seem to have gained nothing, while smelters have been idle or have worked at a loss, railroad companies in some cases have installed oil-burning engines, new coal properties have been exploited, perhaps unnecessarily, and the people who depend on coal for their comfort may suffer this winter for lack of fuel. The total output of British Columbia for 1911 is estimated at 2,440,000 tons, as compared with 3,139,000 tons in 1910. The history of copper mining and smelting for the year turns on the coal strike. But for that it would have been a record of high production. When the strike occurred, an effort was made to work with Pennsylvania coal, but the cost and quality of the coal made this impossible for one company and most unprofitable to others. Work will now be resumed on a full scale. The decline in the output is shown in the following figures, which are for the Boundary mines alone: 1909, 1,595,000 tons; 1910, 1,699,000 tons; 1911, estimated at 1,200,000 tons. The price of copper has been lower, averaging about 12-26 cents per pound, against 12.86 cents in 1910 and 13.05 cents in 1909. Labour conditions have been excellent. In the Kootenay district there has been unusual activity. Consolidation of interests, more efficient management and larger capital should result in more profitable working of these difficult silver, lead and copper ores. Elsewhere in British Columbia, especially in the north, very interesting developments in mining in widely separated districts are taking place, but it is too early to speak confidently as to results. The growth of the city of Vancouver continues to be remarkable, as shown by the great increases in building permits, in the assessed values of property, in bank clearings, in customs duties paid and in the earnings of tramways. The only feature calling for discouragement is the speculation in real estate values, for much of which promoters in other financial centres, even in England, are almost as responsible as are those in British Columbia. There is great activity in the province at present in railway, tramway and ordinary road building, in adding to dock accommodation to take care of the increasing ocean traffic, and in provincial, municipal and individual building of all kinds. YUKON DISTRICT. The year was marked by further consolidation of properties in the hands of the dredging companies as opposed to the individual operator. Coal mined in the district has been used for the first time as fuel in thawing operations, and has proved satisfactory. The season was unusually dry, and this affected the output of gold, which is estimated at about $4,200,000. In southern Yukon very extensive work in opening up mines in several localities is under way, and eventually this must become a mining region of great importance. Report, Statement and Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Canadian Bank of Commerce The forty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Shareholders of The Canadian Bank of Commerce was held in the Banking House, Toronto, on Tuesday, 9th January, 1912, at 12 o'clock. A great many Shareholders and others were present. The President, Sir Edmund Walker, having taken the chair, Mr. A. St. L. Trigge was appointed to act as Secretary, and Messrs. Edward Cronyn and H. L. Watt were appointed Scru tineers. The President called upon the Secretary to read the Annual Report of the Directors, covering the year ending 30th November, 1911, together with the usual statement of Assets and Liabilities: The balance at credit of Profit and Loss Account, brought $310,204 06 2,305,409 42 500,000 00 1,357,820 00 $4,473,433 48 This has been appropriated as follows: Dividends Nos. 96, 97, 98 and 99, at Ten per cent. per annum $1,057,218 59 Transferred to Pension Fund (annual contribution) 400,000 00 55,000 00 Transferred to Rest ... $1,400,000 00 Transferred to Rest, premium on new stock.. 1,357,820 00 2,757,820 00 Balance carried forward 203,394 89 $4,473,433 48 As is customary, a careful re-valuation of all the Assets of the Bank has been made and all bad and doubtful debts have been fully provided for. As made known to you in May last, your Directors decided to issue, at a premium of 80 per cent., $2,000,000 of the $5,000,000 new stock authorized in January, 1908. At the closing of the books $1,861,550 of this amount had been subscribed and $1,697,275 paid up. When the payments in this connection have been completed the paid-up capital of the Bank will stand at $12,000,000 and the Rest at $10,000,000. The following branches have been opened during the year: In Ontario Porcupine, South Porcupine, Bloor and Dufferin (Toronto); in the North-West Territories-The Pas; in Saskatche wan-Bengough, Biggar, Briercrest, Brooking, Cudworth, Edam, Mirror, Nutana, Radville, West Side (Saskatoon), Tilley, Willow Bunch; in Alberta-Beaver Lodge, Mount Royal (Calgary), Grouard; and in British Columbia-Chilliwack, Duncan, Golden, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Vernon. The branches at Latchford and Porcupine, Ontario; Durban, Manitoba, and Brooking and Tilley, Saskatchewan, have been closed. Since the close of the year, a branch has been opened at Powell Street, Vancouver, B.C. The various offices of the Bank in Canada, the United States, Great Britain and Mexico, and the departments of the Head Office have been thoroughly inspected as usual during the year. Your Directors wish again to express their appreciation of the efficiency and zeal with which the officers of the Bank continue to perform their respective duties. Toronto, 9th January, 1912. B. E. WALKER, After the adoption of the Report and before introducing a By-law increasing the number of the Board of Directors of the Bank from 14 to not exceeding 19 in the event of a proposed agreement for the union of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Eastern Townships Bank being approved and going into effect, the President said: "Since the close of the Bank's fiscal year, we have entered into an agreement with the Directors of the Eastern Townships Bank for the union of the two institutions, the basis being that we are to give 60,000 fully paid-up shares of stock in this Bank of the par value of $3,000,000 in exchange for the assets of the Eastern Townships Bank, the par value of the capital stock of that Bank being $3,000,000. The matter awaits the approval of the shareholders of the Eastern Townships Bank, for which purpose a meeting will be held on 14th February next. If you will look at the map of Canada in this room, which shows the position of our branches, you will see that such a union is greatly in the interest of the two institutions and that it will make the united branches of the two Banks throughout Canada a very nearly perfect system. The customers and shareholders of the Eastern Townships Bank have always been peculiarly loyal to that institution and should the union take place, it will be our strong desire not only to retain but to foster and increase the valuable asset represented by that goodwill which, indeed, has been one of the main reasons for trying to bring about such a union. Under the system we have fol lowed in other cases the name of the Eastern Townships Bank will be kept prominently before the public in connection with our own. It will doubtless be our purpose to add to the many branches of the Eastern Townships Bank further establishments in the Province of Quebec, and to improve if possible by our larger capital and facilities the service hitherto afforded by the Eastern Townships Bank to its customers in that part of Canada which has depended mainly upon that institution for such banking service. In anticipation of the completion of this transaction, a By-law and resolution are necessary, which the Vice-President will now propose. The By-law was then passed. A By-law increasing the authorized Capital Stock of the Bank from $15,000,000 to $25,000,000 was also passed. A Resolution relative to the pension fund authorizing whatever adjustment may be necessary to provide for the proposed admission of the staff of the Eastern Townships Bank and another Resolution providing for an alteration from $50.00 to $100.00 in the par value of the shares of the Capital Stock of the Bank, as soon as the necessary legislation is obtained, were then submitted and passed. The Scrutineers subsequently reported the following gentlemen to be elected as Directors for the ensuing year: Sir Edmund Walker, c.v.o., LL.D., D.C.L.; Hon. Geo. A. Cox, John Hoskin, K.C., LL.D.; J. W. Flavelle, LL.D.; A. Kingman, Hon. Sir Lyman Melvin Jones, Hon. W. C. Edwards, Z. A. Lash, K.C., LL.D.; E. R. Wood, Sir John Morison Gibson, K.C.M.G., K.C., LL.D.; William McMaster, Robert Stuart, George F. Galt, Alexander Laird. At a meeting of the newly elected Board of Directors held subsequently, Sir Edmund Walker, c.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L., was elected President and Mr. Z. A. Lash, K.C., LL.D., Vice-President. [An Historical Sketch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce will be found in the Special Supplement of THE CANADIAN ANNUAL REVIEW for 1910.] |