BARTER 
 
 AND 
 
 B Y-L A WS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CITY OF NEW-YORK.,, 
 
 The hand of the Diligent maketh rich. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PRINTED BY J. SEYMOUR, 49 JOHN-STEEET, 
 
 1819. 
 
AN ACT 
 
 .To Incorporate an Association by the name of A B.l\k 
 a FOR SavIj\gs in the Citv of New-York ; 
 
 I Passed, March 2G, 1819. 
 
 WHEREAS the Society fov the Prevention of Pauperism 
 11 the city of New-York, have petitioned the Leg:islature 
 or an act of incorporation, for the laudable purpose of en- 
 ;ouragiii^ in the coniniunity, habits of industry and econo- 
 ny, by receiving and vesting- in government securities, “or 
 lock created and issued under and by virtue of anj' Law of 
 he United States or of this State, and in no other way,” 
 Itch small sums of money as may be saved from tlie earn- 
 ngs of tradesmen, mechanics, labourers, minors, servants, 
 ,nd others ; thereby affording the two-fold advantage ofse- 
 urity and interest: And the Legi,slature considering it their 
 luty to cherish all laudable attempts to ameliorate the con- 
 ition of the poor and labouring class of the conimmiity— 
 'herefore, 
 
 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Neic-York, 
 ^presented in Senate and Assembly, —That 'W'illiani Bay¬ 
 'd, John Murray, Junior, Noah Browai, William Few, 
 rockholst Livingston, Cadwallader D. Golden, George 
 rcularius, Thomas Buckley, Duncan P. Campbell, Ben- 
 min Clark, James Eastburn, Henry Eckford, Thomas Ed- 
 Philip Hone, John E. Hyde, Peter A. Jay, Zechariah 
 swis, Dennis M'Carthy, Andrew Morris, James Palmer, 
 ihn Pinfard, Abraham Russell, Jacob Sherred, Josepli 
 
4. 
 
 Smith, Najah Taylor, Jeremiah Thompson, William AVil- 
 <on, and Samuel Wood, shall he, and are hen 1 t I 
 
 a body corporate and politic, by the name of “ The Bank 
 for Sarin-rs in the City of Neic-York and by that name 
 they shall have perpetual succession, and shall be persons 
 capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being im¬ 
 pleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending and 
 being defended, in all courts and places whatsoever; and 
 may have a common seal, with power to change and alter 
 tile same from time to time ; and shall be capable of pur¬ 
 chasing, taking, holding, and enjoying, to them and their 
 successors, any real estate in fee simple, or otherwise; and 
 any goods, chattels, and personal estate, which shall he ne¬ 
 cessary for the purposes above recited, and of selling, leas¬ 
 ing, or otherwise disposing of the said real and personal es¬ 
 tate, or any part thereof, at their will and pleasure. Pro¬ 
 vided always, that the clear annual value of such real and 
 personal estate, “ exclusive of the profits that may arise from 
 the interest accruing upon the stock, or from the sale of any c 
 stock in which the deposits made in the said Bank may be 
 invested,” shall not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars; 
 •and that the trustees or managers of said institution shall 
 not, directly or indirectly, receive any pay or emolument for ^ 
 their services, nor shall they issue any" notes, make any dis¬ 
 counts, or transact any business which belongs to, or is 
 transacted by, incorporated Banks, other than is herein spe¬ 
 cified. Provided also. That the funds of the said corpora¬ 
 tion shall be used and appropriated to the promotion of the 
 objects stated in the preamble to this Act, in the manner 
 herein mentioned, and those only. 
 
 And be it further enacted, That the said association, 
 so incorporated, shall receive as deposits, from persons of 
 the description contained in the recital to this act, all sums 
 of money that may be offered for that purpose, in such 
 sums, and on such terms, for the purpose of being invested 
 as aforesaid; which sbaltbe invested accordingly, and shall 
 
i/s repai/l to each depositer ivheii required, and at such times, 
 •aiiii with such interest, and under such regulations, as the 
 Board ot 'Iruslees, to he appointed as is hereafter mention¬ 
 ed, shall from time to time prescribe ; which regulations 
 shall be put up in some public and conspicuous place in the 
 •room where the business of the said corporation shall bo 
 itrausacted, but shall not be altered so as to affect any one 
 ^who may have been a depositer previous to such alteration. 
 jNo President, Vice-President, Trustee, or Accountant, shall 
 jdirectly or indirectly borrow or use the funds of the corpora¬ 
 tion, except to pay necessary current expenses ; and all cer- 
 jliticates, or evidences of deposit, made by the proper officer, 
 fshall be as binding on the corporation, as if it were under 
 ilheir common seal. And the said corporation shall from 
 time .to time have power to make, constitute, ordain, and 
 establish such by-laws and regulations as they shall judge 
 proper, for the election of their officers, for prescribing 
 their respective functions, and the mode of discliarging the 
 same, for regulating the times and places of meeting of the 
 officers and trustees, and for the transacting, managing, and 
 directing the affairs of the institution. Provided such by ¬ 
 laws and regulations are not repugnant to this act, to the 
 constitution and laws of this State, or of the United States. 
 Provided further, That it shall be the duty of the Trustees 
 of the said Bank to regulate the rate of interest to be allow¬ 
 ed to the depositers, so that they shall receive a rateable 
 proportion of all the profits of the said Bank, after deduct¬ 
 ing therefrom all necessary expenses authorised by this act 
 to be incurred. 
 
 And be it further enacted. That the officers of the said 
 institution shall consist of a President and three Vice-Presi¬ 
 dents, who, together ivith twenty-four Trustees, shall con¬ 
 stitute a Board «f Managers ; five of whom, “ provided the 
 President, or one of the Vice-Presidents, be present,” assem- 
 Jiling at the time and place designated for that purpose by 
 
6 
 
 Oiiv bv-la-.vs or regulations of the institution, shall constitute 
 a legal meeting thereof. 
 
 And be it farther enacted. That AVilliam Bayard shall 
 he President; John Murray, Junior, first Vice-President; 
 Acah Brown, second Vice-President, and William Few, 
 third Vice-President; Brockholst Livingston, Cadwallader 
 D. Golden, George Arcularius, Thomas Buckley, Duncan 
 p. Campbell, Francis Cooper, James Eastburn, Henry Eck- 
 f(;rd, Thomas Eddy, Philip Hone, John E. Hyde, Peter A. 
 Jay, Zechariah Lewis, Dennis JPCarthy, Andrew Morris, 
 James Palmer, John Pintard, Abraham Russel, Jacob Sher- 
 red, Joseph Smith, Najah Taylor, Jeremiah Thompson, 
 William Wilson, and Samuel AVood, be the first Trustees, 
 who shall constitute the first Board of Managers of said in¬ 
 stitution ; and in case of a vacancy, by death, resignation, 
 or othenvise, among the said officers and trustees, such va¬ 
 cancy shall be filled up by ballot by the Board of Managers, 
 at their first regular meeting thereafter, and the person hav¬ 
 ing the majority of the whole number present, and voting, 
 shall be considered as duly elected, and not otherwise; and 
 the said board shall from time to time appoint a fit person 
 as an accountant of the institution, removeable at pleasure, 
 who shall give such reasonable security for his fidelity and 
 good conduct, as the board of managers may from time to 
 time require; aud they may, if necessaiy, appoint a clerk 
 to assist him. 
 
 And be it further enacted, That the Board of Trustees 
 shall have power to appoint a clerk or clerks, and such other 
 officers and servants as they may deem necessary for con¬ 
 ducting the affitirs of the institution, and to remove them at 
 their pleasure, and to appoint others in their places; and 
 to fix the salaries of such clerks or other officers so appoint¬ 
 ed. 
 
 And be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of 
 this corporation to make an annual report to the Legislature, 
 and to the Common Council of the city of New-York, of 
 the state of their funds. 
 

 The Insutiition shall he denominated “ The Bank for 
 Savings in the City of Neiv-York,” and shall be tinder the 
 management of twenty-eight Trustees. 
 
 II. 
 
 The Board of Trustees shall meet at least four times in 
 every year, five of whom, with the President or one of the 
 Vice-Presidents, shall constitute a quorum. 
 
 III . 
 
 The Trustees shall select a Treasurer from their own 
 Board, and shall appoint sucli other persons as they may 
 deem necessary to be employed in the Bank, and three of 
 their ovm number shall he appointed as a monthly attending 
 Committee ; whose duty it shall he, either together or singly, 
 to attend at the Bank during the time it shall be open, and 
 to have the general superintendence and management of it 
 during the recess of the Board. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The monthly' attending Committee shall keep minutes of 
 their proceedings, and shall lay them before the Board of 
 Trustees at each regular meeting, noting particularly the 
 amount deposited and drawn out on each Bank day. 
 
 V. 
 
 Tfo President, Vice President, or Trustee, shall receive, 
 directly or indirectly, any pay or emoluments for his ser¬ 
 vices, nor be responsible for any loss whatever. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Deposits of one Dollar, or any number of Dollars, shall 
 be received, but no fractional parts of a Dollar. 
 
 VII. 
 
 On the third Wednesday of January and July in every 
 year, there shall be declared and paid a dividend of two and 
 a half per centum, or live per centum per annum, on all sums 
 
9 
 
 above five Dollars, which shall have been deposited for the 
 space of six months previous to the 1st of July and 1st of 
 January, and a proportionable rate of interest shall be paid 
 on any sums which shall have been deposited for the space 
 of thiee months previous to the above dates. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 No interest shall be paid on any sums withdrarvn, 
 i/for the period which may have elapsed since the last divi- 
 ■;dend ; nor shall any interest be paid on any sums which 
 j^shall have been withdrawn before any dividend shall have 
 Jbeeii declared. 
 
 ?; IX. 
 
 j All monies deposited in the Bank, except such sums 
 gas may be deemed necessary to reserve for immediate pur- 
 |poses, shall be invested in Stock, created and issued under 
 |and by virtue of any law of the United States, or of this 
 |State, or as may be hereafter provided for by law. 
 
 I X. 
 
 All dividends which shall not have been called for within 
 three months after they shall have been declared, shall be 
 added to the principal of the depositer, and shall be entitled 
 to dividends as much as the original deposit. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Dividends may be received either personally, by the order 
 in writing of the elepositers, or by letter of Attorney. Mo¬ 
 ney deposited shall only be drawn out by the depositer, or 
 by some person legally authorised by the depositi^r ; but 
 no person shall receive any part of bis principal or interest, 
 Without producing the original book, that such payments 
 may be entered therein. No money can be withdrawn ex¬ 
 cept on the third Wednesday in January, April, July, and 
 October; and one week’s notice before the day of withdraiv- 
 ing, must be given to the Treasurer, and no less sum than 
 Five Dollars of the capital of any depositer shall be with¬ 
 drawn, unless the wliole sum deposited be less tluiii tlittl 
 amount: All monies received by the Treasurer, shall be in 
 
10 
 
 specie or in bills taken in deposit bv the incorporated Banks 
 in the city of Xew-York, and all payments shall be made in 
 the same manner. All checks must be drawn by the Trea¬ 
 surer, and countersigned hy the President, or by one of the 
 Vice-Presidents, provided neither of said officers act as 
 Treasurer. 
 
 XII. 
 
 All deposits shall be entered in the book of this Corpora¬ 
 tion, and a duplicate shall be g-iven to each depositer, in 
 which the sura paid by' him shall be entered, and which 
 shall be his voucher, and the evidence of bis property in 
 the said institution. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The Trustees invest the Attending Committee with pow¬ 
 er to close the account, or to refuse to receive the deposits 
 of any' individual, whenever they may deem it expedient. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 On the decease of any depositer, the amount standing to 
 the credit of the deceased, shall be paid to his or her 
 legal representatives. 
 
 XV. 
 
 At the stated meeting of the Board of Trustees, in Janu¬ 
 ary of e.ach year, they shall make a particular statement of 
 their accounts, to exhibit to the Legislature of this State, 
 and to the Corporation of this city. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 There shall be a Funding Committee of three Trustees, 
 who, together rntli the Treasurer, shall meet at 4 o’clock 
 every Monday afternoon, or oftener if necessary, for the pur¬ 
 pose of investing the funds. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 On making the first deposit, the depositer shall be requir¬ 
 ed to subscribe, and thereby signify his assent to, the Regu¬ 
 lations and By-Laws of the institution. 
 
, The Bank shall be open for the reception of deposits on 
 Saturday evenings from C to 9 o’clock, and on Mondays 
 B;oin 11 A. M. to 2 o’clock P- hi. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 S The Trustees may at any time make such other regula¬ 
 tions or alterations in those previously made, as may he 
 "deemed necessary; provided they be not contrary to the 
 |ict of incorporation, 
 i XX. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep a book, in 
 which shall be entered the proceedings of the Trustees at 
 every meeting ; to notify the Trustees of the meetings and 
 the Committees of their terms of service, and to cause to 
 3e provided the fuel, candles, &c. for their accommodation, 
 
 XXI. 
 
 ■ It shall be the duty of the 1 reasurer to receive the money 
 from the Committee on Monday of every week, and to de¬ 
 posit it on the same day in the Bank or Banks that the 
 Trustees may direct, and to inform the Funding Committee 
 of the sum in hand, 
 
 XXII, 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Clerk to at tend at the Bank 
 during Bank hours, and to enter the deposits in the books 
 of the Bank, and of the depositors, .and to comply with the 
 instructions of the Treasurer and attending Committee. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Funding Committee to attend 
 every Monday afternoon, and to invest the Money deposited 
 as they shall see fit, and they are empowered to call upon 
 
 the Treasurer for the balance in his hands, and to report to 
 him the investment of the said Monies. No transfer of Stock 
 shall be made beyond ten thousand Dollars without a special 
 order of the Board of Trustees. 
 
12 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 The Trustees sliuU be at liberty to return the amount of 
 all or any part of the deposits, on giving- two months noticc- 
 of such intention. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 All Jlonies shall be deposited and invested in the name 
 of the “ President and Trustees of the Bank for Savings.” 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 The Trustees are empowered to fill up any vacancy which 
 may occur in their number by ballot. All persons who may 
 be elected as Trustees must be nominated at least one regu¬ 
 lar meeting before the election. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 The monthly attending Committee shall have the general 
 superintendance of the Bank during their month, and in case 
 of the death, absence, or inability of any member or mem¬ 
 bers of that Committee, it shall be the duty of the Secretaj-y 
 to notify the like number from the next monthly Committee, 
 beginning at the first name on the list, and proceeding from 
 month to month until the vacancy be tilled.