54 



AUSTRALASIA. 



asia was established in 1858. Its subscribed 

 capital was 1,250,000, of which 1,000,000 were 

 paid in. The deposits held by the bank amount- 

 ed to about 9.000,000, of which only 1,400,000 

 were British. On Dec. 31, 1892, the total of ad- 

 vances was 8,432,016, and the reserve of coin 

 and bullion in Australia was 1,427,396. Ac- 

 cording to the directors' report for March 31, the 

 reserve fund stood at 670,000, and a dividend 

 of 10 per cent, was recommended, as against 12 

 per cent, for the preceding year and 15 per cent. 

 in previous years. The head office of the bank 

 was at Melbourne, and it had an office in Lon- 

 don, and 143 branches in the colonies. Antici- 

 pating that the publication on Monday of the 

 news of the suspension of the bank would cause 

 a panic among the depositors in other banks, 

 the Victorian Government, in the hope of avert- 

 i ng universal disaster, resolved at a special meet- 

 ing of the Cabinet on Sunday to proclaim a five- 

 days' bank holiday, beginning Monday, May 1. 

 This action of the Government, under authority 

 conferred by the Banks and Currency act of 1892, 

 was taken without any general consultation with 

 the managers of the banks, and was regarded by 

 some of them, as well as by a large proportion 

 of the business public, as unwise. The holiday 

 was observed by several of the banks and by the 

 clearing-house, but the Bank of Australasia, the 

 Union Bank of Australia, and the Bank of New 

 Zealand, in Melbourne, kept open for business as 

 usual, and their action did much to quiet the 

 general alarm. The suspension of the National 

 Bank of Australasia and the proclaimed holidays 

 following it marked the beginning of the third 

 and final stage of the crisis. It was the stage of 

 panic. The scarcity of currency for business 

 purposes caused a run upon banks whose sound- 

 ness was beyond question. People provided 

 themselves with cash entirely beyond their needs ; 

 large amounts were withdrawn from the banks 

 and put in the vaults of a safe-deposit company ; 

 some withdrew gold that was on deposit, and, 

 after putting it in strong boxes, left it in charge 

 of the very banks from which they had with- 

 drawn it. All discrimination ceased, and the 

 raid became general. The Colonial Bank of 

 Australasia suspended on May 5. It was one of 

 the banks in Melbourne that remained closed 

 during the first three of the proclaimed holidays, 

 and when it opened its doors on the 4th there 

 was an immediate run upon it. This bank was 

 established in 1856 as a purely colonial bank a 

 character it has always maintained, never hav- 

 ing opened an office in London or taken British 

 deposits. Its business was confined exclusively 

 to Victoria, wherin it had 70 branches. The 

 nominal capital was 1,000,000, of which 406,- 

 250 had been paid in. On Dec. 31 the aggre- 

 gate of advances, deposits, and bills and notes in 

 circulation was 7,128,932 ; the total of deposits 

 at that date was 3,324,754, and the total of ad- 

 vances 3,686,462. The coin and bullion reserve 

 amounted to 352,246. At the last meeting, 

 Oct. 20, 1892, a 12-per-cent. dividend was de- 

 clared. The Bank of Victoria, Limited (Mel- 

 bourne), announced its suspension on May 9. A 

 run upon it commenced as soon as it reopened 

 after the proclaimed holidays. The bank was 

 founded in 1852, and was a purely Victorian in- 

 stitution, having 67 branches in that colony and 



none elsewhere in Australia. Its authorized 

 capital was 2,000,000, 1,200,000 having been 

 subscribed, and 600,000 paid in. The deposits 

 on Dec. 31, 1892, amounted to 7,000,000. At 

 the time of suspension they stood at about 6,- 

 700,000, of which 5,500,000 were due in Victoria 

 and 1,200,000 in the United Kingdom. The 

 local deposits were all for twelve months, but 

 those taken in England were for longer periods 

 up to a maximum of four years. By a return 

 made a short time before suspension the advances 

 of the bank were shown to be 6,147,966, and the 

 coin and bullion 943,355. At the half-yearly 

 meeting, Feb. 2, a 10-per-cent. dividend was de- 

 clared, and 15,000 added to the reserve, making 

 it 250,000. The bank had always held a leading 

 position, and the management had been regarded 

 as conservative. On May 15 the Commercial 

 Banking Company of Sydney suspended pay- 

 ment, owing to persistent withdrawals by panic- 

 stricken depositors, over 1,000,000 gold' having 

 been withdrawn since the failure of the Joint 

 Stock Bank. This institution was started in 

 1834, and had for many years past led all Aus- 

 tralian banks as a dividend-paying concern. 

 Since 1876 the dividend has been uniformly 25 

 per cent. The capital of the company was 

 600,000, paid up, and the reserve stood at 

 840,000. According to the return for Dec. 31, 

 1892, the deposits amounted to 10,959,598, and 

 the advances amounted to 10,907,020. The 

 bank then had coin and bullion to the amount 

 of 1,702,511, and Government securities valued 

 at 885,800. The balance sheet thus showed an 

 excess of assets over liabilities of over 2,500,000. 

 The bank had 137 branches in New South Wales, 

 and 13 in Queensland. On the same day the 

 Queensland National Bank, Limited (Brisbane), 

 and the Bank of North Queensland (Townsville), 

 also announced their suspension. The Queens- 

 land National, which alone transacted the Gov- 

 ernment business of the colony, suspended main- 

 ly on account of heavy withdrawals of British 

 deposits. The bank was started in 1872. Its 

 subscribed capital stood at 1,600,000, 800.- 

 000 paid in. The balance sheet for Dec. 31 

 showed 8,526,962 deposits and other liabilities, 

 of which 3,959,683 were due in Queensland, and 

 128,943 in New South Wales, while the British 

 deposits amounted to about 55 per cent, of the 

 total amount. The cash and bullion, cash bal- 

 ances, money in London, and Government secu- 

 rities amounted to 2,599,308, and the bills 

 receivable, and other debts due the bank, to 

 8,133,387. At the half-yearly meeting, Jan. 25, 

 a 10-per-cent. per annum dividend was declared, 

 and 16,810 of profits carried forward. The 

 bank had 64 branches. The Bank of North 

 Queensland had a nominal capital of 1,000,000, 

 of which 500,000 were subscribed and 250,000 

 paid in. On Dec. 31, 1892, it held deposits 

 amounting to 350,000, and its notes in circula- 

 tion amounted to 25,659, while bills discounted 

 and other debts due the bank amounted to 

 494,407. A dividend of 5 per cent, was de- 

 clared for the half year. The bank had a branch 

 in Sydney and 11 branches in Queensland. The 

 City of Melbourne Bank, Limited, suspended on 

 May 16. This bank was an offshoot of the Na- 

 tional Bank of Australasia, and was founded in 

 1873. Its authorized capital was 2,000,000, of 



