ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK SYSTEM.
"Should the Post Office Savings Bank bill become law, and
should it also answer, we shall then possess an
institution the convenience and value of which it will be
impossible to over-estimate, and this author will deserve
the thanks of the country. The country will recognise at
once the universal boon of a bank maintained at the public
expense, secured by the public responsibility, with the
whole empire for its capital, with a branch in every town,
open at almost all hours, and, more than all, giving a
fair amount of interest."--_Times_, March 20, 1861.
"I have been asked," says Mr. Edwin Chadwick, "by several
M.P.'s and others, what I thought of Post Office Savings
Banks. I have answered them, that I know no measure of
late years affecting the condition of the working and the
lower middle classes which appeared to me so excellent in
principle. I am disposed to say, as Sir Robert Peel said
with reference to the Encumbered Estates Act, that it is
'so thoroughly good a measure, he wondered how ever it
passed.'"
We have already seen that the Post Office Savings Bank bill was
rapidly and successfully passed through Parliament, and _did_ become
the law of the land. The Act "to grant additional facilities for the
depositing small savings at interest with the security of Government
for the due repayment thereof," received the Royal Assent on the 17th
of May, 1861. The author of the bill has the best claims on the thanks
and gratitude of the country. The press and the people of this land
have, almost with one accord, been loud in their praise; and the
three-quarters of a million of depositors, most of them attracted to
saving habits by the facilities he then for the first time offered
them, joined in silent thanks. The scheme for working this measure,
organized in the Post Office after repeated requests from Mr.
Gladstone, accomplished to a great extent under his oversight, and
then carried through Parliament by his administrative ability and
convincing eloquence, will ever cause his name to be most prominently
associated with the new system; and among the many triumphs of his
skill, this one will stand out with distinct prominence on the page of
history.
The Post Office Savings Banks have not only "answered," to use the
phraseology of the "leading journal," but they have attained a marked
position, and have been, in every respect, an eminent success. Not
nearly so much, however, with regard to their present condition, as to
their manifest and inevitable destiny in the future, the Postal Banks
are entitled to a high place amongst the social institutions of the
country. In every department of labour, the new banks have become, and
must yet become to a far greater extent, most effective agents in the
social and moral improvement of the people, and will give tenfold
effect to the endeavours which have been made, in so many directions,
to better the condition of the masses. Next, perhaps, to the repeal of
the Corn Laws, this is the greatest boon ever conferred on the working
classes of this country; and next to the scheme of Penny Postage
itself, the scheme of Post Office Banks is the greatest and most
important work ever undertaken by the Government for the benefit of
the nation. Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the claims
of the present Ministry to public gratitude, there can, we should
imagine, be but one opinion now as to the vast advantages conferred
upon the bulk of the people by the measure of 1861.
The success of the Post Office Banks has been of the most complete
kind. Whether we consider, as we shall now proceed to do in proper
order, the amount of the business done; the nature of the business
done; the influence of these banks on the provident habits of the
community; the results upon those small banks which more especially
have partaken of the character of eleemosynary institutions; and the
manner in which the business of the Postal Banks has been organized
and performed, the scheme has far more than realized the anticipations
under which it came into existence.
_As to the Amount of Business done._ The interval between the passing
of the Act and the 16th of September, 1861, was occupied, it appears,
in completing the arrangements for the conduct of the measure,
including the appointment of Mr. Chetwynd to control the scheme he had
originated, and a staff of superior and subordinate officers with
which to begin the business; and on that date operations were
commenced by the opening, in England and Wales, of 301 Money Order
Offices as Savings Banks. The grounds upon which the first places were
chosen were unquestionably the best that could have been adopted to
test the feeling of the country with regard to the scheme itself. They
were, (1) Avoidance of all collision with existing banks which
supplied a fair amount of accommodation; (2) The selection of
important and thickly-populated districts, making that selection
embrace the widest possible area, and leaving no inconsiderable tract
of country without the required accommodation; (3) To meet the wishes
of the public, so far as these wishes were indicated by memorials or
requisitions to the authorities; and (4) To take care that the
postmasters of selected places were trustworthy, and capable of
transacting the business efficiently. Had the scheme failed under such
conditions as thus seem to have been imposed, little hope could have
been held out that it would ever have been successful: as it happened,
however, the banks were found at once to supply a great public want.
The authorities seem to have been so far encouraged, that in six weeks
an enormous addition was made to the number of banks. 254 were opened
in the month of October following, 338 in November, and 784 in
December, making the entire number of 1,629 new banks open to the
public at the end of the year.
On the 3rd of February, 1862, the benefits of the measure were
extended to Ireland, by the opening of 300 banks; on the 17th of the
same month, 299 banks were opened in Scotland; and by the end of six
months from the original commencement of the plan, there were in the
United Kingdom no fewer than 2,532 Post Office Banks in existence. 400
additional banks were opened in 1863; and at the end of 1864 the total
number of banks was increased to 3,219. Up to the present time (March,
1866), the number of Post Office Banks is 3,369, of which,
2,469 are in England and Wales,
525 are in Ireland, and
375 are in Scotland.
There is now a Government Savings Bank not only in every town in the
United Kingdom, but in every large village;[177] and over and above
this already ubiquitous and comprehensive arrangement, the large towns
of the country have each a number of new depositories for savings
proportionate to their size and population. Thus, in the metropolis,
at the present moment of writing (April, 1866), there have been
provided the extraordinary number of 452 Post Office Banks; in
Manchester, there are 26; in Liverpool, 25; in Birmingham, 22; in
Edinburgh, 18; in Glasgow, 18; in Dublin, 15.
In the three months of 1861 during which the 1,600 banks were in
operation for portions of the period, 25,729 persons opened accounts
with them, and deposited money to the extent of 167,530_l._ in
deposits of the average amount of 3_l._ 11_s._ 10_d._ At the end of
the next year (1862) 180,199 persons had opened accounts in these
banks, depositing 1,947,139_l._, and withdrawing less than a quarter
of that sum. Year by year, up to the present time, as appears by the
accompanying table, the increase of deposits, and the increasing
number of new accounts, are far more than proportionate to the
increase of facilities; and, as showing the firmer hold that these
banks have taken on the community, this fact is most satisfactory and
gratifying. Equally so, and a most convincing proof of their success,
is the account of the total amount of business shown to have been
transacted up to the 31st of December last. Up to that date these
banks have received from no less than 857,701 depositors, in 3,895,135
deposits, a sum of money amounting to 11,834,896_l._;[178] the
withdrawals during the same period of four years numbering 1,011,379,
and amounting to 5,619,251_l._ There were in December last, 611,819
open accounts, the amount standing to the credit of these accounts
being 6,526,400_l._
TABLE showing the Amount and Nature of the Business done in the POST
OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS from their opening in September, 1861, to
December, 1865.
Table column headings:
Col. A: Date.
Col. B: Number of Deposits.
Col. C: Amount of Deposits.
Col. D: Average amount of each Deposit during the period.
Col. E: Number of Withdrawals.
Col. F: Amount of Withdrawal.
Col. G: Average amount standing to the credit of each Account.
+---------+---------+----------+--------+---------+---------+---------+
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
+---------+---------+----------+--------+---------+---------+---------+
| | £ | £ |£ s. d. | | £ | £ s. d. |
|From 16 }| | | | | | |
|Sept. to}| 46,643| 167,530|3 11 10 | 1,702| 6,759| 6 9 9 |
|31 Dec. }| | | | | | |
|1861. }| | | | | | |
|Year 1862| 592,573| 1,947,139|3 5 9 | 95,592| 431,878| 9 10 3 |
|Year 1863| 842,848| 2,651,209|3 2 11 | 197,431|1,027,154|10 11 4 |
|Year 1864|1,110,762| 3,350,000|3 0 3 | 309,242|1,834,849|10 12 1 |
|Year 1865|1,302,309| 3,719,018|2 17 1 | 407,412|2,318,611|10 13 4 |
+---------+---------+----------+--------+---------+---------+---------+
|Total |3,895,135|11,834,896|3 0 9 |1,011,379|5,619,251| 9 11 4 |
+---------+---------+----------+--------+---------+---------+---------+
In the ten years ending November, 1861, the annual average increase in
the total number of Savings Bank depositors was at the rate of 3-4/5
per cent. In one year from this date the increase in the number of
depositors--taking the depositors of the old banks and the Post Office
Banks together--was at the rate of 6-3/4 per cent. That this increase
was altogether owing to the introduction of the new system, scarcely
requires proof: a few of the old Savings Banks, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Liverpool, and Birmingham for example, increased their business during
1862; but the aggregate of the old Savings Banks lost more business
than the few gained. Again, in all cases, the gain of the Post Office
Banks was far greater than the loss of the old banks.[179] Throughout
the entire kingdom the old banks lost 55,000, and the Post Office
Banks gained 160,000 depositors.
The rate of increase shown in the first year has been continued with
inconsiderable variations up to the present time, and, in his last
_Report_, the Postmaster-General, in view of all the facts of the
case, states: "On the whole, it seems reasonable to expect that the
annual increase in the business of the Post Office Banks will for some
time be from 130,000 to 140,000 in the number of depositors, and from
1,400,000_l._ to 1,500,000_l._ in the capital of depositors."[180] The
correctness of these calculations will not depend to any appreciable
extent on the increase of facilities, such as the opening of new
banks: the Post Office Banks have already been so widely established
that little additional accommodation will be required for some time to
come. It is made to depend, we should imagine, on the principles of
Post Office Banks becoming more and more widely known, and their
facilities more and more appreciated. This has clearly been the
experience of the last two years. In 1864, 161 new banks were opened,
and the increase of depositors was at the rate of 42 per cent.; in
1865, only 73 new banks were opened, and yet the increase in the
number of depositors was at the rate of 40 per cent.
_As to the Nature of the business done._ Some idea of the nature of
the increased business done may be gathered in several ways. First and
foremost the number of Post Office Savings Bank depositors represents
an enormous number of accessions to the list of frugal people who have
perhaps for the first time begun to save, and of those who, more
prudent and less confiding in their fellows, seek the security of the
State for the safe custody and prompt repayment of their savings. It
is a somewhat remarkable fact, that of the total amount which had up
to the end of last year been deposited in Post Office Banks, not much
more than a million and a half (allowing for money transferred
otherwise than by means of the regular transfer certificate) had been
withdrawn from the old Savings Banks. Moreover, out of this large sum
more than half seems to have come to the Post Office Banks through the
voluntary closing of Savings Banks on the old principle,--the
Birmingham Savings Bank contributing a third of the whole amount.
From these facts, it seems quite clear that the business acquired by
the Post Office Banks, at any rate up to this time, is almost entirely
newly-created business, and that the older Savings Banks have only
been interfered with to a trifling extent. Besides the amount already
referred to, other sums might undoubtedly have been placed with the
older institutions, had there been no competition; but by far the
greatest proportion is plainly derived from sources hitherto
unreached, and consists of money which no amount of persuasion could
divert from the hundred forms of indulgence to the older channels of
economic hoarding.
The Post Office Banks, further, seem not only to have attracted a
public of their own, but to have created, as it were, a fresh race of
provident people. All kinds of Savings Banks have been established to
give, in some form or other, facilities for the deposit of _small_
savings. When the new banks commenced, the average amount of a single
deposit in the existing banks was, and had been for some time, 4_l._
6_s._ 5_d._; during the first year of the existence of the Post Office
Banks, the average amount was only 3_l._ 1_s._ 9_d._ But this average
has been still further reduced. The Post Office authorities,
describing more recent operations,[181] state, that as the nature and
advantages of these banks became known to the poorer classes, and as
new banks were opened from time to time in rural districts, and
densely populated portions of our large towns inhabited by those
classes, a gradual reduction in the average amount of each deposit has
taken place, and that that amount has for some time ranged between
2_l._ and 3_l._, whilst the average amount of each sum deposited in
the old Savings Banks has not undergone any marked alteration. The
conclusion which has been arrived at is the only one possible, viz.,
either that the Post Office Banks have reached a poorer class of
depositors than the old banks have been able to attract, or that in
increasing so many fold, as we shall have to describe, the facilities
for the more frequent deposit of small sums, they have at the same
time, and proportionately, increased the inducements to frugality, and
removed the temptations to wastefulness.
Still dealing with the peculiar nature of the new business, it is very
important that one fact should not be lost sight of. In our opinion,
it completes the evidence as to further accommodation being urgently
required by the poorer classes. In those towns and districts which
before 1861 were considered to be well supplied with sufficient and
well-managed institutions, the success of the Post Office Banks has
been most marked. Thus in Edinburgh, the rate of increase in the
number of depositors rose in one year from 3-1/2 to 5-3/4 per cent.;
in Dublin, from 4-1/2 to 7 per cent.; whilst in the county of
Middlesex, where, before the Post Office Banks were established, there
were "forty-one prosperous and excellently managed banks, which seemed
to hold out all needful inducements to prudence and frugality," no
less than 30,000 persons were added to the roll of Savings Bank
depositors in the year following the introduction of the new banks
into that county. The rate of increase before 1861 was 2-1/2 per
cent.; in 1861 and 1862, it was at the rate of 10 per cent.
The average amount standing to the credit of each depositor in the
Post Office Banks has for some time ranged between 10_l._ and 11_l._,
and is not expected to exceed that sum for some time to come. Of the
whole number of depositors, about four per cent. have balances due to
them of 50_l._ and upwards. A general idea of the mass of depositors
may be gathered from the above facts, and they may be supplemented by
the following table, which, though only the result of an estimate, is
near enough for our purpose. In March, 1865, a certain proportion of
the open accounts in the Post Office Banks was examined, in order that
some idea might be obtained of the occupation of the entire
number,--from which it seemed probable that the 524,340 depositors
were made up pretty much as follows:--
Females, Male Minors, and Trustees 285,769
Mechanics and Artisans, Domestic and Farm
Servants, Porters, Policemen, Labourers,
Boatmen, Fishermen and Seamen 140,518
Tradesmen and their Male Assistants, Farmers
and Clerks of all kinds except those
mentioned below 53,756
Males of no stated occupation, Professional Men
and their Clerks or Assistants 31,353
Males engaged in education 5,692
Persons in the Army and Navy 4,682
Persons employed in the Revenue Departments 2,570
-------
Total 524,340
-------
Of the entire number of Post Office Savings Banks, ninety-one out of
the 3,369 have failed to obtain depositors. Of this number,
23 are in England and Wales,
5 are in Scotland, and
63 are in Ireland.
It is impossible satisfactorily to account for the failure in so many
cases, or, in the absence of information as to the particular
localities to which facilities have been offered in vain, to say
whether there may not be some special reasons, other than
indisposition to save, which may have operated against the transaction
of business. Among the great number of banks established in England,
there must unquestionably be some poor and sparsely populated
districts to which they have penetrated; whilst in Ireland, which
contributes nearly three-fourths of the non-effective banks, these
districts must be still more numerous, and the population still less
able to save. Add to this, the fact that in more than one large
district in the sister country the grievous frauds in the old class of
banks have left an indelible impression on the minds of the
people,--if they have not, as one authority states, destroyed all
thoughts of provident habits,--and that this impression is not likely
to be effaced in the chronic agitation which has for so long prevailed
in Ireland, and the only wonder is, that more of its 525 Post Office
Banks are not non-effective.
* * * * *
_As to the Results of the New Banks on the Old ones._ Before the Post
Office Banks were established, 638 ordinary Savings Banks were open in
the United Kingdom for the receipt of small savings. Of their
distribution throughout the country and the accommodation which they
gave, including the number of hours the bulk of them were open, we
have already spoken in a previous chapter. The Post Office Banks were
no sooner established and business fairly commenced than two very
important results followed in banks on the old establishment. The
first was, that some of the more important Savings Banks increased
their accommodation to the public,--the duration and frequency of the
time allowed for doing business being extended: the second was, that
the trustees of many of the old banks came to the resolution to close
their institutions, on the ground that their time and benevolence were
misspent in competing with the new banks, which enormously increased
the accommodation they had been powerless to afford.
The best possible test, not only of the influence of the new banks,
but of their marked superiority and adaptability to the wants of the
country, is found in the fact, that since 1861, no Savings Bank on the
old principle has been established. If it be not desirable to
establish new banks, it cannot be a matter of much concern to the
country how soon the _bulk_ of the existing banks on that principle
give up their charitable business. We say bulk advisedly, for many of
these banks do not partake, in the ordinary sense of the word, of the
character of charitable institutions. From a careful and impartial
view of the whole subject, it seems to us, that no measure short of
the abolition of the Post Office Banks can keep alive those of the old
Savings Banks which cannot compete with the former in the quality and
the amount of their accommodation. On the other hand, no one who has
at heart the interests of those classes which Savings Banks seek to
benefit would wish to see the existence of any institution shortened,
which, while profitably ministering to a great public want, is neither
subsidized by the State, nor conducted so as to leave an impression on
the depositor's mind that it is charitably ministering to his
necessities. Those which cannot give the necessary facilities, must
succumb sooner or later; those which answer to the latter
requirements, may still have a long course of honour and usefulness
before them. Before 1861, there might be no option or alternative to
the existing order of things; the institution of Post Office Banks has
supplied both.
Twelve months after the organization of the Post Office Banks the
trustees of thirty-five of the old Savings Banks had closed their
banks. Up to the present period (March, 1866), sixty additional banks
have followed the example thus set them; this making a total
of--exclusive of Penny Banks--ninety-five banks which have transferred
their business to the Post Office. The least important of these
institutions was that of Dumbarton, established in 1846, and which had
but 83_l._ of capital. The most important bank on the list is
Birmingham, originally established in 1827, and which had, on the 20th
of November preceding the date of closing, a capital of 583,461_l._
The fact of the Birmingham Savings Bank coming over, formed the one
necessary assurance that the new system had obtained, not only the
confidence of the country, but the tacit acquiescence of those who
managed large businesses of the same nature. It was very properly
argued at the time, that if a majority of such trustees as those of
Birmingham could come to the conclusion to hand over their
well-managed and flourishing bank to the Government, any bank might do
so.[182]
The following Return, which has been carefully compiled, is of
sufficient interest and importance to occupy the prominent place we
assign it.[183]
RETURN containing the Names of SAVINGS BANKS CLOSED during
the years 1861 to 1865 inclusive, together with the Date
of Establishment, the Number of Hours open per Week, and
the Capital on the 20th November preceding the date of
closing of each Bank.
+------------------+----------+-------------+-----------+-----------------+
| | | Number | Capital on| |
| | Date of | of Hours | 20th Nov. | |
| Name of Bank. |Establish-| open per | preceding | Remarks. |
| | ment. | Week. |the date of| |
| | | | closing. | |
+------------------+----------+-------------+-----------+-----------------+
| _England._ | | | £ | |
|Ambleside | 1857 | 1 | 2,503 | |
|Andover | 1827 | 2 | 4,121 | |
|Baldock | 1816 | 4 | 17,573 | |
|Bermondsey | 1856 | 1 | 3,131 | |
|Biggleswade | 1816 | 7 | 10,496 | |
|Billericay | 1860 | 1 | 2,290 | |
|Birmingham | 1827 | 12 | 583,461 |This Bank ranked |
|Bishop's Castle | 1861 | 1 | 1,988 | fifth or sixth |
|Blackpool | 1859 | 1 | 2,197 | in the Empire. |
|Bodmin | 1839 | 2-1/2 | 54,638 | |
|Bowdon/Altrincham | 1823 | 4 | 49,183 | |
|Braintree | 1859 | 1 | 7,510 | |
|Brixton | 1860 | 1-1/2 | 2,300 | |
|Bromley | 1816 | 2 to 3 | 22,496 | |
|Buntingford | 1845 | 2 monthly | 5,127 | |
|Burford | 1826 | 1 | 11,100 | |
|Canterbury | 1816 | 8 | 149,572 |Closed on account|
|Carshalton | 1817 | 1-1/2 | 11,198 | of the fraud |
|Chesham | 1854 | 1 | 3,379 | previously |
|Cheshunt | 1850 | 2 | 1,535 | spoken of. |
|Chipping Norton | 1860 | 5 | 5,694 |20 Nov. 1863. |
|Chipping Ongar | 1858 |2 fortnightly| 3,476 | |
|Clapham | 1816 | 1 to 2 | 28,411 | |
|Clayton West | 1861 | 1 | 494 | |
|Cleobury Mortimer | 1859 | 1 | 2,580 | |
|Coddenham | 1818 | 4 | 15,729 | |
|Covent Garden | 1816 | 2 | 18,125 | |
|Cuckfield | 1836 | 1 | 7,191 | |
|Dartford | 1816 | 2 | 26,549 | |
|Deptford | 1816 | 2 | 30,712 | |
|East Dereham | 1854 | 1 | 8,840 | |
|Enfield | 1839 | 1 | 132 | |
|Epping | 1817 | 3 monthly | 16,023 | |
|Evesham | 1839 | 2 | 24,516 | |
|Finchley | 1859 | 3 | 1,428 | |
|Fleetwood | 1852 | 1 | 5,033 | |
|Halstead | 1816 | 1 | 20,742 | |
|Hartlepool | 1844 | 2 | 6,617 | |
|Holloway | 1856 | 1-1/2 | 10,632 | |
|Holt | 1861 | 1 | 1,448 | |
|Hornsey | 1819 | 1 | 101 | |
|Hoxton | 1843 | 8 | 494 |This was the |
| [184] | | | | first Bank |
|Kirby Stephen | 1846 | 1 | 6,957 | which |
|Leatherhead | 1860 | 1 | 592 | transferred its|
|Lechlade | 1844 | 1 | 4,636 | business to the|
|Lutterworth | 1822 | 6 | 36,332 | Post Office. |
|Lymington | 1818 | 2 | 1,394 | |
|Mansfield | 1818 | 5 | 64,671 | |
|Market Harboro' | 1838 | 1 | 24,659 | |
|Melbourne | 1855 | 1 | 2,552 | |
|Old Kent Road | 1859 | 2 | 3,538 | |
|Over Darwen | 1860 | 2 | 1,071 | |
|Pimlico | 1860 | 5 | 1,900 | |
|Poulton-le-Fylde | 1822 | 1 | 30,822 | |
|Rawtenstall | 1836 | 2 | 240 | |
|Rochford | 1818 | 2 | 9,887 | |
|Romsey, New Hall | 1859 | 1 | 408 | |
|Rugby | 1818 | 2 | 46,839 | |
|Saddleworth | 1824 | 4 | 6,601 | |
|St. Alban's | 1859 | 1 | 4,140 | |
|Sedbergh | 1859 | 3 monthly | 856 | |
|Sheerness | 1818 | 1 | 4,128 | |
|Shiffnal | 1819 | 11 monthly | 15,851 | |
|Southwold | 1858 | 2 monthly | 1,248 | |
|Stavely | 1854 | 1 | 1,457 | |
|Tredegar | 1855 | 2 | 1,726 | |
|Wallasey | 1843 | 1 | 3,229 | |
|Walsall | 1825 | 2 | 48,492 | |
|Wandsworth | 1816 | 1 | 1,269 | |
|Watford | 1817 |4 fortnightly| 38,968 | |
|West Bromwich | 1846 | 7 | 27,491 | |
|West Ham | 1819 | 2 | 17,739 | |
|Weston-super-Mare | 1830 | 3-1/2 | 3,644 | |
| | | | | |
| _Wales._ | | | | |
|Bala | 1849 | 1 | 14,386 | |
|Carnarvon | 1854 | 2 | 159 | |
|Dolgelley | 1819 | 36 to 48 | 30,291 | |
|Llangollen | 1852 | 6 monthly | 3,841 | |
|Machynlleth | 1834 | 36 | 10,166 | |
|Merthyr Tydvil | 1853 | 2 | 3,745 | |
|Narberth | 1857 | 2 | 2,242 | |
|Newtown | 1856 | 1 | 2,960 | |
|Portmadoc | 1846 | 11 | 2,732 | |
| | | | | |
| _Scotland._ | | | | |
|Dumbarton | 1846 | 10 | 83 | |
|Fort William | 1859 | 6 | 2,023 | |
|Glencoe | 1859 | 2 | 396 | |
|Leith | | | 195 |Date and hours |
|Oban | 1840 | 12 | 106 | not given in |
|Stranraer | 1860 | 4 | 1,533 | Return for |
| | | | | 1861. |
| _Ireland._ | | | | |
|Ballymena | 1860 | 2 | 1,455 | |
|Bray | 1819 | 2 | 4,512 | |
|Carndonagh | 1860 | 4 | 906 | |
|Gorey | 1822 | 1 | 2,550 | |
|Lisburn | 1838 | 2 | 2,674 | |
|Strabane | 1821 | 2 | 16,081 | |
+------------------+----------+-------------+-----------+-----------------+
It ought to be stated that the Act of 1863, for amending the Post
Office Savings Bank bill, offered considerable inducements to the
winding up of the then existing banks. Its principal objects were to
relieve those trustees who were desirous to close, from liability with
regard to the accounts of depositors who had not applied for repayment
of their money, or for certificates to enable them to transfer their
deposits to Post Office Banks, and also to make the transfer of the
accounts of minors compulsory on the authorities of either class of
banks on the application of the proper parties concerned. More
important than either, however, was an addition made to the bill
before it was allowed to pass. This addition consisted of a clause
empowering the trustees of any old Savings Bank who should desire to
close their bank, to compensate their paid officers out of the
Separate Surplus Fund. This was a welcome and very proper addition to
the bill, and tended materially to mitigate the inconveniences likely
to arise from the officials, perhaps of many years' standing, being
thrown out of employment. The Birmingham Bank, when it transferred its
business, took advantage of this clause to compensate its officers
accordingly; and this course has subsequently been followed by other
banks.
* * * * *
We have left ourselves little space to describe what remains to be
told of _the manner in which the business has been organized and
performed_. Happily, however, those parts of the system with which the
public have more especially to do, have not wanted numerous and
faithful exponents; by means of the newspaper press, shoals of
official and non-official tractates, handy-books, magazine articles,
and public lectures, the public have been made fully aware of all the
practical details of a scheme which is at once so simple and so
satisfactory in its working, and which is at the same time as capable
of indefinite expansion as it is of infinite power for good. It is
indispensable, notwithstanding that these details are now so well
known,[185] that we should rapidly glance at _some_ of them, prior to
speaking of the special advantages which these arrangements have made
possible.
_With regard to Depositing Money._ By the Post Office Savings Bank
bill any person who will subscribe the requisite declaration that he
is not a depositor in any other Savings Bank may now, on every working
day of from six to ten hours' duration, deposit any sum not less than
one shilling, and not more than 30_l._ in one year, in any of the
3,300 places in the United Kingdom where the Post Office has been
opened as a Savings Bank; also, that for every pound so deposited for
a month or more, interest at the rate of 2_l._ 10_s._ per cent. per
annum shall be paid, and that while the money remains in the hands of
the Post Office the credit of the British Government shall be staked
for its due repayment when asked for.
Any person wishing to become a depositor in a Post Office Bank has
only to go to that Money Order Office which is most convenient to him,
subscribe the statutory declaration, and pay in to the postmaster or
receiver the amount he wishes to deposit, and a bank book will be
handed to him, properly numbered, and on which his name, address, and
occupation will be written. The amount handed to the postmaster will
be found entered as a first deposit in the proper column of the book,
and this entry will be attested by the signature of the postmaster,
and stamped with the official stamp of his office. From the moment the
depositor gets his book handed to him he possesses, for all practical
purposes, a sufficient guarantee for the absolute safety of his money.
This is, however, not the only security he has; and to explain the
further process it is necessary to follow the money after it leaves
the depositor's hands. The postmaster before giving up the book is
required to enter the full particulars of the transaction in a single
line on a Form of daily Savings Bank account supplied to him for the
purpose. At the close of each day the local postmaster adds up the
total amount received by him during that day on Savings Bank account,
and, adding that sum to the account of Money Orders issued during the
same day, sends the entire account to the chief Money Order Office in
London. On its arrival at this office the account undergoes a primary
check, and is then sent to the Savings Bank department, where it is
thoroughly examined in all its details. In the first place, an
acknowledgment is filled up and addressed[186] to every depositor
named in the account. The account is then sent to the ledger branch,
where its particulars are copied into the books of the department; and
subsequently, but on the same day, to ensure accuracy and afford a
check, each acknowledgment is compared by different officers with the
entries made in the ledgers, and then despatched by the same night's
post to the address furnished by the depositor.[187]
The receipt of this acknowledgment completes the depositor's
parliamentary title to repayment in full of principal and interest.
Should the depositor not receive his acknowledgment within _ten_ days
of making the deposit, application must be made (and it may always be
made free of postage) to the Postmaster-General for it. Experience has
shown that no depositor has been put to the trouble to write _twice_
for an acknowledgment, and but a very small modicum indeed have
written at all. Practically three days would suffice for the
operations required in England, and four for the greater part of
Ireland and Scotland; but in some few cases the longer period of ten
days is necessary. Were it not for the check, moreover, which the
department thus obtains upon its own officials, and the confidence
which the arrangement gives to depositors, the acknowledgment might
perhaps be dispensed with, inasmuch as the postmaster's entry in the
depositor's book is not bad evidence that the money has reached the
hands of a Government official,--a fact which, if it could not be
disputed, would not, we should imagine, be set aside.
In every subsequent case where a person adds to his first deposit,
exactly the same routine is followed. He may, however, if he desires
it, or requires it, continue his deposits in another bank from that in
which he originally opened his account; nay, if he chooses, he need
not make two deposits in any one bank, but may take a tour throughout
the country, or, if he lives in London, may go all round the
metropolis to the 450 banks there, and see which he likes best, and no
one will interfere with his freedom of choice. And though a depositor
of this curious description would give additional trouble, the routine
of the work is so simple that he would not embarrass the department in
any way.[188]
_With regard to Withdrawing Money._ A person having once run up a
score in the Post Office Banks, may withdraw it with great readiness
and with extraordinary and unexampled facilities. A depositor who
requires some, or all, of his money, has only to go to whichever Post
Office Bank he likes best, in whatever part of the country he may
happen to be at the time, and ask for the usual printed Form. He must
fill up this Form with the number of his deposit-book, the name of the
office where he commenced to make his deposits, the amount he wants,
and the place where he wants it paid, and adding his name, address,
and occupation, send the Form (which needs not to be post-paid, is
addressed on the back, and provided with an adhesive seal,) to the
Postmaster-General and wait the result.
Following the fortunes of this notice, we find that it arrives in
proper course at the chief Savings Bank. The signature attached to it
is there compared with the signature of the original declaration, and
if, on comparison, there be no grounds for suspecting anything amiss,
the notice is sent to the ledger keeper in charge of the account of
the particular depositor. If it be found that he has a proper balance
in the bank to meet his claim upon it, a warrant for payment is at
once prepared. This warrant is an order to the postmaster named to pay
the amount wanted; and after the amount of the warrant has been
entered in the ledger, and checked by a superior officer, who
certifies its correctness, it is at once sent off by post to the
address furnished by the person withdrawing. At the same time, and by
an admirable system of manifold writing,--suggested by Mr. West of the
Mail Office for the use of other branches of the Post Office, and
which has been with great advantage applied to Savings Bank
operations,--the postmaster himself is furnished in fac-simile with a
copy of the warrant sent to him in the nature of an advice.
When the postmaster is applied to for the money in question he
carefully compares the warrant with the advice to pay, in the same way
as he deals with the familiar money order; he also compares the
signature to the receipt on the warrant with the signature in the
depositor's book; and if he be satisfied with the scrutiny, he pays
the money, entering the transaction in the withdrawal part of the
depositor's book, and signing and stamping the book accordingly.[189]
When the paid warrants are returned to the chief office, and when the
postmaster sends up an account of the day's transactions, the accounts
and entries are checked in the chief Money Order Office and the chief
Savings Bank, in much the same way as described in the case of
deposits; the whole being arranged to provide an admirable system of
check in which two branches of the Post Office,--viz., the chief Money
Order Office and the Receiver and Accountant-General's Office,--as
well as the chief Savings Bank, are immediately concerned.[190]
When the Post Office Savings Bank bill was introduced into the House
of Commons, the proviso that the scheme to be founded upon it should
be self-supporting, formed an important consideration in the
statements of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and was strongly urged
by other members. It appears that from the first the operations have
not only been self-supporting, but exhibit each year an additional
amount of assets over liabilities, as the balance-sheet for last year
(given in the Appendix) will show. According to the Parliamentary
Paper No. 523, it was estimated that the cost of each transaction in
the Post Office Banks would be 7_d._; the actual average cost of each
transaction up to the present time has been 6-7/8_d._ We have no
doubt, as bearing on the point of the cost of the Postal Banks, the
following estimate (which, as proved by the actual result, has been so
accurate) will possess an interest to the general reader. It is an
estimate of the cost of One Hundred Thousand transactions under the
Post Office Savings Bank bill, assuming the proportion of deposits to
withdrawals and of transactions to accounts to be the same in the Post
Office Banks as in the existing Savings Banks, when the former shall
be in full operation:--
£ s. d.
Estimated cost of receipts and payments by Postmasters 210 0 0
Estimated cost of transmission to central office, including
check on receipts and payments, &c. 690 0 0
Estimated cost of keeping accounts with depositors,
including calculation and entry of interest, periodical
comparison of depositors' books, check on withdrawals,
preparation of general accounts, stationery,
and other miscellaneous items and general management 1,750 0 0
------------
2,650 0 0
To which may be added, 10 per cent. as a margin for
omissions or errors of computation 265 0 0
-------------
Total cost of 100,000 transactions £2,915 0 0
-------------
We will now conclude this chapter with a rapid survey of the peculiar
advantages of the system of Post Office Banks, with some remarks on
what may be called the deficiencies of the system.
The system of Government banks seems exactly to meet the points most
required by those whom the older kind of banks had no power to
attract, as well as of that considerable class who, rather than not
save at all, would save under inconveniences which they were powerless
to remove. For years it was impossible to provide the conditions and
meet the wants of the poor in these respects, but there can be no
doubt that they have now been met. These conditions, these wants, were
absolute and unquestioned security for their money; despatch, both as
to depositing and withdrawing money; and secrecy in the transactions
in which they should engage.
With regard to _Security_. The Post Office Banks being part of the
machinery of Government itself, offer the highest possible
security,--the whole credit and solvency of the British Government
being guarantee for the perfect safety of the deposits.[191]
As to _Despatch_. To the poorer classes, as much, and perhaps more
than to any others, time is money. Their time is not their own, and
now a few minutes may be stolen from the dinner-hour, or an
opportunity may be snatched as the labourer passes to and from his
work, to do that which before was no ordinary or agreeable task to
him. The unparalleled convenience which attends the transaction of his
business contributes to this despatch and this saving of his time.
Should misfortune overtake him, he may withdraw the whole of his
deposits within two or three days; should his occupation compel him,
or his tastes incline him, to move frequently about from place to
place, he has only to carry his bank-book about with him, and he may
withdraw sums at his convenience at any Money Order Office in the
kingdom; and thus, though he may have originally deposited his money
at the Land's End, he may draw it out when at John o'Groat's, or in
some remote nook of Ireland. This arrangement is, we understand, taken
advantage of to a large extent. The advantages offered in the quick
withdrawal of money is also a most important feature. Enormous sums of
money are wasted by the poor in borrowing for an emergency; there can
be no doubt that much money has been and is wasted even in waiting
till the time arrives to get the money out of the ordinary Savings
Bank. "If a poor person," says an intelligent writer, "wants 4_l._
immediately, he would give 25 per cent. for it." Few could lose in
having to wait a couple of days for their money.[192]
Then as to _secrecy_. None are more jealous of their little savings
being known than the poorer classes: a large number of operatives have
cogent reasons for secrecy, or, at any rate, privacy. Indeed, it seems
to have been agreed upon that, if these classes cannot keep their
savings quiet, many will not save at all. The wage-receiving class are
naturally and properly averse to bringing their savings under the
notice of their masters or their masters' friends. Savings Bank
managers, even when not masters of workmen themselves, are generally
local dignitaries well known to such.[193] In the Postal Banks there
is, or need be, no occasion for particular observation; the officials
are required to conciliate confidence; to observe the strictest
secrecy; and it is our conviction, gathered after no inconsiderable
experience, that nowhere so much as in Government offices is the work
conducted without distinctions of class.
Next to the advantages of which we have just spoken, is that secured
by the arrangement to undertake the receipt and accumulation of _small
sums_. A working man may now take his shilling to the Savings Bank as
readily as his master may take his pounds, and the former will have no
occasion to feel that he is made the object of a charitable clause. In
seeking to bring a working man to put by a shilling in its bank, the
Government hopes to induce a habit of saving, and may fairly expect to
take his larger sums when saving habits have been induced. Mr.
Gladstone's decision to take sums as low as a shilling was almost
universally accepted as a wise one. Mr. Gladstone had long interested
himself in the condition of the workman, and no one knew better than
he that the labouring classes are not suddenly masters of whole
pounds, and that, when they are in the act of accumulating it, the
temptations to break in upon the little stock laid by are ever
present, and are often too strong to resist.
So far the principles of this important measure are admirable ones,
scarcely admitting of question, almost beyond criticism: they have
rendered the action of the banks simple, facile, all-comprehensive,
and ubiquitous. The _rate of interest_ given is, however, perhaps on
the border-land, as it were, between unquestionable and questionable
policy. The interest given to depositors in Post Office Banks is at
the rate of two pounds ten shillings per cent. per annum, or one
halfpenny per pound per month. That this rate is satisfactory to a
large section of the people of this country, or that the other
attractions of the Post Office Banks amply counterbalance the
disadvantage of the low rate, is evident from the enormous sum--twelve
millions sterling--deposited in those banks in little more than four
years; at a time, too, when the old Savings Banks, which are enabled
to pay ten shillings per cent. more than the others, have put forth
their best efforts to keep the business in their hands, when all kinds
of allurements have been held out to those who have surplus funds to
dispose of, and when the rate of interest ruling in the Money-market
has been, as it still is, exceptionally high. These facts ought
perhaps to close the case, and make the interest rate, if not one of
the recommendations of the measure, at any rate a part of the scheme
which does not detract from its merits as a whole. As, however, this
is a point upon which some little soreness is felt and expressed in
different quarters, we may be excused for here urging a consideration
or two.
This soreness has originated, to no little extent, from the
consideration of the inequality of the rate allowed in the ordinary
Savings Banks and the Post Office Banks; this feeling is kept up by
the consideration of the fact, that that inequality still exists and
is likely to exist. The old Savings Banks deposit their funds with
Government, and are allowed interest on their money at the rate of
3_l._ 5_s._ per cent.; the Post Office Banks, of course, deposit their
money with Government, and are allowed interest at the rate of 2_l._
10_s._ per cent. Out of the fifteen shillings per cent. difference
between the two rates, an average of half of it is given by the old
banks to their depositors. Now it is well known that the average cost
of each transaction in the Post Office Banks is little more than half
the average cost of a transaction in the ordinary Savings Banks. If
Government can still afford to pay the old Savings Banks the higher
rate of interest, it might afford, at the lowest computation, to give
ten shillings per cent. more to depositors in the Post Office Banks.
If Government _cannot_ afford to pay the higher rate, it ought to
discontinue its charity, which, like all other charitable doles,
excites discontent amongst those who think they have, _and really
have_, the right _de facto_, if not _de jure_, to share it. That the
rate should be equalized in one way or the other admits, we think, of
little question; but that the Government should pay no more than it
can pay without loss admits of less.
Reverting to the consideration of the actual Post Office Bank rate, it
is perhaps unlikely that the small tradesmen class--except where such
persons lodge their money at the Post Office merely for
security--feels satisfied with it. Happily, however, this is a class
which does not need to be considered, and which scarcely will be
considered. The Government offers no factitious allurements or
inducements to any class of the population; and if it did, would be
certain to confine the inducements to those portions of the poorer
classes who stand most in need of encouragement. And as for the rest,
the Post Office Banks do not in any way interfere, as Mr. Gladstone
has recently said, "with the labouring man's liberty of choice, or the
liberty of choice enjoyed by anybody else; if he thinks he can do
better with his money than by carrying it to the Government Savings
Bank, by all means let him do better with it." A low rate of interest
is given for the principal deposited; but then that principal is
guarded with uncommon security, and can be moved, added to, or
withdrawn from, with the greatest possible convenience. And these
terms, theoretically and practically, suit the industrious classes,
whoever else they do not suit. Practically they meet the wants and
satisfy the demands of a large section of depositors, or the banks
would not have shown such an extraordinary amount of success. Nor are
we in want of authorities who assumed, theoretically, that this would
be so. "If Government give security," said a shrewd witness before the
Savings Bank Committee of 1858, "they should pay less interest, on the
principle that Chubb's locks cost more than the ordinary ones."
Dr. Chalmers took great interest, as our readers must already know, in
Savings Banks. His argument was, that the ready receipt and payment of
small sums together with safe custody was everything, and the rate of
interest quite unimportant; he more than once said, that "the result
of high interest had been to swamp our Savings Banks as a national
system." This question of interest was largely discussed in Mr.
Slaney's Committee of 1850. In that Committee Mr. John Stuart Mill was
asked whether perfect security or a high rate of profit was most
sought after by the industrious classes; to which he replied: "In the
case of the working classes no doubt security is the main object, and
it is so in the case of all whose savings are small." In the same
Committee, Mr. J. M. Ludlow, an eminent barrister, gave it as his
opinion that "the poorer a man is, the more important to him is the
safety of his investment, independently of the question of profits;"
and in answer to a similar question addressed to him, the secretary of
a working man's building society said, that "the certainty of security
is the most powerful inducement to investments among the working
population."
Thus, while it doubtless admits of question more than the other
details, no serious fault need be found with that clause which
provides the rate of interest to be given. Equalization in the rate of
interest of all Savings Banks connected with the Government is far
more necessary than that the standard of the one should be raised to
the standard of the other. The days have gone by when any dole of
charity should be held out to working men as an inducement to save: it
is more than questionable whether those days should ever have arrived.
The working classes do not want charity at the hands of the public;
they long wanted security and reasonable facilities: and when these
were provided, as they have been, they were willing that the rest
should be left to themselves. All interest given more than the money
actually produces or may fairly earn, is repugnant to them; or if it
is not, it ought to be _made_ repugnant to them.
The deficiencies, if we may so call them, of the Post Office Savings
Bank system, to which we promised to allude in closing this chapter,
are those features which have been inherited from the parent system,
and consist, of restrictions which, we think, are now as unnecessary
and undesirable as they are hampering and vexatious. By section 14 of
the Post Office Savings Bank bill it was ordered that "All the
provisions of the Acts now in force relating to Savings Banks as to
matters for which no other provision is made by this Act, shall be
deemed applicable to this Act so far as the same are not repugnant
thereto." Under this legislation all the restrictions which were
thought--especially during the earlier history of Savings Banks--to be
necessary to confine these institutions to the poorer classes, have
been continued down to the present time. The principal regulations to
which we refer are, the _Declaration_ which is required from any one
opening an account, and the _limitation of deposits_ to 30_l._ in any
one year, and 150_l._ in all; and that when deposit and interest
together reach 200_l._ all further interest shall cease. The reader
who may have followed us through our account will be aware of the
reasons which actuated the Legislature in making these arrangements.[194]
These reasons do not now obtain. No steps are taken (and we have never
heard that it is intended ever to take such steps) to confine the
benefits of the Post Office Banks to the labouring classes. Why,
therefore, these classes, or any other class allowed to deposit in
these banks, should be restricted to any amount--or, at any rate, such
a small one--it is difficult to understand. To the poor this
restriction forms a barrier to saving habits; with regard to any other
class, the amount might be as unlimited as it is in the Funds. As a
set-off against the unremunerative character, to say the least, of
small deposits, no limit should be placed on large ones. It is
obvious, that the larger the sums invested the greater will be the
success and the profits of the scheme, the more remote will be any
prospect of loss, and the more certain will be the creation of a
permanent marketable stock of Two and a Half Per Cents.
We are glad to find that this restriction has not escaped the notice
of many who are entitled to be heard on the subject.
The Rev. G. H. Hamilton, who made, perhaps, the earliest modern
proposals for Post Office Banks, suggested that the limit should be
"from one shilling to ten pounds per day;" and since the passing of
the Act he has made exertions, hitherto without success, to get the
limitation extended to include those sums. Mr. Bullar, also equally
entitled to respectful attention, has likewise made subsequent
proposals having in view, to some extent, the granting of facilities
for investing larger sums.
It is interesting to find that the Post Office Savings Bank system has
just been introduced into our Australian colonies and not a little
curious and instructive to find that some of the provisions go much
further than we have yet ventured at home. The main feature of the
"Post Office Statute, 1865," is an echo of the English Act, but in
several of its provisions its scope far exceeds the latter in
liberality. No declaration is needed; instead of 30_l._ in any one
year, the colonial depositor in Victoria is only debarred from
exceeding 50_l._ in a fortnight, and the interest given, which is at
the rate of four per cent., is not withheld to any deposited amount
under 1,000_l._ Liberal as are the colonial authorities in Victoria,
those at Queensland far surpass them. In the Post Office Banks at
Queensland there is no limit whatever to the amount which may be
deposited; interest is allowed at the rate of five per cent.; and this
rate of interest is paid on all deposits without limitation of any
sort. Making all due allowances with respect to the relative position
of our colonial possessions at the antipodes and the mother country,
it seems clear that the former have advantages over us in the matter
of their Government Banks, and we commend the example of the Victorian
Legislature to our own, and trust that the only marked defect in our
Act may soon be remedied.
[177] Whenever the Post Office of a village or hamlet is advanced
to the dignity of a Money Order Office, it will also be opened for
Savings Bank business.
[178] Up to the end of February last the total sum reached
exceeded twelve millions sterling,--a sum which it took the
original old banks, with no competition, eight years to realize.
[179] Thus, as we learn from an authentic account, in Bristol the
old Savings Banks lost 700 and the Post Office Banks gained 2000
depositors; in Dublin the same relative proportions were 400 loss
and 1,400 gain; in the county of Kent there was a loss on the one
hand of 3,500, and a gain on the other of 9,300 depositors; in
Middlesex, the old banks lost 12,000, and the Post Office Banks
gained 42,000 depositors.
[180] _Report on the Post Office_, 1864.
[181] _Report on the Post Office_, 1864, p. 13.
[182] This Transfer was settled in November, 1863. The trustees
and managers at a special meeting deliberated whether or not to
carry on the Bank "under the increased responsibility imposed on
trustee by the 11th clause of the Consolidation Act (1863), or to
empower the managers to transfer the deposits to the Post Office
Savings Banks." They resolved by a majority of two to take the
latter step, and the transfer was made immediately afterwards.
[183] Since this Return was completed, the trustees of two other
banks have given notice to close. The one, a small bank at Castle
Wellan, in Ireland, and the other, the Leighton Buzzard Savings
Bank, make, with the Huntingdon Bank, a total of ninety-eight
transfers.
[184] The Huntingdon Savings Bank has given notice to close. The
capital of the Hunts Saving Bank amounts to £60,000.
[185] The fullest information on these matters may be gathered, in
cases where the reader is not thoroughly familiar with them, from
many sources. In addition to the Act, and the Regulations for the
Post Office Banks, three little manuals may be specially mentioned
to which reference may profitably be made. (1) _Handy Book on Post
Office Savings Banks._ London: Stevenson, 1861. (2) _Post Office
Savings Banks: a few Plain Words concerning them._ London:
Faithfull and Co. (3) _My Account with Her Majesty._ Reprinted
from _All Year Round_ and the _British Workman_.
[186] The well-known Form itself which in one piece of paper gives
the acknowledgment, and folded, leaves room for the address, was
designed and registered by Mr. Walshe, of the Post Office.
[187] Acknowledgments are received in most parts of England by
return of post, or within thirty-six hours; in some parts of
Cornwall and Wales two days, and in some parts of Ireland and
Scotland three days, are required.
[188] The departmental arrangements for these cases, technically
spoken of as "cross entries," need not be further explained.
[189] The depositor's book must, of course, be invariably
presented in every transaction, and when the depositor has
obtained repayment of all his balance the book must be given up in
order that the account may be closed.
[190] We regret that we cannot find space to describe more
minutely the system adopted, as also so much of the internal
arrangements of the chief Savings Banks as have been permitted to
be made public. We may say, briefly, however, that the Chief
Savings Bank commenced operations in a part of the building at St.
Martin's-le-Grand, but was soon driven to seek more accommodation.
Its location is now in St. Paul's Churchyard, where, in spite of
large premises, we believe, it once more became restricted as
regards room, and has since acquired additional space. The office
is presided over by a Controller, who is aided by an Assistant
Controller and two principal clerks. The staff comprises a large
number of permanent clerks of different grades, and an enormous
number of temporary clerks employed upon the more routine work.
The office itself is divided into four branches,--the Deposit
Branch, the Withdrawal Branch, the Account Branch, and the
Correspondence Branch. For the benefit of all those who are
interested in Savings Bank management, we hope that an interesting
paper, read by authority, by Mr. Chetwynd, the first Controller,
before the Congrès International de Bienfaisance, in June, 1862,
may soon be reprinted. It gives every detail which it is desirable
to know.
[191] The operations have not been carried on altogether without
fraud. The cases, however, only serve to show how secure the
depositors really are from loss. In 1863 the then Postmaster of
Beverley embezzled Savings Bank money, when the authorities at
once announced to the depositors that it should be made good. This
instance, and another in which a clerk was concerned, are, we
believe, the only cases of the kind; but if they were constantly
occurring,--which it is now next to impossible they should be--it
would not matter a pin-head to depositors, who, the moment they
pay in their money into the Post Office, and obtain a deposit
book, stake that money on the National credit.
[192] The facilities existing for withdrawing accounts from one
class of banks and placing them in the other tend also to despatch
and convenience. By means of transfer certificates, to be had at
any Savings Bank, a depositor may transfer his account without
ever seeing his money.
[193] The Secretary of a Workmen's Building Society was examined
before Mr. Slaney's Committee (1850) on the _Investments for the
Savings of the Middle and Lower Classes_, when the following
evidence was elicited:--
"I think that one reason why the labouring man does not invest in
the Savings Bank is, that the fact of his being able to save money
is used as a pretence why his wages should be reduced, and he
carefully excludes from the knowledge of his employer that he is
able to save. I have found that the workmen of one district go to a
distance to find a Savings Bank, and will not go to their own.
Their names are called loudly and officially, and it becomes
whispered about that so-and-so is a saving man, and may therefore
work for less wages."--_Vide Evidence of Mr. W. Cooper._
[194] _Vide_ p. 59.