ARTICLE THE SEVENTH. It is further agreed that the said two last-mentioned commissioners, after they shall have executed the duties assigned to them in the preceding article, shall be, and they are hereby authorized, upon their oaths impartially to fix and determine, according to the true intent of the said treaty of peace, of one thousand seven hundred and eightythree, that part of the boundary between the dominions of the two powers, which extends from the water communication between lake Huron, and lake Superior, to the most north-western point of the lake of the Woods, to decide to which of the two parties the several islands lying in the lakes, water communications, and rivers, forming the said boundary, do respectively belong, in conformity with the true intent of the said treaty of peace, of one thousand seven hundred and eightythree; and to cause such parts of the said boundary, as require it, to be surveyed and marked... ARTICLE THE NINTH. The United States of America engage to put an end, immediately after the ratification of the present treaty, to hostilities with all the tribes or nations of Indians with whom they may be at war at the time of such ratification; and forthwith to restore to such tribes or nations, respectively, all the possessions, rights, and privileges, which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to in one thousand eight hundred and eleven, previous to such hostilities: Provided always, That such tribes or nations shall agree to desist from all hostilities, against the United States of America, their citizens and subjects, upon the ratification of the present treaty being notified to such tribes or nations, and shall so desist accordingly. And his Britannic majesty engages, on his part, to put an end immediately after the ratification of the present treaty, to hostilities with all tribes or nations of Indians with whom he may be at war at the time of such ratification, and forthwith to restore to such tribes or nations, respectively, all the possessions, rights, and privileges, which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to, in one thousand eight hundred and eleven, previous to such hostilities: Provided always, That such tribes or nations shall agree to desist from all hostilities against his Britannic majesty, and his subjects, upon the ratification of the present treaty being notified to such tribes or nations, and shall so desist accordingly. ARTICLE THE TENTH. Whereas the traffic in slaves is irreconcileable with the principles of humanity and justice, and whereas both his Majesty and the United States are desirous of continuing their efforts to promote its entire abolition, it is hereby agreed that both the contracting parties shall use their best endeavors to accomplish so desirable an object. Done, in triplicate, at Ghent, the twenty-fourth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and fourteen. The lack of a national bank to serve the fiscal agent of the Government had been seriously felt during the War of 1812. April 10, 1816, an act creating a second bank was approved by the President. The parts of the act here given are mainly those essential to an understanding of Jackson's attitude toward the institution. Public Statutes at Large of the United States, Vol. 3, pp. 266 277. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That a bank of the United States of America shall be established, with a capital of thirty-five millions of dollars, divided into three hundred and fifty thousand shares, of one hundred dollars each share. Seventy thousand shares, amounting to the sum of seven millions of dollars... shall be subscribed and paid for by the United States, . . and two hundred and eighty thousand shares, amounting to the sum of twenty-eight millions of dollars, shall be subscribed and paid for by individuals, companies, or corporations... SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That subscriptions for the sum of twenty-eight millions of dollars, towards constituting the capital of the said bank, shall be opened on the first Monday in July next... And the said subscriptions shall be opened under the superintendence of five commissioners at Philadelphia, and of three commissioners at each of the other places aforesaid, to be appointed by the President of the United States... and shall continue open every day... for the term of twenty days, exclusive of Sundays, when the same shall be closed... And if more than the amount of twenty-eight millions of dollars shall have been subscribed, then the said last mentioned commissioners shall deduct the amount of such excess from the largest subscriptions, in such manner as that no subscription shall be reduced in amount, while any one remains larger... SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That at the opening of subscription to the capital stock of the said bank, the Secretary of the Treasury shall subscribe, or cause to be subscribed, on behalf of the United States, the said number of seventy thousand shares, amounting to seven millions of dollars as aforesaid, to be paid in gold or silver coin, or in stock of the United States... SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the subscribers to the said bank of the United States of America, their successors and assigns, shall be, and are hereby, created a corporation and body politic, by the name and style of "The president, directors, and company, of the bank of the United States," and shall so continue until the third day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, and by that name shall be... capable, in law, to have, purchase... and retain . . . lands... goods, chattels and effects... to an amount not exceeding, in the whole, fifty-five millions of dollars, including the amount of the capital stock aforesaid; and the same to sell . . . or dispose of; to sue and be sued... in all state courts having competent jurisdiction, and in any circuit court of the United States... SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That for the management of the affairs of the said corporation, there shall be twenty-five directors, five of whom, being stockholders, shall be annually appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, not more than three of whom shall be residents of any one state; and twenty of whom shall be annually elected at the banking house in the city of Philadelphia, on the first Monday of January, in each year, by the qualified stockholders. . . of the said bank, other than the United States, and by a plurality of votes... Provided always, That no person, being a director in the bank of the United States, or any of its branches, shall be a director of any other bank; and should any such director act as a director in any other bank, it shall forthwith vacate his appointment in the direction of the bank of the United States. And the directors, so duly appointed and elected, shall be capable of serving... from the first Monday in the month of January of each year, until the end and expiration of the first Monday in the month of January of the year next ensuing... And the board of directors, annually... shall proceed to elect one of the directors to be president of the corporation... SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That as soon as the sum of eight millions four hundred thousand dollars in gold and silver coin, and in the public debt, shall have been actually received on account of the subscriptions to the capital of the said bank (exclusively of the subscription aforesaid, on the part of the United States) notice thereof shall be given by the persons under whose superintendence the subscriptions shall have been made at the city of Philadelphia, in at least two newspapers printed in each of the places... where subscriptions shall have been made, and the said persons shall, at the same time... notify a time and place within... Philadelphia, at the distance of at least thirty days from the time of such notification, for proceeding to the election of twenty directors as aforesaid... And the President of the United States is hereby authorized, during the present session of Congress, to nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint, five directors of the said bank... and the persons who shall be elected and appointed... shall be the first directors of the said bank, and shall proceed to elect one of the directors, to be President of the said bank; and the directors and President... shall then and thenceforth commence, and continue the operations of the said bank, at the city of Philadelphia... SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the following rules... shall... be fundamental articles of the constitution of the said corporation, to wit:.. 1. The number of votes to which the stockholders shall be entitled... shall be according to the number of shares... they, respectively, shall hold,.. for one share and not more than two shares, one vote; for every two shares above two, and not exceeding ten, one vote; for every four shares above ten, and not exceeding thirty, one vote; .. and for every ten shares above one hundred, one vote; but no person, copartnership, or body politic shall be entitled to a greater number than thirty votes; .. Third. None but a stockholder, resident citizen of the United States, shall be a director; .. Fourteenth. The directors... shall establish a competent office of discount and deposit in the District of Columbia, whenever any law. of the United States shall require such an establishment; also one such office of discount and deposit in any state in which two thousand shares shall have been subscribed... whenever... upon application of the legislature of such state, Congress may by law, require the same: . . And it shall be lawful for the directors... to establish offices of discount and deposit wheresoever they shall think fit within the United States... Sixteeenth. No stockholder, unless he be a citizen of the United States, shall vote in the choice of directors. Seventeenth. No note shall be issued of less amount than five dol lars... SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the bills or notes of the said corporation originally made payable, or which shall have become payable on demand, shall be receivable in all payments to the United States, unless otherwise directed by act of Congress. SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That during the continuance of this act, and whenever required by the Secretary of the Treasury, the said corporation shall give the necessary facilities for transferring the public funds from place to place, within the United States... without charging commissions or claiming allowance on account of difference of exchange... SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That the deposits of the money of the United States, in places in which the said bank and branches thereof may be established, shall be made in said bank or branches thereof, unless the Secretary of the Treasury shall at any time otherwise order and direct, in which case the Secretary of the Treasury shall immediately lay before Congress, if in session, and if not, immediately after the commencement of the next session, the reasons of such order or direction... SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That in consideration of the exclusive privileges and benefits conferred by this act, upon the said bank, the president, directors, and company thereof, shall pay to the United States, out of the corporate funds thereof, the sum of one million and five hundred thousand dollars, in three equal payments... SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That no other bank shall be established by any future law of the United States during the continuance of the corporation hereby created, for which the faith of the United States is hereby pledged... SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That it shall, at all times, be lawful, for a committee of either house of Congress, appointed for that purpose, to inspect the books, a to examine into the proceedings of the corporation hereby created, and to report whether the provisions of this charter have been, by the same, violated or APPROVED, April, 10, 1816. |