TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Sess.II. Ch. 212,264. 1838.
309
Chap. CCXII .—An Act to restrain the circulation of small notes, as a currency, inthe District of Columbia , and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of theUnited States of America in Congress assembled, That, after thetenth day of April next, it shall be unlawful for any individual, com-pany, or corporation, to issue, pass, or offer to pass, within the Districtof Columbia , any note, check, draft, bank-bill, or any other paper cur-rency, of a less denomination than five dollars, and if any person orcorporation shall violate the provisions of this section, the person sooffending, or, in case of any corporation so offending, the officers ofany such corporation for the time being, shall be liable to indictmentby the grand jury of the county within the District where the offenceshall have been committed; and the person so offending, or the officersof the corporation so offending, shall, on conviction thereof, be fined ina sum not exceeding fifty dollars, at the discretion of the court, forevery offence; one half of said fine shall be paid to the prosecutor, theother half shall be for the use of the county where the offence shallhave been committed : Provided, That should the prosecutor offer him-self, or be admitted, as a witness for the prosecution, he shall forfeit allclaim to any part of the penalty, and the whole shall go to the county,and the court shall give judgment accordingly; and the person so of-fending, and the officers of any corporation, shall also be liable to paythe amount of any note, bill, check, draft, or other paper, constitutingpart of such currency, to any holder thereof, with all costs incident tothe protest and legal collection thereof, with fifty per cent, damages fornon-payment on demand, to be recovered by action of debt; and incase of judgment for the plaintiff, execution thereon shall be had forth-with ; and it shall be the duty of the district attorney of the District ofColumbia to commence prosecutions against all persons and every cor-poration offending against this section, of which he shall have know-ledge or probable information; and, in case of corporations, the prose-cution shall be against the president or any director or cashier thereof,for the time being ; and it shall be the duty of the grand jurors to pre-sent all such offences of which they shall have knowledge or probableinformation; and, that no member of a grand jury shall be ignorant ofhis duty in this particular, it shall be the duty of the court having cog-nizance of all offences against this section to give the same in chargeto the grand juries at the commencement of the term after the passageof this act.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passageof this act, it shall be unlawful for any individual, company, or corpo-ration, to issue, de novo, or knowingly to pass, or procure to be issued,passed or circulated, within the District aforesaid, any note, check,bank-bill, or other paper medium, of the denomination aforesaid, evi-dently intended for common circulation, as for and in lieu of smallchange in gold or silver, or for any other pretence whatever, and whichshall be issued and circulated for the first time after the period abovelimited in this section, under the penalties provided in- the foregoingsection.
Approved, July 7, 1838.
Chap. CCLXIV. — An Act authorizing the printing of the Madison papers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of theUnited States of America in Congress assembled, That the Joint Com-mittee on the Library be authorized to cause the Madison papers to beprinted and published; and that a sum not exceeding five thousand dol-
July 7, 1838.
Act of July 7,1838, ch. 185.
Unlawful,after10th April next,to issue, &c. inthe D. C, anynote, Ac. lessthan ©5,
Violations ofthis section torender the offen-ders liable to in-dictment.
Penalty.
Disposition ofthe fine.
Proviso.
Unlawful,afterthe passage ofthis act, to is-sue, de novo, orknowingly topass, &.c. anynote, &c. of lessthan ©5.
Madison pa-pers.
Act of Oct. 14,1837, ch. 6.