Wednesday, November 18, 2015

DOLLAR CERTIFICATES AND THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK

DOLLAR CERTIFICATES AND THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK. 
 
The privilege of issuing dollar certificates 
was first granted to the Yokohama Kawase Kwaisha
 in March, 1870, in order to satisfy a want felt
 by Yokohama traders, who, not being accustomed 
to the use of bills issued by foreign banks, were 
cheated by forged bills, and to whom the actual 
carrying about of dollars in their pockets was burdensome.
 The original certificates were made by the Tsushioshi
 (the Board of Trade). They were poor in design and material. 
Hence, through the medium of tiie Oriental Banking 
Corporation, the manufacture of s. 10, 20, 50, 100, 
5oo, and 1000 dollar certificates, to the amount of
 1,5oo,ooo dollars, was ordered from 
Perkins &Bacons, of London; the old H'a were 
withdrawn after the arrival of the new ones 
from England. The plan was to issue the 
certificates to the full amount for dollars
 received froii foreign banks in payment of 
bills presented 
to them by exporters. The Government
 exercised the utmost watchfulness over 
these transactions, insisting on seeing
 whether dcllan, were reserved as declared,
 and even going so far as t j seal up all the 
reserve except 6o.ckx) yen which was left to 
meet casual demands. Under the National Bank Act 
of 1872, the above-mentioned company 
transformed itself into the Second National Bank, 
and although the issue of notes except bank notes 
was pro- habited by the act, the practical need felt 
among Yokohama traders made it impossible to do away
 at c nee with the dollar certificates. An act was 
passed in 1874, Law No. 100. to regulate them. by
 this act Government bonds or land certificates to 
tiie amount of one-third of the circulation had to 
be invested in the Treasury, and it was consequently
 ordered that the business of the certificate department 
should be clearly separated from the general banking business. 
Though these certificates circulated fairly well, and very few, 
as shown in the table on following pages, were actually presented 

for conversion, they became no longer admissible after the 
of the Convertible Bank Note Act (Law No. 18) in May, 1884,
 according to which the issue of the
 certificates was to cease within a year. 

national banks cannot enter into correspondence with banks abroad

According to the present JAPAN act,
1883 national banks cannot enter into 
correspondence with banks abroad.
 This is quite against the 
future expansion of business. 
The act is full of other restrictions, 
and it restrains the freedom of action 
so much needed in the banking business. 
Moreover, such privileges as it confers 
should not be granted in profusion,
or for long periods.