Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

38 HISTORY OF THE BANKinto in November, 1865, whereby the Government was compelledto keep continuously on deposit with the Bank ofMontreal between $400,000 and $500,000 without interest.After the House met, Sir Francis Hincks placed himself onrecord as in favour of branch banking, as being the systemmost suitable to Canadian conditions.The principles laid down in the bankers' resolutions outlinedabove were for the most part accepted by Sir Francis.With regard to note circulation he proposed that the Governmentshould retain a monopoly of the privilege of issuing allnotes under $4, and the banks were required to hold fifty percent, of their cash reserves in Dominion of Canada legal tendernotes. The measures introduced by Sir Francis Hincks wereparticularly agreeable to the Ontario bankers, who had rarelybeen listened to in the past. Especially did they meet withthe approval of Senator McMaster, for they embodied in partthe very principles for which he had contended. It will benoted that at this session he was quite willing to accept thechairmanship of the Banking Committee, a post he had refusedin the previous year, owing to his radical, though concealed,hostility to Mr. Rose's scheme. He also had in hand legislationsanctioning the amalgamation of the Gore Bank with TheCanadian Bank of Commerce and authorizing a large increasein the capital of the latter.Although the bankers were one in supporting the Hincksmeasures, and Sir John A. Macdonald was relieved that he hadat last found the man and the solution for his banking problem,politics were to play a greater part in this legislation than inthe case of the proposals of the Hon. John Rose. The reasonwas that the Liberal Opposition counted on a political advantageif, without enunciating a policy of their own, they coulddefeat the Government and leave the whole question in theair. If they could force a general election on this or any ot herissue, they felt confident of victory, and therefore many ofthem favoured blocking the measure without respect to itsmerits.Although a Liberal of many years' standing, Senator