THE Editors present to the public the following pages, with the hope that they may impart useful knowledge in regard to the past legislation of Congress, upon the highly important subject of which they treat. It has been their design to collect and embody, in as brief compass as possible, the entire proceedings, debates, and resolutions, of Congress, upon the various bills and projects for a National Bank, which, at any time during the existence of the Federal Government, have been brought forward or discussed. In their proper connexion, they have also embraced such reports of committees and public officers, as had relation to the establishment, constitutionality, or public uses of a bank. The Debates, which form the great body of the collection, will be found to contain the opinions and elaborate arguments of the most distinguished men of our country, both for, and against, the establishment of such an institution. For current reference, or preservation of speeches, in convenient form, this part of the work is calculated to be permanently useful. In the statement of the decision of important questions, the journals of Congress have, as far as possible, been relied on; it will occur, however, to those familiar with the proceedings of Congress, that very much of the action of that body, on all bills of public interest, finds no place in their daily record. All proceedings in Committee of the Whole are excluded from the journals of the House; and, if they become matter of record at all, it is in the pages of the gazettes of the day.
For the history of the proceedings and the debates in Committee of the Whole, the files of the National Intelligencer have been consulted: these furnish, during a considerable period of our legislative history, the most correct sources of information. It has been a leading object with the editors, to collect with accuracy, and state with fidelity, the acts that have been done, and the opinions which have been uttered in Congress, and the Executive Departments, on the establishment and perpetuation of a National Bank. Errors and unimportant omissions may, perhaps, be detected; but none, it is hoped, which can detract from the merit, which the editors claim, of general accuracy.
Bank of the United States projected-Hamilton's report, 15: Hamilton's
plan of bank, 31: Bill introduced into Senate-proceedings thereon, 35: De-
bates in the House, on the bill, 37-84: Vote on the passage of the bill, 85:
Or non of Edmund Randolph, attorney general, given to the President,
an be constitutionality of the bill, 86-89: Of Thomas Jefferson, Secre-
> of State, on the same subject, 91: Of Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of
Treasury, in favor of the bill, 95: Supplementary acts, 114.
M.monals presented for the renewal of the charter of bank, 115: Gallatin's
et, of March 1809, 116: Dividends of old bank, 120: Bill to establish a
National Bank, reported by Mr. Love, from select committee, 122: Bill to re-
new the old charter, reported by Mr. Taylor, of S. C., 133: Bill for the same
rse reported 4th of January, 1811, by Mr. Burwell, 137: Debates in the
se, on this bill, 139-299: Ayes and noes on postponement of bill, 274:
Memo, al in Senate for renewal-bill reported-letter of Mr. Gallatin, 300:
Debates in Senate on bill to renew charter, 302-446: Bill rejected, by the rastg vote of Vice President, 446: Debate in House, on Mr. Taylor's bill, 19-171
Various propositions for the establishment of a National Bank, and pro-
ceedings thereon, 472-480: Letter of Secretary Dallas, to Committee of
Ways and Means, on a bank 481: Mr. Fisk, of N. Y. reports a bill, 487:
Proceedings and debates thereon, 488-518: Same bill, as amended, 519:
Bill rejected-ayes and noes, 534: Secretary Dallas to Mr. Lowndes, 535:
Bill reported in Senate, by Mr. King, 539: Passed, ayes and noes, 549: Re-
ported to the House, with amendments, and debated, 549-559: Ordered to
a third reading, 560: Recommitted, 561: Again ordered to a third reading,
562: Mr. Webster's motion to recommit, and speech, 562-3: Bill rejected,
by casting vote of Speaker, 571: Vote reconsidered, 574: Passed the House,
579: Amendments in House and Senate, 580-585: Bill as it passed both
On the grant of the charter of 1816-Mr. Madison, on the defects of the
currency, 609: Mr. Dallas proposes a bank to remedy these defects, 612:
His letter on currency, and a bank, 613-619: Bill reported by Mr. Calhoun,
621: Mr. Calhoun's speech on bill, 630: Mr. Sergeant moves to reduce capi-
tal of bank, 635: Mr. Smith's speech on said motion, 636: Messrs. Sergeant,
Randolph, Ward, and Tucker, of Virginia, speak on the motion, 640-646:
Further debates on motion, by Mr. Webster, Mr. Cuthbert, Mr. Hopkinson,
Mr. Sharp, and Mr. Calhoun, 646-653: Motion overruled, 653: Motion to
dispense with Government subscription of seven millions, and debate on said
motion, 653-658: On the appointment of five directors by the Government-
debate in committee thereon, 661-666: Same in the House, with vote, 678-
679: Speech of Mr. Clay, 669: Various amendments proposed, 672-676:
Motion to locate bank at New York, carried, 676: This vote reversed, 677:
Bill ordered to be engrossed, 680: Passed the House, 681: Considered and
debated in the Senate, 683-692: Speech of Mr. Wells, 694: Passed the Se-
nate, with amendments, 706: Amendments considered in the House, 707-
712: Agreed to, 713: Bill approved by the President, 713.
Certain proceedings after the bank went into operation-Mr. Spencer's re-
solution for appointing a committee to inspect bank books, &c., 714: Com-
mittee appointed-their report, 714-732: Mr. Trimble's motion for a scire
facias, 732: Mr. Spencer's resolutions for withdrawing Government depo-
sites, for scire facias, &c. 732: Mr. Johnson's resolution for a repeat of the
charter, 734: President Jackson's suggestions in regard to the bank, 734:
Mr. McDuffie's report in 1830, 735: Mr. Smith's report in Senate, 772: Let-
ters of Mr. Madison, in 1831, to C. J. Ingersoll, 778: Judicial decisions on
bank charter, 781: Justice Marshall's opinion, 782.
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