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by the circuit court of the United States for the district aforesaid, in the fourth circuit of the said United States, under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled "An act for the more convenient taking of affidavits and bail in civil causes depending in the courts of the United States," personally appeared Dennis A. Smith, a witness for the defendant in a certain civil cause now depending in the district court of the said United States for the southern district of New York, wherein the United States of America are plaintiffs against Jacob Barker, and also a witness for the defendant in another civil cause depending in the said court, wherein the United States of America are plaintiffs, and Frederick Depeyster is defendant.

And the said witness being by me first carefully examined, and cautioned, and sworn, to testify the whole truth, makes oath, deposeth, and saith, that he is aged thirty-nine years, and resides in Raltimore county, in the aforesaid State of Maryland; that, on or about the 30th of August, eighteen hundred and fourteen, he contracted with the then Secretary of the Treasury to loan to the United States the sum of one million eight hundred thousand dollars, being part of the twenty-five millions of dollars authorized to be borrowed by the act of Congress of the twenty-fourth of March, eighteen hundred and fourteen; for which sum, so to be loaned by deponent to the United States, he was to receive six per cent. stock to the amount of one hundred dollars for each eighty dollars paid; and it was further understood and agreed between the Secretary of the Treasury and him, (deponent,) that he (deponent) should pay for the same in paper of the banks of the District of Columbia, and of the banks of the city of Baltimore, which banks received their own paper at par; and it was further agreed, that, on producing the proper evidence of the payment of the said sum of one million eight hundred thousand dollars to the commissioner of loans of the United States, funded stock to the amount of one hundred dollars, bearing an interest of six per cent. per annum, should issue for each eighty dollars of the paper of the said banks so paid by deponent; that, in pursuance of such understanding and agreement, the deponent did so pay, in the paper of the said banks, the one million eight hundred thousand dollars aforesaid, and did receive therefor funded stock to the amount of two million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; that the said banks, in whose paper this deponent paid the said one million eight hundred thousand dollars, did not, at the time deponent so paid, redeem their notes with specie; that the place of residence of deponent is more than one hundred miles from the southern district of New York, the place of trial of the aforementioned cause.

D. A. SMITH.

These are to certify, that the value of the notes of the several banks at Baltimore, and in the District of Columbia, was, in comparison with specie, on the 10th September, 1814, ten per cent. below par; on the 10th October, 1814, twelve per cent. below par; on the 10th November, 1814, twenty per cent. below par; and on the 10th December, 1814, it was twenty-four per cent. below par. PRIME, WARD, & SANDS.

NEW YORK, December 14, 1820.

Extract from the opinion delivered by his honor Judge Livingston, at a circuit court of the United States, held in the city of New York, in cases of the United States against Jacob Barker and others, brought up to that court from the district court, by writ of error, filed by the said Barker.

"It is enough for the purpose of the plaintiff in error, that the difference in fact existed, and that bills of exchange could be bought on better terms for gold and silver than paper; this being the case, and specie being the only known legal tender for a debt, it is the opinion of this court that the district court erred in rejecting the testimony which was offered to show that bills on London could be bought, at the times referred to, at fifteen per cent. discount in specie. This testimony should have been received, and been the basis of the assessment of damages, and not the par of exchange merely, because bills were bought at that value, if paid for in depreciated and dishonored currency. For this error the judgment of the district court is reversed, and a venire facias de novo' awarded."

All the payments of the ten-million loan were made in specie, or equivalent thereto.

The policy of the contract made by Mr. Campbell was questioned by Mr. Dallas, and for that reason he attempted to overthrow it, by threatening to deprive the holders of stock in the ten-million loan, before half of the twenty-five millions had been contracted for, of all further benefit from the condition, by determining to require receipts in full on the payment of the difference between eighty and eightyeight.

The parties refused, and then he determined to issue it to those who held the stock at a subsequent period, in the hope that they would receipt in full. And while the officers of the treasury were preparing to execute their scheme, Mr. Barker, by the recommendation of Messrs. Epps and Golston, members of Congress from Virginia, applied to President Madison on Saturday, after the Secretary had sent the notice to the National Intelligencer for publication, to interpose his authority, and prevent the infliction of so deep a wound on the faith and honor of the administration. Mr. Golston's remark was, that he had rather pay one thousand dollars from his own pocket than to see such a mark of injustice and oppression practised by the government.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

November 19, 1814.

SIR: Enclosed you will receive a copy of the opinion of the Attorney General on the legal construction of the contract or contracts made by the late Secretary of the Treasury on the 2d of May, 1814, for the loan of ten millions of dollars, and of a notification issued from this office, founded upon it.

I beg leave to request that you will cause the necessary instructions to be given to the several commissioners of loans for issuing the addi

tional stock, conformably to the opinion of the Attorney General, and to the said notification.

I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,

The COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY.

A. J. DALLAS.

FEBRUARY 13, 1834.

I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.

N. B. VAN ZANDT.

On Sunday Mr. Dallas informed Mr. Barker that he had altered his mind about requiring receipts in full, and recalled the notice from the printer.

The following letters establish the success of the application to Mr. Madison:

NOVEMBER 21.

Mr. Dallas, late on Saturday, directed the measures for completing the execution of the contract relating to the ten-million loan to be suspended.

The Comptroller is requested not to issue the instructions to the commissioners of loans, until further advised on the subject.

D. S.

FEBRUARY 13, 1834.

I certify the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.

N. B. VAN ZANDT.

[Extract.]

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

November 22, 1814.

SIR: Of the Attorney General's opinion, and the views submitted to the President, you have copies.

It is only necessary to add, that all the subscribers to the ten million-loan are placed on the same footing with respect to the instalments actually paid; that the Attorney General's opinion is to be carried into effect, so far as respects the persons entitled to the supplemental stock; but that it is not deemed proper to insist upon a release before the supplemental stock is delivered. In this last respect the government will act upon its rights, without claiming any concession from the creditors which might hereafter be considered a sacrifice on their part.

I am, very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
A. J. DALLAS.

N. LUFFBOROUGH, Esq.,

LAS.

Acting Comptroller.

FEBRUARY 13, 1834.

I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.

N. B. VAN ZANDT.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

November 22, 1814.

SIR: I have just received your second note of this day's date, relative to the execution of the contracts for the ten-million loan.

Pursuing the principle that the construction given to the contracts by the Attorney General is to be carried into effect, without impairing the rights or embarrassing the remedies of the creditors, I mean that the supplemental stock shall issue in such form and manner as will, on the one hand, avoid any appearance of acknowledging, at the treasury, that the contracts remain open, and, on the other hand, leave the creditors every proper facility to establish hereafter the identity of the supplemental stock, and its connexion with the ten-million loan.

Although I am not yet, perhaps, master of all the details of office, I presume the best mode of accomplishing the object which I have stated will be to leave the certificate of original stock as it now stands, and issue a new certificate for the supplemental stock only.

I am, very respectfully, sir, your most obedient servant,
A. J. DALLAS.

N. LUFFBOROUGH, Esq.,

Acting Comptroller.

I certify the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.

NOTICE.

N. B. VAN ZANDT.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

November 30, 1814.

The holders of scrip certificates, or of funded certificates of stock of the loan of ten millions of dollars, of the 2d of May, 1814, are hereby notified that, on application at the loan office, where the funded certificates were issued, or at the loan office of the State in which the bank is situated where the scrip certificates were issued, they may receive the additional stock, resulting from the condition attached to the stock of that loan, in consequence of the loan of six millions of dollars of August last having been made on terms more favorable to the lenders. The loan of May, 1814, having been made at the rate of one hundred dollars in stock for eighty-eight dollars in money, and the loan of August, 1814, having been made at the rate of one hundred dollars in stock for eighty dollars in money, the amount of addi

tional stock which the holders of the stock of the loan of May, 1814, are entitled to receive, is ten dollars on every hundred dollars of stock they now hold; and this additional stock will bear interest from the same day as the original stock, to which it is now added.

A. J. DALLAS, Secretary of the Treasury.

Driven by Mr. Madison from the project of requiring receipts in full, which was made a sine qua non to the issue of supplemental stock in the instructions mentioned in Mr. Dallas's letter of the 19th November, 1814, or in the instructions to the commissioners of loans, prepared by the Comptroller, pursuant to the said directions of the Secretary of the 19th November, Mr. Dallas agreed to issue the supplemental stock admitted to be due, and leave the original certificates as they stood-plain stock certificates, without making any reference to the condition. (See his letter of 22d November, 1814, addressed to the Comptroller of the Treasury.) This was reconsidered by adopting the letter of the Comptroller of the Treasury of the 24th November, 1814, (page 46,) addressed to the honorable the Secretary of the Treasury, and the objectionable course brought back, as far as possible, to the determination of destroying all further benefit from the condition, by requiring, in lieu of a receipt in full, all the original certificates to be cancelled, and new ones issued, with these emphatic words upon them: "Funded six per cent. stock of 1814, loan of $10,000,000 of 2d May, 1814, on which the supplemental stock has issued;" and this, the Comptroller of the Treasury says, in the same letter, is, "first, to guard the public against imposition, by preventing more supplemental stock from issuing, in any case, than is actually due; and second, to give notice to subsequent purchasers of the stock that the stipulations contained in the contract between the Secretary of the Treasury and the original subscribers to the loan had been fulfilled; or, in other words, that everything relating to that contract, so far as respected the stock in existence, was deemed at the treasury to be settled and closed. There is nothing in this that can have a tendency to impair the rights' or embarrass the remedies of the public creditors under the ten-million loan for further issues of supplemental stock. No exaction is made from them of any release whatever of their rights or claims in this respect. Their rights will still remain with themselves, and their remedies with Congress." (See page 46.)

Certainly this left the question open to the decision of Congress; but as the condition only attached to persons who should hold the stock at the time more favorable terms should be allowed, what would it avail a holder who should purchase the stock with such a declaration on its very face? This as effectually destroyed its superior value in the market as if the Secretary had had the power to make his decree the fixed law of the land; and this, Secretary Crawford says, in his report on this subject to the Senate, of the 18th February, 1820, was the intention of the measure; that is to say, he says in that report, "without determining that the construction given by the Attorney General to the terms of the loan of the 2d of May, 1814, was correct, it was an act of justice to the community to make it known as

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