Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

310 HISTORY OF THE BANKupon Russia and served her ultimatum on France. The GreatWar had begun.In the meantime the Canadian Minister of Finance, SirThomas White, 1 who was without definite information as toGreat Britain's probable action, became apprehensive as to theeffect upon the Canadian banks of the profound disturbanceto world finance which was taking place. Information reachedhim of runs upon banks in certain Canadian centres, andthat depositors were demanding gold, and this increased hisfeeling of uneasiness. On Sunday, August 2, he decided tosummon the representatives of the Canadian Bankers' Associationto meet him at Ottawa on Monday, August3. Thepresident of the Association, the late Mr. D. R. Wilkie 2 ofthe Imperial Bank, was attending a meeting in Montreal, andit was arranged that he and the Montreal representatives ofthe Association should come to Ottawa afterwards. SirEdmund Walker, president of The Canadian Bank of Commerce,was absent from Toronto at his summer house at DeGrassi Point, Lake Simcoe, and efforts were at once made to1The Right Hon. Sir (William) Thomas White, K.C.M.G. (b. 1866) is a nativeof the County of Halton, Ontario. He was educated at the University of Toronto,and was called to the bar of Ontario in 1899. He was for some years vice-presidentand general manager of the National Trust Company, Limited, of Toronto. Enteringpublic life in 1911, he was elected to the House of Commons as member for the countyof Leeds, and entered the Cabinet of the Hon. R. L. Borden (now the Right Hon. SirRobert Borden, G.C.M.G.) as Minister of Finance, a position which he held throughoutthe Great War. He resigned in August, 1919, and took up the practice of law. InNovember of the same year he was elected a director of The Canadian Bank of Commerceand in 1920 he became a vice-president.Daniel Robert Wilkie (1846-1914) was a native of the city of Quebec, and waseducated at Morrin College. In 1862 he entered the service of the Quebec Bank, andwas appointed manager of the St. Catharines branch in 1867, and of the Torontobranch in 1872. On the founding of the Imperial Bank of Canada in 1875 he wasappointed general manager, and in 1906 he was elected president. He served aspresident of the Toronto Board of Trade in 1893, and at the time of his death waspresident of the Canadian Bankers' Association, a position which he had occupiedfor about two years. He was also a director of the Confederation Life Association,the Toronto General Trusts Corporation, and a number of other bodies. He was aprominent advocate of the establishment of a branch of the Royal Mint in Canadaand of a Canadian gold coinage.