which he came, and the Governor was authorized by law to pardon him when
he thought proper. Those rules and regulations applied equally to both
sexes.



CHAPTER IV.

THE BANK OF EURASIA.

Leaving the prison, I returned to the Capitol and, calling at the
Department of Finance, was given a copy of the laws governing it, and
learned that it operated under the name of the Bank of Eurasia, with
headquarters in the capital, having a branch in every district and in
every town of one thousand inhabitants or more. It paid out all money
owed by the Government and received and receipted for all taxes due, and
accepted all deposits from one dollar upwards, and issued all banknotes
and bills of exchange, and in consequence there were no panics and no
necessity of issuing clearing-house certificates. To avoid the folly of
locking up large amounts of money received for taxes each year on the
one hand, or permitting stock-gamblers and money-sharks, on the other
hand, to use it, each district was allowed by law to issue district
banknotes of one dollar denomination, guaranteed by the Government,
drawing two per cent. a year interest up to eighty per cent. of the
yearly expenses of the district. The taxes were payable on the first day
of November, and if not paid on that day a delinquent tax of ten per
cent. The banknotes issued by the district were called in and canceled
by this means, keeping the money of the people in circulation.

Every branch bank in a district was required to send daily accounts of