An Act to Extend the Time of Indebtedness to the Bank of the State..

1837. Mobile: Printed by Cooper & Leavens, 1837.. Mobile: Printed by Cooper & Leavens, 1837. Rare Printing of an Act to Protect the Bank of Alabama During the Panic of 1837 [Alabama]. [Panic of 1837]. An Act to Extend the Time of Indebtedness to the Bank of the State of Alabama and Its Branches, And Legalizing the Suspension of Specie Payments; And for Other Purposes. Passed at the Called Session of the Legislature June 12, 1837. Mobile: Printed by Cooper & Leavens, 1837. 14 pp. Octavo (7-3/4" x 5"). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Light rubbing to spine ends, moderate browning and dampspotting. Early owner signature, "J.C. Merritt Esq" to head of title page, "to 1840" in same hand next to publication date. $1,500. * Only edition. The Panic of 1837 was a major economic depression that lasted into the 1840s. This 1837 act of the Alabama legislature was designed to minimize its effects on the state's bank. It specified terms for loan repayment, with a payment calendar and rates of interest. It also specified how the bank should issue loans and bonds and the amount of specie each bank branch should hold. One provision (No. 21) states that slaves, along with real estate, can be used as security against a loan. The Act was a success; the Bank of Alabama was one of the few banks in the United States to survive the Panic. It was fatally weakened, however, and its banking charter was revoked in 1842. J.C. Merritt Esq., may well be the banking magnate Joseph Cornelius Merritt (1839-1922) of Chanute, Kansas. He was President of the First National Bank in Chanute, as well as the city's mayor. OCLC locates 1 copy, at Birmingham-Southern College. This record is obsolete; the college closed in May 2024 and this pamphlet was sold in the auction of its library special collections in August 2024. Not in Cohen.