money; and the same shall be received at par in all parts of the United States in payment of taxes, excises, public lands, and all other dues to the United States, except for duties on imports, and also for all salaries and other debts and demands owing by the United States to individuals, corporations, and associations within the United States, except interest on public debt; and no such association shall issue post notes, or any other notes to circulate as money, than such as are authorized by the foregoing provisions of this act.

SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That all transfers of United States bonds which shall be made by any association as security for circulating notes under the provisions of this act, shall be made to the Treasurer of the United States, with a memorandum written or printed on the certificate of such bonds, and signed by the cashier, or some other officer of the association making the deposit, stating that it is held in trust for the association on whose behalf such transfer is made, and as security for the redemption and payment of the circulating notes delivered to such association; and no transfer of any such bonds by the Treasurer shall be deemed valid, or of binding force and effect, unless sanctioned by the order or request of the Comptroller of the Currency upon the Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency to keep in his office a book in which shall be entered the name of every association from whose account such transfer of bonds is made by the Treasurer, and the name of the party to whom such transfer is made, unless such transfer is made in blank, in which case the fact shall be stated in said book, and in either case the par value of the bonds so transferred shall be entered therein; and it shall be the duty of the Comptroller, immediately upon countersigning and entering the same, to advise by mail the association from whose account such transfer was made, the kind of bonds and the amount thereof so transferred.

SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency to countersign and enter in the book, in the manner aforesaid, every transfer or assignment of any bonds held by the Treasurer presented for his signature; and the Comptroller shall have at all times during office hours access to the books of the Treasurer for the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of the transfer or assignment presented to him to countersign; and the Treasurer shall have the like access to the book above mentioned kept by the Comptroller during office hours to ascertain the correctness of the entries in the same. Sec. 23. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of either the president or cashier of every banking association having stocks deposited in the of fice of the Treasurer of the United States, once or more in each fiscal year, and at such time or times during the ordinary business hours as said officer or officers may select, to examine and compare the bonds so pledged with the books of said Department, and, if found correct, to execute to the said Treasurer a certificate setting forth the different kinds and the amounts thereof, and that the same are in the possession and custody of the Treasurer at the date of such certificate. Such examination may be made by an agent of such association, duly appointed in writing for that purpose, whose certificate before mentioned shall be of like force and validity as if executed by such president or cashier.

Sec. 24. And be it further enacted, That every association issuing circulating notes under the provisions of this act shall make a quarterly report to the Comp troller of the Currency, commencing on the first day of the quarter of the year next succeeding the organi zation of such association, and continuing on the first days of each succeeding quarter in every year there after, which report shall be verified by the oath or af firmation of the president and cashier; and all wilful false swearing in respect to such report shall be perjury and subject to the punishment prescribed by law for such offence. The report hereby required shall be in the form prescribed by the Comptroller, and shall

contain a true statement of the condition of the association making such report before the transaction of any business on the morning of the day specified next preceding the date of such report, in respect of the following items and particulars, to wit: loans and discounts, overdrafts due from banks, amount due from the directors of the association, real estate, specie, cash items, stocks, bonds, and promissory notes, bills of solvent banks, bills of suspended banks, loss and expense account, capital, circulation, profits, amount due to banks, amount due to individuals and corporations other than banks, amount due the Treasurer of the United States, amount due to depositors on demand, amount due not included under either of the above heads. And it shall be the duty of the Comptroller to publish full abstracts of such reports together in two newspapers, to be designated by him for that purpose, one in the city of Washington and the other in the city of New York, exhibiting the items of capital, circulation, and deposits, specie and cash items, public securities and private securities; and the separate report of each association shall be published in a newspaper published in the place where such associa tion is established, or, if there be no newspaper at such place, then in a newspaper published at the capital of the State, at the expense of the association making such report. In addition to the quarterly reports required by this section, every association located and doing business in the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chi cago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, shall publish or cause to be published, on the morning of the first Tuesday in each month, in a newspaper printed in the city in which the association making such report is located, to be designated by the Comptroller of the Currency, a statement, under the oath of the president or cashier, showing the condition of the association making such statement, on the morning of the day next preceding the date of such statement, in respect to the following items and particulars, to wit: average amount of loans and discounts, specie, deposits, and circulation.

SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That if any such association shall at any time fail to redeem, in the lawful money of the United States, any of its circulating notes, when payment thereof shall be lawfully demanded, during the usual hours of business, at the office of such association, the holder may cause the same to be protested, in one package, by a notary public, unless the president or cashier of the association shall offer to waive demand and notice of the protest, and shall, in pursuance of such offer, make, sign, and deliver to the party making such demand an admission in writing, stating the time of the demand, the amount demauded, and the fact of the non-payment thereof; and such notary public, on making such protest, or upon receiving such admission, shall forthwith forward such admission or notice of protest to the Comptroller of the Currency; and after such default it shall not be lawful for the association suffering the same to pay out any of its notes, discount any notes or bills, or otherwise prosecute the business of banking, except to receive and safely keep money belonging to it, and to deliver special deposits: Provided, however, That if satisfacto ry proof be produced to such notary public that the payment of any such notes is restrained by order of any court of competent jurisdiction, such notary public shall not protest the same; and when the holders of such notes shall cause more than one note or package to be protested on the same day, he shall not receive pay for more than one protest.

SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That on receiving notice that any such association has failed to redeem any of its circulating notes, as specified in the next preceding section, the Comptroller of the Cur rency, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, may appoint a special agent (of whose appointment immediate notice shall be given to such as sociation), who shall immediately proceed to ascertain whether such association has refused to pay its circulating notes, in the lawful money of the United States,

when demanded as aforesaid, and report to the Comptroller the facts so ascertained; and if, from such protests or the reports so made, the Comptroller shall be satisfied that such association has refused to pay its circulating notes as aforesaid, and is in default, he shall, within thirty days after he shall have received notice of such failure, declare the United States bonds and securities pledged by such association forfeited to the United States, and the same shall thereupon be forfeited accordingly, and thereupon the Comptroller shall immediately give notice, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury shall, by general rules or otherwise, direct, to the holders of the circulating notes of such association to present them for payment at the Treasury of the United States; and the same shall be paid as presented, whereupon said Comptroller may, in his discretion, cancel an equal amount of the bonds pledged by such association, equal at current market rates, not exceeding par, to the notes paid; and it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury, from time to time, to make such regulations respecting the disposition to be made of such circulating notes after presentation thereof for payment as aforesaid, and respecting the perpetuation of the evidence of the payment thereof, as may seem to him proper; but all such notes, on being paid, shall be cancelled; and for any deficiency in the proceeds of the bonds pledged by such association, when disposed of as hereinafter specified, to reimburse to the United States the amount so expended in paying the circulating notes of such association, the United States shall have a first and paramount lien upon all the assets of such association, and such deficiency shall be made good out of such assets in preference to any and all other claims whatsoever, except the necessary costs and expenses of administer ing the same.

SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That, whenever the Comptroller shall become satisfied, as in the last preceding section specified, that any such association has refused to pay its circulating notes as therein mentioned, he may, instead of cancelling the United States bonds pledged by such association, as provided in the next preceding section, cause so much of them as may be necessary to redeem the outstanding circulating notes of such association to be sold at public auction in the city of New York, after giving thirty days' notice of such sale to such association.

SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, That the Comptroller of the Currency may, if he shall be of opinion that the interests of the United States will be best promoted thereby, sell at private sale any of the stock so transferred to him by such association, and receive therefor either money or the circulating notes of such failing association: Provided, That no such bonds shall be sold by private sale for less than the par, nor less than the market value thereof at the time of sale. And provided further, That no sales of any such stock, either public or private, shall be complete until the transfer thereof shall have been made with the formalities prescribed in this act.

SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That on becoming satisfied, as specified in this act, that any such association has refused to pay its circulating notes as therein mentioned, and is in default, the Comptroller of the Currency may forthwith appoint a receiver, and require of him such bond and security as he shall deem proper, who, under the direction of the Comptroller, shall take possession of the books, records, and assets of every description of such association, collect all debts, dues, and claims belonging to such association, and, upon the order of a court of record of competent jurisdiction, may sell or compound all bad or doubtful debts, and, on a like order, sell all the real and personal property of such association, on such terms as the court shall direct; and such receiver shall pay over all moneys so made to the Treasurer of the United States, and also make report to the Comptroller of the Currency of all his acts and proceedings. The Comptroller shall thereupon cause notice to be given, by advertisement in such newspapers as he may direct, for three consecutive months, calling on all persons

who may have claims against such association to present the same, and to make legal proof thereof; and from time to time the Comptroller, after full provision shall have been first made for refunding to the United States any such deficiency in redeeming the notes of such association as is mentioned in this act, shall make a ratable dividend of the moneys so paid over to him by such receiver on all such claims as may have been so proved or adjudicated in a court of competent jurisdiction, and from time to time, as the proceeds of the assets of such association shall be paid over to him, he shall make further dividends, as aforesaid, on all claims previously proved or adjudicated; and the remainder of such proceeds, if any, shall be paid over to the shareholders of such association, or their legal representatives, in proportion to the stock by them respectively held: Provided, however, That if any such association, against which proceedings have been so instituted on account of any alleged refusal to redeem its circulating notes as aforesaid, shall deny having failed to do so, such association may at any time within ten days after such association shall have been notified of the appointment of an agent, as provided in this act, apply to the nearest circuit, or district, or territorial court of the United States, to enjoin further proceedings in the premises; and such court, after citing the Comptroller of the Currency to show cause why further proceedings should not be enjoined, and after the decision of the court or finding of a jury that such association has not refused to redeem its circulating notes, when legally presented, in the lawful money of the United States, shall make an order enjoining the Comptroller, and any receiver acting under his direction, from all further proceedings on account of such alleged refusal.

SEC. 30. And be it further enacted, That the bonds transferred to the Treasurer of the United States, as herein before provided, by any banking association for the security of its circulating notes, shall be held exclusively for that purpose, until such notes shall be redeemed, except as provided in this act; but the Comptroller of the Currency may give to any such banking association powers of attorney to receive and appro priate to its own use the interest on the bonds which shall have been so transferred to the Treasurer by it; but such powers shall become inoperative whenever such banking association shall fail to redeem its circulating notes as aforesaid; and said Comptroller may direct the return of any of said bonds to the banking association which transferred the same, upon the surrender to him and the cancellation of a proportionate amount of such circulating notes: Provided, That ninety per centum of the current market value of the remaining bonds which shall have been transferred by the banking association offering to surrender such circulating notes shall be equal to the amount of all the circulating notes retained by such banking association: And provided further, That there shall have been no failure by such association to redeem its circulating notes, and that there shall have been no other violation by such association of any of the provisions of this act for the security of the creditors of such association; nor shall the Treasurer be required to surrender such bonds in fractional sums of less than one thousand dollars; and if, at any time after said bonds shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States, as aforesaid, the market or cash value shall be reduced, the Comptroller of the Currency is hereby authorized to demand and receive the amount of such deprecia tion in other United States bonds at cash value, or in money, from the association receiving said bills, to be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States, as long as such depreciation continues.

SEC. 31. And be it further enacted, That whenever the price of any of the bonds pledged as aforesaid for the redemption of the circulating notes of any such banking association shall be, at the stock exchange in the city of New York, for four consecutive weeks, at a rate less than that at which they shall have been esti mated when so pledged, and such depreciation shall not have been made good by a deposit of other bonds

or money, it shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency to notify the Treasurer of the United States of such fact, and the payment of interest upon such depreciated bonds shall be suspended, and such interest shall be retained by said Treasurer until the same, when added to the current market value of the bonds so pledged, to be ascertained as before provided, shall be equal to the amount for which such bonds were pledged Provided, That it shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency, at the expiration of every period of three months, to cause the whole of the sums so retained, and then remaining in the Treasury of the United States, to be invested in United States bonds, in the name of the Comptroller of the Currency, in trust for the respective associations by which the bonds on which such interest shall have accrued shall have been pledged; and whenever the price of such depreciated bonds at the stock exchange in New York shall rise to the price at which they were pledged, and so remain for four consecutive weeks, such investment shall be assigned to such association; and all accruing interest on such pledged bonds shalĺ thereafter be paid to such association on demand thereSEC. 32. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency to receive wornout or mutilated circulating notes issued by any such banking association, and to deliver in place thereof to such association other blank circulating notes to an equal amount; and such wornout or mutilated cir culating notes, after a memorandum shall have been entered in the proper books, in accordance with such regulations as may be established by the Comptroller, as well as all circulating notes which shall have been paid or surrendered to be cancelled, shall be burned to ashes in the presence of three persons, one to be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, one by the Comptroller of the Currency, and one by the Treasurer of the United States, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe; and in case such notes shall have been delivered to the Comptroller by an officer or agent of such association, then in the presence also of such officer or agent; and a certificate of such burning, signed by the parties so appointed, shall be made in the books of the Comptroller, and a duplicate thereof given to such officer or agent.

of.

SEC. 33. And be it further enacted, That it shall be unlawful for any officer acting under the provisions of this act to countersign or deliver to any such association, or to any other company or person, any circulating notes contemplated by this act, except as hereinbefore provided, and in accordance with the true intent and meaning of this act; and any officer who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding double the amount so countersigned and delivered, and imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years, at the discretion of the court in which he shall be tried.

SEC. 34. And be it further enacted, That all fees for protesting the notes issued by any such banking association shall be paid by the person procuring the protest to be made, and such banking association shall be liable therefor; but no part of the stock pledged by such banking association, as aforesaid, shall be applied to the payment of such fees; and all expenses of any preliminary or other examinations into the condition of any association shall be paid by such association; and all expenses of any receivership shall be paid out of the assets of such association before distribution of the proceeds thereof.

SEC. 35. And be it further enacted, That the stockholders, collectively, of any such association shall at no time be liable to such association, either as principal debtors or sureties, or both, to an amount greater than three fifths of the capital stock actually paid in and remaining undiminished by losses or otherwise; nor shall the directors be so liable, except to such an amount and in such manner as shall be prescribed by the by-laws of such association, adopted by its stockholders to regulate such liabilities.

SEC. 86. And be it further enacted, That the capital stock of any association formed under this act shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, and shall be assignable on the books of the association in such manner as its by-laws shall prescribe; but no shareholder in any association under this act shall have power to sell or transfer any share held in his own right, so long as he shall be liable, either as principal debtor, surety, or otherwise, to the association for any debt which shall have become due and remain unpaid, nor in any case shall such shareholder be entitled to receive any dividend, interest or profit on such shares so long as such liabilities shall continue, but all such dividends, interests, and profits shall be retained by the association, and applied to the discharge of such liabilities; and no stock shall be transferred without the consent of a majority of the directors while the holder thereof is thus indebted to the association.

SEC. 37. And be it further enacted, That no banking association shall take, as security for any loan or discount, a lien upon any part of its capital stock; but the same security, both in kind and amount, shall be required of shareholders as of other persons; and no such banking association shall be the purchaser or holder of any portion of its capital stock, or of the capital stock of any other incorporated company, unless such purchase shall be necessary to prevent loss upon a debt previously contracted in good faith, on security which, at the time, was deemed adequate to insure the payment of such debt, independent of any lien upon such stock, or in case of forfeiture of such stock for the non-payment of instalments due thereon, and stock so purchased or acquired shall in no case be held by such association so purchasing for a longer period of time than six months, if the same can, within that time, be sold for what the stock cost.

SEC. 38. And be it further enacted, That in all elections of directors, and in deciding all questions at meetings of shareholders, each shareholder shall be entitled to one vote on each share of stock held by him; shareholders may vote by proxies duly authorized in writing; but no officer, clerk, teller or bookkeeper of such association shall act as proxy; and no stockholder whose liability is past due and unpaid shall be allowed to vote.

SEC. 39. And be it further enacted, That the affairs of every such association shall be managed by not less than five nor more than nine directors, one of whom shall be president of the association; every director shall, during his whole term of service, be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State in which such association is located. At least three fourths of the directors shall have resided in the State in which such association is located one year next preceding their election as directors; and each director shall own in his own right, at least one per centum of the capital stock of such association not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars, and the half of one per centum of its capital if over two hundred thousand dollars. Each director shall take an oath that he will, so far as the duty devolves on him, diligently and honestly administer the affairs of such association, and will not knowingly violate, or willingly permit to be violated, any of the provisions of this act, and that he is the bona fide owner, in his own right, of the shares of stock standing in his name on the books of the association, and that the same is not hypothecated, or in any way pledged, as security for any loan obtained or debt owing to the association of which he is a director, which oath, subscribed by himself, and certified by the officer before whom it is taken, shall be immediately transmitted to the Comptroller of the Currency, and by him filed and preserved in his office.

SEC. 40. And be it further enacted, That the directors of any such association first elected shall hold their places until their successors shall be elected and qualified. All subsequent elections shall be held annually, on such day in the month of January as the stockholders of said association may prescribe; and the directors so elected shall hold their places for one year,

and until their successors are elected and qualified. But any director removing from the State, or ceasing to be the owner of the requisite amount of stock, shall thereby vacate his place. Any vacancy in the board shall be filled by appointment by the remaining directors. The director so appointed shall hold his place until the next annual election; and if, from any cause, an election of directors shall not be made at the time appointed, the association shall not for that cause be dissolved, but an election may be held on any subsequent day, thirty days' notice thereof having been given in a newspaper printed, or of general circulation, in the city, town, or county in which the association is located, and if no newspaper is published in such city, town, or county, such notice shall be published in a newspaper in the county adjoining.

SEC. 41. And be it further enacted, That every such association shall at all times have on hand, in lawful money of the United States, an amount equal to at least twenty-five per centum of the aggregate amount of its outstanding notes of circulation and its deposits, and whenever the amount of its outstanding notes of circulation and its deposits shall exceed the above-named proportion for the space of twelve days, or whenever such lawful money of the United States shall at any time fall below the amount of twenty-five per centum of its circulation and deposits, such association shall not increase its liabilities by making any new loans or discounts otherwise than by discounting or purchasing bills of exchange, payable at sight, nor make any dividend of its profits, until the required proportion be tween the aggregate amount of its outstanding notes of circulation and its deposits and lawful money of the United States shall be restored: Provided, however, That clearing-house certificates, representing specie or lawful money specially deposited for the purpose of any clearing-house association, shall be deemed to be lawful money in the possession of any association belonging to such clearing house holding and owning such certificates, and considered to be a part of the lawful money which such association is required to have, under the foregoing provisions of this section: Provided further, That any balance due to any association organized under this act in other places from any association in the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, in good credit, subject to be drawn for at sight, and available to redeem their circulating notes and deposits, may be deemed to be a part of the lawful money which such association in other places than the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, are required to have by the foregoing provisions of this section, to the extent of three-fifths of the said amount of twenty-five per centum required. And it shall be competent for the Comptroller of the Currency to notify any such association whose lawful money reserve as aforesaid, shall fall below said proportion of twenty-five per centum, to make good such reserve, and if such association shall fail for thirty days thereafter so to make good its reserve of lawful money of the United States, the Comptroller may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, appoint a receiver to wind up the business of such association, as provided in this act.

SEC. 42. And be it further enacted, That no association shall at any time be indebted, or in any way liable, to an amount exceeding the amount of its capital stock at such time actually paid in, and remaining undiminished by losses or otherwise, except on the following accounts, that is to say:

First. On account of its notes of circulation. Second. On account of moneys deposited with, or collected by, such association.

Third. On account of bills of exchange or drafts drawn against money actually on deposit to the credit of such association, or due thereto.

Fourth. On account of liabilities to its stockholders, for money paid in on capital stock, and dividends thereon, and reserved profits.

Sxc. 43. And be it further enacted, That no association

shall, either directly or indirectly, pledge or hypothecate any of its notes of circulation for the purpose of procuring money to be paid in on its capital stock, or to be used in its banking operations or otherwise.

SEC. 44. And be it further enacted, That no association, or any member thereof, shall, during the time it shall continue its banking operations, withdraw, or permit to be withdrawn, either in form of dividends, loans to stockholders for a longer time than six months, or in any other manner, any portion of its capital; and if losses shall at any time have been sustained by any such association equal to or exceeding its undivided profits then on hand, no dividend shall be made; and no dividend shall ever be made by any association, while it shall continue its banking operations, to an amount greater than its net profits then on hand, deducting therefrom its losses and bad debts; and all debts due to any association, on which interest is past due and unpaid for a period of six months, unless the same shall be well secured, and shall be in process of collection, shall be considered bad debts within the meaning of this act.

SEC. 45. And be it further enacted, That the directors of every association shall semi-annually in the months of May and November, declare a dividend of so much of the profits of such association as they shall judge expedient; and on each dividend day the cashier shall make, and verify by his oath, a full, clear, and accurate statement of the condition of the association as it shall be on that day after declaring the dividend; which statement shall contain

First. The amount of the capital stock annually paid in and then remaining as the capital stock of such association.

Secondly. The amount of the circulating notes of such association then in circulation.

Thirdly. The greatest amount in circulation at any time since the making of the last previous statement, as shall be exhibited by the weekly statements of the cashier, specifying the times when the same occurred. Fourthly. The amount of balances and debts of every kind due to other banks and banking associa

tions.

Fifthly. The amount due to depositors.

Sixthly. The total amount of debts and liabilities of every description, and the greatest amount since the making of the last previous statement, specifying the time when the same accrued.

Seventhly. The total amount of dividend declared on the day of making the statement.

Eighthly. The amount of lawful money of the United States belonging to the association and in its possession at the time of making the statement.

Ninthly. The amount subject to be drawn at sight in lawful money of the United States then remaining on deposit with any associations, banks, or bankers, spécifying the amounts so on deposit in the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans.

Tenthly. The amount then on hand of bills or notes issued by other banks and banking associations. Eleventhly. The amount of balances due from other banks, bankers, and banking associations, excluding deposits subject to be drawn at sight as aforesaid.

Twelfthly. The amount on hand of bills, bonds, stocks, notes, and other evidences of debts, discounted or purchased by the association, specifying particularly the amount of suspended debt, the amount considered bad, the amount considered doubtful, and the amount in suit or judgment.

Thirteenthly. The value of the real and personal property held for the convenience of the association, specifying the amount of each.

Fourteenthly. The amount of real estate taken in payment of debts due to the association.

Fifteenthly. The amount of the undivided profits of the association.

Sixteenthly. The total amount of the liability to the association by the directors thereof collectively, specifying the gross amount of such liabilities as princi