The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX, Part 24

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870
Publication date: 1828
Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ;
Number of Pages: 440

USA > Pennsylvania > The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX > Part 24

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Are the dregs of a congress then still to influence a mind like yours? These are not the men, whom you engaged to serve. These are not the men, whom America has chosen to represent hier now. Most of them elected by a little low faction, and the few gentle- men that are among them, now well known to be upon the balance, and looking up to your hand alone to re- move the beam. It is you, sir, and you alone, that sup- port the present congress. Of this you must be fully sensible. Long before they left Philadelphia, their dig- nity and consequence was gone. ` What must they be now since their precipitate retreat? I write with free- dom, but without invective. I know those things to be true; and I write to one whose own observation must have convinced him that they are so.

After this view of congress. turn to your army. All the world knows that its very existence depends upon , yon; that your death, or captivity disperses it in a mo- ment, and that there is not a man on that side of the question in America, capable of succeeding you. As to the army itself, what have you to expect from them? Have they not frequently abandoned even yourself in the hour of extremity? Have you, can you have the least confidence in the sect of undisciplined men and officers, many of whom have been taken from the low- est of the people, without principle, without courage? Take away those that surround your person, and how very few are there, that you can ask to sit at your table? Turn to your little Navy. Of that little, what is left? Of the Delaware fleet, part are taken, the rest must soon surrender. Of those in the other provinces, some are taken, one or two at sea, and the others lying un- manned and unrigged in their harbours.

cy. Ile gave me his reasons. " Independency, said he, can never be supported, unless France should de- clare war against England. I well know the state of her finances. Years to come will not put them in a situation to venture upon a breach with England. At this moment, there are two parties in the Court of Ver- sailles, one enlisted under the Duke of Choiseul, the other under Count Maurepas. Choiseul has no chance of succeeding-he is violent for war. Maurepas must get the better-he is for economy and peace." This was his information, which I mentioned to several mem- bers of Congress. They treated it as a fable; depend- ing entirely on the intelligence from Dr. Franklin. The truth of the matteris this: Dr. Franklin built upon the success of Cho scul. Upon his arrival in France, he found him out of place, his councils reprobated, and his party dwindled to an insignificant faction. This you may depend upon to be the true state of the court of France. And further, by a vast number of letters, found on board prizes taken by the King's ships, it ap- pears, that all commerce with the merchants of France, through whom alone the supplies have been conveyed, will soon be at an end, the letters being full of com- plaints nf no remittances from America, and many indi- viduals having suffered greatly on that account.

From your friends in England, you have nothing to expect; their numbers have diminished to a cypher; the spirit of the whole nation is in full activity against you. A few sounding names among the nobility, though perpetually wrung in your ear's, are said to be without character, . without influence. Disappointed ambition, I am told, has made them desperate; and that they only wish to make the deluded Americans, instru- ments of their revenge. All orders and ranks of men in Great Britain are now unanimous, and determined to risk their all in the contest. 'Trade and manufactures are found to flourish, and new channels are continually opening, that will perhaps more than supply the loss of the old.

In a word, your harbours are blocked up, your cities fall one after another; fortress after fortress, battle after battle is lost. A British army, after having passed al- most unmolested through a vast extent of country, have possessed themselves with ease of the capital of Ame- rica. llow unequal the contest was! How fruitless the expense of blood.

Under so many discouraging circumstances, can vir- tue, can honor, can the love of your country, prompt you to persevere? Humanity itself (and sure I am, hu- manity is no stranger to your breast) calls upon you to desist. Your army must perish for want of common ne- cessaries, or thousands of innocent families must perish to support them. Wherever they encamp, the coun- try must be impoverisbed. Wherever they march, the troops of Britain will pursue, and must complete the devastation, which America herself had begun.

Perhaps it may be said, that it is "better to die, than to be a slave." This indeed is a splendid mex'm in theo- ry, and, perhaps, in some instances, may be found expe- rimentally true. But where there is the least proba- bility of an happy accommodation, surely wisdom and humanity call for some sacrifices to be made to prevent inevitable destruction. You well know there is but one invincible bar to such an accommodation. Could this be removed, other obstacles might readily be overcome. ' ' is to you, and you alone, your bleeding country looks, and calls aloud for this sacrifice. Your arm alone has sufficient strength to remove this bar. May heaven in- spire you with the glorious resolution of exerting this strength at so interesting a crisis, and thus immortal.zing yourself as the friend and guardian of your country.

And now, where are your resources? Oh, my dear sir! how sadly have you been abused by a faction void of truth and void of tenderness to you and your country? They have amused you with the hopes of a declaration of war on the part of France. Believe me, from the best autho- ritv, it was a fict on from the first. Early in the year 1776, a French gentleman was introduced to me, with whom I became intimately acquainted. His business to all appearance, was to speculate in the mercantile way. But I believe it will be known, that in his own country, he moved in a higher sphere. He saw your Your penetrating eye needs not more explicit lan- guage to discern my meaning. With that prudence and delicacy, therefore, of which I know you to be possessed, represent to congress tbe indispensable necessity of re- scinding the hasty and ill-advised declaration of Inde- camp. He became acquainted with all your military prep :rations. He w. s introduced to congress, and en- gaged with them in a commercial contract. In the course of our intimacy he has frequently told me, that he ho- ped the Americans would never think of Independen- I pendency. Recommend, and you have an undoubted

THE LATE STEPHEN GIRARD, ESQ.

1832.]

right to recommend, an immediate cessation of hostili- ties. Let the controversy be taken up, where that de- claration left it, and where Lord Howe certainly ex- pected to have found it. Let men of clear and impar- tial characters, in or out of congress, gentlemen liberal in their sentiments, heretofore independent in their for- tunes, and some such are surely to be found in Ameri- ca, he appointed to confer with his majesty's commis- sioners. Let them, if they please, prepare some well digested, constitutional plan, to lay before them, as the commencement of a negotiation. When they have gone thus far, I am confident that the most happy con- sequences will ensue. Unanimity will immediately take place through the different provinces. Thou- sands, that are now ardently wishing ani praying for such a measure, will step forth and declare themselves the zealous advocates of constitutional liberty, and mil- lions will bless the hero, that left the field of war, to decide this most important contest with the weapons of wisdom and bumanity.

O sir! let no false ideas of worldly honor deter you from engaging in so glorious a task. Whatever cen- sure may be thrown out by mean and illiberal minds, your character will rise in the estimation of the virtuous and noble. It will appear with lustre in the annals of history, and lorm a glorious contrast to that of those who have fought to obtain conquest and gratify their own ambition, by the destruction of their own species, and the ruin of their country.

Be assured, that I write not this under the eye of any British officer, or any person connected with the British army or ministry. The sentiments I have expressed are the real sentiments of my heart, such as I have long held, and which I should have made known to you by letter before, had I not fully expected an opportunity of a private conference. When you passed through Philadelphia, on your way to Wilmington, I was con- fined by a severe fit of the gravel to my chamber. I have since continued so much indisposed, and times have been so very distressing, that I had neither spirits to write a letter, nor opportunity to convey it when written. Nor do I yet know by what means I shall get these sheets to your hands I would fain hope that I have said nothing by which your delicacy can be in the least hurt. If I have, it has, I assure you, been without the least intention, and therefore your candor will lead you , to forgive me. But what I have said is partly from my own knowledge, and partly from the information of some respectable members of the former, and some of the best officers of the latter. I would not offend the meanest person upon earth. What I say to you, I say in confidence, to answer what I cannot but deem a a most valuable purpose I love my country, I love you. But to the love of truth, the love of peace, and the love of my God, I hope I shall be enabled, if called to the trial, to sacrifice every other inferior love.

If the arguments made use of in this letter, should have so much influence, as to engage you to the glori- ous work I have so warmly recommended, I shall ever deem my success as the highest temporal favor, that providence could grant me. Your interposition and ad- vice I am confident, will meet with a favorable reception, from the authority under which you act. If it should not, you have one infallible resource still left-negotiate for America at the head of your army.

After all, it may appear presumption in an individual to address himself to you upon a subject of such mag- nitude, or to say what measures should best secure the interest and welfare of a whole continent. The favor- able and friendly opinion you'have always expressed of me emboldened me to undertake it; and (which has greatly added to the weight of the motive) I have been strongly impressed with a sense of duty upon this occa- sion, which left my conscience uneasy, and my heart af- flicted, till I had fully discharged it: I am no enthusi- ast. The case is new and singular to me. I could not enjoy a moment's peace till the letter was written.

With the most ardent prayers for your spiritual as well as temporal welfare, I am, sir, your sincere friend and obedient servant, JACOB DUCHE.

To his Excellency, GEN. WASHINGTON.

THIE LATE STEPHEN GIRARD, ESQ.

Departed this life, at Philadelphia, on Monday the 26th of December, 1831, in the 82d year of his age, STEPHAN GIRARD, Esq , a citizen more extensively known throughout the United States, perhaps, than any other individual who has not appeared on the po- lit.cal theatre. It is not our design to write a biography of this extraordinary man, or to pro ounce an eulog um ur - on his merits. It is sufficient for us to say, that he held a high place in the esteem of the inhabitants of Philadelphia-that he was charitable and humane, tem- perate in his habits, rigid in his economy, just and up- right in his dealings, and devoted to industrious pursuits with a perseverance and an intelligence seldom equal- led. It is particularly in reference to his successful ac- cumulation of property, by his commercial and banking operations, that we propose to speak of him; and in this particular he stands altogether unrivalled, having no equal, in point of wealth, in the Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Girard was a native of Bourdeaux, but came to this country above fifty years ago. He commenced mercantile business in Philadelphia with a very small capital, which be had saved from his earnings as a mas- ter of a vessel. His habits of living were the most eco- nomical; and by the time the period had arrived, at which our neutral position gave the shipping of the Uni- ted States superior advantages in commerce, he had ac- cumulated a sufficiency to enable him to enter the field as a ship owner. Taking advantage, then, of the occasion thus presented, he adopted the principles of good faith in his navigating operations, acted most truly the part of a neutral, and to avoid incurring the risks which attach- cd in those belligerent days, to vessels suspected of co- vering cnemies' property under the American flag, re- fused to carry on board his ships property belonging to any body but himself. The rigid observance of this rule, acquired for him a high reputation amongst the officers of the British navy; and it was a rare thing for a vessel be- longing to Mr. Girard to be detained on the high seas. Whilst other merchants were interrupted in their voy- ages, and had their vessels captured, sent in for adjudi- cation, and sometimes condemned rightfully or wrong. fully-the ships of Mr. Girard sailed unmolested. He was not even in the habit of making insurance on his vessels and cargoes; and so great was his good fortune in this particular, that he very seldom, in his long ca- reer, lost a vessel.

Soon after he expiration of the Charter of the old Bank of the United states, in 1811, Mr. Girard pur- chased their Banking-house in Third street, and com- menced the operations of a Banker. The capital which he placed in his banking establishment was understood to have been $1,200,000, which he not long afterwards vested in the hands of trustees, in order that, in case of his decease, no interruption should take place in the fulfilment of his engagements as a banker, and that no derangement in the affairs of the commercial community should result from a sudden withdrawal of his capital. The management of the bank was, however, reserved to himself; and, from its first formation to the period of his last illness, the discounts were entirely regulated by himself and his cashier. Of this capital, and of its accu- mulations, it is understood that not more than $300,000 have ever been withdrawn from the institu- tion, and that at a late period; and when we state the fact, derived from a respectable source, that the total | capital at this time is but $4,000,000, it will show that Mr. Girard's banking operations were always conducted within safe and prudent limits; for it is not known that

THE LATE STEPHEN GIRARD, ESQ.

[FEBRUARY

he experienced many heavy losses. At compound in- terest of eight per cent. money doubles in nine years and two days; and as Mr. Girard commenced his bank in March, 1812, his capital should have been more than quadrupled, had his income, clear of expenses, been equal to eight per cent. per annum.

But it must not be passed by, in noticing the transac- tions of this first private banker in the United States, as well in regard to time as to extent of capital, that vr. Girard was a sound theorist upon questions of banking. He understood the matter instinctively. He knew that banks were only serviceable to a community, by ena- bling persons possessing capitals to anticipate them by getting their bills receivable discounted, and not by lending capitals; and, hence, he set his face, from the commencement, against lending money upon perma- nent accommodation notes, and confined himself so ex- clusively to the discounting ofreal paper, that he was of- ten enabled to lend money, whilst other banks were calling in. At the time of the suspension of specie payments, which commenced in August, 1814, and continued to January, 1817, Mr. Girard foresaw that the public might not have the same spirit of forbearance towards a private individual banker, as they would to- wards a corporation, and he accordingly took legal ad- vice on the subject, which led him to withdraw his notes, and to make loans and accept deposits payable only in the notes of the incorporated banks. Had he not done this, the probability is, that all who had claims upon him in the form of deposits, would have drawn out their funds in coin; and he would not only have been driven down, in his discounts, to the amount of his capital, but would not have been able even to get pay- ment from those who had borrowed his coin, in any other money than the depreciated paper of the incorpo- rated banks.

During the whole period of his banking operations, Mr. Girard carried on foreign commerce more or less. His operations were generally directed to long or cir- cuitous voyages. His trade to Cbina, the East Indies, and other countries east of the Cape of Good Hope, was at one time very extensive, as was also his trade to the North of Europe. Several foreign voyages were sometimes performed without the ship's returning hume; and hence it may be seen, that the labors of the counting-house were not so multiplied as those which are necessary to be performed w.th much less capital employed in short voyages. To this circumstance, added to very early rising, is to be ascribed the leisure which Mr. Girard enjoyed, and which was devoted to the cultivation of a farm a few miles from the city, which he visited for years almost every day, and where, perhaps, he imbibed the golden sentiment which has been ascribed to him, and which shows that he did not consider that he lived alone for himself-"If I thought I should die to-morrow, I would plant a tree to-day." Indeed he acted uniformly upon this principle; and we le rn, that, having lately contracted for the building of a number of houses on the square of ground called by his name, situate between Market and Chesnut and Eleventh and Twelfth streets, he made provision in his will for their being completed, in case he should not live to see it done.

When we say that Mr. Girard was an economist, we do not say it merely in a relative sense, but in a positive one. We recollect ourselves once calling at his count- ing-house to see him on business, and were told by his clerk, that he was then busily employed in the cellar, cutting up with his own hands his winter's pork, and could not be seen. He entertained no company, lived upon the most simple food, plainly cooked, engaged in none of the scenes or indulgences of social life; and, being a widower for some years past, without children, h's l.fe was a solitary one. His chief happiness appear- ed to be, employment. Hle was never idle, but wag emphatically, a man of business. He was rigid in his

bargains-took care of his six-pences, knowing that the pounds would take care of themselves-and would, per- ; haps, hold out for the change of a cent, as long as any poor man living. 'This was the result of his habits of early life, and was, in fact, a part of that system and method which he uniformly displayed, and which con- stituted hm the very individual he was. There is no evidence that he loved money. He certainly did not accumulate property for any good it could do himself Ile resembled more a steward of some great proprietor, managing a large estate for a very moderate compensa- tion, than the proprietor himself. He did not appear to covet honors or fame, and was free from every display of ostentation. His dwelling-house was under the same roof with his counting house, in a narrow street near the river, (Water street,) and in a neighborhood occu- pied altogether with stores. His equipage was an old chaise and a sober looking farm horse, and the furniture of his house was of the plainest sort. In personal ap- pearance, he was as plain as the plaincst citizen; and so entirely free was he from all pride of purse, that he looked more like a man worth a hundred dollars than eight millions.

This cconnmical style of life, known to every body as characterizing Mr. Girard, has induced some persons to entertain very erroneous views of the influence of his mode of living upon the welfare of the community. You would hear people say, "It is a pity that Mr. Gi- rard does not make a better use of his money-he ought to live more affluently, and, by that means, give employ- ment to tradesmen, and other poor people." It is very certain, that Mr. Girard contributed very little to the support of livery servants, footmen, coachmen, pastry- cooks, French restaurateurs, ice-cream makers, dancing masters, musicians, play-actors, hair-dressers, fancy shop-keepers, jewellers, and many other callings; but his income was not, on that account, less unexpended. His fancy was to set in motion the industry of ship-build- ers, riggers and sail-makers, seamen, stevedores and draymen, and of late years, that of carpenters, bricklay- ers, brick-makers, masons, plaisterers, panters, glaziers, marble masons, and all the other mechanics employed by h'min bu lding houses. What portion of his capital and income he did not so expend, he lent to others, to be expended as they might see fit; and perhaps it may be said, that not a dollar of his immense wealth was suffered to lie idle. So far from his mode of expendi- ture operating disadvantageously to the working classes, it has been, of all others, the one which was calculated to produce the greatest good to the community. No part of his income has been spent unproductively-for every dollar which has gone towards the support of in- dustry, there is a dollar's worth, or something more to show for it; which would not have been the case, had the course been pursued which so many people deem to be the most beneficial. Even the little he consumed himself, in his support, was but the wages of a hard- working overseer, or manager, engaged in seeing the property entrusted to his stewardship applied to the most productive purposes. And cannot any one per. ceive that the superintendence of so frugal and indus- trious a steward, has been the means of accumulating an immense fund in the city of Philadelphia, which could never have existed, but owing to the cheapness with ! which so large a capital was managed? The same sum divided into a hundred portions, could never have pro- duced the same accumulation; and for this simple rea- son, that, in its management, a hundred individuals or families would have had to be supported, whereas, in this case, only one individual was to be supported, and he too, very frugally. Had Mr. Girard been a miser who buried his wealth, had he hid his talent in a napkin, then, indeed, he would have been obnoxious to the im- putation of an unfaithful steward. But he did not so- he put his talent to the exchangers, where it accumula- ted for the benefit of the community, more than for that of himself; and, as far as the question of national

1832.]

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

wealth is concerned, he may be called a good and faith- ful ser vant.

If these views are correct, Mr. Girard cannot but be re- garded as a great public benefactor, nor can his death be considered other than as a great public loss. His pro- perty, it is true, is left behind him, but it can never hereafter be so productively and economically managed; and whilst the individuals or corporations who inherit it are gainers by his death, the community are losers. The aid which he has rendered to several works of Internal Improvement, by loans, and subscriptions to their stock, which invariably gave strength and confidence to the companies concerned in them, would alone entitle him to the appellation we have bestowed upon him, and we trust that a monument to his memory may decorate some conspicuous spot in our city, as evidence of the public gratitude to one who has done so much service to the country, and who has set so bright an example for the imitation of the poor and industrious .- Banner of the Constitution.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, Established in Philadelphia, offers the following Premi- ums for Esculent Vegetables and Fruits, for 1832 and 1833.

1st. For the best forced cauliflowers, not less than three in number, to be produced on or before Wednes- day, May 9th, 1832, a premium of îve dollars.

2d. For the best early cauliflowers grown in the open ground, not less than three in number, to be produced on or before the second Monday of July, (9th,) 1832, a premium of five dollars.

3d For the best late or autumnal cauliflowers, not less than three in number, to be produced on or before the second Monday in November, 1832, a premium of five dollars.

4th. For the best early cabbage, not less than six heads to be produced on or before the last Saturday in May, (26th, ) 1832, a premium of three dollars.

5th. For the best early peas, not less than a half peck in quantity, to be produced on or before Saturday, 5th May, 1832, a premium of three dollars.

6th. For the best early peas grown in Pennsylvania, not less than a half peck, to be produced on or before Saturday, 10th May, 1832, a premium of three dollars

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The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX, Part 24

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870 Publication date: 1828 Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ; Number of Pages: 440

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870
Publication date: 1828
Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ;
Number of Pages: 440