HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1975-06-26, Page 72•fev...reoefooeeepsofeims000eofee4v,
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Congratulations
- to the people of
SEAFORTH
ST. PATRICK'S' DAY AT CARDNO'S HALL —. This group performed on stage in
Cardno's Hail quite some years ago, in a St. Patrick's Day show. Front, left are Ella
.and Mabel Turnbull. Behind them, from left, are Bessie McMichael, Marie Martin,
Margaret Williams, Fred Faulkner, Count De Lacey, Joe Sills, Beth Willis, Norma
Hartry and mrs.D0 Lacey.
• on the 100th anniversary
of the forming of your town.
It has been a pleasure working ,with you
JACK RIDDELL MPP , HURON
READ and USE EXPOSITOR CLASSIFIED
Canada Company
director named
4 (Continued from Page 29)
had invested. When the Company
wound up its affairs in 1953, after
more than a century and a quarter
of existence, it had only five
shareholders left, the minimum
. number allowable under the law.
Its assets, apart •from land in
Canada which reverted to the
Crown for non-payment of taxes,
were five pounds ten shillings.
Each of the four surviving male
shareholders was awarded one
pound each while the other
shareholder, a spinster, got one
pound ten shillings.
After helping to get the Canada
Company started and remaining
on its Board of Directors for
several. years, Tuckersmith
devoted much of his business
skills to the East India Company.
In addition, he was member of
parliament for High. Wycombe for
21 years (1847-68). He did not,.
however, take an active part in
debates, never speaking more
than three times a session and
sometimes not at all. But on April
20,•1855, he took the government
of the day to task for explaining,in
the morning how prosperous the
nation was and then increasing
taxes in The afternoon., He was a
supporter of Gladstone and a
Whig or Liberal.
The Times
Tuckersmith died at St.
Leonards:nn-Sea on October 12,
1880, aged 77. His obituary in
The Times makes no reference to
the Canada Company.
During Tuckersmith's lifetime,
the firm of Smith, Payne &
Smiths hit the headlines only
once. For several years in the
mid-1850's, by far the best selling
books in. London were Thomas
Babington Macaulay's volumes
on The History of England. In
1856 . his royalties for a few
month's saki came to 20,000
pounds, nearly $100,000 at the
prevailing par of exchange and
perhaps a million dollars at
present-day purchasing power.
No author and few other
individuals up to this time had
ever received such a large sum by
a single cheque. Two hanks,
Smiths and Williams, Deacon's
(now Williams & Glyn's) had to
cooperate . in handling the big
transaction, Both were connected
With the Canada Company, the
Williams name being borne by a
township (since divided in two) in
1.
Congratulations
TO THE Sea, forth Community on
Or? Century of Progr ss and Growth.
McGAVI 'S
FARM EQUIPMENT
S LES & SERVICE
Phone 527-0245
Walton, Ont.
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, JUNE 26, 1975 —31
North Middlesex.
Tuckersmith and his wife had
two daughters and three sons,
one of .whom died as a youth. -
Their younger. son Sir Gerald
(1839-1920) was, like his father,
M.P. for High Wycombe (1883-5)
and then became Governor of the
colony of Western Australia
(1895-1900). While there he laid
the cornerstone of the legislative
building in Perth using a mallet
and a gold trowel now on display
at Smiths' Bank in London.
Tuckersmiths' elder son was
Martin Ridley-Smith (1832-1908).
He was one of the incorporators of
the Bank of British Columbia in
1862. It made exceptionally high
profits during the gold rushes in
that coleny but by the end of the
century it was handicapped by a
number of factors. These
included a lengthy business
depression, intense competition
from other Canadian banks, and
the fact that every matter of
importance had to be refered to
the Board of Directors in London.
This took time and, in addition,
the London group was overly
conservative in its policies.
Consequently in 1901 the Bank of
British Columbia , though still
solvent, was absorbed by the
Canadian Bank of Commerce.
Of Value
By its purchase the Toronto-
based institution acquired three
things of value: an excellent
foundation for expanding its
operations in Canada's Pacific
province; an agency in California;
and the head office of the Bank of
British Columbia in London,
England. The name on the
building was quickly changed and
perhaps a new building was.
erected. 'At any rate two bank
buildings, Smiths and the
Commerce, connected with
Martin Tuckersmith and his son,
Martin Ridley-Smith, today stand
side by side on LoMbard Street.
One of Tuckersmith's uncles
was Robert Smith (1752-1838)
who was for many years the
senior partner of the family
banking firm in London. Elected
to Parliament in 1774, he quickly
hitched his wagon to the star -of
William Pitt the Younger. It is
recorded that "while his
character was above reproach and
his fortune ample, he possessed
no Parliamentary talents." He
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