The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-17 00:00:00

POSTAL SAVINGS BANKS FOR
VILLAGES.

In connection with aids soil et, which le one of general
Interest, the following letter h., also been tent to The nines
for publication
- -

The representation recently made to the Pcstmaster-
General on this 'subject hats, I am glad to eee, called
forth in The Times several of those statements of in-
dividual experience which form by far the most trust-
worthy kind of @taiga; Although my own practical
dealing with the matter has not been very extensive,
I venture to crave room for a few remarks, on the score
of having devoted considerable at ention and aims
personal trouble to the obj -et in question.
Mitt persons are, I think, agreed that the first re-
quieite in a place of investment for labourers' savings
Is accessibility. This is an advantage not generally
enjoyed by the village labourer; and I believe the ex-
perien,e of others will bear me out in saying that a
distance cf three miles, two miles, or even one mile
from the Postal Savings Bank is t many simply pro-
hibitive, particularly when they have so many places
where they can get rid of their money clime at hand.
We must make toe Savings Bank as acceptable to the
labourer Itil the pribliebouse is, if we wish to give him
a fair chance. There is no catlike for worder that he
will not take one or two hanris' walk to inv-st hie
wagw. lie has little op; °reunite fir long walks, and
lese pleasure In tuern. Make it a mitten of five
minutes, and the case will be differmt.
It being, then, clearly desirable that means of In-
vestment be made more accei Bible to the village
labourer, the question arieee whether this can bord be
done by private enterprise or public organization. The
latter, surely, in view of the objects to be attained, ia
far preferable. In the first place, it insures per-
manence, wherein' any arrangement dependeat upon
privates individuals, however excellent it may he. how.
ever worthy of all praise and gratitude, is liable to
be determined by death, removal, and many accidents
beeidea. In the second place, public organization
joe-uris uniformity of terms ard conditions; and,
as a corollary to this, the most important 'emit of ease
of transfer. The jealousy which I believe the
labreuer feels of any system that would tie him to a
place is med.-oily reasonable. All places of inveet
relent fur his savings throughout the kingdom should
he in eorrespotidence with one arab.% so that no
drawing eit nod re investment tho Mil be recensary if
he .0,, from one erale of ,oi,,enco to Snotb.r. This
great advantage is p ',seised by the Poll NI Savings
Banks, and it Is nuatter cf moth rezret that the
labouring classes are uot more aware of the fact.
I nee I not, however, dwell noon the superior advan-
tages of public organization. Most people will releilt
them, but many will question its feasibility. - There
are two pointe—simplicity and economy—wl ieb, if care-
fully kept in view, will, I trust, render ruela an organ-
rat, ai at 011efl move possible and more neeful.
The first pint has advantages of its own, nnconi
tinted wi ii the ,econd. It ie of vital importance that
any se,tern adopted should be intelligible to lb- la-
lamrer. Justly or unjustly, he undoubtedly entertains
a certain smannt of suspicion against those who "be
come for his geode," and the double meaning of that
well-known expression is by ne mean, beet upon him
when he is urged to deposit Me money, It is extremely
undesirable to perplex him with a multiplitity of
systems, or with a rate of interest difficult to calculate.
The latter remark is not without application to the
tificials also. Let any one try, as I have tried (with
a view to otfering the labourer somewhat more tempts
rag terms). what the working of 3 or 4 ; er cent, would
he. and he will see at once the merits of the poetal
•-6 I. a pound by the yeer, I. a pound by the menth
--which both depositor and official can calculate with. putting pen to paper.

Thess remarlia are. it will be Been, izttended to make
In favt.tir of an exte7.sion of the preeen: Foetal Savings
Bsnk system, and againat the alteration of that system
in respect either of the rate of interest or of the mini•
mum amount upon which into coat in allowed. Ido not
think that ouch allowance luau, pitialler sunle would be
veined or understood by the lab, urer in say proportion
to the trouble which it would cause the (Adak, and
I ranch (rtes.-ion whether • lowerimi of the amount of
a fir,t &plait hl LOt, *bough to • less ezteat, open to
ths. same objection.

Economy, the other great point, is in some fleitree
secured by simplicity of system. It cannot, howevor,
be expected that the additional work whieh we hope
would be givin to our postal o.g,hoold he dor,
siwteie-iffil,mmal AP-Mt- Jot:kr Ware e;rOrtcadif
to the minlinum, consistent with efficiency nod with
justice to those who have to do It, is the problem. For
the solution of that problem I reMors4 to make one or
tWo Inggestions, always with deference to the fuller

prnollical knowledge of those who nay, 1 tru.t, beta.
dueed to tat, this matter in hand.

Itia, intb. that place, clk...rly undesirable to multiply
officials. The present managar of the village post
office would be perfectly competent to fulfil the very
simple additional duty which might be tail on him—
that, namely, of givlng out depositor's boas, receiying
to, no. utering th•tniothedepositor's hook and
his own, 80l f paying in the total of each se o not, oo
the loat day -1 each month, to the cent. al off , which
receivoo the letters of bio village. On the latter would
be thrown the computation f iuterett, and suth coon
municrtion with the head-quarters in London an may
still be thought neceasary. Whether the London Office
might nGt be relieved from the ihripection of in.
&veinal country acccnnts hi, perhaps, worthy of
consideration, if any saving cauld be thereby effected.

The ct untry central office, then, would receive the
depoeits 01 those from whom it is liable to receive them
now, brit would only receive them at monthly in
tervals ; the labour of entering each intermediate pay
ment, which need cm tsinlv not he repestoC, being 10, t
to the village -.muster. Ile should obviously be paid
in direct proportion to results, and rather at so
much for each account passing through his hands
than by a percesatage on the t ital amount, the
former plan being at once a bettor representation of
the extra trouble and conducive to more extended use.
fulness. Of course, no discoursgement to the larger
depositors is here intended. I must confess that len
tirely fail to see the necessity for fixing a maxtnium of
deposit ; hut it is of all things to be desired that as many
as possible should be led to make some little progress is
the practice of providenoe and towards the attainment
of independence.

Thai payment to the managers of village post efflie
would be the principal additional expenditure of , üblic
money requisite to bring the Savings Bank t :ile
labourer's door. and who can say that it would be a bad
is:refitment ? This is a subject on which people of all
religious denominations and all political parties who
PUSH boneetly roust be agreed. To give the labourer a
motive which will keep him from the publiohous-i goes
far to attain the object of a Permisaive Bill without hi.
earring it. odium. To place within hie reach the at
mirablai annuity system let° enable him to secure for him.
self a comfortable and respected old age, and to relieve
his haver rat-payers of a great and in most amen nn-
neoessary burden. Idi not eet up the Savings Bank
as a panacea; I do not for a moment suppose that it
will make men perfectly moral and religious, or that it
will nettle queetions between employer and employed ;
bat I am sure that the labourer who deposits part of
hie wages is so much more likely than Vie one who
does not to be both a good citizen and a happy men. I
am, &c., E. C. CLARKE.
Cambridge.

WORKING MEN'S COLLEGES.
The opening of the session of the twelfth year of the
Ipswich Working Mn'. College on Monday night was the
occasion of a meeting in the two ha l, at which the II 9or
of Ipswich presided. Mr iltulies, M.P., as Principal of the
London Working Men's College, gave an address on present-
ing the cartiliostes awarded to students by the Society of
Arta.

After congratulating Dr. Christian, the Principal,
and the members of the college on its continued success,
and referring to former vieite of the late Mr. Maurice
and himself to this dieter college in the east, Mr.
Hughes said that it wan a great pleasure to him to take
any part whetever in their work, because of the identity
of its principles and method with that of the college in
Great Ormond-street, founded by Mr. Meurice. The
experiment had nYr been working there for twenty
yew's, and here in Ipewich for eleven; and every year
convinced him more and more of its great wortn and
value to the country. If he had ever los I any
donbte as to these principles and method, they
bad long since disappeared before the grand teet
of experience; sad all persons who were thinking
much about or working for higher education were
coming to their conclustoes. As a recent instance of
this, he wohld refer to Mr. Stanefeld's late speech to
the Mechanics' Institute at Marsden, in which he had
stated that he could not be eatiefied with any institute
which did not embrace lunch of the social life of ite
members; and, while approving much of the educa-
Hostel work, had declared that if we hail a complete
system of national education such institutes would
bee ime colleges. Now, the President of the Loud
Government Board had evidently in his mind al
ideal which must be very much what our colleges
actually are. Mr. Mitueice felt very strongly
that merely to get men into regular classes,
as the institutes do, would not suffice; nor to
provide for thtir social wante with a varnieh sf
roselike, and lecture., he the Working Men's Clubs cla.
What wan wanted wax an institution In which there
things phould be combined, and men be held to:ether
by fellowehip and fellow work at once if the highest
and commonest kind —in their studies. their Boone,
their leisure. This VMS the root idea of our colleges,
and it had been very faithfully carried out. Reviewing
their work at Ipswich, he said he had little to ouggest
from his London experience. He wee very glad to
find gymnaetice and music diligently cultivated. With
regard to the later, in London their classes, which
were moat weftsl and successful, were mixed, of nten
and women, which, if practicable, seemed to him the
best plan. Then, in Ormond-street they had an ex-
cellent collection of the London clay and chalk fossils
collected and arranged by the students, which example
they will do well to follow at Ipswich. Again, as
every Englishman ought to be a political animal, in
Ormond-sireet they had evenings on which- great poli-
tical speeches were discussed. No set epeeches were
allowed, anti party views were kept out of eight, the
question whether such a policy was Rood or bad in the
highest national point of view tieing always kept steadily
before the class. Thus last term they had discussed
the proper limits of Government interference with in-
; dustry ; and before that the ballot had occupied them
three nights, at the end of which, by the way, they
had convinced themselves that it was a mistake. This
term they were going to discuss what were the best
Mistime of Church and State. He was sure they
would first the benefit of such dbcnssian claims as
these, presided over by their principal, or some teacher
cf authority. In conclusion, he said that, in his pules
meat, nothii g hut such inetitutions as these, which
bound classes together without confounding them,
lilted both teachers and learners out of their selfish
and exclusive Interests, giving them timer feelings of
fellowship and citizenship, and provided them with
healthy and elevating social life, could counteract
effectually many of the evils which threatened the
country, and particularly the enervating and di.sipated
life which so many of the youth of one great towns now
lead.