In 1835, Dr Charles Duncombe, a Reform politician in the Legislative Assembly, was part of a "Select Committee on Currency" that offered a template for the creation of joint stock banks based on several successful Scottish banks. The Scottish bank system had always differed from the English system. The difference between the English chartered banks and the Scottish joint stock banks lay almost entirely on the issue of stockholder liability and its implications for the issuance of bank notes. The joint stock banks lacked limited liability, hence every partner in the bank was responsible for the bank's debts to the full extent of their personal property. The chartered banks, in contrast, protected their shareholders with limited liability and hence from major loss; they thus encouraged speculation. The chartered banks would loan out many more banknotes (little more than bank issued I.O.U.s) than they had specie (legal tender) to exchange for those notes once redeemed. The more banknotes they loaned out the more interest they made, but at the increased risk of bankruptcy. Protected by limited liability, their shareholders put profit above risk.