The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-19 00:00:00

BANKS FOR SAVINGS.

To-morrow the new Act regarding Savings' Banks
will come into operation. There are 33 sections it
the same, amending, not repealing, the two former
Acts respecting those establishments, namely, the 9th
George IV., c. 92, and the 3d and 4th William IV.,
c. 14. From the day mentioned the interest payable
to trustees of savings' banks will be at the rate of'
3/. ss. per cent., whilst the depositors are to rl.--ceive
not more than 31. 03. 10(1. Some of the banks intend
to pay as much as 31. per cent., and others not more
than 21. 18s. 4d. per cent., leaving, in the former case,
only ss. in every hundred pounds, and Gs. Bd. in the
other instances, for the expenses of the establishments.
And when it is considered that they pay no interest
on fractional parts, the interest to be derived will he
very great. A declaration, set forth in the recite('
Act, is to be signed by a depositor, a copy, of which
is to be placed in the deposit book. 'Officers of banks
not paying over money in the time specified by the.
rules, on conviction, to be guilty of a misdemeanour.
Depositors are once a year to produce their books at
the institutions. At present, annuities, through
the medium of savings banks, can only be pur-
chased to 201. ; but after Wednesday next annui-
ties may be purchased to 301., and both hus-
band and wife may each possess an annuity to
that or to a less amount. There are several pro-
visions in this Act to prevent the waste of funds
litigation, and Mr. Tidd Pratt, the barrister appointedi
to revise the rules of societies, has power conferred.
to decide all matters relating to deposits in savings"
banks. In case a will be not proved, trione may be.
paid to the parties entitled to the same, or, in case of
persons dying intestate, a similar proceeding may be,
adopted. Payments may be made to married women*
unless the husband shall give notice in writing of hiss
marriage, and shall require payment to be made too
him. In future rules are not to be sent to the clerks
of the peace, but two copies are to be submitted to that
barrister appointed for his certificate, who is to return
one, and to transmit the other to the Commissioners
of the National Debt.
The following, though short, is a very comprehend
sive provision :
" Section 21.—And be it enacted, that all the Igo•
visions of this Act, in as far as the same can or maw
be applicable, shall apply to the trustees and manay
gers of any Government annuity society, and to thcb
parties purchasing annuities, and to the rules aniX
regulations to be made for carrying the same into,
effect."
The Act has operation in Great Britain and Ire-.
land, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and the islands of Guern..
sey, Jersey, and Man.

THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS; OR, ROMANCY4
AND REALITIES OF EASTERN TRAVEL. RV rmoT
G. WARBURTON, ESQ. 2 VOLS.—A more ai..-,,reeshlo.
companion than this author we rarely meet with. Mr..
Warburton is one who sees with the strong.ekar vision.
with which Heaven has endowed him ; but with his view.
~f present scenes and material objects there is always:
blended reo-dlectiotis of the past, and something-00Hglz
dashed in unconsciously—of poetic feeling. Ile brings
to his work of observation an aecompliihed mind ants
well-trained and healthful facu!tics. As we read we arc.
proud to claim him as a countryman, and are conteu4
that his book shall go over all the world, that Other
countries from it may derive a just impression of our•
national chanleter. His route is easily marked. Ho
went in a steamer to Alexandria, sailed up the Nile be-.
yond the second cataract, and inspected those wonders
of Barbarian art in Nubia, whose origin is lost in their
antiquity ; visited the great cities and monuments of:
Egypt, then crossed to Beyrout, made a pilgrimage t,*
the Holy Land, and on his homeward voyage touched
at emus and Greece. Ilis volumes are full of
,}lists
perception and spirited detail. They greatly increaset
our acquaintance with Eastern scenes, and, to the tra-
veller, afford a variety of information which he con
hardly elsewhere find in so compact and inNresting
sh apf?. —./31 itannia