a bonus of six shillings per share, being equal to 14 per cent on the capital. The surplus fund, after these payments, amounts to £100,107. The chartered or nominal capital of this Bank is £5,000,000, in 50,000 shares of £100 each. The sum of £20 has been paid on each share, so that the paid-up capital amounts to £1,000,000 sterling, or nearly $5,000,000. This Bank possesses a larger capital than any other bank in Great Britain, except that of the Bank of England. Appended to the report before us we have a list of the stockholders, embracing nearly eleven hundred names.*

CONDITION OF THE OHIO BANKS, FEBRUARY, 1851.

In the Merchants' Magazine for January, 1851, (vol. xxiv., pages 91-93,) we published a statement of the condition of the several banks in the State of Ohio, in detail, taken from the returns made to John Woods, Esq., the State Auditor, on the first Monday of November, 1850. In the absence of the official document, we now give an abstract of the condition of the banks of Ohio in February, 1851, compiled by our accurate cotemporary of the Cincinnati Price Current:

STATEMENT OF THE CONDITION OF THE OHIO BANKS, FEBRUARY, 1851.

* For an outline of the leading principles, features, &c., of the London and Westminster Bank, see Merchants' Magazine for April, 1850—(vol. xxii., page 449)—and for a tabular statement showing the amount of paid-up capital, annual profits, dividends, and surplus funds of this Bank, on the 31st of December in each year, from the opening of the Bank in 1839, to 1849, see, also, Merchants' Magazine for September, 1850 (vol. xxiii., page 333. From this table it appears that the Bank commenced with a paid-up capital of £182,255, which has been increased from year to year, until, in 1842, it reached £800,000. It remained at that point for the years 1842 to 1846, inclusive. In 1847 the capital was increased to £988,882, and in 1848 to £998,768, and in 1849 to £1,000,000—its present capital.

+ For similar statements for previous quarters, see Merchants' Magazine for November, 1849, February, 1850, June, 1850, November, 1850. In these statements the features of each bank are given in detail.

The capital stock of the Ohio Life and Trust Company is $2,000,000, which is loaned on real estate. The capital of $611,226, on which it is doing business as a bank, consists of loans made to the Company, on which it is paying interest. $875,079 88 of amount due to banks and bankers consists of a balance of $975,337 60, after deducting therefrom $100,257 72 the amount due by the Trust Deparment.

CREDITORS OF INSOLVENT BANKS AND BANKERS.

The Controller of the State of New York, (Office of Free Bank Department, Albany, February, 12th 1851,) in pursuance of an act entitled "an act to provide for a final distribution of the funds held by the Controller, belonging to the creditors of insolvent banks, and bankers, passed, April 10, 1850," gives notice that the time fixed by said law, for the redemption of the circulating notes of the following banks has expired, and that a final dividend has been declared upon the unpaid balances of the outstanding certificates, issued on account of said banks, which will be paid to the holders of such certificates, duly assigned, on presenting the same to Daniel B. St. John, Chief Register of the Free Banking Department, on, or before, the 12th day of August, 1851, and not otherwise, namely:

THE BANKS OF MASSACHUSETTS IN 1850.

We are indebted to Governor BOUTWELL for a copy of the "Final Report of the Bank Commissioners," a document covering more than one hundred pages. This gives a detailed statement of the condition of the Banks of Massachusetts at the date of their examination, during the year 1850. The Commissioners, (Messrs. Solomon Lincoln, Joseph S. Cabot, and George S. Boutwell,) visited all the banks in the State, and seem to have performed the duties imposed by the act under which they were appointed with fidelity. The visits to the several banks were made without previous notice to their officers. In addition to statements referred to above, the Commissioners

have prepared condensed views of leading facts, for the purpose of illustrating the actual condition and practical operations of the banks. It appears from the report of the Commissioners, that—

"The currency of the Commonwealth, so far as it depends upon its banking institu tions, is in a sound and healthy condition. The banks are, in the main, carrying out the objects for which they were created, with fidelity to the public and to stockholders. In most essential particulars, they do, with few exceptions, conform to the requirements of the various statutes passed for their regulation. Their practical operation has been such as to be conducive to the various important interests of the community; and they have generally been managed with so much intelligence and sound judgment, as to render their stock desirable for investment by a large number of our inhabitants, who, from their position, are obliged to intrust their property to some extent to the control of others, for the purpose of procuring from it the income necessary for their support. One of the tables referred to, which are furnished with this report, will show that a very large part of the stock in banks is owned by females, guardians of minors and others, trustees, charitable and benevolent institutions. The stock is widely scattered into almost every village of the State; and but a small comparative amount is held by capitalists, or by persons engaged in heavy mercantile operations, in the large towns and cities. Under skilful management, opportunities have been presented within the few past years, for banks to yield very liberal dividends to stockholders, while they have, at the same time, been relied on as the chief source of revenue to defray the public expenses of the Commonwealth."

The following table shows the amount of the capital of the banks in each county of the State, also, their circulation, deposits, specie, loans, liabilities, resources, &c., at the time of examination by the Commissioners, distinguishing in the aggregate, the thirtynine banks in Boston, and ninety-nine banks out of Boston.

CONDITION OF INSURANCE COMPANIES IN MASSACHUSETTS.

We have received an abstract of the returns of insurance companies incorporated with specific capital, also of the Mutual Marine, and Mutual Fire Insurance Companies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, exhibiting the condition of these institutions on the first day of December, 1850, prepared by the Secretary of the State. These returns are made agreeable to the provisions of the acts of 1837, and of 1844. The total number of Insurance Companies in the State, with specific capital, is thirty, of which eighteen have offices in Boston, and twelve out of Boston. The capital of the eighteen in Boston amounts to $4,956,875, and the twelve in the other cities and towns of the State to $1,150,000, amounting to an aggregate capital of $6,106,875.

The following table shows the condition of the thirty offices, distinguishing the offices in and out of Boston:

AGGREGATE OF INSURANCE COMPANIES, WITH SPECIFIC VALUE.

The annual dividends, for five preceding years, or since incorporated, of eighteen companies in Boston, is 11 5-100 per cent; out of Boston, 6 67-100 per cent; aggregate

* Exclusive of such as are returned as ascertained and unpaid. ful, not charged to profit and loss.

+ Considered bad or doubtOr that remain unsubscribed for.

average of thirty companies, 9 27-100 per cent. The highest rate of interest received on loans, excepting on bottomry or respondentia, 6 per cent; and the highest rate of interests or discounts paid for moneys borrowed by the companies, 6 per cent. It will be seen, from the above table, that, with a total capital of $6,106,875, the risks on the 1st of December, amounted to $140,025,802.

THE MUTUAL MARINE, AND MUTUAL FIRE AND MARINE COMPANIES.

The returns of the Secretary also furnish a statement of three companies in Boston, namely, the Coasters Mutual Marine, the Equitable Safety, and the New England Mutual Marine, and three out of Boston-namely, the Gloucester Mutual Fishing, the Mutual Marine, New Bedford, and the Equitable Marine, Provincetown. The following table shows the leading features of the six Mutual Companies enumerated above:—

All other prop'ty, specifying am't & val. of each kind of prop'ty & stocks
Losses paid during the year ending December 1, on marine risks.....

822,726

625,736

Return premiums paid or credited during the same time, on marine risks
Losses paid on fire risks during the same time..

58,725

28,964

Amount of losses ascertained and unpaid on marine risks.

16,981

Estimated amount of losses on claims unliquidated on marine risks

86,845

Amount of expenses paid....

29,038

Amount insured during the year on marine risks..

38,921,614

Amount of premium on undetermined fire risks..

23,691

Amount of debts owed by the Company, other than those for losses

above mentioned; state for what, and how secured.........

18,230

Amount of delinquent notes included in the assets above.

15,787

Amount of divididends made during the last five years, or since incorporated, if incorporated less than five years...

484,701

With an aggregate of assets amounting, as above stated, to $1,866,882, the six Mutual Companies insured during the year on marine and fire risks $51,913,857. We have omitted, in the preceding tables, cents, for the sake of convenience; the discrepancy in the totals is, however, trifling.

"INTERNAL MANAGEMENT OF A COUNTRY BANK."

In the Merchants' Magazine for February, 1851, (page 169–174,) we published a review of a valuable work, with the above title, and by some inadvertence we ascribed the authorship to MR. JOSEPH LANGTON, General Manager of the Bank of Liverpool; instead of MR. GEORGE RAE, Manager of the North and South Wales Bank, at Liverpool, the real author. The work originally appeared, in detached parts, in successive numbers of the London Bankers Magazine, under the signature of " Thomas Bullion.” Mr. Langton will pardon us for bestowing upon him the credit that belongs to a brother Bank Manager, and Mr. Rae, for inadvertently depriving him of his well-earned fame, as the author of a very excellent series of letters on the functions and duties of a Bank Manager.