SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That members of religious denominations, who shall by oath or affirmation declare that they are conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules and articles of faith and practice of said religious denominations, shall, when drafted into the military service, be considered non-combatants, and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, or to the care of freedmen, or shall pay the sum of three hundred dollars to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate to receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers: Provided, That no person shall be entitled to the benefit of the provisions of this section unless his declaration of conscientious scruples against bearing arms shall be supported by satisfactory evidence that his deportment has been uniformly consistent with such declaration.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That no person of foreign birth shall, on account of alienage, be exempted from enrolment or draft under the provisions of this act, or the act to which it is an amendment, who has at any time assumed the rights of a citizen by voting at any election held under authority of the laws of any state or territory, or of the United States, or who has held any office under such laws or any of them; but the fact that any such person of foreign birth has voted or held, or shall vote or hold, office as aforesaid, shall be taken as conclusive evidence that he is not entitled to exemption from military service on account of alienage.

SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That all able-bodied male colored persons, between the ages of twenty and forty-five years, resident in the United States, shall be enrolled according to the provisions of this act, and of the act to which this is an amendment, and form part of the national forces; and when a slave of a loyal master shall be drafted and mustered into the service of the United States, his master shall have a certificate thereof, and thereupon such slave shall be free; and the bounty of one hundred dollars, now payable by law for each drafted man, shall

be paid to the person to whom such drafted person was owing service or labor at the time of his muster into the service of the United States. The Secretary of War shall appoint a commission in each of the slave States represented in Congress, charged to award to each loyal person to whom a colored volunteer may owe service a just compensation, not exceeding three hundred dollars, for each such colored volunteer, payable out of the fund derived from commutations, and every such colored volunteer on being mustered into the service shall be free. And in all cases when men of color have been heretofore enlisted or have volunteered in the military service of the United States, all the provisions of this act, so far as the payment of bounty and compensation are provided, shall be equally applicable as to those who may be hereafter recruited. But men of color, drafted or enlisted, or who may volunteer into the military service, while they shall be credited on the quotas of the several states, or subdivisions of states, wherein they are respectively drafted, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not be assigned as state troops, but shall be mustered into regiments or companies as United States colored troops.1

SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act entitled "An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, as may be inconsistent with the provisions of this act, is hereby repealed.

APPROVED, February 24, 1864.

No. 37.

National Bank Act
June 3, 1864

THE beginning of the present national bank system is to be found in the act "to provide a national currency, secured by a pledge of United States

1 A joint resolution of March 30, 1867, suspended further proceedings under this section.

ment.

stocks, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," approved February 25, 1863. This act, however, proved defective, and the comptroller of the currency, in a report accompanying the annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury, December 10, 1863, made numerous suggestions for amendA bill with the same title as the existing act was reported in the House, March 14, by Hooper of Massachusetts, from the Committee of Ways and Means, and after protracted discussion was laid on the table by a vote of 90 to 44. Another bill with similar title was introduced by Hooper, April 11, and passed the House on the 18th by a vote of 80 to 66. A bill to the same effect had been introduced in the Senate, April 8, by John Sherman of Ohio, and referred to the Committee on Finance, which, on the 21st, reported the House bill with amendments. The amended bill passed the Senate, May 11, by a vote of 30 to 9. The House disagreed to the Senate amendments, and the bill received its final form from a conference committee, whose report was accepted by the houses June 1.

REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 99-118. Only the most important parts of the act are given below. The act has been many times amended; editions showing the various changes are issued from time to time by the comptroller of the currency. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., 1st Sess., and the Cong. Globe, where will be found the texts of all the important amendments proposed or adopted. A comparison of Hooper's first bill with the act of February 25 will be found in the Globe, March 23. See also Dewey, Financial History, 320-328; John Sherman, Recollections, chap. 13; McCulloch, Men and Measures, chap. 15; Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, I, chap. 22.

An Act to provide a National Currency, secured by a Pledge of United States Bonds, and to provide for the Circulation and Redemption thereof.

Be it enacted . That there shall be established in the treasury department a separate bureau, which shall be charged with the execution of this and all other laws that may be passed by congress respecting the issue and regulation of a national currency secured by United States bonds. The chief officer of the said bureau shall be denominated the comptroller of the currency, and shall be under the general direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. He shall be appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall hold

his office for the term of five years unless sooner removed by the President, upon reasons to be communicated by him to the Senate; . . . [salary, clerks, bonds, etc.] . . . The comptroller and deputy-comptroller shall not, either directly or indirectly, be interested in any association issuing national currency under the provisions of this act.

SEC. 2. [Seal, &c. Certain papers under such seal to be evidence.]

SEC. 3. [Rooms, vaults, &c.]

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the term "United States Bonds," as used in this act, shall be construed to mean all registered bonds now issued, or that may hereafter be issued, on the faith of the United States by the Secretary of the Treasury in pursuance of law.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That associations for carrying on the business of banking may be formed by any number of persons, not less in any case than five, who shall enter into articles of association, which shall specify in general terms the object for which the association is formed, and may contain any other provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, which the association may see fit to adopt for the regulation of the business of the association and the conduct of its affairs, which said articles shall be signed by the persons uniting to form the association, and a copy of them forwarded to the comptroller of the currency, to be filed and preserved in his office.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the persons uniting to form such an association shall, under their hands, make an organization certificate, which shall specify

First. The name assumed by such association, which name shall be subject to the approval of the comptroller.

Second. The place where its operations of discount and deposit are to be carried on, designating the state, territory, or district, and also the particular county and city, town, or village.

Third. The amount of its capital stock, and the number of shares into which the same shall be divided.

96

NATIONAL BANK ACT

[June 3

Fourth. The names and places of residence of the shareholders, and the number of shares held by each of them.

Fifth. A declaration that said certificate is made to enable such persons to avail themselves of the advantages of this act. [Certificate to be acknowledged. Copies under seal to be evidence.]

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That no association shall be organized under this act, with a less capital than one hundred thousand dollars, nor in a city whose population exceeds fifty thousand persons, with a less capital than two hundred thousand dollars: Provided, That banks with a capital of not less than fifty thousand dollars may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, be organized in any place the population of which does not exceed six thousand inhabitants.1

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That every association formed pursuant to the provisions of this act shall, from the date of the execution of its organization certificate, be a body corporate, but shall transact no business except such as may be incidental to its organization and necessarily preliminary, until authorized by the comptroller of the currency to commence the business of banking. Such association shall have power to adopt a corporate seal, and shall have succession by the name designated in its organization certificate, for the period of twenty years from its organization, unless sooner dissolved according to the provisions of its articles of association, or by the act of its shareholders owning two thirds of its stock, or unless the franchise shall be forfeited by a violation of this act; by such name it may make contracts, sue and be sued, complain and defend, in any court of law and equity as fully as natural persons; it may elect or appoint directors, and by its board of directors appoint a president, vice-president, cashier, and other officers, define their duties, require bonds of them and fix the penalty thereof, dismiss said officers or any of them at pleasure, and appoint others to fill their places, and exercise under this