LAND BANKS. 37 tion established in 1609 in Amsterdam. A number of other creations of longer or shorter existence followed. Many projects were worked out, discussed ­ and promoted, but not until 1765 was an edict issued in Berlin, promulgating the erection of the Koenigliche Giro & Len Banco, and at the same time a similar institution started business in Breslau. It does not interest us for the present that the activity of these banks, which, as noteissuing ­ and loan institutions, were intended to assist trade and commerce, was disappointing, owing to faulty organisation and mismanagement. Land Banks. In the meantime, the necessity of broadening the basis of credit for landed properties was more and more recognised, and it is due to the initiative of Frederick the Great that Land Institutions— as we shall call for brevity’s sake these Land Mortgage Credit Associations—were organised on a plan suggested by a Berlin merchant named Biihring, the underlying principle of which was to replace a single mortgage by mortgage obligations. Such mortgage obligations were well secured, inasmuch as the whole provincial union was liable for the issue. Furthermore, being bearer securities, they were more easily realisable. However, this new institution was founded only