Page:A History of Banking in the United States.djvu/435

 be annulled. The Bank of Missouri might sell the depreciated paper held by it.

The Bank of the State had in its possession, in 1844, $2,230,000 of the bonds of the State given to it for its capital, which it had not negotiated on account of the depressed condition of the market for such securities. A legislative committee reported that if it should sell these bonds, as it might do, "it would prove most disastrous to the State and be of little or no benefit to the bank;" and that the bank had as much capital as it could use. It then held $225,020 in notes and drafts issued by the Bank of Illinois, of uncertain value, not exceeding 50 cents on $1. The dividends received by the State, and the bonus, when compared with the interest on the bonds of the State, issued for the stock in the bank, showed a deficiency of $32,855. The educational funds which had been invested in the bank stock had secured an uncertain and irregular income. "The history of the bank proves most conclusively that it never can be made a source of revenue to the State." The bank was denounced as not having served the purposes of its creation, especially because it had used the notes of the suspended banks instead of driving them out.

By a joint resolution of January 30, 1845, the bank was ordered to, deliver all unsold State bonds in its possession to the agent appointed to bring them to the Legislature.

The Governor, in his message, November 18, 1844, was able to say: "The circulating medium of our State has been greatly improved, and indeed it is believed that at no previous time has our currency been in a sounder or better condition than at present. All the worthless and depreciated paper of other States has ceased to circulate among the people, and in its place may now be seen in circulation a fair proportion of silver and gold."

In 1855, the Bank of the State was continued until 1861.