TREASURY DEPARTM December 15, I In obedience to the order of the House or Re presentatives of the 9th Day of August last, requiring the Secretary of the Trmsury to prepare and report, on this Day, such fur ther Provision as may, in his opinion, lie ne ceflary for establishing the.PUBLIC CREDIT —the said Secretary further Respectfully reports, (continued from our last.) BANKS arc among the bed expedients for lowering the rate of interest in a country ; but to have this effect, their capitals must be completely equal to all the demands of business, and such as will tend to remove the idea, that the accommodations they af ford, are in any degree favors ; an idea very apt to accompany the parsimonious dispensations of contra&ed funds. I* this, as in every other cafe, the plenty of the commodity ougV.t to beget a moderation of the price. 7 he want of a principle of rotation, in the constitution of the bank, of North-America, is another argument for a variation of the eftabliHiment. Scarcely one of the reasons which militate agamfl this principle in the conflitution of a country, is applica ble to that of a bank ; while there are strong reasons in favor of it, in relation to the one, which no doubt apply to the other. The knowledge to be derived from experience is the only circum flance common to both, which pleads against rotation in the di re&ing officers ot a bank. But the obje&s of the government of a nation, and those of the government of a bank, arc so widely different, as greatly to weak en the force of that confider3tion, iu reference to the latter. Al most every important caf; of legislation requires, towards a right decision, a general and accurate acquaintance with the affairs of the State; and habits of thinking seldom acquired, but from a familiarity of public concerns. The adminiilration of a bank, on the contrary, is regulated bv a few simple fixed maxims, the ap plication of which is not difficult to any man of judgment, efpe eially if inflru&ed in the principles of trade. It is in general a constant fucceflion of the fame details. But though this be the cafe, the idea of the advantages of ex perience is not to be flighted. Room ought to be left for the re gular tianfmiffion of official information. And for this purpose, the head of the direction ought to be excepted from the principle of rotation. With this exception, and with the aid of the in formation of the subordinate officers, there can be no danger of any ill effe£ls from want of experience, or knowledge ; especially «ts the periodical exclusion ought not to reach the whole of the di re£lors at one time. The argument in favor of the principle of rotation is this, that by leflening the danger of combinations among the dirc6lors, to make the inflitution subservient to party views,or to the accommo dation, preferably, of any particular set of men, it will render the public confidence more firm, stable and unqualified. When it is considered, that the diie£lors of a bank are not eie&- cd by the great body of the community, in which a diversity of views will naturally prevail, at different conjun£tures, but by a small and fele6l class of "men, among whom it is far more easy to cultivate a steady adherence to the fame peifons and obje£is ; and that those dire&ors have it in their power so immediately to con ciliate, by obliging the most influential of this class, it is easy to perceive, that without the principle of rotation, changes in that body can rarely happen, but as a concession which they may them fclves think it expedient to make to public opinion. The continual adminiilration of an institution of this kind, by the fame persons, will never fail, with or without cause, from their conduct, to excite diflruft and discontent. The necefTarv secrecy of their tranfa£lions, gives unlimited scope to imagination to infer that fomcthmg is, <;r may be wrong. And this inevitable mystery is a lolid rcafon for inserting in the conflitution of a bank the nr ceffity of a change of men. As neither the mass of the pai ties intercfted, nor the public in general, can be permitted to be ■witnefits of the interior management of the,directors, it is rea sonable that both should have that check upon their condu£l, and that security against the prevalency of a partial or pernicious sys tem, which will beproduced by the ccrtainty of periodical changes. Such too is the delicacy of the credit of a bank, that every thing ■which can fortify confidence and repel suspicion, without injuring its operations, ought carefully to be fought after in its formation. A further confederation in favour of a change, is the improper rule, by which the right of voting for dire&ors is regulated in the plan, upon which the bank of North-America was originally eonftituted, namely, a vote for each ftiare, and the want of a rule in the last charter; unless the silence of it, on that pointy may fig fiify that every stockholder is to have an equal and fir.glc vote, -which would be a rule in a different extreme, not less erroneous. It is of importance that a rule should be cftablifhed on this head, as it is one of those things which ought not to be left to discre tion; and it is consequently of equal importance, that the rule should be a proper one. A vote for each share, renders a combination between a few principal stockholders, to monopolize the power and benefits of the bank, too easy. An equal vote to each stockholder, however ♦rreat or small his interest in the institution, allows not that degree cf weight to large stockholders, which it is reasonable they Ihould liave, and vvhich perhaps their security and that of the bank re quire. A prudent mean is to be preferred. A convitlion of this has produced a bye-law of the corporation of the bank of North- America, which evidently aims at such a mean. But ar< flection arises here, that a like majority with that which cnatted this law, may at any moment repeal it, The last inducement which shall be mentioned, is the want of >recautions to guard against a foreign influence infinuatiug itfelf nto the dire&ion of the bank. It fecms fcarccly reconcileable vith a due caution, to permit that any but citizens should be eli ;ible, as di'e&ors of a national bank, or that non-resident foreign :rs should be able to influence the appointment of dire&ors, by he votestheir proxies. In the event, however, of an incorpo ration of the bank of North-America, in the plan, it mav be ne ceflary to qualify this principle, so as to leave the right of f rsign ers, who now hold (hares of its stock, unimpaired ; but without the power of transmitting the privilege in question, v .o foreign alienees. It is to be considered, that such a bank is not a mere matter of private property, but a political machine of the greatest. import ance to the state. There are other variations from the conftitutiori of the bank of North-America, not of inconsiderable moment, which appear de arable, but which are not of magnitude enough to claim a preli minary difcuflion. These will be seen in the plan which will be submitted in the sequel. If the obje&ions which have been stated, to the conflitution ot the bank of Worth-America, are admitted to be well founded, they -will nevertheless not derogate fiom the merit of the main design, or of the services which that bank has rendered, or of the benefits ■which it has produced. The creation of such an inftirution, at the time it took place, was a mcafure d'ftated by wisdom. Its utility has been amply cvinced by its fruits—American independence owes much to it—and it is very conceivable, that reasons of the moment mav have rendered those features in it inexpedient, which a revision, with a permanent view, suggests as desirable. The order of the fubjett leads next to an inquiry into the prin ciples upon which a national bank ought to be organized. "f Jic fituarioni of the United States naturally infpircs a wifli, that the form of the institution could admit of a plurality of branches. But various confederations discourage from pursuing this idea. The complexity of such a plan would be apt to inspire doubts, which might deter from adventuring in it. And the pra£licabilit)*of a fafc and ordtrly adminiflration, though not to be abandoned as desperate, cannot be made so manifeft in ncrfpe£tive, ai'to pro mile the removal of those doubts, or to juflify the government in adopting the idea as an original experiment. The most that would feein advifeable, on this point, is to insert a provision, which may lead f.o it hereafter ; if experience fhali more clearly demonstrate i's utility, and fatisfy those who may have the dire£lion,that it may be adopted with fafety. It is certain, that it would have fomc .advantages, both peculiar and important, fides more general accommodation, it would lessen the danger of a run upon the bank. The argument against it is, that each branch must be under a fiiftinft, though subordinate direttion, to which a considerable la titude of discretion mult of necefluy be entrnfted. And as th<_ property of the whole inflitupion would be liable for the engage- ot each part, that and its cr dit would be at flake, upon the prudence of the dire&ors of every'part. The mismanagement oJ either branch might hazard serious dilorder in the whole. Another wish, di&ated by t)ie particular fnuation of the coun try, is, that the bank could be so conftitutcd as to be made an im mediate inilrument of loans to the proprietors of land ; but this wish alio yields to the difficulty of accomplishing it. Land is alone an unfit fund for a bank circulation. If the notes iflued upon it were not to be payable in coin, on demand, or at a short date, this would amount to nothing more than a repetition of the paper emiflions, which are now exploded by the general voice. If the notes are to be payable in coin, the.land must firft be con verted into it by sale, or mortgage. The difficulty of effecting the latter, is the very th'ng which begets the desire of finding another resource, and the former would not be practicable on a sudden emergency, but with facrifices which would make the cure worse than the difcafe. Neither is the idea of constituting the fund part ly of coin and partly of land, free from impediments. Thefetwo species of property do not, for the most part, unite in the fame hands. Will the monied man confeat to enter into a partnership with the landholder, by which the latter wi.l lhare in the profits which zvill be madefy the money of the former ? The money, it is evident, will be the agent or efficient cause of the profits—the land can only be regarded as an additional security. It is not difficult to forefee, that an union, on iuch terms, will not readily be form ed. If the landholders are to procure the money by the sale or mortgage of a part of their lands, this they can as well do, when the itock confilts wholly oi money, as if it were Lo be compound ed of money and land. • (To be continued.) PROPOSALS, By JOHN TRUMBULL, For Publishing by Subscription, TWO PRINTS, From original PiEluies painted by himjelf; One representing the Death of General WARREN, at the Battle of Bunker's-Ilill. Theother, tht Death of General MONTGOMERY, in the Attack of Quebec. IN the battle of Bunker's-Hill, the following Portraits are intro duced — American. Britijh. Major General Warren, Gen. Sir Wi lli am Howe, Putnam". Sir Henry Clinton, Lieut. Col. John Small, Major Pitcai rn, and Lieut. Pitcai r n . In the Attack of Quebec, are seen— General Montcomfry, Colonel Thompson, M'jor Macpherson, and Capr. Cheesman. CONDITIONS OF SUBSCRIPTION. The prints will be engraved by two of the most eminent artists in Europe. The size will be 30 inches by 20. The price to sub scribers, Three-Guineas for cacn print; one half to be paid at the time of fubicribing, the remainder on the delivery of the prints, which will be as loon as the work (which is already conliderably advanced) can poflibly be completed. Subscriptions are received in this city by Joseph Anthony, jun. Goldsmith and Jeweller, No. 76, Ma ket-ftrcet. Thef prints are the firft of a series, in which it is proposed to repr f.nt the most important events of the American Revolution. No period of the history of man, is more interesting than that in which we have lived. The memory of scenes in which were laid the foundations of that free government, which secures our national and individual happiness, mult ever remain dear to us, and to potter it y ; and if national pride be in any cafe juftifia'ple, Americans have a right to glory 111 having given to the world an example, whose influence is rapidly spreading the love of free dom through other nations, and every where ameliorating the condition of men. To a (lift in preserving the memory of the illustrious events which have marked this period of our country's glory, as well as of the men who have been the most important aflors in them, is the ob ject of this undertaking Hiftoiy will do justice to an <era so im portant ; but to be read, the language in -which it is written must be understood—the language of painting is universal, and intelli gible in all nations, and every age. As several years of his time, and a very considerable cxpencc, are necefTary to accomplish this undertaking, it would bean im prudent fact ifice to the mere hope of reputation to go more deeply into it, without a probability of ultimate success : —That he may j idge of the degree of this probability, Mr. Trumbull, by the ad vice of his friends, proposes this fubfeription, and flatters himfelf with a hope of meeting that p?tronage from his countrymen, which willjuftify his pursuing the objefl with ardor; and with out which it is impoflible that so expensive a work fliould bccon- tinned The fubie&s proposed to J>« represented,in addition to th* two foregoing,, of Bunker' s-Hill and Quebec, arc— * The Declaration of Independence, * Battle at Trenton, * Battle of Princetown, Surrender of General Burcoyne, Treaty with France, Battle of EutaW Springs, * Surrender of York-Town, Treaty of Peace, Evacuation of New-York, Resignation of General Washington, The Arch at Trenton, Inauguration of the President of the United States. Each picture will contain portraits of the principal c'ha rafters who were present at the scene represented. Those marked with rtars, are confiderablv advanced; and the prints from the whole will be executed of the fame size, and by the moll eminent cn ravers. IMPERIAL, HYSON, SOUCHONG, andBOHEA TEAS;. REFINED SUGARS, COFFEE, and SPICES, &c Of the firft Quality—by Retail, No. 17, Third-Street, between Chefnut and Market-Streets. 712 Henry Kuhl, At No. 143, Second-Street, near Race-Street, BY advice of his friends in New-York and Philadelphia, has opened an office for the purpose of buying and felling, on com miflion, the different fpeciesof Stock t and of liquidated and unliqui dated paper in the market. He will obtain such Certificates as are required by thrfunding law, for those who have unliquidated Securities ; and travsjet llock Irom and to the Treasury and the Offices of the Commiflioners of Loans, 011 moderate terms. Having for (cveral years past been employed in the Treafuryof the United States, he is well acquainted with i s operations and foi ms ; and flatters himfelfthit on that fcorehc has a decii J .> d ad vantage in tranfa6ting bufmefs here. Heis fully imprefied with tne truth of theadage that dispatch is the foul of business," and will always make the interest of his employers an object of the firrt impoitance. Philaddphia, December 29th, 179 c EBKNEZER HAZARD and JOIiAS ADDOMShave entered into partnership, and opened an OFFICE, at No. 173, in Market-Street, a few doors above Fourth-Street, where, under the Firm of Hazard and Addoms, Thev purchase and fell all kinds of CERTIFICATES—PAPER MONEY, and BA N. B. Transfers made at the Public Offices, and Business in ge neral tranfatted on Commiflion. December 2g. AMERICAN CLOTHS. SUPERFINE and ELASTICS, CONGRESS BROWN, LONDON SMOKE, LEAD DRAB, BLUE and OTHER fafhionable Colours, Manufa&urcd at Hartford, (State of Connecticut,) just rec«ivc^ ( and are now offered for Sale, at the CHEAP STORE, No. 38, North Third Street, At which Store are also opening a large and general assortment of EUROPEAN and INDIA GOODS. CLOTHS, Linens, Cambrics, Painted, sprigged, tambour, ed book, and jaconet Muslins, Chintzes, Cottons and Calicoes, Silks, A Variety of STUFFS. And many other Articles, too numerous tqiafert in an Adver tisement ; all of which are now felling by Wholesale and Retail, on so low terms, as to make them an obje& to the purchasers. N. B. A few Barrels of MACKAREL, and Nova-Scotia HERRINGS. Philadelphia, Jan. 12, 1791. Philadelphia, January 1,1791 THE partnei(hip of John Dunlap and David C. C y pool e having expired this day, David C. Clay foole pro* pofesto publifti a Newspaper, entitled The Mail, New Daily Advertiser. (To be continued every Evening, Sundays excepted.) THE MAIL (hall be printed with an elegant new Type, pro cured lor this paiticular purpof , on Paper, equal in (ize and qua lity to any of the Newspapers of Europe or America—And the Subscriber engages that 110 Means (hall be spared to render Uie Mail and New Daily Advertiser in other refpe&s worthy of the P iblic Patronage, which he now refpe&tully solicits. The Price of the Ma i l will be Eight Dollars pr. annum, to be paid at the end of the Year : And Advertifernents will be re ceived on such moderate Terms as to prove fatisfailory to thofc who may be pleased to favor the Printer with their Commands in that line. The Mail will be published at the House No. 2, Lower Thud Street"(now occupied by Mr. J. D. Blanchard, who will fh >rtly remove to the adjoining House, No. 4,) and at present Subscriptions are thankfully received at No. 48, Ma>ket-Street, To the Merchants, Traders, Foreigners, and the Public in geneial. Gentlemen, AGREEABLY to the plan which the Subscriber submitted to the public confederation, and under the most flattering afTur ancc of public patronage, he takes the libe#y of announcing, that THE MERCHANTS, y and EXCHANGE COFFEE HOUSE, is now opened at the corner of Mai ket and Water-Streets, for the accommodation of the Merchants, Traders, and other Citizens of Philadelphia. The Subscriber deems it unnecefTarv to repeat the declaration of his fin cere intention to urofceute his undertaking witK tt>o refpettful assiduity : But forbear making a public eck of his gratitude, for the encouragement he has alrea dy/xpenenced ; nor suppress his invariable wish, thai those gen tlgfncn who may honor hisCoffee-Houfe with their prefcncc, will fucSMrticles of intelligence received from their cor espondents as they'Tball think proper, and in preference, willup- every occasion, point out the defeftsofhis plan, or favor him with hints for improving its execution. The Subscriber will prepare entertainments,either at noon, or in the evening, for fcle£t parties, upon the fhorteftnotice, and on the most reasonable terms. He can accommodate two or three Gen tlemen with lodgings ; and proposes at two o'clock on each day, when the public bu'.inefs of the Coffee-Room is over, to provides cheap, but good and plentiful ordinary, for such guests as (hall please to honor him with their company. I am, Gentlemen, Your most obedient and humble Servant, THE Subscribers Jor this paper, in the city of New-York, are refpeftfuUy informed,, that the charge oj the papers proving inconve nient'to Mr. Wet more, at the Pofl-Office, the Editor has engaged Mr. Samuel Campbell, Book-feller, Hanover-Square, to receive them and Superintend their delivery—by whom. Subscriptions and arrearages will be received. Subscribers for Mn.'Warren's Poems, are requejlcdto callon the Editor for their tools. £""r fkr frice of this paper u 3' dollars per annum STOCK. ELEGANT Vcft Patterns— adapted to the fealon, Silk, Cotton, and Worsted Hose, Corduroys, Vrlvcrctts, and Royal Ribs, Best Buck, Beaver, and White Kidd Gloves, D C. CLAYPOOLE.
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