Vacancies out of the state of any director, a majority of the directors shall fill such vacancy, and the director or directors so appointed, shall hold how filled. his or their office during the unexpired time of such director or directors: Fourth, In case of death, resignation, or removal out of the state of the president, unless such removal be temporary, and he has permission of the board of directors, the directors shall appoint one of their own body, president, who shall serve until his successor shall be Who not eli-elected by the next general assembly. No person who is not a citizen of gible as pre- this state, or who is a director of any other bank, or co-partner of any rector. such director, shall be eligible as president or director of said bank: Six directors Fifth, Not less than six of the directors shall constitute a board for the to constitute transaction of business, of whom the president shall always be one, except in case of sickness or necessary absence, in which event the board may appoint for the time being, a president pro tempore: Books to be Sixth, The directors shall keep fair and regular entries of all their kept and pro- proceedings in a well-bound book to be provided for that sident or di a board. ceedings entered. and purpose, upon all questions, when one director may require it, the yeas and nays shall be duly recorded on the minutes; and those minutes shall at all times, on demand, be produced to the legislature, or any committee thereof, who may be duly authorized to require the same; and on all such questions, every member present shall be required to vote: Seventh, The president, directors, cashier, and officers and servants, shall take and subscribe the following oath, before entering on the Oath of offi- discharge of the duties of their respective offices, to wit: "I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will faithfully and correctly, to the best of my skill and ability, discharge the duties reposed in of the branch of the Bank of the State of Alabama, at Mobile; and that while I am such, I will not violate the provisions of an act entitled 'An act to regulate the rate of interest,' passed December 17, 1819, so long as I continue to discharge the duties of said office: So help me God." cers. Officers to give bond. Empowered to issue notes. Legislature to be furnish the transac me as § 4. Every president and cashier, before he enters on the execution of his duty, shall give bond, with two or more securities, in a sum not less than fifty thousand dollars, to the satisfaction of the directors, conditioned for his good behavior; and the teller and clerks shall give security in a sum not less than ten nor more than twenty thousand dollars, which bond shall not be void upon any one or more recovery, conditioned as aforesaid. § 5. The president and directors shall have power to issue notes signed by the president, and countersigned by the cashier, not under the denomination of one dollar, on the behalf of said branch bank, for such sums, and with such devices, as they may deem most expedient and safe; and they shall also be capable of exercising such other pow ers and authorities as may be necessary for the well governing and ordering the affairs of said branch bank, and of promoting its interest and its credit. § 6. It shall be the duty of the president and directors, to furnish to ed with a the general assembly, within the first week of every session, statestatement of ments of the amount of the capital of said branch bank, and of the tions of the debts due to the same; of the moneys deposited therein; of the notes bank. in circulation, and of the cash on hand; together with all other property of said branch bank, both real and personal; and the general May inspect assembly shall have a right to inspect such general accounts in the books of the books of the branch bank, as shall relate to the said statements; and shall, when it may be deemed necessary, appoint a joint committee of both houses of the general assembly for that purpose, with full powers to send for persons and papers: Provided, That nothing in bank. this clause shall imply a right of inspecting the deposits of any private individual or individuals, or any body politic or corporate with the branch bank. bank. § 7. If any person or persons shall be indebted to said branch bank, Mode of colas maker or endorser of any note, bill, or bond, expressly made paya-fecting lecting debts ble and negotiable at said branch bank, and shall delay payment thereof, against the it shall be lawful for the president of the branch bank, after having given thirty days notice thereof, to move the circuit court of the county of Mobile, on producing to said court before which the motion is made, the certificate of the president of the branch bank, that the debt is really and bona fide the property of said branch bank, for judgment; and all the debts due by said branch bank, by bond, bill, note or otherwise, to any individual or body corporate, may be sued for, and recovered in like manner. § 8. If any of the officers of the said branch bank, shall embezzle Officers em or fraudulently convert to his or their own use, any sum of money, funds. bezzling its bank note, bill of exchange, check, bond, or other security, placed under his care by virtue of his said office, he or they, his or their aider or abettors and counsellors, upon conviction thereof, shall be judged guilty of felony, and be sentenced to imprisonment in the public jail in the county in which the offence has been committed, for a term not less than twelve months, and there remain until he or they shall make good all damages which the bank may have sustained by his or their misconduct, and be fined at the discretion of the jury trying the offence, and shall forever thereafter be disqualified from holding any office of profit or trust in this state, and shall moreover be liable for the sum so embezzled. the bank and members of 9. It shall not be lawful for the directors, cashier, or other officers Officers of of the said branch bank, or any member of the general assembly to become security for each other, or any other person or persons at general assaid branch bank. sembly not to endorse. commence discounting. § 10. It shall not be lawful for the said president and directors of When to the said branch bank, to commence operations, by discounting or issuing any notes or bills, until one-half of the capital stock of said branch bank, shall be had in specie in its vaults. bank limited. § 11. The total amount of the debts which the said branch bank shall Debts of the at any one time owe, whether by bond, note, bill or contract, shall not exceed twice the amount of its capital, over and above the moneys then actually deposited in the bank for safe keeping, unless the contracting of any greater debt shall have been previously authorized by a law of this state; and in case of excess, the directors under whose administration it shall happen, shall be liable for the same in their private capacities, and an action of debt may, in such case, be brought against them, or any of them, their or any of their heirs, executors or administrators, in any court of this state having jurisdiction, by any creditor or creditors of said branch bank, and may be prosecuted to judgment and execution, any condition, covenant, and agreement to the contrary notwithstanding; but this shall not be so construed as to exempt said bank, or the lands, tenements, goods or chattels of the same, and on their insufficiency, the state of Alabama, from being also liable for, and being chargeable with the said excess: such of the said directors who may have been absent when said excess was contracted or created, or who may have dissented from the resolution or act by which the same was contracted or created, may, respectively, exonerate themselves from being individually liable, by entering, if present, their dissent on the books of the bank at the time the debt may be so Credit of the contracted, and forthwith giving notice of the same to the comptroller of the state. § 12. The credit of the state of Alabama is hereby pledged for the state pledg- ultimate redemption and payment of all notes issued, and all debts contracted by said branch bank. ed. Collection of § 13. The remedy for collecting debts shall be reciprocal for and debts recipro- against the said branch bank. cal. Governor and commissioners au. issue state stock. amount and Proviso. § 14. The governor, comptroller, and treasurer of the state, and president of the Bank of the State of Alabama, are hereby autho thorized to rized and required to issue certificates of state stock to an amount not exceeding two millions of dollars, to bear an interest not exceeding five per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually at the branch bank at Mobile, the Bank of the State of Alabama, or at such other place as may be agreed upon, redeemable at the expiration of thirty years, or at any time thereafter that the state may choose: Provided, That the certificates of stock shall be drawn in sums of from one to ten thousand dollars each; and it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the state to provide a suitable book and register the said certificates therein, and then deliver the same to the president and directors of the said Sales of cer- Branch Bank, taking their receipts for the same; and it shall be the duty of the said president and directors to cause said certificates to be sold for cash at not less than par value, and for such premium as they can command above their par value; and the sum to be realized shall be applied to, and compose the capital of said Branch of the Bank of the State of Alabama at Mobile. tificates. Revenue of § 15. To secure the regular and punctual payments of the interest, the state pledged. semi-annually, and the ultimate redemption of said stock, all the reve nue of the state (except the university fund, the three per cent. fund, and the fund arising from the sale of the sixteenth sections,) shall be and the same is hereby pledged, and in case of a deficiency, the faith of the state is hereby pledged to provide such additional means as may be necessary. 1811-(7) Single wo. men, preg. nant or de complain to livered, may justice of the peace. Examina tion before BASTARDY. 1. When any single woman, who shall be pregnant, or delivered of a child which by law would be deemed a bastard, shall make complaint to any one or more justices of the peace, for the county where she may be so pregnant or delivered as aforesaid, and shall accuse any one of being the father of such child, it shall be the duty of such justice or justices, to issue process to the sheriff or coroner, or any constable of such county, against the person so accused as aforesaid, and cause him to be brought forthwith before him. § 2. Upon his appearance, it shall be the duty of the said justice or magistrate. justices, to examine the said female, in the presence of the man alleged to be the father of the child, touching the charge against him; and if said justice or justices shall be of opinion, that sufficient cause appears, it shall be his or their duty to bind the said person, so accused, in bond, with good and sufficient security, to be and appear before the next county court, to be holden for said county, and in the mean time to be of good behavior. County court to cause issue to be tried by a jury. §3. The county court aforesaid, at their next term, shall have full and complete cognizance and jurisdiction of said charge of bastardy. And the court shall cause an issue to be made up, "whether the reputed father is the real father of the child, or not;" which issue shall be tried by a jury: Provided nevertheless, That the inquiry shall not be ex parte, but the imputed father shall have a right to appear, by himself or counsel, and controvert, by all legal evidence, the charge alleged against him. against de year, for ten 4. If the issue is found against the defendant, or imputed father, Judgment then he shall be condemned by the judgment of said court, to pay, fendant not not exceeding fifty dollars, at the discretion of said court, yearly, for to exceed fiften years, towards maintenance and education of said child; and the ty dollars a said imputed father shall give bond and security, for the due and faith- years. ful payment of said sum of money, which shall be made payable to the said court, and laid out and appropriated, under their special order and direction, from time to time made, so that the same be not paid to the mother of said child; which bond shall be, and hereby is declared to have the same force, validity, and effect, as a judgment of said court, upon which executions may issue, as often as money thereon shall become due and payable: Provided however, That if Death of said child should never be born alive, or being born, should die at any cate the time, and that fact suggested upon the record of the county court, bond. then and from that time, the bond aforesaid shall be void. (1) child to va found 5. If upon the trial of the issue aforesaid, it shall be found by the Judgment, jury against the woman, or that the child imputed is not the child of when issue is the pretended father, then the judgment of the court shall be, that he against the be discharged hence, and that the woman making the complaint shall pay all costs occasioned thereby. 6. If the mother of said child and the imputed father shall at any time after its birth intermarry, the child shall, in all respects, be deemed and held legitimate, conformably to the maxim of the law, and the bond aforesaid be void. woman. Child legiti mated by intermarriage civil of its pa rents. § 7. It shall be the duty of the court to appoint a guardian or Guardian to be appointed guardians to said child, to whom, upon his or her entering into good by the court, and sufficient security, for the faithful performance of his or her duty, who shall rethe money shall be paid over by the court. ceive the money. Sec. 1. § 8. Whenever a case of bastardy shall be returned to the county 1816—(4) court, said court shall have power and authority to cause to be sum- On demand moned and empannelled a jury, in the same manner as tales jurors of defendant, are summoned, for the purpose of trying the issue of bastardy, if the pannel jury defendant, or reputed father, shall demand the same. court to em of by-stand ers. Sec. 1. § 9. Whenever the father of any bastard child or children, shall 1833-(9) desire to render any such bastard child or children legitimate, so as Mode of legito enable them to inherit his estate in the same manner as children timating. born in lawful wedlock do, it shall be lawful for any such father to file in open court, in either the county or circuit court of the county in which he resides, a declaration, or statement in writing, setting forth the names of the children proposed to be rendered legitimate, their ages, as nearly as may be, the name of their mother, that they are his natural children, and that he thereby recognizes them, and makes them capable of inheriting his estate in the same manner as if they had been born in lawful wedlock, which declaration shall be signed by the person making it, attested by the clerk of the court in which it is filed, and entered at full length of record: whereupon the said child or children in any such declaration, shall become the legitimate child or children of the person making such declaration, and be capable in law of inheriting his estate in the same manner as if they Effect therehad been born in lawful wedlock and if, at the time of filing any such declaration, the person filing the same shall desire to change the (1) On writ of error prosecuted by the putative father, upon a bastardy bond, the judge of the county court, and not the mother of the child, should be made defendant.-Brown et al, v. M'Lane, Min. Rep. 208. of. Names of bastards, name of any child or children therein mentioned, he shall set forth the fact, together with the name to which he desires the change to be how altered. made; whereupon, the name shall be changed accordingly, and the latter name shall become the lawful name of any such child or children. Ib. Sec. 2. may alter his or her own name. Proviso. § 10. When any person shall desire to change his or her name, he Any person or she shall file in the county or circuit court of the county in which he or she resides, a declaration or statement in writing, setting forth his or her then name, and the name to which he or she desires to change it; which declaration shall be subscribed by the person making it, with his or her then name, attested by the clerk, and entered at full length of record; whereupon, the name of such person shall be changed accordingly, and the latter name shall thereupon become the lawful name of such person: Provided nevertheless, That any such person shall, notwithstanding such change, be liable for five years, to be sued by his or her original name; unless when a contract in writing shall be made with him subsequent to his change of name, in which his latter name shall be recognized, or to which it shall be subscribed. § 11. For attesting and recording the declaration in the first and second sections of this act, the clerk of the court in which they are filed shall be entitled to one dollar each; and when such declarations are filed in the county court of any county, the judge of said court shall be entitled to the like sum for each declaration, to be paid by the party filing the same. Ib. Sec. 3. Fees of clerk, &c. for at testing, &c. 1826--(12) Steam-boats ined by the master and the port of harbor wardens of Mobile. BOATS. § 1. It shall not be lawful for any steam-boat to ply for freight or to be exam- passengers, between either of the ports of Mobile or Blakely, and any of the towns, landings or places, on either of the rivers Mobile, Alabama, Tombeckbee, or their tributaries, without having previously undergone a thorough survey and examination by the board of harbormaster and wardens of the port of Mobile, and been found, in all respects, staunch, well-provided and river-worthy for the space of at least one year thereafter: And the said board of harbor-master and wardens are hereby authorized and required, to make such survey and examination, at least once in every year, or oftener, if in the opinion of said board the same may be proper; and to charge and receive for every such survey and examination, the sum of ten dollars; and if, upon such survey and examination, the said board shall be satisfied, that the boat so examined, is staunch and well found, both in hull and soundness. machinery, and, in all respects, well found and river-worthy for one year thereafter, they shall grant a certificate thereof, and enter the same of record, in the port-wardens' office. Board to grant certificate of certified, lia ges. Owners, &c. § 2. If the owner, agent, consignee, or master of any steam-boat, of boats not shall ply any such steam-boat, on either of the aforesaid waters, withble for dama out having first obtained a certificate for such boat, as herein required, such owner, agent, consignee, and master, shall severally be liable for all damages which may occur to property shipped on such boat, in consequence of any casualty arising from the dangers of the river navigation, or from any accident to the engine or machinery of such boat. And in all suits for damages, arising under this act, the burthen of proof, shall rest upon the carrier; and the certificate of the board or harbor-master and wardens aforesaid, duly authenticated under their seal, shall be legal evidence of the transactions of said board. |