The Express.
London, England, 1850-08-13 00:00:00

may, sod we trot will, be improved into whet wig
be still better.
Short se the 124 franchise falls of what we sintid
desire to see, it presents the means of accomplish.
important *huge in the Irish representation. ThZ its turn, if effected, will render such
• Party
a of tones and whip spout pop
right men difficult and lets secure of impunity, g
glum determined friends of the tenant. homing clam, from one side of the dm.
eel, aetitig in fount with no greater numbt,
fwreueh the orom ther side of the channel,
cut
from the grasp of the united oligarchy ,
all shades sad sections, No many deadly weapons
st
manufactere, and within one week It r Crteld a
ieremeted and diearmed,—what might
were
be done if the representative force of the people were
doubled,—to name no lees realizable accession ni
streegth P If ever a practical measure of
right is to be owried—if ever the ascendancy
nfm%
usurping church is to be brought low--if seer the
people of Ireland look to attaining that perfect and
complete wealisatiosi of political privileges which
they are still fraudulently denied---they must cop,
trive to expel from their counties and borough,, thoß,
who abet every scheme for their aubjagittioo to ,bso,
lute landlordism, and gradually to augment the num.
ber of those is parliament who are ready to corehet
in defence of their liberties, against their enemas,,
►
they whom or what they may.

SIR CHARLES WOOD anuouncedwasonfixFedridafo.y:teiidil
that he abandoned his Savings Banks Bill.. Abl
back as the 10th of lest June it was foretold in
Ezpreu that this measure was defeated. Bot
CHARLES WOOD persisted in keeping it on the piper,
Friday night after Friday night
cossion; and Friday night after Friday r. its
sideration was postponed. Toe extent of incon-
venience which has been thus produced has not been
trifling.
Deputations from parties concerned bare for two
long months been detained, week after week, in town.
Several members, who were peculiarly interned
'in the threatening discussion, have hen forced
to postpone every other duty and engagement, in
order to be certain that this bill wool I not be pressed
forward in their absence. From time to time the
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was caked, pul,ik.
and privately, what coarse he contemplited taki
' and the answer has always been that he is e&
I passing the bill, or, at least, that hr proposed testi
the feeling of parliament regarding it. And now,
last, the bill is abandoned, as a e predicted it +col
be more than two months since, and all this mai
sad anxiety incurred without its having even bet
advanced a stage.
It has been stated, upon the authority of a at
adequate opinion, that had this bill paned ii
a law, the effect would have been to cause i
withdrawal of 7,000,0001. of money, or one•fourth
all the savings banks deposits in the kingdom.
latuaberless cases individual trustees would h
withdrawn entirely from their connexion with
backs ; in several instances the entire body of trios!
would have pegged resolutions to close the hank,
which they exercised control. The bill, it/.
et encouraging savings banks, their benevo,
trustees and their provident depositors, would ht
acted as a great discouragement to all. With rept
to the trustees, it proposed to take from tr
all control over the monies in the bank, but a'.
'me time, by an arrangement no lees singu:ar ti
unjust, it went to make them one and all req
Bible for any defalcation or improper managem
As regards the depositors, the bill proposed to
the amount of their deposits by otte.t/o.•/, ant
reduce the rate of interest new paid to them a half
cent. As the expenses of savings bat ke are mil
defrayed out of the difference between the amount
interest received from the government and
amount of interest paid to the depositors it will
seen that these two measures united mast hare im,
ratively obliged many of the smaller bank, to el
their books.

savings
foanksr these harsh
wereabase
a measure,byacimsatere
of deb
Slant seavpreinex
tors above the class for whom they were intent
2nd, that the government are paying rot on:
higher rate of interest than they can afford for
money, but a higher rate of interest than the dep. s.
are in any way entitled to. Now, both the— SW
Lions are easily disproved. The number of ;ri
depositing in savings banks was, by the last re
1,065,031. Of this number 1,015,729 are de; o.
of amounts not exceeding 100/. ; and of the.e
or more than one half, are depositors of ;.
Of 261 millions of money deposited, l"", n... .. ::5
in sums of less than 1001., and the aversi;e ar
deposited throughout the empire was one
depositor. But besides this, the existing 'Say
Bank Act is itself sufficiently restrictive: f.l it
tl stricts the investments of any depositor to a su
301. in any one year, and to DO/. in the le
it, therefore, takes a depcs'tor tire yeas
fore he can invest in a savings ban;
sum which at the very outside would real::,e
41. 10s. per annum. For the rate of interest w
the government talk of as so very high is restrietr
131. per cent.; and after a deduction for expenses.
' duces the depositor upon the avenge no more ti.sa
" 21. 15s. per cent. Now who will say that 31. per
is too much to pay the poor? If the middle c: sees
can make 31. per cent. for their money, why
not the poor be able to make as much' It has been
well said that the working classes have a cairn,
founded on justice, to a return on their steles
equal to that paid by government to the wentl.:er
classes. At the present price of ['ousels 'hey pr.-d-a;e
31 per cent. • on the average of the last 20 years they
i have produced between 31 and 3:. Now. no savings
' banks depsitor receives more than 3. and the large
majority receives little more than 2: per cent. If
this bill had pissed, the depsitors would very gene-
rally have been cut down to 21„ because the greater
labour required for the efficient management of
emsa
accounts would no longer have been compensated for
by the proportion of charge borne by those who keep
the larger balances.
If the government say that they cannot make 3; or
31 per cent. upon the money, and that mereesitors
have no right to ask the state to pay than the
state by proper management can make, we reply that
there are others who are quite prepared to take thew
deposits at this, or even a somewhat higher rate of
interest. liad the CHANCELLOR of the EICHEW:ER'i
bill passed, there would have been a variety of schemes
carted by competent parties for receiving on liberal
terms the deposits which Sir CHARLES Woo:
would have caused to be withdrawn. It is
well known that banks established on the Scotch
system have been anxiously watching the progress of
this bill ; and we have no doubt, had it passed into it
' law, that such establishments as the " 11.,yel British
Bank," for instance, wculd have bid against the go-
vernment for any amount of money the depositor
might have been inclined to entrust them with. It it
be said that these establishments cannot offer govern
ment security, we reply that the security they do
offer is very sufficieut, and that "government secu-
rity;' as late events have proved, may be very well in
theory, but in its practice is little more than a
delusion.
On a former occasion we observed the we saw no
of
should
reason
Exchequer hheyiyntuevheaer t eentiret
as y
t is
Thent now
greatsiaCieniBglt invested,
tkVis.°l.C‘t.j'lls•
parriesfunds wohf
ilc.hontdhoeyn dheoa differently with t
ldl
ror,bebenefitof
tlhie;ivreiry nsulnavnge.
Every year we have some proposal made to parlia-
ment to lend the public money for the promotion of
public and private works, upon security which is
amply sufficient to cover risks, and upon repayment
of the money by tiled and regular instalments. The
cworkinghas
obfethis
n.•
not
s•m
ine
obtaining ha been s
us
ffiu cceei
ellen
tt ul . The
security
in providing sufficient money to lend upon it. Is there
any reason why a few millions of the standing de-
posits of savings banks should not be applied at
interest in this way? The trustees, we believe.
would be generally favourable to such a measure, and
we know of no reason why depositors should object
Ito it. Of course the powers under which such an
' operation could be permitted would be strie:!y
limited, so that there should be no possibility of imeir-
plication or of' playing with the money as has been
done already.
! A meanie of this kind, accompanied as it might be
! with an extension of savings hanks facilities, would
Y he an infinitely greater boon than a bill such as that
which is now happily abandoned, fur restricting
deposits and throwing depositors iiito the hinds of
posaibly designing parties. Temptations which Am
difficult to be resisted are afforded to the industrione
prier by burial societies, benefit and tavern
lied Sir C. Wvolio bill passed, these it:butte:out