652 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



seat and connects with chains or cranks to the 

 rear axles, leaving the forecarriage free for 

 steering purposes. 



Worlds Motor-cars. It is estimated that the 

 total number of motor-cars of all kinds in use 

 in the world to-day is as follows : 



America, 

 Great Britain, 

 France, ... 

 Germany, 



90,000 

 75,000 

 30,000 

 20,000 



Austria-Hun- 



gary, . 

 taly, 



Iay 

 Spam, 



. 8,000 

 6,000 



. 4,000 



Other European countries, including Russia, 

 5,000; India, 2,000; Egypt, Canada, Australia, 

 and other British colonies, 2,000; Central and 

 South America, 1,000; China, Japan, and East 

 Asia, 500 amounting to 248,500 vehicles in all. 

 Banking: was authorized in the United 

 States during the War of the Revolution, a reso- 

 lution being adopted in Congress on May 26, 

 1781, approving a plan for a national bank 

 proposed by Robert Morris, of Philadelphia. 

 As a result the Bank of North America was in- 

 corporated on December 31st following, with a 

 capital of $4,000,000, of which $254,000 had been 

 subscribed by the United States Government. 

 This bank, rechartered from time to time, con- 

 tinues. in existence in Philadelphia, and is one 

 of the national banks of the present. Another 

 bank, known as the Bank of the United States, 

 was projected by Alexander Hamilton when 

 the government had been organized under the 

 Constitution. It was duly established, and 

 continued in existence until 1811, when it went 

 out of existence, owing to the failure to obtain 

 a renewal of its charter. A second Bank of the 

 United States was incorporated on April 3, 1816, 

 and went into operation January 7, 1817. Mean- 

 while other banks had been established in vari- 

 ous parts of the country, and these, driven to 

 suspension of specie payments by the War of 

 1812, were aided by the operation of the new 

 bank to an extent which enabled them to re- 

 sume. This bank itself, however, was driven 

 to the wall in 1840, by legislation which com- 

 pelled it to resume specie payments, which it 

 had suspended. The present system of national 

 banks was inaugurated in 1864, under exigencies 

 created by the Civil War. In towns of a popu- 

 lation of 3,000 or less the minimum capital al- 

 lowed national banks is $25,000. In towns of 

 between 3,000 and 6,000 people the minimum 

 capital allowed is .$50,000; and in cities and 

 towns having a population of 6,000 or more, 

 but not exceeding 50,000, the minimum capital 

 must be $100,000; while in cities of over 50,000 

 people the bank must have a capital of at least 

 $200,000. There is no limit to the amount of 

 excess capital. Every national bank must pur- 

 chase and deliver to the treasurer of the United 

 States registered United States bonds to an 

 amount not less than $50,000, except banks 

 with a capital of $150,000, or less, the minimum 

 amount of bonds required is one quarter of the 

 capital. The government then issues and de- 

 livers to the bank circulating notes in denomi- 

 nations of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, as desired, 

 in total amount equal to the par value of the 

 bonds deposited. A bank may deposit bonds 

 and receive circulating notes to an amount equal 

 to its capital. Each bank is required to make 

 a sworn statement of its condition to the comp- 



troller of the currency at Washington at least 

 five times a year, and to publish the same in a 

 newspaper. Two examinations a year are made 

 by capable men employed by the government 

 as national bank examiners, their visits being 

 always without notice. Requirement is made 

 in the national bank act for the accumulation 

 of a surplus by each bank from its earnings as 

 an additional protection above its capital to 

 the depositors. The depositors are further 

 protected against loss by the liability of each 

 stockholder to the payment of an amount equal 

 to the par value of the stock held, in event of 

 failure of the bank. 



Canal, an artificial water-course for the 

 transportation of goods or passengers by boats 

 or ships, or for purposes of drainage or irriga- 

 tion. The canals most familiar to ordinary 

 readers are for navigation. These consist usu- 

 ally of a number of different sections, each on 

 one level throughout its course, but differing in 

 relative height from the others. From one 

 section to another boats are transferred by 

 means of locks, or it may be by inclines or lifts. 

 The lock is a water-tight inclosure with gates at 

 either end, constructed between two successive 

 sections of a canal. When a vessel is descend- 

 ing, water is let into the lock till it is on a level 

 with the higher water, and thus permits the 

 vessel to enter; the upper gates are then closed, 

 and by the lower gates being gradually opened, 

 the water in the lock falls to the level of the 

 lower water, and the vessel passes out. In as- 

 cending the operation is reversed. The incline 

 conveys the vessel from one reach to another, 

 generally on a specially-constructed carriage 

 running on rails, by means of drums and cables. 

 The lift consists of two counterbalancing troughs, 

 one going up as the other descends, carrying the 

 vessel from the higher to the lower level, or 

 vice versa. Works of great magnitude in the 

 way of cuttings, embankments, aqueducts, 

 bridges, tunnels, reservoirs, for water-supply, 

 etc., are often necessary in constructing canals. 

 Canals have been known from remote times, 

 Egypt being intersected at an early period by 

 canals branching off from the Nile to distant 

 parts of the country, for purposes of irrigation 

 and navigation. Under the Ptolemies, before 

 the Christian era, there existed a canal between 

 the Red Sea and the Nile. In China, also, 

 canals were early made on a very large scale. 

 In Holland, where the country is flat and water 

 abundant, canals were constructed as early as 

 the Twelfth Century. The lock, however, was 

 not invented until the Fifteenth Century, both 

 the Dutch and the Italians claiming the honor. 

 Since then Europe has been provided with 

 numerous canals, which being connected usually 

 with navigable rivers, give access by water to 

 most parts of its interior. Among the numerous 

 canals of Holland, the most important is now 

 the great ship canal, from 200 to 300 feet wide 

 and twenty-three feet deep, which connects 

 Amsterdam with the North Sea. In France 

 there are many canals and canalized rivers, the 

 principal being the Canal du Midi, branching off 

 from the Garonne at Toulouse, and falling into 

 the Gulf of Lyons at Narbonne, thus connecting 

 the Bay of Biscay and Mediterranean, and 



