Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-26
The Bank or Tennessee and the Free
Rank Securities.



TO dc Editors If dhe Union & American
notice an editorial in Your Sunday morn
ing's issue an account of the condition
Of the Exchange Bank, and quoting two
sections of the act of 1856. You then
say .'the spirit and intent of these laws have
not been observed by the bank of Tennessee
or the recent Comptroller desire to state
that the charter of the Bank only authorizes
the deposit of money in the Bank, which is
always used by the Bank and for which it is
liable on demand. The Directors very early
after its organization adopted, however, the
following resolution the Bank shall ''receioe
special deposits Of Bank notes, uacofned gold, bars
of strcr, wrought plate and other Vatalabk articles OF
small bulk for safe keeping at the risk Of The de
positor."
Under this regulation the Bank has been in
the habit of receiving 6ores and trunks and
packages of various kinds, generally under
seal or lock and key and keeping them IN the
vaults of the Bank for the accommodation of
the owner and without comrensation-the
Bank officers generally ignorant OF the con-
tents, and having no control over them. ex-
cept to return them as delivered to the owner.
Before the passage of the act Of 1856, the
former Comptroller, believing the vault of the
Bank safer than his Office, deposited in the
vault the Bonds of the State belonging to the
Free Banks and constantly came to the Bank.
took possession of the bonds, cut off Coupons
and delivered them to the parties entitled
this practice has been continued ever since.
The Bonds have been deposited by the Comp
troler in tin boxes under lock and key and
kept in the vault and when the Comptroller
came or his deputy with the keys they were
permitted to open the boxes, take out Bonds
or Coupons, and no account was ever taken
by the Bank. i regarded them as special de-
posts over which the officers of the Bank had
no control whatever, except to redeliver the
boxes when called for.
Upon the passage of the act of 1856 di-
recting that 'te Bonds required to be deposited
nth the Comptroller" should be "placed on
deposit in the Bank of Tennessee subject to
the order of the Comptroller only, for the
purpose of carrying into effect this act and
the one this is intended to amend" regard
ed in no other light than compelling by law
the then Comptroller to do what his prede-
cessor had done voluntarily. did not regard
the law as giving the Bank officers any au-
thority to supervise the conduct of the Comp
troller in putting the Bonds in his box, or
taking. them out or cutting off the Coupons,
or in any way deciding for what object or
purpose they were taken by him, or indeed
any authority whatever to prevent him from
doing so. He was q high officer under bond
and security, and it was his dnty to keep an
account of the Bonds and Coupons put into
or taken out of the box. In other words,
regarded the deposit as special, and believed
that the Legislature only intended to author
ize the Comptroller to have the use of the
Bank vault as a more safe place to keep the
Bonds than in his own vault, which was au-
thorized by the 18th section of the same act.
/ SO expressed myself to the officers of the
Bank at the time, and l still entertain the
same opinion.
/ may further add that no Bond or Coupon
has ever been taken from any one of the
boxes except by the Comptroller or his deputy
so far as know or believe. The accompany
ing statement of the dealing in Bonds between
the Bank of Tennessee and the Exchange
Bank has been prepared by the Cashier for
the use of the Legislative Committee now in
session, which You will please publish
l am respectfully, &c