CANADA, DOMINION OF. 



85 



000,000; deposits, $106,000,000; and discounts, of Canada, with the amount and value of their 

 $145,000,000. shares, their capital, and reserve funds in 



The following is a list of the chartered banks March, 1883 : 



Building and Loan Societies. The loan compa- 

 nies of Canada play an important part in her 

 money-lending system. They were established 

 as building societies after the English plan, 

 the design being to assist investors to acquire 

 land or to build houses by making payments 

 in regular installments? to that end ; but they 

 have for the most part changed their method 

 Of late years, and now lend upon the security 

 of real estate the money which they receive 

 from depositors in Canada, and debenture- 

 holders in the United Kingdom, in addition to 

 their paid-up capital. In 1846 legislation was 

 granted in Upper Canada favoring such socie- 

 ties. About 1847 very similar acts were passed 

 by Quebec and New Brunswick, and in 1849 

 by Nova Scotia. 



The growth of societies of this kind, both in 

 number and extent, has been remarkable, es- 

 pecially in Ontario. In the first return of their 

 operations made to Government in 1863, only 

 eleven permanent building societies were in- 

 cluded, having a total capital of $1,208,000, 

 deposits of $365,000, and mortgage loans of 

 $1,500,000. There were, besides, at this time 

 terminable building societies whose aggregate 

 capital was $873,000. By 1873 the number of 

 societies shown in this yearly return had grown 

 to twenty-three; their capital to 6,376,000; 



deposits to $2,869,000, while the value of the 

 mortgages they held exceeded $9,500,000. It 

 was soon found possible to borrow money in 

 Britain, however, at lower rates and in larger 

 sums than was possible at home; and in 1874 

 a Dominion act was passed granting power to 

 such societies to issue debentures. Several of 

 the leading companies at once became borrow- 

 ers in the Scottish and English money-mar- 

 kets, and the additional capital obtained gave a 

 decided impetus to the working of such lead- 

 ing corporations. By a return to Government 

 for the calendar year 1880, it appears that at 

 least eighty such societies were then in exist- 

 ence in the Dominion ; capital, $24,495,975 ; 

 deposits, $11,713,633; loans secured on real 

 estate, $56,612,200. 



Insurance Companies. There are in Canada 

 sixty-nine insurance companies, some of which 

 do more than one kind of insurance. The na- 

 ture of the business done by them is as fol- 

 lows : companies doing life-insurance, 39 ; fire, 

 29 ; inland marine, 6 ; ocean, 3 ; accident, 5 ; 

 guarantee, 2; plate-glass, 1; steam-boiler, 1. 

 The deposits for the protection of policy-hold- 

 ers, held by the Keceiver- General in trust for 

 these companies, according to the last official 

 report, amounted to $7,032,377.53. 



The total net amount insured by fire-policies 



