The Arkansas banner., 1844-09-11


 10 the examination of other charges. some ol which are extremely unjust to the indi- ylduals concerned.
 lst' s'lt may be justly asked them,' says the report, ''by what authority the commis- sloners thus transeended the proper limits of their powers and instructions, in drawing out of the North American Trust and Bank ing Company, upon their mdiridaat thechs. the specie credit obtained therein :'''
 1 notice the statement for two reasons :: Fr2t, because il is untrue and, secoadlg. be- cause it Is like many other unlounded state mehts, made in the report, calculated 10 ere ate prejudice in the public mind. The bonds were sold by Corcoral, to the Secre- tary of the Treasury, and portion of the proceeds he converted into Southern and Western funds, which lie paid over to the commissioners, and for the residue he gave them chec& upon the North American Trust and Banking Company. This, the account ot Corcoran, Accompanying the re- port, sheWs. IL was upon atiS cheek that the funds were drawn out of the Bank, and not upon the individual cheeks of the com mlssioners. This statement Of the report so far from being true, and sustained by evil dence, is positively coatradicted by the ex- =hlbits accompanying the report
 2nd. The report, ih attempting to account for the Extraordinary departure, on the part oI the commissioners from the legitimate scope of their instruetions,' ? thus concludes :: "Ihe most rational conclusion then is, that the commissioners had some object in view, beyond the promotion of the great interest ol the Bank some interest staked in the ven- ture, which, though not prominently derel- opng itself upon the face Of their transac- dons, vet resulting as a necessary and ineyi- table consequence from the nature and cha racter of their own shewing.o What .'iatcr- esp IS here alluded to, which the commis- sioners ''had staked in the venture, beyond the promotion of the great interest of the Banh:o will let the committee answer.- The report states; ..It is also shown by the account of ". ". CoFcoran, that his services were subsequently, engaged in converting portion of the credits in the N orth American Trust and Banking Company, info Southern and Western funds 64t 1te find no GHoW- once made to hino for thiS scrcice. Ii in like manner appears from tte Gcc9UafS before re- fcred to," (of course Corcoran's4 esthat one Thomas B. Lee, of New Orleans, was en- gagged to perform like services that he sold S179,005 G7-100 of the Banks capital for SI86,777 73-100 in Southern and Western funds, for which no direct compensation was given, as far as can be ascertained from the account cuTentof the commissioners, or the accounts of said C0coran and iee2 After asking several preparatory questions, the fe- port proceeds "The only rational response to these enquiries must be, that they ECorco- ran and Lee must have received something more Sa5"saniial than the mere evanescent qualification of doing something for nothing. lt-may be proper here 10 state, that the whole aWoUH of premiums accounted for 10 the Bank, but little exceeded Hree per cent. upon the nett amount of the proceeds of the bonds and that it Is in proof before the committee, that Southern and Western Bank paper 2ras at the ti0c when the exchange was made, at a discount of from two to twelve and half per cent. in the city of New Y ork. What are the conclusions to be drawn from the premises just stated? The conviction ire sistably imprcsses itself upon the mind that these Brokers must hare rcesjced c fair pro- portion 2f tfe diridends or premiuRs derived from the investment, and thus amply com pensated themselves for all the drudgery and services performed. Hotc far the coamjs- sioacrs participated ia 1is speculation we leave to be determined by this House and an enlightened people"
 In this quotation, the e'intcrest staked i'll the venturen is clearly specified, in connex- ion with Corcoran and Lee, and is connected by inuendo, as pointed as a positive charge, with Sevier and Williamson. It Is clearly manifest that that .'most rational conclusion" to which the committee had arrived, was that the specie was converted into Southern and Western paper, at greater premium than the accounts .shew; and that the oVerplus was pocketed by Corcoran and Lee and the commissioners, who rendered false accounts in regard to the transaction, and were, con sequently, guilty of fraud and emb8--lemeA. Was there a member of that committee who believed this 10 be the fact? No onc-not even Dr Gibson, who ponned the vile impu- tation, believed it-not an honest man in the State believes it. Is there man in the State, who is desirous that this libel which so im- lGllOu9il OCIlldiiNo lCiot"tlo4If Hli"iA Ael'"tit unconHadicted upon the Legislative records of the State
 Every candid man will be surprised when he sees the statements which l shall now proceed to point out in the above extracts from the report which are either unsustained, or contradicled, by the document itself.
 l. It is said that 'sthe account of Corco- ran shows that his services were subsequent Iy engaged in converting the specie into Southern and " Western funds" The account docs Hot shew any sach thing but, on the contrary, shews that this was part of the service originally performed by him, and that he paid over the Southern and Western funds, as part of the proceeds of the bonds.
 ,. It is further said--.'but we fad no al- lowance made to him for this servicc''- when the very account referred to, shews thai he received the sum of fee H03saad dollars for the services rendered by him in the sale of the bonds, and the conversion of the pro eeeds as above stated.
 :,, IT. n ,Y,on,,,r o t,-