TEANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 751' 



^"S^ .... decrease 160,401 gi-eat liundreds. 



■■^leat .... iucrease 287,752 cwts. 



Wheat, beans, liarleT, maize, "| 



oats,_ peas, and iiour of I decrease 2,203,870 cwts. 



all kiiids , , J 



l^iefendently of eg-gs, poultry, game, live stock, &c., &c.. we imported in 

 IbbO, meat, wheat and other cereals, butter and cheese, 139,166,859 cwts , ie in 

 weight, 15,586,688,208 lbs. avoirdupois. ' ^ cwis., ^.e., in 



The author does not despair- for the future of agriculture, observino- that we 

 naust attract more capital, skHl, and enterprise to it, without regard to the politics 

 ot the tenant; he must have long or equitable leases, i.e., security of tenure with, 

 compensation for all unexhausted improvements, and full control' over the o-ame 

 Also there must be a sufficient number of decent cottages for the labourers on the 

 farm with so many rods of garden ground to each to grow vegetables for himself 

 and iamily, thiis training them to dig, weed, and hoe, keeping the man at home, 

 and litting his family for after-life, either at home or in emigi-ation. 



5. A General Banhing Law for the United Kingdom. By Wir. Westgaeth. 



The condition of banking law in this country is most unsatisfactory, owino- to 

 the complete want of uniformity in banking constitution. It is not necessary by 

 law for any of our very many banks to be constituted alike, and thus every bank is 

 of necessity a separate and not seldom a rather intricate study for anyone havino- 

 dealings with it. Again, the banking law is different respectively for Eno-land 

 Scotland, and Ireland. ° 



Considering how general banking now is, and that the public may be regarded 

 as composed mainly of bankers and their- customers, simplicity and uniformity of 

 banking constitution have become a necessity. At present, for example, the pro- 

 fessed capital and share of a bank may give us the following almost inte3-minable 

 variety. The capital may be paid-up capital, or it may be partly of that kind and 

 partly of what is called Liability Capital; and this latter kind of so-called capital 

 may be of two sorts, namely, a capital that may be called up by the bank, and a 

 ' Reserve' capital that may not be called except in insolvency or liquidation ; and 

 these three different kinds of capital may be in any proportion one to another. 

 Then again, the bank share, besides being constituted variously like the capital, of 

 which it IS a small section, may be further in endless variety of amount, no one 

 bank m this respect, any more than in others, being bound to resemble another. 



But banking is substantially one kind of business throughout the countrj-, and 

 therefore may admit of the great convenience of a more simple and uniform consti- 

 tution. Towards this attainment, the term capital should have but one meaning, 

 namely that of paid-up capital, which, if we except the ever-clashing theories of 

 professed economists, and the confusing license of present banking law, is the 

 meaning generally given to the word. Then as to the bank share, it might be 

 uniformly of one and the same amount, and that some considerable amount, say 100^. 

 The tendency of large shares is to give a responsible proprietary, and such is only 

 due to the public fi-om a bank. Lastly, as to liability, there ought to be somethino- 

 beyond paid-up capital, while on the other hand, public opinion has decided ao-ainst 

 unluuited liability. Above all, there ought to be uniformity of liability, bo'th in 

 kind and amount, so as to be easily intelligible to all. 



Upon these lines, the proposed General Banking Law for the United Kin^-dom 

 was to consist mainly of three clauses ; first, the banking tei-m Capital to mean 

 always and only, Paid-up Capital; second, the Bank Sliare^o be uniformly of 100/ • 

 thu-d. Liability to be of the ' Reserve ' kind only, and equal to amount of Capital.' ' 



All the banks of the United Kingdom might at once adjust themselves to such 

 & law by mere nominal changes in capital and share. This would not, however 

 m the compulsory sense, be either fair or reasonable in many existing cases of bank- 



