III. That the savings banks pay to their depositors or creditors only gold, silver, or United States Treasury notes, current bills of city banks, or their own bills to an amount not exceeding one-third of their deposits, and of denominations not less than than one dollar, which they are authorized to issue, and for the redemption of which their assets shall be held liable.

IV. The incorporated banks are authorized to issue bills of a less denomination than five dollars, but not less than one dollar, anything in their charters to the contrary notwithstanding, and are authorized to receive Confederate notes for any of their bills until the 27th day of May instant.

V. That all persons and forms having issued small notes or "shinplanters," so called, are required to redeem them on presentation at their places of business, between the hours of 9 a. m., either in gold, silver, United States Treasury notes, or current bills of city banks, under penalty of confiscation of their property and sale thereof for the purpose of redemption of the notes so issued or imprisonment for a term of hard labor.

VI. Private bankers may issue notes of denominations not less than one nor more than ten dollars to two-thins of the amount of specie which they show to a commissioner, appointed from these headquarters, in their vaults, and actually kept there for the purpose of redemption of such notes.

By order of Major-General Butler:

GEO. C. STRONG,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,
May 22, 1862.

W. NEWTON MERCER, Esq.,

President pro tempore Bank of Louisiana:

SIR: I have received your communication of the directors of the Bank of Louisiana, covering their unanimous action.

To their request that I would appoint a commission to examine the affairs of the bank I cannot accede. With the mismanagement, on the contrary, of the bank I have nothing to do, except so far as either affects the interests of the United States.

The assigned reasons for the call for this examination, that "the integrity and good faith of the directors have been impugned," will not move me, if you refer to General Orders, No. 30, which speaks of acts and facts, not motives. Your note says that the directors own but one-tenth of the capital stock of the bank. Without consulting the owners of the other nine-tenths, nearly three millions of dollars, this one-tenth took this immense wealth from its legal place of deposit, flying over the country in company with fugitive property-burners, among the masses of a disorganized, retreating, and starving army, whence it is more than likely never to return again. The time it would take to make an investigation which would show the good management, to say nothing of the purity of motive of such a transaction, cannot be spared by any officer of my command. Ex uno disco omnes.

The directors of the Bank of Louisiana have all seen General Orders, No. 30, and have acted upon it as a corporation, so your note shows. They will now advise themselves whether they will act in accordance