MILITARY AND NAVAL SAVINGS-BANRS.—In 1842 an act was passed for establishing military savings-banks in connection with the regimental pay departments. Another act was passed in 1859, affording greater facilities to the frugal soldier. The proceed-. ings of these banks in the first four years present the following figures: Deposits In Year. Withdrawals in Ykric.411.
1850£70,786 £64,497 1860 A63,401 116,393 1861. . ..167,136 149,090 1862 152,203 164,775 e figures have fluctuated throiwh eatises not stated in the parliamentary returns, ping about the same in 1871 as in i861: after living lunch lower in some of the interven ing years, and much higher in 1866. The number of accounts open in the latest years was about 14,500, including those of many army eharitable funds.
Concerning seamen's savings-banks. they mainly depend for their provisions on an net passed in 1856, whieli recognized the shipping,offices for.seamen as branch savings banks; and authorized the board of trade to lay down rules with respect to the persons entitled to become depositors, the making and withdrawal of deposits, etc. The opera
tions of the seamen's savings-banks are far less extensive in amount than those of the military savings-banks. Recent years have exhibited about £17,000 or £18,000 deposits each year; but as the withdrawals are always less in amount, the total investment is steadily growing, and with it the total interest receivable.
A few changes have been made by the legislature, not so much in the arrangements between the depositors and the savings-banks generally. as in the relation borne by the latter toward the national exchequer. An act was passed in 1866 (29 Viet. c. 5), author izing the investment of a stated amount of savings-banks money in terminable annuities. It applied alike to trustee savings-banks and to post-office savings-banks; and was sup plemented by another act in 1869 (32 and 33 Viet. e. 59). The two statutes together have swept off a number of earlier acts of parliament, and have facilitated the invest ment of a portion of the savings-funds in annuities winch will terminate•at various dates before 1885.