The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1858-01-23
A Currency Fraud.

OiCNy OtoVC VI udIue.
These notes are signed by w. H. Rounds,
Cashier, and N. 3. Smith, President, and are
engraved by Wellstood, Hay & Whiting, N.
York.
Each note, says the st. Paul .Aduertiser,
bears the following endorsement of the bank
er under whose protection it is issued Re-
deemable in currency or gold at current
rates." signature of the Banker)
AS in duty bound, we inquired about this
Central Bank, and have the following facts:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, COUNCIL CHAMBER,
August, Dec. 20, 1857.
DEAR SIR-Your letter of the Oath inst.
did not reach me until yesterday, having been
msdirected by you to Portland, instead of
Augusta.
For the purpose of reply, it will be suffi-
Gent to refer you to the printed extract which
accompanies this letter, prepared by Mr..
Goodenow, who is one of the two Bank Com
missioners of this State.
l hope you will be able to extnguish any
banks hailing from this or any other State.
Your ob'dt serv't,
JOSEPH H. WILLIAMS.
MR.. j. THOMPSON.
The following is the extract above referred
to-:
we 90 not propose to interfere with the
currency of St. Paul, but we will state for
tne'r dl1catio'', that no such bank as the
central Bank Grey, Name has any legal
existence in this State.
"a cnarter was granted by our legislature
on the 18th day of April last to Samuel Nav.
all, and others named therein, for Bank to
be located at Gray Corner, in the County of
Cumberland. The Corporation has never
been organized, and the charter is. and has
been since the 18th of October, a dead letter.
and if in this State any person should issue.
to be circulated as money. bank bills. as a
banking association under the name of the
Central Bank, Grey, State of Maine,' or as
private bankers, they would be liable to a
penalty of one thousand dollars for each of.
fence.'
ROBERT GooDENow,
One of the Bank Commissioners for State of Maine
The above is copied from Thompson's
Bank Note Reporter OF the 9th inst. 1t speaks
for itself.
The bankers in St. Paul who received the
picture promises to pay" from Mr.. NAVAL,
are understood to be MAcKuB1N & EDGER-
TON, w. L. BANNING, J. JAY KNOX & Co.,
CALDWELL & Co., BosrwIcK, PEAsE & Co.
and ENNIS & PLANT, at Hastings. They OBJ
tanned the stuff from NAVAL, in the way of
loan, at nominal rate of interest, and gave
their notes to him due in the spring, and pay
able at their option, ia the same kind of pa
per they received.
The Bank Commissioner of Maine having
however shown that no such bank has any
existence in that State, the notes of the "Cen-
trail Bank of Gray, Maine," are worthless, ex-
cept SO far as the persons severally endorsing
them may be good and responsible men,
Their respective ability to redeem the notes
they have backed with their names, is all the
security the people have for their ultimately
being paid.
Having no disposition to do the bankers
we have named any injustice, we are ready
to concede that in starting this bogus curren-
cy into circulation, they may have done so
under the belief that the "Bank of Gray"
was legally authorized institution; but
that owing to the panic and hard times it
had not put out its notes in the State where
it was originally located and that they had
received said notes under this impression
and were actuate in putting them in circu-
lation here by wish to furnish the commu-
nifty with small amount of currency that
could not be RENTED off East in payment of
debts, but would certainly remain amongst
us to serve as u convenient and much needed
medium of exchange in the transactions of
trade and business in this locality though it
might be suggested that if this was their de-
sign, City Scrip was safer m dunn of more
intrinsic value, which with their endorsement
would undoubtedly have circulated at par
But be their motives in giving these "Grav
backs" circulation in this community what
they may, the exposition now made of
their being issued by no legally authorized
banking institution, brings them and their
endorsers under the provisions Of the shin
plaster law; the penalties of which the latter
have undoubte ly incurred, if anybody choos-
es to enforce the law against them.
To the public we would remark, that there
need be no alarm in regard to the legal bind.
Ing force OF the endorsement on the back of
the notes in question. 1t is scarcely an en- .
dorsement in that legal sense requiring each
note to be protested in order to hold the en-
dorsers. 1t is rather a guaranty of the
promise to pay" contained in the BODY of
the note. ln effect, it is equivalent to each
banking house having issued new shinplas-
tiers and signed their names to them.
While we have felt bound to give to the
public all the light on this subject in our
possession, SO that every man might take
the course which seen1eth meet and nroner
unto him, We do not advise rash measures.
nor believe otherwise than that every note
of "Gray" so endorsed, will eventually be re.
deemed. Still such issues are dangerous to
the community, and even the plea of necessi.
ty can hardly justify them.
1t should not be overlooked, either.
that a small quantity of these "Gray" notes
have been put in circulation by somebody.
without any endorsement or guaranty what
ever All such notes are entirely worthless
and people should be on their guard against
taking them.
More about the CURRENCY.