The establishment of the Bank of North America forms a prominent item in the administration of Mr. Morris. The knowledge which he had acquired of the principles of banking, and of the advantages resulting to a commercial community from a well regulated bank of discount and deposit, in enabling merchants to antici pate their funds in cases of exigency, or of occasions offering well grounded schemes of speculation,f render ed a hint on the subject of the importance of a bank to the government, enough ; and he accordingly adopted it with warmth. Such an institution had been previously sug gested, and as already said, an attempt at one, although with paper-money, but backed by the bonds of respon sible men, had been made the preceding year. The greater facilities which one with a specie capital pro mised, in enabling the government to anticipate its re venue, and to increase the quantity of circulating me dium, and promote trade, were forcibly impressed on his mind, and induced him to propose it to Congress. In May, 1731, he presented his plan, which was approv ed of by that body. Subscriptions were opened shortly after ; but, in the following November, when the direc tors were elected, " not two hundred out of a thousand had been subscribed, and it was some time after the bu siness of the bank was fairly commenced," before the sum received upon all the subscriptions amounted to S70,000." Mr. Morris, no doubt, became sensible that such a capital would go but a little way in aiding him in his financial operations for government, and at the same time accommodate the trading part of the community. He therefore subscribed S250,000 of the S300,000, (which remained of the money received from France,) to the stock of the bank, on the public account : S430,000 had been brought from France, and lodged in the bank, and he " had determined, from the moment of its arri val, to subscribe, on behalf of the United States, for those shares that remained vacant ; but such was the amount of the public expenditures, that notwithstanding the utmost care and caution to keep this money, nearly one half of the sum was exhausted before the institution could be organized."§ It was principally on this fund that the operations of the institution were commenced; and before the last day of March, the public obtained a loan of S300,000, heing the total amount of their then capital. This loan was shortly after increased to S400,00011 Considerable facilities were also obtained by discounting the notes of individuals, and thereby an ticipating the receipts of public money; besides which, the persons who had contracted for furnishing rations to the army, were also aided by discounts upon the public credit. And in addition to all this, the credit and confi dence which were revived by means of this institution, formed the basis of the system through which the anti cipations made within the bounds of the United States had, in July, 1783, exceeded S820,000. If the sums due, (indirectly) for notes of individuals discounted, be taken into consideration, the total will exceed one million! It may then not only be asserted, but demonstrated, that without the establishment of the national bank, the busi ness of the department of finance could not have been performed." Besides this great benefit to the public cause, derived from the bank ; the state of Pennsylvania, and city' of Phi ladelphia, by loans obtained from it, were greatly accom modated. It enabled the first to provide for the protec tion of the frontiers, then sorely assailed, and to relieve the officers of the Pennsylvania line from their distress, occasioned by the failure of the internal revenue, which had been mortgaged for payment of interest of certifi cates granted them for military services. It enabled the merchants to clear the bay, and even river Delaware, of the hostile cruisers (which destroyed the little com merce that was left, and harassed our internal trade,) by fitting out, among other armed vessels, the ship " nyder Ally," which, under the command of the late gallant Barney, in four days after she sailed, brought into port the sloop of war General Monk, which the Bri tish, with accurate knowledge of all public movements, had fitted out at New York, with the particular object of capturing her.* By its loans, the city authorities re lieved the pressing wants of the capital, which suffered in a variety of ways from the exhausted state of its funds, the necessary consequence of the war. But the support of public credit, the defence of the state and harbour, and relief of the city funds, were not the only results from this happy financial expedient of Mr. Morris : for by its accommodations to the citizens, it promoted internal im provements, gave a spring to trade, and greatly increas ed the circulating medium by the circulation of its notes, which, being convertible at will into gold or silver, were universally received equal thereto, and commanded the most unbounded confidence. Hundreds availed them selves of the security afforded by the vaults of the bank to deposit their cash, which, from the impossibility of investing it, had long been hid from the light ; and the constant current of deposits in the course of trade, autho rized the directors to increase their business, and the amount of their issues, to a most unprecedented extent.
The consequence of this was a speedy and most percep tible change in the state of affairs, both public and pri vate.
In the same year, an additional mark of confidence re posed in the talents and integrity of Mr. Morris, was evinced by the legislature of Pennsylvania, by their ap pointment of him as their agent to purchase the supplies demanded of the state for the public service. By the nature of the organization of the general government, the annual necessities of the public funds, provisions and other supplies were apportioned among the several states, and large demands were made upon Pennsylvania in 1781. Mr. Morris was appointed to furnish them, and a particular resolve of Congress permitted him to undertake the trust. The supplies were furnished in anticipation, before the money was obtained from the state treasury, and while he thus enabled the state promptly to comply with the demands of Congress, he shows, by his account of the transaction, that the plan of his operations was more economical than any other, Which, under the state of things at the time, could have been adopted. Those only who are old enough to re collect the state of parties at the time in Pennsylvania, or have made themselves acquainted with them, can duly appreciate the extent of the compliment paid to Mr. Al orris by his appointment upon the occasion men tioned. Political feuds, arising in part from a differ ence of opinion on the subject of the com:itution of Penn sylvania of 1776, prevailed to a great extent, and the conduct of the ruling party, who were opposed to any change in that feeble instrument, was, on many occa sions, marked by want of both intelligence and liberality of sentiment. Mr. Morris was considered the head of what they chose to term the aristocratic party, that is, that portion of men of wealth, great public considera tion, superior education, and liberal ideas, who ardently wished a more energetic form of state government than could exist under a single legislature, and numerous executive council ; and could the legislature have dis pensed with his services, or had there been any man among the party in power, capable of fulfilling the trust, it is probable that he would not have been appointed to it. That man, however, did not exist. The manner in which Mr. Morris executed it, showed how well he merited the confidence of the legislature, and also a skilfulness of management, which none but himself could have effected.t In the year 1786, Mr. Morris served as a representa tive of Philadelphia, in the state legislature. Always ready to lend the aid, either of his talents, time, or purse, when required by the cause of his country, or state; he consented to the wishes of his fellow-citizens in stand ing as a candidate, for the express purpose of exerting his influence in favour of the renewal of the charter of the Bank of North America, which had been taken away from that institution by the preceding assembly. The ostensible reasons for this unjust measure were ill grounded fears of the evil effects of the bank on society, (and especially the agricultural interest,) its incompati bility with the safety and welfare of the state; an impro bable possibility of undue influence from it on the legis lature itself; with other arguments of equal weight and truth. But the real cause must be ascribed to the con tinuance of the spirit of the same party vs hich had been so violently opposed to Mr. Mon is, and the society with which he associated during the whole of the American war. The debates on the occasion, which excited great interest among all classes of society, were accurately taken down, and published in a pamphlet.* Mr. Morris replied to all the arguments of his opponents with a force of reasoning that would have produced conviction in the minds of any men, not previously determined to destroy the bank, if possible, at all hazards. The question, how ever, was lost by a majority of 13, (28 to 41.) The succeeding legislature restored the charter.
The next public service rendered by Mr. Morris to his country, was as a member of the convention that formed the federal constitution in 1787. Ile had, as a part of his colleagues, Benjamin Franklin, George Cly mer, and James Wilson, with whom he assisted in the councils that led to the memorable and decisive mea sures of the year 1776 ; and now with them again united in forming the bond of union, which was to lay the foun dation for the future and permanent prosperity of their country. The want of an efficient federal government in conducting the war, had been severely felt by all those at the head of affairs, either in a civil or military capa city, and most particularly by Mr. .Nlorris, while a mem ber of Congress, and afterwards when the financial con cerns of the Union were exclusively committed to him ; and the necessity of it, " one, which would draw forth and direct the combined efforts of United America," was strongly urged by him, in the conclusion of his masterly preface to the " Statement of his Finance Accounts," already referred to.