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TOR ■ months, or a year, or two years before tho aspiration of the charter? It is obvious that any new system which may be substituted in the place.of the Bauk of the United States, could not be suddenly carried into effect on the termination of its existence 'without seri ous inconvenience to the Government and the people. Its vast amount of notes are then to be redeemed and withdrawn front circula tion, and its immense debts collected. These operations mqsj be gradual, otherwise much suffering and distress will bo brought upon •the community. It ought to be not a work of months only, but of years, aud tbe Pres ident thinks it cannot, with due attention to the interests of the people, be longer post poned. It is safer to begin it too soon, than to delay it too long. It is for the wisdom, of Congress to fccide upon the best substitute to be adopted in the place of the Bank of the United States; and the President would have felt himself reliev ed from a heavy and painful responsibility, if in the charter to the Bank, Congress had reserved.to itself the.power of directing, at its pleasure, the public money to be elsewhere deposited, and had not devolved that power exclusively on one of the Executive Depart, nients. It is useless now to inquire why this 500,000. The President of the Bank, al though the committee of investigation was then looking into its affairs at Philadelphia, camo immediately to Washington, and upon representing (hat the Bank was desirous of accommodating the importing merchants at New York (which it Failed to do) and under taking to pay the interest itself, procured the consent of the Secretary, after consultation with the President, to postpone the payment until tho succeeding first of October. Conscious that at tho end of that quarter the Bank would not be able to pay over the deposited and that further indulgence was not to fee expected of the Government, an agent was despatched to England secretly to ne- gociate with the holders of tho public debt in Europe, and induce them by the offer of on equal or higher interest than that paid by the Govcrumontlo hold back their claims for one year, during which the Bank expected thus to retain tho use of $5,000,000,- of public money, which tho Government should set apart for the payment of that debt. The agent made -an arrangement on terms, in part, which were in direct violation of tho charter of the Bank, and when sotno inci dents connected with this secret negotiation accidentally came to the knowledge of the over as a harmless misrepresentation; but when it is attempted, by substantial acts,' to impair tho credit-of the Government and tar. nish the honor of the country, such charges require more serious attention. With six millions of public money in its > vaults, after havinghad the use of from five to twelve'mil- lions for nine years, without interest, it be. high and important power was surrendered I public and the Government, then and not he- by thosic who are peculiarly and appropriate ly the guardians of the public money. Per haps it was an oversight. But as the Presi dent presumes that the charter to the Bank is to be considered as a contract on the part of the Government, it is not now in the pow er of Congress to disregard its stipulations; and by the terms of that contract the public money is to be deposited in the Bank, during the continuance of its charter, unless the Sec retary of the Treasury shall otherwise direct. Unless, therefore, tho Secretary of the Trea sury first acts, Congress have no power over tho subject, for they cannot add a new clause to the charter or strike one out of it without the consent of the Bank; aud consequently the public money must remain in that institu tion to the last hour of its existence, unless fore, so much of it as was palpably in viola- tion of the charter was disavowed! A mod. ideation of the rest was attempted with the view of getting the certificates without pay. ment of the money, and thus absolving the Government from its liability to the holders. In this scheme the Bank was partially sue cessful, but to this day the certificates of a portion of these stocks havo not been paid aud the Bank retains the use of the money. This effort to'thwart the Government in the payment of the public debt, that it might ctam the public money to be used for their private interests, palliated by pretences noto riously unfounded and insincere, would have justified the instant withdrawal of the public deposites. The negotiation itself rendered doubtful the ability of the Bank to meet the tho Secretary of the Treasury shall remove demands of the Treasury, and, the misrepre- it at an earlier day. The responsibility is thus I seatations by Which it was attempted to be thrown upon theExecutive branch of the Go-1 justified; proved that no reliance could be \eniment, of deciding how long beforo the I placed upon its allegations. oxpiration of the charter, the public interest will require the deposites to be placed else- >. where. And although, according to the frame and principle of our government, this dccis- If the question of a removal of the depos- [ ites presented, itself to the Executive in the I same attitude* that it appeared before the House of Representatives at their last session, ion would seem more properly to belong to their resolution in relation to the safety of the the legislative poWer, yet as the law has ira- I deposites would be entitled to more weight, posed it upon the Executive Department, the although the decision of the question of re. duty ought to be faithfully-and firmly met, nioval has been confided by law to another and th<? decision made and executed upon I department of the Government. But the the best lights that can be obtained, and the I question now occurs, attended by other cir- best judgment that can be formed. It would I cumstances and new disclosures of tho most ill become the Executive branch of the Gov- serious import. It is true that in the mes- emment to shrink from any duty which the I sage of the President, which produced this in law imposes on it, to fix upon others the re- j quiry and resolution on the part of the House 8nonsibility which justly belongs to itself. And while the President anxiously wishes to abstain from the exercise of doubtful powers, and to avoid all interference with the rights and duties of others, he must yet, with unsha ken constancy, discharge his own obligations: and cannot allow himself to turn aside, in or der to avoid any responsibility which the high trust with which he has been honored re quires him to encounter; and it being the du ty of one of the Executive Departments to decide in the first instance, subject to the fu. of Representatives, it was his object to ob tain the aid of that body in making a thor ough examination into the conduct and^con- dition of the Bank and its branches, in order to enable the Executive Department to decide whether the public money was longer safe in its hands. The limited power of the Secre tary of the Treasury over tbe subject, disa bled him from making the investigation as ful ly and satisfactorily as it could be done by a committee of the House of Representatives, and hence the President desired the assis- i , • . .Iip.| [£y .'~‘A ture action of the legislative power, whether tance of Congress to obtain for the Treasury the public deposites shall remain in tho Bank Department a full knowledge of all the facts of IHyStatcs until the end of its existence, or which were necessary to guide his judgment, be withdrawn some time before, tho President But it was not his purpose, as the language has felt himself bound to examine the ques- of his message will shew, to ask the Repre- tion carefully and deliberately, in order, to sentatives of the people to assume a respon- make up his judgment on the subject: and sibility which did not belong to them, and re in his opinion the near approach of the termi-1 lievc the Executive branch of the Govern- nation of tho charter, and tho public consider- meut, from the duty which the law had im- ations heretofore mentioned, arc of themselves 1 posed upon it. It is due to tho President that amply sufficient to justify the removal of the his object in that proceeding should be dis- deposites without reference to {he conduct of I tinctlv understood, and that be should acquit the Bank, or their safety in its keeping. himself of all suspicion of seeking to escape But in the conduct of the Bank may be I from the performance of bis own duties, or of found other reasons very imperative in their I desiring to interpose another body between character, and which require prompt action, himself and the people in order to avoid a Developemcnts have been made from time to I measure which he is called upon to meet, time of its fuithlessness as a public agent, its I But although, as an act of justice to himself, misapplication of public funds, its interference he disclaims any design of soliciting the opin- in elections, its efforts, byb the machinery of | ion of the House of Representatives in-relation committees, to deprive the Government Di- to his own duties, in order to shelter himself rectors of a full knowledge of its concerns, I from responsibility under the sanction of their and above all, its flagrant misconduct as re- counsel, yet he is at all times ready to listen cently and unexpectedly disclosed in placing to tho suggestions of the Representatives of all the funds of the Bank, including ~ the mo- the people, whether given voluntarily or upon noy of the government, at the disposition of solicitation, and to consider them with the the President-of the Bank as means of operat- 1 profound respect to which all will admit that mg upon public opinion and procuring a new I they are justly entitled. Whatever may be charter without requiring him ta render a the consequences, however, to himself, he voucher for their disbursement. A brief re- must finally form his own judgment where capitulation of the facts which justify these the constitution and the law makes it his du- charges and which have come to the know- ty to decide, and must act accordingly; and ledge oftjje public and the President, will, he is bound to suppose that such a course on .fee thinks, remove every reasonable doubt as his part will never be'regarded by that ele to the course which it is now the duty of the vated body as a mark of disrespect to itself: President to pursue. . but that they will; on tho contrary, esteem it We have seen that in sixteen months, end- the strongest evidence he can give of his fix ing in May, 1832, the Bank had extended its cd resolution conscientiously to discharge his loans more than $28,000,000, although it duty to them and the country knew the Government intended to appropri- A new state of things has, however, arisen ate most of its largo deposite during that since the close of the last session of Con! year in payment of the public debt. It was groks, and evidence has since been laid be- in May, 18$2, that its loans arrived at tho max- fore the President, which he is persuaded imum, and jn the preceding March, so sensi- ( would have led the House of Representatives bio was tho Bank that it would not bo able to to a different conclusion, if it had come to pay over the public deposite when it would their knowledge*. The fact that tho Bank be required by the Government, that it com-1 controls, and in some cases substantially menced a secret negotiation without the ap-1 owns, and by its money supports some of the probation or knowledge of the Government, leading presses of the country, is now raoro with the agents, for about $2,700,000 of the clearly established. Editors to whom il three per cent, stocks held in Holland, with loaned extravagant sums in 1831 and 1832. a view of inducing them not to come forward I on unusual time and nominal security, have for payment for one or more years after rid-. I since turned out to be insolvent, and to oth tice should be given by the Treasury De- ers apparently in no better condition, accom partment.wi This arrangement would have en- mo'dations still more extravagant, on terms abled tho Bank to keep and use during that more unusual and sometimes without any se time the public money set apart for the pay- curify, have also been heedlessly granted, incnt.of these stocks. • The allegation which has so often circula After this negotiation had commenced, the ted through these channels that the Treasury Secretary of the Treasury informed the Bank, | was bankrupt and the Bank was sustaining it, that it was his intention to pay off one half of when, for many years there has not been less, the three per cents on the first of t&c sue- on an average,' than six millions of public account of the expenditure as would shew whether th.e money of the Bank had in fact been applied to the objects contemplated by those resolutions, as obnoxious as they .were, the Board renewed the power already con ferred, and even. enjoined renewed attention to its exercise, by adopting the following in I i of the propositions submitted by the Gov- iment Directors, viz: ‘ Resolved, That the Board have confidence the wisdom and integrity of the President, 1 in the propriety of the Resolutions of 30th ivember, 1830, and 11th March, 1831, and ;ertain a full conviction of the necessity a renewed attention to the object of those lolutions, and that the President be author, d and requested to continue his exertions the promotion of said object. . Taken in connection with the nature of the penditures heretofore made, as recently closed, which the Board not only tolerate t approve, this resolution puts the funds of i Bank at the disposition of the President •the purpose of employing the whole press the country in the. service of the Bank, hire writers and newspapers, and to pay t suclt sums as he pleases, to what persons d for what services he pleases, without the sponsibility of rendering any specific ac- unt. The Bank is thus converted into a st electioneering engine, with means to em- oil the country in deadly feuds, and, under ver of expenditures, in themselves improp- , extend its corruption through all the ram- caliohs of society. Some of the items for which accounts Lve been rendered, shew the construction liich has been given to the resolutions and e way in which the power it confers has :en exerted. The money has not been ex rnded merely in the publication and distribu jnofspeeches, reports of committees,or artic. s written for the purpose of shewing the con- itutionality or usefulness of the Bank. But xblications have been prepared and exten- vely circulated, containing the grossest in- xctives against the officers of the Govern- out : and the money which belongs to the ockholders aud to the public has been free. r applied in efforts to degrade in public es- ihation, those who were supposed to be in- rumental in resisting the wishes of this rasping and dangerous institution. As the resident of the Bank has not heen required > settle his accounts, no one but himself yet nows how much more than the sum already lentioned may havo been squandered, for 'hich accredit may hereafter be claimed in is account under this most extraordinary ssolution. With these facts before us, can 'o be surprised at the torrent of abuse inces- antly poured out against all who are suppos- d to stand in the way of the cupidity or am. ition ofthe Bank of the United States ? Can re be surprised at sudden and unexpected hanges of opinion in favor of an institution ffiich has millions to lavish and avows its etermi nation not to spare its means when lieyare necessary to accomplish its purposes? ["he refusal to render an account ofthe man- ler in which a part of the money expended ins been applied, gives just cause for the uspicion that it has been used for purposes vhich it is not deemed prudent to expose to he eyes of an intelligent and virtuous people. Those who act justly do not shun the light, nor to they refuse explanations when the propri- ity of their conduct is brought into question. When these facts before him, in an official eport from tho Government Directors, the ’resident would feel that he was not only res- lousible for all the abuses and corruptions he Bank has committed, or may commit, but ilmost an accomplice in a conspiracy against hat Government which he has sworn honest, y to administer, if he did cot take every step .vithin his constitutional and legal power, like- y to be efficient in putting an end to these enormities. If it be possible within the scope >f human affairs, to find a reason for remov- rig the government deposites and leaving the Bank to its own resource for the means of ef- fccting its criminal designs, we have it here. Was it expected when the moneys of the Uni ted States were directed to be placed in that Bank, that they would be put under the con trol of one man, empowered to spend millions without rendering a voucher or specifying the object ? Can they be considered safe with the evidence before us, that tens of thousands have been spent for highly improper, if not corrupt purposes, and that the same motive may lead to the expenditure of hundreds of thousands and even millions more ? And can we justify ourselves to the people by longer lending to it the money and power of the Gov ernment, to be employed for such purposes r It has been alleged by 6ome as an objec tion to the removal of the deposites, that the Bank has the power, and in that event will.have the disposition, to destroy the State Banks employed by the Government, and bring distress upon the country. It has been the fortune of the President to encounter dan gers which were represented as equally alarming, and 1 he has seen them vanish before resolution and energy. Pictures equally ap palling were paraded before him when this Bank came to demand a new charter. But what was the result ?" Has the country been ruined or even distressed ? Was it ever more prosperous than since that act ? The Presi dent verily believes tho Bonk has not the were rendered, but the various suras were I power to produce tho calamities its friends paid on orders of the President of the Bank, I threaten. The funds of the Government will making reference to the resolution of the 11th | not be annihilated by being transferred. They March, 1831. . will immediately bo issued for the benefit of On ascertaining these facts, and perceiving trade, and if the Bank of the United States that expenditures of a similar character were curtails its loans, the State Banks, strength- still continued, the Government Directors a ened for the public deposites, will extend theirs, few weeks ago offered a resolution in the What comes in through one Bank, will go Board calling for a specific account of these out through others, and the equilibriurri will expenditures, shewing the objects to which be preserved. Should the Bank, for the mere they h»d been applied and the persons to purpose of producing distress, press its debt- whom the money had been paid. This rca- ors more heavily than some of them can bear, sonable proposition was voted down. the consequences will, recoil upon itself, and They also offered a resolution rescinding in the attempts to embarrass the country, it the resolutions of November, 1830, atod will only bring loss and ruin upon the hold- would only be rendered the more inflexible. If) | undoubted right - to express to those whom indeed, this corporation now holds in its hands the laws and his own choice have made* his the happiness and prosperity of the American associates in the administration of the Gov- people, it is high time to take the alarm. Ii' ernment, his opinion oftheir duties under cir- the despotism be already upon us, and our on. .cumstances ns they arise. It is this right ly safety Is m the merty ot the despot, recent which he now exercises. Far be it from him developements m relation to. lus designs and to expect or require, that any member of the the means he- employs, show how necessary Cabinet should, at his request, order or dic. it is to shake it off. he struggle can never 1 tatton, do any act which he believes unlawful, come with less distress to the people, or un- or iu his conscience condemns. From them, der more favorable auspices than at the pres- and from his fellow citizens in general, he de. ent moment. ' s ‘ res on ^y that aid and support which their All doubt as to the willingness of the State reason approves and their conscience sane. Bonks to undertake Ike service of the Gov-1 tions. ernment, to the same extent, and on the same . In tlvo remarks he has made on this all im. terms as it is now performed by the Bank of portant question, he trusts the Secretary of the United States, is put to rest by the report the Treasury will see only the frank and re. of the agent recently employed to collect in- spectful declarations of tho opinions which formation; and from that willingness, their the President has formed on a measure of own safety in the operation may be confident, great national interest, deeply affecting the ly inferred. Knowing their own resources character and usefulness of his ndmirmtra- better than they can be known by others, it is (tion ; and not a spirit of dictation, which the not to be supposed that they would be willing President would be as careful to avoid, as to place themselves in a situation which they ready to resist. Happy will he be if the facts cannot occupy without danger of annihilation now disclosed produce uniformity of opinion or embarrassment. The only consideration and unity of ».c ion among the members of applies to the safety of the. public funds, if [ the administration.. deposited in those institutions. And when j The President again repeats, that he begs it is seen that the directors of mariy of them are not only willing to pledge the character and capital of the corporations in giving success to this measure, but also their own property his Cabinet to consider the proposed measure as his own, in the support of which he shall require no one of them to make a sacrifice of opinion or principle. Its responsibility has and reputation, we cannot doubt that they, I been assumed, after the most mature delib. at least, believe the public deposites would be eration and reflection, as necessary to pre. safe in their management. The President serve the morals of the people, the* frectlom thinks that these facts and circumstances af- of the press, and the purity ofthe elective ford as strong a guarantee as can be had in franchise, without which all will unite in say. human affairs, for the safety of the public ing, that the blood and treasure expended by funds, and the practicability of a new system our forefathers in the establishment of our of collection and disbursement through the happy system of Government, will have been agency of the State Banks. * vain and fruitless. Under these conviction:;, From all these considerations the Presi- he feels that a measure so important to the dent thinks that the State Banks ought imme- American people cannot be commenced too diately to be employd in the collection and soon ; and he therefore names the »**st day disbursement of the public revenue, and the ol October next, as a period proper for the funds now in the Bank of tho United States I change of the deposites, or sooner, provided drawn out with all convenient despatch. The the necessary arrangements with the State safety of the public moneys, if deposited in | Banks can be made. the State Banks, must be secured beyond all I reasonable doubts; but the extent aud nature I of the security,'in addition to their capital, if | any be deemed necessary, is a subject of de. tail to which the Treasury Department will undoubtedly give its anxious attention. The ANDREW JACKSON. jForeCaw Jixto. STILL LATER. By the packet ship Napoleon, Capt. Sraitj, Banks to be employed must remit the moneys I we have received London papers to August, ofthe Government without charge, as the Bank 25th, and Liverpool to the 26 th, both inch, of the.U. States now does ; must render all the sive. . services which that Bank now performs ; The Times of the 24th says, “ Every thing must keep the Government advised of their indicates the speedy close of tho session ot situation by periodical returns; in fine, in Parliament—from appearances we suppose any arrangement with the State Banks, the the prorogation may take place on the 29th Government must not, in any respect, be pla- &t the latest.” ced on a worse footing than it now is. The The bill for the abolition of Colonial Sla- President is happy to perceive by the report . ver y had passed both houses, and only awai. of the agent, that the Banks which he has ted the Royal signature to become a law. consulted have, in general, consented to per- Correspondence of the Journal of Commerce. form the service on these terms, and that Loxdos, Aug. 22, 1833.—Five hundred I those in New York have further agreed to men secretly left London last night in steam make payments in London without other boats for Vigo, to join the Miguelite army.— charge than the mere cost of the bills of ex- It is to be hoped that some of Napier’s ships change. may fall in with Iheui. It is evident that the It should also be enjoined upon any Banks I contest is about to recommence m good which may be employed, that it will be expect-1 earnest, ed of them to facilitate domestic exchanges The recapture of St. Ubes and Lago3 by for the benefit of internal commerce ; to grant the Miguelites, as reported through the French all reasonable facilities to tbe payers of the papers, is contradicted, revenue; to exercise the utmost liberality London, Aug. 24.—From the commence- towards the other State Banks; and do no- meut of the present month, the entries at the thing uselessly to embarrass the Bank of the Custom house for the exportation of specie, United Stutes. have amounted to not less than half a milliou As one of the most serious objections to ounces of gold and silver coin, the Bank of the United States, is the pow- The African Expedition.—Letters have er which it concentrates, care must be taken been received from Mr. Lander, dated Fen. in finding other agents for tho service of the nando Poo, May'9. ■ Our readers hare been Treasury, not to raise up another power equal- already informed of the expedition having on ly formidable. Although it would probably ered the river Niger. It appears that the be impossible to produce such a result by any crew had caught the fever on the coast, and organization of the State Banks which could that they carried the infection with them.-^- bc devised—yet it is desirable to avoid even I During the first month not less than twenty the appearance. To this end it would be deaths occured among the persons composing expedient to assume no more powerover them, the expedition; in the second, five. Of tb and interfere no more in .their affairg than I Officers only three remained alive, namely, might be absolutely necessary to the securi-1 Messrs. Laird and Lander and Lieut. Allen, ty ofthe public deposite, and the faithful per-1 Mr. Briggs, the only son of Dr. Briggs, of formance of their duties as agents of the Trea-1 this town, is among the dead. As the sur. sury. Any interference by them in the po- vivors had become seasoned to the climate, litical contests of the country, with a view to it was hoped that few, if any, additional deaths influence elections, ought, in the opinion of would occur. ' " the President, to be followed by an immediate j Mr. Lander left the steam-boats on the 14th discharge from the public service. of April, about 400 miles up the Niger, op- Iris the desire of the President that the positc the mouth of Lake Tschad. The ob. control of the Banks add the currency shall ject of his voyage to the coast was to pro as far a9 possible be entirely separated from the cure necessaries, &c. political power of the -country, as well' as The country on the banks ofthe Niger wrested firom an institution which has already was found to be highly fertile, and capable of attempted to subject the-Government to its being made to produce all kinds of tropical will. In his opinion the action of the Gen- fruits, &c. The natives hod received tbe erai Government on this subject, ought not expedition in the most friendly manner, aud to extend beyond the grant in the Constitution, an amicable intercourse between them had which only authorizes Congress, «to coin taken place. One of tho native kings or money and regulate tho value thereof;” all chiefs had visited the steamers and was sur. else belongs to the States and the people, and prised and delighted with what fie saw. Ho must be regulated by public opinion and the returned the compliment by inviting the offi- interesf of trade. • • J cers to an entertainment onshore. At this In conclusion,'the President must be per- fete his majesty produced two men, whom ho mitted to remark that he looks upon the pen- was about to offer as a sacrifice in honour of ding question Us of higher consideration than the visit of the white men. He was, how- the mere transfer of a sum of money from one ever, entreated to spare the victims, and yieU Bank to another. Its decision may affect the ded to the entreaties of bis new friends with character of our Government for ages to come, a truly royal grace. Should the Bank be suffered longer to use The letters speak, we understand, veiy the public moneys, in the accomplishment of confidently of the ultimate success of thecom- its purposes, with the proofs of its faithless, mercial objects of the .expedition. rT J ness and corruption before our eyes, the pat- March 1831. This also was rejected, Not content with thus refusing to recal the seeding July . which amounted to about $6,1 money iri that institution, might be passed ! obnoxious power, or even to require such an ers of its own stock. But if the President be- lieved the bank possessed all the power which has been attributed to it, his determination riotic among our citizens will despair of suc cess in struggling against its power ; and we shall be responsible for entailing it upon our country forever. Viewing it as a question of transcendent importance, both in the prin ciples and consequences it‘involves, the Pres ident could not, in justice to the responsibility which he owes to the country, jefrain x irom pressing upon the Secretary ot the Treasury his view of the considerations which impel to immediate actioD. Upon him has been devolved by the Constitution and the suffra ges of the American people, the duty of su perintending the operation of the Executive Departments ofthe Government, and seeing that the laws are faithfully executed. In the performance of this high trust, it is his Had H not been for the ravages caused by the fover, the most complete success would, ere now, have attended the enterprise. * - N [The Athemeum stated that Lander was expected in England in September or Oct] London, Aug. 25th.—It is said that ap plication has been made to Admiral Parker, to allow the for: on the Tagus to be occupi- ed by British marines, and that an answer has been returned in the affirmative. In such a case the English Government, which has formally recognized, and- certainly ‘ stands pledged to the Constitution and Donna Maria, would be in a condition to enforce that state of things in Portugal, from which alone, re sults either creditable to the parties now in power at Lisbon, or beneficial to their country can be relied on. -'-'i'