IN ASSEMBLY, March 16, 16, 1833. REPORT Of the committee on the judiciary, on the petition of the town clerk of the town of Concord, in the county of Erie. Mr. Skinner, from the committee on the judiciary, to which was referred the petition of the town clerk of the town of Concord, in the county of Erie, in behalf of said town, for an act to change the manner of voting for town officers in said town, REPORTED: same. That your committee have had the subject under consideration, and see no reason why the prayer of the petitioner should be granted. The Revised Statutes prescribe the manner in which all town officers should be elected; and also the mode of voting for the Your committee know of no valid objection to the present mode; and are clearly of the opinion, that a general law, applicable to all the towns in the State, is far preferable to a multiplicity of laws, varied to suit the whims or caprices of the several towns: They, therefore, have unanimously come to the conclusion, that no alteration in the mode of choosing town officers in said town is necessary, and recommend that the petitioner have leave to withdraw his petition. IN ASSEMBLY, March 16, 1833. REPORT Of the Bank Commissioners, on a resolution of the Assembly, relative to the dividends and profits of the several banks liable to the provisions of the Safety fund law. To the Honorable the Assembly. The Bank Commissioners, in answer to a resolution of the House, requiring them to "report the amount of the several regular and extra dividends made by the banks which have been incorporated, or whose charters have been renewed since the passage of the law establishing a Safety fund, commencing at a period when each bank was incorporated, or its charter renewed, and distinguishing the amount of each dividend, and the time when the same was made, together with the amount of reserved profits remaining on hand at the time of making each of such dividends," RESPECTFULLY REPORT: That the terms of the resolution cannot be complied with from any data in our possession. We are able, however, from the reports made to us, to give the amount of dividends of each year, and of the profits on hand on each 1st of January, which will probably furnish all the useful information that would be obtained, if a literal compliance of the resolution could be had. That information will be found in the tabular statement hereto annexed. The amount of profits reported consists of the balances of those fictitious accounts which represent profits, such as "profit and loss," "surplus," "discount," &c., after deducting the debits of corresponding accounts, such as "expenses," &c.; and it is proper to remark that these accounts, as they stand, on the books, [Assem. No. 252.] 1 and as they are stated in the annexed table, in but few instances represent the actual condition of the bank with reference to its profits. There are, on the one hand, bad debts included in the amount of discounted notes, bad debts in the shape of over drafts, accounts of different descriptions resting upon insufficient or doubtful security, and apparent differences in the balance sheets, which go to diminish the apparent amount of profits; and on the other hand, there are debts which have been charged to profit and loss, from which something may be realized, and stocks purchased and paid for out of surplus profits which go to increase the apparent amount of profits. In some instances, as we should estimate the real amount of profits on hand, it would differ from the apparent amount more than one-half, and in but very few instances would it exceed the apparent amount as reported, Albany, March 16, 1833, C. STEBBINS, Bank Commissioners. |