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POSTAL NOTES, MOAVEY ORDERS, BANK CHEQUES. 317
mchinci-it waa Jupiter called from above to help a thriftlem
residuum out of the mire of pauperism. Tho present limits of
the deposits are quite suacient to meet all the needs of this
class. To allow a person to deposit as much as $100 in a year
in a State Bank is to st.ep over the lino into a totally different
class of operations. Tho matter is made all tho worse by tho fact
that financially the constitution of tho Post Office Savings Bank
is bad and indefensible. As Nr. William Langton h ~s nbundrmtly
shown, to receive a deposit to be paid at call, rind thou invest it in
Government funds of variable value, nlmnys throws risk on tho
Government. A preponderance of withdrawals is always
made while the funds are depressed, and an increase of
deposits will usually coincide with n high price to be paid by
the Department. Thus has already arise11 a Inrge deficit on
the investments of the old Savings Ihnks to tllc extent of
nearly four millions, a deficit which Mr. Gladstonc is now very
properly proposing to pay off by a terminable annuity. The
Post Office Banks have hitherto avoided n like doficit by offering
only 24 per cent. interest,, and keeping the amount invested
moderate. But it by no means follows that what has hitherto
answered fairly vel1 on s, small scale, will always nnswer as
well on the bolder scale now proposed. Already the savings
of the people, held on a radically false basis by Government,
amount to about three-quarters of a hundred millions. With
the enlarged limits proposed for the Savings Banks, and
probably additional investments on account of the postal note
deposits, we shall soon reach a hundred millions, or one-eighth
part of the whole National Debt. Should any serious crisis ever
occur, such as a great naval mar (and how can we cxpcct to be
always free from danger ?), withdrawals would unquestionably
take place, and the Government mould be obliged to make
forced sales of its own securities, running down its own credit,
and incurring a de6cit at the very time when it most needed
resources. No doubt in such circumstances the Government
would be obliged to raise a large loan in the open market, but
this would really mean that when compelled to redeem its
promises the Government would have to fall back upon those
very bankers with whom it had been competing on mo& unfair