CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



statute, will entitle the purchaser (if he live to the 

 age at which the annuity is to commence) to receive 

 an annuity equivalent to the value of all his 

 payments, with the accumulation of compound 

 interest ; if he be unable to continue his yearly 

 instalments, he may have back all the money he 

 has paid, exclusive of interest ; and if he die before 

 the commencement of the annuity, his family will, 

 in like manner, receive the whole of the contribu- 

 tions he may have actually made previous to his 

 decease, exclusive of interest. 



The tables on which the government annuities 

 are granted have been formed, as might be 

 expected, on sound principles, and are entitled to 

 respect. They relate to four kinds of benefit 

 deferred annuities upon the continuance of single 

 lives ; immediate annuities upon the continuance 

 of single lives ; deferred annuities to continue for 

 a certain term of years ; and immediate annuities 

 to continue for a certain term of years. Subjoined 

 are two tables, which illustrate the working of the 

 system, and from which an opinion maybe formed 

 respecting the other tables. 



The number of life-annuities granted through 

 the various savings-banks in the United Kingdom, 

 from their commencement to November 20, 1872, 

 was 11,054; the amount paid being .225,489, 93. 

 The average amounts were : England and Wales, 

 18, 95. 7d. ; Scotland, 20, gs. 8d. ; Ireland, 21, 

 1 53. 2d. ; the islands, 20, 43. 6d. 



Post-office Savings-Banlcs Annuities. 



The Post-office savings-banks annuities are 

 based upon the same principle as those granted 

 by the ordinary savings-banks, but possess the 

 advantage of affording increased facilities for their 

 purchase by persons in humble circumstances. 

 The amount of annuity must not exceed ^50, the 

 sums charged for the same varying according to 

 the age and sex of the person making the purchase. 

 The payments may be made annually, or by 

 monthly instalments, according to the convenience 

 of purchasers, who have also the option of paying 

 a lower rate on condition that none of the pur- 

 chase-money shall be returnable in the event of 

 the purchaser dying before the annuity com- 

 mences, or being unable to continue his or her 

 payments. Thus, a person aged 30 can purchase 

 an annuity of ,10, to commence at the age of 60, 

 by an immediate payment of 21, 33. 4d., or by 

 an annual payment of i, 8s. 4d., until he reaches 

 the age of 60 ; or, in like manner, he may pur- 

 chase, by the monthly payment of 8s., a monthly 

 allowance of 2, 75. 3d., to commence at the age 

 of 60 ; but if it is required that at any time the 

 purchase-money should be returned, a higher rate 

 is charged. A husband and wife may purchase 

 a joint annuity or monthly allowance. In every 

 case the purchasers are allowed to make their 

 payments at such post-offices as may suit them 

 best. It is a prominent feature of these an- 

 nuities, that purchasers need not purchase the 

 whole amount of such annuity or allowance at one 

 time. They may begin by purchasing such part 

 as they can afford to purchase, and go on increas- 

 ing their purchases from time to time as their 

 circumstances will permit. Tables of the rates 

 of payments required to secure given amounts of 

 annuities or allowances are obtainable at most 

 post-offices. At the commencement of 1874, the 

 number of immediate annuities was about 4000, 



522 



the amount payable for the same being over 

 .54,000. The total amount of the deferred 

 annuities is comparatively small, not exceeding 

 ^5400. 



LOAN AND PAWNBROKING SOCIETIES. 



Of all advice a poor man about to borrow 

 stands in need of, by far the most urgent is to 

 pause ere he take what too often proves so fatal 

 a step. The poor man should avoid borrowing, 

 if by any means he can help it ; if he must needs 

 borrow, our second advice is, that he should do 

 it as much on a commercial footing as possible 

 as a contract betwixt parties, not as the object of 

 a personal favour, nor as an object of charity. To 

 receive a loan as charity, impairs the feeling of in- 

 dependence : to receive it as a favour, too frequently 

 makes one the tool or the slave of another. The 

 poor man who, by means of a loan, has got over 

 his difficulties, should if he possess any feelings 

 of self-respect or independence fight against the 

 natural tendency to think that borrowing is not 

 so difficult a process after all. He should take it 

 rather as a warning. Let him save save in order 

 to pay off the debt he has incurred ; save in order 

 to secure against the need of borrowing a second 

 time ; save a provision for himself, for his family, 

 to meet bad times, sickness, and age. 



Small loans are obtained in two ways : on 

 security of the borrower's promise to pay, backed 

 by the guarantee of one or more neighbours ; or 

 on security of some article of movable property, 

 deposited with the lender. These two methods of 

 lending are practised commercially : the first, 

 by loan-societies ; the second, by pawnbroking. 

 Many of the existing loan-societies are fictitious, 

 the society generally consisting of the individual 

 who finds the money for loan-purposes. In the 

 larger English towns, the majority of loan-societies 

 transact their business at public-houses, the pro- 

 prietors of which are frequently the actual money- 

 lenders. The system, as thus developed, is of a 

 most wasteful character ; it being estimated that 

 for every shilling borrowed, the borrower has to 

 repay from is. 3d. to is. 5d., so rapidly do fines 

 for non-payment of instalments, and other charges, 

 accumulate. Sometimes a second loan is resorted 

 to, for the purpose of assisting in the repayment 

 of the first. The ruinous manner in which some 

 of these transactions are effected, may be inferred 

 from the following example. A person borrows 

 2os., to be repaid by weekly intalments of is., but 

 is. being deducted for interest, and 2d. for the 

 loan-book or paper, the borrower receives in reality 

 only 1 8s. lod. If the instalments are not regularly 

 paid, fines are imposed ; but the payment of 

 instalments can be avoided by the monthly pay- 

 ment of interest on the amount borrowed. The 

 rate of interest is frequently as high as is. per 

 pound for every four weeks. In every case, the 

 object of the money-lenders is to extract as much 

 money as possible from the pockets of their cus- 

 tomers, who, of course, become heavy losers. 



In some places, the working-men have formed 

 loan-societies of their own, principally in connec- 

 tion with co-operative associations. These loan- 

 societies are generally conducted on equitable 

 principles, the rates of interest being moderate, 

 and the amount of fines reduced as much as pos- 

 sible. In other places, the management of the 



