SOCIAL ECONOMICS OF THE INDUSTRIAL ORDERS. 



the working-classes fifty years ago could have 

 anticipated. In 1840, the total sum was nearly 

 .22,000,000. On November 20, 1872, notwith- 

 standing the large sums which had become trans- 

 ferred to the Post-office savings-banks, the amount 

 was ^39)59652, 7s. iod., divided as follows : 

 England and Wales, ^32,456,400, 195. iod. ; Scot- 

 land, ^4,452,492, os. 4d. ; Ireland, ^2,221,852, 

 93. 8d. ; islands, ,459,906, i8s. The number of 

 savings-banks at the same date was 484 : England 

 and Wales having 388, with 1,118,571 depositors ; 

 Scotland, 52, with 223,445 depositors ; Ireland, 

 42, with 61,746 depositors ; islands, 2, with 

 21,385 depositors. 



It is of great importance that a person who 

 thinks of depositing should have a distinct idea 

 of the benefit he is to derive in the way of interest. 

 Calculating the interest given in savings-banks at 

 the old rate (previous to 1880) of 3 per cent, 

 very nearly, the difference between this and the 

 rate which the Commissioners of the National 

 Debt allow, is, as already mentioned, reserved to 

 pay expenses, &c. This being the interest allowed, 

 any one may readily reckon how his money 

 is to fructify, by supposing an addition of one 

 thirty-third being made to it at the end of every 

 year. For instance, if he deposits 153., and lets 

 it lie for a year, he is then entitled to 153. 5^d. 

 It is right that he should be fully aware that, in 

 respect of interest, he is better off than the people 

 of the middle and upper ranks who deposit in 

 common banks ; for not only does he get a higher 

 percentage than is generally given by these banks, 

 but he has the advantage of compound interest; 

 that is to say, the interest due to him at the end 

 of a year is silently, and without any trouble on 

 his part, added to and considered as a part of 

 the principal, on which interest is to be given in 

 future. Thus, a common bank-account and a 

 savings-bank account for the same sum, if left 

 unattended to for a few years, would in the end 

 come to a very different amount The preceding 

 table, which shews simple interest for a year on a 

 variety of sums, will enable depositors to calcu- 

 late the interest receivable on the sums deposited 

 by them. 



The following table shews what a certain 

 weekly contribution, paid into a savings-bank, 

 would amount to in a certain term of years, inter- 

 est being at 3 per cent : 



POST-OFFICE SAVINGS-BANKS. 



The present system of Post-office savings-banks 

 originated in a suggestion made by Mr Sikes, 

 of the Huddersfield Banking Company, in 1859 or 

 1860. Mr Sikes, profiting by a hint furnished 

 him by the practice of an Australian bank, con- 

 ceived the idea of making all the money-order 

 offices contributory to the savings-banks. He 

 proposed to establish a central savings-bank in 

 London, to which depositors might send their 

 moneys, in sums of not less than *i, through the 

 money-order offices, and which should issue, in 

 return or acknowledgment for the remittances, 

 savings-bank interest notes to the amount remitted 

 that is, notes enabling the holder to receive the 

 amount of his deposit, with the addition of interest 

 at the rate of 2^ per cent, per annum. 



Mr Sikes's proposal found much favour among 

 those interested in the subject, and in 1861, an 

 Act was passed, authorising the establishment of 

 Post-office savings-banks, in accordance with the 

 views entertained by Mr Sikes, but with the 

 modifications necessary to meet the requirements 

 of the humblest class of depositors. Under this 

 Act the Postmaster-general is authorised to receive 

 deposits of not less than one shilling at any of the 

 post-offices under his control, and to repay the 

 same, under certain regulations, when required by 

 the depositor. The rules with respect to deposits 

 and depositors are similar to those of the ordinary 

 savings-banks. A person wishing to become a 

 depositor in a Post-office savings-bank has to 

 sign a declaration to the effect that he is not a 

 depositor in any other savings-bank, and sign his 

 name in the deposit book given him. The 

 amount of each deposit, with the name, occupa- 

 tion, and address of the depositor, is reported on 

 the same day to the head-office in London, from 

 whence an acknowledgment is forwarded to the 

 depositor. If the depositor does not receive an 

 acknowledgment within ten days, he is required 

 to apply for such acknowledgment to the head- 

 office. The depositor must forward his deposit- 

 book once in each year, on the anniversary of the 

 day when the first deposit was made, to the head- 

 office, for the purpose of the entries being com- 

 pared with the entries in the books at the head- 

 office, and the interest due inserted. No charge 

 for postage is made for the transmission of these 

 books, for the return thereof, for applications for 

 acknowledgments of deposits, c., forms and 

 envelopes for this purpose being provided free of 

 charge at the various post-offices where these 

 savings-banks are established. A depositor wish- 

 ing to withdraw his deposits, or part thereof, is 

 supplied with a form, which, when filled up, is 

 sent to the head-office, from whence a warrant 

 for the amount required is forwarded by post to 

 the depositor. The warrant, together with the 

 depositor's book, is then taken to the Post-office 

 savings-bank, where the amount repaid is entered 

 in the deposit-book, the Postmaster taking a 

 receipt from the depositor for the same. In 

 practice, the system is found to be extremely 

 simple, and, up to the present time, the precau- 

 tions against fraud have proved singularly suc- 

 cessful. 



The Post-office savings-banks first came into 

 operation on September 16, 1861. On March 31 



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