The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1843-04-28

tents and purposes defunct in point OF iac''
and this hiatus in its operation was regar-
ded by many as an eifectual cessation Oh
its existence, leaving nothing to renew or
continue by the act of 1895. Others OBJ
jected to il because it had been VIGOROUSLY
insolvent, in the usual acceptation Of the |
term, for the most of the time since The
year 1887, having been nearly all that
time in a state of suspension of specie
payments. and as most of the members of
the general assembly were of the opinion
in open breach of its charter by means
Of which the people Of this state complain
OF immense loss and injury, from the great
expansion of its circulation and the conse-
quert depreciation of its notes on their
hands. This has been the condition. not
only of the Bank Of Illinois, but the State
Bank of Illinois and the Bank of Cairo
and this condition of things has been borne
by the people of this state until endurance
ceased TO be virtue, they consequently
were bound, not only by the laws of self
preservation, and good neighborhood to
the people of the adjacent states and terri
tories, who suffered equally with them
selves, to drive those banks into an hon
est and faithful discharge Of their duties,
or to abatc altogether the nuisance, by
which they had hitherto been annoyed.
The State Bank was brought to sense
OF its duty and under law passed at the
late session has gone into voluntary liqui-
dation. The Bank of Illinois, for time,
openly declared its intention 10 set the
power Of the legislature at defiance, and
to continue the nefarious system of bank
ing in which it had been engaged for
many years past.
The Bank of Cairo never accepted of
its territorial charter, nor was any stock
ever subscribed, or any kind of organiza-
ton attempted until about the year 1897.
Thus period of nineteen years had clap
sed without any visible sign of its exis-
tence, when it suddenly came into being
as new creature, under pretence of an
old charter, the memory Of which had
come down to but few of the present
generation; and which, many intelligent
persons believed was entirely defunc,, by
reason of long and continued nonuser.
This latter bank also, as | am Informed,
and as il was generally believed by the
general assembly, never paid specie for
Its liabilities at any time. It went into
operation under a general suspension of
specie payments, and availcd itself of the
general delinquency Of banks, in this re-
spect, 10 put itself upon an equality, as to
credit, with the hes, Of them; and by this
means obtained such circulation for lis
paper, and so expanded It's discounts, that
it coudnever have hoped TO have redeem
ed its notes with gold and silver coin.
Ii was understood also, that the Bank
OF Cairo had abandoned whatever of pre-
tended charter it had heretofore laid claim
to, by an assignment of all its effects and
voluntary resignation of all lis directors
and officers, withou. any elections to ill
the vacancies thereby occasioned. The
law of repeal, therefore, could not have
been an act OF violence TO property, and
could only have been intended to prevent
any future resurrection of this swindlng
concern.
Under these circumstances, the legisla-
ture believed that if these banks ever had
any legal and constitutional existence, the
law of their being had been so repeatedly
and constantly violated by them, the state
as one Of the contracting parties was no
longer bound by the contract implied in
their charters. They believed it to be
fully competent for the legislature to re-
peal charter when it had been repeated
ly and VIGOROUSLY violated by the corpo-
rators; when it had altogether ceased to
answef the purposes for which it was
enacted and when its very existence was
nuisance TO all the country round, within
and without the state.
You will therefore not fail to perceive
that the repeal of these charters does not at
all demonstrate that the dominant party
in this state are so reckless aud desperate,
and so little regardful Of private rights that
they would wan,only and wilfulIy repeal
even the charter of bank il it should APP
pear tina. legal and constitutional charter
existed or unless the corporation had it.
self. first openly and VIGOROUSLY set the
law of its being at defiance; and this
power, believe, is not only claimed but
tRcised by most of the states OF this
bnion. And these repeating laws do not
at all prove tina, the legislature claim to
repeal legislative grant Of land, when
money has been advanced on the faith of