Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

DEVELOPMENT OF CANADIAN BANKING 4*3"The provision giving the bank a prior claim for repaymentof advances over the claim of any unpaid vendor of thegoods mentioned in a bill of lading, etc., was important, asunder the law of the then province of Lower Canada, and,under certain circumstances, under the law of the provinceof Upper Canada, the claim of the unpaid vendor of thegoods would prevail over that of the person making advancesupon the security of the goods."In 1865 the provisions I have alluded to were furtheramended by chapter 19 of the statutes of the province ofCanada for that year, which although expressed to be anamendment of the 'Act respecting Incorporated Banks' 9forming chapter 54 of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, isstrangely enough entitled 'An Act Granting AdditionalFacilitiesin Commercial Transactions.'"This Act provided for a transfer to a bank or privateperson of any cove receipt or any receipt given by a covekeeper or by the keeper of any wharf, yard, harbour, or anyother place, for timber, boards, deals, staves, or other lumber,laid, stored or deposited in or on the cove, wharf, yard, harbouror other place of which he was keeper; and by it the list ofpersons entitled to borrow money from a bank upon thesecurity of his own goods, under the simple form of a warehousereceipt, was enlarged so as to include persons engagedin the calling of cove keeper or of the keeper of any wharf,yard, harbour or other place, but the goods upon which hecould so borrow must have been timber, boards, deals, stavesor other lumber."The Act also provided that advances made on the securityof any such cove receipt, etc., should give a claim for repaymenton the timber, boards, etc., prior to the claim of anyunpaid vendor or other creditor, save and except claims forwages of labour performed in making and transporting suchtimber, boards, etc."No further changes were made in the law on this subjectuntil after Confederation.