The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1849-12-12

ance of this Bank is in accordance with the
conditions Of The contract of the loan of 1888,
and therefore in harmony with the acknewledg.
ed feelings Of honor which always Distinguish
the people Of South Carolina. So
The loan 10 which we refer was contracted
in London. as your E1cellency is aware, by the
Hon. George McDuffie. He was commission
ed for this purpose under the Great Seal OFFS.
Carolina. We need not say TO- you that conf
dence in the statements Of such mau, accredl-
ted under such auspices, was most effective.
His statements were satisfactory basis of ne
gotiation. The representations Of Mr.. McDuf-
fie consisted in an address signed by him, and
in copies Of the Act of The Legislature andIof
the Commission from your State: They were
all printed and circulated, aud were the docu-
ments on which the loan rested. They are in
cluded in compilation Of documents i'm relation
ID the Bank, printed at Columbia in ls4s, and
we earnestly beg an attentive perusal OF them.
II will be seen by these documents that'th
securities to which the takers Of the loan were
invited to trust were three: q g
First. The faith Of the, State selemaly
pledged;
Secondly. The guarantee Of the Bank as a.
fiscal agent with q considerable capital and pro.
missing business, forthe Ponctual payment of the
interest and principal; aud
Thirdly. specific pledge. of the profits:
which should be derived from the operations OF
the Bank, TO meet The yearly interest. This
was in addition to the general liability OF all
the assets Of the Bank under its guarantees.
Your Excellency will not fail 10 notice that
the State of its own accord, and with rankness>
| and high, sense of integrity which was aPpre.
ciated, offered, in addition 10 the general pledge
of its honor, the other securities as valuable and
available. The State knew that as a sovereign
it could be subject TO no coercion, and therefore
it offered its subject, its own creation, the
/ Bank, as secury-and this security not only
to insure the ultimate payment of the debt, but =
also he-nermediate punctual payment Of the
interest. This security was one whose profit.
able labors were also to render the payment of
both interest and principal easy and convenient:
alike to the creditor and the Slate. II was q.
security whose position would allow the trIbu--
nails Of the country cooperate on itby coercion.
No greater evidence could be given Of the pur-s
pose to make the security of the loan satistac..
tor v even 10 the most distrustful. 1t is impos-
sbe 10 read these documents without seeing
both the determined integrity of the State in
the character of these pledges, and The eject Of
them in procuring the loan; and We feel quite
assured that there does not exist onlthe part OIL
the authorities, or Of any portion of'the poputa-
tion of South Carolina, serious intention TO-
withdraw any one of the above securities, or
disappoint the expectations Of those who have
evjnced implicit confidence in their permanence,
until the extinction OF the debt for which they
were pledged.
II is unnecessary here to alIude 10 the extent
Of aid which the agency of the Bank has actu.
ally afforded, but il may be allowable to notice
that i, has yearly furnished to the State more
than the whole interest on the loan Of 1888.
We must however beg your Excellency to.
romark, that no intma,ion was given at The
time ofthe loan in any qnarter, nor until lately.
that the Bank was not to perform lis service for
all the period of the credit which il was to se-.
cure. No such intimation was made BY Mr.
McDufie in his proposals nothing Of this kind
appeared in the Act of the Legislature, or Com.
mission of the State exhibited by him. The
advantages offered were the agencyofthe bank,
its profitable business as Bank, not for a part
of the time. but for the period Of the loan, as a
whole. Ifith had been asked whether the char.
ter of the bank was notlirni'ed in time, il would
have been instantly replied, that the con,inu.
ance Of the-charter was wholly in the power OF
the State which offered the bank as its guaran-.
tee that The State which held out the Bank as,
a security for the loan and interest, the whole
loan and the whole interest, without reserve,
condition, or Limitation of time could no more.
fail to continue the Bank by new act oflegis.
lation than to provide for ultimate payment, by.
passing, Unnecessary, laws for taxation. II could
no more allow the pledged agency Of the bank
to expire, when its existence depended on The
mere will OF The State, than openly withdraw it.
No act of legislation can be compelled, hut
compulsion was not in any way louked for in
the conduct ofthe State. and what was relied
on was the good faith and honor ofan indepeud-
emf and sovereign Republic. sf
We beg therefore respectfully to submit 10
your Exceency the consideration, whether tho
continuance Of the Bank, with substantially the
same powers and advantages as made il origi.
nay desirable guarantee, is not required By
public faith and we feel That we should falsely
estimate your sentiments, aud of the people over
whom your E2cellency presides, if we were not
convinced that that consideration will be para.
mount overall other views of domestic o, tenn.
porary policy.
lfthe consent of the holders Of the Bondsto
the extinction Of the Bank guarantee could be
obtained, or If the substitution o! some other
eqnivaen, security could be adopted with their
consent. these objections would cease to appy;
but the number of them, their various circum.
stances, the inexpediency of a public call for
them to NEE, for deliberations the impossibility
OF such meeting, and the appearance ofcoercion
which the call of meeting for such purpose
would present, forbid the expectation of any
,,,b ,.nor.l c,nsor,. nd tho M " mode ,yhi,.h