Current Account Depositors' Act of 1893 (NSW)

No. XVII .

An Act to provide for the making by the

Colonial Treasurer of Advances upon

Current Accounts in Banks which have

suspended payment; for the issue and payment of Treasury Notes in connection therewith, and for making* such Notes a legal tender; for the repayment of those Advances ; for regulating Trust Accounts in the said Banks; and for purposes in­ cidental to or consequent upon the above objects. [26th May, 1893.]

BE it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legisla­	tive Assembly of New South "Wales in Parliament assembled, and by
the authority of the same, as follows :—
1. This Act shall apply only to a Bank which has, before or after the passing of this Act, suspended payment temporarily, with the view of reconstruction.
2. (i) The person appointed provisionally official liquidator of any such Bank (hereinafter called the liquidator) shall at the request of any person being a Creditor of the Bank in respect of current account payable in this Colony (hereinafter called the Creditor), issue to that Creditor a certificate under his hand in the form of the Schedule to this Act, certifying the amount clue by the Bank to that Creditor on his current account or accounts at the time of the suspension of payment after deducting any sum or sums then accrued due to the
Bank from him in the same right, and such certificate shall as against
the Bank only be conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein.

(n) I f the liquidator refuses or neglects to issue a certificate

as aforesaid, the Supreme Court, or a Judge thereof, may, upon the application of the Creditor, make a rule or order directing the liquidator to issue to the Creditor a certificate for the moneys appearing on the books of the Bank to be due to the Creditor as aforesaid.

(n) The advance may be made to the liquidator on behalf of the Creditor on deposit in the Treasury by the liquidator of the prescribed authority from the Creditor in that behalf, together with the certificate specially indorsed by the Creditor to the Treasurer,

3. Advances to such amount as he thinks fit, not excBeding one

half of the moneys so certified to be due to the Creditor, may be

made by the Treasurer in Treasury Notes in cither of the two ways
next mentioned :—

(i) The advance may be made to the Creditor on his personal application lodged at the Treasury before the reopening of the Bank for business, or the opening of any Bank incor­ porated for the purpose of taking over its business and

assets, and on his depositing in the Treasury the certificate, specially indorsed by him to the Treasurer, together with a

statutory declaration that he has not dealt with or charged
the moneys certified to be due.

Treasurer, and a statutory declaration by the Creditor that he has not dealt with or charged the moneys certified to be due; and the advance shall be placed by the liquidator in the Bank in trust Cor the Creditor, to be held as provided in section ten.

(in) Upon making the advance the Treasurer shall cause to be delivered to the Creditor or the liquidator on his behalf, an acknowledgment in the form prescribed that the Treasurer holds the certificate as security for the advance, setting forth the names of the Bank and of the Creditor respectively, the sum certified to be due, and the amount of the advance.

•1. On deposit and indorsement of the certificate, the Treasurer

for the time being shall, while holder thereof, have all the rights
of the Creditor in respect of the moneys certified to be due. He
shall he entitled to any shares and securities which may be issued in
respect of the moneys certified to be due or any part of them by any
of the Bank which issued tin1 certificate1, its business and assets, i f Bank incorporated for the purpose1 of taking over, on the winding-up
the Treasurer shall neglect or refuse to apply for or accept any such shares the Creditor shall be entitled to a transfer from the Treasurer
of all rights of the Treasurer in respect of the shares on payment by
the Creditor of a proportion of the advance equal to the value of the shares. But any debt due to the Treasurer on behalf of Her Majesty as holder of the certificate or as holder of any shares or securities so issued to him as aforesaid shall not, in respect of priority of payment, be deemed a Crown Debt.
5. The Treasurer, while the holder of a certificate or of any shares or securities issued to him.in respect of the moneys certified to I K 1 due, shall receive and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Bund for
the use of Her Majesty all dividends, interest, and other profits payable in respect of the moneys, shares, or securities. lb 1 shall also receive all principal payable in respect thereof,
and pay the same; into the Consolidated Revenue Bund for the use
aforesaid until the payments of principal equal the amount advanced
on the; security of the certificate1: And he shall hold in trust for the
Creditor (subject to the provisions of this Act) all principal received by him in excess of that amount.
6. (r) At any time within live years from the; passing of this
Act, the; Creditor or his personal representative, official assignBe, or

committBe shall be entitled em application to the Treasurer, personally

or by agent duly authorised, in the form prescribed, and on repayment	of so much of the amount (if any) of the aelvance as then remains due,
to have the certificate dedivcred and indorsed back to him, and the shares and securities (if any) assigned and delivered to him, anel the principal (if any) received and hold for him in trust paid to him, by the Treasurer, but without dividends, interest, or other profits.

(n) At the expiration of the said period, in default of such

application, any shares or securities then held by the Treasurer may be converted by him into money, and together with any principal moneys remaining in his hands paid into the Consolidated Revenue Bund for the use of Her Majesty.
7. The Treasurer may, for the purposes of this Act only, issue Treasury Notes to an amount not excBeding two millions pounds in the form and manner prescribed and of the respective values of one pound, live; pounds, and such multiples of five pounds as may be prescribed. The Notes shall be payable1 in gold on presentation at the1
Treasury upon the expiration of five years from the passing of this
Act, or within such shorten- time as the Governor, with the advice of

the

the Executive Council, may notify by proclamation in the Gazette, but no Note shall be so payable unless presented at the Treasury before the expiration of six years from the passing of this Act.

8. During the said period of five years a tender of any Treasury Note issued under this Act shall be everywhere within the Colony a good and legal tender of money to the amount named therein.

9. During each month the Treasurer shall withdraw from circulation and cancel Treasury Notes to an amount ccpial to the moneys received by him during the month next preceding in reimbursement of advances made under this Act, and shall publish in the Government Gazette every month a statement of the amount of Treasury notes outstanding on the first day thereof, together with a statement of the amount of moneys received in respect of the said notes during the preceding month.

10. The liquidator of any Bank to which this Act applies may, in the course of his duty as liquidator and as representing the Bank, receive the moneys of any person and place and hold them in the Bank in trust for the person on whose behalf they were received. He shall not lend or invest the said moneys, but shall pay them out on the written request, in the form of cheques or orders, of the person on whose behalf he has received and holds them, or of Bills or Notes accepted or made by that person, domiciled at the

Bank, and maturing at or. subsequently to the receipt by him of the

said moneys.
Moneys deposited in trust by the Creditor after the suspen­ sion of payment in any Bank to which this Act applies shall be deemed to have been deposited with and to be held by the liquidator in accordance with this section.

In the event of the winding-up of the Bank, moneys held by the liquidator under this section or section three shall not be assets in the winding-up.
11. The Governor with the advice of the Executive Council

may make regulations for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect.
12. In this Act the word " Bank " includes branch Bank, and
means a company or corporation carrying on in this Colony the
business of banking only at the time of suspending payment; the word

" Treasurer " means the Colonial Treasurer; and "prescribed " means

prescribed by regulations made under the authority of this Act.

13. This Act may be cited as the " Current Account Depositors'

Act of 1893."

S C H E D U L E .

" CURT!EXT ACCOUNT DEPOSITORS' ACT OF 1893"- Section 2.

Certificate of amount due on Current Account.

I [name], the liquidator of the [name of company or corporation'], certify that

at the time of the suspension of payment by the said Bank there was due to [name of

creditor] from the said Bank the sum of £ on his current account.

Sir/nature of Liquidator, and Date,

No. X V I I I .