Page:A History of Banking in the United States.djvu/367

 had been appointed at the stockholders' meeting of January 4th. The general result of the investigation was that the capital was lost in bad debts and in the stocks of enterprises which could not, at best, be remunerative for a long time. At the estimate put on the assets by the Committee, there were $14.8 millions to meet $32.5 millions of capital; the Bank owning part of its own shares. The debt in Europe exceeded the active loans here. The "bills receivable" had been gradually reduced. In March, 1840, they were still $4 millions. During the following year they were reduced by transferring to the Bank the stocks in which the speculators had been operating. The Bank had, during the State charter, taken $31 millions in stocks, etc., in settlement of loans and advances. "Bills receivable" were still $1.4 millions. Some of them had been transferred from "suspended debt" to "active debt," having been changed into bills discounted at deferred periods of maturity.

Biddle settled one-half the loss on cotton with interest by giving Texan bonds for about two-thirds of the amount, and promising Texan bonds for the remainder. In their supplementary report of May, the Committee of Investigation say that the $800,000 appear not to have been liquidated profits of the cotton transactions, but, in part, anticipated profits, and they call on Biddle to repay. "We take the statement," they say, "as correct, although there are some plain mistakes in the calculations." There are no intelligible statements in the record of the profit and loss of the cotton operations, and we must accept the comment of this Committee as proof that it is impossible now to obtain any. Cowperthwaite had to pay one-quarter of the loss with interest. He gave land and stocks of very little value and $16,000 in cash. Wilder paid one-quarter by land and sundries, and $49,793 in cash. It is suggested that there was some one behind him. Who it was is not known. The Committee calculated that the stock of the Bank was worth $46.94 per share for the number of shares outstanding. Biddle published a criticism of the Investigating Committee's report, which led to a supplementary report and rejoinder. He had endeavored to break the point of their condemnation by saying that the Bank had been supporting the Reading Railroad while the Committee were interested in the Schuylkill Navigation Company, which was a rival. Dunlap published a statement that the contract guaranteed by the Bank in his name was for the account of the Bank. He took $1 million of Illinois bonds which were to be paid for in ten monthly installments. All the bonds were sent to London and hypothecated there for loans to the Bank of the United States, to which the interest on them was paid. Biddle denied that the Bank ever owned a bale of cotton. He claimed that the cotton operations paid the debts of the American people, corrected the exchanges, saved the Bank, gave a price for cotton to the southerners, and enabled him to save New York. He said that the losses on cotton would have been paid, but that he thought his