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ing sail without being overset.

All ships clearing outwards, having no goods on board

other than the personal baggage of the passengers, are said to be in ballast.

The quantity of ballast required to fit ships of equal burden for a voyage, is often materially different; the proportion being always less or more, according to the sharpness or flatness of the ship's bottom, called, by seamen, the floor.

The proper ballasting of a ship deserves peculiar attention, for, although it be known that ships in general will not carry sufficient sail, till they are laden so that the surface of the water nearly glances on the extreme breadth midships, more than this general knowledge is required. If the ship have a great weight of heavy ballast, as lead, iron, &c., in the bottom, the centre of gravity will be too low in the hold; this no doubt will enable her to carry a press of sail, but it will, at the same time, make her sail heavily, and roll so violently, as to run the risk of being dismasted.

The object in ballasting a ship is, therefore, so to dispose of the ballast or cargo, that she may be duly poised, and maintain a proper equilibrium on the water, so as neither to be too stiff, nor too crank, qualities equally pernicious. If too stiff, she may carry much sail, but her velocity will not be proportionally increased; whiist her masts are endangered by sudden jerks and excessive labouring. If too crank, she will be unfit to carry sail without the risk of oversetting.

Stiffness in ballasting is occasioned by disposing a too great quantity of heavy ballast, as lead, iron, &c., in the bottom, which throws the centre of gravity very near the keel; and this being the centre about which the vibrations are made, the lower it is placed, the more violent is the rolling.

Crankness, on the other hand, is occasioned by having too little ballast, or by disposing the ship's lading so as to raise the centre of gravity too high: this also endangers the masts when it blows hard; for when the masts cease to be perpendicular, they strain on the shrouds in the nature of a lever, which increases as the sine of their obliquity: and it is superfluous to add, that a ship that loses her masts is in great danger of being lost.

Hence the art of ballasting consists in placing the centre of gravity to correspond with the trim and shape of the vessel, so as to be neither too high nor too low; neither too far forward, nor too far aft; and to lade the ship so deep, that the surface of the water may nearly rise to the extreme breadth midships: she will then carry a good quantity of sail, incline but little, and ply well to windward. — (See Falconer's Marine Dictionary.)

The mischievous consequences of not attending to the circumstances now mentioned are often experienced by ships leading barilla, brimstone, and such heavy articles, on the coast of Sicily and Spain. The habit there is to cut large quantities of brushwood and faggots, and to spread them in the hold, to hinder the cargo from sinking the centre of gravity too low, and causing the ship to labour violently; but it very frequently happens that the pressure of the cargo on this sort of dunnage is so great as to squeeze it into a much smaller space than could at first have been supposed; so that ships after getting to sea are sometires obliged to return to port, to unload a part of their cargo, to prevent their foundering. In such cases firm dunnage, such as oak staves, should, if possible, be always employed. (See Jackson's Commerce of Mediterranean, p. 125-128.)

Ships that have cargoes of light goods on board require a quantity of ballast; increasing, of course, according to the greater lightness of the goods. The following table shows the average quantity of ballast allowed to ships of war:Ballast allowed to the following Ships.

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The iron ballast is first stored fore and aft, from bulk-head to bulk-head; then the shingle ballast is spread and levelled over the iron.

The soil of the river Thames from London Bridge to the sea is vested in the Trinity House corpora tion, and a sum of 107. is to be paid for every ton of ballast taken from the channel of the river without due authority from the said corporation. Ships may receive on board land ballast from the quarries, pits, &c. east of Woolwich, provided the quantity taken in a year do not exceed the number of tous notified to the Trinity corporation. Land ballast must be entered, and 1d. paid per ton on entering. No ballast is to be put on board before entry at the ballast office, under a penalty of 5. a ton. The Trinity corporation is authorised by the 3 Geo. 4. c. 111. to charge the following rates for all ballast demanded and entered at the ballast office, viz.:

For every ton (20 cwt.) of ballast, not being washed ballast, carried to any ship or vessel employed in the coal trade, the sum of 1s.

For every such ton carried to any other British ship or vessel, the sum of 1s. 3d.

For every such ton carried to any foreign ship or vessel, the sum of 1s. 7d.

For every ton of washed ballast carried to any ship or vessel employed in the coal trade, the sum of 2s.
For every ton of washed ditto carried to any other British ship or vessel, the sum of 2s. 6d.
For every ton of washed ditto carried to any foreign ship or vessel, the sum of 3s. 2d.

And for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Inward West India Dock, the further sum of 10d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Outward West India Dock, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the London Docks, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Inward East India Dock, the further sum of 10d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Outward East India Dock, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Commercial Dock, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the East Country Dock, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the City Canal, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Surrey Canal, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Regent's Canal, the further sum of 4d.

Which further rates or prices shall be payable and paid over and above the respective rates first mentioned.

The ballast of all ships or vessels coming into the Thames, is to be unladen into a lighter, at the charge of 6d. a ton. If any ballast be thrown or unladen from any ship or vessel into the Thames, the captain, master, &c. shall for every such offence forfeit 201. No ballast is to be received on board otherwise than from a lighter. By the stat. 54 Geo. 3. c. 149. it is enacted, that no person shall, under a penalty of 107. over and above all expenses, discharge any ballast, rubbish, &c. in any of the ports, harbours, roadsteads, navigable rivers, &c. of the United Kingdom; nor take ballast from any place prohibited by the Lords of the Admiralty.

The masters of all ships clearing out in ballast, are required to answer any questions that may be put to them by the collectors or comptrollers, touching the departure and destination of such ships.(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. § 80.)

If a foreign ship clear out in ballast, the master may take with him British manufactured goods of the value of 20%., the mate of the value of 10., and 51. worth for each the crew. - § 87.

BALSAM (Ger. Balsam; Du. Balsem; Fr. Baume; It. and Sp. Balsamo; Lat. Balsamum). Balsams are vegetable juices, either liquid, or which spontaneously become concrete, consisting of a substance of a resinous nature, combined with benzoic acid, or which are capable of affording benzoic acid by being heated alone, or with water. liquid balsams are copaiva, opobalsam, balsam of Peru, storax, and Tolu; the concrete are benzoin, dragon's blood, and red or concrete storax. — ( Ure.)

The

1. Copaiva (Fr. Baume de Copahu; Ger. Kopaiva Balsam; Sp. Copayva), obtained from a tree (Copaifera) growing in South America and the West India islands. The largest quantity is furnished by the province of Para in Brazil. It is imported in small casks, containing from 1 to 14 cwt. Genuine good copaiva or copaiba balsam has a peculiar but agreeable odour, and a bitterish, hot, nauseous taste. It is clear and transparent; its consistence is that of oil; but when exposed to the action of the air it becomes solid, dry, and brittle, like resin. - (Thomson's Dispensatory.)

2. Opobalsam (Fr. Balsamier de la Mecque; It. Opobalsamo; Pat. Balsamum verum album, Ægyptiacum, Egypt. Balessan), the most precious of all the balsams, commonly called Balm of Gilead. It is the produce of a tree (Amyris Gileadensis), indigenous to Arabia and Abyssinia, and transplanted at an early period to Judea. It is obtained by cutting the bark with an axe at the time that the juice is in the strongest circulation. The true balsam is of a pale yellowish colour, clear and transparent, about the consistence of Venice turpentine, of a strong, penetrating, agreeable, aromatic smell, and a slightly bitterish pungent taste. By age it becomes yellower, browner, and thicker, losing by degrees, like volatile oils, some of its finer and more subtile parts. It is rarely if ever brought genuine into this country; dried Canada balsam being generally substituted for it. It was in high repute among the ancients; but it is now principally used as a cosmetic by the Turkish ladies. (Drs. Ure and Thomson.)

The Canada balsam, now referred to, is merely fine turpentine. It is the produce of the Pinus Balsamea, and is imported in casks, each containing about 1 cwt. It has a strong, but not a disagreeable odour, and a bitterish taste; is transparent, whitish, and has the consistence of copaiva balsam. — (See TORPENTINE.)

"Szafra and Beder are the only places in the Hedjaz where the balsam of Mecha, or Balessan, can be procured in a pure state. The tree from which it is collected grows in the neighbouring mountains, but principally upon Djebel Sobh, and is called, by the Arabs, Beshem. I was informed that it is from 10 to 15 feet high, with a smooth trunk, and thin bark. In the middle of summer small incisions are made in the bark; and the juice, which immediately issues, is taken off with the thumb nail, and put into a vessel; the gum appears to be of two kinds, one of a white, and the other of a yellowish white colour; the first is the most esteemed. I saw here some of the latter sort in a small sheep-skin, which the Bedouins use in bringing it to market: it had a strong turpentine smell, and its taste was bitter. The people of Szafra usually adulterate it with sesamum oil and tar. When they try its purity, they dip their finger into it and then set it on fire; if it burn without hurting or leaving a mark on the finger, they judge it to be of good quality, but if it burn the finger as soon as it is set on fire, they consider it to be adulterated. I remember to have read, in Bruce's Travels, an account of the mode of trying it, by letting a drop fall into a cup filled with water; the good balsam falling coagulated to the bottom, and the bad dissolving and swimming on the surface. I tried this experiment, which was unknown to the people here, and found the drop swim upon the water; I tried also their test by fire upon the finger of a Bedouin, who had to regret his temerity; I therefore regarded the balsam sold here as adulterated; it was of less density than honey. I wished to purchase some; but neither my own baggage, nor any of the shops of Szafra could furnish any thing like a bottle to hold it; the whole skin was too dear. The Bedouins, who bring it here, usually demand two or three dollars per pound for it when quite pure; and the Szafra Arabs resell it to the hadjeys of the great caravan at between 8 and 12 dollars per pound in an adulterated state. It is bought up principally by Persians.” — (Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 123.)

3. Balsam of Peru (Fr. Baume de Peru; Ger. Peruvianischer Balsam; Sp. Balsamo de Quinquina ; Lat. Balsamum Peruvianum), the produce of a tree (Myroxylon Peruiferum) growing in the warmest parts of South America. The balsam procured by incisions made in the tree is called white liquid balsam; that which is found in the shops is obtained by boiling the twigs in water; it is imported in jars, each containing from 20 to 40 lbs. weight. It has a fragrant aromatic odour much resembling that of benzoin, with a warm bitterish taste. It is viscid, of a deep reddish brown colour, and of the consistence of honey. --(Thomson's Dispensatory.)

4. Storax (Fr. Storaz; Ger. Stryarbroom; It. Storace; Sp. Azumbar; Lat. Styrax; Arab. Usteruk), the produce of a tree (Styrax officinale) growing in the south of Europe and the Levant. Only two kinds are found in the shops: storax in tears, which is pure, and storax in the lump, or red storax, which is mixed with sawdust and other impurities. Both kinds are brought from the Levant in chests and boxes. Storax has a fragrant odour, and a pleasant, sub-acidulous, slightly pungent, and aromatic taste: it is of a reddish brown colour, and brittle. (Thomson's Dispensatory.)

5. Tolu, Baisam of (Fr. Baume de Tolu; Ger. Tolutanischer Balsam; Sp. Balsamo de Tolu). The tree which yields this balsam is the same as that which yields the balsam of Peru, it being merely the white balsam of Peru hardened by exposure to the air.

6. Benzoin, or Benjamin (Fr. Benzoin; Ger. Benzoe; Sp. Bengui; It. Belzuino; Lat. Benzoinum ; Arab. Liban; Hind. Luban; Jav. Menian; Malay, Caminyan), is an article of much greater conmercial importance than any of those balsams previously mentioned. It is obtained from a tree (Styrax Benzoin) cultivated in Sumatra and Borneo, but particularly the former. The plants produce in the seventh year. The balsam is obtained by making incisions in the bark, when it exudes, and is scraped off. During the first three years the balsam is of a clear white colour, after which it becomes brown. Having borne 10 or 12 years, the tree is cut down, a very inferior article being obtained by scraping the wood. The balsams procured in these different stages are distinguished in commerce, and differ widely in value. Benzoin has a very agreeable, fragrant odour, but hardly any taste. It is imported in large masses, packed in chests and casks. It should be chosen full of clear, light-coloured, and white spots, having the appearance of white marble when broken: it is rarely, however, to be met with in so pure a state, but the nearer the approach to it the better. The worst sort is blackish, and full of impurities. (Milburn's Orient. Com., and private information.) The price of Benjamin in bond varied in the London market in February, 1843, from 31. to no less than 461. per cwt.!

Mr. Crawfurd has given the following interesting and authentic details with respect to this article:"Benzoin, or frankincense, called in commercial language Benjamin, is a more general article of commerce than camphor, though its production be confined to the same islands. Benzoin is divided in commerce, like camphor, into three sorts (head, belly, foot), according to quality, the comparative value of which may be expressed by the figures 105, 45, 18. Benzoin is valued in proportion to its whiteness, semi-transparency, and freedom from adventitious matters. According to its purity, the first sort may be bought at the emporia to which it is brought, at from 50 to 100 dollars per picul (1331 lbs.), the second

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from 25 to 45 dollars, and the worst from 8 to 20 dollars. According to Linschoten, benzoin in his time cost, in the market of Sunda Calapa or Jacatra, from 1935 to 25,10 Spanish dollars the picul. By Niebuhr's account, the worst benzoin of the Indian islands is more esteemed by the Arabs than their own best olibanum, or frankincense. In the London market, the best benzoin is fourteen times more valuable than clibanum, and even the worst 24 times more valuable. Benzoin usually sells in England at 108. per pound. The quantity generally imported into England in the time of the monopoly was 312 CWL. The principal use of this commodity is as incense, and it is equally in request in the religious ceremonies of Catholics, Mohammedans, Hindus, and Chinese. It is also used as a luxury by the great in fumigations in their houses, and the Japanese chiefs are fond of smoking it with tobacco. Its general use among nations in such various states of civilisation, and the steady demand for it in all ages, declare that it is one of those commodities the taste for which is inherent in our nature, and not the result of a particular caprice with any individual people, as in the case of Malay camphor with the Chinese."(Indian Archipelago, vol. iii. p. 418.) The imports of benzoin, which are not specified in the Customs' returns, amount to about 40,000 lbs. a year.

An interior description of benzoin, the produce of a different tree from the Styrax benzoin, is produced in Siam. It is comparatively cheap and abundant.

7. Dragon's blood (Fr. Sang-Dragon; Lat. Sanguis Draconis; Arab. Dumulākhwain; Hind. Heraduky), the produce of a large species of rattan (Calamus Draco) growing on the north and north-east coast of Sumatra, and in some parts of Borneo. It is largely exported to China, and also to India and Europe. It is either in oval drops, wrapped up in flag-leaves, or in large and generally more impure masses composed of smaller tears. It is externally and internally of a deep dusky red colour, and when powdered it should become of a bright crimson: if it be black, it is worth little. When broken and held up against a strong light, it is somewhat transparent: it has little or no smell or taste; what it has of the latter is resinous and astringent. Dragon's blood in dreps is much preferable to that in cakes, the latter being more friable, and less compact, resinous, and pure than the former. Being a very costly article, it is very apt to be adulterated. Most of its alloys dissolve like gums in water, or crackle in the fire without proving inflammable, whereas the genuine dragon's blood readily melts and catches flame, and is scarcely acted on by watery liquors. It sells in the market of Singapore at from 15 to 35 dollars per picul, according to quality, but the Chinese have the art of purifying and refining it, when it sells at from 80 to 100 dollars per picul. — (Milburn's Orient. Com.; Crawfurd's East. Archip.; and private information.) The price of dragon's blood in bond in the London market varied, in February, 1843, from 31. to 71. per cwt.

BALTIMORE, a large and opulent city of the United States, in Maryland, on the north side of the Patapsco river, about 14 miles above its entrance into Chesapeake bay, lat. 39° 17' N., long. 76° 36′ W. Population in 1840, 102,313. The harbour is spacious, convenient, and the water deep. The exports principally consist of wheatflour and wheat, tobacco, Indian corn and meal, rice, bacon, pork, beef, lard, butter, cheese, and other articles of provision, with tallow, staves, shingles, &c. The imports principally consist of cottons and woollens, sugar, coffee, tea, wine, brandy, silk goods, spices, rum, &c. The registered, enrolled, and licensed tonnage belonging to Baltimore, in June, 1847, amounted to 100,456 tons, of which about a half were employed in the coasting trade. The total value of the articles imported into Maryland, in the year ending the 30th of June, 1847, almost the whole of which were through Baltimore, was 4,432,314 dollars; the total value of the exports during the same year being 9,762,244 ditto. (Papers laid before Congress, 14th of December, 1847.) In Maryland the dollar is worth 7s. 6d. currency, Il. sterling being 11. 138. 4d. currency. For an account of the currency of the different states of the Union, with a table of the value of the dollar in each, see NEW YORK; and to it also the reader is referred for an account of the foreign trade of the United States. Weights and measures same as those of England.

Summary View of the Condition of the Banks of the City of Baltimore on the 4th of January 1847, with their Dividends in the course of that Year.

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Account of the Quantities of Wheat, and Wheat Flour, Indian Corn, and Indian Meal, Rice, Biscuits, Tobacco, Bacon, Pork, Beef, Lard, Butter, and Cheese, exported from Baltimore in 1847, distinguishing the Quantities shipped for the U. Kingdom.

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The number of arrivals by sea in 1839, which is of course exclusive of bay and river craft and vessels through canals, were ships 70, barques 60, brigs 375, schooners $75, and sloops 11. Total, 1391 vessels. (Statements derived from private informe ation, and from Hunt's Commercial Magazine.)

Like most plants long and Some of these are dwarfish,

BAMBOO (Fr. Bambou, Bambouchés; Ger. Indianischer Rohr; It. Bambu; Hind. Rans; Malay, Búlûh; Jav. Preng), a species of cane, the Bambos arundinacea of botanists. It grows every where within the tropics, and is of the greatest utility: strictly speaking, it is a gigantic grass with a ligneous stem. It often rises to the height of 40 or 50 feet, and sometimes to even double those heights. extensively cultivated, it diverges into many varieties. while others, instead of being hollow canes, are solid. The bamboo is of rapid growth, and in four or five years is fit for many uses, but does not bear fruit or grain till it be 25 years old, after which it perishes. The grain makes tolerable bread. The young, but gigantic shoots, as they spring from the earth, make a tender and good esculent vegetable. The mature bamboo is employed in an immense variety of ways, in the construction of houses, bridges, boats, agricultural implements, &c. Some varieties grow

to such a size as to be, in the largest part, near two feet in circumference, and single knees of these are used as pails or buckets. The Chinese are believed to fabricate their cheap and useful paper of macerated bamboo. The canes used in Europe as walking sticks are not bamboos, but rattansa totally distinct class of plants. Bamboos are never used for that purpose. - ( Private information.)

BANDANAS, silk handkerchiefs, generally red spotted with white. They were formerly manufactured only in the East Indies; but they are now manufactured of a very good quality at Glasgow and other places.

BANK.- BANKING. Banks are establishments intended to serve for the safe custody and issue of money; for facilitating its payment by one individual to another; and, sometimes, for the accommodation of the public with loans.

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Banks are commonly divided into the two great classes of banks of deposit and banks of issue. This, however, appears at first sight to be rather an imperfect classification, inasmuch as almost all banks of deposit are at the same time banks of issue, and almost all banks of issue also banks of deposit. But there is in reality no ambiguity; for, by banks of deposit are meant banks for the custody and employment of the money deposited with them or intrusted to their care by their customers, or by the public; while by banks of issue are meant banks which, besides employing or issuing the money intrusted to them by others, issue money of their own, or notes payable on demand. The Bank of England is our principal bank of issue; but it, as well as the other banks in the different parts of the empire that issue notes, is also a great bank of deposit. The private banking companies of London, and the various provincial banks that do not issue notes of their own, are strictly banks of deposit. Banking business may be conducted indifferently by individuals, by private companies, or by joint stock companies or associations.

(1.) Utility and Functions of Banks of Deposit. Banks of this class execute all that is properly understood by banking business; and their establishment has contributed in no ordinary degree to give security and facility to commercial transactions. They afford, when properly conducted, safe and convenient places of deposit for the money that would otherwise have to be kept, at a considerable risk, in private houses. They also prevent, in a great measure, the necessity of carrying money from place to place to make payments, and enable them to be made in the most convenient and least expensive manner. A merchant or tradesman in London for example, who employs a banker, keeps but very little money in his own hands, making all his considerable payments by drafts or checks on his banker; and he also sends the various

checks, bills, or drafts payable to himself in London, to his bankers before they become due. By this means he saves the trouble and inconvenience of counting sums of money, and avoids the losses he would otherwise be liable to, and would no doubt occasionaily incur, from receiving coins or notes not genuine. Perhaps, however, the great advantage derived by the merchant or tradesman from the employment of a banker, consists in its relieving him from all trouble with respect to the presentation for payment of due bills and drafts. The moment these are transferred to the banker, they are at his risk. And if he either neglect to present them when due, or to have them properly noted in the event of their not being paid, he has to answer for the consequences.

"This circumstance alone must cause an immense saving of expense to a mercantile house in the course of a year. Let us suppose that a merchant has only two bills due each day. These bills may be payable in distant parts of the town, so that it may take a clerk half a day to present them; and in large mercantile establishments it would take up the whole time of one or two clerks to present the due bills and the drafts. The salary of these clerks is, therefore, saved by keeping an account at a banker's: besides the saving of expense, it is also reasonable to suppose that losses upon bills would sometimes occur from mistakes, or oversights- from miscalculation as to the time the bill would become due from errors in marking it up-from forgetfulness to present it-or from presenting it at the wrong place. In these cases the indorsers and drawees are exonerated; and if the acceptor do not pay the bill, the amount is lost. In a banking house such mistakes occur sometimes, though more rarely; but when they do occur, the loss falls upon the banker, and not upon his customer."-- (Gilbart's Practical Observations on Banking.)

It is on other grounds particularly desirable for a merchant or tradesman to have an account with a banking house. He can refer to his bankers as vouchers for his respectability; and in the event of his wishing to acquire any information with respect to the circumstances, or credit, of any one with whom he is not acquainted, his bankers render him all the assistance in their power. In this respect they have great facilities, it being the common practice amongst bankers in London, and most other trading towns, to communicate information to each other as to the credit and solvency

of their customers.

To provide for the public security, the statute 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. § 49. for the punishment of embezzlement committed by agents intrusted with property," enacts, "That if any money, or security for the payment of money, shall be intrusted to any banker, merchant, broker, attorney, or other agent, with any direction in writing to apply such money, or any part thereof, or the proceeds, or any part of the proceeds of such security, for any purpose specified in such direction, and he shall, in violation of good faith, and contrary to the purpose so specified, in any wise convert to his own use or benefit such money, secu rity, or proceeds, or any part thereof respectively, every such offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond seas, for any term not exceeding fourteen years, nor less than seven years, or to suffer such punishment by fine or imprisonment, or by both, as the court shall award; and if any chattel or valuable security, or any power of attorney for the sale or transfer of any share or interest in any public stock or fund, whether of this kingdom, or of Great Britain, or of Ireland, or of any foreign state, or in any fund of any body corporate, company or society, shall be intrusted to any banker, merchant, broker, attorney, or other agent, for safe custody, or for any special purpose, without any authority to sell, negotiate, transfer, or pledge, and he shall, in violation of good faith, and contrary to the object or purpose which such chattel or security, or power of attorney, shall have been intrusted to him, sell, negotiate, transfer, pledge, or in any manner convert to his own use or benefit such chattel or security, or the proceeds of the same, or any part thereof, or the share or interest in stock or fund to which such power of attorney shall relate, or any part thereof, every such offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to any of the punishments which the court may award, as hereinbefore last mentioned."

This act is not to affect trustees and mortgagees, nor bankers receiving money due upon securities, nor securities upon which they have a lien, claim, or demand, enticing them by law to sell, transfer, or other. wise dispose of them, unless such sale, transfer, or other disposal shall extend to a greater number or part of such securities or effects than shall be requisite for satisfying such lien, claim, &c. - § 50.

Nothing in this act is to prevent, impeach, or lessen any remedy at law or in equity, which any party aggrieved by any such offence might or would have had, had it not been passed. No banker, merchant, &c. shall be convicted as an offender against this act, in respect of any act done by him, if he shall at any time previously to his being indicted for such offence have disclosed such act on oath, in consequence of any compulsory process of any court of law or equity, in any action bona fide instituted by any party aggrieved, or if he shall have disclosed the same in any examination or deposition before any commissioner of bankrupt.--§ 52.

The Bank of England, and the private banking companies of London, as well as some of the English provincial banks, charge no commission on the payments made and received on account of those who deal with them. And until the recent introduction of joint-stock banks, none of the London bankers, except in peculiar cases, allowed interest on deposits; nor is it yet allowed by the great majority of the metropolitan private bankers. It is also either stipulated or distinctly understood that a person employing a banker should, besides furnishing him with sufficient funds to pay his drafts, keep an average balance in the banker's hands, varying, of course, according to the amount of business done on his account; that is, according to the number of his checks or drafts to be paid, and the number of drafts and bills to be received for him. The bankers then calculate, as well as they can, the probable amount of cash that it

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