Pretended banking? The struggle for banking facilities in Kingston, Upper Canada (1810--1837)

Abstract

This dissertation examines the events surrounding Kingston's struggle to establish a bank between 1810 and 1832. As the commercial centre of Upper Canada in the early nineteenth century, Kingston's economy prospered, yet the lack of capital, and the chronic shortage of money impinged on the town's potential for further economic development. Faced with cash flow problems, and a complicated trade mechanism still based on credit, merchants in Kingston identified the need for banking services, consisting of issuing notes, buying and selling exchange, deposits and loans. Petitions to charter a bank were presented to the Provincial Legislature on several occasions, but the bills were denied either for political or financial reasons. It is believed that the Family Compact and other members of government with a vested interest in the Bank of Upper Canada at York blocked Kingston's chances of opening a bank. Furthermore, difficulty in raising capital was a serious impediment to the establishment of a bank in Upper Canada. The delay in securing a charter may have been a contributing factor to the town's commercial decline starting in the mid-1830s.