"gratuity," the "exclusive privileges,"
and "monopoly," of the bank charter. Now, Sir, the truth is, that the
powers conferred on the bank are such, and no others, as are usually
conferred on similar institutions. They constitute no monopoly, although
some of them are of necessity, and with propriety, exclusive privileges.
"The original act," says the message, "operated as a gratuity of many
millions to the stockholders." What fair foundation is there for this
remark? The stockholders received their charter, not gratuitously, but
for a valuable consideration in money, prescribed by Congress, and
actually paid. At some times the stock has been above _par_, at other
times below _par_, according to prudence in management, or according to
commercial occurrences. But if, by a judicious administration of its
affairs, it had kept its stock always above _par_, what pretence would
there be, nevertheless, for saying that such augmentation of its value
was a "gratuity" from government? The message proceeds to declare, that
the present act proposes another donation, another gratuity, to the same
men, of at least seven millions more. It seems to me that this is an
extraordinary statement, and an extraordinary style of argument, for
such a subject and on such an occasion. In the first place, the facts
are all assumed; they are taken for true without evidence. There are no
proofs that any benefit to that amount will accrue to the stockholders,
nor any experience to justify the expectation of it. It rests on random
estimates, or mere conjecture. But suppose the continuance of the
charter should prove beneficial to the stockholders; do they not pay for
it? They give twice as much for a charter of fifteen years, as was given
before for one of twenty. And if the proposed _bonus_, or premium, be
not, in the President's judgment, large enough, would he, nevertheless,
on such a mere matter of opinion as that, negative the whole bill? May
not Congress be trusted to decide even on such a subject as the amount
of the money premium to be received by government for a charter of this
kind?

But, Sir, there is a larger and a much more just view of this subject.
The bill was not passed for the purpose of benefiting the present
stockholders. Their benefit, if any, is incidental and collateral. Nor
was it passed on any idea that they had a _right_ to a renewed charter,
although the message argues against such right, as if it had been
somewhere set up