the money has been transferred to the common fund of the office, the income is as a matter of practice paid to the beneficiaries free of all office commission, though there is a provision for a charge not exceeding 5 per cent. upon such income. The office pays expenses and makes a small profit. The office appears to be of the greatest benefit to the community in the handling of small intestate estates. By the Lunacy Act of 1882, the Public Trustee is authorized to undertake the administration of the estates of lunatics in every case where no committee may be appointed for the estate, and 90 per cent. of estates of lunatics in the asylums are administered by him. According to the New Zealand Year Book, the total value of the estates in the hands of the Public Trustee in 1903 was as follows: Wills and trusts, £1,279,743; intestate estates, £197,368; real estates, £7,585; lunatic estates, £170,585; native reserves, £375,000; West Coast settlement reserves, £655,000; unclaimed lands, £21,504; making a total of £2,706,785. (The population of New Zealand is about 800,000.) CANADIAN TRUST COMPANIES. The Canadian trust companies, as to their powers and limitations, occupy a position between those of the Australian trustee company and the American trust company. While they differ somewhat among themselves, none of them exercise the wide powers of the latter, and none are so closely restricted as the trustee companies of Australia. Some of the charters under which the different companies act permit of rather wide powers; but in practice many of the powers have not been exercised, and the business of the companies is mainly confined to the duties of trustee, administrator, the management of estates and the investment of funds. They do not undertake a commercial banking business, nor do they as a rule take ordinary savings deposits, although three or four of them have in very recent years established savings departments, and one at least is advertising "banking by mail." Until within very recent years they have not undertaken to do corporate trust work, such as receiving and alloting subscriptions for stock. acting as transfer agents, etc.; but a few companies are now doing that class of work. A few of the companies are closely associated with loan companies, and trust and loan companies appear under the same headings in the Government reports— as is the case in several states of the Union. The number of separate companies now in existence is thirteen, their aggregate resources, including trust funds and estates, being in the neighborhood of eighty million dollars. Of these thirteen companies, the main offices of five are located in Toronto, of one in Halifax, of two in London, Ontario, of two in Montreal, of one in Vancouver and of two in Winnipeg. Seven of the companies maintain branches in other cities, the total number of such branches being eighteen. Some of the companies maintain safe deposit departments. Ontario and New Brunswick have general laws affecting trust companies, but the laws are of incomplete character. The Ontario Trust Company Act (1897, Cap. 206) provides that the High Court may appoint a suitable person to investigate the affairs and management of a trust company, and the Lieutenant-Governor may appoint an inspector to examine the affairs of such company and report on the security afforded to those for whom its engagements are held. Applications for trust company charters may be referred by the Lieutenant-Governor to the High Court of Justice for an opinion as to the necessity for incorporation of the company, having regard to the business to be done and companies already incorporated and doing business, and whether the public convenience and advantage would be promoted. If the opinion is unfavorable, the application shall not be proceeded with. The New Brunswick statute (1902, Cap. 106) authorizes the appointment as trustee of a trust company which is approved by the LieutenantGovernor. The company is subject to inspection at any time, and is required to deposit with the Receiver-General such sum of money or amount of securities as he may deem sufficient as security for the proper performance of its trusts within the province. The statutes of both provinces prohibit trust companies from issuing debentures, and authorize them to receive as deposits the sinking funds of municipalities and corporations. Seven of the Canadian trust companies have been established since the year 1900; five were established during the nineties. The first trust company in the Dominion,--The Toronto General Trusts Corporation,— which is also considerably the largest trust company there, began business in 1882, under a special charter granted by the Government of Ontario. On December 31, 1907, it reported total liabilities of $32,909,902.68, of which the principal items were Capital and "Reserve" (Surplus), $1,400,000; Trust, Guarantee and Agency Funds, $16,654,332; Trust Estates and Agencies, $14,785,702. The company confines itself chiefly to trustee business, though its charter grants wider powers. does not receive deposits, nor underwrite securities. It transacts considerable business for the Government of the Provinces, invests court funds, and has control and management of lunatic estates in Ontario. Following is a list of the trust companies in Canada: It The Torento General Trusts Corporation, Toronto. (Branches at Ottawa and Winnipeg.) The Imperial Trust Company of Canada, Toronto. The National Trust Company, Toronto. (Branches at Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton [Alberta], and Saskatoon [Sask].) The Trusts and Guarantee Company, Toronto. (Branch at Calgary, Alberta.) The Union Trust Company, Toronto. (Branches at Winnipeg, Hamilton [Ont.], Regina [Sask.], and London, England.) The Canada Trust Company, London. The Eastern Trust Company, Halifax. (Branch at St. John, N. B.) The London and Western Trust Company, London. The Montreal Trust and Deposit Company, Montreal. (Branch at Halifax.) The Royal Trust Company, Montreal. The British-American Trust Company, Vancouver. (Branches at Grand Forks, B. C., Victoria, B. C., Winnipeg; Agency at Spokane, The Western Trust Company, Winnipeg. OTHER COUNTRIES. Outside of the United States, Australia and Canada there are no countries in which the trust company has made enough progress to be considered an established institution. Within the past ten years, however, beginnings have been made which indicate the probability that the trust company movement, in somewhat varying forms, will soon have a firm foothold in a number of foreign countries. Prior to its admission as a territory of the United States, the trust company had been established in Hawaii, and there are now four such corporations in the Islands, all located at Honolulu-The Hawaiian Trust Company, organized in 1898; The First American Savings and Trust Company; The Henry Waterhouse Trust Company and The Bishop Trust Company. The trust functions exercised by these companies include all the ordinary trust powers, and the right "To transact as agents any other business or undertaking, trust, mercantile or otherwise, which may be necessary, useful or convenient to the main purpose of the corporation." They handle as general agents all kinds of insurance. They have not banking powers, the statute specifically prohibiting the transaction of both a general banking and a savings banking business. There are trust companies operating in Porto Rico, devoted specially to developing the resources of the island. An American company has been formed, with headquarters at Pittsburg, to operate in the Philippines. In Cuba a beginning was made by the establishment in January, 1906, of The Trust Company of Cuba, located at Havana. It has a paid-up capital of $500,000, and in June, 1907, had surplus and undivided profits of $31,691, and deposits of $323,872. It is closely patterned after the trust companies of the United States, maintaining banking, savings, trust and real estate departments. The laws do not permit the company to act as executor, but an executor may appoint it to act for him. There is a considerable field for the company in the management of property owned by parties who reside in Spain, a large amount of property in Havana being so held. In Mexico there have been started several enterprises under the name of trust companies which were organized for speculative purposes by Americans, usually as branches of concerns in the United States, which have gone out of existence. Effort has been made to obtain general legislation providing for the organization of trust companies, but thus far without success. The only existing trust company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Mexico is The Mexican Trust Company (Compania Fideicomisaria Mexicana) of Mexico City, which has a capital of $250,000 ($125,000 United States money), and which includes in its directorate a number of prominent Mexicans. The powers conferred by its charter are exceedingly wide, including the right to do a banking business, to perform all the ordinary trust functions, "To promote the incorporation of all kinds of companies in the form it may deem fit, and to deal in their stocks; to buy and sell securities of all kinds; to buy and sell mines and to work them on its own account; *** to hold, acquire, transfer or lease concessions granted by the National Government for the exploitation of all kinds of natural products as well as for those which have an industrial object; * * * and in general all such business as the company's board of directors may determine." Plans are on foot for the establishment of other companies, presumably along the same lines. In October, 1905, a company known as the Banco Fomento Industrial Americano was organized at Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic, with an authorized capital of $5,000,000--of which at last advices, however, only a small part was paid up. The company numbers among its directors several of the prominent men of Buenos Ayres, which is a progressive city of over 1,100,000 people. It has as its avowed object "The development and enlargement of the established industries in the country or out of it and the introduction of new ones that it is thought advisable and opportune to establish and all the operations that the North American trust companies carry on." The powers granted are very wide, including some of a speculative nature, in addition to the more conservative powers of the trust company as we know it. Japan entered into the field in 1902 by the establishment under Government auspices, after an official investigation of the trust companies of the United States, of The Industrial Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Nippon Kogyo Ginko). It had an authorized capital of 10,000,000 yen, which was increased to 17,500,000 yen in 1906, and of this at last advices 13,750,000 yen were paid up. The company is fostered by the Japanese Government, which guarantees dividends of 5 per cent. for the first five years. Some of the shares have been placed in England and in the United States, and the stock sells at a good premium. In its first year the company successfully floated in London an issue of 50,000,000 yen of national bonds, a task entrusted to it by the Government. The powers of the company have been considerably enlarged since its organization, and it now advertises its lines of business as follows: 1. Loans on the security of national or local loan bonds, or debentures and shares of companies. 2. Subscriptions for or taking over by transference, national or local loan bonds, or the debentures of companies. 3. General deposit and safe deposit business. 4. Business of a trust company. 5. Discounts of bills on security of national or local loan bonds, or debentures and shares of companies. 6. Loans on mortgage of railway, factory and mine. 7. Banking and attendant business in foreign countries. The by-laws of the company define its trust business as follows: "Article 39. The trust business to be undertaken by this bank shall be in general as follows: 1. To be intrusted with the administration, settlement, etc., concerning money, securities, movable and immovable properties and other prop erties. 2. To deal in matters relating to public loans, and the loans and shares of companies; such as issuing bonds or debentures, paying principal, interest, profit, etc. 3. To deal in matters relating to mortgaging debentures or to giving guarantees on behalf of debtors." ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. Notwithstanding the fact that since the year 1886 repeated efforts have been made to establish the idea of the corporate trustee in Great Britain, the progress of the movement has been exceedingly slow. Two very formidable obstacles are yet to be overcome the excessive conservatism of the people, which results in a decided lack of interest in the movement, and numerous legal restrictions which confine corporate undertakings of this kind within very narrow limits. Yet the shortcomings of the individual acting in fiduciary capacities are quite generally appreciated, and a number of plans designed to remedy the conditions have been proposed in Parliament. One of these was the Judicial Trustees Act of 1896, which after over ten years has failed to interest the public and does not solve the problem. On January 1, 1908, however, The Public Trustee Office, authorized by The Public Trustee Act of 1907, began business in London, and is meeting with success. On the whole, the trust company movement in Great Britain is making progress, at least eight corporations being at present engaged in trying to build up this kind of business. Of these the earliest was The Public Trustee, Limited, of Edinburg, which was established in 1886. This company is strictly limited to the undertaking of trusts. In 1887 was established the Trustees, Executors and Securities Insurance Corporation, Ltd., and in 1888 the Law Guarantee and Trust Society, Ltd., both located in London. The latter has some eight or ten branches scattered over England and Scotland, maintains a trust department, writes fidelity insurance and guarantees the payment of debentures and mortgages. The insurance companies have begun to give their attention to the possibilities of the trust business, the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation of London having taken on trust powers in the early nineties, |