Savings Banks

Savings Banks, which were intended to do for the poor what ordinary banks do for the rich, were proposed by Defoe in the 17th century; but, though France and other European countries adopted them in the middle of the 18th century, it was left for a Buckinghamshire clergyman to initiate the movement in England in 1799. This example was followed in Scotland by a clergyman in 1807. The original savings-banks were voluntary, and have been dealt with by different Acts of Parliament, which have been consolidated and deal chiefly with the points of attendance of trustees, the comparison of pass-books with the bank-books, and the establishment of a good system of audit. Savings-banks have been in a great degree superseded by the establishment of Post-Office Savings Banks, first suggested by the Archdeacon of Northnmberland in 1852, this suggestion having been carried into effect in 1861. the Post-Office system of banking has been adopted in India, the Colonies, and many European countries.