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chants' bank of St. Joseph, at Centerville, (so called,) which receiver should possess all the power and authority, and be subject to the same liabilities as in other cases, and who should be appointed upon the application of the Attorney General, by bill or petition to be filed for that purpose.

All of which is most respectfully submitted.

P. MOREY, Attorney General, Michigan.

Copy of Letter of Thomas Fitzgerald, Bank Commissioner. Coldwater, Branch Co., March 5, 1838.

TO PETER MOREY, Esq.,

Attorney General of the State of Michigan.

Sir-Enclosed I transmit you the statement of William Foster, president of the Farmers' and Merchants' bank of St. Joseph, at Centerville, showing the condition of that bank, on the 3d instant, and supported by his affidavit, by which you will perceive that they have not one dollar in specie on hand; that their indebtedness is one thousand six hundred and sixty-five dollars, exclusive of their circulation, and their circulation nineteen thousand eight hundred and sixty.

I would state to you, officially, that on the 3d instant, I made a personal examination of that institution, with the aid of its president, (the only officer I saw,) and ascertained it to be an unlawful and unsafe institution, for these reasons, to wit:

1st. Said bank was organized and went into operation since the 10th of January last, without complying with the 5th section of the general banking law, approved December 30, 1837, which requires thirty per cent of the capital stock to be paid in, in specie, before commencing operations.

2d. More than two thirds of the capital stock appeared to be owned by persons who are not residents of the county where said bank is located, and transacts its business.

3d. The provisions and requirements of the 6th section of said law, have not been complied with, in regard to the securi

ties.

4th. The requirements of the 7th section of said law have not been complied with.

5th. The 8th section of said law has not been complied with by said bank, but has been disregarded in every particular.

6th. Although no part of said capital stock was paid in specie, as required by law, yet the bank has issued and put in circulation, nineteen thousand eight hundred and sixty dollars of its

notes, as money, in violation of the thirteenth section of said law, which limits them, in their issues and circulation, to twice and a half of its capital stock then paid in and actually possessed.

7th. No certificate was obtained from a Bank Commissioner, as required by the 16th section; nor can it be ascertained that the oath required of directors, in said section, or the bonds or securities therein named, have been attended to.

8th. The large amount loaned to the directors, is in violation of the 24th section of the general banking law.

9th. The whole amount of notes issued by said bank has been, since the 10th of January last, and without any indorsement by a Bank Commissioner, in direct violation of the forty-first section of said law.

10th. The amount in bills of other banks now on hand, amounting to $1,113, is of the most uncurrent paper in the state, at present.

11th. The only evidence of the debts due the bank, are the receipts of sundry individuals, most of whom appear to be directors, and the certificate of deposite in the Clinton canal bank, the president of which is among the principal stockholders, and appears to be one of the chief managers of this institution.

12th. No securities appear to have been filed or recorded in the register's office of St. Joseph county, nor could the president of the bank, (Mr. Foster,) furnish me with any evidence that any securities whatsoever had been lawfully executed and recorded, as required by law.

13th. I consider the whole operations of the bank, such as to destroy all further claim to public confidence, and that the honor of the state and the interests of the public imperiously demand that it be "wound up," in the shortest possible manner, and that the people be put upon their guard against further imposition.

If either of my associates are in Detroit, you will please show them this letter, that the subject of the fifteen thousand dollar certificate of the Clinton canal bank, may receive their special attention.

I would have waited for Mr. Foster, the new president of the bank, to obtain security under the 8th section of the general banking law, as he promised to do within ten days, (if possible,) but I am of opinion that they will not give security, that much of their notes are yet in the hands of their agents for exchange and other purposes, and that they should not be permitted to have time to pass it off and defraud the public.

Respectfully your ob't serv't,

THOMAS FITZGERALD,
Bank Commissioner.

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We, the undersigned, president, directors, stockholders, do hereby certify that an association has been formed according to the provisions of an act entitled "an act to organize and regulate banking associations," approved March 15th, 1837; also, an act amendatory to said act, approved Dec. 30, 1837; and that the capital stock of such association is fifty thousand dollars, and that said bank is known and described as the Farmers' and Merchants' bank of St. Joseph, located at Centerville in said county, and that we further certify that we have complied with the requisitions of the above named act.

Dated at Centerville, March 15th, 1838.

Filed March 22d, 1838.

THOS. W. LANGLEY.
WM. F. MOSELEY,

DANIEL HOGAN,
W. S. STEVENS,

A. C. HUBBARD,

JAMES VAN BUREN,

WM. B. BROWN,
ADAMS WAKEMAN.

Articles of agreement made and concluded this fourth day of April, A. D. 1838, by and between William S. Stevens, of the city of Detroit, of the first part, and Thomas W. Langley, of St. Joseph county, Michigan, of the second part, witnesseth:

That whereas, the said Stevens has at various times had from the "Farmers' and Merchants' bank of St. Joseph," at Centerville, the following sums of money: One sum of $3,500, for the which his, the said Stevens' check is now on file, among the papers of said bank; also, the sum of $4.240, signed and delivered to him, by Wm. Foster and A. C. Hubbard, as president and cashier; also, subsequently and lastly, the sum of eight thousand dollars, on or about the seventeenth day of March, which said last mentioned sum was signed by Thomas W. Langley, as president of said bank, and which it was expressly understood was not to be put in circulation or to be without the control of said Stevens-which said sums above mentioned amount to the sum of $15,740; add to which the sums following, which were had from the said bank by the following persons: To David H Porter, $1,000; Langley Bruce, $1,500; W. W. Gitt, $1,500 Messrs. "Johnson, Lowe and Davis," the sum of $1,600-to al

together, the sum of twenty-one thousand three hundred and forty dollars, which has been had from said institution, by and through the said Stevens.

Now the said Stevens doth hereby bind himself, under a penal. ty of double the amount so out, to redeem and pay into the said bank, within twenty days hereof, the above sums, either in bills of the said aforementioned bank, or in current funds that will be received in exchange for said bills, when the said Stevens shall be entitled, or the owners thereof, to take up the securities rendered to the state of Michigan, in conformity to law, and which were submitted to the judges who examined the securities of said bank. It is also fully understood, that said Stevens is to be accredited on account of the beforementioned sums, the sum of $1,250, the same having been paid to the cashier, for the use of the bank.

The said Wm. S. Stevens doth also hereby bind himself to pay the said Langley, a further sum of two thousand dollars, as a compensation for the winding up the concerns of said bank, and on the payment as aforementioned, of the sums aforementioned, the said Langley will give to said Stevens, a full and entire release of responsibilities on account of said institution, there being in addition to the foregoing sums, seven thousand dollars in circulation, or in the hands of the bank or its agents, which latter sum the said Langley doth assume the responsibility and collection of, according to agreement. It is fully and perfectly understood by and between the said Langley and Stevens, that when the said Stevens shall have paid the sums aforementioned, that he shall be entitled to all the evidences of debt given to the bank for the aforementioned persons, as well as all securities rendered; also, a certain note now in bank, signed W. S. Stevens, Thomas W. Langley, and Daniel Hogan, shall be given and destroyed by the signers thereof. It is further agreed by and between said Langley and Stevens, that the time shall be extended from twenty to sixty days, for the redemption of the paper aforementioned, and settlement of the affairs of said bank.

[Signed]

W. S. STEVENS,
THOS. W. LANGLEY.

(No. 36.)

Report of the committee appointed to settle the claims of the state against the Michigan State Bank. Hon. Edward Mundy, President of the Senate:

DEAR SIR-The undersigned, in pursuance of an act entitled "An act to authorize a settlement with the Michigan State Bank," approved on the tenth inst., beg leave to report that they have waited upon the officers of that bank, and have received from them a statement of their accounts with the state, which agrees with that of the State Treasurer, and the balance due the several funds this day is as follows, viz:

Funds for buildings,

$449 75 364,322 17

Internal improvement fund,

Henry Howard, treasurer,

6,132 43

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$514,540 25

Whole amount,

To which the bank claim they have in part equitable offsets as

follows:

Advances to Jas. B. Hunt, Commissioner,

do. D. C. McKinstry, do

John D. Pierce, Sup. Pub. Inst'n,
Porter and Gibson, Com. State Prison,
H. Alden, Acting Commissioner,

$28,003 71

1,912 80

9,187 73

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do.

do.

23,358 37

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Pay advanced by fiscal agent to members of the present legislature, about

9,500 00

Moneys advanced to Jno. S. Bagg, state printer, authorized by law, and to come out of his appropriations,

They also propose a transfer of part of the am't standing to the credit of Marshall and Allegan railroad company, already paid to the Calhoun county bank, by their giving security to the state,

11,500 00

50,000 00

$165,243 88

Leaving a balance of

$349,296 37

The undersigned found that this mode of settlement involved questions which were not legitimately under the act, in their opinion, within the scope of their powers and duties, as the act

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