ed to receive and pay balances without discrimination between gold
and government notes. Thus resumption was accomplished without jar, and as
early as the 17th of December 1878 gold sold at par in paper.

The silver legislation enacted by Congress in 1878 and 1890 caused
uneasiness in banking circles, and the banks discriminated against silver
dollars and silver certificates in their cash. When the treasury began to
lose gold heavily, however, in 1893, a combination of leading bankers in
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chicago turned over a large
part of their holdings to replenish the government reserves. About 150
national banks suspended during the panic of 1893, but 84 of these
afterwards resumed business. As in former periods of depression, the system
suffered the greatest decline during the years of liquidation following the
actual panic, the number of banks falling from 3856 on the 1st of June 1893
to 3585 on the 1st of June 1899, and aggregate capital falling during the
same period from $698,454,665 to $610,028,895.

A new extension was given to the national banking system by the provisions
of the gold standard law of 14th March 1900. Banks were authorized to issue
circulation to the full par-value of bonds deposited, and the tax upon
circulation was reduced from 1% to 1/2 of 1% in the case of circulation
which was secured by the 2% refunding bonds, which were authorized by this
law. By issuing 2% bonds in exchange for those paying a higher interest, at
approximately the market-price, it became possible to obtain a given amount
of notes upon a smaller investment in bonds, independent of other
provisions of the law. Under these provisions the volume of notes
outstanding, secured by bonds, which stood on the 31st of October 1899 at
$207,920,774, reached on the same date in 1900, $298,829,064; in 1901,
$328,198,613; in 1902, $335,783,189; in 1903, $380,650,821; in 1904,
$424,530,581; in 1905, $490,037,806; in 1906, $536,933,169; and in 1907
$562,727,614.

The lowest denomination of national bank-notes authorized by law is $5, and
not more than one-third of any bank's issues can be of this denomination.
The government issues notes for $1 and $2, as well as for higher
denominations. The largest amount of bank-notes of one denomination is in
bills for $10, which on the 31st of October 1907 constituted $249,946,530
in total outstanding issues of $609,905,441. Of this total circulation
$562,727,614 was se