Another objection is, that from time to time the directors of joint-stock Banks are found to become bankrupts, and being heavily indebted to the Bank, the proprietors lose money by the very men selected and advanced to protect them from loss. Imputations of this kind have always struck me as being very unreasonable. It was never pretended by the patrons or promoters of joint-stock Banking, that its system afforded a guarantee or preventive against the casualty of bankruptcy on the part of those who took a lead in the management of its affairs. The Bank of England has not been exempt from accidents of this kind. Why should they not occur in the case of a joint-stock Bank? We have seen Messrs. Manning, Buller, Raikes, Ward, and Curtis go into the Gazette, while governors and directors of the Bank of England, and have, therefore, little cause to feel surprise, and certainly should not deem it a grievance, that other joint-stock companies are occasionally exposed to a like scandal.

Not to dwell longer on small points, I should observe, by way of general summary, that whether in a private or joint-stock Bank, the first great thing is to begin upon right principles, and the second to stick to them. A man may not always find it easy to discover how far the first is accurately observed in a new establishment. He has, however, facts enough to refer to if he wishes to judge how far the second has been attended to of late years by these rival traders in money.

Having dwelt thus far on the past, it seems natural to glance for a moment at the future. My own opinion I confess is, that we shall have by and by still fewer private Banks than we have now, and that those which remain will be principally confined to the large towns and chief seats of commerce, and be very rich. I also think that the total extinction of private Banks in England would be felt as a great injury and inconvenience. There is scarcely a working day in the year in which their support is not sought with avidity, and obtained with advantage. The Bank of England could not supply their place, although the utility of that institution has been most sensibly felt in moments of pressure. But it does not in ordinary times found its issues on discounts. It is not, therefore, an accommodation Bank, nor, upon the whole, is it desirable that it should be. "The Bank of England," as Mr. Jones Loyd remarked to the Commons' Committee of 1832, "does not offer the accommodation the private Banker affords, and therefore it can never obtain that hold upon the private business of the country which is now possessed by the private Banker. The latter enters into transactions which the Bank of England would not undertake, and it is certainly a public advantage that some party should embark in them."

Such being the case, it is easy to perceive that no extension of the Bank of England, nor of the branches it has founded, would suffice to supersede the private Banks, because it would not outbid or exceed them in point of convenience and utility to the customer. It is remarkable that, highly as the branches of the Bank of England have been thought of, and much as they are prized in their different localities, they are far from doing the largest or most profitable business where they are established. This appears, upon inquiry, to be true of the branches of the Bank of Ireland, in the sister country, as well as those of the Bank of England throughout the English provinces. Now the feelings and circumstances by which this state of things has been superinduced would, I apprehend, if analysed, prove of a nature that would apply with nearly equal force to joint-stock Banks. If I am right in this conjecture, private Banking is far removed from the danger of extinction.

The distinction drawn by Mr. Loyd between the functions of the Bank of England and the private Bankers, was still more clearly explained to the same committee by Mr. George Carr Glyn, a gentleman of great quickness, capacity, shrewdness, and experience. "The London Bankers frequently allow a customer, if he be a respectable trader, to overdraw his account, merely upon the opinion they have of his good character. It almost daily happens that a customer of known property comes to them and says, put 5000l. or 10,000l. to my account, and they must always be prepared to meet a demand of that nature. Instances occur every day in which it would be impossible for the first mercantile houses in London to deal with the Bank of England, or with a joint-stock company. They come often to ask for loans for the purpose of executing orders from abroad, for the export of bullion, and on commodities. They communicate confidentially with their private Banker, but they could not follow this course, or make these communications to the directors of a joint-stock Bank, some of whom might be their rivals in trade and in these operations. Again, among the second class of traders we are obliged to proceed often upon the knowledge we have acquired of their business and character, a system upon which a joint-stock Bank could not act. If these modes of accommodation were withdrawn, the distress amongst many of the trades in London would be extreme, and the impediments to business insuperable6."

6 Mr. Glyn, if report speaks true, represents one who would have been a good authority upon the points adverted to. His father, the late Alderman Sir R. C. Glyn, Bart., is said to have been remarkable for the strength and success with which he occasionally came to the rescue of a falling house, and saved it from ruin. One anecdote told of him in this respect is so pleasant,

From these various explanations the weight due to the opinions expressed against joint-stock Banking may be generally estimated. Of all that has been said and written in their praise I shall give no particulars, nor undertake to furnish evidence of the extent to which public feeling has declared in their favour. One thing, however, I am bound to observe: a general impression has long prevailed that, beneficial as they have proved, they are still susceptible of considerable improvements. As several plans have been offered for effecting this desirable object, I invite attention to the principal ones.