dollars of like bonds, the same in all respects, but payable at the pleasure of the United States after thirty years from the date of their issue, and bearing interest at the rate of four per cent per annum; all of which said several classes of bonds and the interest thereon shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties of the United States, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal or local authority; and the said bonds shall have set forth and expressed upon their face the above-specified conditions, and shall, with their cc pons, be made payable at the Treasury of the United States. But nothing in this act, or in any other law now in force, shall be construed to authorize any increase whatever of the bonded debt of the United States. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to sell and dispose of any of the bonds issued under this act, at not less than their par value for coin, and to apply the proceeds thereof to the redemption of any of the bonds of the United States outstanding, and known as five-twenty bonds, at their par value; or he may exchange the same for such five-twenty bonds, par for par; but the bonds hereby authorized shall be used for no other purpose whatsoever. And a sum not exceeding one-half of one per cent of the bonds herein authorized is hereby appropriated to pay the expense of preparing, issuing, advertising and disposing of the same. That the payment of any of the bonds hereby authorized after the expiration of the said several terms of ten, fifteen and thirty years, shall be made in amounts to be determined from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury at his discretion, the bonds so to be paid to be distinguished and described by the dates and numbers, beginning for each successive payment with the bonds of each class last dated and numbered, of the time of which intended payment or redemption the Secretary of the Treasury shall give public notice, and the interest on the particular bonds so selected at any time to be paid shall cease at the expiration of three months from the date of such notice. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, with any coin in the Treasury of the United States which he may lawfully apply to such purpose, or which may be derived from the sale of any of the bonds, the issue of which is provided for in this act, to pay at par and cancel any six per cent bonds of the United States of the kind known as five-twenty bonds, which have become or shall hereafter become redeemable by the terms of their issue. But the particular bonds so to be paid and canceled shall in all cases be indi cated and specified by class, date and number, in the order of their numbers and issue, beginning with the first numbered and issued, in public notice to be given by the Secretary of the Treasury, and in three months after the date of such public notice the interest on the bonds so selected and advertised to be paid shall cease. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, at any time within two years from the passage of this act, to receive gold coin of the United States on deposit for not less than thirty days, in sums of not less than one hundred dollars, with the Treasurer, or any assistant treasurer of the United States authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury to receive the same, who shall issue therefor certificates of deposit, made in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, and said certificates of deposit shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding two and a half per cent per annum; and any amount of gold coin so deposited may be withdrawn from deposit at any time after thirty days from the date of deposit, and after ten days' notice and on the return of said certificates: Provided, That the interest on all such deposits shall cease and determine at the pleasure of the Secretary of the Treasury. And not less than twenty-five per cent of the coin deposited for or represented by said certificates of deposit shall be retained in the treasury for the payment of said certificates; and the excess beyond twenty-five per cent may be applied, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, to the payment or redemption of such outstanding bonds of the United States heretofore issued and known as the fivetwenty bonds, as he may designate under the provisions of the fourth section of this act; and any certificates of deposit issued as aforesaid may be received at par, with the interest accrued thereon, in payment for any bonds authorized to be issued by this act. Act January 20, 1871. That the amount of bonds authorized by the act approved July 14, 1870, entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt," to be issued bearing five per centum interest per annum, be, and the same is, increased to five hundred millions of dollars, and the interest of any portion of the bonds issued under said act, or this act, may, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be made payable quarter-yearly: Provided, however, that this act shall not be construed to authorize any increase of the total amount of bonds provided for by the act to which this act is an amendment. Act June 8, 1872. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to receive United States notes on deposit without interest from banking associations, and to issue certificates therefor. The certificates issued may be held and counted by national banks as part of their reserve. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to authorize any expansion or contraction of the currency; and the United States notes for which such certificates are issued, or other United States notes of like amount, shall be held as special deposits in the treasury and used only for the redemption of such certificates. Act December 17, 1873. That for the purpose of redeeming the bonds called the loan of 1858, it is hereby declared to be the pleasure of the United States to pay all the coupon bonds of said loan on the first day of January, 1874. That the Secretary of the Treasury may issue an equal amount at par of principal and interest of five per cent bonds of the funded loan under the act for refunding the national debt, approved January 20, 1871, for any of the bonds of the loan of 1858, which the holders thereof may, on or before the 1st of February, 1874, elect to exchange. Specie Resumption Act of January 14, 1875. § 1. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and required, as rapidly as practicable, to cause to be coined at the mints of the United States, silver coins of the denominations of ten, twenty-five and fifty cents, of standard value, and to issue them in redemption of an equal number and amount of fractional currency of similar denominations, or, at his discretion, he may issue such silver coins through the mints, the subtreasuries, public depositories and post-offices of the United States; and upon such issue he is hereby authorized and required to redeem an equal amount of such fractional currency until the whole amount of such fractional currency outstanding shall be redeemed. § 2. That so much of section 3524 of the Revised Statutes of the United States as provides for a charge of one sixth of one per centum for converting standard gold bullion into coin is hereby repealed, and hereafter no charge shall be made for that service. § 3. That section 5777 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, limiting the aggregate amount of the circulating notes of the national banking associations, be, and is hereby, repealed, and each existing banking association may increase its circulating notes in accordance with the existing law, without respect to said aggregate limit; and new banking associations may be organized in accordance with the existing law, without respect to the aggregate limit; and the provisions of the law for the withdrawal and redistribution of national-bank currency among the several States and Territories are hereby repealed; and whenever and so often as circulating notes shall be issued to any such banking association, so increasing its capital or circulating notes, or so newly organized as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem the legal-tender United States notes in excess only of $300,000,000 to the amount of eighty per centum of the sum of nationalbank notes so issued to any such banking association as aforesaid, and to continue such redemption as such circulating notes are issued until there shall be outstanding the sum of $300,000,000 of such legal-tender United States notes, and no more. And on and after the 1st day of January, A.D. 1879, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem in coin the United States legal-tender notes then outstanding on their presentation for redemption at the office of the assistant treasurer of the United States, in the city of New York, in sums of not less than $50. And to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare and provide for the redemption in this act authorized or required, he is authorized to use any surplus revenues from time to time in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to issue, sell and dispose of, at not less than par in coin, either of the description of bonds of the United States described in the act of Congress approved July 14, 1870, entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt," with like privileges and exemptions, to the extent necessary to carry this act into effect, and to use the proceeds thereof for the purposes aforesaid. And all provisions of law inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Subsidiary Silver Coin Law, Joint Resolution of Congress July 13, 1876. § 1. That the Secretary of the Treasury, under such limits and regulations as will best secure a just and fair distribution of the same through the country, may issue the silver coin at any time in the treasury, to an amount not exceeding $10,000,000, in exchange for an equal amount of legal-tender notes, and notes so received in exchange shall be kept as a special fund, separate and apart from all other money in the treasury, and be issued only upon the retirement NATIONAL BANKS AND BANK CURRENCY. LAWS IN FORCE AUGUST, 1876. HE following compilation embraces all the laws in THE force August, 1876, governing the organization and management of national banks and the issue and redemption of national-bank currency, under the following heads, viz.: Chapter I. Organization and Powers of National Banks. II. Obtaining and Issuing Circulating Notes. III. Regulation of the Banking Business. IV. Dissolution and Receivership. V. Tax on Circulation and on Bank Checks. VII. Interest Laws. The numbers of the sections are the same as in the Revised Statutes. CHAPTER I. ORGANIZATION AND POWERS OF NATIONAL BANKS. (SEC. 5133.) Associations for carrying on the business of banking under this title may be formed by any number of natural persons, not less in any case than five. They shall enter into articles of association, which shall specify in general terms the object for which the association is formed, and may contain any other provisions, not inconsistent with law, which the association may see fit to adopt for the regulation of its business and the conduct of its affairs. These articles shall be signed by Formation banking of national associations. Articles of associa tion. |