M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1857-09-03
9oIihtaI.
The Laie DefaIcaIiOn--Chase's
Connection with It--TIis Letter
10 B-eslin, recommending the
City Bank OF Cincinnati.

City Bank OF Cincinnati.
The proof is now complete that the
State lost nearly 100000 Off its funds
through the instrumentality ofSalmon
p. Chase. Rreslin, the treasurer, de-
posted nearly that amount with the
CITY Bank Of Cincinnati, upon the
recommendation of Chase, and the de.
poeit was lost. The Bauk was in a
bad condition at the time Chase wrote
to Breslin in its favor. Here arc the
documents connected with it:
CoLUMBus, o., Aug. 20, 1857.
10 the Eds. Of tie Ohio Statesman;
Inotice in the Journal OF last eve
ming card signed by Thomas Heaton
and E. NJ. Gregory, formerly officers
of the City Bank Of Cincinnati, in
which they declare that if Gov. Chase
gave q letter to Mr.. Breslin, recon-
mending a deposit in that institution,
that they are not aware Of it. AL
though this is far from being q denial
of the fact, it is intended evidently to
be used as a "refutation," and as the
charge was originally made upon my
authority, deem it not improper for
me to assign my reasons for making
it.
Sometime last winter, Mr.. Breslin,
in conversation with myself, regard
ing the losses to the State by deposits
with banks, remarked that it was i'm
possible to withstand the importuni-
ties of bankers and politicians; and
further, alluding to the City Bank de-
posits, he produced a letter. from Coz.
Salmon p. Chase, recommending a
deposit of State funds an the CITY
Bank of Cincinnati, 'ohich letter, he
informed me, he aoas about to Sh0ao to
tie Finance cOntmittee. | urged him
to make it part of his answer to the
interrogatories of the committee. In
reply, he said he could not, as Gov.
Chase, although d political opponent,
sca8 a personal friend, AND, FURTHER
MORE, THAT CHASE CONTROLLED SEVER
AL INFLUENTIAL RErUDLIcAN NHwsrA-
pERs, AMONG WHICH WAS THE STATE
JOURNAL, all OF which were then
friendly to him but which, If he
made public Mr.. Chase's letter, wonld
all be down on him.
Twill add that when Mr.. Taylor oi
Mahoning, chairman of the Finance
Investigating committee, was in this
city, a short time since, in attendance
as a witness before the Grand Jury Of
Franklin county, he acknowledged
that he was aware of the existence Of
sqch a letter. Respectfully,
W. S. V. PRENTISS.
Now read the following, which we
take from the Newark Advocate:
Without further comment, there
fore, we ask the public to read the fol-
lowing passages from the report made
to the Legislature in January last, by
the Black Republican committee ap-
pointed to investigate the condition
of the State finances
The committee are also satisfied
that large deposits were made in the
City Bank by Mr.. Breslin before the
opening of navigation in 1852, not
only from an inspection of the books
Of the bank, but from the report OF
W. f. Johnson, who examined that
institution April z, 1852. The re-
port of Mr.. Johnson was made to the
Auditor of State, April 13, 1852, and
was by him communicated to the SEN
ate the Both day of the same month.
\ From the state
ment of its assets, and otherwise, in
Mr.. Johnson's report Of April, 1852,
the bank appears to have been then
IN A ROTTEN CoNDITIoN--a condition
that could not Lave been unknown to
the business men of Cincinnati, and
could not have escaped the observa-
ton of A PERSON OF ORDINARY INTEL
L1GENcE, seeking safe depository OF
large amounts OF money:
SThe City Bank of Cincinnati was
organized in May, 1915, by five per-
sons, the principal of whom was a
broker was subsequently sold to a
citizen of Cincinnati and a New York
broker, and was again sold in 1850
having thus in five years three sets Of
owners. With this history, necessa.
rily public, a sound institution and
public credit could not be hoped for.
(Signed,) "R. W. TAYLOR,
"B. f. SMITH,
"JoHN A. SINNETT. "
The above is plain and unmistaka-
BILE in its meaning. 1t is not 10,
cofoco libel" but is the solemn official
declaration of committee of three in
telligent Republican Legislators
They say that the bank was unsafe !;
that it was absolutely ROTTEN, and that
its unsound condition must have been
KNOWN not only to the business men
of Cincinnati, but to ANY PERSON OF
ORDINARY INTELLIGENCE. Was Gov.
Chase a man of ordinary intelligencel
Ifhe was, then the committee-the
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