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 and this nroae through a fraud being practiaed on the Bank. whilst on all other minor Dividends averaging about 107; have heen paid. rising on one occaaion to at 56% (in i836). A! a can uenee there: in the Bani: are a Very avourite investment, and the price or a soo'rupee that: non stands at about Rs. 1,340 to Rt. t.346. In 1874 the Bank opened a Gratuity and Pension Fund for Members oi its Staff. and it may be added that the Bank have always treated their deaenv ing manta liberally. The ﬁrat Board of Directors was constituted in t808. and consisted of Henry St. George 'I‘ttclter, President. William ligation, Richard Waite Cox. nominated by :he Government; and Alexander Coln'n, john Palmer, George Tyler, Jmes Alexander. john W. Pinon, and Mnhnrajah Soolrmoy Roy. elected by the Shareholders on the 15th December, r808.

In 1876 the Governmrnt relinquish ed their interest in the Bank and their right of nomination, but since then two or three Government oﬂicials of standing have invariath ant on the Board. which at present in corn- poaed as fullmva 2—hle34ra. A.B. Miller (Olﬁcittl Aarignee and Ofﬁcial Trustee of Bengal). President :j. M. G. Prophit. Vice-President : H. Batemn, R. H. A. (hereon. W. R. 'I‘. Aitken. J. C. Shormclt and H. ’I‘. Hy-le (Adminis- trntor-General of Bengal). The ﬁrst Secretary and Treasurer of the Bank was Mr. J. W. Shetet.C.S. ile rraa succeeded in r8o9 by Mr. W. Morton. (1.8.. then came Mr. Henry Wood. C. 5.. ln t8r 5: Mr. Charles Morley. (2.5.. ram; Mr. W. H. Cakes. (2.5.. in r821; Mr. C. '1'. Ohm and Mr. W. H. (Mites in I812; Mr. Gian again in r823; Mr. J. A. Darin, 0.5.. in r826: he being relieved in 1828 by Mr. Gian who acted untﬂ Mr. Don'n'a return in r839: and Mum. Richard and George Udny. 0.8. in r830. Mr. George Udny resigned in 1839. and Mr. Thomas Bracken, a gentleman of considerable mercantile experience, war appointed. The Government Directora protested ngainat the appointment being Wllh- drawn from the Civtl ServiCe. and the allowance paid by GnVernnrent towards the Secretary's salary mu trapped. In 1847 Mr. Bracken was succeedrd I: Mr. Charla How. and in ﬁrst Jr. (aﬂerwarda Sir William) Grey, C.S.. nu appointed, and he was the last of

THE CYCLOPEDIA OF INDIA.

the Cinlian Secretaries with the camp» tion of Mr. W. Maple: who acted lot one month only in r854. In I85; Mr. J. B. Plum 1, the I my Secretary. was promoted and on his migration in r859. the Directors brought out from Scotland Mr. Dickson, Secretary of the Caledonian Banking Company. to ﬁll the important appointment. He retired in 187:. having during lria term at ofﬁce greatly enlarged the scope o! the Bank's work, and earned the higheat encorninrns from the Directors. He was succeed- ed by Mr. Robert Hardie. whose management us an eminently suc- cessful one. and during his incur!» hency the Bank Dividends arenged over 9";, .\Ir. Hardic was succeeded in Felrruarr, t387. by Mr. (not Sir) W. D. Cmicltshanlt, the present Set:- retary and Treasurer. under whose ahle management the important interests entrusted to his charge are steadily adding to the pulp: ’ of the Bank. For the year rgoamythe Dividend m at the rate of ten per cent per mourn, the mm o! Rr. 7}; lalrhs Ira: added to the Reserve Fund, and r}; lath to the Pension Fund Though the Bank of Bengal m fwrtded in mag. no report was erer ironed until the end at r856. but from that date halftycarly reporta hate been regularly ironed to the Shareholders. The Bank of Bengal has alwata and juatly held a very high place in public eater-tn. its records their a career 0! singular prosperity, due to the ability with which it has been controlled. and the high character of its atall' all'orda the mt utiabctory guarantee of con. tinued mecca.

Sir WILLIAM DICKSON CRUICRSHANK. A1. CIR. Sec- retary and Treasurer of the Bank of Bengal. has had a long and honourable career in Bengal and in Burma. During the whole of his service in India he ha: been associated with the ﬂank nl Bengal. He was born on lune 6th. '84:. and in the non of the late Mr John Cruichhanlr o! Forrea. N. B. In his tat-entrant year Mr. Cruicltahanh joined the aen'ite ol‘ the ﬂank, and his abilitiea aonn marked I"!!! out for rapid promotion. After two years he was nude Inspector of Branches, and a year later was given charge of the Agency at Rangoon. In t876, after ten yeara' writ-e. he was entrusted with the duties ol’ Deputy Secretary.

and eleven years aterhecarneSeeretary and 'I'reaaurer. which position he haa occupied ever lince.

Mr. Cruiclrahank'a period of aervice cor-era aorne of the most interesting periods in Indian ﬁnancial history. and as and Treasurer o! the Bank he hat a port of heavy responsibility with which the proaperity of India II intimately connected. The periodical reports 0! the Bank of Bengal are the beat teatinrony of the admirable management of that institution.

Mr. Croicltshank has always taken an interest in sport. He was one of the l’mrndera of the Tollygnrvge Club in 1895 and has been its President {or ten years. He hasdone a good deal 0! Masonic work in Burma and Bengal. and in the latter Masonic district is

past Deputy District Grand Mater. He has earned the grand hlaaonie principle of charity. into his daily life. and among the numerous Charities in which he to intererted, he ia one o! the Governor: of the Marvari Hospital. The Goremrnent ot' India rewarded his arduous career of useful worlt by making hrrn a Cotn~ panion of the Indian Empire in the year 1903. and in r906 he received the Honour of Knighthood at the hands 0! II. R. H. the Prince of Walea.

BANK OF BOXBAY.~The Bank was originall established in 1840. Hr. S.. Edwards. t.c.s.. in his history of Bombay.