The Currency Bill

The following is the Curreucy bilí as it fii:ally pas-öd bot!i Housea of Congroas, and was BVgned by tho President: öbotLON 1. That $54,000,000 ia notes, f'r otroiïlation, rnav bo isstfed to iiatioii:tl banking aoiva'.ions n a'lüition to ida :, 10,000,000 autliorized by tb hpction ot' the "Aet to próvido for a National ourraooy seaured by a pledge Of United States bouds, and to provide for tbe circulatiou nrid redamption tbereuf," approved Juo ;j, 1864; and i-lie amount üf notes so providod shall bo furnished to banking associalions organiged or to ba organised in thoso States and Terrilorics baring less tban tbeir proportion under tbo opportioumeni contcmplatcd by tbe provisiona of tbe "Act to niiicnd u: act to próvido for a National cunency sccured by a pledge of the United States bond?, and to provide for tho oirc'ulatiou and redeaiplioi threof," approved March 3, 1865; .anc ihe bonda duposiled with the Treasdrer el the United State, to secure tho additioual circulating uotes tbereio authorized sball be ot any description of bonds if ihe United States bearing interest ia coin ; but a dcw npportionmeut of tbo incroased ciroulation berci provided for shall bo made as soon as practicable based upon the census of 1870. Pro vided, that if application for the circulation herciu auluoried sball notbeuadc vvithiu one year after tho passage o: this act, by banking associations organizad or to bo organizad iu States having less thau thoir proportion, it shall be Jawful for the Complroller of lbo curicuoy to issue sueh circularon to banking associutions applying for the samo in other States or Territorios haviog less tban tbeir proportiou, giving tbe preferance to sucli as have the greaesl deficiency, and provided furtbcr, that no banking assoeiation hereiu after Qrganiz ed shall have a circulation in excess o! #500,000. Sec. 2. And It'itfurther enatttd, That at tbe end of each month after the passago of this act, it shall be the duty oi tbc Comptrollcr ('f the currency to report to the Secretary of tho Treasury Ihe amount of circulating notes issued, under the provisious of the pveceding peotioü, to national banking assoeiations during the previoui month j whereupon tho Secrotary of the Treasury shall redeern and canee! an amount of the threo perceatum temporary loan oertificates issued under the acts oí March 2, 1S57 and Ju!y '25, 1868, not les-i than the amouut of oiroulating uotes so reported nud may, if' nccossary, in order to procure the representationof such temporat) loaa certiñeates for redemption, give no'.ioe to the holders tUereof, by publica tion or othenvise, that of sak certiücates (whioh shall be designatec by number) and they shall not be count ed as a part of the reserve of any bank ing assooiation. Sec. 3. And Ie itfurther maeted, Tha upon the deposit of any of tbe Unitec States bonds, bearing interest payable in gold, witb the Treasurer of the Uniti c States, in tbe marnier preseribed in the 19th and 20th sections of the Nationa Currency act, it shall ba lawful for the Comptroller of lbo Currency to issua to the assoeiation niaking the sa-ne, circulating notes of difforeut denoaiinations, Dot less than $5, uot exeeeding in amount 85 per centuin of the par value of the bonds deposued, wbich notes sball bear upon their face the promiso oí tho afso ciation to which they are issued to pay tUera, upou presentation at the office o the associatiou, in gold coin of the Uuited States, aud shall be redeemabL upon such presentation in euch coin, provided that no banking associatiou organized under this section shall havo a circulatiou in excess of 81,000,000. Sec. 4. And Ie üfurthcr enacteil, That cvery natioual banking assoeiation formed under the provisious of the precedin section of this act, shall at all times keep on hand not less than 26 per eentuin oí its outatanding circulation in gold coin of the United States, and sliall roecive at par iu the poyment of deb's the gold notes of every other suuh banking association which, at tho time of bucIi payments, sball be rodeeming itscirculatiug notes in gold coin of the United States. Sec. 5. Andle it further enaeted, Tbat overy assoeiation organized lor the purpose of issuing gold notes, as provided in this act, shall be subject to all the re5fuirements and proviEioas of the natioual oarrency act, except the iirst clacse of ecction '2'2, wbiob liaiits the circuiation of national banking assoeiations to $300,000,000 ; the first olauüe of seclion 32, which, taken in counection with the precediug section, would require nalional banking associations organized in the city of San Francisco to redeem their circulating notes at par in tbo city of ïiew York ; and the last clause of seclion 32, which requires erery nationol banking asaociatou to receivo in pay inent of debts the notes of every other national banking assoeiation at par. ProvidcJ, That in applying the provisions .-and reijuirenionts ofsaid aet to the banking associationa hercio provided for, the terms "lawful money," and "lawful inoney of the United States," ghall be held and construed to mean gold or ilver coin of the Uuited States. Sec. C. Andbe il further enacted, Tbat io secure a moro cquitable distribution f the national banking currency thero may be issued eirculatiog notes to bankiog associations organized in the States and Territories having iess than their proportion as herein eet forth. And the amouut of circulation in thig section hall, under the direction of the Secretary of tbe Treasury, as it may be required for this purpose, be withdrawn, as herein providcd, from bauking associations orgauized in States havÍDg a circulation exceeding that provided for by the act etjtitled "Au act to uuiend au act entitled, "An'act to próvido fora national banking cnrrency, eecured by pletfgc of Uuited States bouds, and to provide for the circubilion and redemp tion thereof," approved March 3, 1865, but the amount so withdrnwn sliall not exceed 25,000,000. The Controller of the Curreucy sball, uuder tbo direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, inake a Ptatemeut sbowing the amount of circulation in each State tnd Tcrritory, anl the amount to bo relircd by eacb banking associatiou iu neoordanca ivit'n this Fcction, and ihall, hen such a redistribution of circulation ia required, tnake a rcquisitinti for sueh am miit apon ucli banks, commencing with the bankt haviog a circulation exceediiig $l,0oü,OOO in Btatet having au excees of tir'-ulation, and with'drowing their circulalion iu exces of 1,000,000, and then proceeding pro rata with othf r bünks having a cireulatiou ezoeediog (300,000 in States having tiio Urgest exoesa of circulation and reducing tho circuhition of eucb banks ín States having the greatest proportion in excess, leaving undisturbed the banks in States having a proportion, uutil tbot-e in greater exeesB have been reduecd to tht iame grade, and contiuuiiiii tbus to niake the reduction provided f of bj thie act uutil thu full amount of 125,000,000, liereiu previded for, huil lo Tfithdrawn and the circnlation so withdiawn shall lo distributed nniong the States and Territorios liaving lus thnn their proportion, so as to ' ciiiuliza tlie same. And it .shall be the duty of the CouLroller of the Currenoy, ander tho diiection of the Secret ary of tlio Treasury, iwith to mike a requieition for tliu amount thercof upon tho banks ahove odicated as licrcin desoribod, and apon fuilurc of hucli nssocinyoiis, or auy of th(ii), to return tho amount so required within ono ycar, it shall bo tho duty of the Controller of the Currenoy to sell at public nuction, Laving given twentj' days' Loiiao thercof in one daily r.ewspaper printod in Washington and one in New York City, an amount of bonda depositrd by snid nss:ciation, as Eecurity for said circulation, equal to the circulalion to bo withdrawn from said associntiou and not returned in compliance with sueh requisition, and the Controller of the Currency ehall with tho procoods redeem so rnany of the notes of said banking aesociaüon a thcy como iuto the Treasury, ns tv ï 11 equal the amount requirail and not so returned, nnd shall pay tho balance, f uny, to such banking assoeiiUioo ; provided that no circulation shall be wühdrawn uncier the provisions of this gect'on until aftor tho $54,000,000 granted in the first eectioa shall havo been taken up. Seu. 7. And be ü furthtr macltd, That after the expiration of six months frorn tho passage of this act any banking association, located in any State, having moro tban its proportion of circulation, may bo removed to any State having less thun its proportion af circulation, under such rulej and rcgulations as the Controller of tho Currenoy, with the ap proval of the Secretary of the Treasury may reqoire; provided that the amount of the issue of said banks sli ill not be deducted from the amount of new issue provided fcr in this act.