[M] The Savannah branch had out only 500,000 dollars in bills. The
collector of the port accumulated them, as they were received for
customs duties, and one day a broker presented himself at the counter
with 380,000 dollars in bills, for which he demanded specie; but the
disappearance of the bills of the branch from circulation had not been
unnoticed, and funds had been provided for any exigency. Payment was,
therefore, instantly made, and the broker, not knowing what to do with
so much specie, was obliged to request the cashier to receive it in
deposit.
[N] New York is the chief seat of commerce, but Philadelphia is more
central, and is, besides, the city of American capitalists. The removal
to New York would also require the transference of the mint and some
other public offices to that city, at great expense.