Suspension of Specie Payments. 
189 
to be made in February, 1861, when the legislature passed a 
joint resolution, prohibiting any more deficiency levies. 
In comment on this action, the Comptroller says: 42 “The 
measure seemed wise and timely; many well-informed citizens 
had declared that a general failure, involving three fourths of 
all the banks, was imminent, unless relief in some shape was 
granted; and there is scarcely any reason to doubt that at least 
80 out of the 109 then existing banks would have failed, en¬ 
tailing an immense loss on the cirrency, and probably on the 
deposits of the people of this state. No sale could have taken 
place before the latter part of April, when the principal south¬ 
ern bonds held by the department had dropped down to a point 43 
considerably lower than the market prices at the present time. 
More than three millions of southern bonds (Mo., N. C., Tenn. 
and Vir.), forced on a weak and sensitive market, would have 
caused a stock panic unprecedented even during the last disas¬ 
trous twelve months. ” Missouri bonds had depreciated from 63 
on April 5, 1861, to 39^ on April 20. 
Suspension of Specie Payments. 
On the 17th of April, 1861, after the firing on Fort Sumter 
had threatened destruction to the banking interests of the state 
by a compulsory winding-up of all the Wisconsin banks and an 
enforced sale of southern state securities at panic prices, the 
legislature passed “an act to protect the holders of notes of au¬ 
thorized banks of the state of Wisconsin. ” 
This act provided: 
First, that the Bank Comptroller should suspend all action 
(such as sale of securities, liquidation, etc.) toward all banks 
failing to redeem their circulation. 
Second, that notaries public should not protest bills of such 
banks until after December 1, 1861. 
Third, that the banks might have until December 1, 1861, to 
answer all complaints in any proceedings to compel specie pay¬ 
ments of circulating notes. 
42 Compt. Rep., 1862, p. 5. 
43 N. Y. Market, April 20,1861; Mo. 6’s, 39%; Vir. 6’s, 36%; Tenn. 6’s, 41. 
