The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-30 00:00:00

2.11.101
18

SAVINGS BANES' DEPOSITORS.

A clause proposed by Lord Monteagle for the
protection of Savings-Banks' depositors, to the effect
that it shall be a misdemeanour for any bank or
company to adopt in any way the title of a
Savin s-Bank, furnishes another illustration of

the results of Government meddling with the
functions of traders. There have been several
recent instances of fraudulent associations, styling
themselves Savings-Banks and therefore it is
suggested that no one shall be allowed to under-

take the business except under privilege from
the Government. If a foreigner weie told that in free-
trade England it is desired to make it a criminal
offence to offer to act as a banker for persons wishing
to deposit small accumulations, he would find it diffi-
cult, whatever might be the paternal regulations of
his own State, to cite a more absurd interference with
the exercise of free will and personal sagacity. The
fact is, that the entire Savings-Bank system is a dis-
credit to the country, and demoralising in its very
principle. If the Government are to be bankers for
the poor, why not also bakers and butchers ? The
principles of trade are universal, and that which is
sound for one branch is sound for all. The duty of
the State is to see to the uniform enforcement of
law in all cases, and if a fraud be proved, to punish
the perpetrator—not to undertake business in order
to insure that there shall be no frauds to punish.
The result of their course in respect to Savings-
Banks is demonstrated daily. They pretend to look
to the security of depositors, and, instead of giving
security they establish a snare by inducing the
ignorant to think that the State is responsible, the
mistake being discovered only when hundreds of
claimants have suffered. They profess, also, to be
anxious to " encourage" the habit of saving, and find
themselves unable to allow any satisfactory rate of
interest. Yet, at the same time, the nation loses mil-
lions because all the deposits come in and are invested
in Consols when the funds are high,and are withdrawn
when these Consols can be sold only at a heavy
sacrifice. Thus for the " good of the poor," heavy
amounts are disbursed by the country which must
be regarded as donations, so that the classes whose
self-respect it is intended to excite are actually to
that extent pauperised by State relief. Again, it is
pleaded that the system is a stimulant to prudence,
although it actually operates as a direct discourage-
ment to that faculty. The Government, in short,
say to the masses " never trouble yourselves with
inquiries as to the most safe and profitable mode of
laying out your acquisitions—abstain from cultiva-
ting any habits of thought or observation in that
respect. We will make it penal even for any one
to invite you to do so. You could never learn to dis-
tinguish between a rogue and an honest man, a ra-
tional investment or a bad one. It is said fools learn
by experience, but there are a class of fools who do
not possess even that capability, and you are of
them. We leave all other parties to their free will.
It is true that as a consequence they buy experience
at a pretty heavy rate, and tlfat it is owing to the
sense thus gained they become prosperous, but we
cannot place you in the same category. We must
' protect' you and hold you in leading-strings and
have offices and all sorts of machinery for the pur-
pose, and spend a considerable part of each Parlia-
mentary session in talking about it, and moving
for returns and bringing in bills to keep the system
all right." Besides, they might add, the theme ad-
mits of philanthropic flourishes of the finest descrip-
tion. There is also this encouraging peculiarity
that, as it is of a practical character, and simply
involves the vital principles of political economy, it
is sure not to be thought worthy even of attention
—much less of any troublesome remarks—by the
p!ofessional " apostles " of commercial freedom.—
Times' City Article.

NUMEROUS FIRES AND LOSS OF LIFE.

Yesterday morning, shortly before 4 o'clock, the
greatest alarm was caused in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of Tottenham-court-road, owing to a fire
breaking out in the premises belonging to Mr. J.
Daldo, oil and colourman, carrying on business at
No. 28 in the before mentioned thoroughfares. The
discovery was made by the police on duty, who at
once aroused the inmates, and sent off for the Royal
Society's escape and engines. Fortunately the re-
sidents all succeeded in reaching the streetin safety.
The brigade engines from Crown-street, Wells-
street, and those from Claandos-street, Holborn, and
Farringdon-street attended, as well as the escapes
from Bloomsbury and other stations. Although
only a few minutes had elapsed, the fire had made
fearful progress; in fact, owing to the highly in-
flammable nature of the stock, the greater portion
of the building presented one mass of flame. Plenty
of water having been procured, the engines were
set to work, but the fire could not be extinguished
until the premises and all they contained were
nearly destroyed, and the adjoining house of Mr.
Robert Saith is injured by water and smoke, Mr.
Daldo is supposed to be insured in the Westminster
Fire Office.

The same morning, about nine o'clock, a fire broke
out in the premises of Mr. Longlev, situate in
Bridge-court, near the Westminster Steamboat-
pier. The engines having been sent for, several
quickly attended, when it was found that an aged
lady, the owner of the house, had by some means
set her clothes on fire, and was unfortunately burnt
to death.

Another fire happened in the premises of Mr.
E. Mountford, Berlin wool and fancy goods' reposi-
tory keeper, 38, Southampton-street, Russell-
square. The firemen of the London Brigade
were quickly on the spot with their engines, and
by great exertions they were enabled to confine
the flames to the back part of the warehouses; but
the valuable stock in trade was severely damaged.
The loss will fall upon the Imperial Fire Office.
A fire likewise took place the previous night in
the Hercules' Hall, situate in Hercules-buildings,
Lambeth. The building in which the misfortune
commenced belonged to Mr. F. Colwall, scale-board
cutter and splint-maker, and was two floors high.
The disaster arose from the overheating of one of
the drying stoves, and in a very brief period the
place became enveloped in flames, and from thence
the conflagration extended to the premises of Mr.
Potts, coachmaker. The powerful engines of
Messrs. Hodges, the distillers, with those of the
London Brigade from Waterloo-road, Southwark-
bridge-road, and Farringdon-street, attended, and
the moment the mains of Lambeth Waterworks
were drawn, and a good supply of the opposing
element was procured, the firemen, under the
direction of Mr. Henderson, went to work in an
admirable manner, but they were unable to get the
fire extinguished until the workshops and upper
floors were burned out, and the workshops of Mr.
Potts nearly destroyed. Mr. Colwall was insured in
the State Fire. Office, but Mr. Potts was not insured.

THE MURDER IN THE QUEEN'S PARK,

EDINBURGH

The judicial inquiry into the late murder in the
Queen's Park is still proceeding, and on Tuesday
we believe 27 corporals of the 13th Light Dragoons
appeared at the office of the Procurator Fiscal, no
doubt with the view of enabling the authorities to
follow out the line of inquiry suggested in the in-
formation volunteered by the woman who came
forward on Thursday last. That information, it
will be recollected, was to the effect that, about
three o'clock on the Sunday morning on which the
murder was committed, the informant, in company
with another woman, passed a corporal of the 13th
Light Dragoons and a young girl standing close to
the wall at the Clock Mill Bridge, and heard the
soldier threatening the girl, and saying, "If you
follow me I will do for you." The authorities are
now evidently giving the woman who made these
statements an opportunity of identifying if possible
the " corporal" referred to by them. The investi-
gation, of course, continues to be conducted with
the strictest secrecy ; but, so far as we can learn,
no identification has been made. It is said, indeed,
that the woman, on being shown the corporals on
Tuesday, pointed out one of them as the man she
had seen in the park, but on the corporals being
placed before her in a group she pointed out another
man as the one she had seen. The experiment was
tried again, and the third time she pointed out
the same man as on the first occasion. It is also
stated that another woman has pointed out a second
corporal as one whom she had seen in the park on
the morning of the murder ; but on inquiry it appeared
that she must have been mistaken as the man was on
duty that night. On the whole, therefore, it may
be said that up to the present time nothing has
transpired tending to throw further light on this
mysterious crime. The city police are endeavour-
ing to put a stop to the absurd and mischievous
conduct of many parties who, in their morbid de-
sire to obtain some memorial of the murder, have
stripped the tree near which the body was found of
nearly all its bark and many of its branches. On
Tuesday two boys were brought up at the police-
court, before Bailie George Russell, and found
guilty of having been concerned in breaking off
some branches of the tree in the park on Sunday
evening, and were fined ss. each. It would be of
advantage if an example could be made of some
older people who have been even more foolish
than any boys could be in carrying away por-
tions of the tree and even of the turf near the
spot where the body of the girl was found.—Scots-
man.

EXTRAORDINARY Low TlDE.—Yesterday morn-
ing the steamboats met with considerable obstruction be-
tween 'Westminster and Waterloo-bridges, in consequence
of an extraordinary low tide. Persons were seen walking
on the Surrey side of Waterloo• bridge to nearly the fifth
arch. It is seldom such a occurrence takes place, particu-
larly after heavy rains.