(No. 20.) Report of the committee on the State Penitentiary. The committee on the state penitentiary, to whom were referred sundry documents relative to the same, respectfully report. That in the opinion of the committee, the furtherance of public justice and sound economy requires that so much of the said penitentiary as is necessary for the immediate wants of the state should be constructed at as early a day as possible. It appears by the report of the acting commissioner, that one half of the block of cells is in a state of forwardness, thirty-two cells being ready for the reception of convicts. In the construction of the prison thus far, twenty thousand dollars has been loaned and expended, in addition to the appropriation of twenty thousand dollars made the 22d March, 1838, and that a further appropriation of eighty thousand dollars will be necessary to complete the said half block of cells, which the commissioner is of opinion is necessary to be done before the prison can be made entirely secure. From the report of estimates by the commissioner, a less amount would be insufficient to cover contracts already made, and for the purchase of iron and other materials for the building; in view of all which the committee would respectfully recommend that such appropriation be made. The committee would further recommend the repeal of so much of the law of the 22d March, 1838, as relates to the appointment of commissioners, and that the acting commissioner hold his office upon a different tenure. A bill being before the other branch of the legislature, making provision for the transmission of convicts, and the regulation of the prison discipline, your committee have not taken that branch of their duties under consideration. All which is respectfully submitted with a bill. T. E. GIDLEY, Chairman. No 21. Report of K. Pritchette, Bank Commissioner, relative to specie certificates issued to create banks, &c. To the Honorable the Senate of the State of Michigan: In obedience to the resolution of your honorable body, directing the Bank Commissioners "to furnish the Senate with a list of the specie certificates, issued and loaned by individuals, banks or other institutions, for the purpose of creating banks under the general banking law of this state, by whom and to whom issued: also the names of the officers and directors of the different institutions that have been placed under injunction, and further, that the Commissioners furnish the Senate with copies of the affidavits and other testimony taken by them in their investigations, calculated to exhibit the manner and by whom said bankrupt institutions have been organized," the undersigned has the honor to present the following report: The general scope of the resolution, seems to contemplate a detailed statement, exhibiting at one view, the method and agency by which the numerous institutions under the general banking law were set in motion. A full compliance with the object of this resolution, is not within the power of the undersigned. The Bank Commissioners appointed under the act of Dec. 31, 1837, with a view to facilitate their labors, divided the superintendence of the banks between them, according to their location, which division corresponded with the three judicial districts. Many institutions were put in operation, and several were bankrupt before their appointment took place. The minutes of the examinations within the limits of the third judicial district are not at hand, and the information here supplied on the subject, is drawn from recollection of disclosures made from time to time in the mutual interchange of the results of the official labors of the Commissioners. The specic certificates, however, hereafter mentioned, undoubtedly existed, and the amounts are believed to be accurate. There have been certificates issued and used temporarily, and afterwards been withdrawn, and others withheld from exhibition to the Commissioners after the knowledge (derived from the example of others,) that they would be considered as inadmissible. Institutions likewise have been set in motion by the direct loan of specie, which passed from bank to bank, for this purpose. The Commissioners guarded their intention of visiting institutions both as to time and order of examination, and yet the most scrupulous care was sometimes insufficient to prevent specie from preceding them in the hands of agents, in anticipation of their coming. Even the conviction of the fact was unavailing, met as they were, in such cases, by direct and positive denial under oath, to every query. The indisposition of individuals to present themselves openly as informers, and the want of power to enforce their authority to examine those not connected with the institution under oath, made this information of the Commissioners in many instances useless, except as a stimulant to increased vigilance. Frequent and unexpected visits subsequently made, developed the insolvency of such institutions. But it will be plainly perceiv ed, that a series of trifling and corroborative circumstances, discrepancies in the statements of the officers of different banks as to their mutual transactions, casual conversations, confidential suggestions, and various other kinds of information too slight for detail, may become important guides in action, and yet be entirely inadmissible, for want of legal certainty, into an official report. Much of the information obtained regarding the loan of specie and its use, is of this character. The same is in some degree true, concerning the projectors of many of these institutions. The following list of specie certificates, &c. is formed by an abstract from the minutes kept by the Commissioner having in charge the banks comprised within the limits of the first judicial district-a memorandum furnished by Alpheus Felch, Esq. which is principally drawn from the reports heretofore made, and the recollection of the undersigned, of such as occurred in the examination of the Commissioner within the third district. By a careful examination of this list, it will be seen, that in some instances banks put into operation by fraudulent means, were themselves, in turn, the parents of similar offspring. The transactions of fraudulent institutions and their modes of proceeding have, in many cases, been concealed with the greatest care and ingenuity. A complete development can only be obtained by a vigorous and uncompromising investigation in the courts of law. Without this, all examinations are comparatively useless. The singular impunity heretofore enjoyed by the actors in the shameless frauds which have been committed, has encouraged and extended the evil. Some legislative provision, through which the severest penalties of the statute can be inflicted upon the offenders, will alone prevent their repetition, and afford an adequate protection to the public. In compliance with the second requirement of the resolution, a list of the officers and directors of the several institutions under injunction is hereunto appended, as far as they are within the knowledge of the undersigned. Where the directors are not known, a list of the stockholders is substituted, which of course includes the names of the directors, although not specified. The concluding demand of the resolution is complied with by the transmission of all the affidavits in the possession of the undersigned. They have all been, heretofore, it is believed, presented to the legislature in the several reports of the Commissioners. The report is as complete as the materials in the possession of the undersigned have enabled him to present. All which is respectfully submitted. K. PRITCHETTE, Bank Commissioner. SPECIE CERTIFICATES, &c. BANK OF GIBRALTAR, Exhibited on examination, Feb. 1. 1838, Jan. 1. In State bank, F. H. Steevens, 23. Farmers' and Mechanics' bank, H. H. 1. Bank of Brest, Theodore Romeyn, Feb. 1. State bank, Joshua Howard, 1837. Sept. 29. Farmers' and Mechanics' bank, Jacob Total, $1,000 00 1,000 00 1,000 00 388 00 600 00 $3,988 00 DETROIT CITY BANK, Exhibited on examination the following specie certificates, which had been received by John Truax, treasurer of the bank, as specie paid in on instalments of capital stock, to wit: 1837. Nov. 15. One specie certificate from Michigan state bank, signed Thos. O. Hill, in favor of Cullen Brown, Dec. 18. One specie certificate from bank of Mi- Nov. 15. One specie certificate from Thos. C. Dec. 22. Onc specie certificate from Thos. C. Carried forward. $1,000 00 4,000 00 2,000 00 2,000 00 Brought forward, Feb. 5. One specie certificate from Thos. C. H. Harris, cashier of the Detroit 11,673 86 $20,673 86 FARMERS' BANK OF OAKLAND, Exhibited on examination, May 10, 1838, the following specie Jan. 30. One from the Michigan insurance company, Detroit, signed "H. H. Brown secretary," deposited by Alfred Williams to the credit of the Farmers' bank of Oakland, for $10,000 00 15,000 00 $25,000 00 BANK OF OAKLAND, May 11. Exhibited on examination a receipt for specie given by R. F. Stage, cashier of the Genesee county bank, for specie borrowed by him to the am't of $4,679 64 This specie was sworn to as the property of the bank, and at a subsequent examination ten days afterwards, had been returned. OAKLAND COUNTY BANK-Chartered. The following appears to have been the materials which were used in putting this bank into operation, to wit: A specie certificate issued by the Bank of Pontiac, for $5,000 of specie borrowed from the Clinton canal bank and paid in thrice to create a credit of $10,000 00 15,000 00 |