Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

422 HISTORY OF THE BANK"The courts decided that the warehouseman, miller,wharfinger, master of a vessel or carrier, entitled to give a billof lading or receipt under the statute, must have been aperson occupying the position of a bailee of the goods, notbeing himself the owner."In the same year, 1859, the statutes of the late provinceof Canada were consolidated, and the provisions I have referredto were embodied in chapter 54 of the Consolidated Statutesof Canada, which was entitled 'An Act Respecting IncorporatedBanks/"In 1861 this chapter of the Consolidated Statutes wasamended, and it was provided that where any person engagedin the calling of warehouseman, miller, wharfinger, master ofa vessel or carrier, by whom a receipt might be given in suchhis capacity for cereal grains, goods, wares or merchandise,was at the same time the owner of such cereal grains, goods,wares or merchandise, any such receipt given and endorsedby such person should be as valid and effectual for the purposesof the Act as if the person giving such receipt and endorsingthe same were not one and the same person."It was further provided by the amending statute thatall advances made on the security of any bill of lading orreceipt should give to the person or bank making such advancesa claim for the repayment thereof, on the grain, goods, waresor merchandise mentioned therein, prior to and by way ofpreference over the claim of any unpaid vendor."This statute introduced for the first time the principleunder which the owner of goods, himself in possession thereof,themight borrow money from a bank upon the security ofgoods, and practically give to the bank a mortgage upon thegoods in the form of a warehouse receipt. It will be observed,however, that the persons entitled to do this were confinedto five kinds already mentioned, viz., those engaged in thecalling of warehouseman, miller, wharfinger, master of a vesselor carrier, and the receipt must have been given in thatcapacity.