AGRICULTURAL CREDIT.—DAVIDSON. 469 
over the Dominion, some districts must be made to pay more 
that others may pay less. If the surplus savings of the east are 
sent to the west, it is the western borrower and the eastern 
depositor who gain; the eastern borrower has to pay a higher 
rate of interest. Broadly speaking, the eastern, and particularly 
the maritime, provinces save more than the banks find local 
investment foratseven per cent. Thereare no figures published 
to show the relative discounts and deposits in the 105 banks and 
branches in the maritime provinces, but the Upper Canadian 
banks which are coming down here are seeking deposits, and 
the maritime banks which are seeking opeuings in the west are 
seeking a better outlet for their deposits. The Savings Bank 
returns are evidence, at least, of the relative instinct of saving 
in the different provinces. New Brunswick has $27.35 deposited 
per head of population; P. E. Island, $19.25; Nova Scotia, 
$17.78 ; Manitoba has $5.41; N. W. Territories, $1.79.. T donot 
desire to be guilty of sectionalism in any shape or form, and that 
is one of the prevailing political vices of the maritime provinces ; 
but it is not difficult to see that the Canadian banking system 
does not work quite so much for the benefit of the maritime 
borrower as it does elsewhere. For the business man the slight 
disadvantage of slightly dearer money is more than made up to 
him by the advantages of membership in a great banking 
system ; but for the farmer there is not the same compensation. 
The great merit that is claimed for People’s Banks in the 
continent of Europe is that they fix savings in the locality in 
which they are made. It is there felt as a grievance in the 
country districts that the savings of the people are drawn to the 
great money centres and help there to build up the towns at the 
expense of the country, and accelerate the drift of population to 
the cities. That does not happen with us; but we have our 
own difficnlty. The savings of the east are taken for the 
development of the west, and this has been regarded by some 
who professed to speak for the agricultural interests as an evil 
to be remedied. During the eighties of last century several 
motions to introduce bills to adapt the banking system of the 
Dominion to the needs of the farmer were debated, and it was 
