SECTION 12. The said assignees shall pay out of the assets and property of the said bank, in case of an assignment, the debts and liabilities of the same, in the following order: First, note holders; second, depositors; third, all other creditors, except stockholders, who shall be last paid. SECTION 13. If any president. cashier, or any other officer or clerk Assets. of the said bank, shall fraudulently embezzle or appropriate to his own Fraud or embezuse or to the use of any other person or persons, any money or other zlement. property belonging to the said institution, or left with the same as a special deposite, or otherwise, he or they, upon conviction of such offence, shall be fined in a sum not less than the amount so appropriated or embezzled, and sentenced to undergo imprisonment in one of the state penitentiaries, as the case may be, to be kept in separate or solitary confinement, at labor, for any term not exceeding two years, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That this shall not prevent any person or persons aggrieved from pursuing his, her, or their civil remedy, against such person or persons. SECTION 14. The insolvency of the said bank or monied corporation, Presumption of shall be deemed fraudulent, unless its affairs shall appear, upon investi- fraud. gation, to have been fairly and legally administered, and generally with the same care and diligence that agents, receiving a compensation for their services, are bound by law to observe; and it shall be incumbent on the directors and stockholders of the said bank, in case of insolvency, to repel by proof the presumption of fraud. SECTION 15. In the case of a fraudulent insolvency, the directors of Liability of dithe said bank, by whose acts or omissions the insolvency was in whole rectors. or in part occasioned, and whether then in office or not, shall each be liable to the stockholders and creditors of the said bank for his proportional share of their respective losses: the proportion to be ascertained by dividing the whole loss amongst the whole number of directors liable for its reimbursement. SECTION 16. If the moneys remaining due to the creditors of the Contribution by said bank, if its insolvency shall be adjudged fraudulent, after the dis- stockholders. tribution of its effects, shall not be collected in whole or in part from the directors liable for their reimbursement, the deficiency, so far as to redeem the notes issued, shall be made good by the contribution of the stockholders of the said bank; the whole amount of the deficiency shall be assessed on the whole number of shares of the capital stock, and the sum necessary to be paid on each share shall then be ascertained; and each stockholder shall be liable for the sum assessed on the number of shares held by him, not exceeding the nominal amount of such shares, in addition to the sums paid or which he may be liable to pay, on account of these shares. SECTION 17. If the amount assessed on the shares of any stockholder, Liability of transunder the provisions of the last section, shall not be collected from ferers. such stockholder, by reason of his insolvency or his absence from this state, the sum remaining due on such assessment shall be recoverable against the person from whom the delinquent stockholder, at any time within six months previous to the insolvency of the said bank, shall have received a transfer of the shares or any portion of the shares then held by him; and any person having made such transfer, shall be liable in the same manner and for the same proportion that he would have been liable, had he continued to hold the shares so transferred. SECTION 18. The term stockholders, as used in the preceding sections of this act, shall extend to every equitable owner of stock appear Stockholders con- ing on the books of the said bank at the time of its insolvency, in the strued. Insolvency construed. Statement. Capital. Real estate. Security. Debts collectable. Deposites, &c. Losses. Names, &c., of stockholders. name of another person, and to every person who shall have advanced the instalments or purchase money of any shares of stock standing in the name of any of his children under the age of twenty-one years; but no person holding stock as an executor or administrator, or as a guardian or trustee appointed by a last will or testament, or by a court of competent authority, and no legal or equitable owner of stock under the age of twenty-one years, shall be individually responsible on account of the shares so held. SECTION 19. The term insolvency, used in the preceding sections, shall be construed to apply to the said bank, when it is compelled to make an assignment, according to the provisions of the seventh section of this act; and it shall thereupon be the duty of the directors of the said bank, for the time being, within ten days after such assignment, to file in the office of the prothonotary of the court of common pleas of Lehigh county, verified by oath or affirmation, a full statement of its affairs, containing I. An account of capital stock of the bank, the amount paid in, and the amount of stock held by such corporation. II. The quantity, description and value of the real estate of the said bank. III. The shares of stock held by the bank, whether absolutely or as collateral security, with their number and value. IV. The debts owing to said bank, and the amount of said debts that are then collectable. V. The amount of debts owing by the said bank, with the amount of notes or bills in circulation, amount of deposites, and all other liabilities, together with the amount of its loans and discounts, and of specie on hand. VI. A particular account of the losses of the corporation, and the cause of its insolvency. VII. An accurate list of the names and residence, and the amount of stock held by each stockholder in said bank at the time of, and for six months prior to, the time of the said assignment. SECTION 20. If the court shall be in session when the said statement Presentment of is filed, the same shall be immediately presented to the court, by the statement to court said directors, for examination; and if the court should not be in session at such time, then the said statement shall be presented upon the first day of the session of the court thereafter; and it shall thereupon be the duty of the court to appoint three competent auditors, who shall be duly sworn or affirmed to make a strict investigation of the affairs of such bank, the accuracy and fairness of the statement thus presented to the court, and to perform their duties with fidelity. SECTION 21. The auditors thus appointed shall have power to compel the production of the books and papers, and to subpœna and examine the directors and officers of the said bank, and generally to have and exercise all the authority how conferred on auditors by the existing laws; and after having performed their duties, they shall report to the court the result of their investigation, and in case they report that the insolvency was fraudulent, it shall be their duty, also, to ascertain and report the amounts due from the several directors, according to the liabilities imposed by the provisions of this act. SECTION 22. The said court shall thereupon proceed to the investigation of the matters contained in said report, and shall determine whether the insolvency of said bank was fraudulent or otherwise; or if they deem it necessary for the purposes of justice, may direct an issue at the request of any person interested, to try the fact of fraudulent insolvency; and if the judgment of the court upon the report of the auditors, or upon the verdict rendered upon such issue, should be that the insolvency of such bank was fraudulent, then, and in such case, the said court shall proceed to decree against the directors, the amount due from each according to their several liabilities; and the said court of common pleas, for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this act, shall have the same powers and authorities to obtain the appearance of persons thus made amenable to their jurisdiction, and to compel obedience to their orders and decrees, and enforce execution thereof, as are now by law vested in the said courts in cases of trusts. SECTION 23. So much of any act or acts of assembly as are hereby Repeal. altered or supplied, be and the same are hereby repealed. APPROVED-The twenty-sixth day of April, one thousand eight hun dred and forty-four. DAVID R. PORTER. No. 277. AN ACT To enable the burgesses, high constable and common council of the borough of SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the burgesses, high constable and common council of the borough of Bristol, in Bucks county, be and they are hereby authorized and empowered to lease, for a term of years, to the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad company, or other persons, by such terms as may be agreed upon, that part of Market street which lies between Wood street and Radcliffe street, in said borough, to enable the lessees in said lease to construct a railroad thereon; and also, to lease that part of said Market street, between Radcliffe street and the river Delaware, for said purpose, as well to enable said lessees to erect such buildings thereon as may be necessary to accommodate their business: Provided, That the power hereby granted shall not authorize the said corporation to lease a greater portion of Market street between the two last named points than nineteen feet in width, to be measured from and along the south-western side of said Market street, between said points: And provided further, That the assent in writing, of not less than a majority of the qualified voters of said borough shall first be given to the making of such contract or lease: Provided further, That the said borough of Bristol shall be liable to lot owners upon said street, for any damages which they may sustain by decrease of the value of their property, in consequence of the construction of said railroad and buildings, to be paid out of the moneys which the said borough may receive in consideration from the Trenton railroad company, for the use of said street. JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. WILLIAM BIGLER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED-The twenty-sixth day of April, one thousand eight hun dred and forty-four. DAVID R. PORTER. License to William Parks, Jr. John Wilkins. Amos Garwood. No. 278. AN ACT For the benefit of William Parks, Jr., Amos Garwood and John Wilkins. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That it shall be lawful for the court of quarter sessions of Cumberland county, at the next August sessions of said court, to grant a license to William Parks, Jr., to keep a public house of entertainment in the village of Newburg, in said county, as if the said William Parks, Jr., had made his application in regular form, at the proper time. SECTION 2. That it shall be lawful for the court of quarter sessions of Cumberland county, at the next August sessions of said court, to grant a license to John Wilkins, to keep a public house of entertainment in the village of Hoguestown, in said county of Cumberland, in the same manner as might have been done if the said John Wilkins had published his application, in the manner prescribed by law. SECTION 3. That Amos Garwood, of Shermansville, in the township of Sadsbury, Crawford county, may receive a license from the proper court to keep a tavern in said village for one year, ending the second Monday of April next, notwithstanding the omission to publish a notice of his application as required by law, upon his compliance with the laws in other respects. JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. WILLIAM BIGLER, Speaker of the Senate. APPROVED The twenty-sixth day of April, one thousand eight hun dred and forty-four. DAVID R. PORTER. No. 279. AN ACT To extend the charter of the Commercial bank of Pennsylvania. SECTION 1. Be it enacied by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the charter of the Commercial bank of Pennsylvania, shall be and the Charter consame is hereby continued and extended for the term of five years from tinued. the expiration of the present charter, subject to the provisions imposed by this act, and to all the provisions now imposed upon the said bank by existing laws of this commonwealth; and also subject to such further provisions as the legislature may hereafter think proper to enact for the regulation of banking institutions. SECTION 2. The total liabilities of the said bank, exclusive of deposites, Liabilities limited shall not at any time exceed double the amount of its capital stock paid in, nor shall the debts of every kind due and to become due to the said bank, except debts due from the state of Pennsylvania, ever amount to more than three times its capital stock paid in; and the said bank shall not loan nor discount any when its circulation shall be for thirty consecutive days equal to three times the amount of specie or specie funds in its possession belonging to said bank. SECTION 3. In addition to the returns which the said bank is now Statements. required by law to make when notified so to do by the auditor general, it shall also return on the oath or affirmation of the cashier, a statement in tabular form, showing-first, the whole amount of its liabilities; second, the amount of debts due or to become due to said bank, except as before excepted; and if upon the return so made, it shall appear that its liabilities or debts due or to become due to it, except as before excepted, shall have exceeded, for thirty consecutive days at any quarter of the last year, three times the amount of its capital stock paid in, or that its circulation was greater for thirty consecutive days than three times the amount of specie, or specie funds in its possession, it shall be the duty of the auditor general, forthwith to give notice thereof to the governor, who shall issue a proclamation, which shall be published in one newspaper in Harrisburg, and one paper in the vicinity of the said bank, declaring its charter forfeited; and the said bank shall go into liquidation, under the provisions of the act of the twelfth of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, entitled "An Act to provide for the resumption of specie payments by the banks of this commonwealth, and for other purposes. SECTION 4. That the stockholders of the said bank, and of every Joint liability. bank hereafter incorporated, as well as every bank whose charter is renewed, shall be jointly liable to the creditors of such bank, in their individual capacity, for the amount of notes issued, in an amount not exceeding the par value of the stock owned and possessed by them, respectively, in any such bank or banks, and the manner of enforcing such liability shall be as follows: In case any such bank shall violate Proceedings in the provisions of any law applicable to it, or becomes insolvent or in case of violation failing circumstances, by reason of the mismanagement of its affairs, of law. |