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Bank Failures-Safety Fund and Shinplaster Banks. Horoly a day passes that the failure of some bank is not reported. These uspensions appear to be periodica One explosion leads to a dozen others, and the panic produced gives a good harvest t the brokers. The last failure announced was that of the Lewis County Bank, asafety fund institution of this State. Within the past few years this bank has r ken abouthalf a dozen times, notwithstanding which the public would take its bills, and it managed after every revival to get out a large circulation. It is really astonishing what :rash in the shape of bank bills gets into the hands of the poor laboring classes. After all the efforts made by the press to warn the community against spurious bank issues, it appears to be the easiest thing in the world to get up a wild cat bank, and get out a large amount ot notes. We have sometimes thought it best 10 let these swindliL '§ financiers have full swing, and let them the public That as much as they please, believin, a that nothing short of such wholesale robbery We wild bring about a proper remedy. The Legislat. TUBE of many States have done the everything in th. restection power to of establish systems bill-holder, for the of banking their keep eyes Vy open O. would if and people and carefully examine ev. ery bill offered, there would not be half so much beating. The fatures recently rep Tred are banks which never were entitled to a 'oliar of credit Their bills never were secured, a. d We doubt if any of them ever bad a dollar of Ca, mil paid its Counterfeit bills are at all times adoat and we may occasionally take one; that risk all must take: but it. is so easy to distinguish the issues of good banks from those of a shipplaster character, that we cannot satisfactorily account for the success of the scoundrels who adopt such a method of preying upon the c mmunity. The laws appear to be ineffective in reaching and .. punishing these fellows; and as all have the privilege of refusing any bill offered in payment for property or services, it rests with them to drive out of circulation bills of doubtful re putation. The safest rule to adopt is to refuse all bills not secured by the deposit of public stocks in the hands of the Comptroller of the different States. All such bills can be distinguished by any one who can read; and although there may be good bills not so guaranteed, it would be best to avoid them. When a bank established under the Free Banking law suspends. its bills suffer no ruinous depreciation in t a market, because the Comptroller holds in bas hands securities for the redemption of its issues. The banker, broker, or speculator, who may have been the owner or manager of the suspended free bank has no control over the securities with the Comptroller, and the circulation is redeemed by the State officer appointed for that purpose. The free banks of the different States can supply all the currency required by the country at large, for all the legitimate purposes of trade, and there is, therefore, no necessity for the public to take any other. The proprietors of the wildcat banks manufacture bills resembling, near as possible, those of banks in good credit, and succeed in passing them off, under such a disguise. We do n I know that any of them have gone quite so far as to represent that they were secured by the deposit of public stocks with the proper authorities; but we should not be much surprised if they should even resort to such a method to get the necessary credit to command a circulation They are capable of thing, and there is no protection but such as every man has within himself. The only way is to closely examine every bill offered in payment for anything, and refuse it upon the least doubt of its security. The bank failures within the past week or two have been as follows :Ky. Trust & Banking Co. Knickerbocker Bank, N.Y. Newp't Safety Fund Bk. Ky Eighth Avenue Bank, N. Erie and Kalamazoo Bank. Snffolk Bank, N. Y. Savings Bank, Ohio. Lewis County Bank, N. Y. Bank of Connersville, Ind. Bank of Hallowell, Maine. Elkhart Co. Bank, Indiana. Ship Builder's B'k, Maine. Northern Indiana Bank. Brunswick Bank, Maine. Bank of Milford, Delaware. Far. & Mer'ts Bk, Me mphis The Sackett's Harbor Bank and the Farmers' Bank of Saratoga County have been reported. The failure of parties connected with e ach of these banks has no doubt been the cause of the rumor, and as it is very probable that each bank has lost more or less by such failures, it would be well enough to be cautious, and get their bills redeemed as soon as possible. The trouble is not over yet. There are a few more banks of the same sort left. The Merchants' Bank of Macon, Georgia, is said to be a dangerous concern, and we have no doubt there are many much nearer home just as bad. Money is scarce and valuable just now, and all should look sharp after the dollars, particularly if they are manufactured of paper. With the high price of coal, flour, potatoes, and all the necessaries of life, the poor have immediate use for every penny they earn, and it is therefore important that they should have their eyes wide open; and when once in doubt about the value of a bank bill. at once be resolved to have nothing to do with it. It would be better to refuse half a dozen good bills than suffer a loss from one that is bad. MOVEMENTS IN CITY POLITICS-RATIFICATIONS. -We refer our readers to our advertising columns for information upon the current movements in our city politics, among the various ontesting parties. Among these movements, he most important a e, the whig ratification meeting, which comes off to-m9rrow (Wednesday) evening at the Broadway House; the hard hell ratification meeting on the same evening Preedway Taberno lest if
