No. 309. AN ACT To extend the charter of the Farmers' Bank of Bucks County. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the charter of the Farmers' Bank of Bucks County shall be and the same Charter extended is hereby extended and continued, for the purpose of transacting the busi- for the term of ness of banking, at its present location, for the term of fifteen years fifteen years. from the expiration of the present charter, with the capital stock as at present fixed by law, subject to the provisions imposed by this act, and to the provisions now imposed upon the said bank by existing general laws of this commonwealth, and to such further provisions as the legis lature may hereafter enact for the general regulation of banks in this commonwealth. said bank exclu in. Auditor general SECTION 2. The total liabilities of the said bank, exclusive of capital stock, shall not at any time exceed double the amount of its capital stock Total liabilities of paid in, nor shall the debts of every kind due, and to become due, to the sive of capital said bank, ever amount to more than four times its capital stock paid in; stock, not to exand the said bank shall neither loan nor discount, when its circulation ceed double shall be equal, for thirty consecutive days, to four times the amount of the amount of its specie, and notes of specie paying banks, in its possession, belonging to capital stock paid said bank, and any balances standing to the credit thereof in specie paying banks, convertible into specie at the pleasure of the said bank. SECTION 3. The auditor general may at any time require the cashier of the said bank to state and return, on his oath or affirmation, the may at any time amount of the circulation of said bank for any consecutive period of require statethirty days which he may designate, and also, for the same period, the ment, &c. amount of specie and notes of specie paying banks in its possession, belonging to the said bank, and the balance standing to its credit in specie paying banks, convertible into specie at the pleasure of the bank, and also, the whole amount of its liabilities and debts due and to become due; and if upon the return so made, it shall appear that any of the provisions of the second section of this act have been violated for the said period of thirty days so designated by the auditor general, he shall give notice thereof to the governor, who shall thereupon issue his proclamation, declaring the charter of the said bank to be forfeited. SECTION 4. If the charter of the said bank shall be forfeited in man- In case of forfeiner provided in the preceding section, after proclamation made by the ture of charter an governor, then the directors of said bank shall forthwith make and exe- assignment to be cute an assignment in the manner provided in the act of the twelfth made. March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, entitled "An Act to provide for the resumption of specie payments, and for other purposes;" and it shall thereupon be proceeded in the manner provided in that act. If the directors of the said bank should neglect or refuse to make the assignment provided for in this act, they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in any criminal court in the commonwealth, be imprisoned in the jail of the proper county, for any period not exceeding two years, in the discretion of the court. Embezzlement, how punished. Proviso. Duty of auditor general. Proviso. Exhibit. SECTION 5. If any president, cashier, or any other officer or clerk of the said bank, shall fraudulently embezzle or appropriate to his own use, or to the use of any other person or persons, any money or other property belonging to said institution, or left with the same as a special deposit or otherwise, he or they, upon conviction of such offence, shall be fined in any amount not less than the sum so appropriated or embezzled, and sentenced to undergo imprisonment in one of the state penitentiaries, as the case may be, to be kept in separate and solitary confinement, at labor, for any term not exceeding five years: Provided, That this shall not prevent any person or persons aggrieved, from pursuing his, her or their civil remedy against such person or persons. SECTION 6. It shall be the duty of the auditor general to require the said bank, on some discount day to be designated by him, in every quarter of the then current year, one of which shall be in the month of November, to make and return to him the exhibits hereinafter provided for; which exhibits the auditor general shall prepare in tabular form, and communicate the same to both branches of the legislature, within ten days after their meeting: Provided, That the first section of the act approved the first April, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, entitled "An Act requiring the banks of this commonwealth to make quarterly statements to the auditor general," shall not be made applicable to this bank. SECTION 7. It shall be the duty of the cashier of the said bank, Exhibit to be made out by for the time being, to prepare, upon the requisition of the auditor cashier upon re- general, a just and full exhibit of the affairs and condition of the said quisition of audi- bank, on at least four different discount days of the then current year, tor general. to be designated by the auditor general, one of which shall be in the month of November, so as to exhibit the entire amount of the assets of the bank, and every item thereof under separate heads, and also, the entire amount of the indebtedness and liabilities of the said bank, and every item thereof under separate heads, setting forth on the one side particularly, so as to give a full and proper view of all the assets belonging to the said bank: first, the amount of gold and silver in the vaults of the bank; the amount of current notes, checks and bills of other banks; the amount of uncurrent notes, checks and bills of other banks; the amount of any other obligations of other banks; the amount of bills and notes discounted; the amount of the mortgages of the bank, and the assessed value for the preceding year, of the real estate bound by such mortgages; the amount of prior mortgages, judgments and other liens; the amount of judgments held by the bank, and the assessed value for the preceding year, of the real estate bound by such judgments; the amount of prior judgments, mortgages and other liens; the amount of the real estate held and owned by the bank, and the assessed value for the preceding year, of each separate piece or parcel of real estate owned by the bank, and its location; the amount due from other banks that are solvent, giving the name of each bank from which the same is due, together with the amount so due by each one of said banks; the amount due from insolvent banks, the names of such banks and the amount due from each one; the amount of public and corporate stocks and loans of the bank, the nature and kind of loans and stocks, designating particularly in what companies or corporations the stocks or loans are held, and the amount of stocks or loans of each company or corporation so held; the amount of bonds held, designating particularly the nature and character of the bonds held, or what the amount of treasury notes; the amount of claims against individuals or corporations that are disputed or in controversy; the amount of all other debts and claims either due or to become due, and the value of any other property of the bank, as the same stand charged on the books or otherwise; which said exhibit shall Further duties of cashier in prepar SECTION 9. The exhibit, agreeably to the seventh and eighth sections Exhibit to be of this act, shall be verified and accompanied with the oath or affirma- verified by the tion of the cashier of the said bank, duly attested before some officer oath or affirmaauthorized by law to administer oaths, to the following effect, namely: tion of cashier. that he, the said cashier, has carefully examined the books and muniments of the bank, and has compared the same with the said exhibit, as far as practicable, and that he verily believes the said exhibit or statement presents a true, fair and full view of the actual condition of the bank; and in addition to the above exhibit, made for the discount day in the month of November preceding the meeting of the legislature, shall be accompanied with the oath or affirmation of the cashier of the said bank, setting forth, that he has inspected the several items of assets, or the evidence thereof, in the said exhibit referred to, as far as is practicable, and that he has, according to the best of his judgment and ability, valued each of said items of assets at the absolute cash price which it would produce at the time, and that in his judgment the actual assets of the bank are bona fide worth the amount of the valuation so made by him. SECTION 10. The president, directors, cashier and other officers of Officers required the said bank, and of every other bank hereafter chartered, shall before to take an oath they enter on the duties of their several offices and stations, severally before entering take an oath, to be administered by some officer authorized by law to upon their duadminister oaths, to observe faithfully and honestly the provisions of ties. the several acts of assembly applicable to the bank of which they are directors or officers, or in which they hold stations; and that they and each of them during their continuance in office will not knowingly violate or sanction, or willingly permit any of the provisions of the law governing their charter to be violated; the said oath so to be taken shall be subscribed and immediately delivered to the auditor general, to be filed in his office. any SECTION 11. If any president, director, cashier or other officer of the Officers having said bank, or of any other bank hereafter chartered, shall after having taken and subtaken and subscribed the oath required by this act, wilfully violate scribed the oath provision of any act of assembly applicable to the bank of which he is required, who an officer, he shall be taken and deemed to have committed wilful and shall violate any of the provisions corrupt perjury, and upon conviction in any criminal court in this com- of any act, &c., monwealth, he shall suffer such punishment as is inflicted by the laws shall be deemed of this commonwealth on any person guilty of the crime of perjury. guilty of peri Bank required to pay into the state treasury certain per centum on capital stock. Proviso. Proviso. Notes of a less denomination than five dollars prohibited. Dividends. Individual liability. Assignment in case of insolvency. Assignees. Proviso. Duty of assignees. SECTION 12. That the said bank shall pay into the treasury of the commonwealth, within three months after the passage of this act. two per centum upon the whole amount of the capital stock actually paid in: Provided, That should said bank at any time hereafter be made the subject of taxation, not now provided for by general laws, the per centage so paid shall be credited to said bank, on account of said additional taxation: Provided, That if hereafter any additional capital shall be called in, that two per centum on the amount so called in shall, within three months thereafter, be paid into the state treasury: And provided, That the said bank shall not be required to pay the enrolment tax as required in the act, entitled "An Act to increase the revenues, and to diminish the legislative expenses of the commonwealth," approved the sixteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five. SECTION 13. Neither the said Farmers' Bank of Bucks County, nor any other bank hereafter chartered, shall issue and put in circulation any bill or note of said bank, payable at any other place than at said bank, nor otherwise than payable on demand, nor of a denomination less than five dollars; and any violation of this section by any officer or officers of any bank, shall be a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction, by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars, and imprisonment in the jail of the proper county, not less than one year. SECTION 14. It shall not be lawful for said bank to make or declare any dividend to the stockholders thereof, except from profits actually acquired above the par value of the stock, and no such dividend shall be made at any time that will in any manner impair or diminish the capital stock of said bank. SECTION 15. The stockholders of the said Farmers' Bank of Bucks County, shall be jointly liable to the creditors of said bank, being note holders, in their individual capacity, for the amount of all the notes issued, in an amount not exceeding the par value of the stock owned and possess. ed by them respectively, and the manner of enforcing such liability shall be as follows: in case the said bank shall violate the provisions of any law applicable to it, so as to forfeit its charter, or becomes insolvent and in failing circumstances by reason of the mismanagement of its affairs, and is compelled to make an assignment under the provisions of this act, or under the provisions of the act of twelfth March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, entitled "An Act to provide for the resumption of specie payments by the banks," the assignees so appointed shall proceed to make a fair and equitable appraisement of the assets of the said bank of every description, at their cash value, and also to make a list of all the debts due by the said bank; and if it shall appear that the assets are insufficient to redeem the notes in circulation, the stockholders of the said bank shall be liable for such deficiency in proportion to the respective amounts of stock held by each, at the time such assignment is made: Provided, That their joint liability shall in no case exceed the amount of the par value of their stock. SECTION 16. It shall be the duty of the assignees aforesaid to cause a scire facias, in the name of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to be issued by the prothonotary of the court of common pleas of Bucks county, against all the stockholders of the said bank, reciting the amount of such deficiency, and requiring them to appear at the next court of common pleas in said county, and show cause why execution should not be issued against them for such amount; and such scire facies shall also set forth the proportions due from each of the said stockholders; and it shall be the duty of the sheriff of said county to serve the said writ upon all stockholders named in said writ residing within his bailiwick; and it shall be lawful for the court of common pleas, or a judge in vacation, to make such order in reference to giving notices to stock- cias, writs of SECTION 17. On the return day of the said writ of scire facias, it shall On return of be the duty of the said court to render judgment against the stockholders writ of scire fanamed in said writ, for the several amounts for which they are respec- execution may tively liable, if no sufficient cause shall be shown to the contrary, and be awarded. to award writs of execution as in other cases. Individuals own SECTION 18. Every individual who owned stock in his or her own ing stock, liable name, or in the name of any other person or persons, at the time of for their proporsuch assignment, shall be deemed liable for his or her proportions, tions at the time under the provisions of this act; but it shall be lawful for any stock- of assignment, holder of the said bank, either before or after process shall have issued, to pay his or her proportionable share of liability to the assignees, and issued, pay their receive a full discharge from them; and the process shall be proceeded proportionable in only against the other stockholders that are liable. but may, before share. SECTION 19. The term stockholder, as used in the preceding sections The term stockof this act, shall extend to every equitable owner of stock appearing on holder to extend the books of the said bank at the time of its insolvency, in the name of to every equitaanother person; but no trustee appointed by a last will and testament, ble owner of stock appearing or by a court of competent authority, and no legal or equitable owner on the books, &c. of stock under the age of twenty-one years, shall be individually liable on account of the shares so held. SECTION 20. The several provisions of the act of the fourteenth June, Provisions of cerone thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, entitled "An Act relating to tain act made apassignees for the benefit of creditors and other trustees," shall be held to plicable to all asapply to all assignments made by the said bank, and the courts shall signments made exercise all the powers therein given, in addition to the authority con- by this bank. ferred by this act, to compel a settlement of the accounts of the assignees, and to do any other act necessary and proper to accomplish the purposes of the trust, and to compel the distribution of the moneys and assets in the hands or power of the said assignees, amongst the creditors entitled according to the just proportion due to each. SECTION 21. The said assignees shall pay out of the assets and pro- Order of payperty of the said bank, in case of an assignment, the debts and liabilities ment. in the following order: First, note-holders. Second, depositors. Third, all other creditors, except stockholders who shall be last paid. SECTION 22. If the insolvency of the said bank be fraudulent, the Frauds, how directors of the said bank, by whose acts or omissions the insolvency punished. was in whole or in part occasioned, and whether then in office or not, shall each be liable to the stockholders and creditors of the said bank, for his proportional share of their respective losses, the proportion to be ascertained by dividing the whole loss amongst the whole number of directors liable for its re-imbursement. SECTION 23. Every insolvency of said bank shall be deemed fraudu- Insolvency to be lent, unless its affairs shall appear upon investigation to have been fairly deemed frauduand legally administered, and generally with the same care and diligence lent unless, &c. that agents receiving a compensation for their services are bound by law to observe. The term insolvency, how to be SECTION 24. The term insolvency used in this act, shall be construed to apply to the said bank when it is compelled to make an assignment, construed. |