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services performed specially for any banking association or banker, in-cluding the delivery of new bank bills, for such as may be returned, and the destruction of the latter shall be charged to such banking associ ation or banker, and all other expenses of the said department shall be charged to the said banking associations and bankers, in due proportion to the capital stock of each bank, in such proportions as the said Comptroller, together with the Auditor, shall deem just and reasonable. If such charges are not paid after due notice, the Comptroller may apply the interest or dividends on any stock in his hands deposited by any banking association or bankers so neglecting to make the payments of such charges.

SEC. 5. Whenever any person or association of persons, formed for the purpose of banking under the provisions of this Act, shall duly assign or transfer in trust, to the Bank Comptroller of this State, any portion of the public stocks issued or to be issued by the United States, the State of Minnesota, or any other State stocks on which full interest is annually paid, said stocks to be valued at a rate to be estimated and governed by the average rate at which said stocks have been sold in the City of New York, within the next six months preceding the time when such stocks may be left on deposit with the Comptroller, such person or association. of persons shall be entitled to receive from the Comptroller, an amount. of such circulating notes of different denominations, registered and countersigned, equal to and not exceeding the amount of public stock assigned and transferred, as aforesaid, but such public stock shall in all cases, be, or be made to be equal to a stock producing six per cent. per annum, and it shall not be lawful for the Bank Comptroller to take such stock at a rate above its par value, nor above its current market value in the City of New York at the time of deposit by such person cr associ ation of persons. If at any time, the stocks assigned and transferred to the Bank Comptroller for circulating notes, or any part thereof, shall depreciate ten per cent. or more in value in the New York market, the Comptroller shall reduce the rate at which the same shall be continued to be held as securities, and require such banking association, or banker owning such stocks, to make up the deficiency with such additional stocks as required by this Act, to be transferred and assigned as aforesaid; Provided, That if in the opinion of the Bank Comptroller and Governor, any stocks offered shall be deemed insecure, they shall not be received as such securities under the provision of this Act.

SEC. 6. Before any person or banking association, formed under this Act, shall receive from the Comptroller any circulating notes provided in Section five of this Act, the directors or stockholders shall give to the Comptroller, good and sufficient bonds to be approved by him, to the amount of one-fourth of the notes, that the said association shall receive as an additional security to indemnify the bill-holders against any loss that may be sustained in case the securities deposited with the Comptroller shall be insufficient to redeem said bills.

SEC. 7. The bills and notes so to be countersigned and registered on the payment of which shall be secured by the transfer of public stocks, shall have engraved upon their face the words: "Secured by the pledge of public stocks."

SEC. 8. The Bank Comptroller may give to any person or association

of persons so transferring securities in pursuance of the provisions of this Act, power of attorney to receive interest or dividends thereon, which such person or association of persons may receive and apply to their own use; but such power may be revoked upon such person or association of persons failing to redeem the circulating notes so issued. And the Bank Comptroller, upon application of the owners of such transferred securities in trust, may, in his discretion, change or transfer the same for other securities of the kind before specified in this Act, or may transfer the said securities, or any part thereof, upon receiving and cancelling an equal amount of such circulating notes, delivered by him to such person or association of persons, in such manner that the circulating notes shall always be secured in full, as in this Act provided.

SEC. 9. The capital stock and real property of every bank and banking association organized under the provisions of this Act, shall be assessed and taxed in the city, ward, village or town where the same is located, for all state, county, town, school and corporation purposes, in the name of such bank or banking association: Provided, that the owner or holder of shares of stock in any bank or banking association, shall not be taxed as an individual for such shares of stock.

SEC. 10. Any person or association of persons may establish offices of discount, deposit and circulation, and become incorporated upon the terms and conditions, and subject to the liabilities prescribed in this Act; but the aggregate of the capital stock of such establishment shall not be less than twenty-five thousand dollars; Provided, That no such office shall be established in any town containing less than three hundred inhabitants.

SEC. 11. Such person or association of persons under their hands and seals, shall make a certificate which shall specify:

First-The name assumed to distinguish the bank to be established pursuant to this Act, and to be used in all its dealings, which name shall not be that of any other bank in this State.

Second-The place where the business of discount or deposit of such bank is to be carried on, designating the particular city, town or village.

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

Fourth-The name and place of residence of the shareholder or sharebolders in such bank, and the number of shares held by them respectively.

Fifth-The period at which such bank shall commence and terminate; which certificate shall be acknowledged and recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of the county where any office of such bank may be established, and a copy thereof shall be filed in the office of the bank Comptroller; and upon the recording of such certificate, the person or persons aforesaid shall become a body politic and corporate by the name assumed as aforesaid, for and during the time fixed in such certificate, and by such name shall have power to contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, and shall have all other powers, privileges and immunities incident to corporations, and applicable to the ends of such estab lishments, subject to the provisions and restrictions of this Act.

SEC. 12. A copy of the certificate required by the next preceding sec

tions, duly certified by the Register of Deeds of the county, or by the bank Comptroller, may be used as evidence in all Courts for or against any such bank, or any person or persons for or against whom any such evidence may be necessary, whether on civil or criminal trial.

SEC. 13. Such person or association of persons shall have power to carry on the business of banking by discounting bills, notes and other evidences of debt, by receiving deposits, by buying and selling gold and silver bullion, foreign coin, and foreign and inland bills of exchange, by loaning money on real and personal securities, and by exercising such incidental powers as may be necessary to carry on such business; may choose one of their number as President, and appoint a Cashier, and such other officers as their business may require, and to remove such President, Cashier, officers and agents at pleasure and appoint others in their place; but no such association or banker shall commence the business of banking under this Act until such association or banker shall have deposited with the Bank Comptroller the securities required by this Act, to the amount of at least twenty-five thousand dollars.

SEC. 14. The shares in such bank shall be deemed personal property, and shall be transferrable on the books of the bank in such manner as may be agreed upon in the articles organizing such bank, and every person becoming a stockholder therein shall, in proportion to his interest, succeed to all the rights and be subject to all the liabilities of prior shareholder or shareholders. No change shall be made in the articles organizing such bank, whereby the rights, remedies or securities of ex isting creditors shall be in any manner impaired, and any association constituting such bank shall not be dissolved by the death or insanity of any one of the shareholders therein.

SEC. 15. If the maker or makers of any circulating note or notes, countersigned and registered as aforesaid, shall at any time hereafter, on lawful demand, during the usual hours of business, at the place where such note or notes is or are payable, fail or refuse to redeem such note or notes in the lawful money of the United States, the holder of such note or notes making such demand, may cause the same to be protested for nonpayment, by a notary public, under his official seal. But the maker or makers of such note or notes, shall not be liable for the expense of so protesting the same, unless on such demand and refusal so to redeem the same, he or they shall refuse to waive protest, and notice of protest thereon, and such waver of protest shall in all cases be deemed equiva lent to the regular protest thereof; and such notary shall on protesting the same, forthwith forward notice of such protest to the Bank Comptroller, and after such protest suffered it shall not be lawful for the banking company thus suffering protest, to pay out of its notes, discount any notes or bills, or otherwise engage in the business of banking, except to receive and safely keep moneys belonging to it, and deliver special deposits, until said banking company shall have satisfied the Comptroller that there is good and legal defense against the payment of said note or notes. The notary making such protest shall certify in his notice of protest, the number of notes on which said payment was refused, and describe them by their numbers and letters, and shall also certify to the aggregate amount of said notes. The Bank Comptroller on receiving and filing in his office, such protest, together with such note or notes as aforesaid, shall forth

with give notice in writing to the maker or makers of such note or notes, to pay the same, and if they shall omit to do so for forty days after such notice, the Bank Comptroller shall immediately thereupon, unless he shall be satisfied there is a good and legal defense against the payment of such note or notes, give notice that all the circulating notes of such person or association of persons, and countersigned and registered as aforesaid, will be redeemed out of the trust funds in his hands for that purpose; which notice shall be given by publishing the same in some newspaper printed in the county where the business of such bank is established, and in some newspaper printed at the seat of government of this State, and the Comptroller shall be required to apply the said trust funds belonging to the maker or makers of such protested note or notes, to the payment of all circulating notes, whether protested or not, put in circulation by the maker or makers of such protested note or notes, pursuant to the provis ions of this Act, and to adopt such measures for the payment of such notes, as will in his opinion most effectualy prevent loss to the holders of such notes; and to this end the Bank Comptroller may, after the expiration of the said forty days, and after giving thirty days notice by publi cation in a newspaper printed at the seat of government of this State, and in a daily newspaper printed in the city of New York, proceed to sell, at the Merchant's Exchange in the city of New York, at public auction, the securities so pledged, and out of the proceeds of such sale, shall pay and cancel all bills and notes which have been issued and put in circulation by such bank under the provisions of this Act, to be applied pro rata to the pay ment of all such circulating notes; but nothing in this Act contained shall be considered as implying any pledge on the part of the State for the payment of such bills or notes beyond the proper application of the sureties pledged to the comptroller for their redemption."

SEC. 16. Such bank or banking association shall be liable to pay the holder of every bill or note put in circulation as money, the payment of which shall have been demanded ard refused at the banking house or usual place of business of such association or bankers, damages for nonpayment thereof, in lieu of interest at and after the rate of twelve per cent. per annum from the time of such refusal until the payment of such evidence of debt, and damages thereon.

SEC. 17. It shall not be lawful for the Comptroller or his deputy, to countersign bills or notes for any association or banker, to an amount in the aggregate exceeding the securities at their value, as before provided in this Act, deposited with him in trust by such association or banker, or to use or dispose of such securities in any manner other than provided for in this Act, and any Comptroller or deputy, who shall violate the provisions of this section, shall upon conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be punished by a fine not less than five thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not less than five years in the State prison, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

SEC. 18. It shall be lawful for any person or association of persons organized under the provisions of this Act, by his or their articles of association to provide for an increase of their capital and of the numbers of such association from time to time, as they may think proper.

SEC. 19. Contracts made by any bank or banking association, established under the provisions of this Act, and all notes and bills thereby

issued and put in circulation as money, shall be signed by the President or Vice President and Cashier thereof, and all suits, actions and proceedings brought or prosecuted by or on behalf of such bank or banking association, shall be brought and prosecuted in the corporate name mentioned in the certificate made and filed as hereinbefore required.

SEC. 20. It shall be lawful for such bank or banking association to purchase, hold and convey real estate for the following purposes.

First-Such as shall be necessary for its immediate accommodation in the convenient transaction of its business.

Second-Such as shall be mortgaged to it in good faith by way of security for loans made by, or money due to such bank.

Third-Such as shall be conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts previously contracted in the course cf its dealings.

Fourth-Such as it shall acquire by sale on execution or decree of any Court in its favor. The said bank shall not purchase, hold or convey real estate in any other case, or for any other purpose whatever, and all conveyances of such real estate shall be made to the corporation, and which real estate the President and Cashier may sell, assign, grant, or convey under the direction of the association free from any claim thereon, in favor of or against the shareholders, or any person claiming under them. SEC. 21. The President and Cashier of every bank formed pursuant to the provisions of this Act, shall at all times keep a true and correct list of the names of all the shareholders of such bank, with the amount of stock held by each, the time of transfer, and to whom transferred, and shall file a copy of such list in the office of the Register of Deeds of the county wherein such bank may be located, and also in the office of the Bank Comptroller, on the first Monday in January and July in each year, and the stockholders in each bank shall be individually liable in an amount equal to double the amount of stock owned by them for all the debts of such bank, and such individual liability shall continue for one year after any transfer or sale of stock by any stockholder or stockholders

SEC. 22. In the event of the insolvency of any bank established under the provisions of this Act, the bill holders thereof shall be entitled to preference in payment over all other creditors of such bank.

SEC. 23. It shall not be lawful for any bank formed under the provision of this Act, to make any of its bills or notes to be put in circulation as money, payable at any other place than the office where the business of the bank is carried on and conducted, nor to issue or procure the issue of the same at any other place; and said bills or notes shall be made payable on demand and without interest.

SEC. 24. When the owner or owners of any bank desirous of relinquishing the banking business shall have redeemed at least ninety per cent. of their circulating notes, and shall have returned cancelled the said notes to the Comptroller, and shall produce [to] the Comptroller a certificate of deposit to his credit in such bank as he shall approve, to an equal amount with the circulating notes of such bank unredeemed, in shall be lawful for him to receive the same and give up all the securities heretofore deposited by such banking association or banker for the redemption of circulating notes issued.

SEC. 25. Such banking association or banker after having complied

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