The Portland daily press., 1878-12-21
LOAN ACCOUNTS.
Communication rom The Secretary
the Treasury


the Treasury.
WASHINGTON. Dec. 2O.-rhe following is the
letter from the Secretary of the Treasury. laid
b. fore the House of Representatives today with
reference to the balance on loan accounts,
standing to the credit of the United States, in
the national banks:
81 have the honor to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of a resolution of the House of Represen-
tatives, dated the 18th inst, as follows:
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury
be directed to inform this House at the earliest
day practicable, at the close of the coming con-
eressi"nsl recess, whether there were balances
on the loan account standing to the Unted
States, in any national banks, on the first of
each succ. eding month, to and including the
1st of January, 1879, aud the names and loca-
tions OF the banks which held such balances,
and the amount held by each OF the respective
dates indicated.
In reply 1 state that there were no
balancet on the loan account standing to the
credit of the Ire 4snry of the Un'ted States, in
any national bank, from March, 1876. to Janu-
ary, 1878. A complete list of national bank
deposits with the balance on the loan &C.
count to the credit of the Treasurer of the
United Stairs, held by each February 1st, 1878,
and OBJ the first of each succeeding month, to
and including December 1st 1878. is herewlt
inclosed. The House will be duly advised in
another communication of the balances in
January, 1879, as soon as the returns from the
respective banks shall have been received at
the department. These banks have been desis-
mated from time to time under the provisions Of
department circulars inviting all national banks
of the United States to bscome financial agents
of the government and repositories of public
money for the special purpose of receiving de-
posits on account of subscriptions to the funded
loan, and they were permitted upon proper
security to hold the amount of any subscrp-
ton made or obtained by them, subject to the
drafts or orders of the department, as occasion
require, for the payment of called bonds ma
tured
or any of them, by the Treasurer of the United
States. These amounts represent exclusively the
coin received for subscrp ptions made or obtain
ed by the respective banks and left on deposit
during the running of the 80 days, as required
by law to be given for the payment of called
bonds, partly to prevent the withdrawal of go
large an amount from the channels of business,
and partly as an inducement to those banks to
act eficiently III procuring subscriptions The
very large balances reported as held by the
First National Bank If N. Y, were caused by
temporary deposits of the proceeds of the per
Z cent bonds sold through the syndicate, of which
the bank was q member, and also by the very
large subscriptions of that bank to the 4 per
cent. loan.
The balances reported as due from the
banks on the loan account are, however, to
some extent, nominal, the bonds furnished as
security being largely made up of called bonds
which to all intent are q payment to the
amount of the balance due, but cannot be cred
tied to the bank until the bonds are carefully
examined and the precise amount due on them
ascertsined and the certificates for the amount
issued by ths Treasurer. 1t is proposed to CON.
tinue the same mode of deposit in aid of the
sale of the per cent. bonds during the mex,
year, and attention is called to the recon men.
dationslin the annual report for discretionary
shortening of the period now required for calls
Very respectfully,
(Signed) JOHN SHERMAN,
Secretary of the Treasury.
The tabular report Of balances in the differ
ent baaks SHOVE the aggregates for the monsb
named and the amounts held by the FIRST N q.
tioDsl Bank and the National Bank of Com.
merce of New York and by the Maverick Ma.
tioual Bank of Boston. The last embraces 7;
repositories, but excepting the above nance
there are f-w instances where an amount ex
ceeding 81 100000 vas held