It may naturally be asked, who shall be the officers of these banks, if they are not to be chosen by the contributors themselves, either out of their own body, or from the higher classes? To this I might answer, by referring to the highly respectable self-constituted banking companies in every part of Britain; but I am aware, that the analogy between these and Saving Banks is by no means complete. The object of the one is the profit of the partners, whereas that of the other ought to be to promote the welfare of the labouring classes; and, on this account, the services of its managers should be either altogether gratuitous, or paid for at so low a rate, as to hold out no inducement, in the shape of emolument, to such men as it would be safe to intrust with its funds. But if there be a want of benevolent individuals among the higher classes, of their own accord to incur the responsibility, and assume the direction of those Saving Banks, which by their constitution exclude popular elections, it does not readily appear, that the circumstance of being elected by the members, perhaps in the face of much opposition, will inspire benevolence, or insure efficiency. For, let it be observed, that whether the officers be or be not named by the depositors, it is indispensable to the success of the establishment, that they should be men of property and education, much above the level of the depositors themselves. Even Mr Duncan, the founder of the Ruthwell Bank, and the advocate of the popular system, has confined the choice of its office-bearers, in the first instance, to the donors and annual benefactors of the society. It cannot well be doubted, that there are in almost every country parish, and certainly in every town, a few respectable individuals, able and willing to undertake the management of a Saving Bank, who might not, however, choose to attempt the far more arduous task of preserving order in a large assembly, or of appearing in it as candidates for nomination, and mixing in the discussions, which, on such an occasion, can hardly fail to be introduced.
It may be said, however, that there can be no need for going out of the society itself for the necessary office-bearers; and the organization of Benefit Societies may be adduced, in proof of the competency of the depositors in a Saving Bank to the management of all its details; and the success of these Societies as a further proof of the advantages to be expected from the choice of their own functionaries by the depositors. But a Saving Bank and a Benefit Society are usually as different in the information and circumstances of their members, as in their objects. The frequent meeting of benefit societies, or of their committees, is necessary for the admission of new members, and for carrying into effect, as occasions require, the very purpose of their establishment. The cases of applicants must be speedily examined, and such allowances made to them out of the funds as they are entitled to receive by the rules of the society. The responsibility of the managers is not confined to the security of the funds, but extends also to the mode in which they are employed, and the receipts and disbursements must therefore be investigated at short intervals. Every member has an equal and undivided interest in the welfare of the concern, from which he cannot withdraw himself at pleasure, like the depositor in a Saving Bank. The partners of a company in which the members reciprocally insure one another, are held together by a bond of connexion, which can terminate only with their lives, or the dissolution of the partnership. Every member must therefore be known to the great body of his associates, all of whom are nearly on the same level. But it is of importance to observe, that this level is placed somewhat higher than that of the great body of depositors in Saving Banks. The most numerous members of benefit societies are not of the class of common labourers, but men bred to trades, who have had the advantage of being educated in their youth, or have since acquired that knowledge of business which is necessary to success in their professions, in which many of them arrive at independence. From the very different objects and materials of a benefit society, therefore, it cannot be inferred, that the principle of their organization is either necessary or suitable to that of a Bank for Savings.
If we are to look forward to the general establishment, and to the permanence of Saving Banks, some fears may be entertained for the constant and effective operation of that part of the ma-
