APeriod ofTransition 139 
     
    
   
   
    
     creditors. The Farmers’ Bank also served anglophone customers and 
     
     Acadians living elsewhere on the Island. 
     
    

    
     With the entry of the Island into Confederation in 1873 the 
     
     eventual disappearance of this public bank was predictable. The Cana- 
     
     dian constitution gave the federal government sole jurisdiction over 
     
     banking institutions. In 1871, an act in the House of Parliament which 
     
     set $500,000 as a minimum capital resulted in the dissolution of 
     
     small banks. After several extensions the charter of the Farmers’ Bank 
     
     of Rustico finally expired in 1894''°. 
     
    

    
     Nevertheless, the spirit of the first public bank in Canada lived 
     
     on. The founder of the Caisses populaires (credit unions), Alphonse 
     
     Desjardins, studied the Banque de Rustico which served as an inspira- 
     
     tion for his now international movement'"'. 
     
    
   
   
    
     WF a ee 
     
    
   
   
    
     LA BANQUE DE rusTIco 
     
     1864-1892 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Parish Hall in Rustico which housed the Farmers’ Bank. 
     
     Public Archives of PE.I.