deceive and mislead, I will notice in their
order all the most prominent of them. The first of these is in relation
to a connection between our Bank and several banking institutions in
other States. Admitting this connection to exist, I should like to see
the gentleman from Coles, or any other gentleman, undertake to show that
there is any harm in it. What can there be in such a connection, that
the people of Illinois are willing to pay their money to get a peep
into? By a reference to the tenth section of the Bank charter, any
gentleman can see that the framers of the act contemplated the holding
of stock in the institutions of other corporations. Why, then, is it,
when neither law nor justice forbids it, that we are asked to spend our
time and money in inquiring into its truth?

The next charge, in the order of time, is, that some officer, director,
clerk or servant of the Bank, has been required to take an oath of
secrecy in relation to the affairs of said Bank. Now, I do not know
whether this be true or false--neither do I believe any honest man
cares. I know that the seventh section of the charter expressly
guarantees to the Bank the right of making, under certain restrictions,
such by-laws as it may think fit; and I further know that the requiring
an oath of secrecy would not transcend those restrictions. What, then,
if the Bank has chosen to exercise this right? Whom can it injure? Does
not every merchant have his secret mark? and who is ever silly enough
to complain of it? I presume if the Bank does require any such oath of
secrecy, it is done through a motive of delicacy to those individuals
who deal with it. Why, Sir, not many days since, one gentleman upon this
floor, who, by the way, I have no doubt is now ready to join this hue
and cry against the Bank, indulged in a philippic against one of the
Bank officials, because, as he said, he had divulged a secret.

Immediately following this last charge, there are several insinuations
in the resolution, which are too silly to require any sort of notice,
were it not for the fact that they conclude by saying, "to the great
injury of the people at large." In answer to this I would say that it
is strange enough, that the people are suffering these "great injuries,"
and yet are not sensible of it! Singular indeed that the people should
be writhing under oppression and injury, and yet not one among them
to be found to raise the voice of complaint. If the Bank be inflic