excite their ndignation-ac
counts, moreover, finally settled, and, therefore, inca
pable OF yielding any thing but reproaches, and, OF
which, according to their own showing, it is mpos
sibe that loss Of any magnitude can be sustained.
Accordingly, when they have finished these gossip
they have to say of the general administration of h,
Bank is, that during the existence of the late Bank
the u 8. on the 9th of March, 1885, the Committee
Exchange authorized 10 make stock loans at fy.
per cent, and they object;
That such power ought not TO be delegated
That the Committee made too large loans 10 ndivi