Excess of assets as they appear by the statement filed in the Fourth District Court, $110,904 24.

The receiver appointed by the creditors of Adams and Co., of San Francisco, has appointed T. Hawes and Co. to transact their express business, and the same will go on as usual, without interruption.

PAGE, BACON, AND CO.

Messrs. Page, Bacon, and Co., propose, in their new arrangement for resuming their business, to issue certificates of deposit, bearing interest at 1 per cent. per month, which certificates are guaranteed by some of our first men to the amount of over a million of dollars. The bond guaranteeing the certificates has been duly executed and acknowledged, and as soon as the amount required by the firm is made up, which will doubtless be done shortly, the certificates will be issued, and the house again placed upon a good basis. "As these certificates bear interest, and are negotiable and amply secured, they must (remarks a Californian journal) become at once an excellent investment for parties who have been heretofore in the habit of depositing where no interest has been allowed. In the present state of our money market, we have no doubt these certificates will be at once taken up."

ROBINSON AND CO.'S SAVINGS BANK.

(From the San Francisco Herald, February 27.)

Considerable excitement was created yesterday, by the circulation of a rumour that Mr. Robinson, one of the proprietors of the savings bankand Dr. A. Wright, proprietor of the Miners' Exchange Bank, had been arrested on board the Uncle Sam, which sailed yesterday for San Juan, having in their possession a large amount of property in coin and securities. It was asserted that Robinson was arrested on board the Uncle Sam, and $14,000 in specie, and $100,000 in securities, were found in his possession; and also, that certain parties to whom he was indebted discovered a large amount of money (said to be $60,000), which had been stowed away some where for safe keeping. The two following attachments were afterwards issued against the house of Robinson and Co.:—

We learn that the sheriff succeeded in serving the attachment on a batch of state scrip.

(From the San Francisco Herald, February 28.)

After a deal of skirmishing on the part of creditors, the sheriff's officers, and constables, an entrance was effected yesterday morning into the banking-house of Robinson and Co., the iron doors of which have, ever since Friday morning, resisted all attempts to enter. There was a rush for the precedence, of course; but constable Silverthorn managed to make the first seizure, and attach the gold scales, office furniture, &c. There was a fierce trial of strength for a few moments, between the outs and the ins-the one to force an entrance, the other to bar the doors and exclude the crowd. The ins succeeded, and the search commenced. Upon opening the vault, nothing was discovered except a specie bag, which, on examination, was found to contain three pounds of-shot, and an indefinite quantity of needles, which severely pricked the party who seized it. A

meeting was held next day at the San Francisco Hall, when it was expected that a statement of the affairs of the institution would be submitted. Some two or three hundred persons were present at the appointed time, a large majority of whom appeared to belong to the labouring class. There were also several ladies present. After some little delay, Mr. Robinson made his appearance, and said that there was no one in the assembly who regretted as sincerely and deeply what had occurred as himself:-On last Friday morning-that unlucky day!-my assets showed a bona fide ability, a complete ability on my part, if I could control my own affairs, to pay a larger dividend than any banking-house that had the misfortune to fall, with the exception of Page, Bacon, and Co., and Wells, Fargo, and Co. It was my purpose and intention to have the control of my own affairs, so that I might manage them for your benefit, and yours exclusively. My first impulse was to put my affairs in the hands of an assignee for your benefit; but, on consultation with legal gentlemen, I found that that could not be done unless I made an application for the benefit of the Insolvent Act, and then the schedule of my assets and liabilities would go into the hands of an assignee, which might or might not be for the benefit of the depositors; and, as I understand it, the assignee would have them under his discretion, and could do whatever he pleased with the securities, and if the assignee was not appointed, the Court would, at its discretion, put the whole thing into the hands of the sheriff. I know the probabilities and what prospect there is of collecting them, and they could not be collected as well as in the hands of those to whom they belong. There have been rumours circulated, in regard to myself-there have been statements made in the public prints about me-undoubtedly, with the best motives-but they were only rumours, and had no foundation in fact. I want to state to you now that they are false, without exception. In the first place, there was a rumour that I was arrested on board the Uncle Sam, with $14,000 in cash and $100,000 in securities in my possession, and that $60,000 were found somewhere else; but my presence here to-day proves that it was not so. In the first place, I have not money upon which I could lay my hands to pay the passage home of myself, wife, and child. I have no intention of running away. I came here, like you all, about four years ago, to seek my fortune, and started what I conceived to be a legitimate business, and by your confidence was enabled to go on; and, if this crash had not come, there is no one who believes that I could not fulfil my obligations to the letter. But you may say, perhaps, "All this is very well, but we want to know what you are going to do." There is one thing, however, about which I would first wish to make a remark. It was said that my securities had been attached in the hands of a third party. They were, gentlemen, and these securities are now beyond the power of the sheriff to take them, so that I may have the control of them myself. My assets have been attached; and I distinctly say, that if that had not been the case, within sixty days I would have been able to pay thirty-seven cents on the dollar. They are now out of my control. I hope to be able, in some way or other, to get the control of them within sixty days. I don't expect to go into the same kind of business again, but I am going to stay here, and if any opening should occur by which I can realise money, it is yours, every dollar of it. I am not going to take the benefit of the Insolvent Act. From the attachments on my securities and real estate, and so forth, it will be impossible for me just now to get the control of anything, and I must, therefore, take some time to recuperate. There are gentlemen here who know how money is invested, and no one can suppose that I would have loaned out money on securities that I did not think were good. The financial pressure has weakened all securities, and on these securities, by which before the panic I could have realised money,

in consequence of the excitement, I could not raise one dollar. My bankinghouse was kept open on the morning of the excitement for half an hour or an hour, and paid out to the last dollar, and till I had no more to pay. A Depositor-We want to know how much you owe. What are your assets, and what has become of them?

Mr. Robinson-I will say that I did not come prepared to give a full statement of my liabilities and assets. My books have been taken out of my hands, and I, therefore, cannot do so now.

Mr. Hart, who appeared for a number of the depositors, here said :Don't you think that it is due to the depositors to state, first, how much you owe; second, what is the amount of your securities; third, what is their nature, &c. ?

Mr. J. Wistar, who appeared as the counsel of Mr. Robinson, said that he apprehended that Mr. Robinson only came there to contradict the rumours which had been circulated regarding him, and that, in the present state of things, it could not be expected that he could give a full, particular, and distinct account of his affairs.

Mr. Hart-He certainly must be able to state how much his liabilities and assets are, within a few thousand dollars, or thereabouts. His creditors have been called here, and they want to get some information. The depositors expect to know how much money he is able to pay, and to give the reason why he is not able to pay the whole. I don't believe that his business was so extensive that he cannot tell very nearly how much he has in coinhow much in real estate-how much in securities.

A Depositor-I would like to know how much money you received the day the bank closed ?

Mr. Robinson-I cannot say.

Depositor-Were there $3,000 ?

Mr. Robinson-There was not $1,000.

Mr. Hart-I would like to ask a question; and that is, what has become of the books? He must know. And, also, is he willing to place the books in the hands of a committee of this meeting?

Mr. Robinson-I am perfectly willing.

After some further debate, the following committee was appointed by the depositors to examine the books :-Messrs. Hart, McCarty, Dorr, Parker, and Hawley. The books were then sent for, and handed over to the committee for examination.

WRIGHT AND MINER'S EXCHANGE BANK.

Dr. A. S. Wright was arrested upon a warrant issued from the Fourth District Court, but was released from custody upon procuring sufficient bonds. A handbill, setting forth the falsity of the rumours circulated, was posted throughout the city. Dr. Wright's family have been greatly annoyed by visits from numerous creditors of the bank. A policeman was stationed at the door leading to the private apartments of the building, with orders to admit no one.

FINANCIAL PROSPECTS.

(From the Alta Californian, Feb. 27.)

The rain, which has been falling steadily all day, conveys the best assurance to the community at large, that whatever misfortunes may have happened to certain parties here, the community at large is likely to recuperate rapidly-the more so as the telegraph announces the prevalence of the rain all through the mountains. Although we ourselves are convinced

that enough water has fallen this season to save the state, while we know that throughout Shasta, Siskiyou, Klamath, Trinity, and in adjoining counties -a region embracing one of the largest mineral districts of the statethe streams are all running, we yet see the necessity for more rain in some of the lower counties, and consequently rejoice in the present change in the weather, as likely to prove of the greatest benefit to the state.— Wednesday evening.

Feb. 28.—The heavy continued rain, which has been falling for the last forty-eight hours, has exercised a most cheering influence on the minds of the community-inspiring the people with a strong hope that, despite the losses and disasters of the past few days, the country will right itself soon, and, by the enhanced production of the mines, place the commercial world in a yet favourable position. The amount of business transacted could not, of course, under the circumstances, be large, the storm and the expected departure of the steamer keeping the merchants indoors, and many of them being too busy in their correspondence to attend to mere matters of traffic; but the certainty that copious rains were falling all through the mountains was, after so many weeks of heart-sickening anticipation, a sufficient cause of rejoicing to banish the gloom occasioned by the failure of the banks. The state at large has taken a giant stride within the last two days.

(From the Alta Californian, March 1.)

It is nothing, only to the persons immediately involved, that the banks have suspended. They did little or nothing for the country. They do not increase our circulation. They have no bills of credit. They simply facilitate exchange and business in our cities, and, if safe, would be valuable to depositors. The failure of every bank in the state, aside from the loss to individuals, is nothing to our financial prosperity. It does the most evil by destroying public confidence. But as we were getting largely into the credit system, very unnecessarily and very foolishly, in vain efforts to stimulate trade, it may be the best, in a long run, to have this confidence shaken. But really nothing is lost; our Gibraltar of gold stands impregnable. There are near $2,500,000 in coin unappropriated in this city this hour. There were, as nearly as we can ascertain, drawn from

THE AMERICAN CRISIS OF 1854.

In a recent circular issued by Messrs. Marie and Kanz, of New York, we find the following elaborate statement respecting the progress of the late American crisis, which, although it does not differ from the opinions already given in these pages, furnishes some additional statistics, which will be perused with interest :

The financial crisis with which the United States have been visited

during the last eighteen months, seems to justify, on our part, a few observations, which we herewith submit. We shall, in the first place, rapidly notice the causes of the present condition of affairs. We propose, in the next place, to draw a comparison between this crisis and that of 1837. This will the better enable us to appreciate the extent of the existing evil. We will finally endeavour, in the same intent, to measure the progress of the crisis since the close of the year 1853.

CAUSES OF THE CRISIS.

We attribute the present disturbed state of the finances, 1st, to our American system of granting too long credits. 2ndly, to the too rapid extension of our banking system, arising out of the gold discoveries in California. 3rdly, to the extraordinary development of our railway system-exceeding our means, and, in many instances, anticipating our wants. 4thly, to the war in Europe, whereby the current of European capital has been diverted from America to the Black Sea. 5thly, and finally, to the frauds and peculations which, by shattering confidence, precipitated the contraction of credits—a result destined, we think, in any event, to take place. We may add, as a secondary cause, the speculations in the public lands.

I. The usage, now so general, of giving eight and ten months' credits has probably contributed as much as any other cause to the rapid growth of the prosperity of our new states. But this usage is open to great objections. It was introduced before the days of canals and railways, but now that these improvements have drawn the west closer to us, the buyers of the new states, receiving their merchandise a few days after making their purchases, are enabled to give their customers a credit of several months. And to this they usually resort, with a view to increased business. This system leads to extravagance in living, gives an immense start to the general business of the country, and causes excessive imports of foreign merchandise, with a balance of trade against the country, which has to be settled in specie. It also compels our wholesale merchants, during four months of the year, to grant double credits. It is this fact which makes a crisis in money matters so much longer and severer here than in Europe. This is also why we are so easily affected by whatever is likely to unsettle confidence. We are, therefore, pleased to add that a movement is already on foot to limit credits to six months.

II. The accessions of gold, after our acquisition of California, gave such an impetus to business, that the want of further banking facilities became pressing. In addition to the ordinary exchanges of the country, there were the wants arising from the construction of our railways, which were beginning to take an extraordinary start. The western states, but particularly Indiana, anxious to draw thither eastern capital, organised their free banks on a basis wanting in solidity. The consequence was, a too sudden increase of paper currency. state of Ohio, alarmed, finally prohibited its circulation by law. The holders claimed payment in specie. The banks, unable to respond in many instances, broke. Distrust became general-the holders of

The