Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

THE ARCHIVES DEPARTMENT 499tons. What makes the preservation of these records amatter of vital importance to a Canadian bank is that bystatutory enactment it cannot plead the statute of limitations,or any law relating to prescription, as a bar to the payment ofdeposits or dividends, even though they may be unclaimed formany years. On the contrary, the liability to pay the rightfulclaimant remains in force forever. Every bank in Canada istherefore compelled to do an immense amount of book-keepingin connection with a number of sums, usually trifling, whichtheir owners have never taken the trouble to claim. Thesehave to be carried forward over and over again in the currentbooks of the bank, or the record of them preserved in such away that they can be easily located at any time. In addition,the banks must preserve indefinitely the records of all paymentsof deposits or dividends, in order that they may, if necessary,be in a position to disprove mistaken or dishonest claims tomoneys already paid, which may at any time become thesubject of suits at law. There is also a third class of recordswhich is kept for the benefit of a bank's customers and of thecommunity in general. Frequently a bank is requested tolook up transactions of many years past. Was such and sucha draft ever cashed, and if so, by whom and when? Whatwas done with the proceeds? Or occasionally a dispute willarise as to the amount due on an old mortgage; the record ofone payment is perhaps missing. The mortgagor claims tohave bought a draft for the amount from such and such a bankabout a certain date. What became of the draft? Theseare typical instances of the enquiries which are frequentlymade. Only a thoroughly systematic filing of old records willmake the answers to such questions available after a numberof years have elapsed, yet a correct answer may be of greatmoment to the enquirer.Apart from the question of the expense involved, it wouldbe almost a physical impossibility to find sufficient space topreserve all the records of a bank, so that the desired resultcan be obtained only by a careful classification, which takes