Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/203

* GREAT BRITAIN. 177 GREAT BRITAIN. policies also differ in respect to the dependence placed upon dill'erent sources of profit. In Kng- land the directors have more to do in the man- agement than in Scotland, while in Scotland the agents play a more import.nnt part than in England. The Scotch bankers have become famous for the perfection attained in book- keeping methods. In I'.lOl there were 3 private and 16 joint- stock banks belonging to the clearing-house in London, the process of consolidation having re- duced the number in recent years, though at the same time the number of branches has greatly increased. In 1827 there were 405 private and 6 joint-stock banks in England and Wales; in IflOO the private banks ha<l decreased to 21 and the joint-stock banks had increased to 82. In IflOO the joint-stock banks were represented by 3824 branches. In Scotland there are but II banks (all joint-stock), with 1077 branches. In June, 1900, the Bank of England, with its II branches, had capital reserve and undivided profits amount- ing to £17,800.000; deposits, £48,500,000; loans and discounts, £30,500,000; and cash on hand and money on call or at short notice, £33,600,000. The corresponding figures for the England and Wales joint-stock banks and branches were respectively £80.400,000, £571,700,000, and £386,800,000, and £136,100,000: for the England and Wales private banks, £7,100,000, £42,100,000, £23,500,000, and £10,500,000; and for the Scotch joint-stock banks and branches, £17,100.000, £103,700,000, £70,500,- 000, and £25,600,000 respectively. The colonial and the foreign joint-stock banks with London offices have added largely to the total banking business of the Kingdom. lishnient of the potital savings banks. In the last two decades of the nineteenth century the capital of the old savings banks ffuctuated about £45,000,000 with a rising tendency at the end of that period, whik' the postal savings banks increased their capital over four times, the amount in I8!I9 being £130,118,605. The scheme for the operation of postal savings banks went into effect in 1861. Deposits, includ- ing interest, have a maximum limit of £200. De- positors cannot deposit more than £50 in any one year. Two and one-half per cent, interest is allowed on deposits. The depositor may with- draw his money at once through any postal savings bank in the Kingdom. The number of depositors in the postal savings banks increased from 2,184,972 in 1880 to 8,046,680 in 1890, and the amount they invested increased during the same period from £11,079,137 to £42,145,981. The number of depositors in the trustees sav- ings banks remained about the same during the before-mentioned period, being 1,519,805 in 1880, and 1,601,485 in 1899. The amount invested in the latter banks was £9,008,315 in 1880, as against £12,737,645 in 1899. Penny savings banks and special savings banks for soldiers and seamen have been established. The granting of annuities and the insuring of lives are also pro- vided for through the pcfetal service. Finance. The ordinary expenditures incurred in the maintenance of the National Government are increasing rapidly, necessitating a correspond- ingly greater national income. The increase in the expenditures and the receipts for the last half of the nineteenth century will be seen in the following table : EXPENDITURES National debt .■ Navy Army <^ivil Service Elementary education Imp. revenue to supplement local taxation Ko.val civil list, judicial salaries, annuities, pensions, etc €ollec. of revenue Totals BECEIPT8 Excise <:!ustom8 „ .' Income tax Death duties Stamp duties House duty l,and tax Totals 1890 £25,000,000 15,270,000 17.510,000 10,510.000 6,080,000 6,185,000 1.485.1100 2,560,000 f82,600,000 £27,130,000 20.456,000 12,780.000 9.150,000 6,160,000 1,980,000 1,050.000 £78,705,000 1895 £25,000,000 17,200,000 17,970.000 10.140,000 8,750,000 7,015,000 1.410,000 2,645,000 £90,130.00% £30,515,000 20,;);)0,ooo 15,650,000 10,900,000 6,830,000 1,400,000 1,020.000 £86,705,000 190O £23,000.000 26,595.000 20,815,000 11,280,000 11,250.000 9,965.000 1.325.000 2,800,000 £107,030,000 £105,970,000 Averape, 1851-60 £29.036,000 10.680,000 15.083,000 12,407,000 £67,208,000 £18,118,000 23,707,000 £66,181,000 Savings Banks, A savings bank was estab- lished in Scotland in I8I0, and soon after such institutions became established in different parts of Great Britain, Under the law of 1817 and subsequent laws, these banks were placed under the regulation of the Government, and during the second quarter of the nineteenth century they en- joyed a rapid growth. The deposits of these banks are turned over to the Bank of England, which allows a specified rate of interest upon them. The rate of interest paid depositors va- ries, but is in excess of that ordinarily paid by banks. The trustees are prohibited from receiv- ing any profits. The growth of the old. or trus- tees, savings banks was checked by the estab- The above table does not show the receipts and expenditures of the post and telegraph service, except that these items are included in the fig- ures for 1851-00, but were not large. These re- ceipts and expenditures in large measure at pres- ent cancel each other; the receipts in 1900 being £16,580,000, and the expenditures £12,850,000, Neither do the figures show the recent extr.a ex- penses incurred by the Boer War, the total war charges for the year 190001 being £68,620,000. It will be seen that the largest absolute increase for the last decade of the nineteenth century was that incurred by the navy, this having now become the largest item of the ordinary expenditure. The expense of the army is also becoming heavier.