Toronto, William Whyte of Winnipeg, Dr. Wm. Hamilton Merritt of St. Catharines and Hon. Richard Turner, M.L.C., of Quebec. The position of the Bank at the close of ten year periods may be summarized here. In 1876 the total Assets immediately available- -as distinct from ordinary Assets-were $832,000, in 1886 $2,422,000, in 1896 $6,669,000, in 1906 $17,471,000, in 1910 $23,256,000. In 1876 the Circulation was $311,000 and this rose, successively, to $898,000, $1,202,000, $2,948,000, and $3,772,000. In 1876 the gold and Dominion Notes held were $192,000, in 1886 they were $637,000, in 1896 $1,450,000, in 1906 $4,877,000, in 1910 $8,283,000. An interesting change took place in the relative state of Deposits and Current Loans during these years. In 1876 the Deposits were $1,576,000 and Current Loans $2,131,000; in 1886 they were, respectively, $4,427.000 and $4,506,000; in 1896 they were $9,203,000 and $7,428,000 respectively; in 1906 the Deposits had jumped up to $28,500,000 and the Current Loans to $21,302,000; in 1910 the totals were, respectively, $41,399,000 and $31,368,000. Incidents which may also be mentioned include an arrangement in 1897 with the Alaska Commercial Company and the Hudson's Bay Company by which the Bank obtained excellent facilities for transacting business in far-away regions which were then coming into prominence and the organization in 1898 of a Pension Fund for officers and employees of the Bank for which an annual payment of $5,000 was then authorized, a special grant of $20,000 given in 1899, and a further grant made in 1907 of $30,000 with an additional yearly sum of $7,500. The Staff had, meanwhile, grown from 206 in 1898 to 274 in 1902, 340 in 1904, and 435 in 1906. By 1910 it numbered 589. The Shareholders, who numbered 715 in 1900 when the paid-up Stock totalled $2,458,000 were 1,302 in 1910 when the Stock was $5,000,000. The Bank in this latter year had agents and correspondents in Great Britain, Germany, France, United States, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Sandwich Islands and South Africa. Its Dividend record was 8 per cent. in 1876-8; 71/2 per cent. in 1879; 7 per cent. in 1880-2; 8 per cent. from 1882 to 1889 with a bonus of 1 per cent. in the years 1891-9; 9 per cent. and a bonus of one-half per cent. in 1900; 10 per cent. in 1901-1906; 1034 per cent. in 1907 and 11 per cent. in 1908, 1909 and 1910. The net profits of $103,000 in 1876 had become $365,000 in 1900 and $702,000 in 1910. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE BANK OF HAMILTON This institution, which has had a considerable share in the steady, solid up-building of the Canadian City in which it was founded and where it has ever since maintained its head-quarters, was opened for business in September, 1872. Its chief organizer and first General-Manager, or as he was then styled, Cashier, was Herbert C. Hammond. Others who joined in promoting the formation of the Bank were Donald McInnes (afterwards a Senator of Canada and its first President), John Stuart, Vice-President, Edward Gurney, James Turner (also a Senator in after years), Dennis Moore, Jacob Hespeler and Hon. Samuel Mills, who were the first Directors. With them were associated other prominent Hamilton men of those days such as John Winer, Edward Jackson, J. M. Williams, M.P., D. B. Chisholm, Charles Magill, M.P., A. T. Wood, Edward Martin, Anthony Copp, A. Harvey, John Harvey and James Watson. The paid-up Capital, upon organization, was $275,000. The first year's net profits were $23,951 and the total Deposits $231,000. Mr. Hammond retired from the management in 1882 and was replaced by E. A. Colquhoun who, in 1888, was succeeded by James Turnbull of the London and Canadian Loan Co. of Toronto. In 1882 H. S. Steven had been appointed Assistant-General Manager. By 1888 the paid-up Capital had increased to $1,000,000 and the business of the Bank had grown to large dimensions with Assets of five millions, and Branches opened here and there in the Province wherever it was felt there were probabilities of growth. The first was established at Listowel in 1873, Port Elgin and Georgetown were organized in 1874, Milton in 1877, Wingham in 1880, Orangeville in 1885 and Simcoe in 1888. It was a tentative growth as yet; the wide expansion was to come after the results of early constructive work and up-building had been matured. Meanwhile the Hon. Donald McInnes had retired from the Presidency in 1881 and been succeeded by Mr. John Stuart who held the position for 22 years. Mr. Stuart was succeeded in the Vice-Presidency by Hon. James Turner. During these years the Bank had paid a dividend of 8 per cent. from 1873 until 1880 when the depression of the times caused a slight drop for two years to 7 per cent.; in 1883 and 1884 it was 712 and in 1884-1900 had again risen to 8 per cent. The business of the institution during this period may be seen in detail from the following table: 70 Year. Capital Paid-Up. $ $ 235,148 378,445 651,715 487,082 793,631 1,114,991 796,376 1,355,194 929,700 1,281,200 1,564,939 $ 1873.. 393,980 5,499 143,297 1874.. 527,690 12,707 303,485 1875.. 585,850 25,960 280,382 1876.. 614,150 37,850 315,316 862,090 1,186,933 1,481,674 1,873,345 1877.. 669,930 51,623 330,605 888,496 1,228,076 1,680,412 1,986,328 1878.. 707,950 62,649 392,000 793,684 1,194,447 1,739,720 2,003,336 1879.. 731,650 73,407 351,444 704,000 1,071,226 1,664,948 1,917,048 1880.. 745,100 84,839 430,772 955,258 1,391,918 1,864,000 2,263,216 1881.. 750,500 104,691 558,116 1,179,688 1,739,800 1,979,228 2,632,860 1882.. 751,550 138,926 685,600 1,288,178 2,054,998 2,424,000 2,984,000 1883.. 976,510 207,425 720,424 1,527,536 2,412,500 3,057,443 3,645,534 1884.. 984,770 256,105 682,641 1,680,269 2,378,353 2,976,000 3,673,952 1885.. 997,620 279,142 797,628 1,740,456 2,777,929 3,257,684 4,109,710 1886.. 999,500 303,800 842,337 1,910,545 2,940,672 3,347,193 4,299,127 1887..1,000,000 345,395 849,209 2,239,295 3,106,666 3,478,957 4,507,364 1888..1,000,000 362,840 727,817 2,594,847 3,484,377 3,846,080 4,902,416 With the year 1889, and the accession of Mr. Turnbull to the General-Managership since 1904 H. M. Watson has been Assistant General-Manager came a period of steady and substantial progress up to 1900 when the development proceeded by leaps and bounds. In these twelve years the Assets increased from 5 to nearly 15 millions; the dividend paid was a regular one of 8 per cent.; the new Branches organized totalled 29 in number. They included Toronto in 1889, Chesley in 1890, Lucknow in 1892, Grimsby in 1893, additional Hamilton branches in 1891 and 1894, respectively, Berlin in the latter year, Jarvis, Delhi, Niagara Falls, Southampton and Palmerston in 1898, Blyth in 1899 and Beamsville, Dundalk, Dundas and Port Rowan in 1900. These were all in Ontario. In 1896 began the extension into the West which afterwards became so considerable. Winnipeg and Carman in Manitoba were then opened and in 1898, after a two years trial there, Branches were established at Morden, Brandon and Hamiota, also in Manitoba. Vancouver was organized in 1899. The business of this period was as follows: Year. Capital Paid-Up. 1889..1,000,000 1890..1,000,000 Reserve and Profits. 410,425 Circula 827,000 3,043,196 4,272,664 4,083,000 5,703,089 460,317 892,637 3,446,950 4,535,759 4,731,596 6,021,077 1891..1,206,850 604,714 971,678 3,966,902 5,254,726 5,583,291 7,096,291 1892..1,250,000 660,579 928,000 4,745,521 6,039,067 5,889,203 7,979,646 1893..1,250,000 654,787 963,923 5,091,330 6,502,000 5,923,187 8,436,818 1894..1,250,000 680,000 854,255 5,243,447 6,633,639 6,127,448 8,593,749 1895..1,250,000 685,819 822,253 5,477,492 6,684,316 5,259,319 8,650,135 1896..1,250,000 705,573 758,757 5,762,518 6,962,292 5,560,519 8,947,866 1897..1,250,000 746,000 934,249 6,437,436 7,820,649 6,722,359 9,846,678 1898..1,250,000 801,833 1,187,573 7,684,374 9,117,310 7,047,122 11,199,144 1899..1,494,520 1,011,000 1,189,726 8,770,994 10,622,526 9,451,391 13,163,057 1900..1,703,212 1,246,551 1,393,695 10,019,581 11,837,592 10,225,543 14,827,357 Then came the years of greatest expansion when the Bank of Hamilton kept in touch with and shared in the tremendous growth of the country and the opening up of its resources and wealth. The Hon. William Gibson, Senator of Canada, had succeeded Mr. Stuart as President in 1903 while Mr. Turnbull, who remained General Manager, was also appointed to the Vice-Presidency in 1903-succeeding A. G. Ramsay who had been appointed in 1890. The dividend was increased to 9 per cent. in 1901 and to 10 per cent. in 1902 at which it stood until 1910 with an announced rate of 11 per cent. for 1911. Meanwhile there had been a great expansion in Branches from the 9 in 1889 and the 29 of 1900 to 133 at the close of 1910. Nearly all of these new Branches were in the West and in small places which were yet the centres of important agricultural communities of the present or immediate future. The larger places selected were at Brantford in 1902 with a second branch in 1906; three new ones in Hamilton, four in Toronto, and three at Vancouver, B.C.; one additional in Winnipeg. Fort William was organized in 1909 and the selection of Moose Jaw in 1901 and Saskatoon in 1902 were especially marked in the great after-growth of those towns. By Provinces, the Bank of Hamilton in 1910 had 58 Branches in Ontario of which 33 had been organized since 1900; 28 in Manitoba of which 21 had been formed since that year; 26 in Saskatchewan and 10 in Alberta all of which were organized since 1900; in British Columbia 11, of which all but one were formed after that year. There were no Branches in Quebec or the Maritime Provinces. Taking the decade from 1897 to 1906 the Bank's expansion is vividly seen by the fact that its Capital increased by 97 per cent., its circulation by 147 per cent., its Reserve by 240 per cent., its Deposits by 278 per cent., its total Assets by 230 per cent. For the period 1900 to 1910, more especially under review, the table which follows shows exactly the business and progress of a Bank in which the Assets increased from 14 to 41 millions in a decade and its Reserve Fund and undivided profits to $500,000 in excess of its paid-up Capital. Its net profits in 1907 were $384,708, in 1908 $360,308, in 1909 $382,332 and in 1910 $422,090 with a balance at Profit and Loss account of $192,810. The Board of Directors in this latter year were Senator Gibson, Mr. Turnbull, C. A. Birge, C. C. Dalton, Colonel the Hon. J. S. Hendrie, c.v.o., George Rutherford and W. A. Wood. Reserve and Year. Capital. Undivided Profits. Circula- Deposits. Liabilities. Discounts. Total Assets. 1901..1,995,750 1,547,000 1,660,221 11,549,904 13,479,000 11,494,126 17,071,759 1902..2,000,000 1,644,732 1,818,115 14,184,250 16,210,209 12,632,403 19,909,942 1903..2,000,000 1,770,122 1,816,536 15,864,880 18,129,474 13,896,000 21,959,596 1904..2,235,280 2,140,176 2,017,511 19,100,365 22,113,390 16,443,915 26,553,846 1905..2,440,740 2,466,150 2,279,755 21,464,121 23,914,157 17,205,482 28,886,048 1906..2,470,090 2,580,360 2,316,026 24,386,000 27,378,869 20,257,437 32,504,319 1907..2,470,360 2,688,309 2,215,621 24,216,967 27,209,637 20,406,681 32,443,306 1908..2,472,860 2,773,957 2,384,342 25,783,391 28,289,000 19,373,745 33,610,837 1909..2,500,000 2,903,665 2,468,185 30,981,464 33,854,095 24,056,262 39,332,760 1910..2,680,570 3,192,810 2,813,645 32,310,000 35,340,988 26,777,923 41,314,369 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA Commencing operations as a Chartered Bank two years after Confederation, in a small centre of a then isolated though historic Province, the first 30 years of this Bank's history was a period of quiet financial work along lines of slow though steady local progress; the ensuing decade was one of an almost phenomenal progress which covered the entire Dominion and even went beyond its bounds. The beginnings of the institution were very small and, for Canada, somewhat unusual. A co-partnership institution called the Merchants Bank had been established in 1864 at Halifax with J. W. Merkel as President and George Maclean as Cashier and with the following Proprietors: W. Cunard, T. C. Kinnear, Hon. Edward Kenny (Receiver General), John Duffus, Jeremiah Northrup, T. E. Kenny, J. W. Merkel, John Tobin and Geo. P. Mitchell. It was stated in 1869, when a charter of incorporation was asked for and obtained as a joint stock institution to be styled the Merchants Bank of Halifax, that the earnings since organization had averaged nine per cent. per annum. On Oct. 18, 1869, the Proprietors and some other prominent men met with Thos. C. Kinnear as Chairman and organized the new Bank with the following gentlemen as Directors: Wm. Cunard, J. B. Duffus, T. C. Kinnear, Thomas E. Kenny, John Taylor, M. Dwyer and Edward Smith. The authorized Capital was $1,000,000 of which at first only $500,000 was offered for subscription. A statement of the business of the late Proprietary institution up to Oct. 1st was read which showed a paid-up Capital of $300,000, a Reserve Fund of $20,000, Notes in Circulation of $90,460, Deposits at call $167,955 and at interest $116,700, Specie in hand totalling $310,899, Current Loans of $266,970, and total Assets of $729,163. Mr. Kinnear was unanimously elected President of the Bank; in December, on his leaving for England to remain away some months, Mr. Duffus acted for a couple of weeks as Chairman of the Board and then, for a similar reason, in the case of Mr. Duffus, Thomas E. Kenny was asked to fill the position which he was destined to hold until his death many years afterwards. George Maclean was the first Cashier. Amongst the first shareholders in the Bank, besides the Directors just mentioned, the most notable were Thomas Abbott, Hon. (afterwards Sir) Edward Kenny, J. P. Mott, Alfred G. Jones-long afterwards Lieut.-Governor of the Province-John F. Stairs and Hon. Jeremiah Northrup. The Bank's operations were announced as confined to the Maritime Provinces and this was, in fact, the policy of its Board for nearly a quarter of a century. A branch was opened at Pictou in |