CHAPTER V. 



PETITION FOR A GENERAL MUTUAL BANKING LAW. 



To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

 Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 



This prayer of your petitioners humbly showeth, that the 

 farmers, mechanics and other actual producers, whose names are 

 hereunto subscribed, believe the present organization of the cur- 

 rency to be unjust and oppressive. They, therefore, respectfully 

 request your honorable body to republicanize gold, silver and bank- 

 bills, by the enactment of a General Mutual Banking Laav. 



A law, embracing the following provisions, would be eminently 

 satisfactory to your petitioners: 



1. The inhabitants or any portion of the inhabitants, of any 

 town or city in the Commonwealth may organize themselves into a 

 Mutual Banking Company. 



2. Any person may become a member of the Mutual Banking 

 Company of any particular town, by pledging real estate situ- 

 ated in that town, or in its immediate neighborhood, to the Mutual 

 Bank of that town. 



3. The Mutual Bank of any town may issue paper-money to 

 circulate as currency among persons willing to employ it as such. 



4. Every member of a Mutual Banking Company shall bind 

 himself, and be bound, in due legal form, on admission, to receive 

 in payment of debts, at par, and from all persons, the bills issued, 

 and to be issued, by the particular Mutual Bank to which he may 

 belong; but no member shall be obliged to receive, or have in pos- 

 session, bills of said Mutual Bank to an amount exceeding the 

 wliole value of the proi)erty pledged by him. 



f>. Any member may borrow the paper money of the bank to 

 which he belongs, on his own note running to maturity (without 

 indorsement), to an amount not to exceed one-half of the value of 

 the property pledged by him. 



G. The rate of interest at which said money shall be loaned by 

 the bank, shall be determiuf^d by, and shall, if possible, just meet 

 and cover the bare expenses of the institution. 



7. No money shall be loaned by the bank to persons who do 

 not become members of the company by pledging real estate to the 

 bank. 



8. Any member, by paying his debts to the Mutual Bank to 

 which he belongs, may have his property released from pledge, and 

 bf! liimself released from all obligations to said Mutual IJank, and 

 to h(jl(l(;rs of tli(! Mutual-Bank money, as such. 



