Huntingdon Journal

              "ONE   COUNTRY,    ONE   CONSTITUTION,   ONE    DESTINY."
A.   W.   BENKDICT   PUBLISHER   A>'D   PROPRIETOK.
Vol.,   V, No. 34.]
HUNTINGDON, PENNSYLVANIA, WEDNESDAY,  JULY a  1810.
[Whole No. 243.
OF the IIUNTINGDOX   JOU ItN A r...
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AGENTS.
KOR
The Bnntins,don Journal.
Daniel 'Te ii^ne, Or'iisoniii; D.ivid Hlair. Ksq. Shude Gap; B.-nj imin Lease. .Shirleys¬ burg; Eliel Smith, Esq. Chilcottstoivn; Jas. Enlrik. n, jr. Ceffee Fun; Hugh Madden, Esq. Spi-ingfcld; Dr. H. S. Dewey, liir- minghiiin; James Morrow, Union Furnace ; Jolinbisler, Warrior Murk; James Davis, Esq. tl'esl toivnshifi ; V). H. Mnnre, Esq F'rankstown; Eph. G ilbrenth, Esq. HoUi¬ daysburir-. lieniv Neff, Ale.randria; Aaron Burns, ll'iltiam-ibiirf,; A. J. Stewnrt, Water Street; Win. Reid, F.sq. Mo. ris township; Sotnnioo Hamer. .Jeff's Mill; J imcs Dysart, At)ii:h S/irucc Creek; Win. Murrnv, Esq, Gi-uiixviile; .I-ilin Crimi, Manor Hill; Jas. E. Stewart, Sinking I'liUey; E. C. Kessler, Mill Creek.
Inlerosliii^  Corri'spoiwlcHce.
Huniixcdon-. June C3. K^ !0. James .M. Bell, Eiq.
Thc unilersi;',nc«l citiz.ens of our borough, feeling anxious to render yon their lliniiks for the nble and iiiilep^iiilont course pursued l.y you in the Hall ofthe Senate iu behalf of lliein- sulvea, as well ns the ^reat bodv ot your constituents; earnestly requesl the honor of your company at a dinner of the 4'.li of July.
In doing so, they seek not to offer you any ol ihd lulsome adulation of pnrtisnns, but sjmply to sho.v you their j!;ratituile lor your laithful and fearless course. He whose conscience tel Is him hehas'done his duly'' needs not the praise of party spirit. He vvho hns shown himself the Represen¬ talive ol the whole People, anil nol of pn- Xy, merits, and should receive the Ihniiks ul all.
We wish tn mar' you, Ihus publicly, that we mny say in (.ublic, vvhat we say in private, that ynur duly has been honest¬ ly and fniilifuily perlormed. Vou vvill except from us the consideration of our liighest esteem.
./. G. Mile.-<, 'Thns Fisher, .I.din M'¬ Cahan, Duniel Africa, Jacob Miller, G. Juckson an I o'hers.
IIo.N-riTioiioN, June 29th, 1840. To Mes.irs. J. Geo. Miles, 'Phnmus Fish~ cr, .lohn McCahan, Duniel Af'licu, Ja¬ co') Miller, George Jackoon, and others. Ge^TLl.Ml¦,."l;—
I have received your cnm.nunicai.i.>n of the 23,1 instant, expres¬ sing your approbation of my Legislative course ol coiuluct, and invitiiii; me loat¬ tend a dinner in this place on lue 4lli of July nex; ; for wh ch favorable expression <il your ojiinions and feelinijs, I return you my thanks.
In formiii;; nn oj.inion and coining to a conclusion in legnid to the conduct ol any |ianiculnr member, or of the whole ot the meivibersns n bndy, it should nlwnys be l.oriii' in iiiiiiil, that the sessions ol oiir Lc^islutuie coiiinieiicing in Jnnunry lasi Iind ending iluiiiig Ihe present month, were liel.l under circumstances, and a situnlion ol things, positive and relative, thc most ilitilcult, lhe moit perplexinn. and the most mom.-i.tous, ns regnrils the interests and prosperity of our State, ol any which were ever h^lil in Pennsylva- jiia, excepting only those held during the period ol our revolution. 'That under such circumscnnces, any member, or mem¬ bers, or any olher person, whatever his situation may be, should have come loan .erroneous conclusion, and erred injiidg- ineiit aud in action, seems tu me, from un enlightened and generniis people, to call rather l.ir charitable forbearance of cnn- demnalion, than general, indiscrimiiinle and vvholcsiile denunciation. For myself. I vvill not presuiye to say ur think." thai what I have ilone, the course I have pur¬ sued, and whnt I wished to have done, lias the besl that could have been done, or proposeil under llie existiing state ol things : but I cnn truly say, ihat ootwith- stamling whatever errors or failings, indu¬ ced l.y llie lorce ef suiroumling circum¬ stances, wr constitutional temperament, I may hav" committed or fallen into, that ill vvhat I have duue, and desired lo elTect
in my legislative capacity, I hnve been in- tluenceil, governed and impelled by the vvisli. single and alone, of advancing the permanent and substantial interests of my native State, and of promoting the vvel- lare'and happiness of all the people with¬ in it. according to the bestof iny jildgmeiit and abilities, and to eU'ecl those desirable objects L have used and exerted all th« mind, industry and puwers which have fallen to my lot.
In the present position of affairs, it may not bc deemed amiss, nor the time and occasion inappropriate, as I intend decli¬ ning the honour ofthe dinner you propose, if I should, as bnetly as I cnn nnd tho na¬ ture of the subjects will nilmit ol, statu the views I hold, nnd the opiniuns I have been influenced by, in regard to some of the more pruminenl inatters vvhich the Inst Legislature were called on to con.sider, and rcquii'cd to decide.
Foremost among those, and indeed, that upon which all the olheis depended vvns the (juestion of the currency. All agreed lliat our monetary affairs were in a most de|)liirable condition, and that something must be ilone to remedy them. All agreed that in order toapply a reinedy properly anil judiciously, it vvas necessaiy correct¬ ly to understnnd the cause or causes of iheir present siluatiun. llut on this sub¬ ject, when they came lo be assigned ami expressed by dillerent individuals, as vveli in as out of the Legislature, they vvere as iliRerent nnd numerous, all their various shades being considered, as there were individiinls to express them. This is not ntall surprising when it is coiisiilei ed, thnt it is a subject vvhich is connecled and inlimately intermingles vvith, and influ¬ ences every transaction in lile, and Ihat each person vvill view it through a medium diH'ering from that of all others. It would bc an impossible and useless task to at¬ tempt to enuniernte those different opin- ons. 'Ihey tnay be exemplified by each person rellecling and clearly lixlTig in his ovvn mind what his ovvn opinion is. (a thing by the bye, which not one third of those vvho talk most on this subject, and complain loudest ever have done, or ever will do,) nnd then take it for granted that every olher person in the known vvorld, in a greater or less degree, dilTers Irom hiin. My opinion nn this subject is, thai the person who attributes our present sit nation in reference to nioney inatters to any one cause ilone, is in error;—'That the present result is produced by a com¬ binalion of causes, many of them very dilTerent in their character, but all tend- iiin tothe same point. Inthe first place, and one ainonn the principle causes of our present situation is this;—we arc lit¬ erally and emphatically a go-ahead peo¬ ple, possessing, and consTuutioiinlly iin» bued vvitii more enterprise and energy ol character, than any other natior. on the ¦•lobp. 'This nntional characteristic has its ndvaiitngcs nnd uses, nnd verv great and bunelicinl they nre, especially in a new conntry like our.-;, the resuurces and capabilities ofwliich are as yet, but par- tially developed. IJut il has its corres¬ pondent disadvantage—that of causing us occasionally to overstep thc buunds of prudence in biisiness matters, of vvlii.h money is the principal ingredient. While this energy of character induces us to ^ripple with, and enables us tu overcome dilliculties, which those possessing less of this quality would utterly shrink from, it nt the same time renders us heedless of those causes and their consequences, vvhich do not nttrnct our nlteiition, and cnuse us lo feel their pressure onerously nt their commencement, nnd •vhich alone' become of vital importance, nnd arrive nt such a point ns imperiously calls our at¬ tention to them, by reason of tlieir pro¬ gressive accumulation during a series of years. Looking hack, this point soems fo he arrived at by us at once, at least, in alioiit every twenty years. For the last five or SIX years, or more, vve hnve bought more than vve sold, vve have bought much more than vve pnid for. 'This can only be rcineilicil by our buying for a nuniber of yenrs, less than vve sell. Forthe last lliree or four ypnrs especially, during vvhich there has been a pressure in 'Jie money market of I'luroiie, more jiarticu^ l.ii'ly of Eiifihinil, the merchants nml iiian- ufncturersof thnt-jounlry being pressed lo raise iii'.ans, not content vvilh filling the Inrge orders ol our mercluinls, have senl ill lo us very large amounts of goods to sell on their o-.vn account nt auction ; and our citi'/.ens led avvay by the induce¬ ment and temptation of gutting them, un lime, for Uss than they vvere customarily sold nt, have incautiously and wilhuut rc- tlectiiig on the -consequeuces. puichnsoil when tiiey did nnt need them. I know il is the fashion, the custom vvilh many to blame all this on the banks, llut in my opinion this is doing injustice to the banks, nnd is not in accordLiiee with the truth. For I believe the banks are as much if not more iiitluenceil by lhe opiiiio.is nnd actions ol the people surrounding Ihem, vvho have no immediale nnd direct inier¬ est in Ihem, asthe penpie a-eby the bnnks.
No iloubt the banks, or rather the persons conducting them have their share of blnine and imprudence to answer I'or. as well as the residue of the people. Rut the truth is, in my judgment, our present dillicul¬ ties. to a great extent, have their origin in that go-ahead principle lo which I have alluded, vvhich seems to be so deeply en¬ grafted in our nnlures. /Ind the fashion¬ able clamour which charges all the evils wilh which we are beset on the hanks alone, has its origin in another princi|.le inherent in our naiure. that is ; that vvhen the evil dny comes upon us. we aro diss posed tu blame every olher person and thing, rather than admit that we ought to tnke any share of the blame to ourselves. If what I have last staled be not correct, how comes it, that we often see the in¬ habitants of a section of eountry, distant I'roni auy bank, applying hir, ami anxiouss ly endcavoringto obtain n bank for them¬ selves? Surely no person vvill pretend Ihat any existing bank vvould urge or in. duce people so situated, to establish a new bank, and thereby restrict or prevent the circulation ol its own jiaper in that section. Another of the causes which have tended in some degree to produce the present state of things, is. that vvithin about three years there has been, beyond the ordinary amount ot such casualities, destroyed by lire in our primipnl sea porl towns projierly to nt lenst the vnlue ol from thirty to fifty millions ol dollars. So great a destruction of jiroperty in so siiort a time could not lake plnce, without eventunlly producing some pcrccpiibly iiiilavornble elTect, Another is, that for the Inst tvvo yoara previous to IS.".'?, the principnl article of export from Pennsyl¬ vania to loreign countries, grain, failed, and instead ol exporting vve hud to import it. Ami another among the many combi¬ ned causes producing the present state of things, vvhicii is the last 1 shall nnw men¬ tion, lliough I do not acording to my judg¬ ment, by nny means, consider il among the least, has been the action of the Genernl CJoveinment ol late years, and its interfe¬ rence vvilh and in regard to. the currency ofthe country, ostensibly avowing its ob» ject to be, the bettering of thnt currency. i do not sny this in the way of, or wilh the view to controversy; nor by way o! tnunt : but from tile must solemn and de¬ liberate conviction, after the fullest re¬ ileclion, of its truth. Nor dol sny this vvitli i!ic view of raising or discussing the q.iesiion, whether the late and present K.vccutive of the Oeneral Government have in their course ol action, or rather courses of action, vvhich have been nt dif fercnt tiines respectively pursued by them been induced thereto by any objects of a sinister characler, or were other than those they have ostensibly avowed. But it seems to me that the results anil con sequences justily this conclusion. And when it is considered that it is admitted by nil, nt lenst by all vvho have nny cor¬ rect unilerstnnding of the subject, that the currency, esjiecially in such a naliun ns ours, composed of ilitlriciit govern menls, lo a great extent iiide|icnilent of ench other, is ofall others the most intri¬ cate, delicate and difficult lo arrange and properly regulate.— That it is generally conceded that it is doubtful whether a m.nii of the most capacious and powerful mintl, although his attention be exclusive¬ ly devoted to the subject, can tully and correctly understand it, in ull its bear¬ ings, and foresee, and prov.de against, the, to him, unforeseen contingencies, whicii may inlluence it.—'That il is not pretended thnt either thc late or jirescnt Executive of the General Government, in thc course oftheir busy lives in other jiur. suits, ever turned their nitenlion tu it, to any considerable extent. Can il be sup- j.oseil. is it likely, that Ihey or eilher of them while pressed at all times with the cares of .State, could mark out a nevv course on this j.eiplexing question, radi¬ cally change the existing slate of things, and that too vvitii but little, if any, pre¬ liminary prejiaration, even though actua¬ ted by the jiurrst and best intenlions, without in all (irobability renilerim; what¬ ever Ihere wns of evil, worse, and that whicii might possibly be ronplicalcd and eonluse.l, still worse confuuiided.' So acting, under such circumslancts, if (hey did not, il would "je the merest accident, and almost a miracle.
One assertion very commonly made, anil promulgated with an untiring -/.eal and industry vvorthy of a better cause, by the particular favorites nnd especial friends of the j.resent and lale mlminis- tintions uf the General (government. I feel compelled here to notice;—Ihat is, "That the reason the peojile cannot get specie, is. that the banks have it nil or nearly all hoarded up, in llieir vaults, and under tlieir ovv.i control, nnd nre unwil¬ ling to give it out to the people of the country." 'This, so far from being the truth, is directly the reverse of it. And that this assei lion instead of being Irue, is directly cimirnrv to the trulh, can be readily peneiveil by nny one who vvill laku the trouble to rellect on the subject-
•Ve can and do derive whatever specie there mny be in the country at any time, Irom two sources alone; Isi, What is coin¬ ed at the several mints in the nation; and 2nil, What is imported from loreign coun¬ tries. Noone I presume will pretend thnt the General Governincnt, whicii alone has control of what is coined at the mints, being as much opposed to banks asit is pretended they arc. take the sjiecie as soun IS soon as it is coined at the mints, and place il il, the banks,—in what those es¬ pecial friends are pleased to call "char¬ tered monopolies destitute of a soul." to keep il from the people. 'That is not to be presumed, and is not pretended. 'The General Governn.ent then hns the com¬ plete and sole control, direction and dis¬ bursement ol all the specie coined at the inii.ts. It is paid out to members of Con¬ gress, oilicers of Government, and it is lair to presume, sume of it to those espe¬ cial friends, for their disinterested cla¬ mour against the batiks, in payment ol tlieir claims, vvhile other less faithlul, and therefore less favored creditors are putolT with, and are fain to get and be content vvith "thc liltliy rags." 'This specie thus obtained by those persons is sold by them to the brokers at a premium ol 5. H or 10 per cent., or whatever thcjiremium at the lime may be, vvho again sell it, to mer¬ chants to ship off to Europe or China fur the jiaymeiit of goods; or to pny fur duiies on imports, for public Tunis, or postages. So well is this knovvn, and so perfectly understood, that there hive been Signs in Washington city staling, " 'The highest price vvill bu given here, to members of Congress and ollieers of Government for what gold fhey may receive." And a similar notice was given, as an ailveitiso- ment, in the ofRcialr paper in thnt city lor n short time. It is perfectly obvious thai the banks never will procure the sj.ecio of the country, by purchasing it at a premi¬ um, because it is directly against their interest to do so, unless where thay are compelled to procure it, to puy out a'^ain in discharge of liabilities they are forced to pay. And it is likewise obvious that no man vvill jiay a debt du» by hiin to a bank, at least not one of any considerable amount, in specie, especially when he can sell that specie to a broker at a premium and get the notes ofthe bank, or those of others, which will answer his purpose equally ns vvell in pnymentof his debt to the bnnk. Agniii, uf late yenrs thc Gen¬ ernl Government has requiied the jiiiy- ineiit of nil duties on imports, all purcha¬ ses cf public lnmls.<Hiiid nil or neaily all postages to he paid in specie, or the notes of specie paying hanks. 'The payment ol all which, it vvill renilily bc percieved. vvill require and absorb a very large pto- pnrtion of our specie, whether impoitcd into or coined in the country. All this large amount of the specie in the country is thus again plnced under the control and direction of the General Goverament. On the other hand it is inimifest, llmt the Ijniiks never can, and never will, hoard up specie for lhe mere sake of h»aiding it UJ., bicause it is dirccilv contrary to their interests to do so ; and I can hardly think that even those especial and pre¬ tended disinterested friends of the Gener¬ al Oovernment, to whom I have alluded, will pretend that those institutiuns—'soul¬ less monsters,'as they are pleased to call them, though they be, wuuld do that which was against theirown intersts. It never can be, and never is, the interest of any Rank to keep—to hoard up m»re specie in its vaults than will be sulhcient to meet the current deniaiiils fur specie of tha country in which it is located. VVhntever amount nny Rnnk has beyond this, is a dend loss lo it;—no interest ac¬ crues on. and no benefit is deriyed from .\nd it therefore lullows as a natural consequence that no Rank ever will close its vaults and refuse its specie tu the j.eo- j.le of the country, in which it is located, except to prevent the exportation of that specie to foreign countries. IVIiat would be our situation if a large proportion ol our spi'cievvhich furnishes the basis ofour circulation were vvitlidravvnlroin the cuun¬ try alloguther ? All can see and under¬ stand it.
All these things being considered, no disinterested, intelligent and candid mnn, wishing to ascertain the truth, can duubt, but that the General Giiverninent and its dllTci ent officers have lhe pussession, the cunlrol, and the ilireciion of much the lar¬ ger jiortiun of the specie ofthe couitry ; aii'l tli'Ht ifthe common people of the cnuw- try do not get a jiroper jiroportion of this sj.ecie, that the Oeneral Government and its oilicers are principally, if not alone to blame. 'The (ieneral (jovernment and ils officers ought nut to, (though no doubt they vvill), complain al being so blamed, .vhen the prumises of that Ueneral Gov¬ ernment and ils oflicers, vvhile "thc cur¬ rency vvas being bettered." are recoil ted,—that specie—the "yellow boys" should shortly ascend our streams, and descend upon the j-coniniiry of the coun¬ try in golden shovvers. 'The trulh is the more intelligent of those especial friends of the General Government when ihcy
make the assertion to vvhicii I have allu¬ ded, perlnclly well understand that itis only one of the mnny "humbugs," "gull- traps,-'and "gilded hooks" vvhich are to be used to catch the Gudgeons.
But whether 1 am correct in supposing vvhat I have stated to be among the prom¬ inent causes jiroducing the present state of things. I vvill turn to what vvas admit¬ ted to be our situatinn at the meeting of the Legislature in Jnimary last, and vvas done, and proposed to be dnne in that Legislature. Our Banks had suspeinlcil specie payments in the j.revious October. It vvas admitted that the people ofthe U. States vvere indebted to Europe, princi¬ pally to Englniid somewhere from 1.0 to too millions of dollars, independent of the debts due by tlie States, the interest on nearly all of vvhich had to be paid in Eurupe;—being an amount of foreign in¬ debtedness, (-Aitbout including the piin¬ cipal oftlie debts ilue by the States), about equal to the vvhole estimated amount of specie in the United States. 'I'hu peojile and inBlitutions of Pennsylvania owed their full proportion of this foreign debt. It had been contracted in the manner I have stated. 'The gooJs for which it had been created had been sold by our citizens to the citizens of the South, the South West and the West, who, their monetary affairs being in a still worse and more em¬ barrassed condition than ours vvere, and those gooiis remained unjiaid for, could not piiy for liiem at the present, nnr for some time to come, b-jt who itwas expec¬ ted and hojied, if a reasonable time vvas allowed, would be enabled to pay at least a consiilernblc portion of their indebted¬ ness ill produce, vvhicii would be equally as valuable and available as specie lor lhe j.nymcnt of our foreign debt. 'The Jieople of Pennsylvania, it wns admitted on nil hamls were abundantly nble to |..ij all the debts due by them, ff tliey could but get but a portion, a moiety of the debts due to them by others.
In this stale of things vvhat would have been the result and conseq-Jenccs of com¬ pelling an immediate resumption of specie payments by the Banks ? 'The result is obvious. Every dollar of specie in our Bnnks would have been immediately dravvn out of thein by the British and olher European agents resident in New Vork, Boston, and thc other commercial cities of the Norlh and Fast, and forth¬ with shipped to Europe in j.avment of this foreign debt, which they to a great ex tent had created, as I have before stated, by forcing in upon us their gnods, and in¬ ducing our citizens to purchase them by the temptntinn of oilering them, on time, at a less price than usual. 'This having been dniii>, uur Banks wuuld have been compelled to call upon our cilizens fur what vvas due from them, which vvould have compelled the i:avnient of all, or nearly all. the specie among our citizens in the country, into our Banks,—to be a- gain svvept out of them by a iimilar pro¬ cess into this vortex ol foreign debt. The consequences ofwliich vvill be but ton well understoud by every rellecling mind, and need nol be described at length. For vvhose bei etit. I again ask. would all this, producing one general scene of wide spre.id ruin and distress among our citi¬ zens, have been ? Not certainly for the citizens of our ovvn State. Not even for the cilizens of our sister States. Rut for the bcneiit of those British and other for¬ eign merchrints and manufacturcis vvho had created this indebtedness, to a very great extent by forcing their goudsl n upon us, as 1 have previously stated, thereby in effect creating our citizens, their lactors to sell those goods tu thcpcojile of the South, the South WestSi Weal, and then calling upon us fur tha payment in sjiecie, before it cuuld bc obtained, or itscquivalent val¬ ue in pruduce. fiom those to whom they were sold. If the Legislatuie had com¬ pelled iluring last winter, the immediate resumption of specie payments by our Iinnks, I lirmly believe, that not one dol¬ lar of the specie in thein would have been gotten and retained by the people of Penn¬ sylvania, ami not only that, but what litlle specie tliere vvas among the jicojile of the country would have been eventually dr,iin- ed from them, excecpt. jjerhnpi, here aud there a single ilollar, solitary and alone, mourning the dej.arture of ils likeiiessos. While on the oilier lininl by pursuing a contrary course, and giving to our Banks a reasonable time to prejiaie for resump¬ tion, there vvas reasonable ground to hope and believe, that our Institutions and cil¬ izens warned and awakened by the despe¬ ration of their present situation, would be rendered mure prudent and economical, fura time at lenst, and during this period would be enabled by iiieins of j.roduce and the collection of debiS due to them from others, to piy olTa considerable jior¬ lion of their foreign indebtedness, and arrange to avoid a demanil in specie for tlie residue, or thc gie.iler (intt of it; thereby saving nnd keejiing vvitliin our own bu.'ders nnd limits, in ourown Hanks and among lhe j.eoj.lo of thc country, at least a considerable portion uf vvhat specie vve now have, subject to uur ovvn control, and for ear O'au use.
What was done by the Legislature oi» this subject is already knovvn toyou. That resoluiioiis vvere iiitreduced into the Senate by myself, vvhich bucatne a law, providing'that the Banks should resume >peciB j.ayments on the I5th. of January next;—that if any Bank within the Coni¬ monwealth nfter that date should refuse tu pify any ol its liabilities in gobl or silver, on iproof being made ot the fact before any President Judge at the expiration of ten days Irom thc period of relusal. and tlie monev being then unpaid, the charter of such 7iank should be absolutely for¬ feited on this proof being filed, (vvhich the Judge is forthwith required lodo), among the records of thecounty of vvhich he is a Judge; and thnt the lals'; swearing by any officer uf a /lank in relaltion tuany of "the statements required to be made by lavv of the situntiah of thc i?.ink, should be punished as perjury, by conQiiemeiit in the Penitentiary, not less than ono, nor moro than six years.
It vvill readily be conceived that nn one person would be successful in getting en-, acted into laws, all thc projiosilions which he believed vvould bebeiicfKial tor the re¬ gulation of our /Jinks and currency. Such was the cnse, ns regards myself. While acting as one ol the committee of confertnce on the /fill previously bclbru the Senate forthe regulating of thii .Bank.*, I had drawn up a BM, vvhich, in addition to the foregoing provisions, provided .-
1st. That from and after thc 15th of January next cach^/Jank within thu Com¬ monwealth should tnke .-.nd receive, at par, in payment of any debt or debts due anil evving to it, the notes of all the oth¬ er clmrteied and specie-paying ijanks of the Cninmonwc.ilth-
•ind. Prohibiting the several J?ank» ot the Comnionvvealth under the j.enalty of lhe foileiture cf their several charters, to bJ declaredjfi rfciteil as above named, Irom issuing after the jiassage of theact, any note or notes in lhe form or similitude of Bink notes, or otherwise, payable at a fu¬ ture day. usn.iily denominated I'oit notes.
3d. That the making of any loan by any Ciiik in the Commonwealth ou tha security, direct or collateral, ol any stocic or stocks whatever, or engagements or ob¬ ligations in the nature of stocks, should be a lorfeiturc of ils chnrter. tn be decla¬ red forfeited as before mentioned.
4th. Prohibiting the Banks ol the Com¬ monwealth from making directly or indi¬ rectly any loan to, or for the use of any person ostensibly engaged in the business of a note or ino;iey Broker.
5th. Prohibiting the Z^anks olthe Com¬ monwealth from purchnsing and holding any /Jank or other stock, except the stock or loans ol this Commonwealth, or of the United States, under the penally of for- leiting a sum ecjual to the amount ihereof,
Clh° Prohibiting the Banks from loan¬ ing to or for the use of their diroctors beyond a certain proportionate amount, in the aggregate, of their several capital stocks actually paid in, graduated from not exceeding twenty-five per cent of the cnpital stock, when not exceeding $300,- 000, to not exceeding two and a half per cent of the capital stock when it excee¬ ded S2.590.000, and requiring the aggre- iMte amount loaned to directors to be sta- Tud ill the quarterly statements mado by each Bank.
And 7tli. Provisionstnjirevenl fraudu¬ lent or imprsper conduct ur operations by the oilicers ol the Bnnks, and to pre'vent tho evasion of the foregoing praviiionf, ofsuch a character as would have ren¬ dered it utterly impracticabla that such things could lake place, without imme¬ diate exposure. 'Together vvith other pro¬ visions of a minor chnractcr. To pro¬ cure the adoption ol these provisioni by the Committee ol Conference, in addition to the resolutions alluded to. I exerted my¬ scll to the utmost extent. And I do firm¬ lv and truly believe that they vvould have been adopted, and vvould now be the lav» of the land.il il had not been lor a pow¬ er and inlluence from beyond the limits of this State, which was biought to bear on the Committee of Conference, and Legislature, some time alter tho Commit¬ tee of Conlerence was appointed. I do not say this unadvisedly, but from facts and circumstances within my ownknowl- eii"e. Aided by this inll'jence, that por¬ tion ofthe Legis'lalure, which in my opin¬ ion went for ultra—destruciive measures, were enabled to prevent the adujition of those provisions, unless tiie period lor resuiiiptlon was fixed in the middle ol the I'all busiiiess, (during the spring and fall business seasuns being the worst, an J most injurious to the community of all jKissible periols to fix for the time of le- sumption,) and just before the full elec¬ tions to answer the purposes and advance the inlcresla ot a jiarticular political par¬ ty, and witliout additional jirovisioni vvere added, which according lo my judgment, wont to destroy the objects they professed to re'-uhite. nml olhers vvhich were cluaf^ ly nneoastitulionnl. I for my jiart, hav¬ ing never had any immedial.' interest, di¬ rec! or   indirect, in  any Bank,  1 ar ng