TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 108 



the result was so varierl as to turn a profit of £35,000, at the French price.s on a 

 capital of £78,000, into a loss of £4,000 at the Irish prices, and a loss of £14,000 at 

 the Essex prices. It followed therefore that the French estimate did not, as had 

 been alleged, corroborate Mr. Sullivan's estimate; on the contrary, 't showed how 

 fallacious it was to reason from the success of the '"^""f'^<^^"''%?" ^'^^""f ^° //' 

 success in the United Kingdom, without taking into account the differences of the 

 prices of beet-root and of refined beet-sugar in both countries ; the dHTerence m 

 Economic conditions between the two countries being alone sufficient to make that 

 which was profitable in France unprofitable here. 



The manufacture of beet-sugar hud been first commenced in France when the 

 continental system of Napoleon and the retaliation of England had almost ex- 

 eluded cane-sugar from France. From that time to the present beet-sugar had 

 always had the protection of an artificial price (the present price being fS*. per cwt 

 in France a%compared with 28.. per cwt. in this country). In every other country 

 n the world where beet-sugar had been produced, it had the protection of an arti- 

 ficially high price. The conclusion was manifest, therefore, that from any calcu- 

 rations yet submitted to the public, it appeared that the manufacture of beet-sugar 

 could not be profitably carried on in the United Kingdom. 



On the Duties of the Public in respect to Charitable Savings-Banks. 

 By Professor W. Neilson Hancock, LL.D. 



The Professor said there were three kinds of savings-banks— joint stock, govern- 

 ment and charitable savings-banks. The characteristics of the latter were, that 

 the responsibility of management was divided between the Government and the 

 trustees; and that neither of these parties were necessarily liable for the acts ol their 

 clerks. The savings-banks of the United Kingdom were of the third class ; and the 

 question which he proposed to discuss was, what was the duty of the pubhc with 



regard to such institutions ? ..,-••„! onft tKo 



The charitable savings-banks were of recent origin, having arisen since 1800. ihe 

 first legislation with respect to them took place in 1817; but the principal Act of 

 Parlianfent on the subject was that passed in 1829. In this Act the divided respon- 

 sibility between the Government and the trustees was plain. The trustees had the 

 appointment of clerks and the receipt of the deposits. The National Debt Comm.s- 

 sionershad theentiremanagement of the investing the depos,ts,and they couUl require 

 an annual account from the trustees, and issue orders to stop any bank disobeying in- 

 structions. As to the liability of the Government foi- the acts of the clerks it is 

 plain that as they were appointed by the trustees, the Government was not hable foi 

 any money paid to a clerk but not invested in the names of the Commissioners 



As to the liability of the trustees for the acts of the clerks, they were at first liable 

 to the extent of their whole property. In 1829 their liability was Imnted to their 

 own acts and to the cases where they were guilty of wilful neglect. In 1844 hey were 

 freed from all liability, unless they declared in writing that they were willing to be 

 liable, or unless they actually received the money themselves. Several failures 

 haviiTT taken place in Ireland, in 1848 the exemption from liability of Irish trustees 

 was r^epealed but they were allowed to limit their liability to any sum exceeding 

 £100. On the renewal of this act in 1850, although failures had taken place at 

 Rochdale and Scarborough, it was not extended to England. t . ,v, , 



From the objects for which savings-banks were established, it was manifest that 

 the whole success of these institutions, as a means of encouraging a habit ot saving, 

 depended on their affording a perfectly safe place of deposit ; and their success in 

 making the poor take an interest in the preservation of the public credit, depended 

 on .the public credit being strictly observed towards themselves; the whole success 

 of savings-banks therefore depended on the security which the depositors had for 

 their money. This could be best tested by the history of the Cuffe Street savings- 

 bank in Dublin. ,.„,.!.. t„ 

 The Cuffe Street bank was founded in 1818, under influential patronage, in 

 1826 the trustees suspected the honesty of the actuary, and it took them five years 

 to find out whether he should be trusted. In 1831 they found out his dishonesty 

 by discovering defalcations to the extent, as they thought, of £1000. 1 hey appuea 



