Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-03-04
The National Banks.

The charters of 1913 national banks
expire within year On one day 297 Of
them will go out of existence. Many of
the remainder will follow at varying in
tervals. Legislation for the prohibition
of these banks and for the extension Of
their charters is proposed. The questions
involved are importan', and have been
submitted to Attorney General Brewster
for his opinion He thinks that
the national banking associations,
organized under the act of Feb
ruary %, 1858, can renew their
articles of association when these do not
conflict with the provisions of the
statute. He thinks that associations so
organized for period of less than TWEEN
ty years from the data Of the act cannot,
by amending their articles, extend the
period to twenty years from that date.
He thinks that an amendment of the
articles of association changing the
maximum originally determined would
be consistent with law, provided
the new maximum be deter
mined by the Comptroller of the
Currency. He also thinks that an
amendment of the articles providing for
an increase of the number of directors
would not be inconsistent with the pro-
visions of the statute. He says that
when the terms of national banks expire,
the laws do not forbid the stockholders
of such expiring corporation from or
ganizing a new banking association nor
from assuming the name OF the old cor
porstion; and in the absence of any pro
hibition to that effect, no legal obstacle
tn the formation of a new association by
such stockholders and the adoption of
the name Of the old association would
exist.
To the final question submitted to him
Mr.. Brewster says.
II do not know Of anything to pre-
vent national banking association, upon
the expiration of the period limited for
its duration, from being converted into
State bank under the laws of the State,
provided it has liquidated its affairs
agreeably to the laws of Congress; nor,
after it has thus become a State bank, to
prevent such a bank from being con-
verified back into national banking
| association under section 515 of the Re
vised Statutes, and adopting the name of
the expired corporation, with the appro-
val of the Comptroller of the Currency.
To enable a State bank so to reconstruct
itself into a national banking associa
ton, authority from the State is not
necessary"
There is no doubt that the national
banking system has proven a great con-
venience to the country at large, and it
would be advantageous to the public in
many ways to have it continued. Never
theless, if such is the final determination
of Congress, greater restrictions should
be thrown around the system, 1t has
not been forgotten how but few months
ago the banks combined and threatened
to create general panic in the country
by Withdrawing their circulation if the
funding act of the last Congress became
a law, and their action so frightened our
de faeto President that he interposed
his veto in their behalf.
Thus the banks were not only
enabled to control the legislation
of the country, but showed what terrible
power for good or evil they possessed.
The present Congress recognized this
dangerous power in the passage Of this re-