The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume III

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PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR

we declined this offer- We were induced to do so for other considera- tions besides inadequacy of price- That morning M:r Shaw had opened a negotiation with an opulent .Jew Banker by the name of Goldsmith from whom I expected we ,vould probably obtain better terms- This occurred the morning & evening of the night when I left London for Liverpool to embark. I therefore left the negotiation with Mr Burnley & Mr Shaw- To get better terms from the Boyds, or to close a more advantageous negotia- tion with Goldsmith if practicable. If the agency of the Bank of the U. States has been able to sustain itself in London during this awful crisis, of which I have little doubt, it will be able to, at least until the return of the Liverpool, I think an advance on the Bonds, has been closed.- Immediately after my arrival in England it was deemed absolutely necessary that either Mr Burnley or myself should come Home, to explain to the Congress of Texas, the provisions & objects of the Safoty Fund Act, in the Passage of which our ultimate success entirely de- pends- Upon full conference it was thought best that this duty should devolve on me, and in consequence I have returned for this pur- pose, and leave this City on the 13th inst, to repair with all possible despatch to Texas- I shall have to stop a couple of days at Macon, and as many on my plantation on the Chatahoochie- I will however make it a point to be in New Orleans from 1st to the 5th of November to take passage in the Steamer Neptune, which leaves this port for New Orleans in a few days-. I hope therefore to be with you a few days prior to the Meeting of your Congress. You will permit me with great defference to suggest, that beyond the mention in your annual Message that the Loan was in a course promis- ing & prompt success, and that an advance had been obtained on the Bonds, without stating where and from whom- as it is very important that the Bank of the U. States should be kept out of view, for reasons which I will explain to you when I have the. pleasure of seeing you- This Institution has got into difficulties which I believe may in the end turn out to be merely temporary- The result of its noble and extraordinary efforts to sustain the currency exchanges, and public improvements of the Country-I can never forget her liberality and confidence, in the integrity & good faith of your Government. On my way thro' Philadelphia I will see Mr Dunlap the President of the Bank, and make such arrangements as will insure that the post notes & checks you received, shall be equivalent to available funds at par, should any remain on hand. I forgot to mention that if Mr Shaw & .l\fr Burnley do not succeed in obtaining an advance upon the Bonds in London, they will im- mediately go to France and avail themselves of the promised good offices of the French Government-for which purpose l\fr Shaw & myself had already opened a correspondence with an excellent Banker in Paris- I beg you not for a moment to suppose that the negotiation has suffered any prejudice from my absence Mr Shaw & l\fr Burnley are most abundantlv able to conduct it- If it is not concluded, the moment I rcturii with the safety Fund Act in my hand, I will make

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