establishments, subject to the provisions and restrictions of this Act.

SEC. 12. A copy of the certificate required by the next preceding sections, duly certified by the Register of Deeds of the county or by the Auditor of State, may be used as eviof certificate to be dence in all Courts for or against such bank; or any person evidence in court or persons for or against whom any such evidence may be necessary, whether on civil or criminal trial.

Certified copies

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 depos Enumeration of its, by buying and selling gold and silver bullion, foreign banking powers 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 to appoint others in their places; but no such association or banker shall commence the busi ness of banking under this Act, until such association or banker shall have deposited with the Auditor of State the securities required by this Act.

sonal property and transferrable

SEC. 14. The shares in such bank shall be deemed personal Shares to be per- 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 sharehold er or shareholders, no change shall be made in the articles organizing such bank whereby the rights, remedies or securities of existing 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 sharehold ers therein.

banks

SEC. 15. If the maker or makers of any circulating note Failure to redeem or notes, countersigned and registered as aforesaid, shall at notes-closing of any time hereafter, on lawful demand during the usual hours of business, at the place where such note or notes is or are pay able, fail or refuse to redeem such note or notes in the lawful money of the United States, the holders of such note or notes making such demand, may cause the same to be protested for non-payment 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 waiver of protest shall in all cases be deemed equivalent to the regular protest thereof; and such Notary shall, on protesting the same, forthwith forward notice of such protest to the Auditor of State, the Notary making such protest

Protest of notes

redeem within 40.

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 Auditor of State on receiving and Auditor to give filing in his office such protest, together with such note or notice to bank to notes as aforesaid, shall forthwith give notice in writing to days 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 Auditor 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 Auditor of State 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, pursu ant to the provisions of this Act, and to adopt such measures for the payment of such notes, as will in his opinion, most effectually prevent loss to the holder of such notes; and to this end the Auditor of State may, after the expiration of the said forty days, and after giving thirty days' notice by pub lication 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 Merchants' Exchange in the City of New York, at public auction, the securities so pledged, and out of the proceeds of such sale, shall pay pro Sale of stocks rata and cancel all bills and notes which have been issued pledged for reand put in circulation by such bank under the provisions of-public notice to this Act, to be applied pro rata to the payment of all such cir-be given culating notes; but nothing in this Act contained shall be considered as implying any pledge on the part of this State for the payment of such bills or notes beyond the proper application of the securities pledged to the Auditor of State for their redemption.

SEC. 16. Such bank or banking association shall be lia

demption of notes

notes

ble to pay the holder of every bill or note put in circulation Damages for nonas money, the payment of which shall have been demanded redemption of or refused at the banking house or usual place of business of such association or bankers, damage for non-payment thereof 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 Auditor of State, or his deputy, to countersign bills or notes for any associa- All bills to be tion or banker to an amount in the aggregate exceeding the countersigned by securities at their value, as before provided in this Act, de

auditor

Penalty for violation of restric

tions imposed

Increase of capi

tal

Contracts and

posited with him in his 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 Auditor of State 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 dol lars, 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 stock, 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 issued and put in circulation as money, bills of banks to shall be signed by the president and cashier thereof, and all suits, actions and proceedings brought or prosecuted by and in 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.

be signed by pre

sident and cash

ier

Real estate how it may be bought

and sold

For its immedi

tion

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

First. Such as shall be necessary for its immediate accom ate accommoda- modation 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 Such as may be bank. mortgaged

By conveyance

for debt contract

ed

Third. Such as shall be conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts previously contracted in the course of 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 By execution in purchase, hold or convey real estate in any other case or for

its favor

Names of shareholders and a

be filed-indivi

any other purpose whatever, and all conveyances of such real estate shall be made to the corporations, 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 mount of stock to 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 Auditor of State on the first Monday in January and July in each year, and the stockholders in each bank shall be individually liable in amount equal to double the amount of stock owned by them for all the debts

dual liability

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 es- Bill holders to be tablished under the provisions of this Act, the bill holders preferred thereof shall be entitled to preference in payment over all

other creditors of such bank.

ly at place of is

sue

SEC. 23. It shall not be lawful for any bank formed un- Notes payable onder the provisions 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 of the same at any other place; and said bills or notes shall be made payable on demand and without interest.

ness and closing

a bank

SEC. 24. When the owner or owners of any bank desir-Manner of relinous of relinquishing the banking business, shall notify the quishing busiState Auditor of such intention, then, and in such case, it shall be competent for the said bank or bankers to redeem and deposit with the Auditor of State from time to time, any amount of their circulating notes which may have been issued to said association, bank or bankers, in sums, however, not less than one thousand dollars at any one time, and to receive therefor and withdraw an equal amount of the securities by them deposited with the Auditor of State, but no bank shall continue to transact any business whatever further than what may be required to close up thereaf ter their capital stock, securities, or circulation, shall have been reduced to less than twenty-five thousand dollars, nor in any case after two years from the date of said notice of intention to relinquish and close up their banking business as aforesaid, and whenever the retiring bank or bankers shall desire to withdraw all the securities heretofore lodged with the Auditor of State, they may do so by producing and filing with the Auditor of State, a certificate of deposit to his credit in such bank as he shall approve of, an equal amount with the circulating notes of such bank or banks then remaining unredeemed, and the Auditor of State on being satisfied of such deposit and of the sufficiency thereof, shall give up all the remaining securities heretofore deposited by such bank or bankers for the redemption of the circulating notes issued.

SEC. 25. Such banking association or banker after having complied with the provisions of the last preceding section, Two years public shall give notice for two years in some newspaper printed in notice of final rethe county where such bank shall have been located, and in a demption of notes paper printed at the seat of government of this State, that all circulating notes issued by such banking association or banker, [must be presented] at the Auditor of State's office within two years from the date of such notice, or that the funds deposited for the redemption of the notes, will be given up to the banking association or banker, and on re

ceiving satisfactory proof of the giving of such notice for the time aforesaid, the Auditor of State shall surrender to the order of such banking association or banker, any securi ties which he may hold for the payment of any unredeemed notes of the said banking association or bankers.

SEC. 26. Any banking association or banker wishing to withdraw any of the securities by them deposited with the Auditor of State, may do so by depositing an equal amount Withdrawal of of the circulating notes which may have been issued to said securities by de-association or banker by the Auditor of State, in sums of not less than one thousand dollars; provided that the amount of securities thus withdrawn by deposits of said circulating

posit of circulating notes

tion of bills

notes shall not reduce the amount of stock securities re maining in the hands of the Auditor of State to less than twenty-five thousand dollars.

SEC. 21. The securities to be deposited with the Auditor Securities held in of State in trust by any association or banker, shall be held trust for redemp by him exclusively for the redemption of the bills or notes of such bank, put in circulation as money until the same are paid and returned to the Auditor of State, as provided in this Act, but the Auditor of State may assign said securities to said association or banker, transferring the same upon receiving therefor equivalent securities or an equivalent amount in circulating notes issued by such bank, as provided in Section twenty-six of this Act.

SEC. 28. All circulating notes of banks or banking associ Canceling circu- ation returned to the Auditor of State shall be destroyed by

lating notes

exchange of

Notes of banks to be received in

him in presence of the Governor and an authorized officer of the bank, after he shall have made a record of the same, which shall specify the number of each note, its date, and by whom it was countersigned, and shall be made in the books to be kept by himself for registering circulating notes. SEC. 29. It shall be the duty of the Auditor of State to receive mutilated circulating notes issued by him, and after Mutilated notes making a record of them, their denomination and amount, to deliver in lieu thereof circulating notes to the same amount. SEC. 30. All of the bills or notes of any bank or banking association shall be at all times received by the same in paypayment of their ment of all debts due to such bank or banking association. SEC. 31. If any portion of the declared capital of any banking association shall be reduced for any purpose what Reduction of cap- ever while any debts of the association remain unsatisfied, 1 no dividend or profits in the shares of the capital stock of the association shall thereafter be made until the deficit of the capital shall be made good, either by subscription of the shareholders, or out of the subsequent accruing profits of the association; and if it shall appear that any such dividends have been made, it shall be the duty of any Judge of the District Court of the county in which said bank may be located, on application of any person in interest, to make the necessary orders and decree 3 for the closing of the affairs of

own debts

ital stock-no di

vidends