A business man who has a banker saves the trouble and expense of presenting those bills or drafts which he may draw upon his customers, or which he may receive in exchange for his goods. He pays these into the hands of his banker, and has no further trouble. He has no care about the custody of his bills receivable - no anxiety about their being stolen - no danger of forgetting them until they are over-due, and thus exonerating the in-dorsers-no trouble of sending to a distance in order to demand payment. He has nothing more to do than to see the amount entered to his credit in his banker's books. If a draft or note be not paid it is brought back to him on the day after it falls due, properly noted. The banker's clerk and the notary's clerk are witnesses ready to come forward to prove that it has been duly presented, and the notary's ticket attached to it assigns the reason why it is not paid.

This circumstance alone may cause an immense saving of expense to a mercantile house in the course of a year. Doing business through a banker also prevents loss from various kinds of mistakes that may be made by the employees of a business house. In a banking-house mistakes are not so likely to occur, though they do occur sometimes; but the loss falls upon the banker, and not upon his customer.

Still another advantage from having a banker is, that by this means the business man has a continual referee as to his respectability. If the banker is applied to through the proper channel, he gives his testimony as to the respectability of his customer. This may be an immense advantage to a man in business, as a means of increasing his credit; and credit, as Dr. Franklin says, is money.

The keeping an account at a banking-house enables a merchant not only to give a constant reference as to his own respectability, but it also enables him to ascertain the respectability of other persons who deal with bankers. There are numerous cases in which a merchant may wish to know this, especially where such facilities as Dun's and Bradstreet's reports, with which every American business man is familiar, are lacking.

Among nearly all the bankers in London, says Gil-bart, "the practice is established of giving information to each other as to the respectability of their customers. For as the bankers themselves are the greatest discounters of bills, it is their interest to follow this practice; and indeed the interest of their customers also, of those at least who are respectable."

A Record of Expenditures. By means of banking, people are able to preserve an authentic record of their annual expenditure. If a person pays in to his banker all the money he receives in the course of a year, and makes all his payments by checks - then by looking over his bank-book at the end of the year he will readily see the total amount of his receipts, and the various items of his expenditure.

"This is very useful to those who have not acquired habits of business, and who may therefore be in danger of living beyond their means. It is useless to advise such persons to keep an account of their expenses - they will do no such thing;but when short of money at Christmas to pay their bills, they may take the trouble of looking over their bank-book, and noticing how many checks were drawn for the purchase of unnecessary articles."

A bank account is useful also in case of disputed payments. People do not always take receipts for money they pay, and when they do the receipts may be lost or mislaid. In case of death, or of omission to enter the amount in the creditor's books, the money may be demanded again. Should the payment have been made in currency, the payer can offer no legal proof of having settled the account;but if the account was discharged by a check on a banker, the check itself can be produced, and the payment proved by the officers of the bank, who can be subpoenaed for that purpose.