CURRENCY, COINAGE AND LEGAL TENDER), was confirmed by an act (5 George V Chap. 3) dated 22 Aug. 1914, which continued it in force until 15 Sept. 1914, and gave the council statutory power case of war, vasion, riot or insurrection, real or hended, and in case of any real or apprehended financial crisis,* to make effective tion provisions similar to those contained in the Orders in Council of 3d and 10th of August, the only change being that advances to the Quebec savings banks were also authorized. On 3 Sept. 1914, a proclamation was duly issued, revoking the Orders in Council, and putting into force the provisions of the act. These provisions will doubtless be retained for some time after the end of the war. The effect of them is that the banks can at any time obtain from the government advances (unlimited in amount, so far as the law is concerned) of Dominion notes against proved securities deposited (these securities being deemed to be the security required by the Dominion Note Act to be held against Dominion notes: i.e., gold), that they may make all payments in bank notes including the payments necessary to redeem their own notes, which they are thus by law relieved from redeeming, and they may during the whole year issue excess circulation to the extent of 15 per cent of their combined unimpaired capital and rest, instead of only during the period from the beginning of September to the end of February. The practical effect of these
provisions is that no gold and only making quantities of Dominion notes arc paid out over the counter, so that the obtaining of gold by the public for hoarding, export or any other purpose is absolutely prevented. In order, however, to retain the daily redemption of notes not needed by the public, and to vent large quantities of notes of one bank being held by other banks, the Clearing-House rules provide that the daily settlements at the chief redemption points shall continue to be made in Dominion notes. The whole ment has worked remarkably well; even in the disturbed days at the beginning of the war, when all commercial and industrial interests were in a state of absolute uncertainty, and no one knew how things would go from day to day, there was not the slightest tendency toward a run on the banks, which continued to pay their depositors and to all outward pearance to transact internal business as usual.
F. G. JiniErr, Colonial Bank, London; Formerly Secretary, The Canadian Bank of Commerce.