Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

126 HISTORY OF THE BANKfifty, but in 1897 had decreased to forty-six. Only onebranch had been opened in the interval Waterford, inMay, 1894 and five had been closed, Ailsa Craig and Jarvis in1895, St. Lawrence Street, Montreal, in 1896, Thorold andWaterford in 1897. Chaboillez Square, Montreal, was closedearly in 1898. The situation, however, was about to change.A decided expansion of business took place in Canada during1898 and 1899, and The Canadian Bank of Commerceabandoned the policy which had up to this time made italmost entirely an Ontario institution. During the threeyears following 1897 thirteen branches were opened andonly one closed. This brought the total up to fifty-ninein June, 1900, and at the end of that year came the amalgamationwith the Bank of British Columbia, and the consequenttaking over of its branches.The rapid increase in the production of gold in the Yukondistrict about this time led the Dominion Government toenter into negotiations with the bank, as a result of which thelatter was appointed bankers of the Government for theYukon district and its sole agent for the collection of theroyalty on gold. Accordingly an expedition of bank officerssailed from Vancouver on May 10, 1898, and opened a branchin Dawson City on June 15. 1An interesting sequel to thisadventure into the far north is to be found in the report ofthe bank for 1911. The general manager, Mr. AlexanderLaird, informed the shareholders that two items of $300,000and $500,000, respectively, recovered from over-appropriationsin 1909 and 1911, were due in part to the fact that the bankhad held in reserve all the profits made at Dawson Cityawaiting the final outcome of the business in that district.The incident serves to illustrate the care taken by the bank'smanagement to make sure that the profits shown in the balancesheet were really earned.In the same year as the opening in Dawson, brancheswere established in Vancouver, Cranbrook, Fernie and Green-1 The story of this expedition is told in chapter III.