Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-10-22

900 each. Six concerns were charged WIN 60
$4,000 One Philadelphia firm, through .'e
agency Of the Exchange Committee, "nosc ol..a,
tons will in a moment be advc''eu ~ ioeI NJ
accommodations between August, looo, aiio w
yember, 1887, 10 The extent OF Si-i"'o.o' mn .ri
,h,n halfoI which was Obtained in 1887. The
officers OF the bank came in Tor shares, WHICH
Great as was the plumber, seem alnost dlspfopo!,
,ionate. MIR. Samuel Jalidon. "neh he fes'sne"
As cashier and was appointed foreign AGENT, was
indebted in the sum OF : los 3e9, ana 'he 'e
reason the directors gave ioT crc"iliS IN" W."
an enormous salary, when III 'ie ia"N! 1"pa
was that, By 80 doing, they TOOK lhe on, ""e W.
Snkin. anything OF his debt In io"o, .'il''ei 'iJ
old Bank another indi:icua lith o"'''iti, -
charged with 100000 Al The same ,'ii'I, Wv.
first assistant cashier was indebted 10 lhe baliH
S,I5 0on which sum was soon afterwards swo-
len to S32G :3s2, about which Time he was promo,
led 10 the post of cashier Ii itshould I've inquired
what became of such great sums, II Is Answered
that liz. three las-named officers had oeen Ploiuse
IL engaged in investing on their JOINT concern
in the Camden and Woodbury. Raliioau' VI '"e
Wilmington railroad, in the DauPhlll anu ~
ring coal lands and in the Grand Gull fa''roaa,
the stocks Of which, when they were oroPpeu ~
their holders as bad speculation. "e'c p.."I ~
off upon the bank, in satisfaction ol '''c aen' ~
1896 the sum lent on the hypolnecdaon VI ia.s.
stocks, amounted to nearly 81 iouoo SUI.
sufficient to discharge half The debt oil The ota'e oi
pannsv,vor;, bu, which was sunk in mad spc-
cuIa,ions or distracted with fraudulent designs,
10 The destruction not only oi the properly VI those
who had been cnticed within the Bank P"las,
but of the credit and character ol the country.
II is said that ceolagist i able 10 decide upon
the genus and properties oil q loSSii nlo'i-
s,er. hy examining the contents on ms ma"
carnivorous or herbirorouS, Tue chaidc'eI "a
the subject is almost lnvariabiy 70 NC ae'el
p,;ppd bv the tone OF his last and undlScstca
meal il such a test he applied to The re-
mains OF The Bank of the United States, IL IS a
question whether the inquirer would not be III
II. nuzzIed 10 find out to what class the monster
in question belonged Certainly the last suppo-
siliou woad be that il was an institution es'a-
blishcd for the purpose ol lending money on sood
commercial paper havn" a short time 10 run lo''
of all securities remaining in lis crop, s'lch paper
was about the rare>t The substantial vlands ana
plain meats whichihc justcourseo oil banking "ouia
procure. seem never 10 have met It's ta>ie; anu
IN their place is appetite was sateu VIA ian'n
dishes of q character rs ldtdl 10 itSell as ueN
were detcrinuS 10 the community. Among ue
;,,od;en,S in the vas, chaos which the ilnai ex-
nnonre developed were 10 be found stocks ofcvcry
IMAGINABLE tnoc OF badness, from railroads
which were onlv laid for the purpose oil borrow
mo money. down 10 town-ots which never naa
heen laid on, nj all. Notes OF broken down po-
li,cians-notcs. alas OF some who were once the
most honored oil our public men, deeds lor num-
berless lots in cities the bed OF the MISSISSIPPI
Texas scrip, and Panama scrip, ana scrip on ma
lions not 10 be found on the map,-stock OF DIS
NAL swamp Canal and OF Bald Eagle Spring
NAVIGATION Company,-fancy stocks OF every
bue wore found imheddcd in the general Nlcks-
burg bottom.
The cotton specuaons give fair idea OF the
me,hod in which National Bank IS 10 he man
aord The charter prescribed that the Bank should
MOI deal in merchandise The Bank, however,
mr. rather lis officers who had usarpcd lis sole
| management thought differently; ana III 1891,
without the authority or even The knowledge OF
| the board the first advances. amounting 10 -
lSo oq5 were made 10 \. G. Jau,ion Tor the pur-
chase Of cotton, 10 be RENTED 10 baiihs' hfothets
Il Co. OF Liverpool. The arrangement OF the
currency" said Mr.. Biddle, on the 10;h OF De-
cember, 1898. when explaining in letter 70 Mr..
Adams the na,nfc OF the operation, placed the
stables of the South entirely al the mercy OF the
toreigp purchaser. who could have dictated the
t,rmS of sale 10 the Frustrated planter II was
thought proper 10 avert the evil by employing
large portion of the capital of the Bank in max
ng advances on Southern produce In ie@',
the capital drawn from the Bank, LEI 1t DC renem-
bered, without the advice or consent ol ihe a'-
balancing the accounts, the Bank was found TO
! be a loser to the amour: OF 596252i, nearly one
tb,1icth of It's capital, deficit which Afterwards
was considerably swelled, and which, when the
parties were called upon for settlement, was dl1i-
ied into four portions, one OF which was rcpndla-
te, altogether, and The remainder replaced by
mass OF worthless trash under the name oil collatc-
raj security.
Who can Justify the reissue, by The Pennsyl-
vania Bank of the United States, OF notes orr
oinallv issued by the parent Bank, and hy 1t re-
deemed? Certainly not Mr. Clay, who in Februa-
re- 1888, scarcely ventured 10 sustain what he
called she ar5ct legality of the transaction and
vel. with astonishing boldnesS, he defended The
breach Of faith by saying that nobody doubts
the perec; safety of the no,es,ilo one can be-
lieve that they will not be fully and fairly paid
Such was the policy which obtained with The
Banks Presiden, and the Banks friends; ana IN
such a manner assumption after assumption,
usurpaton after uSurpation, emoe2zlement aiter
ernbezzlemcn, were justified IT Is wrong, we
do no, deny bat look, how proniabie. II may he
Il breach OF faith Tor Us to pay OCT notes we pro-
missed to cancel. and which belong 10 us for that
purpose alone but how can we hesitate al JOB
80 nromising?" In fact. one Of the worst features
ahoa, the game which the Bank played, was The
false representations il was in the habit OF hold
ing out to The community. Mr. Clay, whose
sangune temperament always made him one oil
the most dangerous, rs he was one OF the most
duped, of its supporters, repeatedly expressed his
faith in il when il was essentially bankrupt, and
called upon the people to come up for shelter I'M
der so firm and impregnable fortress.
Thus, in Jan'y, 1897, ne declared, IN inc senate,
that 'the charges oil insecurity and insolvency OF
the Bank, were without the slightest foundation,
and that time, the great arher OF human enter
A ic
declaration. he founded one of his most positive
arguments in favor Of the resolutions virtually I'M
peaching General Jackson; and resisted the eI-
forts for their repeal.
Ir September, 1887, he proclaimed National
Bank 10 be "the great want OF Inc country, ana
:the only safe and certain remedy" Tor The alarm
ing distress which he declared the country TO be
suffering from the terminaticn OF the charter oil
the late National Bank.
II is said. that Of the 30 million capital, ID mil
lion was los, hy the depreciation Of fancy stocks,
and five million by downright depreciation II is
well known, that the losses in Baltimore alone,
in the first two wears of The Banks existence,
amounted 10 50 500 900. Ii was stated in the
first repor, of the stockholders investigating COM
mi,tec that "lhere was Il charge under date oi
June 30th, 1910, Of 100000 to Parent Bank
notes account which had no, been explained 10
the satisfaction OF the committee. II must also be
mentioned, that among tAe expenditures ol INC
Bank, there are entered. at various dates, COM
mencne May 8, 1886 Suns amounting in all 10
S6ls.6i0 Ii, as paid on The vouchers of MIR. y.
Bidde.' Of Mr. n. Biddle and J Cowpelrhwaiic,
and cashiers vouchers As the committee were
unable 10 obtain satisfactory Information upon the
subec, ofttcse expenses from the books and OIL
GERS OF the Bank, application was made by letter
TO Mr.. y Biddlc and MI. J. Cowperthwaitc,
from whom no reply was received"
Such was the story told on the first report olthe
committec and unhaPpily for the reputation OF
the officers of the Bank. every fresh step brough,
them deeper into the mud. The fact remains
undisputcd, that 100000 were spent for purposes
of which the direction knew nothing, and which
were CLOSED over by 4 series of false entries and
intricate transpo>i,ions.- Wha, so vast sum
wasexpendcd in, Willie inquredinto at the close OF
this article.
The brief limits before us will not allow any
!. 81, III nj VI huf IL