304 



CONGRESS, U. S. 



in imitation of, the circulating notes issued under the 

 provisions of this act, or shall pass, utter, or pub- 

 lish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish any false, 

 forged, or counterfeited note, purporting to be is- 

 sued by any association doing a banking business 

 under the provisions of this act, knowing the same 

 to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or shall 

 falsely alter, or cause or procure to be falsely altered, 

 or willingly aid or assist in falsely altering any such 

 circulating notes issued as aforesaid, or shall pass, 

 utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish 

 as true, any falsely altered or spurious circulating 

 note, issued or purporting to have been issued as afore- 

 said, knowing the same to be falsely altered or spuri- 

 ous, every such person shall be deemed and adjudged 

 guilty of felony, and. being thereof convicted by due 

 course of law, shall be sentenced to be imprisoned and 

 kept at hard labor for a period not less than five years 

 nor more than fifteen years, and to be fined in a sum 

 not exceeding one thousand dollars. 



SEC. 58. And be it further enacted, That if any per- 

 son shall make or engrave, or cause or procure to be 

 made or engraved, or shall have in his custody or pos- 

 session any engraved plate or block after the similitude 

 of any pla'te from which any circulating notes issued 

 as aforesaid shall have been printed, with intent to 

 use such plate or block, or cause or suffer the same to 

 be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes 

 issued as aforesaid, or shall have in his custody or pos- 

 session any blank note or notes engraved and printed 

 after the similitude of any notes issued as aforesaid, 

 with the intent to use such blanks, or cause or suffer 

 the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any 

 of the notes issued as aforesaid, or shall have in his 

 custody or possession any paper adapted to the making 

 of such notes, and similar to the paper upon which any 

 such notes shall have been issued, with intent to use 

 such paper, or cause or suffer the same to be used in 

 forging or counterfeiting any of the notes issued as 

 aforesaid, every such person, being thereof convicted 

 by due course of law, shall be sentenced to be impris- 

 oned and kept to hard labor for a term not less than 

 five nor more than fifteen years, and fined, in a sum not 

 exceeding one thousand dollars. 



SEC. 59. And be it further enacted, That suits, ac- 

 tions, and proceedings by and against any association 

 under this act may be had in any circuit, district, or 

 territorial court of the United States held within the 

 district in which such association may be established. 



SEC. 60. And be it further enacted, That it shall be 

 the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency to re- 

 port annually to Congress, at the commencement of 

 its session 



.First. A summary of the state and condition of every 

 association from whom reports have been received the 

 preceding year, at the several dates to which such re- 

 ports refer, with an abstract of the whole amount of 

 banking capital returned by them, of the whole amount 

 of their debts and liabilities, the amount of circulating 

 notes outstanding, and the total amount of means and 

 resources, specifying the amount of specie held by them 

 at the times of their several returns, and such other 

 information in relation to said associations as, in his 

 judgment, may be useful. 



Second. A statement of the associations whose busi- 

 ness has been closed during the year, with the amount 

 of their circulation redeemed, and the amount out- 

 Standing. 



Third. To suggest any amendment to the laws rela- 

 tive to banking by which the system may be improved, 

 and the security of the billholders and depositors may 

 be increased. 



Fourth. To report the names and compensation of 

 the clerks employed by him, and the whole amount of 

 the expenses of the banking department during the 

 year ; and such report shall be made by or before the 

 first day of December in each year, and the usual num- 

 ber of copies for the u$e of the Senate and House, 

 and one thousand copies for the use of the Department, 

 shall be printed by the public printer, and in readiness 

 for distribution on the first meeting of Congress. 



SEC. 61. And be it further enacted. That any banking 

 association or corporation lawfully iu existence as a 

 bank of circulation on the first day of January, anno 

 Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-three, organized 

 in any State, either under a special act of incorporation 



or a general banking law, may, at any time witnin 



years after the passage of this act, become an associa- 

 tion under the provisions of this act ; that in such case 

 the certificate of association provided for by this act 

 shall be signed by the directors of such banking asso- 

 ciation or corporation, and in addition to the specifica- 

 tions required by this act, shall specify that such direc- 

 tors are authorized by the owners of two thirds of the 

 capital stock of such banking association or corpora- 

 tion to make such certificate of association ; and such 

 certificate of association shall thereafter have the same 

 effect, and the same proceedings shall be had thereon, 

 as is provided for as to other associations organized 

 under this act. And such association or corporation 

 thereafter shall have the same powers and privileges, 

 and shall be subject to the same duties, responsibilities, 

 and rules, in all respects, as is [are] prescribed in this 

 act for other associations organized under it, and 

 shall be held and regarded as an association under this 

 act. 



SEC. 62. And be it further enacted, That any bank 

 or banking association, authorized by any State law to 

 engage in the business of banking, and duly organized 

 under such State law at the time of the passage of this 

 act, and which shall be the holder and owner of United 

 States bonds to the amount of fifty per centum of its 

 capital stock, may transfer and deliver to the Treasurer 

 of the United States such bonds, or any part thereof, in 

 the manner provided by this act ; and upon making 

 such transfer and delivery, such bank or banking as- 

 sociation shall be entitled to receive from the Comp- 

 troller of the Currency, circulating notes, as herein 

 provided, equal in amount to eighty per centum of the 

 amount of the bonds so transferred and delivered. 



SEC. 63. And be it further enacted, That upon the 

 failure of any such State bank or banking association 

 to redeem any of its circulating notes issued under the 

 provisions of the preceding section, the Comptroller of 

 the Currency shall, when satisfied that such default 

 has been made, and within thirty days after notice of 

 such default, proceed to declare the bonds transferred 

 and delivered to the Treasurer forfeited to the United 

 States, and the same shall thereupon be forfeited ac- 

 cordingly. And thereupon the circulating notes which 

 have been issued by such bank or banking association 

 shall be redeemed and paid at the Treasury of the 

 United States, in the same manner as other circulat- 

 ing notes issued under the provisions of this act are 

 redeemed and paid. 



SEC. 64. And be it further enacted, That the bonds 

 forfeited, as providea in the last preceding section, 

 may be cancelled to an amount equal to the circulating 

 notes redeemed and paid, or such bonds may be sold, 

 under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, 

 and after retaining out of the proceeds a sum sutli- 

 cient to pay the whole amount of circulating notes, for 

 the redemption of which such bonds are held, the 

 surplus, if any remains, shall be paid to the bank or 

 banking association from which such bonds were re- 

 ceived. 



SEC. 65. And be it further enacted, That Congress 

 reserves the right, at any time, to amend, alter, or i 

 peal this act. 



APPROVED, February 25, 1863. 



In the House, on the 9th of December, a bill 

 to admit the State of West Virginia was con- 

 sidered. Mr. Oonway, of Kansas, opposed the 

 bill as unconstitutional. His reasons were thus 

 briefly stated: "This bill is not so much for 

 the admission of a new State as it is for the 

 division of an old one. Nevertheless, I would 

 have no objection to that, were it presented 





