Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-02-13

To the Honorable, the Senate and House Of
ps,vs,sDyg,fBes Of fhe STATE Of Tennessee!

MEMORIAL
To The honorable, the Senate and House Of
Representatives. Of the State Of TsHHs'sss'
GENTLEMEN:
In view Of the bearing that law, enacted by
your honora Die body at the present session Of the
Legislature, may have upon the interests Of the
institutions over which the undersigned preside,
they have thought it proper under the direction OF
their respective boards Of directors to make to you
the representations contained in this paper. The
Law referred to, is an act entitled An act to en-
force the resumption Of specie payments BY the
suspended banks to offer to their acceptance Ger
tain amendments to their charters; and for other
purposes The Union and Planters Banks Of the
State Of Tennessee have, through their respective
rds Of directors taken into consideration the
provisions of said act so far they concern them
and other banks Of said State and to some Of them
would now call your attention.
To make an acceptance Of an amendment to the
charter Of an Incorporated institution valid, 1t is
well known to your honorable body, it is required
that there must be action upon it by the stock
holders, at a general meeting regularly called By
the provisions Of the charters Of both Of said banks
to call general meeting of the stockholders, it is
than ten holding least five hundred shares, shall
demand il; or that the call shall be made by ma
iority Of the directors-in either case, giving at
least six weeks notice in newspapers Of general
circulation, and specifying the object Of said
meeting
Again: the act referred to in its second section
requires that its provisions shall be accepted within
forty days from its passage, that upon failure so
T. do proceedings shall be instituted for forfeit
ure against the reousant bank. Il will be seen
then, that compliance with these terms, by the
Union and Planters Banks, would be impraciicable
for want Of the necessary time to take the proper
action. It has, indeed, been suggested that The
word passage" in the above connection refers 10
the date when the said act shall become law that
is forty days after the rise Of the present Legsia~
ture. This may be correct construction, but 1t
would scarcely be expected that the Union and
Planters Banks would assume such construction
81 their peril 1t is, therefore, respectfully sug-
gested that saidlaw should be amended as 10 give
said institutions sufficient time to present said pro-
visions to their stockholders in ACCORDANCE with their
charters. Besides It will be seen by reference to
said act that in some of its provisions 1t is made to
embrace only such banks as are now in state Of
suspension, aud further, that some doubt might
arise whether it embraces the Bank Of Tennessee
in such manner as to make it stand upon the
same footing with other banks in all future time.
Ii will be obvious to your honorable body, upon
bare suggestion, that those provisions should ope-
rate alike upon all banks in the State, either now
chartered or to be here er chartered; this is true,
whether in reference to the general interests and
currency Of the State, or in reference to the pc
culiar interests Of those banks that may accept the
provisions Of said law.
The undersigned, representing the two Banks
aforesaid, would therefore respectfully suggest to
your honorable body that said act be either so
amended as to make its provisions binding upon the
Bank Of Tennessee, and upon all other Banks now
chartered, or to be hereafter chartered in the State
Of Tennessee; or else that said provisions be made
not binding upon the Accepting Banks longer than
they sre binding upon all other Banks. And, Also
that the clause Of the % section of said act which,
speaking Of the case of any Banks accepting of,
and Afterwards failing to comply with the terms Of
the first section Of this act, declares all that
Banks contracts made after the time when It shall
have 50 failed to comply, null and void and de-
prives it of the power Of maintaining any suit either
in Law or equity, upon any such contracts, be so
altered and amended to take effect, not from and
after such failure, but from and after the judicial
discision announcing such failure.
With these amendments, the undersigned, repre-
senting the Union and Planters's Banks, under the
direction Of their Boards authorized to say re-
spectfully to your honorable body, that they will
Immediately have meetings Of their stockholders
respectively called, and that they will submit said
provisions to their action; and that in the meantime
they will conform as near as in their power to the
general tenor and spirit Of the Act
o. EWING, PrssideRf
Of The Planters BaaE Of T5anesIss.
J. EIRENAN President
Of che Union Bank Of Tennessee.
N.sHvuLF Feb'v g, 1858.