be compelled to return to Canada to see to his property there: that necessity has occurred, but he has not yet abandoned the cherished intention of returning to this State and becoming a naturalized citizen. He asks that an act may be passed releasing the title of the people of this State to the said one hundred acres of land, so purchased by him and his wife of Amasa Paine, and afterwards sold by him as aforesaid, and confirming to the said grantees the sale so made; and also granting to the petitioner the right of holding, using and conveying the parcels of the land so reserved by him from the said premises, as a citizen might do: and he further asks that he may be authorized to hold and convey real property in this State, to the value of thirty thousand dollars, as he wishes to invest his property so as to become a naturalized citizen hereafter, when he shall be able to return to this State.

The committee have been well assured of the good character of the petitioner, and of the attachment to our institutions which he entertains, and but for the precedent they would be strongly inclined to accede to his request.

The provision for resident aliens, who, by taking the preliminary steps for naturalization, are authorized to hold real estate, seems to be as far as sound policy would allow us to go.

It has, however, been usual, when property has been purchased in good faith by resident aliens, without their having taken the ncessary measures for citizenship, not to treat it as escheated, but to release the title of the State, and when necessary to confirm the grant of the alien.

A part of the application of the petitioner is of this character, and so far as relates to the hundred acres of land purchased by him in Troy, the committee deem it proper that his request should be granted; and have prepared a bill for that purpose, which they ask leave to present.

No. 101.

IN ASSEMBLY,

January 27, 1836.

REPORT

Of the committee on grievances, on the petition of Paisley Laing for relief.

Mr. Stetson, from the committee on grievances, to whom was referred the petition of Paisley Laing, praying for the passage of a law directing the canal appraisers to appraise the damages sustained by him, in consequence of the erection of a dam across the Hudson river,

REPORTED:

That the facts sustaining the prayer of the petitioner, are to be found in a report made by the committee on claims, to the House of Assembly, in the session of 1834, (Assembly Documents, No. 127;) and in a similar report from the same committee, made in the House of Assembly, the last session of the Legislature, (document No. 141,) which reports your committee have adopted; and have accordingly instructed their chairman to ask leave to bring in a bill for the relief of Paisley Laing.

[Assem. No. 101.]

No. 102.

IN ASSEMBLY,

January 27, 1836.

REPORT

Of the Comptroller in answer to a resolution of the Assembly, giving a statement of the incorporated banking capital in 1800, 1805, 1810, 1815, 1820, 1825, 1830 and 1835.

The Comptroller, in obedience to a resolution of the Assembly of the 16th instant, requesting him to furnish a statement “which will exhibit for each of the years 1800, 1805, 1810, 1815, 1820, 1825, 1830 and 1835, the amount of incorporated bank capital within the State: Also, a statement of all banking incorporations which have become insolvent from the 1st of January, 1800, to January, 1835; their names, amount of capital, when incorporated, and when they became insolvent:" Respectfully submits the following

REPORT:

The amount of incorporated banking capital has been ascertained by examining the Session Laws from the first organization of the State government to the present time. But the actual capital employed, by the several incorporated banks in the State, at any given period previous to the adoption of the safety fund system, in 1829, cannot be ascertained with certainty. The bank charters granted previous to 1826, authorized the commencement of bank[Assem. No. 102.]

1

ing operations, when a certain per centage on the nominal capital, varying from 12 to 50 per cent, should be actually paid in. The directors had authority to call in additional capital, from time to time, until they reached the limit prescribed in the charter. Returns from the banks, under the old system, of the amount of capital actually employed by each, were made only in a few cascs; and hence it is not practicable to ascertain, with entire accuracy, the amount of banking capital employed at the various periods referred to in the resolution of the Assembly.

A list of the banks chartered in this State from 1791 to 1835, giving the incorporated capital in each case, has been prepared, and is annexed to this report. Where banks have failed at any time intermediate between the periods at which the capital is required to be given by the resolution, the amount of chartered capital is deducted at the close of the five years.

The safety fund system, adopted in 1829, by compelling the banks which were re-chartered under it, to have the whole amount of the chartered capital paid in, has exhibited the difference between the incorporated and the actual capital of many of the old banks. At the close of 1830, after deducting the amount of the diminution of bank capital, by failures and other causes, there remained, of incorporated capital, the sum of......... The amount of capital actually employed, at that time, as given in the report of the Bank Commissioners, for 1831, was......... Add for six banks chartered in 1830, and

....

$21,323,460

not organized or included in the report, 2,550,000

$26,185,000

23,873,460

$1,311,540

This shows a difference between the incorporated and the actual capital, of $2,311,540; which is accounted for by the fact that many of the banks, under the old system, had not called in the whole amount of the capital which they were authorized to use by their charters. Subsequent to this period, there were reductions, probably of the same character, amounting to more than half a million of dollars.