The Economic Review, 1899, Vol. 9

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Excerpt from The Economic Review, 1899, Vol. 9: Published Quarterly for the Oxford University Branch of the Christian Social Union As it happens, Sir Giles Overreach stretches out his hand a little too far. He appears to be an undoubted adept in store management. He gets altogether out of his depth when he addresses himself to banking. According to his calculation, the cc-operators whose allegiance the Co-operative Wholesale Society, acting as banker, could command, might be counted upon to deposit annually from to or in all. What tremendous wealth! How desirable that it should be collected! And B. J L. B. Is as ready to collect it as was Lord John Russell to take command of the Channel Squadron. But what title has he to claim it What does he show that he will do with it We pay our money in to the Treasury, because it is supposed to administer it for the public good. We deposit money with bankers, because they are supposed to circulate it for fructifying purposes. B. J L. B. Has no such public service in view. He will, so he says, invest the millions collected in corporation stocks, rail way shares, shipping, coal, iron and industrial shares, land (an ideal investment for savings, because it is so easy to realize in the event of withdrawals l) and buildings. But where are all these investments to come from Bankers will tell B. J L. B., if he will take the trouble to ask them, that even the paltry of savings deposits, a more nothing by the side of B. J L. B.'s has altogether upset the market in Government securities, driven consols up to famine price, and made them. Often unpurchasable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, last session, was compelled to admit that the National Debt Commissioners have failed to invest all savings bank balances, because there were no console to be had. In the course of a departmental inquiry, it was suggested that for savings bank moneys other gilt-edged investments besides consols should be permitted. The broker of the Bank of England at once objected very vigorously that such a course must infallibly drive up other securities to the same famine prices, and so further embarrass the market. It passes the wit of Chancellors of the Exchequer, from Mr. Goschen, ten years ago, down to Sir Michael Hicks Beach, now, to find in veemente for the comparatively small sum. At this very moment they are seeking a fresh outlet in the colonies. However, B. J L. B. Is ready to take over their burden, magnified twenty-fold, as if carrying it were more child's play. Then, does he seriously contemplate in vesting in second and third-rate securities? In that case, in honesty he ought to tell depositors so. However, the supply even of second and third-rate securities is limited. At the last annual meeting of the Debenture Corporation, the vice-chairman complained that, driven hard for investments, bankers had encroached seriously upon the company's peculiar domain, and so curtailed its occupation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.