Full text of United States Bank, May 22, 1834 : Report

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!Sd CONGRESS,
1st Session.

[Rep. No. 4,81.

Ho.

OF RJilPS-

UNITED STATES BANK •

•
MAY

22, 1834 .

•
Mr. -THOMAS, fr<?m the committee appointed to investigate the affairs of
the Bank of the United States, made the following

REPORT:
The committee appointed, in pursuance of a resolution of the Houseof Representatives, passed on the 4th day of April, by which it was
Resolved, That, for the purpose of ascertaining, as far as practicable,
the cause of the commercial embarrassment and distress complained of'
by numerous citizens of the Un,ited States in sundry memorials which,
'~ve been presented to Congress at the present session, and of inquir. ing whether the charter of the Bank of the United States has been vio-lated, and also what corruptions and abuses have existed in its management; whether it has used its corpol'ate power or money to control the
press, to interfere in politics, or influenoc. .ele~ti.)l\s) an!i whe.ther it has
had any agency, through its manage91ent-~.~~I}p;y, ip~p.roc!IS:mg the ex, isting pressure, a select committe~ bi!- 3-ppomted to ins}leU .~he b:o~ks, and
examine into the proceedings of t>he said Bank, who shall rep-;..~:. wh,ether
the provisions of the charter. h1i\ve be-en v:i(tla.~d nr not ,; .2.nd, .iUcl~ what
abuses, corruptions, or m.a.i.pr-actices hav~ tn,. ig~,~c:J".fi! :tue-~manageJli.~~~ ,0£
. said Bank; and that th3 .said committee· bre atlthorized to send for· J:.,clsons and papm's, and.'to &ummon and examine ~i..tnes~es.ol1. oath, and to
examine into the affairs' of thE{ eaid. ~h.nk i&pq Pf.!ln~hfll'lt! _~n:J. ..they are
fUl'ther authorized to visit the ~)rillcip~, H.ang~,dr' uny uf Hs blanches, for
the purpose of inspecting the books, correspondence, accounts, and other
papers connected with its management or business; and that the said committee be required to report the result of such investigation, together
with the evidence ~ey may take, at_ as early a day as practicable: .
Respectfully submlt the following report, in part, of their prveeedlogs,
so far as they hav~ !"....t.ldd it practicable to discha~ge,the duties devolved
on them. .
.'
'
Charged particulady to examine into the conduct and condition of the
Bank of the United States, they have endeavoreq most anxiously to aseertain correctly the true ch...r3.cter of that highly responsible and delicate trust.
-. To judge rightly of the proceedings of the House of Representatives,
a~:" 'If its committee towards the Bank, it must be borne constantly in
JIuad that that corporation differs essentially from au ordinary banking
co1ttpallY, incorporated for private benefit. The Bank of the United
'>

[Galea

Sea.ton, print.]

[ Rep. No. 481.

States lVas chartered for great public purposes, as an agent, deemed",oe7eessary to the Federal 'Government, in the efficient exercise ora high If.
prerogative, to fix the ~talue of money, and thereby secure the ben1!dl'bt or
a sound circulating medium to the confedera~y.
_ ..... ;.~ _-, "~..
It was designed to aid the Treasury Department to collect conveqijjntly .
and disburse the national revenue. Of its stock, the United StatM~hola ~,.
seven millions of dollars, and its notes are by law made receivable; 'at
par value, in payment of all dues to the Go,rernment. Concede,.,.; 'We
must, that the Bank was established for great public ends, and that t\te
House of Representatives is the grand inquest of the Union, and,a8JIlUA. h_ .
power to visit and inspect all departments of the Federal Govern~e.4
to corre ct their abuses, reform their errors, and confine the exerci.· -ot '
their powers within the limits prescribed by la'l\· to each, and it loUo. .
that the House has power to appoint a committee to make a minute and
full inquiry into all the multiform operations of this powerful corporation.:
But that thel'C might be no doubt of thc existence or the l lOWC1" here ~n~
tended for, it has bCl~U expressly J"eser,'cd in the 2sd section of the c"art~I!t
'Of the Bank, wbich J>ro'\·id~s -~ that it shall be at aU timcs lawfu.J-t:or a
committee of either' House of Congress. appointed rOl" that I)U'")1os6, t~in
'8pect the books and examine into the p.'oceedings of the COl"poration he~y
created, and to report "hethel' the IH'ol"isions of its charter have' b.,pen
violated or not."
.
.
~J'he language in which thiR authority of the House is described, is 80
plain and s~ full, that .an atteml,t to illustrate it Rl)pe'iu-S to be supererogatory. 'l"'he committee to he appointed are to .. inspect the books, aAd "to
-.examine iuto the proceedings of the corporution," without exception•. The
.ection contains .,U«.. rt!~£r,"(":1- .power to the Bank to designate thep1a.ce
,,'her~ or,tt.PJ ~t'~0I1~.in \' hr~sc p.·csence the examination sloall be mUe.
The~ mode<; G(excrcising the" fPA:.n.!}O;wer are nccessa.'Uy, as its iRcideats,
cleppnilcl't on the discretion of the sb·.. epejgn with whom it is lodged., A.
.t::~rt~rk ...y COflstr'lc-tio-) w'luld mak,e eiUIPl" ,,... both Houses of Cong~, •
. J\~fient on tit.. a~...nts·· '" tos":" c;c.mhlct is t~ be ·1f~e subject of inspection.,·'. 'f
- , . If the Bank can 'attlleh aia".. t..v~lditions t~ its exercise, not found 1.. .tIIe
~t,artcr,!" then it could I"endel' nugatory the J1Gwer hy which it was fnte.ae.l
It sbOl;.lt! ".le :~«"ek.:.d ", •• d cC'nh"eli-ed.
'~'hat the great conservative pr..
~es fen" '\Yll'C~1 aOlc!, ccnun;Up..$ .)f inl-estigation were to be Rppointed'"
~,ght not be tbus defeated, the extent and cbat'aeter of their inquiries are
rtghtly made to depend on the wisdom natriotism and justice of ei• •
B
. ouse of Congres.q.
' ...
'.
,'. ,
The only ~est:icti~n to be found in that clause of the Bank,cbarter,~

"'e aloe consulermg. JS that which relates to the committee, and not W:tbe
House; and has reference not to the extent of the examination, bu~
character of the )"('port to be made. The committee is directed to ....."
;8!DOrtgst other things, u whether the llrovisions of this charter have hlJia
VIOlated or not." rrhe object of this specific requirement is to be f~'ia,
.another clause of the same section of the charter, which provides, ""'. .

>ever !.'".y committee, as aforesaid, shall find and .'ellOl-t, or the Presi~.of
·t~e Umted States shaH have reason to beJie"e, that the cbarte·r bas be-.
T.ol:-ted, it may be lawful for Congress to direct, .... the Preoident ~
·a sClref.acias to be sued out of the cir(..~it court of the district of I . , '.
oI'.ania, in the name of the United States, calling on the said corpo '" , ' .

Rep. No. 481.

show cause wherefore the charter hereby granted slaan not be declared
forfeited. "
But if there ever had been a well-founded doubt as to the true and fair
consta'uction of this reserved power of the House, the committee did suppose it bad been long since yielded.
In 1818, MI". Spencer, of New Y~l"k, Offel"cd to the House of Rel)resentatives a resolution providing for the appointment of a committee to inspect the buoks, and examine into the proceedings of thc Bank. In the
debate to whicb that. resolution gavc rise, the opinions now cntel"tained by
your committee were well expressed by many distinguished gentlemen.
Fol" pl"csenting short extracts fl"Om one of the speeches then made, no apology, it is supposed, '\vill be needed. Mr. Lowndes said he had no "appre/tension of defect of powcr in the House to pJoosecute the inquiry in the
terms proposed. He had no doubt of the power of the House, if the public
interest require(t It, too-direct a committee to make such a report. The nation, said he, 'las a deep interest in the conduct and management of tbe
- Bank. Our duty to the people whom we -reln"eSent, the nation's interest,
as, owners of a large portion of the stock, its interest in the revenues being
wt.olly payable in the notes of the Dank, will justify a constant.and "igilant attention to its proceedings. If there had been a (ioubt 'Whd!l:er the
conduct qf'"e Hank had been :paOPE R OR. NOT, the House 'Was fully justified
in ill:vestigating into thefllcts, and inquiring whether ABUSES had been com- •
milled or 110t. He would \'ote for any inquiry, in its b."oadast shape."
The resolution of 1\1.,. Spencer was adopted, and a committee appointed, who visited the prilicipal Bank at Philadelphia, amI some of its
branches. They had fl'ee, unrcstr·ainc(1 access to the books and pallers oC
the Dank. ~'Ihey were furnished by the officers with such extracts and
copies from the books and pallers as they called for. "rbey summoned be{OI"e them the dit'cctors and officcrs of the Dank, and examined them, on
oath, tOllching their conduct amI Ilroceedings. And the committee made
to the House. on the 16th January, 1819, an elaborate report, from which
we learn that theil" inquiries had been chiefly directed "to tile GBNERAL
management of the Bank, and tlte c.ond'llct of its qfficers." '1'11e tt'ansactions
of private citizens with the Ba.nk were then freely ROll fully examined.
Individual transactions of the President and Di ..ectOl's of the Bank, in the
)urclJase of itq stock, were fully investigated, and those officers sworn and
, required to t~stify before the committee. Though dt!eply affccted, personally and offiCially, by these developments, they ne,·er hesitated or objected
to obey the process, or to give their testimony.
, The -names of the bOl'rowers from the Bank were published without scruple, with the amount of money due from each, whenever, and ,"Ot otherr.oille.
sucb a Imbl.ic.ation .was d~cmed nu.essary to illustrate the improper conduct
or maladminIstration of Its office.os.
This precedent, to which the committee of 1832 strictly conformed, is
entitled to high respect from the eminent chal~acter of those by whom it
was established, and who hnv~ justly enjoyed high reputations for purity
of purpose and distinguished attainments. *
If any additional reason fo." deference to this contemporaneous construction of the 23d section of the charter be nece&sary, it may be found in the
fact that the dircctUl's of the Dank__ !~ ,1819 themselves assented to it.
They conceded to the Com " «7·-~~~~!f~p-rte.._~~h~ right to inspect all their
• Tbe committee or 1819,
, l\lr.LSpen<~~~JI ~ew ydzk., },fro M'L_no of Delaware.
1Ir, Lowndca of South Cw-oli_ ' Mr. D"rwe~ atid: ~. ~,.ler~o.r Virginia.

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r Rep.

No.

481.

books and papers in such manne~ as that committee thougbt .iust '.....
proper. Besides~ those who now have the management of ,the Baall"l.
) 882, without question of right, without hesitation~ without protesf. ~
duced~ for tho inspection of the Committee of the House, ~'I their boGt&papers, correspondencE', and accounts, and appeared when summoned" ~nd
testified on oath touching the h·ansactions of the instituthm under thew
control. With these preliminary observations, for wbich it is, belie.~
ample apology, if any be required, will be found in tbe subsequent poPtie_
of this report, the committee win proceed, with a brief analysis 01' tb~i ...
proceedings, in the execution of the dutier-; devoh"ed on them. Showing t ....
unexpected obstacles inter'posed by the managers of the Bank to the pr0.gress of tbe examination, and their .·epeated .·(,fusals, in violation of their
charter, and in contempt of the authority of the Jaws and of the Hou,""of
Representatives, to permit tbeil" books 0." papers to be inspected, 0 .. Uaelaproceedings tQ be examined. .
~
- T h e purposes for which your committee were appointed, are stated .80
distinctly in the resolution of the House, that they have experienced DO elll_
· barral3sment in deciding on the character of the duties imposed. 'riley

were required,
1st. '1'0 ascertain? if practicable, the causes of" thecommerciaJ embarrass_
ment and distress complained of by numet"ous dtizensoCthe United Stat~ in

sundry memorials which ha,pe been presented to Congress at the present
· session, and whethE'r the Bank has had any agency, through its management, or money~ in producing the existing pressure.
2d. To inquire whether the charter of the Bank of the United Stateshas been ,-ioJated, and what corruptions and abuses ha,pe existed in its.
manAgement.
Sd. To examine whether the Bank has used its corporate power or
money to control the press, to interfere in politics, or influence elections_.
,'.l'he powers designed to be conferred on the committee, if they could
'have been exercised, are adequate to the performance of the duties enjoin··ed; ·they "-ere authorized to send for persons and pSllers; to sammon ....d
· ~amine witnesses on oath; to visit~ if nec(,S::fary. the principal Bank ~d
"ita branches; and to inspect the books. correspondence, accounts; .nd
'other papers connected with its management. Such are the duti~ ·and
· 'the .powers of :rOl!l" committee, conferred on them by the House with eXfraordu;,~ry un~mmtty, and ~·bich. ,.our committee felt bound to .repnJ; as
consistent With the chartered rights of the corporators and thelrdeb~.
Under a deep sense of respectful obedience to the decision of the
Representa.tivf>.s t.hus. solemnly eXI)ressed, and feeling that they b~)tO
right .to question ItSJustlce or propriety, your committee proceeded toftiladelplns on the 22d of April, to commence the performance of· tbei .. dutiesOn the 2StJ of April, their chairman addressed to the President' of tbCt
Bank a communication, enclosing a copy et the resolution of the Houae
'Of Representati ve~, and notifying him of the readiness ot· the committA to
'Visit the Bank on the ensuing day at any hour agreeable to him. 'In~1'eply,
tbe President informed the committee that the papers thus received 8h~uld
be 8ubmittt'd to the Board of Directors at a special meeting to be' cal.ted
fo~ that p\trpoB~. It appears in the journal of the proceedings oftbe~""
mlttee, herewith presented to the Huuse, that this was done, and tllaf' tltO
directors appointed a committee of seven of tneil- Board to reoo1Ve the
Committee of the House of Representatives, and to offer for their~"
tion such books and papers of the Bank. as may be necessary to e1hibil lit

,.0U88

[ Rep. No. 48t. ]

proceedings of the corporation accOI'(Jing to the requirement of the charter. In the lettel' of .J nlln Sergeant, Esquire, as chairman of the Committee of DirectOl"s, communicating the proceedings of the Board, he says that
he was directed to infurm the chailoman of this committee that the Committee of the Directors "will immediately direct the necessary arrangements to be made for the accommodation of the Committee of the House of"
Representatives/' and would attend at the Bank to receive them the next
day, at 11 o'clock. Your committee attended, and were received by the
Committee of Directors. (App. A.)
Up to this Ileriod J nothing had occurred to justify the belief that a disposition was felt, on the part of the managers of the Bank, to embarrass
the pl'oceedings of the committee, 0." have them conducted differently from
those of the two preceding committees of investigation. On assembling,
Ito'W'ever, the next lDorlting, at the Bank. they found the room which had
been offered for their accommodation Ill'e-occupied by the Committee of the
Board, with the l:Jloesident of the Bank as an ex qfficio member. claiming
the I'ight to be prcscnt at the investigations and examinations of this committee. 'rhis proceeding the committee werc not prepared to expect.
When the alJpointment of the committee of se,'en was first made, it was
supposed that that measurc, hOWeVel" designed, was not well calculated to
facilitatt"! the examinationo
'l"he officers of the nank were believed to be the most appropriate agents
of the Board of Dir('ctors to exhibit their books and papers. By them tbe
entries in the books aloe made, and by them such entries are most rea(lily
explained. It is their duty, too, to be daily at the banking house, and on
that account they could assist in the examination more readily than the
Committee or Directors.
rrbese objections to the special agents of the Board wel'C fclt and ex ..
pressed, but they were wai vcd t and no disposition had been manifested, or
felt by YOul" committee, to conduct the examination in any manner not entirely acceptable to the Bom'd.
Under these circumstances, yom' committee did think that a decent re ..
spe.ct fo.o their rights anti pl'ivileges, and much more for the dignity of that
body from which an theil powers were derived, might liayc induced the
Committee of Directors to fOl'bear to make them feel an entire want of
.control over theil' own ..oorn. 'Vitia a ll1'evious determination to be present when their books were to be inspected, they could have waited to
avoW it until these books WCI'C called for, and the attempt made to inspect
them in their absence. F"f'hesc cll'cumstanccs al'e now re\'iewed, because
they then excited an apprehension, whicb the sequel forme(} into convic;,tion.
tbat this Committee or Directors had been appointed to supervise the;acts
aDd doings of your committee, and to limit and I'estrain theil' proceedings,
not accol'ding to the directions contained in the resolution of the House~
but the will and judgment of the Board of Directors. Your committee
-laave chosen to ascribe this claim of the Committee of Directors, to sit
conjointly with the.m, to the desire to prevent them rrom making use of the
boo~ks amI papers, for' some of the pUI'poses pointed out by the resolution
of the Iiouse. 'rbey are scnsible that this claim to be )lresent at all
,examinations, avowed prematul'c]y, and subsequently llersiated in with
peculiar l)ertinacity, could be attt'ibuted to very different motives; but re.
spect for themselves, and l'cspect for the gentlemen who Cotnl)osed the Com·lJl ittec of Db'ectors, uttel'ly forbids the ascl'iption to them of a feeling
"W bich would merit compassion and contempt much more than resentment •..·
o

[ Rep, No. 481.

This nOloe] position, yoluntarily amI deliberately taken by the Com;...
mittee of the Dil'ectol's, ]1redicated on an idea of equality of rights withyour committee., under YOUl" I'{'solution, relldcred it IlI'obable, and in some·
measure nece-ssary, that your committee should ('xpress its opinions of the
relative rights of the cOl'poration and the Housc of Representatives. To'
avoid all misunderstanding anti futur'c misrcpl'eselJtations~ it was desirable
that each question should be decided sepal'ately. Contemplating an extended investigation, but unwilling that an apprehension should exist oC
improller disclosures being made of the transactions of the Bank and its.
customers, yom' committee, fulJowing the example of the committee of 18S2,
adopted a I'esolution declaring that their I)rocetdings should be confidential~
until otherwise ordered bv the committee, a litI also a resolution that the'
committee would conduct its investigations .. without the presen~e of any
person not required 01" ill\'ited to attend.'" Copies of these rcso)uho"ns were
furnished to the Committee of Directors, in the hope that the exclUSive control of a room at the Bank, during its hours of business, would thereafterbe conceded to your committee, while the claim of the Committee of Directors to be present wheu their books were submitted t()r inspection, should
be postponed for decisiun, when the books wcre (:aIled 101" and produced by
them. (Ailp- A.)
On the 28th ultimo, tlli~ committee assembled at the banking bouse"
aJld again found the room they expected to find set apal't fol' their use. preoccupied by the Committee or DirectOl"s, and othcrs, otlicers of the Bank..
And, instead of such assm'ancea as they had a I'if;ht to expect, they received.
cOI,ies of two resolutiolls adopted by the BO~I'd (If DiI'l'ctors~ in which
they were given to understalld that theil' continul'd occupation of the roon
must b~ consicle~"cd a fa' 01". and not a mattel" of l'ight; and in which tho
Board mduJge In unjust commelltill'ies on the resolution of the BelUSe of'
~cprescntati\'es, and intimate an apprehension that your committee design to make their examinations secl'et, IJartiaJ, unjust, oPIU"essive, and
contral'Y to, common r~ght: (Allp. A,)
.
When th!s commUnication had been read, your committee adJoUl"ned to·
?Beet at their own chambcl", at the NOI"th Amedean hotel. Notwithstandlng all that had oeeUl'red, the corl'cspor-,dcncc wi tit the Committee of Di~tors was continu~d. If, in so doing, an C,'I'01" waG; committed, let it be
I~pute~l to tI!C behl'f that gl'eat forbl'aral1Ce w~1l became the committeeof the,lm~ned~ate I"epr('s~ntati\"es of the 'People.
CAppo A.)
"
.
W!lIJe It \\ as thus doubtful whether a I'oom could be obtained In th.
bankJ?g ~JOus(", w'ithout conditions being attached cJ.el'ogator'y to the righ1i8and dlgmty of the House. and a eoncessiotl in advance of a claim set up.by !he Hank, which I!light seriously incommode yom" committee in their'
bUSiness, they determined to execute yom' resolution, if }ll'acticable, without intruding on the dir'ectors of the Bank; they, therefore, required
the President and Directors, in wloiting, to submit for the inS)lcction of the committee, at their committee I"OOm, on the 3d clay of ~Iay, certain books~nd papers of the Bank, which might have been thus l'roduced without·
Interruption to the ordinal"Y business or tile Bank. I],'ho requisition, in"
terms, Implied the presence of the dil"ectol'S or theil" committee.
On the day named, the Board addressed a writtf'n communication to the'
committee, declaring "that they cannot comply with that part of the re-·
solution of the Committee of Investigation which I'equil"es that certaiD

Gr'

L Rep.

No. 481.

books of the Bank be sent to the NOI,th Amcl'ican hotel this day, at
11

o'cInck."

( A pp. B.)

Your committee al'e of opinion that thi!::; refusal of the Board of Direc.
tors to submit the bookR of the Balik to thc inspe-ctinn of your committee,..
is a violation of the Bank chal'tel', and a contempt of the laws and authority
of the House of Uepl"t'sentativcs.
rrhe reasons for this opinion nccd not be IIcl'e repeated or enlarged,
It has been maintained, and i:-; illsistcd, that the right to inspect the'
b ..~oks of thc Balik, eal'l'ics ""ith it the pnw(>l" to IH'1,rm'1U that oflice out of
the ballking hOllsc, if it ('annot be done cOIl\'cni(,lIt1y and effectually therein, and your committee cannot pCl'ccivc that jllst gl'ouml of complaint exisbl against a claim of power, in a committee 0(' eitlacl' House or Congress,.
whici., by th,s 1~~8~ an~l with a wise )'cganl to the public illtcrest, is conceded. to th~ JlJehclal tr'lbunals of both the I~'c(lel'al ami State Governments.
~.rhc facts already stated dcP,Hlllstt'ate that a I'oom could not be proeUl'e(1 .
in the Balik COl' the U!-lC of thc committec, without a concession not to be recalled, which w()uld have made YOul' commitl{'e clepclldcnt on the coul'tesy
of the dil'cctol's of the Bank at eve1'Y step of their inquiry; and the nuious communications t'ccch'ed fl'om the t1ir('ctol's and theil- committcc, annexed to this I'CPOI't, will fully cOl'l'obul'ate thi:i statement.
I-Iaving l'ailed tu ac(;omplish the olljcct of IlI'ocm'jllg the booksof the Bank
for inspection at their committee I'oom, Jom' committee Cclt it to be their
duty to demand their slILunission fOl' that l'llI'pos(', at thc Balik, of the IJre _
sittent anel Cashier of the Bank, the usual an(\ gellet'al ag{"uts of the corporation. F'OI' tlutt Plll'l)O'O:;l", nn the 5th day of .May, having nppr'ised the
Committee of Dil'ector's of the;I' intentioll, at one o'clctck tht'Y l'l'pail'NI to the
Dank, and thel'c l't'quil-ecl the l:ll'csidcnt and Cashicl', each of them respectively, to l)('oducc certain of the books of the Dank, ft)r' inspection of the
committee. This was refused by (,Rch of tIJm;c OfliCCI'S, fOI" reasons stated
in writing, and to be found in the appelldix to this L'(·POI't. (App. C.)
In thilj ('efusal, your committee belie\'e tllcl'C was a substantial "inlatioll'
of the Bank chal'tcl', and a contempt against the authol'ity of the House
coinmittcd.
.
'1'hey al'e of opini,m that yom' committcc were undel' no obligation of
right to recognise any agent of the Uallk other than thoge generally known
as such, and make their duty and ('ight to inspect the books depend on the
conveniellce or capI'icc of such depul ation.
If such LtC the ract, then the examinations c)f the Bank will, in all cases.
depend un the disposition of the directot's to have theil· lwoceedings ex-

amined.
Ha "ing been thus denied by the oflic('rs of the Bank, nne) having been informed by the cJi.'t'ctol's that they were not awal'c of having declined to
furnish a r'oom ('01' the exclusive use of the committee, your committee, sincerely desirous to ml'ct the wishes and direction., of the House, believed it
to lJe their· duty to seck annthel' intel'view \\ ith the Committee of Directors,.
and by 3r'.'angomellt met the Committee of the Hnal'd at the Bank, on the
7th day ofMny, at an hOllr fixed by th("!}lselves.
Your committee then and there, in ~vl,iting, rertuired the Committee of

the Buard to [lI'OIlllCC to YOlll' committl"e, rO!' inspectioll~ cel'tain books and
papel's of the Dank. tn enable your' committee tn inquil'e into the truth of
I"epr'escntations made by the Govcl'nment dil'ectnrs to the President or the
United States and to Congl'css, and to ascel'tain whether the Board of

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

Directors had ,·iolated the charter of the Bank, by authorizing the exercise of illegal powel's by theil' committees OJ' officers, and whether the
Bank had any agency, through its management or mOlley, in Ilroducing
the present preSSUJ'e, or has used its cOI'pOl'ate power or money t~ control
the press, to interfere in politics, or influence elections.
.
Without giving a specific answel' to these calls for books and papers, the Committee of Directors presented a written communication, which
was said to be " indicative of' the mode of lll'oceeding dcemed right by the
Bank."
.
The Committee of the BoaI'd, in that communication, express the optnion, that the inqllh'y can only be l'ightfully extended to alleged Yiolations
of the charter, and deny, YiI,tnaJ1y, the right of the House of Representatives to authorize the inquiries rcquired in the I'esolution.
They also I'equil'ed of the Committee of InYcstigation, "when theyasked fOl' books and I,apers, to state spccifically, in wf'iting, the PUI'pose! for
which they al'e pt'oposed to be inspected; and if it be to establish a \'1Olation of the cbartt"r, the_1l to state specificaUy, in wl'iting. what are the alleged or supposed violations of charter to which the evidence is alleged
to be applicabJe."
'ro this extl'aol'dinary I'equirement, made on the supposition that your
committee were chal'ged with the duty of crimination, or prosecution fOl·
criminal ofience, and impJJing a I'ight un the part of the directors to determine fOl" what purposes the iuspcction should be made, and what books
01' papers should be subtnitted to inspection, yoUl~ committee- replied that
thpy were not charged with the duty of criminating the Bank, its direcj:
tors, or others, but simply to inquir'c, amongst other things, wbether any
prosecution, in Jegal form, should bo instituted, and from the nature of
their duties, and the instructiolls of the House of Rept'esentatives, they were'
110t bound to state specificaJly, in wl'iting, any char'ges against .the Bank,
or any special purpose fur which tlaey l'Cquircd the production of the books
and paper's for inspection.
A specific answer was requested to the calls whieh bad been made.
The Committee of the Boal'd, after delibcl'atinn, made a communication
to your com"!itte~, in ~\'rjting. in which they announced their purpose to
adher'c t~ ~hel~ ,resolUtion, aud I'e!uscd to submit the books and papers of
the Bank I equlJ cd by YOUI: comnuttee to be produced for theit. inspection •
.These calls wel'e made an the Dank, and in the IJresence of' th'C Committee of the .Bo.ard, and t,ht'n and thcl'e a compliance with them was refused. Not feelwg autlwl'lzed to .'('gartl thi9 unexpected and unequivocal
refusal as the act [)f the Buat'{j of Dirt'etcJ)'s, YOUl" committee submitted the
proceedings of theil' committ,ee tv the noal'd, alHl they wel'e, by the Board,
,. fully appro"'ed and sanctioned." (App. D.)
In this act of refusal, which nothing that ha{] occurl'cd had prepared
them to anticipate, yoUt' committee m"e uf opinion that the chat'ter of the
Bank was vioJated, and a contempt uf the authority of the House of Repre ..
sen~ative8 committed.
.
Yo~r committee, acting under the instJ'lIctions of tbe HOllse of Representatives, without ]lOWC1' to modify 01' enlal'go them, charged to inquire,
and n~t au~hol'ized to accuse 01' to aloloaign, except in theh" report to the
House ItseJf; armed with but the limited authority of a committee, unauthorized to punish, WCl'e Ilecessar'ily compelled to the conclusion, that, in
the face of tbe obstructions already detailed, the-y could not efficiently pro-

r Rep.

No.

481.

secute the inquiries with v. hich they were charged, witbout the aid of the
power of the House of Hel)rescntatives.
Anxious, howe\"er, to perform their duty without complaint to the House,
and in conformity with the proceedings of the Committees of Investigation
of 181 9 and 1832, your cO(llmittee. called on the Bank, in a sCl'ies of resolutions, to" furnish statements, and certain extracts and copies from their
books and papers, which, in the opinion of your committee, were all intimately conuected with their duties, and many of them indispensable to
afford to the House of Representatives the infor'mation which they had di.
rected your committee to obtain.
The first of these was responded to by the Committee of Directors, and
the information furnished. Though useful, it was comparativeJy unimpOl'tant.
.
The Board of DIrectors, after deliberation, refused to comply with the
othel' calls, for ,reasons which will be found in their resolution in the appendix, and wluch re~sons descl'\,e examination, as manifesting the deliberate purpose of the dlrectors to l'csist all attempts to examine into the proceedings of the corporation ill the latitude requit'ed by yom' resolution.
They say that the Board of Directors do not feel themselves at liberty to
comply with the requirement of the Committee of Investigation, because
.' Ilart" of the copies called fui' " relate to matters over which the Board.
llave no control." {App. E.)
.
This reason, it is plain, cannot have had much weight in producing the
decision of tlte Board. If only a pal't of the information desit'cd was bc.
yond the control of the Board, that fact could have been stated, and this
committee would ha,"e cheerfully r'eceived the residue.
2d. The Board say they cannot comply, because it would be impossible
for them to do so ,. within any reasonable time, having ascertained, by a
careful examination, that the copies and statements calJed for by the resolutions of the 29th ultimo alolle would requir'e the uninterrupted labor of
two clerks for at least ten months,"
'I'his reason, it is also fair to prcsuuH', could not have matel'ially infiu·
enced the decision of the Board. If, in truth, an entire compliance with
all the resolutions would refluire great labor, still that did nnt justify the
refusal to comply with anyone of them. Besides, the whole objection
could have been obviated by the eml,loymcnt of more clcrks than two, the
compensation to whom, if paid either by the Dank or this committee,
would have been well expended in gratifyin:yo the requh'ements of the HQuse
of RClu'esentatives.
~
3d. The Board say they cannot H coml. l y, inasmuch RS, in respect to a
pat-t of the papers called for the effect would be the same as the surrender
uf their hooks ant) papers to' a secret and ex parte examinatio.n."
Who can read this Jast reason for .'cfusing. given by the dlrector~, and
fail t? perccive that this committee is justified in d~cJa~ing that, Without
the aid of compulsory process. they cannot obey the directIOns of the House?
If extracts from their Own books, made by their own clel'ks, will not be
furnished, because they mig/tt be used to conduct an ex parte examination,
what benefit could this committee expect to derive by access tu the books
themseJves ?
Permission to take extracts for themselves could, and 11l'obabJy would,
be denied, for the same reasons; and a conunittcc of the House, without
power t? compel obedience to its {It:mamls, would ha\'c power to make no
2

[ Rep. No.

481.

use of the books which was not appI'oYcd by the directors themselves.
And the House will be at no loss to determine what latitude they would be
willing to gh'c their inquiries. And without authentic extracts, su~h as
were unhesitatingly fLU'nished by the Bank to both the former committees
of investigation, your committee c~uld '-CI'Y impel'rectly c~myey to. the
House the grounds or their conclusIOns, or the results ofthclr inspectIOns
and examinations.
In what condition, then, is yom' committee placed? The House have
commanded them to inquil'c H what corl'uptions and abuses have existed
in the management of the Bank," "whether it has used its corlJorate
power, 01' money, to interfere in politics, 01' influence eJ("ctions."
']~o do this, they have attempted to use the only means that can, by possibility, enable tJwm to fulfil this duty; ano they al'e refused by the dil'C?tors access to those means which are in theil' custody, and which, by their
charte.·, they are buund to furnish; becaus(", say th.ey, the inquiry this
committee have been charged to make 9 ~'can only be rIghtfully extended to
alleged violations of the charter." And evell these yiolations of charter
are not to be illquia'ed of until the Boal'd is furnished with "a specification of all the chal'ges intended to be inquiI'cfl into." Should supposed
violations of charter be specifically elial'geu, then the directors are to decide whethel' the facts, if true as stated, would amount tn technical violations
of charter, antI then, and not till then, will youI' committee be permitted
to "proeeed with them in order, as stated."
It must he said that these
l)retences, by which the Bank would justiCy its bold disl'egard of the provisions of i.tH chartcl', al'C, in themsclves, dCI'ogatm'Y to the dignity, amI
contemlltucms to the authority of the Housc, to which it, in part, owes its
being.
T~e cO~llmittee belieyc that these proceedings of the Bank directors,
den~lJJ'; !ltal and essential powers to the two Houses of Congress, and asser!mg, III effect, a pal'amollnt and controlling RuthOl'ity ovel" both in. exccutmg a POWCl' deVised as a check upon the Bank it"ieJf, woulll justify a
mO!'e e~tc!,ded comment. But confiding in the disposition of the House to
lU~mtaHi .. ts own I'i~hts ~nd dignity, and to sustain your committee in the
f~lt~'ful dischal'_ge ot their duty, they In'esent, as a part of this report, the
'arlOUS resolutions adopted by yUIll" committee, with those received fronl
the agents of the Bank, as an appendix, dcclaratory of tbe powers bclic\'ed
to be possessed, and the IHlrllOses of your committee.
.
They belicyc that these resolutions will of themselves vindicate their conduct and I'I'occcdings fa-om all those imputations which are to be faun(l in
tbe val'ious communications of the dil'ectol'!'!, and their committee and will
serve to skow that they have afforded no justification whatever f~l' the e1traordinar'y positioll ultimately taken by the Committee of Directors and
the Board; but that their determination not to permit any conduct of
theirs, not involying breach or charter·. to be iuvestigated t must have been
entertained long lwfi,,'e it was mado known to your committee, amI that it
was not communicated until e\'el'Y other m(>l.lllS ofpreycnting the examination
had proved ~n:,vailillg. But for this conduct, which yO\l1' committee cannot
regard as dlstanguished by fr'onkness and can(lor, the absence oC your committee fI'om theil' duties in the House would have been of much shol'tel·
continuance.
BeHeving they had now exhallstetl, in their efforts to execute the duty devolved upon them, alJ reasonable means depentling solely upon the provi-

[ Repo Noo

481. ]

sions of the Bank charter, to obtain the inspection of the books of thi9corporation, your committee were at last reluctantly compelled to I'esort to the
subpwnas which had been furnished to them umlel' the seal of this HOllse,
and attested by its Clerk. They, thereby, on the 9th instant, directed the
marshal of the eastern district of Pennsylvania to summon Nichola!:l
Biddle, President, and thirteen other 11Cl"SOnS, directm's of the Bank, to attend at their committee room, on the uext day, at 12 o'clock at noon, to
testify concerning the matters of which your committee were authorized to
inquire, amI to bring witb them certain bonks thCl'ein named fOl inspection.
Tl!e marshal served the ~ummons in due for-m or Jaw. and at the time appomted the Jlersons thel'e~n n~me~ appeared before the committee, and presented a written ocommunicatIon sIgned by each of them, as the answel- of
each to the reqllirements of the subprena. (Appendix F,) In this pal)er they declare "t.llat they do not Ill'mluce the books required, because they are not In the custody of cithel of liS, but, as has been
heretofol'C stated, · of the Board," amI, add, "considCl'inD'
that, as cor~
porators RntI as d 11'CctOl-S, we are Ilarhcs to the proceeding. we do not consider oursel ves bO,umJ to testify, and therefore respectfully decline to do so,'~
Yom' committee will not dwell long to answer these technical excuses
for this contempt of the lawful mandate of the House. They are to be
found at large in the written document above referred to, - Most of them,
it is beliel'ed, have been already satisfactoloily answel'ed. rl'he two novel
excuses herein set forth cannot but be condemned as insufficient, 'rhe
first is fon11l1ed on a \'cry refined distinction between the l)()Wel' of thedirectors as J)ersons and as corporators, Tho same pel'sons have amI
ha'·c not I)o\\'olo to submit the books. As corporators, the custody of thobooks is in them; but a!i individuals, althongh coll('ctiveJy assembled, the
same books are not under their control. Thus, by an attenuated technicality, the lawfnl authority of the House is to be defied_ If, in one rooUl
ortbe Bank, they must be esteemed as .. individual citizens," ~ho may lawfully disl'cgard the sttbprena cl'llces tecu.m, because th ..y ha\'e not t~le bc!ok
demanded; if, in another room of the same honse, hy a h'anstnlgl"ahon
not known to heathen philosophy, their identity is gone; they.have become mere ideal c.'eaturcs, on which not even a slI,bprena. all testifl:cantlum
can be seloved, To make this excuse still mor'e cxh'am'dinal'Y, let It be remembered that seven of the gentlemen by whom it is offcl'ed had been appointed by the Huard of Directors to exhibit the books of the Bank fnl"inspection, and of course must have had the right to their exclusive IJossessian foa' tbat purpose.
•
':fhe reason assigned for the refusal to be swol'n is parallel with that which
hasjust been considel'ed. They claim, that, as corporatOl's ami directors,
they nre par-tics to the [lroceedings ot' the HOllse, amI thcrefol'c not bound to
give testimony. It is a humane rule to be fOHml in the cl'iminallaw, which
declares that no man shall be compelled to criminate himselt~ amI one
which this committee would be unwilling. nndet· any cia"cumstances, to deny.
But your commi.tt~e are not aware of any pr'inciple of evidence which will
excuse a I)erscm for l'cfusing to gi\'c testimony, simply because it may sub-ject him to a civil action.
_
There are prm·ision!i in the Bank charter making the diI'ectors liable
to a civil suit i£ pro\'cd to have partkipated in ccrtain tt'ansactiot1s therein
mentioned, But it ought not to be suppos.CfI that any thing can be found
on the books of the Bank that would subject the directors to a criminal

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

Jlrosccution. Even if the lattcr" SUI~Position be not entir'el~ without foun·
dation, still it is insisted that a witness called Oil to testify, must do 1110.
unless the court, or othel" tr"ibunal, before which he appears, shall adjudge
1hat he is interested. r-rhat f'luestion the witness cantlot be permitted to
decide fOl" himself, other'wise evidence might be withheld without good
~au~e.
As to tlae suppositior) that the dil'cct()rs, or the corporation under
theia' control, ar'e to be consider'cd lmr"ties to the inquest this committee
was dirccted to institutl~, it has all'cady been answered in this report, and
necds no rurther J'cply. If thc inquest had been prosccuted, and had satisfied Congress or the l'rcsidcnt that a scire facias ought to issue, then, and
lIot till then, could the Hank dh'cctol's become parties to the }uooceedings,
and, ufldcr that principle, attempt to conceal transactions kMown only to
themselves; and even then theil' books might be IIsed as evidcnce against
them. Justice rC(lllil'CS Wi to add. that the dil'ectors, while U.ey llr()te~tcd
against our right to examin(' thcm~ declared the~ had nO,knowledge, w!nch,
if" a necessary I'egar'd to their duttes, and the l'lghts oi others, pernllttcd,
'they would not willingly eXJloR6 without l'eserve.
.
Under such circutn~tanccs, it is to lie l'cg('cttcd that thcy have not imitat~d the course of the directm's of 1819 and 1852, by wailoing theil" supposed
technical rights, and iu\"iting au um'csh'ained examination of their procc('diJlgs. Sudl cowJuct could not but have gained public approbation;
and, it is humbly cuucei ved, could not have bcen reasonably objected to by
any 1)cI'sons having business with the institution. It' such had been the
(~UUr'HC of tho dir'cclors, the committee hope to be pardoned f(J)' saying it
was theil' 1)tl1'llOSe to have endeavored to have llerfol'med the duties which
1tad bl',en ~njnjned" tll~) .. (mghly, impartially, and with a rig\tl adherence
to ,.!I,m Immutable )Jrl~clplcli of h'uth und justice.
1 hus, YOUI" cC.)fnnll!tcc conclude, the just l)ower and authority of tile
1I~1!!'Je of RepresentatIvcs ha'\'c been set at naught, dcfied, and contemned.
, 1 hus the chartcl' of the Uank of tltc United States has been delibel'ately
""I~»)atC(!, by repeated I'cfu'mls of nle directors of tbat cnrporation to Bub.
Iflirt ~thclr books anti Impel'S to the inspection of this committce.
I hu~ havc the just ex))('ctations of the House. ami or their constituents,
~Je~n dls,!J)IUJinted, and all means of obtaining the best and mORt accurate
tutor'mallnn COhccl"uing the 0I,erations of a controlling moneye.) institution,
brell cut off and denied.
] t remains ~or the J louse and the country tQ decide how far this conduct of that dlloect~I·Y has been dictated by, their solemn duty, 8S declar~d, to protect t~lC Interests of othcl's c~mnlltted specially to their proteo ..
tlOll; 11O\\{ fa,. Jt ponfonus to those prmciples of action which arc based
on conscious integl'ity and uJ>t·jghtness of purpose, which defies scrutiny,
and invites investigation; and how far it shall he received as a plea of
guilty to the high misdemeanors which tbey insist have been charged
.against the corpOl'ation of which they have the management and control.
These grave (lucations, with others growing out of the transactions and
llroCeedings, are left to be decided by the House of Representatives.
To. elicit those opinions, the following resolutions arc most respectfully
submitted;

1. llcsol'ved, That, hy the charter of the Bank of the United States,
the right was expressly reserved to either IIouse of Congress, by the apJlointment of n committee, to inspect the books, and to ex.amine into the

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

proceedings of the said Bank, as well as to ascertain if at any time it had
violated its charter.
2. Resolved, That the resolution of the House of Representatives,
passed 9D the 4th of April, 1834, for the appointment of a committee,
with full powers to make the investigations embraced in said resolution,
was in accordance with the provisions of the charter of said Bank and
the power of this House.
S. Resolved, That the President and Board of Directors of the Bank
of the United States, by refusing to submit for inspection the books and
papers of the Bank, as called for by the Committee of the House of Representatives, have contemned the legitimate authority of the House, asserting for themselves powers and privileges not contemplated by the
framers. C!f their char~er, nor in fairness deducible from any of the terms
or provIsions of. that Instrument.
-_
4. Resolved, That either House of Congress has the right to compel.
the production of any such books or papers as have been called for by
their committee, and also to compel said President and Directors to testify to such interrogatories as were necessary to a full and perfect understanding of the proceedings of the Bank at any period within the term
of its existence.
S. Re8olved, That the Speaker of this House do issue his warrant to
the Sergeant-at-Arms, to arrest Nicholas Biddle, President, Manuel
Eyre, Lawrence Lewis, Ambrose White, Daniel \V. Coxe, .John Holmes,
Charles Chauncey, John Goddard, John R. Neff, 'Villiam Platt, Matthew
Newkirk, James C. Fisher, John S.- Henry, and John Sergeant, Directors of the Bank of the United States, and bring them to the bar of this
House, to answer for their contempt of its lawful authority.

[ Rep. No.

481.

APPENDIX •

•
A.
PHILADELPHIA,

Narth American Hotel, Apt'il 23, 1844.
The committee met. Pl'esent all the members. On motion,
Resoi'Ved, Tl~at the chairman address a lettel', in behalf of the' committee, to the PresIdent ?f tho Bank, encloSing a copy of the resolution of the
Bouse of Represantahves nudel' which the committ.ce al'e appointed, iUrOI'IIling h\r~ that they are now or'ganizcd, and rcady to lU'occcd to business at
such time to-morrow .as will be convenient to him.
NORTIl AMERICAN HOTEL, J1pril 29, 18S4.

SIn: I ha\'e been directed by the committee appointetl to investigate
the affair's of the Bank of the United States to enclose to you the accompanying copy of a I'esolution of the Honse of Representatives of the United States, and to inform you that the committee will be pl'el)ared to visit
the Bank of the United States to.mOl'row at any hour that will be agreeable to you to recehoe them, to commence the discharge of the duties as-

signed them.
I ha"e the honor to be,
Very resl)l:~ctfuJ)y,
Your obedient servant,

FRANCIS THOMAS,
Chairman of the In"Vcstigati1l.g Oommittee.
NICHOLAS BIDDLE,

President

Esq.

of the U. S. Bank.
DANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

.fJpril 2.3, 18 $4.
SIR: I have had the honor of receiving yOul' letter of this day's date,
",ith a copy of the resolution. of the House of Representntives of the United
States, passed on the 4th instant.
I shall forthwith call a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the

]lank at 9 o'clock to-mOl'row mOI'ning, when these I,apel's shall be submitted to them; aftCl' which, a communication on the suhject will bo made to
you. In the mean time,
I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully, yours,
N. BIDDLE, President.

Hon.

FaANCIS TIIOMJ..S,

ell-airman of the Com. of In"Ocsligatwll, Philadelpltia.

Rep. No. 481.

BA.NK OF TH): UNITED STATES,

.Ilpril 24, 18094.

SIR: I am directed by the Committee of the Directors of the Bank of the
United States to send you the encloHed copy of a resolution, adopted tbis
morning by the ,Board at a special me~tin~ convened if! consequence of
your communicatIOn of yesterday to the 1 l'esH.lent, and to mfOl'm you that
the committee will immediately direct the neceSSRl'y arrangements to be
made for the accommodation of the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United St.ates, and will attend at the Dank to receil'e them at
1 t o'clock to-morrow morning.
I have the honor to be,
Your most obedient servant,
JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.
'1'0 the Hon. FRANCIS TlIOMA.S,
Chairman of the Committee of In'Vtstigation.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

.I1prit 24, 1834.
Ata special meeting of the Board of Dil'ectors, held this day, the Presi_
dent submitted the Jetter of the honorable I"'rands Thomas, chairman of
the Cornmitb'c of In\'cstigation, dated "PhiiadcII.hia, North American
Hotel, A pl'iJ 23, 1834," enclosing an official copy of a resolution adoptc:d
by the House of Rt'Iu'cseutativcs uf the UnHed States on the 4th of AprlJ~
1834, together with his reIlly to said letter.
Whereupon. it was, on motion,
Resol'Vetl, That a committee of seven memberR of the Board be appointed
to I'cceive the- Committee of the House of Rt'preRentatives of the United
States, and to offer for their inspection Huch books and papers of the Bank,
as may be neces~a)'y to exhibit the llroceedings of the corporation according to thc requir('mcnt of the charter•
.'rhe following directors were then n}JPointed to compose'the said com.
outtce:
Melisl·R. Sf.'rgt'ant, Chauncey, Coxc, Neff, Eyre, Lewis, Henry.
Extract from the minutes :.
s. JAUDON, Cashier.
BANK OF TilE UNITED STATES,

April 26, 1834.
The following resolutions were adopted, and fOl'warded in the succeed ...

ing lettf'rs to ttH~ Committee hf Din'doJ's:
/lesoltJefi, That the proceedings, investigations, and examinations of
thIS committee, of the hooks, papers, and affairs of the Bank, shall be
confidential, unless othenvise ordered hy the committee.
llc,90lved, Tllat the illvcstj~ations of this committee into the affairs;,
malln~Cnl('nt, and COnCel"l18 of the Bank of the United States, shall be
cOJHIII(,(pd without the presence of any person who is not required or invited to attend the examinations of this committee.

Rep. No. 481.

DA.NK OF THE UNITE!) STA.TES,

.I1prit 26, 18S4.
SUl: In compliance'with the direction of the Committee of Investig&.-

tion, I have l.11e honm· to cnclose to YOII the accompanying resolutions.
I

am~

very respectfully t

YOUl' obedient sel'vant.

FRANCIS 'I'HOl\IAS, Chairman.
JOUN SERGEANT,

Esq.

CliairmaJl oj tlte COlnmittee oj Directors of Balik U. S.
[Reply to the foregoing.]
HAWK O'F THE USl'.1'ED STATES,

.I1pril 26, 18S4.
SIR; I ha\'e received, nntllaid befure the Committee or the alil-ectol's of
the Balik of thc United States YOUl' note of this date, and the cHclosed copy of ti,e I'esolutions ul' the Cummittee of the II:)use of U('/H'cscntati,'('s Hr
the United Stutes.
I am directed by the committee to infol'm you that youI' communieation
will lJe Jaid lJefUl'e the Boal'd, at a sl)ccial meeting to be convened rUI' the
purpose, 8ttd that we )vill be JU'('!I'aI'cd tu make known to you tbe decisioll
the Boal'd at youI' n(.~xt meeting on l\londay at t 1 ft'c1ock.
I ha\'e the hOI101' to be,
Your' must niJecJit'nt servant,
JOHN SERGEANT. Clauirlfla'."

To the Hon.

F"RANCIS T'HO)I.,u,

Chairman oj tlte Committee oj tile House of RelJs. U.

BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

April 28, 1884..
SIR: In conformity to' my communication of the 26th instant, your
note of that date, and the resolutions enclosed in it, have been laid before
the Board of Directors of the Bank of the United States, at a special
meeting convened, for the purpose, I have now the honor to enclose to
you a copy of the resolutions adopted by the' Board, and to be,
With great respect,
Your most obedient servant,
JOHN SERGEANT, C/lClirma".
To the Hon. FaAN01.S THOMA.S,
'

Chtrirman'of't.heCommiUee of tlle House of Reps. U. S,
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

April 28, 183 L
At a special meeti.ng of the Boal'u of Directors, held thi::; dny, the following I'esolution~ were, on motion, una,nill1ousl~ ~dop~ed: .
1. Re..lOlved, '1 hat the Hoard reCO~Olse the l'Lgnt 01 the CDmmitlee of
th(~ House of Heprescntativcs of the United St,\tes ,; to il1'ipcct the hot)ks
and to examine into the proceeding::; of th,:! Bank of the CniteJ Slate:-;,"
n~~l;ording to the provisions of the ch,lrler; and to enahle thl! cOlllmittc't,
to exercise this right, according to the order of the IIonse.: of Reprt'sen-

[ Rep. No.

: 18

481.

tatives the Board have endeavored to do all that could manifest their respect lor the committee, or .contribute ~o the convenie~t peIformanc~ of
its duty, by offering a rOOln In the.bankmg house.f~r their accommodation,
and appointing a Committee of DIrectors to exhIbIt the books and papers
according to the requirement of the charter. But the Board ea.nno.t, consistently with their sense of duty to the Bank, and of the obhgatl0i1s of
the trust committed to them, consent to give up the custody and possession of the books and papers of the Bank, nor to permit them to be examined but in the presence of the cOlllmittee appointed by the Board.
2. Resolved, That, considering the nature of the proceedings which
J'esulted in the resolution for the ~ appointment of the Committee of the
House of Representatives of the United States to examine the Bank of
the United States, and considering the very grave and accusatory nature
of the inquiries directed to be made by that resolution, as well in their
bearino- upon the Bank as upon the individual citizens entrusted with its
admin~tration, the Board cannot but deem it to be due to the demands of
'common justice, that the instituti.on and the in.dividuals. should have the
opportunity to be present by theIr representahves appoInted for that purpose, at all examinations to be made by the committee touching their
character and conduct, whethel' the same he of books and papers or of
witnesses. It is most manifest to the Board that, for the purpose' of arriving at the truth, examination in the presence qf the parties would be
the natural and effectual mode of proceeding; and the Board, being confident that examinations so conducted would result in a manner creditable
to the Bank, have prOm}ltly and cheerfully acceded to the amplest investigation. But, if they are to understand the resolutions of the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, of the 26th
instant, as announcin.g an intention to pursue a different course, they do
sole~l1nly pr~tes~ agamst th-: samc; bcing fully satisfied that secret and
parhal cxammahons are unjust, oppl'cssive, and contrary to common right,
and never to. be resor~e~ to but in eases of necessity; of which the present cannot, In the opUllon of the Board, be said to be one.
. 3. Rcsotved, ~hat the ,:ommittee, appointed on the 24th instant, be
lnstruc~ed to furmsh a certified copy of the foregoing resolutions to the
CommIttee of the House of Representatives of the United Slates.
Extract from the minutes:

s. JAlTnON, Cashier.
April 29, 1834.
S1R =. I have. the honor to enclose to you the accompanying copies of
r~so~utlOl!S whICh have been adopted to day by the Committee of InvestIgatIOn, 111 reply to your communication of the 28th instant.
..
With great respect, I am
Your obedient SC.·vant
,

COMMITTEE

•

ROOM,

FR..:\NCIS THO~'fAS , Chairman.

Esq.
Clwi,"'man if the Con2'1nittee qf D-ireclors.

JOHN SERGEANT,

J. Resoh·cd,. That this committee duly appreciate the disposition manifested by ~he dl.l'ectons of the Bank of the United States in offering accommodations 111 their balll~ing homw) for its w;e, as contained in the

r Rep.

No.

48 f.

communication of the Committee of the Board of", Directors of the 24th
instant; that this committee accepted that offer, under the belief that it
would promote as well its convenience as that of the officers of the Bank
and that the room thus offered would be exclusively for its occupation'
and that of those whose attendance might be, by the committee, required
or assented to. And that the committec is willing still so to consider it.
2. Resolved, That this committee, c113rged with important duties, and
acting under its responsibility to the House of Representatives and the
laws of the United States, claims the right, to be exercised at its discretion, to compel the production of the hooks and papel's of the Bank for
inspection, and to inspect the saH\C in such mode as to the committee
may seem best calculated to pI'omote the object of its inquiry. But this
committee has ~ot determined that it. will become necessary to perform
that duty out ot the presence of those charged by the directors to submit
th~ same to the inspection of the committee,
S. Resolved, That this committee cannot recognise the right of the
" Board of Directors" to regard the resolution of the House of Representatives as accusatory in its charactCl", or this committee as charged with
the duty of criminating the Ban~ or its offIcers. That, in the resolutions
of the 26th in!)tant, the committee intended to assert its right to control
its own proceedings, and not to indicate a purpose of making a secret and
partial examination, or of practising inj.l1stice or oppression; th~t the
committee cannot but regard the expreSSIOn of such an apprehenSIOn by
the Boat'd of Dil"ectors, as unjust to its members, and unauthorized by
the resolutions.
4. Resolved, That this committee, actuated by a sense of justice, will
unhesitatingly affor~ to every person who,se "chara,ctel: or conduct may
.seem to be affected III the progress of theIr Illveshgahons, a full opportunity of explanation and defence, but claim the right of determining the
·time and mode of giving such privilege, and therefore cannot recognis,e
the right of the dil'ectors to prescribe the course to be pursued by thIS
committee in making its examinations.
5. Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be communicated by the chail'man to the Committee of the Directors of the Bank.
[Reply to the foregoing.]
BANK OF TilE UNITED STATES,

Jlpril 29, 1834.
Sill: I have the hono,' to acknowledge :rOlU' note of this date. and the
t""ncim'lcd in it, of the resolutiolls adopted by the Committee of the

~OPV9

lI()~lse

of Repl'(,Hclltati\re~ nf the {Jnited Statl's. They IU!.l'e been 1aid be.
fore the Committee of tht~ Board of' Director's, and I am dil'Ccted by them
to make the following reply =
'rlll~ (:ommittce wuuld, in the fl"At lJiace, l'c!'ipectfuHy stato that it was
not theil' intention, nUl' the intention of 'he BOIlI'li, to allege that the Com.
mitlec of Investigation was cha)'gcd 'with ttm du1.r of crimitlating the Dank,
.or itA otlicers. rrhcy meant only tn say. as ""Ill he seen by I"efel'cnce to
the I'C50Iu\ion, that the ilHluiril',s (lil'C'et ... d tn be m~Hlc '\\'('I'C in their natul'O
aCClisatOl'Y, anti so the Committee or the BOU1'd arc still obliged to con'sitlel' them.

Rep, No. 48 (. ]

The committee would further rCsl)ectfully state that it waq not thc intenItion of the UOilrd to imlmte to the t.::ummittee of 'U\'cstigatiou U It l'"rlJose
of making a Hceret aud lla.'tia) t~xamittation. 01' .of IlI'actisillg injtl~tice
01'1~res,io .. "" r11Jey simply ~ntl'ndcd to aM.crt, ~bat Ihe.r lJe!icl'c ,to be beyond all dispute 01' doubt, that sec.'ct and luu-tlal cxunlinatlClns Into matters which have a benl'ing ilium thc charactcr and conduct of individuals,
arc unavnid41bly unjust all-" oPP,-cHsivt".
And, finally, the {"ommitt("c wnuhl most rCNIJt'ctfully (Ii~daim all intcntion to cuntrol, in ~Uly II. a litH." 1',_ tlw lU'occcciings of thc Cummittec of Invea·
Hgation, 01' tf) pl'f~sn'ihl~ to it any COClr'se whahwcr. 'rite Uoa .. d arc very
8(msible nal'Y IU\\'e IIdlliel' the power fUll" thc right to (10 fiO. 'rhe only IlUt'J,ose or the BURI'd was to c'xllilJit l'eSltcctl'ully to the C()mmittet.~ of luvcAtigatiffn tlwit' vic\\ s
tlad., OWII l"ights UpOIl the twu poil1t~ lll'csent("d by t"e
resolut iUJl~ of til£': COlntni U.. c of I n"cstig~\tinl) of' the 26th illstant, (."Om
v. hich views they llan~ !Wl'lI 110 l'caHon t1) d(~pal't.
'1'1.(': committee al'e "('I'Y happy tu pCl'ccivc that a!'l yet tht~I'e i~ 110 pI'Retical dift'N'cncc Letwcl"n the ,-jews of the Board and those cnt..wtaincd by
th~ Committee of'I''''cAtigation R!4 tn 1he mode -of lU'orecding to be adopted,
itiaRmuch as the r('H()lutiIHHi yuu IH\'·l'. done me the honol' to send to mr, infOI'm us that tllC Committee of III\-estig~ltiun have not eoroc to any decision,.
~nd. we th(·,'('f(J!'e may iJl(ltllg(~ a hope that, Fleeing the .'cason!,blen~H!II n~d
,1ustlce, of •.t1C \'I(~WS .'cNltcctru~y Rugge... ted by the n(Jal'cI~ tltn Comlmttee of
InvestigatIOn, wilen they come to decide, will lIot dilfc." fl'om the Board In
oJtinion.
,I atll dir'ectcd., in ~ondusi.,n, t"cHpedfully to reqllcHt, that whcn the Cornmlttee ()f In\'cMhgntion KlulH halo'" decidl'd "I)On the modc uf ]Jlooceclllng
thf"y win adu),t. they will t,c gom) enftugh to cctlnmunicatc tfleil' deciRinn,
tlu~t the no".'" may h,e nble tf) take Huch mcasurmt aH it may scem to ref~UII'l'.
I n the In€"an tllne I br~ you to be RHH ....ed of the continued disftositllm nf the lJoal'lI and tJu~ e()mlUitt(~e to cOllh"ilmte I\U· that muy be in nteir
I,owe.· to lu'nmute tim HfTumlHodatintl nllel cfJn\'cniencc or the Committee ot:
Invcstiga!iun, as well as of the g."cat reAI,ect or, HiI',
YUill' mORt obf"diCht sCI'vant,
lUI-IN SERGEAN'l\ Cllllirman.
Fro the linn. FIl.UII;CIIt '['UOMAN,
CI&ClirmflJI of UtI: Cummittee of the Ilouse r!f Rl'lJ:J. U. S.

lllcply to the foregoing.]
COMJ\IIT'rRI':.

Itf,oAt, NCn&TII AMEIUCAN Ilo"'~L,

Jl11ril 30, 1834.
SIR: I Juu'C the hunol' to acknowledge the J'cceiflt uf yOU," lettcl' of tbo
5191" inRtant, al1d, having Hllumittt,c.I it to the COIiHidlwation of the Comtnit~
of Invcstigation, hal'e hcen author'iz~d to lH"esent to you the folluwing
reply:
'1'h., committee J'f~gl'Ct to find that tho chRI·aetOl" of the l'eHo)ution8 heretn(ul'e t\duph~d by tllt'm, anel of whkh CUpi(,R have bl'cn tc-tl'w:u'd(~d tn yuu.
iN tnuch miMunclc·rNtoocl.
J n YUUl' h (tel' of .he 29th, it is ~Utitl "lImt th('l
Committl'c of IIIVl'Hfi~atjf)1I hayc lIut come to Rlty.kdsiulI·' ItS to tho
nHuhl ur )l1"ueecciiflg tn he 01(101'1('(1.
·n ..~ pr'ul'l'icty f'" .illstil'n of such an
"Ih'~ation iii not lu·.·ct~i ,"cd.
TJ\(~ cornatliltcc tHlVI~ dl"ddt'd, nlul mado
~lIuwn t I) ) ' ' ' " that. dl'cisiflll, that. Ow,Y have tlw flO" rl' t" n)lnpd t_ho IU'o11nctil)Il fir tim bflnk~ niH! l'al'(~J'I'i 01" the Balik fiJi' illsl'l'clinU : t.hat IIwy havo
the }l1)\\Tl' to IlH\kc such iUHl.. ~etifHl in the pt'cHence 01' those ouly who may

Repo Noo

481.

.~,

by the committee, requit-ed 01' invited to attend; and to exclude from
t.heir room all persons whatever who, by theil" p.oe3cncc, ma, ill any de.
8 m ten.1 tu imllc(le the Pl"Og."CSS of the inspection of the books "nd papers.
ot lncommmle the members of the committee in the discharge of the hiSh
duties ,Jevolved on them by the House of Repl'esenfath'cs. ~rhe committee
s-eser\'e the right to exercise that power when it shall become necessary.
ahd in the manner which their sense or prop,-iety, and desire to do justice
to the Bank, ami to the countr"y, may dictat~. They ho()c that nothing
"Will occm", in the course of tbis scrutiny, which -may render it propt'r for
them tn decide ullon and exercise the full extent f~f the powers conferred
on. them by the Hou~, nnd are halll'Y to leal'n that thel'e is no practical
dltrerence between the views or the Board and those entertained by the
committee-. They will be glad to know whethcl" they are authorized to
conchulc that the room which has been ofrered Cor their accnmmo(\ation at
-tbe banking house, can be set ""art. fin- their excillsh'e use and occupntion.
Crom 10 o'clock Ao M. until 3 P. M., during the continuance of the committee h. Philadelphia. 'rhe committee assure the Committee of Directors
that it is their desil'e to confluct this investigation at a l»)ace mutually
convenient to them anel the OfliCel"S of the Bank, and in a manner calculate.d to worok no "injllstice or 0llpresslon."
An anSWlW, consistent with your earliest con"enience, to 80 much of this
c~mmunication as "relate!ll to the occupation oC the room in the bl'lnking
houhe, is J"csl,ectfully .ocque·sted.
I have the honor to bt", with gl'eat respect,
Your obedient servant,
FRANCIS THOMAS, C/,airman.
To lOHk SERGEANT, Esq. Chairman of the Committee oj Directors.
tReply to the foregoing. ]

BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

./JIay 1, 18S4.

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the SOU. of April.
or the Boal-tl, and by their direction

""9

It
bcen Inid befQre the Committee
I make the following reply:

In saying that, accortliug to the tenor of the resolutions of the Com~9th ultimo, tllel'c was H as yet no practical
dift'erencc" between that committee and the Boat'd, the Committee of the
Board still think the language they used was correct and appropriate. It
i8 true, that in these resolutions the Committee of Im-estigation ball as·gertcd a power which might, pe,obapli, have been con\a'overted. But it was
pot the i ntentioo or theConu'D\ttee ~r the BI~ard \0 discuss or qQestion tbe pow.
ers of the Committee of Investigation, in the abstract, or as matter of ()pi Ilion,
but simply to set forth their own views ofwhat they bclie\'ed to be Uae rig.hts
or the Bank, amI uf the huJividual citizens entrusted with itsadminitdratioo.
'1'he '41u'actical differ'ence," according to the view of the Committee of
.lae Jloard, would only occur when there should be an actual, as disti ....
~ui8hed from a theol'etical collision, that is to say. when an exertion of
pbwer aHeml)ted by the Committee of Investigation should be lDet by.an
_"ert\cm of ,oight on the part of the Boat'(l incompatible with its IJI"O~Uol
tion. Such a stale 01' things would be cstl'emely to be regretted. It muat,
tJe.~..,theleSR, be conceded, that a case might be I)I"esellted in which the
Commlt.tco of the Board WQuid be compcllell, by a deep sense of duty, to
consider theil' rights, amI to act upon their own \'iews ot'them.

mittee of Investigation of the

r :Ilep,

No, 48',

Arnoll" the I'isks ilicich-lit to au ('ITHI' uf judgmt'tlt ill dC'ciclillg. tll(',)' wf)uld
("slt't'm itulI(: of tlltl gl·.·ah\sl, t/aat tlldl' ('CHldlid lIIight hy possibility ue im}'lItcd, hHW('\'l~I' UUi"stl)', to a \\ alit fit' fitit' l't'slted fOl,tlw Colltmittl'c uf InH'stigatiulI, m' fn;' tlu~ l',igll t;OIl~'C'(~, from \\laidt, thC'il' authol'itY,is cll'l·hell.
Unell'" llt(~ i .. nuellc(~ CIt Ih('s(~ (l'(·III1~s. alld with u stl·,.ng dcslI'(~ that the
iflH'stigntiulJ lJI!ght he ,fOlldlld('Il ill a 11Ia1lBl'I' satisf.u. ·toJ'Y to,tH.ttl,' the par.
lic8~ the C"llIrultk(~ of tllt~ Hual'd gladly t~mhnu:cd the bdlt·( <It may be
that their' HtI'ollg iuciillat.ioll kd thl~1U tHtf hastily to hclic\',~) that thcl'c was
., UK yet lin pnu'licnl (1ifl\~I'C'I<'(""
If in this 111('y misullclcl'sCt)(HI the t("I'ms
of t)ll~ l'l'sulutiollS of tile COUlmitte,· of 11I\'l~stigatiulI, they will be nady to
"ccl~i \ e the ('xpJa ...,ti,IU of Ow eOllllUittl't', iu lhi!i HI' any OUl('I' IIULUCI', to
CUI"'('c:t the misulIIll"I'stuuclillg.
,
TIH'y .lec'lII it drw, hOWl'...'!.' I', 10 the Curnmitt(·c of III\'cstigati(~n, Oft well
a~ to thcms('h'('s, tn say flll·thcl', th~t, ill till'- Idtt.~I· of the t;omnlltl.'·c (I~ In"(,Htigatiun uf the 30th ultimo, thc'l'l~ HI'P"Uf'S In I)(~ a misaI'PI'('ht'IISIUIl u~ Ch.,
meaning of tim CnmmiUl'c ut' tltc Dcuu'd in tlleia' Icttl~I' of the 29 th. Ultltn'?_
rrht, CUIIIIlliUc'c ul' th(~ Utllnd did 1I0t May, "that the Committee u~ 1,,\'cs~l
gation had not (:uIJIC tu allY eh'('isillll ll~ tu the mode of p,·C)Cf..·edlllg to 06
allHJth~d," 'flU')' elo lIut kltll\\'. rlOI' nUl they, witlwlIl failing ill the I'CSpcct
due to th"lJIst'l V('JoI, 1U'(~t"IHI tu kIlOW, what ulay lunc be(~It, nt· wl&at may be,

th~ decisiotfs ttl'the COlilira i tt('(~ or Ita \'('sl igatiou, CXCl'pt SIJ fal' a~ the CUU1ullttt'e nH'ly think fit. tu ('0111 III lillie .... '" them. ACCfH·dillgly. theil' lettel' or
tlte 29tlt ultilllo \\'U"I f .. ullC"~cl c~lIlil'dy IIpUIi the l'l'SIJillliulI"I uf the same d."tc,
e'ol'il'!1 fir \, hid. WCI'C tJ·lll1Sm.tt ...·tl tu Ih"1II hy tim C()lIlmittt'l~ of lll"',l'stlgation, nnd thr- passage abu\'t~ fl'l4)h~,I. with it!-t eltllh'xt, l't·fCI·I·t~d l'spen:\lI,- tt)
the following st'nt(~ItC"e in t.lw ~H'c()lIcl of tlaf)SC~ l'l'!mlutioIlS, tu wit: ,. But
thi~ ('oulanittre has tlot d(·tl~I'mill('d that it will bccnllw IIt'(,CSS~\I'V til l'{,l'('ol'rn
that cllIfy, out of tllC~ 1II'('sc',w'e fir t1lo~e dlarg'~f! hy the tli"('dur'-;';, til ~ulHnit
Ow same tf, tllC inspedioll flf the CIIIIHuitt(,(,."
COlUpal'illg thi~ with the
J"es(jlutjul\~()f'llP Uoal'" of J)il'f~dlJl'~ IlI'l·('tHI{'i'(~ 11,,"«1('(1 to the COlUluittf'c
In\,(~Ntigali(tll, it elitl "1'1"'<1" to Ilw Cummittco of thl~ Hn.u'd tlmt tlat'I'C ",A~
uo d('ci",ion "tlo" this IImft~I'inl poillt, ulul, thC'I'CrOI'l', that tht'I'e WR!'t " as
)'l't IUt p,"nctind clini..·,"')U'C', .,
Adillg upon thc fH\ln(~ lU'indplt~ that has hith(~f·tc) gOV('I',wd the Cummittee
Itt' tlu~ UO;lI'd, it ili nut tlu'ii' iuh'u1ion tu f{1H"stiUIi the ~Haterncflt of the Cuml~iLt(·"
In~'t!!oftiKHtifUi. "that ~h('y ha\'{~ Ow IIOWCI' tu compd the (,.'(~d~lC

tum nf the &'"uk!i nlld 11;'II('rH of Hie Uauk," hoc.
That fiudl is the n))I1lIOl'
of ttw COlntniu('{" uf lu"e"tigatioll, tht'Y hn\'(~ IIc) duuht, aBel '~\'i tladl' OpilliOll,

tlll~ Committee ,flf tim nOllt'~1 ~'I'c'('ly ;ulmit. it!i dC\irn tu high r'cspect.. It is
nnly \\ lit·" ('('RSfhg
he 0PIIIIOII IIH·I'dy. It shall cctnw i .. COllOid with the
)'ightH .,1' tlte nluak. 0" of tlIIJS.~ ('Iltl'lIstt~1I 'with it", adrninistl·atinn. (if C\'cr
that should happen,) thaI. tim CUlJlmittl'" uf the Utuwd will fcd till"mse've.

'It

bound to ('xarniu('. ih npplkatiflu.
In 1'("llly to that .,m·t nf JOUl'
in which yuu illfluh'c whcth .. r tbo
Co!nmittec of' 11f\f('Htigafiofl •• HI't~ alirlwI·iz(·tl tu cf)lIcludt~ that the l'OOIn
",Iud. 118'" b(~t'tl uf1('I'('cJ 'iu' t.h(·il· a(TfJlllnUH'atim. at the banking h(ftlH~, can
b(~ (;unv('llient1y set RIHu't fUl' t"l~il' ('xdllsi\'(~ 1l~e and ncr.ulmtiull. "rum 10
o·clo('k A. M. lIntil 3 1'_ l'tl" (hll'inK tlll'il' euntiIllUlm:c~ in Philsulclphiot," 1
am dil'Cl'lI~d by thc commitfl·(· tn ~Hty. that tlu'y "1m ha\'e, SIS Illt"Y al"'.,.
lIa ve laad, (. \'(""Y diHI)f.!iitiutl to aC(,OIIi naml a Ie the eUlrlna ith'c ",.Itl\'("f4( igu tin" r
and 'IUC", tllcy RI'C IWI·Hua.h~d~ i~ tlw .'ispoNitkn, alHo, of the Bcnu'd. 'rhe
(:ommittl'c find theil' autluH'ity, in thi~ reSlw'ct, hot fOI·th in th" resolutions
(If the Buard, of the 28th of AI'I'il, 1834, (:mnmIlJlicated to the ~ummittee

,,·tt ...·

[ Rcp, No. 481.

of 1r,,'cRtigntion on 1he same .lay; hy which it Rppcllrs thal the Board
dir'{"ctcd th(~m to OWl'l' tn the (;unHllitl('e of ItIH'stigatil)1l "' 1\ "UOIn 4ttlao
banking hnll~c 'ct)' its R('('nlnmuflatiufI," orlll Itl'poillt('t] them "a Cnrnmit_
t,oe of Uil'cetUl'~ to l'xhihit tilt' honks ""el papt't'S, IU'cul'<ling (I' tilt' rNluiremeut of the chal,t('I',"
nut tlw BI,;\I'" nt th(~ same ticnr. fit-dan'" that thry
could lIut, h consist(,fltly with 11"'i!' Sf'flsr nf duty tn tilr Dank, antI flf lite obligation", of tltn t,'il~t (~oltllnitt('d to t1H'In. f'fHl"'cnt to gi\'(~ tip tht~ ('lIstl)'\Y and
)t(J!'Is('ssiol1 ()f the bunks nud pap('I's of' the Bank, lin" tn pt','mit th~'m to he
(,x~',ninccl, hut ,in the .In'(·s(,tu:c~ of' th(~ nllJlfniUcc' nprJuiuh'd by tlw Huard,"
] IIf' Cmnnnttl''' of th(~ Bnar'tl "ave' gn'at ,,1('usul'e ill "(,Hcwing to the
Vommitt~·" of IIl~l~!itigl\t.inn the olli'" of the I'oom in the tn:UlIlt'I' pointed
out by tl"" " ..." .. I"ho", A",I itl trlu'C'I'ing "fly fllrthr.." fH'r"kc itt tlwir' 1)('Wl'r,
that ("Ill) 1)/'UlI1u!c tim eon,'c·lIic' .. r.~ or tlJ(~ COrrltnittl'o or Investigation,
Ilia\'(' tim IlUu",' til Ill', "('I'Y rc'spf'r.trully,
Yom' uht'lli"lIt SC'I"';"".
,I () 11 N S 1-: RG (4: A NT. Ci:n; nllfl n.
JlOII. Jt'1C,\N('I)o\ TII(J\I.\S, Clwinlltln of'the ('ommil/('(' (~f' IIIl'l'~/ig(11ion,

•

n,
eUM '11·.· ....~y. ROUM,

The fc.llu\\ iug

I'csnluti()n~ W('I'r,

Nflr'" ./JIIU";CllB /J,,'el • • tlu y 2. I 8~4.
.uluptl'cI mid h'i\ttsmith'(1 to the C~mlnit.

teo (Jf Dil'('dnr:ol :
"-"rl'e;\S this (·nmmiU('(~. sillCl'l'dv dl'sir'otls II) ('onduet tlw ifHlllirir.,
c"umillntiolls. Ililli iln-C','ftigatinll'4. ,,-hkh tlu'y lIa\"l~ h.'c·1I "(,lpril'c'll ,,~' thr:
JI(Jusl~

of ){(~pr('s('lltlllin'''I tn mak(', \\ itll fail'lIl~o;S, impar'liality. (wilt"', and

dC!'Ipatch. h,L\'c It'al'fI('cl with )'('p;I-d that tlar. di,'('cfcll'l'j IIf thr: U.\llk fir the
Vllif.'d StutC'H ha,'c (ie'din('d nn'ullllllflfintillg thi~ (~f)ll\lIIiltr~o with 1\ l'uOIII
in tllt'i.' banking limiNe fill' tllI~ ('xclll~in' II"'C~· lU1l1 f1c('ultAtiun nt' tid .. comInith'(~: thm'efm'(',
111'.'101,'('(/, That tim Hitting'" of thi"i (,(Hmnittl'r. ""mll bl~ 11(~~'1 in tl',l'ir rnom
Rt

the Nor,th Aml'I'ir.un h(Jtd,

,,: i"in

in "I(~ city uf Phihuh·II.!lIn,

1IIIIIl

.,11 ..,.·.

f)J'd(o.'('d.

11~llOhlf'(l.

P,'c",ill,·"t fl11tl nirectf)r~ of (fir. Hank of the
tu !oiuhmit fur the in"'pectinn of thili ('flrnmittrt".
at thrir committee-room, at t1w N.H·.II Am('r;c;m Ilnh'l, at 11 o'cI()ck
A. M. on 8atnrlluy. the 3cl day nf M:ly instant. the hunk CII' blink", which
contaill the ",innlc~1'I ()I' tl.e IU"'C,,(·.lin.t;rot of thr Huard uf Ui,'("clor<l at their
several flittingH on 'he IHt and Hih day" of (ktub .. r. in the yrR.· 185.9. aftd
f om thr. 'l'~t day or April. 1R94, to thiM clay:
th" rc-Itf'?t"t nr" .·"m ...
r ittrc of the non ..", rdt'cling a )l,'oJl0"li,inh 'n trl\l\!o\rnit ~, CI,PY of C'f'ltain
I~H(}Jllti()fI~ adopte,' on the silicl l!oIt day flf Oc:tll')('I'. I "1.'1:1, tIt tI,.. ~r('n·tary
~f the 'l'rl'aHIII'y uf tile LInitrd StOlt''4; "hUl, tht' rXlu'n'i(, hunk uf thC' !lank.
and tire ,,'cJUchr.rA for l'Xlltm"t'Ji Imid 1)1' in€:ul'rt'd by HRiei Ih .. k ~illn' the J Pit
That the

1 ~ nih't1 Statl'R be

I'('quirrct

ft''''',

ofJRIIUR'·y.18.'12.
ll"'ply lu lhe rnrt"J('oinJ,:',]

nt NK

Us ITI'.n S ... \'1"1':"1 •
•Ut"/~. 1834.
At R HIJl,t:ial mC'cting uf the P,'c'si.I"lIt allli Dir('rtor~ ot' tilt' n ,\Uk of the
Unitml Statc'i, !add thi~ day, the f .. !luwing rC'f;olu t ion wa~ u nanif110 u 'ily
ach'J,tod :

fll'

'I'll Y.

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

Resol'Vcil. That with eycl'Y disposition on the pal-t of the Board to conform to the \Vis.I!.~s 91~),1/~ ~(}mmHtee of In\'cst!gation, so far as it may be
dune without a violatIOn of the trust l'eposell III them, the Board cannot,
he\T('I,the1css consent to let the books alul papCl'!i of the Bank go out of
their care a.:d custody, nor out of the banking house, which is their propetplace
dellnsit(', and th~l'clill"e they ca.nn()~ eOml!ly with t.hat p~rt ,of the
resolution of the Committee of IIH"esfigatlon of the 2£1" mst., which requires t.hat eel'tain of the. books anel paller:; of th~ ~ank be se!!t to tbe
N(wth Am{,I'ican hotel tillS day at 1 1 o'clock, behevll1g that tlUl'l wotl~d
be contl'ary to theil' .hlty tn tim stul'khoIders. and would ta'anscend tbeu"
lawful powel't al'l well as be liable to b.:: deemed. an abandonment of tile
right to be pI'escnt by themselves, 01' theil' cnmnuttee, 01" agents, at the
examination ami iu\"est igation, inferl'ing in all these l'espect~ a very gr!'ve
r~l'I)lonsibility, \"hich the Doal'cI, in the exel'eise of their limited authority,
do 110t think tlll~Y can be reasonably l'equit'cLl to assume.
,
Exb'act from the millutt's :
S. JAUDON, Caslne.,.•

(:f

•

c.
C01\IMITTEE

ROOM,

North American Hotel, May 5, 1834.
On motion, the following resolution and order wel'e adopted:
'Vbel'cas thc Pl'esiclent and Directurs of the Bank of the Unitccl States
}ulve refused to submit certain of their books and proceedings to th,: inspection of this committee~ at the c:mnmittce room at the North AmerIcan
hotel. as required in the committee·s resolution of the 2d instant, but have
declal'ed that thl~y J\t'e not aWftl"e that they "a\'e declined to furnish this
Cf)mmiUee a room in theil- banking house, ful' its exclusive use and occupathm, as eXIlI'essed in theil" second resolution of the 3d instant, ami this commUtee is car'nesHy"desirolls fully to execute the resolution ot'the House of
RelH'Csentatives, and .Ioe.s not wah'e the right to inspect the books of the
Sank, as re(luired : therefor'e,
•
Jlesol'Ved, That this committe(~ will I'epail' to the banking house this day,
at 1 o'clock, to inspect such of the books calle.( £01' in the resolution of
tl.~ 28th Apt'iI, 1834, and such othel' books as they may I'e<luire to be prod\lcctJ ; and tbat tl~ chair"man illfclI"m the Committee of Dil'ectol's thereof.
"Or~eted, That, o.n arl'lving at the Bank, the chairman be authoriz·ed
tQ re.qlure of the rresuJent. ur other officers, tbe production oC the b ks r
the Hank~ I'm" inspection of this committel"."
00
Thcr'cupolJ, thc committee proct'cded to the banking house. The chairmall inrluil'cil fol' 1\IJ'. Se,'gcallt, chail'man of tile Committee of Dil'ectors
a(t~ was tuld h he was not at the Dallk.)f He then inquh'ec..l rOI" the Pre~
siden,t, and fil'st Cashicl' or the Bank; and, on theil' appearing, rcquestec.l
ca,cb of them I'cspe~t~\'ely to produc~ to UI,e l'ommittee, fOl' in~llection, tho,
nnnute bouks cOlliallllllg the IH'oceedlllg!i; ot the Bmuod of Dil·ecttws and. re~
quested the P,'(:'sident to silumit for inspection also the e'xpellse b~k, and
,·oucherR. showing the cxpenuitul'cs made nudet- the rcsolution of the Boal'd
passe~) Novembel' SO, 1830.
The l">.'csident anti Cashit'l'declined complying with the l'Nl'lCst, nlh'ging that they hall uo powel' to do so, the books
being in the custody ur the Board ur Dil'ectOl's.
The President then invited the cOIllmittee to his rooln," where the
same conversation was repeated by the chail'man of the committee, and
the President of the Bank. It was there proposed by MI'. Ellsworth,

Rep. No.

481.

that the demand of the committee should be reduced to writing, which
was done by the adoption of the following order:
"
" Ordered, That the President of the Bank of the United States be
requested and required to submit to the Comlll.ittee of Investigation the.
mi~ute book containing the proceedings of the Board of Dil"ectors of the
Bank of the United States, the expense account, and the vouchers for.
expenditure under a resolution ofthe Board orthe 30th Novelaber, 1830,"
and 11 th March, 1831.
'~ Ordered, That the Cashier of the Bank of the United States be, and
he IS l!ereby, req~ested and requir,:d" to submit, fOl' the inspection of the
cO'lnlmttee, the mmutc books contaInlllg the proceedinO's of the Board of
DirectOl's since the 1st day of January, 1829.""
"0
BANK OF THE

UNITED STATES,

May 5,1834.
SIR: I have had the honor of receiving fmm you, personally, in my
interview this morning with the Committee of Investigation, a resolution
of the committee in the following words:
" Ordered, That the President of the Bank of the United States be
requested and required to submit to the Committee of Investigation the
minute book containing the proceedings of the Board of Directors of the
Bank of the United States, the expense account and vouchers for ex.penditure under a resolution of the Board of the 30th of Novemher, 1830,"
and ~ lth March, 1831.
"
, In answer to this requisition, I have the honor to state that J have not
the cus,tody of, nor contl"ol over, the books and pUJ?ers mentioned in. the
resolution. The general custody of the same is III the Board of Dl.rectors of the Bank, who, by resolutions of the 24th and ~8th ulbm<:"
already communicated to the committee, appointed a Committee of DIrectors for the pUl"pOSe of exhibiting these books and papers to. the Comwittee of Investigation, and declared that they could n?t permit .them to
be examined except in the presence of the said ~?r:-lmlttee or Dlr~ctors.
I am, therefore, unable to comply with the reqlllsltlOl1 contained In the
resolution.
I have the honor to he,
.
Very respectfully, yours,

N. BIDDLE, President.

Hon.

FRANCIS THOMAS,

Chairman of the Committee of I11vestigation, Philadelphia.
BANK

THE. UNITED

STATES,

May 5, 1834.
SIR: I ha,·e had ~he honor of receiving from you, pel"sonally, in my
interview this mornmg with the Committee of Investigation, a resolution
of the said committee in. the following words:
" O1'dered, That the Cashier of the Bank of the United States be, and he
is hereby, requested and required to submit for the inspection of the
co~mittee the minute books containing the pl"ocecdings of the Board of
Directors since the 1st of January, 1829."
In answer to this requisition, I have the honor to state that I have not
the custody of, nor control over, the books mentioned in the resol ution. The
general custody of the same is in the Board of Directors of the Bank

[ Rep. No.

481.

who by resolutions of the 24th and 28th ultimo, already communicated to
the Committee of I nvestigation, appointed a Committee of Direc~ors forthe purpose of exhibitin(T these books and papers to the CommIttee of
Investigation and declar~d that they could not pel'mit them to be examined except in the presence of the said Committee of Directors. I am,.
ther~fore unable to comply with the requisition contained in the resolution.
'
I have the honor to be, sir,
Your obedient servant,
S. JAUDON, Cashier'.
To the Hon. FRANCIS THOMAS,
Chairman of the Com. of lnt'estigation of the Bo. of Reps. U. S ..

•
D.
May 7, 1834.
The committee met at half past 10 o'clock A. M. all the members
being pI'esent.
The Chairman submitted the following 'resolution, which had been
received from the Committee of Directors:
DANK OF THE UNITED STATES, lrlay 6, 1834.
At a meeting of the committee, held this day, it was, on motion,
Resolved, That the Committee of the Boul'd will be prepared to receive the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United
States at the banking house of the Bank of the United States to-morrow
morning, the 7th instant, at 11 o'clock, then and there to proceed in the
exec~tion oof their duty, according to the requirement of the Board as
contamed m the several resolutions, copies of which have heretofore been
co~municated to the Committee of the House of Representatives of the
Umte. d States, as the same have been explained to be understood by the
committee, to which understanding they continue.
On r..lotion,
'
Resolved, That the committee ,,,ill proceed to exarnine into the stAtements made by the Government directors to the President of the United
States a.nd to C~mgres~, and fOlo that purpose will, this day, call for th~
production, f<?r mspechon, of the minute books, containing the proceedmgs of the dl;cctors of the Bank, and the expense books and vouchers
for expenses lllculTed.
After having ~dopt:d this l'esolnti~n, the committee proceeded. to the
!Jank ~f the U mted States and occupIed the room assigned for thalr ~se ;
unmedmtely thereafter they were attended by the Committee of Dlreetors, when
Mr. Mason, as one of the committee, desired the production of the minute
hook containing the proceedings of the Board of Directoros f,'om 80th·
September, 1832, to this date (7th ~Iay, 1834.)
The Committee of Directors thereupon l'etil'ed to deliberate on the propriety of granting this request, and soon aftel' l"eturned, \vhen their chair- .
man presented the following paper to wit;
The Committee of the Board request to be furnished with a co~y or
the resolution of the Committee of I nvestigation read to the Committee
of the Board this morning.
NORTH AMERICAN HOTEL,

Rep. No.

481. ]

The following resolution was then passed by the Committee of hlvestigation :
_
.
"Resolved, That a copy of the resolution of this committee read by
the chairman of the Committee of Investigation in the presence of the
Committee of Directors this day, and requested by said committee,.
be furnished agreeably to their request, as matter of favor, and not of
right."
Mr.l\luhlenberg desired that the books showing the accounts of ~lessrs~
-, with the Bank of the United States, and papers explanatory of
such account,. from t~e 1 st day of January, ] 832, to this day, may he submitted to the InSpection of the committee.
The chairman requires that the expense book of the Bank with the
vouchers, showing the expenses of the Bank, incurred by a re~olution of
the SOt~ November, 18~O, and the] Ith ~1arch, 1831, be submitted to the
inspectIon of. the C~mmlttee of Investigation.
.
'The question bemg taken upon them, was carned in the affirmative.
without a division being called for.
'
Notice being given to the Committee of the Board of Directors that
the Committee of Investigation were ready to receive them, they attend-·
ed and the chairman stated to Mr. Sergeant, chairman of the Committee
of the Board, " that the committee had directed a copy of the resolution
requested by them, to be furnished ;" which was thereupon furnished to
Mr. Sergeant by the secretary.
The chairman also stated to 1\1r. Sergeant, that other books a~d ~apers
·w·ere specifically }'equired by members of the committee, speclfymg to'
him those required by 1\11'. Muhlenbcrg, :Mr. ~1a:son, and himself. The
Committee of the Board then retired, and in a few minutes l'eturned ; and
Mr. Sergeant stated thf\t he was authorized by the Committee of the
Board to offer certain resolutions, which he read, as follows:
. Whereas it appears, from the resolution of th~ House of Re:pre~en
tatives of the United States, appointing the CommIttee of Inve.sttgahon,.
that tW? distinct inquiries were conteJllP~ated, one of. t~em dlrcctly to
ascertaln whether the charter had been VIOlated, and 11ll1lted to the acts.
of the corporation, and the other so very general and indc~ni~c, as to
make it difficult, if not impossible, to say whether it has any llImt~ at all,.
either as to the matters to be inquil'ed into, or the mode of pUl'smng the
inquiry: and whereas it appears, from calls made by the Committee of
InvestiE'ation, that they have proposed a VCI'Y wide range, embracing,.
among other things, an extensive exaIllination of the ncts, transactions,
accounts, and letters of individuals, and thus instituting a kind of general
se8-rch , which is the more objectionable, because, if it have any purpose
at aU, it must be to criminate those individuals, as well as the Bank; and
if it have not thispUl'posc, it is without any assignable object, and would
be an injurious invasion of private intel'ests: and whereas, under these.
circulIlstances, it is the duty of this committee, by all lawful means, to
protect the rights and sacred confidence entrusted to their keeping. and
yield nothing, by consent, which cannot be legally demanded 'from
them! and whereas, aftel' cal'cful and anxious consideration, they are of
opinion that the inquh'Y ca~ o~lly ~e rightfully extended to alleged violatIons of the charter, and thIS mqUlry ought to be conducted according to.
some certain principles and rules: therefore,

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

Resolved, That the Committee of Investigation be l"espectfully l"equired, when they ask for books and papers, to state specifically, in writing~
the ,pur"poses /or ~hich they are proposed to be inspec~ed, and~ if it ~~ to
establish a vIOlatIon of the charter, then to state speCIfically, III wntin~~
what are the alleged or supposed violations of charter to which the evl.-.
dence is alleged to be applicable.
Resolved, Tllat, in the opinion of this committee, it would very much
~onduce to the purposes of justice, as well as to the convenience of 'all
-concerned, if the Committee of Investigation would furnish a specification of all the charges intended to be inquired into, and proceed with
them in order as stated."
.,
1\-11'. Mason requested the chairman to ask, " if the resolution is to be
considered specifically as the answer of the Bank to the calls for the books
and papers.:' \Vhi.ch beiI~g ~on~, 1\-lr. Sergeant replied, " not .specificallYi "
but as relatmg to It, and mdlcabve of the mode of proceedmg deemett, ,
right. by the Bank."
. . . '
'The chairman having requeste~ a specIfic a~swer, the CommIttee etC
the Board retired~. and returned. In twenty lr.mutes, and M.r. Sergeant·
stated that he was mstructed to glve the answer of the commIttee in' the
form of a resolution, which he then rcad, as follows:
. "
"Resolt,ted, That the Committee of the Board are of opinion that the
resolutions submitted by them to the Committee of Investigation this
morning, arc preliminary to answers to specific calls, and respectf~lIy.
submitted for decision before any specific answers are made."
Whereupon, the following resolutions were adopted, and banded to the
Committee of Dit'ectors !
.
, Wherea~ this comm~ttee have, by resolutions severally communjcated .
to the, PresIdent and Dlrectors of the Bank of the United States, declared,
at in discharging the duties confided to them by the HQuse o(Representa~
b!es, they claimed, on their responsibility to that House and to their constItuents, to regulate their proceedings, to judge of the extent of th~ir
power.s and duties for themselves; that they were not charged with the
du!y of criminating the. Bank, its directors, or others, but simply to inqUl~e, ~mongst other tlungs, whether such prosecution, in legal form, shall
b~ InstItuted, and that, in so doing, they would afford to every person, who
mlght appear to be implicated by their examinations full and fair oppor..
tunity of explanation and defence:
'
1. Resol'l,ed, therifore, That, in perfOl"ming the duty of " inspectin!; the
books and examining into the proceedings of the Bank" the commlttee
cannot rightfully he 'required,' and, from the nature' of their duties,
.cannot comply with a request to state specifically, in writing, the purposes,
for which they arc proposed to be inspected.
2. Resolved, That the committee cannot comply with a request or requisition to specify what are the supposed violations of charter, because they
are not conducting a prosecution, but simply inquiring wbether one shall,
be instituteu.
3. Resolved, That the Committee of Directors be, and they here1;ly are,
requeste~ and requir~d to submit for the inspection of. this c0II?-~ittee'
the credlt books and pay lists of the Bank, to enable thIS comiJlItte~ to
as~ertain " whether it has useq, its cOI"porate powers or money to control
the press, to interfere in politics, 01" influence electiolls."

t'!t

[ Rep. N{).

48 t.

]

~ 4. 'Resolved, That the Commii~ee of Directors be requested and requ\red
-lt9. submit for the inspection of this comniittee the minute books of the·
.. ~~nk, together with the correspondence, journals, and other· meriiorandU~8 of the proceedings of the Committees of Exchange, on the state of the
Bank, and on the Offices, that this committee may be enabled to ascertain
whether the Bank" has had any agency, through its management or money, in producing the present pressure."
.
. 5. Resolved, Tbat the Committee of Directors be, and they are hereby, requested and required to submit for the inspection of this committee the'
minute books containing the proceedings of the Board of Directors tog~tlfer with the correspondence journals of the Pl'esident ofthe, Bank: the.
Exchange Committee, the Committee on the state of the Bank, and the
. Coromitteeon the Office.s, that this co~mittee may be enabled to judge
whether the Board of Directors have Violated the charter of the Bank
by authorizin.g, permitting, or. sanctioning the exer~ise of imp.·oper and
illegal powels by those committees, or by the PreSident of the Hank.
Notice being given to the Committee of the Board, they attended and
certified copies of the three last -mentioned resolutions, and of l\fr.'Mason's resolution, being IUI'nished to them by the secretary they requested
time to answer them, and retired.
'
[Ueply to the foregoing' request and resolution,]

Resolved That after full deliberation, and with evel'Y feeling of re-·
spect for th~ House of Repres~nt.atives, and fo'r the com~ittee appointed
by them, and with a fil'm conVICtIOn that they have nothmg to fe~r from
sC1'1.:ltiny of the affairs. of the Bank, however sev'::l'e, the . Committee of
the· Board are constramed to adhere to the resolutIOns yesterday ~anded
io -the. Committee of Investigation! and to decline complying. WIth t~e
calls heretofore made upon them, In any other ma~ner than IS thermn
laid down, believing this to be their duty, from winch they are not at
liberty to depart.
,
The attention of the Board of Directors having been speCIally calle~ to
the 'foregoing proceedings at the Bank on M~y 7? 1834, the f~n0'Ym~
re-solution was passed, and fonvarded to the CommIttee of Investigation ..
DANK OF TilE UNr1'I~D STATES,

.Uuy 9, 1854.
At a hleeting oC the Board of DiI'('ctOI"S held this daYt the fnlluwillg resolutions WCI'(': unanimously adOltted :

lltsiJl."ecl, 'j~bat the-Board, tuning heard the l"CIIOl"t of the committee ftl.ointed on the £4th lilt. upon the llIattc.. ~ I'clc.·.·cd to them this mm'lIingt do
fullY appro\:c and sanction the resolutiulls adopted by 11m. comm,iUl'c un. the
7th and 8th lUstants, and lU'Csclltcd by them to the Comnllttt~C 01 Itn'eshgatio".

•

E.
The following resolution was adopted by the Committee of Investigation during their sitlin:~s in Philadclphi~, and tl'unsmith'd to the Board
of Directors through their committee, to wit :
Resoll:ecl, That the President of the Bank of the t~ nitcd States be rc-

[ Rep. No. 48 f.

quested to furnish this committee with a list of the books of the Bank,
with a description of the purposes for which each 'is designed, and the
name of the clerk to whose care and custody they are respectively com·
mitted· and also, a copy of the by-laws now in force in the Bank, and
of the by-la.:vs in force prior to the first Monday in December, 1829.
BANK

OF rrHE

UNITED

ST,\TES~

.fJpril 25, lSS4.
you,
agreeably
to
your request, ,.~ a
SIn. : I have the honor to send to
list of tho books of the Bank, with an explanation of the purposes for
which each is designed."

In regard to the J'cmaining pm't of the inquiry, "the names of the clerks
to whose custody they al'e J'esllectiveJy cummitted," I am instructed by the
Committee of the BOUl'U to say that these books are not undel'stood to be in
the c~u'c and custody of the del'ks, but in the general.,ustouy of the Board.
TJ'he names of the clerks wl.1{) make cnh'i('s in ~hem, and for that purilOS.,
have possession of them dunllg the hUUl'S of buslI1css, are added to the list
.of the books.

I abo enclose ,. a copy of the by-laws no\~ III furce til tile Bank, and the
by.la\\'s in force pl'iOl' to the fil'st ~1()IIt1ay 01 Decemher, 1829."
I lia YC the honor to be,
Ver'y l'espectf'ulJy, yours,
JOHN SEUGEANT, ChairmQfl.
Hon. FUANCIS 'rllO~fAS,
Ciwinnllu rif the Cammitiee oj Iu"t-'estigatioll, Philadelphia.
The following resolutions were adopted by the Committee of Investigation, at different times during their sittings in Philadelphia, and transmitted to the Board of Directors through this committee, to wit:
.
Ilesoh:cd, That thc PI'csident and Di.'cctors of the Bank of the United
States be l-cqucsted to flll'nish this committee '\'ith the following statements ~
1. A statement showing the a'nount of public money on clcpositc in the
Bank and its brallches. l'f'specti\'cly, to thc c.'edit of the Treasurer, and
-otlle.' officers of' the UJlited States, in each month, frUln April, 1832, to
April, 1834, inclusive •
. 2. A stat~ment showing the numuer of votes ginm at each election fOl"
-dll'~ctors of the parent Rank since Deccmber, 1832; showing, also, what
nUmbel" of votes were ghcn in I)Cl'sun by the stockholder"s, and what number by proxy, and by whom such proxies were held, aud a Jist of the
director"s dected at each election.
s. A fitatclllcnt showing the amount of gohl and silver coin which has
been purchased or sold by the Bank; the names of pel'sons f.·om whom such
I>urchases. and to whom snch salcs, have been made, and the gross amount
.of profit deJ'ived by the Bank therefrom; aud, also, showing the most usual
and IJigiLest prices received for each 01' the following desCl'illtions of coin,
and whether the same ha'"c been sold ill the C nited States, or in fOl'eign
countries:
}. Gold engles, halves and quartet'S, of rllitcd States coinage.
-2. Sil vel' dollar'R. hal\'cg alld qual·tel's, of the same coinage .
.3. Spanish duubloons and their IHu'ts.
4. Pata'iot
do
do .
•'5. Spanish milled, ~Iexicall, Peru"ian, amI Chilian dollal's.

[ Rep. No.

481. ]

6, English guineas and so\-ereigns.
7. Louis d'ol's nr France and Ih<.- fI'anc pieces.
8. lIalf .Toes of POI'tng~l and nra~'il.
4. A statement showing the amount of golcl or sih~ercoin which has beell
drawn by order of thc J)a.-ent B'l"k ("om ~'ach of its 'Vestern. Southwest'ern, and Southern OftiCl'S; nllt' also the amount of specie which has been
sent thcl'eto by the Hame authol'ity.
5. A statcnH'lIt slwwing tlte names of aJl perso))s, aJ IJhabetiralJy at'l'anged,
,,·ho W{"I'e ir~lkbted to the pat'ent Dank Oil the liI'st l\1ollday of' Deecmuer',
1829; bho,ywg. also, ",hetllt.'I', by auth(lI'ity of the. Bl),u'd of Dil'cctors,
the E..xchang~ eommittc~, the PJ'esid('nt. 0)' other OfliCC1' of the Bank, ('aeh
)Han was made; the reslficilce of each borl'owc,- or tlt-btol'; the terms 011
,,'hich each loan was made; and whclhCl' each dcbtOl" was liable as Ot-awel'
or "ncJ<uoser. principal or secur-ity.
6. StHtemcnts, similar tn the fore,going" of tIm debts due to the parent
Dank 011 the 1st lIfty of un (', 1832, anti on the 28ttl day uf April, 1834. .'
7.· A state.ment sl~owJllg the amollHt of' f(.J'cig~1 OJ' domestic gold 01' SilYC1'
'Coin, nt' hullioll, wllleh has been eXpOl'h'fl hy tlie Balik fOl' cach anti cvery
lJ10uth ::>inrc the lst of March, 1832, and the IH'ofits dlWivccl lJv the Bani"
f,'om sueh ('xprll'tatinn; :;\lul, also, the ~lmollnt nl' specie impoi,tetl by the
Dank within the same pel'iod.
g. A stat.f"mellt shnwing (he capital of f.~ach of the oftices OI~ branchclJ of
the Banh:, ,\ it tl a tabulal' statement showing the liabilities and I'CSOII1'ces
of each br'aneh 01' olHrc, on the 1 st or each auel c"CI'Y month, f,'nIU Mal'cli,
1832, to ApI'il, 1 8$4. h~c1l1sive.
.
.
9. A statcr.nellt showmg the amnuut of cJ(}mcsh~ lulls poss~ss('d by each
or the bl'allches anti l,fficcs of the Bank~ on the tH'st day of each munth
from 1\1aJ'eh, 18S2, tn Apt'il, 1854, illelusi."c; showing. also, th(~ plaees at
which the same wel'e Iml'chasetJ, and the tIme when~ nlHl places ",hel'e, the
Bame WC1'e 01' will be tmyablc.
.
10. A ~tatem{"nt showing the alllo_unt of moncy which has becn, at nny
time loaned lJy the Bank. on pledges of stock as collatel"al seem'lty, the
kind and dl'scl'iption of stocks thus plceJgl'd, the date ami tCl'ms of each
loan, thc names of tll6 bOl'I'OWCI':"!, wilh the amlHwt loaned to each, aJllI the
amount nnw due bv f'3ch bOl~I' )Wel' "Cs))Ccti\r("ly,
II. A statement shnwiug the names of the HtockholrlcJ's of the Bank,
with the mllllbcr of shares held by each; their' onlcial stations, if in otlice;
-and showing, also, the aggl'egatc numbf'r ami value of the shat'es held by
fOl'eignel'li f\lul citizens
the United States, r'cspcct.in'ly.
12, Resolved, That the President, Dil'cctOl'S, and Company of the Bank of
the United States be requested to furnish this committee with a list of the
names and residence of all persons who surl-endered their certificates
of three per cent. stock, and received a credit on the books of the Bank
therefor; the time when, and amount placed at t11e credit of each; the
aggregate amount thus surrendered and the dates at which the same
were paid by the Ba,nk to the proprietors; the names of the agents employed by the, Bank In any negotiations or arrangements to postpone the
payment of saId stocli:s; the compensation allowed to each ngcnt, and the
Bmount of expenses allowed to each in addition to compensation.
13, ResoilJed, That the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank
of the United States be I'equcsted to furnish this committee with the en-

[ Rep. No.

481. ]

tire correspondence between said Bank, or any of its agents, and the
Secretary of the Treasury, and Barin~, Brothers, and Company, and Hottinguer and Company, touching the bill of exchange drawll by the Treasury Department on the French Government on the 7th of Ju~e~
1888' also, copies of all accounts and accounts cunent with said Bank,
from ~ither Baring, Brothers~ and Company, or Hottinguer and Company between the 1st of January and July, 1883.
.
Resolved, That the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank
ortbe United States be requested to furnish the committee with a statement
showing the names of all special agents employed by the Bank sipce its
establishment, the object of such agencies, the compensation allowed to
eaeh, the services rendered by each, the dUI'ation of such. agencies~ the
expenses allowed to each, in addition to compensation, and whether
either of such agents was eithel' members of Congress, of State Legisla_
tUres or officers of the General Government at the time of employment.
15: llesol"Ved~ Tlmt the }"JJ"c',ideut, lJia'ectol's, and Company of the Balik
be requested tu fUl'nish th~ cOlllmittee.with. a stalell~cnt, showing the. whole

i4.

nUlDbel' or 81a'\'('s which it has taken ,"nee Its cstabhsluncnt, by plll'chase

tiU

•

deb::

in I.ayment of tld)ts, the time when, ami from whom, each was taketl'
amouut or debt they wen' takcn to llaY 01' SCCUl'C, and whether' sueh
WCI'C ulldpr' pl'otest when such sla\-cs WC1'e tal\.en, the names or all (lartie
obligated upon each delJt, allu whethel' such shn'es have been Hold by
Bank, alit! if so, the anwullt outained rOl' each, the deficiency or eXCess
in each case of salc in ,'cspect to the deht on whiei: such slaves wCl'e taken
dcsigmlting thc lu'anchl'H at "hieh such sla\'es "cl·e taken or sold.
~
16. 1lcsol"ed, That the l)l'{'sitll'Ut, Dia'cctors, aud Company of the Bank
of the Unit~d Statf's lie l't'qucsh'" to furnish the committee with COllies of
all cOl'l'espcuadcllcc hetween the PI'esident of the Bank 01" any of its officers
with mCIIlI.'CI'R of COllglocsS, 0." ur unanswered lctters rccelved C"OlD any
one of them hincc the 1 st day of J lily, 1852. tu IIching the renewal of thc
charter of tlac Bank, the removal or restoration of the public depusites,
01' touching the business t.oansactions of such members with said Bank.
17. Resolved, That the President, Directors~ and Company of the
Ba~k of the United States
requested to furnish this committee with
cople~ of aU l~gal opinions which it may have obtained from counsel,
touchIng the rIght of the Bank to hold the public moneys in defiance of
the powers or o~'derso of the Secretary of the Treasury to remove thesame. ; ,als~, copIes of all the opinions obtained from counsel in loelation
to dehvenng ov~r, as directed by the proper officer theiunds,books
and papers, prOVIded for paying revolutionary pensions, or ·annuities:

til:

under the act of 7th June, 1832.
.
18~ Jle~olved, That the President, Directors, and Company ofthe Bank

of the UnIted States be requested to furnish this committee with a state-ment of their expense account since the 1st of January, 1829, up to
the date this resolution is comp,lied ~ith ; Showing~ the items and total
for each half yealo, correspondmg WIth the entries on theil' expense
book, and 5how&11<'" the names and residence of all persons to whom
any }>ayl'nents hav~ heen made; the al1lount to each, and the time and
consideration of such payments, with copies of aU vouchers taken· for
stich p ...yments.
10, Resoll:{'il, That the President, Directors, nnd Company of the Dank.
of the C nited 8tates he rcque:;ted to furnish this committee "\vith t~e
particular items;> and the aggl'(~f!;atc of all fees and cOlnpCnS~\tion paid

[ Rep. No.

481. ].

auring each year to attorneys, couns~llors, or lawyers, since the establishment of the Bank; stating the amount paid to each person employed,
together with their J'esidence, the times when the payments were
made, and the particular services rendered for each charge paid; also,
"whether the same has been paid at the parent Bank or branches, and
at which, designating them; also, of all sums paid as a general or annual
fee or salary to counsellors for the Bank, specifying the names of such
persons, the' amounts, and times, and places of payment; and, also,
whether such sums were paid by the order in each case of the Board of
Directors, or how otherwise paid; designating such sums as'have been
paid in cash, and s~ch as may have been passed to the credit of such
persons or others, In paymen~ of any ?ebt or debts due to said Bank.
20. Resf!lved, That the PreSident, DIrectors, and Company of the Bank
the Umted States, be requested to fur'nish this committee with the
.entire correspondence between it and the New York branch since the
1 st day of J auuary, 1833.
fZ 1. Res?lved. TtHlt the Pt'esident, Dil'ectors. amI Company, of the Bank
-of the U III ted States, be rC(luested to fUl'nish this committee with a detailed statenwnt nf all loans made since the tst of .January, 182:9, to individ-~
uals who then werc, who ha,rc been since,
who now are, Ill(,'mbers of
Congl'css; stating the amount of ('aeb loan, when' the same was made, for
what tel'm the security was' given, and the time when such secul"ity was
rece:ived; and also the security which the Dank now holds, and the am~unt
now owing by any and each of sueh borrow.el's, Ol' other persons for tbe
benefit of such bOl'l·owea's, at the Bank or elther of the branches, and staw
ting, also, the pal'ticulul'S of any such loans which hs\'c been 11rotested, or
which aloe now under protest, allli the names of tile pal'tics to uny stich debts';
a1so the namcs (if any) or p'-'I'sons whose notes have been renewed after the
"Fa"mc had become due. and 110t 1H'otested 01· renewed, with the names of jndiyilluals, "artieR to said renewals, wllO~e notes wel"e Ulldel" Ilrotest at the
times such rcncw~lls were made; ani! also whethel' such loans in each case
",-ere made by the dit'ectol'S, 01" otherwise, amI by what authol'ity.
~2. Resoh'ed, That the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank
~f the, Unite~ States, be requested to furnish this committee w!th a statement m detaIl of all overdrafts which have been made on said Bank or
branches since 1829, by members of Congress or State Legislatures, the
tiIne such overdrafts were made' and also by pl'inters editors and
'hers 0 f ne'\-,"spapers or periodicals;
'
" stating the time and
"
pubhs
amount of
.ea'ch. overdraft, ~Y whom made, the period such overdrafts remained
'I.1npald, and the time and manner such drafts have been paid or secured.
. 25. Resolved, That the President Directors;and Company ofthe Bank of
·tbe United States be requested to furnish the committee with a statement
of the outstanding certificates of the public debt, for" whi~h the ~,ank
bolds the money on deposite to redeem under the designatIOn of
re-'
demption of public debt;" showing the ~1allles and l'esidence of the hold~rs of such outstanding certificates; the amount of each, and the .aggregate
of the whole; the class of loans to which they belong respectively, and
whether the Bank has paid interest to allY of tbe holders of the same
".ince th~y feB due and payable.
24. Resoh:ell. Thnt the IJresiuent and Dil'odo1's of the Dank be requested to furnish this committee witb a statement~howillg the amouut of
·41ebt directly 01' itH.lil·cctly oue or owing to s.\id Halik by
and

..of

0'·

[ Rep. No. 48to ]

- - - , or either or both, jointly or severally, or by any other person' fq..their benefit, 01" the benefit of either of thcm; sbowins also the amount.9C
debt thus due at any time heretofore, ~ith a statement o~ all paymeJlt8,~
tJleir account, with the dates thereof, since tbe 1st of April, 1832, with collies of any!deed 01· dc:erl-s of trustl> 8I'!,angemcnt, contract, or .agreement, urassignment, .. "tel"cd Into beh,:een said Bank and them, or either ofth~mtt
or others for the benefit of said Dank, or in ,,,·hich it may have a beneficial
iote..cst; also COllies of the entire corl"espondeace between said B;lnk, Qr
'any officer thereof, and the said
alld
, or either of them; also a -cupy of any consent wHcll the Bank may have given, so far 8S con_
cerned, permitting
to establish and publish a ut'wspaper in the city
nutwithstanding his contract with
to the contrary.
25. Resolved, That the P.oesitlent and -Directors of the Bank be re_
quested to flU'l'!ish this committc.e with a st~tement of the amOl!nt of debt
directly or indll'ect~y due or o\'mg to the said Bank, or any o~ Its branch_
es from
, editor of the
, 01' any otbelolleloSOn COl' Ins account orb:nelit; stating the maximum of bis loans or debt at any time 8ince~he became indebted, th~ time~ aud places when amI ~'here conti-acted, and tho
Hme antI ma~mer I? wluc.h the same has been "paul, re{~uced, or secured
and with copies of Its entIre ccu'res})ondence With the sald
•
,.
. .26. Ilesoh.~ClI, That the PI"csident and Dir"ectol"s of the Bank be re_
quested to furnish this committee with a statement, showing the details oC
the debt which has~ at auy time, been owing by
, pubnshe~
oC the
, since ~lal'ch9 1832, and showing how the same bas,
been settled, secured, .or al"ranged; also, copies of all proceedings
:the Board of DiI'ectors, or any committee 0'· officer of said Bank, in relation to said debt, ~jnce that period; showing also the amount oC loss, i t
any, it has, or may probably, sustain by him.

tReply of the Board to the foregoing resolutions"]
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

May S, 18S4.
. At a speeial meeting of the Board, held this day, the following resolution was, on motion, unanimously adopted:
Re8olved, That the Board do not feel themselves at liberty to COlD_.
ply. with the requirement of the resolutions of the COlDmittee of InvestigatIon ?f the 29th u.Ito and 1st inst., and do not think they are bound to.
do so, masmuch as, III respect to a part of the papers called for, the effect
would be the same as the surrender of their books and papers to a seeret.
and ex parte examination, which they have already refused to consent to;
and as to the other part, they relate to matters over which the Board
ha.ve no control, and if they co~ld overcome these objections, and had·
power over all the papers, still it would be impossible for them to comply. within any reasonable time, having ascertained by a careful examinatIon, that the copies and statements called for by the resolutions of the
29th ult. alone 'would require the uninterrupted labor of two clerks for
at least ten months to make them out~ and that the remaining resolutions,
80 far as they concern matteI'S not beyond the reacll of the Board", wo~ld
require a great additional time, which they are not able exactly to compute witho~lt causing 'what they fear would be an inconvenient delay t~
the Committee of Investigation; and they take it for gl·anted that It

[ Rep. No.

481. ]

would no more comport with the views of the Committee G( ;Investigaiionto wait till-so distant a-period, than it would with the rights ofithe
Bank to have such a burden imposed upon it.
Extract from the minutes:
s. JAUDON, Cashier•

•
F.
The following resolution was adopt~d by the Committee of Investiga•.
tion:
COMMITTEE ROOM, May 9, 1834.
Besol"ed, That the chairman of tbis committee, in pursuance of the
authority of the House of Repreaeutatives of the United States, and the
terms and rules regulating its proceedings, do issue a subpcena duces tecum
to be directed to Nicholas llhldle, President, Manuel EYI'C, Matthew Newki.·k, John S~rgeant,. Charlt's Chauneey, John S. Henry, John R. Neff,
.Ambrose \Vhlte, Damel 'V. Coxe. John G()ddal'd~ James C. Fislu.~I·, Lawrence Lewis, John Holmes, and 'Villiam l~Jatt, dircctol'S ot' the Bank oC
the United States, to be and appear before this committee, at the it· committee room in the North American hotel, in the city or Philadelphia, at
lit o'clock at noon, on Saturday, the loth instant. and to bring wit"
them the credit books of said Bank, showing the indebtedness of individuals
to said Bank at the present timl".
.

By authority of the House of Representatives of the U'nited States ..
To

BENJA.MIN

BONSALL,

lI-Iarahal of the Ell8tern Distrid of PenTUlyivania.·

You are hereby commanded to summon Nicholas Biddle, President,
Emanuel Eyre, Matthew Newkirk, John Sergeant, Charles Chauncey,
.John S. Henry, John R. Neff, Ambrose WlWte, Daniel W. Coxe, John
Goddard, James C. Fisher, Lawrence Lewis, John Holmes, and William
platt, directors of the Bank of the United States, to be and appear before
the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, appointed on th~ 4th day of April, 1834, " for the purpose of ascertaining,
as fal' as practicable, the cause of the commercial embarrassment and distress complained of by numerous citizens of the United States, in sundry
memorials which have been presented to Congress at the present sessioD"
and of inq~iring whether the charter of the Bank of the :United. Stat~s
has been Violated, and also what corruptions and abuses have exuted In
its management· whether it has used it.s cOl'porate power, or money, to
control the press: to interfere in politics; 01' influence elections ;. and whet~ler
it has. had any agency through its rnana<remcnt or money, In p~oducmg
the existing pressure;' also, to inspect th~e books an<.l ,examine mto the
proceedings of the said Bank, and whether the provl~1Ons of the cha~ter
have been violated 01' not· and what abuses, corruptIOns, or malpractices
have existed in the mana"'~))1ent of said Bank; and also to examine into
the aff.'lirs of the said Bal'a~ and hranches; and further, to visit the principal Bank, or any of its branches, for the put])ose of inspe.ctin~ the books,
corre~ondence accounts and other papers connected "nth Its management or b\.lliine;s," in theil· chamber ill the North American hotel, in the

:.36

[ Rep. No.

48 t. ]

city of Philadelphia, and to bring with them the credit books of said Bank,
showing the indebtedness of individuals to said Bank on the tenth day of
May instant, at the hour of 12 o'clock, M. then and there to testify touching
the matters of said inquiry" and to submit said books to said committee
for inspection.
Herein fail not, and make return of this summons.
Witness the seal of the House of Representatives of the Unite~
] States, and the signature of the Hon. Francis Thomas, chairman
[SEA.L.
of the said committee, at the city of Philadelphia, this ninth day
of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.

FRANCIS THOMAS,
Attest: \V. S. FRANKLIN,

Clerk House of Representatives U. S.
COMMITTEE ROO~I, },fay

10, 1834, 10 o'clock .A. M .

. The follow·ing resolution .was., 0!l Dlotion, adopted.:
.
llesol-cetf, T~lat this comnuttce wlllIH'oCe~tI to examine NI~bola~ Biddle,

Esqui!'e, Pl'esulent of the Bank of the Ullitetl States, touchmg lns ha"'ing
acted under the resolutions of the Board of Dircctors of the 30th Novem_
ber 1830, amI the 11 th l\Iarch, t 8S 1; and as to what amount of nlOney
lie ilas eXllendcd under those resolutions since the 30th day of November,.
1833, to th is day.
At 12 o'c1()ck at 1100n, Nicholas Didc.llc, Esquil'c, and' Messrs. Manuel
EYI'e, }tlatthew Newkh'k, John Sergeant, Chades Chauncey, John S.
Hem'y, John R. Neff, Ambr·ose 'Vhite, Daniel
Coxe, .John Goddard.
James C. Fisher, Lawl'encc I.ewis, John Holmes, and 'Vm. Platt, pl'esented thcm~ehes at t.he committee I'oom, and Mr. Sergeant state.}" that
they came In IHu'suallce of the 11I'ccept sel'ved on them individually
by the marsha), and that he would read their individual answer to it. '"
He th~n read the following papel', and, having done so, handed it to tbe
,.committee.

"T.

tReply of Directors to suhpama. ]

The undersigned lJaying becn individually ser'·cd by D. S. Bonsall.
Esquia'c, marshal of the eastern dish'ict of Pennsylvania, with a copy
of a process, dated the 9th instant, by which be was commanded to 8um ..
Jn~m them, b~ the following names and descl'jlltions, to wit: Nicholas
.BIddIe, PI'csldcnt, Emanuel Eyre. Matthew Newkirk John Sergeant.
ChaJ,res Chauncey, John S. Henry, Juhn R. Neff, Ambl'o~e ,Vhitc, Daniel

'V. Coxe, John G()(hhu'd, James C. Fisher. Lawrence Lewis, John
Holmes, and 'Ym. Platt, directors of the Dank of the United StateSt to
be and appear b~fore the Committee of the House of RcprescntativClii of the
United Statcs~ appointed on the 4th day of API'jJ, 1854t in theil' chamber.
in the North ~mel'ican hotel~ in the city of .1' bihulc1phia, and to bJ'inp ,,:it!1
them Hie crccht books of saHI Banl" J showmg the iuucbt<>dncss of IIll}n·.·
duals to said Dauk on the loth day of 1\lay illstant, at thc hout· of 1~
o'clock .1\1., thell and thcl'C to tcstify tOllclling the mattCl's of said inquil'Y,
and to submit said books to said committee foJ' in~llcction, ha\·c consulted
toget!:cr, that tiJ('y might be assisted by tllC judgment of each other as to
the course tll<:'y \\cre individually to pUl·51l{~, and ha"c conclIJ'I'cd, c~ch (01"
llimsl'!f, ill the conclusiun, [Ul' the gUYC"l'llllll'ut of his individual conduct,

[ Rep. No.

48L ]

which will now be stated, and, to avoid misapprehension or controversy,
have reduced their answer to writing, signed, with their names, and herewith respectfully presented, each for himself, KS foHows :
1. Without waiving any objection there may be to the legality or the said.
process, or the service, (which is expressly reserved,) we deem it most Consistent with the respect we wish, upon all occasions, to acknowledge to be
due to the Committee of the Honse of Representatives of the United States,
to attend upon them in person, and accordingly do so attend, to manifest
our respect, not to admit any obligation.
2 •.We do not produce .the books spe?ified in the paper before mentioned,
th~t I~ t.o say, ,. th~ c.'edlt b,~oks of said Bank, showing the indebtedness
of lmhvlduals to saId Bank, because they are not in the custody of either
of us, bl~t, as has been heJ"etofore ~tatcd, of the Board, whose views upon
this SllbJect, ~'e would take occasIOn to say, have already been respectfully communicated to the COlnmittee of Invcgtigation.
s. ,Ve do not know whethel' it was the intclItion of the Committee of InYestigation to c~1l upon eithcl'. of us to testify, or whether thc object of the
paper was not SImply to rcquJI'c US to producc "the Cl'cdit books of said
Bank, showing the indebtedness of individualR to said Bank." But to
avoid unneccssal'y trouble to the committee, and in the sph'it of frankness
required by the resp«:ct that is due to them, we have deemed it propel" to
consider th~ altcl'native fir"st mentioned, and each of us now ~ays for himself that, considering the nature of the 11I'oceeding and the character of the
inquiry, even as explained in the resolution of the Committee of Investigation of the 7th instant, and considering that,. as corporators and as directors, we al'e parties to the pI'occeding, we do not consider ourselves boun(l
to testify, and, thercfOl'c, respectfully decline to do so. 'Vc are su~e t!lat
the committee will duly estimate the sacrifice we mako of personal leclmg
in thus deciding, conscious, as we are, that we have lIO knowledge which,
if a necessary l'egar'd to our duties and the .·ights of othCI"S pel'mitted, we
w~uld not willingly expose without reserve.
N. Biddlt>
Amb.'ose'Vhite
Manuel Eyre
Daniel ,Yo Coxe
Mattl~w Newkirk
John Goddard
John Sergeant
James C. Fisher
eh. Chauncey
Lawrence Lewis
John S. Henry
John Holmes

John R. Neff
PHILADELPIlIA,

W. l)latt.
.lJ'Iny 10, 1834.

•
The following resolution v.-as adopted, and transmitted to the Com-

mittee of Directors;
C()~ntiT'l'EE UOOM,

May 10, 1834 ..

Whereas resolutions have been adopted by this committee, into which·
the names of private individuals were necessarily introduced, that the
Committee of Directors might more readily know where the accounts or .
papers which were called for, to be examined confidentially, were t? be
found; and whereas it has never been the intention of this commlttee
to publish such resolutions, unless, after fJuch contidentiale :xamination, it

[ Rep. No. 481.

should appear that the duty of the co mtnittee, under the resolution of

inquiry, required it; and whereas .the directors of the Bank have declined to produce the accounts thus called for, and this committee, un·
willing to excite suspicions against anyone which they have not the
means either to justify or remove, and there is no longer necessity for
such inj unction of confidence: therefore,
Resowed, That the members of this committee be, and they aloe released .from the injunction which has been imposed to consider confidential
their journal and proceedings, except such parts thereof where the names
of private individuals appear.
Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolution be
forwarded to the Committee of Directors.

REPORT
01' 'rU.

l\UNOR.TY OF THE COMMITTEE FOR INVESTIGATING
TB.

AFFAIRS OF THE BANK OF THE UNITED STATES"

•
MAY 22, 1884.
Printed by order of the Hause of Represen'tatives.

•
Mr. EVERETT, from the minority of the Committee appointed to iDfestigate the affairs of the Bank of the United States, submitted the following

REPORT:
The undersigned, members of the committee for investigating the
·affairs of the Bank of the United States, having differed from their colleagues as to the extent of the powers of the committee, and the mode of
pursuing the investigation, beg leave to submit the grounds of this difterence, and their reasons for not concurring in the report of the majority of
the committee.
The twenty-third section ofthe law, approved on the 10th of April, 1816,
(commonly called the Bank charter,) makes the following provision: " It
shall at all times be lawful for a committee of either House of Congress,
appointed for that purpose, to inspect the books, and to examine into the
proceedings of the corporation hereby created, and to repOl"t whether the
provisions of this charter have been, by the same, violated or not." This
provision is, in terms, an express grant of power to either House of Congress; and, consequently,. but for this grant, neither House would have
possessed !he power. To suppose that either House of Congress
'Would have possessed the power, although the charter had been silent on
the Bubject, is to suppose that so much of the twenty-third section of the
charter as gives the power, is mere surplusage,-an unauthorized and inadmissible supposition.
If the power reserved in the twenty-third· section bad been already
possessed by either House of Congress, it must have been in virtue of its

p;eneral authority to institute inquiries, and to send for persons and papers.
But had the Congress, who granted the charter, understood that this authority to send for persons and papers extended to the inspecti.on of the
books of the Bank, they could.not haye deemed it necessary to pmvide
that it should be lawful, at any time, for either House of Congress to appoiDt a committee for such inspection.
The resolution passed on the 4th of April last, under which the Com-mittee of Investigation was appointed, is expressed in the following terms.
" Resolved, That, for the purpose of ascertaining, as far as practicable,
.".the cause of the commercial distress and embarrassment complained

[ Rep. No. 481.]

by numerous citizens of the United States, in sundry memorials whick-.
have been presented to Congress at the present session, and of inquiring:
whether the charter of the Bank of the United States has been violated;.
and also, what corruptions and abuses have existed in its management;
wh~ther' it has used its corporate power, or money, to control the press,.
to interfere in politics, or influence elections; .or wheth~r it has ha? ~ny
agency through its manaO"ement or money, In producmg the eXIsting
pressur~, a select committ:e be a~pointed, to inspect the books, and examine into the proceedings of the saId Bank, who shall report whether the
provisions of the charter have been violated. or ~ot; and, also, what.
abuses corruptions or malpractices have eXIsted m the management or
said B~nk . and that' the said committee be authorized to send for persons·
and paper~, and to summon and examine witnesses on oath, and to examine into the affairs of the said Bank and branch~s; and they are further
authorized to visit the princital Bank, or any of Its branches, for the purpose of inspecting the books correspondence, accounts, and ,odther papers
- d
'h'
'business' and that the sal commIttee
,:onnect~ WIt Its management or
,~t' ation together with th
be requll'ed to report the result of such m~ es 19 .
~,
e
evidence they may take, at as early a day as pos,sIble.
r
, The committee, thus appointed, is cloth~d ,'nth ,the po," er granted to
either ~ouse. of Congress, by the twenty-thll'd sectI~n of t?e ch~rt~r, the
same bemg gIven to it by the express words of .the I esolutlon, :W.h1c:h authorizes it to " inspect the books and examine mto the proceedmgs of the
s~id Bank," and" report wheth~1' the proyisions of the charter have been
Ylolated or not."
Had the resolution stopped here its interpretation would have been easy_
It would have been (and would s~ have necessarily been tmderstood) a
re~olution, creating a committee under the power granted by the twentythird ,sectIon, of the charter, and for the precise objects, and no other,.
thereIn provIded fot. But the resolution of the House goes much farther_
It ~urports to authorize the committee to engage in a much wider range
?f Inq~ir~ than the violation of the charter. It declares the objects of
InvestigatIon to be threefold, yiz, 1 st the causes of the commercial embarrassmen~ and distress alleged to ~xist; 2d, violations of the charter;
3d, corruptions and abuses in -the management of the Bank of which several are. alluded to, in very general and comprehensive t~rms, as will
be. perceIved by recurren~e to the resolution just quoted. Of these three
objects, the second onl~ IS the ~me on which a cOlUmittee raised in pursuance of the tw~nty-thlrd section of the charter, is autho:ized to report_
As the resolutIOn of the House enumerates obJ" ects of' uit'Y not nam' t h e ~ h arter, so It
"specl
f ies ~neans of attaining information,
mq
e,d In
not proVided for m that law. It authOrizes the committee" to send for persons
and papers, and to summon and examine witnesses on oath and to examine into the affairs of the said Bank and branches."
'
The point of chief question in this matter has been what extension of
t~e pOWers possessed by the committee, in virtue of the twenty-third sec!lOn o~ the law, is effected by this ad~li~ional detail of the objects to be
lnvestlgated, ~nd of the means for ~ttamlllg knowledge concerning them •.
,The subscrl~ers understand theu' colleagues, the majority of the committee, to. cla!lU, under the terms of the resolution, an unlimited
power of mqulry after all the conceivable cOlTuptions and malpractices ..

r Rep.

No. 481. ]

of the Bank, and of sending for the persons of its officers and directors: .
and for any and all of its books and papers, in order to ascertain whethe:
any such corruptions and malpractices exist. The subscribers believe
that no such power of general search is given to the committee by the
resolution; and that it was not competent for eithel' House of Congress
to give it. In their difference of opinion from their brethren of the majOi"'ityon this head, will be found the chief source of their dissent from
most of the important measures proposed by the committee .
. ~efore e?tplaining. their vie.w:'-lllore distinctly, they would observe, to
avoid all mlsconceptLOn? that. it IS no part of their purpose to maintain that
the power of tbe COIDnlltte~ IS confined to an inquil'y, whether the charter of the Bank has been YlOla,ted.. The undersigned believe it is competent for the House to mq~ure mto ~ny alleged abuse Ol" corruption
whatsoever, to the ~h~ost latttu.de ~equll"ed by the public good, and autborized by the prmclples of Justice and law. They believe that the
comlDitte~, of wlllc~ they are members, was aut~odzed to make such inquiries.
fhey beheved, however, th~t these l?quiries were to be conducted accordmg to the charter; that IS, accordmg to law; and according to those general prin~iple~ of equity and con~titutional right which
cannot be transcended, In virtue of any l"esollltIon of either House of
Congress; and which the undersigned are" unwilling to believe that
either House of Congress could attempt or "Wish to transcend.
. .
The undel'signed have already, as t~ey tlunk, shown, tha~ the prOViSion
in the charter is a grant of power," which would !10t otherwlse have been.
possessed by either House. So far, there~ore, IS the general power ~f
sending for persons and papers from enlargmg the charter power, that thiS
latter is an addition to the power of sending for persons and papers. The
power, therefore, possessed by the committee under the charter, and
recited in the resolution, is not, and cannot be extended or enlarged by
.any thing else in that resolution. No limitation impose~ by the ChUI"telupon the inquiry which the committee is thereby authOrIzed to. make, or
the mode of making it, can be removed by the general parhamentary
power of the House to institute investigations, and send for "p~rsons and
papers. It would be an absurdity to make a charte.' prOVISIOn for extending the general powers of the House, and then to seek to enlarge the
powers conveyed in that provision, by the addition of somcthing else,.
supposed.t? belong to the general authority of the House.
In addItIon to this, it must be recollected that the charter is a COll~
tract pl'oposed by the Government to the stockholders, and voluntarily
entered into by them. This power of visitation, and of subjecting the
books to inspection, is one of the conditions of the contract, Onel"OUS to
the stockholders. To attempt to enlarge it by consh'uction, is to attem.pt,
contz:a!y to. the faith of the country, to interpolate new and ?pp~eSSlve
conditions lnto the contract. The undersigned, thcrefore, malntalll that
a resolution of one House of Congress passed ill virtue of its genel'al
power of inquisition, cannot enlaro-e the 'specific p~visions of a law. But
they do not therefore hold that this committee could not, under the authority of the resolution of the House, inquire into any other matters·
than breaches of the chal'ter. They maintain only that this is a power
to be exercised agreeably to law and justice; that it is not an absolutejnquisitorial power; that it does not authorize a committee of either
6

[ Rep. No. 481.

House to prosecute a secret inquiry of indefinite character, after any and
:every abuse, probable or possible. It does not extend the righ~ of i~~
'specting the books, granted for o~e purpose alone, so as to .3 u.thorlZe thel~
inspection for purposes totally different. It does not put It III the power ,.
of a committee to issue warrants of general search, and compel the appearance of citizens, and the production of papers, not in proof or disproof of charges against third persons, by evidence of which they are the
legal depositaries, but in order to enable such a committee to find out by
these papers, whether those who bring them are not themselves guilty
of misdemeanors. Such a power as this, the undersigned wholly reject,.
as abhorrent to reason and justice; unknown to the constitution of this
-country.; at war with its spirit and with its letter; and utterly repugnant
to the public sentiment of the people. To claim such a power, is to
claim for either House of Congress the right, in virtue of a resolutio~ of
sending to the remotest corners of !he U nit;>n for any .number of persons,
.compelling them to attend a commIttee, With all their papers, to submit
to be exaIllined on oath; to exhibit those .papers ~or inspection; a.nd thus

"to enable such committee to .find matter o.f fixmg. on such indiViduals
the charge of gross, but prevIOusly unspecIfied, mIsdemeanors and cor..
ruptions.
It is not necessary for the undersigned to endeavor t6 define what are the
limits of the powers of inquiry possessed by the Houses of Congress. It is
sufficient for their present purposes to have shown, (and the proposition is
proved in its enunciation,) what they are not and cannot be. It cannot
be within the competel.lce of a committee of the House to institute a
general search, and compel the citizens on oath to purge themselves if
innocent, and criminate themselves if guilty; and bring with them their
paper.s t<? be ransacked in a roving hunt for unspecified crimes. The
:constitution reserves to the people the right, (a right inviolable with<>ut the reservation,) "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." Of all unreasonable searches that can be imagined, none is more signally so
~ha,: ~ general search into the papers possessed by a person, whether
IndIVIdual or corporate, with a 'view to find (if it should happen to exist)
matte!" of crimination against that person. A general search for eng purPOS~ IS unreasonable; for the object of criminating the individual searchd , It woul? be at waf with the first principle.s of justice, and, as exerc~sed
. y a comI.Ul~tee of the House of Representatives one branch of a LegIslature of IUlllted constitutional jurisdiction, an ~normous assumption of
p?'~·~r. It ~ould be unreasonable, because, as no man is beyond the pos'slbIhty of domg wrong, the right to institute a general search, if it exist..
ed, would b? a righ.t of inquisition into the affairs of every individual in
the commumty ; a nght too extravagant to be claimed by any Government
pr~tending to be limited by law, and never exel'cised by any but those
odu~us and arbitrary tribunals which are handed down to the undying exe...
~ra~lOn of mankind. It would be at war with the first principles of justice,
wh~ch~ as a general rule, compel no man to criminate himself, dire.ctly
or mdlrectly, nor to furnish the means of his own crimination. It would
be an enormous assumption of power on the part of either House of CO~
gress; a body whose jurisdiction does not extend to any cODsiderable
ponion of the coneeivable crimes and misdemeanor:J which such a sea.rch

.a.ep. No.

48-1.

Ini~ht, if they had been committed, bring out; and who can surely lay
claIm to no power of searching out matters, which, if the search be successful, are without its provin~, both of legislation and punishment.
It may be observed that, if tbe dght of making such a search of the
Bank of the United States be claimed in" irtue of the general powers

of inquiry possessed by the House, it f'xtends to every State bank in the
Union, as fully as to the Bank of the United States. The charter gives
a power of visiting the corporation thereby created and of course exclusively co-nfined to the B~nk of the United State's. That power, as
h~s been urged, can be. apphed only to the objects for which it is given,
V-lZ. to enable a co~nuttee to report" whether the provisions of the
-charter have been Violated or not.:' J.3';1t" if we go -further, and claim a
right, under the general. power of mqUIsltlOn possessed by the House, to
search the; ~ank ~or objects not made subjects of search by the charJ;e r , the'! It IS" obvIous that the corporators and directors of the Bank of
"the UnIted ~tates are no more amenable to such a search in their
persons, book~, and papers, than the corporators or directors of any other
bank, of any Insurance office, trust company, turnpike, canal, or railroad
4Jompany, or any other private citizens. The right, therefore, claimed by
~be majority of the committee, if it transcend in the slightest degree the
limitations of the charter, must flow from a claim of power, which would
bring within its gra~p every corporatio~, every citizen, ::-nd every book
and paper in the Untted States, and subject them, at any tIme, to a general
search of a committee of either House of Congl'ess.
Should it be contended that, as a great stockholdet", the Government has a right to institute this search, the aIlS'wer is obvious. The
House of Representatives is not the Government; and the Government,
a.s a stockholder, has no rights not possessed by the other stockholders, or
to he exercised in any other way. In the contract between the Gove~n
ment and the stockholders, by which the Bank was created a corporatlOn
of a character parily p,·ivate and partly public, the 9:0vernment re~erv"ed
to itself all the powel·s which it thought were r~qU1red to pl·otect ItS Interests as a stockholder or which wel'e needed In reference to any other
relations of the Bank t~ the country. To these reservations, the stockholders, by accepting the charter, assented. They cannot now be ex-tended to the prejudice of the Bank, without a violation of law and a
breach of faith.
The undersigned are far from intending to charge their respected colleagues, hom whom they differed with pain, with the design consciously
to institute a search of this chacacter into the affairs of the Bank, but
they felt obliged to dissent from a considerable portion of thei'" measures,
deeming them, in effect, (though certainly not so intended,) to have all
the essential characters of such a general and unlawful search. The
justice of ~his remark ~~ill,. as the undersigned think, abunda~tly appe.ar,
[Fom a reVIew of the pnnclpal measures adopted by the committee, whlCh
will now, for this reason, be briefly examined.
1. The first step taken was a call by the Committee of Investigation
on the Committee of Directors, for" a list of the books of the Bank with
.an ~xplanation of the purposes for w-hich each is designed, and the ~ame
C>I tbe clerks to whose care and custody they are respectively committed."
ThiB was a step preliminary to the process by which the Committee of

JpovestigatioD" in the judgment of the majority, could call for, and take

r Rep.

No. 481.

into their possession, by a precept addressed to the clerks in the Bank?
t~e ?usiness tra!lsaetions of the Bank are entered by the said clerks. ThIs hst was furnished
by the Committee of the Directors, with the statement, however, that the
books were not in the custody of the clerks, but in the general custody
of the Board. In consequence of this statement, no attempt was made to
obtain possession of the books by a demand of the clerks.
2. Of a similar character, but more objectionable, because tending mO.l'e
directly to the institution of a genel'a} search, and forming an immediate
preparation for it, was the right, insisted on by the committee, of a~exclu_
sive occupation of the room in the banking house, offered by the dlrectol""s
for their' accommodation during the inspection of the books. The undersigned refer to the correspondence between the Committee of Investigation and the Committee of the Bank on this subject. They would only
briefly observe that a cOID1.nittee o~ sev~n had been ~pp~inted by the
Board of Directors, to recelve the CommIttee of InveshgatJon~ and subJDit for t.heir inspection such books and papers of the Bank as might b '
necessary to exhibit its proceedin~s accordin~ to the requirement of the
charter. A room in the banking house was, by this committee offered ~ e
the accommodation of the Committee of the Hou~e of ~eprese~tatives. ~~
appeared at a very early stage of the proceedmgs, III a conference between the two committees, that the Committee of the Directors proposed
to exhibit their books in person to the Committee of Investigation, express_
ing, at the same time, their expectation and readiness to " withdraw front
the room whenever the Committee of the House should see fit," in order to
furnish the Committee of the House the opportunity to deliberate, without
the presence of anyone, not required or invited by themselves to attend.
This proposed manner of conducting the examination was regarded by
the majority of the Committee of the House of Representatives as inadmissible, and formed the subject of a correspondence between them and
the Committee of the Directors, The Committee of the House adopted
two resolutions, by one of which they agreed that their proceedings should
be confidential, unless otherwise ordered by the Committee; and by the
other ~ th~t no per"son should be pt"csent at the inspection of the books and
exannn?-tlOn of the proceedings of the Bank, except those whose .atte,ndance JUlght be reqmred or permitted by the Committee of InvestJgatIon.
The first resolu~ion was regarded merely as an understanding, on the
part of the C~)ulImttee. of Investigation, that no pUblicity would be ,given
by them, untIl othe!'wl~e ordered, to the matters that might ~ppear J,n .the
course of the exammatlOn. The undersigned assented to thIS resolutlOn,
with the understanding of the parliamentary law that the sittings of every
~ommittee .are open, unless ol'del'ed to be secret by the House; aI?d that
It was not III the power of the pl'esent committee by a vote of their own"
either to shut their doors, or impose secrecy on dny persons who might
attend. But they assented to the injunction of confidence in conformity
with a usage which has prevailed in other committees of inquiry of the
House, for their own convenience, as a rule binding on themselves,
and with the express reservation that the adoption of this resolutio1l.
should, in no degree, involve an assent to the principle asserte~ in the
second. ~o that principle, viz. that no per-son should be pe)"mltte~ to
attend dunng the inspection of the books of the Bank, and the exanllnation of its proceedings, whose presence was not required nor assented to

any or all of the books of the institution, in which

[ Rep. No. 481.

by the .Board, the undersigned "'ere strenuously opposed. It was asserted
as a· :rIght on the part of the committee, and (as the undersigned supposed, and the Committee of the Directors of the Bank appeared also to
understand it,) with an intention to enforce the right. In pursuance of this
intention, (as the undersigned supposed,) the Committee of Investigation ceased to hold their meetings in the room set apart for them in the
banking house, as soon as they understood the Committee of the Directors
gf the Bank to claim the right of being there present with their books,
during the inspection of tbe same. It is true that, by a subsequent resoluti~)fl, the. Committee of t~e HC:lUse of Representatives disclaimed having
decided that they should, III pomt of fact, exclude the dh'ectors from the
room dUl:ing the. inspection of the books; but they persevered in the
assertion of the right to do so, as appears from the documents appended
to this rep<?rt.
This clauD w~s r~garded, by the undersigned, as being without foundation, and, obJec~lOnable. In the first place, as has been observ..ed, they ~eheyed It t? be contrary ~o the lex parliam~nta'l'ia for a,comIJ}.ittee of lllqUlry, on Its ~wn a';lthonty, to. clal!ll the nght of holdmg its
sittings, except when dehberatIng and votmg, In secret. It can only be
constituted a secret committee, by express order of the House. Secondly, this principle involve£! the right of wit?dl"awiI":.g !he books of the Bank
from the custody of the ~lre~tors, an~ t~kmg them mto .the possession of
the Committee of InvestigatIOn. ThiS IS a power not gIVen by the charter which as far as the books are concerned, authorizes a committee
only" to i~spect the books." As the l'i~~t thus reserved by the ch~rt~r
to Congress is not o~]y one of ~he c.ondlhons of:,-? agreement, but IS 111
derogation of the rIghts and. hbertIe~ of the CItIzen, and could ~ot be
claimed at common law, and Its exercise at best, and under any CirCUlllstances, must be highly incommodious, and cr~ate a serious interruption
-of the business of the Bank, it should be construed rather strictly than
liberally, and not draw with it by implication any thing not necessary for
its exercise. The entire confidence, which the undersigned feel, in the
liberality and magnanimity of their colleagues, so to conduct the inspection, as to cause the least possible inconvenience to the officers of the
-Dank, could no~ authorize an acquiescence in a cl~im of Tight wholly !o
obstruct and bnng to a stop the ordinary proceedIngs of the Bank; In
fact, to suspend the charter.
It was a claim. to take the books out of the possession of the directors
into the possessIOn of the committee to detain them as long as they
.pleased., t? carry them whithersoever' &ey pleased, (a right afterwards
Juo.'e dlstmctly asserted and attempted to be enforced,) ';lnd t~ put t~em
to 'whatever use the committee in their uncontrolled dIscretIOn, ~Ight
think propel'. The. undersign~d again repeat,. that. it derogates III no
degl"ee from the objectionable character of tlus claun to urge, that the
books of the Bank, thus taken from tlle possession of the dir'ector~, c~uld
l1ave bee!l put to no unworthy use by the Conlln~ttee of Jn~estlgat~on.
'Such an Idea could only sug~est itself to be repLHhated. It IS suffiCient
objection, that they would h~ve been put out of the custody of those re1'ponsible to the stockholdcl-S for their safe keep1ng. The most im}lrOper
lIse to which the books, or any othel" property of an individual or a COI'.poration, can be put, is, to take them away from their ri~;htful ownel' and
lawful guardian. I may think I call take better care of my neighbor's

r Rep. No.

48 t. ]

property than he does himself, but I may not therefore take it f~m h~,
and administer it, even for his own good. Far less may I take It, wIthout warrant of law, in order to extract from its unlawful use matter to 'be
used, directly or by consequence, for his crimination. The books-belong to the stockholders of the Bank, and are, by them, entr~sted to the
directors. They do not belong to the House of Representatives, nor toany committee of that House; and a l"ight to inspect them no more involves a right to take possession of them, than a right to count the money
in the vaults involves a right to take possession of it. It is a case of :frequent occurrence in the State banks, that committees are sent to 'Visit.
them, and, among other things, to count the specie in their vaults. ,S-hould
such a committee claim the right of going into the vaults alone, and count_
ing the money, without the presence of the directors of the Bank, or their
authorized agents, it would be thought a very unwarra.ntable claim; and
no personal confidence, reposed in the honor and probIty of the commit_
tee would render su~ a claim at all the less unwarrantable.
But the attempt to fortify the right of taking possession of the bOoks b
urging that in its exercise it would not have been abused, whOlly f~il Y
in the apprehension of the undersigned, because they deem that the u s.
which was avowedly to be made of them, was the greatest Possib~e
abuse. It was intended to employ them for the purpose of a generai
search, not only to ascertain, in the most general form, whether the char_
ter of the Bank had been violated, but also what corruptions, ab\lses and
malpractices had taken place in its management; and this, by w~y 01
inquiry among ~the.r things, whether .a criminal ~rosecution, in legal
form, should be mshtuted, (see resolutIon of CommIttee of Investigation
of 7th of May,) in which prosecution the directors, called to submit the
books, would have been the party implicated.
The undersigned believe that, in a land of constitutional liberty and
law, it can need but little argument to show that a claim, on the part oC
a committee of either House of Congress, acting in virtue of the general
parliamentary power of inquiry to demand, ns a matter of right, the pro?uc~i(:m, and to take possession of the books and papers belonging to an
Ind~vldual or a corporation, in order to search therein for matter on.
~hIc~ to fout;ld a criminal procedure against said individual or corporatIOn, IS a claim at once of the most unfounded and pernicious character.
They honfidently believe that no court of justice in the United States, or
any ot der . free .country, has ever claimed such a power as a right, or attempte ,I? POl?t of fa.d, to execute it. They have ne"er heard of any
statute whIch gIves thIS power to any court or other tribunal. And they
would deem .th~ assumption ot: such a power, by eithel' House of Con.gress, as an meldent of the creneral powers of the House and resting on.
the lex parliamentaria, as 0 unwarrantable, and in the 'highest degl·ee.
dangerous.
.
. 3. The c~Hnmittee having withdrawn from the occupation of the ~o~un
In the ba~.kmg house for the rcason stated, adopted a resolution reqUIring
the PreSIdent and Directors of the Bank to suhmit certain of the books.
of the. Bank to the inspection of the cOlllmittee, at their room in the North
Amel'lcan hotel. (See Doc. X o. 2,i.) \Vith this requisition the Co~
mit~ec of the. Directors declined complying, for reasons which appear Ill'
theIl' resolutIOns adopted l\Jay the 3d. (Document No. 30.) The un-

[ Rep. ~o. 48J.

4'1

d:ersjgned regarded this resolution of the committee as open to the objectlOOS already urged against an ex parte inspection of the books~ and to
others peculiar to itself. By its terms~ the President and Direclors are
required to submit certain of their books to the inspection of the
committee at the North American hotel. If, by the term required,
nothing is to be understood but a request, with which the directors of
the Bank were at liberty to decline a compliance, they were of course
free so to decline, and their doing so argues no contempt of the House ..
But the majority of the committe.e evidently regarded as in some way obligatory the demand for the production, at their hotel, of certain of the
books of the Bank. Such a demand the subscribers deemed to be unautho~ized.
If ·valid, in .reference to the books named in the requisition, It was of. course va~ld as t~ all the books of the Bank and aU its
branches; whIch, by.panty. of rIght, the committee might have requil·ed
t-o be broug?t to the I?· lodgIngs, and there detained and used at thei ....
pleasure.
rhe question whether (supposing them brought to the comJJlittee's room at the North American hotel) they should there be submitted in person by the directors, or inspected ex parte by the Committee
of In~estigation, was not di:,tinctly. raised. But considering that the
committee ce~sed to h.?l~ thell· meetll~gs at th.e !>anking house, precisely
because the dlr~ctOl·s InsIsted on theIr .submIttIng the books for inspec-·
tion in person, It appeared to the underSIgned that, whether exercised OPnot the right of an ex parte inspection was designed to be l·eserved, and
that the inspection was required to be had at the private room of the
eommittee to enable the committee, if they deemed it expedient, to act.
on that re;ervation. All the objections, therefore, which lie to an ex
parte inspection in the banking house, hold with equal force to an ex:
parte inspection out of it.
.
In addition to this, the requisition of the books, to be carried away
from the banking house, appeared to the undersigned, for othel· reasons,.
of an inadmissible character. It was to take them away from the placewhel·e the important interests of the Bank require them t~ be, and to beused. It was to expose them to the risks of transportation through the
street~, and detention in private rooms] ~ot constI·ucted for t~e safe 'pr~
sc;rvatloD of val?able papers. While It IS tlie constant practice o~ IndiViduals to seposite ~or safe keeping valuable books ~nd papers In the·
vaults of the ~~nk, the Bank was required to remove Its own books and
papers, contaullng the evidence of pecuniary transactions to the amount
of sev~ral hundreds of millions of dollars annually, to the coml'I!ittee:s
room In. the North American hotel, a public house of great resort. In· P~n
ladelphla. The undersigned oPl:)oscd this l"equi$.liion:J &om the beber
that It was totally beyond the authority of the House; and th~y should
have deeply rearetted a compliance with it by the Bank, WhICh would
have devolved ~n the committee the care and responsibility of a deposite-so delicate and valuable.
.
By the 23d section of the charter whenever a scire facias against the
Bank is sued out of the cit'cuit court' of Pennsylvania, it shall be ~'lawful·
for the court in examiniucr into the tt·uth of the alleged violation of the
chal'ter, to r~quil"e the pro'duction of such of the books of the Bank as it
may deem necessary to the aSCfirtainment of the controverted facts."
This is the only c"sc in which the contl·act between the Government and

Rep. No. 48t. ]

. the stockholders authorizes a requisition of the books; and this cautious
authority, granted by law to one of the high judicial tribunals of the
country, on an examination into an all~ge<l: violation of the chartel·, to
require the production of the books whIch, It may ,deem necessary to .the
ascertainment of controvel'ted facts, suffiCiently disproves, by exclUSion,
the grant of any similar or additional power, of the same kind, to any other
tribunal. That the House of Representatives, independent of the charter has a right, by one of its committees, to require the production of
or all of the books of the Bank at the lodgings of said committee, or
any where else, the undersigned cannot bring themselves to admit. At
all events, as no authoritative form was given to the requisition, the directors, in respectfully declining to comply, are of course guilty of no
contempt of the House.
4. Artel" the dil'ectors of the Bank had declined a compliance with the
requisition of their books to be produced at the North American hotel, the
Committee of Investigation, on the 5th of l\-Iay, adopted a resolution (see

any

Documet~t

No. 82) that they would repair to the banking house, at one
o·cJock of that day, to inspect ~he books. speci6ed in the resolution er the
28th and such others as they mIght l'cqUlre to be produced. A copy of

this 'resolution was sent to thc chairman of the Committee of the Directol's, but reached him at his tlwelling.llOuse, at a time whcu the C(UUmittee of the Dil'ectOl's was llot in scssion, and a RllOl't time before tbe
Ilom' natued in the resolution of the Committee of Irn'cstigation. He im.nlcdiateIy informed the chairman of the Committee of the House by letter,
-that it would bc impl'actkable to reassemble the Committee of the DirectOI'S in scason to submit the books for inspection that day, but that they
'Would be reassembled without unnecessal'Y delay. 1.'he committee, bowover, deem~d it eXllc()icnt, for the purpose of rnakillg lip an issue, to rellair
to the bankmg house at the hOlll" named, and then and t1tel'c to cali on the·
President anti Cashier of the Bank to submit certain of their books to the
-como!ittcr. This accordingly took place, fi.'st ill the large hall of the
bankmg house, and then, by repetition, in the P ..esident~s room. The
Pa'esident and Cashier declined a comllliance with this l'cquest, on the
ground that they lIad, neithl'l· of them, the custmly of nor control over
the books a,nd I)al)c,'s; the g~nel'al custody of the same being with the
Doal'd of D II'CC tors, wlao had alt'cady apprised the Committee of the House,
that they had }llaced them un del' the direction of a committee to be by tbat
~ommittce submitted fOl' islSllcction, and that tbey (the Prcsid~nt and Casble)') w(,re thel'cfore unable to cnm},ly with the demand
the Committee of
IfI\l(>stigation. This demand, amI the answer to it, Wel'e then ,'educed to
·wJ'iting, and will be fuuud alllong the IJap(,l's (Nos. 35, S6) B})pended to
this re}lOI't.
'l'his p ..ocee~jng was but a repetition, in a fOl'm a little "al'ied, of the
-atte.lllpts bcfol'e made to acquil'e the means of conducting the insJ)ectiotl
of the books, 3})aJ't fl'om 11105e to whom the directors had confided tho
t1nty of submitting them to the CllmmiHt'c- of tllC House of nCl>res~Jlta.
ti,'es, It was avowedly intended only to make up, in anothel' form t tho Issue
which~ it was supposed would be Cl'eatctl between the Dank and the Committee of ,Investigation, by the failm-e o~ the cummittee to obtain tI!C hoo!'-s
. t}lU~ J'(''1 I1J1 'ed of the President and Caslilel'. It was knowJl to the Commlt·
.tec (If UJC House that the dil'cctOl'S, t-y an authentic art, of which a copy
lJad l>eeu communicated, had lllac('d tllC book~ at the disllQS'al of the Com~

r Rep..

No.

48L. ]

m~ttee of the Boal'd, to be by them submitted in person for inspection. The
saul Committee_of the Dit'ector's had twice positively made- known their in.
ability to depar\. from the instI'uctions (It' the Eoal'd in this respect. The
Committee of the Bouse were apprised that the books asked fiJI· were not,
lmder the instructions of the Boal'd,the voluntary disposal of the President and Cashier, and the demand made ot' these officers by the committee
in person at the Bank was not of tho natm'e of a legal llrocess to com})el their productionJ supposing them to have been de facto in the keeping
of the said officers. F'or these consideratians, the undm'signed oPl)()sed
the personal demand ~or tile I>roduction of tJle book,R now under considcration, as a. mC;Jsure wh~cb ~ust, fru' t!IC ,rens<?n stated. IJrO\'C ineffectu~}, un, necessary for the makmg up of the desB'cd lSSlU,~, amI 0l,cn to the objection
of wearing a ve?Ca~ioils ~}lpearance. .~ro make a third application for a
-voluntary submiSSIOn of the books In l\ manner which, it was known,
was deemed inadmissible, at the same time that no recourse was had to
colllpulsOl'Y pro{!ess, could lIut but have the effect, though cel'tainly not so
intcn~led, of gratuitously tlll'owing upon the directors the odium of I'epeated
J.efuSHIs of the requests of' thc Committee of the House. However this
may be, as the fact is undoubted that the dh'cctors had placcd the books
undel" the control of the Committ~e of the Boar'd ; as their I'ight to do is UD.
questionable; as the chairman of' the Committee of the Directors hal! 8('prised the chail'man of th~ eummittce of Investigation that the former
could not be reassembled at the very short Dntiee given, but should be so,
,vithout unnecessary deJay, to submit the bOIJI\.5 for inspection; as the
books were not in I)oint of fact in posR('s~i'm of the OfliCC1'S called on ; the
lindersigned feel conti.dent that, in l'esJlcctf~llly declini~g to produce them,
those officers were gUilty of no contempt 01 the authOl'tty of the Huuse.
5. But whatever differ'ence of opinion might"t the first have existed
between the Committee of the Housc atld the Committee of the Dh'ector's as
to the propriety of permitting the 1attel· to retain the cllstody of the books,
and submit them in person to the Committt'e of the House, further consi.
del"ation appears to have led the Cotnmittce of the House to admit the rea. '
sonableness of this mode of cfJuductiug the investigatiun, Se) far at least
as to acquiesce in it,-a consideration, which exonel'ates the tlircctOl's fl'om
any charge of contem),t in the course hitherto pursued by them. Accord.
ingly, with~ut wah'ing their )'ight to J'cquire the IlI"oduction of the books
at their lodgl!lgs, they repair'cd agail1 to the banking bouse, to the room set
apart for thmr accommodation, and rcquired the IU'oduction of ccrtain of
the books of the Bank.
It will be obscl'ved that, up to this time, nothing ,had been arranged, ~
to tb~ mode .of conducting the inspection beyond the single point~ !l6~tled
by the acquiescence of ' the (;emmiUce of the' House ot' Representatlves~:
that the books shoulcl be submitted in pel'son by the Committee -of the
Directors. No objects of inquil'y had b<.!en announced by the Committee of
In~estigation, fu~thel" than·tl~l:'Y appeal' in the l'cHolution of t~c HOllse, under
which the COlnnuttce was raised. and in the calls made fol' mfurmatloll, as
to a gl'eat amount aud vRI'iety of matters, as appeal"S fl'om the J'mmlutions
in the appendix. The correspondence which had talcen place 'between the
committees, had been confiued almo~t exclusively to the single g.'ound of
the course deemed propel' to be pursued lJy the committee, to olJtain possession .0£ the books of dw Bank.

On the arrival of the committee at the banking house
·

the 7tb-or~lal'

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

a call was made on the Committee of the Board, in pursuance or tile rol~
lowing resolution :

May 7, 1834.
Besol'Ved, That the committee will proceed to "examine into the truth of
the statement made by the Goyernment directors to the President of the
United States and to Congress, and for that purpose will this day call for
the llroduction, for inspection, of the minute books containing tile proceedings of the directors of the Bank, and tbe expense books and vouchers for
expenses incurred.
.
~y

As preliminary to a reply to this demand, the following l)aper was read
the chairman of the Committee of the Board:
'"
May 7, 18S4.

Wbereas it appears, from the resolution o! the House of. Rel>re~entatives
ef the UMited States, appointing the Committee of"In~esbgatlOn, that two
distinct inquiries were contemp~ated, one of. th~m directed to ascertain
wb~ther the charter had been YJOlated, and llllllted to the acts of the C01--

)mration ; and the other so very general and indefinite, as to make it
difficult, if not impossible, to say whether it has any limits at all, either
as to tlte matters to be inquired into, 0." the mode of lmrsuing the inquiry and whereas it appears, c.·om calls made by the Committee of Investiga~
tion, that they have proposed a "cry wille range, embracing, among other
things, an extensive examination of the acts, transactionl!J, accounts, and
lettel's of individuals, and thus instituting a kind of genera) sea."ch, which
is th~ ~ore objecti~ma}ll.e, because, if it have any purpose at ali, it must be
to criminate those mdlvuluals, as well as the Bank, and if it ha,'e not th.s
,)Urp~se, it is ~'itho~t any assignable object, and would be an injurious"
InvaSIOn of prl \rate mterests; and whereas, under these circumstances, it
is tbe duty of the committee, by all lawful means, to protect the rights aod
sacred c~nfidence entrusted to their keeping, and to yieltJ nothing by CODsent whiCh cannot be JcgaUy demanded h'om tbem; and whereas, after
careful and anxious consideration, they are of opinion that tbe inquiry
ca.n .0uly. be rightfully extended to alleged \Tiolatiol1s of the Chal"t~r, and
thl!~ It'qulry ought to be conducted according to some certain principles
Bud rules: therefore,
Ilesol'Ved, That the Committee of In\-estigation be respectruliy required,
when they ask for books and papers, to state specifically, in wl·iting, the
purposes fol' which they are proposed to be inspected, and, if it be to establish a violation of the chartel', then to state specifically, in writing, what
are ,the alJeged or supposed \'iolations of charter to which tbe evidence is
alleged. 0." supposed to be aPIJlicable.
Resol'Ved, That, in the opinion of this committee, it would ,'ery much
conduce to the pUl'poses of justice, as well QS to the convenience of all CQncerncd, if the Committee of Investigation would furnish a sl)ecification of
all the charges intended to be inquil'ed into, and proceed witb them in
order as stated.
Thc undersigned opposed the can, abo'Tc recited, made on the 7th May,
for the lll'oduction of books. They feel themselves, thel"cfOl'e, called upon

[ Rep. No.

481.

to eXI,Iain briefly the. considerations which influenced them •. The "-nderfiigned have already stated that they conceived the committee, of which
they have ·the honor to be members, to be clothed with a twofold power,
;and to he competent, or rathel' required, by the order of the House, to act
in a twofold capacity. The-y were a committee of visitation, al)pointed
under the twenty-third section of the charter. As such they wel'e authorized to visit the Bank, to inspect the books, an(1 to examine into the proceedings of the Bank, and I'epo)'t whether the charter bad beeu violated.
They were, also, a committee of inquiry into the causes of the pre~ent
commel'cia) embarrassment. and pecuniary distress, and into the CUI'rulltions, abuses, ~nd malpractIces of the Bank, In the formel' capacity, they
had a right to Inspect the books of the Bank. "rhey had this right by the
.charter, and would not have had it without the charter. In the latter
capacity, they had no right to inspect the books unJess voluntarily Rubmitted by the Bank, because the chal'ter does not give them that right for such
lJurposes. The Bank is obliged, by the cha.'ter, to submit its books to the
inspection of ':" committee o~ ~isitation, authorized, to report if the chat'ter has been viOlated; and It IS not bound to submIt them to a committee
·()f general inquest authorized to repol't on malpractices and corruptions.
·The right of inspection possessed by the co"rilmittee, as a committee of visi-tation cannot be lIsed by it in its other capacity of a committee of general
.jnque~t and accusation, as an instrument of search aftel> crimes and mis.demeanors in general.
But the directors of the Bank had been apprised at the ont~et, by the
~esolution of the House
Representatives of the 4th of April, that the
committee was of a twofold chal'acter, as stated. That rmmlution dis1:inct1y enumerates, as obJects of inquiry, not only violations or the char:tel', for which the books mjght be inspected, but various acts of mismanagement amI corruption, fOl' which they might not be inspected unless
voluntal·i1y offered for that purpo!';('. The Committee of Investigation bad
addressed various calls, by way of resolution, to the Committee of the
.rectors, t~uching matters concerning which the chal'ter does not requlI'c
-the Bank tf) submit its books for inspection. The call of the 7th or May,
.()n the last visit to the banking honse, is for certain of the books of the
:Bank, to et,able the committee" to examine into the truth of the statement
Illade by the Go,,'ernment director's to the PI·esident of the United States
.and to Congress."
That statement embraces matters which neither are,
or
tl
are all~ged to be, violatio"J1s of the charter, and consequently in refer..ence ~o wilich the. directors are not refluired to submit tbeir books for in..

I?i-

'8pe~hon.

flad it .pleased the House of Representatives to create two committees~
.one of visitation, under the twcnty~third section oftbe char'ter, and one of
.general inquiry, ander the power of the House to send fOl' persons and
papcl·s, these two committees would nut have been authorized to amalgaanate nor interchange each other's functions. The committee of chal·ter
visitation would not have been auUlOl'ized to engage in a general inquisition, nor would the committee of inquiry' have been autbol'ized to demand
the books for inspection.
But to what avail has the charter limited the objects for wllich the books
'may be inspected, and l)rotected the corpOI'ation, and those who transact
_bUsiness with it, fl'om tbe annoyance and mischiefs of a gencl'al seal'ch, if

Rep. No. 481. j

a committee of visitation may be clothed with the functions of a commit-tee of general inquiry, and haying got the books into their bands fOl" one
1t11rpose authorized by the law, ma~ use.them for anothel' purp?s~ n~t authOl'ized by law? It is plain th~t If this could be done, the Imutabon or
the right of insllection. would be,lllus,?r'Y and worth.less. In or~er to render the limitation cfliClent, the Committee of the Directors l'cqulI'ed of the
Committee of Investigation tu specify the objects for which they demandcll
the books~ Fo .... some objeCts the demalld or the books was accOl'ding to
law' fOl' othel' objects, not being bourHl by law to yield them, the dil'c.ctors '\\'el'c at liberty to withhold them, 01' to submit them, according to theh·
discretion. Tlwy, ther'cfOl'e, needed a spccification, to enable them to discharge thcir' duty nndet' th~ ~hal'~cr, ~s well as. t~). protect them in t,heir
]'jO'hts; ttl enable tlH~m to ,hstll1guu.,h, III the r~qUlslhons of the Committeeol'InvestiO"atioJ1, how much was authoritative, umlel' the statute commanding obedi~nee; and how mnch, not being authoritative, they were at liberty
to concede 01' to withhold.
rrht~t'e was, the more reason in insisting on this right to make the limitatic..n on t.heinRpec~ion of ~hei,r bOf?~S .available, :~ecaU8e, SA has heretofo •.o
bet'n ~\u;c1""ed. the IOS})Cctlon ltsClt IS II~ derogation of the nat~I'al rights of
the cltizl'tl, who ought not, under any cu'cumstunces, to be obliged to critni_
)late himsf.'lf. It pleased the Legislature, l'egaruing thc cOl"poration as their
own legal crcation, to I'cquit'c them, when accused of violating the fundamental Jaws of thcil' cxistellce-the pl'ovisiollS of the charter-to submit
their books to a ('ommittec authol'izeu 10 l'epor't on that fact alone. But
to transfer this limited I'ight of' i nspcction to other committees for general
})owel's of inquisition. and for a genernl Iml'pose of enforcing self-crimination, is illegal and inc(luitnb1e. To do this by indit-cction; to clothe a
comm'ittee uf inquil'y with the powers of a committee of visitation and
thus to acquit'e a )'i;ht to open the books fOl' one object, ami then to inspect them for anothe'l', would be to attempt to accomplish an end in itself
unauthorized, by meA.US peculiarly unwal'rantable.
_
For' these considerations the unuersigned regarded the dit"ectors as justificd in requiring of the committee of the House a specification of the objects ortllei .. inquil'Y. The ground taken by the Committee of the Board is,.
as the House IJercei\"cs, a ground 01' legal right, assumed by the directors,
unt1('r the cit'cumstances of the casco This is the thir'd occasion on whicb·
the Bank has been visited by committees of the House. In the yea)" 1818,
a committee was appointed to examine the affairs ef the Bank, then in disfJI'del o• The committee thus appointed was, by the terms of the resolution,.
dir'cctcd to 1'(~l)lH't "hether the charter had been violated, and the resolution cOllsiHted maiuJy of a specification of alleged violations. In executing theit· tr'ust, however, the committee extended their inquil'ies to the
genet'al management of the Bank, awl e~amined its P,'esident, other 'offi-·
cers, amI dircch)l's, on oath. To this course·of inquiry, th" Bank deemed
it fur its interest to submit. The tlncJclo!:ligned arc not aware that any
l'csistance was made to Uie dcmant)s of the committee. On the contrat'Y,
theil- report clnsp-s with the obser'vation, that" it is due to the officers
the Dank at Philadelphia to state that el'cl'Y facility in theil" .]lower was
I'cnucl'cd in explaining the books aud assisting the researches of the committee." In OIiC instancc t in which an indi\'i'Jual, a director ot' one of the
offices, dtal'gcd with malpl'actices, I'efused to testify, the committee ob-

r Rep.
"sern~,

No. 481. ]

tbat they did not insist on bis answering, and that tbey examined
Mm chiefly to enable him, if he pleased, to exculpate hiluself. 'rhis committec did not coufine their examiuatiol1s to the ofHcet'S of the Bank.
They examined the Teller of the Bank of North Amel'lca, and pel'bal)S
other persons. rrhis circumstance, and the others mentioned, sufliciently
show that no question as to the ('xtent of the IJowel's of the committee was
raiCjcd dlll'.lIg the visitation; that the witnesses appeared ,"ohmtal'ily ; that
the Bank deemed it fbr its intel'est to submit to the examination of the
comlmttee, in any fUl'm in which the committee thought pI'opel' to conduct
it ; ~nd that cO,nseq.uently the whole investigation assumed the fot'm of a
IJar"hamental'Y JnflUU'Y, conducted by the asseut of the parties, and without
any appeal to their rights.
The exa,?ination of 18092 assumed substantiaIJy the same character.
The I'esulutlo~, under which the committee was raised, consisted, as OJ'igi)lally moved, of a Jat'ge detail of alleged abuses, sever'al of which impOl·tcd no \'iol~tjon of tI~e charter.
'The House adopted an amendment prol,oscd to tillS resolutIOn by a mcmber from l'iassadlUsetts, (Mr. Adams,)
in tilc following terms: "Resol'Veci, 'rilat a selcct committee bc appointed,
to inspect the books, allll examine j nto the proceedings of the Bank, aml report thcl'eon, nncl to repo(·t whcther the provisions of the charter have been
violated or not." This 11hrascology appears to have been del'h·ed f"om
the commencing wor'ds of ,the rcpOl"' of tbe committee of 1818, which is in
the same terms, and not from the resolution by which that coinmittee wa~
created, and which provides that a select committee be appointed, "to inspect the books, and examine into the proceedings of the Bank, aud report
whether the Ilrovisions of its chal'h',l' have been viulated or not. and IlUl·ti- <!ularly to I'CpOI·t" as to se\'eral matters, all, or neal')Y all, of which
were alleged violations of the chartcl'. The amendment offered by the
membcr fl'om Massachusetts, (Ml', Adams,) and adopted by the House, was
offered on the ground that "the original resolution l)resented objects of
inquiry not autlaOl'ized by the chartet' of thc Bank, 1101' witl~in the legitimate )lowel'S of the House." But as it tHrectcd the com~01tte.e to repol't
genel'ally on the proceedings nf the Bank, 3!i well as on Violations of the
ehal'tt-r, it was considered J)y its mover, and by many (~f those who ,supI)or'~ed ~he amendment, as uuthorizirlg an inquiry. ext~ndmg b~y()n~ Violations of the chal'ter. The right to constitute an IIHlulry of tillS kInd was
llut upon the gl'ound that the Dank was applying fOI" a rcc~Hu·teJ·, and
could not reasonably decline it. At that time, as in 1818. Ileithcr House
of Congl'es8 had assumed a hostile position to the nank. , Its diI'ec!ol"s, as
thc event J)J'(}H~d,felt that they cuuld rely UpOIl the NatlOJlal I4e~pslature
to do them justice against any efforts which might be made to Impeach.
theil' chat'acter, o{' al"I'aign their' conduct.
Applicants for' a I'echal"tcr,
they felt that tJIl'Y could lIot with [l1'(JJ>l'iety object to any latitude or inquiJ'Y which might lJe demanded by a Honse of Congl'esl'I willing to gl'ant a
)'cchar·ter, pro\'ided the I'esult of the l~xaminati()n' should be satisfacto.'y.
ACCOI'dingly, the rcs01ution, as aml'nded, was undeJ'stood to extend, not
merely to aUegerl \'iolations of the chal'tel'; but to aU alt«'ged cases of offi.
ci,al,misconduct; and ~n the arr"ival ~f the committee in !lhiladelphia" the
tllI'ectors of the Bank, IIlstead (If plaCing themselves upon tht"ir l'ights, or.
-deretl the Pr'cl4ident of the institut.ion tu submit all its books and papers to
the unconditional inspection of the committee, and to yield himself to au

r Rep.

No.

481.

unreserved examination. The inquiry was pushe(} iuto every matter oC
alleged abuse, where it was supposed the Bank was most l'uJnel'abJe. Nothing was spared; nothing was held back. Books and papers were submitted, and personal examinations on oath endured, although avowedly
for the purpose of fimliug out, if it existed, matter of inculpation against thedirector·s. The matel'ials thus collected were spread before Congress and
the l)eople, and a majority of both Houses of Congress united in the passage of a bill for rechartering the Bank.
.
'-1'he President declined giving effect to the will or Congress, and the bin
failed to become a law. The whole influence of the Executive was exel'ted
to the prejudice of the institution, and the voice of the administration,
press was raised against it, with a concert and vehemence ral·elyequalled.
Doubts of the safety of the public deposites were now suggested, and
these doubts received some sanction from the message of the President at
the opening of the second. session of the las~ Congress. ~n E~ecutive·
agent was appointed. to itlYcstigate that subject. and the Commlt~ee o~
Ways anti ~leans, of which a majol·ity was ~omp.osed of members fr'lendly
to the administration engaged in the same Inquiry.
The agent and the
committee reported. i~ favor of the solvency of the Bank, !,nd. ):he House of
Reprebcntatives, by a rnajOl'ity unexaml))~d on s,!ch a questIon, resolved ~hat.
the public deposites could be safely continued In the Bank of the Umted
States.
.
Notwithstanding this Yote, the President took immediate ,measures tGtransfer the deposites to the State hanks. . The ch~I'acter of these me~-.
sures is known to the House. The underslgned thmk themselves safe In
sayillg that it was such as to cause the directors of the Bank the grea~est
l)ossible incon\'cniencc and anxiety. They were regarded as men gUilty
of th'e most criminal malpractice!'!, and justly obnoxious to the severest
tJ'catment which it was in the power of the Executive to inflict. To all
that was officially done, was superadded an unbroken strain of denunciation from the Government press, and threats of a purpose to break thos~
branches of the Bank which were supposed to be feeble. At length,.
without previous authentic notice, the deposites wel'c removed, a shor~
time befor'e the assembling of Congress. A majority of members had
been .elected . to the Housc of Representatives, in part previous. to t~6"
aduptlOn of tillS measure, who appeal'ed disposed to sustain the·Presldent Inthe p,?licy he had ad?I~ted. By this Inajority resolutions were passed exllressl ..·c of the-ir 0pullon that the Dank ought not to be rechartel'ed, antI
that the deposites ought not to be restured. 'rhese resolutions were-adopted
after a protracted debate on the genel'at merits of the controversy,. in.
which, on the part of those who 1';ustained the Pre~ident the most unwal'l'antable designs and the most cOl'rnpt practices were freely ascribed tothose entrusted with the direction of the Bank.
.
It was under these circumstances that the commission of inquiry intothe aWail's, of th,e Dank was instituted. As far as that inquiry was of a
"Char~ct:r II? which the ~ank ":8S, by the charter, bound to co· operate, by
sub,mlt~mg Its books for InSpectIOn, the directors have fully recognised their
obhg~tton to do so; but the under-signed confess they perceive nothing in
1he CIrcumstances that ploeceded the inquiry which could furnish an induce~
ment t? the Bank to go further than the Jaw requires of them. By the·
Executive Go,'ernment, and the majority of the House of Congress, their

[ Repo No. 481. ]

case had been adjudged. The laws which the wisdom of two former Congresses enacted for ere~ting United States' Banks, and of which every de.
partment of the Government, under every administration but the present,
has recognised the validity, have been declared unconstitutional. The
present inquiry was not needed to ascertain if the deposites should be
removed; they were removed lDany months before. It was not needed to
ascertain whdher they could safely be restored; the House that institutes
it has resolved that they ought not to be restored. The Secretary of the
Treasury is left, without the instructions of the HOllse, to deposite the public funds in any other bafik he may please to select, but the House of Represeniatiyes has resolved that they ought not to be deposit~d .il! the Bank
of the Umted States. Although the last Congress, by majorIties of botla
.Houses, d~cided that the Bank ought to be rechartered, and the next Congress may be of' the same opinion, the ploesent House of Representatives
has resolved to the conb-ary, and, therefore" the inquiry was not needed
to guide its judgment in the I'echarter of the Bank.
arious misdemean.
ors al'e imJmted to those who direct the Bank; but supposing their detection the object of the investigation, every principle of justice forbids a mode
of inqui!'y, beginning and proceeding in seU·crimination. The only other
legitimate object which the undersigned dm think ot~ is that of collecting
information to guide thejudgment of the House in the question of a new bank,
to be establi5hed on the ruins of the present im~titution. The directors of
the Bank, in the opinion of the subscribel's, may be safely expected, on all
occasions, to do the duty of public spit-ited men to their country: but no
principle of pu~lic du!y fairly call~ upon th~m to ~o fur.th~r than !he l.a~
requh'es them, III makmg themsl'lves the subjects of a crlm,llatory InqUISItion, with a view to build up an institution to diqchal'ge that public b'ust to
which they have been decJared unfaithful, by those instituting the inrflliry
It is also to be recollected that two years had scarcely elapsed since the
former inquiry, on which the directors of the Bank had not attempted to
impose any limitations; and that inquil'Y had resulted so entirely to the
satisfaction of the two Houses, that they passed a bill for renewing the
charter of the Bank. It requires no words to show that such an examination must be highJy inconvenient to the officers of the Bank, and incommo~e them in the orderly discharge of their duties.
Still graver inconvemence may be expected to result from the eff~ct on the public mimi, in
r,:f~re~ce to the Bank, which may be produced by the reCllI"renCe of such
"VISitatIOns. In the progress of the controversy waged , .... ith the Dank, a few
new, matters of detail may IJerhaps have been alleged against it since the
rep~ .. t of the former committee, but many of the matters of general incl!lpabon now brought forward aloe thORO sifted ,to the bottom by that commlt. tee, and none of them possess a novelty and impol·tance furnishing. in the
judgment of the undersigned, an equitable gl·ound for a new investigation.
Is .the~·e to be no end to visitatiolls? The House has the undoubted right
to lDfoJtltute them a~ often a!"oJ it pleases-every year, and every month; but
jf they ar'e multiplied unreas;onably, the directors of the Bank, as it seelJls
to the undersigned, are not to be blamed if at length they put themsel"Ves
upon their right~9 dedine to become voluntary parties to these investigatiO"8~ and submit to them only as far as the 'charter requires.
These consiclel'athms led the undersigned to the opinion that the Com ..
mittee oftbe Directors of the Bank were justified in the course adopted by

[ -Rep. No.

48 f.

them on this occasion. If, on B question of law so grave and delicate, tbe
Committee of the Directors shoulc..l have come to an erroneous conclu8ion~
(which tbe undersigned, however, do not admit to be the case,) it would
seem an undue severity to consider and to treat such error in judgment as
a contempt of the authol'ity of the House.
6. This reflection leads the -undersigned to a few observations on the
various caUs fof' copies or portions of the books, statements, documents,.
abstracts, and other papers. which, at different times, were made on the
Bank by resolutions of the committef.'. 'I'hese resolutions wel'e numel"Ous,.
and cover'ed a wide range of inquit'y of the most miscellaneous character.
A l)ortion of them Bl'e bcJie\"(~d to can for documents, in Whole or in l)art~
ah'f.'ady communiCated to' Congrf.'ss, and IJublished; another l)ortion I~_
lating to matters which could liot be stated without gt'eat labor of comllilation, ami a rcsor·t to sources of knowledge nut necessa.'ily nOl~ officially
in the possession uf the Banli. Some of the caUs J'efel'red to. matters with.
respect to which no desire of concealment eQuid, on any hypothesiR~.be imfluted to the Bank; ,pti!ers reJa,~cd to concerns (as 't.he ,u!1der.signed will

presently show) in,'olvmg 'the highest eOfl!idenc~ of indiViduals, and llot

to be divulged, cxcept undel' legal compulSIOn, without the grossest bl'eacb
of fai::h.
The answer Hf the Committee of the Dircctol's to these requisitions was'
in the fullowing tel'IDS :
Resoh:ed, rrhat the Board do fl(,t feel thefnsel ves at liber'ty to comply
"dth the )'equit'ement of the resolutions of the Committee or Investigation.
of the 29th uIt. alul 1st inst., and do nut think they al'e bound to do so.
inasmuch as, in I-espect to a part of the papers called for, the effect would
be the same as the surl'endet, of'their books and paper"s to a secret and e:x:
parte examination, which they have ah"cady rcfused to conHent to; and as
to tIn, other p~u't, they relate to matter's ()v~r which the Boal'd have flO
contl'ol; amI if they could overcome these objections, and had the power
oye ... all the papel's, ::;tiU it woultl be impossible for them to comply within
any reasoualJlc time, having asc('.l·tainell, by a car'erul examination, t.hat
the copies and statemcnts called fol' by the l'esolutiollS of the 29th ultimo,
alone, would l'equit·c the uninter· ... npted labor of two clerks fOl" at least ten
.months, to make them out, anc.l that the I'cmainillg resolutions, so far as they
coneern matteI'S not beyond the reach Qr the Board, wouht ,'cc}uil'e great
additional till)C, which they arc not able exactly to compute, without causing, .what they fear', would be an inconvcuient d(~lay to the Cnmmittee or
Inve!=;tigation; amI they take it for g'r'anted that it would no more CO~jlol·t
with the views of the Committee of Investigation to wait till so distant 1\
})cl'iotJ, than it would with the I'ights of the Balik, to have stich a burden'
impoRcd upon it.
If the al)plication of the Committee of the House be regartlc(l, according
to its tel'llIs, as a merc I'equest, it was of course competent to the dil'ectors
respectfully to decline a compliance with it. It can be no conteml,t of
of' the ~()USC, nor even matter of complaillt or ground of prejudice, that
any r~quest, which is merely stich, is respectfully declined by the party
to wluch it is addressed.. But the Committee of the Directors apJ1Car to
ha,"e regat'ded it as a mattc," of duty. not to l'chu"n a naked r'efll'lal t.o the
requisition of the Committee of Irn"estigatinn. The reasons of this refusal
are stated, and tbey al'llear to the noLle,'signed to be ,·alid. Reference to
the resolutions ill the appendix will enable the IIuuse tojudgeof this mat-

r Rep.

No. 481.

ter. The reasons, as lIns been seen, are, that to comply \\'ith a part of
these resolutions would be, in effect, to copy or abstract an essential part
of some of the books of t;h~ Bank, in order to their being made the sUbjects
of a private and ex parte examination; a measure so much the more objectionable, as it would add the incon\'cnience of prepRring the copy to all
the other eviJs incident to such inspection. Another pOI,tion of the calls
relate{1 to matters of fact, in no \lay appearing on the books of the Bank,
and not to be Meel'tained but from sources of information no more accessi.
bJe to the directors than to any other individual. These objections were
of themselves, pal,ticularJy the fil'St, uecisive. In addition to this, it appeal'ed, from a cal'efnt, examinatiol,l instituted for that pm'pose, that the
.ansWel'S to the first serIes of calls could not be pl'cllared without the uninterrupted labor of two clerks .fm' at least ten months.
".rhe undea'signed are unwilling to take up th~ time of the House by a
particular examination of each of the resolutions, bitt they feel themsch'cs
required to express t~eir opinion of a portion of them. They will refer
:first to those which call for information touching the tI'ill1Sactions of members of COllgress with the Batik of the Uuited States, and the. correspond ...
encc of membel's of Congress w.ith officers of the Hank.
o rae gf the I'csolutions alluded to is in the foJlowing terms: "Re30Ived,
.-.J'hat the l"ll'esidentallu Directors of the Bank be I'equested to furnish the committee ,,,,"i th copies of all cOI'l'esnomlence between the Preside~)t of the Ban k or
any of ih. <:)flicers and member'~ of Congr'ess, or of 'ltnallsu'ered leiters ,received f"om any ol1e of them Sln('~ the first day of July, 1832,. touching
the renewal of the charter of the Dank, the removal or l"eRtor.ation of the
. public deposites, or touching the business 'tt'ansactions of such members
with said bank~."
"
Another of the resolutions alluded to is in the f{)llowing tCl'ms :
" Resolved, 'l~hat the Pf'e~ident and Director's of the Bank be requested
ttl furnish this committee with a detailed statement of all loans made since
\'I.e 1st of January, 1829, to individuals, who then were,who haye been
since, and who now are, members of Congl'css, stating the amount of each
Joan, when the same was made, for what term the seclII'ity was givcn, and
the time when Stich security was received; and also the security which the
Bank now holds, and the amount now owing by any and each of suc!ih bOI-I'owers. 01' other 1)el'son for the benefit of such borrowers, at the Bank, or
either or the branches; and stating, also, the particulars of any such loans
which have, been (ll'otested, 01' which aI'C now unde.· protest, and the names
of tIle IJRt'tles to any such debts; also, the names (if any) of any such
J1('I'~ons, whose notes have bgen renewed after the sa~e. ~ad becomo
due I'nd not pl'otestecl or renew.ed, with· the names of IndiViduals, parties to said l'E'newn)s~ whORe notes werc under protest at the time such
renewals wet'e made; and, also whethel' Stich loans in each case wcre
made by' the diJ'ectors or other·wise. and by ",Ilat outhol'ity."
'('he ulldet'signed suppose it impossible to mistake~ the !?encraJ purport of
calls like tlaMP.. Fl"{)m their minuteness (Jf specificatIon, they may be
supposed to aim at particular" individual~. or any suc!, re.rCl~~ncc the un·
dcrAigned are without accurate knowlrdge; and nothmg IS further from
their design than to impute to their respected colleagues the pursuit of' any
uuparliA.hlchtary Ol~ imllroper object. They cheel'fully concede to the~
what they claim for themseh'es, to have aded with a single eye to pubhc

[ Rep. No.

481. ]

duty, in their apprehension of it. But the-undersigned are free to conreas..
that they regard the undeniable purlJort of resolutions like those repeated as.
l.ighly objectionable. They seem to them to convey a general insinuation
out of place, above the region of the partisan press. The charge suggested
is that of bribery and corl'uption 8u common as to authorize a gene'rat
search. This is a cJ·ime unquestionably, which may, if sufficient grounds
exist, be rightfully charged on any director of thl:' Bank, or member oC
Congress; but which the undersigned regal'd as far too serious to' be thus
charged, without such strong groum]s of presumption. It is true that it
might seem gratuitous, in the uudersigned, to be over forward in rel~el_
ling such a chat'ge. In the existing division of parties, they and their
political friends are not found on that side of the Housl', which it was necessary for the Bank to buy or bribe. The honorable and high-minded
men ",.ho compose the majority in the Hnuse, politically attached to the
administration, and opposed to the Bank, do not need the aid. of the undersigned, to show the injustice of a genel'al imputation upon th~lr characters..
But something unquestionably is due to the general reputatIOn of ·the two
Houses of Congress. If individuals al'£>, on clear ground~, suspected of"
being thus cor'rupted; if the Bank on reasonable grounds, IS suspected or
this highest breach of prh'ilt:'ge, let the indh'iduals criminated be named;.
the char'ge be stated in foz'm; the cullJrit brought to the bar of the House ;.
and the guilty punished. But let not the whole body of both Houses be involved in one indiscriminate and odious, 'because vague and anonymous
delation.
As for t.he call for the correspondence of all membl'rs of, Congress witl.
the Batik for the last two years, and particulal'ly for, cop,les of. all unan~
sweredletters, the undel'signed could not but regard It With pamful feelings. Public life, already sufficiently discredited by the fierceness of party warfare: will cease to be a pursuit fol' those ~ho h~ve not Jost all ta.s~e
fOl' the SOCial charities, jf the sanctual'Y of private Intercourse and PI-Ivate cOl'respondence is to be invaded at pleasure, nnd evel'y letter, answered
or unanswered, which may have been wTitten by an individual who has
the misfortune to be a membel' of Congress, (for a great misfortune under
such circumstances it would be,) is subject to be brought up by the dragnet of a genel'at ,search. It was declal'ed by 1\1.,. Dunning, in the famous,
case of l\loney and others against Leach, that·" to ransack private studies,
in order to search for evidencE", and even without a p"evious charge on oath"
is contrary to natural justice, as well as to the liberty of the subject. ~ro
search a man's private papers ad libitum, and even without accusation, is
an infringement of the natural rights, of mankind.'" (3 Bur. 1762.)
It
was not the least detestable of the cruet violations of justice Rnd law whicb
brought Sidney to the block, that he perished in consequence of the discovery of a manUSCl"jpt political treatise, brought to light by a general
l!5~arch among the papers" in his cabinet. "The undersigned pel'cei ve 110 more
right in a Committee of this House to -call for the letters which may have
bee~ written by a member of Congress to an officer of the Bank. on the
subJect of a rene" al of the charter. than to call for hi!'i letters to any other
pel"SOn On any other subject. Undoubtedly it is conceivable that such a
JetteJ', ~igbt become legal evidence, in a process of attachment, for bl-each
of prlyllege, a~ul.in that case mil?ht be called for and uaed. So might any
)e~ter In a?y c ..!mmal cause. It IS conceivable tbat a man's letter to bis
'WIfe o~ c,hdd m'l?ht become legal evidence in a capital tI'ial; and in that
case, If It were In the possession of a third person, the court would com.

Rep. No. 481.

59,

pel its produ~tion.. But the undersigned are of opinion that a general
warrant to compel the '('I'oduetion of all the letters which may have been
wri iten by a class of ind i v id uals for two years, ill order to a search of the same,
with a view to, the institution of a criminal prosecution against the writel'S
or receivers, is now for the first time attempted'to be made, in virtue of theauthority of a parliamentary body..
It is one of the infirmities of our nature, that, in the ardent pursuit of
ends~ which, as individuals or members of a party, we think justifiable, we
sometimes go far beyond tho line of justice, as we should understand it in
our own casco To those who, in the ardor of a protracted controversy,.
have becODle wrought up to the belief that the Bank and all its offices ar8
one great engine of corruption, and those who have defended its clIaI"lered,
rights and m.ainta~ne~ its. usefulness, in and out of Congress, a band of
mercenary stlpendlar'les, It may sccm a very just aud prol)er demand that
the confidence of theito private intercourse should be violated, their business transactions stigmatized with corl'uI)tion befol'e the wol'ld, and thei~
private COl'!'csl~onde~ce spread on the jom'nats of a Committee of the Hou8e~
and, at their dISCI"ctlon, scnt to. the newspapers. But if, pausing a moment
in the career of party, they vnll make the case their own; suppose themaches at the me.·cy of those now in the minority, wielding against them
the entire authority of the House, sending its committees to unlock their
closets, and I'cquiring the llruduction of every letter they may have written on public affairs for years, they will l)['obably fOl"m a new conception.
of the light in which the calls now undel' consideration are regarded by
those against whom the,y were aimed, if any such there be.
rrhe undersigned would make a rcflcction somewhat similal', in reference to the call for the amount of fees llaid to counsel fot." legal advicegiven to the Bank, and the accommodations I'ecch'ed at the Bauk, by editors and llUulishers of newspapel's and periodical wOI'ks. It will not be
denied that there is an imputation of corruption in calls like these; fur it
cannot be pl'etended that, met·ely as a part of" the business transactions of
the Bank, tbe Rums which would fall under these heads, in any estimate,
however cxh'avagant, of their amount, could be of any interest to Cong.·css. 'Vhy then aloe they singled out ? ~"'here is, of course, in collecting
the '"a5t amount of debt constalJtly falling due to the Bank, and in cal'rying l?n its lRI'.ge ~oncerns, continual ne~d of legal advice and l)rofessio~al
serVice. Is It disreputable to seek tIllS advice and service, aud, havmg
rec~ived them, t~ pay for them? Is the profession of the law fail'ly ob.
nOXIOUS to the stigma, which the resolution implies, on those of its membel'S who transact the business of the Bank? _ Are mere partisan insinllation~, fabricated with all the levity and cruelty of an unscrupulous press.
suffiCIent grouml for the virtual denunciation and proscription of a whole
profession? The undersigned fot'bear to insist on the IU'otection which
the Jaw gives to the intel'course of lawyel' and client, and which, they belie V£", would protect the Bank fl'om this search into the relations which
exist between it and coun~cl employed in transacting its business-.
Nor do the umlcl'signed think the proCession of editors and pubhshers,
right, more obnoxious to the imputation of corrulltior;-, of! the ~.. ound ,pf
business transactions with the Bank. The nature of their busmess requit-es bank accbmmodation as much as any other. 'I'he under~i.gned
do nnt perceive'that they are more likely thaw:- any other cI~ss of cItizens.
to be corruptly in8uenced by the accommodations they recen"e.
If they
were, it is doubtful, as matter of fact, . whether, with an exclusive eye t~

0':

[ Rep. No.

481.

accommodations afforded by all the banks in J.hc country, and to ti.e
udluences under which they are dispensed, it would be a better calculation,
at the l?res~nt day,. to defend or ~o attack the Bank of the United Stat~
One tiling IS certam t that tJ)e edItor who defends the Dank of the Uriited .
E?t~t('!=;, may be considered fr'ee from the suspicion of having an eye to politIcal patronage. a SOU1'C6 of corruption, when abused, as })owerful, to S8.y
the least, as the favor of a mere moneyed institution.
'
~. But the undersigned hasten to express their views on the last step
~'hlch was taken by the co~mittee towards the discharge of their duty;
In many respects, the most unp0l'tant of all.
On the 9th day of May, a
copy of a pl'ocess, slIme\'t'hat of the character of a SnbprelllL duces tecum.
and which may be s('en in the appendix, No. 47, addt'essed to Jl. S. Bonsall. marshal of the ('astern distt'ict of Pennsylvania, was served upon
Nicholas Biddle. Presidt"nt, Emanuel [~lanucl] Eyre, Matthew Newkirk.
John Sergeant. Charl('s Chauncey, John S. Henry, John ~l. Neff. Ambr'os&
'Vhite, Daniel W. Coxe, John Goddard, .James C. FIsher, Lawrenco
Lt'wis, John Holmes t and \VilJiam Platt, directors of the 8an,k or the
United States, commanding the said Bonsall to surnmo,n them to he and
appear befo.·c the Committee of the House of RepresentatIves of the United
State!':, appointed on the 4th day of' April, 1854, i~ their chamb~r in the
North Amer'ican hotel, in the city of PhiladelphIa, and to b.rmg ,"... ith
them the credit books of said Bank, on the 10th day of May Instant, at
the hour of 12 M .• then and tller'e to'testify touching the matters enume_
rated in the said l'esolution, and to submit said books to said committee Cor
inspection.
'
The undersigned entertained, and still £"ntert!lin, great dou~ts of tho
I("gality of this process. The inquit'Y alluded to In the I~rocess IS, among
other things, into 'Ii the abuses, corruptions, and malpractl.ces of the nank~'~
that is, the cl'imcs and misdemeanors of its officers amllhrectOl's ; and tho
lll'OC{,SS just J'ecited is intended to be, a summons to a majo!"ity of ~IH,,.. d!rcctm's and the chief office.' of the Bank to appeal' and testify, as 111(11"'1_,
duals, to the matters of that inquiry; that is, to their own cl'imes and misdemeanors, with a "jew, as the resolution of the committee expr'esscd it.
of inquiring "whether such prosecution [viz. a criminal prosecution]
should be instituted."
The undersigned have already argued at length.
and attempted to show', that the power reserved in the ch.al'te.', of sending
a committee to inspect the books and examine the proceedmgs orthe.Ballk,
alld l'£'port whether its chartcI· had been violated, confer'red )')0 rIght of
compellillg the pl'oductiun of the books out of th~ Bank, and ,th.c RJJpeal"_
ancC' of the dil'ectol"s, tosubmitto an examination on oath as to the.lr mnoccncc
01' guilt, of the unspecified crimes and misdemeanOl's laid to their charge.
In like manner the undel'signed ha,'c expl'cs"Icd theil- decided conviction
t~at the general power of inquiry posse!'lsed by the House can have no
rIghtful extension to a case like this. It follows, by necessary' consequetJ~, that no process, having for its (}bject to compel the dir'ecttH's to
:Pbea~- befOl'e the eommitte('!. and bring with them the books of the Bank
o l~ i,hspected, and to testify touching the matters or such an inqui'ry,
co~ 'de Jt>gal.
The object of the process was ullauthol'ized by·Jaw.
nc1 endt to this fatal objection ,to the proces8, is another not less so.
.A
b
Sit ]Irena
flees tecum i t
'
.
. d .
eess
implica ted in the . s a vr:o
, no I:o;;slllng t~ the party Cl'i minate o~
appear and b ..in tr.. aJ, .01' Interested .111 t!lC SUitt b!'t. to a thir·d 1~1'8on to
g Wltla hIm any paper In hiS posseSSion, which may be I~w- ,
~he

[ Rep. No.

4Sf..

fully used as evidence in the trial 01' suit. without pl'ejudice to tl)e person
Bu~mone4, or his title. " ~rhe process of the committee was intended to be
addressed· to·those whose abuses, corruptions, and malp.'actices were t.he
subjects of inquiry; and the book they ,,,ere ordere(l to bring with them,
wao:t to be used in their own cr·imination.
The form of the pr'ocess, and its mode of sCI'vice, are believed by the undel'signed to be not less o~jcctiollabJe than its object, and equa1ly fatal to its
Jeg!,1 character; but on this topic thcy omit to dwell.
Notwithstanding the strong o~.iections to its legality, thc persons to
whom it was addressed, individuals unsurpassed for probity, intelligence,
and weight of charactel' in t~e communit!, treating it with the respect due
to tbe Honse of ~f'Jlresentatlyes, obeyed Its call, and appeared befOl'e the
cOlnmittee at thew chamber 10 the North American hotel. Their answer
to the summoa:as was commul~i,cated in wl'iting, and appears among the documents as paper No. 48, J hey state therein that they do not pt'oduce
the books or the Bank, because they al'e not in the custody of either of
them, bllt in that of the Bua,'d of Directors, By the Baaed, it will be I'e ..
collected, the books had been con:lhh'd to a committc~ of their numbcl' to
bo by them submitted to tho Committee of In\·estigation. If it wer~ the
PUl'pose of the Committe~ of the Houso to ~ddl'ess their process to the I.arty
Jla\'jng the actual possession orthe books, It would seem tbat the C\)I~liuittee
of the Dil'CCtol'S was that party delegated by the Board, and recognised
throughout fhe transac!ion as t!leil' agent, by the C,Ol~lmittee of the House.
If. on the otl}e!' hand, It were IfItendeu to addl'ess It to the pal'ty to whom
1h~ books ultimately be.longed, it w()uld seem that it should have gone to
tbe corporation.
'1'he written allswer or the directors (after stating their ignorance, whether
they should lJe called on to testify.) expressed a pUI'pose not to testify to
th~ matters of the imluil'Y. inconsic.lerati(tn of the character of tbe inquiry~
and their' own relation to it, as cOl'porators and dit'ectors. But as none of
the pcrHons summoned wel'e requit'ed by the committee to testify, no actual
refusal to testify took place, and consequently no contempt (supposing an
actual rerusal wonld bave been such contempt, whicb the undel'signed do
not admit) was committed by the (1i.'ectol·s against the autbority of the
Bouse.
'
'1"he undersigned are aware that, supposing the process valid ill its object~
.ub~tallCe, fortll, and service, it was mattel' of indiftht'encc, as far as the
question of ,right is concerned, what book or books tho dh'ectors WCl'e l'eC"Juired by It to pr'oduce. But they cannot hut exp.'ess the opinion, that a
demaud for the CI'cdit books of the Bank, showing the accoun~8 of evel')" io-.
divhJual w'"th the institution, Wa.<s the last which, in. atend~r regard to t1le
I"ight..q and fe~~ing!i of thb'd plwson~, i~ ~vould have. been ~xpedlent to make.
So sacred, IS the con"fidence of indiViduals dealing With the Bank, t~lat
the chRI'ter exempts the,state of' their accounts from the weekly inspectlon
,,·hieh. tll,e Secretary ()~ the Treas\lI'Y is autbo:ized to ~ake! a,~d the b~
JawS, whIch have been an force from the foundation of the InstItutIOn, fUl'bld
a director', withou~ sJ'ccial, authority, to illspect the cas.h account of indi'fiduals. To rC(j'ure the rlll'cctors to take fa'om tbe banking house, convey
through the Imblie sb'c("t, and open rOt, inspection in tht? challlbcs' of a hotel,
the book containing the account of every individual With the Bank, would
seem to, irldkate tbe l)ul'pose of puttinO" to the severest test the }lower of the
House, the obedience of the Bank, a::d the patience of innocent third parties wbose vital interests might be jeoparded in tbis pl''IlCedUl'e o_

L Rep.

No. 481.

.,.

The pre"ious demands of the committee having assumed the form or requests, could only be objected to in their spirit and tendency. There i.
nothing which a committee authorized to inquire, may not J"f'quest, because
there is no l-equest, which, as such, may 110t be refused. The law knows
nothing of requests; their refusal puts no one in contem}lt. But the pro<ess now under consideration assumes the form of a It'gal and compulsory
instrument, authenticated by the seal of the House, antl the signature of'
'the Clerk. Obedience to such an instrument, (if it is lawfully issued,) can
be compelled against all obstacles and opponents, and those ,,:ho maintain
its legality, must maintain the power of enforcing it. How sball it be enforced, in case it is disobeyed and resisted? Shall the Sergeant-at-Arms
be 8t>lIt to attach the <lirt>cfors? Shall they be brought prisoners to th~
seat of GO'"t>rnm~nt, and the bar of the Hous~~ attached for refusing to
produce and bring their books to the North American I!otel, and for ayow!n.g
a purpose (,,-hjeh was not put to the test) not to submit to an eXR?tmatto!1
iJn oath, touching their own cl'imes and misdemeanors? A satisfactory
answ~r, conSOhaut to rea~on and justice, and gro!lOd~d ,!n tbe constitution
and Jaws of the United Statesy must be found to tillS questaon, ~Y all pcrSUD8
who maintain the "'aJidity of the process issued by the .comrn.lttee.
That such a process is 110 s'U~pre~w d~lces tecum, .IS obVIOUS fr.om the
fact that it is addressed to the parh~s Ilnphcated. It IS no proc:ss In chan-eery, l'e(Juiring a party to produce his books and .papers; for. ItS. avowed
object is to inquire whether" a criminal pro~eclitIOn shall be Instatu~ed ;'.
an obj~ct for which the Chancellor will !"t>qUlre no man t? p.ro(~ftc.e his pa)lel·s. Unlike any of the processes known to the humane JllI'lsdlchon of the
present day, it is, in their most odious features, identical with the general
'warrants of the da"k ages of English libel·ty, amI the writs of assistance
·which tiJ'st kindled the spirit of resistance in the Ame"ican colonies. It is
~ compulsory process, to comllel the good lleople of the United States to
JlI'Oduce tJwir books and papers, and submit them to general search in proof
-of crimes 1I0t charged but suspected; to be enforced by attachment, illlprisomnent, and infinite distress ;-a search of books, a se~rch of papers, a
search of al"cuunts, a search of letters, .nd an examination on oath of. tbe
)lerSOns implicated, touching the matters whereof they are suspected. In what
·does such a warrant differ from those which were issu~d umler tbe First
~tu~r)es and the Sec!md ~ ames, for which, among otiler things, Scroggs was
~m~ached; and wblcb th.e Hou~e of Commons, in 1763, after full argumen.t, f;ulemnly .·eso)ved to be Inegal ? Illegal for a Court of King's Bench In
16B4~ illegal in the judgment of the House of Commons in t 76S, the
IHldersigned are slow to believe that an American House of Representatives,.
ill 1834, will be found to assert, or an American citizen to admit, their
Jegality .
. In cOI.clusion, the undersigned ""ould observe, that neither of them gave'
~ns voice fo,: the -:esolution cl-eating the committee, nor deemed the inquiry,
In many of Its objects, lIecessary or Ilrope'r.
They hope it is not impro.... ,
per to add the expression of the opinion that; had the attention of the House "
been pal·ticnlarJy (h"awn in debate to the te."ms of the resolution, it wftuld '
lla'\"e receiyed some modification; and that it is o,,,ing to its passage under
the ,?peratlOn of the preyjous question, and without any examinatioll of its
ile~lts. that it I·~cei\·ed, in its present form, the sanction of the House.
Bel~g. ho,,":ever, I!laced on the committee', the undersigned were desirous
.of discharging their duty as members of it, lIndel· the ord.er of (be House, "

[ Rep. No.

48 f.

the best of theh- abilityy and according to their understanding of the
rights of t.he- corllOration visited-the powers of the House, and the
principJes of justice. They we."e desirous of taking tip the val"iotls matters
of inquiry enumerated in the resolution, viz. the causes of the distress,
the aneg~d violations of the charter, and the imputed corruptions of the
Dank, one by one; of considering them in the Ol'dCl' in which they are arranged by the Bouse; of investigating each according to its nature ;of
inspecting the books and examining the proceedings of the Bank according
to the charter, that is, in reference to all objects which, by the charter,
are properly subjects of such inspection and examination; or in regard to
~hic!l"tbe .directors might voluntarily submit them for inspection; and of
InqUlrmg mto the other matters referred to them, as far as, on consideration, they should deem the committee competent to do so.
Of all these o~jects, the undersigned confess that they regar(led that
wl;ich stands foremost in the resolution as vastly the most important; an
inquiry into the causes of the present distress" It was their firm persuasion that the country demanded this inquil'Y of COtlgress. A numbCl~ of me·
nlo~ials and of subscribers to them, gl'eatcr by far than have at any former
perIod come before Congress, invoked the aid oCthe National Legislature to
relieve them from a state of unexampled distress. An embarrassment unusually extensive and severe, and not yet essentially alleviated, demanded
an inquiry into its causes. It was alleged, on the one hand, to be wan'tonly produced by tbe Bank; and, on the other, to be the unavoidable consequence of the financial policy pursued by the Executh'c. The under~
signed wished to make this the fit'st, as it was infinitely the most impOl'tant
-object or their investigations; to receive the testimony of enlightened mer.chants and men of business, in the intelligent community to which they
were sent, (who might be willing to appea.' before them,) as to the extent
and causes of the distress; to receive from the Bank those statements of
its alf'airs~ which they are well persuaded it would most cheerfully have
afforded. and which would have ilJusu'atcd its whole course in the difficult
-and trying position into which it has been thrown;. and f."olll all other
persons, on whom the committee would hav-e had a right to call, their testimony as to the manner' in which this measure of the Executive has been
taken up and carried on. Such an examination, the undersigned believe,
would ha~e. bee,! uscfu~ to Congress; satisfactory to the pl"ople; amI pow ..
-erruJly efHclent an leadmg to the rt'moval of the heavy burdens now lying
«)fl.tt. em • 'J'his object fit'st accomplished, as it was the first in' the precept of the House, the undersigned would have proceeded- to consider the
violationR or the charter;· and as .the resolution of the HQ"se does not confine the -inquiry to _those violations with which the Bank bas been cbarged,
"(I ey would have deemed themselves authorized to extend their ."esesl·ches
<t~ those of which the Bank complains, particularly to the removal of the
Cl"l)osites fur reasons not deemed satisfactory by Cong."ess, as now appears
!Of I~ecord on the journal DC one of the Houses of Congress. If, after these inquiri~s had been gone t),!'ough, it had s~ill appeare\l"on con~idering the other
matters comprehended III the resolutlOn, that they requu'ed or admitted
further investigation, the undersigned would cheerfully have co-operated in
the work, resorting to every source of information, legally available, as
far as the same coidd, by the charter, be requh'ed Cl"Om the nank, 0." Ie·
gaily received or compe.l1ed f.'om any othm- qual'ter. If, in the prugress of
_tiuch an investigation, 80 conducted, disclosures had bc~n made ot matter
1;0

r R~po

Noo 48i,~

rt"quil'illg or auUaorishag any funller procedure on the p~..t of tbe I!0USe..
the undersigned .'ould not ba\"c been behind the most z~alous of tbeuo ' allt~ociatl's, ill denouncing it to the House aud the country•. 4 ~iff~l'ent vi!w
of thcir dUly ..a., bowe\'er, taken by their colJeagues, resu.hmg ill a series
,.f me'asuru. from \\'kicb the undersigned uR~ortunatel.1 found themselve.
obligc-d to dissent.
'
,
But "'bile there .'as a Curm. in whicb the und~J7s;gne~ we,re.prepa,.,ed to
meet eyer,. part of tbe ITsoJution under which the cOlDmitt.~e ,,'as I'alse~_
the f""'" must consonant tn the wallts and wishes of the countl'Y, {t~ wlucb
aU otht"r matters of ltarty crimination are insignificant, compared wi.tli Ute.
g\~at question of tbe causes, the just responsibility, and the remedies. oC
the IU'C'S("nt sore dist~s)-the fUI'ID' unque.;tiooably in wh~c~ the resolution
\'iewed bv one consulerable class oftbose who voted for It-m the Housethe unde-ntig~('d freely admit ~ha4 in the range an~ cl!aracter PI'uf>o~d to
be' gi\'eo to tbe inquiry ~Y their colleagues, the ~aJority of the COl1~mlttee.
the purpuse of the Iuajorlfy of the House was not mistaken. They tlunk that
no capdid pu8OlI, con~~ting aU the circumstances of ,~he ease. fl'o~ tbe
firilt dOlDO.... tratioDS of. polICY bn the part of tIle Executl ve ho~tllo to the
Dank. down to the ~nt measm'es in support of that policy in the HOuse
of Jkill'Csentath'es, \\·ill deny that it& object was the o\'el,tbrow of the insti ..
1ution, and tlte impeachment of its dir'ectOl's, before the bar of public opinion
if nut be{()l-e that of the jUl.licial tribunals of the land, of gross mal,)rac:
tief's, corruj.tions" and frauds; and that the inquiry to be conducted by
the cUlnUliltee~ of whicb the undcrsigned composed the minority, was pro_
I,osed to be one of the measul'es to promote that end. So far f."om this
being denied, tbe underiigned understand it to be not only admitted but
daimed as a merit. on tlte part of the friend~ of the present administratioQ
or ti,e National Go\'e.rnment.
Bow was it natural that such an inquiry should ,be met by the Bank, or
I"atht'r by those \\'ho ba\'e bt'en entrusted by th", stockholders with its,direc_
tion ? Tbe Bank is a It-gal abstradiono To cbarge tb" Barak witb bl'ibery
and oorruptiotl, is to use words which have no accurate meaning, true 01"
raIse. 'rile party implicated is the directory and officers; men of·dtarac_
t.rI m ... n known to the cummunity as some of its most useful m'embers and
Jaigl.C'st orn.ments; men of l)J'obity, unimpeached in privateUre. Some ot·
thelD an' Dlerdaants, whose word in tbe most important tt'ansactions would
be derIDed as good as tbei~ bond, and othel's ~re p'°ofeisional characters
'\\-~.o adorn the highe~t tribunals of tbe countrJ"~ 'Tb~~ aloe the'l,arty im:
l)hcRtt'd ; cllarged with a most cruel and perfidIOUS deSign- to bring UQiver_
sal tiistr-css upon the country, for the sake of paltry selfish ends; and t"
promote tbe~f' ends, f""lh~l" charged with corl-upting the conductol'S of 'the
pres.~ ('orrulating the,people in the exercise of their elective fl'anchise, and
c-orrul-tinS the mt-mbcrs of Congl'Css. Al"e honest and hOllOI"able men
d'ar-ged ,,-iib tbe..~e odious IDisdemeanol's, to submit to tbe charge withuut
a, Ouu'lDur: to acknowledge the J'easonablcness ot' making it; the eXlled1CUC7 of im-estigatillg it, all vague and unspecified as it is; the reality
of. Pri;-afarit case against them? ~?es conscious innocence require them
to a~Dut that there is ground of slIsllIClOn ? Dot'(s the strong and indignant
fee,hng that their <'h ...actCI"S are outraged, While their rights arc invaded,
!"all u;~n thelD '"Oluntal-il,- to take the culprit's place; and endure tbe
Jg"~m!ny of wbat tb~y deem an uncalled fol' and a ':Q=![atious inquisition 1
Or J8 It not rather t~e natural dictate of proud and cbnscious innOCence tG

' ' &.''

r Rep.

No. 481. ]

place themselves ullon their rights, beneath the regis of the law? If I go
to my neighbor, as -honest a man as myself, and say, "you al'e R swindler
and ... knave," shall he meekly ask me to cntcr his house, lay open bis
ledger anti his lettc.' book, au:.1 invite mc to collect the materials out of
which I may projudice the public against -him? T!le dh"ec.tors of the
Bank are citizens, as honest and as virtuous as nny nt those. m office O~
out of it, high 01' low, who char'ge them with CUI'I'lIption. A good name is
as deal' to them as to theil' accusers.
Theil' stake 'in,the , ..'clfat·c of the
country is as gl'cat. '('he suct::ess with which they have conducted the
affairs oCthe great institution entrusted tn theil' cas'e, is not matter of opinion,; it is notOl-iolls, to all the wOI'I". At this moment, notwithstanding
the feal'ful wal'fare waged ag,linst them by almost Cyel'Y bl'ancla of the
Government of theil' own countl"y, their credit is a!+ O"()otl at London and
l'aris, as that",of t1~c Bank of England or France. bAt this moment, ill
the remot~st East, III the mal'ket~ of China, whcl'e the Sil\'CI' 'coin of the
count,,), t...om the pu~lic mint, jg undervalued, the paper of the Bank
of the Umted ~tateH IS an acceptable currency. In the midst of its career
of use~ulne.s~, It has been. unfol,tllnately 101' the cmmh'y, tll'awn into the
-field of politIcal coutl'o"CI'SY; its dil'ectors and officers vilified by name,
theil' most laudable measllres misreprescnted. thcir most innocent act~
calumniated, and theil' Hlightest crJ'ol's of judgment tortured into corruptions and cl'irnes; abovo nil, t.he seVCl'C distress, with wbich the country
has becn visited, ftH' the s~kc or cal'rying on this warfare, has been cruelly
imputed to the wantoll ;acbm.l of ,the Bank, though stl'uggIing fUI' its own
existence against the mOAt to('ml(Jablc efforts to crush it. The calm and
dignified tOile which chal'acte1'iz~s the cOIl!lllunicatiuJls of ~he Commit.tee or
Directol's, unde .. cil'l~umRtanc('s like these, IS, to the nmJel'slgued, a satisfactory indication of their integ"ity and c.msciom~ pUI'ity. They havc placed
themselves wilel'e, as Amel'ican citizclIs. conscious of their rights, of theil"
injuries, and ot' theil' innocence, they had a t·jght to place themselves~
unclei' the )lrotectiou of the law.
Firmly belioving that they are innocent of the c"imes ami corruptions
with which they have been cha"g,cd. and that, if guilt.y, they ought not to
be compelled to cl'iminate theUlselv~s, the unticl'Signcd are clearly or opinion that the dii'ecb"'M of the Bank have been guilty of no contempt or
the authority ot' this House. in having I't:Hp~ctfully declined to submit their
books fUI insl,cction, exceut as ."mluiJ'ed by the chal'ter.
All which iy respectfully submitted by
O

EDWARD

'VILLIA~I
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

22d .lUc'y, 1834.

EVJo~RE'TT.

'Y. ELLS'YORTH.

[ Rep. No.

481. ]

APPENDIX.

Xu. 1.
PIIIL.-lDELPlIIA.,

N ORTII

AMERICAN HOTEL,

.Ilpril !i!S, 18S4.
SIR: I ha\"(~ been dil'l"cted by the committee appointed to investigate
thc aifail's of the Bank of the United States, to ~nclose to you. ~he aCcom_
,
f
resolution of tho House of Representatn es of the
)any
lIlg CUI)Y 0
a
.
,
'11 b
· I S
d to iI,((u"m vou that the committee WI
e }lrepal'ed to
U nltt"
tates,
an
t
I
' tt1at WI')1 be
,"' I B
k of the United States to.morl'OW, a any mOl
'181t t lC
an
t! .1" I al'O'e of tl lC d U t-les
agl'l"f'ablc to you to l'ecci\"(~ them, to commence w ulSC 1 ; : ,
assigned them.

I have the honor to be,
"Vcl'Y respectfully,
Your obedient Sl"l'vant,
FRAN CIS TlIOl\IAS,
ChairllUlll.

BIDDLE,

Esq.

President Bank

Committee oj Investigation.

the United States.

Resoh'ed, That. fOI" the purpose of ascertaining, as f~\~ as pr~cticable,
the cause of the commercial embal' .. assment and distress complamed of by
numerous citizens of the United States, in sundry memorials which h1\ve
been presented to Congress at the In'csent session, al1tl of inquiring whether
the charter of the Bank of the United States has been "iolated, and also
what corruptions and abuses have "existed in its management; whether it
~as us~d" its corporate Ilower. ~n' money. to control the press, to interfere
In pohtlcs, or utt!.uence elections. and whether it has had any agency,
through its management or mon{'!y, in IU"oclucing the e"xisting pressure, a
select committee be nppointcil to insp('ct the books ami examine into tbe
IJroceedillgs of the said llailk, who shall l'eport whether the provisions of
the ch?rtel' han:> been yiolated 01' not, and also what abuses, cOl'rulltions,
or malpractices ha,"e existed in the management of !:laid Bank, and that
the said committee be authorized to send !"OJ' }lel'sons Rnd pallet'S. and to
summon amI examine witnesses on oath, and to l'xaminc into the affairs of
the said Bank and branches; and they al"e fUl'thcl' authOl"ized to visit the
prinCipal Balik, or any of its lwallclies, fol' tl.e }lul'pose of im'}lccting the
books, corl'espolHll"nCl~. accounts, and oth('" llap('l's connected with its
management 01' busine.sH; al1(1 that the said committee be .'equil"cd to I"CPOI"t the l'estlll of such iIlH·stigatiun. togethel' with the cyidcncc thcy may
take, at as early a day as practicable.

Rep. No.

481. ]

BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

.april 2S, 18S4.
·SIR: I have had the honor of receiving your letter of this day's date,
with a copy of the resolution of the Bouse of Representatives of the
United Statea, passed on the 4th instant.
J shall forthwith call a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the
l1:,nk at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, when these papers shall be sub.
mltted to them, after' which a communication on the subject shall be made
to you.
In the mean time, I ha\'e the honor to be,
Vel'Y I'espectfully, yours,

Bon. FRAN~IS THOMAS,
Cltatrman Committee

N. BIDllI... E, President.

IWL'estigation.

NO.2.
BANK Oil THE UNITED

STATES~

.I1pril 24, 18S4.

SIR: I am dil'ected by a Committee of the DirectorfoJ of tbe Bank of the
United States, to senti you the ellcIosed cOllY of a resolution adopted tbis
morning by the Boal'd, at a sllccial meeting, convened in consequence of
yout' cornmllnicatio~ of ycstcl'uay to the Pl'esident, and to inrorm you that
the committee will immeuiate-1y dh'ect the necessal'Y arl'angements to be
made for the accommodation of the Committee or the House of Representa1ives of the United States, and wilI attend at the Bank to receive them at
11 o'clock to-morl'OW morning.
I ha \'0 the honor to be,
Your most obedient ser\-'ant,

JOHN SERGEANT,
Chairtll.an.

To the Bon.

FRANCIS 'rnoMAs,

Chairman Committee o.f Investigati9.n.
Resol-oed, That a committee of seven members of the Board be aplloint-ed to recci-re the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United
States and to oWel' for tbeh' ius}lection such books and llapers ot ~b6
Dank as may be necessary to exhibit the llroceedings of tho cor porahou
according tp the rrquit-cment of the chat'tcr.
The following dil'cctol'S were then appointed to comllosc the said committee:
1\11'. Sergeant, Mr. EY1'e, !.lr. Lewis, ~ll'. Neff, Ml'. Chauncey, Mr.
Coxe, Mr'. Hem·y.

No. s.

JJ.pril 25, 1834.
Mr. Sergeant airel'ed to the Committee of the Ilousc of Rcpresentatives
the a~si8tance ot' the Committee of the Dank, in giving every f~\cility to the
FRIDAY,

[ Rep. No. 481.

prosecutiun of their inquiry. MI'. Thomas then pl"esented to the Committee or the Balik the following:
Ordered, That the President of the Bank of the United States be requested to fur'nish the committee with a list of the books of the Bank, with
an explanation fif the purposes feU' which each is designed t and the names
of the clerks to whose care and custOl~y ·they are .·espectively committed.;
and, also, a copy of the by-laws now In furce in the Bank. and of the bylaws in force prior to the first .Mouday of D8cember~ 1829.

NO.4.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

.lJpril 25, 1854.
SIR: I have had the h01101' to send you, agreeably to your request, H a
list or the books of the Balik, with an explanation of the l>urposes tOI' whicb
each is designed."
In I'egard to the remaining part of the inqu!ry. "tho tl~mes ~~ tile c1e,:ks
to whose cal'e and custody they al'c rcspechveJy committed, I am Instl'ucted by the Committt'c of tile Boal'd to ro;ay that these ~()ok~ are not
understood to be in the cal'e and custody of the clCI'ks, but In ,the,general
custody of the Boaf'd. The names of the clerks who make enU'lCS In them,
and for that pUl'pose ha\'c p()s~ession of them during the hOUl'S of business, are added to the list of' the books.
•
I also enclose u a copy of the by.lawR now in force in the Bank, and of
- the by.laws in force JlI'iOl' to the fir'st l\1.onday of December, 1829."

I have the honor to be,
V cl'y respectfully, your obedient ser"rant,

JOHN SERGEANT,

Cltairmatl.

'J'be Hon. FRANCIS THO~U.S,
Chairman of Committee qf In"O~stigation.
No.5.
BANK OJ!' THE UNITED STATES,

.april 26 f 18$4•

. SIR: In compliance with the direction
the Committee of Investiga.
tlon, I bave tbe bonol' to enclose to you the accompanying resolutions..

J am, very respectfully,
Your' obedient servant,

FRANCIS THOMAS,
To

JOliN. SERG1U.NT~

Ohairmaft.

Esq.
Chatrman rif the Cummittee

of Directors of tI&e

Bank U.

NO.6.
[Enclosed in the foregoing.]

th Resol"Ce~~ That the pl'o('ecding~, inn'stigations, and examinations of
fide Ct~m,nJlttele of the bu?ks, papel'S. and affairs of tllC Bank, shall be conen la , un ess othl'I"WISC ol'dcl'ed by the committe("."

r ·Rep.

No. 48 t. ]

Resol'Ved, That the investigation .. f this committee into the alfairs, management, and concerns of the Bank of the United States, shaH be condllete(l without the pre~ence of any JlCl'son who is not required, or invited
to attend the examination of this committct'.
Resol'Ved, 'l~hat the chairman communicate a copy of the foregoing resolutions to the committee appointed by the dit'ectors of the Bank of the
United States to receh·e the Committee of the House of RepI'esentath es.
A tJ'ue copy.
RICHARD RUSH,
Secre!aJ"Y to tlte Committee.

NO.7.
BANK OP THE UNITED STATES,

.apr"il 26, 1854.
SIR: I have received, and have Jaid bcfor'(" the Committee of the Directal'S of the Bank of the United StateA, yellll' note of this date, and the
encIos.ed copy of th~ resolutions of the <?ommittce of the House of RClwesentabves of the Umted Statec;. I am directed by the committee to inform
you that your communication will be laid herUl'e the Boarel at a special
meeting convened for the pur'pose. and that we will be prepared to tnake
known to you the decision of the Hoard at YOUI' next meeting, on ltlonday"
,at 11 o'clock.
I have the honor to be
YOUI' mo~t obedient servant.

JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.
To the Hon. FRANCIS THOM ..\S,
Chairman qf the Committee

of In:'Oestigatio1! of the House qf Reps.
No.8.

BANIC OF TilE UNITED STATES,

J1priL 28, 1854.
SIR: In conformity to my communication of the 26th instant, you!' note
of that date, and the resolutions enclosed in it, have been laid bcfore the
Boal'll of DiI'ectol's of the Batik of the United States at a special meeting
cORvenctl COl' the 11ul'pose. I have now the honor to enclose yo... a copy of
tbe resolutions of the Board, and to be,
'Vith gr'eat respect.
'
Your most obc"i~nt s("I'\·ant.
JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.
'l~o the lion. FRANCIS THOVAS,
Chairman. of the Committee of the House of Reps. U. s.
1. Rtsol."ed, That the Board recognise the right of the Committee of the
House of n.(~prc.~ntatives ot' the United Sta~("s tu in~J)Cct the books an~ to
~xamine into the proceedings or the Bank 01 the Umted States, accordmg

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

to the provisions of the chartcI'; and, to enable the committee to exercise
this right, according to the OI'Uel' of the House of Representative), the
Boal'~ have endeav~l'ed to do all that ~Ol.ld manifest their respect for theco~mlttce, or ~onh'lbute t? the cOln·ent~nt pel'for'maflc~ of its duty, by of.
fermg a, room JIl ,thc bankmg h~u~e for l~S accommodation, and appointing
a co~nmlttee of dll'ectors to exhlblt the books and papt'rs according to the
requirement of the char'teL' : but the Board cannot, consistently with theirsense of duty tn the Bank, antI of the obligations of the trust committed
to them, consent to give lip the custody and ])ossession of the books and
papers of the Bank, 1101' llCl'mit them to be examined but in the IlI'esencc
()f the committce appointed by the Boal'd.
2. Resolved, That considel'illg the natUl'e of the p,'()ceedings, which rcsulteu in the resolution for the appointment of the Committee of the Houseof Representatives of the United States, to examine the Bank of the
United States, and considering the very grave and accusatOl'Y nature
of the inquil'ies directed to be made by that resolution, as we)) ill th~ir·
bearing upon the Bank, as UpOB the individual ~itizens ent.'usted wIth
its administration the Boal'u cannot but deem It due to the demallds
of common jllstic'e that the institution, a~d the intlivi.duals, 81~()ul(1
have the Oppol'tunity to be present, by their rep.'esentat.ves nppCJ,!,ted
rOl' tLat l)ul'pose, at all examinations to be made by th~ commIttee
touching their charactel' amI conduct, whethel' the same be_ot bo()~s nnd
papers, or of witnesses., It i~ most manifest to the Board th~l, tor the
purpose of alTiving at the t.'uth, examination in the I~l'esence of the parties wuuld be the natural alllI effectual mode of proceedlllg ; and the Board,.
being confHlent that examinations so conducted would rcsult in a manner
creditable to the Bank, have promptly and cheerfully acceded ,to the amplest investigation : but, if they arc to understand the reS()lutlOn~ of the
Committee of the House of Heprescntativcs of the' United States, of the·
26th, instant, as announcing an intention to pm'sue a ~liffel'cnt course, they
do solemnly protest against the same, being fully satisfied that secl'et and
~al·tial examinations {U'C unjust and OPPt'cssive. and co~tl'ary to c!>mmon
right, and neyer to be resorted to but in cases of necessity, of winch the
l)rescnt cannot, in the opinioll of the noal'd, be said to be one.
S. Resolved, That the committee, appoillted on the 24th instant, be inst~ucted to i'm'nish a certified copy of the foregoing resolutions to the ComDllttee of the House of RCIJl'esentatives of the United States •
. NO.9.
BANK O~· TIlE UNITBD STATES,

.
.april 28, 1834.
SIR: I ha,·e be~n directed by the Committee of Investigation to ac·
knowledge the ree('Jpt ,of you I' letter uf the 28th instant, and to infor'm you
that I shall be authorized to reply to it by tu~mor..ow at 9 o'cluck A. M.
I am, VCJ'Y rC'spectrully,
YoU[' obedient servallt.
J
S
FRAN CIS '"rIlOMAS.
OHN
E~GEANT, Esq.
ChaIrman of the Committee rif Directors of tile U. S. Bank.

Rep. No.

481.

No. 10.
COMMITTEE ROOM, ./Jpril29, 1834.
SIR: I have the honor to enclose to you the accompanying copies of resolutions which have been adopted to-day by the Committee of Investiga-

tion, in reilly to your' communication of the 28th instant.
'Vith gl'eat respect,
I am your obedient servant,

FRAN CIS THOl\IAS.
Esq.
Chairmnn of the Committee of Directors oJ the U. S. Banli.
No. 11.

.JOliN SERGEANT,

[Enclosed in the foregoing.]
•

CO~fMITTEE ROOM,

.flprit 29, 1854.

At a meeting of the Commit~e of Investigation of the House or Representatives J on motion,
J. liesol-ccti, ~rhat this ,committee duly appreciate the dh'llosition manifested by ~he ~lrcctl!I'S of t~IC Bank of the United States, in oH'CI'illg accommodatIOns In their bankmg hOllse for its nse, as contained in the communicatioll of the Committee of the Board of Directors of the 24th instant
that this committee accepted that oWel' tmdel' the belief that it would l)rO~
mote a~ well its con,'cnience as that of the officers of the Bank, and that
the room thus offered would be- cxclllshely rOJ'its occupation, and that of
those whose attendatlcc might be, by the committee, re'luired or assented
to. during the business homos of the Bauk, and that the committee is willing still so to consider it.
2. Resoh~td, 'That this committee, chat'ged with imlmrtant dLlti~S. and
acting umler its l'cspol1sibility to the House of Representatives, and the
laws of the United States, cJaim~ the I'ight, to be exercised at its discretion, to compel the I)I'otluction of the lwoks and papcl's of tile Bank fOl·
inspection, and to inspect the same in such mode as to the committee may
Aeem best calculated to pl'omote the objects of its inquil·Y. But this com ..
mittec has 'not determined that it will become nccm,.sal'Y to pel'form that
duty, out of the Ill'escncc of those charged by the directors tu submit the
same to the inppcctinn of the committee.
s. Re8ol"'~d, That this committee can.not recognise the right of the
Board of DlI'ectors to regard the resolutIOn of the House of Hep."esentati ves a~ a~cu.sato.I'Y in its chat'act.et", 01" this committee as charged witb the
duty of criminating the Bank or Its otlicers. That, in the resolution or the
~6th instunt; the committee intended to assCI't its I'ight to control its own
proceedings, and not to indicate a pm'pose of making a secret and partial
examination, 01' of practising injm~tice 01" oPllf"ession. That the committee cannot but regal'd the expression of such an apprehension by the Board
or DircctorH as unjust to its membcs"s, and uuauthorizet.! by the resolution.
4. liesolveti, That this cntllmittl'c, actuated by a sense of justice, will
unhesitulir.gly am)!·tl to C\·el'Y IJcrson, whose Ch~l"ac!el' or conduct may
seeQl to be atrected ill the I'r\)gre~s of their investlgahonH, a full opportunity of explanation amI derence~ but claim the right of determining tbe
time and mode of giving such pridlege; ami, thel'eforl", cannot recogni~
the ."ight of tbe dit'ectors to pl'escribe the com"se to be pursued by tlus
committee in making its l'xaminationH.
5. Rasol"Cttl, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be communicated
by tbe chairman to the Committee of the Di,-ectol's of the Bank.

Rep. No. 481.

No. 12.
]JANE OP '.rUE UNITED STATES,

Jlpril 2g, 1834.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your note of this date, and tbe
copy, enclosed in it, of the resolutions adopte<l by the Committee of the
Bouse of Reprcsentath'es of the United States. They ha,'c been laid beCOloe the Committee of the BORl'tl of Directol's, and I am directed by tbem
to make the following reply:
The committee would. in the fh'st l)lace, resp('ctfully state that it was
not theil' il1tclltion, nOl' the intention of the BORrd, to ullcge that the Committee of Investigation was chal'gcd wit~ the duty of criminating the
Bank or offices. They meant ollly to say, as wi~ be seen by reference to
the resolution, that the imluirics dil'cctl~d tQ be made WCI'C in their nature
accusatory: and so the Committee of the Boal'd al'e still ubliged to consi,
The committee would ~'lJ'tber respectfully s!ate that It wa~ n~t the in_
tention of th,e Board to Impute t,o the C~mm.. ttec of Il1vcst~g.ataO!l a pur_
lJOSC of makmg a speret and partaal ('xamltlatlOtI, or of IU'Hctismg Injustice
or oppression: They simply ill'('ndc.d to assel't "',laat they ,beli~ve to be
beyond all (h!';IHlte 01' doubt, that secret and luu'tm} examinations into
matters which IJayc a bearing upon the dlal'acler aud conduct of indi ...
viduals al'e unavoidably unjust and oppressive.
And, finally, the committee ''''ould most l'cspcc1fully disclaim all inten_
tion to control in any manm.... the pl'oc('cdings or the Uommitt~e of Investigation, or to IU'Cscl'ibe to it any cOlll'se whatevcr. The Board are vCI'Y
sensible they hayc ncithcl' the l)()wer 1101' t.he right to do so. The only
purpose of the llmu'd was to exhibit respectfully to the Committee of Investigation their vil~ws of their f)WIl rights upon 1IIe two JlOints presented.
IJY the l'esolutions of the Committee 0(' Investigation of the 26th instant,
from which views t.hey have seen no rcason to depar't.
The connnittee al'e \"el'y happy to perceive thnt, as yet, th~re is no practical difference bet-wecn the "icws of the BoaJ'd and those entcl·tained by
the Committee of Investigation, as to the mode of lu'ocecding to be adopted, inasmuch as the I'csulutions lOU have done me the honor to send me,
inform us that the Cummi Ucc of In,-estigatiol1 l.ayc not come tu allY deci ...
sion" an~ we, thel"crul'C, may itH~lIlge a hopc that, Hoeing the reasonableness
and .Jnstlce or the Views l'csJ)ccUully suggestctl by tile Board, tho Cummit_
tee or Investigatioll, \yhcII tlley come to decide, will not diffcr fa'om the
.Boal'd in Ol)illioll.
'
I am directed, in conclusion, l'CS1)cctfully to request, '''hen the Committee
or Investigation slilllJ have decided upon the'tnode of )ll'occcding they will
.adopt, they ","'ill be good enough to communicate their decision, tbat the
Board may be abJe to take such meaSUl'l~S as it may seem to )'Cfluire. In
the Illean time, I beg you to be as;<;ured of the continued disposition of the
Boat'd and tIll' committee to conh'ibute all that may be in their power to
promote the accommodation alld cotn-cl1ictlcc of the Committee of Inv.ca·
tigation, 8S well us uf the gl'cat .'esped of
Si.·, ,UUl· most olJcdicllt 8crvant,
d~~cm..

'1'0

tho lion.

JOHN SERGEANT, Clulirfuafl.
FRANCHi THOMAS,

Chairmcm

cd the Cou&miilee f!f the IIouse of Rtps. U. B.

[ Rep. No.

481.

No. 13.
April 29, 1834.
SIR: In compliance with the directions of the Committee of Investigation, I
have the honor to enclose to you the accompanying resolutions.
With high respect, I am yoar obedient servant,
FRANCIS ".rHOlVlAS, Chairman.
COMMITTEE ROOM,

Esq.,
Chairman of the Com. of Di,.ecto,.s of the Bank of the U. S.

JOHN SERGEANT,

No. 14.
[Enclosed in the forc.going.]

Be.oIved, That the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the Uni1:ed States be requested to furnish" the Committee with a statement of the outstanding certificates of the public debt, for which the Bank holds the money in deposite to redeem, under the designation of "redemption of public debt," showing
the names and residence orthe holders of such olltstanuing certifi('ates; the amount
of each, and the aggregate of the whole; the class of loans to which they belong
s-espectively, and whether the Bank has paid interest to any of the holders of the
same, since they fell due and payable.
A true copy:
RICHARD RUSH, Secretary.
No. 15.

Resolved, That the President, Direc.tors, and Company of the Bank "of the United States be requested to furnish the Committee with the entire correspondence
between said Bank, or any of its agents, and the Secretary of the TI·easury and
Raring, Brothers and Company, and Hottingucr and Company, touching the bill
of exchange drawn by the Treasury Department 011 the French Government, on
tbe 7th of February, 1833; also copies of all accounts and accounts current with
.aid Bank, from oither Baring, Brothers and Company, or Hottingucr and Company, between the 1st of January and July, 1833.
A true copy:
RICHARD RUSH, Secretary.

No. 16.
Ruolved, That the President, Directors, and Company of tho Bank of the
United States, be requested to furnish the Committee with a list of the names and
residences of all the persons who surrendered their certificatt:>s of three per cent•
• tock, and rt!'ceived a c.redit on the books of the Dank therefor; the time when, Bnd
a1tlount placed at. the credit of each; the aggregate amount thus surrendered. and the
dates at which the same were paid by the Bank to the proprif"tors; the names of the
agents employed by the Bank ill any negotiations or arranglJrnents to postpone the
payment of said stocks; the compensation allowed to .each agent; and the amount
of expenses allowed to each in addition to compensatIOn.
A tru~ copy:
RICHARD RUSH, Secretary.
No. 17.

Ruolved, That the Presidont, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the
United States be requested to furnish the Committee with a statement, showing
the names of all special agents employed by the Bank since its establishment, the
objects of such agencies, the compensation allowed to each, the services rendered

[ Rep. No. 481.

by each, the duration of such agencies, the expenses allowed to each in addition
to compensatioil, and whether either of such agents was either a member of Congress, State Legislature, or officer of the General Government, at the time of
employment.
A true copy:
RICHARD RUSH, Secrel4ry.

1'\6. 18.
Resolved, That the President and Directors of the Bank of the United States
be requested to furnish this Committee with the following staterut'nts:
1st. A statement showing the amount of public money on deposito in the Bank
and its branches respectively, to tho credit of the Treasurer, and other officers of"
the United States, in each month, trom April, 1832, to April, 1834, inclusive.
2d. A statement showing the number of ,"otes given at each election for Directors of the parf'nt Bank since December, 1832; showing, abiO, what number
of votes were aiven in person by the stockholders, and what number by Pt'oxy.
and by whom :uch proxies were -helo, and a list of the Directors elected at each
election.
.
3d. A statement showing the- amount of gold or silv.er coin whIch has beeD
purchased or sold by the Bank," the names of the persons to whom such sales.
and from whom such purchases have been made, amI the gross amount of ,profit
deri\'ed by the Bank therefrolll; and also showing tho mos~ usual and hIghest
prices received for each of the following descdptiollS of cOI,n, and whether the
same have been sold in the Cnitcd States, or in foreign coulltncs.
,
1. Gold eagles, hah'es, and quarters of the 17nited S~atcs' cowage.
2. Silver dollars, halves, and quarters of the same comagc.
3. Spanish doubloons, and their parts.
4. Patriot
do.
do.
5. Spanish milled, Mexican, Peruvian. and Chilian dollars.
6. English guineas and so,oercigns.
7. Louisd'ors of France. and five-franc pieces.
S. Half joes of Portugal or Brazil.
4th. A statement showing the amount of gold or silver coin which has beel}
drawn, by order of the parent Bank. from each of its western, southwestern, and
southern offices; and also the amount of specie which bas been sent thereto by the
same authority.
5th. A statement showing the nam,-'s of all persons, alphabetically arranged~
who were inc.lebted to thc parent Bank on the first .Monday of December, 1829;
sho.wing, also, whether by author.ity from the Board of Directors, the Exchange
Committee. the President, or othet" officer of the Bank, each loan thus made the
residence of each borrower or debtor, tho terms on which each loan was made
and whether each debtor was liable as endorser or drawer, principal or security. •
6th. Statement, similar to the foregoing, of the debt!i du~ to the parent Bank
011 the 1st day of JUl1l', 18.'32, and on the 28th day of April, 1834.
7th. A statement showing the amount of f~reign or domestic gold or silver coin,
.r bullion, which has been exported by the Bank, for each and every month, since
t~e 1st of l\larch, 1832, and the profits derived by the Bank from such exportat100; and also the amouot of specie imported by the Bank whhin the same
period.
8th. A statement showing- the capital of each of the offices or branches of the
Bank, with a tabular staten';;'nt sho\villg the liabilities and resources of each branch
?r offi~e, on the 1st of each and every month, from March, 1832, to April, 1834~
Jncluslve.
9th. A statement showing the amount of domestic bills possessed by each of the
branches and offit'oe..-s of the Bank on the first day of each month, from March.
1832, to April, 1834, inclusive; showing also the places at which the same were

[ Rep. No. 481.
purchased, and the time when

and places where

75
the same were or will be

payable.
lOtb. A statement showing the amount of money which has been at any time

loaned by the Bank on pledges of stock as collateral secm-ity ~ the kind and de-scription of stocks thus pledged, the date and terms of each loan, the names of the
borrowers, with the amount loaned to each, and the amount now due by such
borrowers respectively.
11th. A statement showing the names of the stockholders of the Bank, with theIlurnller of shares held by each. the residence of each, their official stations~ if in
office; and showing also the aggregate number and value of the shares held by
foreigners and citizens of the United States respectively.
A true copy:

RICHARD RUSH.
No. 19.
(North American Hotd,) April 30, 1834.
SIll: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 29th
instant, and, having iombmitted it to the consideration of the Committee of Investigation, have b.ecn authorized to present to you the following reply:
The Committee regret to find that the character or the resolutions heretofore
adopted by them, and of which cOllies have been forwarded to you, is much misuBderstood. In your letter of the 29th, it is said" that the Committee of Investigation have not come to anv decision" as to the modo of proceedill~ to be adopted.
The propriety or justice 01~ such an allegation is not perceived. The Committee
have decided, and made known to you that decision, that they ha,:,e the I?ower to
compel the production of the books and r~apers of the Bunk for InspectIon; that
they have the powerto make such inspection in the presence ofth~so only. who may
be by the Committee reqnired or invited to attend; amI to exclude jrom thclr room aU
persons whatever, who, by their presence, lllay in any degree tcnd to impede the
progress of the inspection of the books and papers, or incommode the members 01
the Committee in the discharge of the high duties devolved on them by the House
of Representatives. The Committee reserve the right to exercise that po~er when
it shall become necessary, and in tbe manner which their sense of proprIety, and
desire to do justice to the Bank and to the country, may dictate. They hope that
nothing will occur, in the course of this scrutiny, which may render it proper for
thenl to decide upon and exercise the full extent of the powers conferred uponthem by the House; and are happy to learn that u tlwl-e is no practical ditference
between the views of the Board and those entertained by the Committee." They
will be glad !o know whether they are authorized to conclude that the room which
bas been offered for theh- accommodation at the banking house, can be conveniently set apart for their exclusive use and occupation, from ten o'clock, A. M.
until tbree, P. M. during their continuance in Philadelphia. The Committee
assure the Committee of Directors that it is their desire to conduct tl.e investigation at the place mutually conveni~llt to them and the oflicers of the Bank, and in
a nlanner calculated to work no " injust!ce or oppression."
_
An answer, consistent with your earliest convenience, to so much of tlJJS comn.iunkatiOll as relates to the occupation of the room in the banking house, is
l"espectfuUy requested.
.
I have the hOllor to be. with great respect, your obedient servant,
COMMITTEE ROOM,

FRANCIS THOMAS ..
Esq-. Chairman of tkl! Committee
Board of DiTectors of the Bank of tile United States.

.JOliN SERGEANT,

of t/AI!

Rep. No. 48t.

No. 20.
BANK OF TilE UNITED S'I'ATES,

May lsi, 1884.

SIB: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 80th of April. It bas
been laid before the Committee of the Board, and, by their direction, I make the
following reply:
In saying tha.t, according to the tenor of the resolutions of the Committee .of" In'Vestigation of the 29th ult., there was" as yet no practical difference" between the
Committee and the Board. the Committee of the Board 8tm think the language they
used was correct and appropriate. It is true, that in these resolutions the Committee
of Invclitigation had asserted a power which might, perhaps, have been controverted.
But it was not thc intention of the Committee of the Board to discuss or question tbe
powers of the Committep. of Investigation in the abstract, or as mAtter of opinion.,
but simply to set forth their own views of what they believe to be the rights of the
Bank and of the individual citizclls intrusted with its admil1ish"ation.
"practical differellce," according to the view of the Committee of the
Board, would only occur when there should be an. actual, as distinguished from a
-theoretical collision; that. is to say, when an exertIon Of. power... attempted by the
Committee of Inves~igatJo?~ s.hould be m?t by an asset-tlon of rl~ht on the part of
the Board, incompatIble with tt.... prosecutlon- Such a state of dungs would be extcemely to be rE'grctted. It must, lleverthelesg, be conceded that a c·ase might be
presented in which the Committee of the Board would be compelled, by a deep
senso of duty, to consider their rights, and to act upon their own views of them.
Among the risks incident to an error of judgment in deciding") they would esteem it one of the greatest that their conduct might, by possibilitYt be imputed,
however unjustly, to a want of duf': respect for the Committee of Investigation, or
for the high source from which their authority is derived.
Under the influence of these feelings~ and with a strong desire that the investigation might be conducted in a manner satisfactory to both the parties, the Committee of the Board gladly embraced the belief-it may be that their st,'ong inclination led them too hastily to belie\'c-that thm'e was, "as yet, no prat".tical difference." If in this they misunderstood the terms of tile resolutions of the Committee
Gf Investigation, they will be ready to receive explanation of the Committee, jn
this or an.y other matter, to correct the misunderstanding.
They deem it due, however, to the Committ<!e of Investigation, as well as to
themselves, to say further, that ill the letter of the Commhtce of Investigation of
the 30th ult. there appears to he a misapprehension of the meaning oftlle Committee of tho Board in their letter of the 29th lilt.
The Committee of the I)oa"d did not say "that the Committee of Investigation
had not come to any decision as to the mode of proceeding to be adopted." They
do not know~ nor can they, without failing in the re5:pect due to themselves, pretend ~o know; wl,tat may luwe been, or what may be, the decisions of the Committee of Investlg-atlOll, except so far a~ tile Committee may think fit to communicate
them. According-Iy, their letter of the uh. was founded entirely on the resolutions of the ult., copies of which were transmitted to them by the Committee of Invl.~stigntion; and the passage a.bove quoted, with its context. referred especially to the following senter-ceo in the second of those resolutions, to wit: U But
this Committee has not determined that it will become nec~ssary to perform that
duty Ollt of the )H-CSC'llce of those charged by the Directors to submit the same to
the inspection of the Committee." Comparing this with the resoluti,?ns ~f d!6
Board of Djrectors, heretofore handed to the Committee of Invf.~stigatlOn, It dId
apppar to the Committee of the Board that thcre was no decision upon this material poiut, and, therefore, that there was" as yet no practical difference.'"
Acting upon the same principle that has hithel'to governed tho Committee of the
Board, it is not their intelltion to question tile statement of the Committee of In-

The

Rep. No. 481. ]

"estigation, u that they havo the power to compel the production of the books and
papers of the Bank, n &-c. That such is the opinion of the Committee of Investi...
gation the~ h!lve no. doubt; ~lUdt as their opjl~ion, the Committ~e of the Board
freely admit Its claIm to I11gh respect. It IS only when ceasmg to lite opinion
merely, it shall come in conflict with the rights of the Bank, or of those intrusted
with its administration, (if e,'cr that should happen,) that the Committee of the
Board will find themselves bound, h-owever reluctantly, to examine its application.
In reply to that part of your letter in which you inquire whether the Committee of Investigation H are authorized to conclude that the room which has been
offered for their accommodation at the banking house can be conveniently set
apart £or their exclusive use and occupation, from 10 o'clock A. M. until 3 ocJock
p. M., during their continuance in Philadelphia," I am directed by the Commitee
to say that they still have, as they always have had, every disposition to accommodate the Committee of In\"esti~ation, and sllch they ·arc persuaded is the disposition also of the Board. The Committee find their authority in this respect set
forth i~ the rCSt;)lutions of the Board of the 28th of April," communicated to the
CoInIDlttee of Investigation on the same daYt by which it appears that the Board
directed them to offer to the Committee of Investigation "a room in the bankjng house fwo its accommodation, and appointed them a Committee of Directors to exhibit the books and papers according to the requirement of the charter."
~ut the Board at the same time declared that they could not, H consistently
with theIr sense of duty to the Bank, and of the obligations of the trust committed
to them, con~ent to give up the custody and possession of the books and papers
of 1:h~ Bank, nor to permit them to be examined but in the presence of the Com.mittee appointed by the Board. The Committee of the Board have great pleasure in renewing to the Committee of Investigation the ofter of the room, in the
manner pointed out by this resolution, and in tendering .any further se~vic? in their
power that can promote the convenience of the Comnuttee of InvestigatIOn.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.
The Hon. FRANCIS TIIOl'tU.H,

Chairman of tke Committee of Investigation.
No. 21.
NORTH A MEJUOAN HOTEL,
COl\fMITTEE ROOM, ~fa!l

1, 1834

SIR: I have the honor to enclose to you tho accompanying copios of resolutions
whieh have been adopted by the Committee of Investigation.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

FRANCIS THOl\'1AS, Chairman.

:JOlIN SERGEANT,

Esq.

Chairman of Committee of Directors of tke Ball.k

u. s.

[Enclosed in the foregoing.]

Resolved, That the President and Directors of tho Bank be requested. to furnish the Committee with copies of all correspondence between the Presldl'nt of
tbe Bank or llny of its ofiicers with members of Congress, or of una.nswc.rcd letters
received from anyone of them since the 1 st day of July,. 1832, to\1('hlll~ the renewal of the charter Qf the Bank, the removal or restoratlOll ?f the: puhltc deposites, or touching the business transnctions of such members wlth saId Bank.
ResoZ,Jed, That tht!' President and Directors of tho Bank be requested to filraish the Committee with a statemellt showillg tbe whole number of slaves which

r Rep.

No. 48 t.

it bas taken since its establishment, by purchase or in payment of dcbtS'~ the tinm
when and from whom each was taken, the amount they were taken to payor secure; and whether such debts wera under protest when such slaves were taken,
the names of all parties obligated upon each debt,. and whet~er such sla~es have
been sold by the Bank; and, if so, the amOUR! obtamed for each, the deficIency or
excess in each case of sale ill respect to the debt on which such slaves were taken,
designating the branches at which such slaves were taken or sold.
Resolved, That the President and Djrectors of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committee with a statement of the;r expenso account since the 1st of
January, 1829, up to the dattl of this resolution being complied with. showing the
items and total for each half year, corresponding wilh the entries in their expense
book, and showing the names and residence of all persons to whom any payments
have been made, the amount to each. and the time and consideration of such payments, with copies of all vouchers t81"en for such payments.
Resolved, That the President and Directors of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committee with a statement in detail of aU over-drafts which have been
made on said Bank or branches since 1829, by members of Congress, or State
Legislatures; the time such ovcr-dra~t:i ~vc ..e ma~e; and ~lso by printers, editon,
and publishers of newspapers or penodl<~als. statmg the tIme and amount of each
over-draft. by whom made, the period such over-or.afts remained unpaid, and the
time and manner in which such drafts have heen paid or secured.
IlesQlved, That the President and Directors of the Bank be requested to f"urnish this Committee with the particular items und the aggregate of all fees or
compensations paid durjn~ each year' to attorneys, counsellors, or lawyers, since
the establishment of the Bank; stating the amount paid to each person employed,
together with their names and rt'sidence, the times whcn the pa.yments were made,
and the particular services rendered for each charge paid; also whether the same
bas IJccn paid at the parent Bank or branchcs, and at wllich, designating them;
also of all sums paid a:;; a general or annual fce or salary to coullsoHors for the
Bank. specifying tho name of each perSOIl, the amounts, and times. and places of
payment; and aho whether such sums were paid by the order in each case of the
Doard of Directors, or how otherwise paid. designating such sums as have been
paid ill cash, and such as may have been passed to the credit of such persons or
othors ill payment of any debt or debts due to said Banll.
Resolved, That the President and Dirc<.'tors of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committee wilh the entire correspondence between the Bank and the
New York branch since the 1st of January, 1~33.
Res()lvecl, That the President i.i.lld Dircctors of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committee with a statemcnt of aU the accounts and copies of the cntil'c
correspondence between the Bank or auy of its officers and
; also the correspond~mce of the ~allk, or that of any of its officers with the officers of the branch at
Waslnngton, touchmg the deht owing, or which has heretofore been owing by them
t? the ~nank of the U nitml Statcg or -any of its branches, or touching any negotiatIOns ior the loan or payment of money since the] st of January, 1829.
Resolved, That tlw President and Dircctorg of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committl'c with a statemt~llt showing the amount of debt directly or indirectly due or owing to Imid Bank by
and
or either or hoth, jointly
()r s~verally, oc by any otl~r pel"son for tiwir benefit, ~r the benefit of either of
them; !lhowing also tim amount of debt thus due at any time hCl'etofore, with a
stateillunt of all payments 011 their account t with the dates thereof siuce the 1st of
April, 1832, with copies of allY deed or deeds of trust, arrangement, contract, or
agreemont, or assignment, entered iuto hetween said Bank find them. or either of
them, or other:; for the benefit of said Dank, 01" ill which it Illay have a beneficial
lutC£Dst; also copies of the entire correspondence hetween said Bank, or any officer
thereof, and the said _
aud - , or either of them; also a ('.opY of any consont
which the Bank may have given, !;o far as conccrnud permitting
to csta1.J ..

[ Rep. No.

481.

ish and pubHsh a newspaper in the city of
t notwithstanding his contract with
_ _- - to the contrary.
Re8tJlved, That the President and Directors of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committee wjth a statement of the amount of debt directly or indirectly
due or owing to the said Bank, or ally of its branches, from
, editor of tho
_ _ _- , or any other person for his account and benefit; stating the maximum of
his· loans or debt at any time since he became indebted, the times and places
when and where contracted, and the time and manner in which the same has been·
paid, reduced. or secured. and with copies of its entire correspondence with the

said - .
Reso!ped, That the President and Directors of the Bank be requested to furnish
this Committee with a statement, showing the details of the debt, which has, at
any time, been owing by

• publisher of the
, since
March, 1832, and showing how the same has beeu settled, secured, or arranged; also
copies of an proceedings of the Board of Directors, or any committee or officer of
said Bank. in relation to said debt, since that period; showing also the amount of
Joss, if any, it has, or may probably, sustain by him.
Resolved, That the President and Directors of the Bank be requested to furnish this Committee with copies of all legal opinions which itmay have obtained from
counsel, touching the right of the Bank to hold the puLlic moncys, contrary to the
powers or orders of the Secretary of the Treasury to rcmove the samc; also co.
p!e~ of all the opinions obtained from counsel, in relation to delh"cring over, as
dtrecte~ by the proper officer, the funds, books, and papers, provided for paying
revolutionary pensioners, or annuities, under the act of 7th .June, ]832Resolved, That the President and Directors of the Bank be requcsred to furnish this Committee with a detailed statement of all loans made since the 1st of
..January, 1829, to individuals who then were, who have been since, or who now
are, members of Cono-ress, stating the amount of each loan, when the same was
made, for what term tIle ~cCUl"ity was givell, and the time when such security was
received; and also the securitv whkh the Bank now holds, and the amount now
owing by any and each of su~h borrowers, or other pel"SOnS for the benefit of such
borrowers, at the Bank, or either of the branches; and stating also the particulars
of any such loans which have been protested, or which arc now under protest, and
the. names of the parties to any such debts; also the names (if any) of such persons whose uotes have been rellewed after the sarno had became due, and not protested or renewed, with the names of individuals, parties to said renewals, whose
Dotes were under protest at the times such renewals were made; and ellso whether
such loans ill each case were made by the Directors or otherwise, and by what au·
~~~

No. 22.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

J.Yay 1, 1834.

SIJl: I am directed by the Committee of the Board of Directors of the Bank of the

United States to acknowledge your lerter of the 29th of April, amI the copies enclosed with ·it of variolls resolutions of the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States.
The Committee deem it proper to lay your communication before the Board, and
'Would. for that purposo, have convened a -special m~eting beroro thi~ time, b~lt that
it 5cemed to t"em nccess<lry, first, to collect ccrtam materials of lIlfOrmatl~Hl f~r
the Board. This work they caused to be begun as soon as they could; It wJll
be eompleted at the earliest moment possihle, so as to be laid before the Uoaru to·
Dlorrow, after whkh no time will be lost in communicating to you theil" decision.
'Vith great respect, I have the h()no~ to be,
Your most oiled lent servant;

.JOHN SERGEANT, Cllairman••

l-1on.

FRANCIS THOJnA~,

Chairman of tile Committee of Investigation.

[ Rep. No. 481. ]
No. 23.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

May 2, 1884.

Sm: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of the 1st instaDt,
together with sundry copies of resolutions which accompanied it. They have
been laid before the Committee and before the Board.
The Committee this morning also laid before the Board your communication of
the 29th ult., and the copies of resolutions accompanying it; and they havQ directed me to inform you, that as the resolutions of the 1st instant will involve the
necessity of a similar inquiry as those of the 29th ult., the Board do not deem it
expedient to decide upon the one until they are prepUl'ed to decide upon the otber.
As soon as this decision is made, it will be communicated to you.
\Vith great respect, &c.
JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.
Hon. FRANCIS THo)B.s,
Chairman of tire Committee of Inr:est;gation.
No. 24.
Committee Room, May 2, 1834.
SIll: In compliance with the directions of the Committee of Investigation I
have the honor to enclose to you the accompanying copies of resolutions; and ~e
main with great respect, your obedient servant,
,
FRANCIS THOMAS, Chairman..
To JOHN SERGEANT, Esq.,
NORTH

AMERICAN HOTEL,

Chairman of Committee of Directors of Bal,k of the U. S.
No. 25.
[Enclosed in foregoing.]

COlUIITTEE ROOM, (North American Hotel,) May 2, 1884.
Resolved, That the President and Directors of the Bank of the United States
be required to submit for the inspection of this Committ~e, at their committee
room at the North American Hotel, on Saturday, the 3d day of May instant, at
11 o'clock, A. M., the book or books which contain the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Directors, at their several sittings on the 1 st and 8th days of
October in the year 1833, and from the :21st day of April, 1834, to this day.
Also, the report of a Committee of the Board, rejecting a proposition to transmit a copy of certain resolutions adopted on the lst day of October, 1833, to the
Secretary of the Treasury of the- United States; also, the cxpe-nse book of the Bank,
and the vouchers tor expenses paid or incurred by said Bank, since the 1st oE
January, 1832.
.
A. true copy:
RICHARD RUSI:I.
No. 26.
CO~UfJTTEE ROOM, (North American Hotel,) AIa!l 2, 1834•
. Whereas this Commjttee, sincerely desirous to conduct the inquiries, eJ:aminatlO11S, .and investigations which tlwy have- been required by the House of Represc.ntatlves to ma.ke, with fairness, impartiality, order, and despatch, havo learned
With regret that the Directors of the Bank of the United Stotes have declined
accommodating this Committee with a rOOIn in their lJallking hOllse, for tbtt ex-

[ Rep.·N o. 481.

elusive use and occupation of this COAlmittee: Therefore, Resolved, That the sit-·
tings of this Committee shall be held in their room at the North American Hotel.
in the city of Philadelphia, until otherwise ordered.
'
A true copy:
·RICHARD RUSH.

No. 27.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

May 3, 1834.

SIR: I ani directed by the ConunittAe of the Boaa"d to acknowledge the honorof your Jetter of the 1st instant, covering sundry resolutions of the Committee of
Investigation; and in reply to that Jener, as well as in further reply to your letterof the 29th ult., to enclose to you a copy of tho resolution of the Board of Directors of the Bunk of the United States,at a special meeting convened this morning
for the purpose of taking into consideration the several communications of theCommittee of Investigation, not heretofore answered.
With great respect, your obedient serva.nt,

JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman_
The Hon. FR_~NCIS

THOMAS,

Chairman of tire Committee of Investigation.

No. 28.
[}~nclosed

in the foregoing.]

Resolved, That thE" BGard do not feel themselves

At liberty to comply with the
of the resolutions of tho Committee of Investigation of the 29th ultimo and 1st instant, and do not think they are bound to do so, inasmuch iLs in re.speCl to a part of the papers caJ1cd for, the effect would bo the same as the surrender of their books and papers to a SCCl"Ht and p.x-parte examination, which they
have already refused to consent to; and as to the othe.· part they relatn to matters
over' which the Board have no control; and jf they could ovorcome these objec••ions, and had the power over all the papers, still it would be impossible for them
to comply within any f('asonablo time, having ascertained, by a careful examination, that the copies and statements, called for by the resolutions of the 29th ult.
alone, would require the uninterrupted labor of two clerks Hu"nt l(~ast tell months
to .Jl1a~e lhcmout; and that the l-cmnining resolutions, so far as they concern matters not beyond the reach of the Board, would require great additional time, which
they arc not able exactly to compute. without causing what they fear would be
an inco·nvenient delay to the Committee of Investigation; and they take it for
granted that it would no more comport with the views of the Commillcc of Investigation to wait till.so distant if period, than it would with the rights of the Bank
to have such a but·thcn imposed upon it.

requi~ement

~o.

29.

BANK OF THE UNITED STATES, May 3, 1884.
SUl: I am directed by the Committee of tho Board to acknowledge the hon<!r of
your letter of the 2« inst[lnt~ covering copies of two resolutions of the Committee
of .Investigation, and to inform you that a special meeting of the Board ~vas cal.led
~t the earliest pracLicable hour this morning, that there might be ?o du~appom.t
.ment or delay· to the Committee of IllveMigation. The answcr wll~ be found in
t~e copies of re~ulutiol1s. herewith transmitted by order of the Cooul1Ittee.
.
With great respect,
I have the honor to be,
Your obedient servant,

Hon.

JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.
Tnol\us,
Chairn,an of tile Committee of Investigation.
FRANCIS

Rep . No. 481. ]
No. 30.
[Enclosed in the foregoing.]

Resob.,ed. That the Board are not awaro of ha\-'ing declined to accommodate
the Committee of Investigation with the exclusive use and possession of a room in
tho banking bouse, unless the Committee of Investigation so construe the early
and ready offer of the room by the Board with the assertion of the right of the
Committee of the Board to be present at the examination and investigation of the
books and papers of the Bank, and to have the care and c.ustody of the same; and
if such be the meaning of the Committee of Investigation, then the Board are
constrained to adhere to the ground, as they think of manifest right. taken in their
resolution of the 28th ultimo, namely, that" the Board cannot, consistently with
their sense of dmy to the Dank, and of the obligations of lhe trust committed to
them, consent to gi\'(~ up the custody and possession of the books and papers of
the Bank, nor to permit them to be examined but in the presence of the Committee appointed by the Board.
Resolt.ed, That, with every disposition on the part of the Board to conform to
the wishes of the Committee of Investigation, so far as it may be done without a
violation of the trust reposed in them, the Board cannot, nevertheless, consent to
let the books and pape,rs o~ the !lank go out of their care .and custody, nor out or
the banking house, whJch IS theIr proper place of deposlte; and, therefore the
cannot comply with that part of the resolution of the Committee of Investi~atj~~
of the 2d instant, which requires lha t certain of the books and papers of the Bank be
sent to the North American lIotel thi~ day ateleven o'clock, believing that this would
be contrary to their duty to the stockholders, and would transcend their lawful
power, as well as be liable to be deemed an abandonment of the right to be present by themselves, or thcil' committee OT agents, at tht! examination and investigation; inferring, in all these respects, a yery grave responsibility, which the Board~
in their limited authority, do not think they can be reasonably required to assume.
No. 31.
COMMITTEE ROOM,

May 5, 1834.

SIB: By authority from the Committee of Investigation, I have the honor to
ellcJose to you the accompanying resolution; and to be.
'Vith high respect, youe obedient servant,
f
FRANCIS THOMAS.
To JOHN SII!RGEANT, Esq.,
Cltairman of tlte Committee of Directors of the U. S. Bonk.

No. 32.
[Encloseu in the foregoing.]

Whereag the President and Directors of the Bank of the United States have
refuse~ to submit certain of their books and proceedings to the inspection of thj.
Commlttc~, at ,the Committee Room at the North American Hotel, as required in
the CommIttee s resolutioR of the 2d instant, but have declared that they are Dot
aware that. they have declined to furnish this Committee a room in their banking
house, for !ts exclusive use and occupation, as expressed in the second resolution
of the ,3d Instant, and this Committee is earnestly desirous fully to execute the
resolutIOn of the House of Representatives, and doe$ not waive its right to intipect
the books of tbe Bank as required: therefore,

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

Reso[l1ed, That this committee will repair to the banking house this day at one
o"dock, to inspect such of the books called for in the resolution of the 28th of
April, 1834, and such other books as they may require to be produced; and that
the chairman inform the Committee of Directors of the Bank thereof. .
A true copy:
RICHARD RUSH.

No. 33.
No. 89, ~
May 5, 1834, 11! A. M.
5
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge YOUl-letter of this date, just now received.
It appears to me impracticable to bring together the Committee, and to make
the needful arrangements for their receiving you, and attending the investigation
and examination of the books and papers of the Bank, in conjunc6011 with the
Committee of Investigation, by the time you mention. They will be re-assembled,
however, without unnecessary delay, and, I do not doubt, will notify to you the time
when !hey will be prepared to meet the Committee of Investigation, and act with
them In the investigation and examination-probably not later than some hour
to-morrow.
With great respect, I have the honor to be, your most obedient servant,
J. SERGEANT, Chairman ..
Hon. FRANCIS THOMAS,
Chairman of the Committe~ of Investigation.
SOUTH FOURTH STREET,

No. 34.
NORTll AMERICAN HOTEL,

May 5, 1834.

SIR: Your unofficial communication has just been deliverp.d to me. The
members of the Committee of Investigation separated this morning, after
adopting the resolution which I have had the honor to transmit to you, to reassemble again at one o'clock, to enter on the performance of their d~ty, at the
Bank. I have no authority to signify that this purpose wiJl be changed by your
letter.
I take pleasure in adding, that I have no doubt the Committee will be pleased
to see any member of the Committee of Directors, at the hour appointed, at the
Bank.
And am, with great respect, your obedient servant.

JOHN' SERGEANT,

Esq., Chairman, ~c.

FRANCIS THOMAS.

No. 35.
Order~d, That the Cashier of the Bank of the United States be, and he is hereby
requested and required, to submit for the inspection of the Committee, the minute
books containing the proceedings of the Board of Directors since the first day of
~ anuary. 1829.

No. 36.
BANK. OF THE UNITED

STATES,

May 5. 1884.

SIR: I have had the honor of receiving from you, personally, in my jnterview

with the Committee of Investiiatjon, a resolution of the said Committee, in the
following words:

[ Rep. No.

481.

" Ordered, That the President of lbe Bank of the United States be reque~ted
and required to submit to the Committee of Iuvestigation tbe minute book containing the procecdings of the Board of Directors of the.Bank of, t_heUnite4
States; the expense account and "onchers for expenditure. under a resolut~on of
the Board, of the 30th of NovembE:'r, 1830. u
In answer to the requisilion. I have the honor to state that I have not the
custody of. nor control over, the books and papers mentioned in the resolution.
The general custody of the same is in ~he Board of Directo~s of the Bank, who t
by resolutions of tlle 24th and 28th ultimo, already commuDlcated to the Committee of' Investigation, appointed a Committee of Directors, for the purpose of
exhibiting these books and papers to the Committee of Investigation., and dr-dared
that' they could not permit them to be examined, except in the presence of the
said Committee of Directors. I am, therefore, unab1e to comply with the requi-,
sition conta1ned in the resolution.
I have the honor to be, vcry respectfully, yours,
N. BIDDI..E, Pre$,ident.
Hon.

FRANCIS THOMAS,

Chairman of the Committee of Investigation.

N. B. A reply, similar to the a~ov~, was ad~res.sed bytbe(;=asbi~r,tot~e C,bairman of ~ Committee, Qf Investigation. '
'

No. 37.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

lJIay 6, 1834.

SIR: In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee of the Board, owing to
a cause ,expla.in~d to you y~s!crday, I h,a,'e the honor to s~nd y~m here~ith a copy
of the resolutIons the CommIttee bave adopted at a meetmg dUll! mornmg.
, With great respect. I am, sir, your most obedient servant,
S. JAUDON, Cashie.r.
The Hon. FRANCIS THOMAS,

Chairman of tile Committu of tAe Hause of Repre_sentativ,es.
No. 38.
(Enclosed in tbe foregoing.]

At a meeting of Directors held at the Bank 011 the 6th day of l\lay, .1~4, the
following resolutions were adopted:
- "
.'
Resolved, That the Commjttee of the Board will be prepared to receive the
Committee of the HOllse of Representatives, at the banking house of the Bank orthe United Slates, to-lIIorrow morning, the 7th instant, at eleven o'clock, then
and ~~re to procee~l in the ex.ecuti?n of d;eir dU9', according to ,~he req~,ire~ent
of tbifcharter, and Jl1 confornutv wlth the instructions of the Board, as contamed
i.n' idle)i~ve)"al resolutions, copie-;; of which have heretoforebe~rt co~inuriir:iiea'i(,
th~ Comrnittee of the House
Representatives of thn United Stat~s,as the ,same
have been explained to be understood by this Committee; to which"understail(]irig
they continue to adhere.
Resolved. That n copy of the foregoing resolution be transmitted by the Cashier
to the Hon. Fr~nds Thomas, chairman of the Committee of Imrestigation, in reply
t~ ~js commtullcation of yesterday to the Chairmall of this C~mmitteE:'.

[ Rep. No.

481.

No. 39.
MAY

7, 1834.

Resolved, That the Committee wil11)rocecd to examine into the truth of the
statement made by the Go,'crnmcnt Directors to the President of the United
States and to Congress, and for that purpose will this day call for the production.
for inspection, of the minute books, containing the proceedings of the Directors of
the Bank, and the expense books, and vouchers for expenses incurred.
True copy:
ED'V~.\RD D. INGRAHAM,
SCcl'ctar!l of Committee of Inl1estigation.
No. 40.
7, ]834.
The Chairman of the Committee of the Board read to the Committee of Investigation the following preamble and res,olutio,n:
,
~Vhereas it appears from the resolutIOn ot the House of RepresentatIves of the
l!mted States appointing the Committee of Investigation, that two distinct inquirIes were contemplated, one of them directed to ascertain whether the charter had
been violated, and limited to the acts of the corporation; and the other so very
general and indefinite. as to make it difficult, jf not impossible. to say whether it
has any limits at all, either as to the matters to be inquired into or the mode of
pursuing the inquiry: And whereas it appears, from calls made by the Committee
of Investigation, that they have proposed a very wide range, embracing, among
other things, an extensive examination of the acts, transactions, accounts, and
letters of individuals, and thus instituting a kind of general search, which is the
more objectionable, because, if it have any purpose at all, it must be to criminate
those individuals as well as the Bank; and jf it have not this purpose, it is without
any assignable object, and w()uld be all injurious inVa3i()1l of private interests:
And whereas, undOl' these circumstances, it is the duty of the Committe,e, by all
lawful means, to protect the rights and sacred confidence intrusted to theil' keeping, and to yield nothing, hy consent, which cannot be 1egally dcmanded ii'om
them: And whereas, after careful and allxiou~ consideration, they aro of opinion.
that the inquiry can only be rightfully extended to alleged violations of the charter, and this inquiry ought to be conducted according to some certain principles
and rules: therefore,
Resolved, rrhat the Committee of Investigation be respectfully rC(luircd, when
the! ask for books and papers, t.o state specifically, in writing, the purpo~es for
wInch they arc proposed to be Inspected; and if it be to establish a violation of
t~c charter, theu to state spccifkally, in writing, what are the alleged or supposed
Violations of charter to which the evidence is aJIcged or supposed to be applicable.
Resolved, TJJat, in the opinion of this Committee, h would very much conduce
to the pl1rposes of justice, as well as to the convenience of all concerned, jf the
Committee of Imrcstigation \Vould furnish a specification of all the charges intended
to be inquired into, and proceed with them in order as stat£.·d.
MAY

No. 41.
Whereas this Committee have, by resolutions severally communicated to the
P resident and Directors of tho Bank of the United States, declared 1h~lt, in discharging the duties confided to them by the Honse of Representatives, they
claimed, on theil' responsibility to that Hous(~ and to their con~tiluents, to regulate
their proceedings, to judge of the extent of their pi.n.... cl":5 and dutjes for themselves;
that they are not charged with the duty of criminating the Bank, its directors,) t'

r Rep.

No. 48t.

others, but simply to inquire, amongst other things, whether such prosecution, in
legal form, shall be instituted; and that, in so doing, they would afford to every
person, who might appear to be implicated by their examinations, full and fair
(lpportunity of explanation and defence:
Resolved, therefore, That, in performing the duty of" inspecting the books and
examining into the proceedings of the Bank," the Committee cannot rightfully be
" required." and. from the nature of their duties cannot comply with a request, to
state specifically, in writing, the purposes fOl- which they are proposed to be
inspected.
Resolved, That the Committee cannot comply with a request or requisition to
specify what are .the suPP?sed v_iolat.i~ns of chartel-, because t~ey _are not conducting a prosecutIon, but SJluply mqulfmg whether one shall be InstJtuted.
True copy:
_
MAY

ED'V. D. IN GRAHAM,
Sec. Com. oj Lnvestigation.

7, 1834.

1 M
M
ceeding;- of

on called for the production of the minute books containing the proBoard of Directors from the 1st of September, 1832, to the pre-

~~e

f \ B k
.1 I
2. Tho Chairman rC'luirc~ that the e~pcnsc book 0 t1C a~ -, WIt 1 t ~e vou~hers, showing the expens:s ot the B?nk lU~UlTed under resol.llt:on of th~ 3~th ~o

sent date.

vember 1830 be 5ulmlltreu to the Jl1SpectJOll of the Committee of In, esug·atlOn •.
3. M~. Muh'lenberg desired that the books showing the account of
with
the Bank of the Unjted ~tates, with the notes and papers explanatory of sllch
account, from the 1st day of January. 1832, may be submitted to the inspection
of the Committee.
True copy:
ED\V. D. INGRAHAM,
!\!AY 7, 1834.
Sec. Com. of Invcstigat·ion.

4. Res oZt..· t-cl, That the Committee of Directors be, and they are hereby, requested and required to submit, for the inspection of this Committee, the credit
books and pay lists of the Bank, to enable this Committee to ascflrtaiu " whether
it has used its corpOI-ate powers 01' mone\' to control the prcss, to interfere in
politics, or influence elections."
.
True copy:
MAY

ED\\~.

7,1834.

D. INGRAHAM,

Sec. Com. of Investigation.

5. Resolved, That the Committee of Directors be requested and required to
submit, for the inspection of thjs Committee, tlU' minute books of the Bank, toge-·
ther wit~ the ~()rl'espondencE:", journals. aud other nwmorandums of the proceedings
of. the COIll.m1ttees of Exchange, on the state of the Bank, and on the Offices, that
dus Co~m1ttee may hi' onabled to ascertain whether the Bank has had any agency,
through Its management or moncy, in producing the present pressure.
True copy:
MA.Y

7, 1834.

ED\\~.

D. INGRAHAM,
Sec. Com. 0.1 Investigation.

Resolved, That the. Committee of Directors be, and they are hereby, requested·
and required to submIt, for the inspection of thjs Committee, the miuute books

[ Rep. No. 48 t.

containing the proceedings of the Board of Directors, together with the correspondence, journals of the President of the Bank, the Exchange Committee, the
Committee on the state of the Bank, and the Committee on the Offices, tl1at this
Committee may be enabled to judge whether the Board of Directors have violated
the charter of the Bank, by authorizing, permilting, or sanctioning the exercise of
improper and illegal powers b.y those committees or by the President of the Bank.
True copy:
MAY

EDW. D. INGRAHAM,

7,1834.

Sec. Com. of Investigation.
No. 42.
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES,

lIIay 8, 1834.

SIR: I have the honor to enclose to you a copy ofa resolution of the" Committee
of the Board, and to be,
\Vith e:reat respect, your most obedient servant,
~

The Hon.

JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.

FR.4NCIS THOl\US,

Clwirman Com. of Investigation.
No. 43.
(Enclosed in the foregoing.]

Resolved, That, aflpr full deliberation, and with every feeling of respect for
the House of Representatives, and for the Committee appointed by them, and
with a firm conviction that they have nothing to fear from scrutiny of the affairs
of tite Bank, however severe, tbe Committee of the Board are constrained to
adhere to the resolutions yesterday handed to the Committee of Investigation, and
to dedine complying with the calls hereto1ore made upon them, in any other
manner than is therein laid down; believing this to be their duty, from which they
are not at liberty to depart.
No. 44.

'Vhereas at a special meeting of the BOU1'd of Directors of the Bank of the
United States, held at the Bank on the 24th of April, in this present year, a resolution was adopted and communicated to the Committee of the HOllse of Representatives, by which a .. Committee ofsevun members was appointed" to receive
the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United Statos. and to offer
for their inspection such books and papers of the Dank as may be necessar;r to
exhibit the proceedings of the corporation, according to the requirement 01 the
charter:"
And whereas, at a room in the banking house, on the 7th .lay of l\lay instant,
the Committee of the House of Rcpresentath'cs, .·cquired of the Committee of tho
Board of Directors the produt"tioJl of certain books aod papers of the Bank of the
United States by the Committee of the House of Represelltatives to be then and
there inspectt.!d. as set fOl"th in the following resolutions:
" Ordered, That the minute book, containing thc proceedings of the Board of
Directors from the 30th September, 1830, to this date, May 7, 1834, be produced
klr inspection."
" Ordered, That the books showing the accounts of
, of
,
with the Bank of the United States, with the notes and papt.'fa explanatory of
such account, from the 1st day of J ..muary, 1832, to this day t be submitted to the
inspection of the Committee."

[ Rep. No.

481.

"Ordered, That the expense book of the Bank, with the vouchers S~OWillg the
expenses of the Bank incurred under a resolution of the 30th of November, 1830y
be submitted to the inspection of the Committee of Investigation."
"Ordered, That the CommiUee of Directors be requested and required 10 submit, for the inspection of this Committee, the minute books of the Bank, together
with the cOI"respondence, journals, and other memorandums of the proc.eediilgs oJ
the Committee of Exchange on the state of the Bank, and on the Offices, that this
committ~e may be enabled to asc~rtain wh.ether the Bank has had any agency,
through Its management Ot money, 111 p.·ouuclllg the present pressure."
"Ordered, That the COlllmittee of Directotos be, and they am hereby, requested
and required to submit, for the inspection of this Committee, the minute books
containing the proceedings of the Board of Directors, together with the correspondenc~, journals of th~ President of the Bank, ll~e Exchange Committee, the
Committee' "on the state 01 the Bank, and thc Comnuttee on the Offices, that this
Committef' may be cnabled to judge whether the Board of Directors have violated
the charlet" of the Bank, by ::lulhorizillg. permitting, or sanctioning the exercise of'
impropCl' and illegal powers by those COJ~lI)1ittecs, or by the Pr~sident of the llank •.H
And as preliminary to a reply! 1"CrClv~H:f from the Committee of the Board of
Directors, it preamble amI rcsoilltlllns as 10llows:
" 'Vhpl·cas it appc'lI:s ~"rol11 1i1P. n'sul.lItioll ~)f the ~Ioll:"e of Representatives of
the FnilcJ Slate., appOllltlllg thl~ ( Omlllll(('e ot IIlVl'stJ~atlOn, that two distinct inquiril's w('re (,llntl'llIpl~t~'od; Oli(' of them ~Iil"l>ctl'd til a~ccrtain whether the charter
haei heen \"illlatell alllllllllltcd t~ th~' ~lCt:'O~ ~hL' c~I'I)()ral~on, and the other so vcry general and illdelillitL'~ as to make It t.hlh('ul~o' 11 noot 1t~lpoSSJblt", to say whether it has any
limits at all, eithe!" as to the matH.'I·S to be IIlqulred lillO, or the mode ofpm"suing the inquiry: and w1lcr,,'as it appears f,"om ca!ls made by the Committee of Investigation, that they have proposed a very Wlth~ range, embracmg. among other things,
an extensive I.'xalllinariun of the act"" t.·ansactiolls, accounts, and letters of individuals,
and thus instituting a kind of (:"cnl'l'al search, which is the mure obj<'ctionable, because
if it han~ allY purpose at all, it lUlI!'t be ttl cJoiminate those individuals as well as
the Bank; and if it have not this pUqlLlSl', it is without any assignable object, and
wou1J be an injuriuus jn\"a~il)1l of pri\·att.> interests; and whel"cas, under these
circumstallCI..'S, it· is the duty of this C •.1I11Illittet'. hyall lawftll means, to protect the
rights and sacred cOlliid~>lH'l' iutrllsted to their kecping, and to yield nothing by
consent which cannot ll'~ally be demanded from tbem: and whereas, after careful
and anxious considl'ratioll. thpy an~ of opinion that the inquiry can only be rightfully extended to aUe~ed ,·io1arions of the charLer, and this inquiry ought to be
conducted according to some certain principles and rules: therefore,
"ResoZ,·cd. That tIl(." Committef' of IuvC'stic-aliull be rcspectful1y required, when
the),' ask fOI" books and paper,;;, to state specitically, ill writing, !he pu~pos~s for
whIch thl'.\' arc proposed (0 hp in:,pectcd; anti, if it be to cstabltsh a vlOlahon of"
the charter, then lo statf' sp['cilically. in writ ill!!. what are the alleged or supposed
violations of chartcr to which the cTiciel1ce is alll'l!ed 0." supposed to apply.
"Resnb·('d, That, in tilt.' opinion uf this Committee, it would very much conduce
to the purposes of iustke. as well as to the COl1venieuce of all concerned, if the
Cornmittne of In\"e~ti~atjon would furnish a specification of all the charges intended to ~e inquired into, and procN-,j with them in order <IS stated."
Wh~ch being «?onsidered, was r£'plied to by this Committpe, as follows:
" \\ hereas this COlnmiuee han>, bv resolutions, sc\"erallv communicated to the
President and Directors of the Bank
the Fnited States ~ declared that, in disch~r~ing the d~ltjt's confided to Ilaom by till' House of' RepresentRtives, they
cla!med, on tl~elr responsibility to that IItlUSC and dwir constituents, to regulate
their proccf'dlllgs. to judge of ~J.~ extent of their pO\\'ers and duties for themselves; that they arc not charged with the dut\" of criminating the Bank its direct-

[

Rep~ No~

481. ]

~rS9 ~r others; but simply to inquire, amongst other things, whether such prosecu-

tIOn, m legal form, shall be instituted; and that, in so doing, they would afford to
ev.ery person who might appear to be implicated by their exam,inations full and
'faIr opportunity of eXpltlnatiou and defence.
Rc.so.1vetJ.' therefore, That in performing the duty of" inspecting the books, and
examInmg I11to the pro("eedinas of the Bank" the Committee cannot rig-htfully be
d"
~
1:
require! and, ~rom the nature of their duties, cannot comply with a request, to
state speCifically, III \\Titing, the purposes for which they are proposed to be inspected.
R~solved, That the Committee cannot comply with a request, or l'equisition, to
~peclfy what ~re the supposed violations of ("harter, because they are 110t conductIng a prosecutlOn, but simp1\' inquiriul! whether one shall be instituted.
And a "specific answer requested. ~
That 9 In answer to these several calls, the Committee has received the following:

.t.

U. S., bray 8, 1834.
SIR: I halTc the honor to endo::>c to yon a copy of a l"cso\ution of .thc Committee
DANK

of the Board, and to be, with g.'cat respect,
Your most obedient servant,
JOHN SERGEANT, Chairman.

To the Hon. FR_~!'OCIS TUO;\lAS.
Chairman of the Committee of I1UJCstigatio'll.
_ResIJZved, That, afret" full deliberation, and ""ith every feeling of respect for the
House of Representatives and for the Committee appointed by them, and with n
tir~ conviction that they'have nothing to fear from scrutiny of ,the affairs of the
Bank, however severe, the Committee of the Board are constramed to adhere to
the resolution yesterday handed to the Committee of Investigation, and to decline
'Complying with the calis heretofore made upon them, in any other manner than is
t~erejn laid down, believing this to be their duty, from which they are not at
hberty to depart.
_
And whereas this Committee does not feel authorized to consider the act of the
Coplinittee of the Board of Directors, in thus refusing to submit the books and
papers caned for. to the inspection of the Committee of the House of Represent~tjves. as within the authority conferred on their Committee by the Board of
Directors, and thus the act of the corporation: therefore, .
.
."
Resolved, That the chairman be requested to commUlllcate thlS resolutIOn to
tbe President of the Dank of the United States, and to ask tlmt it may be submitted to the Board of Directors, and this Committee informed by the said Board
whether the refusal of the Committee aforesaid is to be regarded as the act of ~hc
Board, or done by its authority.
Resolved, That the Chairman be directed to fl-ansmit this resolution to the
President onhe Dank of the United States.
NonTH AlUEnlc,,\N HOTE[" May 8, 1834.
Slit: I have the honor to enclose to yOU two resolutions which have been.adopted by the Committee of Im"estiaation· and to ask the Javor of you to submit them
to the consideration of the Boarl of Directors at an early hour.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
NICHOLAS BIDDL I:~ ESQ"

FRANCIS THO~lAS,
Chairman of the Committee of Investigation.

President of a,e U. S. Bank.
12

[ Rep. No. 481.

No. 45.
D.~NK OF THE UNITED STATES,

May 9, 183"4.

SIR: I had last evening the honor of reeeh'ing your letter dated" North American
Hotel, May 8, 1834," accompanying a copy of two resolutions of the Committee
of Investigation.
These papers were submitted 10 the Board of Director~ at their .meeting this
morning, and I am instructpd to transmit to you a copy of theIr proceedmgs thereon.
This I accordin(!:lv do, with the assurance of the respect of
~ Yours,
N. BIDDLE, President:

Hon.

FR.\NCJS Tno:M.\S,
, , ' d l: '"
Chairman of Committee of Int'cstlgatzon, Phlla er,p la.

I"'o. 46.
[Enclosed in the foregoing,]
B.\XK Of' THE t.:NITED STATES,

~Iay 9, 1834.

At a meeting of the Board of Directors, held this day, the following resolutionswere unanimOllsh' adopted:
C·
.
Resolt-cd. Th~t the Board, ha\'ing heard the report of tl~e om~l1ttee al?pomted
on the 24th ultimo. upon the matters referred to them t~us mornmg, do tully approve and sanction the resolutions adopted b): the Commltt~e. o.n the 7~h and 8th
instant, and presented Ly them to the CommIttee of InvestIgatIOn, whIch resolutions are as follows:
Whereas it appears, from the resolution of the ~o~se of Represe.llt~tiv,:s of. t~e
United States, appoiutin2: the Committee oflnvestlgatJOll, that two dlstmct mqUlrles
were contemplated; one of them directed to ascertain whether the charter bad been
'violated, and limited to the acts of the corporation; and the other so very g~neral
and indefinite, as to make it difficult, if not impossible, to say whether It has
any limits at all, either as to the matters to be inquired into, or the mode of pursuing the inquiry: and whereas it appear~, from the calls made by the Committee·
of Inve~tigat;on, that they ha\'(~ proposed a vcry wide range, embracing, among
other dungs, an extensh'e examination of the acts, transactions, accounts, and letter,s o~ individuals, and ~hus instituting a kind of general search, which is the more
?bJ~c.tlonable. becaU!~e, If it have any purpose at all, it must be to criminate those
md!vldua]s as, well as the Bank; and if it have not this purpose, it is without any
assIgnable obJect. and would be an injurious invasion of private jnterests: and
whereas, under these CirCtllUstanCt's, it is tl)(' duty of this Committee by all lawful
means, to protect the rights and sacred confiden~e entrusted to their'keeping, and
to yield nothing by consent which cannot be legallY demanded from them: and
wh,ereas, after careful aud anxious consideration, they arc of opinion that the inq~lr~ ca!, be only rightfully extendt.·d to alleged "iolations of the charteTt and
tIus Inqmry ought to be conducted according to some certain principles and rules:
therefore,
Resolved, That the Committee of Investigation be respectfully required, when
they ask for books and papers, to sta te spe ci ficall y, in writing, the purposes for
wluch they are proposed to be inspected; and jf it be to establish a violation of the
c~art~r, then to state specifieally, in writing, what are the alleged or suppOsed
vl?latlOlls of charter to which the eyidence is alleged or supposed to be apphcable.
Resolved, That, !n t~e opinion of this Committee, it 'Would very much conduceto tbe purposes of Justice, as well as to the convenience of all concerned, if the

[ Rep. No. 481. ]

Committee of !moestigation would furnish a specification of all the charges jntended to be inquired into, and proceed with them in order as stated.
[Here follows the resolution of the 8th instant, inclosed in the letter of the President of the 8th instant to the Chairman of the Committee of Investigation.]
Resolved, That the President be requested to send a ('.opy of the above resolution, duly certified, to the Chairman of the Committee of Investigation.
No. 47.

By autllority of tire House of Representatives of the United States.
To

BEN.JAMIN

BONSALL,

Marshal of the Ecuie-rn District of Pennsyi1)ania.
You are hereby commanded t6 summon Nicholas Biddle, president, Em"anuel
Eyre, Matthew Newkirk, John Sergeant, Charles Chauncey, John S. Henry,
John R. Neff, Ambrose White, Daniel 'V. Coxc, .Tohn Goddard, James C. Fisher,
Lawrence Lewis, John Holmes, and 'Villiam Platt, director:io- of the Bank of 111e
Unite~ States, to be and appear before the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, appointed on the 4th day of April, 1834, " for
the purpose of ascertaining, as far as practicable, the cause of the commercial embarrassment and distress complained of by numerous citizens of the United States~
in sundry memorials which have been presented to Congress at the present session, and of inquiring whether the charter of the Bank of the United States has
been violated, and also what corruptions and abuses have existed jnits management; whether it has used its corporate power, or money, to control the press,
to interfere in politics, or influence elections; and whether it has had any
agency, through its management OT money, in producing the existing pressure;
also, to inspect the books and examine into the proceedings of the said Bank, and
whether the provisions of the charter have been violated or not; and what abuses,
corruptions, or malpractices have existed in the management of said Bank; and
also to examine into the afiiiirs of the said Bank and branches; and further, to
visit the principal Bank, or any of its branches, for the purpose of inspecting the
books, correspondence, accounts, and other papers connected with its management
or business," in their chamber in the North American Hotel, in the city of Phi lade 1phia,and to bring with them the credit hooks of said Bank, showing the indebtedness of individuals to said Bank on the tenth day of l\'lay instant, at the hour of
twelve o'clock, M. then and there to testify touching the matters of said inquiry,
and to submit said books to said Committee for inspection.
Herein fail not, and Blake return of this summons.
Witness the seal of the House of Representati,,'cs of the United States.
-and the signature of the Hon. Francis Thomas, Chairman of the said
[
8EAL.J
Committee, at the city of PhiladeJphia, this ninth day of May, in the
year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.
FRANCIS THOl\IAS.

Attest:
'Vo S. FRANKLIN,
Clerk House of Representatives U. S.
l\l,\RSflAl. 'IS

OP'FICE

PUlL ADELPHIA.

JJ.Eay 10lll. 1834.

Served the within, on the individuals within named, to wit: Nicholas Biddle,
Emanuel Evre. Lawrence Lewis, Ambrose \Vhite, Daniel W. Coxc, John Holmes
Charles Chauncey, John Goddard. John R. Neff, William Platt, and lVlatthe\;
Newkirk, by handing a copy thereof to each of them, on Friday, the 9th instant;
and on James C. Fisher. John S. Henry. and John Sergeant, by handing a copy
thereof to each of them on the 10th day of May instant, Lelwp.~u the hours of ~,
and 9, A. M.
So answers,

BENJAMIN S. BONSALL,
JJfarshal Eastern District of r,mnslyvania.

[ Rep. No. 481.

1'\0. 48.
The undersigned ha\"ing been individually sen'cd by B. S. Bonsall, Esq, D)arshal of the Eastern District of Pennsyh-ania. with a cupy of a process dated the
9th instant. by which he was l~ommandcd to summon them, by the fonowing~a.D'les
and descriptions, to wit: 1'\ichoJas Biddll', President, Emanuel Eyre, Matthew
Newkirk, John Serg£'ant, Charles Chaunce\", John S. lh'nn", John R. Neff, AIDbrose ""hite. Danie-i '''. Coxe, J uhn Godda;d, James C. Fisiler, Lawrence Lewis,
John Holmes, and \Villiam Platt, Dirrctors of the Bank of the United States, to
be and appear befl)rC the Comminee of the House of Representatives- of the
United States, appointf'd on the -lth day of ,April, 1884-, in thdr chamber in the
Korth American Hotel, in tht' city of Philadelphia, and to bring with them'the
credit books of said Dank, on the 10th day of 1\la)' instant, at the hbur 9'f t'!f)lve
o'clock, l'l., then and there to tpstifv touching the matters of said inquiry. ana to
submit said books to said Cummitt~c for inspection, have consulted together" 'd_t
• they might be assisted by the juJgnu,>nt of each other as to the c~~~e ~be~. w~1!
individually to purs~e. and ha.ve concurred, each for himself, in the concfu~.on fbJ
the government of his illdividllal conduct, which will now be stated; and, to avoid
nlisapprehension or controH'rsy, have reduced their answers to writing~sig~6d
with their names, alld herl'wirh I"l'spcctfully presented, each for himself, as
I
1. "Tjthout wai\'ing any objection thcre may be to the legality of the said'pF9cess. or the service, (which is expr('ssly H.';;erved,) ,"e deem it most cOllsistent witli
the respect we wish upon all occasions to acknowlpdge to be due to the Cominittee of the HOllse of Rcpresentativf>s of the l..""nited States, to attend upon them jn
person, and accordingly do so attend, to manifest our respeet, but not to admit
any obligation.
.
2. 'Ve do not produce the books specified in the papl"r before mention'ed; tbat
is to say, .. the credit books of said Bank, showing the indebtedness of individuals
10 said Bank," because they arp not in the custody of either of us, but, as has heretofore bec-n stated, of the Board, whose views upon this subject, we would 'take
occasion to say, have already been respectfully communieatcd to the Committee of
Investigat ion.
3. 'Ve do not know whether it was the intention of the Committee of Investigation to call upon either of us to tcsti(y, or whether the ohject of the paper
not simply to require us to produce" the credit books of said Bank, shOWing the
indebtedness of individuals to said Bank." Hut, to avoid unnecessary trouble. to
the Committee, and in the spirit of frankness locquired by thc respect that is due to
them, we have deemed· it proper to consider the alterllath-.- first mentioned, and
each of us now says, for himself, that. considering the nature of the proceeding,
amI the character of the inquiry, ('ven as expJained in the resolution oC tbe COIR"'
mittee of In\-cstigation of the 7lh instant, and considering that, as corporators and
directors, we are parties to th'-, pl"oer'etling, we do not consider ourselves bound to
testify, and therefore rl'spectfully decline to do so. 'Ve are sure that the COPl~ittce will duly estimate the sacrilice lye make of personal feeling in tlms decidlng. con~cious as we are that we ha"e no knowledge, which, if a necessary regard
to our duties and the rights of others permitted, we would not ,villingly expose
without reserve.
N. BIDDLE,
A. \VHITE,

:follows:

was

l\J. EYRE,
,M. XE\\-KIRK,
JOHN SERGt:AXT,

CHARLES CHAC~CEY,
.JOHN S. HE~RY,
.JOHN R. XEFF,
PHILADELPHIA.

D. 'V. COXE,
JOHl'I GODDARD.
.J AMl-:S C. FISHER,
LA\VRENCE LEWIS,
JOHN HOLMES,

\VILLIA.M PLATT •

r Rep.

No. 481.

No. 49.
NORTH AMEIUCAN HOTEL, May 10, 1834.
. Si!": I have the h.onor to transmit to you, by direction of the Committee of Investigation, two resolutlOlls, which you will find enclosed.
I have the honor to be,
\\-'jth great respect,
Your obedient servant, .

FRANCIS THOMAS,
To

.JOHN SERGE.O\NT,

Esq., Chairman of the

Cltairman.

Committee of the Board of Directors.

W~ercas~ re.s~lutjons ha,'c been adopted by this Committee into .which the. names
of. prIvate IOdlvldua1s were necessarily introduced, that the Comnllttee of DJrectors
might m~>re readily know where the accounts or papers, which .were calJed for to
be exammed confidentiaHv were to be found: and whereas It has never been
the i!1tention.Of t!"tis COl1lmit~ec to publish such resolutions, unle~s, after SUC!l confi.- •
de';.ltlal exa~mn~taon, it should appear that the duty of tl!C Committee, under Its re80lutJ~ll o£ mqulry, required it: and whereas the Directors of the Bank have
dec!lned to .p.roduce the accounts thus called for, and this Committee is unwilling to
excite SUSpicions against anyone which they have not the means either to justify
or remove, and there is no longer necessity for such injullction of confidence:
therefore.
•
Resolved. That the members of this Committec be, and they are, released from
the inju!lction which has been imposc..~, to consider confidt;flti.al th?ir )~urnal and
proceedmgs, except such parts thereof where the names ot prIvate mdlvlduals appear.
Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolution be forwarded
to the COQlmittee of Directors.
True copy:
EDWD. D. INGRAHAl\f,
Secretary to the Com7llittf.c of Investigation.
10th May, 1834.
COMMI'I'TEE ROOl\ol, NORTH AMERICAN HOTEL, }

10th May, 1834.
Rellolved, That when this Committee adjourn to-day, they adjourn to meet in
the City of Washiu"ton, on Thursduy, the 15th of May, 1834, at 10 o'clock, A. M.
Tru: cfPY:
ED\VD. D. INGRAHAM,

Secretary to tke Committee of Investigation.

Full text of United States Bank, May 22, 1834 : Report

FRASER