10 Timehri. 



clearly showed that a bank was much needed. Some business premises 

 belonging to Messrs. H. and \Y. Howes and purchased i'or 25.700 guilders 

 (the value of a guilder was then Is. 8d.) in 1828 w T ere forced into the 

 market after they had been considerably improved and were worth 

 67,000 guilders. The owners happened to be indebted to a Dr. Webster 

 (who had died) to the extent of between 18,000 and 20,000 guilders. 

 The executors in the colony, having received orders from the heirs in 

 England that the estate should be closed as early as possible and the 

 moneys remitted to them, peremptorily placed the Howes' property in 

 the open market, where it fetched only 25.000 guilders. " The Eoyal 

 Gazette," remarking on the sacrifice, asked if such a thing could have 

 been possible had there been a well-conducted banking establishment 

 available for accommodation. Soon after, Pin. Taymouth Manor had to 

 be bought in. and the property fetched only 200,500 guilders. •• a sum 

 that did not cover the mortgage demands, and leaving the mortgage 

 minus upwards of £25.000." 



In April. 1836, intelligence reached the colony to the effect that the 

 Colonial Bank was about to be formed in England with a capital of two 

 million pounds in shares of one hundred pounds each ; and soon after 

 some Liverpool merchants interested in the colony set on foot a project 

 to start a joint-stock bank here with a capital of £300,000 in £25 shares, 

 of which 4.000 were to be reserved for local subscription. Then came 

 forward again Mr. Hugh Robertson. He issued a prospectus with the 

 object of starting a bank under the name of "The British Guiana Bank- 

 ing Company. " The scheme was looked upon with much favour, the 

 Governor himself being among the first to subscribe. The shareholders 

 met for the first time on the 7th of September, Hon. J. G. Reed, of Doch- 

 four. presiding. A committee, one of whom was Mr. J. Lucie Smith 

 (afterwards Attorney General) father of the present Chief Justice of 

 Trinidad, was appointed to frame rules and arrange the necessary 

 preliminaries. They recommended that application should be made to 

 the Legislature for an ordinance to establish a bank to be called "The 

 British Guiana Bank " : the capital was to be 4. 200. 000 guilders in 700 

 guilder shares, and that the bank should be allowed to do business when 

 2.100.000 guilders had been collected from the shareholders. The first 

 directors were: Hons. John Croal and J. G. Reed and Messrs. Charles 

 Benjamin, William Johnson, Alexander Glen. John Lane. G. J. Traughton. 

 jnr., Abraham Garnett. and James Holmes. The first secretary was Mr. 

 Frederick Verbeke. 



In October the Court of Policy met to consider the memorial of the 

 subscribers for a charter of incorporation, but just before this the 

 Colonial Bank protested on the ground that the establishment of a local 

 bank was an infringement of the Colonial Banks Royal Charter. In the 

 Court the opposition on behalf of the Colonial Bank was conducted by 

 Hon. Peter Rose who had been provisionally appointed manager of that 

 bank. He had a worthy opponent in the person of Hon. John Croal. 

 The opposition failed and the ordinance to incorporate the British 



