| Notes | £761,000 |
| Deposits | £4,709,000[1] |
The reason is that a central bank, which is governed in the capital and descends on a country district, has much fewer modes of lending money safely than a bank of which the partners belong to that district, and know the men and things in it. A note issue is mainly begun by loans: there are then no deposits to be paid. But the mass of loans in a rural district are of small amount; the bills to be discounted are trifling; the persons borrowing are of small means and only local repute; the value of any property they wish to pledge depends on local changes and local circumstances. A banker who lives in the district, who has always lived there, whose whole mind is a history of the district and its changes, is easily able to lend money safely there. But a manager deputed by a single central establishment does so with difficulty. The worst people will come to him and ask for loans. His ignorance is a mark for all the shrewd and crafty people thereabouts. He will have endless difficulties in establishing the circulation of the distant
- ↑ Note to 12th Edition. These are the amounts at December 31st, 1865. See "Grundzuge der National-Oekonomie," von Max Wirth, Dritter Band, p. 491.
Note to 14th Edition. The Swiss National Bank is now the only Swiss Bank authorised to issue notes. At the end of 1913 it had—
Notes £1,880,000 Deposits £10,999,000
