Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1853-04-22
LAWS OF WISCONSIN.
AN ACT to prohibit the circulation of un-
authorized Bank Paper.

dueHOtlZCd DdHh Il apcT.a
The People Of the State of Wisconsin,. represent
sd Senate and assembly, do enact as folo,rs:
Section /. No person or persons shall issue, pay
out OF pass, and no body corporate shallissue pay
out, pass, or receive in this state money, or as
An equivalent for money, any promissory note,
draft, order, blu of exchange, certIfcate OF depo-
Sit or other paper of any form whatever IN the ST.
Multitude of bank paper circulating or intended to
circulate as money or banking currency, that Is
not at the time of such issuing, paying out pas
sing or receiving, expressly authorized by some
positive law of the United States, or of one of the
United States, or of Canada, and redeemable in
current gold and silver coin at the place where it
purports to have been issued and the burden of
proving the existence of such law, and the redemp-
ton of the promssory note bill of exchange draft,
order, certificate of deposit, as aforesaid at the
place of issue. shall rest upon the person or body
corporate paying out, passing receiving or issuing
the same.
Sec. 2. From and after the first day of January
A. ID. 1884, no person or persons, or body eorpo-
rate shall pay, give, or receive in payment, or in
any way circulate as money, any bank bill, prom
issory note check draft or other evidence of debt,
which shall purport to be for the payment of less
sum than five dollars, and which may have been
issued by any banking association or corporation
out of this state and any person persons or boz
dy corporate offending against any of the provi-
sions of this section shall forfeit and pay for every
such offence not less than five nor more than one
hundred dollars, to be recovered by any person
sueing therefor debts of the like amount are by
law recoverable, onc-haf for his own use, and the
other half to be paid into the county treasury.
Sec g. Any person who shall knowingly violate
the provisions of the first section of this act shall
be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and shall up
conviction be punished by fine of not less than
ten nor more than one hundred dollars or'by inn
prisonment in the county Jail for term of not less
than one nor more than six months, or by such
nd of
court.
Sec. 4. Any body corporate that shall violate
the provisions contained in the first section of this
act, shall forfeit all the rights privileges and fran
chises conferred by the charter or act Of ncorpora
ton of such body corporate, and shall also forfeit
and pay for every such violation for the use of the
school fund of this state the sum of five hundred
dollars TO be recovered by action of debt in any
court of competent Jurisdiction in the name of the
state of Wisconsin, on the relation of any person
who may see hit to prosecute the same. And any
officer director stakeholder or agent of such body
corporate, who shall in the name of such corpora
ton or otherwise, violate any of the provisions of
said first section shall be subject to all the pains
and penalties prescribed in the second section of
this act, the same if such violation had been
committed in his individualcap and any such
offence committed by any person named in this
section, may be prosecuted in any county of this
state, where any of said paper may be found circu
loting.
Sec. 5. Any person who shall inform against
and cause to be prosecuted to conviction any per-
son, or who shall on his own relation cause to be
prosecuted to judgment any body corporate, for
violating the provisions contained in the first sec
ton of this act shall be entitled to receive one half
of the fine or forfeiture imposed for such violation
when collected.
Sec. 6. Justices of the Peace shall have full pow
or and concurrent jurisdiction to try and determine
all misdemeanors arising under the provisions of
this act upon complaint on oath being made for
that purpose, by any person, in the same mannerI
and with the privilege of trial by jury to the
accused, as provided in chapter SO Of the Revised
Statutes of Wisconsin.
Sec. 7. All contracts that shall be made or ente-
red into of any kind whatever, the consideration
of which, in whole in part shall consist of any
such circulating paper as is prohibited by the first
and second sections of this act, and all payments
made in any such unauthorized paper, shall be null
and void for any purpose whatever.
Sec. 6. The certificate of the secretary of state
of any of the several states of the United States
and Iunderl his hand and SEAL shall be legal evil
dence of the corporate existence of any and all !
banking corporations within such state.
Sec. 9. This act shall be Immediately published
by the Secretary of State, and take effect and be
in force from and after the first day of July, 1853
The Secretary of State shall cause this act to be
published in every Newspaper in this state.
II. l.. PALMER, Speaker assembly.
gee ID. c. REED, Prest. pro TEN. Senate.
Approved, April 2 1858.
ID. FARWELL.